3. Cemetery Junction

Just went for a spur of the moment movie night with my friend Issie and decided that we would raid her sister's DVD collection as she's away in San Francisco! And we stumbled upon this little item. This isn't going to be a long review I'm afraid because I'm actually rather tired and there's not an awful lot I can say about it anyway.
         Cemetery Junction is a comedy set in 1970's Reading written by the famous duo Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. Effectively, the story is about 3 childhood friends that are trying to find their place in the world as such and somehow advance out of 'Cemetery Junction' which is where they live.
        Okay so Bruce, Freddie and Snork have a beautiful bromance that's filled with banter and offensive pranks throughout the movie that sort of try to ruin each other's careers but it's okay because they're doing it in a light hearted way and they all love each other and so forth. This is obviously inspired by Gervais and Merchant's comedy genius (no sarcasm intended, I think they do the offensive humour thing very well). Luckily the boys can get away with their rowdy antics because they have a mate in the police force, he's a family friend of Bruce's father, although Cemetery Junction looks like the sort of place that everyone knows everyone. Although Tom Hughes who plays Bruce seems to be the face of the film (the guy in the centre of the poster) I wouldnt say he was the main character, although he has a big input to the film and is significant to the storyline Christian Cooke who plays Freddie, the aspiring Health Insurance salesman is definitely the more prominant. Hughes also got nominated for the 'Best Newcomer' award at the British Independent Film Awards which I think well done, good for him and all but I really think that Cooke was the far more impressive out of the two actors in this film alongside Felicity Jones who plays Julie, Freddie's ex girlfriend. Predictably they still have smushy feelings for each other and thus a romance subplot is added into the film
      To be totally honest the film is okay, there's nothing particularly wrong with it. However, it's very slow to start and really Issie and I agreed that it only gets interesting about half an hour until the end of the film. Issie was very stern that she could have packed the whole film into about 10 minutes which I think is a fair point, however I think the development of character relations is probably one of the strengths of this film. Gervais and Merchant taking backseats as characters works well as actually the stars of the film needed to be young adults. Some lines, especially Gervais's, who plays the father, are actually very funny and do make you laugh out loud which is positive and what you want out of a comedy however, there weren't all that many of them which was a shame. The sort of makeshift 'baddy' of the film is Julie's fiancé Mike, played by Matthew Goode. He is represented as the sleezbag, another salesman who works at the company Freddie is trying to make it big in, only being with Julie to get the boss's favour (oh I forgot to mention that Julie is the boss's daughter). Not much comes of that though as it's not really a good vs. evil kind of a film but more a journey through life and self discovery and all that shit kind of a film with a bit of romance running through. Everyone obviously wants Julie and Freddie to get together despite her engagement, but that's just how these things work isn't it? Gotta have an obstacle!!
        The film touched heavily upon sexism in the 70's and about women being 'seen and not heard' and that sort of thing which is why Julie's parents are looked at a lot throughout. The 'deeper' more 'meaningful' messages throughout this film are nice and add another layer to the plot. The word nice keeps coming up, that's not a good word...

So So So, is it worth a watch?

The Verdict
Hmmm, I'm afraid despite me pointing out it's positives I'm going to have to give it a NO, unfortunately there's just not enough to this film to make it genuinely enjoyable throughout and worth watching. Yeah there are some funny lines and the ending is nice (not giving it away) but that's just it, the best bits are "nice" and it just didn't really do it for me. If it had started at the level it reached just before the end then it could have been a really good film, hit and miss I'm afraid boys!

Thanks for reading, if you have any comments or opinions about my review then don't hesitate to drop us a comment or an email to suzy.keeping@hotmail.com

Cheers Guys!
Suze x

2. Wild Bill (2012)

 

 

 

 



Okay so where do I start with this one?! Wild Bill is basically a gangster movie Directed by Dexter Fletcher which has been marketed with a bit of a cowboy/western twist which I think it probably true to form. Bill (played by Charlie Creed-Miles) is out on parole after 8 years in the slammer for various crimes but the film focuses on the drug dealing. He comes home to find his now 15 and 11 year old sons, Dean and Jimmy, fending for themselves as their mother has gone off to Spain with her new piece. Dean, the older of the two is doing construction work to get them by but Jimmy, the other, is getting into trouble at school and catching the attention of a bad crowd that Bill was involved with before he got put away. Due to his return to the town, social services start snooping round and Dean forces his dad to stay to avoid being put into care by blackmailing his father, saying he will "grass him up" for more drug dealing and threatening to get him sent back to jail. Henry Fitzherbert - Daily Express, said that the film was a "more affecting Family Drama than conventional Gangster pic" and I totally agree, if you're looking for a hard hitting action then although 'Wild Bill' has it's moments then it's probably not the right thing. My little vocabulary can only describe the characters as magnetic or captivating as the relationships that are created throughout the film are really what the audience ends up caring about and not the issues that begin to occur between the family and the drug dealers.

