A New York Winter's Tale

http://www.winterstalemovie.com/

As a long time fan of Mr Farrell, my immediate reaction to this movie was that I wanted to see it. I still had reservations about it, for one I thought it looked cheesy, for two it had Russell Crowe putting on an Irish accent and for three, Akiva Goldsman. But more of that later.

From the trailer this just looks like a tale of doomed love, and potentially of a man reborn with the hopes of getting a second chance. This is not what the movie is about, at all. I will include the trailer below as I always do, but do not allow this to make your decision about this movie. What the film is actually about is the long standing feud between good and evil. With some doomed love thrown in on the side and a creepy bit involving a little girl that's been tacked on the end for good measure.

*There be spoilers ahead but no more so than in the trailer really*

Colin Farrell plays your average human thief Peter Lake, who meets Beverly (Brown Findlay) by chance whilst he's robbing her father's house. The year is 1916 and they fall in love, somehow with the blessing of her father, but they know that this can never last as she is terminally ill with consumption (what we would now call Tuberculosis). As they search for a way to save Beverly, Peter discovers that all humans have a miracle that they can give to someone, and he decides he will give his to Beverly and save her life. However, whilst there are humans with miracles to give, there are also demons, who's sole purpose is to stop the humans from giving away their miracle. Enter Russell Crowe as one such demon Pearly Soames. He manages to stop Peter from giving his miracle to Beverly, but not before Beverly gives her miracle to Peter, in the form of eternal life. Still following? Good. Soames then tries to dispose of Peter once and for all by throwing him off the Brooklyn Bridge, but all he manages to do is make Peter lose his memory. We then move to the present day where Peter has evaded Pearly and his men, but when he finds who his miracle is meant for, it puts him back in Pearly's sights, and he isn't going to let Peter go for a second time without a fight to the death. *End spoilers*

You may think my synopsis reads like a bit of a car crash. Well let me tell you, that is nothing compared to what a car crash this movie is. Let me preface by saying that I have not read the book on which the film was based. I imagine it reads a lot better than the script for the movie. It seems to me that the filmmakers decided to play down the mystical aspect of the film entirely, by not really showing any of that in the trailer, and instead presenting it as an old fashioned doomed romance. But then when those mystical elements pop up in the film it just seems all the more ludicrous. 

I said at the start that one of the things that put me off was Russell Crowe's accent. It's actually a lot worse in the film than it is in the trailer, and only made more disappointing by the fact that he is acting opposite a genuine Irish man. There is no excuse Russell Crowe. No excuse at all.

The final element that really put me off the film was the fact that it was written and directed by Akiva Goldsman. A fact which I'd actually forgotten until the credits rolled, at which point I said aloud, 'ah, that explains it'. If you are unfamiliar with Mr Goldsman's career (if you can call it that), allow me to elaborate, he wrote Batman Forever, Batman & Robin AND the atrocious Lost In Space. As well as several other below average vehicles starring both Russell Crowe and Will Smith. Which I suppose explains the presence of both actors in this movie.

I don't care how badly Colin and co needed to pay their rent, they should never have made this steaming crap heap of a movie. 3 out of 10. (This would be a 2 but I'm awarding an extra point for Farrell and the New York setting).

Viewing Date - 21st February 2014

UK Release Date - 21st February 2014

Cast Overview:

Peter Lake ~ Colin Farrell

Beverly Penn ~ Jessica Brown Findlay

Virginia Gamely ~ Jennifer Connelly

Pearly Soames ~ Russell Crowe

Young Willa ~ Mckayla Twiggs

Adult Willa ~ Eva Marie Saint

Judge ~ Will Smith

Isaac Penn ~ William Hurt

Abby ~ Ripley Sobo

Peter's Father ~ Matt Bomer

Peter's Mother ~ Lucy Griffiths

Gabriel ~ Finn Wittrock

Horse ~ Listo

Director/Writer ~ Akiva Goldsman

Saving Mr. Banks

http://movies.disney.com/saving-mr-banks

Those who know me well might be very surprised to see that I saw Saving Mr. Banks, especially if you know what the movie is about. You see I have a hatred for Mary Poppins, and other musicals of that ilk are the reason I have labelled myself as a hater of all things musical for so long.

Of course, I am not immune to the power of a good musical and have since found myself to be quite the fan of musicals when they are done well, or of a subject matter that I can appreciate. But Mary Poppins will always be on my (s)hit list. 

So why did I see a movie about the making of Mary Poppins I hear you cry? Well, after Captain Phillips I was intrigued to see if Tom Hanks could endear me again, but mostly, I just liked the idea of there being a story behind the film and I wanted to see what that was.

