Dear Lord...
'Sucker Punch' is a very boring, baggy, lazy costume pop video. No more than that.
Despite having some great elements, such as the usually amazing actress Abbie Cornish (Somersault and Hardy Candy, cases in point) and the potential of being an edgy, feminist action-flick, this mental institution set fantasy pretty much debases women, sensationalises abuse and revels in mediocrity.
Zack Snyder - after the visually interesting, but ultimately boring ‘300’ and the semi-brilliant ‘Watchmen’ - you really are going to have to try harder! SP stank.
Viewed 14th April 2011
Sunday, 17 April 2011
Monday, 11 April 2011
Source Code ~~~
Captain Colter Stevens is going to have a bad day…
Following on from the rather amazing sci-fi thriller ‘Moon’, Duncan Jones directs a rather intriguing sci-fi mystery thriller. I sense someone having a bit of an auteur moment.
Jake Gyllenhaal stars as the initially perplexed Captain, woken from a seemingly deep sleep into a train carriage opposite the spirited and ever watchable Michelle Monaghan. He knows nothing – why he’s there, who he is, where he’s going until, wait for it, the train explodes. Screen turns black.
Well, whadda ya know. He’s magically transported into a military-style capsule and the adventure begins.
Without giving away the entire film, Colter Stevens finds himself involved in some deep undercover special ops programme in which he is the hero who has to save the day. His only real contact in the outside world is the ever strong Vera Farmiga, a military operative who has to keep him on mission without giving away too much information which would undoubtedly freak him out.
The tension throughout the film is pretty good and this keeps the audience guessing as to how the Captain is going to overcome the problems he faces, not least in his repeated given 8 minutes. Over and over and over again, he must complete his mission before impending doom hits. The fun part is watching how he does things differently each time and how he gradually pieces together the plot which he must foil. On top of this, the audience is gradually exposed to the back-room military plans and ultimate mission and one slowly senses a pretty terrible feeling of doom and secrecy behind the Captain’s back, until the very end when both Colter and we understand how this has all come about and what it means for him.
Ultimately, this is a pretty clever and interesting film. Not too noggin-noodling (e.g. not as twisted as the brilliant ‘Inception’) but still one which tests you to keep up with what’s going on.
A million times better than a number of other time-shift films, such as the rather disappointing ‘Vantage Point’, and my only criticism would be that Jake Gyllenhaal wasn’t really given a chance/couldn’t be bothered to shine. For me, his main draw as an actor, is that he has a cheeky grin, which he is able to employ on suitable occasions and is very good at looking like he’s thinking very deeply. In this film he’s on the go, a lot, and I’m not sure it was the best role for him. Nevertheless, the film kept me guessing throughout and was enjoyable for at least 90% of the time.
And the ending – that will really chill you. And then you’ll start to wonder whether that kind of shit, somewhere in the world, is really happening!
Viewed: 7th April 2011
Following on from the rather amazing sci-fi thriller ‘Moon’, Duncan Jones directs a rather intriguing sci-fi mystery thriller. I sense someone having a bit of an auteur moment.
Jake Gyllenhaal stars as the initially perplexed Captain, woken from a seemingly deep sleep into a train carriage opposite the spirited and ever watchable Michelle Monaghan. He knows nothing – why he’s there, who he is, where he’s going until, wait for it, the train explodes. Screen turns black.
Well, whadda ya know. He’s magically transported into a military-style capsule and the adventure begins.
Without giving away the entire film, Colter Stevens finds himself involved in some deep undercover special ops programme in which he is the hero who has to save the day. His only real contact in the outside world is the ever strong Vera Farmiga, a military operative who has to keep him on mission without giving away too much information which would undoubtedly freak him out.
The tension throughout the film is pretty good and this keeps the audience guessing as to how the Captain is going to overcome the problems he faces, not least in his repeated given 8 minutes. Over and over and over again, he must complete his mission before impending doom hits. The fun part is watching how he does things differently each time and how he gradually pieces together the plot which he must foil. On top of this, the audience is gradually exposed to the back-room military plans and ultimate mission and one slowly senses a pretty terrible feeling of doom and secrecy behind the Captain’s back, until the very end when both Colter and we understand how this has all come about and what it means for him.
Ultimately, this is a pretty clever and interesting film. Not too noggin-noodling (e.g. not as twisted as the brilliant ‘Inception’) but still one which tests you to keep up with what’s going on.
