Mike & Guys Movie Reviews

Guy's Top 10 Movies of 2014

2015-01-08T13:39:00.003+10:30

Hi All, I know it’s been a while since we have done a post over in our little corner of the internet, but with the end of 2014 and beginning of 2015 Mike, Macca and I thought we would do our top 10 movies list again. Last year it was a well received set of posts and sparked some discussion at work and at play, and we hope we can direct you to a couple of movies you otherwise would have missed.

And so, without further ado, here are my top 10 picks for favourite movies throughout 2014:

10. The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies

If you know me, then you know I am well biased towards this kind of thing. In fact I am sad to think that my Christmas tradition of going to the movies and being transported to Middle Earth has finally, after six years, come to an end. This movie is far from perfect, but as a pure fun piece of entertainment I loved it. Peter Jackson can do battles like no one else, and the huge scale of the fight scenes, whilst completely pointless, were thoroughly entertaining. The final minute of the film brought out goosebumps and an insane desire to start Fellowship of the Ring right away, and maybe keep my own tradition going after all.

9. Under The Skin

When I first saw this movie I did not like it at all. I had heard so many good things about it, but it was just ... weird. But then I read about it, listened to podcasts about it, and to be honest haven't stopped thinking about it. That is the sign of a great movie. I haven't sat down to watch it again yet, but I will. It’s a deep and hard movie to get, but with a little knowledge it becomes something more than just a movie. It’s a commentary on what it’s like to be a woman, in a woman’s body, to be human, to love and so much more.

8. Begin Again

This is a little guilty pleasure of mine. It stars Keira Knightley and Mark Ruffalo and is set in New York around music. Many of these things are my favourites and so again I may be biased, but this movie is genuinely unique. It’s not quite a love story, not quite a redemption movie, not quite a comedy, not quite a drama, but it is beautiful and happy and fills you with enthusiasm for life. The best feel good movie of the year for me by far, and quirky and different enough to make this list at the same time.

7. LEGO Movie

When I heard that there was going to be a LEGO movie I thought I might have to end it all. The sheer idea of pure marketing/money making/corporatism/consumerism that would drive a company to make a movie about a bunch of plastic blocks made me angry. Deeply angry. Then I saw the movie. Oops, my cynicism and pessimism was far too quick to the mark on this one. The tone of this movie and its subversive story of control underlying such a fun and totally enjoyable ride make this one of the smartest, funnest, kids movies ever.

6. Edge of Tomorrow

Tom cruise in another sci-fi, with robots, saving the world. Meh, right? Wrong! This is the type of smart, fun, hilarious sci-fi that I hope every year I will get to see. Tom Cruise played it down and Emily Blunt went all out to be my favourite bad-ass of the year. The story was told perfectly, the humour was refreshing and the action was really enjoyable. It is such a great movie that Im really saddened they marketed it all around Tom when its so much more than him.

5. Nightcrawler

Jake Gyllenhal will most likely win an Oscar for this performance. The film itself will most likely pickup a couple of others too. But for the story really struck a chord. It's a dark look at the American Dream done with a fresh take on the evilness of the media of today, with a twinge of horror. This movie will shock you, enthral you and make you angry that everyone seems to be waking up to these problems but no one is changing them.

4. Gone Girl

David Fincher is one of my most heralded directors and again he blew me away with this movie. I have not read the book and did not know the plot going in, which added to the thrill of this experience. There is a shift in the middle of this movie equal to A Beautiful Mind that I was not expecting, and did not pick. When it happened my mouth hit the floor and stayed there to the end. Once again he directs a clear message with no side taken, prompting inevitable thinking of issues such as personal image, the media, gender issues all whilst being wrapped up in an energetic and tight thriller. Fincher is the man.

3. Guardians of the Galaxy

The first Marvel movie I have ever truly loved. This is the Star Wars of this generation: a group of misfits get together to save the universe from an evil lord, travel through space, tease each other and a giant mute beast wins over our hearts. It still follows that Marvel formula and no one is every really in danger, but for once I just didn’t care. I was having way too much fun with the Racoon, the Tree, the Starlord and the Green Chick careening through the galaxy quipping at each other, stopping the bad guys and having a great time doing it. Bring on the sequel.

2. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

I went to the movies on a whim, and on my own for this one. Something reached out to me from the trailer so that I had to go and see it in the cinema. For the first time this year I was sitting in a cinema feeling like I was witnessing the next thing. A truly transformative experience was taking place in front of my eyes and I had goosebumps. The next week I was back at the cinema with Mike to watch it again. I've seen it twice on Blu Ray since then too. This movie is sheer perfection of the big blockbuster. It’s ballsy, interesting and different and I have no idea how the team that made it got it approved. The first 15minutes is Apes using sign language ... "I need 100 million dollars to make my next movie please. Oh, and Apes are going to be signing for the first 15minutes before you see a human." Awesome.

1. Boyhood

Feeling smug that I had a clear winner in the previous movie for best movie all year, I heard about Boyhood in Sept/Oct of 2014. Filmed over 12 years (yes, twelve years!) it stars the same cast growing with each other as a family in real time as the movie progresses. What a bat-shit crazy idea, I thought. How did Richard Linklater pull this off? I had to see it. It is as astounding as it sounds. There is nothing else like this movie in the world. It does have pacing problems and some story issues, but it was filmed over twelve frickin years!!!! How can it not? To succeed at doing this, to show a boy growing up before your eyes, to convey the feelings and emotions and change in real time with a single person is breathtaking. It makes you see the turn of time. It makes you wonder about your own childhood. It makes you relive what it was like to go through so much change so quickly. It is quite simply the greatest accomplishment in cinema ever.

Some disclaimers here are that I am yet to see a few possible contenders for this list, namely: Birdman, Whiplash, Tusk, Grand Budapest Hotel and What We Do In The Shadows

Favourite Movie Mum's

2014-05-11T14:01:00.000+09:30

Mike and I would like to wish a very Happy Mothers Day to our Mum's and thank them for all they have done for us over the years. Thinking about this we thought it would be a great idea to visit some of our favourite movie Mum's that have also helped entertain us over the years, and so please find below our favourite movie Mum's:

1. Mama Fratelli from The Goonies
While Mama Fratelli certainly would't win any Mum of the year competitions, its pretty hard to go past her as one of the best screen Mum's to ever come to life. A perfect balance of cruel, intimidating, clever & funny to be the perfect kids movie villain. Anne Ramsey is a complete knock out in this role and its a real tradgey that only 3 years after filming The Goonies she passed away from throat cancer. Imagine the other roles that could have been brought to life with her talent.

