Fido (2006) Movie Review Analysis and Commentary
October 28, 2007
Zombies, zombies, zombies. Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later (2002) opened up a floodgate when it was released in America in the summer of 2003. Since then we’ve gotten big-budget zombies and low-budget zombies, slow-moving zombies and fast-moving zombies, serious zombies and funny zombies, and even a dose of good old-fashioned George A. Romero zombies with his fourth installment in his “Dead” series Land of the Dead (2005) and the fifth coming up this year with Diary of the Dead.
It would seem that at this point there simply isn’t anything more to say regarding zombies, especially if you’ve added Max Brooks’ excellent books The Zombie Survival Guide and World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War to the exhaustive repertoire. I would say the only (intentional) comedy done right regarding zombies is the brilliant 2004 Shaun of the Dead, and didn’t it say it all? Do we really need another zom-com? This question is answered with 2006’s Fido – just released on DVD.
Stardust Movie Review Commentary and Analysis
October 23, 2007
The other day I was lucky enough to go to a preview screening of Stardust here in the UK, it is a film I had desperately wanted to see for months so to say that I was a little excited was an understatement. The film is based on the book by British author Neil Gaiman with screenplay by the fabulous Jane Goldman (Wife of movie reviewer and chat show host Jonathan Ross) and Matthew Vaughn who also directed the movie. It stars a whole host of amazing actors both British and American and is one of those movies that I found myself to be instantly engrossed in. From the moment we hear the narrator (Sir Ian McKellen) begin to tell the tale of the stars and the mystical powers they possess you know that you are in for a magical treat the likes of which have not been seen since the brilliantly funny ‘The Princess Bride’. Read more
Steel Toes Movie Review Canadian Independent Film
October 20, 2007
I first saw this film while browsing the Netflix “watch now” drama section. The cover caught my attention, since I’ve enjoyed films in the past that deal with the drama involved in how a person comes out of a hate group. It makes for a good character struggle to watch a skin head come to terms with reality and abandon their racism. It has been overdone though, so almost any story arcs will end up being utterly predictable.
Steel Toes is adapted from a play and it shows. Most of the movie takes place in a holding cell where a Neo-Nazi skinhead meets with his Jewish appointed court attorney. The drama all plays out predictably as both men have to let go of their hate. The film was produced in Canada, which put a little different spin to the court scene.
The pacing is slow and elements of the story are sappy and way over melodramatic like when the skinhead reads the letter from his victim. Even withholding all of that, it’s a nice example of a minimalist film (I even could have made this without spending too much). The dialogue exchanges were quirky enough to hold my attention, even if the plot and the way the plot was revealed was relatively bland. The acting is top notch and you may just tear up.
An example of some mainstream films I’ve enjoyed that tackle similar subject matter are:
Believer - one of my top 10 favorite films
- American History X
- Believer
- Romper Stomper
Those films are not however minimalist movies and have lots of action - if you’re looking for action don’t see Steel Toes watch one of the three films I mentioned above.
Hal Hartley’s Failure - Fay Grim Movie Review - Henry Fool’s Sequel
October 20, 2007
I was so excited to see this film, as it’s the sequel to one of my favorite films of all time, Henry Fool, a unique, darkly comedic and touching masterpiece. I’ll start by detailing what made Henry Fool such a great movie and how Hal Hartley failed to repeat these elements in Fay Grim, even with the aid of the original cast. In Henry Fool the plot didn’t drive the action and carry the weight of the movie by itself, Henry Fool was overloaded with interesting and quirky dysfunctional characters. From Simon, Grim a garbage man who everyone thinks is retarded to the eccentric, to Henry Fool the alcoholic writer named who expounds upon the value of his self-proclaimed writing ability, the under appreciation of Milton’s works, in-between living in the Grim family basement. Read more
Starlight Express UK Theatre Show Review
October 18, 2007
Theatre is a big passion of mine; I love to go whenever I get chance and am especially fond of Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals. There is something about the music in his shows that really knows how to move you, he works along with some of the best in the music industry to help craft lyrics and The Andrew Lloyd Webber/Tim Rice partnership on various shows has been hugely successful.
One of the best musicals by Andrew Lloyd Webber alongside The Phantom of the Opera of course simply has to be ‘Starlight Express’ a beautiful story centred around a young boy playing with his train sets in his bedroom after dark. The trains are acted by real people and everyone in the show wears roller-skates and dances round the stage on them in some of the most wonderfully choreographed scenes you will have ever seen.
