Category: Film

Bad Ass / The Tournament / Cockneys vs Zombies

120px-Film-stripA very quick round-up of films, all watched at home. With the cancellation of the Cineworld cards and a decision to stay at home more to help out with the kids (and save money), we’ve got a huge stash of movies to get through that we didn’t have the time for before. The last couple of nights we made it through season 3 (as it is so far) of The Walking Dead, but before that we had a mini-movie-marathon.

Cockneys Vs Zombies

“If we’re not backing in 10 minutes… ******* wait longer.”

Plot-in-a-nutshell: Two failed bank robbers must save their grandad’s OAP home from demolition… and the Zombie Apocalypse

See it if you like: Gory, funny slasher films

Better than it had any right to be, this is a spiritual successor to Shaun of the Dead, in that it’s a zombie film, a comedy and set in London. It’s also fairly low budgets but that barely shows up on the effects or on the cast who are brilliant.

Basically, the zombie apocalypse kicks off in London. Two wide boys (Harry Treadaway and Rasmus Hardiker) decide to rob a bank to try and save their grandad’s old folks home from being demolished and find they’ve got a ton of money, a handy collection of weapons… and the undead walking the streets. Grandad himself (Alan Ford - Snatch‘s Brick Top) doesn’t really need much assistance in the arse kicking department as he pretty much plays to type and heads the OAP revolution. The woman he aims to impress is played by none other than legend Honor Blackman.

Oh, and one of the random fuddy-duddies is Richard Briers. From The Good Life to decapitating zombies. There’s a career move for you.

Topping the list, though, is the hottest zombie slayer I’ve seen in some time – Michelle Ryan. Apparently she was in Eastenders, so obviously I’ve never seen her before. Hopefully we’ll see more of her. She looks very nice holding a gun and covered in guts…

The gore is nicely done and over the top enough to be funny. Make-up effects are superb – definitely more Shaun than Brain Dead. Plotwise it’s nice and simple, with some good set pieces and a lovely collection of one-liners thrown in for good measure. Overall, a cracking little bit of entertainment for an evening if you fancy a giggle.

Bad Ass

“I told you I didn’t wanna fight.”

Plot-in-a-nutshell: OAP and failed police candidate kicks two punks asses and becomes an internet sensation… then gets pushed into doing the police’s job for them

See it if you like: “One man against many” films, with a dash of humour

Danny Trejo crops up in a lot of films in a supporting role, but this is the first time I remember him taking the lead. A shame he’s left it so long as he’s quite good. Based on a viral video involving an old guy (wearing the same shirt Trejo wears in the opening scene) handing a younger man’s arse to him on the bus, the film kicks off with a similar sequence which elevates Frank Vega from down-and-out Vietnam vet to public hero.

Trouble then seems to start following him as his best friend is killed by some gangsters and the police seem unwilling or unable to pursue it. Needless to say, Vega decides to start taking matters into his own hands. So far, so Harry Brown. However, Bad Ass is a little more tongue in cheek, less edge-of-seat and not as classy as Caine’s offering.

It’s entertaining enough, for about two thirds of its length, and then it just seems to jump the shark a little. Without wanting to spoil anything – and I don’t think this will – there’s no need for the flipping bus chase sequence. It just doesn’t fit. At all. I actually thought it looked familiar, then spotted on IMDB that it’s a digitally altered version of the one from 1988’s Arnie dud Red Heat.

Not a bad movie for an evening in with some (home made) popcorn, but a shame about the ending.

The Tournament

“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to The Tournament.”

Plot-in-a-nutshell: Thirty of the world’s top assassins compete against each other for a $10m price – kill or be killed

See it if you like: Bloodthirsty, fast-paced action films

Now this one was fun. A cracking cast, a simple idea, a nice back-story and lashings of violence. It also answers the question: if you wanted to set up a hugely violent conflict between gun- and knife-wielding lunatics, perhaps involving the theft of motor vehicles, some stupid driving and expect people to turn a blind eye or simply not notice that the place is being trashed… do it in Middlesbrough.

I’ve been to Middlesbrough. I can verify that it would be the ideal location.

And such is the premise. Thirty of the world’s top assassins compete in a “last man/woman breathing” competition to remove the opposition within a 24-hour timeframe. In Middlesbrough. Sorry, I just can’t get over that.

Oh, actually, it’s thirty assassins and an unwitting alcoholic priest (Robert Carlyle) who gets dragged into things. Obviously, we don’t get to focus on all thirty competitors but the handful we do get to follow are well played and provide a lovely variety of set piece fight sequences and other stunts.

