Friday, 17 December 2010 The Tourist (Johnny Depp, Angelina Jolie, Paul Bettany) Posted by joeldfisher at 05:41

Venice is a beautiful city, it can evoke many different moods, from the horror of Don't Look Now, to the thrills of Casino Royale but there's no doubting the beauty of one of the most unusual cities in the world, so lets make a movie there.

This was probably how the first meeting went for the screenwriters of The Tourist. Also lets add two of the most beautiful stars in Hollywood, says the casting director.

The Tourist is a comedy, action romance about a beautiful, mysterious woman played by Angelina Jolie; (Tomb Raider, Salt) who meets a bumbling maths teacher (Johnny Depp; Pirates of the Caribbean, Alice in Wonderland)  and takes him on an adventure across Venice. There are shootouts, speedboat chases and gangsters and of course a small cameo from Timothy Dalton.

Elise (Jolie) is on the run from Scotland Yard and is pursuing her love, and partner in crime, the mysterious and illusive Alexander Pearce who is being sought by Scotland Yard but has heavily disguised himself through millions of dollars worth of plastic surgery. Right from the start Elise is leading the best of Scotland Yard right where she wants them and is distracting her pursuers by her unwavering beauty (nice to see Angelina Jolie playing against type for once). She is instructed to find a with the same height and build as Pearce and make Scotland Yard believe he is the real deal, so who does she happen upon? The unassuming Frank, (Depp).

The roles of the pair are not essential to the plot (Johnny Depp could have been a particle physicist for all the audience cares, after all Cary Grant was an advertising executive in North by Northwest) so The Tourist is clearly a character piece and doesn't deal with little squabbles like reality and neither should the audience.

The movie gently guides the audience along and lets them enjoy the scenery with the little intervals of gunfire and chases but never misleads them, and never intends to either. This is a gentle family thriller for those who don't like swearing and blood and that's just fine, you may even guess the ending if you're paying attention, not that you would need to pay much attention in which to do so.

Johnny Depp is an unusual choice to play the mild mannered maths teacher but it certainly pays off, even when he's not acting he's acting and it shows, he's his usual charming and self effacing self and the audience soon warms to him. Angelina Jolie plays a calculating and sophisticated English lady (those Tomb Raider fans out there will get a reminder of her accent) and suitably plays the untouchable and desirable beauty with a hidden secret and she does it well, mainly just by looking pretty, the majority of the acting is left up to Depp.

Steven Berkoff (44 Inch Chest, Rancid Aluminium) plays the aforementioned gangster and does the way he knows best, by being Steven Berkoff, his opening scene is of him wearing black (as all bad guys do) looking menacingly out of the window of an airplane and you instantly know he's the bad guy.

That's the thing about The Tourist, everybody should be exactly as you think they should be and for the most part they usually are and the movie goes in no way to deceive the audience so therefore the ending of the movie seems a little out of place and speaking for myself and perhaps many other audience members I believe the ending in my head would have been better because the 'reality' on the screen is perhaps a little far fetched.

by Joel Fisher

The Tourist (Johnny Depp, Angelina Jolie, Paul Bettany) Posted by joeldfisher at 05:41

Venice is a beautiful city, it can evoke many different moods, from the horror of Don't Look Now, to the thrills of Casino Royale but there's no doubting the beauty of one of the most unusual cities in the world, so lets make a movie there.

This was probably how the first meeting went for the screenwriters of The Tourist. Also lets add two of the most beautiful stars in Hollywood, says the casting director.

The Tourist is a comedy, action romance about a beautiful, mysterious woman played by Angelina Jolie; (Tomb Raider, Salt) who meets a bumbling maths teacher (Johnny Depp; Pirates of the Caribbean, Alice in Wonderland)  and takes him on an adventure across Venice. There are shootouts, speedboat chases and gangsters and of course a small cameo from Timothy Dalton.

Elise (Jolie) is on the run from Scotland Yard and is pursuing her love, and partner in crime, the mysterious and illusive Alexander Pearce who is being sought by Scotland Yard but has heavily disguised himself through millions of dollars worth of plastic surgery. Right from the start Elise is leading the best of Scotland Yard right where she wants them and is distracting her pursuers by her unwavering beauty (nice to see Angelina Jolie playing against type for once). She is instructed to find a with the same height and build as Pearce and make Scotland Yard believe he is the real deal, so who does she happen upon? The unassuming Frank, (Depp).

