2012 – A Great Disaster Movie or a Movie that’s a Great Disaster? (See what I did there?)

Now this film isn’t exactly new, it’s currently on Sky Box Office and it’s been out about a month now on bluray and DVD. To be honest I can’t stand disaster movies, I find them full of cheesy lines, clichés and predictability, but I’d heard on the grapevine that this film was pretty good, so thought I should give it a go.

2012 – Dir. Roland Emmerich, (Independance Day, Godzilla, Day After Tomorrow) Starring a few familiar faces, such as Thandie Newton and Danny Glover, but mainly ,John Cusack.

This film is essentially about the destruction of Earth which is set to happen in the year 2012 - but here are more details;

The opening of the film was exactly what I expected: awfully shot, appeared low budget, had two English actors, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Jimi Mistry, playing an American and an Indian, with pretty unconvincing accents, talking gibberish about how activity from the sun could potentially boil the Earth from the inside out. Within 3 minutes of the film I was checking the films duration and gave a huge sigh when I read it was 2 hours 40. However in the next scene the beautiful Thandi Newton appears speaking French with an extremely convincing accent (She's actually playing an American, the First Daughter, who happened to be speaking French) and this cheered me up a bit. Eventually we are introduced to John Cusack who plays Jackson, a published yet pretty unsuccessful writer, who is divorced, lives alone and only see’s his children at the weekend. A pretty conventional character for this kind of film, and I told myself here that by the end of the film his ex wife will realise she still loves him and his hateful kids will think he’s a hero; I’ll let you find out yourself if I was right.

It’s about now we see the title 2012 appear, around 7 minutes into the film, and I suggest you go for a wee make a tea or grab your beers take a huge breath and prepare yourself for the rest of the film. I’ve never been so wrong about a film; I was expecting this to be a pile of rubbish, but how very wrong I was. It’s  pretty much non-stop action, and when you do get time to breath no time is wasted as we delve deeper into all the characters strengths, flaws and motivations. Aside from the obvious, try and save the world and stay alive, we have Jackson who’s desperately trying to get back into his family’s good books, the President played by Danny Glover, trying to protect the world from its coming destruction whilst protecting his daughter from the truth, Dr Helmsly (Chiwetel Ejiofor) one of the chief scientists working on  the approaching disaster, is tied between his work but desperately wants the public to know what’s going on, and Woody Harrison who plays a crazy radio presenter who’s trying to broadcast his conspiracy theories to the world.

On top of all that are the fantastic visuals, the car chase scenes over the cracking ground look phenomenal, it’s amazing to think that most of the film is actually CG (Computer Graphics), and flawless CG at that, impossible to spot.

The performances are wonderful, (despite the first 5 minutes, I have no idea what was going on there It looks to me like they wanted a new opening and had ran out of budget so knocked it together quickly with an independant un it, even the set design looks shoddy) my favourite character being the Russian billionaire Yuri Karpov, who despite being an absolute bastard, provides some of the best lines of the film, and surprisingly my least favourite being Danny Glover, for me he is a really unconvincing president.

Overall though a really fantastic film and gets my complete recommendation. It’s all very believable (despite the concept of how the worlds ending!) and it doesn’t really take a huge stretch of imagination to think this is exactly what would happen if we did find out the world was in danger. Worryingly, most of us would probably be kept in the dark about it all right up until the end. Cheery final thought for you there. My rating 8.5 out of 10 – the first five minutes were outweighed by the film on the whole, but for a film of this magnitude – I expect more.

Russ x

Garden State

Haven't watched a new film for a while - I watched Garden State again last night though - I do love that film, very well written with some great performances. The characters all seem very real, as do all their relationships. I defy anyone to not fall in love with Natalie Portman in it too, she is lovely. Go watch it!

The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans - 2010

I can't remember the last time I saw Nicolas Cage on the big screen, apart from Kick Ass where he played a supporting role. There simply hasn't been a film he's featured in which has appealed to me. As mentioned on a previous review he has for a while now been choosing some really dreadful films, but this seems to be the most serious, and maybe for him most important role he's had for a while. "The Bad Lieutenant" was a film in 1992 but this isn't a remake, its more of another chapter featuring another corrupt Lieutenant. I'm hoping to see Cage back at his best - here's to hoping...

Terence McDonagh (Nicolas Cage) is a cop who due to a back injury becomes a drug addict, who uses more than "what the doctor prescribes".  He Steals from the evidence room, accepts drugs and sex as bribes and takes any opportunity to search and confiscate contraband from criminals for his own personal use. On top of all this he has a hooker girlfriend (Eva Mendes, who's not really known for her major roles, but none the less never disappoints), owes $10,000 to a dodgy booky and another $15,000 to a crime family in compensation for slapping and stealing from a guy who mistreated his girlfriend.

All this is set in New Orleans and the story at the forefront of the film is that of a murder investigation and the protection of the 15 year old boy who witnessed it.

