In many respects, White House Down is a solid blockbuster, and had all the makings of being a successful hit in cinemas last summer.
Boasting a stellar cast, led by one of the most successful blockbuster directors of all time, its release was unfortunately timed to follow the release of unexpected hit Olympus Has Fallen. With two stories centred on an attack on the White House within the space of just a few months, one of them was bound to outperform the other, and Olympus Has Fallen was very much the winner, both in terms of money and, somewhat surprisingly, quality.
Despite strong characters, as written by the impressive emerging screenwriter James Vanderbilt (The Amazing Spider-Man), you can't help but shake the feeling throughout that something is missing from the bigger picture.
Channing Tatum and Jamie Foxx are brilliant in the leads, bringing both gravitas and comedy to their respective roles. Tatum stars as John Cale, an officer in the US Capitol Police, who aspires to be a role model for his young daughter, applying for a position on the White House Secret Service. Enter Jamie Foxx, President of the United States of America.
When the building is overtaken by a paramilitary group - armed to the teeth - whilst Cale and his young daughter are inside, it's up to him to step up and become the hero that his daughter, his President, and his country all need him to be.
The film undeniably has breathtaking action sequences in spades, some excellent witty dialogue to match the action, and a great supporting cast headed up by Maggie Gyllenhaal and Jason Clarke.
But when push comes to shove, it's that unshakable feeling that something was missing that you're left with at the end of the film. You can't quite put your finger on what it was, but it was there from start to finish.
Tatum is as brilliant as he's always been, bringing his natural strength to the good-guy role of John Cale, and Foxx is excellent opposite as the American President. Emmerich's direction makes the film feel larger than life - exactly what you want from a blockbuster like this. And Vanderbilt's script is unique in that, with the exception of Olympus Has Fallen, a story like this really hasn't been seen before on the big screen.
So whilst it may be recommended viewing, and definitely worth a night's entertainment if you're looking to unwind with some explosive action sequences without much intellectual input needed on your part, it's also not something I'll be returning to for a second viewing particularly soon. A solid three-star effort, in my books.
This BBC series is really very good indeed. So much better than the recent film starring Keira Knightley, it's a shame that few people know about it. Being a series, they haven't had to cut much material, so it's full of all the detail we so love from the book. Elizabeth and Darcy are fantastically vibrant portrayals, and it really feels like an adaptation should. It's been a favourite since I was 14, and it still is - in fact, I've just bought a new copy for my student house.
Sherlock graced our screens once more this month with an outstanding return, and my only lament is that the series are but three episodes in length, vanishing almost as soon as it came back.
The long-awaited third season most certainly didn't disappoint, with Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman reuniting for another trio of mystery-filled, adrenaline-fueled episodes that are sure to be some of the finest to air on the small screen this year.
We pick up two years after the title character's demise, with Freeman only just recovering and picking up the pieces of his broken life following what he believed was his best friend's death. It isn't long, of course, before Cumberbatch is back in centre stage, coming from out of the woodwork to assist the police in evading an imminent terrorist threat to London.
Keeping you guessing throughout - not just within episodes, but within the season's arc and beyond - the series has every bit the fierce pace and thrills that made its predecessors so popular. One need only look to Cumberbatch's brilliance in portraying Sherlock's arrogance to see why it has become such a major part of the BBC's programming, alongside co-creator Steve Moffat's other beloved series, Doctor Who.
There is no question that Series 3 will leave you hooked every step of the way. Like Watson, we follow Holmes blindly into the darkness, his willing assistant as he combs through the streets of London in search of just the right clue that will bring all of the pieces of the puzzle into view for his assembly.
Moffat and fellow co-creator Mark Gatiss have worked wonders with the character for years, bringing him to life in our contemporary world quite unlike any other of the many adaptations of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's work. Their latest trio of episodes surpasses even their own work in the first two seasons, leaving you hoping against hope that we might not have to wait quite so long for the fourth to arrive. Absolutely terrific; simply essential viewing.
A brilliant and effective wartime propaganda effort from Powell and Pressburger that manages to enliven prosaic Nazi stereotypes with good character performances, in particular from Eric Portman as the Nazi Lieutenant and Niall McGinnis as the reluctant Nazi who wants to go back to his pre-war job as a baker. There are some tremendous appearances from actors including Leslie Howard, Raymond Massey - who provides a wonderful last line for the film - Anton Walbrook who gives a moving and sincere speech against Nazism, Glynis Johns, only let down by Laurence Olivier with a terrible French accent.
