Rev Stan's film blog

Review: The Host or how to make an alien invasion story bland

Synopsis: An alien race has taken over earth by inhabiting human bodies and erasing their minds  however there is a small core of humans who remain uninhabited and fight to remain free. Melanie (Saoirse Ronan), one such freedom fighter is caught and inhabited but manages to keep her memory alive, she just needs to convince her boyfriend.

Stan's thoughts: Now I can see the flaws in the Twilight novels but they came at a time when I wanted a bit of innocent romance in my reading matter and so I have a soft spot for them and the films.

The Host, based on Stephanie Meyer's post Twilight novel, is very much a Meyer story in that is contains a strong element of innocent romance and I really like the premise but equally it contains the flaws. As with Twilight, Meyer shies away from any real drama and likes things to be resolved fairly quickly and easily, even more so in The Host.

And that is the key problem with it. For all the cleverness of the idea, there is no real fun and you never really feel like any of the characters are in any jeopardy. A central character that is essentially talking to herself for most of the story is always going to be tricky to pull off. Ronan does a great job with what she is given but the whole thing is just a bit too bland and unexciting.

Maybe I've been spoilt by The Hunger Games. Roll on Hunger Games part II in the Autumn and Divergent next year.

Ratings

• Stan's 39%
• IMDB 59%
• Metascore 36%
• Rotten Tomatoes 12%

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Review: from gangs to reality TV Matteo Garrone's Reality

Synopsis: At the behest of his family fish monger and sometime entertainer Luciano (Aniello Arena) auditions for the Italian equivalent of Big Brother and quickly becomes obsessed with getting on the show and what it would mean for him and the family.

Stan's thoughts: Very different to Garrone's gritty gang tale Gomorrah Reality is in many way a far more uncomfortable watch. Luciano's steady decline into destructive obsession is a modern morality tale on celebrity culture.

It is beautifully and subtly done and as a result is devastatingly affecting succeeding in serving up a mixture of emotions from sympathy to anger for the central character and his family.

Visually its stunning too from the dramatic opening sweep of a horse drawn Cinderella coach that could have been plucked from a children's fantasy to the crumbling, faded grandeur of the family's apartment home - there is symbolism everywhere.

Ratings

• Stan's 79%
• IMDB 66%
• Metascore 75%
• Rotten Tomatoes 80%

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Jack the Giant Killer

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The Paperboy

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Oz the Great and Powerful

 

Review: Charm and Stanley Tucci in Jack the Giant Killer

Synopsis: The giants of legend were banished weren't they? A beanstalk, a farm boy, a princess you know the story except this one has an evil, power-hungry suitor added for good measure.

Stan's thoughts: No plot twists it's all fairly linear but there are some great CGI giants, quite grotesque CGI giants in fact and Nicholas Hoult's Jack is a charming and likeable lead. A great turn by Stanley Tucci as the baddie suitor - he has some of the best moments.

Visually it's like a grittier version of Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland and borrows some of its humour and tone from the Princess Bride while never matching up to that classic. It's good, harmless, brain-disengaged fun and I liked it.

Ratings

• Stan's 60%
• IMDB 67%
• Metascore 51%
• Rotten Tomatoes 53%

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Review: Beyond the Hills

Synopsis: Two friends who grew up in a Romanian orphanage are reunited. Voichita has sought refuge in a monastery but Alina wants her to come and live with her in Germany where she can get them work.

Stan's thoughts: This has the all characteristic subtlety of a low budget, foreign film you'd expect. Much is hinted at but little is actually stated and that is both a good and bad thing. Good because it makes for an uncomfortable watch - leaving much to your own surmising can be far more effective than having plot points and back story spelt out. I also enjoy seeing films where most of the performance is given without words.

My problem is that I don't think it sustained a film that is two and a half hours long and I got a little impatient with it after a while.

Ratings

• Stan's 59%
• IMDB 76%
• Metascore 79%
• Rotten Tomatoes 87%

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Review: Zac Efron gets the hots for Nicole Kidman in The Paperboy

Synopsis: Charlotte Bless (Nicole Kidman) writes obsessively to prisoners on death row and helps journalist Ward Jansen (Matthew McConaughey) investigate what they perceive is the miss trial of murderer John Van Wetter (John Cusack). Jansen's younger brother Jack (Zac Efron) helps out as a driver and becomes obsessed with Charlotte.

Stan's thoughts: This film has lots of nastiness in it, unexpected nastiness - a couple of gasp moments from the audience. But as a noir thriller it doesn't always work mainly because the investigation into the murder trial becomes secondary and inconsequential to what is happening between Charlotte and Jack. It is a film that oozes sexual tension.

For me it almost worked better as a character piece with a grittier edge than you'd get in a straight drama. Nicole Kidman's performance is a stand out and it was so freshing to see her playing a different role. There is nearly 20 years age gap between her and Efron and I didn't doubt for one moment his attraction to her.

Cusack also puts in a great performance - he has this look that that says so much that is not very nice it is chilling.

This wasn't the film I was expecting and I liked it for that, flaws and all.

