Tag Archives: oscars

See it in 3D – The Hobbit

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The Hobbit - An Unexpected Journey - Official Poster - from IMDB.com

The Hobbit – An Unexpected Journey – Official Poster – from IMDB.com

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)

Director: Peter Jackson
Writers: Fran Walsh (screenplay), Phillipa Boyens (screenplay), Peter Jackson (screenplay), Guillermo del Toro (screenplay), JRR Tolkien (story)
Stars: Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, Andy Serkis.

When the Lord of The Rings films first came out ten years ago they really blew me away as the first epic adventure film that I had seen on the big screen. I still remember sitting through them, watching Legolas swing around that horse and climb up the oliphaunt and shot an arrow through its head. It was an adventure story and wondrous to behold on the big screen. However, in the opening scenes of The Hobbit my jaw dropped as the landscape and action came alive on the screen. Seeing this film in 3D is essential. Mainly because the story is padded out so much that there are moments when you can sit back and enjoy the visuals. Don’t get me wrong, sure the story of the Hobbit is great, but three films is a little excessive.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey gives the back story to Bilbo Baggins. It is Bilbo’s story, but Jackson and his co-creators decided that they needed to give it context within the Lord of The Rings films, this is so very unnecessary even though I love seeing Elijah Wood as Frodo again. The story of Bilbo is exciting and adventurous in the book, and Jackson has brought it to life visually, but instead of making it fast paced and exciting like we are now used to, he has slowed the pace in between the big action scenes. I’m really not sure whether them stretching the short novel out into three movies is a good thing or it will just be laborious when it comes to the end of the third film but I have very mixed feelings about this first installment. I both enjoyed the ride and the visuals but also felt the length of the film and knowing there are another two to come over the next few years gave me a sense of tedium as I sat through the last half hour. The Hobbit as a story is meant to be a tale of adventure and discovery of what it means to belong for children but it hasn’t been treated this way and it loses it’s childish charm in a lot of ways because of the slowness of the telling of the film. Martin Freeman is brilliant, as is the rest of the cast, but all in all Jackson should have gone back to Tolkien’s original ideal in The Hobbit rather than trying to make it The Lord Of The Rings again. Jackson has overlooked the difference in Tolkien’s writing and purpose from The Hobbit and The Lord Of The Rings.

3/5

Rookie, are you ready? – Dredd 3D

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Dredd 3D - Official Poster - from IMDB.com

Dredd 3D – Official Poster – from IMDB.com

Dredd 3D (2012)

Director: Pete Travis
Writers: Carlos Ezquerra (characters), Alex Garland (screenplay), and John Wagner (characters)
Stars: Karl Urban, Olivia Thirlby and Lena Headey

There is something to be said for knowing what a film is about before stepping into the cinema. I made the rookie error of going to see a film without realising its history, even though I knew it had one. Even knowing the original starred Sylvester Stallone didn’t stop me or make me think twice. I just thought it would be like other action films I’d seen. Apparently there is a large difference between M15+ films and MA15+ films.

From the opening moments of the film I realised that I wasn’t going to like this film as much as I’d hoped. I think I’ve been spoilt by seeing clever action films. Christopher Nolan, Tony Gilroy, Steven Spielberg and Ridley Scott have something to answer for with their clever camera work and screenplays. I was not ready for the amount of visual violence. I was not ready for how much violence would be shown in great detail. It was sensory but senseless. I had to force myself to stay in the cinema at one point because I was not going to let my money go to waste. I am usually okay with violence on film, one of my all-time favourite films is Fight Club and I grew up watching action films with my older brother, but this was a whole other level of violence for me. I think it was that it wasn’t just alluded to but you are shown in detail the violence, death, and torture of the characters. The camera reveals the awfulness of violence so extensively throughout the entire film. The use of slow motion and 3D heightens the visuals and shows the audience the violence explicitly.

The storyline is thin, the characters are underdeveloped and it seems that the main point to the film is to have Judge Dredd sentence one person to death but in the meantime get everyone else killed. It doesn’t really make sense to me that this would be a film that appeals to a wide audience nor a cult following, however I am informed that my suspicions are wrong and that this is actually a big deal in the action film world. I don’t rate it highly. It’s indelicate and unsightly. It’s full of one-liners that are delivered with such seriousness that it made me laugh (I’m not sure if I was meant to laugh or not…).

