PeterVincent's Reviews

Me & Orson Welles



There are many, many people in the world who hate the charming Mr. Zac Efron. Upon hearing his name the reply is usually, 'oh you mean the guy from Hight School Musical?' and my response is usually, 'but he was also in Me & Orson Welles'.

I must admit, Me & Orson Welles is a hard movie to track down, it was almost impossible for me to find anywhere, until one fateful day...I discovered it in the Target clearance bin.

The film is based one week in the life of Zac Efron's character, Richard Samuels, who is chosen to play Lucius in the upcoming play Caesar, directed by none other than Orson Welles.

While Zac Efron is good in the movie, the clear breakout is Christian McKay as Orson Welles. McKay struts around, barking at actors left right and centre and manages to be the heart and soul of the whole film, you even get a little disappointed whenever one of his scenes finish and the camera cuts to Claire Danes or Zac Efron.



The only problem I had with the movie was the pacing, the film is very slow and relies heavily on dialogue to keep the story going and most of the actors fail to deliver the goods in a believable way. The only exceptions are Christian McKay and Zac Efron, almost everybody else seemed like a stereotype or a cartoon character, even the lovely Claire Danes.

The film benefits greatly from it's cinematography and overall feel. The streets of New York always seem lively and swell and the atmosphere of Orson Welles' theatre is fantastic. So whoever was in charge of the cinematography did a great job at capturing a classical New York, clap...clap...clap.



Overall Me & Orson Welles is a fantastic film with some great acting from it's two leads, though Christian McKay is clearly the better of the two. Just discussing the film makes me want to see it again...and maybe once more after that.

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Oxfords not brogues.

Red Eye



And now for a movie that I quote frequently and nobody ever understands what i'm on about, a movie from 2005 by Wes Craven that is often forgotten amongst the majority of people, I am, of course talking about Red Eye.

Red Eye is a nice little thriller that revolves around Lisa Reisert (played very well by Rachel McAdams), an acting hotel manager who is returning home after attending her grandmother's funeral. Her flight is a red eye flight, which means she won't arrive home until early in the morning and by the looks of things the flight may be also be cancelled. Things are looking dull for poor Lisa until she bumps into Jackson Rippner (played extremely well by Cillian Murphy), and by incredible chance, the two are sitting next to each other on the flight.

While the film seems like a romantic drama for a while, a sudden twist is introduced, as Jackson Rippner reveals that he's been stalking Lisa for weeks and has a hit-man outside her father's house as they speak. As it turns out, a very powerful politician is staying in the hotel Lisa is managing and Jackson needs her help to assassinate him, or else her father will die.

Rachel McAdams plays the girl who's in the wrong place at the wrong time with excellence, managing to entertaining and establish a huge emotional connection with the audience. Though Cillian Murphy is fantastic also, playing a cold terrorist who honestly has the most powerful eyes of all time.



The movie is never slow and if I have any complaints, it's that the lighting is strange at certain points and the soundtrack is very generic and annoying almost constantly, but other than that I have no problems.

Overall Red Eye is an absurdly entertaining thriller with intense moments and scenes of chilling grace, Red Eye is a film I strongly recommend, especially if you want something to entertain you on a Friday night.

Project X



Well...The neighbour was kinda funny.

Project X is yet another one of those found footage/camcorder type films, but while Chronicle and Cloverfield were interesting and kept you on your feet...Project X is a party movie that takes too long to get to the point.

Project X stars a whole range of unknown actors, but one of the main problems of the film is that all of these strange and new actors seem to be doing impersonations of much better and more popular stars.



The film is about the birthday of lead character Thomas, and his two best friends, all of whom are preparing to host a massive party. After 30 minutes of what feels like a B-grade Superbad, the film actually starts to get interesting, though it lacks in laughs and plot...two essential things for this type of movie.

Overall I haven't said much about Project X, because there isn't much to say about it, it's in-your-face and wild, it fails horribly in many places, but it might be a lot of fun...if you're very drunk.

For some reason, I have never checked out Red Eye, despite my love for Murphy as an actor and it's intriguing premise. Your review has given me a boost to go check it out,

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"George, this is a little too much for me. Escaped convicts, fugitive sex... I've got a cockfight to focus on."

I Love You Phillip Morris



Apparently this is based on a true story.

Jim Carrey plays Stephen Russell, a con-man who will do anything to make a buck, until of course he gets caught out and thrown in jail. Stephen eventually fits in and by chance meets Phillip Morris (played by Ewan McGregor), Stephen falls in love and plans to spend the rest of his life with him, but when he's released from jail he begins to go back to his old con-man ways.



