November Films

Twilight: New Moon

The Twilight series is the film executive's dream. The first film was successful despite having no "big" name actors, very few special effects, a poor script, no plot and is completely resistant to all bad reviews. The first film, which I didn't review in this blog due to the fact that I didn't bother to see it in the cinema (although I did finally see it on DVD) had one attraction which was that it was so bad that it was very funny in places. The second in the series has a new director (Chris Weitz) and some new cast (Michael Sheen and Dakota Fanning) and is better. The film starts slowly but once it gets going it is funny in places, particularly the cinema scene, and there are some action sequences, particularly the forest scene, that are good. Having said that the key cast is very poor, the plot is terrible and the result of the film not being quite so bad also means that it is less laughable. All these flaws, however, you know going into the film, going into the film you know there will be a dim girl, vampires and attractive men showing off their torsos and that's exactly what you get, 6/10.

The Men Who Stare at Goats.

This is a comedy about a journalist (Ewan McGregor) who goes on a trip into Iraq in 2003 with a retired psychic warrior or Jedi (George Clooney). Over the course of the trip the journalist finds out all about the Us Army's Jedi programme, its founder (Jeff Bridges) and the ambitious soldier who brings it down (Kevin Spacey). This is a fun romp poking fun at all the Iraq war films and the US military as well as a lot of Colod War spy thrillers. Clooney is on form as his Jedi warrior, playing it entirely dead pan as is Bridges who is fantastically realised as the hippie army commander and Kevin Spacey the ambitious youngster. The film falls down in that it is constantly being silly but never really makes you laugh hard. There are very few actual jokes, one liners or bits when you are meant to laught the film is just silly and for a film which is an unadulterated comedy it is not quite enough. A good film but could be funnier, 7/10.

Taking Woodstock.

This is the story of an intelligent, popular Jewish boy who turns down his prospects of a successful lifestyle to resurrect his parents failing farm/hotel by persuading the town to hold the Woodstock music festival. The film for the first 3/4 is a charming and funny story of a new graduate who turns down the opportunity to move to San Francisco and pursue his dreams to save his Polish immigrant parents hotel from bankruptcy and explores his relationship with his parents. The acting is good, Imelda Staunton and Henry Goodwin are particular highlights with good support from Liev Schreiber. The final part where the festival actually takes place is slow with no particular plot and a pointless and unfunny drug trip with Paul Dano. The film tries to capture the Woodstock sub culture by including lots of drugs and nudity which goes over the top and distracts from the central point of the film which is a much more moral story about parental relationships and money. This could have been a great film but ultimately is just unfulfilled potential, 6/10.

A Christmas Carol

Robert Zemekis has been working motion capture technology ever since it became viable in an attempt to make everyone else catch on. With the upcoming Tintin films, made with updated mocap technology developed for Avatar, maybe it will but Zemekis has made the Polar Express, Beowolf and now Christmas Carol without really showing the technology to be any better than real life or making any really good films in the process. I will admit that the bar for a good adaptation of A Christmas Carol is very high with great versions from Alistair Sim, Patrick Stewart and the best of them all from the Muppets it was always going to be hard to make this good. Zemekis goes for over the top accents and action sequences to try and bring a new flavour to this film. However, the fun bits of this aren't funny and the serious bits aren't sad, the film fails to draw in the viewer. The ghosts, particularly the ghost of Christmas past, are poorly presented and Jim Carrey is not on great form as Scrooge. Bearing in mind the quality of the previous adaptations of this Dickens novel you need to have a good idea and a new perspective to bring on this tale if you want to tell it, Zemekis has no new ideas just a new technology toybox and technology alone does not make great films, 4/10.