Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) is a 22 year old, jobless, bass guitarist for band Sex Bob-omb, who has just met the girl of his dreams. But to win the heart of new found crush, Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) Scott must defeat all of her seven evil exes. Can he over come the struggle to date Ramona or will he fall at the hands of an ex, or even himself?
What caught my eye with this film is that not only is it directed by Edgar Wright (Shaun Of The Dead, Hot Fuzz) but it's completely different to any other comic book or graphic novel film production. Unlike such films as kick-ass and spiderman, Scott Pilgrim is suited to the big screen with jokes being tweaked and altered slightly with the effect of gut wrenching laughter, and moments that will play out in your head weeks after viewing such as Scott's gay roommate stalking 2nd evil ex, Lucas Lee, or the opening scene with Sex Bob-omb playing out a rift filled song before the opening credits roll.
The way in which it is all filmed is brilliant, with fast camera angles mixed in with the odd slower scene to keep viewers engaged. Also the fight scenes are choreographed to the highest of standards, with each fight being exceptionally different, making it overly entertaining to watch.
The casting choices were also fantastic. The film has more of a less well known cast of actors, but they more than lived up to their potential. Michael Cera fits the roll of Scott Pilgrim perfectly, with his dorky looks and entertaining comedic skills. Another member of the cast who impressed was Kieran Culkin in the roll of Wallis Wells because of his cut throat yet cheeky attitude.
Overall I throughly enjoyed viewing Scott Pilgrim Vs The World with it becoming one of my personal favourites. It's a great indie film and will in the future become a sure cult classic.
(I also recommend reading the graphic novels in which the film is based on, written by renowned writer Bryan Lee O'Malley. You can purchase them here at Amazon: Scott Pilgrim.)
George's score: 10/10
Trailer.
Tuesday, 7 August 2012
Friday, 3 August 2012
Next few days.
I'll be doing a few more reviews over the next few days to make up for not doing any in over 2 weeks. keep checking back to catch the new reviews,
George.
George.
The Amazing Spider-Man.
It's been a while since I've done a review but in a comeback, the first film I will be reviewing will be Marc Webb's refreshing take on the famed marvel comic book character, The Amazing Spider-Man.
Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) is an outcast high school student, who after being abandoned by his parents at an early age, has been living in the care of his Uncle Ben (Martin Sheen) and Aunt May (Sally Field). After discovering a brief case containing some of his fathers valued calculations, he becomes directed to Oscorp and the lab of his fathers former partner, Curt Connors (Rhys Ifans). But after stumbling into an experiment involving specially bred spiders, Parker receives a bite from one of the arachnids, and soon starts to develop strange powers similar to those of the eight legged creatures. Although this is the least of his worries, as a new foe has risen in the form of Connors alter ego, Lizard, who is adamant on causing chaos in New York City. On top of this Parker also has to juggle his love life with his long term crush, Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone). Will He be able to live up to the expectations of a modern day super hero? Or will the Crime filled city of New York get the better of him?
First off, I love Spider-Man. And when I heard the series was being rebooted, it was put straight to the top of my must watch list. It's foolish having such large expectations for a film but mine were certainly high for this fresh take on my childhood favourite.
But sadly the first 20 minutes didn't meet the high expectations I had set. The way Marc Webb had chose to depict Parker's young childhood situation was rather far fetched to say that traditionally his parents were shot dead and he was taken in by his aunt and uncle. But once he became bitten by the mutated spider, my expectations were finally met. The way comedy was mixed with action was brilliantly done, especially in the subway scene with Parker fighting a gang whilst not knowing how to control his powers, It was brilliantly choreographed and and made rather humorous with the slap stick style used in the fight scene. The whole film seemed to take a more relaxed look at Spider-Man with it more being based on catch phrases and comedy based fight scenes, which seemed to work better than making the film all dark and gloomy with the example of the previous 3 Spider-Man films.
The acting from the cast was superb! Andrew Garfield is living up to being a fantastic actor. The way he presented himself and how he followed threw in the more emotional scenes was excellent, proving that he's bound to become a household acting name in the future. Another actor who I believe to have made an impression in this film was none other that Rhys Ifans. he's perceived to be more of a gentle, comedic actor in his previous roles, and it was nice to see aspects of that style of acting, but it was refreshing to see him in more of a darker role as a comic book villain. Emma Stone also impressed as the affection of Peter Parker, with her acting in a new, more romantic style to what she's accustom with.
Overall I enjoyed This new take on the Spider-man series, but still feel the first 20 minutes of the film could have been a little bit better. But, I do prefer this recent reboot to the previous spider-man films with Toby Maguire.
