Wednesday 4 May 2011

Fast Five, Thor, Pirates of the Carribean: On Stranger Tides, Tron: Legacy, Batman

Intro

So this week has been pretty newsworthy.  And in order to avoid becoming a target for Al-Quaeda and steering clear of a possible international political situation The Cutting Room Floor will be making no comment on the whole Bin-Laden assassination. Instead another event occurred this week that will no doubt have Hollywood’s finest (and worst) screenwriters scribbling and typing away trying to drum up a script to commemorate the occasion. I talk of course of the royal wedding.

Now The Cutting Room Floor is a fragile little flower and can get a little emotional watching films from time to time. But after a tear in the eye watching the royal wedding it became clear I needed to man up and quickly.  So on Saturday I decided that Fast Five would be this blogs focus for the review and in terms of a testosterone pumped spectacular it didn’t disappoint.  I had to be careful driving my car after so not to get too carried away imagining I was still in the film.  Although driving to Morrison’s in my Yaris isn’t quite as glamorous as having a street race with Vin Diesel.

Enjoy this movie blog like I am sure you have been enjoying the weather, the good news and the above average films on offer at the moment at the cinema and may all your dreams come true!

Preeeview

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

Oh my! Excited much?! This has to be the most eagerly anticipated of the summer blockbusters (except Harry Potter I know I know).  He’s back and yes he’s ditched his boring fellow cast members and embarked on a prequel.  This time Jack is searching for the fountain of youth and will have many a foe looking to stop him as usual.  The trailer looks like stepping back in time has given this franchise a new lease of life and could see it surpass all of its predecessors.  Expectation will be high and as mentioned before in this blog it can be a heavy burden to carry and many films buckle under the weight.

Is he wheel-y back? Yes he's wheel-y back!

The cast looks exciting.  Gone are the dreary Keira Knightley and the wooden Orlando Bloom who’d be better at playing a pirates peg leg than an actual human with emotions.  I mean did anyone even care what happened to them in the other films?  Letting Captain Jack Sparrow take centre stage seems like the smartest move this film will take, and of course the role that made Depp the best character actor of his generation is the one we all want to see him in, and lots of him, not as a side story to a soppy romance.  And what’s this, Penelope Cruz? Great choice not only have her and Depp had great on screen chemistry before in Blow but she is feisty, beautiful and seems so suited to this kind of thing that it’s a wonder it has taken this long for anyone to put her in a Pirates of the Caribbean film.

So wash the poop deck, man the rigging, hoist the sails and let’s set sail for adventure.  Estimated arrival time if the seas be fair 18th May.

Reeeview

Cinema

Fast Five

Thierry Henry is always asking, “What is Va va voom?” Well Thierry I can tell you what it is, it’s Fast Five.  Vin Diesel, Paul Walker and loads more are back and throw the Rock in and things are really kicking up a notch.  Harry Potter aside for the fifth film in the Fast and the Furious franchise this has been an unprecedented success.  It went straight to number one on the opening weekend in America and the UK and has grossed the most money this year so far.  No mean feat although sure to be eclipsed by Pirates, Transformers and of course Harry Potter as the summer goes on.

My interest in the series waned after the second film due to the straight to DVD vibe I got from Tokyo Drift.  And I have in fact not even seen the fourth film but it was unnecessary in order to enjoy this.  Set entirely in Rio de Janeiro the gang has a new stomping ground and even though they are on the wrong side of the law the gangster they are up against is so mean and greedy we never feel bad about rooting for them.  This film feels like Ocean’s Eleven and the Italian Job meet Fast and the Furious and the sense of fun of those films is there throughout.

C'mon big huggy wuggy?

Special mention has to go to The Rock (sorry Dwayne Johnson if you prefer but he’ll always be the rock to me).  And can you smell what he is cooking? Well I can tell you it’s a right storm of a testosterone pumped cop that he is whipping up.  He plays the leader of an elite law enforcement unit (think Dog The Bounty Hunter with huge machine guns) that are looking to track down Vin Diesel et al.  Anyway he steals the show in his scenes and its lucky as there is one scene when Vin Diesel is asked to really act at an emotional bit and I nearly burst into laughter it was so bad.

This film seems to have taken the sense of action and focused on constructing a decent story based on the parts of the franchise already in existence.  This film unlike its predecessors feels less like an excuse to watch cars race and instead is more of a heist movie with some good stories in place.  And just like when you’re in top gear and you think you can’t go any faster but then you hit the Nitrous Oxide and give your horse power a boost this film takes an already insane action sequence and seems to find more to get out of it.  This won’t rewrite film making but boy is it fun!

