Topic: Critter's Films at Cinemas Reviews

[snowcat]

I have no interest in my film, your review confirms my not wanting to see it... of course Disneys :] "we release it early on DVD so F'you" attitude is annoying"

...Im currently working on an article about why I hate Tim Burton.

[Critter]

I have no interest in my film, your review confirms my not wanting to see it... of course Disneys :] "we release it early on DVD so F'you" attitude is annoying"

...Im currently working on an article about why I hate Tim Burton.

You do mean Alice in Wonderland right? You kind of lost me when you said 'my film'. But I agree that Disney has been butchering this film

[snowcat]

it should say that film

[Najemikon]

"Hate"? Blimey, bit strong, Emma! I'm not fond of his stuff overall, but love Edward Scissorhands and Sleepy Hollow.

[Critter]

Edward Scissorhands, Sleep Hollow and Beetljuice are my favourite Jon. That and his animated films. I didn't much take to some of the remakes though, especially Planet of the Apes.

[RossRoy]

No love for Big Fish? 

I happen to love pretty much anything made by Tim Burton. I love his visual style for some reason.

[Critter]

No love for Big Fish? 

I happen to love pretty much anything made by Tim Burton. I love his visual style for some reason.

 

How could I leave out Big Fish, it is one of my favourites! I think it's becuase out of most of Burtons films it is the one I have seen the least, probably why I forgot it but I certainly loved it when I watched it. I also like his Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I know a lot of people don't like but I'm a fan of Roald Dahl, and I respected how close Burton kept to Dahls original work. It is stated that Dahl himself didn't like the original version with Gene Wilder, and after reading his novels I can understand why. Burtons version however was very true to Dahls words.

[snowcat]

"Hate"? Blimey, bit strong, Emma! I'm not fond of his stuff overall, but love Edward Scissorhands and Sleepy Hollow.

:p Jon, Hate is not a strong enough word.... how about "Mega-loathe"

[goodguy]

Alice In Wonderland
Director: Tim Burton
...
I should start off by saying that I am a huge Alice in Wonderland fan, I have read Lewis Carroll’s novels many times and have enjoyed a lot of the film adaption’s, including the animated Disney version which is still my favourite version. This Alice in Wonderland is a sequel of sorts, not the official sequel of ‘Through the Looking Glass’, but something set 10 years after that.

Just stumbled about this DVDTalk review of a 1966 BBC version by Jonathan Miller. Never even heard of it before, but - wow - that sounds (and looks) very interesting to me. And the new set reviewed here also includes a 1903 silent version and the Dennis Potter version.

I suppose I should be thankful for Tim Burton's 3D Action Alice. Without it, a gem like that probably wouldn't have resurfaced.

[Critter]

There have been something like 16 film versions of Alice in Wonderland over the years. I have seen a few of them and some are just awful, others are fantastic. I still haven't seen the 1903 one but I would love to track it down.

[Najemikon]

And what version is the Burton one? Not the original novel, not the original novels sequel, but a new chapter in Alice's life? Does it bear any relation to any of Carrol's work or is it just basically "fan-fiction"? 

[Critter]

It's basically fan fiction, some parts follow the course of the original novel but it definitely sways a lot from that story, being set 10 years in the future.

[Critter]

Kick-Ass



Director: Matthew Vaughn

Writer: Jane Goldman (screenplay)
                    Mark Millar (comic book series)

Plot: Dave Lizewski is an unnoticed high school student and comic book fan who one day decides to become a super-hero, even though he has no powers, training or meaningful reason to do so.

Cast:
Aaron Johnson – Kick-Ass/ Dave Lizewski
Chloe Moretz - Mindy Macready / Hit-Girl
Nicolas Cage - Damon Macready / Big Daddy
Christopher Mintz-Plasse - Chris D'Amico / Red Mist

My Thoughts
So Kick-Ass was officially released in Australia today, and while I admit that I have been looking forward to this film for quite some time I think I underestimated just how much I would enjoy it. From the trailers it looked like it would be good, a fun twist on your average superhero film and I was of course highly looking forward to the character of Hit-Girl. What I got however was something that was far beyond ‘good’… not just in Superhero films but in exciting, quirky, action filled films in general. Kick-Ass was never dull, from its nicely paced opening scenes which neatly set up the plot while never feeling too hurried, to its explosive final fights. And such fantastic fights they were, a delight to all the senses. One absolute genius scene in particular, a shoot-out shot entirely within strobe lighting which created not only one of the most exciting scenes within Kick-Ass but also for me, most superhero films all up.

There is of course a lot of controversy surrounding Chloe Moretz’ character ‘Hit Girl’. I’ve heard just about all the complaints, which seem to be everywhere here, radio, breakfast shows, newspaper etc. She’s 11, she kills a lot of people, she swears like a sailor and one of the strongest complaints of all, she is apparently presented in the film in a ‘sexualised’ manner. Now this last complaint is something I saw nothing of in the film, I  saw a strong willed young character who never seemed to be overly sexualized at all. It leads me to think that the people making these complaints are the type of people who are specifically looking out for such things.  Aside from all the annoying controversy however Hit-Girl truly is a wonderful character, she is quite the scene stealer and has an amazing screen presence. This is the type of young character that I believe young girls should look up to, not be shunned away from (well, maybe minus her language).

While Moretz’ performance was amazing so was everyone else’s. I am not usually a fan of Nic Cage and must admit I wasn’t looking forward to his character that much, but I was greatly put it my place rather swiftly at how fantastic his performance was. Big Daddy was insane yet had a certain charm about him, you could tell that despite his unusual techniques of bringing up his daughter that his love for her was genuine, and the way he spoke was fantastic, a nice reference to Adam West which made his performance yet another delight to the screen. Something I discovered about the film, which I found quite unusual is like unlike most book or comic adaptations, the comic book for this was actually being written at the same time as the screenplay. In this case the screenplay was actually finished before the comic itself was. That's why in the case of this film I find it amusing when I read people complaining about changes they made from the comic book, considering the screenplay was actually finished first.

The plot was actually quite complex, while still being easy to follow. It had a lot more layers than I was expecting and went much deeper as a film than the trailers suggested. There was a lot more emotion, and while there was fantastic, mind-blowing action, as well as many humorous scenes there was also a few touching moments, and quite sad scenes which I didn’t expect, but worked well. To say this film was exciting, a rush is almost an understatement. I left the cinema, walked out of the complex and felt like turning around and walking right back in to see it again. I will probably see it 1 or 2 more times before it leaves the cinema which is a mark how much of a thrill it is to witness. This is a definite 5/5 film for me and my favourite so far of 2010.

Rating: 5/5

[Najemikon]

  Nicely done!

[Critter]

Ah Jon, I read your review and it made me even more excited but as I said, there was just no preparing for how much I loved this. I saw it hours ago and I am still on a high. As Empire magazine said 'Where the heck did this come from?'. I just never expected so see something so original and fantastic, especially in a superhero film which is such a used genre now.