Adventureland

Advertised as "from the director of superbad", Adveantureland has a lot to live up to. Superbad was one of the most succesful comedies of the last few years. Where superbad is a loose biographical tale of Seth Rogens ascent into adulthood, Greg mottolas new film mirrors his own growing up

Safe to say their is plenty that we can all relate to. The minimum wage job, the chase of the unobtainable girl, but most of all that magical summer, that most of us had at some point in our adolescence when, despite the situation (rubbish job, no money) you feel as if you have your whole lives ahead of you

The whole themepark setting gives plenty of scope for comedy and fun times, and with crazed customers and out of date corn dogs, you realize that getting through the summer alive may not just be metaphorical

Adventureland, much like superbad relies on some crude humour, although its definitely no superbad 2. It has more heart and a gooeyier centre, but is still equally fullfilling

If you liked superbad, or even a fan of Bill Heder, Kristen Stewart, Ryan Renolds, Jesse Eisenberg etc etc. there should be enough here to keep you happy. Like a day at the fair, its full of ups and downs, and if you manage to get through it without spilling your guts, happy days!!


3/5

(500) days of summer

This is not a love story

from the opening disclaimer to the end credits it seems very clear that (500)days of summer isnt your average rom-com. In fact, the film seems to go out of its way to avoid the usual cliches and in my opinion ends up all the better for it

Rom-coms exist on a very tried and very tested formula, guy meets girl, throw an obstacle in their way, they overcome that obstacle and end up living happily ever after. Nothing wrong with this, and if you are someone that needs a bit of sugar to help your popcorn go down then you probably would of been better watching the proposal.

(500) days strives to be original, and this could come across as feeling forced and contrived, but the writing and stellar performances from Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt dont allow that

Directed by first timer Marc Webb, he goes for the understated yet stylish, but also takes the breath aswy with a big musical number and an expectation vs reality split screen that works fantasically well

here we have a story of role reversals, guy meets girl, guy falls in love and girl wants to keep it casual. the most interesting and well used part of the tale is the time frame. set over 500 days it flits back and forth at random as we see snapshots of their blossoming relationship.

The one complaint I would have is that, although interesting, it seems a part Deschanel could do in her sleep, and the real meat and bones is left to Gordon-Levitt who is fortunately up to the task

With its indie charm, killer soundtrack and off-beat romance, this for me is one of the films of the year and a must see

so what you wating for...

5/5

Funny People

Ok, Funny people

well lets start with the title. Straight away you have to say its a bold move to call the movie funny people, I mean this means it really does have to be funny right?

Well I guess just being Judd Apatow means you are expected to be funny. The guy behind films such as Cable guy, Anchorman, Talladega nights, Superbad, Pineapple Express etc etc has a lot to live up to.

This movie is billed as being his third film (as both Writer and Director) following the hugely sucessful 40 year old virgin and Knocked up. In terms of subject matter, It seems Mr Apatow feels that the more serious the subject, the more laughs he can get out of it. The 40 year old virgin deals with belated sexual awakening, Knocked up deals with pregnancy after a one night stand, and Funny people deals with Death.

The film follows Adams Sandlers character, who is a successful comedian coming to terms with his terminal illness. He then finds out he is better and bang, he has obtained a new lease of life.

The film feels very personal, and the inclusion of actual footage of Adam Sandler making prank calls from when he used to live with Apatow just add to that. This is a film by stand up comedians by people who used to do stand up

So the main question is, is it any good?

Well the answer is a resounding yes. The film is probably Apatow's best work to date. The cast are superb and there is a great chemistry forged by the fact that these people are long term collaborators. Where the film is let down is by an over long third act which just means this excellent film meanders to its inevitable conclusion when it should of sprinted there. You could easily trim 20-30 minutes off and the film would be better for it

Saying that, if thats the only complaint I can find from Funny people, that there is too much of it, then its a complaint I would be happy to make again and again when it comes to future Apatow films

One of the best comedies of the year. Check it out


4/5

Avatar and Capitalism - A love story

Two great new trailers for check out. Michael Moore's new documentary about the global meltdown, and the Long awaited return of James Cameron in his epic 3-d adventure Avatar

Avatar



Capitalism - a love story

Inglourious Basterds!!!

