Stars: Jospeh
Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen and Anna Kendrick
Review:
This film hits on such a sensitive topic, but tackles it
perfectly. It’s light hearted, hilarious and tense. It’s also based on a true
story, Will Reiser’s story in fact, (he was the writer for 50/50). The film
relies on a strong friendship between Adam, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, whose
career has taken a sudden incline in the last couple of years. And the other half of the
friendship is Kyle played by the comical Seth Rogen (his laugh steals the
show). Other roles in this film include, Anna Kendrick, who plays the therapist,
she’s new to it though, so does not gain full trust from Adam. And Anjelica
Huston plays the overly caring mother of Adam.
Adam is a fit young lad, around his late- 20’s life takes a sudden
detour. He picks up this rare type of cancer; he does a little research into
the cancer and discovers that he has a 50/50 chance of surviving. This scares
me because such a healthy person, who doesn’t drink or smoke life just turns upside
down. This is betrayed fantastically in the film as everyone is so shocked and
astounded by the whole event. Kyle is a warm-hearted friend who helps to pick
Adam up. Of course we have seen Seth Rogen play this part before, a weed
abusing buddy before, but it doesn’t mean it’s gotten old and boring, just the
same old Rogen, fantastic. Joseph plays
his role superbly as he captures Adams sadness, confusion, quiet determination
and ultimately the sheer terror of going into a 50/50 operation.
Whether you're after a comedy-drama about cancer or a Rogen laugh-fest with added heart, this does a remarkable job of balancing the odds. And the laughter/tears split. Call it 70/30?
Stars: Christian
Bale, Hugh Jackman and Scarlett Johansson
Review:
Six years after Memento was released Christopher Nolan
returned with another amazing physiological thriller. It starts head to head
magicians set in the 20th Century, played by Hugh Jackman and
Christian Bale, they compete against each other to try and one up each other in
rival magic shows. Michael Caine, David Bowie and Scarlett Johansson round up
this fantastic cast; there are no weak links in this film regards to acting.
The head to head magician’s story takes a turn for the worst, they seek
revenge, trickery and apparently murder. That is how you keep the audience
interested.
Christopher Nolan’s script is tight and keeps the viewer on
the edge of their seats. It really asks for the viewer to ‘watch closely’, as
Michael Caine may say. The magnificence is also followed by the dialogue and
sequences. This is a film which cannot be easily explained, you will have to
watch it over and over again to get a real grip on this story.
The Prestige’s moral is that everybody believes they have to
be the better man, no matter what the costs shall be. The final twists in the
ending scenes left me gob smacked and demanding for an explanation from Nolan
himself. This film must be experienced
first hand, if you have not laid your eyes on this motion picture, go out right
now and buy.
Stars: Guy
Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss and Joe Pantoliano
Review
Memento is a fantastic psychological thriller made in the
year 2000. It was written and directed by, in my opinion the best director,
Christopher Nolan. I like him so much I am going to review quite a few more of
his films, all leading up to his upcoming blockbuster The Dark Knight Rises. Anyway,
back to Memento, it stars Guy Pearce, playing the role of a confused man with amnesia,
by the name of Leonard Shelby. He
suffers from short term memory loss, only recalling memories before his wife
died. Every fifteen minutes his memory is wiped. To overcome this problem, he
has to jot down reminders on post-it notes, take Polaroids and finally tattoo
himself with brief messages. The notes mainly include who he has to find and
most importantly who he thinks killed his wife. Another star in Memento is
Carrie-Ann Moss (from The Matrix and Disturbia), who plays a bartender and a girlfriend
of a drug dealer. She goes through the wars.
The unique thing about this film is... IT’S A FILM IN
REVERSE! How many films can you say that about? That’s what makes it a modern
great. It certainly appeals to a certain type of audience; you could say that
about most of Christopher Nolan’s films. It definitely climbs right to the top
of the cleverest films made. The other contenders would be, The Usual Suspects,
The Prestige and Inception. Two of the three films I just mentioned were also
written and directed by Christopher Nolan. That just shows you how much respect
I give towards the man. A fantastic film, it keeps you guessing throughout with
a very high IQ.
