Lincoln: Movie Review – Daniel Day-Lewis should clear a space on his shelf.

My esteemed co blogger on betterthanimdb compiled a top ten actors list about 6 months ago. At the top, even though he said it was not in the categorised order was Daniel Day-Lewis. I argued “how can he be there, he hasn’t done hardly anything?” What he had done was fantastic I agreed, but still not enough to be in the top 3. That was until I watch Lincoln. The movie as a whole was quite fascinating; Spielberg’s attention to detail is flawless.  Where this movie grabs your attention is the elegant work of Daniel Day-Lewis, for me it’s definitely the finest piece of acting this year.  What makes it the greatest performance this year is the fact that everyone around him is so good and he still is the stand out.

The story takes forever and a day to gets where it’s going, they could probably have chopped and changed things here and there to really push for the movie of the year, it felt to safe at times. The movie was all about solo performances for me, not a bad thing though, because that in its self makes this movie very watchable.

For me it’s Spielberg’s best work since Saving Private Ryan.

8/10

Yappy

Taken 2 (2012) Movie review – Neeson is the best cold caller in the world,let’s hope he never works in India or we could all be in trouble!

Everybody loved Taken 1,mainly because it was a great film but secondly there was a shock value of finding out Liam Neeson is one bad ass when he wants to be.

This movie was never gonna hit the heights of the first because of the earlier mention’s but I still enjoyed Liam’s performance and his tarmac voice,he seems at his best when talking on the phone for some reason,I have never watched anyone put so much emotion into a phone call!

The plot of this sequel was not bad,the bad guys want revenge so in turn decide to TAKE Liam and his whole family,the disappointing aspect was the lack of real fear,in the first movie I really felt that his daughter had been raped and turned into a prostitute,I felt sympathy for Liam and anger for the evil guys,in this version you have a few pissed off relatives who are lacking somewhat in the evil stakes,they just feel and act like domino’s waiting for Liam to turn up to knock them down.

Good popcorn movie at best.

7/10

KO

Pitch Perfect: Movie Review – It was for the blog! Honest….

I was giving the chance to watch this movie at my local cinema for free! A season gift to our members so they said. Not wanted to pass the chance of anything for free, specially a movie, I took them up on their kind offer and decided to give it ago. I knew nothing at all before I went in about this movie, but I sure learnt a lot by the end!
Is something is “free” then there has to be a reason why?

The reason for their generous gift was pretty evident when I walked into the screening; it was me and about 4 other people. Either I was the only member or the other 100 empty free seats knew something I didn’t.

Well it wasn’t long before I realised what they knew and I never! I was about to watch and genre of movie that I despise…. karaoke on crack. The only thing missing was the words on the bottom of the screen so I and these four teenagers could sing-a-long. I thought after her role in End of Watch Anna Kendrick’s may have decided that she was going to get serious about which roles she’s going play from now on, but… No! It was an obvious mis-cast when she ended up in End of Watch. At the time I wondered how she got the roll, definitely not her type of movie. Beyond doubt this was the type of movie I’m used to seeing her in and for the reason I do my best to avoid them. You may have guessed that I wasn’t a fan of this movie by now. There’s one character in the movie I did like and that’s the one played by Rebel Wilson(Fat Amy), they nailed her characteristics perfectly; she has all the best lines. That wasn’t enough for me to not want to crawl up my own arse though and hide.

By the looks of things I might be in the minority of people that didn’t enjoy this movie?

3/10

Yappy

The man with the iron fist’s (2012) Movie review – Wait for it to come out on VHS

God this was painful to watch,it’s narrated by RZA(known for his hip hop,not narrating an ancient story)

The Asian characters all talk in thick American accents which I am sure was intended as weird and wacky but just comes off as strange.

Russel Crowe has piled on the pounds and now looks like Rik Mayall,the dialogue was so embarrasing at times that Tyler Perry would be happy to lay claim to it.

Why Tarrantino presents this I do not know,good job he didn’t direct it, this flop could have finished his career.

Avoid, until it comes out on VHS.

0/10

KO

A Bangkok taxi driver tells me how it is…

I must have been in over a hundred Bangkok taxi’s over the past five years,normally you get little conversation apart,what is your football team in England or ”is this your first time in Thailand” meaning can I charge you extra and get away with it.

