Yes Man (2008)

I'm a huge fan of Danny Wallace and all of his works. When I heard they were basing a film on his book The Yes Man, I was naturally very excited. When I heard that it would star Jim Carey I was unsure, but still curious.

My opinion may be biased due to me being such a huge fan of the books, but the film is brilliant. The story stays true to the book for the most part, but has been alterred in some areas for obvious reasons, it would simply have not been accesible to a large audience if it had been the same story completely.
The casting is also spot on, Jim Carey is in his element all the way through (a lot of people will compare his performance to the one he did in LiarLiar undoubedly). Zooey Deschanel plays her character perfectly too - not a typical, personalityless Hollywood female character, but a real , kindof odd girl. I was also happy to see Danny Masterson playing Rooney being a fan of his previous work on That 70's Show. Mr Wallace himself also makes a cameo in the film as a man talking in a bar.
I really enjoyed Yes Man. I thought it good as far as simple entertainment goes, the film however didn't capture the meaning of the book particularly, the ending was changed fo an obvious Hollywood audience.

Quantum Of Solace (2008)

This film is about 60% of the water in Bolivia... That's all you need to know really, that's how terrible it is.
Film-Makers like to make stories and villains realistic, perhaps so we , the audience can find them more accessible. Realistic plots and villains can work, in fact I usually prefer more realistic films, but they only work when you don't have action sequences randomly dropped in every now and then and 219 special effects artists working on the set.

Marc Forster has also reassured us more than enough that he knows how symbolism works. Why is it that every film released at the moment has an artsy, pretensious director who thinks symbolism is the key to a film? He tries to tell us that oil is more valuble than gold by drowning a girl in it and referencing Goldfinger and he inserts Hitchcock references all the way through. Not only this, he's also made every action sequence in the film revolve around a natural element (fire , water , wind etc). We've established that your intelligent enough to use symbolism Forster...

To top it all off, Bond is now such a good spy, he can ride his motorbike up to the fence of his supervillain nemesis's hideout on a sunny afternoon and listen to him chat.

The Day The Earth Stood Still (2008)

This might be the biggest disapointment of 2008 (and there's been a few). A pointless attempt at remaking a film that was written for its time.
The plot rambles aimlessly through a series of events without really going anywhere good and eventually ends up trying to force a message upon you and fails miserably.
The message being that humans have a negative effect on the planet. How uninspired?

However, that's not the only thing that ruined the film, Keanu Reeves may be one of the brilliant sci-fi actors of the last decade, but he is terrible in this film. An over the top attempt at being emotionless doesen't get my approval. Jennifer Connelly boosts the film a bit, but not even the best actors in the world could save this disaster of a film.

Fargo (1996)

Fargo is up there with my favourite films of all time, I consider it to be the Coen's best film.
I don't think the brothers will outdo themselves for a long time with this.
What sets this film apart from a lot of Hollywood films is the setting, it's not often we get a whole film set in a snowy, small-town place. The setting makes it possible for the film to have some amazing shots, a brilliant example is just after Jerry has been told that he won't be lent money, there is an extremely long shot that looks as if it has been done from a roof or something. We see Jerry walk across a carpark completely surrounded by snow.
I think the characters in the film are some of the most interesting I have seen. Frances McDormand plays the heavily pregnant police-woman Marge, she is obviously a good police-woman who calmly looks at dead bodies, but is also a family orientated woman who tries not to disturb her husband in the morning. Steve Buscemi plays the 'funny-lookin'' Carl who graduallly becomes more and more dranged towards the end of his part. Pete Stormare plays Gaere Gusmord who is fantasticly psychotic, the ruthless and unemotional values he portrays are brilliantly.
Fargo is one of the better Coen films and I highly rate it and would recomend watching it if only to see the excessively bloody scene where Buscemi is forced through a woodchipper.

True Romance (1993)

In recent years, Quentin Tarantino has become some what of a celebrity for his 90's cult films and obviously Kill Bill.
I must admit that I am a fan of his early work, Resevoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction etc, but True Romance is by far one of my favourite films that Tarantino has had a hand in.
The film follows Clarence Worley and Alabama, whom Clarence marries at the beginning of the film. They accidentally acquire half a million dollars worth of cocain and incidentally attract the attention of a mob boss. Naturally a wild goose chase occurs.
The acting in True Romance is brilliant - it features an ensemble cast, some of the most popular actors/actresses in Hollywood at the time are in the film, Christian Slater , Patricia Arquette and Christopher Walken. Walken is particularly good in the scene in which him (as the mob boss - Vincenzo Coccotti) talks with Clarence's Father (Dennis Hopper) about the whereabouts of his son and, as is typical of Walken, he creates an atmosphere of contained insanity that is forcing its way out. The film is also known for including a lot of actors who weren't very well known at the time, but became some of Hollywood's biggest stars (Brad Pitt as Floyd, a permanently stoned idiot).
True Romance is one of my favourite films of all time, it defies genre and brilliantly combines romance with grisly gangster films.
If you're looking for a Tarantino film with similar elements to Pulp Fiction, don't go straight for this. Whilst it does have a few similarities in terms of storyline, it is indeed a completely different film.

