Changeling, Perfume, Eternal Summer

Yet another three reviews, and there's still more to come! Stay tuned!

#1 - CHANGELING


Stars - Angelina Jolie, John Malkovich
Director - Clint Eastwood
Memorable Quote - 'He is not my son!'
Review - Considering the subject, this movie kind of has two sides to it. First of all, the positives - the casting was incredibly good, as anyone who searches for images of the real murderer will find, and the acting was also convincing, Jolie now seeming to fit in that niche of the desperate wife/mother (see 'A Good Heart'). However, then there are the bad points - like the fact that they have chosen to completely ignore the existence of a woman who supposedly helped with the murders. Still - this is a Clint Eastwood film, and it shows in the quality. Certainly a great introduction to the case, and so compelling that I ended up researching it more myself. 4/5

#2 - PERFUME


Stars - Ben Whishaw, Alan Rickman, Dustin Hoffman
Director - Tom Tykwer
Memorable Quote - 'I'll be looking at you when you're laid on the cross and the twelve blows are crashing down on your limbs. When the crowd is finally tired of your screams and wandered home, I will climb up through your blood and sit beside you. I will look deep into your eyes... and drop by drop I will trickle my disgust into them like burning acid until... finally... you perish.'
Review - This was actually surprising for me, in that I really enjoyed it and in fact carried on thinking about it for a long time afterwards. At first I expected it to be quite average, but the storyline is gripping, and you can't help but feel sorry for Grenouille - he obviously doesn't realise the enormity of what he does. The colours were very rich, and costuming very interesting. Oh, and Alan Rickman is as legendary as usual. In fact, I can't really think of a reason to fault. I think I might watch it again. 5/5

#3 - ETERNAL SUMMER (shèng xià guāng nián)

Stars - Bryant Chang, Joseph Chang, Kate Yeung
Director - Leste Chen
Memorable Quote - 'Best friends can tell each other anything.'
Review - Actually to be honest I've seen this a good few times before, but I thought I would review it now that I own it on DVD. It's one of my all-time favourites in fact, and it was great to get some reliable subtitles (the film being in Chinese). The overall feel of the film is beautiful, and there are many moments that always make me cry or smile or both. The sound is noteworthy, as many moments are either very quiet or have only 'natural' sound effects such as the wind, and long gaps between dialogue that make the acting even more emotional. I can only recommend it; heartwarming, tense, and wonderfully acted, this is a piece that cannot be forgotten once seen. 5/5, have another picture.

Magnificent Seven x2, Over the Hedge

At last we come to the last entry of the festive catch-up! Although, it has to be said that I've managed to watch three more films whilst posting these - but oh well! That's what the life of a film reviewer is like, you know - constant film-watching. Anyway, moving ahead with the actual reviews...

#1 - THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN

Stars - Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson
Director - John Sturges
Memorable Quote - 'We deal in lead, friend.'
Review - What a great movie. I can't even stress it enough, this stands out as a great Western and a great movie outside of the genre. What more could you want than Yul Brynner in that black hat, rounding up his cowboy pals to do the right thing for once. My favourite of the Seven, other than Chris himself, was Britt (standing at the far right of the image). 5/5


#2 - RETURN OF THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN

Stars - Yul Brynner, Robert Fuller, Julian Mateos
Director - Burt Kennedy
Memorable Quote - 'Hell, I haven't been going anywhere for ten years... and neither have you.'
Review - A worthy sequel, and despite the lack of McQueen this delivers what it promises. Chico and Manuel are endearing, Colbie is funny, and the rest of the guys all seem to have a few skeletons in their closets, rounding up a great cast with a perfect Western storyline. Also 5/5.


#3 - OVER THE HEDGE

Stars - Bruce Willis, Avril Lavigne, Omid Djalili
Director - Tim Johnson, Karey Kirkpatrick
Memorable Quote - 'I thought we'd be dead by step two, so this is going great.'
Review - Not really so great - I mean, as far as light entertainment goes Omid Djalili's character was great, but something tells me I've just got a little bit too old for this sort of movie. And considering that I enjoy stuff like Shrek and Ice Age, it really makes me wonder how young you have to be. 2/5.

Paranormal Activity, Drag Me To Hell, Star Trek

Alright, getting right ahead with the second set of post-festive blogs, here are three more little snippets for your viewing pleasure.

