Up (2009) Movie Review

So I was rooting through old English work the other day and stumbled across a review I did for Disney Pixar's Up for an English assessment back in May 2010, so rather than writing another, I thought: heck, why not just type this one up? So here goes. Bearing in mind it's over a year old, I think it was okay.

Once a year, Pixar presents to us its latest animated marvel, and does it in spectacular new ways focusing each movie on a different aspect of design. Toy Story was based around the design of the toys: the character models and recreating real life objects. Finding Nemo was made so that they could practise water effects. Cars was obviously for the cars, the parts of them and the way light reflects off of them. Monsters Inc. was for the fur so they could fine-tune their creation of the individual hairs to make the monsters look real. The Incredibles was for the special effects involved in utilising their super powers. The list goes on. This time around: the focus was on the colour palettes: ranging from the film noir pre-movie movie sequence; to the vibrant colour schemes used for the balloons and the lush environments. Yes ladies and gentlemen, this is Up.

The story begins when our protagonist Carl Frederickson is a child, watching a black and white movie of his hero Charles Muntz: a brave explorer who travelled all the way to South America in his blimp/dirigible/zeppelin named 'The Spirit of Adventure'. Inspired by what he has witnessed, the young Carl runs out of the movie theatre imagining that he too is a world-class explorer. He is running/flying his imaginary plane; his 'The Spirit of Adventure' balloon billowing in the wind; quoting his idol, when suddenly he hears someone else doing the same. He goes to examine, and finds a girl: flying an imaginary blimp. What follows is both sentimental and heart-warming, as Carl and Ellie make a pact that one day, they will go to Paradise Falls like Charles Muntz, and live there, leading to a flashback sequence showing their long and happy lives together, building up to a melancholy and tragic conclusion. We then come to the present, where construction workers are trying to knock down Carl's house in order to make way for something new, like a mall. A series of unfortunate events (hooray for references to other movies/books) lead to him being exiled from his house and forced into a home for the elderly. Refusing to give up on his and his wife's dreams, Carl lets loose thousands of amazingly vibrant coloured balloons: enough to lift his house from the ground and carry it away! What ensues is a fantastic adventure that spans the glorious jungles, rocky monuments and towering mountains of South America - involving our aged protagonist, a boy named Russell, a dog named Doug, a mother bird named Kevin, and a whole host of other weird and wonderful characters.

The skillful design work and animation is here, as ever, with traditional Pixar character models roaming the lush environments, with every hair acting independantly of one another; every weave in the fabric and the furniture easily visible. Everything is perfect, and everything has its own place and purpose. The time and effort that must have gone into making this movie is phenomenal, and it all came together really well to create the fantastic end piece. The lighting is spectacular: the way shadows fall in certain places at certain times; how the vibrant colours of the balloons affect the way the lights work. It is truly incredible how realistic the unorthodox can be. How amazingly lifelike the blatantly fake can appear. The animation is practically flawless: the way objects and the environment react to goings on. Just the way that the characters generally live, breathe and act almost as if they were real. As if they were true people, and this is a true portrayal of the characters by real, professional actors. It's truly quite astonishing. The way they've managed to get the characters to lip-sync imitate what the brilliant voice actors are saying is stunning.

The music is a part of the creation of this film that I could drone on and on about for ages, as it always sets the scene perfectly, and portrays exactly the right emotion; you know exactly what the creators want you to feel, and when they want you to feel it, as everything is there to make it what it wants to be. It tugs at your heart-strings, makes you laugh, makes you cry - and it does it at exactly the right moment. It knows exactly where people will get upset, it knows when they will be joyous, sentimental and even thrilled, and it shows it through the music. It's catchy tunes and melancholy melodies the like of which you're unlikely to have heard before are amazingly powerful and are just the type you would expect to hear in a Pixar movie.

One thing which amazed me the first time I saw this movie was the death. For the first time - I believe - ever, Pixar has decided to tackle genuine tragedy, and how the loss of the most important thing in a man's life can completely ruin him. You truly feel the sadness, and the sentiment is expertly masterminded to the poinr where empathising with these characters just isn't an option. You have no choice but to sit, entranced by the movie's goings on, and you can feel your heart twisting and turning as the film gallops its many ups and downs, as the lump in your throat gets bigger and bigger.

Tragedy isn't the only thing that is dealt with however; as ever the movie is filled to the brim with Pixar's trademark humour and originality, and it's easy to see the points where laughter was intended, as there are no points where you sit there and think "Am I supposed to be laughing? Is this really supposed to be amusing me?" In fact, you have very little time to think anything at all, as you will be captivated, even engrossed by this wonderful piece of cinema.