I missed the London run of this show so was thrilled when I found out that it was coming to a theatre not far from me; The Bristol Hippodrome in the UK. We decided to make a family evening out of it and my husband and I invited our parents, my sister and our 4 year old daughter came along too. We weren’t sure if she would enjoy the show or not as she does tend to get restless and bored if she’s sitting still long but as soon as the lights went down and the music began she was hooked!
The great thing about this show is its energy and its ability to appeal to both children and adults, when you enter the show you are given special 3D Glasses and told to wait to be told when to put these on. At several points during the show they released a large screen at the back of the stage and for the ‘race’ scenes you were treated to some pretty good special effects on the screen. This had all the children completely hooked and it’s something my little girl still talks about now.
The cast all have to go through weeks and weeks of training to perfect all of the dance routines on their skates and the effort they put in really does show, there was only ONE person who fell over in our showing and he got right back up again and carried on accompanied by rapturous applause from the audience.
If you are a theatre fan and are yet to witness the magic of Starlight Express for yourself then I highly recommend it when it next hits your theatres, also if you have never been to a theatre show before this is the perfect one to get started with, it brings out the true energy and fun factor of the theatre and I promise, after seeing this you wont be able to wait until you are able to take in your next show!
All in all a great night out, decent prices for tickets and beautiful songs and routines!
Grindhouse Presents Robert Rodriguez’s Planet Terror (2007) Movie Review Analysis and Commentary
October 17, 2007
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I was in line at the prestigious Mann’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood on the opening weekend for a little movie called ‘Grindhouse’. Watching Robert Rodriguez’s ‘Planet Terror’ on that Saturday night was like being at a rock concert. The house was packed and they loved it. They ate it up. They hollered at the screen. They laughed loudly. I thought to myself – wow, this is truly an experience to behold. A real, true grindhouse experience. The kind of thing I read about occurring on 42nd street in New York in the 1970s. Back then the strip of movie theaters – long since demolished – was called “the Deuce”, and it showed double and even triple features of the craziest, sleaziest, and most awful of exploitation films. ‘Planet Terror’ would have been a classic had it been released back then and on those screens. Quentin Tarantino’s ‘Death Proof’ is a very good movie when it’s not following ‘Planet Terror’ on a double feature. The audience that had been rollicking an hour before were suddenly snoozing or, worse, exiting the theater in droves due to Tarantino’s lengthy dialogues and slow build towards the greatest car chase stunt scene ever to be filmed. It was, admittedly, a bitter pill to follow Rodriguez’s movie. It didn’t matter though. In my mind ‘Grindhouse’ was still a huge success, bringing back the age of the double feature with gusto. It’s just what I’d always wanted in a movie – girls, guns, cars and major attitude. Read more
Grey’s Anatomy Season 4 Review and News
October 14, 2007
Grey’s Anatomy is one of my favourite shows and has been ever since it first began, but this season I find that things seem to be very slow paced and not quite as exciting as we are used to. I think that this is largely to do with the loss of Dr Burke.
Burke and Christina’s relationship was one of the strong points of last season, the ups and downs and the effect they both had on each other was awesome to watch. Burke and Derek’s friendship was also great fun, but it’s cool to now see him spending time with McSteamy again and the two of them showing signs of leaving the past behind them. I do miss Addison though, I’ve even been tuning into ‘Private Practice’ the spin-off show, and it’s surprisingly good! I’m gradually staring to warm to the slightly kooky characters and it’s always good to see more of Kate Walsh on our screens.
I hear that everyone is pretty annoyed at the Izzy/George storyline on Grey’s; personally I just thought they were brilliant together as best friends, why did they have to go and take it to the next level? It just feels wrong doesn’t it? I’m not sure if they are going to continue the romance side of things but surely it will be hard to get back to the old Izzy and George friendship we all knew and loved? I guess only time will tell where they are going to take this but I do hope the writers know what they are doing!
Meredith is seriously annoying me in this season, she’s even more cold and emotionless than ever and her relationship with Derek seems to have resorted to sex in the store cupboard and very little else. I also find it quite strange having Meredith’s sister Lexi on the scene and the two of them not really speaking to eachother but the possible Lexi and Alex romance that is being hinted at could make things really interesting.
In short, so far this season I’m not too impressed with the show, but we still have a long way to go and hopefully things will start getting better. We need the fun back in Grey’s, that’s what gave the show its edge don’t you think?
