Film Reviews

Get Smart (2008)

Director: Peter Segal
Cast: Steve Carell, Anne Hathaway, Alan Arkin, Terrence Stamp

Comedian Victoria Wood once told an anecdote about going to see a really terrible play in which she said that amidst all the really bad acting and terrible plot there was one really good bit where it all stopped for ten minutes and she had an ice cream. Well, I don’t think I appreciated that joke to its fullest until I went to see Steve Carell’s latest offering ‘Get Smart’, and can say that the best bit in the entire movie was the part where I left the theatre for a few minutes to go to the toilet. On paper this movie should have been great. A film adaptation of the 1960’s Mel Brookes TV show about a hapless government spy which won several Emmy’s and Golden Globes, it should have been the perfect recipe for a laugh a minute movie. Steve Carell seemed the perfect person to be cast in the lead role as he’s fast becoming America’s hottest comedian on the back of recent successes such as ‘The 40 Year Old Virgin’ and the US version of comedy series The Office. I expected Get Smart to follow in the vein of classic spoof movies such as the Airplane series or Naked Gun with lots of slapstick, farcical, physical humour and cheesy yet funny one-liners, but instead what was actually offered was half-assed, obvious jokes that never quite worked and most of which were completely unfunny.

The main problem with Get Smart is that it doesn’t seem to be able to decide what kind of movie it is. It seems to be taking itself too seriously to be considered a spoof and too badly written and acted to be a serious movie. For a movie which (I assume) is supposed to be a spoof the plot is too involved and way too serious. Terrence Stamp’s villain is as ridiculous and over the top as you’d expect from a comedy yet the fact that he is also completely devoid of humour just makes him comes across as painfully bad. It’s hard to believe that such a well respected actor would have signed up for something like this.

For me the one truly funny moment in the entire movie (yes there was one!) was a short scene with Bill Murray playing a once brilliant agent who had been demoted and made to go undercover inside a tree trunk. The one funny line in the whole film ‘No one wants to talk to the guy inside the tree’ was made even funnier by the fact that its Bill Murray that’s delivering it. This is a fabulous moment in an otherwise dire, painstakingly bad movie. But even this wasn’t enough to resurrect a ‘Get Smart’ from the film graveyard. It makes you wonder what Steve Carell was thinking when he signed up to do this movie. As bad as the film is you’re still able to see his comic abilities shine though, albeit rather faintly. And I still look forward to seeing what he does next. It can’t be any worse than ‘Get Smart’, that’s for sure.

Send A Comment

The Machinist (2004)

Director: Brad Anderson
Cast: Christian Bale, Jennifer Jason Leigh, John Shari

Christian Bale reportedly lost around 4 and a half stone for his role in The Machinist, apparently surviving on little more than apples, chewing gum, cigarettes and coffee. Not a diet I would recommend, and I’m surprised he had any energy for actually filming after that. But he must have found some somewhere, because his performance in The Machinist is arguably the best in his career. Bale plays Trevor Reznik, a machine operator in an industrial factory who hasn’t eaten or slept for over a year. When he accidentally cut off a co-workers arm, his life that was only hanging by a thread, completely disintegrates. And no-one seems to know who the strange man is who keeps following him. The film follows Reznic as he falls further and further into a spiral of despair as he tries to put together the pieces of the puzzle as to what happened a year ago to result in his life falling apart.

Director Brad Anderson presents the viewer with a bleak landscape of a barely-there existence. A life held together by desperation. And the cast play the parts brilliantly. Bale is spectacular as Reznik, a man who is so thin and tired he almost seems to be disappearing from existence; and Jennifer Jason Leigh gives an excellent performance as the prostitute who is Reznik’s only friend and confidant.

The film constatnly flashes back and forward between past and future leaving the viewer to piece everything together like a puzzle in an manner not dissimilar to Memento. I’ve heard the Machinist described as a cross between Memento and Fight Club, and that description is not far wrong.

There isn’t one single thing wrong with this film. Perfect filming, perfect casting, perfect direction. The machinist is a film that will have you gripped from the very moment you begin watching. You’ll be constantly trying to figure out all the twists and turns and the ending won’t disappoint you. This is a truly thrilling, stunning masterpiece.