The roles of the pair are not essential to the plot (Johnny Depp could have been a particle physicist for all the audience cares, after all Cary Grant was an advertising executive in North by Northwest) so The Tourist is clearly a character piece and doesn't deal with little squabbles like reality and neither should the audience.

The movie gently guides the audience along and lets them enjoy the scenery with the little intervals of gunfire and chases but never misleads them, and never intends to either. This is a gentle family thriller for those who don't like swearing and blood and that's just fine, you may even guess the ending if you're paying attention, not that you would need to pay much attention in which to do so.

Johnny Depp is an unusual choice to play the mild mannered maths teacher but it certainly pays off, even when he's not acting he's acting and it shows, he's his usual charming and self effacing self and the audience soon warms to him. Angelina Jolie plays a calculating and sophisticated English lady (those Tomb Raider fans out there will get a reminder of her accent) and suitably plays the untouchable and desirable beauty with a hidden secret and she does it well, mainly just by looking pretty, the majority of the acting is left up to Depp.

Steven Berkoff (44 Inch Chest, Rancid Aluminium) plays the aforementioned gangster and does the way he knows best, by being Steven Berkoff, his opening scene is of him wearing black (as all bad guys do) looking menacingly out of the window of an airplane and you instantly know he's the bad guy.

That's the thing about The Tourist, everybody should be exactly as you think they should be and for the most part they usually are and the movie goes in no way to deceive the audience so therefore the ending of the movie seems a little out of place and speaking for myself and perhaps many other audience members I believe the ending in my head would have been better because the 'reality' on the screen is perhaps a little far fetched.

by Joel Fisher

Posted by joeldfisher at 05:40

The Tourist

Venice is a beautiful city, it can evoke many different moods, from the horror of Don't Look Now, to the thrills of Casino Royale but there's no doubting the beauty of one of the most unusual cities in the world, so lets make a movie there.

This was probably how the first meeting went for the screenwriters of The Tourist. Also lets add two of the most beautiful stars in Hollywood, says the casting director.

The Tourist is a comedy, action romance about a beautiful, mysterious woman played by Angelina Jolie; (Tomb Raider, Salt) who meets a bumbling maths teacher (Johnny Depp; Pirates of the Caribbean, Alice in Wonderland)  and takes him on an adventure across Venice. There are shootouts, speedboat chases and gangsters and of course a small cameo from Timothy Dalton.

Elise (Jolie) is on the run from Scotland Yard and is pursuing her love, and partner in crime, the mysterious and illusive Alexander Pearce who is being sought by Scotland Yard but has heavily disguised himself through millions of dollars worth of plastic surgery. Right from the start Elise is leading the best of Scotland Yard right where she wants them and is distracting her pursuers by her unwavering beauty (nice to see Angelina Jolie playing against type for once). She is instructed to find a with the same height and build as Pearce and make Scotland Yard believe he is the real deal, so who does she happen upon? The unassuming Frank, (Depp).

The roles of the pair are not essential to the plot (Johnny Depp could have been a particle physicist for all the audience cares, after all Cary Grant was an advertising executive in North by Northwest) so The Tourist is clearly a character piece and doesn't deal with little squabbles like reality and neither should the audience.

The movie gently guides the audience along and lets them enjoy the scenery with the little intervals of gunfire and chases but never misleads them, and never intends to either. This is a gentle family thriller for those who don't like swearing and blood and that's just fine, you may even guess the ending if you're paying attention, not that you would need to pay much attention in which to do so.

Johnny Depp is an unusual choice to play the mild mannered maths teacher but it certainly pays off, even when he's not acting he's acting and it shows, he's his usual charming and self effacing self and the audience soon warms to him. Angelina Jolie plays a calculating and sophisticated English lady (those Tomb Raider fans out there will get a reminder of her accent) and suitably plays the untouchable and desirable beauty with a hidden secret and she does it well, mainly just by looking pretty, the majority of the acting is left up to Depp.

Steven Berkoff (44 Inch Chest, Rancid Aluminium) plays the aforementioned gangster and does the way he knows best, by being Steven Berkoff, his opening scene is of him wearing black (as all bad guys do) looking menacingly out of the window of an airplane and you instantly know he's the bad guy.

