Side effects (2013) Movie review; Not great but not terrible

I find Jude Law has the ability to make me love and hate him from film to film,he has a smugness that when the film calls for it comes off as delightful ( The Talented Mr Ripley,Closer) but when it’s not required in the role it’s still there, so I am guessing this has more to do with his style in acting and not him repeating the same character for every film he stars in.

This film starts off interesting with the plot being that of a woman who suffers with depression and is struggling with the idea that her husband is going to be released from prison soon.

The twist is smart, I found myself clapping within my mind at what the director and writer had managed to pull off, the only thing that lets this film down is…. the ending and…. Jude Law!!!

Jude ”SMUG” Law and the finale were a major let down,I don’t like it when a film is all wrapped up nicely at the end with every question you might have had about the film answered,it kind of felt like an episode of Columbo.

Worthy of a watch If you have nothing better to do.

5/10

KO

West of Memphis: Documentary Review – The justice system well and truly screw up…Again!

The documentary follows the case of three young boys murdered in quite brutal circumstances by three teenage boys.

I went into this with totally fresh eyes and ears, not knowing anything about the story as when it happened I was a wiper snapper myself without any care of media coverage of cases such as this.

When you start watching these programmes you are taken on a whirl wind of emotions. One minute you hating, then you feel guilty for being hatful, then you’re full of sorrow for the supposed murderers, then you’re back to hate. It’s a total tug of war and reminder why I tend to shy away from stories such as these. Why do I avoid such cases? Because you just lose every faith in any real justice service this word has to offer. The most of the hatred comes from the justice department, it’s not the first and sure will not be the last time the police and justice system well and truly screw up lives.

It helps when you getting backing from the public and from celebrities such as Peter Jackson, Eddie Vedder and Henry Rollins to get your case brought to the main stream and to make sure every micro fibre are unturned. Sometimes the police should just admit they are absolutely incompetent and ask a film maker for help, as they seem more in tune with the idiot that serve the public?

I couldn’t help but feel hollow at the end, because if the boys didn’t do it someone is walking free today after causing horrific consequences to the families of the three innocent boys who died on that day in 1994.

7/10

Yappy

Bates Motel: TV Review (2013) – “That boy sure does love his mother”

Well, the end is near to a series that was quiet enjoyable at times. When it first started 10 weeks ago I thought it was so ostentatious it made me question if I was watching something from an MTV production. It had the feel of the first series of teen wolf when it first started, you just couldn’t find an ugly person anywhere. When one did eventually show up, they didn’t waste any time by killing him and throwing him in the lake. It seemed like anyone slightly less than an 8 stood very little chance in living in this modern up-take of Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho.

Apart from the people, the first thing you’re trying to work out at the beginning is what is going on with this Iconic Motel. Everything is as it was when it was set back in the seventies, the house decor still the same, the motel looks like it hasn’t been touched and they’ve even brought the same style of filming. Only this time they seemed to have been heavily invested by Apple, not Del Monte! Which would have made sense back in the 70’s as apples would have made for a great game of catch in a drab and dreary world. No, it’s the network company. At first it’s off putting, and then you start seeing all the other modern gadgets. Straight away I should have known after seeing white ear bud earphones something was out of place.

So yes, it’s a modern version with a retro feel where people are only allowed to have style and grace, but it really is worth a little time. The acting is clean and crisp and it is very well directed. Nothing has been spared either when it comes to the iconic house and motel, it’s as if it had been lifted from the movies of old and placed in 2013.

At first you just hope all beautiful people end up getting killed by the weirdly eccentric Norman, but come the end it’s a dream town, even if us average people would need a bag over our heads to make sure we would be seen for longer than a week in residence.

This season was a gentle beginning, the story is a simple warming of characters and some of their dark ways, time will tell if The Bates have more to offer. It’s one of those programmes you can see being well and truly over written.

7/10

Yappy

Star Trek into Darkness: Movie Review- Only going forward, still can’t find Reverse.

