Lots of romantic comedies end with a wedding, and this film is no exception. However in this film the couple are firmly in love when the film starts.
I feel that my taste in films is evolving. I am a huge fan of romantic comedies but the ones I like are becoming few and far between. I prefer stories that are a bit more unconventional where the happy ending may not happen. This film had the promise of a different type of story with a couple who were already in love and having to delay a wedding. But in true Judd Apatow fashion it was ruined. There is a rule I feel film makers need to adhere to which is that comedies in general should run for about 90-100 minutes or less. I will admit there are some which work at a longer run time but they are very rare. While Judd was only a producer on this film, most of the films he is involved with are always far too long. Usually by 20-30 minutes, and this film is no exception. Most of the time I can handle that longer time but with this film it became a really big problem. I found it to be incredibly boring. As I said the premise is interesting but it is not done in an interesting way. I'm going to reveal some spoilers to the plot so be warned. So Tom and Violet cannot get married because she gets a job in a different state. Now to me I don't see that as being a big enough reason to delay a wedding. I understand that they are away from family and friends but one thing that was not explored was why the couple could not have a quick or smaller wedding. Could the families not have traveled. These issues are not addressed and therefore mean the films main issue looses credibility for me. I also did not find the film very funny. There were only a small amount of funny moments and they only raised a smile and no great big laughs.
Despite a lack of laughs and plot holes the cast do a pretty good job. Jason Segel makes a nice goofy character in all his films and does his usually good job here. Emily Blunt is her delightful self as always. Chris Platt makes an excellent romantic comedy best friend. As usual he is the best thing in the film and outshines the leads. Alison Brie is good as Violets sister. I'm pleased to see that Aussie Jackie Weaver's Oscar nomination is starting to pay off and she has chosen a role far removed from 'Animal Kingdom'. I am also a fan of Mimi Kennedy and love her here.
My standards for a romantic comedy have risen so I might be a bit too harsh on this film. Despite that it is still a very boring film with very few laughs.
The dark side of the moon has been known to reveal many interesting things lately if films are to be believed. We've had Transformers and aliens, now we have Nazis.
It can be very hard to raise funds to make a feature film. Especially one as ambitious as this one. So you have to hand it to the team behind 'Iron Sky' for getting it made and into cinemas. A common technique used by film makers to day is to film against green screen then scenery added in post production. It is a very cost effective method that is served well for films like this. That is the strongest thing that the film has going for it. While the special effects look a little cheap (and no doubt they are) they still look very impressive. Now for the bad parts. It is all well and good that a film can revel in its badness, especially when they are sending up the B-movie genre. The premise is quite good but I don't think it's full potential is realised. It is quite funny to imagine that the Nazi's left earth in a rocket ship instead of fleeing to Argentina as originally thought. But somehow the makers of this film have forgotten to add excitement or interest to their script. Nazis are supposed to be threatening by their very nature but here they do not seem very scary. Despite the fact that they managed space flight in 1945, the Nazis technology still seems very primitive and not all that great. Without giving too much away the final battle does not seem like much of a fair fight. Which brings me to another problem I had which is there is very little action. It happens rather late in the film and could have been more exciting.
The acting as you would expect with a film like this is not all that great. As the 'nice' Nazi, Julia Dietze does a very impressive job of making a likable heroine. She by far gives the best performance in the film. Peta Sergeant does a fairly good job as the Earth's military leader. Even if her costume in the final does overwhelm her. Gotz Otto could have been a bit more menacing in his performance to make his character more threatening. Christopher Kirby is good but his character seems superfluous. Stephanie Paul makes does a very funny Sarah Palin like impression. As the only familiar face in the film Udo Kier makes the most menacing Nazi. Which makes it a pity that he is not in the film more.
While I give points to this film for getting made and getting a cinema release, it makes you wonder why some more impressive films go straight to DVD.
Every time there is a 'Favourite Films Of All Time' list compiled, you will find 'Casablanca'. It is one of the rare classics that has endured.
Most people probably know this film and they have not even seen it. This is because there are so many lines that are quoted from it. Such is the brilliance of the script by Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein and Howard Koch. They have taken the original play and crafted a screenplay which is one of the most romantic stories of all time. It is not a nice and sweet romance with a happy ending. Instead it is a heart-wrenching love triangle with a bitter sweet ending. While that does not sound like a good thing, it makes it more original. Adding to the wonderful romantic story is the clever political subplot. The writers have taken a fairly unique situation during World War II and turned it into a gripping romantic drama. And into this story we have a series of characters that feel so incredibly real. A man who is so torn up by a woman who left him that he feels no need for any more social interaction. Leaving him cold hearted and cynical. The woman then returns with the man she left him for and draws him into her life again. You come to care for these characters so much and what happens to them. Then to top it all off you have one of the most beautifully written songs as its anthem.
