I saw this film the week it came out and have no idea why it took me so long to write about it.
Bluntly, it's one of my favourite movies for 2014 and quite possibly the best in the entire Marvel series.
The Winter Soldier continues the story of Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) as he becomes more comfortable being Captain America.
There isn't too much I'm going to say about this film as it's been a while since I've seen it, but it's one I definitely seeing again, and would advise to watch multiple times.
As someone unfamiliar with the comics it is the first time I've learned of the Winter Soldier, and I have to say I'm a super fan of Sebastian Stan's character. The story arc including the rise of Hydra is an interesting one to me - it seems so early to bring in the super villainous corporation. In saying that, it is the second wave of the Avengers series of films and they won't be around forever, but I felt as if the seeds of Hydra could have been planted here and developed in the third wave.
In any case, Anthony and Joe Russo make this film push all the right buttons.
There is nothing I can point to as being bad - it's really one of the most complete films I've seen.
Samuel L Jackson has a bigger part in this film as Nick Fury, taking a central role in the story's development where Samuel L. goes all Samuel L. on Hydra operatives. Robert Redford is great in his scenes as Alexander Pierce, while Anthony Mackie's Sam Wilson continues his growth in the series as we see Falcon for the first time.
But I have to tip my hat to Scarlett Johansson, who is stunning as Natasha Romanoff. This film further showed why Johansson will not have her own film exploring Black Widow's origin, as it (and The Avengers) have developed enough of her character so far. It adds to the mysterious past Black Widow seems to have, and I am completely comfortable with the way they are developing the legend of Black Widow by revealing crumbs of information with each chapter. I imagine they'll do the same with Jeremy Renner's Hawkeye who appeared in The Avengers.
I'm more curious to see what they do next with not only Black Widow, but other characters in the Marvel Universe in the build up to The Avengers: Age of Ultron which is slated for a 2015 release.
Saturday, May 03, 2014
Oldboy (2003)
No, not the US remake - this is the original South Korean Oldboy.
And boy is it good.
I first heard about Oldboy on The Film Podcast, and the way they raved about it made it a must see.
I'm glad to say they were Bang. On. The. Money... In a big way.
This movie is excellent.
It's one of the best "you screwed my life over, now I'm going to find and kill you" revenge movies I've ever seen.
Min-sik Choi stars as Dae-su Oh, who is kidnapped at the start of the film and imprisoned for 15 years for apparently no reason. While imprisoned, he finds out his daughter has been killed and somehow he is the prime suspect.
Fifteen years to the day since his kidnapping, Dae-su Oh is released from captivity, and driven by revenge, embarks on a mission of finding out who did this to him and why. And after spending much of those 15 years training himself to fight, you know he's going to kick some serious arse on the outside.
I'm not going any further into the plot because it's a film you have to see.
The Film Podcast crew hit the nail on the head regarding at least two memorable scenes.
The first: Dae-su Oh going into a restaurant and asking to eat something alive. The chef, Mi-do (Hye-jeong Kang), whacks an octopus in front of him and he promptly, you know, eats it. I don't know if it was seeing the octopus moving, the fact I had just served myself fish and chips or a combination of the two, but I could've been physically ill for quite a while afterwards.
The other scene is the hammer fight scene. The long take sees Dae-su Oh, armed only with a hammer and his awesome fighting skills, take on a whole bunch of bad guys in a corridor. And it is awesome.
Stick around as the twist at the end of the film is worth waiting around for (it took me by surprise though it probably shouldn't have), and you will be rewarded with having seen one of the best revenge/action films in world cinema.
And boy is it good.
I first heard about Oldboy on The Film Podcast, and the way they raved about it made it a must see.
I'm glad to say they were Bang. On. The. Money... In a big way.
This movie is excellent.
It's one of the best "you screwed my life over, now I'm going to find and kill you" revenge movies I've ever seen.
Min-sik Choi stars as Dae-su Oh, who is kidnapped at the start of the film and imprisoned for 15 years for apparently no reason. While imprisoned, he finds out his daughter has been killed and somehow he is the prime suspect.
Fifteen years to the day since his kidnapping, Dae-su Oh is released from captivity, and driven by revenge, embarks on a mission of finding out who did this to him and why. And after spending much of those 15 years training himself to fight, you know he's going to kick some serious arse on the outside.
