Wednesday 31 August 2011

CINEMA REVIEW: The Inbetweeners Movie

As a fan of the TV show which I feel brilliantly highlighted the experience of secondary school in a (sort of) true to life way rather than the American high school 90210 hijinks, I approached the movie with some trepidation. Could it be a successful transition of a treasured TV property to the big screen? Or would it be more akin to the misfire of Kevin and Perry Go Large?

It falls somewhere in-between, funnily enough.

Essentially a feature length episode, transporting our foursome on a lads holiday to Malia, it’s filled with the same sort of knob and bodily function gags that the series has become known for. With a lot of swearing thrown in as well. Except in the attempt to make it as accessible to the widest audience as possible in cinemas a lot of the more risqué elements of the TV series have been toned down. I mean, it’s still filthy and utterly vulgar at times, but to me it seemed to have lost some of the edge it had watching on E4. Apparently a lot of cuts had to be made to get the rating down to a more box office friendly 15 rating. I reckon an 18 rated Inbetweeners movie would be far better.

In the TV show there was a joy, a relatable joy, in seeing these 4 guys try and fail and try again to get girls. The template for the movie however is the same as countless other teen coming-of-age stories, and I expected something a bit more cutting from the Inbetweeners. The story, such as it is, revolves around leaving your old life behind and becoming a man. All well and good, but it doesn’t do anything new with the formula except add in some dick jokes. And while it is nice seeing the characters grow up a bit, I just wish it hadn’t done it in quite such a clichéd and well trodden way; Simon spends the whole movie blatantly ignoring the girl he meets on holiday who interested in him because he’s pining after his ex girlfriend Carly, but wouldn’t you know it, by the end realises that he doesn’t want Carly after all but the new girl. It been used so many times its bordering on parody, but here it used as if it’s something we’ve never seen before. In fact, the plot of the movie is basically the same as Superbad, except you have four leads instead of two. It even has the one-friend-realises-that-the-other-friend-is-going-to-uni-and-is-leaving-him-behind scene that Superbad did. However Superbad is a much more consistently funny movie.

Which is the other problem with the movie; it’s not as funny as you might hope. In fact, I can only remember one scene in which I full on belly laughed and that was the dance scene near the start when all of the lads (except Jay) dance over to a group of girls. It’s the sort of cringeworthy but hilarious scene that the TV show had in spades, but the movie only has one of. There’s nothing else that matches it, and certainly nothing as good as punching a fish to death. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still very funny in parts, but the attempts to wring some genuine emotion from the situations ring false and clash horribly with the comedic elements. The TV series meshed the two much better, for example when Jay is dumped the guys can tell he’s gutted and the audience feels bad for him, but his fake excuse for being dumped is hilarious (his penis was too big for her apparently) and yet you still feel bad for him despite his bullshitting.

So overall, it’s good but not great. Worth going to see, but I probably wouldn’t watch it again unlike the TV show, which I could watch countless times.

However, Neil is still comedy gold. And Will is still my favourite character.

2 and a half stars, you bumders.

Tuesday 30 August 2011

TELEVISION REVIEW: Let's Kill Hitler

Boy, it’s good to have Doctor Who back, isn’t it?

Back when the mid season split was announced I thought it would be a bad idea, as the show would lose the momentum it had built up with the first 6 episodes. I shouldn’t have worried. And plus, it made me even more excited for some new Who with the 2 month break in between.

And what an episode to start off with; a frothy, light, fun episode which is the norm for (mid) season openers, but at the same time a mythology heavy episode that answers a hell of a lot of questions. Moffat juggles all these balls, and never once drops one.

From the opening crop circle gag the episode never really slowed down, and I feel it did a much better job revealing the big plot points much better than “A Good Man Goes to War’s” clunky gear shifts. Here they seemed organic to the story rather than the rushed cliffhanger ending of the mid season finale.


