A LONG TIME COMING

I apoligise for my lateness, I had actually written these two nights ago but have only just remembered to post them. I must get my motivation back!

Faye

DUE DATE

9^th Nov 2010 (15)

Director: Todd Phillips

Verdict: I had read a lot of reviews before I went to see this and all seemed quite negative but this was because they were all comparing it to the ‘Hangover’, hence why they felt disappointed. I know it is the same director and one recurring actor but there is no point in comparing the two films because they aren’t connected in any way. I did really like this film, probably more than I was expecting because of these reviews but the main reason for my laughs was the character of Aiden, played by Zach Galifianakis who never ceases to make me laugh. Robert Downey Jr was as cool as normal but his character wasn’t the best I’ve seen. I would say my laughing was mainly chuckling and that I didn’t laugh constantly which is why I have given it my average star rating.

JACKASS 3D

11^th Nov 2010 (18)

Director: Jeff Tremaine

Verdict: I wasn’t particularly looking forward to going to see this film but I got dragged along by my boyfriend. He had previously shown me parts of the previous film which I didn’t find particularly funny. When we arrived at the cinema, I seemed to be of a minority! Although I wasn’t looking forward to it, I have given it four stars because I laughed throughout, and quite loudly too. Some parts were obviously, pretty gross and other parts I was genuinely shocked that they risked their lives for but overall I found it really enjoyable. I preferred it to the previous film because the men seemed more humble and genuine in this latest one. I do think it is time for the men to finally grow up and stop hurting themselves now though but it made me laugh a lot which is why I felt it deserved four stars.

EASILY RATED

EASY A
2nd Nov 2010 (15)

Director: Will Gluck
Verdict: This is one of my highest scoring films and it totally deserved it. I wasn't expecting too much from this film because it wasn't even being shown at Rochester so I went to Ashford to see it. We were put in a small screen which didn't give me much hope either. When the film begun and the music started playing I thought it would be OK because a good soundtrack always helps. I really loved this film because it was smart, funny and it also had romance, but not too much! I thought it was an original idea and I liked the way it was directed. The main actress, Emma Stone didn't annoy me, not like most American films and I loved her family and the way they all acted around each other. I gave this film four and a half stars because I thought it was really good and I already want it on DVD! I recommend it to everyone, girls and guys.

AT LONG LAST.

I apoligise for the long delay on this post but I have been trying to get my head down and write my three uni assignments (but they aren't going very well). In the two weeks I have seen three films so it was time for me to write my reviews. Thanks for reading!

Faye

THE DEATH AND LIFE OF CHARLIE ST CLOUD

19^th Oct 2010 (12A)

Director: Burr Steers

Verdict: Looking back on it, I really liked this film. When it began and the brothers were being sickly sweet with one another, I was praying it was going to improve and I’m happy to say that it did. I found some parts predictable but at other times I was genuinely quite spooked and moved. I thought Zac Efron’s performance (and appearance!) was impressive and I don’t think he gets the credit he deserves sometimes. I’m quite sure it deserves to be four stars but it’s definitely worthy of three and a half. I really hope that in the future, Efron can play more respected roles.

RED

22^nd Oct 2010 (12A)

Director: Robert Schwentke

Verdict: I was really impressed with this film because I thought it would be a typical action movie which I would not enjoy, however I liked the idea of the older and retired action heroes. I normally really dislike Bruce Willis but he wasn’t too bad in this film! I was debating with myself whether to give it four stars but I decided against it because it still didn’t make me what to buy the film on DVD. I did think it was a bit far fetched that Willis’ love interest still wanted to be with him in the end but I won’t think too much into it.

BURKE AND HARE

27^th Oct 2010 (15)

Director: John Landis

Verdict: I wasn’t too hyped about going to see this but I felt like I hadn’t been to the cinema in a while and I had withdrawal symptoms. But it’s safe to say that I really shouldn’t have bothered. I wouldn’t need to use two hands to count the amount of times I actually laughed and I found it quite embarrassing at times when it was obvious they were trying to make the audience laugh but no one did. After looking Landis up, I learnt that he is quite an old director and I have come to the conclusion that he must have lost his touch. Sorry!

