Priest is nearly upon us and I’ve only done one post on it… and that was months ago!

Anyway yes, as I said in that post – alternate future? post-apocalyptic dystopia? I’m there. It’s my favourite genre of fiction. I don’t care if there’s vampires, cannibals, zombies or just a simple breakdown of civilisation. I’m all over it.

Of course just because I love the genre doesn’t mean I actually enjoy all the films. I have hopes for Priest 3D… just not massively high hopes because well… I always make sure to squash down any high hopes I have. There’s nothing more deflating than when you realise you planted your own seeds of disappointment.

Caution lies in the fact that I know nothing about the director except that his last film wasn’t wasn’t particularly well received. However, I’m willing to give the guy a chance. I never saw it… I remain optimistic. It looks like fun and I really do think Paul Bettany is just a very intimidating guy, he’s creepy. Creepy is good in an ol’ dystopia.

I will be checking my brain at the door just in case and if it turns out that, happily, I need it to come and play well… I’ll just have to go and see the film again. I do generally prefer my dystopian fiction with a good bit of thought behind it but making it a requirement would just make things too difficult.

Anyway there are a few different trailers below so have a look and let me know what you think.

RELEASE DETAILS

release date: 6th May 2011
director: Scott Charles Stewart
writer: Cory Goodman, Min-Woo Hyung (writer of the original Korean comic)
cast: Paul Bettany, Cam Gigandet, Maggie Q
genre: Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Action
how long is it? 87 mins

VIDEOS AVAILABLE
Trailer #1
Trailer #2
Trailer #3

Trailer #1

If you don’t know by now that this is my favourite genre of film then… I guess you just haven’t read my review of The Road, or my top 10 films of the decade article where I talk about Children of Men, or the previews of Repo Men, The Book of Eli or Daybreakers. Which is grand. I don’t expect people to read everything I write…

But anyway, if you didn’t know that, now you do.

Knowing that then you probably won’t be surprised that I’m well excited by the latest trailer for Priest. This may lose me some friends and alienate people but… I’m a sucker for these kinds of films. What can I say? I think it just looks cool.

As far as I can glean, it’s about these priests who are meant to fight evil. It would appear the evil is in the form of some kind of mad looking vampires. I don’t know why. I don’t really care why so it’s all good. All I’m sure about is that it’s all very dark and ominous looking. Just the way I like it.

Further research reveals that it is loosely based on a Korean manhwa of the same name.* Interesting. Hopefully this means there’ll be some kind of plot to back up all this action in the trailer.

Course there’s some out there who remember Legion (which I didn’t see) and are very skeptical. Maybe they’re right to be. I couldn’t possibly comment. I do think Paul Bettany plays a great creepy bastard though and that any film can be improved by the casting of Cam Gigandet. So…

Speaking of Cam Gigandet, I looked back over my Burlesque review and I’m actually shocked I didn’t mention him. I swear, they must have decided that Ali was made of steel in that film. Made of steel.

Anyway I’m looking forward to it. I may live to regret saying all of this though. It could turn out to be awful. Here’s hoping for a good ‘un.

I reckon I’ll make Due Date the first film I highlight this week. It come to us from the writing team and the director of last year’s “surprise smash hit comedy” The Hangover.

Ah, I shouldn’t be sarcastic, The Hangover was a pretty decent laugh. Especially the photos at the end. I should probably watch it again. But anyway, yeah. Oh, I do think this trend of trying to market a film as “The funniest film since The Hangover!” is hilarious. It was only last year, so all you’re saying is that it’s the funniest film lately. Not really worth putting the posters is it?… anyway. I digress, as I am often wont to do.

So Due Date stars Zack Galifianakis, of The Hangover and Tru Calling (or am I the only person who watched that show?) and Robert Downey Jr., who I’m gonna call a true film star. When he’s on the screen you can’t help but watch him. He’s great. Though just to be clear, this isn’t some veiled way of saying I fancy him – I usually just come out and say that – I just think think he’s a great actor.

