Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World

Writer/director Edgar Wright leaves his friend Simon Pegg and native England to move to America to make his first big Hollywood film.

Edgar is one of the most imaginative film makers working today. He is able to work in a variety of genres and is brilliant at it. All his films so far have been comedies, but he has worked in action, horror and romantic comedy with these films too. That crossing genre work also applies to this film as well. Edgar has adapted a graphic novel and manages to work in action, romance and all with a video game perspective. I don't want to give you the wrong impression but for me this film is aimed at a certain age group. It is not necessarily a bad thing and it did not bother me. However with video games average age increasing all the time I suppose it will appeal to more people. But I do think that if your over 50 you won't like it much. This is however a brilliant film and one of the best I've seen this year. While I do not play video games I still loved the use of that medium in the film. It is like the most literal adaptation of a video game we're ever likely to see, if 'Scott Pilgrim' was originally a video game. Edgar has brilliantly used a variety of techniques to make this film. It may give you sensory overload but just works so well for the story. There is so much clever dialogue which with the stunning visuals make this an incredibly fun film to watch as well as being a great twist on the romantic/comedy genre.

Michael Cera has made a career out of playing the nervous, nerdy guy and does that to great effect here. Scott is slightly different in that he has a bit of a darker streak to him that gives him a bit of an edge and to me makes him more appealing. Mary Elizabeth Winstead is good as Scott's love interest but does not have much to do. She does get a couple of great fights but does not seem all that appealing. Michael's foes in the film are all excellent in their small roles and get a great time on screen. Jason Schwartzman is possibly the best of the Exes. Although Kieran Culkin is wonderful as Scott's room mate.

Not a film that is going to appeal to everyone. This year has produced so many unique and imaginative films that I'm so amazed. A wonderfully different romantic comedy for those who like something different.

Me And Orson Welles

Zac Efron continues his struggle to move away from his stereotype as the 'High School Musical' guy. Although his next film takes a bit of a step back.

Orson Welles is an amazing artist. He has achieved so much interesting work over his life in so many different mediums. It would be interesting to see what he would do with the internet if he was alive today. Having done so much it is hard to get all the stories of his life in one movie. Maybe someone could do a mini-series to cover it all. In the meantime we get these films based on small segments of his life. This is about his work in theatre and specifically his production of 'Julius Caesar' that Orson directed and starred in. The film is a fascinating look at not only how the production was put together but showing what sort of man Orson was. Considering this was an earlier chapter in his life I'm surprised he was able to get away with doing what he does. Mostly in the way he treats people. He does not come across as a terribly nice person but everyone seems to accept it. Possibly they see how talented he is. Although Zac's character Richard does see through that and stand up to Orson and his selfish ways. Aside from that it is a fascinating look at how theatrical productions are put together. Orson has assembled a very talented troupe of actors here who seem very talented to be able to put on this highly acclaimed production in such a short space of time.

This would be Zac Efron's first film that is very much removed from his work on 'High School Musical' and he does an excellent job. I think if he can do more roles like this he can become a great actor. Claire Danes gives a charming performance here. Although her character does something bad at the end you don't mind because Claire is so charming. But the real star of this film is Christian McKay. Much like the real Orson Welles, Christian gives a brilliant performance that dominates the film. He really convinces you that this is the real Orson and how he would have behaved to make people do what he wanted.

An excellent look at one of last centuries most talented artists. As well as showcasing the brilliant performance by Christian McKay.

Splice

Vincenzo Matali has made a couple of excellent sci-fi thrillers. He returns with another but more of a horror twist.

Over the years we have seen the 'Frankenstein' story told in many different ways and variations. Some are more successful than others. With the way technology is heading the story is becoming more of a reality. Which is why there is more of a burden on writers and film makers to create something unique. Sadly for me Vincenzo has not been successful. I found the film to be borderline boring. There is nothing new or interesting about the story which is cliched and predictable. You know where it is going the whole time and while that is not always a problem it can be when the story is not thrilling enough. I did not like the characters either. They behave in all the ways you expect and don't do anything unexpected to make them interesting. Not even the science of what Clive and Elsa is doing is all that interesting. We saw a more interesting way of doing it in 'The Island Of Dr. Moreau'. I did not feel the tension either in their attempt to keep Dren a secret. I felt no threat from their bosses or fellow scientists considering the amount of time they spend away from the lab.

