The Latest Releases

Well, I’ve not had the chance to blog for a couple of weeks, but having some time off work and not much else happening, I’ve been watching quite a few movies – the benefits of a cinema pass! So here, briefly, are my views on the following:

Superbad – 4/5
Written by Seth “Knocked-Up” Rogen and Evan Goldberg, based loosely on their own teenage lives. The plot, very similarly to American Pie, follows school friends (imaginatively called Seth and Evan) trying to get laid before going their separate ways to different colleges. Like many American “sex” comedies, there’s thankfully not too much in the way of actual sex. But there is a lot of talk and a lot of very puerile stuff – so not one for the easily offended. But like American Pie, under the gross out stuff, it actually sneaks in some genuine emotion – here in the form of the friendship between the two lead characters facing separation. Jonah Hill and Michael Cera in the leads make for likeable stars with enough charm to keep you watching whilst their less than movie-star looks make them all the more believable. And this is the movie’s strength – by rooting both characters and action in recognisable (and embarrassing) teenage experience before throwing in the more outlandish elements (like stoner cops), the end product is not only watchable but often very funny. Yes its gross and juvenile and there is the odd mis-fire, but its also often hilarious. Whilst newcomer Christopher Mintz-Plasse as ultra-nerdish Fogel (aka McLovin) is a delight to watch – he’s so uncool, he’s cool.

3:10 to Yuma – 3/5
An amoral bad-guy in a Western, gamely battling against his own salvation is the kind of part Russell Crowe was born to play. That he is matched against moodily intense Christian Bale as a rancher trying to pay off debts and prove himself to his son is a great move and what is otherwise pretty much a by the numbers Western remake is lifted by the interplay between two of Hollywood’s best going head to head. (Crowe is clearly enjoying himself in the chance to be the bad guy). What a shame then that the whole is ruined by a laugh-out-loud ridiculous ending that totally undoes all the great character work that had gone in before. Still an entertaining watch, but could have been better.

Shoot ‘Em Up – 3.5/5
Or a 100 ways not to treat a new born baby. Again – not for the easily offended, this tribute to John Woo builds on that director’s Hard Boiled (which finished with a shoot out in a maternity ward) – here we get shoot outs during a delivery, during sex, during a sky dive, just about all the time really. It’s best to give up trying to follow the ridiculous plot (which with all too knowing irony surrounds a conspiracy to do with gun control legislation). Instead enjoy some great action set-pieces and two highly entertaining performances from Clive Owen (doing his twinkle-eyed action-man I-could-have-been-Bond act) and nice man Paul Giamatti (embracing the chance to be the bad guy with relish and a performance that not only chews the scenery but also anything else that stays still long). It’s all utter nonsense, the dialogue is knowingly dreadful – but the whole is so ridiculous its almost inspired – its certainly highly entertaining.