Only Lovers Left Alive

http://www.sonyclassics.com/onlyloversleftalive/

The second film of the double bill I saw on Friday was the dark and moody vampire romance Only Lovers Left Alive. I'd heard rumblings about this movie for some time, and despite my love of all things vampiric (books, films, you name it), it was my lack of love for Tom Hiddleston that was putting me off.

Before the Hiddlestoners descend and start throwing things at me, let me elaborate. It's not that I dislike Mr Hiddleston. From the films I have seen him in and the times I have seen him interviewed, I have witnessed a very fine actor indeed and someone who seems like a perfect gentleman (with a bit of a naughty side). He appears to be an absolute delight. And no-one can deny he is a pretty one. But he just doesn't do it for me. At this point you should really be thanking me, because I am one less fangirl you need to fight off for his affections. 

It took a review of the film by fellow blogger yourturnheather to make me change my mind and go and see the film. Her review described the movie as being something akin to the anti-Twilight, and also prepared me that the film went at a snails pace, achieving very little in the end. However, her description of the stylish directing and the superior performances was enough to convince me I should make the effort to see it, if I could. That was easier said than done as the film was not showing in my local area at all, meaning I had to go out of town, and at that point my friend and I decided to make it a double bill evening, to make the most of the journey.

After the disaster of film 1 - A New York Winter's Tale - film 2 had to be better. And it was. But only marginally. I'm not going to give you a synopsis, because much like August: Osage County, there isn't really a plot to give you a synopsis of. Adam (Hiddleston) and Eve (Swinton) are a married couple of vamps who, for reasons unspecified, live on opposite sides of the globe; he in Detroit, her in Tangier. They come together after around half an hour because he's depressed and she's worried about him. After around another half an hour of the two of them not doing very much of anything, but at least doing it together, Eve's sister Ava (Wasikowska) arrives, much to Adam's annoyance. Just when you think this might spice things up, it doesn't. Ava ends up getting thrown out of Adam's pad for doing something naughty, and then Adam and Eve decide to go back to her place in Tangier, where a change of lifestyle for the two of them is imminent. 

It is here where the film would probably start to have a little more life breathed into it, and yet it is here that the credits role. The thing is, despite all of that, I wasn't really disappointed with what I saw. Yourturnheather's review had prepared me for the fact that not much happened, and not much happened. It looked very stylish, there were fangs (which was something I wanted badly after Twilight) and nobody sparkled. But that fact that I wasn't disappointed does not mean that I wouldn't have been happy with something more. 

Hiddlestoners will no doubt love the movie, if just for the amount of shirtless (and in one scene completely naked) Hiddles on display. Oh and for my Tumblr readers, there is a ridiculous amount of hand porn in this movie. For those uninitiated, that does not mean masterbation, just that there are lots of close ups of Tom's very pretty hands and long fingers. He also plays a number of guitars, a violin and the drums (I have a thing for drummers). So hard core Hiddlestoners are going to be very happy indeed, even if they don't particularly enjoy the film overall, there is a LOT for them to like. 

Gratuitous appreciations aside, Tom is also very good at being undead and depressed, and he and Tilda have a lot of chemistry together. The best scenes are undoubtedly when they are sharing screen time, because they fit so well together that you have no difficulty in imagining they have been lovers for centuries. Nothing they do seems forced, which, for a movie about creatures of the night, is something of a victory really. 

The support from John Hurt, Mia Wasikowska and Anton Yelchin, is all top notch, as we have come to expect from these actors. It's just a shame there wasn't more for them to do. Definitely one for fans of Hiddleston or Swinton, or those enamoured with the idea of a more old school vampire movie. 7 out of 10.

 

Viewing Date - 21st February 2014

UK Release Date - 21st February 2014

Cast Overview:
Adam ~ Tom Hiddleston
Eve ~ Tilda Swinton
Ava ~ Mia Wasikowska
Marlowe ~ John Hurt
Ian ~ Anton Yelchin
Dr Watson ~ Jeffrey Wright

Director/Writer ~ Jim Jarmusch

Star Trek Into Darkness

http://www.startrekmovie.com/

The 2009 Star Trek reboot opened with a spectacular sequence which changed the Trek universe completely. Not only by giving the franchise a fresh cast and using the latest technology to take us into the twenty third century, but also by changing events that take place prior to Captain James T Kirk's birth. Events that changed the entire future of the Trek movies, and which moved me more than any Trek film that had gone before. 