Adrien Brody is an excellent actor and does a fine job here but is not able to elevate the material he has to work with. It is the same from Sarah Polley who is normally able to make the material better because of her excellent acting ability. Delphine Chaneoc is excellent though as Dren. She is given a better character as she has both the physicality and emotion to work with.

Quite a boring movie that does not utilise the traditional story of 'Frankenstein' and make it anything special.

Centurion

Writer/director Neil Marshall is not afraid to go all out with the blood and guts in the films he makes. He has mostly made present day horror films but now goes back in time.

I've been very surprised that there are so many films coming out this year which have similar stories or are about the same thing. This film is about a group of Roman soldiers known as the Ninth Legion. There is also another film called 'The Eagle' which is based on the same soldiers but has a different story. As for this film it is not too bad. The story is pretty predictable and you know where it's going at all times. But you don't mind too much as the action is pretty good. Neil has done a good job of making his film look good on what I'm sure is a very small budget. Neil certainly knows how to direct action and this film is on a bigger scale than what we've normally seen and he rises to the challenge.

I'm not sure if its is because of 'Inglorious Basterds' that we are seeing more films with Michael Fassbender or I notice him more. He is an excellent actor and caries this film really well. I'm sure we'll see him as the leading man more often now. Dominic West is excellent as always. Olga Kurylenko has been given a non-speaking role which I find has amused many reviewers because she is a Russian actress and the accent would sound out of place in the movie. She certainly does a good job of playing the strong silent type.

A decent action adventure film that while has a pretty predictable journey is still a fun one to have. Good for the action scenes.

The Runaways

Actress Kristen Stewart tries to prove that she is more than just the love thing for a tug-of-war between a vampire and a werewolf. She tackles the life of a teen rock band.

I did not know anything about the band The Runaways before this film. I only knew about Joan Jett from her song 'I Love Rock And Roll' because it was one of the first rock songs I remember becoming a fan of when I was young. It is a very surprising and interesting story. I was very surprised at how easily the band came together. It seems that all that happened was Joan Jett approached record producer Kim Fowley and asked to form an all girl rock band. He said 'yeah sure' (not those exact words but you get the idea) and so they start the group. The real struggle comes with the egos that develop and how the band copes with trying to stay together. In some ways this is the typical story that develops, where one or maybe two band members get a bit too egotistical and caught up in the hype of being popular. The problem here is that these are very young girls and so things get a bit weird when they are sexualised by the media. While it is quite disturbing, I'm not surprised it happened. These girls did not have much supervision from what is portrayed in the film, so naturally they are going to get up to all sorts of trouble. As it is the film is a fascinating look at a very young all girl band and how they cope with success.

As we all know Kristen Stewart has been in a very successful franchise the last couple of years. But before that she was in other films and was quite a good actress. Here she proves that she can be more than just Bella. The 'Twilight' series is not something that is going to stretch her acting all that much so she needs to do films like this to actually prove herself. I think she is excellent and all those Bella fans should check her out. Dakota Fanning on the other hand is excellent in everything she does so it is no surprise that she is excellent here. She is certainly growing up a lot. The real surprise is Michael Shannon. He is brilliant in this film. Lets hope the film's distributor puts a push behind him as I can see him getting an Oscar nomination next year.

An excellent look at a rock band that I think most young people would never have heard of. It also gives you a chance to see Kristen Stewart in something different.

Killers

We now come to the second of this years films about woman falling love with assassins. It is interesting what trends in film making that Hollywood will pick up on.

