Film Vlog

Hi, I have started a film vlog on YouTube. Feel free to watch by clicking here.

12 Years A Slave (2013) - Steve McQueen

There are some fine actors in this film, Chiwetel Ejiofor carrying the movie along brilliantly. I don't think it's as good as most critics are reviewing it, but it is worth seeing nonetheless. It really hits on a few nerves and that alone is worth the ticket price. Brad Pitt producing plays the only nice white man. Well done him.

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

SPOILERS American Hustle (2013) - David O. Russell SPOILERS

This was a lovely film. On first look, it has everything in it any film fan could want: a great cast, a tap-along soundtrack, and an auteur director.
The only problem I had with it, was the completely irrelevant and random kiss between Amy Adams and Jennifer Lawrence, justified to me by friends as just a moment of complete madness and passion. Also, I felt a tad bad for Bradley Cooper's character, because he seemed to get chastised the most at the end, when he'd only been doing his duty and was in the right the whole time.
Also, nice cameo by Robert De Niro. De Niro seems to want to be in as many films as possible these days, maybe due in part to his age, and knowing he hasn't got long left. He's an actor, who truly loves the craft.

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Last Vegas (2013) - Jon Turteltaub

First trip to the cinema of 2014, and off to a cracking start. I do love a bit of Robert DeNiro as does everyone, and this film was a doozie. It wasn't like all the other bachelor party Las Vegas combo films that one finds. It was a film that shows no matter your age, with good friends, you can have a good film. Kevin Kline shined the brightest with the best lines, but his cohorts were not left behind. Excellent acting from the care home's finest, and timing was perfect for every joke.

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) - Steven Spielberg

Classic. Instant classic. I watched this in a film studies class, and it has long been one of my favourites. A great start to the franchise. Harrison Ford is spectacular, as he always is, and the supporting characters are well rounded and the villains delightfully evil.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

PS Thank God it wasn't Temple of Doom, I was sat next to a guy who looks the spit of Short Round, and I never could have kept a straight face.

Fight Club (1999) - David Fincher

I had to write an essay on a film, taking into account the Joseph Campbell book, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, and so I chose Fight Club, because I know it very well, and could write a bit about it. I've been suffering from Writer's Block recently though, so it was more difficult than I had anticipated. I even watched the film with commentary on, whilst struggling for ideas. The commentary was interesting, but a lot of what Helena Bonham Carter was saying didn't seem to fit with the film that was on screen, it was poorly edited into the parts with the boys talking, and that was a real shame, because she made some very good points.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

The Mighty Ducks (1992) - Stephen Herek

Utter shit. I'm not even going to review the other two films that I was forced by my flatmates to watch in a double bill, because they were equally poor: D2: The Mighty Ducks (1994) - Sam Weisman or D3: The Mighty Ducks (1996) - Robert Lieberman. This was awful. Just so awful.

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013) - Adam McKay

It was good, but it makes me wonder when Adam McKay and Will Ferrell are going to complete their 'average American man' trilogy.
Not as good as the original, but still some big laugh out loud moments.

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001) - John Cameron Mitchell

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

PS Bit expensive on the soundtrack, like.

Streetcar Named Desire (1951) - Elia Kazan

Marlon Brando.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013) - Ben Stiller

I am told this hasn't been finished being edited, so I wonder what else could be in store for viewers, when the release date is on Boxing Day over here in the UK. It looked finished to me, it was entertaining, and Ben and Kristen Wiig are perfectly matched as a bit of an odd couple, in a nice way.
The David Bowie references also shined out of the otherwise average film. It was entertaining, but not something I would watch again, even if it was properly edited.

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

Lee Daniels' The Butler (2013) - Lee Daniels

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Gravity (2013) - Alfonso Cuarón

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Lolita (1962) - Stanley Kubrick

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

Thor: The Dark World (2013) - Alan Taylor and James Gunn

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Saving Mr Banks (2013) - John Lee Hancock

I am a big fan of Mary Poppins (1964) - Robert Stevenson (and Disney in general), so watching how it was made was a real treat for me. I also spotted a couple of shout outs to the original film, for example, the carousel music is the same as when they are on a carousel in the original. It's little things like that, that show how much care and research has gone into the making of this film. It's a simple film, and is simple to follow, but it is beautifully done. It isn't weighed down with unnecessary back story, like why P. L. Travers moved from Australia to England, it just tells the story at hand, and it may seem silly to say, but it ends at the end: at the premiere, where it should. I don't think that's a spoiler: the film gets made, everyone knows that.
Emma Thompson, Jason Schwartzman, Bradley Whitford, J. B. Novak and Paul Giamatti are all perfect in their roles, but obviously Tom Hanks plays the hardest, one of the most iconic real life figures of modern times: Walt Disney. As someone who never got to meet Disney, I can't tell whether he did him justice, but from my point of view, he was just the right amount of fun loving blended with charismatic he could be.
★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Lolita (1997) - Adrian Lyne

The critically underwhelming film version of what I can only describe as the book that made me most uncomfortable whilst reading on the bus. It was good, but it lacked both the loveable Humbert Humbert from the novel, and also the sheer shock factor that was also entailed within the novel. I am watching the Stanley Kubrick version on Thursday to compare the two, so expect a longer post soon. Jeremy Irons, however, was believable as the lead role.

★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆

Filth (2013) - Jon S. Baird

Scotland has churned out a few good films this year, but none, I guarantee, will be or have been as gripping and entertaining as this. James McAvoy proves once again that he is a deserved BAFTA winning star. Probably the best film of the year.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

In Bruges (2008) - Martin McDonagh

This is McDonagh's iconic masterpiece. It's what Seven Psychopaths (2012) wishes it was, and this film is memorable for more that just its hour and a half long advertisement for Bruges in Belgium. Yeah, it also has in it three actors from the Harry Potter series: Mad-Eye Moody, Voldemort and Fleur Delacour. Ralph Fiennes is likeable, even in his role as the sort of villain of the piece with his own moral code. This film is a must see.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★

The Blues Brothers (1980) - John Landis

I can't believe I've not seen this film with the legendary James Brown and Aretha Franklin in. I love that kind of soul music as well, so this was a genuine treat for me. Dan Aykroyd is perfect in this and I like the way he doesn't make himself the main character. So many cameos to spot, from Steven Spielberg to Carrie Fisher. Just a genuinely feel good film.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★