Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Review Roundup 15th October 2012


THIS WEEK'S PREVIEW REVIEWS

Too busy to read those long reviews? Try our minis… How should you spend your precious dollars when visiting the cinema? Read on.

To Rome with Love ★★★ ½

Opens in Australia: 18th October 2012
Other Countries: Release Information


OUR THOUGHTS

          ‘To Rome With Love’ is hugely anticipated after the wonderful, whimsical ‘Midnight in Paris’.  It does fall short in comparison.  However it is fantastic to see Woody Allen in this one himself as husband to hugely brilliant Judy Davis.  The one-liners zing as always and the characters are a mixed bunch as usual.  There’s nothing new but it’s a Woody Allen through and through and that’s always a good thing.

STORY

          To ‘Rome with Love’ is a kaleidoscopic comedy movie set in one of the world's most enchanting cities. The film brings us into contact with a well-known American architect reliving his youth; an average middle-class Roman who suddenly finds himself Rome's biggest celebrity; a young provincial couple drawn into separate romantic encounters; and an American opera director endeavoring to put a singing mortician on stage. -- (C) Sony Pictures Classics

Taken 2
 
Opens in Australia: 4th October 2012
Other Countries: Release Information

OUR THOUGHTS

          If it was a comedy this would get 4 stars but as a thriller it’s a real dud.  Most of us were laughing through the bits where I think we were meant to be on the edge of our seat.  Terrible script, wooden acting and the most illogical set up for a rescue I have ever seen.  Footnote: to those who find themselves kidnapped, just send smoke signals.  I know you liked the first one but just keep it there.  If you see this you will begin to hate the film studios for throwing out their trash in your direction.

STORY

            Liam Neeson returns as Bryan Mills, the retired CIA agent with a "particular set of skills" who stopped at nothing to save his daughter Kim from kidnappers. When the father of one of the villains Bryan killed swears revenge, and takes Bryan and his wife hostage in Istanbul, Bryan enlists Kim to help them escape. Bryan then employs his unique tactics to get his family to safety and systematically take out the kidnappers, one by one. -- (C) Official Site

The Words ★★★

Opens in Australia: 11th October 2012
Other Countries: Release Information

OUR THOUGHTS
 
          Despite this film receiving very poor reviews, I really enjoyed it, as did several of my fellow reviewers.  It’s a story within a story within a story so maybe it was a little confusing.  I loved the questions it posed.  Can you live with guilt?  What price do you pay in deceiving others?  I suggest you go and make up your own mind. And girls, Bradley Cooper is an absolute dish and there are loads of close up shots. What is not to enjoy?  PS. The movie is much better than the terrible poster.

STORY

          Starring Bradley Cooper, Jeremy Irons, Dennis Quaid, Olivia Wilde and Zoë Saldana, the layered romantic drama The Words follows young writer Rory Jansen who finally achieves long sought after literary success after publishing the next great American novel. There's only one catch - he didn't write it. As the past comes back to haunt him and his literary star continues to rise, Jansen is forced to confront the steep price that must be paid for stealing another man's work, and for placing ambition and success above life's most fundamental three words.

Lawless ★★★

Opens in Australia: 11th October 2012
Other Countries: Release Information

OUR THOUGHTS


           This is bloody but brilliant, although it did receive some mixed reviews.  Those who didn’t like it found it unengaging. However, I was really drawn in and found Tom Hardy’s performance Oscar-nomination-worthy and Shia Labeouf’s best role yet (he can act without robots).  It’s a fascinating tale with a top ensemble cast.  Something about that era, just as in Boardwalk Empire, really rocks my boat, so I was always going to love it.  I did feel like having a bath afterwards. These people always look so dirty.  Warning, the violence is particularly nasty but they were rough and tumble days.

STORY

          Lawless is the true story of the infamous Bondurant Brothers: bootlegging siblings who made a run for the American Dream in Prohibition-era Virginia. In this epic gangster tale, inspired by true-life tales of author Matt Bondurant's family in his novel "The Wettest County in the World", the loyalty of three brothers is put to the test against the backdrop of the nation's most notorious crime wave. -- (C) Weinstein

 
Mental   ½ star (for Liev Schrieber's Aussie accent)

Opens in Australia: 4th October 2012
Other Countries: Release Information

OUR THOUGHTS
           One of the most appalling films I have seen in years.  Why the likes of Toni Collette, Anthony LaPaglia, Liev Schrieber and Rebecca Gibney would want to be seen in this is beyond me?  Apparently, they did it for very little $$ too.  Written and directed by P.J. Hogan (he’s the director of ‘Muriel’s Wedding’ and ‘My Best Friend’s Wedding.’) supposedly this is based on a true story of his childhood.  We are meant to be laughing at date rape, menstrual stains on white lounges and Toni Collette, naked from the waist down, lighting a fart and setting a doll on fire with the flame.  If there is a God of film, please do not let this gain distribution in many countries.  It will set the image of Australia back a hundred years.  We are not all idiot yobbos.  P.J. Hogan is just mental and misguided.  It’s labelled an art-house flick but I would say its closer to a crap-house flick.

STORY

          A charismatic, crazy hothead transforms a family's life when she becomes the nanny of five girls.


What have you seen this week? Did you find our comments helpful or do you disagree? Share your thoughts with us.

 

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