Resident Evil (2002)

watched Resident Evil today and it made me realise how much I loved both the series of games and this film when I first saw it.

As far as films go, I think this is often catagorised and slated with other typical zombie films(Being a fan of zombie films as a whole, I generally pick out differences etc, but not everyone does this obviously). The story has you on the edge of your seat througout even if you've seen it before, it gets straight to the point.

The director (Paul Anderson) builds up an unbelievable amount of suspense even in the beginning. The scene in the lift where a woman decides to try to escape but comes to her untimely (and grisly) end for example. This continues throughout.
Milla Jovovich does a brilliant job of playing Alice and I can't think of anyone who could have done a better job. Michelle Rodriguez is also fairly good, but I have to admit, her onscreen persona irritates me (in all the films she stars in she plays over the top tough woman characters).
One of my main concerns, admittedly, is that the film is shamelessly hollywood in parts. The overdone CGI and shiny production is very noticable.
It appeals to people who like escapism etertainment, but I like it because of my attachment to the video games and would recomend it to people who enjoy a bit of action.

Miller's Crossing (1990)

Miller's Crossing is an early film from the Coen's. I will happyily admit that I thnk it is one of their best. Although it lacks the dark humour that the Coen's have become so noted for, it makes up for it with brilliant plot twists and a realistic approach to gangster films.

The film is about a struggle for power between two rival gangs in New York. The mise en scene and costume is brilliantly done throughout.
I think the way the film shows the more realistic and blunt side to gangster life. I particularly like the way that throughout, the film shows the main character Tom sitting on his bed in the early hours of the morning and smoking. I think it represents his concern at being caught up in that way of life.
One of my favourite things about this film, is the way it shows the more personal side of a gangster, most films would concentrate on some scandal that needed to be done, but this one actually concentrates on the dilemas and problems of one person which is refreshing to say the least.
I think most people who are a fan of the Coen bros. should see this. Even though it is not their best work, it is still worth watching.

Elephant (2003)

As promised, a review on Elephant.
Although it seems to have become rather a clich'e within the film world to like Van Sant's work, I have to admit that this film has shocked me and got me thinking everytime I've watched it.
The film brilliantly captures multiple , personal perspectives of the day. In typical Van Sant fashion, he uses his elongated shots of various backdrops - I really love the way he does this. The opening scenes where he films the clouds going past in the sky is beautiful.
The film progresses slowly towards the conclusion of the film, which a lot of people would find irritating, but I think it's a good thing, I believe it gives a much more realist view of the day.

The way Elephant captures the perspectives of people who were injured or even just there when the Columbine shootings happened is brutally real and shocking. Other films such as Zero Day (which is also an amazing film) concentrate solely on the actual perpatrators, this however gives us insight to the victims and onlookers.
In my opinion, the most chilling thing about this film is the long shots that follow the shooters through the school showing the calmness and collectedness of both of the whilst they were commiting he crime.
The ending is amazingly bleak, as the camera pans upward and we hear the final gunshot as music starts playing - It is beautiful and saddening.
This film - I must admit - was hard to talk about, there's so much to talk about. I think you have to watch it to really be able to feel the emotion portrayed. It probably won't appeal to Hollywood lovers, but anyone who reads this should definately watch it.

Lords Of Dogtown (2006)

After the success of Dogtown and Z Boys, the underground documentary that tells the story of a group of young skateboarders who revolutionised the sport by applying techniques typically used in surfboarding and making it what it is today, this biopic of sorts was put into production. It is directed by Catherine Hardwicke (best known for her film Thirteen) and she did a brilliant job.
The cast is made up of mostly young actors, Emile Hirsch , John Robinson (who played John in Elephant!), Victor Rasuk and Michael Angarano. All of the actors are brilliant, Emile Hirsch who portays Jay Adams is especially good and captures the punk and carefree attitude of Adams brilliantly. Heath Ledger plays Skip Engblom, the owner of a surfboarding shop who forms the Z Boys and tells them to use Urethane Wheels in order to execute their surfing moves on wheels, I consider this one of Ledger's best roles to this day, I can't even begin to explain how good he is in it, you have to watch it to realise.
I really enjoyed this film, I think it was absolutely brilliant. One of my only criticisms is that people who haven't seen the aformentioned documentary or don't know the history of the Z Boys already might get lost within the storyline because of the amount of characters there is.
Other than that , it is absolutely fantastic.

