Brave

Monday 8th February 2016

Director: Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman
Year: 2012
Stars: Kelly Macdonald, Billy Connolly, Emma Thompson, Julie Walters (voices)

This was shown on TV at Christmas, and we finally got around to watching it a few days ago. It's a pretty enjoyable Pixar movie - primarily because it's about a girl who doesn't just want to find her Prince. Instead, she wants her freedom. And that's OK.

The majority of the plot concerns her father's fear of bears, her lack of wariness concerning witches, and the curse she ends up having to lift any way she can. Brave is a fun movie with a decent plot, and will keep you watching for its 90 minutes running time. There's not really a lot else to say - watching Brave is simply an enjoyable enough way to spend an hour and a half.

Cuban Fury

Friday 28th February 2015

Director: James Griffiths
Year: 2014
Stars: Nick Frost, Rashida Jones, Chris O'Dowd

I watched this the day before my daughter was born, so forgive me if I didn't pay full attention or can't remember the details (especially as I'm writing this a full two months later).

Cuban Fury tells the story of Bruce Garrett (Frost), a man who used to be a champion salsa dancer as a child but gave it all up due to a bullying incident. Now in his thirties, he's overweight and thinks his new boss, Julia (Jones) is out of his league. Can you guess where this is going? Yep, to a salsa dance floor.

It's not a complicated movie, and I have to admit it didn't have my full attention, but it was quite an enjoyable easy watch. Not a bad choice if you want something easy-going.

Rating: 3 out of 5

American Reunion

Saturday 7th February 2015

Director: Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg
Year: 2012
Stars: Jason Biggs, Alyson Hannigan, Chris Klein, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Tara Reid, Seann William Scott, Mena Suvari, Eddie Kaye Thomas, John Cho, Jennifer Coolidge, Eugene Levy

This could have been so awful. Luckily, the filmmakers don't try to simply recreate American Pie. Instead, they treat it like it's ten years later, and like their main actors have grown up and become 30-somethings. Which they have. That's not to say there isn't still silly, gross-out humour, but it never feels out of place.

American Reunion focuses on exactly what the title says - the original American Pie characters come back together for a reunion after 10+ years. Queue lots of awkward meet-ups, reunions with old friends and lies about what you're now doing with your (probably rather unremarkable) life. Just like a real reunion (I imagine; thankfully I've not yet ended up having to attend one...).

The beauty of American Reunion, much like American Pie, is that it ends up in some ridiculous places - but you never really end up questioning how it got there. Somehow, in the context of the movie, it all makes sense. If you enjoyed American Pie when it was released, and like it's characters, are now 15 years older and in your thirties, you'll likely enjoy this - and, to some extent, identify with it.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Frozen

Saturday 31st January 2015

Director: Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee
Year: 2013
Stars: Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Jonathan Groff, Josh Gad, Santino Fontana, Alan Tudyk (voices)

Considering how popular Frozen is, when a friend mentioned she had this on DVD I figured I should probably ask to borrow it as I still hadn't watched it. She more than happily gave up the DVD, informing me that they had already told their obsessed 2-year-old that it had been lost.

I did actually have the chance to watch this back at Christmas 2013 when it was released (on one of those rare occasions when I actually had the chance to go to the cinema). At the time I chose to go and see Saving Mr Banks, having read reviews and thinking it would be a better movie.

I made the right choice. Frozen does not start well - and I still don't really understand what there is in it for a 2-year-old boy to love (and yes, I do have one). An 8-year-old girl, maybe. There are some very pretty princesses here (oh, maybe that explains it. Two-year-old boys often love princess dresses...). The premise behind Frozen is that one of the princesses can turn everything to snow and ice, but can't control her ability. Queue lots and lots of songs (especially in the first half an hour) and a fair bit of angst.

In fairness, Frozen does improve once the characters stop singing annoying pop songs and the story kicks in properly. There are even some funny moments. Don't get me wrong, I love a good musical. Just not at the expense of any semblance of a story.

In the end, I found Frozen relatively enjoyable, but the first 40 minutes boring me to tears didn't help. Although these are the songs all the kids love, so maybe Disney haven't got it wrong. After all, they're not really trying to appeal to me - although I am the one going out and buying the DVD I guess... (being that my 2-year old can barely sit still and watch an episode of In the Night Garden, which he loves, I doubt he'd care about 1 1/2 hours of Disney movie. He doesn't care for Cars and he loves anything with wheels).

