What I've Just Watched Part 4: There And Back Again

The Station Agent (2003), written and directed by Thomas McCarthy, (Win Win (2011) The Cobbler (2014)), this comedy-drama was McCarthy's directorial debut, and it was done on a very low budget. Shot in a meagre 20 days for only $500,000, McCarthy manages to make a brilliant little comedy-drama, which doesn't have much of a central plot, but it's the way the story is told with the main characters that makes it all compelling, it's a quirky little pleasure of a film. Set in New Jersey, it tells the story of Finbar McBride (Peter Dinklage), who works for Henry Styles (Paul Benjamin), who runs a model railway shop in Hokoken. When Henry dies unexpectedly, Finbar is at a loss when he learns the shop will close, but he's told that Henry has left Finbar a small plot of land with an abandoned train depot on it. Finbar moves in, hoping for a life of solitude away from the rest of the world. However, as soon as he moves in, he catches the attention of local mobile snack truck operator Joe Oramas (Bobby Cannavale), who takes an interest in Finbar and why he's moved out to the depot. Also to come into their lives is bereaved mother Olivia Harris (Patricia Clarkson), who becomes friends with Finbar and Joe. It's a very well made film, and even though it was shot on the hoof, non of it looks rushed, and it has a peaceful, melodic quality to it, and there is a gentle humour to it, even though the main characters in the film have all faced tragedy and darkness in their lives, they find solace and camaraderie in one another's company, which is the heart of the film. 4/5



Machine Gun Preacher (2011), directed by Marc Forster, (Monster's Ball (2001), Finding Neverland (2004) and Quantum of Solace (2008)), this is a very offbeat drama which is based on a true story, but Forster is a good storyteller, even though you get the impression that dabbling in the action genre with Quantum of Solace may have rubbed off on him a bit too much. It's an interesting film with a very good cast, but the story meanders a little bit. Sam Childers (Gerard Butler), an alcoholic drug-abusing biker from Pennsylvania, who has just been released from prison. He learns that his wife Lynn (Michelle Monaghan) has given up her job as a stripper, as she has found God and turned to the church. After one drunken night nearly ends with a death, Sam decides to turn to God as well, and starts going to church with Lynn. Sam later goes on a missionary trip to Uganda, where he see's up front the horrors going on in neighbouring Sudan, and Sam decides to do something about it. Sam builds an orphanage for the children of South Sudan, which is targeted and burnt down by the Lord's Resistance Army, but Sam rebuilds it, and helps defend it too. It's a powerful film, which highlighted the atrocities the Lord's Resistance Army was doing to the people in Sudan, and while it makes for a good subject for this film, the overall tone of the film veers all over the place, from action mercenary picture to domestic family drama, and it can never find a comfortable middle ground, despite best intentions. 3/5

The Ant Bully (2006), written and directed by John A. Davis, (Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius (2001)), adapted from the 1999 children's book by John Nickle, and produced by Tom Hanks. This animated adventure is different from the likes of Antz (1998) and A Bug's Life (1998), as there's humans thrown into the mix, with an Incredible Shrinking Man plot device thrown into the film. It's good and all, but it's extremely childish, with the usual gross-out gags these films go for. In a suburb of Las Vegas, Lucas Nickle (Zach Tyler Eisen) attacks an ant hill in anger after he's attacked by bullies. Much of the ants are nearly wiped out, and ant Zoc (Nicolas Cage) plans revenge, after his girlfriend Hova (Julia Roberts) tried to communicate with Lucas and failed. Zoc makes a potion, and uses it to shrink Lucas down to their size. He's put on trial, and despite Zoc wanting Lucas to be executed, the Ant Queen (Meryl Streep), decides to have Lucas work as an ant to see how the other half live. But, there's trouble when local exterminator Stan Beals (Paul Giamatti) comes to the garden to kill all the vermin there. Lucas rallies all the ants and other insects around to see Beals off, but will they listen to Lucas? It's a very silly film, but it's good fun while it lasts, but it's a shame it sank without trace when it was released, maybe the general public were sick of ant films by then. It does have a good vocal cast, and the same sense of carefree humour that director Davis had done in Jimmy Neutron and it's subsequent spin-off, but there's not much to remember about it. 3/5



Into the Woods (2014), adapted from Stephen Sondheim's 1986 musical, and directed by Rob Marshall, (Chicago (2002), Memoirs of a Geisha (2005) and Nine (2009)), this melds together 4 fairy tales by the Grimm Brothers. While successful on stage, the film version of Into the Woods had been in development for nearly 25 years, with various studios, actors and directors all attached. Then Disney got the option, and they make a good job of this adaptation. a Baker (James Corden) and his wife (Emily Blunt) wish for a child, and they can't get one due to a curse on the Baker's family by a Witch (Meryl Streep), but she promises to lift the curse if the Baker gets a white cow, a lock of yellow hair, a gold slipper and a red cape. The Baker goes off into the woods to find these items, Also going into the woods are Little Red Riding Hood (Lilla Crawford) who is being followed by a wolf (Johnny Depp). Jack (Daniel Huttlestone) is taking a white cow to be sold, there's Rapunzel (MacKenzie Mauzy) locked in a tower, until she meets Prince Charming (Chris Pine), and Cinderella (Anna Kendrick), who has managed to go to the ball, in Gold Slippers and all. The Baker believes his luck is in... It's a good musical, with some good songs, and it is reminiscent of the structure of Sweeney Todd, although not as dark. It is a bit overlong and the film somewhat loses it's way in the difficult third act, but it remembers it's theatrical roots, and it translates well enough to the screen with some good visuals and a game cast. 3.5/5

