In A Nutshell Review- 127 Hours
Based on the amazing true story, 127 hours follows the story of a mountain climber who becomes trapped under a boulder, he then has to resort to desperate measures in order to survive.
For a film which is mostly set in one claustrophobic place, it is surprisingly gripping and exciting. This is mostly down to the brilliant independent acting of James Franco, to act in such a limited space and still show raw emotion and realism, is a truly fantastic achievement. Towards the end of the film, scenes become hard to watch but due to the building emotions of the 1st half of the film, this scene became bearable and weirdly emotional. The final scene of the film also has to be commented on as I believe that it is one of the greatest scenes of all time. Containing such passion and emotion, this scene perfectly ends the film, this is mostly down to the outstanding cinematography and perfect score.
90%
C.Russell
Saturday, 23 June 2012
30 Days of Night( DVD Review)
Before vampires were a soppy race that entertained teenage girls, they were realistic, terrifying and appealed to nearly all horror fans. 30 days of night was released back in 2007, directed by David Slade (hard candy) and strring Joah Hartnett and Melissa George. Adapted from the comic book, 30 days of night follows the story of residents in Barrow, AK, that are plunged into darkness for 30 days every year due to its arctic circle destination. Unfortunately for them something blood thirty and sinister is planning a surprise attack in this month of darkness.
If your 14 year old daughter loves twilight, and wants to watch this film because of the vampire plot-link, DO NOT let them! This film is very dark,depressing and horribly sinister. Although it's very sinister, this didn't divert me from the gripping plot. These vampires weren't the cliche stereotypical vampires you've seen in dracula or twilight! These vampires are literally the stuff of nightmares, the main vampire especially, the way the actor moved, talked and style was brilliantly terrifying. The intensity of the growing plot and the vampires, grew and grew until...the anti-climatic final scene.
The final few scenes in this film completely ruin it for me, there were so many other ways that the film could've ended, that would've made it so much better. I realise that the film is based on a comic book, so has to be true to the original ending, but really! All that brilliant high intensity action and dialogue, to finish so abruptly and ridiculously was just so disappointing. Also at the beginning of the film you are shown a ship in the far distance and a rugged looking man coming toward the camera. You do learn more about this character as the film progressed, but not enough information is given in my opinion. I would've loved to have seen just a bit of back story, like what happened on the ship for example, or where the vampires came from. I think if more information was added the story would've been a lot stronger overall
The lack of information in this film and the stupid ending does bring the score down but these factors didn't affect me enough for me not to enjoy the film overall. With a solid plot, terrifying vampires, and good acting across the board, I'm giving 30 days of night...
70%
Calum.russell
If your 14 year old daughter loves twilight, and wants to watch this film because of the vampire plot-link, DO NOT let them! This film is very dark,depressing and horribly sinister. Although it's very sinister, this didn't divert me from the gripping plot. These vampires weren't the cliche stereotypical vampires you've seen in dracula or twilight! These vampires are literally the stuff of nightmares, the main vampire especially, the way the actor moved, talked and style was brilliantly terrifying. The intensity of the growing plot and the vampires, grew and grew until...the anti-climatic final scene.
The final few scenes in this film completely ruin it for me, there were so many other ways that the film could've ended, that would've made it so much better. I realise that the film is based on a comic book, so has to be true to the original ending, but really! All that brilliant high intensity action and dialogue, to finish so abruptly and ridiculously was just so disappointing. Also at the beginning of the film you are shown a ship in the far distance and a rugged looking man coming toward the camera. You do learn more about this character as the film progressed, but not enough information is given in my opinion. I would've loved to have seen just a bit of back story, like what happened on the ship for example, or where the vampires came from. I think if more information was added the story would've been a lot stronger overall
The lack of information in this film and the stupid ending does bring the score down but these factors didn't affect me enough for me not to enjoy the film overall. With a solid plot, terrifying vampires, and good acting across the board, I'm giving 30 days of night...
70%
Calum.russell
Gantz (DVD Review)
Based on the manga series, Gantz follows the story of Kei Kurano who upon a train crash is transported to an apartment high above the city, their he finds a hovering silver ball known as Gantz. They are given futuristic, supernatural equipment that gives them special abilities and are told to kill a certain alien.
Having never read a manga in my life, i was slightly apprehensive to see this film but with film industry's getting increasingly interested in transferring manga to the big screen, I am growing more intrigued, so I gave it a watch.
On being given the DVD to borrow, my initial reaction of reading the back was one of laughter. I'll be honest i thought it would be a bit of a joke. However i was very pleasantly surprised, the story was fresh and original, maybe a bit too original at times e.g alien who loves spring onions! But the film played on it's absurdity, they knew that aspects of the story were bizarre, and this film really works because of this factor. If they had taken everything in the film seriously it would have been cheesy and ridiculous. The aliens of which the characters are fighting are hilariously brilliant, and are so very original in every way, this creates brilliant fight scenes in which you have no idea what could happen.
