Leonardo DiCaprio, Johnny Depp, Edward Norton, Heath Ledger, Matthew Gray Gubler, Ellen Page, James Franco, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Zooey Deschanel, Casey Affleck, Daniel Day Lewis, Naomi Watts, Lee Pace, Emma Stone, Kate Winslet, Anna Friel, Brad Pitt, Neil Patrick Harris, Benjamin Bratt, Cate Blanchett, Tom Hanks, Amber Heard, Scout Taylor-Compton, Jason Bateman, Marion Cotillard, Dominic Monaghan, Peyton List, Rosario Dawson, Alyson Hannigan, Taylor Kitsch, Martin Scorsese, David Fincher, A.J. Cook, Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake, Rooney Mara, Alison Brie, Donald Glover, Danny Pudi, Gillian Jacobs

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50/50

Posted : 2 months ago on 25 November 2011 11:47 (A review of 50/50)

Adam is a 27 year old writer of radio programs, and his life is turned upside down by the blindsiding news that he was a rare form of cancer. With the help of friends and family Adam must learn to adapt to new emotions and feeling, while trying to keep his head up and remain positive.

Its hard to think of a perfect summation of what 50/50 is, there are so many good elements of cinema present it is very hard to narrow down one way of describing how 50/50 makes you feel and what you are thinking about. The film ties in all the components of real life and sadness, but continues to make the scenes funny, but you never get the sense that a joke has been taken to far.

50/50 deals an appropriate amount of scenes that make you laugh and scenes that make you tear up. It keeps a sombre undertone, while the primary focus is the humorous uplifting moments. The impending scenes of how Adams sickness changes him are always lingering, keeping a somewhat tight leash on the humour and where they are taking it. Somehow it never seems forced, there are two sides to life, the one with our parents and the one with out friends. Lets be honest here we have all made a wise joke at the expense of something that was deemed to be off limits. The tight-lipped humour allows this picture to carry a melodramatic and lamentable mood through out the film. The humour always maintains a relevance to the story, it may be profanity laced at times as it exits the mouth of the un-censorable Seth Rogen but it keeps its focus.

The movie not only takes us on a personal journey of writer Will Reiser, and his struggles with cancer but it takes us on this incredible journey of these characters that are loosely based of the personal stories of Reisers friendship with Seth Rogen. Rogen is playing the role here in the film that he played in real life. Rogen falls into with relative ease, its seemingly Seth Rogen playing Seth Rogen with just the right amount of absolute absurdity and charisma. Angelica Huston comes off a bit strong in her performance, but as all mothers would do she immediately wants to jump right in and be there every step of the way. It was a fine portrayal of motherly affection and smothering. It is however the man of the hour Joseph Gordon-Levitt who perfectly balances out the humorous Adam and the emotionally torn apart Adam with simple and brilliant execution. His continuous efforts to downplay his feelings are well performed with a soft smile and darting eyes, but Gordon-Levitt is quietly filling the scenes with his personal acting touch, a charming approach to these very real and very deeply confused characters. First it was his performance as Tom Hansen in 500 Days of Summer and then Arthur in Inception, but Gordon-Levitt seems to have just the right touch of A-list appeal and buddy like personality to sustain these characters.

Not only will 50/50 stand as the best film of the year, but it may just stand as one of the better comedies to be smart and clever about a very touchy subject. It seems as though Seth Rogen summed up this movie just perfectly when he said “Most movies about cancer try and systematically avoid that funny things happen during tragic situations. I don’t think we added humour to something that wasn’t funny, but I think most movies removed humour from something that can be very funny sometimes”. 50/50 is in prime shape come award season, and this complete package of a film may just be the darling of 2012. Heres to the Oscar Campaign for 50/50 because this is a movie worth cheering and celebrating.


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Abduction? Review

Posted : 2 months, 1 week ago on 19 November 2011 10:59 (A review of Abduction)

After Nathan Harper finds a picture that oddly resembles himself online, he begins to ask questions. With in a day there are people attacking his house, trying to catch him. Nathan does not know who he can trust, so he goes off on the run, trying to remain hidden at every turn, all the while trying to figure exactly what is going.