Ladybird, Ladybird (1994), directed by Ken Loach, who had finally got back into making films in the 1990's after spending much of the 1980's unable to get work. He'd got acclaim for Hidden Agenda (1990), Riff-Raff (1991) and Raining Stones (1993), which won critical acclaim. For his next film, Loach took on a realistic true story written by Rona Munro (Oranges and Sunshine (2010)), it's certainly not a film to watch if you want cheered up, but that's Ken Loach for you. This tells the story of Maggie (Crissy Rock), who meets Jorge (Vladimir Vega), an immigrant from Paraguay, in a karaoke bar, and they strike up a conversation, and she tells him about her unhappy relationship with Simon (Ray Winstone) and that she has 4 children, who is an abusive alcoholic. She ran away from Simon and went to a woman's refuge, but after a fire, Maggie was deemed an unfit mother, and her children were taken away from her by Social Services. Jorge feels pity on Maggie, and they begin a serious relationship, this could be a new start for Maggie, and soon she becomes pregnant again. However, it's not long before Social Services finds her and brands her as ' an unreliable mother with "low intellect"' Loach certainly doesn't paint a flattering picture of Social Services, and the film could be seen as a critique on their meddlesome nature and how they pick on the wrong people, which they sometimes do. But it has a raw nature and a powerhouse performance from Rock, who was a comedienne up until then, and now is better known for Benidorm. 4/5



The Theory of Everything (2014), directed by James Marsh (The King (2005), Man on Wire (2008) and Shadow Dancer (2012), and adapted from Jane Hawking's memoir Travelling to Infinity: My Life with Stephen, and adapted by Anthony McCarten (Death of a Superhero (2011)), this biopic had been in development for well over a decade and screenwriter McCarten took years to convince Hawking that it would work as a film, and it does, exceptionally well. It tells the life of Stephen Hawking (Eddie Redmayne), an astrophysics student at Cambridge University who in 1963 met Jane Wilde (Felicity Jones), and they began a relationship. Stephen is working on a theory on black holes and the origins of the universe. But while working on the theory, Stephen starts experiencing muscle problems, and he's diagnosed with motor neuron disease, and Stephen is given 2 years to live. Jane chooses to stay by Stephen's side, in the face of defeat, but she and Stephen end up marrying, and Stephen's theory gets him a doctorate. He and Jane even have children, and even when Stephen continues his theories, but it puts a strain on his and Jane's delicate marriage. It's a well made film, and it's while it proves to be an uplifting and triumphant story of defying the odds and never giving up, which Stephen Hawking continues to do to this day. Plus it's a thoughtful film, as it gives time to the theories Hawking spent time proving, and Redmayne gives a powerful and believeable performance as Hawking. 4/5

Blow Out (1981), from director Brian De Palma, who had just come off making Dressed to Kill (1980), which despite critical drubbing, had been a financial success, he got a deal with Filmways Pictures to make more films, and this was his follow-up, which evolved from an idea he had called Personal Effects, but this would take cues from Michelangelo Antonioni's Blow-Up (1966) and Francis Ford Coppola's The Conversation (1974), but with a political espionage theme. Philadelphia sound technician Jack Terry (John Travolta) makes his living recording sound effects for low budget exploitation horror films, he needs better wind effects for the film he's currently working on, so he goes out to a rural park to get them. Out there, he see's a car go off the road and into a river. Jack is unable to save the driver, but saves the passenger, an escore called Sally (Nancy Allen). The driver was the state governor and a Presidential candidate. Associates of the governor try to cover up what happened, and Jack discovers a gun shot the tyre of the car out causing it to crash, when it was claimed to be an accident. Then, Jack and Sally find themselves being targeted by a man called Burke (John Lithgow). It's a good thriller, and De Palma gets to reference Hitchcock again, but this benefits from good cinematography by Vilmos Zsigmond and a great score by Pino Donaggio. It might be dark and lurid, but it's got a very good intriguing plot, some good set pieces and a very good cast. As for De Palma, he was about to unleash Scarface (1983). 4/5



Foxcatcher (2014), directed by Bennett Miller (Capote (2005) and Moneyball (2011)), adapted by E. Max Frye and Dan Futterman from Mark Schultz's memoir of the same name. This is a chilling true crime drama which is a brilliant character study and it gives it's three leads the chance to shine and even to play against type. It's a brooding film which gets under your skin and stays there for the duration of the film, it's very disturbing but admirably made. In 1987, Mark Schultz (Channing Tatum) is living a meagre life, living in the shadow of his older brother Dave Schultz (Mark Ruffalo), even though both brothers won gold medals at the 1984 Olympic games for wrestling. But, Mark gets a call from philanthropist and wrestling enthusiast John E. du Pont (Steve Carell), an heir to the E.I. du Pont family fortune, who has taken an interest in wrestling to the point where he's built his own wrestling facility on his estate in Pennsylvania. du Pont asks Mark to join his wrestling team called Foxcatcher to train for the world championships. Mark agrees to it, but he has trouble in convincing Dave to join him, but du Pont is determined to get Dave, by any means. It's a dark, psychological character study, and du Pont comes across as a sad, troubled person who was never truly there, and maybe the fortune and money truly did go to his head. But Carell is terrifying as du Pont, and he could find a new career playing scary loners like this. But this is a film you can't like, it's one you can admire for it's performances and direction. 4/5

