Pocahontas (1995)

Genres

Adventure, Animation, Drama, Musical, Romance

Directors

Mike Gabriel, Eric Goldberg

Country

USA

Voice Cast

Irene Bedard, Judy Kuhn, Mel Gibson, David Odgen Stiers, John Kassir, Russell Means, Jim Cummings, Christian Bale, Linda Hunt, Danny Mann, Billy Connolly, Frank Welker, Michelle St. John, James Apaumut Fall, Gordon Tootoosis

Storyline

Pocahontas (Irene Bedard), the daughter of an Algonquin chief, falls in love with Captain John Smith (Mel Gibson), an English soldier who journeyed to the New World to begin a fresh life.

Opinion

I used to watch Disney movies all the time when I was a kid, but I'm not sure I've ever seen "Pocahontas" from start to finish. I'm an adult now and I've still struggled to get to the end. Sure, this is a quite magical film that has a lot to teach, but I found it a bit boring. Kinda like Malick's "The New World".

The reason why this doesn't and won't ever work for me is the story. It's a story we all know, the love story between a Native American princess and an English soldier, and I've probably heard of it too many times. Unlike Disney's other movies, this one is based on a true story, but it's far from being accurate. Also, it isn't very compelling, it proceeds slowly yet at times it is incredibly rushed - just think about Pocahontas not understanding a word of English in one scene and talking with John, in English, in the very next scene. But since it's a kids movie I guess it's not supposed to be logical.

Anyway, in spite of the boring plot and some distracting characters - I usually love the animal sidekick but this time they are all over the place -, "Pocahontas" still manages to be quite charming and the credits go to the animation made of simple yet detailed backgrounds and characters that are so expressive they are able to convey all their feelings. 

The songs also help to enjoy the film a bit more, especially the beautiful "Colors of the Wind", the perfect song to deliver one of the film's themes, the love of nature and the need to reconnect with it and give it more value. I feel like this is a very important teaching for kids, especially nowadays.

Out of Africa (1985)

Genres

Biography, Drama, Romance

Director

Sydney Pollack

Country

USA

Cast

Meryl Streep, Robert Redford, Klaus Maria Brandauer, Michael Kitchen, Shane Rimmer, Malick Bowens, Joseph Thiaka, Stephen Kinyanjui, Michael Gough, Suzanna Hamilton, Rachel Kempson, Graham Crowden, Benny Young, Leslie Phillips, Annabel Maule, Iman

Storyline

It follows the life of Karen Blixen (Meryl Streep), a Danish Baroness and plantation owner in Kenya who has a passionate love affair with Denys Finch Hatton (Robert Redford), a free-spirited hunter.

Opinion

I put off watching "Out of Africa" for years, literally, because of its length. Never in my life I would have thought I'd be able to stomach a two and half hour long romance. Never. Well, I finally got my courage up and watched it and it wasn't half bad. Actually, it was a quite beautiful and moving film.

What I liked the most about this film is that it doesn't just tell about the love story between a married Danish Baroness and a hunter - although it is the focus of the film -, but it tells about the love this woman has for Africa, a love that in my opinion is way more beautiful than the heart-wrenching romance she shares with the hunter. Still, this isn't the best part of the movie. 

In spite of its very slow, almost glacial pace, Sydney Pollack's film still manages to be very intriguing thanks to a deep and very well developed leading character that is wonderfully portrayed by Meryl Streep who manages to convey all the qualities of Karen Blixen, from the intelligence to her charms. The other main character, Robert Redford's, isn't bad either, but at times he doesn't feel very believable, and Redford not speaking with a British accent may be one of the reasons. Apart from this, Redford as well gives a good performance.

Quite striking are also the beautiful, classical cinematography - it looks very aged at points though -, the breathtaking, exotic settings and John Barry's incredible score that is both great to listen and the perfect fit for the story.