2. Mrs Darko from Donnie Darko
Quite the Mum is Mrs Darko. Talk about a dysfunctional family that she has to help shepherd through a hard time whilst also being the supporter of her son as he disintegrates without alienating her two daughters. It would be a tricky balance for anyone yet Mary McDonnell does a fantastic job acting her part and being the only soul seemingly intact in this movie.

3. Sarah Connor from Terminator 2
Well, so far the movie Mum's have been fairly dark characters so keeping in line with that we move onto the most badass Mum that there has ever been: Sarah Connor from Terminator 2. Chinups in a cell block? Check. Insane knowledge of guns and weapons? Check. Ability to use those guns and weapons? Check. A touch of humanity, love and a solid moral compass? Check. Sarah Connor is really everything you need from a Mum who gives birth to the only human alive who can bring down a fully automated robot army!

4. Mrs Gump from Forrest Gump
The sweetest most loveable Mum you could imagine brought her son up to believe he could do anything and achieve anything. This led to a young man becoming the greatest table tennis player ever, showing Elvis how to dance, tells the president he needs to pee, saves many people's lives in the Vietnam war, the greatest white NFL player to live and fall in love with the polar opposite person to him. Near the end of the movie, Forrest Gump sits under a tree and cries for his Mum and every time this scene comes on it wells me up. Not only because of Tom Hanks's perfect performance but because his Mum truly touches you as a viewer and makes you feel that she is almost as good as your Mum, and Sally Field did a stellar job acting it.

5. Stiflers Mum from American Pie
Because the term MILF was coined for her. Because of Shit Break's obsession over her. Because of how much that pisses off Stifler. Because there had never been a Mum like this on screen before, or since. Because she likes her men like her scotch... aged 18 years.

Nurse 3D

2014-05-08T09:49:00.000+09:30

Nurse 3D is one of the few true, straight up, modern exploitation flicks I've seen. I know the remake of I Spit on your Grave and Machete are around but the first of those is a truly unsettling film (more like torture porn) which I couldn't actually see through to the end, and the second felt more like a horror comedy than exploitation to me. Death Proof is probably the only other one that jumps to mind, but again, its too Tarantino-esque to compare to the 60's, 70's and 80's style of these films that were prevalent.

Nurse 3D is a true modern take on the genre. It is there for clear and explicit reasons and is destined to be enjoyed by a very specific target audience, and it does it well enough to recommend to people in that target domain. I guess I'm more the target audience for something like this than most with my enjoyment of horror flicks, but instead of my usual openly biased reviews I thought I would take a step out and try to review it as someone who just watched it for what it is.

Paz De La Heurta is pretty much the perfect leading lady for this type of film. She is buxom, happy to be naked, and convinces as a twisted psychopath. The good news is she has enough charisma that you can buy in to her crazy antics and is able to carry the film from beginning to end, something these films often lack. The movie definitely allows her to be the primarily exploited female character for the male audience, however, because she is also the protagonist (anti-protagonist?) its a bit different from most other exploitation flicks. Instead of having mean, scary men do horrifying things to women it is instead a naked, murdering, crazed sex fiend of a nurse doing horrible things to men.

In addition to doing these horrible things to men, she is also completely in love with and trying to seduce the token blonde hot girl. The lengths to which the main character goes to, to seduce and then destroy token hot girl is as to be expected, and nothing unusual for this type of movie. The gore is unfortunately a bit amateurish looking and over the top, with the scenes composed in odd ways, so they don't hold as much impact as they would if directed by another person.

Overall this is not a good film that just anyone should go out and see, but for what it is, it does it well and has enough of a difference to be worth checking out if you are into the genre. If the idea of a promiscuous, murderous Paz De La Heurta, killing men while wearing a bra but no knickers, seducing a woman and parading around in a nurses outfit appeals to you, then you will enjoy the movie for what it is. If you cant believe a movie like that exists ... don't watch it.

SCORE: 4/10

IMDB Info for Nurse 3D

The Rover (Preview)

2014-05-02T14:14:00.001+09:30

Holy shit! Bout time the Aussies had a crack!

Post auscopalyptic? :) Guy Pearce is enough to get me excited to see this one. Looks like an Aussie - "The Road" - 100% filmed in S.A!!

Or better to watch direct from YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChM2icbWo9w

The Returned

2014-04-27T19:54:00.000+09:30

Yes, another zombie film. But don't sigh just yet as this one is quite refreshingly different. Firstly don't confuse this movie with the French series of the same translated name (Les Revenants) which is pretty decent in it's own right, but not at all related.

Why is this one different? It's actually set in a world AFTER the 'zombie virus' outbreak, where it has been controlled. If an infected is given an antidote within a certain time frame the effects can be reversed. Provided they take their 'medicine' every day all is well and they can live normal lives. These people are referred to as 'The Returned'.

The movie portrays a very believable and realistic future where 'The Returned' are not quite accepted by normal society and seen more like ticking time bombs. Things get a lot worse as it is revealed that the antidote is running out and we can watch the thin threads holding the society together start to break away.

As a lover of most things Zombie (even though the genre has been completely thrashed of late) I really enjoyed this new spin. It was a brilliant script and although obviously low-ish budget, was presented with great cinematography and production. An indy film maker's wet dream really. It was directed by Manuel Carballo who I've not come across before but might be one to keep an eye on.

The majority of acting was 'ok' - however a stand out performance by the lead female - Emily Hampshire really helped carry it across the line.

I recommend giving this one a go if you you're keen for an interesting story and a fresh new take - but be warned there isn't the usual violence and mayhem of a zombie horror.