Stars: Daniel
Craig, Helen McCrory and Javier Bardem
Preview:
The Skyfall trailer was released over a month ago but I
didn’t get round to seeing it. But now I have. Casino Royale was a fantastic
film; it actually didn’t feel like a normal bond film. Then two years after,
Bond came on to the big screens again and I found it a huge disappointment. I
thought this because the viewer didn’t really seem to connect with the
characters and the story didn’t flow well as it carried on from Quantum of
Solace. So I’m hoping that Skyfall is as great as Quantum of Solace, if not
better. By the look of this trailer it looks like it’s going to step up to that
standard.
The trailer sets the scene perfectly. Bond is being questioned
by somebody, but it’s not like a normal interview because the person is saying
words and the first thing what comes into Bonds head he says. The ‘interviewer’
says the words Skyfall and Bond perks up and looks somewhat alarmed. So this
means something which has happened to Bond recently has scared him. This makes
the viewer lean forward to find out what these words Skyfall mean.
Furthermore, the choice of director is a surprise: Sam
Mendes. He has directed American Beauty; this is not a typical Bond choice.
This could be a good thing because all of his films are beautifully shot, they
all look fantastic. This is illustrated in the trailer. Also in the trailer
there’s a sense that it’s not going to be like another bond film; for that
matter not even a typical action film. Moreover, it seems more serious, dark
and moody. This also excites me for this upcoming film.
Finally, in one of the last shots of the trailer it shows a
silhouette walking away from a burning building. I’m presuming this is Javier
Bardem playing Silva (the villain). And we know that Javier Bardem can
defiantly play a convincing ‘baddy’ because of his performance in ‘No Country
for Old Men’. I am so excited for this film to come out in October, I'm sure you are to. Check out the trailer here:
Stars: Ryan
Gosling, Carey Mulligan and Bryan Cranston
Review:
Drive is about a stunt man played by Ryan Gosling, with an
interesting secret life. He Drives. He meets a quite girl across the hall from
him; she seems to be single with a single child. But when her husband is
released out of prison, it’s a shock to the Driver and things start to go
downhill for him. Ryan Gosling plays the role perfectly, even though his lines
must take up half a page. But this is how the Driver is supposed to be
betrayed. Ryan is one of the most engaging actors out there at the moment.
The film is well paced, some may
say it is slow and boring but I will just shake my head at them. The film has a
very 80’s action vibe to it, from the music to the dialogue. The first scene in
the film will suck you in and you will not want to look away. Apart from Ryan
Gosling the director is the star of this film (Nicolas Winding Refn),
because he makes it the most stylish movie of 2011. Every shot is like a painting. On the downside he does
occasionally overdo it a couple of times in regards to the slow motion scenes.
I will put my hands up to that the violence is
gratuitous in some parts of the film p.s you could feel a bit sick in those
scenes. Some could say that it ruins the film because it may be classed as silly
and cheapens the performances of the actors, but I think otherwise, mostly
because I love the film and I refuse to criticise it.
Overall, I think this is the most stylish film I have ever
seen, it is well paced, the action is heart racing when it hits and Ryan
Gosling plays the driver fantastically (calm, cool and ready to drive). I would
give this film:
Stars: Noomi
Repace, Logan Marshall-Green and Michael Fassbender
Review:
Today I saw the highly anticipated film, Prometheus, directed by the wonderful Ridley Scott. As a brief over view it was about a group of scientists and geologists who found a major clue back at earth. This clue could discover who created human life forms. But what they find could end human civilization.
This film did not disappoint apart from one or two glitches. People who think it is a prequel to Alien, they’re wrong, but the film does link to Alien, anyone who has seen this film and says it has nothing to do with Alien, there are also wrong. Without giving out spoilers, there are things which link to Alien. However, it does leave many questions to be answered; some things just don’t link together. I would say that this is the biggest downfall to the film. I believe that it would have been a fantastic film if it were a standalone film.
On the other hand, the visuals in this film were amazing; within the first ten minutes the viewer can tell it is going to be a beautiful film. Ridley Scott does a great job directing Prometheus. And in these types of films, I think that the build up to the inevitable is the best part in the film because when something looks dangerous your heart is in your mouth, and you find yourself biting your fingernails down to the bone. When the horror does hit it looks scary and somehow real. Another thing which stood out were the performances, the one would stood out the most was Michael Fassbender playing the Android, David. He is very convincing and he is at the peak of his career at the moment and he definitely shows this. Idris Elba also had a strong performance in it.
But overall, the only drawback was when you tried to link it to Alien; because when you started to think about it there were many holes in the story. I will rate this film more as an individual picture because it was so much better as one and so I would give it:
