(Now you see me) And now you don't

I do enjoy films that take place in NYC, they always end up being stylish. And this time it was just simply magical! Pan intended. 

Well it was one really dynamic film, fast paced and with great mystery. I do hope that you would actually have time to spare to watch it. 

Isla Fisher in tiny skirts, Jesse Eisenberg with a curtly mop and so much charm, Woody Harleson was evil in it, like a master mind with no filter, Dave Franco and Mark Ruffalo is... well do watch it all I'm saying. 

The magicians in this film are kind of like robin hoods... But it was a great revenge story. I actually did not see that end coming... I had a theory about it but my theory was incorrect.

I would say it is one of the best films of this year. 

Also it is a major men candy film.

Written by Daria, many months later after watching this film, still thinking it was a fun film and worth rewatching. 

Book into a film...never easy

There are many books adaptations into a film some are good, some are not and some  I m just undecided.

Onegin...

Bad..

Anna Karenina...

Strange and undecided...

Confessions of the Shopaholic...

 good

Girl with the dragon tattoo (Swedish film) amazing

The Help

 almost as good as a book but very good cinema

and then there are these things like Twilight... as bad as the books I guess, only saw 2 films.

But then with Mortal Instruments I was excited, I really am enjoying the books. You worry when some one decides to make a book you love into a film. I actually went to see MI twice since I really couldn't make a decision. I guess as much as I did not want to have expectations I had some after all.

It is a good adaptation, got all important points and a massive spoiler.. I'm trying to block it out. But it is not however a wholesome film.

So... 

The story line is very consistent. At first I thought the beginning felt rushed, but know I think it was from Clary's point of view, she learnt a lot about this new strange world of demon hunters and such, so the beginning was fast. I do like that Jocelyn abduction was elaborated on and also spoilers there, but girl put up a fight. You wouldn't expect less from the Shadowhunter.

Visually the film is how I wanted it to be, with a "nod" towards Goth. Sexy, dark and shiny. Yes, in my head it makes sense, watch it and see for your self. 

I also though it would have some cool tunes in... not just music but actual songs and stuff, but it didn't. Somehow at some scenes music was missing and missed. 

It's a complex world and has a lot of characters, in the film some of them seemed a bit flat...
Isabelle, beautiful and stunning,  somehow did not have that annoying but adorable personality. She was just a girl with cat like eyes, not good enough.
Magnus Bane is actually one of my favorite dudes in the book, his party was special, he is flamboyant and such and I though of him as Lafayette Raynolds in True blood series, but he wasn't...
When the "gang" is together all the conversations are had by only Jace and Clary and sometimes Simon is allowed to butt in... Same story with Luke aka Lucian, not enough. 

Rational part of me says that yeah, makes sense really, if they put more into these characters film would have been long....

But then it comes to werewolves, these big bag wolves and their white teeth that could get you decapitated... well they were pu#@%s. Couldn't even kill some demons... 

I realise that I'm being really negative so far but when you love the book ... how can one not be overly critical?!

I really loved that they kept most of the original jokes from the book. It was really good to have giggle when you are not just laughing to your kindle but also with bunch of people. 

There were moments when I got super excited and these are... Aiden Turner appearing on screen, yes, I know I am so very sad, but I think he is one beautiful beautiful man! Lena Headey slamming the frying pan into the intruders with such grace. Alec looking up when Magnus said "he with blue eyes"... Fight scenes in DuMort, so good... Jace looking down on Clary in the moment when they got into the institute for the 1st time.

Do not think I approve of Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Valentine, he looks too young... and he's too dark. When he tells that thing to Clary and then hugs her it was not right somehow, it was sexual if anything. Come on, director, re shoot that!

But I was very pleasantly surprised with the leads. They all were so good. 

Lilly Collins was lovely as Clary. I only saw her as a Snow White in Mirror Mirror and frankly it's not a good film to judge anyone. Where she was all tired and having a meltdown next to very very serious young Shadowhunter Jamie Campbell Bower. Now he is ideal Jace, did not see Alex Pettyer as Jace.

