Insidious

Nowadays in the modern generation of cinema, the quantity of films within the horror genre is rapidly increasing (and some are led into being converted 3D), but they are either incredibly cheesy films with a very poor story, lack of character development and rather lame screenplay and direction or they just blow you away in terror and you just love from start to finish. However, as far as Insidious is concerned, the theatrical trailer featured a few references similar to previous horror films that we have seen in the past. So, as a result, there were still high expectations, although it was either going to be loved or hated. Quite frankly, as predicted it manages to be psychologically terrifying to watch, tons of suspense and most importantly: as we have seen in horror films with lots of violence, violence isn’t all what horrors or thrillers are really about.


Admittedly, there are so many similarities that Insidious has with other horror films (specifically Paranormal Activity, Poltergeist and The Exorcist) but it manages to still convert into a whole new story that honours the references, backgrounds and production of those specific films. This is coming from one who absolutely loves horror films; Insidious amazingly manages to terrify so much that lead into literally jumping out of seat, leaning closer to the TV screen and becomes very thought-provoking afterwards. In almost every single aspect of the film, there were familiar references that were used from horror films from the past i.e.Paranormal Activity, The Exorcist and Poltergeist, and there are a few twists and turns in store for you.


Patrick Wilson; perhaps the only well-known Hollywood actor in Insidious from the cast portrays husband and father Josh Lambert who’s trying to protect his family from the demons within the house. He delivers a satisfactory performance and he should appear in more horrors or thrillers in the future. His on-screen wife Renai, portrayed by Rose Byrne, really is this typical hopeless young woman caught in a rather ugly and sticky situation where she is absolutely terrified out of her mind. Although that those kinds of characters are the icing on the cake for horror films, Byrne’s performance expresses that but in a slightly similar way to Shelley Duvall in The Shining by Stanley Kubrick. So, her role overall wasn’t entirely great but was at least satisfactory to endure throughout the 103 minute duration of the film.


At only 10 years old, Ty Simpkins has already been in major Hollywood films such as War Of The Worlds, Little Children and Revolutionary Road, but this time goes on to portray a very different character: completely innocent victim in a coma trapped by a mysterious realm dominated by demons. Although, he isn’t involved in the film very often, he gives a performance to remember as Dalton. Barbara Hershey who recently made a name for herself in Black Swan but who gained huge acclaim and acceptance within the horror genre after her terrifying role in The Entity appears as Josh Lambert’s mother, Lorraine and delivers a very moving and genuine performance. Lin Shaye portrays the psychic Elise Reiner who attempts to help Dalton break free from the demons that are in the house. Her role resembled Max Von Sydow’s role in The Exorcist as Father Lankester Merrin, who in turn aids a young girl from demons.


Everyone will feel familiarised with James Wan as director, who is the co-creator of the famous Saw franchise, and for this reason there were expectations and hints that there was going to be lots of gore and violence in Insidious. However, Wan perhaps goes down a slightly different road this time and concentrates more on the supernatural dialogue than the violence and as a result, exposes a new side of filmmaking within the horror/thriller genre. On the other side is Leigh Whannell who co-created the Saw series with Wan and wrote a few screenplays, reunites once more with Wan and writes a very eerie and spooky screenplay that isn’t only hard to watch on occasions, but is incredibly fun to watch too due to the gripping entertainment that it beholds for its audience. As well as screenwriter, Whannell even makes an supporting appearance in the film as well. 


Overall, Insidious is a truly terrifying and really fun horror film that will keep you on the edge of your seat; even for those who aren’t sensitive when it comes to horrors. It is almost like a mixture of Paranormal Activity, The Exorcist and Poltergeist from story down to characters and manages to pull off great references from three films in three different eras of cinema. It’s perhaps not one of the greatest films of 2011, but it is most certainly one that needn’t be missed and should consider checking out!

The Rum Diary

Any film featuring Johnny Depp on-screen is going to bring great excitement to critics, film fanatics and amongst others which generally leads to exceedingly high expectations. Plus, in The Rum Diary there were other possibilities that could make it become something worthwhile to fully enjoy and get a lot of fun out of due to the settings of the film, cinematography and with a story that could have been a good laugh and to get a lot of enjoyment from. However, after watching it, it’s as plain and dry as a plank of wood, but it wasn’t entirely awful to watch.


In all honesty, you need to be in the right frame of mind to go into this and understand it for what it is, but the aspects within the film feature comedy, drama and romance. It perhaps isn’t classed as a comedy, but of what we witnessed in the trailer there was bound to be something humourous about it, but it was not even funny in the slightest. In every film, there has to be at least a little emotion but in the case of The Rum Diary, there was almost nothing exciting, ground-breaking or thought-provoking at all about it, so it really lacked a heart and soul with a solid ending featuring a meaningful message.


Johnny Depp in a leading role is always exciting to see, but from a personal perspective, The Rum Diary just wasn’t for him for a variety of reasons. Kemp is a middle-aged man who is stuck in between his destiny and his destruction, and what this film is about is to discover what is most important of the two and what must be done to achieve it. Quite frankly, where this character flops is that we aren’t entirely sure whether Kemp is deep down a low-life or somebody who takes life seriously. Plus, whether he is quite a dangerous individual as well regarding his constant lust to drink despite being cautioned beforehand. Speaking of which, Depp drinking rum, where have we seen that before? Perhaps in a series of films where he bought forth a character and performance that has made him the iconic Hollywood actor that he is, so on a positive side it was good to see Depp acting in that familiar style of acting underneath a new character and style of film. Despite that one positive concept of his role, it is definitely Depp’s weakest performance in quite a long time.


