First, Leon/The Professional (1994). Thriller starring Jean Reno as a hitman, and Natalie Portman as a young girl who becomes a sort of apprentice. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Probably one of the best films I've seen recently. Funny though, all the way through I couldn't help thinking about the Bond connection - composer Eric Serra. I could hear the Goldeneye sound throughout. Obviously it worked better in this film though.
Next, I watched Defiance (2008). WWII film about a band of Jewish partisan fighters in the forests of Belarus. Pretty good stuff, with Daniel Craig in the lead. Not a classic by any means, but a good solid piece of work.
Hardly dated action movie, superb stuff with Travolta and Cage putting in great performances and pitch perfect direction by John Woo, who has yet to follow up this Hollywood calling card to any effect. No wonder TND seemed so drab having seen this a few months earlier. NB the excellent boat chase at the end and compare with the drab pts of TWINE, which is one of those ooh! Bond's boat has nearly caught up, no it hasn't, okay chuck in a pointless barrol roll for the hell of it type thing.
Oh, and 20 mins of Pirates: Dead Men's Chest. I can see why I didn't like this, it's visually unappealing and a bit horrid and tragic, all the poor ship's crew covered in barnacles, and that tentacled villain somehow isn't plausbile, though why the dead ghouls of the first one should be more plausable I don't know.
"This is where we leave you Mr Bond."
Roger Moore 1927-2017
LoeffelholzThe United States, With LovePosts: 8,998Quartermasters
"The Hangover, Part II"
Saw this one on one of my forays out with the Loeffelholz Boys...if you enjoyed the first one, you'll like this one as well. A bit darker than the last one, but still a hell of a lot of fun. The monkey steals the show... )
Check out my Amazon author page!Mark Loeffelholz
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
X-Men First Class: easily the best X-Men film to date, captures the feel of the comic book with a better mix of plotting/characters/issues than any of the first three films. Michael Fassbender and Kevin Bacon make a pretty awesome combative duo, and Jennifer Lawrence surprisingly turns in one of the most rounded performances yet in a superhero film. The many adult flourishes Vaughn mixes in will likely hurt it at the box office, but I'm pretty happy, it's the X-Men film I've been waiting for.
Latest from Woody Allen, which I quite enjoyed. Owen Wilson plays a successful schlock-film screenwriter who yearns to be a serious writer living in a more enlightened time -- specifically, Paris in the 1920s. On a visit to the City of Lights with his shallow fiancee and her family, he ends up being magically transported back to that time, where he encounters Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Cole Porter, Pablo Picasso, Gertrude Stein, Salvador Dali and other of his heroes, all in the prime of their creativity and influence. His tour guide is a fictional mistress of Picasso's (played by the lovely Marian Cotillard) with whom he becomes smitten but who is just as disillusioned by the 1920s as he is by the 2010s.
This is familiar territory for Woody Allen -- a sentimental film that pines for a better time in the past. He photographs Paris as lovingly as he has Manhattan so many times. Now that Allen has stopped playing his own leading man (thank goodness) Owen Wilson is the latest actor to inhabit the "Woody" character -- complete with rumpled clothes, a whiny voice, and unfulfilled dreams. Wilson is very good at it. Other major players include Rachel McAdams as the fiancee with few redeeming qualities, and Michael Sheen in a great role as a pretentious know-it-all (another stock character in so many of Allen's films -- see Alan Alda in Crimes and Misdemeanors).
What made this film better than just another Woody Allen rerun was the ensemble cast (including a few big names in amusing cameos), the music (any jazz-lover will be in heaven) and the humor (more than many of his recent films, including one late scene that reminded me of his early-1970s slapstick work). Of course, there are a million plot holes (time travel -- hello?) but the whole thing works really well.
All in all, a very pleasant surprise.
Hilly...you old devil!
LoeffelholzThe United States, With LovePosts: 8,998Quartermasters
"X-Men: First Class"
Well, we know that reboots are all the rage...but here's the kicker: This film is excellent, in my humble opinion---a tour de force of period-piece comic book fun that had me (and the Loeffelholz Boys) grinning from ear to ear. Great action, solid special effects, a great story...and masterful performances, especially from James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender as the younger Charles Xavier and Erik (Magneto) Lensherr, respectively, with true emotional depth and conviction. The script was pretty tight as well, save for a couple of the normal sorts of plot holes that tend to come with the territory.
