Gambit

   After a few hard hitting films, Colin Firth has taken a turn towards the comedic side. Gambit is about Harry Deane (Colin Firth) an art curator who tries to pull a fast one on his much hated boss Lionel Shahbandar (Alan Rickman) by trying to sell him a fake Monet. However, Deane's clumsiness and the unpredictability of a Texan rodeo clown called PJ Puznowski (Cameron Diaz), means it is far from plain sailing.
   There's plenty of comedy, coming from all corners of the cast, the majority centreing around the slapstick variety. The hotel scene in which trouser-less Harry Deane gets in a muddle as he stumbles from one room to the next, is a great sequence of hilarity. It is also the first time I have laughed at a fart joke in quite some time.
   This is written by the very talented Coen brothers and though it is a film with a lot of laughs, Colin Firth and Alan Rickman are stereotypically English. Rickman is the rich cynical upper class bastard and Firth is the doddery, foolish yet charming Englishman. It feels very much like an American view on us Brits.
   Nevertheless, Gambit is an enjoyable film that has the laughs, twists and characters to connect with and I recommend it as a film with which you can sit back, relax and enjoy.

For fans of twists, humour and Britishness.

Stars ***

The Five Year Engagement

   I'm not one for the romantic comedy, but the Five Year Engagement is a decent film, even though it's from the producers of Bridesmaids and the director of Forgetting Sarah Marshall! The idea is fun and the film is enjoyable, for the most part. Though maybe a two hour rom com is a bit too much to handle.
   Violet (Emily Blunt) and Tom (Jason Segel) get engaged and everything is on schedule until Violet's career sparks into life with an opportunity she can't miss, but which means moving from sunny San Francisco to cold and dreary Michigan. Though the film is riddled with fictional hilarity that reminds you that you are actually watching a film, the actual storyline has a good feeling of realism to it. Violet gets closer to her boss Winton (Rhys Ifans) while Tom finds it difficult to fit in to Michigan life and come to terms with giving up a promising career as a chef back in San Francisco.
   Emily Blunt is funny, but doesn't sprout her acting wings too much, like she does in Looper. Jason Segel plays his usual part of the nice comical tall man. It may be predominantly a chick flick, but there are laughs in there for the guys too.

For fans of rom coms, weddings and films for couples to watch together

Stars ***

Here Comes The Boom

   Scott Voss (Kevin James) is a school teacher who has let go of his principles, due to his loss of faith in the school system. That is until the music teacher Marty (Henry Winkler) is on the verge of losing his job because of school cuts. Voss accidentally talks himself into being the guy who'll raise the funds to keep the music programme going. When he watches a UFC bout and finds out that there's money to be made from losing as well as winning, Voss sees an opportunity.
   James specialises in the slapstick and self deprecating humour. The inevitable happens and he improves, with the help of a Dutch ex fighter Niko (Bas Rutten) who is trying to get his American citizenship, which Voss helps him to achieve.
   *Spoiler Alert!* Voss makes it into the UFC and fights the tough and scary Ken Dietrich, played by the MMA fighter Krzysztof Soszynski. There would be no way in hell that Voss would win and in the first two rounds Voss gets a thrashing of the highest level. Marty makes a good speech to Voss making him realise that he doesn't have to win the match. However, his speech was unnecessary as Voss pulls off an impossible victory.
   The last scene of the film was embarrassingly funny, as Niko and many others receive their American citizenship. Everyone floods out into the land of the US of A, there's cheering and happiness, an American flag stands proudly aloft and a Latino voice shouts 'Viva America!'. The unnecessary patriotism made me want to discreetly vomit behind my seat.
   Kevin James hasn't done anything Oscar worthy, or even that funny, except for Hitch. This is no exception. It's a half decent comedy until the ridiculous ending.

For fans of slapstick, simple comedy and the US of A.

Stars *

Argo

   Argo is based on the true story of the 1980 CIA-Canadian secret operation to remove six fugitive American diplomats from Iran. It is directed by Ben Affleck, who once again shows his directing prowess with a brilliant film. I am a fan of his other films The Town and Gone Baby Gone.
   There are countless recognisable faces, such as the well known John Goodman, Alan Arkin and Affleck himself. There are also the actors that you recognise straight away but take a few minutes for you to remember where you have seen them before, such as Tate Donovan, who plays Joshua, a love interest of Rachel in Friends and Clea Duvall from The Faculty. I found myself constantly saying to myself 'bloody hell! Look who that is!'
   The film was tense, moving and full of suspense. I felt entrenched in the six fugitives dilemma all the way through, as the worry, fear and anxieties of the trapped Americans were transferred through the screen with the great script, directing and acting.
   The film was certainly not devoid of humour. Arkin and Goodman's scenes had a lot of comedic value, but there was humour dotted all around, which helped break up the suspense and give you a few moments to laugh and take a breath before returning to the edge of your seat.
   I have seen too many average films at the cinema of late, interspersed with the odd great one. Maybe that can be blamed on half term which brings out the kids films, and Halloween which sees its yearly dose of painfully average horror films. However, now that storm has blown over, the cinema is seemingly back on track with the awesome Skyfall and now the dramatically brilliant Argo.

For fans of suspense, true stories and more suspense.

