The Best Movies Of 2009

Another year. Another best of list. This list feature the 20 movies that I made the strongest connection to during 2009. It may include movies that were produced in previous years, but I've included them for 2009, as that's when I saw them first.

As ever, these films are rated by how they have affected me personally. I don't look at these movies with the dispassionate eye of a seasoned movie critic. Rather, I look at how these movies have satisfied the inner geek that is unique to me.

I look at the entertainment factor of each film...how much a movie thrilled me, made me laugh, moved me emotionally, stimulated me artistically or made me think.
I look at the re-watchability factor...do I want to watch this movie again and again?
Then there's the longevity factor. Will I like this movie in a year's time? Or in ten years time...or am I just taken in by the hype (The Roger Rabbit syndrome)?

So in reverse order, my pick of 2009 is:-

20/ Halloween II.
Rob Zombie improves upon his 2007 remake and delivers an unrelentingly savage addition to the slasher genre. An under appreciated auteur. But an auteur, with a distinct vision, never the less.

19/ Trick r Treat
Brilliant horror anthology with a great cast, clever script and some inventive, old-school Amblin-style direction.They do make 'em like this anymore.

18/ Martyrs.
Torture porn with a brain...Martyrs proved that the reigning kings of cinematic horror on the planet are the French. A dazzling script that constantly changes direction and gorno taken to new levels. If you're not fazed by the excesses of modern horror, here's one to make you go, "That's some fucked up shit!"

17/ The Hurt Locker
Director Kathryn Bigelow's stunning comeback with the best contemporary war movie since Blackhawk Down. It's a compelling, three pronged character study, framed with a series of THE most tense set-pieces of the year.

16/ Harry Brown
Michael Caine just gets better with every year he's working and delivers a career best performance in this minimalist, contemporary urban western. Sleek of script, gritty in tone and glossy in execution...the best Brit movie of 2009.

15/ Up
Pixar deliver another classic mixing action, humour and adventure in a story that appeals to all ages. The emotional depth the company brings to animation is amazing, as demonstrated by the mournful sadness experienced by the aging Carl, the films unlikely hero.

14/ Where The Wild Things Are
Spike Jonze's arthouse children's adaptation sucks you into the mindset of a child from beginning to end. This years movie that, yet again, it isn't style over substance...the style IS the substance. Great to see a director using cinematic techniques to enhance what's in the script.

13/ Terminator Salvation
Perhaps the most controversial movie choice in the top 20. This is a face-paced, post-apocalyptic actioner that doesn't embarrass itself in front of its two Cameron predecessors. Although flawed by not living up to its full promise, Salvation is one of the few summer blockbusters that demands to be rewatched.

12/ Crank 2: High Voltage
The original looks like The French Connection in comparison. Take the unhinged minds of directors Nevildine & Taylor, detatch any sense of conventional logic...then let rip. The most quotable film of 2009 ("Bing Crosby!")that is worth the ticket price alone for the Chevzilla sequence. Like Evil Dead or Braindead before it, this is a celebration of unrestrained imagination.

11/ Black Dynamite
Low budget, homage to 70's blackspoitation, Black Dynamite is constantly surprising from start to end. It's completely faithful to the Shaft look in all respects, very very funny and gets more insane as it progresses.

And now for the top ten. Unlike previous years, 2009 contains a selection that fully deserves to be up there.

10/ Paranormal Activity
That rare beast; a horror film that's genuinely scary. Combining the 'Blair Witch' hand held factor with a traditional haunted house tale...and setting it in a modern house with an everyday, easy-to-relate-to couple. White knuckles and puckered sphincters are the consequence.

9/ Valkyrie
Tom Cruise, Bryan Singer and an all-star cast team-up for this gripping World War 2 thriller. Low on action but uncomfortably high on nail biting set pieces, this is as tense as it is historically revealing. Cruise continues his run of quality movies that began with 1993's The Firm.

8/ Moon
Old school 70's science fiction makes a welcome return in Duncan Jones's low budget drama. Although limited to one actor and a few sets, the story explores familiar sci-fi ground in a haunting new way.

7/ Zombieland
Combining tips of how to survive a Zombie apocalypse with interwoven stories of humorous, mess-up cynics was a masterstroke. The gags stand up to repeated viewing, the song selection is amazing and the characters endearing and moving. Plus THAT Bill Murray cameo.

6/ Inglorious Basterds
Quentin Tarantino's best movie since Pulp Fiction. Filmed with the skill of an old school Hollywood pro combined with the language of a cult film geek, this is QT at his best. The script is lean yet multi-layered, Melanie Laurent is a talent to watch, Brad is funny as hell while Christopher Waltz blows everybody else away.

5/ Drag Me To Hell
Sam Raimi's return to form following his roaming the wastelands of drama and super-heroes. The master shows just how it should be done with loud, jumpy noises, swirling camerawork, a demented gypsy...and a leading lady he takes pride in putting through the emotional, and physical, wringer. Demented in a way most other directors can only dream of.

4/ District 9
Another stunning reinvention of the science fiction concept of first contact, Neil Blompkamp gives us the bizarre insect-like alien 'Prawns',lays heavily on the apartide references, and delivers the story in a semi-documentary style. Despite sci-fi trappings and social commentary, the movie never loses focus on the characters...even the bug eyed ones.

3/ Watchmen



Faithful adaptation of Alan Moore's landmark graphic novel, Watchmen was rich and uncompromising. Like last years Dark Knight, Watchmen deconstructed the superhero genre by exploring a variety of masked heroes with differing morality. Dark, blackly comic with Zack Snyder impeccably framed visuals. A movie so dense it demands multiple viewings.

2/ Avatar



That rare movie that occurs once or twice a decade that blasts off your eyeballs with it's imagination capturing genius and groundbreaking quality visuals. After 12 years absent from narrative film-making, James Cameron can still pen and direct an action blockbuster along with the best of them...only then to combine it with the smarts of an Oscar worthy movie. Zoe Saldana shines through the astonishing CGI make-up while Cameron's big action set-piece bashes your brain until your balls throb. It doesn't hurt that it riffs on his own classic, Aliens, as well.

1/ Star Trek



Simply the most emotionally involving, exciting and re-watchable movie of the year. The script is an astonishing accomplishment, juggling reinvention, multiple character arcs, along with established Trek lore. JJ Abrams is a director who's found his feet and is proving it to the world. The whole cast are exceptional, especially Pine and Saldana whose careers start big-time here....the whole cast portray a group of characters you want to spend more and more time with, even after the movie's ended. The photography is utterly fresh and the score is untouchably good.

So why's it better than Avatar? I've always believed that if you strip away all the special effects away from a blockbuster, if whatever remains is still compelling, then you've got yourself a great movie. And it's the character interactions that pull you in, and keep you hypnotised. Two of the most powerful moments in the movie revolve around George Kirk and Amanda Grayson dying. Despite only being onscreen a few minutes each, the impact is a swift kick to the danglies. A movie that gets better with every viewing, it was supposed to be an improvement on what had gone before, but this incarnation of Star Trek is ridiculously entertaining.


Films that didn't quite make it were:-
State of Play, District B-13:Ultimatum, Knowing, Duplicity and Harry Potter & The Half Blood Prince.

Special mention has to go to "GI:Joe" and "2012" for not sucking as much as they appeared in their pre-release advertising campaigns. Not often, but sometimes, dumb IS fun.

The Worst Movies Of 2009

Due to popular demand, here are the my worst movies of 2009. They represent those films that are either poor and amateurish in execution, have stories that are impenetrable, that have creative choices that fail to entertain, emotionally move or stimulate any intellectual connection with the viewer.

The bad films are really, really boring. The worst of the bad films are so misjudged, the films demand you hate them. Here they are in reverse order:-

10/ Mega Shark Vs Giant Octopus
An appallingly acted, shot and produced exploitation flick. It's not higher on this list due to the inclusion of perhaps the greatest, single scene in any movie of 2009.