First class, indeed; I'd put this one right near the top of any list of best Marvel films you'd care to conjure up. Rose Byrne is lovely, as always, as Moira McTaggart, and January Jones (Holy God!! :x ) as Emma Frost light up the screen. Jennifer Lawrence does an excellent, melancholy younger Raven/Mystique. A couple of very nice cameos as well
Whenever reviewing a comic book film, I tend to keep quite a bit of my powder dry, as such things are always very subjective and hotly debatable. Some purists would bemoan the absence of Cyclops, Jean Grey, etc., from this first class of Xavier's School...but we've seen them already, so...seeing Havoc and Banshee was pretty cool B-)
Highly recommended; a very solid 4 out of 5 stars on the Loeffelholz Scale.
Check out my Amazon author page!Mark Loeffelholz
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
Watched True Grit last night. I like the original John Wayne film, and I like the Coen Brothers' film making style and some of their idiosyncricities throughout their films so it should have been alright. Sadly I felt throughout that it just didn't hit the mark. I found most of the accents difficult to hear and understand, Bridges in particular as he played gnarled and grizzled a little too much, and found myself getting what they said at the expense of missing part of the next line. I'm sure it was authentic use of vocabulary and accent of the time, given that there would have been a mix of ethnicity in those parts, but it was difficult to understand nonetheless.
I didn't get the bear suit guy at all, and Rooster Cogburn's reaction to him is odd. The action scenes were not as good as the original either, and nor did the final showdown on the plain have the same rush. This is a classic moment - reins between the teeth, charging down oponants on horseback - it opitomises John Wayne, yet fails to deliver Bridges in the same way. The snake pit even lacked any tension...
I won't go on, but I was planning on buying this on blueray, but saved about fifteen pounds watching it on box office instead - very pleased about that.
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The Mechanic. Another remake for me, but this one was pretty good. Jason Stratham as Bronson's assassin worked well, and the film moves along nicely with the original plot kept pretty close to. Brought up to date with technology this is a film that works well. Generally a seasoned hitman goes through the cliches of living alone, prostitutes, classical music and the cold, calculated planning of his trade. Takes on a protoge' for reasons I won't ruin the film for you with, trains him - but can he keep the status quo? If you've seen the original, then you'll know. This is a good action film to lose your self in for the evening. Nothing taxing, but sometimes that's exactly what you need...
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The Mechanic. Another remake for me, but this one was pretty good. Jason Stratham as Bronson's assassin worked well, and the film moves along nicely with the original plot kept pretty close to. Brought up to date with technology this is a film that works well. Generally a seasoned hitman goes through the cliches of living alone, prostitutes, classical music and the cold, calculated planning of his trade. Takes on a protoge' for reasons I won't ruin the film for you with, trains him - but can he keep the status quo? If you've seen the original, then you'll know. This is a good action film to lose your self in for the evening. Nothing taxing, but sometimes that's exactly what you need...
Well said, tsa. I enjoyed this one, too. Great for what it is.
Check out my Amazon author page!Mark Loeffelholz
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
Quirky low budget teen angst film from that guy who was in The IT Crowd. In that sense, it suprasses expectations and I mostly sort of enjoyed it, you do get the feeling he knew how to do the set up, but not follow through. It's set in Wales, and has seems borrowed from a number of similar movies like Rushmore, The Graduate, Harold & Maude, where the lead is this socially awkward, anti-social type with variable charimsa. I didn't really have a reason to care too much about him or the girl he picks up, both seemed a bit unsympathetic and you wouldn't think the film lasted only 90 minutes or so. All the same, it has a few surprises.
Wasn't going to miss the chance to see this on the big screen, Prince Charles cinema. That said, it wasn't that big - the picture is box-shaped, even more so that the likes of Dr No, which made it a good fit for the old TV set, but not for modern cinemas geared up for widescreen. The picture quality wasn't remastered either, nor the sound quality too good. It was released through Park Royal, it was the same problem with GF a few years back, in term of sound. It just wasn't very cinematic.
Great movie though and it quickly drew me in, surprisingly young crowd too. The nervy, highly strung behaviour of Hannay's unexpected visitor sets the tone for the film, though why doesn't he pick up the phone? What's the worst that could happen? That said, these days you'd be thinking, wow, she's a mad old bat and maybe the guys are trying to warn him she's a nutter.
Later, Donat seems to be anticipating James Bond in his smirky delivery, the ride in the police car with the blonde is like that of Moore and Bach in TSWLM.
