Monday 31 December 2007

End of My Year Review 2007


FILM


Kingdom of Heaven DEFINITIVE EDITION

The cinema version I saw back in May '05. I thought it was ok and then really forgot about it.
There was talk sometime later of a four disc directors cut which somewhat renewed my interest but when it appeared the price was laughably high. This November I saw it for an amazing price at hmv
in new packaging so I went for it. It's absolutely brilliant and not just because it has 40 minutes of extra footage, Ridley Scott has changed so much it seems like a different movie entirely.


Honourable Mention:

HairsprayTransformers & The Bourne Ultimatum


TELEVISION

Veronica Mars

I'm on the 3rd Box Set now and whilst a slight drop from the first two is still wonderful, I laughed joyfully at the opening teaser of the first episode because I'd forgotten just how brilliant it is.

Honourable Mention:

The Wire


COMICBOOK

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8

Honourable Mention:

Justice Society of America, Criminal, Scalped, The Immortal Iron Fist


SOFTWARE

Comic Collector

My comics had lain undisturbed for so long in 5 long boxes, one bookshelf and in random piles but finally I bought a bookcase large enough to house most of it. Now that I could get to see the stuff again I wanted to have a program to database it on my PC. I tried the free Comic Collector Live but went with the superior Comic Collector after using the trial version.

Tuesday 25 December 2007

Tom Brooks’ list of the top ten films of 2007

'07 Review: Tom's Top Ten
Often at year’s end Hollywood’s nattering nabobs of negativism are chattering away decrying the absence of any film with artistic merit. But this year there’s quite a lot of good work out there so here’s Tom Brooks’ list of the top ten films of 2007.

Ten: Atonement
A very fine British period drama in which an act of jealousy wreaks havoc in young lovers’ lives. It’s elevated the status of its leading man and leading lady but it was not easy work.

“I think every job is tough,” said Keira Knightley. “I don’t think you have an easy one, and I’m not looking for an easy job. This was tough but it was also incredibly rewarding.”

Nine: Michael Clayton
George Clooney starred in this thriller, uncovering corporate evildoing. It also featured strong performances from Tom Wilkinson and Tilda Swinton.

Eight: Eastern Promises
David Cronenberg’s noirish tale of Russian mafia shenanigans in London featured a standout performance from Viggo Mortensen

Seven: Sweney Todd
A beautifully discordant work from Tim Burton with this Stephen Sondheim adaptation. Yes, Johnny Depp can sing, and so can Helena Bonham Carter.

Six: The Bourne Ultimatum
The best Hollywood blockbuster of the year, made smart and gripping by British director Paul Greengrass.

Five: Persepolis
An ingenious animation that tells the story of a young woman buoyantly battling oppressive conformism wherever she might be, from the Iranian born Marjane Satrapi.

Four: No Country For Old Men
Not to everyone taste, but flawless cinema. A modern Western courtesy of the Coen Brothers that presents the unforgettable villain Anton, brought to life by Javier Bardem.

Three: Ratatouille
Masterly animation with attention to every detail. Exquisitely drawn characters clearly put together by people with an exact knowledge of how a French restaurant kitchen operates.

Two: The Diving Bell and The Butterfly
An expert fusion between cinema and content – content being the remarkable strength of a real person, the former editor of French Elle Magazine paralysed from head to toe who developed the ability to communcate by blinking.

One: There Will Be Blood
A masterpiece from PT Anderson working in an unexpected genre. This end of the 19th century California battle between an oilman and a preacher stars Daniel Day Lewis, who gives one of his best performances to date, and that is saying a lot.

Wednesday 19 December 2007

Enchanted

Cast
James Marsden
Amy Adams
Susan Sarandon
Patrick Dempsey
Screenwriter
Bill Kelly
Director
Kevin Lima
Running Time
107 minutes

The good news: animated Disney princess Giselle (Adams) has found true love with a prince (Marsden). Bad news: his stepmother (Sarandon) doesn’t want him to create a new queen, so she banishes Giselle to real-world New York, which doesn’t gel with her fairy-tale ways.

