Tron: Legacy

Most studios like Disney have been remaking a lot of their old films. This time Disney have done something a little different and made a sequel instead.

'Tron' is one of those films that was ahead of its time. Back in 1982 the dazzling special effects may have been too much for audiences back then to handle. Over time it has been more popular and become a cult classic. I remember seeing it a long time ago and being impressed with the visual look of the film. It has been more popular with geeks I think. The sequel comes across as something made primarily for these geeks. That is not a bad thing and I'm sure most people will get a thrill out of it. Much like the original, though the film is all about the visuals. The story is pretty simple and there are not many twists and turns. I found it to be very new-age. I also think there was not enough made of the threat Clu was making to leave The Grid. While we know it would be bad for him to leave, I'd have like to know 'how bad'. The special effects though are quite stunning. I saw the film at an Imax cinema so was even more impressive on a larger screen.

After his impressive role in 'Crazy Heart', Jeff Bridges is taking it easy here. There's not all that much for him to do. As many of mentioned he has that laid back approach like he did when he played The Dude. I'm surprised it has taken Garrett Hedlund so long to get a leading role. I found him quite impressive here and shows that he can become a great leading man. Especially of action films.

A visually stunning film that may lack some plot is still a great film that needs to be seen on the big screen. If you get the chance make sure that screen is the largest one you can find.

Somewhere

Writer/director Sofia Coppola uses her own life experiences and those of the people that she knows to make a film about what it is like to be an actor.

Sofia's films are very distinctive for being very subtle in the way that they convey their story. This is the ultimate use of that. I can understand how many people would find a film like this very boring. Not much really happens. It is kind of just all the fairly mundane actions of an actor who lives in a hotel. Admittedly the arrival of his daughter does change things somewhat, but from the looks of things it does not change all that much. Considering that he does not do all that much to begin with then there is little to change. I think there are subtle things going on here which maybe I missed. It is more of an emotional journey with very little by way of action.

Stephen Dorff is one of those actors who has been around for awhile but has not had much of a chance to show off the full range of his talents. We now get to see it here. Stephen is certainly able to convey the many subtle changes his character must bear. Ella Fanning certainly proves that talent is being bred in the Fanning household. Much like her older sister had with 'I Am Sam', this is certain to be the film for young Ella to use to further her career.

A look at the life of an actor that is completely different to the one we are used to seeing in 'Entourage'. An excellent film for those who prefer something more thought provoking and where things are not explained so easily.

Zelig + The Purple Rose Of Cairo

This weeks Woody Allen double features Mia Farrow in films set during the 1920's. I have not previously seen these films either.

'Zelig' is an excellent mockumentary about a guy who acts like a chameleon. It very cleverly looks at the hype that blows up when this guy gets famous. It proves that the media has always been able to cause a frenzy and without the Internet. Except for the fact that is has Woody and Mia in it, you would think this is a real documentary.

'The Purple Rose Of Cairo' is another excellent comedy which brings up some interesting issues about self. The scenes where the movie characters are talking to the cinema audience are hilarious not only in what they say but in the concept itself. What would characters say if they had a voice? What if they could stick up for themselves? I was however very disappointed by the ending and found it very sad.

Woody Allen once again proves he is an excellent comedy actor in 'Zelig'. He does not have much to do as the concept does most of the work and he just has to pose. Mia Farrow is an excellent actress and is very good at deadpan comedy. She brings a more dramatic quality to her roles while those around her do the comedy.

Another excellent double from one of the best comedians that is still working today. 'Zelig' is a nicely clever mockumentary and 'The Purple Rose Of Cairo' is an excellent romantic comedy but the ending upset me.

The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Vayage Of The Dawn Treader

This is the film that almost didn't happen. After the less than stellar box office for 'Prince Caspian', Disney left the franchise. Luckily Fox came to the table and we get to see this film.

Ever since the success of the 'Lord Of The Rings' trilogy and the 'Harry Potter' series, studios have been buying up fantasy franchises to exploit. They had great potential in the 'Narnia' series but things have not gone well. Part of the problem is that unlike the other series these books are separate stories and not really part of a continuing saga. 'Prince Caspian' was not as thrilling as 'Lion, The Witch...' so it was a bit of a let down for the series. As a result this film comes across as very ordinary. To me it felt like they were going through the motions in making the film. They had troubles in trying to get it set up that by the time it came to do it they had kind of lost interest but had to go through with making it because off all the trouble in setting it up. There are no heart or feeling to the film. They were unable to make any of the confrontations very thrilling, except perhaps the final one which is quite good. The general story is not very interesting either. Caspian is supposed to be on a mission to find some guys who are missing but we're not sure why they are so important. Even when we do you don't really care.