Paul. I love Nick Frost and Simon Pegg films - Hot Fuzz and Shawn of the Dead were great (and I can't be the only person to have watched both series of Spaced - but I never meet anyone else who did! ). This was just as good and had the key ingredients for this sort of Brit flick. Two sci-fi nerds go to the sc-fi exhibition in California, then take a camper van through the alien belt ie. Area 51, Roswell and the other sites of so called alien activity - with some great scenes and characters along the way. Jason Bateman (a cousin once removed of mine!!! ) plays a good Men in Black kind of role and even casual in-and-out sci-fi fans like myself can see many subtle references to other films along the way. Obviously the two nerds meet a real alien, and so an ET kind of chase is on to help him escape the dreaded US government. Paul is a great film after a shi**y day at work and an ideal way to lose yourself for an hour and a half.
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Tron: Legacy. It's always been a mystery to me that Tron has become such a cult classic. I first saw it back in the day--I was in high school--and though I then didn't have these words for it, the movie struck me as an atrophied, plotless excuse for hip '80s computer graphics. This sequel now strikes me as an atrophied, plotless homage to the trashiest parts of '80s culture. The computer-generated Jeff Bridges was kind of cool, though. . .
The Reader. It's a very powerful film, set in post-war Germany about a romance between a young boy and an older woman, who suddenly disappears, only to emerge again 8 years later on trial for war crimes, and was subsequently convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. He struggles with his love for her, and disdain for the horrors of the events that she allegedly committed during the war.
Brilliant performances by the actors - Ralph Fiennes, Kate Winslet and German youngster David Kross. I loved this film.
Not quite a film, but have just finished watching'The Kennedy's'. It has received a lot of bad press from both political and media spheres. I think it shows what needed to be shown and hasn't at all swayed my opinion of arguably the best leader America has ever had. Well worth a watch. -{
The Green Hornet
I can't say I was much of a follower of the Green Hornet character in any of it's many forms, but I enjoyed what little exposure I had to it. That being said, I think a more appropriate title for this film would have been 'What if...Seth Rogen was The Green Hornet?' It made for some chuckles here and there, and the real star of the movie was the Black Beauty - upstaging even Kato's impressive martial arts skills simply by looking good. In all, watchable but doesn't seem like there's much to come back to.
Hmmm, I should be getting Green Hornet from Netflix today or tomorrow. In the meantime, I watched I Love You, Philip Morris, a movie I actually thought would be about the tobacco company. It turns out to be a comedy-drama with Jim Carrey as a real-life con man and prison-escape artist who puts all on the line for his lover, Ewan MacGregor. I don't think this film got much of a release, but it's pretty entertaining and has one of Carrey's best performances: some heart and depth, with enough mugging to keep his fans happy. I can only imagine that the movie's obscurity is due to this one detail: the content, and some of the action, is, in the words of Carrey's character, "Gay, gay, gay, gay, GAY!"
The Reader. It's a very powerful film, set in post-war Germany about a romance between a young boy and an older woman, who suddenly disappears, only to emerge again 8 years later on trial for war crimes, and was subsequently convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. He struggles with his love for her, and disdain for the horrors of the events that she allegedly committed during the war.
Brilliant performances by the actors - Ralph Fiennes, Kate Winslet and German youngster David Kross. I loved this film.
I too saw this recently - quality performances all round. And not just Kate Winslet's many nude and sex scenes! :v
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The Green Hornet. . .I think a more appropriate title for this film would have been 'What if...Seth Rogen was The Green Hornet?'
Well, Netflix did deliver it and I saw it, and I have to agree with your review, DH. To me the Number One problem was that Rogen the screenwriter didn't write a great character Rogen the actor could play UP to; instead, he wrote DOWN the character so Rogen could easily play him. As a result, we get yet another hard-partying, slovenly man-child who reluctantly learns to be a little more mature. All the Rogenesque quirks are there, and I think the only reason Brett doesn't smoke doobies or constantly use the F-word is because they would have earned the movie an R rating. As it is, I don't think any other page-to-screen superhero has used the typical Anglo-Saxonisms for defecation, testicles, and rectums as much as Rogen's Green Hornet.
Number Two problem was the political correctness. Granted, the stereotypical Asian manservant wouldn't play well today; by all means, make Kato the equal partner of GH. But this movie goes overboard, making Kato the brains, the skill, and the power. Even the Cameron Diaz character is given all the insight into criminal behavior. This leaves us with a "hero" who just goes along for the ride, cracks jokes, and gets into trouble while the smarter characters do the heavy lifting.
