Classic Movies in a Miniature Style

Thanks to my friend Giacomo, he introduced me to this. 

http://www.behance.net/gallery/Classic-Movies-in-Miniature-Style/4455311

I love it!  I wish I could actually buy some of that art!

Total Recall

Total Recall is the remake of the 1990 Arnold Schwarzenegger version, based on the Philip K. Dick short story “ We Can Remember It For You Wholesale”.

We meet Douglas Quaid (Colin Farrell), a factory worker who is woken up every night by the same nightmare.  Being chased and captured by automated soldiers, never knowing why and who wants to capture him and being aided by a mysterious attractive woman (Jessica Biel).  He awakes every morning after having the same dream, vivid as if it were a memory.  We are in a future world where Britain is an empire and we can travel through the centre of the earth to get to the Colony (formerly Australia).  You either live on Britain or in the Colony.  Seems like the Colony is where the lower classes/unsightly folk live.  In this world, you can go to a place called Rekall to live out our wildest fantasies without ever leaving your chair.  The memories stay implanted into your brain so you can call them up at any time.

Quaid decides to go to Rekall to help with the dreams he has been having, against the wishes of his loving yet secretive wife (Kate Beckinsale).  He goes for a secret agent fantasy and then all hell breaks loose between reality and fantasy.

Total Recall is like The Matrix before The Matrix.  A life where you are not sure what it real and what it not.  However this remake doesn’t really call upon all those themes.  There is no humour from the original film even though some of the scenes are word for word.  It has been changed into a love triangle gone wrong, rather than a Jason Bourne type story as it should have been.  Britain and Australia are now apparently places where everyone has an American accent.  And there is no trace of what makes those countries what they are.  It’s an industrial American view of us across the pond.  And it’s horrible.

It looks good, don’t get me wrong.  The higgledy piggledy way the streets are structured, the building with is confusing levels like a magic eye painting and the mixture of future technologies and past structures.  But that is all it is.  There is no plot, no real acting finesse (Jessica Biel needs stop trying to act, you just can’t lady!) even though Farrell is the only light in the whole dark mess.  The women are completely miscast.  As if their budget didn’t really stretch that far to get real talent when they spent it all on Farrell.  Bill Nighy and Bryan Cranston are both completely wasted in the film too

I found the whole film confused and pointless and perhaps money could have been better spent elsewhere.

Expendables 2

The sequel to The Expendables, Expendables 2 is back with bigger guns, bigger action and even bigger stars.  Full to the brim with cheesy lines and jokes from the action stars previous films, the story is not needed in this film.

Stallone leads is motley crew of ageing action stars into battle after battle, good against evil, putting their personal lives aside for the good of all mankind.

When one of their own dies, Stallone goes renegade, all guns blazing for revenge of the man he lost.  Encountering some of the bloodiest fights on the way.

This film is a joke, it’s laughable.  It’s so bad, its good in a strange way.  It doesn’t try to be anything other than what it is.  The most money is spent on the cast and their plastic surgery than the special effects.  Who needs special effects when it all blows up anyway, right?  Great appearances from Bruce Willis, Arnie and Chuck Norris all work well.  Although a little dissapointed that Chuck Norris didn’t do his world famous roundhouse kick.

JCVD is as camp as ever, playing up to the comedic side we are seeing a lot on his Coors Light ads.  But he isn’t an effective villain so we always know beefcake Stallone will always win in that fight.

Best bit of the whole film was the interactions between Arnie and Willis and a clever use of a Smart car.  Just classic.

Look, it’s not smart and it’s not clever, but if you fancy a laugh with some explosions mixed in, give it a go.

Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Story

Being Elmo is the most amazing documentary about Kevin Clash, who made it his life mission to become a puppeteer on Sesame Street.

After watching the first televised show in 1969, Clash became obsessed with puppetry, making hundreds of his own and putting on shows for the local hospitals children’s ward.

Determined as he was, he became noticed by local TV ad starred in his own show.  This propelled him into an amazing journey and in meeting Jim Henson, he cemented his place in the Sesame hall of fame.

