6 Jan 2015

LOVEFILM: DECEMBER '14.

Having enjoyed Kelly's 'One Sentence Movie Reviews for some time now (see her latest selection here) Mr T and I decided to join in the fun and post our LoveFilm.Com reviews.

THE LEGO MOVIE. For the most part computer generated (there is live action later on) and yet for much of the time thanks to the choppy animation looking like its filmed in stop-motion. The Lego Movie started well with lots of in-jokes - be warned though blink and you risk missing them - but I quickly lost interest in what despite nods to everything from Star Wars to Harry Potter to Batman and The Matrix (in other words pretty much every geek's dream come true) was essentially an hour and a half or so long advertisement. TT

Yes, well I suppose it's ok. Bit of tongue in cheek stuff extracting the Michael from itself, the makers of Lego, have a bit of a anti-establishment, anti-conformity rant with a few jokes in between. NJT


tick symbol : 3d render illustration of a white 3d human holding a green tick symbolTHE CROODSThe Croods live in fear. Well in a cave actually, because their pre-historic existence is ruled by the fear of the new and different. Living ever with only what they know, never adventuring, never seeing the sun unless they are really hungry. Until their world is threatened, their cave destroyed and they have a new guide for their unwilling journey.  Good fun for a reflection on Plato's allegory of the cave and some lovely little touches in the characters. NJT

A fun, adventure filled, prehistoric family saga with a simple enough premise that held some surprisingly big themes. Beautiful animation and a great plot aside I loved that the characters weren't all Disney cute, that the females, ultimately saved by the menfolk, for the main were more than capable of taking care of themselves. TT

THE WOLVERINEI wonder how many more films can be got out of one character... Not that it's a bad movie. Drags in parts, but enough action to drag through the plot.  The Wolverine is slowly driving himself into madness, haunted by nightmares and the losses that are numerous for an immortal.  An old war acquaintance, dying, gets in touch to say goodbye and your man finds himself drawn into a power struggle in Japan. Corporations, Yakuza, and the old man's family doing its best to rip each other to bits...and for some strange reason the old self-healing gene seems not to be doing its thing. NJT

Not to be confused with Wolverine, the first in this spin-off franchise starring the X-Men favourite. Personally I thought this second outing (the sixth in the X-Men series) a far better film. Gratuitously violent? In places, arguably so. Highly implausible? Most definitely, but then isn't that part-and-parcel of the whole superhero thing? What really made this film for me were the scenes which saw the most muscle-bound, well coiffed ever Wolverine struggle with his immortality/mortality. TT

POMPEII. Hugely watchable. Undeniably cheesy. Camper than, well, Christmas. Laughable accents. I loved it. TT
tick symbol : A 3d people was holding a Wrong Symbol
Not quite as corny as Frankie Howard's version but almost. Highlight was Kiefer Sutherland's accent which was ... extraordinary. NJT  

tick symbol : A 3d people was holding a Wrong SymbolIDENTITY THIEF. Having picked some really bad films of late the best I can say about this is I didn't choose it. Not a fan of fat jokes, gratuitous violence or simulated sex scenes I found nothing whatsoever to like in what is essentially a mean-spirited story. TT


Casual, harmless bash at comedy trailing one man's attempt to catch up with the woman who has stolen his credit card details etc...  Bit of slapstick, an edge of double entendre, some naughty words and not a lot else really. Not sure why Mellisa McCarthy is cropping up in films, she doesn't seem capable of much beyond the character type impressed by her stand up. NJT

MALEFICENTBeautifully set, should win awards for art direction, costumes and screenplay. The story of Maleficent personified in Angelina Jolie, delightfully sad and wilful whilst learning the lessons of regret and the doom her own behaviour sets in train. A tad slow in parts, some elaborations to please the  creative passions of the animators I'm sure, still all's well that ends well, it is Disney after all. NJT

An imaginative re-imagining of a fairy tale classic told from a different point of view. Part kiddie flick, part comedy, dark and gritty but also poignant. TT