If you gotta see a Green hero, take in the Lantern!
Vox clamantis in deserto
LoeffelholzThe United States, With LovePosts: 8,998Quartermasters
I always try to see a movie on my birthday...and today it was
"Super 8"
at my old childhood movie palace in Lincoln, Illinois...this J.J. Abrams film is, in the final analysis, a good old-fashioned monster movie, really. Set in 1979, and replete with fantastic period cars, cultural references and hairdos, this picture has a subtle tongue planted firmly in-cheek and lovingly serves up some of my favourite monster movie conventions: misunderstood youth, forbidden teenage relationships, rebellion from authority...and a great monster that we don't really get to see until late in Act 2 B-)
It all gets a bit screwy in Act 3, as many such films tend to do, but nevertheless I had a fantastic time...and since I graduated from school with the guy that owns the theatre, I got in for free tonight :007) I love living in a small town!
Recommended for anyone who isn't expecting James Whale's 1935 Bride of Frankenstein...or even the original The Blob. 3 out of 5 stars.
Check out my Amazon author page!Mark Loeffelholz
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
Sam Witwicki, his new hot girlfriend Carly and our favorite robots in disguise are back for another adventure. This time around the story revolves around some mysterious Autobot technology which, if it falls into the evil metals hands of the Decepticons, could spell doom for our civilization. In a pretty original touch, the film casts the American space program and 1960s space race as a cover-up to explore an alien spaceship which crashed on the moon. While the astronauts don't realize it at the time, they have actually stumbled onto our first meeting with the Transformers. Flash forward to the present and we find Sam struggling with the demands of his now mundane life and feelings of inferiority with Carly. When the Autobots discover the derelict ship and find their leader Sentinel Prime within, events are set in motion for another vile Decepticon plot with Earth hanging in the balance.
Michael Bay's Transformers movies have always been quirky affairs, mixing action with oddball characters and situations, and Transformers 3 also suffers from this to some degree. The scenes with Sam's parents are as cringeworthy as ever but Simmons isn't nearly over the top and while some of the secondary Transformers are a bit flaky we never get anything as absurd as the homeboy twins from part 2.
After the clever opening act on the moon, the action drags down a bit as we see Sam dealing with his issues but by the time we get to the big confrontation in the third act the movie is running on all cylinders. As I watched it I was thinking how this is what an Earth vs. Skynet conflict in a Terminator movie should look like. The last hour of the movie presents a dramatic shift in tone; everyone becomes deadly serious and we get some pretty graphic depictions of people being killed and imagery that evokes 9/11 and other national tragedies. After the semi-lighthearted fare of the first two acts the sudden shift is jarring but holds your attention and helps to sell the action.
Overall the cast is fine and while nearly everyone is an over the top stereotype, that kind of extreme works here. Having Leonard Nimoy voice Sentinel Prime was a nice little touch and its obvious that the filmmakers are big Trek fans as there are several little homages throughout the film (an episode of the old series playing on the TV in Sam's apartment early on gives a pretty major clue as to where the storyline will go if you know your Trek lore). Rose Huntington Whitely is pretty to look at as Sam's new squeeze but to be honest, I missed Megan Fox as her off-screen antics were just as fun to watch as her in-movie action.
I also have to give credit to Michael Bay; he doesn't leave anything on the table and puts every penny up on the screen. The film can be visually overwhelming at times with layers of action occurring within the same scene. He was also able to change his style of filmmaking to help it co-exist with 3D photography and the movie delivers lots and lots of great 3D imagery. The visual appearance of the Autobots vs. Decepticons is more well defined than in prior movies and Bay's use of slo-mo for key sequences helped sell the 3D effect and make the action easier to follow. Bay shot the film natively in 3D and you can easily see the difference as opposed to a post-converted feature.
Overall, Transformers 3 is a fun film with some solid 3D that even trumps Avatar and I'm looking forward to seeing it at home on my own 3D rig in a few months.
I did not read Tony's complete review until after seeing the film this evening, having now read it, I agree with everything he says. The movie is over the top, but a great deal of fun. As Tony said, the cast is excellent, with John Malkovich and Frances McDormand being added in support roles. I agree with Tony that Megan Fox is missed, as Rose Huntington Whitely is attractive, but I never believed her character and she lacked some of the spunk Fox showed in the previous films. Luckily, John Turturro is back in his entertaining role as Agent Simmons. I was happy to see the parent's screen time being cut back, as I saw far too much of them in the second Transformer movie.
