Hang Em High

30th January: Hang Em High

An innocent man is hung for a crime he didn't commit. After he survives, he joins the local law enforcement and tracks down those responsible.

So a nice break from Pixar films I think. I got this film with the Dollars trilogy and never got round to watching it. Now with my western standards set high from the dollars trilogy, this film is just Ok. Clint Eastwood's performance was ok, and as with the character, he was a little less impressive than The Man With No Name. The character was just a farm guy who happened to get caught in the proceedings, where as TMWNN is an awesome badass, whos the best shot in the land.
The story is pretty solid, just with not as many stand out awesome scenes.
So not as good as the Dollars trilogy, but worth a watch after you've seen them

Overall: 7/10

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Oscar Nominations

Ok so here is a list of who I would want to win the Oscars.

Best Picture: The King's Speech

Best Director: David Fincher

Best Actress: Natalie Portman

Best Actor: Colin Firth

Best Supporting Actress: Hailee Steinfeld

Best Supporting Actor: Geoffrey Rush

Best Original Screenplay: Inception

Best Adapted Screenplay: The Social Network

Best Animated: Toy Story 3

Best Foreign Film: (never seen/heard if any of these) Incendies

Best Score: Inception

Best Song: Toy Story 3

Best Cinematography: Inception

Best Costume: True Grit

Best Art Direction: Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows pt1

Best Visual Effects: Inception

Best Sound Editing: Tron

Best Sound Mixing: The Social Network

Best Documentary: Exit Through The Gift Shop

Best Live Action Short: (not seen or heard of any) God Of Love

Best Animated Short: Day and Night

Best Documentary Short: (again not seen or heard of any) Killing in the Name

Best Editing: The King's Speech

Best Make Up: Wolfman


My own special 2010 award goes to Cyrus as the worst film of the year.

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Ratatouille

26th January: Ratatouille

The only rat to ever have a sense of smell and taste, helps out a struggling chef to bring back a restaurant's former glory.

Quick one, its getting old singing Pixar's praises.
Having now seen every Pixar film, I can say that animation wise, I think this is the best. The water effects from Nemo, The creature effects from Nemo and the witty story and sound cast of all the other films.
Special cast mention to Brad Garrat though, loved his French Chef character. Maybe not as lol funny as previous ones, but still awesome.

Next time, I promise a non-pixar film

Overall: 9/10

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Finding Nemo

25th January: Finding Nemo

When a Fathers son is kidnapped and taken to Australia, the father must travel to rescue him. Oh and their fish.

There is a definite increase in quality each time Pixar release a film. Now baring in mind that they started with Toy Story which is just an awesome achievement in film history. It was in a documentary somewhere that Pixar has learnt from each film and Water effects are defiantly what they got right in Finding Nemo. The human models aren't as refined as other films, but all the fish, surroundings, water and reflections are all spot on.
Now as far as cast goes (still using my 'no bad voice in an animated film' rule) I can only freely guess a few: Ellen DeGeneres as Dory, Brad Garrat as Blow, Willem Defoe as Gill and Geoffrey Rush as Nigel the Pelican. But still, all good.
There really isn't much to fault with this movie.
The story flows perfectly, the characters are all awesome, there are some "lol" moments e.g:*mine* and all in all just a good heart filled movie. There isn't a villain in Nemo which probably helps the story along, the simple goal of re-uniting s father with his lost son.

Overall: 9/10

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Repo! The Genetic Opera

23rd January: Repo! The Genetic Opera

A rock musical where organ repossession is legal and one girl, with a blood defect, finds out the truth about her over-protective father.

Not my first viewing if this film, and won't be the last. This film, even for a musical, is like nothing iv ever watched.
First the cast. Star of the show in my opinion is Anthony Head. Not only is he an awesome actor, but this guy can sing. The way he becomes not only the character if Nathan, but they way he tweaks his performance by acting and singing to suit the in-character character of the Repo Man. Alexa Vega as his daughter also gave a fab performance, that and she's hawt! Paul Sorvino, Rotti Largo, the head and founder of the repossession company, although I hadn't seen him before gave an equally good performance. I did like everyone's acting and singing in this film, except Rotti's three children. The two sons are constantly annoying and I didn't care much for when they sang. The daughter, played by Paris Hilton, is easier of the eyes defiantly, but not high quality as the rest of the cast.
Now as mentioned, this is a musical. A rock-opera. Don't let the name fool you, iv had the soundtrack a while and know all the songs off by heart; they are good. Not your regular musical "happy happy" stuff, its about killing, drug abuse and rebellion. 'Let The Monster Rise' is by far my favourite song, but they all for well within the story.
I must admit though that after a while not watching the film, but re-listening to the soundtrack, the film did get boring in places.

