The Look of Love

Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Z4yqK1KxuY

I need to ask you all a favour. If you only see one film this week please don't go see Iron Man 3. A weird statement to say after my glowing review a few days ago but films like The Look of Love don't tend to stick around in cinemas for too long. It's been so over-shadowed by the wise cracking Avenger I doubt most people even know it exists.

The film is a biopic about  Paul Raymond played fantastically by Steve Coogan. For those unfamiliar [like I was before seeing TLOL] Paul Raymond was an entrepreneur who owned a lot of property and strip clubs in London and was at one point Britain's richest man. It's amazing how such a rich guy can go so unheard of, with people my age anyway, yet have such a big empire in London just years ago. S'pose they're not going to teach you about the strip clubs and nudey plays in second year history at school. It made for some really interesting watching.

And not because of the more or less constant boobs in case that's where your mind immediately went there. There is admittedly more graphic nudity in this film than I've ever seen in a film [ever] but because there is so much of it you kind of get used to it. The novelty of 'tee hee, boobies' fades away pretty quick to make way for a pretty fascinating life story.

My journalism lecturer always said there's nothing more interesting than writing about a famous person 'on the slide' out of fame and power and there's certainly a lot of 'sliding'here. He lives such an extravagant lifestyle with the drugs and ever changing woman you know it'll all catch up with him some day. The whole second half that looks at the unusual relationship between him and his spoilt daughter is pretty captivating. To give you a taste of what their relationship is like, there's a scene where Paul catches his daughter snorting coke. Instead of telling her off and getting angry he insists she mustn't just buy her drugs off the street and to only do the very best. It's a look into a life of excess and irresponsibility which makes for an intriguing watch.

There are a lot of British actors , mostly comedians, in the film.There's actually so many big British names it's almost distracting. There's Coogan obviously who naturally steals the show. But then there's cameos from Stephen Fry, Simon Bird, David Walliams, Matt Lucas,  Dara O'Briain - the list goes on. All do a good job, even if some are only in it for a matter of seconds, but celebrities like Dara O'Briain don't really come across as fully fledged characters. It just takes you out the film for a few seconds and makes your brain announce 'oh look, it's him from Mock The Week'.

I don't like to talk about cinematography too much as I'm a complete novice but I could tell it's good here. Parts where they talk about Paul Raymond's men-only magazine feel like you're actually flicking through a 70s style dirty mag. The fashion of the time is very prominent with bright zig-zagging colours in his clubs and houses sucking you into the era nicely.

It might not be for everyone is a possible problem- 3 people walked out of our screen halfway through due to what I assume was it's increasing amount of graphic porn scenes. Similarly big action, life changing drama fans may feel a little underwhelmed. If you show a bit of interest and follow the relationship between Raymond and his daughter however you'll find this film to be a surprising little gem.

9/10

Main Blog- http://www.elephantchris.blogspot.co.uk/

Iron Man 3

Trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEIVPiTuYkQ

It's a biggie. After The Avengers set the bar so high  last year in terms of how to make a super hero movie truly fantastic there's been a lot of pressure on Iron Man 3 to match it's success. Does it succeed? S'pose you'll need to read on. Or watch the film, whatevs.

Speaking just about the Iron Man films here I'm willing to say this is the best in the series. Iron Man showed a great origin story and it's sequel, as much as it was a great little ride, was a little underwhelming when compared directly to the original. It just didn't seem to be on the same scale and there was a feeling that something new needed to be brought to the table to make it feel fresh. 

Iron Man 3 is the film you hoped Iron Man 2 would be. It brings new elements to the story and the decision to give Tony Stark panic attacks and anxiety problems is one that I feel works wonderfully in the film. He's still cocky and in that suit virtually indestructible but showing that weaker side, his inner demons eating him up, makes him seem far more relatable and more of a 'real' man than this kick ass invincible human he has become since the other films and The Avengers. 