Basically Due Date is a road trip movie, Robert Downey Jr. plays Peter Highman, a man who just wants to get home to his pregnant wife who’s due to give birth. Unfortunately for him, a series of unlikely events occurs, he ends up on a road trip with aspiring actor, Ethan Tremblay (Galifianakis), a man who um… is unpleasant to travel with. Am I that interested in a road trip film? Not really, but Downey Jr. and Galifianakis are funny funny people so I’m well on for spending an hour and a half or so in their company.

I gotta say, I didn’t want to mention Planes, Trains and Automobiles but you can’t really help but think of it. That said, director Todd Phillips does seem to just be interested in road trips… after all, he did direct… Road Trip. Besides, Planes, Trains and Automobiles is a good film. Maybe Due Date will stave off a remake of that ’80s classic.

Next up, Jackass 3D. The Boys are Back. Ok, it’s not called The Boys are Back but it may as well be. Every time I hear mention of it I think of this so…

I did used to watch Jackass back in the day. Course I pretty much watched it for one reason and one reason only… You know how earlier I said I’d just come out and say it? Well I’ll say it now. I watched it for Johnny Knoxville. Yeah, I think he’s pretty great, and not in an acting sense…

That said, I’m sure many people watch it for Knoxville. He is the ringmaster after all. As long as he’s laughing it’s a-ok to watch people get smacked in the face, fall on their heads, get thrown into a pit of snakes, be up-ended by a bull, bitten by a dog, shot at by, well… all manner of things really and most of all, be in pain. And he laughs all the time.

So, if you enjoy that kind of thing then Jackass 3D is the movie for you this week. I mean what can I say to recommend this really? Everyone knows Jackass right, you like it or you don’t. I’m not going to intellectualise it but if you want to hear about some people who do then have a look at The Guardian’s interview with Knoxville. Maybe the whole Jackass thing is of “cultural significance”. Orm maybe if you hang around for long enough people will make excuses for you…

Anyway, I have already seen this and I thought it was brilliant. I’m still not entirely sure how they’re all still alive. Honestly, there’s definitely a couple of times that you think, “There’s no way he’s getting up”, but then you see Johnny Knoxville laughing… and you know everything will be a-ok.

Other films out this week…

Let Me In – I’m not entirely sure if this is a remake of the 2008 Swedish film Let The Right One In or an adaptation of the novel of the same name. I guess it could be a combination. Either way, it’s brought to us by Matt Reeves, the director of Cloverfield (but that really means nothing in this context) and stars Chloe Moretz (the little girl from Kick-Ass) and Kodi Smit-McPhee (the little boy from The Road.) So, creepy kids a-go-go.

Anyway, I’ve seen this one as well and I wasn’t overly impressed. Then again, I wasn’t that impressed with the Swedish film either and that appeared on many “Top films of the year” and even a few “Top films of the decade” lists. So, well, if I were you I wouldn’t bother… but it has been getting some decent reviews around the place and if you haven’t seen Let The Right One In then maybe you’ll like it.

Another Year – New film from acclaimed writer and director Mike Leigh. If I felt shame I’d be somewhat ashamed of the fact that I actually haven’t seen any of his films. Not one. I heard of him, after all, he’s been nominated for 6 Oscars, but I’ve just never been that interested in seeing any of his films.

I’m very interested in this one though. I don’t know why. It doesn’t really sound like my kind of film. It’s about an old married couple and their friends… so I guess it’s about relationships, growing old, that kind of thing. Mind you, I could be completely wrong, they’ve gone to lengths in the trailer to make sure that you can’t really tell what’s going on. Nice work, I’m sick of trailers that tell you everything. Maybe that’s why I want to see it. Also, I like Jim Broadbent and co-star Lesley Manville is currently being heavily tipped for an Oscar nomination from this so… Sounds like it should be good. I know it may not seem like it from some of my comments, but I do like to see good films from time to time too.

So that’s it for this week. Hopefully I’ll be organised enough during the week to get next week’s preview out on time… you’d never know.

Jackass 3D, Due Date, Another Year and Let Me In are all in Irish cinemas from Friday 5th November 2010.