Stars ****

Photo from www.guardian.co.uk 

Cockneys vs Zombies

  There has been many a zombie film over the past decade and there appears to be no end to the spin off ideas spawning from the generic zombie apocalypse movie. As the title states, the film is literally cockneys in the east end of London dealing with a virus outbreak, which of course turns people into flesh eating corpses.
  Ray Macguire, played by Alan Ford is in an old people's home which has been put up for sale and he ponders heading up north, even though he has never left London. His grandsons Terry and Andy don't want him to leave, so they come up with a plan to save the care home by robbing a bank, with the help of a few others. Unfortunately for them, a zombie outbreak makes an easy escape impossible.
   Alan Ford is the classic cockney, gangster, geezer and all round hard man, which is always enjoyable to watch. Richard Briers was also very good, his very funny first scene sees him trying to out hobble the slow moving zombies on his zimmer frame. There's a lot of comedy throughout, especially with the seemingly quite harmless slow moving zombies, which give the characters enough time to crack a joke before shooting them.
   Cockney vs Zombies is an enjoyable zombie flick, with enough humour, gore and zombie action to keep you entertained throughout. I wouldn't say it was the best zombie film there's been, but it's an enjoyable addition to the ever growing zombie franchise.

For fans of zombies, gore and cockney rhyming slang.

Stars ***

The Hunter

   Ex-mercenary Martin (Willem Dafoe) is sent on a mission to search for the supposed last Tasmanian Tiger, which were officially classed as extinct, by a biotech company who believe it carries a unique and valuable chemical. Obviously it ends up being more than he bargains for as he tries to deal with the racist locals and find this elusive last tiger before his bosses grow impatient and send a replacement.
   Dafoe is very good through out, his hardened character weakening to his soft side as the film ticks on. This was helped very much by the family he stays with, especially a non speaking little boy who brings out the sensitive side of Dafoe's character. Sam Neill's supporting role adds a nice touch to the story and I had to wonder which side Neill was on as from the off he seemed suspicious of Dafoe.
   There is no doubt that at some point Dafoe was going to come across the apparently extinct Tasmanian tiger, but it wasn't clear whether his ethics would get in the way of the job he was hired for.
   This is a gripping hard edged thriller, with Dafoe excelling in his role. Dafoe has the screen presence to keep you intrigued from start to finish and you share in the dilemma with him, wondering yourself what the best course of action to take would be.

For fans of well performed hard edged thrillers and Aussie accents.

Stars ****

Skyfall

   I was very much looking forward to the new Bond film, Skyfall and it did not disappoint! Though Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace were both very good films, they weren't like proper Bonds. I grew up with Pierce Brosnan and he has always been my favourite. However, with Skyfall there is a definite shift back towards the classic Bond style.
   The film is long, but it didn't feel too long, nor slow. The opening sequence was exciting, well shot and edge of the seat action. I was so involved in the action that I totally forgot about the classic Bond credits and although it's not Adele best song, I still think its a well made Bond song and Adele was a good choice.
   Daniel Craig played his best role so far and Judi Dench excelled as usual in her seventh film as M. It was good to see Q return, this time as the much younger Ben Whishaw, while Javier Bardem was an awesome villain bringing a lot of humour, tension and great acting to his scenes. The acting overall is top notch, the action scenes are exciting and varied and the main actors were supported immensely well by Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris and Albert Finney.
   Skyfall is a great Bond story and there's enough twists, turns and excitement to keep you entertained for the whole 2 and a half hours. Though I do love the exotic Bond locations, it was a nice change that much of the action took place in London and Scotland. Skyfall is a big step up from the last two Bond films and a great way to celebrate the 50th anniversary of James Bond. I was also very pleased with the film being released in Britain before the US, which is how it should be with James Bond . I am now very much looking forward to the future installments.

For fans of James Bond and bloody good films.

Stars ****

Casa de mi Padre

  Casa de mi Padre was a weird one for many reasons. First of all, there were the unusual circumstances leading up to its release, in that, it wasn't...in the spring of this year there were trailers at the cinema, TV spots and posters. However, for some unknown reason it disappeared, meaning that I had to wait until its DVD release to see it.
  I was hesitant about the film, as there had been a couple of films in recent years that could be classed as the same type of genre to Casa de mi Padre, such as Machete and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. The genre being spoofs, I guess. However, Machete and Vampire Hunter failed drastically, as they took themselves far too seriously. How can a film that combined Abraham Lincoln and vampires not be a comical piss take? But there were barely any laughs in it. Machete struggled in the exact same manner.
  Casa de mi Padre managed to avoid this easily. It combined what Tarantino did in Death Proof, with its poorly shot scenes and erratic editing with the humour of the spoof trailer of Machete, which was shown at the beginning of Planet Terror. The badly made sets and obviously fake animals are a constant reminder that this is a film not to be taken seriously.
  Will Ferrell can add this one to the list of his better films, as the silly humour was kept at the correct level, unlike The Campaign which seemingly struggled to decide how crude they could push each joke. Ferrell is supported by a host of talented Mexican actors such as Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna.
  The film being subtitled gave it a nice touch. The script was funny, the music was surprisingly catchy and it did what it was supposed to do and not take itself seriously!

For fans of Will Ferrell, spoofs and a good Mexican stand off.

Stars ***