I only have one complaint. One of the characters drops a case with 60 antidote vials on the ground and every single one of them smashes....... Really? I get we need to build tension with lack of antidote but shiiiiiitt... <insert Marlon Wayans 'shiiiit' from Requiem for a Dream>

7/10

IMDB Info

Ping Pong Summer

2014-04-23T12:23:00.000+09:30

I just read about this upcoming movie and if it doesn't sum up everything I love in life and movies then I'm not too sure what else could! Quite obviously I cannot wait to see this flick!! Check out the trailer and leave your thoughts in the comments:

LEGO Movie

2014-04-22T13:12:00.000+09:30

This movie is awesome! It's so good on so many different levels I'm not even sure which one to start with: the 3D, the comedy, the animation, the subversive plot, the characters, the self-awareness?

I would never, ever, have gone to see a movie about LEGO blocks as it screamed out to me of product placement, stupid story line, exaggerated emotions, conceited plot and I thought it would focus on being silly instead of funny. However, so many people have been raving about it and saying it might even end up on their top 10 lists I had to go see what the fuss was about. This LEGO movie still has product placement, a stupid story with a conceited plot but it doesn't rely on being silly instead of funny. It is totally frickin hilarious all on its own with clever writing, clever animation and brilliant voice acting.

Even the 3D is good in this film! I’m not a huge fan of 3D but mainly because it always feels tacked on and useless, but it really suits this film well and the technology has come a long way. It wasn't blurry and didn’t strain my eyes, and due to all the vibrant colours in the movie it works better than in most other films.

But let’s get on to the really good stuff: the cleverness of the whole picture. The plot if you think about it is really quite subversive. It’s all about how the LEGO people follow instructions each day and are told what to think, what to enjoy and how to live their lives. Then one day the 'typical Joe' character stumbles upon "The Resistance Piece" and so begins an adventure with Batman, the hot girl, unicorns and all sorts of weird, wonderful and hilarious things. The way the LEGO blocks are incorporated into the fight scenes, chase scenes and different worlds throughout is both breathtaking and awe inspiring.

It goes on from there to become a much bigger picture than you would first think it to be, and the whole time it is self-aware. It knows it’s a straight forward adventure movie so it plays on all the tropes and clichés to the max but somehow does it without feeling corny. The outcome of this is that young kids will get wrapped up in the adventure but adults can also laugh at everything they have seen before done in a new way.

I highly recommend checking out this movie, it was loads of fun and much better than I was expecting. You will genuinely be laughing out loud and mightily impressed.

SCORE: 9/10

IMDB Info for LEGO Movie

Hunger Games: Catching Fire

2014-04-15T08:21:00.000+09:30

Ok, this movie is a lot better than first instalment of the Hunger Games quadrilogy in pretty much every way. The story is much more intricate and has depth, the acting seems to be less cheesy, the direction is much better, the use of visual effects is smarter, the action is much richer and all around more informative, and focus seems to be applied on the bigger themes at play as opposed to focussing the game dynamics and the emotional relationships between the kids. This still doesn't shake my unease for young people being so obsessed with it though. There are some very tough and full on themes running throughout this movie, although, they seem to be swaying much more in favour of something I personally feel, so maybe its for the best.

Let me clarify. The idea of oppression is a big issue and a scary one and one that is nice not to know until you are a bit older, and a bit less innocent. The idea of rebellion is also one better left for a bit older, not only because you need to know the other side to know why you would rebel, but also from the point of view of being a parent: the less kids rebel the better (hehe). However, I feel some parts of the world are in true need of fixing. Celebrity culture, obsessive natures about material things and fashion, talk shows designed to pull every scrap of information out from other peoples lives to a mass audience, magazines full of faked pictures of humans living fake lives with false representations of those lives, the loss of integrity in the world ... I could go on. These are horrible results of the world we live in, and the amazing thing about this movie is it addresses them in a very direct way. It seems conceivable that our world could reach a point like the movie is indicating (almost) and its great to be teaching young people of the consequences of something like that. So, therefore I am in favour of showing those themes and addressing them to young people. For example, the horrible feeling you get when they interview the contestants on that creepy talk show, the ridiculous fashion and how it rules the lives of the elite, the thought of having to drink a potion to cause you to vomit so you can keep eating highlights the excesses that exist in this world, and the themes can be applied to our own. I feel its great to call them out and make you think about them in such a mainstream blockbuster movie.

But, I couldn't help but wonder, how many young people read 1984 when it was released in 1949, or the 50's, or even the 60's? Would any young teens, let alone MOST young teens be reading something like that? If so, then maybe I am over-reacting. But if not, maybe it is concerning. It seems kids aren't given any time to be young and innocent any more and Im not sure what the results of that will be. Angrier and angrier kids who are more connected and more knowledgeable about everything before they can fully comprehend it? That doesn't sound too appealing to me. Even if the odd one or two of them would be as integral, capable and nice as Katniss, most wouldn't be.

And so, I find myself still very confused about this whole thing. If these movies were targeted for adult audiences and explored these themes to an R18+ level then I think I would be gobsmacked by them, but Im still uneasy of the pre-teen appeal of them.

Ultimately I cant fault this movie much, it was a think piece, big action movie and thats typically what I am going for in a blockbuster type film so for that Im thankful. I recommend watching it and enjoying it, but Id be interested if you are left in the conundrum I know find myself in or not. Maybe Im just getting old!

SCORE: 7/10

IMDB Info for Hunger Games: Catching Fire

The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman

2014-04-09T17:49:00.001+09:30

"While traveling abroad, a guy falls for a Romanian beauty whose unreachable heart has its origins in her violent, charismatic ex." (IMDB)

Decent summary really and along the journey of this love story you can enjoy a nice mix of comedy, violence and generally entertaining cinema. Our main guy Charlie played by Shia LaBeouf sets off to Bucharest, Romania for some soul searching after his mums death. After a very strange welcome into the country he meets this 'Romanian Beauty' (played by Evan Rachel Wood in a very decent performance) and things really start to spiral out of control.

Early on in the piece though Charlie makes his way to the Marco Polo youth hostel where he meets up with a couple of party heads from the UK. If you're a fan of either Harry Potter or the Inbetweener's you will love this part as much as I did as these guys are played by Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley) and James Buckley (Jay). They down a shitload of LSD and X and some really funny shit ensues captured well with some great filming and "I'm on drugs" effects. I read that LaBeouf actually took LSD for the scene to make it more authentic, would have been a fun day on set no doubt. A good quote from Buckley - "If I can't take my tin of drugs around with me then the terrorists have already won". True that!