Now I know that at this stage some of you would have already Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. It came out on Wednesday so I’m a little behind on posting this. I usually try to get it out to give people a guide for weekend viewing but I’ve even failed on that this week… Sorry about that.

For those who don’t know much about Scott Pilgrim though, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is the latest film from super-cool director Edgar Wright. You may remember him as the write/director of such films as Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz and the excellent TV show, Spaced. I was trying to think of a better way to describe him but I couldn’t. He’s just really cool. It’s based on a comic book series of the same name from Bryan Lee O’Malley, six graphic novels from 2004 to 2010.

The premise is simple, our hero Scott Pilgrim is a slacker musician who one day, quite literally finds the girl of his dreams. Unfortunately for him the path to her heart is riddle with obstructions in the form of her seven evil exes. If he is ever to capture her love he must battle them. To the death!

I got to see this at the premiere courtesy of a Phantom 105.2 competition (thanks guys!) and I can say that it is great fun. It probably won’t be to everybody’s taste – in addition to it being based on a graphic novel; it’s heavily influenced by video games. Which is not to say that you have to be into video games to enjoy the film or the action but let’s be honest… There’s gonna be some people out there who just aren’t cool with the style at all. It’d be a great pity if people avoided it just because of that… but it would be understandable

Personally, while I wouldn’t say that I loved it but I had a great time watching it and I definitely think it’s worth seeing. It’s nice to see a wide film doing something a little different from the norm. I heard this hasn’t been doing brilliantly in the US but I hope that Edgar Wright will still be afforded to a chance to direct the kind of films he wants to do…

Other films that opened this Friday…

Grown Ups – Adam Sandler’s latest collaboration with director Dennis Dugan. Five high school friends and basketball team-mates are reunited after the funeral of their high school coach and decide to spend Fourth of July holiday weekend together, for the laugh. I assume there lies the promise of hilarity ensuing. Sandler, Kevin James, Chris Rock, David Spade and Rob Schneider all star. I gather it’s not very good but I wouldn’t want to discourage you from making up your own mind. I won’t be seeing it though.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid – Based on a series of humorous novels of the same name by Jeff Kinney. It’s about a wise-crackin’ 11 year old who’s on a mission to become the most popular kid in school. It’s pitched at kids so not getting many evening showings.

The Girl who Played with Fire – Second film in the adaptation series of Steig Larsson’s best-selling Millennium Trilogy. The first film of which was The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I never finished this book but I’ve heard it’s really good… but the main thing I’ve heard is that you pretty much have to go straight into the third novel so I’m not sure how this will effect this particular film. Easy enough for people to go straight into the next book but the next film in this installment The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest won’t be out here till the end of November. Also I’d be slightly worried because, as much as I liked TGWTDT, I thought it was a very stripped down version of a great book… so I’ll probably finish this book first before seeing this one.

Even though the film is in Swedish, the popularity of the novels means it’s getting a bigger release than you’d expect of a foreign language film. You might even be able to find it outside Dublin. Well, in Cork and Galway anyway.

Oh yeah, almost forgot, Avatar is back in cinemas this week with 9 extra minutes (No way! Didn’t they make enough money? I hear you exclaim… I guess not).Whatever about the extra 9 minutes, I do actually recommend you see it if you didn’t catch it the first time ’round. In 3D, at the cinema, really is the only place to see this. That’s why, even though this is obviously a cheap ploy to get more money out of me. I probably will see it again. Truth is I meant to see it twice the first time around and just didn’t get around to it. Undoubtedly they’ll pick up a few more like me along the way as well. I just wish they didn’t cheapen the venture by trying to claim that 9 extra minutes is worth the money. Bah.

That’s all for this week. Sorry I was late again this week, you’d never know, might be before Friday next week.

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Grown Ups, Diary of a Wimpy Kid and The Girl Who Played with Fire are all in cinemas now.

It’s not that Alice in Wonderland is a bad film. Hehe, that’s probably my favourite phrase, I don’t like saying films are bad… but… Alice just wasn’t as brilliant as I wanted it to be. Then again I don’t know what I expected. I mean it looked good… and the story definitely seemed to follow the Alice canon… it just wasn’t as magical as I thought it would be. It wasn’t as fairytale or as wonder-filled as I thought it would be.