Certain moments of the film seemed rushed and unfinished. I do think it could have done with more musical score at the background, somehow I do not think Magnus' party did not have any music... Important bit of the plot and it did not imprint in me after seeing the film twice.

I wishes they turned Simon into a rat and introduced Raphael, they gonna have to in the next film. Yes, I wish for the next film! I wish there were more of the whole du mort situation and correct werewolf involvement and that demons would been more like in the books. Ms Clare did the great demons.

Unfortunatly interpersonal relationships were not developed fully, I guess it just would not be feasible. 

I will be going to see it again... I am in love! 

Written by Daria while day dreaming about Jamie Campbell Bower

something I really look forward

Recently I had a lot of time to kill during my trip back home, so I read. I finally finished Hobbit and know to bring a tissue to the next films. I have started last True Blood book, but feel too sad to read it since it is the last one and there will be no more southern supernaturals, so I thought I'd give Mortal Instruments a try...

Do not get me wrong it is no literally masterpiece and surly not a Stieg Larsson, but it is fun. And I am in love with Shadowhunters. I very much look forward to the film.... 

I really have no expectations.. I just want to see pretty people in a pretty story. Twitter gave me this link..

Isn't the Institute just magical.... and isn't Jace (Jamie Campbell Bower) just an under-aged sex on legs... in leather trousers?!

I look forward to see how the world came alive in this film, how the actors became these fun and sometime strange characters... I want to see the interpretation of the book and the story. 

By the way I am half way throw the second book already. 

Yes to the original!! Reaction to last post

Since last post by Owen I felt the need to say something about this remaking thing... or shall we say make it more accessible for people who cannot be arsed to read the subtitles. Well guess what I really love films in their original language, and I will spend time and read the subtitles. In English, that is not my first language. I just feel sorry for people who won't go see film because it is not in the language that they can understand and too lazy to read subtitles. 

For me Lisbeth always will be Noomi Rapace... and not that scary looking girl with no eyebrows. Talking about over styling. I have never seen the US version and I will never will. 

I always try to watch films in their original language. Maybe it is because I grew up in the country where everything was dobbed and sometimes rather badly.

Watch a film in the original language, give it a try.

New Oldboy...First Impressions

It's here!...

So above is the first red band trailer for the US remake of the Park Chan-wook's South Korean revenge thriller masterpiece Oldboy. The first post I ever did on this blog was about the original Oldboy because when I thought about what my favourite film was it jumped straight into my mind. In my eyes it is a perfect film which I can watch over and over and my enjoyment never diminishes.

I really can't praise it enough and that is why I have always been worried about what the inevitable American remake would do to my favourite movie. I know that I will always have my original but the US remake will be the version that the majority of my friends and movie going public will see and I just hope that it will do justice to the original.

You see this is an example of a typical conversation goes when I suggest watching Oldboy...

Me - 'Hey you fancy watching Oldboy it's amazing!'
Friend - 'Not heard of it what is it?'
Me - 'It's a South Korean revenge thriller by Park Chan-wook starring Choi min-sik'
Friend - 'Ummm I don't really do subtitles shall we watch something else'

But imagine that conversation with the remake...

Me - 'Hey you fancy watching Oldboy it's amazing!'
Friend - 'Not heard of it what is it?'
Me - 'It's a revenge thriller by Spike Lee starring Josh Brolin'
Friend - 'Oooo sounds good go on then'

This is why I want this remake to be good as it will hopefully act as a catalyst for people to discover the original and join me in realising it's brilliance. It was therefor with trepidation that I watched the above trailer and got my first glimpse of what Spike Lee had done with my beloved Oldboy.

