Bad news...

Hello, my readers (if there are any at all :P)

I am going on a hiatus from blogging just to catch up on my Uni work then i will return on my holidays and blog like there's no tomorrow.

Till then,

Happy movie going.

The Lovely Bones

So, let me preface this with a spiel about the book. I read the novel by Alice Sebold about 6 months ago and for me, I had never read a greater individual book, I still class it as the greatest book I have ever read. Now for the movie, contrary to most reviews, I personally liked the movie.

The story follows 14 year old Susie Salmon as she in murdered and then watches the world form an "in-between" and attempts to exact her revenge on her Murderer. There are certain changes form novel to film as there always will be, no novel translates directly to cinema (the Da Vinci code is a perfect example). But on a whole the point of the novel and it's themes come across into the film.

There are some fantastic performances as far as I am concerned form Stanley Tucci (Mr. Harvey) Saoirse Ronan as Susie, and Susan Sarandon as the grandmother who comes in to fix the shattered family.

Where most complains for the movie come-out are regarding the alleged 'overuse' of CGI. I saw this film and for the 1ts 40 minutes or so, there was none, then a bit for when Susie is in heaven and most of the time she is an a non-CGI forest. The CGI was necessary to differentiate the heaven and the real world otherwise audiences would be lost.

On the whole, a very good adaptation of a very hard-to-adapt book though not an absolute triumph of a movie, I had no problem with it. - 7/10

2009 in review (and a catch-up)

So I haven't posted in a while, Uni caught up to me and overcame me, but I'm Back so Ill do a 2009 mega review and give my top films as well, the quickly review the films I have seen in 2010.

AVATAR

Lets start with the grand pooh-bah. This film is awesome. I say this in the most common sense of the word as basically all it pertains to is Aristotle's theory of "Spectacle," but don't we all need a bit of spectacle in our lives every now and then. This film does have a plot and I wont go into details as pretty much everyone knows about it already. My only Nuance with this film is that the plot is almost exactly beat for beat form Pocahontas. But overall, I still get my goosebumps at the prescribed times and the 3d is amazing and CGI never fails to astound. Thumbs up Mr. Cameron, you did it again (though i must say i did like TITANIC just that bit more).

9/10

now for chronologically form where i left off after UP

Ponyo (on the cliff by the sea)

What an absolutely sweet little gem from the genius behind Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke and Howl's Moving Castle. The story of a fish who longs to be human, finally gets her wish and she meddles with her father's magic and lands in the hands of a young Human boy.. A remarkably sweet children's film, beautifully animated, my only trepidation is that the story never seemed to have a proper forces of antagonism.

8/10

Aliens in the Attic

I went into this film (against my will) with absolutely no expectations, expect my surprise when I found myself laughing a great deal! This is no masterpiece by and far and certainly not the funniest movie but it is good for what it is: a children's action comedy. Cliched? maybe but fun nonetheless.

6/10

Fame

Such a disappointment, I had high hopes that this could reinvigorate the genre but alas it falls far too short. The story goes nowhere it covers so many years in the lives of multiple talented (and not so much) students of an Arts school. That's about it, it ends virtually the same way it finishes, the characters go nowhere. Don't get me wrong there are some good voices and occasional interesting scenes but it ultimately amounts to a scrambled mess of portraiture.

3/10

(500) Days of Summer

Finally a breath of fresh original screenwriting, a different take on the romantic comedy genre. The story is about a man (Joseph Gordon Levitt of 3rd Rock from the sun) who falls in love with a girl who doesn't love him back. A story told in a creative non-linear form that from the very opening titles had me in stitches. A fun endearing original and brilliant movie with great performances form Levitt and the wonderful Zooey Deschanel this is a movie not to be missed.

9 and a half/10

Whip It!