But then things get more serious as Charlie starts inadvertently getting involved with some pretty nasty fellas. The poor bastard cops a lot of beatings but he remains true to the cause. Reminded me a bit of Brick where J.G.L just kept getting pounded into a bloody mess. Full credit to the casting of the bad guys too - Mads Mikkelsen (Hannibal) and Til Schweiger (Inglorious Basterds) ... not a pair you would want to cross in a hurry.

Overall the movie is a bit of muddle but the changing style keeps it quite interesting and the story moves along quick enough. LaBeouf wears a little bit too much dark eye shadow for my liking, makes him look like Khal Drogo but don't let that put you off. It's worth watching just to see Ron Weasley pop 5 viagra.

7/10

IMDB Info

Am I Truman Burbank?

2014-04-07T19:11:00.000+09:30

So, last week I made up a funny (I thought so anyway) Aprils Fools Day post about The Goonies II being greenlit and coming to a screen near you. Two days ago my wife indicates to me that there is something on her Facebook about The Goonies sequel and I laugh and tell her that was just me being an idiot. Then she says it mentioned Richard Donner and that he had confirmed it to TMZ, and all I could think of was the scene in The Truman Show where he realises that everything seems to play out perfectly for him all the time, that all of his actions are listened to and acted upon. It was the dawn of realisation that everything that is happening in this world must be happening for me (and yes I imagine the whole thing is actually being orchestrated by Ed Harris) and its all to make a movie happen. To make The Goonies II actually happen.

And so, now that I know I have this power, did everyone know that Star Wars VII is greenlit? Oh, wait... Did everyone know that The Hobbit is finally ... oh, wait. Did everyone know that Indiana Jones ... oh wait .. oh, Ive got it! I've got it!

Did everyone know that Monty Python are re-teaming and going to do a sequel to The Holy Grail!?!?!?!?!

Last Vegas

2014-04-04T16:06:00.001+10:30

I wasn't expecting much with one but always love to be proven wrong. As soon as it started it produced a smile on my face and I don't think I stopped smiling for the entire film with some laugh out loud moments as well. Last Vegas is just a great, fun movie. It doesn't try to be anything else.

The film is about a bunch of elderly guys who have been mates since forever hitting up Vegas for a Bachelor party and realizing they're not dead yet! What makes this an absolute success is the chemistry between the 4 main male leads - Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman, Michael Douglas and Kevin Kline. They nailed it. Their interactions between themselves and with the outside world was natural and hilarious.

All were brilliant but Morgan Freeman was the stand out for me. He played such a great character who was just out for a good time and after a couple of drinks became the kid he was 60 years ago. Together the guys manage to score the penthouse at the Aria and find themselves clubbing, judging bikini contests, throwing a massive party and one even get's a lap dance from Red Foo. It sounds corny written like that but the way it pans out in the movie it doesn't seem it.

Not much else to say on this one, just that it gives off a really good vibe. I highly recommend it, especially for us blokes getting on a bit - there's a lot of 'old man' problem humor, all stuff to look forward to I guess.

8/10

IMDB Info

Goonies II is Greenlit!

2014-04-01T16:27:00.001+10:30

Well everyone, its official, Hollywood is officially trying to ruin our childhoods even more.

A new report comes out from Deadline, Variety, and even IMDB have a page for it, reporting that Bret Ratner has signed on to bring about the much desired Goonies II movie. Normally I would be completely over the moon and excited beyond belief to be bringing you this news, but just wait until you hear about the cast.

Returning to the flick are Corey Feldman and Ke Huy Quan and Martha Plimpton, however, it appears Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, Jeff Cohen and Kerri Green have all refused to be a part of the remake stating they are either not acting any more or uninterested in the new story.

The new story comes to us from Barry Wernick who co-wrote Grandma's Boy, a movie great for drinking games but hardly something of the quality we want for a Goonies sequel. It is rumoured to be casting for younger versions of all the main cast who are all the new generation of video game playing, boring children who stay indoors all the time, and explain to them the efforts of their parents to preserve such a special outdoors adventure area such as the Goondocks by putting them through a daring adventure to go back into the underground lair of One Eyed Willy. Rumoured to be in the lair is the treasure of a second pirate April Fools who tends to write these silly news announcements each year.

The kids will undoubtedly go on to defeat such a nefarious beast as the April Fools pirate and revel in the aftermath of the fight by flying down waterslides, swinging on ropes, killing invisible octopi and stopping an evil father and son from setting up a golf course. It is with much concern I share this news and with much excitement I run home to watch the real, awesome, amazing, most perfect movie of all time: the original THE GOONIES! I suggest you all do too.

Noah

2014-03-28T13:50:00.000+10:30

I guess I should preface this review by revealing I am not a very religious person. I’m not actually sure if that works for, or against, being a viewer of the latest Darren Aronofksy movie Noah, but I think it’s worth mentioning. Possibly if I had studied the Bible more I would have been aware of some amazing facts of the times!

The humans of old had amazing metallurgy skills being able to make metal piping, seemingly windmill type devices and all sorts! And possibly long before Noah there were metal based cities or villages or something, with pipes n stuff.

There were walking, talking huge rock people. Yep.

Some of the rocks could ignite into all sorts of fires just by hitting them with the right motion. Oh, and they glowed and fizzed.

There were some amazing dried herbs that magically put animals to sleep without them needing to eat or pooh or anything. But it didn’t affect humans, only animals.

How the fuck did all those animals know at what time to come together, where the ark was, how to move together, which two of the many were the special two, etc, etc, etc?

Plants and indeed, entire forests, can grow in approximately 10 seconds flat.

I could go on, but I think you get the idea.

This movie makes no sense. It is truly unbelievable and truly impossible to grasp or believe in any part of it. There is a large amount of repetitive imagery showing ... something ... I’m not too sure what, but it seems to mean different things at different times. Some of the imagery was truly profound such as a bit showing silhouettes of different generations fighting each other, but most of it was embellished meaningless crap.

