Into The Woods (2014)

From my very limited experience of Stephen Sondheim, I have to say that I'm not a big fan. I'm not sure what I'm missing that everyone else gets from his work, but I certainly seem to be missing something. Of course, I've not yet seen any of his works on the stage, where they may shine at their brightest, but this is my second time viewing a movie based on his work. The first time was Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street. I didn't love it. Yet I didn't dislike it either. It grew on me. The only thing I still don't love about it was, unfortunately, most of the soundtrack. I left the screening of Into The Woods trying hard not to hate it.

The story is as follows: a baker (James Corden) and his wife (Emily Blunt) are unable to have children. They are offered the chance to change the situation by a witch (Meryl Streep), and to appease her they must find a cow as white as milk, a cape as red as blood, a golden shoe, and hair as yellow as corn. The witch then disappears in a swirl of witchiness, leaving the baker and his wife to cross paths with Jack (Daniel Huddlestone), Little Red Riding Hood (Lilla Crawford), Cinderella (Anna Kendrick) and Rapunzel (Mackenzie Mauzy).

It's a star-studded affair, no doubt about it, with some lovely production values and competent direction from Rob Marshall. But it's also such a drab, lifeless affair that I can't see anyone being overjoyed by it, except perhaps fans of the stage show (and even they may be disappointed by the handling of the material - as can happen with anything being adapted into movie form). The script, written by James Lapine and Sondheim, seems to spend a lot of time wringing comedy from the fact that it's so amusing and sly and subversive when it's not. People have been reworking and twisting fairy tales almost as long as fairy tales have been around, and this plot throws everything around in pretty haphazard manner that never allows viewers to forget that different elements are being shoehorned in to fit alongside one another.

The cast all do a decent job though, so that's another plus point. Streep is a fun witch, Kendrick is suitably sweet as Cinderella, and Corden and Blunt do their best to make their characters likable (although it's a struggle). Crawford and Huddlestone both feel right for their roles, and they get their fair share of screentime, which is more than can be said for poor Mackenzie Mauzy. She's consigned to little more than a bit part, and is given very little to do when she IS onscreen. Chris Pine steals the show as a dashing prince, Billy Magnussen tries hard as another prince, Tracey Ullman is underused (playing Jack's mother), Johnny Depp has an enjoyable cameo, playing The Wolf, and Christine Baranski, Tammy Blanchard and Lucy Punch prove to be consistently entertaining as the evil family unit that Cinderella is stuck with.

Despite my own opinion of the film, it's worth noting that this is already a big success at the box office, and probably nowhere near its final total haul yet. So perhaps many other people are taking something away from it that I missed. Like an appreciation of Sondheim's talent.

4/10

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Boyhood (2014)

Boyhood is a film that took around twelve years to make. Written and directed by Richard Linklater, the central idea IS that timespan. But if that was the only thing making the film worthwhile, a central gimmick that could have just as easily gone horribly wrong, then it wouldn't have been quite as well-received as it was. Thankfully, Linklater assembled a fine cast, came up with some interesting obstacles for his characters to overcome, and ended up creating something that runs for 165 minutes while never outstaying its welcome.

Ellar Coltrane plays Mason, the boy whose life viewers are invited to watch over an extended period of time. He's living with his mother (Patricia Arquette) and sister (Lorelei Linklater), enjoying occasional visits from a father (Ethan Hawke) who was AWOL for a sizable chunk of time, and finding out about life. That's really all there is to it. As the title lets you know, this is about boyhood.

Linklater has always been a writer-director able to create entertaining movies around a core of recognisable truths. That talent is invaluable here, helping the movie to stay far away from the pile of navel-gazing pretentiousness that it could have been. Boyhood pretty much allows you to take away from it as much, or as little, as you want to. There's plenty of drama, and many scenes that people can accuse of having "nothing happen", but there's also plenty of humour, plenty of warmth, and a number of key moments that people will be able to identify with.

Coltrane does well in the central role, which is essential for a film revolving so much around his character. He's not the best actor in the world but, crucially, he always seems quite at ease and natural in front of the camera. Lorelei Linklater isn't quite as naturalistic, although she's perfectly fine in her role. Arquette and Hawke both seize this unique opportunity with both hands, delivering performances that serve as great reminders of their considerable talents. Marco Perella and Brad Hawkins have the unenviable task of portraying flawed men who end up in Mason's life, and Zoe Graham is a young girl who provides him with his first bout of heart trouble (in terms of love, not any medical issue).

I could go on and on about this film. Almost every scene provides some kind of cinematic pleasure. Is it perfect? No. Some of the characters are slightly overdone (especially the one played by Perella), the last half hour feels disappointingly, although perhaps also inevitably, anti-climactic, and the soundtrack, as good as it is, often makes each song feel like what it is - a marker for the passage of time. Of course, those minor failings become even more insignificant when considering the ambition of the film. I'm sure most people will consider me picky for even bringing them up.

This is one of the best movies of the year, I have to agree with the many others who have already said the same thing. It's just not THE best.

9/10

http://www.amazon.com/Boyhood-Blu-ray-DVD-Digital-HD/dp/B00MEQUNIW/ref=sr_1_2?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1419694445&sr=1-2&keywords=boyhood

Tusk (2014)

Tusk is a strange beast, no pun intended (considering the content of the film). A highly flawed, uneven film that many will find impossible to like, it shows writer-director Kevin Smith continuing to develop and highlight his darker side. Many of his comedies had black humour in them, of course, but it was Red State that really let him dip his toes into something approaching horror. Tusk, at least on the surface, does the same. But the fact that it's actually a comedy makes it a tough one to easily recommend.

Let's get the basic storyline out of the way. Justin Long plays a podcaster named Wallace Bryton. Wallace and his friend,Teddy (Haley Joel Osment), use their airtime to look at clips on the internet of people who have gone viral, mainly through stupidity but sometimes because of certain strange characteristics. Wallace is always after the next big thing with which to shock and impress his audience, which takes him to the home of an old man (Michael Parks) who assures him that he has a story or two to tell. He does indeed have some stories. But his most interesting one hasn't been completed yet, and it may well involve Wallace.

Based on an idea that came about during Smith's own podcast (SModcast), and featuring a number of ideas and even lines of dialogue pre-approved by his fanbase, you'd be forgiven for wondering if Tusk was a franken-film. It certainly feels, at times, like a number of disconnected scenes thrown together with little thought given to the central storyline. Yet it also has a pretty obvious message underlying most of the content, so writing it off as nothing more than an easy fan-pleaser is probably doing it a bit of a disservice. It's also worth noting that every moment that doesn't quite work, every comedic beat that feels too weird, every wild image pushing the film further into dark absurdity, it all shows a confident (or brave . . . . . or foolish) director in the hot seat.

Long isn't at his best here, but he's not too bad. His characters is supposed to be mildly irritating, at best, and he is. Parks is the star turn, reeling off tales that range from the sublime to the ridiculous with equal ease and aplomb. Osment and Genesis Rodriguez both do well in supporting roles, with the latter playing the girlfriend of Long's character, and there's a performance from Johnny Depp to add to another list of his kooky performances. It's that performance, if anything, that should clue viewers in to the fact that this is a pitch black comedy. Although if you don't get it by that point then you've just not been paying attention.