It was good but I was disappointed because I went in expecting it to be great. I thought it would be more of a musical and Amy Adams' performance, singled out in several reviews for high praise, again was good but I guess my expectations were too big.

Wednesday 12 December 2007

Stardust

Cast
Robert De Niro
Michelle Pfeiffer
Claire Danes
Charlie Cox
Sienna Miller
Mark Strong
Screenwriters
Matthew Vaughn
Jane Goldman
Director
Matthew Vaughn
Running Time
128 minutes

In Victorian England, the village of Wall borders the magical kingdom of Stormhold. When young Tristan (Cox) sees a star fall into Stormhold, he promises to retrieve it for the woman he loves (Miller). However, the star itself, in the form of a young woman, Yvaine (Danes), doesn’t take kindly to being kidnapped.

I did not see this when it first came out some weeks ago, I guess because the reviews were mixed. The choices this week were slim so I finally got to it and it's really great.

Friday 7 December 2007

Friday Night Lights Season 1 DVD Box Set

Cast
Kyle Chandler
Connie Britton
Scott Porter
Minka Kelly
Adrianne Palicki
Taylor Kitsch
Zach Gilford
Aimee Teegarden
Gaius Charles
Jesse Plemons
Creator
Peter Berg
Running Time
15 Hours 55 Minutes NTSC
Aspect Ratio
1.78:1 Anamorphic

TV’s hottest new drama, Friday Night Lights, touches down on DVD with all 22 Season One episodes in a 5—disc collection! In the small town or Dillon, everyone comes together on Friday nights when the Dillon High Panthers play. But life is not a game; and the charismatic players, new coach Eric Taylor (Kyle Chandler), and the passionate fans find that their biggest challenges and obstacles come off the field in the compelling day-to-day dramas of their tight-knit community. From producers Brian Grazer (The Da Vinci Code) and Peter Berg (The Kingdom) comes the critically acclaimed TV series inspired by the best-selling book and hit theatrical movie. Discover why The Associated Press calls it `breathtaking in how it captures ordinary life set against extraordinary passions’.

I had seen and heard good things about this on and off for a while but resisted getting it even when it was going for a bargain price at Amazon for a long winded reason. Basically, some months before, I had seen a football clip where in the background there was clearly no crowd in the stands and I started thinking how silly it was to make a show where right from the beginning, given the time and resource constraints of TV it was obvious that the story could not be done right. The turning point was getting the film, which I don't think I knew existed, ex-rental from Blockbuster. It impressed me and I bought the box set. The film reminds me of that Sam Peckinpah movie Junior Bonner although not as good, in the same way L.A. Confidential is just not in the same league as Chinatown. That is really the only way I can describe it, there's just something about it that doesn't let it grasp the grandeur it reaches for.
The pilot episode is written & directed by Peter Berg as was the film and it has that same documentary feel to it. This shooting style is kept for most of the series which was shot around Austin, Texas until about the last quarter when it sort of resorts to the normal practice of talking heads on a set which coincided with what I would describe as the usual suspects turning up, guest stars like Dana Wheeler-Nicholson, Alexandra Holden and Brooke Langton. Before that I didn't really recognise anyone other than Kyle Chandler [from catching some episodes years ago of that silly show Early Edition] and Connie Britton who was in the film and a few indie movies I saw over the years. It's not surprising with the twenty something actors playing the teenagers but the older cast I just didn't know and added to the unique look. Having said that I still liked it as much and the style does return, certainly with the last episode. The football scenes are quite short because it is mostly a melodrama, now I know very little about American Football but apart from the pilot, Mud Bowl episode and finale they are sort of weak points with the commentator voiceover sort of rubbing that in. It does seem strange they just wouldn't film whole plays from beginning to end in a single shot from the field and football is mostly not touchdowns but scrimmages which lead to nothing and more inclusion of those would have made me believe the scenes more. They did have spectators though which I guess in the last episode were mostly CGI.
It reminds me a lot of Party of Five in how most of the focus is on couples, where one of them has either a mental illness, physical illness/disability and/or is growing up with a less than two parent family depicted as severely dysfunctional.
Several of the cast including three of the younger actresses according to TV.com are former models which I have no problem believing. Minka Kelly slightly edges out Adrianne Palicki for me on looks but I do have a problem with her performance. It's not that it's a bad performance but that it's the wrong one, which doesn't suit her characters actions [spoiler] she sleeps with her boyfriend's best friend while he's lying crippled in a hospital bed. That is not the behaviour of a caring, loving human being but that's how she portrays the character. Surely she should have played her as a harder edged emotionally manipulative person who when she saw her plans were not going to work out fell apart and her true colours were revealed with disastrous results, which then ties in with Tyra's [Adrianne Palicki] attitude towards her right from the start.
Overall I really enjoyed it and will get the second season.
The extras are deleted scenes on most of the 22 episodes [presented with the scenes they come from but non anamorphic] and a short 20 odd minute featurette which I liked but surely could have been longer. There are no commentaries, which are usually deathly bad. Now that the writer strike is on it occurs to me whether this has something to do with the residuals they earn from DVD sales making those involved not want to support the medium.
There are 5 discs which aren't picture discs held in separate plastic trays the first four in twin stacks hinged on the right and the fifth as a single. They are attached to a three part cardboard gatefold which fits into a cardboard sleeve with a coverpage that opens to reveal a collaged cast photo.