Send A Comment

Superman Returns

Director: Bryan Singer
Staring: Brandon Routh, Kevin Spacey, Kate Boswell, Parker Posey

At last, the long awaited new Superman film has arrived. 15 years after Superman 4 it seemed that the Superman films had perhaps had their day. But always popular, it was only a matter of time before the man in the blue tights would be back on the big screen. This was a good time to release the new film. An new generation of fans had been enjoying Smallville: Superman the early years on TV, a generation who had perhaps been two young to remember the original Superman movies, but even the golden oldies amongst us waited eagerly to see what the new film would be like. There are of course so many questions and controversies surrounding the making of this film. Who would play Superman? How can you replace Christopher Reeve? Would it be a remake? Would they do it justice? In the end Superman Returns managed to hit all the right notes with minimal controversy. Superman was played by unknown American Soap actor Brandon Routh who bears a striking resemblance to a young Christopher Reeve, someone which works very well considering director Bryan Singer’s decision o stick very closely to the format of the original films and to Reeve’s portrayal of the super hero. Rather than being a remake, Superman Returns is set five years after we last saw him on the big screen. He has been away in search if the remains of his home planet Krypton, but now he’s back at his old job at the Daily Planet looking to rekindle his love for old flame Lois lane who is in a relationship with another man and has a young son. Kevin Spacey gives a brilliant performance as Lex Luther. His scenes with girlfriend Kitty played by Parker Posey inject well played humour into the film. Overall, Superman Returns is a good effort to revive an old favourite. It may not live up to some fans expectations as there seems to be something miss from it (although I’m not sure what), but it’s a very good, enjoyable film.

Brokeback Mountain

Director: Ang Lee
Starring: Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhall, Michelle Williams

It’s not surprising that Brokeback Mountain was nominated for so many Oscars. What is surprising however is that it didn’t win more. It is hard to imagine a film more emotionally wrought. Ang Lee directs it perfectly drawing the audience in, really making you feel for the characters. Heath Ledger really comes of age as an actor playing Ennis Del Mar, a simple cowboy who struggles with his love for another man while trying to do the right thing by his wife and children. He gives an amazing believable performance which should have won him the best actor Oscar. You’re right there with him the whole way feeling his pain, agony and struggles. Jake Gyllenhall plays Jack Twist, a dreamer who can’t understand why their love has to be so complicated. The two actors compliment each other perfectly; they have the right amount of chemistry and give very believable performances. Brokeback Mountain is a very beautiful movie filmed against a stunning landscape. It is a simple love story with a twist. The performances and direction are perfect and you’ll find it impossible not to shed a tear.

House Of Flying Daggers

Director: Zhang Yimou
Starring: Takeshi Kaneshiro, Aiyi Zhang, Andy Lau

From the Director of Hero and the Producer of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, comes yet another masterpiece of chinese cinema. Being very much in the same vein as the previous two films, you almost know what to expect before watching it. But 'House Of Flying Daggers' differs from 'Hero' and 'Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon' in several ways. It is a much shorter and less complex film than both of its predecessors, favouring simplicity and intesnsity. . With a very simple story, the essense of the film comes from the beauty of the landscape and cinematography and the the wonderfully choreographed martial arts scenes. The story is simple and familar. The Chinese Army have been instructed to kill the new leader of revolutionary faction 'The House of Flying Daggers'. Tipped off that the blind daughter of the now dead old leader is working under cover at the brothel frequented by army captains, they hatch a plan to send one of their sodiers on an undercover mission to gain her trust and follow her back to the Flying Daggers and uncover the new leaders identity. With twists and turns along the way and a passionate love triangle, this film cannot fail to suck you in making you watch intently to every second. Filmed against beautiful backdrops of Chinese countryside, it really is a very sensual film, and it contain some of the most amazing martial arts scenes ever filmed. 'House Of Flying Daggers' really is a work of art that has to be seen to be believed, and you won't be disaapointed.

RAQUEL WELCH DVD COLLECTION

"Americans have always had sex symbols. It's a time-honored tradition, and I'm flattered to have been one. But it's hard to have a long, fruitful career once you've been stereotyped that way. That's why I'm proud to say I've endured."-Raquel Welch

To many, Raquel Welch remains the ultimate pin-up girl and one of the dominant sex symbols of the 1960s. Her talents, however, more than match her statuesque bearing and timeless beauty. In recent interviews, Welch reveals a self-deprecating sense of humor, a shrewd grasp of business, and a commitment to social issues. Determined and resourceful, she has carefully crafted a career that defies expectations. In honour of Welch's unmatched and brilliant career, Fox have released a specialdvd collection featuring five of her most memorable movies - 'One Million Years B.C.'; 'Bandolero!'; 'Myra Breckenridge'; 'Mother, Jugs & Speed'; and 'Fathom'. For further information and to purchase the collection, just click on the link below.

Raquel Welch DVD Collection

KILL BILL (2003)

Why do people think a film like Kill Bill is violent?
By: Guest Reviewer Christopher McGuicken

Picture the scene. A young man in his early twenties has just walked out of the most recent film by a now cult director. His movies are known for their violence, humour, and imaginative story telling. His movies have had violence in the past, and the movie that started hiscareer to where it is today breed on the violent talk about his film. I am talking about Quentin Tarintino. The young man is of course happy that the movie lived up to its potential in his eyes, but he is deeply troubled by the mass media turning against this film in same way the media helped his previous films to success. The violence!