The cast try their best with the mediocre material they are given. Poor Ben Barnes is not given very much to do. Georgie Henley and Skandar Keynes have the same character arcs they did in the previous films so just do the same thing again. The best thing in the film is Will Poulter. I became a fan of his after the brilliant film 'Son Of Rambow'. He is very funny in this film and gives an excellent performance.

So far this film has had a pretty lackluster performance ant the box office so I don't think you should hold your breath for another in the series.

Megamind

We are still riding the wave of superhero films at the moment. Now Dreamworks Animation jumps on the band wagon.

I know they will say different, but I can not help but seen many similarities between 'Megamind' and 'The Incredibles'. 'Despicable Me' did a much better job earlier this year of looking at the superhero film from the villains perspective. For me most of Dreamworks Animated films lack the quality you get from their main rivals at Pixar. For some reason Pixar look and feel like a great deal of time and effort have gone into them. I'm not saying that is not the case with Dreamworks but for some reason Pixar's efforts come through on the screen. I did not find this effort particularly funny despite what looks like a big effort to make it that way. There were a few excellent jokes though which I thought were very clever. Dreamworks have done a good job with the 3D look. They can stage some excellent scenes that take full advantage of the 3D effect.

Will Ferrel can be a hilarious actor and I think his voice suits Megamind really well. The material he has to work with is not all that good so he lacks the excellence we come to expect. Tina Fey has one of those voices that is not very distinctive so your not looking at her character and picturing the actress. Which makes her an excellent choice. Jonah Hill's character looks a lot like him so that helps make his performance more convincing. I'm surprised Brad Pitt is in this considering he was the star of Dreamworks biggest animated flop. But then that wasn't his fault. He is excellent in his small role.

Despite a couple of very clever jokes and a nice 3D look, this latest effort from Dreamworks lacks the heart that we had in their better from this year 'How To Train Your Dragon'.

The Last Exorcism

The craze of 'lost film footage' continues with this documentary about a preacher telling the truth about exorcisms.

Ever since 1973 films about exorcisms have been struggling to live up to the greatness of 'The Exorcist'. The problem for me is that they are all the same. A priest or religious figure turns up to exorcise demons or the devil from a young girl. It is always some poor young girl who is possessed not a man or boy. It would be nice if film makers could come up with a more unique take on this horror theme. Despite this I found the film mildly entertaining. But not as a horror film. I did not find it very scary and the documentary technique did not help. I found it more as a look at a man who is disillusioned by his life and sets out to reveal the truth but finds a truth he did not expect.

Patrick Fabian as the preacher Cotton Marcus is quite good as the showman who is revealing his tricks. He plays a good host to the story and Patrick does a good job of conveying the revelations his character makes. Ashley Bell is decent as the possessed girl. She is good at folding her body when required. I found Caleb Jones as her brother a lot more creepy.

There are a few good things about this story but it still wears thin the new trick of the 'found footage' genre. As well as not bringing anything new to the exorcism genre.

Fair Game

Despite the less than stellar box office for films about the Iraq War we get another that involves the intelligence area of the war.

The issue of Weapons Of Mass Destruction was a big one when war was declared in Iraq. When it was discovered that there were no WMDs the USA lost all credibility with the world. Paul Greengrass tackled the issue earlier this year with his film 'Green Zone'. I found this a very dumbed down version of the issue which seemed the wrong way to handle it as the makers only seemed concerned with action and not the politics of the issue which was where the real drama lies. Which is why this film was so good. It seems to be a very complex issue and this film nicely gives a good view of it. The one thing the film does point out which I loved was how the US government lied over it. There are some people who seemed determined, despite evidence to the contrary, to have there be WMDs in Iraq. But the thing that makes this film so great is that it is given such a personal element by focusing on Valerie Plame and the fall out over her husband's involvement in a fact finding mission. It is shocking what happens to her but not all the surprising considering the lengths you expect the US government would go to to cover up their blunder.


