Reviews

From the very first scene, the tone is set, we go through the film with Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day Lewis) up to the very last scene summed up by his immortal last words 'I'm finished'. We watched him transform from a penniless, dirty, hateful man into a rich Oil owner who hates people.

This film defines class in its every sense.

The screenplay is crisp and his direction shows he's one of the top writer/directors out there.

The cast is excellent. Daniel Day Lewis earning his 2nd Academy Award for his performance, and Paul Dano more than holds his own against one of our generations finest thespians.

There Will be Blood hits hard and leaves you stumped. Great film, highly recommend!

Whenever a show comes out, I don't do it on person, but I watch scenes where multiple characters are together interacting and I tend to compare to great scenes like the dinner scene from Fleabag season 2 episode 1 and see how the show uses the characters and see how their characteristics and personalities come through and how smart they are set up.

This show may not have the crisp excellent standard that The writing in Fleabag flaunts but the writing here is no doubt thoughtful, intelligent & links to so much that comes later in the season, which I enjoy & appreciate.

So much can be said about the ensemble cast, what each actor brings, the two main leads, Taika and Rhys and how much they bring & commit to, the journey they take, the multiple arcs that are given time and space, and even the guest appearances are awesome. But it's best to do what I have been doing in the meantime, telling people to go watch it.

So, GO WATCH THIS SHOW!

A man falling in love with a computer, tagline from this movie bought to you by high concept film juggler mastermind Spike Jonze. Starring Joaquin Phoenix, as Theodore, an adorable sweet yet depressed writer hurting from his separation from his ex-wife played by the incredible Rooney Mara. Theodore, to help with work, purchases an operating system named Samantha, voiced by Scarlett Johansson, who he falls in love with.

What I like: Joaquin is always great, but in these high concept films hes incredible, especially under the direction of Jonze, who treats the relationship between Theodore and Samantha with such honesty, that it grows organically and Im glad he didnt add cheap laughs or unrealistic dialogue because it would have undermined Theodores emotional build. Its like whenever Joaquin is in isolation he brings out such a performance. Johansson is so good here, she fleshes out a character with no skin, with no flesh. There are some funny moments also, and some heart breaking moments.

What I dislike: Length?

The question I read somewhere about this film, is that it isnt about whether machines can think, but a question on whether humans still do.

The more I watch it, the more I dislike it. But first viewing I thought it was great, the music was awesome and the characters were loveable.

But since my household is filled with 3 kids under the age of 10, subsequent viewings were a constant.

Is theres anything thats terrifying to me, heights, spiders, drowning, nothing is more terrifying than being lost in space. Imagine it, lost in space, limited oxygen, no gravity, weird temperatures and nothing close to you to save you.... This is basically the premise of the film, directed by Alfonso Cuaron, who creates a suspenseful and one of the most amazingly shot films ever.

What I liked: Sandra Bullock plays Dr. Ryan Stone in on a space mission with astronaut Matt Kowalski, played by George Clooney. Two veteran and incredibly well rounded actors playing characters in a terrible situation where their space shuttle is hit by debris of a fallen satellite. For many moments in the film, its a one woman show and Bullock delivers. This is probably one of her most physical performances, understandable considering what she had to do to prepare for this film. The scale of the film is huge and so impressive. The exterior focus such as suspense in space and the sense of wonder and mystery it brings is amazing. The long takes are incredible, as cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki who worked with Cuaron on Children of Men and Y Tu Mama Tambien.

What I disliked: Many may find the ending not plausible or that some scenes are consequential. But i cant think of anything else.

Its such a simple story, but the execution is incredible. The less you know going into it, the better. I would tell people who ask about the film what I mentioned at the beginning of the review, to allow them to gain the experience and truth of it themselves, as it is more than just exploration of space.

Another feature in the latest of the director, Woody Allens, long line of complicated yet engaging and compelling leading ladies. This time Allen collaborates with one of Hollywoods greatest thespians, Cate Blanchett.

What I liked: Cate Blanchett. Its weird to think this is her first film being directed by Woody Allen, especially when you think about it, they seem to fit stylistically. Cate plays the main character Jasmine who goes through a lot of crap basically. This is a tour de force performance by Cate and she fully deserves her Oscar nom. From her forceful emotional violent outbursts to her moments of sincere sublime silence is just as riveting. The flashbacks were great, and showed how much of a master Allen is in movie construction. He brings out an complicated backstory through these deftly created flashbacks that serve more than just adding context, but it allows the past revelations to fill in the present tension.

What I dislike: Without Cates performance, the rest feels a bit tin. Its like theres a lot of nitpicking, like the underutilization of certain actors to having subplots that arent really substantial, when you add Cates performance, you can forgive most of it.

Directed by Jean-Marc Vallee, a true story about a man who contracted AIDs and finds a way to use this horrible situation as a way to benefit others, he finds a way to get certain treatment to people who have no access to hospital and other beneficial resources by creating the Dallas Buyers Club, where people pay for membership to this club where he gives the drugs for free.