Before We Go (2014)

Genres

Comedy, Drama, Romance

Director

Chris Evans

Country

USA

Cast

Chris Evans, Alice Eve, Emma Fitzpatrick, Mark Kassen, Daniel Spink, Elijah Moreland, John Cullum, Scott Evans

Storyline

A woman (Alice Eve) misses the 1:30 train from New York to Boston and a street musician (Chris Evans) spends the night trying to help her make it back home before her husband does.

Opinion

Romances are still not my thing, but I decided to give "Before We Go" a chance anyway because I was interested in seeing what Chris Evans would do at his directorial debut. Well, he didn't do a terrible job, but neither a great one.

But it's not entirely his fault. The biggest problem is indeed the story. Although it really looks like a "Before Sunrise" remake - which should be good since Linklater's film was pure genius -, the story to this film never seems to take off, and that's probably because instead of just having two people doing random things in New York and enjoying themselves, it lingers way too much on the woman's secret and it ends up being quite annoying.

The dialogue contributes to the failure of the film. Forget about the amusing talks about ordinary things between Jesse and Céline, all that comes out of the two main characters' mouths is clichéed and not very believable.

"Before We Go" isn't even as visually appealing as Linklater's masterpiece, however, it still benefits from a good leading duo. Although they come nothing near to Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, Chris Evans and Alice Eve both do a good job, they have a good chemistry, and they have the power to keep you watching until the end, even though the film isn't that good.

The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared (2013)

Original Title

Hundraåringen som klev ut genom fönstret och försvann

Genre

Comedy

Director

Felix Herngren

Countries

Sweden, France, Germany

Cast

Robert Gustafsson, Iwar Wiklander, David Wiberg, Mia Skaringer, Jens Hultén, Bianca Cruzeiro, Alan Ford, Sven Lönn, David Shackleton, Georg Nikoloff, Sibylle Bernardin

Storyline

On the day of his hundredth birthday, Allan Karlsson (Robert Gustafsson) escapes from the retirement home and embarks on an unexpected journey.

Opinion

After reviewing "A Man Called Ove", a guy suggested me to read Jonas Jonasson's "The Hundred-Year-Old-Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared" and so did I. I mean, that's a hell of a title, I needed to read it. And I loved it. It had its perks, but I did have a wonderful time reading it. So I decided to watch this film, but we all know movies based on books are usually disappointing, and so this one was.

And the blame is all on the writers. Instead of bringing to the screen the bizarre, absurd life of the book's 100-year-old man, it seems like they decided to take, almost at random, some pages here and there, and they basically ended up portraying the old man just as some drunk who blows up everything. Quite literally.

Other than leaving out way too many pages - I get however the decision the leave out some parts of the old's man past since they were quite boring in the book - a lot of pointless, completely unnecessary changes were made that added absolutely nothing to the plot. If anything that took away part of the fun.

Which brings me to the next point, the humour. Herngren was at least able to deliver the same dark, dry, deadpan humour of the novel quite effectively. I have to admit that not all the supposed-to-be-funny scenes were funny, but the film was entertaining after all. It's just a terrible adaptation.

To keep us company for nearly two hours there's Robert Gustafsson who does most of the job and gives a great performance as the 100-year-old man. And truth to be told, he gets a massive assist from the makeup artists who were able to make him look believable in the slippers of an old man. 

Thursday Movie Picks: Television Edition: Police

Hello and welcome back to Thursday Movie Picks, the weekly series hosted by Wandering Through the Shelves where you share three movies to fit the theme of the week each Thursday.

It's time for another television episode, and it's police this time. This was supposed to be an easy week for me because basically half of the shows I watch fit the theme, so it was very hard for me to pick three. I eventually went with three shows with cool and brilliant people. So if I were you, I wouldn't commit any crime this week, chances are you'll be caught.

Lie to Me (2009-2011)

Cal Lightman is an expert in facial expressions and involuntary body language who helps public authorities in various investigations. Okay, he's not a cop or a detective, but this show was great. It's just not fair it got cancelled.