Wednesday 5 December 2007

The Golden Compass

Cast
Nicole Kidman
Eva Green
Daniel Craig
Dakota Blue Richards
Ben Walker
Ian McKellen
Ian McShane
Jim Carter
Tom Courtenay
Charlie Rowe
Clare Higgins
Steven Loton
Sam Elliott
Screenwriter
Chris Weitz
Director
Chris Weitz
Running Time
113m 15s

When a spate of child kidnappings claims her friend Roger, Lyra (Richards) sets off to rescue him. This brings her into a battle between her world’s religious government and her only known relative (Craig), who’s set on (heretically) proving the existence of parallel worlds.

It's alright but I say that as someone who has not read the books. From the very positive word of mouth about them, in regards seeing the film I'm glad I have not because I would probably have thought much less of it. The source material is apparently a complex, rich story which on screen is presented as a magic based Spy Kids knockoff.

Wednesday 28 November 2007

American Gangster

Cast
Denzel Washington
Russell Crowe
Josh Brolin
Chiwetel Ejiofor
Carla Gugino
Common
TI
RZA
Ted Levine
John Ortiz
Yul Vazquez
Roger Bart
Screenwriter
Steven Zaillian
Director
Ridley Scott
Running Time
156 minutes

The true story of Frank Lucas (Washington), a ’70s Harlem crime lord who took on the Mafia by importing uncut heroin directly from Thailand, then selling it cheaper. Enter Richie Roberts (Crowe), the one clean cop in a sea of filthy fuzz, assigned to stem the drug flow and put Lucas behind bars.

It has a great visual style to it which goes without saying with a Ridley Scott picture but it does and there's the real sense of a long stretch of time being covered. The two leads are excellent and it held my absolute attention throughout.

Wednesday 21 November 2007

Beowulf

Cast
Ray Winstone
Angelina Jolie
Brendan Gleeson
Anthony Hopkins
Robin Wright Penn
John Malkovich
Screenwriters
Roger Avary
Neil Gaiman
Director
Robert Zemeckis
Running Time
114 minutes

6th Century Denmark, and the domain of King Hrothgar (Hopkins) is under attack from a hideous demon named Grendel (Crispin Glover). The heroic Beowulf (Winstone), a Geat warrior, arrives and vows to defeat Grendel. But if he manages that, there’s Grendel’s angry and seductive mother (Jolie) to contend with…

I did not see this in 3D as there was nowhere nearby to do so and had I, I probably would have given it an extra star. It was good and the animation technique is interesting but still a work in progress. Characters who are shouting or very animated with the actor giving a big performance seem to work best at present, whereas say the Queen acted by Robin Wright Penn who presumably was giving the role a subtler playing seemed not to register with the computer because the face was an unmoving mask.