Edge Of Tomorrow (2nd view) - Part Groundhog Day, part Souce Code. Better than both - 4/5*




The Rover (1st view) - For the first 15 minutes or so this had the makings of a great 5* star thriller. And then Robert Pattinson turns up and the pace and style of the film changes completely. He's not bad, just playing an annoying character but I'd have preferred this had it just been Guy Pearce, who is excellent, in seach of the guys who stole his car - 3/5*

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010), the third film in the Narnia series, and it had a troubled production. Disney wanted more control over the franchise, but when they were told no, they dropped out, Fox picked it up, and Michael Apted (Coal Miner's Daughter (1980) and The World Is Not Enough (1999)) came on board to direct. Despite much uncertainty, the film stands up as a good sequel, and makes up for the shortcomings that the previous film had. 3 years after their last adventure, 2 of the Pevensie children, Edmund (Skandar Keynes) and Lucy (Skandar Keynes) are now living with their irritatingly annoying cousin Eustace Scrubb (Will Poulter). In their room, Edmund and Lucy discover a painting moving, and it transports them, along with Eustace, back to Narnia, where they meet King Caspian (Ben Barnes) on board the Dawn Treader. Caspian is on a quest to find and free the seven Lords of Narnia, who were all exiled by his uncle. They discover that some of the Lords and a large number of slaves were sacrificed to a mysterious green mist, and Lucy, Edmund and Eustace all face their own trials and tribulations along the way. It's a shorter and more leaner film, and it's proof given the indulgences of Prince Caspian that less is sometimes more. Apted keeps the story focused, and keeps the pace up throughout. It proved to be a success against the odds, however due to more legal wrangling and production problems, it'll be a while before we see another Narnia film come our way. 4/5



Mortdecai (2015), based on the 1973 novel Don't Point That Thing at Me written by Kyril Bonfiglioli, which was the first in the Mortdecai trilogy, this film adaptation was directed by David Koepp, (Stir of Echoes (1999), Secret Window (2004) and Ghost Town (2008)), this comedy should have been perfect material for its star, but it's tone is all over the place and it feel more strange than funny, and not in a good way, and it feels out of time and incredibly dated too. Lord Charlie Mortdecai (Johnny Depp) is an art dealer and collector who is also a bit of a rogue and bounder, and he's nearly bankrupt, and he needs to make money fast. He's visited by Scotland Yard Inspector Alistair Martland (Ewan McGregor), who tells Mortdecai about a stolen Goya. Mortdecai agrees to help out, along with his man servant Jock Strapp (Paul Bettany), while Mortdecai is away, Martland tries to seduce Mortdecai's wife Johanna (Gwyneth Paltrow), who he once loved. The search for the Goya takes Mortdecai to Italian thief Spinoza (Paul Whitehouse) and to American art dealer Milton Krampf (Jeff Goldblum), and it takes Mortdecai from London to Russia and to Los Angeles. The tone and structure of this film is similar to Michael Winner's Bullseye! (1990), with thieves playing off one another, but Depp seems completely out of place in this, and the comedy simply doesn't work. This should have been done 40 years ago, with Terry-Thomas, (who Depp is impersonating), playing the lead, and it might have worked, but this is an unhappy mess. 2/5

Ex Machina (2015), the directorial debut of novelist and screenwriter Alex Garland (28 Days Later (2002), Sunshine (2007) and Dredd (2012)), this sparse and focused sci-fi thriller owes a lot to films like Blade Runner (1982) and A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001), but it's dark and questions how far humans will go in developing sentient and fully aware machines, machines with souls. It's a well made sci-fi film, and it shows there's still call out there for smart sci-fi films. Set in the not-so-distant future, computer programmer Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson) wins a company prize to spend a secluded house in the mountains, which belongs to Nathan (Oscar Isaac), the CEO of the company he's working for. When they meet, Caleb doesn't quite know what to make of Nathan, but Nathan then shows Caleb why he was chosen to come there, and it's in the form of a fully humanoid robot called Ava (Alicia Vikander), who has the face and some features of a human, but she's clearly all robot. Nathan has Caleb partake in sessions with Ava, and Caleb asks her questions to see how she reacts. All goes well, but soon Caleb discovers nothing is what it seems, and there's frequent power outages too. Ex Machina is a very different kind of sci-fi film, but a reminder that you don't have to spend a fortune on a massive cast and big sets, and that sometimes you can scale it back to a chamber piece and it'll still be very exciting. Garland does well on his first time out as a director, and it certainly won't be the last time he directs on the strength of this. 4/5



Boyhood (2014), written and directed by Richard Linklater, (Slacker (1991), School of Rock (2003) and A Scanner Darkly (2006)), this coming of age drama was a labour of love for it's writer/director, and one which was experimental in it's making. Shot bit by bit over a 12 year period, it was done without a finished script, and not even Linklater knew how it was going to turn out, the result is an intimate, astonishing and moving portrayal of growing up. This tells the story of Mason Evans Jr. (Ellar Coltrane), who at 6 years old, moves with his mother, Olivia (Patricia Arquette) and sister Samantha (Lorelei Linklater) from Austin to Houston so Olivia can study at the University of Texas. Mason keeps in contact with his father, Mason Sr. (Ethan Hawke), who teaches Mason about life and how to cope with it. As the years go by, Mason has a stepfather Bill Welbrock (Marco Perella), who drunken behaviour ends the marriage between him and Olivia. Mason, Samantha and Olivia move back to Austin, and Mason takes up an interest in photography, and Mason discovers love when he gets a girlfriend with Sheena (Zoe Graham), and going through school and college. You can see why this is getting such high praise attention, and it's an experience that will stay with you for a long time after you see it, and you'll remember pieces from this film after you see it. It's an experiment that could have ended up being pretentious or arty, but it isn't, it just shows growing up as it is, through the innocent eyes of one boy. 4.5/5

