George A. Romero’s Diary of the Dead Review

This movie is getting very mixed reviews at the moment, with people seemingly under impressed with it on a whole I thought that I would give some of my more positive thoughts on the movie and why I actually found it to be quite enjoyable.

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Nim’s Island Movie Review Starring Jodie Foster and Gerard Butler

Nim’s Island is a family film packed with action and adventure starring the delectable Gerard Butler and the very talented Jodie Foster.

What surprised me initially with this movie is Jodie Fosters character, she plays an agoraphobic writer who cannot seem to leave her apartment, instead preferring to spend her time online or talking to one of her imaginary characters Alex Rover (Gerard Butler) I loved how she tackled this role and really made it her own, not afraid to just let go and be completely silly at times. It was very refreshing to see her in something far less serious than her usual roles and it worked very well.

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The Good Night - Movie Info and Martin Freeman Q&A

Featuring a dream cast headed by Martin Freeman (The Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, The Office) Gwyneth Paltrow (Sylvia, Shallow Hal, Shakespeare in Love), Penelope Cruz (Volver, Sahara, Vanilla Sky) and Simon Pegg (Run Fatboy Run, Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead), the comedy drama THE GOOD NIGHT can be yours to own on DVD from 26 May 2008 courtesy of Momentum Pictures.
Jake Paltrow’s first feature is an assured piece of film-making that blurs the lines between dreams and reality and comedy and drama.  As refreshing and delightful as a good night’s sleep, THE GOOD NIGHT features excellent performances all round, with Martin Freeman’s delightfully self-effacing performance perfectly balanced by Paltrow’s prickly, witty characterization, Cruz’s seductiveness and Pegg’s bastard best friend role.  Add to this the comic charm of Danny DeVito as an eccentric, post beat era, new age idealist named Mel, and you have a dream of film.

Synopsis
Has-been musician Gary’s (Freeman) days in a successful band with the world at his feet are long gone.  Now he spends his days writing ad jingles, and whose only escape from the suffocating relationship he has with both his former bandmate (Pegg) and girlfriend (Paltrow) is in his sleep, where he encounters, literally, the woman of his dreams (Cruz).  With Gary’s fantasy life increasingly infected by his reality, the moving denouement heralds the power and necessity of dreams and a bittersweet acknowledgment of their limitations.

But Gary can only be with Anna in sleep which consequently sends him on a quest for more frequent slumber. With the help of a new age guru named Mel, (Danny DeVito) Gary shuns reality for the comfort of his dreams even as the troubles of his waking life increase
“The reason we wanted to cast Martin as Gary,” says Producer Donna Gigliotti, “and the reason we did was because he has tremendous humanity as an actor.  You immediately love him, you want to watch him, and you care about what happens to him.   It almost doesn’t matter what he’s doing, you feel great empathy for him.”

Q: It seems that cinema’s ideally suited to deal with dreams, being able to go from the real to the surreal easily - is that what drew you to making The Good Night?

MARTIN FREEMAN: I just came at it from the angle that I thought it was an intriguing, original screenplay.  But I would agree, I think storytelling is a way of getting across not necessarily very literal things that you dream about. It’s almost impossible to describe a dream but the sort of illogical things that happen in dreams you can make magic things happen in film.

Q:  So what’s your take on your character Gary and his desire to live out his dreams?

MF: What interested me were the balls that he was having to juggle and where he was falling short in his life and where he was having to come correct.  I thought that was good, his dream life was informing his real life in that way and in the first part of the film, informing his real life in not a very constructive way.  And then he realises that what he’s got in real life is worth more than his dreams, and he’s got to deal with reality.

Q:  Gary’s in a real slump both personally and professionally - could you relate to where he was at?

MF: Of course. If you’ve been alive about five years you know about disappointment and being thwarted and frustrated or unrequited love or whatever.  I know all about that stuff but fortunately I’m not in his position either personally or professionally in my life now, but I have been.  I’ve not quite gone to those levels of following a dream through, but you know…

Q: What about your own dreams - are you able to remember them?

MF: I remember them sometimes but I’ve never been one really to write them down.  I’ve written down dreams a couple of times when they’ve been particularly striking but no, not really.  Like most people, I guess, they’re gone in five minutes, that’s why you have to write them down.

Q: Have you ever had any really striking or recurring dreams?