Not a bad movie, but I' still glad I went to see Saving Mr Banks at the cinema, which I really enjoyed.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Bad Teacher

Sunday 11th January 2015

Director: Jake Kasdan
Year: 2011
Stars: Cameron Diaz, Lucy Punch, Jason Segel, Justin Timberlake

It's taken me a while to blog about this movie - partly because I've been busy, partly because it's just not really that memorable. I have wanted to see this for a while, so made an effort to watch it when it came on TV.

Bad Teacher is all about Elizabeth Halsey (Diaz), a teacher who doesn't really want to be one. All she really wants to do is marry somebody rich and spend their money. This makes her an entirely unlikable character, which is problematic because she is very much the main character of the movie. Whilst the story is not necessarily bad, making the central character this awful makes the entire movie unlikeable.

About the only thing I did enjoy in Bad Teacher was Jason Segel's performance. He plays a cynical, but still caring, teacher, it was the only role that felt like it wasn't entirely one-dimensional. Why he would ever have shown any interest in Diaz's character, however, is beyond me.

Rating: 2 out of 5

The Muppets

Thursday 1 January 2015

Director: James Bobin
Year: 2011
Stars: Jason Segel, Amy Adams, Chris Cooper, voices of Steve Whitmore, Eric Jacobsen, Dave Goelz, Bill Barretta, David Rudman, Matt Vogel

I wanted to watch this when it was released back in 2011, but somehow just never got around to it. Everybody who saw it then seemed to enjoy it, so when I saw that it was on TV this Christmas I made an effort to watch it. And I'm so glad that I did!

The story focuses on Walter (voiced by Linz), a Muppet fanatic who visits the old Muppet studio with his brother Gary (Segel), only to discover that a rich oil tycoon (Tex Richman, played by Cooper) is going to buy it and tear it down without the Muppets knowledge. All this leads to a quest to find The Muppets and get them back together to put on a gala to raise enough money to stop Tex. 

The Muppets is exactly what you expect it to be - a fun, all-singing, all-dancing musical with lots of in-movie jokes and a good-humored nature to it. There's nothing nasty or menacing about this, it's just a feel-good movie with some fun songs. Perfect for a relaxing New Years Day afternoon movie.

Rating: 4 out of 5

The Way

Saturday 15th November 2014

Director: Emilio Estevez
Year: 2010
Stars: Martin Sheen, Yorick van Wageningen, Deborah Kara Unger, James Nesbitt, Emilio Estevez

I have wanted to see this for some time, so when I saw that it was on TV I jumped at the chance to watch it. I will admit, this is partly because I've been a big Emilio Estevez fan for some time, and I knew he had directed this. About a year ago I also got to read his autobiography, Along the Way, which I found really enjoyable. It was framed around the making of this movie, and made me even more keen to see the movie.

I'm pleased to report that I wasn't disappointed. The Way is pretty unique in many ways. It follows Tom (Sheen), as he walks the Camino de Santiago - a route of pilgrimage that his son was following when he died. As he walks The Way, Tom meets a myriad of characters each with their own story and pilgrimage to make.

The film is never too judgmental, letting you decide how you feel about the characters for yourself. It also doesn't feel like it's following any particular stereotypes. A lovely refreshing movie that didn't disappoint.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Frankenweenie

Tuesday 21st October 2014

Director: Tim Burton
Year: 2012
Stars: Catherine O'Hara, Martin Short, Martin Landau, Charlie Tahan, Atticus Shaffer, Winona Ryder (voices)

Another movie from our netflix trial, I had wanted to see Frankenweenie when it was released at the cinema back in 2012. Unfortunately, we had a 2-month old child at the time, so cinema visits were (and still are) rare.

Frankenweenie, directed by Tim Burton, tells the tale of Victor Frankenstein (Tahan), a boy whose dog (Sparky) dies in a car accident. Discovering that you can use lightning to bring things back to life, Victor manages to return Sparky to the living. But this being a Tim Burton movie, that's just the start of the story. Queue all sorts of weird and wonderful characters, and their previously dead pets, causing havoc on the town that keeps getting struck by lightning.

As usual with Tim Burton movies, I wasn't disappointed. I think you either love them or you hate them. I love the blend of black humour, oddness and enjoyment that comes with them. A great way to spend a spare hour and a half.

