Relationships can be terrible things.  Sure, they can lift you to enormous heights, make you feel as though the world belongs to you, that no matter what else goes wrong in life, you’ve got someone to share it with.  But more often than not these extreme feelings of happiness and comfort simply serve as springboards.  You find yourself being thrown higher and higher into a world which doesn’t really exist. Then comes the break up; a reminder that gravity does exist, and you find yourself crashing back to reality harder than ever before.

If you’ve ever been on the wrong end of a break up – meaning you’re the breakee not the breaker – then you know how painful it can be.   Your mind is flooded with questions; How could this person suddenly change their mind?  Weren’t we having fun?  What did I do wrong?  Is it me?

You spend the next few weeks (or months, or years) replaying events in your head.  Trying to figure out where it all went wrong.  It’s a painful and ultimately useless exercise, serving more as self torture than anything else.  Yet we all do it (those of us who are sentimental saps anyway) and occasionally, it does help to put things in perspective.

500 DAYS OF SUMMER is a film that focuses on the deterioration of a relationship.  It follows Tom (played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt), an average twenty something guy as he attempts to piece together what went wrong in his relationship with Summer (Zooey Deschanel).  He is a firm believer in true love, she isn’t.  It sounds similar to a thousand other romantic comedies, but it isn’t.

The film is structured in a non linear way, presented in fragments much like the memories you might dig up after a relationship ends.  Each scene is given some sort of context with a number appearing before it.  For example, the film may start with the title (308) – 308 being the number of days Tom has known Summer - and him deeply depressed, only to suddenly flick back to (1) and present us the day he met Summer, excited for the future.

It may sound a little confusing, but director Mark Webb manages to keep an even flow between the time skipping and you never feel lost. Don’t get me wrong though, 500 DAYS isn’t all doom and gloom.  It provides many profound and hilarious insights into the awkwardness of young love.  The audience in my theatre, a mixture of ages, was laughing throughout the film.  You’ll no doubt find yourself chuckling both from the insightful humour and the recognition of the situation.  Who hasn’t felt terrible when a partner says they ‘just want to be friends’ or felt on top of the world after the first night you spend with them?  These feelings have certainly been tackled time and again in film, yet 500 DAYS manages to present them in such a fresh and, most importantly, relatable way.

Although it is billed as a ‘romantic comedy’, I find it difficult to fully place it in this genre.  Sure it’s a comedy about a romance, littered with dramatic elements.  But the title ‘romantic comedy’ seems to bring images of Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson to mind, staring in a formulaic movie about two people who “soooo shouldn’t be together, but end up falling in love!”
500 DAYS is a romantic comedy in the same sense as ANNIE HALL or ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND.

Writers Michael H Weber and Scott Neustadter should also be commended for creating a narrative which is told entirely from a male perspective.  It’s not often that you find a romantic comedy created for a male audience – although both guys and girls will enjoy the film – and I found it incredibly refreshing.  This approach also lends a bit of mystery to the truth of the story, since we’re deprived of Summer’s perspective on things, it’s never fully revealed why she ends the relationship.

Neustadter has admitted in many interviews that almost everything in the movie actually happened to him in real life, which no doubt helps with the realism of the situations we’re presented with.
I’ve talked a lot about the themes and they way they’re presented, but if you’re just looking for an easy film to see this weekend 500 DAYS works perfectly as a nice piece of escapism.  Although it may not be the best date movie.

The performances by the two leads are superb, particularly from Joseph Gordon-Levitt who plays the emotional Tom with just the right amount of hopeless admiration for Summer.  His screen presence brought to mind memories of a young Heath Ledger, I’ve no doubt there are big things in the future for him.

It would have been quite easy for Zooey Deschanel to play Summer as the ‘villain’ of the film, instead she gives the character an emotional depth and mystery which you can’t help but fall for along with Tom.

500 DAYS OF SUMMER is not a typical romantic comedy.  It offers a unique presentation and perspective on a story we’ve heard (and experienced) many times before, whilst retaining enough elements from the genre to keep the audience comfortable.   It’s funny, charming and emotional story will keep you glued to the screen from beginning to end.   It’s suitable for pretty much all ages (aside from a few sex jokes), so why not go and see it this weekend?

I found quite a personal connection to it.  This one is for us sentimental saps.  There’s plenty more fish in the sea, right?