Ratings

• Stan's: 63%
• IMDB: 57%
• Metascore: 43%
• Rotten Tomatoes: 43%

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Review: Side Effects

Synopsis: Emily Taylor (Rooney Mara) struggles to cope when her banker husband Martin (Channing Tatum) is released from an insider trading jail sentence, spiralling into depression psychiatrist Dr Jonathan Banks (Jude Law) prescribes her with anti-depressants which have dramatic side effects.

Stan's thoughts: Difficult one to write about without giving away too much of the plot. There is a lot of great stuff in here but maybe there is just one too many twists and it struggles to stay credible towards the end, although I did walk out with a smile on my face which is a good sign. It does carry you along easily with plenty of ambiguity to keep you guessing. Some interesting ideas and themes although nothing groundbreaking. Great performances from Mara and Law.

Ratings

• Stan's: 59%
• IMDB: 75%
• Metascore: 75%
• Rotten Tomatoes: 85%

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Stoker

Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters

 

Review: Oz the Great and Powerful - a trip down memory lane

Synopsis: Have you ever wondered how the Wizard of Oz became the Wizard of Oz, you know the guy with the white beard Toto finds tucked away behind a curtain using trickery to make himself seem big and powerful?  And why good witch Glinda had a bad witch sister Theodora? Well this is the story for you.

Stan's thoughts: Sam Raimi's Wizard of Oz pre-quel has everything you loved from the famous Judi Garland. Yellow brick road, Emerald City, flying monkeys, good and bad witches etc and it's all done with a heavy nods to the Wizard of Oz in its style, costumes and make up. There is even some old stylee-acting particularly in the opening sequence. Which is all fabulous if you were brought up on the Wizard of Oz. 

I don't think Mila Kunis's Theodora is quite as scary as I remember the character from the Judi Garland Wizard of Oz but there is one shot of her flying on her broomstick that did press a few childhood nightmare buttons.

Some great new characters and some mixed CGi - China Doll was fabulous but Franklin the monkey not quite so. It's good, innocent fun a visual feast and a nice trip down memory lane.

Ratings

• Stan's: 68%
• IMDB: 71%
• Metascore: 44%
• Rotten Tomatoes: 60%

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Review: James McAvoy and Mark Strong spar in Welcome to the Punch

Synopsis: When big criminal Jacob Sternwood (Mark Strong) returns to London to sort out a mess his son's made it gives cop Max (James McAvoy) a second chance to take him down.

Stan's thoughts: Was lucky enough to catch a preview at the BFI last week and I loved it. It's a good, well-made, cops and robbers thriller that has interesting three dimensional characters you root for and a few twists and turns on the way.

At the post screening Q&A director Eran Creevy said he wanted to make London look as glamourous as the US cities look in Hollywood cops and robbers movies and he's certainly succeeded, particularly on a low budget.

McAvoy and Strong are a joy to watch and spark off each other beautifully. The supporting cast is a treasure chest of Brit talent too: Andrea Riseborough, Peter Mullan, Jason Flemyng, David Morrissey.

Creevy also wrote the script and said he virtually halved it's length before he started shooting; it was a good move because you get a 'punchy' hour and 40 minutes without any fat and that is just as it should be for this genre.

Ratings

• Stan's: 79%
• IMDB: 69%
• Metascore: No score yet
• Rotten Tomatoes: No score yet

Review: Stoker

Synopsis: After India's (Mia Wasikowska) father dies her uncle Charlie (Matthew Goode), whom she hasn't met before turns up. He is all quiet charm but is all as it seems.

Stan's thoughts: Ambiguous, multi-layered and beautifully shot this will stay with you long after you've left the cinema, not least the plot. Its quiet, thoughtful, style punctured with violent outbursts or shocking reveals gives it a subtle and creeping tension.

But that aside, it is a also a fascinating character piece, one in which they reveal just as much in what the don't say as what they do, helped by superb performances from the three leads (Nicole Kidman plays India's mother).

It is certainly not a film for everyone, particularly not if you like closure, and one that is difficult to talk about unless you've seen it but I enjoyed it, haven't seen a film like this for a while. 

Ratings

• Stan's: 79%
• IMDB: 77%
• Metascore: 59%
• Rotten Tomatoes: 69%

Review: Hansel & Gretel - Witch Hunters or the fairytale with a 15 certificate

Synopsis: The Hansel and Gretel of the fairytale have grown up and made a career out of being witch hunters for hire. When kids start going missing from a small town they called upon to find out what is going on.

Stan's thoughts: Applying 15 certificate violence to a fairytale as seen here sometimes feels like an odd mix. On the one hand you have the bone-crunching, blood-spatting fights while on the other you have a CGI troll which looks like something straight out of a PG certificate.

While it feels satisfying in a grown up way to have the gore, the plot still feels very much aimed at a younger audience and you can see what is coming from a mile away.

Not unwholly satisfying to watch and entertaining enough but for the audience it is aimed at I'd have expected it to be just a little bit cleverer and darker - I'm thinking Pan's Labyrinth which was also a 15. It gets points for having a kick-ass heroine and Jeremy Renner is a bit of a favourite but I'd rather see Warm Bodies again because at least that had its tongue firmly in its cheek.

Ratings

• Stan's: 55%
• IMDB: 64%
• Metascore: 22%
• Rotten Tomatoes: 15% (from critics, audiences have rated it 62%)

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