The Celestine Prophecy (2006)
I only recently found out about this film, after reading and quite enjoying the book of the same name.The book is poorly written in my opinion but the concepts it contains, it's enthusiasm and the well-meaning feel of it are fantastic, though much is borrowed from other sources (eg, psychologist Carl Jung) - the film just does not do it justice. It tries, but it falls far short. Characters are not well developed so the viewer feels nothing for them. It is slow paced, and the bits that are fast paced feel forced; tagged on to make it more of an action film. Skipping over the all important Insights and key concepts in the fashion of '1, 2 miss a few, 8 and 9' was a real mistake and I'm sure leaves anyone coming to this film without reading the book fairly lost. And for those who have read and enjoyed it, it leaves much to be desired. Perhaps some day this can be re-made and done a bit better...
Cert: PG
Drama / Action
Thursday 26 December 2013
Sunday 8 December 2013
And Soon the Darkness (2010)
Something no-one else seems to have touched on among others reviews I read on Lovefilm is the fact that this film is actually a re-make of a 1970 British film with the same name. Having watched that film a few weeks ago, it was on the Horror Channel in the UK, I have to say that this film is a lot better than the original one, which was a real chore to get through.At least this one has a bit of genuine excitement and thrill to it, at least the girls in it seems to have just a little bit of sense about them (not much) - in the original they are so naive it is painful and watching it I was almost glad they ran into difficulties just to teach them a lesson... But times were very different back then, just coming out of the 60s, so it is obviously a film of it's time. The 2010 remake is miles better, but comparing it with similar films of it's kind today, it is only average - 3/5.
Friday 15 November 2013
Oblivion
Oblivion (2013)
Cert. 12
Hmmm, well... Hard not to like this film, I just wish that the 'twist' in the story wasn't the same as another good sci-fi film from a few years ago with a lower budget. I like that film a lot better than Oblivion, because it had the original idea. This one just copied it with a bigger budget, better effects and bigger (not better) actors. But that aside (and it's a big thing to try and put aside) this film ticks a lot of boxes to make it a good sci-fi blockbuster. Tom Cruise is good in it, as are all the other actors. It is a terrific-looking film and I really wish I could've seen it at the cinema just for the look of it on the big screen. I imagine many have Oblivion scenescapes as backgrounds on their PCs and laptops! The film doesn't hurry itself, it is paced just right - well, perhaps a little bit on the slow side to begin with. One thing I would say that could've been a bit clearer and was ever so slightly confusing - what was flashback and what wasn't. Didn't help that I was a little tired I suppose, but I got a little confused at one point, like I'd skipped a couple of scenes. All in all very good, but I can't forgive it for copying 'Moon' which to me is one of very few modern sci-fi classics.
Language: No naughties
Sex/Nudity: Just a little bit, mostly hinted at
Violence/Gore: No, not really - only robots fighting - incidentally the robots reminded me of larger version of the spherical flying droids from the old Gerry Anderson show 'Terrahawks', which I must try and see again some day.
Atmosphere: A bit troubling at times, the wool's been pulled over our hero's eyes and that might feel a bit disconcerting to some viewers. I suppose if you haven't seen 'Moon' then the big reveal might be a bit unsettling, but it's not frightening (well, wasn't to me)...
7/10
Cert. 12
Hmmm, well... Hard not to like this film, I just wish that the 'twist' in the story wasn't the same as another good sci-fi film from a few years ago with a lower budget. I like that film a lot better than Oblivion, because it had the original idea. This one just copied it with a bigger budget, better effects and bigger (not better) actors. But that aside (and it's a big thing to try and put aside) this film ticks a lot of boxes to make it a good sci-fi blockbuster. Tom Cruise is good in it, as are all the other actors. It is a terrific-looking film and I really wish I could've seen it at the cinema just for the look of it on the big screen. I imagine many have Oblivion scenescapes as backgrounds on their PCs and laptops! The film doesn't hurry itself, it is paced just right - well, perhaps a little bit on the slow side to begin with. One thing I would say that could've been a bit clearer and was ever so slightly confusing - what was flashback and what wasn't. Didn't help that I was a little tired I suppose, but I got a little confused at one point, like I'd skipped a couple of scenes. All in all very good, but I can't forgive it for copying 'Moon' which to me is one of very few modern sci-fi classics.
Language: No naughties
Sex/Nudity: Just a little bit, mostly hinted at
Violence/Gore: No, not really - only robots fighting - incidentally the robots reminded me of larger version of the spherical flying droids from the old Gerry Anderson show 'Terrahawks', which I must try and see again some day.
