Tag Archives: Review

Gangster Squad (2013)

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Roze-Rating: 3.5 / 5

In this period gangster thriller we are sent back to 1949 post WW2. John O’Mara (Josh Brolin) returns from war and back to sunny Los Angeles where things have changed drastically. Mickey Cohen is a power hungry gangster who is willing to do anything in order to grow his empire. His ambitions to own the whole of the west coast drives him to countless murders in what he calls “progress”. Before it’s too late Cheif Bill Parker (Nick Holte) contacts O’Mara and urges him to get a team together later known as “The Gangster Squad”. They’re mission is to take down all of Mickey Cohen’s crime operations before they grow too big to take down.

I expected this film to be loaded with plot twists, character development and periodical references. I suppose I thought it would be challenging LA Confidential or any other good period gangster films. Instead it lacked in all those areas and wasn’t as serious as I thought it would be. This was a good and bad thing because it ticked all the boxes that I like in a fun cop film but with a cast that it boasted and the performances it had; the lack of substance was unsatisfying.The plot is simple which didn’t really leave much room for an explosive film, which was disappointing especially when you have such an intense character like Mickey Cohen as the villain. That being said once you realize what direction the film is going, then you can sit back and enjoy it. As soon as I heard the music during the opening scene with Josh Brolin, I could tell it was going to be more fun than dramatic.

There’s enough action to keep the average film viewer satisfied but on the second viewing you realize it’s not as thrilling as it could have been. The shootout’s are loud but there isn’t much to them making them seem generic. Maybe I’m being overly fussy but I felt there was a missed opportunity in that aspect of Gangster Squad. Nevertheless they were still fun to watch.

The cast is amazing, I mean two of my favourite actors on screen… banging… again. So it was always going to be hard to hate this film when Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone are acting together. Luckily they put in some pretty good performances. A lot of people didn’t really like Goslings high pitched, slightly odd accent and I think the director must have caught on to it because it gradually subsided as the film progressed. I didn’t mind it to be honest, it gave his character more of an identity. The rest of the cast were incredibly solid, it was the second time I’ve seen Josh Brolin play a lead role and he nailed it. Now I wish he was the new batman. Sean Penn as always is amazing as the power hungry Mickey Cohen, if there was more to the script, giving him more of a dynamic than just a short tempered gangster with a tolerance to killing then he would easily be one of the most menacing villains of 2013.

Gangster Squad really is style over substance. It’s glossy and pristine, despite it being shot in dark surroundings for most of it, you can catch the colours of neon signs and red lipstick very clearly. It’s definitely nice to look at, which is one of the main positives of this film, it captures that time period pretty well in a unique fashion.

Despite some disappointment over Gangster Squad, I actually quite enjoyed it. It seemed like the perfect film for me, I like gangsters, I like snappy one liners and I like shootouts. Was the film perfectly executed? No, but it’s fun and entertaining enough to watch til the O’Mara-Cohen showdown.

The Impossible (2012)

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the-impossible1Roze-Rating: 4 / 5

Based on a true story, The Impossible is an adaptation of what a family of five had to endure during one of the most devastating natural disasters to occur in our time. Maria (Naomi Watts), Henry (Ewan McGregor) and their three sons take a trip to Thailand for the festive holidays. Following Christmas day the family spend time at the hotel swimming pool not expecting what’s to come. Once the tsunami hits they are split in half not knowing if they have all survived. Only hope and the will to live pushes them to believe that somehow they will find each other.

I will say straight away that this film doesn’t fail to pack a punch emotionally. It’s intentionally powerful and so it should be for such an amazing story. it’s nothing short of a miracle what the family had accomplished after such a catastrophic event and it’s a story that needs to be told. There are a lot of encouraging and powerful themes explored in this film which can drive anyone to inspiration. It shows how heroes can come in any shape and sizes and all it take is a simple touch to say everything is going to be fine to heighten someone’s spirits.

