Summershort

A quick summary of all the fun, fab, or flaky films i saw on my travels! :3
And I apologise for the lack of paragraphs, humour or reason I may give in my reviews!

Zodiac

This is maybe the best film I watched this whole summer! Watched this in Amsterdam with Dutch subtitles; and it's a great way to learn funny words in funnier languages. I've always loved Jake Gylllllennhaalll and although I think he's a great character in this, I just didn't find him as interesting as the others. Robert Downey Jr is brilliant casted as a slightly eccentric journelist with all of Downey's natural confidence and suave attitude mixed in. The story was pretty lengthy, but not once did I think that whilst watching it! It kept me riveted to my seat until the ending credits! As I said before, this was the personal holidy favourite for me, and by all means the most disturbing...

Blades of Glory

Another great piece to add to Ferrell's already impressive comedy arsenal; and for me, this was possibly his greatest yet. Probably because I watched it with my mum on the plane, and it's one of those films to watch with family or friends. Otherwise, you may not find the urge to laugh your way through it! Although i'm not too keen on John Heder, as most of his career has just been one long drawn out character, he works so brilliantly with Ferrell and pulls off a great piece of comedic cinema. To re-iterate, I loved this movie and will be one for me to see again soon!

Freedom Writers

Personally, I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. Based on a true story, this movie includes romance, comedy, violence, drugs and tears; and basically aims for everyone with a heart. So you might wanna avoid this, Grinch. Not too much to delve into for this one folks, but it was a good one to see with family. You really end up loving the characters, learning more about America's history with racism, and you get to see Imelda Staunton (Delores Umbridge in HP5) be another grouchy, yet cuddly, teacher! Worth a view, even if just for the great true story and ace real characters.

The Invasion

As a modernised recap of the Body Snatcher genre, The Invasion was pretty limited with it's plot but with solid acting from Craig and Kidman, I was pretty impressed with the overall style of filming. Possibly letdown by the unnecessary and dull action sequence towards the end but still scary, funny and sophisticated enough to be quite the underdog thriller of the year. Both arty and mainstream, it was a surprisingly good film to see; especially as I'd heard nothing from it back in the UK!

The Perfect Score

"The Breakfast Club meets Ocean's Eleven". Slow your horses Washington Post, did we see the same movie? I reckoned it was one of the better and smarter teen comedies I've seen in my time, but if it weren't for one character out of a highly recognisable cast, I would have been thoroughly dissapointed. Leonardo Nam, an Korean-Argintinian that's lived in Sydney his whole life, is hilarious as "the loser" Roy. Final thoughts: It held my attention, and captured a whole cross-section of interesting teenagers, but still not enough to save the silly plot and lifeless acting.

No Reservations

To sum this up, it's just your average (more) rom- (than) com...but with great taste!
Not because it's thats exciting or detailed, but becacuse it revolves around 2 chefs and their love of food over each other. The real attraction of this film for me was the cast! Aaron Eckhaart as a light and witty italtian cook, who loves dancing to opera in his kitchen! Catherine Zeta Jones plays a woman who lives her life by the cookbook, and when *something terrible* happens, she's left in charge of her niece...and has no clue what to do.
Saving the best till last, the cute paegent goer from Little Miss Sunshine, Abigail Breslin, plays the niece who loves bears, hates fancy food and seems intent of creating a new family. Annoyingly, she was used as little as possible and seemed to be a lurking background character behind the other two. Not really worth much of a look-in, unless you love your food or rising child stars, but where we saw it? That's got a whole section dedicated to it's own....

Reel Pizza Cinerama

It has now become my dream to open a place like this...
It's a small 3 screened cinema in a tiny New England village, but unlike anything i've ever seen before. No cinema seats in sight, just an army of leather, cotton and any other materials you've ever seen on a sofa. You sacrifice your cupholders for a three piece suite of paridise. Did i mention they include scatter cushions?! Not only that, you can order popcorn, nachos, chips, hotdogs, beers and milkshakes from the entrance! And there's only one thing more exciting that the movie.... the bingo board. Once you've ordered your pizza, you just relax and wait for your number to flash up on a giant bingo board! Nothing can beat that surely?
Maybe the fact that the lobby is also a local art gallery, for both young and old to display their works! This amazing place has treasured me with great memories, and I hope that I'll get to return before long. Thanks for reading guys!

http://www.reelpizza.net/ - Awesome!
http://www.reelpizza.net/fasq.php - Phwoarsome!

