September didn’t start with the best of movies, but it was mildly entertaining at least! Quality picked up after the first, by miles.
The Final Destination (03/09/10)
Was this the 3D one? I don’t know. There were moments where things were flung at the screen, but seeing it on TV I was clueless! Your standard Final Destination film with some carefully plotted death sequences. The opening death sequence was good, I liked that. Everything else though? Wasn’t the biggest fan. There were no major surprises and no twists that haven’t already been done in previous Final Destination films. Characters were your bog standard and all pretty bad, except Mykelti Williamson’s character.
Rating: 1/5
Mesrine: Killer Instinct (05/09/10)
I remember when this movie came out in cinemas here, roughly the same time as Michael Mann’s Public Enemies. I remember a family member of mine telling me I should see Mesrine as it was the French’s own public enemy no. 1. Well, I didn’t get round to seeing it then, which is a shame. Having seen it now I wish I had seen it on the big screen. Excellent first part documenting Jacque Mesrine’s climb up the criminal ladder to become a fully fledged, and pretty damn scary, gangster. Vincent Cassel is just brilliant – family man/husband at one point and then cold-blooded killer the next.
Just a really slick and well made thriller/biography of one impressive criminal.
Rating: 4/5
Mesrine: Public Enemy No. 1 (05/09/10)
I was going to try to save the second part of Mesrine for next weekend, but I couldn’t. A few hours after I finished the first movie I popped this one in. The second part shows the now established Jacques Mesrine doing everything he can to live the life he wants to live. Things get very brutal. There was one scene where I was hoping it would end quickly! The final scene of the movie is amazing. It wraps up what you saw in the beginning of the first film but in such a way that I nearly fell off the edge of my sofa because of all the tension that was building up. Amazing piece of cinema really well done.
Rating: 4/5
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Salt (20/08/10)
I think this film was being marketed as the female Bourne. Erm, not quite. It’s not as slick or well crafted as the Bourne films, far from it. The action’s not as ‘real’ and it’s just not comparable. However, saying that, Salt’s still an incredibly entertaining action flick. Some nice action sequences and a few explosions. The ‘twist’ I could see coming from the beginning of the film, but it didn’t hurt the film that it was that predictable. Angelina Jolie’s an awesome action actress. I reckon she’s the best action movie actress out there at the moment. The pace of the movie’s very good, there wasn’t a single moment where I felt like I could start drifting off and wondering where the film was going. It skips along very well to the end which leaves you feeling pretty satisfied.
Rating: 4/5
Piranha 3D (21/08/10)
I feel as though I need to defend my rating of this film. The fact that I rated it so highly! Piranha 3D never claimed it was going to be the most thoughtful horror movie this year. It blatantly claimed it was going to be cheap, trashy with loads of blood and gore. All those boxes were definitely ticked! It’s one of the most entertaining horror films I’ve seen. Loads more laughs than you’d expect. There were some brilliant and imaginative death sequences. Some made me ‘OH!’ and others made me laugh out loud. The cast are brilliant too – great to see Christopher Lloyd go a bit Doc Brown! Go see it. With a big group of friends! The only thing that did disappoint was the 3D-ness. I was expecting more. There was the odd occassion where something would jump out of the screen, but there wasn’t enough.
Rating: 4/5
Adventureland (22/08/10)
A nice little dramedy. Jesse Eiseberg’s good, Kristen Stewart didn’t completely annoy me. Though her portrayal of either annoyance, anger or being upset by ruffling her hair did start to annoy me slightly. The music was brilliant. Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig made me laugh. A nice little story. Nothing more to really add other than that. A good little film.