Jim Carrey has proved himself a great dramatic actor before, and he doesn't disappoint here. Carrey jumps around with clever humour and convincing dialogue and even manages to jerk a few tears out of you by the end of the film.

Now for Ewan McGregor, if you automatically assume he's a horrible actor because of Star Wars, then you are very wrong. McGregor proves himself a fantastic actor here, equally as good as Jim Carrey in the film.

I'd think of a problem about the film but...I don't have any problems with the it, not that I can remember at least.

Overall I Love You Phillip Morris is a wonderful film with believable characters (even if some ludicrous things happen) and fantastic pacing, it's funny from start to finish and is a must-see.

Underworld



Well I did the Resident Evil's, so lets do a similar series...a series I actually will admit I enjoy.

Underworld was a movie that popped up in 2004, it starred Kate Beckinsale (the reason I hit puberty) and Scott Speedman. Also supporting was Michael Sheen and Bill Nighy.

The movie focuses around Selene, a death dealer for the vampire clan, and she has one job and one job only, to hunt Lycan's (basically werewolves). After unraveling a Lycan plot to capture a human names Michael Corvin, Selene finds herself in the middle of a much bigger battle or something.



The movie is filled with flaws, primarily it's pace, it stammers around places and director Len Wiseman continuously uses slow-mo, though I have to admit, when Michael Sheen does that flip off the car in slow-mo...I was entertained. Also Scott Speedman is annoying at every turn, he whines and pouts and drags down the character of Selene.

The best things about the movie are probably Bill Nighy and Michael Sheen. Bill Nighy plays Viktor, one of the vampire elders, and from the moment he appears, covered in prosthetics, he rips apart the scenery with his over-the-top performance. Michael Sheen plays Lucian, the Lycan leader with a mysterious past, and Sheen plays it so well, you forget he's a villain.



Overall Underworld is a dodgy, low-budget, cheesy film. It's filled with wolf puppets and over-the-top nonsense, it's pace is horrible and most of the supporting cast (usually the vampire's) suck (no pun intended). However the backstory and primary performances are strong, as is the overall feel of the movie. Plus you have to admit, when Beckinsale was trapped and made a hole with her guns...that was a highlight, and it's that type of ridiculously entertaining action that makes the movie somewhat enjoyable.

I enjoyed underworld.

Underworld Evolution



She's like a scotch...or a wine. She just gets better and better with age, i'll take a flaming Beckinsale please.

Back in 2006, Kate Beckinsale, Scott Speedman and director Len Wiseman returned to bring us Underworld Evolution, my least favourite of the series.

There are two things that can be noticed as soon as the film begins, 1. The budget is much bigger and 2. The writers weren't prepared for the film. What ultimately is Underworld Evolution's downfall is it's plot, which, unlike the strong and well thought out plot of the last film, is much simpler and much, much weaker.

The special effects and action sequences are hugely improved however, with a swooping camera and some very impressive make-up and action sequences. The most impressive piece of the film is probably the climactic battle at the end of the film that involves a helicopter and a castle.



Tony Curran is the villain this time round, and he does a good job. However Curran lacks the charisma that Bill Nighy and Michael Sheen had in the previous instalment and ends up being a forgettable villain.

Beckinsale is great and hotter than a volcano as usual.

Overall Underworld Evolution is weak in many places, with a thin plot and some thin supporting characters. It is entertaining and fun however, even if some scenes feel like a videogame.

Underworld Rise Of The Lycans



Well what do ya know? A prequel better than the others? But...no Beckinsale?

This prequel jumps a few hundred years before the first two Underworld films and gives us a very entertaining 'Romeo and Juliet' style love story about a Lycan named Lucian (Michael Sheen, reprising his role from the first film) and Sonja, daughter of the vampire elder Viktor (Bill Nighy, also returning).

Michael Sheen and Bill Nighy were essential in the first Underworld film, without them the film would have probably failed, and the second film felt that failure. But never fear! Michael and Bill are back with much more screen-time and they are always absurdly entertaining to watch.



Strangely enough, this instalment is the first of the series not to be directed by Len Wisemen, instead special-effects supervisor Patrick Tatoplolus takes the directors chair and delivers very well. The special effects are scattered around the place and despite the noticeable decline in budget, the Lycan's and castles look believable.