This film for me holds two of the most powerful scenes of 2012. The opening scenes where the tsunami hits the hotel is both terrifying and realistic that your heart pounds uncontrollably. I felt emotions stronger than any other film that I’ve watched before, there was a genuine fear and realization about how vulnerable and alone you are in such a disaster. Recreating that event to the level of realism they did is pretty amazing, and it’s hard not to appreciate that scene. The second scene features Ewan McGregor where he calls his father-in-law to tell him their situation. I’ve not seen a moment as intense as that in a film this year, the amount of emotion he puts into it is infectious and if you don’t feel just a little emotional then you are obviously too manly for this film.

Performances from everyone needed to be intense and inevitably they were with such an awesome cast. I’ve missed seeing Ewan Mcgregor on the big screen, and he really proves how much of a talent he is. Props also going to the three kids, couldn’t have been easy parts to play but they got through it convincingly. Lastly Naomi Watts easily steals the show with such a devastating performance, capturing probably every emotion you could get in such a situation, and at the age of 44 it’s amazing how young she looks.

The only negative I could find with this film is that it didn’t seem to explore the people who weren’t so fortunate to find their families, there was a lack of tribute to the unlucky individuals. I can easily see where people could get easily offended, especially if they were victims of the tsunami or a similar disaster. Admittedly it could have really done with it towards the end because it became quite evident that they lost things to film and it ultimately played out the sentimental tone a bit too long. All in all, an amazing story told well through the media of film.

Hit & Run (2012)

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90243_galRoze-Rating: 3 / 5

Dax Shepard tries his hand at directing his first mainstream film, Hit & Run. The film follows a young couple who are based in the middle of nowhere not exactly by choice. Charlie Bronson (Dax Shepard) is in the witness protection program having been caught up in a past crime. During the one year the couple have been together, Annie (Kristen Bell) is largely unaware of Charlie’s past and even his real name. His past gradually starts to unravel as the couple get involved with an adrenaline pumping road trip with the sole purpose of trying to get Annie to her dream job interview.

Before I even sat down to watch this film, I was really rooting for it to be a big hit. Not because Kristen Bell is in it looking super fine, but because it’s a Dax Shepard project. He wrote it and co-directed it, and it really puts things into perspective about how far he’s come since those days he worked at Punk’d. For those reasons I just wanted to like it a lot, but there honestly is too many problems with this film to truly consider it a good film.

The cast is undoubtedly awesome with appearances from Kristen Bell, Tom Arnold, Bradley Cooper and Beau Bridges. The entire cast play their characters the best they can but they are largely let down by the writing. The characters weren’t written well enough to fully meet the potential they had. Each character has their own little charm which made them unique and potentially memorable, but the lack of thorough writing to fully explore them and crucially their dialogue effectively made them seem bland. Which is such a shame because I started to like the characters, I just didn’t feel they were real enough.

What really let the film down was the storyline, some parts kinda annoyed me. There was a bit too much wrong with it for me to take it seriously, even for a comedy. The reason for this is because the premise is quite promising and with such a premise, you could do so much with it to make it funny and realistic at the same time. I think there was a lack of seriousness within the characters, where they were being chased and potentially killed, it ruined it for me because I thought it was pretty stupid how they would still be fixated on getting to the job interview.

What I did love was the film making, for his debut in directing a blockbuster film, there was a lot of substance behind filming the chase scenes. In reality they were quite boring scenes but the way he utilised the camera positions and angles really made it exciting to watch. It’s a good film to watch if you don’t want anything too serious.

This is 40 (2012)

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this-is-40-1Roze-Rating: 3.5 / 5

Judd Apatow brings back Pete and Debbie from 2007 comedy hit Knocked Up to explore their lives a few years down the line. Their kids are older, busines isnt flowing and the rest of their family are being uncooperative, the recipe for a destructive marriage. As their problems become more evident as well as their increasing age, they realise that there isn’t much time to fix their relationship before their lives become a waste.

