Before I really get under this episode, I have to give some background check on The Lodger, the episode that introduced us to the character of Craig, played by comedian James Corden. So quickly, I hate it.
Airing at the same time as the World Cup, which Mr. Corden did a World Cup song for England with Dizzy Rascal, and being a well known football fanatic. The exact moment where I knew the episode was a piece of crap is when they had The Doctor get involved into a Pub football match, with tons of wacky hijinks's.
The episode failed where it was more excited in it's guest star over the main character, in a time where we were just around the corner from a huge finale, where we were eager for answers. Instead we got the story of a guy struggling with his humble mundane life and The Doctor comes, stuff comes a muck, lights flicker and people start disappearing, and they have to work together to sort it out. The scene where The Doctor headbutts information into Craig is one of the worst in the revival of Doctor Who, and that includes the Lard Monsters.
So coming into Closing Time, I had little in the terms of hopes for a great episode. So, coming out of Closing Time, I was pretty entertained, for a throw away episode, it's just a nice entertaining episode, similar to Vampires of Venice last series, coming off from a few great episodes, that episode was just an adventure episode, but people didn't take to it too kindly. However, this episode is coming off from 4 fantastic standalone episode, and there is nothing that makes this episode purposeful. Except some people liked James Cordon.
Basically, this episode is about The Doctor going around doing things he wants to do before he dies, which we are consistantly told is tomorrow (although he's a time traveller, he can hold it back for as much as he wants really) as he decides to visit his old friend (although they've only really had one episode together) in the form of Craig, who is being left alone for the weekend with his new born child called Alfie, in which zero members of his family think he will be able to cope.
So, basically, guy struggling with his humble mundane life and The Doctor comes, stuff comes a muck, people go missing and lights are a flickering and they have to work together to sort it out.
Not the most inventive of episodes, as it is the exact same plot as the original Corden episode, just swap a flat to a shopping center and strange Tardis to Cybermen and hey presto, new episode.
Good news is that it cuts most the rubbish out of The Lodger, there is still silly humour, like gay jokes and more baby talk from A Good Man Goes To War, but slapstick is gone, and there is a bit of charm to be had between the two, although it really wants to shove the fact that the two are good friends although there was only one episode between the two.
The episode can be narrowed down to two problems, it's cliched and filler. There is nothing inventive in terms of plot in the episode, Cybermen add nothing to the story, and really had little point in the episode, and pose little threat. And the biggest question of all, Why is The Doctor wasting his time with this dude? All we hear is this is The Doctors last journey, and this is what he chooses to do, visit James Cordon and shoot the shit. You'd think for his final Adventure, he'd be doing something bigger, over helping Craig become more dependant, heck, he uses his final hours cleaning up his house.
And the episode knows it's filler, not a lot of money was spent on it, and lame CGI provides unintentional laughs. And this makes it really hard to stand up for, when its got this many problems, and the only comeback is "it's fun", it really doesn't look good.
But it's the truth. I got into a few arguments about Curse of the Black Spot earlier this year, that episode isn't nearly as flawed in the writing as this one, but that episode offers nothing, it's boring, people walking around a boat complaining. This at least shows Amy and Rory, and reveals what they got up to after the Doctor left them, and the ending clearly leads up to a fantastic finale.
Possibly one of the weakest episodes of Part 2 is like saying it's the worst piece of gold I've ever found.
A lot of my friends disagreed with me on The Girl Who Waited, saying it was boring. Hopefully they have more than shit for brains now that this episode has aired and the themes underlying the episodes have come clear.
But here is me digressing from a well-written, although obnoxiously executed episode.
First things first, The God Complex is probably the most mature episode written for Doctor Who this season, if not on par with The Girl Who Waited. A lot of stuff on faith and religion is played upon here, and it's interesting to see the show take on these matters. The episode is written by the head behind Being Human, so you can see a similar style in modern characters added into a strange situation, I don't think Doctor Who has ever touched upon Muslims before, and of course, those ever superstitious Bloggers (I hate those guys, don't you?)
Add in a lot of strange visuals, like the laughing dolls, a man in a gorilla suit and a sad looking clown, as well as the return of the weeping angels to vamp up the creepy/surreal element of the show, making this one of the more surreal episodes of the series, everything should point to gold.
Sadly, none of these things seem to go anywhere, or make sense in any way or form. Especially when you look back upon the episode and some of the plot details and reveals make some of the earlier stuff less sense. Like what was the police woman's faith? And what did the girls in the room have to do with the bloggers conspiracy theories? And what was with the Clown?
And the big ambiguous question, that I'm a bit sad they never answered, What was in the Doctor's Room? And will it actually be revealed?
Of course, I like the homages to Tron and The Shining (the latter being both key, and very well done). But my god, was the director behind this episode on a major sugar rush, kept having cameras woosh down hallways, none stop dutch angles, wide angle shots of peoples sweaty faces. The episode was more like a showreel or music video than a damn Doctor Who episode.
The acting in the episode wasn't much to be blown away from for the most part (excluding the ending). The episode guest starred David Walliams as some weird cowardly dude who did nothing much but be David Walliams in alien make up. The other guests in the hotel had a little more to work with, in the sense I didn't know who they were, and they often stole the limelight from the time traveling trio.
However, once we get the shocking ending, where we find out that the Doctor is leaving Amy and Rory to live out there lives over dying one day at the hands of the Doctor due to his dangerous travels was both very abrupt (which is as it would feel for the characters, so it's a good point) and very poignant and moving, as well as a very natural ending to the episode, without just being tagged on (Like Rory's death at the end of Cold Blood).
The Girl Who Waited and The God Complex could almost be a two parter (which is lacking in this half of the series), in terms of themes and style (both take part in one place, start of with the Doctor promising a grand adventure, but somethings wrong) and I guess that's what makes it work, for the most part. The God Complex is a well written but amateurishly filmed episode, it's like the director got a cool camera trick guide and used every single page from that book. However, The God Complex does not soil the 4:4 quality ratio of the Part 2...
7.5/10
...although, it looks like the shows producers are putting this too the test with next weeks episode, with the return of the evil Cybermen (Wooh!) and the evil James Corden (Boooooo!), returning from last years lame ass filler episode "The Lodger" (which I hate, with a passion), next week should be interesting, hopefully I won't be spewing up too much hate next week...hopefully...
Why did I post that quote from the film in my heading, well that's easy. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is long, really, goddamn long.