9/ Stan Helsing
Will someone eradicate the writers of the Scary Movie franchise so they can't hurt us anymore?

8/ My Bloody Valentine
Well produced but exceptionally predictable studio slasher.

7/ Laid To Rest
Cheapo slasher movie. The Sarah Connor Chronicles Thomas Dekkar and Lena Heady were supposed to help us make sense of all this. But, they're barely in this non-sensical mess.

6/ Thick As Thieves
From the director of The Peacemaker and starring Morgan Freeman....together they've created the cure for insomnia. Nothing happens. Very slowly.

5/ Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
Twentieth Century Fox destroy one of their own franchises by draining any remaining quality out of the tired animation series. Endlessly irritating in it's bland predictability. When even the Scrat sequences are no longer funny, you know there's an inept studio head laughing his ass off at you forking out a tenner to watch this shit.

4/ Lesbian Vampire Killers
Even the appearance of the lesbian vampires couldn't save this. Neither a comedy, nor a horror. Note to all who venture here: Horne & Corden = Not funny.

3/ Staunton Hill
Just because you have a small budget for a horror movie, doesn't mean you have to settle for less. Just ask Zombie maestro, George A Romero. Unfortunately, his offspring Cameron didn't. Hence, this frustratingly amateurish dungpile.

2/ Twilight
Although release in 2008, I had the misfortune to watch this horrible teen romance in 2009...thus it makes the 2009 list.
Boring, predictable and dull in a way that words cannot describe...even with the presence of vampires that glitter (for fucks sake!) Romantic it might seem on paper, but spending two hours with such selfish, angst ridden teens makes for a miserable experience. Can boring, unintentionally funny and suicidally irritating exist in the same motion picture? It does here.

1/ X-Men Origins: Wolverine



A complete "Fox" up on every level. Telling an unnecessary story (as it had been told in Bryan Singer's X2), Wolverine is the poster-boy for studio interference. There's mutant characters shoved into the mix for no reason, sub-standard FX (Logan's wobbly claws/Patrick Stewarts CG pancake face), unconvincing story elements (er, he keeps his trademark leather jacket after meeting two friendly pensioners for a couple of hours. Yeah right.) Then there's terrible casting (Gambit, fuck off), stupendously dull Canadian locales, a wasted opportunity with the title sequence and small-scale, unmemorable action sequences.

Casting Ryan Reynolds as the wise-cracking Deadpool was inspired. Trust Fox to make the poor bastard mute for the majority of his appearance! The biggest crime goes to star Hugh Jackman who delivers an stereotypical, angry, strong, silent type as Wolverine. Shame, cause he'd previously given Wolvie a sympathetic and amusingly cynical edge. The twat.
A frustratingly irritating movie in all respects. And when you're aware that Brett Ratner's X-men 3 is so much better, your brain just wants to leap out of your skull and throttle your eyeballs. Utter shit.

Kicking Mandela In The Scrumage

Director Clint Eastwood, reunites with star Morgan Freeman for Invictus, an Oscar baiting account of Nelson Mandela's influence on South Africa's Rugby team winning the 1995 Rugby World Cup.

However, nobody has worked hard enough to deserve Oscar's attention. The story is rather flat and rarely presents events that are unexpected. Worst though is how it ignores character at the expense of recreating historical events. Freeman is fine (but not outstanding) as Mandela but you never get sucked into any kind of journey the man undertakes as he rebuilds his fractured country. One feels sorry for poor Matt Damon though, as the Rugby captain charged with winning the world cup. He only has a few scenes in the movies...and even then is given nothing substantial to work with.

At over two hours this is an overlong affair that can't justify it's run time considering it's weak content. It being an Eastwood movie, it's watchable and well made (the recreation of 90's South Africa is impressive)...but is a dry, passionless affair that doesn't even come alive in the climatic sports sequences.
Given the potential this story presented (merging politics with the little seen Rugby, in movies), Clint dropped the ball big time. Pun intended.

Diggin' That Dagobah Groove

It's Christmas-time, which means it's time to break out a Star Wars movie. This year it's the turn of the best of the lot, in The Empire Strikes Back.

Is still the best as it's darker, both visually...check out that lush, noirish photography, and story-wise...as the good guys are hiding and on the run the entire movie. As a kid, I used to prefer the action orientated Han Solo stuff over the talky Dagobah training sequences with Yoda. However, as an adult you realise the Jedi training forms the meat of the Star Wars Saga, while the asteroid chase is its sugar coated (nah, make that cocaine coated) icing-on-the-cake.

The story structure is daring, with the huge, memorable sequences occurring in the movie's first half. Thankfully, the second half is where the dramatic centre is situated with Lando's betrayal of Han... "I love You"..."I know.".... "No, There is another"...."Luke, I am your father!"...all bound together by Irvin Kershners assured direction and John Williams career best score (along with Raiders, nothing touches this).

The design of the Star Wars universe is richer in this sequel while the art direction on the special effects is some of the best committed to film. In terms of quality, we've had Jurassic Park, Lord of the Rings and Avatar since...but the composition and lighting of the Hoth Battle, the asteroid chase and the sunset visas of Cloud City take some beating...30 years later.

A minor quibble is the 1997 special edition version of this movie. While the clean-up of the print is welcome, along with the seamlessly integrated new digital effects, the re-edit at the film's climax is disruptive and poorly done. In the original version The Falcon rushes back to Cloud City to save a dangling Luke. In the new version, Lucas inter cuts this with 3/4 shots of Vader boarding a shuttle to return to his Star Destroyer. It's a real pain! Just as the tensions building, the movie stops to show a bloke catching a plane. Who cares about Greedo shooting first. This is a worse crime!

Still, it still can't stop this from being one of my top 5 movies of all time. Legendary.

Why So Serious?...Because It's Better That Way

The Dark Knight, Christopher Nolan's follow up to his own Batman Begins, is quite simply one of the best films of the decade. Of course, it being so good, means that I feel compelled to watch this quite frequently. As such I'm not going to drone on about why it's so incredible today, but rather blog something more substantial when I watch it for the 83rd time in 2010.

In short, though, all creative parties are working at the very peak of their game...from the soundtrack guys, to the poster guys, to the casting guys. Everyone.
Special mention to Heath Ledger, who portrays the Joker here, for delivering a truly mesmerizing/disturbing interpretation of the disturbed arch-villain.
Also, Christopher and Jonathan Nolan's script is a wonder to behold. It's a staggering balancing act that juggles multiple character arcs, regular action sequences, comic book mythology and a rich, multi-layer subtext that explores morality in life, politics and sociology. It possesses that rare philosophical insight into the tension between order and chaos & between right and wrong...while never sacrificing the momentum of a darn riveting yarn. It also dares to present a bleak ending for the story while tonally leaving us on a complete high.

Damned near perfect.

Oh, and after watching this and its predecessor recently, The Dark Knight is the better film. It has a more realistic feeling than Batman Begins, more subtlety in it's scripting and other creative choices (lighting/set-design) while still working on a mythic level.

Return of the Devil's Whammer

Thanks to the worldwide critical acclaim of Guillermo Del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth, Universal Studios green lit production of the Hellboy sequel, after two other studios passed up the opportunity. Considering the first Hellboy wasn't a huge hit, it's a minor miracle Hellboy II - The Golden Army got made at all. However, the end result was very much worth the wait as it finds Del Toro working on all cylinders, mashing a mainstream English-language sensibility with his trademark, fantasy-imagination unleashed to it's full potential.

The plot is a dark fairytale, as a fairy prince, fed up with humankind dominating the world, decides to take back the magic kingdoms share by unleashing The Golden Army, a bunch of indestructible clockwork robots.

