Last Vegas (February 2014)

Official Australian release date: 6/2/14. Viewed: 27/2/14.

Director: Jon Turtletaub

Actors: Michael Douglas, Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Kline

Genre: Comedy
Rating: M

From the director of ‘3 Ninjas’ and ‘Cool Runnings’ comes ‘Last Vegas’! Those may or may not sound like good pedigree (I’m ignoring ‘National Treasure’ on purpose), but it doesn’t really matter how good a director you are when you have an all-star cast of Douglas, De Niro, Freeman, Kline & Steenburgen. Even Ferrara (“Turtle”) & Malco are good in supporting roles. Needless to say, ‘Last Vegas’ is, to a degree, ‘The Hangover’ for old people.

It has funny moments throughout, with some great laughs in places, but there’s also a fair bit of time spent wasted with parties, girls in bikini’s (it is Las Vegas, after all) and some drama between De Niro’s & Douglas’ that wasn’t really necessary. My main gripe would be that these sentimental moments add on an unnecessary 20min to the movie.

The story is very simple and quite predictable, but what you can’t quantify is the way the four lead actors just work well together. I think special mention must go to Kline who has some of the best lines and laughs, but the four of them together, quipping and joking at/with each other, is great to watch.

Overall: A solid comedy film – enough laughs, but could’ve been made better by some judicious editing.

Gav's Rating: 3 stars.

Lone Survivor (February 2014)

Official Australian release date: 20/2/14. Viewed: 17/2/14.

Director: Peter Berg

Actors: Mark Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch, Ben Foster, Emile Hirsch

Genre: War / Action / True Story
Rating: MA

‘Lone Survivor’ is a very well-made and fast paced war film. It helps that it’s a true story out of Afghanistan and does a great job of setting the scene and characters in the first half hour, before putting you right in amongst the action for the final 90min. I really liked how some of the camerawork was frantic in the right moments and slow/steady in the other moments. Let me just say that when they ‘descend’ the hillside, you really feel it!

Is ‘Lone Survivor’ as good as ‘Saving Private Ryan’? That’s debatable, but it’s certainly better than ‘Black Hawk Down’ in my books, as far as modern war films go. There’s no politics involved, just survival, and this has plenty of teeth-gritting moments! It helps that there’s only really the four characters on their own in the wilderness – does a great job of showing the isolation.

There’s a fair bit of blood and violence, but nothing too grisly and it all looks very realistic – there’s no cohesion to what the soldiers (Navy SEALs, rather) do, they’re literally fighting for their lives as best they can. The photos at the end compared with the actors are good, although Peter Gabriel’s cover of “Heroes” would’ve been better served if it was the David Bowie original. Otherwise, a great score.

Overall: Excellent cinematography, score, acting and story make this a superb war film where you do care about the characters you’re watching.

Gav's Rating: 4 stars.

RoboCop (February 2014)

Official Australian release date: 6/2/14. Viewed: 6/2/14.

Director: José Padilha

Actors: Joel Kinnaman, Gary Oldman, Michael Keaton, Abbie Cornish

Genre: Action / Sci-Fi
Rating: M

I went into the ‘RoboCop’ reboot with fond, but not very vivid, memories of the original, seeing as it came out when I was 2! I do remember having a RoboCop figurine that I used to play with as a kid. And this new film does a good job of making him look both new and futuristic, but also similar enough to the original that old fans won’t be disappointed – he’s silver for about a third of the film and black for the rest.

In terms of story, it’s pretty straight forward – Detective Alex Murphy (Kinnaman) is almost killed, is turned into a cyborg and then tracks down the bad guys in Detroit. Sure, there’s a little more to it than that – is he more man, or machine? Does he still have a conscience/soul? And does it matter if he’s good at his job?

There’s some decent action, but a lot of shaky/fast camera work that doesn’t always help the action scenes. It feels longer than it should and doesn’t have the best ending. Oldman and Keaton are good, but it’s hard to feel any real connection to Murphy and his wife (Cornish), as you never spend any real time with them.

Overall: Nothing new, but a decent action film. I just wish Samuel L. Jackson wasn’t beeped in the final scene!

Gav's Rating: 3 stars.

12 Years A Slave (February 2014)

Official Australian release date: 30/1/14. Viewed: 1/2/14.

Director: Steve McQueen

Actors: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Lupita Nyong'o   
Genre: Drama / True Story
Rating: MA

First up, a few warnings: this is not for the faint of heart. There is a lot of graphic torture and despicable things which the camera does not shy away from. This is obviously to hit home the ugly truth of the reality of slavery and America’s sorry past, but it’s very unpleasant to watch. It’s also quite slow and long – 2 hours 15min.

It could’ve used more of the support cast, since Giamatti, Dano, Cumberbatch and Pitt do a good job, but it’s a true story, so there’s only so much creative liberty they could’ve taken. Most of the film just makes you sad, angry and anguished for Solomon (Ejiofor), wishing you could do something or he and the other slaves would rebel, but that was their reality and it’s a harsh pill to swallow.