It relentlessly punishes the ill-patient, and hangs the people who fail to follow the plot. It's the very definition of an anti-mainstream film, any typical part-time filmgoers are going to be tortured non-stop for the 2 hours 10 minutes the film goes on for. But, maybe, just maybe, I underestimate everyone, and they will enjoy the film as much as me, and my two friends. (Because out of a large group of 50 or so close friends, only 1 wanted to watch it, and out of his 50 or so close friends, only one wanted to watch it, you see my doubts)
Hopefully, the salvation of these people who might struggle to follow the film is the huge fact that it is visually hypnotising, I often found myself in awe at how well framed the film was, I can't think of a single shot that didn't look great in the entire film. It is a film which has each frame of it tailor made (haha!) to both look eerie, dark and gloomy, while also looking beautiful, and this is all while staying restrictive to look like a product of 1960's spy thrillers, and not a modern day film (excluding a few parts of mediocre CGI).
Once you get past it visually, you look at it intellectually, you will see a fantastically structured multi-layered plot, that does zero pandering to the audience, and forces them to look into the subtleties of the screen, causing you to be once again, hypnotised. I'll come clean and I will say I did get a few characters names mixed up, which caused a bit of confusion between dialogue and actions on screen, but if anything this only makes me want to watch it again, especially considering that ending.
All throughout the film, I kept seeing my friend whip out his phone to check the time, now although he said he found the film amazing, he was still having to check how much longer the film has to go for. I had a similar feeling, although the film is amazing, and sitting there I was being wowed by it. There was a thought that entered my brain half an hour towards the end that said, ok, pull out your big guns and blow me away film, or else you are not worth my time. The more you sit there, the more you think that the climax better impress you. The good news is that the film doesn't change pace, it doesn't loose it's way, it does it ending it's way and it does it terrifically. It seals the deal as a piece of terrific filmmaking, and sets the bar very high for the Oscars next year.
Icing on the cake, the acting.
This is a film that is choke full of great actors, all doing great acting work. I think they would all deserve to be nominated, but the star that come through the best to me is Mark Strong, for the very powerful emotions he has to deal with throughout the film, and a far deeper mystery behind his character that is not really shown, but heavily implied. However everyone is fantastic, Tom Hardy comes a close second.
And Gary Oldman has that Best Actor nod in the bag, to early to tell if he has got the award, but at the moment, he's a safe bet. He plays Smiley, a mild-mannered although very drained retired MI6 agent who is a part of the circus (the people who deal with foreign intelligence, for those not in the know, which you will need to be), his acting, like most the film, is very subtle, and you can tell that he is very much effected by the revelation that one of his colleges is a spy, and the fact that he was believed to be as well.
Thomas Alfredson is quickly become one of the great modern directors with one of the most fresh and distinctive styles in cinema, comparisons between this and his debut film, Let The Right One In, are through his style. Ironically enough, one of the problems I had with Let The Right One In is that you focus so much on the subtitles, you miss all the fantastic visuals and cinematography.
So I'll say it again, Tinker Tailor Solider Spy is hypnotising to watch, you literally can not take your eyes of the screen throughout it's entire runtime. You can not zone out for a second for the fear that you will be prosecuted by the film for doing so. Tinker Tailor knows it's for adults, for film lovers, and for people who just generally want to see it, and by doing that it rewards them for treating them that very way, you just better get ready and expect that once it hits, or else your going to fell that arse get numb on that seat for an extremely long 2 hours 10 mins.
Doctor Who has been on quite a roll at the moment, can this episode make it 3 for 3.
Well from the offset, it's a Doctor-lite episode, meaning a lot less of the titular character, and more with either the companions or a new character completely. These types of episodes have great track records, with Blink being a particular favorite of mine and many others, and still holds as one of the scariest and most intense 45 mins on TV for a long time, to other like Left Turn, which I remember very little of, except the huge return of an old character, and someone turning left in a car. But I do know the general conscience around it is very positive. And of course, the odd one out, the one that started it all off, Love and Monsters. The less said on that one the better (because Doctor Who should need more blow job dispensing pieces of pavement, I'm glad that episode filled that gap)
Good news is that The Girl Who Waited follows the good trend of the latter episodes of the Doctor-lite. It allows us to see more of a development between Amy and Rory, and leaves The Doctor very much at bay, acting more as a guide to get the plot along. The story is ambitious, and with a lot of emotional dilemma to play upon, with the ending of the episode becoming both harrowing and very moving.
The performances are center stage in the episode, Arthur Duvall particularly having to stand up to the center stage as the hero of the episode, although it's all a bit redundant since he seems to be continually getting bossed and directed around by either The Doctor or older Amy, but to the more quiet and moving moments, you can see how heart breaking it is to see all the stuff he sees.
However, for once, I can finally see how great of an actress Karen Gillian, she effectively has to play to different characters, who are both very similar, and show their differences very subtly, whilst also showing that the two are both the same. There is a moment half way through the episode where she has to talk to herself, to convince her to save herself, and it's done fantastically, where both are telling the same story, but you see an older and a younger version of one another communicating, I think that's a fantastic achievement. Credit due also to the make-up team, puts Potter and his pals to shame!
I can only say the episodes biggest flaw is it's lack of fun, it all gets a little heavy handed for an episode about robots who kill you with kindness. And when ever something random and fun is implicated, there just a lack of point that just makes it feel like it shrugging it of its shoulders. Although, the macarena is always necessary...
Plus it takes a good 10-15 mins to really get up to speed, that isn't very good for a 45 min show.
The Girl Who Waited is one of the series best so far, although not topping the greatness of The Doctor's Wife, and not the most memorable episodes, and probably one of the weakest Doctor Lite episode (while that's not much of a complaint) The Girl Who Waited is just plain and simply put well written and well acted, and that's all you really need to love the episode, sure it lacks mystery and adventure (although it's nice to see the show try a very ambitious action sequences, which I will say doesn't fully work) it's moving, and it shows how the show can be very dramatic when it needs to be. And dramatic it does well! 8/10
Fright Night is a rare surprise you should not miss, a remake that actually is able to stand aside the original and deliver the same amount of fun as it, without sharply copying it. Fright Night is just a strong blast of horror fun at a time where films tend to drag their feet in the mud and get more "serious".
The film kicks off with a fantastic opening scene, which genuinely sets up a scary creature, an actually menacing bad guy. And the good thing about the vampires are that they are full on old school, but feel like they have adapted to the modern world. Garlic keeps them away, stakes through the heart are a killer, and they love the taste of that goddamn blood. They are monsters, not shitty love pesks.
But after that first scene, the film goes from the top of it's game to the absolute bottom. We are introduced to the protagonist, Charlie, a dweeb teenager who just so happens to have gotten lucky and found popularity, at a loss of his old best friend Ed. Within two seconds of his dialogue, he is a forced hip teenager, written with the biggest crock load of Diablo Cody wannabe bullshit. Random quirks about mochaccinos and shoes are thrown in there to be charming, and obviously fall straight on there obscure face. The film could of almost of lost me if it continued down the road, luckily, after a good 10 mins of mindless quirky crap, the film actually jacks it in and jumps straight into the plot, almost a little too quick.