What I liked: The performances are the best part of tis film for me. Matthew McConaughey plays our main character, a bigoted red neck whose journey isnt just about going against the FDA and big pharmacies, but its also a journey for self growth, how he becomes friends with people he would normally hate. This is the best performance Ive seen of McConaughey, its so realistic and solid. Jared Leto brings an incredible poignant performance as transsexual Rayon, very impressive to bring out that terrific performance. Special shout out to Jennifer Garner (remember her and McConaughney in The Ghost of Girlfriends Past lol) The other cast were great some didnt have much to do as the focus was on these two and they carried the film.

What i disliked: Some inconsistencies in tone and pace, and maybe a bit too long. The story wasnt as captivating as much as I thought the performances were. I still had a good time watching it and felt bad for the characters.

A good film, where the performances elevated it to another level.

I remember watching this film in cinemas and how much of a visceral experience it was.

It still holds up in subsequent viewings, and thats down to the amazing performance and incredible focus Steve McQueen brings to this brutal examination of the slave time period in the U.S. Like his other films, McQueen is great at forcing an audience to focus on certain subjects and he lets his camera run on these scenes and sights, and it may be unbearable or uncomfortable, but thats the truth McQueen is presenting that actually happened, sometimes the truth hurts.

Chiwetel Ejiofor plays our main character, who we root for through the whole film, we keep watching him go through these crappy situations forcing him to confront moral issues, should Solomon run away and escape? When stuff happens should he be vocal or keep his voice down? Through his journey, Solomon meets a lot of people, and our cast is filled with excellent actors at their best. Special standout is Lupita Nyong'o who played fellow slave Patsy, whose journey with Solomon is heart-wrenching and tragic. Other characters are quite black and white, Benedict Cumberbatch portrays a kind Master Ford, Brad Pitt cameos at the end as help for Solomon. The worst character in terms of a despicable character is McQueen frequent collaborator Michael Fassbender who plays a hate-filled christian slave owner. Michael brings in an incredible performance of this man who is just pure evil.

You can read about the cruelty slavery brought to humanity, but I remember after watching this, even after second viewing of how close to the truth this must be to what really happened, that you cant help but feel you have just witnessed history. Thats a testament to Steve McQueens great directing ability and the performances by the amazing cast.

The Social Network is a rich, modest and hard-hitting character drama that explores the politics of one of the most beloved and most used social networking internet websites: Facebook. David Fincher (director) captures and explores the egos and personalities behind Facebook. For me, the acting the stole the show was Andrew Garfield, who deserved an Oscar nomination for his performance here. I enjoyed this film very much, and I recommend it highly.

Look, i like the film, I think it's awesome but I also think were the characters were played by less effective actors, this wouldn't be as awesome as it is. The biggest fault for me, is that the main character has less personality than most sports characters in sport films. Mickey Ward (Mark Wahlberg) has a crackhead brother, former boxing great played flawlessly by Christian Bale, and he has manager-mom played by brilliant Melissa Leo. Mark Wahlberg has range, he is a good actor, but Mickey just fell flat for me. I wasn't invested much in Mickey so when the boxing matches came on, I didn't care much. But the performances by the backup cast are fantastic. If anything, that's worth the concession price.

This is a kid's movies for adults. To me, Toy Story 1 is my favorite Toy Story of them all (which is three). It was a film about the relationship between Andy and his toys, much like Toy Story 2's plot. This story focuses on the relationships but in an abstract way, the toys end up going through an evil, cuddly teddy bear and a garbage incinerator to try return to Andy, who in turns hands over his beloved toys to another young human who he knows will take care of them like he did. For me, the film lacked the humanity that the previous two films had, and tried to make up with through action and humor, though it took away from the characters and emotions. Overall I found it a befitting end to an awesome and potential genre defining animated trilogy. I love this film and hope you will too.

I understand this film may turn some people off, but the two things propelling this film to the heights people built it up onto, are director Darren Aronofsky's technical mastery alongside Natalie Portman's faultless performance. The film centers around Nina, a ballerina devoted to ballet perfecting her art as a new and young ballerina comes in. The film is great is showing how character relationships bring out a characters humanity. Nina's relationship with her mother brings out her perfectionist side, while her relationship with Lily played by Mila Kunis, brings out a confident and loose Nina, while Thomas, Nina's dance teacher brings out the tension that's building in her mind. This is a smart, trippy, melodramatic film that explores character to the point, and I enjoyed it very much.

A tale of an unlikely friendship between King and Speech therapist, and a masterclass of acting between a triumvirate of actors. Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham Carter's performances are so entertaining and are the highlight of the film for. The interactions between the king and speech therapist, alongside the King's wife is so engaging. A clever jump for the film was the large swerve that the film takes on the story that loomed over the whole period, which was World War II. The film cleverly keeps it at a distance while zooming in on the characters and their interactions and delivers a smart, thoughtful and brilliant exploration of character interactions that bring out humanity. I highly recommend this film to those who love films about the British Monarchy, rich in detail and as Roger Ebert states: has "meticulous class distinctions".