When I saw Kill Bill, it was hyped, but not hyped like the films are nowadays of the matrix or star wars. I knew a little about the film, and avoided contact with any other information. A control of the information I presume from Tarintoino’s end helped. In the very first scene I jumped to the thud of a bullet going through someone’s head. I said to myself, “wow, this is going to be violent…yes!”

However, this was not the case. The director has made a movie (although part one of a movie – it is still a movie on its own right), which is the opposite of the violence of his past movies, and the realism of his past movies. The opening credits read, “The fourth film by Quentin Tarinto”, and looking back at his other three movies, ‘Reservoir Dogs’, ‘Pulp Fiction’, ‘Jackie Brown’, and his bit directing and involved moviesof ‘From Dusk Till Dawn’, ‘Four Rooms’, and his writing to ‘Natural Born Killers’ and ‘True Romance’ are all very violent films. However there is something different from these past films to Kill Bill. They all are real films. They exist all in our own space and time. Although they are a work of fiction, there is an element of through in the movies, the broken people, the violence, and the bad situations that made us all laugh. That all could and does happen. However Kill Bill, like the genres he is trying to emulate, are not real. When people’s head are cut off, they do not bleed like they have 55 gallons of blood in their body, and it doesn’t squirt out like a fountain. It does however, in comic books, anime animation and fictional stories, because it simply cant happen in real life. Like the movies before Kill Bill, it is where should be made. Movies set in a world that does not exist, and thus is why we are watching it. The desire to see another world, and this is Kill Bill. Sure there are elements of more realistic fiction in it, however those are heavily taken apart by mixture of black and white, colour, and animation. All used previously in Natural Born Killers, and showed the mind of a serial killer in a whole new fashion, a serial killer in the form of media, that of course did not exist.

For instance, the use of animation to show the young life of Oren Ishii, it was a terrible youth, as well as a very violent past. So it was done by animation, and shows exactly how brutal her life is and was, but it is don’t by animation, thus not as violent as it could have been.

Maybe I don’t think kill bill is violent because I’ve grown up watching violence all my life in movies. I accept that might be an answer. But the fact that I consider that type of movie to be not real, and I’m a pacifist, then I believe the latter has nothing to do with it. Kill Bill is not a violent movie

But don’t let me decide for you. Watch it a second, third time and make that decision.

I think it is a pretty damn cool film. And a film I’d watch again and again, or maybe just treasure it every 2 years or so. Either way, its going straight into my DVD collection, and I might just burn away the disc with this one!

Memento (2000) *****

Director: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Guy Pierce, Carrie-Ann Moss, Joe Pantiliano

The premise is simple. A man with no short term memory attempts to track down his wife’s killer and avenge her death. The last thing he can remember is her brutal rape and murder, and with the inability to form new memories, the movie follows his growing obsession with his task as he takes photographs, writes down evidence, and even tattoos the facts on his body. It may sound simple in theory, but ‘Memento’ is one of the most complex psychological thrillers ever made. Director Christopher Nolan takes this simple plot and using a circular narrative, flashbacks, and a storyline that weaves in and out of itself to create a sense of confusion, of memory loss, and the struggle to regain it. Just as Leonard has to piece together the evidence of his wife’s murder so must the audience piece together the plot, shown in a jumbled order as if to convey the leading character’s growing confusion. Throughout the film Nolan employs a really effective tool of showing a scene only to re-show the very same scene again from a different viewpoint or starting the action just a few minutes before the previous time, to show the audience that what they thought they were watching was completely different to what they are actually witnessing.

Guy Pierce is remarkable in the lead, convincingly conveying a man so desperate to avenge his wife’s death that he takes advantage of his own disability to believe only what he wants to believe. Carrie-Ann Moss also puts in a great performance as the woman who manipulates him for her own ends. The entire film is remarkably put together, well acted and directed. The most remarkable thing about ‘Memento’ is the fact that it’s one of those films that you can watch again and again without getting bored with it. In fact, it’s a film that NEEDS to be seen again and again in order to gain some sort of real understanding, and each time you watch it you’ll end up drawing a different conclusion that you did before, but one thing’s for certain, each viewing will only increase your awe and admiration for the film itself as well as for the actors and director.