#1 - PARANORMAL ACTIVITY



Stars - Katie Featherstone, Micah Sloat
Director - Oren Peli
Memorable Quote - 'You're NOT in control. IT is in control, and if you think you're in control, then you're being an idiot! Not a single thing you've done has helped, and I'm sorry, I don't mean to burst your bubble, but the camera hasn't helped and the stupid footprints haven't helped; do you think that thing would have left footprints if it didn't want to? No! It did it because it WANTED to! It WANTED you to find my photo, it can be anywhere, it can hear what we're saying right now...'
Review - Not gonna lie, this movie REALLY FREAKED ME OUT. A lot of people have said it isn't realistic or scary and so on, but if you stop being all haughty about and just for a few hours let yourself believe that demons might exist - then this is an awesome movie. Know why? Because it's genuine. It was shot in the director's house, the actors use their real names during the movie, and it was filmed by the male actor. And - the one rule of creating a truly scary movie - you never see the demon. In my eyes, as part of the horror genre, this gets a great big 5/5.

#2 - DRAG ME TO HELL


Stars - Justin Long, Justin Long, Justin Long
Director - Sam Raimi
Memorable Quote - 'I beat you, you old bitch!'
Review - This movie was ridiculously disappointing. Honestly, from the trailers I was looking forward to it A LOT. And what do I get for my troubles? Very hard to believe storyline, a dumb protagonist, and the most obvious twist in the entire world. It was just so BAD. I'm giving it a 2/5, and it gets one point for starring Justin Long, who I happen to find quite attractive. Just to make it worthwhile even posting about this movie, here's some more Justin Long:


#3 - STAR TREK

Stars - Zachary 'Awesome' Quinto, Chris Pine, Leonard Nimoy, Eric Bana, Simon Pegg, Anton Yelchin!!, Winona Ryder... Christ...
Director - JJ Abrams
Memorable Quote - 'Are you out of your Vulcan mind?!''
Review - Alright, I'll say this. I used to hate Star Trek. I just never saw the appeal. I'm fully in the Star Wars camp, and that's where I'm happy! And then... and then JJ Abrams comes along, a man who makes everything he touches amazing, and Zachary Quinto - ZACHARY QUINTO - is Spock. My God, I love this movie. Not only that, but the incredible cast is rounded off by a stunner of a performance by the young Anton Yelchin (who previously dazzled me in Alpha Dog, and will surely be a common sight in Hollywood in years to come). 5/5, for having the power to convert me.

Dirty Dancing, White Christmas, Dirty Harry

From now, in order to catch up with the festive season's splurge of DVDs and televised movies, I'll be posting short, three movie sum-ups, with a little less detail than usual. The bare facts, rather than a lot of unnecessary waffling! Here goes...

#1 - DIRTY DANCING

Stars - Jennifer Grey, Patrick Swayze
Director - Emile Ardolino
Memorable Quote - 'Nobody puts Baby in the corner.'
Review - An all-time classic, probably better suited to the female side of the audience, and a little creepy if you look too far into it - but hey, who's looking too far into it? Best moments include Baby and Johnny's miming to the words of a song (above) and the final dance, where Baby finally gets out of her corner (below). A great dance flick with a lot of uplifting moments, along with the more uncomfortable side of Penny's predicament. 4/5





#2 - WHITE CHRISTMAS


Stars - Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye,
Director - Michael Curtiz
Memorable Quote - 'Miss Haynes, if you're ever under a falling building and someone offers to pick you up and carry you to safety, don't think, don't pause, don't hesitate for a moment, just spit in his eye. '
Review - Quite ridiculous in the sense of a musical, but not hideously unenjoyable. A good happy ending with lots of snow is just what you need at Christmas, but it's not necessarily something I'd leap to see again. 2.5/5


#3 - DIRTY HARRY

Stars - Clint Eastwood, Andy Robinson, Reni Santoni
Director - Don Siegel
Memorable Quote - 'I know what you're thinking — "Did he fire six shots or only five?" Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement, I've kinda lost track myself. But, being this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world and would blow your head clean off, you've got to ask yourself one question: "Do I feel lucky?" Well, do ya, punk?'
Review - Are any of Clint Eastwood's movies bad movies?! I mean really, are they? I haven't seen a bad one yet and this is no exception - the cult status it carries is there for a reason. What a great movie! I mean, how can you not love Harry Callahan, that tough-talking rule-breaking cop who in the end only does it because he wants so desperately to save someone's life? A masterpiece, 4.5/5.

Interview with the Vampire

Dum da da dum... I've finally seen it!

