Film Review: THE RAVEN (2012)

Director: James McTeigue
Writers: Ben Livingston, Hannah Shakespeare
Running time: 107 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 15

Genre: Mystery/Thriller
UK Release date: 9^th March 2012

Watched on Sky+ Monday 18^th March 2013.

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

To be honest, I can’t remember how this one ended up on my ‘To See’ list, but it is definitely there. I guess I must have been intrigued by the premise of it all. Sadly it doesn’t quite live up to expectations, but it does have a few good points amongst all the bad stuff on show. Here’s a very brief summary before I tell you just what I’m talking about.

The opening title card states “On October 7, 1849, Edgar Allan Poe was found, near death, on a park bench in Baltimore, Maryland. The last days of his life remain a mystery.” And this film gives an account of one of the many possible scenarios’ that lead to him sitting there. A series of murders based on Poe’s work have been committed and Edgar Allan Poe (John Cusack) himself is brought in to assist Detective Fields (Luke Evans) in his investigation. The gruesome murders are used initially to get Poe’s attention but then his fiancée, Emily Hamilton (Alice Eve) is kidnapped and things take a much more sinister turn. The following set of murders give clues to where Emily might be hidden… But can they unravel them in time? I think I’ll leave it there; don’t want to give the game away now.

On the plus side, it’s a pretty well made film with all the technical stuff, costumes and sets done very well. On the downside, the dialogue is terrible with everyone trying to sound like they’re straight from a Poe story or poem; it really didn’t work for me I’m afraid. This did have one positive side effect though; it gave John Cusack the opportunity to do some excellent scenery chewing over-acting; which I found quite funny in places. Sadly it’s a film that promised much but failed to deliver. I found I had no connection with any of the characters. I have not read much Poe and so I didn’t get many of the many nods to his work. Over all; quite disappointing.

SteelMonster’s verdict: NOT RECOMMENDED

My score: 5.3/10.

IMDb Score: 6.3/10 (based on 41,775 votes when this review was written).
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1486192/

MetaScore: 44/100: (Based on 30 critic reviews provided by Metacritic.com at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Tomatometer’ Score: 23/100 (based on 128 reviews counted at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Audience’ Score: 47/100 (based on 98,688 user ratings counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_raven_2012/

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

FAVOURITE QUOTES:
[first title card]
Title Card: On October 7, 1849, Edgar Allan Poe was found, near death, on a park bench in Baltimore, Maryland. The last days of his life remain a mystery.

Edgar Allan Poe: What's going on?
Detective Fields: I'm Detective Fields. Please, sit down, Mr. Poe.
Edgar Allan Poe: Yes. The infamous Detective Fields. Am I under arrest?
Detective Fields: No... not just yet.
Edgar Allan Poe: Then I'd rather stand! It makes it easier to leave!

Maddux: I believe that God gave him a spark of genius and quenched it in misery. But as far as something like this... The only thing he's ever killed is a bottle of brandy.

Edgar Allan Poe: Her innocence was the first part of her soul to die.

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

Film Review: IMMORTALS (2011)

Director: Tarsem Singh
Writers: Charley Parlapanides & Vlas Parlapanides
Running time: 110 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 15

Genre: Action/Drama/Fantasy
UK Release date: 11^th November 2011

Watched on Sky+ Sunday 11^th November 2012.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

The poster proudly boasts “From the makers of 300”; now I quite liked ‘300’ and so I thought I’d give this one a go. Made in the same style with a comic-book look and feel to the visuals it does very much grab you, in the visual sense at least. The trouble with a lot of Greek legends is that there’s an awful lot of back-story to get through before you can relax and enjoy the film. This is no exception; quite a lot of time is taken up with explaining just who is who and who’s a god and why this king wants that etc… It all can be a bit of a hard lump to swallow at the beginning of the film but once you’re past that it’s pretty straightforward stuff.

I must say I did enjoy the visual style of this one, with a large amount of CGI work that is all very well done, it’s a treat for the eye… if a little dark (in the visual sense). The plot is pretty complicated but here’s a very brief (spoiler free – I hope) synopsis: The brutal King Hyperion (Mickey Rourke) wants the Epirus Bow, a mythical weapon that will enable him to release the Titans from their prison deep within the walls of Mount Tartaros. A young man, Theseus (Henry Cavill) has vowed vengeance on Hyperion after he murders his mother. A priestess, Phaedra (Freida Pinto) holds the key to the location of the bow but she manages to evade capture and escapes with Theseus. Add to this the gods, led by Zeus (Luke Evans) and a mysterious old man (John Hurt) who has been a friend to Theseus since birth and there, in a nut-shell, you have it.

The performances were all pretty good with Mickey Rourke standing out for me; he has such a great screen presence. A very violent film with plenty of claret on show, which will please all the splatter-fest fans. It’s all very well done but does rely heavily on the CGI to carry the story across. The question is, does the story have enough weight to come across through all the effects? Well, for me, it does… but only just.

SteelMonster’s verdict: RECOMMENDED (Just)

My score: 5.8/10

IMDb Score: 6.1/10 (based on 83,306 votes at the time of going to press).
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1253864/

MetaScore: 46/100: (Based on 23 critic reviews provided by Metacritic.com at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Tomatometer’ Score: 35/100 (based on 113 reviews counted at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Audience’ Score: 49/100 ‘Liked it’ (based on 59,712 user ratings counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/immortals_2011/

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

FAVOURITE QUOTES:
Theseus: Stand your ground! Fight for order! Fight for the man beside you! Fight for those who bore you! Fight for your children! Fight for your future! Fight for your name to survive! Fight! For immortality!

Zeus: It's not living as such that's important, Theseus. It's living rightly.

Stavros: Good to see you're still alive. Worried that cow had gotten the best of you.
Theseus: It almost did. She saved my life.
Stavros: Looks like she did more than that.
Phaedra: [Looks down embarrassed]
Theseus: Careful.
Stavros: Just 'cause you have that bow doesn't mean I'm going to treat you any differently.
Theseus: Good. We march to the monastery.
[Turns and starts walking away]
Theseus: We have a war to fight.

Stavros: Hyperion's legions are gathering at Tartarus. That's where Hellenists will fall.
Phaedra: That future's not set.
Stavros: But likely. It'll be a slaughter.
Phaedra: You have no faith.
Dareios: Heathens.
Stavros: That is true, Dareios. But not always. When I was just a boy, I prayed to the Gods, for a horse. The Gods never answered me. So I stole one, instead.
Dareios: We're surrounded by heathens.
[Falls dead with a knife in his back]

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