Anyway, enough chat out of me. This is a review.

The Crazies was a film that I really wanted to see in the cinema. I thought the trailer looked great and it’s a remake of a 1973 George A. Romero film called, believe it or not, The Crazies. So I figured this might be a horror film that had some ideas behind it. Even if they were re-hashed. At least it’s a re-hashing of a film that might have been good.

Actually I have no idea if the original Crazies was any good. I haven’t seen it. I hadn’t even heard of it till this one came out… so in retrospect, it probably isn’t a classic. That’s good though, it’s always messy trying to remake a classic. They always end up trying to please too many people.

Anyway, time went by and I never bothered my arse going to the cinema to see it. I really regret that now. I ended up watching it on DVD and I have to say, I bet it looked great on the big screen. There are some big sweeping looking scenes. This was that good-looking cinematography I mentioned in the “releasing this week” post. Ah well.

What of the film though? I liked it. In fact, I thought it was good. Mainly I liked the concept… which obviously I won’t talk about. No spoilers and all that jazz. All I’ll say that it’s zombie-invasion stylee. It worked well, built up the tension. I was even a little worried there might be some “crazies” round my house when I got home. It was after 2am…

Unfortunately it was not without flaws. You always have to suspend a little disbelief for these kinds of films but when a character makes the same mistake time and time again it starts to wear away your tolerance. I was complaining loudly about said character by the end of it. Seriously. You just can’t keep wandering off when everyone’s catching murder around you. Bah. a black spot on an otherwise very enjoyable horror film.

I didn’t let it bother me too much though. It’s been so long since I’ve seen a half decent horror film I’m willing to overlook a smack of idiocy on the part of the supporting characters. Director Breck Eisner even kept it interesting enough and moving at a fast enough pace for me to (mostly) overlook some of the more obviously plot holes – just pretend it could have happened people, just pretend it could have happened.

There’s not that much to write home about performance-wise. That is, they were all fairly bland… and probably slightly too good looking. I always think that makes a horror film look cheap. Not really fair but that’s just what I tend to think. Timothy Olyphant was reasonable but the script left something to be desired… I get the impression that, as the lead character, he had more to work with than the others. So perhaps any criticism of their abilities is somewhat unfair.

It was still good though, all the tension is built by the direction and the cinematography, so I’d be looking forward to seeing more from Eisner. And from cinematographer, Maxime Alexandre, apparently he did Switchblade Romance (Haute Tension) as well…. I didn’t love it but I think I remember it looking pretty good.

Oh, I forgot to mention., I like the title. It works for me.

7/10

Ok, ok, I’ll tell you what it is. A Serbian Film is probably the most notorious film you’ve never heard of. Well actually, you might have heard of it but just not realised. It’s the film that, in the UK last year, became the most censored film in 16 years – the BBFC decided to cut 4 minutes 11 seconds out of it for it to get a cinema release. Or perhaps you heard this – it’s the one that, earlier this month, got a Spanish film festival director accused of showing child pornography. No? Ah ok. Well, it’s that one…

A Serbian Film is an example of transgressive cinema. There may be more extreme films out there on the fringes of legal but if there are, I haven’t heard of them. To boil it down though, it’s a horror film about a retired porno star. If none of these things I’ve mentioned about it have in any way piqued your interest then definitely, move along. Nothing to see here.

Still here? Ok, so either you’ve already heard of it or you’re curious about it.

Right, two last things before I get to talking about the film. Firstly, I’m not here to cater to sick weirdos, nor am I here to save you from watching it. I’m not going to describe the various “shocking” scenes in this film. If you must know I’m sure there are various sites on the internet that will tell you. Hey, you can probably find some of the scenes on YouTube, off you go. Secondly, I decided I’m not going to give a rating out of 10 on this one. I don’t see how I can. I just going to tell you what I thought of it. That’s it.

Context. I’m a very curious person. I’ve seen quite a few “extreme” films. I’m not easily shocked. I’m not particularly squeamish. I don’t watch it myself but I’m not rabidly against porn. I like to make up my own mind.