First impression was that I like Josh Brolin as Oldboy. He is an actor who I have admired since  No Country for Old Men (he was pretty good in  The Goonies but for different reasons) Over the past few years there has been many actors linked with the role one of which was Will Smith! I remember that when I heard this I immediately wrote it off as Will Smith would never be in a film as dark and impactful as the original. I always toted Gary Oldman for the role but as time went by and he got older that became a pipe dream. But Josh Brolin is a worth candidate and his opening line in this trailer seems to invoke the Oldboy character.

In fact the start of the trailer is possibly the only part of the whole thing that feels like the original. The imprisonment of Oldboy is a key part of the plot but I did find the fact that his daughter is shown grown up in these scenes suggesting that the whole end of the original can't be in this remake disappointing. It looks as though the motivation for Oldboy in this version is to save his daughter and get revenge on his capture. The original Oldboy only had 'Why was I imprisioned' as motivation and is told if he doesn't find out why then someone will die.

The final scenes of the original were so impactful. They left you feeling like you had been punched in the stomach and they were what made sure that it stayed in my mind for weeks/years/decades afterwards. So if this has been taken out then straight away this isn't Oldboy. I can understand that the Hollywood machine is not a fan of churning out films that deal with darker themes but I hoped with Spike Lee at the helm he would stay true to the original. He may still for all I know but from this trailer it doesn't look good.

It appears that the hammer is going to stay as Oldboys weapon of choice which is a no brainer and I will wait with interest to see Spike Lee's take on the 'Hallway Hammer Fight Scene' of the original. A scene that I think is one of the greatest ever scenes committed to film (see my original post for more) If Lee can come even close to it then it will be brilliant!

It is going to be a very interesting experience watching this movie as I really can't see how it can match the original and I will find it very hard to not be critical of it as it is dealing with something that I love and feel protective of. I hope that I enjoy this but I live safe in the knowledge that if it does disappoint me then I can go home and watch the original Oldboy and I will instantly be cheered up. As I said earlier if all this remake does is act as a gateway for others to discover Park's masterpiece then it can't be a bad thing.

Written by Owen
While drinking Corona & eating Fudge

 

So it's been a while...

I have not posted in a while due to life and laziness getting in the way but worry not I have been watching films and I do have a few opinions on them. Some were good some were bad and some for a while held the place as my new favourite film. I had every intention of writing about them but it didn't happen so what I thought I'd do is a quick fire run down of the some of those films and what I thought about them.

Iron Man 3

I did a Quick Impression on this after I saw it but since then I have spoken to friends and heard their views on it so thought I'd add this...

So the second phase of Marvels all conquering franchise begins with Iron Man 3. I personally am worried that the Marvel films are going to get old fast and would personally of been happy if they had put the avengers lot on ice after the pinnacle that was Avengers and visited a few other lesser known characters. I mean Iron Man was not the all conquering character it has become since Robert Downey Jr took the role so it would be nice to see some other characters given the limelight. But we are told that this is all set for phase 3 so I will have to wait for Edger Wrights Ant Man movie...which I'm not sure I can.

In fact I think that Iron Man 2 is a great example of why I worry for the franchise as it was not a good movie and suffered as it was more a build up to the main event that was Avengers than a film in it's own right.

So after all this I have to say that what Shane Black has done with Iron Man 3 is exactly the opposite to my fears. I liked the fact that we got to explore the Tony Stark side of Iron Man and I know people who complained that there wasn't enough 'Iron Man' in this film to which I always answer 'who do you think Iron Man is?' you take Tony Stark out of the film and you have no Iron Man.

What I like about the Iron Man films and what has made it so popular is Robert Downey Jr. and his natural humour and charisma. So the more of that the better. Now the Quick Impression I wrote a while ago focuses more on the plot so you can read that to get the rest of my views....spoiler I kinda liked it but didn't love it.

The Purge

So The Purge...The film that stared at me from every phone box in Cardiff for months...the film from the guys that did Paranormal Activity (all be it only the money men)...It's got Ethan Hawke in it and Lena Heady this could be alright. Add in an kinda interesting concept this could be a decent horror.

That was my thoughts going into The Purge and after 30 mins of adverts and trailers and 20 mins of the film those thoughts were now...this concept has now been explained to me twice...I don't really like Hawke or Heady's characters...oh look Lou Carpenters daughter Lolly from Neighbours in it too...and she's playing an idiot!...this is going to be a shit horror.

One thing that is key in any home invasion horror is that you care about the characters and only the son of the family is in any way likable. The rest are just privileged morons who I wanted to die asap. The concept though interesting couldn't support a whole film and it just wasn't scary! Putting a mask on someone and getting them to look at the camera with their head tilted isn't scary if you want that person to get their hands on the people they are after. Plus the end was terrible!

I went to see this so you don't have to. Don't even watch it if your bored and you see it on NetFlix, keep searching and you will find something better I guarantee it.

Margin Call

Margin Call is set over one night during the financial crisis as a group of bankers meet to decide how to handle the impending collapse. It boasts a top cast including Paul Bettany, Jeremy Irons, Zachary Quinto, Stanley Tucci, and the mighty Kevin Spacey all of whom are brilliant. It felt very much like a play with no action violence just people talking and arguing as egos collide. 

The subject of the bank collapse was also fascinating to me and gave me an insight into what went on. At the time I didn't properly understand what the happened to cause the collapse but this movie did a great job of explaining it without at any point dumbing down the language which is testament to the script. Not great but enjoyable and very interesting plus I could watch Spacey and Irons butt heads all day long!

 

Star Trek Into Darkness

Earlier this year I put this in my Ones to Watch list ahead of Iron Man and Man of Steel. It was the big blockbuster that I was most looking forward to this summer and I'm happy to say that it didn't disappoint.

J.J. Abrams is a man who knows how to make a big budget popcorn movie. This had great action set pieces and a fun and interesting plot that I thought flowed nicely. All the cast are likable and embody the spirit of the original show. I really like the relationship between Chris Pine's Kirk and Zachary Quinto's Spock which is natural and funny. These two are ably support by the likes of Simon Pegg and Zoe Saldana but all of these are overshadowed by the brilliant Benedict Cumberbatch who steals every shot he is in and even some that he's not in he's that good! 

Cumberbatch's character is is an enigma in that you are never sure whether to like him or fear him. I personally always came down on the like side. Evey time he is on screen whether it be taking out a Klingon patrol single handedly or delivering a moving monologue he shows that he really is a master of his craft. In fact it was the action scenes that were most pleasing because he has proven that he can act in Sherlock but those scenes showed that there is nothing that he can't do and I hope will mean that he can flourish in Hollywood bring his class with him.

So that's my gushing over Benedict over with all I can say is that if you want a fun and exciting Hollywood blockbuster then watch this. It does what so many other film tries by entertaining while maintaining a high standard in all departments and has a standout performance at it core. I look forward to seeing what Abrams does with Star Wars and if he can somehow find a place for Benedict that would be amazing! :D

Olympus Has Fallen

This film wanted to be Die Hard in the White house. This film wanted to be funny, wanted to be serious want to be tense and it failed at all of them for me. Like The Purge I didn't like any of the characters or care about them. The attack on the White House was a violent moment with innocent people getting gunned down in the street which was impactful but the problem after that was that all the jokes felt in bad taste. In the world we live in where terrorist attacks are a very real thing (this film was released a week after the Marathon bombings) the way that the President and his cabinet deal with the situation was distasteful.

The way that they are willing to hand South Korea to the North Korea just to save the President actually angered me. If Aaron Eckhart's President was the good man that we were meant to believe he was and whom we were meant to route for then he wouldn't have let this happen. I thought that Morgan Freeman was going to be the level headed character that would make the tough calls but he again happily gave into all the terrorist demands just to protect one man. If I have learnt anything from 24 it's that America does not negotiate with terrorists...except in this film!