Wednesday 14 November 2007

Death At A Funeral

Cast
Matthew Macfadyen
Rupert Graves
Alan Tudyk
Daisy Donovan
Kris Marshall
Andy Nyman
Jane Asher
Keeley Hawes
Peter Vaughan
Ewen Bremner
Peter Dinklage
Thomas Wheatley
Peter Egan
Screenwriter
Dean Craig
Director
Frank Oz
Running Time
90 minutes

While an eccentric British family mourns over their father's death, a mystery man threatens to reveal secrets about their father unless he is compensated.

Some mildly funny parts.

Wednesday 7 November 2007

Dollhouse

"Buffy the Vampire Slayer" creator Joss Whedon is returning to television with "Dollhouse," a new sci-fi project starring "Buffy" alumna Eliza Dushku that has received a seven-episode commitment from Fox. Hollywood Reporter

Joss Whedon is heading back to TV-- along with his "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel" ingenue, Eliza Dushku. Variety

Joss Whedon's last experience with episodic TV left a bad taste in his mouth, but an old friend has coaxed him back. LA Times

Hear that? It's the sound of Joss Whedon fans around the world freaking the frak out. (And I am one of them!) E! Online

Joss Whedon, the creator of acclaimed cult favorites “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Angel” and “Firefly,” is returning to Fox and reuniting with “Buffy” regular Eliza Dushku for a new action-drama called “Dollhouse.” TV Week

Cult TV fans, set your emotions to thrilled: Joss Whedon is finally returning to the tube. The Buffy the Vampire Slayer mastermind has just signed a deal with Fox to create a drama series called Dollhouse. Better yet, he's chosen a very familiar face to inhabit it: she of Faith fame, Eliza Dushku. EW

Praise the heavens, Joss Whedon is returning to television. The creator of cult favorite shows Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly, and Angel has signed a new deal with Fox for a new action-drama series, reports TVWeek.com. TV.com

Elizabeth: The Golden Age

Cast
Cate Blanchett
Clive Owen
Geoffrey Rush
Abbie Cornish
Samantha Morton
Screenwriters
Michael Hirst
William Nicholson
Director
Shekhar Kapur
Runtime
114m 41s

While facing danger from overseas, in the form of the Spanish Armada, and from the Babbington Plot at home, Elizabeth I (Blanchett) finds her world thrown into further turmoil when the roguish Sir Walter Raleigh (Owen) arrives at court…

I checked on the running time just before leaving for the cinema expecting it to be close to 3 hours and was pleasantly surprised that it was less than two, however while watching it it seemed to drag and had I not known I would have sworn it was longer. It was good but the whole love triangle subplot between Elizabeth, Raleigh and Bess was uninvolving and [spoiler] the Spanish Armada didn't worry me since I knew from innumerable history documentaries I'd caught over the years that that amounted to nothing.

Wednesday 31 October 2007

Eastern Promises

Cast
Viggo Mortensen
Naomi Watts
Vincent Cassel
Armin Mueller-Stahl
Screenwriter
Steve Knight
Director
David Cronenberg
Running Time
100 minutes

When a Russian teenager dies in childbirth, nurse Anna (Watts) determines to find her family and save the baby from foster care. The girl’s diary leads her to enigmatic ‘driver’ Nikolai (Mortensen) and the bloody underworld of the Russian Mafia.

A Cronenberg film so it's pretty grisly in some scenes. Well played and directed but it just sort of rolls to a stop at the end.