I'm not going any further into the plot because it's a film you have to see.
The Film Podcast crew hit the nail on the head regarding at least two memorable scenes.
The first: Dae-su Oh going into a restaurant and asking to eat something alive. The chef, Mi-do (Hye-jeong Kang), whacks an octopus in front of him and he promptly, you know, eats it. I don't know if it was seeing the octopus moving, the fact I had just served myself fish and chips or a combination of the two, but I could've been physically ill for quite a while afterwards.
The other scene is the hammer fight scene. The long take sees Dae-su Oh, armed only with a hammer and his awesome fighting skills, take on a whole bunch of bad guys in a corridor. And it is awesome.
Stick around as the twist at the end of the film is worth waiting around for (it took me by surprise though it probably shouldn't have), and you will be rewarded with having seen one of the best revenge/action films in world cinema.
Bad Neighbours (Neighbors)
I really didn’t expect Bad Neighbours to be any good when I
caught it on Friday night.
Starring Seth Rogen and Zac Efron as a married father and
frat boy respectively, I had the preconception the movie would be full of
unfunny jokes, a ridiculous amount of nudity and an endless supply of drugs.
They succeeded in ticking two of those boxes, with Bad
Neighbours turning out to be one of the funniest movies I’ve watched.
This film is off the chain.
The perfect setup sees Rogen and Australian actress Rose
Byrne as married couple Mac and Kelly Radner, who are raising their infant
daughter in a quiet neighbourhood. Their next door neighbour suddenly moves out
one day, and after a small period of anticipation, discover the new occupants
are one of their worst nightmares.
Teddy Saunders (Efron), Pete (Dave Franco), Scoonie
(Christopher Mintz-Plasse, or McLovin from Superbad as he’s more widely
recognised) are just three of the college kids who are part of Delta Psi, a
fraternity house known for their amazingly wild parties.
The rest of the film is focuses on the Radners attempting to
continue their lives as per normal, but a lack of peace causes them to do all
they can to get their new neighbours evicted.
I found myself laughing for most of the movie – and not just
the “ha ha it’s Seth Rogen doing drugs and being crazy” laugh, I mean I was
bursting at the seams. The lengths the warring neighbours go to to drive the
other out aren’t original (apart from the Delta Psi crew “relocating” the
Radner’s car airbags – that was amazing), the way they are presented is simply
brilliant.
Lisa Kudrow has a small but brilliant role as Carol, with
Ike Barinholtz and Ali Cobrin hilarious as divorced couple Jimmy and Whitney
who the Radner’s turn to for help.
For me the winning performances (apart from the gags) are from
the Delta Psi crew. I’ve avoided many Efron films because he was “that guy from
High School Musical”, but this has made me want to check out his other recent
roles. Franco continues to be great in everything he does, Mintz-Plasse is all
class while Jerrod Carmichael (Garf) and Craig Roberts (Assjuice) deliver some side-splitting
scenes.
Lastly the soundtrack is freakin sweet. There’s quite a bit
of dubstep and doof-doof that sets the parties alive and feeling the cinemas
subwoofers struggle made me feel like I was there.
Watch it in a cinema as I’m not convinced it will be as
awesome on the small screen.
Note: Released as "Bad Neighbours" in the UK and Australia and "Neighbours" everywhere else.
Saturday, March 22, 2014
Once Upon A Time In The West
Where do you start with a film that is consistently rated in the top 100 of all time?
Once Upon A Time In The West is what many consider to be the greatest western film ever made. The 1968 classic has stood the test of the time, and despite not being as popular as the Dollars trilogy to the general population, it easily better from almost every sense.
Sergio Leone's gritty tale transports us back to the America's fabled Old West, where cowboys ruled and all quarrels, no matter big or small, were settled with the sound of a gunshot and another body to bury.
A story told over 166 minutes, Lenoe's epic spaghetti western centres on a hired gun named Frank (Henry Fonda) and his nemesis known only as Harmonica (Charles Bronson). The struggle for a piece of land near Flagstone called Sweetwater is the driving force behind the film. Brett McBain (Frank Wolff) bought the land as he foresaw the railroad would have to pass through the area to replenish the steam locomotives' water supplies. Railroad tycoon Morton (Gabriele Ferzetti) finds out about McBain's land grab, and sends Frank to intimidate him off the land. Instead, Frank kills McBain and his three children and plants evidence at the scene to frame bandit Cheyenne (Jason Robards) and his gang.