Title: Interview With The Vampire

Director: Neil Jordan

Stars: Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Christian Slater, Antonio Banderas, Kirsten Dunst









Review: Having looked forward to this movie for a long time (and also being a fan of Queen of the Damned), I was not disappointed. The dry humour is perfect, the cast was selected very well, and it's quite clearly a classic.

There's not much I can really say about this movie except to fangirl on about this part and that part, although I will say that the final sequence filled me with glee. I like your style, Lestat, I said to myself. Anyway, please enjoy this selection of my favourite quotes:

Louis: Where are we?
Lestat: Where do you think, my idiot friend? We're in a nice, filthy cemetery. Does this make you happy? Is this fitting, proper enough?

Claudia: Do you know what his soul said to me, without saying a word? 'Let him go', he said 'Let him go'.

Armand: They had forgotten the first lesson, that we are to be powerful, beautiful, and without regret.
Louis: And you can teach me this?
Armand: Yes.
Louis: To be without regret?
Armand: Yes.
Louis: Then what a pair we could make. But what if it's a lesson I don't care to learn?
Armand: What do you mean?
Louis: What if all I have is my suffering, my regret?
Armand: Don't you want to lose it?
Louis: Why? So you can have that too? The heart that mourns her, her that you burnt to a cinder.
Armand: Louis, I swear that I...
Louis: Ah, but I know you did. I know. You who regrets nothing, you who feels nothing. If that's all I have left to learn, I can do that on my own.

Lestat: Perfect! Just perfect! Just burn the place! Burn everything we own! Have us sleeping in the field like cattle!
Louis: You thought you could have it all...
Lestat: Oh, shut up, Louis! Mon Dieu! Come here.

Lestat: Lord, what I wouldn't give for a drop of good old-fashioned Creole blood.
Louis: Yankees are not to your taste?
Lestat: Their democratic flavor doesn't suit my palate, Louis.

Lestat: Oh Louis, Louis. Still whining Louis. Have you heard enough? I've had to listen to that for centuries.

And finally,
Lestat: I'm going to give you the choice I never had.

Ha. Anyway, this is at least a nine point five out of ten. Now I flit away, to enjoy the pile of DVDs awaiting me.

Latest Movies, and the theatre

Beginning with some brief reviews...

1. Pal Joey (starring Frank Sinatra, Rita Hayworth)
Great old-time sing-along, though thoroughly unrealistic - that dame gives in to Joey's charm far too easy, but I guess that's why the lady is a tramp.

2. Marley and Me (starring Owen Wilson, Jennifer Aniston)
Cute dog story which is really about people, all mushy and sad at the end.

3. The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (starring Rupert Friend, who cares who else)
Rupert Friend is really quite hot in a uniform, so sadly I couldn't much concentrate on this. I do know that a great moral was undermined by the horror-movie ending, though. Such a shame for a movie with great potential.

Aaaand then we launch into the theatre.

Went to see Sister Act at the London Palladium, starring, among others, the estimable Ian Lavender. The show was great and funny, the Spanish guy and various tramps being notable highlights. All in all a rousing singalong, 4 stars (out of five) from me.

That's your news in brief; now I must return to the numerous projects that are heaped upon me at university, hurray!

The Boat that Rocked

This movie review will be my last home-watched DVD review for quite some time! You see, I have now settled in to my flat at the University of Hertfordshire, where I will be residing for the next nine months. Provided it doesn't burn down; we've had three real fire alarms already, and I only got here on Saturday.

Anyway, down to business: I saw what was in fact a very funny film, and since I have one more DVD waiting on my shelf, I suppose I'd better get this review out of the way pretty sharpish!


Title: The Boat That Rocked

Director: Richard Curtis

Stars: Bill Nighy, Kenneth Branagh, Rhys Ifans, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Nick Frost, Tom Sturrudge, Gemma Arterton, Jack Davenport





Review: This movie is a comedy, make no bones about it. It fits into no other genre, not even that of a romcom or a sitcom; it is just pure comedy. And it succeeds in being very funny. Great dialogue and strong characters, as well as well set-up gags, keep it a laugh from beginning to end, with even the grim humour of the more serious moments. Arguably the best performance came from Kenneth Branagh's straight-laced government official, while the best running gag was that of Midnight Mark's silence.

I can only recommend this film. Though there is not much to say in terms of filming technique, the soundtrack is highly appropriate and gels well, as do the costumes and the way the boat is fitted out. The film is, so far as I can see, flawless. I give t a nine out of ten for it's genre.