Wednesday 24 October 2007

Die Falscher - The Counterfeiters

Cast
Karl Markovics
August Diehl
Devid Striesow
Martin Brambach
August Zirner
Veit Stubner
Screenwriter
Stefan Ruzowitzky
Director
Stefan Ruzowitzky
Running Time
104 minutes

In 1936, Salomon ‘Sally’ Sorowitsch (Markovics) is arrested for forgery and sent to Mauthausen concentration camp. Eight years later he is transferred to Sachsenhausen to head up history’s biggest counterfeiting operation - part of a Nazi plan to destabilise the Allied economies.

A fine film with a strong performance by Karl Markovics.

Wednesday 17 October 2007

Ratatouille

Cast
Patton Oswalt
Ian Holm
Lou Romano
Brian Dennehy
Peter O'Toole
Brad Garrett
Janeane Garofalo
Will Arnett
John Ratzenberger
Screenwriters
Emily Cook
Cathy Greenberg
Directors
Brad Bird
Bob Peterson
Running Time
111 minutes

Remy (Oswalt), a country rat, has an exceptional sense of taste and wants to be a chef in Paris. When he meets inept human Linguini (Romano), newly installed on the bottom rung of top chef Auguste Gusteau’s restaurant, they hatch a plan to bring Remy’s creativity to the table.

Excellence all around from the script to the voice acting and the animation.

Wednesday 3 October 2007

Michael Clayton

Cast
George Clooney
Tom Wilkinson
Tilda Swinton
Sydney Pollack
Screenwriter
Tony Gilroy
Director
Tony Gilroy
Running Time
120 minutes

Arthur Edens (Wilkinson), a lawyer defending an agro-chemical corporation against a class-action suit, is overwhelmed by guilt and cracks up. Michael Clayton (Clooney), his law firm’s ‘fixer’, is sent to sort Arthur out, but the corporation deploy even dirtier tricks to solve the problem.

I wanted to know a great deal more about the case but it was portrayed almost as just something incidental, one of many things going wrong in a bad four days of his life, when surely it was or should have been the focus of the film.

Wednesday 19 September 2007

3:10 To Yuma

Cast
Russell Crowe
Christian Bale
Peter Fonda
Gretchen Mol
Dallas Roberts
Ben Foster
Vinessa Shaw
Screenwriters
Stuart Beattie
Derek Haas
Michael Brandt
Halsted Welles
Director
James Mangold
Running Time
122m 16s

When notorious outlaw Ben Wade (Crowe) is captured, a posse is thrown together - including penniless rancher Dan Evans (Bale) - to escort him to the town of Contention, where the 3:10 train to Yuma prison will arrive.

It has strong performances, including an almost unrecognisable Peter Fonda. I enjoyed it a great deal.

Wednesday 12 September 2007

Atonement

Cast
Vanessa Redgrave
Keira Knightley
James McAvoy
Romola Garai
Brenda Blethyn
Saoirse Ronan
Benedict Cumberbatch
Screenwriter
Christopher Hampton
Director
Joe Wright
Running Time
123 minutes

1935, and 13 year-old Briony (Ronan) changes the course of several lives when she misreads the relationship between her sister Cecilia (Knightley) and housekeeper’s son Robbie (McAvoy). Later, as World War II rages, she tries to atone for her mistake.

Very good although a little gimmicky maybe.

Monday 3 September 2007

1408

Cast
John Cusack
Samuel L. Jackson
Mary McCormack
Screenwriters
Matt Greenberg
Scott Alexander
Larry Karaszewski
Director
Mikael Håfström
Running Time
94 minutes

Writer Mike Enslin (Cusack) makes a living debunking ghost stories by staying in ‘haunted’ inns. When he gets a mysterious postcard warning of a New York hotel’s room 1408, he decides it’ll make for a great last chapter to his new book. Big mistake.

A good horror movie, not great but worth watching.

Wednesday 22 August 2007

The Bourne Ultimatum

Cast
Matt Damon
Joan Allen
Julia Stiles
Edgar Ramirez
David Strathairn
Paddy Considine
Screenwriters
Tony Gilroy
Scott Z. Burns
George Nolfi
Directors
Paul Greengrass
Running Time
115 minutes

With his fractured memory resurfacing and the CIA determined to keep him quiet, Jason Bourne (Damon) wants answers. He arranges to meet a British journalist (Considine), whose confidential source may hold the key to exposing Treadstone, the covert agency that trained Bourne, once and for all.

