[Review] 127 Hours - 28th January 2011

★★★★★★ - Worth Watching [For rating system, see information tab at top of blog]
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Release Date: 7th January 2011
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Director: Danny Boyle
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Writers: Danny Boyle & Simon Beaufoy (Screenplay) Aron Ralston (Novel)
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Cast: James Franco 

Review

‘127 Hours’ has been one of the most anticipated films of the year. After ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ in 2008, it was difficult to imagine what Danny Boyle was going to produce that wouldn’t be considered a huge disappointment – he came up with ‘127 Hours’, and once more he has proven himself a diverse, imaginative director.

‘127 Hours’ is a film focused on a character driven narrative based on a startling true story. Aaron Ralston, the subject of the film was an extreme sports fanatic who became a motivational speaker after a startling rock climbing incident that forced him to amputate his own arm. Ralston, played by James Franco in the motion picture, wrote a novel about his accident entitled ‘Caught between a rock and a hard place’  - on which the screenplay of the film was based.

Though Ralston himself had a large input in the film, it is obvious that Danny Boyle is in creative control. His unique directional style shows throughout the film – various flashbacks, obscure close ups, unique camera positioning and connective ‘scientific’ sequences are viewed throughout the film; Danny Boyle’s unique style of direction was excellent, and perfectly chosen for this type of film.

The film adheres very closely to the reality of Aaron Ralston’s experience, much of it being told via a hand held camera as Ralston narrates his feelings, emotions and thoughts. This, in combination with Boyle’s unique directional styles gives the film a much more three dimensional perspective, and allows the audience to directly connect with the character, something that is very important with this genre.

In addition as the film is primarily based on one character, the casting of that role was vitally important. In ‘127 Hours’ James Franco was chosen, and he produced a fantastic performance that earned him his first academy award nomination. His portrayal of Aaron Ralston, explored the deep emotions of  panic, desperation and delirium resulting in, as Ralston himself stated, a very accurate portrayal of his actions and behaviour.

‘127 Hours’ – an inspirational, moving and entertaining film that will be remembered as one of the best single character driven film in recent years. 

[Review] True Grit (2011) - 28th February 2011

★★★★★★★ - Good [For rating system, see information tab at the top of blog]
- Release Date: 11th Of February (UK)

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Director: Ethan & Joel Coen
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Writers: Ethan & Joel Coen (Screenplay) Charles Portis (Novel) 
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Cast: Jeff Bridges - Matt Damon - Josh Brolin - Hailee Stienfeld - Barry Pepper

Review

The original ‘True Grit’, released in 1969 saw John Wayne win his only Academy Award, and resulted in the release of one of the most famous western films in history. Consequently, I was apprehensive about how the remake was to be constructed. However, my mind was set at ease with the realization that the Coen brothers did what they do best, and created yet another excellent film in this genre.

‘True Grit’ is one of the few remakes that could be considered better than the original. Its casting, performances, direction, script, costumes and cinematography contribute to a film that is gripping, entertaining and moving.

Performances from Jeff Bridges and Hailee Steinfeld are of the highest quality, while supporting roles from Matt Damon and Josh Brolin create excellent screen chemistry. The cast as a whole generates a feeling of acceptance for the audience to relate to, even though most modern day audiences would find it hard to truly relate to a life in the West.

The Coen brothers have always been praised on making simplistic films that are true to reality; ‘A Serious Man’ and Oscar winning ‘No Country For Old Men’ are examples of this, and ‘True Grit’ is no exception: The brothers wrote the screenplay to reflect the original novel by Charles Portis as closely as possible; many of the sets and much of the dialogue used in the 2011 version are the same as the first film, and subsequently the book, changed only by the Coen brother’s unique style of direction – From the opening scene, an anchoring shot of a traditional western saloon accompanied by a voice over instantly re-engages you to the Coen brothers comfortable directional conventions, always putting substance before style. 

