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Reviews
Win Win (2011)
Great Wholehearted Drama
This is a nice piece of film work. See this, sit back, relax and prepare for a great story.
Mike(Paul Giamatti) & Jackie Flaherty live a fairly normal married life with their two young daughters. Mike is struggling with finding work as a lawyer and takes on the guardianship of one of his elderly clients Leo(Burt Young, Paulie in the 'Rocky' films) who is in the early stages of dementia in order to make a bit of needed money and places him in a home. When the son of Leo's estranged daughter turns up Mike & Jackie are in a dilemma since there is no contact with his mother and agree to take the troubled youth in. Whilst there he joins Mike's unsuccessful high school wrestling team which he coaches and turns out to be great at wrestling and a possible beacon of light to the teams losing streak.
Giamatti is on fine form and this performance is easily as good as his one in 'Sideways'. Nice to see Burt Young again. I'm liking Amy Ryan who has played in 'The Office' and I look forward to seeing her on the big screen again. Melanie Lynskey has a nice supporting role here and I've enjoyed her a lot in recent indie flavoured shows such as 'Up in the Air', 'Away We Go' & 'Leaves of Grass' and I think it's about time we see her in a leading role.
This film deals with issues of struggling to make ends meet in this economic climate as well as broken families and their struggles. But it shows that in all the desperation their can be moments of real triumph that remind us what life is all about.
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011)
If you like the other films you'll be happy with this one
Captain Jack Sparrow(Johnny Depp) is at it again in this grandiose pirate adventure in a quest to find the fabled fountain of youth. Barbossa(Geoffrey Rush) is back too minus a leg. He has given up his pirate ways and is now in the pay of the British Navy as a privateer in the hopes that they will beat the Spanish to the fountain. Whilst this race is going on Captain Jack meets up with old flame Angelica(Penélope Cruz) hot as ever and is taken captive on her father Blackbeard's(Ian McShane) boat who is also on the hunt for said fountain.
This story is back to a basic plot after the more complicated 2&3 of the series and this has been a good move. Depp is as good as ever in what is now his most famous character and Rush is back in flying form. Gibbs, Captain Jack's crew master is back too and helps maintain the feel of the series. McShane is wonderfully cast as the villainous blackbeard and one is reminded of his character in 'Deadwood'.
If you enjoyed the rest of the series you will be happy with this one and if you felt the 2nd and 3rd of the series got bogged down a bit with overcomplicated plots you will find this a refreshing change back to the form of the original.
Hanna (2011)
Solid addition to the Assassin genre
Wow, what a great performance from Saoirse Ronan. She is developing well as an actress and I look forward to her future work. In this movie she plays Hanna, a young girl raised by her father Erik(Eric Bana) to be an efficient and deadly assassin. Her upbringing in a remote arctic area has left her lacking in the area of social skills and experiences and as she embarks on her first mission she is amazed and overwhelmed by our fascinating world. Whilst on this mission she is hunted by the ruthless and obsessive agent Marissa(Cate Blanchett).
Hanna reminds me of Jean Reno as 'Leon', not only because of her deadly assassin skills but also with her childlike view of the world and fans of that movie should definitely check this one out. There may be comparisons to 'Kickass''s Hitgirl but this is the more realistic version of that. Blanchett is scarily good as a villain and Bana gives good backup to what is Ronan's movie. Great violence, interesting drama and some thrilling scenes make this a solid addition to the assassin genre.
Insidious (2010)
Scary as hell!!!
This is top quality horror. It creeps inside you and gives some serious scares. When couple Josh(Patrick Wilson) & Renai(Rose Byrne) move into a new house with their young children one of their sons has an accident while exploring the attic. The next day he doesn't wake up and the doctors are baffled by his brain activity which is not usual for a coma. Things in the house then start to turn very creepy....
The likable Wilson here is the family man back to playing the nice guy we saw in 'Lakeview Terrace' & 'Watchmen' as opposed to his comedic villainous role in the recent 'A-Team'. Byrne here although playing a worn and stressed out mother still manages to look good and demonstrates her range. Also impressed with Lin Shaye(Magda from 'There's Something About Mary') playing it straight.
This is a highly originally and engrossing horror and definitely up there with recent crowdpleasers like 'Drag Me To Hell' and 'Paranormal Activity'. See it at your peril...!
Something Borrowed (2011)
Romantic Drama, not a comedy. Not for Guys
First off this movie has been marketed as a romantic comedy which is not the case. Sure it has some humorous moments and indeed seems to start off as a rom-com but it becomes serious.
The main character Rachel loses out on a potential boyfriend Dex to her best friend since childhood Darcy(Kate Hudson). Several years later and Dex & Darcy are engaged and on the night of her 30th birthday Rachel ends up sleeping with Dex whom she still has feelings for.
This movie certainly has something to say about the nature of affairs and the moral conundrums that they can cause and at times this movie is tough to watch. Overall it is mildly entertaining and personally I'm more of a fan of rom-coms and that is what I was expecting. In fact I think this is a Chick-Flick in the strict sense of the word as these days romantic comedies tend to be somewhat entertaining for men too, this is one for just the ladies I think. John Krasinski as Ethan, a friend of Rachel is good as ever and playing Tim from the office as usual but I'm not complaining, use what works, Jim Carey, Will Ferrell, Clint Eastwood & Robert De Niro have been doing this for years to good effect. If you really just want to see him in a leading role check out 'Away We Go'.
