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Reviews
Latter Days (2003)
Cute!
I have to say right from the start, I'm biased with this film. I love gay dramas, gay comedies, gay romances, gay biopics, gay horrors....I just don't think there's enough of them out there. However, after seeing so many, I find myself coming back to some that I feel strongest about, and Latter Days is definitely one of them. It's takes a classic plot of opposites attracts, using the characters of Christian, a waiter with a passion for partying and men, and Aaron, a young Mormon missionary away from his family for the first time and struggling with his sexuality. When Christian takes a bet that he can seduce Aaron despite his vow of chastity and his church's stance on gay rights, it takes an imbecile not to work out where this is going. However, that is the fun with this film - it doesn't pretend to be a scathing expose of the church, or a moralistic tale about the dangers of living your life in clubs - it simply takes two characters who clearly have something missing in their lives, and tells us their story. At times, the dialogue can be a tad sticky and forced, and not being a believer, I do try to ignore the dollop of good-ol'-God on the side, but the charm of this film lies in it's heart and character. Joseph Gordon Levitt almost steals the show with his grating yet hilarious portrayal of a Mormon Elder, and Steve Sandvoss' quiet and anguished Aaron sticks in the viewer's memory for quite some time. If I had to be picky, the narrative comes a bit unstuck towards the end, but the feel good nature and the general loveliness of this film are irresistible. Don't watch this film with a critic's eye, watch because deep down....you know it feels good.
Joey (2004)
Woops
This series stars Matt LeBlanc as Joey Tribbiani, in a spin off show from the hit series "Friends". While all the other characters from this classic sitcom (Phoebe, Rachel, Monica, Ross and Chandler) moved on to bigger and better things, Joey was still stuck saying "How you doing'?" for another year. Big, big mistake on Matt's part to do this show, he should have taken the risk and moved on to other films and TV, but instead he stuck to where he was comfortable, and stayed with Joey. All the jokes had been used before, and you could spot them coming a mile off. To the concerned viewer: you have ten whole series of Friends to watch, why move on to Joey? Do a Matt LeBlanc, and stick to what you are comfortable with.
Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker (2006)
Bleurgh...
I went to see this movie on the basis that my friends loved the books. What I expected was a James Bond-y type of film for a younger audience, and what I got was conflicting performances from some good actors, and some very very mediocre ones. The adults playing in this movie seemed to treat their performances as a kind of playful spoof, while the younger actors took their roles very seriously, tediously so. The lead role playing Alex Ryder was wooden, boring, showed no emotion or talent whatsoever and by the end of the film, I wanted to slap his perfect face, and watch the mask fall off. Stormbreaker had a good plot, that definitely could have worked, if it wasn't so easy to pick holes in it. If you're a film nerd, like me, you'll agree that the only thing that redeemed this film was the performances from Bill Nighy, Ewan McGregor and Damian Lewis, all of which took their performances straight out of a James Bond film. I give this three out of ten for the obvious influences, the dodgy stunts and the blasting pop music that comes straight out of the charts, in a misguided attempt to make the audience relate to the film. Please go and see this, just for a good laugh at the "karate with ropes" scene, but remember to buy a bucket of popcorn for the really boring bits.
Napoleon Dynamite (2004)
You have to understand the humour...!
This movie isn't awful, as many of the other people have wrote, you really do have to understand the humour, and the way it's funny.
The film follows Napolean, a student from Preston, Idaho, while he makes new friends, discovers new things and takes a bike off some Sweet Jumps.
Napolean Dynamite does have a plot, contrary to other reviews, and even though there are no car chases, blasting buildings or X-Rated Sex scenes, the film deserves the rating in it's own way. It has funny lines, compassionate moments, unexpected characters, chickens and a teenage boy with a perm. It's also amazingly original. I can't think of anything else you'd need to make a fabulous, entertaining, must-see-again-and-again film. Sure to become a cult hit, I know I'm already quoting it....
Envy (2004)
Oh dear
Picture it... it's a Saturday night,and there's me, sat on my sofa with a bowl of popcorn in one hand and the remote control in the other. I innocently pick the movie Envy -from a television channel- based on three points : 1. Jack Black was excellent in School Of Rock (2003) and Orange County (2002). 2. Ben Stiller was also great in Meet the Parents (2000) and Meet the Fockers (2004) 3. I thought Rachel Wiesz's small part in About A Boy (2002) made great viewing 4. All of the above were light hearted comedies well worth watching. Oh, how wrong a person can be. After thirty minutes I was thinking "Where's the plot?". After an hour I was still thinking "Where's the plot?" with a little added "Do I want to know?". What were they thinking??!?? This film wasn't funny, it had no underlying meaning, there was no chemistry between the characters and most importantly Where Was That Stupid Plot? The whole film wavered between idiotic storyline to idiotic storyline without stopping for a breather. After bearing the film until the end, I ran screaming to my DVD stock, determined to upgrade my respect for Jack Black by re-watching School Of Rock. Need I go on? Please don't put yourself through the sheer agony of watching this film.
Alien Autopsy (2006)
Well I liked it...
First things first, if you are determined to take this film seriously, you will be sorely disappointed when you see it. It's meant to be a light hearted spoof that leaves you wanting to know more about the original fake tape. Surprisingly, Ant and Dec make good watching and seem like credible actors (if you ever saw Byker Grove you will know what I mean about being surprised). What I liked about this film was that no-one in the cinema roared with laughter or wet themselves in utter enjoyment of the comedy. It brought a few smiles, but there weren't any knee slapping good jokes. If there had of been, critics may have written it off as a slapstick, and the expectation of the comedy would have overshadowed the other elements of the film. I would recommend this to anyone wanting to see something a little bit more intelligent than your average television-turned-Hollywood type of film. Don't expect life-changing one liners or anything, but do go and see it.