Review Rewind: 30 Days Of Night (2007)

(Josh Hartnett after the premier of The Black Dahlia)

Cast: Josh Hartnett, Melissa George & Danny Huston

Directed by: David Slade

Screenplay by: Steve Niles, Stuart Beattie & Brian Nelson

Plot:

A small Alaskan town comes under siege from a group of bloodthirsty vampires during a period of 30 days when the town receives no sunlight whatsoever.

Verdict:

Neatly echoing John Carpenters classic horror picture, The Thing, 30 Days Of Night is more than just another blood soaked vampire flick. The bleak white setting of an Alaskan town that succumbs to a month of absolutely no sunlight combined with a brilliantly composed, very creepy score allows 30 Days Of Night to stand out as a genuinely tense horror movie.

But unfortunately letting the side down is the lead performances. Josh Hartnett and Melissa George are pretty solid on their own but as a team they fail to spark any kind of chemistry. This proves particularly problematic come the final scene of the movie that is beautifully conceived but doesn't contain the intended emotional impact.

Elsewhere however, Danny Huston impresses as the leader of the genuinely scary bloodsuckers and when blood is splashed and sprayed, it is done with purpose and style, acting on behalf of the graphic novel on which it is based upon and storyboarded straight from, much like Sin City and 300.

Not quite the excellent film it potentially could have been, 30 Days Of Night is still refreshingly tense and atmospheric compared to a lot of other pictures within the genre.

DDD

Review Rewind: 12 Rounds (2009)

(John Cena, willing to go to 'explosive' lengths to retain his title...)

Cast: John Cena, Aidan Gillen, Ashley Scott, Steve Harris & Brian White

Directed by: Renny Harlin

Screenplay by: Daniel Kunka

Plot:

After his girlfriend (Scott) is kidnapped, Detective Ben Fisher (Cena) is forced to take part in a dangerous game consisting of 12 rounds to win her back.

Verdict:

Back in the 80's and the early 90's, action films all had something in common; a hero put through the mire till he eventually gets his man. They were a simple breed of film, the plot and dialogue irrelevant, the main character and action sequences the only real focus. 12 Rounds is without doubt a full-blown throw back to such flicks.

Director Renny Harlin - no stranger to the genre after directing Die Hard 2 and Cliffhanger - does however have the benefit of an interesting plot device. The villain of the piece, highly camp, spits out rubbish dialogue, uses our hero, Detective Ben Fisher to play a game consisting of 12 rounds in order to win his kidnapped girlfriend back. It sort of neatly echoes the plot from Die Hard With A Vengeance.

WWE superstar, John Cena doesn't exactly convince with his acting ability. He lacks the natural charisma that another wrestler, Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson has successfully shown to become a major movie star. However he naturally does convince physically and therefore the action scenes are more believable. And it is the CGI free action sequences that make 12 Rounds an enjoyable, explosive old skool action fest.

DDD

Review Rewind: Night At The Museum (2007)

(The 'DO NOT DISTURB' sign was not to be taken lightly)

Cast: Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Steve Coogan & Robin Williams

Directed by: Shawn Levy

Screenplay by: Robert Ben Garant & Thomas Lennon

Plot:

Larry Daley (Stiller) becomes a night guard at the Museum Of Natural History, expecting it to be a breeze but soon gets more than he bargained for when the exhibits start to come to life.

Verdict:

"Everything Comes To Life!" screams the tagline for Shawn Levy's latest directional effort, Night At The Museum. Hmmm the problem with that particular statement is the fact that, everything about Night At The Museum actually fails to spring to life, from the big potential of the plot, through to the array of comedic talent on show here.

Sure, plenty of intriguing museum exhibits do indeed come to life but when they do, nothing exciting ever happens. A T-Rex skeleton for example just decides it wants to play fetch. So you know you've pretty much had it when the highlight of the film proves to be, two tiny squabbling miniatures; Centurion Octavius played by Steve Coogan and a Cowboy played by Owen Wilson. The duo manage to bring some decent laughs to proceedings. Meanwhile, cameos by Ricky Gervais and Robin Williams are dull at best and Ben Stiller just goes through the motions as leading man, learning life lessons, etc, etc.

