Tony McDougall's Film Reviews

New Blog

2010-06-25T21:18:00.001+01:00

I have decided to start a new blog reviewing not just films, but comics too. And I have gone with a better brand name and I hope to start podcasts. So check out my new blog at http://talkimage.blogspot.com/

Kung Fu Panda

2010-06-22T22:26:00.004+01:00

Kung Fu Panda shines through its cutting edge animation and a stunningly talented all star cast. The focus is on Po (Jack Black), a lazy Panda as he struggles to become a Kung Fu master to stop the rampage of the evil Tai Lung. This may be DreamWorks finest animated adventure to date boosting slick animation that will leave you in awe. It also benefited from a direct yet incredibly funny script that was performed well by its cast. This cast includes Black, as well as Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Seth Rogan and Jackie Chan. This would rightfully be seen as an epic cast in a live action film and in this setting they do not disappoint with all actors delivering with equal levels of credibility and humour. This is not just a film for the young, although I’m sure they will hugely enjoy it. It may also be experienced as a guilty pleasure for an older audience as well.

Score 4/5

Angels and Demons

2010-06-21T20:42:00.001+01:00

Angels and Demons cleverly uses urban myths and advanced science that has been widely reported to flatter its audience’s intelligence. This is the squeal to 2006’s The Da Vinci Code in which Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) returns to uncover a mystery revolving around the Catholic Church, a scientific experiment involving anti-matter and the illumniti. These are the sort of topics we have all watched a documentary or read a newspaper article about and as such think we’re experts, this film brilliantly plays on this, massaging our egos an making me feel much more learned than I actually am. Which is just as well, as in terms of plot so many zigs and zags were presented that little ego stroking was experienced here by me. So as you can tell I have high opinion of the writing and narrative, however not all aspects are so blessed. This film is so dedicated to its story that it criminally ignores character development and as Ron Howard had the impressive talents of Hanks, McGregor and the much underrated Skarsgård at his disposal it feels as if a trick was missed. However this does not pull the film down dramatically and if tense and clever thrillers are your idea of an evening well spent, this is one to watch.

3.5/5

Daybreakers

2010-06-11T21:18:00.001+01:00

Daybreakers is a film that’s synopsis sounds like a highly original take on the vampire mythos. However in viewing its quite clear that all this is regurgitated drivel from as many sources as possible. Daybreakers focuses on a world where vampires rule and humans are on the verge of extinction, as such so are the vampires due to a lack of food, so both humans and vampire are looking for alternative means of survival. Sounds original and fresh right? Wrong. This movie most notably steals from Blade (Human harvesting and a vampire cure anyone?) but takes whatever it can get from wherever it can get it. One of the reasons for viewing this film, was its cast, Willem Defoe, Sam Neil and Ethan Hawke all star, however you have to wonder if any of them read the script prior to signing on board. Defoe and Neil partially feel like they got paid a large amount, hammed it up and went home. In terms of plot this is predicable and contrived nonsense, worthy of cheap 90’s action movies that dream of having Arnie in their lead. This film really has no redeeming features, please do not watch this so called movie.

Score 1/5

8 Mile

2010-06-09T18:26:00.003+01:00

8 Mile was a film that rather pleasantly surprised in its quality and viewing pleasure. It tells the story of small time white rapper Jimmy ‘B-Rabbit’ Smith (Marshal ‘Eminem’ Mathers) as he struggles to make something of his life, all the while battling poverty and racial discrimination in this predominantly black setting. This film is a brilliant take on the underdog story and shares much in common with the likes of Rocky, even making the lead character an embodiment of his native city, in this case Detroit. The most is gotten out of the novice Mathers, by tailoring an effective and realistic script to him to the extent he was essentially playing a version of himself. He was also supported by a competent supporting cast including Kim Basinger in possibly her finest role ever. Curtis Hanson should be commended for crafting such an entertaining film from what seemed like dire material that was a mere cash in. Not only does he effectively tell the story and get great performances out of his cast he also shows visual flair while doing it. This film far exceeds expectations, Rocky for a new generation.

Score 4/5

Public Enemies

2010-06-06T13:20:00.001+01:00

Public Enemies sacrifices plot for character development and comes up short. It attempts to tell the story of John Dillinger (Johnny Depp) a self styled Robin Hood bank robber, operating in the time of the great depression and Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale) as the FBI agent assigned to bring him to justice. Having to such notable leading men, I believe that Michael Mann decided to let their talents shine through character development , however as the construction of the plot was so week, in that it was often hard to follow what was happening due to a lack of detail, this simply does not work. Far too little appears to happen to maintain any sort of interest. And in terms of the aforementioned leading men, they appear to be in competition with each other over who is the superior actor and just end up hamming it up, with over acted nonsense. On a plus note the film was gloriously stylised and thus beautiful to look at, every moment on screen appeared to be in the era of the great depression due to meticulous attention to detail. In trying to push its leading men to the forefront Mann forgets that the most important aspect of film making is to tell a story.

