Movie Round up

Reaper · Movie Round up

The Golden Compass:

Having not read the book I'm at a slight disadvantage as to whether or not this is a good adaption. As a standalone film its not bad, not great but its no Eragon either. One of the main boosts to the film is its camera work and effects, CGI animals are nearly as difficult to pull off as CGI people and for the most part Chris Weitz' team have done a good job though in some cases the animals look fake enough that its hard to suspend disbelief and think they're real, this is mainly aimed at the monkey.

The young girl Dakota Blue Richards is a better actress than the trailer for the film gives her credit for, she plays a feisty girl fairly well and tends to excel at the parts where she has to be agressive or deceiving. Some of the other emotions or attitudes she has to display don't work out quite so well, quite why they picked those parts for the trailer i don't know.

The biggest problem with the film is the continuity and pacing of the film, its very disjointed or haphazard for a start. There are more than a few scenes where characters suddenly know something that they haven't been told and in fact wouldn't have had time to be told. I'm not giving anything away with this as it shows you it in the trailer but when Lyla gains the service of the Armoured Bear, she doesn't mention anything about the mission she is on. Suddenly in the next scene shes proclaiming that they've got to get on with finding the children and the bear doesn't even blink or say 'Hang on, what children'. It's as if they've edited out scenes of exposition to bring the running time down and while it's understandable in the fact that a childrens film can't be too long, it does degrade the film because it doesn't flow. Again in that vain the films pacing is very rushed, theres very little time spent in anyone place doing any one thing. Realistically these are minor quibbles. Stand out scene for the film is probably the battle scene, it's fairly well handled though at the end of it, the film does seem to jump past any exposition of where certain characters are going... they just go.

Fun and simple is a good sum up...

7/10

Southland Tales:

First off and this is the most important thing I can say about this film.... its fricking weird. Realistically I could end the review there, it's a weird odd film, not necessarily a bad film but being weird doesn't make it good either. The story revolves around an impending apocalypse that starts in LA, an actor who has been kidnapped and has memory loss, a policeman and his twin brother and an American Presidential election.

This is the new film from the director of Donnie Darko and if you thought that was weird or potentially hard to follow, take a look at this one.
It's interestingly made and little information is given out after the initial voice over to explain the plot hooks I just mentioned until near the very end. Sadly this makes the film quite hard to sit through as for the first hour it ambles along staring at the trees with no particular place to go, in fact I had to force myself not to get up and leave because I was already tired and hadn't quite expected the amount of weirdness. People did leave the cinema which says to me that it's not going to have the biggest box office return. Acting, directing and cinematography are all of a high standard but the film itself isn't amazingly gripping, slightly weird and long films are good only if the plot is interesting enough all the way through so that your attention does't wander, Pulp Fiction being one of those films.

One thing the film does portray exceptionally well is America under a War on Terror overload. This is America if the current government got to implement all the measures and restrictions they wanted to and the film has random adverts proclaiming that no ones privacy is more important than some hicks family, very reminiscient of Robocop in it's style.

It's a film that requires two viewings to fully get it, either that or I'm being exceptionally dumb. While I understand the story line as to what happened after its fully revealed, what I don't understand is all the random bits and exactly what they mean, this film is a media/film students dream, plenty of things with connotations to debate in the class room.

6/10

American Gangster:

Ridley Scott has been for a long time one of my favourite directors, his line up of Blade Runner, Alien and Gladiator have solidified him as a great director and great money maker. SOme of his lesser known films just show him as a great director. Thankfully he hasn't disappointed this time round. American Gangster has had something of a long and turbulent transition to the silver screen, two other directors and various other actors have been onboard the project before things went down the drain. Scott has approached this with his usual amount of obsessive compulsive disorder, the film is extremely precise in how it depicts the characters and some of the incidents within the film, I say some because there are bound to be a few creative liberties taken. To eccentuate the degree of realism Scott brought the real Frank Lucas and Richie Roberts on set to advise him and the cast and crew.

What we've ended up with is a fairly epic, brutal and destructive film about heroin trade, addiction and the war against it. Few of the characters in this are particularly likable, Lucas while being a good family man is a violent sociopath and Roberts is a serial adulterer who frequently forgets his child in place of the job he pursues and they are the two principle characters. This film is bathed in a shade gray and is the perfect film to display how corrupt the law enforcement agencies have been in the past, much to their current anger and threats of legal action.

Maybe this is one of the reasons that the film is good and has kept the vast majority of its audience interested through the two and a half hour run time, what we are seeing is real New York narcotic life. The Oscars have probably taken note of Washington for his portrayal of Frank Lucas but while it is good, I wouldn't say it was stretching him particular, Lucas seems to be just a better spoken version of Alonzo from Training Day (2001). That isn't to say that, that is a bad thing but it's possible that other actors this year have done something that is a little more different to their standard role, for example Tom Cruise in Lions for Lambs (2007).

It's a damn fine gangster film and definitely worth your time and money while its plugging away at the cinema.

9/10

Robin The Boy Wonder

I wouldn't be at all surprised if we saw an extended edition DVD for The Golden Compass this time next year with all the scenes present and correct to tell the story (just like Lord of the Rings; difference being is that LOTR still moved along just as fluidly without the additional scenes).

I think New Line have gotten slightly carried away with their success on Lord of the Rings. I can't say I was too impressed when the trailer began recalling the success of said film and comparing this epic to that (nothing compares to Tolkien's fantastic fantasy, to be quite honest).

As for Southland Tales, I understand that the film first premiered at Cannes a couple of years ago and met with a critical savaging; hence the director going away and producing this apparently better version.

And American Gangster? I so want to see that film. Wahsington? Crowe? I'm there!

Reaper

CatFang

Reaper

Are you trying to get in my bad books?

Xeall

Although i'm inclined to agree with you reaper, LOTR didn't bring jar jar binks apon us, they made a second trilogy, unfortunatly they can't unmake it.

Reaper

No second trilogy exists, I'm still awaiting the prequels I was promised.

Xeall

in denial, a common episode one reaction. Its can be cured with a round of people saying 'Me'sa' and 'berry berry bad' although sometimes its a mercy not to let them remember. The nightmare are to much for most human minds.........unless you have mediclorians......... Very Happy

The Rascal King

I have no idea what you're on about.

Reapers right, those prequels are a long time coming.

Reaper

And after his comment about wearing knickers I'm beginning to think Xeall is finally losing that last shred of sanity

Xeall

i had sanity?

The Rascal King

I can has my sanities back?

Xeall

never! sanities are a lie!