I WANT A MINION

I finally have a bit of time so I thought I would use it wisely (probably more wise to do uni work) and write my latest reviews which should have been done long ago. This post will be very positive as last week was a good week for films!

THE SOCIAL NETWORK  

13^th Oct 2010 (12A)

Director: David Fincher

Verdict: I have to admit that when I saw the trailer for this a few weeks ago, I laughed as I thought it was utterly stupid that anybody would be getting away with making a film about Facebook. However, the more I thought about it and the more trailers I saw, I began to look forward to it. I wasn’t disappointed as I really enjoyed it. I felt the soundtrack was really effective and the way you believed in the characters. It was obviously interesting to find out the story behind the social network, created by a twenty-something year old. After reading that some events in the film were purely for entertainment, I was slightly annoyed but I still felt it deserved four stars!

DESPICABLE ME

15^th Oct 2010 (U)

Director: Pierre Coffin, Chris Renaud

Verdict: I was sooo looking forward to this film and I totally wasn’t disappointed. I absolutely loved it! I’m such a sucker for a great animation film with cute and silly characters. I also found the storyline itself was very different and unique which is why it was so lovable. The Minions are the greatest characters ever created, with their funny expressions and voices. The protagonist Gru was so humorous as he struggled to be the villain but that’s what makes the film what it is; a five star animation!  

WALL S**T

WALL STREET: MONEY NEVER SLEEPS

7^th Oct 2010 (12A)

Director: Oliver Stone

Verdict: I do not want to rant too much, but that might mean this review won’t be very long! I went to see this film knowing I wasn’t going to like it but I thought I would give it a chance because it might have surprised me. But it didn’t. I cannot understand why anyone would think this film is interesting and exciting, because it bored me the whole way through; I have to admit that I resorted to playing a game on my boyfriend’s phone because I was so bored! I can also add that five people walked out half way through and I haven’t seen that before. After looking at the storyline on IMDB I noticed a quote; “As the global economy teeters on the brink of disaster” which I should have read before because I have no interest what so ever about the stocks depleting. I found Stone’s direction out of date and quite poor at times and I couldn’t believe how cheesy the ending was compared to the rest of the film. Some people may think I have been harsh but I can definitely say that I will never EVER see another Oliver Stone film again!

LIFE AS WE KNOW IT

8^th Oct 2010 (12A)

Director: Gary Berlanti

Verdict: I was looking forward to seeing this film because one of my favourite genres is the ‘rom-com’, I just can’t help but love them. This film was sad to begin with as you know at some point that the protagonist’s friends are going to die, but the mood starts to lift as the laughs begin. I thought that Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel worked well together and their dislike for each other in the film is what made the film humorous. The baby created a lot of laughs and I thought she was impressive. I did enjoy this film but I still don’t think I have seen a five star ‘rom-com’ yet this year. I’m just hoping that there will be more to come.

AT LAST...

I should be apologising for my late posting as I have seen three films since my last entry. The reason for the delay is University as I started last week and they have already started getting me reading a lot! Who ever told me that a degree is easier than A Levels was obviously having me on.

I have decided to add a new section to my posts where I will state what films I am looking forward to coming out in the next week so here it is:

NEW RELEASES:

Eat Pray Love

Buried

Life as We Know It

Anyway here are the latest reviews:

Faye

THE OTHER GUYS

21^st Sep 2010 (12A)

Director: Adam McKay

Verdict: After enjoying ‘Anchor Man’ I thought this film would be really comical, especially after all the hype it had received before its release; however I’m afraid to say that I was quite disappointed. I know many reviewers will argue with me but I found that the only times I laughed were thanks to Will Ferrell and even then I was just chuckling. I wasn’t particularly enthused by Mark Wahlberg either and I wasn’t sure if he was the right actor to be playing the part. After sitting in the cinema for nearly two hours, I realised that the storyline didn’t particularly make sense and it was weak with it. I have come to the conclusion that perhaps what was missing from this film was Steve Carell, who also starred in ‘Anchor Man’ and continues to make me laugh with every new film.