The fact that Gerard Butler character was meant to have been out of the secret service for 2 years yet all his passwords still work in the White House made me shake my head with disbelief. It was just sloppy writing. Then there is the fact that he tortured a man and killed another whilst making jokes and that man, who minutes earlier had been ruthlessly slaughtering people in what must have been a well planned attack that took years of planning, gives up all the information he can because he was stabbed in his leg. The film can't deal with the themes that it did at the start and also make light of them.

Die hard worked because it was always John trying to save his wife, the stakes were personally high for him but were not on a world stage as this film is. This film is dealing with an event that would likely cause WW3 and because of that I didn't enjoy the humour. A perfect example of how the two themes didn't mix was at one point the President is standing surrounded by the dead services men who had given their lives to protect him and he makes a joke about the White House having great insurance. The film even took time to let you get to know some of the dead service men to know they had young families and this made the joke even more tasteless.

This film gets it all wrong for me. I really hated it. I could rant for hours and pick out many many flaws but I won't. I'm sure a lot of people enjoyed the action and liked it. I think that those people are wrong and would implore them to just go and watch the original Die Hard to see how it's done. To anyone who hasn't seen it then I say DON'T! JUST WATCH THE ORIGINAL DIE HARD!

Up

Lots of people have told me that I have to watch up, that the start is so sad and its such a wonderful film. I eventually was sat down by my friend Mel and I did watch it...sooo I thought that it was OK *waits for screams of disbelief from Disney fans* but hear me out.

Yes it was a bit of a sad start they couldn't have children and he never got to go to the waterfall with his wife this is definitely sad....but I looked at it like this. He met the love of his life when he was 10 and got to spend what must have been 60 years with that person which in my eyes makes him a very very lucky man. Yes in Disneyland this is a sad start but as someone who grew up on Studio Ghibli films this start was pretty happy.

I actually saw in the old man lead character the kind of old person I dread dealing with in work as he was just grumpy and angry at the world and he will drag others down to his level of happiness if possible. I didn't like him and in a film like this that is a problem.

I did however like the Dog and Bird combo and got a fair few laughs out of them. SQUIRREL! There were other moments that were good but not enough for me. It didn't live up to the high standards that peoples praise had made for it. But if others people love it then it must strike the right chord with them I guess. I just have no desire to see it again.

Stoker

I plan on doing a longer post about Stoker when I've watched it again on DVD/NetFlix so all I'm going to say now is simply this...

It's a Chan-wook Park film and it is by far the best film out of this list! :)

Written by Owen
While watching the Lion(Wales) destroy Australia in the 3rd test again.

"they eat garbage on principal" (The East)

So my new local cineworld did not show Much Ado About Nothing, shame. Well actually Cardiff did not show it either, very small release. Why can we have smaller films to be shown on big screen too?

Well The East is a smaller film, I think it was in the cinema only for a week or 2 weeks. I made all effort to go see it... I think you should too. 

Oh it was amazing! Made me think... 

I thought it was like eco terrorism... but it was not quiet. It was more of terrorism against the modern corporate world. And yeah all of use by dates are there not only to look after the consumer but more about the corporation to cover its own back. I suppose it was not news to me but how it was presented... was rather brutal and in your face kind of way. 

The "Gem" involving the medication was actually very scary thinking that might be true... 

Interesting plot, ending was bit strange think I need to watch it again, just to make sure I understood it correctly. 

It is amazing to know that there are people out there like that... live the same way... 

I felt like Dr Temperance Brenan (you know from Bones, not the books, that was a very normal) discovering another socio group.

Brit Marling was lovely main character, very intelligent. I do like the person who Sarah became in the end of the film. Ellen Page's Izzy omg! I loved her as usual, very bitter end, very sad and yet touching, shows however much we resent our parents they are still our parents.

And the men candy... All male characters are hot. Alexander Skarsgard is a master mind and leader of the east, and gets naked or almost naked twice. Always nice to see, however bizarre the scenes might be seen. Shiloh Fernandez with all his makeup and deep trauma... 

To conclude, the East is my new favorite film. 

Written by Daria while watching Mama Mia on TV