There’s no humour or light-hearted moments to lighten the mood – and arguably there shouldn’t be – but it’s definitely no ‘Django Unchained’ when you compare their entertainingness. That’s not really the directors fault, but I feel it could have been paced a little better – and there seemed to be lots of scenes with Solomon just staring wide-eyed (see above!).

Overall: Some great acting – including Fassbender’s lush red beard – and a harrowing tale, with a very touching finale, but something doesn’t quite click, leaving you feeling a little numb afterwards.

Gav's Rating: 3.5 stars. 

The Wolf Of Wall Street (January 2014)

Official Australian release date: 23/1/14. Viewed: 22/1/14.

Director: Martin Scorsese

Actors: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Margot Robbie, Kyle Chandler
Genre: Drama / Comedy / True Story
Rating: R

OK, so I went into ‘The Wolf Of Wall Street’ with no expectations and it really impressed me! I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised – it is Scorsese! He’s definitely a master director, with the film paced perfectly and the three hour run-time actually flies by, with barely a minute wasted. I also liked how DiCaprio occasionally broke the fourth wall and spoke directly to the audience – works well here.

It’s a true story, but I assume some creative liberties have been taken, as usual. It’s basically a story of greed, ambition and ego, all played out on Wall St, New York in the late 80s and early 90s. There’s some great supporting actors as DiCaprio’s fellow stockbrokers/advisers, none more so than Hill, but it’s great to see McConaughey, Reiner, Favreau and Suplee helping out.

While a film about stockbrokers doesn’t sound too exciting, I can assure you this is – it has debauchery, drugs, alcohol, ridiculous chanting, sex – approximately a new pair of boobs to look at every 5min – life-or-death situations, a decent score, plenty of laughs (particularly the country club scene!) and a fitting conclusion.

Overall: DiCaprio really carries the film – it’s his charisma that has you cheering for him and his gang of stockbrokers, even when you realise they’re technically the bad guys, with all the corruption and fraud that has come to light in Wall St. DiCaprio definitely deserves an Oscar for this role and you owe it to yourself to see this film.

Gav's Rating: 4 stars.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (December 2013)

Official Australian release date: 26/12/13. Viewed: 26/12/13.

Director: Peter Jackson
Actors: Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Orlando Bloom, Benedict Cumberbatch
Genre: Fantasy / Adventure
Rating: M

If you’ve liked the other four Lord of the Rings/Hobbit films, you’ll like this one, simple. I found it highly enjoyable and well-paced – not as meandering as ‘The Fellowship of the Ring’ or ‘An Unexpected Journey’. It’s not as good as ‘The Two Towers’, but does an good job of moving the story and characters forward.

It also has a great score – every time you hear that motif, you think of Sauron and the ring’s temptation – and plenty of great visuals. It’s pretty amazing how just watching a film can make you feel comfortable, as you recognize parts of Middle Earth/New Zealand. But most of all, it’s fun – there’s a bear, plenty of ‘catch-me-if-you-can’, a waterfall/rapids chase, some spelunking, some gold mining – oh, and a dragon!

It’s good to see Legolas and some Elves, as well as men, helping out the Hobbit & the Dwarves. Gandalf has some good moments, but this is definitely Bilbo’s film – and it’s left on a nice cliff-hanger.

Overall: Moved things along with plenty of action – looking forward to the final instalment next Boxing Day!

Gav's Rating: 4 stars.

Anchorman: The Legend Continues (December 2013)

Official Australian release date: 19/12/13. Viewed: 18/12/13.

Director: Adam McKay
Actors: Will Ferrell, Paul Rudd, Steve Carell, David Koechner, Christina Applegate
Genre: Comedy
Rating: M

First thing’s first – no, this is not as good as the original. But what sequel is? There was certainly plenty of laughs throughout the film, from the whole cinema. Sure, not all the jokes were amazing, but there was plenty of good slapstick and lots of great little quips.

The premise is simple – it’s now the 80s and Ron and the gang are in New York to start the first 24-hour-news network (CNN, or ‘GNN’ in the film – this provides some decent satire), and since it’s the 80s, they have to progress with the times, including having a female boss (who’s also black). The eight guest-star cameo’s – don’t worry, I won’t ruin the surprise – for the news team battle are pretty funny and will have you going “is that really ___?!”

That’s my one issue with the film – it’s a little long. Some scenes – such as the shark and the above-mentioned “battle” – go for longer than necessary and probably make it about 15min too long, clocking in at almost two hours. Also, was Josh Lawson the best choice as an Aussie to play a Rupert Murdoch-like character? But it’s made up for by some truly laugh-out-loud moments, from finding out what they’ve all been up to since the first film and then some great sight gags and truly absurd moments.

Overall: Enjoyable sequel with plenty of laughs. Favourite moment = Walter: “why’s it called the Big Apple?” Ron: “because it has an Apple Tree on every corner” – makes sense when you watch it!

Gav's Rating: 3.5 stars.