Film Review: LOOPER (2012)

Writer/Director: Rian Johnson
Running time: 119 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 15

Genre: Action/Sci-Fi/Drama
UK Release date: 28^th September 2012

Watched on Sky+ Sunday 23^rd June 2013.

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

I must admit I do like a decent science fiction movie; sadly, filmmakers seem to think that an action movie set in the future will suffice; sadly, for me, no. What I want is something that will make me think; I don’t want it all explained to me throughout; let me work some of it out for myself. And so we come to ‘Looper’. You’ll be glad to know it does tick many of the right boxes, although not quite all. Still, it does do many of the things I’d want from a science fiction movie. Here’s a very brief summary (the set-up really) before I give you my thoughts.

Set thirty years in the future where a group of men called ‘loopers’ exist to clean up for the mob 30 years further into the future. In that era, time travel has been invented and immediately banned but the crime bosses use it illegally to deal with people they want out of the way. They send them back where a looper will wait for them and kill them as soon as they appear. The body, which has the looper’s payment attached to it, is disposed of and so it goes on. When a looper is to be ‘retired’, his future self is sent back, he kills his future self and is allowed to live peacefully for the next thirty years with a fat bonus. That is, until he’s sent back to be killed by his younger self, hence closing the loop. With me so far? Well our story involves a looper, Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) who, when confronted with his future self, Old Joe (Bruce Willis), is thrown into a web of intrigue. Old Joe overpowers him and escapes. Young Joe has seen the consequences of not killing your older self; he has plans for his future and so sets of after him. When they finally meet, Old Joe tells him of a future boss called ‘The Rainmaker’, who has taken over and is closing all the loops. Old Joe had a wife and he wants that life back so he plans to kill the Rainmaker before he can grow up. He has a clue to his identity; he could be one of three children living in the area. Young Joe wants nothing to do with it, but you know that’s not the end of it.

A very well made film with many practical effects used instead of relying on CGI all the time; hats off to the filmmakers for taking that route. Performance-wise, everyone did a great job with Joseph Gordon-Lovett and Bruce Willis getting that majority of the screen time. I also liked Emily Blunt as Sara, Jeff Daniels as Abe and the young Pierce Gagnon as Cid. Although it did many things right I did feel it was a little unevenly paced in places. It seemed to get a little bogged down in the dialogue which slowed it down a little too much a couple of times. Other than that I found it quite enthralling and one I’d happily watch again sometime.

SteelMonster’s verdict: RECOMMENDED

My score: 7.6/10.

IMDb Score: 7.6/10 (based on 232,707 votes when this review was written).
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1276104/

MetaScore: 84/100: (Based on 44 critic reviews provided by Metacritic.com at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Tomatometer’ Score: 93/100 (based on 246 reviews counted at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Audience’ Score: 87/100 (based on 104,336 user ratings counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/looper/

If you’re crazy enough… You can find me on Facebook at:
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LINKS:
(Note: All were working at the time of going to press)
Official Site: http://www.loopermovie.com/
Trailer:

Film Review: MOONRISE KINGDOM (2012)

Director: Wes Anderson
Writers: Wes Anderson, Roman Coppola
Running time: 94 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 12

Genre: Comedy/Drama/Romance
UK Release date: 25^th May 2012

Watched on Sky+ Saturday 6^th April 2013.

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

This is another of those films that had a bit of a mixed reception on release; generally liked by the public but it had a bit of a mixed reception from the critics (here in the UK at least). I must admit it did put me in mind of a great British film; ‘Son of Rambow’; worth checking out if you haven’t seen it. I have to admit I did enjoy this one, it’s very quirky without being all ‘quirk’ & no story (those that have seen it will know what I mean). Here’s a very brief summary before I give you my thoughts.

It’s 1965 and when young Boy Scout Sam (Jared Gilman) decides to leave camp, Scout Master Ward (Edward Norton) immediately calls in the local police, Captain Sharp (Bruce Willis). They begin to search the island they are on and it soon transpires that young Suzy Bishop (Kara Hayward) is also missing. Her parents, Walt (Bill Murray) and Laura (Frances McDormand) discover that the pair have been writing to each other for about a year. It was all planned to the finest detail. Both children have had difficult upbringings, Sam because his parents had died and he had been brought up in foster care and Suzy because one of her parents was having an affair. It seems these misfits belong together but their about to be discovered… Don’t worry; there’s more to come. Social Services (Tilda Swinton) are about to get involved and Sam’s fellow Scouts also have plans for the pair. Add to this an approaching storm and it’s about to get very interesting.

