Film Review: RED (2010)

Director: Robert Schwentke
Writers: Jon Hoeber & Erich Hoeber (screenplay), Warren Ellis & Cully Hamner (graphic novel)
Running time: 111 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 12A

Genre: Action/Comedy/Crime
UK Release date: 22^nd October 2010

Watched on DVD Sunday 10^th March 2013.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE UNINTENTIONAL SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I waited for quite a long time for this one to turn up in the TV listings but alas it hasn’t yet. Being a resourceful sort I decided to check out the price of the DVD and, deeming it low enough, I duly bought said disc. Now, having gone to all that trouble, I’m glad to report it was worth the effort. It may never win any awards, but it’s very entertaining and everything ‘The Expendables’ isn’t. Here’s a brief summary before I give you my thoughts.

Frank Moses (Bruce Willis) is a retired CIA agent; he lives alone and one of his few pleasures is to chat to the girl at the pension’s office, Sarah Ross (Mary-Louise Parker). All is peaceful until one night a team goes into his house and tries to kill him. Of course Frank escapes and picks up Sarah en-route to New Orleans. With the attempt on Frank’s life a failure, back at the CIA, Cynthia Wilkes (Rebecca Pidgeon) puts agent William Cooper (Karl Urban) on the case. By the way, it’s “off the books”. Frank turns to his old contacts for help; first Joe Matheson (Morgan Freeman) who points him in the direction of a murdered reporter. Having discovered a list of names, he next contacts Marvin Boggs (John Malkovich). More information brings in the Russians in the guise of Ivan Simanov (Brian Cox); and finally there’s Victoria (Helen Mirren). Piecing the parts of the puzzle together there’s a connection to a massacre in Guatemala and the only one left who can identify the man responsible is Alexander Dunning (Richard Dreyfuss). But can they get him to talk? And if they do, who will be their next target? I guess that’s enough for now. Oh, before I close this section I’d like to give a mention for Ernest Borgnine who plays Henry, The Records Keeper at the CIA; it’s always a pleasure to see him on screen.

I must say this film does exactly what it says on the tin; it’s brash, explosive and it also has some humour splattered about in there. I did like Bruce Willis in this one; some of his wise cracks put me in mind of his character David Addison in “Moonlighting” (an old TV show for those too young to remember it). I loved John Malkovich as the, almost paranoid, member of the team; he added some great comic moments. Helen Mirren was great (as ever), as was Richard Dreyfuss as the bad guy and Brian Cox. Also a mention fro Karl Urban who played his role with great aplomb; he’ll go far I’m sure. As to the film; well I enjoyed many aspects of it although I did find the age difference between Willis and Parker a tad creepy. Other than that, bring on the sequel! I found it a lot of fun and everything ‘The Expendables’ isn’t; well worth the price of the disc.

SteelMonster’s verdict: RECOMMENDED

My score: 6.9/10.

IMDb Score: 7.0/10 (based on 128,034 votes when this review was written).
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1245526/

MetaScore: 61: (Based on 37 critic reviews provided by Metacritic.com at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Tomatometer’ Score: 72/100 (based on 193 reviews counted at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Audience’ Score: 72/100 (based on 113,777 user ratings counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/red/

If you’re crazy enough… You can find me on Facebook at:
http://facebook.com/andy.steel3

FAVOURITE QUOTES:
[first lines]
Frank Moses: [on the phone] 943-66-2291. Pension Services, please.
Woman: Thank you, Mr. Moses, please hold for your representative.

Sarah Ross: Get back. Go away. Stay away from me! Is that my bag?
Frank Moses: Yeah.
Sarah Ross: You packed it?
Frank Moses: Yes.
Sarah Ross: D' D' Did you vacuum?
Frank Moses: A little yeah, it was messy.

Marvin Boggs: Do you know what's wrong with this country?
Sarah Ross: They all are trying to kill us?
Marvin Boggs: Exactly!

Henry, The Records Keeper: Frank Moses was one of the most effective black op agents we've ever had. He retired drug-lords, terrorists. Hell, he toppled governments. Yeah. He was truly gifted.
William Cooper: Why was he retired?
Henry, The Records Keeper: He got old. Then some thumb-sucker came along and tagged him "RED".
William Cooper: Red?
Henry, The Records Keeper: Yeah, RED. R-E-D, "Retired, Extremely Dangerous".