The Help (2011), based on Kathryn Stockett's 2009 novel, and adapted and directed by Tate Taylor (Pretty Ugly People (2008) and Get on Up (2014)), this drama became a big box-office success when it opened, but the original book was a hot property when it was published, so it was only a matter of time before Hollywood got it's hands on it. But the subject the film deals with meant it was never going to be an easy sell, but it managed to strike a chord in audiences in 2011. Set in the early 1960's in Mississippi, it tells the story of 53 year old black maid Aibileen Clark (Viola Davis), who has spent most of her life raising white children to racist parents. She's working for Elizabeth Leefolt (Ahna O'Reilly) who is very neglectful of her daughter, but Aibileen is best friends with fellow maid Minny Jackson (Octavia Spencer), who has a sharp tongue which has got her fired many times. Minny is currently working for Hilly Holbrook's (Bryce Dallas Howard) mother, Mrs. Walters (Sissy Spacek), and Hilly is an awful bigot. It's not long before Minny is fired and she goes to work for Celia Foote (Jessica Chastain). It's not long before local college graduate Skeeter Phelan (Emma Stone), who is very independently minded, decides to write a book about the black maids in her town, after a maid who worked for her family was fired. It's a film which skirts along the issues of bigotry in the Deep South of America at the time, but it doesn't go all out like Mississippi Burning (1988) did. This is intended to be a light-hearted drama about racial differences in small town America, and how it portrays the bigots as idiots, and the maids and help as wise and kind hearted. It's a good little ensemble piece. 3.5/5



American Sniper (2014), Clint Eastwood returns once again, now aged 84, he's showing no signs of slowing down, and if there were accusations of him losing his touch as a director since Gran Torino (2008), American Sniper will prove all the nay-sayers wrong. Adapted from Chris Kyle' 2012 autobiographical novel. This is the darkest and most heartbreaking film Eastwood has made, but it's not jingoistic or overly patriotic, it shows one man defending his country. Chris Kyle (Bradley Cooper) is a rodeo cowboy from Texas who enlists in the U.S. Navy after the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings, and he's accepted into the Navy SEAL program. After 9/11, he's dispatched out to Iraq, and the experience upsets him greatly, especially when he has to kill a boy and his mother who were going to kill his fellow troops. He returns home to his wife Taya Renae (Sienna Miller), but it's not long before he goes back out on another tour of duty, and Kyle gets a reputation among his fellow troops as a deadly sniper, counting up a lot of kills, and he also has a reputation with al-Qaeda, who now have a bounty on him. The deaths leave their toll on Kyle, and it distances him from his family. It's a moving but violent story, and it makes for a very powerful and shocking film, and you can always rely on Eastwood to tell a good story, and this is one of his best films in a while, and it see's him tackle the Iraq War, which few people have tackled on screen yet, but Eastwood is fearless and he gets a career best performance from Cooper as well. 4/5

White of the Eye (1987), written and directed by Donald Cammell, only his third film in 17 years following Performance (1970) and Demon Seed (1977)), and adapted from the 1983 novel Mrs. White, written by Margaret Tracy. This is a dark thriller with some very experimental overtones, but it completely goes insane in the third act, which is a shame, as it's well made and Cammell builds up the mood and atmosphere well, and there's some good arty moments. Set in Tuscon, Arizona, Detective Charles Mendoza (Art Evans) has been investigating a series of grisly murders on rich women living in the area. Forensic evidence leads Mendoza to question Paul White (David Keith), a sound expert who installs hi-fi systems in rich people's houses, specifically the houses where the murders took place, but after interviewing Paul's wife Joan (Cathy Moriarty), Mendoza finds there's no evidence to suspect Paul as the murderer. In flashback, we see how Paul had seduced Joan, when she was in a relationship with Mike DeSantos (Alan Rosenberg), who now works in a gas station out of town, and it's not long before Joan witnesses Paul having an affair with another woman in the desert. It's a very experimental film, and Cammell, never one to shy away from the darker side of human nature and the fusion of personalities, is in his element with this one. But, it then goes all Rambo towards the end, and it just seems out of place for the slow, brooding atmosphere that's been building throughout the film, and it makes you wish Cammell had thought of a better ending. 3/5



