Film Review - Trance (2013)

This was a strange one. 

The story follows Simon, a man who helps a group of criminals steal a painting. However, after a hit on the head, he wakes to discover the painting is missing and has no idea where he put it. The gang hire a hypnotherapist to put Simon into a hypnotized state in hopes of finding the missing painting. It isn't long before reality and suggestion become mixed up. 

I loved the concept of this movie. There were times you weren't too sure what was real and what was planted in his head which left the audience wondering what will happen next. Even with that, i saw some of the ending coming. The overall conclusion of the movie i didn't see coming, the same with some of the twists at the end, but some of it was a little predicable.

You need to be focused watching this film, to keep up with it. The film does veer off at points, which lead me to believe the film lacked focus at times, but the ties up nicely in the end. 

It's a decent movie and i would recommend watching it if you like this type of movie. It's worth a look. 

STARS : *** 1/2 (3 and a half) 

Summer Blockbusters To Watch 2013

It's hard to believe that it's now almost April. And you know what that means? Summer blockbuster season is almost here!!! So here's my wee summer hit list 2013!

APRIL

• Iron Man 3 - So Marvel opened the summer last year with The Avengers and this year they are giving us Iron Man 3 which looks epic! This movie is not only opening the summer movie season but it's also the opening of Phase Two!!! Bring it on!!

MAY

• Star Trek Into Darkness - first off, I'm not a sci-fi fan. But this looks really good. Action packed and full of suspense. And Benedict Cumberbatch plays the villain, and I like him!

• The Great Gatsby - I know this book is meant to be a classic but I've never read it or even looked into it. I probably would have glossed over this movie version too if I hadn't seen the trailer. It looks quite interesting and the casting is pretty good. I'm considering reading the book too. 

• The Hangover Part 3 - part 2 hadn't really lived up to the first movie. It was pretty much the same movie but set in a different location. This time there is no wedding. There is no stag do. I still have no idea what the plot is. But I've watched the first two and this is the final so why not give it a go.

JUNE

• Man Of Steel - I'd pick Marvel over DC any day but this is Zack Snyder movie and his movies are pretty cool. Though i don't really like the look for this, i'm willing to give it ago due to that. Also, i like superheroes.                                                                                                                                          



Snap from "World War Z" set. August 2011

• World War Z - I really enjoyed the book. I managed to get onto the set of this movie and take photos which was totally awesome.  I even got to meet the author of the book! I never met Brad Pitt though (not that i'm bothering much about that. I actually preferred meeting Max Brooks and getting my copy of the book signed). So i was looking forward to this movie. But it's nothing like the book. The only thing this has in common with the book is the title and both have zombies. Will be difficult to detach myself from the book but the film does look pretty good, i have to admit. 

• Despicable Me 2 - I don't care that i'm in my 20's, i'm 5 at heart. I loved Despicable Me. I loved the girls. I loved the minions. The film is sooooo cute!! I can't wait for the sequel!!

JULY

• Monster's University - Loved the first movie. It was groundbreaking for the time. The animation was brilliant. In terms of animation, this one doesn't look as good. Looks ... cheap. But i'm holding out for a good movie so here's hoping that what i've seen so far isn't a proper representation for the end movie. 

• Kick Ass 2 - The first movie was fantasic. Funny and action packed, i loved it. I'm not sure what to think for the second movie so far though. I think Jim Carrey will get a load of screen time, and i'm not sure if i'm happy about that or not. Chloe Moretz has grown up so much since the first movie too so that's gonna be weird. But i have hope for it. From what i've seen so far, it looks quite fun.

• The Wolverine - I'm an X-Men fan. Enough said. First trailer came out the other day and looks epic. Looking forward to it.

AUGUST

• Red 2 - I loved the first movie. It was funny, the cast was excellent and the plot was pretty good too. I'm hoping this lives up to that. But then again, old actors blowing things up, what could go wrong?

• The World's End - I love Edgar Wright. Do I have to say anything else about this movie. As I write this, there is still no trailer for this movie but the plot sounds like a good laugh in the hands of this wonderful man

• The Mortal Instruments - City Of Bones - After hearing how good this series is online, i decided to give it a go. The book was ok. Nothing amazing. But from the buzz i've heard online, this could be the next Twilight and i like to be ahead of the game. I'm curious about the movie since i've read the book now. It might be good, might not. It might be the next Twilight, might not. Have to wait and see.

Overall though, shall be an epic summer !!! :)

Film Review - The Raven (2012)

Edgar Allan Poe solves murders based on his writings. 

On having a movie night in, i decided to watch the 2012 movie "The Raven" starting  John Cusack. I'd wanted to see this in the cinema but i hadn't managed to get round to it, and in a way, that was a good thing. 
The film overall wasn't as good as i'd hoped. However, i'll give the film this -  the acting was pretty decent, the sets were impressive and the concept was interesting. The story just didn't really grip me. I saw the ending coming. 

It's not a terrible movie, but it's not a movie I would be desperate to watch again anytime soon. Though it does make me wanna go read some Poe. After all "Quoth The Raven, 'Nevermore," :)

(there is a scene early on in the movie when Poe asks people in the bar to finish the quote "Quoth the raven......" I also yelled "NEVERMORE!!!!" at the screen hehe)

Book Vs. Movie - Warm Bodies

Since i was about to read the book, i never bothered to review the movie version for "Warm Bodies" but left a promise on my tumblr blog that i would hang off and write up a Book Vs Movie post instead, which i am doing now. 

When i first saw the movie advertised  my first thoughts were "No No No, Please Don't Do This!! Vampire Romance Was Bad Enough!! Not Zombie Romance Too!!!". A friend even sent me a link to a blog which compared scenes from the trailer to scenes in twilight which were the same. But the more i saw it, the more curious i became. So i decided to give it a go. After all, i made it through 4 twilight books and 5 movies!