I wouldn’t recommend seeing Dredd 3D. The only thing that is worth seeing it for is its use of 3D. They have used 3D the way that I’ve wanted a film to use it – I may have ducked at one point to avoid being splattered by blood, yes it sounds as disgusting as it was but I appreciate them making the experience immersive to some degree. I just wish it wasn’t this film that made me like slow-motion and 3D again. It was cleverly filmed if nothing else.

2/5

Just don’t think about it too much – Looper

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Looper - Official Poster - from IMDB.com

Looper – Official Poster – from IMDB.com

Looper (2012)

Director: Rian Johnson
Writer: Rian Johnson
Stars: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis and Emily Blunt

Time travel is always a tricky idea to play with. It can do your head in a bit if you think about it too much. There is always the “what if you change something that changes the course of history which means you can’t have been sent back in time to change it?” thing. To be honest I like not thinking about that, it’s nice to just go along with the flow. But when a film demands you think about it and you are thrown into the mystery of chasing the future and changing the past at the same time it’s hard not to like getting swept up into the thrill of it. And it really is thrilling.

Looper is a film that makes your head hurt a little bit after and leaves you Googling for answers. Luckily the writer Rian Johnson is happy to give answers (yes I went to Google as soon as I left the credits started rolling). However, in saying this, I did think too much during the film. A friend had said that she was confused by it, and so I spent most of the second half of the film trying to work out the twist. If I hadn’t done that I would’ve found it less troublesome at the end. Looper is a real adventure and you do get swept away with Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and his life as a looper, an assassin from the future.

Looper makes a massive comment on the value of life and the problems that hurt, pain, and killing cause for future generations. This is what stuck with me when all the time travel stuff had subsided. The fight to live and the acceptance of death are powerful mental and emotional drivers that can determine the way we make decisions and the way we think about the consequences of our actions.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt has proven once again why is one of the most in-demand actors. His performance throughout the film is captivating, even with prosthetics. Bruce Willis and Emily Blunt are incredible drivers of the emotion and complexity of life. But the actor that steals the show is little Pierce Gagnon. He is simply terrifying and adorable at the same time. He performs in such a dark and violent film with such maturity and truth that it is a little scary to see. I was blown away by him.

This film isn’t as confusing as some other films that have come out in recent years (yes, Christopher Nolan, I’m looking at you sir) but it takes a great idea and conveys it with conviction and continuity which can be the most troublesome thing for a futuristic time travel film. I really enjoyed getting swept up in the world that Johnson brings alive on screen and he grounds it in the present enough for it to be realistic which is something I always love about futuristic dramas, if it looks like today then I will buy in to your idea.

I really recommend this film. It’s a great escape and an adventure, although be warned there is a lot of splattery blood…

The perfect woman of your imagination – Ruby Sparks

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Ruby Sparks - Official Poster - from IMDB.com

Ruby Sparks – Official Poster – from IMDB.com

Ruby Sparks (2012)

Directors: Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris
Writer: Zoe Kazan
Stars: Paul Dano, Zoe Kazan and Annette Bening

What would you put on paper if you could write yourself the perfect romantic partner? What if the person you created came to life? That is the basic premise for Ruby Sparks but the film is so much more than just the exploration of love and relationships.

Calvin Weir-Fields (Paul Dano) is an acclaimed author, having his first success as a 19 year-old he hasn’t really produced another “literary work of genius” in the last 10 years. He doesn’t have many friends, apart from his brother, and since his last relationship he has been in therapy to deal with all his issues, especially to do with his inability to put pen to paper again. He is your adorkable reclusive author struggling to create his next work of art, and then he dreams of Ruby (Zoe Kazan). She stands backlit by the sun, talking to him and being the perfect imagining of the girl of his dreams. Calvin finds his muse and begins to write the story of Ruby and their relationship. But when strange bits of women’s clothing keep turning up and then Ruby appears in his kitchen one morning, fully formed, a person, a real person, just like in his book, just like in his dream, Calvin freaks out. And who can blame him, he has just seen the living, breathing, talking girl of his dreams. And so begins the bizarre and wonderful ride of Ruby and Calvin. There is only one problem: Calvin. In his creation of Ruby, she is the perfect girl for him, but is Calvin the perfect man for Ruby? And if he isn’t then how can he hold onto her, can he keep writing and change Ruby so she will desire and want to stay even though Calvin is just an asshole sometimes?