I’d first heard about A Serbian Film in August 2010 when it was announced the Film4 FrightFest would not be showing it because of the cuts demanded by the BBFC. Then I read about it, about how horrific it supposedly was, all the “ban this sick filth” kind of stuff. It’s not that I particularly get a kick out of seeing stuff like that but I’m just that curious – I’ve seen some bad things happen on screen, how bad can it be?

The first thing that struck me at the end of it was that it was far more of a film than I expected it to be. To be honest I was rather expecting a mish-mashed collection of exploitative horrific scenes of gore. I thought it might be a bit of a laugh with a few good kills. At worst I thought it’d be a more extreme version of Hostel. I did not like Hostel.

That’s not what this film is at all. It is actually a film, with characters and a plot and everything. Granted, it’s not an enjoyable film. I find it impossible to say that I liked it. It’s challenging, no doubt, but that’s really the point. And it’s technically good. It looks great. This is not dodgy hand-held, “sure, we’ll just knock together any old crap” film-making. There’s real skill in this. Now, perhaps that’s so surprising that I’m giving too much credit, but this is a debut feature so credit where credit’s due. The director, Srdjan Spasojevic uses simple but effective devices to enhance the story-telling and he manages to (mostly) weave all those horrific scenes together into a coherent narrative.

The film-makers are adamant that it’s an allegory for how Serbian people and Serbian artists are being treated by their institutions. You can read their statement here.

I buy that. I don’t believe this film was made for pure exploitation. I think it was made by an angry man who wanted to put his point across in the strongest way that he felt he could reach people. The problem is, amidst the numerous scenes of rape, torture, porn and, from time to time, child abuse, it’s not an allegory that’s easy to make out – As in, I don’t see how you could possibly see it if you weren’t told. I suppose that’s why they have to keep going around telling people. Honestly, there’s no way. I know, I know, he even called the film “A SERBIAN FILM” but I’m sorry dude. There’s just no way.

I guess in a sense then, it’s not a particularly effective film. Or maybe that means it’s too effective. You’re so overwhelmed by watching poor Milos getting fucked over that you don’t notice that it’s not just Milos getting fucked over, it’s everybody. And man, does he get fucked over or what…

I forgot to tell you who Milos is. Ok. Like I said earlier, it’s a horror film about a retired porno star. Milos is the porno star. Quick intro – Our friend Milos is a nice family man who’s having trouble making ends meet. He used to, apparently, be the greatest porno star there ever was but that’s all behind him now. Until he’s made an offer, do this one last job and you and your family will be set for life. All you have to do is act natural… It’s never that simple is it?

So. I’d better get to talking about what everyone else has talked about. You know, the rape, the torture, the murder, the porn, the child abuse, how it all happens at once… Yeah. That “newborn porn” thing? That happens. Awful things happen in this film. If you watch it you will see horrible, horrific things happen. This is a fact. Let’s get this clear though. There is absolutely no suggestion that these things are ok. You’re not supposed to be looking dumbly at this, laughing away. All these things are portrayed as terrible acts. This is not an amoral film.

Some might say that this goes beyond the boundaries of what you should commit to celluloid. Having watched this, I don’t think there should be boundaries*. I don’t think anyone should have the right to stop a film-maker making a film like this. Undoubtedly this will mean that that “mish-mashed collection of exploitative horrific scenes of gore” I feared, will be made. I’m sure A Serbian Film has opened that particular flood gate, but so be it.

Personally, I haven’t been scarred for life by watching it. I said on the facebook page earlier that, how you find watching it will depend on who you are, and particularly on how you are affected by what you see on a screen. To me, scenes like these are fake. I’m sure some stuff this bad does happen to people but it’s not happening in front of me now. It’s not the news, it’s just a film.

Which is not to say that I’m never affected by the films I watch, but it’s generally emotional films that get to me. Ones that I can relate to and empathise with. I think the film that affected me the most was Grave of the Fireflies. The turn of phrase is that one “can’t imagine what it would be like”. That’s not true. I couldn’t know what it would be like but the film certainly makes me imagine it. A Serbian Film does not make me imagine what it would be like to be Milos – I don’t relate to it like that.