Here's my spoiler-free review of the film Logan, which I was lucky enough to go to the NZ premiere to watch.

Firstly, I think we need to thank Deadpool. Because if Deadpool didn't succeed in the way that it did, 20th Century Fox wouldn't have taken the risk of creating a Logan/Wolverine film the way it should be. James Mangold (director) and Hugh Jackman pulled no stops as we progressed through decapitated heads, punctured limbs, sliced off body parts, and buckets full of fake blood that gives Wolverine an animalistic savagery his comic counter-part has, but just couldn't capture in the previous PG X-Men films.

We're in the dirty, dystopian, Western-like world of 2029. A world where mutants are all but gone, Logan is not the fierce warrior we've come to know, but an alcoholic driver-for-hire, whose adamantium is slowly killing him from the inside, caring for 90- year-old Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) who suffers from a brain disease that causes people within a mile or so to paralyse every time he suffers a seizure. Their quiet life is quickly turned upside down with the introduction of Laura (Dafne Keen), who takes our characters on a journey running from evil scientist Dr. Rice (Richard E. Grant), cyborg-arm guy (Boyd Holbrook) and his Reavers. Special mention for Stephen Merchant as Kaliban who adds to the story, and not just comedically.

This is a contained X-Men film, building on the previous 7 films mythology, but more concerned with the story at hand. There's no world to save, no city to clean-up, not even a damsel in distress to turn into a love interest, this is a family tale, told in the most adamantium way possible. It's a film about a passive, sorrowful, broken hero at the end of a long adventure trying to find peace. And the film is smart in creating unpredictability, we're unsure of what this road will cost Logan.

The biggest strength of this film, is its focus on the man, not the superhero. It's in the title of the film, named after James Howlett's human alter-ego: Logan, rather than Wolverine, his superhero alias. The previous X-Men films have been about showboating their superhero powers, it's what audiences expect going into a X-Men film, and I would argue most if not all superhero films. Here, we dive in Logan's reluctance to be a hero, a complexity he's been struggling with for a couple movies, and Mangold explores these personal themes, such as Logan's reluctance but also his feelings of guilt and isolation.

The character relationships here are unparalleled in superhero flicks. All the relationships add depth, emotion and a heartbeat to the film. The mentor-student/father-son dynamic between Jackman and Patrick Stewart is heart-warming. Seeing a broken, beaten and old(er) Xavier being cared for by an aging and ailing Logan is nothing short of heart-breaking. In previous films Logan uses the term 'professor' to show Xavier's standing over Logan. Here, Logan doesn't mention it once. They are now close, and we explore their bond and the mutual feelings of guilt which is incredibly engaging. Also, Logan's relationship with Kaliban is a great. The relationships aren't just about emotional depth, but they help bring out our hero's humanity. Also, these characters don't just make a team, but a family. Unlike previous X- Men films, where they tried to make us think it was family, this film takes the time to tell a story of a family.

The standout is Dafne Keen, playing Logan's daughter Laura. Keen holds her own with the 2 veterans, skilfully adding to the trio's family dynamic. Keen presents a young Wolverine-like Laura whose walk between innocence and intensity is spectacular.

If this is Jackman's swansong, he's exiting stage left at the top of his game, to the thunderous applause of an audience demanding an encore. This is indeed an end-of-an-era, Jackman has donned the adamantium claws a whopping 9 times in 17 years, and never has he been more nuanced in his delivery than here. His performance can be both exhilarating and tear-inducing in equal measure. Jackman's legacy can be seen through the fact that his Logan/Wolverine has survived a Brett Ratner sequel, one bad Ryan Reynolds Deadpool, a couple bad movies to still be as loved and cherished by not only the comic book geeks (you), but also the general movie-going audience (you).

Logan is a sincerely moving and gritty human story, which enthusiastically abandons superhero formulaic troupes, traditions and templates, translating the antithesis of what we have come to expect superhero films to be. It has set the standard for genre defining films, but to lock it into a genre will only do it a disservice, it's not just the best Wolverine film, or one of the best superhero films, it can confidently stand alone as a cinematic experience worthy of multiple viewings, which I intend to do.

This was my pick to win 2011 Best picture at the Oscars. With obvious parallels to the production of a film, "Inception" is an intense, complex yet creative and imaginative piece of entertainment. With I heard somewhere that Christopher Nolan took almost 10 years to write the screenplay for "Inception", and he should have been rewarded with an Oscar for Best Picture just for the idea itself, because I remember the time it came out it came out in a summer of remakes and reboots carrying on an idea, and this was just original. The performances here are fantastic, from Leonardo's Cobb who was delicate and emotionally tough, and then there was the exposition- full Arthur played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, but my favorite has got to be Tom Hardy's Eames! Every played bought their A-game, and this has got to be one of the most impressive ensemble casts assembled for an original film in recent history. Overall, I loved this movie, from the trippy visual effects, to the emotional and grounded storytelling, Christopher Nolan delivered his best, and I am wholly satisfied.