Abduction was released earlier in the fall, and was supposed to be Lautner’s expose; he was supposed to come alive as the next big action star. If that was his sole intention, he should have chosen a script with at least a shred of credibility, and not just a typical action movie with the same old stunts seen hundreds of times. Lautners Jacob Black may have gained him a few supporters, as he is one of the few who has given off a worthy of mention performance in the Twilight saga. Lautner has the look, at 19 he is physically fit for any role. He can climb walls, kick, and punch and use all the martial arts moves he chooses. If anything in this film Lautner gets credit for at least kicking ass in the action scenes.

What Abduction suffers from is lack of integrity. It tries to build the romance between Nathan and the girl across the street, but it is just not necessary for the plot line at all. The character of Karen played atrociously by Lily Collins (daughter of drummer Phil Collins) had no reason to be in the film at all. Karen was simply used to add sexual tension and climax to a scene where the make out heavily on a train. Why do you they have these sexually charged young adults stopping to have a little romance and then suddenly just stop awkwardly to say “we should get food”? The reason is the PG-13 rating, it enables kissing and flirting, but very little else can be shown. PG-13 also brings down the limit of using the F-bomb to just one use.

Very little of Abduction is worthy of redemption. There are a few scenes that maybe could have used a touch of better writing, or at least an edit of the initial draft. Abduction was a film that got the green light because of the action. Everything else is a dull attempt to be better then what it is. All the dialogue is unpleasant to sit through, because Lautner hides behind his squished up face, it seemed like he was attempting to show rage. I feel like at times, when Lautner was attempting to sound like a tough 19 year old kid, his voice sounded shrill and child like.

Enough with the baseball stadium scenes, why is that the only public place to meet? Why would you choose such a place, unless you know every little crevice of the place it is probably not a good idea. It is more then likely possible, Nathan Harper would have known a much better public place to manoeuvre around in, a place much easier to plan a grand escape from. Also during the baseball stadium scene, Nathan does what every action movie character does; he meets with the bad guy when he was still ten steps ahead of him.

Lautner may be adored by screaming fan girls young and old all over the world, but that does not change the fact if he wants to remain a star, he must choose films that are worthy of him remaining a star. Perhaps he is still young, drawn to scripts that are a breeze to read, but someday Lautner it would be good to see if you can read a script and play a character that isn’t tough and does not rely on fighting. He is on the way to limiting his own career, because the worse movies you do, the likelihood of getting a quality script sent to you is lower.


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Drive

Posted : 2 months, 3 weeks ago on 3 November 2011 05:28 (A review of Drive)

The Driver is a Hollywood stuntman by day and chauffeur for the criminals by night. He gets his cars from a middle aged washed up mechanic named Shannon. He gives the criminals five minutes to be in and out, no questions asked. He meets a woman named Irene who lives in the same apartment complex as him. He begins to spend a lot of time with her, and one night after her ex-husband is released from prison he is found badly beaten. The Driver helps him by offering to provide his services when he hears that Irene and her young son may be in danger. After the heist is botched, The Driver is left to fend for himself.

Drive is a film about a man who has a special talent. He is skilful in the art of driving a car. He can gear up and gear down like there is nothing to it. He weaves in and out of traffic with such ease and proficiency, like a paintbrush lathering on the paint with perfection. He spends most of his time quietly waiting as the thieves do their business, he never asks them questions, never meddles in their affairs. He always gets the job done when he is called upon.

Drive is very different from films of the same nature. Most of them of are in your face adrenaline rushes, similar to Fast and Furious. Drive is a bit of oddity because there are scenes of dramatic getaway chases, but there are also scenes where it is slowly paced in order to fully progress the story of the film.

For some reason it just does not work. It is meant to bring a counter balance to the recent trend in fast paced car chase movies, but the fans of those movies pay to see exactly that. The reason it does not work in Drive is because the action scenes are slow building. The Driver is waiting for the criminals to come back. He keeps checking his watch; he takes notice of other cars. This builds tension because it is clear that something bad is going to happen, but you need to watch and wait. Then it happens, a gunshot, a squeal of the tires and the action begins. Both cars are engaged with each other, slowly bumping one another. Then they pull out all the big stops like sudden turns and drifting. Then one car gets away. Right after this intensely built scene, there is a slow scene with very little dialogue and characters staring at a wall for twenty minutes. It just doesn’t flow; more dialogue could have built better characters. It should have been more action and less attempted character development in the format they used. Or another solution could have been a different format all together, with more character development and shorter more direct action scenes.

