WHAT: The Road
WHERE: Coventry Showcase
WHO: Me and Becky
WHEN: Tuesday 26/01/2010
After an attempt to see this film last Friday was aborted in favour of a drinking session, Me and Becky decided that we would go alone to see the film that was appealing to me from the current crop of films that are out there. The original plan was to get something to eat and then catch the film however this film was not being shown at my cinema of choice (Nuneaton Odeon) and was only being shown at 7:15 or 10pm in Coventry showcase, so as it was a school night we decided to forego the food and just catch the film at the earlier showing. I don’t know how many of you have been to Coventry Showcase but it is an experience. Not only is it more expensive than the Nuneaton Odeon but it is like stepping into a time warp. Although the seats are so old they are actually quite comfortable. Just a shame that the place is so expensive
So I can hear you all screaming what did you think of the film? Well I’m going to tell you.
If you are looking for a bleak depressing dark dismal film about a man and a child struggling to survive in a world that has been dead for longer than one of them as been alive then you should look no further than John Hillcoats “The Road” Written by the man who wrote one of the worst films I’ve ever seen and starring an actor who is in another one of the worst films I’ve ever seen (No country for old men and a history of violence respectively) This film should have been very far off my radar and it had no right to appeal to me as much as it did but I got drawn in by one of my favourite story angles. How do you survive after the world has ended? Never has a dead world been put onto screen as well as it is in this. The only thing living In this world are the weakened and gaunt humans that have somehow managed to survive a global catastrophe that is never explained and only implied by the sounds of loud explosions, fire and in various flashbacks screaming people heard in the distance. Every tree, bush, hedge, blade of grass that we see in this film is dead and the trees constantly giving up there grip in the dead earth and crashing to the floor is just one of the many perils that the unnamed man and boy face.
At its heart this film is a story of how far a parents love will go for a child and the scene of man teaching boy how to use a revolver to end his own life just in case the situation should ever arise is especially poignant. This is an acting master class provided by a man who I have never rated as an actor but in this Viggo Mortenson proves that he has got what it takes to play with the bog boys. The show here though is stolen by his 13 year old counterpart newcomer Kodi Smit-Mcphee who, whilst not only having one of the coolest names I have ever heard, is astonishing when you consider that this is his first major role of any kind. I defy even the manliest man to not choke back a tear at any point that Kodi demands it from you.
This film however is not perfect, far from it, It will be and has been criticised by a lot of people who don’t like it’s snail like pace and if you go in looking for a convoluted story with twists and turns you wont find it here. This film is literally just people trying there very best to survive in the most difficult of circumstances. There is no great adventure or big set pieces, it will not make you feel good, in fact it will do quite the opposite, it is not pretty and at times it is an incredibly difficult watch. I don’t want to say I enjoyed this film because that doesn’t feel right but the best bit of praise I can give it is to say that I will watch it again and I would even recommend it to certain people. But this is not for the casual film fan this film is for fans of quality acting and if you can honestly say that that is what you want from a film then this is for you.
6.5/10
Wednesday, 27 January 2010
Avatar
WHAT: Avatar
WHERE: Birmingham Imax
WHO: Me, Nick, Wayne, Becky, James and Alex
WHEN: Sunday 24/01/2010
My first cinema trip of 2010 was meant to mark the opening entry into this blog and so it had to start with something big and they don’t come much bigger than James Cameron’s runaway $280m hit Avatar.
The usual logistical hassles of getting my cinema going friends to all agree a date to get over to the Imax seemed insurmountable indeed this is only the second time in history a trip has been pulled off but after a late substitution was pulled off in record time the date was set and the convoy was on. Wayne driving with Nick and Becky and a sat-nav in one car and me driving Alex and James with a slightly less accurate sat-nav in the other, but apart from forgetting to check my petrol levels and having to fill up on the M6 the journey went without a hassle and we made it with about 90 minutes to spare. So after duelling hotdogs and copious amounts of pop corn were purchased we were in, the screens ridiculous size as always seems bigger every time you see one but you always know you’re in for a treat at an Imax show and boy were we not disappointed with this one. It always amazes me at an Imax that people who walk in with about 30 seconds before the show starts go all miserable when they can’t get the best seats in the house and end up at the very front. Two words spring to mind COME EARLIER.