While all of this is going on, Harmonica is in pursuit of Frank for an act the details of which are revealed near the end of the film (no spoilers, but it's heavy).
Just about everything about the film is perfect.
The vast, expansive landscapes of the Old West are translated to screen by Leone and cinematographer Tonino Delli Colli in such a way it reflects the way we imagine that era to look. The dirty faces of almost all of the people in every shot merely increase the realism, with Jill McBain (Claudia Cardinale) the only person who gets to keep a cleanish face throughout. The rest are saturated with sweat, speckled with dirt and mud in a true representation of the conditions. It is a minor detail Leone and crew pay a lot of attention to, and the reward is Once Upon A Time In The West looks every bit a tale of the Old West.
One of the greatest Western genre composers of all time Ennio Morricone is responsible for the soundtrack, which again lives up to his ever high reputation. Two major features of the film's sound stand out: the lonely harmonica of which Bronson's character gets his name, and the composition that takes centre stage as Frank and Harmonica face off towards the end of the film. The former acts as a cue for Harmonica's character, usually playing whenever he makes an appearance on screen - the first time of which he plays the tune himself at the train station near the opening (second scene). The latter is the climactic scene of the film, and Morricone's piece reflects the importance of the showdown - it's epic in every way.
As great as it is having one of the greatest film composers of all time in charge of the soundtrack, there is a long time Morricone is not used at all. The first 10 or so minutes of the film uses only natural sound - a turning wheel in the wind, footsteps, shotgun blasts and a train just to name a few. There is a great sequence where three men sent to kill Harmonica in the opening scene arrive, and wait, at a train station. In addition to there being only natural sound (and minimal dialogue), one part in particular is etched into memory. Jack Elam plays Snaky, who comes across as the leader of the trio. While waiting for the train, he is sitting back in a chair when a fly starts buzzing around and landing on his face. Whether its genius by Leone or a strange fetish, we watch Elam and this fly interact for what feels like an eternity - I haven't quite seen anything like it in any other film.
My words do not do Once Upon A Time In The West justice. The only bad thing is the run time which forces you to set aside three hours to watch it, but even then, it is a film worth making the time for. A must.
Once Upon A Time In The West is what many consider to be the greatest western film ever made. The 1968 classic has stood the test of the time, and despite not being as popular as the Dollars trilogy to the general population, it easily better from almost every sense.
Sergio Leone's gritty tale transports us back to the America's fabled Old West, where cowboys ruled and all quarrels, no matter big or small, were settled with the sound of a gunshot and another body to bury.
A story told over 166 minutes, Lenoe's epic spaghetti western centres on a hired gun named Frank (Henry Fonda) and his nemesis known only as Harmonica (Charles Bronson). The struggle for a piece of land near Flagstone called Sweetwater is the driving force behind the film. Brett McBain (Frank Wolff) bought the land as he foresaw the railroad would have to pass through the area to replenish the steam locomotives' water supplies. Railroad tycoon Morton (Gabriele Ferzetti) finds out about McBain's land grab, and sends Frank to intimidate him off the land. Instead, Frank kills McBain and his three children and plants evidence at the scene to frame bandit Cheyenne (Jason Robards) and his gang.
While all of this is going on, Harmonica is in pursuit of Frank for an act the details of which are revealed near the end of the film (no spoilers, but it's heavy).
Just about everything about the film is perfect.
The vast, expansive landscapes of the Old West are translated to screen by Leone and cinematographer Tonino Delli Colli in such a way it reflects the way we imagine that era to look. The dirty faces of almost all of the people in every shot merely increase the realism, with Jill McBain (Claudia Cardinale) the only person who gets to keep a cleanish face throughout. The rest are saturated with sweat, speckled with dirt and mud in a true representation of the conditions. It is a minor detail Leone and crew pay a lot of attention to, and the reward is Once Upon A Time In The West looks every bit a tale of the Old West.