Overall Underworld Rise Of The Lycans is a fun and entertaining film, filled with drama and over-the-top performances by the leads. If the film series keeps going, somewhere along the line another prequel should be in order.

Underworld Awakening



There was no way I could have predicted anything about this plot.

Underworld Awakening came to us early this year, and it was quite the ride. Beckinsale is back and better than ever, Scott Speedman is gone and only cameos as a CGI double in the first 5 minutes, but most of all the Lycan's are bigger, better and badder...I still miss Michael Sheen and Bill Nighy though.

The films begins, the Screen Gems logo appears and then something strange happens...the soundtrack builds, Beckinsale talks and we get a montage of footage telling us that humanity has finally found out about the Lycans and the Vampires. As soon as that montage finishes and the movie begins, everything goes KABOOM!!! The two new directors obviously want to out-do Michael Bay.

What this movie needed was a scoreboard for each time someone got decapitated, punctured, sliced, diced, thrown, ripped apart, blown up, shot in the skull, shot in the neck, shot in the face, shot in the groin etc. because when the movie reaches the 10 minute mark, I swear 124 people or so were killed. In fact one of the best scenes in the movie is when Selene (Beckinsale) is sliding down a corridor at super speed and slices 15 peoples necks open with a small knife...it's badass.



The film is not what you'd expect, people are killed, carefully constructed plot is demolished in seconds and people that look like they'll be a primary character are killed off in minutes, even if they are big names.

The villain of this instalment is probably the weakest of the whole series, a scientist played by Stephen Rea, and he doesn't do much expect look sinister and dramatically inject serum into his son.

Not everything about the film works though, a scene that comes to mind is the Lycan car chase, in which a bunch of starved Lycans chase Selene and co. down a highway, it's not the scene that's bad, it's just the pace and the way it plays out. The movie is so fast and reminiscent of Crank it's very forgettable after viewing, you almost forget the entire middle section of the plot. Charles Dance appears as a vampire leader about halfway through the film and does nothing, in fact, I barely remember anything he did except get angry for no apparent reason.



Overall Underworld Awakening is a fast paced thrill rise with exciting special effects and Selene is much cooler and easier to watch without Michael Corvin popping up and ruining the vampire carnage. It is far from perfect, but it's like a roller-coaster you want to ride again, I hope there is at least one more film before the series concludes.

Sex Drive



I'm currently sick, so I went through all the dvd's I've never seen before and spotted Sex Drive.

Sex Drive is a nice little comedy that popped up in 2008, it had a mediocre budget for a film of it's type and it had a relatively unknown cast with some small celebrity cameos.

Ian Lafferty (played by Josh Zuckerman...who looks a little like Alan Cumming) is a high school graduate and a virgin. He spends his time browsing the web and talking to an internet stranger named Miss Tasty. After Miss Tasty invites him over, Ian steals his big brother Rex's car and goes on a road trip with his two friends, one male, one female, to meet Miss Tasty.

The best thing about the film is probably James Marsden as Rex, from the moment he starts speaking with his over-the-top douchebag persona, I was in stitches. Rex is homophobic, douchey and loves his car and motorcycle. Every scene he's in is hilarious and a jewel.



Unfortunately the pacing of the film is strange and the plot is very predictable. Some scenes (usually the ones with James Marsden) seem well thought out and constructed, others however do not. Scenes focusing on Ian very early in the film reflect American Pie and the silliness towards the middle and end of the film reflect a spoof movie (eg. Scary Movie), more than an actual film itself.

Seth Green is also another strong aspect about the film. As is the cinematography involving landscape scenes. The background humour is one of the best things about the movie, especially when Rex jumps off his motorcycle and walks towards the house, it's hard to see as it is in the corner of the camera, but the motorcycle is skidding down the road, and somehow it's funny.



Overall Sex Drive is a dodgy road trip comedy that lacks a solid plot. However, most of the jokes are either clever or delivered well, and James Marsden should win some form of comedy award for his performance.

Dylan Dog Dead Of Night



And here is the shining example of the worst dialogue I have ever heard. Sorry Schumacher's Batman & Robin, you come second! Because according to this film and quote:
'You know what they say about werewolf hair, it doesn't lie', and that isn't even the worst of it.

Dylan Dog (Brandon Routh) is a retired paranormal investigator, after the death of his beloved Cassandra he has been left in a state of depression, but he is always pulled to his feet by Marcus (Sam Huntington), his best friend. Now there's two things you should know about this film, number one is that the movie is very low budget and looks like a Buffy The Vampire Slayer episode (without the witty Whedon writing), and two, everyone acts like wood, with the exception of Sam Huntington and Peter Stormare.