To be fair, the CGI throughout is excellent and the appearances of, Dick Van Dyke, Bill Cobbs and Mickey Rooney as former night guards at the museum raises a smile or two. Naturally the kids will have a blast too as in the end, Night At The Museum very much is family friendly fare that is sure to make millions, no matter what anyone has to say about it. Maybe a sequel - which is bound to materialise somewhere down the line - could do more with the huge potential that is clearly here.

DD

Movie Reviews 2010: Inception

(Leo's audition to be the next Bond was promising)

Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Ken Watanabe, Tom Hardy & Cillian Murphy

Directed by: Christopher Nolan

Screenplay by: Jonathan Nolan & Christopher Nolan

Plot:

Corporate spy for hire, Dom Cobb who specialises in stealing ideas from peoples dreams, takes one last job in which if he succeeds will be able to return home to his estranged children but if he fails will be trapped forever in an endless dream.

Verdict:

How exactly is Christopher Nolan getting away with this? Inception marks the third time Nolan has released a film mid-summer blockbuster season that doesn't actually play by the same rules other summer flicks abide by. With his Batman franchise already top of the superhero class, Nolan it seems can do no wrong when it comes to smart, engaging, challenging and yes, entertaining blockbusters. Inception is yet another strong example that having to use your brain for a mega bucks blockbuster is no bad thing.

And you will be giving your mind a fine workout to keep up with Inception. From the very first scene we are thrown straight into the complex world Nolan has created here and if you dare miss a beat even this early on you're going to really struggle to catch up later. This could be severely off-putting but just like The Matrix eleven years before it, you become so rooted in this highly original world, your mind doesn't dare wonder elsewhere. The Matrix is naturally a perfect comparison, not just because of the idea of another world beyond our own but also the gravity defying action.

Nolan is no stranger to big action set pieces anymore, after that flipping truck in, The Dark Knight. Here there is an explosive finale atop an Artic mountain that wouldn't be out of place in a 007 flick. However what sets it apart is the sheer insanity of it, with the scene taking place within two other scenes; a zero gravity scramble and a bullet ridden car chase. The fact that the three sequences manage to blend seamlessly and remain logical to the premise is just brilliant.

Inception is more than just exploding buildings and mind-bending physics. Nolan has once again assembled a fine cast and the surprising casting of Ellen Page and Joseph Gordon-Levitt prove joyous. Page and Gordon-Levitt both bring real personality to their roles, displaying mature performances for this kind of material. Brit Tom Hardy deftly provides humour amongst the complexity and Cillian Murphy (now a Nolan regular) brings the right amount of vulnerability needed and crucial for his character.

More impressive however is Leonardo DiCaprio, who after being apart of the humongous success of Titanic all those years ago, could have just cashed in, picking up easy paychecks. But instead Leo has made terrific choices with his films, and his latest pick is one of his best yet. Inception's very big ideas would be nothing without a convincing lead performance at the heart of it and Leo delivers effortlessly. His emotionally complex performance ensures we believe in his journey and of course, the film itself. So what you have here is a film willing to invest as much into its characters as its action set pieces and a blockbuster that is as challenging as it is entertaining, surely with three such films now to his name, Nolan is just showing off.

DDDDD

Review Rewind: Hunger (2008)

(Proof that smoking really is bad for your health)

Cast: Michael Fassbender & Liam Cunningham

Directed by: Steve McQueen

Screenplay by: Enda Walsh & Steve McQueen

Plot:

The incredible true story of Irish Republican, Bobby Sands hunger strike that ultimately cost him his life.

Verdict:

Steve McQueen's debut movie, Hunger is mostly told, not through dialogue but with imagery. Using his camera expertly, always keeping it held firmly on a single image like somebody washing the blood off his hands, makes the scene say all it needs to say without any spoken explanation. There is plenty of other striking examples of this throughout.