Thor

Marvel are busy little bees this year with the release of three high profile big budget summer blockbusters being released over the period of only a few months, the first of which being Thor.  The Iron Man franchise showed that even the lesser known comic book heroes can command huge box office takings and so emboldened by this Marvel are keeping them rolling off the production line with an ultimate goal of uniting most of their main characters for an Avengers movie.  A certain mister Samuel L. Jackson has signed a contract for 9 films in which he has appeared in a few already making this rumour more concrete with each films release.

But I digress; Thor is a film harking back to the mMsters of the Universe times with huge warriors wielding primitive weapons from different dimensions. Now at first the elaborate and lavish world of Asgard and the Earth in which the other half of the film is set look like they could be too different and make parts of the film look slightly ridiculous.  There were parts in which I thought if someone just came in now they would probably laugh at what they were seeing (especially at the Frost Giants who look more like a cartoon on a cereal box than a truly menacing enemy).  However the crossover between Asgard and Earth where Thor gets banished too is handled in good humour and a few gags and snappy dialogue go a long way to bridging the gap between the worlds and keeping the audience onside.

Well I'm not disagreeing with ya buddy!

The Cutting Room Floor had an option; he could pay the extra and see the film in 3D or just in the usual format for cheaper.  Now some may decide I’m a cheapskate and they are entitled to their opinion but I’m afraid I just don’t believe in 3D and in fact think it’s killing the blockbuster at the moment while filmmakers get to grips with how to use it and maintain an emotional and exciting story (Toy Story 3 being the exception).  So 2D it was and it had to be noted this film is heavy on the effects and some of the concept designs and art for Asgard were spectacular and looked brilliant.  There were a few shots however in which the effects looked a little shoddy and this may be due to Marvels heavy commitment to films this summer some sacrifices had to be made.

On the whole though this was an enjoyable comic book film that had the audience encountering a hero and story that many would have been unfamiliar with rather than yet another Batman or Superman.  It is also worth noting I took someone deeply sceptical about this film with me and they enjoyed it too.

Rest on offer…

So I didn’t get to the cinema much in recent weeks and this has to be seen as a fundamental flaw in my movie blog plan.  However people have been good enough to talk to me about films they have seen and from what I’ve read here are a few verdicts without going to the cinema myself:

Limitless
A good idea and one that I was excited to see from the trailer but didn’t get the opportunity to.  I’ve been told that the start was enjoyable but the film didn’t really lead to much and was disappointing for that reason.

Scream 4
Mixed reviews probably due to people’s different expectation levels prior to viewing.  I’ve been told that it was scary in a fun way but also told that the film was a let-down but they have been folding too higher expectations of the Scream franchise.

Source Code
A very decent action film with a bit of a twist at the end. Seems like a good one for DVD viewing in future.

DVD/Blu-Ray 

Tron: Legacy

When The Cutting Room Floor was growing up I liked space ships and futuristic looking things and this film got me so giddy at its very mention of release that I remembered how I felt to be a very little boy once again.  Now I think this is the key to some of the films that will live on longest in our hearts.  Of course if you had a disturbing childhood that theory is blown right of the water but I had a nice one and I remember watching the first Tron film when I was little on the TV.

A film that rewrote the rule book on visual effects and did so in such a way that it has to be said it was a film made as an excuse to show these efforts off and had a rather skeletal storyline that needed a lot of fleshing out.  But hey who wants that when you can make something that looks that good especially when it was made on computers with less memory than most of our iPods we carry around today.  Like making Noah’s Ark out of matches or something equivalent it must have been painstaking but was spectacular.  Disney has poured so much money into this update of the franchise that it’s hard to imagine that they would ever see a profit yet the budget of $170 million has been surpassed by its global cinema takings of over $390 million.
Lets play a love game play a love game... i mean lets play a deadly game with discs in a digital world!

So does it look as radical as its predecessor?  I’m afraid not, it’s not as far ahead of the times as Tron was back in the day but it looks fantastic and does so better on Blu-Ray at home than it did in 3D at the cinema (the Cutting Room Floor Movie Blog is very sceptical about 3D).But by gosh the effects are jaw dropping and geeks like me will be in heaven.  I’m afraid if you’re not a geek however there isn’t much there for you.

Special mention has to go to Olivia Wilde in this film, previously of The OC and House.  She plays Cora a naïve inhabitant of the digital world called the grid.  Although it’s hard to believe she is naïve to her own sex appeal in her skin tight leather, however she is a highlight in terms of the characters. The decision to create a completely digital Jeff Bridges was bold and works most of the time apart from when he gets extra angry and needs more expression in the area around his mouth and that’s unfortunately when you are reminded that he is a digital creation rather than suspending the audience’s disbelief.

In the last blog I mentioned that Suckerpunch looked good and likened it to being in a relationship with someone so beautiful yet so boring.  Tron: Legacy has to be considered a similar situation but if my girlfriend looked as good as this film does, I think I’d let it slide.