I think most people would agree that this film is slightly too long with a 133 minute running time, although it is filled with quite a bit of substance. I think it was a pretty good idea to revisit these characters since they were a memorable part of Knocked Up. Creating new characters from scratch would definitely not have been as appealing. Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann ooze this wacky, cheesy, genuine chemistry that not a lot of actors can produce. Their similar sense of humour is a joy to watch, largely driven by improv which Paul Rudd seems to execute with pure hilarity. There really isn’t much wrong with the acting although I think the older child (Maude Apatow) may have been a bit too intense and loud at times, but in reality I guess kids can go apeshit like that. The cameo’s were definitely the main highlights of the film, which is probably not the best thing for a movie, but they did offer a lot of the laughs. Huge props to Melissa McCarthy who has convincingly cemented herself as one of the best comedy actresses.

The storyline is pretty relatable which is why it’s generally an entertaining watch. I think any big fan of Paul Rudd will like this film a lot because his brand of humour is present throughout and its hard not to like this guy. It may not be the most original film but it still does the job in keeping us laughing and entertained. I think the problem with a film like this is that the subject is too serious to make an absolutely hilarious film, because there’s too many breaks of serious scenes before the laughs come in. Either way it’s definitely worth a watch if your a fan of Judd Apatow films and you want something down to earth with some comedy.

Battleship (2012)

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battleship-pic-1Roze-Rating: 3.5 / 5

Based on the board game, Battleship explores the concept of the game while adding an extraterrestrial edge. Alex Hopper (Taylor Kitsch) is your stereotypical screw up who doesn’t take any responsibility, until an incident involving a chicken Burrito and an exceptionally attractive girl forces his brother to push him into the Navy. Despite seemingly finding his niche, his careless ways hold him back from excelling in his field of work. It takes the threat of an Alien attack on earth to reassess his ways and work at his full potential to save the world.

I can totally understand why this would be hated by a lot of critics and people who like films with a bit more substance because there is a lot wrong with this film. Despite the problems it actually ended up surprising me a lot in terms of its concept and premise. When I heard that it was based on the board game I instantly thought “bull sh*t”, I didn’t see how the Alien apocalypse genre would be able to incorporate the board game. But after watching it, I am not ashamed to say that I thoroughly enjoyed it. Of course that is probably largely due to the low expectations I had of it. Granted if I had went in expecting a lot out of it I would probably be smashing the film.

The film started off with the right intentions, purposely trying to be fun and light hearted, which is what this film is all about. The characters they introduced were likeable and set up favorable characters for us to root for. The premise is also quite smart, they could have easily tried to use the board game idea with a less thrilling idea, but that being said the execution is what made the difference between an awesome film and a so so film. The main character driving the film is Alex Hopper played by Taylor Kitsch, a well written character with relatable characteristics. It would be quite hard too hate the guy, unless your driven to jealousy after seeing Brooklyn Decker doing her thing. Ultimately the plot of Battleship is commendable since everyone likes an Alien invasion and the way they used the Battleship board game concept ended up being quite smart and believable.

Something that let the film down a lot was the acting, I didn’t understand some of the castings especially for such a big budget film, you’d think they’d go all out. For example Gregory D. Gadson, I understand that he’s never had experience and he’s a Former US Army soldier but he just didn’t suit the character at all. One specific scene at the end is just ridiculous especially in the condition and shape he was in, it went over the line of acceptable. Rihanna was also slightly miscast, I thought her role was slightly too big for a person lacking acting experience, which was evident in some scenes, but that being said, she was surprisingly good. Despite from a couple of let downs in that department, I thought Taylor Kitsch was freaking bad ass, he’s obviously extremely talented because he was amazing in all his films this year. Hopefully he moves on to films with better scripts. Brooklyn Decker was also pretty good, she’s come a long way since Just Go With It, and showed some grit.

