Rocky (1976)
Sylvetser Stallone wrote and stars in this boxing movie made on a small budget and shot in only 28 days that went on to pick up three Oscars as well as spawning five sequels. Rocky is a down on his luck bum that failed as a boxer and collects debts for organised crime when he gets a lucky shot against the heavy weight champion of the world.
While this is mainly known as a boxing film it is mostly about Rocky trying to climb out of the gutter and make something of his meager existence. The plot is a little silly but was inspired by the Ali vs Wepner fight in which an unranked challenger got to fight the current champion. As you might expect from a sports movie and the set up the plot is a little cheesy but not excessively so, this has allowed the film to become one of the definitive of it's genre.
4/5 one of the best of the obvious.
Thursday, 31 March 2011
Wednesday, 30 March 2011
Eventful?
Event Horizon (1997)
Laurence Fishburne and Sam Neill star in this British made sci-fi horror film directed by Paul W. S. Anderson. A rescue crew is sent out to investigate the return of a previously missing experimental ship in space.
This is nominally a sci-fi film as it happens in space and involves space ships but really this is a standard horror film and follows much the pattern you would expect while forwarding the luddite “do not mess with technology you do not understand” message. There are some eerie visuals and dark scenes but despite being fairly well made and with a good cast there is little to elevate this film above it's average plot and subject matter.
3/5 standard space horror.
Laurence Fishburne and Sam Neill star in this British made sci-fi horror film directed by Paul W. S. Anderson. A rescue crew is sent out to investigate the return of a previously missing experimental ship in space.
This is nominally a sci-fi film as it happens in space and involves space ships but really this is a standard horror film and follows much the pattern you would expect while forwarding the luddite “do not mess with technology you do not understand” message. There are some eerie visuals and dark scenes but despite being fairly well made and with a good cast there is little to elevate this film above it's average plot and subject matter.
3/5 standard space horror.
Tuesday, 29 March 2011
Little ships
Dunkirk (1958)
We get to see two of the titans of British cinema in this film with Sir John Mills and Sir Richard Attenborough staring as a soldier and civilian respectively, although they share little screen time together. The British expeditionary force is in disarray as France and the low countries fall to the German onslaught in 1940.
Without the sugar coating of some films about World War 2 this film manages to capture the spirit of the times on both sides of the Channel, soldiers attempt to make it home through the chaos and civilians rally round to recover the British Army from the continent. While the failure of the Germans to put pressure on the pocket of British troops around Dunkirk is not covered the film does not stray from history and is a well made effort.
4/5 covers an important part of British military history accurately and entertainingly.
We get to see two of the titans of British cinema in this film with Sir John Mills and Sir Richard Attenborough staring as a soldier and civilian respectively, although they share little screen time together. The British expeditionary force is in disarray as France and the low countries fall to the German onslaught in 1940.
Without the sugar coating of some films about World War 2 this film manages to capture the spirit of the times on both sides of the Channel, soldiers attempt to make it home through the chaos and civilians rally round to recover the British Army from the continent. While the failure of the Germans to put pressure on the pocket of British troops around Dunkirk is not covered the film does not stray from history and is a well made effort.
4/5 covers an important part of British military history accurately and entertainingly.
Monday, 28 March 2011
Yesterday's man of tomorrow
Superman (1978)
Marlon Brando and Gene Hackman are the big name support actors on show here as Christopher Reeve stars as the man of steel. Conceived as a two part film project this first part tells the origin of Superman and his initial appearance as a super hero.
Superman is not my favourite comic book hero and in fact he is one of my least favourite, firstly there is the is the problem of his origins as a golden era character leaving him as a fairly one dimensional character at times. There is also the Tarantino question to consider, what does the Clark Kent's persona say about the way that Superman views humanity?
While this is the first part of a two part project when looking at the film on it's own the plot does take a long time to get going. Building up the back story of Superman and adding in Christian metaphors mean it is nearly an hour before we actually see an adult Superman and the actual Lex Luthor caper in the the film feels like it is tacked on the end. Compared to the modern glut of super hero films we have this film does not always show up favourably but is still a good watch, effects that at the time were very impressive are still good but are diminished compared to modern achievements.
4/5 a good start if you remember it is just the first part, if viewing on it's on then it is a weaker film.
Marlon Brando and Gene Hackman are the big name support actors on show here as Christopher Reeve stars as the man of steel. Conceived as a two part film project this first part tells the origin of Superman and his initial appearance as a super hero.