The film is beautifully crafted from every aspect of this idea and Zoe Kazan is a “genius” for being able to create such a well thought through and produced film. I cannot find flaws in this masterful creation of a film. The more I reflect on it the more I come to love it. Calvin is the right amount of romantic, recluse, and asshole. Ruby is a character of imagination and reality combined and Kazan brings to life the dream with a sweetness and depth that captivates. There are some key moments (which I will try not to spoil here) that brought me to a convulsion of wanting to laugh and cry at the same time, the shock, horror and pain of the way we treat each other as humans when we love so deeply is conveyed with such honest power that I can not even come to grips with how Kazan and Dano were able to act so fiercely and faithfully to their characters. The pain of love and loss is one of the reasons why this film works. It may be based on a silly, unrealistic hypothesis but it provides us as viewers with the perfect amount of imagining to process on what relationships can really be like. The complexity of love and the way it can transform us and engulf us is confusing. Love is a mystery of humanity that may never be fully understood but that we will always seek to find answers to. Kazan provides us with a way of exploring the aspects of love that cause us pain: miscommunication, unmet expectations, selfishness, pride, and stubbornness. But her real genius is helping us to see the solution to our pain. The way this film is resolved is satisfying and it feels resolved with that little added hope of a brighter future for our troubled protagonist.

Thank you Zoe Kazan for writing a beautiful, unconventional love story that will continuously remind me that relationships are always about two people, not just one, and that loving is about giving as much as it is about receiving.

Go and see this film, you will not regret it for a single moment.

To make or to remake? – Footloose

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Footloose - 2011 Official Poster - from IMDB.com

Footloose – 2011 Official Poster – from IMDB.com

Footloose (2011)

Director: Craig Brewer
Writers: Dean Pitchford (screenplay & story) and Craig Brewer (screenplay)
Stars: Kenny Wormald, Julianne Hough and Dennis Quaid

There is nothing new under the sun, or on our movie screens. Whether it’s book-to-movie adaptations, comic hero films, version 2, 3, 4 or 5 using the same characters over and over again, or just Disney rehashing the same old princess story again, it seems that the majority of the films nowadays aren’t showing us anything new or creative. Don’t get me wrong, there are some gems in this (including Toy Story 3 which I prefer over the second and almost over the first or unique films like Moonrise Kingdom) but studios want to make films that will earn the big bucks, and I will pay to see those big blockbusters like everyone else.

But when it comes remaking films there seems to be complete lack of creativity in this idea. Why would you re-do something that was perfect to begin with? Or at least perfect for the original idea. It confuses me when people think these remakes will be as successful as the original, or even come close to being as satisfying. So when I hit a low point last night and watched Footloose (the remake) for the first time after delaying it for as long as I could resist, I went in with the assumption that it was never going to be as great as Kevin Bacon dancing his arse off in the factory or Lori Singer dare-deviling between the two cars with the truck approaching. You can’t beat that classic 80s recklessness. We may be stupid and reckless nowadays but the 80s kids were competing with their hippy-turned-conservative parents, we were never going to be able to beat that.

The remake wasn’t awful, it had the moments of cheesy triumph over The Man and the brilliance of gentlemanly behaviour trumping the bad boy act. But the entire time I was thinking about the original and how awesome it was. The only improvement I could see (mainly because I didn’t really remember it from the original) was the aunt and uncle’s support of Ren.

With the lack of success that Total Recall has received, along with the remake of a bunch of other films coming to cinemas soon – including Red Dawn, Point Break, Annie, and A Star Is Born – it just makes me wonder, what is the point? I know there are so many brilliantly creative people out there with fantastic ideas for films, if we invested some more money into developing them we could create a new era of fantastic films rather than rehashing films that were fine to begin with.

What do you think? Are remakes worth it? Or should we rebel against the big studios and only support original screenplays and indie films?

