100 word film review

Director: David O. Russell
Starring: Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro

Review:  Despite technically falling under the ‘rom-com’ banner, this film turned out to be a genuine, heartfealt, touching (and yes, incredibly funny in places) love story between two extremely flawed individuals.  In spite of the hype surrounding Lawrence’s performance (and it was a strong one), I came away completely blown away by the acting abilities of Bradley Cooper, who gave a believable, engaging and surprisingly deep performance as the bi-polar Pat.  De Niro also gave his best performance in years, bringing humour and heartache to the role of Pat Senior.  Charming, amusing, and extremely memorable, I can now see exactly why this film garnered so much hype on its initial release.

Rating: 8.5/10.

Director: Andrés Muschietti
Starring: Jessica Chastain, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Megan Charpentier 

Review: One of the better horror movies I’ve seen for a while, Mama delivers strong performances from its leads and a genuinely unsettling sense of dread throughout.  Focusing more on building the tension and drama of the situation rather than relying on ‘jump-scares’ (although there are a few beauties here), Muschietti does a great job of sucking the viewer into the story despite a few poorly explained and glossed over plot points.  The third act fell a little short in my mind, especially with the visuals of ‘mama’ herself, which didn’t quite hold up to prolonged viewing.  That said, an intelligent horror movie is a rare thing these days, and this is well worth a look.

Rating: 7/10.

Director:  John Moore
Starring:  Bruce Willis, Jai Courtney, Sebastian Koch

Review: As a run-of-the-mill action movie, this would be a pretty poor offering.  However, given the fact that it has attached itself to the ‘Die Hard’ franchise, it needs to be treated as exactly what it is – an absolute disaster.  Irritating heroes, one-dimensional villains, pointlessly stupid action scenes, a frankly absurd plot… I could go on all day, but thankfully I only have 100 words.  None of the charm of the previous movies, with plot holes you could drive a truck through (before presumably flipping it over sixteen times and blowing up several other trucks).  Get McTiernan back or put this franchise to bed.  Seriously.

Rating: 3/10.

Director: Judd Apatow
Starring: Paul Rudd, Leslie Mann, Chris O’Dowd, Megan Fox

Review: Despite containing more than a few hilarious moments, this was a rambling, unfocused movie that ran about 40 minutes too long and featured some distinctly unlikeable main characters.  Paul Rudd was his usual watchable self, and both Chris O’Dowd and Jason Segel did great work with what they were given, but I can’t help but think that this would have worked better if Apatow had stuck to writing and let somebody else direct it.  As it stands, there were far too many pointless, self-indulgent scenes inserted seemingly at random, leading to a 134-minute running time that frankly, made the movie drag.   

Rating: 6/10.

Director: Dan Mazer
Starring: Rafe Spall, Rose Byrne, Anna Faris, Steven Merchant

Review: An average comedy pushed up a couple of notches by the fact that I absolutely love Rafe Spall.  Rafe is a personal favourite of mine, and plays a similar role here to his titular turn in Pete versus Life, all awkward uncertainty and blissfully ignorant inappropriateness.  Steven Merchant plays Steven Merchant, which is no bad thing, and the majority of the cast offer a few laugh-worthy scenes along the way.  The trouble is that while the film is consistently able to raise a chuckle, it never really manages that one big belly laugh that would set it apart from the crowd.  Enjoyable enough, but nothing too special.      

Rating: 7/10.

Director: Baz Luhrmann
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Ewan McGregor, Jim Broadbent, John Leguizamo

Review:  An assault on the senses in the nicest possible sense, Baz Luhrmann has put together a incredibly memorable spectacle of a movie, and one that it’s difficult not to be blown away by, whether ‘this kind of thing’ is your cup of tea or not.  While it may be a little overwhelming in places, Moulin Rouge is a truly unique ‘modern’ musical, and one which effortlessly blends classic well-known songs into the story Lurhman is telling. Kidman and MacGregor give great performances, both from an acting and a vocal point of view, and manage to draw you completely into the love story at the heart of all the grandeur.  Spectacular stuff.     

Rating: 8/10.

Director: Sacha Gervasi
Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Helen Mirren, Scarlett Johansson

Review: While the headline performances are as strong as should be expected – if a little uneven in places – it’s difficult not to be disappointed at the lack of depth this film goes into.  Hopkins plays Hitchcock with no small level of charm, although a lot of the more interesting facets of his life (his treatment of actors in his movies, his obsession with blondes) were glossed over and only really came to the surface occasionally.  There were some definite high points along the way, and while this film was watchable enough, it still felt like a missed opportunity to tell a far more interesting story.     

Rating: 6.5/10.

Director: Rich Moore
Starring: John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman, Jack McBrayer, Jane Lynch

Review:  Doing for video games what Toy Story did for- well – toys, this is a charmingly funny, lovingly crafted movie that manages to simultaneously appeal to both children and adults with its mixture of slapstick comedy and subtle (and some not so subtle) gaming ‘in-jokes’.  The animation throughout was top notch, with the ‘Heroes Duty’ scenes being a definite highlight, and the story contained the usual heartwarming and touching elements that Disney are renowned for.  I’ve also added an extra half point to the rating solely due to the ‘Bad Anon’ scene, which was absolutely hilarious.  Great stuff, and a definite treat for all ages.           

Rating: 8/10.

Director: Steven Speilberg
Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Tommy Lee Jones, Sally Field

Review: While it may be a little ‘wordy’ for some people’s tastes, this is an acting and directorial master-class in every sense of the word.  Daniel Day-Lewis plays Lincoln with charm, restraint and incredible magnetism, and is supported by similarly captivating, moving performances from Jones and Field.  Despite the 150 minute running time, I found myself utterly gripped from start to finish, a supreme achievement for a historical film where – let’s be honest – we all know the outcome.  Spielberg shows remarkable restraint in his direction, and while this may be viewed by some as merely as ‘Oscar bait’, Lincoln proves to be an absolute must-see by virtue of its powerful and emotional performances.

Rating: 9/10.