Now keep in mind this is from the guy that directed TMNT and the trailer is one of the worst I have ever seen. However the film is so very 80's with cheesy action sequences and quotes and horrible looking werewolves.

This is the type of movie I wanna watch at midnight with some ginger beer and stale popcorn with a goofy friend, it's a laughable and fun time, each scene is filled with more and more cheesy dialogue that not even Marlon Brando could deliver and crazy character motivations. I will admit, I went to a party as Brandon Routh's Dylan Dog...The photo's online, i'm not kidding.

Brandon Routh plays Dylan like a sand dune, and by that I mean dry. He is so dry a Mountain Dew couldn't help him, and at first I was angry. Routh has proved himself an actor before and for the first 10 minutes he was unbareable, but after a few more actors popped up and delivered lines the same way...I relised it must be the scripts fault, not the actors.



Overall Dylan Dog is a good movie...in the 80's. The action is cheesy, the special effects suck and the horror/comedy never seems to come in at the right time. All that being said however, it's pretty fun with a friend or two and is very quotable...for the wrong reasons.

28 Days Later

Cillian Murphy, raged up zombie things, the 9th Doctor and Britain. Can it get any better?

28 Days Later is an incredibly low budget film that popped up in 2002 and is one of my favourite movies ever, period. Danny Boyle tackled horror in a unique (at the time) way and used fantastic imagery with lots of grit and some gore.

Jim (Cillian Murphy) wakes up in an abandoned hospital and finds the entire city of London abandoned, eventually he discovers that a virus has spread causing people to become infected with 'rage' when bodily fluids are transferred etc. After a very close and horrifying encounter he is saved by some survivors, one played by the lovely and powerful Naomi Harris.



The movie soars because of it's main cast. Cillian Murphy is fantastic as the very Irish Jim, who walks around without a clue and has multiple breakdowns and develops very well as a character. Naomi Harris is very strong as Selena, a tough woman who does whatever necessary to survive, but she is human on the inside. Other cast members are fantastic as well, though I won't spoil them.

If I would ever have any complaints, it would be that the film gets slow once the plot kicks in, though it's only about 10 minutes, and the horror and thrills return bigger and better, and you learn it isn't just the virus that should be feared.

Overall 28 Days Later is a brilliant film that does amazing things with it's teeny little budget. Every member of the cast is strong and the directing is fantastic even though it looks like it was filmed on a camcorder. I recommend 28 Days Later to anyone that's remotely interested, even if you don't like horror.

28 Weeks Later



So...what happened to that great cast from the last movie?

28 Weeks Later starts..weeks...after the last movie, the infected have starved to death and the American military has occupied London in an attempt to restore the country. Robert Carlyle plays a survivor with some dark secrets who is overjoyed when his children come to stay with him in the country in an attempt to colonise. Imogen Poots plays his older daughter and a child actor plays his youngest son, who has two different coloured eyes...and this becomes a very important (and annoying) plot point.

Danny Boyle is no longer directing for this instalment and it is very noticeable, the writings weaker, the actors don't seem to have much motivation (Rose Byrne seems to scream at everything for no real reason), the characters are all over the place (it is very unclear who we're supposed to root for) and the film just doesn't have the moral lessons or the heart the last film had.



What does push the film through is the pace and the occasional strong performance by an ensemble actor (Jeremy Renner is the standout), the budget is much bigger, but what made the previous film so charming was it's low budget, so this film comes off as more of a generic summer zombie/horror film.

Overall 28 Weeks Later is a good horror movie, though it's an ant compared to 28 Days Later. The action is thrilling and the story is somewhat intriguing even if it seems ludicrous. But what this movie could use is some heart...but don't get any blood on you...you'll get infected.

American Beauty



This wasn't just a movie, this was an emotional experience.

Where do I start? Well lets start with the directing I guess...Sam Medes is the director for this film and all I can say is that he did a perfect job with a movie that I can honestly say...is perfect. The camera angles, the music, the acting! Oh my lord! The acting is brilliant and easily the best job Wes Bently has ever done (unless you think Ghost Rider's his best...).

Kevin Spacey plays Lester Burnham, a man who is sick of his life and discovers that he has an attraction to his daughters best friend. His daughter, Jane (Thora Birch), is being filmed and followed by a boy called Ricky Fitts (Wes Bently), the son of the new neighbour (Chris Cooper) who is a homophobic Colonel.