Lastly the effects used throughout this film are exceptional at most, but you could quite easily tell they got lazy with some parts. I think with the budget they had, they should really try make the most of every resource properly, and half assing some scenes wont make this a hit like they wanted it to be. There are also some scenes which logically don’t make sense, for example a scene where two characters seem to unnecessarily walk to the top of a sinking ship to jump off. The action was still pretty thrilling, especially the parts where the Board Game stuff comes to use, and a shoot-out at the end. If they would have kept to that standard of action then it would have been a perfectly epic action flick, but there isn’t enough adrenaline pumping scenes to reach that accolade.

Dredd (2012)

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90851_galRoze-Rating: 4.5 / 5

Judge’s have the combined power of being judge, jury and executioner all at the same time. Dredd has a prestigious reputation making him known as the most feared judge around. They have been enforced to keep order in a deteriorating society where the criminals rule the chaotic streets. Justice calls for Judge Dredd to take down drug leader Ma-Ma (Lena Headey) who is the main distributor of a new street drug “slow-mo” which makes your brain perceive reality a fraction slower. He has been given rookie Cassandra Anderson (Olivia Thirlby) a mutant psychic, for him to assess, unlucky for her, her first day isn’t a breeze in the park.

This film is exactly what we’ve been missing this year. I think we’ve been deprived of good no nonsense action films with cool gadgets and a simple bad ass character with good one liners. It’s unrealistic, gritty and bad ass all at the same time, exactly what you want from a comic book character brought to the screen. I have no relationship with the comics and little knowledge of the character, but from what I’ve read about it, Dredd perfectly captures that deteriorating society atmosphere with murky surroundings and a tolerance to violence. 

I really liked the cinematography, it’s stylish and has a genuine comic book look to it. The transitioning of the scenes reminded me of how comic strips are laid out and drawn, as well as the vivid colours that came out of the slow-mo moments. It made the action a lot more enjoyable to watch and set itself apart from the generic action films with static camera work.

Despite the lack of expression of Judge Dredd, I think Karl Urban did an outstanding job, he captured that non nonsense precision of the character perfectly. He plays Dredd extremely tough but also portrays his human side effectively during his moments with Anderson (Olivia Thirlby). Would like to see him in more actions flicks as good as this. Olivia Thirlby surprised me so much in this film, when I saw her cast as Judge Dredd’s temporary partner I honestly thought her character would be a mess. I’m extremely happy to say that she put in one of the most surprising performances of this year for me, I was totally hooked to her character. At first I expected her to exude femininity because of Thirlby’s past roles, but she doesn’t show a hint of it. She’s mysterious, calculated and incredibly gritty. Her abilities make her interesting and the way they are used is very entertaining. Definitely one of my favourite characters this year.

A great action film bringing Judge Dredd from the comic strips to the big screen with stylish cinematography, excess computerized blood and engaging characters, definitely one of the best action films of the year. I really hope they make a sequel, can’t get enough of these characters, truly badass.

Killing Them Softly (2012)

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killing-them-softly-brad-pitt-poster-headerRoze-Rating: 4.5 / 5

Two thugs are hired to rob a local mob card game. They rob it based on the assumption that a specific card player will get the blame, putting them in the clear. The robbery results in the local criminal economy to collapse, causing Brad Pitt’s character, Jackie, to be called in to fix the financial dilemma and restore order amongst the mob.