MF: I’ve had several really tangible dreams about UFOs and they’ve been amazing!  You know that sort of everyday quality that you get in a couple of scenes in Close Encounters [of the Third Kind] where these lights fly over a road and it somehow seems tangible, somehow seems real.  I’ve had a few of those dreams where it’s been absolutely clear that this is the day that the world changes and it’s very exciting. I’ve not had one of those for a while, but I love them when I have them!

Q: You never get abducted by the aliens?

MF: No, it never gets that far and I suppose that’s the thing, dreams are never that literal are they?  It’s never a proper sort of narrative, they’re more a series of random events.

Q: How did this role come your way?  I understand [writer-director] Jake Paltrow wrote it for you…

MF: I don’t know if I was the first actor he had in mind but I was certainly one of the first. He certainly called me a long time ago, and I was really pleased because it showed some nous on his part that he was prepared to take a punt on me because I wasn’t exactly what you’d call a huge movie star!

Q: Did you know what he’d seen you in?

MF: I presume it was The Office, he might have seen me in Love Actually, but I really don’t know what else. I spoke to him while I was making Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and it’s not like I’ve done 100 films anyway. It’s not like he could have seen me in Zulu and A Bridge Too Far…

Q: Was there any aspect of the story you were cautious about? For example the whole concept of having a ‘dream woman’ could come across quite badly in the wrong hands.

MF: That’s why I wanted to talk to Jake [beforehand]. I read the script and liked it but the reservation I had with it was it could all become a little bit ‘boysey’ or a frat-boy thing. You literally cannot look anywhere in our culture without the objectification of women. I’m not an old sourpuss and I understand the world and all that, but it does get a little bit boring. I’ve never seen Tom Cruise’s bits and I don’t really believe I need to. It’s not fair and it’s not justified and there are a million ways to justify it, all of them a load of old bollocks and all of them invented by men.

Q: That said, many people dream of their ideal partner…

MF: Men and women have sexual dreams, that’s a fact. So I don’t have a problem with Gary having an objectifying dream but I have a problem with a film that’s objectifying women. Once you’ve known Jake for 10 minutes you know that’s not what’s he’s about but at the time I’d never met him and I just wanted to check that he was kosher.

Q: Still, it can’t be all bad having Penelope Cruz as the object of your desires…

MF: She’s absolutely lovely and made it all very easy. There was very little ‘starriness’ happening on the set, which was good, considering there were major stars on the set. It’s always encouraging to know that it is possible to be a huge star and be relatively normal.

Q: Did you ever discuss the objectification that she regularly receives?

MF: We did a bit and she’s obviously very conscious of how she’s seen and represented, in terms of nudity and all that, because she’s got a lot to lose. She’s one of the most looked-at people in the world, I guess. But I was certainly aware that she didn’t want to give anything away for free, because once you give it away you don’t really get it back.

Q: You and Simon Pegg are good friends off-screen and known for real laugh-out-loud comedies - was there an appeal in doing something as darkly comic as The Good Night?

MF: I can’t speak for Simon but it was certainly an appeal for me. I mean, I’d love to be in a position where people didn’t know what to expect from me anyway, because then that frees me up to do what I want to do. Simon’s obviously very funny, he’s a very good comic actor and I must admit I lobbied for him to be in the film. He’s very truthful and very un-egotistical as an actor, he serves the piece that he’s in and gives 100% all the time - sorry, it sounds like a football manager! The fact that he and I already know each other pretty well, it was good to have that short hand in the film.

Q: And you haven’t actually acted much together other than your cameos in Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz?

MF: There was a Comic Relief sketch once, but no, but I guess we’re both just part of that generation I suppose of English vaguely comedy actors. I hope to work with him again, certainly. It was nice to do this because obviously there was a lot more to do than in Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz but he’s one of the best there is, I think and we should value him. He’s kind of the biggest film star we’ve got right now. And he’s done it on his own terms.

Q: Was it strange to have Gwyneth Paltrow acting in her brother’s debut feature film?

MF: She wasn’t involved initially. Obviously she and Jake are close and Gwyneth had come along wanting to throw her hat into the ring and be in it from the get-go and Jake had nicely said ‘No, I don’t want that to happen, it’s my first feature and it’ll just look too cute.’ But then as time went on, it just transpired that there’s a really good actor, who knows the material, who knows the director, who’s volunteering her services, and I’m guessing, for a slight cut in her fee! My take on it would be, you don’t look a gift horse in the mouth. Gwyneth’s a very, very good actor, she’s a huge star and people like that aren’t necessarily queuing up to be in your film if you’re a first time director.

Q: How was it for you to have her involved?