Despite this brilliant technique, one of the strongest scenes in the picture does emerge through lots of spoken dialogue. A fifteen-minute sequence in which Fassbender's (watch out for this guy over the next few years) Bobby Sands talks to his priest about his plans perfectly captures the essence of this determined character. But again, notice how beautifully the camera captures the scene, especially as Sands relays a childhood memory.

Bold, powerful and uncompromising, winning plenty of awards at film festivals all over the globe, Hunger is an astonishing debut feature film.

DDDD

Review Rewind: Race To Witch Mountain (2009)

(As The Rock prepared to lay the smackdown, the others were blissfully unaware)

Cast: Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, Annasophia Robb, Carla Gugino, Ciaran Hinds & Alexander Ludwig

Directed by: Andy Fickman

Screenplay by: Matt Lopez & Mark Bomback

Plot:

A Las Vegas cabbie enlists the help of a paranormal expert to help protect two Alien siblings who have arrived on earth and are being hunted by the government.

Verdict:

It would appear that with Race To Witch Mountain, last year's The Game Plan and the forthcoming Tooth Fairy, Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson has become Disney's new golden boy. In, Race To Witch Mountain, Johnson neatly combines some good comic timing with his action chops to create a likable, unwilling hero. His performance sums up the film, this is a harmless, charming action adventure picture for the whole family to sit back and enjoy.

As you might expect though it's far from perfect. The flaws are obvious. Amongst the action set-pieces there are snippets of unconvincing CGI. You have seen the plot plenty of times before and there are moments of pure cheese.

One of the villains of the piece comes in the form of a game Ciaran Hinds, convincingly smarmy as a shady government agent. Another, of an alien kind, appears to be a nice throwback to the sci-fi films of the 50's. Something the filmmakers have a lot of fun with in general, referencing several sci-fi pictures.

Race To Witch Mountain is thankfully, one of Disney's more convincing adventure movies of late, a much better effort than the likes of National Treasure.

DDD

Movie Reviews 2010: Shrek Forever After

(Don't i know you from somewhere?)

Cast: Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, Eddie Murphy & Antonio Banderas

Directed by: Mike Mitchell

Screenplay by: Josh Klausner & Darren Lemke

Plot:

After making a deal with Rumpelstiltskin, Shrek (Myers) finds himself trapped in an alternate universe where his family and friends no longer recognise him.

Verdict:

What a pleasant surprise this is, the fourth entry in the Shrek franchise not only massively improves on its limp predecessor, Shrek The Third, but also manages to get back on par with parts 1 and 2. Newly on board Director, Mike Mitchell has simply gone back-to-basic and in doing so has rediscovered what made the first two Shrek's sing in the first place.

Most surprisingly, this is the first Shrek picture to present a fresh spin on the story. With Shrek waking up in an alternative universe where his family and friends no longer recognise him, this sequel manages to separate itself from the previous films. The plot also allows Shrek to fall in love with Fiona all over again and therefore give an emotional kick to proceedings. There is real energy and purpose to the film with Shrek forced to race against the clock to complete his goal (something sorely missing last time out).

Perhaps even more importantly, Donkey and Puss In Boots are fully back on song and unlike Shrek The Third, very much included in the story. Donkey takes the biggest share of the laughs but the ingenious decision to turn Puss into an overweight, spoiled pet allows him to steal every scene he's in.

Also, where as Shrek The Third opted to throw in some poorly misjudged new characters, Shrek Forever After instead adds memorable ones. The villain of the piece (no more Prince Charming), Rumpelstiltskin is a weaselly, sneaky delight, voiced superbly by Walt Dohrn who is actually a storyboard artist for DreamWorks. This time out as well, we are not forced to watch endless scenes of fairytale referencing - one of the major downfalls of Shrek The Third - instead there are just the odd clever moments, like one of Rumpelstiltskin's witches melting away in true Wizard Of Oz fashion or Pinocchio's hilarious attempts at gaining a potion to make him a real boy.

Throw in a whole army of Ogre's, a couple of thrilling action set-pieces and some vivid 3D that never feels gimmicky, and you have yourself a truly magical return to form for the lovable Ogre and co. Will next summer's, Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides pull off a similar surprise? Here's hoping...

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