Four Stars

www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsD0NpFSADM

Review (may contain some very minor spoilers):

I was on the train just a few days ago, travelling into the city (I live on the outskirts of Melbourne) and I couldn’t help but notice that the guy sitting opposite me was rather desperately trying to flirt with the girl he was seated next to. He was attempting to get a conversation going, constantly asking her questions, leaning against her when he laughed and just generally making things painfully obvious. At one point, she began leafing through a magazine and pointed to a small advertisement for Pixar’s latest film; Up.

“I really want to see that” she said to him, either being polite or flirting back, I couldn’t tell. The guy threw his head back and laughed a little too hard, saying “Oh, you child!” The girls face went a little red and she muttered something like “whatever, I think it looks good”.

Meanwhile I was sitting opposite this guy, silently stewing with thoughts of anger. Didn’t he know anything about Pixar? Hasn’t he seen any of their films? How could he say that?

I came to the conclusion that it’s a common misconception that Pixar films are only for children.

I think there is a very important distinction to be made between a ‘kids movie’ and a film for ‘everybody’.

Pixar make films that are for everybody. I’d argue too, that as the studio has expanded it’s been allowed to take more creative risks and thus, the last few Pixar films have been quite mature in their themes. Sure, they’re often bright and colorful and feature characters who revel in slapstick humour – but that’s a part of animation, the ability to stretch the boundaries of your imagination, to present you with a world that could not ever exist in live action.

Up is perhaps their most mature effort yet. It tells the story of 78-year-old Carl Fredricksen, who sets out to fulfill his lifelong dream to see the wilderness of South America. How does he travel? By attaching hundreds of helium filled balloons to his house, ripping it from its very foundations and taking flight. It’s not long in his journey when Carl discovers that there is a stowaway in his house; 8 year old Russell, a local wilderness explorer (which is basically a cub scout). The two find themselves caught in a terrible thunderstorm which sends them crashing to the ground…where could they end up?

This is the plot synopsis that you’ve probably heard before, but it’s really all you need to know. Part of what makes this adventure so exciting is the sheer amount of discovery along the way. It’s been years since an adventure film was made which really pulls you along for the ride (the less said about Kingdom on the Crystal Skull the better), but Up manages to stand on it’s on purely as an exciting romp through the fantastical South American wilderness. It’s this aspect which is most likely to keep the younger members of the audience entertained, along with some fantastic character humour.

Don’t get me wrong, this adventure/action will also entertain the elder members of the audience. As I mentioned, UP contains some of the best adventure set pieces to be seen on the silver screen for years. It will keep you on the edge of your seat for a majority of the running time.

The most impressive element to me, aside from the brilliant character animation, was the fairly mature thematic content. On a simplistic level the ‘moral’ of the film is that life’s real adventure is made through the time you spend with the people you love. How many of us have big plans for the future, yet often neglect the little pleasures? It’s a curse which plagues almost everyone at one time or another and brings to mind the famous John Lennon quote “Life is what happens when you are busy making other plans”.

The film also explores themes of death and loss. Again I do not want to give too much away, but there is a painfully beautiful montage only ten minutes into the film that will leave you breathless and reaching for a tissue or sleeve. In fact, the emotional impact of Up is vastly superior to any other Pixar effort to date. I found myself wiping away a tear or two quite often.

I suppose you can’t talk about an animated film without mentioning the animation itself, but it’s almost a moot point when it comes to Pixar films. They are constantly improving and delivering the best feature animation around, hands down. UP is no exception. Never once do you question the reality or consciousness of these characters. One moment in particular, involving a character flipping through a scrapbook is animated so subtly that despite the caricature design, you’d swear you were watching a live action performance.
The art design is simply stunning, with the wilderness of South America practically leaping off of the screen with its colour and vibrancy. The film is worth seeing for the visuals alone, although they’re really just the icing on the cake.

Along with DISTRICT 9 and INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS, UP is one of the best films to come out this year. If I was forced to pick a flaw, it’s that the middle of the film doesn’t quite stand up to the beginning and the end, but this is really just nitpicking. If you’re reading this, then you probably know that it isn’t just a ‘kids film’, that the concept of animated features as nothing but childish fluff is a deeply flawed logic. You know this, but maybe your partner doesn’t, maybe your housemate doesn’t, so why not show them something different? Take someone to see UP right now, and then go again. It’s one of the most action packed, adventure filled, emotionally satisfying films to come out in a long time. What more can I say?

