Another Sunday, another movie day… today brought Zombieland…
Zombieland is not just your typical zombie film. In the spirit of Shaun of the Dead before it, Zombieland makes a mockery of the zombie genre, and this is most certainly not a bad thing.
The premise of the film is simple. We follow one nerdy, shut in geek on a quest to find his parents after a virus turns the world into zombies, whilst making friends on the way… simple right?
Anyway, it’s an incredibly entertaining film, that perfectly blends comedy with horror, and showcases the emerging talents of Jesse Eisenberg and Emma Stone, and the established talent of Woody Harrelson. There are great visual effects and brilliant action sequences and one of the funniest cameos of cinema… ever!
Although this may all seem all sunshine and lollipops (as much as a film about the end of the world can be), it certainly isn’t. The voiceover from Jesse Eisenberg is nothing short of annoying, and the characters on the extreme side of the stereotypical scale.
Overall, Zombieland is certainly not a classic, but is still a thoroughly entertaining 90 minutes of movie…
With Scream 4recently announced, what better way is there to celebrate it than showing the scene that launched the series. It is, in my eyes, one of the scariest horror film moments, and, here it is for your enjoyment.
So, a typical Sunday evening in Farnham usually entails some form of film night, and today is no exception. Slitherwas on the cards today, and it’s been a while since i’ve seen it. Here is what I think of it…
Slither is one of those films that doesn’t take itself seriously, which is a good thing when the premise of the film is absolutely ridiculous. It starts with a meteor strike on a small town (sounds plausible) that brings a shed load of alien parasites (ok… pushing it now) that turn the residents of the town into weird zombies (right… i’m turning off now). From the plot, it doesn’t seem like a particularly credible film, but, somehow, it shuns all the usual rules of horror films (combining sci-fi and horror doesn’t often work (Pandorum, Jason X, Pitch Black)) and becomes a surprisingly great film.
The relatively small name cast (Nathan Fillion and Elizabeth Banks head the cast) shine and with a darkly funny script and genuinely horrifying visual effects, Slither could well be the bar that all horror-comedies are set to. It’s not often that a film can blend horror and comedy so well, but it does it with such ease. It’s just a great film. It’s not a perfect film (the flashback to the parasites home planet is pointless) but one that is certainly worth a watch, if not for the sheer roller-coaster ride that it is.
Short and sweet, Slither’s gone in a flash but will stay with you for a long time after…
So, here it is, the long awaited return of Marvel’s finest (in my opinion at least) Iron Man 2. What you want to know is whether it was worth the wait or not, so, here we go then…
Right then. Iron Man 2 picks up six months after the events of Iron Man, with Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr)presenting a technology expo (no idea on that one…) in New York,. Then comes a series of what I like to call ‘OH MY GOSH IT’S SOMETHING THAT COULD STOP IRON MAN FOREVER!!!‘, or, for the sake of time saving,SHOCK HORRORS (OH MY GOSH, Tony Stark is being poisoned by his suit, this could stop Iron Man forever!!!). These generally have no relevance in the film other than to pad out the runtime and set up The Avengers, due for release in 2012. It’s a frustrating aspect of the film that makes it seem like an almost pointless sequel to the brilliant original.
Anyways, because Iron Man 2 is essentially a bridge to The Avengers, its not particularly good. The action sequences are good, and that’s pretty much it. There’s no real plot, and aside from the SHOCK HORRORS and action there is no real redeeming factors (although I would recommend that you watch to the end of the credits, for a short clip that had all the Marvel fanboys in the cinema salivating into their popcorn…).
Even the brilliant cast seemed to burn out after they were introduced. Robert Downey Jr seemed bored, as did Gwyneth Paltrow. Mickey Rourke was just awful, Don Cheadle and Samuel L. Jackson weren’t around long enough to leave any real impression, and Scarlett Johansson was seemingly only there to sex up the film (which, in her defence, she pulled of majestically). The only outstanding actor was the ever brilliant Sam Rockwell, who stole the show as the arrogant, fame hungry yet extremely lovable Justin Hammer, a business rival and unintentional enemy of Tony Stark.
And that’s it really. There’s nothing particularly special about Iron Man 2, and nothing particularly bad about it. It’s just, disappointing, which is a both a real shame and a wasted opportunity.
With a cast this good and a huge budget ($200million) how this wasn’t a better film is beyond me…
What did you think of the film? Comment and let me know…
Last week Pixar made an announcement that couldn’t have taken me any more by surprise. Monsters Inc.has been given a sequel! Monsters Inc. 2 is scheduled for a November 2012 release, and I for one could not be more thrilled. Honestly. The original is still one of the best children’s film of all time, and fully deserves a sequel.
My only query is whether it will capture the imagination and hearts of children again. I mean, Pixar struck gold with the subject matter of Monsters Inc. The idea of children being scared by monsters at night is one that goes back for generations, and by forging a tale about monsters using “scares” to power their city immediately makes them more accessible. And it can’t have hurt to make the monsters so lovable, funny and charismatic. But could Pixar recreate this with the sequel?
