I got it, I got it, I don't got it

High Anxiety (1977)

Directed by and staring Mel Brooks this parody film also features Madeline Kahn, Cloris Leachman and Harvey Korman. A psychologist takes over as the head of psychiatric hospital and investigates some suspicious activity.

With a clear target of the work of Alfred Hitchcock there are a number of nods to his work, especially Vertigo (1958), and several funny moments through out the film. Where the film falls down is that neither the humour or the plot are enough to sustain interest in the film. While it is fun to spot the numerous references the film could have done with a little more meat on it's bones.

3/5

Indebted?

The Debt (2011)

Based on the Israeli film of the same name this remake is directed by John Madden and stars Helen Mirren, Jessica Chastain and Marton Csokas. A team of Mossad agents hunt down a Nazi war criminal in East Germany while their modern counter parts struggle to deal with effects of the mission.

All round I thought this was a really good film, the execution is excellent with plenty of tension which is of course paramount for a thriller. Despite the non linear nature of the plot the film manages to keep the viewer guessing a fair amount. Beyond the surface is of the plot are some serious questions about crime and punishment, particularly how the passing of time affects these.

5/5

I'm El Cid!

El Cid (1961)

Directed by Anthony Mann this historic epic stars Charlton Heston, Sophia Loren and John Fraser. Through many trials and tribulations a Spanish noble man becomes a warrior of great renown.

There are some excellent locations in this film which form the back bone of this films success but it has a number of problems. The historical accuracy of the film is questionable to say the least and the script is essentially only interested in venerating the title character. It should also be noted that the main focus of the film is the political manoeuvrings of the Spanish court rather than the great battles El Cid fought, which are not really featured until the last hour of the film.

3/5

Self help

The Help (2011)

Based on the novel of the same name this film from director Tate Taylor stars Emma Stone, Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer. In 1960s Mississippi a young white woman learns about the other side of life from the black maids in her community.

This film is really well made with good performances from all the cast and looks really great. When it comes to the content of the film as progressive as it may appear to be there does seem to be some flaws, the story does seem to be more interested in the lives of the white characters as viewed by the black characters rather than showing the warts and all nature of those stuck in servitude. Even though the film is mainly from a female perspective you also have to wonder why there is not a single black male character present in the life of any of the black female characters.

3/5

The 3rd dimension is tepid

Jaws 3 (1983)

Directed by Joe Alves this second sequel in the shark franchise stars Dennis Quaid, Bess Armstrong and Lea Thompson. The eldest son of chief Brody is now working at a marine park which is menaced by a shark on it's opening weekend.

The plot for this film is fairly average with there being little to ender the characters to the viewer. An action film like this lives or dies on it's special effects and this film was part of the 80s revival of 3D, unfortunately the 3D technology does not age well and looks pretty horrid when watched in 2D. Moving to a high tech under water park certainly provided some scope for a decent film but saddly one was not delivered.

2/5

Revolutionary revisions?

Villa Rides (1968)

Directed by Buzz Kulik this film stars Yul Brynner, Robert Mitchum and Charles Bronson. An American pilot running guns across the border gets caught up in the Mexican revolution.

While no doubt this film has some departures from historic events what it does do is have a balanced depiction of the revolutionaries being a much more warts and all piece. There are enough decent action sequences to keep viewers entertained and while it is ultimately hard to take this as a serious look at history it is still an entertaining watch. Mexico provides some good scenery as a back drop and there are decent performances from the cast even if Yul Brynner with hair looks odd.

3/5

Monster monster

Outcast (2010)

Directed by Colm McCarthy this low budget film stars Niall Burton, James Nesbitt and Katie Dickie. A mother and son move onto a council estate in Scotland while being hunted down by two men.

With low budget horror films the key is always the script and implying what you can't afford to show, here unfortunately when the monster of the piece is finally revealed it really highlights that this is a low budget film. What the film has in it's favour is a good cast and some decent performances but the script could have done with another draft as the central romance in particular is a little thin on the ground. There are some creepy elements but never enough to sustain the film or make up for the poor monster at the end.

2/5

Uncivil war

The War of the Roses (1989)

Based on the novel of the same name this film from director Danny DeVito features Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner and the director himself. A wealthy married couple divorce in what becomes a bitter battle for their house.

Highly successful in it's day this film was the third collaboration between it's triumvirate of stars. While the film does have it's funny moments it does feel like it takes far too long for the time to actually get to the actual war which only takes up the last half or so of the film. There are good performances from the cast and the family house does work well as a metaphor for the relationship of the couple.