Rating: 3/5
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The A-Team (05/08/10)
I loved The A-Team TV show. It was Saturday afternoon tea time viewing for the whole family. I’m not joking. I am still guilty of watching the odd episode here and there when I find it on some random channel on Sky. It’s a bit of brain off action fun. Which is exactly what the movie was too. A ridiculous plot coupled with a set of ridiculous scenarios with some fantastic characters. Loved it. Out of the whole cast I think Sharlto Copley and Bradley Cooper were the best cast in their roles. Looks like Sharlto got to have a lot of fun as Murdock! Rest of the A-Team was very good with Liam Neeson giving the movie some acting chops and a surprisingly good turn from Quinton Jackson. Jessica Biel I was less fond of; her character seemed a bit blah and I’m not her biggest fan. Oh and Jon Hamm appearance at the end was a nice surprise!
The slight update of the team’s origin was good. They didn’t dwell on the origin – just kept the action going. The film’s not Oscar worthy, it’s not meant to be. It’s just meant to be a bit of ridiculous fun, which was what the TV show was about.
Rating: 4/5
The Children (07/08/10)
I just saw the word terrifying and I started to watch this film. Once I got past the bad sound editing I wouldn’t say I totally enjoyed the film but it filled the time and kept me amused. Not sure about terrified, but there was some gore and moments of ‘Oh!’. Filled with your very recognisable English TV show actors. If you watch a lot of English TV. Which I do not. Horror movies with crazy children are usually pretty effective. Though the little girl from [REC] still holds the top spot for me in terms of terrifying child in a horror film. The film did look good well done. Some thought and money had been put behind it. Some good death scenes all around make up for one or two annoying child actors.
Rating: 2/5
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Splice (27/07/10)
I’ll admit it. I was curious about this movie. For that alone, I was slightly ashamed of myself! It looked like the kind of film I shouldn’t really go and see and tell people I had seen it. After seeing the film there are bits in it which were a little bit uncomfortable and just a bit… hmmm FREAKY, however I did like the film. It’ll be the best genetic altering film I’ll see this year! A bit creepy, a bit cute – there were more ‘aww’s’ coming from the audience I saw it with than I was expecting. I wouldn’t say there’s a twist ending, something I saw coming, but it still satisfied me.
Rating: 3/5
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[REC] (09/07/10)
I had no expectations of this film other than I could potentially have a jump and it was in another language so I would be reading some subtitles. I sat and watched and got sucked in. Very good horror movie which actually did make me jump a couple of times. For me that’s rare. I liked the fact there they didn’t feel a need to explain things. Things happened and you just get caught up in the events and go along with it like the characters in the film did. Quite like to see the sequel now.
Rating: 4/5
Inception (17/07/10)
Chris Nolan is awesome. He picks the best cast, creates the best films and makes my mind explode and implode. I loved Inception. My brain did hurt a little while watching and after watching. I’m not going to say too much so as not to give too much away but it was awesome. JGL needs to be in more films. Please. And have guns. Also Tom Hardy was a nice surprise, he was very good! And the score was brilliant. LOVED!
Rating: 5/5
Moon (18/07/10)
This was also nothing like i was expecting, though I had very few expectations. Just that I was meant to love this. And I did. Sam Rockwell was brilliant. He carried the film amazingly well.
Rating: 5/5
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Silent Hill (03/04/10)
I know this is a video game transferred to movie format, but being a vaguely horror based movie I was expecting some good to come out of it. Well, a tiny bit of good did, but for the most part, I was just waiting for this film to end! I was getting aggravated with the shouting of, “Shaaaaaron” every few moments. Also the heck of a lot of screaming. Though being a horror film I should have expected it. Some of the CG were so very video game, but I’m not sure if that was purposeful or not. Sean Bean put on his worst accent ever. He should just stick to being a northerner.
The plot line was ok. Nothing unexpected. Some of the more horrific imagery in it was actually fairly horrific, even to me! I’m a pretty jaded person and it takes a fair bit to scare me. The ending satisfied me. Having never played the game I have no idea what the plot line of that is to compare.
Rating: 2/5
Final Destination 3 (03/04/10)
From one crappy horror movie to another. I skipped the second film, but I’m a big fan of the first film. Loved it. Own it. It was a nice concept. Though it’s been watered down now and this movie really is just a cheap, cheap sequel. Some of the deaths were good and gory, but eh, I found very little merit in the film.
Rating: 1/5
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