Someone who many may recognise, but not be able to name is Sébastien Foucan. The Frenchman starred in the opening sequence of the fairly recent Casino Royale Bond movie, utilising his incredible skills at parkour. Here, he’s typecast but who cares? He’s great to watch in all his wall-jumping glory, and takes part in the most ridiculous sequence in the film (possibly – there are a few).

Carlyle ends up under the wing of Lai Lai Zhen (Kelly Hu), who decides to protect this unwilling participant for reasons which become slightly clearer as the film progresses. Hu, incidentally, has a hell of a career as a voice actress and has also popped up in a huge number of well known TV series. However, this is only the third or fourth major film she’s appeared in and this staggers me based on this performance. She, frankly, kicks ass. A very convincing action star, in my opinion.

Making a return appearance in the tournament is the previous winner, Joshua Harlow (Ving Rhames). Harlow didn’t intend to compete again, but seeing as some nasty person killed his wife and is apparently also taking part he decides to dust off the killing kit and join up.

Basically, the plot is an excuse to stick a lot of quality action into ninety minutes and sell it to an audience. It works. While not as silly as Shoot ‘Em Up, it’s every bit as entertaining. Pointless, filled full of errors and physics-defying nonsense but – quite simply – who cares? It wraps you up in it’s ridiculousness and doesn’t let go until the credits roll.

Sure, the plot’s predictable. You know within twenty minutes how it’ll end – but isn’t that the case with most horror films these days? It’s just working out how each cast member will pop their clogs that keeps the interest and The Tournament does this well.

Definitely recommended for one of those “I’ve had a bad day – take my mind off work” evenings.

Enhanced by Zemanta

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

120px-Film-strip

The entire world will have seen this one by now, so I’ll probably keep the review quite brief. Following on from the epic Lord of the Rings trilogy, Peter Jackson returns with the “prequel”.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

“I’m looking for someone to share in an adventure.”

Plot-in-a-nutshell: the beginnings of the LotR story, with lashings of dwarf-related humour

See it if you like: deep, expansive, spectacular fantasy

I read The Hobbit when I was about 11 years old, so don’t expect any comparisons to the original text. For the record, I’m now 39 (my birthday was the UK release date for the film!) and my memory rarely stretches past last week, let alone nearly three decades. Reading up on the trivia via IMDB, it’s clear that Jackons has been slightly free with the adaptation as he was with the first trilogy. Some characters are in the film that weren’t in the book, some don’t appear, some bits are jiggled around slightly… In fairness, he did a good job before and the changes – which may have upset purists – helped the story spread more evenly across the films.

Indeed, one of the first tweaks appears at the very beginning where Frodo is seen pestering his uncle Bilbo. Frodo isn’t in The Hobbit at all, but this scene is purely to link the previous trilogy with this precursor.

But what of the rest of the film?

Well, my overall opinion was that it was like a kiddie-friendly version of its big brother. Which, in fairness, is how the books work out. The violence is far less bloody, the plot a little simpler and – dare I risk the wrath? – the effects not as good as the LotR trilogy.

Yes, there are scary monsters and there are a few be-headings here and there… but there’s little (if any) blood. Swords slash and stab, yet come out clean every time. Things move forward more quickly from action scene to action scene with less (though some) time spent in serious conversation. In fairness, the actual start of the film is slow.

As for those effects… well, maybe it’s just the scale of them but they look that bit more cartoony than what we’re used to. They’re still damn impressive, but the slapstick humour dial has been turned up a notch as well making it all a little more child-friendly.

The acting is superb, right across the board. Martin Freeman is a great younger Bilbo, but as ever it’s the older actors who steal every scene they’re in. Christopher Lee (yes, I know, Saruman wasn’t in the book but he’s in the film briefly) and Ian McKellen as Gandalf are both utterly superb. Andy Serkis returns for Gollum‘s “first” appearance (and then went on to become second unit director for the rest of the filming), and in this instance I would say that the effects have been pushed to their absolute limits. Gollum’s facial expressions are mesmerising.

The dwarves are a hearty bunch with a wide array of acting talent thrown about to make up the motley crew, though in honesty when looking down the cast the only name I recognise immediately is James Nesbitt. Hugo Weaving and Cate Blanchett complete the links to the “big brother” trilogy with their appearances as Elrond and Galadriel – neither of whom, again, are in the book.

Sylvester McCoy, however, turns the tables by playing Radagast the Brown. This time a character who appeared in the LotR books, but didn’t make it into the films. He’s been transplanted to play a part in this one instead, as a slightly bonkers hermit.