Inherent Vice (2014), Paul Thomas Anderson returns, and this is a change of tone from his more serious films like Magnolia (1999) and There Will Be Blood (2007). Here, Anderson adapts and directs an adaptation of Thomas Pynchon's 2009 novel. This is the strangest film to come out of Hollywood in a long time, and watching it is like smoking a massive joint and watching the world around you melt. It's an odd atmosphere, but it looks good on screen, even if it is incoherent. In early 1970, pothead private investigator Larry "Doc" Sportello (Joaquin Phoenix) is approached by his ex-girlfriend Shasta Fay Hepworth (Katherine Waterston) for help regarding her new boyfriend Mickey Wolfmann (Eric Roberts), who has allegedly been thrown into an asylum by his wife Sloane (Serena Scott Thomas). Doc investigates, and is thrown into a complex labyrinth of undesirables including the Aryan Brotherhood and Communist cop informant Coy Harlingen (Owen Wilson), predatory dentist Dr. Rudy Blatnoyd (Martin Short) and a mysterious organisation known as the Golden Fang, all the while Doc clashes with Detective Christian F. "Bigfoot" Bjornsen (Josh Brolin), who wants Dox to turn informant. Pynchon's novel is deliberately a tough nut to crack, and to adapt the film, Anderson filtered it through the sensibilities of Robert Altman's The Long Goodbye (1973) and the films of the Zucker Brothers. It's the most peculiar film of the past year, when it's funny, it's funny, but most of the time it's completely insane and it's impossible to follow the plot. But Anderson gets the best out of his cast, and this is one that needs to be seen again, if you can stand it. 4/5

Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014), based upon the 2012 comic book The Secret Service by Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons, directed by Matthew Vaughn (Stardust (2007) and Kick-Ass (2010)), who adapted the comic book with Jane Goldman (X-Men: First Class (2011) and The Woman in Black (2012)), this is an action packed spy thriller which is also great fun and harks back to the days when spy films weren't serious, and they could be fun and outlandishly far fetched. Kingsman is a secret agent agency who operate out of a tailors shop on Savile Row. Led by Arthur (Michael Caine), he asks for the Kingsman agents to look for a new Lancelot. Veteran Kingsman agent Harry Hart (Colin Firth) finds an unusual yet ideal candidate in Gary "Eggsy" Unwin (Taron Egerton), who is a chav living on a rough London estate, whose father Harry worked with years before. Harry decides to use Eggsy's talents and mould them into something good. Eggsy is put under hard training under the supervision of Merlin (Mark Strong). Meanwhile, Richmond Valentine (Samuel L. Jackson) is planning to cause a global panic using a SIM card placed in people's mobile phones, and Kingsman have been watching him. The film is great fun to watch, and Vaughn has great fun with the source material, which differs somewhat from the original comic, but this has a sense of style and also a good sense of humour. It makes good bedfellows with Vaughn's own Kick-Ass, also based on one of Millar's comic books, it has a great cast and it has some great action sequences. 4/5



The 'Burbs (1989), Joe Dante became a very successful director after The Howling (1981) and Gremlins (1984). After Innerspace (1987) did well, he was offered this pitch black comedy by producer Brian Grazer, which was described by the film's writer Dana Olsen as "Ozzie and Harriet meets Charles Manson". It's got a weird, twisted yet wicked sense of humour, but it works well with a good little ensemble at the films black heart, and it's tight setting. Set in a quiet suburb of Hinckley Hills, Iowa, in a cul-de-sac. It has family man Ray Peterson (Tom Hanks) curious to know more about the neighbours who moved in next door, they don't reveal themselves to the world, and strange noises come out of the basement at night. Disturbed by the strange noises that go on from the house, Ray convinces neighbours Art Weingartner (Rick Ducommun) and Vietnam veteren Lt. Mark Rumsfield (Bruce Dern) to investigate. They are revealed to be the Klopek family. Werner (Henry Gibson), Reuben (Brother Theodore) and (Courtney Gains), who seem eccentric and unnerving. Then their elderly neighbour Walter Seznik (Gale Gordon) vanishes, could the Klopek's have had anything to do with it?? It's got an unnerving quality about it, but the banter and offbeat nature of it makes it funny and spooky. Dante has always been good with offbeat films, and gets good performances from his cast, nicely rounded out by Carrie Fisher, Wendy Schaal and Corey Feldman. 4/5

Godzilla (2nd view) - Better than Edwards' last film but I'm no great fan of Monsters. Godzilla wastes a largely excellent cast with only Cranston making an impression. A great final battle, some fine moments of tension throughout and some gorgeous visuals. The 1998 film is better - 4/5




The Guest (1st view) - Got a nice 80s vibe from this. Ace soundtrack - 4/5*

Into The Woods (1st view) - I imagine to thoroughly enjoy a film like this you need to at least have some love for musical theatre. I do, but I went into this knowing bugger all about the pliot, just aware that it featured the characters of Cinderella, Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel and a few other fairy-tale crteations. Still, I knew I'd love it right from the start, with all the characters introduced via an catchy, hummable and massive 14 minute long song. In fact, it's one of those rare musicals in wich I walked away liking all the songs. Sondheim's way of formulating songs is nothing short of amazing.

Always wary of a film that stars Streep, she's actually not that bad in this, she at least sees to have having some fun with the role. James Corden is also kind of decent, possibly the first time I've seen him and he's not been unbearably smug. Even that kid from Les Mis isn't horrible. Johnny Depp, Christine Baranski and Chris Pine are all fun to watch but the acting honours go to Emily Blunt and Anna Kendrick, both superb. If anyone should have been Oscar nominated for this, it's those two. And on the techinal front, it's a dream to watch.