Creating Elmo by accident, he is now the most loved character of all Sesame history.  Elmo is small, red, fluffy and loveable.  Creating a character based on the simplest characteristic of all, Love.  You may think it hard for a huge black man, that Clash might find it difficult to separate the two, but upon seeing Elmo ‘come alive’, Clash almost disappears for me.  I see nothing but love and hugs and cuteness.  Clash isn’t a soldier, doctor or teacher.  Through Elmo, he is all those things to kids and adults alike.  Clash gives dying kids their last wish to have a fun and loving day with Elmo, does appearances in malls all around the world, trains local puppeteers in translated versions of the show, and even meets young wannabe puppeteers and guides them to their dream.

Kevin Clash has created something bigger than Sesame Street and puppetry. Clash has created a visual and fluffy interpretation of love. 

Imrun loves Elmo.

Aaliyah feat. Drake - Enough Said

A must listen for all Aaliyah fans out there.  Music just isn't the same without her and it's really great to hear this.  Would have prefered Missy and Timbaland to have produced it though as they knew her sound better than anyone in the business.

Miss you Aaliyah, RIP.

Cloud Atlas Extended Trailer

A fabulous trailer for the Wachowski's return to film in spectacular style.
It is rather long at over 5 minutes but the sign of a good trailer is that I still have no complete idea as to what its about.  Now going to frantically read the book before it comes out!
Enjoy.

Ted

Ted is the story of a lonely young boy who is not only lacking in friends but lacking in the ability to socially function, makes a special wish upon a star that his much loved teddy bear comes to life and is his best friend for life.  The boy’s wish comes true and thus starts the adventures of two friend together forever.

All very sweet, right?  Yes it is until Ted becomes famous for being a magical talking bear and teen hood sets in, bringing mischievousness and dirty mishaps for both the friends.

Cue modern day Johnny (Mark Wahlberg) and Ted (voiced by Seth McFarlane), beer swilling, stinky farting, obnoxious stoners.  Obsessed with Flash Gordon, they watch it over and over, getting more and more stoned daily.  When Johnny’s job and love life with Lori (Mila Kunis) start to become impaired by his extremely close friendship with Ted, Johnny decides to man up, take life and love seriously and distances himself from Ted, forcing him to move out and get his own place.

Slowly Ted and Johnny start to spend every day together again and Lori offers him an ultimatum than will change his life.

Firstly let me say, this film is vulgar, disgusting and juvenile so if you don’t like a fart/sex joke, don’t watch it.  I, however, bloody loved it.  Literally had me laughing so loud at times, I thought I was the only one laughing as all I could hear was myself.  The jokes and vulgarity come in so thick and fast that you can’t even breathe from laughing so hard.

It isn’t smart or clever and does feel like a really long live action Family Guy episode at times, but I haven’t seen a comedy like that in ages.  Not since Four Lions have I laughed so hard.  Not always because it’s funny, because it forces you to stop being so uncomfortable if controversial things are said/done.  I have to say I was so uncomfortable at times, I couldn’t do anything but laugh my ass off!

Wahlberg and Kunis are both funny and charming as the loved up couple, with some great cameos from Flash Gordon himself and a few others I will not mention as they are too funny to spoil.  Seth McFarlane is the stand out star as Ted, the vulgar little bear.  There are boundaries that you never expect a cute bear to cross, but he does and never comes back!  Listen out for the Parsnip comment, that one got me by surprise and I was in fits of uncontrollable laughter for quite some time.

If you are looking for a cheap laugh at things you would normally only laugh at inside your head, watch this film.  It makes bad things acceptable all because a little cute teddy bear says it.

The Dark Knight Rises

The Dark Knight Rises is the last in a special Batman trilogy directed by Chris Nolan.  Those that have seen Batman Begins and The Dark Knight will be familiar with his style, hard hitting, full of action, dramatic beyond belief.  Taking most of the comic out of the adaptation but leaving the camp comedy in.

