Film Review: RIO (2011)

Director: Carlos Saldanha
Writers (Story): Carlos Saldanha, Earl Richey Jones & Todd Jones
Writers (Screenplay): Don Rhymer, Joshua Sternin, Jeffrey Ventimilia & Sam Harper
Running time: 92 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): U

Genre: Animation/Adventure/Comedy
UK Release date: 8^th March 2011

Watched on Sky+ Friday 1^st June 2012.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

As a bit of a fan of animated films I felt I would be remiss if I left this one out and so I gave it a viewing this morning. Without doing anything extraordinary, it was entertaining enough but I did find it a little predictable I’m afraid. Having said that it did have a couple of good points which I will expand on after this very brief summary.

Blu is a rare blue macaw who was taken from the jungles of South America when he was still a chick. He is taken in by a young girl, Linda, having been transported thousands of miles to Minnesota (USA). The pair grows up together and are inseparable. Blu is very happy to be Linda’s pet and Linda cares for him very much. This all changes when a scientist from Brazil, Tulio, comes to Linda and asks her to bring Blu to Rio. The blue macaw is on the verge of extinction and they have found a female and want the pair of them to breed. After much heartache, Linda agrees to take Blu to Rio and this is where his adventures begin! There are good guys, bad guys, an evil cockatoo, a carnival, monkeys and even a drooling bulldog; but you don’t want to know all about that… It would be spoilers and them Spoiler Police (Rio Division) are cracking down hard these days.

A film clearly made for 3D (I saw it in 2D) and so the animation is very well done with pin sharp images. I can’t say the film was groundbreaking at all, but I guess the filmmakers were happy enough as I see a sequel is already in the pipeline. The performances were ok, although I did particularly like Jemaine Clement as the voice of the evil Nigel. Of the others, well, nobody really stood out; Jesse Eisenberg played the part he always plays as Blu and Anne Hathaway did a decent job as the feisty Jewel. Honourable mentions go to; Leslie Mann as Linda, Rodrigo Santoro as Tulio, Jamie Foxx as Nico, Will i Am as Pedro and Tracy Morgan as Liuz.

Although I found it a little formulaic and a tad too predictable I found I did engage with the characters eventually. To be honest, I found the human characters more interesting than the animals. The songs were not to my taste, but I will say they fitted the mood of the piece pretty well. I guess at the end of the day the film will be entertaining enough for the younger audience but I can’t see it being stuck in the DVD player too many times.

My score: 6.4/10

IMDb Score: 7.0/10 (based on 58,702 votes at the time of going to press).
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1436562/

MetaScore: 63/100: (Based on 29 critic reviews provided by Metacritic.com at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Tomatometer’ Score: 72/100 (based on 141 reviews counted at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Audience’ Score: 72/100 ‘Liked It’ (based on 73,872 user ratings counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/rio/

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

FAVOURITE QUOTES:
Blu: [as Tulio is making strange bird like noises in front of him] Linda! Little help here! Linda?
Linda: Wow! You're actually communicating!
Tulio: Yes! Yes! I introduced myself and shook my tail feathers counter clockwise, thus referring to his dominance.
Blu: [to himself] I did not get that at all.

Jewel: Aw, this is great. I'm chained to the only bird in the world who can't fly! Is there anything else I need to know?
Blu: Yes. I can't fly, I pick my beak, and once in a while I pee in the birdbath!

Jewel: Luiz is a bulldog?
Luiz: You got something against dogs?
Jewel: I do when they're drooling on me.
Luiz: It's a medical condition!

Pedro: Yippie-ki-yay, monkey-man!

Nigel: I don't care about your nicked knick-kacks. Your burgled baubles bore me.

Blu: This is the coolest place I've ever seen! You know, despite the obvious health code violations!
Rafael: Ha-ha! I like you, nothing you say makes any sense!

LINKS:
(Note: All were working at the time of going to press)
Official Site: http://www.rio-themovie.com/
Official Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/riothemovie?ref=ts
Official Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/RioMovie
Trailer:

Film Review: LAW ABIDING CITIZEN (2009)

Director: F. Gary Gray
Running time: 104 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 18

Genre: Thriller/Action/Drama
UK Release date: 27^th November 2009

Watched on DVD Friday 22^nd April 2011.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

The ending of this was slightly spoiled by overhearing the closing moments during one of many conversations about films in my local pub. Fortunately, the discussion didn’t involve exactly how this conclusion was reached and so the film wasn’t a total loss. An interesting film which raises several questions about justice, but one that also has its flaws. I’ll give you my thoughts after this brief summary (summary haters, and those that don’t wish to know about the plot, please prosecute that murderer, and do it right this time, while I write the next paragraph).

