tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-103049112024-03-05T10:51:00.536+01:00Mark's Movie MarksMovie Reviews from Malta, by MarkMark Camillerihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17834017025158965163noreply@blogger.comBlogger243125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10304911.post-19231915774894399362014-11-11T19:17:00.000+01:002017-04-02T20:37:48.091+02:00Interstellar<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZYxwrpOhoLAAkhZH-1VHxajkMdv7pE98j2WcykUKXaC93JSh42zYs0Pg3OMZyR4iWjZEuPx6us0lambPGI8pExz4VUN4FQSRV0vpY8yt6m1DBmX7g85sT123GZ7gTuJW4gqVGkA/s1600/Interstellar1_thumb%255B2%255D" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZYxwrpOhoLAAkhZH-1VHxajkMdv7pE98j2WcykUKXaC93JSh42zYs0Pg3OMZyR4iWjZEuPx6us0lambPGI8pExz4VUN4FQSRV0vpY8yt6m1DBmX7g85sT123GZ7gTuJW4gqVGkA/s640/Interstellar1_thumb%255B2%255D" title="Interstellar" width="640" /></a></div>
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<ul>
<li><i>Released Internationally on 06/11/14</i> </li>
<li><i>Released in Malta by </i><a href="http://www.krsmalta.com/"><i>KRS</i></a><i> on 12/11/14</i> </li>
</ul>
<span style="color: #ff8000;"><b>Review</b> (11/11/14)</span> <br />
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<em>3-word review:<strong> Don’t Go Gently</strong></em><em><strong>.</strong></em> </blockquote>
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You might be stunned into silence by <em>Interstellar</em>, but you might also dismiss it as a confusing waste of three hours of your life. Either way, it will most probably linger in your memory as something unlike anything you have ever seen before. This is not a film that is easy to digest or define, or write about. But it is most definitely another technically marvellous piece of cinema from the mind of the great Christopher Nolan.</div>
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<strong>An uncertain future</strong></div>
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Starting off like a scene from <em>Signs</em>, the film introduces us to single dad Cooper (Matthew McConaughey, still on top of the world), who lives surrounded by corn fields with his two children. The bond with his daughter is clearly a special one, and with just a few opening scenes we are quickly drawn into this tight family unit that is the heart and soul of the sci-fi opera ahead. What is not clear is what year we are looking at, since we slowly learn that mankind has failed and the last few survivors are slowly starving as crops succumb to pests. Farming is encouraged as the human race tries to survive.</div>
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<b>Into the wormhole</b></div>
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We are then introduced to the real crux of the dilemma as an ageing NASA professor (Michael Caine, a Nolan regular) recruits Cooper for a desperate mission to travel to other galaxies and find habitable worlds that the human race could emigrate to. The odds aren’t great, and thanks to the bending of time and space as they travel through a wormhole, the expected duration of the mission is far from certain. Here lies one of the film’s master strokes – the narrative potential as loved ones are separated by time and space is heart-wrenching and full of possibility. Cooper promises to his daughter that he will be back, but she has no way of knowing when.</div>
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<strong>A complex epic</strong></div>
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What unfolds must have been a nightmare to write and condense, and quickly fills up the film’s nearly three-hour running time. As the hopeless mission slowly unravels in space and the subtle apocalypse proceeds on earth, we are treated to such an array of emotions, topics and stunning sequences that it can get exhausting at times. From love, to time, to survival instinct, Nolan and his scriptwriter brother have undertaken quite a lot. Some might be disappointed at how it all comes to the boil, but there’s no denying that this is proper science-fiction, with lots of science but also some fascinating and imaginative fiction.</div>
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<strong>A feast for the senses</strong></div>
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Even if you give up on the fine details of the plot, there’s lots to digest and marvel at on the big screen. The balletic scenes in space are gorgeous, with more than a hint of the waltzes of Kubrick’s <em>2001</em>. Composer Hans Zimmer also enhances the action and drama with a Philip Glass-like score that is one of the highlights of the film. There are a few casting surprises that should bring a smile to any movie-lover’s face, and there’s a particular docking scene which is the most exciting thing I’ve seen on screen all year.</div>
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<strong>In the end</strong></div>
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I might need two or more viewings of this before I truly grasp what Nolan has done, just as happened with <em>Inception</em>. This might not be a film for everyone, but Nolan continues to be the most original and courageous voice in mainstream film today, with an assembled cast and crew that have made something truly spectacular.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10304911.post-53932392027069213172014-09-16T16:16:00.000+02:002017-04-02T20:42:22.517+02:00The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKNSkLd3dNabwBh2DqsDQ3vvTj3X5Iv2v2ir5NJsy1woqFm86VtJUmqwl_XiheQRnwSMVLLHswk9Ot_IZ0j5HJi95W5ah3DutSLfTv_jYpJU3J48IiBAWzezxBDQ0d__6XQI386w/s1600/100year%255B4%255D" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKNSkLd3dNabwBh2DqsDQ3vvTj3X5Iv2v2ir5NJsy1woqFm86VtJUmqwl_XiheQRnwSMVLLHswk9Ot_IZ0j5HJi95W5ah3DutSLfTv_jYpJU3J48IiBAWzezxBDQ0d__6XQI386w/s640/100year%255B4%255D" width="640" /></a><br />
<ul>
<li><i>Released Internationally on 25/12/13</i> </li>
<li><i>Released in Malta by </i><a href="http://www.krsmalta.com/"><i>KRS</i></a><i> on 17/09/14</i> </li>
</ul>
<span style="color: #ff8000;"><b>Review</b> (16/09/14)</span> <br />
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<em>3-word review:<strong> Silly and wonderful</strong></em><em><strong>.</strong></em> </blockquote>
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With a title like that and a tagline like ‘You’re never too old for an adventure’, you’d be perfectly correct to assume that this is no ordinary film. It isn’t, and it’s great. Based on the successful novel and made in Sweden with some help and actors from other European nations, this little gem manages to be both a quirky little story as well as a polished film achievement with great acting, impressive make-up and big budget effects.</div>
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<strong>A colourful century</strong></div>
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The 100 year-old man in question has lived an extremely interesting life, partly due to his love for explosives, but mostly due to the lesson his dying mum taught him about not thinking too much, but just doing things. There’s a standout Cold War montage with him as a double agent which is a glorious piece of cinema. In a <em>Forrest Gump</em> way his life intertwines with historic events and famous people over the course of the last century, and the flashbacks prove to be just as entertaining as the present day story. As the staff at his nursing home prepare to celebrate his birthday, he climbs out the window and sets in motion an incredible chain of events that take him across the globe. You’ll need to suspend belief on occasion, but never to the point of distraction or in an annoying way. It’s a comic caper, after all. </div>
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<b>In the end</b></div>
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For me, this was one of the biggest surprises of the year so far, coming out of nowhere like a breath of fresh air among the other Hollywood fare. It’s far from perfect, and it borrows from other film and stories at points, but it manages to keep the pace for two hours of fun and humour. If you enjoyed the crazy flashbacks and odd characters of <em>Amélie</em>, you should love this. <br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10304911.post-74675556771477346992014-07-05T17:26:00.000+02:002017-04-02T22:09:54.774+02:00Transformers: Age of Extinction<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0lPuIetBBzxo9Nf5r_RQRy2XbP0Ih_5ph03kSN2XTidUa3B-4Vr2nBLOZFAqHIO7HRF6aaDOXtPSBvWXeyq862ut4cp5mPQ6Gv5h2hpwK6Xff08iDpAnMnZ9V62EfO-P9BfOcHg/s1600/Transformers4-1_thumb%255B2%255D" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0lPuIetBBzxo9Nf5r_RQRy2XbP0Ih_5ph03kSN2XTidUa3B-4Vr2nBLOZFAqHIO7HRF6aaDOXtPSBvWXeyq862ut4cp5mPQ6Gv5h2hpwK6Xff08iDpAnMnZ9V62EfO-P9BfOcHg/s640/Transformers4-1_thumb%255B2%255D" width="640" /></a><br />
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<ul>
<li><i>Released Internationally on 25/06/14</i> </li>
<li><i>Released in Malta by </i><a href="http://www.krsmalta.com/"><i>KRS</i></a><i> on 06/07/14</i> </li>
</ul>
<span style="color: #ff8000;"><b>Review</b> (05/07/14)</span> <br />
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<em>3-word review:<strong> Very slight improvements</strong></em><em><strong>.</strong></em> </blockquote>
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They’re back for another assault on earth and on our summer box-office. After the Decepticons were defeated in the rather disruptive battle of Chicago in the third film, earth had had enough of the Transformers. The last remaining few are being hunted down and used for scrap and research. But an inevitable comeback is taking shape. </div>
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<b>What’s new?</b></div>
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Shia LaBeouf is gone, and his main role is now taken over by a garage mechanic and single dad portrayed by Mark Wahlberg. His unconvincing family consists of his daughter (newcomer Nicola Peltz), together with her boyfriend (Jack Reynor). They end up helping Optimus Prime and his Autobots, despite a worldwide mission by black ops to hunt down and destroy them, aided by an other-worldly Transformer named Lockdown. Kelsey Grammer (<em>Frasier</em>) heads the covert CIA mission, and Stanley Tucci (<em>The Hunger Games</em>) is the head or a research corporation who is using the scrapped parts to build earth’s own Transformers. From a nostalgia, childhood-toy point of view, the main new addition is the Dinobots, whom I fondly remember, but who are practically unrecognisable here after the usual Michael Bay ‘upgrade’. <br />
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<b>In the end</b></div>
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Michael Bay had given the impression that he was done with the Transformers after the third film, which was even worse than the second one. Something changed his mind, and he decided to take a slightly new direction. But apart from a new human cast and a hardly noticeable new design for the titular robots, nothing much has changed. The action is still disorderly and messy, and the plot and characters are still very weak. Hong Kong offers a slightly more interesting backdrop for destruction, but there’s very little here to recommend, especially if you hated the previous instalments.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10304911.post-55523738171226625422014-06-18T17:23:00.000+02:002017-04-02T22:07:45.510+02:00Grace of Monaco <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTbQq8bcmGODma-6JbxVAR8RiNLAZLqnvL_DE-KiDoYx4r2mkEjz2mB4lqweJnRb2vyp4oAK0RVfZ0Vx1H7MNfUihTScNZx5QiAEFoj6gVB59xwXjJ2yTKJaNKMqDK-PnBsw6w7w/s1600/Grace1%255B4%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTbQq8bcmGODma-6JbxVAR8RiNLAZLqnvL_DE-KiDoYx4r2mkEjz2mB4lqweJnRb2vyp4oAK0RVfZ0Vx1H7MNfUihTScNZx5QiAEFoj6gVB59xwXjJ2yTKJaNKMqDK-PnBsw6w7w/s640/Grace1%255B4%255D.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<i><br /></i><ul>
<li><i>R</i><i>eleased Internationally on 14/05/14</i></li>
<li><i>Released in Malta by </i><a href="http://www.krsmalta.com/"><i>KRS</i></a><i> on 18/06/14</i> </li>
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<span style="color: #ff8000;"><b>Review</b> (18/06/14)</span> <br />
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<em>3-word review:<strong> Just a fairytale</strong></em><em><strong>.</strong></em> <br />
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It was a modern-day fairytale with all the right ingredients - a celebrated actress, fresh from an Oscar win, gives up her acting career and moves to Monaco to marry Prince Ranier and live a regal life in one of the most sumptuous places on earth. Of course, there must have been dark moments and behind-the-scenes drama, and there was a fair share of tragedy too, with her unfortunate death after an accident. But the royal family of Monaco has been so upset by the portrayal in this film that they want nothing to do with it, and the film starts with the ominous statement that what we are about to see is a fictional account based on true events. So before the first scene, my interest had already plummeted. </div>
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<strong>Unlikely to be definitive</strong></div>
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Once you’ve lost your credibility, it’s hard to pull off a biopic and keep the audience hooked. Yes, we want to see stories about the stars, but we also want to know there’s some truth in them. If I wanted to see a fictional story I’d hop into the adjacent cinema and watch <em><a href="http://www.marksmoviemarks.com/2014/06/maleficent.html" target="_blank">Maleficent</a></em>. So although the events as they unfold in this film are interesting enough, you might find yourself trawling through Wikipedia afterwards trying to filter fact from fiction. It does tend to ruin the moment, and it definitely robs the film of a lot of gravitas. It’s uncannily similar to the situation a few months ago with Naomi Watts’ portrayal in <em><a href="http://www.marksmoviemarks.com/2013/10/diana.html" target="_blank">Diana</a>.</em> </div>
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<b>Key moments</b></div>
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The film starts by focusing on Alfred Hitchcock’s attempts to convince Grace Kelly to return to Hollywood and star in his film <em>Marnie</em>. This is mostly true, I guess, but it seems to be given huge national importance here. We then shift to the politics of French President De Gaulle trying to force Monaco to pay taxes. Tim Roth (<em>The Legend of 1900</em>, <em>Pulp Fiction</em>) negotiates and looks immensely bored as Prince Ranier, while Frank Langella (<em>Frost/Nixon</em>, <em>Good Night and Good Luck</em>) is the local friar who acts as confidant and advisor to the princess. There’s some marital tension of course, and some sibling rivalry, but somehow Grace manages to solve everything in the end by throwing a ball and giving a soppy speech. Whether things happened like this or whether they even happened in the same decade needs some investigation, but the filmmakers don’t seem to care. <br />
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<b>In the end</b></div>
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It’s pretty to look at, but once the slight magic wears off you’re left with a boring drama that is too artificial to be labelled as biographical, and too mundane to be labelled as a fairytale. It’s June, so do yourself a favour and watch the World Cup instead.</div>
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<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-UYH9-VXnY4w/U6WrUqZ17BI/AAAAAAAABfw/7bCgiiskpb8/s1600-h/Mark5%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Mark5" border="0" height="30" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeOGjJRLhG83u4cCzkpouxLxeLqloTNLix3Eifgb1bpYQcmjf_fEzbfSuroyZVBdtL5lvCqkO9TwRFldQAeAxyTv-yM3GvBjCPuYuBO-l87cK4IBoaSrfQtArhHj6GT_jEVhZq4g/w600-h30-no/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Mark5" width="600" /></a> <br />
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<em>Trailer:</em> <br />