Inglourious Basterds
18
153 mins

Quentin Tarantino is back, and after the disappointing grindhouse double bill, where tarantnos death proof was totally over shadowed by Robert Rodriguez’s, far superior planet terror,
everyone will want to know if this is a return to form

The simple answer is yes. This film is tarantino through and through, the trademark clever dialogue, the over the top violence and the complete disregard for historical accuracy are all in place

Anyone looking to see an accurate depiction of the second world war should stay at home and watch the History channel, tarantino has about as much regard for history as his Jewish characters have for their Nazi counterparts

As the films starts with a once upon a time heading, you realise this is a twisted fairy tale where Jews are knights and the Nazis are dragons to be slayed (or slain,, take your pick)

Tarantinos boldness is illustrated by the casting of A lister Brad pitt and then only using his sparingly, the real centre point of the film is unknown Austrian actor Christoph Waltz who delvers an amazing performance in a variety of languages

As with all Tarantino's films, the real meat is with the characters, and whether its the Basterds death squad, or Shosanna's revenge plot, these are well crafted charcters that you can't help but like despite some truly horrific acts. these horrific acts are quite sporadic, and the film, really builds up some great tension with the intense dialogue being muttered in several languages

Overall I think anyone who liked their fiction pulped, and their bills, well killed, will be happy with his latest offering, and film fans in general will find enough in this cross homage between spaghetti westerns and war films to keep them entertained

This is a must watch film

4.5/5

Killer Virals!!

Viral marketing is such a buzz term at the moment

You will probably have heard of the term loads of times. Obama was elected 44th President of the US using probably the most intense and sophisticated viral marketing campaign ever launched

But what does it all mean?

Well its basically any form of promotion using the internet and usually social networking and often involves clever, manipulative, disguised campaigns. The fact that you are reading this blog is probably due to viral marketing (facebook, twitter), but hopefully that doesnt make you think less of me ( and even if it does, continue with me and i will redeem myself, i promise)

So the best example of Viral marketing in movies happened a decade ago. The Blair With Project made everyone believe , at least initially, that the whole things was a documentary based on real life events. Missing posters, police reports and, witness interviews were all placed online to perpetuate the Blair Witch myth. This all conspired to the The Blair Witch Project become the highest grossing film of all time when measured against production costs. By the time the film hit the UK, it didnt matter that everyone knew it was a hoax, the internet hype had created a worlwide buzz that made the film a hit.

Some other great Viral ad campaigns were launched for the films A.I., Batman - The Dark Knight, and The Da Vinci Code (well not all great)

The reason I am talking Viral ads is that is becoming an increasingly powerful tool for the films marketing staff. In todays internet crazy society they have to come up with more and more interesting ways to give us sneak previews of films

If you know what to look for (and this is where I help) you can get some great little teasers, check out links below for virla campaigns for new films, District 9, Iron Man 2, and 2012.

District 9



D-9.com

Iron man 2



twitter.com/Jon_Favreau

2012



instituteforhumancontinuity.org/

enjoy!!!

Andy x

RIP John Hughes!!!

So another day and another legend dies

for those of you who don't know John Hughes was a massively influential american director who had massive hits in the eighties. His films are almost a calling card for that decade, full of wit, teen romance and the odd expletive.

His films include classics such as Planes, trains and automobiles, Ferris Buellers day off, weird science, the breakfast club, Sixteen candles, Uncle Buck, and Home alone amongst others.

My first memory of John Hughes films is turning the channel over late one night to discover, some crazy film where some guys create there perfect girl using their computer, complete nonsense, but utterly compelling at the same time. I later found out that film was weird science and I have seen it several times since, aswell as his other films.

He was a visionary director, who made films that completely represented the time, creating his own eighties zeitgeiest. He did shy away from the fame, and basically went into hiding for the last decade

Hughes impact on cinema can never be forgotton, with his influences being cited by such people as Kevin Smith and Judd Apatow. I will always look back at his films, with a fond smile, as for a lot of us they were a part of growing up in the eighties

anyway thats all i have time for now, but have a look at some john hughes tribute stuff, like this empire article

http://www.empireonline.com/features/why-john-hughes-rocked-the-80s/

Andy



Rip John Hughes
(February 18, 1950 – August 6, 2009)