Life (2007-2009)

After spending many years wrongly imprisoned, Charlie Crews returns to the police force with one goal, finding out who framed him. Besides from Damien Lewis playing one of the best detectives ever, this was another great and gripping show.

The Mentalist (2008-2015)

Patrick Jane is a famous psychic who starts working as a consultant for the CBI (California Bureau of Investigation) so he can find Red John, the man who killed his wife and daughter. Not a cop, I got it, but he works with the police, and he's probably my favourite TV character. Oh, the show was great too, plenty of twists and suspense.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)

Genres

Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

Director

James Gunn

Country

USA

Cast

Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Elizabeth Debicki, Chris Sullivan, Sean Gunn, Sylvester Stallone, Glenn Close, Michael Rosenbaum, Ving Rhames, Stan Lee

Storyline

This time around, the Guardians must fight to keep their family together as they unravel the mysteries of Peter Quill's (Chris Pratt) true parentage.

Opinion

In October 2014, after spending months avoiding spoilers, "Guardians of the Galaxy" was released in my country. The hype was huge, but the film not only managed to live up to my expectations, it was even better that I could have even expected.

Well, although it wasn't as great as its predecessor, "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" sure wasn't a disappointment. It indeed was a funny, charming and exciting superhero flick. Although the movie obviously lacks the originality and surprise element of the first entry, Gunn managed to craft a film that is equally jaw-dropping.

By any mean though this film is perfect. The first problem is story-related. While it's rather simple and very easy to follow - it's really impossible to get lost - there are way too many plots to be dealt with in one single film. Without giving away too much I'll just say that there's a lot going on.

On the other hand, there are the characters. This film is entirely driven by them. Although some characters have become too sentimental (for my tastes) and have developed over-the-top personalities, the Guardians are the soul of the film. Each of them has their special, memorable moment and they all bring humour to the film with baby Groot arguably seeing the most adorable and Drax surprisingly the funniest. Who would have seen that coming? I also liked that they decided to make some of the Guardians more vulnerable.

The same cannot be said for the new characters, from Sylvester Stallone's Stakar Ogord who is barely in the film and whose only purpose is to be a teasing for "Avengers: Infinity War" to Pom Klementieff's Mantis who is basically Drax's love interest to the disappointing villain(s). Nope, they still haven't learnt how to deliver a strong villain at Marvel.

The rest is as good as it was in the first film. The beautiful cinematography is filled with bright colours, the special effects are at the top of their game - that's Marvel's speciality after all -, the action is great, and The Awesome Mix Vol. 2 aka the soundtrack is simply awesome. And I dare you not to cry while Cat Stevens's "Father and Son" plays. It is quite corny, but I loved it.

Bad Moms (2016)

Genre

Comedy

Directors

Jon Lucas, Scott Moore

Country

USA

Cast

Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell, Kathryn Hahn, Christina Applegate, Jada Pinkett Smith, Annie Mumolo, Jay Hernandez, Oona Laurence, Emjay Anthony, David Walton, Clark Duke, Wanda Sykes, Wendell Pierce, J.J. Watt, Megen Ferguson, Lilly Singh, Billy Slaughter, Martha Stewart

Storyline

Amy (Mila Kunis), Kiki (Kristen Bell) and Carla (Kathryn Hahn), three overworked moms, ditch their conventional responsibilities for a jolt of long overdue freedom, fun and self-indulgence.

Opinion

Since Jon Lucas and Scott Moore are the guys who wrote "The Hungover", one of my favourite comedies ever, I decided to give "Bad Moms" a shot. How bad can it be, right? Very bad, apparently. And it's not even enough to describe how bad the film is.

I hate having to admit it, but the storyline sounded interesting to me. There was potential to make a good or decent comedy out of it. The problem is that the writers had no idea how to develop the story, and the result is ridiculous, predictable and corny "plot points" stretched to fit 90 minutes.