In the opening of the film we see a water snake sliding through a rippling stream lit only by the glow of nearby street lights. As we watch we hear soft jazz style sax playing in the background which immediately reminds me of the classic 80's cop movies, like Die Hard and Lethal Weapon, and you'd be forgiven in thinking that this is one of those buddy cop movies as in the first five minutes we see Steve Pruit (Val Kilmer, who I'm not a big fan of) and McDonagh working together. In fact this is the scene we see in the trailer with the drowning drug addict. Pruit wants them to let the addict die but McDonagh saves him, ruining his expensive pants. This act not only leads onto his promotion to Lieutenant, but also reflects the nature of the man. Although his actions are somewhat questionable (at one point he threatens an old lady!) his ultimate motive is to get the right result, using any way possible. Kilmer seems to then (thankfully) disappear from most of the film, and the rest of the journey we're with McDonagh, "The Bad Lieutenant".

Cage's performance is nothing short of brilliant - he's not your classic all American hero - he's an intelligent detective but his drug addiction has made him crazier than a road running lizard (which he hallucinates on several occasions when he's tripping). His trips and actions during them are very ammusing and lighten the situation during the darker moments of the film.

The supporting roles from Eva Mendes, Val Kilmer and surprisingly Alvin 'Xzibit' Joiner are all excellent along with the script and the entire feeling of the film. My only criticism would be that as excellent as the film is, it fails to get my heart racing. There aren't any particularly exciting bits of the film which made me stop and think, "Wow this film is amazing" though saying that, it is very very good throughout.

So if you're a fan of the classic cop movies which we got in the 80s and 90s, thrillers, seeing Cage at his best or just a fan of great films then I very much recommend this. Lets hope that Cage's films continue in this manor and he's given more opportunities to play more demanding and interesting roles.
The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans is out for general release (that's right readers my first preview!) on May 21st and you must go and see it. 8.5 out of 10

Russ x

Hot Monocles

Hot Monocles Fan Page
Well well well, this is all getting pretty exciting. We've been given a preview of "The Medium and The Message" from the delightfully talented Hot Monocles in the form of the track "7 Sticks" on the band page section of the fan page - check it out. I could go on about how much I love these guys filling my ears with creamy dollops of loveliness, but I won't I'll just let the music do all the talking - just go listen - NOW!

G.I Joke...

G.I.Joe : The Rise of The Cobra - 2009

Well after missing this at the cinema, I was actually looking forward to seeing this on Bluray - from the trailer the film looks like an immense action film - which to a certain extent it is, however what goes along with the action isn't exactly brilliant.

Before I started watching this, a friend told me to stay away from it and not bother wasting my time, but I thought I'd give it a chance. From the off set I was still pretty open minded, and besides, Sienna Miller is in it and she's pretty fit, so in my eyes it was worth a watch.

In all fairness is wasn't as terrible as my friend made out, it was worth the watch - but only because there was nothing else on. The action sequences are pretty good, and it all looks pretty in HD, however it has to be said that the bulk of the acting is awful, especially from Marlon Wayans (who I can't really stand anyway), some of the concepts are ridiculously far fetched (more of that in a sec) and the script is pretty awful too. Stick all that in a film with a couple of totally expected twists and you've got yourself a film which just passes the time.

So onto these crazy ideas. Now I'm certainly one to have an open mind to sometimes ridiculous concepts, if all films stuck to reality and didn't exaggerate the truth somewhat, we'd be presented with fairly bland films, however this film really pushes it. I accept the super suits which make humans super strong and fast because I kinda feel I have to - what I don't buy is our two main characters (Ripcord played by the annoying Marlon Wayans and Hauser played by Channing Tatum) who accidentally get involved in the G.I Joe's agency - then being the only two people who use the suiots in the film - despite being the least experienced. All we get is a cliche montage seeing them train, and when the world is at stake I don't buy that the secret agency would put the world in the hands of these two - especially Ripcord who can barely walk in the super suit.

There's also another part which actually made me swear out loud at how ridiculous it was, and this was after accepting a suit which made you invisible - (the concept being minicameras and screens all over the suit - much like the bond car in Die another Day) at least there was a logic to the idea. But at one point the scientist pokes two rods into a dead mans head and the scene plays out like this;

The team approach the dead soldier

Ripcord: Hey, what are you doing?
Breaker: Plugging into his Cerebral Cortex.
Ripcord: I hate to break the news to you but I don't think he's going to give you much in his dead condition.

Breaker sticks to probes in the temples of the dead soldier (wait for it....)

Breaker: The brain survives a couple of minutes after death.
Scarlett: We can retrieve the electrical impulses from from his most recent memories and convert them to images.

Shortly after this we see the team watching a small screen with what the dead guys last few memories were - thus finding the baddy's base.
So by sticking some prods into this dead guys head you can see the last few things he saw...brilliant! Of course you can... Totally ridiculous! They can do that but they can't track a van without one of their team strapped to the roof of it - I don't understand. That was one step too far for me. I continued watching the film laughing at most of the "science" through the rest of the film. Thankfully though, we're left with the sense that there's going to be a sequel. Great. I can't wait - I really doubt there will be though.

