The Monuments Men is about an unlikely group of World War II scouts who's task is to rescue a load of intriguing art masterpieces from some nasty Nazi thieves and return them to their owners. Together a whole load of interesting and famous famous come together to form The Monuments Men.
Hello Everyone
Today on the blog, I am reviewing The Monuments Men released back in February this year. This is a story of unlikely happenstance events which take place back in World War 2 and unlike other spectacles of that part in history that stand out, this was considered to be familiar, that some soldiers would retreat and appointed tasks to retrieve stolen goods such as art, from the Nazi opposition who have stolen it. It's sort of like a take back, and this film is a throw back in terms of showing the audience moments such as this. I mean the film is based of a true story, which means there must be some fact in the film.
I'm impressed with all the names and famous faces seen from within this film, all of which are all playing such good character and are all so well played. I thought George Clooney was really good. I thought Matt Damon was very good, I thought Bill Murray was really good. This film is exceedingly well cast, there's not a bad member in the cast in this, sure we can visualise what if other actors were in, and what sort of job they would have done. But for me, the quality of control in the actors presence is great.
I don't tend to like films featuring George Clooney, he's not always a very interesting person to watch on screen, but watching that scene between him and Matt Damon, it's just a well acted scene and so professionally done, from down to the last detail, the lighting, the sound, the quality of control. I was very impressed, it made me think 'well maybe I should cut George Clooney some slack, because he's shown me that he can be good' in contrast to that, he has shown me in the past that he can be very bad. which relates back to my previous statement about him not always being a very interesting actor.
So as far as how historically accurate the film is concerned, It is very factual. It's also very comedic and very serious. It's the balance of fact, comedy and seriousness that the film thrives on, in how it chooses to entertain it's audience. I think coming from a person point of view of opinion, I've seen films like this that tend to achieve this and fail. Monuments Men doesn't fail at keeping those levels up. What it does fail at is keeping the pace going and keeping me interested.
The film is 118 minutes, sadly it drags out. A lot, for me the pacing of it was slow in order to concertate on the perplexity of the actors doing their bit. I did get board watching it which just goes to show how crustal the directing is and the putting together is, timing is impeccable.
As much as I was impressed by the cast, the acting, the lighting, the music, the historical accuracy in the set, costume and in the story. It's a bit of dire film really. In my opinion George Clooney should stick to acting - 5/10.
The Blind Side : A film based on the insightful and genuine story of Michael Oher, a homeless and traumatised boy who became an all American football player and first round of NFL draft pick with the
help of a caring woman and her family.
Hey Everybody
Welcome to my newest review. 'The Blind Side' a film which tells us the story of Michael Oher and how he begins as a homeless boy hiding the events of his past to a professional football player brought into the care of a family who look after him and take care of him and put him on the right path.
So this film your main star is 'Sandra Bullock' and her incredible performance, her accent is very convincing and they way she approaches this role is brilliant. I really was taken under her wing in this. I am a fan of Sanadra as an actress anyway, but for me in this I really felt that this was the first time she put on a performance that was very heart felt and genuine.
Sandra Bullock won the oscar for best actress in 2010 for her performance in this, and it was well deserved I think, considering that for any actor its hard to take up challenges especially portraying real people, you don't have long and you have to get it right, so the acting would sometimes be secondary, and Sandra is wonderful in this all the way through, she plays a mum who cares about her family, loves her husband and really embraces Michael into her life.
The Film is based off the facts of a true story of Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy who take in a
homeless teenage African-American, Michael Oher. Michael has
no idea who his father is and his mother is a drug addict. Michael has received little formal education and few skills to help him learn.
Leigh Anne
soon takes charge however, as is her nature, ensuring that the young
man has every opportunity to succeed. When he expresses an interest in
football, she goes all out to help him, including giving the coach a few
ideas how to best use Michael's skills to their abilities.
They not only provide him
with a loving home, but hire a tutor to help him improve his grades to
the point where he would qualify for an NCAA Division I athletic
scholarship. Michael Oher was the first-round pick of the Baltimore
Ravens in the 2009 NFL draft.
