Gravity

http://gravitymovie.warnerbros.com/

Regular readers of my reviews will know that I am a long time fan of Sandra Bullock, and as most people were, I was intrigued by the idea of her in a more serious role, set on a space shuttle with only George Clooney for company.

The film follows Sandra's character Dr Ryan Stone, a medical engineer on her first mission on the space shuttle Explorer. She is carrying out routine repairs on the Hubble telescope when her fellow astronauts, including George's Matt Kowalski, on his last mission, are informed of an incoming amount of space debris from a Russian missile strike on an old satellite. Dr Stone is propelled away from the telescope by the debris and with little oxygen left and no way to right herself, Kowalski, who had been floating around using a jet pack, goes in search of her. But will he get to her in time?

Although I knew I would undoubtedly see Gravity, I ended up seeing it rather late in it's release because most people I knew had seen it when I was busy. As a result, I had a lot of other people's opinions of the movie to contend with before I made my own mind up. I wasn't worried that this would sway my eventual opinion of the film, but I was expecting something rather spectacular.

I was told the film was really good, and the 3D absolutely stunning. Sadly, I found neither of these to be true. I thought the film was distinctly average. If you took away the space setting this would be a very boring film. And I don't think it's because there is only one person on screen most of the time. This film made me think of Moon quite a lot, the one man movie with Sam Rockwell set on the moon. That film is similar in many ways as it's set in space and predominantly only features one man on screen. But I liked Moon, I didn't really like Gravity. And I also don't think it is because Sandra Bullock was the one woman on display here. As I previously stated, I love Sandra Bullock, and I love when she puts in gutsy serious performances that show how great an actress she really is. 

*Spoiler Alert (although it is mentioned in the trailer)* No, for me, I think the thing that failed Gravity is the lack of character development. Quite early on the audience is let in on the secret that Dr Stone has recently lost her child. It's very sad and it's dredged up constantly from that point on. But for me, that's not enough. I need to know who Dr Stone is, I need more than her loss in order to feel something for her. *End Spoiler Alert*  And we never really get to know anything else about her, what her motivations are, other than her wanting to get as far away from earth as possible. Which she achieves obviously, but is then terrified of being in space. 

As if that wasn't bad enough, poor George has even less of a role than Ms Bullock, with only around half an hour of screen time. He is his usual charming self during this time, and as such, it was no surprise to me that the original Matt Kowalski was supposed to be non other than Robert Downey Jr (until he passed on the role). Downey Jr is a similarly charming, mid-40s chap who I have no doubt would have been as capable as Clooney as Kowalski, but I just wish he'd had more screen time. His character was a lot more interesting.

The end result is all just a bit of a wishy-washy mish-mash for me. And to top it all, the spectacular 3D didn't seem all that spectacular. I've always thought 3D was overrated but when it's done well, like in Hugo for example, it has the power to make me eat my words. Here, I could have taken or left having to wear two pairs of glasses into the cinema. 

A distinctly lacklustre effort but a solid turn by Bullock. I just wish she'd had more to play with. 6 out of 10.

Viewing Date - 24th November 2013

UK Release Date - 7th November 2013

Cast Overview:

Ryan Stone ~ Sandra Bullock

Matt Kowalski ~ George Clooney

Mission Control (voice) ~ Ed Harris

Director ~ Alfonso Cuarón

Writer(s) ~ Alfonso Cuarón and Jonás Cuarón 

with additional collaboration from George Clooney (uncredited)

The Heat

Mini Review

http://www.theheatmovie.com/

Having not seen a Sandra Bullock film since The Proposal, I was looking forward to her return to the big screen in this buddy cop comedy.

The film also stars Melissa McCarthy, who by now most of you will know from Bridesmaids, if not one of the several other comedies she's done since that. There is no doubt that the woman has comedy chops, but I was a little concerned with the casting of Bullock as the straight cop to McCarthy's funny cop. As Sandra Bullock is a funny lady too and I was hoping she'd have chance to shine.

The story is a relatively simple one. Uptight FBI agent Ashburn (Bullock), gets paired with foul mouthed Boston cop Mullins (McCarthy). The reasons for this being that Ashburn's boss thinks she needs people skills, and Mullins' boss thinks Ashburn will be a good influence on her. So they work together, hating each other at first but then finding middle ground and forming a friendship strong enough to bring down a drug lord.

If that sounds like a million other buddy cop movies you've seen, that's probably because it is. That's not to say it doesn't have merits or isn't enjoyable, because it does and it is. Just don't expect anything fresh. Even the idea of this being a female buddy cop movie isn't new. Well not if you remember Cagney and Lacey anyway.

A good effort on both leads part makes this a fun night out at the cinema (or night in if you're going to wait for the DVD) but it won't blow you away. 7 out of 10.

Viewing Date - 31st July 2013

UK Release Date - 31st July 2013

Cast Overview:

Sandra Bullock ~ Ashburn

Melissa McCarthy ~ Mullins

Marlon Wayans ~ Levy

Michael Rapaport ~ Jason Mullins

Jane Curtin ~ Mrs Mullins

Spoken Reasons ~ Rojas

Dan Bakkedahl ~ Craig

Taran Killam ~ Adam

Michael McDonald ~ Julian

Thomas F Wilson ~ Captain Woods

Director ~ Paul Feig

Writer ~ Katie Dippold

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...