Air your views about the latest season of Grey’s Anatomy here!
Sex and the City Movie Progresses despite Recent Cast Fallout Rumours
October 9, 2007
To say I’m eagerly awaiting the Sex and the City movie is an understatement; I’m seriously obsessed. Having been a huge fan of the TV series I am practically bursting with excitement about seeing the long awaited feature length SATC movie. I know all the guys out there are saying “But they’re too old now!” with regards to the cast, but quite frankly they could all be wandering around as old granny’s talking about how many men they’ve slept with and drinking cosmopolitans and I’d probably STILL watch it (Told you, obsessed!)There have been many reported arguments between cast, it’s a well known fact that not all of the girl’s get on as well off screen as their characters do on screen. Read more
Mr Brooks Staring Kevin Costner and Demi Moore Movie Review and Analysis
October 5, 2007
I’m not a Kevin Costner fan. I can tolerate him in a movie, but there’s never been one that I have sat down and watched and thought “WOW! I loved him in that film!”
… That is until I watched Mr Brooks.
This is quite possibly Kevin Costner’s best role to date in my opinion. He plays Earl Brooks, a family man with a dark secret that threatens to consume his life completely. The side of Earl that his family see is the devoted husband, caring father and successful businessman who always says the right thing at the right time and never puts a foot wrong. What his family fail to realise however is that Mr Brooks has a dark, murderous alter ego with an overwhelming addiction to killing that is taking over his life. Desperate to quit what he calls his “addiction” he attends regular addict’s anonymous meetings to keep his inner demons at bay but when he finds himself subject to bribery by a man all too eager to become his next protégé (Dane Cook) Mr Brook’s secret looks set to be exposed. The additional interest taken in the case by Detective Atwood (Demi Moore) as she searches for him as ‘The Thumbprint Killer’ only adds fuel to the fire as a twisted and disturbing game of cat and mouse ensues.
This movie is incredible. If you get chance to see it you simply must! For all of you who groaned when you heard that Kevin Costner was playing the lead role, trust me I was right there with you when I first heard about this film but after about the first 15 minutes you’ll be so engrossed you will forget all about that entirely. It’s great to see Costner in a genuinely challenging and wonderfully different role than anything we have ever seen him play and even better to see him do it well! Mr Brooks is complex, deep and chillingly rather ordinary on the outside. His inner turmoil and split personality take on the visual form of “Marshall” (played by William Hurt) and reflect the workings of the human mind and psychosis at its most severe and to watch him literally struggle with his own subconscious to resist the urge to kill is captivating.
It is also great to see Demi Moore back on our screens once more! Since marrying Ashton she seemed to have disappeared off the face of the planet but this has definitely set her in good footing for a comeback. Although I did find her role a little bit unnecessary to the plot at times it was a pleasure to see her back on top form and she was extremely well suited to the role of Detective Tracy Atwood a feisty but often vulnerable character. Another familiar face you may recognise is hilarious comic Dane Cook in a strangely serious role as Mr Smith. His performance was shockingly good, he’s someone I would never have cast in this role in a million years but for some reason it actually works. Dane seems to reach down and show his dark side as the not so clever ‘wanna be’ protégé to Mr Brooks who is desperate to watch him kill someone in the flesh.
It is also worth noting (for fans of CSI) that Mr Brooks wife Emma is played by Marg Helgenberger and although we don’t exactly see much of her in the movie it was fun to watch her in something other than CSI for a while. Hands up if you also spotted the delicious Jason Lewis (Sex and the City) as Tracy’s ex husband? Yum - is all I shall say.
Mr Brooks is an eerie and dark thriller with a cast that’s almost as full of surprises as the film itself. Watch it for yourself and then make sure you come back and let us know your thoughts!
Across the Universe (2007) Movie Review Analysis and Commentary
October 5, 2007
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I have a sneaking suspicion that everyone in the world is born with an almost encyclopedic knowledge of Beatles’ music and lyrics. It’s one of those inescapable things. I’m not a fanatical Beatles fan myself, but I knew that when Jude opened a newspaper to read some important plot information in the film ‘Across the Universe’ that the instrumental tune on the soundtrack was “A Day in the Life” and the lyrics – had they been sung instead of played at that precise instant – were “I read the news today, oh boy.” In that knowing moment there was pure joy, as something clicked inside of me and the movie worked and rolled along and moved me as a result. There are many, many moments like this in ‘Across the Universe’, and it makes the movie an incredible experience. Read more
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