I must confess that I'd never been a fan of the original series, or the original movies. I became a trekkie around the age of 12 when I developed a crush on Wil Wheaton (see here for the full scoop on that) and started watching Star Trek The Next Generation. And that's also where my interest piqued, as I never got into watching Deep Space Nine or Voyager. But there was something about J.J. Abrams reboot that made me want to see it, namely my affection for Simon Pegg who'd landed the role of Scotty, but it was more than that. And after seeing the film and loving it, I was amongst the millions of born again Trekkies who couldn't wait for the next installment. 

Warp 4 years into the future and here we are with Star Trek Into Darkness, a sequel to Star Trek, which changed history, so will it follow any of the story arcs of the previous Star Trek sequel - Star Trek The Wrath of Khan? *There may be spoilers ahead...*

We re-join the Captain and crew of the USS Enterprise as they attempt to save an indigenous race from extinction, from a volcano that is about to erupt on their home planet. Kirk (Chris Pine) and McCoy (Karl Urban) create a diversion that allows Spock (Zachary Quinto) to freeze the volcano's lava, before it can erupt and destroy the race's sacred temple. Unfortunately, the crew are unable to make their departure from the planet without being seen, which violates the prime directive of Starfleet. This leads Kirk to get stripped of his rank and sent back to the Academy. Or at least that's what we're intended to see. 

*What follows is all in the trailer so no real spoilers from here on out* What actually happens is that the baddie of the hour, John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch), hell bent on destroying Starfleet, blows up the commanding officer's meeting, just as they were discussing what to do about him. Kirk finally steps up to the plate over what happened and asks to be put in command of a secret mission to take Harrison down. Will Kirk do the right thing? Or will his emotions get the better of him. And will Spock ever allow his Vulcan side drop long enough for his human emotions to shine through?  

Well to find out you will have to see the film as I'm not giving that away! Those who are familiar with the story line from Wrath Of Khan will definitely see the similarities, and will either enjoy these nods or will hate them. I myself enjoyed them, but then I'm not precious about the original films so I can't speak for everyone. I thought the story moved at a good pace, and the action set pieces, as with the previous film, were outstanding. There were also some nice surprises, even if you are familiar with Wrath Of Khan, so if you're a fan of the original films don't write Into Darkness off before you see it.

Another successful Trek and I for one can't wait for the third installment. I just hope J.J.'s not too busy with Star Wars to take the helm for the third time. As I suspect, if he hands over to someone who'll use less lense flare than he would, it'll be a different experience entirely. 8 out of 10.

Viewing Date - 9th May 2013

UK Release Date - 9th May 2013

Cast Overview:

Chris Pine ~ Kirk

Zachary Quinto ~ Spock

Zoe Saldana ~ Uhura

Karl Urban ~ Bones

Simon Pegg ~ Scotty

John Cho ~ Sulu

Anton Yelchin ~ Chekov

Bruce Greenwood ~ Pike

Peter Weller ~ Marcus

Alice Eve ~ Carol

Benedict Cumberbatch ~ John Harrison

Noel Clarke ~ Thomas Harewood

Director ~ J.J. Abrams

Writer(s) ~ Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman and Damon Lindelof

Based on the Television series Star Trek by Gene Roddenberry

Like Crazy...Again

Loyal readers of my review blog may recall that I saw a film last year that I was enormously looking forward to, and which lived up to my very high expectations when I was lucky enough to see an advance screening of it at the BFI London Film Festival.

A film which I commented at the time would "no doubt get a lot of critical praise but which probably won't get a nationwide release in order to get the audience numbers that will make it a hit. If it comes to an independent cinema near you I urge you to seek it out and go see it."

It turns out I could not have been more right, as the film has been released this Friday 27th January, and while it is showing at mainstream cinemas across the country, it is only showing at a handful of them.

I therefore thought it prudent to remind my readers of my thoughts on the film and again urge you to see it, if you are lucky enough to live near (or even in) a town that is showing Like Crazy...

http://www.likecrazy.com/

The film starts off as your typical girl meets boy, the girl is british student Anna (Felicity Jones), who is studying at a college in Los Angeles. The boy is fellow student Jacob (Anton Yelchin). The pair fall so in love that Anna decides to stay in LA after student visa has expired. She returns to the UK a few months later but when she tries to re-enter the states she is denied entry because she violated her previous visa. And so follows a story of two people trying to make it work under the pressure of great distance. 