Oh, that guy did end up getting the girls number. Hopefully she forces him to see this movie.

“I think there’s a ‘cleverness’ to our films that’s pretty deep, I think there’s an emotion that’s deep. It’s very different from most animated films where people think ‘ah, these are just for kids’. Our movies are for everybody. And we really do mean that, they’re truly for everybody” – John Lasseter, director of Toy Story 1/2, A Bugs Life, Cars and an Executive Producer on Up.

Rating: 4 stars

REVIEW:

Let’s start with a little exercise. I’d like you to pretend you’re at a party; a housewarming or something casual like that. You’re sitting on a comfy couch, a couple of friends on either side, a drink in your hand. At this very moment you wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. It’s cold outside and there’s a fine drizzle of rain, but it’s toasty-warm inside, there’s plenty of snacks on the coffee table in front of you and since you’re on your third drink, you’ve developed quite a happy attitude.

Suddenly there’s a loud knock on the door and before anyone gets a chance to open it, a rather large guy kicks it down and walks inside, announcing at the top of his voice “I’M HEEEEEREEE”. No one pays him much attention so he looks around for a place to sit and damnit, there’s a spare couch opposite you. He lumbers across, throws his bag down on the floor (a bunch of beer bottles clang around inside) and shakes your hand, way too hard. He asks you what you do for a living, but doesn’t really listen to your answer, preferring to talk about himself and all of the amazing things he does; most of which sound like lies to you. He eats all of the snacks on the coffee table, drinks down a bunch of beer and then throws up all over the couch. Every time you attempt to leave the couch he grabs a hold of you and pulls you back “WHERE YA GOIN?” he shouts. At the end of the night he sleazes onto a girl and falls asleep with his shirt off – no one knows why.

If the new G.I JOE was a person, it’d be this guy.

The Rise of Cobra is a movie that I probably would have loved when I was 8 years old, only to look back on it as an adult and wonder how I could have sat through it (I had that experience recently with Short Circuit and it was heartbreaking!). It’s loud, it’s bright, it’s full of hammy dialog and while I didn’t enjoy the experience at all, I can’t fault the film because it achieves exactly what it set out to do; provide an hour and a half of dumbed down science-fiction action.

The G.I JOES (Global Integrated Joint Operating Entity) are an elite military unit, seemingly operating from underneath Egypt somewhere. Their mission is to exceed where others fail, to bring down terrorists that – for some weird reason – no other army from any other country is aware of. There’s a bunch of futuristic weapons, technology which doesn’t make sense and a bad guy who wants to rule the world by selling nano-technology and replacing the president of the United States with one of his minions. It’s a paint by numbers action blockbuster which borrows sequences from Jerry Bruckheimer and Michael Bay, and is actually more enjoyable than Bay’s 10 hour Transformers : Revenge of the Fallen.

You know what to expect, in other words.

The acting is nothing special; lead Channing Tatum (playing Duke) looks like he’d rather be at the gym the whole time. Dennis Quad offers a serviceable performance as General Hawk, but there’s nothing emotionally engaging about anyone in this.

If you go into this film wanting anything other than eye candy, then you’ll be disappointed. Luckily, the special effects look amazing for the most part. An entire city/military complex under a polar ice cap is quite breathtaking and brings to mind images from the 2007 game Bioshock.

If you’re looking for an hour and a half of mindless escapism, then you’ll probably enjoy G.I Joe. There’s nothing new here, but it does the job quite well. If you have an 8 year old son, brother, cousin, friend, then they’ll love it. For the rest of us, I’m not so sure.

While we’d like to tell the annoying guy at the party to shut up, and ask why does there have to be someone like you at every party? We all know that it just wouldn’t be a party without him. It wouldn’t be a summer movie season (or winter for us Aussies) without a few big dumb blockbusters and G.I JOE does succeed where the others have failed.

Unfortunately, with District 9 now screening, you have no reason to see Rise of the Cobra. Seriously, see District 9 instead.

Two stars.

A final note, I think G.I JOE has the potential to become a great drinking movie when it’s on DVD, take a drink for every time you see something which was in TEAM AMERICA.

John Hughes, the prolific writer/director of The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Plains, Trains & Automobiles, has passed away at age 59 after suffering a heart attack.