...Well i say all the aliens are great but unfortunately towards the end of the film the aliens get bigger, more generic and more boring. It was so disappointing to see that in a film with such originality they feel the need to throw a spanner in the works in the form of a giant gold Buddha. Sadly, although their appearances may be completely different, this alien Goliath reminded me of the ridiculous beast in Clash of the titans, and it pains me to compare even a scene of this film to the garbage that is clash of the titans, but it shows a depressing resemblance
However ignoring that silly scene, on the whole I absolutely loved it. Showing such originality and flare, with good acting performances across the board and a thrilling and compelling story
I'm giving Gantz
80%
Calum. Russell
Having never read a manga in my life, i was slightly apprehensive to see this film but with film industry's getting increasingly interested in transferring manga to the big screen, I am growing more intrigued, so I gave it a watch.
On being given the DVD to borrow, my initial reaction of reading the back was one of laughter. I'll be honest i thought it would be a bit of a joke. However i was very pleasantly surprised, the story was fresh and original, maybe a bit too original at times e.g alien who loves spring onions! But the film played on it's absurdity, they knew that aspects of the story were bizarre, and this film really works because of this factor. If they had taken everything in the film seriously it would have been cheesy and ridiculous. The aliens of which the characters are fighting are hilariously brilliant, and are so very original in every way, this creates brilliant fight scenes in which you have no idea what could happen.
...Well i say all the aliens are great but unfortunately towards the end of the film the aliens get bigger, more generic and more boring. It was so disappointing to see that in a film with such originality they feel the need to throw a spanner in the works in the form of a giant gold Buddha. Sadly, although their appearances may be completely different, this alien Goliath reminded me of the ridiculous beast in Clash of the titans, and it pains me to compare even a scene of this film to the garbage that is clash of the titans, but it shows a depressing resemblance
However ignoring that silly scene, on the whole I absolutely loved it. Showing such originality and flare, with good acting performances across the board and a thrilling and compelling story
I'm giving Gantz
80%
Calum. Russell
Reboot!?
Apologies for not posting in a while, I've been bogged down with work e.t.c. I will be posting regular film reviews from now on!
Saturday, 3 March 2012
Hard candy review
Hard candy is a thriller staring Ellen Page and Patrick Wilson. Hard candy follows the story of a young 14 year old girl (Page) who gets to know this elder man (Wilson) over the internet. They decide to meet up and eventually go back to the mans apartment where things take a dramatic unpredictable turn.
Before I watched the film I had no idea what it was about, I hadn't even seen the trailer, or read any other reviews.This was just as well, as by the end this film had me on the edge of my seat. This film is punchy, exciting and most important of all meaningful. The Director (David Slade) shoots the film in such a way that n
by the end of the film your rooting for the 'bad guy', which almost makes you question your own conscious.
The film is quite hard to watch at points, (without giving too much away) Ellen Page's character is a tad and she (suggestively) commits gruesome acts. This only adds to the strong story and even sparks some questions about the girl. Who is she? Why is she doing this? I even came to one conclusion that the girl could be representing the mans sub-conscious and that she may not even be real.
What this film does is realistically depict the sub-conscious of a pedophile, and it does this brilliantly. Yes it does this in a dramatic and at times 'over the top' way. The film still sticks with you long after you've seen it.
80%
Calum.Russell
FOR ANYONE READING THIS WITHIN A WEEK OF POSTING THIS REVIEW-
I just saw this film on BBC iplayer dated 03/03/12, so if you wanted to watch this film go to BBC iplayer now and click play!
Before I watched the film I had no idea what it was about, I hadn't even seen the trailer, or read any other reviews.This was just as well, as by the end this film had me on the edge of my seat. This film is punchy, exciting and most important of all meaningful. The Director (David Slade) shoots the film in such a way that n
by the end of the film your rooting for the 'bad guy', which almost makes you question your own conscious.
The film is quite hard to watch at points, (without giving too much away) Ellen Page's character is a tad and she (suggestively) commits gruesome acts. This only adds to the strong story and even sparks some questions about the girl. Who is she? Why is she doing this? I even came to one conclusion that the girl could be representing the mans sub-conscious and that she may not even be real.
What this film does is realistically depict the sub-conscious of a pedophile, and it does this brilliantly. Yes it does this in a dramatic and at times 'over the top' way. The film still sticks with you long after you've seen it.
80%
Calum.Russell
FOR ANYONE READING THIS WITHIN A WEEK OF POSTING THIS REVIEW-
I just saw this film on BBC iplayer dated 03/03/12, so if you wanted to watch this film go to BBC iplayer now and click play!
Tuesday, 28 February 2012
Insidious (past review)
With the 'saw' franchise at its (depressing and three dimensional) end, a horror sized hole in Hollywood has been created. With insidious hoping to fill it. Insidious follows the story of a family who are looking to prevent evil spirits from trapping their comatose child in a realm called 'the further'. With quite a unique concept does insidious deliver? and above all, scare?
