Suspect's Reviews

I guess that, with the film performing so poorly in every territory it was released in, they just decided not to bother with the expense of a theatrical release in Oz.

That seems to be the general consensus - it'll probably end up going straight to DVD sometime in the next few months.

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Iro's Top 100 Movies v3.0

Push (Paul McGuigan)




Ambition and Style Is There, Everything Else Is Missing

Nick is a special guy, he can move objects with his mind. He's not alone though, there are thousands of others who have this ability, and even more who have their own unique powers. Nick is a mover, you see because he moves things. He meets a young girl, she is a watcher, she sees the future. They are attacked by some people who scream really loud, so loud Nick's ears bleed, these guys are called bleeders. They attack the two because their sister, who is also a watcher, sees the two of them with this other girl who has the ability to make people do whatever she wants by getting into their heads, these people are called pushers. This girl was injected with a serum that is suppose to make these people use their powers to their full potential. Only problem is that the serum has killed everyone who has taken it...except her. Now she is on the run from a shadowy government agency called Division, this Asian gang that wants the serum and Nick is stuck in the middle of it all.

A lot to take in huh? That's how you will feel while watching the film. It tries so hard to establish itself as a new 'franchise' or creative universe that it wants to jam pack it all into this one film, knowing full well that there may never be any sequel. Yet we get set up for one anyways. There are even more people whose powers that I didn't mention because it would be too overwhelming. You also have sniffers, who literally sniff around objects and can see the past of that object, everyone who has interacted with it. Shadowers, who can hide people from sniffers. Wipers, who wipe your mind and stitchers, who heal you, or 'stitch you up'. Get it? All the names these people are called are clever because movers move things, bleeders make you bleed, watchers watch the future, etc.

So the film has ambition, I can see the reality it set itself in. I accept this reality. Even with all these people I didn't find it too hard to keep track of who was who and with what power, other people might. Oh, I forgot one more, there are also shifters, these guys can change any object into another one for a short amount of time. They 'shift' the object. To sum this film up, it feels like a third rate x-men flick. So much effort was put into creating this world and all the special and unique things about it, that they forget to include interesting characters, a cohesive plot and a story that we care about.

Dakota Fanning is the young watcher, she draws what she sees. She only sees her and nick dying, so she is not too happy. She is young and is inexperienced, or a level 2 as she calls it. So she doesn't always get things right, or she gets them too late. Nick is also a level 2. He has the ability to move things, but has trouble. He has trouble lifting a notepad, shifting some dice over to win a bet, but later on has the ability to carry guns high above his head, move people and other objects. I'll chalk this up to some kind of emotion he had during that time, but it does feel a bit inconsistent.

So pushers are these all powerful guys, who can make you do anything. Division is after this one pusher who survived the serum. For an example of what they can do, they can make you believe that you had a brother who you loved very much, when you never did. This brother of yours was murdered in cold blood, by a man you've been searching for, this man just so happens to be your partner. Of course the next scene that follows is the one guy shooting his partner because he thinks he killed his brother, whom never existed.

The point in this film that made me really loose faith is when they hatch their plan. Since they have watchers watching them and seeing the future, they decide to 'not have any idea of how to do their master plan' basically going in blind, keep changing their minds, blah, blah, blah. Nick writes letters to everyone, none of them can open it until the time is right, then he gets his mind wiped of ever writing those letters. They open the letters and follow them, thus the watchers cannot see the future because the good guys do not know what they are about to do. The premise of the film is that the future can always be changed.

The final confrontation has movers moving bullets away from their body from dozens of guns shooting at them, and two movers fighting each other, with each punch being enhanced by their powers. There is a confusing sequence with the serum and who has what and why certain people are in certain places. How Nick knows everything is going to turn up in his favour is a lead of faith. The acting is by the numbers, Chris Evans is his usual arrogant self. You can't tell the difference between this character, or the one from Cellular or Johnny from Fantastic Four. Dakota Fanning has a plot line involving her mother, that is never explored and left for the 'sequel'. Camille Bell plays the girl everyone is looking for and her role consists of looking sick every now and then and finally Djimon Hounsou in a forgettable role of the villain.

