Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

We all knew this was coming with a setting up like the end of the last film. Sequels have been popping up more and more recently, they are a sure seller, but this one definitely lived it to it's first instalment.

Guy Richie's signature blue tint is back in force but didn't manage to depress me, the comedy between Robert Downey Jnr. and Jude Law certainly lightens the mood. The angles used for the chase turn a now normal and possibly mundane scene into something new and raw, we move with the punches as the camera swings around. Things that are so often taken for granted in films such as establishing shots, are used perfectly so the only questions the audience is asking are the ones the story has set up.

Stephen Fry as Mycroft Holmes is bloody marvellous, I'm not afraid to say that he is quite simply perfect and the final fight scene is epic.

Check it out on IMDB.

My Week with Marilyn

A week of Marilyn Monroe's life shown through the eyes of a young man, where Monroe is played by an actress who is... not Marilyn Monroe, made me skeptical to say the least. So naturally, I had to see it.

The idea of someone trying to emulate someone as iconic as Monroe made me somewhat squeamish, however Michelle Williams wasn't half bad. Everyone will remember Monroe's little dance in The Prince and the Showgirl, William's rendition of the same scene is enchanting. Her voice may not be reminiscent of the late great Monroe but little things, like the way William's moves her mouth, is quite similar. I felt the same skepticism towards Kenneth Branagh playing Sir Laurence Olivier, but towards the end of the film, I was loving every minute he was on screen, including the stirling line; "Acting is all about truth and if you can fake that, you'll have a wonderful career."

Unfortunately, I didn't feel as captivated by Emma Watson's character, Lucy, a character as forgettable as the name. She will always remain Hermione Granger to me. It's a shame that the very same film that made her career is going to be the one holding her back.

As someone that has always been fascinated by Miss Monroe's life, I was excited to see this, if only from a biographical point of view, yet for anyone who doesn't know detailed aspects of her life, some points of the film are just wasted. I seemed to leave the cinema thinking that it was just some guy's claim to fame; I shagged Marilyn Monroe.

Check it out on IMDB.

Lost Generation | Creative Times

Lost Generation | Creative Times

50/50

I've never seen a film about cancer that was so real, that really said what needed to be said instead of cheesing everything up. I admit, it's a difficult matter to discuss without feeling you're treading on people's toes, but 50/50 does it perfectly.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt's character, Adam, is shown to be an upstanding citizen; waiting for the green man to cross the road, recycling, didn't drink, didn't smoke, that's what makes it all the more frustrating for him, and us, when he gets cancer. It not only deals with cancer, but Alzheimer's as well, with some truly heart rendering moments. Look out for the beautiful volcano metaphor and you may guess Adam's (Gordon-Levitt) outcome.

Basically, take your tissues but don't be afraid to laugh, Gordon-Levitt looks more like an alien with his shaved head than he did in 3rd Rock From The Sun. Seth Rogen offers some hilarious moments, including his analysis, "every celebrity beats cancer," and Anjelica Huston is the perfect smothering mother.

Check it out on IMDB.

Moneyball

To compare America's pastime with something more relevant in Britain would probably frustrate American's the world over, so I won't even attempt it. I thought the topic of the film would be lost on me considering my typically British upbringing, but there is so much more to Moneyball than just the sport of baseball.

Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill bounce off each other so well (I wanted to be sat in-between them chuckling to myself), especially during the introduction of Hill's character Peter, with everything he said seeming to sound like an apology and Pitt's Billy Beane basically telling him to man up. The supporting cast did a superb job of looking dumbfounded when the new strategy of baseball drafting was presented to them, created awkward moments even Woody Allen would be proud of.

The mix of archive footage with the newly filmed, brings an air of nostalgia that's really fitting. Without the back-story of Billy Beane creating the emotional connection we, as an audience, need, there would be no story at all (apart from that of which we could read on Wikipedia), but with this, there is enough narrative to entice even the most British of non-baseball fans.

Check it out on IMDB.