Sources (well, my sister) tell me that the story has been Disneyfied slightly and is less dark than the stage show but even so the plot shift two third through allows for some black humour and has at least one character death that I never expected at all. I can imagine for die hard fans of the stage show, some of the changes will be hard to take, and for many others coming to this anew the tone will veer too wildly but I loved every second - 4/5*




Jupiter Ascending (1st view, 3d) - A bit of a mess, but a very entertaining one. It has the feel of a film that's been cut, at least half a dozen conversations featured lines that appeared to be responses to things that hadnt been said, and the mythology the film tries to build never feels whole. But it's an amazing spectacle - 4/5*

The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane (2nd view) - Excellent thriller starring Jodie Foster and Martin Sheen. Made in the same year as Taxi Driver, Foster's probably better in this, it's a film that should be more well-known.

Thief (1981), the directorial debut of Michael Mann, who until then had made documentaries and had written for TV shows such as Starsky and Hutch. For his debut, Mann adapted the 1975 novel The Home Invaders: Confessions of a Cat Burglar by Frank Hohimer. It's a very stylish and well shot crime thriller where Mann showcased his style of directing. Set in Chicago, ex-convict Frank (James Caan) is an expert jewel thief, who also has a bar and car dealership in the city, but Frank wants a family with girlfriend, but in order for that to work, he will have to give up his criminal life. After one job ends up with his fence Joe Gags (Hal Frank) dead, he finds that Mr. Attaglia (Tom Signorelli) and his fence Leo (Robert Prosky) are responsible. Frank does one big job for Attaglia and Leo, which is a West Coast heist which is worth $4 million. But Frank is set up and double crossed after the job, so he plans revenge on Attaglia and Leo. It's a very well made film, and it benefits from a brilliant lead performance by Caan and a breathtaking score by Tangerine Dream. Mann does well with the source material and it's a brilliantly visual experience, and it marked the acting debuts of Prosky, Dennis Farina and James Belushi. 4/5



Lucky Numbers (2000), directed by Nora Ephron (Sleepless in Seattle (1993) and You've Got Mail (1998)) and written by Adam Resnick (Death to Smoochy (2002)), this silly, forgettable comedy was based on a true incident scandal that happened in Pennsylvania in 1980, but it seems to have been dumbed down for the film version, maybe because what really happened was so complex. TV weatherman Russ Richards (John Travolta) works for a small TV station in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, but he's facing a big money problem. He's got a snowmobile dealership which is on the brink of bankruptcy. But his friend and local strip club owner Gig (Tim Roth) comes up with a brilliant plan to get rich, rig the Pennsylvania State Lottery, which Russ agrees to. At first, the plan goes well, but in the aftermath, everything starts to unravel beyond control. It's a film which tries, although not hard enough. The real case was complicated enough, whereas the film version should have been easy to tell, but after the crime, it gets more and more complicated, which get in the way of what few laughs the film had. Which is a shame. 2/5

The Quest (1st view) - Jean-Clade Van Damme directs and stars in this martial arts action film as a pickpocker who enlists the help of Roger Moore to take part in a secret fighting tournament. It's all a bit silly - 3/5*




Blood Sucking Freaks (1st view) - An off-broadway show deals with S&M and Grand Guignol-style gore, but the torture and death on display isn't fabricated it's real. A violent, gory, almost pornographic at times, film that tries to be both horror and comedy, Not a film to remonnced to anyone really, unless you like 70s exploitation splatter films - 3/5*

Straight to Hell (1987), directed by Alex Cox, who had seemingly come out of nowhere with the double-whammy of Repo Man (1984) and Sid & Nancy (1986). For a brief time, Cox had the golden ticket to make whatever he wanted, first up was an action-comedy filmed in Spain, which was a surreal yet cheeky homage to spaghetti westerns that Cox loved. It's done on the cheap, and it's a loose remake of Django, Kill! (If You Live, Shoot!) (1967), but it has a very offbeat cast in it too. It tells the story of 3 bumbling hitmen, Willy (Dick Rude), Norwood (Sy Richardson) and Simms (Joe Strummer), who miss their target, and knowing they'll be hunted down by their boss Amos Dade (Jim Jarmusch), they run off into the desert with their pregnant partner in crime Velma (Courtney Love). They find themselves in a small town filled with cowboys, some of whom crave coffee. It turns out the people of the town know who Amos Dade is as well, and when a man called Whitey (Graham Fletcher-Cook) turns up looking for the hitmen, all hell breaks loose. The film grew out of an abandoned concert film that Cox was to have made in Nicaragua, so Cox made this instead. It's a very weird film, but he got a good cast together. Cox would go back to Nicaragua for his next film, Walker (1987). 3/5



Death and the Compass (1996), written and directed by Alex Cox, and adapted from the 1942 short story of the same name by Jorge Luis Borges, this was originally filmed and broadcast as an hour long film for the BBC in 1992, but Cox found money to make it into a feature film, which took another 4 years to complete. The result is a bewilderingly surreal film, portraying a Mexico where everyone speaks English and done with it's tongue firmly in it's cheek. Set in a nameless futuristic city, a serial killer is causing murders across the city, and mystic detective Erik Lonnrot (Peter Boyle) is brought in to investigate the murders, which are characterised with clues written in blood with religious significance in the Kabbalah. Lonnrot's guide through this mysterious world is Alonso Zunz (Christopher Eccleston), a scholarly writer and eyewitness to one of the murders. But nothing in this world is what it seems at all. Cox's brand of filmmaking is always original, and he has a very vivid and surreal style of making films. Although the films might be of varying quality, Death and the Compass is one that works well, it's not a film for everyone, but Cox's love for Spanish and Latin American literature shines through. 4/5

Two film there that I've not seen but want to!


