JustMyOpinion (JMO)

So life has unfortunately been a bit hectic and crisis filled but things are looking up and my love of movies will result in a LOT of movie reviews as I play catch up! Despite the crazy, I still watched movies!

I figured there was no better time to start than with a private screening of Drive with Ryan Gosling starring as a driver-for-hire and stuntsman who discovers a contract has been put out on him after a heist goes wrong.

Expect a review on Wednesday and I will sporadically update with past, present and future reviews!

Thanks for understanding cool cyberspace folks!

A x

On Saturday the 4th December, I was given the incredible opportunity of attending a showcase for bloggers and movie reviewers which included Tron: Legacy and The Next Three Days. We were subject to an embargo (which was quite cool) and the films we were going to be shown were not revealed to us until the actual day.We were shown some trailers for movies out in 2011 (most of which I had seen and I am looking forward to). Some interesting panels with Joe Utichi who started Rotten Tomatoes (to name a few) and of course Joseph Kosinski was there as well. Lizo Mzimba was the MC for the day.Here is the running order of the day which was beyond fun!

• 8.45 – Intro
• 9:00 – Part 1: showreel of the next quarter’s trailers
• 9.30 – Film 1
• 11.30 – Panel discussion ‘Building an online film audience’ led by Charles Gant (Heat, Guardian and Variety)
• 12.10 – Q&A opportunity
• 12.30 – Short break
• 1.00 – Part 2: showreel of the next quarter’s trailers
• 1.30 – An important Film issue Q&A
• 2.00 – Film 2
• 4.00 – End

Some of the trailers we saw were Big Momma’s House 3, Rango, Chalet Girl, Source Code, Gulliver’s Travels, Burlesque, Battle: Los Angeles, I am Number Four, The Adjustment Bureau, Gnomeo & Juliet, Cowboys and Aliens, Red Riding Hood, Morning Glory, The Lincoln Lawyer, Black Swan, True Grit, Never Let Me Go, The Fighter and How Do I Know.

Here are the ones I want to see in date order,(a more comprehensive list of what I want to watch in 2011 will be composed nearer the end of the year) :

(Click on the pictures for direct links to the trailers - they will all open in a new window).

How Do You Know - 28 January 2011

I Am Number Four - 18 February 2011

The Adjustment Bureau - 4 March 2011

Source Code - 11 March 2011

The Lincoln Lawyer - 18 March 2011

Battle: Los Angeles - 25 March 2011

Red Riding Hood - 15 April 2011 (seems to stick more to Brothers Grimm style - less Disney)

Cowboys & Aliens - 12 August 2011

Enjoy and leave comments on what YOU are looking forward to in 2011!

Olivia Wilde has been quite busy since she left House MD - I’ve seen her in 2 movies this weekend alone and she’s in quite a few more upcoming ones.

Til death do us part…

John (Crowe) and Lara Brennan (Banks) are a happily married couple with a young son (Green). Life is perfect until one fateful morning the police barge into their home to charge Lara with the murder of her boss. The evidence is damning, her fingerprints are on the murder weapon, there’s blood on her coat, eyewitness accounts of an altercation with her boss and her leaving the scene. John believes she is innocent and for the next 3 years, through a series of appeals, tries to get the charges reversed - to no avail. So naturally this mild-mannered professor feels he has no choice but to attempt a prison break. He seeks advice from an ex-con Damon Pennington (Neeson) and thus begins his descent into the murky depths of the criminal underworld to save the woman he loves as he concocts an escape plan.

John never doubts his wife’s innocence but for the duration of the film we, as an audience, remain unsure. The testament to how great this film is that regardless you are still rooting for him to succeed as the inexperienced Brennan garners further knowledge from Youtube videos.

The acting in this is superb and this is where you can see Paul Haggis’ touch. He has given us the thought-provoking Crash and now gives us an incredible adaptation of Pour Elle by French screenwriters Fred Cavayé and Gillaume Lemans. The character development is there and makes you inevitably care more. This is what the movie hinges on - you have to be able to, if not relate, at least be able to buy into the motivations behind this attempted jailbreak. Russell Crowe brings John to life and makes him so magnetic to watch that even in the supposedly slow moments you can’t help but be drawn in. Elizabeth Banks really utilises the little time she is on screen to great effect and has great chemistry with Crowe.

Before this première, I had not heard anything about this movie nor had I seen any trailers. I think this may have heightened my enjoyment that much more as I was unaware of what it was about. The last 30 minutes of the movie are an example of how to build suspense - I was on the edge of my seat, nervously holding my breath before every potential capture of the Brennan’s.

And with that, I shall reveal no more - go watch this movie. Definitely worth it - after all, who doesn’t like a prison break movie? This film encompasses quite a few genres seamlessly. Great soundtrack, compelling performances, suspense how it should be done, depth and ultimately a true testament to the power of love.

“They did not know it was impossible, so they did it.” Mark Twain

Walt Disney presents…

Kevin Flynn (Bridges) is the CEO of Encom and the world’s best video game developer. One night he simply vanishes without a trace and leaves his company in chaos and his young son. Fast-forward 20 years, Sam Flynn (Hedlund) is a rebellious 27 year old and a thorn in the side of Richard Mackey (Nordling), a suit trying to take over his father’s company with the help of a software designer (an uncredited cameo from Cillian Murphy). Though Sam is the heir, he refuses to play an active role in the decision-making process. Alan Bradley (Boxleitner) meets him one night with the news that he has received a page from Kevin Flynn’s arcade – a number that has been disconnected for 20 years. Thus ensues the inevitable investigation into his father’s whereabouts and Sam’s transportation into the world his father has created and been trapped in for decades.

Where to begin? Tron: Legacyis a visual feast for your eyes and an auditory pleasure thanks to Daft Punk and Joseph Trapanese. The soundtrack feels ethereal almost and fits perfectly with this new world we have been introduced to for the first time (or the 2nd time if you’ve seen the 1982 original).

3D, for me, is a recent scourge that has been infecting and affecting the movie industry. Yes, maybe it is a more lucrative avenue for the movie industry after the setback of heavy piracy but enough is enough! Joseph Kosinski, however, had a vision (and an architectural degree behind him) to give us a mouth-opening, simply beautiful world with the correct blend of 2D and 3D! It is quite simply worth it just to go for the visuals.

What the movie makes up for in spectactular imagery, it lacks in storyline. Maybe I should have watched the 1982 version as so many people have pointed out to me but even without it, the plot seems a little disjointed. The underlying connections to the real world are numerous such as The Holocaust, God complexes, evil doppelgangers and more. You are left with more questions than answers as it is never revealed just what it is about this world that would “change everything” in the real world.

Jeff Bridges is great as both the villain and hero and his computer animated self is simply amazing although at the same time off-putting (this might be the Uncanny Valley hypothesis at work). The acting overall is not anything to write home about (no Oscar winners here) but Hedlund as Sam Flynn holds his own against a more charismatic Jeff Bridges. Quorra (Wilde) provides a potential love interest and the key to changing our world and a doe-eyed innocent view of life that is endearing and adds depth and sincerity to the character and benefits the film.

This is a movie that should be simply taken for what it is, a pandering to the original fanbase whilst garnering new ones, one not to be over-analysed but simply to be marvelled at with a group of friends. The actions scenes are just jaw-dropping with light cycles (that I wish I owned!) and deadly frisbees amongst other things. Disney took a risk to continue a series almost 3 decades later rather than going for the easy option of re-imagining it. A wise move.