I think we could (and should) have spent more time with the Wonderland characters. There was all this stuff at the beginning that I just didn’t care about. I know you need a certain amount of exposition but it didn’t even really seem to tell us where she was coming from and seemed to go on for ages and then when we got to Wonderland we got introduced to a whole load of other characters but we never spent a lot of time with any of them.

In particular I was disappointed by the lack of Mad Hatter or even the White Rabbit, at least there was a bit of the Red Queen… Mostly the film seems to sweep through the supporting characters without giving them much of a chance to leave an impression. I didn’t hate the Alice character but she wasn’t half as much fun as the others so I would have liked more time with them.

Visually, it was beautiful but it wasn’t incredible. I’m starting to wonder if Avatar has spoiled things a bit. Certainly I didn’t feel like the 3D in this was up to much. It was more than you’d see in say, the Toy Story 3D adaptations, but it still wasn’t great. Also the Avatar world was beautiful but also so it was so immersive; in a way that Wonderland here is not…

…But I could be giving Avatar too much credit here as well. It’s entirely possible that Tim Burton just didn’t do that good a job with this. Actually I’m more inclined to believe that… he failed to make me care that much and it wasn’t weird enough to blow me away.

I will say this and I’m not sure if it’s really in its favour – I do think it’s suitable for children. It’s not dark like Burton’s other films. Maybe not for very young children, like those under 6, but certainly for other kids I would think it should be fine. There’s nothing in it that’s worse than what’s in the books, so if you’re fine with your kids hearing those kinds of stories then this will be grand.

I just don’t really know what to think of Tim Burton any more. I think he needs to stay with the fantastical type of stuff but leave the kids stuff behind. An adult version of Alice in Wonderland would have been a better choice for Burton and, I think, for the rest of his cast. I like to think it would have been a lot more engaging and we wouldn’t have gotten all tied up with PG storytelling we didn’t really need.

So, I’m not going to say don’t see it. I know there’s plenty people out there who’ll love it, and certainly bring your kids along. Don’t expect some twisted dark version of Alice, this isn’t what the film is.

6.5/10

I know I was expecting people to have heard of Crazy Heart last week and that might have been an over-estimation but seriously this time… If you haven’t heard about Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland before now than I can only assume you’ve been… living in a cave? hiding under a rock? walking around with your eyes closed? You get the idea… This is a big film.

Now I have to admit, I’m a big Tim Burton fan but, as I mentioned in my review of Sweeney Todd, his output has been less than consistent so I try to keep my expectations down. My efforst are in vain though, I can’t help the high expectations for this one. I didn’t get to the screening at the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival last Sunday (28 Feb 10) however a few people I know did and they’ve been raving about it ever since… I should have closed my ears. I’ve been closing my eyes at the trailers for the last few weeks already.

Just to talk about the film a little… There have been many many screen interpretations of the two Lewis Carroll novels. This one draws upon both the Alice books, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through The Looking-Glass but I gather it’s not a re-telling of those stories. If I have read them, I haven’t read them in ages anyway so it makes no odds to me.

My recollection of the story is based on a UK mini-series I saw years ago when I was a kid – actually, I can’t work out which series that might have been so if there’s anyone reading who might know then let me know – all I remember is that it was very expensive to make… I definitely remember that being a thing about it. I thought it was great though and I can really see how Tim Burton could do great things with Wonderland and hence… I can’t help but look forward to this… Woo! I think I’ll go see it on Saturday.

Oh, also, in case you are wondering, word from the folks who saw it last week was that it would be suitable for kids. I’ll let you know if I concur in the review after I see it…

Second film this week is Legion

I don’t really know much about Legion at all except that it’s got some great angel posing in the trailer and I really want to see that mutant granny monster. Looks funny.

Ah no, that’s a lie, I think I know a little about it… well, as far as I can glean from the trailer, God’s angry with us so he’s sent a load of angels to sort us all out. Oh yeah, also there’s some pregnant girl who has to be protected. I’m sure there will be havoc all over the place. Not everything I’ve seen in a trailer looks like an angel though so I’m in the dark about what it’s actually about.