I also like how what happened in The Avengers is talked about sometimes and not just glanced over as something that happened at some other un-related time. It's the presence of gods and aliens and worm-holes in New York that have pushed Tony over the edge which makes sense really. Finding out about all that stuff and being the peoples' hope to defend them from it all will fairly mess a guy up. 

No characters fade into the background here and everyone, the heroes and villains of the film, put on a great performance. Tony Stark and Pepper Potts are probably my favourite movie couple ever. They have issues with one another but the lengths he goes to to protect her remind you that the love is there. 

In terms of story I think it's just above standard comic-book movie fare that changes the focus just enough to make it stand out from the other films. Whereas the Iron man series has usually been machine vs machine, Iron Man 3 changes the formula more to machine vs super humans. There's little twists here and there but nothing to over complicate or at the same time really revolutionise the story.It provides a great vessel to showcase the incredible action sequences and relationship development between characters. 

Speaking of the action is as spectacular as you'd expect. There are never really any moments of slow down as the film goes from action scene to action scene with elements of the story acting as bridges between them. Two particular highlights are the Stark household being blown up by 100 explosions and a great scene involving Iron Man saving people as they fall out a plane. 

Fun fact everyone- the plane scene was actually shot with a sky-diving team actually falling through the air to give it an extra edge of realism instead of just shooting it on a green screen. It really pays off and makes you appreciate the extra mile the film makers are willing to go to make these scenes truly epic. 

The finale, without spoiling any of it, is completely awesome. It's everything you could ever want if you're an Iron Man fan or indeed a fan of action movies in general.

Another element that works in Iron Man 3's favour is the humour that rarely misses it's mark. It's not enough to cheapen the film and make it feel goofy but the odd remark here or there just keeps the film light enough and give it a personality. Stark's inpromptu nicknames he gives to people never fail to get a chuckle. 

So to return to my first question- Is Iron Man 3 as good as The Avengers? I'll put it like this. If The Avengers is a massive cooked breakfast buffet with trays upon trays of delicious food, Iron Man 3 is a specific tray of perfect bacon.

The Avengers felt like more of a special event bringing lots of exciting characters and stories together while Iron Man 3- while not quite the event The Avengers was, stands up by itself as a terrific action comic book film that ends the Iron Man trilogy on a massive high- assuming there won't be an Iron Man 4 of course. 

9/10

Main blog- http://www.elephantchris.blogspot.co.uk/

Oblivion review- http://elephantchrisfilmreviews.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/oblivion.html

Jack The Giant Slayer

Trailer:
Coming soon

If you've been following this blog you'll notice I've been reviewing things by release date. There's been Oblivion and Pines followed by Olympus Has Fallen, all  written within a few days of the release date. It's a film review blog that really keeps on top of things.

So here's my review of Jack the Giant Slayer, a film that came out in early March.

In my mind it was a film that came out in time for the Easter holidays for the sake of a film coming out in time for the Easter holidays. 'Dark' retellings of fairy tales have been done to death recently and I don't think any have really stood out as being exceptional. There's been some quite good [Snow White and The Huntsman] and some completely abysmal [Mirror Mirror] and I think Jack fits in between the two, probably closer to Huntsman than the travesty that was Mirror Mirror.

The majority of the film is a big budget pantomime. The kind a middle to upper class family would take their children to and come out and tell their friends, 'Oh we took Edward and Poppy to see that Jack and the Beanstalk film! Some of it was revolting but it was ever so exciting!'. People fall over for comic effect, there's bodily humour jokes whenever there's a giant on screen. It's a family crowd-pleaser, not a dark sophisticated film of redemption.

The bad guys are like pictures of snooty princes in a children's books brought to life. Their joined by the secondary bad guys- the giants, one of which looks remarkably like John Locke from Lost. They seem to go from being savage cave men to well spoken warriors scene from scene but it can be forgiven,the whole films is just a bit of fun. They look very obviously CGI'd as well which takes away any realism but  again that doesn't matter to kids who will get the most from this film. Some scenes in which they react with the humans are so ridiculous however they resemble the 'Write the theme tune, sing the theme tune' sketches in Little Britain with the size-differnce humour.