A German U-Boat crew are stranded in Canada and attempt to reach the neutral U.S.A by any means - fair or foul.
John Ford's brilliant, heart warming ode to the U.S Cavalry is a delightful movie, full of richly drawn characters, authentic detailing and beautiful photography. The story is a little like a microcosm of the entire U.S Cavalry experience as the West was tamed in the C19th and so ranges from the twee romance of frontier life to the cruelty, greed and hardships of military life. The Apaches are dealt with sympathetically whilst it is the punctilious Colonel Owen Thursday, brilliantly portrayed with complexity by Henry Fonda, who is seen to be the bombastic, inexperienced fool who ultimately brings destruction on his regiment. The cast are simply wonderful; John Wayne has a restrained role as an experienced officer, forced to follow the foolish orders of his ignorant colonel. Others include the excellent Ward Bond, Victor McLaglen, George O'Brien, Pedro Amendirez and many other of Ford's favourites who would work with him and Wayne for many more films to come. Shirley Temple and John Agar offer a romantic interlude. The movie is supported by an excellent soundtrack and a selection of classic military songs and drill tunes; especially memorable is the dance at Non-Comissioned officers ball which finds a distinctly uncomfortable Colonel Thursday obliged to lead the dance with Sargeant Major O'Rourke's wife. A tremendous piece of film making and a true classic.
I think this is a must have for any film collector as it is the best action flick I personaly have ever seen. Arnie plays a superb role as the ever reluctant Terminator and Linda Hamilton is amazing as Sarah Conner. I would recomend this film to everyone it has everything you want in a action film violence, swearing and loads of guns. James Cameron is a master mind to have made this film as it is a sci-fi classic and should be owned by any sci-fi fan.
Cabin in The Woods is a riveting and original take on the conventional horror genre. Moments of pure gore are counter-balanced with some mildly amusing lines. Although the plot is somewhat predictable, it is clear it is made to mock stereotypical nature of Horror. This film is fresh, bloody and overall... entertaining.
A bloodthirsty horror comedy.
Noah Baumbach's latest feature, his follow-up to 2010's Greenberg, is by far one of the best films to come out last year.
Greta Gerwig takes the lead as the eponymous Frances, bringing grace and charm to the screen in doses known only a handful of the young actresses of her generation. Truly, she shines in the leading role, and your love of the film ultimately rests upon her shoulders.
Living in New York, Frances' current situation can largely be summed as up 'in between things'. She is somewhat between apartments, between jobs, and even between friends. Her best friend, Sophie (Mickey Sumner), is on the cusp of getting married and moving in with her husband-to-be, leaving Frances in limbo as Sophie questions how she wants to spend the rest of her life, let alone the near future.
As her relationship with Sophie becomes increasingly strained and difficult to navigate, Frances is forced to take a look at her life and where she sees herself heading. But not before enjoying the moment and trying to live life to the fullest, moving in with a few of her friends in Chinatown, going back to her old college to get away for the summer, and even a stop-off in Paris.
Co-written by Baumbach and Gerwig, Frances Ha speaks to a generation of young adults, finding life not to be quite the rosy picture they had expected earlier in their youth. It shows them that it's okay not to have the big picture planned out just yet; some people do, like Sophie, and others don't. And if you happen to fall into the Frances category, then that's nothing to worry about.
It is a testament to Gerwig that she carries the film so magnificently; no further proof is needed that she is by far one of the most talented actresses to emerge in recent years.
Shot in black and white, the film is visually beautiful, and New York really hasn't been seen quite like this since the likes of Woody Allen's Manhattan. This is very much a film that deserves your attention; a little-known film of sorts here in the UK, but worth every penny.
Doctor Who is one of the few TV shows that can legitimately be classed as a British Institution. It's no surprise, then, that the BBC pulled out all the stops for the programme's 50th anniversary in November last year, with a host of programming that revolved around the series.
The centrepiece of the celebration was this special 75-minute episode, which saw the latest incarnation of the Doctor, the Eleventh (Matt Smith), united with his predecessor, the Tenth (David Tennant) - as well as a hitherto unrevealed Doctor from the past, played by John Hurt - through the medium of time-travel to solve a conflict of universe-shattering proportions. And the result is a dizzying, dazzling, supremely entertaining slice of family-friendly sci-fi that should put a smile on even the grumpiest face.
