Extraordinary Measures Review: Kill Me Now

EXTRAORDINARY MEASURES (PG): On General Release From Friday 26th February 2010

I didn’t have high hopes when I walked into the screening for Brendan Fraser’s latest offering. It looked like one of those movies that once you’ve seen the trailer, you’ve seen pretty much the whole movie.

And I was right. It was was dull, manipulative and felt like your average FIVE weekend matinee or what the Americans call an ‘after-school special’.

John Crowley (Fraser) is a high earning businessman of some sort who has two children with Pompe disease – a rare genetic illness that gives them a lifespan of just nine years. But he resolves to raise enough money to support Pompe research done by crotchety old Dr. Stonehill (Harrison Ford). But can he do it before his children run out of time? Read More…

This Is It DVD Review: Is This It?

THIS IS IT (PG): Released on DVD & Blu-Ray Monday 22nd February

Although this definitely won’t be the best film available on home release this year (if it can even be described as a film that is) – it will almost certainly be one of the most popular.

Why? Because Michael Jackson has nearly as many fans around the world as Jesus Christ, another man who died well before his time.

For the thousands of his followers who would have been watching the great man return to the stage last summer, this behind-the-scenes documentary which maps out his preparations for the mammoth run of concerts is all they have left – but it is a nice parting gift.

This Is It provides an interesting window to the vast roadshow that was intended for them. Jackson is shown to be ever the perfectionist in his preparation and watching him move across a stage so fluidly makes his medical frailty all the more strange. Read More…

The Headless Woman Review: Not Much Up Top

THE HEADLESS WOMAN (12A): On Special Release Friday 19th February

“If you can overlook the fact that the movie makes no effort to make any sense, then it’s a great film”.

Well, sorry random internet reviewer, but I can’t. In fact, a film that makes sense is pretty much a prerequisite to whether I enjoy it or not. Unfortunately, for the purposes of this analysis, I had to endure the full 90 minutes of The Headless Woman. A generous title for a film not only headless but soulless and spineless to boot.

The story revolves around chief character Verónica’s meltdown after an elusively mentioned car accident. In the film’s opening shot, four boys with a dog cavort in a roadside canal along a nearly deserted rural highway as an approaching vehicle is heard. Read More…

The Last Station Review: All Aboard The Love Train

THE LAST STATION (15): On General Release Friday 19th February

Famed Russian writer Tolstoy and his wife Sofya were the Peter Andre and Jordan of their day.

Okay, so Tolstoy had the intellect to write War and Peace while Andre has peaked with Insania. And no Sofya wasn’t a fame-hungry bag of silicon but their relationship was under close scrutiny from the press and any fall-outs made headlines.

The Last Station chronicles their last row which centres around Tolstoy’s will. The philosopher (Christopher Plummer), pressured by his closest advisor Chertkov (Paul Giamatti), wants to give the copyright to his literary works to the Russian people meaning Sofya (Helen Mirren) won’t get a penny. Read More…

Crazy Heart Review: Songs Of Praise

CRAZY HEART (15): Released In London Friday 19th February. On General Release Friday 5th March

Stories about washed up, grizzled former heroes are a dime-a-dozen but the strength of Jeff Bridges’ performance in Crazy Heart makes a conventional story feel new again.

He plays Bad Blake, a once successful but now broken down country singer, succumbing to the ravages of time and alcohol dependency. After a successful career, he’s now reduced to playing tiny venues just to make a living (he’s first shown arriving at a bowling alley – surely a wry reference to Bridges’ seminal performance as The Dude in The Big Lebowski). Read More…

The Lovely Bones Review: Death Becomes Her

THE LOVELY BONES: On General Release across the UK from Friday 19th February 2010

There is something fascinating about death—the magic and dream of an afterlife.

Peter Jackson’s latest, The Lovely Bones, based on the 2002 novel of the same name by Alice Sebold, depicts an “in between” world amid heaven and earth, one in which we can escape. And isn’t that the beauty of movies?

Sebold’s story is centred on 14-year-old Susie Salmon. After being brutally killed by her neighbor—which is revealed to us from the start, Salmon finds herself “alive in her own perfect world,” watching her family grieve and her murderer escape. She must weigh her desire for vengeance against her family’s need to heal. Read More…

Food, Inc. Review: A Lot At Steak

FOOD, INC.: On General Release Friday 12th February

Most people aren’t overly concerned about what they eat. If it tastes good, they’ll eat it and give little thought to how that meal reached their plates.

Food Inc. is an expose of the business behind the food industry and explores where food comes from (at least in the American market) and what we’re not told about it’s manufacture.

If you’re an American, the next time you eat beef, it’s probably from a cow that spent most of its life standing ankle-deep in it’s own manure. It doesn’t matter if you’re in MacDonald’s or a posh steak house as most of the meat in America is produced by four major corporations. Read More…

Ponyo Review: There’s Something Fishy Going On Here

PONYO: On General Release Friday 12th February

Visionary director Hayao Miyazaki has given us such animated gems as Spirited Away (a film which continues to astonish even after repeated viewings), Princess Mononoke and Kiki’s Delivery Service.

Indeed his Studio Ghibli is the only studio in the world dedicated to producing hand-drawn animated features.

Miyazaki’s latest offering, Ponyo, is a triumph and proves that you don’t need fancy computer graphics when you have an all-conquering imagination. Read More…

Percy Jackson And The Lightning Thief Review: Still Holding Out For A Hero

PERCY JACKSON AND THE LIGHTNING THIEF: On General Release From 12th February 2010

It looks like Hollywood’s gone all historical on us in 2010.

Percy Jackson And The Lightning Thief seems set to be the warm-up for an epic season which includes Clash Of The Titans, Prince Of Persia and let’s not forget about Robin Hood.

Looks like the award for sexiest skirt-wearing actor could be a tough category this year.

But can Percy Jackson set the tone for the others? The answer is sort of. The main difference between Percy and it’s contenders is that it is set in the present US and the leads are all teenagers. Yeah, I know, it doesn’t sound like a winning formula but director Chris Columbus makes it work. Read More…

A Single Man: Beautifully Individual

A SINGLE MAN: On General Release Friday 12th February

Tom Ford will be more familiar to fashionistas than to film buffs as he’s the saviour of Gucci and a brand name in his own right.

With that in mind, you’d be forgiven for thinking that his debut film, A Single Man, would be a triumph of style over substance.

But while the movie is certainly polished to a high sheen, to say that it’s shallow would be to do an injustice to an achingly delicate, beautiful and intimate portrayal of a man’s grief. Read More…

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