Score 2/5

The Terminator

2010-06-04T18:45:00.002+01:00

What can be said that hasn’t already been said about the perennial Sci-fi classic The Terminator? For those that don’t know this is the story of Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) as she is hunted by a cyborg from the future known as a terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) and protected by a solider from the same future (Michael Biehen). All this happens as in the year 2029 man and machine are at war and it is Sarah’s unborn son that is humanities leader and saviour. This is a dazzling film that put Cameron on the map as perhaps the greatest action director of all time. It was also a star making device for Schwarzenegger, who entered a lifetime best performance in the iconic role of the cold heartless machine, setting him up for one of the supreme careers in Hollywood history. This film also was so brilliant and unique in its narrative that it instantly created a vast world of possibilities in every viewers mind as to what could come next and how could this possibly be topped. This is a movie that if for some reason you haven’t seen, go and watch it now and if you have had the pleasure of viewing it, hopefully this review will remind you of its greatest and repeat viewing may be in order.

Score 5/5

Robocop

2010-06-03T18:54:00.001+01:00

Robocop is a film that many of today’s modern blockbusters could learn a lesson or two from. This movie is set in the near future where privatisation has spread to the police force and as such the company that owns the police OCP, decides to build a better police officer in Robocop. This film has as you would expect of a large sci-fi/action movie great action sequences and effects (for the time). However a true strength that this movie has that is often sorely missing in modern summer blockbusters is its ability to successfully manage multiple narratives without losing sight of any of them. This film also makes an interesting and relevant point about privatisation and some of the fears it expressed, in quite a tongue in cheek way I may add, have become a reality. At points it was hard to believe this film was made over twenty years ago and was not a spoof on current news events. Where this film was let down slightly was in its dependency on gratuitous violence that diminished some of the message it was trying to communicate. It also suffered from some lazy and clunky dialogue, however I am aware that these two points are some of the reasons many love this film. Overall not only is this a good action and sci-fi movie, it’s a lot smarter than many give it credit for.

Score 3.5/5

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

2010-06-01T17:10:00.003+01:00

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is known as the final work of Heath Ledger, regrettably it will be remembered for little else. Doctor Parnassus is a an immortal with powers to control individuals imaginations, who seems to be constantly making wagers with the devil, and upon making one such bet, befriends Tony (Heath Ledger) who tries to help him win this time. This film is as bizarre as my synopsis suggests, not that this is the problem, the problem is that Terry Gilliam constantly over indulges in the bizarreness and losses sight of his narrative. This is a shame because somewhere beneath this abstract drivel I think there was a charming, unique, modern day fairy tale, but this film was lost due to an over reliance on just being odd and a week screenplay that gave the actors little to work with. Heath Ledgers untimely demise added an interesting aspect to the movie, in that he was replaced at points by Jonny Depp, Judd Law and Colin Farrell. I feared this would be an unwanted distraction, however the physical change does make sense in regards to the narrative and Depp and Farrell actually were the best things in the film. This was an unfitting final movie for Ledger, and will not be remembered as fondly as films made in similar circumstances such as The Crow or Giant.

Score: 2/5

American: The Bill Hicks Story

2010-05-29T20:55:00.002+01:00

American: The Bill Hicks Story is an in-depth documentary looking at the life of a truly great and revolutionary comic talent in the aforementioned Bill Hicks. The film makers must be applauded for finally documenting the life of Hicks and doing so with the approval of his family. The interviews were well conducted with a variety of people from Bills life, and those interviewed only commented on their dealings with Bill and not hearsay. There is an abundance of footage of Hicks in early or small performances which give a fascinating insight into some of his lesser known routines. However due to licensing fees there is a lack of his more famous acts, sorely missing is the infamous 12^th Letterman set, that was cut from the show much to Bills chagrin. Although the interviews were well conducted the interviewees rarely appeared on screen, instead we were subjected to photos of Bill that had been strangely animated, this made it hard to work out at times who was talking, a case where simplicity would have trumped visual flair by adding greater intimacy. There were also no interviews with the women of Bills life, a shame but one I understand was out of the director’s hands. Overall this was an abdicate take on the groundbreaking comedians life, however with a little less fiddling on their Apple Macs the makers could have produced a much more emotional film.

