2012 Preview...

Phil's Quick  look at what’s wetting our whistle for the upcoming year in films... 

MOST EXCITED:  THE DARK KNIGHT RISES

In Brief: Really?  I need to tell you why?  Okay – Nolan has never made a bad film.  The first two Batman films were simply amazing. This one has Catwoman & Bane.  All this and the fact that The Dark Knight was soooo good... well this wont disappoint.  Trust me.

The Rest:

2.The Hobbit: Part 1

In Brief: Peter Jackson returns to middle earth for the back-to-back Hobbit movies.  A great cast (including several Rings alumni who also make a return to middle Earth), epic source material and top notch FX all but guaranteed means that this is one of the must watch films of the year. 


3.Prometheus

In Brief: The trailer is superb and It’s Ridley Scott making a return to the world of Alien.  Okay so Scott can be a bit hit and miss over the past few years but if the story is what it’s been reported, it sounds simply superb. 


4.The Avengers 

In Brief: Thor. Captain America. Hulk. Iron Man. Nick Shield.  This is the culmination of 4 years of Marvel planning coming together in one Epic film.  This is what Blockbusters should be.


5.Amazing Spiderman 

In Brief:  This one I’m less confidant about if I’m being honest HOWEVER the cats is great, the director a promising track record and a stand up villain in the Lizard something tells me that this could just be the shot in the arm that this franchise needs.


Bubbling under: 

Expendables 2 (I so want it to be good) , Piranha 3DD (didn’t turn up last year), The Dictator (Borat & Bruno were superb, this could be better) , Snow White & The Huntsman (great idea), 007: Skyfall (Bond, back and kicking arse with probably it’s best cast & director yet!), Django Unchained (Tarantino!) , World War Z (Great book)

* * * * * * * * * 

POTENTIAL STINKER OF THE YEAR: TWILIGHT BREAKING DAWN PART 2

In Brief:  Shooting fish in a barrel it may be but again is this one isn’t another dull, teenage wet dream of a movie then I’ll eat a tramps hat.  Look I don’t go out my way to hate these films but they kinda make it easy, don’t they!

Bubbling Under: Men In Black 3 (2 was pretty poor), GI Joe Retaliation (even with the Rock it’s going to be dull), Ghost Rider 2 (Again... piss poor original), Total Recall (I so want to be wrong!), 21 Jump Street (Just no!), Red Tails (Lucas making a WW2 movie.  No), Dredd (Again another film I want to be good but just cant see it)

Last Year... My Projected HIts & Misses

So how did I do in 2011?  Urm... well not great.

For the Best:  I tipped Cowboys & Aliens, The Hangover 2 & Sucker Punch as films to watch.  Oh and Cars 2.  All in all then four of the least well received movies of 2011.  Cars 2 was Pixar’s first critically disliked film, whilst Sucker Punch topped most people’s ‘Worst’ list.


I also pegged Battle Los Angeles which actually wasn’t bad.  At least Harry Potter, Captain America, Thor and X-Men were MUCH better. 

As for the Stinkers?  Well Twilight Breaking Dawn part 1 was a dead cert and it didn’t disappoint.  Well in terms of being crap that is.  

Transformers 3 was my worst film of the year, Scream 4 was dire, Pirates 4 was dull & Green Lantern was also bad so all pretty much came in as expected. 

The Last Reviews of 2011...

   

Batman Year One
Phil's Quick Capsule Review: "Overall a pretty good animated version of a legendary comic book, let down only by it's very episodic nature"


IMDB Rating: 7/10


Shark Night 3D
Phil's Quick Capsule Review: "Piranha 3D this isn't... tepid PG13 horror with no gore, no sex and no nudity and pretty much no point.  Avoid. "


IMDB Rating: 4/10


The Dead
Phil's Quick Capsule Review: "Very good Zombie horror with a twist, whilst slow in places and a wee bit OTT on the head shots, The Dead is worth a watch for fans of the undead"


IMDB Rating: 7/10


In Time
Phil's Quick Capsule Review: "Great idea, hammered home, this Andrew Niccol sci-fi thriller isn't Gattaca but it also isn't as bad as most critics have suggested.  If you like the genre it's more than worth a watch..."