I love the look and feel of this film; yes, it’s got a lot of quirkiness, but that’s not allowed to overrun the narrative too much. The soundtrack also adds to the enjoyment in a way; it becomes part of the world these people inhabit. The very black and white sensibilities of children are explored here; everything it taken as a matter of fact and accepted without question. I found it quite refreshing in a way; it made a nice change from the brainless comedies I’m usually subjected to. All the performances were excellent with my top awards going to the two youngsters; Kara Hayward and Jared Gilman. Well worth a look if you haven’t seen it and (probably) well worth a re-watch if you have!

SteelMonster’s verdict: RECOMMENDED

My score: 8.2/10.

IMDb Score: 7.9/10 (based on 106,963 votes when this review was written).
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1748122/

MetaScore: 84/100: (Based on 43 critic reviews provided by Metacritic.com at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Tomatometer’ Score: 94/100 (based on 217 reviews counted at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Audience’ Score: 87/100 (based on 104,991 user ratings counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/moonrise_kingdom/

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

FAVOURITE QUOTES:
Scout Master Ward: Jiminy cricket, he flew the coop!

Walt Bishop: Holy Christ, what am I looking at here?
Laura Bishop: He does watercolours. Mostly landscapes but a few nudes.
Walt Bishop: Did she sit for this?

Laura Bishop: We women are emotional.
Suzy: I hate you.
Laura Bishop: Don't say “hate”.
Suzy: Why not? I mean it.
Laura Bishop: You think you mean it, in this moment. You're trying to hurt me.
Suzy: Exactly.

Sam: Listen to some reason. I don't like you. You don't like me. So, why don't you just let us disappear?
Redford: Well, it's tempting, but we can't allow it.

LINKS:
(Note: All were working at the time of going to press)
Official Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MoonriseKingdom
Official Site: http://www.moonrisekingdom.com/
Trailer:

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: OVER THE HEDGE (2006)

Directors: Tim Johnson, Karey Kirkpatrick
Writers (screenplay): Len Blum, Lorne Cameron, David Hoselton, Karey Kirkpatrick
Writers (comic strip characters): Michael Fry, T. Lewis
Writer (additional dialogue): Chris Poche
Running time: 83 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): U

Genre: Animation/Adventure/Comedy
UK Release date: 30^th June 2006

Watched on Sky+ Tuesday 8^th May 2012.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I first saw this film a few years ago and I remember I quite liked it on first viewing. With is popping up in the TV schedules again recently I thought I’d give it another look to see if it was as Good as I remembered. Unfortunately it hasn’t kept its sparkle from that first viewing, maybe I’ve seen too many better films in between. Having said that there are still a few redeeming features which I’ll tell you about after this brief summary.

Its spring and the animals are waking up all across the forest. Amongst them is Vincent, an evil bear who wakes to find his stash of food being stolen by a street-wise racoon called RJ. An accident leaves the stash destroyed and RJ with an ultimatum; either replace it within a week or be killed. He looks around the area and finds a new suburban estate has been built over the winter. A small patch of the forest remains and here lives a small group of animals; a turtle, Verne, a squirrel, Hammy, A Skunk, Stella, an opossum, Ozzie and his daughter, Heather, and a family of Porcupines, Penny, Lou and their three kids. Can RJ show these woodland creatures the ways of modern life and get them to gather the food he needs in time? Well, there’s a little more to it than that, but I’ll leave it here or the Spoiler Police will be exterminating me (again).

A well made film which is what we’ve come to expect from DreamWorks over the years. One thing that let it down (for me) though was the look chosen for the character RJ… He didn’t look much like a racoon; in fact he looked like a really annoying kid I once knew who I just wanted to punch every time I saw him. All the performances were pretty good, although I must admit I did particularly enjoy the voice talents of William Shatner as Ozzie. Honourable mentions also go to the voice talents of; Bruce Willis as RJ, Garry Shandling as Verne, Steve Carell as Hammy, Wanda Sykes as Stella, Nick Nolte as Vincent, Allison Janney as Gladys and Avril Lavigne as Heather.