You have to be well and truly out of the loop to have not heard about Star Trek over the last several weeks. Even the local homeless guys were sticking their two scents worth in on this one, reminiscing of better days when TV had limited channels and Star Trek was a strangely fascinating look at where our TV Viewing was going. Jump fifty years forward and you can’t flick through a mere 3 channel button exchange without seeing some wacky creation of a mind that couldn’t get the their heads out of the sci-fi galaxy.

As a child my alliance was always to Star wars, they always seemed like they made more effort with their creation. Star Trek always felt like the poor relative to me, the set designed looked like something from an Aussie TV series, when someone shouted you could see the wall flap. Some of make up too, it looked like it was done at the local school fare. I just couldn’t get in to it! This is not one of those…..but when I watched so and so I was hooked. That never will or will happen, I still couldn’t bare sitting through multiple hours of cling-on talk.

This is just a movie lover giving his opinion on the follow up of what was a good job done last time around. So was I just as happy with this as I was the last outing? No I was not! I was even more impressed, it’s amazing what 4 years of technology can do, some of the CGI was fantastic, especially when the enterprise goes into light speed. Where Star Trek fails for me is when filming in the enterprise, the set build seem to stick with the flimsy look, maybe that’s just their nod to the old ways! It must be the format the fans love because they have plenty of them. The movie itself is a proper action flick; it’s what the year needed to be honest to give it a kick up the back side. What gives it its extra bite is it never really allows you to become bored and if it does they crank the volume up (literally) to make sure your head doesn’t dip. As a non-Trekkie fan I was never put off by any of the characters, even the cling-ons, “sorry, spoiler”.

The big talk is about Benedict Cumberbatch’s character, yes he puts in a fine performance, but this is not going to be the role that he is most remembered for in the foreseeable future. He will go on to be one of the Hollywood greats; this was his spring board to more serious work ahead.  Chris pine does an OK job too of not annoying me, Zachary Quinton who plays Spock should think about keeping those ears full time because without them he seems lost in TV world. It’s good to see Simon pegg with more of a role this time around, so we can laugh at his crap Scottish accent (in a good way though). He is upstaged though in the really shit accents department by Anton Yelchin who plays Cekov, he sounds more Scotty then Russian.

7.5/10

Yappy

Warm bodies (2013) Movie review; Nice soundtrack and idea but I woudn’t wanna see it again!

I think if you make a film and use the moon as your setting you would not be shocked to find people floating around in space suits,so in turn when you make a zombie movie you would expect to see the cast walking at 3 mph on a daily basis,this is normally the case but in this zombie flick the rules have changed,not only are they walking like us humans but when the script calls for it they are also having full-blown conversations.

This is one of those films that doesn’t really know what it is trying to achieve,at first I thought it was following in the foot steps of ”Zombieland” and ”Shaun of the dead”,but then after a fresh and humourous beginning the movie takes a dark and serious romantic route in the vain of ”Twilight” which really put me off.

Even though I like the idea of a Zombie movie from the view-point of the Zombie it doesn’t really work,you can’t really get away with them talking and having feelings,I am not sure you could call them zombies if you could,hung over and grouchy people would be more accurate!

5/10

KO

I give it a year (2013) Movie review; Mushy crap served on a plate of dried up scripts!

My co blogger Yappy recently slated this movie and as much as I enjoy having the opposite opinion to him I am afraid he was right,this movie stinks!

The script is mix mash of every crap english film that has been released over the past decade,the only thing missing was Hugh Grant scoffing on a scone while telling the bride that she looks like a right sort!

Stephen Merchant stands out but his lines and humour are kind of detached from the film,it feels like someone shone a light on the film each time he arrived on-screen,and as soon as his bit ended the light went out while the movie tumbled into dour darkness.

Please don’t waste your money,this really is bad!

3/10

KO

 

 

The Place Beyond the Pines(2013) Movie review; A unique treat that breaks the normal format of film!

I really enjoyed this movie on many levels,Ryan Gosling is handsomely distracting,someone of his looks should never  have been given this acting ability,(the world seems somewhat unfair),along with Drive I would put this up there with his best performance.