The revelation that Mels was actually Amy’s daughter completely caught me (and I assume many others) off guard and is actually the kind of trick Moffat’s been pulling since he took over the reins of Nu Who, especially so this series: “You named you daughter…after your daughter.” It’s the kind of thing I always wished Doctor Who would be but never was in the RTD days – timey-wimey. In a series whose title character is a time traveller, you should expect some paradoxes thrown in their every now and again.

In fact I’ve been thinking just how different these two eras of Who have been. I mean, RTD Who would never have been this complicated, but then Moffat Who will never have anything like the “Here Come the Drums” from the Master episodes way back when. Both were great, but it’s a testament to this new production team that they feel like two completely different shows now, as they should.

Acting wise, Matt Smith has rarely been better, balancing the humour and pathos of the Doctor perfectly and showing (once again) an incredible knack for physical comedy. Alex Kingston has a ball as the newly regenerated River Song, at the start of her story. At this stage I’ve given up trying to work out her timeline though, and am just going with it. I often think the writers have a flow chart in their writing room just to pinpoint exactly where what version of River is where in relation to the Doctor, because it’s very confusing to follow. Oh, and I’m saying this now…River Song? I unabashedly and unashamedly ‘would.’ I wouldn’t even feel bad afterwards. Arthur Darvill as Rory continues to be Who’s secret weapon, and would steal the show if it weren’t for Matt Smith. He makes Amy a better character and often gets all the best lines - “I’m trapped inside a giant robot replica of my wife. I’m really trying not to see this as a metaphor.” Karen Gillan is pretty much the same as always, kind of robotic. Which admittedly worked, at least for some of this episode. Still, she looks good in a skirt though.


We also got a lot of questions answered. Sort of. We now know that The Silence are not a alien race, but rather a religious movement (interesting) searching for the answer to the Question (more interesting); that the little girl who regenerated in New York in The Day of the Moon is River (was that also the girl that was in the spacesuit? And if it was, wouldn’t River know that she had already killed the Doctor by the lake in Utah? Maybe I should get myself that flow chart); that the TARDIS itself was who taught River to fly her; that the Doctor now knows when he’s going to die; and River gets her TARDIS diary from the Doctor himself.

Also, I loved the robot justice system thing, populated by hundreds of little tiny people. Such a great idea (dealing out justice to those from history who have done terrible things), and also they made a reference to JFK. Throwaway? Maybe. But knowing Moffat, probably not. Remember Jacketgate?

In fact the only downside to the episode was that ‘evil’ River was perhaps played a bit too broadly as well as the aforementioned timeline questions. Hopefully we aren’t strung along for too much longer.

All in all though, a fantastic episode. 5 stars from me.

And Hitler’s still in the cupboard!

Tuesday 16 August 2011

CINEMA REVIEW: Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Or ‘Caesar Goes Bananas’ if you’d like.

After Tim Burton’s terribly boring (and confusing) re-imagining of the original Planet of the Apes, the only way this franchise could go was up. And it does so with a reboot/prequel in much the same vein as X-Men First Class from earlier this year; a film that acknowledges the movies that have preceded it but at the same time goes off on a slightly different tangent.


The story concerns the secret offspring of a genetically enhanced smart ape, and his rise in intelligence. And as much as there are actors in the movie, the real star is Caesar. Andy Serkis once again dons the mo-cap suit to bring the lead ape to life, and it’s a stellar performance, full of nuance and subtlety. If there’s a criticism of the movie it’s that we don’t really care for any of the human characters, aside from John Lithgow Alzheimer’s afflicted father to James Franco’s geneticist, and that we only care about Caesar’s plight. Most of the human characters are startlingly one dimensional, especially Frieda Pinto’s thankless girlfriend role, but it doesn’t matter as the interaction between all the apes in the movie is the real meat of it. It’s incredibly enjoyable watching Caesar grow more and more intelligent, and his role as pet, then prisoner, then leader is wholly believable given the things going on around him.