On Christmas eve I finished my shopping and flagged down a taxi outside the central mall,for the first five minutes the driver said nothing,and then he asks,do you speak Thai ? I replied,A little,good said the driver,so many farang(foreigner) come here and do not try to learn Thai.

He then laughed and said,every farang go drinking today for Xmas,many police charge farang when he drunk in car,I told him that I know of people that have been caught drink driving by the police and been let off for 20,000Baht (£400) , he said that is a good price,normally that is Thai price,if you are a foreigner its normally more.

I then told him that I have read you can pay a motorbike taxi driver 10,000 Baht (£200) to murder someone for you,is this true ? the taxi man said yes this is true,the price starts at 10,000 but can go up to 500,000 Baht depending on how important the person is,I said so if the person was a nobody they could be killed for 10,000 ?,yes,it’s no problem said the driver,you have to understand the Thai mind,we have different blood to the rest of the world,we do not have the same emotion or feeling that other nationalities have,I said is this anything to do with your religion ? (Buddha) No said the Taxi driver,it’s just the way we are made,he said I am driving along now,if I hit one of these people on the side of the road,I would not feel bad,they are not real people to me,they are just a thing,if I hit them I would not stop,I would just carry on and hope no one see me….

There were moments at the start of our conversation that I thought this driver was…. well normal,I seem to have hit a chord somewhere along the line and now he wont shut up.

Taxi Driver – I do not like Nigerian man,he come to Thailand and not talk,not have money, just look ugly,I not like nigerian man,one time in my taxi two nigerian men pretend to fight in my cab so they not have to pay,I have knife and bat in my taxi,I hit them until they pay the fare.

I said oh OK.

The taxi man then said, Indian man is OK, but they talk too much and want everything for free.

I tried changing the subject, …I think the people in Chiang mai were the nicest I have come across in Thailand,they are happy to talk without the incentive being to make money from you,Ha said the driver,people talk about the famous Thai smile ” LAND OF SMILE”

What they don’t say on the advert is the Thai will stab you in the back a second after the smile,I said yes but in Chiang mai people just seemed happy to talk,NO NO NO said the driver,in Chiang mai they play the long game,in Pattaya and Bangkok the Thai’s only talk if they think you spend money there and then,in C’M they are older so they play on being friendly knowing the farang likes this,we pull up at my address and I kind of feel relieved,the conversation was becoming weird,others may say honest,I am not sure but I do know there are exceptions to every rule.

Annapolis(2006) Movie review – A train stop plot that stops at every station

This type of movie comes out every five years,in this case James Franco plays a factory worker who had always dreamt of joining the navy,he even promised his dead mom.(BLESS HIM)

I did not buy any of it,Franco joins the force with all his dead beat pals trying to talk him out of it ”WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO JOIN THE NAVY WHEN YOU HAVE A GOOD JOB STICKING METAL TO METAL HERE? ”

Then there was the cliché bad father who never took care of his emotional son after the mom passed(BOO HOO)

Everyone at the army base knows he is stupid and constantly tell him to quit (APART FROM A SEXY GIRL AND FAT LOSER WHO BELIEVE IN HIM)

And in the end,he prevails with the girl,the job and in life,my only surprise was to find Tom Cruise did not pip James Franco to this lead role.(I AM GUESSING JAMES IS WISHING HE DID LOOKING BACK)

5/10

KO

Life of Pi: Movie Review 3D version – If you don’t like this movie then there is seriously something wrong with you!

It’s been two-day since I watched this movie and I can’t get it out of my head. If this is the last movie I see in 2012 than it has finished on a high, talk about saving the best till last! I am not a fan of the 3D format; I find it confusing as to why I’m wearing glasses most of the time.  If they have both options than I’d rather take the 2D any time. The word was out that this was the best 3D visuals since the emergence.

Many questions were going through my head while waiting for this movie. How are they going to make this movie interesting enough? Are the special effect going to be horrible? Will the 3D be as useless as most of those that have come before? Will they really be able to transverse Yann Martel’s words into something with a little more snap then the book itself?