If the film was set in the present this could be a scene taken straight from it

There's also the token comedy aside character, the token princess who wants to explore and
has a sense of adventure and the token bumbling protagonist that goes on a journey from weedy farm boy to hero of the land. Spoilers I suppose but it's a fantasy aimed at children, you know pretty much in the first 10 minutes the films not going to end with him lying bloodied and dying.

It sounds like I really didn't enjoy the film but I did. When the action picks up in the last third it does get pretty exciting and there's plenty of 'Will they make it out alive?!' scenes even though you kinda know they will.

As much as it's a kids film it is pretty violent and it's good to see they didn't shy away from scenes of soldiers getting eaten alive or crushed to death by debris or massive giant hands. It turns it from being a silly kids story to a half big fantasy epic. It's a fun little ride and I came out smiling.

You probably won't be able to see it in cinemas anymore but if its on TV it's half worth a watch in the background, especially if you have pompous family with you. They'll lap it up

6/10

Olympus Has Fallen

Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwx1f0kyNwI

Olympus has fallen, or as I like to call it the semi-big action blockbuster that comes out between Oblivion and Iron Man 3. To my surprise it's actually rather good.

The story in a nutshell is the White House gets taken over by North Korean terrorists who take the president hostage. It's up to Gerard Butler who plays John McClane from Die Hard to save him and indeed the United States of 'Murica.

I mention Die Hard there and I'm afraid I'm about to mention it again in a way that will probably upset a lot of people. Feel free to disagree but, brace yourself:

I think Olympus Has Fallen is better than Die Hard.

Still reading? Thanks for giving me a chance- so many people are in love with Die Hard and to be honest that's just what this movie is. But in my honest opinion it's done better. I understand it's over 20 years old but this is exactly the film that needs to reboot the Die Hard formula, not the pretty abysmal Die Hard 5.

The scenes where the White House is taken down initially are possibly the most striking in the film. There's a hella lotta explosions and people are mowed down here there and everywhere. It's a scene put there to make Americans angry and give them someone to hate instantly. It probably does the job well, I can imagine them grumbling 'damn foreigners' under their breath as they see the Washington Monument crumble to the ground.

The rest of the film is usually a tense affair that almost always ends in John McCla...I mean Gerard Butler's character in a nicely choreographed throw down with a bunch of North Koreans. The plot isn't overly complex and that's exactly how I feel it should be. It's a story of good guy goes after bad guy to save America and that's all it needs to be.

The film does have it's flaws however. The aforementioned simplistic story does leave a few plot holes that didn't bother me to much but did my fellow movie goers. 'Why didn't they just do this' 'They said that was impossible earlier on then did it easily later' were the general things I heard so it's probably best to not think too hard about it as you watch it. Just enjoy the pretty explosions and helicopter crashes and cheer on the USA as they try and bring down the bad guys.

There's also some of the most cringe-worthy acting between the president and his son at the start of the movie. The son is hardly even that important in the overall film like it's expected he will be. It would have probably been better to leave the president's son and emotional family back story out completely but I suppose they needed to show the the president as a human being with something to fight for. It makes it a little more interesting than just an emotionless hostage.

This is the action film of the year so far, bettering GI Joe and fully eclipsing Die Hard 5 from memory. If you go into the cinema with the mindset of a strong patriotic American citizen you'll have a really good time here.

8/10

Main Blog- http://www.elephantchris.blogspot.co.uk/

The Place Beyond The Pines

Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G07pSbHLXgg

I've put the trailer there but it's rather misleading. It's the equivalent of advertising the whole of Disneyland with just clips of Space Mountain again and again. There's a lot more going on here than Ryan Gosling robbing banks and being a general badass in The Place Beyond The Pines. There are in fact at least three main characters all with their own story. And while the Ryan Gosling section is, a bit like Space Mountain at Disney, the best bit of the package he is only one part of a much bigger picture. 