And the treatment dished out to Caesar and the other apes in the facility, makes the inevitable escape and attacks all the more satisfying as they mete out justice to those that have treated them so badly. In fact, in the standout scene of the film where Caesar confronts his main tormentor, and yells “NO!” at him, is undeniably powerful. I also felt is was important that Caesar does not let any of the apes kill anyone, apart from the obvious exceptions, as Caesar is not a vicious animal but just yearning to be something more than a common pet. To have him take out his aggressions on people who had nothing to do with his imprisonment would have lessened our sympathy for him, and we wouldn’t have cared if he achieved is freedom. That we do, is a testament to the acting, especially the facial performance, and also makes the “Caesar is home” line totally believable. You never once think “That monkey’s talking. That’s stupid.” You completely buy into it.


And now, to the action. Awesome. All of it. Watching the escapees go completely (ahem) apeshit on everyone is a joy to behold. It’s a different kind of action scene really, as I can’t remember any recent movie with monkeys fighting the police; the action is able to go to places not normally gone to in action films – the apes climbing above the clouds on the Golden Gate Bridge, as well as swinging under it to outflank the police.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes is nothing new. But it’s probably my favourite blockbuster of the summer, and I would definitely go and see a sequel to this, with the setup provided in the mid credits scene, as well as the credits themselves. And also, any Apes movie that doesn't immediately bring to mind Troy McClure singing "You've Finally Made a Monkey Out Of Me" is a winner in my book.

"Dr Zaius, Dr Zaius"

4 stars.

Monday 15 August 2011

TV's Coolest Moments

So, I reckon I watch TV shows more than I do movies. And TV has had a lot of cool moments, at least in the shows I watch. And I have decided to compile a list of the coolest moments from shows that I watch, although I’ve limited myself to one moment per show as a lot of these programmes have a plethora of cool moments.

And so we start with…

The Adama Manoeuvre, Exodus Part II, Battlestar Galactica

Easily the coolest moment on this (or any) list, the Adama Manoeuvre is without a doubt one of the most powerful images of recent TV history. Watching the Galactica fall like a rock through the atmosphere, launch fighters mid freefall, and then jump out with a mighty thunder clap only about 100 feet from the ground is an amazing moment. In isolation, it might just look like another action scene, but with the previous 4 episodes in the New Caprica arc (and hell, most of the series thus far) behind it, it’s a real punch the air, hell yeah moment of Cylon arse kicking, and an extremely cathartic moment too after all the settlers have gone through. The Galactica has come to save the day. As Hotdog says “This oughta be different.”






Runner up: The pre titles part of He That Believeth In Me. Adama shot fake out, massive space battle, Anders eye glowing red.

“Second best,” Enemies, Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Faith (now evil) has taken Angel’s soul turning him into evil Angelus once more, or has she? I remember watching this for the first time on BBC2 back in 1998 (whoa!) and it hasn’t really lost any of its impact. The moment Angel says ‘second best,’ after Faith claiming she’s the best actor in the world, you can’t help but smile. It actually still gives me goosebumps, as for the whole episode I really did believe that they’d turned Angel again. It’s a neat clever twist; one that normally doesn’t happen mid season in TV shows, and for that reason it makes the list.

Runner up: “I’d like to test that theory.”

“Guys? I know kung fu,” Chuck versus The Ring, Chuck

I think we all know why this makes the list. If you weren’t smiling as Chuck takes out a room of bad guys, after uploading a new fancier Intersect in the season 2 finale, then there’s something wrong with you. It’s a gloriously silly moment in a gloriously silly spy show, and it references one of the coolest movies of the past 20 years. In fact, it knows it’s such a cool moment that it does it again in the fourth season.



Runner up: From the same episode actually, Jeffster performing at Ellie and Awesome’s wedding, while a shootout is going on in the other room, marrying together the silly and the serious perfectly.