Anyone expecting another piece of nastiness like The Human Centipede (First Sequence) should content themselves by instead renting The Human Centipede: Full Sequence. This is a film aimed more at people who start to grunt and mutter as soon as they hear of yet another internet "celebrity" with no obvious talent. It's not one I'd rush to revisit, but it's certainly an interesting curio.

6/10

http://www.amazon.com/Tusk-Blu-ray-Michael-Parks/dp/B00NX8RUZE/ref=sr_1_2?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1418819387&sr=1-2&keywords=tusk

Foxcatcher (2014)

A bleak drama that often forces viewers to watch moments unfold in uncomfortable silence, Foxcatcher is a riveting piece of work, benefiting from three fantastic central performances - from Channing Tatum, Mark Ruffalo and Steve Carell.

Based on a horrible true story, that I'll try not to entirely reveal here (for those unaware of it), this is a look at John du Pont (Carell), a rich man who created the Foxcatcher training facility to help the wrestlers of America, namely one Mark Schultz (Tatum). Mark always seemed to be stuck in his brother's shadow, and Foxcatcher looks like the chance to make a name for himself. But his new boss also wants his brother (David, played by Ruffalo), and his new boss tends to get what he wants. Things start to get very tense, depite David trying to play peacemaker between du Pont and his brother, and the glorious future that they all began to dream about starts to look less and less likely.

Director Bennett Miller sets out his stall early on, allowing viewers to decide whether they're willing to jump in for the long haul or whether they won't be up to the task. The film is so still and, for the most part, quiet that it helps to maintain a constant feeling of unease. You know that any sudden movement or noise is going to be a bit of a shock. The script, written by E. Max Frye and Dan Futterman, is light on dialogue for most of the 130 minute (approx) runtime, but that doesn't mean that it's light on information and characterisation. This is a film in which the things that are unsaid are just as, if not more, important as those that are said. And each character has specific body language that speaks volumes.

Tatum and Ruffalo are both on top form, the former showing his lack of self-confidence, and purpose, while the latter knows where he wants his life to go, and already has a wife and children to consider in his plans. Carell, working under some fantastic make-up, gives the kind of performance that should allow him the choice of more dramatic roles further down the line. John du Pont is a man who often acts like a child. He can throw money around to get whatever he wants, be it a specific item, person or even friendship. Everything has a price, apart from the thing that he craves the most, which is approval from his mother (Vanessa Redgrave). Anthony Michael Hall does well in a small role, playing the right hand man to du Pont, and Sienna Miller has a handful of scenes as Nancy Schultz, wife of David.

The main problem with Foxcatcher is the feeling that the whole story could have been told in a much shorter amount of time. I understand that the steady, measured approach helps the material immensely, but it also feels as if things are being dragged out for far too long. Those who know the outcome of this tale may well have less patience than someone who knew nothing about it, like myself.

Well worth your time, it's just a shame that Miller seems so concerned about treating the story with the proper respect and tone that it deserves that he forgets to make some choices that might benefit the cinematic treatment of the material.

8/10

http://www.amazon.com/Foxcatcher-Blu-ray-Mark-Ruffalo/dp/B00QK4ANEI/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1420058857&sr=8-2&keywords=foxcatcher

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Zombeavers (2014)

Rachel Melvin, Cortney Palm and Lexi Atkins are three girls named, respectively, Mary, Zoe and Jenn. They're about to spend a weekend in a cabin in the middle of nowhere. Originally envisioned as a weekend of sun, swimming and sex, the plan was changed to exclude any boys after Mary discovered that her boyfriend (Sam, played by Hutch Dano) had been photographed fooling around with some other girl. The boys turn up anyway, of course, with Buck (Peter Gilroy) unable to keep away from Zoe for too long, and Tommy (Jake Weary) easily persuaded to take a trip that will allow him to snuggle up with his partner, Jenn. Unfortunately, the plans they have for the weekend are about to be interrupted by some beavers that have taken a turn for the worse. Hence the title.

When I first saw the trailer for Zombeavers I assumed that it was a joke. A lot of people did. The idea was so ridiculous that nobody could seriously make it into a movie, right? Well, that's exactly the point of the film. It IS ridiculous. And sometimes it's also hilarious.

Fair play to the cast for all going along with the humour of the film. Melvin, Palm and Atkins are three attractive young women who have to keep straight faces once the beaver terror is revealed. Palm is also responsible for any gratuitous nudity, which I'm sure the target demographic audience will be thankful for (and as I'm in that demographic, at least in terms of mental age, I know this to be true). Weary, Dano and Gilroy are all a bit harder to like, but that's not a big problem when everyone onscreen is potential beaver fodder anyway. Rex Linn is a local hunter who looks like he might at least have some decent weaponry to hand, Phyllis Katz and Brent Briscoe are the old couple living in the house nearest to the cabin. They are the only other people within a reasonable distance so you just know that they're also going to run in to some beaver bother. And both John Mayer and Bill Burr provide some laughs playing a couple of guys in a truck who inadvertently cause the whole mess.

The script, by director Jordan Rubin, Al Kaplan and Jon Kaplan, is full of fun lines, references to other movies and a thin coating of self-awareness, and the direction is on a par with any other teen-oriented horror or comedy you can think of. The soundtrack isn't exactly full of great tunes, but that's easily forgotten when you get to the fantastic song that plays over the end credits. Special effects vary from the great (a nasty transformation sequence) to the endearingly silly (the beavers themselves). Other small delights include a nicely animated opening credits sequence, one or two ingenious sight gags, and a final scene that ties in hilariously with the very first scene.

If you choose to watch Zombeavers and end up disappointed then I will be very surprised. Not that it's a GREAT film, by any means, but it certainly doesn't sell itself as anything other than the silly, blood-soaked comedy that it is.

7/10

http://www.amazon.com/Zombeavers-Blu-ray-Chad-Anderson/dp/B00P56YGJU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1418925590&sr=8-1&keywords=zombeavers

Gone Girl (2014)

Gone Girl is a good film. At times it's a very good film. It also turns out to be the weakest one yet from director David Fincher. It's as if the opportunity to direct this came along when he wanted to coast slightly, matching his style and meticulous craftmanship to material that never really seems to deserve it. This is, let's be honest here, daytime TV movie stuff, given some added spice and edge to make it more of a talking point.

Ben Affleck plays Nick Dunne, the husband who goes home one day to find that his wife (Amy, played by Rosamund Pike) has gone. He calls in the police, and soon finds that he is the main subject of their investigation. As the evidence starts to pile up against him, Nick begins his own investigation. And he starts to suspect that perhaps he didn't really know his wife at all.

Written by Gillian Flynn, adapting her novel for the big screen, this is a film that seems to think it's always one step ahead of the viewer. It's not. Yes, there are one or two moments that will wrong-foot those wondering whether they are watching a real version of events, or something created by either of the main characters, but even those moments are easy to dismiss if you pay close enough attention to what's going on. There are a couple of BIG shocks, I guess, but even those are so heavily signposted that their impact is sorely muted.