Paul Bettany seems to be the expert in playing the serious, earnest and creepy young fella so I’m looking forward to be unsettled by him. The rest of the cast seems like fodder… which is unfortunate for Dennis Quaid but then again it’s hard to tell how big his role really is.

All in all it looks like a little slice of apocalyptic action so I’m well up for that.

Here’s the rest of the films out today in Ireland…

Ondine – Neil Jordan / Colin Farrell film set in… Cork, I believe. I’ve seen it, it’s not the worst film I’ve ever seen but I can’t in good conscience recommend that anyone go see it except for the novelty of a somewhat more genuine Ireland on the big screen.
Case 39 – Horror/thriller starring Renée Zellwegger and a creepy kid. This has moved all over the schedule so I’d be very suspicious of it…

Chloe – This was part of the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival so could be a good one. Thriller about a woman who hires a young woman (Amanda Seyfried)to seduce her husband. I’ve always liked Amanda Seyfried. This is a remake of a French film called Nathalie…

Exit Through the Gift Shop – Documentary about trying to find the popular but mysterious graffiti artist Banksy. Only on in Cineworld Dublin and Lighthouse Cinema in Smithfield.

The Father of My Children – Another film that was in JDIFF the other week… this one is French. I gather it is inspired by the life of Humbert Balsan, though not actually about him. Another very small release, this one is in the IFI and the Lighthouse Cinema.

Alice in Wonderland, Legion, Ondine, Case 39, Chloe, Exit Through The Gift Shop and The Father of my Children are all in Irish cinemas from today, Friday 5th March 2010.

The trailer seems to give a lot away but then again I’d imagine with this kind of character driven drama that doesn’t entirely matter. Natalie Portman plays the wife of a soldier who is apparently killed in the Iraq war. She becomes close with his brother and there is shock when it turns out her husband was not killed in action. His homecoming is less than welcome and relations between the three of them become intensely strained.

Personally this isn’t really the kind of film I would go to the cinema for but the quality of the acting does look very strong and it is directed by Jim Sheridan so it could be one of interest to some of you out there. I have to admit, I am somewhat curious though because it does looks like a powerful character drama and I haven’t seen one I’ve enjoyed in a while. If this sounds like your kind of thing then check the listings at your local cinema.

The one I will be looking out for this week though is Toy Story 2 in 3D. I love the Toy Story films and I remember I loved Toy Story 2 even more than the original Toy Story. I say I remember but it’s really only an impression. I haven’t seen Toy Story 2 in years. I hadn’t seen Toy Story in years till I saw it in October ’09 in 3D. What a happy day that was and I am planning to make one day in the next two weeks a happy day too with this second installment.

I will mention though that I didn’t think much of the 3D effects in the 3 dimensionified version of Toy Story, it was probably one of the least 3D 3D films I’ve seen. I’m not entirely sure that turning old movies into 3D movies really works. I’m all for films that are specifically shot and produced for 3D and 2D but the 2D to 3D conversions I don’t know.

Now I’ve only seen two so maybe it’s not fair for me to draw conclusions but neither of them worked out brilliantly. The Nightmare Before Christmas did have some great 3D bits but I did find that when things were meant to be much further away or much closer you got double images. This does not appear to happen as much with made for 3D films. Mind you in that sense we were probably better off not having to much 3D in Toy Story, double images are annoying.

Anyway, just in case you have been living under a rock for the last 11 years, Toy Story 2 is Pixar’s 1999 follow up to the excellent Toy Story from 1995. Yes, it’s a kids film about toys that come to life when no-one is looking but it’s also fantastic. If you haven’t seen either of them I feel sad for you. You should go see them as soon as possible. Go rent the first one then come to the cinemas and see Toy Story 2.

You’ll have to move quickly though. Toy Story 2 is only being released in 3D screens and due to the ongoing success of Avatar it has not made the main evening showings in many cinemas. It is however on matinees and early evening showings all over the country so if you work during the week you should be able to catch it over the weekends. Go soon though as it’s only in cinemas for a limited 2 week run.

