'Taken' - Movie Review

Watched this DVD recently, and had read mixed reviews of it. Much of the movie press didnt seem to like it at all (I think my movie Guru's Empire gave it 1 out of 5) but everyone I knew who'd seen it really raved about it, so I thought I'd better check it out. Anyway, full review incoming...

I seem to recall various critics really not liking this very much, but having watched it, whats not to like??!!
This is a fast-paced, adrenalin-fuelled rollercoaster of an actioner that doesnt let up one little bit. It doesnt run too long, doesnt feel any need to hugely overexplain itself, the fight sequences are hard and very Bourne-like, and in many ways this is what Quantum Of Solace could have been. I thought Liam Neeson was excellent, and his passionate pursuit of his beloved daughter extremely believable. Pure revenge fuelled escapism for an hour and a half, love it!

'The Wolfman' - Movie Review

'The Wolfman' review.

Being so terribly old, and also mildly addicted to old-skool horror movies, and indeed there sometimes less than awesome remakes, I have been chomping at the bit to see this ever since I knew it was being made. I must also add at this point that my 10yr old daughter is heartbroken that she can't watch this, as they (rightly) gave it a 15 rating, as there is plenty of blood and guts being chucked around. Anyway, I digress...full review time...

The Wolfman - (3.5 stars out of 5)

Despite being resoundingly panned by critics, I found this to be entertaining, old-skool horror material. A revisiting of the original Wolfman movie that started a whole new age of horror classics, this does exactly what it says on the tin. The A-list cast were, I thought, actually very good. Surely no-one was expecting award-winning performances from anyone involved, but still, Hopkins, Del Toro, Blunt and Weaving all clearly enjoyed getting the chance to overact wonderfully. Nothing more than sheer horror escapism, this has more than a little of the Francis Ford Coppola-made "Bram Stokers Dracula" about it, even the score and cinematography were extremely similar. This is gory, messy fun, without going over the top. Although I can understand why it hasnt been hugely well-received, I am at a bit of loss as to why viewers and critics alike cant set aside expectations and just enjoy what was for me, 2 hours of Werewolf-limb-rending fun. Of course, modern CGI techniques make movies like this all the more possible these days, but still, I thought this was great, and isnt trying to pretend to reinvent Werewolf movies, or anything of the sort. Dont expect a new-take on anything, simply enjoy a trip back in time to how horror/monster movies used to be.

'Youth In Revolt' - Movie Review

I watched this movie the other day, here's my review...

Youth In Revolt (4 stars out of 5)

Beautiful, dirty, touching and hilarious. This is Michael Cera's finest movie to date. A much more cerebral comedy than Superbad, imagine Cera's trademark uber-nerd character, explode it with the help of some nifty schizoprenia, and you have this.
The characters are fantastic, and the dialogue superb. Nick Twisp (Cera) is lonely, cant get a girl, and is a virgin (see also Superbad), but instead of relying on hilarious slapstick to move the movie along, Twisp develops a sleezy, confident alter-ego in order to turn himself from good guy nerd, into bad boy winner. And it works. The scenes when Cera is acting against himself are edgy, and his alter-ego Francois Dillinger is a selfish, nasty piece of work, but for me thats what makes this Cera's finest work, as Cera steps out of him comfort zone to pull this off. To quote empire, imagine Superbad meets Fight Club!