Anyway this is a movie just for the ladies. Rom-com's are more suitable for couples I think and this is a drama which focuses pretty much exclusively on romance.
Thor (2011)
Entertaining Superhero Escapism
Kenneth Branagh directed this badboy and some may know him for his more Shakespearian fare but this is mainstream cinema through and through. This story begins with a man falling to Earth and being found by Jane Foster(Natalie Portman) an ambitious scientist and her co-scientists Erik Selvig(Stellan Skarsgård) & Darcy Lewis(Kat Dennings). We then go back in time to find out how this event came about as we are transported to the wonderful looking world of Asgard, a realm in space where super beings live and who were once honoured as gods by us mere humans. Thor (Chris Hemsworth) dishonours his father Odin(Anthony Hopkins) by breaking the fragile peace that is held with an old enemy through his ignorance, pride and thirst for a fight. He is then banished to Earth without his powers.
The beings from Asgard live what we would describe as a more traditional ancient life with appropriate customs and the clash of these realities creates several humorous results which is part of the charm of this film. A solid cast with a script that isn't overcomplicated and provides some laughs combined with acting that could have easily been overdone and some amazingly lavish special affects notably the realm of Asgard create a movie that will keep you entertained for it's duration. What we got here is a beautiful leading man and leading lady so eye candy is provided here for all plus an entertaining and visually rich film. This is by no means unmissable fare but seriously how many movies really are?
Cedar Rapids (2011)
Top Notch Comedy
Ed Helms is on the up and up. Great TV comedy with The Office, great mainstream comedy with The Hangover and now this. Can this man do no wrong? In Cedar Rapids he plays Tim Lippe a man who has lived most of his life sheltered from some of the more harsh or brash realities of life and people.
Through a twist of fate and a belt(see the movie, I won't say any more) he ends up representing his insurance company at a convention. Here we meet Ronald Wilkes(Isiah Whitlock Jr) a sensible but non risk taking type, Dean Ziegler(John C. Reilly) a wild guy & Joan Ostrowski-Fox(Anne Heche) a bored housewife. The insurance convention seems to be the high point of the year for all 3 of them, not so much for it's professional merits but for the opportunity it gives them to party and escape from the rest of their lives.
Tim meanwhile is anxious about being away from his hometown for the first time with the added pressure of having to secure the 2 Diamond Award which his predecessor won for the last several years for his over domineering and unlikeable boss. What ensues sees the values and preconceptions of the likable but naive Tim tested and opportunities for him to come out of his sheltered shell(ya that makes sense!).
Great supporting cast here too from Stephen Root(nerdy middle aged guy in dodgeball) Kurtwood Smith (Dad in 70s show) Alia Shawkat(young cousin in Arrested Development) & Sigourney Weaver (chick with kid in Ghostbusters!).This movie will leave you with a smile on your face.
Water for Elephants (2011)
Solid Hollywood Nostalgic Drama
This movie seems to have been marketed as a romance. This is not a surprise given the recent success of Robert Pattinson in the Twilight franchise of movies. But this is inaccurate of what the movie is, certainly there is a romantic element, but it is also the story of one young man's journey to find himself after tragedy changes his current course in life and also an adventure in a forgotten time of hardship and survival.
From the opening which starts in current times we meet an old man who starts to tell the story of a significant period in his life many years ago, not unlike 'The Green Mile' & 'Titanic'. We are then transported back to 1930s America to see this story unfold. Jacob's(Pattinson) life is turned upside down with the death of his parents and an inability to support himself sees him hit the road without any solid plan. He jumps aboard a train only to find it belongs to a circus struggling to survive no doubt like many other enterprises during the great depression. Starting as a labourer his veterinarian skills become known to August the head of the circus played by Christoph Waltz, and he becomes part of the circus' 'family'. His wife the younger Marlena(Reese Witherspoon) is the star attraction of the show and catches the attention of Jacob.
Christoph Waltz with his brilliant performance in Inglourious Basterds may seem slightly typecast as the sadistic tyrant of this circus but he pulls it off well and you can see in the harshness of the times they live in how he can justify to himself to act as he does but you offer him no sympathy. His long suffering wife feels this reality is as good as it gets for her while young Jacob feels he can make a change in this unforgiving of circumstances. It is certainly an informative glimpse into tougher times given our current economic struggles in this day and age and may leave you counting your blessings. Witherspoon pulls off a good performance and Pattinson demonstrates that there is more to his range.
Overall this is a solid drama, I stress not just a romance that will keep you entertained and sufficiently satisfied after it's 2 hours. Oh, and there's an elephant in it too which is lovely!
Crazy Heart (2009)
This year's 'The Wrestler'
Similar theme's to 'The Wrestler'; an aging has-been trying to recapture the glory of earlier days even when all seems against him. Definitely it's own film though. Jeff Bridges deserves the Oscar for this. (I have seen all the other performances in that category.) Great songs in this film. I'm not a big country fan myself but the music in the film seems to be focused on 'real country' music as opposed to mainstream country. I imagine a 'real country' fan would appreciate the music and the film itself since it is about darker themes explored in country music e.g heavy drinking.
This is a great hard hitting drama all about the struggle's that are faced trying to find happiness, check this beast out.