MOVIE REVIEW: The Avengers

The Avengers (2012)
Starring: Robert Downey Jnr, Samuel L. Jackson, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Mark Ruffalo.
Director: Joss Whedon

For months and months now I have swooned over the idea of this movie. Since seeing Thor, I drooled over the thought of more Loki action and last week I kind of worried myself into thinking that maybe I was building it up too much and would walk out very dissappointed. In the back of my mind I figured I wouldn't care how bad it is, I can spend the whole time salivating over Thor, Captain America and my bad man, Loki.

Today, I saw The Avengers and walked out wanting to sit down for another 2 hours and watch it all over again. It was THAT good.

For those that don't know him, director Joss Whedon, is probably most notable for the tv series of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. One of the things I loved about the Buffy universe were the quick quips, the one liners and the way Joss seemed to make us feel for the characters. In The Avengers, he does it all over again without a vampire in sight!

If you haven't seen the pre-cursor movies, Thor, Iron Man, Iron Man 2, and Captain America, it's probably a good idea to go out and do so. The Avengers is set in the Marvel Universe and it brings all of these heroes together in two hours of pure fun. Getting all the same actors together just makes it even more magical in my opinion.

My one criticism would be not knowing enough about Hawkeye and Black Widow. Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) or Natasha Romanov as some know her, has an interesting story, but we have to guess at her past as we haven't really been properly introduced. We got a taste of her in Iron Man 2, but not enough to know her story. The same with Hawkeye. Agent Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) was glimpsed for about a minute with his bow trained on Thor in the movie Thor, but it was a tiny cameo and again, we know nothing about him.

I also felt Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) was slightly under-used, but he still did a great job and I love his intensity. Check out this clip below.

I have never seen any of The Hulk movies so I'm  not sure that seeing those before this would make any difference at all, especially since Mark Ruffalo didn't play Bruce Banner in either of the movies available. Mark does a fantastic job as Bruce, the shy scientist with major anger issues. He works very well with the rest of the cast.

Nice to see a little less blonding creme in Chris Hemsworths eyebrows and I love how he comes to his brothers defence throughout the movie even though Loki is clearly hell bent on revenge.

Ahhhh Loki. Tom Hiddleston was absolutely brilliant. He was so menacing and so full of hatred for humanity and his evil grin was so great. I can't wait to see more of him in Thor 2. My husband wouldn't let me steal the cardboard cut out of him from the cinema's...spoilsport. :(

We stayed until the end of the credits because movies like this have a reputation for putting little surprise bits at the very end of the credits. This one had the all important surprise about 1 minute into the credits so stick around, just not until the very end. I have to mention though, this was one hell of a huge team of people that put this together. There are a lot of special effects which would have kept a lot of computer graphics businesses very busy for a long time and they seem to have named every single one of them!

I can't really say much more about this movie without giving it away. I asked my kids today what their favourite parts were and the 7 year old daughter said "the bit where Thor was standing in the meadow with all the flowers looking for his hammer and then all the lightning afterwards. It looked so pretty." And my 12 year old son, "When Loki gets bashed by The Hulk." Probably normal reactions from kids their age.

 

A long time ago, before we had kids, my husband and I were comic book nerds. The end of this movie really did make me wish I was one all over again.

MOVIE REVIEW: Dream House

Dream  House (2011)
Starring: Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz, Naomi Watts, Marton Csokas
Director: Jim Sheridan

Will Atenten (Daniel Craig) is a successful businessman who, when we first see him, is wrapping up his last day on the job to spend more time with his wife Libby (played by real life spouse Rachel Weisz) and his two gorgeous daughters. The Atenten family have just moved into a new house and are looking forward to having Will around more often as he begins a new venture as a novelist and his wife begins to transform their house through renovation.

SPOILERS AHEAD

But their idyllic life of renovating and writing is soon shattered by a mysterious figure who appears to be watching the house at all times, peering in through windows and leaving footprints outside the house in the dark of night.

Will decides to get to the bottom of it and after disturbing a group of teenagers in his basement one night, he soon discovers the truth about the house he and his family are now living in.

He begins to question the neighbours about what happened and ends up on the doorstep of Ann Patterson (Naomi Watts) who lives across the road with her daughter. Will learns that the man that lived in the house murdered his wife and children 5 years previously and now he thinks his family have become his next target.

Will tried to trace the steps of the murderer, Peter Ward, by going to the psychiatric institution where Peter has been living for the last 5 years, but this is where we find out that Will and Peter are one in the same and that the fantasy life he has been living, is all in his head.