Gotta have soul – The Sapphires

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The Sapphires - Official Poster - from IMPawards.com

The Sapphires – Official Poster – from IMPawards.com

The Sapphires (2012)

Director: Wayne Blair
Writers: Tony Briggs, Keith Thompson
Stars: Chris O’Dowd, Deborah Mailman and Jessica Mauboy

There is always a little part of me that tends to cringe at Aussie humour. It’s something about it being a little bit corny and overdone that I find groan-worthy. It is something that I’ve been discovering has been shaken out of Australian films little bit by little bit over the years and it has now hit the right tone in most Australian films that I’ve seen over the last couple of years. I think it’s also a better quality of all aspects of film making as well which has begun to give Aussie films a real chance of succeeding in other countries as well as at home. The Sapphires is a perfect example of the quality films that Australia is producing.

Based on a true story, The Sapphires follows the story of a group of Australian indigenous women with talented voices and a passion to use them. It is set during the Vietnam war, which is not a time period I know much about, apart from the funky music and cute fashion, oh and Forrest Gump. The story between the women is heartbreaking and endearing all at the same time. It shows the intricate difficulties of racism in Australia in the 50s and 60s and how it affected all people involved, not just Aboriginals nor just white people. I found that this point was handled incredibly well. It balanced the sensitivity with the truth and harshness of racism and made the world of Australia in the 1960s really come alive with a unique view from the point of view of indigenous Australians.

The highlight of the film for me had to be the relationship between Deborah Mailman’s character of Gale and Chris O’Dowd’s beautiful and hilarious portrayal of Dave. The arc of their story has a unique and wonderful twist to it and to watch it unravel on screen is simply delightful. You really feel for all the women in this film, from the women in the Sapphires to their mum, aunt, cousin, etc, there is a grace and sharpness to the shape of the relationships between the women. It is this that gripped me through the film, I was pulled in through the comedy and emotional take on the women and the battles they faced in their lives. The strength of these women is showcased in a variety of ways and it was fantastic to see strength in women displayed in these ways as it really illuminated the different ways femininity can be expressed.

Chris O’Dowd provided a wonderful lightness and humour to the film and really bound the film to an international grounding, as well as the link with the Americans in Vietnam. I really do hope this film is accepted by an international audience.

The only complaint I have about this film is the one or two times when that old Aussie cringe-worthy humour and corniness came through the cracks, but I was able to overlook this because of the strength of the rest of the film. Go and see it if you get the chance. It’s made me fall in love with Soul music all over again.

Get Gritty, Get Gorgeous – The Bourne Legacy

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The Bourne Legacy - Official Poster - from IMDB.com

The Bourne Legacy – Official Poster – from IMDB.com

The Bourne Legacy (2012)

Director: Tony Gilroy
Writers: Tony Gilroy (screenplay & story), Dan Gilroy (screenplay), and Robert Ludlum (novel & inspiration)
Stars: Jeremy Renner, Rachel Weisz and Edward Norton

The Bourne Legacy is the fourth in the Bourne franchise but it also the first movie with the main character of Aaron Cross (Jeremy Renner) instead of Jason Bourne (Matt Damon). The story picks up Cross as he is on a training exercise for the “program” in Alaska, and while Jason Bourne is running rite in Europe and America. With Bourne’s eradict behaviour and the light being shone on the CIA’s operations, they plan to shut the “program” down. This is where we find ourselves thrown into the action with Aaron Cross as he tries to survive the wildness of apparent death and the dependence on viral tablets that have been part of his treatment in the “program”.

After loving the Bourne Identity, Supremacy, and Ultimatum so much I was cautious walking into this film. But I came prepared with low expectations after reading a bad review from Empire Magazine. I shall never trust their reviewers again, and you will soon see why. I sat in my cinema seat with popcorn in hand as the lights dimmed and the familiar image of a body floating in water appeared on screen (a similar shot was used in The Bourne Identity to open the series). This time however it was Aaron Cross, diving into the depths of a river in Alaska. He emerged from the water as a wet, rugged, bearded, wild man in the form of Jeremy Renner. He wrapped himself with a blanket and stood in front of a fire on the icy shelter next to the river as the camera panned out to show us that he was standing in the middle of a snow covered wilderness. And it was at this moment that I knew the film was going to break my low expectations by far.