Push tries to be something it isn't and fails. I appreciate it for it's ambition, but it's hard to start a new franchise from scratch. It's hard to be invested in a film with characters you don't care for, it's hard to like a film that feels like a rip off of x-men.

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"A laugh can be a very powerful thing. Why, sometimes in life, it's the only weapon we have."

Suspect's Reviews

Well, the Top Ten Worst Movies of 09 are done, on to the cream of the crop.

Before we begin, let's start off with a few films I really did love, but just didn't make that top ten list.

500 (Days of Summer)
It starts off telling you that this is not a love story, and it never tries to be. Great performances from both the leads and strong direction. The film and the theme is heightened by a great soundtrack that actually gives it depth, instead of what the popular kids listen to.

The Hangover
Funniest movie (intentionally) I've seen this year, a more adult and thought out comedy than the horrible Dude, Where's My Car. Both deal with characters being wasted beyond the ability of remembering what happened the night before and they then try to re-trace their steps. One done in hilarity, the other not. Special props for the breakout performance from Galifianakis.

Zombieland
The so called American version of Shaun of the Dead. Sadly, it doesn't live up to it's UK brother, but this is still loads of fun. The always reliable Woody Harrelson is here for a good time and the Michael Cera wannabe isn't too shabby either. Points for best cameo of all time and unique credit sequence.

Watchmen
This is the one film that I wanted to be on my top ten the most. So many parts of it are just brilliantly translated to the screen. This film could have been a horrible failure, but it wasn't. It was the best that it could have been, for a feature format. It goes to say (at least for me) that this year was pretty strong for films.

Onto the list...





The Top Ten Of 2009

10. Where The Wild Things Are



More mature than people thought, which is why it gets a lot of flack. The lack of a plot is forgivable because the story of the kid feels real. his relationships with the wild things are what is important and this film gets it. The great soundtrack and cinematography are welcomed additions to a somewhat underrated film. It was and yet wasn't, what I had expected it to be.


9. Drag Me To Hell



If I have one regret this year, it was that I did not get to see this hilarious, bloody, Sam Raimi goodness in the theatres. Did I want to see it? Sure, did I think it was his return to horror? I didn't think it would be. Was I wrong? Sure was. Raimi knows what the problem with horror films today and as an even more F-U to them, he limited his film with the PG-13 rating. Making him be more creative with the environment he started off in. Hek nows people don't like cheap scares, so he ditches them. Everything that happens to our lead, is happening to her for a reason. Props for some throw back humour to the Evil Dead films and even though the ending was predictable, it was still BAD ASS.


8. The Hurt Locker



Another film that I want to be a bit higher on this list. Bigelow has proven his has what it takes to be with the big boys. Here is an intense, gripping and real down and dirty film. Superbly acting by the upcoming Jeremy Renner, who is criminally underrated, but hopefully won't be in the near future. The film takes no political sides, it just tells the soldiers stories as they are, right in the thick of things. Amazing bomb defusing sequences, sniper rifles sequences, and so on. The most tense film of the year.


7. AVATAR



I originally had this one higher, but bumped it down to #7. The biggest film of the DECADE, makes my top ten list. I thought this year would be the year of Watchmen, I was horribly wrong, it was the year of Avatar. The film is gorgeous, there is simply nothing like it today. People complain about the writing, saying it's lazy and rips off Ferngully/Dances with Wolves/Pocahontas. I don't see that as a negative, every film borrows bits and pieces here and there. I knew absolutely nothing going in, I avoided trailers like the plague, and I knew how the story was going to unfold. That was no problem for me, the story fit the type of film it was perfectly. I think if it tried to be smarter, it would have lost a lot of it's appeal. I see past whatever messages people are trying to throw on this film (Pro Environment/Anti Military) which is false, Cameron's own brother served. I saw it as a throw back to 80's action films, upgraded with a futuristic story and technology. It worked for me.

6. Star Trek



Never seen any of the Shatner oriented films, my Star Trek experiences have always been with Stewart. How was a reboot going to fare? Not many people are fans of reboots (with one caped crusader being an exemption). J.J. Abrams pulled it off. Brining in both sides (Trekkies/Non-Trekkies) into a theatre and blasted their seats with high-octane entertainment. The film is smart (some will argue that), funny, fast-paced, and holds some emotional weight to it. I really liked how the integrated this reboot with the old series/films. I thought it worked perfectly. An underwritten villain is it's only real fault.


