31 Saturday Oct 2015
Posted in Movie opinions and thoughts
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With Spectre out in cinemas and me going to see it on Monday, I had to ask a question about spies. The spy movie genre is filled with countless classics of danger, conspiracy and dark deeds. So the question is, which movie revolving around espionage is your favourite? Is it a Cold War tale? A technological thriller story? Bond or Bourne? Mission Impossible maybe? Or any other kind of spy movie you can think of? Whatever it is, feel free to share your opinion.
31 Saturday Oct 2015
Posted in Announcements
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Just a quick post to wish everyone a wonderful Halloween. Whatever you’re doing, whether it be a party, trick or treating or just watching a scary film, have a great time. Stay safe and if some lunatic calls you on the phone a la Scream, hang up.
31 Saturday Oct 2015
Posted in Movie Reviews
Tags
2000's, Action, Adventure, Angelina Jolie, Christopher Barrie, Ciarán Hinds, Djimon Hounsou, Gerard Butler, Jan de Bont, Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, Noah Taylor
Film Title
Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life
Director
Jan de Bont
Starring
The Cradle of Life is a weak sequel to the first Lara Croft movie. While the first one may have not been flawless, it was still a hell of a ride and executed well. The same can’t be said of this film which feels dull and recycled to say the least. A few sequences are good and Jolie is amazing as ever, but this film is just a mess from the start.
Lara is uncovering what seems to be the Lunar Temple, which is underwater and because of an earthquake slightly risen in the sea odd Santorini. 
Unfortunately once she gets in, she is ambushed by warlords who take a mysterious orb from the temple before Lara can claim it. Lara manages to escape just barely as the ruins collapse behind her. Back at home following that opening adventure, she is researching the origins of the orb and what it could mean or in fact be. Through extensive research and her knowledge of mythology, she deduces that the orb is in fact a map that once deciphered can lead to the mythical Pandora’s Box, which resides in the hidden cradle of life and once opened will emit all the sorrows of the world and bring forth disease. Soon enough, MI6 comes around and tasks Lara with finding the orb before it falls into the wrong hands. 
The hands in question belong to a scientist turned bio-terrorist named Jonathan Reiss, who wants to make money of the discovery and spread destruction in his wake. Enlisting the help of disgraced former soldier Terry Sheridan because of his knowledge of the warlords she encountered, she infiltrates a crime syndicate in China that Reiss is using to transport the weapon. With danger around every turn of her globetrotting, it’s just another day at the office for the intrepid and sexy Lara as she races against time to stop evil from being unleashed upon the unsuspecting world.
In terms of directing, Jan de Bont knows how to do action effectively, but here he seems all at sea and doesn’t bring anything new to the table. Cradle of Life seems to suffer from a lack of imagination and feels like something of a repeat of the first movie, just with different settings and not done as well. 
There is a story in here somewhere, it just doesn’t come off as riveting or even exciting. Saying that, there are some great locations and a couple of good sequences, but nothing quite lives up to the first one. And while the first movie had a lack of coherence, it still managed to be intriguing, which Cradle of Life fails to do. I just feel like this movie is such a let down when it could have been so fun and enjoyable. Only a pulse-pounding score manages to inject a sense of movement into the film and stop it from being completely unwatchable.
Angelina Jolie is probably the best thing in this movie and once again brings prowess, sex appeal and strength to the title character. Without Jolie in the role and in this film, it would be wholly unwatchable. 
Gerard Butler does what he is required to do as the rogue Terry, who shares moments of sparky chemistry with her. Now I must say I like Ciarán Hinds as an actor, but he is saddled with a less than engaging role as the main villain. The writing of his character just feels lazy and not even the talents of Hinds can fix that. I felt that Christopher Barrie and Noah Taylor were extremely underused as Hillary and Bryce, considering the witty humour they brought to the first movie. Djimon Hounsou doesn’t fare well here and is not given enough to do in the role of a tribal man who helps Lara out.
Cradle of Life is a lazy sequel that sucks the life out of what the first film did, and only for the music and presence of Angelina Jolie is it at all watchable.
31 Saturday Oct 2015
Posted in Movie Reviews
Tags
2000's, Action, Adventure, Angelina Jolie, Christopher Barrie, Daniel Craig, Iain Glen, Jon Voight, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Noah Taylor, Simon West
Film Title
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider
Director
Simon West
Starring
It isn’t going to go down as a work of cinematic high art, but Lara Croft: Tomb Raider is one of the better video game adaptations out there. If you can ignore the incoherence of the plot and some flimsy dialogue, it is a hugely enjoyable popcorn movie of the highest order with action in bulk and a feisty heroine.
Lara Croft is the thrill-seeking daughter of Lord Croft, who just like her late father is an explorer for ancient and fabled artifacts. 
She is the kind of girl who isn’t above getting herself into dangerous situations for the sake of recovering treasure of mythological renown as she can fight, has a wide knowledge of history and is skilled with an arsenal of weapons. She is aided in her ventures by cyber geek Bryce and loyal butler Hillary. The main plot of the film revolves around Lara’s discovery of a clock that her father hid away, which inside contains a unique key that can harness great power when it is placed in position during a planetary alignment. Once in position, the mythical two pieces of a triangle that has the power to manipulate time can be used. Yet both halves of the triangle are located vast distances apart which sets Lara off on an adventure, starting in Cambodia and ending up in Siberia to make sure the triangle isn’t activated by the wrong person. 
Standing in her way is the slimy Manfred Powell, a member of a secret organisation wanting to use it for their own gain and Alex West, a former lover of Lara’s who is just in it for the money. Locked head to head in a quest to find it, Lara knows it will be dangerous. But when it comes to danger, Lara is more than adept at facing it and the challenges that come her way.
Director Simon West shoots the film with agile pacing that make the action sequences immensely good and help paper over the cracks in the story. 
This isn’t going to go down as the best action movie ever, but Lara Croft is sure as hell entertaining. It boasts some stunning locations and nifty special effects to show the mythological aspects at play in Lara’s quest to recover the triangle. There is a real sense of movement in the film that keeps it going at a lively pace till the end as Lara does battle with foes. The writing in this film is quite laughable and unconvincing as well as the plot that is pure hokum. Yet somehow this movie emerges as very entertaining and superbly awesome in the best way described as guilty pleasure viewing. A thundering kinetic score of techno beats and drums also lends a hand to the action of the film in a very effective way.
Angelina Jolie is ideally cast as the eponymous heroine and gives her all to the part. 
With feline eyes, lithe athleticism and witty retorts, Jolie is a marvel at portraying this woman of adventure who isn’t afraid to venture into the lion’s den to get her glory or thrills. As well as being physically perfect for the part, Jolie invests Lara with an independence, resourcefulness and an all round sense of fun. It’s safe to say she owns the part. Iain Glen does his best slimy villain act and does it very well indeed. Noah Taylor and Christopher Barrie are a hoot as two of Lara’s trusted helpers; their comic timing is very enjoyable because of the opposite nature of their personalities. Daniel Craig may not nail an American accent, but he plays the shifting loyalties of his character excellently. 
And in a small but pivotal role, Jon Voight portrays Lara’s father in flashbacks with authority. The casting here is very interesting because Voight is Jolie’s father in real life and some of that really enters their scenes together.
So while it’s not exactly an action masterpiece, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider delivers the goods and a sizzling turn from Angelina Jolie.
