Number Eleven - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I

Harry Potter is back and in glorious 3D....oh wait....Harry Potter’s back! Now I love Harry Potter, LOVE it! Big fan of the books, (I waited in line for several hours for the last book release) so writing a review of the film I know I must try not to be too biased and look at this film from as neutral a stand point as possible, which for me will be tricky, but here goes.



I have really enjoyed the latter movie instalments of the Potter series and it is somewhat down to the fact that Warner Bros chose to keep the brilliant David Yates on directorial duty. I love his style, he is brilliantly leading Mr Potter down this ever darkening, ever twisted road towards the final battle. The cinematography is beautiful, and it feels like the series is able to finally stretch it legs, as the characters are out of their safety net that is Hogwarts. This film is more cinematic than the others, the three leads are constantly moving to new locations, showing its audience more amazing landscapes and wonderful sets and locations. This move away from Hogwarts also gives the film a bit more realism, you see the three teens out for themselves and they look nervous and vulnerable, there are no teachers to guide them, and dangers are constantly lurking around the corner. The performances are the best they’ve ever been, Emma Watson in particular stands out for me (she’s moved away from the threat of eyebrow acting), Daniel Radcliffe shows more emotion than before, and Rupert Grint is not (so much) just the comic relief.

Now, looking at this as a non-fan, this film may well seem slow in places, the decision to put the last book into two films means that most of the big action scenes won’t be shown until the second half is released in July. This installment is mainly build-up, so two and a half hours for sceptics may feel like a long time, although from a fan point of view less of the book has been cut out so fans can be delighted in seeing most of the book in the film. There are a couple of elements in the film which are not explained, mainly due to them not being included in past films, the character Mundungus Fletcher is a sudden introduction and Harry’s possession of a chard of mirror is not explained (it was given to him by his godfather Sirius Black in the fifth book, as a means of communicating without any magical, outside interference or detection, but Harry unfortunately doesn’t take notice of it until after Sirius’ death) which is a noticeable error for both fans and sceptics alike.

Personally, this is the best film in the series so far, the series has really grown (up) and together with director David Yates and the release of the characters into the world, the film has really bettered itself in pretty much everyway possible. One of the highlights of the film is a wonderful animated piece that tells the story of the deathly hallows, it is beautiful and engaging. There are a few scenes which reflect the character’s growing maturity, some sexual tensions and one (slightly disturbing ) scene featuring Harry and Hermione, as well as some scenes which may scare smaller children, one in particular featuring the spooky character of Bathilda Bagshot.

Being that the main criticism of the this film is that it is a bit slow, I absolutely cannot wait until the second half comes around, as I know what is install and I cannot wait to see all the action kick off onscreen. It will most probably be the better of the two halves, but this first half (especially for fans) is a brilliant edition to the franchise and really works well in the progression of the series. A brilliant set up for the epic finale....can’t wait!!

Number Ten - Bumper pack reviews

Oh my goodness it has been so long, I am the worst blogger in the world. My life these past few months has been on a constant up and down and kept me from partaking in my hobbies that give me my happiness when everything else in my life is not going so well. But now I have time to get back to my little escapisms and I can now give you more reviews, three in fact, as it's been so long I have made a big return effort...so here goes.

Wow, I almost forgot where I got to on my list, but I have remembered. Believe it or not, there is still no chance (so far) of me getting my hands, or megabytes, on number 98 on the list (Yankee Doodle Dandy), but I'm not giving up on it! (if anyone happens to know how I can get a copy I would really appreciate it). So I have no choice but to move on to number 97, Blade Runner.

The specific version I viewed was the 2007 Final Cut Special Edition, as I know there are various versions, but as the introduction from director Ridley Scott states, this is the best version (well as far as he's concerned, but that's good enough for me). I was quite looking forward to watching this film as I, for a film fan, was quite a late comer as far as seing this film for the first time was concerned, and it is a film with quite an infamous context surrounding it.