Hughes began somewhat of a ‘cinematic revolution’ with his work in the 80s, offering the average teen a film that dealt specifically with their problems, whilst maintaining a high amount of laughs. You’re most likely familiar with his writing work too, as he is the man behind Vacation, Weird Science, Uncle Buck, European Vacation, Christmas Vacation, Home Alone 1 /2 and a host of other classics.

Although he hadn’t been producing as much work as of late, Hughes filmography is incredibly impressive and no doubt many of his films will stand the test of time.

R.I.P John Hughes, you will be missed.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQLYNHNgBcE

Review:

How often have you returned home after a day’s work, collapsed on the couch and stared mindlessly at the TV? It happens to all of us. You sit there, letting these images flicker in front of your face but never taking anything in. For all you care the TV could be turned off and you wouldn’t notice anything different. You’d like life to be a little brighter, to offer you something more than the old get up, eat breakfast, drive to work, work, drive home, eat dinner, watch TV, rinse and repeat. Surely there’s more to it all, right?

It’s this issue which sits at the centre of Coraline, a surprisingly adult theme interwoven into a beautifully animated piece of art. What if you could escape to something more than your everyday life? What if you could travel to a world where everything was perfect, where you never had to worry about a thing? The initial thought is compelling, but to actually experience such a world might be more disturbing than you think…

Directed by Henry Selick of The Nightmare Before Christmas/James and the Giant Peach fame, Coraline is a modern day fairy tale which tells the story of the titular Coraline, a young girl who has recently moved into an old house with her work-addicted parents. With no one to play with and a slew of strange neighbours, Coraline quickly becomes fed up with her new home and life, wishing for more.

Her prayers are answered when she discovers a secret door – only a few feet in diameter – which leads to a parallel universe where everything in her life is perfect. Coraline’s parents don’t spend any time on their laptops, instead they cook delicious meals and play games all through the night. The strange neighbours are transformed into entertainers, staging shows made entirely with mice and performing death defying acrobatics.

It’s the kind of world Coraline doesn’t want to leave, there’s just one catch; to stay in this world she has to leave her real life behind forever and sew buttons over her eyes…no living thing in this other world has eyeballs, the first sign that something isn’t right.
Without giving too much away, Coraline discovers that there is something sinister about this other world, particularly her other Mother and sets out to make things right.

If you’re thinking it sounds a little eerie, you’re correct. This is the sort of Children’s film – a term I hate using and which simply means that it’s suitable for all ages – that would be produced in the 80s, before studios were afraid of upsetting people. It’s a true fairly tale, grisly elements and all. The last third in particular plays out like a horror film, with extremely bleak locations and harsh lighting, building up suspense and throwing a few jump scares at the audience every now and then.

This shouldn’t be seen as a deterrent though, as I attended a packed screening filled with kids under the age of 10 who didn’t make a sound the entire time. Coraline never gets to the point where the dark elements are over the top and it manages to keep a perfect balance of drama, thrills and humour. There are a couple of sequences, one involving a garden which comes to life, that are simply breathtaking with their attention to detail and beauty. Yes there are scares, but there’s a lot more than simply dark and twisted moments.

Then there is the animation. Characters and story aside, Coraline is worth seeing for the animation alone.
Coraline was created with a traditional type of ‘stop motion animation’. This involves physically creating everything that you see in the film, then posing and moving it one frame at a time. It can be an extremely painstaking process and if not conducted properly, can result in quite jerky and stiff animation…none of this is present in Coraline. In fact, there are some moments that almost feel as though they have been animated via computer, it’s extremely smooth. After only a few minutes into the film I forgot that I was watching an animated feature and was drawn into the world, a feat which most animators strive for.

As I mentioned earlier, there are moments in Coraline which overwhelm you with their beauty. It’s obvious that Henry Selick and his team have poured a ridiculously huge amount of time into the design and the results are breath taking. It’s one of the best looking films to come out in recent memory.

The voice acting too is above average, in particular Dakota Fanning as the strong willed titular Coraline and Teri Hatcher – proving she can act – as both Coraline’s real life and other Mother. There isn’t a huge array of characters in this film, but all of the cast give strong performances.