To conclude, I would just like to say how strongly I recomment this movie. There are not enough words to describe how much I urge you to watch this film as soon as humanly possible. The sheer amount of subjects it tackles in one approximately two hour slot is phenomenal, as you will at times feel sad, happy, sorrowful, joyful, sentimental and understanding.There's tragedy, humour, shocks, thrills and so much more to experience. There's death, old-age, whining children, ever-changing society, the unorthodox, talking dogs, nonsencical creatures and a giant she-bird named Kevin! I believe what ever your tastes, there's something for everybody in Up: especially for those that are fans of Pixar's previous works. I have enjoyed all of Pixar's movies, and will continue to enjoy them as and when they're released. I completely believe that children and adults, young and old will enjoy this stunning film, and you should really take the opportunity to watch it as soon as possible.

So there you have it. I'm not sure what I think of it. It's a decent piece, but it's rather ridiculously over-exaggerated. I guess I was just gushing because I love Pixar, and because it was an assessment so I wanted to pack it with as much as I could. Either way, it's not bad, and it's over a year old, so you can't really complain I guess.

Donnie Darko (2001) Review

Donnie Darko was (back in 2001 when the film was released) director Richard Kelly's debut effort, and what an effort it was! I'd like to take a moment to explain how I'm new to the reviewing game, especially movies, and therefore many references to other films and things like that will more than likely be lost on me, at least until I gain more experience in the field. With this in mind, I still know a good and beautifully made movie when I see one. Critical response was very mixed, with some decrying it as being one of the worst films ever; some saying it tried really hard to do a lot of things and yet sadly fell short; and some claiming it's the greatest film that people of the Earth have ever had the fortune to witness: claiming boldly that it's unsurpassed in every way. Whatever your opinion, there's no denying that it has become a cult phenomenon, with a huge following, and a large band of people willing to argue their opinion. So what do I think of the movie? This is a review after all, and it's more than likely what you're reading this for.

Donnie Darko to me, is an incredibly absorbing, and beautifully twisted look at the human psyche, which can be both wonderfully disturbing; and at times downright funny. It's the story of a problem child - a boy: Donnie Darko. Amazingly this is his actual name (Donald Darko, only with the Donald shortened) and not a nickname, which I must say is rather peculiar; but it does add to the effect, and therefore it's a welcome move in my books. Donnie is a little bit different to most people, and as such is seeing a psychologist (Dr Thurman), and requires medication to keep himself under control. Even still, he is prone to nightly sleepwalks and finds himself waking up in the most bizarre of places: like the middle of a wood with his bike by his side, or slap-bang in the middle of a golf course - often to rather comic effect. One night though, he finds himself face to face with a grotesque six foot tall rabbit named Frank. Frank comes bearing a prophecy, a chilling message of impending doom: "28 Days, 6 hours, 42 minutes, 12 seconds: that is when the world... will end." Already we're set up for impending doom, and the disfigured rabbit doomsayer acts as a show of just how messed up this movie is and is going to be. Thankfully though, his encounter with Frank kept him away from the house, where an engine from a random jet plane that wasn't even there fell through the roof and into his room - had he been there, this would have killed him, and his lucky escape makes him something of a local hero. What ensues is a complicated web of storylines of varying importance and emphasis, but it's a good one - a very good one.

It's a clever movie, that makes you really think about things. It's intelligent take on the human mind, and just what can happen to it in certain unfortunate circumstances can really make you consider your own life, and ponder the world around you. *VERY MINOR PLOT SPOILER FROM EARLY IN THE FILM* It also tackles an issue that nearly all (good) parents worry about: Paranoid Schizophrenia. It shows just how disturbing life can be when people are unfortunately meant with mental and emotional problems. The only problem I can think of with this, is that it could hit a little too close to home for parents dealing with children who actually suffer from these problems. Frank also makes Donnie do things, like flood his school, stick an axe in a school statue, and burn down a guy's house (more on this later). *END SPOILER*

The only problem I have with the plot, is that it can get a little convoluted towards the end. The large number of different plotlines start to get a little jumbled when they're brought together for the conclusion, and things can get ridiculously confusing. It also starts to slightly lose it's disturbing psychological edge, and it becomes more of an effort to follow what's going on. A lot of people dislike the ending, calling it an anti-climax; but being a bit of a messed-up child myself, I thoroughly enjoyed it, because it nicely resolved everything, but solved nothing.

Prior to this though, everything is golden. Whilst there's a sci-fi tone that creeps in later and alters things drastically, it thankfully doesn't detract from the film's genius, as by that point it could quite literally throw anything at you and you would appreciate it. It's obviously going to be one of those movies that makes you ask a lot of questions, and what I like is the way with which it addresses them. It uses Dr Thurman as a kind of channel to the audience: making her ask the questions we all want to know the answers to, and using the context of her therapeutic practice to provide key plot points.

Another thing I really love, is that this movie really feels like it was made in the 80s. Whilst being made in 2001; it was set in 1988, but the great thing is that it genuinely feels like an 80s movie. The soundtrack is there featuring tracks from the likes of Tears For Fears. It's just, there. It just feels like something that was actually made in the 80s: things like Back to the Future, The Karate Kid, Ghostbusters, The Lost Boys, and all those sorts of classics.

