March Overview

As I'm so behind with my reviews and want to get to the two big films I saw this month while they're still fresh in my mind, I'm going to do an overview of the films I saw in March in one post.

I realise that for Hunger Games fans this may be a bit of a disappointment as this means it won't get a full review. Apologies but it's for the greater good as they'd say in Hot Fuzz.

We start with the first film I saw in March - Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
Viewing Date - 4th March 2012 | UK Release Date - 17th February 2012

http://extremelyloudandincrediblyclose.warnerbros.com/dvd/

EL&IC (the full title's just too damn long) is well worth a watch no matter where you stand on the 9/11 tragedy. I personally only wanted to see it as I'm a huge Sandra Bullock fan and would pretty much see anything she did. But I was so glad that I did in this instance. My main advice is that you should not make your decision on this movie by the trailer, as the best thing about that is the use of U2's Where The Streets Have No Name - which isn't in the film, but is used to great effect in the trailer. 

The film is very different to how I expected it to be from the trailer, it's no where near as schmaltzy for one. Sandy B isn't in it that much, neither is Tom Hanks (but then you'll already have guessed that if you've seen the trailer), but they both make the most of their small roles. The movie is impressively carried by newcomer Thomas Horn who is captivating and very talented for such a youngster. 

Emotional and intriguing. 8 out of 10.

On to the next film I saw in March - This Means War
Viewing Date - 6th March 2012 | UK Release Date - 2nd March 2012

http://www.thismeanswarmovie.co.uk/

I went to see This Means War with a bunch of friends and was so incredibly nervous about impressing one of them that I couldn't really concentrate on the movie. As such I fully intended to see it again on my own or with my cinema buddy but never got around to it. 

I do recall that I enjoyed the film and can easily recommend it as a good action comedy. The three leads are all very different, not just in their characters but also in the types of roles the actors are best known for. Regardless of this, they are equally funny, charming and not afraid to get in on the action. 

One of the better action/comedies I have seen. Great for date night or to see with a bunch of friends. 8 out of 10.

The third film I saw in March was Bel Ami
Viewing Date - 14th March 2012 | UK Release Date - 9th March 2012

http://belamifilm.com/

I was meant to see this with my friend who is a big Robert Pattinson fan but she was constantly busy so I ended up seeing this on my own. Oh how I wish I'd not bothered. The film feels like it goes on forever, none of the characters are particularly likeable and it all feels like a pointless excuse for Robert Pattinson to frolic with a bunch of women. 

Normally I wouldn't be against this but he's not in the best physical shape of his life in this film and looks a bit pasty. I actually thought he looked better with his clothes on. Those who know me will know this is not something I normally say! Pattinson spends the entire film pouting and looking surly, which works well for him in Twilight but he can't get away with it in every film he does.

As the credits rolled, one of the two older women sat next to me said to her friend, 'did you understand what that was about as I didn't?' I understood it, I just wish I hadn't wasted 2 hours of my life understanding it. 4 out of 10.

The fourth film I saw in March was John Carter

Viewing Date - 18th March 2012 | UK Release Date - 9th March 2012

http://www.disney.co.uk/john-carter/

Ah, where to begin with this one. This was a date movie. That will come as a surprise for a lot of my friends who read my blog as I didn't tell anyone I was going on a date. And if I'm honest, I held much higher expectations for the date than the film. But expectations can be wrong.

Allow me to start by saying that John Carter is no where near as bad as everyone made out it was. It did not deserve to be the massive flop that it was. My first take on John Carter, prior to seeing the film, was that it would be this year's Prince Of Persia, but sadly, without Jake. And I was pretty much spot on with that theory. It had sand, a princess, a long haired, muscular hero and a bunch of bad guys. Oh and some aliens. So a bit different to Prince of Persia but not much. 

The story of how John Carter ended up on Mars was really quite well thought out. The alien war there added the action and gave our hero something to fight for. The bad guys were bad, the princess was pretty. It had all the right elements for a pre-summer blockbuster. I can only assume that it's downfall was the lack of a big name star to pull in the crowds? 

I only hope that John Carter will do better on DVD, it could appeal more as a Saturday night couch cuddler than it did as a cinema outing. I certainly enjoyed it for what it's worth. 6 out of 10. 

Moving on to next film for March - We Bought A Zoo

Viewing Date - 21st March 2012 | UK Release Date - 16th March 2012

http://www.weboughtazoomovie.co.uk/

I went to see We Bought A Zoo on the strength of the director being Cameron Crowe. He of course directed one of my all time favourite movies, Say Anything. But he hasn't made a feature film since 2005's Elizabethtown. I went to see this movie with a varied bunch of friends, my cinema buddy, a lesbian and her mother. I think that speaks volumes about the wide audience that this film appeals to. 