Humphrey Bogart is the prefect actor to play Rick. He is brilliant at playing the cool, calm collected character who dispenses the clever an witty lines. But he can also show his softer and more romantic side. It is these two sides which Humphrey manages to play so well. You can literally see the man softening as Ilsa re-enters his life. As the woman who he loves, Ingrid Bergman is wonderful. You can really see the torment she is going through when she must ask a favour of the man whose heart she broke in order to be with the man she loves. Paul Henreid is excellent as the man in the middle. You can see why Ilsa loves him and why she needs to save him. Claude Rains is brilliant as Rick's friend Louis. His willingness to be persuaded by anyone wielding power is what provides much of the film's humour. Conrad Veidt is nicely menacing as the bad guy. Peter Lorre has a small but pivotal role which he uses to great effect.
This is the kind of film that defines the word classic. One of the few examples of a perfect film which we sadly do not see much of these days.
One of cinema's greatest character actors returns. But this time instead of embarrassing unsuspecting Americans he is going for a more scripted approach.
And that is this films biggest appeal. Sacha Baron Cohen has made two films where he takes a less scripted approach and uses a character to create comedic situations with non-actors. He is probably so well known now that he can no longer make films that way and so must put a bit more thought into his films and create a full script. Sacha and his team of writers have created an excellent political comedy that takes the current popularity with dictators and adds some crude humour. While there is lots of crude humour, the one thing I found surprising about the film was how tame this film felt to some of his previous efforts. There is lots of crude situations but they are not as crass as before. Sacha and his team have have instead gone for a more clever approach. Aladeen says incredibly racist, sexist and terrible things but he is such a buffoon that you can't help but laugh at his stupidity. It makes you wonder what real dictators are really like.
I think Sacha Baron Cohen is a very clever performer. I think the way he creates his characters and gets really involved with them is brilliant. Admiral General Aladeen is another wonderful comedic creation. Anna Faris has not always chosen the right roles but this is one of her better choices. She mostly plays the straight man to Sacha's crazy antics but does an excellent job of it. Sacha has brought in his 'Hugo' co-star Ben Kingsley to great effect. Ben looks like he is having a great deal of fun. There are also some brilliant cameo appearances.
Sacha Baron Cohen cements his reputation as one of cinemas great comedic actors. While not as crude as previous films it is full of clever and witty humour.
With the recent success of vampire movies and TV series, it was only a matter of time before the master of the Gothic film did his version.
Many of you know that I am a huge fan of Tim Burton. He is my all time favourite director. His quirky sense of humour and dark nature is what I love. So while I love everything that he does, I am willing to admit fault. There is now doubt that Tim Burton films are visually stunning and this film is no exception. The costumes and production design are gorgeous. I also loved the make-up on Barnabas Collins. Tim has obviously used the same vampire look from 'The Nightmare Before Christmas'. The other thing that Tim does well his comedy. This film is hilarious with some wonderfully witty lines and silly situations. While there are lots of the usual scenes with someone from the past getting used to modern life, they are still very funny. I especially liked his reaction to a McDonald's sign. I also found the satire of the source material to be of great delight. Having come from a soap opera, writer Seth Grahame-Smith has made fun of some of the conventions of that style of writing with strange character changes and plot point. But it is not a perfect film. The plot is a bit all over the place and some sub plots not fully developed like they could have been. I think Seth has tried to include as many references to the original TV series as he could but not all of them are completely successful.
Tim has worked with Johnny Depp so often now that they make an excellent team. I've always enjoyed when Johnny plays outrageous characters like this and this one is no exception. Naturally he gets all the cleverest lines in the film and delivers them with relish. Tim also brings back another of his cohorts with Michelle Pfeiffer. While her role is not as bizarre as some of her co-stars she does bring a great deal of dignity and grace to her character. Tim's wife Helena Bonham Carter is great too. I really loved Chloe Grace Moretz in a more grown up role. It look like she is having a great deal of fun with her sexy teenager character. I think the best part of the film is Eva Green. Up until now she has played mostly serious roles but here she gets to really let loose with something more comedic. I was totally blown away at how good she was. I found her to be hilarious and give a brilliant performance.