After his breakthrough yet underrated role as Harvey Dent in The Dark Knight, Aaron Eckhart makes a supporting appearance as local businessman Sanderson, who is the friend then soon-to-be nemesis of Kemp due to their mutual love for Chenault. Only by looking at Eckhart in this film, all you can see is Harvey Dent and because Sanderson is a rather plain and a character who we have seen countless times in many films over the years, his character simply did not work either. Amber Heard seriously is very easy on the eyes but not all that easy on the ears as she portrays Sanderson’s girlfriend and Kemp’s love interest, Chenault. There’s just a conflicted love triangle between them that doesn’t really leave you with anything in the end, and is just felt totally abandoned. There were no sparks or romantic chemistry between Chenault and neither Sanderson nor Kemp. Michael Rispoli was definitely the best actor from the film and gives a good performance as Sala, who is a drunken alcoholic who is well-intentioned deep down but always runs into trouble and all hell breaks loose with him. Rispoli portrays a scruffy alcoholic impressively, and as a result, deserves a thumbs-up for his role.


Bruce Robinson, who is perhaps only best known as the director and screenwriter of Withnail & I and the screenwriter of The Killing Fields in 1984, returns to direct only his fourth feature film in his entire career. Although, there isn’t much to experience from him due to the short filmography, he could’ve returned after 19 years and given us a film that could have become an Oscar contender, but it wasn’t to be. As for the screenplay, it could have been a lot better than it turned out and it was filled with clichéd and cheesy lines. Robinson could become a good film director if he improvises and goes on to make better films than this one in the future.


Overall, The Rum Diary is a rather flat and empty film that is almost heartless with no meaning or message and no chemistry between the characters, and for this reason, it is perhaps the most disappointing film of 2011 thus far. If you have read the novels of the late Hunter S. Thompson, you might be able to gain an understanding of the story (like Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas which also starred Johnny Depp), but personally if you’ve read the book but not seen the film, you might be disappointed. Just like the film as a whole, it could’ve been something really interesting with emotion, romance and comedy but I think due to the lack of performance from the actors, it failed. 

The Muppet Christmas Carol

The idea of mixing the wacky pack of the Muppets created by Jim Henson with perhaps the classic Christmas tale by Charles Dickens is quite possibly the most unorthodox idea that has ever been put to screen. It became the first time that the Muppets would feature in their own film adaptation of a classic novel as there would be the releases of The Muppet Treasure Island in 1996 and The Muppet’s Wizard Of Oz. Nevertheless, considering the unusual idea behind it all, The Muppets Christmas Carol turned out an entertaining attempt of re-living the classic story that expresses not only aspects of raw emotion but also adds more comedy within it.


Although the original A Christmas Carol is not classed as part of the comedy genre, the Muppets unravel another side to the story. It consists of numerous running gags (specifically the narration and occasional slapstick storytelling from Gonzo the Great as Charles Dickens and Rizzo the Rat as himself) and with delightful musical songs that makes not only the Muppets pleasurable to watch, but makes Christmas as a whole even more enchanting and magical. There are so many ways where The Muppet Christmas Carol could have flopped and turned out an utter disaster, but it stuck to its target audience and gives a warm hug to both Dickens’ classic tale and the Muppets as a television series as well as puppets.


Michael Caine has been involved in all kinds of films over his career and now he goes on to star in perhaps his most famous family-themed performance of his career as Ebenezer Scrooge. Caine is, of course, one of the most accomplished actors in film history and although he finds his role as Scrooge to be one of his most memorable performances, he could be right about that. However, this role wasn’t entirely as impressive as expected, because Caine doesn’t quite manage to bring forth the cold-hearted and greedy nature of Scrooge’s character as we have previously seen in other adaptations of the book and from the original novel itself. On the other hand, just as Scrooge has changed his ways with the aid of the three Christmas Ghosts, Caine expresses the warmth and delight of an old man on Christmas Day. To be honest, most actors who have portrayed Scrooge are great at portraying either cold-hearted Scrooge or kind and friendly Scrooge, but in the case of Michael Caine, he is perhaps better the latter. 


Steven Mackintosh, like Michael Caine, is another actor who is in the film but not voicing one of the Muppets as he portrays Ebenezer Scrooge’s young nephew Fred. As we have always seen throughout every film based on A Christmas Carol and in the book, it is the unusual opposing but personally linked relationship between a kind, ordinary man and a bitter old man during the happiest and most magical event of the year. Despite we don’t see very much of Mackintosh as Fred within the film, he still delivers a satisfactory performance and does well alongside Michael Caine. Finally on to the Muppets who star as their respective roles from the likes of Jacob Marley, Bob Cratchit, Tiny Tim etc. The most extraordinarily but rather ingenious quality about this is that we know it is the Muppets by looking at them despite creator and voice actor Jim Henson died a few years before the release of the film, but deep-down they feel like the real characters from Dicken’s original novel but with perhaps a slightly different approach to them that we hadn’t seen before.


Director Brian Henson is selected charge of behind the camera in his feature film directorial debut as he honours his late father’s work of the Muppets and makes it into a rather underrated but a magical and enchanting Christmas treat. His film is aimed at both audiences – for adults at the current time who saw and liked the Muppets during their childhood and young lives, but also for kids to enjoy and feel the warmth of Christmas. He deserved more credit for his work in this film because of the extraordinary yet delightful concept, which is the film itself. Henson praises his father once more afterwards as he directs The Muppet Treasure Island four years later.