Score: 3/5

Imitation of Life

2010-05-12T21:01:00.002+01:00

Imitation of Life is a film that is as relevant and fresh today as when it was made in 1959. It is the story of a young white widow who employs a black widow as a maid and how they both struggle to successfully raise their daughters. As you can probably guess by the fact I mentioned the race of the two women, their ethnic origin plays a huge part in this movie, however it is not a simple case of racism, this movie takes a brave look (especially for the time it was made) at the subtle ways racial discrimination can veer its ugly head and the dominant effect it can have on one’s life. This film doesn’t stop there though, it also takes profound looks at other social struggles such as female independence and growing up. The only grumble I have with this film is that although the acting performances were perfectly adequate, no one shone to the levels that this movie deserved. This however is a very small complaint and I recommend you dig out this true gem from yesteryear.

Score 4/5

Iron Man 2

2010-05-10T20:37:00.001+01:00

Iron Man 2 was an enjoyable but deeply flawed movie that in typical sequel style could not compete with its predecessor. This is the part where I would usually do a one sentence synopsis, however I can’t sum up the plot in one sentence, as there were so many narratives going on that none of them appeared to be the main one we were supposed to pay attention to. And this was the films biggest problem, for example it appeared Mickey Rourke was the main villain, however instead of standing out and taking centre stage he was lost in the shuffle and often forgot about. I feel all these problems were due to the fact that Jon Favreau (Director) and Marvel Studios spent too much time setting up their Avengers franchise and not enough time making this the great movie it could have been. Now onto what was good about this movie, Robert Downey Jr. was as mesmerising as he was in his previous portrayal of Tony Stark and shared heart pounding chemistry with Gwyneth Paltrow as they flawlessly delivered witty and intelligent dialogue. The effects were also a site to behold and showed that we now live in an age where movies can do comics justice in the spectacle department. These attributes made Iron Man 2 a good movie, however with more care and editing in every department it could have been a great movie.

Score 3.5/5

Harry Brown

2010-05-03T21:33:00.002+01:00

Harry Brown is an incredibly realistic and gritty tale that is disappointingly let down by its final act. Michael Caine plays Harry Brown, a pensioner who witnesses the council estate he lives on ruled by unruly gangs and after seeing a lack of action by the police decides to take matters into his own hands. Although this narrative may sound formulaic and clichéd, it was in fact expertly handled by director Daniel Barber, who crafted this tale in a highly believable fashion. Mr. Barber clearly had a lot to say about the current problems in today's society, this film is especially critical of the violent happy slapping youth culture and a bureaucratic establishment that seems unable to tame it. His commentary on these aspects were so effective that I found myself more than once shaking my head in disgust and was often consumed with anger during the viewing. Two thirds into the film I was pondering where I would rate it between 4 and 5, and then the last twenty minutes commenced and this movie went from a raw brutal drama, to a ridiculous over the top affair. We were suddenly subjected to action sequences and the sort of coincidence only a film script writer would consider. I can't help but feel a more subtle ending would have made this the best British film for many a year.

Score 3.5/5

Good Will Hunting

2010-04-26T22:21:00.007+01:00

Good Will Hunting is a charming yet realistic feeling movie that is very hard to fault. Will (Matt Damon) is a young man for a poor area of Boston, who is continuously getting into trouble with the law, however what distinguishes Will is his exceptional Mathematical ability. He soon finds himself with two mentors, Prof. Gerald Lambeau (Stellan Skarsgård) wishes Will to achieve his full academic potential and Sean Maguire (Robin Williams) wants to help Will overcome his personal demons. This films foundation is its script, which does an astounding job of creating characters as well as establishing relationships and a history between them. This is then built upon by a fantastic and hungry cast, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck were hungry for opportunities, which after this movie came to them in abundance, while Robin Williams and Stellan Skarsgård were hungry for recognition of their immense talents that has since been afforded to them. Finally perfectly bringing the script and cast together is the film’s director Gus Van Sant, who’s style takes us in closer to what is happening and allows the audience to feel like an additional character. This is really a movie that shines in every area, and it is easy to see why it elevated the status of all involved.

Score: 5/5

The Hurricane

2010-04-24T00:21:00.006+01:00

The Hurricane is a film that is less than the sum of its parts. Denzel Washington plays Rubin ‘Hurricane’ Carter who while welterweight boxing champion is convicted of murder, he spends his incarceration protesting his innocence and due to a chance occurrence, befriends a young man who looks up to him and supports his cause. The Hurricane tells a true story of a remarkable individual, yet it doesn’t grab you in the way it should. It tends to move along slowly, although it does have its powerful moments. This film also has an outstanding cast, with Denzel Washington, perhaps the finest screen actor of his generation in its lead, however no one shines. The cast merely do an adequate job, and although adequate would be fine for some, it is well below what we have come to expect from Washington. I must make things clear at this point, I didn’t hate this film, it was a passable offering, but due to the fascinating subject matter and the high level of talent on display, I was expecting more. Had this film been the sum of its parts it would have been a must-see, unfortunately it was merely an average experience.