George's score: 8/10
Sophie's score: 8/10
Trailer
Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) is an outcast high school student, who after being abandoned by his parents at an early age, has been living in the care of his Uncle Ben (Martin Sheen) and Aunt May (Sally Field). After discovering a brief case containing some of his fathers valued calculations, he becomes directed to Oscorp and the lab of his fathers former partner, Curt Connors (Rhys Ifans). But after stumbling into an experiment involving specially bred spiders, Parker receives a bite from one of the arachnids, and soon starts to develop strange powers similar to those of the eight legged creatures. Although this is the least of his worries, as a new foe has risen in the form of Connors alter ego, Lizard, who is adamant on causing chaos in New York City. On top of this Parker also has to juggle his love life with his long term crush, Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone). Will He be able to live up to the expectations of a modern day super hero? Or will the Crime filled city of New York get the better of him?
First off, I love Spider-Man. And when I heard the series was being rebooted, it was put straight to the top of my must watch list. It's foolish having such large expectations for a film but mine were certainly high for this fresh take on my childhood favourite.
But sadly the first 20 minutes didn't meet the high expectations I had set. The way Marc Webb had chose to depict Parker's young childhood situation was rather far fetched to say that traditionally his parents were shot dead and he was taken in by his aunt and uncle. But once he became bitten by the mutated spider, my expectations were finally met. The way comedy was mixed with action was brilliantly done, especially in the subway scene with Parker fighting a gang whilst not knowing how to control his powers, It was brilliantly choreographed and and made rather humorous with the slap stick style used in the fight scene. The whole film seemed to take a more relaxed look at Spider-Man with it more being based on catch phrases and comedy based fight scenes, which seemed to work better than making the film all dark and gloomy with the example of the previous 3 Spider-Man films.
The acting from the cast was superb! Andrew Garfield is living up to being a fantastic actor. The way he presented himself and how he followed threw in the more emotional scenes was excellent, proving that he's bound to become a household acting name in the future. Another actor who I believe to have made an impression in this film was none other that Rhys Ifans. he's perceived to be more of a gentle, comedic actor in his previous roles, and it was nice to see aspects of that style of acting, but it was refreshing to see him in more of a darker role as a comic book villain. Emma Stone also impressed as the affection of Peter Parker, with her acting in a new, more romantic style to what she's accustom with.
Overall I enjoyed This new take on the Spider-man series, but still feel the first 20 minutes of the film could have been a little bit better. But, I do prefer this recent reboot to the previous spider-man films with Toby Maguire.
George's score: 8/10
Sophie's score: 8/10
Trailer
Saturday, 14 July 2012
Red State.
I watched this rather disturbing film today with my girlfriend, and well, it just had to reviewed.
3 American high-school students head on a night out to get laid by a woman advertising herself online in their local area, but what the boys don't realise is that their night is about to go downhill. Drugged and gagged, they wake up in the local extremist church, where the worshipers have taken it upon themselves to punish the sinful occupants of the united states.
What caught my eye about this film is the controversial theme. Christian extremists killing homosexuals and teenagers? You just couldn't make that up, and that's what is just so scary about this perceived to be horror film: somewhere in America, the plot of this film could actually be taking place.
I have to comment on the way the plot unfolds. Most of the audience watching would be routing for at least one of the teenagers to survive, only to find they all die either at the hands of the bible loving activists or the hardcore police squad, which adds an even darker twist to this already grisly film.
The acting is 50/50. The teenagers aren't Oscar winning but they are most certainly not bad enough to receive a razzie. One actor who really makes Red State as twisted as it is, happens to be experienced actor, Michael Parks. His perception of Abin Cooper, the crazed priest, is exceptionally brilliant, switching from calmly reciting extracts from the bible, to horrifically executing his victims.
Overall Red State is an well balanced action horror, with an excellent B-star cast and a well thought out plot. Credit to Kevin smith for writing and directing such a bold yet brilliant film.
George's score: 7/10
Sophie's score: 6/10
Trailer
3 American high-school students head on a night out to get laid by a woman advertising herself online in their local area, but what the boys don't realise is that their night is about to go downhill. Drugged and gagged, they wake up in the local extremist church, where the worshipers have taken it upon themselves to punish the sinful occupants of the united states.
What caught my eye about this film is the controversial theme. Christian extremists killing homosexuals and teenagers? You just couldn't make that up, and that's what is just so scary about this perceived to be horror film: somewhere in America, the plot of this film could actually be taking place.
I have to comment on the way the plot unfolds. Most of the audience watching would be routing for at least one of the teenagers to survive, only to find they all die either at the hands of the bible loving activists or the hardcore police squad, which adds an even darker twist to this already grisly film.
