Film Review: IF…. (1968)

Director: Lindsay Anderson
Writer: David Sherwin (Screenplay & Original Script “Crusaders”) and John Howlett (Original Script “Crusaders”)
Running time: 111 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 15

Genre: Drama
UK Release date: 19^th December 1968 (Premiere, London)

Watched on Sky+ Saturday 11^th February 2012.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

This film came up in an online conversation about the Japanese film ‘Battle Royalle’ as an example of an earlier film featuring violent schoolchildren. I really didn’t know what to expect when I started to watch it and it kept me guessing all the way through I’m afraid. It’s one of those 1960’s films that seems to be trying to be a little too intellectual for its own good. I will tell you more after this brief summary.

The plot surrounds the goings on at a boarding school in England, and in particular those goings on in College House. At the top of the tree are the faculty who rule the classrooms with and iron grip. Then there are the Whips, or as I prefer to see them, the Prefects; these guys rule the halls and the dormitories. Then there are the Senior Boys and finally the Juniors. Much of the film is taken up with the general life in the school, all the bickering, fights and general tension that goes on amongst a group of boys together. We then turn our attention to three seniors, Mick Travis, Johnny and Wallace. Travis is obsessed with war and this sparks the beginnings of a revolution at the school. I will stop there before I say too much, but I assure both you and the Spoiler Police that I have probably made it sound far more exciting than it is.

This is quite an odd film to watch; there are scenes in colour and then there are scenes in black and white. I tried to figure out the logic behind it but couldn’t see any… maybe they just ran out of colour film? All the performances were pretty good, in particular the older boys. And so I’ll give honourable mentions to; a very young looking Malcolm McDowell as Mick Travis, David Wood as Johnny, Richard Warwick as Wallace and Christine Noonan as The Girl. Also; Rupert Webster as Bobby Phillips, Robert Swann as Rountree, Hugh Thomas as Denson and Michael Cadman as Fortinbras.

Unfortunately, apart from a few scenes, including the crazy ending, I found this film quite dull. There seems to be no narrative that could be easily followed; you kind of pick up little pieces here and there. The cutting between colour and black and white also made no sense (to me). Over all, I found it quite disappointing but I feel it’s one of those you don’t ‘get’ until you’ve seen it a few times. Sadly I don’t feel inspired enough to give it another look right now. I guess it does have something to say, but I couldn’t see it… Not recommended.

My score: 5.6/10.

IMDb Score: 7.7/10 (based on 9,504 votes at the time of going to press).
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0063850/

Rotten Tomatoes: NO LISTING

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

FAVOURITE QUOTES:
Mick Travis: One man can change the world with a bullet in the right place.

[after lights-out]
Mick Travis: [whispering] Stephans. Whatever you're doing now... don't.

Mick Travis: There's only one thing you can do with a girl like this. Walk naked into the sea together as the sun sets. Make love once... Then die.

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

Film Review: EASY A (2010)

Directors: Will Gluck
Running time: 89 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 15

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

Watched on Sky+ Saturday 22^nd October 2011.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

As some of you may know, I’m not big on comedies. It may be because I have a peculiar sense of humour, but, for the most part, what Hollywood thinks is funny is usually antipodean to my opinion (bet you’re looking up what ‘antipodean’ means now). I’ll still keep trying them out form time to time though… you never know, there just might be someone out there in ‘La La land’ on the same wavelength as me! And so we come to ‘Easy A’; a teen comedy (not encouraging so far), all about a girl of (alleged) easy virtue (still not encouraging, but hey, I’ve come this far…). Well, despite many misgivings, I must say it wasn’t half as bad as I thought it might be (& that’s high praise from me!… for a comedy). Now, since I’ve been accused of giving too much away in my plot summaries, I will just give you the very briefest outline of what it’s about (you’ll probably get more from the trailer than I usually give away… but, (sigh), if I’m getting complaints I guess I’d better pare it down a tad or 12).

Olive Penderghast is at high school and she lies to her friend, Rhiannon, about sleeping with a boy (for reasons I won’t go into). As they do, rumours spread like wildfire, and before she knows it, Olive finds herself with an unwanted reputation. The question is… what is she going to do about it?... So there you go, the new and improved ‘outline’… Hope you liked it and I didn’t spoil the entire movie for you… If I did then you have my profound apologies.