So it is a family film, and a film about families, how a family - this family lives and coinsides with an outsider and just accepts him as being one of their own. But there's also hints of racial prejudice in this film, and comments are made about skin colour. For example Michael is assumed to be stupid because he's black, when actually he's not. He's just not been educated properly.
This film is pure drama, and that's what counts. Pure drama, with a clear underlined message. 7/10.
A comedy which involves human interaction with animated characters, as superstar Michael Jordan teams up to with the Looney Toons to help them win a basketball game against alien slavers to determine their freedom.
Hey Everybody.
Hope you've all had a good week, sorry I haven't been blogging as frequently as I'd hoped. But I am back on now, and reviews are going to be happening more frequently through out the course of this month, and possibly throughout next month to if we're lucky.
So today, I'm going to very quickly look at Space Jam, no need to go into any specific detail about this one. Just a brief summary of what it's about and is it good or bad. I thought I'd review this film because I have seen it fairly recently, it was a film I've always liked growing up and more to the point It's human interaction with cartoon characters, what more is there to be expected.
So the premise of this film is that the Looney Toones are in trouble because some evil alien overlords have stolen the talent of some professional basketball players in order to win a basketball game against them, if the overlords win, they turn the world into their new amusement park. The Voice of the main villain is Danny DaVito who gives off a wonderful performance and makes the character believable that the character he's playing is not a nice guy and has aspirations of greed and is a go getter, and sets out to achieve bigger and better every time and thoroughly believes that 'The customer is always right'.
So the Looney Toones seek the help of Michael Jordan, and none of the iconic characters are missed out there all there. Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Tazmainian Devil. there all there, and they interact well into the plot well and most of all co-ordinate to what Michael Jordan is doing, that's not an easy thing to do if I might add.
My main thing with this film is how well the charters the animated ones, correspond to Michael Jordan and what he is doing. Which just goes to show, the animation is fantastic as is the animators themselves. So what this film does for me is the demonstrates the diversities of its surroundings and how real people interact with those of a fictional word which are very real in the film.
It's a very funny movie, I know it's a comedy and laughs are expected, but I really thought everything clicked as far as the comedy side of it was concerned, the jokes, delivering the laughs, do those laughs work, because it could all fall apart but it doesn't and that's what counts.
In conclusion, this is a family film, to be enjoyed by families and kids a like. All of which I have no doubt will enjoy watching this film, from every last detail, story, characters, music, directing etc. 6/10
Non Stop : An action thriller, adventure which sees Liam Neeson play an air marshal, trying to track down a mysterious villain planning to kill someone on a plane every twenty minutes unless one hundred thousand dollars is transferred to a anonymous account number.
Hey Everyone
Welcome to another Dr Film review. I went away for a bit of a break after the reviews I've been doing in the past two months. But now I'm back, and I am raring to get back into reviewing films again. So Non Stop. Is the last film I went to go an see at the cinema. I saw this on the night it came out. 28th of February, eager to know what this had to offer.
Because this film falls into three different genre's. It's your stereotypical action thriller, with a lot of black humor and dark mystery. There is a slight edge to it which in comparison to previous films highlights how different it actually is.
I love this film, on the reason that it doesn't try to be anything other than an action thriller. I mean there is some relation to 'Murder on the Orient Express' where everyone is a suspect, anyone could of done the murder. It's good how its works through that Liam Neeson's character is interpreted to be the bad guy, when its so clear he's not. The negativity of his characters past and his dark side come out and are in effect used against him.
The film reminded me a bit of 'Snakes on a Plane'. That tense feel you got when the people on the plane where trying to avoid the snakes, The tensity in the film is very real, from the moment the action starts, it flows and go with the flow and you find out with the characters who did it.
Liam Neeson himself, is doing the samey Taken stuff, which we are all familiar with, and grown accustomed to. What's so good about his performance is, we don't associate this film or the character Neeson is playing with Taken. It's just there, as something at the back of our minds to relate to. Not once do you get the feeling 'oh I wish I was watching Taken'.
