Movie Review- Moon

Duncan Jones (Son of David Bowie) has finally stepped out of his father's shadow to direct what is one of the most fascinating character studies in recent memory. Moon may be a sci-fi thriller, but you're unlikely to find a film with a more detailed backstory and superb performances all year.

Sam Rockwell plays Sam Bell, an employee of Lunar Industries, a company who send men to the moon to mine Helium 3 from the Moon's surface, to gain power to supply for Earth, who's resources are running out fast. Sam is about to end a three year contract with the company, and return home to his wife and daughter who left behind. To keep his mind occupied, Sam's only companion is the base's resident super robot, GERTY (voiced by Kevin Spacey.) On what should have been a normal collection of Helium 3, Sam sees a young girl watching him, and crashes his rover as he is distracted.

Waking up a few hours later, Sam has sustained some injuries, and is told to rest. Feelign queasy, he rushes to bed, but soon discovers that he is not the only human on the ship.

From here on in, Moon becomes a deeply unsettling, emotionally raw film that pushes the boundaries of the science fiction genre. Sam Rockwell turns in a spellbinding turn as Sam who's world crumbles around him, as discovers the horrific secrets of his employers. Jones has cleverly constructed everything around the central character. The cast and crew were kept to the minimum, and set designs were basically bargain basement, so costs were kept to a low $5M total, which is extraordinary considering how immaculate everything looks. The set design aboard the base is beautiful, and so vivid despite the pale colours. You wish the cameras would slow down as you see something strange at the bottom of the screen, or some mysterious pictures on the TV screens. The music is wonderfully tense, and only adds to the mystery and intrigue of Moon.

The plot is very hard to follow at times, particularly when the revelations are revealed. The film delves into Sam's mind a lot, so some parts do drag, but the spectacular ending brings everything back to life.

Overall, Moon is incredibly affecting, and one film you won't forget about in a hurry. I give Moon 4 out of five.

*Special thanks to Picturehouse Cinemas for their continuing support for my reviews.*

Movie Review- Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs has been hyped to the hills. 'Imaginative and witty' many clamied. 'Hysterical', other stated. I was expecting alot after such glowing reviews, so I have to say that I was sorely disappointed by Meatballs. It's not a bad film, but it's certainly not up there with your Pixar and Dreamworks animated films.

Sony Pictures Animation have been desperately trying to break the CGI business, and crack the top five in the animation world, but have so far disappointed. Open Season, Monster House and Surf's Up all did moderately at the Box Office, but were nothing compared to Finding Nemo, Shrek or the The Lion King; and deservedly so. Sony lacks the human touch that Pixar brings to all of its film, relying on cheap gags and a relatively well known cast. Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs is the best Sony Animation film so far; but for all its awareness of today's big issues, it lacks a certain sparkle to propel it that hall of animation fame.

Bill Hader voices Flint Lockwood, a small time inventor, who just can't perfect his creations. These include ratbirds that have spread across the world, and walking televisions, that burst into flames, and terrorise the neighbours. Flint is despised by everybody, and is a disappointment to his father, Tim Lockwood (James Caan), who owns a local sardine store. Flint finally manages to make one of his inventions work though, when he learns how to convert water into food.

Now this is where the film gets a little sloppy. This whole description of how Flint is a failure, and how he stumbles across something brilliant is all played out in ten minutes, which doesn't allow the viewer to fully connect with the characters straight away. As the film progresses, we learn to cheer the heroes, and boo the bad guys, but the film never fully recovers from the opening segment.

When the townsfolk hear about Flint's invention, they all believe it will cause yet another disaster for their home town, Swallow Falls. Luckily, it turns out that Flint's converter machine works like a charm, and allows everyone not to have to eat disgusting sardines all day due to some stupidly unexplained reason the writers briefly mention. This makes Flint a hero, but fame comes at a price, and like every Utopia before it, something awful is sure to happen.

The film is definitely fun, but not funny. Everything goes along at a zippy pace, but never pulls any punches when it comes to the majority of the jokes. The voice cast try to add some zing to the proceedings, especially Bill Hader as Flint, cementing his status as comedy gold, even with just his voice, and also Anna Faris, as the cute but brainy weathergirl reporting on this major food fall. The recurring joke about her being 'dumb' is again overused, but a nice twist to this story is well executed in one of the film's funniest scene; the house made of jell-o scene.

I'm surprised so many adults really like this film, as it is incredibly childish. Maybe that's the appeal of this; pure escapism. I and my friend both found the film unsatisfying in comparison to other animation films of recent times. I would say that the film completely lacks empathy with the audience. Although it's a brave statement for a film to be saying obesity is wrong for a junk food devouring audience, you can't help feeling this is a patronising topic. Many people have said that this will make some audience members uncomfortable, and those with self esteem issues feel even worse about themselves. I do think people have taken this issue way too seriously, but it is true that the film doesn't realise when to stop.

The animation is mediocre for such a big budget film ($100M) but the attention to detail is superb. In Imax 3D, you wish the film would just pause of a second so you can dissect everything on the screen in front of you. The 3D is used in small amounts, and isn't really worth seeing, as the 2D version is just as satisfying.

