Sky Movies Reviews - Nowhere Boy & Antichrist

NOWHERE BOY

Stars: Aaron Johnson, Kristin Scott Thomas, David Threlfall | Written by Matt Greenhalgh | Directed by Sam Taylor-Wood

Before donning that now iconic green wet suit and finding fame as the titular wannabe superhero Kick-Ass, Aaron Johnson starred in this biopic of the early life of John Lennon. After the death of his beloved uncle, Lennon, who has been raised by his stoic, strict, but ultimately loving aunt Mimi, encounters his estranged mother, who introduces him to the life-changing power of rock and roll and its king, Elvis Presley. Soon Lennon finds himself forced to choose between the woman who raised him and his mother. There’s also the small matter of the aspiring skiffle outfit Lennon’s been putting together to discuss too…

The film suffers from being somewhat dated before even a frame of it was shot: the broken family may have been controversial and shocking in the 1940s and 50s, but seems a much more trivial central dramatic device today, thus its hard to emphasise with the guilt, shame and anger of the character when familial secrets are revealed. There are also a few instances of very clunky dialogue and the film often runs the risk of trivialising Lennon rather than humanising him in its kitchen sink drama. That said, the film really picks up when Lennon starts his band. Thomas Sangster is really, really good as Paul McCartney and both he and Johnson nail the strange relationship between their characters perfectly. The latter is also decent in his first headlining role and Kirsten Scott Thomas is predictably brilliant as aunt Mimi. Despite being somewhat old hat at times, Nowhere Boy is an intriguing portrait of one of the most iconic musicians that ever lived.

Nowhere Boy is now showing on Sky Box Office.

ANTICHRIST

Stars: Willem Dafoe, Charlotte Gainsbourg | Written and Directed by Lars Von Trier

Misogynist? Controversial? Shocking? Beautiful? Genius? Nonsense? Sickening? Lars von Trier’s now infamous horror flick could be called all of these things and none of them. Indeed, no two people are likely to have the same response to the film, as indicated by its almost exactly even split down the middle of opinion on Rotten Tomatoes.

After their infant child falls to his death whilst they are making love, a couple (Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg, referred to only as ‘She’ and ‘He’) retreat to a cabin in the woods so that the psychiatrist husband can attempt to treat his grief-stricken wife. Things do not go well. What follows is a study in grief and fear, sex and violence, good and evil, men and women. Probably. Either that, or director von Trier simply performs an exercise in which tries to upset as many people as possible and get himself off The Daily Mail’s Christmas card list for good.

From its themes to its reception, conflict is central to Antichrist; perhaps best portrayed in its implementation of beautiful cinematography coupled with some of the most horrendous depictions of violence imaginable, up to and including genital mutilation. It’s a tough ride and far from what I would describe as ‘fun’, but you’re unlikely to catch anything quite as unusual and unique as Antichrist on TV for a while. Just don’t watch it with your gran, eh?

http://www.blogomatic3000.com/2010/08/09/sky-movies-reviews-nowhere-boy-antichrist/

Sky Movies Reviews - Adventureland & The Final Destination

ADVENTURELAND

Stars: Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Ryan Reynolds, Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig | Written and Directed by Greg Mottola

Adventureland boasts a cast consisting of Kristen Stewart, idol of millions of tweenage girls, Hollywood’s most likable actor, Ryan Reynolds and the surely-destined-for-the-A-list-post-The-Social-Network wunderkind, Jesse Eisenberg. There’s also support from the riotously funny Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig. Could this be the best cast of 2009?

James (Eisenberg) finds himself working at the titular theme park in the summer of 1987 in order to raise cash for a post-graduate course in New York. There he meets a variety of freaks and geeks including the sardonic Joel (Martin Starr) and the beguiling Em (Stewart). He begins a tentative relationship with the latter and the film follows their ups and downs and, much like in director Greg Mottola’s previous film,Superbad, its lead character’s quest to lose his virginity. While Superbad was bold and crass, Adventureland is rather a sensitive and touching portrayal of young love and growing up. It may sound schmaltzy, but the film is enticing as its female lead and its better than average script is more than done justice by its uniformly excellent cast. Highly recommended.

THE FINAL DESTINATION

Stars: Bobby Campo, Shantel VanSanten, Nick Zano, Haley Webb, Mykelti Williamson | Written by Eric Bress | Directed by David R. Ellis

Through a random bout of precognition, twenty-something Nick (Bobby Campo) is able to save his friends and several strangers from a grisly demise when things go horribly tits up at a car race they are watching. As ever in this franchise, however, it seems fate is unwilling to allow the survivors to live and they begin to meet their maker in a variety of unlikely ways, usually involving flammable liquids.