One thing that I'm not a fan of however, as bizarre as this may seem, is the gratuitous strong language. Whilst I have no problem with 'swearing'; sometimes it seems a little too much, and there are situations where a more civil tongue would have sufficed. On the other hand however, this does help with characterization, and character is one of the things that this movie does very well. It has an all-star cast, and if you go into it not knowing who's in it, you'll end up going through the whole rigmarole of  "Oh my God I recognise him/her! What have they been in?! Ooooooh that's going to bug me now!" quite a few times.

First off, there's Donnie himself (Jake Gyllenhaal, more recently seen in the likes of Source Code and Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands) who is fantastically played. It's brilliant how quickly he can make the transition between being a 'normal' inquisitive teenage boy, to going all 'emo' a la Toby Maguire in Spiderman 3. Then there's his Harvard-bound sister Elizabeth (Jake's real life sister Maggie Gyllenhaal, more recently seen in the likes of The Dark Knight, and the fantastically weird 2006 film Stranger Than Fiction), who stirs a dispute early in the movie through announcing that she's voting for Dukakis. She doesn't really play that big a role in the movie, and usually serves to wind Donnie up. Then there's his younger sister Samantha (Daveigh Chase, the voice of Lilo in Lilo and Stitch!), who dreams of being a dancer and aims to shoot for stardom with her dance troupe 'Sparkle Motion'. There are his troubled parents, Eddie (Holmes Osbourne, most recently seen in Larry Crowne) and Rose (Mary McDonnell, most recently seen in Scream 4) . There's the obligatory love interest Gretchen (most recently seen in Sucker Punch). There's a 'self-help' guru (played by Patrick Swayze... come on! Dirty Dancing? Everyone knows him) who is suitably annoying as hell. There are a load of teachers, the most important of which (to me) being played by Drew Barrymore (seen in: everything under the sun; namely Music and Lyrics, 50 First Dates and Never Been Kissed). Then there's a huge array of extras, the one that I was the most shocked to see being a younger Ashley Tisdale (more commonly known as Sharpay in High School Musical and Shapay's Fabulous Adventure; as well as Maddie in The Suite Life of Zack and Cody and Savannah in the hugely entertaining *wink* TV show Hellcats).

Overall, Donnie Darko is, to re-iterate what I said earlier, an incredibly absorbing, and beautifully twisted look at the human psyche, which can be both wonderfully disturbing; and at times downright funny. It's one of those intelligent movie epics like The Sixth Sense that just has to be watched at least once in your lifetime; otherwise you will end your time on this Earth being unfulfilled as far as intelligent cinema goes.

Star Wars The Clone Wars/Avatar the Last Airbender FCBD Sampler Impressions

My Comic Collection as it currently stands

As those of you in the know will know (kinda stands to reason really) Saturday the 7th of May 2011 was the first Saturday in May... 2011. Which basically means it was Free Comic Book Day. A day where you go to your local comic shop, or library, or just anywhere that's involved in the event, and you basically get free comics produced specially by publishers as both an introduction to comics for those new to the hobby, and a thankyou to those already a fan, and a supporter of it. It's a day to celebrate the industry, to push it to the forefront of people's minds, and to get people more involved in it. One thing I've wanted to do for a while (and which FCBD gave me an extra push towards, was writing impressions of the comic books I read, and uploading them to this very blog. It could be like my contribution to the industry. And so that's pretty much what this is. Hopefully they should be fairly frequent, but I never usually succeed in my ventures, so we'll see how things go I guess. Anyway, onto the actual impressions.

The first of the Free Comic Book Day comics I read, was the Star Wars/Avatar the Last Airbender Sampler, as you'd probably be able to guess if you read the title. Either way, it's pretty decent. Not something I'd rave about to all my friends, but a decent read all the same.

It's like a yellow Darth Maul with an animal nose

Yup

 

We'll start with the Star Wars side. Bearing in mind that I've not yet watched any of the Clone Wars... Like ever. The movie(s) or any of the series. Shocking I know, but I haven't gotten around to it yet. So basically I have no idea whom any of the characters are, any sort of knowledge of chronology, significant events, or anything of the sort. I basically went in unprepared. Which to be honest, I had thought would be alright, considering it's only a sampler - and I wasn't wrong. It's evidently aimed at kids, hence the approach that incorporates violence, but only has just enough for the kids to go "Wow, this is totally awesome!" and yet not enough to make parents go "What is it they're subjecting my kids to these days?!" It also kinda says on the first page that it's aimed at kids. Underneath the epic bold Star Wars The Clone Wars, it proudly shouts out to the world, "HEY KIDS!!!" only not in block capitals... Or with three exclamation marks. It then goes on to explain about Dark Horse, and the range of comics they do, and how some of them aren't so suitable for younger readers, and how they hope the free sampler will help kids get into comics, and how it's just like the TV show, only with different and/or extended storylines.