Overall: 8/10

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Monsters Inc

22nd January: Monsters Inc

Monsters need children's screams to power their world and when a child enters their world, its up to two monsters to save it.

Again, not my first viewing of Disney Pixar's Monsters Inc and I don't think this it needs much reviewing but here goes:
John Goodman and Billy Crystal voice the two main monsters and they bring their respective characters to life. I love their relationship, and love Billy's quick fast talking dialogue to John's slower, deeper dialogue. Disney have a habit of casting 2 main star voices that work well together: Tom Hanks and Tim Allan being the main other.
Obviously Disney Pixar again, so the animation is top notch. Even now on dvd it stands up: Sully's Fur a prime example of the graphical awesomeness of this movie.
I can't recall any stand out supporting voice actors (baring in mind I'm reviewing 2 days after I watched it) but I don't think any voice actor can do a bad voice in an animated movie.

Overall: 8/10

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Dilemma

January 22nd: Dilemma

The story of two friends when one finds out that the other's wife is having an affair.

This movie was ok. It wasn't great, it wasn't bad. Vince Vaughn seems to have reached a stage where he plays Vince Vaughn all the time. He has that thing where he reems of dialogue in a witty way to confuse and amuse.It's been in a few movies now, find something new please. Kevin James i have no opinion off, he's funny in his show King Of Queens, but im not sure i care for his film carreer, (this, Chuck and Larry, Hitch, that Mall Cop movie and the worst of all: Grilled) Jenniffer Connolly is still hot but doesn't seem to do much in the movie, Winnoa Ryder, equal hotness, has a larger role in the movie as the adulterer, but still not much else. The comedic star of this movie is Channing Tatum. High-larious as the high guy that Winnoa Ryder cheats with. All his scenes are really funny and i want to see him in more good films, less dance crap and GI Joe, more like this and She's The Man.
I have just slated this movie a bit just now, but there are a few laughs and my new benchmark for under-achieving comedies: "It was better than Cyrus (Cyrus being the worst film iv ever seen at the cinema)

Overall: 5/10

Resident Evil Afterlife

January 20th: Resident Evil Afterlife

The fourth film in the saga. Project Alice is back and wants revenge on the Umbrella Corporation. Together her and a ragtag group of survives head to the their ony chance of survival: Arcadia.

Second time watching this movie, I saw it in 3D in the cinema and was the first of the saga i had watched I came out of the cinema and instanly amazon'ed the other 3. Now on it's second viewing, nothing has changed.
I think this movie is the best of the lot. I like them all, especially the third one, but this is the best. I watched it on Bluray and it works. All the CGI looks sweet, the characters, the zombies, the explosions, the fights: everything.
To say that the movie is only an hour and half, it packs a lot in. There is no down point where they rest somewhere, its action for 90 mins straight.From Toxyo, to Alaska to L.A. Apart from Milla Jovovich, i didn't recognise the other actors, but there was no weak performance. Also on a side note: Alice, Claire and K-Mart = SCHWING (If you are unsure of this reference, go youtube it or rewatch Wayne's World)
Now not having a 3D TV i didnt watch it in 3D but i did at the cinema and if it's any good, it'll be ah-mazing. I believe they used the same cameras James Cameron did for "Avatar" so they say it all.: SWEET.
Now i have never played the games, but i'm informed by the featurettes that this movie is maily based on the 5th game. It shows quite a few cut scenes that are in-game that they have re-reated for the screen. Not played the game and i still thought they were sweet sequences.