Involving otherworldly paintings that are bigger on the inside, shape-shifting aliens bent on global domination, a world-destroying weapon with a mind of its own and a guest-appearance from none other than Queen Elizabeth I, the plot of Day of the Doctor isn't one that's easy to sum up in a sentence. And that's without even touching on the fact that this special story finally offers up some details regarding the "Time War", an enigmatic conflict from the Doctor's past that was introduced when the show was relaunched back in 2005, but which has never been fully explained.
But really, all of that is just the backdrop for the fun shenanigans of a traditional multi-Doctor storyline that allows different versions of the character to play off each other. And although it takes a while for the story to manoeuvre them into one place, once Smith and Tennant get together, the comedic sparks really start to fly. Their interactions (sometimes irritable; sometimes self-regarding; sometimes chummy; sometimes ingenious) are hugely fun to watch, and frankly if there's any criticism of this episode it's that it moves so quickly that there just isn't enough time to spend watching these two actors sparring with each other so good-naturedly.
Because no sooner do Smith and Tennant get together than yet another Doctor - the "War Doctor" (played by Hurt, and established as the never-before-seen immediate predecessor to Christopher Eccleston's Ninth Doctor - are you keeping up?) - crashes the party, with an altogether more stern personality and a serious problem that requires more than one Doctor to solve. Veteran actor Hurt is as fantastic as you'd expect, upbraiding his successors for their childish antics and demonstrating a more tortured mindset and hardened exterior than we're used to from the modern versions of The Doctor.
Hurt's brash exterior is justified by the fact that his Doctor existed during the Time War, which was a huge conflict between his home planet of Gallifrey and the Dalek empire which almost brought the universe to its knees. We meet Hurt's incarnation of the Doctor at a time when he has to make the most difficult decision of his life: whether to use an unprecedentedly powerful weapon, "The Moment", to end the Time War in the most deadly way possible.
To complicate matters even further, The Moment has its own personality: an operating system that takes the form of Billie Piper (channelling all of the goodwill from her previous appearances in the show as Rose Tyler into a very different character here) and tries to talk the War Doctor out of making one of the most damaging decisions of his life.
If all this sounds very serious and dour, it's just one part of a story that is otherwise hugely imaginative, energetic and funny, tipping the hat to the history of Doctor Who (including one surprising cameo that will mean a lot to longtime fans of the series) while also keeping one eye to the future (including another blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo that I certainly wasn't expecting).
And whether you're a lover of the show or not, it's impossible not to be roused by the barnstorming multi-Doctor finale that writer Steven Moffat provides at the episode's climax. By the time the final credits roll, not only has a satisfactory conclusion been provided for one era of Doctor Who, but a whole new set of potential adventures has opened up for the next one. And I can't wait to see where this story leads next.
The only thing stopping this DVD from getting full marks is the relative paucity of extra features. While you do get a couple of mini-episodes of a few minutes each (one of which is much better and more essential to this story - and the history of Doctor Who as a whole - than the other) and some behind-the-scenes stuff, it would have been nice to have a proper full "making-of" documentary to mark this historic special. The same goes for the lack of a commentary track, which would have been an excellent opportunity for Moffat and the actors to give us a little more personal input into this landmark story.
The DVD also doesn't include the wonderful "Five(ish) Doctors Reboot" film - a hilarious spoof documentary featuring several previous actors to have played the Doctor, and a lot more besides - for which I would have happily paid the full purchase price alone. And finally, the BBC's lovely dramatisation of the genesis of the series, "An Adventure in Space and Time", would have sat quite nicely as a companion piece to this special anniversary episode (although I guess they can make more money by selling that one as a separate disc on its own).
Nevertheless, despite the less-than-perfect set of extras, this is a DVD that's well worth owning just for the main feature. This may be as close as we ever get to a Doctor Who movie, but if that's the case then it's fine by me: because Day of the Doctor offers up all the action, drama, humour and excitement of a big-screen adventure, while also serving as a perfect celebration of the show's televisual history. Here's to the next 50 years.
