The Green Hornet (2011)
After years of knocking around in development hell The Green Hornet comes to the big screen directed by Michel Gondry and staring Seth Rogen. The son of a news paper owner inherits his father's media empire and decides to become a masked vigilante on the side.
Given the glut of super hero/masked vigilante films of late this film does need something to set it apart from the others and it appears the makers have chosen to take a comedic route. While the film has funny moments it is not especially funny and the plot is rudimentary and unoriginal at best. As something to fill two hours of spare time this film is not bad but it is nothing more than that.
3/5
Saturday, 7 January 2012
Friday, 6 January 2012
Forty similar films
Forty Guns (1958)
Written and directed by Samuel Fuller this western stars Barbara Stanwyck and Barry Sullivan. A US marshal passing through a town with his brothers clashes with owner of the big local ranch while trying to restore law and order.
The plot for this film is reminiscent of many a western of the same era and there is little originality here. Pretty much everything rolls out as you might expect and the direction is like the plot in being fairly unremarkable. In the end what you have here is a very average film that is probably worth overlooking for better efforts in the genre but still watch-able at a push.
3/5
Written and directed by Samuel Fuller this western stars Barbara Stanwyck and Barry Sullivan. A US marshal passing through a town with his brothers clashes with owner of the big local ranch while trying to restore law and order.
The plot for this film is reminiscent of many a western of the same era and there is little originality here. Pretty much everything rolls out as you might expect and the direction is like the plot in being fairly unremarkable. In the end what you have here is a very average film that is probably worth overlooking for better efforts in the genre but still watch-able at a push.
3/5
Thursday, 5 January 2012
Trials and tribulations
Conviction (2010)
Based on real events this film is directed by Tony Goldwyn and stars Hilary Swank and Sam Rockwell. A single mother devotes her life to earning a law degree so she can get her brothers false conviction for murder over turned.
While there are legal elements to this film it is not really a legal drama but more an issue of the week TV movie. There are good performances from the lead cast and this is no doubt a compelling if slightly manipulative film where it need not be. Despite being well made there is not much new or revolutionary about this film.
3/5
Based on real events this film is directed by Tony Goldwyn and stars Hilary Swank and Sam Rockwell. A single mother devotes her life to earning a law degree so she can get her brothers false conviction for murder over turned.
While there are legal elements to this film it is not really a legal drama but more an issue of the week TV movie. There are good performances from the lead cast and this is no doubt a compelling if slightly manipulative film where it need not be. Despite being well made there is not much new or revolutionary about this film.
3/5
Wednesday, 4 January 2012
Not a well spun web
Along Came a Spider (2001)
Based on the novel of the same name this a prequel to Kiss the Girls (1997) is directed by Lee Tamahori and stars Morgan Freeman and Monica Potter. A senator's daughter is kidnapped from her school and a police detective has to work with a secret service agent.
Thrillers like this rely on their plot and the plot for this film is just bad from the start, it begins with a bunch of clichés and as the unbelievable plot unfolds we find out it is full of holes. If you are not even going to bother with having a realistic plot it should at least make sense which means there is not much to like in this film. About the only redeeming features of the film are that plot aside it is executed in a way that does not make it any worse.
2/5
Based on the novel of the same name this a prequel to Kiss the Girls (1997) is directed by Lee Tamahori and stars Morgan Freeman and Monica Potter. A senator's daughter is kidnapped from her school and a police detective has to work with a secret service agent.
Thrillers like this rely on their plot and the plot for this film is just bad from the start, it begins with a bunch of clichés and as the unbelievable plot unfolds we find out it is full of holes. If you are not even going to bother with having a realistic plot it should at least make sense which means there is not much to like in this film. About the only redeeming features of the film are that plot aside it is executed in a way that does not make it any worse.
2/5
Tuesday, 3 January 2012
Well travelled
Gulliver's Travels (2010)
Based on the 18th century novel of the same name this is the first live action film from director Rob Letterman and stars Jack Black, Emily Blunt Jason Segel and Amanda Peet. A slacker that works in the mail room of a news paper gets a travel writing assignment and goes on a strange adventure.