A million times better than a number of other time-shift films, such as the rather disappointing ‘Vantage Point’, and my only criticism would be that Jake Gyllenhaal wasn’t really given a chance/couldn’t be bothered to shine. For me, his main draw as an actor, is that he has a cheeky grin, which he is able to employ on suitable occasions and is very good at looking like he’s thinking very deeply. In this film he’s on the go, a lot, and I’m not sure it was the best role for him. Nevertheless, the film kept me guessing throughout and was enjoyable for at least 90% of the time.
And the ending – that will really chill you. And then you’ll start to wonder whether that kind of shit, somewhere in the world, is really happening!
Viewed: 7th April 2011
Limitless ~~1/2
After seeing the trailer for this film at least 5 times, I thought I’d give it a go. Bradley Cooper was pretty much unknown to me other than having to sit through one of his previous films, the terrible ‘A-Team’, on a plane journey. So I thought I’d see what all the fuss was about this new wannabe A-lister.
The story is pretty simple. Down at luck New Yorker Eddie Morra is loosing everything. His girlfriend, apartment, his drive to start/finish his novel and his mind. Up steps a fella who can help at just the right time. His ex-brother-in-law is a dealer, and a special one at that giving Eddie a dose of the new and highly prized NZT-48 (or some such invention) which allows the user to access 100% of his or her brain power.
And pretty much overnight Eddie becomes the best version of himself ever possible. He finishes his book, gets his girlfriend back (the wonderful Abbie Cornish making the most of a pretty dull roll) and decides to make some money in the finance world. But, as with any good morality tale, having upset that fickle beast karma, the darker side of life comes to get him in the guise of drug dealers and other shady characters.
At this point you would expect things to step up a notch but unfortunately, the pace and general lack of menace in the latter part of the film just didn’t do it for me. The build up to this had been pretty great and perhaps would have worked better had the chase and ‘fight’ scenes been less cheesy and more frightening.
There is a reasonably memorable scene in which the blade of an ice skate is used as a weapon but in the scheme of things, and by this point, the makers seemed to be grasping at straws.
Robert DeNiro and Anna Friel also star but to what end? It made no difference either to me or the film really but I suppose for some audiences, these actors would have been an added draw.
‘Limitless’ was billed as a ‘techno-thriller’ but, although I found the techno bit present and correct, I did not really find the thrill. Mr Cooper did a sterling job and I’d probably see his next flick (unless it’s ‘The Hangover 2’ which, having only just seen the first one, I will definitely give it a miss.) He certainly has something. Can’t quite put my finger on it and because of this, I am certain he will become a big Hollywood player in the very near future. Let’s hope he uses his charms and abilities for something better than this.
Viewed: 2nd April 2011
The story is pretty simple. Down at luck New Yorker Eddie Morra is loosing everything. His girlfriend, apartment, his drive to start/finish his novel and his mind. Up steps a fella who can help at just the right time. His ex-brother-in-law is a dealer, and a special one at that giving Eddie a dose of the new and highly prized NZT-48 (or some such invention) which allows the user to access 100% of his or her brain power.
And pretty much overnight Eddie becomes the best version of himself ever possible. He finishes his book, gets his girlfriend back (the wonderful Abbie Cornish making the most of a pretty dull roll) and decides to make some money in the finance world. But, as with any good morality tale, having upset that fickle beast karma, the darker side of life comes to get him in the guise of drug dealers and other shady characters.
At this point you would expect things to step up a notch but unfortunately, the pace and general lack of menace in the latter part of the film just didn’t do it for me. The build up to this had been pretty great and perhaps would have worked better had the chase and ‘fight’ scenes been less cheesy and more frightening.
There is a reasonably memorable scene in which the blade of an ice skate is used as a weapon but in the scheme of things, and by this point, the makers seemed to be grasping at straws.
Robert DeNiro and Anna Friel also star but to what end? It made no difference either to me or the film really but I suppose for some audiences, these actors would have been an added draw.
‘Limitless’ was billed as a ‘techno-thriller’ but, although I found the techno bit present and correct, I did not really find the thrill. Mr Cooper did a sterling job and I’d probably see his next flick (unless it’s ‘The Hangover 2’ which, having only just seen the first one, I will definitely give it a miss.) He certainly has something. Can’t quite put my finger on it and because of this, I am certain he will become a big Hollywood player in the very near future. Let’s hope he uses his charms and abilities for something better than this.
Viewed: 2nd April 2011
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