Movie Catch-up

OK, I've been neglecting the blog for a little time whilst I've been caught up with other things, so here's a brief catch up on what I've seen in the past few weeks:

Safe. Jason Statham is probably the closest thing to a genuine action star that there is at the moment, but he has made some truly dreadful films. Safe is one of his better films, with halfway decent material to go with the action. The Stath tries to redeem himself by trying to save a girl-genius caught up  with competing Chinese and Russian mobs and dirty cops. The body count is ridiculously high, but there are some good sequences and nice twists along the way. Overall: 6.5/10

Dark Shadows is the big screen adaptation of a cult (read pretty dreadful) TV supernatural soap opera from the 60s which is really not known over here. Tim Burton's at the helm and Johnny Depp (of course) stars as the vampire dug up after 200 years to find his family's fortunes in decline and the witch who cursed him (Eva Green). It is imbued with Burton's rich visual style and a very dry dark humour. Depp fits in perfectly and Green vamps it up to great effect. As is not uncommon with TV adaptations, there's not really enough space in the film for all the characters to really shine through despite the strong cast and Tommy Lee Miller's playboy and Chloe Moretz' teen with issues probably suffer most from a lack of space, but overall this is an entertaining watch. Overall 7/10

The Dictator Sacha Baron Cohen is now too well known to get away with the Borat trick on real people, so moves into the fully scripted area with The Dictator. Cohen is a bright fellow and there are moments in the film when it really shows - the final speech to the UN drips with layers of irony and the way he talks himself out of being tortured is one of the comic highlights. Too often though he still goes for the cheap laugh and the supposed shock. A mixed bag of a film. Overall 6/10

The Raid the much hyped Indonesian action film with the Welsh director follows a rookie cop on the titular raid on a high rise apartment building controlled by the local drug lord, and that's it in terms of plot. What it is very raw and vibrant and inventive in its almost non-stop action and fight sequences. As the lead, Iko Uwais has the makings of a new martial arts action star, but the non-stop action could actually fo with a few lighter or slower moments to give the audience a breather and make it feel less like it's you having your head pounded repeatedly against the floor. It's certainly something different though. Overall 7/10

Jeff Who Lives at Home. It's quite refreshing to see Jason Segal trying something a little bit more different and less obviously commercial. He plays the eponymous Jeff, a thirty something who still lives in his mum's basement and is convinced that everything is connected (the film opens with a knowing monologue on Signs) and after receiving a wrong number phone call, ends up pursuing various Kevins round the city on a journey that will also take in his brother's (Ed Helms) marital problems and his mum's (Susan Sarandon) secret admirer, all the while leaving you guessing as to if there is some greater purpose or if it is all just coincidence until the ending which will either delight or annoy. Overall - 8/10.