The film is visually stunning, Tony describes that better than I can, but I can say it was well worth paying an extra two bucks for. The storyline is actually relatively compelling and the action scenes improved from Transformers 2, I actually knew who was fighting whom.
Roger Ebert a critic I once enjoyed, hated the film and said it was one of his worst experiences at the movies. Well Roger, you are dead wrong, this film was meant to be a summer time, action filled, visually stunning, fun film and it delivered.
Roger Ebert a critic I once enjoyed, hated the film and said it was one of his worst experiences at the movies. Well Roger, you are dead wrong, this film was meant to be a summer time, action filled, visually stunning, fun film and it delivered.
I stopped reading Ebert's reviews years ago when it became apparent that his opinions of a movie had become more based on his mood than on the film's actual merits; he once even admitted as much when giving a positive review to Scooby Doo 2 and mentioning in the body of the review that he must have been in a bad mood when he panned the first film. He also famously gaffed on many plot points in JJ Abrams' Star Trek and when the Trekkies called him in on it he admitted to not paying attention because he simply didn't care. I've never cared for critics but that kind of lax attitude rendered his opinion completely useless to me.
Getting back to Transformers 3, Malkovich was hilarious and it was obvious he was enjoying himself as he chewed the scenery; too bad he pretty much disappears half way thru the movie.
LoeffelholzThe United States, With LovePosts: 8,998Quartermasters
Well, Tony and Barry have both written similar reviews to what I'd probably have written for
"Transformers: Dark of the Moon"
...It is what it is. I happen to know that Michael Bay was very proud to be working with the very same cameras that James Cameron used, and took his approach to the proceedings very seriously. He's a kind director to his actors, whilst something of a tyrant to his crew, and keeps a lot of plates spinning at the tops of sticks as he does his thing. Whether or not it's art is up to the individual. I enjoyed it, as did Loeff Jr and Loeff III. I got a text message from Another Loeff on Thursday night from the Paramount lot, as he attended the cast and crew premiere in the lovely theatre they have there. He was very gratified to that his last line in the film got a good laugh from the crowd.
Tough to separate emotion from analysis on this one. I liked it
Check out my Amazon author page!Mark Loeffelholz
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
The 2010 version of True Grit. Man, only the Coen brothers would have the cojones to remake a John Wayne classic; and only the Coens could knock that version clear out of the park. While the original was a lively adventure, sparked by John Wayne playing John Wayne with an eye patch and drinking problem, this one is a symbolic, metaphorical dark comedy with great performances all around. Loved it!
Buried, in which Ryan Reynolds acts out the critical response to and apparent box office fate of Green Lantern. I kid. Reynolds plays a guy who wakes up buried alive in a coffin--and the entire movie stays on him and with him for 90 minutes, unfolding in real time. Not without its flaws (it slips in a political message about the morality of the U.S. being in Iraq), but a decent thriller.
The Adjustment Bureau. Despite some great chemistry and decent acting between Matt Damon and Emily Blunt I couldn't really get down with this film. Terrance Stamp was severely under-utilised, and as a result was neither here nor there in the film. Damon's character is a successful young politician, the youngest to congressman to run as New York senetor, when he stumbles upon a group of "beings" who control fate. His path has crossed with Elise, a beautiful dancer and they click perfectly. But it's not the plan and the bureau intervenes - que Matrix/Truman Show/Big Brother type control and a lot of Damon looking worried as he runs. It's basically a love story, and sloppy one at that. It's kind of trailored as an action/adventure type of film and as a result I was just waiting for it to get going right up to the credits. In fact, Emily Blunt is brought into the truth of the plot so far towards the end that she simply can't act accordingly, or convincingly. A shame, because she's actually a good actress throughout. A pretty poor effort and waste of time and money for me...
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Comments
First, Leon/The Professional (1994). Thriller starring Jean Reno as a hitman, and Natalie Portman as a young girl who becomes a sort of apprentice. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Probably one of the best films I've seen recently. Funny though, all the way through I couldn't help thinking about the Bond connection - composer Eric Serra. I could hear the Goldeneye sound throughout. Obviously it worked better in this film though.
Next, I watched Defiance (2008). WWII film about a band of Jewish partisan fighters in the forests of Belarus. Pretty good stuff, with Daniel Craig in the lead. Not a classic by any means, but a good solid piece of work.