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<div class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent" id="scid:5737277B-5D6D-4f48-ABFC-DD9C333F4C5D:f4cd3307-aa07-45cc-becd-ac76e108b6ba" style="display: inline; float: none; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
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<object height="252" width="448"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/bFYmYWa348c?hl=en&hd=1"></param>
<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/bFYmYWa348c?hl=en&hd=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="448" height="252"></embed></object></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10304911.post-6269683067946083522014-06-07T14:26:00.002+02:002014-06-07T14:26:31.237+02:00Maleficent <a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-rgxWO3bhtgE/U4t7lklNZ9I/AAAAAAAABc4/A-gLCWvDccU/s1600-h/Maleficent1%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Maleficent1" border="0" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-5CaVElciE54/U4t7md5QMMI/AAAAAAAABdA/CXDvTwNicTg/Maleficent1_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="200" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Maleficent1" width="600" /></a> <br />
<ul>
<li><i>Released Internationally on 28/05/14</i> </li>
<li><i>Released in Malta by </i><a href="http://www.krsmalta.com/"><i>KRS</i></a><i> on 04/06/14</i> </li>
</ul>
<span style="color: #ff8000;"><b>Review</b> (01/06/14)</span> <br />
<blockquote>
<em>3-word review:<strong> Disney’s Dark Side</strong></em><em><strong>.</strong></em> <br />
<strong><em></em></strong></blockquote>
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Name the last big film you saw Angelina Jolie starring in. Not that easy, is it? <i>Salt</i>, I guess, would be mine. Not exactly a hugely memorable role, or film. But you'd have to go back six years to find <i>Changeling</i> or <i>Wanted</i>. Which shows how much of her immense star power is due to her humanitarian work, her looks, and her famous family. Not necessarily in that order. She broke into the limelight in 1999, with her role in <i>The Bone Collector</i> and her Oscar for <i>Girl, Interrupted</i>, and she also had starring roles as <i>Lara Croft</i>. But it feels like ages since we've had a proper Angelina Jolie film to enjoy, and this one is most definitely all about her.<br />
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<b>Not your average Disney film</b><br />
If you had any doubt that you wouldn't be watching a normal family film, the Disney logo doesn't feature the usual castle, but a darker, less symmetrical one. It does turn out to be Sleeping Beauty's castle after all, but this is the story as seen from a different angle. Jolie stars as the wonderfully-named Maleficent, whom you might remember as the horned evil witch with a crow as a pet, from <i>Sleeping Beauty</i>. This is very much her story, and as with all decent tales of redemption, the best way to understand a baddie is to start from childhood, where the lovely young Maleficent was innocent, lovely and cute.<br />
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<b>Back story</b><br />
Along comes the not-so-wonderfully-named Stefan (Sharlto Copley, <i>District 13</i>, <i>Elysium</i>), who forms a childhood friendship with Maleficent, but who really just wants to become king, at all costs. Things get ugly as the kingdom (where Stefan lives) tries to conquer the Moors (the nearby magical woods, where Maleficent and co. live), and we even get a few large-scale scenes of battle and brutality, whilst keeping everything PG-13. Eventually we reach adulthood, where Stefan has been crowned king and is throwing a party for his gorgeous baby princess Aurora. Maleficent turns up uninvited, and the fairytale you might remember from your childhood comes into play.<br />
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<b>Plot holes and awkward moments</b><br />
The film manages to maintain the aura of dread and mystery that was established so well in the trailers (see the wonderful teaser trailer below), with lots of moody lighting and numerous scenes involving hardly any dialogue at all - just smouldering looks and impossible cheekbones (augmented even further in this case) from Maleficent as she watches over the growing Aurora (Elle Fanning, <i>Super 8</i>), and grows fond of her. But the middle of the film gets dragging, while the ending feels rushed, and Aurora's all-important slumber seems more like a power nap in this version. The carte blanche resulting from the undetermined magical powers mean that it's hard to be surprised by anything that happens, and this origin story loses its charm by the end.<br />
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<b>In the end</b><br />
It's quite significant that this film was made, and it establishes an interesting new direction for Disney to take, now that they might seem to have run out of classic fairytales to adapt. Jolie fits the role like a glove, with looks and a laugh that make Maleficent a wonderfully evil character, despite us now knowing about her soft core and motherly instincts. It's entertaining enough, but nothing special.</div>
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<em> </em> </div>
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<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-0apokN6LmZU/U4t7m0QJ0TI/AAAAAAAABdI/zw8v6QZNaYw/s1600-h/Maleficent3%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Maleficent3" border="0" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-JBetxd_mHbE/U4t7nhcE12I/AAAAAAAABdQ/qZeXZpMTH6w/Maleficent3_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="200" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Maleficent3" width="600" /></a></div>
<br /> <a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-uNS9rasS8Ew/U4t7oLAo2GI/AAAAAAAABdY/DgVy8hcWfPs/s1600-h/Mark6%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Mark6" border="0" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-oEMkpW8cADQ/U4t7ol5T6uI/AAAAAAAABdg/R9S4aimPUiA/Mark6_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="30" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Mark6" width="600" /></a> <br /><em></em> <br /><em>Trailer:</em><br />
<div class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent" id="scid:5737277B-5D6D-4f48-ABFC-DD9C333F4C5D:2d7353be-3693-4429-bda2-442c8e6e18be" style="display: inline; float: none; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
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<object height="252" width="448"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/_pgmFAOgm5E?hl=en&hd=1"></param>
<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/_pgmFAOgm5E?hl=en&hd=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="448" height="252"></embed></object></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10304911.post-76875467136687292072014-05-21T20:45:00.000+02:002014-05-21T22:09:42.481+02:00X-Men: Days of Future Past <a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-uCqB3zH9K1c/U3z8pPlideI/AAAAAAAABbg/d4Pui_dEj4w/s1600-h/XMDOFP1%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img title="XMDOFP1" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="XMDOFP1" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-MNy5n98-cwk/U3z8p8KnLJI/AAAAAAAABbo/QRyulj3ov34/XMDOFP1_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="600" height="200" /></a> <br /> <ul> <li><i>Released Internationally on 22/05/14</i> </li> <li><i>Released in Malta by </i><a href="http://www.krsmalta.com/"><i>KRS</i></a><i> on 22/05/14</i> </li> </ul> <span style="color: #ff8000"><b>Review</b> (21/05/14)</span> <br /> <blockquote><em>3-word review:<strong> Impressive family reunion</strong></em><em><strong>.</strong></em>  <br /><strong><em></em></strong></blockquote> <div style="text-align: justify"></div> <div align="justify"> </div> <div align="justify">The <em>X-Men</em> franchise is quite remarkable. Now in it’s seventh film; having had a huge variety of directors, actors, angles of the story and heroic fanfares; it manages to remain hugely entertaining and fresh, mixing a fascinating array of characters with a central theme that is eerily relevant in today’s often xenophobic world. The main risk with this latest film was that too many famous faces and memorable characters would make for a crowded or confusing film, but the end result is in fact great fun and surprisingly coherent, considering the time-travel plot.</div> <div align="justify"><b></b></div> <div align="justify"><strong></strong></div> <div align="justify"><strong>Back to the future</strong></div> <div align="justify">The film kicks off in a desolate, dark future, which is unpleasant to watch, let alone live in. After an intense opening sequence we learn that this chaos is the result of a longstanding war against mutants and those who support them, and a war that has got slightly out of hand due to the merciless ‘sentinels’ which enforce it. The cast of the first three <em>X-Men</em> films assemble, along with the ubiquitous Wolverine/Logan (Hugh Jackman, who has appeared in all seven films), whom they agree to send back in time to try and stop this war before it begins. We therefore swiftly jump back to the much more pleasant swinging seventies.</div> <div align="justify"> </div> <div align="justify"><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-cdE0NY8MYCg/U3z8qd6aJ3I/AAAAAAAABbw/Li5ZMU_WHNY/s1600-h/XMDOFP2%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img title="XMDOFP2" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="XMDOFP2" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-6LlIGMZMaiU/U3z8reLl83I/AAAAAAAABb4/1DupeOOTY7o/XMDOFP2_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="600" height="200" /></a></div> <div align="justify"><b></b></div> <div align="justify"><b>Time travel can be fun</b></div> <div align="justify">Films that dip into the river of time risk opening up huge plot holes and losing the audience, but thankfully the technicalities are made rather simple here. Peter Dinklage (<em>Game of Thrones</em>) stars as the scientist Dr Trask, who back in the 70s is the mind behind the first set of sentinels, whom he has designed to help target mutants. Raven/Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence, <em>The Hunger Games</em>, <em>Silver Linings Playbook</em>) is out to kill him, but in doing so would be captured, and her DNA used to make the sentinels all the more powerful. So essentially Wolverine has to round up the 70s X-Men and get them to stop her. What makes everything more fun is the playing with history that films like this are allowed. Magneto (Michael Fassbender, <em>12 Years a Slave</em>) has been imprisoned for the alleged assassination of JFK, the Vietnam war is ending, and Nixon is about to approve the sentinel programme.</div> <div align="justify"><b></b></div> <div align="justify"><strong></strong></div> <div align="justify"><strong>Spoilt for choice</strong></div> <div align="justify">Rather than overcrowding the film, the many wonderful characters manage to make the film consistently brilliant, with a good mix of set pieces and character scenes. The main new role, besides Dr Trask, is the mutant Quicksilver (Evan Peters, <em>Kick-Ass</em>), who manages to hold his own amongst all the established names, and completely steals the limelight in the superb, show-stopping (literally) ‘time in a bottle’ sequence. Jim Croce sounds as great here as he did in <em>Django Unchained</em>. The overall feeling is that since all the main characters were so wonderfully built up in the previous films, they can immediately step on stage and make the scene more involving. Storm (<em>Halle Berry</em>) is back after a lengthy absence, and even though the future versions of Magneto and Professor X (<em>Ian McKellan </em>and <em>Patrick Stewart</em>) have less action than they are used to, their presence is felt throughout. Jennifer Lawrence manages to shine through her heavy makeup and make Mystique possibly the most intriguing of all of them. It’s great seeing them all on screen together. </div> <div align="justify"> </div> <div align="justify"><b>In the end</b> </div> <div align="justify">Brian Singer has pulled off quite a difficult task – cramming all the X-Men into one film, using time travel, and ending up with an entertaining film rather than a lengthy mess. He also drives forward the central theme of tolerance, and throws in some stunning action and visual effects as icing on the cake. It’s turning out to be a great summer at the movies.</div> <div align="justify"> </div> <div align="justify"><em>p.s. Make sure you stay until the end of the credits, with your 3D glasses on. <br /></em> <br /></div> <div align="justify"></div> <div align="justify"></div> <div align="justify"></div> <div align="justify"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-7oDoY45VPxI/U3z8r2sPJ5I/AAAAAAAABcA/umlhqom8fb0/s1600-h/XMDOFP3%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img title="XMDOFP3" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="XMDOFP3" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-6dPH0mIGKss/U3z8sTwvEZI/AAAAAAAABcI/hB9wUj_-Yhk/XMDOFP3_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="600" height="200" /></a></div> <p> <br /> <a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-ZIlqQgoilu0/U3z8szfzQ1I/AAAAAAAABcQ/20648s0Vu2M/s1600-h/Mark8%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img title="Mark8" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Mark8" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-Y0qFP1RC08w/U3z8tnWn7gI/AAAAAAAABcY/liD1HsQWEK4/Mark8_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="600" height="30" /></a> <br /><em></em> <br /><em>Trailer:</em> </p> <div id="scid:5737277B-5D6D-4f48-ABFC-DD9C333F4C5D:10f71004-1478-4bd2-a162-ec52c40eca9f" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent" style="float: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px"><div><object width="448" height="252"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/pK2zYHWDZKo?hl=en&hd=1"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/pK2zYHWDZKo?hl=en&hd=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="448" height="252"></embed></object></div></div> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10304911.post-85143118401559159732014-05-20T08:49:00.000+02:002014-05-20T08:49:58.915+02:00Godzilla <a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-a8B1U_Lhazc/U3dkBH_1q4I/AAAAAAAABao/VhcTgMJG_-Q/s1600-h/Godzilla4%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Godzilla4" border="0" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-tZIVEEgqyEY/U3dkCAo-t1I/AAAAAAAABaw/XQVugXZ37qk/Godzilla4_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="200" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Godzilla4" width="600" /></a> <br />
<ul>
<li><i>Released Internationally on 14/05/14</i> </li>
<li><i>Released in Malta by </i><a href="http://www.krsmalta.com/"><i>KRS</i></a><i> on 15/05/14</i> </li>
</ul>
<span style="color: #ff8000;"><b>Review</b> (14/05/14)</span> <br />
<blockquote>
<em>3-word review:<strong> Better than 1998</strong></em><em><strong>.</strong></em> <br />
<strong><em></em></strong></blockquote>
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The last time Hollywood gave us a big-budget interpretation of Japan's biggest export, the result wasn't pretty. The 1998 <i>Godzilla</i>, from the team that had just taken over the world with <i>Independence Day</i>, was famous more for its star-studded soundtrack than for any substance found within the script, and featured a monster that looked and moved like a huge T-Rex with a jaw deformity. Sixteen years later, this version is a much better film, with a much better monster at its centre.</div>
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<b>It begins</b><br />
After a frantic history lesson during the opening titles, we head to an opening scene that reminded me of <i>Jurassic Park</i> in terms of tone and look. Young director Gareth Edwards, who landed this big assignment on the strength of his low-budget film <i>Monsters</i>, has clearly given a lot of importance to the look of this film. The annoying 'night-time, in the rain' shots that made up most of the 1998 version are now replaced with a lot of broad daylight, and a colour palette that adds some vintage class to this vintage monster. The film's first act is set in 1999, and although Godzilla himself takes some time to show up, the human emotion starts early on.</div>