The movie plays out in two parts,the story is intriguing and mysterious without the need to show you road signs to each twist,I say twist in the sense of the way the story develops,if you have ever watched a film and thought I wonder if they did end happy in the end,well this movie is for you,you think you have arrived at the ending of the film but then comes the transfer of stars from Gosling to Bradley Cooper,it’s as if Ryan passes the baton onto Cooper,the level of acting does not drop off,it’s very easy to slag off actors for being poster boys but I have done a complete U-turn with regards to Coopers ability,it all started with the playbook movie and he has only got better in this feature.

A special mention must go to Australian Ben Mendelsohn,the man was born for the big screen,each time I see him my chair becomes more comfortable in the knowledge that as long as the script is decent the performance is going to be gold.

That’s enough man love from me for the day.

8/10

KO

Parker (2013) Movie review; Can somebody please marry Jennifer Lopez soon so she can stop making movies!

Ah God,why on earth did I watch this dribble,well if I am honest it’s because Jason Stratham stars in it,he is in no way perfect but he does have decent skills which if utilised well for the right role can result in an enjoyable film.

Now to Jennifer Lopez,…..I have grown to dislike this woman enormously over the years,my anger seems to know know no bounds which doesn’t make sense,I think it has something to do with her lack of talent,she was once young fresh and beautiful,she is now old,archaic and just plain boring,her on-screen persona just screams, HEY’ LOOK AT ME’ I AM A STAR’ PLEASE LOOK,LOOK I HAVE ATTITUDE AS WELL”

This movie is decent for the first twelve minutes,it’s the only original part of the film,the rest is a waste of time that I would recommend you avoid,you would have more fun seeing to a rash or cutting your nails than you would lasting the length of this dull and anti climatic film.

1/10

KO

Movie 43 (2013) Movie review; I have not laughed so much since I saw ”Kentucky fried movie”

I love it when you watch a movie without knowing its genre or story,this film was such a nice surprise that I have jaw ache from the amount of times it made me laugh.

It’s basically several short stories made into one film,when a bunch of teens play a joke on each other to find ”MOVIE 43” they come across all these other short but in some cases hilarious movies.

The film is reminiscent of the Kentucky fried movie,the humour is dry and quite sick at times,I like that there are so many well-known stars in it who freely give themself to the humour and go along with the weirdness.

The stand out performers include,Stephen Merchant,Halle Berry,Hugh Jackman,Gerard Butler,Sean William Scott,Terrance Howard and Emma Stone.

IMBD has this rated as a 4 which I find remarkable,if it is not a big hit it will certainly become a cult classic as soon as TV networks get hold of it.

One of my favourite quotes from the film – Basketball Player #4: Coach, what you’re saying is, we just walk with the Lord.
Coach: The Lord did his part already! He made you black, he gave you a foot and a half dick! Dribble with that, motherfucker!

8/10

KO

I give it a year: Movie Review (2013) – I’d give it a miss if I was you!

Let’s keep this short and sweet. Why? Because that is all the writer of the screenplay seemed to do, I think after he finished he must have asked a group of 5 year olds from the 90’s if it was funny. Get a grip Dan Mazer! How many years has it been since Austin Powers? He actually tried to get away with using the “yeah baby” gag. He not only wrote the thing, he then decided to direct it. Which to be honest I’m not that surprised, because anyone else would have rather crawled up their own backside then direct this. I should have known better after seeing Rafe Spall’s smug face in the tittle that this was going to be a complete train wreck. Here’s a tip for you Spall! Tone that stupid grin down you overly keen desperado.

This is far from the worst of it. His peers seem to be in tune with him by putting on a talentless display all by them self. Simon Baker from the Mentalist shows up and shows us that he’s not only annoying on TV; he can be perfectly as pretentious in movies also. Anna Faris plays a small part too, I’m not sure what her deal was here, but she looked like she’s had a few too many heavy nights on the crack pipe of late, she looked ill.

The only funny moments are when Stephen Merchant pops up on-screen,  but this is about 5 minutes in all, but he really is just playing his usual self, also Olivia Colman who plays a marriage councillor has a few amusing scenes.

Still not worth the other 90 minutes.

2/10

Yappy