I’m sure that means that I didn’t experience it the way the film-makers wanted me to. I know I said it wasn’t exploitation, but at the same time I’m sure that the film-makers do want you to be disgusted, horrified, repulsed. They felt they needed to show the nasty, ugly side of whatever it was that they were railing against, by showing you something nasty and ugly. And it is nasty and ugly and all those other things. But I won’t be dreaming about what I saw. Hell, I’ve seen it twice now and I can still close my eyes at night.

Don’t get me wrong. It is horrifying. And disgusting. And repulsive. It’s not like I felt blasé watching it. I’m not that jaded. Even though I’d heard about some of the things that happen, I hadn’t heard about others. It is shocking stuff, it just doesn’t prey on my mind now.

Anyway, if you’re asking yourself “Should I watch A Serbian Film?” then… well. I can’t tell you that. I could not recommend that anyone watch it. And I deliberately leave out the “in good conscience” modifier there – I could not recommend anyone watch it – even to be cruel, even for a laugh to see them squirm. But conversely I can’t say that no-one should watch it. I would possibly tell certain people I know not to watch it, because I know them well and I know it would disturb them, but that’s as far as I would go.

Fact is, you’ll have to make that choice for yourself. I do think people should be warned – if you watch this film you will see horrific, extremely violent things happen to people. And a lot of sex, that seems to get forgotten over violence sometimes. You probably haven’t seen anything like A Serbian Film before. You’re probably not going to enjoy it. Remember you were told this. I’ve seen Martyrs, I’ve seen Visitor Q, not even close.

I had the good fortune, the second time, to see this with a group of people. A group who didn’t know this was what they were going to see. I liked that, it was nice to get to talk about it afterwards and hear what other people thought – certainly it was better than sitting alone in my room wondering what the hell I was going to do with the rest of the evening… One person remarked that it was a conversation starter. Perhaps…

Have you seen A Serbian Film? No, what’s it about? Err…

Have you seen A Serbian Film? Yes. Ah, ok, did you enjoy it? Err…


Like I said earlier, I’m not doing a rating out of 10 on this one, I’ve chickened out… To sum up, all I’ll say is that, in my opinion, it’s not shite.

So there you have it, it’s up to you now.

* = Well, there should be legal boundaries in the sense that no-one taking part in the film should be exploited or subjected to any risks but I mean artistically.

The Human Centipede really is a film whose reputation precedes it. Pretty much everyone who’s watched the trailer or read the synopsis seems to think it’s sick as hell. So, if you’re gonna think less of me just because I’ve watched a sick film or two, you should probably just stop reading now.

You can’t really talk about The Human Centipede without knowing the main thing about it. I can’t imagine there are many people who’ve heard of it who don’t know what it’s about. The poster gives you an idea anyway… Just in case you really haven’t heard though… it’s about this crazy German surgeon who has decided he wants to make a human centipede… That is, he wants to sew a few people together face to arse and see how they get on. Yeah… what a bastard. Naturally, I was curious. I’m a curious person and everyone’s reaction to the idea of the film seemed so extreme that I just felt like I had to see it for myself. You can’t rely on other people’s opinions on this kind of thing…

I guess there is one more thing to say, before I get on to actually telling you what I thought of the film…

What you make of it will entirely rest on whether you’ve seen many films that go out of their way to shock you, and what you thought of them. I guess I’m talking about the full range here, from great films like Antichrist to crappy plotless films like Monster Man or Hostel. If you can’t handle films like these then you’re probably just going to think that The Human Centipede is sick filth and should be banned.

If, on the other hand, you have no problem with those then you might just feel the same way about The Human Centipede as I do.

Which is to say that I thought it was rubbish. The best I can say about it is that there were some nice looking shots in it and the mad surgeon Dr. Heiter (played by Dieter Laser) was good at being a creepy bastard in a B grade horror. Beyond that it had no real redeeming features whatsoever.

You know what, I’m pretty much just gonna tell you about what happens in it. It’s too hard to tell you how crap it is without saying something about the plot… I’ll do ya a deal. I won’t give away the ending. Hope that’s enough.

Anyway, so it all starts badly with the two American girls on a road trip in Germany. Well it’s not the opening scene but it is where it all goes wrong. These were two of the worst acted, most annoying characters I’ve seen in a horror film recently. I guess I shouldn’t have let it get to me, the tourist girls in a horror film tend to be pretty annoying and generally cast for their looks. But I did let it get to me, they were awful. Awful.