Metacritic has multiple five star reviews for this and I don't necessarily disagree, it's just I have a couple issues only one of which is to do with the film itself. The documentary style "wobbly" camera is in full effect, now normally I have no objection to this but it seemed very extreme here and I started to get a headache until maybe about half way through when either I got used to it or they cut back. I had intended to watch my DVD's of the first two films before going but unfortunately didn't have the spare time, perhaps if I had they would have primed me for its style. The other problem I had is that two key moments at the end were given away in a film review podcast I listen to regularly. So I can't give the balanced opinion I would like to, given that I kept expecting certain things to happen which then did.

Wednesday 15 August 2007

Transformers

Cast
Shia LaBeouf
Jon Voight
Travis Van Winkle
Megan Fox
Peter Cullen
Hugo Weaving
Josh Duhamel
Tyrese Gibson
Screenwriters
Alex Kurtzman
Roberto Orci
Director
Michael Bay
Running Time
143m 15s

Dippy youngster Sam Witwicky (LaBeouf) is caught in the race to find a holy relic of robots who adapt by ‘transforming’ into local vehicles. On one side are the decent, human-protecting Autobots (Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Ironhide and Jazz); on the other the cruel, destructive Decepticons (with Megatron, Starscream and Barricade). Activate!

I really don't remember the original cartoons, so the whole accuracy of the piece like having some of the same voice cast is lost on me but I thought it was great. Funny script with a large ensemble cast doing a great job and amazing CGI. I like Bay's style it's just that he needs a good script to back him up and here he has one, unlike say on Pearl Harbor

Wednesday 8 August 2007

The Simpsons Movie

Cast
Hank Azaria
Dan Castellaneta
Julie Kavner
Nancy Cartwright
Yeardley Smith
Harry Shearer
Screenplay
James L. Brooks
Matt Groening
Al Jean
Ian Maxtone-Graham
George Meyer
David Mirkin
Mike Reiss
Mike Scully
Matt Selman
John Swartzwelder
Jon Vitti
Director
David Silverman
Running Time
86m 54s

After yet another Homer (Castellaneta) inspired disaster — involving his new best-friend Spider-Pig — Springfield is declared an environmental disaster area and sealed in a glass dome as an example to all America. Miraculously escaping their prison, the Simpsons head for Alaska, before Homer has an epiphany and (after the word is explained to him) decides to return and save his town.

It's OK which is the best thing you can say about it. Essentially an overlong not that great episode.

Wednesday 25 July 2007

Hairspray

Cast
John Travolta
Queen Latifah
Amanda Bynes
Christopher Walken
Nikki Blonsky
Michelle Pfeiffer
Zac Efron
Brittany Snow
Screenwriter
Leslie Dixon
Director
Adam Shankman
Running Time
110 minutes

Early ’60s Baltimore, and Tracy Turnblad (Blonsky), a big girl with big hair and an enormous heart, dreams of appearing on teen TV dance party The Corny Collins Show. Her wish is granted, but not all goes according to plan...

It was a wonderful experience and I smiled broadly throughout whole sections of the film, however I'm unsure whether to give it five stars. The thing is, if I try to be critical about it then I can see that it's a little too long (maybe 15 minutes) and both Travolta and Walken weren't done real justice dance routine wise.

Wednesday 18 July 2007

Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix

Cast
Daniel Radcliffe
Emma Watson
Rupert Grint
Evanna Lynch
Helen McCrory
Imelda Staunton
George Harris
Screenwriter
Michael Goldenberg
Director
David Yates
Running Time
138 minutes

Harry (Radcliffe) faces expulsion, as the Ministry Of Magic tries to quell claims that Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) is back again.