He still swears that he did not kill his family and goes back to the house to try and find any clues that may have been left behind, but his family continue to drag him back into the fantasy life and he switches from reality to fantasy on a regular basis.

But someone is watching him and trying to stop him at every turn.

I won't spoil the ending for you, but my overall opinion of the movie was that it was a Hallmark version of Shutter Island with fewer twists.

Daniel Craig was good as the grieving supposed psychopath, but I feel Naomi Watts was mis-cast and very flat. Rachel Weisz was ok, but I find she is one of those actresses that only ever really plays one role.

Give it a go if there is nothing else to rent one night, but it's just a generic thriller with fewer thrills than want. 

MOVIE REVIEW: Machine Gun Preacher

Machine Gun Preacher (2011)
Starring: Gerard Butler, Michelle Monaghan, Kathy Baker, Michael Shannon
Director: Marc Foster

When I first saw the trailer for this many months ago, I was excited to see Gerard in something that seemed to have a bit of depth to it instead of these wishy washy Hollywood RomComs that he's fallen for in recent years. I also really hate that for most of these Hollywood movies, he's lost his Scottish accent and is putting on an American one, but that's beside the point.

This movie only came out yesterday on DVD (19th April 2012), so I grabbed a copy as soon as I could as I was looking forward to seeing this.

This is the story of Sam Childers (Gerard Butler), a drug dealer, a bikie, a thug, a heroin addict and really, a pretty horrible person to be around. After a stint in gaol, Sam comes out, greeted by his wife Lynn (Michelle Monaghan) and within hours, he is back to his trailer trash ways, telling his wife she shouldn't have given up the stripping job for a job at a supermarket as the stripping job made more money. He throws a bit of a tanty and goes off to get drunk and high with his mate Donnie, who is also another low life scumbag biker who only cares about where his next hit is coming from. In the first half an hour, you get a real sense of what kind of person he was before he found God.

His wife convinces him to come to church where he is baptised and all his sins forgiven. This is the start of a new life for Sam who gets into construction and after listening to a preacher who has spent time in Uganda, he decides to go over and help them rebuild their houses.

Sam gets very involved after touring a clinic that takes in the victims of violent attacks by the LRA (Lords Resistance Army), led by the warlord, Joseph Kony (sound familiar?). He sees first hand the senseless violence and the aftermath of these attacks and decides to do something about it, spending more and more time in Southern Sudan building a church and a refuge for the children that are being abducted and turned into soldiers against their will.

This movie is based on a true story. It is based on the life of Sam Childers and his struggle to save 1000's of children from becomming victims of a civil war that is raging out of control. At times it is harrowing to see what these children have gone through, and even more harrowing to know that this is but a Hollywood version of what is really happening in a country where their children become their enemies. I sobbed a couple of times because of the reality of the situation.

Then I looked up Sam Childers on Wikipedia, which was probably a big mistake. A few months ago, a video on YouTube called Kony2012 went viral, exposing the plight of the Ugandan people who are being terrorised by this mans army made up of their own children. I have no doubt in my mind that this is really happening. I also have no doubt in my mind that there are people who live in Western countries like Australia and America who would want to take a stand and do something about it. But what aren't we being told? Where has the money gone that has supposedly been raised to help these people?

A powerful movie and a very thought provoking one. A great quote from the real Sam Childers at the end asking what we would do if it was our children being taken, our families being torn apart? I couldn't answer, can you?

MOVIE REVIEW: Mission Impossible 4

Mission Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol (2011)
Starring: Tom Cruise, Simon Pegg, Josh Holloway, Jeremy Renner
Director: Brad Bird

I've always liked the Mission Impossible movies, apart from the second one, which really was rather forgettable. Tom Cruise seems to ooze secret agent sex appeal throughout the franchise, and it's no different with the fourth installment.

When we last saw Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise), he and his wife were going through a somewhat tough time but Ethan came through and rescued his wife (Michelle Monaghan) and all was well in the world of IMF.

Until of course the next bad man comes along to ruin Ethans day. They only know his as 'Cobalt', but he is determined to launch a nuclear missile stating that the world needs to be 'cleansed' and he will stop at nothing to get the codes to help him in his quest. Ethan and his team meanwhile, are sneaking around the Kremlin, trying to get the codes ahead of him so that they can stop the dastardly Cobalt in his evil plans. Unfortunately, all does not go well and the Kremlin has a slight mishap in the shape of a large explosion which is blamed on Ethan and his team, resulting in them being dissavowed.

