Welcome To The Punch ( 2013 )

A criminal is on the run in London and one man wants revenge.





              Starring James McAvoy and Mark Strong.


              Written and directed by Eran Creevy.






It's hardly a knock-out movie.




You can't really fault the action sequences, they do exactly what they say on the tin and James McAvoy steals the show as a police detective in London with a chip on his shoulder the size of a Harley Davidson.



But where this movie lost me was in the plot.




I was confused 6 minutes in and I was confused an hour later and even when the so called plot was revealed in all it's glory, I was none the wiser. What is the point of any film when you don't have a bloody clue what is going on? The background music didn't help either. It was so loud I think the old woman who lives at the end of my row could have heard it. And she's deaf. Every movie needs light and shade and that's what this lacked. It was all action and not much character development or explanation.






I'm giving it a 6 out of 10 just because James McAvoy was in it.

Dogtooth ( 2009 )

            Three teenagers live in total isolation 
                                   from the rest of the world.






Starring Christos Stergioglou, Michele Valley, Angelika Papoulia, Hristos Passalis and Mary Tsoni.



Written by Efthymis Filippou and Yorgos Lanthimos.



Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos.






This movie has taken my breath away! It is creepy, disturbing and darkly funny in all the right places.



From start to finish it gripped me to my seat. It's left of centre, incredibly odd and perfect in every way.




I don't know how anybody could possibly watch this without feeling their skin crawling on the back of their necks because it is pretty disturbing stuff. It felt like I wasn't watching a bunch of actors, it was more like I had been picked up and transplanted into this bizarre household. The ending came suddenly and I wasn't expecting it to finish so abruptly but it was probably the perfect ending to an amazing movie.




Dark. Odd and disturbing.





10/10

Badlands (1973)

A young girl and a guy from the wrong side of the tracks meet 
             with devastating consequences.





Starring Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek.

Written and directed by by Terrence Malik.






This is an okay movie. It's better than average but falls short of ever becoming anything better.



Martin Sheen is passable as a rogue from the wrong side of town but Sissy Spacek's performance is a little ropey. I got the impression she was cast because of her looks more than anything else. I'm sure she's a better actress than this performance merits. The plot kept my attention but didn't excite me in any way.



The cinematography is good and I liked the location filming and the offbeat musical score. Badlands was released in 1973 but it does stand the test of time pretty well.





Okay



7/10

The Fan ( 1996 )

Sometimes baseball can be more important than life itself.






Starring Robert De Niro and Wesley Snipes.


Written by Peter Abrahams ( Book ) and Phoef Sutton ( Screenplay).



Directed by Tony Scott.






Sometimes a very average movie can be carried by one great acting performance.





It's never been truer said than in this one. Everything else about The Fan is distinctly average. The plot has been done to death. Obsessed fan becomes a dangerous fan. Obsessed fan has newspaper clippings pinned to his walls. Obsessed fan resorts to murder.


Most of the acting performances are average as well, including Wesley Snipes in what I'm guessing is one of his early acting roles. Or maybe it's more of a case of actors being miscast?




I didn't buy the plot. For the first half of the film the main character is just a terrible husband that seems destined to screw up his relationship with his ex and his son. And then suddenly the movie jumps the shark and he turns into an obsessed fan with a pair of binoculars and a taste for murder.
The whole production is a bit of a damp squid but Robert De Niro delivers a good performance that manages to stop the film from hurtling over the edge of a cliff.







An average 6/10 but mainly because of Robert De Niro.

Changeling ( 2008 )

A mother is reunited with her missing child but she is convinced 
               he is an imposter.





Starring Angelina Jolie and John Malkovich. Written by J Michael Straczynski.


Directed by Clint Eastwood.





When I first read the premise of this I was drawn in. It sounded like it would be an interesting movie, especially as it was based on a true story.



Sadly though I found whole thing distinctly average.



The first thing that struck me was how lacklustre the acting performances were. Angelina Jolie was so robotic it felt like she was doing a terrible impression of Joan Collins all the way through the movie. And as for John Malkovich, I just wanted to poke him with a large stick to make sure he was still breathing.


The whole production was dull and pretty lifeless. I wasn't surprised at all to get the to end credits to realize that it was directed and part produced by Clint Eastwood. He was a fantastic actor but maybe that doesn't always mean you will become a brilliant director? I'll have to watch more of his movies to find out.



Only a few positive things I can say about Changeling.