4/5

All change, no originality

The Change-Up (2011)

Directed by David Dobkin this comedy stars Ryan Reynolds, Jason Bateman and Leslie Mann. A married man with kids and his single best friend swap bodies.

There are two ways too look at this film, if you have never seen another body swap film then it is not too bad but if you have ever seen another body swap film then this film is entirely predictable. As soon as the body swap happens you know exactly how things are going to play out and at that point the film is going to need a huge amount of charm to get anywhere. This is not the worst film of it's type but at this point it really could have done with something original in the script at any point.

2/5

The life of Riley

Welcome to the Rileys (2010)

Directed by Jake Scott this independent film stars James Gandolfini, Kristen Stewart and Melissa Leo. A man with a distant marriage following the death of his daughter travels to New Orleans and befriends a teenage stripper/prostitute.

Even if we never really know much about her background the most interesting character in the piece is that of the young girl and Kristen Stewart gives a really good performance. Most films about grief tend to get bogged down moments of melancholy but by being about the later stages of the process this is a much more engaging and unusual film. In the end this is a good film about the self destructive side of human nature that works thanks to it's good script and cast.

4/5

Rocky Robot

Real Steel (2011)

Based on the short story “Steel” this film from director Shawn Levy stars Hugh Jackman, Dakota Goyo and Evangeline Lilly. A washed up robot boxer reconnects with his son and attempts to get out of debt.

On the surface the plot of this film is not too bad, if very predictable, and you can clearly see the finger prints of executive producer Steven Spielberg on the project much like you could for Super 8 (2011). The problems with the film come when you look a little closer, character traits seem to switch at random and despite having a first third full of good hooks the film never capitalises on it's potential. Poor Evangeline Lilly is stuck with a part that is little more than to wait around for Hugh Jackman's character to take interest in hers and give reaction shots.

2/5

The cliches behind the unoriginality

The Man Behind the Gun (1953)

Directed by Felix Feist this Western stars Randolph Scott, Patrice Wymore and Dick Wesson. An undercover US army officer looks to break a conspiracy in Los Angeles.

There is little to praise in this film as it has a clunky script, the same characters as a lot of other westerns and very little original to offer. Rushing through the events of the plot to get everything done in the 82 minute run time does not help matters either. When it comes to the production quality of the film some of the sets are pretty good but the image quality is left wanting in a number of places.

1/5

Finale

The Last Tycoon (1976)

Directed by Elia Kazan this adaptation of the novel of the same name stars Robert De Niro, Tony Curtis, Robert Mitchum and Theresa Russell. In 1930s Hollywood a stupid executive falls for a young woman that reminds him of his dead wife.

This film is adapted from an unfinished novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald and fittingly the piece is littered with unrealised dreams. Given all the talent involved in this film I did expect a little more from it but it is still good even if it does not hit the heights of Kazan's other films. It is also easy to see how the protagonist was inspired by Irving Thalberg and the film does capture the movie making process of the day well.

4/5

Banking on a good idea

The Lavender Hill Mob (1951)

Directed by Charles Crichton this comedy from Ealing Studios stars Alec Guinness, Stanley Holloway and Sid James. A timid and overlooked bank employee sets out to rob his own bank during a bullion transfer.

This is a fairly light and simple piece with some nice comic moments through out. Alec Guinness is a great fit as the protagonist giving a spot on performance. For the short run time the plot does meander a little bit but otherwise there is not much to complain about. If you keep your eyes peeled you can see early bit part performances from Audrey Hepburn and Robert Shaw.

4/5

House of amazing images

House of Flying Daggers (2004)

Directed by Zhang Yimou this Chinese film stars Zhang Ziyi, Andy Lau and Takeshi Kaneshiro. China, 859 AD a policeman goes undercover to infiltrate a group that robs from the rich to give to the poor.

Right from the get go this film looks stunning and has some outstanding use of colour. Visually this film is amazing and the forest locations are exception as well. Where the film is a little more pedestrian is in it's plot which while has nothing wrong with it does little to stand out and is maybe a little over reliant on action sequences until the late twist reveals.

4/5

Thoughts from Iran

A Separation (2011)

Directed by Asghar Farhadi this Iranian film won the 2012 Oscar for best foreign language film and stars Leila Hatami and Peyman Moaadi. An Iranian woman wants to leave the country and her husband wishes to stay so they plan to divorce.

What this film does really well is give an insight into life in Iran and shows the divisions in the country over class and religion. Given the levels of censorship in Iran the film manages to hint that the reasons the wife wishes to leave the country without openly criticising the ruling regime. There are some good performances, the script is clearly the highlight of the piece with it's well thought out motivations and reveals.