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<b>Not just destruction</b><br />
This is the other strong point of the film. There is, of course, a huge monster and lots of destruction. But it doesn't come at the expense of interesting characters and human drama. Bryan Cranston (<i>Argo</i>, <i>Breaking Bad</i>), Juliette Binoche (<i>Chocolat</i>, <i>The English Patient</i>) and Aaron Taylor-Johnson (<i>Kick-Ass</i>, <i>Anna Karenina</i>) are the family we get to focus on across the film's fifteen year timespan, and their struggle helps put all the surrounding death and chaos into perspective. Of course, we also get the necessary military jargon scenes, shots of scared people in standstill traffic, and newsreels, but then it would hardly be a disaster movie without them.</div>
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<b>Technically great</b><br />
The effects are as great as expected, with a design for the massive creatures that manages to give enough awe without making them lifeless. The sound design is also very noticeable, and Godzilla has a roar that makes the T-Rex seem tame. Proud of their creation, the filmmakers are more than happy to show him off, thus avoiding all the shadows and lurking that plagued the previous film. One scene of note is the stunning HALO jump scene - a couple of minutes of extreme beauty, as the military's finest jump in balletic formation and an operatic setting, on a one-way mission to save their country.<br />
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<b>In the end</b><br />
The final act does get a bit messy, which I guess is inevitable when everything is lying in ruin, but the film once again rises above the previous version by ending with a wonderful climax, something we don't get treated to often in disaster films. It's not Shakespeare or <i>Gravity</i>, but it's a solid effects film with a real heart, and definitely the type of crowd-pleaser that the summer box-office expects.<br />
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<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-JwxkgXgcRfM/U3dkDYN4sGI/AAAAAAAABa4/0v2KCBpSIok/s1600-h/Godzilla5%25255B4%25255D.png"><img alt="Godzilla5" border="0" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-VP5tY8GisqQ/U3dkEyddTII/AAAAAAAABbA/CXc4KeRfmtQ/Godzilla5_thumb%25255B2%25255D.png?imgmax=800" height="200" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Godzilla5" width="600" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-jPK0DHZhRBY/U3dkFTJj5wI/AAAAAAAABbE/RxljCu8JJME/s1600-h/Mark7%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Mark7" border="0" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-9ev_f45VndQ/U3dkGNPNacI/AAAAAAAABbQ/6Acl3l1_mss/Mark7_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="30" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Mark7" width="600" /></a> <br />
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<em>Trailers:</em> <br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10304911.post-75171506398476667932014-04-30T14:37:00.001+02:002014-04-30T14:38:34.421+02:00Simshar <a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-XXNx-wTDrNs/U1uzitQ1HTI/AAAAAAAABY4/t91ZkXgn1R8/s1600-h/Simshar2%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Simshar2" border="0" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-4c5v9M13HXo/U1uzjYDc7wI/AAAAAAAABZA/3U1TC11FBDs/Simshar2_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="200" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Simshar2" width="600" /></a> <br />
<ul>
<li><i>Premiered in Malta on 27/04/14</i> </li>
</ul>
<span style="color: #ff8000;"><b>Review</b> (26/04/14)</span> <br />
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<em>3-word review:<strong> Tragic but beautiful</strong></em><em><strong>.</strong></em> <br />
<strong><em></em></strong></blockquote>
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Back in the summer of 2008, a fire at sea left only one survivor, and plunged the Maltese fishing village of Marsaxlokk into stunned silence. The details emerged slowly as Simon Bugeja, rescued from the sea after days clinging to a makeshift raft, recovered from his burns and dehydration in intensive care. His son's body was never found. Possibly the only good thing to come from this incident is this beautiful and moving film adaptation, which combines the story of those touched by the incident with the concurrent drama of perilous irregular immigration from Africa to Europe, an issue that Malta was and still is struggling with every summer. First-time director Rebecca Cremona's labour of love is a gorgeous postcard from Malta, which manages to portray some of the magic of this tiny little island without detracting from the solemnity of the fatal <i>Simshar</i> incident.<br />
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<b>The fine details</b><br />
A conclusive report on the incident helped the story eventually leave the front pages, but a few questions did remain unanswered. The script here does not try to answer everything or assign blame, and there is only the slightest reference to possible major illegalities, with the focus merely being on struggling fishermen ignoring fishing restrictions in order to put food on their families' table. The initial scenes with the maritime inspector are a bit clunky, besides the intentional awkwardness, and threaten to get things off to a disjointed start, but thankfully the film flows much better once the Simshar leaves port and the drama gets more intense. </div>
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<b>In front of the camera</b><br />
I was worried some of the acting might drag the film down to TV soap levels after seeing the final trailer for the film, but thankfully most of the actors rise to the occasion. Jimi Busuttil is particularly good as Simon's father and fellow crew member, and Laura Kpegli is excellent as the subtle voice of reason amongst an increasingly desperate group of rescued immigrants. Claire Agius provides the emotional core of the film as the wife of Simon (and the 'shar' in 'Simshar'), and young Adrian Farrugia makes a notable debut as her son Theo. Lofti Abdelli was brought in to play the main role of Simon, and although his acting capabilities are clear, the obvious non-Maltese accent is unfortunately very distracting and it took me a while to get used to him in the role. Hopefully international audiences won't have this problem. </div>
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<b>Behind the scenes</b><br />
Any complaints about the acting can be swiftly forgotten by seeing the quality of the film up on the screen, which definitely sets a new standard for films made entirely in Malta. Cremona frames the picturesque fishing village wonderfully, including a clever reveal using linen on a Marsaxlokk roof. The inclusion of the village feast and the international football match manage not to look too forced, and add the necessary colour. A handful of shots, especially during the incident and at the film's ending, are absolutely stunning. The attention to detail is also impressive, my favourite touch being the 'Lost Cat' sign on the bar's noticeboard.</div>
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<b>In the end</b> <br />
Ultimately, this is a film about family. The main protagonists have their family torn apart by an unfortunate but possibly avoidable tragedy, and elsewhere many thousands risk their lives in treacherously overcrowded boats so as to give their family a chance of a better life in Europe. One of the immigrants refuses medical help so as not to be separated from her brother, and the attending doctor manages to sympathise and stay on to help her. Because the importance of family is something we can all understand, and that's what makes this film's ending so powerful.<br />
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<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-mo1mx26ekQM/U1uzkN7e74I/AAAAAAAABZI/1qBGLynam_g/s1600-h/Simshar1%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Simshar1" border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-wCbYPGf-M4U/U1uzk0aQ_QI/AAAAAAAABZQ/kPnJ--n_KQI/Simshar1_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="200" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Simshar1" width="600" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-JTjyR-Rpd0w/U1uzlb610nI/AAAAAAAABZU/a-xj60i_pXY/s1600-h/Mark7_thumb2_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Mark7_thumb2_thumb" border="0" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-RKegQWJwGFA/U1uzlzuXGrI/AAAAAAAABZc/p6y8BaVo56M/Mark7_thumb2_thumb_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" height="30" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Mark7_thumb2_thumb" width="600" /></a> <br />
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<em></em> <br />
<em>Trailer:</em> <br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10304911.post-28231980811198112182014-04-26T15:41:00.000+02:002014-04-26T16:12:36.036+02:00Pompeii <a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-QlUScDc1BhY/U1u-jhMhyhI/AAAAAAAABZw/JZKdfr4C00c/s1600-h/Pompeii2%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img title="Pompeii2" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="Pompeii2" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-cqtdjF8SW6k/U1u-kfwgv8I/AAAAAAAABZ4/9uJq2svUwkY/Pompeii2_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="600" height="200" /></a> <br /> <ul> <li><i>Released Internationally on 19/02/14</i> </li> <li><i>Released in Malta by </i><a href="http://www.krsmalta.com/"><i>KRS</i></a><i> on 01/05/14</i> </li> </ul> <span style="color: #ff8000"><b>Review</b> (26/04/14)</span> <br /> <blockquote><em>3-word review:<strong> Deus ex machina</strong></em><em><strong>.</strong></em>  <br /><strong><em></em></strong></blockquote> <div style="text-align: justify"></div> <div align="justify">The story of Pompeii, with an entire city frozen in time as it is covered in ash from the nearby volcano Vesuvius, is a wonderful one. Here it serves as a bookend and plot twist for a rather feeble tale of Roman-era slavery and romance. So, after <em>Noah</em>, here’s the second period disaster movie of the year so far. Director Paul W. S. Anderson is mostly famous for the <em>Resident Evil</em> films, and unfortunately this isn’t much better in terms of class or quality.</div> <div align="justify"><strong>A hero bent on revenge</strong> <br />The film borrows heavily from various other films, with the most obvious influence being <em>Gladiator</em>. Lots of gladiatorial action, lots of coliseum drama, and a central hero with a score to settle. Kit Harington (Jon Snow, who knows nothing, from <em>Game of Thrones</em>) makes his main role debut sporting an impressive set of abdominals. As a young child he witnesses the brutal massacre of his entire family and village at the hands of a Roman senator, and many years later his exploits as a gladiator bring him to the arena of Pompeii, where said Senator is visiting, hoping to return to Rome with the lovely Cassia (Emily Browning). Her parents (Jared Harris and Carrie-Anne Moss) disapprove, but Roman senators have a way of getting what they want.</div> <div align="justify"><strong>In the background</strong> <br />So ensues a lot of politics and romance under the shadow of the stirring volcano. Kiefer Sutherland is suitably nasty, but terribly one-dimensional, as the bad guy. With a certain inevitability we see the plot progress in such a way as to bring the lowly but manly hero into the life of the fair maiden. The details are not too important, because as expected, the volcano comes into play when necessary to throw the rest of the plot out of the window and wreak havoc on everything in sight. It is reasonably spectacular in terms of CGI and relentless destruction, and serves as the best <em>Deux ex machina</em> since the famous frog scene in <em>Magnolia</em> (from director Paul <em>Thomas </em>Anderson, not this one).</div> <div align="justify"><b>In the end</b> <br />It’s entertaining enough, because you don’t need much story or acting when your third act has a volcano, an earthquake <em>and</em> a tsunami to keep everyone busy. But it feels unfortunate that what might endure as the main film about the events of Pompeii is hardly the classic that they deserve.</div> <div align="justify"> </div> <div align="justify"></div> <div align="justify"></div> <div align="justify"></div> <div align="justify"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-4ShduV26HfM/U1u-k5lzbBI/AAAAAAAABaA/U5nNg8kw67o/s1600-h/Pompeii3%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img title="Pompeii3" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="Pompeii3" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-_cG4gdLQFaQ/U1u-ljkbdfI/AAAAAAAABaI/L3X9Ud3ZWt4/Pompeii3_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="600" height="200" /></a></div> <p> </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-916oEcAvzGw/U1u-mbSD1pI/AAAAAAAABaQ/et3qhbMAPgo/s1600-h/Mark5%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img title="Mark5" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="Mark5" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-IIP2ETuFbi8/U1u-m2-K1GI/AAAAAAAABaY/FXft9n9oRNQ/Mark5_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="600" height="30" /></a> <br /><em></em> <br /><em>Trailers:</em> <br /></p> <div id="scid:5737277B-5D6D-4f48-ABFC-DD9C333F4C5D:4c600fd7-4c07-410c-872d-44fb76f7066a" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent" style="float: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px"><div><object width="448" height="252"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/t6TRwfxDICM?hl=en&hd=1"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/t6TRwfxDICM?hl=en&hd=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="448" height="252"></embed></object></div></div> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10304911.post-86737900342395491162014-04-19T16:48:00.001+02:002014-04-19T16:49:49.564+02:00The Amazing Spider-man 2 <a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-Eae8Ja4SGuk/U1AJRdJVHBI/AAAAAAAABXE/SDu4R7KVOuA/s1600-h/TASM2%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img alt="TASM2" border="0" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-4K7x-3_Du2s/U1AJSZbsDgI/AAAAAAAABXM/-ohWR7C8kXc/TASM2_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="200" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="TASM2" width="600" /></a> <br />
<ul>
<li><i>Released Internationally on 16/04/14</i> </li>
<li><i>Released in Malta by </i><a href="http://www.krsmalta.com/"><i>KRS</i></a><i> on 16/04/14</i> </li>
</ul>
<span style="color: #ff8000;"><b>Review</b> (16/04/14)</span> <br />
<blockquote>
<em>3-word review:<strong> Not that amazing</strong></em><em><strong>.</strong></em> <br />
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I think superhero fatigue is starting to set in. It's the only explanation I can think of for why I was both positively impressed with many of the aspects of this film, but also bored by the whole experience. This will be an average year, by recent cinema standards - a <i>Spider-man</i> sequel, an <i>X-Men</i> sequel, a <i>Captain American</i> sequel, a new group of heroes (<i>Guardians of the Galaxy</i>) and a hero reboot (<i>Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles). </i>That's peanuts compared to what's lined up for 2015 and 2016. So even when the film itself is great, how do the filmmakers manage to make it stand out?</div>
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<b>Garfield</b><br />
Spider-man has a harder job than most at keeping us interested, given that the whole story arc was tackled successfully only a decade ago. So the novelty factor isn't too high, although thankfully the first <i>Amazing Spider-man</i> film managed to be very entertaining, partly due to a wonderful interpretation by Andrew Garfield. He gives us a lanky, goofy, light-hearted Spider-man who fits the costume and the persona perfectly. His chemistry with Emma Stone (as Gwen Stacy) is effortless, now also thanks to their off-screen romance. The scenes between them in this film are more impressive than many of the supposedly fancier and definitely more expensive action shots, and if this were a normal film about a guy having to choose between a career and a girl it might have been a good one.</div>