Hardly dated action movie, superb stuff with Travolta and Cage putting in great performances and pitch perfect direction by John Woo, who has yet to follow up this Hollywood calling card to any effect. No wonder TND seemed so drab having seen this a few months earlier. NB the excellent boat chase at the end and compare with the drab pts of TWINE, which is one of those ooh! Bond's boat has nearly caught up, no it hasn't, okay chuck in a pointless barrol roll for the hell of it type thing.
Oh, and 20 mins of Pirates: Dead Men's Chest. I can see why I didn't like this, it's visually unappealing and a bit horrid and tragic, all the poor ship's crew covered in barnacles, and that tentacled villain somehow isn't plausbile, though why the dead ghouls of the first one should be more plausable I don't know.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Saw this one on one of my forays out with the Loeffelholz Boys...if you enjoyed the first one, you'll like this one as well. A bit darker than the last one, but still a hell of a lot of fun. The monkey steals the show...
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
Latest from Woody Allen, which I quite enjoyed. Owen Wilson plays a successful schlock-film screenwriter who yearns to be a serious writer living in a more enlightened time -- specifically, Paris in the 1920s. On a visit to the City of Lights with his shallow fiancee and her family, he ends up being magically transported back to that time, where he encounters Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Cole Porter, Pablo Picasso, Gertrude Stein, Salvador Dali and other of his heroes, all in the prime of their creativity and influence. His tour guide is a fictional mistress of Picasso's (played by the lovely Marian Cotillard) with whom he becomes smitten but who is just as disillusioned by the 1920s as he is by the 2010s.
This is familiar territory for Woody Allen -- a sentimental film that pines for a better time in the past. He photographs Paris as lovingly as he has Manhattan so many times. Now that Allen has stopped playing his own leading man (thank goodness) Owen Wilson is the latest actor to inhabit the "Woody" character -- complete with rumpled clothes, a whiny voice, and unfulfilled dreams. Wilson is very good at it. Other major players include Rachel McAdams as the fiancee with few redeeming qualities, and Michael Sheen in a great role as a pretentious know-it-all (another stock character in so many of Allen's films -- see Alan Alda in Crimes and Misdemeanors).
What made this film better than just another Woody Allen rerun was the ensemble cast (including a few big names in amusing cameos), the music (any jazz-lover will be in heaven) and the humor (more than many of his recent films, including one late scene that reminded me of his early-1970s slapstick work). Of course, there are a million plot holes (time travel -- hello?) but the whole thing works really well.
All in all, a very pleasant surprise.
Well, we know that reboots are all the rage...but here's the kicker: This film is excellent, in my humble opinion---a tour de force of period-piece comic book fun that had me (and the Loeffelholz Boys) grinning from ear to ear. Great action, solid special effects, a great story...and masterful performances, especially from James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender as the younger Charles Xavier and Erik (Magneto) Lensherr, respectively, with true emotional depth and conviction. The script was pretty tight as well, save for a couple of the normal sorts of plot holes that tend to come with the territory.
First class, indeed; I'd put this one right near the top of any list of best Marvel films you'd care to conjure up. Rose Byrne is lovely, as always, as Moira McTaggart, and January Jones (Holy God!! :x ) as Emma Frost light up the screen. Jennifer Lawrence does an excellent, melancholy younger Raven/Mystique. A couple of very nice cameos as well
Whenever reviewing a comic book film, I tend to keep quite a bit of my powder dry, as such things are always very subjective and hotly debatable. Some purists would bemoan the absence of Cyclops, Jean Grey, etc., from this first class of Xavier's School...but we've seen them already, so...seeing Havoc and Banshee was pretty cool B-)
Highly recommended; a very solid 4 out of 5 stars on the Loeffelholz Scale.
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
I didn't get the bear suit guy at all, and Rooster Cogburn's reaction to him is odd. The action scenes were not as good as the original either, and nor did the final showdown on the plain have the same rush. This is a classic moment - reins between the teeth, charging down oponants on horseback - it opitomises John Wayne, yet fails to deliver Bridges in the same way. The snake pit even lacked any tension...
I won't go on, but I was planning on buying this on blueray, but saved about fifteen pounds watching it on box office instead - very pleased about that.
http://apbateman.com
http://apbateman.com
Well said, tsa. I enjoyed this one, too. Great for what it is.