The Incredible Hulk (2008)

I saw the Incredible Hulk just after it was released in cinemas and I could hardly believe how much of an improvement it was on the first film adaptation.
Being a fan of comics and the Marvel franchise in general, I was in anticipation for this film to come out. It was released just after Iron Man was and even though Iron Man was a large box office hit, I personally thought that the green machine was a lot better.
Unlike the first one (which I admit - I also like) this one doesen't just tell the story of the Hulk, it explains it quickly during the opening credits for people who don't already know , and then it gets on with a story more worthy of a movie.
Edward Norton plays Bruce Banner fantastically, his acting persona is perfect for this part. The bored and monotone traits best known through Fight Club are used flawlessly to portray Banner. Liv Tyler however is quite bland and not at full-form at all. She plays Betty (long time love problem for Banner/Hulk) and I can see why she wasn't used as extensively as she could have been if I'm honest. Tim Roth plays Emil Blonsky who becomes The Abomination and I think he is just as perfect for this role as Norton is for Banner. He is delightfully insane and power-mad towards the end, and is brilliant in being so.
The Incredible Hulk , whilst not rivalling Spiderman in the film franchises, is one of Marvel's biggest superheroes (literally) and this is a fantastic film , it is a shame that it didn't do better in the box office.

Juno (2007)

After attending a lecture concerning mainly narrative where the case study was Juno, I thought I'd post my opinions on it.
First of all - supposedly an indie sensation. The only thing remotely indie about it , is that the script came from an independant writer. The fact that Fox picked it up and it was produced by several of Fox's lesser companies clearly doesen't matter.
I will admit that the film is well filmed and the acting is very good in it. But as far as plots go , it is a huge disapointment. The concept is fresh, and it does go against typical hollywood scripts, but as the film progresses, the story goes no where. Moving from one trivial teenage problem to the next.
The soundtrack is sickeningly sweet, whilst it does perhaps go well with the film, it is hard to stomach the irritating attampts at innocent music that intrude every couple of minutes.
As far as acting is concerned - I think it was perhaps the best thing in the film. I do believe Ellen Page is a very good actress and as far as interviews are concerned, she sees content on doing nice, small budget pictures. Michael Cera is brilliant in the film - however, he is terribly underused. Only making a few noteworthy appearences even though he is by far the funniest part of the film.

Juno , as a whole , seems to be a film that some people love, and some people think could have been much, much better.

Choke (2008)

I have been looking forward to the release of Choke in Britain for some time, being a big fan of Chuck Palanuik's work. The last Palanuik film to be adapted to film was Fight Club and we all know how much of a staple that is in the world of films.
The film does differ slightly from the book, but to be honest , that was to be expected. Adapting a book to the big screen , expecially one like Choke, was always going to be difficult.

The cast was brilliant. Sam Rockwell plays Victor brilliantly, he really gave me the impression that he was confused, but just never showed it and that he was hopelessly always looking for his next sexual oppurtunity. Kelly Macdonald also gave an amazing performance as Paig Marshall. And of course - the brilliant Anjelica Huston was the icing on the cake.

I will admit that after the impressive mark Fight Club left on me , this wasn't as amazing as it could have been, but it's definately still worth a watch.

Zero Day (2003)

There is a lot of films based on the tragic collumbine high school shootings, perhaps the most noted being Gus Van Sant's Elephant (which I shall be writing something on another time). However the 2003 film Zero Day is one of those films that really sticks with you. It's brutally real and gives you a lot of insight to how the minds of the teenagers planning and commiting this violent act work.

The most obvious thing that sets this film apart from hundreds of others is the style of the camera work, it is filmed to look like the infamous 'home movies' that Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold filmed before they went through with their crime. When I heard about this film and the way it was filmed, I was wary, it can naturally go one of two ways. It could either be really badly done, being over-produced and 'Hollywood'd' and not at all acheiving what it is supposed to, or it could be really good and give the film a much more personal feel.

Director Ben Coccio really did an amaazing job in getting the actors (ameteur teenage actors) to act as if they really were the ones filming these videos to inform viewers of their impending attack.

I highly rate this film and think the way it puts across the raw and brutal reality is absolutely fantastic.

Wanted (2008)

I have been meaning to watch Wanted for some time now. Having read the comics in the past and seeing the cast including McAvoy and Jolie, I was as you may expect looking forward to it.
I have to admit as a whole , it was a fairly faithful adaptation of the comics, my only criticism on this front bring that it was a complete 'origin story'. When making origin films it can always go either one of two ways , it can be very informative and well accepted or it can be a boring and very mundane adaptation of something that comic readers have heard a hundred times (Iron Man). Although Wanted was an origin story , I did feel it was fair because it is based on more of an underground comic that a lot of people won't know the story to.
The character of Wesley Gibson is brilliantly portrayed by McAvoy. You really do feel for him and relate to him when you hear the overvoice saying what he really thinks whilst seeming to mindlessly agree with the other participant in the scene.
And... the woman we've all been waiting for , Angelina Jolie does a fantastic job of being The Fox, the sexy and independant assasain who befriends Gibson.
The film moves fast and does indeed keep me captivated, as far as straight forward action/comic films go, this is a brilliant one.