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<b>Middle chapter syndrome</b><br />
The film is longer than I would have liked, but the extra time was probably necessary since at least three new villains get introduced. But this is merely the setting up of great things to come. In a development that is just briefly alluded to at the end, the Spider-man branch of the Marvel universe is about to veer off into deeper territory, with six infamous villains (the 'Sinister Six') heading to our screens in the next film. So this second film has some introductions to do, but then ends rather abruptly with a somewhat awkward ending. Not a juicy cliffhanger, like some middle chapters thrive on; but rather a rushed 'to be continued' type ending.</div>
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<b>Lots to see</b><br />
Jamie Foxx is interesting as the introverted, working class, nobody who ends up transformed into 'Electro', Spider-man's main adversary for this chapter. The effects are nicely done, including a Times Square centrepiece action sequence that shows off his abilities. He even gets an innovative electric guitar theme from composer Hans Zimmer, working with Pharrell Williams and guitarist Johnny Marr. The 3D is put to good use, and the whole electro concept is great fodder for effects. New York serves as a wonderful backdrop, and the scale of the film is befitting of the best disaster movies.</div>
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<b>In the end</b><br />
So, all in all, it's a good film. If <i>Spider-man</i> was the only superhero franchise out there, I would be fawning over this second film and heading back to see it again and again. But even when the action works, the hero looks good, the romance works, and the feel-good factor is thriving, it's all stuff we've seen only a few weeks ago in some similar film with different costumes. Maybe this is why TV is on such a high and small independent films are finding bigger audiences. Maybe we're tired of superheroes for now.</div>
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<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-oXYS6pmRUUo/U1AJS0hgvII/AAAAAAAABXU/xp2PDOL493Y/s1600-h/TASM2c%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img alt="TASM2c" border="0" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-_rg8um_ofQo/U1AJTtvGxDI/AAAAAAAABXc/RmsxkqJg1G0/TASM2c_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="200" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="TASM2c" width="600" /></a> </div>
<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-Hk0nIvyQ6vk/U1AJUP8veyI/AAAAAAAABXg/mXsBTUrWBu8/s1600-h/Mark7_thumb2%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Mark7_thumb2" border="0" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-zDXLsBEtWmU/U1AJUvpRAvI/AAAAAAAABXo/QaHGZEOJzCs/Mark7_thumb2_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" height="30" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Mark7_thumb2" width="600" /></a> <br />
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<em>Trailers:</em> <br />
<a href="https://trailers.apple.com/trailers/sony_pictures/theamazingspiderman2/" title="https://trailers.apple.com/trailers/sony_pictures/theamazingspiderman2/">https://trailers.apple.com/trailers/sony_pictures/theamazingspiderman2/</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10304911.post-23783347773197638332014-03-31T22:26:00.001+02:002014-03-31T22:26:53.191+02:00Noah <a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-ZX70FjyiGwY/UznPVoGWrTI/AAAAAAAABWI/gHUZLg6I_Tw/s1600-h/Noah2%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img title="Noah2" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="Noah2" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-QMMQedjQX-g/UznPW5iCzfI/AAAAAAAABWQ/bcvtSlJZkxM/Noah2_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="600" height="200" /></a> <br /> <ul> <li><i>Released Internationally on 26/03/14</i> </li> <li><i>Released in Malta by </i><a href="http://www.krsmalta.com/"><i>KRS</i></a><i> on 02/04/14</i> </li> </ul> <span style="color: #ff8000"><b>Review</b> (31/03/14)</span> <br /> <blockquote><em>3-word review:<strong> It’s quite epic</strong></em><em><strong>.</strong></em> <br /><strong><em></em></strong></blockquote> <div style="text-align: justify"></div> <div align="justify">I am fully aware of how ridiculous it sounds to grumble about ‘accuracy’ when discussing a story like that of Noah and his all-important ark. We’ve all heard the story in some version or another, and it sounds great, whilst conjuring up lots of fascinating imagery and ideas. Which is probably what drew visionary filmmaker Darren Aronovsky (<i>Requiem for a Dream</i>, <i>Black Swan</i>) to the story. But inevitably, if you try to tell the story in a realistic, human manner, massive plot holes start to stare you in the face. So some liberties needed to be taken.</div> <div align="justify"><strong>The Watchers</strong></div> <div align="justify">I have no objection to most of this - it’s just a story after all, and Aronovsky has done a remarkable job of covering most of the plot problems. But the biggest element he introduced, and one which serves an important purpose that is evident when you see the film, is that of the ‘Watchers’, or fallen angels who help Noah in his massive task. The marketing material for the film has wisely left them out of all images, trailers and adverts, but when they finally appear they jar with the biblical setting quite considerably, at least to my eyes. I won’t spoil any surprises, but suffice to say that they kept reminding me of an organic version of the sizeable characters seen in a recent sci-fi film franchise, which was quite a distraction. They do apparently have some vague origin from some non-canon religious texts, but that doesn’t help much when you’re sitting in a darkened cinema wondering where the hell (or heaven) they came from.</div> <div align="justify"><strong>Human Struggle</strong></div> <div align="justify">But anyway, Watchers aside, the film is quite spectacular and emotional. The driving force behind the film is the titular character’s internal struggle with the instructions he has received in a dream. Should he save the animals and start the human race afresh, or are humans so evil that the world would be better off without them altogether? This interesting dilemma leads to many of the film’s best moments, as Noah (Russell Crowe) clashes with his family (especially Jennifer Connelly as his wife and Emily Watson as his son’s partner) over what God’s intentions are. The fine line between religious fundamentalism and having some basic common sense and love towards your fellow humans is all too evident here, and this of course is a topic still highly relevant today.</div> <div align="justify"><strong>A Joy to Behold</strong></div> <div align="justify">Inaccuracies and human drama aside, the film also shines as pure spectacle. No film about Noah’s Ark can hope to be respected if it doesn’t display the scale of the flood with conviction, and this film not only manages that, but precedes the flood with an assault on the ark by desperate humans that is reminiscent of the Helm’s Deep sequence in <i>The Two Towers</i>, and adds immensely to the urgency and significance of what is unfolding. The screams of those who don’t make it into the ark are not something you will be forgetting in a hurry. There’s also a creation montage later in the film that is worth the price of admission on it’s own.</div> <div align="justify"><strong>Second Chances</strong></div> <div align="justify">This is a wonderful film about second chances and starting over, on many levels. Irrespective of whether you are religious or not, it’s worth watching because of the great story at it’s core, and the impressive filmmaking that is used to tell it. It’s a family drama, it’s an apocalyptic road trip, it’s a morality tale about human evil, it’s the mother of all disaster movies, and it’s definitely the most 'big screen-worthy' film of 2014 so far.</div> <div align="justify"> </div> <div align="justify"></div> <div align="justify"> </div> <div align="justify"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-e5gZNZK5b4I/UznPZ1xmZkI/AAAAAAAABWY/ptSYyTN502U/s1600-h/Noah%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img title="la_ca_0102_noah" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="la_ca_0102_noah" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-M-Z-sqpej4s/UznPadgohWI/AAAAAAAABWc/lu9_H0iqpjM/Noah_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="600" height="200" /></a> <br /></div> <p> <a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-Z8iGDpt5cBg/UznPa2OrDtI/AAAAAAAABWk/ruhFsG82QBQ/s1600-h/Mark7%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img title="Mark7" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="Mark7" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-4H_frBuH0e0/UznPb4mDYRI/AAAAAAAABWw/HatL4CT2xHk/Mark7_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="600" height="30" /></a> <br /></p> <em></em> <p><em>Trailers:</em> <br /><a title="http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/paramount/noah/" href="http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/paramount/noah/">http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/paramount/noah/</a></p> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10304911.post-69626998465022150322014-03-01T21:40:00.000+01:002014-03-31T22:40:45.353+02:00The Monuments Men <a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-r1UiyQ45Xjg/UxeZG5q1DpI/AAAAAAAABUs/ZEwG_NWlGmY/s1600-h/Monuments%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img title="Monuments" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Monuments" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-wmZ7tw4c3Ko/UxeZH1eBUmI/AAAAAAAABU0/XVgwd-NXgmA/Monuments_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="600" height="200" /></a> <br /> <ul> <li><i>Released Internationally on 07/02/14</i> </li> <li><i>Released in Malta by </i><a href="http://www.krsmalta.com/"><i>KRS</i></a><i> on 19/02/14</i> </li> </ul> <span style="color: #ff8000"><b>Review</b> (01/03/14)</span> <br /> <blockquote><em>3-word review:<strong> An odd disappointment</strong></em><em><strong>.</strong></em> <br /><strong><em></em></strong></blockquote> <div style="text-align: justify"></div> <div align="justify"> </div> <div align="justify">It wasn’t easy to figure out why I didn’t love this. The ingredients all seemed fine, and I was in the mood for some good old adventure. But the film is unusually disjointed and bumpy, especially when compared to George Clooney’s excellent previous films as director. Something must have gone wrong at some point, because the film got delayed, and the end result seems slightly unpolished.</div> <div align="justify">It’s not a complete mess, of course. The film still has some wonderful moments and an overall glaze of class, and a lot of effort clearly went into the WW2 setting and worldwide scope of the film. It tells the story of the piecemeal band of professionals who were assembled towards the end of the war to try to find and preserve the vast collections of priceless art that had gone missing as the war swept through Europe. The Nazi antagonists and the treasure hunt atmosphere give the proceedings a decidedly <em>Indiana Jones</em> feel, which is perfectly complemented by Alexandre Desplat’s vintage musical score, which pays homage to <em>Jones</em> as well as older classics and is probably the single best thing about the entire film.</div> <div align="justify">The cast assembled by Clooney is top notch, but this might be part of the problem. As the team members are dispatched all over the continent, it’s hard to keep up with all of them but still give them enough time to make the characters anything more than superficial stereotypes. Maybe two characters less, and their scenes on the cutting room floor, would have made this the slick, old-school adventure story it was meant to be.</div> <p> <a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-2U-CHZLD4Qk/UxeZIlOFdNI/AAAAAAAABU8/v4_XIfFN_oc/s1600-h/Monuments1%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img title="Monuments1" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Monuments1" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-dIUKz770jFg/UxeZJWv0FwI/AAAAAAAABVE/4RwGv8MjHmo/Monuments1_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="600" height="200" /></a> <br /></p> <p> <a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-ZjtPYE0T0C4/UxeZJ81DgNI/AAAAAAAABVI/zDLteVWjles/s1600-h/Mark6%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img title="Mark6" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Mark6" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-ECAuV9TEgzA/UxeZKc_832I/AAAAAAAABVU/oExIsu503WU/Mark6_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="600" height="30" /></a> <br /></p> <em></em> <p><em>Trailers:</em> <br /><a title="https://trailers.apple.com/trailers/sony_pictures/themonumentsmen/" href="https://trailers.apple.com/trailers/sony_pictures/themonumentsmen/">https://trailers.apple.com/trailers/sony_pictures/themonumentsmen/</a></p> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10304911.post-48894552759289538962014-02-19T21:41:00.000+01:002014-03-31T22:49:08.241+02:00That Awkward Moment <a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-AQuX0CI7CS0/UxeaU7sfRlI/AAAAAAAABVg/WWryW7z0NLo/s1600-h/Awkward%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img title="Awkward" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Awkward" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-doAWdaF_u-g/UxeaV7fZHYI/AAAAAAAABVo/hZKlkvLzq3Q/Awkward_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="600" height="200" /></a> <br /> <ul> <li><i>Released Internationally on 27/01/14</i> </li> <li><i>Released in Malta by </i><a href="http://www.krsmalta.com/"><i>KRS</i></a><i> on 19/02/14</i> </li> </ul> <span style="color: #ff8000"><b>Review</b> (19/02/14)</span> <br /> <blockquote><em>3-word review:<strong> Clichés, Clichés, Clichés</strong></em><em><strong>.</strong></em> <br /><strong><em></em></strong></blockquote> <div style="text-align: justify"></div> <div align="justify"> </div> <div align="justify">Ah, dating. The perennial topic. It’s usually an easy sell when promoting your film – as the characters struggle through their romantic toils, viewers are either going to relate to them, or simply enjoy the gossip. But when films like this are churned out every other month, it takes something extra to make yours stand out.</div> <div align="justify">This film tries to stand out by focusing, amongst the usual dating moments, on the ‘So’. “So… where is this going?”, etc. According to the voice over, nothing good can follow once your other half thrusts the ‘so’ into your conversation. </div> <div align="justify">Other than that not-so-ground-breaking attempt at an original idea, the film is merely an amusing mix of tired clichés. The adult humour, the wing woman instead of the wingman, the ‘pact’ between close friends, the misunderstood dress code. There are a few moments of insightful dialogue, and a handful of entertaining minor characters, but otherwise is passes like an average episode of your second-favourite sitcom. </div> <div align="justify"> </div> <p> <a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-kflQHZdpIkQ/UxeaWXVuTMI/AAAAAAAABVs/PuCOdXtJLAs/s1600-h/Mark5%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img title="Mark5" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Mark5" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-4JqDfdcaLnQ/UxeaXJuqXDI/AAAAAAAABV4/Rd7ieCQApGA/Mark5_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="600" height="30" /></a> <br /></p> <em></em> <p><em>Trailers:</em> <br /><a title="https://trailers.apple.com/trailers/focus_features/thatawkwardmoment/" href="https://trailers.apple.com/trailers/focus_features/thatawkwardmoment/">https://trailers.apple.com/trailers/focus_features/thatawkwardmoment/</a></p> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10304911.post-79384099045680961122014-02-04T21:37:00.000+01:002014-02-13T21:40:14.871+01:0012 Years a Slave <a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-svNU9fn00_E/Uv0tnY7Yy-I/AAAAAAAABT0/jQChc4W9VIY/s1600-h/12Years%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img title="12Years" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="12Years" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-uoMtIHpPy8Q/Uv0toDJXgcI/AAAAAAAABT8/O9fETkMy0Ag/12Years_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="600" height="200" /></a> <br /> <ul> <li><i>Released Internationally on 08/11/13</i> </li> <li><i>Released in Malta by </i><a href="http://www.krsmalta.com/"><i>KRS</i></a><i> on 05/02/14</i> </li> </ul> <span style="color: #ff8000"><b>Review</b> (04/02/14)</span> <br /> <blockquote><em>3-word review:<strong> Harder than fiction</strong></em><em><strong>.