Weekly Review Roundup 30th March 2013

THIS WEEK'S PREVIEWS

Fun for all the family from the Madagascar creators, something for the Twihards to fill the 'Twilight' gap, that had the critics in only one mind (save us from Stephenie Meyer) and a film that I can't really work out (I think I liked it but maybe not).

(My movie Pick of the week)

The CROODS ★★★★

Opens in Australia: 28th March 2013

Other Countries: Release Information

OUR THOUGHTS

I didn't want to see this.  The trailers looked bland and my in-tray is stuffed with animated film preview invites.  However, I was pleasantly surprised.  My Kidz Review Krew reviewer and all the kids that came along with me loved it.  It's funny, colourful and the voice talent is perfect.  From the creators of Madagascar and I like this one better.  Parents, cute as it looks, you will dig it and so will the littlies.

STUDIO BLURB

           The Croods tells the story of the world's first family road trip. When their cave is destroyed, the Crood family must embark on a comedy adventure into strange and spectacular territory in search of a new home. As if patriarch Grug (Cage) didn't already have enough to handle, it goes from bad to worse when they encounter an imaginative nomad named Guy (Reynolds.) With Guy's help the Croods conquer their fear of the outside world and discover that they have exactly what it takes to survive - each other.(c) Paramount

The Host (fans of this genre ★★★★ Non-Fans ★★) 

Opens in Australia: 28th March 2013

Other Countries: Release Information

OUR THOUGHTS

     The critics walked out of this screening shaking their heads.  I think I heard, 'Oh dear'.
 Actually I think that was me.  However, I've read the book and it was always going to be a very difficult book to adapt and please the serious film-goers (we don't tend to like voice-overs or weak scripts). It will please the fans as it stays very true to the book.  If it was a mini-series on the Sci-Fi Channel I think everyone would have been happy.  In fact, it probably wouldn't make a bad series. Remember 1988 Alien Nation? (I think it did quite well for awhile.)  I'm getting increasingly frustrated with Director and screenwriter Andrew Nichol.  Gattaca was such a wonderful noir sci-fi film but after 'The Host' and the woeful 'In Time' (which I disliked more than this), I am not looking forward to his next offering.  Fans of cross species romance will really enjoy this.  Let them go and enjoy this oh harsh film critics.  It is not for us to understand the love.

STUDIO BLURB

      What if everything you love was taken from you in the blink of an eye? "The Host" is the next epic love story from the creator of the "Twilight Saga," worldwide bestselling author, Stephenie Meyer. When an unseen enemy threatens mankind by taking over their bodies and erasing their memories, Melanie Stryder (Saoirse Ronan) will risk everything to protect the people she cares most about - Jared (Max Irons), Ian (Jake Abel), her brother Jamie (Chandler Canterbury) and her Uncle Jeb (William Hurt) , proving that love can conquer all in a dangerous new world.

Trance ★★★^½

Opens in Australia: 4th April 2013

Other Countries: Release Information

OUR THOUGHTS

         One of my favourite films is 'Shallow Grave' directed by this one's director, Danny Boyle.  Make the comedy as black as you can and I am in.  'Trance' is not a comedy; it's a thriller. And it does keep you guessing even after its over.  Whilst I enjoyed the twists and turns, I didn't really get the ending. Is it all a dream? No, no, that was 'Inception'.  Or is he dead?  No, no, that was 'Lost'.  Is the bad guy really the good guy? No, no, that was 'Bourne Identity'.  Does the guy have a split personality? No, no, that was 'Fight Club'.  Aww, heck I don't know what it was about.  You need to see for yourself.
         Best tweet hashtag on this courtesy of @LucyRGibson fabulous West Australian Film reviewer #OhDannyBoyle

STUDIO BLURB

         Simon (James McAvoy), a fine art auctioneer, teams up with a criminal gang to steal a Goya painting worth millions of dollars, but after suffering a blow to the head during the heist he awakens to discover he has no memory of where he hid the painting. When physical threats and torture fail to produce answers, the gang's leader Frank (Vincent Cassel) hires hypnotherapist Elizabeth Lamb (Rosario Dawson) to delve into the darkest recesses of Simon's psyche. As Elizabeth begins to unravel Simon's broken subconscious, the lines between truth, suggestion, and deceit begin to blur. (c)Fox Searchlight