Victoria: [pleasantly] In all the years I've known Francis, I've never seen him like this. So if you break his heart, I will kill you. And bury you body in the woods.
Sarah Ross: Wow. Okay.

Ivan Simanov: [Riding in the car after everything is over. To Moses] You still owe me favor.
Victoria: [Getting pissed off at Ivan] Oh Ivan!
[turns to the others]
Victoria: His timing is terrible!
Ivan Simanov: Just a tiny little nuclear problem in Moldova.

LINKS:
(Note: All were working at the time of going to press)
Official Site: http://www.red-themovie.com/
(Currently publicising ‘RED 2’)
Trailer:

Film Review: RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES (2011) – Re-visited

Director: Rupert Wyatt
Writers: Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver
Running time: 100 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 12

Genre: Action/Drama/Sci-Fi
UK Release date: 11^th August 2011

Watched on DVD Wednesday 29^th August 2011.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I was totally engrossed by this one when I saw it in the cinema about a year ago. How did it fair this time? Well, maybe not quite the same impact, my TV screen can’t quite match the big one for scale, but it still packs a big punch. I still loved every minute of it and have no problem in recommending it to everyone. Here’s a brief summary before I give you my thoughts.

Will Rodman is a scientist who is working on a cure for Alzheimer’s. He is very driven in his work because his father, Charles, suffers from the disease. It affects the brain and so Will’s work revolves around a gene therapy that can re-connect pathways in the brain. They test it out on Chimpanzees and one of them, Bright Eyes, shows exceptional promise. Just as Will and his boss, Steven Jacobs, are asking for funding, Bright Eyes goes crazy and has to be shot. Jacobs orders all the apes put down, but they find that Bright Eyes had had a baby. Will takes him home and discovers that the effects of the drug have been passed on. They call the baby Caesar and, with the help of a primate expert, Caroline Aranha, he eventually grows big and strong. Will gives the drug to his father and, at first, it works but then the effects wear off. He discovers what was wrong and develops a stronger version of the drug. After an incident with a neighbour, Caesar is ordered to be put in a sanctuary, away from the public. It is here that he comes into his own and it is here, under the mistreatment of his handlers, John and Dodge Landon that sparks the beginnings of The Rise of the Planet of the Apes. I can’t say any more or the Spoiler Police will have me put in a cage next to Caesar.

The CGI in this film is truly stunning, and although you know most of it is computer generated, it doesn’t detract from the enjoyment. As far as performances go, well, for me, the star was definitely Andy Serkis who did the vast majority of the motion-capture work for Caesar, a really stunning performance. As far as the humans go, well, James Franco did a decent job as Will Rodman, as did Freida Pinto as Caroline Aranha, although I felt her character was never fully developed and consequently she was woefully underused. John Lithgow was excellent as Will’s father, Charles and Brian Cox was suitably sleazy as John Landon. Tom Felton did a good job as the evil handler, Dodge Landon and David Oyelowo was Will’s boss, Steven Jacobs.

I loved every minute of this film and I really hope any sequels that are made keep to the same standard. If I have one criticism, it’s that the human characters are not particularly well developed. I can forgive that to a large extent because it forces the audience to see things from Caesar’s perspective. There are plenty of references and nods to the original 1968 film starring Charlton Heston (something to look out for). Certainly one of my favourite films of 2011 and I see nothing here to change my view. I have given it a slightly lower score than after my first viewing, mainly because the film does loose a little of its impact when scaled down for the small screen. Even so, well worth a look for any fan of the ‘Apes’ films and even those that haven’t seen them.

