Fracture, Entrapment, The Bone Collector

Crime special!

#1 -FRACTURE

Stars -Ryan Gosling, Anthony Hopkins, Rosamund Pike

Director -Gregory Hoblit

Memorable Quote -"Even a broken clock is right twice a day."

Review - This is quite the interesting legal drama, in which Hannibal Lector (what? It is the same character, isn’t it?) faces off against Ryan Gosling, in a plot which is somewhat reminiscent of Primal Fear in the way that it has the legal man defeated by a criminal that he at first underestimated before realising how far he had got things wrong. Unlike in that film however, here a final act twists brings a conclusion to the case, which gives it a whole different flavour and certainly makes it very satisfying indeed. 3/5

#2 - ENTRAPMENT

Stars - Sean Connery, Catherine Zeta Jones, Ving Rhames

Director -John Amiel

Memorable Quote -"In order for there to be complete trust between thieves, there can be nothing personal."

Review - I’m not sure who it was that, long ago, decided that Sean Connery was attractive, but he is not. Particularly in his white haired and very much hairy guise here, he is not attractive at all. The image of him snuggling up to poor Catherine Zeta Jones is one that will haunt my mind forever, and they did not even have a bed to lie on but a dirty, dusty floor. Poor girl. I could not even focus on how ridiculous the rest of the film is from that point on once I had passed that scene, as it dominated my every thought and indeed my nightmares for several weeks. It does not bear thinking about. 2/5

#3 -THE BONE COLLECTOR

Stars - Denzel Washington, Angelina Jolie, Queen Latifah

Director - Phillip Noyce

Memorable Quote - "Destiny is what we make it"

Review -This is an interesting take on the old detective genre, featuring of course the famously shred veteran policeman who knows all of the tricks and will solve the crime quickly, along with his rookie partner who is struggling to learn the ropes and who will be tested to their utmost. The formula is challenged here however with the introduction of the idea of Denzel Washington as the paralysed cop who cannot take action himself, and who must therefore use Jolie’s character as not only his eyes and ears on the street but also his hands and feet as she follows his directions to try and stop the killer before it is too late. 3/5

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The Notebook, Eat Pray Love, Dear John

#1 -THE NOTEBOOK

Stars -Ryan Gosling, Rachel McAdams, Gena Rowlands, James Garner

Director -Nick Cassavetes

Memorable Quote -"If you're a bird, I'm a bird!"

Review - I put off watching this for so long because I had heard that it was a total sobfest, but eventually one day when I was feeling as though I needed a little more Gosling in my life I went out and bought it on a whim. I have to say I am glad I did: as far as love stories go, this has to be the Titanic of  the2000s, a romance of which any woman would be jealous and any man would dream of as it sweeps Ally and Noah off their feet and along before it like a whirlwind. I could gush about the script, the filming style, the rain scene, the dialogue, the script – but I will just let it all rest with a simple instruction that any female readers who have not seen this should absolutely go and see it now, and then accept the reality that no man is ever going to measure up in real life to the way that Noah is in this film and everything is ruined for you forever. 5/5

#2 -EAT PRAY LOVE

Stars - Julia Roberts, Javier Bardem, Billy Crudup, James Franco

Director -Ryan Murphy

Memorable Quote -"Sometimes to lose balance for love is part of living a balanced life."

Review - The film is neatly divided into three parts – the eating, praying, and loving which the title suggests – and really one could almost imagining that they were watching Julia Roberts trying to remake her acting career and try something different rather than watching the storyline as it really is. One reason that you should watch this film is the advice given in one scene, in which Roberts’ character asks another if any man has ever complained once they saw her body, and which many, many girls out there could benefit from thinking about in order to stop them from worrying quite so much about diets and exercise and getting those perfect thigh gaps or flat stomachs. On the other hand, not much really happens in most of the film, so this is more the light Sunday viewing type of movie than something to really watch again and again and put deep concentration into. 3/5

 

#3 -DEAR JOHN

Stars - Channing Tatum, Amanda Seyfried, Richard Jenkins

Director -Lasse Hallström

Memorable Quote -"The saddest people I've ever met in life are the ones who don't care deeply about anything at all."