Having never been in a long distance relationship myself I can't comment on whether this is an accurate portrayal of one. But I can say that it seems more realistic than most I've seen. The performances from the two leads are mature (for such young actors) and thoughtful. I know from articles that I read (when I was trying to find out more information) that most of the dialogue was improvised which just speaks volumes about how they seem to have really taken the time to create these characters, rather than just taking their cue from the writer/director. I also thought Jennifer Lawrence's performance, although a much smaller role, was heartbreaking.

The only thing I would change is the very abrupt ending which left one person sitting near me to ask 'do you think there'll be a sequel?' The answer is no, I don't think there will. The message at the end was very clear to me. But that doesn't mean it had to end there. I could have happily watched for another 15-30 minutes as you get so wrapped up in these characters lives that you want nothing but things between them to work out. 

This is a film which will no doubt get a lot of critical praise but which probably won't get a nationwide release in order to get the audience numbers that will make it a hit. If it comes to an independent cinema near you I urge you to seek it out and go see it. 9 out of 10.

Viewing Date - 15th October 2011

UK Release Date - 27th January 2012

Cast Overview:

Anton Yelchin ~ Jacob

Felicity Jones ~ Anna

Jennifer Lawrence ~ Sam

Charlie Bewley ~ Simon

Alex Kingston ~ Jackie

Oliver Muirhead ~ Bernard

Director ~ Drake Doremus

Writer(s) ~ Drake Doremus and Ben York Jones

Like Crazy

http://www.likecrazy.com/

It seems unreal to me that I'm writing this review. I first found the trailer for Like Crazy last month and instantly wanted to watch the film. I went to IMDb for more information and it said it had already been released in the UK in February this year. Counting the months off on my fingers I decided it therefore must be available on DVD but scouring Amazon, Play.com and Ebay and finding nothing soon made me very confused. I tried to find information anywhere I could. Pretty much all I could see was that it had won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. Great. Further proof that this film was amazing but where could I see it??

Eventually I checked back with IMDb and it had changed its story. It was now saying the film was coming out on 3rd Feb 2012 over here. Maybe I mis-read it the first time but I was sure it had said it'd already come out. Anyway, a couple of weeks later a booklet was dropped on my desk at work advertising the BFI London Film Festival and low and behold, they were showing Like Crazy. One frantic visit to the website later revealed that both showings were sold out. 

I rang them a week later and managed to get one solitary ticket. But I wanted to go with my best friend and explained this to the nice man. He told me they almost always have tickets on the day so we went to London on the off chance that we would be able to get her a ticket. And we did! Hurrah! 

The film starts off as your typical girl meets boy, the girl is british student Anna (Felicity Jones), who is studying at a college in Los Angeles. The boy is fellow student Jacob (Anton Yelchin). The pair fall so in love that Anna decides to stay in LA after student visa has expired. She returns to the UK a few months later but when she tries to re-enter the states she is denied entry because she violated her previous visa. And so follows a story of two people trying to make it work under the pressure of great distance. 

Having never been in a long distance relationship myself I can't comment on whether this is an accurate portrayal of one. But I can say that it seems more realistic than most I've seen. The performances from the two leads are mature (for such young actors) and thoughtful. I know from articles that I read (when I was trying to find out more information) that most of the dialogue was improvised which just speaks volumes about how they seem to have really taken the time to create these characters, rather than just taking their cue from the writer/director. I also thought Jennifer Lawrence's performance, although a much smaller role, was heartbreaking.

The only thing I would change is the very abrupt ending which left one person sitting near me to ask 'do you think there'll be a sequel?' The answer is no, I don't think there will. The message at the end was very clear to me. But that doesn't mean it had to end there. I could have happily watched for another 15-30 minutes as you get so wrapped up in these characters lives that you want nothing but things between them to work out. 

This is a film which will no doubt get a lot of critical praise but which probably won't get a nationwide release in order to get the audience numbers that will make it a hit. If it comes to an independent cinema near you I urge you to seek it out and go see it. 9 out of 10.

Viewing Date - 15th October 2011

UK Release Date - 3rd February 2012 (subject to change!)

