Billy T: Te Movie

Billy T James died a fair few years ago now, but his legacy lives on in New Zealand - he is one of our cult classics.

This movie is a timely reminder of the effect this man had on our society in terms of his performances, and there effects on politics and the nation's psyche - a brilliant documentary movie.

Moreover, an excellent comedy given that over the last twenty years or so, we'd forgotten many of the classic gags.

Overall, 8/10, though non-kiwis might not understand...

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

The second half of a story, and the eighth in the series - a lot of anticipation was riding on this one.

I certainly enjoyed the movie, however, it wasn't as good as some of the others. Certainly the cinematography was on par with previous ones, but, the thing is, the story just wasn't designed to be cut in two.

The film therefore featured little character development, and Hermionne and Ron featured less than you might expect. However, there were certainly good moments, and it was good to see the story through to completion with thankfully a few plot twists which I would have seen coming had I read the books. Overall however 7/10.

The Lincoln Lawyer

It is rare for me to watch an excellent movie on a plane, but on this occasion, I did - the Lincoln Lawyer.

Mick, the main character is one of those lawyers for whom you can have absolutely no respect, but by the end of the movie, you actually feel sympathy for him.

He finds himself defending a dubious estate agent on a rape charge, but is that all this defendant is capable of.

The movie has a nice pace, both expected and unexpected plot twists, and a decent dose of humour - you can't really go wrong. 8/10.

Bridesmaids

Winter is a pain - you can't do half as much outdoors.

For that reason, I seem to be at the cinema more often than perhaps I should be - in this case at the insistence of my wife.

So, a chick-flick it was - bridesmaids - think the Hangover, but with women. Well, maybe not that bad, but certainly the two movies share a lot of similarities. There are many times you are cringing at cliches, but thankfully there are a few laughs too.

Not too bad all round, 5/10.

The Green Lantern

Another day, another Marvel story turned movie.

This one I didn't have all to high an expectation of - really the main reason for watching it was to blob out without watching a movie I had already seen, or one I wanted to see at a later date.

The casting for this movie at first glance seems terrible, Ryan Reynolds belongs in comedies, and Blake Lively is not the person to play a serious businesswoman.

Having forgiven that, the movie was better than I'd expected. It wasn't too bad. The story was 2 hours long, yet didn't feel dragged out, and the soundtrack was quite decent too. Overall, 5/10.

Super 8

Want to see a new version of the Goonies? Super 8 is just that. Except with a little Cloverfield thrown in. An eclectic mix of JJ Abrams and Speilberg.

The plot centers around a group of youngsters making an amateur film for a cleveland film competition, and happen to film a train "accident". From there it becomes clear that there is more at hand.

The airforce, a monster, and a mystery - all combine together to create a relatively suspenceful yet PG plot. Overall, I'll give this one a 7/10.

Brighton Rock

Why is it that so many new movies are rehashes of old ones. In this case, the original Brighton Rock came out in the '40s, and the new one last year.

The story is (apparently) much the same as the last movie, and set around a key character Pinkie, who has recently taken over leadership of a gang in Brighton.

His newfound leadership starts just after the start of the film, as the original gang leader, Kite is murdered in cold blood. Soon, Pinkie returns an eye for an eye, and Fred, the murderer is murdered.

Unfortunately, Rose, a naive waitress happens to know just a little too much to be good. Pinkie takes more and more control over the poor girl's life during as the story goes on, and his gang leader life starts to unravel.

The story doesn't end nicely, but explores themes of crime and redemption very well. 8/10.

Prequel or Sequel?

I felt like going to the cinema. Only one problem with that, I'd already seen most of the films on offer, or did not want to see them.

There where effectively two options. The Hangover 2 and X-Men: First Class.

Now, the choice between the second in a series and the fifth? in a series is difficult, having said that, I've already heard aplenty that the Hangover's plot is near identical to the original, so X-Men it was.

And I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised - it was actually quite good, better even than the last two in the franchise.

As a prequel, I didn't go in with an expectation of what the storyline would be, and that worked well, particularly well given how well they have tied the plot into the plots of previous movies which are set after this one.

Along with a new storyline, which means you aren't anticipating each coming scene, the film was beautifully set, in one of my favourite eras when it comes to set design - the '60s. Obviously inspiration from Bond films has been taken, but it's all good.

All up, a good movie, worth the watch - don't let your disappointment in previous X-Men movies put you off (though if you liked none of them, don't go to this one!). I'll give it 7/10.

Water for Elephants

Water for Elephants is a beautiful movie - the cinematography, set and costume design almost make you want to have really been there. Probably not though, as it is set in the great depression.

The main character, Jacob, has everything going for him, as he is about to sit his final vetinary exam - until he is called out just as the exam start - both his parents have died in a motor vehicle accident.