Overall, The Muppet Christmas Carol is an eccentrically beautiful motion picture that is an absolute delight to watch during Christmas season and any other time over the year. It is quite possibly the most underrated Christmas film of all time, but despite that it really is worthy of calling a recommendation for kids and for adults all around the world. If you either love the Muppets in the original TV series and/or the original A Christmas Carol book or other film/TV adaptations of the story, you’ll love this one and will see a whole new side to them that you couldn’t have possibly imagined.

Horrible Bosses

In most recent years, we have seen the release of certain black-comedies that have been met with a positive reception and critical acclaim but haven’t been quite so successful regarding awards (e.g. In Bruges, Burn After Reading, Four Lions) and now Horrible Bosses can be added to that list. Although, it is required to have a particular sense of humour when watching black-comedies, you cannot help but laugh at the wild and crazy situations that occur within the film. As a result of this, it has a similar style of comedy to In Bruges and The Hangover.


The black-comedy theme and genre is mainly favoured in the UK but aside from famous American filmmakers Joel & Ethan Coen whose films consist of black-comedy the majority of the time. However, Horrible Bosses demonstrates the ingenious of black-comedy with qualities that make those kinds of films so brilliant to watch. It’s filled with quite possibly the darkest kind of criminal offences from the likes of murder, rape, blackmail, revenge, scandal and the most extraordinary thing is that you’ll never see these crimes appear so funny in any film you’ll see! So, for this reason, it’s not a film to take seriously at all as it expressing exactly what it is meant to bring to its viewers: to just watch it and have a laugh while doing so.


Almost every single time whenever there is a very impressive ensemble cast, it either works spectacularly or simply fails miserable. However, in the case of Horrible Bosses, it provides the brilliance of acting in all variety of ways. The role of Nick Hendricks was specifically written for Jason Bateman in the respective role and as a result, delivers a very good performance! Nick leads the trio of distressed and afflicted employees, and his on-screen relationship with Harken is the exact hateful bond and rather dominant conflict between an employee and their boss. Jason Sudeikis as Kurt Buckman is perhaps the weakest character of the trio but despite that he still distributes a decent performance. Last but not least, Charlie Day’s role as Dale Arbus was absolutely fantastic! He was easily the best actor of the three as he provides the cute innocence against the ruthless sexual advances from Julia Harris. He is the funniest character and perhaps the most serious character of the three. The relationship between the two resembled Dustin Hoffman and Anne Bancroft in classic romantic-comedyThe Graduate.


Kevin Spacey, Jennifer Aniston and Colin Farrell provide the roles of the three dominant and sadistic bosses. The personalities of all three consist of the types of evil bosses that you could possibly get. First, there is perhaps the most dangerous boss Mr. Harken, who is portrayed by Kevin Spacey, and is referred as the “psycho” like the film poster suggests. Spacey has starred in many psychopathic roles over the years, and this is another fine performance from him but a slightly different level. That level being where Spacey as Harken is a rather humourous character and therefore, being incredibly funny to watch. Colin Farrell has been a favourite of the black-comedy genre after his Golden Globe-winning performance in In Bruges, and shines once again as he portrays Bobby Pellitt (referred as the “tool” on the poster) despite he didn’t appear in the film very often. As for the final boss - Jennifer Aniston, being the only female major member of the cast goes beyond any other character she has ever portrayed with a fantastic performance as “man-eater” Dr. Julia Harris and closely resembles a crafty yet more vulgar and kinky illustration of Anne Bancroft as Mrs. Robinson. Jamie Foxx makes a small appearance as Dean “Motherf**ker” Jones who is the hitman assigned by Nick, Dale and Kurt to aid them in murdering their bosses, but not all goes to plan.


Seth Gordon begins his directorial career with Horrible Bosses and goes off to a flying start as he brings slightly different yet similar aspects of British black-comedy as well as from the Coen brothers. He makes this film with such brilliance by mixing the laugh-out-loud nature of comedy with the subject matter that consists of committing the biggest criminal offences one could ever do, and provides murder as a whole as something incredibly funny. Sure, there are perhaps some that aren’t going to find this hilarious due to this, but on occasions in a hilarious way, it goes in-depth into a person’s mind that motivates them psychologically to consider murder and amongst other crimes.


Overall, Horrible Bosses is an absolutely hilarious black-comedy that is filled with lots of jokes, strong characters and a very creative script that will hopefully gain a few Golden Globe nominations as it very well deserves. A sequel to Horrible Bosses has recently been announced, so the exciting build-up for more laughs and disasters await us in the near future.

Tyrannosaur

Let’s face it, there is always the release of at least one British film that is simply adored by critics but at the same time, is extremely underrated by the majority of the public. These films are mostly ones that are directorial debuts and perhaps aren’t entirely appreciated to start off with despite the critical acclaim. Anyway, in the case ofTyrannosaur, it is unfortunately another one of those but provides different aspects that consist of the struggles of marriage, loneliness and friendship, horrific violence and surprisingly beautiful art in a huge way! It’s really not for the faint-hearted but despite that, it’s an absolutely brilliant film that makes it the best British film of 2011.


Considering that it’s a British drama, the title Tyrannosaur for short is the Tyrannosaurus Rex, and due to the appearance of the poster and the buried large skeleton, the film as a whole can quite easily be misunderstood that it’s a story about dinosaurs and humans together. Just like most British films involving crime and violence expresses the ugliness and brutality between individuals, but is also expresses the close bonds that bind people together. Plus,Tyrannosaur is amongst those other British films that is a very strong competition against traditional Hollywood cinema, and perhaps makes film more eccentric and rather unorthodox with darker tones of filming with realistic stories about different ways of life.