From its gleefully unpleasant titles onwards, The Final Destination is a tongue in cheek, cheap and cheerful splatter-fest that should please fans of the genre no end. Acting and dialogue are from priority number one here; instead, director David R Ellis keeps us guessing as to the manner in which his hapless victims are dispatched with the dial firmly set to the position marked ‘fun’. The only major quibble I had with the film was its all too obvious 3D gimmicks – a snake striking at the audience for example – which were probably exciting in the cinema, though they are lost on a home audience. Ah well.

http://www.blogomatic3000.com/2010/08/05/sky-movies-review-adventureland-the-final-destination/

Sky Movies Reviews - Bruno & This Is It

BRUNO

Stars: Sacha Baron Cohen, Gustaf Hammarsten, Clifford Bañagale | Written by Sacha Baron Cohen & Anthony Hines | Directed by Larry Charles

Sacha Baron Cohen returns to strike fear into the hearts of conservative Americans in Brüno, his latest character to be immortalised in a mockumnetary feature film. Brüno is a gay, tactless Austrian fashion TV presenter and Cohen uses this character to expose prejudice and idiocy wherever he goes, particularly distressing, for example, are the fame-hungry parents willing to debase their children for one of Brüno’s projects.

There are times when I genuinely feared for Cohen’s safety – in his Middle East escapade and in the climatic wrestling scene – which can only be a good thing for a comedy extremist. Some of the scenes are a little too obviously scripted (the swinger’s party for example) and some of the shock value is undermined by having been previously exposed to Cohen’s previous film, Borat. Nonetheless, Brüno is a hilarity-fuelled laugh riot, though be warned: some may find the boundaries of good taste pushed a little too hard.

Brüno is now showing on Sky Movies and Sky Player

MICHAEL JACKSON’S THIS IS IT

Stars: Michael Jackson | Directed by Kenny Ortega

Then we have Michael Jackson’s This Is It, which consists of footage from the rehearsals of Jackson’s fifty night stand at the O2 before his death last year. However you feel about the man and his music, This Is It is curiously fascinating. No doubt the production in all its glory would have been a superlative spectacle.

There is a quaint feeling that you’re watching a very long bonus feature for a film that was never made and whether or not Jackson himself, evidently something of a perfectionist, would have been happy to have people see his work in progress is open to debate. The film is also sickeningly saccharine at times. However, the main pleasure is in seeing Jackson, seemingly at peace and enjoying himself, throwing himself into the creation of his art and acting like a child in a sweet shop in regard to the breathtaking stage production. A strange and fascinating tribute to a strange and fascinating man.

Michael Jackson’s This Is It is now showing on Sky Movies and Sky Player

http://www.blogomatic3000.com/2010/07/04/sky-movies-review-bruno-this-is-it/

Sky Movies Reviews - Angels and Demons & The Wolfman

ANGELS AND DEMONS

Stars: Tom Hanks, Ewan McGregor, Ayelet Zurer, Stellan Skarsgard | Written by David Koepp and Akiva Goldsman | Directed by Ron Howard

Science and religion go head-to-head in a one-on-one, winner take all smackdown in Ron Howard’s sequel to The Da Vinci Code, Angels and Demons. Tom Hanks returns as the man with the made up job, ‘symbologist’ Robert Langdon, who, as in all of Dan Brown’s novels (actually, I’ve not had the ‘pleasure’ of reading his latest, so I could be wrong…), has a matter of hours to solve clues and uncover a mystery whilst evading a cold-blooded assassin. This time, Langdon is helping out the Vatican, under threat by the Illuminati, who have an anti-matter bomb, developed, in a timely fashion, at CERN.

Angels and Demons provides old school thrills and spills and boasts two incredibly watchable stars in Hanks and Ewan McGregor – as a helicopter flying priest, no less. Whilst the ideological battle at the heart of the film is unlikely to trouble your brain cells too much, this carefree caper will entertain in a harmless and inoffensive manner. Despite its many flaws – particularly amusing is the character’s persistent habit of dumping large chunks of exposition on each other and attempting to pass it off as dialogue – Angels and Demons crucially never takes itself too seriously and for maximum enjoyment, neither should you.

Angels and Demons is now showing on Sky Movies and is also available on Sky Player.

THE WOLFMAN

Stars: Benicio Del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, Emily Blunt | Written by Andrew Kevin Walker and David Self | Directed by Joe Johnston

Also to be filed under ‘frothy but fun popcorn fodder’ is The Wolfman, in which Benicio Del Toro is bitten by the titular beast and consequently develops anger management problems and bad hair days once a month. Co-starring are Anthony Hopkins as Del Toro’s weirdo dad, Emily Blunt as recently bereaved love-interest and the magnificent Hugo Weaving as the policeman on Del Toro’s tail.

There are some wonderfully cheap and cheerful gore effects that are amusingly OTT. The film has a fun penchant for the off-beat, as dalliances with gypsies and larks in a lunatic asylum belie. The only really troubling flaws are Hopkins’ strangely crap performance and the scattershot plotting. I would have also mentioned the delightfully naff make-up effects, but they’re more a source of amusement than derision and still better than Twilight’s appalling CGI werewolves.

The Wolfman is now showing on Sky Box Office.

http://www.blogomatic3000.com/2010/07/04/sky-movies-review-angels-and-demons-the-wolfman/