Superman is not my favourite comic book hero and in fact he is one of my least favourite, firstly there is the is the problem of his origins as a golden era character leaving him as a fairly one dimensional character at times. There is also the Tarantino question to consider, what does the Clark Kent's persona say about the way that Superman views humanity?
While this is the first part of a two part project when looking at the film on it's own the plot does take a long time to get going. Building up the back story of Superman and adding in Christian metaphors mean it is nearly an hour before we actually see an adult Superman and the actual Lex Luthor caper in the the film feels like it is tacked on the end. Compared to the modern glut of super hero films we have this film does not always show up favourably but is still a good watch, effects that at the time were very impressive are still good but are diminished compared to modern achievements.
4/5 a good start if you remember it is just the first part, if viewing on it's on then it is a weaker film.
Sunday, 27 March 2011
Sibling similarities
Brothers (2009)
Tobey Maguire, Jake Gyllenhaal and Natalie Portman star in this remake of an original Danish film. One brother comes out of jail as another goes to war in Afghanistan leaving behind his wife and young daughters.
While the plot of this film is not especially surprising or original the film is well made, avoiding being overly melodramatic and clichéd. It is interesting to see how the two brothers deal with their differing guilt and how it affects their relationship with others. There are good performances from the cast as you would expect although I still have some trouble seeing Maguire as anything other than a whiny teenage Spiderman.
4/5 a solid effort if not especially remarkable.
Tobey Maguire, Jake Gyllenhaal and Natalie Portman star in this remake of an original Danish film. One brother comes out of jail as another goes to war in Afghanistan leaving behind his wife and young daughters.
While the plot of this film is not especially surprising or original the film is well made, avoiding being overly melodramatic and clichéd. It is interesting to see how the two brothers deal with their differing guilt and how it affects their relationship with others. There are good performances from the cast as you would expect although I still have some trouble seeing Maguire as anything other than a whiny teenage Spiderman.
4/5 a solid effort if not especially remarkable.
Saturday, 26 March 2011
Not a straight arrow
Robin Hood (2010)
Ridley Scott directs Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett in this story involving the classic characters Robin Hood and Maid Marian. Departing largely from what you might expect of a Robin Hood film this film could more appropriately have been titled “Robin Hood and the Magna Carter”.
There are enough Robin Hood films knocking about that a departure from the expected plot is not necessarily a bad thing but in this instance I do not think it works especially well. Far too much of the film seems to be taken up by political manoeuvrings and the action set pieces are fairly bland, which is criticism that could apply to the whole film. The characters and events do no feel particularly engaging for the viewer while history is messed about in an effort to create what comes across as an origins story.
3/5 watchable but not worth seeking out.
Ridley Scott directs Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett in this story involving the classic characters Robin Hood and Maid Marian. Departing largely from what you might expect of a Robin Hood film this film could more appropriately have been titled “Robin Hood and the Magna Carter”.
There are enough Robin Hood films knocking about that a departure from the expected plot is not necessarily a bad thing but in this instance I do not think it works especially well. Far too much of the film seems to be taken up by political manoeuvrings and the action set pieces are fairly bland, which is criticism that could apply to the whole film. The characters and events do no feel particularly engaging for the viewer while history is messed about in an effort to create what comes across as an origins story.
3/5 watchable but not worth seeking out.
Friday, 25 March 2011
Dated?
Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960)
Albert Finney stars as the angry young man in this adaptation of a novel of the same name. Working all week in a boring factory job the main character spends his time at the weekends boozing and womanising.
The film is mainly about what happens when the protagonists life style catches up with him and serves somewhat as a coming of age tale as there are signs that he has matured and is ready to move on by the end of the film. Despite being over fifty years old now this film is still very relevant today and the situation the protagonist finds himself in is not that different to what many young people experience today.
4/5 a well made effort that is still worth watching today.
Albert Finney stars as the angry young man in this adaptation of a novel of the same name. Working all week in a boring factory job the main character spends his time at the weekends boozing and womanising.
The film is mainly about what happens when the protagonists life style catches up with him and serves somewhat as a coming of age tale as there are signs that he has matured and is ready to move on by the end of the film. Despite being over fifty years old now this film is still very relevant today and the situation the protagonist finds himself in is not that different to what many young people experience today.
4/5 a well made effort that is still worth watching today.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)