Quick Movie Reviews: Vol 15

So with new work I haven’t been watching as many movies as I would normally. But I still get my butt out there when I can. Tonight I actually watched Immortals well before the release date (at least in Australia), and I’ll be getting a full review out there hopefully in a day or so. As we get closer and closer to the end of the year, my top ten list for 2011 is starting to shape up. However I’m still hoping for some movies to come along and wow me. But enough of this chit chat, lets get to the quick fire minty fresh burst of Quick Movie Reviews.

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest (2009)

And thus ends the Millenium trilogy. Damn did this go out with a whimper in my mind. It’s somewhat not fair to cry at how the ending just feels so unfinished, the writer of the books died before he could write anymore and as such emotional character arcs are just left dead in the water. The journey of the characters Mikael Blomkvist and Lisbeth Salander is an interesting one, and yet what was such a strong relationship in the first movie is never explored again. I understand that the two characters still show loyalty and friendship to each other even when separated, and for Lisbeth any form of connection is impressive, but you can see that there were roads yet to be taken for the two and it’s never fully realised. As for the film itself, it tidies up numerous story lines and therefore does offer some resolution for the audience, but there is never the definitive end. If you liked the other movies I would say go ahead and watch this, but those of you who want to start the series should be warned that you may find the end disappointing.

Real Steel (2011)

It’s a movie about robots beating the crap out of each other. If this single idea makes you giddy with joy, then stop reading right now and go and watch this movie. There is nothing I can say or do which will stop you from spending your money on this film. However if robot fighting isn’t everything you are after, then perhaps I could suggest go and finding Rocky. It’s not that this movie is bad, but Rocky does this type of story so much better and it has that human connection that robotics just doesn’t lend itself to. Truth be told this movie not only takes the story of Rocky but crams as many sporting clichés as it can into the run time. Honestly this movie shouldn’t work, but it does and I think it has a lot to do with two things. First Hugh Jackman and Dakota Goyo have such a wonderful father, son chemistry together; they breathe life into the flaccid script. The second is real care and attention has been put into the creation of the robots to give them as much a personality as possible. I’m going to admit it; I felt something for the damn robot Atom in the final fight. Real mixed emotions about this movie. I’ll go ahead and recommend for father and sons, and those who are after a bit of robot carnage.

Anonymous (2011)

This is without a shadow of a doubt Roland Emmerich’s best film, but it’s still far from perfect. Getting away from alien invasions of ID4, or giant lizards, or global catastrophe’s has really helped Roland connect with the human emotion lacking from some of his other movies. It seems more realistic and it is helped that Rhys Ivan’s gives a fantastic performance as the Earl of Oxford. However there are some time jumps that just seem a little off when you consider that the movie is actually supposed to be a play. It muddies the flow of the story for no real reason. Having everything take place in chronological order wouldn’t have hurt the movie in the slightest. There are also some performances that just didn’t seem right and did veer into the cartoony side of the acting creek, which is a shame considering the serious tone of the movie. The movie also seemed too big for its running time, which at two hours and change to me seems that some editing could have been used. Some character motivations just aren’t clear thanks to not enough time being paid to them. Also for a film that is all about the conspiracy behind Shakespeare, there seems to be a lack of the man. He came off as one of the cartoony characters I was speaking about earlier, and by having him such a buffoon it made me less interested in the story. Still I would recommend this movie to people into period dramas. It’s a harmless little diversion.