Coraline isn’t the sort of family film that you’re used to seeing. It contains a moral, yes, but it doesn’t throw it at you like so many animated films tend to do (Pixar excepted of course). It’s extremely refreshing visual style and strong story elements will keep you engaged from beginning to end. I find it hard to say anything negative about Coraline. It’s not a perfect film, but it achieves everything it sets out to do, and that’s quite an amazing feat.

It’s a film worth seeing regardless of your age, and one which – in my opinion – will be looked upon as a classic in years to come.
Three and a half stars.

The Harry Potter franchise needs no introduction. By now you’re well aware of the novels – six of which have been turned into films – and the general ‘Harry mania’ which sweeps the cinema when one of the films is released. If you don’t know anything about the books or films, then this review probably isn’t for you. Not because I’m trying to exclude those who haven’t had a chance to catch up, but because the series is far too developed now to explain all of the previous installments. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince is a film which is essentially a set up for the final act of the story. It doesn’t bother too much with easing ‘newcomers’ into the universe.
In the interest of full disclosure, I have never read a single line from any of the books, but I’ve enjoyed all of the movies and I’ve got to say, I love the direction that the series is heading.

Half Blood Prince is the 6^th film in the series and the second to be directed by David Yates – who previously helmed Order of the Pheonix and will go on to direct the final chapter Deathly Hallows, which will be split into two films.
The basic plot centers around Harry and Dumbledore as they attempt to uncover the true past of Voldemort – who does not appear as an adult in this film, instead he is seen only as ‘Tom Riddle’ at age 11 and 16 in a pair of brilliantly constructed – quite chilling – flashback sequences. While all of this is happening, Draco Malfoy sulks about the halls of Hogwarts, preparing for a mission which was given to him directly by the dark lord. Throw in a little humour centering around first kisses, dates, love potions and you’ve got the basic ingredients for Half Blood Prince.

So where does the title fit in? Well, Harry discovers a text book which previously belonged to the mysterious Half Blood Prince. He uses various spells/potions from this book to his advantage, until finally finding out who the previous owner was – It’s not quite as important as the other titular items in the series, at least not in the movie, with most of the other story threads having more impact overall.

As I mentioned earlier, if you haven’t seen the other films in the series then Half Blood Prince is definitely not a film you can easily jump into. Most of the story is setting the stage for the climatic final chapter…yet I don’t think this is necessarily a bad thing. It almost feels like The Two Towers or The Empire Strikes Back, there’s a dark and depressing tone to the overall narrative and without giving too much away, the ending is quite melancholy, choosing to focus on the characters rather than special effects. It’s a brave move, one which seems to be splitting fans and critics, particularly because the novel apparently ends with a large action set piece. Personally I’m glad they decided to finish on a somber note, it left me wanting more for the first time in the series.

Don’t let this dark and foreboding talk get you down though, as surprisingly, this is also the funniest of the Potter films. Yates has been able to strike the perfect balance between humour and drama, with almost all of the teen romance scenes containing both of these elements. You have the usual humour coming from Ron (“These girls are going to kill me” etc), coupled with the awkward dating talk between Harry, Hermoine, Ron and Ginny. The screening I attended was almost sold out, and the laughs seemed to be coming as loudly and frequently as the jumps and sad silences. In terms of cinematic entertainment, Half Blood Prince works very well.

Then there’s the look of the film, and boy oh boy, does it look amazing. The special effects are astounding, which is almost to be expected from the Potter films, but it’s Bruno Delbonell’s cinematography which really brings you into the world these characters inhabit. Every single scene has been shot beautifully; the film has a very dark sensibility, even sequences within the safety of Hogwarts have been under-light, with harsh shadows crisscrossing over the actors’ faces, suggesting that Voldemort’s evil presence can’t be ignored.
One sequence in particular – and the film is worth watching just for this – sees Harry and Dumbledore explore a gigantic cavern. Without giving too much away, it is by far the most haunting and awe inspiring moments in the series so far, containing a ‘jump’ scare which threw half of my audience out of their seats.

The various players in Half Blood Prince have stepped up to the plate once again to deliver very personal performances. If there’s one thing that the series has yet to get wrong, it’s casting, with the legendary Jim Broadbent appearing in this film as Professor Horace Slughorn, a character who represents the film in many ways; He’s comedic, and yet emotionally insightful.

If you’ve seen the other entries in the series, then you’re familiar with the returning cast, who seem to be improving with each film. In particular Michael Gambon and Alan Rickman – as Professor Dumbledore and Severus Snape – who showcase some of their best work so far.

