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: SHOOTER (2007)

Director: Antoine Fuqua
Running time: 120 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 15

Genre: Thriller/Action/Drama
UK Release date: 13th April 2007

Watched on DVD Sunday 3rd July 2011.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

This film is based on a novel by Stephen Hunter caller “Point of Impact”. It charts the betrayal of a marine sniper and his efforts to clear his name. Originally set around the time of the Vietnam War, the film brings events up to date and into the 21st Century. There’s plenty of action and explosions, and even a damsel in distress, so it covers most of the bases. I’ll give you my thoughts after a brief summary.

Marine sniper, Bob Lee Swagger is on a mission in Africa when is spotter, and best friend, Donnie Fenn is killed. Left to die by his superiors, he eventually gets out and immediately resigns his commission. Three years later he’s living alone in the mountains with his dog when a Colonel Isaac Johnson comes to him with a proposal. There has been a threat on the President and they believe only a highly trained sniper could carry it out. They want Swagger to scout out possible locations and report back to them. They play on his patriotism and eventually he agrees. On the day the threat is due to become real; they insist he attends in order to advise them. Little does Swagger know, he is about to be set up. Injured, he escapes and, with the help of a couple of friends, he plots his revenge.

A very well made film with some nice action scenes, stunt work and CGI. A decent plot with plenty of twists and turns, not all of them too predictable, thankfully. Performance wise, I thought Mark Wahlberg did a decent job as Bob Lee Swagger, as did Michael Peña as FBI agent Nick Memphis. Of the bad guys, the pick of the bunch were, Danny Glover as Colonel Isaac Johnson and Ned Beatty as Senator Charles F. Meachum. Oh, and I should also mention the damsel in distress, Kate Mara as Sarah Fenn.

As revenge thrillers go, this is pretty run-of-the-mill stuff. There are no stand-out performances, outstanding dialogue or even radical plot-twists. One thing that did strike me though, was the total lack of humour, not even one wise-crack from a bad guy… quite disappointing. But having said all that, it does do what it says on the tin and I did find it quite entertaining. It’s never going to win any prizes, but still… Recommended.

My Score: 6.7/10

LINKS:
(RT = Rotten Tomatoes)
IMDb Page: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0822854/
RT Page: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/shooter/
Official Site: http://www.shootermovie.com/
Trailer:

Film Review: 127 HOURS (2010)

Co-Writer/Director: Danny Boyle
Running Time: 94 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 15

Genre: Drama
UK Release Date: 7th January 2011

Watched at the Cinema Saturday 2nd April 2010.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I know it’s April already and this film came out in the UK in January, but after a very long wait it has finally landed at my local cinema! Since I’ve waited such a long time to see it there was no way I was going to miss it! I even dragged a friend along who doesn’t often see this sort of thing. I’ll give you my thoughts after this very brief summary (summary haters, and those that don’t wish to know about the plot, please try to shift that rock while I write the next paragraph).

Aron Ralston is an adventurer, mountain climber, he’s most at home with almost all outdoor types of activities. He feels he doesn’t have to rely on anyone else and has cut himself off from his friends and family to concentrate on the things he likes to do. Little does he know, this is going to cost him dear in the very near future. He goes out canyoneering  alone near Moab, Utah but doesn’t take his mobile phone (or cell phone if you prefer) with him and doesn’t tell anyone where he’s going. There he meets two girls, Kristi and Megan and they have a bit of fun jumping into a pool below a crack in the rocks. Eventually they go their separate ways and Aron heads off alone again. Taking a route seldom used he causes a rock fall that leaves him trapped, pinned by the arm with a large boulder. He is there for 127 hours before he resorts to desperate measures to free himself. During this time he reflects on the mistakes he’s made in his life, making a video diary he thinks will be his legacy. I’ll leave it there so as not to upset the squeamish Spoiler Police.

I thought this was a very well made film with several devices used to keep the audience interested. Split screens, flashbacks, dream sequences all keep the thing moving along nicely. I have to say it’s an outstanding performance from James Franco as Aron Ralston, he really nailed it! Honourable mentions also go to Kate Mara as Kristi and Amber Tamblyn as Megan.

I love the visual style used by Danny Boyle in this one. It could have been a tough gritty drama like the 2003 Kevin Macdonald film Touching the Void, (also a very fine film by the way) but I found it was a lot more than that. It will make you cringe, it will make you laugh, and it will even make some of you cry, but I found it very engaging and very enthralling (even though I knew what the final outcome was)… Definitely recommended.

PS My friend thought it was good but a bit padded out with all that hallucinating & stuff (His words, not mine).

My Score: 8.6/10

LINKS:
(RT = Rotten Tomatoes)
IMDb Page: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1542344/
RT Page: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/127_hours/
Official Site: http://www.foxsearchlight.com/127hours/
Trailer: http://uk.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi768149785/