There were some decent jokes but I couldn’t help but feel it wasn’t all that original. There were a lot of writers involved in this project and I’m sorry to say it shows. By the end it looked very much like they were running out of ideas. It’s not all bad though, the film does move along a quite a nice pace although it does get a little baggy in the middle. There are some fun characters and even some funny gags here and there… also the traditional ‘homage’s’ to classic films that filmmakers always seem to put in these days. Over all, not great but worth a look.

My score: 5.9/10

IMDb Score: 6.9/10 (based on 60,051 votes at the time of going to press).
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0327084/

MetaScore: 67: (Based on 31 critic reviews provided by Metacritic.com at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Tomatometer’ Score: 74/100 (based on 163 reviews counted at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Audience’ Score: 73/100 (based on 507,343 user ratings counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/over_the_hedge/

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

FAVOURITE QUOTES:
Ozzie: O great and powerful Steve! What do you want?
Verne: I-I don't think it can speak.
Debbie: [From other side of hedge] I heard that, young man!
[Others are shocked; Ozzie plays dead]
Debbie: You get over here right now!
Hammy the Squirrel: Okay.
Verne: Hammy, get back here.
Hammy the Squirrel: But Steve is angry.
Verne: I think it came from the other side of Steve - I mean, the bush. I mean... Geez!

Ozzie: Mother, is that you? Beckoning me into the light? Must... move... toward... the light!

Gladys: [after installing a lot of traps] What about this one, this Depelter Turbo?
Dwayne: That's a contraband item, ma'am, as it is illegal in every state,
[with his hand over his heart]
Dwayne: except Texas.
Gladys: I don't care if this violates the Geneva Conventions, I want it.
Dwayne: I thought you might, so I took the liberty of installing it for you.
[as he tosses a stuffed bear in it]
Dwayne: Adios, animal infenstation.
RJ: [it traps it] AHHHHH!
Gladys: [we see it in a cage, with outside burned off] Ohhh, very nice.

Hammy the Squirrel: [Slipping on kitchen floor] No grip! No grip! No grip!...
RJ: Hammy, less claw, more pad.
Hammy the Squirrel: Oh, okay.
[Hammy zips across the room, crashes into wall]
Hammy the Squirrel: That hurt.

LINKS:
(Note: All were working at the time of going to press)
Trailer:

Film Review: COP OUT (2010)

Director: Kevin Smith
Running time: 107 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 15

Genre: Comedy/Action/Crime
UK Release date: 16^th April 2010

Watched on Sky+ Friday 27^th May 2011.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I should say from the start that I’m not a great fan of film comedies, for the most part they just don’t work for me. People say to me, “What about the part where…”, or “What about that that guy who…”, yes, all well and good, but invariably, you can see all those parts in the trailer! I’d rather they made a 30 minute short, or a TV show than make me sit through 90 minutes (or more) of pointless filler just to get to a punch line most people worked out before they even got into their seat! Ok, rant over, I’ll get on with the business in hand, Cop Out.

When it first came out this film got quite a slating by the critics and so with much hope that maybe they didn’t get it and I just might, I sat down with a little anticipation in my heart (or was it indigestion?) Well, it didn’t take long before the critics proved themselves worthy of the title. It sucked. Not only did it suck, but it sucked even more… got a little better and then sucked again at the end. I won’t even bother doing a synopsis of the plot, I’m that disappointed with it.

Of the cast, Bruce Willis did his best with some very mediocre material as Jimmy Monroe. It certainly wasn’t up to ‘Moolighting’ standards as far as dialogue goes. Tracy Morgan was just annoying, loud, crass, but mostly annoying as Paul Hodges. Ana de la Reguera didn’t have much to say, but looked nice as the damsel in distress, Gabriela. Finally, Guillermo Díaz did a pretty good job as the comedy Mexican bad guy, Poh Boy.

There are many things to dislike about this film, but on the plus side, the soundtrack was alright. It was quite well produced but the script was diabolical (IMO). I don’t know what’s happened to Kevin Smith, he used to make some pretty good (and funny) films, but this was a dud with a capital ‘D’! Definitely NOT recommended.

My Score: 3.4/10

LINKS:
(RT = Rotten Tomatoes)
IMDb Page: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1385867/
RT Page: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/cop_out/
Official Site: http://copoutmovie.warnerbros.com/dvd/
Trailer:

Film Review: 16 BLOCKS (2006)

Director: Richard Donner
Running time: 98 mins (approx)
Certificate (UK): 12

UK Release Date: 28th April 2006

Watched on DVD Monday 7th June 2010.

