Excellent performances by Robert Downey Jr, Val Kilmer and Michelle Monaghan are harnessed by Shane Black's artful direction and screenwriting, to create this wonderfully dark, clever and comedic movie. Downey Jr plays Harry Lockhart, child magician turned petty thief, whose blind luck lands him in Los Angeles for a high profile screen test. Kilmer stars as private investigator "Gay" Perry, while Monaghan plays childhood sweetheart and aspiring actress Harmony Lane. Before long the charismatic threesome become embroiled in not one, but two murder cases, with hilarious results. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is as stylish as it is funny and remains thoroughly enjoyable after many viewings.
Brad Pitt and Anthony Hopkins lead the cast in this deeply romantic modern-day fairytale, spanning three hours of glorious screen time with a truly passionate production. Hopkins appears in one of his better roles as aging widower Bill Parrish; a wealthy man blessed with two loving daughters and a hugely successful media company, whose life is thrown into disarray by the arrival of Death, portrayed with quirky excellence by Pitt. Claire Forlani capitalises on her good looks and wonderfully expressive eyes as she plays young Susan Parrish, engaging both male leads in a string of captivating scenes. Jake Weber, Marcia Gay Harden and Jeffrey Tambor round out the central cast, each adding a wonderful facet to the beauty of this film. Meet Joe Black is not simply a story of boy meets girl. It is an impassioned tale that probes deep into the bittersweet realms of love and sorrow.
It is a crime against reason that this film faired so badly in the eyes of the critics and at the US box office. Director and Producer Martin Brest created a true masterpiece and I consider myself lucky to have had the good fortune to chance across it on DVD a few years after its release. It has been a firm favourite ever since.
Almost an exception to the rule, this is one superhero sequel that actually improves on its predecessor. Assuming you're familiar with the existing characters and doing little to build on them, it leaps straight into the action, focusing on the mysterious arrival of the cosmic-powered Silver Surfer. Starring Jessica Alba and a bunch of guys you'll have barely heard of, this movie is a lot of fun, though a little cringe-worthy at times. Shedding the one city per hero stereotype and facing the destruction of our entire planet, the Fantastic Four fly to all corners in a race against time, stopping off in London, the Black Forest and parts of China along the way. Though hardly a cinematic masterpiece, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer is definitely an entertaining addition to the genre.
Will Smith takes to the silver screen in this fast-paced action movie that bears little resemblance to Isaac Asimov's short stories of the same name. Set in Chicago 2035, robots have become commonplace appliances in every home and workplace. The world seems a happier, safer, shinier place. Del Spooner is a detective with a largely irrational grudge against robots, called to the apparent suicide of a pioneering roboticist at leading producer U.S. Robotics. Assisted by cold and clinical robopsychologist Susan Calvin, played by Bridget Moynahan, Spooner embarks on an unrelenting investigation in search of the truth. Though some references are made to the nature of self, don't expect any great revelations, nor indeed allow your attention to be swayed from the effects-driven action that makes this film so entertaining.
Based on the character created by esteemed Conan author Robert E Howard, Soloman Kane is an enjoyable adventure with aspirations beyond its budget. With a cast of familiar faces, if not big names, what this film lacks most is a good script. The plot is adequate, yet somewhat predictable, while the dialogue lacks inspiration. That said, the film does a good job of presenting a bleak picture of England in the Dark Ages and keeps things moving along nicely. Overall, it is quite entertaining, but largely forgettable.
Set in late 19th Century England, this remake of its 1941 predecessor makes a rather lacklustre addition to the genre. Plot, performances and special effects are adequate, but largely nothing special. I found Anthony Hopkins' performance to be particularly uninspired, though it may have just been a good portrayal of a cold and distant character. In any case, it didn't suit him. With a running time of 102 minutes, The Wolfman never really drags, but is decidedly average viewing fare. My favourite character in the film is the man servant Singh, a minor role wonderfully portrayed by Art Malik.
Nineteen years on from the original, Die Hard 4.0 (Live Free or Die Hard) retains much of the energy and excitement that has made the franchise so popular, pitting Detective John McClane against cyber-terrorist Thomas Gabriel and a host of gun-totting minions. Bruce Willis stars once again, suitably weathered, but as convincing as ever in the wisecracking, high-action role. Justin Long joins him as well meaning hacker Matthew Farrell, falling into McClane's custody after serving as an unwitting pawn in Gabriel's plans; to cripple America's infrastructure through a series of attacks on its transportation, communications, financial and utilities systems. Though no Hans Gruber, Timothy Olyphant's Gabriel is in turn suitably cold, arrogant, frustrated and fearful as he faces the relentless pursuit of the dogged detective. The movie makes the most of shiny new technology and has some great action scenes, though it does stretch the boundaries of belief at times. Of special note are the stunts performed by French daredevil Cyril Raffaelli who plays one of Gabriel’s scarier minions, Rand. All in all, Die Hard 4.0 definitely gets my vote as a totally enjoyable action movie.
Viggo Mortensen stars in this movie about a father and son, struggling to survive as they make their way across post-apocalyptic America, with regular flashbacks featuring Charlize Theron as the wife/mother of the pair. Though the acting was fine, I found little else to get excited about as I sat through this long, bleak tale in which not a great deal happens. The characters, though well portrayed, were woefully short of endearing qualities, to the point that I really didn't care if they survived or not. The story itself was incredibly uninspired, lacking in both creativity and originality, with a laughable ending to round off almost two hours that would have been better spent watching the shopping channel!