All are great performances, including those who – like Serkis – are portrayed almost completely as CGI characters. It may amuse some to realise that one of the the Goblin King’s alter-egos is a flamboyant cross-dresser who calls her fans “possums”…

In short (ha! short! *ahem*), is it as good or as impressive as, say, The Fellowship of the Ring? No.

Is it worth seeing? Yes.

The simple fact is that Jackson’s LotR films will stand pretty much untouched in their stature for many, many years to come. They were something incredible, something impressive. Something people thought was impossible. The technology used for the effects floored you. But in the years that have come since, such digital trickery has become commonplace and – sadly – that takes a shine off The Hobbit. Good though it is – and it’s bloody good – it’s just not as jaw-dropping or impressive.

Oh, and I saw the film in regular 2D. No eye-aching, headache-inducing 3D. No migraine-causing 48fps. Just proper, 24fps flat images. And it was fine.

Enhanced by Zemanta

James Bond – Skyfall

Yes, I finally got round to seeing it something like six weeks after release. Was it worth the wait…?

James Bond – Skyfall

“Where the hell have you been?”

Plot-in-a-nutshell – Bond comes “back from the dead” to hunt down a terrorist who’s exposing undercover secret agents

See it if you like – the Bond films, particularly the old ones. But also the Bourne stuff.

In the weeks since it came out, I’d heard so much about Skyfall. “Best Bond film ever”, “Highest grossing British film of all time” and so on. So expectations were high and that’s never good news for a film as it has so much to lose when you finally sit down to watch it.

I have to admit, I didn’t find it as good as other people seem to have. However, that doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy it. It was slow and ploddy in places – more of a “taught thriller” than the overblown action films we’d come to expect of Bond, but that’s obviously very deliberate.

Skyfall pares Bond back to the very basics. A smaller cast than usual, a tiny amount of fancy devices… in fact the whole “back from the dead” motif could be taken very literally as a rebirth for the Bond franchise which becomes more and more apparent the further through the film that you get – and which I can’t detail for fear of spoilers.

Daniel Craig is, of course, superb. One thing I love about the Bond franchise is that each new actor has brought with him his own take on the character and a change in mood – even Lazenby for his one-shot outing. Craig’s Bond is gritty, washed out, aging… and far more realistic than any version before. However, if I had to choose to have a fight with him or Dame Judy Dench‘s “M”, then I’m not sure which would would scare me the most. Dench is, as ever, the perfect foil for Craig’s character as she has been since introduced as the first female head of MI6 back in GoldenEye (yes, OK, so she started off opposite Pierce Brosnan).

I swear they pinched the plot from an episode of Spooks, but I’ll forgive them as they’ve laden it with some superb action sequences and a massive dollop of Bond nostalgia. The action isn’t as “big” as in many of the previous films. Even the opening chase sequence is tame compared to older episodes, but it goes with the franchise’s more gritty and realistic leaning or recent years. OK, so they’re still a little bit over-the-top, but nothing compared to the old days.

What made the film for me was the little threads and references that pop up from Bond lore, the reappearance of characters and memorabilia thought long-lost and – finally – some filmed sequences detailing Bond’s past. The sort of thing that fans know about, but which have never – if memory serves – been directly referenced on celluloid.

The ending was superb, I just felt it took too long to get there, even by way of some beautifully stylish moments (the fight sequence inside the darkened skyscraper was a gorgeous piece of action cinema). While I didn’t get bored as such, I could see Gillian’s attention wavering even by the first hour.

If you’ve not seen it yet, and going by the figures we were the last people in the UK to see it, then it’s definitely worth the ticket price if you’re a Bond fan. If you’re not, then it may give you a good introduction to the character. Certainly, you don’t need to have seen previous instalments in they way you did to enjoy Quantum of Solace.

I look forward to adding the DVD to the collection when it comes out, too. Definitely glad we braved the cold (and the Odeon’s incredibly hot jalapeños) to catch it.

Related articles
Enhanced by Zemanta

Dredd 2D

Yes, that’s 2D not 3D. Despite the best efforts, or so it seemed, of the distributors and the cinemas I managed to get to one of the rare 2D screenings of the new adaptation of 2000AD‘s most famous character.

Dredd 3D (in 2D)

“I am the law.”

Plot-in-a-nutshell: Bad guys take over big tower block; two law enforcers pretty much have to kill them all.