“And yet somehow, I just can’t seem to care,” Reunion, Angel

“Angel’s gonna save the day, all is well. Wait, what? Oh damn, that’s cold.” Pretty much my reaction to viewing this episode; it takes Angel (the character) to the darkest we’ve ever seen him while not Angelus, as well as sets up the theme for the rest of the series. It’s a great moment because you know the Wolfram and Hart lawyers deserve what they’re getting, but still you don’t expect Angel to just close the door on them and walk away. Or walk to his car and then drive away. And this is the hero of the show.


Runner up: “Can you fly?”

Alternate credits, Peter, Fringe

Fringe isn’t really a show that lends itself to coolness. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a fantastic show, but it’s not what anyone would call cool. But when the show had a flashback episode to 1985, the makers decide to mix up the credits a bit to give them an eighties feel. So instead of the usual Fringe titles, which have phrases like ‘precognition’ and ‘teleportation,’ we have a nifty little then-fringe science terms like ‘virtual reality,’ ‘genetic engineering’ and ‘personal computing’ as well as the Fringe logo being in Asimov font as opposed to the usual typeface.



Runner up: the introduction of the Over There Fringe division in the first part of the season 2 finale, complete with cool Broyles, an alive Charlie, and a gorgeous redheaded Olivia.

‘Clark’ flying, Exodus, Smallville

Ok, so it’s not actually Clark, it’s Kal-El (sort of), but it’s a great moment, finally seeing him take to the air. And it neatly sidesteps the no-tights, no flight rule of Smallville by it not actually being Clark. The FX are top notch in this sequence, as we see Clark flying alongside Lex’s plane, rip the door off and retrieve a crystal (or something, I can’t remember), and it continues the tradition of Smallville having great season openers (and finales). They even get a paraphrased ‘is it a bird?’ bit in.


Runner up: Clark rushing into the tornado to save Lana. Awesome.

Jack takes down Gaines, Day 1 11.00-12.00, 24

We’ve seen Jack do some cool thing so far into the first series (in fact just an episode before we’ve seen him threaten one of Ira Gaines’ men with a towel), but this is the first time we’ve seen Jack properly in action, guns-a-blazing. And it’s awesome. I reckon this scene has more impact because of that very reason, it’s our first big Jack Bauer action scene, which would become common place for the next 8 series, but this whole sequence ending in the killing of Gaines is superb.

Runner up: Jack shooting Nina in cold blood in the spot she killed his wife two seasons previous.

The Oncoming Storm, Bad Wolf, Doctor Who

"This is what I'm gonna do - I'm gonna rescue her! I'm gonna save Rose Tyler from the middle of the Dalek fleet, and then I'm gonna save the Earth, and *then* - just to finish you off - I'm gonna wipe every last stinking Dalek out of the sky. Rose? I’m coming to get you.”

Runner up: Rory’s message to the Cyber fleet. “Do you want me to repeat the question?”

“See you in another life, brother,” Man of Science, Man of Faith, Lost

Alright, season 2 of Lost. Let’s see what’s in the hatch. Wait, what’s this? Some dude waking up, pushing some numbers into a computer. Well, it’s an old computer, and he’s just put a record on; this must be a flashback. Hmmm, he’s injecting himself with something, what’s that logo say? Dharma? Oh, there’s a loud bang from somewhere. He’s tooling up, some heavy duty equipment in this place. Wonder who’s trying to get in…holy shit, its Jack and Locke. Well played, Lost. Very well played.



Runner up: “We have to go back”!


So, there's mine. Care to share yours?


JC

Thursday 4 August 2011

CINEMA REVIEW - Captain America: The First Avenger

I wasn’t too bothered about Captain America to be honest. As a character on the page, he’s almost as boring as Superman, so my hopes for a movie weren’t too high. But in my excitement and desire to see every pre-Avengers movie, I figured I may as well see it.

And I’m glad I did. It was terrific.