The comic itself is pretty decent though, but it's just too damn short! It's pretty much just an 8 page teaser for the upcoming series that continues that plotline. Obviously that's fair considering it's free, and that's essentially what Free Comic Book Day is all about, but it's just not long enough to justify it's existence. It's obviously to generate excitement for the comics that people will actually have to pay for, but whether it does that or not, I'm not quite sure. On the one hand, yes, I want to read on, and yes I want to know what happens next. On the other hand though, there just isn't enough content, and what little there is there doesn't interest me enough to warrant my continual following of the series.

RAAAAAAA I AM ANGRY!

Violence is never the answer children... except in Star Wars

This reminds me of Yugioh: TAS "Screw the rules, I have money!

Read: To find out wtf this actually is, spend money!!

The plot itself, basically a yellow version of Darth Maul shows up on a planet, and tells an orange version of Jabba the Hutt that he's in danger because a Jedi is coming for him. Orange Jabba says he knows of this danger, because he invited the Jedi. Yellow Maul says he doesn't, breaks free of his captivity and kills Orange Jabba. Then Yellow Darth leaves, and the Jedi shows up (who looks more like a Dark Elf from Oblivion) along with his band of merry men of varying Star Wars species who serve absolutely no purpose whatsoever in the issue, but will no doubt prove their worth in later issues (which you'll actually have to buy... With money... Because they won't be free). Overall, what little there is is decent stuff, but it doesn't draw you in enough to make you want to read on. Partially because you can't read on unless you part with cash. Or read them online. Or download them illegally. Either way, it's not the best example of what FCBD is about.

Ima hit you with a stick foo!

t3h introduction page

The Avatar side of the book however is a completely different kettle of fish.there are 14 pages this time, which isn't HUGELY improved over the Star Wars side, but it's executed in a completely different fashion. Instead of being a taste of things to come, it's actually 2 self-contained, one-shot mini-stories. Still rather lacking in content (although what do you expect really?) but it's well done, and I'd have preferred it if the Star Wars side had been done that way too.

I love the quirky art style

The first of the two strips is called 'Relic', and it's a highly story based strip. Basically in the highly limited space it occupies, it explains to fans and newcomers (me) alike: the kind of things you can expect from the show, and even the comics. It's also quite touching. It wasn't enough to make me cry (most things are), but the melancholy it evokes is definitely noticeable. If ever there was an example of something trying to get in touch with little childrens' emotional sides (and not in a paedophillic way) this is definitely it.

Second, and last but not least, there is 'Dirty is Only Skin Deep'. I'm guessing they recognised that the tone of the previous strip was ridiculously somber, and therefore decided to make this one humorous. It works though, as it lifts the spirits in a comical way, and ends the book on a reasonably high note.

LOL

Message from the Dark... Horse Community

It's a cat telling you to buy stuff

Overall, not the best book ever and seriously lacking in content, but it is decent, and it is worth a read, especially if you picked it up for free :)

Movie Mission

It's a new year, a new decade, and whilst I haven't done much in the way of blogging recently, this is a one that promises many more to come. Basically, it's just past that time of year when one starts to think about what could have been better in the year they just left behind, and how they can rectify it in the new one. One of my such promises, or 'resolutions' was to blog more, and to get myself out they as far as the Internet is concerned. I am going to do this in quite a few ways, but I only know two so far that are definite.

First off, I'm going to bring back Aaronicus' movies of the week. It was never meant to die, but somehow it did. Also, as you can probably see from the title, I'm on something of a movie related mission. There'll still be the usual movie reviews, only hopefully more frequently, I'll finally get around to reviewing some games and books, but the main review type challenge this year, is this: I am going to (try) to watch and review 100 movies on VHS before the end of the year. Forget this new-fangled Bluray stuff (although I'll be watching and reviewing those too) I'll be focusing this year on taking a step back from DVD, as opposed to a step forward. Acquiring them shan't be too difficult, as my local charity shop has a deal where you can get 10 for £1. Sure some of them won't work, and some movies I pick randomly (because at that price, you can afford to take chances) will be pretty terrible, but it won't be difficult to get hold of them, it'll simply be a case of finding the time to watch and review them, which can be something I do in the quiet time I have between school, homework, stage school, coursework, etc. But even then, this will have to share that cooldown time with playing games, designing games, reviewing games, reading, etc.

I am though looking forward to embarking on this endeavour, and I can't wait to see how far through I get, or even if I exceed my target.