Naomi Watts gives another brilliant performance here. She is one of the best actresses working today and this film proves it once again. She has that everyday quality which makes her so good. Sean Penn too is another actor that seems to not be able to give a bad performance. He is perfect as Joe Wilson because you know Sean would feel the same way Joe does if he was in that situation.


The Iraq War seems to have a lot of stories to tell and none are more relevant than that of WMDs. This is an excellent political thriller for adults who like their films so have some intelligence.

Bananas + Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sex (*but were afraid to ask)

For the next Woody Allen double feature we have a double that feature Louise Lassser as his co-star.

This was the first time I have seen 'Bananas' and much like Woody's earlier films is full of lots of visual humour. The plot is very crazy and very silly. It is one of those that is not terribly believable but still really funny. It opens with a hilarious scene of famous sports commentator, Howard Cosell, commenting on the assassination of a South American dictator. So right from the start you know the level of humour that Woody is going for. Some jokes do not quite work but most of them do. I was surprised at how much I laughed.

The first time I saw 'Everything You Wanted ...' was when it played on TV one day as the midday movie. I was quited shocked that a quite sexually explicit movie was being shown during the day. There are no actual sex scenes but many sexual references that really push the envelope. This is also the type of film that I we have not seen for quite a while and I wish we could see more of now and that is the sketch movie. My favourite is the doctor who falls in love with a sheep and still makes me laugh. I also love the last sketch about what happens in a guy when he has sex.

Woody is in his silly mode in both these films and does an excellent job. He does though have an annoying habit of talking to the camera a few times. It works in some of his films but not in either of these. Loise Lasser is a very deadpan comedy actress and does a nice job of playing Woody's straight person. There is a very funny cameo by Sylvester Stallone in 'Bananas'. In 'Everything' my favourite by far is Gene Wilder. I've long been a fan of his and he is brilliant in his sketch or segment. When he first looks at that sheep I break out in hysterics.

A really nice pair of Woody's films and nicely showcases some of his very funny early work. Proving he knows how to do some great visual comedy and verbal comedy. 'Everything' is my favourite of the pair but 'Bananas' is still good.

Devil

M. Night Shyamalan has been asked to make some films based on his ideas. But he does not fully write them or direct them.

As many know M. Night has not been very popular of late. He has made so many bad films that I'm surprised he can still get work. Despite being so loathed 'The Last Airbender' still made money. I think however he maybe onto the right track here. Just coming up with an idea then letting someone else write and direct it. Because of M. Night's involvement I had very low expectations for this film. Which may explain why I ended up enjoying it more than I expected. It is just a nicely made supernatural thriller that keeps you interested with all the little clues it dribbles out. The twist at the end is not really all that shocking but is real neat.

Chris Messina does a really nice job as the detective in charge of finding who is the killer in the lift. The people in the lift are a good collection of 'bodies' for the killer. They do get angry a little bit too easily though.

Despite having M. Night's name on this film it is not as terrible a film as you may expect. He has done the right thing and come up with a good idea but then let someone else make it come true. I think he needs to do it more in future.

Lebanon

Writer/director Samuel Maoz brings his own personal experiences of the First Lebanon War to this film.

I think by sheer co-incidence film makers at the moment are using the idea of small cramped locations to make their films cheaper. 'Buried' takes that idea to the extreme and 'Lebanon' get a bit more room. But just focusing on four guys in a tank is amazingly utilised by Samuel. It is most effective when giving perspective to what is happening outside the tank. We only see what is happening through the view finder of the gun site for the tank's cannon. It makes things very limiting and can confuse you. We are very disoriented by the way the camera moves and uses zooms to focus in on certain things. You never know how far you really are from things. This is an excellent way of creating tension for the audience as it means things can come into frame unexpectedly. There is one scene which is incredibly heartbreaking because of this perspective. The close quarters of the tank means the we focus our attention on these characters and get to feel their fear. These are young men who have been thrust into war, supposedly against their wishes and so you feel their fear.

All the cast are excellent and very effective in their roles. Yoav Donat sort of leads the action as the gunner because he controls the view we see outside the tank. He also controls the gun so we feel his emotions the most. Itay Tiran is effective as the reluctant leader who must keep the boys together despite the horrible situation they are in.

An excellent film that is highly recommended. It gives you a unique and very different perspective of war.

Annie Hall + Sleeper

The Chauvel cinema in Sydney is once again presenting some quality double features. Over December/January they are having regular Woody Allen doubles. First up is two of his films featuring Diane Keaton.

