Prisoners

http://prisonersmovie.warnerbros.com/

I first became aware of Prisoners when my bestie in the US told me she'd seen the trailer for the film, fully expecting me to know what it was. As a long time fan of Mr Gyllenhaal I was both surprised and disappointed that this film could get to the stage where a trailer was in theatres and I was unaware of it's existence. Clearly my dedication is slipping. In my defence, I was expecting Jake's next film to be a movie going by the title of 'Nailed' but apparently that film has long since been shelved.

So onto Prisoners. When two 8 year old girls go missing on Thanksgiving, and the man who is taken into custody is released, the fathers of the girls, Keller Dover (Jackman) and Franklin Birch (Howard), decide to take matters into their own hands. They kidnap the young man, Alex Jones (Dano), and despite his already fragile and child-like mind, they torture him for information. Meanwhile, Detective Loki (Gyllenhaal) looks to maintain his track record of solving every case he's ever had, and continues his search for who he believes is responsible for the abduction.

The unfortunate character name of Gyllenhaal's detective aside, Prisoners is actually an incredibly tense, sometimes disturbing, look at what happens to the family left behind when a child goes missing. Jackman gives one of the best performances of his career here. His loyalty to his family making his character unhinged in his pursuit of answers. Howard, Bello, Davis and Leo all impress, but Jackman's main support in the majority of his scenes is Paul Dano, who turns in one of the creepiest performances I have seen in a long time. Then there's Gyllenhaal, who never fails to impress me. His subtle, understated, performance was just what the film needed to set him apart from the other great actors on show.

The direction is tight and the story has more twists than Chubby Checker. But it's not a fun film, and it's not an easy film to watch. At over 2 hours, it's an investment. Having said that, if you want to see great actors in a taught, suspenseful thriller, this is definitely the one for you. 8 out of 10.

Viewing Date - 23rd September 2013

UK Release Date - 27th September 2013

Cast Overview:

Keller Dover ~ Hugh Jackman

Detective Loki ~ Jake Gyllenhaal

Nancy Birch ~ Viola Davis

Grace Dover ~ Maria Bello

Franklin Birch ~ Terrence Howard

Holly Jones ~ Melissa Leo

Alex Jones ~ Paul Dano

Director ~ Denis Villeneuve

Writer ~ Aaron Guzikowski

The Wolverine

http://www.thewolverinemovie.com/

My original plan was to see this on my Birthday but after a long day at work, followed by Monsters University and dinner, my friends and I were a little too tired to dedicate more than 2 hours to Hugh Jackman and his claws. So we saved The Wolverine for another day.

I must admit that my initial response to there being yet another Wolverine movie was not one of excitement. I hadn't particularly enjoyed X-Men Origins: Wolverine and I didn't really see the need for there to be another Wolverine movie. But I started to hear rumblings from people who'd seen it, about an amazing post credits scene. So naturally I was curious. Having now sat through 2+ hours of the film, I can tell you that for me, the post credits scene was not worth it. It's not that the film is bad. It's just overlong, and the story's not all that interesting. 

The film is basically yet another tale of Logan (Hugh Jackman) trying to redeem himself from his past demons. This time around he travels to Japan to visit a man - Yashida (Haruhiko Yamanouchi), whom he saved from an atomic bomb blast during WWII. Yashida would like to repay Logan for saving his life all those years ago by taking away Logan's mutation that allows him to heal. As it is this mutation which makes Logan immortal, Yashida thinks that to give Logan the ability to die, rather than continue to see those he loves die, would be a blessing. Of course he could just want the ability for himself, which would allow him to be cured of the cancer that is killing him.

Throughout the movie we not only have flashbacks to Logan's past in Japan in 1945 but we also see his visions of Jean Grey (Famke Janssen), whom he killed in X-Men: The Last Stand. It's a very tangled web that's being woven, and as it's trying to incorporate elements from the X-Men films, as well as keeping in line with X-Men Origins: Wolverine, it's not always that easy to follow. The fight scenes, especially the one on the roof of the train are impressive, but the storyline stringing the fight scenes together is a little less so. Ultimately I just didn't really feel as though I gained anything from seeing this movie and I don't think it really added anything to the X-Men series, or was necessary in the run up to the release of the next X-Men film. Which is what is hinted at in the post credits scene.

I would recommend this to hardcore fans of the X-Men series, or those who like their Hugh Jackman to be sans shirt and with claws. 6 out of 10. 

Viewing Date - 4th August 2013

UK Release Date - 26th July 2013

Cast Overview:

Logan ~ Hugh Jackman

Mariko ~ Tao Okamoto

Yukio ~ Rila Fukushima

Shingen ~ Hiroyuki Sanada

Viper ~ Svetlana Khodchenkova

Yashida ~ Haruhiko Yamanouchi

Young Yashida ~ Ken Yamamura

Jean Grey ~ Famke Janssen

Director ~ James Mangold

Writer(s) ~ Mark Bomback (Screenplay) and Scott Frank (Screenplay)

Les Misérables

http://www.lesmiserablesfilm.com/splashpage/

Anyone who's familiar with me or my blog knows I am not a lover of musicals. Or Amanda Seyfried. As such, Les Mis was never going to be a barrel of laughs for me. Add into that the storyline of whores and soldiers during the French Revolution and you have a pretty dire prospect on your hands. But factor in a best friend who has loved the stage show since she was 5 years old and now you hopefully understand my motivations for seeing this new adaptation.