But the story isn't even the real problem, that being the comedy. Just like "The Hangover", "Bad Moms" is filled with vulgar, raunchy humour with one difference, it's not even a bit funny here. Practically all the jokes fell flat, and some scenes that are supposed to be funny were so bad they actually made me want to cry, like the dreadfully mounted scene with the drunk moms in the grocery store. I'm not sure whether I felt sorrier for the actresses that had to pretend that stuff was hilarious or the writers who actually came up with the idea.

As if that wasn't enough, the characters are terrible as well - especially Kristen Bell's weird stay-at-home mom - and I wasn't able to care for none of them. The acting is equally terrible, but I have to say Kathryn Hahn was able to make me chuckle a couple of times in spite of her utterly annoying and quite offensive character.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007)

Genres

Action, Adventure, Fantasy

Director

Gore Verbinski

Country

USA

Cast

Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Geoffrey Rush, Bill Nighy, Stellan Skarsgard, Chow Yun-fat, Tom Hollander, Jack Davenport, Kevin McNally, Naomie Harris, Jonathan Pryce, Keith Richards, Lee Arenberg, Greg Ellis, David Bailie, Martin Klebba

Storyline

Will Turner (Orlando Bloom), Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) and Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) make an alliance to rescue Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) from the land of the dead and face Davy Jones (Bill Nighy).

Opinion

Less than a year after the second instalment of the trilogy - yes, a trilogy, that's what this series was supposed to be - Gore Verbinski as well proves that third entries are usually the worst entries. Although it still is a slightly enjoyable adventure film, "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" is a flawed disappointment.

Just like in "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead's Man Chest", the main problem is the writing. While this story could have been a bit more interesting than the previous one, it still is quite contrived, there are too many subplots going on - actually, it feels like there's a change of plot every ten minutes or something - and it's almost impossible to follow.

The characters once again received the treatment of the previous entry. With no character development left, and the abandonment of the love triangle between Sparrow, Turner and Swan, not even the main characters manage to entertain. As for the supporting ones, villains mostly, there are just too many of them. Also, Elizabeth Swan's character is given too much importance in the story. I'm a woman, I should like that, but I would have appreciated if she gradually went from blue-blooded, spoiled girl to pirate. She has never held a sword and now she is like the best fighter ever. Come on!

What makes it worse than its predecessor is the humour. We are once again blessed with those same old jokes and gags. Only this time, the third time, they aren't that funny anymore. They are just plain annoying.

That said, the film still manages to be a little exciting, and that's only because of the special effects which are still very impressive and the action/fighting sequences which still are very exciting and a lot of fun. Take this away, and the film is left with nothing.

Arthur and the Invisibles (2006)

Original Title

Arthur et les Minimoys

Genres

Adventure, Animation, Fantasy

Director

Luc Besson

Country

France

Voice Cast

Freddie Highmore Madonna, Jimmy Fallon, Mia Farrow, Ron Crawford, David Bowie, Jason Bateman, Robert De Niro, Adam LeFevre, Snoop Dogg, Penny Balfour, Doug Rand, Chazz Palminteri, Harvey Keitel, Erik Per Sullivan, Anthony Anderson, Emilio Estevez

Storyline

To save his grandfather's house from being demolished, ten-year-old Arthur (Freddie Highmore) goes looking for a hidden treasure in the land of the Minimoys, a tiny people living in harmony with nature.

Opinion

At this point, after having seen so many disappointing films from Luc Besson, I should have known better. I should have had any expectation for this, yet, maybe because of its cast, I had some. Well, "Arthur and the Invisibles" turned out just fine.

The story is quite simple, it isn't very original, it isn't very well developed and it isn't very cohesive either, but it is a quite entertaining adventure story that kids will definitely enjoy mainly because of Luc Besson's storytelling.

Still, development isn't this film strongest suit, and the characters also suffer from that. Although at first there's some good character development, after Arthur descends in the land of the Minimoys, the development shrinks like Arthur. In spite of this lack, the characters still manage to be very likeable and fun, especially the tiny Minimoys with a special mention for Madonna's Princess Selenia and Jimmy Fallon's Prince Betameche.