Atmosphere: A bit troubling at times, the wool's been pulled over our hero's eyes and that might feel a bit disconcerting to some viewers. I suppose if you haven't seen 'Moon' then the big reveal might be a bit unsettling, but it's not frightening (well, wasn't to me)...
7/10
Thursday 14 November 2013
World War Z
World War Z (2013)
Cert. 15
I was mostly looking forward to seeing this film, but afterwards I was left feeling like I'd somehow not seen the film I was hoping to see. And I can't quite put my finger on what was missing. It is odd to watch a zombie film and not see gore, but that wasn't it... And Brad Pitt being the superstar he is seemed like he was never in any real danger... but that wasn't quite it either. It was well acted, and the effects were great. It was fast-paced and fairly exciting.. I just don't know. But I went into this ready to give it a 4½ or 5 out of 5, but it's just a 3½ for me (Lovefilm ratings there!). I didn't like the ending. It felt too rushed, almost like someone had said - that's it, spent all the money on effects, gotta wrap this up quick! Oh well, perhaps I'll read the book, it's mean't to be much better.
Language: Not very much from what I recall
Sex/Nudity: None
Violence/Gore: A fair bit of violence but extremely little blood, never mind gore
Atmosphere: I never quite felt it, the excitement of the adventure had the effect of doing away with any sense of horror for me
7/10
Cert. 15
I was mostly looking forward to seeing this film, but afterwards I was left feeling like I'd somehow not seen the film I was hoping to see. And I can't quite put my finger on what was missing. It is odd to watch a zombie film and not see gore, but that wasn't it... And Brad Pitt being the superstar he is seemed like he was never in any real danger... but that wasn't quite it either. It was well acted, and the effects were great. It was fast-paced and fairly exciting.. I just don't know. But I went into this ready to give it a 4½ or 5 out of 5, but it's just a 3½ for me (Lovefilm ratings there!). I didn't like the ending. It felt too rushed, almost like someone had said - that's it, spent all the money on effects, gotta wrap this up quick! Oh well, perhaps I'll read the book, it's mean't to be much better.
Language: Not very much from what I recall
Sex/Nudity: None
Violence/Gore: A fair bit of violence but extremely little blood, never mind gore
Atmosphere: I never quite felt it, the excitement of the adventure had the effect of doing away with any sense of horror for me
7/10
Virus
Virus (1999)
Cert. 18
Spoilers ahead. This is one of those underrated horror/sci fi films that slips under the radar. A fairly decent cast led by Jamie Lee Curtis, Donald Sutherland and William Baldwin, I remember seeing this on pay-per-view back in '99 and I remember it being quite scary, in a freaky sort of way. The second time I watched it was a few years later and I was half-asleep, and to my sleepy-sleepy brain it seemed very freaky-weird. Having just seen it again after probably almost a decade, it was only slightly freaky. But fairly scary. It achieves this mainly due to the atmosphere of dread - a small group of people, trapped on a boat in the middle of a fierce storm with some sort of alien intelligence which is never properly explained (just the way we like it) other than it being hell-bent on destroying them... Worse than that though - it wants to use their bodies to splice with cybernetic components to create grisly and graphic monsters of half-flesh and half robot. One of them seemed like a direct Borg rip off from Star Trek, mind, but we'll forgive them that (this time!) Donald Sutherland is a rather menacing, foreboding and grim character who seems like he's got nothing left to lose and it's no surprise when he actually voluntarily lets the alien menace take him and do whatever... All in all this is a good little film, not too long, not too short - pretty good action all the way through, keeps on moving, and I'd recommend it.
Language: Some bad words, but totally understandable considering what's happening
Sex: No
Violence/Gore: Yeah, quite a lot, quite graphic at times, brains 'n guts 'n stuff
Atmosphere: Dark, hopeless, scary
8/10
Cert. 18
Spoilers ahead. This is one of those underrated horror/sci fi films that slips under the radar. A fairly decent cast led by Jamie Lee Curtis, Donald Sutherland and William Baldwin, I remember seeing this on pay-per-view back in '99 and I remember it being quite scary, in a freaky sort of way. The second time I watched it was a few years later and I was half-asleep, and to my sleepy-sleepy brain it seemed very freaky-weird. Having just seen it again after probably almost a decade, it was only slightly freaky. But fairly scary. It achieves this mainly due to the atmosphere of dread - a small group of people, trapped on a boat in the middle of a fierce storm with some sort of alien intelligence which is never properly explained (just the way we like it) other than it being hell-bent on destroying them... Worse than that though - it wants to use their bodies to splice with cybernetic components to create grisly and graphic monsters of half-flesh and half robot. One of them seemed like a direct Borg rip off from Star Trek, mind, but we'll forgive them that (this time!) Donald Sutherland is a rather menacing, foreboding and grim character who seems like he's got nothing left to lose and it's no surprise when he actually voluntarily lets the alien menace take him and do whatever... All in all this is a good little film, not too long, not too short - pretty good action all the way through, keeps on moving, and I'd recommend it.