Cast Overview:

Anton Yelchin ~ Jacob

Felicity Jones ~ Anna

Jennifer Lawrence ~ Sam

Charlie Bewley ~ Simon

Alex Kingston ~ Jackie

Oliver Muirhead ~ Bernard

Director ~ Drake Doremus

Writer(s) ~ Drake Doremus and Ben York Jones

Fright Night

http://www.frightnightmovie.co.uk/

As a huge horror/vampire fan from a very young age (I must have been well under the age of 10 when I started watching Hammer Horrors with my mum) I couldn't wait to watch the original 1985 version of Fright Night when my mum deemed me old enough to watch it. I was around 15 when I did eventually see it and I wasn't impressed. So much so that I can barely remember the original now that another 15 years have passed since I saw it. I just remember not liking it very much.

So when I heard that Fright Night was being remade, I had a reaction I don't normally have to remakes, I was really looking forward to seeing it. Mainly to see if the original would be improved on. Then I heard who'd been cast. Colin Farrell as the deliciously arrogant vampire Jerry, Anton Yelchin as Charlie, the geeky neighbour turned vampire killer, and David Tennant as Peter Vincent, supposed vampire hunter who turns out to be all talk. A dream cast if ever there was one. But what about the finished film...

Fright Night, for those who haven't seen the original, is a story of Charlie (Anton Yelchin), who lives in Las Vegas with his mom Jane (Toni Collette). A new neighbour has just moved in next door to them who they never see and who seems to be remodelising his house, he's blacked out his windows and seems to be removing a lot of concrete from inside. At school Charlie is faced with the reality that a growing number of students are not turning up for class and then disappearing altogether. He goes to investigate this with his one time childhood friend Ed (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), who has now become an embarrassment to Charlie now that Charlie's made it into the 'in' crowd and has a hot girlfriend, Amy (Imogen Poots). Ed soon meets a sticky end at the hands of Charlie's neighbour Jerry (Colin Farrell) who we discover pretty early on is indeed a vampire. When Charlie realises that Ed was telling the truth all along, he enlists the help of vegas showman Peter Vincent (David Tennant) to help him save his mom and his girlfriend from the neighbour from hell.

As I mentioned earlier, I don't really remember what the original was like, I just remember not liking it. And as much as One Day made me want to read the book on which the film was based, Fright Night has made me want to re-watch the original just to see if I like it better now that I'm a bit older? However, rather than this reflecting badly on the remake, I think this speaks volumes about how good the remake is. To make me willing to give a second chance to a film I wrote off 15 years ago is no mean feat.

But anyway, back to the remake. As I mentioned, the cast is a dream. Farrell clearly relishes playing a role like Jerry. And it does feel like he was perfectly chosen for the part with his womanising past and cocksure attitude. He has beefed up for the role and feels both intimidating and sexy in equal measure. It is also obvious how much fun Tennant had with his role. Effectively playing two parts, one of Peter Vincent, confident Las Vegas showman with more swagger than you could shake a stick at, then the real Peter, terrified of vampires which he knows are real. Finally Anton Yelchin, who is always an absolute pleasure to watch, as the geeky but endlessly brave Charlie. He is the perfect nemesis to Farrell's Jerry as you'd never think him capable of putting up a fight.

While we're on the subject of casting I would like to add that there is a cameo from a cast member of the original Fright Night. I won't say who it is but look out for it as it's a real treat for fans of the original film.

As far as I remember, the new film sticks pretty close to the plot of the original and I would say that for me, the only thing that lets the new film down are the CGI effects, as I actually don't think they're as good as the original effects from '85. This is one of the reasons I'm quite looking forward to another 80s film remake 'The Thing' as I've heard that they're not going down the CGI route, preferring instead to use the same methods adopted to make the original film. I don't know if that would have worked here, using old school make up and prosthetics but I remember being impressed with the effects in the original Fright Night (one of the only things I was impressed with) and the facial effects in this were just a little too fake. 

That said, I would still recommend Fright Night, not only to fans of the original, but also to those who didn't like it, as you might be pleasantly surprised! 8 out of 10.

Viewing Date - 2nd September 2011

UK Release Date - 2nd September 2011

Cast Overview

Anton Yelchin ~ Charley Brewster

Colin Farrell ~ Jerry

Toni Collette ~ Jane Brewster

David Tennant ~ Peter Vincent

Imogen Poots ~ Amy

Christopher Mintz-Plasse ~ Ed

Director ~ Craig Gillespie

Writer(s) ~ Marti Noxon (Screenplay) and Tom Holland (Story)