The film starts off fantastically, the opening shots of the futuristic cityscape, the flying vehichles, the lights and eerie dark colours of the sky, the slow, smooth camera movements...amazing. And what was even more amazing was when I realised that this film was made in 1982, holy cow! It still looks amazing, and, incredibly, not dated.
Most sci-fi films made in the 1980's, today, really look like they were made in the 1980's, Back to the Future Part II, for example ( I know it's partially set in the 80's but the part of the film in the future still looks like it has a lot of 80's influence). The sets, art direction and cinematography and so impressive, and some of the best I have ever seen in film. Throughout the whole film I was stunned at the urban, dystopian beauty that was presented to me, very impressive. The story is kind of , well, basic?, maybe, Harrison Ford, must try to track down illegal robots posing as humans on Earth, that's it in a nutshell, but the way the film is executed, there is a feeling of tension throughout the whole film, the acting is incredible, and kudos goes to Rutger Hauer, playing the main villain of the piece. His cool, slightly psychotic and creepy playfulness in his role sent shivers down my spine. This man was born to play the part, it fit him so well. His movements, his sinister smile and just his very presence were so powerful, he commands your attention. The other actors in the film are brilliant in their roles, of course Mr Harrison Ford is well suited to the role of reluctant hero, and Daryl Hannah gives off a great eerie naivety.

I really was impressed by this film, and in my opinion Ridley Scott is at his best when he is tackling the sci-fi/fantasy film genres, for example Alien (1979) and Legend (1985). I don't think that Gladiator (2000) counts in these particular genres, but it is probably the only other Ridley Scott film that I have really taken note off, as it shares the same characteristics as his earleir sci-fi/fantasy films, thay are visaully innovative and stunning, and I long for the day that Mr Scott returns to these genres and blows me away again.

As for Blade Runner, I'm sure most other film fans have already seen it, but if you haven't you must because it is definately a benchamrks as far as sci-fi films are concerned and should be on everyones 'must watch before I die' lists.

Next up is number 96 on the list, Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing (1989). This film is set on a street in Brooklyn on the hottest day of the year. It's inhabitants are mainly African American, except for a pizzeria which is owned by Italians. Mookie, played by Spike Lee himself, plays the pizza boy, and as he goes about his day, events start to unfold around him, tensions start to rise and race is increasing the centre of many burning issues. Soon enough these tensions start to boil over and things get way out of hand.

I ahve to admit this, about half an hour in I was getting bored, I was interested in this depiction of life in Brooklyn which was so incredibly different to mine, but that was also part of the reason I found it so hard to get into at first, I found it hard to connect, but of course I stuck with it. After watching it  I realise that it was right for the story to be a bit slow at first, it shows how everyone in the film conncects to one another and how the ending comes about in the way that it does, and what an ending it is! I won't spoil it for any who have not seen it, but I was shocked, it was scary to see how quickly the racial tension escalated to such a catastrophic ending, but the scary part is that the drama is very believable.

This film really has you thinking about how judgemental people of all colours and creeds can be, and how much harm these perceptions of people different than you can be. I like the fact that day unfolds during the hottest time of year, a reflection on the situation that the people of the street are experiencing, rising tensions. This is almost counteracted by the radio DJ Señor Love Daddy, played by Samuel L. Jackson, who has regular intervals in the film, sending out messages of love, and messages related to (peaceful) black equality.
This film really makes you think, the people who are victims are also the catalysts of violence, and vice versa, your notions of who is good and who is bad are left challenged. I think this is film that everyone needs to see, as it still has a relevant message today, and can be relevant to a lot of people and situations.

"Violence as a way of achieving racial justice is both impractical and immoral. It is impractical because it is a descending spiral ending in destruction for all. The old law of an eye for an eye leaves everybody blind. It is immoral because it seeks to humiliate the opponent rather than win his understanding; it seeks to annihilate rather than to convert. Violence is immoral because it thrives on hatred rather than love. It destroys a community and makes brotherhood impossible. It leaves society in monologue rather than dialogue. Violence ends by defeating itself. It creates bitterness in the survivors and brutality in the destroyers."

- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The last review that I am doing for this post is at number 95. It's 1971's The Last Picture Show. When I heard the film was set in the 1950s and about teenagers graduating from high school in a small, middle-of-nowhere town in Texas, I thought, whoopee! Ok, actually, I was not really looking forward to it. I was sitting on my sofa waiting for the film to start and dreading this drama I was about to witness.

I have seen the film now...
It was not what I was expecting.
It starts off fairly standard for a drama, not a lot happening, but then all of a sudden all this weird...ness starts unfolding. Little did I know that this film is really about teenagers going through their sexual experiences in this claustrophically small town. I'm guessing these teens adventures happen because, as the title suggests, the last hope of entertainment for the town, the local cinema is closing down, reflecting the end of an area our main characters are having to face, graduating from high school and moving on.

I was a bit taken aback by how much nudity was in the film, and what some characters get up to, for example, one boy's friends pay for a prostitute for the boy to loose his virginity, bt, he can't "Get it in" so she puches him on the nose! Was not expecting that. However, though there are many late night car shenanigans, and nudity clubs happening, the whole thing is tastefully done, and doesn't feel too sleazy. The acting is good (supporting male and female won oscars), a young Jeff Bridges has an impressive turn in the film, as well as a suprisingly good start for Cybill Shephard, who had only modelled up until this film. The story is engaging if a little odd for what it first presents itself to be, so overall, it is worth a watch. Having said that it was a little bit too strange for what I was expecting so I'm glad I watched it but I probably won't be buying the DVD.

Number Nine - Oops, Remember Me and [REC] 2 review

Hello.
I'm sorry it's been so long but I have had things happening that I had to sort out or get stuck into and this blog took the backseat for a few months but I am back now baby, and this time it is for good. I will be returning to my 100 AFI films asap, I think the next one is to be Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing, which was a bit of a slow burner but eventually packed a big emotional punch...oh I'll get onto that next time.

As I said I have been away for a bit, a lot of stuff has hapened for and around me but now I shall be returning to my film review blog, and I will be trying my hardest to actually write a blog a week at least. In the meantime here's a review of current film of the moment [REC] 2....

I used to be the type of person who just didn’t do horror films. I was squeamish and petrified with fear at the thought of watching them. I glimpsed a bit of the original Nightmare on Elm Street when I was young and couldn’t sleep without a crucifix near the bed for quite some time. Then I did something both brave and foolish, I watched the 1974 Texas Chainsaw Massacre, by myself at night, in my mid teens. It freaked me out so much I had to watch Austin Powers afterwards as some comic relief, but, since then, my horror film capability has changed. Now, I have watched many a horror film and thought “That was a bit cheesy”, “That is what they’re afraid of?” and (in a sarcastic tone) “Wow. Didn’t see that coming!” Obviously there are a few exceptions to this rule, but I find that most of these exceptions tend to be filmic contributions from countries where English is not the first (or only) language. This leads me nicely to the film that I am reviewing, [REC] 2.
The sequel to the marvellously freaky, [REC] follows on directly after the events that have unfolded, but this time it’s men with guns and masks (cameras on their helmets and a recording camera!) that enter the building, not fully knowing what they are getting themselves into. Sure enough the whole grisly saga starts to unfold and we are barraged with first person shots of blood spatterings, people jumping out the darkness and night vision terrors.
At just eighty five minutes long, this film does what the predecessor did and hits you hard and fast (That’s what she said) with blood, violence and scares. It doesn’t dilly-dally and heads right into the action, where the film has you in a state of constant anticipation “what’s behind that door? Don’t open it!”, “Oh my god run!” etc. There is a bit more explanation in this film as to what has happened and why and also something of a twist to the tale, plus the reappearance of some faces from the first film. However, on the down side, if you have seen the first film, then the fact that you know what to expect may take away some of the tension, and it does suffer, just a tid-bit though, from inferior-sequel-itis.
I would still recommend this film as a decent modern horror film to watch. Even if you don’t scare that easy there a few good deaths in the mix, and it is different to the offerings our American cousins keep churning out (and in the case of [REC] making inferior English language copies of). Don’t let the fact that it is a Spanish film put you off, a slight up side to the fact you have to read subtitles keeps your eyes on the screen and therefore you cannot look away at the scary, gory parts.
Overall, if you haven’t seen the first film you could probably watch the second film and still be able to follow it, but I would recommend watching the first film before seeing this. This film is jumpy, with some genuine freaky scenes. It’s short, to the point and well acted by unknowns, at least in the UK, which makes it all the more scary as you don‘t know who will make it out alive, if anyone. Go see it, but take some friends too, just so you don’t get scared in the big dark screens.