Herbie Goes To Monte Carlo (8th view) - You know when people ask what someone's favourite film/tv show car is and the answer is almost always sonmething from James Bond, or the Batmobile? Well, mine would be a 63 Volkswagon Beetle, complete with racing stripes and number 53. Well, actually that'd be the second. The Delorean from BTTF (flux capacitor optional) would be first. (For those interested, Del Boy's Reliant Regal van wold be 3rd). Anyways, I've always liked the Herbie films and while this isn't the best of the series it's still a lot of fun. Also, how much does Rory Kinnear look like his dad? - 4/5

Monty Python's The Meaning of Life (1983), the final project that Monty Python did together, is an underrated film when compared to Monty Python and the Holy Grail and The Life of Brian, and they did decided to go back to the old sketch format of their old TV series, but it has some of their best material, and despite what you've heard, it's well and truly up there with their 2 previous films. The film is divided into different chapters, with a Seven Ages of Man structure, but all focusing on the search for the Meaning of Life, with alot of the sketches in very questionable taste, from the brilliant musical number Every Sperm is Sacred, to the sex-education lesson in which a teacher (John Cleese) has sex with his wife in front of a bored class, there's a weird challenge to Find The Fish, with Terry Jones with long arms, and Graham Chapman as a drag queen with taps for nipples, a Live Organ Transplant with Terry Gilliam as a Rastafarian Jew, and Eric Idle's sweet little ditty, The Galaxy Song. Oh, and then there's Mr. Creosote It's their biggest film to date, the only one with studio funding, but it makes for enjoyable viewing, some of the sketches work better than others, but it looks brilliant, (including Gilliam's excellent accountants-as-pirates short film, The Crimson Permanent Assurance!! ) It won't be everyone's cup of tea, but it was their last major project altogether as a group, they certainly went out with a bang, you won't forget this one in a hurry!! 5/5



Serendipity (2001), directed by Peter Chelsom, who had just come off the 3 year nightmare of getting Town & Country (2001) made, (which mostly wasn't his fault), he needed something simpler to make, and he settled on this romantic comedy written by Marc Klein (A Good Year (2006) and Mirror Mirror (2012)), and the result was a very clever romantic comedy about missed connections and the unpredictable power of destiny. It has a good sense of humour about it. In New York one Christmas, Jonathan Trager (John Cusack) meets Sara Thomas (Kate Beckinsale) while both trying to buy a pair of gloves. They instantly feel a mutual attraction, even though they are both in separate relationships, but Sara believes in fate, and says that if they meet each other again, then they are meant to be, which Jonathan doesn't believe. However, 3 years later, Jonathan is set to marry Halley Buchanan (Bridget Moynahan) and Sara is set to marry Lars Hammond (John Corbett), but both get cold feet and they head back to New York to try and find each other again. It's a very light and charming film, but it's theme with fate and chance do tend to get a bit contrived and complicated in places, and there's no way that something like this would every happen in real life, then again, stranger things have happened. But, it's a silly piece of fluff. 3/5

Shaun the Sheep Movie (2015), from Aardman Animations, based on the CBBC TV series Shaun the Sheep, which in turn was a spin-off from the Wallace and Gromit classic A Close Shave (1995), this animation is written and directed by Richard Starzak and Mark Burton, and it's a hilarious and charming little film, which makes brilliant use of stop-motion animations and there's some brilliant comedy moments in it. Why Aardman aren't making more films is a mystery as they're always original and very inventive. It tells the story of Shaun (Justin Fletcher) and the rest of the flock want to have a day off from what they do every day down at the farm with the farmer and sheepdog Bitzer (both John Sparkes). However, Shaun's plan ends up with the farmer in a caravan in the city, and eventually in the hospital with amnesia. While trying to look for the farmer, Shaun, Bitzer and the rest of the flock end up being hunted down by Animal Control officer Trumper (Omid Djalili). Meanwhile, the farmer has left the hospital, but he can't remember who he is, and he ends up becoming a hairdresser. It's a very silly film, but you wouldn't expect anything less from Aardman, whose team put their hearts and souls into making this film, and it shows. It's chockablock full of very funny gags, and it has heart and it's a brilliantly made film. We need more animated films like this, no-one does stop-motion quite like Aardman. 5/5



The Interview (2014), directed by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, (This Is The End (2013)), who also came up with the story for this. The Interview is already infamous for the controversy it's caused, being at the centre of Sony's hacking scandal. But it's certainly not a dangerous film, it's a very silly film, somewhere between Spies Like Us (1985) and Frost/Nixon (2008), it has some good laughs, but it's not a perfect film by any means, yet it's still quite entertaining most of the time. U.S Talkshow host Dave Skylark (James Franco) hosts a popular talkshow, with his loyal producer Aaron Rapoport (Rogen) by his side. They end up learning that North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un (Randall Park) is a fan of Skylark's show, and Rapoport arranges for there to be an interview. However, CIA Agent Lacey (Lizzy Caplan) wants Skylark and Rapoport to kill the dictator. Which both reluctantly agree to do, and when they get to North Korea, they find Kim Jong-un to be a likeable person, and a Katy Perry fan, leaving Skylark to believe the CIA are wrong, or are they? It's an extremely silly film, but there are some extremely funny moments in it, (look out for Eminem), but it could have been a lot better, and if it was more provocative and was more dangerous, it might have been worth the hype, but it's a funny espionage spoof. 3.5/5