If I have to fault this movie, (Possible Spoiler??) its the short amount of time that the Axe Man is involved. He is the most badass of the undead. 8 foot tall and equipped with a giant axe-mallet. He's in one fight and dies. I wanted more from him. Either the fight to have been longer, or for him to have shown up at the end.
I wouldn't have minded if this film was longer aswell. I could still have loved this movie if it had been 120 maybe even 150 mins long.

Overall: 9/10

Police Academy 7

January 19th: Police Academy 7

The Police Academy squad is on a mission in Moscow for a Russian Game developer.

Had the Police Academy box set for a while and it only occurred to me I hadn't watched the last one, now I remember why. The Police Academy films have slowly gone down since the first. We never needed 7 of these.

Tackleberry, Lasaard and Cpt.Harris are by far the best characters in the series and even though #7 is the worst of the lot, they still stand out.
However join them are Christopher Lee as a Russian commandant and for a second time in my blog, Ron Pearlman shines in a bad movie.
I would advise stearing clear of the saga, but the first 4 arent too bad.

Overall: 2

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Love and Other Drugs

January 17th: Love and Other Drugs

The guy every girl wants to get with (and usually does) finally gets with the girl he loves, but she has equal relationship issues and doesn't want to commit due to having Parkinsons.

Yes, I saw this movie. It was with a good friend of mine and she picked it.
Now I thought this movie delivered what it wanted to deliver. It follows the same basic template of the Rom-com and does it well, but not really much else. Now with other Rom-coms that iv seen (and there are a lot) theres always an actor/actress that stands out as "i like their stuff" e.g Tom Hanks in Sleepless in Seattle and You've Got Mail, but I'm not that fussed about Jake Gyllenhaal or Anne Hathaway. I appreciate their stuff but they aren't Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan.
To say it isn't a comedy, it did a few laughs in it. The guy who plays gyllenhaal's brother was funny, as was Hank Azaria.

Now I think a new paragraph, no matter how small, is needed, just to say: Anne Hathaway's boobs are in this movie. A LOT. Had I not been with a lady, I may have tugged one out in the cinema.

Overall: 6

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Bug's Life

January 15th: A Bug's Life

In order to save his colony, a lone ant has to find stronger insects to help them stand up to the mean grasshoppers.

Now not the first time watching this film, but first as an adult film fan. Definitely holds up. There's also a lot you don't appreciate as a child watching an animated movie. It's only just become apparent to me the voice talent in this movie, mainly Kevin Spacey as the grasshopper leader: ah-mazing. Dennis Leary as the Ladybug. Robert Garret as Dim. David Hyde Pierce as Slim the stick insect and I think but i'll have to look it up, that the voice of Flick, Dave Foley, is the voice of Yes Man from Fallout New Vegas. (i googled it, and he is).
The animation still holds I think, there are a few background bits, and pre-finding nemo, water wasn't Pixar's strong point, but all in all a good trip down memory lane and worth a revisit.
Not quite as "lol" as Up, but I hadn't seen Up before. I used to watch this a lot on vhs

Overall: 7/10

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The King's Speech

January 15th: The King's Speech.

The Duke of York suffers from a speech impediment and seeks aid from a therapist. During his "treatment" events are put into place that will require a speedy cure.

If this film doesn't receive an Oscar nomination then i'll give away my dvd copy of Clerks.
There isn't a weak performance in the entire thing.
Apart from the main cast; Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter and a beardless Geoffrey Rush, I found a few delightful cameos: Derek Jacobi as an Archbishop, Timothy Spall as Winston Churchill and Michael Gambon as King George V.

I did think at the beginning that The Duke's stutter may get a tad annoying, but it doesn't. You sympathise with the character and want him to succeed right up to the part for which the film is named. Not quite tears, but a sniffle of the nose.

It was nice to see a good drama for a change of pace.

Overall: 9/10

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The Green Hornet

January 15th: The Green Hornet.

A guy decides he hasn't done anything with his life and teams up with his new bff to rid the city of crime.

Loved It. The film is a laugh a minute. From James Franco's cameo at the beginning to Watchmen-esque car at the end (dont think that's a spoiler)
Seth Rogan on usual top form, Cameron Diaz usual level of hotness, Christoph Waltz with a slightly familiar but still good performance. But the star of the show for me: Jay Chou as Kato. The character is awesome and he made him my fave.