Number Eight - From Paris with Love...?! If that's the right word

  Fear not, I have not forgotten my AFI mission but for now here's another contemporary film review for your amusement...



Gone is the slick darkened hair, the streamlined figure of a disco dancer, and the voice which sang many a ballad or rock 'n' roll melody. His visage may have greatly changed but there’s no doubt it’s still him. Yes, it’s John Travolta. And what’s more he’s taken a dramatic make-under for the leading role in his latest film From Paris With Love, continuing the re-invention trend he’s taken up alongside Hairspray. Can’t think what is making him take up these turns of direction…oh yeah  Wild Hogs, oh and Battlefield Earth, the films which undid all his good work in Pulp Fiction and Get Shorty. So, I went along to this movie to see how this role would work out for Mr Travolta on his rollercoaster ride of an acting career.
 In From Paris With Love we are invited along on a non-stop action-packed journey of chases, gun battles and blood spatterings as John Travolta and Johnathan Rhys Meyers…well I’m not completely sure, they mention something about terrorists. Yes, that’s right another film where terrorists are the villains in question and our (white, male, American) heroes are the only ones who can stop them. Everyone else, and I mean EVERYONE else is a bad guy/girl, or at least an arsehole.  We see them thwart (and insult) the French, Asians, women and Pakistani terrorists. Travolta leads the way with arrogant ease, towing along the ever-panicky Mr Meyers, into a whirlwind of chaos, in more ways than one.
Now, I thought this film looked like good fun, a meaner, more violent kind of Rush Hour, two mis-matched agents thrown together into a plot with moments of amazing fight choreography, flying rubble and wreckage, and occasional quick witted comebacks. Oh boy! I did not witness that here. It started of okay, if fairly formulaic, with Meyers doing a little of his double agent work, planting bugs, following suspects, sneaking around his girlfriend. Then we meet Travolta and, at first, he seems funny in a rebellious fashion and is fairly humorous. However, from the moment when these two take to the streets it starts rapidly going down hill.
As you may have guessed I did not like this film. For at least half the running time I wasn’t even sure what exactly these guys were setting out to do. The whole plot was a mish-mash, running along with hardly time to stop and explain from one boring, and somewhat predictable action piece to the  next. The witty comebacks were not that, but seemed recycled from many previous action stars. Travolta after only a short time was getting on my nerves with his cockiness and over-the-top acting, and Meyers was wooden with a dodgy accent. All this plus the fact that we never really see, or get explained in any way, who is really in charge of these two idiots.
I still cannot get over the fact that this film is directed by Pierre Morel, a Frenchman, when this film has racist tones to it! As the lawyer in South Park, who uses the “Chewbacca Defence” would say “That does not make sense.” This film is brainless, messy and predictable, so if that’s what you’re looking for then go ahead. However, if you want brilliant, and original, action, funny banter and ridiculous but brilliant narrative I highly recommend you watch Michael Davis’ Shoot ‘Em Up.