Honestly, how many times recently have we seen these aging, grumpy old men who almost have no care in the world about how to spend the rest of their lives? It has occurred several times with leading actors yet they each have different backgrounds as to why they behave the way they do. Plus, there are different bonds between characters that touch their audiences in altered ways. Peter Mullan is an actor who has only really been involved in brief supporting roles but Tyrannosaur is now his time to shine as he portrays disgruntled and bad-tempered Joseph. He previously collaborated with director Paddy Considine in his 2007 short film All Together. His performance is absolutely fantastic as he similarly resembles the performances from Clint Eastwood in Gran Torino and Michael Caine in Harry Brown. He perhaps isn’t a strong contender for the Academy Award for Best Leading Actor at the upcoming 84th Academy Awards, but it could gain a Best Actor nomination at the BAFTA Awards as he would rightfully deserve.


Olivia Colman who has previously worked with Paddy Considine on more than one occasion: when they starred together in Edgar Wright’sHot Fuzz together and, like Mullan, in a leading role in Considine’s short film All Together. Her performance as Hannah is acting at its finest and is perhaps her breakthrough performance! The chemistry between her and Joseph is like a mixture of both a father-daughter relationship and a forbidden bond as lovers. Colman expresses the innocence and sensitivity of a young woman who feels alone and is going through a very difficult time at the hands of her abusive husband. She will no doubt be a contender for Best Actress. Eddie Marsan’s role as James, Hannah’s abusive husband, is another spectacular performance considering his mild appearance. James is a typical arrogant wife-beater who is a bully and very dominant, and when Hannah meets Joseph, Joseph’s violence somehow slows down and begins changing his character.


After brilliant performances in many films throughout his acting career and having already directed and written his own short film, Paddy Considine makes his feature film debut. He brings forth a style that is familiar to not only films from his friend Shane Meadows who he has collaborated with and given great performances in, but a style that is familiar to Martin Scorsese’s works. Tyrannosaur shows a lot of raw violence from almost no motive whatsoever which we previously saw in Taxi Driver. So from a personal perspective, Paddy Considine’sTyrannosaur is Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver. His script was just fantastic! The amazing concept about this script is that how we have seen Considine previously perform the use of vulgar language and bitterness between characters is exactly how he would and has behaved on-screen. Due to the language, it’ll either add more humour for its viewers or it’ll deeply offend others. Paddy’s directorial feature debut is an almost complete lock to win Best Directorial Debut at the BAFTA’s upcoming, which is perhaps the film’s strongest change of winning a top award this year although it deserves more.


Overall, Tyrannosaur is a film that you need to really focus on and will require a strong stomach but it is a beautifully-crafted motion picture that is rather disturbing, incredibly emotional and is filled with a few astonishing twists and turns. Hopefully Olivia Collman performs even better in the future in even greater films and the day that the latest Paddy Considine film is announced, the counting of the days will commence. 

50/50

To begin with, 50/50 perhaps became the strangest and most forbidden motion picture to date due to the eccentric mixture of the emotional suffering and frequently deadly disease of cancer and the laughs and joys of comedy. However, considering this is a very unorthodox combination and will effect it’s audiences in a variety of ways, it turned out to be an absolutely fantastic film that is both deeply inspiring and has plenty of laughs! In fact, there perhaps will not be a more inspiring film than 50/50 in 2011 as it is genuinely a friendly comfort for cancer victims and their friends and family.


As far as the style of comedy is concerned, there were perhaps a few particular moments within the film that were aiming to be a joke, such as when talking about Patrick Swayze and his condition which is humour at its lowest although there are some people who would chuckle at that or will become deeply affected by it. So, at the same time of being a light-hearted comedy, it is quite a dark one as well.


50/50 is both a comedy-drama that tells the story of Adam (Gordon-Levitt) who lives with his girlfriend Rachael (Dallas Howard). However, when he finds out he has a rare form of cancer within the spinal area, that all changes and leaves Adam with a 50-50 chance of surviving this condition. He gains support from young GP Katherine “Katie” McCay (Kendrick), his girlfriend and his over-protective parents, Adam’s best friend Kyle (Rogen) uses his condition to gain popularity from the ladies and to get laid.


Originally, James McAvoy was the number one choice for the role of Adam, but due to personal difficulties, blossoming actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt replaced him. Gordon-Levitt who previously appeared in romantic-comedy (500) Days Of Summer for which he received a Golden Globe nomination and in Christopher Nolan’s Inception, goes into a role where there was perhaps a lot on his shoulders as he plays a young cancer victim who is in deep desire to cure his condition but to also try and live life to the maximum if he’s not got long left. There are so many young people around the world are like this and as a result, Gordon-Levitt provided a performance to remember! Seth Rogen could quite easily have been the poison, so to speak, of the film that could have totally killed its tender and personal message but Rogen provides a performance that is beyond anything that he’s ever done. Of course, he was adding the humour and liveliness of the film and often feels familiarised by his performance in Knocked Up. So his performance in 50/50 is quite possibly his most serious role since then.


Anna Kendrick stars as young psychology student Katherine “Katie” McCay and like Gordon-Levitt; she is becoming a young shining star in the world of Hollywood. Kendrick’s characteristics provide an innocent and very cute nature to Katie which is what Adam really needs at this difficult time. The relationship between the two is very sweet but at the same time, it’s forbidden in a film like this because it is aiming to be more about a young man’s journey with cancer rather than a love story. Bryce Dallas Howard makes a short supporting appearance also as Rachael, Adam’s girlfriend and delivers a good performance too.