I know that when you are walking into the film, you have the premises of the film already in your head, but the film leaves little mystery, within 10 mins it is already said by McLovin that the next door neighbour is a vampire. Well great, but we then know we have another 30 mins of "I don't believe you" which comes ala typical with horror films. The problem is that it persists with this. There is a 10 min segment where Jerry the vampire blows up the families house, throws a motorbike into a moving vehicle, gets ran over, pokes his hand through the car floor, and it's only till then that this dumbass mother realises that he is a vampire. And then the mother falls unconscious for the rest of the film, so I'm glad that all came down to an excellent pay off *SARCASM*
But then, once you hit that 45 minute mark, the film seems to just lets go, it stops holding itself back and just lets itself got with the flow. There's very little Diablo Cody turd markings, there's a lack of story that stops it from bogging down and it quits with the very goofy camera tricks (It worked in Children of Men because they actually did that stuff, they didn't rely on CGI)
The film just becomes loose and fun, and while I may still be able to have problems with the CGI gore and effects. I can't really judge it when I ultimately got swept into the action myself, I was just sat there have a hell of a time watching a fun horror comedy. It rarely slowed down, a lot of moments are very scary and very tension filled. Heck it doesn't take long until you forget the awful first impressions Anton Yelchin leaves on you and you start to root for the character.
The film has it most fun however, when Colin Farrell and David Tennant are on screen. David Tennant is one of those few actors, who when given the right role, can do chew scenery while adding a sense of legitimacy to the character. This is perfectly portrayed through Peter Vincent, he's an alcoholic loser who just so happens to be famous and spoiled, he has many times where he comically shouts out his assistant, but pulls it off in a natural way where it feels like he just has everyone running around after him. I really hope the films lack of success won't hold against him in his future career, as he manges to say the cheesiest of lines in a way where it isn't cheesy at all, almost making him some sort of ideal action star.
However, when David Tennant isn't chewing the scenery, Colin Farrell is busy looking like he's about to have sex with it. This is Colin Farrell, if they squeezed every single drop of sleazy out of him, poured it back in, shook him up and threw him on to the set. He's very sinister and very intense, the film would be far lesser without him, as he really does escalate the film to a high level of horror, making him far scarier than anything the film really deserves, but it does, and we thank him for it.
Heck, even McLovin is given a bit of a sinister scene, and he's fun to watch.
Fright Night is almost a classic return of everything I want in a horror film, the daft lunacy and campiness of a fun blast at the cinema, equally matched up with genuine scares, so you never really know if your going to laugh or jump, or more than likely both. Very much in the vain as the original. Fright Night started of as a simple decent rental with beer and pizza, but by the end, I was left with a strong smile on my face as it was plain and simply put, A hell of a good time at the cinemas!
Again, expect spoilers as I dig into Night Terrors
Night Terrors seems a bit like an episode featuring Deja Vu, since it has a sort of parallel plot to an episode in Series 2 of the re-vamp called Fear Her, in which a little girl is scared of something hiding in her closet, swap girl for boy and closet to cupboard and boom, Night Terrors.
Well that's the very very slight look at it. Night Terrors is deeper and scarier than Fear Her.
Night Terrors plays on the mundane things that scare children in real life, a dull sound of the lift could manifest itself like roaring blood thirsty creature to the wide imagination of a young kid. And obviously the detachment parents feel to kids with their babyish fears, telling them that it's not real, and hiding whatever it is away.
But clearly it is real, after all, what's more factual than a show about a time traveling alien who is a thousand years old and goes on adventures on multiple planets and time periods.
The first thing that will hit you, easily, is how stunning the episode is, clearly shot on a lower budget that most of the episodes feature thus far, the cinematography is both well crafted and stylised. Set on a council estate (which is quickly becoming a regular place for various horrors following from Attack the Block), the episode uses the camera to peak behind corners or through the cracks of doors, creating a detachment the father figure feels about his son, which is further strained as the episode goes on. However the episode gets even more creepy as it lands Rory and Amy to a strange place (P.S. if you can't work it out by the first clue they give you, you simply have a lack of brain cells) where small doll like creatures follow them through the shadows, chanting the typical get under you skin child's song.
It's simply brilliant example of how less is more. The monster of the week is nothing complex, just a hollow creepy walking doll, the setting is basically one council estate and one dolls house, and it does more than anything I felt they did on a huge Pirate Ship, a spaceship filled full of headless monks and colonial marines and 1940's Berlin. Just simply good ideas combined with a well written script, and good talent behind the camera to create a great episode overall.
However, it isn't perfect. The first complaint being acting wise. Most the acting is typical great, with the father, Adam, having particularly good chemistry with Matt Smith in the short amount of time they have together. My main complaint is with the young kid, for the most part he's ok, acting like a typical act like your scared way. But early on, in one of the scene, which becomes pivotal latter on, we find out the kids main fear is to be taken away and his parents to reject him. When he first meets The Doctor the first thing he asks is "Are you going to take me away?". But the way he asks it, he has a huge smile on his face, I'm not kidding. Now either they had to wrap up really quickly the day they shot that scene, or they were being sneaky by original making you feel like he wants to be taken away (which doesn't work well when you flashback to the scene to make a point), but that just seemed really awful to include.
After that little nitpick, along with a few others like the usual sorts of things cropping up in a Doctor Who episode (some, key word being SOME, of the CGI was bad, like the man being sucked into the carpet, and some (less as funny as last series) cruelty to old people). (Which reminds me, when is the Dream Lord cropping back up). The main complaint with the episode comes down to Rory and Amy, they are given very little to do with the episode, as they walk around aimlessly doing nothing but eluding to nothing more than getting some of the plot worked out before The Doctor comes down to stop it. As I mentioned before, it's pretty clear where they are from the moment we are shown the wooden frying pan, so the whole time they come up on screen, the episode gets bogged down, although they are fun to watch, they're not given a lot to do. Plus why would an 8 year old boy have a dollhouse, especially one so old fashioned in such a rural area as a council estate.
As the episode ends, one line got me worried as to the final conclusion of the series, and I know this is getting caught up on superstitions, but it's worth mentioning before I conclude. The line was "it's good to be back together, in the flesh", I really don't want the final reveal to be that The Doctor is a part of the Flesh when he is shot dead, it would be such a cop out, considering it's been done twice so far this series alone.
But, Night Terrors...
What a brilliant episode, and although it has it's slow moments, it's actually far more welcome than the typical episode, the pacing is actual a relief for the most part, after the rush of last weeks episode, that ran 5 mins more than a proper run time. There are only a few moments I felt that this could do with a speed boost. It also proves to be the best looking episode so far, with plenty of scary going around. Next weeks episode looks to be the slight dip in quality that is expected of the series, although I hope I'm wrong as it seems there is plenty of potential.
Following off from my cover of the series so far, Series 6 comes back in full swing with Let's Kill Hitler.
Warning as the following will have spoilers, and no, that isn't a pun!