An Adventure in Space and Time is a worthy celebration of the birth of the longest running television show in the world - made by fans for fans. Wonderfully and colourfully capturing a short, historic and iconic moment in the history of television, the superb 90 minute drama combines all the eclectic elements of Doctor Who to make a true fan ooze with utter joy. From a smoking Cyberman to the mispronunciation of the newly-born "Daleks", all the love and charm combine perfectly with a terrific sprinkle of wit and comedy to provide an all-round good hearted family show. An Adventure in Space and Time is a genuinely moving, warm and uplifting piece of film documenting one of TV's great untold stories. Quite rightly it serves as a classy tribute to a man who played a huge part in changing the face of television forever; William Hartnell.
Vince Vaughn is one of my favourite actors. I think he's a comedy genius whilst 'Swingers' and 'Made' are films I've seen more times than I care to remember. He was good in 'Dodgeball', hilarious in 'Wedding Crashers' and was the best thing about less than stellar fare like 'Be Cool' and 'Mr and Mrs Smith': But I had to draw the line somewhere, and 'The Internship' is that somewhere.
'The Internship' sees Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson (reunited for the first time since 'Wedding Crashers') as a pair of redundant watch salesmen who try and blag their way to jobs with Google. Invited down to Google HQ (tinged with an unintentionally eerie air of forced wackiness) they're fazed by the young competition, end up in a least-likely-to-succeed group and are assigned a variety of tech-savvy tasks: Hilarity ensues...or not as it turns out.
Yes, they're jokes, some of them are even funny. But the whole thing is such a banal and condescending exercise in corporate proskynesis that it begins to grate early on. Even an amusing cameo by Will Ferrell as a renegade bed salesman, can't save this from the doldrums of mediocrity.
Some critics called it a two hour commercial for Google, if only, I'd call it a shameless propaganda film about a company that's been implicated in a scandalous breach of consumer trust.
One of the worst movies of 2013, 'The Internship' is also a kick in the teeth for the unemployed as it normalizes the concept of free labour. And tacitly endorses the idea of unpaid work for a trillion dollar multinational.
And to make matters worse, it seems I was watching an extended version. Now I don't know what scenes were extended but I'm guessing one of them was the crass, unfunny bonding session in a strip club that goes on for 25 minutes, which is about 20 minutes longer than it ought to be.
Vince Vaughn deserves better, Owen Wilson deserves better, we all deserve better. Avoid.
Side Effects is the first half of a great film welded to the second half of a mediocre one. The overall result is still an above-average thriller, but sadly it's not one that does justice to the reputation of its usually-excellent director, Steven Soderbergh.
I know Soderbergh best from films like Traffic and Contagion, in which he took some hugely complex subjects (in the former, the illegal drugs trade; in the latter, transmissible disease) and explored them in depth, through a wide variety of different characters and viewpoints. And upon first glance, that's exactly what Side Effect appears to be trying to do for the pharmaceutical industry.
We're quickly introduced to a number of different players, all of whom are connected by the launch of a new antidepressant drug, Ablixa. Emily (played by Rooney Mara) is nominally the film's lead: a woman who is prescribed the drug after a suicide attempt following the return home from prison of her white-collar-criminal husband (Channing Tatum).
Her psychiatrist, Jonathan (Jude Law) - who has signed up with a Big Pharma company to trial the new drug - prescribes Emily with Ablixa, before conferring with one of her previous doctors (Catherine Zeta-Jones) and discovering that Emily's medical and family history is a lot more complex than he had realised. But by that point, a new personal tragedy has befallen Emily - which may or may not be linked to Ablixa - and the fallout from that single event ends up turning the lives of all of these characters upside-down.
A lot of interesting characters. A lot of complex ideas. A lot of good actors. And for the first hour or so, Side Effects is an excellent film that puts all of these elements to good use.
We see interesting questions asked about society's (over?) reliance on pharmaceutical remedies, and the risk that this could represent. We get ethical dilemmas revolving around the pharmaceutical industry: for example, Jonathan is paid a commission for each patient that he enlists in his clinical trials - so how can he possibly remain free of bias when choosing which drugs he should use to treat his patients? And we see hints that Emily's personal relationships with her psychiatrists may overstep the traditional doctor-patient boundaries, leading to no small amount of disruption to Jonathan's private life.
So far so good. But unfortunately, around the halfway mark, things begin to fall apart.