Batman

All hail Tim Burton but also Frank Miller for his work in bringing Batman to us in the dark and moody packaging we see him in today.  The Dark Knight plucked from the camp Adam West (love you in family guy Adam) era and now it’s hard for us to imagine Bruce Wayne’s alter ego in any other way. 

Burton inspired by the graphic novels of Frank Miller showing Batman and his foes in a much darker light brings the first serious portrayal of this beloved comic book hero to the screens and succeeds brilliantly.  Mixing Film Noir with the comics mythology means that Gotham has as big a part to play as any character and causes the main protagonist to feel trapped within the city limits, feeling a debt needs to be paid to his murdered parents and the people of Gotham for his own vigilante crime fighting methods that have in this films case spawned the Joker and many more insane criminals to come.
So Bats I'm available for kids parties, bar-mitzvahs etc etc

It is a credit to Heath Ledger that he surpasses the Joker of Jack Nicholson in the Dark Knight as I always thought him to be one of the best portrayed villains in not just the Batman series but of all comic book films. There are small elements of the camp in this film that our ultra-gritty and realistic action films of today would not tolerate but as a comic book film in the 80’s this paved the way for a darker and more mature audience to enjoy comic book adaptations.

Odd Bins

Royal Wedding Film

The yanks don’t miss a trick! Check out this straight to DVD release filmed in America with an entirely American cast doing British accents. I’m sure the Americans will gobble this tripe up but I have faith in us Brits and hope that we can all see through this ****!  That’s right I said ****!

Soundtrack
Some tracks that I have enjoyed while writing the epic 2'500 words writing this issue lol!

Brandon Flowers- Magdalena

Arctic Monkeys- Don’t Sit Down Cuz I’ve Moved Your Chair

Big Sean feat. Chris Brown- M

Friday 8 April 2011

Suckerpunch, The Eagle, Lars and the Real Girl, The beaver and much more

Preview

So it was The Cutting Room Floor blogger’s birthday this week and that meant two trips to the cinema! Yay! One of my own choosing and one of my mother’s but hey a trip to the cinema is a trip to the cinema isn’t it? And who’d have thought it but I actually enjoyed her choice more than my own.  This week once again high expectations for a cinema release cause a big let-down and one that wasn’t expected to be liked won me over.

I’d also like to take this opportunity to describe Cineworld’s organisational skills as poor.  I had a hankering for a hot dog on one trip to the cinema this week and had to go without because even though they had been open for an hour they hadn’t put any on yet and the bloke even had the cheek to say comeback twenty minutes into the film and they’ll be ready then! I found this pretty ridiculous but anyway this has little to do with film so please read on and enjoy this movie blog from my mind and slowly typing fingers to your pretty little eyes.

Preeeview

The beaver

So yeah I know Mel Gibson isn’t everyone’s cup of tea and he hasn’t been for some time now.  But this could mark the comeback of all comebacks.  With a little help from Jodie Foster and a small furry beaver (steady), this film looks like it could be one of those surprise hits that just doesn’t get the attention but builds up slowly overtime and becomes a classic.  Certainly if the film can mirror the trailers uplifting vibes then this looks like an absolute winner.
 Gibson's starting on CBBC this week
The most interesting part of this has to be the fact that The Beaver mirrors its star’s struggles off the screen and so this film seems to take on added meaning and relevance.  The story looks like one that is easy to relate to and if done right will speak directly to the audience which is critical.  So yes Mel Gibson clearly isn’t our favourite star anymore and probably never will be but remember Lethal Weapon? Remember Mad Max? Remember Braveheart? Remember What Women Want (well I liked it)? Prepare to like Hollywood’s favourite anti-Semitic, wife beater again just a little bit more than before.

Reeeview
Cinema

Suckerpunch

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrIiYSdEe4Ehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrIiYSdEe4E

Ever been out with or even just been around someone that just looks so pretty but when they open their mouth nothing of any great substance comes out.  This film reminds me of the poem “the empty vase” (at least I think that’s what it was called) written by a Latino hunk on Friends about Monica. Let me assure you if you like looking at pretty and cool things this film is without doubt a winner.

The problem is if Zack Snyder’s comments are true that this film is to challenge female roles in geek films and empower them, then I’m afraid he’s lost his mind.  Kitting out five hot girls in skimpy outfits and calling this a feminist film is laughable.  If that’s what you’re after in my opinion Tarantino did it with Kill Bill.  In Suckerpunch the key to the girl’s power is using their sexuality to trick their male counterparts and this undermines the point of feminism completely.

