Sunday, August 27, 2006

Failure to Launch

I started watching this film expecting it to be stupid and I was not disappointed. In fact I was actually a little surprised at how stupid it was. The plot was utterly ridiculous, the acting dreadful and the on-screen chemistry between McConaughey and Parker completely unconvincing. Despite all that, there were a couple of laughs to be had, but they were spread fairly thinly. I can not recommend this film in any way really and suggest you give it a wide berth.

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

United 93

This is a remarkably good movie. Considering everyone going to see it knows the outcome, the film does a great job building a sense of dread throughout and particularly for allowing viewers the irrational hope that the final outcome may be different. I was also pleasantly surprised by the restraint shown by the director - there was none of the pro-American, anti-Muslim sentiment that I feared would occur. The film shows the passengers reacting to save their own lives, not as the result of any particular patriotic fervour. This is a far more realistic approach given the paucity of information the passengers had at hand as to what was occurring in the US on that fateful day. I thoroughly recommend this film but prepared to be on the edge of your seat from start to finish.

Monday, August 07, 2006

Head in the Clouds

I had not heard of this movie before which is a little surprising given who is in it - Charlize Theron, her 'real life' boyfriend Stuart Townsend and Penelope Cruz. The movie itself is simply OK - an epic love story based in Europe between the wars - but it is by no means brilliant. It never quite takes off and the movies credibility wanes somewhat in the WW2 scenes. However, it is worth watching on DVD, if only to see Charlize and Penelope together.

Sunday, August 06, 2006

Transamerica

I was really disappointed with this movie. I had been expecting really good things given the positive reviews it had received when it was first released. However, I found that it was simply a road movie held together by the members of a dysfunctional family. Felicty Huffman does do an incredible job as a woman playing a man playing a woman - however she is a standout and other than some mildly humourous moments, the movie is dull and predictable. Such a shame.