I really liked the exterior shots of LA in the twenties. I loved seeing all the old cars and trams floating about. So a big credit to whoever designed that. Also the only acting performance with any real life in it was Jason Butler Harner who sadly only appeared towards the end. His performance as Gordon Northcott was the film's saving grace. A bright light in a very dark and gloomy tunnel!






6/10

The Last Station ( 2009 )

   A biography of Leo Tolstoy as he struggles to balance 
                    his fame with his beliefs.





Starring Helen Mirren, James McAvoy, Christopher Plummer and Kerry Condon.


Written by Michael Hoffman (Screenplay) and Jay Parini (Novel).



Directed by Michael Hoffman.







This is one of those that I didn't really fancy because on paper it doesn't sound too thrilling.



But it's actually compelling stuff. The story of Tolstoy's final years is fascinating, beautifully told and perfectly cast. Helen Mirren, Christopher Plummer and James McAvoy deliver stellar performances.

I have never read anything by Leo Tolstoy so I wasn't sure whether this movie would resonate with me in any way, but it's actually one of the best I've seen in recent weeks. I love the way Michael Hoffman weaves a love story into the mix and it works perfectly.





Enjoyed. Not sure if I'm ready for war and peace yet! How long is it?




10/10

Looper (2012)

In a future society, time-travel exists, but it's only available to those with the means to pay for it on the black market. When the mob wants to eliminate someone, it sends the target into the past, where a hit man known as a looper lies in wait to finish the job.

Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis and Emily Brunt.

Written and Directed by Rian Johnson.

This is a great movie that is ruined by trying to be too many things.



I love the premise. A bunch of gangsters in the future get their hands on time travel technology and send their victims 30 years into the past to be killed by people called loopers. It's timeywhimey, it's a head fuck. It's original and keeps you guessing and the plot is unraveled as you watch.

But then it all goes wrong.

Bruce Willis is introduced and soon the movie turns into Die Hard and then later on unbelievably it turns into Stephen King's Carrie! There was no need for this, The plot was doing fine as it was. I can only guess that Rian Johnson was worried that the plot wasn't good enough to stand on its own two feet and panicked.

Don't get me wrong there are some decent acting performances by all three of the mains, especially Joseph Gordon-Levitt. It's just a pity that the plot tried to do too many things. It all became too unrealistic and this movie literally lost the plot.

7/10

Disgrace (2008)

A Cape Town professor has an affair with a student.

Starring John Malkovich and Jessica Haines.

Written by J.M Koetzee (Novel) and Screenplay by Anna Maria Monticelli.

Directed by Steve Jacobs.

This is dark and quirky and left of centre, pretty much how I like my movies.

It's basically about desire and how it can often lead to devastating results. John Malkovich and Jessica Haines are excellent and the whole thing kept my interest all the way. I really liked the location filming and it made a nice change to watch something set in South Africa. This movie makes you think and that's a good thing.

A safe and enjoyable 7.5 out of 10.

Serpico ( 1973 )

A New York cop discovers that the force is totally corrupt.

Starring Al Pacino. Written by Peter Maas ( Book ), Waldo Salt and Norman Wexler ( Screenplay).

Directed by Sydney Lumet.

Reading some of the online reviews I realize I am probably in the minority but this wasn't my cup of tea.

If it wasn't for the wonderful portrayal of the main character by Al Pacino I probably would have switched off the TV. He was terrific and carried the movie in my opinion. The plot was average and was full of padding and I was losing interest towards the end. Some of the acting was questionably wooden and the less that can be said about Serpico's live-in girlfriend the better!



I think part of the problem is that it is considerably dated and is full of what are now considered Movie cliches so I probably would have enjoyed it more if I had watched it years ago.

This is my first Al Pacino film and I thought he was incredible and the location filming was nostalgic.

But on the whole I'll give it a 

6/10

Angela's Ashes ( 1999 )

A distraught young family make the long journey from America back to Ireland to discover it is much worse than when they left.

Starring Emily Watson and Robert Carlyle.

Written by Frank McCourt ( Book ), Laura Jones (Screenplay) and Alan Parker (Screenplay).

Directed by Alan Parker.





This is an incredibly touching and well acted movie. I was especially impressed with the young actors. They always say never to work with animals or children but I don't think I've ever watched a film with better acting performances from children.


As well as the terrific acting, the storyline is emotionally compelling and at times pretty hilarious. The location filming is superb and it is overall a brilliantly produced movie. It is nostalgic, heart warming and terrifying in equal measure.



I haven't read the original book yet but I have a feeling it's probably even better. I'll have to read it at some point.



Great film.



10/10