Runner Runner

Mini Review

http://www.runnerrunnermovie.com/

Princeton student Richie (Timberlake) decides to gamble what little money he was saving for his tuition on an online gaming site, in the hope that he will win enough to pay for his tuition in it's entirety. He loses everything, but rather than putting this down to bad luck, Richie is convinced that he's been played by the site, and that they made sure he lost. He takes his grievance to the owner of the site, Ivan Block (Affleck), a man who has clearly made his fortune through more than running a gaming site or two. Block hears Richie out and offers to compensate him for his loss. But more than that, Block offers Richie a job, and with it, the chance to become richer than his wildest dreams.

I didn't know much about Runner Runner going in. I'd only seen the trailer for it a week or so previously, and wasn't particularly grabbed by the storyline or the stars. Although I have enjoyed Affleck and Arterton in their recent releases. My reason for seeing the film was simply that there wasn't an awful lot to choose from that week. This probably worked in Runner Runner's favour as I'm sure I wasn't the only one who saw it for that very reason, and I'm not sure it would have made much of a dent in the box office if it had been released in a week when say Captain Phillips or Thor 2 were out.

I enjoyed it enough but I must admit that it's not the most gripping plot or the greatest acting on display. I think Affleck's best work these days is as a director, or when he's directing himself. I don't know if that means he tries harder or if the other directors he's working with aren't very good at getting the best out of him, but he certainly wasn't at his best here, putting in a rather cheesy panto villain performance. Arterton had little to do other than look pretty, which she's great at but she's capable of so much more. Timberlake for me is watchable but can't really carry movie, and with Timberlake as the lead, this leaves Runner Runner in a bit of a stalled state. 

It's watchable, but the twist at the end is underwhelming. I'd only recommend it if you don't have something better to watch. 6.5 out of 10.

Viewing Date - 1st October 2013

UK Release Date - 27th September 2013

Cast Overview:

Richie Furst ~ Justin Timberlake

Ivan Block ~ Ben Affleck

Rebecca Shafran ~ Gemma Arterton

Agent Shavers ~ Anthony Mackie

Director ~ Brad Furman

Writer(s) ~ Brad Furman and David Levien

Song For Marion

Mini Review

http://uk.eonefilms.com/films/song-for-marion

As you may have seen from my last review, I wanted to see Song For Marion since it's release at the end of February. I believed the release date for this film was the reason for Hansel and Gretel (also starring Gemma Arterton) being put back by a couple of days, as they were originally scheduled to come out on the same date. Seeing how good Gemma was in Hansel and Gretel made me want to see this even more, even though it is a British comedy and they're usually on my list of movies to avoid. 

The film tells the story of Marion (Vanessa Redgrave), a woman with a terminal illness, who enjoys singing in her local choir. Marion's husband Arthur (Terence Stamp) is against anything that will make Marion weaker, making her illness worse, and so doesn't hide his annoyance towards the choir and their director Elizabeth (Gemma Arterton) who is constantly trying to get Marion, and in turn Arthur, more involved. However, getting grumpy old Arthur to join in is going to be harder, but perhaps more rewarding, than Elizabeth ever imagined. 

As I said above, I tend to avoid British comedies like the plague as I generally find them to be the most unfunny and boring films out there. I'm all for supporting British film but when we turn out crap it makes it hard to do. Song For Marion however was a film I could definitely get behind. It wasn't hilarious but it had moments of being genuinely funny, it was touching, it was thought provoking, it had bloody brilliant performances and it left me with a lump in my throat and a tear in my eye. If all British films, not just British comedies, were made with such love I don't think the industry would struggle to keep up with our counterparts from across the pond. 

If it's not finished it's run at your local cinema then I urge you to see Song For Marion, and if my review has come too late then I ask you to put it on your LoveFilm reminder list and catch it when it comes out on DVD. You won't regret it. 8 out of 10.

Viewing Date - 6th March 2013

UK Release Date - 22nd February 2013

Cast Overview:

Gemma Arterton ~ Elizabeth

Terence Stamp ~ Arthur

Christopher Eccleston ~ James

Vanessa Redgrave ~ Marion

Anne Reid ~ Brenda

Director/Writer ~ Paul Andrew Williams

Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters

http://www.hanselandgretelmovie.com/

I would be lying if I said I hadn't been looking forward to this movie for quite some time. But that is mostly down to the constant delays it experienced on it's way to being released (bearing in mind that it was filmed prior to The Avengers!) rather than because I'm a fan of the fairy tale. 

The film opens on the famous tale of two children in the woods who come across a candy house and can't resist having a snack. Inside the house they discover a witch who tries to fatten up poor Hansel in order to eat him. The kids escape and burn the witch. The End. Or so those Grimm brothers would have you believe. Queue a nice animated sequence to help fill us in on what has become of the brother and sister since their encounter. Well, they become Witch Hunters of course! What else are they going to do with no form of therapy to work out their demons? They get hired by the Mayor of a small town with a witch problem and the ass-kicking ensues. But the witches are more than just an unwanted nuisance for the town and have snatched several children. What are they up to? And will Hansel and Gretel be able to figure it out in time to put an end to their schemes?

This movie has received a lot of stick but I found it to be a lot of fun. If you went in there expecting a serious movie, tacking all kinds of issues then I'd forgive you for being disappointed. What I was expecting was a somewhat cheesy premise, some laughs, lots of bad-assery and the occassional F-bomb and that's exactly what I got. 

Jeremy Renner's Hansel was actually a lot sweeter and accident prone than I was expecting. Having seen the trailer and knowing his penchant for action movies I expected him to be the brawn, and Gemma Arterton to be the brains. But I was pleasantly surprised to see her step out of her damsel in distress role and actually kick some butt. She was great as Gretel and never for one minute seemed like she couldn't handle herself. They had good chemistry and it was nice to see a brother/sister dynamic on screen in this type of film.

The witch make up was also impressive, as were the sets, as the filmmakers opted for realism, using prosthetics rather than CGI for the witches and filming in real forests in Germany rather than using green screens. When you're making a fairy tale I guess you want to ground it in reality as much as possible and I felt that it worked really well here. 

Overall, a lot of gore but also a lot of fun. Which has been sorely absent from our screens in a while. The Oscar season of serious films is over, go let your hair down for a night. 7 out of 10.

Viewing Date - 27th February 2013

UK Release Date - 27th February 2013

Cast Overview:

Jeremy Renner ~ Hansel

Gemma Arterton ~ Gretel

Famke Janssen ~ Muriel

Pihla Viitala ~ Mina

Derek Mears ~ Edward

Thomas Mann ~ Ben

Peter Stormare ~ Sheriff Berringer

Director/Writer ~ Tommy Wirkola