There are a few problems however, as with most book adaptations, there were moments where I was left scratching my head and wondering what everyone was talking about, it felt as though there was a lot of back story I was missing. A couple of times characters would appear at locations and I wasn’t exactly sure why they were there. Fortunately, I think the pros of the film far out way the cons, as I ultimately left the theatre satisfied.

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince marks the beginning of the end in many ways. It doesn’t follow the structure of the films before it, and offers nowhere near as much action – a plus in my opinion. It focus’ a lot more on character development and takes the series in a darker direction. Some may see this as a negative, but I found myself loving this new, grittier world. As I mentioned earlier, this is the first time I’ve left a Potter film wanting more…and if the final two installments are anything like Half Blood Prince then I’m sure I won’t be disappointed.

My Rating: Three and a half stars!

We’ve gathered together trailers for, District 9, Funny People, The Last Airbender, 2012, Toy Story 3, Shutter Island, 9 and The Informant. So sit back, maybe grab a snack, and enjoy!

District 9

Directed by newcomer Neil Blomkamp and produced by the almighty Peter Jackson. District 9 is set in an alternate reality South Africa where an Alien spacecraft has landed and its occupants quarantined to the titular District 9. The plot is still somewhat under wraps, but this new trailer sheds a little light on it.

The film appears to be shot in a semi-documentary style, which really helps with the immersion of the special effects and the reality of the world. Here’s hoping for some ultra long shots like we saw in Children of Men.

District 9 is set to hit our theatres on the 13th of August.

View District 9 Trailer

Funny People

With a cast an all star cast including Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill, Eric Bana, Leslie Mann, Jason Schwartzman and Adam Sandler (in a role that doesn’t suck!) FUNNY PEOPLE is set to be a tour de force for comedy gold. Written and directed by Judd Apatow the man behind The 40 Year old Virgin and Knocked Up, not to mention the producer of Superbad, Pineapple Express, Forgetting Sarah Marshall and a host of others, this is probably my most anticipated comedy of the year (along with season 7 of Curb Your Enthusiasm, but that’s a TV series and probably shouldn’t be compared, sorry).

In a surprising twist, this trailer gives less away concerning the plot than the previous trailer. Weird, but better in my opinion.

One last note, it’s good to see Eric Bana returning to comedy. He was hilarious in Fast Forward and his own comedy series back in the 90s.

Funny People will light up the screen on the 10th of September.

View Funny People Trailer

The Last Airbender

Based on the hugely popular faux-anime series (it adopts anime styles of animation, but is produced in America) Avatar – The Last Airbender is written, directed and produced by M. Night Shyamalan just in case you didn’t notice his name plastered all over the teaser. If you can’t quite remember who he is, he’s the writer/director behind The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, Signs, The Village, Lady in the Water and The Happening. I’m a huge fan of his first three films – they’re near perfect in my eyes – but his later works have been severely disappointing. Fortunately, if this teaser is anything to go by, it looks like he could be back on track!

A genre change and the adaption of a property which he didn’t create seems to be a allowing him to take a fresh approach to his work.

The story has quite a full on mythical history, so I’ll let you research that, but needless to say it’s set in a fantasy world where certain ‘benders’ can control the elements, Water, Fire, Earth and Air.

Dare I say, I’m back on board the M. Night train. I’m loving the fact that there are only two long shots in this teaser, can’t wait to see the full trailer!

The Last Aibender is currently slated to be released on the 9th of September 2010

View The Last Airbender Trailer

2012

What can I say about this one? It’s from Roland Emmerich the director of Independence Day, Godzilla and The Day After Tomorrow. This guy has a fetish for end of the world settings and 2012 seems to be a culmination of all his previous films. This time the entire world has gone to hell and that means a bucket load of CGI landmarks crumbling to pieces. The effects in this trailer look amazing, but I’m not so sure the story will be any good.

Having said that, I’ll definitely be coughing up the cash to buy a ticket to this one, it’s pure spectacle!

2012 will destroy our screens on the 12th of November this year, which gives you plenty of time to prepare for the REAL end of the world when it’s actually 2012.