As a result, he ends up with nothing, and winds up joining the circus. Not just any circus though, but the Benzini Bros Most Spectacular Show On Earth, and soon becomes the circus vet...

I'll leave the spoilers there - the other star of the show is Rosie the Elephant, whom Jacob must bring up to scratch as a new act to save the circus from financial ruin. It is at this point that the themes of cruelty and conflict really come together, and set the stage for the rest of the story.

I regard the film to be very good, 9/10 and was rather surprised by the quality acting from the cast given previous performances in other films.

Water for Elephants

Source Code

The first thing I thought before I saw this movie was "what a terrible name", as the plot has absolutely nothing to do with source code whatsoever - source code being the meaning of the text of a computer program's instructions.

The movie does feature a computer program, named Source Code. Imagine you wake up in someone elses body, and find yourself on a mission to find the person who blows up the very train you're on. When you don't find him, you have to re-experience the whole thing, again, and again, and again.

So what is Source Code, and how did Colter Stevens come to experience this all? More importantly, how does he get out?

The movie is well written and filmed, and a great watch - I'll give it 9/10.

Source Code

The Tourist

So, I watched this movie twice - thanks Qantas. Not a bad movie, but not brilliant - pretty typical of movies featuring Angelina Jolie.

Angelina's character Elize is instructed to "find someone my height and build, and make them believe it's me" from a mysterious accomplice - and sure enough, she chooses an American tourist for that role.

Who is the mystery man she's protecting - who is she running away from, and how does the tourist fit into it all? The movie is rather dry, and Jolie's acting does leave something to be desired. 5/10.

Having said that, it's the perfect movie for a plane - doesn't require a lot of attention, but with enough action to keep you interested.

The Tourist

Elle s'appelait Sarah (Sarah's key)

Sarah's key is one of the saddest films I've seen in a long time. Then again, any film set during the holocaust isn't going to be pleasant.

Having said that, this film tells a different, and important story. Set in France, Sarah, and her family are arrested by the French police (who assisted in the deportation of Jews, hence Chirac's 1995 apology), but unbeknownst to the police, Sarah has hidden away her younger brother in a closest. Sarah soon realises her mistake, and makes every possible effort to return to save her brother.

The movie is set in two times, during WWII, and in the present, where Julia, a journalist is moving into Sarah's wartime home, and writing and article on the history of the parisian jews during the war.

Julia unravels the story as the movie proceeds, and the consequences for the present day survivors in the film are just as strong as the plot in the past. The tale had me in tears in a few scenes...

The movie deserves a 10/10 in my book, being one of the best movies on the topic I've seen. Definately a must see.

Sarah's key

Paul

Usually, when you take every movie cliche out there, you end up with something awful, like Date Movie. Some people however are better at it than others though.

For example, Hot Fuzz was a great movie, with constant parody of the police movie theme. Similarly, Paul is one long gag about sci-fi related movies.

But, it works, in that way that only Simon Pegg and Nick Frost can pull off. The two are comic buffs who happen to find Paul (the alien) in the middle of Area 51. From there, the adventure truely begins, including federal agents, hill billies, crazy Christians and everything in between.

The movie has many great moments, and only a handful of the gags fall flat. All up, a great film, though surprisingly athiest. 9/10.

Paul the Movie

Never Let Me Go

Some movies are feel-good movies. This one is not. An intriguing story it is, however.

The story starts with the revelation that in the 1950's a medical breakthrough causes the life expectancy to increase drastically, soon exceeding one hundred years.

The thing is though, that this discovery isn't quite what it seems. The three children whom the movie follows; Ruth, Tommy and Kathy, are actually clones of people out in the real world (the "originals"), grown to provide backup organs.

The story starts out at the children's school, Hailsham, which is far from an ordinary school, and follows them through their less than ordinary lives. What becomes of them? I don't really want to spoil the story.

At then end of the movie, you are left wondering when this situation will become a reality - will there be a situation in which we have the option of having someone else die so we may live?, and will we be led to believe that they are even human?

A thought-provoking story 8/10, though sad it only seems to play at obscure hours at my local cinema.

Never Let Me Go

Limitless

Imagine a drug that allows you to utilise 100% of your brain. Would you take it? I would...

That is of course the plot of the movie I watched this evening - Limitless. Down on his luck, Eddie Morra has the fortunate opportunity to try a new drug - NZT, which instantly turns him into a guru. As a writer, he finishes his book (which he had not yet started), in four days, and is soon making a fortune on the stock market.

Of course, Eddie continues to take more and more of the drug, and is soon in out of his depth, in trouble with gangsters, the police and businessmen alike.

The film is visually very well shot, with distinction between the drab gray scenes when he is off the drug, to the brightness of his full potential when he is on. Inter-mixed with a great plot, the film is a pleasure to watch. Lastly, the film doesn't leave gaping unanswered questions at the end - something which is starting to annoy me more and more in movies recently. All up, 9/10.