The effective technique to 'show as little of the villain as possible' in a horror film applies to Insidious all too much. This isn't a problem for the 1st half of the film, as the majority of the first 45 minutes doesn't include the main bad guy only his 'ghost henchmen'. When the main villain is eventually reveled to us the shocking effect of his first appearance quickly wears of, as he is showed time and time again. If they had just held back his screen time he would have been much more scary and shocking. Unfortunately this villain who was supposed to be the main centerpiece of the scares turns out the be the main centerpiece of the laughs.Saying that, I thought that some scenes where absolutely terrifying, showing sparks of genius at times.Especially at one point, which has to be one of the most unsettling scenes in horror film history ( in my opinion) I won' spoil it, all i'll say is 'tiptoe through the tulips'! The scares are partly down to tempo of the film, it takes a while to get started but once it does the scares hit hard in some clever sequences, this creates a really tense atmosphere that had me in hysterics. However i couldn't help but feel let down after the film as the terrific scares in this film are ruined by the ridiculous and unrealistic plot. As the plot gets more and more silly throughout the film, new characters are added, which just increases my annoyance! 3 characters enter the film who provide no scares or suspense whatsoever, they just drag the film down and pull the viewers away from the suspense by providing awful comedic value.
This film provided terrifying moments at times, but the disappointing lack of realistic plot dragged the film down. If this film had maintained its suspense that was created by the 'ghosts' in around the 45 minute mark, this film would be a real winner and one worthy of attention.
I want to give this film 8/10 but the lack of plot, silly characters and unconvincing, tame bad guy means that i have to give this film...
7/10
Calum. Russell
The effective technique to 'show as little of the villain as possible' in a horror film applies to Insidious all too much. This isn't a problem for the 1st half of the film, as the majority of the first 45 minutes doesn't include the main bad guy only his 'ghost henchmen'. When the main villain is eventually reveled to us the shocking effect of his first appearance quickly wears of, as he is showed time and time again. If they had just held back his screen time he would have been much more scary and shocking. Unfortunately this villain who was supposed to be the main centerpiece of the scares turns out the be the main centerpiece of the laughs.Saying that, I thought that some scenes where absolutely terrifying, showing sparks of genius at times.Especially at one point, which has to be one of the most unsettling scenes in horror film history ( in my opinion) I won' spoil it, all i'll say is 'tiptoe through the tulips'! The scares are partly down to tempo of the film, it takes a while to get started but once it does the scares hit hard in some clever sequences, this creates a really tense atmosphere that had me in hysterics. However i couldn't help but feel let down after the film as the terrific scares in this film are ruined by the ridiculous and unrealistic plot. As the plot gets more and more silly throughout the film, new characters are added, which just increases my annoyance! 3 characters enter the film who provide no scares or suspense whatsoever, they just drag the film down and pull the viewers away from the suspense by providing awful comedic value.
This film provided terrifying moments at times, but the disappointing lack of realistic plot dragged the film down. If this film had maintained its suspense that was created by the 'ghosts' in around the 45 minute mark, this film would be a real winner and one worthy of attention.
I want to give this film 8/10 but the lack of plot, silly characters and unconvincing, tame bad guy means that i have to give this film...
7/10
Calum. Russell
Sunday, 12 February 2012
Chronicle review
When the words 'superhero movie' are said, immediate thoughts draw to; Iron man, spider-man, batman and maybe even the awful spoof film of 2006! Competing with such superhero companies as D.C and Marvel and also going against the superheroes that most know and love, is quite a risky plan. Which is why I believe the recent release of Chronicle is such a interesting and important one. Not only does it compete against the big companies, it also offers something new and fresh as the whole film is shot with handheld cameras.
In the spring of last year I went to see X-men first class at my local cinema, and one (of the many!) aspects of the film I disliked was the fact that none of the teenage characters seemed to show any kind of personality, we didn't even get back stories for any of the characters. However in Chronicle strong personalities are shown, and the back story of the main character, Andrew, is sentimental and very fitting. The 3 teenage boys act as any other teenager would if they'd developed super powers, which gives a huge sense of realism to the film , something that is rarely shown in other superhero films. Theirs no cheesy looks at the camera neither any corny catch-phrases, just a realistic depiction of what boys of their age would actually do, which of course is go to the local shop and mess with peoples heads! But behind the fun of the film theirs the sinister yet sentimental back story to Andrew. This back story, which is told throughout the film, makes the crossover from the upbeat banter of the 1st half of the film to the sinister 2nd half, fluent and believable.
The whole film is also shot only using handheld cameras, which at points is a bit ridiculous but is mostly very affective. The aspect of super powers in this film is obviously a huge one but in more ways than one, often the telekinisis power of the boys is used to manoeuvre to camera to show us different shots from different angles, which was used to great effect. However their were other excuses to 'keep rolling' which weren't so good, for example a girl was shooting a video for her blog for the entire length of the film, which I thought was slightly odd and unrealistic, I think they could've shown the girl perspective much more effectively. This however is my only negative point about the film as I thought on the whole it was much more engaging than originally expected, this film has come out from pretty much nowhere and sprung a sigh of relief upon the film industry showing you can compete against D.C and Marvel, and win.
* * * * Calum Russell
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