The premise is smart and interesting exploring a new angle of the gangster genre. I’ve never seen a film where the gangster world is explored to the point of it’s economy, it’s a pretty unique idea that hasn’t been done before. The plot luckily backs the premise up with some intriguing characters and stylish events. What really makes the film special is the filming, it’s clear, stylish and dynamic. Without the conveyed style, the situations wouldn’t have made an impact on the audience. Especially a certain beat up scene, it was probably one the most brutal and realistic scenes that I’ve witnessed in a film. The combination of the rainy, dark atmosphere, powerful sound effects and constant camera movements made for an emotional watch. This really illustrated the violent nature of gangsters to full effect. There was another memorable scene which explores a similar violent event with a different nature. The idea of killing someone softly is what this scene shouted out. the gentle music accompanied with slow motion effects, made the event seem graceful and less savage. There was a less reckless manner about it. Lastly the editing is worth some praise because it is fluent, consistent and effective which became apparent in a certain drug related scene, where the film taps into the mind of the drugged up character, felt extremely real.

Another positive is the dialogue, without the dialogue this wouldn’t have been anywhere near as enjoyable. The characters are so intense that their dialogue is for the most part engaging. There’s enough comedy to keep us entertained but also enough gangster terminology and nature to keep us immersed in the conversation. Brad Pitt probably holds the best lines of the film, namely the last few scenes. As well as James Gandolfini who talks a lot of nonsense but it’s calculated nonsense. Acting is solid all round by all the veterans, but props go to both Scoot McNairy and Ben Mendelsohn, both putting in some great performances. McNairy was awesome in Argo despite the smaller role and so was Mendelsohn in The Dark Knight Rises. I feel they didn’t get much credit or recognition for these performances when they fully deserve it, but what they did prove is that they have a long career ahead.

I think the main downfall of Killing Them Softly is that it seems to take itself too seriously. it intends to have it’s message heard, which is evident through constant audio of Barack Obama speeches. it concentrates so much on this that it neglects the narrative.

This film is definitely a must watch of 2012. If you are into films with great filming and cinematography, which is purely dialogue driven and has a unique gangster premise then you won’t be disappointed with the transaction atmosphere of most of the scenes. If your looking for a super violent gangster film with respectful action, then you will find Killing Them Softly quite boring.

Magic Mike (2012)

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magic-mike-2Roze-Rating: 4.5 / 5

Seasoned male stripper Mike (Channing Tatum) has ambitions out of the stripping industry, but can’t leave until he makes enough money to pursue his true passion. In the mean time he sticks to making easy money hoping to achieve dual equity of the stripping business he works for. During one of his construction jobs he meets a young kid, Adam (Alex Pettyfer), who he takes under his wing and introduces him to the world of male stripping. As Adam gets sucked into the glamorized lifestyle he has grown accustomed to, he starts to wonder where his life is really going.

One of the more surprising films of 2012 for me, I expected it to be super raunchy and solely marketed at women, but there’s more to it than a few ripped guys taking their clothes off and making suggestive movements with their hips. The plot is engaging, keeping your eyes fixated on the film. It kind of reminded me of a less messed up version of Boogie Nights, minus the explosive ending. Which is what this film could have offered, there were parts of the story which could have been expanded and explored to make for a thrilling ending, but this film was never meant to go in that direction. It chose substance over thrills. The stars of the film were the main characters and male stripping. The way this film depicts the lifestyle of male strippers makes it seem glamorous and inviting. Making women feel like they wouldn’t mind having such an experience and men envying the characters lifestyle. This is what kept me engaged to the film and the characters. You understand why they are there.

The stripping choreography is smartly done because it finds the right balance between erotic and tolerable so that both male and women can watch it without one being uncomfortable or disappointed. It’s sexy enough for the women to enjoy and tolerable enough for the men. But it’s still enough to make us feel bad about ourselves. The music to go with the stage performances is pretty good, as well as the overall soundtrack for the film. Definitely wouldn’t have captured that rock star tone of the characters without it.

There are two different colour tones seen throughout this film which convey a different atmosphere. There’s a yellowish tone which is seen when the characters are living in the real world, out of their stripping lifestyle. It brings the film back to earth along with the characters, illustrating the reality of strife and labour. Then there’s a more colourful clear tone, which is seen during the stripping segments, making the industry look glamorous, appealing and addictive. It emphasises the reason the characters are there and why it’s hard to get out.