To describe exactly how the film goes off the rails would be to spoil many of the movie's surprises - and despite its flaws, Side Effects is best enjoyed when you know as little about it as possible going in. But while I can't talk about specifics, I can say that the film goes from being a mature, intelligent and believable story to being a contrived, implausible and frankly silly story within the space of just a few minutes.
Gone is the multi-faceted approach to the various elements surrounding Ablixa: the moral questions and ethical conundrums raised earlier in the film evaporate in favour of a conspiracy-thriller storyline that incorporates all of the potentially-great ingredients of the earlier scenes but combines them to make something that's far less than the sum of its parts. It's the cinematic equivalent of taking caviar, truffles, oysters and champagne and mixing them all up to make an insipid, unappetising soup. It's not terrible, but given what the filmmaker had to work with, it's a big disappointment.
In a sense, Soderbergh has made a rod for his own back by producing so many wonderful films over the past few years, to the extent that even a merely watchable one like this feels like a blot on his CV. Despite that sense of dissatisfaction, though, this is still a compelling thriller of above-average intelligence, with an accomplished cast and some unexpected twists and turns that will keep you guessing all the way to the end. Just don't expect it to deliver on the promise of that great first hour.
Harvey Specter considers himself to be the best closer New york City has ever seen, He is arrogant and vain. Harvey Specter has just made senior partner and has to (much to his dismay) hire an associate.
Mike Ross is a College drop out who spends his time getting paid to sit other people's LSAT'S and getting high with his best friend, who deal pot for a living, making mega bucks.
At first sight Mike is just someone who is a waster, no one special. But! Mike Ross is a genius who sports an eidetic memory.
Trevor convinces him to make a drug drop off, Mike being smart knowing the place will be run with cops initially refuses, however it is by completing this task that he meets Harvey specter.
Despite Harvey Specter being all for himself and knowing Mike didn't attend Law School he takes the kid under his wing proving that he might just see a little of himself in the younger man.
Suits is a fantastic gripping show with so many different personalities, each episode makes you hooked even more.
Watch Suits! I promise you will not regret it!
Suits is a program about two lawyers, well one who is not actually a lawyer, but we will get to that. Wait don't turn away!! it gets better.
Suits has it all romance, drama, sophistication, intelligence and downright comedy
Hugh Jackman's fifth outing as Wolverine (seventh, if you count his hilarious cameo in 'X-Men: First Class' and Mr Fantastic's face-morph in 'The Fantastic Four: Extended Cut') sees our hirsute hero end his self-imposed exile in rural Canada, when he's summoned to Japan at the request of an old friend from WWII: Logan soon stumbles into a world of Yakuza warlords, mutant conspiracies and finds comfort in an ancient culture attuned to his warrior sensibilities.
'The Wolverine' takes place after the events of 'X-Men 3: The Last Stand' and bridges the gap between that film and Bryan Singer's 'X-Men: Days of Future Past' (stick around for an end credits bonus scene with some familiar faces). A perfectly enjoyable detour in its own right, director James Mangold ('Copland', '3:10 to Yuma') takes his time to let the characters breathe. Develops a sincere and believable relationship between Logan and Mariko (Tao Okamoto) as well as fleshing out all the other characters like WWII veteran turned industrialist Mr Yashida (Hal Yamanouchi), Wolverine's high kicking, staff wielding ally Yukio (Rila Fukushima) and reptilian mutant femme fatale, Viper (Svetlana Khodchenkova).
I'm a fan of all X-Men movies, even the unjustly maligned 'X3' and 'X-Men Origins: Wolverine', but this instalment isn't wall-to-wall action, in fact, they're long pauses in between Berserker attacks and whilst Mangold makes sure to include a thrilling action sequence atop a bullet train and a mad brawl in the snow against some Ninjas, there's a noticeably measured, slower pace about this film when compared to the others.
Marvel super-villain The Silver Samurai makes an appearance, albeit not quite in the way you'd expect and, though it's a minor quibble; I was slightly disappointed by the fact that, despite the respectful tone, there were still no male Japanese heroes in this movie. With Logan almost becoming an Ed Zwick-style 'man-in-foreign-land-who-becomes-more-native-than-the-natives' character.
'The Wolverine' is a slick, well acted and engaging addition to the X-Men saga, and successfully reinvigorates the character for his next set of adventures.
If Bill Murray's fantastic Scrooged isn't an integral part of your annual Christmas celebrations, then you're missing out.