It's Friday Again

Once again, it's the start of the weekend which, of course, means more new releases at the cinema.
Summer is winding to a close, with the last of the real big blockbusters released today. The Bourne Ultimatum concludes the amnesiac-spy trilogy based on Robert Ludlum's bestselling books. Once again starring Matt Damon as Jason Bourne, it's been highly praised, receiving mainly 4 and 5 star reviews. It's today's biggest release, just above the Bratz: The Movie. I widely consider the "movie" franchise [Scary Movie, Date Movie, Epic Movie] to be the absolute scum of the movie world. In my mind, Bratz is set to join them. Just the trailer on the TV was enough to make me reach for the nearest copy of Little Miss Sunshine and tell myself that it was all going to be OK. Frankly, it looks dire, and unless you're a five year old girl [or the parent of a five year old girl] there is no reason [at all] to see this movie, unless it is as a form of punishment.

Other releases today are New Zealand indie flick Eagle Vs. Shark, children's fantasty Mee-Shee: The Water Giant, and the re-release of Scorsese's Raging Bull.

The Simpsons Movie Review

There have been more eagerly anticipated films this summer, and there have been more thrilling blockbusters, but I doubt there were trailers more appetising or unexpected! The last couple of seasons of The Simpsons have been entertaining at best and I doubt there can be much done to muster material as funny as it should be; which is why I'm so glad they conjured up a couple of new ideas and packed in quite a few one-liners for the movie. With a superb start and a satisfying ending, you won’t be too disappointed with their efforts. I know for certain that my 7 year old cousin loved it more than I did, as I had to put up with him flicking straws into my face during the trailers, but once he was watching, it was hard to distract him from the screen.

When I left the cinema, I felt that I was left questioning the PG certificate they had settled on. There's certaintly more than a pinch of sex, nudity and swearing in this family cartoon, but fans will probably be delighted that they're wiling to go the extra mile for the movie. Still, I can guarantee there will be moments when you think "can they really do that?!", but if you're like me, you could be enjoying yourself too much to care! There also seems to be a fair use of 3D effects on rather mundane objects such as cars and houses which I think seems a slight waste, when we’re so used to the regular 2D animation. But when it’s used on missiles and other explosive features, it gives a new modern edge to this cartoon classic.

This particular story follows the family as they try and save Springfield from some unlikely villains and try to keep their family together in the face of peril. Marge plays the ever cautious and level headed mother, Lisa will stop at nothing to clean up the pollution of Springfield, Bart has father issues turns to Flanders for guidance, Maggie returns as the unsung hero whilst Homer literally 'hogs' the spotlight for the majority of the film and the script seems to follow his tale more than any others. No one, except the family, gets much of a look in and this takes away from the overall varied and sometimes absurd scenes of the TV show.

As with most films, this one has it’s share of mistakes and pitfalls. Although the story is intriguing and exciting, you can’t help think that you’ve seen it somewhere before. They do use quite a common plot to base the story around, making it both familiar and slightly dry. It also does seem to slow towards the end half with a quaint happy ending, nothing more but surely nothing less. ‘Empire’ seems to have taken a pretty critical view of the feature, slating it as the “biggest waste of the summer.” Their opinion, or certaintly not that of the reviewer, is not shared by me and I have to agree that you might not be rolling around on the cinema floor, or even laughing out loud more than once; but why are we treating this as any different to the television show? As a movie, I fear this would not even be recognised without all the show’s previous achievements. As an episode, I feel that it’s top notch, and still thoroughly enjoyable, without as many sidesplitting gags as we’re used to.

To bring this show to a close, I’d say that if you were to see just one 2D cartoon movie this year (which is most likely, given the amount of 3D rubbish churned out so far) then make this top of your list. You’ll feel comfortable in watching your favourite characters as usual, but with the extra thrill of the big screen. With minimal guest stars but brief appearances from Green Day and others, I was slightly disappointed by the lack of celebrity endorsement but it was hardly a big issue.Needless to say, don’t expect the greatest film of the summer, but if you enjoy watching on the small screen then be sure to give this a heads up.

Genre Value: 3.5/5
Entertainment Value: 4.5/5
Style: 4/5
Overall Rating: 4/5

Transformers Review

This summer has seen many a blockbuster come and go: Spider-Man 3, Pirates 3, Ocean's 13, Shrek 3, Harry Potter 5, Die Hard 4.0... Let's go through them:
Spider-Man 3 will go down as being "the third one that wasn't as good as the second"
Pirates 3 will be "the one that was better than the second, but didn't live up to the first"
Ocean's 13 will be 'remembered' as "the threequel most easily forgotten"

I could go on and on. But I won't.