Rating: 4 out of 5

What to expect when you're expecting

Friday 27th June 2014

Director: Kirk Jones
Year: 2012
Stars: Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Lopez, Elizabeth Banks, Brooklyn Decker, Anna Kendrick, Dennis Quiad, Chris Rock, Chace Crawford, Ben Falcone, Matthew Morrison

The second of two anniversary movies, this is one that I had recorded on TV a couple of weeks ago. I wasn't convinced it was going to be that good, but an easy-to-watch comedy had a certain type of appeal.

What to expect when you're expecting tells the story of five different couples going through pregnancy. A number of different types of pregnancy are covered, from miscarriage to a couple who struggle to get pregnant to the unexpected pregnancy.

Overall, this was a pleasant surprise. The women, for the most part, were likable - or at least you could understand where they were coming from. And when you couldn't, it was funny - like it was meant to be. The actual pregnancies were treated with tact as well as humour, and the awful jokes I dreaded didn't exist. The men were a little harder to like - maybe it's just because I've never been a dad, but the scenes in the park with the dads left me cold. I just couldn't connect with them.

My one final (minor) complaint is that the movie stops when the babies are born. That's just not where it ends - that's where it all begins! But then, I guess this means I cared about what happened to the characters - and I suppose it means there's an obvious sequel. Whether that's a good or bad thing is a different question...

Rating: 4 out of 5

Grown Ups

Wednesday 23rd April 2014

Director: Dennis Dugan
Year: 2010
Stars: Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Chris Rock, David Spade, Rob Schneider, Salma Hayek, Maria Bello, Maya Rudolph, Joyce Van Patten, Ebony Jo-Ann

I have to admit, I'm not entirely sure why I watched this. I recorded it a few days ago, and had 2 or 3 movies left to choose from to watch. I wasn't really expecting to like this, so why I recorded it, let alone watched it, who knows. Simple curiosity, perhaps.

Well, it was better than I was expecting. A group of childhood friends (Sandler, James, Rock, Spade and Schneider) get together for the weekend when their old basketball coach dies. The set-up is silly (apparently the coach had no family at all to spread his ashes, even though he was a great, well-loved man), but the resulting film isn't too bad.  The five friends, and their families (20 people in total) spend a fun 4th July weekend learning how important family and friends are, and how much fun it is to do stuff that isn't talking/ texting on your mobile or watching TV.

Grown Ups isn't as funny as it thinks it is, or as clever, but for an easy-to-watch movie it's fine to just roll along with. Although I accept that my positive take on the movie probably has a lot to do with the fact that I thought it was going to be rubbish. It's merely mediocre.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Footnote: Oh God, I've just realised there's a Grown Ups 2. Never mind.

It's Complicated

Thursday 17th April 2014

Director: Nancy Meyers
Year: 2009
Stars: Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin, Steve Martin

It's really not. In fact, it's rather dull. A divorced couple (Streep and Baldwin) start to see something in each other again, and begin to have an affair. Except one of them is horrid, and the other one is bonkers.

What is complicated is the reason why I chose to watch this. I suspect I fancied the idea of a romantic comedy because I haven't seen one in ages.It's just a shame I picked one with no romance and unfunny comedy (not there was even a lot of that). I also really need to remember that I find Meryl Streep incredibly annoying. I can cope with her as the supporting actress, but put her in a lead role and I'm put off instantly (Mamma Mia, for some bizarre reason, being the exception to this rule).

If you like Meryl Streep, you'll probably love this. If you're me, read reviews like this before watching anything with her in it again.

Rating: 2 out of 5

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Saturday 12th April 2014

Director: John Madden
Year: 2011
Stars: Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Dev Patel, Maggie Smith, Tom Wilkinson, Penelope Wilton, Ronald Pickup, Celia Imrie, Tena Desae

My second hotel-themed movie in as many days, this has a totally different air to it than The Grand Budapest Hotel. It tells the story of a group of British pensioners who, for one reason or another, end up choosing to move to The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel in India.

This film could have ended up being so many awful things. Stereotypical (of pensioners, of Indians, of racists...), disgustingly sweet and sugary, just downright awful... to its credit, it is none of those things. It is just a smart, funny, ultimately fairly wise movie about getting older.