After seeing his wife and daughter murdered in front of him, Clyde Shelton is justifiably aggrieved at the justice system. One of the assailants, Clarence Darby, agrees to give evidence against his accomplice for a reduced sentence. Darby is the one responsible for the murders and Shelton believes he’s the one that should pay the heaviest price. When, subsequently, Darby is found brutally murdered, Shelton is arrested. The prosecutor, Nick Rice, stands by the original action against Darby, believing it was the only way he could have obtained a conviction. Shelton sees it differently and has his own brand of justice in mind, not just against the perpetrators of the crime against his family, but against the whole justice system. I’ll leave my summary here so as not to vex Shelton… or indeed the Spoiler Police.

Decent performances all round, although I feel nobody was really stretched. Gerard Butler was brooding as Clyde Shelton; Jamie Foxx was stylish and sometimes angry as Nick Rice. Nice to see Colm Meaney as Detective Dunnigan and Bruce McGill as the DA, Jonas Cantrell. An honourable mention also goes to Leslie Bibb as Sarah Lowell.

This film gave me a bit of a dilemma; I couldn’t decide quite who the good guy was. On one hand there’s Shelton whose life has been turned upside down and who you can easily sympathise with at the beginning of the film. The trouble is, when his retribution starts to go a little too far, you’re left with Rice to root for. The trouble with Rice is that it was his ambition to get one more easy conviction that caused all of what followed. I’m still on the fence with this one I’m afraid.

Technically, the film is well made with some great shots of Philadelphia and some nice action sequences. I liked the sound mix on the DVD, it’s nice when they bother to utilise all of the 5.1 Dolby speakers. Although the film isn’t great, it just has enough to keep the audience occupied (if only trying to figure out who the good guy is). I might watch it again, but it would have to be in a while, when I need reminding that Gerard Butler doesn’t just do really poor comedies… Not really recommended, but if you feel compelled, go for it.

My Score: 5.4/10

LINKS:
(RT = Rotten Tomatoes)
IMDb Page: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1197624/
RT Page: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/law_abiding_citizen/
Official Site: http://www.lawabidingcitizenfilm.com/
Trailer:

Film Review: THE SOLOIST (2009)

Director: Joe Wright
Running time: 117 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 12

UK release date: 25th September 2009

Watched on Sky+ Saturday 4th September 2010.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I heard quite a few things about this film before seeing it, not all of it was good. Now I’ve watched it I can see why. It’s based on a true story from a book written by journalist Steve Lopez who is portrayed in the film by Robert Downey Jr. He has a column on the L.A. Times where he writes about characters he meets on the streets.

Out cycling one day, journalist Steve Lopez comes off his bicycle and ends up in hospital. Whilst recovering from his injuries he hears a violin being played. He eventually finds a down-and-out man playing a two-string violin. They get talking and the man, Nathaniel Ayers, tells him he went to Julliard, which is at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City. Lopez checks up on Nathaniel’s story and discovers that he started there, but never graduated, his speciality was the cello. It is clear to Steve that Nathaniel is a schizophrenic, but he refuses to accept any help. After writing his first article, a reader sends Steve an old cello that she can no longer play due to rheumatism. Steve takes it to Nathaniel but tells him he cannot keep it on the street, instead he can play it at the LAMP homeless shelter. Allowing Nathaniel to play it one time in the street, Steve is really moved and realises just how good a musician he is and how much he loves to play. The film then goes on to tell us more about the backgrounds of both Nathaniel and Steve and how a friendship grows between them. How Nathaniel developed his love for music and how his schizophrenia affected his career. We also learn about the past relationship Steve had with his boss, Mary Weston. But I’ll end my short synopsis here, don’t want to give too much away.

As you can probably tell from my short synopsis not a lot really happens in this film, and that’s the problem with it. I found it very hard to gain any empathy for any of the characters and so, to me, it all felt a bit flat. The performances from both Jamie Foxx as Nathaniel Ayers and Robert Downey Jr. as Steve Lopez were fine, but the material just didn’t work. I should also give honourable mentions to; Catherine Keener as Mary Weston, Tom Hollander as Graham Claydon, Lisa Gay Hamilton as Jennifer Ayers and Nelsan Ellis as David Carter.

Over all this was quite a disappointment, I thought it would have been better than it was. The cinematography was fine, the performances were fine but it was all let down by a rather poorly put together script (IMO). So I’m afraid this was not a film for me and I can’t really recommend it to you.

My score: 5.3/10

LINKS:
IMDb Site: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0821642/
Official Site: http://www.soloistmovie.com/
Trailer: http://uk.imdb.com/rg/VIDEO_PLAY/LINK/video/imdb/vi3497984025/