The sloppy script is thankfully paired with some beautiful animation and CGI. The filmmakers were able to create harmony between the real world with real people and the Minimoys world, the animated one, and make the transition very smooth. Also, the details in the animation, from scenery to characters, is rather good. Overall though the animation could have been a little bit better; in 2017 it is very aged. 

Personal Shopper (2016)

Genres

Drama, Thriller

Director

Olivier Assayas

Country

France

Cast

Kristen Stewart, Lars Eidinger, Nora von Waldestätten, Anders Danielsen, Sigrid Bouaziz, Ty Olwin, Audrey Bonnet, Pascal Rambert, Hammou Graia, Benjamin Biolay

Storyline

Maureen (Kristen Stewart) is a personal shopper who refuses to leave Paris until she makes contact with her death twin brother and whose life becomes more complicated when a mysterious person contacts her via text message.

Opinion

I've never been a huge fan of Kristen Stewart but I have to admit that since she left the whole Twilight thing behind her, she has really been working in some pretty good (indie) films and giving pretty good performances too. That's why I wanted to see "Personal Shopper" so badly, but unfortunately, the film isn't as good as I was hoped. Sadly, it is a rather boring and pretentious ghost film that could have been very interesting.

I don't believe in ghosts, afterlife and stuff like that, but in spite of that, the storyline to this film sounded very promising. The problem is that the Olivier Assayas wasn't able to develop the medium part as good as he should have. There's too many subplots or side-plots that are quite irrelevant, not really developed and that only distracts from the main story. Because of that, although it is nicely paced and the plot takes turns I wasn't expecting, "Personal Shopper" didn't manage to fully engage me.

But I'll have to give Mr Assayas the credits for the horror scenes. On the technical aspect, they are flawless and that how Assayas manages to deliver plenty of suspense and some thriller as well.

However, what really got me through the film was Kristen Stewat. She seems the perfect fit for the role - she is indeed able to carry the whole film - and she fully manages to capture all the layers of her character, Maureen, a tormented, fearful woman who is desperately in search of an identity. 

Kong: Skull Island (2017)

Genres

Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi

Director

Jordan Vogt-Roberts

Countries

USA, China

Cast

Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson, John Goodman, Brie Larson, Jing Tian, Toby Kebbell, John Ortiz, Corey Hawkins, Jason Mitchell, Shea Whigham, Thomas Mann, Terry Notary, John C. Reilly

Storyline

A team of scientists, soldiers and adventurers explore a mythical, uncharted island in the Pacific, venturing into the domain of the mighty Kong, and must fight the wildlife which inhabits the island.

Opinion

I was super excited about this film as soon as it was announced. Not only because I love King Kong, but (mainly) because of its cast as well. But there's a thing with films with a great cast, they usually end up being a waste of talents. And "Kong: Skull Island" is no different as it is a flat action/adventure film that is only beautiful to look at.

Just like most of the films of this genre, this film lacks a solid story. I was very excited and intrigued by the different take on the story. Or at least that's how I felt before realising it was just the same old King Kong story only with a different location. I thought it was going to be an origin story, but it's nothing more than a bad reboot filled - I'm not really sure that's the right word - with plot holes and that is terribly paced.

The characters don't make it any better either. There isn't much backstory or character development. Actually, most of the characters are pretty shallow (but politically correct) and some of them are utterly unnecessary. Not to mention the annoying ones, like Samuel L. Jackson's over-the-top villain that is the same character he has been playing in every movie these days. There isn't much the cast can do here. However, the not-so-good human characters allow the mighty Kong to be a way better character. 

Then there's the other stuff, the good stuff. For starters, the soundtrack is a killer. I really liked it and it was the perfect fit for the film this film could have been. Also, like I mentioned above, the film is visually stunning: the CGI is fantastic and the scenery is very beautiful. The action sequences/fight scenes aren't bad either. To be honest, they are quite well done, but they have a big problem, they aren't exciting as action scenes should be.

