Planet Terror (2007)

"GRINDHOUSE PRESENTS" YES!! YES!! This can actually claim that. Because unlike Death Proof (which i did enjoy quite a bit) Planet Terror actually went all the way with the grindhouse style, not only in terms of the picture qaulity but in terms of the narrative which felt a lot more like a throway grindhouse popcorn flick.

I watched this from an American DVD i borrowed from a friend. Me and my brother sat down to watch this with a few beers and a pizza, i'd say the best way to view this film. Unlike Death Proof, Planet Terror doesn't take itself seriously, its a bit of gruesome fun. Saying that i do feel some moments were a little off, such as one involving a kid. Dr. Dakota Block who has run away from the infected area where the zombie ("Sickos") are and gone to her dads house with her son. She leaves her son in the car and gives him a gun to protect himself from the zombies. while she is away the camera follows her and we hear a gun shot, the kid had shot himself accidently. Though this type of stuff is usually in grindhouse films, it can't help but come off a bit weird and unneeded. Especially as its not really mentioned again. Some of the characters i didn't feel quite worked, such as Dakota Block and Abby (Naveen Andrews "Lost"). However i did enjoy the subplot of Dakota and her cheating on her husband, and the way that was used within the film was interesting.

Quentin Tarantino makes a appearence in a pretty needless scene, but hey. Bruce willis does an almost cameo though quite funny role (that bin laden stuff was classic). Actually the Osama bin laden scene is evidence of the throwaway fun style that planet terror was trying to create, and it did. The music score was also great, and really enagaging i love that main theme. on a personal level there were some aspects i didn't like, just because it reminded me of that 2005 film "slither" which i didn't like , but thats just me :) Rose McGowan was great as Cherry Darling, as was Freddy Rodríguez as Eli Wray.

All in all, its hard to rank this film, as its so much fun, its not the best film in the world by a good few miles, but, hell its very fun and thats all it was meant to be, and for that it was a success. I guess the best way to end this would be as follows :

Planet Terror = A Better "Grindhouse" film
Death Proof = A Better Film

I had fun at both, but i had more fun watching Planet Terror, so go with a few mates, throw logic out the window and enjoy.

Finding Nemo (2003)

Toy story i think will always remain my favourite Pixar film. With Cars & A Bugs Life (Antz Rules!!) being my least favourite. However due to recently watching Ratatouille i decided to rewatch the Pixar movie i had seen least recently, Finding Nemo.

Still buzzing of the recent Ratatouille, i was excited to rewatch Nemo and i have to say, what a film !

I had almost forgot how good this was. It has for me one of the key selling points of most pixar movies (bugs life & Cars aside) thats a real emotional core. The narrative of Marlin trying to find his son, combined with the script, animation and voice acting really manages to pull you in and believe that these fish are capable of these emotions. Thats what i love when pixar gets it right, it takes a very human emotion and attributes it to an animal, Toy or car (well not so muh car) and makes you care. In many ways actually out of the Pixar creations, this feels most like a classic disney narrative. Where as i felt Cars was very much a Kids movie, i feel Nemo is a family movie. By this i mean there is enough for both kids and adults to get something out of it. Theres some lessons to be learnt about parenthood and growing up, and its these qaulities that harp back to the classic ideologies of old Disney Animations. It starts with the death of what seemingly was going to become a main character, nemo's mother. It's something that anyone can relate to the fear or realisation of losing a parent or someone close to you.

The relationship between Marlin and his son Nemo is fantastic and always feels real. This film also maybe pixar's most consistantly funny, with Dory, the re-formed sharks and sufer dude turtles really adding to the laughs. Albert Brooks provides some of the best voice acting in a pixar movie and you really hear Marlin's worry and fear throughout all of his performance.

The film of course looks brilliant. I saw once on a documentary that they actually had the capabilities to make it look picture perfect, seriously no difference at all to real life and they actually opted for the option of making it slightly brighter and meagical, which i felt was a good choice. Again another factor that goes back to classic disney.

I have to mention my favourite scene , where Marlin is swimming after the boat that took Nemo, and we see him endlessly swimming frantically, with the fear on his face, without any real words, in the animation we know just what is going on, and it is a fantastic bit of work

All in all, Finding Nemo is amazing. Everything about it is epic, you really feel that with this pixar has come full circle. In many ways they have combined everything that makes a disney/pixar film work :

* Animals
* Real emotional narrative
* Human emotions within creatures
* Humans causing trouble for the animals
* consistantly funny
* Visuals

I would also like to mention the ending, which has a very hearfelt feel to it. With Nemo pixar has crafted something that should be remembered as a classic.

Favourite Movie Soundtracks

In my mind, one of the most important aspects of a movie is its soundtrack and overall use of music. Whether its the openening scene song which sets the tone or a key piece of music during a scene, music can make or break the tone and mood of the film or scene.

So with that being said heres a list of soundtracks i recommend you check out.