Justice

Nicolas Cage and Guy Pearce aren't exactly my favourite actors, I can't put my finger on why but they both just really annoy me. So I didn't have very high expectations going into this film, thinking that I would be rolling my eyes at every word they uttered. The fact that I enjoyed the film, is either a nod to my ability of being able to withstand irritating people or that it was actually a really good film.

The untimely incident with Will's (Cage) wife (January Jones), was made even more disturbing by the juxtaposition of him playing chess. Such an ugly event opposed to a tranquil game, it worked really well. I did have a little pernickety moment, when Will went to visit his wife in hospital. His character just didn't seem believable, he didn't even ask what had happened to her or how she was. Most normal people would (ok, moment over).

The snakeskin shoes worn by the villain is a great reiteration of the phrase several characters use, "This place [New Orleans] is going to hell," and judging by the choice of the initial villain's footwear, he's going to be the one to take them there.

January Jones shows how to fight back, with her major "girl power" moments and as a teensy feminist, I loved it. Alongside a thrilling plot, I was pleasantly surprised.

Check it out on IMDB

The Rum Diary

I am a sucker for films set in the 1950s; the cars, the outfits, the overall charm, but then again, The Rum Diary shows a 50s that wasn't exactly plain sailing.

The story follows Johnny Depp in his second Hunter S. Thompson role (his first being Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas) as the enigmatic Kemp, while he tries to uncover the real story of San Juan, away from the Americans swarming in to bowl and build hotels. The extravagant character of Sanderson (Aaron Eckhart) epitomises everything that was wrong with the Americans in Puerto Rico with his yacht and jewel encrusted tortoise.

Although I appreciate the message the films trying to convey and the great performances from Eckhart and Depp, with his subtle Jack Sparrow expressions, certain parts are unnecessarily longwinded. I think Bernardo (West Side Story) said is best, "Puerto Rico is in America now."

Check out The Rum Diary on IMDB.

Tintin

This week marks my first review of an animated film with Tintin, which carries some nostalgia on my part. I'll lay my cards on the table, I do tend to favour Pixar over Dreamworks (Tintin being the latter), but I shall endeavour to be impartial in my critique.

The title sequence is fun and whimsical, for the first three minutes, but seems to drag on. Don't get me wrong, some of the greatest films have the longest titles, but this is Tintin for crying out loud. The introduction of Tintin as a character is lovely, using a street artist to present a cartoon picture of the original Tintin to his newly computer animated self. This link between series and film is also found in the well known catch phrases of both Tintin and Captain Haddock ("Great snakes!" and "Blistering Barnacles!" respectively), but are annoyingly overused. The graphics are indeed impressively realistic, but when it comes to bodily gestures and how the characters interact with each other, they become strangely robotic. It's a shame considering how flawless the faces are.

The end definitely gears towards a sequel and alas it is true, due for 2013, an adaptation of The Seven Crystal Balls and The Prisoners of the Sun is reportedly being written by Antony Horowitz (writer of the Alex Rider novels). Steven Spielberg seems to be into everything, what will he get his hands on next? Oh yeh, a story of a horse that fights a war.

Contagion

I may have made an error in judgement in my choice of film this week, but in my defence the trailer looked quite good. I may have been better off seeing Real Steel (ha).
The introduction showing the subtle spread off germs was disturbing to say the least, it went downhill from here starting with the discovery of the dead. Morbid, I know. Jude Law has gone up and down in my expectations with the amazing Talented Mr. Ripley and the not so amazing Repo Men, quite roller coaster like. His fake Australian accent in Contagion was overly stereotypical, he even went as far as saying "crikey". Marion Cotillard was as stunning as ever, but was hardly seen in the film, I actually forgot about her character at one point. She was definitely not used to her full potential. As for the others, Matt Damon seemed to fade into the background and Gwyneth Paltrow was dead within ten minutes.
Long story short, it was a typical disaster movie with everyone doing what they are told they shouldn't. By my calculations, we'll all my dead by christmas.