See it if you like: Good, accurate comic adaptations and a healthy dose of extreme violence

First of all, let’s get this out of the way – this pisses all over that Grud-awful abomination that Stallone released back in 1995. In torrents. Torrents of piss. All over one of the biggest carbunkles in comic adaptation history. What Judge Dredd got wrong – aside from having Stallone in it – was buggering around far too much with a staggering amount of established history which alienated pretty much every fanboy out there. In other words, the potential market.

What Dredd gets right is that it takes that history, language and setting and uses it. References it. Jokes about it. It treats the viewer as if they should already be a fan of Mega City 1’s finest. The beauty of it is that it’s a simple world to become immersed in if you’re not a fan (the language is hardly Newspeak), and adds a huge amount to the atmosphere if you are. From the off-hand use of terms like “Resyk”, “meat wagons” and “hotties” (not that type…) to the block names in the background (Sternhammer, Ezquerra, Bolland…) and even a very fleeting glimpse of a poster advertising the Krysler’s Mark (referring to the Judge Child saga from way back when). Oh, and some Chopper graffiti. Oh, on the language, the only thing missing are the futuristic “expletives” that the comic uses to replace the swearies. In their stead we have the familiar yells of “****” and “****”. A lot.

Lovely.

OK, my inner nerd aside, how is it as a film?

First up, there will be (and have been) inevitable comparisons to the excellent The Raid. A small number of protagonists up against an all-powerful crime-lord who has locked them inside a tower block. It’s a very similar plot. In fairness to both creative teams, Dredd was in pro-production around the time that The Raid began work. The Korean effort was also completed and marketed well before this movie came out. I reckon it’s just a huge coincidence. The bonus being that both films are superb and worth a watch.

Dredd is set in a post-apocalyptic future, in a city populated by 800 million people. City-blocks are starting to appear amongst the crowded ground-level buildings, soaring into the sky 200 floors high. Peach Trees is one of these, owned and controlled by Ma-Ma – a rather scary female crime lord who has discovered a narcotic that slows time for the user.

After a couple of incidents draw the titular Dredd (Karl Urban) and his rookie-in-training Cassandra Anderson (Olivia Thirlby) into the tower, things start to fall apart for Ma-Ma and she locks the block down to prevent them leaving. The Judges’ solution? Find the person locking them in and sentence them for their crimes.

There is plenty of blood, some guts, snapping bones, splattered bodies, bullet wounds in extreme slow-motion, punches, kicks, scuffles, explosions, immolation… All the grisly events of the comic come to bloody life on the screen with great effectiveness. The plot isn’t deep (something I think would improve a sequel, or – dare I hope for it – a TV spin-off), but the characters are spot on, the dialogue just perfect and the visuals of the highest standard.

Urban is almost as monosyllabic as Schwarzenegger in T2, but it works. Dredd, simply, doesn’t speak unless he needs to. And when he does, it’s with authority. His throwaway lines with a completely straight face raised a few laughs in the cinema with their dark humour, but there aren’t so many as to turn him into a Bond-a-like with a cheesy quote for each death.

If I have any criticisms, they number exactly two:

1) The film is very obviously expected to be watched in 3D as can be seen by a handful of scenes which just scream it. Sorry, I can’t watch 3D. Please stop trying to shove it down my throat. Thankfully these scenes are few and far between, but still jar and – on the whole – the film would be no different if they were missing entirely.

2) I can’t grasp the setting history-wise. No spoilers here, folks, so do read on. I appreciate Mega City 1 being a bit more downscale than it is in the comics. Huge cities filled with skyscrapers have been done to death in other films (the 1995 Judge Dredd obviously, Blade Runner, and the recent Total Recall remake to name only three), so I’m fine with that. However, the easy assumption is that this sets the movie near the beginning of Dredd’s career. But the Mega-Cities were built around 2030, and I’m sure the film states that there is only one of them. MC-2 and MC-3 came later. This is fifty years before Dredd would have graduated from the Academy of Law.

Yes, I admit it. Geek factor 5, Mr Sulu. But it niggled.

My inner nerd was  otherwise wholly sated by the film. Urban keeps the helmet on, Anderson is portrayed well as a rookie (not sure how this fits into the timeline – anyone know if the comic ever states who took her out on her final assessment? Was it Dredd?), the technology is slightly more believable, as are the costumes… The whole thing reeks of quality and care for the fans who have made Dredd as popular as he is.

Highly, highly recommended. But I do urge you, if possible, to save a couple of quid and just see it in 2D. I gather the 3D version is a good example of how to use the technique well, but still – trust me – this film doesn’t need it. It’s far and away good enough without having to resort to gimmicks.

Related articles
Enhanced by Zemanta