BORROWED TIMEA snapshot of UK urban life as experienced by young people evinced as Greek tragedy. Sad kids, seeking meaning in the sad fantasy of their gangsta-rapper imaginations or X-box illusions and being utterly crap at reality in the mean-time. The lonely old man, Philip provides a dose of thinking for one of them to save his skin from the bullying harpies.  Some very funny moments but essentially a tragic vision of youth. Phil Davies is delightfully off the wall and foil for the pathetic Kevin played by Theo Barklem-Briggs. NJT

Though not without its humourus moments, far from being a comedy per se, I thought this a Greek Tragedy come Morality Tale. A bitter sweet tale about self discovery and unlikely friendships wonderfully acted by mostly little known/unknown actors. An Independent British film its a shame this didn't make it to the big screen. TT


12 comments:

Kelly said...

I'm glad to see you've joined in with more movie reviews - it's fun hearing what y'all think.

Pompeii is our only movie in common this time and I agree that, despite its cheesiness, it's an enjoyable film. (Of course I'm always sucked in by that time period.)

The Croods is one for which I loved the previews. I think I'm going to have to request it go in our queue at Netflix now.

Sherry Ellis said...

My son and I saw the Lego movie. He thought it was great. I tolerated it. But it took forever to get the "awesome" song out of my head!

Shooting Stars Mag said...

how fun - thanks for sharing! I haven't seen most of these. I did enjoy The Lego Movie, but it's definitely not for everyone.

Literary Feline said...

I enjoyed reading your reviews. :-) The only one I've seen is Malificent--and I really enjoyed it.

Yvonne @ Fiction Books Reviews said...

Hi Tracy,

As Mr G has a firm hold of the TV remote, we generally end up by watching many of the re-runs of action films, we have seen time and time again.

We did spend Christmas day with my brother and SIL and after visiting our dad, who was in hospital, were rather bamboozled into watching 'Frozen', to bring my youngest niece closer to mind (she is working for a year in the UK pavilion in EPCOT at Disneyworld Orlando).

We watched 'Taken' with Liam Neeson for the umpteenth time, but it actually is a great film, although apparently we now have to get hold of 'Taken 2' in a hurry, as 'Taken 3' comes out this week.

I see that the 'LEGO' movie was the top film of 2014, here in the UK -

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-30694365

Oh! and whilst I read that article, we did also get very much coerced by a NIL into watching 'The Wolf Of Wall Street', which was also one of the top grossing films.... The less said about that experience, the better though!!! LOL

I hope that the Christmas / New Year period was good for you and I wish both of you a Very Happy 2015.

Yvonne.

Melliane said...

Nice! I'm sure I have seen some and other not but I'll have to look at the name in French to be sure.

Barbara said...

Hi Tracy, my 21-year-old grandson laughed all the way through the Lego movie, I slept a little, did my emails and couldn’t wait for it to be over! Love Pompeii but can’t comment on the others because I haven’t seen them. Happy New Year, Barbara x

Brian Joseph said...

Great reviews Tracy. I once called myself a movie buff but sadly a busy life has kept me from much of what is new. I have not seen any of these but I want to see several.


I had not heard of Borrowed Time. i like studies of characters and of society so it sounds good to me.

Melissa (Books and Things) said...

I keep wondering why I haven't seen Wolverine yet. I love his character and don't care if it is great or just not up to snuff. Still one of my fave x-men. :D

I want to see The Lego Movie just for the puns anyway. LOL

Suko said...

I enjoyed these mini reviews by you and Mr. T., though I have not seen any of these films!

Stephanie@Fairday's Blog said...

So fun to read these reviews! I love the two points of view too. I haven't seen any of these. I think I will be skipping the Lego movie for sure. Maleficent does sound like a movie I will enjoy because I do like fairy tales and good retellings. :)

Thanks for sharing!

Karen said...

I liked The Lego Movie and I loved The Croods - that was so cute but mostly fell under the radar with audiences.

Also Liked Maleficent - didn't like either Wolverine movie unfortunately.

If you get a chance to see it - Big Hero 6 was really good.

Karen @ For What It's Worth