The Help

Films that are set in times when cigarettes were considered healthy always have quips towards the future that make me laugh, in the case of The Help it was a character being sure that one day cigarettes would kill us. How right you were. The main issue being discussed in this feature is racism, especially towards black maids in white homes and is set in the times of Martin Luther King Jnr. and JFK. However, other issues are brought to light when we discover that Minnie (Octavia Spencer) is being beaten by her husband. The villain of the piece is no longer just the white housewife (the heroine is in fact white) but the belligerent husband as well. Along with this underlying theme, there is the issue of feminism; if our main character Skeeter (Emma Stone) didn't have a job, she'd spend her life waiting for a man who has cancelled several dinner dates before even meeting her. In the eyes of her mother and friends, her only job should be finding a husband.
Emma Stone's Skeeter could have come across as self-righteous but she played down the character to help emphasise the real heroes of the piece (the maids) without losing her own voice. Job well done. I think the main message from this film is that slavery may have been dead at this time but they all still felt like slaves.

Midnight In Paris

I must admit, I was excited to see Woody Allen's latest flick and thankfully, it didn't disappoint. The opening sequence was a beautiful introduction, more like a tourist video for Paris but perfectly fitting, followed by the awkward moments that Allen shows so well. Although Rachel McAdams is one of my favourite actresses of this time, let's face it she was a bit of a bourgeoise bitch, playing the character very well as it made me hate her a little. The meeting of the many artists in the film is fantastic, with Hemmingway being shown as the bigot we know him to be and Dali being shown as a surrealist nutcase. It became somewhat of a game, trying to guess who the artists were before they introduced themselves on screen (I won at guessing Dali by the way).

The story in itself is surreal, but Paris is made out to be such a magical city that anything seems possible. I love a film that teaches me something and in this case it is that any age is golden to the generation that comes after it.

Johnny English Reborn

Well this week, it was definitely slim pickings in terms of viewing options, so slim in fact, they were anorexic. First things first, the titles sequence was so 80s Bond, it wasn't just a homage, it was pathetic. The "homage" continued into a free-runner scene that was reminiscent of Casino Royal, then again in the form of Batman Begins with the Tibetan training.
Sadly, the sequel of Johnny English has gone the same way as Rowan Atkinson's sequel to Bean. The first of the two were funny with things maybe teetering on the edge of ridiculous, then with the second of the two going so far over the edge of ridiculous it was annoying (with some mildly funny moments). It's slightly depressing to think of all of Rowan Atkinson's wit and ingenuity and then about this crap that he turns out. Instead of 007, it's double oh no.

The Debt

Although The Debt has a stirling British cast with the likes of Helen Mirren, Tom Wilkinson and Sam Worthington, it lacks the emotion it would take for it to be a stirling film as well. The audience can never really relate to the characters, well why would they? They are all Mossad secret agents, but the intimate relationships that are shown in the film are also hard to relate to. It may also be the fact that you somehow feel that the protagonists are the villains of the piece. Not to say that you can't feel compassion towards a villain, I've always felt sorry for Norman Bates. This is more to do with the fact that they made a mistake and then have sculpted they're whole lives around it.
Ciaran Hinds' character suggests a sinister story, where things may twist and turn, this isn't necessarily fulfilled and I was left feeling unsatisfied with the revelations. The conclusion to the film left a lot to be desired, it could have led to an impressive resolution, but instead turned out to be an OAP lightweight championship, resembling Mirren's recent crime caper RED. Yet this one wasn't supposed to be funny. My mistake.

Drive

This weeks film, and first, was Drive starring Ryan Gosling and Carey Mulligan. First of all, the leading players were good, but were made even better by the supporting cast; Christina Hendricks' role, however short, was impressive and Gosling's relationship with the little boy (Kaden Leos) was convincing. Determining where the film is going from the start is not difficult, a shock change of character sets the audience up for other shocks later on. Determining how these shocks are going to be played out is the difficult part, you really don't see a lot of them coming. Although Gosling has few lines, his character has so many levels. His facial expressions do all the work, down to him having staring contests with the boy.
This isn't your everyday car chase flick, it's logical and strategic. So pretty much everything a car flick isn't. Fasten your seat belts, you really won't know what's coming.