Ryan Gosling plays a character that says very little but accomplishes a lot through-out the film. His character is soft spoken, and on top of that rarely ever speaks. Gosling however somehow pulls off a tremendous performance. His gruff and intimidating look is enough for him to sell the performance. His intensity in the build-up scenes and his emotions as the film progresses were all enough for him to look tough. Gosling may not have said much, but his expression and emotions colourfully lathered on many different coats of carefully applied craftsmanship.

Drive has more flaws than it does positives; it is a film where the characters are not at all relatable. They all speak, but are not given enough dialogue to say anything that resonates with the audience. Irene spoke very few words herself, so her development scenes with The Driver were all but useless to the overall story. Some movies bog down their action with dialogue, but Drive had already established the action. The film was roughly 100 minutes, therefore extending the dialogue and adding on an extra 20 to that total would have given the producers the perfect recipe for success.

It is a very simple movie. If you like movies that are straight forward, feature no complicated twist or real shocking moments then Drive is essentially the movie for you. Other than a few scenes with gun shots and blood splatter, Drive is essentially a movie where a driver gets to drive his cars. It is good for what it is; it could have used a few rewrites to be just that much better. Overall it is a three out of five and is good for entertainment value.


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The Rum Diary

Posted : 3 months ago on 28 October 2011 07:16 (A review of The Rum Diary)

Paul Kemp is an American journalist who is struggling to find his voice. When he takes a job in beautiful sunny Puerto Rico he hopes that his life will turn around. He finds himself drinking heavily, writing horoscopes and trying to build himself a life. It all turns around when he meets Hal Sanderson and his beautiful girlfriend Chenault with whom he feels an instant connection. Paul struggles to maintain his professional and social life, all the while trying to find his own voice.

A well written, well balanced story based on the novel by Hunter S. Thompson. Thompson applied for a job at the real San Juan Star, just like the one portrayed in the movie. He made friends with the writers on staff and then wrote the novel based around them. This provided good source material for a film that deals a lot with substance abuse. Paul Kemp is an alcoholic who is denial, and finds himself dealing with the struggles of maintaining a normal life. The 60s atmosphere is captured; the unabashed lifestyle is well defined by the public drinking the inherent ability to light up a cigarette anywhere they chose. The lifestyle is much different then the modern era, but it very much came alive through the eccentricity of the characters.

Lead by the talented Johnny Depp, the cast does a marvellous job of giving breath to an era that has been over done in films. Ms.Heard is very sensual in her portrayal of Chenault, a natural beauty who catches the eye of every man as she enters the bar. Chenault catches the eye of a charismatic Paul Kemp, but their relationship is forbidden as she is dating Hal Sanderson. A tension builds between Kemp and Chenault, an undeniable connection is immediately established and it built through out the film.

The cast may have been the central factor in driving the feel of the era, but another big factor played an important role. The source material as touched on before is a unique style created by Thompson himself. Many of the works of fiction directly mirror the career of Thompson, of course the trouble and the absurdities Paul and his friends find themselves a part of may have been a bit over dramatized or over exaggerated, but the material and the realism was already there. This movie was based on a novel that was based on a real world situation; therefore the ground work for a successful film was already laid out.

With the sun soaked atmosphere of Puerto Rico at the ready, The Rum Diary takes a step beyond just being a dramatic story. There are scenes of crude behaviour and excessive drinking and drug use. This as well and every other work by Thompson is targeted at a very specific audience, therefore this film is definitely not for everyone. The excessive drinking and drug use is no stranger in films based on works by Hunter S. Thompson. The alcohol and drug use in this film is mild in comparison to Fear and Loathing, but it still has the willingness to show it.

The way the Rum Diaries is built is the exact foundation necessary to make a film that is adored by its audience. It is broken down into three acts: The introduction, Paul Kemp is first introduced to the island. The second act, his rise among the ranks of local well known men. And the third act, when his lifestyle and choices have real world consequences and he is forced to decide what is next.