It's bonkers...much more so than the first film. Gone is agent Myers, our human guide to the monster world, leaving us with hero creatures Red, Liz, Abe, and Johann Krauss to take us round their crazy world of trolls, spirits and mythical monsters.
The humour, characters and creature design is amplified in this installment...taking what gave the original it's edge and turning this into a signature work of an auteur.

When a talented film-maker with a vision, is given free-reign to express himself in the medium of film, the result is usually 10 time better than a director for hire trying to appease the wishes of a studio, producer or movie star.
And that's what you get here. Roll on The Hobbit.

Harrison Ford In Charisma Shocker!

I've just watched Indiana Jones & The Crystal Skull for the first time in a while. Since my opinion hasn't changed since it's 2008 release, I'd thought I'd repost my first reaction again, here...

Seeing a movie twice, especially on the first day is reserved for but a few movies…mainly those which have a near obsession geek factor for me (Revenge Of The Sith being the last, 3 years ago). I also anticipated needing two views just to get my head round a returning franchise where my expectations were extremely high. Many reviews have included the phrase, “what the hell have I just watched!?” and I wanted to be sure when friends/colleagues/relatives started asking me about my Indy experience. It might also help to put the film in context with the other Indy movies, as well Spielberg’s other movies.

Raiders is one of my all-time favourite movies. All creative parties are on the top of their game. Spielberg, Lucas, Ford, Williams, Slocombe and Kasdan have not produced work, before or after, that has been bettered. Temple Of Doom is an amazing experience for different reasons; both sillier and darker it’s a rollercoaster ride with a wonderfully structured screenplay and memorable comic, dramatic and action sequences. The weak point in the trilogy is Last Crusade with its feather-light tone and unevenly paced screenplay. Most importantly, it feels like the creative opposite of Raiders; virtually no one’s trying (well, apart from the magnificent Connery). The direction rarely feels like Spielberg with action sequences coming across as disappointingly workmanlike, the cinematography over-lit and a blandly designed production. As far as Spielberg is concerned, I’ve really liked his work in recent years. After a series of ‘not as good as they could have been’ movies in the late 80’s / early 90’s from Empire of the Sun to Hook, the Man found his grove again with Jurassic Park and hasn’t dropped the ball since. I’m particularly fond of his dark ‘entertainment’ movies Lost World and War of the Worlds, since they’re sleek, edgy action movies with Spielberg delivering trademark action scenes (the T-Rex cliff-top attack/the first Tripod emerges) that serve to demonstrate why Mr S is still at the peak of his game. Granted he plays a different game in his post-Jurassic career, being more experimental in his approach, buts it’s a damn good game!

So the two questions, for me, approaching Indy 4 was can Spielberg produce a more entertaining adventure than the disappointing Last Crusade. And, how will a modern Spielberg tackle a ‘light’ adventure movie again. The answer, I found out, was rather well actually! I’ll break the movie down to better address criticisms and other remarks:-

1/ Direction. This is Spielberg at the top of his game. Iconic, memorable shots appear fluidly throughout each scene. Indy’s reintroduction shot, as expected, was the shadow of him putting the fedora on (as seen in the trailer). But the shot doesn’t stop there… whirling around…introducing the location characters and locations, before Ford heroically turns into camera. The blandness of Last Crusade is eclipsed by a director once again bristling with inventiveness. Great!

2/ Tone. The general tone of Crystal Skulls lies somewhere between Temple Of Doom and Last Crusade. The way Spielberg directed he could have got away with the adult thriller tone of Raiders, but the script requires a lighter touch due to the silliness (not a criticism) of many scenes. While many of the jokes are childish (the prairie dogs are chucklesom) it rarely descends into the Roger Moore Bond territory of Last Crusade. Anybody out to deride the indestructibility of Indy in this instalment (surviving a nuclear blast, 3 waterfalls, treetop fallout) should be reminded of Mr Jones’s robustness in the earlier movies. Jumping from a plane on an inflatable raft down a mountain, the mine cart roller coaster, the submarine journey… all go to show that this level of suspension of disbelief has been required from the start.

3/ Script. Firstly the structure is great. Davis Koepp has a talent of condensing plot, character and thematic materials into concise, entertaining segments. So we have Nevada and Marshall College setting up the movie, The Sanatorium, Grave robbing and the Russian Camp as the expositional midsection, with the Jungle Action and Skull Temple serving as the finale. However, the entertainment value of the film diminishes with each act. The first has the most originality and most energy. The second has the majority of the inevitable exposition, but is balanced out by for action sequences on the trot. The third is scripting by numbers and offers very little in the way of originality (either story revelations, character arcs or action) to pay off the movie in a way to make this a 'great' Indy adventure.

By structuring the plot into these neat, contained sequences the movie flows at a pace that feels faster than the 2 hours plus running time. Naysayers have complained that characters are not fleshed out. But to be blunt neither was Sallah, Brodey or Belloq in Raiders. Apart from a little back-story, these characters define themselves by their actions. It always felt odd that Indy was given a family back-story in Last Crusade. Indy’s like Bond…an iconic man of action who reveals his attitude towards life by how he acts and reacts.

4/ Actors. Ford is the most alive onscreen that he’s been in years. He’s engaged, charismatic, charming, funny and totally convincing as an aging adventurer. Karen Allen isn’t at the forefront of the action as much as I was anticipating but it’s great to have the feisty foil for Indy back. Forget comments that she’s a bad actress now, or that her character is treated as badly as Brodeys was in Last Crusade; she’s not. Shia is great as the new character Mutt Williams. I don’t get where the Shia hate comes from. He’s a naturally gifted actor with an everyman charm and looks and his success is well deserved. John Hurt and Ray Winstone do what they’re there to do. If it was directed by anybody else their roles would be filled by unknowns, and therefore wouldn’t have fuelled criticism that they don’t have much to do. They do what they are needed to…and do it well. Finally Cate Blanchet makes a memorable villain as Spalko. I was expecting some serious ham from Blanchett, judging by pre-release comments. But her performance could be summed up as quietly intense (which is better than Last Crusade’s Donovan…quietly dull…)

5/ Cinematography. Many have commented that this looks like an Indy film, to some extent, but does not always replicate the look of the previous 3 movies. Well, the previous 3 movies, although photographed by the same man, were distinctively different from each other. Raiders is the closest parallel to the look of Crystal Skull with a realistic feel to exteriors and the U.S. set interiors. Granted some shots have excessive flaring of light sources (much more like Spielberg’s more recent movies) but this serves to differentiate itself from its predecessors. It has to be said the film looks gorgeous; very sumptuous and rich in contrast and texture.

What didn’t work you ask?
Well, a criticism that was levelled at the most recent Rambo movie stated Rambo felt like a secondary character in his own movie. During the big Jungle Chase, this certainly feels true with Mutt proactively pursuing the prize while Indy gets to drive a bit. The effects, while obviously CGI in some places, are well done and mostly convincing. Accusing the effects of being CGI is like accusing the original trilogy of using Blue Screen or chemical compositing or model shot. In both cases they get the job done…and done well. Where they fall down is Mutt’s Tarzan swing. Not enough time was spent making the environment convincing or the swinging motion realistic enough to convince.

The ending was original, yet totally in keeping with the original movies. The macguffin is discarded of and the villain is dispatched by the object of desire, due to their greed for what it processes; in this case knowledge of Everything. However the principals do just stand around and look what’s going on rather than move events forward. Still this isn’t too different from a tied up Indy at the climax of Raiders. It’s difficult, but if you can leave your preconceptions of the Indy film you want to watch, as opposed to the Indy film you actually get, you’re in for one hell of enjoyable film. I feel it fits in snugly between Temple of Doom and Last Crusade in terms of quality; and considering how high that quality is…that’s not bad at all!

I Used To Be a Were-Rabbit...But I'm Alright Nooooooowwww!