In true horror cliché their descent begins with a flat tyre in the forest. All the while they whinge and shriek at each other about whether they should go outside, who they should call, what should they do next… At one point while they were lost in the forest, lamenting away loudly, I turned to my mate and said “I can’t wait till her mouth gets sewn to an arse”. I hated these girls. Fortunately they soon found their way to the surgeon’s house and they didn’t have much to say after that.

Aside from those two there’s a Japanese fella who the doctor kidnaps when he realises his previous acquisition won’t match the girls. Poor Katsuro doesn’t really have much to do except scream in Japanese, he’s not entirely sure what’s going on but the diagrams soon make it clear enough. Lucky for him he does get to head up the centipede. That definitely looks like the best place to be. He’s pretty much a non entity throughout the film – aside from briefly, near the end.

That’s pretty much it for the character introductions. Our victims are completely one dimensional.

Dr Heiter is actually comparatively interesting. In that he has a back story. He is very successful and well-regarded separator of conjoined twins. Good for him. Course, now he’s retired and has apparently gone crazy. It’s not entirely clear why he’s decided he wants to join people together but I assume it’s meant to be some reaction to his previous profession. There doesn’t particularly seem to be a sexual element to it anyway. Thank the lordi. As horrifically unpleasant as that added theme would have been, I’m even more glad because I really don’t think the writer / director or actors would have had the chops to pull it off.

Anyway, as I mentioned, this character was the one bright spot in the film. Dieter Laser is one scary bastard and he does manage to make the doctor believable as opposed to laughable. I shudder to think how much worse this film would have been without him. Ok, ok, he is a bit of a cartoon villain but he’s entertaining and it seems appropriate given what he’s up to.

The real problem with the film is that it really is just plain boring. Boring and stupid. Just one example – One of the girls tries to escape but, because she’s an idiot, as soon as she finds a way out of the doctor’s house, she decides to go back to her drugged up mate. It makes sense because she can obviously carry her and she knows the doctor is incapacitated… oh, no, wait. That’s not the case at all. There’s no reason to go back for her. We don’t even know if they’re good friends, all we saw of them previously was them bitching at each other in the forest. Whatever.

Then there’s the whole gore issue. So the doctor gets the girl back and after some explanation using some overheads, the operation can commence. Then it’s over. You barely see anything. Not that I particularly wanted to see a dude sew someone’s face to another person’s ass, I really didn’t, but from the reputation of the film I would have thought you’d see something. I guess it’s slightly gory here and there but nothing compared to most in the genre. What the hell has everyone been talking about? Honestly. Yes, it’s a manky idea but overall the film just isn’t particularly sick. It’s boring… BORING.

Then the director does the big reveal and there’s nothing left but to watch the doctor trying to train his new centipede. I thought it would become clear then why he’d done it… but no. Just for a laugh as far as I could tell. Pointless.

Ok, at the end there is, what I can only assume is meant to be a shocking climax with some cops and stuff. Personally I just thought the ending all felt a bit rushed which I guess was fine because I didn’t really give a crap any more. I was actually falling asleep a little at this point. It’s not really a bad ending but I didn’t feel the impact that the film was so obviously desperate to create with it. I can’t really think of what else to say about it. I was happy it was finally over?

The truth is The Human Centipede is badly conceived, badly scripted and badly acted film. It absolutely does not deserve the attention that has been paid to it. It’s just another crappy low budget horror film made by a guy who had one shocking idea but no concept of what to do with it. I do believe that people can make whatever shitty films they want to make, but if they put it out there it obviously means I can say whatever the hell I want about it… and I call no-talent hack on this one.

I’m gonna stop short of telling you not to see it. I know if you’re as curious about it as I was then everything I’ve just said won’t stop you. I’d heard it was crap before I saw and I still watched it… and I’m glad I did. I always think it’s worth finding out what the fuss is about. It’s just that in this case it really is much ado about nothing.

