DVD REVIEW: A couple of quickies

Been watching quite a lot of films recently, trying to catch up on a lot of the films I missed at the cinema in 2011, so instead of in depth (ha!) reviews of each one, I thought I’d give you a quick mini review instead.

Enjoy!

Super 8

A loving homage to the movies of days-gone-by, this monster mystery caper is brought to life by engaging child actors, and a wholly convincing portrayal of a blossoming friendship/romance between the two child leads, as well as some great natural chemistry between all of the child stars. The slightly rushed final act can’t spoil the build up and intrigue of the majority of the film, even if it isn’t anything we haven’t seen before.

4 stars

Super

An irreverent take on the ‘ordinary bloke becomes a have-a-go (super)hero’ story, which despite brilliant performances from Rainn Wilson and Ellen Page, never truly becomes anything more than average. That is, until the final act when the film is infused with such pathos that it took me completely off guard, and I found myself incredibly emotionally engaged, but then wished that the whole movie had been just as good as the final half hour.

3 stars

Drive

A super cool mood piece, with Ryan Gosling in the role of Driver, a getaway driver for hire that gets caught up in a much bigger plot when he falls for his neighbour. Again, nothing new, but it’s the direction and music that sets it apart, nailing the 80’s neo noir thing it’s going for. And I defy you to find a film with a cooler cold open than this one.

4 stars

Kill List

Bit of an odd one this. As a straight up hitman movie it works for the majority of the running time, with the protagonist pulling off the tortured psycho with aplomb. But when the film takes a turn for the Wicker Man, it starts to lose focus under the weight of its ambition. Demands a rewatch once you see the ending though.

3 stars

Hanna

More of an arthouse movie than the expected assassin action thriller I was expecting. Solid turn from Saiorshe Ronan as the titular Hanna, but a muddled plot bogs down the voyage of (character) discovery. However, a three minute long tracking shot in the middle is a thing of beauty.

2 stars


Submarine

I wanted to love this, but come the end I’m afraid to say I was a bit bored. It seemed to be trying too hard to be as cool as possible, having an all knowing narrator, but comes off like an even smugger version of High Fidelity. Filled with mostly unsympathetic characters and crucially not that funny.

2 stars

Cheers

JC