God bless Aardman animation...the only animation company in the world that can rival Pixar for consistence in the quality of their output. Having made three Oscar winning shorts starring Wallace & Gromit, it seemed logical the characters would participate in a feature length cinema adventure. And the result is the jolly excellent Curse Of The Were-Rabbit.

Perhaps the best thing about the Wallace & Gromit stuff is their stubborn Englishness. Everything exists in a timeless 50's/60's northern England setting...from the clothes, architecture and furniture...to the humour, traditions and old-fashioned morality of the characters (oh so polite and decent, don't you know). There's fun to be had spotting the horror references as the monstrous Were-Rabbit goes on a rampage while the imagination and technical expertise surpasses most of the competition in the industry.

I dread the day when frail old Peter Sallis dies. Here's hoping for many more Wallace & Gromit adventures before that fateful day arrives.

Maximus Decimus Kickus Assus

If you've heard the stories about the making of Ridley Scott's Gladiator then you'll know the film entered production without a finished script. Evidently, writing on the script progressed daily, as the movie was being shot, with the aim to find an appropriate ending to the tale of a vengeful soldier seeking to rid the Roman Empire of its immoral Emperor.

Of course, the end result is simply stunning. Russell Crowe demonstrated to the world exactly why he should be on the acting A-list. Joaquin Pheonix is fantastically unsettling. Connie Neilson is jaw dropingly elegant. And director Scott impressively manages to choreograph the towering performances of mega-drunks Richard Harris and Oliver Reed...launching the gravitas of the movie into the next solar system.

The production and photography is the richest Scott's movies had been for 15 years...and for the 9 year since. Hans Zimmer's score is amongst his best, which perfectly compliments the pounding action scenes (especially the Germanic battle at the movies start). That ever evolving unfinished script turned into something special. It managed to combine an epic story of politics and war with an intimate revenge plot.

Best of all it leads to that stunning resolution. While Maximus dies at the end, the movie ends on one gigantic high as Rome is freed from a dictatorship and Maximus is reunited with his family. One of Scott's best and one of the best of the decade.

Honey! Where Is My Supersuit?

Having watched Fantastic Four 2 a few days ago, I was struck again by how that franchise pic hadn't lived up to it's promise of a family who are blessed/cursed with superpowers. For a property that had existed for over 40 years, Hollywood still hasn't done the FF justice in filmed media.

A shame for them, then, that Pixar (the best animation company in the business) and Brad Bird (arguably the best animation director in the business) teamed up for The Incredibles. It might be mere CGI, but this super-hero film has more emotion, laughs, action combined with a cleverer plot than Tim Story and his team of morons could ever conceive. There's a little of Watchmen in it's plotting of super-heroes being outlawed and more than a little influence in the 60's James Bond style island villain's lair. Michael Giachinno's score perfectly compliments the 60's vibe as does the retro character and production design.

The bit where the flaws behind a super-hero cape is revealed remains a landmark for the genre.

Groundhog Day With A Slasher At Play

Triangle is a welcome twist on the slasher genre as cute Melissa George agrees to go on a yacht trip with a bloke she knows, and some of his mates. Then there's a weird storm at sea, a seemingly deserted ocean liner, and a masked nutter picking them off one by one with a twist.

Director Christopher Smith (he of the limp "Creep" and the excellent "Severance") keeps the pressure on Ms George to unravel the mystery and get her and her chums out of it. It contains an element of Groundhog Day, with a head scratching time paradox which is as non-sensical or as straightforward as your imagination is prepared to make it. It leads to a resolution which is cool, although not exactly unexpected.

A cut above your average slasher pic, with a director who knows what he's doing, a script with smarts and the always excellent Ms George. She deserve bigger and better than playing the scream queen forever, though.

Fox Fantasticaly Fraks The Four

Fox's follow up to it's modest hit Fantastic Four is just what you'd expect from a sequel; bigger, more epic, taking what worked in the first movie and expands on it.
However Rise of the Silver Surfer, although enjoyable in a braindead kind of way, is just as hollow, dumbed-down, for the masses superhero tosh as it's predecessor.

As before Chiklis and Evans make a watchable sparring couple while Gruffold is weak, nerdy and dull while Alba (sex bomb she may be), comes across as an unlikable pissy bitch with an unflattering blond atrocity on her bonce. Julian McMahon continues his tragic performance as the least menacing baddie in cinema of the last quarter century.

Any film that features a naked Jessica Alba as an invisible woman must be doing something seriously wrong. To do it again in the sequel is unforgivable.

If You Walk Without Rhythm, You Won't Attract The Smurfs

Most people watch movies at home, these days...on television, on their DVD, Bluray, mobile phone, laptop or Mac. I personally prefer to go to a movie theatre to watch a film so I can take in the full detail of the sound and image on a huge screen, without distraction; just me and the movie, so to speak. Most of the time though, when the movie is available for home viewing, the enjoyment factor is equivalent to that of seeing it in a cinema.

But every now and again, along comes a movie that demands to be seen on the big screen. Something that CANNOT be seen in any other environment to get the same effect. And when you, it's like the scene in A Clockwork Orange where Malcolm McDowell's eyelids are pinned back...except you're doing it to yourself so you don't miss a single frame of the movie. Such movies are rare, but the memories of seeing them are burned into the brain. Movies like Return of the Jedi, Aliens and Fellowship of the Ring. It's not necessarily the story that's so ingrained on the grey matter, but the experience...trying to take in the rich visual detail, the story elements, the groundbreaking film-making techniques or the thought process gone into creating each design element on screen (a gun, a corridor, a village).

James Cameron's Avatar is such a film. Twelve years in the making (well, on and off developing the technology), Avatar is a jaw dropping exercise in film-making.

There are several reasons why it has this impact:-
1/ The first being the 3D process. Cameron always said this would change the way movies are made...and he developed his high quality, miniature 3D camera so many years ago that it's the preferred option of all the 3D movies we've got over the last few years (Avatar's been 4 years in proper production). The 3D is digitally ultra-sharp and crisply precise, is not gimmicky (like Robert Zemekis's Beowulf or Jaws 3D!) and feels completely immersing after a very short time. Cameron even builds the 3D into the storytelling at the outset, as hero Jake Sully wakes up. He looks up and sees two water particles float weightless above him, which then merge. As Jake's world comes into focus...so does ours, as we adapt to the 3D experience. As Jake's bunk is removed, Cameron shows a vast spaceship interior to demonstrate how this experience will differ from previous live action fantasies. But Avatar doesn't keep reminding you the process is there, but rather it allows the audience to be absorbed into the new imaginary world.

2/ The CGI is a step up from anything we've seen previously, including the Star Wars prequels and, most impressively Lord of the Rings. You have to keep reminding yourself that ALL of the forest environments are computer animated as they are completely convincing. The way the grass looks, the way the Fawnia moves in the breeze, the way that running water negotiates a branch in the river or how bark fragments splinter when a tree trunk snaps.

On top of that there's the alien Na'vi, the 10 foot tall blue, cat-like natives that inhabit the planet of Pandora. Gollum was the current benchmark for a convincing CGI character. Gollum had the advantage of having a caricatured face, meaning a lot of unnatural movement was masked by the design. If you've seen Beowulf, Hulk or The Polar Express you'll know that more humanly realistic the CGI creation, the more difficult it is to make the CGI look real. There's always "dead eye", that blank, vacant look that suggests there's no soul behind the eyes.

That's pretty much solved now. While obviously not 100% human looking, they're close enough, and apart from a handful of shots in low light, the facial movements, especially the eyes, are shockingly real. Close up, the effect is staggering. The skin texture, flesh elasticity, and minute eye movements look so real, you'll think it's an actor in make up. The painted look of CGI has been removed, as has the "dead eye" syndrome.