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
Quirky low budget teen angst film from that guy who was in The IT Crowd. In that sense, it suprasses expectations and I mostly sort of enjoyed it, you do get the feeling he knew how to do the set up, but not follow through. It's set in Wales, and has seems borrowed from a number of similar movies like Rushmore, The Graduate, Harold & Maude, where the lead is this socially awkward, anti-social type with variable charimsa. I didn't really have a reason to care too much about him or the girl he picks up, both seemed a bit unsympathetic and you wouldn't think the film lasted only 90 minutes or so. All the same, it has a few surprises.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Picked this up at walmart and was properly blown away. Stunning transfer, gorgeous film, and beautiful music. I love Blu ray.
Wasn't going to miss the chance to see this on the big screen, Prince Charles cinema. That said, it wasn't that big - the picture is box-shaped, even more so that the likes of Dr No, which made it a good fit for the old TV set, but not for modern cinemas geared up for widescreen. The picture quality wasn't remastered either, nor the sound quality too good. It was released through Park Royal, it was the same problem with GF a few years back, in term of sound. It just wasn't very cinematic.
Great movie though and it quickly drew me in, surprisingly young crowd too. The nervy, highly strung behaviour of Hannay's unexpected visitor sets the tone for the film, though why doesn't he pick up the phone? What's the worst that could happen? That said, these days you'd be thinking, wow, she's a mad old bat and maybe the guys are trying to warn him she's a nutter.
Later, Donat seems to be anticipating James Bond in his smirky delivery, the ride in the police car with the blonde is like that of Moore and Bach in TSWLM.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
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Brilliant performances by the actors - Ralph Fiennes, Kate Winslet and German youngster David Kross. I loved this film.
I can't say I was much of a follower of the Green Hornet character in any of it's many forms, but I enjoyed what little exposure I had to it. That being said, I think a more appropriate title for this film would have been 'What if...Seth Rogen was The Green Hornet?' It made for some chuckles here and there, and the real star of the movie was the Black Beauty - upstaging even Kato's impressive martial arts skills simply by looking good. In all, watchable but doesn't seem like there's much to come back to.
I too saw this recently - quality performances all round. And not just Kate Winslet's many nude and sex scenes! :v
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Well, Netflix did deliver it and I saw it, and I have to agree with your review, DH. To me the Number One problem was that Rogen the screenwriter didn't write a great character Rogen the actor could play UP to; instead, he wrote DOWN the character so Rogen could easily play him. As a result, we get yet another hard-partying, slovenly man-child who reluctantly learns to be a little more mature. All the Rogenesque quirks are there, and I think the only reason Brett doesn't smoke doobies or constantly use the F-word is because they would have earned the movie an R rating. As it is, I don't think any other page-to-screen superhero has used the typical Anglo-Saxonisms for defecation, testicles, and rectums as much as Rogen's Green Hornet.
Number Two problem was the political correctness. Granted, the stereotypical Asian manservant wouldn't play well today; by all means, make Kato the equal partner of GH. But this movie goes overboard, making Kato the brains, the skill, and the power. Even the Cameron Diaz character is given all the insight into criminal behavior. This leaves us with a "hero" who just goes along for the ride, cracks jokes, and gets into trouble while the smarter characters do the heavy lifting.
If you gotta see a Green hero, take in the Lantern!
"Super 8"
at my old childhood movie palace in Lincoln, Illinois...this J.J. Abrams film is, in the final analysis, a good old-fashioned monster movie, really. Set in 1979, and replete with fantastic period cars, cultural references and hairdos, this picture has a subtle tongue planted firmly in-cheek and lovingly serves up some of my favourite monster movie conventions: misunderstood youth, forbidden teenage relationships, rebellion from authority...and a great monster that we don't really get to see until late in Act 2 B-)
It all gets a bit screwy in Act 3, as many such films tend to do, but nevertheless I had a fantastic time...and since I graduated from school with the guy that owns the theatre, I got in for free tonight :007) I love living in a small town!
Recommended for anyone who isn't expecting James Whale's 1935 Bride of Frankenstein...or even the original The Blob. 3 out of 5 stars.
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
Sam Witwicki, his new hot girlfriend Carly and our favorite robots in disguise are back for another adventure. This time around the story revolves around some mysterious Autobot technology which, if it falls into the evil metals hands of the Decepticons, could spell doom for our civilization. In a pretty original touch, the film casts the American space program and 1960s space race as a cover-up to explore an alien spaceship which crashed on the moon. While the astronauts don't realize it at the time, they have actually stumbled onto our first meeting with the Transformers. Flash forward to the present and we find Sam struggling with the demands of his now mundane life and feelings of inferiority with Carly. When the Autobots discover the derelict ship and find their leader Sentinel Prime within, events are set in motion for another vile Decepticon plot with Earth hanging in the balance.