Thankfully, none of the weaknesses in the source material cause any problems for the cast. Pike and Affleck deliver two fantastic performances, with the former able to enjoy a real variety of roles (depending on how she is being viewed by others) and the latter making the best use yet of that certain smug quality his detractors often accuse him of having. I've never had a problem with Affleck, but even those who tend to dislike what they view as his persona may end up liking his turn here, seeing him turn on charm for the sake of cameras and crowds while constantly having a large finger of suspicion pointed in his direction. Kim Dickens is great as the cop determined to crack the case, and Patrick Fugit tries his best alongside her, despite the fact that he seems trapped in a state of perpetual adolescence. Carrie Coon is the twin sister of Affleck's character, and very good she is in her role, Tyler Perry impresses as a hotshot lawyer willing to act in defence of a man who is starting to look guilty as sin, Neil Patrick Harris is an ex-lover who may or may not have information, and both Sela Ward and Missi Pyle have fun playing two TV celebrities, both with differing approaches but the same aim.

There's also the bonus of having Fincher at the helm, even if he IS on auto-pilot (or so it seems). The cool colour palette, the music by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, the slow and steady camerawork, the pitch-black humour. I seem to spend half of my time saying that familiarity breeds contempt with the other half of my time appearing to be a bloody hypocrite when I say that familiarity can often be an easy, comforting layer used in movies. This movie falls in to the latter camp.

It's not often that a film can overcome weak source material. This one manages it. But there's only so much that can be done, which is why it ends up being merely a good film, as opposed to a great one.

6/10

http://www.amazon.com/Gone-Girl-Blu-ray-Tyler-Perry/dp/B00Q5996EQ/ref=sr_1_2?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1419685676&sr=1-2&keywords=gone+girl

Stretch (2014)

It's the kind of thing that we've seen many times before. A film that features a character having one helluva bad night. This particular misadventure is written and directed by Joe Carnahan (who hasn't done wrong by me yet), and stars Patrick Wilson as the poor sod whose night just looks set to go from bad to worse to absolute worst ever.

Wilson is a stretch limo driver, hence the name of the movie. He actually wanted to be an actor but that doesn't seem to be panning out for him. Which leaves him driving a limo, struggling to make enough from each pay check to pay back the debts that he incurred when he was addicted to alcohol and gambling. As someone new has taken over the ownership of those debts, Stretch (as he is nicknamed) suddenly has until midnight to get together $6,000. Or things will be broken. That's not good. His one chance to make some big money lies in keeping a big customer satisfied. Roger Karos (a bearded Chris Pine) is an eccentric who can often drop some major tips. Unfortunately, he also requires people to sometimes go way above and beyond the call of duty to earn their money. Which leads to Stretch getting thrown in to a few dangerous situations. Perhaps his acting skills can actually start to help him now.

Stretch starts off strong and never really lets up once the premise is established. Carnahan has obviously set out to have as much fun as possible, and that fun is infectious, thanks to the direction, pacing, and cast. It plays out, I guess, much like an action comedy created by John Hughes. This is wish-fulfilment stuff, but that doesn't make any of it any less satisfying. The soundtrack, often sounding like some alternate tracks considered for Drive, also helps to make this an easy pleasure.

There are a couple of fantastic cameos (including one that I can't possibly mention here because the surprise factor helps it to be even funnier than it already is), a rare decent turn from Jessica Alba, playing the main office controller trying to help Stretch achieve his goals for the night, and James Badge Dale is perfectly fine as Laurent, a man who could either help or seriously hinder Stretch in his attempts to keep Karos happy. The two performances from Pine and Wilson allow them to go over the top and entertain in a way that they haven't really been allowed to before now. Okay, Pine had his fantastic turn in Smokin' Aces, which this film should remind you to check out, but I've not enjoyed Wilson this much since he made such a strong impression on me in Hard Candy. Ed Helms, playing the spirit of a deceased limo driver, also does well, despite the fact that his character feels like one quirk too many.

Don't think, however, that I'm overlooking its flaws. Oh no. I've just mentioned that "one quirk too many" problem, which will irritate others much more than it bothered me, and there's also the feeling of overfamiliarity with this kind of scenario. Also, the ending is just a bit too neat and tidy, another factor that makes this feel like a John Hughes movie aimed at an audience just a bit older than the usual selection of teenagers.

Judging by the word of mouth, Stretch is finding a decent little fanbase since arriving in download/shiny disc form. It deserves it. Nothing ground-breaking, by any means, but there are plenty of laughs provided here. And that's all it really sets out to do.

7/10

http://www.amazon.com/Stretch-Patrick-Wilson/dp/B00NG3YQXU/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1419278908&sr=8-2&keywords=stretch+movie

Nightcrawler (2014)

Writer Dan Gilroy takes his first shot in the director's chair for Nightcrawler, and there's no point in me beating about the bush here; I can't wait to see what he does next.

Anchored by a central performance from Jake Gyllenhaal that ranks up there with one of his very best, if not THE best, this is a film that beats with the dark, cold heart of movies such as Ace In The Hole, Sweet Smell Of Success, Taxi Driver, The King Of Comedy and To Die For. It's about the manipulation of news in search of ratings, it's about people who don't care about the cost of getting ahead, and it's about (in a way) attaining a certain celebrity status. Many may debate this last point, but I feel justified in including it, considering how the central character measures his success according to the amount of his footage used on TV.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's backtrack ever so slightly.

Gyllenhaal is Louis Bloom, a young man who tries to present himself to everyone as a potential model employee, a real go-getter with an unimpeachable work ethic. Yet, he doesn't seem to be having much luch in his job search. Perhaps it's due to the way in which he could quickly kill someone in between him and his goal. Never one to be disheartened for too long, Louis finds himself hatching a new career plan when he witnesses an accident, and the people quickest to arrive on the scene to film the carnage. The nightcrawlers. It's not long until Louis is arming himself with a camera and setting out to do better, and get closer, than anyone else in town. He makes a valuable contact (Rene Russo) at a local news station, he hires an employee (Riz Ahmed) and he starts to film some grisly stuff, at times even changing some details to make his film more impactful.

Nightcrawler could just as easily have been called Skincrawling, because that is how you'll probably be feeling as you watch it. This is a film that makes you want to shower and then enjoy some UV light once the end credits have rolled. The script and direction by Gilroy both work to immerse you in the world of Bloom, a world in which events are viewed not through normal eyes, but through slightly detached cameras always looking for the best framing and angles.

Ahmed is great as the young man who starts to have doubts about his new job once he sees the mounting potential dangers, Russo makes the most of her best role in years (she really deserves more work, her performance here quickly assures viewers that she wasn't just picked because of being married to Gilroy), and Bill Paxton reminds you of why he's been getting solid supporting roles for so many years. But this is Gyllenhaal's movie from the first scene to the last. He's unnerving, intense, self-deluded, and yet also able to lay on the charm when in polite company. It's a performance that stands out as the highlight of his career so far, which is no small feat when you think of the body of work that he's already amassed.

Not a comfortable viewing, nor should it be, this is a dark character study. It's also a study of that morbid curiosity that is being catered to more and more in a time of increasing news sensationalism, the ability to instantly upload footage caught on recording devices, and the constant pushing of boundaries by different media outlets.