3/ To round things off there's the attention to detail. Cameron retains his design aesthetic from Aliens and Terminator, making human technology logical and functional, as if the machines, vehicles, buildings and costumes were an extension of contemporary construction. Producing this science fiction world in CGI means he can design as big and as much as he wants. It's hard to believe but Cameron hasn't really indulged himself to a great degree with dirital set extensions or green screen previously...so he lets rip here. Rather than the 14 cryo tubes in Aliens, we get dozens in Avatar. Rather than 2 power-loaders or drop ships, we get hundreds of AMP suits or Scorpion Gunships. And that's just the human world.
Most of the action takes place in the Pandoran forests so the director has created an entire eco-system of insects, plants, animals and predators along with the (Native American Indian-like) cultural designs for the Na'vi.

Even if you take away all the technological advancement, it's all this stuff that would make Avatar a pleasure to watch. We get many fantasy movies each year, but very few can evoke a true sense of wonder and transport you to somewhere else. It's this escapism that I find most impressive.

So that's the visual stuff. How about the movie itself? Avatar, although quite rightly acclaimed, hasn't been without criticism. While some of that critisism is valid (dramatically, it's not as sophisticated or as emotionally charged as Titanic) it still stomps soundly on most movies released this year (or decade!).

1/ The story has been judged by many as to be unoriginal and derivative. Even South Park picked up on this, pre-release, dubbing the story 'Dances with Smurfs'. And they'd be right, because the story isn't at all original. It is similar to Dances with Wolves. It is very similar to Edgar Rice Burrough's John Carter of Mars. And it's extremely similar to Frank Herbert's Dune (guy goes to alien planet to mine its resources, goes native and learns the alien's ways, conquers their most savage beast, falls in love with the tribal elder's daughter, becomes their leader, unites disparate tribes and then takes them to war against his former people).

Frankly, I don't care. Star Wars is derivative. I knew the boat sank in Titanic, before I saw it. Even T2 and Aliens follow the exact structure of their originals...and they're all classics. All the magnificent science fiction movies released this year (Moon, District 9, Star Trek) had stories derived from other sources, but that didn't stop them from being compelling, entertaining works. It's all about telling a familiar story in a new way...and this is new enough for me.

2/ As a director, Cameron does a great job...as he's always done a great job. There's nothing MTV in nature about his direction. He does what he's always done. Places and movies the camera which best tells the story at hand. By far, he's still the best action director in the business, as the final 30 minutes delivers action on an epic scale Cameron's never tackled before. He keeps the characters to the fore in the frenzy, keeps the sequence of events clear and the geography of the destruction is well communicated.

3/ As a writer, Cameron stumbles slightly on this one, as it's been so long in development I'd have thought he'd have nailed Avatar's script early on. The dialogue is a little corny, as with all of his films...but really, that's just fine. As a director he's always manages to make you believe in his characters and feel something for them, whether to hope for their survival or pray for their come-uppance.

What's missing is some depth to the Jake / Na'vi interactions. It feels like there's something missing between Jake and Neytiri, the native girl he falls for. Perhaps there's some character building scenes on the cutting room floor. Perhaps his dialogue isn't as sophisticated here than it was in Titanic or previous scripts. Perhaps, this being a broad, family affair he's aimed slightly lower to get the kids on board. Either way, Neytiri's motivation for falling in love with Jake isn't quite sufficiently convincing once the revelation is made.

Pacing wise, this is on a par with Titanic, where there was another long set-up before the rollercoaster pay-off. However, just like The Matrix which had a similarly long build-up, each scene is absolutely necesary to communicate story points that will pay off later, as well as the construction of the relationships between Jake and his friends and foe. As ever he keeps the exposition flowing, the character development to the fore and inter-cuts action periodically to maintain narrative tension.

4/ It's been argued that the subtext is insultingly obvious. Well, when it comes to issues of bigger nations bullying the weak for their resources, I'm all for blatant fictional criticism of the policies of America. If Cameron wants to comment that humans place corporate greed above the need for ecological sustainability...then I say, go for it. If making up some mystical scientific mumbo-jumbo about the advantages of being in tune with nature for both humanity and the planets sake, I think more movies should be doing it. Because, judging by the weak result of the Copenhagen Climate Conference, world politicians aren't listening to anybody else. The Na'vi spiritualism stuff works just fine within the context of the movie and is at least balanced out by a scientific perspective on the eco-spirit mythology.

It's quite fun seeing the modern metaphors the story uses. Company man Selfridge is a George W Bush character (even playing golf when he should be working) while security chief Quaddrich is the Chaney/Rumsfeld archetype, wanting to wage war, just because he can. On the surface level, it's a reworking of history where colonial Americans displaced the native Indian community. In a modern context, it stands in nicely for Iraq, goint to war for resources while underestimating the 'primitive' enemies ability to defend it's soil. It's the role of art, whether consciously or sub-consciously to comment on the world around it. Avatar my not be subtle, but it's all a worthy target from my perspective.

Cameron wisely has Jake complete a regular video diary...which allows us a peak inside the introspective marine's head. He also gives Jake a mythic story to follow; he prophesises (in his dreams of flying and of freedom), he's average (not college educated), poor (his brother is cremated in a cardboard coffin) everyman who comes of age. As is common in Cameron scripts, he sets up story points early in the plot...so they can be resolved or paid-off later. Despite Jake being at odds with his boss, Sigourney Weaver, they're both clearly rebels right from the start. Weaver's first appearance sees her demanding a cigarette (even 200 years in the future) while Jake willfully narrates over the security chief's instruction briefing. Also, both Jake and Quadrich are imperfect; one paralysed, the other scarred. But where Jake transforms his disability into something positive, Quadrich used his disfigurment to drive his destructive nature.

It's also got some philosophical stuff going on too, with the Avatar program itself. It deals with the notion of identity and the need to escape reality. Indeed, it questions the nature of reality, as Cypher does in The Matrix. It's interesting to see how many characters in the film actually have an avatar. Jake has his Na'vi body, Quadrich has his AMP Suit, while the Na'vi have the horses and wildebeasts of Pandora...which they can plug themselves into, as an extension of themselves.

It's facinating, multi-layered stuff.

5/ James Horner's score. Once my favorite composer in the 80's, the sheen wore off once I'd realized Mr Horner cannibalises his own music. But...every now and again he's capable of turning in stunning work (Sneakers / Braveheart/ The Rocketeer). But he hasn't produced one of those in twelve year...his last collaboration with James Cameron, to be exact; Titanic. So I was kind of hoping that another Cameron team-up would get James back to his "A" game. Alas not, the score isn't that memorable and reworks musical cues from Titanic and Willow. But it's not a bad score either, and supports the image adequetley, if not raising it to a whole other level (like his Aliens score).

6/ The casting is mostly exceptional...with one exception. Top of the pile is Zoe Saldana as Na'vi Nyteri. This is a truly gifted actress whose spectacular instinctive ability as a thesp shines through the layer of blue Na'vi pixels and charms us to death. She's funny, spirited, sexy and defiant. The classy lass couldn't have done a better job if she appeared onscreen as herself.
Stephen Lang also dominates as corporate merc Colonel Quaritch. The security cheif is simply one of the best screen villains of the decade. And you know he's great because when he gets into one on one combat at the climax, you don't want him to lose. It's been said he's a bit of a caricature, but his portrayal serves the story well.
It's nice to see Sigourney Weaver back under Cameron's watchful eye and as Dr Grace Augustine, she gets her teeth into the grouchy but entertaining hippy scientist role.
Michelle Rodriguez and Giovanni Ribisi provide solid turns, as you'd expect from quality such actors.

