Awesome, right?! Took a girl, and EVEN she liked it

Thanks for the recommendation Blue. Need to find time for it somewhere!

Indeedy so.

Mark

The Other Guys

I saw Samuel L. Jackson listed as the main cast member and thought I'd give it a punt... He is killed off at the beginning, just a cameo - so you can guess, if they try and con people into the film with a big name that dies at the beginning, what the film is going to be like.

I walked out of the last Sandra Bullock film (All about Steve) I went to see after about 35 minutes. The Other Guys makes this film look like the height of film making!

It really stars Will Ferrel and Mark Wahlberg, although, in Germany, Will Gerrel is put in small type and it is advertised as a Sam Jackson and Mark Wahlberg vehicle...

The film was pretty much unwatchable. The opening action sequence is poor, I nearly walked out then, then there was the office scene, where Will Ferrel and Mark Wahlberg's characters are introduced, that is truly cringeworthy, and if I had been alone, I would have left then. My gilfriend turned to me after about 25 minutes and asked if we could leave.

It was a complete waste of money.

* (1 star, and that is being generous)

RED

No this is a bit more like it. Went with girlfriend and her youngest daughter and we all enjoyed it.

Bruce Willis plays a retiree, who is loney and rips up his pension checque each month, just as an excuse to chat to his case worker in the Bureau of Pensions. Then a death squad turns up at his house and tries to kill him, which sets him off on a trail to find out why.

The story slowly reveals his history and teams him up with former colleagues as he tries to stay one step ahead of the death squad, before taking the fight to them, a few nice twists, although they are telegraphed.

For a modern action film, it isn't bad. It makes a good romp, some typical Willis one-liners and the supporting cast is good.

***

So I watched Harry Brown last night. I can't say I was particularly impressed - what with it being quite bi-polar in its efforts on the one hand to be grimey & raw but in the other well staged and shot.

I forgave its use of Adulthood's Ben Drew as a villain figure (again) simply because he does a "good" townie and suspect there's still quite a small band of "actors" who can be relied upon to deliver an honest rendition of England today's disenchanted youth... That said I found the casting of Charlie Creed-Miles as a police officer a tad-contrived given his role as Billy in Nil By Mouth, and thought it a pity they (under)used This is England's Joseph Gilgun and 24 Hour Party People's Sean Harris in such uninspiring, one-dimensional roles.


BUT, the biggest grievance I had with the film was the forever switching locations. Perhaps it's because a great many of the scenes were shot locally I found this more annoying than normal (as was the case with "Breaking and Entering") - but to be sat there knowing "where I was" one second only for the view from "that place" to be of somewhere (impossibly) elsewhere just really really got on my tits.


And I know a film's merits shouldn't rest on what it says on imdb, but they've missed out a great number of the location "goofs" and "trivias" and I'm inclined to create an account so I can correct this:
Maybe so, but they also saw to include in the set "decoration" tags by EINE and ELK, who are both prolific graffiti artists in Hackney (in particular along the canal and in the surrounding De Beauvoir Town area, which is not "south London" by any stretch of the imagination). Funny thing is, I did wonder if their tags had been used with permission.

Anyways, Harry Brown? Meh. 2/5

A touch harsh Snowy, perhaps, if geographic flexibility is your main gripe?
Trainspotting featured a cab ride from Edinburgh to a Glasgow suburb - a whole other city - but it's still a great film!

Anyway - just finished a Legally Blonde marathon with the niece.
Don't ever waste your time with the third film.
Directed by 'Savage' Steve Holland (absolutely nothing you've heard of), you'd be forgiven thinking it's a student film gone awry. Neighbours is better produced in practically every way.
Don't waste your time.

I think harsh too, but I can see the basis for your criticism. I loved it.

Perhaps Gran Tourino would serve you better...?

500 Days of Summer


Brilliant.

Gran Torino

Clint Eastwood is really (really) good in this slightly upside-down exploration of the meaning of family and community. We're used to seeing Clint as a wandering, troubled type but in this one, Clint stays stubbornly still whilst the world turns around him.

Unfortunately though, even though Clint is excellent and counting a rather good if predictable screenplay, the rather poor support casting hurt this this otherwise very well done flick. I would however be happy to watch it again.

A very watchable attitude-fest that, if you like Eastwood, is easily worth the cost of the DVD.

7/10

Very fair. I completely agree, although I would probably go 7.5/8 purely for Clint's performance. I'm a fanboi.

Fair enough.

I'm always stingey with the higher marks.

Machete* - only worth a rental unless you really enjoy your schlock (or if it's £3 in Tesco lol), but awful in the very best way

* Saw it at my mates, so it might not be available 'commercially' yet

I've just seen Wall•E for the first time. It's a depressing film, all things considered.
Humans are universal vermin.

Mark

Monsters is a brilliant film.
4.5 out of 5.
I may write a proper review of it.

Mark

Please do, as I've heard some quite negative reviews of it. Kermode and Mayo had a very interesting interview with the director Gareth Edwards a few weeks back.