Language: Some bad words, but totally understandable considering what's happening
Sex: No
Violence/Gore: Yeah, quite a lot, quite graphic at times, brains 'n guts 'n stuff
Atmosphere: Dark, hopeless, scary
8/10
Saturday 9 November 2013
The Watch
The Watch (2012)
Cert. 15
This is a comedy film with a bit of sci-fi in it about some guys starting up a neighbourhood watch team and getting a bit more than they bargained for... But for me it was ruined by being too crude and vulgar in it's humour. Maybe I'm getting old, but there's no need - I wanted to like this a lot more, it ticked many boxes for me and I'd been looking forward to it, but the level of toilet humour related to genitalia, sex and bodily fluids seemed to be ever flowing, excuse the pun, making it seem like it was scripted by a couple of giggly, porno-obsessed teenage lads or something. If you like that sort of thing, this will be a great film for you. I just think it's a shame they had to keep going there... Characters weren't that likable and were for the most part just plain annoying, especially the British fellow (Richard Ayoade) who was downright embarrassing!
6/10
Cert. 15
This is a comedy film with a bit of sci-fi in it about some guys starting up a neighbourhood watch team and getting a bit more than they bargained for... But for me it was ruined by being too crude and vulgar in it's humour. Maybe I'm getting old, but there's no need - I wanted to like this a lot more, it ticked many boxes for me and I'd been looking forward to it, but the level of toilet humour related to genitalia, sex and bodily fluids seemed to be ever flowing, excuse the pun, making it seem like it was scripted by a couple of giggly, porno-obsessed teenage lads or something. If you like that sort of thing, this will be a great film for you. I just think it's a shame they had to keep going there... Characters weren't that likable and were for the most part just plain annoying, especially the British fellow (Richard Ayoade) who was downright embarrassing!
6/10
Limitless
Limitless (2015)
Cert. 15
Firstly - a little personal bugbear of mine... "What if you could use 100% of your brain, instead of just 20%..?" say they in this slightly sci-fi action film... Where did this myth originate? We already use 100% of our brains, all of us! If we only used 20% we'd all be in comas! It's how well we use our brains that is the question - the potential... So that aside, this was a fairly enjoyable film, if one just sits back and enjoys the ride, and as others have pointed out, ignores the fact that the hero also appears to be a selfish git. Instead of once unlocking his potential he sets about using his skills for the betterment of Mankind, he basically just wants to have a lot of sex, make an obscene amount of money, and of course, perfect and make more of the wonder drug. And as someone else said in a review I read on Lovefilm - it's a bit sickening if you stop and think about it. But maybe that's the point we're supposed to get from this, I dunno what the writers & directors aim was with this film. I doubt it was to make us stop and think about human excess and selfishness, but maybe it was... The film is well acted and the special effects are well done, if a little dizzying at times.
7/10
Cert. 15
Firstly - a little personal bugbear of mine... "What if you could use 100% of your brain, instead of just 20%..?" say they in this slightly sci-fi action film... Where did this myth originate? We already use 100% of our brains, all of us! If we only used 20% we'd all be in comas! It's how well we use our brains that is the question - the potential... So that aside, this was a fairly enjoyable film, if one just sits back and enjoys the ride, and as others have pointed out, ignores the fact that the hero also appears to be a selfish git. Instead of once unlocking his potential he sets about using his skills for the betterment of Mankind, he basically just wants to have a lot of sex, make an obscene amount of money, and of course, perfect and make more of the wonder drug. And as someone else said in a review I read on Lovefilm - it's a bit sickening if you stop and think about it. But maybe that's the point we're supposed to get from this, I dunno what the writers & directors aim was with this film. I doubt it was to make us stop and think about human excess and selfishness, but maybe it was... The film is well acted and the special effects are well done, if a little dizzying at times.
7/10
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