Review - Honestly, if you hate yourself and/or have just gone through a really horrible break up then I absolutely recommend watching The Notebook, PS I Love You, and then this film all in a row. You will cry so hard that you may never cry again. What strikes me more than anything about this film is how it could all have been avoided, and exactly how much time the main characters needlessly waste when they had the chance to be happy together. Ultimately it is a film about sacrifice – whether it means literal sacrifice in the name of your country, or the sacrifice of love in order to allow someone else to be happy. It is a tear jerker, but ultimately frustrating as you just want to bang their heads together through most of it. 3.5/5

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Dogville, Ice Age 3. Les Sept Jours du Talion

Finally getting around to uploading some old blogs! Enjoy.

#1 -DOGVILLE

Stars -Nicole Kidman, Paul Bettany, Lauren Bacall, Stellan Skarsgard, John Hurt

Director -Lars Von Trier

Memorable Quote -"Oh, I think you have plenty to offer Dogville."

Review - Dogville may seem like a long film when you start off, but it is worth it. The setting is fantastic: at first it seems as though the chalk outlines and meagre props are weird, but the further you get the more fitting it is, and it allows you to see the whole cast going about their business at once – which is especially poignant during the first rape scene. Later it all makes sense, when you realise that Grace is almost acting in a play of her own rather than allowing the events to become real to her. The moment when she gets into the car and begins the argument about being stubborn triggers a certain surreal realisation akin to that which strikes you in Fight Club. I hate to use the word perfect, but I cannot think of any other way to describe the way that twist hits you in the face! For once I forget the Kidman is Kidman, something that is not normally possible, and Bettany is absolutely fantastic here as ever. The rest of the cast paint detailed pictures of the closeted townspeople, and all in all thus has redeemed my earlier (negative) view of Von Trier massively. 5/5

#2 - ICE AGE: DAWN OF THE DINOSAURS

Stars - John Leguiziamo, Queen Latifah, Dennis Leary, Simon Pegg

Director - Carlos Saldanha, Mike Thurmeier

Memorable Quote -

Review - Ice Age 3 is a great little cartoon in the tradition of the first two films of the franchise, and though generally speaking these kid friendly series try to go on for too long this one has not yet outstayed its welcome. More than this one will stretch the patience of parents, no doubt, but the kids will continue to love them as the formula is a solid one. There is nothing wrong with this bit of harmless entertainment, thought I did spend half the movie rereading the cast list in astonishment and wondering if that really was Simon Pegg’s voice. 3/5

#3 - LES SEPT JOURS DU TALION

Stars -  Claude Legault, Rémy Girard

Director - Daniel Grou

Memorable Quote -n/a

Review - This is a really interesting one. Going in to it you almost expect a torture porn, Martyrs-style film, but what you get feels more like an Eastern European arthouse take on the genre. The start is gentle and soaked with tristesse, more reminiscent of ‘4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days’ than Martyrs, as large swathes of the film contain no music or dialogue but simply quiet sounds and images which are for the most part still: footsteps, the sound of a leather jacket creaking as the wearer slowly rocks backwards and forwards, the wind blowing. The effect is eerie and mournful, as the grey and blue palette mutes this world yet further and pans introduce the only real movement in many scenes. Snippets tell a story, and the shots are all tasteful; the first moment of true nudity, as the killer is shown in a full body shot, marks the film’s transition into the seven days for which it is named and the second act of the plot. Everything is done in a subtle and understated manner – the metaphor of the deer is presented, but not laboured upon overly, as it might have been in the hands of another director. Unexpectedly, this film that should from the plot have been tacky and bloody is instead a rare gem of beauty. 5/5

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For movie trivia, take a look at the tumblr run by the same author!