Frozen

Let it go- let it go- can't hold it back anymore...

I tried really hard to not watch this film when it came out just because i didn't want to have endless conversations about Frozen with a bunch of children. So then my friend made me watch it anyway just to spoil the hard earned reputation that I had received.

So what was my verdict?? I couldn't see what the hype as about. Yes, at times it was funny and had everything there to make it a good film. The music was good and they didn't try to make anything too ridiculous which is always great but for me it just wasn't as good as The Lion King or Beauty and the Beast which are and always will be classics. There is so much more that they can do with technology now then what they could do then and at times i feel like directors and producers get too carried away with it instead of going for the thing that makes a fantastic movie which is a great script. Unfortunately the story of the ice queen is actually really boring and predictable. Yes- you will all tell me that it is a kids film for kids and that all children loved this film. It did it's job but it wont have what other classics such as those mentioned above and Peter Pan have which is the ability to make adults cry and love them as well. I'm not a parent, so it is not a film that I am going to watch over and over again on loop and to  be honest that is kind of a shame because some of the best Disney films are films that anyone of any age group can watch time and time again.

The best thing that they did was getting Idina Menzel to voice Elsa and sing Let It Go. The Original that was written for Demi Lovato is actually a huge pile of rubbish and they made the best call of the film by allowing Menzel to sing it in the film.

I think that I will have sparked some controversy with this post and that makes me happy. I just wanted to do it to end the year because in the two years that I have been writing this blog I have had one comment and I kinda want more from the people that read this blog. It makes it easier to write if I know that someone else is going to share their views and maybe disagree with what I have said.

I haven't finished compiling a list for next year so if you have a favourite film that wasn't on either of the previous challenge lists (all lists are at the bottom of the blog) then please comment on this post of message me either on facebook or twitter (all links are on the blog somewhere).

See you next year!

Tangled

I know- it's a crime that it has taken me that long to actually watch this film.

What can I say about this film? I actually really enjoyed it from start to finish. It had a very Shrek feel to it which was kinda good but in a way it was much better.

I think that the best of the film was the horse (although the frying pan's came very close). I loved the horse from start to finish and it just made me laugh all the way through. I want a horse like that!

There were some great moments but this film still couldn't reach the heights of MegaMind and despicable me which were both possibly the two best animated films created to date.

Music was good and story was good but i had a serious problem with not singing songs from into the woods all the way through just because of character and word association. Nothing really beats having someone moaning from the top of the tower but this is a good alternative.

Inside Out

Psychological interpretation of this film is going to be the basis of this blog.

For all intensive purposes it was a kinda depressing film with this idea that for the most part you can't have any sadness and that change destroys everything.

The psychological theory behind this film was the best part of the film. The concept and idea that we have different emotions that control us and help to keep us balanced is a very clever idea. For those with depression sadness would have almost completely destroyed joy. What the film suggests is that we cannot function properly without all these emotions and that if we remove joy and sadness then we struggle and get fixed on certain ideas that in the long run become very bad and destroy our world and our memories.

I found this film on the list of best pixar or disney films ever made and what's more- it was towards the top of the list! I would not have put this there at all. It was okay and don't get me wrong , there are a lot of disney films that have been made that were a lot worse than this.

I did love the idea that sadness and laziness go hand in hand. This means that if i am sad then i just have to lie on the floor all day long.

Tangled will be up next and then Frozen tomorrow to end the year!

See you all in a few hours!

District 13

This is the last adult film that I will post about this year. I have a few marathon days coming up but they are Pixar or Harry Potter days so there is hardly any reason to post about them.

I wouldn't be surprised if no one that reads this blog actually knew what District 13 was. It is very similar to 'The Raid' but in French and with more free running stunts.

I actually really enjoyed this film. I wasn't sure that I was going to at first because it just looked like the same film done 100x over but in French. This was different, there was more than just one person taking over an area and someone else trying to regain their turf- there was a plot and character development.

The music was fitting and even though it was in french and I couldn't understand any of it, it was the sort of music that would not have been out of place in a Vin Diesel film.  Team work (something Vin Diesel is not widely known for managing) was excellent and at times almost unbelievable but even so it made the film a little different from some of the others like it.

Next year I will watch the sequel and post about it as well.

Oh Captain My Captain.

The film that everyone should watch and has taken me twenty years to watch!

I had forgotten how much I love and appreciate Robin Williams. This guy is not typically up there at the top of your list when you try to name the best actors in the world at the moment but he really should be. Alongside Dame Maggie Smith, Dame Judi Dench, Sir Ian McKellen and Dustin Hoffman should always feature Robin Williams.

Dead Poets Society is something completely different to what was on offer at the time. It gives me a feel of The Freedom Writers (Hillary Swank, Imelda Staunton) crossed with Good Will Hunting (Matt Damon, Robin Williams) and at times Educating Rita (Michael Caine, Julie Walters). The story is inspiring and at the same time very moving and startling.