4/5

History betrayed

Formosa Betrayed (2009)

Directed by Adam Kane this film stars James Van Der Beek, Wendy Crewson and Will Tiao. Following the murder of a Chinese-American professor and FBI agent is sent to Taiwan to help catch the killers.

As a thriller this film has one big error, it shows you the end right at the start, this is not really fore shadowing and completely cuts the legs out from under any potential tension. Where the film does work well is giving insight into the police state that existed in Taiwan for over 40 years that does not receive a lot of coverage in the West. What irks me slightly is when the film claims to be “inspired by real events” which tends to imply a specific incident where as this is more a case of what could have happened given the nature of the political situation in Taiwan.

2/5

Cow poop and aliens

Cowboys and Aliens (2011)

Based on the comic of the same name this film from director Jon Favreau stars Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford and Olivia Wilde. A cowboy wakes up in the desert with out his memory, goes into town and the town gets attacked by aliens.

When a film has five credited writers at the start you should begin to worry and this film is no exception to that rule. The problems with this script are characters with no motivation and there is absolutely no sense of pace or drive in the narrative. On the surface this may seem like a pretty average film but the more you think about it the worse it gets and there is no atmosphere or tension to make up for the weak script so you are not left with much good to say about the film at all.

2/5

Digging up sand

Valley of the Kings (1954)

Directed by Robert Pirosh this film stars Robert Taylor, Eleanor Parker and Carlos Thompson. An American archaeologist helps a British woman and her husband hunt down a missing tomb in Egypt.

The plot and characters in this film are decidedly on the weaker side, right from the start the out come is nearly entirely predictable while the script rarely has enough depth to explain character actions. What you want from any film set in Egypt is some great shots of it's iconic land marks and while there are plenty of location shots in the film they do not make up for it's other dificiencies or are they really on par with those of some of the great Hollywood epics.

2/5

No guns?

Destry Rides Again (1939)

Adapted from the novel of the same name this film from director George Marshall stars Marlene Dietrich and James Stewart. A young man becomes a deputy to help clean up a frontier town full of cheats, killers and general criminals.

This film was a the second adaptation of the source material and differs slightly in that the protagonist is initially a pacifist who refuses to use guns. The plot is not bad but is fairly light hearted making it tough to take this film seriously, what more serious elements there are such as attempting to clean up the town through peaceful means are nullified by an eventual resorting to violence. It does take the film a little while to get going but in the end this is a pretty average early western.

3/5

Not wanted dead or alive

The Bounty Hunter (1954)

Directed by Andre de Toth this is the sixth and final collaboration with star Randolp Scott which also features Marie Windsor and Ernest Borgnine. A bounty hunter seeks three criminals that are hidden amongst a small community.

This film looks like it was made on a low budget and at times the image quality of this film is not that good. The plot for this film is pretty average and features a lot of cliché characters that you will see in just about any low budget western of the era. Despite some vague attempts to look at the nature of a person that would work as a bounty hunter there is little real depth to this film and it is hard to find any reason to recommend it.

2/5

Defence

Falling Down (1993)

Directed by Joel Schumacher this film stars Michael Douglas and Robert Duvall. A middle aged man has a mental breakdown and goes on a rampage while a policeman works his last day before retirement.

At the time this film came out there was some controversy over whether the film glorified violence but it is clearly about a man that has completely lost his way in life rather than promoting going around committing crimes. Michael Douglas gives a good performance as the protagonist and Robert Duvall provides a positive counter point. There are some nice directorial touches at the start of the film but the direction does become more average as the film goes on.

4/5

Plots without benefits

Friends with Benefits (2011)

Directed by Will Gluck this romantic comedy stars Justin Timberlake, Mila Kunis and Woody Harrelson. Two people that have previously been emotionally distant in relationships try to stay friends but have sex on the side.

Early on in the film the script tries to show some self awareness by decrying the weaknesses often shown in films in this genre but then barrels on to use these same clichés itself. Despite some decent performances from the cast there is nothing to really lift this film above the standard fare and the plot takes the highly predictable route using the usual lot points. There are some funny moments in the film but they are limited and fairly low brow in nature.

3/5

The dark side of peace keepeing

The Whistleblower (2011)

Directed by Larysa Kondracki this film stars Rachel Weisz, Vanessa Redgrave, Benedict Cumberbatch and David Strathairn. An American police woman working as part of a UN peace keeping force in Bosnia in 1999 fights against sex trafficking.