The Rum Diary is a well done flick, the essentials are all present. Mr. Depp has successfully portrayed another work of Thompson with ease and efficiency. This cast was superb, The Rum Dairy is very enjoyable as a film. Have your own discretion when deciding whether or not to see, but I say it is well worth a viewing.


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The Help Review

Posted : 3 months, 3 weeks ago on 9 October 2011 11:49 (A review of The Help)

Told through the eyes of three women in the late 1960’s The Help is a film about African-American house maids and the struggles they go through working for upper class families in Mississippi. Narrated by Aibileen Clark, The Help tells us about social and economic injustices, and how one person can have a voice that helps change the world. Eugenia “Skeeter” Phelin is determined to be writer, and after she gets a job at a local newspaper, she sees an opportunity to tell the world a story that has never been told. She begins to sit down with Aibileen, chronicling the ups and downs of a life that has its hardships. “Skeeter” helps many more women tell there stories, and goes onto to eventually publish the book.

Emma Stone has proven to be talented on a number of occasions, usually appearing in top notch comedies. She really outdid herself this time. Stone is much more honest and real then she has ever been. Playing a much more challenging character, Stone stepped up and gave Eugenia “Skeeter” Phelin a voice on the screen. Stone easily captured the charisma of a young girl determined to do something meaningful. Emma Stone should be very pleased with the fine performance she has given, she has taken such a wonderful and interesting character and given audiences around the world something to smile about.

The Help has everything it takes to be a good film. It has an emotional story, characters who are true to life, and a story that builds itself in three acts. The film allows the characters and there conflicts to grow, leading to a conclusion that is much more real life like then most films. The Help allows itself to be what it is, relying on the message and the power of a single voice. Instead of growing convoluted, The Help sticks to what helps build true story, emotion.

Viola Davis carries the film, her performance as Aibileen Clark is touching and real. Aibileen is an honest, hardworking and sincere woman, who is dealing with very heavy set emotions through out the film. Watching Davis transform into Aibileen, was a magnificent thing from a viewer stand point. When you hear the words, coming out of her mouth, they sting, they are so raw and driven, you cannot help but feel the pain coming from Aibileen. The mix of drama and humour between Aibileen and Minny (played by Octavia Spencer) is what really shows how good The Help is.

The Help is an honest film that takes a stance against social injustices, while showing us how much one person can make a difference, it also reminds us how sad life can be. Unfortunately, even 50 years later we still face social injustices everywhere. The Help serves as a reminder, that society will take every small victory against injustice anywhere we can get it.

Personally, I have no issue with a film taking a stance on a certain social issue. The problem usually lies within it being accurate in depicting said injustice. Yes films usually tend to overexert themselves when trying to subtly nail home a message. The one thing that seemed impressive about The Help, was that there was not that overly painful unbearable scene that will forever remain burned within our brains. What The Help shows us is that we are not only affected by what it is we see on the screen, but we are willing to sit down and listen to a message if the person presenting the message is smart in doing so.

Now is The Help the best film of all time? You could argue that it could be. It has all the makings to be considered for it, but honestly that is not how I want to view this film. I want to view The Help as the small little film with a darling cast, that showed me and hopefully many others the true meaning of having a voice and using it.


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Brand new album, Same old Chili Peppers

Posted : 4 months, 1 week ago on 19 September 2011 09:20 (A review of I'm With You)

It has been roughly five years since the last time there was a Red Hot Chili Peppers song playing on the car radio as people drove into school. It has been five long years since the Chili’s climbed the charts with Dani California. In 2006 we could not go 24 hrs without hearing Dani California or seeing the video on television. Here we are, Sept. 2011 and The Chili’s are back with their tenth studio album titled “I’m With You”

It has been said that the Chili Peppers were looking for a fresh new start with “I’m With You” after the departure of long time guitarist John Frusciante. Frusciante was with the band since 1989, taking a break from the band during the late nineties to go to rehab. This is only the second album in over two decades that does not feature John Frusciantes recognizable guitar riffs. In comes Josh Klinghoffer to replace the long standing member, and for the most part it works on the album. There are a few times when you would have expected a long solo from Klinghoffer, just so the album could show the fans what he is made of, but it does not happen. The song just ends or there is no build up to a thrilling conclusion.

