Scott Pilgrim Vs The World (2010)

Starring:

Michael Cera From Juno

Mary Elizabeth Winstead From Live free or Die Hard (Die Hard 4.0)

Kieran Culkin From The Culkin Family (Macaulay’s Brother)

Jason Schwartzman From Rushmore

Anna Kendrick From Up in the Air

Being a Negative Nancy film review this WILL be brief.

I loved it. The comic book imagery, the soundtrack and the video game tributes are all marvellous!

Don’t be swayed by the ‘must defeat 7 evil exes’ stuff, that is rampant in the previews, it turns out not to be as kiddie as it sounds. I also think there were probably one too many exes to defeat for the pacing of the film.

One thing I will go out on a limb and say was negative, about this film, is Michael Cera. When will he grow some balls and act differently in a part? Don’t get me wrong his mumbling, vacant and awkward thing IS funny but it’s all I’ve ever seen him do.

I hope his gangly frame and posture were meant to enhance the comedy of his action sequences, as it was out right laughable.

Special mention for Kieran Culkin, everything his character said was a stich… where did this character come from?

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Found this on the Daily What this morning and found it funny.  Pulp Fiction by Donald Duck.  Awesome.

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YouTube Direkt

Starring

Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark

Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts

Mickey Rourke as Ivan Vanko

Scarlett Johansson as Natalie Rushman/Natasha Romoanoff

Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury

Sam Rockwell as Justin Hammer

Don Cheadle as Lt. Col. James Rhodes

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I liked it, see it, but I recommend waiting for the DVD/Blu Ray (and then I’d probably make sure I had a few drinks under my belt and a couple more in the fridge before I put it on).

I really liked the first Ironman so I went with high expectations. I think if you start with low expectations, this movie will satisfy.

I don’t particularly like watching robots fight, especially CGI robots. I don’t care how much one can look stronger that the other. They aren’t real and this film certainly didn’t capture my imagination to even care which robot won out in the end.

I didn’t like Tony Stark’s childish relationship problems. Watching him swoon over the ‘hotter’ and ‘younger’ female addition (Rushman/ Romoanoff) for the whole film definitely lessened the tension between him and Pepper to the point where I wished Pepper would just grow some self respect and move on with her life.

The only real laugh out loud part for me wasn’t even intended by the film makers of Ironman 2. It was the introduction of Ironman’s Dad, John Slattery, and only because I love him in “Mad Men” and it was unexpected to see him.

I liked Mickey Rourke and thought he portrayed a particularly dark and nasty villain but mainly because he was the only one who seemed not to take the whole thing very seriously, unlike Samuel L. Jackson, in my opinion.

Now this is very petty but I really don’t like the way in which Ironman flies. He looks dorky with his hands pointed out at right angles to his body. I’m sure it’s a direct comic book technicality but I think it just looks stupid.

Oh and in tune with all the other Marvel movies stick around until after the credits for an extra scene.

***This review supports responsible drinking when you are watching Ironman 2***

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2010) 

I’ll start by saying this is a Swedish film (unbeknownst to me upon going to the film) so be up for subtitles. The original released title is “Män som hatar kvinnor” (translated: Men Who Hate Women) and is based on Part 1 of a trilogy written by Stieg Larsson (which I have NOT read).

The film has some very confronting scenes with sexual abuse. It’s not damaging to the narrative, and in fact, strengthens it. I’m in debate about whether I would have seen the film if I’d known about them. I’d like to think I’d overcome my sheltered, fairy tale ending preferences and seen it regardless but in all honesty I just don’t think I would have.

This film is a refreshing murder mystery, not like the CSI kind which I believe is filling our heads with mindless fantasy rather than compelling fiction. But I digress.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’s  main characters are an investigative journalist and a female computer hacker attempting to solve  a case where so many have failed before them. It never feels drawn out or padded and the ending manages to tie up all loose ends leaving me feel very satisfied. I believe this to be quite clever as it is part of a trilogy. I hate it when film makers leave too much for the next instalment.

The female lead character, Lisbeth Salander, played by Noomi Rapace, is a disturbed damaged woman and even though some scenes are distressing (for her and for me) seeing her play it out with a champion attitude encourages and inspires me.

Apparently Hollywood will be attempting to remake this (or make it based on the book) and I think that given Hollywood’s reputation (don’t get me wrong I love a good blockbuster) it will be made for a more sensitive audience. Given the basis of the narratives content I am expecting it to be sub-par, compared to this version.

Directed by Kevin Smith who directed/Wrote Clerks, Clerks 2, Chasing Amy. etc etc.

Starring Bruce Willis from everything .  Tracy Morgan from 30 Rock.   Sean William Scott from American Pie .  Jason Lee from My name is Earl (and various Kevin Smith films)

I loved it however I think the majority (even the movie going majority) will want to wait for DVD.

