Woody Allen still churns them out, this time a rom com souffle located in Paris, with a garnish of 1920s nostalgia. Owen Wilson is actually not bad as a put-upon writer, and Marion Cotillard is the luminous love interest. Add some jokes for the Hemingway/ Picasso/ Dali/ Fitzgerald crowd, and Allen’s fashioned a movie that would appeal to lovers of last year’s similarly light and fluffy The King’s Speech.
Judd Apatow (The 40-Year-Old-Virgin, Knocked Up) only produced rather than directed, but it has the same core formula: smart potty-mouthed script, hilarious gross-out set pieces piling joke on over-the-top-joke, and a likeable loser protagonist whose pride, fall and emotional growth provide the film’s pathos. The main differences this time are the female leads (compared with the usual male leads) – including a fearless star turn from SNL comedienne Kirsten Wiig – and the classically ‘chick flick’ subjects of weddings, bridal parties, BFFs and a budding romance. Certainly entertaining enough, watchable by women and men alike, though not quite as laugh-out-loud funny as its sibling films.
Best of the 2011 comic book movies so far (though that’s not a huge endorsement), this prequel revives the flagging X-Men franchise with by-the-numbers competence. While not as exhilirating or quirky as Vaughn’s last superhero flick Kick-Ass (2010), the action keeps moving, interspersed with the contrasting back-stories and philosophies of the upper-class idealist Charles Xavier/Professor X (James McAvoy) and the concentration camp survivor-realist Erik Lehnsherr/Magneto (Michael Fassbender). Goes beyond standard superhero scripts by dealing with themes of prejudice and xenophobia, and repeating the ‘smart action’ of the first flick (2000), where the mutant’s abilities are used in interesting and sometimes surprising ways.
“Ho-hum, ho-hum, I’d rather have a bottle of rum” than watch this snoozefest! Director Rob Marshall (Chicago) has fashioned something better than Pirates 2 and 3, but that’s not a high bar. There’s one action scene that is half-exciting (Jack Sparrow’s (Johnny Depp) escape from the London palace) but the rest seems to drag, which is a problem for an action flick. The plot’s not as convoluted as the prior 2 installments, but it still doesn’t make sense …
Slightly better than average for a big-budget superhero movie, especially considering Thor is positively B-list among the comic pantheon. Not bad CGI action, watchable faux-Shakespearean Asgard scenes (directed by Kenneth Branagh no less), but the movie falls apart when the action is on Earth. You’re supposed to buy that Thor (Australian newcomer Chris Hemsworth) learns humility and falls in love with a mortal (Natalie Portman), but it just doesn’t seem as believable as even the sci fantasy scenes of the Norse gods come to life.
Above average, intelligent sci fi thriller wherein Jake Gyllenhaal makes up for his appalling turn in Prince of Persia. Interesting premise, with characters and back story you can care about, though the ending is perhaps a little too saccharine. If you digged Inception, then you’ll probably like Source Code (a little less mind-bending, a bit more action and explosions) …
Stylishly shot action thriller with a teenage waif (Saoirse Ronan) in the role of Jason Bourne. Not much of a plot, not many answers, not much emotional connection and identification with the audience, atrocious German and American accents from Australian actors Eric Bana and Cate Blanchett, but it has some nicely set up cinematography with references to dark fairy tales, e.g. the main villain emerging from within the darkness of a wolf’s gaping maw.
Fun, live action anime adaptation that screams streamlined, Japanese version of Battlestar Galactica (Ronald Moore’s reimagined series, that is): immersive space action and desperate, human drama – even romance – set against an apocalyptic backdrop. The original cartoon series (released in US and Australia as “Star Blazers”) predates both the original BSG and Star Wars, but many of the familiar military SF tropes clearly have been cross-pollinated and honed back and forth across the Pacific over the decades.
Every few years, a martial arts movie comes along that’s worth watching by mainstream audiences – Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) was one, Ip Man (2008) is another. Very loosely based on the life of Bruce Lee’s kung fu teacher, the plot tracks how he, his family, friends and rivals struggled through the Japanese occupation of China in WWII. While Yip Man’s exploits are exaggerated to the level of legend and even sainthood, viewers can still connect with Donnie Yuen’s conflicted martial arts master-protagonist.
Light, fluffy feel-good confection that dramatizes the friendship (even ‘bromance?’) of a British king (Colin Firth) and his speech therapist (Geoffrey Rush). Well-scripted with spare comic touches, the movie shines when the two leads share the stage, and in examining the vestiges of still-class-conscious Britain – such as the prejudice of an overweening Archbishop of Canterbury against an un-Oxbridge educated commoner using new controversial techniques – from Australia no less!
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