Rev Stan's film blog

The 'argh getting behind with my reviews'* review: Red Hill

First of yesterday's double bill was this Australia thriller/Western starring Ryan Kwanten of True Blood fame.

Kwanten plays Shane Cooper a policeman who requested a transfer from the city to the backwater town of Red Hill so that his wife could be in a less stressful environment for her pregnancy. The action takes place during his first day, where initially the existing police officers are unwelcoming. Normal duties are quickly forgotten when news comes in that a former local resident and convicted murderer Jimmy Conway has escaped from his city prison.

It seems that there is more to Red Hill than first impressions would suggest, particularly when the Sheriff orders a lock down convinced that Conway will head straight for his former home town. He posts policemen and locals with guns on all routes. Our Shane, being the newbie, is posted on the least likely route Jimmy will take.

And so starts a cat and mouse game of stopping our murderer as he waltzes into town, sawn-off shotgun blazing and no shred of mercy.

Harry Potter through the Pensieve

This just makes me want to watch the films back to back. Hmmm it's a bank holiday weekend.....

  

Take a hankie Benedict Cumberbatch is dying: Third Star

It is a shame that Third star is on such a limited release because once again we have a cracking low budget indie Brit flick that few are going to get the opportunity to see.

I saw it last sunday at the Empire in Leicester Square's smallest screening room which is up lots of stairs and has a screen that seems too big for the size of the room. It was virtually sold out which meant Poly and I had to sit on the front row about two foot from the screen.

The plot does sound a little depressing and a little predictable. It's central character James played with beautiful subtlety by Benedict Cumberbatch* is 29 but dying of cancer. He wants to hike to his favourite beach in Pembrokeshire one last time and so his three childhood friends decide to take him, aided by a wheelchair come rickshaw contraption for the equipment and when he tires.

The difficult Hanna review and the marvellous Tom Hollander

Tricky one this hence why it's taken me a week to get around to writing it. Tricky because I'm not quite sure what to make of Joe Wright's new movie Hanna.

In an interview he said he wanted to create a film that wasn't easy to pigeon-hole into a particular genre. So maybe it's me reacting to the fact that I can't decide what type of film it is or maybe Joe Wright has got it wrong.

To rewind a little, the story is that Hanna (Saoirse Ronan) has been raised by her father Erik (Eric Bana) in isolation, in the frozen north of Finland, to be an assassin. The time comes when she must go and complete the job she has been trained for which is to kill CIA bigwig Marissa (Cate Blanchett). But there is more to Hanna's past and her mission than meets the eye.

You could describe it as a chase movie as Hanna is pursued across Europe, discovering the truth along the way.

First, the problems I have with it:

a) It is very violent and brutal for a film which is essentially about a teenage assassin and this isn't in the comic book vein like Kick Ass.

The short review for the longest film title: Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides 3D*

Wasn't going to go and see Pirates 4, they've gone downhill rapidly since the first. Then I was offered a free ticket to a private preview screening...

So what was it like? Well it is certainly more coherent than Pirates 3 but overall it is just mildly entertaining. The problem is that we've seen and heard it all before in the first three films: the fights, the escapes and the Jack Sparrow jokes, nothing is new.

OK so there are mermaids in this, which were very well done and probably the best bit and there is no wooden acting by Orlando Bloom but ultimately the story just feels pedestrian. It follows three different parties racing to find the fountain of youth - the Spanish, the British led by Barbosa (the ever wonderful Jeffrey Rush) and Black Beard who is forcing Cap'n Jack to navigate.

Ten minutes in I asked myself: "Would I care if the film projector broke now and I never got to see the rest of the film?" And the answer was "No". The story just feels like a loose structure on which to pin the aforementioned fights, escapes and Jack Sparrow jokes.

Love Johnny Depp but it's time for Cap'n Jack to hang up it hat. Please.

I'm giving it 38%, Rotten Tomatoes aggregated critics rating is 39% from 121 reviews with a surprisingly high user rating of 86% so perhaps it is one for the kids. Metacritic gives it a rating of 45% from 30 reviews but has yet to register a user rating.

Don't fooled into thinking that the film is as exciting as the trailers looks:

 

The 'argh getting behind with my reviews' review: Love Like Poison

This is a coming of age tale - that difficult time when you start to leave childhood behind, realise your parents aren't perfect and have your first sexual encounters.