Despite the fact that Frusciante is missing on certain singles, the Chili Peppers have once again provided an album that is a good mix of old fashioned rock tunes, along with poppy funk tunes to keep their fans interested. The songs still hold a lyrical focus like no other, as lead singer Anthony Kiedis belts out the lyrics to “The adventures of rain dance Maggie” along with Flea’s never boring bass line.

“The Adventures of Rain dance Maggie” is a good single to release off the album for their first single in almost five years. It is a good funky ballad, but not over the top and flashy like some of their older singles. It may prove to the start of a newer brand of the Red Hot Chili Peppers name. Much like their transition from original guitarist Hillel Slovak into John Frusciante, the band seems like they have taken time to figure out exactly where they want to go.

Frusciante may be the one people know, but for a band that has been through a lot over the years, The Red Hot Chili Peppers remained as focused as ever to bring their fans an album worth listening to. Whether it is the funky opening to the song “Ethiopia” where Kiedis simply just says “E I O I E I A” a few times while breaking into the song, or the slowly building “Brendan’s Death Song” it is good to hear music from The Red Hot Chili Peppers, whether it be with Frusciante or not. Klinghoffer will prove over time that he can be a solid member of the band, already proving on this album that he can play multiple instruments. He not only played the guitar for the album but played key board on a few tracks as well as the six stringed bass.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers may have a few kinks to work out a long the way, but with their dedication and determination, It is pretty much guaranteed that this is not the last we have heard from them.


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Buried Review

Posted : 4 months, 2 weeks ago on 10 September 2011 06:49 (A review of Buried)

With nothing but a cell phone, a bottle of anxiety pills, a flashlight and a knife, Paul Conroy finds himself trapped in a wooden coffin, with very little recollection of how he got there. He does not understand why, because he was just a truck driver making an honest living. As Paul frantically calls every number he can think of to try and get help, he begins to realize that he may in fact be trapped and he may not make it out alive.

This film is 95 minutes of pure tension. There is nothing but Paul Conroy trapped in a coffin and trying to desperately to escape. When it is said there is nothing more than Paul, it is honest. There is no other setting used in this movie other than that of the coffin. There are no other physical portrayals by actors, just one video appearance and a few voices on the phone. Despite the fact it is based in a small wooden box, Buried is still a really good movie. It is about one man struggling to find out all he can, while slowly coming to terms with the fact that he may die.

Ryan Reynolds is essentially the film. He is the only actor physically in the movie like already mentioned. At the beginning it seemed as though Reynolds was going to provide a boring generic portrayal, but as the tension builds so does his performance. His voice, his anger, his anxiety all becomes so real and life like. Reynolds proves to the audience watching Buried he can do just about anything, he held this film roughly for about 20 minutes longer than it needed to be.

Unfortunately the one downside to sticking within the Coffin is we never fully got to be aware of what exactly happened to Paul, we get a very odd description over the phone, one that does not clearly indentify what went wrong with Pauls convoy. One flashback scene could have done the trick and it would have added a visual component to what happened. Audio relay of what happened does not work extremely well for film purposes.

At the same time, the voice seems to be the one reason Paul is working so hard to stay alive. We hear him talking to a man who helps calm hostages, we see him trying to get a hold of people he loves and cares about. The voices do serve dramatic purposes, especially closer to the end of the movie when he his on the phone with Dan Brenner.

When it comes to the end, there is a bit of a debate, we here over the course of the movie about a man Dan Brenner had saved three weeks earlier named Mark White. When the end rolls around, it is a bit of a dramatic mess. They say they are close to tracking Paul but eventually stumble upon the grave of Mark White. It is never fully explained why trying to track Paul lead them to Marks grave because they were tracking the phone and the numbers Paul had given them. No one number can be tracked to the wrong place. Had they been tracking the number of Pauls phone it could not have lead them that far away from Paul, it may have lead them too a location very close, but not another place entirely. This was the one aspect of the film that is left up to interpretation and when you really think about it, it makes no sense with the rest of the film.

Despite the minor hiccup at the end Buried is still a very enjoyable film, with a surprising performance from Reynolds who seems like an odd choice for a film based solely around one man. Reynolds proved to the audience he can do it, which is why director Rodrigo Cortés wanted him in the first place. This film restores my faith in tense thriller films, while restoring my faith that Ryan Reynolds can hold his own and provide audiences with intense performances.