SteelMonster’s verdict: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

My score: 8.8/10

IMDb Score: 7.7/10 (based on 176,850 votes at the time of going to press).
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1318514/

MetaScore: 68/100: (Based on 39 critic reviews provided by Metacritic.com at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 83/100 (based on 240 reviews counted at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Audience’ Score: 87/100 ‘Liked it’ (based on 85,827 user ratings counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/rise_of_the_planet_of_the_apes/

FAVOURITE QUOTES:
[first lines]
Robert Franklin: [administering chimp intelligence test] Okay, okay. Here you go. And let's go again.
[gives Bright Eyes treat and clocks timer]
Will Rodman: Which one's this? Number nine?
Robert Franklin: Yeah, this is number nine. Bright Eyes, we call her. Are you watching this? This is unbelievable.
[Bright Eyes does the tower fast]
Robert Franklin: Oh, my God. Oh, my God.
Bright Eyes: [grabs treat and eats it]
Will Rodman: How many moves was that?
Robert Franklin: 20.
[Will looks at them and starts to head out]
Robert Franklin: Yeah, a perfect score is 15. Doc, what are you giving her?
Will Rodman: [heads out] Hey, give that video!
[runs out the hallway and opens the door to Steven Jacobs' office]

Will Rodman: Why don't we begin? Meet Chimp Nine. We gave him a gene therapy that allows the brain to create it own cells in order to repair itself. We call it the Cure to Alzheimer's.

Party Boy: [at Caesar's cage] Hey, check out this guy.
Dodge Landon: Hey that one's a pain in the ass, man! He thinks he's special or something.
Party Boy: Freaky. Come here. Come on. It's like he's thinking or something.
Caesar: [grabs the man's throat and stares and growls]
Party Girl #2: Oh, my God! He has his throat!
Party Girl #1: Let him go!
Dodge Landon: [Dodge runs towards Caesar] Let go!
Caesar: [grunts and releases the man and leans towards Rocket's cage]
Rocket: [he jumps up, he growls and jumps down]
Dodge Landon: I told you not to get too close man.

Maurice: [to Caesar in sign language] Why coockie Rocket?
Caesar: [to Maurice in sign language and breaking and bundling sticks] Ape alone... weak. Apes together strong.
Maurice: [to Caesar in sign language as they observe chimps beating each other and stop] Apes stupid.

Linda: Mr. Jacobs, it's Linda from Will's team. Something horrible has happened. Franklin is dead - from a viral infection.
Steven Jacobs: What the hell are you talking about?
Linda: He was exposed to the 113. It does something to people that it doesn't do to apes.

LINKS:
Official Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/apeswillrise
Official Site: http://www.apeswillrise.com/
Trailer:

Film Review: IRONCLAD (2011)

Writer (Story)/Director: Jonathan English
Writers (Screenplay): Jonathan English, Erick Kastel & Stephen McDool (1^st Screenplay)
Running time: 116 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 15

Genre: Action/Adventure
UK Release date: 4^th March 2011

Watched on Sky+ Sunday 29^th January 2012.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I remember hearing about this film before it came out and I have to admit I was intrigued. Of course it never showed at my local cinema and so I had the long wait until it appeared on TV, which, as you can probably guess, occurred recently. It’s an interesting film, based on fact, that is, at times, brutally violent but still kept me interested all the way through. I will give you my thoughts after this brief summary.

It’s Thirteenth Century England and King John has been forced by the nobility to sign the Magna Carta. This is a document that limits the power of the king and gives rights to the common people. According to the filmmakers, what he did next was to get the pope to give him the right to get back his power. To this end he hires an army from Denmark and goes about the land taking his revenge on those who had opposed him. Enter Albany, a man who believes in the rebellion and who wants to see that John is stopped. He gathers a small band of men, one of which is a Knights Templar, Marshal. They ride to Rochester Castle where they make their stand against John’s army. Archbishop Langton has sent word to the French and Albany hopes they will arrive before the castle falls. I will leave it there or the Spoiler Police (Historically Inaccurate Films Division) will have me hung, drawn and quartered at dawn.

A film that didn’t have a big budget, but I believe they did a good job with what they had. There are some terrific fight scenes and an awful lot of gore (definitely not one for the squeamish). As far as performance go, well James Purefoy did a decent job as the moody, brooding Marshal, Brian Cox was great (as ever) as Albany and Paul Giamatti seemed to have a great time chewing the scenery as King John. Honourable mentions must go to; Kate Mara as Isabel, Derek Jacobi as Cornhill, Charles Dance as Archbishop Langton, Jason Flemyng as Becket and Jamie Foreman as Coteral.