The story was terrible. It tried to make something huge and emotional and grand and epic, but at the end of the day it failed miserably. It became too engrossed in trying to be worthwhile that it lost its way. It’s also truly dark and depressing. By the end when I think I’m supposed to feel elated that humans are still around and thank Russell for being a good drunkard, or father or something, I actually felt even more depressed that humans are still around than I did before I watched the frickin thing.

The one saving grace was the acting. Russell Crowe was excellent, Emma Watson was as good as even, Jennifer Connelly was great, the three brothers were all surprisingly great too in light of who they were acting with. Ray Winstone was very miscast in my opinion, and is in fact not a very good actor at all if you ask me. He was far too comically evil for this movie and really fell flat the whole time. Even being seemingly written out for a good 20mins before popping up at the end as the bad guy you thought was gone. And, Anthony Hopkins was good but .. I don’t know what he was in the film for to be honest.

The special effects went from astoundingly good to astoundingly bad. I’m not sure if this was a budget, time or intentional effort as it was glaringly obvious but it helped me realise that this film was just all over the shop the whole time. Some of it was really quite beautiful and profound but mostly it’s a bumbling boring mess of a film. I really can’t recommend anyone go and see this film unfortunately. Definitely stick to Aronofsky's other flicks they are well and above this film in every conceivable way.

SCORE: 4/10 (4 points for the acting and batshit crazy idea of even trying to make this movie)

IMDB Info for Noah

Short Term 12

2014-03-27T13:50:00.000+10:30

Been saving this one for the right mood and definitely glad I did. Unfortunately I don't think I'm even close to qualified for reviewing it. I think production wise it is almost perfect for the genre and story it was delivering. I would love to crap on about the use of camera angle's, lenses, shooting style etc but I'm completely out of my league so will just say it's 'beautifully shot'.

Short Term 12 is more of an experience than a story. We are immediately thrown into the world of a handful of carers looking after troubled youths and once we settle into this environment we can see like all things in life it's not as black and white as we may have thought. Again I say I'm not qualified, being a middle class 'white dude' whose biggest problem growing up was not getting a Nintendo 64 for Christmas, it's hard to relate to the trauma and experiences these kids must have gone through - but the film does a good job of putting this in perspective.

In fact I think perspective is a key focus of this film. It almost becomes a lesson in the power of perception. The perception of authority, perception of what we fear, and for us the viewer the perception of who or what is fucked up, or considered fucked up.

Snap out of it! Too deep, sorry. Bottle of cheap Barossa red + antibiotics for an ear infection that is giving me nothing but Mono sound at best... maybe over thinking it all.

Moving on... It's a potentially dark subject but captured in quite a positive light. The main characters have a lot to do with this adding some humour, but also the music is very up-beat and happy even during moments that could be perceived as higher tension. I think this worked really well.

The acting is crazy good. I didn't recognise anyone in the cast but quality was top notch. There were a few story telling type scene's which helped add the humour but also just felt so natural and well acted. I honestly hope this film kick starts a few careers here.

As always I have to make a small complaint. There is a scene involving a suicide attempt and I would like the makers of this film to look up the number of litres of blood in the human body, and how many of those litres are expelled when slicing certain areas. I don't think a smear on the wall covered it, but hey - maybe they were going for PG rating?

Overall though an incredibly well made film. It loses a point for re-watch ability, definitely think this is a once only for me. That said though if I see the next title from Destin Cretton, writer and director, I will definitely be checking it out.

8/10

IMDB Info

My Favourite Talk Show Skit Ever

2014-03-24T12:30:00.000+10:30

I know this isn't really movie related but its just so amazing that I have to share it around. Jimmy Fallon is now the host of The Tonight Show in America and while I have never, ever, enjoyed the American talk show programs this guy just clicks with me for some reason. Maybe its my age and the fact he has so many 80s and 90s music and movie references in his show. Maybe its just his amazing ability to totally make a fool of himself and his guests without depreciating anyone. Maybe he is just what a good talk show host can be? Anyways, here are a couple of the best examples of my favourite skit on his show: LIP SYNC BATTLE!

Enjoy!

Wolf of Wall Street

2014-03-18T10:49:00.000+10:30

Wolf of Wall Street could have been brilliant. It could have been the Scarface of our generation: a depiction of greed to the ultimate excess with a character arc that took you for a ride from an arrogant man with nothing all the way through to the total destruction of him and everything around him. Instead we got an over indulgent, love letter to having lots of money and spending that on drugs, sex and material things. This film makes no point and has nothing to say about this excess wealth, the consequences for the means with which he obtained it, the pain and suffering he brought on the world, to his own family or himself. It simply says that what he did is possible, that you could do it, that anyone can do it really, and that if you do all you need to do at the end is serve a little prison time and pay a $110 million dollar fine. (Which he had enough money to pay, WTF!?!?)

I'm actually really disappointed in this movie. There was so much potential, and so many great parts to the first half of this movie, I thought I was going to get to see one of the biggest fall from graces ever to be seen in film. Instead I get asked to sell him a pen. What a cop out. What were you thinking Marty? Im not sure what happened during the making of this flick, but you seemed to lose your way and to end up not making a point about anything in 3+ hour movie is just bad filmmaking.

In fact I would probably put this movie right down the bottom somewhere of Marty's movies. Its nothing profound, its nothing edgy or stylish, its just disappointing.

The good of the film is surely Leo DiCaprio acting his arse off. He really does some amazingly graphic, slapstick, crazy stuff in this movie and goes for it in full, all the way, all the time. He is by far the best thing of the movie and would have had to have come close to Matthew McConaughey winning Best Actor for this year (who also has a great cameo in this flick). I find it quite amazing he agreed to do some of the things he did in this film actually, and that Marty could ask such a big A list cast member to do them. He is thoroughly entertaining throughout.

Jonah Hill is the other stand out. He plays this perfect mix of totally crazy, over the top, fake try hard brilliantly and I'm finding myself starting to like his acting more and more. He is a really interesting guy picking very different roles and bringing something new to them each time so it'll be good to see what he moves on to from this (now that Scorcese, like, totally thinks he is awesome).