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JJ Abrams does it again!

Posted : 4 months, 3 weeks ago on 3 September 2011 11:29 (A review of Super 8)

After a US Airforce cargo train crashes just outside a small town called Lillian, the local inhabitants lead by a group of curious young kids begin to think the Airforce is hiding something about what was actually on the train.

Leading up to the release of JJ Abrams 2008 Monster movie Cloverfield, we were treated as fans to a genius marketing campaign and a brilliant new way of telling a story. Cloverfield went on to be a huge success for Abrams, and then last summer there was another trailer put on the web, same genius marketing strategy. Make a trailer, where all we see is a train derailing and dents being made into one of the train cars while we can clearly read “US Airforce” on the side of it. It was simple, yet affective because it captivated the people watching the trailer. It was quite obvious it would be another film similar and style to Cloverfield, all the while trying to use the faults of Cloverfield to their advantage.

Cloverfields documentary film style, shown from the perspective of a handycam was both the biggest reason it was successful but also made it hard to see a lot of the action from a straight non shaky camera view. With Super 8 we are treated to the delight of a full blown monster flick with great explosions and great camera angles so we get to see closeups of the monster as well as feel the tension throughout the entire crisis more. With Cloverfield you felt only what the four people with the handy cam felt, with Super 8 you got to feel what the entire town folk of Lillian felt.

It also felt as though Super 8 tried to present more of a back-story for the monster, more of a clearly defined back-story during the film. The Cloverfield back-story has had numerous rumours as to what the monster was exactly and what its motives were. With Super 8 the audience was treated to the old camera footage of the scientists working and experimenting on this creature. The suspense was built up when the camera was knocked over and the kids went to get the film developed. It seemed like just when Super 8 was out of things to keep you interested something else happened to bring you right back to being very much interested and aware of what exactly is happening.

All of the actors seemed better in Super 8 then those featured in Cloverfield. Kyle Chandler has gotten critical praise across the board for his performance in Friday Night Lights, and he does good with what he was given here, but he could have been given just a tad bit more dialogue and emotional scenes to showcase his talent on the big screen. The kids in the film lead by Elle Fanning are the best part of the film. Their curiosity as budding young filmmakers is exactly the way any kid would be; with a few things they do being a bit over the top and outrageous but like Charles says in the moving “It adds production value”

Overall it seems to me atleast that Super 8 is a slightly better film then Cloverfield was back in 2008. Super 8 is a good film, well written, amazing special affects and brilliant actors portraying these characters who are curious yet still very much afraid of what the cargo could be.


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Should have been a more serious adaptation

Posted : 6 months, 4 weeks ago on 4 July 2011 12:55 (A review of The Green Hornet)

After the sudden death of newspaper editor and owner James Reid, his only son Britt is thrown into the cooperate world without any clue of how to run a business. When Britt meets Kato, a disgruntled and mysterious employee of his father they form an odd friendship which results in Britt becoming a masked vigilante in the city of L.A known simply as the Green Hornet. With Britt now running around the city causing havoc for gangs and drug dealers, he draws the attention of a ruthless drug dealer named Chudnofsky

The Green Hornet is a film written by comedian Seth Rogen, and right off the bat that is the biggest downfall the film has. Rogen is very talented comedian, but this film should have never been a comedy. This film could have easily been better had it taken itself seriously at times. Rogen could have thrown in some very good themes had it been a drama. There were some serious scenes, but most of them either awkward because they did not fit with the overall mood or they eventually turned into a joke. Had Rogen taken the time to sit down not as a comedian but as a writer, he may have been able to produce a good script, because the final product which he produced seemed like it was written by a 10 year old.

Now with that being said Rogen does not even do a good job of acting out his own written material. We have seen this type of performances from Rogen many times, but this time it was just too tedious and overwhelming. The material which he performed for his character was terrible to begin with, so no matter how Rogen tried to present it for acting purposes it would have been dull and boring. Which brings up the rest of the actors, Jay Chou was expressionless as Kato and Cameron Diaz did not fit the role of Lenore, she was too upbeat and cheery the entire time for me to buy into it. There was one lone bright spot for the acting and pretty much the entire film and that was Christoph Waltz as Chudnofsky. He played the villain the way he should have been played, cold and ruthless. Waltz was brilliant; his character was insane right from the badass opening scene (featuring a very clever and downright awesome cameo from James Franco) up until the final battle scene between The Green Hornet and himself.