Despite being yet another origin story, this one doesn’t feel stale at all. Partly down to the different setting, but I think mainly down to the fact that the character of Steve Rogers volunteers for the process that turns him into a super soldier. It’s not some random act of fate that turns him into a superhero, (a la Spiderman) nor it is something he was born with (like Supes), it’s something he signs up for, and it’s all the more interesting for it. The character is an easy one to like as well; he’s the underdog and doesn’t have the ‘giving up’ gene. He tries, he fails, and he tries again and again, and it really endears him to the audience. He a good guy, and he desperately wants to fight but he’s not cut out for the army. In a nice little scene early on, he says that he doesn’t want to kill anyone; just that he doesn’t like bullies and it’s this spirit that drives the scientist character (can’t remember the name, but the actor’s Stanley Tucci) to enlist him in the super soldier programme, as he doesn’t just want a strong man, but a good man. So, despite me feeling that Cap is a boring character to read (and I think it might be partly due to always seeing him as Cap, never as Steve Rogers), to watch him be brought to life and the journey that he goes through, from weakling to superhero is pretty powerful, and rather affecting. Another scene during the super soldier process has the scientists, including Howard Stark, worry that the process is too painful and are about to shut it down, when Steve screams from within the chamber not to stop, and that he can take it, really shows the inner strength of the character. The rest of the supporting cast are all great as well, with standouts being Tommy Lee Jones’ stereotypical Army General (imagine a grumpier funnier Agent K, and you’re pretty much there) and Hugo Weaving’s Red Skull (as a Nazi so mental, the other Nazis fear him) who both ham it up a good deal but are fun characters nonetheless. However, I was a bit disappointed that Neal McDonagh (a great character actor) didn’t get more to do a Dum Dum Dugan.




The film has a real retro futuristic feel running throughout it, with the weapons and vehicles used by the Red Skull’s troops being kind of science fiction-y yet in a period setting. In fact the film I was thinking it was very similar to while watching it was The Rocketeer which it turns out, as I discovered later, was by the same director, and the same hallmarks that made The Rocketeer such a distinctive looking movie are here too. The colour palette of the film is quite brown and earthy, but then in the middle of it all you’ve got the red, white and blue of Cap running through a scene. It shouldn’t work, but it does, in much the same way that a dude with a rocket pack in the 50’s shouldn’t work but does*. Normally, when describing a comic book movie, the phrase ‘it embraces it’s comic book roots’ is used to defend the film against accusations that it looks stupid. I feel it’s the opposite here, especially when you have a character running around in a costume essentially made out of a flag, you have to fully go for it, or risk going halfway and failing. In fact the film gives Cap his suit in a rather ingenious way; by using him first of all as a propaganda tool, the suit he’s given is a bit stupid and garish (while at the same time satirising the original Captain America comics, which were sort a propaganda tool in themselves) and when he eventually starts actually fighting, the costume sticks and as such neatly sidesteps all accusations of looking stupid. It’s a clever little trick, and it works superbly.

* maybe that’s just me though, cause I freaking love The Rocketeer.

The effects in the movie work for the most part although there’s some dodgy work in a scene with a speeding train, as well as a bit with the Red Skull’s car, but the rest of the effects have a sort of retro charm to them that fits with the tone of the movie. They’re not photo real let’s say, but they look sort of like a wartime poster brought to life. I can’t really explain it very well but hopefully if you’ve seen the movie you know what I mean. It’s very Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow looking except, you know, not shit.




Also, for the first 45 minutes of the movie Chris Evans is made to look like a 90 pound weakling, and the effect, which from the trailers looked as though it could be pretty embarrassing, is actually really well used, with only one instance where it looks as though the CG folks have gotten his height wrong. It still looks a little odd with Chris Evans face pasted onto a small body, considering you know what he normally looks like, but it’s not like The Rock/Scorpion King bad or anything.



