Date: Monday 25th February
Film: Broken City (2013)
Director: Allen Hughes
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Russell Crowe and Catherine Zeta-Jones
Running Time: 01 hour, 49 minutes
Rating: 6/10
Monday night, post Oscar party. The CW and I are exhausted, but it's a free screening and we have nothing better to do (apart from catching up on sleep, perhaps) so off to The O2 we schlep for Broken City.
We'd watched the trailer but, at this point, hadn't seen any reviews or comments on the film - other than that Graham Norton Show appearance - so we were going in a little blind. We knew the basics of the plot - Mark Wahlberg plays a private investigator hired by Russell Crowe's mayor to look into his wife's (Catherine Zeta-Jones) affair and things don't go all that smoothly.
But, that synopsis isn't really what Broken City is about. Yes, that is the basic storyline but within 5 minutes of watching it becomes clear that this film wants to show more than that. It wants to show corruption of politicians, officials, and public figures. It wants to investigate the humanity of those living and working alongside these figures. It wants to be a slick psychological thriller.
The problem with Broken City is that, as hard as they try to create a back story you don't really get a feel for any of the characters. I don't think I particularly liked any of them. There are scenes that make no sense to the film, at times they don't seem to fit with what you are seeing. As if they were exposition scenes for plot lines that were cut away in editing.
Mark Wahlberg plays his part very well, providing his role is to play Mark Wahlberg. There doesn't appear to be much of a distance from other thriller/action films he has made before.
It was watchable but, like Contraband it just didn't engage. It tried to hard to be slick and meaningful, and lost something along the way.
Challenge day: 153
Challenge time: 09 days, 16 hours, 51 minutes
Challenge film total: 120
Showing posts with label Russell Crowe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Russell Crowe. Show all posts
Monday, 4 March 2013
Tuesday, 15 January 2013
I had a dream my life would be so different from this hell I'm living!
Date: Monday 14th January
Film: Les Miserables (2012)
Director: Tom Hooper
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe and Anne Hathaway
Running time: 2 hours, 37 minutes
Rating: 9/10
Going into this I really wasn't sure if I it would be something I'd enjoy. I love the novel and have actively avoided the musical for fear of it ruining something I adore (and because my Mum told me she hated it, normally a sign that I will hate it too). I knew a couple of songs, one because it featured in a pretty key scene in season one of Dawson's Creek and the other because it's I Dreamed A Dream, and everyone knows that song, right?
To start off with, I wasn't sure what to think. Hugh Jackman seemed to sing the opener in an almost northern accent and the second Russell Crowe started warbling I did get the giggles, but within five minutes I was totally entranced.
Anne Hathaway managed to steal the entire film, despite having an on screen time that could not have been longer than 30 minutes and Hugh Jackman seemed to bring a real sense of emotion to every song, without slipping towards the musical theatre interpretation that could have been a downfall for so many of the cast.
Sacha Baron-Cohen, yet again, proved my belief that he can be a good performer, providing he didn't write the script, Helena Bonham-Carter was suitably bonkers and the child actors were brilliant.
This was a visually stunning film, the set pieces, the costumes, the lighting, all combining to create beautiful scenes. The scene in which Fatine sells her hair was suitably gorgeous and distressing.
My main issue with the whole film was some of the casting. I'm a big fan of both Eddie Redmayne and Amanda Seyfried but I don't feel they did their best work in this, there was something a little off about their singing, which in a film that is predominantly sung (don't go in expecting a lot of dialogue between each performance, that isn't how this one works), this was something of a let down.
In all, this was a good film, even if you aren't a massive musical fan, whilst the majority of the film is sung, it's done in a way that isn't overbearing.
I am baffled by all these reports of standing ovations and people weeping. I didn't see any of that, although perhaps the audience at The Barbican are just that bit too British and reserved for all that nonsense, thank God.
Challenge day: 111
Challenge time: 06 days, 17 hours, 15 minutes
Challenge film total: 83
Film: Les Miserables (2012)
Director: Tom Hooper
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe and Anne Hathaway
Running time: 2 hours, 37 minutes
Rating: 9/10
Going into this I really wasn't sure if I it would be something I'd enjoy. I love the novel and have actively avoided the musical for fear of it ruining something I adore (and because my Mum told me she hated it, normally a sign that I will hate it too). I knew a couple of songs, one because it featured in a pretty key scene in season one of Dawson's Creek and the other because it's I Dreamed A Dream, and everyone knows that song, right?
To start off with, I wasn't sure what to think. Hugh Jackman seemed to sing the opener in an almost northern accent and the second Russell Crowe started warbling I did get the giggles, but within five minutes I was totally entranced.
Anne Hathaway managed to steal the entire film, despite having an on screen time that could not have been longer than 30 minutes and Hugh Jackman seemed to bring a real sense of emotion to every song, without slipping towards the musical theatre interpretation that could have been a downfall for so many of the cast.
Sacha Baron-Cohen, yet again, proved my belief that he can be a good performer, providing he didn't write the script, Helena Bonham-Carter was suitably bonkers and the child actors were brilliant.
This was a visually stunning film, the set pieces, the costumes, the lighting, all combining to create beautiful scenes. The scene in which Fatine sells her hair was suitably gorgeous and distressing.
My main issue with the whole film was some of the casting. I'm a big fan of both Eddie Redmayne and Amanda Seyfried but I don't feel they did their best work in this, there was something a little off about their singing, which in a film that is predominantly sung (don't go in expecting a lot of dialogue between each performance, that isn't how this one works), this was something of a let down.
In all, this was a good film, even if you aren't a massive musical fan, whilst the majority of the film is sung, it's done in a way that isn't overbearing.
I am baffled by all these reports of standing ovations and people weeping. I didn't see any of that, although perhaps the audience at The Barbican are just that bit too British and reserved for all that nonsense, thank God.
Challenge day: 111
Challenge time: 06 days, 17 hours, 15 minutes
Challenge film total: 83
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