The other point to note is that I didn't know you could show as much sex related stuff in a movie these days and not get it censored off to a padded cell somewhere never to be seen again. Its weird that the excessive amount of totally naked girls, full on sex scenes and innuendo has been approved for this movie, yet in other films has been censored so much more? Maybe its a changing time, maybe its just the weight Marty has in Hollywood, but its interesting in its difference.

This movie is well worth a watch for some of the crazy events and funny scenes that take place, but, you wont be amazed, learn anything or even feel the need to go back and watch it again. Except maybe for the scenes where the Quaaludes kick in! Steeeeevvvveeee Maaaaaaaaadddeeeeeeennnnnnnnnn, haha.

IMDB Info for Wolf of Wall Street

SCORE: 7/10

12 Years A Slave

2014-03-14T10:56:00.000+10:30

12 Years A Slave is a real masterpiece. I'm so very happy that Steve McQueen has finally won a well deserved Oscar for his ability as a filmmaker and this film is the perfect fit for his skills and the Academy's tendencies of what type of film to award best picture to.

Having said that, of the three films I've seen by Steve McQueen this is his least amazing to me. So, how can a filmmakers least amazing film be the best picture winner? Well, it would be fair to say that his other two films Hunger and Shame are a lot less accessible than 12 Years A Slave. The first is a truly harrowing, no holds barred, account of the will of the IRA to starve themselves to death when arrested for their crimes. It is one of the hardest movies I have ever watched and has stayed very clear in my minds eye even to this day. There are some of the most beautifully horrible shots comprised in that movie, and some of the most chilling actions conveyed without any thought of watering down, or covering something up. It is a hard film to watch, but its more than a masterpiece, its a film that cannot be equalled in many ways. But its no best picture winner.

Shame was my favourite movie of 2013 (it was released in 2011 but I hadn't seen it before). Once again, it is composed of the most beautiful shot making and acted to perfection. The direction given to the team making that film is nothing short of some of the best direction that has ever been given to a filmmaking team. The story is once again very confronting talking about taboo topics and showing horrible acts by deplorable people, however, you simply cannot stop watching. It sucks you into this mans world and make you feel what he is feeling, even if you do not understand it all. And as I've said many times in the past simply has the best ending to a movie ever. But, yes, it is no best picture winner.

That brings me to 12 Years A Slave. Many have said the scenes of brutal torture put on black people in slavery is too much, that the film is more interested with making you feel this pain and disgust than it is with opening up a discussion about slavery itself. They do not understand Mr McQueens filmmaking skills. You are supposed to feel the impacts of slavery to Solomon, it is supposed to make you understand slavery from one mans perspective. It is just like Hunger and Shame: an investigation into an issue from the point of view of one man. The film makes you feel everything that one man feels so you can connect to it and relate to it.

The brutality of 12 Years A Slave is non negotiable. It shows some heinous acts. But this is the toned down version of the film in comparison to what Mr McQueen has done in both his other films, and that dear readers, is exactly what amazes me the most. Astounds me. The director and the filmmaker within him has seen his need to reduce his skills, just a little, to make his film more accessible. He wanted more people to see this movie, and more people to be able to sit through and recommend it as passionately as I do his other films. And he knew, by toning it down a smidge, that it could get a best picture oscar. Guess what? It did. What an amazing human being Steve McQueen is, what an amazing filmmaker he is, what an amazing film he has made in 12 Years A Slave and what amazing things will he be able to go on to do now he has won that prestigious prize?

IMDB Info for 12 Years A Slave

SCORE: 9/10

Academy Award Results

2014-03-12T19:52:00.000+10:30

So, the awards were a week or so ago (sorry, Mike and I have been flat out at work) and so its time to see how we went with our Oscar predictions. First up let me say that I was very happy with this years choices, it seems that picking the obvious choice wasn't the agreed strategy for this year and it was nice to see the truly deserving win in most cases. So how did we do on our predictions? Lets see:

BEST PICTURE: 12 Years a Slave
Boom! The one we wanted: 12 Years A Slave. Steve McQueen is one of the best filmmakers out there and its brilliant to see him pickup his first oscar for such a strong movie. Look out for our review soon on this one.

BEST ACTOR: Matthew McConaughey
Boom! Two out two. I still haven't seen all of Matthews performance but from what I have heard its amazing. Wasn't too sure what to make of his acceptance speech, but I don't know what he is on at present with top performances also popping up in True Detective, Mud and Wolf of Wall St this year.

BEST ACTRESS: Cate Blanchett
And the Aussie takes it out! Well done Cate, love your work in all your movies. So proud to see you up there and brilliant acceptance speech.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Jared Leto
Way off the mark here, didn't even really know who Jared Leto is, but his performance does look like a knock out. And, he seems like a pretty cool dude.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Lupita Nyong'o
I am so glad Lupita won! Only the 7th black lady to ever win an Oscar and her performance was raw, emotional and poignant. So much better than Jennifer Lawrence's was.

BEST DIRECTOR: Alfonso Cuaron
Alfonso did it! We think that 12 Years was a more deserving picture for the top spot, but actually making Gravity is a truly astounding feat. He literally had to create new technology just to allow his vision to be reality and fought for nearly 7 years to make his Sci Fi epic. Plus, he made Children of Men! Come on.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: 12 Years a Slave
Again, great to see such an amazing film take this one out, but I think the Before series deserves to win one for this category. Such brilliant writing.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Her
This was unexpected in some ways. Its such an interesting night when the best screenplay, director and movie are all from different filmmakers and creatives. I love that as it means people really cared about the winners and Spike really deserved this. What a stand out accomplishment to write his movie the way he did.

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN: The Great Gatsby
Think this one was pretty obvious. Quite interesting that The Great Gatsby won two more oscars than either Wolf of Wall Street, American Hustle or Captain Phillips.

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: Gravity
Now, Im not entirely sure on the rules or way cinematography is done for animated movies, but to me this was a real disappointment. Prisoners was the most intensely shot film, done with the most perfect lighting of the year, hands down. If its harder to do that in an animated film then Gravity was great, if its a misunderstanding of the construction technique Im annoyed at this one.

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS: Gravity
Hand in hand with what I said about cinematography, Gravity looks astounding! But its due to the visual effects, not the shooting techniques (In my opinion) so glad to see this take it out. Simply amazing how they did what they did in this movie.