I came to the Woody Allen fan club a little late with the first film of his that I saw being 'Bullets Over Broadway'. It was my love of this film that made me go back and see most of his back catalogue as not all is available. I try to go see his new film each year if I can. However not all get a cinema release in Australia. I admit that not all of his films are great but he does have an excellent track record of making some brilliant comedies.

One of the most highly regarded of these is 'Annie Hall'. Most consider this to be his best film and rightly so. While it does not have a terribly complex story, with it just being about the relationship between a guy and a girl. However it is how the story is told that makes it so brilliant. There are so many brilliant one liners that you have trouble remembering them all in just one viewing. The story is also told in a non-linear way so you see the relationship from different points. The characters, mostly Alvy, break the fourth wall and talk to the audience as well as background characters. It is a wonderfully unique way of commenting on the action and letting us see what characters are thinking.

While 'Annie Hall' has very little plot, 'Sleeper' has a lot more plot. It is always interesting to see what people of the past think of the future. None more so than in this film. This film has more visual humour than verbal jokes which is its strong point. The plot is quite weak and only a loose excuse for Woody to play it silly, which he does quite often. There are many great visually funny sequences in the film that are well staged. Thing do get a bit silly at times but you don't seem to mind.

As an actor Woody is a great comedian. His strength is in the verbal humour as seen in 'Annie Hall' as opposed to the visual kind seen in 'Sleeper'. He tends to over act in the visual scenes using really broad gestures instead of smaller movements. Dianne Keaton is much the same. She seems more self assured with the verbal humour than the outrageous comedy of 'Sleepers'.

'Annie Hall' is one of the best romantic comedies ever made and probably the best Woody Allen film. 'Sleeper' is good and has many funny scenes but is not quite as good.

Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale

At this time of year we get a nice, lovely Christmas movie that is supposed to make us feel all warm and fuzzy over the holiday season. For some reason the Fins did not get that memo.

Every culture seems to have their own Christmas story that involves an old man distributing presents to good children. But what if there was a Santa Claus that punished the bad children rather than rewarded the good ones. This is the premise of this brilliantly dark Christmas story from Finland. I'm a big fan of black comedies so this film really appealed to me. It is also very creepy and scary. Director Jalmari Helander does a wonderful job of building the tension and making Santa someone you fear rather than love. It is a world away from the jolly old fellow that was created by Coke. My one problem with the film has to do with the ending so stop reading if you don't want to be spoiled. I was disappointed that we did not get to see the huge evil Santa that they dug up. It would have been great to see him rampaging through the town. There is some wonderful visuals in the film, especially the horde of evil Santa's helpers running through the snow.

Onni Tommila plays the young boy in the film who is the only one to believe in the evil Santa. He is an excellent young actor and is wonderful in this film. He has a brilliant moment when he leads the charge at the end of the film which had me cheering. The rest of the cast is excellent too. Especially Peeter Jakobi as the evil Santa's helper that they capture. I must also give praise to all the other helpers and the bravery they show in this film.

One of the best Christmas movies ever made. I was cheering at the end of this film and loved the way it presents a very different look at the Santa Claus myth.

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 1

We are drawing near to the end of the epic adventure series and one of the most successful film series of all time.

For first time readers I will explain a little bit about my feelings for 'Harry Potter'. I started reading the books just before they became hugely popular. I thought they were good, but not great. They reminded me a lot of Roald Dahl in style. I did however loose interest after the 4th book and have not read any further, choosing instead to rely on the movies to finish the story. I thought the first two films were awful and really badly written. They were too devoted to the books. Unlike the other films where they were not afraid to leave stuff out and change things a little. Which is why I liked them more. My favourite has been 'The Order Of The Phoenix' which is mainly due to the brilliant performance of Imelda Staunton.

It has been very hard for me to not hear about any major plot twists regarding the film. But luckily I have. While I've mostly experienced these characters in the movies I'm starting to get emotional about the final part of the journey they are going on. I liked how this film's story is a huge departure from previous ones in that it is not set in Hogwarts I miss the school because there are some characters from there that are not in the film. I did however like the way the film opened, especially with Hermione. I found that very heartbreaking. I know many have said that unless you have read the book then a lot of what happens does not mean much. I have not read the book but thought it was excellent. I was able to follow the story easily and did not have a problem understanding what was going on. My only problem with the film is a bit of a minor one, and that is that they only find and destroy one Horcrux in the whole film. While most would find it a bit of a drag, which I can understand, I found it a good way to help develop the characters more. The plot is fairly simple so it give you more time to know how they are feeling about what they in for. I felt we are going on a more emotional journey with these characters which makes the ending all the more exciting and thrilling. There are some excellent action sequences which I thought were really well staged.

