Fame
(30.06.13) - A group of gifted students enrol at New York's Academy of Performing Arts, each with a talent for singing, dancing, music or acting. Following different groups of students, their hopes, fears, friendships, aspirations and disappointments are followed. A classical pianist discovers she loves singing dance music more than playing the classics, much to her parents disapproval A young dancer struggles keeping up with his studies and finds his talent is behind the others in his class. An actor juggles his relationship with his fellow student and his studies, but finds he is increasingly jealous of her. But as they progress through their four years of study, their lives and loves are followed. This film was a re-imagining of the 1980 film by Alan Parker and follows the same format, by following different groups of students over their four years. The film had more musical numbers than I remembered from initial viewing and was light entertainment. There was nothing to really make it stand out, but there was nothing that made it sink either. It was enjoyable fluff, predictable and entertaining, but aimed squarely at a teen audience. Good fun, but relatively forgettable.
Sorority Row
(28.06.13) - A group of sorority sisters pull a prank on a boy who had cheated on one of them by pretending that one of the girls he is making out with dies and that they are going to dump the body. But when he stabs the (still alive) "corpse" through the chest with a tyre iron, they make a pact to hide the body and keep the secret with them for ever. But as graduation approaches, they find themselves being stalked by a hooded figure with a tyre iron who seems to know their little secret. This lightweight teen horror by numbers was more entertaining than anticipated, but still nothing special. The characters were cliché the story was light on originality and the whole thing had all been seen and done much better before. The ridiculously attractive cast were mediocre in their performances (don't ugly people go to college in America?) and there were enough fake boobs, unnecessary naked flesh and making out scenes to tantalise a pre-pubescent. Overall, not a bad film, but not a good one either. Light on tension, gore or horror it's saving grace was some nice dark comedy, but other than that, this was enjoyable enough, better than I thought it was going to be, but still not really elevated above anything other than "time passing" fodder.
Les Miserables
(28.06.13) - An ex-con, Jean Val Jean breaks his parole and starts a new life as a factory owner and upstanding member of the community. But he is relentlessly pursued over the years by Javair, a dedicated policeman. After making a death bed promise to one of his factory workers to take care of her daughter, Val Jean fathers the child and raises her, harbouring his secret past and constantly on the run. But when Coisette meets Marius, a young idealist, they fall in love. But revolution is on the way in the streets of Paris. This film of the epic stage musical was reviewed in February, where I was very enthusiastic about the film as a whole. This is the third viewing for me, and I feel slightly mixed about it. The initial 45 mins or so, with the back story, now seems a little slow. Where the film really picks up is with the story of the youngsters Maruis and Coisette and this proves to be a turning point for the film, where it really does become incredibly good. Upon repeated viewing, you do realise that it is the youngsters who show the old timers how to do things properly with Eddie Redmayne, the cast playing the revolutionaries and in particular, Samantha Barks, out-singing and acting the Hollywood players with their almost perfect performances. This fact highlights how badly cast the film is in places, in particular, Sascha Baron Cohn, Helena Bonham Carter and in particular Russell Crowe, who is simply terrible in the role of Javier. The only exception was Anne Hathaway, who did an excellent job as Fantine. Even Hugh Jackman was not as impressive on second viewing, although his performance does get better as the film went on. It is funny how the film, as with many theatre productions, puts a "star name" into the cast list to put bums on seats, when it is actually the ensemble or less well known actors who provide the best performances. All of the unknowns outshine the big names in this film. The other thing is that the direction was slightly lacklustre. It was perfectly competent and functional, but not epic as it should have been. Overall, a mixed review - I still really enjoyed the film, the music remains as stunning as ever, and the last two thirds of the film was great, but now that they hype has died down a little, the flaws in the film are slightly more visible.
Terror At The Opera
(28.06.13) - A young opera singer is thrust into the spotlight when the star of the opera is incapacitated due to a car accident. But as the reception to her début performance in Macbeth is glowing, she garners attention from a masked figure who periodically ties her up, tapes razorblades under her eyelids to stop her from closing her eyes and forces her to watch him brutally murder her friends and colleagues in front of her. But who is he? And who is the shadowy figure watching the young diva in her apartment from behind the walls? This film was loosely based on The Phantom Of The Opera and was skilfully directed by Dario Argento. The long, lingering camera shots and point of view filming were dizzying at times and the violence was brutal and believable with people being stabbed with knives, scissors and other such objects, giving the whole premise an air of believability. The performances were good all round, although nothing spectacular. The main issue I had with the film was how the story was disjointed at times and just a little unbelievable in the actions of the main character at certain points in the story. That said, the opera house itself was beautifully shot, the clever use of POV camera work, nice use of colour and sound, in particular, the unnerving sound of the ravens and some graphic violence made this a very enjoyable film.