There's lots of interesting back drop and story to this film, its never boars which could happen in a film such as this. But it doesn't. magnificently. It's very carefully directed, very tense and I absolutely loved it.
It's Taken meets Murder on the Orient Express, meets Snakes on a Plane.
Cuban Fury : Nick Frost plays a guy who during his child hood and past achievements was former salsa dancer, which he gave up his ambitions in succeeding in after, he got into unpleasant ordeal with some big kids. Since then he's never danced Salsa since, until now. His new female boss played by Rashida Jones wows Nick Frost and his supervisor Drew, played by Chris O Dowd, and they go into composition with each other to see who can get with her first. Nick Frost's character then discovers that she is into Salsa Dancing which triggers off a spark, which makes him want to wow her through Salsa Dancing.
Hi Guys
Welcome to my latest Dr Film review. Today I will reviewing 'Cuban Fury' the newest film to the line of fun dance comedies. Obviously you got your Strictly Ballroom and your Dirty Dancing which are both great examples of dancing films achieved really well. But I think Cuban Fury is something different to the line, its not like anything id seen previously, it's not too predictable and it's not so in your face.
So, what's to say about this film? I was quite impressed with the end product, after being convinced and drawn in by all the advertising from things such as posters and film clips and seeing Nick Frost talk about it in interviews I was very interested in going to see this film, providing that it wasn't a total flop and utter disappointment.
The film is directed by James Griffiths who some of you may know has directed things such as : Episodes, Up All Night and The Royal Wedding. And comes onto this to direct and co-ordinate the script.
Now the script, and the story is by Jon Brown nominally, but I think it was Nick Frost that came up with the backdrop of all the characters, and came up with the storyline and all the development behind what eventually became the finished script. So it was written in a sense by Jon Brown as he wrote all the dialogue and action, but from the basic workings of the work of Nick Frost. So the two were a bit hand in hand as it were.
So already you got a television director coming on to do a full on film, and a writer who is basing his work of the work of someone else that has been spoon fed to him by the leading cast member. Nick Frost himself, shows a lot of artistry and passion in this project which in every sense of the words brings everyone through it. It has been brought to my knowledge that Nick Frost actually has been wanting to do a film like this for sometime, so why it has taken him so long, I don't really know. It seems that this project has been delayed to us somehow.
Anyway here's a clip.
So let's cut to the chase here, The characters. Nick Frost plays a character who I think is really likable, charming, funny, kind hearted character with a passion for dancing. He also is a man who has very good eye for physical comedy. There's a scene right at the beginning of the film where he's eating youghurt and he does in such a way that is hilarious, there is very few ways you make eating youghurt funny.
Olivia Coleman plays his sister, who works at a cocktail bar and is very encouraging and happy character who gives off good tips and advice in helping Bruce achieve well in wowing Julia. She herself is very funny in the film and brings her own light to her role, makes it her own and is very much in control the whole time she's doing it.
Then you got Julia, the girl played by Rashida Jones and it is her that give Bruce his confidence back. She's the new boss that comes in on the scene and really wows Bruce over, and he establishes a thing for her, and then he discovers that Julia is a salsa dancer which then makes Bruce want to get back into salsa dancing as a means to try and impress her.
The Dance mentor and Bruce's teacher is played by Ian McShane who is a really grumpy and rude, abrasive character. But you sort of like him in a way because its Bruce that says 'I found my old dance teacher who is a really horrible human being' and you laugh at that, and take the joke as a personality reference. I think Ian McShane does a very good job at playing the dance teacher.
Lastly we have Chris O Dowd, who in every sense of the word is a jerk. You just want to smack him round the face repeatedly. He's not a very nice character, everything Bruce tries to do, he sets out to do it better than him, and embarice him in every given opportunity. He doesn't want Bruce to succeed in having Julia because he wants Julia for himself. Don't get me wrong, I really like Chris O Dowd, but I hated his character in this film.
