Sherlock Holmes (2009)

This was my Christmas right here. I was counting down the days until Sherlock Holmes made its way to screens.

Such a fascinating character is Sherlock Holmes that he's a man who has graced the pages of books and screens for years.  Over said years the character has been tweaked and changed ever so slightly, so it was nice to see this latest adaption by Director Guy Ritchie has more loyalty to the original source material.

Sherlock Holmes is a awful man. Brilliant but awful. He gets himself into fist fights and takes drugs and has no tact or manners. Even Dr. Watson, his partner in crime, doesn't even understand why he likes him. A best friend of mine is a Sherlock Holmes Fan Girl and after our viewing of the film, I was pleased to hear her say "It was actually Sherlock Holmes all the way through". None of this poncey Holmes wearing a funny hat.

We meet Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.) as he and his assistant Dr. Watson (Jude Law) are concluding a final case before Watson moves on to a life with his fiancée Mary (Kelly Reilly), much to Sherlock Holmes annoyance. Mr Holmes and Watson bicker like an old married couple and how I adored it all. Their final case capturing a murderous Lord Blackwood (Mark Strong) goes awry and all hell breaks loose. Then enters Irene Adler (Rachel McAdams), Holmes' ultimate adversary and one weakness. It's a battle of wits and brawn as Holmes races to save London from a terrible fate. Oh so much fun!

Director Guy Ritchie  has created a picture with drama, humour, and grit all in his usual flair. Creating user friendly ways to let even the most humble viewer enter the mind and world of Holmes. Robert Downey Jr. has once again come up trumps (as if I expected anything less. Have I mentioned the man is a god?) playing his role with intelligence and ease.

There will most certainly be another viewing (or two or three) on the big screen for me, so expect more on Sherlock Holmes in the very near future.

Side Note: Someone remind me that I hate Hoyts Cinema's. They are overpriced and not worth my time. Oh and to the girl who sat in front of me texting on her mobile phone the entire time: Why did you even bother going to the movies? Stay at home next time.

Fanboys (2008)

Guess what I got for Christmas!

Now I've mentioned I'm a bit of a Fan Girl, so you could say I was rather excited to see Fanboys in my stocking on Christmas morning. A ready made cult classic to say the least. An awesome comedy reminiscent of some 80's classics to say the most.

It's an epic tale and homage to all things Star Wars. A group of friends travel across America to the Skywalker Ranch to steal an advance copy of Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace (1999). How can this not be fun?

With Star Wars and many other geeky references a plenty, this film sets my little fan girl heart fluttering.

Each cast member brings their own humour to the film and it's hard to pick my favourite. If forced to pick, Kristen Bell's character Zoe is delectable. She has all the wit and sass you would expect and is the Princess Leia of the piece.  Now going with this flow, Sam Huntington's Eric is the Luke Skywalker, Chris Marquette's Linus the Obi-Wan, and Dan Fogler's Hutch although wishing he was Han Solo is actually more likely R2-D2 paired with Jay Baruchel's character Windows aka C-3PO.

I'm not sure how enjoyable this film would be if you haven't seen the Star Wars franchise, but.. wait.. what?? you haven't seen any of the Star Wars movies????????!?!?!??!?!? Oh that's so sad, and I pity you.

*waves hand slowly in front of your face* This is not the movie you are looking for.

The Thirteenth Floor (1999)

So I've Christmas'd myself up. I've wrapped my presents, and watched my Christmas movie, but it's still early.

After reading this blog, a friend has given me a movie to watch and write about. What better time than now?

Can I start off by saying how much I enjoyed this movie? I enjoyed this movie. Part of me though wishes I'd seen it when it was first released back in 1999 as apposed to seeing it for the first time today. I'll explain why.

The plot is wonderfully written, based on a book written back in the 60's. It stars one of my all time favourite character actors Vincent D'Onofrio (who is amazing as always), along with some other lesser known cast who do a great job. What I found a little disappointing was its predictability. I picked what was happening very earlier on in the piece and it continued to give you very obvious hints about the storyline. It leaves me wondering, was it really that predictable? Was it just that I've seen other movies and TV shows with like story line's now, and as a result I just wasn't lost in the mystery. If I'd first seen it back in 1999, would I have felt the same. I'm just not sure.

Ok, so obviously I'm withholding a lot of plot information here. I promise you it's for your own good. You should go in cold like I did. Here's a secret of mine. I don't really like movie reviews. I adore reading about a film when it's in the process of being made, I enjoy trailers, and I can happily read reviews post viewing, but never before! I think even the smallest of details can ruin a film and some how reviews often do that for me. Maybe it's because I see so many that I'm pretty good at guessing outcomes, and perhaps that's whats happened with Thirteenth Floor for me. I don't know. Either way, "mum's" the word on this one.

That aside, as I said earlier, I really enjoyed the ride this movie took me on, even if I knew the route. I highly recommend a viewing if you haven't already. Vincent D'Onofiro is a master and should be worshipped way more than he is, plus this movies got lazers in it! I love lazers.

Love Actually (2003)

It's Christmas time! Christmas Eve to be exact and it was time to get into the spirit of things.

Much to my dismay I discovered I only own two movies set at Christmas time. One is Gremlins (1984) and the other is Love Actually. I went with the latter. The feeling I was going for was a warm and fuzzy one, and this film is the perfect supplier.

An all star cast takes you on a delightful romp around the land of love and all its various versions of. It's sickeningly lovely, funny, sad, cute, and ludicrous at different moments and I always enjoy them all. Especially the Collin Firth one. Love crosses language barriers with whimsical abandon. Sweet.

Anyway, enough of that. About Christmas, I'm rather excited. Can't wait to see what new films make their way under my Christmas Tree and of course I enjoy reveling in the traditions of the day. Good people, good food, and good times.

Merry Christmas!

True Romance (1993)

"You're so cool, you're so cool, you're so cool."

This is my husbands all time favourite movie and I'm sure its one of the many reasons I love him.

Here you've got Christian Slater's character Clarence Worley who loves movies, comic books and Elvis Presley. Oh you had me at hello. Then comes along Alabama (Patricia Arquette), an odd ball girl who is so open and honest, its very refreshing, and they are in loooooooove. Then you secretly put Val Kilmer in the background as Elvis and this film automatically jumps to the top of my all time favs. 

True Romance is proof that Quentin Tarantino is an amazing writer. Don't get me wrong, he's an wonderful Director too, but it's his writing that changes worlds. I adore films with a lot of dialog and and he's a fox for it. If you are unlucky enough to have not seen the film, it would be worth hunting down a copy for one scene alone. The moment between Christopher Walken (the man is a God) and Dennis Hopper  is for lack of a better word.. perfection. Oh and a little secret, the words "eggplant" and "cantaloupe" were ad-libbed. 

True Romance all though not directed by Tarantino is most defiantly one of his movies. Full of everything you want and expect to see. My personal favourite trait about Quentin Tarantino is that he's a Fan Boy, and me being a Fan Girl I can really appreciate it. There are so many pop culture references (in particular film references!) in the film, my head almost exploded.

I can talk about True Romance for hours, but its hard to write down. My thoughts move so fast I end up stuttering and stammering "oh and the bit when they.. and what about the thing.. and that guy.. and Brad Pitt with that.." You get the idea. So I'll just finish off by saying, everyone should have a little refresher course in love and True Romance is a great place to start.

Iron Man (2008)

Back to our regular scheduled viewing. Oh Iron Man, I adore thee.

In 2008 when this film made it to the big screen, my mates will remember my one track mind for this movie. It was the year of Iron Man vs. Batman as The Dark Knight (2008) was released as well. Forget Team Edward and Team Jacob this was Team Stark or Team Wayne. Blogs and Web Comics were a twitter with comparisons and spoofs, which made for much hilarity. I was most certainly on Tony Stark's team.

Now all you Batman fans, don't go crazy. I loved The Dark Knight too but Iron Man had a few things going for it that specifically catered to me personally. For starters, Robert Downey Jr. is my faaaaavorite actor (I'm counting the days until Sherlock Holmes (2009)). He is a god of his craft and it was so great to see him come back from his pit of drug induced despair and make good again.

Secondly, I have a thing for the intelligent. I even married a smart guy. Tony Stark aka Iron Man is hyper intelligent and like Bruce Wayne, he hasn't fallen into some Toxic Waste and come out with Super Powers. Stark's just an extremely smart guy who can get stuff done. I know Bruce Wayne is super smart too, but frankly he just never gave off that geeky vibe. It always seemed more like his money talking than his brains. Please don't lynch me, its just my opinion.

Then there is the relationship between Tony Stark and his personal assistant Pepper Potts (Gywenth Paltrow). Oh the banter and the love tension. I'm a sucker for it.

Anyway, back to the film itself. Its the story of how Iron Man came into being, and for once that's not explained in a ten minute montage in the beginning of the film. A few movie goers found this disappointing. It meant less battles and more story, and I for one was thankful for it. I love explosions as much as the next person, and I'm sure Iron Man 2 (2010) will be full of them, but I think in this generation of movie franchises, we can afford to take some time and tell the story of how our friendly super hero came to life. They usually suffer through something quite horrific to get to the super point, lets give the story the justice it deserves.

Director Jon Favreau along with Marvel Comics steered this picture to success. Its a visually pleasing and fun adventure ride for everyone. I can't wait for the sequel. I'll be the super fan walking into the cinema with my Iron Man Plushie Doll.

Zombieland (2009)

So my Iron Man (2008) post will have to wait as I had to interrupt my viewing to run off to my most favourite of places, the cinema.

Zombie movies are wonderful. I adore them. You already know my feelings on disaster movies, well multiply that by about ten, and you have my admiration for the zombie genre.

The worlds gone to hell, and that leaves humans a minority, and whats there to do but fight back or be eaten. The mighty battle against the odds, the fight for survival. Zombie movies explore human nature in its rarest form, and I'm not talking about the zombies. I'm talking about how mans true nature comes out in life and death situations, and the most awesome of those situations is the Zombie Apocalypse. Zombie films create wonderful discussions amongst friends as to what one would do if a zombie outbreak really did occur. Would you survive? What would be your survival plan? What items do you have in your house that you could use to bash a zombies head in?

I imagine this could very well be how Zombieland came into the world. A bunch of mates sitting around debating what they would do if an outbreak happened right now. I could explain the plot of this movie, but its really not important. You know when you watch a film and it starts off with all the fun and whimsical moments, but then gets serious and dramatic. Well, Zombieland is pretty much only the fun and whimsical moments and as a result it is.. wait for it.. awesome.

I walked out of the cinema and immediately wanted to just walk right back in and see it again.

Every character in this film is likable. I have to give massive props to Woody Harrelson. After his cameo in 2012 (2009) and now this, well, he is the Top of my Pops at the moment. Jesse Eisenburg (aka The Other Michael Cera) is just delightful as well.

I had the best time watching this movie. Its just enjoyable the whole way through. Is it deep? No. Is it light on plot? Yes. Do I care? No. Do you just want to have a kick ass time? Yes? Then go see Zombieland as soon as humanly possible. You'll have some laughs and watch some zombies get their heads bashed in. What more could a gal ask for.

Iron Man 2 Trailer

OMG!!! *jumps up and down with great joy and excitement*

I just watched the Iron Man 2 trailer. It is beyond awesome, and as you can see I am quite excited. I was obsessed with the first movie and can't wait for this one in 2010.

Was great to see the Tony and Pepper relationship still seems to have its flair ("You complete me!"), and all the new cast members make wonderful appearance, minus Sam Rockwell's character who really only gets a very brief spot in the beginning. Oh and its wonderful to hear Australian rock band AC/DC is included in the soundtrack yet again.

In celebration of the trailer release I will be watching Iron Man (2008) (for about the billionth time) tomorrow, so expect a new post then. Now go watch the trailer! Do it!

Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005)

I feel bad for her, but sorry Jennifer Aniston you never had a chance. The chemistry between Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie in this film is electrifying. They are a power couple that was just meant to be.

Mr. & Mrs. Smith is a guilty pleasure. I watch this a lot. The whole premise of a husband and wife finding out that they are both secretly assassins working for separate agencies and have been hired to put a hit out on each other. Well, funny stuff, but its the banter between the two as the truth unfolds that is golden.

A highlight for me, without giving too much away for those who are yet to see it. The high speed escape on the freeway in their neighbours mini-van. Its a scene of genius. The script is at its peak of humour, and the mastery of combining the lives of two hired killers and the life of marriage in this moment is inspired.

Unfortunately I feel the film peters out at the end. So many wonderful moments through out, but the finale just doesn't hit home. I tell you what I want to see. A montage of life after, Mr. & Mrs. Smith happily or not so happily ever after.

Oh and with the kind of TV shows networks are pumping out these days, this should totally be a new series. I would most certainly watch it. Well depending on who they cast as the replacements for Pitt and Jolie, because lets me honest here.. How would you ever find a couple with that kind of on screen chemistry ever again?

Gossip Girl (2007)

So here it is. This is the problem. Gossip Girl is so smeggin' addictive. No movies for this little buff.

The scandalous lives of New York's young and elite have swept me up in a frenzy, and I can't stop until I run out of episodes. I'm currently half way through Season 2, and its all "OMG" and "I can't believe she slept with him!" and "How could she do that?!? They are best friends!".  I just can't help myself.

Don't scoff! I know its not a deep and intellectual series, but I say its one of the oldest forms of TV entertainment. Its the world of daytime drama and soap, its the ultimate in escapism. What better way to loose yourself from reality than to watch rich and beautiful (and might I add extremely fashionable. Blake Lively is my new Fashion Guru.) people crash and burn. I mean these people have series problems.

Plus, its the perfect show for chatting about around the water cooler. I love saying sentences like "I know, and he doesn't know that his best friend is falling for his ex-girlfriends ex-boyfriend, but even worse the ex-girlfriends ex-boyfriend is really in love with his sister!" Crazy.

On a side note: I am planning on taking a break, and watching a movie today. It's a cleaning day, and I can't only half watch this show. So it's back to my true love.. movies.  xoxo

P.S. I Love You (2007)

So I just deleted everything I wrote about P.S. I Love You. It was all stuff about my not so secret love of Chick Flicks and how its a moral imperative for all females to see it. How you will ball your eyes out and should watch it with a tub of ice cream. How when I watch it, it makes me think happy sappy thoughts about my new husband, but as you can see, I can sum all that up in one paragraph.

I wanted to give this movie a bit more credit. Its a beautiful and bittersweet film about a woman coping with the death of her husband. Its a story that manages to by pass the cliche chick flick scenarios and yet pay homage to the genre at the same time. Then it stays with you. It leaves you touched.

Up! (2009) is actually similarly touching. If you've seen both, its easy to make comparisons. Up! is just put into a more universal format, where as P.S. I Love You is squashed into the romantic genre.

Hilary Swank plays her role as the mourning widow with such conviction. I can understand why she gets nominated for so many awards. Then there is Gerard Butler, Harry Connick Jr., Jeffery Dean Morgan, and James Masters. Nom nom nom. Oh and I have to say, it was wonderful to see Kathy Bates. I haven't seen her in while, and she was refreshing in her role as Hilary Swank's  mother.

Now remember what I said about the ice cream. Apologies, but I have to go hug my husband.

The Terminal (2004)

Heart-warming. That's what you get when you combine Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg. That's just how the formula works.

I'm a long time Spielberg fan. He was my first favourite Director. I'm sure it started with E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial (1982) and grew from there. For a while I lost a little of my love after he went off on different tangents like Minority Report (2002), but its the wonderful touching (I guess you could say, family) movies that I really love  Spielberg for. The Terminal is certainly one of those.

Tom Hank's character Viktor is of course what holds this movie together, the secondary character is the Airport Terminal. Its just a wonderful amazing set, and I love watching the DVD Special Feature on how its built almost as much as I like watching the movie.

Apologies, I don't feel very inspired today. All I can think is just how nice this movie is. Its just nice. I don't think that's a bad thing at all.

Oh I can't finish without mentioning Stanley Tucci. He hits it out of the park in his role as the Director of Customs and Border Protection. He's always amazing in every movie he's in and doesn't get nearly enough credit for it.

So I'll dedicate this viewing to Stanley Tucci. I raise my glass to you Sir.

High Fidelity (2000)

Movies are like music for me. I'll pop in a DVD while I'm surfing the net, or doing the ironing (this is an strange example, as I never iron, but you get the idea). Hence why I watch so many movies, often in one day. So today, I had to clean the apartment and I thought to myself "What will be a perfect movie to put on while pottering about the house?" So appropriately it turned out to be High Fidelity.

Its been a bit of a John Cusack week, but this is certainly a leap from 2012. There's something strange about loving his character Rob Gordon in High Fidelity. He's a self confessed bastard who wallows in his own self pity and self analysis. It not unlike being in love with Bernard Black from the British Series Black Books. There's something about self loathing men than makes us women fall head over heals.

This used to be my wallowing movie too. When I was single and feeling miserable on it would go. I'd listen to Rob like a prophet passing on his wisdom. It was up there with watching a chick flick when you need a good cry.

I watch it now days from a different perspective. I can sit back and enjoy the humour,  the passion, and the great music that streams from this film in abundance. I just sit with this film and its characters like I'm hanging out with friends and have a great time.

Desperately Seeking Susan (1985)

I've been trying to remember when I first saw this movie. It must have been back in the early 90's. I remember having this obsession with Madonna and constantly wandering off to the Video Store to rent this and Who's That Girl (1987). This one stuck. I'm sure its a combination of the Madonna style, Rosanna Arquette's  average-girl-to-hero story, and Aidan Quinn's amazing blue eyes. Plus I was a young girl on the verge of Teendom. Desperately Seeking Susan with its two strong female leads was just asking for my obsession.

I watch this movie so often thats its hard to describe how it makes me feel now days. I don't flash back to my teen years as I watch it. I just feel like me. Maybe that's it. This movie is just a part of my psyche and its here to stay. Plus, I'd kill for Madonna's bedazzle heeled boots and pyramid jacket today. The fashion has all come round again!

Its a simple tale really. Average house wife dreams of better life, accidentally gets a bump on the head and gets amnesia. Then is mistaken for trouble making free-spirited New Yorker named Susan. Meanwhile a really bad dude is after some priceless Egyptian earrings which it just so happens each of the girls have one of. Do you follow? Anyway, what could go wrong?

Fantastic to say the least, and all set on the wonderful stage that is New York City in 1985. Oh how I dreamed of New York City. I finally took a pilgrimage there in 2007 and thought of Desperately Seeking Susan the whole time.

The First Catch Up

Ok, so I decided to back date my start to December 1st, 2009. So I can have a bit of a practice and whip out a few movies straight away. December 1st sounded like a nice round starting date. Ironically I didn't watch a movie that day as I had to work all day, so I have to start with a movie I watched on December 2nd. So here we go.

Side Note: The hardest part of this blog is going to be not giving away spoilers, which is why I'm not sure "Movie Critic" will ever be a future job description for me. I will promise to do my very best, especially as its a pet peeve of mine.

2012 (2009) - Seen Wednesday, 2nd December, 2009.

There is just something about the world as we know it coming to an end that makes me smile. Disaster movies are wonderful things. They take you on a roller coaster of ups and downs and the most ultimate of these is the "World Ending" story.

Oh I had such a ball seeing this movie. This screening was actually my second go on this particular ride. I had to come back for a another big screen viewing. 

Usually Bruce Willis is near by, but in the case of 2012, it was good ol' John Cusack. A man who never seems to age, and ultimately ends up soaking wet at some point in nearly every one of his movies.

Look it doesn't really matter what this movie is about, its a disaster movie. We have heart felt characters that you love and characters who you know will end up crushed, or drowned, or whatever as the world collapses around them.

What matters is that I was on the edge of my seat with excitement as I watched the likes of John Cusack and company battle their surroundings in a live or die scenario. I'm that annoying person that claps and cheers in the cinema (and at home) and well I did a lot of it in this movie. I was punching the air with joy as the cliche hero lines were said as the music swelled and women and children cried.

A must see on the big screen, look out Bruce Willis.. John Cusack is coming to save the world.

Star Trek (2009) - Seen Thursday, 3rd December, 2009.

I surprised even myself that it took this long for me to see the latest Star Trek movie. I'm by no means a Trekkie, but I do love all things geeky and this was on my must see list. Especially when it seemed to entail some sort of origins story. I was excited to just step into this movie with somewhat basic knowledge of the Star Trek Saga and still be able to enjoy it.

My hopes were fulfilled as Star Trek was a joy to watch. The ensemble cast blended together seamlessly and still managed to hold there own. To sum up. They are full of awesome (it's a technical phrase). I'm now going to go off on a tangent about how sexy they all are now, specifically Kirk. Can I just say yum, with a double dose of Yowzer! Ok, there endth the tangent.

I'm a big fan of the TV show The Big Bang Theory too, which added a whole level of amusement. Geeky quotes about wanting to see Spock's conception going through my head.

Then there was the the explosions, and fighting, and battles and well all of this happens on the most part in SPACE! So yeah, more cheers and punching the air.

From my very little knowledge of the Star Trek story, I felt it was an excellent reworking of the series, that should bring forth a whole new birth of Trekkies (birth of Trekkies? does that phrase work?). I'm even tempted to be one of them.

Live long and prosper. Peace out.

X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) - Seen today!

Let me start by saying that if I had to put all the X-Men movies in order from best to worst (including the Wolverine movie), this would be at the bottom. I saw it when it was first released in 2006, and I don't think I'd seen it since. Until now.

Honestly, the second viewing has helped it grow on me a little. I remember being so put off  balance on my first viewing because they basically shoved Rogue (my favourite) in a corner for the whole movie. I was terribly disappointed and probably refused to like it on principle.

I like to think I've grown since then. Yes the Rogue storyline still bugged me a little, but I now understand the important role it played. I sat back and looked at the movie as a whole this time. It's over all message, rather than it's individual components that my have frustrated me the first time round.

Is it still my least favourite of the X-Men Bunch? Yes it is. Do I better understand it's place within the series? Yes I do.

But its ultimate downfall was its flashy bells and whistles and its was cursed with being the third sequel. As most people know, the original is always the best, and those that follow usually pale in comparison.


American Beauty (1999) - Seen Today!

I'd forgotten how obsessed with this movie I once was. This is a life changing movie. I instantly wanted to get up and go do some push-ups or go for a jog. I think this movie might have even been responsible for me quitting a career in Information Technology and finding a career in something I loved (which I have found. Yay!).

American Beauty is an American Beauty. Alan Ball wrote a thought-provoking, touching, and well, just beautiful story. This was his debut as it were. You might now know him as the creator of other such wonders as TV shows Six Feet Under and True Blood. Alan Ball has such a talent for finding wonder in what are usually considered wonder less places.

I dream of writing something as amazing as this film. Taking what seems to be "normal people", reaching into them and finding that inner beauty. Telling the individuals story and at the same time blending it all together into a narrative that captures you as an audience member. Making it seem like it could be you, your feelings and emotions, right there on the screen.

Blows me away every time.

The Challenge.

Could I possibly ever become a writer? A Writer. Me, with my terrible spelling and grammar, but with an ever constant urge to create.. something. Anything.

"They" say, in order to be truly good at something, one must be full of passion. Find something you love and throw yourself into it with reckless abandon. Well, the one and only consistent thing I've ever had a passion for is the wonderful world of cinema.

So the here we are.

The Challenge: To write about every movie I see for one year.

I'm not going to put limits on what I have to write. I may write a sentence, I may write a novel. The idea is just to write.. anything.

The only rule is it must be every movie. Not just movies I watch at the cinema. Even movies I watch more than once.

One Year of Movies. Quiet on set.. and were rolling.