I'll admit the story of the green hornet is a bit meh. The hornet himself does very little which makes me wanna like Kato more I think. The 3D is also rather useless. Apart from one or two shots in the movie, it doesn't really need 3D

There was also a point where we thought we saw Chris O'dowd but we weren't sure.

Overall: 8/10

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Up

12th January: Up

Yes another late bloomer with first viewing of Up.

A man who is about to loose everything takes his houe on his childhood adventure. With a wilderness scout, talking dog and 10ft bird in tow, thy explore the unexplored area of South America: Paradise Falls.

So within the first 11 minutes of this film i was almost in tears. No spoilers, but its heartbraking. The rest of the film is still an emotional rollercoster. Now obviously this is an animated movie, by Disney Pixar, but i still found myself literally laughing out loud at some of the humour. One line i can remember me laughing at was "It's South America, It's like America, but SOUTH!" Obviously reading it here doesnt do it comedic justice, but the film is very funny, very heartwarming and a good watch.

Without looking them Up (lol), which i don't like doingwith these blogs, i want all the info to have come from my own mind, i don't know any of the voice cast just by their voice, other than the Pixar stamp of approval by John Ratzenberg, who cameos at the beginning. But being Pixar every voice worked. Every character looked sweet. I can find no flaw with this movie really, except for obviously it being a "kids" movie, but that didn't stop me enjoying it.

overall: 9/10

The Next Three Days

14th January : The Next Three Days

A husband's mission to to what is neccessary to reunite himself with his wife who was arressted for murder.

So finally got to see this film, as last time was punished to watch Season Of The Witch. Worth the wait. Russell Crowe and Elizabeth Banks deliver really good performances as the couple, whos lives are torn from each other.
Starts well, but does take a while to get into the meat of the film. There is a scene in the middle where Russell Crowe needs to get more money, that hightens the pace a bit, but is rather slow to get up there, but when it does, it all comes together. The film never tells you his exact plan and you find it out as he's doing it and you are on the dge of your seat thinking what the characters will do next. An awesome film, that leaves you guessing right to the end.

However. One small point: Not enough Liam Nesson. That one scene we see in the trailer, i don't think is enough to have his name on the poster. Although, who doesn't like Liam Nesson? He trained Obi-Wan and Batman. But still not a main character. Instead of Liam, it should have been Olivia Wilde, the sexiest surprise of the movie. Ok she only has a bit more than Neeson, but still, more is more.

Overall: 8/10

Silence Of The Lambs

January 9th - Silence Of The Lambs

First off yes, this was my first viewing of this movie (got it for xmas)

A spree of disapearances force the FBI to contact a psycotic prisoner, Hannibal "The Cannibal" Lecter, for advise on capuring the culprit.

Love it. There is a reason Anthony Hopkins is highly recognised for this role, in that he was bloody awesome. That he is a sophisticated, extreamly smart gentleman, one minute and then eating someone's face the next: a brilliant performance. Both he and Jodie Foster are both obviously more than worthy of the oscars they won form this film.

Overall: 9/10

Season Of The Witch

January 8th - Season Of The Witch

Admitidly, only saw this movie because we couldn't get the times right for The Next Three Days.

Nic Cage and Ron Pearlman play traitorous warriors and are charged with a final misson of seeing a captured witch to trail.

Now the actors themselves i thought were pretty good in this movie. Ron Pearlman throwing the occasional witty remark and Nicolas Cage on usual form. The rest of the cast were also good.

However, the story was a bit flat. A simple trek from a-b with a finale battle (kinda what LOTR should have been) Sure there are a few stops along the way and they meet a few crazy characters (Snatch's Stephen Graham) but not a lot else happened.

My biggest gripe with this movie, and a few people may disagree with this, but it was how dark the film was. I dont mean in a satanic way, in the luminosity way. Now it mught have been the screen i saw it on, or that the film is all set at night, in woods or castles, but some parts i just thought needed more brightness.

Also not really an official point but, was dissapointed in the non-existance of the song: Season Of The Witch by Donovan

Overall: 5/10