Tim Burton fans will now doubt find this to be wonderful. Everyone else will not find it as wonderful but still have a lot of fun with it.
Madonna has had a varied career when it comes to films. Her success as an actress has been very hit and miss. Perhaps more misses than hits. Now she is trying her hand at direction.
I have not seen Madonna's previous directorial effort 'Filth and Wisdom', so this is my first chance to judge her as a director. I must say that she is quite impressive. Because of low expectations, I think she did an excellent job. Madonna has a great visual style that shows she knows how to make a film and tell a story. The story of Wallace Simpson and King Edward VIII is an interesting one and a story you would not see playing out in the English royal family today. Perhaps they learned their lesson from this incident. A man giving up the throne for a woman is quite a big deal. We got a little bit of the story recently with 'The Kings Speech' but this film explores it on more detail. I have not seen any other films about the relationship so this is the first time I got to find out what happened. Wallace is certainly a fascinating woman and you can understand why Edward fell in love with her. Madonna has chosen to tell the story through a flashback, with a woman, Wally Winthrop, visiting an exhibition of W.E. memorabilia and reminiscing about what would have gone on. That is a good way to tell the Wallace Simpson story but Madonna has chosen to do it as a parallel with the modern Wally too. The modern story is good but I don't think was necessary. It was a good way to lead into the past but we did not need so much details. I kind of felt that it was a separate story and could have deserved its own film.
While her story was not important, Abbie Cornish still does a wonderful job as the modern Wally. She nicely plays the put-upon wife who is struggling with her marriage to a nasty man. Andrea Riseborough is excellent as Wallace Simpson. Andrea brings out the dignity and grace of the character while showing some emotion. James D'Arcy is good as Edward but has a very understated role despite being an important character. James does a very good job but could have had more to do. Oscar Isaac is very cool as the modern Wally's love interest.
This film is further proof that Madonna is a skilled artist who is constantly reinventing herself. While not a perfect film it is still a great deal more impressive and most films out there.
Like most of Hollywood, James Cameron has fallen in love with 3D. It is because of him that the format has become so popular. And what better way to honour the 100th Anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, than to convert his film into 3D.
I remember the build up to when this film was originally released. All the gossip and stories of James demanding more and more money to make the film. The film was being constantly delayed and that James was a tyrant on set. Most of this gossip was silenced when we got to see the first trailer. It looked amazing. There was still some concern about how it would perform. Would it make its exorbitant budget back? The lengthy running time was such a concern that I remember reading that cinema staff were told to tell people that if the asked how long the film went for to say it was 2 hours and 74 minutes long and not 3 hours and 14 minutes long. That people would be turned off if they realised it went for more than 3 hours. I even remember lining up outside what was once the Hoyts cinema on George Street in Sydney the morning it was released to see the film in 70mm.
I remember being totally blown away by the film. While the first half was a fairly cliched and soapy romantic drama, once you got to the second half with the ship sinking you totally got your money's worth. James had obviously gone to a lot of trouble an effort to research the Titanic because you can see all the details in every moment. You can tell that things are very authentic and it shows. That was possibly part of the appeal of the film too. I know that most of the appeal was the love story too and how it appealed to young girls. The guys then had the appeal of the disaster element in the second half and seeing people die. James had gone to a lot of trouble to recreate the sinking of this ship and you can see all that trouble on the screen. The second half of the film is an amazing piece of film making and special effects coming together for the service of the story. Much like the ship itself you need to see it in all its glory on the big screen. I think the impact is lessened on the small screen. Now to add to that impact we have the experience of 3D. What I loved about the 3D effect was the sense of scale it added to some scenes. It added depth to heights so that you really got to feel the vertigo. I also saw the film in Imax which means the scale was even bigger. You really felt the size of the ship.
While Leonardo DiCaprio had some success with 'Romeo + Juliet' the year before 'Titanic' came out, it was this film that made him a star. He is definitely an excellent actor and not just a pretty face. I just wish he would do a comedy. Kate Winslet also became a star off the success of this film. And she is truly a brilliant actress. I think she is able to add a great deal of dignity and grace to the cliched dialogue and scenes during the romantic first half. Billy Zane did not seem to go on to anything after this. His villainous role is probably the most cliched thing in the film. A real nasty guy that is fairly predictable in his behaviour. Kathy Bates is excellent as Molly Brown. Frances Fisher makes a great overly protective mother. Gloria Stewart is wonderful as the older Rose and narrator. The framing story she is in has some of the most daggy dialogue I've heard in a film but it serves to lead you into the main story.