One of the greatest Western genre composers of all time Ennio Morricone is responsible for the soundtrack, which again lives up to his ever high reputation. Two major features of the film's sound stand out: the lonely harmonica of which Bronson's character gets his name, and the composition that takes centre stage as Frank and Harmonica face off towards the end of the film. The former acts as a cue for Harmonica's character, usually playing whenever he makes an appearance on screen - the first time of which he plays the tune himself at the train station near the opening (second scene). The latter is the climactic scene of the film, and Morricone's piece reflects the importance of the showdown - it's epic in every way.
As great as it is having one of the greatest film composers of all time in charge of the soundtrack, there is a long time Morricone is not used at all. The first 10 or so minutes of the film uses only natural sound - a turning wheel in the wind, footsteps, shotgun blasts and a train just to name a few. There is a great sequence where three men sent to kill Harmonica in the opening scene arrive, and wait, at a train station. In addition to there being only natural sound (and minimal dialogue), one part in particular is etched into memory. Jack Elam plays Snaky, who comes across as the leader of the trio. While waiting for the train, he is sitting back in a chair when a fly starts buzzing around and landing on his face. Whether its genius by Leone or a strange fetish, we watch Elam and this fly interact for what feels like an eternity - I haven't quite seen anything like it in any other film.
My words do not do Once Upon A Time In The West justice. The only bad thing is the run time which forces you to set aside three hours to watch it, but even then, it is a film worth making the time for. A must.
Thursday, March 20, 2014
Need for Speed
Fast cars, high-octane police chases and plenty of eye-opening crashes.
It is those three components that have made Need for Speed one of the most successful video game series in history. The premise is simple: buy or select some serious fast and classy cars (Lamborghinis, Koenigseggs, Ferraris, etc.), drive at ridiculous speeds either through traffic or on one of a wide selection of areas, and escape from the police who give chase.
I remember playing Hot Pursuit on PlayStation over 10 years ago and becoming addicted almost straight away. The video game was an entrance to alternate reality where you could do whatever you wanted, all the while attempting to finish first (I'm a little competitive).
Since then I have played or owned quite a few of the NFS series, so when the film was announced I was a little bit eager to see how it was adapted, with fears of it becoming just another chapter of the highly successful Fast and the Furious.
Unfortunately, it was the latter.
Following six chapters of the Fast and the Furious franchise, there is not overly too much else the "driving cars particularly fast and evading the capture of police" genre can do.
And while NFS did do something slightly different, and the plot was strong enough to carry the film while providing plenty of comic relief, it still suffered from the limited breadth of the genre.
Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad) plays Tobey Marshall, a former race car driver who runs a garage specialising in tuning performance cars. Marshall and his friends are struggling financially, so they street race at night to earn a little more cash.
One day Marshall's former rival Dino (Dominic Cooper) rocks up to the garage with a Shelby Mustang. Not just any Shelby Mustang though: the one Carroll Shelby was working on before his death. A deal is made between the parties which would see Marshall and his friends take 25% of the $2million price tag if they are successful with the car.
Marshall, at the behest of Englishwoman Julia Maddon (Imogen Poots), gets the Mustang to clock 234mph, which ups the price to $2.7 million. Dino, enraged Marshall drove the car, challenges Marshall and his partner Little Pete Coleman (Harrison Gilbertson, who resembles a One Direction member) to race his father's three illegally imported Koenigsegg Ageras from his mansion to a bridge over the interstate, with the winner set to claim the full amount of others' share of the deal.
During the race, Dino tags Little Pete's car, triggering a spectacularly fiery crash that sends it down a ravine before it bursts into flames. Dino takes off while Marshall, who was leading the race, stops and turns back to help his friend. Marshall eventually does time for involuntary manslaughter, while Dino gets away with his dastardly crime due to no evidence.
This sets up the rest of the film, with Marshall's thirst for revenge fuelling his cross-country adventure to bring Dino to justice in a style that brings up memories of 1977 classic Smokey and the Bandit.
I am a fan of fast cars and stunts on the big screen so it wasn't too bad for me, while the comic input of Marshall's friends/crew Maverick (Scott Mescudi), Joe (Ramon Rodriguez), and the utterly outrageous Finn (Rami Malek), who delivers the funniest scene of the film when he quits his job to join the crew, kept the ball rolling well.
