Review: A V P: Requiem

Year: 2008
Director: The Streuse Brothers
Screenplay: Shane Salerno
Starring:Steven Pasquale, Reiko Aylesworth, John Ortiz, Johnny Lewis, Ariel Gade, Kristen Hager

Note: This review is written without knowledge of Predator 2.

Maybe there's something wrong with me, I don't know. Usually I leave movies like this unamused and not entertained in the slightest. However with this....somehow I came out....enjoying it. I won't go into the whole "you gotta switch your brain off" shite that everyone says as an easy way out as they don't like to get into real debates about movies.

It is a dumb movie, things go boom, people die and it's got movie monsters from way better films running around. But something about the film was...watchable. Maybe because I've become a less venomous cinepile in the last few months, maybe because I felt the directors tried harder with this film than Paul W.S Anderson's effort or maybe it was because I spent most of my time in a sex coma from the night before (due to an expensive hotel weekend in London thanks gf). I don't know...but I came out of AVPR with an OK feeling....

In compassion to the first cross over movie then films a godsend. It has a better storyline for one. All that shit about pyramids in the Arctic is out (seriously what?) and the plot has been dumbed down even more to give the film a slightly more back to basics feel.
The story follows on from the original film in which a alien/predator hybrid is born and causes havoc on the ship in which it was born in. After a brief chase an attacking predator shoots the shit of it's own ship trying to destroy this thing and the ship lands in a small American town where nothing ever happens. A death toll ensues.

It doesn't have the suspense of Alien or the Carnage of Aliens or Predator. But for me for some reason The film did it for me. I think I liked it's sadistic edge. I read a review which complained about children and pregnant women dying in the film "sickening" was the word he used. But seriously At least it had some guts. These creatures are vicious killing machines I want no mercy...unlike the first AVP with "understanding Predators".

The acting isn't Brando worthy but it's bearable. It's not as painful as some might think. What you see is what you get and you get nobodies trying, something I like more than somebodies not trying.

The film is what it is, a bunch of killer xenomoprhs and alien hunters trying to killer each other with humans getting in the way. No coming of age rituals, no pyramids under snow, no bullet time face huggers, just carnage (although it is quite moderate carnage)

The human characters aren't particularly warm but engaging enough despite being quite flat. The action itself is not the pinnacle of the series but like I said before.....bullet tme face huggers...WTF.

I enjoyed the references to the original films and the action was passable and while I am guessing it might have been the sex coma that made me like this somewhat, I still took more from this than the original film it sequels.

BUT I CAN'T UNDERSTAND WHY! Maybe the dumbing down of cinema is finally getting to me or maybe I'm biding my time till There will be Blood. I silently cry in shame covered in my DVD's of better movies but hey everyone's allowed a guilty pleasure.

Review: Walk Hard: The Dewy Cox Story

• Year: 2008
• Director: Jake Kasdan
• Screenwriters: Jake Kasdan, Judd Apatow
• Starring: John C Riley

OK. It's another geeky, low brow, comedy which looks destined to reach some sort of cult status (which doesn't take much with some things these days). However Walk Hard is an amusing way to spend 90 minutes.

Walk Hard: The Dewy Cox Story tells the story of Dewy Cox (John C Riley) a musician who needs to overcome his demons and adversities in order to become the musician legend that we "now know".

Walk Hard is a crafty parody of Ray/walk the line/et all which works when it hits the notes of the recent Oscar winners. ripping on their contrived story moments and cliched tales of redemption. Walk hard doesn't mean to rip into Ray Charles and Johnny cash, however it is saying the films that have been made in their memory are on the borderline between uplifting Oscar fanfare and farcical comedy, made just in time to brown nose for the Oscars.

Are films like Ray bad movies? No but they all follow the same patten, even down to the bad wife/good wife and the ironic "Greek chorus" in which every song of the lead character sings matches the action that came before it. Walk Hard exploits these cliches but never means to upset the music that inspired it (although a certain Beatles cameo may cross a line).

Walk Hard follows many of the films with Apatows name somewhere on the credits. The story is heart felt and the comedy is crude. The combination gels well and is reminiscent of the Farrelly Brothers of old. Walk Hard doesn't hit as many laugh out load targets as Superbad and isn't as sweet as the 40 Year Old Virgin but has more than enough jokes for a titter and just enough story to keep the pace (although it does run out of stream near the end).