Jackie Brown


Key Tracks :

• Across 110th Street (Bobby Womack)
• Strawberry Letter 23 (The Brothers Johnson)
• Who Is He And What Is He to You? (Bill Withers)
• Street Life (Randy Crawford)
• Didn't I Blow Your Mind This Time (The Delfonics)
• Midnight Confessions (The Grass Roots)

----------------------------

Pulp Fiction

Key Tracks :

• Miserlou (Dick Dale & His Del-Tones)
• Let's Stay Together (Al Green)
• Son Of A Preacher Man (Dusty Springfield)
• Girl, You'll Be A Woman Soon (Urge Overkill)
• Flowers On The Wall (The Statler Brothers)
• Since I First Met Y0u (The Robins)
• You Never Can Tell (Chuck Berry)

-----------------------------

Dumb & Dumber

Key Tracks:

• The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead (Crash Test Dummies / Ellen Reid)
• New Age Girl (Deadeye Dick)
• If You Don't Love Me (Pete Droge)
• Crash (The Primitives)
• Too Much of a Good Thing (Bret Reilly / Sons)
• Insomniac (Echobelly)

------------------------------------

The Royal Tenenbaums

Key Tracks :

• These Days (Nico)
• Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard (Paul Simon)
• Wigwam (Bob Dylon)
• Look At Me (John Lennon)
• Police & Thieves (The Clash)
• Judy Is A Punk (The Ramones)
• Needle In The Hay (Elliot Smith)

-------------------------------

Garden State

Key Tracks :

• Blue Eyes (Cary Brothers)
• Don't Panic (Coldplay)
• Let Go (Frou Frou)
• Fair (Remy Zero)
• The Only Living Boy In New York (Simon & Garfunkel)
• Caring Is Creepy (The Shins)
• New Slang (The Shins)
• In The Waiting Line (Zero 7)

----------------------------------

Rushmore

Key Tracks :

• Here Comes My Baby (Cat Stevens)
• The Wind (Cat Stevens)
• Ooh La La (Faces)
• Oh Yoko! (John Lennon)
• Nothin' in the World Can Stop Me Worryin' 'Bout That Girl (The Kinks)
• Making Time (The Creation)

-------------------

Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind

Key Tracks :

• Mr. Blue Sky (Electric Light Orchestra)
• Theme (Jon Brion)
• Light & Day (The Polyphonic Spree)
• It's the Sun (The Polyphonic Spree)
• Wada Na Tod (Lata Mangeshkar)
• Everybody's Gotta Learn Sometimes (Beck)
• Something (The Willowz)

----------------------------

MORE COMMING SOON

Ratatouille (2007)

*bows* we're not worthy, we're not worthy! ok, thats done now. Last year's pixar effort, Cars, wasn't my cup of tea. I felt it, though technically fantastic, lacked any emotional level, any level of connection for the audience. I'm not taking my words back either, though given the qaulity of Ratatouille i may have to rewatch Cars incase i missed something!

Before i start the review on Ratatouille i have to mention the short that came on before it, Lifted. That's why Pixar are so good, not only do you get a feature length film, you get a short film to the qaulity of the feature. Lifted is no expection, a funny and fun short film that made me laugh all the way through and set the tone and mood for the enjoyment of the feature brilliantly.

Ratatouille is the story of Remy a young rat living in the french countryside. A wannabe chef, though being a rat, this is a difficult conquest. When he gets seperated from his family, he ends up in paris. Inspired by the ghost of his cooking idea, Gusteau. Remy finds himself at his idol's restaurant. He spots Linguini a young man who is working at the restaurant as a garbage boy. Remy finds himself inside the restaurant, unable to resist using some of the incredients, he adds spices to a soup that linguini had made. The soup turns out to be a success, and linguini who can't cook teams with Remy to cook great food, while trying to keep the rat secret and win the heart of fellow chef Colette.

Like any pixar movie this film is a visual feast. One scene in which Remy is swept up in a drain pipe , then into the sewers is fantastic. The water effects, with the faultless looking water roaring and thrashing against the screen is a delight to watch. Then this is quickly followed by a sequence in which we follow Remy through the air vents and in between the walls of houses in paris. seeing him dodge mouse traps, running frantically, and we see glimpses of people living their lives in the rooms below, is brilliant and a joy to watch. All the food looks good enough to eat, and other aspects such as bottles and glass look flawless too. Theres a scene in which Linguini is asked to get rid of remy, when he is discovered in the kitchen. Linguini takes him to a near by channel that runs through paris. During this scene the visual effects really shine. fog and mist cover the paris sky and with faint gleering lights in the background, this scene above ll in terms of visuals, may be pixar's finest work.

In my cars review i mentioned the character of Mater, who i described as, and i quote :

" the character-less stereotype of dumb side kick in form of Mater"

and in the name of fairness, this is evident here aswell, this time taken by Remy's brother Emile. There is a certain qaulity that will sell toys as he has a lot of the light-cruder jokes (burps and such) though not to the degree of mater, this character annoyed me ever so slightly. Also if we're on the subject of similarities with Cars, we arrive at Remy's dad, Django. Much like Doc Huson in Cars, Django offers advice to the main character, who much like Lightning Mcqueen, declines his advice. However i guess most pixar movies have this convention...wait, so should i take back my comments about cars? No, and why? because Ratatouille has one defining factor that seperates it, Collette.