Demons (1985), directed by Lamberto Bava, (son of Mario Bava, and director of Macabre (1980) and Delirium (1987)), and produced and co-written by Dario Argento. This horror film has all the hallmarks of films that Argento had done in the 1970's, as well as a touch of the giallo slasher films that director Bava's father had started in the 1960's. It also touches on the mystery of cinema, and it's a very suspenseful film and it's a classic example of the bloody monster movies that were being made in the 1980's. Set in West Berlin, it focuses on a group of people who are invited to a special film screening at a recently renovated local cinema called the Metropol. The invited guests include student Cheryl (Natasha Hovey), her friend Kathy (Paola Cozzo), a pimp called Tony (Bobby Rhodes) and prostitute Rosemary (Geretta Giancarlo) and college boys George (Urbano Barberini) and Ken (Karl Zinny). As the film begins, it's a gory slasher horror film and Rosemary begins feeling unwell, having cut herself on a strange mask in the foyer. In the toilet, she starts changing, and the patrons can't get out... It's a cheesy horror film, but there's a good amount of gore on display, and Bava has fun with the material, and despite it all being set in mostly one location, the film manages to do a lot with a small budget and cast. 4/5



Demons 2 (1986), hot off the success of making Demons (1985), a sequel was ordered for immediate production, but director/co-writer Lamberto Bava and producer/co-writer Dario Argento initially struggled to come up with a satisfactory plot which didn't plagiarise the plot of the first film. It's a different breed of film entirely, although it retains the gory shocks of the first film, the plot is indeed quite muddled. Also, if you ignore the bad acting and ropey dialogue, it's a bit of cheesy fun. Set in an apartment block, birthday girl Sally Day (Coralina Cataldi-Tassoni) has thrown a tantrum during a party when her boyfriend doesn't show up. So, she locks herself in her bedroom and watches a film, which has demonic monsters in it. Then one of the demons climbs through the TV set and attacks Sally, turning her into a demon, and then everyone at the party. They end up attacking the rest of the apartment block, including expectant mother Hannah (Nancy Brilli), her husband George (David Edwin Knight) and gym instructor Hank (Bobby Rhodes), who fight back. It's a daft film, and quite derivative, taking a cue from Videodrome (1983), but there are some good creature effects to be had considering the low budget, and while it spawned many spin-offs, rip-offs and sequels. You're better off sticking with the first two Zombie films. 3/5

Big Hero 6 (2014), quite loosely adapted from the Marvel Comics series created by Steven T. Seagle and Duncan Rouleau, and directed by Don Hall (Winnie the Pooh (2011)) and Chris Williams (Bolt (2008)), this superhero animated film produced by Walt Disney Pictures is a very inventive and visually stunning film. It's a bit of a departure from what you'd expect from a Disney animated film, but all the hallmarks are there, and it manages to have some good action sequences, and it's also good fun to watch. Set in the futuristic city of San Fransokyo, 14 year old Hiro Hamada (Ryan Potter) lives with his brother Tadashi (Daniel Henney) and Aunt Cass (Maya Rudolph). Hiro does back-alley robot fights, but when he gets the chance to study robotics at the local university under Professor Callaghan (James Cromwell), tragedy strikes. But when Hiro activates Tadashi's personal health robot Baymax (Scott Adsit), Hiro comes up with ways to make Baymax better, and they also discover a mystery regarding Hiro's robotics project. It's essentially The Incredibles (2004) meets Iron Man (2008), with a plot device straight out of Scooby-Doo. But it's a well made film, and hopefully it might spawn a franchise to come soon, but it's worth it for Baymax. 4/5



Jupiter Ascending (2015), written, produced and directed by Lana and Andy Wachowski, whose have been up and down since The Matrix, but they rediscovered their mojo with Cloud Atlas (2012). Here, they created a bonkers space opera which has influence from Flash Gordon, Dune and John Carter of Mars throughout. Indeed, this is the film John Carter (2012) should have been, a bit more bonkers and a lot more cheesy. It's not a perfect film by any means, but it's satisfying entertainment. Jupiter Jones (Mila Kunis) cleans the homes of wealthy people in Chicago, but when she finds herself getting hunted down by alien keepers, she finds herself saved by alien soldier Caine Wise (Channing Tatum), who tells Jupiter that she's heir to House of Abrasax, and the rightful owner of Earth. But, the evil Balem (Eddie Redmayne), wants Jupiter dead, but Caine and fellow soldier Stinger Apini (Sean Bean), seek to protect Jupiter, who is stuggling to believe that she's really an heir, and she also has to contend with other heirs Kalique (Tuppence Middleton), and Titus (Douglas Booth). It's a very silly film, but you can see what the Wachowski's intentions are, and the result is something not original, but it has their fingerprints all over it, and they're having fun along the way. The acting and dialogue might be ropey, but isn't that the whole point of space operas like this? Plus, look out for Terry Gilliam!! 3.5/5

While You Were Sleeping (2nd view) - The ideas at the centre of this are quite alien to me so this film seems more fantastical than many fantasy films. But some genuinely funny moments and winning performances, especially from Sandra Bullock, make this such a charming and lovely film - 4/5

Not seen Big Hero 6 yet

That's not like you!!

I know! Just not had the chance. Not seen Shaun the Sheep yet either