Directed by Richard Donner, this modern-day (well, 1988) update of "A Christmas Carol" sees Murray star as Frank Cross, a cynical, cruel and hard-bitten TV executive who is betting his career on an elaborately-staged live TV adaptation of Dickens' classic story. If that all sounds a bit complicated and postmodern, it's actually a lot more fun and straightforward than that - and through some great comedy setpieces, some fantastic performances and some occasionally serious and genuinely-disturbing developments, Scrooged serves up a comedic morality tale that's got a surprising amount of bite to go along with its jet-black humour.
Murray is the standout turn, infusing Cross with just as much weary cynicism and sharp-tongued wit as the actor's other great creations over the years. There's more than a touch of Ghostbusters' Peter Venkman on display here - but this time around, the ghosts are firmly in charge. And as Cross is led through his Christmasses past, present and future, Murray's acting ability really comes to the fore, portraying a man whose icy nature is gently thawed by memories of his lost love, as well as by visions that reveal what his family, friends and colleagues really think of him.
Frank Cross' old flame is played by Karen Allen (perhaps best known as Indiana Jones' love interest in Raiders of the Lost Ark). She's not given a huge amount to do except look beautiful and act wholesome, but given that she's incredibly good at both, she's the perfect person to contrast against the grumpy Murray, gradually infusing him with a bit of love and humanity. Alfre Woodard portrays Frank's secretary, Grace, an overworked family-woman who has her own version of Tiny Tim at home: a mute son who has been traumatised by a past tragedy. And Bobcat Goldthwait (who you'll recognise as the weird-voiced misfit from the Police Academy movies) plays the movie's version of Bob Cratchit - a much-maligned deputy of Cross, called Eliot Loudermilk, who is fired on Christmas Eve and undergoes a series of humiliations that eventually drive him to attempt to kill his erstwhile employer.
Together with some wonderful extended cameos from the actors who play the ghosts (including New York Dolls lead-singer David Johansen as the wonderfully throaty, taxi-driving ghost of Christmas past), the whole thing comes together as a wonderful, dark, twisted yet hilarious fantasy - and nowhere is it darker than in the later scenes, in which the ghost of Christmas future confronts Frank with a chilling view of things to come. A very personal vision of a fiery funeral and a world in which Frank's cynicism and misery have infected his nearest and dearest is what finally convinces Cross to adopt the true spirit of Christmas, which manifests itself in a rousing finale (including a wonderful singalong) that is sure to melt even the hardest hearts.
While it might contain some elements that now seem cheesy or dated, I still think that Scrooged stands as the definitive Christmas movie - so much so that it has become a tradition in our house to watch it each and every year, in the week leading up to the big day. That it stands up to so many repeated viewings is a testament to what a funny, enjoyable, warm and positive film it is. It's a festive favourite for our family, and I highly recommend it.
Man of Steel is an odd film, as it manages to sum up both everything that's great and everything that's terrible about today's blockbuster movies. The latest attempt to resurrect the Superman franchise, it mixes some moments of greatness with some very odd creative choices that leave it feeling very unbalanced, as though there could be a great movie in here trying to get out, but it's being held back by its misguided counterpart.
On the great side: well, it's impossible not to be blown away by the impressive effects and imagery that the film tosses around casually in every shot. Special effects have today developed to the point where directors can realise on-screen anything that they can imagine, and there's plenty of imagination on display here. Superman's home planet of Krypton is brought to life as an exotic, alien realm of advanced technologies and fantastical flying creatures, which contrasts well with the more grounded and realistic visuals on Earth. And the action sequences - particularly the battles that dominate the second half of the movie - are as epic and explosive as you'd expect from a modern big-budget superhero movie, with Superman's conflict with his Kryptonian enemies ending up being so destructive that entire skyscrapers are levelled in their wake. The marketing campaign for the 1970s Superman movies may have boasted that "you'll believe a man can fly" - but in Man of Steel you'll not only believe that he can fly, but also that he comes from a fully-realised alien world and that he contains more power in his little finger than all of the Avengers put together.
