Showing posts with label Zooey Deschanel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Zooey Deschanel. Show all posts

Sunday, 26 September 2010

Film Review: (500) DAYS OF SUMMER (2009)


Director: Marc Webb
Running time: 92 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 12

UK release date: 2nd September 2009

Watched on Sky+ Sunday 26th September 2009.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

Deep down I’m a bit of a romantic that’s been burned a time or several and so it was nice to find a film like this. It’s not you’re usual ‘boy meets girl – they fall in love and live happily ever after’ type of tale, no, it’s much more realistic than that… but with a large dose of quirkiness thrown in. I can’t say it’s my favourite romantic film, but it would probably make a top ten. But I digress, here’s a bit about the plot first.

Tom Hansen is working for a greetings card company when Summer Finn starts to work there. He is, of course, attracted to her but is afraid to make the first move. His friends, McKenzie and Paul, persuade him to talk to her at a karaoke night and one thing leads to another. She tells him that she does not want a boyfriend and he agrees to just keep it light. But as time passes, it’s clear that Tom is struggling not knowing where he is with her. He even asks advice from his street-wise little sister, Rachel. It seems the relationship is doomed when Summer leaves her job, and also Tom. He is heartbroken, but they are destined to meet again… more than once.

The story is told in a rather unusual way; we start near the end of the 500 days and then jump back to the beginning. This continues throughout the film which meant the audience has to keep watching or they could get easily lost. I found it a different and refreshing way to put the narrative on the screen. Decent performances all round, so honourable mentions go to; Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Tom Hansen, Zooey Deschanel as Summer Finn, Geoffrey Arend as McKenzie, Chloe Moretz as Rachel Hansen and Matthew Gray Gubler as Paul.

There are a lot of comparisons I can draw with other films; for instance, the character of Summer reminded me very much of Holly Golightly from Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961). There is a musical number performed in the street featuring Tom that could be from any musical you could name. At the end of the day I found it a very entertaining film, although Summer was a little irritating at times. But forgiving that, it’s pretty much recommended.

My score: 7.9/10

LINKS:
IMDb Site: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1022603/
Official Site: http://www.foxsearchlight.com/500daysofsummer/
Trailer: http://uk.imdb.com/rg/VIDEO_PLAY/LINK/video/imdb/vi2234581785/

Wednesday, 19 August 2009

Film Review: THE HAPPENING (2008)


Writer/Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Running time: 86 mins (approx)
Certificate (UK): 15

Watched on DVD Wednesday 19th August 2009.

PLEASE NOTE: POSSIBLE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I’ll admit to being a bit of a fan of some of M. Night Shyamalan’s work, in particular The Village (2004), Unbreakable (2000) and The Sixth Sense (1999). Unfortunately, I found ‘The Happening’ a bit of a disappointment. It’s almost like he’s trying a bit too hard to make a film in the style of Alfred Hitchcock. I may be wrong, but that’s the impression I get. The concept of the story is fine, it’s just the execution seems, for me, a bit lacking somehow.

Elliot Moore is a science teacher in Philadelphia who has to leave town suddenly when people begin to mysteriously kill themselves. With him is his wife, Alma, his friend and colleague, Julian and Julian’s daughter, Jess. They take a train heading out of the city only to be abandoned in a small town when the train operators lose contact with everyone. Julian decides to go back to Philadelphia to find his wife, leaving Jess with Elliot and Alma. The three hitch a ride with some locals, but have trouble finding a way out of the affected area because at every turn, it seems, there are bodies in the way. Can the find a way out and, more importantly, what’s causing everyone to kill themselves?

Quite a tense thriller, but as I said at the beginning, it seems somewhat lacking. Decent performances from Mark Wahlberg as Elliot, Zooey Deschanel as Alma and John Leguizamo as Julian. I thought the best performance came from the young actress Ashlyn Sanchez as Jess. There are a few gory scenes, but over all it’s a bit of a miss in my book. A good way to kill an hour and a half… if you have it to kill, but otherwise you may want to avoid this one. We can but hope M Night Shyamalan’s next effort is much better.

My score: 5/10

LINKS:
IMDb Site: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0949731/
Official Site: http://www.thehappeningmovie.com/