Jonathan Levine needed his breakthrough film throughout his 5 feature films that he has worked on so far, and he has managed to achieve this and delivers a film that is mixed of balanced emotion. We have previously seen films involving medical conditions of a protagonist and their struggle to deal with it in order to survive (e.g. Philadelphia by Jonathan Demme in 1993 starring Tom Hanks). Nevertheless, 50/50 and Adam’s condition and friendship with Kyle is based upon the screenwriter of the film, Will Reiser, who was diagnosed with cancer in his early 20s and was almost like a best friend to Seth Rogen himself at the time. So, for Rogen, it’s happening all over again and to be able to act as well as co-produce the film, and for Reiser to write the screenplay of his own story is beyond inspiration and that takes real courage! He balances it to be as friendly as possible as well as being as serious as possible without it being too depressing. So, as a result, Reiser rightfully deserves an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.


Overall, 50/50 is a genuinely heartfelt and funny motion picture that will bring tears to your eyes but will make you laugh at the same time. Having said that the film can be rather sensitive and affectionate to its target audience, which happens to be everybody, it is a beautifully crafted story that expresses reality and the heart-breaking emotions from the victims of cancer and the people around them. Plus, it could lead you to tears but it will leave you at the end with a grin on your face, it’ll make you feel uplifted by the story and will aid you at looking and understanding cancer from a whole new perspective. 

Drive

When first introduced to Drive and upon learning of the overwhelmingly positive reviews and feedback that it received, it simply cannot be one to turn down with the Oscar season coming up! Although having admittedly average expectations due to it appearing just like another car-chase action film in a similar style of background and characters to the atrocious Fast And Furious franchise, but Drive proved us all wrong as it is a visual artistic motion picture that expresses not only its intense dialogue, horrific violence and it’s personal romantic story, but it is presented as something that is a visual treasure.


Although we do not really know very much about Driver’s personal life or his past, he is someone who we can be linked amongst but exposes darker and more horrific features. The most basic way of defining the nature of Driver is that he is a dark saviour; like the Spirit from the Frank Miller graphic novel and, of course, the DC Comics superhero Batman. Plus, when outside of action, memories came back from Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver as Driver interprets the loneliness and the rather obsessive bond with a young female that is caught into some trouble. Anyway, Ryan Gosling has really blossomed most recently and ever since his breakthrough performance in popular romantic-drama The Notebook, he has fulfilled some fantastic roles in many different films portraying various characters. His role as Driver may seem quite cold-natured that is often muddled feelings from love to anger, but he provides old-school sophistication and is easy on the eyes for the ladies. So, Drive is yet another film that could lead him one slight edge closer to Oscar glory.


Carey Mulligan really is one of those cute looking innocent actresses who usually stars in either really hectic and heavy-going films or ones that consist of raw emotion with a sense of innocence to it. As for her role in Drive, her performance was very good and you could feel the immediate connection between herself and Gosling as Driver. Albert Brooks portrays crime leader Bernie Rose perfectly as he provides a performance that supplies familiarities with Joe Pesci’s legendary Academy Award-winning performance in GoodFellas. So, as a result of this, Brooks w will undoubtedly be worthy of an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor, or maybe even to win it. Other cast members Bryan Cranston, Oscar Isaac, Christina Hendricks and Ron Perlman deliver satisfactory performances also.


In the past, you would generally get all of these explosive action films that are overloaded with computer-generated effects but have very little desire for the story and characters. As far as Drive is concerned, it enables itself to go to a different level as the numerous aspects within the film that mix along with other works from directors of the past who have made similar styles of films. For example, the use of music and camera techniques have an identical connection with Stanley Kubrick’s work in A Clockwork Orange as that exposes character and their backgrounds in a slow and eerie fashion. Aside from Stanley Kubrick, you can quite easily identify Drive as a Quentin Tarantino-like film with the mixtures of music, the occasional use of visual art, gruesome violence and creative scripts which we saw in his previous filmsKill Bill (both parts) and Death Proof. Refn exposes something that goes beyond the works of Kubrick and Tarantino as he presents a surreal and experimental approach of Los Angeles to its audiences by often appearing like it’s a dream, and the score and songs that are used within the majority of the film, narrates the story.


Overall, Drive is an intense and explosive film that is very enjoyable and gives an outlook on what cinema really is as two separate sides; as entertainment and a form of art. It has quite possibly become the latest specific study topic for university students with the different concepts and how it compares and contrasts to other landmarks of cinema, and it’s a film you need to just switch on to away from everything else and to just closely observe the beautiful art, listen to the music and feel the thrills of the intense action.

Hugo

Throughout his 30+ year career as a film director, Martin Scorsese has gone on to make feature films that have become some of the most violent and sinister crime films in the history of cinema from the likes of Goodfellas, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, The Departed and Cape Fear. However, in 2011 he makes something entirely different that is beyond anything that he has ever done, and although he has taken a vast turn towards almost the opposing genre to what he has previously worked on, he goes on to make yet another masterpiece that takes us on an absolutely magnificent journey about the history of films and expresses a whole new side to him that took us all so long to witness.


Ever since the re-birth of 3D that began with James Cameron’s Avatar, it has become a money-grubbing gimmick but at the same time, has been a phenomenon by experiencing cinema at a whole new level. Having said that there haven’t been many films to have reached the realistic and dazzling level of 3D for a very long time, Hugo manages to avoid being a film that gets slapped, so to speak, by using the 3D gimmick to gain more money. So, it proves that paying for 3D tickets really is worth the money as it demonstrates what 3D is all about, it moves you a step closer to it feeling like reality and the film as a whole expresses the magic of movies and there is no greater experience.