Dreamgirls
26.06.13) - in the 60's The Dreamettes, a girl group made up of three sisters, get their big break on a local talent show and are picked up by a scheming manager as back up singers for a charismatic solo artist, Jimmy Early. As their success takes off, they are groomed for stardom, but the pressure of fame, rivalries within the group and relationships all get in the way, leading one of the sisters to be pushed to leave after heading towards a breakdown. But as the manager increasingly takes control of the group and his shady dealings become more and more prominent, everything is not as perfect as it seems from the outside. This simply outstanding film was a brilliant musical. The perfect cast all put in great performances especially Beyonce (who looks beautiful throughout), Eddie Murphy who is surprisingly good as Jimmy Early and Jennifer Hudson in her début film performance which rightfully won her an Oscar. The film itself was entertaining, the songs were brilliantly performed and staged, the period details from the 60's girl groups to the disco of the 70's was spot on and the whole thing was absolutely superb. I really liked how the musical numbers were a combination of stand alone "stage show" performances and others were sung as story narrative. The soundtrack, full of vocal gymnastics (which is not my usual kind of music) was excellent. I have seen this film a number of times before, but I don't know why I don't watch it more often. Very highly recommended.
Dead Snow
(18.06.13) - A group of adventurous medical students head to a remote cabin in the mountains for some drinking, winter sports and some bedroom activities, but their evening is interrupted by a stranger who gatecrashes and tells them the story of how the local town had been overrun by Nazi's in WWII and how the town had rebelled. But as the teens discover a hoard of Nazi gold under the floorboards, they are attacked by the Nazi Zombies who are buried in the snow around them. From there leads the bloody battle for survival. This tongue in cheek comedy horror was good fun to watch. It didn't take itself too seriously at all and it's comedy gore and over the top blood shedding was entertaining to watch. It was good to see a zombie film which brought something a little different to the genre. This was over the top nonsense of the highest order, but very enjoyable nonsense at that.
Captain America
(14.06.13) - A young weakling who is desperate to get into the Army is constantly rejected due to his size and strength finds himself selected for a secret government project which sees the genetic enhancement of soldiers. As his transformation is complete, his physical presence was brought to match his devotion to fairness and patriotism. He embarks on a promotional tour as the fictional "Capitan America", but when he shows extreme bravery on the battle field, he inspires all those around him and heads out to avenge the death of his "creator". This film was very disappointing after I enjoyed The Amazing Spiderman and The Incredible Hulk so much. The film was dull, with very little in terms of story dragged out over two hours. There was no decent villain in it and the villain they actually had was criminally under used, and to be honest, his presence was not really necessary given the main thrust of the story. There was some convoluted plot which involved him saving the day, rescuing his friends and winning the girl. The action sequences were sporadic and not particularly action packed and the story was just very dragged out. The whole thing could have been pulled together in 30 minutes less to make a snappier film. Chris Evans was not particularly charismatic in the lead role and the rest of the performances were average at best. The characters were lacklustre and there was very little to make you care about them that much. The main problem for me was that the whole things felt like a two hour trailer for the Marvel Avengers Assembly film (which in a way, it is) and the rather silly ending proved this point. It is such a shame, as I had high hopes for this film, and whilst it was not absolutely terrible, it just wasn't very good at all. A missed opportunity.
An American Werewolf In London
(13.06.13) - Two young Americans on a hiking trip on the Yorkshire Moors manage to stumble across a pub with the endearing name of "The Slaughtered Lamb" in the middle of nowhere. After the most awkward drink with the locals, they are cast out onto the moors with the warning to stay on the road and "beware the moon". After they are attacked by a werewolf, one is killed and the other trasnported to hospital in London to convalesce, but as the full moon rises, a strange beast is seen stalking the subways and porno cinema's of London with murderous results. This classic horror comedy was just as charming now as it was back in the 1980's when it was made. The film is fast paced, funny, well written, well directed and well acted. The special effects are simply outstanding, especially the (now classic) transformation scene and still stand up today. All done in pre CGI times, this is a smart reminder of how inventive and clever old school special effects can be. It was a pleasure to watch and transported me back to my youth. Packed with plenty of gory moments, suspense and great comedy ("Mummy, a naked American man just stole my balloons") this is a film which rightly deserves it's classic status.