Thursday Movie Picks: A Disappearance

Hello and welcome back to Thursday Movie Picks, the weekly series hosted by Wandering Through the Shelves where you share three movies to fit the theme of the week each Thursday.

This week's theme is disappearances aka people gone missing, like my writing mood - football is the reason - so here are my picks

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2009)

Journalist Mikael Blomkvist is hired by a wealthy industrialist to find out what happened to his niece who disappeared 40 years earlier. This is the Swedish adaptation of the novel and it's awesome. It's the kind of film that keeps you on the edge of your seat even when you know how it's going to end. And Noomi Rapace is spectacular as Lisbeth, way better than Rooney Mara imo.

Gone Girl (2014)

On the day of his fifth wedding anniversary, Nick returns home only to find that his wife is missing, and he soon becomes the main suspect. Another great thriller, the story is engaging and so creepy I loved it. It's mind blowing how fast Rosamund Pike goes from sweet and lovely to psychopath.

Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)

Decades have passed since the Death Star was destroyed and Luke Skywalker has vanished. Now everyone is looking for Luke, both the First Order led by Kylo Ren and the Resistance led by Leia Organa. I know a lot of people didn't like it and wanted it to be more original, but I actually like the tribute to the original trilogy. And the hero is a young woman, why shouldn't I like that?

Three Colors: Red (1994)

Original Title

Trois couleurs: Rouge

Genres

Drama, Mystery, Romance

Director

Krzysztof Kieślowski

Countries

France, Poland, Switzerland

Cast

Irène Jacob, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Jean-Pierre Lorit, Frederique Feder, Samuel Le Bihan, Marion Stalens, Teco Celio, Bernard Escalon, Jean Schlegel, Juliette Binoche, Julie Delpy, Zbigniew Zamachowski

Storyline

After accidentally running over a dog, Valentine (Irène Jacob) meets the dog's owner, a cynical retired judge (Jean-Louis Trintignant) who spies on his neighbours.

Opinion

Trilogies, it is so interesting what someone can do with three films connected together. Most of the time filmmakers end up ruining the first entries, which are usually the good ones. But not Krysztof Kieslowski, that is not his case. What he did instead is getting better and better, and although it isn't my favourite of the trilogy - I really loved the light tones of "White" -, "Red" is simply brilliant and easily the most philosophical and thought-provoking chapter.

After freedom and equality has come the time to talk about fraternity, and Kieslowski does it by telling a brilliant, intriguing and mysterious story about love. That's the feeling the Polish director choose to portray fraternity, and honestly, it's the best he could have picked. He sees fraternity aka brotherhood as a connection between people in spite of their age, gender and other minor, pointless differences.

"Red" can claim brilliant, fascinating characters as well. They are not very believable and they are very much idealised, but the way Kieslowski presents to us them and their complicated interactions with everything surrounding them, from people to fate, is what makes them interesting. And certainly doesn't hurt having a cast that is able to capture and deliver the complexity of their characters.

Just like the previous two films, this one too is a visual feast. However, this time around the colour is much more predominant. It indeed plays a very significant role as it is used to draw attention to significant elements. The photography is also very beautiful.

Pride & Prejudice (2005)

Genres

Drama, Romance

Director

Joe Wright

Countries

France, UK, USA

Cast

Keira Knightley, Matthew Macfadyen, Brenda Blethyn, Donald Sutherland, Tom Hollander, Rosamund Pike, Carey Mulligan, Jena Malone Talulah Riley, Judi Dench, Simon Woods, Tamzin Merchant, Claudie Blakley, Rupert Friend

Storyline

The lives of five sisters, Jane (Rosamund Pike), Elizabeth (Keira Knightley), Mary (Talulah Riley), Kitty (Carey Mulligan) and Lydia Bennet (Jena Malone), are turned upside down when a wealthy young man, Mr Bingley (Simon Woods), and his best friend, Mr Darcy (Matthew Macfadyen) arrive in their neighbourhood.