Only until recently, we saw the legendary Steven Spielberg go beyond anything he had ever done as he went on to make his first animated feature film The Adventures Of Tintin, and proudly Martin Scorsese does the same as he provides a whole new side to not only himself as a director and the forthcoming fate of 3D but the spiritual magic of cinema from the past and for the upcoming future. Hugo literally became a film that is split into two as it begins with a beautiful heart-warmer for children, but progresses and becomes a very emotional and enchanting bio-pic of how cinema truly began. John Logan, who’s previous written screenplays have included Ridley Scott’s Gladiator, Tim Burton’s Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street, Edward Zwick’s The Last Samurai, goes on to write his second screenplay in a Martin Scorsese film (first was The Aviator) and magically balances the charm and magic with the heartfelt emotion and witty humour for children and adults alike.


Hugo may be Scorsese’s first family film but it is also his first feature film without Leonardo DiCaprio ever since Bringing Out The Dead in 1999 as he brings forth a brand new ensemble cast. Asa Butterfield, who gave a breakthrough performance in The Boy In The Striped Pajamas does an absolutely fantastic job as Hugo Cabret, who resembles famous Disney prince Aladdin. Butterfield gets yet another breakthrough and becomes one of the best child stars of this generation. Chloe Grace Moretz already hit the mark as one of the greatest child actors after her mind-blowing and breath-taking performance in Kick-Ass but this time, she expresses Isabelle as not only a cute young girl, but also with a very mature nature. Ben Kingsley perhaps had the most on his shoulders as he portrayed the toy shop owner, later revealed to be the late French filmmaker and illusionist Georges Méilés. Kingsley, who has portrayed real-life people on more than one occasion, provides the realistic feeling that he himself was the backbone of cinema, so to speak, and delivers a fantastic performance!


From a personal perspective, Sacha Baron Cohen was the true star of Hugo because now after seeing Hugo and is scheduled to be in Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained, he really is an actor to be reckoned with as he gives a very funny (similar kind of humour as to what we’ve seen him in before) and yet a very genuine performance. Hugo has become his breakthrough in the genre of drama. Ray Winstone, Jude Law, Emily Mortimer, Richard Griffiths, Helen McCrory, Frances de la Tour and Christopher Lee add more warmth to the film with their casual supporting appearances. Plus, co-producer Johnny Depp makes one appearance in a shot during the film. The most overwhelming aspect about the cast and their performances is that despite the majority involved are British and American actors, it still grasps the reality of Hugo really being in the French capital city of Paris.


Overall, Hugo is an enchanting and magical masterpiece that is without a doubt one of Martin Scorsese’s finest achievements and is a perfect film for kids and adults. It is also a huge inspiration to movie fanatics and is literally like a love letter to them and to some of the greatest actors, directors and crew members of the past! This will undoubtedly be a very strong contender for Best Picture and after how this has turned out, it will be a very difficult task for any other film of 2011 to triumph over this one! 

Midnight In Paris

Well, here we are again with yet another colourful and enlightening romantic-comedy from Woody Allen but hasn’t given us a film that has fulfilled the beauty and delight from previous successes - Annie Hall, Manhattan and Hannah And Her Sisters. However, having said that you’d know almost exactly what to expect with almost every single Woody Allen romantic-comedy, he achieves another breakthrough in his career as Midnight In Paris takes us on a daydream-like adventure through Paris and becomes his greatest film in years!


The city of Paris is perhaps one of the most common film-location choices and over the years, has made its mark as glistening sunshine within the film industry and the world of Hollywood, which we have witnessed in films such as Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds, Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s Amélie, two of the three in the Trois Couleurs akaThree Colours trilogy and amongst others. Within the first 5 minutes of the film, we are taken into the beauty of Paris as there is just footage of the most attracted sites within the city, and are introduced into the colourful nature that leads into the story. So, as the film progresses, the film provides not only the beautiful settings of Paris, but also the personal effect it has on the characters and audiences watching.


In addition, Midnight In Paris represents other particular forms of beauty as it has enchanting and enlightening continuous music that almost tells the story, and it is a very colourful story with dazzling cinematography and art direction. There is only one flawed issue that could be quite crucial and affective for other viewers, and that is Midnight In Paris isn’t your traditional hilarious laugh-out-loud comedy and is rom-coms that happens most of the time. However, due to the positive aspects of production within the film, it makes up for excluding laugh-out-loud humour by making it still enlightening and colourful enough for its viewers. 


Midnight In Paris consists of a strong ensemble cast – mostly American actors in a French city, but there are still some French actors. Leading the pack for Woody Allen’s latest romantic-comedy is Owen Wilson, truly an actor who you either love or you hate. Although, having never been a huge admirer of the man, he has admittedly delivered some good performances in most recent films. In all honesty, his performance as Gill is quite possibly his greatest performance yet as he provides a performance that rather easy-going and inspiring about self-discovery and you want out of your life. In fact, it has opened up a whole new discovery about Owen Wilson as an actor – he can be serious in his roles with either a film director who’s passionate about his/her projects or but in a comedy just for entertainment, he doesn’t always impress. As a result of his impressive performance, he deserves (yes, deserves) his Golden Globe nomination.


Rachel McAdams is mostly recognised as the girl from The Notebook and Mean Girls, so she has already gained the hearts of audiences who love romantic dramas and comedies. McAdams portrays somebody that isn’t so familiar with what she has previously done. Inez is an argumentative, shallow and a rather hateful young woman, who acts rather dominant on occasions, but she did deliver a satisfying performance but it isn’t one of her most memorable. Academy Award winning French actress Marion Cotillard appears Adriana, the mistress of Pablo Picasso, who Gil meets and is instantly attracted to. Kathy Bates portrayed wise and famous American writer, Gertrude Stein, who was in fact a real-life person who lived in France throughout the majority of her life and lived to the age of 72. Adrien Brody makes a cameo appearance as Spanish surrealist Salvador Dalí, who was also a real-life person in the early to mid 20th century.