Let's Kill Hitler is a great episode the kick the series back up again, it ties up a lot of loose ends left over from A Good Man Goes To War and doesn't leave much open except some overarching mysterious of the whole series. It's very funny and very emotional in equal measures, acting is superb all around and the script is equally as sharp and entertaining, as it was getting through the mandatory stuff.
Let's Kill Hitler starts off with Rory and Amy driving around a crop field following directions which leads them to The Doctor, we learn that The Doctor has been searching for her stolen baby Melody Pond although out the summer (and it is made clear that between the airing of series part time finale and return, that's all The Doctor has been doing). However, before he can have the time explaining how he has failed to find her, we are introduced to Mel (Nudge Nudge, Wink Wink) who is Amy and Rory's troublesome friend, who knows all about The Doctor, and has the police quickly chasing after her. Armed with a gun and a time lord she always dreamed of meeting, she decides to hold him to gun point and make him take her back in time to, you guessed it, kill Hitler.
The strange thing about this episode, is that it all works really well as a whole, but it has a few little nitpicks here and there, while A Good Man Goes To War is full of great moments, but the episode as a whole feels very loosely tied together.
The first main problem that I encountered with the episode was the set up of the character of Mel, other than the fact that she came off rather annoying in her few moments on screen, she was set up very briefly for a huge twist where it is revealed that she is Melody Pond (which didn't take very long to be revealed). It's just hard to be surprised where your character is quickly introduced, especially when this is the very first time you hear from her. But as it was quickly revealed, it's hard to really get caught up on the idea, if it was dragged out until the end of the episode, it would of felt slightly lazy and contrived.
The other problems I have are more nitpicks than complaints, like for the titular character of the episode, Hitler is quickly dismissed off, it seemed more like he had more of a cameo of himself than an actual point, more a ploy to get an attention catching episode name than an actual plot device. It's also strange that Doctor Who is stealing ideas from lame Eddie Murphy films, it pulls it off better alas, but still, Eddie Murphy. More strange is seeing Karen Gillian and Arthur Duvall act and dress as teenagers.
And that's really it for problems with the episode, the episode is very well written, bar the problems I had above. It really complicates matters for most the characters, and really pushes the bar for fucked up nuclear families on TV. It's never overly complex within it's own storyline and definitely doesn't bite off more than it can chew like that other episode I keep seeming to refer back too. It's just a simple stuff to cover list, gets it done and adds a lot of charm to keep the episode running.
The episode, as I said before, is really funny, and so far, the only one that hasn't tried to squeeze horror into it. An earlier scene involving guns and a banana is certainly the comedic highlight of the episode, along with nice scene involving The Doctor asking the Tardis to show a hologram of someone who he hasn't screwed up the life off, showing all the previous assistance he's had over the last few years, which ends with a really heartwarming ending.
Add humour bonus for the evil killer robots which ask you to "Keep calm while we terminate your life"
Let's Kill Hitler will probably go down as a Red Herring, a well written Red Herring, but, ultimately, seeming to cross off people on a list of whodunits (again, not a pun). But it continues the themes of the series so far, and adds general emotion as well as laughs to a good, almost old fashioned Doctor Who adventure.
Doctor Who returns to TV tomorrow, and to give me something to write or moan about, I've decided to start writing some reviews of the episodes, they won't nearly be as lengthy as my film reviews, but they should make interesting reads none the less. However, as I'll start midway through both a series itself, and a strong revival of the show, I should give a good over view of the last series and a half, so that readers like you can see where I am coming from.
David Tennant's run with the character of The Doctor was quickly coming to a close, and so was it's head writer Russell T. Davies. Davies was a good writer, who of course, like many people my age, was introduced to the series via his pen. Series 1 of the revival was fantastic, it was scary (scared me a ton anyway at the age of 10) and adventurous, very creative and mysterious and had a good overarching story. This continued through to series 2 and 3, although towards the end of series 3 you started to see his creativity starting to drain away, come series 4, the show became awful, with The Doctor fighting lard people with very obnoxious Cathrine Tate. News broke that Davies was stepping down as head writer and so was Tennant, so the BBC geared a last hurrah to the couple by commissioning 4 specials to end the run of the two and got Steven Moffat, the writer of most of the best episodes of the previous 4 series, prepped up for a complete revamp.
The specials where, well at least to me, mostly awful. Only one of them was well made, and even then that's in comparison to the others. And the final Christmas two parter made a complete dogs dinner out of Tennant's final hours of his role. And then we came to Matt Smith, I wasn't really hopeful from what I saw of his first moments as the doctor, he looked like his eyes where going to pop out of his head. He looked like a kid on a sugar rush, and not the very old time traveller The Doctor was. Although I was dismissive at the time, due to it being such a short amount of time we saw him as the character, I still had that dreadful thought that the man would be completely irritating to watch.
Needless to say, I had very little to worry about.
Series 5, was a delight to watch, although it had a few dud episodes, i.e. The Lodger and The Hungry Earth, it was still a very strong series. It had a lot of over arching storylines that where smartly crafted into the foreground and a very emotional revelation towards the end of the series. It was very creative science fiction, the best thing about Doctor Who is that you can pretty much do anything you want, and series 5 shows that throughout. It brought the series to new heights, it added the fear factor back in, and brought a new mature element to the plots without it loosing it's child audience.
Doctor Who had never been so good, and had fans literally eating out of it's hands, and the best thing is...
Series 6 so far has topped it.
With the love revolving around Series 5, the natural move for the BBC was to give the show a huge push in the USA, (which also involved it's Spin-Off Cousin, Torchwood, to become a US-UK co-production, but I'll talk about that once that series has finished). So not only for the first time did the show air at the exact same time as UK in the US, but the opening two parter was set in America.
The Impossible Astronaut and Day of the Moon practically blew the entire series 5 out of the water alone. Heck the first 10 mins of series 6 did that. They killed of The Doctor in one quick swipe, obviously, he came back, but the fact still remains that The Doctor died or rather will die in this series. But then the two parter continues to reveal an evil, terrifying alien race called The Silence, with creepy imagery, and strange mind games, Doctor Who had become a far more sinister show. And if you was blown away with the opening of the two parter, then you will be left breathless with the end of the two parter as we see a little girl regenerate.
Which then leads me to Curse of the Black Spot, and the one very fundamental flaw with this series as a whole. It fires away at 100 mph, and then they completely fall to a halt to deliver a typical Doctor Who adventure, when you want to know more about what happened. But the main thing that really hurts Curse of the Black Spot is that it's the worst episode out of the series, and it is only made worse with it's terrible placement. If this stood alone, and not directly after a mind blower, it would of been passable, but the fact is, the episode is dull, it's slow and nothing happens, or is learnt. Even taken as swashbuckling fun, it's a bore.