However, the question was always over Sam Worthington's ability as an actor and leading man. He was solid, but unspectacular, in Terminator Salvation. He's a good actor, and is never less than convincing, but he's not charismatic enough to make us want to like him more than we do. And since avatar's story is actually Jake's story, it's not always as emotionally powerful as it could be.
It's like they cast a Ford Focus when they really needed a Aston Martin. Titanic had DiCaprio, The Abyss had Ed Harris, True Lies had Arnie. Worthington is non of these.
10 years ago they should have cast Thomas Jane, Hugh Jackman, Eric Bana or Viggi Mortenson. Actors with that strong, silent type masculinity...but with a magnetic personality coupled with eyes that give a view directly into the soul. Worthington has some of that...but not all of that. With his accent wavering between American and Australian, he reminds me a little of Mel Gibson's Mad Max...but without Mel's sparkle. Fortunately his quiet-but-tough performance is what is required of the character.

Overall though, my negative observations are only quibbles. They are nowhere near enough to detract from a jaw-dropping piece of storytelling. It's one of those experiences that will stay with me for many years to come. Remembering the clarity of the 3D image for the first time...having to admit to myself that the female Na'vi are genuinely attractive (even if she is blue with a kitty tail)...and the feeling of being hit with a cricket bat (with a brick nailed to it) when witnessing a soldier in a robot suit escape from an exploding aerial troop carrier from 150 feet.

It's because of moments like these that Avatar is to be treasured. They don't come along very often so, savor it on the big screen. In 3D. Again. Again. Oh, and maybe again.

The Incredible Hulk-ing William Hurt Locker

In virtually every way, 2008's Incredible Hulk, the sequel-come-reimagining of Ang Lee's Hulk, is inferior to that 2003 superhero blockbuster. The script is more predictable and formulaic, the direction stylish-yet-unimaginative, the special effects more cartoony and less realistic and the score obvious and generic.

The cast too, fail to measure up to their 2003 counterparts. Liv Tyler lacks both depth and intelligence as Betty Ross while William Hurt completely lacks the menace and volatility that Sam Elliott gave General Thunderbolt Ross, first time around. But the main culprit here is lead Ed Norton as Doctor Bruce Banner. Eric Bana might have turned in a quietly internal performance as the Hulk's alter-ego, but he conveyed the fear, rage and frustration of a man with a monster inside him perfectly. Here, it's difficult to work out if Norton is sleepwalking or whether a hypnotist has mind-controlled his considerable acting talent from the skill centres of his brain. Norton is crap. And with no one to like, care for or identify with... the audience simply can't give a damn about the mediocre plot.

Only the indie cred of Tim Roth, as the unravelling military psycho Emil Blomnsky, provides us with anything above average to watch. However, once he turns into the pile of pixels that is abomination, Roth exits the picture and all is lost.
The effects in the finale are too unconvincing while any investment into the fate of the dull cast has faded by this point.

There is however one great action sequence at Culver University as the Hulk takes on the army. The Brazil city location is cool. Plus a cool Downey Jr cameo at the conclusion to set up 2012's Avengers movie. So if you slagged it off the first time, please go and revisit Ang Lee's superior green monster mash and rediscover why it kicks Ed Norton's puny ass.

Telling Jokes With Bob, Terry & The Wild Things

Now this is what cinema is all about. Many films, especially those with a fantastical bent have been accused of style over substance. However, I've always thought that sometimes, the style IS the substance. The story might be slight, but the movie is presented in such a cinematic way it becomes entirely engrossing. Spike Jonze's Where The Wild Things Are is such a film. The story (of lonely boy Max who, after running away after lashing out at his mother, retreats into a dream world for solace) is bare bones in its simplicity but quite unusual in it's execution.

Jonze adopts a hand held camera style that perfectly captures the energy and feeling of what it was like to play as a child. It's through this 8mm family home-movie technique that the film achieves it's indie feel. It's shot in mostly real locations with naturalistic light, is edited with an honest free-wheeling nature and is acted (with considerable skill and with apparent disregard to any acting method) by the young Max Records.

The other factor which strongly represents the joy and sadness of Max's viewpoint is the unusual music by Karen O (of Yeah Yeah Yeahs fame). The score
dominates the experience, partly because its raw innocence sounds like other children performed it. The film almost feels like a movie-length advert or pop video; the film moving from one montage sequence to another, in turn conveying sadness, fun, loneliness and fear...all with little or no dialogue.

The wild things themselves seem to blend seamlessly into the child POV. They might look like book cuddly toys, but Max reacts to his imaginary friends as if they were real...just as any child might hold a conversation with a doll or teddy bear. We believe in their existence because Max unquestionably does. It has a gritty Gilliam-esque feel too and shares that directors silly humour (the knock knock joke told by owls, Bob and Terry, being a particular highlight).

Story wise, there isn't much to get your teeth into (there's no great quest or villain to vanquish) and it will be interesting how kids and adults brainwashed by franchise predictability will respond to this. The narrative instead revolves around Max discovering to respect the needs of others while becoming self-aware of his appropriateness of own behavior. In short, through his childlike, imaginary world, Max must learn to become an adult. The story is perfectly and silently resolved in the final two shots as Max, who has returned home to his waiting mum, finally get s it.

This won't be for everyones taste and I'm still unsure as to which children's age group will connect with it, if at all (too unsettling for the very young/to slender a tale for older kids). But for this kid it works just fine.

Thou Shall Not Covet Cameron Diaz's Box

Donnie Darko, the debut movie of Richard Kelly, is a freaky yet brilliant cult classic. He somehow managed to successfully fuse an 80's nostalgia movie, with a teen angst drama containing time travel, a superhero, science fiction concepts along with humour, intelligence and style. Unfortunately I've only managed to get through half of his over-long and over-ambitious follow-up Southland Tales (so far). So I approached his latest effort, The Box, with trepidation.

Fortunately The Box is a return to form. It stars Cameron Diaz and James Marsden who receive a visit from the mysterious and disfigured Frank Langella. Frank delivers a box. In the box is a button. If the button is pressed a person they do not know will die. They'll also receive a million bucks. Of course, they press it.
It's a simple, yet strong moral concept that the film-makers hoped would draw an audience into the cinema to watch it. I say hope, because just like Donnie Darko, once the premise has been established, then Kelly starts introducing completely batshit spiritual and scientific concepts.

If you don't like movies where you have to think, you'll probably think this is a self-important, self indulgent waste of time. However, if you're willing to go with the flow and embrace the science fiction elements, as well as think about issues of morality, choice and consequence, then this will be an enjoyable and rewarding movie.

Pixar Redefine Perfect. Again.

Since their inception with Toy Story, Pixar Animated features have been a constant critical and commercial success. Starting with Ratatouille a few years ago the Animation production powerhouse seemed to have been unsatisfied with mere animation domination. It seems they want to add layers of intelligence and depth to their creations for all out movie domination of the WORLD!!! Well, judging by the scale of story-telling ability on display with last year's Wall-E, and now Up...that's how it appears.

As usual with a Pixar production the CGI is a detailed yet beautifully stylised buddy movie; the performances staggeringly nuanced and the voice cast perfect fits for their computer created counterparts. It's a fantastical tale of an old widower Carl, who realises a life long dream of travelling to the wilds of South America, by tying lots of party balloons to his house. Along for the ride is boy scout Russell.

The entertainment level on show from Pixar should no longer be surprising. It has humour abound (the talking dogs being particularly amusing), tense action sequences (the airborne rescue of giant bird Kevin) and characters you can't help but emphasise with. What IS surprising is the depth of emotions the film delves to. The opening sequence, which sets up Carl's background story, is extremely moving. We see where his love of adventure came from, the introvert he once was as a child and Ellie, the girl he met, married and adored. What got me choked up is the death of Ellie (remarkably subtle in it's presentation in just two, wordless shots) and the subsequent references to her absence (Carl's lonely glances at Ellie's empty chair).

But this being Pixar, Carl and Russell (who longs for a parental figure that gives a shit) realise it's each others friendship, not the adventure itself, that's worth living for. Feel good film-making of the highest order...long may it continue. Dreamworks are content to produce solid populist fluff while Fox just shit out an Ice Age every few years. Someone has to show them the way. And that way is Up!