Daniel Radcliffe has certainly grown into his role as Harry Potter. In the first few films, much like the other kids, he was not very convincing. But now he owns the role and gives it the enormous emotional weight it needs. Emma and Rupert are much the same. Emma has not always been that great for me but she gets more of a chance to show her range here. Rupert has always been my favourite and he still is. The adults in this movie are few and far between, amounting to mostly cameo appearances. Imelda Staunton is still brilliant.

I'm very excited to find out how this all ends. I'm expecting a real thrilling conclusion. We will loose some people and I'm bracing myself for it but I just hope I can keep it a secret until the film is released.

Due Date

In 2000, director Todd Philips made the college comedy 'Road Trip' he now makes another road movie but in a more mature theme.

Last year Todd made the hugely successful film 'The Hangover' so any film he tried to follow up with was going to be hugely anticipated. From the looks of things this does not seem to have met that expectation. Now I found this film to be quite funny and really enjoyed it, but I think it has a couple of problems. I think that part of 'The Hangover's success was that it came from no where. People weren't expecting it to be as huge as it was and so there was a great deal of word of mouth that got the film to be popular. But also too there was an excellent script. It had a good story that backed up the hilarity of the film. Sadly that is missing here. 'Due Date' has a fairly conventional plot of a guy trying to get home for a big event. There are no major twists or interesting surprises. You know where the film is going. This would not matter so much if the journey was good, but I don't think it was as funny as many expected. I admit that it may not have as many laughs as you may want but it still is a lot funnier than most comedies out there today. The other major problem are the characters. Our two leads, I think, are not as likable as they should be which is what has turned some people off. This is not a problem for the Ethan character as he is meant to be nice. But it gets a bit too much for Peter being so nasty as he is the one your meant to sympathise with.

Robert Downey Jnr's career has certainly grown of late and he is excellent in everything he does. He is a great comedic actor and proves that here. While his character is quite nasty he is still very good at it. Zach Galifianakis seems to play very unlikeable characters in his films. Guys that seem to annoy everyone else. Something he does well here. It would be nice to see him do something a little different next time. I am disappointed Michelle Monaghan did not get more to as she worked so well with Robert in one of my all time favourite films 'Kiss Kiss Bang Bang'. Even Robert's other pal Jamie Foxx has a very nothing part. The only one who gets something of substance is Danny McBride in a very funny scene.

Fans of 'The Hangover' should maybe lower their expectations a bit with this film. It is really funny but lacks a decent plot to make it as memorable as its predecessor.

Wild Target

Jonathyn Lynn is an English director with a very distinguished career. I am a fan of his film 'Nuns On The Run'. I also think that his film 'Greedy' is one of the most under appreciated films ever.

It is based on this as well as the cast that I came to the film with pretty high expectations. Sadly the film did not quite meet my expectations. Maybe they were just up too high. I don't think the film was as consistently funny as I was hoping. However this does not mean it is still not an enjoyable film. The story is pretty typical. A hit man who falls for his target and ends up protecting her rather than killing her. The only problem here is that some may find the age difference a bit creepy. I also enjoyed the ambiguity of Victor's sexuality. Victor has been so involved in his job for so long that he's never had a thought about sex. Then when the though is put in his head and then which type of sex he wants he is confused. One other problem I had was that the film was set in mostly one location. I understand that this was probably done for budgetary reasons, but the writers don't seem to make it very interesting. However the writers do create some wonderful slapstick moments as part of the comedy.

Bill Nighy, while an older actor, only seems to have been recently famous. He is excellent at playing comedy as well as drama and certainly brings that versatility to this role. Emily Blunt is wonderful at playing such quirky characters and can handle the comedy so well. Rupert Grint has always been my favourite from the 'Harry Potter' crew. I think he could have a great comedic career. Something he proves nicely here.

A very good English comedy that is entertaining. Some plot points maybe a bit weird but still lots of fun.