Overall, Midnight In Paris is a short and sweet romantic comedy that is easily one of Woody Allen’s greatest achievements in many years and for this reason, it has become a well-deserved Oscar contender for a numerous number of awards. It is perhaps focused more on the beautiful settings side than anything else and it cannot really be re-lived, so it is a film that is better only seeing once because you can just experience and travel along with the characters and there will be no experience like any other.

Bridesmaids

In all honesty, there are males out there who are going to immediately presume that Bridesmaids is going to be just another chick flick that we’ve seen year after year, as it appears to have familiar concepts like we have seen in the TV series of Sex And The City and the two feature films due to the relationships and social behaviour between female friends and relatives. However, Bridesmaids became a rather unexpected surprise and somehow miraculously surpassed its chick flick outlook and turned into an absolutely hilarious comedy that is suitable for males as well as females.


Having said that the plot of the film is very basic and is rather short and sweet,Bridesmaids lasts approximately 2 hours and it is neither rushed nor incredibly slow. It has the ability to fit in the time to understand the characters and it manages to turn itself inside out, so to speak, as the comedy within dominantly surpasses the soppy girly story. The style of humour in Bridesmaids has familiar concepts to 2009 hit comedy The Hangover due to the combination of running gags and hilarious and awkward situations on a life-changing adventure. In fact, Bridesmaids is just like The Hangover but with females.


Being the guy who went on to produce (and occasionally direct and write) some of the most popular comedies of this generation but has received either mixed or a negative overall critical response, Judd Apatow has made a name for himself and has been part of a few successful comedies (e.g. Superbad, Knocked Up, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Pineapple Express, Anchorman: The Legend Of Ron Burgundy), but his latest hit Bridesmaids is quite possibly the finest film that he has ever done. As for director Paul Fieg, who has only directed episodes from television shows directs only his second film and although his previous and debut feature:Unaccompanied Minors did not gain widespread acclaim let alone hardly any recognition at all, he goes on to make his breakthrough with Bridesmaids.


Kristen Wiig has made frequent cameo and supporting appearances in films produced by Judd Apatow (Knocked Up, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story), and she takes not only the leading role in Bridesmaids, but also serves as co-writer (her first script) alongside other screenwriter and actress Annie Mumolo who appeared in the film too. Wiig gives a performance to remember as Annie, the young woman who is almost completely alone and perhaps feels she needs to be this maid of honour in order to make something out of her life. Wiig provides a rather bitter yet absolutely hilarious and rather sexy approach to Annie’s character and as result; she deserves her Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Musical/Comedy.


Especially when it involves Annie, the film consists of typical issues from the average chick flick like jealousy, insecurities, narcissism, cat fights, self-doubt, self-pity, self-destruction that we generally see in real-life between young women. Helen is an almost perfect enemy for Annie in this case. Rose Byrne, who had already starred in James Wan’s latest horror film Insidious and X-Men prequel X-Men: First Class, Byrne’s performance as Helen is entirely different but it was very good as there are so many hilarious yet rather serious sparks between herself and Annie. Melissa McCarthy gives without a doubt the funniest performance of the film as Megan who is a rather similiar character to Alan Garner, portrayed by Zach Galifianakis, in The Hangover and it’s sequel. Wendy McLendon-Covey and Ellie Kemper are added to the mix and make the female wolf-pack even funnier, and expect a nice surprise appearance from British comedian and actor Matt Lucas.


Overall, Bridesmaids is one of the most surprisingly brilliant films that don’t often come our way very often. This is not a chick flick, it’s an adventure comedy that goes through experiences of priceless disastrous events and use of vulgar language and humour, but it also has a heart that will move its audiences. It rightfully deserves a Best Picture - Musical/Comedy nomination at the Golden Globes and it makes its mark as Judd Apatow’s greatest comedy to date and one of the most entertaining films of 2011.

Mr. Popper's Penguins

Loosely based upon the children’s book of the same name by Richard & Florence Atwater in 1938, it took approximately 73 years for the release of the feature film. However, despite the very long awaited release and as cute and as child-friendly as it seemed to begin with, there were immediate impressions that it would have its fair share of clichés and corny concepts that wouldn’t make it one to remember. Having said that there were neither high nor low expectations for Mr. Popper’s Penguins, it was simply just going into a film that may have had its weaknesses but it was just a bit of fun that was worth your time.

Quite frankly, any film involving relationships and personal bonds between humans and small animals is incredibly cute and appealing for children, but considering that this does just this for its target audience, Mr. Popper’s Penguins is severely wounded for its obvious predictability and the pacing of the film was occasionally slow at times. It begins satisfying but when the penguins came into the equation, the pacing of the film gradually got slower and it became something that was rather dry and at times, rather empty. There are a few funny laughs in the film that added charm and an easy-going nature to the film.

The films from director Mark Waters have been considered as popular public favourites over the years from the likes of Mean Girls, Freaky Friday and The Spiderwick Chronicles. However, now that he has provided us with his latest feature film, Mr. Popper’s Penguins is a film that is genuinely easy enough for Waters to make as it features the colourful and enlightening tone with friendly and funny aspects, such as the penguins watching Charlie Chaplin films. However, he provides us with a more visual approach to the film that attempts to aid the film from falling into disaster. Admittedly, the script was rather corny that consists of on-going gags and occasionally continues almost needlessly, but it occasionally shows the wackiness of Jim Carrey at his absolute best.