The performances were solid. Channing Tatum is finally looking natural in these more serious parts, I always got the impression he wasn’t made for these roles, but he proves me wrong here. I’ve seen a few of Alex Pettyfer’s movies, and never really saw anything great from him, but this time round he probably makes his best performance, there’s some character development which he explores really well. As always Matthew McConaughey is slick, suave and as the girls would say, sexy, bringing back the “alright, alright, alright” craze. He’s been involved in a lot of great films recently, good to see him making some good choices. On the least impressive side, I had a slight problem with Cody Horn. She seemed really natural and genuine at first, then as the film progressed her face never seemed to change expression, it just seemed emotionless. Then during the more intense scenes I just didn’t feel it was real. For example a scene where she shouts at Channing Tatum’s character, it was good at first, then she went a bit over the top with it and it came off as awkward. I saw her in End of Watch and she was a proper bad ass in it, so there’s no doubt she’s talented.

Definitely worth seeing if your in the demographic that likes to see half naked men dancing in an erotic manner. If your not into that, then it’s still worth seeing for a worthy plot, performances and music, definitely one of the better films of 2012.


Man of Steel (Trailer)

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Literally jizzing my pants to see this movie, since the sudden surge of comic book films, I’ve been totally hooked. Literally been researching every characters back stories, seeing if there’s possibilities for films or if they can be in future Avengers films. No wonder comic book crazies are so into this stuff, the speculation is the funnest part of the comic book experience.

Anyways for some reason a lot of people hate Zack Snyder, and I don’t get why, I mean he brought us freaking 300, with the most epic quote ever “This is SPARTA”. One thing he does bring to a film, is heaps of style and along with it comes a unique tone. I’ve seen three of his five films, and the have all been pretty good, 300 is just fuckin’ epic, Dawn of the Dead is one of the best zombie flicks I’ve seen and Suckr Punch was… interesting, not bad, but a bit too unusual for me, but then again it’s a bunch of girls half naked playing with guns, I wasn’t exactly complaining for 1 and a half hours.

So one thing is for sure, and that is we are going to get a scarily dark, gritty and realistic version of Superman. I totally love these type of films, I just love a dark and gritty film when done right, and in this case, it seems fitting, since it is quite a dark origin story, and his superpowers would be a burden in the real world. One thing I am excited about with this trailer is the CGI and effects, they look pretty amazing and I think we’re in for some large scale explosions to go with the drama. Gonna be sick.

Man on a Ledge (2012)

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man-on-a-ledge-503f16fbf3429Roze-Rating: 3.5 / 5

Nick Cassidy (Sam Worthington) is an ex-cop turned fugitive, who has checked himself into a hotel to seemingly end his life. He stands on the ledge, outside his hotel room window until Lydia Mercer is requested on his behalf to try talk him down. As time passes it becomes evident that there is more to Nick Cassidy’s actions than assumed. He tries to resurrect his life rather than end it.

Its premise is very interesting and set the film up for an engaging and entertaining hour and a bit. It wasn’t the best film, nor was it the worst, but what it did offer was a reason to stay glued to the screen. At first your not sure who your meant to root for but as the film progresses you really care for the main character Nick Cassidy (Sam Worthington), and that’s what makes the film so entertaining. Despite that, the film didn’t really take advantage of it and instead some parts seemed very lazy and half assed. Although there were very few, those moments ended up being the most important, especially the final scenes.

Overall an awesome build up but very rushed ending. Sam Worthington and the actors cast as the police force, Anthony Mackie, Edward Burns, Elizabeth Banks, Titus Welliver and Co were pretty solid. The only problem I had was the relationship between Jamie Bell and Genesis Rodriguez, individually they were good but they just didn’t have any chemistry together. Their scenes, intentionally comedic, felt quite flat and ultimately unreal. Still a solid film, but not solid enough to be amazing.