That's the thing about The Tourist, everybody should be exactly as you think they should be and for the most part they usually are and the movie goes in no way to deceive the audience so therefore the ending of the movie seems a little out of place and speaking for myself and perhaps many other audience members I believe the ending in my head would have been better because the 'reality' on the screen is perhaps a little far fetched.

by Joel Fisher

Wednesday, 8 December 2010 Unstoppable (Denzel Washington, Chris Pine, Rosario Dawson) Posted by joeldfisher at 08:17

Unstoppable is a story of a little train that could... run very fast out of control, endanger the lives around it and seemingly not be able to stop. The story inspired by the real life event of 2001 where a train did exactly the same thing is heightened to an extreme level thanks to veteran action director Tony Scott (Top Gun, Man on Fire) and his cast; Denzel Washington (Malcolm X, The Book of Eli), Chris Pine (Star Trek, Carriers) and Rosario Dawson (Sin City, Seven Pounds).

The story of the man on his last days of retirement and the young, eager rookie looking to make a fresh start is a tried and tested story and somewhat cliché but it certainly never stops Tony Scott as that's just what we have here. Frank (Washington) is supervising Will (Pine) in the rail yard he has worked in for 28 years, they both have their issues (probably Will more than Frank) but as they journey along and as the journey gets faster the pair start to bond, as you do.

Meanwhile Connie (Dawson) is trying to deal with the bureaucrats, get the train to slow down and make sure the train (which is carrying dangerous chemicals) doesn't cause an accident and endanger the lives of thousands, all in a day's work.

You can always trust Tony Scott to make a mountain out of a molehill, all in the name of entertainment and Unstoppable is no exception. In the past however, there's generally been a bad guy to fight or a heightening of the excitement. Bearing in mind that this is based on a true story, and one so recent as well I couldn't help think how the news footage in real life would have been, well, somewhat underwhelming. Tony Scott ignores all this and takes on the train as the worst thing to happen to Western civilisation. There are schoolchildren in danger, old seasoned train drivers and even a horse nearly gets it in an accident that couldn't have been less staged if it tried.

There is a lot of accuracy in this story, upon doing research after seeing the movie, bar a few minor details adjusted for dramatic licence, but this can be forgiven. However accuracy doesn't always make an entertaining movie. The story of a train speeding in a seemingly 'unstoppable' way (see what I did there?) may seem dramatic enough but the reality is rather dull when you think that the story can be portrayed in so many ways (I vaguely remember an episode from Thomas The Tank Engine where one of the trains did something similar). Tony Scott relies on loud music that increases in pace and volume as the excitement supposedly increases. Also there are a lot of news reports that illustrate (sometimes literally) why the train is so dangerous and covers the story from many angles, as they so often do, to try to keep the audience interested. However unless you're watching the story unfold live as it happens then the story feels a little flat and the lack of a particular bad guy (apart from the corporate big wigs) and a reason for the little guys on a mission, other than being a few days from retirement seems very familiar to those interested in the action genre.

Also if you really want to know what happens in  the movie without paying to watch it you can look up the news reports on Youtube which sum it all up in 90 seconds.

by Joel Fisher

Friday, 19 November 2010 Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (Daniel Radcliffe, Emme Watson, Rupert Grint) Posted by joeldfisher at 10:43

The adventures of the great Harry Potter are coming to an end and as the movies increase in their numbers so do the main trio's ages and it certainly shows how far they've come and what they have to face as their ten year journey ends (the actors' ten years, the characters' seven years in case you're counting). No matter how old the actors are now and how old the characters are supposed to be, there's no mistaking the bond between them and the past six movies have certainly been preparing them for this movie because they have an almost sole responsibility to drive this movie like none of the others have before.

Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Hermione (Emma Watson) and Ron (Rupert Grint) have left Hogwarts, through no fault of their own and are on a quest to destroy the remaining Horcruxes that contain the parts of Voldermort's soul that make him immortal. The Ministry of Magic has been taken over by the Deatheaters and everybody's lives are at risk, even the muggles.

This is the most grown up Potter adventure yet and it shows, do not expect a fun filled romp with a neatly tied up happy ending because this movie is bleak, there is very little relief from the impending doom that surrounds our heroes and some of the aspects will even test even some of the more stone-hearted adults.