3/10

In case you’re wondering why it got a 3 rather than a 1. I’m giving it a 3 because, as I mentioned, there were some nicely shot scenes. Also there was one funny scene with another driver on the road in the forest. Also it did make me retch a little bit, so there was an element of job done – but that didn’t really have anything to do with the whole centipede thing. Oh yeah, and it was kind of funny seeing how, most of the time, they kept strategically placing limbs to umm… preserve the girls modesty.

Crank is great film. It’s just completely ludicrious. It’s so over the top it’s hilarious. I know I generally stay away from plot details but let’s face it, nobody’s gonna Crank for the plot. Jason Statham play Chev Chelios, a hitman who has been poisoned by his enemy. There’s probably some technical way to describe how the poison is affecting – actually I seem to remember some brief explanation offered by a doctor along the way – but I don’t remember really. All you need to know is that if Chev’s adrenaline level drops then he’ll die. That’s right, it’s like Speed but with our hero’s heart. Cue 84 ridiculous minutes of Jason Statham tearing across town trying to find and kill his nemesis before he kills him – get it?

As an action film it’s brilliant, I can’t remember the last time I had as much fun watching a film… that might be just because I have a poor memory for some things though. Ok, that’s not entirely true. The last time I remember having as much fun was when I saw Snakes on a Plane… a modern classic to be watched by all for years to come. Or at least I hope it will be. Crank deserves that too. I’m glad they’ve made a sequel and from what I’ve gleaned by glancing over Rotten Tomatoes it’s at least as good as the first.

There isn’t really much else to know about the film… if I wanted to nit pick I would point out that the fight sequences are nothing to write home about. This isn’t the Jason Statham from the Transporter films. But that’s ok because it’s not the point of the film… it’s not a beat ‘em up, it’s more of a “run around like a maniac” film.

Anyway I wanted to keep this short so I’ll wrap up with this. I highly recommend this film if you like your movies short, snappy, slightly splattery but all fun.

Can’t wait for Crank: High Voltage

9/10

Wristcutters: A Love Story is set in an afterlife for people who’ve committed suicide. It’s a different kind of afterlife from the traditional winged one (be it above or below)… instead it is, in the words of our main character, “… basically the real world, just crappier”.

Zia (Patrick Fugit, best known from Almost Famous, just in case you’re wondering where you might have seen him before.) is a young man who’s committed suicide because his girlfriend Desiree (Bibb), has left him… their relationship isn’t particularly important though. Whatever happened before, he has ended up in this afterlife, working in a pizza parlour, living in a crappy apartment and just existing. So far, so dull – well no actually, the film is interesting so far… A chance encounter in the local supermarket leads Zia to discover that his former girlfriend took her own life a little while after he did. Given that he still has little else to “live” for he decides to take off with his interesting Russian rocker friend Eugene (played by Shea Whigham). While on the road they meet an outwardly interesting young lady called Mikal (played by Shannyn Sossamon) who’s on a mission to find the “People In Charge” and explain why she shouldn’t be there So far, so interesting – well no actually, this is where the film starts to fall down…

I wanted to like this film… it has lots of interesting ideas, most of which are hinted at early on. Its problems start when they get on the road… from there on in it loses steam… it seems to flounder, the director takes a while to pick the idea he wanted to centre on and in my opinion he picked the wrong one. Then again maybe my expectations were to blame, I thought I was going to see an indie film exploring, I don’t know, ideas and concepts – stuff about suicide, naivety of youth, friendship, life after death – the kind of stuff you expect and indie film to cover. I expected it to be smart, funny and quirky… you know, a good indie film… and for a while it looked like it was going that way. Then all of a sudden, to my horror Goran Dukic got lazy and just decided to turn it into a love story. Now I shouldn’t have been surprised – the clue was in the title… but I don’t know, I just hadn’t expected it to be nothing more than a love story in the end. I try so hard to not expect anything of the films I watch, it just sets you up for disappointment… but sometimes… you just can’t help it.

Wristcutters: A Love Story just wasn’t what I wanted it to be at all and while all the little ideas and side characters made it an enjoyable watch; overall it just didn’t live up to the awards and nominations it garnered. I really should have learned after that abominable The Aryan Couple that film festival awards count for nothing and that the only ratings that are worth any consideration and IMDb ratings (after DVD releases) and rottentomatoes.com!