MF: I think it was the right choice, I love Gwyneth in it and I loved being around her. There was no ego on her part and I don’t think there was on mine - I’m not exactly going to try and out-ego Gwyneth Paltrow! It was very easy and basically what makes it easy is, if, for example, you’ve got a plumber who can do their job, then get them in. and Gwyneth can do her job and hopefully I can do mine, and if you’ve got two people who can act then it hopefully shouldn’t be too much of a problem.  Everyone was doing the film because they really wanted to be there. You don’t do films like that if you want to retire or have lunchboxes made of your character, you’re doing it because you want to do the film.

Q: So how did Jake Paltrow do on his first feature?

MF: There are some people you work with where you just enjoy their…’spirit’ sounds like a poncey word but it’s true, he has a very generous spirit and a very generous nature. And his knowledge about movies is actually quite frightening, especially for someone who’s about 11 or however old he is..! And I like being around people who know things I don’t know. He seems to know the camera backwards and he’s very, very smart. He hasn’t got the air of a man who thinks it’s all landed in his lap by his rights.  He worked for it and I do think he’s one of the most instinctively talented people I ever worked with.

Q:  Danny DeVito seems to be one of those actors who people have a genuine affection for - was that your experience of working with him?

MF: That was absolutely my experience.  Working in New York with him, people are just delighted to see him, there’s a real ease with which they’d come up and talk to him and he’s reciprocate. It wasn’t mania because he’s not Justin Timberlake or whoever but he’s been around for 30+ years being famous and people like him.  And that’s sometimes something I underestimate, the importance of people liking you.  I sometimes run away from that a little, you say, ‘Yeah but who wants to be liked?’ You want to be considered a genius or great or feared, but actually being liked is making people smile, and as you say, you mention someone’s name and it makes someone happy, that’s no small thing and it’s not to be sniffed at. It’s quite a gift to the world.

Q: Presumably this was your first time working in the US.

MF: Yes, although I did another film last year called Dedication with Mandy Moore and Billy Crudup, a supporting part, and that was all done in New York, but again, similarly to this a smaller budget, arty film as opposed to Mission: Impossible III or whatever.

Q: So does that mean you’d be open to more work over there? For example a lot of your Office co-stars have gone on to work in Hollywood.

MF: It really depends on what it is.  It genuinely does because of course some big American films are great, some are absolutely brilliant and some of them aren’t, but that’s the way of everything: most things aren’t great that’s why we value great things.  There have been a couple of things that are coming my way that are bigger, obviously no one wants to make no money in their life, and if there’s an opportunity to make some good money then I’ll think about it.  But I like doing the films that I have a taste for and appeal to me, rather than just doing films that should be good for my career.

Q:  Plus it doesn’t hurt to be something of an unknown quantity over there…

MF: Right. I’m still making my way in that whole world and I’m not particularly known over there the way I am here. In some ways it’s better because I’m more of a blank canvas and not someone particularly known for comedy.

Q:  Speaking of The Office, have you ever watched the US version? Is it of any interest to you what they’ve done with it over there?

MF: I think it’s really good, yeah. I’ve not seen many of them but I think it’s funny.  It makes me laugh.  It’s different enough to not be annoying in a way, they’ve done their own thing with it, obviously heavily based on ours but they’re all too good for it to not work in a way, they’re a very good cast, particularly headed up by Steve Carell, who’s pretty much a master.

Q: What other work have you got lined up?

MF: I’m reading stuff and going up for things but nothing I want to curse by talking about it ahead of time.

Q:  And in terms of other things, are you still into hosting more radio shows?

MF: That’s something I like doing because it’s any excuse to play records. It’s totally a dream job and I do quite a lot of it whenever I can. It’s good because it’s not my proper job so it doesn’t get tedious, it’s more like a bonus.

THE GOOD NIGHT is released in the UK on 18 January

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PS I Love You Movie Review

I may have mentioned a few hundred several times on here that I absolutely love the work of writer Cecelia Ahern. She writes chick-lit kind of books but they have such a realism and depth to them that I am in absolute awe of her talents as a writer. Not surprisingly Hollywood have picked up on her talent and a number of her books are being made into movies. The first one to have been released was ‘PS I Love You’ a tale about love, loss and learning to move on with your life.

I was sceptical about the cast of the movie at first, it’s always different when you have read the book and get a mental image in your head about what the characters should look or sound like and when I heard that Hilary Swank would be playing the lead role of Holly I was extremely worried that this could ruin the experience of one of my favourite books forever. None the less I gave the film the benefit of the doubt and went to watch it with a group of friends a while back and thought I’d post and let you know my views of the film.