IMDB Rating: 6/10



Mission Impossible : Ghost Protocol 
Phil's Quick Capsule Review: "A superb action film (and joint best MI film), with a great cast, amazing stunts and heart pounding set pieces set alongside the usual nutty technology that will never exist.  Superb in IMAX!"


IMDB Rating: 8/10

End Of Year Review - 2011

I take a look in my annual round up my the best and worst films of 2011. Well, someone has to do it... 


30/01: This list has been updated.  Girl With A Dragon Tattoo replaces Drive & X-Men First Class looses out to Mission Impossible 4.  

FILM OF THE YEAR: Hugo (9/10)


In Brief: Magical children's fantasy film by a director who has never been anything less than brilliant.  A top notch cast, a heart-warming message and the best use of 3D yet makes for one of the best children's films for an age.

The Rest:


2. Senna
In Brief: Powerful, well made documentary that gives you a glimpse into the world of motorsport at the highest end and the celebration and tragedy that goes alongside with it.

3. True Grit
In Brief: Or how you remake a classic and pretty much make it better that the original in every way.


4. Girl With A Dragon Tattoo

In Brief: Blockbuster remake of the year.  Fincher doesn't do bad films often and GWADT is no exception.  A brilliant, brilliant film that  has been criminally overlooked for the kudos it deserves.  

5. Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol 

In Brief: Best MI film yet (well maybe tied with MI3), Cruise delivers a top notch performance wowing with his own stunt work in a well made, expertly directed action film.  

  

Used To be In My Top 5:X-Men First Class, Drive

Bubbling under:

Captain America; Tucker & Dale Vs Evil; Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes; Super 8; The Inbetweeners Movie; Contagion

Films that I haven't seen (as of writing this) that I really need to:

TinTin, Warrior

Hero of The Year:

Michael Bay - for making everyone around him that much better a film maker.  Face it... no matter how bad your film, put it next to Transformers 3 and it instantly becomes that little bit better.  Even Uwe Boll & Paul WS Anderson films. 

STINKER OF THE YEAR: Transformers 3: Dark Of The Moon (2/10)

In Brief: Simply put everything that is wrong with Hollywood today.  Vacuous, pointless and dull, this loud, obnoxious $250 million abortion of a movie was just dire. And yet it made lots of money,.  Go figure.   

The Rest

2. Sucker Punch

In Brief: Uncomfortable to watch without feeling more than a bit dirty, Sucker Punch was style over substance and ended up being just dull.  One to avoid for everyone other than horney teenagers who haven't yet discovered pornography.    

3. Rubber

In Brief: If like my films off the wall.  I like them mad as a box of frogs.  But Rubber was just pointless, pretentious tripe.   

4. Scream 4

In Brief: The shark jumped, this was a sequel that was just not needed.  Most Scary thing: Courtney Cox's botox face.  Nasty. 

5. Season of The Witch

In Brief: Nick Cage makes another stinker and drags Ron Pearlman with him.  Just dull, dull, dull. 

Bubbling under:

Hobo With A Shotgun; Drive Angry 3D; Red State; Final Destination 5

Films that I haven't seen that will probably feature in this list:

Twilight Breaking Dawn Part 1

Villain of The Year:

Steven Spielberg: for putting his name to some pretty dire tat.  Transformers 3. Terra Nova.  Falling Skies. Cowboys & Aliens.  Stop it!  Have some quality control man. Don't just put your name on anything! 

Check out our latest End Of Year Podcast at www.filmsploitation.co.uk 

This Weeks Reviews (24th -30th Dec 2011)

Next Time: End of Year Review & The Last Reviews of 2011

Hugo

Phil's Quick Capsule Review

Film of the year.  Period.  Hugo is a delight, a film for all ages by a director at the top of his game. Funny, exciting and with real heart, Hugo is a rare beast in that it entertains both adults and children without patronising or pandering to  either.  Oh... and 3D that doesn't make you want to scream.  Must watch.  