Quickly, to address the other stuff… the acting was commendable, the cinematography and art direction were great. Special mention as well to Will Arnett, I always find him entertaining and his appearence was a well needed laugh, even though the idea behind it did have a feel of an after thought… Overall I’m actually going to give it a decent enough rating because actually it wasn’t a bad film at all. For all my complaints about it, the main thing I didn’t like was the love story – I wasn’t expecting it when I really have no excuse – after all, it was in the title!!

6.5/10

Chasing Amy is one of Kevin Smith’s earlier films. It’s basically a love story between comic book writers. Or if you want to be a bit more deep about it, it’s about relationships. Ben Affleck and Jason Lee star as best friends, Holden and Banky, who write a cult comic book together – Bluntman and Chronic. All is well on the comic con circuit until Holden (Affleck) meets a woman who rocks his world (Alyssa, played by Joey Lauren Adams). Unfortunately for him, she’s a lesbian with quite a past. Fortunately for him, lesbian thing is negotiable. Anyway, the film looks at the way the relationships between all the characters change, Holden and Banky, Holden and Alyssa, Alyssa and her friends.

Actually it’s quite interesting, there’s a certain realism to it, it does make you wonder what you would do if it happened to you and it’s not your typical Hollywood romantic comedy / drama. I liked the dialogue and I liked how the different relationships were treated different, I liked that the characters were normal people leading normal lives. On the other hand I did think it was a bit melodramatic in parts, there were a couple of scenes where I did think “Are you kidding??”. Also I don’t think it was as clever as it thought it was, but then again that’s not really a fair comment. First of all it’s eleven years old and secondly, what do I know about how clever Kevin Smith thought he was being…? but in any case, it was the impression I was left with.

All in all I did enjoy the film, it was a nice little satisfying package, few laughs, bit of a distraction for two hours. However, like other Kevin Smith films, I didn’t really better for watching it. It was fine.

Oh yeah, I thought Jay and Silent Bob were very funny in it. Also, I learned a new definition of finger cuff.

7/10

Control is a biographical film based on the 1995 memoirs of Ian Curtis’s wife, Deborah Curtis, entitled Touching From A Distance. It is directed by acclaimed photographer and music video director Anton Corbijn.

Shot in colour than transferred to black and white, Control is a portait of a man who didn’t seem to fit, no matter how much he wanted to. The film starts with Ian in school, just before meeting his future wife and chronicles the formation of the band, it’s signing, including the apocryphal tale of Tony Wilson signing the contract with the band in his own blood, Ian Curtis’s diagnosis of epilepsy and his downward spiral into depression, culminating with the events just before the band’s first scheduled US tour.

Despite the dark and depressing nature of the subject matter, this film isn’t particularly difficult to watch. I don’t know if that’s a good thing though, perhaps it should have been. It’s an interesting story that focuses on Ian Curtis’s life and relationships, as opposed to any telling of the band’s days on the road or anything like that. Looking back I suppose, given that it’s based on Deborah’s memoirs (and she was left at home with their baby), this is partly out of necessity. Also, given that it’s based on Deborah’s memoirs, it’s very balanced. What the film gives you is quite a stylised telling of the pressures that Ian Curtis faced and the pressures that he placed on himself. It doesn’t blame anyone for his death nor does it particularly romanticise his life, he was a normal man who just couldn’t cope with what was going on around him.

To be honest I’m not sure if it’s really right to rate this film as there are so many ways interpret a person’s life and to rate this film would be rating this particular interpretation. I don’t feel particularly qualified to do that, I didn’t know the guy. What I will say is that there were only really two or three moments in it that I really felt a truth to it, which is not to say that any of it was lies, but in many ways it did just feel like a story. The scenes involving Debbie and Ian around the housewarming party, during and after, and then one particular scene when Ian talks about how much he gives on stage but it’s never enough. Those scenes, I think, are really the most important scenes in the film, they give the couple character and sympathy.

What I can say, in terms of rating the film, is that the acting by the two leads – Sam Riley and Samantha Morton – was excellent. Having watched some videos of Joy Division now on youtube, Sam Riley had him spot on. Also, it looks great, the fact that Anton Corbijn is a photographer is obvious.