But this doesn't stop our corageous Ethan Hunt who puts his 'dissavowed' team together to continue in their mission to stop Cobalt from nuclear domination.

In this mission we see some new faces in the form of William Brandt (Jeremy Renner) and Jane Carter (Paula Patton) who team up with Ethan and his techno wizz pal from the previous movie Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg), who has just received his field pass. They work well together and there are some amazing action sequences in this installment. I really felt quite sick when Ethan is dangling from the windows on the 119th floor of the Burj Khalifa. Some spectacular shots and this would have looked stunning on the big screen.

All in all, a very enjoyable action movie. This should have been Mission Impossible 3 as the second one was just so out of place amongst the others.

Well done to Brad Bird in his first live action directing job.

MOVIE REVIEW: Pirates - Band of Misfits

Pirates:Band of Misfits (2011)
Starring: Hugh Grant, Salma Hayek, Martin Freeman, Brendan Gleeson, David Tennant.
Director: Peter Lord, Jeff Newitt

If you are into Aardman Animation, those wonderfully clever people that do Wallace and Gromit, then you will love this.

The Pirate Captain, voiced by Hugh Grant, is a bit of a poor excuse for a pirate really. He tries hard and his crew do encourage him, but his crew really aren't up to scratch either. Poor Pirate Captain starts to get a bit down as the Pirate of the Year Awards are edging closer and he's way behind in the Pirating handbook. Every year he enters, but every year it goes to someone else, so this year, he's determined to win!

This sets him and his crew off on a rollicking adventure, trying to plunder gold from various ships that they attack on the high seas. Unfortunatley, each ship they attack has no gold on board and they end up penniless, until they meet Charles Darwin (David Tennant).

Darwin has been searching for something that will earn him high praise in the Science arena but alas, months at sea have left him empty handed. Enter The Pirate Captain and his parrott, Polly, well at least he's mistaken Polly for a parrott, for indeed, Polly is the rare and elusive Dodo Bird!

This chance meeting see's Charles Darwin, The Pirate Captain and his crew off on a dangerous mission to London where Queen Victoria lurks around every corner, making sure no pirates enter her city.

This was 88 minutes of good old fashioned pirating fun. The kids enjoyed it and laughed a lot. Definately worth a look, especially for the monkey. :)

MOVIE REVIEW: New Years Eve

New Years Eve (2011)
Starring: How much time do you have?
Director: Garry Marshall

So when I first saw the trailer for this a few months back, I was pretty underwhelmed to say the least. I really don't like movies that spend all their money on the getting a huge, well known cast, and forget to actually develop a decent storyline for these people to dwell in! Love Actually suffered from this even though it was an ok movie, The Expendables was terrible and Valentines Day made me want to reach for the puke bucket!


Finally!! An all star cast in a movie with a relatively decent storyline. I ended up really enjoying this and truly lost count of the amount of stars in here. Ok, I really want to do this so here goes, in no particular order.

Jon Bon Jovi

Katherine Heigl (who I really don't like by the way, the dress she wears at the end is awful and she really can't act to save herself!)

Halle Berry

Jessica Biehl

Abigail Breslin

Sarah Jessica Parker

Sofia Vergara (this woman is BRILLIANT, I LOVE her. I wish I'd watched Modern Family now)

Zac Efron

Michelle Pfeiffer

Lea Michelle (yes, she sings!)

Ashton Kucher

Hillary Swank

Hector Elizondo

Josh Duhamel

Alyssa Milano

Robert DeNiro

Cary Elwes

Ludakris (or however you spell it)

James Belushi

Carla Gugino

John Lithgow

AND..........wait for it....................

Joey McIntyre (Come on all you NKTOB fans, you know he was your fav!)

Honestly, the movie was 1 hour and 11 minutes in and there were still famous people popping their heads around corners. At one stage we even see Penny Marshall, the directors sister.

The stories developed well between the characters and for once I felt like part of the movie rather than watching a series of coffee commercials. Robert DeNiro's story is very touching and probably my favourite.

Give it a go, even if, like me, you hated the other 'all star cast' movies. Let me know what you thought!



MOVIE REVIEW: Moneyball

Moneyball (2011)
Starring: Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, Phillip Seymor Hoffman
Director: Bennett Miller

When movies are nominated for several Oscars, or when there is a lot of Oscar hype surrounding a particular movie, it generally peaks interest. Some movies, upon watching, scream Oscar, others leave you wondering what drugs the academy are on and where you can obtain said drugs.
Movies that have not only screamed Oscar but have been very worthy of their Oscar nods recently include The Kings Speech and The Help, but is Moneyball worth the hype?