Renner plays a more vocal character than our beloved Bourne, however he performs with such strength, ferocity and charisma that you can’t help but be on his side as he fights to live. The story unfolds in two parts and by the end of the feature I felt like I had started in a different movie than the one I had ended up in. It wasn’t as cleverly devised as the originals but it captures the audience and takes them on a ride of adrenaline just the same. The action sequences are just as intense as in the originals and there is an added element of remorselessness in a lot of the action that wasn’t there in the originals but left me a little shaken and shocked. Renner surpassed my expectations of wonderful as he continued to show his unbelievable ability to be a rough and tough action hero. He isn’t your usual type of handsome for an action figure but he becomes more handsome the grittier he gets. And when sitting across from the gorgeous Rachel Weisz the screen screams sexy at you. The pair of actors make a formidable force on screen and with the added bit of evil provided by Edward Norton you can’t help but be captured by this film. Norton provides boundless amounts of terrifying intelligent evil to the movie and I would never want to work for his character because I would just end up in tears every day out of fright.

The Bourne Legacy follows the trilogy with a faithfulness to Ludlum’s world and provides a great next installment for the series. It may not be better than the original three but it certainly matches them for action and adventure.  I can’t decide now whether I prefer Bourne or Cross which is testament to Renner’s performance as Cross. He is charming and brilliant as well as vulnerable and fierce. The balance between Renner and Weisz solidifies the film and the story really makes you champion their cause. I really enjoyed this film and will definitely be seeing it again as soon as possible. Go and experience the awesome that is Aaron Cross and the irresistible Jeremy Renner.

Films I Watch A Million Times Series – The Bourne Series

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The Bourne Identity - Official Poster - from IMDB.com

The Bourne Identity – Official Poster – from IMDB.com

The Bourne Identity (2002)

Director: Doug Liman
Writers: Tony Gilroy (screenplay), W. Blake Herron (screenplay), and Robert Ludlum (novel)
Stars: Franka Potente, Matt Damon and Chris Cooper

There have been some blessings that have come with growing up with an older brother who loved Steven Segal and Bruce Willis films. One of those blessings was the nurtured love of action films. There is something incredibly satisfying about watching the good guy triumph over the evil, especially when the evil is the US government.

Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) is a man without memory of who he is or why he knows he knows how to do a myriad of things including speak multiple languages fluently and can take down fifty armoured guards without a second thought. He is searching for his past and dodging death as he seeks to live a future free of the command of those who once controlled him. Jason Bourne is a man not to be trifled with.

As with most action films there isn’t a lot of dialogue, but there sure is a lot of acting going on by Matt Damon and his lady accomplice played by Franka Potente. The relationship that spawned out of need turns into a relationship of shared experience. There is a wonderful crafting of this pairing that takes place throughout the film which makes it genuine and more meaningful than the sloppy creations in your B-list action films.

The story of Bourne and his adventures are based off Robert Ludlum’s popular novels but carry more of the characterisation than of the actual story in the novels. But I believe this is for the better as the complexity of the novels take away from the sharp immediacy of the films. The Bourne Identity is the first in a trilogy (soon to be added to by a fourth, The Bourne Legacy – out August 11th). The Bourne Identity begins the saga of Jason Bourne and it also is, in my opinion, the best of the films. You really ride along with Bourne as he discovers parts of who he is, where he has been, and who is after him. With the carefully sequenced and choreographed action scenes filmed mostly on handheld cameras it provides for a rocky ride but intensifies the scene and provides what would be quite a real perspective on the action. Damon’s performance is pensive and withdrawn but comes across powerfully as he expresses his character’s strength, confusion, love, and vengeful nature.

I am a little cautious about getting my expectations up for The Bourne Legacy because the Bourne Trilogy was so gritty and wonderful. It will be interesting to see where they take it and if they stick to the books that carried on after Ludlum’s death. I am very excited to see how Jeremy Renner goes in his lead role in this film (no he’s not a recasting of Jason Bourne, it’s a different character). Renner’s really becoming a new action man of film and it’s going to be interesting to see what aspects of Damon’s portrayal he picks up on and which he reinvents for himself.