</strong></em> <br /><strong><em></em></strong></blockquote> <div style="text-align: justify"></div> <div align="justify">If you are looking for easy entertainment, look elsewhere. But if you want to see a powerful retelling of a story that is unbelievably true, then this piece of subtle but masterful filmmaking by Steve McQueen and his team comes highly recommended.</div> <div align="justify">Solomon Northup was born a free man in the 19th century, but was working in Washington when he was drugged, kidnapped and sold as a slave. He spent a staggering twelve years in slavery, unable to communicate with the outside world or convince his owners of his freedom. It sounds impossible in this day and age, but in pre-telephone and pre-abolition America, an injustice this grave could indeed, and did indeed, happen. We know about Solomon because he published a book about his ordeal soon after being reunited with his family, and now thanks to Steve McQueen’s uncomfortable but important adaptation.</div> <div align="justify">The unease and disbelief as one watches this story unfold start to sink in just as they do for the film’s main protagonist, portrayed with an impressive array of emotion by Chiwetel Ejiofor (<em>Children of Men</em>). His desperate attempts to stop the chain of events are met with the cruel, arrogant and infuriating behaviour of his traders, captors and owners. Only one (portrayed by Benedict Cumberbatch) shows some redeeming glimmer of humanity, but slavery remains the order of the day and its atrocities are never questioned. Whereas Quentin Tarantino tackled this dark issue with a hint of humour and a deceptive light touch in <em>Django Unchained</em>, McQueen holds nothing back, with visceral gore, agonising long takes and nothing left to the imagination. The technical and acting prowess portrayed in one memorable long take are particularly breath-taking.</div> <div align="justify">The treatment of Northup is mirrored by the heart-wrenching story of his fellow slave Patsey (Lupita Nyong’o, in an impressive breakout performance that has unsurprisingly earned her an Oscar nomination). This helps remind us that as cruel as it is to submit a free person to the hardships of slavery, it is even worse that others lived and died as slaves, with no hope of release.</div> <div align="justify">There’s nothing too fancy about this film, and nothing ground-breaking. But it is an astounding story of human hardship, told in an unyielding manner. That us humans are capable of such acts is an issue that deserves our attention, lest we deceive ourselves that this is all ancient history and everything is now fine.</div> <div align="justify"> </div> <div align="justify"> </div> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-UbCVh1YWUMU/Uv0to0yMwRI/AAAAAAAABUE/antqrwtHYqw/s1600-h/12Years2%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img title="12Years2" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="12Years2" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-jAA3cnDDPrg/Uv0tp6gNQ8I/AAAAAAAABUM/g9j_pYFqWAI/12Years2_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="600" height="200" /></a> <br /></p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-UupONVd09x8/Uv0tqZ27QFI/AAAAAAAABUQ/2oTieFmwqZY/s1600-h/Mark9_thumb2%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img title="Mark9_thumb2" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="Mark9_thumb2" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-sNVcIbPy_rs/Uv0tqwoysdI/AAAAAAAABUc/bdXkTPTBZYs/Mark9_thumb2_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="600" height="30" /></a> <br /></p> <em></em> <p><em>Trailers:</em> <br /><a title="https://trailers.apple.com/trailers/fox_searchlight/12yearsaslave/" href="https://trailers.apple.com/trailers/fox_searchlight/12yearsaslave/">https://trailers.apple.com/trailers/fox_searchlight/12yearsaslave/</a></p> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10304911.post-67460947309669958072014-01-15T17:31:00.000+01:002014-01-29T13:12:42.911+01:00The Wolf of Wall Street <a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-OI9w3CHUQOk/UtwCXrQKUfI/AAAAAAAABSI/ike-p9YHLWg/s1600-h/Wolf2%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Wolf2" border="0" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-Bv7Ovbs42rQ/UtwCYPJ3w3I/AAAAAAAABSQ/RlSwxLRxX5Y/Wolf2_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="200" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Wolf2" width="600" /></a> <br />
<ul>
<li><i>Released Internationally on 25/12/13</i> </li>
<li><i>Released in Malta by </i><a href="http://www.krsmalta.com/"><i>KRS</i></a><i> on 17/01/14</i> </li>
</ul>
<span style="color: #ff8000;"><b>Review</b> (15/01/14)</span> <br />
<blockquote>
<em>3-word review:<strong> <b>Sex, drugs, stocks</b></strong></em><em><strong>.</strong></em> <br />
<strong><em></em></strong></blockquote>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div align="justify">
Scorsese is a genius at what he does, and subtlety is not it. In his latest sprawling character study, he brings to very vivid life the true story of disgraced Wall Street big-shot Jordan Belfort, portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio, making this their fifth excellent collaboration on screen.</div>
<div align="justify">
Belfort rose quickly in the money-obsessed world of stock brokers, also thanks to some delicious early advice from his first boss (portrayed wonderfully in an all-too-brief performance by Matthew McConaughey). Enlisting a trusty side-kick (Jonah Hill, whose dramatic roles now start to eclipse his comedic ones), he sets up his own firm selling suspect stocks to hapless buyers, and getting super rich very quickly in the process. This all happened back in the early 90s, and as expected, a lavish lifestyle ensued. The cult following Belfort had amongst young stock brokers was not dampened, but rather fuelled by, his ridiculously over-the-top life and fame as a dubious trader. Scorsese and DiCaprio hold nothing back in stuffing the office antics, epic parties, endless drugs and countless women in our face, leaving very little to the imagination.</div>
<div align="justify">
Ultimately, the film does serve as a cautionary tale, with justice and heartbreak catching up with Belfort and his team. But the ride is arguably entertaining enough, and some scenes are in equal parts amusing and disturbing. DiCaprio and Hill excel in the drug scenes, along with a few wonderful camera tricks and director touches. It’s so fast, loud and vivid that three hours fly by. The blood and gore so frequently seen in Scorsese’s films are absent this time around, but the drama and the depravity are clearly not. This is excellent filmmaking, but not for the faint of heart.</div>
<div align="justify">
<br /></div>
<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-eNgdk1MrYyo/UtwCYzLxNEI/AAAAAAAABSY/vs5-U1yoQEM/s1600-h/Wolf1%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Wolf1" border="0" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-cGUbQHxCEsM/UtwCZdfQb6I/AAAAAAAABSg/rg6nPoL2aWU/Wolf1_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="200" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Wolf1" width="600" /></a><br />
<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-ZK3to4zWYu8/UtwCaJb5vZI/AAAAAAAABSk/PTaPc4vBBAQ/s1600-h/Mark9%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Mark9" border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-Qo5U7QTXB6o/UtwCapVUWwI/AAAAAAAABSw/xFCkog98a_k/Mark9_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="30" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Mark9" width="600" /></a><br />
<em>Trailers:</em><br />
<a href="http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/paramount/thewolfofwallstreet/" title="http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/paramount/thewolfofwallstreet/">http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/paramount/thewolfofwallstreet/</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10304911.post-88423512741865332782014-01-01T15:00:00.000+01:002014-01-05T15:02:35.409+01:00Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom <a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-wY9YzZinsL8/Usll7Ebd3hI/AAAAAAAABRM/OPvMR70BGqc/s1600-h/Mandela2%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img title="Mandela2" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="Mandela2" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-hN7UKnvRv_Y/Usll76-NGtI/AAAAAAAABRU/h_HJrH2kVZo/Mandela2_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="600" height="200" /></a> <br /> <ul> <li><i>Released Internationally on 28/11/13</i> </li> <li><i>Released in Malta by </i><a href="http://www.krsmalta.com/"><i>KRS</i></a><i> on 01/01/14</i> </li> </ul> <span style="color: #ff8000"><b>Review</b> (01/01/14)</span> <br /> <blockquote> <p><em>3-word review:<strong> <b>Comprehensive, timely biopic</b></strong></em><em><strong>.</strong></em> </p> <strong><em></em></strong></blockquote> <div style="text-align: justify"></div> <p align="justify">In what turned out to be a stroke of good (but sad) luck for the filmmakers, and convenient timing for us viewers, this big screen adaptation of Nelson Mandela’s autobiography was being premiered in London on the same night that news of his death swept the world. Not entirely a coincidence, of course, since his health had been waning for a while, but it’s rare for us to be able to sit and watch a well-made, detailed look at an important figure’s life at the same time as he is being remembered worldwide.</p> <p align="justify">There have been a number of films about Mandela in recent years, but none gave us such a broad look at his life and major triumphs as this one. <em>Goodbye Bafana</em> was focused on his time in prison, as seen through the eyes of a racist guard, whilst the better known <em>Invictus </em>focused on a specific time during his presidency. This lengthy but entertaining adaptation spans the time from his early years as a bright lawyer to his involvement in the ANC and his eventual incarceration as a result. We then see a glimpse of what happened inside prison but also on the South African and world stage during those many years, as well as the huge outpouring of emotion and change on his release.</p> <p align="justify">Idris Elba (<em>The Wire</em>, <em>Thor</em>) might not resemble the kind-faced Mandela too much, but he steps into the part enthusiastically and by the end of the film has <em>become</em> the role in all the many facets required. He manages to portray both the suave, lady-charming young lawyer as well as the stately, wise leader that he becomes. Naomie Harris (<em>Skyfall</em>) dons a thick accent to match up to Mandela as his equally spirited and determined second wife, Winnie, who fought his cause through all those many years of being apart.</p> <p align="justify">The film is long, but it needs to cover a lot of ground, and it manages to include all the important political aspects without leaving out the human emotion. The now famous Struggle is mirrored by the smaller scale struggle of a very particular family. The Mandela family had to endure a lot and pay a hefty price, but they were ultimately crucial in the shaping of their country.</p> <p align="justify"> </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-6stBdFkhMgE/Usll8i-iu4I/AAAAAAAABRc/3OQdTXbLYhM/s1600-h/Mandela1%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img title="Mandela1" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="Mandela1" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-sNvN-JsP4ew/Usll9REyKeI/AAAAAAAABRk/zvyG8rZWdI8/Mandela1_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="600" height="200" /></a></p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-yRwWxAT6UhA/Usll94PM2xI/AAAAAAAABRo/gD9Hq4LRPus/s1600-h/Mark8%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img title="Mark8" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="Mark8" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-Gg-L3CYiQtw/Usll-NftwrI/AAAAAAAABR0/VjXzamVe4vY/Mark8_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="600" height="30" /></a></p> <p><em>Trailers:</em></p> <p><a href="http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/weinstein/mandelalongwalktofreedom/">http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/weinstein/mandelalongwalktofreedom/</a></p> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10304911.post-76220106369303720192013-12-12T22:51:00.001+01:002013-12-12T22:51:17.868+01:00The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug <a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-rAkxZNNpSgs/UqovwqUV8vI/AAAAAAAABQE/GWGW5ME25Vk/s1600-h/Hobbit%252520%2525282%252529%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img title="Hobbit (2)" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="Hobbit (2)" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-qmZL5XTd6qY/UqovxnAeAcI/AAAAAAAABQM/kEg90JviUw0/Hobbit%252520%2525282%252529_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="600" height="200" /></a> <br /> <ul> <li><i>Released Internationally on 11/12/13</i> </li> <li><i>Released in Malta by </i><a href="http://www.krsmalta.com/"><i>KRS</i></a><i> on 13/12/13</i> </li> </ul> <span style="color: #ff8000"><b>Review</b> (12/12/13)</span> <br /> <blockquote> <p><em>3-word review:<strong> <b>Necessary, uninspired viewing</b></strong></em><em><strong>.</strong></em> </p> <strong><em></em></strong></blockquote> <div style="text-align: justify"></div> <p align="justify">It’s 2013, and this second part of the Hobbit is released worldwide on the 13th of December, and once again features a rowdy company of 13 dwarves. So here’s 13 reasons why you should watch it, and, maybe more convincingly, 13 reasons why you shouldn’t.</p> <p><strong>13 reasons why you <em>should</em> watch ‘The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug’.</strong></p> <ol> <li> <div align="justify">It’s more entertaining than the rather dull <a href="http://www.marksmoviemarks.com/2012/12/the-hobbit-unexpected-journey.html" target="_blank">first instalment</a>.</div> </li> <li> <div align="justify">It’s slightly shorter, too.</div> </li> <li> <div align="justify">It starts off with a prologue sequence in Bree, which might bring you fond memories of <em>The Fellowship of the Ring</em>, as it is intended to.</div> </li> <li> <div align="justify">Martin Freeman is once again fun to watch as Bilbo, and Ian McKellen is his usual classy self as Gandalf.</div> </li> <li> <div align="justify">The first half is quite fast-paced and features a couple of interesting and fresh new characters.</div> </li> <li> <div align="justify">There’s an exciting and well-choreographed action sequence involving lots of barrels and lots of dwarves, which stands out in the book and is brought vividly to life here.</div> </li> <li> <div align="justify">There’s finally one place that looks, sounds and feels completely new - a picturesque town on a lake, which is probably the first part of the Hobbit trilogy not to look like a recycled <em>Lord of the Rings</em> set.</div> </li> <li> <div align="justify">The leader of said town is portrayed by Stephen Fry.</div> </li> <li> <div align="justify">The magical sense of occasion that permeated throughout the <em>Lord of the Rings</em> trilogy finally returns once the company reaches their destination and knocks on the door of Smaug the dragon.</div> </li> <li> <div align="justify">Smaug himself looks quite stunning (albeit similar to most other dragons we’ve ever seen on screen), and is voiced by the ever-eloquent Benedict Cumberbatch.</div> </li> <li> <div align="justify">The way that Smaug is revealed and introduced lives up to all the hype surrounding such a magnificent character.</div> </li> <li> <div align="justify">Just like the recent second <em>Hunger Games</em> film, and many famous second films in trilogies, this one has the luxury of ending with a cliff-hanger.