The characters are a delight to watch, and the cast do a brilliant job. Bill Nighy, in particular, is impressive - I've never seen him act so well before. There's also a great plot, and you really care about what happens to everybody in this movie - even the ones you don't like. Absolutely worth a watch, you won't regret it.

Rating: 5 out of 5

The Grand Budapest Hotel

Friday 11th April 2014

Director: Wes Anderson
Year: 2014
Stars: Ralph Fiennes, Jude Law, Tony Revolori, Saoirse Ronan, F. Murray Abraham (and a host of other names you'll know)

Ah, a rare treat - a cinema visit! Whilst there were lots of animated movies and cartoons on (it was the Easter holidays), this was one of the few other movies that took my fancy. I knew the brand of humour was going to be slightly odd - this is a Wes Anderson movie after all.

The Grand Budapest Hotel is the kind of movie that you get, or you really don't. I found it mildly amusing, but judging by the response of the rest of the audience, only one couple thought it was laugh-out-loud funny (they were laughing at everything - some things I really didn't get why).

Starring Ralph Fiennes as M. Gustave and Tony Revolori (one of the few non-big movie stars in this - it's teeming with them) as Zero, the film tells the story of how Mr Moustafa (Murray Abraham) comes to end up owning the hotel. It's a totally madcap adventure with lots of twists and turns, and some very interesting characters. It may not be to everybody's tastes, but it certainly wove an intricate story. You might not enjoy this, but I doubt you'll be bored.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

The Guard

Tuesday 8th April 2014

Director: John Michael McDonagh
Year: 2011
Stars: Brendan Gleeson, Don Cheadle, Mark Strong

Well, what a pleasant surprise this was. I had recorded it knowing little about it, but thinking it sounded quite good. When we came to watch it, we were a little dubious about whether or not it would be worth it.

Within minutes we were decided. The Guard is set in Ireland, and focuses on Sergeant Gerry Boyle (Gleeson), an Irish Guard based in a  village in County Galway, where very little ever happens. Except there's just been a murder, and it seems that there are some international drug smugglers somewhere nearby  - cue the arrival of the FBI...

This may all sound overly familiar, but The Guard is actually a novel, jolly good romp, with a massive hint of irony about it (a bit like the main character). And has a finale that made me comment how I haven't enjoyed the ending of a movie this much in ages.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Rio

Sunday 6th April 2014

Director: Carlos Saldanha
Year: 2011
Stars: Jesse Eisenberg, Leslie Mann, Gracinha Leporace, Anne Hathaway, Jamie Foxx, Will i Am, Jake T Austin (voices)

Rio is exactly what it says on the tin. It features colourful, talking, birds, a madcap story and an American, idealised version of Rio de Janeiro.

The story is all about Blu (Eisenberg), a blue macaw who ends up in Minnesota (or, as the film puts it, not Rio). However, it transpires that he is the last male of his species, so in order to mate and continue the survival of the species, he and his owner Linda (Mann) have to travel to Rio. Cue lots of chaos, kidnapping and comedy.

Rio may not be up with the greats like Toy Story or Shrek, but if you're looking for a fun, animated children's movie you could do a fair bit worse than seeking this one out.

Rating: 4 out of 5

The Rum Diary

Friday 4th April 2014

Director: Bruce Robinson
Year: 2011
Stars: Johnny Depp, Giovanni Ribisi

I wasn't sure exactly how much to expect from this movie. I had a suspicion that I wasn't going to enjoy it as much as I usually enjoy Johnny Depp movies - primarily because I knew it was, in some way, connected with Hunter S. Thompson, and I just don't get him. Or the fascination Johnny Depp seems to have with him.

Luckily, The Rum Diary was better than I was expecting. It tells the story of Paul Kemp (Depp), who is a novelist, but ends up as a reporter working for a newspaper in Puerto Rico in the 1960s. He's an alcoholic (as are all the other newspaper writers), but he's an alcoholic with morals.

The story is based on a book by Hunter S. Thompson, and for the most part is an enjoyable enough tale. The pity comes with the ending, which doesn't so much go out with a bang as just sort of fade away in a "well, life goes on, doesn't it?" shrug. I have a suspicion this is the fault of the filmmakers, rather than the novelist, as the postscript tells us what happens to Paul Kemp after he leaves Puerto Rico.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Easy A

 Wednesday 19th March 2014

Director: Will Gluck
Year: 2010
Stars: Emma Stone, Amanda Bynes, Penn Badgley

After having watched this the whole way through, I still can't remember whether I've ever seen this before or not. It feels incredibly familiar, yet I couldn't remember the ending, and there seems to be no record of me watching it on this blog. I did enoy it though, so I guess it doesn't matter whether I've seen it before or not.