If It Bleeds, We Can Kill It

Predator, the Arnold Schwarzenegger vs Alien big-game hunter monster movie, shouldn't be any good. Well, with a concept that strong and a lead actor that iconic, it should at least be daft; fun but instantly forgettable. Predator should have been the Anaconda of the eighties. But it's not, Predator is one of the most entertaining movies ever made. It's sacrilege, but Predator is Arnie's best movie (yes, yes, I know, he's made three movies with king-of-the-world James Cameron).

It's success is even more perplexing when you observe the clash of elements in the film...a clash so distinct that they should cancel each other out into a gicantic pulpy turd (like Godzilla).

In the daft corner there's the silly elements:-
1/ Man-in-a-suit rubber monster.
2/ Hulking, brawn-over-brain, B-movie actors (Arnie, Bill Duke, Jesse Ventura, Sonny Landham).
3/ OTT stunts courtesy of Craig R Baxley (the mad mastermind behind the signature slow-motion action of The A-Team).
4/ The simplest, dumbest, cliche ridden script imaginable from brother Jim & John Thomas, complete with corny dialogue ("There's something out there waiting for us, and it ain't no man!").
5/ Alan Silvestri's monumental B-movie score.

Balancing this in the serious corner is:-
1/ John McTiernan's direction. The camera glides, flies and weaves through the production-designed jungle for a thrill ride you can almost physically feel.
2/ The adult tone. The concept is dumb, the script dumber, but Mctiernan treats this story deadly seriously letting the characters layer the tale with warmth and humour to keep the audience caring.
3/ The acting. Perhaps led by acting powerhouse Carl Weathers, the dumb brutes all turn in fantastic, restrained and serious performances. It helps they're all likable charisma machines, but they're all credible human beings rather than cartoonish super-soldiers. Even more so than T2, this is Arnie's best acting, right here.
4/ Donald McAlpine's gritty and naturalistic photography adds realism to the tall tale.
5/ It might be a man in a suit, but Stan Winston's creature is made believable and iconic. The make-up is enhanced by some cool camouflage effects from R/Greenberg Associates.

These element's shouldn't work together, but they seem to enhance and play off each other. The monster suit and the direction make the alien threat seem credible. The actors and score keep the fun factor elevated, and actually stop the movie from taking itself too seriously (a trap Stallone's Judge Dredd movie fell into).

A uniquely cinematic adventure movie that proved that John Mctiernan was a major talent to watch (he did Die Hard after this). And it adheres to the rule only the best movies obey; you want to watch it again immediately after it's finished.

The Zelda Rubinstien Whoopass Movie

Let's get one thing straight, right from the outset. There is no way that Tobe Hooper directed Poltergeist. He might be the guy in the credits, but if you're in any way familiar with Hooper's work, or Steven Spielberg's (who wrote and produced this) then the only logical conclusion is the latter film-maker actually made most of the creative decisions. You only have to watch what Hooper did before and after (Texas Chainsaw / Lifeforce) to realise his signature is absent here.

Less of a scary horror film and more of a thrilling roller-coaster ride, Poltergeist is a master class in storytelling. From the economic way the family dog silently introduces the Freelings to the iconic manner in which the plot is concluded, this is Spielberg at his peak (this was made between his classics Raiders and E.T.).
If you've seen the classic Family Guy episode Poltergeist, which spoofs this movie, you'll understand just how many memorable moments are in this film. From the skeletons in the swimming pool, to the melting face, to the clown at the end of the bed, Spielberg knows how to build up suspense and keep us glued to the screen.

It takes the urban mythology of the afterlife (a white light/spirits not at peace), the cliches of haunted house movies (things that go bump in the night/transparent floating ghosts/sudden drops in temperature) and combines it with a modern sensibility so that a contemporary audience can relate (new suburban house / 2.4 children family/ the ghosts talk through the television) along with a scientific perspective and a child's viewpoint too (a reworking of the monster in the closet routine/fear of lightning and old, gnarly trees). It's a masterful combination.

There's some great subtext about how television takes over people lives, woven throughout (the Freelings have more than one TV, the keep them on after they've fallen asleep). In fact, the TV is in the first and final shot of the movie. There's also some great set-pieces including the magnificent central rescue sequence as determined dwarf, Zelda Rubinstein, mounts an FX filled recovery mission to the otherside.

The cast are uniformly superb, in what is effectively about the power of a family's bond. The focus here is of a mother's unwavering commitment to protecting her child...no matter if it means her life, her values or her soul...and Jo Beth Williams is stunning as the Mom. They also stuck gold with Heather O'Rourkes all-American icon; the too-innocent-to-believe moppet that is focal Poltergeist victim, Carol Anne.

There are much scarier movies out there (The Exorcist / Robert Wise's The Haunting) but few as visceral and thrilling as this.

Don't Bother To Thaw This Monster

Yet another rif on The Thing, The Thaw is set in an Artic circle research camp where the melting of a glacier has released a deadly prehistoric parasite from hibernation.
The cast fight to stop the rapidly multiplying little buggers from laying eggs under their skin, causing violent painful death when they hatch.

Only lead Alexandra Staseson puts any effort into this slow lumbering sleep-inducer. Val Kilmer cameos, but he's asleep for his onscreen time, awaiting the pay-cheque instead. Aaron Ashmore, the less talented of the Ashmore brothers should quit while he's behind, being a blank charisma-less male lead.

The CGI is passable. Not much else get above the level of adequate. Only of interest if you're doing the ironing at the same time. While listening to some cool metal tracks. While reading Stephen King. That should do it.

Proof Television Doesn't (West) Wing It

There's a certain hierarchy to filmed media entertainment. Top of the pile in the prestige stakes is cinema...then comes the inferior television programming (followed by pop videos, advertisements, daytime soaps with reality TV bringing up the rear). But occasionally an episode of TV can compete with the very best that cinema has to offer. TV is a rushed medium...scripts are written by committee and 45 minutes of footage are filmed in 7 to 10 days (compared with a 60 day shoot for your average 90 minute movie)...so these jems appear infrequently. However, Two Cathedrals, the season two cliffhanger from U.S. political drama The West Wing is one such masterpiece.

If you've not seen The West Wing, it follows the day to day hullabaloo of first term President Jed Bartlett (Martin Sheen) and his team of advisers. Like all great uplifting dramas, things have to get bad before they can get better. So by the end of the season Bartlett has revealed to the nation that he's been diagnosed with M.S., his political support is bleeding away, that a dangerous military situation is brewing overseas, the biggest tropical storm in history is baring down on the capital. And, most importantly, his longest family friend, advisor, secretary and confidant has died tragically. The bloke is down. A religious man, he even feels that God has turned his back on him too.

It's mythic nature comes from placing the familiar characters into archetypal roles within a simple, recognisably mythic story structure (a boy with daddy issues leaves home to save the world and, with the advise of a trusted wise-person, conquers his own fears and his enemies)...think Star Wars or this year's Star Trek. So we're shown Bartlett's domineering father, jealous of his son's intelligence as well as Mrs Landingham, the woman that pushes him to achieve more and more.

As the mythic elements are laid in place, the story builds towards the climax of the episode...which is a choice; to either go for re-election or to step down, given the onslaught of opposition. In most myths the hero must confront his darkest fears in a cave (as Luke does in Empire on Dagobah or Frodo does in Return of the King in Shelob's lair)..and so it is here, with the Oval Office doing cave duties, as Barlett awaits the pivotal press conference in which the choice will be revealed. From this point there's an almost supernatural feel to the episode as Barlett confronts the ghost/memory of Mrs Landingham about his options.