Based on a true story of a young widowed man who quit his job and bought a zoo, this is one of those films that tugs at your heart strings from the word go. One thing that Cameron Crowe is great at is making his audience root for the underdog. He did it in Say Anything, brilliantly did it in Jerry Maguire and if Benjamin Mee (Matt Damon's character) isn't an underdog then I don't know who is. 

I'm sure a lot of people will think of this film as being overly sentimental due to the subject matter - Benjamin Mee being a widower and being left with two young children - but the scenes which particularly effected me where the ones surrounding an old and injured tiger, as big cats are very close to my heart. 

There were a couple of scenes in the movie I could have done without. One involves a photo album that comes to life (it's as naff as it sounds), and the end scene where Benjamin explains to his kids how he met their mother (it's corny and a little creepy). But those two scenes aside I really enjoyed the story of the family who bought a zoo, how they took on more than they could handle and how they all pull together to make it a success. 7 out of 10.

The sixth March movie - The Hunger Games

Viewing Date - 23rd March 2012 | UK Release Date - 23rd March 2012

http://www.thehungergamesmovie.com/

As I have not read The Hunger Games I was a little oblivious to it's worldwide appeal and success. On the strength of the trailer and some of the people involved, namely Jennifer Lawrence, I wanted to see the film and decided I would wait until I had done so before investing in the books.

After having seen the film I do still want to read the books, but not as avidly as I did after seeing Twilight or Harry Potter. But with Twilight and Harry Potter I wanted to read the books because I knew there would be more to read than was on screen. I knew they wouldn't have been able to fit everything from those books into a movie and I wanted more. That's not why I want to read Hunger Games. Sure I want to know how the book differs from the film, but more than anything I want to be surprised. Which I wasn't by the film.

Don't get me wrong, I liked the film. Sort of. I liked the performances, I liked the characters, I care about them and want to know what happens next. I just found the film to be a bit obvious, from the word go. *Spoiler Alert* I knew Katniss would end up in the Games (I know it was in the trailer but it was obvious even if I'd not seen that), I knew she would end up getting involved with Peeta (even if only for the cameras), I knew they would change the rules so they both survived, I knew how it would end, including how the last remaining person would die. It was all so obvious. And I hope that in the books it's a little more surprising.

I know I will anger a LOT of people with this review but it's just my opinion. I did still enjoy the film. I just would have liked something to happen that I wasn't expecting. For anyone who hasn't seen the film I recommend you do. Just don't believe the hype about it being the new Twilight. It's nothing like Twilight and I hope that if books 2 and 3 get made, it will continue to be as unique as the first movie was. 7 out of 10.

Well that's all folks, I only saw a rather measly 6 films in March. On with April...

The Vow

Mini Blog

http://www.thevow-movie.com/

Despite the fact that the trailer for this looks cheesier than a block of cheddar, I knew I would probably see it owing to the draw of Rachel McAdams. I have seen almost every film she has done since The Notebook. But sadly not loved any of them as much as that first film I saw her in. That's not to say the films are bad, just not as good as The Notebook. So I hold out hope and continue to trek to the cinema for her latest releases. 

The Vow actually wasn't as bad as I'd imagined it would be. It's not great though, so let's not get ahead of ourselves! It's just not awful. Tatum is as wooden as ever but he does have a little bit of chemistry with McAdams. Just not really to the point that it's believable that they're married. McAdams is her usual, loveable self and portrays her character's memory loss convincingly.

I don't know if it's the fact that it's based on a true story or if I'm just sentimental in my old age but I did find myself rooting for the couple and did want them to overcome the odds to make their second chance relationship work. 

If you like love stories that aren't overly emotional, or if you like the actors involved, I'd definitely say The Vow is worth a watch. If that sounds like your idea of hell then I'd avoid it like the plague. 6 out of 10.

Viewing Date - 26th February 2012

UK Release Date - 10th February 2012

Cast Overview:

Rachel McAdams ~ Paige

Channing Tatum ~ Leo

Jessica Lange ~ Rita (Paige's mother)

Sam Neill ~ Bill (Paige's father)

Scott Speedman ~ Jeremy

Director ~ Michael Sucsy

Writer ~ Jason Katims, Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein (Screenplay) and Stuart Sender (Story)

Safe House

Mini Review 

http://www.nooneissafe.com/

A frustrated CIA Agent, Matt Weston (Ryan Reynolds) receives a new charge into his safe house in Cape Town - former CIA Agent gone rogue, Tobin Frost (Denzel Washington). It soon transpires that the reason Frost is there is because he handed himself in to the US consulate in South Africa to escape some rather unsavory people who were after him. They soon find him though which forces Weston and Frost to team up and go on the run together. 

It's been a while since I saw Safe House (slowly catching up on reviews - apologies to my regular readers) and to be honest I think there was a subconscious reason I didn't get round to this review. Not because of the film, just some unresolved issues I have that this film reminds me of. I digress as usual. What I was trying to say is that I don't really remember it all that well. 