Aaronicus' Movie(s) of the Week #1

First off, I just want to apologise for my absence. I had intended to do some sort of huge epic length post explaining why I'd been away and what was to come, but well, as I'm sure you can see that just didn't come to fruition. However, I told myself I would try and do this, a new (hopefully) weekly feature, in which I talk about the movies I've been watching during that week. I know it may sound as though it's going to be about my favourite movie(s) of the week, but, putting it bluntly, it isn't. As you may or may not know, writing reviews is hard work, and this whole, not let myself watch another movie until I've reviewed the one I've just watched kind of doesn't work, because in a lot of cases, I get bored, tired, I'm not in the mood, etc. It is hard, and it is time consuming, and writing a review of every single movie I watch just isn't practical. I'll probably get around to reviewing them eventually, but basically, this is just going to be a little overview of the movies I've watched over the week, my impressions and shiz, and it should kind of tide you over, until I can bring myself to actually write a review.

Before I start however, I'd like to mention something else I intended, on doing, but decided against, and would appreciate feedback where it's concerned. If you just want to hear about my movie impressions, skip ahead to the subsequent paragraphs. What I had wanted to do, was make myself a magazine, which would be sold online to whomever wanted it, and would basically cover all the different things I'm interested in. There would be very little fact, and more opinion however, as anything I could tell you that is solid fact, could be found better in a professional magazine, or some other source, like the internet; and so everything I would put would be my opinions, and impressions on whatever it may be. A minimum of 4 movie reviews (at least one a week) per issue, Book, Game, TV and Comic reviews wherever possible, breaking news, announcements, new games/movies/etc. and my opinions on them. The reviews however would more often than not be for older things, and would therefore be drastically different from all professional magazines that cover only the latest and greatest in entertainment. I could also cover independent games, and potentially movies, having contacts in these industries, and it would give it it's own little twist to make it even more different from everything else. It would be an interesting and exciting project, I could meet new people and broaden my horizons, improve on my skills, learn new things, experience new things, and potentially make some money out of it. However, it may be for the better to get there gradually. Work on the finer points before starting the magazine. As opposed to the magazine itself being the journey, it could be the culmination of everything I've learned on the journey, and could be bigger and better because of it, gradually getting even still bigger and better, as I improve even further. First, I should work on my blog, youtube etc. and everything that would have been in the magazine (and possibly more) can come up here, in order to actually meet the people, and create an audience/potential fanbase for myself before starting anything big. The internet is vast, and also free, so attracting an audience won't cost me, or them, a penny. It'd be great to hear your opinions.

Anyhoo, onto the actual point of the blog: the movies I've been watching, and my impressions. First up is The Sixth Sense, an incredibly powerful, and moving movie that really touched me, and has received rave reviews from everyone I know that's watched it. I did a bit of an impressions video for it in my second Vlog on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYHam5XpcpA. Basically it's the story of Dr Malcolm Crowe: a child psychologist who is going about his regular day to day life, trying to solve children's problems, when he discovers a child with a remarkable story, and decides to take up the case. The story is thus remarkable, because it resembles another child's problems that he failed to solve in the past, and therefore sees this child as a way of redemption for his errors. The psychologist, is Bruce Willis (more recently seen in the likes of RED and The Expendables), and the child is Haley Joel Osment (the Kingdom Hearts series), and together - along with a great supporting cast - create an engaging psychological thriller full of heart-wrenching twists and turns. As it says on the box: "A real must-see-twice film".

Second: we have Nuns on the Run (1990) a bizarre comedy that sees Robbie Coltrane (mother-f*cking HAGRID!!!!) and Eric Idle (the voice of Merlin in Shrek the Third) dress up as nuns to try and escape from the police, the Triads, and a bloodthirsty gang - all of the above willing to slit their throats - with a huge cash sum. Also, it has Camille Coduri (Jackie Tyler in Doctor Who!) in it. That is literally all I need to say. I loved it, go watch it now.

Next up we have The Waterboy (1998) an interesting comedy featuring Adam Sandler (Grown Ups, Funny People, You Don't Mess With the Zohan, Bedtime Stories, Click, 50 First Dates, Hell what hasn't this guy been in?!) as Bobby Bucher, the local Football (American football) team's Waterboy, who literally single-handedly turns the entire Sports movie genre on it's head. It's a Rom Com, it's a Sports Movie, it's a 'the nerd becomes popular' movie, and it has a lot of heart where it counts. Sure some parts can be crude, but it made me laugh, and it nearly made me cry, within the same flick.

Fourth, we have The Hangover (2009). There is very little to be said about this movie, that hasn't already been said. Just Google it, and you'll find a myriad of reviews that all say pretty much the exact same thing. Be warned, you will literally be bent double with laughter! It shouldn't need explaining, as most people will have already seen it, but for the benefit of those who have just been awoken from under the rocks they've spent the last year or so living under - I hope it was comfortable enough for you. It's the story of a man and his friends who go off to Vegas for his 'stag do' so that they can truly have a night to remember in celebration of his marriage. Things get a little out of hand however when they wake up in the morning with their hotel room trashed, a tiger in the bathroom, Doug (the man getting married) missing, and pretty much no recollection whatsoever of what happened the night before. Now they have to find Doug, and clear up the mess they made, so that they can get back to LA for the Wedding. Very funny movie. Very very funny movie. Please watch it. Even if you already have. Just watch it again.