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

THE HOST (fans of this genre ★★★★ Non-Fans ★★)

THE MIND GAMES

Australia: 28th March 2013; USA 29th March UK 29th MarchOther Countries:  Release Information 

Stephenie Meyer certainly loves romantic conflict. The author of the best-selling ‘Twilight Saga’ books has done for young female readers and their mothers what Harry Potter did for nine-year olds.  It brought them to read—no mean feat in this technology age where interacting with fantasy worlds with your thumbs is considered far more exciting than with words and imagination.

Whilst reviewers love to critique the quality of the 'Twilight' books and the film adaptations, her fans agree to disagree and continue to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on her products.

So, it was always a given that her other speculative fiction work, ‘The Host’ would become a film to fill the hole created with the conclusion of the ‘Twilight Saga’.

‘The Host’, directed and adapted by Andrew Niccol, along with a highly respected production team and multi-awarded cast including William Hurt, Frances Fisher, Diane Kruger in supporting roles for the young, relatively unknown leads, is not a film for the discerning film-goer who desires a deep, well-fashioned script with sub-plots that will leave them marvelling at the mastery of the film-makers. 

However, it isn’t made for us cinephiles.  It is for the young—and not so young, if my fellow soccer-mom friends are anything to go by—fans of the novel and this fantasy romance sub-genre.  There are millions of these consumers out there and they are prepared to pay to read these books and watch the films and we shouldn’t dissuade them.   They make the publishing and film industry go round.

Stephenie Meyer said she came upon the idea for the 2008 ‘The Host’ (which spent 26 weeks at No. 1 on The New York Times bestseller list and 36 weeks on the Los Angeles Times bestseller list) whilst driving through the desert between Phoenix and Salt Lake City.   “I came on the idea of two personalities in one body. They are both in love with different people, which creates a great deal of conflict. I like messy relationships. They’re fun to work through.”

In this story, our heroine Melanie (Saoirse Ronan) is thrown into conflict when Earth is invaded by an alien race. The invaders do not arrive with laser guns and drones but instead gently place their souls inside their hosts, taking over their bodies.  They are ‘peaceful’ beings and create harmony and balance in the assumed human race.  For the record, because all aliens take over our planet because we “kill each other”, I would like to state I am not one of the violent ones, so surely I should be allowed to keep my body.

When Melanie, one of the last remaining humans, is captured and receives the soul of Wanderer (Wanda), she refuses to relinquish her body to the invader.  So begins a tussle of spirit (and voiceover).  Before her capture Melanie was on the run with her little brother Jamie (Chandler Canterbury) and another survivor Jared Howe (Max Irons).  Jared and Melanie become lovers and it is this love, and her promise to Jamie that she will return to him, that imbues her with the strength to fight Wanda’s control. 

Wanda, though, finds that she cannot inhabit Melanie’s body and not be moved by her strong emotions and memories.  This desire causes them to set out on a dangerous journey to reunite with Melanie’s loved ones. What they find will not be the joyful reunion either imagined.

If you are not a fan of YA books and the fantasy genre, then this film is not for you.   However, there are a lot more like this on the way with three more ‘’Hunger Games’ adaptations, ‘Warm Bodies’, ‘Divergent’, and ‘Pure’ to name a few.  So get used to the idea of star-crossed supernatural romances; there is an invasion coming to a box-office near you and it will be hard to avoid.

Weekly Review Round Up 23rd March 2013

THIS WEEK'S PREVIEWS

What should you spend your precious dollars on when visiting the cinema? What needs popcorn to enjoy?  And what needs waiting until DVD?

If you have seen any of these or want to see them and have a comment please feel free to share. We love hearing from our readers.

