Review: Cloverfield

Year: 2008
Director: Matt Reeves
Screenplay: Drew Goddard
Starring: Michael Stahl-David, Jessica Lucas, Lizzy Caplan, T.J. Miller, Mike Vogel, Odette Yustman

CONTENDER FOR MY END OF THE YEAR TOP TEN!

Words can't describe how much I loved this film. I haven't left a cinema buzzing like this for a very long time. Cloverfield will have it's haters (heard of many a walk out) but for me this was a brilliant cinematic experince.

Cloverfield has been considered "godzilla for the youtube generation" and I can see why. Elements of video games like Half Life run rife throughout the film. When me, my girlfriend and some firend spoke about the movie afterwards we commented not on the destruction of New York City but the reaction of everyone on screen holding up camera phones. From the films pesudo-hand held feel, to the well documented hype, for a monster movie produced by the guy who "almost ruined Superman" Cloverfield is not only stylish but isn't dumb.

It's visuals envoke images of 9/11, not as a cheap showy trick but as a way to provoke the intensity of the situation. We don't get alot of character buliding but would you if you look at the context of the film. The monster is rearly seen for alot of the movie but it's lack on screen action only ups the ante. You could see this thing at any time, and the monster has a true feeling of unpredictablity that has been rearly seen in a movie like this in a while.

The story? Well we are shown a group of young people preparing for a party for their good friend who is leaving town to become a vice president of a company in Japan after a brief mingle and some of the guests dealing with their relationship issues...a temor is felt...then havoc breaks loose.

Havoc it is. After the first 15 minutes, Cloverfield has one thing on it's mind; keeping the tension going. The movie is filmed as if it were by a partygoer and the amatuer cameramans awakward reactions and movements keep pace and unease at boiling point. Once the monster is rife in Manhattan the suspense is constant. Don't worry about those questions that would be answered in real life. For me I didn't have time to dwell on them, for me they were irrelevent as the pace and the pure excitement of the film was (excuse the ghetto) OFF DA HOOK!

To help aid things the preformances of the unknown actors are quite strong. We don't get to find out much about them but their preformances manage for cover the characterization. This however is an asset to the film. The shock is there, but you need to keep moving, the characters preform it well and need the audience to follow suit (youtube generation et all).

The use of unknowns is a perfect for the film, with standouts being the film "lead" Michael Stahl-David and the comic relief T.J Miller playing the Cameraman who is named Hud (geddit?). Stahl-David has enough presence and talent to make his brief moments of emotion effecting while Miller has all the best lines. Most of the females in the movie however are not given time to show what they got in anything apart from tight bodies and small moments of distress but it doesn't matter as like I said imeditatcy is the key.

Director Matt Reeves and the much more famous producer J.J have taken a huge risk with this film and for me they have succeeded. The hype and mystery surrounding the film ape that of The Blair Witch Project along with it's modest budget and unknown actors. However while TBW left a lot of people short changed (not me, I love the films atmoshpere and preformances), Cloverfield delivers in many areas that others may not think that TBW does. The film has the ability to shock and excite. it's what it was made for and it's what it does...tenfold. It's been a while since I've been in a cinema in which the film left everyone in an errie hush after watching.
Cloverfield did it's job. I await the DVD.

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