Based on real events this film does appear to keep things realistic although it does not mention a previous case of whistle blowing that happened previously. What the film does well is keep a good level of tension as events unfold and has good performances from the cast. No doubt the film raises serious questions about the behaviour of defence contractors supplying peace keepers that appear to have gone unanswered since the events the film is based on.

4/5

Averagest day

Green Lantern (2011)

Based on the classic DC Comics character this film from director Martin Campbell stars Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively and Peter Sarsgaard. A test pilot is selected to become the first human member of an intergalactic defence force.

This film suffers from the key problem that it lacks emotional depth with a fairly weak origin story and characters that seem to be all token efforts. It seems like film makers think they can just put out a super hero film and that will be enough to get the audiences in. In the case of this film I would say it is fairly similar to John Carter (2012) in that it managed to scrape by as an average effort despite a script that seems to have had little thought put into it.

3/5

I wrote a hit play and directed it

Rushmore (1998)

Directed by Wes Anderson this film stars Jason Schwartzman, Olivia Williams and Bill Murray. An odd ball student at a private school makes friends with a disillusioned industrialist and falls in love with a female teacher.

Wes Anderson has a very clear brand of film making and this film fits right into that quirky, funny and bizarre cannon. The three main cast members give good performances and there are some really funny moments through out. Maybe the best part of the film is the strange and over the top plays with in the film that the protagonists stages with his school friends.

4/5

Over the Line: Silly titles

Across the Line: The Exodus of Charlie Wright (2010)

Directed by R. Ellis Frazier this film stars Aidan Quinn, Mario Van Peebles, Andy Garcia and Gina Gershon. A con man running a ponzi scheme escapes to Mexico where he is hunted by the FBI and various gangsters.

I am not sure who cast this film but putting the best actors (Garcia, Gershon) in the smallest roles does not seem like a good start. When it comes to the plot I just did not care and the final reveal if anything destroys any small amount of empathy built up by the protagonist. Strangely this film is billed as an action film there is only one action sequence in the whole piece.

2/5

Disaster on Mars?

John Carter (2012)

Based on the pulp novel A Princess of Mars this adaptation from director Andrew Stanton stars Taylor Kitsch, Lynn Collins and Mark Strong. Transported from 1880s America to Mars a former Confederate Army captain becomes involved in the Martian civil war.

Given the reputation that this film has I did not have high expectations going into this film but this film is more a world of missed opportunities rather than actually bad. Neither the plot nor characters have any real depth and there may be the odd scene or two that appears to be missing but if you just sit down and turn off your brain the story unfolds fairly inoffensively. With such a huge budget you would expect something more of the special effects and action sequences of the film but again none of these are anything beyond average.

3/5

The modern omen

We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011)

Based on the novel of the same name this film from directory Lynne Ramsay stars Tilda Swinton, John C. Reilly and Ezra Miller. A mother struggles to raise and come to terms with the actions of her son.

This film is an excellent mood piece that skirts around the edge of being a horror film while focusing on the physiological destruction of the protagonist. Using a non linear structure the film is about to skip about the time line of the story ominously hinting at events in a way that will keep you hooked right up to the end. Where the film is weaker is in that the antagonist is just a gimmick and makes no attempts to explain or understand the reasons for his actions.

4/5

A sequel you can't refuse

The Godfather Part II (1974)

Directed by Francis Ford Coppola this sequel stars Al Pacino, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton and Robert De Niro. In 1958 Michael Corleone tries to expand the family business and deal with family problems while in a parallel narrative young Vito comes to America and begins his rise.

Again Coppola delivers and excellent looking film that deals with an intricate story of mob life but in my opinion it does fall slightly short of the original. Having two narratives does detract from having a complete unified film and some of the sequences involving Michael Corleone do feel like they are revisiting events similar to those of the first film. What does stand out in this film is the story arc for Fredo which is by a long chalk the best part of the film.

4/5

Nature or nurture?

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2009)

Based on the novel of the same name this Swedish film from director Niels Arden Oplev stars Michael Nyqvist and Noomi Rapace. After losing a libel case a Swedish journalist in employed to look into the disappearance of a girl 40 years ago by her rich uncle.

As a straight up crime thriller this film works well and does not rely on any easy acts of coincidence or the usual clichés that often litter the genre. What the story does well is pose the question to what extent are those that commit crimes responsible for their actions or does their up bringing or society deserve the blame. Right from the start the film goes to so really dark places but the juxtaposition of the title character and the antagonist works really well to give the film some depth.

4/5