Score: 3/5

Juno

2010-04-20T22:43:00.004+01:00

To call Juno, a nice little movie would be a serious underestimation of this film. It is so personal in every single aspect that this is easily the most relatable film I have seen in quite some time. This is the story of Juno (Ellen Page), as she falls pregnant at 16 years old and decides to give the baby up for adoption, to an older married couple. This movie has an amazing ensemble cast who are treated to a witty and relevant screenplay from first time writer Diablo Cody. These factors combine to reward us, the audience with strong and likable characters, delivering amazing dialogue in believable circumstances. Ellen Page is truly awe inspiring in the way she is so comfortable in the lead. She oozes confidence while at the same time coming across as a normal girl next door. And kudos must be given to Michael Cera who may not have the traditional looks of a leading man, but has a likability about him that will serve him well in a Hollywood career. So good was Juno that even the opening credits were highly original and enjoyable. The final touch of intimacy was added by a soft rock soundtrack that added a sugar coating to an already highly pleasurable ‘nice little movie.’

Score: 4.5/5

Hallam Foe

2010-04-18T17:43:00.003+01:00

Hallam Foe was an unusual film that it did garner any interest from me in its opening moments, however when it ended I was left wanting more. This was a bizarre coming of age story where Hallam (played by Jamie Bell), comes to terms with his mother’s death by stalking people, he takes particular interest in women and Kate (played by Sophia Myles) especially, who strongly resembles his mother. This is a film that has no clear story, but has a clear narrative and takes a glimpse at a short period of Hallam’s life that is pivotal and engaging. However the film takes far too much time to get going and runs the risk of people losing interest and not seeing it through to its end. The cast was this films biggest asset, with Bell and Myles putting in strong performances, and being supported by many familiar British faces. Bell is particularly strong when it comes to showing Hallam’s character development as he learns to deal with his issues and move on with his life. Of course Bell can’t take all the credit for this, and praise must be given to the screenplay, which was highly character driven. I would recommend you watch this film, but you will have to bear with it and watch it develop along with Hallam.

Score: 3.5/5

Battle Royale

2010-04-15T09:11:00.004+01:00

What a paradox Japanese culture is. On one hand Battle Royale is a tale about how deeply conservative Japanese society is, and on the other it relishes in the uncensored freedom that the Japanese media enjoy. This film is set in a Japanese society where its teenagers run amok and its government in an attempt to regain control, selects one school class every year, places them on an island and orders them to kill each other until there is only one survivor. This narrative makes for a brutal movie that often leaves it audience dazed and shocked. However to dismiss it as mindless violence would be a mistake as this film talks about some of the fears of Japan’s people. Kinji Fukasaku brilliantly focuses on fear of our children, as well as fear for our children, as incredible acts of violence are perpetrated in this film, by and against children. This is cleverly emphasised by casting actors of the correct age, who are more believable in portraying the melodrama of a teenagers life than the 20 something’s that would have got the job in a Hollywood production. This is a film that will not only bluntly assaults you, but leave you pondering questions for days to come.

Score: 4/5

The Hurt Locker

2010-04-08T19:22:00.005+01:00

I had very high hopes for The Hurt Locker, and as is usually the case for the Oscars best picture winner it failed to deliver. The Hurt Locker attempts to take an in depth look at an American army bomb disposal unit and their time in Iraq. Lets first look at what this film did well at that was its visual styling’s, Kathryn Bigelow should be commended for the gritty and realistic camera work that could have made this film feel almost like a documentary. However this films biggest strength was also its biggest weakness, as due to the realistic camera work, when the other elements weren’t as realistic they seemed out of place. For example documentary camera work did not merge well with the traditional fast paced editing that was on display, and perhaps longer cuts would have suited this film better. The acting also suffered the same fate Jeremy Renner particularly gave a solid performance but due to reality of the camera work it just didn’t feel it fitted the film. The Hurt Locker is not a bad movie by any stretch of the imagination, however it is also not a great one.