5. Fantastic Mr. Fox



Here is a film I am so glad I gave a chance. I really disliked the animation style they were showing us in the trailers, but absolutely loved it in the film. Why the transition? I think it just feels right in the film, once you enter this world that has been created. It feels natural and off the wall at the same time. The voice acting is top notch and the comedy is there for adults and kids. I did not expect to enjoy this film as much as I did, but it had me in a happy state of mind the whole time.


4. Up In The Air



Everyone associated with this film was top notch. Great writing, masterful directing from Reitman, who is becoming a personal favourite of mine. Clooney, Farmiga and Kendrick fit their roles perfectly and played extremely well off one another. I called one scene and when it happened I didn't feel upset that I knew before hand, instead I was satisfied. It worked and I wouldn't have had it any other way. Another entry that has a great soundtrack with it (yay Elliott Smith).


3. Inglourious Basterds



Tarantino is another personal favourite of mine. I know a lot of people call him a hack, but the industry is all about taking something and putting your own spin on it. He does this. His knowledge of film is so vast it scares me, he loves the good and the crap. The fact that he is trying to bring these low rent genres to the mainstream is admirable. I have enjoyed everyone of his films and Basterds ranks up there among his best work. I like it more now than I originally did. The opening scene is by far, his best written work. I don't even mind his history changing events.


2. District 9



This film was another one that blew me away. Like the other sci-fi flick on this list, I had no real idea what I was getting myself into. I knew it involved aliens in South Africa, that was pretty much it. The editing is masterful and flows fluidly throughout the film, mixing both handheld documentary style cinematography with a more conventional film style really well. So much so that I never noticed the change until 3/4 of the way through. The last half of the film had me on the edge of my seat with a giant smile on my face. People exploding left right and centre and amazing special effects that blended well into their environments. The little things they left out of the plot, I loved. I loved that I had to fill in the gaps about them being able to understand each other and so on. District 9 fresh and innovative.


1. UP



Pixar, you are on a roll. I don't know how you do it, but every year you give us gold. I didn't know how you were going to pull this one off. Old man, house with balloons, an asian kid as his sidekick. But within the first ten minutes, my heart strings were tugged. I was emotionally invested in a character through montage, so early in the film. I don't think that has ever happened to me before. Add in the beautiful colours, the grand story-telling and a great villain, Up makes for a great viewing. The film has an old geezer with a walker as the lead character, and yet I was still invested with him every second. You felt his pain and you felt his triumphs. The balancing of emotional moments and bits of comedy work well and just when I thought they wouldn't get me teary eyed, they hit me again. Bravo.

Good stuff Suspect, half those films made my current list. Still waiting to see four of the others (the exception being Star Trek, which would probably be somewhere in the top 20 - good but not great, you know). Hurt Locker doesn't come out for another two months here.

On a random note - Drag Me To Hell has a PG-13 rating? In Australia it got an MA (ie people under 15 can't watch it without an adult).

I think you'll enjoy Hurt Locker, and yea I noticed the similarities in our list. Doesn't surprise me though because we usually agree on many films.

True - ended up seeing Fantastic Mr. Fox earlier today, would probably include that on a revised list.

The Book of Eli (The Hughes Bros)



A Well Done Post Apocalyptic Thriller

The Book Of Eli tells the story of one man, Washington, who must cross the United States and head west to an unknown location, all while protecting a book, with his very life. Along the way he enters a small town, run by a not so nice Gary Oldman. Oldman is looking for a book, one that will give him the power over people. It just so happens that Washington is carrying the one book that he seeks. Thrilling cat and mouse sequence ensues.

I think it's safe to say, that with all the religious marketing the film has been doing that revealing what the book is, is not a spoiler. The book is obviously the bible. According to Eli (Washington) they live in a world that is a result of some kind of nuclear fallout. It is never fully stated, but bits and pieces are thrown out there for the viewer to fill in the rest. Many people thought this happened because of the bible and religion. So every known copy of the bible was burned. Every known copy except for the one Eli has. So he walks west with it in his bag, for 30 years no less.