What a delightful debut from Actress-turned-director Drew Barrymore. The film follows a downtrodden teenage girl as she discovers herself through the sport of Roller Derby. Another fine performance from Ellen Paige (Juno). An enjoyable script as well, it is such a shame that this failed at the box office but "zeese things do 'appen" a fine movie, enjoyable and has a good message to boot.

7/10

Mao's Last Dancer

Really not a whole lot to say about this film, standard biopic, well made, but nothing special although I feel I must denounce the digital Cinematography, awful, just plain awful and films like angels & Demons and Night at the Museum 2 prove that it can look like film.

6/10

2012

The big shi-bang-a-bang, the end of the world. This film promises that and gives it to us in spades. It's Roland Emmerich so don't expect great character arcs or timeless storytelling. The one thing i found shocking was the Multi-plot structure (hyperlink cinema) it takes multiple interweaving stories throughout the end of the world cataclysmic events (and boy is it shiny! I heap accolades on the special effects people for the LA Earthquake and Enormous volcanoes) and they all eventually climax together in the wake of a Giant tidal wave. Thorough entertainment fare.

8/10

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.

What an intriguing film this is. Having much attention put-upon by the death of Heath Ledger mid-shoot, the director, Terry Gilliam, resorted to a script change and cast additions to help the film get finished. The story is of a travelling "sideshow" run by the immortal Dr. Parnassus who made a deal with the devil. The show allows people to enter their wildest imaginations and fantasies and in return they must make a choice as to what direction in life they will take. The troupe come across a hanging (that's right) Tony (ledger) a mysterious man who seems to have his own agenda. The sheer originality of the script puts this film in a different ballpark and spot on performances mixed with Gilliam's extravagance make for a very interesting and different film.

8/10

Paranormal Activity

The film with all the buzz. 3 years ago a guy by the make of Oren Peli decided to shoot something and make a film for about $15,000, now he is the hottest name in Hollywood. A delightfully fun horror movie that puts the farce that is The Blair Witch Project to shame. Unfortunately for me I was in a cinema full of rude Bogan s**theads, but I enjoyed myself nonetheless, some scenes turned genuinely freaky and the physical effects baffle me. Fun, scary and worth the hype.

8/10

Zombieland

And that's another consecutive great original movie! Zombieland kicks-ass and I don't say that lightly, This film, inspired by the likes of Shawn of the Dead is another take on the genre and boy is it satisfying. Starring the laugh-out-loud Woody Harrelson who delivers lines so well it takes the movie to a whole new level. This is funny, scary, gory and endearing, my hat goes off to the filmmakers.

10/10

Old Dogs

I went to this movie for Robin Williams alone, i grew up with Flubber, Mrs. Doubtfire all his other films. But what a laugh i got from this movie. I found myself in fits of laughter, I certainly did not expect it to be so. The story follows an Unwitting father, forced to spend time with his new found kids, accompanied by his best friend (Travolta) There is slapstick galore and lame jokes a plenty but it's all in good fun and I found it much funnier than The hangover.

8/10

Sherlock Holmes

WOW.

That is all I can say. Guy Ritchie (Snatch, RocknRolla) goes all out with this rip-roaring action adventure that brings to life the classic detective. Multiple murders, mass conspiracy, and dare I say it, witchcraft? Not only does Robert Downey Jr. give what I believe to be worth at least an Oscar nod, but the whole cast do amazing jobs of their roles (though none outshine Downey) The script is clever, with twists and turns a plenty but what I loved was that this movie makes intelligence cool, a rarity in these times of robots and dumb blockhead heroes. Visually the movie lords over many, bringing London to vivid life and Ritchie fuses his wild camera style to suit the story in a perfect symphony of Cinema. It's movies like this that remind me why i want to be a filmmaker!

10/10

So that catches me up to the end of 2009.

My Top 10 of 2009

1- UP

2- Inglorious Basterds

3- Sherlock Holmes

4- Zombieland

5- (500) Days of Summer

6- Gran Torino

7- Changeling

8- AVATAR

9- Drag Me to Hell

10- Push

Thanks for reading.