Avatar – a film with the power to amaze and astound
I finally got to see Avatar last weekend, and I have to admit, I was mightily impressed. I went to see it in 3-d with a couple of my friends, and we were all blown away by the amazing visual feast that the film offers. I don’t say this often, but it’s one of the few films I’ve seen that truly does have the power to leave you open-mouthed at the sheer spectacle of it.
Of course, the plot is a bit predictable, but that just means it doesn’t get in the way of your enjoyment of the visuals. This is a fully-realised alien world that Cameron presents you with, and it looks as real as anything you’d see outside your window.
Joe’s Apartment – cockroaches get the last laugh
Anyone remember an old film called Joe’s Apartment? Released back in 1996, it tells the story of Joe and his thousands of flatmates, all of whom are cockroaches.
Sounds awful? Well, it’s not really. It’s quite a quirky comedy that might not have you rolling in the aisles, but it’s fun enough and bounces along at a merry pace. The cockroaches are undoubtedly be best bit of the film, with their all-singing, all-dancing antics. It’s quite hard to track down, but it’s worth a watch if you don’t mind some brain-free, knockabout fun. It also has the distinction of being MTV’s first full-length feature film.
Categories: Reviews Tags: cockroaches, comedy, joe's apartment
The Italian Job – a classic of British cinema
The Italian Job is one of my favourite films. It’s so full of character, wit and charm that it’s impossible to watch it without a smile on your face. Michael Caine is excellent as ever, and the plot is as full of twists and turns as the winding Italian roads that form so much a part of the action.
I even have a bit of a soft spot for the American remake that came out a few years back – sure, it’s not a patch on the original, but it’s still a half-decent film. If it didn’t have the same name as the original, I think it would have fared much better at the hands of the critics.
Categories: Reviews Tags: british films, italian job, michael caine
Willard – rats in the belfry…
I’ve never really understood why so many people are terrified of rats. They’re too small and scuttlely to be scary, at least to me. Maybe that’s one of the reasons I wasn’t very impressed with Willard, a film from a few years back that’s about the eponymous WIllard and his army of pet rats.
It stars the always-eccentric Crispin Glover as Willard, who manages to be as weird and creepy as ever, but I found it really quite slow, and nothing much of any interest really happens throughout. All in all it was quite a disappointment, as I’d heard some good things about it and was expecting to be entertained.
Antz – animated ants save the day
I watched Antz again the other day. As most of you will probably know (it’s quite an old film) it’s about a colony of ants and it’s computer animated. It’s a pretty good film, but it set me thinking – why are there so many CG films based around insects? There’s Antz, of course, but also A Bug’s Life, Bee Movie and The Ant Bully. Too many, I think, for it just to be a coincidence.
Then eventually it hit me – it’s because insects are hard and shiny and have a rigid exoskeleton, which makes them easier to render in CG than, say, a big hairy mammoth or a soft-skinned human being. It’s all about ease of animation.
Categories: Reviews Tags: ants, cgi movies
How much are Paris flights these days?
I watched Amelie again the other day, and it got me thinking about Paris flights… It’s such a beautiful film, and it really captures the imagination. Paris itself is one of the central characters in the film as Amelie darts through it tryuing to do good deeds for all the quirky and interesting individuals she meets. The directer, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, has taken great pains to light and frame every shot, and the end result makes Paris look just as seductive and captivating as Amelie herself.
My sister actually lives over in Paris, and I haven’t been to see her for a while so a trip might be in order sometime soon…
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Quarantine Movie Review
Half-decent zombie films are few and far between, but if you’re a fan of that sort of thing, Quarantine is definitely worth a look.
It tells the story of a cameraman and a female reporter who are shooting a report about the night shift of an LA fire crew. The crew are called to an old apartment building, where they find – well, I won’t give it away, but something out of the ordinary is going on. Before they know it, the entire building has been completely sealed off from the outside by the authorities, and they are stuck in enforced quarantine with some very unsavoury characters…
What’s most interesting about the film is the way it’s shot: the story is told purely through the cameraman’s footage, so there are no cutaways, reverse angles or anything like that – everything is presented in one continuous take, which gives the film quite a claustrophobic feel and really helps to draw you in to the action.
I thoroughly enjoyed it – there’s some very clever stuff going on in there – but it didn’t fare so well with most critics. Apparently, although I didn’t know this before I saw it, it’s a near shot-for-shot remake of a Spanish film called Rec, and, as is almost always the case, the original is a much better film. I’d still recommend it, though, especially if you’re not a big fan of subtitles.
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