What is certain, is that people will remember Transformers. It's 2007's biggest and best blockbuster, with all you could ever want in a movie based on a Hasbro toy. It's the ultimate popcorn flick, only requiring a disengaged brain and a pair of eyeballs to take in the plot, action and thrills. The incredibly simple premise is summed up in a plot-by-numbers voice-over, neatly giving enough information to intrigue and excite, but without any real depth.

Our hero, played by the instantly likable Shia LaBoeuf, is Sam Whitwicky - just your average teenager. Like most young adults, he wants a car, pines over hottie Mikeala [Megan Fox], and has awkward talks with his parents. The movie's surprisingly large amount of comedic moments usually come from Sam, as he tries to hide the fact that his car is, in fact, an alien space robot. He isn't particularly interested in his family history, and what he knows about his explorer Grandfather, he uses to sell various things he left behind to raise money for his car fund. One of these objects is a pair of glasses, which holds the key to the whereabouts of the AllSpark, a life-giving cube. This is where the giant transforming robots come in. The Decepticons [bad robots] want the cube to turn every electronic gadget into a Transformer to make an army. The Autobots [good robots] want the cube to stop the Decepticons from getting it. Unfortunately, the Decepticons are already on Earth, whilst the Autobots are still floating through space...

The film's thrilling opening sequence shows a desert attack in which we most definitely lose. It is cleverly done, showing glimpses of the Transformer, but not showing you exactly what is going on. It's just one of many jaw-dropping action sequences, which, luckily, come thick and fast, though not in a way that you begin to feel bored or uninterested. Other favourites include a night-time battle between Decepticon Barricade and Autobot Bumblebee [Sam's car]. This is the first time we see the Transformers in full, and it's incredibly impressive - the sound of metal grinding upon metal has never been so invigorating, and you can't help but find yourself grinning.

The film itself is heavily endorsed - as much as action comedy as an advert for Nokia, Camaros, iPods and Macs, X-Box 360s, Mountain Dew and, more controversially, the army. The list goes on and on. Most scenes involve either choppers or soldiers, with heroes nobly fighting for the freedom of the world.

One of the reasons why the films works so well is in the fact that the Transformers themselves are real characters - they're all different, from trigger-happy Ironhide to dignified do-gooder Optimus Prime, each Transformer has its own personality. It's rare when, in a film, you can connect with a load of giant CGI robots, but small touches help us to like them. My favourite is Bumblebee's tendancy to use the radio to help Sam win over Mikaela, playing appropriate music whenever he sees her. It's these moments, as well as the incredible action sequences which will be remembered far into the future. It's genuinely touching to see the bond between teen and machine, and Sam's devotion to Bumblebee's cause. This is no doubt one of Spielberg's [who Executive Produced] touches, and he did a good job at reigning in Bay slightly. There are also some surprisingly nice shot types used, which I didn't particularly expect from Bay.

This leads us on to the smackdowns. There are so many. And they are oh so painstakingly good. I spent most of the film with my hand over my mouth, my eyes wide, thinking to myself "this is so cool". From the opening desert decimation, to the Barricade/Bumblebee battle, to the Optimus Prime vs. Megatron finale to name but a few, the action is captivating, engrossing, and simply amazing. The CGI is absolutely flawless - the best I've ever seen; the Transformers are works of art, especially Megatron, who often transforms into a jet whilst in mid-air. I can guarantee that, over the course of the summer, the amount of quality action in Transformers will not be beaten. Each Transformer consists of thousand of tiny moving parts, and watching them transform [even when they aren't fighting] is mind blowing. It just goes to show how far CGI has come, a memo obviously missed by the Harry Potter team when animating Hagrid's half-brother Grawp.

Many people have complained that the robots-search-for-cube story is stupid and dumb, but when we look at our culture and society, it isn't so far removed. When Bush was convinced that middle eastern countries were hiding WMDs, we invaded to try and find them so that they don't have them. Is this not what the Transformers were doing all along? Luckily, Transformers doesn't take itself too seriously - it knows how preposterous it is, and instead of taking itself into the realms of deep silliness, it just carries on knowingly, without straying too far away from what the fanboys want. The comedy and action are balanced perfectly, and it is always thoroughly entertaining.