The Hughes brothers paint their film in dull burnt grays and browns. It fits the apocalypse feel that the movie if obviously trying to go for. The earth is scorched, the characters search for water and trade boring things as if it were currency. It's a very Mad Max/Road Warrior/Fallout 3 vibe. The only other Hughes brother film I have seen was the underrated From Hell. Both films feature great aesthetics. The attention to detail in the set design, costumes and overall atmosphere in both films are great. They also never let their stars overpower the film. I give them, and the leading actors credit to this.

Washington does fine in this role. He's getting up their in age and seems to be able to do martial arts with the best of them. This is his first role in which he has to be physically a bad-ass mofo, who wields a machete like weapon and bow & arrow. His performance is nowhere near the likes of Rubin Carter from the Hurricane or Alonzo from Training Day. Yet he still holds the film confidently. In the supporting roles are Gary Oldman, who returns to his true form as the bad guy, and Mila Kunis, who seems to be showing people she actually has acting chops. Oldman doesn't overact in his usual villainous way (The Professional). Here he seems restrained, yet still eerily creepy.

The more I think about the film, the more I like it in hindsight. When the credits first started to roll, I was a bit upset with what the Hughes were offering us. But upon further reflection and reading up on what other people's thoughts on the ending were, I've come to appreciate it more. It's definitely a film that I want to visit again and pick up on things I missed the first time. If a film makes me want to watch it again, I guess that gets a thumbs up on my part.

Though the last bit of the film does seem to drag on a bit much, the film as a whole works. You are set in this world with them and understand it completely. Of course some people will be scratching their heads in confusion over some things in the film, but for me they worked. The film doesn't really push many religious overtones on you either, which is a bit surprising. Considering all the religious marketing this film has, I was expecting it to play a bigger hand in the film.

Check out The Book of Eli, even with it's obvious apocalypse movie clichés, it's a good flick.

I agree with your reviews. I like how you used the popcorn as the ratings. very creative!

Thanks, I invented it, then Yoda loved it so much he incorporated it into the site. So every time someone uses a popcorn, I get 25 cents.



edit: oh, he's banned....

Last review in this thread was more than 2 years ago.

Premium Rush (David Koepp)



Vantage Point meets Next.

A bike messenger is given a package that is more than he bargained for, when a crooked cop begins to chase him all throughout the city.

My biggest problem with this film is one that probably won't bother anyone else. While I was in New York, it was basically stop and go traffic. In this film, there are hardly any cars on the road. I just kept thinking to myself, okay, I'll buy the bike messenger being able to ride around the city, but no way in hell can I buy the cop in a car chasing him. My own little gripe, but one that really took me out of the experience of the film.

The film tells the same story from different perspectives, much like the 2008 film Vantage Point, which retold the same crisis from different perspectives. In that film, the footage would rewind with the time and re-tell it, Premium Rush almost does the exact same thing. The clock winds back and we see the same situation from a different character's perspective. The only difference is that this film has one lead character that is stuck in the middle of this mess. Once the 4 different perspectives of the same event are told, we are stuck with JGL for the rest of the film.

Premium Rush suffers from the "fake injury" cliché that almost every film struggles with. He has his ribs broken, then hurt more when the cop interrogates him, yet when he jumps on a bike, he manages to not only pedal with ease, but do insane jumps and tricks, but it's okay because after all that he simply holds his ribs for a few seconds to let the viewer know it hurt a little.

I mentioned for this film is reminiscent of Vantage Point and Next, do you remember Next? That crappy Nicolas Cage film where he could see ten second into the future and figure out every possible move to make in order to make sure he made the right one? This film has a similar aspect, when our lead character comes to an intersection and he "imagines" going one way, which he ends up getting hit by car. Another way, shows him hitting a pedestrian, then finally he sees the last way and it's safe passage. Come on guys!!!

Michael Shannon is the dirty cop who is after JGL, I won't reveal the reason why, but I was underwhelmed. He plays the cop over the top and he seems to be having a little bit of fun. He always shines in every role he's given, here he chews up the scenery. But, you don't go to Premium Rush to see good acting, you go for the RUSH!!!!!