Opinion

Since I haven't read Jane Austen's novel (yet) I wasn't able to judge "Pride & Prejudice" as an adaptation. But I'm quite sure the novel is better because this film is nothing more than a beautiful-to-look-at but average romantic drama.

There are several things I could sense about the story: first, it's more than obvious that it has a lot of potential - and it's easy to see why people love the novel so much; second, it feels incredibly rushed which isn't good, especially for someone like me who isn't familiar neither with the characters nor story. It also feels like Joe Wright didn't manage to capture the spirit of the novel since I'm pretty sure Jane Austen wasn't simply telling a love story but she was making a social commentary as well.

That said, the love story isn't half bad. Although it suffers a little because of the rushed plot, the love story between Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy is quite well developed, and it's quite interesting to see those two are the slowly become aware of their feelings for each other. Fact nevertheless remains that it is a little clichéed.

The characters could have used a little more development, but that didn't prevent the cast from doing a decent job. Although she grins a lot, Keira Knightley does a fairly good job as Elizabeth Bennet, and so does Rosamund Pike as Jane Bennet. Matthew Macfadyen, well, I'm not that sure, his portrayal of Mr Darcy felt rather flat.

Gangster Squad (2013)

Genres

Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller

Director

Ruben Fleischer

Country

USA

Cast

Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Sean Penn, Emma Stone, Nick Nolte, Anthony Mackie, Giovanni Ribisi, Michael Pena, Robert Patrick, Mireille Enos, Holt McCallany, Josh Pence, Frank Grillo, James Hérbert, Haley Strode, Sullivan Stapleton

Storyline

1949 Los Angeles. Sgt. John O'Mara (Josh Brolin) assembled an unofficial and off-the-books squad to take down former boxer and now mobster Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn).

Opinion

I'll never get tired of saying how much I love Emma Stone and how good her chemistry with Gosling is. Those are the two reasons I've been meaning to watch this film forever. The reason why I never watched is "Gangster Squad" being a gangster movie. Duh. Anyway, Stone and Gosling aside, the rest of the cast looked interesting as well, so I finally decided to watch it. But it's not like I've been missing a lot, this film is just another gangster movie. The kind you've seen already a million times.

Although based on the true story of Mickey Cohen - I didn't know that, but it's not important - this film's story is as clichéed as it could possibly be. As we follow the sergeant trying to take down the mobster, we "witness" all the clichés of the genre, from the dirty superior to the boss's good-looking girlfriend to the protegée.

What's even worse is that the story is boring, lacks excitement and the stereotypical, wooden and one-dimensional characters, of course, aren't able to bring the film to life. Not even the action scenes are able to make the film more exciting because they are clichéed, just like the rest of the film.

Considering that all, I was very surprised with the cast that in spite of a poor script managed to do a good job. Josh Brolin does a good job as Sgt. John O'Mara and really fits the role of the tough cop; Ryan Gosling is charming as always and he manages to give a good performance as well; Sean Penn is a bit over the top as mobster Mickey Cohen, but the role demanded some overacting - and it's quite fun to watch him with all that makeup; Emma Stone does fine and her chemistry with Gosling is great as always.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)

Genres

Adventure, Fantasy

Director

Gore Verbinski

Country

USA

Cast

Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Bill Nighy, Jack Davenport, Stellan Skarsgard, Kevin McNally, Jonathan Pryce, Lee Arenberg, Mackenzie Crook, Tom Hollander, Naomie Harris, David Bailie, Martin Klebba, David Schofield, Alex Norton, Geoffrey Rush

Storyline

To prevent his soul from being damned for all time, Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) must recover the heart of Davy Jones (Bill Nighty), the captain of a ghostly ship, while Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) seeks the heart for his own agenda.

Opinion

Sequels have the power to overpower their predecessors by being terrible or being fantastic. "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" doesn't fall into either category, as it is neither better nor significantly inferior. It is just a fun pirate flick.

The reason why this didn't manage to outdo the first film is the plot. The writers went from a slightly complex and silly plot to a quite dumb and contrived one that is so hard to follow, it's almost imposible to understand what's going on. It involves too many villains and too many subplot, and it is unfocused most of the time.