So all in all we were pretty close and pretty happy with the outcome. I quite enjoyed Ellen's most tweeted photo of our overlords and loved Luipta's acceptance speech. Its a weird ceremony really, but always good to see what you love recognised. Here's hoping for a funnier leading comedian next year though.

Knights of Badassdom!

2014-03-08T18:54:00.000+10:30

With a title like that you can't go wrong! Can you?

Knights of Badassdom is exactly the sort of movie you would want to make. Take a crazy funny script about LARP'ers (Live Action Role Play) and add some horror themes, a great main cast including a few hot ladies and a dwarf (sorry, little person) and you have a recipe for success in my opinion. This would have been so much fun to make, I'm jealous.

If you're not familiar with LARP it's where people go meet to role play their fantasy characters and do fake battle. Yup, it's all the dungeons and dragons stuff involving +4 maces and spells of healing or whatever. If you've seen the movie 'Role Models' then it's the same thing. Not sure I should admit this out loud but I reckon it looks like a hell of a lot of fun and would love to give it a go :)

Where to start though?   I'll start small... Peter Dinklage. What a great actor and obviously feels right at home in any medieval setting after we all fell in love with him in Game of Thrones. He's absolutely hilarious as Sir Hung and he steals the show in every scene he's in. Things only get better when Sir Hung downs a bag of shrooms before the event, although that said I think any comedy benefits from a character downing some sort of hallucinogenic.

Next in line is Aussie actor Ryan Kwanten of True Blood fame. He is great with comedy but also showed depth in the Aussie drama Red Hill (pretty decent flick btw). Good to see Aussie actors doing well.   Kwanten is a toned down version of his True Blood character for this one, which works well surrounded by his super nerd mates. Steve Zahn also shares the lead well and for those Community fans there is a small role for Danny Pudi (Abed)... Love that dude :)

Knights of Badassdom is just a good, funny and silly horror comedy.   Definitely a movie to watch with mates over a few drinks. It's a low budget gem and the old school special effects using real creature costumes compliments the style perfectly.   Like any good horror comedy the kill scene's are way over the top and are delivered with good frequency. Not a movie to be taken seriously, just enjoy and have a laugh.

My only complaint was lack of boobs. (sorry ladies).   This sort of movie is only made better by some completely deliberate and blatantly tasteless titty shots. Take a leaf out of road trips book.

Enjoy :)

8/10

IMDB Info

Dallas Buyers Club

2014-03-01T10:51:00.001+10:30

Matthew McConaughey just cracked the big league. This performance puts him in such company as Christian Bale and Daniel Day Lewis. Had the film been made earlier it would be in contention for a spot on the top 10 male performances of all time list.

Dallas Buyers Club is based on a true story about Ron Woodroof, a Texas electrician who contracts the H.I.V virus in the mid 80's and his subsequent struggle to attain the right medicines he needs to survive. He finds a market selling non-approved drugs to other H.I.V patients and sets up the "Dallas Buyers Club" which provides all the drugs you need for the price of a monthly membership. Through this he begins his own research and improves the lives of many people however maintains a constant fight with the F.D.A, the police and the I.R.S to provide the drugs.

It must have been a very frustrating time for those infected by the virus. The usual government corruption led to a drug known as AZT being approved for human trials and this was having very mixed results amongst patients. Different drugs were available in other countries but were not approved by the F.D.A so couldn't be brought into or sold in the U.S. Woodroof worked around the system and traveled to many countries finding suppliers and giving the people an alternative option to AZT, one that appeared to be far more successful.

The craziest thing about this movie was that it was made for 4.5 million. Obviously a passion project for McConaughey who would normally draw that amount in salary alone. It is well shot, incredibly acted and is quite an interesting story on a controversial subject. I was pleased to read that it made about 25 million worldwide which is a great result for 4.5 million budget.

Jared Leto co-stars as Rayon, a trans-gender male with H.I.V who opens up the market for Woodroof and becomes a partner in the business. Both McConaughey and Leto are fantastic. They both had to lose insane amounts of weight and it is just disturbing how skeletal they are in some shots - similar to Christian Bale in 'The Machinist' or as Dicky in 'The Fighter'. It really adds authenticity to the characters though.

My only criticism is that the story is very slow. I think Macca used the term 'snails pace' and I would have to agree. Given the true content of the story I'm not quite sure how they could have changed this, perhaps shaved 20 minutes off the run time, not sure. It was a good watch though but not one I will be in a hurry to watch again.

7/10

IMDB Info

Wolf Creek 2 Opening Weekend Box Office

2014-02-26T13:18:00.002+10:30

Well, some good news for the Aussie film industry came out this week: Wolf Creek 2 killed its way to the top of the Box Office! It beat out Wolf of Wall Street which has been sitting in the number one spot since January and the Mark Wahlberg war drama Lone Survivor also released on the weekend, by making a cool $1,681,636.

It still has a way to go to take the top spot of Aussie made films box office, with Crocodile Dundee racking up $47 million with its run in 1986. Love that movie!

Mike and I would like to congratulate the filmmakers and cannot wait to see it! Our tickets are purchased for the Sat night session and we will probably back it up with 12 Years a Slave if that's still showing as well, so look out for our thoughts on the films next week.

Apologies for not writing much in last couple of weeks, I have been flat out with work, sons birthday, editing an advertisement and some study, so in watching terms all I have managed is a few Downton Abbey episodes with my wife as she is rewatching them. Might do a post about that soon too as its surprisingly good.

Box Office stats came from the Motion Picture Distributors Association of Australia

Filth

2014-02-20T19:45:00.002+10:30

A very fitting title for this one. Violent, gross, racist, sexist... FILTHY. Think Bad Lieutenant (Nick Cage) crossed with Trainspotting. *edit* - just looked up this one and see it was based on Irvine Welsh's novel. That explains the Trainspotting!

In Filth we are thrust straight into the insane life of police officer Bruce Robertson played by James McAvoy. What this guy does in a day most of wouldn't do in a life time.   We follow him through a montage of drinking, drugs, sex, terrible police work and overall just being an absolute wanker. But amongst this chaos is a deeper story and we can see there is more to Bruce than meets the eye.