The film is thrilling...enough for a movie about a bike messenger. There are some nice scenes of him biking through traffic, nothing memorable enough to tell you about. The film is not something I would recommend people rushing out to see. It's a rental at best.

Spot on review. I liked Denzel's physicality in Safe House. Man On Fire yet remains hard to match.

The Purge (James DeMonaco)



The Purge should have and could have been so much better.

The year is 2022, crime is at an all-time low of 1%. This is due to an act known as The Purge. For a 12 hour period, all crime including murder is legal. The Sanders family is about it feel the ramifications of this act.

This concept, although absurd, is something that could have been an intense thrilling horror show. The concept is a great one for entertainment. Yet The Purge fails to capitalize on this concept and instead it confines itself to a one location low budget thrill show in the style of 2008's The Strangers. There are many areas this film could have excelled at, but unfortunately misses the mark on most of them.

I imagine if James DeMonaco, the writer and director, who has worked with Hawke multiple times before, had expanded his story to take place outside one house, the results might have been much better. Think of the creativity of the kills, the thrills of the chase, the dangers of not knowing who else is out there. Instead we are stuck inside a house with some stupid characters who do stupid things only to advance the plot. you'll find yourself yelling at some of the characters, specifically the son, who is responsible for this whole mess the family find themselves in. The young lad lets in a wounded man who is being hunted by a group of teens of are taking part in the Purge. They know the guy is in the house, so they will do anything to get in.

Of course to make the film more entertaining, they eventually do. Then it becomes a cat and mouse game between the family stuck inside and the would be killers with masks. The leader of this gang is a rich kid who is mild mannered and is willing to kill his best friend if he becomes annoying. While the character is somewhat interesting, this film desperately needed a more prominent villain. Key elements like this could only make the film better. I feel like there was a good film in here somewhere but certain choices hinder it from becoming something that people will talk about years from now. One decision I think it failed at was the ending.

The Purge had the chance to end on a real downer, something depressing and shocking that will get people talking. Instead it ends on a predictable note, which leaves you completely dissatisfied. The Purge should have ended with a bang, not a whimper.

Bad Words (Jason Bateman)



Offensively funny.

What happens when a 40 year old foul mouthed man attempts to beat little kids at a spelling bee competition? Jason Bateman tries to answer that question as he berates little kids, their parents and anyone else who questions why he has decided to do such a shamelessly embarrassing thing.

We meet Guy (Bateman) at a competition when another adult mistakes him for a parent of a child in the competition. Guy immediately lets this man know that his small talk, is not welcomed and he needs to back off. This is our first indication that Guy is a jerk. He doesn't have time for anything else, except to win. Which is exactly what he tells the guy before he walks onto the stage and confuses the crowd. When the judges running the competition try to kick him out, he pulls out this loop hole, which states that in order for you to qualify, you must not have passed the 8th grade before a certain date. Guy actually qualifies and uses this to his advantage as his foul mouth runs off the letter of the words required to proceed in the competition.

The reporter who pays for his hotel, flight and car rental accommodations to these events, is only doing so in order to get the scoop on the big question that people seem to have...WHY? Why has a grown man decided to enter these competitions? Each competition Guy wins gets her closer and closer to these answers. Along the way he manages to befriend a small child who will end up being his competition. Guy shows him how to have fun, by drinking, swearing and exposing him to his first set of breasts, by a prostitute no less.

So what makes the film funny? Is it Bateman's rapid fire cursing at anyone who bothers to talk to him, man, woman or child? The joyfulness that the film takes in its R rating? Or is it the extreme lengths that Guy will go in order to win, which would include making a young girl believe she had her period for the first time minutes before she was to go on stage. Well, it's all of these and more. Bateman, who also finds himself behind the camera, shows no fear in basking in the R rated-ness of the subject matter. Telling a young child to F-off is something that this film loves to do.

Bad Words is a dark comedy, in the style of Bobcat Goldthwait's directorial efforts. The subject matter seems to suit Bateman to a T. Being both in front of the camera and behind it gives Bateman the freedom to reign down the obscenities in the style that suits him best. As a director, Bateman serves the story well enough. There is nothing interesting visually here, save for one gag that has the televised event cut to "technical difficulties". As funny as Bad Words is, it definitely won't be 'remembered' down the road from now. As it stands, it's a funny film to pass the time on a friday night. Of course, you'll have to be able to laugh at racist and misogynistic humour.

