FILM
Transformers - Great, dumb entertainment. The sort of film I would have watched every day after school if it was out when I was younger. Great special effects (explain to me how bad CGI polar bears won the Oscar) and an attractive cast. Some great voices and bit players also. Not the deepest film you'll see but if you're looking for a nice big Hollywood blockbuster you can't go wrong with this. I enjoyed the film much more on this second viewing, a good Christmas Day distraction.
Yes Man - We only went to see this because there was nothing good that I hadn't already seen available. An entertaining film, not one I'll ever watch again but some decent sequences and gags and a good throwback to 10+ years ago with some classic Carrey. There was one thing I found scary though, Zooey Deschanel must be young enough to be Jim Carrey's daughter. Anyway, a nice comedy that plays perfectly into the formula laid down by Bruce Almighty and Liar Liar but unlike those films, I won't catch it again.
Transformers - 8/10
Yes Man - We only went to see this because there was nothing good that I hadn't already seen available. An entertaining film, not one I'll ever watch again but some decent sequences and gags and a good throwback to 10+ years ago with some classic Carrey. There was one thing I found scary though, Zooey Deschanel must be young enough to be Jim Carrey's daughter. Anyway, a nice comedy that plays perfectly into the formula laid down by Bruce Almighty and Liar Liar but unlike those films, I won't catch it again.
Yes Man - 6/10
Cloverfield - I forgot how good this film was and this time around (3rd watch) I enjoyed it more than ever. The film is simply a monster movie shot Blair Witch
Project style but I found the effects just as astounding as they were in the cinema. On DVD it does loose a little of it's spectacle but I watched it twice in the cinema so I never felt I missed out, as most seeing it on DVD will. The film is something to be seen, the slow reveal of the monster is ingenious and when the film hits the hour mark you know exactly what the threat is and you'll become glad of the slow setup. The acting is a tad dodgy, but this is a monster movie and as far fetched as the story setup is, could you be sure you wouldn't act differently? The only real fault I have with the film is the final reveal of the monster. The special features reveal that producer J.J. Abrams felt that we had been with the monster for so long that the audience would feel disappointed if we didn't really see it. I understand the reasoning behind it but it let's the film down for going on for just a few seconds too long, the previous scene gives enough of the monster.
Obviously, there's going to be a sequel and I'm unsure whether this is a good thing. But the idea that the monster itself is a baby lost in an unknown setting gives lots of room for expansion. Watch it now without all the hype there was a year ago. Much better than Godzilla at least...
Cloverfield - I forgot how good this film was and this time around (3rd watch) I enjoyed it more than ever. The film is simply a monster movie shot Blair Witch
Project style but I found the effects just as astounding as they were in the cinema. On DVD it does loose a little of it's spectacle but I watched it twice in the cinema so I never felt I missed out, as most seeing it on DVD will. The film is something to be seen, the slow reveal of the monster is ingenious and when the film hits the hour mark you know exactly what the threat is and you'll become glad of the slow setup. The acting is a tad dodgy, but this is a monster movie and as far fetched as the story setup is, could you be sure you wouldn't act differently? The only real fault I have with the film is the final reveal of the monster. The special features reveal that producer J.J. Abrams felt that we had been with the monster for so long that the audience would feel disappointed if we didn't really see it. I understand the reasoning behind it but it let's the film down for going on for just a few seconds too long, the previous scene gives enough of the monster.Obviously, there's going to be a sequel and I'm unsure whether this is a good thing. But the idea that the monster itself is a baby lost in an unknown setting gives lots of room for expansion. Watch it now without all the hype there was a year ago. Much better than Godzilla at least...
Cloverfield - 9/10
Diamonds Are Forever - Yep, another classic and the final Sean Connery Bond movie. The film is partly set in Vegas and this leads to an interesting car chase before the duplicate Blofeld's show up sometime later. Charles Gray's Blofeld comes off as being very fussy, giving a totally different
angle to the character setup (fully on-screen) by Donald Pleasance. Thankfully, Gray comes off as a far less cartoon-ish than Telly Savalas did in On Her Majesty's Secret Service. Sean Connery does look a little older and greyer than before but nowhere near as old as Roger Moore was later in the series. This film goes back again to a more 'Hollywood-y' Bond than the more character based On Her Majesty's Secret Service and within the first 10 minutes, I felt like I was right back home with James Bond.
There are two characters however, that lift this film from being at the level of Goldfinger and You Only Live Twice to the level of a franchise landmark. These characters are of course the homosexual assassins Mr Kidd and Mr Wint, played by Putter Smith and Bruce (father of Crispin) Glover. These characters could almost have had a spin-off series on their own. They steal every scene they are in with their dark, twisted, dry sense of humour and assassinations which, for the time, was quite controversial to have two characters be homosexual. Thanks to these two characters and the presence of Connery and a credible plot, this film is so far my favourite in my revisit to the Bond series. 7 down, 15 to go...