This is not a good adaptation, it loses the depth and detail of the original text and is basically a simplified silly film aimed at kids but being a bad adaptation does not necessarily mean it is a bad film. As a kids film this is pretty average, the set, locations and cast are great but the content is decidedly average. There are some funny moments but but not a plethora and the the story itself is beyond basic and has no depth, still if you have 90 minutes to kill and do not want anything especially engaging you could do worse.
3/5
Based on the 18th century novel of the same name this is the first live action film from director Rob Letterman and stars Jack Black, Emily Blunt Jason Segel and Amanda Peet. A slacker that works in the mail room of a news paper gets a travel writing assignment and goes on a strange adventure.
This is not a good adaptation, it loses the depth and detail of the original text and is basically a simplified silly film aimed at kids but being a bad adaptation does not necessarily mean it is a bad film. As a kids film this is pretty average, the set, locations and cast are great but the content is decidedly average. There are some funny moments but but not a plethora and the the story itself is beyond basic and has no depth, still if you have 90 minutes to kill and do not want anything especially engaging you could do worse.
3/5
Monday, 2 January 2012
Revenge of the laundry boy?
Force 10 from Navarone (1978)
Serial Bond director Guy Hamilton helms this sequel to The Guns of Navarone (1961) with an entirely new cast that includes Robert Shaw, Edward Fox, Harrison Ford, Barbara Bach and Carl Weathers. Having recovered from their previous mission Mallory and Miller are sent to kill a double agent in Yugoslavia with an American team that plans to blow up a bridge.
Coming 17 years later and with a completely new team behind the film it is hard to really look at this as a sequel especially as the only two remaining characters are not even really consistent with the original film portrayals either. As a WW2 action film this film works pretty well, the special effects work holds up and achieves some pretty good results while the plot has the usual twists and turns of a MacLean inspired film. Where the film falls down is that it lacks the real depth and serious nature of the original instead relying on light comedic elements to get by.
3/5
Serial Bond director Guy Hamilton helms this sequel to The Guns of Navarone (1961) with an entirely new cast that includes Robert Shaw, Edward Fox, Harrison Ford, Barbara Bach and Carl Weathers. Having recovered from their previous mission Mallory and Miller are sent to kill a double agent in Yugoslavia with an American team that plans to blow up a bridge.
Coming 17 years later and with a completely new team behind the film it is hard to really look at this as a sequel especially as the only two remaining characters are not even really consistent with the original film portrayals either. As a WW2 action film this film works pretty well, the special effects work holds up and achieves some pretty good results while the plot has the usual twists and turns of a MacLean inspired film. Where the film falls down is that it lacks the real depth and serious nature of the original instead relying on light comedic elements to get by.
3/5
Sunday, 1 January 2012
Illegal alien
Paul (2011)
Directed by Greg Mottola this film is written by and stars Simon Pegg and Nick Frost as well as including the voice talent of Seth Rogen. Two British sci-fi fans on a road trip through America's UFO hot spots run into an escaped alien.
This film contains plenty of cinematic references as you would expect from previous works Pegg has been involved in writing. Unfortunately the film does fall a little flat, it is not really funny enough and sticks a bit too closely to formulas commonly used in cinema. While this is not a bad film it certainly does not hit the heights of Pegg's collaborations with Edgar Wright which is a shame.
3/5
Directed by Greg Mottola this film is written by and stars Simon Pegg and Nick Frost as well as including the voice talent of Seth Rogen. Two British sci-fi fans on a road trip through America's UFO hot spots run into an escaped alien.
This film contains plenty of cinematic references as you would expect from previous works Pegg has been involved in writing. Unfortunately the film does fall a little flat, it is not really funny enough and sticks a bit too closely to formulas commonly used in cinema. While this is not a bad film it certainly does not hit the heights of Pegg's collaborations with Edgar Wright which is a shame.
3/5
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