I considered giving it four stars but then it occurred to me, why? It's enjoyable and very well made and the nearly annual event of seeing the continuing saga of these characters or really just Harry, is an enjoyable occasion but are they really that great. I always get the sense of being told the synopsis of a book, which I am. I haven't read them and am really a LOTR guy (not that I suppose you can't be both) having read it back in '86. The LOTR movies are near masterpieces but they still lack some of the richness of the Tolkien trilogy and some of the Harry Potter books are as big as the whole LOTR.

Wednesday 11 July 2007

Die Hard 4.0

Cast
Bruce Willis
Justin Long
Maggie Q
Timothy Olyphant
Mary Elizabeth Winstead
Screenwriter
Mark Bomback
Director
Len Wiseman
Running Time
129 minutes

Terrorists initiate a plot to bring down the U.S. in a cyber attack, taking out transportation, telecommunications, financial and power networks with systematic hacking. Luckily, New York cop John McClane (Willis) wanders into their orbit, an analogue hero for a digital dilemma.

This is thrilling stuff. It brought back to me memories of the great '80s and '90s action movies, obviously by the presence of Bruce Willis but also the overall feel.
Willis dominates the movie and it's his screen persona which adds immensely to the whole experience lifting it up another level.

Tuesday 3 July 2007

Shrek The Third

Cast
Mike Myers
Antonio Banderas
Cameron Diaz
Eddie Murphy
Justin Timberlake
Directors
Raman Hui
Chris Miller
Screenwriters
Jeffrey Price
Peter S Seaman
Jon Zack
Running Time
93 minutes

With the frog-king (Cleese) dying, it dawns on Shrek (Myers) that he’s next in line to be monarch – something he’s keen to avoid. When he sets off to track down the only other living heir, Fiona’s cousin Artie (Timberlake), Prince Charming (Everett) unites all the fairy-tale world’s bad guys and takes Far, Far Away by storm. Even worse, Fiona (Diaz) tells Shrek she’s pregnant…

It was alright, I liked it. It has been a while since I last saw the first two but I seem to think they were better.

Monday 25 June 2007

Jindabyne

Cast
Laura Linney
Gabriel Byrne
John Howard
Deborra-Lee Furness
Screenwriter
Beatrix Christian
Director
Ray Lawrence
Running Time
124 minutes

Four men leave the small Australian town of Jindabyne for a weekend fishing trip. On finding the body of a young Aboriginal woman floating in the river, they decide not to immediately alert the authorities. Upon their return, the truth gets out, polarising the community.

The murder acts as a catalyst bringing feelings and cultural clashes to the surface, in a small group of friends and the local community. I liked it but it doesn't exceed the sum of it's parts which were done well but could have been better.

Wednesday 20 June 2007

4 Rise of the Silver Surfer

Cast
Ioan Gruffudd
Chris Evans
Jessica Alba
Michael Chiklis
Julian McMahon
Kerry Washington
Andre Braugher
Laurence Fishburne
Doug Jones
Director
Tim Story
Screenwriter
Don Payne
Mark Frost
Running Time
95 minutes

Preparations for the celebrity superhero wedding of Mr. Fantastic/Reed Richards (Gruffudd) and Invisible Woman/Sue Storm (Alba) are at fever pitch when, wouldn’t you know it, inconveniently devastating climatic phenomena herald a new nemesis and the potential destruction of the planet. Dang, guess the honeymoon will have to wait!

Dreadfully bad, I could go into detail but the prospect is just too depressing!

