Anchorman 2- The Legend Continues

Trailer- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Elczv0ghqw0

Anchorman- what I would call one of the biggest comedy films of the noughties- if not the biggest. When you think about it not many comedies of recent times have been quoted  quite as many times as the original film and that's quite an achievement. I'm surprised a sequel didn't get produced sooner. As with all sequels, Anchorman 2 has the potential to ruin the first films reputation entirely so I can understand the hesitation. The result? Gotta say, it's a mixed bag.

Anchorman 2 goes for the 'more of what you like' route from the very beginning and the laughs, initially anyway, come big and very frequent. There's repeatable quotes, hilarious little set-pieces and scenarios and dialogue that has me laughing just remembering it. I found most of the big laughs came from Steve Carrel's Brick but Will Ferrel and...the others get their moments too. There's a very wide range of humour here ranging from the most basic 'Brick is acting stupid, LOL' to some more subtle dialogue that takes a second to sink in. Even in a cinema of 30 people tops the auditorium was filled with laugher for the majority of the film and this is definitely Anchorman 2's strong point.

What does it do wrong then? I can pinpoint it exactly- the last third of the movie. It's as if everyone who wrote and created the first two thirds just passed everything to some new unfunny amateur guys and said 'just do what you want, that's at least an hour of good stuff'. When the film is about journalism and the story focuses on live news it's in an environment that allows for jokes to be in context and give the film an on-running theme. As much as there's a lot of basic humour there's a pretty good story about the news becoming more than a vessel of information and more about entertainment and power similar to the News Room or Citizen Kane. That stops at a precise point and what we get after that is random unfunny humour that leaves you with a bad taste in your mouth when you leave the cinema.

It's worth mentioning opinion is divided on this matter. I've talked to people that prefer the last third and thought is saved the film. For me however it just felt forced and laugh-free.

Back to the good though, Anchorman 2 starts great and maintains a rapid stream of laughs to warrant admission fee. For fans of the original there's a lot of throw-backs to the original film and if you were a fan of the characters initially you'll like them here as well.

My favourite bit of the whole film was the maybe 5 second clip that started 'here's my face when I see a snake made of candy'. It features Bricks new love interest in the film and had me in stitches for a reason I couldn't put my finger on.

It's a shame that Anchorman 2 ends the way it does but it's by no means a complete failure. When it's good it's definitely good. But when it's bad it's almost abysmal. It certainly doesn't stay classy. I'm sorry.

7/10

The Hobbit- The Desolation of Smaug

Trailer- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPVWy1tFXuc

Movie dragons, I can think of a few. The Hungarian Horntail in Harry Potter, the Eragon dragons...Donkey's love interest in Shrek. The Desolation of Smaug is a very important film when it comes to the subject. It introduces us to the character in the title, Smaug- the dragon to make you forget about every other movie dragon in history. The dragons mentioned above look like the reptile tank at Pets at Home in comparison.

The Desolation of Smaug follows on straight after an Unexpected Journey left off. The main difference between the 2 films is where the pacing issues lie. Last year's Hobbit seemed to take an age to finally take off before it delivered us some epic fantasy goodness. This time we're thrown straight into the action with 2 great action pieces that will have you smiling ear to ear happening early on. It slows down in the middle this time but really kicks back into gear for the film's grand finale.

We'll get the second Hobbit film's only problem out of the way early on- it still feels a little too long. It's not a 'oh hurry up and finish' long but the gap between the amazing opening scenes to incredible finish is really felt. You know there's a battle with a dragon coming up and you just wish they'd get out  of 'Set-up for the Third Movie Town' they visit at the movie's mid-point and get to the action.

Dat action though. Starting with the journey to the Lonely Mountain- the barrel scene you see in the trailers is so much better than you imagined it would be. It steps it from from just a goofy little thrill ride down a river that uses 3D to make you feel like it's a theme park attraction. There's gorgeous sweeping shots of chaos happening all around the river and some surprisingly gory combat and archery thanks to the reintroduction of Legolas from Lord of The Rings. And Kate from Lost.

Legolas's inclusion confused me a little seeings as the Hobbit happened 60 years priot to LOTR but I was informed that elves don't age the same as hobbits and dwarves. Convenient. I'm glad him and Kate (sorry, Tauriel) are in the film though as it freshens up the main-to-sub character list and adds some younger blood to the mostly older mains. It also allows the film to add some great fight scenes while touching on a potential love triangle. The relationship aspect isn't hammed on as much as you'd maybe expect but the subtlety of it works and  I'm sure it'll develop in There and Back Again.

And onto Smaug himself. It's a great indication of what the word 'epic' means in this age of cinema. The film gives us a lot of Smaug and I never wanted it to end. Bendict Cumberbatch as Smaug is a great move and gives him character. A very intimidating character. I cringed a little when I learnt the dragon talks in the Hobbit but now I can't imagine it any other way. It never feels silly and gives us some of the most stunning cinema I've seen this year.