PLEASE NOTE: POSSIBLE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I had not heard much about this film before I watched it. It had been lurking in my DVD collection for some time before I decided it was time it got an airing. I got it on a whim, you know, ‘it’s got Bruce Willis in it so it can’t be that bad’, kind of thing. And now I’ve watched it it’s turned out to be a pretty good purchase. But I digress, here’s a little about the plot before I tell you what I thought of it.

Detective Jack Mosley is a broken down cop, he drinks and does as little as possible to get through each day. He’s just finished a night shift when his Lieutenant persuades him to do one last job, get a felon from the precinct to the Courthouse. 16 blocks in two hours. Little does Jack know that this little job will uncover things certain people would rather kept quiet. The criminal is a young guy called Eddie Bunker who’s wanted to testify before a Grand Jury. It’s only when someone tries to kill him en route to the Courthouse that Jack discovers exactly what he knows. It seems Eddie has evidence of a senior officer taking bribes and a lot of other cops involved in the scheme are out to silence the witness. As you can imagine this makes things really tough for Jack. I think that’s enough about the plot, don’t want to give too much away.

I found this a very thought provoking whist at the same time a very entertaining film. Well made with the streets of New York looking great as they always do. Great performances from the entire cast, in particular I liked the performance of Bruce Willis as Det. Jack Mosley. I thought Mos Def was really engaging as Eddie Bunker, although I did find his accent a little hard to follow at times. Also, David Morse stood out as the Mosley’s ex-partner who is leading the pursuit and plays a really unpleasant bad guy.

This is a film about redemption. The Jack Mosley character has given up because he has no purpose in life. During the film he finds a purpose and in the end does the right thing. It’s one of the best performances I’ve seen from Bruce Willis in years, very understated and very poignant. Over all, as I’ve already said, I found the film both thought provoking and entertaining and as such I can also recommend it.

My score: 7.6/10

LINKS:
IMDb Site: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0450232/
Official Site: http://www2.warnerbros.com/16blocks/index.html
Trailer/Featurette: http://uk.imdb.com/rg/VIDEO_PLAY/LINK/video/screenplay/vi3182625049/

Film Review: SURROGATES (2009)

Director: Jonathan Mostow
Running time: 88 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 12A

Watched at the cinema Saturday 26th September 2009.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

This film was based on a graphic novel, which I must point out I haven’t read, so no comparisons here, just a film review. Set in a future where people live their lives through robotic ‘Surrogates’. The people stay at home and control their ‘Surrogates’ from there with no pain and with certain augmentations, you can be anyone you like. Some people are against the use of ‘Surrogates’ and choose to live in human-only enclaves lead by ‘The Prophet’, an outspoken opponent of these mechanical ‘monstrosities’. The creator of the ‘Surrogates, Canter has been removed from the company he created and has been living in exile ever since.

Tom Greer is a Boston detective, and like all cops, he uses a ‘Surrogate’ to perform his daily duties. One day he and his partner, Peters, are called to what seems a routine hit and run, only to find that two of the victims were murdered. The people controlling the ‘Surrogates’ were killed by some kind of electrical pulse fired from an unknown weapon. When it transpires that one of the victims was the son of Canter, the inventor of the ‘Surrogates’, the case moves up to a higher level. The perpetrator is identified and Greer chases him into the human-only enclave, where he escapes and Greer’s ‘Surrogate is destroyed. He has no choice but to leave his home and investigate the crime in person…

An interesting film, it reminds me a little of I, Robot in places, with its squeaky clean vision of the future, a far cry from Babylon A.D. which I recently reviewed. Having said that, it was a good production, with not too much reliance on CGI. I particularly liked the way they achieved the plastic look to the ‘Surrogates’, you knew when you were looking at one on screen. Great performances from Bruce Willis as Ton Greer, Radha Mitchell as Peters, Rosamund Pike as Maggie (Greer’s wife), Boris Kodjoe as Stone (Greer’s boss), James Francis Ginty as Canter’s ‘Surrogate’, James Cromwell as the real Canter and Ving Rhames as The Prophet. Over all, it was an exciting sci-fi thriller that I very much enjoyed, not a great intellectual piece, but entertaining none the less.

My score: 7/10

LINKS:
IMDb Site: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1235124/
Official Site: http://chooseyoursurrogate.com/