Fifth (it was the last week of school, so we watched a lot) is The Wave/Die Welle (2008), a German film about autocracy, dictatorship, fascism, and how an innocent seeming movement can spiral further and further out of control. Unfortunately we only managed to watch 2/3 of this, however we will watch the last 40 mins or so after the Christmas break, and I'll be able to offer my full impressions then, although I can tell you that it is a very powerful and engaging film, with a lot of clear messages. Worth hunting down if you're into that sort of stuff, and don't mind reading subtitles.

Sixth is My Best Friend/Mon Meilleur Ami (2006), a French film this time, in which a woman bets her business partner (the unlikeable François) that he has no friends and challenges him to show her his 'best friend'. Thus it dawns on him that he has no friends and a desperate struggle to find someone that he could deem his best friend ensues. Unfortunately we didn't have time to watch the last 10 minutes of the movie (which is a major pain in the ass) and so I can't comment on what I presume will be a delightful and touching ending, to go with the rest of the delightful and touching story, but that'll just have to wait and see. Well worth watching.

Seventh was The Miracle of Bern/Das Wunder Von Bern (2003), another German film. This one I'm not entirely sure about. We only watched the second third of it, because we supposedly watched the first third sometime in 2009, and we'll not be able to watch the last part until sometime after Christmas: thus you can consider me thoroughly confuddled. It's something to do with 1954 when the German's won the World Cup, whilst still recouperating from WWII... and eating your own rabbits. Yeah, that was the note we ended on. "WTF? He's just eaten his own fricking rabbit?!!?" "And that's about all we have time for, have a nice Christmas and I'll see you in January!"..... Seriously.

Eighth was Shaun of the Dead (2004), and unfortunately I didn't get to watch all of this one either. I saw up until the part where they have to go and save his mam, and then the next time I see it, they're rescuing Sarah or whatever his bird is called so they can go to the Winchester. Confluffling having different classes with different people and watching different movies but whatever I guess. I will definitely get around to this one though. It's basically a rom-com with Zombies. Look at the box. Look at reviews on the internet. If you haven't seen this movie already (this advice is totally hypocritical considering I haven't seen it properly yet), go and watch it RIGHT NOW!

And finally, I saw Casino Royale (2006). Incredibly, this was the first Bond movie I ever saw, and I must say it was a life changing experience. Watching it for the first time at 14, I am highly, HIGHLY impressed, and would rather like to see every single one of the other movies in the series (yes even the crappy* Timothy Dalton ones) dating back to I believe it was 1962. Lots of fun times there then. Casino Royale is basically James Bond before he became 007, and about becoming 007, and it was also the movie that got me interested in Texas Hold 'Em (Red Dead Redemption is potentially teaching me how to play it) and overall, it's just James Bond. What more can you say? Everybody who's anybody has at the very least heard of him.

Anyhoo, this has been my overview of the movies I watched this week. It's only now writing about them that I realise I've seen 9! Sheesh! It'll probably not be that many usually, but nonetheless, I will try and keep this up every week. It'll probably be something I throw up on a Sunday, or the Monday after the week. Stay tuned this Boxing Day/Boxing Boxing Day for #2, and make sure to check out everything else I put on here, and also check me out elsewhere.
Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/lesmiserableone
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/deoxys0125
Xbox Live: Deoxys0125
PSN: Deoxys0125 (I'll not be able to accept requests until I get a PS3)
Runescape: Deoxys0125
Gamespot/Gameinformer/IGN/Escapist/Craploads of other game related things: Deoxys0125

Batman and Robin (1997) - Movie Review

It's ironic really that one of the only Batman movies that doesn't feature the Joker is naught but a big joke - and whilst it has its moments; this is seriously disappointing stuff from the man who brought us The Lost Boys. Batman and Robin is laughably poor, and I mean that in the most literal sense imaginable. I honestly couldn't control my bursts of hysterics when it came to some of the cheesier and most cringe-worthy moments. I'm not going to lie, the cast is pretty solid, but they all seem as though they're in the complete wrong movie. Most of those actors in like an all-stars film or something, is something I'd be interested to see. I'll talk more about this later, but really the casting is one area that is a particular downfall as far as Batman movies go. Looking back on my list of pros and cons, I was hugely surprised by the incredible amount of positive things I had written down about this movie, considering my overall impressions. I knew I'd been writing them as I went a long, and so obviously wasn't completely keeping track of everything I put, because I was trying to concentrate on the film at the same time. It was only when I realised that at least five of my pros had the words 'Alicia' and 'Silverstone' in them, that it started making sense. In all fairness though, you can't blame me.

