My Latest opinion on the recent releases at the cinema
The Kingdom:
Although I conclude by giving this 4 stars, this review may sound like a bit of a rant. The tagline for The Kingdom is ' An elite FBI team sent to find a killer in a hostile country', this is basically exactly what it is. The title sequence is the best part of the film, it was absolutely stunningly well done and I advise a trip to YouTube to check it out if you don't plan on sitting through the 110 mins of pure USA action this film throws at you. Basically, something huge happens that pisses off the yanks, they go to Saudi Arabia to check it out the film follows them finding one guy who at the end dies. (highlight over blank for ending). The main performance of Jamie Foxx is good, he's doing what he does best and his sidekicks, Bateman, Cooper and Garner also put in a reputable performance. Overall, the film is good fun, it won't challenge your brain but you won't get disappointed either. Try to go check this unique action thriller for yourselves.
Rendition:
Since, I started this whole cinema thing, I've seen some pretty awful films, Spiderman 3 and Magicians to name but a few, but nothing and I mean absolutely nothing I've seen comes even close to being as slow, boring, empty and dull as this was. The film could easily have been cut down from 2 hours to 10 minutes. I'm not going to waste typing out what I thought of the cast or what I thought of the story, all I can say is its basically like one long presidential candidates election speech, full of bullsh*t and it sends you to sleep. Sorry for getting angry, it was a really really awful film.
Elizabeth:The Golden Age:
The only reason I went to see this is because of the music they played in the trailer, it was a piece from The Island called My Name is Lincoln and I think it's one of the best pieces of music ever composed for a movie. Anyway, this film is the second in the Elizabeth saga, I didn't catch the first one when it came out but I was told it was a bit too full of frilly dresses, Ye Olde Language and nothing historically correct in any way at all end of story. I'm not the best guy to talk to when it comes to History, I'm going to be honest and say I'm not even sure when 1st World War ended...I feel like an idiot now..Suppose I am for not knowing that. Anyway, I don't really know how historically correct this film was, but what I can tell you is that it is really quite good. It's way too long, there was a chunk in the middle about 30 minutes long that could have easily been cut out, but apart from that I can't really fault it, a sterling performance from the films entire cast and some brill action scenes towards the end made this one of my favourite films this year, it was still a bit frilly dressy and poshy languagey, but take out the 30 boring minutes and I'd be giving this 5 stars.
Yobi the Five Tailed Fox:
This was the film I went to see during the London Film Festival in November. The cinema was virtually empty and the screen was much smaller than most conventional cinemas. I hate to use this word, but to sum up Yobi in one word, it would be Magical...I feel awful for saying that now, yuck...stupid word! Anyway, its a Korean anime film directed by the guy that brought you My Beautiful Girl, Mari...(if you've ever heard of that). I would need a whole new site to explain the story in full, it is a brilliant brilliant film, one of the best, it's uniqueness is missed greatly by me as I head back to the mainstream films that Hollywood's billions have to offer, if you're stuck thinking what to get for Christmas this year, put Yobi on your list...It's well worth seeing!
Shoppen Munich
I went to see this with my A2 German group and our teachers as part of the German Film Festival in London. I honestly had no idea what to expect, all I knew was that it was apparently about speed dating. The director came on stage and introduced the film which took me back to the days when I used to go to premieres (..well...One premiere). It was in german (naturally) but had subtitles and it was brilliant, it really was. I couldn't explain everyones story but you followed the lives of 18 different singles, the ways they live their lives and how they interact with people in the same situation. The film focused upon a Lab-like speed dating scene which took up 60 of the 95 minutes which flew past. I really recommend the film, I'm not sure how you'll end up seeing it, you could buy it on DVD for someone for Christmas and just watch it yourself.