If you do that then it means you’ll be all caught up in time to see Toy Story 3, an all new adventure for Buzz and Woody coming to screens this summer. I can’t wait.

Brothers and Toy Story 2 3D are both in Irish cinemas from this Friday, 22nd January 2010.

Other films releasing in Ireland this week are The Boys are Back (drama), Armoured (action / thriller) and Ninja Assassin (action). Actually Ninja Assassin looks like good craic as well. I gotta see The Book of Eli first though so I’ll have to hope that Ninja Assassin is still around in a couple of weeks.

Personally, I had been rather apprehensive about this whole Avatar business. I can’t remember the last time a film promised so much (well… maybe Snakes on a Plane but that was really a different kind of promise). It’s been 12 years since James Cameron made a feature film… 12 years is a long time. Of course that film was the highest grossing movie of all time ($1.8 billion worldwide, just so you don’t have to look it up)… but then again, not everyone looks back kindly on Titanic. I actually liked and still like Titanic, but the idea of Titanic in space with a load of blue monkeys? Uh… I just wasn’t so sure about that. And of course Cameron also directed Terminator, Aliens and True Lies. All great films but I just don’t know how this all fits together.. what kind of films does James Cameron do? What kind of film was Avatar going to be? And there’s so much riding on Avatar – Cameron’s reputation of course, but the way it’s being sold, the future of 3D cinema as well. This film is supposed to push 3D out of kids films and horror and into the mainstream. It was too much, too puzzling, I just couldn’t get behind this film wholehartedly.

I’m almost hesitant to tell you what I thought of it. I think you’d be better off if you go see it yourself first. Stop reading now if you haven’t seen it… or read on if you’ve seen it, or if you prefer to hearing other people’s opinions before you see a film… it’s up to you, just don’t say I didn’t warn you, but I do think it’s one that you might want to keep your ears and eyes closed about it beforehand.

If you are still reading on then I think Avatar is going to be a bit of a divisive one, particularly because I think there’s a chance it’ll draw in more than a few people who don’t watch movies a lot… I hope it does anyway. Which is not to say that I think people who don’t watch movies a lot will particularly love it or hate it. Some will and some won’t. I just mean that there’ll be more people talking about it than your average genre film. For example, I doubt My Bloody Valentine was particularly divisive. Not many people who don’t like horror would go to see such an obvious horror/slasher film so it’s not like there’d be many arguments about it. Avatar on the other hand is being sold very wide, wider than I think the genre/s fit. I’m not sure exactly what genre it is but it’s definitely being sold outside it.

Mind you, the genre is irrelevent in a way… I think everyone should see this film. Not everyone will like it but I definitely think everyone should see it. There will be people out there who just aren’t going to buy into the big blue aliens. There’ll be other people who just don’t like sci-fi. There’ll be sci-fi fans who aren’t happy because it’s not sci-fi enough… that doesn’t matter. The fact is, it looks amazing… let me say it again, AMAZING. I could go on with a few more superlative adjectives but it’s not worth it, you’ll just think I sound nuts. Amazing I tells ya. You just have to go see it. It is worth it…. Even if your brain hates it your eyes will enjoy the feast. I liked the 3D in it too. It was used very effectively, there were a few “coming out of the screen at you” moments but a lot of it was giving depth to scenes, just making things look more realistic. It was different from the other 3D I’ve seen. Then again, it’s a very different film from the other 3D films out there.

Will it revolutionise cinema though? I don’t know. First of all, I don’t how much this kind of thing costs and let’s face it, big budget film making is all about the money. But also I don’t know how well it would work with other films. I can see it with the big summer blockbusters, certainly Transformers and Star Trek would benefit from it but I still don’t think that it’s worth it in every case. I guess it really depends on the maths…

In general though, it’s not a great film, it’s a good film but not a great one. Or at least I wouldn’t put it up there with the rest of Cameron’s work. I think in another review, I mentioned that I don’t particularly watch individual films in the context of a director’s overall work. And that’s true. But in this case it’s easier to reference his because… well… I’m just finding it difficult to find a genre to review it in. It’s not really a sci-fi film. Sure, it’s in space and there’s aliens all over the place, but it’s really just a normal drama set against the backdrop of an alien planet. But, you couldn’t compared it to something like… I dunno, Almost Famous or something. I was very much reminded of The Lord of the Rings trilogy watching it. It truly is an epic film. Cameron has created a whole world for us, so I can’t say it wasn’t great because it was a bit of a corny love story. It’s like saying The Lord of the Rings films are just three films about a very long walk. That’s just bollocks.