The story centers on the negotiations for the film rights for Mary Poppins, between the book's writer P.L. Travers (Thompson) and Walt Disney (Hanks). The film also shows us Travers' young life in flashbacks, living in Queensland, Australia in 1906, as she watches her father sink deeper into alcoholism. The arrival of her Aunt Ellie is what inspired her to write about a nanny that saved the Banks family in her book. As the characters of Mary Poppins and the Banks are so close to Travers (she goes so far as to call them family), she is reluctant to let the rights go, especially to a man like Disney, who's films are bright and gaudy and rarely show things as they are. Can Walt convince Mrs Travers to let go of her book and allow him to create an unforgettable movie?

Well of course he can or I would not have been forced to endure Mary Poppins on every bank holiday as a child! Despite my loathing of Poppins, I did enjoy Saving Mr. Banks. I thought Thompson and Hanks were both excellent, although I wish the character of Mrs Travers had been a little more accessible. She's the central character and for most of the film she's quite unlikable. You know she must have pain in her past, but I don't think it makes her behavior forgivable. And I would have liked for her to be someone the audience could connect with, which I didn't feel she was. It's still an exceptional performance from Thompson that she makes you feel this way, but I like Emma, and so I would have liked to have liked Mrs Travers too, and I didn't until the last couple of scenes.

It did give me a better understanding of Mary Poppins, and although it's not made me want to see that movie again, I did enjoy the scenes with the Sherman brothers creating all of the songs for the movie. I may have even tapped my feet at that point (and if you see Saving Mr. Banks you will understand that a foot tap is quite significant). 

A good effort by all involved, it just needed Mrs Travers to be a bit less cold in order for me to love it. 7 out of 10.

Viewing Date - 7th December 2013

UK Release Date - 29th November 2013

Cast Overview:

P.L. Travers ~ Emma Thompson

Walt Disney ~ Tom Hanks

Ginty ~ Annie Rose Buckley

Travers Goff ~ Colin Farrell

Margaret Goff ~ Ruth Wilson

Ralph ~ Paul Giamatti

Don DaGradi ~ Bradley Whitford

Robert Sherman ~ B.J. Novak

Richard Sherman ~ Jason Schwartzman

Tommie ~ Kathy Baker

Aunt Ellie ~ Rachel Griffiths

Director ~ John Lee Hancock

Writer(s) ~ Kelly Marcel and Sue Smith

Total Recall

Mini Review

http://www.welcometorecall.com/

As I understand it, Total Recall (2012) is based on the 1990 movie of the same name starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. I have never seen that movie so can neither confirm nor deny that fact. So I will instead tell you that the 2012 remake tells the story of Douglas Quaid (Colin Farrell), who decides to spend an evening of recreation at a company called Rekall. They implant their clients with fake memories of a life they would like to have led, as a "crime fighter, world class athlete or a secret agent". But things take a turn for the worse for Douglas when he finds himself in trouble for a crime he didn't commit. Is he still in the chair at Rekall, all this playing out in his mind, or was he living a lie all along?

As I mentioned above I haven't seen the 1990 movie on which this is supposedly a remake. However, the two people that I saw this version with both said that it bore little resemblance to that movie, and that it really was very different. As I haven't seen the original I am only able to review this movie on it's own merits. And as such I thought it was an okay film. 

It has a lot of futuristic action, hover car chases etc. Lots of running around. Some nice mind trip moments when you don't know what's real and what's not. Fine performances from the cast but the material they're working with isn't great, and with that many scriptwriters you would hope it would be - but I guess the old saying 'too many cooks spoil the broth' is true here. The film is stylish and watchable but just doesn't stand out. 

If you're a fan of the original I don't know that there are enough homages to it for you to find this version worth watching or enjoyable. And if you're not a fan of the original or have never seen it I'm still not sure that I would advise you to go out of your way to watch the remake.

Colin is handsome, the women are beauties alright and they do have a few girl on girl fights (and let's face it, everyone loves a chick fight) but it's just not enough. A disappointing 6 out of 10.

Viewing Date - 28th August 2012

UK Release Date - 29th August 2012

Cast Overview:

Colin Farrell ~ Douglas Quaid / Carl Hauser

Kate Beckinsale ~ Lori Quaid

Jessica Biel ~ Melina

Bryan Cranston ~ Cohaagen

Bokeem Woodbine ~ Harry

Bill Nighy ~ Mattias

John Cho ~ McClane

Director ~ Len Wiseman

Writer(s) ~ Kurt Wimmer (Screenplay and Screen Story), Mark Bomback (Screenplay), Ronald Shusett (Screen Story), Dan O'Bannon (Screen Story), Jon Povill (Screen Story) and Philip K Dick (Inspired by his Short Story 'We Can Remember It For You Wholesale')

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)