        Bill starts out really, as a bit of a pathetic character. When he can't get the boys to open the door for him on his own, he goes out and gets so drunk that his 'mates' carry him home and practically force the door down! When interacting with the boys he is stiff and immature in his nature which could be as a result of him just trying to adjust to his life outside of prison however, I think that it's probably because before he went in there, Bill never had any responsibility anyway and so doesn't have any idea how to raise two kids. The one question I did have throughout even though it wasn't relevant was when social services found out that the mother had left the boys on their own why didn't they pull her up on it? They knew where she was vaguely anyway? Irrelevant question there as her return wasn't part of the plot. The relationship between Jimmy and Bill forms a lot quicker than the relationship between Dean and Bill. I would assume this is because Jimmy is younger and so very naive (shown well by the casting of Sammy Williams with his, what can only be describes as adorable face and huge blue eyes). Dean is far more defensive because with the absence of Bill he has had to step in as the role of the protector and the provider.

        The film continues like this for a little while with the introduction of a few new characters, a couple of girls (Roxie, for Bill and Steph, for Dean) and you get to recognise the leaders of the drug gang and things like that. I don't think this goes on for too long in hindsight however at the time I was sort of thinking... "well, where is this going?" I thought it was just going to be one of those shoot 'em up drug busting films with the added twist of a couple of kids, snooze! However, just as I was thinking this the film stepped up! Somehow making the characters even more lovable through various subtle moments between them I found myself smiling whenever they were together and getting along. Bill finds 'Pill' the guy who recruited 11 year old Jimmy into the drug gang and makes sure they leave the kid alone, rather than going down the somewhat predictable route of Bill taking the place of Jimmy, Bill basically becomes 'the daddy' and begins to protect his kids. This is an emotional moment and just makes you want to run into the movie and give Bill a big old hug and pat on the back! The rest of the film basically continues along the line of improving and building the relationship between the family and watching Bill turn from the lazy, drunk male stereotype into the father figure we want him to be.

        I could go on talking about the plot and the effect it has on the reader but I sort of feel I'm beginning to analyse rather than review, oops! Like I said in the last post #MEDIASTUDENT I just can't help myself! Speaking finally about the plotline then, I loved the ending. Even though it's not a conventional 'happy ending' as an audience you feel happy and satisfied because of the relationships built and the journey you've been on with the characters. But I'll try not to spoil it for you so no more on that!!

        So yeah, it's a surprisingly affectionate movie with a good amount of comedy sprinkled through. The actors, despite a fair amount of children was excellent and really carried the film through. The direction is beautiful and I highly commend Fletcher for this, he's put it all together really well and it is a lovely film all in all. One other thing definitely worth mentioning is the soundtrack, blending in with the film and complementing the scenes where necessary it is a very effective addition to the film and adds to the tone of the piece. Bravo!

        'Wild Bill' was nominated for a BAFTA and a British Independent Film Award (and a Gold Hugo at the Chicago film festival, I don't really know what a Gold Hugo is but still, the film is good!) and you know what I'm not surprised at all. I think everything about this film works, from the casting to the soundtrack.

 

So, is it worth the watch?!

 

THE VERDICT:

Obviously it's a big fat YES: I think this film is great! It has everything that you want. The director has catered to the needs and expectations of the audience and created a beauuuutiful movie. The more I think about the film the more I love it, the characters are appealing and interesting, the direction is fantastic and the soundtrack is the cherry on top of this lovely little cupcake!!



Once again if you agree/disagree or have any comments to make then don't hesitate to drop me a comment or email me at suzy.keeping@hotmail.com
Cheers Guys! :)
Suze x

1. This Means War

 

 