So, to sum up, you won't see a better blockbuster all summer. With Spielberg and Bay working together, they've made a hugely enjoyable action movie with well-rounded characters, incredible CGI and a huge metal heart for every metal fist. Comparisons have been made with Spielberg's masterpiece Jurassic Park [one of my favourite films ever]. It turns out they are perfectly justified...

Genre Value: 5/5
Entertainment Value: 4.5/5
Style: 3/5
Overall Rating: 4.5/5

Please Welcome Our New Member...

A new member has joined the "I Hate How Fake Hollywood Is..." team! Please welcome our new writer Ellie! Expect some posts from her soon!

Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix Review

Many surprises and treats await the audience of the new Harry Potter film. The main surprise is that Daniel Radcliffe can really act. No, really. Our moody hero no longer looks as if he's constantly being slapped in the face, and conveys real emotions, injecting an actual character into his previous shell. Emma Watson is no longer the most talented of the young'uns, and even Rupert Grint has caught up. His Ron has changed significantly since the last outing, due to the fact that he gains real genuine laughs from his portrayal as the ultimate teenager [sarcastic, witty, a bit grumpy] instead of just gurning at appropriate times. The adult performances continue to impress, especially Alan Rickman and Gary Oldman, whose relationship with Harry is incredibly convincing, and has evolved significantly since the Prisoner of Azkaban. Evanna Lynch is perfectly cast as Luna Lovegood, just on the likeable side of creepy, and Imelda Staunton is captivating as Mrs Umbridge. She's a pink, fluffy, nightmare, seemingly light hearted but really a total b*tch.

The opening of the film is suitably thrilling, as our world and the magic world begins to collide with a Dementor attack in the park. It's a very well directed scene that sets the tone for the rest of the movie. The first four films/books in the series mark the first half of the series. From five onwards is where the darkness really begins. I know everybody says the books are "darker" and "edgier", but they really are from here on in. With Voldemort back for real, there's real threat round every corner [though the Ministry of Magic refuses to believe it], and a series of disappearances is the real sign that he's back. Though the Goblet of Fire had its darker moments, it was intersperced with moments of comedy and lots of action. Whilst that film was very good, by including all the action, it left no room for character development and was subsequently exciting yet lacking emotion. Order of the Phoenix is almost the opposite. With the book waffling on, with too much detail in the smallest matters, it works much better as a film. The characters have much more room to breathe, and the whole movie feels much more rounded and like a film rather than a series of action sequences with Harry Potter in them.

When Umbridge starts to take over, we see real frustration from our heroic threesome at the mounting restricitions [shown to good effect in some of the films few comedic scenes] and boundaries set by the Ministry. It is surprisingly liberating when the students begin to fight back, and gives real excitement at the thought of teenage rebellion against the establishment.

For all its talk and character development, the end of the film explodes in a tense, exciting scene in the Ministry of Magic's Department of Mysteries. The set is fantastic, especially the golden fountain, and the prophecy room, and it has a sense of real danger about it. It's good to see some of Harry's friends aside from Ron and Hermione helping him against the Dark Lord, as it also helps to show how all Wizards and Witches must unite to defeat evil. It makes up for the lack of action in the films mid-section.

However, the film is not perfect. Helena Bonham Carter is desperately underused, and during the climatic battle there are opportunities that are disappointingly not taken [most notably Ron being attacked by the flying brains, and looking at the various rooms inside the Department of Mysteries]. Also, the incredibly important talk at the end of the book ["It is time I told you everything..."] is cut down to its bare bones.

These points aside, the Order Of The Phoenix is the best of the Potter films. With action, characters, great performances and a real sense of threat, it works much better than the book. Some might say it's boring, or that its too dark, but they're not looking for the right things, and neglect the fact that the book contains little action and is pretty dark itself. Just go out and lose yourself. Then wait in anticipation of the Half-Blood Prince...

Genre Value: 4/5
Entertainment Value: 4/5
Style: 3.5/5
Overall Rating: 4/5

Yellow Fellows...

Simpsons Movie reviews are surfacing around the internet - and they're positive! www.totalfilm.com gives it 4/5, as does times online. All clips and trailers have been hilarious, so to me there was a good vibe from the start. The Simpsons Movie is released on Friday, with various preview showings tomorrow. Please keep voting on the Simpsons poll, and thanks to anyone who has voted so far!

You can expect a review of Harry Potter and the Order And The Phoenix by Saturday, if not Friday!