Reviews

A girl walks across a road. She's wearing her Father's Belt and her Mother's blouse…she's looking out into a field…and this pretty much sets the tone for the entire film.

Stoker is very much a slow burner, but an intriguing and engaging film all the same. We follow India Stoker, an introverted soul, mourning the loss of her father, living with her mother in a large house. It's not until her Uncle turns up, to throw the family into a subtle disarray, that we start to see their family life unfolding.

Charles Stoker is besotted with India, taking a very keen interest in her in a way which constantly feels awkward and a little bit wrong, whilst forging a friendship with his Brother's widow.

But it's India's character arc which is the main focus, and what a journey she goes on. I cannot say too much about her character without giving too much away about where the film goes, you'll just have to watch it for yourself.

Director Chan-wook Park delivers a visual spectacle, with long sweeping camera shots, swift angle changes and a very typically clear colour palate to bring everything together. India is surrounded by blacks & whites and greys whilst her Mother is very much enveloped in a mustard and light orange glow, which fits in well with Nicole Kidman's hair colour.

The script is also well written, and Prison Break's Wentworth Miller clearly knows his craft well, bringing a very slick text to these characters.

Stoker is not a drift-in, drift-out movie, it's a "watch and see what happens" type, driven by great cinematography and dialogue. Matthew Goode's Charlie is sinister even when he's being nice, and Mia Wasikowska's downplayed part comes across well.

Chan-wook Park brought us one of the greatest Korean films ever in "Oldboy" and he definitely delivers in this, his first ever English Spoken film.

Enjoy!

Check out my review on my Blog at http://fameasserlufc.wordpress.com

Dysfunctional is definitely a word I would use to describe this film.

"I Give It A Year" follows the trials and tribulations of a young couple who, after marrying shortly after meeting, struggle through married life for the first year of their new lives. Rafe Spall and Rose Byrne are the couple in question but as their lives take a turn away from each other and into the arms of ex-girlfriends (Anna Faris) and business colleagues (Simon Baker) everything turns to turmoil with hilarious results.

Awkward is another word I would use to describe this film. Much of the comedy stems from the wrong thing being said at the wrong time in front of the wrong people. Steven Merchant's best friend role is one he plays to perfection as it's not too much of a stretch from his normal self as Ricky Gervais' right-hand man.

Spall is great fun in the film and has to carry a lot of the comedy himself, having a very quirky relationship with his Ex, where Byrne is a more serious person and the situations she finds herself in lend themselves more to the "should she or shouldn't she" question.

It's not the funniest film ever made, but it's well worth a chuckle and I can't help think that the film would have benefited more from a full cinema, rather than a 7-person screening (yes I was the odd one out). Comedy films tend to work a lot better when there's more people watching.

That being said, the first third of the film and the last third definitely have moments which are very funny and "Laugh Out Loud" but the middle section does seem to focus more on which way the characters will turn than the comedy aspect.

Worth a watch, by maybe a DVD viewing in a year or so rather than making a special trip to see on the big screen.

Read this blog and others on my Blog : http://www.fameasserlufc.wordpress.com

John McClane is back! And this time he's On Vacation.

Following reading a lot of reviews that dubbed Die Hard 5 as boring and subtitling it "A Bad Day To Die Hard" I wasn't expecting much from the fifth instalment in a series of films which I thought peaked with the third and fell away with an average fourth film.

But I was pleasantly surprised by Willis' latest outing in the white vest.

The story centres around McClane's son, Jack, who is working as an undercover CIA agent who is aiming to stop all out carnage between two men. Naturally John is looking for his son and stumbles across him at the most inconvenient of times, slotting himself slap bang into the middle of the action.

Bruce has still got it. Sure, he's older, but the craziness still exists. There's plenty of comedy to be had mainly revolving around the disfunctionality of McClane's family life, but the film really comes to life during its action sequences which are as good, if not better than they have ever been.

One early sequence involving a huge chase through the streets of Russia is insane and ends awesomely, and TW climax of the film is much more explosive and fun than anything in Die Hard 4.0.

Forget the horrific reviews the critics have given this, go see the film and judge for yourself. Is it the best of the series? No. But it is entertaining and will raise a few chuckles as well as a lot of "Woah!" moments.

Yippie Ki-Yay Mother Russia!

A fantastic spoof Documentary move that really captivated me. I was genuinely shocked at the ending too!!!

A great watch!

Seriously, rent this movie or buy it. I thoroughly recommend it. As someone who wasn't scared at all by the Blair Witch...I loved this one!

Tip : Give it to someone who doesn't know it's a film...tell em its a documentary!

Labyrinth is a true CLASSIC!!! Forget showing the kids "Lord of the Rings" or "Harry Potter", get Labyrinth!!! A classic tale of good versus evil brought to the screen by the magic of Jim Henson. The movie has everything from action to comedy. The puppetry is among some of the best seen ever as the story of one girl's quest to save her baby-brother from the clutches of the evil Goblin-King unfolds. David Bowie is excellent in the role of Jareth, The Goblin King and plays the role brilliantly. The young Jennifer Connelly also puts in a marvellous performance as the naive young girl who takes everything for granted in a world where nothing is what it seems. Jennifer actually did her own stunts for the film too and puts in a daring performance. Quite simply, this is a movie which has to be seen by everybody and thats the bottom line, coz Dave Woollin said so...

OK, I don't mean to be a party-pooper or p**s on anyone's bonfire or anything like that but I have to say that my honest opinion of this film is that...well...IT SUCKED!!! O.K. I understand I have not read the books, and maybe I should have done, but I did the same with Harry Potter and thought that it was way superior. The problem with the Fellowship of the Ring was that there was too much storytelling, which, after two hours, got a little bit tedious. The action scenes were the best part of the movie. The fighting was done brilliantly and the scenes from Frodo's point of view when he wore the ring were pretty special, but the rest of the movie was not as good as it could have been. I know there are another two episodes to come, but on the viewing of this one, I will not be going to see them. Hype surrounding a film is a pretty dangerous thing nowadays. Movies like The Phantom Menace and Titanic were hyped up beyond belief. Occasionally a movie does live up to it's hype (Phantom Menace) but more often than not, it doesn't and here is a film that falls into the latter catergory. It's alright for movie-goers who liked the film to say "But you have to see the other two parts to "Get-it"", but the first part should be good enough to make you want to watch the next ones. Star Wars Episode One did this and I will definatly be seeing episode two in May!!! Before everyone starts to jump on my back regarding my opinion, I want you all to realise that it is only opinion and the fact that I did not like the movie does not mean that those people who have not seen it will not like it either. I just felt I had to get my point across about the film that has probably failed to live up to the hype more than any other film ever.

Credit to the actors however for putting in a fine performance, especially Sean Bean's moments...I won't say too much...but he battled on...

Past efforts to turn a film into a stage-show have not been all that entirely successful. Jesus Christ is the exception! The original movie was written by Webber so the music has to be class. The story of Jesus' struggle through life has been brought to the stage beautifully. It's shot well and sounds brilliant. This video studio version has it all. From the aggravated Judas to the booming Pilate. This is a must for bible-believers and non-believers!!