The Incredible Hulk
(09.06.13) - Bruce Banner is a scientist who is accidentally exposed a high level of gamma radiation which has altered his body's structure, so that when he becomes angry, he transforms into a huge figure with massive strength and an ability to leap, bound and destroy. Banner struggles to find a cure whilst he is relentlessly pursued by the army, who class him as a military weapon. But a young soldier who is hell-bent on the destruction of Banner exposes himself to radiation in an attempt to even the odds, but his destructive rage leads to an epic battle between the two of them. This reboot of the Hulk franchise following the lacklustre Ang Lee version is seen as a precursor to the Avengers Assembly film. It is yet another back story film, but a good one at that. The story was engaging, the action was fast paced and the performances were all pretty good, especially Edward Norton. If I had to level one criticism at it, it would be that the at times, it was like watching a cut scene from a computer game, but given that subject matter, that is a minor quibble. Overall, a great little film.
Laid To Rest 2 : Chromeskull
(09.06.13) - Following on directly from the closing events of Laid To Rest, Chromeskull is taken to a secret warehouse, where he is nursed back to health by an army of staff who do nothing but serve the man behind the mask. The young survivor from the first film is struggling with his memories of the incident inside the petrol station, and finds himself kidnapped by Chromeskull's right hand man. Meanwhile, Chromeskull himself has his sights set on a young woman. Both find themselves trapped and the police have limited time to find them. This disappointing sequel to Laid To Rest was pretty poor. I has been really looking forward to this, but it was a terrible mess of a film. It ruined the mystery of Chromeskull and the man with the video camera strapped to his shoulder, but showing him to be the head of some faceless corporation who have nothing else to do that serve him. It took away what made the first film so good, namely it's simple plot, old school charm, tension, threat and relentlessly menacing villain and replaced it with a real lack of Chromeskull in the film itself, a silly side story and a nonsensical plot. It was not one of the better films I have seen this year and is a shame given how good the first one is.
Laid To Rest
(08.03.13) - A young woman wakes up trapped in a coffin in a small resting chapel in the middle of nowhere. With a wound to the back of her head and no memory of who she is and how she got there, she is relentlessly pursued by a masked man with a chrome skull mask and a large knife. She is helped by a kindly man and a local geek but their attempts to escape seem futile as the body county increases and Chromeskull records everything on his shoulder mounted video camera. I previously enjoyed this film and bought the sequel to watch, but after five mins, I had no clue what was going on, other than it was a direct continuation of the first film - the ending of which I could not remember. So I dug this one out to prepare me for the second one. This nasty little shocker was a great film. The whole thing is reminiscent to the late 70's/early 80's slasher films. The film has more than a hint of Halloween about it, namely the silent figure relentlessly pursuing his victims, the small cast, the high tension and a sequel which appears to follow straight on from the first. There are some good effects in the film, and the whole thing is done very well for a low budget horror. Well written and directed, this is a film which was surprisingly enjoyable and one which I shall dig out more often. I am really looking forward to the second one now.
My Soul To Take
(03.06.13) - A group of teenagers celebrate a local legend of a killer who, on the night of their birth 16 years ago, killed his family. He is said to live in the local river and on the anniversary of his death, he is meant to return unless the local kids stop him. This ritual doesn't quite go to plan and the teenagers are picked off one by one. This travesty of a film was a complete waste of 90 mins. There was no story, tension, inventiveness, decent performances, likeable characters or even a good villain. What on earth Wes Craven directed and then put his name to this pile of rubbish for,I will never know . Once considered the master of horror, he should hang his head in shame after churning out dire misfire. How this achieved an 18 rating is beyond me and how I didn't turn it off halfway through, I will never know. Quite frankly on a par with the remake of "The Children Of The Corn" and about as tense and exciting as "I'll Always Know What You Did Last Summer" (see my earlier reviews!) as just plain terrible and one of the worst films I have had the misfortune to sit through for a very long time. A dead cert for the "worst films of the year" list come December.
Star Wars - Return Of The Jedi
(02.06.13) - Following a daring attempt to rescue Han Solo from the palace of Jabba The Hutt, the Rebels learn of a newly constructed Death Star orbiting the forest moon of Endor. When they hear that the Emperor is going to be on board, they attack, but the whole thing is a trap, set up by the Empire to capture Luke Skywalker and to use the power of both Vader and the Emperor to turn him to the dark side. As the battle on Endor rages on, the battle between Luke and the dark side reaches a head. This great finale to the star wars films was a real treat. Putting aside the Ewoks, which are a little but juvenile for me, the action in this film comes thick and fast. From the fight with the Rancor, to Jabba's sail barge and beyond, this film barely lets up. The characters are nicely rounded off, the story arc well completed and this made for a very satisfying and much more enjoyable finale that I remembered it to be. After now watching the whole series of films in chronological order of the story, the whole thing was thoroughly enjoyable and compelling viewing, and you get to realise just how good the story and the films (including the much criticised prequels) really are. Excellent entertainment and unbelievably enjoyable as ever.