Zack Snyder has a problem; he has too much love for his source material. As he proved with 300, he’s the fanboy’s director, someone who will try as faithfully as possible to recreate shot for shot the graphic novels he is filming. This, as it turns out, is the problem with his latest effort Watchmen, based on Alan Moore’s iconic graphic novel. As Snyder has tried to absorb the leviathan into his film, not without some success, and has created a massive geekgasm of a movie, one upon which much hope was placed, but that could not possibly ever succeed in its mission.
It’s an alternate 1985. Nixon has just been elected to a third term in the White House, nuclear war is pretty much a certainty and America triumphed in Vietnam, mainly thanks to the help of the godlike Dr. Manhattan and amoral nutball the Comedian. Crime prevention was the province of a group of masked superheroes, the aforementioned two, Silk Spectre, Nite Owl, super-brain Ozymandias and sociopath Rorschach. They, however, have now been outlawed and the Comedian has been murdered. Thus begins the movie, with Rorschach pursuing the murderers and the others trying to build some kind of life.
Continue reading ‘Film Review: Watchmen’
I should come clean now, at the start of this review, with a confession to one of my most heinous crimes against the movies. Sure it’s not as bad as never having seen any of the Godfather movies, or Apocalypse Now, or not liking Citizen Kane, but it’s fairly criminal. Slumdog Millionaire is the first Danny Boyle movie I have seen. I was too young for Trainspotting but have never caught up, 28 Days Later wasn’t my thing and Sunshine passed me by. On the evidence of Slumdog, I’ve been missing out and, if they are all as good as this, missing out big time.
Continue reading ‘Film Review: Slumdog Millionaire’
Edit: I realise this film has already been reviewed at willsfreeswim but it only came out in the UK last week, so there.
There is an argument that Clint Eastwood is exorcising old demons with the films he has been making recently. Unforgiven was about what happened when the Man with No Name got old and stale. Flags of Our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima were a way for him to look at what war is really like, for both sides, not just the badass Nazi killers. In a similar vein, Gran Torino could be subtitled What if Dirty Harry Retired? It treads a similar path to the previously mentioned films, it looks at what happens to our heroes when they finally become old and stale, what happens when the values they lived by become old hat, conservative or offensive, and it’s none the worse for it.
Continue reading ‘Film Review: Gran Torino’
It’s been another standard year for me in terms of film, there’s been a lot of things that I have wanted to see but haven’t for being lax; some of these I have managed to catch on DVD etc. during the course of the year. I managed to see most of the things that I really wanted to. This post will gather up all my movie reviews posted on BP and update some of their scores slightly. Any other films released this year that I didn’t review and now own will also be briefly summarised and scored. At the end, I’ll name my film of the year.
Continue reading ‘Rojo’s Cinematic Year’
Let me get some things out of the way before we begin. This film is not my sort of thing at all ( I didn’t even like the similar Moulin Rouge, which was well-directed and performed), I watched it out of interest as it is now the highest grossing film of the year in the UK (?) and my girlfriend was watching it, also out of interest. Also, it was a pleasure to finally review a film that I really didn’t like at all. Finally, the only good ABBA based film is Muriel’s Wedding, and the best crazy singing film is The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.
Continue reading ‘Film Review: Mamma Mia!’
Star Trek Trailer
Here’s the latest trailer for JJ Abrams’ take on Star Trek. Looks badass.
Krog Ninja Edit:
Usually, when I do these reviews, I think of something snappy to say about the film when I’m in the cinema (The Other Boleyn Girl, Iron Man), or perhaps even before I go and see it (There Will Be Blood). With this lastest Bond outing, I couldn’t come up with much. Mostly because all that can be said about Craig’s taciturn, tough Bond has already been written but also because this is an inherently satisfying film. Like its hero it’s tough and uncompromising, economical and sometimes brutal.
The action starts fairly soon after Casino Royale left off. Bond has Mr. White, the supposed betrayer of Vesper Lynd, in the boot (trunk, Americans) of his Aston Martin DBS and is steaming through the Italian Lakes being shot at by guys in Alfa Romeos. After interrogating the man for a little bit, Bond and M learn of a previously unheard of super-organisation behind world business and government. Fuelled by rage, Bond chases the bad guys through Haiti, Bolivia, one stand out scene in an Austrian opera house and back to Bolivia again. Some spoilers within. Continue reading ‘Film Review: Quantum of Solace’
Well, breaking some silence here for some big news. As you can probably guess from the post title, there’s some new info from Paramount related to the new Star Trek film. If you go to TrekMovie.com, there’s two posts:
First, an exclusive interview with the writers, Alex Kurtzman and Bob Orci.
Then, a compilation of stills from various sites (AICN, MTV, UGO, IGN and TrekMovie).
But this one is the one that gets me pumped, even though it’s sans Spock:
Spock, what do you mean we're out of coffee?
Quick edit: RIP Paul Newman
Two moons have turned since I last posted here and, in an effort to stop this blog becoming the Krog and Rel show, I have decided to cast away my lack of enthusiasm and write something. During my time away there have been a great many things in the news and elsewhere upon which I have had thoughts that may have been considered werthy for posting. Some even got as far as being first-drafted in my head before I just got too tired or distracted to post and they drifted out of the headlines or public interest. I have a lot to say about Sarah Palin, for example. Or French writers. Or the untold delights of my new Sunday hobby of drinking wine and reading the paper all day. This post, just like my last, is unfortunately about film. But it perhaps heralds the dawn of a brave new posting era. One which will inevitably end.
Continue reading ‘Ennui over. Interesting things may or may not lie within.’
Fresh Cracks...