Bad Movie Of the Week - Batman & Robin (1997)

Young people who have grown up with Batman Begins and Dark Knight are truly privileged, because the kids and adults that had to go through Batman & Robin when it was first released were seriously scarred. Batman (George Clooney) and Robin (Chris O'Donnell) must take on new villains Mr. Freeze (Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Poison Ivy (Uma Thurman). Freeze wants to freeze Gotham City and he teams up with Poison Ivy, so Batman and Robin must get past their differences in order to take down these evil villains.

This Batman film continues from the Val Kilmer Batman film, which was also flawed but overall a solid Batman flick that had a lot of good in it. I will admit straight off the bat, that I can find a lot of enjoyment watching Batman & Robin because of its campy awfulness. It seems to do everything in its arsenal to remove any dramatic or believable tension from the plot it has. We've all seen that Batman can be made into a realistic and oscar worthy masterpiece by Christopher Nolan, so looking back at this Joel Schumacher directed mess is just painful. The look of the film goes past any sort of comic book styling into some kind of disco themed nightmare. The acting is as hammed up and laughable, all to be blamed on its truly bonehead script. We have one scene where I kid you not, Clooney references a Bat credit card.

Clooney is a very good actor for sure, as seen in Michael Clayton and Up in the Air but here he looks bored and confused. Michael Keaton and Val Kilmer were given decent scripts and pulled of the dual role of Wayne/Batman nicely, but here you have to feel for Clooney being stuck with this turd of film. Schwarzenegger always has a charisma and an energy to every role he embodies but here he's painful to watch, which is a shame to say the least. The entire cast is buried under bad dialogue and over used CGI (impressive I'll admit). We have a plot that is C grade bond materia and seems like it was written in about 5 minutes. All this suggests that the people involved thought if they brought in a swarm of A list actors and slapped the Batman logo on the poster that the film would make itself. It appears that didn't quite go to plan.

It took eight years for another Batman film to be made after this one (Batman Begins, 2005) and im pretty sure it wasn't for a lack of ideas or interest, but mostly because people only thought of this film when you mentioned the dark knight's name. This was a misfire on every level and a film that is so bad and so poorly thought out that it's actually quite fun to watch.

Jackass 3D Movie Review (2010)

Reviewing a Jackass film is not an easy task because most of the negatives that people throw at it, are many of the reasons why others like it. But I'll confess from the get go, that I have been a fan of the series and the films since it debuted back in 2000. The third film is essentially the exact same film as the previous two film, with a mix of pranks, insane stunts and over the top big budget cinematic set pieces. The only real difference is that this Jackass film is in 3D.

The entire gang is back in this installment and they are all in good spirits if slightly aged since the last time we seen them. Jackass may not be the household name it once was but that didn't stop this from getting to the number one spot in the US. The best parts of this Jackass is the stunt type scenes or the consuming of some non consumable things. The material here is all quite familiar but at the same time, its really entertaining. The audience in my screening where laughing out loud and for good reason. The most disturbing of all the scenes is the sweat cocktail where Steve-O must drink a glass of sweat. That scene is horrible but somehow that's what we Jackass fans are seeking. These crazy stunts are on that fine line between completely stupid to strangely inventive.

The 3D here was to my surprise highly impresssive with a couple of insane parts where objects (I'll not spoil what exactly these objects are) fly out from the screen and they actually look like they're about to hit you. It's a sad day when Jackass's 3D is superior than countless other mega CGI films that promise so much. Jackass 3D is a fun and solid addition to the Jackass trilogy that ticks all the boxes that a Jackass film should tick.
RATING: 

Due Date Movie Review (2010)

I have always said that a film is perfectly fine having a slow start as long as it kicks into gear at some stage, but after seeing Due Date I've come to the conclusion that comedies need to start strong or they lose credibility very fast.

It's the story of Peter Highman (Robert Downey Jr.), an architect who's rushing home to see his wife before she gives birth. But when he's stopped from flying home because of a dispute caused by stranger Ethan, (Zach Galifianakis) he must drive back home. Peter is forced to catch a ride home with Ethan and anything that can go wrong does go wrong.

"Due Date" has two leads that I admire greatly, Downey a slick sarcastic mega star because of his recent work in the Iron Man films and Galifianakis an increasingly popular joke machine. But these two are stuck in quite an average movie, one that has sparks of real potential but unfortunately not enough. The first thirty minutes are messy and uneven. Theres very few laughs in these opening minutes and that drought of humour is damning to the film. Galifianakis works best when he's allowed to be that wierd and wacky nutter that we were introduced to in The Hangover. In Due Date Galifianakis has some truly great moments, like his nasty cup of coffee or his response to Downey's dad story.

Downey is as good as ever here, playing the usual cranky and impatient role. His repertoire with Galifianakis is priceless and as I said the film often gets the best from both of the two. But its lack of steady laughs that makes Due Date a little disappointing. The road trip format for the film works relatively well with some decent set pieces in the film's second half.

Due Date seems like it was made with a mixed goal. On one hand it wants to be different in its tone to Hangover but it also wants to capture some of what made Hangover a massive hit. Overall its left as being a decent but imperfect end product.

RATING:

Red Movie Review (2010)

There seems to be a trend lately of films with ensemble casts, full of ageing stars that want to kick ass. In the summer we got The Expendables and that was a lot of fun. Now comes along Red and it reminds us why all these older stars are just that, stars.

The film centres around ex CIA man Frank Moses (Bruce Willis), who begins a mission to find out why he and many of his close friends are being under attack. He meets some old friends who have supposedly put their espionage past behind them, but secretly long to get back in the game. Moses meets with paranoid crazy man Marvin Boggs (John Malkovich), old friend Joe Matheson (Morgan Freeman) and calm but deadly, Victoria (Helen Mirren).

Red is simply a lot of fun and it stems from a great cast and a winning sense of humour. Many action comedies that attempt slapstick, falter, because they don't commit to it. Red is sometimes over the top with its action but it has some genius laugh and some great performances. Red knows the sort of film it wants to be and that lends itself to make a damn good film. It blends the veteran cast with some very solid action sequences.

Bruce Willis plays a similar type role to his iconic John McClane role, but here he's a little less grumpy and more slick and cool. Morgan Freeman has a relatively small but welcomed role aswell, but its John Malcovich who steals the show as the crazy but loyal friend and ex spy who is constantly uncertain about his surroundings. The whole cast come together here brilliantly and they all seem to be having fun with the material.

Red is based on a comic book and that energetic vibe, is clear to be seen throughout the film with some outlandish action and special effects. Red is never a bore and it will no doubt please the older audience members and please the younger people who just want a fun action flick, that is done with style and originality.

RATING:

Unstoppable Movie Review (2010)

Vehicle based action movies can be hit or miss, because they usually have quite a contrived plot with some outlandish action, such as a film like Speed. But Speed was so much fun and so well made that it's become a classic action flick. Unstoppable is a more grounded and less flashy film, but there's much to enjoy with it. An unmanned and extremely fast train travels towards a city and its up to rail officials and rail workers to find a way to stop it. Frank (Denzel Washington) and Will (Chris Pine) are the train driver and coordinator who must stop the train before it kills civilians.

Unstoppable is from start to finish, a superbly filmed and acted action flick that maintains interest throughout. Unstoppable does however lack any unique direction and left me without any lasting impression. The attempts to stop the train are adequately constructed and believable but they lack tension and excitement. The best scene in the film is the scene where Pine and Washington attempt to pull the train in the opposite direction with their small train, to slow it down.

Washington is terrific as he usually is and although his role is somewhat limited because he mostly sitting in a train control room for the majority of the film, he still manges to make himself interesting and likeable, a testament to his charm and skill as an actor. Pine is also well casted even with his somewhat throwaway back story and he and Washington have a winning chemistry. Smaller roles go to Rosario Dawson, Kevin Dunn and T.J. Miller, all of which nicely add to the film. Kevin Dunn is an underrated character actor who has been in a multitude of different films. Dunn has a small but effective role here and his scene with Denzel Washington is funny and quite touching.

Unstoppable undoubtably has lots of things going right for it, such as the cast and the fast paced and towering camera work. But the film suffers mainly from a simplistic and largely unexciting finale. This criticism may be unfair as the film is based on a true story, but as a finale of a film on its own merits, it remains an unremarkable end to the film. Denzel and Pine are well casted as the two leads and their presence makes the film above average.

RATING:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBIGqGd3wLQ