All I can really recall is that there were a LOT of twists and turns in this movie. Probably more than were necessary. By the end I wasn't sure if up was down or if left was right. It seems that the producers wanted to keep their audience on the edge of their seats, but instead they just lost their audience about half way through.

The performances were okay. I personally don't subscribe to the notion that Denzel Washington is a great actor. I think he can be. But I think the majority of his performances are just a little OTT. And this is one of them. Reynolds is good but overshadowed by Washington's hammy performance, a script that is somewhat lacking and a confusing plot. Farmiga, Gleeson and Patrick all provide decent support but then they pretty much always do. 

I wasn't intending to bad-mouth Safe House when I started out so let me finish by saying that this is a perfectly acceptable Saturday night popcorn movie. It just won't leave a lasting impression. 6 out of 10.

Viewing Date - 25th February 2012

UK Release Date - 24th February 2012

Cast Overview: 

Denzel Washington ~ Tobin Frost

Ryan Reynolds ~ Matt Weston

Vera Farmiga ~ Catherine Linklater

Brendan Gleeson ~ David Barlow

Sam Shepard ~ Harlan Whitford

Robert Patrick ~ Daniel Kiefer

Liam Cunningham ~ Alec Wade

Director ~ Daniel Espinosa

Writer ~ David Guggenheim

The Lady K Academy Film Awards Day 12 - Best Director and Best Film

The last post in the Lady K Academy Film Awards is upon us. And I have saved the best awards for last. Best Director and Best Film. 

So without further delay I announce the winner of the Best Director is 

Martin Scorsese for Hugo

Anyone who read my review of Hugo back in December will know how passionate I was about the direction of the film and how amazing I thought the 3D was. Well I have recently watched Hugo again, on a 3D TV, and let me tell you, it was just as impressive as it was at the cinema. 

For those who missed it, my review had this to say "Hugo is such a charming film, an absolute pleasure from start to finish. The fact that it was directed by Martin Scorsese makes it all the more incredible. Now I'm not saying old Marty is not a good director. I'm sure we all agree that he has made some magnificent films, but these are films like Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, more recently Gangs of New York and Shutter Island. He's not exactly known for charming kids films. 

The other impressive thing about the film being directed by Martin Scorsese is that this is the first time he's shot a film in 3D. And I think this might be the most impressive use of 3D I have ever seen. Everything pops, like a feast for your eyes, from the dust in the train station to the people on screen, it's a visual treat. Mr Scorsese hasn't gone down the classic route of having things come out of the screen, instead he's just made everything three dimensional. It's honestly amazing use of 3D. If you see Hugo, and I highly recommend you do, you should see it in 3D."

It's such a shame that I can't show you the 3D in the trailer below. Instead I will just have to urge you, if you missed this at the cinema (and how you could have when my review pleaded with you to see it), if you find that the film has a one off 3D showing at your local cinema, maybe on a kids club or such, go and see it! Or if you have a friend with a 3D TV, rent the 3D Blu Ray version of Hugo, take it round, and marvel in it's brilliant storytelling and eye opening use of 3D. The best use of 3D I have EVER seen.

Finally, I present the award for Best Film, which goes to The Help

The Help was not only my highest rated new film of last year, it was also the film that had the biggest emotional impact on me. The performances were all superb, which I have hopefully demonstrated through my awards for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress both going to artists from The Help. The direction was well informed and considerate towards the subject matter. The script was spot on. And the overall film, which combined all of these elements was a truly wonderful piece of filmmaking.

I think I've said it all but in case you missed this one too, my review had this to say " The Help left me feeling that I'd just watched a really great film. This is an eye opening story told with such emotion, had me laughing and crying in equal measure, which was so well executed by all involved. It seemed a story which was very dear to the hearts of everyone who had a hand in it, from the actors to the writers and director. It was a story told with such attention to detail and a lot of love.

I can't recommend this film highly enough. Harrowing in places, unafraid to show the bad with the good, but a film which ultimately proves that humanity can be gracious and kind. But without the schmaltz. As near perfect as a new film has gotten for me this year."

A well deserved winner. The trailer is just to prove my point.

Runners Up for Best Director:
J.J. Abrams - Super 8
Nicholas Winding Refn - Drive
Tate Taylor - The Help

Runners Up for Best Film:
Hugo
Drive
Super 8

You know the drill, agree or disagree I want to see your thoughts below!

The Muppets

Mini Blog

http://www.disney.co.uk/muppets/

While I have never been a huge Muppets fan I had been looking forward to their new big screen outing ever since the Orange advert changed to the Muppets version. I have never before loved and looked forward to an Orange advert as I loved and looked forward to the Muppets Orange advert. I am still a little bit gutted that it's no longer on.