John C Riley has always been quite amusing, even in his more "serious" roles of Hard Eight and Boogie Nights. He was the next best thing in Chicago (after Zeta Jones) and has a great presence throughout. He's not as "zany" as Will Farrell or (enter verb here) as Steve Carrell but as an odd mixture of the two that works well with the material.

The soundtrack is catchy, the jokes are more hit than miss and Riley shows that he can carry not only a movie but a COMEDY quite well. Props go out to the amusing cameos (won't spoil them) and Cox's Band (Lovin that Tim Meadows).

If Judd Apatow is anywhere on the credits (usually as Producer), it's almost definitely going to make me laugh. as a writer and producer Apatow has a knack of having his name on genuinely amusingly cult hits. This isn't as quotable as the other films in Apatow's Production Cannon (Once again Superbad) but it's worth watching all the same.

R.I.P HEATH LEDGER

Actor Heath Ledger has been found dead in his apartment in Manhattan New York. Ledger was found to be unconscious at his home and pronounced dead.

Early Reports have hinted at drug abuse but it is still extremely early to say.

Ledger 28, broke into Hollywood with teen hit "Ten Things I hate about you" before starring in quite a varied range of roles from more teen originated affair such as A Knights Tale, to an Oscar Nominated Role as brooding cowboy Ennis Del Mar.

My Personal Favorite is Skip in Lords Of Dogtown in which he does his best Val Kilmer impression (watch the whole thing as the trailer won't give him justice):

Once again my thoughts go out to those who knew him well as yet another young promising actor has left us.

R.I.P Brad Renfro

I'm not going to make a big gushing obituary about this actor as I had only seen him in a few films. However, a moments silence for Brad Renfro who died on Tuesday, aged 25.

While not what you could say a big name a-list young actor. The man had good screen presence was a solid preformer in the roles he picked.

My thoughts go out to those he's left behind

Review: I Am Legend

• Year: 2008
• Director: Francis Lawrence
• Screenwriters: Mark Protosevich, Akiva Goldsman
• Starring: Will Smith

Well this was my first visit to the cinema this year and it's safe to say I was not disappointed. I am Legend probably won't make it on to my top ten favorite films of the year. However Francis Lawrence's film is strong enough to hold a viewers attention. This is down to some well crafted art direction and a powerhouse performance by Will Smith.

Smith plays Neville, a lone survivor of a biological disease which has ravaged New York City. For the past three years as the lone survivor he spends his days with his pet dog Sam searching for a cure. However to quote the films tag line, the last man on earth is not alone. The disease has mutated those who didn't die, turning them into sub-human zombie-type creatures. Neville's life is divided into retaining his sanity during the day and staying alive during the night.

Remember the opening scenes of 28 Days Later? Well Lawrence wishes to take that isolation further. He almost makes it. For the most part, the film is an interesting exercise in isolation and loneliness. What helps is the utilization of silence which goes with the shots of human achievements. The film managed to freak me out a couple of times as we are shown shots of skyscrapers and monuments standing tall but standing for no one. Lawrence also manages some semi effective shock scares and creates some claustrophobic set pieces for two thirds of the film.

This leads me to the last third of the film, which isn't as terrible as so many has said but suffers from a soft climax and an almost abrupt ending. The films last third is jarring with what we've seen before and brings discomfort. Much has been said about the films CGI at the end of the film also. While not the greatest I've ever seen, it's a damn sight better than say....Charlies Angels 2: Full Throttle. It seems that the films problems (particularly at the end) hit hardest when the filmmakers make their most liberal alterations to the original novel.

With this said, plot wise the film is still engaging. I have yet to read Richard Matheson's original novel, but I'm sure there will be moments in the book I would have loved to see on the screen. What keeps the film so engaging however is the charm and screen presence of Will Smith. His role in the film is one of his strongest since Ali (yep seven years ago). Smith manages to take the role beyond that of a regular action hero and adds a small amount of pathos to the film. The supporting characters are nothing to yell about as all the characters apart from Neville are mostly cameos, save for the brilliant animal performance from Abby the dog who plays Sam.

I am Legend for the most part is an entertaining film which slowly begins to run out of stream before the climax. Which is a shame when you release that Smith's talent and star potential could have been used to greater effect in such a film.