A motor bike stunt rider finds out he has a son so packs in his day job and takes the logical step of robbing banks to provide for him. The story deals with the family life of the man as well as a rookie cop who exposes his police department to be corrupt. 

I found the film very absorbing from the start with Ryan Gosling's character development on fast forward so at least 3 massive life events all happen in the first 20 minutes of the film. There's not a lot of action scenes but when there are they're very tense and exciting. 

The family life aspect is quite heartwarming and you do believe that his character does love his son and wants to provide for him. There are fantastic believable acting performances all round here with Ryan Gosling and later on Bradley Cooper really showcasing their acting talents. It's engaging and I really cared what happened to both of their characters. 

The main problem with the film is it's length and not knowing when to stop. The first part of the film is constantly engaging and would be a nine out of ten if the film stayed like that the whole way through. When the focus shifts from characters however it really doesn't feel as exciting and almost feels like the start of totally different movie. A movie that isn't bad but is nowhere near as good as the one you've just seen.

Every story told is linked obviously but sometimes it feels a tad loose. There is a dramatic time shift when the film reaches the 100 minute mark and what follows really seems to drag. It never really felt like it was going anywhere. 

It was by no means boring however, it just lost a bit of steam towards the end. The Place Beyond The Pines is worth a watch but just be prepared to have you're socks blown off and then have them planted firmly back on your feet as the film continues. 

7/10

Oblivion

Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGpjlfCfe2Y

A Sci-Fi film with Tom Cruise being Tom Cruise. When it's good it's great. Otherwise its all a bit meh.

The intro is certainly intriguing. Everyone has left Earth because aliens have destroyed the moon, causing earthquakes and shizz because that's what happens when the moon blows up apparently. After we fire all our nukes which wins the war for a reason I didn't pick up it's left to Tom Cruise and some other woman to repair the drones that patrol Earth. The human race at this point are partying it up on one of Saturn's moons. All straight forward stuff really...

In a similarity I really wasn't expecting, the first half hour of Oblivion is essentially Wall E the live action movie with Tom Cruise playing the lovable robot. There's even a scene where Cruises's character brings a flower to the woman portraying EVE which mirrors the Pixar film almost exactly.

Instead of them joining the rest of the human race who are now fat blobs who ride hover-chairs, the film makes several clever twists and turns that when you get your head round work quite well. There is a massive 'Oh snap!' moment half way through that almost stands up to the Cesar 'NOOOOO' scene in Rise of Planet of the Apes. I notice the two films share 2 of their producers so well done Dylan Clark and Peter Chernin for really owning the 'Oh Snap' moment.

I feel the story maybe got a little confused with itself the more it went on. It's all quite follow-able but as soon as cryogenically  freezing people starts to be introduced into any Sci-Fi drama or film I get totally lost. And it's a key plot point here.

Another pro of Oblivion is the backdrop of it all looks really impressive. The house that real life Wall E and EVE live in is a convincing house of the future and when Cruise is flying about the canyons of the post-apocalyptic America it's a joy to sit back and take in.

The action scenes that take place on this landscape are also fantastic, especially when the cool looking drones get involved. The noises they make in particular are eerie and futuristic making them seem really threatening without ever showing intimidating behavior physically at all. Well they fire their big ass machine guns a lot but otherwise just kinda hover there and stare with their red LED-like eyes.

Morgan Freeman is also in the film but he doesn't play that big a part. He's very cool as he is in everything he's in with 'dat voice' but he doesn't particularly bring anything to the film. His role in the plot I feel could be filled by anyone.

The little moments of action and impressive visuals save this film from becoming a little too talky and drowned in it's needlessly over-complex story. The acting performances aren't anything you'll remember for years to come but the atmosphere and look of the film might.

7/10