(My movie Pick of the week)

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone★★★★

Opens in Australia: 21st March 2013

Other Countries: Release Information

OUR THOUGHTS

If you check a lot of the reviews on this, it did not get a good rave. Well, phooey on them. What do reviewers know?  This movie is fun and in some parts, so hilarious, you will be spluttering into your top hat.  Its  these guys doing what they do best, over-the-top characters.  Jim Carrey is such a comic genius and doesn't disappoint here.  And anything with Steve Buscemi is a treat, ALWAYS.  Ever since 'Fargo' I've loved him.  And if you really want to see what an amazing actor he truly is, catch him in the TV series 'Boardwalk Empire'.  The last scene will have you laughing so hard, you will stop breathing (fellow reviewer's comment).  I want to see it again. Great date-night film girls and guys.

STUDIO BLURB

            Superstar magicians Burt Wonderstone (Steve Carell) and Anton Marvelton (Steve Buscemi) have ruled the Las Vegas strip for years, raking in millions with illusions as big as Burt's growing ego. But lately the duo's greatest deception is their public friendship, while secretly they've grown to loathe each other. Facing cutthroat competition from guerilla street magician Steve Gray (Jim Carrey), whose cult following surges with each outrageous stunt, even their show looks stale. But there's still a chance Burt and Anton can save the act-both onstage and off-if Burt can get back in touch with what made him love magic in the first place.(c) WB

A Good Day To Die Hard★^½

Opens in Australia: 21st March 2013

Other Countries: Release Information

OUR THOUGHTS

A message to the Director, John Moore, and producers of this film, please put out your hands.  I would like to wrap you across the knuckles.  No wait a second, I want to throw you through a window, down a twenty storey plastic rubbish shoot outside of a building, land you in a rubbish pile of scrap building products, then shoot you with twenty machine guns.  No wait, that won't hurt you will it?  You will just get up and walk away and mumble something stupid and corny.  So you won't learn.  Can I just assure anyone that is a fan of 'Die Hard' (like me) that you will not being seeing a 'Die Hard' film.  You will be seeing a ridiculously stupid, loud, nothing movie that is okay for the first thirty-minutes.  However, the second the actors open their mouths you will know instantly that this was 'A Good Day to Stay At Home'.  Please do not give them your money or they might make another one.  

STUDIO BLURB

          John McClane travels to Russia to help out his seemingly wayward son, Jack, only to discover that Jack is a CIA operative working to prevent a nuclear-weapons heist, causing the father and son to team up against underworld forces.

Jack the Giant Slayer ★★★^½

Opens in Australia: 21st March 2013

Other Countries: Release Information

OUR THOUGHTS

This is a fun romp that isn't as bad as you've heard. I was at the preview with a bunch of my kids friends', aged ten to fourteen, and their parents and everyone enjoyed it. It's not going to become a classic or anything grand but it's not a bad two hours of fairy-tale fun.  I wouldn't recommend it for the littlies though. There are some nasty scenes of giants eating people that may give them nightmares.  

STUDIO BLURB

         "Jack the Giant Slayer" tells the story of an ancient war that is reignited when a young farmhand unwittingly opens a gateway between our world and a fearsome race of giants. Unleashed on the Earth for the first time in centuries, the giants strive to reclaim the land they once lost, forcing the young man, Jack (Nicholas Hoult) into the battle of his life to stop them. Fighting for a kingdom, its people, and the love of a brave princess, he comes face to face with the unstoppable warriors he thought only existed in legend-and gets the chance to become a legend himself.-- (C) Warner Bros

Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God ★★★★^½

Opens in Australia: 21st March 2013

Other Countries: Release Information

Perth, Australia: See at Luna Cinemas

OUR THOUGHTS

You watch this with your hand covering your mouth.  It’s awful. These poor, brave, deaf men abused by this evil man will turn your stomach.  So, don’t go to see this for a light afternoon at the cinema.  However, it is a very smart documentary that points well-researched fingers at the Catholic Church all the way up to the seat of the Pope.  It does what all good documentaries should do…sucks you in, creates awareness and alters your perception of what you once believed.  I am sad for the Church as well.  They are not all bad people but this documentary shows you they certainly had a very bad system.  The new Pope has a big job ahead of him but by all counts he is the man for the job.