So the plotline. My question is: what plotline? There definitely is one, but it's so confused, random and complex that even I couldn't cope. I mean hell, I understood what was happening, but I didn't have a clue Why it was happening. It was all just a hapless mishmash of completely unrelated sub-plots that apparently are somehow connected; yet this is in the craziest, most non-sensical ways imaginable. Somehow every single one of these manic and ridiculous plot-threads is geniously interwoven. I have to say, the writer deserves props for that, because it would have taken either a total genius, or a complete off-the-wall, asylum-bound retard to piece the puzzle together quite the way they did. Then again, simply watching this film makes you feel like a complete off-the-wall, asylum-bound retard, so I guess in that respect it really does capture the true spirit of Batman.

Back on the subject of the cast, I think they could've done worse, but as I said, they don't really scream out BATMAAAAAAAN. George Clooney and Arnold Schwarzenegger are on usual ass-kicking meets great acting form; Chris O'Donnell plays the whiny little bitch well; Uma Thurman is a little over the top (I mean I know Poison Ivy is meant to be over the top, but in some places she just takes it a bit too far); and Alicia Silverstone is... Alicia Silverstone. Nuff said. However I did have some problems with the cast other than the Poison Ivy bit I mentioned: Commissioner Gordon just doesn't seem right;  Mr Freeze won't stop spouting one-liners and puns, which I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad one; and although George Clooney makes a decent Batman, some segments just take the 'family friendly' nature of the movie a bit too far, with such infamous moments as the bat credit card scene just being overly cheesy. I don't know/care who plays Bane, but the overall look, and performance just sucks. I'm just gonna lay it down, no fluff... it sucks. Although thankfully, this movie can say that it has John Glover in its cast (which it does), which, although his appearance is lamentably brief, is sort of a saving grace. Seeing Lionel Luthor (Smallville) in yet another comic related thing is awesome. Another thing that got me is: when did Barbara Gordon become Barbara Pennyworth?
 
That was my main problem with this movie: the sheer 'cheese factor'. Some of the fight-scenes were just far too badly done, although there is a fairly decent fight with Bane near the end. Most of the fighting just isn't that well choreographed in my opinion, and just enhances the overall cheesiness.One particular scene that really got to me was the one right at the beginning where Mr Freeze is stealing the diamond from the museum. The whole hockey thing. Just didn't impress me, and it really didn't give me a good impression of what was to come, although it does adequately set the tone for the rest of the movie. I must say Poison Ivy and Mr Freeze's escape from Arkham is fairly epic, and that part actually did impress me. Another thing that didn't though, were some of the sound effects. The cartoony *phwiiiiiing*, and such really don't fit with the rest of the movie, and the tone it's trying to set. I mean, as far as I'm aware, this movie is actually trying to take itself seriously - amazingly. So the cartoon style sound effects just don't work.

The music was decent, true Batman type stuff, although  Danny Elfman's scores will always take the forefront in my mind.

Overall, this movie was better than I'd expected. I'd heard some really awful things about it, and whereas it really is a poor piece of cinema, I don't quite think the hate is entirely warranted. Some parts of the story are actually pretty good, and the end is really quite touching... and then they ruin it by doing a slow-mo run with capes billowing in the wind. THE END WAS GOING SO WELL. I was like, thank God it's ditched what has been an ever present feature in this movie to revert to some traditional story-telling... oh no wait, Batman, Robin and Batgirl running, spotlit in slow-motion, their capes blowing behind them. What a way to spoil the end of a movie! Couldn't they have just rolled the freaking credits? Either way, this film is bad, but still not something that's complete bargain bin trash.

Ghostbusters (1984) - Movie Review

Ghostbusters is one of those all time classic movies that everybody should watch at least once in their life. You can't fault it, it's gone down in history as one of the greats, and it will remain there for as long as movies survive. It's just brilliant, from concept, to story, to performance, to special effects, to cast, to soundtrack; it just couldn't have gone any better. Let's start with the story:
Three scientists investigating the paranormal (parapsychologists) are thrown out of their space at the Columbia University, and lose all their grant money, and so decide to get back at them by creating their own business, hunting down and capturing ghosts, spooks, spectres and spirits that haven't quite crossed over to the other side, or have come back. What ensues is a hilarious, and highly original movie full of memorable characters, who all have their own unique personalities, but more on that later. If you're intellectual enough, and know your stuff when it comes to sci-fi movies, you can probably just about make sense of the story, but where it came from in the first place will be beyond even the most intelligent of people. *Warning, may contain some slight spoilers* Basically, a crazed architect designs a building as a cornucopia of evil, wherein the demonic demi-god Zuul possesses a woman and then goes around calling herself 'The Gatekeeper', and asking who 'The Keymaster' is. 'The Keymaster' is another similar demon called Vinz Clortho. Both demons speak of the coming of Gozer the Gozerian (a shape-shifting God from Sumerian mythology), and how all they need is a sign. When a pr*ck from the EPA comes and unwittingly releases all of the spirits the Ghostbusters strove to capture, wreaking havoc on the city, the demons see it as the sign they've been looking for, somehow manage to find each other, get it on on a rooftop, open a gateway to another dimension, summon Gozer, the Ghostbusters come to the rescue only to get pwned by Gozer, who asks if they're gods to which they reply no and then zaps them, and disappears and tells them to choose the form that Gozer the Traveller will come in, so they try to empty their minds and think of nothing, but somebody doesn't manage to and so a massive marshmallow man comes and destroys the city, only to be stopped by doing the very thing that they strove not to do throughout the rest of the movie.