The Green Hornet is far from an enjoyable flick, it was boring and drawn out. Rogen was certainly not the person who should have been in control of this adaptation. It should have been handled by someone who was willing to add more seriousness and take out many of the unnecessary stupid lines. For the first time really in his career thus far it seems Rogens usual over the top delivery and his crude humour did not serve him well. People have caught on to this being a regular muse for Rogen, and would like to see him try and take things seriously for once. It was obvious that Rogen was trying to bring a new spin to the superhero genre, which features many dramatic adaptations of famous heroes, but it sticking with the drama proves to be a more efficient and audience friendly way of making a superhero/vigilante flick.

As far as films from 2011 go or even to clarify that even further, as far as superhero films from 2011 go there will be much better. In fact Green Hornet may be at the bottom of the all time list of Superhero films to grace the big screen. This is certainly far from one of the best films of 2011. Even if you are a huge fan of Rogen this film simply does not work. Watch it for a few laughs maybe and too see a badass Christoph Waltz, but other than that, do not expect to be wowed by this film.


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The Bang Bang Club

Posted : 7 months, 2 weeks ago on 16 June 2011 11:50 (A review of The Bang Bang Club)

Kevin Carter: They're right. All those people who say it's our job to just sit and watch people die. They're right.

Four war photographers capture the uprising in the final days of the Apartheid in South Africa. For photographers Greg Marinovich, Kevin Carter, Ken Oosterbroek and Joao Silva it was about getting deep within the action and getting a photograph that captured the inner struggle and the ruthlessness of the rebellion. The story of The Bang Bang Club is not just about them going out to find these photos, but it is also about the emotional toll
their jobs took on them as human beings.

Director Steven Silver did such a masterful job of bringing these four people to life. For an hour and 40 minutes my eyes were glued to the screen, watching them get deep within the action, watching them as they narrowly escaped death numerous times and still had the will to carry on. They were fearless it seemed, and for the first bit of the film their uncanny ability to get the shot and move on was captured brilliantly. As the film got deeper and deeper it become evident that even those who have the strongest of wills can be broken, and this is where The Bang Bang Club really became such an emotional film to watch.

The Bang Bang Club is an emotional rollercoaster to say the least; these four men had you on the edge of your seat as you watched them tear through battlefields and willingly took the photos and got recognized for doing so. At times The Bang Bang Club plays at your emotions but they also show you that hard work in the end does pay off. The Bang Bang Club works because it captures their highlights and lowlights, without skipping a beat as a film.

Wonderfully written, crafted and shot the Bang Bang Club is a film any person associated with the media should take a look at. There are only a few films out there that master the art of storytelling more then the Bang Bang Club. Ryan Phillippe and Taylor Kitsch are perfect in their roles. Both bring realism and honesty to their characters, making them real people with real feelings. In a film like this it is easy to forget yourself and make the main characters seem indestructible, but never did Phillippe or Kitsch make their characters seem that way.

It was Kitsch that sold the movie for me. Kevin Carter was a phenomenal photographer who slowly lost himself to drugs. Kitsch played him with a soft subtlety that never slowed down all the other elements. When Kevin Carter delivered a powerful line as it seemed he was the one that did through out the film, it always seemed like there was much more to Kevin Carter on the inside that he was afraid to let be seen. Kitsch has proven that he is a talented actor on several occasions in the past, but when playing Kevin Carter you see a new side to Taylor Kitsch as an actor. You get the sense with The Bang Bang Club that there is not a character Taylor Kitsch cannot play because he shows that he is willing to bring out every emotion he has an actor and explore the vulnerability of his character, and go deep within in himself to show how the character his feeling.

The Bang Bang Club is certainly one of the better all around pictures to be released in a long time. Usually most movies lack either story or emotion or the actors cannot capture their emotions properly. The Bang Bang Club goes above and beyond what you expect from a modern day movie of its nature and it proves to be one of the better films one can watch. I recommend it to anyone who likes journalism, war films or movies to do with conflicts in Africa. It will not disappoint.



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