I cried watching Batman Begins, the emotional loss of Wayne's parents really got to me.  I was emotional watching The Dark Knight, sad over the loss of Heath Ledger after his finest work and the slow death of Batman the hero into Batman the fugitive.

The Dark Knight Rises is the fantastic finale with a twist.  The action and acting faultless.  Bruce Wayne after many years of becoming a recluse, comes out of the shadows to reclaim his city after new villain Bane wreaks havoc across Gotham and brings it to its knees.

Bringing the old crew back together, Wayne with the help of Alfred becomes fully operational as Batman, suffers a setback when he realises his 8 year hiatus has left him in substandard fitness, he is left with a dilemma while the city is under siege.

The action is flawless as is the story arc to the climactic finish.  It is an amazing film and I could watch it again.  It is however flawed in a few ways that makes it miss its top spot and only gets 4 stars from me.

I had hoped Christian Bale would get rid of the comedy voice but low and behold its back, lower and camper than ever.  It ruins the character so much and would have preferred him keeping Wayne’s voice making him far more real.  Tom Hardy didn’t even need to be in the film at all.  With the mask that almost completely covers his face, we never really see his face long enough to see him ‘act’ through the mask.  Instead we see a rather beefy man with the comedy voice that could have been just about any wrestler out there with a voice that can lead in any E4 show very loudly.  Hardy was wasted in this role, it would have been good to see him without the mask to see the man before the mask and add to his character.

Controversially I didn’t like Anne Hathaway as Catwoman.  Sure she can switch between the girl next door to the pussy cat to the hard faced bitch quite quickly but she doesn’t have the sex appeal and raw raunchiness that Michelle Pffieffer had/has as Catwoman in the earlier films.  I do think she is a beautiful woman but she always has that girl next door look and can’t do slutty nearly as well as Pfieffer can.  That said, she is great as Batman’s ally and provides a bit of fun in an otherwise dark film.

There could have easily had about half an hour cut out of the middle of the film, it didn’t add too much to the story or action for me and wasted too much time.

Very unhappy with the fact that the amount of money spent on this film can only supply some substandard CGI in too many places.  If it’s not good, don’t put it in the film.

Despite all the bad flaws, I loved the plot twists at the end in the last half hour or so, even though much of it was alluded to throughout the film, they weren’t any less enjoyable or surprising.  I will be honest, I did love the first and second film more but the standout performances from Joseph Gordon Levitt and Michael Caine were quite amazing and made it all worthwhile.

A fantastic film if you are willing to let a few things go.  That said I am going to see it again in the cinema.  And there aren’t that many films I would see twice at the cinema, so that is saying something.

Friends with Kids

Friends with Kids is the tale of a couple of singleton best friends who decide to have a child together so they don't miss out on parenthood when neither of them are able to find a suitable mate.

Don't watch this film.  All the funny people are barely in it at all and the main protagonists are so unlikable, you don't care what happens to them.

This film depressed the shit out of me and reminded me there is no such thing as perfect.  Everything is fraught with pain and arguments, even in the most perfect of relationships.  Grass is never greener.  Its just fine where I am thank you!

Tyrannosaur

Tyrannosaur is the story of two people in equally different and difficult circumstances that form a special bond in their times of need.

Robbed at the Bafta's last year, especially for Best Actress for Olivia Colman's stunning performance as a beaten down wife, this film is not easy to watch.  Its dark from the start, the sun never coming out except when Peter Mullan is in the scenes with Colman.  Only then are there glimmers of hope for the two of them.

Mullan plays a man down trodden by life, the death of his wife sends him into a spiral of self hate and hate for others.  Their new and tender relationship shapes the rest of the story and how they come to help each other through their difficult times.

While it is harrowing (Colman's savage beating by her demeaning bully of a husband comes to mind), it is still tender and emotional in a way that you don't expect.  I cried a few times as the simple nature of their relationship.  Its by no means an easy watch but it is tragically beautiful all the same.

Five Year Engagement

Five Year Engagement is the story of the modern couple. Who meet, fall in love, get engaged, and stay engaged. Forever.

Jason Segel, the master of comedy these days and one of my favourites, writes and co directs this film about a perpetually engaged couple, never really pushing to get married and slowly resenting each other.