Score 3/5

Legion

2010-04-07T23:09:00.007+01:00

The concept for Legion was a brilliant one, God sends angels to wipe out mankind, but the archangel Michael defies him and decides to defend us. Sounds good right? Unfortunately almost everything but the initial idea for Legion was terrible. The biggest problem was that this films reported $26 million production budget, was nowhere near enough for a movie of this scope, and due to this at points an awful lot of nothing happened. In terms of feel this film had to very unusual influences, firstly at times Paul Bettany’s Michael looked like a 90’s action hero blasting away with automatic rifles under each arm ala Schwarzenegger. It also seemed to be a zombie movie in disguise, with all the usual clichés including a group of diverse strangers being trapped in a building while zombies or in this case angels, try to get in. The script also deserves a bit of a pasting, as aside from the occasional one liner the dialogue was awful and unrealistic, and the characters never thought to ask Michael the hows or whys as to what was going on, he just turns up, says the Armageddon is coming, and everyone excepts it with no more explanation than that. This films only redeeming feature was Paul Bettany who made the most of dismal circumstances.

Score: 1.5/5

Boiler Room

2010-04-06T17:44:00.001+01:00

Boiler Room was written and directed by Ben Younger, and it is quite clear that Mr. Younger had something personal to say about the a man’s place in the world, however after watching this film I’m not sure what it is. Giovanni Ribisi plays Seth a young man, who continually disappoints his father and partly to appease him, lands a dream job as a New York stock broker. This movie is excellently cast with Ribisi being an unconventional yet believable leading man, his big strength is his normalness allows him to relate to the audience well. Ben Affleck and Vin Diesel were also effectively used a senior brokers that Seth looks up to, which again was very easy to understand as a viewer. The world in which the Boiler Room was set was unique yet grounded, as the cast were shown to be normal New York guys who by becoming stock brokers, have more money than they know what to do with and this inevitably leads to trouble. This film could have been a great movie except for one significant problem, it was either unsure of what it was trying to say or failed to say it clearly. Other than this fault all other areas excel making this film well worth watching especially for young males who I feel will heavily indentify with Ribisi’s Seth.

Clash of the Titans in 3D

2010-04-02T21:56:00.001+01:00

Clash of the Titans in 3D was a far from perfect movie, however was an immensely enjoyable summer blockbuster. Zeus (Liam Neeson) decides the human race has become ungrateful and decides to punish them by releasing a beast known as the Gorgon, his Demigod son, Perseus (Sam Worthington) embarks on a quest to save humanity. Firstly the 3D was almost non-existent which will disappoint those paying extra for the experience. Now onto the film itself and its biggest problem was that it was too modern and American considering that it was supposed to be ancient and Greek. This was especially true of the dialogue that would have been at home on an American TV show such as Friends. And particularly humorous was the depiction of Medusa as a sex siren. However this was something that for the most part you could dismiss and enjoy the awesome spectacle created by the sets and some of the best CGI I have ever seen. Sam Worthington also deserves credit, as he appears to be developing into a credible and charismatic leading man that can carry a film of this magnitude. This is a film that as long as you can suspend your belief, will provide two hours of solid entertainment.

Dear John

2010-03-31T20:58:00.002+01:00

Dear John is the latest film to be adapted from a novel by Nicholas Sparks the author of The Notebook. It’s clear that Dear John is trying to create the heart wrenching feel of The Notebook and disappointingly it fails miserably। The plot had an interesting premise in that John (Channing Tatum) meets Savannah (Amanda Seyfrield) while on two weeks leave from the army, they immediately fall in love and struggle to maintain their relationship, the only way possible to them,by writing letters to one another. Although this seemed like a unique story, this film just wasn’t strong enough where it mattered. When the film was going through the motions it was reasonably watchable, however at the points it attempted to hit your raw emotions it simply had no impact, even surrounded by women at this screening (this type of films target audience) I noticed not a single viewer crying at any point. This was in part due to the director Lasse Hallström who although he had his moments of visual flair at times did not make it clear at times what was happening on screen, and surely storytelling must be a directors top priority. Blame must also be put at Tatum’s and Seyfeild’s door who have either been miscast or are simply not good enough for leading roles. Dear John is simply not worth watching unless you are a big fan of these films and even then I would wait till it’s shown on TV.

The Bounty Hunter

2010-03-28T22:37:00.002+01:00

The Bounty Hunter is an example of the studios producing a type of movie in the same way as usual, with the same stars as usual, breading apathy. This is the story of a young reporter, whose job causes her to miss a court date, and ends up being tracked down, by her bounty hunter ex husband. As always Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler were perfectly abdicate in their roles, however they nor this film brought nothing new to the table, in fact even outside of the movie we were subjected to the usual rumours of Anniston being romantically linked to co-star. However back to the film its self, the plot line and script were reasonably well thought out and, and they were implemented well by the cast and crew, but the thing that will stick with me when it comes to this film is its complete lack of originality.