And unfortunately the characters suffer from that. While Jack Sparrow still is the colourful character I came to love in the first time, and Will and Elizabeth, well, you will still root for their love to thrumph, they same cannot be said for the new characters. They aren't very compelling. There are several villains but they aren't as good as Barbossa not even when combined. Bill Nighty really does his bast as Davy Jones though.

Flawed script aside, the film is good. There still are a lot of jokes - although most of them are the same of the previous film - and the gags aren't that bad either. The special effects are stunning, yet they kind of distract from the plot, and the action sequences are great. And lastly, the film features yet antoher memorable score from Hans Zimmer.

Chicken Run (2000)

Genres

Adventure, Animation, Comedy

Directors

Peter Lord, Nick Park

Countries

UK, USA

Voice Cast

Julia Sawalha, Mel Gibson, Miranda Richardson, Tony Haygarth, Benjamin Whitrow, Timothy Spall, Phil Daniels, Jane Horrocks, Imelda Staunton, Lynn Ferguson

Storyline

Having been hopelessly repressed at the chicken farm where they are held, Rocky the rooster (Mel Gibson) and Ginger the chicken (Julia Sawalha) decide to rebel against the farm's owners.

Opinion

I, unlike my brother, wasn't very excited about watching "Chicken Run" when it came out, and in spite of having it on VHS - yes, I still own a VHS player - I've never seen it. But since lately I've been watching a few clay animated films I thought this might be worth a watch. And it was. It is far from being a masterpiece, but it still is a fun and quite delightful animated film.

The film was made for kids and therefore the story is kept as simple as possible; it isn't very original either, it's pretty much your typical escape story, but the events, as predictable as they are, manage to build tension up to an exciting climax.

It is also the kind of story that allows a lot of humour - witty British humour in this case - and it is wonderfully delivered through a brilliant dialogue and by a fantastic voice cast - I wasn't expecting Mel Gibson to do such a good voice-over. The jokes are understandable both for kids and adults, so it's very likely everyone will have a good time. However, only adults will be able to get the references to "Braveheart" and "Indiana Jones".

Also quite satisfying are the film's visuals. Those funny-looking characters are brought to life with some beautiful, colourful wax animation, and they are so expressive is astonishing.

Practical Magic (1998)

Genres

Comedy, Fantasy, Romance

Director

Griffin Dunne

Country

USA

Cast

Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman, Goran Visnjic, Stockard Channing, Dianne Wiest, Aidan Quinn, Caprice Benedetti, Evan Rachel Wood, Alexandra Artrip, Mark Feuerstein, Peter Shaw, Caralyn Kozlowski, Chloe Webb, Lucina Jenney, Margo Martindale, Martha Gehman, Camilla Belle, Lora Anne Criswell

Storyline

It follows Sally (Sandra Bullock) and Gillian (Nicole Kidman), two sisters who happen to be actual witches and use their magical powers to grant spells for love.

Opinion

I love Sandra Bullock so much I'm willing to watch every kind of crap for her. So here I am, reviewing "Practical Magic", another unsatisfactory but slightly fun chick flick.

Just like most movies of this genre, this film doesn't have a real plot, and that little story is quite chaotic and stupid. I'm not going to mention the unbelievable part because it's a witch flick, it's obvious it isn't going to be believable. Unless you believe in witches, then I guess you have a problem. If anything, the whole supernatural thing makes this film a bit interesting. 

In spite of a complete lack of a plot, and nothing resembling, not even a little, character development or interesting, likeable characters, this clichéed film still manages to be fun. It is indeed plenty of humour, and everyone, from the director to the cast, is able to deliver a twisted, dark humour very successfully. And there are some fun scenes as well.

Like I mentioned above, the cast does a good job. Given the script, I wasn't expecting a lot of good, but both Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman do great in making you feel sympathy for their characters. And you may even end up crying with Sandra Bullock. That was not my case, just to be clear.