Most of the fight sequences are well done although there’s nothing especially innovative to them, but they’re still pretty exciting. A jailbreak sequence is probably the standout once Cap dons his costume, but the best scene actually arrives just after he given the super serum, chasing down the Nazi spy of foot, using a car door as a makeshift shield (after previously using a bin lid), and finishing up with an underwater scene. A neat little touch in this sequence was the bad guy throwing a little child in the water, usually the point in most movies where the hero would choose to save the child over chasing the villain, but here the child says “Go after him, I can swim.”





As this movie is another entry into the pre-Avengers catalogue we have another game of spot the connections. People have moaned before that these attempts at cross pollination have hampered the stand alone film, and to some extent I’d agree, especially with Iron Man 2 (although I still loved it) but in Captain America the little hints were much more subtle, and I applaud Marvel for that. So, for example, the glowy blue thing that powered the Red Skull weapons was actually an artefact from Asgard and also acts as a precursor for Iron Man’s eventual repulsor rays was nifty. There were more, but I can’t remember them right now, but they were much better implemented this time round.

In fact the only thing I have a problem with is the ending scene, which is set in the present day with Cap waking up after being frozen for the past 70 years following his fight with Red Skull and crashing his ship. It is completely out of step with the rest of the film, and actually destroys the ending of the previous scene which ended on a bittersweet note with Cap saying goodbye to his love interest, Peggy Carter. What should have been a moment of happiness for Cap as he’s defeated his enemy and saved the day (even if he’s presumably going to die in doing so), actually becomes very depressing as he’s now in the future, very much alive, and everything he fought for has gone. The last line is actually one of regret that he never got to dance with Peggy, and then BOOM roll credits. It felt out of place, and solely there to set up The Avengers. In fact I think it would have worked better as the opening to that movie, not the ending to this.


And for anyone not intending to see the film, because they think it’ll be an ‘America, Fuck Yeah!’ kind of movie, it’s really not. Cap fights as an American, but not necessarily for America. It’s a worldwide, boys-own adventure caper. A bright, breezy and most importantly fun summer movie. So overall, highly enjoyable and my favourite pre-Avengers movie since the first Iron Man

4 stars

Wednesday 3 August 2011

Slave (1) to a Franchise







An apology for the title, but it’s an apt description. Is there any movie or television series that owns your immortal soul? I know the one that owns mine probably owns a lot of folks.

And that franchise is…Star Wars. I know, shock horror!
I love it. I mean really love it. Despite the lacklustre prequels and several duff entries into the Star Wars universe, it’s still the one franchise I’ve probably bought the most stuff of/from. Saying that though, I’m not by any stretch a hardcore Star Wars fan. I’m not hugely into the expanded universe stuff, but I do enjoy some of it.

So, here’s the list:

Obviously I own all six of the movies. Only 3 and a half of which are any good.


I own the animated Clone Wars series (the Gendy Tartovsky one) and I urge any Star Wars fan to seek it out, even if you’re not a prequel fan. It’s especially notable as it shows Grievous out to be an absolute badass, something only alluded to in Revenge of the Sith but never shown on screen.

I own the other animated Clone Wars series, which after a disappointing start really came into its own and is in my opinion probably better than the prequel movies themselves. It’s certainly more fun anyway, and it can get away with lines that real actors would sound stupid saying (see: prequels). In particular there is a three episode arc involving and old flame of Obi Wan’s which has more emotion in it in 40 minutes than the entire relationship between Anakin and Padme in the actual movies.

I have had several Star Wars games in the past, including The Force Unleashed and both Battlefronts. As well as Rebel Assault II back in the Playstation days.

I own two lightsabres. Not real ones, like.

I have a dozen or so action figures.

I have a box full of Star Wars miniatures, which is a Warhammer style game that my good friend Adam Fox (another Star Wars aficionado) got me into.

I have a couple of Star Wars novels. I recommend Death Troopers. Star Wars + zombies = awesomeness.

And I also have a lot of Star Wars related t-shirts, which are amongst my favourites of all the nerdy t-shirts I own.

So, there’s my confession. Are any of you acolytes to any fictional universes?

[pictures to follow]