What have you watched recently?

Pandorum (2009)

A pair of crew members aboard a spaceship wake up with no knowledge of their mission or their identities.

Imagine an re-enacting Alien, adding some Event Horizon, and sprinkle those generic "Gollum" creatures from The Cave, The Descent, Meat Train etc etc.....actually give 'em some spears so they're, you know, tribal. Imagine Dead Space, but without everything that makes it cool....and you'll have Pandorum.

Overly reliant on 'boo!' scares, and shooting the film in the dark; this film is a waste of time. They try to reach beyond it's scope with a possible reality/madness angle, but it goes nowhere. The "Mila Jovovich" of the cast has a really awesome rack, though. Despite that, Avoid!


This Is England (2006)

A story about a troubled boy growing up in England, set in 1983. He comes across a few skinheads on his way home from school, after a fight. They become his new best friends even like family. Based on experiences of director Shane Meadows.

This isn't my kind of film; but if you like that sort of thing, it's quite good. English scumbag lives in a council estate, spreading hate and violence to his family, friends and neighbours; intimidating shopkeepers with a huge knife, that kind of thing. He makes everyone's life worse. He goes to jail, and gets out, and the world around him has changed. Half of his friends see how bad he is, and stop hanging around him, but he continues in his old ways. He, along with his friends and family, teach the youngest child (the protagonist, actually) to blindly hate and become incredibly intolerant, just like them. I don't know whether to feel angry, or sad. This, along with the "geezahs" is the side to England I despise, a devastatingly accurate portrayl of scumbags performed on camera here.


Identity (2003)

Stranded at a desolate Nevada motel during a nasty rainstorm, ten strangers become acquainted with each other when they realize that they're being killed off one by one.

Mystery thriller with John Cusack and Ray Liotta. Interesting enough, but you don't care for any of the characters, so their deaths don't feel impactful. To make the film more fun, take a shot every time the camera changes focus to someone else in the room. Must be used 50 times! Unfortunately the characters/script isn't that well-written as to support multiple viewings to glean more. Makes sense, it's alright, but I wouldn't spend money to see it.

One Missed Call (2008)

In this remake of the Japanese horror film "Chakushin Ari" (2003), several people start receiving voice-mails from their future selves -- messages which include the date, time, and some of the details of their deaths.

90 missed minutes...of my life. Girl gets a --well-- missed call with the time and date in the future; which is when they're gonna die. The next victim(s) have to solve the mystery before it's too late. Think The Ring, but really crap. We're not fed more clues or information, we're just aimlessly walking around until it comes together. No scary imagery (but a hilarious "scary baby") and no satisfying explanation. Oddly didn't go for the swerve ending/revelation, either! Avoid.

The Strangers (2008) (with Liv Tyler, not Steve Austin!)

A young couple staying in an isolated vacation home are terrorized by three unknown assailants.

Simple premise, executed far better than I thought it would be. (If you've seen Funny Games (1997)or Ils (2006) you know what you're in for) A couple are alone in a far-away country house, get stalked by mysterious locals, with murder on the mind. Not much script or progression, but does a very good job of keeping the tension.

My only problem (besides the explanation of why they're been tortured/stalked) is that you know straight away that the couple are boned. Couple of "why didn't you do that" moments, but overall this film kept my attention until the finish. They spend a little too much time with the "ha ha! I'm here!" and not going in for the kill. Great to see Glen Howerton (Dennis from Always Sunny) getting some screen time. The masks are also pretty freaky. So if you're up for a bit of stalk-horror, give it a watch.

'All quite on the western front' a oldie but a goodie:)

'A Christmas Carol'

Yet another attempt to film Charles Dicken's excellent cautionary tale of uber miser Ebenezer Scrooge. This time it's been given the Robert Zemeckis treatment and shot in motion capture animation, a la 'Beowulf' from a few years ago. Of course, it's going to be truly difficult to beat the top of the game which is 1951's brilliant effort 'Scrooge', starring the great Alistair Sim; which remains the bench mark. This time around, scrooge is played (or voiced) by Jim Carrey who does an excellent job. Although, you can tell quite easily that he's watched Sim's effort and has copied his voice and mannerisms to a large degree. Also on offer is Gary Oldman as Bob Cratchit and Bob Hoskins as Fezziwig, scrooge's old employer. Most of the cast do the voices of multiple characters, including a somewhat dodgy Oirish accent from Carrey as the ghost of Christmas past. Victorian London is also recreated very well and the darker moments come off despite it being a "kids" film. Here and there, the animation slips a bit and it's easy to tell when something's been motion captured and when it's been animated with the human actors involved. But, it doesn't take away from the overall enjoyment.

I thought the film was quite good, although a lot of reviewers seem to have been put off by it. I have to say, I am unsure why. But I do have a fondness for the original story, so perhaps I am biased. But, some reviewers have mentioned that it didn't add anything new to Dicken's classic, which I believe is missing the point. Recommended overall, but if you haven't seen the 1951 version with Alastair Sim, then do yourself a favor and do so.

Watched Ingmar Bergman's Hour Of The Wolf. Strange film, but I really enjoyed it.

Green Zone in 720p, pretty good action thriller, like Bourne in Iraq.

'The Omen'

Almost a shot for shot remake of the 1976 classic about the rise of the anti-Christ, which left me wondering why bother? Most remakes can't live up to the originals, but this 2006 effort is particularly curious. Although it's not completely without merit, it's pointlessness is hard to leave alone and the characters simply cannot hold a candle to the stars of the original. Liev Schreiber, Julia Stiles, David Thewlis and Mia Farrow are ok in their roles, but pale in comparison to Gregory Peck, Lee Remick, David Warner and (especially) Billie Whitelaw. Also sorely lacking is the score, but it would have been next to impossible to better Jerry Goldsmith's black mass from the original.

Went to see "Greenberg" last night, the lead role palyed by Ben Stiller not the usual role you'd expect from him butI thought he was fantastic. Pretty dry humour and although not much happens in the film its really enjoyable and a nice easy watch.

Was bored and knocking around Sky Player last night and for some reason settled on 'Wall Street' which ive always meant to watch. Oliver Stone is so hit and miss i wasnt expecting a huge amount but i thought it was excellent, some brilliant performances(notably of course Michael Douglas but also Martin Sheen) and a good story that seems even more relevant now.