When the credits rolled at the end of this movie I was immersed in my seat, I was totally blown away by what I had seen. Any doubts that I had were totally wiped away, Ang Lee totally understood the feel of this book. He more than understood it; he took it to another level far beyond my imagination. His usage of 3D was a pure master class, not once did I have to look from underneath them to see if the shot was required of them.  A big shout out has to go to the SFX team here too, it’s a flawless display, it very hard to pick a fault.

To top it off the actors that play Pi are absolutely fantastic, if this movie doesn’t go home with plenty of gold gongs this year, then there sure is a crime being committed against brilliance.

My only gripe with the movie was the narration between older Pi and the past, but that soon passes when the meat of the story is served.

9.5/10

Yappy

Trouble with the Curve: Movie Review- Plenty of gruff but not enough bite!

Clint plays a self-hating Baseball scout, whose age is starting to catch up with him. With the age of technology and youth and the sound of retirement ringing in his ears, Gus has one more chance to prove his worth. Micky (Amy Adams) is asked to accompany Gus by a worried friend and college who fears that his health is deteriorating, but on the other hand still believes Gus is the best in the business.

Micky begrudgingly agrees! She knows it’s not going to be easy as Gus thinks he knows best and taking advice from her is like the banks taking advice from the government. What Gus soon starts to see is that her upbringing has been based around his career as a scout and she knows a little about the game too.

The movie itself never really finds answers to the questions being asked throughout. It plods along at a very steady pace throughout. It just doesn’t have the bite you want to see. I’m a big Eastwood fan, but I’m not sure he was powerful enough to pull of Gus; it seemed to hard a job to really push the emotions too far. Amy Adams was ok, but needed a little more fire in the belly! Being the daughter of Gus. Justin Timberlake plays his part well, probably my favourite performance of his to date, but that’s not too hard considering some of the shit he’s made.

I hope this wasn’t Eastwood’s swan song as Gran Torino was supposed to be, that would have been a great ending to a career! This was more like a balloon escaping your grasp before tying the knot.

A steady

6.5/10

Yappy

The Hobbit: An unexpected Journey: Movie Review(2012)

Love or Hate The lord of the Rings, there is no getting away this week’s realise of the Hobbit. I’m not the biggest fan of the former franchise, but neither am I a critic of the fantastic work Peter Jackson accomplished with the Rings. The only thing that puts me off revisiting the Rings movies more regular is their running time! Not enough happens for that length of viewing.

That can be said for this movie too, especially with 3 movies coming from a book that is Tolkien’s smallest of the fantasy adventures. If you are going to watch these movies then the cinema has to be your best bet, as it’s harder for your concentration to wonder when sat with a room full of strangers albeit the person of persons you go with.

If you go into this movie thinking it’s another Lord of the Rings, then you’re going to be a little disappointed. It’s best to go in with a blank canvas; this is a whole new adventure, so forget sequels and prequels! Enjoy it for what it is an unexpected journey.

One of things I most was looking forward to seeing Bilbo’s Character played by Martin Freeman. After reading the book I couldn’t quite see him as Bilbo, but if he could pull it off then this would sure be his greatest accomplishment as an actor. You’re not left waiting long to see if he has what it takes! After ten minutes of being in the company of Bilbo then you can’t think of a better actors than Martin for the role, he nails all the mannerisms of which Bilbo needs to be believable. I’m only pointing out Bilbo as he is who the story is mostly based on; all the other characters are just as accomplished from Gandalf to the Dwarfs.

The story as to be expected is a slow starter, but there is plenty to keep the watchful busy. The attention to detail is flawless, from makeup to set builds. My biggest criticism of the movie is the CGI, one moment it looks fantastic and you’re hard pushed to find fault. Then there are times when you’re thinking “well that’s not going to hold up very well in the future”, and I mean near, as in today!

The movie is fifteen minutes shy of three hours, but I must admit it doesn’t feel like it, it breezes through with out too much fidgeting about. Remember it’s a marathon not a sprint.

8/10

Yappy

Your Sisters sister(2012) Movie review – Duplass bash number 2 of the week

This movie made feel quite nauseous at times,every lead character was slightly quirky,slightly off the wall,but overall just very annoying.

Two people going through recent issues decide to take a time out from life and seek some alone time,on reflection this would have made a more interesting film if their plan had been successful but instead these two people end up choosing the same sanctuary and boring us all to death with their clumsy awkwardly contrived conversations.

3/10

KO