Reviewed: Hanna [2011]

Hanna [2011]

12A - 111mins - Action/Adventure/Mystery - 6th May 2011

Hanna is not only the story of a girl who you would definitely not like to meet down a dark alley but also one of discovery as she learns to live in the real world away from the restrictions and rigorous regime that her father has bestowed upon her.

The story begins in the forests near the Arctic Circle where Hanna (Saoirse Ronan) lives with her ex-agent father Erik (Eric Bana) in solitude, hunting the animals and being trained by her father for a greater purpose that is kept from us. After they activate a homing beacon, US marines flock to their house where they can locate only Hanna. They take her in for questioning to a top secret base in order to discover the whereabouts of her father but find that Hanna will only speak to Marissa Wiegler (Cate Blanchett) the head of the operations (with her own agenda), who she knows by name.

This is where we discover first hand the true potential of Hanna as she executes Marissa's double and the guards around her before attempting her escape from the compound. The movie follows her story as she then flees the scene in order to reunite with her father. All the while she is being tracked down by the warped and slightly crazed Isaacs (Tom Hollander).

As the movie develops you can't help but feel somewhat sorry for her as all she has ever known is the confines of her father's house and the encyclopedic knowledge that she has been taught as a bedtime story rather than the fairytales that other children are given. In some ways this is a coming of age story just from a slightly different angle than the norm as she adapts to a world that she finds alien and confusing.

Cinematography is hectic with the picture cutting, chopping and changing during fight scenes and supported by dramatic music (given to us by The Chemical Brothers) that adds to the action splendidly. This is then contrasted by long scenes that are shot with no cutting whatsoever which really allows for the tempo of the movie to help dictate the franticness of the action when it arrives. Locations, like the camera work, varies greatly as one moment you are in the wild in the Arctic or a desert before being transported to the urban landscape as a metropolitan city or a city from the developing world.

Things that did not quite work for me were the occasional plot holes and slightly unrealistic/unbelievable scenarios that kept popping up- can you grab the underside of a truck moving at 50 mph and still hold on because I know I can't, the poor Texan accent put on by Blanchett who I would have expected better from and I also would have enjoyed just a bit more action during the movie.

All in all Hanna is an enjoyable little action adventure that will please on most fronts. In essence it is replicating one of the Bourne trilogy with a 16 year old girl and is not as explosive and action packed as some might expect but Ronan's performance along with a mysterious undertone that parallels the story make it worth the watch.

Rating: B

Next I'm giving you a documentary to look at that most will not have heard of. The King Of Kong- A Fistful Of Quarters [my review] follows a man and his attempt to break the arcade game Donkey Kong world record. Have a gander below.

Farm
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Reviewed: Red Riding Hood [2011]

Red Riding Hood [2011]

TBC - 100mins - Fantasy/Horror/Mystery - 15th April 2011

I am somewhat disappointed this year by the lack of original content being released with so many new movies being either sequels, comic book characters or as is the case for Red Riding Hood rehashing a concept and putting it on the big screen. Only Cowboys And Aliens (directed by Jon Favreau- Iron Man 1 & 2) and perhaps the highly advertised and hyped Super 8 (J.J.Abrams) look like they are going to give us something new to think about this year and that's a real shame.

This Red Riding Hood is based loosely on the original fable with parallels able to be drawn from it. We have a girl wearing red, a grandmother who lives in the woods and of course a wolf. The girl, Valerie, (Amanda Seyfried) lives in a small village in the mountains that is cursed by the presence of a werewolf. There has long been an understanding between the villagers and the wolf whereby they leave out their best livestock every full moon and in return the wolf does not harm them. However on this particular full moon a girl is found dead and the villagers seek revenge.

A reputable priest (Gary Oldman) who has slain werewolfs before for other villages is called in to try and rid them of their curse. He is ruthless and will stop at nothing to see daemons rid from the Earth. While these events are unfolding there is also a love triangle developing with Valerie. She is engaged to be married to a reputable man (Max Irons) but longs for the tradesman woodcutter (Shiloh Fernandez) who she often goes to visit in the woods.

I wouldn't necessarily class this as an out and out horror, I suppose it can have its moments but apart from some suspense and shadows there isn't a lot to get you jumping out of your boots. If you liked the Twilight saga on screen then I can see you liking this as well with Catherine Hardwicke giving this production a similar feel to that of her previous work. She has also, like Twilight picked relative unknowns to act the main roles- Oldman aside and I'm sure they will be popping up again and again over the next few years.

The most impressive thing about this movie is the set and backgrounds which are beautifully designed, especially the thorny trees that surround the village and 'grandmother's house'. Unfortunately that is the only thing I can think of at the moment that would make me want to see any part of this movie again and that's not enough.

It also becomes quite predictable and despite keeping me thinking for a short while, it's increasingly obvious who the werewolf is by the end.

So in conclusion, I found this to be another below par movie that doesn't offer up any real surprises or intrigue. I would not recommend going out and paying for this and even when it hits the TV's it will not be hard to find something better on.

Rating: D

So from a soon to be released 'blockbuster' to a movie that has most likely slipped under your radar when it was released in December of last year. I give you Catfish [my review]...

Farm
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Reviewed: Source Code [2011]

Source Code [2011]

12A - 93mins - Action/Mystery/Romance - 1st April 2011

So I sit before you having just watched one of my top tips for an April hit and I find myself somewhat stuck on the fence before I even start writing the review so I shall have to watch this one again. I think this is more down to a mild bout of sleep deprivation rather than the movie though but lets see.