THE TOWN

24^th Sep 2010 (15)

Director: Ben Affleck

Verdict: I remember seeing the trailer for this and thinking, “that film looks pretty bad and the title is even worse”; I still stick to the title comment which is pretty lazy, but I can say that I was wrong about the movie. I went to see it with a fairly level head about whether I was going to like it or not which might be why I enjoyed it so much. I have noticed that recently my star ratings have been around an average of about three and a half stars and I truly felt this film is one of the better films I have seen in a while which is why I chose to rate it so highly with four. I was so impressed with Ben Affleck’s directing as I thought this was new to him, but after researching I found that this is his fourth film. I understand that the screenplay wasn’t the most original but I didn’t think it mattered because I felt as a whole it was made really well. At times, I would say that Affleck’s character was quite confusing as he was a master of bank robbery but then later confessed to not wanting the money or wanting to hurt people which begs the question, why did he do it? However I tried to think past this. Some people might disagree with me and find this film rather mediocre but I honestly found it above the other films I have seen recently. I might start going to the cinema with a level head more often!

RESIDENT EVIL: AFTERLIFE

28^th Sep 2010 (15)

Director: Paul W.S Anderson

Verdict: I was dragged along to see this at nine in the evening so I wasn’t in the best mood as I walked into the screening. After remembering that the last one had scared me, I started to panic about what might be to come (because as you may guess I do not like jumpy/scary films). It did have moments where I had to look away because I was too frightened to see what was about to pop out. Overall though, the effects and soundtrack were rather impressive which made it three and a half stars. To conclude, as I walked out I decided it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be

THE LATEST

I haven't been very promt with putting these up as I haven't written my blog in a few weeks so I felt like I had lost the rhythm. I've been very busy with enrolling in university and working. However, I have managed to watch three films this week...

Faye

TAMARA DREWE
13th Sep 2010 (15)
 Director: This film was not at all what I had expected. I thought it was going to be a typical romantic comedy but I was wrong. It did have its comedy and it did have its romance, but it had elements of originality. Gemma Arterton played the feisty Tamara Drewe who had the whole village talking about her and her 'short shorts'. I found her performance, neither thrilling nor dull. I believe she has more to offer than this performance. I did enjoy the film but I think it was slightly too bizarre for what I was expecting.

CYRUS
16th Sep 2010 (15)

Director: Jay Duplass and Mark Duplass
Verdict: Again this was another movie which didn't live up to my expectations. The trailer portrayed this film as highly humorous, when really all the funny parts were shown in the advert. The humour was dark too, in an almost scary way. I also found that there wasn't much music played in the background which I always find annoying as sound can always improve a film. To conclude, there were some funny moments but there were some times when I found the humour too dark. I was happy to see that Jonah Hill played a different character to what he normally plays but the Duplass brothers disappointed me.

GOING THE DISTANCE (15)
16th Sep 2010

Director: Nanette Burstein
Verdict: I went to see this film literally five minutes after Cyrus as I wanted to catch up. I was looking forward to this film as I love a good 'rom-com'. It didn't disappoint as much as Cyrus but I did find that it had something missing; that something I don't know. Drew Barrymore played a fun loving, career minded girl and I immediately liked her character, however I wasn't so keen on her on-off boyfriend's character Garrett, played by Justin Long; I found his character too needy and unrealistic. Even though I did enjoy this film, it wasn't a film I would go and tell all my friends to go and watch. I'm STILL waiting for a decent romantic comedy!


Verdict: Stephen Frears