Having provided two divided sides to his acting ability by giving absolutely hilarious and wild performances and then really serious and emotional ones over the years, Jim Carrey stars in a role that proves almost instantly that he is almost like a fill-in slot for the film by avoiding a disastrous critical response. In fact, it is almost like a very balanced role that leans towards neither a performance to remember nor one that leans him into a disaster, although Carrey has had his fair share of hits and misses over the years. In all honesty, if you’re an avid Jim Carrey fan especially from his films in the 1990s, you’ll get quite a bit of enjoyment out of this one and this film really would have been a disaster and not funny or delightful in the slightest if he hadn’t been in this film. Veteran actress Angela Lansbury added a bit more sophistication and became a treat to the film as she stars in only her third film in 10 years and delivers a decent performance.

As far as the penguins are concerned, you will not be able to resist them and will fall in love with them very quickly or you will truly despise them. The six penguins named Captain (the leader), Loudy (nosiest one), Bitey (the most nibbling one), Stinky (the one who’s prone to flatulence), Lovey (friendly and cuddly) and Nimrod (the clumsiest one) and each of their different personalities have their similar natures with the seven dwarfs in the classic tale of Snow White. They each are one on their own and do heart and soul as they each bond with Mr. Popper rather quickly and become a great deal to him. The only major problem with the six penguins is that it alters and toys with the facts about their nature, and there are certain moments that are almost laughable to witness (i.e. playing in the park in the snow with them and nobody’s around). Nevertheless, they are adorable characters that will put a grin on their viewer’s faces.

Overall, Mr. Popper’s Penguins is a very corny film with many flaws, but it is also a very cute and fun film to watch that will leave you feel a bit warmer inside at the end. To be honest, it needs to just be appreciated for what it is and it’s nothing to take seriously. Although it’s a film that really could have been a lot better, at the same time could have been a lot worse. So, it makes itself worthy as a warm and entertaining enough film that is a decent recommendation for families to just sit down and enjoy. 

Moneyball

You could write a very long list of the sports films that there have been over the years where we witness a re-telling of one’s story onto the big-screen both inside and outside of their career, and have either been huge successful Oscar contenders or simply films for entertainment alone. Although sports, let alone films based on them, aren’t always for everybody and considering that baseball perhaps isn’t the most popular sport out there, but despite that Moneyball reveals itself to be another rather sensitive and thought-provoking biographical sports film that takes you on a trip into the financial and tactical aspects of baseball and it teaches its audience quite a number of lessons.

Out of all of the sports that there are, in almost every single one the genre as a whole is usually split into two as it consists of two separate different styles of sport. We have the heavy-going, depressing and rather violently approached films that abide with a lot of physical contact and has a very dark tone to it (i.e. Raging Bull, The Fighter, Million Dollar Baby, Cinderella Man) and there are the slightly easier-going, occasionally funny and rather enlightening ones with still an affectionate story, such as Invictus, The Damned United, The Blind Side and Bend It Like Beckham. Moneyball, however, falls into the latter style and provides a traditional sports film alternatively becomes a brain waving exercise for the mind as it helps gain a more clear understanding of the baseball sport alongside interesting mathematical statistics.

From previously working on Capote in 2005 in his first feature film debut, director Bennett Miller goes on to make only his second theatrical feature and makes a film that isn’t all about the sport itself it features, but it’s an in-depth personal story that is like the occasional underdog story that we have seen over the years. So, it basically focuses more about what goes on from off the pitch rather than on it. Screenwriter Aaron Sorkin, who is the latest winner of the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for David Fincher’s The Social Network, this time not only works on another different genre and another bio-pic, but he’s also not alone as he writes alongside co-Academy Award winning screenwriter Steven Zaillian who wrote the scripts from the likes of Schindler’s List, Hannibal, Gangs Of New York, American Gangster and the American remake of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. Together, Sorkin and Zaillian collaborate and write a very creative and rather sharp script that is worthy of a Best Adapted Screenplay nomination. However, there is one problem with Moneyball - the pacing of it is rather slow and drags on a few occasions, so it could’ve been cut short by at least 10-15 minutes.

Brad Pitt has always been a Hollywood favourite ever since the dawning of his career in the late 1980s and early 1990s, but as of late he is providing performances that have bought us a whole new side to him that took him a very long time to show. Following his great performances in recent films such as The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button, Inglourious Basterds and The Tree Of Life alongside some of the greatest directors of this generation, Pitt provides another performance to remember as Billy Beane. Considering that Brad doesn’t really resemble Beane himself hardly at all and due to Brad’s good looks, his manly nature and his famed status as a recognizable celebrity sex symbol, Brad provides almost his own character and shows that only he could pull it off so exquisitely. So, as a result of this, Brad deserves an Oscar nomination for his role.

Jonah Hill, like Seth Rogen in 50/50, really could have been the induced poison of the film that could have killed and totally ruined it. However, like Rogen, Hill achieves a long-awaited breakthrough as young economics graduate Peter Brand. You may find him incredibly annoying in the majority of the films that he has been in or absolutely hilarious, but the chemistry between him and Pitt on-screen is an almost exact illustration of a real relationship between a teacher and his apprentice. Phillip Seymour Hoffman also delivers a very good performances and adds more sophistication to the film and works alongside Bennett Miller for the second consecutive time in a row after Hoffman’s Academy Award winning performance in Capote. Robin Wright also makes a brief appearance as Beane’s ex-wife Sharon.

Overall, Moneyball is an enjoyable sports film that is, unlike many sports film, a rather enlightening and colourful experience that is all-round interesting to watch. Due to its colourful background and the nature of baseball in general, if you’re either American, Canadian, descent of either or are simply a fan of baseball in general, you may gain the upper hand with this one than others who don’t fit into any of these. To help gain a clearer understanding of baseball, Moneyball is a great starting point and you will feel very glad that you’ve watched it.