Upon second viewing, I have concluded that it was indeed lack of sleep working its magic to confuse me rather than the movie (although it does try its best to). Source Code follows a soldier, Colter Stevens, (Jake Gyllenhaal) who awakens to find himself on a train heading for Chicago. After talking to the stranger opposite him, Christina (Michelle Monaghan) who seems to know him well, he goes to the bathroom and standing in front of a mirror sees another person staring back at him. As we think about what on earth is going on, the train suddenly blows up and he wakes up, again disorientated, to another scenario. Leaving all those questions unanswered, it kind of drags you in!

Now within a dark room we find he is linked to a program, the source code, that uses shadows of peoples memories to relive the last 8 minutes of their lives. Goodwin (Vera Farmiga), a sympathetic operator of the source code sets him the task of finding the train bomber so that other attacks that have been planned later in the day can be stopped before they occur.

When I watched this movie, I thought that it was going to be solely the whodunit mystery revolving around the train and the identity of the bomber. However this is not quite the case as Colter finds himself unsure of his surroundings while not in the source code. This leads to the viewer having two riddles to solve- on the one hand who is the bomber and on the other the mystery behind who has put him into the source code and why is he there. I feel this puzzle within a puzzle adds to the excitement giving the movie several levels to work on.

The one thing that this movie had to contend with is the potential for there to be large scenes of repetition whilst Colter is on the train reliving the same moments again and again. This is well handled with enough variety that you become more intrigued by what he is going to do next and start demanding that he pick on a particular character that you have had your eye on for a while rather than the one he is currently investigating.

The movie is well acted with Gyllenhaal in particular putting in another strong performance to follow up his one in Love and Other Drugs with the relationship factor once again playing a strong part in his role in the movie. In general though the acting is impressive and I look forward to Duncan Jones (son of David Bowie wouldn't ya know!) next foray into the movie world because after this and Moon he has a lot of pressure to deliver something exceptional.

The only slight issue I have with this movie is something I can't really talk about until you have watched it. So all I will say is this- I was not a great fan of the way things ended.

Source Code looked like it was heading for a good haul before it was released and it does not fail to disappoint. I was never falling off my chair in anticipation but it is a cleverly thought out plot that is executed well with good CGI, acting, music and enough mystery to pull you through to the end. Not a classic but a very good watch none the less.

Rating: B

So from one hot off the press release to the next with Sucker Punch [my review] next on my to do list. The graphics look stunning so lets see if the movie can hold up under some scrutiny. Check it out...

Farm
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Reviewed: Limitless [2011]

Limitless [2011]

15 - 105mins - Mystery/Thriller - 23rd March 2011

Soon to be released on the 23rd of March, Limitless focuses around the life of writer Eddie Morra (Bradley Cooper) a man who is heading nowhere fast in life; he is most definitely in the slow lane. The book he's currently working on has reached healthy zero words after an extended spell of writers block and his love life is trending down a similar road.

Cue a chance encounter with an old acquaintance and the discovery of a way to escape the mundane world that he is currently calling his life. The way you ask? Take a pill, a simple clear pill that will solve all his problems. It has the ability to open up access to all of his brain function rather than his current 20% and release the boundaries and confines that he was once restricted to. Realising that nothing can get much worse than it already is he uses it and things immediately become easy for him. The only slight issue being he does not have an endless supply and that unsurprisingly he is not the only one who knows of its existence.

Whether meant to be ironic or not the first time you see Eddie you could be forgiven for thinking he was on drugs and as the movie progresses along with his life thanks to the help of the drug, NZT-48 he cleans up his act. Cooper does a good job of self narrating the well written script that gives us some funny moments and dry wit to boot whilst his ability to move between the two altering personalities while he is on and off the drug is impressive.

De Niro and Cornish play their parts well but are not given enough screen time to develop their characters into noteworthy performances as most of the focus is kept on Eddie. This leads me into my only slight disappointment with the movie in that the secondary characters seem to get no mention, then appear for ten to fifteen minutes before disappearing never to be seen or referenced to again making the plot slightly disjointed to say the least.

This is countered by the fact that I absolutely love the cinematography and the way that this movie has been constructed. The effect carried out at the opening credits as the camera continuously tunnel zooms through the urban nightlife sets the standard for the rest of the film. When on the drug everything is brighter, people are well groomed and then when off it everything is gloomier/darker so as to visualise the emotions and state of mood being felt in Eddie's mind. Not only that but you can feel the heightened effect the drug is having as more things are put on screen to engage the viewer and get you thinking while at the same time the camera flits about the place as the tempo is increased to indicate Eddie's enhanced brain activity.

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(highlight to view)

Don't read on if you don't want to find out about some of the plot! The movie ties up most lose ends but nothing is ever really made of the death/murder of the girl in the hotel room drawing back to my point of token extra characters. This could be meant to be sinister especially with the lawyer stating that someone had the decency to wipe the place of prints. Also the ever increasing desperation and the willingness to do anything for that next hit (drinking the blood off the floor) could have been played on a bit more to show the true darkness of how drugs can effect us.

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All in all Limitless was a very enjoyable film that kept me entertained for its duration. The drug effects on the world around Eddie were cleverly depicted as was most on the CGI letting you feel the drug with him and although I felt they could have pushed the boundaries slightly further and explored the drugs side of things a bit more I was glad to have watched this fun flick.

Rating: B  

So after the latest blockbuster review what's next in my bag of tricks I hear you ask. Well in order to celebrate my upcoming trip to Wales I will be giving you a Welsh movie to get your teeth into. That's right, prepare yourself for Twin Town [1997] [my review], Wales answer to Lock Stock And Two Smoking Barrels. Here is a short clip explaining the joys of Swansea.

Farm
Are you fanatical about film? Then follow this site on Twitter @  FAbFilms