Most of the time I will go see a film regardless of what people think of it. I like to go see a film to judge it for myself. There are films I deliberately avoid cause I know they are bad and can't be bothered seeing them. But every so often a film comes along that gets some really bad reviews and recommendations but I can't help but want to see it just to see how bad it really is. Sometimes the film turn out to not be as bad I was lead to believe. Now don't get me wrong, this is not a good film. It is a bad movie, but it is not as horrendous as I thought it was going to be. The problem lies mostly with the writing and directing. The premise is quite good but Bob DeRosa and Ted Griffin have completely ruined it by writing a bad screenplay. The film is plotted really badly and the second act takes so long to kick in. Then there is the direction. Here in Australia we are pretty proud of Robert Luketic and the success he has had in Hollywood. I have not been too impressed myself as I've not enjoyed all his films. But they have all been moderately successful so he continues to get work. He has mostly been working in the romantic comedy genre and he tries his hand at adding some action with this film. I don't think he can handle it. Comparing it to 'Knight & Day' where the action is quite slick and one of its best aspects, here they are badly shot and not in the least bit interesting or thrilling.

I thought a few years ago that Katherine Heigl had a pretty promising career. But it looks like she has decided not to do anything promising. All she seems to want to do is ordinary romantic comedies. While she is trying a bit of action here it does not work. I did not really like her performance here and it was so boring. On the other hand I quite liked Ashton Kutcher. Ashton does make a few romantic comedies but here he gets the better of the two roles and show how he can handle some action. I think if he wanted to he could try a full on action film. The best performances though are reserved for Tom Selleck and Catherine O'Hara who are wonderful in their small roles.

While this movie is bad it is not as horrible as previously reported. Not worth seeing at the cinema but maybe check it out when on TV.

The Special Relationship

For the third time Michael Sheen is playing former British Prime Minister Tony Blair in another film about his relationship with a person who has more power than he does.

Every so often a film that was made for TV in the USA gets a cinema release here in Australia. It happened a few years ago with 'The Life And Death Of Peter Sellers'. I love true stories about political figures and this is another good one. This is an interesting insight into a major political figure and his place on the world stage. Tony Blair is much like most leaders of countries and he panders to the US president regardless of who is in power. I think a similar movie could be made about our former Prime Minister John Howard and his relationship with former President George W. Bush. It is also good to see a bit more behind the scenes on some big events such as the Monica Lewinski scandal. I think with the recent inquiry into Tony Blair, this film shows that Tony can be a good guy and tries to help out nations in need.

Poor Michael Sheen. Once again he is playing co-star to an actor who outshines him. Especially bad when he is supposed to be the lead. Michael pretty much has the Tony Blair thing down pat now so there is not much more he brings to the role. But the real stand out is Dennis Quaid. He is excellent as Bill Clinton and gives a very good impression, especially in the voice. On the female side the Brits are out done by their US counterparts as well. Helen McCrory has played Cherie before so does another good job. Hope Davis is excellent as Hilary and is able to show the great depth and strength of this woman.

An excellent insight into the lives of a couple of political greats. Well worth seeing to show how great an actor Dennis Quaid can be when given the good material.

Creation

For the entire duration of human history, we have all wondered where we came from and why we are here. One man proposed a theory which divided the world.

Charles Darwin is mostly known for his theory that humans and other creatures evolved over time and were not 'created' by God. So the most interesting thing about this film is to find out what the man himself was like. What was most surprising was that Charles's theory really affected him not only spiritually but emotionally and physically. In stories such as this it is usually the person with the theory or conviction going up against the establishment. But this film is about Charles writing the book so is more about his own personal battles in getting the book written. There could be a sequel which explores the fall-out after the book is published. The only thing I'd like to have known that is not in the movie is where Charles gets his money. I suppose he may be rich from inheritance but he does a few things that make you wonder how he pays for it.

Paul Bettany has mostly been a supporting actor, so it is nice to see him front and centre in a movie. He is excellent here as he gives great depth to Charles and the struggles he is going through. I also find it interesting that he is playing a man seeing visions after playing a vision in a previous film. Since she won an Oscar Jennifer Connolly has been struggling to find a successful film. Here she does an good job of essentially playing a role she does in real life. They both have a very intensely emotional scene at the end which shows how both are great actors.