There can be nothing not to like about this picture

Anyway enough of the feminism crap, the real point of this film is the action, the guns and the babes.  The girls look to escape their asylum they have all been committed to by acquiring certain objects.  To do this they must inhabit a world of make believe that they themselves control (confused? Don’t worry; I think that means that you are actually sane).  There are three levels in this film, the reality of the asylum, the imagined bordello the girls imagine the asylum is and the epic fight scenes that are imagined again when they preform dances for their victims.  The levels of make believe will leave you in the audience confused and wondering which ones are actually necessary.  

The problem is that I enjoy a little emotion in a film and with Suckerpunch with all of the insane fights and crazy action sequences any sense of reality or danger to the characters was lost.  Even when I should have felt real empathy for a characters plight at one stage I could only sit there with a heart of stone.  This was a big disappointment for me and it was the moment that made me realise the biggest failing of this film.
Yeah sure there were awesome fights, cool lines, sweet costumes, hot girls and the flashy directing of Snyder (which although I’m a fan, he went a little overboard compared to previous efforts in Watchmen and 300). But in the end did any of it matter? I’m afraid not.  I left the cinema thinking “yeah but what was the point in all that?” And I couldn’t come up with an answer.

The Eagle

I wasn’t too keen to see this I have to admit.  Compared with Suckerpunch which I couldn’t wait to see I was struggling to get excited about this one.  Channing Tatum and Jamie Bell in the countryside? It just sounded like one for the girls. I was wrong.  This is a good little film, I say little because of the relatively small budget it was made with.  The director created a haunting looking British countryside with colour saturated shots and beautiful string soundtrack giving the second half of the film a distinctly Scottish feel.

Once you get over that yes all the Romans seem to speak with an American accent (even one of the actors playing a Roman is English but puts on an American accent Joss Stone would be proud of).  I was wondering how the leads would get on a little out of their comfort zone in a film without any dancing but Tatum and Bell were very good throughout (especially Bell although I have seen Tatum act better in A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints).  A special mention should also go to the menacing and mysterious Seal people that they encounter in the second half of the film.  They are disturbing and dangerous  non-clichéd enemies that move away from what you might expect of usual Scottish barbarians.
Billy Elliot's hoping hes challenging them to a dance off

Any film about Romans will still have to live up to the expectations of Gladiator even now eleven years after its release.  That’s why making this on a smaller budget, with a more personal story and smaller box office expectations benefits this film.  It’s no epic, it’s not the best film you’ll ever see but it tells a tale that will make you want to know the ending of and that’s an element in film that not everyone seems to remember.

DVD

Lars and the real girl

Ryan Gosling’s every teary eyed woman’s dream. Best known for being the biggest object of female affection on film for his role in the notebook until twilight and its saps rolled up (twilight bashing will be a main feature of all future blogs). However look beyond your blurry vision from the tears streaming down your face from that Alzheimer’s romance and you will see one of the best actors in small budget independent films around.  Along with his performance as a drug addict teacher in half nelson and his half of the relationship charting Blue Valentine with Michelle Williams he truly cements himself as one of my favourite ever actors with Lars and the Real Girl.

Never in a million years could the premise of a film about a man who orders a sex doll from the internet to be his girlfriend ever sound like a touching, heart-warming film or even one that could be taken seriously when it was pitched to the fat cats that funded this quirky little project. But with a delicate script, great performances and an unbelievable amount of knitted jumpers that even Bridget Jones and her Mr Darcy would be proud of the audience will find itself transported to an altogether more innocent environment and outlook on life.  And who could ever think that a sex doll would do that.
Lars and Bianca. Awwwww!

Granted the original introduction of the story could be easily mistaken for some cheap sex comedy from the 1970’s but instead this film is something that I could see anybody enjoying.  And even though this cutting room floor inhabitant is hardly a stone hearted individual I found myself as moved if not as emotionally drained as I was by the end of the notebook. This film is an anomaly.  It’s a film about a fake relationship between a man and his doll and their interaction with the community around them.  However it feels more real than most on screen relationships between two human actors that I have ever seen (Orlando Bloom and other cardboard cut-out performers take note).


Odd-bin

Yoo-star 2

Dreamt of being up on the silver screen starring in your own action movie? Well now all us film lovers dreams can become reality in this remarkable game for PS3 and XBOX 360.  Using the Move and Kinect technology recently released for the consoles now you can enjoy fun times in your living room at home uttering the classic lines from your favourite films.  If this game has a Napoleon Dynamite scene I’m in.

Space Battleship Yamato

So once again I was getting all confused about which film Rihanna is making her big screen debut on and while searching YouTube for it I found this.  It looks like the biggest budget foreign movie I’ve ever seen.  I was literally getting geek goose bumps watching this. Have a look and see what you think.

Soundtrack

The Joy Formidable- Whirring

Wiz Khalifa- Roll Up
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhQz-0QVmQ0

LMFAO feat. Lauren Bennett, GoonRock- Party Rock Anthem