Ok - so  there we have it - this film is poorly acted and poorly written with some ridiculous concepts, but in a sense it did entertain me throughout. There are some amusing parts and the action sequences are really good, the film does have a bit of a fun feeling throughout. I wouldn't recommend this film to anyone but if it's on or you can't think of anything else to watch, let it play out. It's stupid but mildly entertaining - if you can forgive its ridiculousness then fair enough - I stuck it out, I wasn't particularly impressed, I found myself shaking my head throughout - but I didn't totally hate it either. 5 out of 10.

Russ

Double O shit we've ran out of money -

This is directly from the Gaurdian, but wanted to draw your attention to it;

New James Bond film on hold due to MGM debt

007's licence to thrill suspended as MGM awaits a buyer

Daniel Craig as James Bond in Casino Royale. Photograph: Reuters

The world's most evil villains can't stop him, but James Bond is in big trouble for the most mundane of reasons – a lack of cash.
Development of the new James Bond film has been suspended indefinitely, the film's producers confirmed yesterday, because of uncertainty over the future of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio. The new unnamed movie, which will be the 23rd in the series based on the Ian Fleming hero, had been due for release in 2011 or 2012, to coincide with the franchise's 50th anniversary.
Daniel Craig was set to play 007, the spy with a licence to kill, for the third time, in the role first taken up by Sean Connery and subsequently by George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan. But Michael Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, the producers of the Bond movies, said in a joint statement: "Due to the continuing uncertainty surrounding the future of MGM and the failure to close a sale of the studio, we have suspended development on Bond 23 indefinitely."
Wilson and Broccoli said they do not know when development of the film will resume and when it will be released.
Craig, who is on location in Toronto, Canada, filming Dream House, with Rachel Weisz, said: "I have every confidence in Barbara and Michael's decision and look forward to production resuming as quickly as possible."
James Bond is easily MGM's most profitable franchise. The 22 James Bond movies are third in the list of most successful film franchises, according to the website Box Office Mojo.
The last film in the series, 2008's Quantum of Solace, made $586m (£381.6m) worldwide. The 2006 movie Casino Royale, which unveiled Craig as the new leaner, meaner Bond, took in $594m.
Sam Mendes, who directed American Beauty and Revolutionary Road, was expected to direct the next James Bond outing, working from a screenplay by The Queen's Peter Morgan and regular Bond writers Neal Purvis and Robert Wade. But according to the US trade papers, Mendes had not signed on the dotted line, and his involvement must now be in doubt.
There is no doubt that – in an echo of the famous phrase which often closed out the credits on 007 films – Bond will return, but the question is who will be his paymaster. MGM is struggling with a $3.7bn debt, and has released just one film this year. Efforts to raise finance through a sale of the studio have so far proved fruitless, with rival firms so far making only tentative bids. Its lenders are pushing for "either a sale of the company or a restructuring with an infusion of capital to remain a stand-alone operation", the Los Angeles Times reported.
Sony, which co-distributed the last two films, would appear to be an obvious candidate to buy MGM, but has not made a public bid. Those companies that have include Lionsgate and Time Warner, which put a $1.5bn offer on the table, but MGM is belived to be holding out for an offer of at least $2bn. It will be several weeks before its fate becomes clear.
Directly copied from the guardian.co.uk

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist - it's quite everything

I know I said I'd review Push, it's on it's way, but first I thought I'd review this as I literally just finished watching it.

I watched a short trailer before watching this and was told by the pretty lady presenting the show that this was a film driven by the soundtrack, much like Garden State (Brilliant Film!) and The Graduate (pretty good), so being a lover of film and music I thought I'd give it a watch.


As you can pretty much tell from the title it's about a boy called Nick and a girl named Norah who are both hugely into their music and both in ending/complicated relationships. They stumble across each other and we see their relationship develop over a course of a night. Music plays a pretty important role in this film as it links our two characters together.

So by "quite everything", I actually mean, it's only quite funny, quite feel good, the script is quite well written, and it's all quite good. But in my opinion never really enough. The soundtrack is excellent though (featuring Vampire Weekend. We are Scientists and Chris Bell to name a few - I'm a fan of films which incorporate music as a drive for the story, don't get me wrong, but the music should never be better than the film itself.

There are some really sweet moments in it and a few lines which are really funny but it kinda feels as if the film never takes off. The film is set over one day which although is a good idea in concept, it just slows the pace of the film. The two main stars, Michael Cera and Kat Dennings are fine, no surprises there (I'd quite like to see Cera do something a bit different now), and I was quite satisfied by the end, I just think the film was lacking excitement. I enjoyed it I guess, not enough to watch it again or really recommend though, just one of those films which if you stumble across stick it on, it'll fill an hour and twenty - won't effect you in anyway but it's mildly entertaining - a disappointing 6 (just) out of 10.