Despite your beliefs this film is well worth seeing just to see what a struggle Charles Darwin went through. It may not change what you believe in but will give you an insight into the man behind the theory.

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

The saga continues. Bella continues to make her mind up over who she really wants to be with. A shirtless wolf or a sparkly vampire.

For those who read my review of 'New Moon' will know that I'm not a big fan of this series. I like my vampires to be vicious, nasty animals and not sweet, sparkly softies. This film does not do anything to endear me to the series any more. I found this film to be quite boring with all the back and forth over which guy Bella will choose.I'm not sure if it is because they are supposedly having an off screen romance, but to me the chemistry between Bella and Edward looks more believable than between Bella and Jacob. I don't know what spark of interest Jacob sees that makes him think Bella is interested in him. It did however get a little bit interesting with the arrival of the bad vampires and the battle at the end. But that did not make up for all the ordinary relationship stuff that goes before it. I found some of the background stories that they flashback to a bit interesting.

The material here is not that conducive to a very good performance. I think the actors make a pretty good job of the ordinary story. Of the new players I was quite pleased to see Aussie Xavier Samuel make his Hollywood debut. Finally we have a nasty vampire in the story. Bryce Dallas Howard is OK but is not given very much to do in the film.

Again this is only for the fans. I don't think that if you have not seem the other films then you will be interested in seeing this.

Inception

A couple of years ago Christopher Nolan directed the best film adaptation of a comic book. He set the bar pretty high for himself. Now he has gone and blown it completely away.

Since the dawn of cinema film makers have revelled in the world of the dream. It lets them use their creativity to explore a surreal world and let their mind wonder to some bizarre situations. There is though the chance that they can go a bit overboard and alienate their audience with weird imagery just for the sake of it. At the core of this film is an old fashioned heist movie. But instead of breaking into a safe to steal something they are breaking in to put something in. Around this core premise, Nolan has crafted a wondrous dream scape. While it is a bit surreal it is still rooted in a sense of reality. Rules about the dream world have been established and adhered to so you know where you stand. The dream world Nolan has created is a visual masterpiece. It is one of the best uses of special effects in a movie. There are some scenes that are simply stunning to behold and should be seen on as big a screen as you can find. All this wonderful imagery is nothing without a brilliant story to back it up. As I said it is a regular heist film in principle and I was reminded of the 'Ocean's' Trilogy as I was watching it, but it is so much more. Unlike most heist film where you can just sit back and watch the fun take place, this film requires you to think and have your mind challenged. Something your average blockbuster film does not do. Much like Danny Ocean, Cobb is doing this not just for the money but for his family. He has lost his wife, but she still haunts his life in a very dangerous way. So he is just trying to get back to his children. This is a rare cliched moment in the film where he is doing 'one last job'. It's it good to have a great story and great visuals but you need to put it together properly. The editing of this film is simply amazing. The way the heist is inter cut at the end was a joy to behold. Not only making it emotional but incredibly thrilling as well. I only have one minor problem with the film and that is I would have liked them to explain the mechanics of how they are able to enter the dream world. How that thing in the suitcase works. But considering how complicated the film is I'm surprised we'd be able to understand it.

Leonardo DiCaprio is an excellent actor and this film continues that streak. He can really bring out the emotion in any situation. I just wish he would do a comedy as he is always a bit too serious. Leo's ensemble co-stars are equally excellent. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is an actor I have been a fan of for many years now since '3rd Rock From The Sun'. He can play all types of roles and get to do some more action here. Tom Hardy provides some great comedy relief and I hope we see him in more films. I wish we knew more about Ellen Pages character and why Cobb chooses her to be on the team. The real stand out though is Marion Cotillard. Ever since she came to our attention in 'La Vie En Rose' she has has gone from strength to strength and given us some amazing performances. Here she must give a huge range of emotions as our perception of her changes because it is based on Cobb's memories.

It does not happen all that often but we sometimes get a film which is cinematic perfection. A film which is perfect in every way. This is one such film. All those awards that alluded Christopher Nolan after 'The Dark Knight' should now come his way. A rare thing in the cinema that is both intelligent and thrilling. Please go see this film.