And that's the simplified version of the story.

The thing is though, that you can get by with this movie, without even thinking about the story. It's so damned lovable that the plot-line only serves as a distraction for the people who've seen it all a hundred times over and want something extra. For those who do pay attention though, there's a thrilling and hugely exciting adventure to be had. It's fun, it's funny, it's quirky and it has one of the catchiest theme songs of all time.

The characters are what really make the story its own though. First off there's our trio of parapsychologists (to use the technical term): Egon, Ray, and Peter; Spengler, Stantz and Venkman; Harold Ramis, Dan Aykroyd and Bill Murray; absolute legends. These are the first three ghostbusters. You have Egon: the bookish one, very scientific, very knowledgeable. Then you have Ray: the one who's excited about his discoveries, a child at heart who loves seeing the ghosts and has almost a geeky obsession over them. Then there's my favourite, Venkman (nobody calls him Peter apart from occasionally Ray and Egon): he's the sarcastic one, the ladies' man, and the one that you can always count on to crack a joke when the atmosphere is tense. Then there's Winston Zeddmore (Ernie Hudson): the fourth ghostbuster who applies for a cool way to make money. And man I can't think of many cooler ways to make money than what these guys get up to. Obviously there are the things I'm actually considering as a career, but fiction always has the edge. Anyway, Winston is your average Joe, only more awesome. He's a Christian, and half the time he doesn't believe his eyes, but at the end of the day, he's the perfect addition to the team, and he even has the balls to swear at the mayor, at a point not long after Venkman completely owned Peck, making it one of the funniest scenes of the movie. What he says isn't even really that amusing - it's the audacity; he's ballsy and he's got plenty of guts and heart where it's needed.

Then you have the rest of the cast, and they're all pretty spectacular. First off you have Dana Barret played by Sigourney Weaver, who'll be better known to today's generation as Dr Augustine in James Cameron's Avatar. She's the girl that Dr Venkman takes a particular interest in, and makes more of an effort to solve her case than any other. She's your typical damsel in distress, who takes a not-so-typical turn later in the movie, and she performs brilliantly.

Next there's Louis Tully (Rick Moranis - Little Shop of Horrors, The Flintstones, Honey I Shrunk the Kids), he's an accountant, and a keep healthy junkie. He always keeps supplies of vitamins and mineral water, which he buys in a way that makes good financial sense. He's also hopelessly head-over-heels in love with Dana, and so sees himself as in competition with Dr Venkman. He's an accountant, so everything he says is some sort of reference to making/saving money, and he's very funny. Whilst only a peripheral character, he does play his part very well.

Then there's Walter Peck (William Atherton), he's the afforementioned pr*ck. The thing is, I really don't know what to say about this guy. I mean, I hate him. Yet really, that's what he's meant to do: make you hate him. He's the guy you're meant to hate, so in that respect, I love him, and think he's done a great job... but I really can't STAND him.

The special effects in this movie are mind blowing, and you can tell that (for the time), they were very cutting edge, and a lot of work must have gone into them. From the blast streams bursting out of the Neutrona Wands, to the Capture cages, reeling in Slimer and all the other nasties, to Slimer and all the other nasties themselves. It's all very well done, and it all just adds to the overall atmosphere. Especially right at the beginning where the drawers are opening by themselves, and then the papers are flying out all over the place. It's just all, truly magnificent.

Ah, the music - the music. Obviously there's the soundtrack, with the title theme by Ray Parker Jr., which absolutely kicks-ass. The soundtracks on 80s movies always seem to be pretty damn epic, and this one is definitely no exception. I love it, it's packed with catchy numbers, and awesome 80s-style rock tunes, that all compliment the action perfectly. Then there's the score. It's slow and beautiful one moment, then upbeat and catchy and then practically non-existent to truly capture the sense of atmosphere - all within a few minutes. There's one particular piece near the end when they're on the rooftop and *maybe spoiler?* they've just saved the world *end potential spoiler, although it wasn't really that major anyway*, which for some reason really reminds me of the Gusty Garden theme from Super Mario Galaxy. That's probably just me though.

Overall, Ghostbusters is (like I said in the introduction), just one of those films that everybody has to watch at least once. It's awesome, and it really has aged well. You can't fault it, it is completely, and utterly incredible, and I recommend that every single person who has just sat and read this review should go and watch it right now whether you've seen it already or not. I mean it. RIGHT NOW. What are you still doing here? GO! Anyhoo, that's all from me, so I'll catch you all on the flip side.