Which leads me to The Doctor's Wife, which, if Curse of the Black Spot is the worst the series offers, then it's quickly made up by this heartfelt look at the character by Neil Gaiman. The Doctor's Wife is a completely unique episode where the tardis is converted into a woman, therefore becoming The Doctor's Wife, since the tardis is the only character to follow the doctor though his travels all this time. The episode is very dark and very light, but balances them in equal measures, where Curse added very little to anything, Wife adds little to the plot, but adds all sorts of depth to the characters while never becoming boring, it's always moving and never predictable.
Which then takes us onto The Rebel Flesh and The Almost People, a two parter that feels like it should be more an episode and a half, which is probably the main problem the show occurs when doing a two parter. The Rebel Flesh is slow, it's never bad, but it takes it's time getting a move on. It falls on cliches quite a few times, and rarely surprises. It's also at the time the shows horror factor started to frustrate me, with every episode having to be scary, Doctor Who was starting to lose it's child audience, and lost the whimsical adventurous side the the show. Don't get me wrong, I like the fact that Doctor Who is going back to scary, but you start to lose effect when it's only scary, and no episode has a lighter tone.
The Almost People was more of the same, and the entire two parter was just creating a plot device which was used in the half time finale, and sure to be used again later in the series.
Leading onto A Good Man Goes To War, which, when I say The Rebel Flesh and The Almost People was stretched, this was way too condensed. This is a problem Moffat encountered in The Beast Below in series 5, he has a lot of very, very good ideas, but most his ideas make whole new worlds, and when shoved into one 45 min segment, it feels very rushed and all over the place. And with a lot of loose ends to tie up from the previous series and this one, the only way it would work was to really give it a second part. A Good Man Goes To War is a very good episode as with almost all the episodes, before I start to sound like I hate it, the acting is superb and it continual keeps you on you toes, but it's really hard to get behind an episode where you can't breath and respect the situation there in and feel real emotion, at the start of the episode you don't really understand what this army is for, or why it is so menacing, which really keeps you from getting into the episode. Although, with that in mind, it pushes the series into more darker, complex situations.
I think A Good Man Goes To War was mainly hurt by it's hype, it was called a game changer, and while it did that, the twist the show offered was a bit of a "Ahh that's cool, but hardly shocking" It ended up being a slight letdown by it's own following, regardless, I will still follow the show to a bitter end, as I may not seem the most keen on Series 6 Part 1, I like 3 of the episodes, loved 3 of the episodes, and only disliked 1. That's good odds to me, and a lot of part 2 seems to be focusing on more hardcore sci-fi elements.
Plus, the first episode is called Let's Kill Hitler, you can't suck with that name!
Check back tomorrow for a full review of Let's Kill Hitler!
Britain is in turmoil, the streets are being torn apart, shops are being looted, factories are being set alight, cars turn over, as the youth of the country is coming out onto the streets in the mass and doing what they supposedly do best, get drunk and fuck shit up, because of something about there rights. But this week all that madness stopped, why?
Because The Inbetweeners Movie came out and none of those people are going to pass up the opportunity to check this out. Sure they think they're in poverty, but they throw there cash down to go in the nearest multiplex, especially if they're have an Orange phone.
Actually, I think cinemas where banking on them all busy looting and what not, because earlier in the week, I looked at the times and they were showing this in the smallest screen they had about 3 times a day, I go in on Wednesday, they've sold out 3 screenings all at the same time that they added half an hour earlier and had a 4th one going in there biggest screen reserved only for 3D films.
Well I can't really talk about the movie without talking about the show first.
I have problems with the show, but needless to say, it is funny, and if you haven't seen it, go check it out. I like it enough, but even then I'm in the minority, everyone loves this show. The Inbetweeners is a British Sitcom known most of all for it's all out crude attitude that comes with being a suburban teenager, and is supposedly written based on actual events that occurred in the writers in there age.
My problem with The Inbetweeners is the fact that the characters are mostly ignorant idiots, even when they're supposed to be smart. There is one all out idiot, called Neil, one naive idiot which is Jay, and the other two are Will and Simon, who are more social retarded than stupid, but become to desperate that they do stupid things. This is ok for a setup, but these character become more and more obnoxious throughout the 3 series run, to the fact that it's less what a character would do realistic, and more the writers trying to jam comedy down our throats.
Add the fact that the filthy dialogue was becoming old the time the third series came around, and I was the person who turned around and said this series of Inbetweeners just isn't funny. The problem is, like any cult, and typical, British sitcom, the audience was gathering around by the time series 3 aired. And all the audience of course said "Oh this is so close to our lives, it's genius!". Than I all out started to hate the series.
That people my age actually associated themselves to a bunch of desperate idiots, who by then, ended almost all the episodes with throwing up or pissing. Come on guys, you are better than this. You honestly believe this desperate attempt at comedy is your life.
(And yes, I do know I sound like I complaining at a show just because it became mainstream, but screw you, I have my reasons)
Of course, I still recommend the show, all series of it, even the third has a lot of great moments, even one of the best at the end of the series. And I also understand that I might honestly be the only person with these feelings. As one of my friends put it drunkenly to me "We thought you was going to hate the new Harry Potter movie, when you said it was shit, we all honestly thought you were serious and didn't think you was joking..."
Thanks for that Jamie, that kinda hurt. But the point still stands, I'm critical!
Now, I baffled on long enough, the movie.
I enjoyed it.
Yeah, it was good.
Not perfect, but pretty entertaining.
Yeaaaaahhhhhh.....
WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO SAY!!!! It's a comedy, it made me laugh, I can't really elaborate over that. What you think after a couple long paragraph of bitching about the show, I can write equal amount of words loving the film, I'm being a critic, I can only criticise.
Okay, I'll started off with some of the flaws I had with the film. The main one being the same as the TV show. The characters are still idiots, the two that are supposed to be, I can understand. But there is a very long set piece scene involving one of the characters trying to sell his clothes for money, and you are just think that what is happening is just plain IQ slamming abysmal, and any person doing this would serious need medical attention through out his entire life span, and this is from one of the smarter characters, with the other one standing by his side, it's just plain stupidity, and it the lowest point of the film, and it adds nothing.
And, of course, the film hits a few predictable gags, some of which are pushed far enough to be funny, others of which seem desperate, most of which occupy the trailer, which didn't do much for my hopes. However I don't think I would of been as annoyed with this if I wasn't with someone who literally just consistently said "HurHurHurHurHur..." on endless repeat throughout the entire film.
But with some of the flaws of the show rearing it's ugly head, they actual rectify something that never occurred to me before. There is actually genuine charm in this film unlike the show. Now I understand you have about 10-12 mins to create charm before an ad break to destroy that to bring you back in for the last 10 mins, but this film shows that these rising stars and writers do genuinely have a knack for chemistry that the series never really hits. There are moments that are moving between the characters, and there was even a moment where they avoid a cliche that actually shows that these are more like characters, than forced comedy pawns.