Many people of a slightly older generation to mine can probably remember living in a time where you always felt that you had to do and become what your parents wanted. I find it startling to see the amount of control that parents had over their children and how pathetic people were in accepting and appreciating change and differences. I am a rebel and always be, if i don't agree with something then I just don't conform to it, even if it means walking out or making people despise me.

The plot of this film, the way that it was written and has been performed is truly a work of art and should and always will be for me, something that inspires me and it should be an inspiration for other people out there trying to make a film. This is the way that films should be made, a great plot that has been very well written and then one big name who carries the film with a few unknown people that really grab at their opportunity.

I felt the call to rally next to Robin Williams in this film and I am so thankful that I finally got the chance to watch this film and be reminded of just how good movies can be when they are done well. This film and the actors mentioned above should be the role models for every young person trying to make their way in the world of film because this film underlines quality and is a fine example of true talent and real art work.

Ip Man 2

I have completed the film challenge for this year. I think that there were a few remakes that I said I would watch the original of so I will try and do that before the new year. After watching the first film I acquired both the first and second Ip Man film and added Ip Man 2 on to the end of the list so that if i got time i could watch it.

With talk of an Ip Man 3 being made I had to watch the second film and it was definitely worth the time spent on watching it. There's a skill to making a super martial arts film. To get the balance of story and martial arts perfect is very difficult but it is something that Ip Man always manages. Ip Man is probably the best martial arts film in the world and in the second film it shows you why. There isn't one skill that is better or stronger than the others, Boxing isn't better than Wing  Chun- it is a different type of application to the body and mind. Fighting always has been about managing your emotions and understanding. We all learnt in the Karate Kid that people who bully others and think that they are better than others always, in the end, lose and lose spectacularly.

Ip Man 2 is just as good as I remember Ip Man being and that made me happy. The quality of the martial arts was at the same level (not surprising seeing as Donnie Yen did all his own stunts). I think that what i probably liked the most was how they were all brought together by Ip Man at the end in an unexpected way. 

There were moments when i found myself getting a little upset by the development of the plot but not in a bad way. It was a moving film, almost coming close to a Spielberg film and that really makes the difference in a martial arts film.

I can't wait for the third one to be released.

Blackhat

Chis Hemsworth stars as the hacker that is released from prison to track down a cyber network reaching from the states to Hong Kong.

I was very impressed with Hemsworth in this film. I have got used to seeing him as Thor and at times I have wondered if he was acting or not just because of his attitude. I can say that he definitely was acting because he is a complete contrast in this film.

Everything about his character was perfect in this film. He easily looked like a guy that had been imprisoned for hacking- he was calm and composed in prison but clearly not a complete thug.

What can I say about this film? I really liked it, I found it fluent and at times almost perfect. I have recently been watching Mr. Robot and it is of course, about a hacker so I was kinda in the mood for this film and I think that it was made better by that. Sometimes it's great to get into the mind of hackers and understand why they do what they do and how they do it.

Two thumbs way up for this film.

The Equalizer

Denzel Washington is back.... with a bang (as always).

I struggle a lot because I watched Taken before watching any Denzel Washington films so I have trouble not comparing his action films to Taken. So putting all that aside let's take time to review 'The Equalizer'.

There was a story to it and I actually really liked the film. The mystery behind it remained a mystery throughout and just set up the door for another film about his past. Denzel Washington plays secretive very well. He has that stare which doesn't give anything away. It's not an angry stare, just a blank stare that shows absolutely no expression whatsoever and it's almost intimidating without it really trying to be so.

This guy is as terrifying as Liam Neeson but in a completely different way. You can see the anger in Neeson's eyes but Washington makes you instantly feel fear. I don't want to spend the entire post talking about Denzel Washington because it was another masterclass performance from Marton Csokas (Kingdom of Heaven, Aeon Flux, XXX, Lord of The Rings). There's something about him that thoroughly convinces you that he is evil, even when he isn't. Not in the same way as Sir Christopher Lee who because of his voice and slightly sunken in eyes always appeared to be evil regardless of if he was or wasn't playing the bad guy. Marton Csokas is different. He is thoroughly believable as the bad guy but equally believable as the good guy- kinda like Sir Ian McKellen. I love him in everything that I have seen him in (and that's quite a lot from his IMDB list).

So back to the film. The film was done as if it was showing a double life. There was a clear split between what he did with his evenings and his work. I loved the separation because it showed that he wasn't a special ops guy that was undercover or he wasn't actually an agent, he was just a guy with training (and probably trained in the forces) that was making his way in the world by working in a store.

The way it was filmed, when it went through his eyes so that you could see what he was seeing was a stroke of genius. Sherlock almost managed it when you get his analysis but this just took it one step closer and actually went back through his eyes before turning so that you were looking out of Denzel Washington's eyes.

A very well done film in all aspects but at times perhaps a little too bloody. Could have got away with a 15 rating if they had toned down on some of the violence.