Monsters Inc. has pretty much stopped children being scared of monsters, and that surely can’t be a bad thing…
Above everything else, Pixar have always been at their best whilst telling stories. As good as the animation is, as good as the cast are, as good as the direction, Pixar are unrivalled in their ability to create incredible, original stories. The only films Pixar have made that are not particularly good are those that shy away from the stories and focus on other aspects. Cars(2005) is by far the most disappointing Pixar film. Whilst still being better than most animations these days (Dreamworks Studios were dying a death before How To Train Your Dragoncame along and gave Pixar some competition) Cars focused more on character development and animation than the actual story, and whilst still being an entertaining film, lacked that spark that both classic (Toy Story) and modern Pixar (Up, Wall-E) are full of. Monsters Inc. on the other hand, is the epitome of storytelling. It takes an interesting real world issue (at its most basic, a fear of the dark) and gives a completely new spin on it, that is both unrivaled in its originality, and unmatched in its implementation…
In its day, the animation of Monsters Inc. was incredibly advanced (this was the first film that perfected the animation of hair or fur), but now it seems that it hasn’t aged as well as other Pixar films. A Bug’s Lifeand Toy Story 2still look great today, despite not being as advanced as Monsters Inc., but somehow it feels rougher and far less refined than most examples of older Pixar films…
That being said, it was the originality and quirkiness that made Monsters Inc. so great in the first place. We can guarantee that the animation side of the sequel will be far superior, given that technological advances come thick and fast these days, and that Pixar are always looking for improvements (look at the contrast in animation between Ratatouilleand Wall-E. It’s incredible), but will the premise and story be as well rounded and effective as its predecessor?
Well, who knows… Only time will tell I suppose, but, since when has Pixar ever really let us down?
What do you think? Leave a comment below with your opinions…
As a journalist in training, the idea of a film based on an interview seems like a great opportunity to learn from one of the best interviewers of all time. But from a dramatic perspective, Frost/Nixon doesn’t exactly sound like a blockbuster.
Somewhat surprisingly, Frost/Nixon more than makes up for its questionable premise by creating both an engaging and entertaining film…
Michael Sheen and Frank Langella completely immerse themselves in the respective characters of journalist David Frost (Sheen), and former President of the United States Richard Nixon (Langella). Both characters are crafted down to a T, and perfectly encapsulate the characteristics and mannerisms of each.
The supporting cast of Kevin Bacon, Sam Rockwell and Rebecca Hall are outstanding, and the direction of Ron Howard (Apollo 13, A Beautiful Mind) is effortlessly understated.
The film is almost an adopted sequel to All The Presidents Men (1976)seeing as it follows on from the events of the infamous Watergate scandal that forced Richard Nixon to resign as President, but it never reaches the brilliance of its ‘prequel’. This is mostly due to its subject matter. Where All The Presidents Men was about a high profile and culturally significant piece of investigative journalism, Frost/Nixon is about the series of interviews that came afterwards. Frost/Nixon is certainly not an edgy thriller…
This does not mean the film is a bad one. Far from it. Frost/Nixon is an intelligent, witty and engaging film and, from a journalistic perspective offers a great lesson in conducting interviews, as this could well be one of the best…
This scene from The Dark Knight (2008) is a showcase of director Christopher Nolan’s visionary direction, and Walter Pfister’s phenomenal cinematography. Lovely stuff…
After finally seeing Paranormal Activity on Saturday with some mates, I thought I might give a belated review of the film dubbed as ”frightening…freaky and terrifying.”
Paranormal Activity is centred around the characters of Micah and Katie, a young couple living in San Diego. Sounds normal right? The title’s a bit of a give-away though, and yes, you guessed it, they (more specifically, Katie) are plagued by strange goings on (weird noises, footprints, and charred photographs)…
All sounds weird. I won’t ruin it if you haven’t seen it, but it gets a lot worse as the film progresses. The film is like a roller-coaster ride, but this time, the first hour is the queue…
The film’s notoriety has helped it a great deal, as there is generally nothing particularly ‘scary’ about it to begin with, but hearing that it’s a terrifying film puts the audience on edge straight away… for example, me and my friend Brad were staring at our knees every time there was a scene in the bedroom, despite nothing actually happening. The final third is where it all kicks off, with some of the most haunting and horrific scenes in modern cinema. I would say more, but at the risk of ruining the film, I shall resist the temptation…
My only issue with the film lies in the ending, and despite it being very scary, I don’t think it fits in with the story as well as it could have done and it undoes the realism of the film in one moment, which is a shame, but it is still a terrifying end to a terrifying film…
First time director Oren Peli certainly showcases his abilities with bucket-loads of cleverly constructed, lingering shots that contribute heavily to the already tense atmosphere. As well as this, the use of handheld cameras, unknown cast (both Micah and Katie were found after an advert was placed on advertising website Craigslist) and very subtle, yet harrowing sound effects only serve to emphasise the atmosphere of the film.
The key to the film is that it never uses any ridiculous plot ideas. Most horror films show the hidden force terrorising someone (whether it’s a creepy japanese ghost (The Grudge, The Ring) or murderous werewolf (The Howling, Cursed) or whatever) but Paranormal Activity focuses on the fear of the unknown. By leaving the ‘ghost’ unseen, Peli allows the audience’s imagination to go into overdrive, consequently making the film seem scarier whilst focusing more on the characters reactions to the events, rather than the events themselves.
A masterfully constructed piece of work, Paranormal Activity is, despite minor flaws, possibly one of the great horror films of the last ten years, and certainly one of the scariest…
I recently re-watched Pixar’s masterpiece Up (2009), and thought that this scene is worth a mention, purely for the beauty and sadness portrayed in it…
Are there any other moments, in any film, that you think are perfect pieces of cinema… voice your thoughts below…
