Category: Review

Monsters University

120px-Film-stripArgh, a few days after I went with the kids but I eventually have time to rattle off a few words…

Monsters University

“You don’t study scaring, you just do it.”

Plot-in-a-nutshell: Prequel time as Mike and Sully meet up for the first time prior to events in the classic Monsters Inc.

See it if you like: PIXAR films

Once again I visit the cinema on little sleep due to a teething infant. This was a movie I’d been looking forward to since I had seen the trailers. It’s a nice change to see a prequel rather than a sequel as well.

First up, though, the attached “short” entitles The Blue Umbrella. A little more heart-warming than the earlier shorts which were nice and funny, and the visuals are stunning. It took me a few seconds to realise I was watching a cartoon rather than a film. It didn’t outstay its welcome, and the kids weren’t sitting there asking me where the monsters had got to, so that’s fine.

And the main feature. Well, it is as I said a prequel. It’s the story of Mike’s aspirations to be a “scarer” and Sully’s expectations that he would be able to wing it based on his family history. Of course, things don’t go to plan and they have to face a series of challenges to become accepted by the university and the Scaring course tutors.

It’s a well-written story, and leads very well into it’s precursor. A few of the characters you’ll be familiar with from Monsters Inc. make an appearance, but not so many as get silly. The way relationships change from this film to the next are quite interesting.

The best bit for me was the ending – it wasn’t what you would expect. As per the rules for my blog, though – no spoilers! I gather there is a post-credit sequence but we didn’t stay for it. I’ve looked it up and if you have the patience it could be worst parking your backside for five minutes. Not easy when you’re with kids though!

Overall, it wasn’t bad. The kids enjoyed it and it’s a good story. It wasn’t as good as the original, in my opinion, but I really appreciated the sideways step for the plot. Far better than just trying to make more of the same.

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Despicable Me 2

120px-Film-stripIt’s the holidays which means we have to find things for the kids to do. So, with the sun blazing outside we headed for a darkened room to watch a fat man and some small yellow creatures.

Despicable Me 2

“Goodbye, Mister Sheepbutt.”

Plot-in-a-nutshell: Villain turns hero as Gru is drafted by an anti-bad-guy organisation

See if it you like: kids’ films with cute backing characters

It’s a fairly unimaginative name for a sequel – there’s not even a subtitle – but they’ve tried their best to put a new spin on the characters and storyline. Gru (Steve Carrell) is this time a good guy after turning over a new leaf at the end of the original. He’s partnered with Agent Lucy (Kristen Wiig) to find out who’s stolen a secret formula which turns simple, innocent creatures into vicious, invulnerable monsters.

Guess which creatures the formula will be used on?

As ever, the story is ably backed up by the cast of millions of minions (due to star in their own sequel in 2014). In fact, they’re still the real stars of the film. Proof? Have you seen any Gru merchandise? Or the three orphan kids? Nope.

There are a couple of pop culture references, some great slapstick sequences but – for some reason – the film left me feeling a bit flat. Despite some genuinely funny moments, I just found it a bit samey. Different from the first film, but too similar to many others.

It’s still good. The kids loved it (though Little Mister claimed that the purple monsters were too scary and wanted to leave – he settled for firing imaginary arrows at them instead), and the audience were laughing out loud at a handful of scenes.

I’d still recommend it even though I wasn’t too keen on it as it’s more likely down to me being pooched. I was up at 5am to give a friend a lift to work, so was struggling to stay awake at points. No reflection on the animation, though!

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Man of Steel

120px-Film-stripFirst review in some time as I was almost forced to go to the cinema against my will. Mainly as I’m knackered. We’ve missed some (apparently) great films recently – the new Star Trek and F&F’s for a start – but we had a window and it was either Man of Steel or the new Simon Pegg one. We opted for the big budget release as I already knew people who’d seen it and liked it.

Man of Steel

“People are afraid of what they don’t understand.”

Plot-in-a-nutshell: Oh, come on. It’s a Superman reboot.

See it if you like: the current run of Superhero films.

I’m not sure if I enjoyed this film or not. Which is a weird way to start a review.

On the plus side, it’s a new take on the mythos which brings it into a more contemporary setting. There’s no follow-on from any previous Superman film. It’s big in scale, brash and littered with generally very impressive special effects.