True Grit, the original in 1969 was an excellent film, and the Coen brothers knew this – so they remade it with their own twist, an input that has bettered the film and re awoken modern day cinema to the world of Westerns.

True Grit, another film thoroughly deserving of its awards and nominations.

The Oscars - One Of The Most Competitive Years?

The Oscar Nominations are out, and though Tom Hooper's 'The King's Speech' as swept up the most nominations (12) the competition is still very much on. With ten very powerful films all nominated for Best picture, and performances categories that have left people guessing, the night of the oscars is going to be one of most anticipated and one of the best of recent years. Here are the nominations for all the performance categories as well as Best Director and Best Picture: 

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With remakes like 'True Grit', period drama's like 'The King's Speech' and artistic thrillers like 'Black Swan' the range of versatile, unique and powerful performances and direction must have left the academy struggling to choose the nominations. But can this year be known as one of the most competitive years?

That is still unknown. These films may or may not move on to become classics - but as we don't know that yet, what's to suggest that this year is going to be so prolific? Last year's Oscars saw the first female director to win an academy award, as well as see James Cameron's 'Avatar' become the highest grossing film ever made, two enormous events in the film industry. 2011 might not have the same 'landmark' opportunities, but it does have an incredibly diverse range of films, performances and direction. 

Each of the films nominated, are written, directed and performed in very different ways, giving the academy no freedom to compare genres, similar performances and close directional styles. 

 - So could 2011 be named one of the most competitive years? Yes. No doubt. 

Ten films will be in high competition:

The King's Speech: 12 nominations

The Social Network: 8 nominations

The Fighter: 7 nominations

Inception: 8 nominations

Black Swan: 5 nominations

The Kids Are Alright: 4 nominations

127 Hours: 6 nominations

Winter's Bone: 4 nominations

Toy Story 3: 5 nominations

True Grit (2011): 10 nominations

[Review] Little Fockers - 27th December 2010

★★★★ - Leaves A lot To Be Desired [For rating system, see information tab at the top of blog]

Release Date: 22nd December 2010
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Director: Paul Weitz
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Writers: John Hamburg - Larry Stuckey - Based on the characters by:  Greg Glienna - Mary Ruth Clarke
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Cast: Robert De Niro - Ben Stiller - Jessica Alba - Teri Polo - Owen Wilson - Barbra Streisand - Dustin Hoffman

Review

‘Little Fockers’ is the third in this series of films but, unfortunately, is a further example of how a brilliant pair of films is then let down by a further sequel.

Originally, 'Meet The Parents' and 'Meet The Fockers' were written by Greg Glienna & Mary Ruth Clarke. They created the characters of Jack Byrnes and Gaylord 'Greg' Focker and brought them to life in a brilliant, unique and extremely comic fashion. However, with 'Little Fockers', the mantel was passed onto John Hamburg and Larry Stuckey… A transition that has ruined the trilogy.

Obviously one expects to see a continuation of the characterization in the film, but there is more than a sense of ‘déjà vu’; the realization that nothing new has been brought to add to the two previous films. These proved to be so popular because of the refreshing manner in which the 'In Law' theme was introduced. 'Little Fockers' extended the films by introducing children, or in Jack Byrnes's case, grand children in an attempt to follow the stereotypical life of a couple in love: Meet, get engaged, meet the brides parents, meet the grooms parents, marriage and have children; but unfortunately, 'Little Fockers' did not utilise these situations for comedy in that same way that its prequels did. 

Having said this, no criticism can be made about the performances by the lead cast. Robert De Niro, Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, and Teri Polo play there original roles to the same comic high standard, along with the cameo's from Dustin Hoffman and Barbra Streisand and new role introduced by Jessica Alba. The screen chemistry still remains and cannot be ignored. 

It also has to be said that Paul Weitz directed an accurately constructed, professionally made film, but unfortunately it misses some key elements of humour and leaves the viewer feeling disappointed and somewhat cheated. It is hard to believe that this film was made for any other reason than to generate money off the back of two great comedies.