The Desolation of Smaug ends the year of franchise blockbusters on a high and as much as I was in the cinema for more than 3 hours I didn't want that end scene to finish. I won't spoil the film's cliffhanger but I can assure you you'll wish Christmas 2014 was much sooner.

The mid section does take it's toll on the film as a whole but it can be forgiven due to the rest of The Desolation of Smaug being  really quite fantastic. An improvement on the already great first film and helps affirm the Hobbit as a movie franchise into one of the best of modern times

9/10

Saving Mr. Banks

Trailer- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5kYmrjongg

Behind every great story there's often an even greater story behind it. It's a much used phrase when it comes to the film industry but nothing is more true when it comes to the story of Mary Poppins. Fans of the history of Walt Disney- this is your perfect film. It's interesting, funny and  has a whole tonne of heart.

The writer of Mary Poppins, PL Travers, was famously unhappy with what Walt Disney turned her beloved book into. Saving Mr.Banks explores the feuds and negotiations between Disney and Travers while creating the motion picture of Mary Poppins while looking into why the original story meant so much to it's writer.

The whole film gives an incredibly interesting and sometimes brave insight into the Walt Disney company at the time. It's a story that shows the sometimes difficult relationship between the stuffy British and 'y'all have a great day now!' Americans. It isn't just a series of interactions between Emma watson's wonderful grumpy portrayal of PL Travers with the various OTT Americans she meets however. The film goes much deeper than that.

The most impressive feat the film pulls off is Tom Hanks's uncanny role as Walt Disney. It's as if the man himself has been brought back to life and his jolly, happy nature is captured perfectly as well as his ruthlessness and determination. That's the thing about Walt Disney- as much as he had that joyful exterior he's a man who got what he wanted at any cost.

Saving Mr.Banks uses a series of flashbacks to show the back-story of PL Travers and help build up the picture of how Mary Poppins came into creation. The only criticism I'd give of the film is that they are perhaps a little over used but I still feel they are essential to the film as the story builds to it's super-emotional finale. To have an entire audience in tears over a story about the creation of a fictional character really takes some skill.

The whole tone of the film feels upbeat and whenever we're shown either the the Disney Studios or theme park there's a sense of magic felt similar to the feeling you get when you go to a Disney theme park yourself. At it's very core it's a story of someone who is immune to that Disney magic and how Walt tries to help them let it in.

It's funny as well with dialogue that had me laughing out loud. The Sherman brothers in the film provide much of the laughs as their Americanisms clash with Travers's stuffiness but they're by no means just a comedy aside. There are no filler characters here and everybody in Saving Mr.Banks plays an important role in the story.

Heartfelt and insightful, Saving Mr.Banks perfectly captures the story that lead to one of Disney's biggest films. It gives us an often unseen look into Walt Disney Studios at one of their peaks and delivers a story that will stick with you for a long long time. .

If I was incredibly corny I'd say it's practically perfect in every way.

10/10

Carrie

Trailer- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdoVioPv0fs

I'm not familiar with the original Carrie film but I'd be interested to see how it compares to this 2013 remake. The story of Carrie really drew me in and was clever in the way it made me question who was actually good and who was bad. It's a shame this version is dressed up in cheap teeny horror clothing which gives Carrie a very confusing tone.

Those unfamiliar with the story, think of it as if Roald Dahl's Matilda had a very religious mother, had made it to high school and got picked on a lot. It all builds up to a cruel joke being played on her at prom at which point shit starts to go down as she's pushed too far. That in a nutshell is the story of Carrie.

For what it is it's fun to watch. The film moves along swiftly introducing us to all the one dimensional characters and when action happens it's big and bloody. As much as all the other characters don't have an awful lot to them the theme of not quite knowing if Carrie is good or not is present throughout the film. There's an obvious bitch character and an obvious good girl character but Carrie herself is more complicated. You certainly feel sorry for her a lot of the time but as the film progresses you start to wonder if you do want Carrie to make it out alive.

This of course is most likely a compliment to the source material and not the film I watched recently. I've said before I'm no cinematographer but the film feels very cheaply made. I lost count of how many continuity errors there were, characters looking one way in one shot and looking in another the split second after. It's really not something you should continually notice in a film and it does cheapen it a lot.

The target audience of Carrie is aimed at what I'd call the 'Final Destination' crowd. They don't want to grow deep feelings for the characters on screen, they just want to see them die in horrific ways. People up for that kind of film will be at home here as there's a lot of violence in Carrie for the sake of violence. About 20 minutes of the film is changing set-ups for the next death of bit-characters. I just feel the film could have gone down a much more clever route, focused more on the relationships Carrie has with people etc.

What we get though is still fun while not doing the original story full justice. It's worth noting that Chloe Grace Moretz is great as Carrie and really stands out as the only real acting talent in Carrie.

It's worth watching in the background but you won't be thinking about Carrie days after viewing.

6/10