THOUGHTS ON MOVIE
I surprisingly enjoyed the film. It was fun. Not too lovey-dovey, which was great. The story was nice and flowing. A bit predictable but nothing major. Much better than i'd hoped for. I don't know if i'm getting more romantic in my old age (haha) or what, but i certainly enjoyed the film, and i'm glad i saw it despite my worries. You can't compare it to twilight, because this is far better. Worth a look. Its good fun.

THOUGHTS ON BOOK
I loved the narration for the book. Through R's eyes, we see so much and learn so much. We think about the world and the people around us. Through Perry's memories, we see a world at it's end that won't recover and pointlessness of a life that will always end. Through Julie's character, we see hope. The book isn't about love, It's about hope and all the things that make us human.

BOOK VS MOVIE
The film is a condensed version of the book. The book goes into more detail about everything. It doesn't have as many jokes as the film which works just fine, but we see more of the world. Two things i loved about the book that weren't in the film were:
1.The community the boney's had created, with families, church and school - a lament to what has been lost. 
2. Perry's decent into darkness. We see in the film, he's depressed and doesn't see the point in life. This is explained better in the book and in more detail, which helps to put the point about hope across. 

The film is a good movie, but tries to fall on the funny side. The book is more serious and has more meaning. The film is worth a look but in the end (like most times) the book was far better.

Film Review - Oz: The Great And Powerful (2013)

The wizard of Oz is a classic. Everyone knows the tale and i have yet to meet someone who hasn't seen the iconic 1939 movie. There has been a ton of sequels and prequels since then but none have ever made an impact. In fact, i can't think of one that i actually really enjoyed. Until now!

I wasn't too keen on the idea of this film, until i saw the trailer. After that, it went on my must see list.

So, how did it compare to what we've seen before? It worked out pretty well.

I loved the start being in square format and in black and white - a hint to the original movie. The 3D in that particularly well in this scene as it added a lot of depth to the film. Being square format, you can see the difference it created.
On going into Oz, the director again tried to make good use of the 3D and the fact that Oz is a place with no rules. You can do what you want with the land, which he did, but kept some aspects of the original such as the yellow brick road (you can't have an Oz film without that!!) right down to the spiral in muchin land where Dorothy starts her journey.

The plot is a little confusing for younger audiences since you're not too sure at first who the bad guy really is, while in the original was just "kill the witch, save the land". This film had the same plot but tries to complicate things a little.  

The actors do a pretty good job most of the time. I felt Mila Kunis wasn't right for her part in the second half of the movie. She isn't a bad actress but her role in this movie changes half way through and she wasn't as great at the second half. Couldn't really pull off the laugh! But that is personal opinion.

As i've mentioned already, i love the hints to the original. There is a scarecrow, a lion, the muchins, the yellowbrick road, the flying monkeys, the good witch has bubbles, the evil witch has a smoking broom, the list goes on. It works well as a prequel and i would watch it again. The film was only missing one thing - the ruby slippers! But i looked it up and turns out MGM own the rights and Disney couldn't use them.

So yeah, overall, it was a decent movie. Great family picture.

FIlm Review - Hansel & Gretel Witch Hunters (2013)

Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton going around killing witches for the sake of it, yup sounds good to me! :)

I've wanted to see this movie for a while now, so decided to see it last week. We had originally just booked 3D tickets before discovering it was also showing in D-Box at the same time, so had to go upgrade our tickets. It worked ok as a D-Box movie. Not as good as the likes of Die Hard and The Expendables (which were the last movies i saw on D-Box) but it still had an impact. The 3D was the same. It worked better in some scenes than others. Seeing it normally though, you wouldn't miss out on much. 

As for the movie itself, it was predictable. The ending and the twist was obvious. But i'm not saying it's a bad movie. It's good fun to watch, if you don't mind not having much of a plot. The plot is there, but you know what's going on the whole time so you don't really have to think, just watch the two of them kill almost everything that moves. 

The gory and violence is a bit over the top in some scenes. For example, there is a scene where they're killing a witch and decide to stomp her head off. Why? For the sake of it. It is a bloody and violent film but goofy at the same time for that reason. 

I liked the twist on the classic fairy, so it's a good idea as a film, but as i said, it's predictable. If you want a goofy action movie with loads of blood and guts, this is one to look into. It's over the top fun!!  

Book Vs. Movie - Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter

“Book Vs. Movie” -  first post will be Seth Grahame-Smith’s Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter!!

Before i continue, i must stress that this is all personal opinion.

So two summers ago, i discovered Grahame-Smith and read “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” because it sounded cool. And i didn’t enjoy it. It was basically Pride and Prejudice with a couple of zombie scenes thrown in. So i hadn’t expected to read anymore Grahame-Smith despite all the fun and cool titles. That was until i saw the trailer for Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter. Since the film looked cool, i thought i’d give the writer another shot.

I was only a chapter or two in when i saw the movie, so i still didn’t know what to expect from the film. But i enjoyed it. It was over the top action and quite silly but fun all the same. 

I then finished the book and saw i huge difference. The book focuses more on Lincoln’s politic career while the film focuses on the vampire killing. There is more action in the film, more fight scenes. The book goes more into Lincoln’s mind and how the vampires are effecting him, eg. the dream scenes, which aren’t in the film.

Overall, if you want a senseless action movie about a vampire killing president, watch the movie. If you want to read about politics, family life and secret dealing of a president with vampires thrown in, read the book. 

Personally, for me, this goes in the small pile of films which are better than the book. Why? because i’m not really into politics and a senseless action movie about a vampire killing president is fun. Don’t judge me! :)