Overall, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is good entertainment, and is the only family choice around for the next three weeks, so expect good holds on the Box office chart for the coming weeks. Hopefully, Where the Wild Things are will be more intricate and groundbreaking for this genre. I give Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 3 out of 5

*Special thanks to VUE Cinemas for their continuing support with my reviews.*

Movie Review- Adventurland

For the very few of you who may have seen some of my previous reviews, you may know that I really hate most raunchy, R-rated comedies. I did really love The Hangover from earlier this year, and The 40 year old Virgin, Wedding Crashers, The Ugly Truth and Forgetting Sarah Marshall were also pretty funny. However, films like American Pie, Year One, I Love you, Man, Knocked Up and particularly Superbad leave me cold. Critics say they're hilarious and have such an underlying affection between the characters, but I can never see past the dick jokes and just pure slutiness of these pieces of sheer awfulness (?) Adventureland is the latest film (to jump on this comedy bandwagon) from director Greg Mottala, who also directed Superbad. Uh oh.

Thankfully, my fears proved unfounded, as this is a very charming little movie with excellent performances that actually deserve their hype. The main reason I belive that the audience (who really loved this film) connected with it is how it's plainly obvious how emotionally attached Mottala was to this project. He states that this is semi-autobiographical, and you feel his love for what is basically the circle of life and love.

Jesse Einsberg, a far more endearing version of Michael Cera, stars as James Brennen, who is forced to get a job at Adventureland, a degrading theme park that cons the little kids out of their pocket money, and uses past their-sell-by-date-food to attract punters. Struggling to fit in, James turns to the alluring Em (a surprisingly brilliant Kristen Stewart), who shows him how life isn't just about going to college and having money, but learning where your place is in the world. She is a bit of a hypocrite though, as she finds that an idenity had evaded her, too, and must also find where she belongs. Sadly, she belives its in the arms of married man, and co-worker Mike Connell (Ryan Renyolds), who can only be described as a plonker. As the film progresses, James finally discovers the values of life and love, and makes it his goal to prove his undying love to Em.

The endearing characters make Adventureland a must see. Einsberg and Stewart make for a believable pair, and it's nice to see Stewart step out of the Twilight fame, and show she actually has talent. Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig give great performances as the eccentric owners of Adventureland, and Ryan Renyolds continues his solid streak of performances, after X Men Origins: Wolverine and The Proposal.

Mottala also makes a realistic film, whilst adding lots of little touches to give his directional skills a boost. Little camera flares and close ups slide perfectly together, and he certainly commands presence with the camera. The storyline depecites this 1987 set film beautifully, capturing the esscence of a turnaround in society. Mottala also wrote the script, which is fully of cutting jokes and occasionally sleazy dialouge.

Adventureland isn't very funny in places, but always brings a smile to your face, as it is a very joyous watch. It's nice to see something where things don't always turn pear shaped at the end. Like Away we Go, it's nice to see a perfectly tender film.

All in all, I definitely reccomend you rent this (or see it in theatres in the UK) as it is funny, refreshing and doesn't rely completely on swearing. Nice.

I give Adventureland 3 and a half out of 5.

* Special thanks to ODEON Cinemas for their continuing support with my reviews*

Movie Review- The Hurt Locker

If there's one film you must see this year, it has to be the much anticpated The Hurt Locker. I'm not saying this is the best film of the year, but it is definitely the most inspirational. The beautiful cinematography, wonderful performances and spectacular direction rise the material above the average Iraq war fare, and makes this one resounding success.

Starring relative unknowns, and directed by supposed 'has-been', Katheryn Bigelow (Point Break), The Hurt Locker relies more on nerve wracking suspense than structure. There isn't a major plot line to follow and the twists and turns of this bomb disposal unit is hard to follow at times.

The only narrative line to sink your teeth into is that of the relationship between the three bomb squad team members.Newly appointed leader, Will James (Jeremy Renner) is cocky and reckless in the face of danger, which infuriates his by the books comrades, J.T. Sanbourne (Anthony Mackie) and Owen Eldrige (Brian Gerghty.)

The heated debates and powerful punch ups are heightened by our emotional connection to the three leads. All three are equally impressive, especially Renner (looking like a cross between Tobey Maguire and Eminem), who's scorching performance is always exciting to watch. It would be a particular shame if Katheryn Bigelow didn't recieve at least an Oscar nomination, as she once again proves what a verstaile (and underrated) director she is. The haunting slow-mo scenes and shaky cam feel really make you feel immersed in this world. Beat that, Zack Synder!

It is so clear to see how much effort was put into everything in the film. A particular piece is the wonderfully realistic script. Instead of throwing lots of confusing dialouge at us, script writer Mark Boal (who's memoirs are the basis of the film) focuses more on the characters inner feelings, using facial expressions more than words, which has such a great visual effect. It's a tiny detail, but it's certainly one worth noting.
The music is also equsite, and used only in small spades, but when it is used, it really mounts up the tension.