First of all let me just say that Hilary Swank completely surprised me and did a great job of playing Holly, I have only seen her in serious roles before so to see her play such a down to earth and often comedic role was refreshingly different and really worked! The gorgeous Gerard Butler played Holly’s husband Gerry who dies early on in the movie, and leaves her a series of beautiful notes to help her move on with her life without him. Butler is absolutely hilarious as Gerry, theres no doubt this film has been very much treated to the Hollywood effect, as the book was nowhere near as funny or silly in places but somehow it just works. I found myself forgetting about the book version and almost as if I was watching a film I had never even heard anything about before because it was THAT different.

There was plenty of eye candy for us girls in the film, we not only have Gerard Butler but there is also the other love interests who come in the form of James Marsters as John, Harry Connick Jr as Daniel and the rather lovely Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Billy. Fans of Grey’s Anatomy will remember him in the insanely popular role of ‘Denny’.

I would absolutely advise that whether you have read the book or not, you go and see this film with an open mind. It is funny, moving and the perfect movie for a girlie night out with friends. If you wait until next month the DVD will also be available to rent so that makes it even more perfect for a night in with some junk food. Don’t forget the tissues as this really is a bit of a weepie!

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Cloverfield Movie Review Info and Analysis

The buzz surrounding JJ Abrahms Cloverfield movie was huge during late 2007 and early 2008. You couldn’t go anywhere without hearing something about this film and I must admit it had one of the best marketing campaigns I have ever experienced. What with the hundreds of websites claiming to be affiliated with the film, the myspace pages and the official site with the photo’s you could flip over to reveal hidden clues it was nothing short of pure genius.

When I actually did get round to seeing the movie recently I was pleasantly surprised at how refreshingly different it was to anything I’d seen in a long time, and thankfully despite original reports it’s NOTHING like the blair witch project. The only similarities between the two are that they are both filmed with handheld cameras. This effect does have a tendency to make you feel dizzy at first but you soon become accoustomed to it and almost forget you are watching it from this viewpoint. The story starts out quite slow, at Robs going away party, but soon picks up after a huge bang is heard from outside. Everyone rushes into the streets just in time to see several explosions and that much publicised scene of the head of the statue of liberty come flying off and into the middle of the New York streets.

From this point things move very quickly, the action just keeps on coming and our first clear (ish) shot of the monster behind the attacks comes in the form of a huge tail or tentacle like thing that smashes the middle of a bridge that practically the whole city are trying to escape across! Rob and his friends are trapped on the wrong side of the bridge and decide to turn back in hope of rescuing the love of his life ‘Beth’ who is trapped at the other side of the city. As they make their way towards her apartment, we realise that smaller bug like creatures are falling off of the huge monster demolishing the city, and as one of the gang soon learns if you are bitten or attacked by them you die a very quick and bloody death.

Once Beth has been rescued the friends make their way back to the other side of the city where helicopters are waiting to take people to safety, but just as they think they are safe Rob’s helicopter is hit from the sky by the monster leaving them to plummet into the centre of a fight between the military and monster. With just Beth and Rob left alive we get some amazing shots of the true nature of the huge monster and just how dangerous it really is, leaving us in suspense right at the end after a huge explosion and the camera battery running out. We can only assume that Beth and Rob are dead, but who knows, maybe a sequel will reveal more?

I really enjoyed this film, I do however feel like it was just setting the scene for more to come, it is rumoured there will be a Cloverfield 2 and I honestly hope that’s true as I would love to find out more about the monster and why it was attacking, where it came from etc! There were so many questions that remain unanswered that it would be almost impossible to just leave things here surely?

Have you watched Cloverfield? What did you think to the movie and did it live up to your expectations?

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Untraceable Movie Review Starring Diane Lane

Untraceable is a movie I had been looking forward to watching for a while now. After seeing some trailers which made it look pretty good I was excited to finally get to see it last night. Unfortunately for me though the movie turned out to be nowhere near as good as I had hoped and I can honestly say I thought it was a complete letdown.

The basic storyline is that F.B.I. cyber crimes specialist Jennifer Marsh (Played by Diane Lane) stumbles across a website called KillWithMe.Com which allows its viewers to control how quickly a victim dies. Starting with a tiny defenceless kitten and moving on to human victims set in a series of horrible traps and torture devices the killer invites his viewers to log on and ‘kill with him’ as the more people who log onto the site, the quicker the victim will die. Read more

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