9/10

http://www.amazon.com/Nightcrawler-Blu-ray-DVD-DIGITAL-UltraViolet/dp/B00Q3DMJZW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1419276094&sr=8-1&keywords=nightcrawler

The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies (2014)

Just to get up to speed, here is my review of the first and second movies in The Hobbit trilogy.

I was hesitant about this, the final, instalment of The Hobbit trilogy. It was, after all, stretching out the finale into something that I never really wanted to see onscreen. The big battle sequences in both The Hobbit and The Lord Of The Rings books were always the dullest passages for me, and the movies have so far proven to be almost equally dull when depicting those scenes. Oh, they have the spectacle and grandiosity that makes them entertaining, but it all becomes hard to care about when you're just watching one army swarming around another.

Carrying on from where the previous movie left off, this cinematic adventure focuses on the trouble caused by Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage) when he gets to take his rightful place in the heart of the mountain that was previously home to a fierce dragon named Smaug (voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch). It's not long until Thorin is afflicted with a sickness that lets greed and paranoia overrule his good nature, in turn losing him the loyalty of Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) and his fellow dwarves, who could be named Prancer, Dancer, Blitzen, etc. for all the time they get on screen. All of this leads, inevitably, to the battle that makes up the main title. And that's about it.

There are many little moments to enjoy here. The attention to detail is wonderful, as it has been in every Tolkien-related movie that director Peter Jackson has had a hand in (first The Lord Of The Rings trilogy and now this lot). But details don't always add up to great cinema. Neither does spectacle and scale. They can stave off boredom, but aren't really anything without a decent script and characters that you care about. This is where the final Hobbit movie gets things sorely wrong.

It's easy to like Bilbo Baggins, and a relationship sketched out between elf Thauriel (Evangeline Lilly) and dwarf Kili (Aidan Turner) is quite sweet, but nobody else stands out. Thorin is busy being warped by greed, Bard (Luke Evans) is heroic enough but a bit bland, Thranduil (Lee Pace) is as cold as ever in his singular mission to keep his people safe, and Gandalf (Ian McKellen) has been bordering on self-parody for years. Billy Connolly adds some life to proceedings when he appears, as a dwarf named Dain, but it's too little too late at that point.

All of the performers do well enough with what they're given. They're just not given much, thanks to the weak script by Jackson, Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyen and Guillermo del Toro. The emphasis is clearly on action for this war-filled final chapter, but that is no excuse when the previous movies have always managed (or almost managed) to surround big action set-pieces with humour, warmth and characters that you don't mind hanging around with for so long. This feels like the longest movie in the series yet, despite being the shortest (until the inevitable wealth of deleted scenes are added back in, at any rate).

I'm not saying that this is a waste of your time. It's the end of an era, in some ways, and worth a trip to the cinema if, like me, you've seen all of the others on the big screen. I'm not saying that there aren't some great one-on-one fights that show some of the individual lives at stake. The final 30-40 minutes is full of solid action and great moments. It just comes along after 100 minutes of material that constantly verges on being mind-numbingly boring.

5/10

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The Theory Of Everything (2014)

It's a biopic. It's British. It features someone striving to battle a debilitating disease. And the lead performance is one that could be called transformative. Yes, The Theory Of Everything is one big chunk of tasty Oscar-bait. That doesn't mean that it's great.

Eddie Redmayne stars as Stephen Hawking, arguably the most famous scientist of the 21st century. When diagnosed with Motor Neuron Disease, at the age of 21, he was only given about two years to live. That was in 1963. This film shows his life, from horsing around with his university chums to meeting Jane (Felicity Jones), the woman who would become his wife, and developing his theories on black holes, time and our entire universe. It is a potted history of someone who has changed the way we view both outer and inner space.

Adapting the book written by Jane Hawking, Anthony McCarten takes all of the moments that you'd expect to find here and places them exactly where they should be. There's a distinct lack of imagination and flair on display here, with the exception of one or two pleasant surprises. Overall, the film has the air of a TV movie, albeit one with a sizable budget.

Director James Marsh seems content to let his cast take on the heavy lifting, as it were, and translates the screenplay by McCarten into equally lacklustre visuals. You get snapshots of the English countryside, there's a fitting score that's always ready to swell whenever an emotional moment needs highlighted, and any bad feelings are hastily covered over or thrown into the back of a pantry, where they are left to grow and fester until they can no longer be ignored.

There's no denying, however, that the cast DO elevate the material, with Redmayne giving quite a superb physical performance as Hawking. He's cheeky, charming, stubborn, pained, and much more besides, often all at once. Jones also does very well in her role, although she suffers from the fact that her character is landed with most of the heavy-handed, emotional fare. Sorry, that should say "most of the heavy-handed, EMOTIONAL fare". David Thewlis is a delight in his supporting role, playing a teacher who also becomes a friend to Hawking, Charlie Cox is nice enough, and Maxine Peake livens things up slightly in the last third of the film, playing the nurse who would make Hawking lovestruck again.

The Theory Of Everything is a pretty poor film. It's predictable, it's bland, and it doesn't even feel as if it goes deep enough into the minds of the main characters. Those central performances help to lift it just above the realm of average, with Redmayne doing such a great job that I wish he'd had a better movie to star in.

6/10

http://www.amazon.com/Theory-Everything-Blu-ray-DIGITAL-UltraViolet/dp/B00QFSIIFK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1419928566&sr=8-1&keywords=the+theory+of+everything

Birdman (2014)

or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance).

There are times when it's hard to simply sit back and watch Birdman. It's so busy, so layered, and so consistently technically accomplished that the experience becomes slightly exhausting. This is, however, another fine example of form perfectly matching content.

On the surface, Birdman is about actor Riggan (Michael Keaton) trying to gain respect and attention through a new play that he has written, directed, and will also star in. He is supported in this endeavour by a great suppporting cast: Lesley (Naomi Watts), Laura (Andrea Riseborough), and talented-but-infuriating Mike (Edward Norton). There's also his friend, and right hand man, Jake (Zach Galifianakis). And his personal assistant/daughter, Sam (Emma Stone). These people all want the play to succeed, but don't always seem to be on the same page as Riggan. To be fair, that may be due to Riggan's many flights of fancy, involving him hearing advice from the superhero character that both made him his fame and fortune and then kept hanging around his neck like a dead weight, the titular Birdman. This film could have just as easily been titled Albatross.

Created to look almost like one continuous take, Birdman is dazzling and dizzying in the technical department. The edits are all hidden away, and many scenes are filmed with camera angles that shouldn't be possible (e.g. any showing characters conversing in front of a mirror as the camera moves around them). Yet it's this mix of long takes, great acting, and skilled camerawork and editing that helps to hammer home both the similarities and differences between actors and stars, between worthy works of art and entertaining movies. Director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu shows that one doesn't necessarily rule out the other.

The script, written by Inarritu, Nicolas Giacobone, Armando Bo and Alexander Dinelaris, is as sharp as can be, mixing in some fantastic one-liners with no small amount of melancholy and great characterisations. It's smart too, packing every scene with huge amounts of information and detail without ever feeling too dense.