STUDIO BLURB

In MEA MAXIMA CULPA: SILENCE IN THE HOUSE OF GOD, Oscar (R)-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney examines the abuse of power in the Catholic Church through the story of four courageous deaf men, who in the first known case of public protest, set out to expose the priest who abused them. Through their case the film follows a cover-up that winds its way from the row houses of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, through the bare ruined choirs of Ireland's churches, all the way to the highest office of the Vatican. (c) HBO

Rust and Bone ★★★^{½
De rouille et d'os (original title}

Opens in Australia: 28th March 2013
Other Countries: Release Information
Perth, Australia: See at Luna Cinemas

OUR THOUGHTS

Marion Cotillard plays beautifully a woman coping with the tragedy of losing her legs in a marine park accident.  It's a fascinating story and well-cast but the film has pacing issues and loses its footing in places (excuse the pun-couldn't help myself).  She really falls for the wrong guy in Alain and I wanted to stand up in the theatre and scream, ‘Get over him.  He’s a creep.’  But, of course, it’s a French film and we don’t do that in cultured circles.  It’s still a good foreign language film but I was surprisingly unmoved although not bored (even though the male tough-as-nails reviewer next to me was sobbing during the closing credits and muttering about his soul).  Anything with killer whales will get an extra star from me. 

STUDIO BLURB

A struggling single father helps a beautiful whale trainer recover her will to live following a terrible accident that leaves her confined to a wheelchair. Lonely and destitute, Ali (Matthias Schoenaerts) leaves the north of France for his sister's house in Antibes after becoming the sole guardian of his estranged five-year-old son Sam. When Ali lands a job as a bouncer in a nearby nightclub, things quickly start to look up for the itinerant father and son. Then one night, after breaking up a fight in the club, Ali meets the radiant Stephanie (Marion Cotillard), and slips her his number after dropping her off safely at home. Though Stephanie's position on the high end of the social spectrum makes romance an unlikely prospect for the pair, a tragic accident at Marineland robs her of her legs, and finds her reaching out in desperation to Ali. Her spirit broken by the same tragedy that took her legs, Stephanie gradually finds the courage to go on living trough transcendent moments spent with Ali -- a man with precious little pity, but an enormous love of life. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

2013 ALLIANCE FRANÇAISE FRENCH FILM FESTIVAL

Opens in PERTH Australia: 19^th March 2013

Screening from the 19th March until 7th April at Cinema Paradiso, Windsor and SX.

See at Luna Cinemas  If you click through you can book tickets for upcoming films and check out their other great titles.

OUR THOUGHTS

Culture arrives in Perth on the 19^th  March at Luna Cinemas.  I’m a fan of foreign language films. Yes, you do have to read the sub-titles but you get used to that.  If it’s a really good film you don’t even realise you are reading.  They are usually quirky and interesting and sometimes downright crazy but never, ever Hollywood.  And sometimes it is great to just get away from all those happy endings that you see coming a mile away. I’ve seen two of the films in the Festival so far and can highly recommend.  Keep a look out for these two, you won’t be disappointed:

In the House 
Dans la maison (original title) ★★★★

Kristin Scott Thomas is in every second French film I see (well almost) but she is always so brilliant. This is a creepy little thriller that sneaks up on you. Even now as I think back, it gives me shivers.  What is real and what is not, is finally balanced and there seriously wonderful performances.  Highly recommend this for initiation into watching French Film.  If Hollywood doesn't have a go at remaking this I'll be surprised.

STUDIO BLURB

A sixteen-year-old boy insinuates himself into the house of a fellow student from his literature class and writes about it in essays for his French teacher. Faced with this gifted and unusual pupil, the teacher rediscovers his enthusiasm for his work, but the boy's intrusion will unleash a series of uncontrollable events. (c) Cohen Media

Another Woman's Life ★★^½

La vie d'une autre (original title)

Wonderful Juliette Binoche plays a woman who wakes up after a one-night stand to find she is married to the guy with whom she has just slept, has a child who is surprised she is actually paying attention to him, and is apparently quite the bitch now running a big corporation. Great premise which will keep you intrigued all the way through—although, I didn't love the ending.  Another thing with French films, sometimes they don’t wind it all up in a neat little bow for you.  They’re French. They don’t have to, okay.

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