I liked this film a bit more than most, but there are things about it I wasn’t all that pleased with. The love story between Marshal and Isabel I found pointless and even so, it was dragged out far too long. Talking of length, the film is about 20 minutes too long IMO (and I saw a shorter version cut for TV). Other than that I thought it was a decent piece of work. Admittedly a little too gory in places for some, but it was entertaining enough and one I have no problem in recommending… Although I feel some will disagree.

My score: 6.9/10

IMDb Score: 6.2/10 (based on 11,518 votes at the time of going to press).
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1233301/

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Tomatometer’ Score: 44/100 (based on 55 reviews counted at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Audience’ Score: 39/100 (based on 8,288 user ratings counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ironclad/

If you’re crazy enough… You can find me on Facebook at:
http://facebook.com/andy.steel3

FAVOURITE QUOTES:
Albany: [Calls down to King John] You are no more a king than the boil on my arse!
[Turns to his friend]
Albany: What a tedious little man.

Marshall: Have you ever killed a man, squire? It is not a noble thing. Not even when it is for God!

Albany: We claim this castle in the name of the rebellion!

LINKS:
(Note: All were working at the time of going to press)
Official Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ironclad.film?ref=ts
Trailer:

Film Review: RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES (2011)

Director: Rupert Wyatt
Running time: 105 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 12A

Genre: Action/Drama/Sci-Fi
UK Release date: 11^th August 2011

Watched at the cinema Saturday 13^th August 2011.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

This must be some kind of record… It’s the third week in a row that my local cinema is showing something I want to see! It is a very rare thing, and something that should be savoured… long may it continue. But I digress, we’re here to talk about Apes. It is seldom these days that I find myself so totally engrossed in a film that time doesn’t matter. This was one of those very rare occasions. I got so involved in the story that people going in and out of the theatre (as they do) didn’t even bother me. I loved every minute of it and have no problem in recommending it to everyone. Here’s a brief summary before I give you my thoughts.

Will Rodman is a scientist who is working on a cure for Alzheimer’s. He is very driven in his work because his father, Charles, suffers from the disease. It affects the brain and so Will’s work revolves around a gene therapy that can re-connect pathways in the brain. They test it out on Chimpanzees and one of them, Bright Eyes, shows exceptional promise. Just as Will and his boss, Steven Jacobs, are asking for funding, Bright Eyes goes crazy and has to be shot. Jacobs orders all the apes put down, but they find that Bright Eyes had a baby. Will takes him home and discovers that the effects of the drug have been passed on. They call the baby Caesar and, with the help of a primate expert, Caroline Aranha, he eventually grows big and strong. Will gives the drug to his father and, at first, it works but then the effects wear off. He discovers what was wrong and develops a stronger version of the drug. After an incident with a neighbour, Caesar is ordered to be put in a sanctuary, away from the public. It is here that he comes into his own and it is here, under the mistreatment of his handlers, John and Dodge Landon that sparks the beginnings of The Rise of the Planet of the Apes. I can’t say any more or the Spoiler Police will have me put in a cage next to Caesar.

The CGI in this film is truly stunning, although you know most of it is computer generated, it doesn’t detract from the enjoyment. As far as performances go, well, for me, the star was definitely Andy Serkis who did all the motion-capture work for Caesar, a really stunning performance. As far as the humans go, well, James Franco did a decent job as Will Rodman, as did Freida Pinto as Caroline Aranha, although I felt her character was never fully developed. John Lithgow was excellent as Charles Rodman and Brian Cox was suitably sleazy as John Landon. Tom Felton did a good job as the evil handler, Dodge Landon and David Oyelowo was Will’s boss, Steven Jacobs.

This is a film that will definitely be making my top ten come the end of the year. I loved every minute of it and I really hope any sequels that are made keep to the same standard. If I have one criticism, it’s that the human characters are not particularly well developed. I can forgive that to a large extent because it forces the audience to see things from Caesar’s perspective. This is certainly the best of the summer blockbusters so far this year and I can’t see anything coming up that will top it (I’m prepared to be proven wrong though). Without a doubt, this one comes very highly RECOMMENDED.

My score: 9.3/10

IMDb Score: 8.0/10 (16,160 votes when this review was written).
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1318514/

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 83/100 (199 reviews counted when this review was written).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/rise_of_the_planet_of_the_apes/

LINKS:
Official Site: http://www.apeswillrise.com/
Trailer: