Aniviel2 Reviews

The Huntsman: Winter's War (2016)

Well, I enjoyed it.

[7/10 · 11 April 2016]

Some people really need to get over themselves, judging by some of the reviews for this film. It is a fantasy based on children's stories - what the hell were they expecting, Hamlet or Henry V?

It was a fun ride with plenty of action, plenty of humour, and a great cast - Chris Hemsworth brings his usual cheery action hero to the mix, Jessica Chastain was a good addition as The Huntsman's wife, and Emily Blunt played the fragile Ice Queen wonderfully well. The Dwarfs were comic relief as always, but it worked well with fewer of them and a couple of females in the mix.

The story wasn't overcomlicated but if I want that, I'll go watch Memento. Chill out a little, folks.

Skyfall (2012)

I was afraid...

[9/10 · 27 October 2012]

...very afraid that all the hype would be just that. From the opening scene in Turkey, to the wonderful theme song, sung and written by Adele, to the vulnerability of both Bond and M, (and the incredible acting by Daniel Craig and Judi Dench), to the many nods and references to past Bonds (which had me laughing aloud, or squealing like a giddy schoolgirl), to the deliciously creepy and insane villain played brilliantly by Xavier Bardem, this is probably going to end up being my favourite Bond film of all, and I have seen every one of them at least once.

If you want OTT gadgets, exotic locations, and a parody of a 007, then go stick on a DVD of Moore or Brosnan and leave the good stuff to us who love the gritty realism.

Oh, and I can't have been the only person of an age with Bond who was thinking exactly the same thing when he met Q - lol!

Due Date (2010)

Dear, oh dear, oh dear...

[1/10 · 26 November 2011]

This draws obvious comparisons to Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, and while I've never been a fan of Steve Martin, I find it extremely funny, largely because you care about the two lead characters. I love RDJ, and had high hopes for Due Date because he is in it, but... well, the draft script must have been a lot funnier than the finished product, as I barely raised a smile throughout. Here is a man desperate to get home to his wife about to give birth to his first child, and he punches an obnoxious kid in the stomach, spits at an injured dog, and is generally a b*stard throughout. I have never seen Zach Galifianakis in anything before, and on this offering, I will avoid all future films. Atrocious.

RED (2010)

Fun, fun, fun!

[7 October 2011]

I can't believe that there are people who actually take this film seriously - it's obvious from the off that it's a parody of all the action flicks ever made, and such tremendous fun it is to watch, too. I love it when you can see the actors actually having a hard time keeping a straight face - they obviously enjoyed filming it as much as the audience enjoyed watching it. My one complaint is that Morgan Freeman was woefully underused, but John Malkovich totally stole the show - he tends to play crazy characters anyway, but Marvin was marvellous! And it was great to see Ernest Borgnine in a role - it was like a who's who of the Hollywood bible! I recommend Red for anyone who is in the mood for a laugh, coupled with some great, OTT action sequences.

Toy Story 3 (2010)

Brilliant, just brilliant!

[10/10 · 15 January 2011]

I thought Toy Story couldn't be topped, then they made number two, which is on an equal par to the original. When I heard that after a few years, they were going to make a third film, I was worried that it would be disappointing and nowhere near as good as the other two. I couldn't have been more wrong. It is not on a par, it is better, to the point of being on a different level altogether. It is already in mine, and my 22 year old son's list of top five all time favourite films, after just one viewing. Even if your children have grown up (like mine), you will still love this film as much as you had when they were young.

Clash of the Titans (2010)

Not great but not THAT bad either

[6/10 · 26 April 2010]

I honestly do not know how people can compare this to the original 1981 film as if that were a classic - neither film is, and so the updated version should be taken for what it is: an enjoyable romp with monsters and mythical beings.

Sam Worthington I felt was miscast as Perseus, Ralph Fiennes was great as Hades, Liam Neeson surprisingly disappointed as Zeus - for me he lacked gravitas, and he is one of my favourite actors of all time. But the man I could not take my eyes off was Mads Mikkelsen as Draco, who stole every scene he was in. Gemma Arterton was also great as Io.

Some of the fight scenes were too quick and it was hard to follow the action at times, but all in all, if you want to leave your brain at the door and be entertained, this does a pretty good job of it.

Equilibrium (2002)

Much better than I expected

[7/10 · 4 October 2009]

I have wanted to see Equilibrium for some time now but have always been put off by so many negative comments. It arrived from my DVD rental site last week and so I finally got around to it, and was really rather surprised at how good it was. Yes, it isn't perfect, what film is, and yes it borrowed ideas from other sources, but name me one that hasn't? But I don't think it's the utter tripe some have been saying. There were great performances all around, but most especially from Christian Bale who totally convinces as an unfeeling, soulless assassin who works for a totalitarian government intent on suppressing peoples emotions in order to prevent another catastrophic war, who then at first accidentally does not take his emotion suppressing drug, then deliberately doesn't. Your eyes are riveted to him as it slowly dawns on him just what sort of world he is living in. The fight scenes are highly stylised, but unlike The Matrix, actually have a point and purpose to them, instead of just being for show; one grumble I do have is how the soldiers just seemed to line up to be shot – I wouldn't fancy them defending me, thanks! I hesitate to bring up The Matrix as I feel this film suffers unfairly in comparison; it would have done so much better if it had been released first, as, and I know I am likely to be shot down in flames for this, I prefer it to The Matrix, which I think is an overblown, self important, very good looking piece of tosh, which is so far up its own backside, it could play tonsil hockey with itself!

Ignore criticisms and view Equilibrium with an open mind.

Gone Baby Gone (2007)

Good, but...

[5/10 · 16 August 2009]

I had high expectations of this film, and while it was good in parts, it was a jumbled, contrived mess with dubious morals in others. For example the hero, Patrick (Casey Affleck) kills a man in cold blood but because the man in question is a known paedophile with a dead boy in his bathroom, he is not arrested or questioned, and his girlfriend even tells him she is proud of him. But the biggest problem for me was the ending. Not only are we expected to believe that it was a conspiracy involving high ranking police officers, we are expected to swallow that Patrick truly believes that the child would be better off with her natural mother, when she clearly would not be. It could have been very good; it wasn't.

Juno (2007)

Serious social statement?

[7/10 · 9 August 2009]

Reading through some of the reviews here, I wonder if we watched the same movie. Some of you seemed to think it was trying to convey a serious social statement on teenage pregnancy - it wasn't! It was a gentle comedy with some great performances from all the cast, in particular J K Simmons, Allison Janney, but especially Michael Cera as Bleek.

So Juno wasn't a typical teenager - what is a *typical* teenager? I was into 40's and 50's music when I was in my teens, so for a girl to be into the 70's scene and classic horror films is not so unusual.

If you're reading the reviews to this film before watching it, don't be put off by all the negativity here - take it for what it is, a gentle, heart-warming comedy with some great performances.

Inkheart (2008)

Could have been better

[6/10 · 3 June 2009]

I have read the books and it is not too bad an adaptation, except the film barely touches the second and third books.

I thought Brendan Fraser and Andy Serkis should have been the mainstay of the film, but were in fact the weaknesses. Fraser was flat and lifeless, and Serkis felt like a pantomime villain.

The star of the film for me was Paul Bettany as Dustfinger (incidentally, the book's best character, too); he was totally convincing and heartbreaking as the fire-dancer.

Jim Broadbent did well with Fenoglio, but only because he managed to annoy me as much as the character does in the book.

It would have been much, much better had Fraser injected a little more life into Mo, and Serkis convinced as an evil villain, but it was still watchable.

Star Trek (2009)

Fan-bloomin'-tastic!

[7/10 · 7 May 2009]

***There are SPOILERS in this review***

I have spent most of the afternoon trying to formulate a review that is a little calmer than how I felt when I left the cinema after seeing Star Trek... to say I left the theatre bouncing off the walls and with an inane grin should give you some clue as to how this film blew me away – it was FANTASTIC!

I am 44 years old and grew up with these characters from the age of about 5 or 6, and let me tell you, the casting was top notch! Zachary Quinto as Spock was brilliant, Chris Pine as Kirk was brilliant, although I felt his character was a little too arrogant to start with, but by the end of the film I saw that he had to be cocky in order for his character to grow into the role, and boy, did he ever?! Simon Pegg as Scotty was hilariously brilliant – what a way to enter a star ship! LOL! But the stand out for me was Karl Urban as Leonard McCoy. He had his dry, sometime pithy sarcastic humour down to a T, and I was not watching someone playing the younger version of Bones – I was watching Bones himself.

Another mention must go to Eric Bana who is fantastic and totally unrecognisable as the Romulan, Nero. Whatever you do, do not get into this film late, otherwise you will miss the awesome spectacle of his ship appearing on screen for the first time. It was also wonderful to see Leonard Nimoy as old Spock, and not just in a bit part, either. However, one thing that did bother me a little, I'm a child of the time/space continuum theory, and I didn't altogether agree with the two Spocks having a heart to heart, but that is a minor point.

The opening scenes had me welling up and thankful that I had gone to see it alone – how embarrassing, crying at a film within the first 5 minutes, and a Star Trek movie at that! *rolleyes*

The original series started in the 60's, and I loved how Earth, although is was in the future, was reminiscent of this era.

To summarise, if you can only afford to see one film this summer, make sure it's this one.

King Arthur (2004)

Dear, oh dear...

[4/10 · 1 February 2009]

I know that Hollywood has a skewed vision of Ancient/Medieval Britain, and that I should try and leave my brain at the door when watching films such as this, but... try as I might, I just can't! If the screenwriters are going for historical, then I wish at least they would attempt to get *some* facts straight, and not just add things (such as crossbows several centuries too early) because they think it looks good. And how in the world Keira Knightly didn't get hypothermia is anyones guess - people in that time wore several layers of animal skins. And since when did Scotland resemble Switzerland? I did eventually manage to enjoy the film, mostly thanks to the skills of the actors involved for making you care about their characters, but I still feel like lining the scriptwriters against a wall and aiming one of their imaginary crossbows at them.

Casanova (2005)

What a surprise!

[7/10 · 2 November 2008]

A friend lent me this film, and after a hard day, I decided to watch it, and boy, what a perfect antidote it was! It is a farce in the true British, and dare I say, Shakespearian, tradition, and contained great performances all around, especially from Heath Ledger, Oliver Platt, and Omid Djalili, but that is to take nothing away from the other actors, who all played their parts wonderfully well - I did not even mind Sienna Miller, so I must have enjoyed it! Okay, so it would never win awards, if you are looking for a light, easy going film, that does not tax the brain too much, then this could be the one for you! One thing I cannot understand, is the US rating for the film. It is in no way offensive, and I would not hesitate in letting a child of say 9 or 10 watch it.

Brokeback Mountain (2005)

Two days on...

[10/10 · 5 September 2008]

... and I still have tears in my eyes. It is quite simply the most stunningly emotional, raw love story I have ever seen in my life, and probably ever will. My initial thought was how incredible Heath Ledger was in his role (and he was, completely), but the more I have thought about the film, the more I have come to appreciate Jake Gyllenhaal's performance as well, they complimented each other so well, and have my total admiration for giving it their all.

Who would have thought that three little words, 'Jack, I swear...' could contain so much emotion, pain and despair, not just for Ennis, but for the viewer, too.

I want to watch it again, but I'm not sure I have the emotional strength to. Heart wrenching.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007)

Better - phew!

[8/10 · 5 June 2007]

I went to see this film with some trepidation as the second one disappointed hugely, and although it was a bit confusing in parts, it brought the franchise back on form with a bang! I loved how the various characters were fleshed out, and the continuing explanatory dialogue between Pintell and Rageti was very funny. I thought the scene between Elizabeth and her father incredibly touching, as was the final scene at the end of the credits.

*****SPOILER*****

It is also the best marriage ceremony I have seen in any film to date! :D