A Fantastic Fear of Everything (2012)

Genres

Comedy | Horror

Directors

Chris Hopewell | Crispian Mills

Country

UK

Cast

Simon Pegg, Clare Higgins, Amara Karan, Paul Freeman, Kerry Shale, Alan Drake, Zaak Conway, Filippo Delaunay, Elliot Greene, Mo Idriss, Tuyet Le

Storyline

Paranoid crime novelist Jack (Simon Pegg) must confront his worst fears when a film executive takes an interest in his movie script.

Opinion

I was scrolling down Simon Pegg's filmography looking for some comedy I haven't seen when I saw "A Fantastic Fear of Everything". I had no idea what the film was about but I loved the title and went for it. And I liked it and I believe I'm alone on this island because the ratings everywhere seem to suggest this is a terrible film. I'm the first to admit it is not the most clever horror comedy out there, but it still is amusing and entertaining.

The film features the kind of story you either love or hate. And it was love for me as I found it quite original, incredibly bizarre and very engaging. It is about the journey of a man who has to confront his fears and, it being just a silly comedy, the filmmakers handled that theme quite well.

The story gets a little flat at some point, but the narration is what makes it interesting. Simon Pegg narrating his paranoias with an inner vocalization is in fact what really made me love the film and allowed me to identify a little with the character.

Although there aren't plenty of laughing-out-loud moments, the British dark humour is still spot on and will put a grin on your face for most of the running time. There still are some hilarious scenes, though. Overall it's the typical Simon Pegg humour, if you like him, you'll enjoy the film and his brilliant performances as well.

Chef (2014)

Genres

Comedy | Drama

Director

Jon Favreau

Country

USA

Cast

Jon Favreau, Sofia Vergara, Emjay Anthony, John Leguizamo, Scarlett Johansson, Oliver Platt, Bobby Cannavale, Amy Sedaris, Dustin Hoffman, Robert Downey Jr., Russell Peters, Jose Caridad Hernandez

Storyline

Frustrated chef Carl Casper (Jon Favreau) quits his restaurant job and buys a food truck so that he can be artistically free again.

Opinion

As a foodie, I'm ashamed of myself for watching "Chef" only now because it is a fantastic ode to food. As a movie lover, I'm ashamed of myself for watching it only now because it is a charming, entertaining, fun and feel-good dramedy.

Jon Favreau used to be Iron Man's chauffeur, and this is when he proves he's more than just a side character. He's actually Superman, I'd add. He does a fantastic job both directing and acting in this film, but now I'm going to focus on his other role, as the writer.

The story is enjoyable, it moves quickly and so smoothly it doesn't even feel like there's a script -everything just looks incredibly natural - and it will have your attention for the entire running time. There aren't useless plot-points and no needless subplots. Okay, that's not 100% true. Scarlett Johansson's character is kinda pointless and at some point, she disappears like she never even existed. 

And okay, maybe that's not the only problem, in fact the majority of the characters are shallow and underdeveloped, but the film is about the journey of Carl Casper, a journey of self-discovery, redemption and love. It is also about the relationship between Carl and his estranged son Pearcy, and the beautiful friendship he shares with Martin and Favreau delivered all that beautifully.

Like I mentioned earlier, "Chef" celebrates food and the art of cooking and it does that with some beautiful (and touching) scenes, from Carl trying a new menu for the restaurant, to the gold moments he spends in the truck with his son.

And the comedy is fantastic. It is light, slightly vulgar at times, and incredibly hilarious other times, and it's balanced with some clever dialogue and just the right amount of drama. The soundtrack also adds a lot of the film with its funky rhythm. 

The Matrix (1999)

Genres

Action | Sci-Fi

Directors

The Wachowski Brothers

Country

USA

Cast

Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Ann Moss, Hugo Weaving, Joe Pantoliano, Gloria Foster, Marcus Chong, Paul Goddard, Robert Taylor, Julian Arahanga, Belinda McClory, Anthony Ray Parker, Matt Doran, Ada Ncodemou

Storyline

In the near future, computer hacker Neo (Keanu Reeves) joins Rebel warriors Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) and Trinity (Carrie-Ann Moss) to fight the Matrix and set humanity free.

Opinion

Years ago, when I first heard of "The Matrix", I was expecting just some other sci-fi flick from another decade, but I still gave it a chance because of Keanu Reeves - I've always had a crush on him - and I absolutely loved it. Many years and views later, I still think it is an intriguing, entertaining and philosophical film as well as one of the best sci-fi films ever made.

The most striking thing about the film is arguably the idea. The story is simply pure genius, it is compelling, everything works like a well-oiled machine and the fact that is set inside a computer leaves so much room to the imagination and basically to whatever the writers wanted to do.

But it's more than an engaging and solid story. "The Matrix" is one of those few sci-fi flicks that actually has a deep meaning and addresses very current issues, in particular, us, humans, creating smarter and smarter machines that will eventually be our downfall. It's quite scary how this is more current nowadays than it was 18 years ago when the film came out.

The film does not just criticise our need to do that, but it also makes us realise that we think we are free but we are not. We are actually prisoners of a system that tries as much as it can to keep us from being who we want to be and to do whatever it pleases us.

If you have never seen it - if that's the case, what are you still doing here? Go watch it! -, don't worry, you won't be bored with philosophical questions as the Wachowski wonderfully balanced those with spectacular, jaw-dropping acting and special effects. Seriously, the action sequences are breathtaking and so intense and well choreographed, you'll want to see those on repeat all day long.

And lastly, there's the cast. Although the acting is that great, there's something about the cast that I love. Keanu Reeves is excellent as Neo, Laurence Fishburne does great as the mysterious Morpheus and so does Carrie-Ann Moss as Trinity. My favourite, however, will always be Hugo Weaving and his creepy and evil Agent Smith. 

Tarzan (2013)

Genres

Adventure | Animation

Director

Reinhard Kloss

Country

Germany

Cast

Kellan Lutz, Spencer Locke, Jaime Ray Newman, Robert Capron, Mark Deklin, Craig Garner, Anton Zetterholm, Joe Cappelletti, Brian Huskey, Faton Millanaj, Maximilian Nepomuk Allgeier, Christian Serritiello, Brian Bloom, Jason Hildebrandt

Storyline

Tarzan (Kellan Lutz) and Jane (Spencer Locke) face a mercenary army dispatched by the evil CEO (Joe Cappelletti) of Greystoke Energies, a man who took over the company from Tarzan's parents after they died in a plane crash.

Opinion

Like I said months ago when I reviewed "The Legend of Tarzan", Disney's "Tarzan" was one of my childhood favourites and seeing that story completely rip apart by this "Tarzan" was truly heartbreaking. This film is bad on so many levels, I doubt there's anyone in the entire world who could enjoy it.

I'm not even sure what the real problem is. The story is a real mess. It took me a while to figure out what was going on and I'm usually pretty smart so I don't think kids will fully understand it. The storytelling is awful, therefore the film ends up being tedious and unengaging.

Then, there are a lot of changes with the story. From Tarzan's origins - frankly, I don't understand what was the point but I have to admit that Tarzan's childhood was the only (slightly) interesting part in the entire film - to the addition of an environmental message that seems taken straight out of James Cameron's "Avatar" and that doesn't really add to the film because it isn't delivered, a job many other animated films got done.

Other than being a complete mess on the script part, the film is a visual catastrophe. Obsolete to say the least, the animation has the quality of an average (and old) video game and it's very unpleasant to the eye. The characters are ugly - I wonder if the graphics had any idea of how a human body is supposed to look like -, and their movements are just terrible. 

Can we now please go back to the old, Disney musical version now and forget about this?