I said earlier that I didn’t find this film too bad, well, I might even go so far as to say I actually enjoyed parts of it quite a bit! I thought Patricia Clarkson as Rosemary (Olive’s mother) and Stanley Tucci as Dill (her dad) provided a great comic foil for her character. Her favourite teacher, Mr Griffith, played by Thomas Haden Church, and his wife, played by Lisa Kudrow, also added another dimension to the piece. Of course, it was Emma Stone, as Olive, that held the whole thing together, and I thought she put in an excellent performance. Honourable mentions go to; Malcolm McDowell as Principal Gibbons, Penn Badgley as Woodchuck Todd, Amanda Bynes as Marianne, Dan Byrd as Brandon and Aly Michalka as Rhiannon.

A witty script with some great dialogue made a welcome change from many recent (so called) comedy efforts I’ve seen spewed out of ‘tinsel town’ in recent years. It also has a pretty good soundtrack with some tunes even I recognised! There is a minor problem with it though… The way Olive chooses to deal with her problem is dragged on a bit too long and after a while it gets a bit monotonous. Fortunately it picks up though and it got saved from a lower score by a rather cool ending (sorry… no clues). Over all, although not perfect, I found this a witty, pretty well written and entertaining comedy… Recommended.

My Score: 7.1/10.

IMDb Score: 7.1/10 (based on 61,651 votes at the time of going to press).
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1282140/

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 86/100 (based on 174 reviews counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/easy-a/

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

FAVOURITE QUOTES:
[first lines]
Olive Penderghast: The rumours of my promiscuity have been greatly exaggerated.

Woodchuck Todd: Screw all these people, Olive!
Olive Penderghast: Haven't you heard? I already did.

Rosemary: Not to mention how have you been dressing this past few day. No judgement, but you kind of look like striper
Olive Penderghast: Mom!
Dill: [to Olive] A high-end stripper, for governors or athletes.

LINKS:
Official Site: http://www.sonypictures.com/homevideo/easya/
Trailer:

Film Review: BOLT (2008)

Directors: Byron Howard and Chris Williams
Running time: 96 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): PG

UK release date: 6th February 2009

Watched on Sky+ Monday 30th August 2010.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I wasn’t sure I would like this one when I saw it on the TV schedule. I seem to remember it not doing all that well at the box-office when it was released. I shouldn’t have worried; it has all the best bits that go into a Disney animation plus a heart-warming story to boot! But more of that later, here’s a bit about the plot first.

Bolt is a dog, not just an ordinary dog, he’s a dog with superpowers! Penny, his human, and her father put him in a device that enabled him to run like the wind, be as stronger than a speeding truck, jump further than anyone, gave him laser vision and a super-bark that will destroy anything in its path. Each day, he saves Penny and they go back to the safety of his trailer, but one day she is taken by the evil Dr. Calico and Bolt is left alone in the trailer. Determined to find Penny he escapes into the real world, a world where his powers no longer work. He finds a cat, Mittens who, he believes, knows the whereabouts of Dr. Calico’s lair. She eventually tells him it is in Hollywood, a long way from their current location, New York. And so, taking Mittens with him as insurance, Bolt begins a journey that will change his life. On the way they bump into his number-one fan, a hamster called Rhino. But that’s all I’m going to say about the plot, don’t want to give too much away now.

A really well animated film, in the Pixar style as I like to call it. Some great gags and some really engaging characters combine to make this an enjoyable experience. Good performances all round, so honourable mentions go to; John Travolta as Bolt, Smiley Virus (ok, Miley Cyrus) as Penny, Susie Essman as Mittens, Mark Walton as Rhino and Malcolm McDowell as Dr. Calico.

Over all a really enjoyable movie with some great characters and some really good sight gags and one-liners. I wasn’t so sure about the music but then I’m not a big country music fan. It was also nice to see dog and a cat getting on together in a Disney film for a change! It does happen in real life you know! (ok, minor rant over). So, enjoyable, engaging, heart-warming, funny, exciting and recommended.

My score: 7.7/10

LINKS:
IMDb Site: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0397892/
Official Site: http://disneydvd.disney.go.com/bolt.html
Trailer: http://uk.imdb.com/rg/VIDEO_PLAY/LINK/video/imdb/vi3253338393/