It's quite an engaging film to watch. Snappy editing provides a fairly fast pace and when the story backs off a bit there's enough on screen appealing to our 'depraved' curiosity to keep watching intently.

I felt a bit like the movie didn't know quite which direction to take. At times it was completely hilarious, others quite clever, also a little serious at times and others just down right crazy. Although this was probably deliberate, by the end I was still waiting for the POINT! I get there's a lot of filth in the world but what are you saying about it? This may have been driven home better in the book methinks.

McAvoy is good playing Robertson. Couldn't fault his acting. However, to me he felt poorly casted. I don't know if it is just his face, or something about his take on the character but something didn't fit here. No other performances really worth mentioning except maybe Jim Broadbent as the doctor. Under the influence of certain 'enhancers' his character would have provided plenty of "WTF" moments.   In fact even without there were enough.

There were a couple of scene's though that had me literally laughing out loud which is an achievement in a movie when watching alone I reckon. One involved a very interesting game I might try out at the next work party involving a xerox machine. The finale of this though was priceless - "Fuck me with that horses cock!...... What????".    The second involved some drink spiking of Bruce's 'best friend' Bladesey. Anyway I apologise for describing scene's if you haven't seen it yet.

Overall quite an interesting and unique watch. Definitely won't suit those with milder taste. If you're a fan of Welsh's work this will be a must see. I loved Trainspotting but don't think Filth is up there in the same category.

P.S - what the fuck is up with that PIG?

6/10

IMDB Info

ZOMBEAVERS!

2014-02-10T13:23:00.000+10:30

Sold!

Ender's Game

2014-02-08T18:53:00.001+10:30

MORE SCI-FI!!!!!! Always wanting MORE MORE MORE!

Even better when you find GOOD Sci-fi, and Ender's Game delivers on all levels. It's based on the book by Orson Scott Card and Directed by South African Gavin Hood who has done other quite large studio flicks like X-men:Origins and Rendition. I loved every minute of it, but I have a feeling this one won't be for everyone.

I'm a complete sucker for good kids movies. And 99.9% of these were created in the 80's and early 90's. Growing up during this time was obviously a large contributing factor to this opinion however I don't think anyone can argue that the movies made back then just had some sort of charm that we rarely see these days (sorry I know Guy and I crap on about the 80's a lot, but hey :). With the incredible animation and special effects we enjoy today the studio's are creating for a completely different children's market and I understand our older movies wouldn't "cut it" for today's younger audience. This is why I am so impressed with 'Ender's Game'. It uses all the modern tricks but still captures the essence of a good 80's story telling. There's no unnecessary violence or gore, no swearing - just a great story presented beautifully and paced to perfection.

So what's it about? If you're old enough you will remember a movie called 'The Last Star Fighter'. Very similar story elements between the two. Set in the future where Earth has survived a large scale invasion by a race known as the 'Formics' and is preparing to go on the offensive to prevent future attacks. Humans have learned that children possess superior decision making skills during battle so are trained to lead and fight at an early age. The best of these are promoted to the top of the academy to lead the attack on the enemy. Ender Wiggin is one such candidate and the story follows his progression through the academy and eventual role in the attack.

'Ender's Game' is just a good fun movie. Wiggin, played by Asa Butterfield, is a very likable character and by the end of the film I was sold on him being a born leader and strategist. Harrison Ford was pretty decent as Colonel Graff, man he's looking old though. Poor Indy. Ben Kingsley's character Mazar Rackham was completely destroyed by Kingsey's terrible attempt of a New Zealand accent, it was actually quite hilarious. It probably doesn't sound too bad for those not familiar with the accent, like Leo's South African accent in Blood Diamond which was apparently terrible but sounded good to me. Anyway, at the very least he is good for a couple of laughs.

Like all modern day big budget movies the cinematography is top notch and special effects seamlessly crisp. The action scene's were incredibly well shot, and contrary to current trends were not rushed or over edited. Just overall a damn enjoyable watch! A reminder again this is a kids movie so if you take your Sci-Fi a bit too seriously then maybe give it a miss. Personally I love having a few reds and letting myself be young again!

8/10

IMDB Info

All is Lost

2014-02-04T19:23:00.001+10:30

When it comes to the quality of this film, all is definitely not lost.

Writer and Director J.C Chandor delivers an incredibly realistic survival story set in the vast Indian Ocean. We are introduced immediately to the only character in the movie (we never learn his name), played by Robert Redford as he wakes to find his yacht damaged by a rogue shipping container floating in the middle of nowhere overnight. It's nothing but survival from this point onwards as he faces a string of bad luck yet luckily has the Macgyver-esk skills to overcome most obstacles.

A warning to all those action heads out there - this is a very in depth, slow burning movie. There are only a handful of words spoken and every event is played out in absolute detail and precision as though you were on the boat watching directly. It is beautifully shot, but one thing they especially nailed was the underwater to above water transitions and vise-versa - absolutely seamless. Being a single boat in the middle of the ocean, the team could concentrate heavily on creating the perfect sets for in and out of the yacht. Inside of the yacht was quite spectacular and was even built to be able to capsize which provided some incredible internal action shots during some stormy scene's.

When a movie only has a single character - casting must become the single most important decision I reckon. If you're not captivated by the character then yes, All Is Lost. To be honest at first I thought Redford might have been the wrong decision. He looked almost too far past expiry to pull off the role, quite slow and sore. That said though, about half way through I was sold. Fantastic performance. He never tried to over compensate for the lack of dialogue by over-acting his emotions. I think the reason why I initially doubted was because it was so different to the usual acting we see but after adjusting and thinking on it, it felt very authentic. Our reactions when alone are quite different to with company and I think Redford and Chandor nailed it.

I love survival stories. I remember reading 'Hatchet' in school which was a great little story and then later saw movies like 'Survive the Savage Sea' and of course 'Cast Away' which was just brilliant. I would compare 'All is Lost' a little to 'Cast Away' in some elements from the time Hanks left the Island. If you're a fan of this type of stuff also then definitely add to the watch list. I originally gave it a 9 and in lot of area's it definitely deserved but I took it down to an 8 after considering re-watch value. Will definitely be watching again but will give it a few years I think to recharge ready for the slow burn once again.

8/10

IMDB Info