So late with June’s edition but forgive me as coupled with watching a tonne of films, in June I graduated and moved house! Here are some of the flicks I saw in June, ranging from the terrible to the fantastic.
I’m not exaggerating when I say this is the worst film of the year, so far. Trust me, The Devil Inside is not worth your time. If you’ve seen The Exorcist or the Anthony Hopkins film, The Rite, then you’ve pretty much seen The Devil Inside as the film offers nothing original in the exorcism sub-genre. Hopefully this is the death of exorcism films because they just aren’t scary anymore. I think the film-makers realised this too because they rely solely on jump-scares to get cheap thrills, which is just poor film-making. Another thing that really wound me up was the camerawork. Fine, it’s a documentary so there will be some handheld but whenever anything interesting happens, the camera weaves in and out of focus and goes ridiculously shaky, making the on-screen action unintelligible. Oh and WORST HORROR ENDING EVER. Please, just stay away from this turd of a film.
Intruders is an interesting film with a scary, contemporary retelling of the boogeyman myth. The film takes place in two separate countries – Spain and England, following two children as their nights are plagued by a shadowy, sinister creature. However, when the writer’s try to give an explanation to the boogeyman by shoe-horning in Clive Owen’s childhood backstory, the film starts to become clumsy and preposterous. The reveal, which I suspect was supposed to be shocking, came off as laughable and silly. I do have to give the film-makers credit for trying something original though, and the first half hour is a tense watch. The director was also behind 28 Weeks Later, so it’s a well-made, well-acted film. I think the director did all he could with the weak source material he was given. With a few re-writes, this could’ve been extremely memorable.
Speaking of films that needed a few rewrites… here’s Wanderlust, a flick I suspect was completely improvised. Essentially, Paul Rudd and Jennifer Aniston ditch their well-off, middle-class affluent lifestyle and join a hippie commune where free-love and marijuana-smoking is practised. The premise seems like it would open up some funny scenarios and ofcourse, you have your obligatory haluccination scene (which was done 100000% times better in 21 Jump Street). The biggest problem with Wanderlust is that it relies completely on shock value – on nudity, swearing and disgusting imagery (there’s a graphic birth awkwardly placed in the middle of the film). Paul Rudd, who I usually love, is given license to do and say whatever he likes, so expect lots of awkward similies and misplaced self-confidence. Awkward is actually the most adequate word for this movie. I was also royally pissed off by the director’s treatment of infidelity but that’s a whole pandora’s box which I don’t want to open or I’ll never shut up.
Jason Reitman is one of my favourite director’s. He has a great knack of balancing drama with comedy and all of his films feature difficult arseholes that you somehow end up sympathising with. With Young Adult, he takes on his biggest challenge and unfortunately, he may have taken on more than he could chew. The absolutely stunning, Charlize Theron plays Mavis, a complete and utter bitch who relocates to her home-town to try and take back her highschool sweet-heart. Two problem’s – he’s married. With a kid. If you watch this as a comedy, you’ll end up turning it off. However, as a drama about an egomaniac sinking deeper and deeper into breakdown, it’s interesting. Theron’s fantastic performance isn’t enough to keep the film together though, and more time should’ve been spent building her relationship with her family. I was also not a big fan of the ending which is unsatisfying and offers little empathy for the audience.
The first thing I did when I moved house was buy a big, high-definition television and this was the first film I watched in stunning HD, in the comfort of my own home. Visually, I enjoyed the hell out of Ninja Assassin, and it satiated my need for bloody, over-the-top fights and cgi blood-splatter. I’ll happily admit that I’m no expert in the martial arts genre so for all I know this film could be derivative and genre-pap. For an ignorant, it was highly enjoyable. The plot was my main stumbling block but most of the time it wasn’t a problem. I was also confused by the perfect English spoken by all of the ninja’s but I got over that quite quickly too. Take Ninja Assassin for what it is – a Hollywood gorefest.
Some people are against films like Snow White and the Huntsman because they mess with the chronology and story of previous classics. I don’t mind remakes or reboots as long as they offer something fresh and different, there has to be a reason for them other than a quick cash injection for the studio. SWATH is a wonderfully creative re-imagining of the classic story with production levels akin to the LOTR saga. At times, I was in awe of the quality visuals on screen. The film-makers did a fantastic job of taking you to another world. The cast are just as strong with Charlize Theron turning in a powerful performance as the evil Queen, Ravenna. The stars of the show are the dwarfs, though, played by miniature Nick Frost, Bob Hoskins, Ray Winstone and Ian McShane. They offer much needed comic relief and charm to a film that is steeped in doom and darkness. If the ending wasn’t such an open-ended farce that deliberately left room for a sequel, I would’ve rated this film even higher. As it is, I was quite surprised and recommend it to fans of fantasy.
I was even more surprised by The Vow, however. Something has happened to Channing Tatum recently. He’s become likeable and charming, discarding his previous meathead persona. The Vow liberally lifts its story from The Notebook and other romance films before it but to be honest, films like this are more about the chemistry between the two leads, which is where the strength of the film lies. Tatum and McAdams have a brilliant on-screen relationship, which felt neither forced or too over-the-top. I was also surprised by how genuine the film felt. Although there were some sappy scenes, I wasn’t rolling my eyes as much as I had expected. In fact, I found myself reluctantly rooting for Tatum… These fluffy romantic flicks are a dime a dozen but The Vow stands head and shoulders above any of Reese Witherspoon’s recent pap. My only criticism of the film would be how Rachel McAdam’s character was written as she can be extremely hard to empathise with, seemingly becoming a loveless bitch overnight.
The Grey, is the survival story about a group of men who find themselves stranded in the barren Alaskan outback after their plane crash-landed. Liam Neeson has an intensity that makes him so perfect for roles like this and the film is reliant upon his fantastic acting ability. He leads a group of rag-tag men who’s individual stories are all slowly explored as each of them come perilously close to death due to the harsh elements and the hungry wolves that are pursuing them. Some of the death scenes are horrifically sad, as they shot with a terrifying realism and bleakness. I got far more than i expected from this film, as there is a beautiful, dream-like quality that makes it more than your typical survival film. Many people have discussed the idea that the film represents purgatory and that the whole cast actually died in the crash. If you watch it with that in mind, the film takes an interesting, existential turn. Even as a linear drama/action film, it is highly effective and I would have no qualms in recommending it.
Benrhayward 