The chemistry between Paul and Poots is well alive on screen, but the scope of their roles is limited I don't think it brought out their best, though Poots was quite good throughout. I tend to agree with the Chicago Tribune's Michael Phillips who said Paul's idea of intensity in the context of Need for Speed "comes off more like serial killer in the making". Cooper puts in the best performance on anyone in the film, living up to, having fun with, and simply nailing the brash, daring Dino.
Need for Speed will not win any Academy Awards but it is a whole lot of fun worth watching on the big screen. Little Pete's crash during the race between the three Koenigseggs is one of the best I've seen in film (it's also used in the trailer), while the De Leon, an invite-only street race run by Monarch (a hilarious Michael Keaton), is an exciting finish to the film that will have viewers and gamers alike reaching for the controller.
It is those three components that have made Need for Speed one of the most successful video game series in history. The premise is simple: buy or select some serious fast and classy cars (Lamborghinis, Koenigseggs, Ferraris, etc.), drive at ridiculous speeds either through traffic or on one of a wide selection of areas, and escape from the police who give chase.
I remember playing Hot Pursuit on PlayStation over 10 years ago and becoming addicted almost straight away. The video game was an entrance to alternate reality where you could do whatever you wanted, all the while attempting to finish first (I'm a little competitive).
Since then I have played or owned quite a few of the NFS series, so when the film was announced I was a little bit eager to see how it was adapted, with fears of it becoming just another chapter of the highly successful Fast and the Furious.
Unfortunately, it was the latter.
Following six chapters of the Fast and the Furious franchise, there is not overly too much else the "driving cars particularly fast and evading the capture of police" genre can do.
And while NFS did do something slightly different, and the plot was strong enough to carry the film while providing plenty of comic relief, it still suffered from the limited breadth of the genre.
Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad) plays Tobey Marshall, a former race car driver who runs a garage specialising in tuning performance cars. Marshall and his friends are struggling financially, so they street race at night to earn a little more cash.
One day Marshall's former rival Dino (Dominic Cooper) rocks up to the garage with a Shelby Mustang. Not just any Shelby Mustang though: the one Carroll Shelby was working on before his death. A deal is made between the parties which would see Marshall and his friends take 25% of the $2million price tag if they are successful with the car.
Marshall, at the behest of Englishwoman Julia Maddon (Imogen Poots), gets the Mustang to clock 234mph, which ups the price to $2.7 million. Dino, enraged Marshall drove the car, challenges Marshall and his partner Little Pete Coleman (Harrison Gilbertson, who resembles a One Direction member) to race his father's three illegally imported Koenigsegg Ageras from his mansion to a bridge over the interstate, with the winner set to claim the full amount of others' share of the deal.
During the race, Dino tags Little Pete's car, triggering a spectacularly fiery crash that sends it down a ravine before it bursts into flames. Dino takes off while Marshall, who was leading the race, stops and turns back to help his friend. Marshall eventually does time for involuntary manslaughter, while Dino gets away with his dastardly crime due to no evidence.
This sets up the rest of the film, with Marshall's thirst for revenge fuelling his cross-country adventure to bring Dino to justice in a style that brings up memories of 1977 classic Smokey and the Bandit.
I am a fan of fast cars and stunts on the big screen so it wasn't too bad for me, while the comic input of Marshall's friends/crew Maverick (Scott Mescudi), Joe (Ramon Rodriguez), and the utterly outrageous Finn (Rami Malek), who delivers the funniest scene of the film when he quits his job to join the crew, kept the ball rolling well.
The chemistry between Paul and Poots is well alive on screen, but the scope of their roles is limited I don't think it brought out their best, though Poots was quite good throughout. I tend to agree with the Chicago Tribune's Michael Phillips who said Paul's idea of intensity in the context of Need for Speed "comes off more like serial killer in the making". Cooper puts in the best performance on anyone in the film, living up to, having fun with, and simply nailing the brash, daring Dino.
Need for Speed will not win any Academy Awards but it is a whole lot of fun worth watching on the big screen. Little Pete's crash during the race between the three Koenigseggs is one of the best I've seen in film (it's also used in the trailer), while the De Leon, an invite-only street race run by Monarch (a hilarious Michael Keaton), is an exciting finish to the film that will have viewers and gamers alike reaching for the controller.
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