Downsides include some dreadful shaky camerawork that doesn’t so much emphasise action or destruction (much of it is during conversational scenes) so much as it cries that the film-makers wanted to make your eyeballs hurt. The dialogue seemed bland, which is surprising given the quality of the cast, They just didn’t seem to be stretched, with the possible exception of Kevin Costner as Jonathan Kent. He gives an exceptional performance and about the only one in the film that dragged any emotion out of me.

The big thing that didn’t hook me was, surprisingly, the scale of destruction. The effects were good – very good. But destroying stuff is just so common in films these days that it gets boring. The bigger the film-makers try to make it, the more it seems to be there to distract from the plot. Much as I enjoy watching a skyscraper collapse, I’d much rather have some decent dialogue and a plot twist or three.

Looking at it from a positive point of view, there was a good merging of the stories from the original Superman: The Movie and Superman II. The vision of Kryptonian architecture as organic rather than crystalline makes a nice change. The constant flashback jumps back and forth in Clark’s life makes for something slightly non-linear, but the events they portray all make the same point. It very much labours the “you have to keep your powers hidden” message.

The story borrows from several sources and just doesn’t seem particularly original. Obviously, the Superman origin story is expected. But then there’s the way the ships hang in the air and send light beams down. It just seems like a scene from too many sci-fi films (and TV series) in recent years. The way that Jonathan mentors Clark is too similar to the Peter Parker / Uncle Ben relationship.

On the other hand, I sat through all 140+ minutes of it and never really felt bored, or that it was over-long.

So, in my own head, I’m no further forward. I didn’t hate it or find it a bit silly (like Thor), but I also didn’t really take to it the way I did the first Iron Man.

So while most other reviews are polarised – quite literally love- or hate-filled – I’m afraid I’m going to have to sit on the fence. Overall, it’ far more good than bad. It’s just not awe-inspiringly brilliant or “film of the year” material.

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Iron Man 3

120px-Film-stripFirst cinema film in almost two-and-a-half months around work, baby and other commitments. It better be worth it…

Iron Man 3

“Where’s my sandwich?”

Plot-in-a-nutshell: Nasty bad man starts blowing places up and Iron Man / Tony Stark decides to stop him

See it if you like: well, Iron Man and Iron Man 2. Dur.

So how does this do as a rounding-off to what’s apparently going to be a trilogy? Very well, in my opinion. Not perfect, but good.

As has to be the case, it’s much “bigger” in terms of wow factor than the previous two. How you manage to top that kind of thing on an ongoing basis is probably what limits most films to trilogies. Iron Man 3 manages it without getting (too) stupid and also without just being a repeat of the first two.

There is a little less of the wise-cracking in this one, and this is in part due to the overall darker tone. IM3 has a much more complex plot and a much nastier villain to go with the increased action quotient. The effects are also staggeringly good as well, due in part to the huge digital effects crew listed in the end credits.

For once, though, Robert Downey Jr has serious competition as the best actor. Ben Kingsley is simply superb as the evil Mandarin, a terrorist seeking to overthrow – or destroy – the US government.

There are some nice moments with Stark dealing with children in various situations which manage not to be at all mawkish, and an under-running theme of “how did you get out of that wormhole in New York?”

As ever, no spoilers, but there is an end-of-credits sequence. I shall say no more.

Oh, do watch the start of the credits up until the part where the big text list appears even if you’re not staying until the end. They’re made up of flashes from all three films, put together in a 1970’s-esque TV montage. It seems to suit the Stark image perfectly.

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Man on a Ledge

120px-Film-stripA very swift review more for me to record the fact that I’ve seen it than anything else. I’m reaching that age where I’m looking at a film’s title – or even a trailer – and wondering whether I’ve already seen it or not. Argh.

Man On A Ledge

“That’s what’s great about this county. If you want it bad enough, you can make it back. Hmm? In this city, on this island, we don’t go to work, we go to war! And if somebody takes something from you, you take it back. And more.”

Plot-in-a-nutshell: Ex-cop banged up for a diamond heist stands on a window ledge 21 floors up to help prove his innocence.

See it if you like: Crime thrillers and heist movies

Fairly enjoyable if nothing new, some nice moments and ideas and a truly nasty bad guy. It’s not going to blow your socks off, but on the other hand it’s not a waste of an evening. A perfectly slightly above-average heist movie.

Trivia point – the guy who plays the hotel valet also played the Grim Reaper in Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey!

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