Ok anyway, this film has really got me waffling. Let’s get down to it. Avatar is a good film but it’s a bit mainstream for my taste. It’s not really entirely a straight up love story like Titanic but it’s more than half way there. The pacing is reasonable but it’s slightly long (about 2 hours 40 mins) and I found the music more than a little annoying (it’s comments like that that are the reason you should watch a film before reading the reviews – now when you watch it you might be listening out for the music and this isn’t a film where you should be worrying about the music… but anyway…). That said, it’s not like the music spoiled it for me, it was just annoying. Characterwise, it’s ok. I wouldn’t say they are well developed but it’s not that kind of film so it doesn’t matter. Acting is fine, a bit shaky in places and the best actors probably aren’t on screen for long enough – I’m pointing at Sigourney Weaver and Giovanni Ribisi here – but there’s nothing painful or shocking about it. The plot is predictable… but again, that’s just the type of film it is. Some films are predictable, it’s not a bad thing, it’s just a thing. It’s not awful though, it’s engaging enough and generally sustains itself across the 160 minutes or so.

All these complaints aside though it’s still a good film. In fact it’s almost a great film. I found myself immersed in this alien world and if a film can do that then it can’t be bad. It is thanks in no small part to the visual effects but also it’s pretty much a full realised world. The Na’vi are a distinct culture and they are a believable culture in my eyes given the world they inhabit.

Anyway I do urge you to go and see it if you haven’t already. It does look AMAZING and yes, it is worth it just for that. And do spend the money on seeing it in 3D. This kind of work deserves to be seen the way it was designed to be seen. Just don’t expect too much from the story. In that respect it’s competent but it’s not worthy of those superlative adjectives I didn’t use to describe the visual effects.

8.5/10

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I may as well start by saying that I’m not actually a fan of the Final Destination. I saw the first one years ago, probably about a year after it came out and I didn’t like it. In the interests of full disclosure I have to admit… I didn’t like it because I didn’t realise it was meant to be funny… I just thought it was the stupidest film I’d ever seen. Later I watched through different eyes as it were and yes, it was good fun.

But anyway, the original Final Destination came out in 2000 and there have been a 2 and 3 between this 2009 version and the first. It isn’t a remake of the first so I don’t know why they didn’t call it 4 – beyond the fact that Final Destination 4 3D might have been a bit confusing – but surely they could have come up with something else. Anyway that’s neither here nor there. The point is that it’s quite an old franchise at this stage so they really needed to do something to keep it fresh and they didn’t.

This is a lazy lazy movie which pretty much pares back anything that was good about the Final Destination films I have seen. It wasn’t funny, it wasn’t clever, the deaths weren’t that outrageous and I didn’t even hate the characters that much. (insofar as there were characters) At least if I hated them I would have been happy to see them die. As it was I just didn’t care. Didn’t care at all.

Ok, it wasn’t the worst film I’ve ever seen (I save that honour only slightly unfairly for Reeker). It wasn’t really offensively bad, it was just plain bad. And boring. I did actually like the opening scene though and I thought the 3D was very good, for that bit, I don’t really remember much of it in most of the rest of the film.

Anyway I don’t think I have anything else to say about it except that you shouldn’t bother going to see it. You’d be better off watching one of the older ones, at least there are a few good deaths and a few good laughs there.

Actually, I just remembered that I saw the trailer for Pandorum before this, that looked like a bit of a laugh… kind of like Event Horizon and Aliens smooshed together. So I suppose one good thing came from watching this film.

4/10