Diamonds Are Forever - Yep, another classic and the final Sean Connery Bond movie. The film is partly set in Vegas and this leads to an interesting car chase before the duplicate Blofeld's show up sometime later. Charles Gray's Blofeld comes off as being very fussy, giving a totally different
angle to the character setup (fully on-screen) by Donald Pleasance. Thankfully, Gray comes off as a far less cartoon-ish than Telly Savalas did in On Her Majesty's Secret Service. Sean Connery does look a little older and greyer than before but nowhere near as old as Roger Moore was later in the series. This film goes back again to a more 'Hollywood-y' Bond than the more character based On Her Majesty's Secret Service and within the first 10 minutes, I felt like I was right back home with James Bond.There are two characters however, that lift this film from being at the level of Goldfinger and You Only Live Twice to the level of a franchise landmark. These characters are of course the homosexual assassins Mr Kidd and Mr Wint, played by Putter Smith and Bruce (father of Crispin) Glover. These characters could almost have had a spin-off series on their own. They steal every scene they are in with their dark, twisted, dry sense of humour and assassinations which, for the time, was quite controversial to have two characters be homosexual. Thanks to these two characters and the presence of Connery and a credible plot, this film is so far my favourite in my revisit to the Bond series. 7 down, 15 to go...
Diamonds Are Forever - 9/10
The Game - The only David Fincher film I hadn't seen (Benjamin Button reaches these shores in February)and while it's not his best, it's certainly not Alien 3, which you'll argue isn't his anyway. The film starts out great, though feels a little too much like Total Recall, with Michael Douglas receiving 
a gift from his brother which allows him entry to a game that will change his life. Once he meets the company, Douglas is soon part of some strange events, wondering whether he is or is not playing The Game. Clever title. The film plays out like most thrillers but since David Fincher was at the helm, I had my suspicions about every item and every character throughout. While I don't want to spoil it for anyone, the ending wasn't what I expected at all, but a nice little twist.
The film is, at least to the best of my memory, better than Panic Room. Another Fincher thriller that starred now Oscar winner Forest Whitaker and a pre-30 Seconds To Mars Jared Leto. I'll be revisting Panic Room soon though, under £4 on Amazon? I bought that. So if, like me, you enjoy David Fincher's films (some of his music videos are quite good also, check out the Nine Inch Nails - Only video) this is definetly one to see but don't go expecting anything quite as good as Seven, Zodiac or Fight Club. Zodiac is due to arrive in the post soon also, too much of Fincher?
a gift from his brother which allows him entry to a game that will change his life. Once he meets the company, Douglas is soon part of some strange events, wondering whether he is or is not playing The Game. Clever title. The film plays out like most thrillers but since David Fincher was at the helm, I had my suspicions about every item and every character throughout. While I don't want to spoil it for anyone, the ending wasn't what I expected at all, but a nice little twist.The film is, at least to the best of my memory, better than Panic Room. Another Fincher thriller that starred now Oscar winner Forest Whitaker and a pre-30 Seconds To Mars Jared Leto. I'll be revisting Panic Room soon though, under £4 on Amazon? I bought that. So if, like me, you enjoy David Fincher's films (some of his music videos are quite good also, check out the Nine Inch Nails - Only video) this is definetly one to see but don't go expecting anything quite as good as Seven, Zodiac or Fight Club. Zodiac is due to arrive in the post soon also, too much of Fincher?
The Game - 7/10
Live And Let Die - Another Bond and the first Roger Moore which I've returned to. It has possibly the best Bond theme ever and it has several other things going to it also. Moore brings a more tongue-in-cheek tone to this Bond and the film includes more cheesy one-liners than most of the early Bond's put together. This is both a gift and a curse. It's a refreshing take 
from Sean Connery's Bond but it soon becomes a bit tiresome. Other flaws in the film include a boat chase that is just a little too long, the horrible comic relief of the Sheriff Pepper character and over the top blaxpoitation themes. Never in a Bond film did I think I'd hear terms like "honky" and "cueball". The series has always been a reflection of the world they are in at the time of their making but this seems to go a bit TOO far. The liner notes claim that this does not date the film, while I'd argue the opposite.
It has it's positives though, the plot is decent and has a very realistic Jamaican drug smuggler played by Yaphet Kotto, who you'll know from Alien. The most memorable character from the film is Baron Samedi (which translates as 'Baron Saturday'). Yes, the whole voodoo thing doesn't perfectly fit with Bond but he is such an entertaining character that it adds another refreshing layer to the 8th film. A young Jane Seymour plays Solitare who is a clairvoyant that can see the future, though once she is 'intimate' with Bond, she loses her power. Another nice little touch.
The film is the first to give a little more background to James Bond as well, when we see his home. It's nothing spectacular but I thought it was a nice little touch.
from Sean Connery's Bond but it soon becomes a bit tiresome. Other flaws in the film include a boat chase that is just a little too long, the horrible comic relief of the Sheriff Pepper character and over the top blaxpoitation themes. Never in a Bond film did I think I'd hear terms like "honky" and "cueball". The series has always been a reflection of the world they are in at the time of their making but this seems to go a bit TOO far. The liner notes claim that this does not date the film, while I'd argue the opposite.It has it's positives though, the plot is decent and has a very realistic Jamaican drug smuggler played by Yaphet Kotto, who you'll know from Alien. The most memorable character from the film is Baron Samedi (which translates as 'Baron Saturday'). Yes, the whole voodoo thing doesn't perfectly fit with Bond but he is such an entertaining character that it adds another refreshing layer to the 8th film. A young Jane Seymour plays Solitare who is a clairvoyant that can see the future, though once she is 'intimate' with Bond, she loses her power. Another nice little touch.
The film is the first to give a little more background to James Bond as well, when we see his home. It's nothing spectacular but I thought it was a nice little touch.
Live And Let Die - 7/10
"On What?"
Chris Eubank, when asked if he had thought about writing an autobiography.
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"On What?"Chris Eubank, when asked if he had thought about writing an autobiography.
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