In a word.............maybe?

Based on the true story of the numbers game that changed the way baseball teams were run, Brad Pitt stars as Billy Beane, ex-player and now General Manager of the Oakland A's. Billy is sick to death of not having the enormous budget that other teams have, and sick of seeing his best players being poached by the teams that can afford them, so he decides to do something about it.

He poaches an Economics major by the name of Peter Brand (Jonah Hill), from another team and enlists his expertise in putting a new team together, but not just any team, one based on statistics not skills.
There are parts of the movie that were boring, the personal life of Billy Beane, his ex -wife (Robyn Wright) and his 12 year old daughter, but all in all, if you love baseball and don't mind not seeing much of the actual sport, this is an interesting movie.
Brad Pitt is aging well and Jonah Hill put forward a worthy performance, but really, nothing spectacular.

MOVIE REVIEW: Jack and Jill

Jack and Jill (2011)
Starring: Adam Sandler, Katie Holmes, Al Pacino, and all Sandlers usual mates.
Director: Dennis Dugan
If you're not a Sandler fan, then really, stop reading right now and just walk away, because if you're not a Sandler fan, you will never watch this movie no matter what I say.
Ok, now that we have those of you who will watch Sandler movies, let's continue.

For a Sandler film, this is pretty PG. Very little swearing and just lots and lots of toilet jokes. Basically when Adam Sandler's production company, Happy Madison, sets out to make a movie, it's an excuse for Sandler to get his mates together and just have fun.

Jack Sadelstein (Adam Sandler), is a successful advertising man with a gorgeous wife (Katie Holmes), two cute kids, one of them an adopted indian boy with a tape fetish, a Mexican gardener and a house to die for. This guy is living the dream, well, until his twin sister Jill (Adam Sandler in drag) arrives to stay for the holidays.

Jill has been incredibly lonely since their mother died, living with her cockatoo Poopsie in the Bronx. But when she comes to visit her brother Jack, all hell breaks lose.

I was a little bit worried about just how convincing Sandler was as an annoying middle aged woman living on her own, it was quite frightening, but incredibly funny. This is NOT a movie you should have your brain switched on for, so yes, go ahead, unzip your skull and remove your brain for an hour and a half and just relax and have a laugh.

Some great cameo's, especially from Johnny Depp wearing a Justin Bieber t-shirt and Al Pacino as himself.

Great fun, nothing more.



MOVIE REVIEW: Penelope

Penelope (2006)
Starring: Christina Ricci, James McAvoy, Reese Witherspoon, Richard E. Grant, Catherine O'Hara.
Director: Mark Palansky

This is a beautiful little movie, that really didn't do as well as it should have. We have watched it many times over in our house and if you have a little girl who loves fairy tales, then this is the perfect movie. Ok, they do use the 's' word a few times, but it really doesn't stand out and it can be easily glazed over.
What stands out is the love story between Penelope (Christina Ricci) and Max/Johnny (James McAvoy). Penelope sadly inherits an old family curse and is born with the nose and ears of a pig. Other than that, she is a perfectly normal little girl, but her parents, especially her neurotic mother, played brilliantly by Catherine O'Hara, just can't seem to love her for who she is and instead spend most of her life finding a cure for the curse.
Enter Max Campion (James McAvoy), a down and out gambler who is tempted into trying to get a photo of the 'pig faced girl', by a reporter who saw her as a baby and has been trying to get a picture of her eversince, played by Peter Dinklage.
There are some brilliant actors in this movie, some you'll recognise but won't know their names. Some you'll know straight away and think that they're probably a little out of place, like Reese Witherspoon. Look out for Lenny Henry, Burn Gorman (Owen for you Torchwood fans out there) and Nick Frost.

The director manages to create a magical city that is one third American and two thirds British. Personally it's the British charm that does it for me. Even Penelope's bedroom, where she has spent most of her life hiding is a magical place.

Of course the main draw card for me is the scruffingly handsome pasty white Scottish boy, Mr James McAvoy himself. Can't help myself, he's a habit I don't intend breaking.

All Things Austen

I've been a fan of Jane Austen movies for a very long time. I can't explain what it is, because really, when you look at me, I am probably the least likely person to be a fan of period drama and romance, dresses and such extreme displays of femininity.

Tonight I sat and watched "Emma" (1996) Starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeremy Northam and Toni Collette.