The story is relatively simple to follow. Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman) was imprisoned 19 years ago for stealing bread to feed his sisters child. We meet him as he is being released from prison by the fierce lawman Javert (Russell Crowe). Shortly after his release and unable to find work Jean soon finds he must steal again, but an act of kindness from the man he wrongs leads him down a path he never thought he'd know. He breaks parole but becomes a better man in the new life he leads. We find him years later running a factory but still dodging re-capture by Javert. A woman working in his factory, Fantine (Anne Hathaway), becomes a whore through no fault of her own and he makes her a promise on her deathbed to take in her child, Cosette (Amanda Seyfried) and care for her as if she was his own. A task he commits to until Javert discovers him and threatens to tear all of their worlds apart. 

Set to the backdrop of the French Revolution, the film features sumptuous costumes, stunning sets and all of the classic songs from the musical which, whether you've seen it or not, you'll find you somehow still know the words to I Dreamed A Dream, Master Of The House, On My Own and Do You Hear the People Sing? The film also features some new songs but these never quite fit with the originals.

The actors put their all into their respective roles but there is still something silly to me when they suddenly burst into song or sing lines that you feel should be spoken. I must admit though that I fell to pieces when Anne Hathaway sang I Dreamed A Dream. I'd heard that the majority of songs had been performed live on set when they were filming, and I must say that this worked perfectly in the case of this song as Hathaway's performance was so raw in this scene that you felt every emotion in the lyrics. I was literally sobbing when that scene came to an end and it took me some time to compose myself. The rousing cast numbers definitely made you want to join in and as such I think a singalong Les Mis would probably be very well received by fans.

Seyfried wasn't so bad and Eddie Redmayne who I'd previously thought of as being slightly creepy was similarly watchable. The most annoying performance for me was that of Russell Crowe. He was just too pompous as Javert and seemed to be shouting his songs. Definitely the least talented singer of the bunch but he tried and I give him snaps for that. 

I think if you're a fan of the musical, slightly curious or a fan of the actors involved then you definitely shouldn't miss seeing Les Mis. If you hate musicals or depressing films then avoid it like the plague! 7 out of 10. 

Viewing Date - 11th January 2013

UK Release Date - 11th January 2013

Cast Overview:

Hugh Jackman ~ Jean Valjean

Russell Crowe ~ Javert

Anne Hathaway ~ Fantine

Amanda Seyfried ~ Cosette

Sacha Baron Cohen ~ Thénardier

Helena Bonham Carter ~ Madame Thénardier

Eddie Redmayne ~ Marius

Aaron Tveit ~ Enjolras

Samantha Banks ~ Éponine

Daniel Huttlestone ~ Gavroche

Director ~ Tom Hooper

Writer(s) ~ Claude-Michel Schönberg (book), Alain Boublil (book and original French text), Victor Hugo (novel), Herbert Kretzmer (lyrics), Jean-Marc Natel (original French text), James Fenton (additional text) and William Nicholson (screenplay)

Real Steel

http://www.steelgetsreal.co.uk/

I wasn't especially grabbed by the idea of Real Steel, nor did any of the trailers particularly impress me, but Hugh Jackman is more than watchable and it looked at least like it would be a slightly different take on the boxing genre.


You see Real Steel is set in the near future when boxing is strictly carried out by robots. A former 'real' boxer, Charlie (Hugh Jackman), has fallen on hard times as yet another of his boxers gets KO'd, meaning he has to fork out for a new robot. Luck comes his way in the form of his estranged 11 year old son Max (Dakota Goyo). Charlie figures he can get money from Max's rich aunt and uncle who want to formally adopt Max, if he takes care of the kid over the summer. What he didn't figure was that the kid would discover a robot unlike any other and that together, they could take on the heavyweights of the boxing world, and have a shot at winning.

I really wanted to like Real Steel, and partially I did. It's an innovative way of looking at the boxing world, robot boxers, but that's also kinda where it fails. The biggest problem I had (and I don't think I'm alone here) with films like Iron Man and Transformers were the metal on metal fights. It just gets boring after a while. And unfortunately, this is where Real Steal takes a turn for the Zzzzzzzzzz's.

But I can't be too harsh on it because despite the fights being a little on the boring side, and the human story having been told a million times before, I did find it overall to be endearing and the characters likable enough to root for.


The central story is not that original but it's well played. The two worlds, which you wouldn't think would gel all that well together - one of Charlie trying to take care of his kid for the first time, stepping up to the plate so to speak, and one of robot boxing - do actually work as one story. The fights just got a little dull for me by the end of the film.


If you're a fan of boxing movies or not-too-heavy family dramas you might enjoy Real Steel. 7 out of 10.

Viewing Date - 23rd October 2011

UK Release Date - 14th October 2011

Cast Overview:

Hugh Jackman ~ Charlie Kenton

Dakota Goyo ~ Max Kenton

Evangeline Lilly ~ Bailey Tallet

Anthony Mackie ~ Finn

Kevin Durand ~ Ricky

Hope Davis ~ Aunt Debra

James Rebhorn ~ Marvin

Director ~ Shawn Levy

Writer(s) ~ John Gatins (Screenplay), Dan Gilroy (Story) and Jeremy Leven (Story)