In a bleak picture of post-apocalyptic war torn America, Denzel Washington's lone wanderer treads a weary path through hostile lands, as one of the few old timers who remember the world as it was. This is a slow burner of a film, starting without introduction or explanation, but building nicely throughout and ending with a neat twist to an otherwise straightforward tale. Denzel puts on a characteristically solid performance, while his primary antagonist is played with style by the marvellous Gary Oldman, who leads a strong supporting cast. Visuals are good and anyone that's played Bethesda Softwork's award-winning Fallout 3 will immediately feel familiar with the ravaged landscape and novel use of prewar remnants. The Book of Eli will not be to everyone's taste, but it's a well made atmospheric movie.
In the near future, human society has outlived humanity. Vampires have supplanted the populace and the few remaining humans are hunted down and farmed for their blood; an increasingly rare commodity. As vampires begin to starve, their minds fail and they resort to feeding on themselves, turning them into dangerous abominations. Blood is therefore big business and with vampire civilisation in the balance, an artificial substitute has become a crucial necessity.
This is the setting for the movie Daybreakers, starring Ethan Hawke, Sam Neill and Willem Dafoe. Though the film does a good job of introducing vampire society and the adaptions it has made to avoid the sun, it fails to fully deliver on some nice ideas. For the most part, it is presented in a thoughtful manner, but the use of gore is comically excessive in places, to the detriment of an otherwise serious atmosphere. In all, Daybreakers was reasonable entertainment, but there are far better vampire stories and dystopian tales out there.
Forget Aliens vs Predator, next Christmas I want to see a shipload of extraterrestrial hunters drop down John McClane's chimney! Both Predator films fit pretty well with the Die Hard theme, they just don't have Bruce Willis. It would be total nonsense, but I'd pay good money just to hear a Predator mimicking Bruce's famous line; Yippie-ki-yay, mother...
On Wednesday night I saw Guy Ritchie's take on Sherlock Holmes, starring Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law. Both actors performed well, as did a good supporting cast, with Mark Strong as the villainous Lord Blackwood. Though quite a long film, I found it enjoyable throughout, with a good mix of action, humour and intrigue. Production values were high and I loved the look of old London town. I'd certainly recommend it to anyone wanting a bit of mindless entertainment.
The past year has not been one of cinema's best, but it has still produced a few prize gems. My favourites of the year, in chronological order, were The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Star Trek and District 9; three very different films that each excelled in their own way.
Bringing another Games Workshop classic to the PC and console market, Cyanide Studio has faithfully captured the rules and flavour of the original fantasy football game, Blood Bowl! Currently with nine races to choose from, Blood Bowl allows you to play and develop a team in either classic turn-based mode or in real-time "Blitz" mode. Set in the Warhammer Fantasy world, teams can be formed from the likes of Dwarves, Elves, Goblins or even the rat-like Skaven. Matches can be played in various formats, versus the computer or online against other players, with full team and player development available.
As a long-time fan of the tabletop game, Blood Bowl certainly gets my vote, though I do have minor reservations. The computer AI could be better, as I've won every game I've played against it so far. Also, the rules allowing teams of varying development to play against each other do little to counter the disparity between novice and experienced teams. This is a problem with the rules, rather than this version of the game, but the online matchmaking service seemingly makes no effort to actually match suitable teams together.
In Lara Croft's latest outing, the fearless heroine's adventures place her on the trail of Mjollnir; the legendary hammer of the Norse god Thor. Though Underworld continues and concludes the story of Tomb Raider: Legend, it does so in quite a different style. Most evident is its lack of variety. Gone are the epic boss fights, the multitude of colourful locations and the extensive wardrobe, while many features are used so fleetingly that they needn't have bothered. However, this really only reduces Underworld's replay value, as the game remains entertaining and enjoyable throughout. This time around, Lara faces a selection of sprawling puzzles with a good level of complexity; challenging enough to be interesting, but not so difficult that they'll make your head hurt.
Though I'd certainly recommend getting Tomb Raider: Underworld if you can pick it up cheap, I have to say that it's not a very long game and given its lack of replay value, I don't think it's such a great buy at full price.
My limited budget doesn't allow me to buy many new PC games, but I recently picked up a couple of games at bargain basement prices and a third for free. The first of these was Dawn of War II, a wonderful real time strategy game set in the dark and distant future of Games Workshop's Warhammer 40,000. Breaking free from RTS traditions, Dawn of War II does away with resource gathering, base construction and mass troop management. Instead, it places you in command of a small band of hardened Space Marines from the Blood Ravens chapter. You begin play with a Force Commander and a three-man Tactical Squad, setting forth on a bloody campaign to liberate your chapter's home system from a host of alien invaders. As the story unfolds, you gain additional troops and the opportunity to improve them with new skills and equipment, allowing you to tailor your forces to match your play style or better meet the challenges set before you. As well as providing intense enjoyable gameplay, Dawn of War II tells its story at a good pace with fully voice-acted interaction between your squad leaders and numerous other protagonists, resulting in an engaging experience throughout.
As well as single-player mode, the campaign may be run by two players co-operatively. There are also multi-player options for additional battles, allowing players to command the forces of the mysterious Eldar, the barbaric Orks or the Tyranid swarm. This game definitely gets my vote and I look forward to getting the forthcoming expansion, as soon as it hits the bargain bin!