Having read the book (albeit a couple of years ago now) I imagined the book as part Bourne Identity and part something else. I suspect the second part of the movie released in June will have a somewhat different tone to it, less bleak and more action orientated. The first part however is exactly that, a road movie of sorts that takes the trio to far flung territories, some old and familiar, (The Ministry of Magic) and some new, (The Malfoy's House) but each has been stylised to show the foreboding terror that the world is facing, both magical and muggle. The Ministry of Magic is cold and clinical and the Malfoy's house, Voldermort's new base of operations is large, gothic and menacing. I also couldn't help thinking that if everybody who wore only black was captured earlier that there wouldn't have been an uprising from the dark wizards in the first place, but I digress.

The movie seems to be putting in as many cameos as it can seeing as there will be a lot of British actors looking elsewhere for steady employment come July 2011. Bearing that in mind we have short cameos from Bill Nighy (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, The Boat That Rocked) as Rufus Scrimgeour, the Minister of Magic, Rhys Ifans (Notting Hill, Nanny McPhee and The Big Bang and the forthcoming Spider-Man reboot) as Xenophilius Lovegood, Luna Lovegood's father and Sophie Thompson (Gosford Park, Four Weddings and a Funeral and most recently Eastenders) as Mafalda Hopkirk, Hermione's disguise to get into The Ministry of Magic. There's also a reunion of cast, however short, by many beloved characters such as Madeye Moody (Brendan Gleeson), Mr and Mrs Weasley (Julie Walters and Mark Williams) and Remus Lupin (David Thewlis) so every Potter fan should be pleased and even Dobby (voiced by Toby Jones) returns.

However be warned, right from the beginning, the movie bares its teeth and pulls no punches in exactly how adult and serious it wants to be. Younger viewers will be scared particularly by the snake, Voldermort's pet (Nagini, for you trivia fans) and it's evident in the first 20 minutes that the movie was set out to become 3D and was rightfully changed, I would hope in favour of the story, but more likely to bring it more broadly to screens that do not have the 3D option (although this would have been released in 2D anyway). As mentioned before the themes are older and more mature and younger viewers may either become bored, until the action scenes, or not fully understand the more heart breaking scenes (prepare for a tear jerking death scene or two).

In conclusion, Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows is a deep and sometimes terrifying movie, not by any means as terrifying as more adult orientated movies but it will definitely stick in the mind as being a vast change in tone and one that older children will enjoy, but without going into melodrama and emotional turmoil that other such franchises rely on to bring in the teenage market.

by Joel Fisher

Thursday, 11 November 2010 The Social Network (Jessie Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake) Posted by joeldfisher at 04:54

How many friends do you have? 1? 2? 6? 3000? Mark Zuckerberg (Jessie Eisenberg; Zombieland, The Squid and the Whale) hasn't got any. Mark Zuckerberg created Facebook and if you don't know what Facebook is then you either don't use the internet (in which case you wouldn't be reading this) or you may think you're too old, or both. The Social Network, however, is not about Facebook, it's about the absolute power that one man can have and the empire that turns against him.

The Winklevoss twins, Cameron and Tyler (Armie Hammer; Reaper) have an idea for a dating website for Harvard students and believe Mark Zuckerberg is the only man that can help them achieve it. However Mark has ideas for his own website and nothing will stop him achieving his dream, so when the Facebook launches, the twins realise that they have a case to sue Mark for everything he has, but that's the least of his troubles.

Mark's best friend Eduardo Saverin (Andrew Garfield; The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, Red Riding and the forthcoming Spider-Man movie), Mark's business partner and voice of reason is also suing him, and he also wants everything, and when you're fast becoming the world's youngest billionaire, everything is a lot. But is the price of genius worth more than the price of friendship?

Mark Zuckerberg (as portrayed in the movie) is a loner, an arrogant genius who thinks he's right all of the time and thinks because of his genius he is untouchable, and probably his biggest strength or fault is that he's right. Jessie Eisenberg plays Zuckerberg as the anti-hero, a man who you would hate and probably want to punch in the face after a 10 minute conversation with him but at the same time you know he's right almost all of the time (after all we all know he's not broke and Facebook does still exist) and there are laugh out loud moments at his inept social skills which endear him to the audience. Eisenberg carries the film with charm and wit (thanks to Aaron Sorkin's superb script) and although Zuckerberg is all the things I mentioned before you're still rooting for him because after all, when you're right, you're right.