So what's the downside? Well, for me, the film's entire approach to Superman feels 'off', as though the character has been dropped into a different movie altogether. If there's one single trend that has dominated superhero and fantasy films for the last few years, it's "darkness", with every superhero or fantasy film that has sought to prove its serious, adult credentials having to position itself as a more "dark" version of those that came before it. And Man of Steel is no different. Unfortunately, though, this gritty approach (which extends to director Zack Snyder's washed-out, blue-grey visuals too) just doesn't suit the hopeful, bright, colourful character that is Superman. So we get endless scenes of a serious, dour, brooding Superman trying to come to terms with his heritage and his place in the world, and very little of the levity and humanity that (say) Christopher Reeve brought to the character.
This being a new telling of the "origin" of Superman, the film also has a lot of work to do to establish who he is and where he came from - as well as telling a decent story with him, of course - and unfortunately these competing concerns end up unbalancing one another. Adopting a 'flashback' structure (a bit like Batman Begins) to fill us in on Superman's early life at the same time as we see things playing out in the present might have seemed like a good way to avoid a dull hour of exposition before the story can really begin, but unfortunately all the temporal flitting-about feels pointless - as though the scenes have been jumbled up in no particular order just to disguise the fact that they're not particularly interesting.
It's a shame, too, to see some fairly decent actors wasted as part of this constant chopping and changing. Kevin Costner gives a great performance as Clark Kent's father, Jonathan, but unfortunately we get to see far too little of him - and at far too irregular intervals - before he's shuffled off-screen (in one of the film's worst scenes - which I won't spoil, except to say that it involves a whirlwind, a dog, and a very stupid decision).
Henry Cavill does his best to inject some real feeling into the character of Clark Kent/Superman, but while he obviously looks the part and has a decent amount of acting ability, he's saddled with a leaden script that rarely gives him the chance to let the audience fully sympathise or empathise with the character. And Amy Adams (as Lois Lane) and Lawrence Fishburne (as her editor at the Daily Planet, Perry White) are given so little to do that you forget that they're there half the time. The most entertaining performance is probably that of Michael Shannon as General Zod, and even then it's fairly standard one-note scenery-chewing villain schtick.
The final problem I had with the movie is that at its halfway point, it seems to abandon all hope of telling a deep or complex story in favour of a relentless all-out action approach that lasts for the best part of an hour (Michael Bay would be proud). A pitched battle in Smallville between Superman and the evil Kryptonians leads to a showdown in Metropolis that then branches out to incorporate the rest of the world too - but at no point do you ever really feel that the stakes are being raised by this escalation. Instead, the impact of the constantly-epic, always-larger-than-life action sequences feels like it's being endlessly diluted through over-familiarity, leaving me numb by the end of the movie - which I'm sure wasn't the intention.
As I said at the start of this review, it really does feel like there's a great movie in here trying to get out - but unfortunately, it's impossible to ignore all of the less successful elements that get in its way. What you're left with is a hollow, frustrating and incomplete-feeling movie that squanders its best attributes (the visuals; the cast) in favour of an attempt to turn Superman into another 'dark', conflicted, gritty superhero character. Note to producers: this isn't Batman, and what worked for him isn't necessarily going to work for everyone. Let's hope that the sequel finds more room for the levity, lightness, warmth and humanity that Superman deserves.
"Remembrance of things past is not necessarily the remembrance of things as they were." - Marcel Proust
You might think that's an oddly highbrow quote to use to open a review of the latest Simon Pegg/Nick Frost/Edgar Wright fantasy-comedy, The World's End. But actually, it sums up exactly what the film is about. Because while this companion movie to the trio's previous efforts (Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz) is on its surface a similarly silly knockabout yarn - this time, about an alien invasion taking place during a pub crawl - it also manages to explore satisfyingly deeper themes involving nostalgia, childhood, and our attempts to recapture a past that only really exists in our minds.
Pegg plays Gary King, a hapless thirty-something layabout who still cherishes the memories of his schooldays, when his popularity and forceful personality were enough to make him the leader of his friendship group. Now that those days are long past - and his friends have all grown up and moved on - Gary seeks to recapture the glory of his youth by bringing the gang back together for one last pub crawl. And that gang just happens to include star names like Martin Freeman, Paddy Considine, Eddie Marsan and - of course - Pegg's regular co-star Nick Frost, all of whom give great performances on both a dramatic and comedic level.
Together, the ensemble cast makes for an enjoyable and believable gang of old friends, with their grown-up selves unwillingly reprising their childhood relationships (in that way that we all tend to fall back into when we meet up with our childhood friends), producing a lot of fun interactions, including plenty of amusing callbacks to shared experiences that are only hinted at for the audience.
