This Means War review by Rosa Powell
0-10 minutes: Rushed, stiff, and tongue in cheek.
The rest was a pure delight. Although the poster looks like a hostage situation, don’t be fooled - Pine and Hardy are actually a cute bromance. While Hardy has yet to show the world his evil career-changing Bane in The Dark Knight Rises, Pine is just here to remind us that he is still here, and still awesome. And both are cute too, that doesn’t hurt! Reese Witherspoon at first looks like her Legally Blonde counterpart Elle Woods when she is dumped, but soon bounces back along her loud best bud Chelsea Handler.
The romance is full of chemistry, while the action is full of punch, McG has made a movie that should be ranked amongst Charlie’s Angels. The climatic chase has been shot in a way that you wouldn’t see coming, while a scene in a strip club (surprising…) was reminiscent of the finale (well the first of two anyway) in Kick Ass, with flashing lights. There should have been a warning, as that was the only thing that put me off. That and Tom Hardy’s weird combover/hair gel overload.
Rating: 4.8/5.
Under the cut - SPOILERS APLENTY!
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This is an essay I decided to share with you all, that I wrote about the opening scene of Fight Club (after the title sequence), which I wrote in Film Studies. I got a B for it, so enjoy!
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Garden State (2004, Dir. Zach Braff)
With Garden State, Zach Braff proved he was a triple threat - actor, director and writer. It’s a shame he hasn’t done anything else since. While watching the behind the scenes documentary, there’s a lot more to a story about falling in love. If you have heard, the film was nearly called Large’s Ark, a reference to Andrew “Large” Largeman, and if you watch the movie, you’ll understand the Ark. With great supporting performances from Natalie Portman, Peter Saarsgard and a scene-stealing (and pre-double Emmy winner) Jim Parsons in an unusual outfit, Garden State is a must see.
Wanted (2008, Dir. Timur Bekmambetov)
As I have seen on tumblr, this movie has recently gotten a high buzz from star James McAvoy’s recent role in X Men: First Class, and quite rightly so. Not for the faint hearted, Wanted has a unique twist on the action genre. Sure, it has the seen a billions times character who’s normal life is changed, but like you haven’t seen it before. Great plot, great action, and Angelina Jolie - what more could you want? The epic voice of Morgan Freeman? You got it!
I Love You, Man (2009, Dir. John Hamburg)
Paul Rudd and Jason Segel have been known for comedies, so it wasn’t a surprise to see them in this indie comedy, about a guy who looks for his first best friend. What is a surprise, though, is the rest of the cast. Andy Samberg! JK Simmons! Rashida Jones! Jon Favreau! And so much more! Impressive cast for an indie, especially as Favreau had at the time recently released Iron Man, making half a billion dollars.
Half Nelson (2007, Dir. Ryan Fleck)
On Ryan Gosling’s 31st Birthday, IMDb asked its followers their favourite Gosling role. Surprisingly nobody said Dan Dunne, the drug addicted teacher who bonds with one of his students. This is an Academy nominated role, people. Gosling’s performance alone is enough to see this film, but the handheld filming, the unique soundtrack (by Canadian band Broken Social Scene) and other performances by Shareeka Epps (as the student) and upcoming talent Anthony Mackie are plenty of other reasons. Definitely a must-see film.
Josie and the Pussycats ( 2001, Dirs. Harry Elfont & Deborah Kaplan)
This may be a curveball, but this is my guilty pleasure. Pretty women playing catchy (but cheesy) music while wearing cat ears? Awesome! Aside from the distinctive soundtrack, it’s actually pretty funny, especially Melody (Tara Reid) and the Pussycats manager (played by Paulo Costanzo). With cameos from Seth Green, Breckin Meyer and Donald Faison, it also gives us morals that we should be ourselves and be proud of it. All together now: awww!
Happy Birthday Ryan Gosling!
An Academy Award nominated actor, with a well publiscised love life - and now he;s an action star. There’s no denying that Ryan Gosling is on his way up. In 2011 alone, he has three major movies out - Crazy, Stupid, Love, Drive, and most recently, Drive. On the eve of his 31st Birthday (he does look younger than 31, obviously), I’ll write this little thing about him, if that’s OK.
An indie darling as of late, it was actually a kids show that gave Gosling his first job. And when this job means working with the likes of Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears, and Christina Aguilera, obviously you know you’re going to do good.
He’s now the “it guy” of Hollywood, and hopefully we see lots of him in the future. And an actualy Oscar win would be nice, Academy. We’ll do fine with the Independent Spirit Award. For now. Happy 31st Birthday!
A Tribute to The Social Network by Rosa Powell
Personally, I love October. The cold weather, Halloween, and leaves falling from the tree. But last October we all had another reason to love this month. And that was a little movie about Facebook.
I’m sure most of you reading this scoffed at the idea of a film based of Facebook. I know I was one of them. Directed by David Fincher and written by The West Wing’s Aaron Sorkin (who won an Oscar for his efforts), the film follows Mark Zuckerberg and Eduardo Saverin (played by Jesse Eisemberg and Andrew Garfield respectively), and the thing they created that ultimately broke them apart: Facebook. The film delves mroe into their friendship than Facebook itself, and that’s what many fans like about it. For me, I lvoe anything Fincher does - but I think this is one of his best works and for him to lose out on an Oscar for the second time… well that’s just damn awful.