I went to see the film with two of my friends who are big Muppets fans. One of them owns a Kermit and a Pepe of her own and even dreams about Pepe being her pet. So 'big Muppets fans' doesn't really cover it.

But if I'm honest, whilst I enjoyed the film, it didn't really live up to the promise shown in the Orange advert. There wasn't enough Pepe for one. He was one of the key players in the Orange ad, but he only had one scene in the movie.

And although I appreciate that this wasn't the Pepe show, I found Walter and the Moopets to be quite annoying. And as a lot of the film focused on them I found this made it drag somewhat. The moments that were old school Muppet madness were wonderful however and made up a lot for some of the more mis-guided moments.

The clip I have chosen below is one of the songs in the film 'Man or Muppet' which won the Oscar for Best Original Song. Although musicals are one of my least favourite genres I did like the songs featured in The Muppets, and this song especially made me smile. Mostly for Jim Parsons' (The Big Bang Theory's Sheldon) cameo as Walter's alter ego. 

I think Muppet fans of any age will enjoy this installment, just don't expect too much from it. 6.5 out of 10.

Viewing Date - 16th February 2012

UK Release Date - 10th February 2012

Cast Overview:

Jason Segel ~ Gary

Amy Adams ~ Mary

Chris Cooper ~ Tex Richman

Rashida Jones ~ Veronica Martin

Director ~ James Bobin

Writer ~ Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller

Based on Disney's Muppet properties and characters by Jim Henson

The Lady K Academy Film Awards Day 11 - Best Lead

The Lady K Academy only has 4 awards left to give out and tonight is going to be another double awarder as we salute the Actor and Actress who literally lead the way in 2011.

Without further ado the award for Best Actor goes to...

Ryan Gosling for Drive* 

(*although he also gave very noteworthy performances in 

Blue Valentine, Crazy, Stupid, Love and The Ides Of March)

Ryan Gosling was on fire last year with 3 very different movies on general release within 3 months of each other. 1 romantic comedy, 1 crime thriller and 1 political drama. He also had romantic drama Blue Valentine out at the start of the year. Even if he's not your favourite actor you have to admit he's hard working! As I saw each of these films I can say without a doubt that he was fantastic in each of them, but the one which made me decide he was worthy of this award was Drive.

This is what my review had to say: "Despite being the main character, the driver not only has no name, he also has very few lines in the film, with most of his feelings being played out through looks in the rear view mirror. Having said that the performances of Gosling and all of the other actors involved are faultless."

To give you a taste of Ryan's performance in the film I have attached a video I found which is set entirely to a song from the film, no dialogue. I thought it was a good demonstration given the lack of dialogue for the driver in the film.

Please note this is a clip from an 18 certificate movie and does show violent scenes. If you haven't seen the film there are some spoilers.

We follow Ryan's stunning performance in Drive with our award for Best Actress.

This goes to... Viola Davis for The Help

I pretty much knew all along that my Best Supporting Actress and Best Actress were going to come from The Help, how could they not with such a wealth of female talent on display. But the confusion came when I had to pick one. Just one. Anyone who read my review of The Help will know that I have a huge girl crush on Emma Stone. Love her. She can do no wrong. But Viola was amazing. And so were Octavia, and Bryce, and Jessica. Hardest decision EVER. But as Viola's role really was the pivotal one, I went with my gut and chose Viola's portrayal of Aibileen Clark as the winner for this category.

For anyone who missed it, this is what my review had to say: "The characters are fantastic, even the ones you hate, you can't help but admire the actors potrayal. And the actors, or rather actresses as this is a predominantly female cast, were faultless. Every single one. I know I already mentioned my girl crush on Emma Stone but she is wonderful. But then so are Viola Davis, Bryce Dallas Howard, Octavia Spencer and Jessica Chastain. And the supporting cast is a dream, from the likes of Allison Janney (who can do no wrong in my eyes, I've loved her for years!) to Sissy Spacek and Mary Steenburgen. Fabulous one and all."

And here is a taster of Viola in The Help.

Much as I love Meryl, can you still tell me after watching that clip that Meryl deserved the Oscar? I don't think so!

Runners Up for Best Actor:

Matt Damon surprised me last year in both Hereafter and The Adjustment Bureau. 

Jake Gyllenhaal for Source Code. Yes he's my favourite actor, yes I've met him and am biased as hell but he was brilliant in Source Code, you know it and I know it.

Runners Up for Best Actress:

While Michelle Williams (Blue Valentine and My Week With Marilyn) and Natalie Portman (Black Swan, No Strings Attached and Your Highness) were both very busy ladies last year I think the two women who surprised me the most after Ms Davis were Kristen Wiig for Bridesmaids and Tilda Swinton for We Need To Talk About Kevin

So there you have it. My winners for Best Actor and Actress. Who were yours?