This sense of nostalgia is compounded by director Edgar Wright's soundtrack choices, with a host of great '90s tunes (particularly from the "madchester" era) helping to put thirty-something viewers' mindsets into the same place as King - whose only hope is to rekindle the relationships that made his life so complete in the past. Unfortunately for King, however, his dream is not to be, as it's made abundantly clear that all of his other friends have now moved on, and have little time for reminiscing about the old days.
Everything changes, though, when it starts to become clear that King's home town of Newton Haven has changed a lot since he's been away - and is now at risk of being overrun by a group of bodysnatcher-style robot-aliens.
If that sounds like a strange gear-shift, then don't worry - as it actually integrates perfectly with the larger themes of the story. Because it soon becomes clear that the aliens' plot to occupy and preserve Newton Haven provides a revealing parallel with King's own desire to live in the past, and to ultimately prevent his own life from moving on and changing. What's more, the larger plot that's gradually uncovered provides separate parallels with the other themes of Wright's movie - including some smart commentary on how the UK's towns and cities are becoming increasingly homogenised and samey (conveyed through some brilliant visual gags in which all of the pubs that the group visits look virtually identical).
In this way, Wright uses the more outlandish and fantastical elements of the movie to complement and reinforce the central messages of his film, reinforcing them rather than detracting from them, while also providing some highly entertaining (and crucially, very funny) moments.
As the film begins to roll around to its unexpected conclusion - via some great action/fight sequences and a couple of cameos from big-name actors that I won't spoil here - you'll be surprised to find yourself emotionally engaged with the movie on a level that you wouldn't normally expect from a silly Brit-comedy. And as the credits start to roll (after a ballsy, bold ending) you'll probably be equally surprised to realise that The World's End is a film that really sticks with you, providing you with some real food for thought - as well as a showcase for some of the best comic performances and most accomplished direction that the UK talent of today can offer.
Excellent film Johnny Depp is amazing..Very funny film for all the family
Great film,well worth watching and buying
Linda Lovelace (whose real name is Linda Boreman) is a 21 year old girl trying to escape the confines of her home life and her strict and overbearing religious parents. She meets Chuck Traynor and just months later they are married. Once married, Traynor introduces Linda to porn and before long he has secured her an audition for a film - which turns out to be Deep Throat. This is the story that the public knew and the girl they adored and lusted over in equal measure.
Directors Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman handling the proceedings expertly and in the supporting roles that are a host of fantastic character actors including Juno Temple, Hank Azaria and Chris Noth, plus a brief cameo from James Franco as Hugh Hefner.
The film is cleverly spilt into approximately two equal parts of 40 minutes each. The first half depicts a young girl falling in love with and marrying a charming guy who passionately loves her. After just 17 days in the adult film industry she has become the most famous adult film star in the world. Her life is changed, she is famous, ostensibly wealthy and happy.
The second half of the film however presents a different angle on events. Six years after becoming a star Linda would tell the world a completely different, more harrowing, story. It was a heartbreaking story of abuse and survival. The second half of the film tells this story. The true story. Traynor had been controlling the young woman's life from the first time he met her. Forcing her to first perform sexual acts on him and then forcing her in pornography. Even more horrific Traynor had sickeningly forced Linda into prostitution where she was raped and sexually abused by multiple men at the same time. Linda had unsuccessfully on more than one occasion tried to escape Traynor and his abuse but even her own family had refused to take her back, possibly not understanding the severity of the matter or possibly simply turning a 'blind eye' to their daughter's plight leaving her to deal with her own problems as they were too religious and/or too embarrassed by the direction their daughter's life had taken.
Amanda Seyfried takes on the challenging role of Linda Lovelace, and whilst the sexual scenes are handled carefully, thankfully leaving most of the worst events to the viewer's imagination, she still has to handle several emotionally difficult scenes. She is fearless in the role, from naive, young, beautiful girl to a survivor of abuse. Peter Sarsgaard is Chuck Traynor and is equally fearless in a different way, first portraying a charmer, then an aggressive, scary abuser.
The film perhaps doesn't go into as much detail as it might. It feels a little lightweight considering the severity of the subject matter, but it is still a compelling, expertly directed and brilliantly acted film.
This site uses cookies.
More details in our privacy policy