Robin Hood (2010) Film Review

I remember when this film came out, everyone was going on about how terrible Russell Crowes’ accent was, and I just want to say that it didn’t bother me. There were accents all over the shop, I had no idea who was supposed to be from where, and didn’t really care.

The film tells the story from when Robin Longstride (Russell Crowe) and his mates are fighting under King Richard the Lionheart in France, only when the king dies, they nick off home, pretending to be some nobles whose they find dying along the way. After delivering the news to the new king, Robin goes to tell the noble’s father that his son is dead. The father, Sir Walter Loxley (Max von Sydow) convinced Robin to stay and assume his son’s identity to ensure that the land is not taken away from the widow, Marion (Cate Blanchett). And the story continues up to the point where Robin and his mates become outlaws.

In general, I didn’t mind this movie. It’s wasn’t amazing, and personally if I was to watch a film about a rebel in the olden days in Britain, I’d sooner watch Rob Roy or even Braveheart. What really bugged me was that Cate Blanchett had a very average role to play, and there was absolutely no chemistry between her Marion and Crowe’s Robin. It felt like it was close to being a good story but never quite made it.

 

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011) Film Review

Based on a John Le Carr novel, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy follows retired spy George Smiley (Gary Oldman) as he attempts to discover which top ranking of MI6 is a Soviet Spy.

It’s an amazing cast: Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, Mark Strong, John Hurt, Ciaran Hinds, Kathy Burke and Benedict Cumberbatch just to mention a few. I just wish I’d seen it in the cinema. It is relatively slow-moving, with not a lot of action, and I found at home that my attention kept drifting and I didn’t really follow it all. None the less, it was clearly an extremely good film that should have kept my attention. I blame me on this one.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy was nominated for Oscars for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role (Gary Oldman), Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay (Bridget O’Connot and Peter Straughan) and Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score.

Kick-Ass (2010) Film Review

Dave Lizewski (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) was a really normal, somewhat geeky guy, loving comic books and wondering about the state of the world. So, he becomes Kick-Ass – a real life comic hero. But when things get real, he needs to be saved by some real superheroes: Big Daddy (Nicholas Cage) and his eleven-year-old daughter Hit Girl (Chloe Grace Moretz). But they have an ultimate goal – to get the king pin who ruined their life, Frank D’Amico (Mark Strong). D’Amico’s son, Chris (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) offers to help, but things get out of control. And then they must… Kick Ass.

The film got a lot of flack from many sides for having an eleven-year-old killing people left right and centre and using very foul language, but dammit – it’s great. Very violent and gruesome, but very, very funny and ace.

 

Body of Lies (2008) Film Review

There are terrorist attacks happening across Britain and Europe. Roger Ferris (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a CIA agent working across the Middle East, in regular communication with a guy back in the US, Ed Hoffman (Russell Crowe). And aside from this, I have no idea what was happening during this film. There were plans being laid and I don’t really know what was happening.

Which is a problem. I had no idea what was going on, I had no connection to the characters, I didn’t care who the good or bad guys were. It was tedious and frustrating. I’d love to hear from anyone who enjoyed this film to know why, because I just don’t get it.

John Carter (2012) – Film Review

John Carter is a former American Civil War Confederate Soldier who, on retirement, has become a gold prospector. When he is leant on to join the fight against the Apache, he flees and finds himself in a cave with some amazing gold seams. At this point, a being appears from nowhere. John Carter kills him and is accidently transported to Mars. On Mars, there is a war between two cities, but John Carter ends up staying with a peaceful group, the Tharks. As the atmosphere and the make-up of his body varies greatly to that of the creatures of Mars, he is able to leap across the land, making him an asset to any army.

The film lost me at the start. It started during the war on Mars, and then skipped back to John Carter’s nephew receiving the will after John Carter’s death, and then went into the story, and by this stage, there were so many threads for me to follow. Once you add in the crazy science fiction names for everything, and I was lost. But I’m so glad I persevered, because it gets great. John Carter has an awesomely dry and wry sense of humour, and the story isn’t as complicated as you thin once you get into it.

Plus, there are huge spaceships that explode a lot, and I love explosions. The CGI creation of Tharks were hard for me to get used to at first, but as the personalities came through, I was won over. And then there is that gorgeous dog creature – he’s the best!