Limitless

Battle Los Angeles

If there is one type of movie with a formula, its the US Marines vs Aliens format - it's been done to death over the years. Aliens attack for no good reason, hit important cities, the military takes massive losses, but against all odds, and usually aided by some really unlikely and somehow identified Achille's heel the aliens have, humanity prevails. After that, hooray for earth, and everyone lives happily after.

So, I went into the cinema not setting my expectaions too high, and wanting to escape this hotel room, and the pesky rain. Event Cinemas of course kindly obliged, and took from me more money than it would usually cost for two of us to go to the cinema back home, in exchange for a worse cinema seat and screen.

That's an aside though. The movie starts of with the theory that the ufo's are actually meteors - a likely explaination the scientists might have if many objects come hurtling towards earth. Feasibility is good in these movies, as often it's missing.

From there, we meet some marines, and have of them die shortly thereafter as Santa Monica is destroyed - so the humans are losing par for the course at this stage of such movies.

Overall, I feel the rest of the movie (which I won't reveal), went on in a reasonably feasible and sensible manner - the plot wasn't brilliant, but certainly better than you'd expect from the genre - moreover, the movie doesn't leave you thinking that one guy supposedly saved the whole world single-handedly.

I'd rate the movie 7/10. Having said that, if you don't like this genre, don't watch it!

Battle Los Angeles

Freakonomics The Movie

What do you do on planes? For me, it's one of two things. Read a book, or, watch a movie. I did the prior when I came to Brisbane the other day, and the later last night on the flight to Sydney. Qantas hasn't seen fit to add in-seat entertainment to it's domestic fleet sadly.
On the way from Auckland I watched two movies, one of which was a little bit of a disappointment - Freakonomics. Now, don't get me wrong - I like Levitt and Dubner's work and own copies of both Freakonomics and Superfreakonomics and they sit at home on my bookshelf.

The problem is, that you cannot easily convert a chapter of book into a 10 minute doco snippet - you either lose too much information and make it boring, or present too much information and it's not that good either...

Overall, I'd give the movie maybe a 6/10 - it's not bad, but if you've read the books, don't bother as the content is more or less the same.

Freakonomics Movie

Movie: Unknown

So I walked down to my local cinema last night (at Westfield Chartwell, if you must know), and watched Unknown.

The movie centers around Dr Martin Harris, who has travelled to Berlin with his wife to present at a bio-tech summit. At the airport, his suitcase gets displaced, and upon arriving at the hotel, Martin realises this and taxis back to the airport to collect his lost luggage.

Of course, he doesn't make it to the airport, the taxi instead ends up in a river and Martin in hospital with a coma. When he wakes, he finds his entire life has been stolen - another Martin Harris is at the bio-tech summit with his wife, and is generally running his life.

Things aren't quite what they seem - but, unlike many movies where things aren't what they seem, the answers become more evident as the plot thickens. All up, I really enjoyed this movie, particularly the two car chase scenes. I'll give it a 9/10.

Movie: Unknown

127 Hours

Just back from the cinema having watched 127 hours. The movie follows Aaron Ralston who is a bit of an adventurer but has quite a cavalier attitude. He sets of canyoning in Moab, Utah, with basic equipment, but having neglected to tell anyone where he was going.

In his adventure, a rockfall pins his arm under a rock, and that's where the troubles begin. With negligible water and food, his brain soon starts to fail (which the movie captures very well) and he sets about trying in vain to escape - flashbacks aplenty tell the story of his past, and through the movie you are wondering just how he will escape.

I'd give the movie a solid 9/10, particularly with the excellent soundtrack by A R Rahman. A must see, though it's not essential to see it on the big screen.

The Black Swan

When a movie goes into the IMDB top 100 shortly after coming out - I generally go and see it pretty quick.

Black Swan is such a movie - currently 59 on IMDB. What I didn't read on IMDB prior to going to see the movie was that it is directed by Darren Aranfosky who is famous for the likes of Requiem for a Dream and Pi.

The plot of the movie centres around Nina, a ballet dancer who is cast as the Swan Queen in the classic ballet Swan Lake. She is perfect for the role of White Swan, but not for the role of Black Swan - mainly because she is too deliberate and perfect, not the sorts of attributes you'd expect in the black swan, who is more dark and angry.

In any case, she is far from perfect, she is slowly losing her mind, and her body in the persuit of perfection, and under the pressure of her mother. In the cliche of our time, for half the movie you don't know what's real and what's not.

Overall, I'd give the movie maybe a 7 out of 10. I'd say this movie is a little over-rated by critics. That seems to be the way with movies with unanswered questions (Shutter Island also comes to mind). Finally, the film is a psychological thriller/horror, and is not really for the squemish or those that are easily offended by sexual content...