And it's probably the most consistently funny film this year, I never all out laughed, but there were few moments I was thinking it was slouching, and unlike Hangover 2, wasn't clasping to recycle the same shit again and again.
Although, I'm sure The Inbetweeners Movie will once again show what a huge regret it was for the government to drop the UK Film Council, if anything just by the consistent sell out screenings on Wednesday (Which I'm guessing lead to my awful cinema going experience, they were showing a reel too small for the screen, so I ended with two huge black bars either side of the screen). It's kinda sad a truly innovative film like Attack the Block is struggling to make it's small budget back, when this, ultimately, very safe endeavour, is grasping audiences in the masses, and it would of become more of a success before it hits US soil (if it does) than that film probably ever will.
You know that one film that comes out every year that completely takes you by surprise, whether it be when you see the trailer for a film, and you don't expect what you see, and then you suddenly see yourself grasping at straws just to see it, and then when you see it your totally blown off your feet.
Well that isn't this movie...
No, this is that other movie, the type of movie that when it is first brought to your attention, you simply know that it is going to be awesome, and then you twiddle your thumbs watch everything that comes out about it and that same expectation level sits right there. That was where I sat with Cowboys and Aliens. At least I thought for a long time until a few months ago, and my hype died down, not just mine, but all the hype surrounding the film. At some point, this was believed to be the film to save summer from sequels and comic adaptation (although, it's a comic book adaptation itself, but it's not popular enough so it get away with it). And then boom, slowly no one gave a crap about it and it was then almost beaten by Smurfs (those blue assholes).
However, I remand optimistic that this would be that one fun film that spoke sorely to me, and me only (along with a few million people, but so what).
Thankfully, it does. Cowboys and Aliens is one of the few films I can say can hold it's head high and say it's a fun movie and stand proud of it. It isn't a complete leave you brain at the door film, but you can certainly zone out for the certain amount of time the film runs for and not feel like it is pandering towards you.
It's actually very hard to see what the critics are really complaining about when it comes to the film (Currently at 45% on Rotten Tomatoes), most the complaints are that the film takes itself too seriously, yet other complaints say the films too silly, what are people expecting. I'll set the score straight. For the most part, Cowboys and Aliens is straight up Western for the first 15 min, which then shortly is interrupted by science fiction, the two genre's then fight up to see which is best, at which we are constantly given a very strong western, with typical western characters, thrown into a very typical science fiction film.You end up with an interesting view on both genres, both played very straight. It creates a very unique blockbuster, combining all the cliches of both genres into one to see how they work against each other. And for the most part, not all the time but for the most part, they work well.
Daniel Craig plays amnesiac cowboy called Jake Lonergan, who wakes up in the middle of the desert unable to remember anything, he soon heads to a small town where we find out he's a wanted criminal, who has a heft bounty on his head. We soon find out he's pissed of the local Harrison Ford for stealing his gold, prior to amnesia and is about to be sent off to jail when, out of all the unlikeliest of things to happen, aliens attack.
Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford are the two names carrying this film (according to IGN, James Bond and Indiana Jones have never been in the same film before, and according to me, all the editors of IGN where born yesterday), and the two of the have terrific chemistry between one another. Among them is Sam Rockwell as the pussy bartender/doctor who is thrown into the mess and must man up to save his wife. They even have the kid from Last Airbender proving he can act (a little). And Olivia Wilde walking around a ton, acting all mysterious and cryptic.
However, what makes all the secondary cast work, is the excellent writing for each of them, you do get a feel that this is a small Western town, all the character know each other, and all have there personal dilemmas floating around, some out in the open, some very subtle. And quite a bit of the time, they have some tragic endings, some happy. But the whole reason this entire film works are these characters, through the whole film, this isn't an alien invasion movie, where they fight the aliens, it's simply a rescue mission. A lot of the time, they are running away from the attacking forces, not until the climax they start to fight back. There is just something relaxing to seeing a film where the characters just feel so fluent.
Now onto the other half of what the title suggest, the aliens. The aliens themselves are nothing ground breaking, but they are very very intimidating, they are scary, especially when the are filmed within limited light. They have a very freaky gimmick of them opening there chest and having arms reach out that is genuinely unsettling. My only slight problem was that I was under the influence that the creatures where going to be more practical effects, instead of total cgi. Now, no complaint with the special effects as the genuinely look impressive, but everything is always more intimidating up close and personal, when they are actually there.
The film also isn't without it's crazy amount of 12a violence, they have aliens heads exploding, blown to pieces, limbs flying everywhere, bodies detached from legs. This is a film that literally gets away with murder.
There is only one fatal flaw to this film, that really stops it's hoped of being perfect. Since a film like Cowboys and Aliens has never been done before, the creators genuinely see the fact that they don't really have to change much in means of real game changing. They feel like they are getting a free ride for adding Cowboys and Aliens, and while it is fun seeing a typical western film and typical sci-fi film get thrown into a blender. There are a few moments where you kind of wish they avoided playing that cliche, or that character, and instead delivered a bit more of a surprise.
Cowboys and Aliens get the joke, it understands subtlety of a joke. So instead of smacking you in the face of meta jokes and humour, it plays itself as the straight man. "Oh yeah, this is all a bit silly, but that doesn't mean I can't be good" unlike films like Machete and Drive Angry, where it has to tell you that it's stupid but it's cool to laugh, we know. Cowboys and Aliens risks itself at being humiliated for have a silly premises to a serious film, however, it's the other films that humiliate themselves for approval, while Cowboys and Aliens simply looks down and tells the world how little a crap it thinks of our opinion, and that's why it works.
As you are probably aware of, we are in the middle of August, which means the summer season of films are coming to a close, however, this doesn't mean that there is nothing good coming out until christmas...well...at least I hope so. And this is what this Monthly Blog is going to be about, I look through the slate of US releases, and see what I think is going to rock or suck, or , hence the very imaginative Title.
Anyway, without any more gibber gabber, lets hope into...
September 2nd
Apollo 18
Directed by Gonzalo López-Gallego
Written by Brian Miller
Starring Unknown
The latest in the new cheap as hell, spooky real footage films is this little diddy produced by Timur Bekmambetov (and no, I don't know how that is pronounced), the man behind the crazy Russian Vampire films of Night Watch and Day Watch along with the equally deliciously ludicrous Wanted and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, which will hopefully stay in the same insane realm as those films. As for this film, which has been nicely placed in the same weekend as The Last Exorcism, which did moderately well from it's very low budget, definitely has the same "Stuff goes bump in the night" premises, which I've always dislike, but respect for catching me out, however, the big problem I've had with these film is the fact that they always come down to having very basic plots with basic characters played by lame actors, I can say from the trailer, the actors at least look better than films like Paranormal Activity, but as for the plot of "Some guys go to the moon, scary stuff happens" it doesn't make for a very compelling film. I hope this film has more to it for us to care about, however, it isn't looking that way.