But nothing would work without the central performances lifting the whole thing from the great to the sublime. A lot of praise has already been heaped upon Keaton, and rightly so. He carries most of the movie with a performance that riffs on a public perception of him, playing the vanity and vulnerability with equal accomplishment, and often glee. Norton also riffs on a persona that, rightly or wrongly, he has been given over the years, and he easily holds his own alongside Keaton, although he also benefits from being allowed many of the bigger laughs. Watts and Riseborough both play women who seem to want very different things, but in very similar ways, and Stone gets to do her best stroppy young lass act, putting up defensive barriers when there really isn't anything, or anyone, out to hurt her at this time. Galifianakis joins the long line of comedic performers who can step up to the mark when called upon to try something more dramatic. His role isn't without humour, none of the roles are, but it's far removed from anything else we've seen from him in recent years. Which is a very good thing.

Birdman looks at ego, art, criticism, the difference between being famous and being famous for something notable. It looks at delusion, even illness, and doesn't necessarily write it off as a bad thing. There's nothing wrong with fantasising about flying high up in the air. As long as you don't rush to dive out of the nearest window.

9/10

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The Interview (2014)

You would have to be very isolated indeed to not have heard of The Interview by now, the latest comedy movie involving Evan Goldberg, Seth Rogen and James Franco. Oh, and Kim Jong-un. Yes, THAT Kin Jong-un. It's the film that seemingly sparked off an international incident, involving threats of terrorism and a release that was halted and then put back on the cards. Some starts to smell a rat, wondering whether or not a lot of publicity had simply been drummed up by Sony for a film that otherwise wouldn't have done great business. I'm not sure what the figures will be when the dust settles, but I am sure that more people heard more about The Interview in the past two weeks than they ever heard about previous Rogen-Franco collaborations.

Franco plays Dave Skylark, a TV chat show host who always tries to get the juiciest morsels of celebrity gossip to work with. Rogen is Aaron Rapaport, his producer and BFF. The two men are approached by government agents (led by Agent Lacey, played by the lovely Lizzy Caplan) when the opportunity arises for them to head to North Korea and interview Kim Jong-un. This has all come about due to the fact that Jong-un is, it turns out, a big fan of "Skylark Tonight". The US government sees this as a chance to pull off a fine piece of assassination work, which is all well and good if only a) Skylark and Rapaport weren't such idiots and b) Skylark didn't have the potential to see a new close friend in the disarmingly charming Jong-un.

There are some laughs to be had here, not least from Franco as he once again shows how perfectly he can play the vapid idiot. The friendship that develops between his character and Jong-un (played by Randall Park) is very funny, especially in the way it puts Rogen's character out of sorts. And a few individual lines of dialogue made me laugh aloud.

Unfortunately, it's all overly familiar to fans by this point. That's not bad in itself, but it is bad when the familiarity removes most of the potential for big laughs. Rogen and Goldberg co-direct with a near-slavish adherence to their usual bag of tricks (celebrity cameos - check, hard party montage - check, Rogen and Franco having the potential to be hetero life partners - check, use of the word "shart" - check). Some of the fault may lie with writer Dan Sterling, but I'm willing to pass the buck along to Goldberg, Rogen and Franco.

Park is a lot of fun as the dictator, Diana Bang is also great (playing Sook, a woman who is overseeing the technical aspects of the interview), and Caplan does well with a fairly small role. This is all about Rogen and Franco, and it plays out as you'd expect, with both leads using personas that they've used at least a dozen times now in the past decade. Which is a great shame, because this vehicle should have been more willing to take some major risks. The central premise isn't that daring as it wants you to think it is, and the political points scored aren't really that worth bothering about. The most interesting aspect of the movie is the discussion it has raised regarding the social responsibility of those with a global platform for their comedy/art. Personally, I don't think that this film should have ever been threatened with a non-release, yet I also think that it could have been just as funny if minor changes were made to fictionalise the main area and character.

I DID laugh. I enjoyed myself, for the most part. But this isn't a great comedy, by any stretch of the imagination. It certainly isn't worthy of the attention it has received in recent weeks. In fact, such controversy and debate deserves a better movie at the heart of it.

6/10

You can rent The Interview on a number of VOD platforms right now, or you could do yourself a favour and buy this film instead - http://www.amazon.com/This-Blu-ray-UltraViolet-Digital-Copy/dp/B00BEJL69U/ref=sr_1_4?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1419687087&sr=1-4&keywords=seth+rogen+evan+goldberg

The Guest (2014)

There have been a lot of movies in recent years that have tried, and often succeeded, recapturing the tone of films that many of us enjoyed during the boom period of home entertainment. Those VHS glory days, if you will, when more fun could be had delving in to the bargain bins than opting for one of the latest blockbuster titles. Director Adam Wingard and writer Simon Barrett have never tried to hide their many influences, especially with the great mix of old and new horror elements that they used to great effect in You're Next, but this is one step up from that film. Despite the slight polish to the technical work, you could stick a Cannon logo on the front of this thing and convince people that it was a gem from the '80s they'd somehow missed. And that's a ringing endorsement, in case you weren't sure.

Dan Stevens stars (and it's a star-making turn, let me tell you) as a young man who introduces himself as David to the Peterson family. He is visiting them because he fought alongside their son in combat overseas. The father (Leland Orser) is more suspicious than the mother (Sheila Kelley), the daughter (Maika Monroe) isn't really bothered by anything other than her own life, and the son (Brendan Meyer) has his own stuff going on, mainly trying to survive the bullie at his school. But it's not long until everyone starts to take notice of David. He's such a charming guy, and he gets things done. He seems too good to be true, which means that you just know things aren't going to stay happy and idyllic for long.

The Guest is ALMOST a perfect film, for me. Perhaps after one or two more viewings I actually won't be able to think of even the smallest criticism, which I'm even struggling with now, but I'll hold off temporarily. This film had me smiling throughout, and there were at least five sequences that had me grinning like a Cheshire Cat.

Barrett provides a lean script, but don't let that fool you into thinking he must have had an easy job. On the contrary, every character and motivation is nicely sketched out. One or two stretches aside, the logic stays within the universe that these people inhabit, the dialogue is cool without ever feeling too stylised, and the slim plot unfolds at a perfect pace. It also keeps you rooting for a main character who could just as easily be painted as an absolute, no moral grey area, outright villain of the piece.

Wingard helps. Utilising a supercool soundtrack that could have been plucked from the '80s, he takes the opportunity to support the content here with a bucketload of cool style. This is a gorgeous film, at times, yet the visuals never prove to be a distraction. They simply serve to highlight the tone of the film, one of playfulness and exuberance as both writer and director work to present a gently satiric love letter to the kind of action thrillers that used to be, and still often are, adored by film fans while being completely ignored by critics.

The whole thing wouldn't work as well as it does if it didn't have such a winning performance from Stevens at the centre of it all. I defy anyone to watch this film and not fall for his charms. If there's any justice in the world then Stevens has plenty of good roles still to come, and deservedly so. Monroe and Meyer are both almost as good, with the latter especially touching as he finds a much-needed friend in the stranger that has entered his home. Orser and Kelley do fine work, Joel David Moore has a small, fun, role, and Lance Reddick is a major badass named Major Carver.