View 2012 Trailer

Toy Story 3

We’ve featured this one in a recent news round up, but it’s too good to leave from this list. When Toy Story 3 hits our screens next year, it will have been 15 years since the original film was released! Time sure flies eh? I think this speaks volumes about Pixar’s attention to detail and dedication to their stories, they could have pumped out many more Toy Story sequels if they wanted to. This teaser gives us no info on the plot whatsoever, but it’s just so damn awesome to see these characters again. They’re like old friends and I can’t help but smile every time I watch this.

Toy Story 3 will be coming to life on the 24th of June 2010.

View Toy Story 3 Trailer

The Informant

Here’s the stock standard plot description for The Informant: “The U.S. government decides to go after an agri-business giant with a price-fixing accusation, based on the evidence submitted by their star witness, vice president turned informant Mark Whitacre.”

Doesn’t sound like the most exciting movie in the world right off the bat, but after watching the trailer, I can safely say I’m very excited for this. Under the always-awesome direction of Steven Soderbergh, Matt Damon looks as though he will deliver a very interesting and humorous character at the centre of this corporate/thriller/comedy.

The Informant will sneak onto screens on the 22th of October 2009.

View The Informant Trailer

Shutter Island

Martin Scorsese, Leonardo DiCaprio, Mystery/Thriller, do I need to say anymore?

Set in 1954, DiCaprio plays Marshall Teddy Daniels, who is investigating the disappearance of a murderess who escaped from a hospital for the criminally insane and is presumed to be hiding on the remote Shutter Island.

Watch and enjoy.

Shutter Island will creep onto our screens on the 1st of October this year.

View Shutter Island Trailer

Zombieland

Zombieland focuses on two men who have found a way to survive a world overrun by zombies. Columbus is a big wuss — but when you’re afraid of being eaten by zombies, fear can keep you alive. Tallahassee is an AK-toting, zombie-slaying’ bad ass whose single determination is to get the last Twinkie on earth. As they join forces with Wichita and Little Rock, who have also found unique ways to survive the zombie mayhem, they will have to determine which is worse: relying on each other or succumbing to the zombies.

Looks like a lot of fun!

Zombieland will infect theatres on the 10th of December 2009.

View Zombieland Trailer

That’s all for now, if you feel we’ve missed something, or want to point us to a new trailer, feel free to e-mail me at:
jon(dot)d(dot)asquith(at)gmail(dot)com
Or pop in and say ‘hi’ on twitter at:
Twitter.com/spikeshinizle

Stars:  Leonardo DiCaprio,  Emily Mortimer, Mark Ruffalo

In cinemas: 1st October 2009

Martin Scorsese, Leonardo DiCaprio, Mystery/Thriller, do I need to say anymore?
Set in 1954, DiCaprio plays Marshall Teddy Daniels, who is investigating the disappearance of a murderess who escaped from a hospital for the criminally insane and is presumed to be hiding on the remote Shutter Island.
Watch and enjoy.

Sam Witwicky must evade capture by the Deception forces after they return to Earth to take him prisoner. Optimus Prime and the international armies form an alliance with Sam and join him on his mission to protect humankind from the evil Deception forces.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.

Let’s get something straight right off the bat. I’m not a hardcore fan of the original Transformers animated series, I watched it frequently when I was young, but never to the extent that I was obsessed with it. I was however, a pretty big fan of Michael Bays 2007 live action adaption. Under the watchful eye of producer Steven Spielberg, Bay was able to successfully combine the elements which make up an enjoyable blockbuster. It was cheesy, but given Bay’s previous films (The Rock, Bad Boys, Armageddon, Pearl Harbor) that was hardly a surprise. The point is it was fun; you couldn’t help but smile at the sight of these giant robots – expertly created by the folks at ILM – kicking the crap out of each other.

It’s a pity then, that none of it works for the sequel. Sure, the elements are there, but they don’t connect at all. They’re all separate, there’s no cohesive whole to this movie. It’s just a bunch of sequences thrown together and before you know it, there are comedic relief characters to support other characters and giant Decepticon testicles dangling in your face.

The film begins promisingly enough, with a short prologue revealing that the ancient Egyptians were the first to come in contact with the alien beings from Cybertron. This is followed by a modern day sequence establishing that the Autobots have been secretly working with the American military to find and destroy any Decepticons who are hiding on earth. These opening scenes work quite well, and certainly fooled me into thinking I was in for an enjoyable ride once again. We’re introduced to Sam (Shia LaBeouf) and Mikaela (Megan Fox) again, as well as their parents but it doesn’t take long for the film to fall apart.