Apollo 18 gets an 5/10 on the Rock-O-Scale, for the fact it could go either way, it could be good, or it could be bad, but I'm certain it won't be amazing, and it won't be a complete waste of time.
Shark Night 3D
Directed by David R. Ellis
Written By Will Heyes and Jesse Studenburg
Starring Sara Paxton, Dustin Milligan and Alyssa Diaz
Yes, the Director of The Final Destination, that's the sign of true quality. Now if you want your Horror films less inventive and creative, and prefer CGI and more likely more predictable scares, well done, you can sit on the stupid isle where this film play 24/7. I know I was hard on Apollo 18, but at least that film will at least try. And if you are reading this a thinking, but dude, this is just some stupid fun similar the Piranha 3D and The Final Destination. Well, a PG-13 rating will have to disagree with you.
Shark Night 3D gets a 2/10 on the Rock-O-Scale as it is going to be the biggest load on nothing the hit the big screen in 2011, the only thing going for it is the fact it won't be offensively bad.
September 9th
Bucky Larson: Born To Be A Star
Directed by Tom Brady
Written by Adam Sandler, Allen Covert and Nick Swardson
Starring Nick Swardon, Don Johnson and Christina Ricci
I hate this blog, I only just started it and I hate it, this is the first I heard of this abomination, so I checked out the trailer get an opinion on it...Holy Shit! Usually the aim of the game when it comes to a comedy trailer is to show the best jokes to get to see your film, well if what they showed where the best parts of Bucky Larson then there is no lord. I'm not kidding when I say I went onto the IMDB page of this film, that I was shocked that this was written by 3 writers no less, and it was directed, IT HAS DIRECTION, the fuck, I'm probably a better director then this asshole and I probably won't have a career where I direct Hollywood films.
Bucky Larson: Born to be a Star gets a 0/10 on the Rock-O-Scale because it looks shit, go figure...
Contagion
Directed by Steven Soderbergh
Written by Scott Z. Burns
Starring Matt Damon, Kate Winslet and Jude Law
Wish the anus faces behind Bucky Larson would catch this disease. Contagion isn't a very original idea for a film, since a deadly virus outbreak in a film has been done with films like Outbreak. But it's never been done quite so seriously before, and done in such a horror element. Now I know this isn't "Horror" Horror, but the trailer does have so creepy/scary moments, like the cities being deserted. Contagion looks very interesting, however my key worry is that I hope it isn't a lot of talking about what is going on between Doctors and Politicians and more character base families trying to work out what is going one and trying to save one another.
Contagion gets a 7/10 on the Rock-O-Scale as it may not be the most exciting film hitting the cinemas this year, but it might make for a very haunting and interesting one.
Warrior
Directed by Gavin O' Connor
Written by Gavin O' Connor, Anthony Tambakis and Cliff Dorfman
Starring Tom Hardy, Nick Nolte and Joel Edgerton
Boxing, Wrestling, Football, American Football, Tennis, Bowling, etc, name a sport and it'll probably have a film based on it, however, since UFC became increasing popular, Hollywood saw an empty space and set about filling it up. Now Mixed Martial Arts gets it's thematic turnaround, and it looks just about to hit every note covered in all those other films. Father problems, family problems, alcoholism, redemption, regret, you name it, the trailer probably has at least a shot going for it.
Warrior gets a 6/10 on the Rock-O-Scale for being what will be an ok film, with good performances, but little in the terms of breaking boundaries.
September 16th
Johnny English Reborn
Directed by Oliver Parker
Written by William Davies and Hamish McColl
Starring Rowan Atkinson, Rosamund Pike and Dominic West
I am sick of seeing this goddamn trailer, it's on every film I go to watch whether it is relevant or not, it's just a simple pain in the buttocks. Johnny English Reborn will not be a good film, not at all, it doesn't look very funny, simple as. But there is some sort of admirable charm to it, where you can see it's trying, you Rowan Atkinson is trying (well, at least he's not sleep walking it for a pay check anyway), so I don't think the fact that I'm sick of seeing the trailer is due to the fact that it'll probably suck, it's just the fact I can't truly hate it.
Johnny English Reborn gets a 4/10 rating on the Rock-O-Scale due to some charm, and the fact that at least the trailer is funnier than what the whole of Bucky Larson will be.
I Don't Know How She Does It
Directed by Douglas McGrath
Written by Aline Brosh McKenna
Starring Sarah Jessica Parker, Pierce Brosnan and Kelsey Grammer
SNORE! I don't care how she does it, har har har. Seriously, I have a pair of testicles, I don't need to see this film, if you have a pair of ovaries and you think that the film looks good to you, good for you, go watch it have a blast. The only way I'll be checking this one out is if Michelle Rodriguez (at least I think it's Michelle Rodriguez) pops out an assault rifle half way through the film and shoots Sarah Jessica Parker in her horse like face, and uses the rest of the run time fighting Pierce Brosnan.
I Don't Know How She Does It gets a 3/10 on the Rock-O-Scale because, frankly dear, I don't give a damn!
Straw Dogs
Directed by Rob Lurie
Written by Rob Lurie
Starring James Marsden, Kate Bosworth and Alexander Skarsgård
This is where my slight film snobbery comes in, I really hate Screen Gems films, there is nothing gems in there title, at least not recently. All they seem to make are run of the mill thrillers with nothing of interest at all, the only thing close to interesting within their arsenal are the Underworld films, and when you boil those down, they have very little original in them. So when it comes to Straw Dogs, a remake of a film I hear still holds up very very well (I haven't seen the original Straw Dogs), I'm more than likely going to hunt that version down than watch this generic version.
Straw Dogs gets a 3/10 on the Rock-O-Scale due to the fact it's all rather pointless.
Drive
Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn
Written by Hossein Amini
Starring Ryan Gosling, Carey Milligan and Bryan Cranston
You know a film is going to be good when you watch a 2 minute clip on Youtube and within that clip you being to get so entrapped within it that you forget you're watching a clip and when it ends, for a brief second, you wonder why it's stopped. That's what happened when I saw a clip of Drive, that alone should show that Drive is going to be one of the better films this year, but if not, word of mouth is telling us it's great and a few Cannes nominations where thrown around including a win for Best Director.
Drive gets a 9/10 on the Rock-O-Scale as everything on the film points to it being awesome, yet I'm yet doubtful if it will strike the right strings to make me love it to pieces.
September 23rd
Abduction
Directed by John Singleton
Written by Shaun Christensen
Starring Taylor Lautner, Lily Collins and Alfred Molina
You remember when you saw the Bourne films and thought, "Geez, I wish these appealed more to teenage girls", no, well you're not a teenage girl. Now I'm not one for Twilight, as you can guess, but the problems of those films do not come from the cast, so it's good to see this dude try and push himself into a new area of work (After all Twilight ends next year), but, if this trailer is anything to go by, he has the emotional range of a brick. The films looks like forgettable fun, nothing to great, nothing brain-thrashing terrible, but I'd rather see the baby of Jason Statham do all this stuff than this lame prick.