The love story between Collette and Linguini is great, it feels real and has ups and downs even during its 1hr and a half run time. You really feel for linguini because you can tell he's trying and working hard at his job and really cares for Collette But what made me connect to it more than cars??...They're HUMANS! (nothing against automobile love, go for it!)

All in all, pixar is back on form. a heartfelt film, that along with lots of likeable characters, proves that, they can get back on the horse after a slip up. All hail pixar for they're contributions to not only animation, but film.

AMERICAN GANGSTER- Full Trailer

Looks amazing

A New Era For Movies & Games

Hey

I'd like to take this time to mention another blog, "Movie&Game". Run by a friend of mine, Coopey, It's a new blog that will feature movie news, video game news and reviews. I'll hopefully be thorwing my two cents in here and there on the stories. We hope to be both writting on both sites, so you may see stories from me on his site or reviews on here from him to form a great movie blogging experience! Coopey has a great knowledge and view on film, so keep up with his posts!

so please check out:

http://andycool-moviegame.blogspot.com/

Saw IV (2007)

Saw IV basically apitimises why i don't give grades. Much of my review style is less of me reviewing a movie, more of me ranting and trying to figure out just what i thought about it, a lot of which is discovered there and then during the writing process. Then i look back and hopefully it matches my true thoughts while be entertaining at the same time, shall we go for it? Let's go to work

I've made no attempt in the past to cover up my love for the saw series. Many people disagree but i find the saw franchise one of the most refreshing film series' to come out of the film industry in a long time, horror or otherwise. Saw 1 was a subtle yet daring film that really made you think. Saw 2 was yes, more mainstream, but still had the ability to craft a fantastic horror that kept you guessing. Saw III was possibly far fetched at times, but , was a nice way to finish the series with a great feeling of finality.......oh wait....damn.

So it's not over yet. Part of me is happy, part of me has Nightmare on elm street 300000 running in my mind. Anyway, last year (when i was in my full Saw loving mode) i really wanted to see Saw III at the cinema, but didn't. So Saw IV was my first experience of Saw in the cinema. and i was hyped, was it mis-placed?

yes and no. There is deffinatly a sense that the traps may have gone too far, both in their quantity and lack of qaulity. Lets face it, the majority of Saw fans just wanna see the traps, a sad fact, but hey, it has its..."charm". One of the films highlights was a solid performance from Lyriq Bent, who returned as Rigg, a SWAT team member, once a supporting player, now on centre stage. I felt he carried that responsiblity very welll. The film opens fairly well with an autopsy , but the whole first tape being found thing was a bit over the top. Plus, with the whole tape system you REALLY REALLY REALLY have to suspend your disbelief, which, at parts in this film, takes a LOT of suspending. This factor alone can take away from the films overall effect, and i guess, more than any of the others, this factor was present. For Example it all relies on the person following these instructions, what if he / she would of just got home and thron the tape in the bin!!? well, we wouldn't have much of a film i guess. Some acting was a bit off, but that i guess you have to expect from horrors (but should you have to ?). It at times plays like this - Trap - Trap - Trap - Trap - Tape - Trap - Tape - Trap - Jigsaw doll turns up - Trap ect. ect. However though this plotline can get tiresome, i felt the majority of the victims were interesting enough to warrant there inclusion. Especially one of which, who has a connection to John (Saw / Jigsaw) before he starts on his ways and is the reason he started his "Games" (and is the victim of his first ever "game") Some of the backstory and flashbacks were actually pretty engaging, and helped to tell a lot about John's past life and what makes him do his work.

I also liked the way Rigg was being used, the traps and choices set for Rigg being used as a way to try and teach him john's way of thinking, which i thought was a nice touch. However, its just a new way of coating the same idea but giving it a lsightly new twist i guess. I found the payoff very disapointing, i'll let you make your mind up about that, but given the payoff in the first two (II especially) this fell so short......(WHO WAS THAT GUY!? I DON'T CARE...DAMN) just love in jokes, don't ya?. As for the traps and violence, the traps were ok, very gruesome, and look-away worthy thats for sure. What i didn't like was the way the film finished it gave a sense that this could go on forever, due to the bounderies (or lack of) of the story and narrative formation. A great performance from Tobin Bell as usual and for sure has to go down as one of the best horror villians by now.

All in all, I'd say, i was all in all, impressed. By that i mean it managed to be interesting enough, to keep my interest. However, there are some moments that make it by far the weakest Saw film, the payoff i thought was laughable, over use of same ideas, some of the traps, some of the characters. However, some of the apsects, makes it one of the better saw films. Tobin Bell fantastic, backstory to his character done better than in any of the other movies, character of Rigg and his overall task and choice. As i say this film has split my opinion and i'll wait for the DVD for a rewatch. What i can say though is, its better than i thought it would be, theres enough backstory there to keep it interesting, but at same time, theres enough bad acting, unoriginality and one lame ass payoff to make it a bad viewing experience.....

sorry Thats really the best i can do lol .... (rewatch time!)