</div> </li> <li> <div align="justify">You need to see this to be able to see the climactic end to the trilogy next year.</div> </li> </ol> <p> </p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-H_zQMEEO5VI/UqovyC_-mJI/AAAAAAAABQU/FI0gTaPZNZ8/s1600-h/Hobbit2%252520%2525282%252529%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img title="HBT2-fs-140204.DNG" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="HBT2-fs-140204.DNG" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-DGUacgtIsQU/Uqovy5VzAII/AAAAAAAABQc/jHHr4VOMkP4/Hobbit2%252520%2525282%252529_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="600" height="200" /></a></p> <p align="justify"><strong>13 reasons why you should <em>not</em> watch ‘The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug’.</strong></p> <ol> <li> <div align="justify">The main flaw of the first film has not been addressed, and in a sense <em>could not</em> be addressed. Once they committed to making three films out of such a short book, there was no way it was not going to be dragging, drawn out and stuffed with ‘filler’ material.</div> </li> <li> <div align="justify">The filler material includes the largely pointless prologue scene which feels so forced and fabricated, even including a repeat cameo by Peter Jackson just like in <em>The Fellowship of the Ring</em>, that you can’t but feel let down even before the main titles start.</div> </li> <li> <div align="justify">The lack of excitement is a recurring theme – such as in a long, complex scene involving huge spiders, which fails to provide anything new at all when compared to the excellent Shelob material we’ve already seen in <em>The Return of the King</em>.</div> </li> <li> <div align="justify">Gandalf is off on his errands as usual, but this time they are tedious, seemingly pointless, and to a large extent fabricated, besides slowing the films pace down even further.</div> </li> <li> <div align="justify">Nearly six hours into this tale, it’s still hard to sympathise with, delve into or even recognise most of the dwarves, despite evident attempts to make them distinguishable thanks to ridiculous hairstyles and traits.</div> </li> <li> <div align="justify">Evangeline Lilly (<em>Lost</em>) is a new main character, but her role also screams desperation - a desperate attempt to introduce some girl-power and a fresh face.</div> </li> <li> <div align="justify">Legolas (Orlando Bloom) is dragged into the proceedings, despite being completely absent from the source material, in what seems like a sad attempt at sharing some of the Lord of the Rings love and linking the two time frames.</div> </li> <li> <div align="justify">Surprisingly, the visual effects stand out as below par in certain instances, particularly the barrel action sequence.</div> </li> <li> <div align="justify">The attempts at linking the story with that of <em>The Lord of the Rings</em>, beyond the obvious links created by Tolkien, leads to the focus being stolen away from Smaug at certain key moments.</div> </li> <li> <div align="justify">Some scenes in the third act are so painfully long and dragging that you start to wonder if there was a pre-determined minimum length established for this film.</div> </li> <li> <div align="justify">None of Howard Shore’s new music, including the new themes for the town on the lake, stand out as half as inspired or memorable as the countless <a href="http://www.marksmoviemarks.com/2011/09/screen-themes-music-fo-middle-earth.html" target="_blank">themes</a> he wrote for the original trilogy.</div> </li> <li> <div align="justify">None of the dwarves are half as endearing as Gimli.</div> </li> <li> <div align="justify">The end credits song is an very unfortunate choice, and not a great fit for the tone of the film and the excellent end credit songs that preceded it.</div> </li> </ol> <p> </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-iMRXP9Sbaj4/UqovzvVGA7I/AAAAAAAABQg/p-BIKbZ9yso/s1600-h/Hobbit1%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img title="HBT-fs-300053.dng" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="HBT-fs-300053.dng" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-q8Ilkj3FfxY/Uqov0HfRPWI/AAAAAAAABQs/R70_Sltfib4/Hobbit1_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="600" height="200" /></a></p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-zunr0KInfXM/Uqov0oKbaqI/AAAAAAAABQw/sQ1YyECNI6k/s1600-h/Mark6%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img title="Mark6" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="Mark6" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-66k5ceK92dU/Uqov1Et85cI/AAAAAAAABQ4/WCzifOjAQ88/Mark6_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="600" height="30" /></a></p> <p><em>Trailers:</em></p> <p><a href="http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/wb/thehobbitthedesolationofsmaug/">http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/wb/thehobbitthedesolationofsmaug/</a></p> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10304911.post-55327499947277886352013-11-28T23:32:00.001+01:002013-11-28T23:32:22.555+01:00Saving Mr Banks <a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-NYKpCD5KIxo/UpfEZszOoMI/AAAAAAAABPM/WKrJUAKTKzQ/s1600-h/Banks%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img title="Banks" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="Banks" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-pal3NzG1Z7Q/UpfEaQyjFXI/AAAAAAAABPU/iZUdENhZdG8/Banks_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="600" height="200" /></a> <br /> <ul> <li><i>Released Internationally on 29/11/13</i> </li> <li><i>Released in Malta by </i><a href="http://www.krsmalta.com/"><i>KRS</i></a><i> on 29/11/13</i> </li> </ul> <span style="color: #ff8000"><b>Review</b> (28/11/13)</span> <br /> <blockquote> <p><em>3-word review:<strong> Unusual Disney Magic</strong></em><em><strong>.</strong></em> </p> <strong><em></em></strong></blockquote> <div style="text-align: justify"></div> <p align="justify">Most people alive today, or at least those in the western world, have had their childhood years sprinkled with Disney magic in some form or another. The baby boomers were around when Walt Disney himself was transforming the world of animation and family cinema; my generation got to savour the <em>Mermaid-Beauty-Aladdin</em> peak and all the unforgettable music it brought with it; and today’s children are spoilt for choice thanks to the excellent quality of recent offerings, especially the collaborations with Pixar. <em>Mary Poppins</em> has somehow persisted through all of this, with its most recent incarnation being a stage musical. A childhood without ever having heard the word ‘Supercalifragilistic-expialidocious’ is not one I would wish upon anyone.</p> <p align="justify"><strong>The making of</strong></p> <p align="justify">Which is a large part of the reason why this very unique film has such a great, nostalgic appeal to it. It is basically an entertaining, moving, film version of what you normally would expect to find amongst the extras on a DVD set. It is essentially a behind-the-scenes look at how 1964’s <em>Mary Poppins</em> was made. The reason it makes for entertaining viewing is that the author of the Mary Poppins children’s books - a very British lady who went by the name of P. L. Travers - was a very hard nut to crack, and it took Walt Disney many years and tonnes of charm to draw her to tinsel town and let him make the musical version of her books that he had promised his daughters. </p> <p align="justify"><strong>Nutcracker</strong></p> <p align="justify">There are few more enjoyable things to watch than a hard nut being slowly cracked, and acting goddess Emma Thompson is wonderful to watch as she slowly, and only very slightly, warms to the carefree Los Angeles ways and cautiously lets go of her precious literary creation. A large part of the persuasion process comes by way of the sublime music that the famous Sherman Brothers (portrayed here by B. J. Novak from <em>The Office</em> and Jason Schwartzman from <em>The Darjeeling Limited</em>) were composing at the peak of their powers, and which can still gets throats humming and toes tapping fifty years later.</p> <p align="justify"><strong>Walt</strong></p> <p align="justify">Filling the powerful but warm role of the head of the Disney empire himself is Tom Hanks, who delivers yet another seemingly understated but ultimately excellent performance after his recent <em>Captain Phillips</em>, although if he gets any awards glory this year I imagine it will be for that, not this. His to-and-fro wrangling with Travers whilst never wavering in his determination to make the film he wanted to make is the stuff of warm drama films, not forgotten DVD extras, so I’m glad it has been given this first class treatment. These scenes are carefully woven in between scenes from Travers’ childhood, where her loving but unreliable father (Colin Farrell) was a clear inspiration for the imperfect Mr Banks, and where the events that followed explain her unwavering devotion to the characters in her books.</p> <p align="justify"><strong>In the end</strong></p> <p align="justify">Ultimately, the film owes much of its feel-good factor and audience appeal to <em>Mary Poppins</em> itself, and even lifts a couple of songs for key scenes and touching moments. But the two stories are undeniably melded together, so it is a rare and wonderful joy to see this companion piece reach our cinema screens, and remind us of the excitement we felt, back when the winds were in the east, and the mist was coming in.</p> <p align="justify"> </p> <p align="justify"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-NlXdXkZEytQ/UpfEbI1vRqI/AAAAAAAABPY/Ss9t9qTnZU8/s1600-h/Banks2%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img title="Banks2" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="Banks2" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-r-fEGQaLrYI/UpfEb3dWLQI/AAAAAAAABPk/lKp9Mh8hFW0/Banks2_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="600" height="200" /></a></p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-N0jbp9yqwlk/UpfEcRrOSSI/AAAAAAAABPs/muYG34gB45g/s1600-h/Mark8%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img title="Mark8" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="Mark8" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-1gA9K7AZjpo/UpfEdJDOuCI/AAAAAAAABP0/m7CBdXpbRZk/Mark8_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="600" height="30" /></a></p> <p><em></em></p> <p><em>Trailers:</em></p> <p><a href="http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/disney/savingmrbanks/">http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/disney/savingmrbanks/</a></p> <div align="justify"></div> <div align="justify"></div> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10304911.post-18018400273097639622013-11-20T13:08:00.001+01:002013-11-20T14:00:37.320+01:00The Hunger Games: Catching Fire<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-TfGQ4UCVbrU/UoymFgEDL3I/AAAAAAAABOU/UeDtCiKuACc/s1600-h/Guh%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img title="Guh" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Guh" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-OaaS5gaWttA/UoymGDPBovI/AAAAAAAABOc/eF82Y-YI6RQ/Guh_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="600" height="200" /></a> <br /> <ul> <li><i>Released Internationally on 20/11/13</i> </li> <li><i>Released in Malta by </i><a href="http://www.krsmalta.com/"><i>KRS</i></a><i> on 21/11/13</i> </li> </ul> <span style="color: #ff8000"><b>Review</b> (20/11/13)</span> <br /> <blockquote> <p><em>3-word review:<strong> Even better sequel</strong></em><em><strong>.</strong></em> </p> <strong><em></em></strong></blockquote> <div style="text-align: justify"></div> <div align="justify">I think I’ll stop rushing to read books before they are made into films. It makes the films so much more enjoyable when I have no clue what’s coming next. I hadn’t read the <em>Hunger Games</em> books when the first film was released, and I enjoyed it so much I decided not to read the other two, despite itching to know what comes next. And here I am, hugely satisfied by the second film, and itching to know what happens in the third. But I’ll be patient.</div> <div align="justify">Of course, the eternal debaters between the book and the film choices would point out that reading the books without having seen the films offers the same raw joy, but considering how many books I have lined up waiting to be read, I think I’ll be fine without delving into these particular  three.</div> <div align="justify"> </div> <div align="justify"><strong>So where were we?</strong></div> <div align="justify">But I digress. This second film definitely assumes you have watched the first, and picks up soon after Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence, now an Oscar winner) and Peeta (subtle but effective Josh Hutcherson) have won the 74th edition of the infamous Hunger Games, in a dystopian world somewhere in the future. Their stirring victory and apparent love story has sent ripples of admiration and defiance through the twelve districts of Panem, and President Snow (a wonderfully malicious Donald Sutherland) rightly fears a revolution. He schemes with his new Head Gamesmaker (Philip Seymour Hoffman) to get them eliminated or at least have their image deflated, by hosting a 75th Hunger Games that involves participants selected from amongst past winners. So sort of like the Champions League, but instead of getting knocked out, you’re killed.</div> <div align="justify"> </div> <div align="justify"><strong>Deeply disturbing stuff</strong></div> <div align="justify">Much like the first film, the strength of this sequel is the worrying concept at its core, and the unsettling similarities to the world we live in, where TV and reality work together to manipulate audiences, and too much is done purely for show. The capital city’s thriving population feeds off the work and misery of the backward districts, and their celebrity TV presenter (a finely-tuned manic performance by Stanley Tucci) turns shocking and morbid news into sound bites for the cheering crowds. Death is reduced to a mere TV event, and lives are judged by their impact on TV audiences. It’s a far exaggerated version of the reality TV scenarios we have today, but so much of it rings eerily true. The helpless people on TV are instructed to merely be a distraction, so that the unwashed masses in the audience don’t have time to think about the real problems in their lives.</div> <div align="justify"> </div> <div align="justify"><strong>Making us accomplices</strong></div> <div align="justify">One of the impressive feats of the film, although I’m not sure whether intentionally or not, is that during the extensive build-up to the games, as we meet the eventual participants and see what is really at stake, the revulsion at the concept of the murderous games is mixed with a palpable anticipation for the games to start. I for one felt a rush when the countdown finally began and all hell broke loose. It’s hugely entertaining of course, and just like the manipulated workers of Panem I was eager to see the contest unfold. But of course, these are not straightforward games like we saw in the first film.</div> <div align="justify"> </div> <div align="justify"><strong>Cast and crew</strong></div> <div align="justify">The star-studded cast makes for quite an impressive list. Complementing Tucci as another well-executed fake is Elizabeth Banks (<em>Zack and Miri Make a Porno</em>) as the District 12 escort, and trying to keep calm and grounded amidst all the craziness is celebrated designer Cinna (Lenny Kravitz). Woody Harrelson also returns as the previous District 12 victor who mentors the new stars, and Liam Hemsworth (younger brother to <em>Thor</em> star Chris) resumes duties as Katniss’ close friend and hopefully more. The new participants in the games include a few familiar faces too - Jeffrey Wright (<em>Syriana, Casino Royale</em>), Amanda Plummer (Honey Bunny from <em>Pulp Fiction</em>), Lynn Cohen (Munich) and Jena Malone (<em>Donnie Darko</em>). This sequel has a new director (Francis Lawrence, <em>I Am Legend</em>) and writers (Simon Beaufoy, <em>Slumdog Millionaire</em>; Michael Arndt, <em>Little Miss Sunshine</em>) but they do a remarkable job of continuing seamlessly where the first film left off, also thanks to the recurring musical themes of James Newton Howard (<em>Batman Begins, The Sixth Sense</em>).