[Review] Skyline - 17th of December

★★★ - Poor [For rating system, see information tab at the top of blog]
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Release Date: 12th November 2010
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Directors: Colin Strause & Greg Strause
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Writers: Joshua Cordes & Liam O'Donnell
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Cast: Eric Balfour - Scottie Thompson - Brittany Daniel - Crystal Reed - Neil Hopkins

Review

After watching the trailer for 'Skyline' I, along with many people, was really looking forward its release. However the viewing of it proved to be a real disappointment. It does not differ from many of the other apocalypse films already produced and is possibly the worst I have seen. 

The narrative construction of the film is weak, rushed and predictable. The party scene at the beginning aimed at familiarising the audience with the characters, but ended up being very clichéd at an almost ‘teen drama’ level. It then moves straight to the imminent attack from the Aliens. This structure is standard, but here seems to happen too quickly without the build up of any suspense - almost like two films have been tied together, with no real thought having been put into how to develop the storyline in a manner that works. 

In addition to this, there seems to be very little chemistry between the cast, each giving weak performances individually, and uncomfortable performances as a group. This, combined with the aforementioned problems over the structure of the narrative, contribute to its failure. The acting is generally second rate, and instead of constructing believable scenes of panic and emotion, we are left feeling irritated by the dialogue and actions. 

The film was naturally very focused on the Special Effects, Sound and CGI and some would argue this dominated the film resulting in weak casting, performances and narrative. However the film does use these techniques to produce a reasonable standard of special effects but not in any spectacular way. Though some would not agree, the benchmark for CGI and Effects in major motion pictures was set by James Cameron's 'Avatar', and unfortunately, ‘Skyline’ does not come close to creating this level of inventiveness. ‘Skyline’ aimed to be an exciting Sci-fi/action film, and unfortunately failed to impress on any level. 

[New Trailers] 14th December 2010

127 Hours

Transformers 3 - Dark Of The Moon

Black Swan

True Grit

Pirates Of The Caribbean - On Stranger Tides

[Review] Dew Date - 13th Of December 2010

★★★★★★ - Worth Watching [For rating system, see information tab at the top of blog]
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Release Date: 5th Novemeber 2010
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Director: Todd Phillips
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Writers: Alan R. Cohen, Alan Freeland (Story & Screenplay) Adam Sztykiel & Todd Phillips (Screenplay)
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Cast: Robert Downey Jr - Zach Galifianakis - Jamie Foxx

Review

After seeing Todd Phillip’s great comedy venture ‘The Hangover’ I felt dubious about whether he could produce another - and he didn't with ‘Due Date’, but I enjoyed it nonetheless!

A brief summary of this film suggests a standard narrative structure; two strangers meet, of opposing personalities, and are thrown into a situation where they have to spend an extended amount of time together resulting in several comic clashes. The difference between ‘Due Date’ and ‘The Hangover’ is that ‘Due Date’ has more serious undertones, as well as the original comedy Phillip’s creates.

As you watch this film, you realise that, while it is funny, it focuses more on the friendship that develops between the two characters, and as one is grieving about the death of a relative, how he starts to overcome the loss. It tackles how, as individuals, we deal with these difficult issues in very different ways.

Robert Downey Jr and Zach Galifianakis give very effective performances, though it is hard to shake the character 'Alan' that Galifianakis played in ‘The Hangover’. However he does play an equally absurd character in ‘Due Date’, and executes the comedy perfectly, contrasting well as with the 'up tight' role that Robert Downey Jr plays. 

As four writers collaborated on this film, (Alan R. Cohen, Alan Freeland, Adam Sztykiel, Todd Phillips) one might imagine it was difficult to agree on how they wanted the characters to be perceived. The result was two well-crafted characters that clash in the perfect comic fashion, followed by excellent casting and subsequent screen chemistry. 


Overall, ‘Due Date’ is very funny, moving and an excellent addition to Todd Phillip's filmography.