Number Four - Top Gun for Fun

Now this film, Top Gun, is not in the AFI list but I do list it as a film in the list of films that you have to see sometime in your lifetime. So I sat down with some popcorn (yes really) and took a look.
 

What a film! The navy. The fighter pilots. The aerial combatting. The macho nature. The male bonding and comradery. The gay subtext!! Jezz, it was all throughout the film. Especially in the first twenty minutes when it was full of lines like "I think I got a hard on." "Don't tease me." It was literally chocca block full of talk about "johnsons", "hard ons" and various other metaphors for male genitalia and sex. It also doesn't help the film the film trying to look macho by having the guys constantly dripping with sweat, spending half the time topless, or just standing around in their pants/towel and playing volleyball to the tune of "Playing With the Boys". PLUS the fact there's only, really, one female character, whose name is Charlie (Kerry McGillis) (could be easily played by a man) and that she's not really in it that much, and that the relationship with her and Maverick (Tom Cruise) seems to play second fiddle to the relationships playing out with the guys in the Navy.

Don't get me wrong there's nothing wrong with having homosexual tones in a film, I'm not a prude or anything, but I'm not completely sure that the filmmakers realisd they were making the film that way. It seems like they were aiming for macho buddy film, but instead played it up so much that they got the opposite. Well, that's my theory. And obviously, it's no suprise to anyone that the film has these tones, I just thought I'd give my view on it.

As for the other aspects of the film, well, actually I found it kind of hard to overlook the naff homo-erotic-ness of the whole thing, which actually made the film hilarious. I couldn't take it that seriously. And after a while when (Spoiler Alert) Goose dies and the film becomes more dramatic I actually found myself getting a bit bored. Maybe I don't get the film as it seems very directed towards men.

The acting is adequate but nothing amazing, Cruise delivers as usual, occasionally giving his trademark fist clenches. I do think this is a film that needs to be seen, but I don't really know how well it has stood the test of time. Some people I know love it, but they are a guys. So watch it, as at least you can have a good laugh, or, ladies, if you are so inclined, have a good goggle at a young, toned Mr Cruise. Also check out Hot Shots as well as it does a good mocking of the film, may even be better.

Number Seven - Michael Cerra doing what he does best...?

As I am probably not going to get Yankee Doodle Dandee here's some contemporary filler:

Youth in Revolt is a comedy about teenager Nick Twisp, played by michael Cerra, who is finding life is hard and getting him down. He lives with his mother, Jean Smart, who is more into her younger, layabout boyfriend, played excellently by Zach Galifianakis (of Hangover fame) than her son. Nick is struggling along in life and taking it on the chin, until one day he meets the girl of his dreams Sheenie, Portia Doubleday, who makes him realise he needs to change, he needs to toughen up, he needs Francois Dillinger!

I have to admit when I saw the trailer for this film it looked mildly amusing, but nothing special. Yet another film of Michael Cerra playing the same feminine-like nice guy. However the supporting cast swayed me into giving this film a go. And I'm glad I did. The parents and parental figures in this film are played so well that you can't help but yell "good for you" when Nick/Francois bite back. Twisp's mother and boyfriends (the second of which is played by the slightly scary Ray Liotta) are so wonderfully impatient, neglectful and selfish, they create, along with Sheenie, the perfect catalyst for Nick's rebellion. And speaking of Sheenie, she comes across as a confident and smart girl without being portrayed as a "bitch" which can always be a danger with confident female characters.