</div> <div align="justify"> </div> <div align="justify"><strong>In the end</strong></div> <div align="justify">This is extremely entertaining cinema, and it touches on a host of themes, from unrequited love to the power of the media, and all showcased in a post-apocalyptic world where excess and poverty feed off each other. The plot is taken up a notch in this second instalment, after the seeds of revolution were sown in the first, and I eagerly anticipate the next part of the story. The film also has that rare luxury only offered to second films in trilogies, which <em>The Empire Strikes Back</em> and <em>The Two Towers</em> made such excellent use of - the downer, cliff-hanger, ending.</div> <div align="justify"></div> <div align="justify"></div> <div align="justify"> </div> <div align="justify"><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-pIA6OcQIGKQ/UoymG7YlT6I/AAAAAAAABOk/9ju7REHWSrM/s1600-h/Guh1%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img title="Guh1" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Guh1" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-YtC3md9AO8Q/UoymHtcJj-I/AAAAAAAABOs/gTgyOooJtF4/Guh1_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="600" height="200" /></a></div> <div align="justify"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-WCs7_XsbwWY/UoymILbloAI/AAAAAAAABOw/5mNr8fZbjqs/s1600-h/Mark8%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img title="Mark8" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Mark8" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-nH4ggrxj5uY/UoymIgklJ-I/AAAAAAAABO8/sZHc-HfWalI/Mark8_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="600" height="30" /></a></div> <div align="justify"></div> <div align="justify"></div> <div align="justify"></div> <em>Trailers:</em> <br /><a href="http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/lions_gate/thehungergamescatchingfire/">http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/lions_gate/thehungergamescatchingfire/</a> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10304911.post-41097705550216472232013-11-14T16:27:00.000+01:002013-11-17T16:29:56.541+01:00The Counsellor<p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-2yGzGeBIFJc/UojgffBpTII/AAAAAAAABNc/Es23JYgjIAQ/s1600-h/Counselor1%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img title="Counselor1" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="Counselor1" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-sU2qadQzs1c/UojggD3iSSI/AAAAAAAABNk/VnvLeQ2wNsY/Counselor1_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="600" height="200" /></a></p> <ul> <li><i>Released Internationally on 25/10/13</i> </li> <li><i>Released in Malta by </i><a href="http://www.krsmalta.com/"><i>KRS</i></a><i> on 15/11/13</i> </li> </ul> <span style="color: #ff8000"><b>Review</b> (14/11/13)</span> <br /> <blockquote> <p><em>3-word review:<strong> What a waste</strong></em><em><strong>.</strong></em> <br /></p> <strong><em></em></strong></blockquote> <div style="text-align: justify"></div> <p align="justify">It is unfortunate when the collaboration between numerous talented people turns out to be quite a mess. This is one of those instances. Ridley Scott isn’t very consistent, but for over three decades now he has been directing films from a wide range of genres, many of which turn out to be hugely successful and established as classics. Cormac McCarthy, an American novelist, has a very particular style which makes it hard to put his books down. His fame soared recently thanks to the excellent adaptations of two of his best novels - <em>No Country For Old Men</em> and <em>The Road</em>. This is his first attempt at writing a screenplay. Cast-wise, Brad Pitt, Penélope Cruz, Michael Fassbender, Cameron Diaz and Javier Bardem hardly need any introduction. Yet, despite all these big names drawing you in and raising your expectations, there is a distinct feeling of ‘so what?’ by the time the credits roll.</p> <p align="justify"><strong>No ordinary world</strong></p> <p align="justify">The technical aspects are fine, as expected. Everything looks great, from the tantalisingly sexy intro to the bleached look of the scenes in the Mexican desert. The film is set in a world of sharp contrasts - where the filthy-rich owners of pet cheetahs share business dealings with the filthy and crazy world of drug cartels. Michael Fassbender’s clean cut lawyer is new to this underworld, and he hopes to make just a quick visit, for one big-paying job. His crazy client (Javier Bardem) sets it up, but he warns him that it’s hard to not get sucked in. Brad Pitt is the wise, mysterious advisor who has seen it all and is trying to get out while he can. Cameron Diaz is the client’s sexy but dangerous girlfriend. The only seemingly normal person, and presumably the one the audience should try to relate to, is the lawyer’s girlfriend, played with wide-eyed innocence by Penélope Cruz.</p> <p align="justify"><strong>Deliberate</strong></p> <p align="justify">Things plod along fairly slowly, but at least it is to McCarthy’s credit that the dialogue is lyrical and attention-grabbing. But the rather thin plot takes much too long to develop, and things rarely get exciting or moving in any way. A few key sequences stand out as vivid ideas that the author might have dreamt up, but they serve little purpose except to allow some character to describe them in disgusting detail. It’s as if he thought of a couple of ways to kill a person, and a couple of fascinating anecdotes, and built a film around them. They make for a few memorable scenes, but not for a good film. Some of the resulting episodes are not for the squeamish, although the most disturbing stuff happens off screen, which makes it all the more effective.</p> <p align="justify"><strong>In the end</strong></p> <p align="justify">The word ‘cautionary’ comes up as the counsellor is warned about the dangers of what he is getting himself into, and ultimately that is what <em>The Counsellor</em> is - a cautionary tale. I imagine it would have made for an interesting book, but in heading straight for the screen is has ended up as rather dry and uneventful. There are many slow-paced, deliberate and observational films that I have loved over the years, but this is definitely not one of them. I predict that a couple of sequences will stick around in my memory, but the rest is a forgettable missed opportunity.</p> <p align="justify"></p> <p align="justify"> </p> <p align="justify"><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-thh3OJjCSaw/UojggsY55PI/AAAAAAAABNs/-QA7re7A9Q8/s1600-h/Counselor2%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img title="Counselor2" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="Counselor2" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-j8ftmOnmyVs/UojghXnNoMI/AAAAAAAABNw/H9_dILAgJ4I/Counselor2_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="600" height="200" /></a></p> <p align="justify"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-iCPKqTxiWrk/Uojgh9xnudI/AAAAAAAABN4/2sd-dFwTnac/s1600-h/Mark5%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img title="Mark5" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="Mark5" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-UnU55ExxCqg/UojgiQOzrEI/AAAAAAAABOA/wrq3ZI7v-sM/Mark5_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="600" height="30" /></a></p> <div align="justify"></div> <div align="justify"></div> <div align="justify"></div> <p><em>Trailers:</em> </p> <p><a href="http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/fox/thecounselor/">http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/fox/thecounselor/</a></p> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10304911.post-83014279903257218942013-11-07T21:05:00.000+01:002013-11-08T01:10:12.252+01:00Gravity<p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-0a0KsU8sZqo/Unwr1wkCnQI/AAAAAAAABMk/D0Pn1hNO4Gg/s1600-h/Gravity4_thumb%25255B2%25255D%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img title="Gravity4_thumb[2]" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="Gravity4_thumb[2]" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-OnR2KrZQPcs/Unwr2U6LwvI/AAAAAAAABMo/Ws8IwQAC_jE/Gravity4_thumb%25255B2%25255D_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="600" height="200" /></a></p> <ul> <li><i>Released Internationally on 03/10/13</i> </li> <li><i>Released in Malta by </i><a href="http://www.krsmalta.com/"><i>KRS</i></a><i> on 08/11/13</i> </li> </ul> <span style="color: #ff8000"><b>Review</b> (07/11/13)</span> <br /> <blockquote> <p><em>3-word review:<strong> Go watch it</strong></em><em><strong>.</strong></em> <br /></p> <strong><em></em></strong></blockquote> <div style="text-align: justify"></div> <p align="justify">Some films are beautiful, whilst others sacrifice the sweeping vistas and slow shots to deliver a fast-paced thriller instead. <em>Gravity</em> manages to do both, resulting in a film that manages to be gripping from start to finish, whilst still finding time to be a gorgeous feast for the senses.   </p> <p align="justify"><strong>Simple, always simple</strong> </p> <p align="justify">The first beautiful thing about this film is its simplicity. Two astronauts - one a seasoned veteran (George Clooney) and one a first-timer (Sandra Bullock), are on a space walk when their mission goes very wrong. Cut off from their usual lines of communication and well-rehearsed procedures, they need to struggle to survive. That’s more or less it. No cliché pre-take off introductions on earth, no flashbacks, no deus ex machina. Just a simple, immersive story that leaves you stunned for an hour and a half. </p> <p align="justify"><strong>Great performances</strong> </p> <p align="justify">As ground-breaking as the technical wizardry on display is, the film succeeds largely thanks to the wonderful presence of both Clooney and Bullock. Clooney is in familiar territory here, character-wise, as the wise veteran who knows all the tricks, offers a voice of reassurance, and never takes things too seriously. His calming presence is vital to his partner in space, whom Bullock instils with equal doses of insecurity and deep-seated determination. </p> <p align="justify"><strong>A visual feast</strong> </p> <p align="justify">Nowadays, it’s rare that I catch myself wondering ‘How did they do that?!’ when watching a film. I thought it a handful of times during this one. The sheer logistics of creating these completely convincing spacewalks and zero gravity accidents must have caused many a headache, but the end result makes you glad you have your 3D glasses on and a huge screen in front of your face. One scene in particular, as Bullock’s character enjoys a much-earned moment of freedom in zero gravity, is one of those priceless scenes where everything gels perfectly and makes you catch your breath. </p> <p align="justify"><strong>Don’t let go</strong> </p> <p align="justify">The film somehow manages to keep the tension and action going for most of its running length without ever getting tedious or tiring. Things keep going wrong, but not once does it feel far-fetched. The audience is toyed with continuously, given fleeting moments of security before they are pulled out from under us. This makes for a powerful human drama, the rise and fall of which is played out on the rate of Bullock’s breathing. </p> <p align="justify"><strong>Technical masterpiece</strong> </p> <p align="justify">This is an astounding achievement in every regard. The eerie, pulsating music; the visual effects; the spectacular shots of earth; the great use of sound - it all comes with a sheen of excellence and feels so much better and cleaner than anything I can recall in many months. Easily the best film of the year so far, and one of the most accomplished pieces of cinema I can remember experiencing. </p> <p align="justify"> </p> <p align="justify"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/--JeVDUz_-Yg/Unwr29t_xSI/AAAAAAAABM0/_1kjh0jBwIU/s1600-h/Gravity0_thumb%25255B2%25255D%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img title="Gravity0_thumb[2]" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="Gravity0_thumb[2]" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-gpDECynOD2k/Unwr3iBJIPI/AAAAAAAABM8/HMULiabRmv4/Gravity0_thumb%25255B2%25255D_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="600" height="200" /></a></p> <p align="justify"><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-osXpVeqUrFw/Unwr4LeHjDI/AAAAAAAABNA/5Dt8IJk9GV4/s1600-h/Mark10_thumb%25255B2%25255D%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img title="Mark10_thumb[2]" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="Mark10_thumb[2]" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-kD25c6SfzOU/Unwr4v-gY8I/AAAAAAAABNM/WbrfzsRYJ-8/Mark10_thumb%25255B2%25255D_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="600" height="30" /></a></p> <div align="justify"></div> <div align="justify"></div> <div align="justify"></div> <p><em>Trailers:</em> </p> <p><a href="http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/wb/gravity/">http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/wb/gravity/</a></p> <div id="scid:5737277B-5D6D-4f48-ABFC-DD9C333F4C5D:87675e83-62c0-4eea-8604-e1acc57d73a4" class="class" style="float: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px"><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" height="252" width="448" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ufsrgE0BYf0?hd=1" wmode="transparent" /> <div class="wlEditField" style="font-size: 0.8em; clear: both; width: 448px" maxcharactersaccepted="245" defaulttext="Enter video caption here" wlpropertypath="Video.caption">Teaser Trailer</div> </div> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10304911.post-80383562243557178982013-10-29T23:26:00.001+01:002013-10-29T23:26:34.418+01:00Thor: The Dark World <a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-BaYvZSeGw3Y/UnA2CRvkrkI/AAAAAAAABKU/-_uHDY8WHzw/s1600-h/Thor2%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img title="Thor2" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="Thor2" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-aEFTfLpke1k/UnA2DFV42iI/AAAAAAAABKc/x_KlhuM6mQI/Thor2_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="600" height="200" /></a> <br /> <ul> <li><i>Released Internationally on 30/10/13</i> </li> <li><i>Released in Malta by </i><a href="http://www.krsmalta.com/"><i>KRS</i></a><i> on 30/10/13</i> </li> </ul> <br /><span style="color: #ff8000"><b>Review</b> (29/10/13)</span> <br /> <blockquote> <p><em>3-word review:<strong> London gets hammered</strong></em><em><strong>.</strong></em> <br /></p> <strong><em></em></strong></blockquote> <div style="text-align: justify"></div> <p align="justify"><strong>Possibly better than the first one</strong></p> <p align="justify">I was a bit wary of this sequel. Kenneth Branagh’s <em>Thor</em> was entertaining enough, but it felt a bit heartless, and focused too much on the pomp and circumstance of the world of Asgard (where Thor and his dad, Odin, are from). When the action shifted down to earth for something us viewers could relate to, it was small towns in the middle of nowhere, and hardly scenes befitting a movie of that scale. Thankfully, these flaws have nearly all been addressed this time around.</p> <p align="justify"><strong>Not all Dark</strong></p> <p align="justify">The prologue is rather grand, with battle scenes reminiscent of the <em>Lord of the Rings</em> prologue, and although I usually prefer the earthly action to the other-worldly lore in these films, the backstory and mythology don’t outstay their welcome. We’re introduced to a new nemesis - the silent and scary Malekith, portrayed with not many words but a lot of presence by Christopher Eccleston (Elizabeth). The fine details of his history and masterplan are not too important, of course, but the film does require a rather hefty suspension of belief for us to grasp that when instructed to hide a great evil power somewhere in the universe where nobody would find it, someone hid it in an abandoned building in a London industrial zone. But anyway, things move swiftly to the action.