My main, and possibly quite odd, criticism of the film is that I felt it was missing a sense of time. I didn’t really know anything about Ian Curtis beforehand and it felt like a lot of time had passed between each scenes. I had no idea he was so young when he died and I think I would have looked at it a bit differently if I had had any idea of how quickly everything happened.

Anyway, on the whole this was a relatively entertaining way of spending 2 hours. I don’t think I could say that it was really fascinating but the music was great – I have to say, that song Love Will Tear Us Apart is one of my all time favourites – as were the performances. It really is a sad tale and one can’t help but wonder how things could have been. Of course, there’s no way of knowing…

7/10

Plainly spoken, Knocked Up is the story of one drunken night and its consequences. Alison Scott (played by Katherine Heigl) is a 24-year old who’s been promoted to on-screen after working behind the scenes at the entertainment channel E!. Ben Stone (played by Seth Rogen”) is a 23-year old stoner living off a compensation award with a group of buddies. Theoretically they’re working on a website concept however really… they’re watching out for nude scenes starring famous actresses.

There’s nothing remarkably deep about this film so, don’t go looking for it but I did think it was very entertaining. All the supporting characters were strong (particular mention to Kristen Wiig who played Jill – an exec in E!) and the two leads were very well suited. I found it very funny and the situations, though somewhat ridiculous, were made believable, in the same way we saw in The 40-year Old Virgin to be honest. There was charm to everything and really, it’s just a nice film.

I will say this, I was initially apprehensive when this came about in the cinemas because it looked a bit like a chick film however after hearing that it was great from girls and guy alike and also because of Judd Apatow’s other films I thought I’d give it a go. They weren’t wrong and so I join others in wholly recommending it as a good way to spend approximately 130 mins of your life. I do wonder though, as a girl was it fundamentally a different film for me than it would be for a guy? Not humourwise I mean, just in general… I guess I’ll never really know!

7.5/10

The Science of Sleep is that film. Starring Gael García Bernal and Charlotte Gainsbourg, the film tells the story of an innocent man, a man who lives in a fantastic land where his dreams can help him realise a relationship with a women he’s just met. It’s a sweet story and I’ll come straight out and say it. I thought it was great. I will say this, the weirdness hits you from the outset, everything I had heard before seeing this pointed to the fact that it would be strange but I had expected the film to build to it in the same way that we would have seen in Eternal Sunshine.

The plot itself is quite simple. Following the death of his father in Mexico, Stéphane (Gael García Bernal), a shy dreamy fellow, agrees to move to Paris to be closer to his mother as she has promised him that she has an apartment for him and a creative job in a calender company . He moves into the apartment and becomes entranced with his next door neighbour, Stéphanie (Charlotte Gainsbourg). However his life keeps getting in the way, his aspirations to be a graphic designer are stifled in the calender-making company as his actual position is completely mudane and is driving him further into his dream world. He shares a delicate bond with Stéphanie however he has become caught up in a lie pretending that he lives in another building. As he becomes more frustrated his fantasies start to consume him however his relationship with Stéphanie is growing and it all has to come to a head sometime… a fairly classic tale of boy meets girl.

That said, a simple plot can be worked into a great film and that’s what Gondry has done here. His strength lies in his visual style and whereas in Eternal Sunshine he understated the stylistic end and carried a more complicated plot, in this film he fills out the plot with intricate visuals. If you’re familiar with Michel Gondry’s music videos at all then you’ll notice different elements from the likes of Everlong throughout the film. From cellophane water to the patchwork horse, the details in this film are immense and, if I’m being honest, some people will probably find that this overwhelms the film. Even as a fan of Gondry I think do it’s somewhat indulgent however as weird, whimsical and sometimes engulfing, some of images are, I never felt that Gondry lost sight of his characters. Through it all I cared what happened to this two… kindred spirits if you will… and end of the day this is something that so many film makers fail to do.

Anyway, this is my first review for this blog and I’m afraid that I’m waffling on too much so I’ll stop now… let me know what you think, anything else about the film you want to hear? I hope you found this interesting, good bye!

9/10