Best bit: Scorsese Recreating the films 

Rent, Borrow, Buy, Stream: Buy 

IMDB Rating: 9/10

If you liked this try: Kundun (9/10); ET (9/10); Harry Potter Part 1 (7/10)

Retreat

Phil's Quick Capsule Review

Perfect adequate if unspectacular thriller that throws in a few nice moments but feels a little too long and too easy in places.  That said the leads acquit themselves well and it is a tense film to watch... liked but didn't love. 

Best bit: Is it... isn't it?

Rent, Borrow, Buy, Stream: Rent 

IMDB Rating: 6/10

If you liked this try: Cape Fear (8/10); Red Eye (8/10); Panic Room (8/10)

This Weeks Reviews (17th - 23rd Dec 2011)

Next Week: Hugo & The Retreat 

Super 8

Phil's Quick Capsule Review:

Super 8 is a love letter to the films of Spielberg for sure, but is it more than that?  Well yes actually - a well made, well performed charming film that takes you back to the days when kids films didn't mean animated chipmunks or penguins.  A spectacular film and one of 2010's must see movies. 

Best Bit: The kids

Rent, Borrow, But, Stream: Buy


IMDB Rating: 8/10

If you liked this try: Goonies (9/10); Stand By Me (9/10); Gremlins (9/10) 

Tucker & Dale Vs Evil

Phil's Quick Capsule Review:

 The fact this film lay in distribution hell for so long juist shows how little Hollywood respect an original, well made film. Tucker... is not your average horror film, giving one of the most original twists on the slasher genre yet whilst still managing to be laugh out loud funny and gory to boot.  A must see for all horror fans. 

Best Bit: The whole idea!  

Rent, Borrow, But, Stream: Buy

IMDB Rating: 8/10

If you liked this try: Shaun Of The Dead (9/10); Bubba Ho Tep (8/10); My Name Is Bruce (7/10) 

This Weeks Reviews (10th - 16th Dec 2011)

Next Time: Super 8, Tucker & Dale Vs Evil

Rise Of The Planet of The Apes

Phil’s Quick Capsule Review

A well made prequel that for the most part gives a satisfying reboot to what had become a very tired franchise.   It’s not without its problems – whilst CGI Ceaser is amazing some of the background apes are pretty poor, the ending is unsatisfying and it takes a while to get going but for certain ROTPOTA is one of the more entertaining films out during summer 2011, made all the better for what should be an Oscar winning performance from Sirkis.  

Best Bit: Andy Sirkis

Rent, Borrow, Buy, Stream: Rent

IMDB Rating: 7/10

If you liked this try: Planet of The Apes Original (8/10); Beneath The Planet Of The Apes (6/10); Tim Burton’s Planet of The Apes (3/10)

The Thing (2011)

Phil’s Quick Capsule Review

Painfully average prequel come remake isn’t a patch on the far superior John Carpenter original.  It’s not that it’s badly made; it isn’t (except the CGI which is painfully dire at times) it’s just that it offers nothing new or different or better than a film made almost 30 years ago, with less money and much more ‘primitive’ technology.  

Best Bit: Teeth

Rent, Borrow, Buy, Stream: Borrow

IMDB Rating: 5/10

If you liked this try: The Thing (9/10); The Thing From Another World (UR); They Live (8/10)

This Weeks Reviews (3rd - 9th Dec 2012)

Next Week: The Thing & Rise Of The Planet of The Apes

Final Destination 5

Phil's Quick Capsule Review:The simple law of the sequel is in play here...five films in and this franchise has very muh run out of stream.  It's not bad by any means but the deaths lack spark and the 'big event' is just a mess of CGI.  Even the us of 3D lacks spark.  All in all just what you would expect from a Fifth film.

Best Bit: Tony Todd returns!

Rent, Borrow, Buy, Stream: Stream 

IMDB Rating: 5/10

If you liked this try: Final Destination (7/10); Final Destination 2 (7/10); Final Destination 3 (6/10)