Abduction gets a 5/10 on the Rock-O-Scale as I won't be pissed of with any of my friends if they go to watch it, but they will probably come out telling me it's meh...
Dolphin Tale
Directed by Charles Martin Smith
Written by Karen Janszen and Noam Dromi
Starring Morgan Freeman, Ashley Judd and Harry Connick Jr.
Disabled Dolphins healed by Morgan Freeman and the friendship of a little boy, doesn't that just sound the sweetest...NO!
Dolphin Tale gets a 2/10 on the Rock-O-Scale because I'm a heartless bastard!
Moneyball
Directed by Bennett Miller
Written by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin
Starring Brad Pitt, Robin Wright and Jonah Hill
Moneyball has good actors and good scriptwriters, heck Aaron Sorkin is probably the biggest screenwriter going today after his work on The Social Network. The first part of the trailer seems to deliver on the very sharp rapid fire jargon he seems to deliver, while the second half looks like the give me my Oscar Nomination as soon as please film most films feel like at this time of the year, and it looks very boring because of it.
Moneyball gets a 6/10 on the Rock-O-Scale for half the film feeling naturally good, and the other half artificially good.
Killer Elite
Directed by Gary McKendry
Written by Gary McKendry and Matt Sherring
Starring Jason Statham, Clive Owen and Robert De Niro
I guess Jason Statham doesn't like that Twilight motherfucker coming in trying to steal his gig, he's got his own film coming out and, although it may not the the most emotionally stirring, thought provoking or pain achingly dull, Killer Elite is the film I'd pick to watch out of the films out this weekend. There is always something likable and funny in Jason Statham, but I can never quite place it, the closest I've gotten is that no matter what sort of ridiculous situation he gets into, he's always very straight lace, I think the whole reason Crank 1 and 2 work is just the sheer fact of how he just acts it's another day, whether intentional or not. Anyway, this film gets bonus points for De Niro and Clive Owen with a porn star mustache.
Killer Elite gets a 7/10 on the Rock-O-Scale for looking like plain old school fun.
September 30th
50/50
Directed by Jonathan Levine
Written by Will Reiser
Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen and Anna Kendrick
This is a film that is gathering a lot of attention due to it's subject matter of Cancer, and because of that is gathering a bit of talk of getting awards. And while I doubt it'll be getting a lot of nominations (after all, everyone was saying the same thing when Funny People was coming out) I do think 50/50 does look like a sweet little comedy with a lot of dramatic elements. I don't think it'll become a big cult indie classic like predicted, but it'll make for a nice movie.
50/50 gets a 7/10 on the Rock-O-Scale because it looks like a decent film, nothing more, nothing less.
Dream House
Directed by Jim Sheridan
Written by David Louka
Starring Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz and Naomi Watts
Dream House is a film that is Shutter Island...wait, no, I mean it is The Shining...no, crap, got it wrong again. It's a psychological thriller by the acclaimed director of the 50 Cent film that came out. He didn't get his acclaim for that film obviously, but more than likely, if your are reading this, that's the one you would of heard of. It sounds like I'm being harsh on Dream House, but the fact is, Dream House is a film that deserves harsh feedback, since I've watched the entire film already. The trailer just about gives away everything the story has to offer, including the huge turning point twist. Although the trailer looks to have a few creepy moments going through the whole thing, at the end of the day, if I want a haunted house film, I'll go watch Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark at the end of the month over waiting for this watered down version to come out.
Dream House gets a 5/10 on the Rock-O-Scale as it has some creepy moments going in it, and Daniel Craig's hair-do looks halrious.
What's Your Number?
Directed by Mark Mylod
Written by Gabrielle Allan and Jennifer Crittenden
Starring Anna Faris, Chris Evans and Chris Pratt
Ugh, as soon as I started watching the trailer for this I wanted to run head first into a brick wall, it's so obnoxious, the overly girly boppity music, the lame "OMG ROFL you get what I mean" style voice over, no thanks. But sitting through it, it actually has a few cool actors in it, Sylar from Heroes, Captain America, the dude from Community, Andy Samburg and Martin Freeman all in for a nice payday. But the more I think about the plot "Crazed woman tracks down and stalks all her old exes", this would of made for a far more compelling horror film than a romantic comedy.
What's Your Number gets a 4/10 on the Rock-O-Scale for a pretty cool cast, and a lack of Sarah Horse Face Parker
BONUS
Since I live in the UK, a few films will be hitting here earlier than the US, it'd be unfair to cover them once I'd watched the film since you would be getting my after thoughts over my opinion on how a film looks, so I will simply be copy and pasting what I say here, to the later editions of the blog...
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Directed by Thomas Alfredson
Written by Bridget O'Connor and Peter Straughan
Starring Gary Oldman, Colin Firth and Tom Hardy
Do you want to hear something really depressing, Gary Oldman has never been nominated for an Academy Award, not once. Some one considered almost as a veteran of acting, has never once been considered for Best Actor. Well Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy not only looks to correct that, it's looking the sort of film to attempt to sweep all the awards, it won't, of course, as The King's Speech already got the awards for Britain for at least a decade. However, it will become a popular name by the time the awards roll out, and undoubtedly so, as the director of Swedish vampire film Let The Right One In seems to have created a very tense and taunt MI6 Cold War thriller.
Tinker Tailor Solider Spy gets a 9/10 on the Rock-O-Scale as it looks to be one of the most tense back to basic thrillers this year, although I doubt many of my friends will be lining up to watch it
The film is out September 16th in the UK and November 18th in the US
Red State
Directed by Kevin Smith
Written by Kevin Smith
Starring Michael Parks, Melissa Leo and John Goodman
This is the latest film by raunchy comedy filmmaker Kevin Smith, the thing is though, this isn't a raunchy comedy. This is a straight up horror about extreme Fundamentalists who kidnap some kids looking for sex. Now this is very dark territory for any filmmaker, covering Christianity in a negative light, never mind a filmmaker with a long track record of comedy, however, he looks to be delivering a very disturbing and unsettling film, and I'm very interested in seeing how it turns out. My only problem at the moment is that the trailer seems to be setting it as more of a dark action film than straight up horror, I'll have to see how it turns out with the end.
Red State gets a 7/10 on the Rock-O-Scale for looking like a very intense and sickening film with a message
The film is being released September 30th in the UK and October 19th in the US.
That's it for September, next month expect Rock Em' Sock Em' Robots, Crazy Swedes ("They're Nowegian, Mac"), The 3D Muskataree's, more Parnormal tomfoolary, Shakespear meets 2012 and hopefully a quasi-sequel to Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, all in October.