No one could have predicted how popular this film became. It was the first film to earn more than 1 billion dollars in ticket sales alone. It still stands the test of time and has a very timeless quality. See it on the big screen if you haven't already.
We normally get Hollywood romantic comedies in our cinemas. So it is nice to check out rom/coms from other countries, like France.
One of my favourite genres is the romantic comedy. I have written the script for one so I like to watch as many as I can to learn what to do and what not to do. We are always getting nicely slick romantic comedies from Hollywood. I find that most rom/coms from other countries are not as slick as so can be better because they look and feel different. Not every joke feels like it has been carefully crafted. The French usually do a good job of this and make some great rom/coms. There are some good points with this film but there is too much going against it. The plot is quite interesting with two socially awkward people falling in love. But I don't think the film is as funny as it could have been. The writers have not used the premise to its full comedic potential. The film is also lacking in substance. It is a very short film and so all we get is the story of the main couple. It would have been nice to flesh the film out a bit with more of the supporting characters. This was another area the writers could have used to get more jokes. The one good thing the film did was make me crave chocolate.
Benoit Poelvoorde does a very good job as the socially awkward owner of a failing chocolate business. With his co-star Isabelle Carre they make a very charming couple. They both play the awkwardness of their characters well and despite being a bit weird you come to like them. As mentioned above the rest of the cast do not get very much to do except be window dressing. I wish they had more to do.
Another delightful French rom/com that sadly lacks substance. As a warning you might want to take a bar of chocolate with you as you will no doubt be craving some after the film.
Aussies love to travel to Asia for their holidays. Being so close it is relatively cheap. We often hear of tragic stories of what happens to some of these travelers.
Actress Felicity Price and her partner director Kieran Darcy-Smith have crafted an interest tale of two Australian couples who travel to South-East Asia with one of them not returning. This is a nicely ominous premise that Kieran has done an excellent job directing. Letting the story reveal its tension in measured amounts. You are constantly kept guessing as to what really happened on the holiday. In hindsight the truth is fairly obvious but while watching the film you are not thinking about that. The thing I liked most, though, was how real these characters felt. Felicity and Kieran have created characters that feel like real people you would know in your real life. This makes what they go through even more tense and you come to care for them a lot more. My only ne criticism is that most of the flashback scenes when they are in Cambodia are montages of them the group having fun. I'd have liked a few more regular scenes which might have served in revealing character more.
The cast are an excellent ensemble who give great performances. Joel Edgerton knows how to play the every-man really well. As mentioned above these characters feel real and Joel certainly helps with his performance. Equally as good is Felicity Price as his wife in the film. Having written the film she knows her character quite well and it shows in her performance. Teresa Palmer does a nice job as the girlfriend of the missing man. Anthony Starr does not get much screen time but is very good as the missing man.
Yet another quality Australian film that is a true Australian story. The type you can see really happening. Which makes it even more scary.
Love can come in many different forms. Writer/director Jean-Marc Vallee has written two stories about two relationships that on the surface are different but when you look deeper are similar.
It seems Jean-Marc has taken a more non-linear approach to his writing and crafted a film which looks at a relationship in a more profound way. That would be one of the many strong points of this film. The story is told with two parallel stories that on the surface do not seem to connect up. There is some explanation at the end but there is still some room there for your own interpretation of what the film is about. Jean-Marc uses lots of symbolism and imagery to tell his story, which is why the film is not only a piece of entertainment but a work of art. You really need to concentrate to understand what is going on. You may even need multiple viewings to really get the full impact. There is a poetic nature to it which means it can be open to many interpretations and you can debate it with people to get differing points of view.
Vanessa Paradis is excellent as the mother in one story who is overly protective of her son. The relationship she has with the boy playing her son is amazing. Helen is equally as wonderful in the role of Carol in a performance that is very raw as she tries to interpret her dreams. Kevin Parent is very good as well. Evelyne Brochu plays the girlfriend role very well and lets you feel sympathetic to her character.
A very different type of love story that I can highly recommend if you are looking for something that lets you think. Not everything is explained and you have to being your own thoughts to what is going on.