I sure did.

have been VERY curious about this film, THANKS for the review.

And now, to journey back and see the rest of them. . .

Thanks for the review; I look forward to seeing this as I always like Bateman.

Nice reviews Suspect may give The purge a miss

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Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship.
Buddha

Agree with just about everything you said about War of the Worlds. The film definitely has plot holes you can drive a truck through and Dakota Fanning is beyond annoying.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (Matt Reeves)



Dawn is an intelligent spectacular Hollywood blockbuster

When Rise of the Planet of the Apes was first released, I found myself laughing at the trailers. I thought it was going to be terrible. Boy was I wrong, it turned out to be an engaging thrilling spectacle. I don’t know why I seem to keep underestimating this series because I didn’t expect this sequel, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes to be that great. Not only is the film great, it’s probably the best summer blockbuster this year and will no doubt make my top ten list by the year’s end.

The virus at the end of the original film has almost wiped out humanity. There are small groups of survivors who are genetically immune to the virus. One of these survivors is Malcolm (Jason Clarke) who is on a mission to find an alternative power source since his group of survivors, including Gary Oldman and Keri Russell, are running out of their resources. While out in the forest, he runs into the apes, ruled by Caesar (Andy Serkis). Despite an uneasy truce between man and ape, tension boils and war becomes inevitable.

I know people were trying to rally for an Oscar nomination for Serkis and his portrayal of Caesar. That fell on deaf ears. This time around, expect them to make even louder noise. Serkis delivers his best performance in motion capture to date and gives us a deep and inspirational character here. Caesar is a born leader; he commands the screen just as much as he commands his apes. Stop with this nonsense of what is his performance and what the do the animators manipulate. Look at what is brought to the table; we have a compelling character that we care for. I found myself on the edge of my seat with excitement whenever Caesar was on the screen and his second in command Koba is right there with him. Scarred from numerous testing by humans, Koba is a classic tragic character. You know that he doesn’t trust the humans; his experience with them is the complete opposite of Caesar’s. You know where he is coming from and you know where he is heading. His actions are justified in his eyes and you never outright hate him. This is what great writing, performance, direction and stellar animation is here. We have two unforgettable characters at odds with each other, even though they both respect and love one another.

If you were impressed with the motion capture animation of the first film, marvel at what they’ve accomplished here. You’ll rub your eyes a few times thinking these apes were real. The attention to detail is astonishing and should rightly be awarded come Oscar time. A film like Transformers adds nothing new, special or awe-inspiring in terms of its effects. Sure it looks cool, but this film makes the special effects integral to the emotional core of the story. The facial expressions on these apes make you feel more emotion than what many actors try to achieve their whole career. Reeve’s stages exciting action sequences in the third act, when both the humans and apes collide. The special effects stay first class. You never lose sight of where you are in the action. Reeves constantly makes sure that we as the audience, are aware of the action in correspondence to the characters. It’s refreshing to be able to see what’s going on up on that screen. All building up to the emotional climax. This film simply has it all.

It runs a long 130 minutes and it feels a tad long due to some pacing issues, but a lot of those scenes are to flesh out the characters. Both apes and humans are given their time and no one really gets the short stick. We spend most of our time with the apes, but we never are told to side against the humans. There are individuals on both sides that make stupid decisions. The film’s one clichéd hiccup is that it uses a one-dimensional character that has been written a thousand times before in these films to initiate the tension. I can handle one hotheaded trigger-happy one-dimensional character in this piece because we are given deep and interesting characters to actually care about.

Dawn is an intelligent spectacular Hollywood blockbuster in a time when there are thousands of mindless boring flicks that companies just throw money at. This is proof, right here, that with patience, care and talent you can have an engaging thrilling film that people will want to see and talk about. Stop with the product placement, high priced trash that gets spit out of the ass end of Hollywood. We need more films like Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.

Can't wait. I was nervous about the sequel as well but people seem to be enjoying just as much as Rise.

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