The Guest, in case you hadn't quite got the gist of what I was trying to say, is a film to get your blood pumping and even make you want to punch the air a few times. In short, it's the kind of film that they don't seem to make any more. Except for the fact that they do. And when they're as good as this one I can only hope for more in this vein.

9/10

http://www.amazon.com/Guest-Blu-ray-DVD-DIGITAL-HD/dp/B00NO834N0/ref=sr_1_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1418073523&sr=1-1&keywords=the+guest

Start your year off right. Buy my e-book, that has almost every review I've written over the past 5 years. It's very reasonably priced for the sheer amount of content.

The UK version can be bought here - http://www.amazon.co.uk/TJs-Ramshackle-Movie-Guide-Reviews-ebook/dp/B00J9PLT6Q/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1395945647&sr=1-3&keywords=movie+guide

And American folks can buy it here - http://www.amazon.com/TJs-Ramshackle-Movie-Guide-Reviews-ebook/dp/B00J9PLT6Q/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1395945752&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=TJs+ramshackle+mov

As much as I love the rest of the world, I can't keep up with all of the different links in different territories, but trust me when I say that it should be there on your local Amazon.

Trading Places (1983)

John Landis is a great director. Well, he WAS. It's been a while since we saw him working at his prime, but Trading Places is one of his best movies. In fact, if Landis hadn't also given us a classic werewolf flick and The Blues Brothers then this could well have been his crowning achievement.

The story is quite simple. Two rich old men (the Duke brothers, played by Don Ameche and Ralph Bellamy) make a bet over the effects of nature vs. nurture. To test their theory, they take their shining employee Louis Winthorpe III (Dan Aykroyd) and ruin his life. Louis loses his job, his fiance, his money and most of his self-respect in a series of humiliating trials all set up by the Dukes. At the same time, Billy Ray Valentine (Eddie Murphy) is plucked from his hustling, hand-to-mouth lifestyle and offered almost everything that Louis had. The two have traded places, hence the title of the movie. Will Billy Ray become a success, or will he abuse his position to make even more money for himself? And will Louis turn to crime as misfortune piles upon misfortune?

Although it runs for almost 2 hours, with editing never being a strong point for Landis, this zips along at a cracking pace, with quality gags written into every scene, some subtle and some front and centre. This is partly thanks to the script, by Herschel Weingrod and Timothy Harris, but equally thanks to the performances from everyone involved.

Murphy is at his best, the early '80s was arguably the peak of his career, and he delivers almost every line with confidence and sass. Aykroyd just about avoids making you hate him during the opening scenes of the movie, although it's a close call, and it gets easier to enjoy his company as things unravel for him at greater and greater speed. Ameche and Bellamy are delightfully horrid schemers, playing brilliantly off one another from start to finish. Denholm Elliott also does well as the butler who starts off attending to Aykroyd and is then told to take care of Murphy instead, and Jamie Lee Curtis set many hearts a-flutter as Ophelia, the "hooker with a heart" who takes pity on Aykroyd and tries to help him out of his current jam. Paul Gleason is as good as he always is, James Belushi monkeys around in the third act, Kristin Holby is the fiance ashamed of Aykroyd's downward mobility, and there are a couple of cameos worth keeping your eyes peeled for (as usual with a John Landis movie).

For getting the best out of his cast, and treating the material so well, Landis has to be credited with doing a good job here. He certainly had a knack, at one point, of getting great scripts into the hands of the right people for the roles, which does half of his work for him, in my book. There's nothing spectacular here on the technical side, but it's all smooth and well put together. Most importantly, it's all constructed perfectly around the performances and the gags.

If you haven't yet seen this movie then I implore you to get to it as soon as you can. It's an enduring comedy that hasn't lost any of its power in the past few decades. And it then provides you with an extra laugh whenever you get around to watching Coming To America.

9/10

http://www.amazon.com/Trading-Places-Blu-ray-Eddie-Murphy/dp/B00AEBB8EM/ref=sr_1_1_twi_2_twi_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1418340244&sr=8-1&keywords=trading+places

Catch A Christmas Star (2013)

Although it's admittedly a very cheap movie, Catch A Christmas Star tries to do the best it can with limited resources. And its main resource is the lovely Shannon Elizabeth, which was enough to keep me happy for most of the runtime.

Elizabeth plays a pop star, Nikki Crandon, who is about to head back to her home town for a big Christmas concert and a major push for her latest album. As she arrives in town, one young girl (Julia Lalonde) finds out that her widowed father (Steve Byers) used to date Nikki. In fact, he may still hold a candle for her. The girl heads off, with little brother (Kyle Harrison Breitkopf) in tow, to make something happen. She just doesn't really know how to do it.

Directed by John Bradshaw, and written by Rickie Castaneda, I have to say that this is better than some of their other collaborations. There are a number of fairly painless songs throughout the soundtrack, the characters are all enjoyable enough, and the main romantic hurdle - seeing what can happen under the glare of the media spotlight - is a fun one that hasn't been overused, in my experience anyway.

The leads help immensely. Elizabeth is always watchable, Byers is nice enough for the main potential romance to be believable, Lalonde and Breitkopf are both good, with the former shining extra bright in a couple of scenes that allow her to show some solid acting chops, and Christopher Jacot is fairly amusing as Carmine, assistant to Elizabeth's character, and also a friend when she needs one most.

What really doesn't help is the fact that the film incorporates moments that should have been left to the imagination. A major pop star making a TV appearance at a major event? Feel free to just play some audio and show the reactions of other characters instead of placing Elizabeth and some other unfortunate actress in front of some inferior green screen work. A major pop star performing a major concert? Again, perhaps audio work would be best, or to just skip over that moment entirely, instead of showing some stock crowd footage before cutting to . . . . . . . . . . . . . a shot that shows us the backs of about a dozen people, at most, pretending to be part of a huge crowd event. It just doesn't work. Even focusing on shots that JUST show Elizabeth singing away doesn't help. Viewers will watch the scene and keep thinking that this is a big-budget moment created for about $10.

I guess you could take off a point or two if you don't like Shannon Elizabeth as much as I do, which is a lot, but you may be pleasantly surprised to find that there are enough other nice touches here, outwith the budgetary constraints, to make this worth a watch. I'm not going to stake my reputation on it though. Mainly because it's too big a gamble, but also because I have NO reputation worth staking.

4/10

Can't find this on shiny disc just now, but here are some other festive flicks to consider - http://www.amazon.com/Family-Christmas-Collection-Cupid-Boston/dp/B00DNLZRXI/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1418577845&sr=8-13&keywords=catch+a+christmas+star

Christmas In Wonderland (2007)

A light-hearted family movie that squanders a half-decent cast, Christmas In Wonderland is enjoyable enough. It just could have been much better.

Patrick Swayze is a father to three children, and he's not looking forward to Christmas. The family have just relocated, only for his job to fall through. Trying to hide this fact from the kids, dad takes them all to the local mall (which is quite spectacular) and asks the eldest boy to look after his two younger siblings. The eldest obviously makes a break for it as soon as possible, which leaves the two younger children free to find a bag of counterfeit cash that they immediately begin spending, much to the chagrin of the two thieves (Chris Kattan and Preston Lacy) who lost it, and the cop (Tim Curry) trying to crack the case.