Easy A is clearly more dependent on personal taste than many movies. I watched this with my husband who wasn't that impressed. Usually we fundamentally agree on whether a movie is good or bad, but here we didn't seem to. Maybe it's just a proper girly movie.

Personally, I thought Easy A was a fresh take on the teen school movie. The central character, Olive (Stone), was very together for a teenager, and whilst obviously written to sound good (and not really to come across as a real person), she was a joy to watch. The plot is a good, enjoyable, one, if somewhat unrealistic. And perhaps this is why my opinion and my husband's opinion differed so much. Whilst I enjoyed the movie for the script, and what it was, if you were expecting a slice of realism, you weren't going to get it. But then, can you name a Hollywood movie about teens at school that features realism heavily? The Breakfast Club? Grease? hard, isn't it...?

Rating: 4 out of 5

Mirror Mirror

Wednesday 19th February 2014

Director: Tarsem Singh Dhandwar
Year: 2012
Stars: Julia Roberts, Lily Collins, Armie Hammer, Nathan Lane

When I saw this was on TV, I was really, really keen to watch it. Unfortunately I was busy doing something else at the time, so I recorded it to watch later. Since then, it's been sitting there staring at me quietly saying "You know you really want to watch me. You know you haven't really got time". So when I was off work sick for the day, and this looked like the happiest, cheeriest movie on the list, I figured it was time to listen to the first half of that quiet voice.

And I'm glad I did. I really, really enjoyed Mirror Mirror. It's the story of Snow White, but with a contemporary twist. The dwarves have names like Napoleon and Grimm, Snow White refuses to be the one getting rescued, and the Prince gets fed a potion of puppy love. Somehow the movie still manages to remain true enough to the spirit of Snow White so that, if you're a traditionalist, you're probably not going to be too annoyed.

One final thing worth mentioning - Julia Roberts makes an excellent Wicked Queen.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Did you hear about the Morgans?

Monday 10th February 2014

Director: Marc Lawrence
Year: 2009
Stars: Hugh Grant, Sarah Jessica-Parker, Natalia Klimas, Vincenzo Amato, Jesse Liebman, Elisabeth Moss

This was something of a disappointment - to both me and my husband, who had massively different expectations when we started watching it. I was fully prepared for an ordinary run-of-the-mill rom com, with bad jokes, sweet (sometimes sickening) scenes, best friends and lots of angst. My husband was expecting something much closer to Date Night, with its case of mistaken identity and running away from the bad guys.

Did you hear about the Morgans? has no mistaken identity issues, but it is all about running away from the bad guys after the lead (separated) couple (Grant and Jessica-Parker) witness a murder. They are taken into protective custody and sent to Wyoming. Queue lots of dire 'New Yorker in the sticks' jokes.

The problem with all of this is that it's much, much worse than Date Night. The movie just doesn't know what it wants to be, and falls completely flat. Hugh Grant plays his normal self, but instead of this coming across as charming (think About a Boy, Four Weddings and a Funeral) it's just annoying- mostly due to the terrible script. The romantic elements are horrendously nauseating (worse than most normal rom coms), and the jokes, on the whole, just aren't funny. Which, overall, simply makes for a really boring (and predictable) movie.

Rating: 2 out of 5

Tangled

Monday 13th January 2014

Director: Nathan Greno, Byron Howard
Year: 2010
Stars: Mandy Moore, Zachary Levi, Donna Murphy

Whilst Gnomeo and Juliet was funny, Tangled is fun. I wanted an enjoyable animation to watch, and Disney's Tangled fitted the bill perfectly.

There's not really a lot else to say about this movie. It tells the story of Rapunzel (Moore), how she was a Princess stolen at birth by an evil witch and has been locked in a tower ever since, and how she kidnaps a bandit (Levi) and forces him to take her away from the tower to experience life in the outside world.

It's all very Disney and quite fun - if you like that sort of thing. If you don't, you'll hate it. You already know which side you are on.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5