</p> <p align="justify"><strong>Loki Loki Loki</strong></p> <p align="justify">For all his posturing and unsightly prosthetics, the new bad guy still pales in comparison to the hugely effective Loki (Tom Hiddleston), who post-<em>Avengers</em> gets to walk that delightfully ambiguous line between friend and foe, and who makes very good use of his screen time in this instalment of the Avengers saga. His chemistry, or lack thereof, with his adoptive brother Thor allows for a few well-conceived scenes and a good dose of Asgard family dynamics.</p> <p align="justify"><strong>Between two worlds</strong></p> <p align="justify">Thankfully, the Asgard scenes, as well as those in other worlds, are regularly interrupted by down-to-earth action that help keeps the film somewhat grounded and relevant. The focus is mostly on present-day London, with the Shard getting the sort of attention cinema used to give to Big Ben, and the recent ‘walkie talkie’ building also making an appearance. The film’s final confrontation takes place on British soil, and is rather enjoyable if you manage to ignore all the ridiculous scientific explanations that Jane (Natalie Portman) and her team insist on shouting out intermittently. </p> <p align="justify"><strong>In the end</strong></p> <p align="justify">Chris Hemsworth (<em>Rush</em>) manages to keep Thor likeable and reliable, despite him not being half as interesting a hero as Iron Man, or even Captain America for that matter. The film slots nicely into the <em>Avengers</em> timeline, and doesn’t take itself too seriously, with even an amusing cameo or two, as expected. Director Alan Taylor has previously done an excellent job directing <em>Sopranos</em>, <em>Mad Men</em> and even <em>Game of Thrones</em> episodes; and here he shows that he can handle an event film like this one. It’s nothing too refined, but at least it’s good fun. And of course, make sure you sit through the end credits.</p> <p align="justify"> </p> <div style="text-align: justify"></div> <div align="justify"></div> <div align="justify"></div> <div align="justify"></div> <div align="justify"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-cnsoAtizjdM/UnA2DlBXkGI/AAAAAAAABKk/C2pTMCvH0d0/s1600-h/Thor22%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img title="Thor22" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="Thor22" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-ovFQh1QVCSE/UnA2EurdLDI/AAAAAAAABKo/3FKKaMdygK8/Thor22_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="600" height="200" /></a></div> <div align="justify"></div> <div align="justify"></div> <div align="justify"></div> <div align="justify"></div> <div align="justify"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-BOWpqmdPHgk/UnA2FJxhTPI/AAAAAAAABKw/-8vU1T_F2FA/s1600-h/Mark7%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img title="Mark7" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="Mark7" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-7Go9KyrRCgg/UnA2F_wYvfI/AAAAAAAABK8/od0RuQMICdo/Mark7_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="600" height="30" /></a></div> <div align="justify"></div> <div align="justify"></div> <div align="justify"></div> <p><em></em></p> <p><em>Trailers:</em> <br /><a href="http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/marvel/thorthedarkworld/">http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/marvel/thorthedarkworld/</a></p> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10304911.post-18756433198900650142013-10-28T20:27:00.000+01:002013-11-08T01:09:21.817+01:00Captain Phillips<p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-OLJV3eYwtz8/UnA6ItGH4_I/AAAAAAAABLI/I_pEgEWUFbc/s1600-h/CaptainPhillips%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img title="930353 - Captain Phillips" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="930353 - Captain Phillips" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-5Cr2raLrkXs/UnA6Jdhe8sI/AAAAAAAABLQ/6fFA15jn9qc/CaptainPhillips_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="600" height="200" /></a></p> <ul> <li><i>Released Internationally on 10/10/13</i> </li> <li><i>Released in Malta by </i><a href="http://www.krsmalta.com/"><i>KRS</i></a><i> on 18/10/13</i> </li> </ul> <span style="color: #ff8000"><b>Mini-Review</b> (29/10/13)</span> <br /> <blockquote> <p><em>3-word review:<strong> Hanks excels again</strong></em><em><strong>.</strong></em> <br /></p> <strong><em></em></strong></blockquote> <div style="text-align: justify"></div> <p align="justify">Some of the best films ever made focus on a single person’s struggle, and Tom Hanks has portrayed that person on numerous occasions. He’s back in top form here, as the true life captain of the first American cargo ship to be captured by Somali pirates back in 2009, before these hijackings became regular news. Director Paul Greengrass (<em>United 93</em>, <em>The Bourne Ultimatum</em>) gives us a simple, no-frills look at the unfolding events, and Hanks perfectly portrays the ordinary man caught up in extraordinary circumstances. His powerful acting starts off subtle and unremarkable but ends in a powerful finale as the hostage situation reaches its conclusion. Credit must also go to the supporting cast, especially his captors – clearly desperate and unprepared, but led by the chillingly calm Muse (impressive first time actor Barkhad Abdi). It’s a moving story of confrontation and survival, and a great piece of cinema.</p> <p align="justify"> </p> <p align="justify"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-WWwO8Yytdns/UnA6KOUGbII/AAAAAAAABLU/t450yC3WWR8/s1600-h/Mark9%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img title="Mark9" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Mark9" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-C9r0YwiHAuI/UnA6KhXrknI/AAAAAAAABLc/xnAStGAulAM/Mark9_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="600" height="30" /></a></p> <div align="justify"></div> <div align="justify"></div> <div align="justify"></div> <p><em>Trailers:</em> <br /><a href="http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/sony_pictures/captainphillips/">http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/sony_pictures/captainphillips/</a></p> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10304911.post-11305873652654065602013-10-22T15:10:00.000+02:002013-10-23T15:16:09.173+02:00The World’s End<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-SmpiMA24MjU/Ukgq5r4feKI/AAAAAAAABJc/_cNyGU1eziI/s1600-h/WorldsEnd%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="The World's End" border="0" height="200" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-x95bjcgE0vU/Ukgq6cGCf-I/AAAAAAAABJk/ib7ns6NRkXU/WorldsEnd_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="The World's End" width="600" /></a> <br />
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<li><i>Released Internationally on 18/07/13</i> </li>
<li><i>Released in Malta by </i><a href="http://www.krsmalta.com/"><i>KRS</i></a><i> on 23/10/13</i> </li>
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<span style="color: #ff8000;"><b>Review</b> (08/10/13)</span> <br />
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<em>3-word review:<strong> Sadly, too silly.</strong></em><br />
<strong><em></em></strong></blockquote>
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<b>The Cornetto Trilogy</b><br />
I am a huge fan of the first two instalments of this unofficial trilogy, which features different stories set in different times, but sharing a certain level of craziness and black humour. They're all written and directed by Edgar Wright (who also brought us the wonderful <i>Scott Pilgrim</i>), and they all star the duo Simon Pegg (<i>Star Trek</i>) and Nick Frost (<i>The Boat that Rocked</i>), who have great chemistry on screen. The first, <i>Shaun of the Dead</i>, was a near-perfect humourous take on zombie films; and the second, <i>Hot Fuzz</i>, was a wildly entertaining homage to over-the-top action films from the 80s. This third outing unfortunately falls short of its predecessors, especially in the second half.</div>
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Things start of promisingly, with a fast, joyous and entertaining prologue sequence that introduces us to five old friends and the legendary antics they got up to a few decades ago. Their present day incarnations are all rather serious types, except for the loose cannon Gary King (Pegg), who never quite grew up. The one thing he has going for him is his infective enthusiasm, and he manages to convince the old gang to head back to their hometown and try to complete the famous pub crawl that they attempted many moons ago. Apart from Pegg and Frost, the central quintet is rounded off by Martin Freeman (<i>The Hobbit</i>), Paddy Considine (<i>The Bourne Ultimatum</i>) and Eddie Marsan (<i>Happy Go Lucky</i>).</div>
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Of course, as happens with nostalgia, things aren't as amazing as everyone remembered them to be, and the film offers some half-hearted commentary about the unfortunate gentrification of British pubs, and the rose-tinted distortion of childhood memories. It is, however, fun to watch the central five warm to each other as the pints get consumed and the stories start coming out. When the levels of testosterone get too high, Rosamund Pike (<i>Die Another Day</i>) waltzes in to offer a female touch, and she triggers off a whole slew of further memories.<br />
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<b>But...</b><br />
The above lasts all of forty minutes, and is fun to watch, in a warm, non-demanding way. Then, as expected, all hell breaks loose. I was, of course, expecting this, since the film's title is evidently not just the name of the pub crawl's final pub, and in <i>Hot Fuzz</i>, the sudden change in tone of the film half-way through was marvellously executed and great fun. But here, things manage to get <i>too</i> silly. I am fully aware that 'silly' was a core element of the previous two films, but there's a limit. This film crosses that limit, and hands us a second and third act that are too ridiculous to sustain any prolonged interest. It's a pity, because in between all the carnage and nonsense there are a handful of good jokes and potentially touching moments. But it's all drowned in a big, expensive-looking mess.<br />
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<b>In the end</b><br />
The messy ending is made even worse by an epilogue scene that adds nothing and doesn't make much sense, and by the time the end credits rolled I had nearly forgotten the high hopes and warm feelings I felt throughout the first part of the film. Thankfully, the three films in this 'trilogy' are separate entities, so in future years we can still look back at <i>Shaun of the Dead</i> and <i>Hot Fuzz</i> with the respect and affection they deserve, whilst hopefully forgetting about this one.</div>
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<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-XavzG9BEYpY/Ukgq8VUsDuI/AAAAAAAABJ4/q_QTCYV9jp4/s1600-h/Mark5%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Mark5" border="0" height="30" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-XnXrYRAGyoA/Ukgq8_T5j3I/AAAAAAAABKE/4suFdqF876o/Mark5_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Mark5" width="600" /></a></div>
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<em>Trailers:</em> <br />
<a href="http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/focus_features/theworldsend/" title="http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/focus_features/theworldsend/">http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/focus_features/theworldsend/</a> Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10304911.post-54883168838194186822013-09-30T00:40:00.000+02:002013-10-05T00:40:49.247+02:00Diana<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-hVdbtkhnZzI/UkgpBOKr1WI/AAAAAAAABIo/vc8wYYbMQUs/s1600-h/Diana%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Diana" border="0" height="200" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-oIj7IRGMdbM/UkgpB9eMemI/AAAAAAAABIw/nMam55PNSBw/Diana_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Diana" width="600" /></a><br />
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<ul>
<li><i>Released Internationally on 20/09/13</i> </li>
<li><i>Released in Malta by </i><a href="http://www.krsmalta.com/"><i>KRS</i></a><i> on 02/10/13</i> </li>
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<span style="color: #ff8000;"><b>Review</b> (30/09/13)</span> <br />
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<em>3-word review:<strong> A missed opportunity.</strong></em><br />
<strong><em></em></strong></blockquote>
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This is by no means a successful, definitive, biopic. Those films are hard to find, and in recent years have often been passed over in lieu of films focusing on specific periods or incidents in famous people’s lives, without ambitiously claiming to be an all-encompassing account of the person’s time amongst the living. <i>The King’s Speech</i> was a wonderfully-executed example of these focused types, whereas <i>The Iron Lady</i> was a rather successful overview of Thatcher from her dawn to her twilight. </div>
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Making a modern royal biopic must be quite tricky. A chunk of your intended audience probably have the subject of your film on some pedestal and will carefully scrutinise your every move and see if the film is worthy of its subject. Another chunk hate the idea of a monarchy and will gladly ignore the film or tear it to shreds. But it gets even trickier when your subject is one of the most photographed and public figures of the past decades, and everyone has an opinion about her.</div>
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As superficial as it sounds, however, a lot is riding on the resemblance of your main star to the person in question, aided as necessary by prosthetics and makeup. Which is a large part, of course, of why <i>The Iron Lady</i> worked. Naomi Watts, despite her very good acting and wonderfully 80s hairdo, does not look like Diana, and it takes a while for this to sink in and allow you to look past it. In fact some of the best shots in the film feature her from behind or from an angle, and I found myself making a double take to see whether it was archival footage or a carefully re-created scene. </div>
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Unfortunately these designed re-enactments of iconic Diana photos and moments are the most enjoyable aspect of the film, since the love story itself feels like a standard soap-opera romance, which could be completely accurate, or mostly conjecture - we might never know. Naveen Andrews (<i>Lost, Sinbad</i>) is confident enough to pull off the role of the heart surgeon who stole Diana’s heart, and Watts manages to combine enough grace and fragility with occasional moments of daring to remind us what a complex person Diana must have been.</div>
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It’s interesting to dip back into the mid-90s, in an era of flip-phones, Concordes and cassette tapes, because back then the internet was brand new, and despite Diana’s constant media presence she was spared the endless, permanent internet plastering that some celebrities get today. Which might be why she managed to enjoy this modicum of privacy and have a last few years searching for happiness, albeit away from her sons for long stretches. “My boys need to see me happy”, she said, and at least she gave it a good try.</div>
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The cardiac love story plays out as we expect it to, and the film feels like it could end there, but of course it needs to go on a bit longer so that Dodi Fayed (Cas Avnar - <i>Argo</i>) can come into play, and lead things towards that fateful night in Paris. The chilling, famous scenes most of us will recognise provide a powerful coda to this sad tale, but ultimately they fail to lift this film to the incisive portrait it could have been.</div>
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<em>Trailers:</em> <br />
<a href="http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/independent/diana/" title="http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/independent/diana/">http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/independent/diana/</a> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0