The script here is as weak as you'd expect it to be. Writers Wanda Birdsong Shope, James Orr (who also directed the movie) and Jim Cruickshank mix the usual seasonal magic with a plot that crosses Blank Cheque and Unaccompanied Minors, forgetting to include any fun factor that made both of those movies slightly more enjoyable. There are some amusing moments of randomness, including one actor (Matthew Walker) popping up in a variety of guises, but those don't make up for the many weaker moments.

With his director's hat on, Orr does what's needed of him, and nothing more. His best decisions seem to have been made while casting the film, and it's a shame that he gives no consideration to things like pacing, predictability, or even potential tension. Viewers won't ever feel that the children here are in any danger, which makes it harder to keep caring about individual moments leading up to the final reel.

Swayze is just fine in his role, although he spends a lot of time on the sidelines while the film focuses on the adventures of the kids. Cameron Bright is suitably stubborn and moody as the older son, Matthew Knight is personable enough as the middle sibling, and both Amy and Zoe Schlagel work together to portray the youngest of the three, a little girl who still believes in Santa and Christmas magic and happy endings being a rule rather than an exception. Preston Lacy may have been someone who made me laugh as part of the Jackass crew, but he's annoying here from the very first moment that he opens his mouth. Kattan does a bit better, despite having to share almost all of his scenes with Lacy. And Carmen Electra has fun as the third criminal, the one who expects to sit back and let the two men do all the work for her to reap the rewards. I wish I could say that I enjoyed the performance from Tim Curry, but he decides to try out an accent that just doesn't ever sound right, subsequently undercutting the amusement that his character could have provided.

Kids will, obviously, enjoy this a bit more, and it's not irredeemably bad. It's just not that good, especially when considering how much it has in common with those other movies I already mentioned: decent child actors, one or two big (well . . . . . big-ish) names, incompetent crooks, a montage moment, and even some love in the air for the older lad. The addition of some Christmas magic should have been enough to make this a superior family film. Sadly, it's not.

4/10

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Happy Ero Christmas (2003)

AKA Happy Naked Christmas.

I'll start this review with a disclaimer. This is a movie that I've been able to find out very little about. None of the credits were translated on the print that I viewed, and the little information I have here was gleaned from some time spent scouring the internet (not always the most reliable source of information - which is something easy to forget).

Happy Ero Christmas is a South Korean movie that stars Cha Tae-hyun as a police officer who falls in love with a young woman (Kim Seon-a) who works in a local bowling alley. Unfortunately, the young woman has also caught the eye of a local gangster (Park Yeong-gyu), a criminal that Tae-hyun is intent on arresting after a childhood incident that has stayed with him throughout his entire life. In fact, it was the reason that he became a police officer. There are also sub-plots about a young man who thinks he just wants to experience sex until he starts to realise that there's something more, and a young woman trying to win a "Miss Spa" competition.

Directed by Lee Geon-dong, who also co-wrote the screenplay, this is a strange film for the way it takes material that could have easily been very dark, and violent, and generally keeps things light enough for teenagers to enjoy. It's a 15-cert that could have easily been an 18, to use the standard classifications here in the UK. Many may hate this approach, but I found it pleasantly surprising, albeit jarring during the scenes in which things turned more serious. Sadly, there's no real style to the film, nothing tying it together. Some scenes have good visuals, some don't, and the same can be said of the audio. This leaves it feeling like a sloppy mix of ill-suited ingredients.

Tae-Hyun is good enough in his role, Yeong-gyu also does well as the stern, calm gangster that we've seen in many other movies, and Seon-a is nice enough to be the romantic lead, I guess. She starts off a bit aloof, but soon shows some warmth once she meets our hero. There are other people onscreen too, and all of them do well enough, but the focus is never too far away from the central love triangle.

Although I quite enjoyed this movie, it's hard to think of anyone else I would recommend it too. It's not quirky and bright enough for those who like ridiculous comedies. It's not violent or disturbing enough for those who like that kind of fare. And it's not good enough in any other way to make it a film that you should prioritise on your viewing list. There's a chance that some people will simply enjoy it as I did, although there's an equal chance that I'm on my own with this one. Such is the ignorant bliss of the easily pleased.

6/10

http://www.amazon.com/Happy-Naked-Christmas-Standard-DVD/dp/B00125Z67E/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1418773663&sr=8-2&keywords=happy+ero+christmas

The Three Dogateers (2014)

Don't judge me. I don't mind watching movies aimed at kids. In fact, most of the time they're absolutely on my wavelength, which supports the many times that my wife has accused me of immaturity. The fact that I respond to that accusation by blowing raspberries may further support the idea, but that's beside the point. Anyway, I had another reason for watching The Three Dogateers. Actor Bill Oberst Jr, a hard-working thespian who I always try to support in everything that he does (although, admittedly, he does so much that I struggle to keep up half the time).

Unfortunately, I didn't like this film.

The story concerns three dogs, of course. They've been left home alone when their master (Dean Cain) has to rush off to meet a client. He wants to get there, make his pitch, and get home as quickly as possible, allowing himself time to get everything ready for the Christmas dinner that his partner will be expecting when she walks back through the door. Anyway, while he's away, a couple of robbers break in and help themselves to the tree and gifts. The three dogs (small, white and cute - not exactly the best guard dogs) decide to track the thieves, which results in them eventually being stranded in the middle of nowhere. Who can help them get home in time for Christmas? Perhaps a Santa Claus (Richard Riehle), but only if they can avoid the clutches of a master dogcatcher named Barney Gloatt (Oberst Jr), a man who only needs to catch three more dogs to break a world record.

My Spidey-sense started tingling when I saw how many hats Jesse Baget was wearing on this movie. Not that I dislike Baget. I wasn't even aware of him before this movie, although checking out his filmography has reminded me of a couple of titles that I've been meaning to see at some point. He wrote, directed and co-produced the movie. He also provides two of the main dog voices, with Danielle Judovits providing the third.

That tingling got stronger when the dogs started "talking". I expected them to talk, of course, but I didn't expect the FX work to appear quite so cheap and ill-fitting. You could say that I was naive there, and the film can only work within the budget it has, but I would counter by suggesting that Baget could have gotten around this problem by either a) simply allowing the dogs to be voicing thoughts that only other dogs could hear or b) simply shooting less scenes that put all focus on a dog with CGI mouth movements stuck in front of its face.

The acting style is broad, no doubt about that, and no crime in it either. This is aime squarely at kids. Movements and quirks are exaggerated, with most of the adults appearing onscreen shown to be stumbling, bumbling figures obviously needing help from, or to be outsmarted by, the three dogs. Cain only has a few scenes, and he's over the top in all of them, while Riehle basically comes in for the final third of the movie and has the easier job of playing a mall Santa. Oberst Jr. has the biggest role, and he has fun being a cartoonish villain. My biggest problem with his performance was the accent, which seemed to start off as Eastern European and then switch, at some point, to French. The man usually isn't so inconsistent, which leaves me to wonder whether or not writer-director-producer-dogateer Baget started the movie with one idea and then decided to change things as he went along.

Younger children should be reasonably amused by this, but only if you catch them at just the right time. There are some amusing verbal gags, a few ill-timed farts, and a sequence in which the dogs make good their getaway by driving a car (never mind the physical impossibility of it all - it's teamwork, dammit). And the dogs are cute.