Sam is heading off to college, putting a strain on his relationship with Mikaela and somewhat turning his back on Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen) who requests Sam’s help.
As you might have guessed, things don’t go according to plan, especially when the Decepticons overhear some information regarding an important artifact they’re trying to obtain. The world must once again be saved by the Autobots, the American military and Sam Witwicky.

There’s no need to describe much more, as it’ll spoil the overly complicated plot…and because I’m not really sure how I’d explain it, the second half of the film makes no sense and I found myself simply sitting there, watching things move in front of me but only knowing that I was uncomfortable and confused – kind of like a baby sitting in a shitty nappy.

Okay so the plot isn’t so great, but the action is cool, right? Not really. The first film suffered from a little too much ‘shaky cam’ – meaning that during the action sequences the camera was moving so much you couldn’t tell who was who. Bay hasn’t improved on this for Revenge, there were many times I was simply watching a colored blur, squinting my eyes and trying to determine who was winning. Often the only time you’d be able to tell is because a robot would have a hilarious one liner after the battle like “I’m too old for this crap”.

To be fair, there is one sequence which was executed very well. It takes place halfway through the film and showcases Optimus Prime taking on three Decepticons in the middle of a forest. It’s exciting and shot well, you can actually see what’s going on. The location makes for some interesting eye candy as well, seeing giant robots using trees for weapons is pretty damn cool.
Unfortunately, it’s not enough to save the rest of the film. The ending in particular becomes boring after a while, it lumbers on for at least 40 minutes.

It was touted that over 40 robots duke it out in this film and most of them appear in the third act. They’re all reduced to nothing but background annoyances though, simply more CGI creations to fill the already confusing frame. There are only so many explosions an audience can take. It’s like eating a delicious cake – if you have a couple of pieces, you have time to appreciate the meal, sure you could have more, but why not save it for tomorrow? The other option is to eat the entire thing, slice after slice after slice until you’re sick and never want to eat a piece of cake again. You run to the bathroom, throwing up on the way, leaving puke all over the hallway and cursing Michael Bay for making you eat so much.

Then there’s the comedy. The initial teaser trailer for this film offered audiences the hope of a slightly darker Transformers movie. Michael Bay himself touted the movie as a lot darker than the original.

The first film had a few cheesy attempts at humour, scenes which didn’t really serve a purpose but were kind of funny anyway, plus they were spread out over the course of the movie so it didn’t really matter. Revenge of the Fallen has these scenes every five minutes and 95% of them are painfully unfunny. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a comedy snob, but I don’t think it’s really hilarious (or appropriate) when two Autobots scream out stereotypical ‘ethnic humour’ lines such as “Imm’a bust a cap in yo ass” and “dats some serious shit right there” . This is doubly un-funny when you see the appearance of these characters, which seem to have been modeled with big lips, buck teeth and large ears.

I’ve always had a sneaking suspicion that Michael Bay finds humour in ethnic minorities, and these two auto bots (Skids and Mudflap) seem to help prove my point.
I’m sure it’s not intentionally racist, but I don’t think it can be denied either.

I could go on, but I’m sure you get the point by now. I don’t want to come across as someone who went in expecting Citizen Kane, I didn’t! Like I said earlier, I’m a big fan of the original movie. I really wanted to enjoy myself in the theatre with Revenge of the Fallen. Unfortunately, a weak (somehow complicated) storyline, coupled with confusing action and extremely annoying side characters and attempts at humour left me wanting to leave the cinema well before the end credits.

As a fan, it was such a disappointment. You can laugh at how bad Wolverine is, Revenge is just a little sad.

Half a star out of five .

Stars: Abigail Breslin,Emma Stone,Bill Murray, Amber Heard, Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg

In cinemas: 10th December 2009

Zombieland focuses on two men who have found a way to survive a world overrun by zombies. Columbus is a big wuss — but when you’re afraid of being eaten by zombies, fear can keep you alive. Tallahassee is an AK-toting, zombie-slaying’ bad ass whose single determination is to get the last Twinkie on earth.

As they join forces with Wichita and Little Rock, who have also found unique ways to survive the zombie mayhem, they will have to determine which is worse: relying on each other or succumbing to the zombies.
Looks like a lot of fun!