Its quite depressing at times, at other beyond stupid.  It wasn't sure if it was a comedy or a drama and not fully succeeding at either.  Unlike Segel's other films, this one stops and stalls so much, you never know what to feel.  Not even Segel naked can bring it back from the brink.

One to avoid.

Monsters University Teaser - Pony

The New Monsters University teaser trailer is out.  I can't wait!

Wookie ft Rachel K Collier "2 Us"

If you are a Wookie fan and have missed his stuff over the past 6 years, then check this out.  Quite contemporary but I do like it.  Not as groundbreaking as his original stuff, but still banging none the less!

Snow White and The Huntsman

You may or may not have gotten bored of the sudden influx of fairy tale themed movies and TV series, all fluffy and the like (Mirror Mirror, Once Upon A Time), but out came Snow White and The Huntsman.  A small section on the classic fairy tale bought to life looks at the time that Snow White (Kristen Stewart) escapes from the prison she is incarcerated in by her wicked stepmother The Queen (Charlize Theron) for being fairer than her.  The Queen then sends out a skilled hunter and marksman The Huntsman (Chris Hemsworth) to bring Snow back dead or alive.

We discover The Queen came from a poor background and her mother a powerful sorceress places a curse on her to make her more fair than any woman in order for her to get a higher social standing.  The Queen asks the mirror who the fairest is and if it’s not her, she gets the young woman who has been seen as fairer and steals her youth and beauty.  However Snow is more fair than all in the land, thus landing her in hot water.

All fluffy and sweet right?  Wrong!  This is one dark film, looking at the time is it’s supposed to be set, a time with no electricity, medieval almost.  At points, it was quite scary and for a 12a rating, I felt it could have been a 15 and added a bit more violence into it rather than censoring it to appeal to a younger audience.

The Queen is truly evil and Theron plays that wickedness to a T.  With all the beauty she has, she is adept at bringing across the hate and evilness in just a look.  Far better in this type of role than in more recent Prometheus, where she drowned in a sea of crapness.

I am a big fan of Hemsworth as you all know (what’s not to like, he is a gorgeous beefcake giant of a man!) and he delivers action in spades.  A troubled and sad man with a heart, governed by his emotions and lead by his skill, he brings a strong and silent nature to the Huntsman.

The weakest link for me is Stewart.  Why Hollywood keep giving her big mainstream roles is beyond me.  She is unable to do any other character but her own (Twilight, Adventureland to name a couple) and she is not a fair and pretty princess.  Yes this is film is meant to go to the darker side of a fairy tale, but some things have to be relative.  Stewart is awkward and unattractive, she is never fairer than Theron!

This film was brilliant I have to admit, but could have been better with a leading actress that can actually act.

Prometheus

I know I posted the trailer a little while back as I was floored by how amazing it was.  I was so excited and couldn't wait to get to the cinema to watch it. I had no idea what to expect but booked tickets as a birthday present to myself.

Prometheus is the prequel to the Alien trilogy, the story behind the story.  In short, its crap.

I was so dissappointed by it.  A group of scientists and a robot stop in a foreign planet to see some anomolies in search of how human life started.  They land, they talk a bit, the investigate some structure, a couple of scientists get booted off by some Alien babies.  The main scientist Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) finds one of the alien beings and discovers that in fact they are early humans, three times the size of regular ones.  The Aliens are based on Human DNA.  Shocker. 

Some more man Alien mishaps occur and lots of people die.  Shaw survives and flies off.  Only an hour after performing a self caesarian section.

TOO MANY PLOT HOLES, stupid action, all of it in the trailer so no need to see the film.  The big dissapointment was the 3D.  When you go to the Imax in London, you get a special 3D presentation just before the begins showing off the spectacular effects and how great 3D can look. 
And then the film starts, and it barely utilises the 3D effect.  So what's the point.

The script laughable, its like they never watched the Alien films.  And the directing?  Scott doesn't hark back to any of the the original films and it looks like he never directed it at all.

A real shame.