My Little Eye (2002) ****

Director: Marc Evans
Staring: Jennifer Skye, Laura Regan, Sean C. W. Johnson, Steven O’Reilly

‘My Little Eye’ is probably one of the best psychological horrors films to be released in recent years. It is a dark, thrilling masterpiece of a film that comes across as a mixture of’ Big Brother’ and ‘The Blair Witch Project’. Five young Americans are chosen to live together in a deserted house in the middle of nowhere for six months with a prize of $1 million dollars to be shared between them, the only rule being that if someone leaves before the end, everyone loses. Their actions are filmed 24 hours a day and broadcast on the Internet, but with the production company determined not to pay the $1million prize, there are a few nasty surprises in store for the contestants.

British director, Marc Evans is very successful in creating a real low-budget style movie, which really gives the effect of a reality TV show. complete with camera clicking sound effects that creates an eerie atmosphere which builds up throughout the film until its shocking climax. ‘My Little Eye’ examines the nature of reality TV, pushing the idea to it’s very limits, and displaying themes of voyeurism, competition and consumerism. A tense thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat for the entire duration of the film and with one of the most graphic scenes I have ever witnessed in a film it is intelligently acted and directed and definitely worth seeing. But be warned, if you’re anything like me you might have to sleep with the light on for about a week afterwards.

GHOST WORLD (2002) ****

Director: Terry Zwigoff
Staring: Thora Birch, Scarlet Johanson, Steve Buscemi

Based on a comic strip by Daniel Clowes, ‘Ghost World’ tells the story of two teenage girls who graduate from high school amidst a sense of disillusionment about their future. Instead of getting a job or going to college, they spend their days sitting in cafes playing practical jokes on the freaks and weirdoes who inhabit their town. Steve Buscemi is fabulous as Seymour, a hapless 40-something who fills up his lonely existence collecting rare records and antiques. He is initially a seen as a pitiful figure and ideal candidate for Enid (Thora Birch) to poke fun at, but before long an intense and emotionally affecting relationship develops between them; each of them being totally differentpeople with different personalities, but both of them struggling with the same problems in life.

In many ways ‘Ghost World’ is a teen movie, but it is not a teen movie in any traditional sense of the term. It charts the rights of passage between childhood and adulthood, but it does so in an original, dry, individual way. The general feel of the film is sadness and hopelessness, the idea that nothing is going to happen, that there’s nothing to look forward to in life. Staying true to its comic strip origins, ‘Ghost World’ is filmed in a quirky manner, with a strong visual style and many strange eccentric moments. It is a film that is at once funny, original, sad and moving, and is definitely the one of the best films to be released within the last couple of years.

FIGHT CLUB (2000) *****

Director: David Fincher
Staring: Edward Norton, Brad Pitt, Helena Bonham-Carter, Jared Leto, Meatloaf Aday

When it was first released ‘Fight Club’ was a film that managed to pass me by completely. I didn’t read any reviews of it, didn’t see any trailers for it at the cinema or watch any of the actors being interviewed. I vaguely knew of its existence, but nothing about it whatsoever enticed me to hand over my precious cash at the cinema to watch it. Therefore, when I noticed it in the t.v listing over the Christmas period, I almost didn’t watch it at all, but realizing I had nothing better to do, I thought I’d give it a go. Sitting down to watch a film that I had assumed to be about I boxing club, I got the shock of my life. I was utterly blown away. Instead of seeing a film about fighting, violence and men’s clubs, I saw a film about the nature of self destruction, a film about the darker side of the human psyche, a film about what happens when people have enough of the mundane, hopelessness of life, and decide to rebel. Not only was I completely taken aback by ‘Fight Club’, but even as I was still watching it, I knew I had just discovered my new favourite film of all time. How did I manage to miss this first time around?

The amazing Edward plays Jack, a man who has everything - an executive job, a penthouse apartment, designer furniture, all the money he could wish for - but he’s depressed, he can’t sleep, he knows there is something missing from his life. A chance meeting with soap salesman Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) changes his life completely. Tyler Durden is everything Jack is not – good looking, charismatic, good with women, charming – and together they eschew the values and pressures of modern life. They give up their materialist possessions, chosing to live in a hovel, and vent their anger and frustration with their lives through bare knuckle, no rules fighting.

Fight Club is a film that challenges the viewers every moral and opinion of life. It makes you think twice about every decision you have ever made, every item of clothing or cd or book you have ever purchased. Fight Club rages against the American Dream, it questions the nature of a society that promises that everyone can be famous and beautiful if only we drive the right car, and buy the rightwashing powder.

Anyone who has ever thought deeply about the meaning of their life will love Fight Club. Anyone who has ever questioned the point of it all will be glued to their television screens for every second of this film. Anyone who has ever hoped that there has to be something more that what you see in front of you has got to see this film. YOU have got to see this film.

Send A Comment