So anyway the film. About a second after being instructed to don your oversized 3d glasses you are plunged instantly into a 3d universe that will have you gripped for the next 2 hours and 40 minutes. This was, believe it or not, my first ever experience with 3d in a proper full length feature. We’ve all seen the short films at Alton towers or Drayton manor but this really is nothing like that. The shear depth of the landscapes and the colours will blow your mind especially in the night scenes. Pandora by night is one of the most beautiful sights you will see in any film, Every plant and tree even the floor glows in amazing fluorescent blues pinks and greens, there was an audible gasp throughout the cinema the first time this was revealed to us as people realised that they were not just watching a film any more they were living this whole new world. About 2 hours in you do start to get used to the 3d universe but by that time you will have completely lost track of your own reality and be completely immersed in the experience. At one point somebody a few rows ahead of me stood up and it actually made me jump before I realised that there were other people in the room with me. As I’m sure any of the people I regularly go to the cinema with will attest too I am very fidgety and never stop changing my position to try and find some semblance of comfort in the seat but I honestly don’t think I moved until at least half way through this and Imax seats are notoriously uncomfortable.
So what about the story? I have not seen Avatar in 2d (and now don’t think I could) and I’m sure that the people who have only seen it in this medium don’t understand the hype surrounding the film that today became the highest grossing film of all time and that is because the actual story of the film itself is not groundbreaking and the acting at times is a bit shaky, however this in its most basic form is not a bad film in fact it is actually quite good. I enjoyed the story as it developed and the relationship that builds between Sam Worthingtons Avatar and the N’Avi people is actually very engaging. When the death and destruction eventually arrives you actually back the human race to lose and the final showdown is up there with the best battle scenes in recent memory.
But it is the overall experience that makes this film what it is and that is why this film is getting the rating that I have given it. It remains to be seen if this movie is the game changer that many including myself are predicting but one thing is for certain ‘We’re not in Kansas anymore’
9.5/10
WHERE: Birmingham Imax
WHO: Me, Nick, Wayne, Becky, James and Alex
WHEN: Sunday 24/01/2010
My first cinema trip of 2010 was meant to mark the opening entry into this blog and so it had to start with something big and they don’t come much bigger than James Cameron’s runaway $280m hit Avatar.
The usual logistical hassles of getting my cinema going friends to all agree a date to get over to the Imax seemed insurmountable indeed this is only the second time in history a trip has been pulled off but after a late substitution was pulled off in record time the date was set and the convoy was on. Wayne driving with Nick and Becky and a sat-nav in one car and me driving Alex and James with a slightly less accurate sat-nav in the other, but apart from forgetting to check my petrol levels and having to fill up on the M6 the journey went without a hassle and we made it with about 90 minutes to spare. So after duelling hotdogs and copious amounts of pop corn were purchased we were in, the screens ridiculous size as always seems bigger every time you see one but you always know you’re in for a treat at an Imax show and boy were we not disappointed with this one. It always amazes me at an Imax that people who walk in with about 30 seconds before the show starts go all miserable when they can’t get the best seats in the house and end up at the very front. Two words spring to mind COME EARLIER.
So anyway the film. About a second after being instructed to don your oversized 3d glasses you are plunged instantly into a 3d universe that will have you gripped for the next 2 hours and 40 minutes. This was, believe it or not, my first ever experience with 3d in a proper full length feature. We’ve all seen the short films at Alton towers or Drayton manor but this really is nothing like that. The shear depth of the landscapes and the colours will blow your mind especially in the night scenes. Pandora by night is one of the most beautiful sights you will see in any film, Every plant and tree even the floor glows in amazing fluorescent blues pinks and greens, there was an audible gasp throughout the cinema the first time this was revealed to us as people realised that they were not just watching a film any more they were living this whole new world. About 2 hours in you do start to get used to the 3d universe but by that time you will have completely lost track of your own reality and be completely immersed in the experience. At one point somebody a few rows ahead of me stood up and it actually made me jump before I realised that there were other people in the room with me. As I’m sure any of the people I regularly go to the cinema with will attest too I am very fidgety and never stop changing my position to try and find some semblance of comfort in the seat but I honestly don’t think I moved until at least half way through this and Imax seats are notoriously uncomfortable.
So what about the story? I have not seen Avatar in 2d (and now don’t think I could) and I’m sure that the people who have only seen it in this medium don’t understand the hype surrounding the film that today became the highest grossing film of all time and that is because the actual story of the film itself is not groundbreaking and the acting at times is a bit shaky, however this in its most basic form is not a bad film in fact it is actually quite good. I enjoyed the story as it developed and the relationship that builds between Sam Worthingtons Avatar and the N’Avi people is actually very engaging. When the death and destruction eventually arrives you actually back the human race to lose and the final showdown is up there with the best battle scenes in recent memory.
But it is the overall experience that makes this film what it is and that is why this film is getting the rating that I have given it. It remains to be seen if this movie is the game changer that many including myself are predicting but one thing is for certain ‘We’re not in Kansas anymore’
9.5/10
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