The problems I had with Cuban Fury, were the fact that I just thought that script let it down a bit. It wasn't awful. I just felt there was something missing, and the script isn't as good as it needs to be, the directing I think is rather flat and rather televisual standards and what you get is a kind of selection of individual bits many of which are individually funny.
But as a whole movie, it doesn't hang together quite so well as I thought it would. Its a very fun film, I won't deney that I had fun watching it, it was great to just go with the flow and enjoy for what it was. But its a weird feeling because when it finished, I was quite disappointed by how much I hadn't laughed. And I want to like it more partly because of the fact I really like Nick Frost and he put so much effort into making this film a reality, it sort of seems disrespectful as a fan of him and his work to sort of go 'oh you know that work you spent all that time doing Cuban Fury?, It wasn't as good as I thought it would be.'
This film, certainly has the workings of a good story. The concepts there, but presented in a badly executed way. But you know at the end of the day, it's not Nick Frosts fault. I think this film just demonstrates just how difficult it is to get comic timing right, not in terms of performance, but by direction and script writing.
Overall, It's very good for what it is, but its not an amazing film. 5/10.
Thank you for reading this review guys.
I hope you enjoyed reading it.
I'm taking a break now. I will be back on the 1st of April with my review of Non Stop.
Take care everyone, and don't forget to Subscribe.
Big Lights, Big City, The year is 1970. A con man, Irving Rosenfeld, along with his seductive British partner,
Sydney Prosser, is forced to work for a wild FBI agent, Richie DiMaso. It is then that they realise they got themselves in for more than they bargained for.
Hey All
Welcome to my newest Film review which is of American Hustle, directed by David O Russell, the film gives a back drop into the lives of a group of people who get themselves in for more than they bargained for.
The film itself, I wasn't particularly bothered about to start off with, but once it started it didn't take me too long to get into the rhythm of things in terms of what was going on and what was happening. All the main characters were presented really well. You could tell who was who and their part in the story.
Judging on story alone. This film is disastrously bad. The pacing of it seems to me like a plain crash. It starts off really well, before crashing down hard to the ground. In terms of endearment this film has, it has its highlights in places, but a lot of it is disastrously dull. The other supporting characters were more pointless than the plot as they had not alot to do with the story.
Being Parsholey critical I must admit, going into a review and instantly attacking the film before pointing out what I liked about or what the stories about. However I feel the need to be blaintly honest and say what I think. I think it's not a great film, it's very poor. The main cast are excellent and without them there really wouldn't be anything recognisable about and therefore resulting in a poorer production.
I did find it difficult to understand David O Russell's directing techniques. He obviously has his own way of directing his films, but I just didn't really understand his directions and positions with his camera angles. It just seemed all the more irrelevant to me. It's like a blocked out signal. I couldn't quite tune in.
Anyway going into detail of 'American Hustle' its a fictional film set in the alluring world of one of the most stunning
scandals to rock our nation. Set in the 70's American Hustle tells the story of con man Irving Rosenfeld, who along with his equally cunning and seductive British partner Sydney Prosser is forced to work for an FBI agent Richie DiMaso.
DiMaso pushes them into a world of Jersey powerbrokers and in the pocket of the mafia that's as dangerous as it gets. Into that you got Carmine Polito, the passionate, volatile, New Jersey political
operator who is caught inbetween the con-artists and the Feds. Aswell as that you have Irving's unpredictable
wife Rosalyn who is the one to pull the thread that brings the entire world crashing down.
So already in there you got the workings of a good story, the concepts there. But presented in a very dire and irregular way to me, it would seem. For those of you who did enjoy it, I can understand why, there is nice conspiracy bits in there, there's narcasim and intense moments of fine acting from your leading cast members. However despite all of that, The cons out score the pros for me.
I just didn't enjoy the film that much. Which is fair enough. It works for some people, it doesn't for others.
What the film does pull off really well, is the set. The set is brilliant, the lighting is fantastic, very carefully co-ordinated and thought through. Lots of mild and mature colouring to indice the audience into thinking what there seeing on the screen is indeed a story with a 70's backdrop and depth to it.
