Thursday, 13 December 2012
Tuesday, 11 December 2012
Predators (2010)
Director: Nimrod Antal
Starring: Adrien Brody, Alice Braga, Topher Grace, Walton Goggins, Oleg Taktorov, Danny Trejo, Louis Ozawa Changchien, Mahershala Ali, Laurence Fishbourne
Certificate: 15
Genre: Action, Sci Fi
Awards: None
Predators is - as the title says - a sequel to Predator with more than one of them. A group of the toughest killers are left in a jungle and have to survive against a group of predators. They are all from military or criminal backgrounds so they should give the predators a run for their money.
Predators plays with the same aspects as the original and really just keeps it that. The only real variation is that there are more of them. Actually, Predators takes a lot from it's older sibling. Some characters seem to do the same thing and weapons look incredibly familiar. Lines are cut and pasted into this word from word.
However, the film is definitely fun. The deaths of characters one by one is enjoyable in any film and this does not go against the crowd. The predators are cool and the atmosphere makes the characters seem alone.
This is not Aliens. It does not add anything new and impressive to the franchise. It is more for the fans. It has however brought it back from death and hope to see a new Predator film in the coming years.
****Good
Starring: Adrien Brody, Alice Braga, Topher Grace, Walton Goggins, Oleg Taktorov, Danny Trejo, Louis Ozawa Changchien, Mahershala Ali, Laurence Fishbourne
Certificate: 15
Genre: Action, Sci Fi
Awards: None
Predators is - as the title says - a sequel to Predator with more than one of them. A group of the toughest killers are left in a jungle and have to survive against a group of predators. They are all from military or criminal backgrounds so they should give the predators a run for their money.Predators plays with the same aspects as the original and really just keeps it that. The only real variation is that there are more of them. Actually, Predators takes a lot from it's older sibling. Some characters seem to do the same thing and weapons look incredibly familiar. Lines are cut and pasted into this word from word.
However, the film is definitely fun. The deaths of characters one by one is enjoyable in any film and this does not go against the crowd. The predators are cool and the atmosphere makes the characters seem alone.
This is not Aliens. It does not add anything new and impressive to the franchise. It is more for the fans. It has however brought it back from death and hope to see a new Predator film in the coming years.
****Good
Thursday, 6 December 2012
The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy
Director: Garth Jennings
Starring: Martin Freeman, Mos Def, Sam Rockwell, Zooey Deschanel, Alan Rickman, Bill Nighy, Stephen Fry
Certificate: PG
Genre: Sci Fi, Comedy
Awards: None
The Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy is based off the first book in the series written by Douglas Adams. It follows Arthur Dent (Freeman) - a normal seeming person - as he is taken on an adventure in space after the earth is destroyed in order to create a new hyper way.
The film is fairly respectful to the book and seems to follow the same sort of story - albeit adding more things for the Vogons to do. However, I don't think a film can convey the humour of the book as well. Adams' writing can sometimes not be put visually. It's not all about the characters and what they do but how he can play with different perspectives. Some of this is shown with a cartoon being narrated by Stephen Fry. These are arguably the best bits which brings up the point if the film should just be an audio book narrated by Fry.
I also have a problem with the character of Ford Prefect (Def). He is supposed to be an alien who was stranded on earth and acts quite strangely in the books. Def plays him a bit too human and he becomes just a forgettable character. The rest of the cast seem to fit quite well. Even the smallest roles are given to a variety of well known British and American talent (Helen Mirren, Bill Bailey and John Malkovich among them).
THHGTTG is still funny, but it doesn't really feel like it is needed. Fans of the books will already know most of the quotes and humour off by heart and will therefore feel like they are just reading them again with half the pages ripped out. If you haven't read the books, heard the radio show or watched the TV show, you will find this a witty little film that feels incredibly British. However, you might as well just read the books and have a better experience.
***Okay
Starring: Martin Freeman, Mos Def, Sam Rockwell, Zooey Deschanel, Alan Rickman, Bill Nighy, Stephen Fry
Certificate: PG
Genre: Sci Fi, Comedy
Awards: None
The film is fairly respectful to the book and seems to follow the same sort of story - albeit adding more things for the Vogons to do. However, I don't think a film can convey the humour of the book as well. Adams' writing can sometimes not be put visually. It's not all about the characters and what they do but how he can play with different perspectives. Some of this is shown with a cartoon being narrated by Stephen Fry. These are arguably the best bits which brings up the point if the film should just be an audio book narrated by Fry.
I also have a problem with the character of Ford Prefect (Def). He is supposed to be an alien who was stranded on earth and acts quite strangely in the books. Def plays him a bit too human and he becomes just a forgettable character. The rest of the cast seem to fit quite well. Even the smallest roles are given to a variety of well known British and American talent (Helen Mirren, Bill Bailey and John Malkovich among them).
THHGTTG is still funny, but it doesn't really feel like it is needed. Fans of the books will already know most of the quotes and humour off by heart and will therefore feel like they are just reading them again with half the pages ripped out. If you haven't read the books, heard the radio show or watched the TV show, you will find this a witty little film that feels incredibly British. However, you might as well just read the books and have a better experience.
***Okay
Tuesday, 4 December 2012
Mission Impossible II (2000)
Director: John Woo
Starring: Tom Cruise, Thandie Newton, Dougray Scott, Ving Rhames, Richard Roxburgh, Brendan Gleeson
Certificate: 15
Genre: Action
Awards: None
Ethan Hunt (Cruise) returns in this sequel where he has to take down an ex-coworker who has stolen a genetically modified disease. His target takes him to Australia where he sets up his new team including Thief Nyah Nordoff- Hall (Newton) who used to be in a relationship with the target. That's it basically.
MI2 is a massive disappointment. John Woo's slow motion is overdone so much with slow mo shots of pigeons flying and Tom Cruise looking moody. And the love story. Oh god the love story. It's so cheesy it's hard to bear. The villain is incredibly boring and the story is as forgettable.
**Pretty Bad
Starring: Tom Cruise, Thandie Newton, Dougray Scott, Ving Rhames, Richard Roxburgh, Brendan Gleeson
Certificate: 15
Genre: Action
Awards: None
Ethan Hunt (Cruise) returns in this sequel where he has to take down an ex-coworker who has stolen a genetically modified disease. His target takes him to Australia where he sets up his new team including Thief Nyah Nordoff- Hall (Newton) who used to be in a relationship with the target. That's it basically.MI2 is a massive disappointment. John Woo's slow motion is overdone so much with slow mo shots of pigeons flying and Tom Cruise looking moody. And the love story. Oh god the love story. It's so cheesy it's hard to bear. The villain is incredibly boring and the story is as forgettable.
**Pretty Bad
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