The protagonist, in this French film, is Anna played by new-comer Clara Augarde. Her mother is religious and has her educated at single sex Catholic boarding school but her father is an atheist who has just moved out to be with another woman.

Her mother seeks solace in old childhood friend and local priest Pere Francois and is struggling to come to terms with the split, admitting in confession to feeling jealous of her estranged husband's love for their daughter.

The 'argh getting behind with my reviews' review: Farewell

Actually saw this French cold war spy thriller a couple of weekends ago but Birthday celebrations and general busy-ness got in the way of writing up my thoughts.

I'm a bit of a fan of films set during the cold war and have been looking out for something to match up to the excellent The Lives of Others (2007) for sometime. This one seemed to fit the bill: It's set in Moscow rather than Germany and is about a French engineer, Pierre, who reluctantly gets roped into passing on Russian secrets to the French intelligence service.

It is based on a true story and certainly has a good dollop of tension but this feels more like a character piece, focusing on the relationship that develops between Pierre (Guillaume Canet) and the Russian mole Sergei (Emir Kusturica) and their motives. The stronger the bond and understanding then the more there is to loose.

There is much to enjoy about Farewell including scenes towards the end that have you holding your breath but it stops just a smidge short of matching The Lives of Others somehow.

I'm giving it 71%. It gets 86% from critics on Rotten Tomatoes and 75% of site visitors liked it too. On Metacritic it gets 75% from the critics but hasn't had enough users rate it yet.

 

Robert Pattinson's latest car crash film - another one for the fans

I really want to like a Robert Pattinson film that isn't Twilight. I really do. It's why I keep parting with hard-earned cash and sitting through each new offering (I'm still scarred by Remember Me).

So I tried to ignore the unpromising trailer to Water For Elephants which sees him starring alongside Reece Witherspoon and the fabulous Christoph Waltz.

The story goes something like this: Jacob (Pattinson) is just about to qualify as a vet when his parents are strategically killed leaving him destitute. He runs away and joins a travelling circus where he falls for the wife of the circus owner Marlena (Witherspoon). Now Marlena's husband, August (Waltz), is of course a bad 'un. He's a brute. The animals have to perform until they drop down dead and he throws unwanted employees off the train in the middle of the night.

A popcorn movie I finally liked: Thor (and the gratuitous pic)

I warmed to Thor disproportionally to how much I warmed to 3D. In fact I didn't warm to 3D at all and continue to dislike it intensely but anyway that's another post, back to Thor.

It's all very predictable: Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is desperate to become King but his father doesn't think he's ready, that he's too hot-headed and arrogant, plunging in, hammer twirling, without thinking through the consequences fully.

Of course he learns the hard way having been stripped of his all powerful hammer and banished to earth for accidentally starting a war leaving his dodgy brother to step into his shoes.

Yes there is a lot of CGI and a lot of ridiculous fighting but there is also a nice-ish love story between Thor and a human girl he meets played by Natalie Portman. I also like the amusing mix of comic book fantasy and 'real world' as the two collide.

It is strict popcorn fun with the added bonus that Hemsworth actually made me say, almost out loud, 'Oo hello' when he took his top off.

I'm giving it 62%. On Rotten Tomatoes it gets 94% from the critics and 84% of visitors liked it. It hasn't been released in the US yet so no rating on Metacritic.

 

The breath of French air: Little White Lies

After a run of mediocre to bad Hollywood films this French ensemble piece was a breath of fresh air. OK so it's a bit long and indulgent in places but it still feel like a gourmet burger after a McDonalds.

A group gathers around their friend's hospital bed as he recovers from a serious road traffic accident. They debate whether they should still go on their annual group holiday or not. And essentially that's what they do, go on holiday.

But each has a secret, something they are not being honest about. So they laugh, they have fun, they argue, get on each others nerves and all the time the pack of white lies they have built starts to look more and more precarious. It take one tragic event to bring the whole lot tumbling down and make them all face up to a few home truths.

There aren't any great shocks if that is what you are expecting, it is more of a slow burn, but it is funny, engaging and the ending packs an emotional punch (and it made me want to go on holiday to France and drink wine over-looking the sea). It also stars some of the cream of French acting talent not least being the wonderful Marion Cotillard.

I'm giving it 58%. On Rotten Tomatoes the 23 critics gave it an average of 48% while the site's user rating was much higher at 67%. It isn't listed on Metacritic.