Michael Bay's Transformers movies have always been quirky affairs, mixing action with oddball characters and situations, and Transformers 3 also suffers from this to some degree. The scenes with Sam's parents are as cringeworthy as ever but Simmons isn't nearly over the top and while some of the secondary Transformers are a bit flaky we never get anything as absurd as the homeboy twins from part 2.
After the clever opening act on the moon, the action drags down a bit as we see Sam dealing with his issues but by the time we get to the big confrontation in the third act the movie is running on all cylinders. As I watched it I was thinking how this is what an Earth vs. Skynet conflict in a Terminator movie should look like. The last hour of the movie presents a dramatic shift in tone; everyone becomes deadly serious and we get some pretty graphic depictions of people being killed and imagery that evokes 9/11 and other national tragedies. After the semi-lighthearted fare of the first two acts the sudden shift is jarring but holds your attention and helps to sell the action.
Overall the cast is fine and while nearly everyone is an over the top stereotype, that kind of extreme works here. Having Leonard Nimoy voice Sentinel Prime was a nice little touch and its obvious that the filmmakers are big Trek fans as there are several little homages throughout the film (an episode of the old series playing on the TV in Sam's apartment early on gives a pretty major clue as to where the storyline will go if you know your Trek lore). Rose Huntington Whitely is pretty to look at as Sam's new squeeze but to be honest, I missed Megan Fox as her off-screen antics were just as fun to watch as her in-movie action.
I also have to give credit to Michael Bay; he doesn't leave anything on the table and puts every penny up on the screen. The film can be visually overwhelming at times with layers of action occurring within the same scene. He was also able to change his style of filmmaking to help it co-exist with 3D photography and the movie delivers lots and lots of great 3D imagery. The visual appearance of the Autobots vs. Decepticons is more well defined than in prior movies and Bay's use of slo-mo for key sequences helped sell the 3D effect and make the action easier to follow. Bay shot the film natively in 3D and you can easily see the difference as opposed to a post-converted feature.
Overall, Transformers 3 is a fun film with some solid 3D that even trumps Avatar and I'm looking forward to seeing it at home on my own 3D rig in a few months.
I did not read Tony's complete review until after seeing the film this evening, having now read it, I agree with everything he says. The movie is over the top, but a great deal of fun. As Tony said, the cast is excellent, with John Malkovich and Frances McDormand being added in support roles. I agree with Tony that Megan Fox is missed, as Rose Huntington Whitely is attractive, but I never believed her character and she lacked some of the spunk Fox showed in the previous films. Luckily, John Turturro is back in his entertaining role as Agent Simmons. I was happy to see the parent's screen time being cut back, as I saw far too much of them in the second Transformer movie.
The film is visually stunning, Tony describes that better than I can, but I can say it was well worth paying an extra two bucks for. The storyline is actually relatively compelling and the action scenes improved from Transformers 2, I actually knew who was fighting whom.
Roger Ebert a critic I once enjoyed, hated the film and said it was one of his worst experiences at the movies. Well Roger, you are dead wrong, this film was meant to be a summer time, action filled, visually stunning, fun film and it delivered.
I stopped reading Ebert's reviews years ago when it became apparent that his opinions of a movie had become more based on his mood than on the film's actual merits; he once even admitted as much when giving a positive review to Scooby Doo 2 and mentioning in the body of the review that he must have been in a bad mood when he panned the first film. He also famously gaffed on many plot points in JJ Abrams' Star Trek and when the Trekkies called him in on it he admitted to not paying attention because he simply didn't care. I've never cared for critics but that kind of lax attitude rendered his opinion completely useless to me.
Getting back to Transformers 3, Malkovich was hilarious and it was obvious he was enjoying himself as he chewed the scenery; too bad he pretty much disappears half way thru the movie.
"Transformers: Dark of the Moon"
...It is what it is. I happen to know that Michael Bay was very proud to be working with the very same cameras that James Cameron used, and took his approach to the proceedings very seriously. He's a kind director to his actors, whilst something of a tyrant to his crew, and keeps a lot of plates spinning at the tops of sticks as he does his thing. Whether or not it's art is up to the individual. I enjoyed it, as did Loeff Jr and Loeff III. I got a text message from Another Loeff on Thursday night from the Paramount lot, as he attended the cast and crew premiere in the lovely theatre they have there. He was very gratified to that his last line in the film got a good laugh from the crowd.
Tough to separate emotion from analysis on this one. I liked it
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
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