August Films

August is once again upon us, one of the slowest months of the cinematic calendar as all studio executives are American and don't realise that August is still Summer holidays and prime film watching time. Anyway this is what I managed to see.

Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs. I was a big fan of the first 2 Ice Age films. I'm not going to explain the plot as the first 2 films were weak on plot and it only gets worse. The Ice Age films don't do what Pixar manages to do which is break the formula and have some originality but what makes them good is that each film has good ideas. Ice Age 2 had a mammoth that thought it was a possum and the vultures singing food glorious food, Ice Age 3 has a weasel (I think) with an eye patch voiced by Simon Pegg whose nemesis is a giant dinosaur. The film is funny and enjoyable but is no classic 6/10.

G.I.Joe. Ever since the Mummy I have been a fan of Stephen Sommers, he knows how to make a blockbuster. As with Transformers if you go to see a film inspired by a toy you are not expecting a cinematic masterpiece, but explosion filled fun. G I Joe certainly tries to be fun and it is enjoyable and mildly funny, however the script could have used a bit more work. The characterisation is bare, they have a black and a white main character when there is only room for one in the plot and the finale finishes nothing merely sets up what they hope will be a lucrative franchise. Having said that the film has its moments, this is visually Sommers best film, and the cameos from Sommers favorite actors is also entertaining, 6/10.

G-Force. We have this film to thank for Up (the latest Pixar) being delayed until half term. I had not asked for this film or any desire to see a group of special forces Guinea pigs instead of a new Pixar. I did attempt to put this out of my mind as there is nothing I can do about it before watching the film. American film producers obviously think that people want to see what a group of commando guinea pigs would do in a normal town rather than on a mission fighting terrorists or something which I rather disagree with as this film would be much more interesting if that's what they had done. The film itself is quite funny and entertaining but not as funny or entertaining as it thinks it is, 5/10.

The Hurt Locker. This film is the latest by Katherine Bigelow (director of Point Break) and got some very good reviews therefore I went in with fairly high expectations. This film is Bigelow on serious rather than fun setting and is about a bomb disposal squad in Iraq whose bomb technician gets killed and they get a new one with 30 days left of their tour. The film follows the events up until the end of this tour. The film contains two well known actors, Guy Pearce and Ralph Fiennes, and they both die at the end of their only scene. The main actors are good but are nothing special and I wondered if Pearce and Fiennes had done more whether the film would have been more interesting. This is the issue with the film as basically nothing happens, some guys defuse some bombs, next day they do it again. There is no overarching story and the film is making no point. Clearly Bigelow's aim was to make a film about Iraq which is not trying to make a political point about the conflict. My issue with this is I like films that are trying to make a point, I don't necessarily agree with the points but I have a head for politics and this makes the film interesting. The Hurt Locker, however, is a well made film but is boring pointless and in which nothing happens and therefore gets the same score as G-Force which is a far inferior film but I didn't get bored in it, 5/10.