Archive for the 'Reviews' Category

Saw this with Kerry and Jed yesterday afternoon after a cracking ‘Hangover Cure’ breakfast at Double Dutch. This being the second in the trilogy it was always going to be the film stuck in the middle. This is slightly noticeable in the film as the sheer amount of quests and sub-quests they’ve managed to cram in to speed the story along is a bit too much. But, put all of that aside and it’s still an awesomely fun movie. Johnny is still up to his usual tricks and gets his character fleshed out a bit more, Orlando is watchable but as dull as a plank and Keira does her usual hot and feisty pirate wench stuff. Jack Davenport makes a good return as a washed up, bitter (ex) Commodore Norrington. Bill Nighy and the CGI team are excellent as Davy Jones, his tentacles and the rest of his crew were some of the best CGI I’ve seen. Likewise for the Kraken, Jones’ pet sea monster that pulls ships down to the Big Black. I would have liked more naval type engagements and less running around with comedy “natives” and sharp sticks, but hey, this isn’t Master & Commander. Throw in a creepy voodoo fortune teller (straight out of Monkey Island), all the English extras from the first film, an evil scheming Empire East India Company and you’re on to a winner. By the time it got near the end I’d forgotten it was a cliff hanger and so was surprised when it suddenly ended! I think that’s a good sign.

Wow, Revolver is a total head-f**k (to put it mildly). It’s a surprisingly cerebral movie for Guy Ritchie and I’ll be honest and say that I Googled for an explanation of the plot as soon as I finished watching. Revolver is absolutely nothing like Lock Stock or Snatch other than it has Jason Statham in it and it’s vaguely about gangsters. Ritchie has definitely matured with this movie and I had to shift my brain out of comedy gangster movie mode and up a notch to take this in. I can’t really describe much of the plot without giving it away but there is lots of voice-over and innner monologue from Jason Statham. André Benjamin (from Outcast) is also very well cast in it and Vegas, as always, makes a gorgeous backdrop. I’d recommend giving it a watch, its central theme about the “ultimate con” is intriguing.

Viggo Mortensen is excellent in this David Cronenberg directed movie. I watched this knowing nothing about the plot and so was pleasantly surprised at the twists and turns it throws at you. The plot is simple but nicely presented and keeps you guessing right until the end. In typical Cronenberg style the move is very raw, and the violence is sudden and explicit, much like The Sopranos. The ending is Hollywood but not too much of a cop-out and leaves you upbeat but still reeling.