The final five minutes are virtually without dialogue as Bartlett travels with his colleagues and friends in the storm, accompanied by the haunting Dire Straits track Brothers In Arms. It's tense and powerful stuff, all leading to that one, final moment at the end of the episode where Barlett's decision is revealed.
And it's inspired.
Although the character never actually answers the question of re-election verbally, when asked, it is communicated visually by gesture (which the audience has been clued into earlier). Only John Spencer's Chief of Staff knows what to look for and it his utterance of "Watch This" at the finale that sets the massive emotional punch, of the choice, up. Because everybody else in the story isn't aware what the gesture means, the audience feels like its privileged and in-on-the-surprise.

Like The Shawshank Redemption, V For Vendetta or Cuckoo's Nest this is a profoundly affecting 'fuck you' to those that would oppose you, tear you down and tell you what is and isn't possible. It's shows the power that people possess to overcome their own doubts and inadequacies and to battle authority if you know it to be the right thing to do. This is writing (in any form) at it's very best, coupled with unusual directorial choices (for TV land) that give the movie boys a run for their money.
Perfect.

Bales Batty Beginnings

I tend to think you can work out if a film is going to work or not in the first 5 minutes of its running time. When I first saw Batman Begins in 2005, it was at an IMAX screening. And, in that initial run time...I wasn't sure if I was going to like Christopher Nolan's reinvention of cinema's Batman. It's a low key start and features lots of confusing, generic brawling in a Chinese prison. Perhaps the screen was too big, the action too frenetic and maybe I was sat too close.

But then...Bale's Bruce Wayne is released and Batman Begins revealed itself to be a mythic, mesmerising monster of a blockbuster. Once Bruce Wayne walks into the Tibetan Glacier accompanied by Hans Zimmer's quietly pulsing score you realise this a different beast, not only from the Burton/Schulmacher era, but from the likes of Spider-Man or Hulk.

Batman Begins has a more grounded reality than most comic book adaptations, thanks to a thriller-ish tone set by director Nolan. But it also has a mythic quality, partly from the Bruce Wayne coming-of-age journey, but partly from the subtle heightened reality the director imbues the film with. The subtlety extends to the cinematography (not day-glow, but restrained shades of green and grey) the editing and the action (which lets the stunts speak for themselves). The cast are spot on, especially Bale who, after American Psycho, was always my top choice for the role. The unnatural, amplified, deep Bale growl is perfect when he's in the Batsuit an adds to the supernatural mysticism Bruce Wayne is projecting when terrorising suspects. I'd also like to stick up for Katie Holmes as she gets a raw deal from critics about her work here. She's absolutely fines, and frankly more watchable and likable than the less attractive and hormonally moody Maggie Gyllenhal in the same role in the sequel.

As you'd expect from co-writer Nolan, the script is fantastic in it's pacing, structure and subtext. The movie explores how fear can be used to control, manipulate and destroy...as well as how to turn it into something positive. It's undoubtedly a reflection of Bush Jr-era American Politics. Although the movie has four villains (Scarecrow, Falcone, Earl and Ra's Al Ghul) they never overwhelm the story of Bruce Wayne...they simply serve to illuminate different aspects of Bruce's inner struggle.

Since the mega-hit sequel, The Dark Knight, came out in 2008 the question has been for me...which is better? Well, I intend to watch that movie shortly, so watch this space. However I am positive that Batman Begins is one of the very best movies of the decade. It may not actually be the best, but this is by far my most watched release of the naughties.

Because McG Thinks Rachel Bilson Is Sexy Too

Rachel Bilson's Deleted Sex Scene from Rachel Bilson

You migh know Rachel Bilson as the gorgeous brunette from THe O.C. TV series. She shot to international attention playing the female lead in Jumper in 2008. She is goddamn sexy. Alas, McG sees it slightly differently...

Awkwardland

Superbad was an impressive coming of age drama produced by the Judd Apatow camp, that carefully balanced the hilarious comedy with touching moments of drama. Director Greg Molatta's follow up is less 'broad' and more 'indie'. In simple terms, the drama is more to the fore and the humour more subtle.

So what you get is another coming of age adventure, as Jesse Eisenberg (does he have the same agent as Michael Cera?) learns about life and love while working at a summer fun fair. This time the youngsters get to stand around feeling awkward 'bout stuff, a lot of the time. Awkward about whether she loves him. Awkward about whether they should tell the truth. Awkward about how they get on with their parents.

It loosely follows the romcom rule book and is generally very very sweet and not that funny. But if you think Kristen Strewart is cute (and, after Twilight, she's honed awkward to a tee) and you enjoy watching awkward people interact awkwardly for half hour too long, then Adventureland is the movie for you.

How Now Brown Harry

Sir Michael Caine (God bless you sir) might be in his seventies but he still can pick a good 'un. In Harry Brown he stars as the title character; a lonely pensioner who's petrified by the armed gangs that terrorise his inner-city housing estate. After tragedy strikes, Harry decides to take matters into his own hands.

This is a classy, low budget, back-to-basics vigilante thriller. Director Daniel Barber channels the style of Bryan Singer with simply composed, long duration, elegant camera shots...allowing the images and the acting to tell the powerful story, rather than flashy editing or wasteful dialogue. It's a testament to the brilliant Caine that he's able to convey the depth of emotion and conflict that burdens Harry. As the aging bad-ass he only has a few scenes with weighty dialogue to play with (the rest being conveyed through an Oscar worthy performance).

The script is just as economic as the direction giving the stripped down feel of Assault on Precinct 13. Despite the low budget, the film score big marks for style with is stark production design and strong cinematography. Emily Mortimer provides a worth counterpoint, as the cop charged with investigating the violence on the estate.

Gripping from start to finish, although uncomfortably kitchen-sink at times, this is THE British film of the year.

Law Abiding Spartan

Ah, they don't make 'em like this any more. But they do! Law Abiding Citizen is a barmy, high concept thriller in which a pissed off Gerard Butler is let down by Jamie Foxx's legal system after his wife and daughter are raped and murdered. In true (Spartan) style, Gerard doesn't get mad, he gets even. Well, a bit mad then.

Written by Kurt Wimmer, this adult cat and mouse movie is preposterous. The happy coincidences. The levels to which Butler is able to get away with his plan. Ludicrous. The dialogue. Dumb. It's slick, bullshity, unbelievable bollocks.

And as such, I rather enjoyed the escapism of it all. Foxx is solid in the morally conflicted District Attorney (it's a pale shadow of the morality tale The Dark Knight was) while Butler has fun as the bad guy you want to love. Yep, Gerard does lots of bad things to good people, but you're still with him right to the obvious conclusion...partly 'cause he's a charisma machine and partly 'cause you know he's got a point.

It's also rather entertaining to hear cops swearing and for savage bloodletting to be seen in a mainstream crime film. Cops 'n' robbers stuff seems to be relegated to CSI TV land while cinema gets superheroes to do it's crime solving. In the good ol' days we had Basic Instict, The Bone Collector, Rising Sun and Snakes Eyes...so it's a warm welcome back to the Hollywood thriller. Even if this one resides in a padded cell.

Guilty Pleasure Breaking News !!!

It was my intention, when starting this blog just over a year ago, to post pop culture news that interested me. Well, that died off pretty quickly. But every now and again there's news that my inner geek must share with the rest of the world.

Yes, that's right. They're planning to remake Disney's The Black Hole. This from the guys who are currently re-imaging Tron.

What does this mean for me? Well, after the success of Star Trek, and hopefully Avatar, it looks like a new space opera phase of cinema could be upon us again.
Yeah baby, Yeah!

http://robotchicken.wikia.com/wiki/The_Black_Hole

Because Superman Thinks Twilight Is Dumb Too

Brandon Routh is cool. Not only for doing a damn fine job at playing the man of steel. Or for his supurb Zack & Miri cameo. But for making this chucklesum Twilight spoof. Because some films just invite ridicule...even from movie stars...

Twilight Cycles from Brandon Routh

Also, check out this Twilight spoof, taking the mick out of the internet T-shirt sensation too...

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.