Tuesday 19 June 2007

Veronica Mars Season 1+2 DVD Box Sets

Cast
Kristen Bell
Percy Daggs III
Teddy Dunn
Jason Dohring
Francis Capra
Enrico Colantoni
Creator
Rob Thomas
Running Time
935 Minutes NTSC
Aspect Ratio
Anamorphic Widescreen

A little bit Buffy. A little bit Bogart. A dash of Nancy Drew. Veronica Mars takes the best and brainiest of the American culture of crimesolving and adds a unique vision of its own - brooding, edgy darkly funny and just plain dark - to become one of the hottest, sleekest series of the new century.
Veronica (Kristen Bell) is an outcast in a trendy SoCal beach town. Once she ran with Neptune High’s in crowd. But she’s on the outside after her best friend is murdered and her sheriff father accuses the wrong man as the perp: the dead girl’s billionaire father. Dad loses his job, Veronica loses her popularity and both struggle to build a detective agency and new lives. E-mail scams, cults, car thefts — you name it, Veronica investigates it. But her obsession is the murder of her friend. And she’ll take any risk to solve it.


Cast
Kristen Bell
Percy Daggs III
Teddy Dunn
Jason Dohring
Francis Capra
Ryan Hansen
Kyle Gallner
Tessa Thompson
Enrico Colantoni
Creator
Rob Thomas
Running Time
929 Minutes NTSC
Aspect Ratio
Anamorphic Widescreen

[If like me you come to this cold there are minor spoilers on the back cover blurb and you might want to avoid looking at a name on a folder in the inside art]Who knocked on Veronica’s door at the end of Season 1: Duncan? Logan? Someone even more surprising? "I was hoping it would be you," the teen sleuth said. Now you can see who rated that rare Veronica smile, then uncover the newest mystery to envelop the town of Neptune.
It begins when Veronica misses the bus — a school bus that minutes later plunges off a cliff into the Pacific. It may be a tragic accident. Or suicide. Or murder.
It may (or may not) be tied to Lilly Kane’s murder. But you know Veronica’s on the case, even when other mysteries lead to danger and double crosses, even when her love life takes a couple of dives onto the pool deck, even when.. well, wait and find out.
Season 2: new characters, new revelations,drop-dead dialogue and dead-on cool. Return to Mars. It’s everything you like about Neptune.


I really love these! I raced through the first box set, bought the second and did the same, they're just amazing. I watched the show for the first time on DVD, not really knowing anything about it, other than Joss Whedon [who has a cameo in season two] had said good things about it. So the recent news that the show was cancelled after the third season comes as a blow.
The first season has the through plotline of the Lilly Kane (Amanda Seyfried) murder case driving it, which is usually a B-plot in most episodes until the finale. The second is more fragmented in it's overall structure but just as good. The depth of continuity this show has, especially in the season two finale is jaw dropping. I love the sustained darkness and pessimistic tone of the show [there's even a downbeat Xmas episode] with Veronica up against impossible odds armed only with her wits, backbone and a stungun, fighting the world in defense of her father and to bring her best friend's murderer to justice. It's just an amazing story, brilliantly told.
If I had to give any criticisms of the show it would be that several characters seem to drop off the face of the earth for multiple episodes, a couple because they physically left town, but others for seemingly no reason. In one of the featurettes Kristen Bell says the second season focuses more on the community of Neptune although I think this could have been done much more, because the more tangible a world she lives in, the better. The absense of supporting characters who Veronica surely sees on a daily basis is surreally strange.
The cast are all great but Kristen Bell and Jason Dohring stand out. Buffy's Alyson Hannigan appears in the first season, I think she was a little miscast and is joined by Charisma Carpenter in the second.

The first episode of the first season is slightly longer than originally aired and that set has some extra scenes on the last disk, they strangely seemed to have had foley sound added which you don't normally get, why weren't they edited back into the episodes? The menu on the first set is odd, the first 5 discs have a "Special Features" sub-menu screen which contains nothing, but on the last one it contains just a single item the compiled deleted scenes. There are no commentaries on either set which is a pity [although yes, they are usually disasters]. There's a specific episode during the second season where a major character leaves, it would have been a fascinating insight into the mechanics of the show to have had one with Rob Thomas and the Actor. The deleted scenes of the second season are on each disk accessible through the "Special Features" and episode sub-menu screens. There are two featurettes and a gag reel on the second set which are great, I just wish Warner Brothers had loaded these sets with wonderfull stuff and maybe more people would have got them and the show would still be going.