This film has done more than tell a story - it has also elevated the cast to a new level. Jesse Eisemberg and Andrew Garfield are now a couple (not literally), and Rooney Mara (who plays Zuckerberg’s ex) will next be seen in “The Feel Bad Movie of The Year” - and reteaming with director Fincher in The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. Plus Armie Hammer (who plays the “Winklevii” as Zuckerberg says) will now be playing Leonardo DiCaprio’s love interest in J. Edgar (calm down, girls).
This isn’t just a film, it is recording of the past and the birth of social media as we know it. Although is it said to
be inaccurate, I don’t care. I hope this film is as celebrated on it’s 50th Anniversary, just as it is today, on it’s first.
Wanted review by Rosa Powell
Wanted has all that an action movie needs - action. Well that’s obvious, but the way this violence is represented is different to what you would expect. Rated R/18 (and understandably so), this film is not for the faint-hearted.
Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy) plays your average Joe - he hates his boss, and his girlfriend is cheating on him with his best friend. Then Angelina Jolie (who plays Fox) comes along and changed his life completely. Next thing you know, he’s being trained to become an assassin with Fox and Sloan, played by Morgan “kick-ass voice” Freeman.
When you look at the plot, this would never happen - but it makes a heck of a movie. You may think that James McAvoy was the last person you would look at for the lead role, but that’s the main reason why this film words so well. This film revolves around a normal guy who you wouldn’t expect all of this happen to. And he gives a stunning performance, in particular yelling at his boss, which appeals so well because many people who will watch this have a frustration towards their bosses, and this is like a fantasy come true.
With many twists and turns, and a mandatory cameo from Terrance Stamp, Wanted is set to entertain you all the way. Jolie unleashes her inner Lara Croft again for some action scenes but most performances however do seem relaxed, the gore makes up for it and there is plenty of it, as well as some jump moments. I can safely say that this movie prepared McAvoy for his biggest role yet - playing Professor Charles Xavier in a little movie called X Men: First Class. This movie also has a kick-ass soundtrack, and stunning special effects, this is the best action movie of 2008 by far.
Rating: 5/5
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 review by Rosa Powell
We all know shit’s going down when the poster doesn’t even have the title of the movie on it.
So this is the last film in a franchise grossing over $7 billion (and counting), with millions of fans awaiting the last in the series, lovers of the books and previous films. No pressure for the big finale then. Some of the pressure has already been lifted, thanks to the first part of DH back in November 2010, but this is it. Good characters are dying, it finally ends here and now. Good thing that they didn’t fail! Miles better than Part 1, which set us up for the big battle, Part 2 The only had thing (and it is minor) - my favourite line of the book was Mrs Weasley famous “not my daughter you bitch!” which did feature, but not in the epic way I had imagined, and I’m sure the “potterheads” may agree.
Throughout the film - especially at Snapes tragic demise - I was denying this film, like it couldn’t be ending. I’m one of the people who grew up with this franchise, how could it end?! I won’t let it end?! Then I realised: it’s not over till the DVD release, so we have a few more months. Then it’ll take another few months to go through all the special features. Phew.
It’s the perfect goodbye to the Harry Potter franchise. We all know it’ll always live on, blah blah blah - but at least we could leave the theatre laughing, as we were shown some of the cast 19 years later.
Rating: 5/5
Panic Room review by Rosa Powell
David Fincher is well known for his dark thrillers, so he follows through with yet another with Panic Room, about, well… I think you guessed it.
The film focuses on Meg and Sarah Altman (Jodie Foster and Kristen Stewart respectively) as they are held hostage in their own panic room, thanks to three robbers. The film takes place in one place, in the space of one night. This may put viewers off, but you will be missing out on something special. This film has real suspense, especially in a particular über-slow sequence featuring Meg running out of the room. Stewart in an unexpected gem, giving one of her greatest performances, years before she became known to a generation as Bella Swan. Jared Leto appears yet again (he was also in a small film by Fincher about fighting, you may have heard of it) as Junior, the head of these crooks. He is a highlight, giving another favourable performance. One character that seems like a waste was Raoul (played by a faceless Dwight Yoakam, as he wore a mask for 90% of the film). The performance was dire and the character himself seemed to be uninteresting.
The end didn’t feel developed enough, and it was sudden. Having watching all of his films however, I conclude that this isn’t Fincher’s best. But it isn’t his worst, either.
Rating: 3/5
True Grit (2011) review by Rosa Powell
In 1970, John Wayne won his only Oscar, playing Rooster Cogburn in the first film of True Grit, originally a book written by Charles Portis in 1968. This might have given the Coen Brothers a bit of pressure when they brought their adaptation of the book to the screen late last year.
They did not live up to its reputation. A western classic given a modern re-imaging, the story follows Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld with a promising performance), who hires Rooster Cogburn (an incoherent Jeff Bridges) to avenge her fathers murder. The plot seems simple enough, although the Coens script runs away with itself, taking the pace at 100mph. Is this good? Not at all. The film, although at a running length at 1hr 45mins, the film feels over quite quickly. The compulsion for a Hollywood movie seems to have spoiled True Grit, and personally I was confused with the comings and goings of LeBoeuf (Matt Damon).
The film was quite enjoyable, but if you stop and dissect it like I just did, you realise that this was not one of the best films at the 2011 Awards Season. I hoped for something amazing, as I did not enjoy one of their previous works, Born After Reading, alas I was let down.
Rating: 2/5