It really is a very sweet film. While I am not a huge fan of Gwyneth Paltrow, this role just seemed to suit her to a tee. She was just the right amount of snooty and refined, gossipy and meddlesome that she did the character justice.

Towards the end when Mr Knightley (Jeremy Northam) is confessing his love for her, I tend to get rather teary. I guess it's because those days of gentleman being chivalrous and romantic are long gone and the romance of the era has been confined to movies and books and the world is a poorer place for it.

This is one that I will most definatley introduce my daughter to, and when she's a bit older, we'll move onto "Pride and Prejudice". (Although just quietly, she's already watched "Bride and Prejudice" with me and loved it. *wink*).

Speaking of Jane Austen, I am looking foward to hearing more news on the development of "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies". While I really didn't enjoy the book as much as I had hoped, I am watching the IMDB pages closely for the first sign of casting. I had heard that Anne Hathaway was being considered for the role of Lizzy, and while I think she would be good, I'm thinking someone a wee bit less main stream and more kick arse would probably suit the role better. I also heard a rumour that James McAvoy may play Mr Darcy. Now, don't get me wrong, my friends will know how partial I am to the pasty white Scottish boys, but he is just not right for the role at all. Again, perhaps someone new or even someone completely left of field.

Oh well. Off to bed to dream of another time.

Rooting for the bad guy

Yes I know, I'm not meant to go for the bad guy but damnit..........I LIKE him! The man has fabulous cheek bones and such an intense stare, I just can't help myself!

So, what was I going to say before I was so beautifully distracted by the God of Mischief? Oh yeah, The Avengers.
Although I was never much of a comic book fan of this genre (I'm a Phantom fan myself), turning these into movies was just an awesome idea! I really loved Iron Man, Thor and Captain America and am really looking forward to seeing them come together in what I hope will be an epic action movie.
Now if you're one of those movie fans that sits there and picks apart action movies for whatever reason, I really don't think this is something that you should go see, especially so that I'm not stuck in the cinema with one of you carrying on behind me! These movies are PURE entertainment, made for you to sit in a cinema, or at home for an hour or two, munching on popcorn and just enjoying someone elses imagination come to life on the big screen. I highly doubt the directors expect Oscars out of these, just big blockbuster dollars, which I'm thinking this is going to get first week of release without a problem.
My husband and son said to me, after we'd watched Captain America, "They may just be building the Avengers up and it's going to be really disappointing." Not sure how disappointing it can be with that much eye candy on the screen. *wink*

Coming Soon Excitement.....or disappointment

So there are a few movies coming up which I'm really excited about! Some I'm a wee bit worried about, but I guess that's part of the fun of being a movie fan, the antici............pation.
Dark Shadows
Directed by Tim Burton and starring his favourite actor, Johnny Depp, this is a remake of an old 1970's tv series about a vampire called Barnabus Collins who wakes up in a world gone mad. Initially I was excited. I'm a massive Tim Burton fan and Johnny Depp, well, they kind of go hand in hand. I also love vampire movies and am a little sick of the sparkly, teenage drool machine vampires that are currently in cinemas. They get kind of old and tend to rehash too much of what they've done before.
Then I saw a picture of Johnny Depp in the guise of Barnabus Collins, and I got worried.

He almost looks like a cartoon to me which is kind of weird. But I thought, I'll wait to see the trailer.

Then I watched the trailer.

Yes, I'm still worried. This just looks a little too kitsch for my liking, but, being Burton, I will give it a go.

Tomorrow, the next movie in my Coming Soon excitement series..........The Avengers. 

My First Movie Blog Post

Ok, so on the insistance of several friends that I'm actually kind of good at reviewing and recomending movies, I decided it was time to do a blog.
Everytime I see a movie, new or old, I will review it here and give you my recommendations as both a Mum and movie fan.
A bit about me.
I have been watching movies since I was about 8 years old. I honestly can't remember what the first movie that I saw was. I have vague memories of it being Snow White, but not entirely certain of that.
Movies are an form of escapism. If I'm having a crap day, I'll go to my movie cupboard at night, pick something I love, grab a glass of wine, and lay on the couch. It's therapeutic and makes me forget about all that crap that's spinning around my world.

I have worked in the entertainment industry before, recently finishing a supervisors position at Blockbuster where I had a ball recommending movies to people. Sadly, our local shopping centre ousted us in favour of a TAB, leaving me jobless and wondering what to do with my skills.
So all I need to do now is have a go at this blogging thing, hope I get some followers and see where it takes me.
Cheers
Maz