I must start with: I love Kevin Smith. He can do me no wrong.

Going in to this film I’d heard very bad things about it, as you usually do going into a Kevin Smith film (except Clerks). I believe this negative publicity is an extremely effective way to promote a film. The only thing better than seeing the best film of the year, is seeing the worst film of the year. They are just better films to talk about. And I must say the more people that hate a Kevin Smith film the more I want to see it. To me it means it is potentially crasser, politically incorrect or just more offensive (and hence, in my opinion, more humorous).

So as this is a Negative Nancy film review and there has already been so much negativity about this film I’m going to tell you what I loved about it.

Cop Out is the first film Smith has Directed without writing it.  I really liked seeing Kevin Smith’s Direction with a bigger budget to see what he is capable of and I really think he’s used the Brooklyn backdrop nicely. I love a white/black detective film and this is definitely one of them, but I’ve noticed Kevin Smith  generally writes with an steady level of humour whereas this film has a few extremely wrong situations or moments of pure hilarity.  I laughed enough to come out very satisfied though.

The best aspect of the partnership between Willis and Morgan is the ongoing cop movie quotes however, I didn’t like was the way they told you where the quote was from right after it. I like the feeling of being on an inside joke when you know something like that and they didn’t give the audience time to enjoy that. The idea of cops really doing that is pretty funny in itself though.

The soundtrack to this film is also amazing. There are some real blasts from the past and the Spanish version of ‘Insane in the Brain’ by Cypress Hill was an interesting treat.

Alice In Wonderland 3D

Starring:

Johnny Depp  as The Mad Hatter

Helena Bonham Carter from Fight Club as The Red Queen

Anne Hathaway from  The Devil Wears Prada as The White Queen

Mia Wasikowska as Alice

Matt Lucas from Little Britain as Twiddle Dee/Dum

Crispin Glover from Back to the Future as Knave of Hearts

Stephen Fry from V For Vendetta as the Cheshire Cat

Alan Rickman from Die Hard as Blue Catapillar

Directed by Tim Burton.

I loved it. Go see it at the cinema.

I’ll start by saying I think everyone should see this at the cinema, but not because it’s in 3D. It does look very pretty in 3D but I love Time Burton, Johnny Depp and the Alice in Wonderland story so much I still would encourage to see it in 2D.

I think this story is much better suited for Tim Burton to remake rather than Charlie & The Chocolate Factory. Alice in Wonderland is a very strange and diverse piece of literature anyway and I really enjoyed Burton’s deranged version. I think Johnny Depp did what Johnny Depp does with no real surprises, not even a real Futterwack. It was obviously aided with CGI but I wonder how much actual Futterwacking Depp did. I have read that he ‘injured’ himself Futterwacking during the making of the film but I wonder if that wasn’t a whole lot of bull for some publicity.

I am also in agreement with some others about the flat performance by Mia Wasikowska as Alice. She totally didn’t blow my mind. There is another Australian who has left a bland taste in my mouth. Didn’t she read my review of Avatar and comment on Bland Worthington?

Otherwise I really loved this film, it’s funny and interesting. I think I’ll go see it again.

Here are the Oscar Winners for 2010 and the results from our predictions.

And the Winner’s Are…

Jess 4/24

Troy 6/24

John 12/24

Congratulations John… Please keep your acceptance speech brief  : )

As discussed on Episode 15 of Podcast… Here is the Official Oscar predictions from the Geek Aloud Team.

Yeah, not sure.  But they are the rumours.  Will it look a little bit like this?

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Edge of Darkness (2010)

Starring:
Mel Gibson; you might know from everything.
Bojana Novakovic you may or may not have heard of, a graduate from NIDA in 2002.
Ray Winstone you might know from The Departed as Mr. French.
Danny Huston you might know from X Men Origins: Wolverine as the young Col. William Stryker.

Directed by Martin Campbell also Directed Casino Royale (2006).

I liked it but wait for it on DVD/Blu Ray.

Edge of Darkness is based on a British TV mini series from 1985 and it feels like it. The modern representation of nuclear terrorism feels like a jazzed up idea from the political climate back then. It’s a conspiracy film. Yes, the government are capable of just about anything for their own benefit. Oh shock horror. This particular film has a bit of a naïve conclusion though. It’s a sick twist on happily ever after I guess you could say.

Mel Gibson was OK. I haven’t seen him acting since Signs (2002). He looks older than he should in the film, however I think it was intentional. He plays that ‘guy with nothing to lose on the war path’ like no one else. He’s such a hero. (Insert Wretching.mp3). I think he had a big opportunity to portray some real emotion and didn’t take it.

Oh and I’m getting sick of hearing Boston accents. It feels like a trend now. Don’t even get me started on what is wrong with trends.