Andrew Garfield should get a special mention however, his role as the ever exhausted best friend to the world's newest genius is convincing and heartfelt. Even though you see Mark's side of the story, as it unfolds, and the audience probably sides with him more you can't help feel for Eduardo and the world he helped create, become pulled out like a rug from underneath him. No thanks to the charming and influential Sean Parker (Justin Timberlake) the creator of Napster, in other words Mark Zuckerberg's idol. Timberlake discards his boy scout image (albeit briefly; see the forthcoming Yogi Bear movie) to play a womanising, drinking, smoking, drug taking, self proclaimed entrepreneur, it's hard to tell who comes out worse in this movie; Parker or Zuckerberg, each having their own distinctive faults but Timberlake takes to the role with ease and becomes just as uneasily likeable as the protagonist of the story.

The film is fast paced thanks to David Fincher's direction and of course Aaron Sorkin's script (The West Wing, A Few Good Men) so the audience does have to sit up and pay attention. It's worth it, however, as you get so involved in the story that you forget that this is a movie that revolves around a website.

David Fincher has wowed audiences since the early 90's and his varied movies (ranging from Alien 3 to Zodiac) have shown audiences his adept filmmaking abilities, making him a popular and bankable director amongst fans and critics alike. The Social Network is another notch on his belt for giving audiences engrossing and detailed stories that draw in an audience on a subject they would possibly not consider so interesting. Fincher's eye to detail is evident here, from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross' striking digital age score to the coding the enables Mark to create websites so quickly and professionally. But even if you're not into technology and the internet you can find something in the story, everybody's lost close friends (or deleted them on Facebook) and made mistakes and that's why The Social Network is so relatable.

by Joel Fisher

Tuesday, 9 November 2010 R.E,D. (Starring Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren, John Malkovich) Posted by joeldfisher at 14:23

R.E.D. begins with a love story, Frank (Bruce Willis; Die Hard, The Sixth Sense) is calling a woman who works in a call centre dealing with retirement cheques and Frank has ‘accidentally’ not got his yet again. Yet the real reason is to talk to the beautiful Sarah (Mary Louise Parker; Weeds) who he has formed a bond with and the only person he can really talk to.

However unknown to Sarah, Frank is an ex CIA agent who is about to be targeted by a swat team for assassination. After swiftly dealing with the team (as only Bruce Willis can) he heads to Sarah’s apartment because he fears she may be next. Together they go and find Frank’s old colleagues and as Joe (Morgan Freeman; The Shawshank Redepemption, Invictus) says, they ‘get the band back together’. The now retired team featuring the classy assassin Victoria (Helen Mirren; The Queen, State of Play) and the eccentric and unpredictable Marvin (John Malkovich; Being John Malkovich, Burn After Reading) uncover a conspiracy much larger than the 4 veterans could possibly imagine.

The main cast gel together well, as if they had been together for years and who clearly enjoyed each other’s company during filming and the supporting cast are well put together. Particular mentions to Ivan (Brian Cox; Zodiac, The Bourne Supremacy) who plays a Russian agent with an accent not seen since Robbie Coltrane in Goldeneye and Karl Urban (Star Trek; Pathfinder) as the CIA assassin with a heart. Other cameos from Ernest Borgnine and Richard Dreyfuss albeit short are a welcome addition to the cast and a nod to the audience members of great films in times gone by.

R.E.D. is an action comedy that’s more action rather than comedy, compared to other ‘men-on-a-mission’ movies released this year (The Losers, The A-Team and The Expendables) R.E.D. has a heart and even Bruce Willis opens up about his feelings more than once. The movie is well paced and a far cry from director Robert Schwenke’s previous movies (The Time Traveller’s Wife, Flightplan) but equally as well presented. The action is stylish and slick, as is the cast but maybe there should have been more comedy and less action, or at least a balance of the two as the action scenes in some cases feel like filler. However the story is easy to follow and there are some laugh out loud moments that will stick in your mind long after the film is over (mainly supplied by Malkovich).

All in all R.E.D. is not the most thought provoking, deep and intensely psychological movie of the year (see Inception) but it is one of the most fun, we care more for the characters than in The A-Team and it’s more charming and witty than The Losers and definitely less violent than The Expendables. A more easily stomached movie for most tastes and a great Saturday night entertainment.

By Joel Fisher