The film makes the mistake of being too repetitive, however. It's always fascinating to see into the lives of those who take on one of the most dangerous jobs in the world. It just seems that nothing is ever truly resolved, which may be the point to the film, but you wish that at least one thread could be tied up and be finished. The last 20 minutes also bring the film down due to the dragging effect and confusing structure of those scenes.

Still, this is definitely one of the best war movies ever, easily beating duds such as Valkyrie and Jarhead. It's just a shame the film's June release in America will most likely mean that The Hurt Locker will miss out on when Oscar Season rolls along. I give the film 4 out of 5.

*Special thanks to ODEON cinemas for their continuing support for my reviews*

Big films of the month- September/October 2009

September and October are notroiously slow months in the world of cinema, but some big new releases could see a big up on last year, when Eagle Eye was the dominant force over this two month period.

The film most likely to achieve the biggest success will be Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. Having already opened to $30.3M on September 18th-20th, this latest kids animation film from Sony Pictures has an almost entirely open playing field for the next month and a half when considering the releases of new animated pictures. The next purely animation films will be The Fantastic Mr. Fox and a Christmas Carol in mid November, whilst Toy Story 1 and 2 are reissued on October 2nd. The only film that really poses any threat to Cloudy in the upcoming weeks is Where the Wild Things are, but that is released on October 16th, so Cloudy has almost two months of IMAX 3D and 3D play to itself. Expect an end total in the range of Bolt ($114M) and G-Force ($118M.) A worldwide tally of $250M could also occur, if this week's impressive international total is anything to go by.

Another film that will do most of its business in November, but is released on the 28th October is the tour movie, Michael Jackson's This is It. Fan demand should be massive in the first five days for the late singer's concert tour film, but it only has two weeks of play, which may or may not casue a problem for the overall tally. Public attention has been rife ever since Jackson's death three months ago, so a rushed release of this film was to be expected. Expect a major turnout in those opening days, whilst a specific figure is harder to estimated. It could be anything from about $50M- $175M in the US, whilst a $325M total seems like a likely estimate.

Other films including Where the Wild Things are, Fame, Surrogates and Couples Retreat should be solid hits, but all could escalate into something bigger. One film that is guaranteed a solid opening number is Halloween picture, Saw VI. These kind of horror movie regularly do the business, and Saw VI could even rise above the recent Final Destination to become the top grossing horror movie of the year.

Smaller hits will probably include The Invention of Lying, Whip It!, Zombieland, AstroBoy and Law Abiding Citizen, which should be profitable by a wide margin when they are released on DVD.

The film that I expect to be the biggest wide flop of this period is Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant. Although it may make back its $80M budget when foreign totals are accounted for (the book series the film is based on is a big success in the UK) and when DVD sales arrive, the film is unlikely to make big bucks in the US, thanks to a very generic marketing campaign, and lack of awareness over the books.

Movie Review- Away we Go

I saw Away We Go, which has just been released over here in the UK. I like Sam Mendes' work, but he is a rather depressing film maker. He even killed his own wife in Revolutionary Road, for God's sake! So, I was pleasently surprised when the trailer for Away we Go was released, many months ago. For once, it looked like Mr. Kate Winslet had turned soft. Here, it seems he has, as this road trip movie is sweet and tender. Hopefully though, he will return to his grittier roots, as the main problem for Away we Go is it's not funny enough to be a comedy, and not dramatic enough to be a drama. It falls clumsily into the middle, and never truly finds a unique personality for itself. The film falls two thirtysomething misfits, Burt and Verona (John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph) as they attempt to find their place in the world, as they prepare for the arrival of their first baby. When Burt's parents leave for Belgium, the two must learn to grow up, and find somewhere to raise their child in a comfortable environment.
What is so refreshing is how down beat Away we Go is. It's nice to see a truly happy couple, neither of whom are having an affair, or is secretly a mass murdering hippy etc. I was half expecting at least one clumsy death to occur (it's Mendes' signature style!), but I was happy to see just a sweet film. The performances are excellent, particularly from the two leads. The film only really focuses on the two, so lacks scope when it comes to fleshing out the supporting characters. That's not to say that the supporting turns aren't stellar; Maggie Gyllenhaal is hilarious as the nature loving hippy mother, and Alison Jenney gives a grotesquely rich performance as a neurotic boss.
There are flaws here though. Although the film is kind and adorable, there are very few belly laughs. There are flashes of great moments concealed in a very flawed movie, but it can never escape from slight mediocrety. Also, the film's beginning feels rushed, and doesn't allow time to connect with the two leads enough to truly care what happens to them in the end. Another problem would have to be how slow the movie can be, particularly near the end of the film. Although the emotional wallop is hard hitting in places, you can't help but think 'so what?' Because of that rushed beggining, the film could never recover. For me though, the biggest problem was the film's feeling that it needed to be smutty throughout. Away we Go would have been much more enjoyable had it focused on the characters a little more than the smut. Still, I recommend it for those who want a nice, slower picture, and some of the humour does hit the mark. I give Away we Go 3 of 5.

* Special thanks to Picturehouse Cinemas for their continuing support to my reviews*