The costumes are excellent also. Like The Great Gatsby does it David O Russell does what Baz Lurhman did with The Great Gatsby and convinces the audience, that they are, where they are. 1970. he
communicates this through make up, hair, accessories, dresses, suits,
colour and perseverance in detail in the settings. the choice of
locations were fantastic.
Certain members of the main cast that stood out to me where Bradley Cooper who I thought was very good in the film, was a very good supporting actor for Christian Bale.
And Jennifer Lawrence as a supporting actress was a lot better than Amy Adams, sadly I felt she didn't do enough in the film, which disappointed me a little, because Jennifer Lawrence is great.
Is this film worth a watch? Not at the cinema. I'd recommend watching it on DVD or one the TV. It's not worth the time going to the cinema to watch it.
I will give this film a 5/10. deeply disappointed with this.
NEXT: I will review 'Cuban Fury' starring Nick Frost, Rashida Jones, Chris O Dowd and Ian McShane.
Thanks for reading this guys and stay up to date with the blog.
THE SWEENEY : A Crime thriller with Ray Winston and Ben Drew (aka Plan B) which evolves a police department in rival competition to take down criminal robbers. However things don't quite go according to plan.
Hey Everyone
Welcome to my next film review which is 2012's crime action drama, 'The Sweeney'.
Now I should point out that if your expecting this movie to be anything like the TV series. It isn't. What it looks like to me is the producers or the writers have took the name from the TV show and stuck it on the paper of this script as a means of dragging in an audience. This film is nothing like the TV series, I ought to know because I've seen a couple of episodes of the TV Series and yes, to put it bluntly there is nothing in terms of resemblance apart from the title.
However this film is a great film for drama, for an action thriller, you just end up running with it. It never boars its a genuine epic story with lots of pumped up intensity to make all the more enjoyable to watch. I mean Ray Winston is just fantastic in this film, because he plays such a cold character, a lot of time he walks around in his pants, So if you go into this film expecting for the TV Show you won't get it, but what you will get is Ray Winston walking around in his pants.
As far as the acting in this concerned the cast for this was very carefully chosen, I mean there are some cast members in there that I know off other things I've seen, and that's why I am familiar with them. But there are a lot of good cast members in this. Stephen Mackintosh, Hayley Atwell, Kara Tointon, Damian Lewis to name a few names, all of which are actors I like and perform well in stuff like this.
The Director Nick Lowe really gives off a great sense of excitement and passion into this project and captivates some excellent shots of London, and a British feel. Shows off our country in a really confidant light.
The story is the main fall for me, and the pacing of it. The story evolves around one central character which is Jack Reagan is a slobbish,old style cop whose unsubtle methods usually
get results,to the annoyance of internal affairs officer Lewis,who would
be even more annoyed if he knew that Reagan was having an affair with
his young wife,policewoman Nancy.
The problem with going down a root of directing the story through one character is, because you've only got that path to take, there isn't much you can do except that, there is much diverse paths you can take. I didn't feel it was the best decision to made for this particular film.
Anyway back to the story, after Reagan disobeys the orders and a
shoot-out in central London following a bank hold-up ends in carnage he
is stripped of office and briefly imprisoned. However,thanks to the
loyalty of his young protege George Carter and a little string pulling
from his superior Frank Haskins Jack is released to bring down the
villains, ensuring the continued
existence of his department - the Sweeney.
Here's a clip.
I think what lots of people don't appreciate about this film or what is the films main failure is, it's supposed to fun. It's supposed to be exaggerated and over the top and not taken seriously, because it is fun. It's a good pop corn flick to go to and enjoy for it being what it is. a crime thriller.
The effects and the music communicate this very well, I would agree in some places some of it wasn't needed. But over all it was a constructive piece of score and cause to effect presented as an assistance to help tell the story well.
Overall. I really liked this film. I didn't love it. But I do enjoy it as a crime thriller.