Of course, as was expected, Michael Cerra is once again playing the shy nice guy, but I was interested to see how his alter ego Francois would work out. There is maybe not enough of this darker side of Nick but what I did see I liked. The dress sense of Francois was strange, but I'm guessing it's supposed to be of European styling...? His appearance overall was amusing, most probably on purpose, his meagre moustache is genius, but there was definately a difference with the type of dialogue Francois was spitting out, which was pleasantly very funny. However, after saying that I still think that Michael Cerra was probably playing it safe by taking this role on, as a majority of the time he is still playing the nice guy, and it seems Cerra is testing the water with his alter-ego rather than plunging in and going for something totally different. Guess we'll have to wait till Edgar Wright's adaptation of Scott Pilgrim for that.

Overall, the film was better than I thought, not qiute sure if that was because I went in with low expectations or not. The cast as a whole are great! A small role from Steve Buscemi is very welcome in this film, he is a consistently good actor anyway, and Fred Willard turns out (yet another) hilarious performance as Nick's activist neighbour (look out for the scene where they eat mushrooms!). The film is not overly long and the humour is more grown-up than that of usual movies with teenage lead characters, think along the lines of Juno. I also liked the message that the film seems to be telling me, perhaps as a nice-guy (or girl) myself, that sometimes you have to stand up for yourself, sometimes you need to raise a little hell to get your point across, sometimes it's good to be bad.

Number Six - New Year and Lots More Films Still to Watch

Happy New 2010, and here's hoping it's gonna be better than the last. And judging by the films that are going to be released this year, it may be a better year at least for films.Some upcoming movies I'm most looking forward to are Alice in Wonderland directed by Tim Burton AND in 3D, Disney's fully hand drawn Princess and the Frog, Clash of the Titans, featuring Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Pete Posthlewaite, Sam Worthington and Gemma Arterton, and Iron Man 2 with Mickey Rourke and Scarlett Johansenn playing villains this time around. Wooo!!!

Unfortunaely due to a busy work schedule over Christmas, and getting jolly over the festive season, and still not being able to get my hands on the next film on the AFI list htere has been a prolonged absense of my reviews, but fear not, I am back and I am probably going to be be getting that film soon, if not I'll just have to skip it for now, which I don't want to do but this film is more elusive than trying to find the rare jaguar in a South American rain forest.

For now though I shall just give you a couple of brief reviews of films I saw over Christmas, starting with Avatar. Now I really admire James Cameron, he is incredibly ambitious and daring with his directing and he always pulls it off (see Terminator II, Alien, Titanic). Avatar is yet another benchmark film for cinematic technology set by this genius, and to really get the full blow this film needs to be seen in the format it was intended for, which is 3D. It is stunning. The world he has created is so well thought out and detailed, you get totally immersed. And the motion capture, WOW! It is mind boggling seeing these alien creatures talk and move so realistically. Having said all of that however, narratively the film is poor. The story that plays out is one we have seen many times before, it's cliched and predictable, with occassional sloppy dialogue. Sam Worthington is dull as the main character and film does seem to drag a bit once you've gotten used the the graphics of the film. I would still say watch this film as it is an experience you need to have but don't expect much of anything that's not related to the look of the film. Although Zoe Saldana and Sigourney Weaver did play their parts quite well. This film is like The Sun's Page Three girls, pretty but not much else to it.

Now Sherlock Holmes that was a good film. This had the intrigue and mystery of an episode of Johnathan Creek, you knew there was a logical explanation to the riddle but were buggared if you knew how the hell it could be pulled off. I was also pleasantly suprised by the cast, Robert Downey Jnr is always good, but I wasn't sure about how he was going to tackle the Britisih accent, but he pulled it off superbly. Jude Law who I usually see as mediocre really stood out for me in this film, in fact, this was probably his best role yet. He played Watson well without bumbling along or being too snooty, perfection. The two main charcters really gelled well which really helped the film. The supporting cast of Mark Strong and Rachel McAdams were also good and the film did not seem to long. At first I thought this an unusual film for Guy Ritchie to be at the helm of, but he presented it wondrously, with great comedy, action and drama, brava!
That's all for now but I shall return soon with one of the films on the AFI list and another possible review of film on current release.

Until then T.T.F.N.