Everyone else should probably give this one a miss.

3/10

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Go (1999)

Directed by Doug Liman, and written by John August, Go is often described to people as a teen version of Pulp Fiction. Seriously, you'll find that phrase in almost every major review of the movie, so I decided not to buck the trend here. It's got drugs, some violence, plenty of dark humour, a great soundtrack, and a few main events shown from the viewpoints of different characters, which all means that the comparison point is a good one, even if Pulp Fiction is itself hugely influenced by a multitude of movies to have come before it.

Anyway, let me try to describe the various escapades. First of all, we get Ronna (Sarah Polley) looking to make some quick money as she faces eviction over the Christmas holiday season. She seizes her chance when a couple of guys (Scott Wolf and Jay Mohr) come into her work looking for her colleague, Simon (Desmond Askew). Simon often sells drugs so when these two potential customers start to enquire about any other potential supply avenues, Ronna decides to arrange a sale. She then has to buy product from dealer Todd Gaines (Timothy Olyphant), which puts her at serious risk if anything goes wrong during the proposed exchange. Things go wrong. Meanwhile, Simon is having a blast in Las Vegas with his friends (Taye Diggs, Breckin Meyer and James Duval). Vegas is such a glorious place to be, as long as nothing goes wrong. Things go wrong. There's more to discover here, but part of the joy of the film is finding out how the tales are interconnected and just what changes when seen from a different viewpoint.

Liman and August do a fantastic job here, keeping the energy levels up without the film every feeling hyperactive, and peppering conversations with great lines and references without it feeling overly-stylised. They also take a number of standard situations that we've seen done many times before and manage to give each one a twist, often weaving confidently between the sublie and the ridiculous. All of this would be impossible if it wasn't for the fantastic ensemble cast, taking the material and elevating every bit of it.

Polley, Wolf, Mohr, Askew and Diggs have rarely been better, and Olyphant is as great as he always is. Then we have William Fichtner as a slightly strange lawman, Jane Krakowski as his equally strange wife, Nathan Bexton as a pill-popper who hallucinates about conversations with cats and dancing with strangers to the Macarena, and even Katie Holmes does okay in her role. There's even a small, fun role for Melissa McCarthy that's worth looking out for.

There's one character I have yet to mention, and that is the soundtrack. Jam-packed with cracking tunes, Go has one of the best soundtracks of the 1990s. It's one that I listen to a lot, and it's also one that perfectly complements the visual style of the film. From the opening Columbia Pictures logo to the closing credits, this is another film that proves just how important the perfect song choice can be.

It's worth noting that what I find fun and cool could just as easily be viewed as tiresome and annoying by someone else. This is a film I used to recommend heartily to everyone until I started to realise that not everyone was won over by it in the same way as I was. I still heartily recommend it, but now do so with the standard, usually unspoken, proviso: No film is for everyone.

9/10

http://www.amazon.com/Go-Special-Sarah-Polley/dp/0767835093/ref=sr_1_2?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1418650151&sr=1-2&keywords=go

Ernest Saves Christmas (1988)

There are many ways in which the differences between American comedy and British comedy can be categorised. The two styles have moments when they grow closer, and even intertwine, but it's often the case that they can be given the following stereotype labels: American comedy is brash and loud, often wanting to make things larger than life (literally when you look at the many overweight people who have tickled the collective U.S. funnybone), while British comedy is full of wit, irony, and a more subtle approach. Of course, it's possible to pick prime examples from either side of the pond that absolutely contradict these generalisations, and it's possible to pick examples that adhere to them perfectly. You can't tar everything with the same brush, BUT there's certainly a tendency for either territory to aim for the respective favoured style, as it's commonly (mis)perceived.

And I've said all of that just to set the scene for Ernest Saves Christmas. You see, Ernest is a comic creation who certainly goes for the loud and brash approach. Brought to life by Jim Varney, he's a well-intentioned fool, often yapping on to whoever happens to be in earshot while he causes havoc around him.

In this particular adventure, Ernest ends up with Santa (Douglas Seale) in the back of his cab. He also picks up a young girl (Harmony, played by Noelle Parker) who is trying to live on the streets with only her wits to help her. After some confusion over money, Santa ends up on his way without having paid his taxi fare, Ernest is fired from his job, and it turns out that in the back of the cab there sits . . . . . . . a fancy red sack. It takes a while for Ernest and Harmony to put two and two together, which gives Santa time to get himself in trouble as he contacts the man (Oliver Clark) he wants to be his replacement.

A lot of your reaction to Ernest Saves Christmas will depend on how you react to the main character. I wasn't entirely won over. Varney is fun, he can certainly move between dim-witted slowness to manic, nervous energy with ease, but I soon found the constant chatter and occasional impressions to be a little grating. Mind you, when he transforms himself on a couple of different occasions then I admit that I found myself smiling a bit more, having as much fun as Varney seemed to be having during his moments of "freedom" from the central character.

Director John R. Cherry III keeps things ticking over nicely, if unspectacularly, and the script (by B. Kline and Ed Turner) throws in everything that you'd expect, and want, from such a film. Santa being treated like a confused old man is a common trope, elves coming along to help is another, and nobody should be surprised by the attempts at heart-warming moments in the third act. But few other movies, if any, show the problems that can be caused by flying reindeer stuck in customs. This, and the other genuinely amusing moments sprinkled throughout, make the film worth a watch.

Oh, I should really mention the rest of the cast. Seale is a decent Santa, which is important, Parker is likable enough, even when she strays from the path that everyone wants her to take, and Clark is solid. Robert Lesser is great as Marty, an agent looking after Clark's character, and Gailard Sartain and Bill Byrge are both a lot of fun as the two men who find themselves with a surprisingly light-footed herd of reindeer. Billie Bird also has a small role, and is as delightful as always.

I'm sure that most kids will enjoy this, and it's also far from the worst of oh-so-many Christmas movies that you could choose from. I just didn't love it.

6/10

http://www.amazon.com/Ernest-Saves-Christmas-Jim-Varney/dp/B000068MBV/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1417295013&sr=8-1&keywords=ernest+saves+christmas 

MERRY CHRISTMAS. You know how you can show your appreciation for bloggers? If you share and share then every additional reader helps. Connect through Google or Blogger or any way you can, and rest easy in the knowledge that you've made little ol' me a very happy man.

And if you're wondering what to do with some of those Amazon vouchers that Santa may have brought you . . . . . . . you could also buy my e-book, that has almost every review I've written over the past 5 years. It's very reasonably priced for the sheer amount of content.

The UK version can be bought here - http://www.amazon.co.uk/TJs-Ramshackle-Movie-Guide-Reviews-ebook/dp/B00J9PLT6Q/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1395945647&sr=1-3&keywords=movie+guide

And American folks can buy it here - http://www.amazon.com/TJs-Ramshackle-Movie-Guide-Reviews-ebook/dp/B00J9PLT6Q/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1395945752&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=TJs+ramshackle+mov

As much as I love the rest of the world, I can't keep up with all of the different links in different territories, but trust me when I say that it should be there on your local Amazon.