I won't spoil anything else about the plot but what I will say is the film zoomed right into my top 10 after I viewed it for the first time recently, I love this movie to death, and if you haven't seen the film, I cannot recommend it enough.

I cried, I laughed, and most importantly I left with no regrets and no problems, a perfect movie in my opinion.

Youth In Revolt

It's a rare occasion when Michael Cera does something different, and for this film...He kinda does something new.

Nick Twist (Michael Cera) is a lonely hipster, son of a divorced mother and father who don't want much to do with him. However when Nick goes on a vacation he meets Sheeni Saunders (Portia Doubleday), the most exciting thing that has ever happened to him. After returning home Nick creates an alter ego to wreck havoc, François (also Michael Cera), so he can get thrown out and return to his beloved Sheeni and live with her forever.



While the movie is filled with problems such as pacing, chemistry, and even at some points comedy, the overall joy of the film is François. François is the alter ego that Nick has created and it is not only hilariously entertaining to see Michael Cera attempt to be a bad boy, but the best scene in the film is when Sheeni is flirting with the François side of Nick.

The supporting cast ranges from Zach Galifianakis to Justin Long and usually there presence strengthens the film, you can even see a younger Rooney Mara do her thing for a good ten minutes.



The film's plot is simple. It goes from A to Z in a mediocre running time and usually manages to entertain, however I was always horrified whenever the camera would zoom on François' eyes, Michael Cera must have had a problem with his contacts or something because they were scary.

Overall Youth In Revolt is a witty little film that should be checked out. Michael Cera does his usual thing as Nick but also does something different as François, overall it's a fun time despite it's obvious flaws.

I like this film, expected much more from it, though.

Fright Night (2011)



2011 gave us WAY too many remakes, and Fright Night was easily the best one.

The film is very similar to the original so there isn't much use delving into the plot...until the film reaches the 30 minute mark and goes in an almost completely different direction to the original from 1985.

Anton Yelchin plays the young hero Charlie Brewster this time around and is noticeably too old to play a high school student, unless he was held back...8 years. Collin Farrell is one of the two strong performances in this movie that stick out, the other is David Tennant. Collin Farrell is the evil vampire Jerry, and he plays the character like a shark, as McLovin points out early on in the film...Oh yeah, Christopher Mintz-Plasse is in this also.



David Tennant is Peter Vincent, the most noticeable and drastic change in the whole film. In the original movie Peter Vincent was an old TV show host, and in this remake Peter Vincent is a Las Vegas magician for the Hard Rock Hotel who specialises in vampires...and he has a very predictable dark past. Tennant plays the role well and makes horrible dialogue sound convincing and work.

The budget is mediocre for a horror movie. The special effects are decent, and there's a very entertaining explosion and chase scene. But the movie is dragged down by the predictable outcomes and lousy dialogue.



Overall though Fright Night is one of my favourite films of 2011, and the blu-ray looks great too. Collin Farrell and David Tennant's performances really pull the film and it's roughly as entertaining as the original film. A remake that doesn't go in the direction of the original, I recommend you check it out.

I'm going to venture into the X-Men.

X-Men



Hugh Jackman as Wolverine...perfect. James Marsden as Cyclops...wait...what?

X-Men came in 2000 and caused a huge re-emergence in superhero films, which is good...usually. This was also about the time when Marvel began to get the upper-hand in the film industry. X-Men started a franchise and is remembered today as one of the best of the franchise.

Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) has a school for mutants, and in this world, mutants are gifted with extraordinary powers. Erik Lehnsherr or as he prefers...Magneto (Ian McKellen) also leads a group of mutants...however he is determined to wipe out humanity because of their refusal to accept mutants.

Perhaps one of the reasons the film is so popular with people is because anybody can relate to a character in the film. The characters range from good to bad, with high moral values to low morals, with respect for people and no respect, there is a character for everyone.

The film isn't perfect though. The special effects and pacing are dodgy and seem rushed. The X-Men go from hanging out at school to wrecking havoc against Magneto on the Statue Of Liberty in about a minute. Also when Halle Berry makes that joke about a toad and lightning...it's cringeworthy.



Overall X-Men is a good movie and one of the better of the superhero genre. Hugh Jackman was born to play Wolverine and audiences love him...apparently. The sequel to X-Men however, blew this one away.

I found the first one to be like the Superman of it's universe.

Kind of finding it's feet during production, which gives the overall finished product a naive feel.
I definitely rank it as the lowest of the franchise but still enjoyable.

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