Okay so as this is my first post I thought I'd do a fairly new film that some people may not have seen an easy breezy one to get people used to my writing style.
Right then, 'This Means War' directed by McG is an action RomCom which in all honest isn't my usual genre. I can appreciate the romcom however it's not my first choice and in most cases they flop, badly. Which is why when you find one that genuinely makes you smile and feel happy and get that terrible warm fuzzy feeling inside it is a definite accomplishment.
        The basic concept of the film is that there are two guys 'FDR' a bit of a womanizer and 'Tuck' a divorcee who is lonely in love, who both end up falling for the same girl 'Lauren'. Both of the men work as spies and so the comedy enters the film in the way in which they use their 'special agent tactics' to try and win Lauren over whilst still trying to deal with a classic baddy by the name of Heinrich.
        Girls! I think that there is no need to ignore the fact that starring Chris Pine as 'FDR' and Tom Hardy as 'Tuck' this film is not short of hotties and boys, you definitely get your fair share of eye candy from the leading Lady 'Lauren' who is played by Reese Witherspoon. However, angling away from my raging teenage hormones I think that firstly I should mention the chemistry between these three actors. The bromance that occurs between Tuck and FDR is not far off perfect, the first time I watched the film through I thought they were brothers however just note: they are not, just childhood best friends. I should point out now that I usually watch films through twice, once for enjoyment and once to pick fault or analyse or whatever you want to call it #propermediastudent. Anyway, both of the boys go about wooing Lauren in different ways and it basically ends up being a competition between the two boys.
        The audience is kept guessing the whole way through the film and Lauren doesn't favour either one at any point, the coinciding dates are actually funny, maybe not side splittingly laugh out loud funny but they are definitely worthy of at least a chuckle or two. I think this is partly achieved through the contrast. Tuck being the sweet and sensitive type takes Lauren to a fair/circus or whatever you want to call it and takes her to the trapeze because he found out that she used to be a gymnast through her online dating page. However, FDR takes her to a club in which he has VIP access which Lauren gets bored of quickly and walks off. The irony is that she only stays with FDR that night is to show him off to her ex boyfriend who is now getting married to another woman. Personally, I didn't feel the usual overwhelming boredom that I usually do when watching a romcom and I think that keeping Lauren's decision is what did it for me.
        In all honest there's not a right lot that I can say about this film as it is cheap an cheerful, in that I mean that it is simple. There aren't really any plot twists, no clever filming techniques and no Oscar winning performances. However, I haven't read any other reviews on it, which again is something I commonly do so, maybe I'm just short for ideas. The one thing I would say is that the production of the film definitely contributes to the happy/happy feeling of it. I'm not sure how it is done whether there is some sort of orange gel or something on the camera lense (oopsie, technical knowledge is not up to scratch over here!) as it doesn't look specifically like that however there is some sort of bright wash on the shot which makes the film look very bright and warm all the time. This combines with the beautiful people and the Hollywood smiles makes it al... well, just that, very Hollywood. It is not realistic at all but it is at heart a feel-good romcom, and there's nothing wrong with that - I believe this was the purpose of the film and that if the director had wanted to create realism then it would not have been difficult to do but that's not the point.
         One thing I haven't mentioned is Heinrich, played by Til Sweiger. The film opens with Tuck and FDR going after Heinrich and his brother to take them out. They succeed with Heinrich's brother but Heinrich himself gets away and tears away a piece of FDR's suit. He then spends the rest of the film focusing his efforts on finding the two spies. The irony is that THEY should be looking for HIM not the other way around but obviously they are using their gadgets and surveillance teams to follow Lauren. Although the film does not centre around the actual spy/action plot it definitely adds another layer to the film that detracts it away from just a wishy washy romcom. The Heinrich case ties the whole film together at the end (I'm trying my best not to give spoilers so I won't go into this) and is done very well for a sub plot as it is not focused upon too much that the film becomes too complicated to understand the different plotlines.
         At the end of the day 'This Means War' isn't going to be winning any awards however, despite it being unrealistic and very cheesy it is definitely a film that I think will make it onto a lot of people's 'Guilty Pleasures' lists which is absolutely fine! You need a fluffy movie every now and then! So even though I think the big bag dog critics will rip it to shreds in the 'is it well made?' 'how's the production?' and 'big budget?' type fields it is what it is: that is a great movie in terms of audience satisfaction that is perfect for a pick me up and a giggle with your mates.
        SO the big question....
        IS IT WORTH THE WATCH?!

THE VERDICT:
I say YES: It's a fun film that satisfies both the testosterone fulled action lovers but is definitely completely estrogen friendly at the same time, what more could you want?! Perfect for watching as a couple, you can both mmm and aaah over the pretty people in it and appreciate the story at the same time.

If you agree/disagree/have any questions or just want to have a chat about the film then either comment or email me at suzy.keeping@hotmail.com
CHEERS GUYS! :) x

Hello Fellow Film Lovers

I have decided after many months of umm'ing and arr'ing to eventually create a blog to analyse and review films. This is for a few reasons:

1. I love films

2. I have opinions on films

3. I like to share my opinions on films and the only way I can do that now is by talking to my dad

So this being my first blog I ask you to be patient with my posting habits and the way it looks and things whilst I get my feet on the ground.

Happy Watching!

Suze x