The acting is 50/50. The teenagers aren't Oscar winning but they are most certainly not bad enough to receive a razzie. One actor who really makes Red State as twisted as it is, happens to be experienced actor, Michael Parks. His perception of Abin Cooper, the crazed priest, is exceptionally brilliant, switching from calmly reciting extracts from the bible, to horrifically executing his victims.
Overall Red State is an well balanced action horror, with an excellent B-star cast and a well thought out plot. Credit to Kevin smith for writing and directing such a bold yet brilliant film.
George's score: 7/10
Sophie's score: 6/10
Trailer
Friday, 13 July 2012
Hot Fuzz.
I thought I'd kickstart my reviews with a personal favourite of mine, Edgar Wright's Hot Fuzz.
Sargent Nicolas Angel (Simon Pegg), top officer in the London police force, lover of keeping the streets clean with his cut throat attitude towards common crime. But when he is forced to relocate to the quiet village of Sanford his days of extreme policing appear to be over. Soon a series of grisly deaths begin to take place in the seemingly peaceful rural haven. With the assistance of foul mouth officer Danny Butterman (Nick Frost), he sets out to find the cause to the supposedly accidental deaths, and what he finds is more horrific and gruesome than he could ever have imagined, making him return to the hard hitting police lifestyle he so longed to return to.
First off the acting in the film is overall superb. Nick Frost and Simon Pegg returning in their second feature film together just makes Hot Fuzz what it is: fantastic. Frost adds the childish comedy which Pegg wouldn't be able to bring to the film on his own. Not knocking Pegg, once again he keeps up to the high standards he set for himself since appearing in Spaced eight years before hand. Another pair of actors who add a large amount of gut wrenching giggles are Paddy Considline and Rafe Spall (the Andy's). With subtle one liners and comebacks, they just create more and more reasons to love this film.
The way that Hot Fuzz is filmed is groundbreaking for British film and signature to Edgar Wright's productions. Rapidly changing from scene to scene keeps the watcher engaged in the fast paced dynamic of the film, whilst also fitting in a huge amount of detail to stop confusion taking place whilst watching the film.
The plot is so well thought up and the film is so well made, making it a huge shame that it didn't receive more worldwide publicity. But despite this it will go down in history as a modern day cult classic.
George's score: 9/10
Sophie's score: 8/10
Eve's score: 9/10
(every review I post will not only have my overall score out of 10, but also scores of friends and family who watch the film with me)
Keep watching films,
George.
Trailer
Sargent Nicolas Angel (Simon Pegg), top officer in the London police force, lover of keeping the streets clean with his cut throat attitude towards common crime. But when he is forced to relocate to the quiet village of Sanford his days of extreme policing appear to be over. Soon a series of grisly deaths begin to take place in the seemingly peaceful rural haven. With the assistance of foul mouth officer Danny Butterman (Nick Frost), he sets out to find the cause to the supposedly accidental deaths, and what he finds is more horrific and gruesome than he could ever have imagined, making him return to the hard hitting police lifestyle he so longed to return to.
First off the acting in the film is overall superb. Nick Frost and Simon Pegg returning in their second feature film together just makes Hot Fuzz what it is: fantastic. Frost adds the childish comedy which Pegg wouldn't be able to bring to the film on his own. Not knocking Pegg, once again he keeps up to the high standards he set for himself since appearing in Spaced eight years before hand. Another pair of actors who add a large amount of gut wrenching giggles are Paddy Considline and Rafe Spall (the Andy's). With subtle one liners and comebacks, they just create more and more reasons to love this film.
The way that Hot Fuzz is filmed is groundbreaking for British film and signature to Edgar Wright's productions. Rapidly changing from scene to scene keeps the watcher engaged in the fast paced dynamic of the film, whilst also fitting in a huge amount of detail to stop confusion taking place whilst watching the film.
The plot is so well thought up and the film is so well made, making it a huge shame that it didn't receive more worldwide publicity. But despite this it will go down in history as a modern day cult classic.
George's score: 9/10
Sophie's score: 8/10
Eve's score: 9/10
(every review I post will not only have my overall score out of 10, but also scores of friends and family who watch the film with me)
Keep watching films,
George.
Trailer
Welcome!
Well, this is my blog.
Every week I'll be reviewing at least one film, either modern, new release or cult classic.
I may review more each week on request or if I happen to find a truly amazing or extremely terrible film which must be reviewed.
I also love Simon Pegg so the reviews I do of his films will be extremely biased, but these will be the only exceptions.
Keep watching films, and support the film industry,
George :)
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