It's from one extreme to another here at Tuesday Night is Film Night, we are reaching out and taking in all kinds of genres. Oh yes! This week, gibbon half a chance, we won't be monkeying around, as we sample what is on offer with;
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Well that was a surprise, after being bought up on the 1970's TV series the older members of the TNiFN panel were not holding out much hope for a gratifying film based on a similar premise, how wrong we were. Luckily the junior member of the panel saw sense and convinced us to watch.
From 2011 Rise of the Planet of the Apes depicts the story of a drug development company working on a chemical treatment for brain repair, to treat amongst other things Alzheimers. Whilst in the development stage the drug is being tested on chimps. Scientist Will Rodman (James Franco) is developing the drug and early indications are very positive and the chimps are responding well, with improving cognitive behaviour. So far so good, however when the drug is shown off to the investors, the main chimp who has been treated decides to throw a tantrum and breaks out of the test environment, with the result that she is shot. At first they thought it was a side effect from the drug, however it transpires that she had recently given birth and was merely defending her young baby, who is now orphaned. So Will Rodman takes the young male chimp home.
Will lives with his father Charles played superbly by John Lithgow. Charles is suffering from Alzheimers and is pleased to see the chimp who he names Caesar. It also transpires that Caesar has been subjected to the drug therapy via his mother and starts to improve intellectually and although he was only going to stay with the Rodman's for a few days, that soon turns to months and years. Also because of the drugs effect on Caesar, Will decides to experiment on his own father with the same drug therapy and he sees remarkable improvement.
And that is where we should leave the synopsis, there is more than enough information there to get you started. Needless to stay the status quo does not remain intact for Caesar and the Rodman's.
As for the film itself, the story is really good, it kept us gripped from start to finish. The CGI content is just superb, with some very fast paced action scenes where the graphics were smooth, realistic and seamlessly integrated into the real life action. Although the chimps are CGI generated, they are from motion captured actors portraying the chimps, with Andy Serkis playing Caesar.
Further into the story we get to a primate holding centre, where Caesar is placed, we only mention this as one of the characters; Dodge Landon is played by Tom Felton, he of Draco Malfoy fame (Harry Potter), and he really plays the character well and is definitely worthy of a mention here.
Not to give too much away, the storyline follows the title of the film and it is certainly worth a watch, it will keep you enthralled hopefully for the duration, it did for us here. Although we have shied away from science fiction in the past, this film landed sufficiently on the side of the believable for it to be enjoyable and it has certainly whetted our appetite for the next installment.
TNiFN Rating 87%
IMDB Link
Tuesday 19 May 2015
Tuesday 12 May 2015
Let's Be Cops - 12th May 2015
Tuesday Night is Film Night flops onto the communal sofa to hopefully be entertained by this comedy from 2014;
Let's Be Cops
Jake Johnson and Damon Wayans Jr. star in this action comedy as Ryan and Justin, two friends who attend a so-called fancy dress party wearing two very real police uniforms. When the party turns out to be not fancy dress, or any fun for that matter, Ryan and Justin head into town, but discover to their great pleasure that they are mistaken for real cops.
Cue hilarious situations.
Unfortunately the fun turns sour as the "cops" get caught up in some proper gangster activity and suddenly find they are in way over their heads. Justin, the more level headed of the two, tries to own up and hand in their fake badges, while Ryan, the more adventurous or stupid one, tries to bring down the gangsters.
Cue more hilarious situations.
Let's be fair, Let's Be Cops is a genuinely funny film, the story has potential and is played out really well. The back stories for the two main characters pull the other threads of the storyline together. The juxtaposition between the characters Ryan and Justin, allied with the "fake cops, real trouble" jeopardy, provides a decent platform for the comedic moments, of which there are many. And although the whole premise is farcical you end up rooting for the good guys and booing the bad ones. (Not literally you understand).
Yes, it is a formulaic lad movie. And yes it is full of giggles and some big laughs. So all the those associated boxes are ticked, it just could have been a bit better all over. During the end credits there are a few scenes obviously cut from the main movie, these should have been left in and more made of the fake cops premise and what they could get away with, but that's just a minor negative.
A pleasantly pleasing movie, funny, irreverent, laddish with girls, guns and gangsters, but probably a movie that will not live long in the old movie memory bank, but certainly worth a watch should it hit a TV screen near you soon.
Short blog, mediocre film. Those are the rules.
TNiFN Rating 67%
IMDB Link
Let's Be Cops
Jake Johnson and Damon Wayans Jr. star in this action comedy as Ryan and Justin, two friends who attend a so-called fancy dress party wearing two very real police uniforms. When the party turns out to be not fancy dress, or any fun for that matter, Ryan and Justin head into town, but discover to their great pleasure that they are mistaken for real cops.
Cue hilarious situations.
Unfortunately the fun turns sour as the "cops" get caught up in some proper gangster activity and suddenly find they are in way over their heads. Justin, the more level headed of the two, tries to own up and hand in their fake badges, while Ryan, the more adventurous or stupid one, tries to bring down the gangsters.
Cue more hilarious situations.
Let's be fair, Let's Be Cops is a genuinely funny film, the story has potential and is played out really well. The back stories for the two main characters pull the other threads of the storyline together. The juxtaposition between the characters Ryan and Justin, allied with the "fake cops, real trouble" jeopardy, provides a decent platform for the comedic moments, of which there are many. And although the whole premise is farcical you end up rooting for the good guys and booing the bad ones. (Not literally you understand).
Yes, it is a formulaic lad movie. And yes it is full of giggles and some big laughs. So all the those associated boxes are ticked, it just could have been a bit better all over. During the end credits there are a few scenes obviously cut from the main movie, these should have been left in and more made of the fake cops premise and what they could get away with, but that's just a minor negative.
A pleasantly pleasing movie, funny, irreverent, laddish with girls, guns and gangsters, but probably a movie that will not live long in the old movie memory bank, but certainly worth a watch should it hit a TV screen near you soon.
Short blog, mediocre film. Those are the rules.
TNiFN Rating 67%
IMDB Link
Tuesday 5 May 2015
Gone Girl - 5th May 2015
Tuesday Night is Film Night is here again, these weeks are flying by! This week, it's feet up, lights out, popcorn popped and remote control ready for;
Gone Girl
After spending the last 149 minutes watching Gone Girl, we could just write; "watch this film!" That would be sufficient. End of review.
Why?
Well for two reasons really, firstly it is a brilliant story, with more twists than a Turkey Twizzler! Secondly, any plot synopsis or contrived spoiler that we make mention of might detract from your viewing enjoyment.
However, we are not going to leave it like that, we will skirt around any of the obvious plot spoilers and outline the merest whiff of intrigue for you to salivate over. In fact, and here is a first for TNiFN, why not watch the official trailer, for all the intrigue you should need.
We will say that Gone Girl provides Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike with an ideal platform to display their outstanding acting talents. Affleck is superb as Nick Dunne the husband of Amy Dunne (Rosamund Pike), who goes missing on their fifth wedding anniversary and Nick then gets caught up in a media frenzy, as the police and the probing journalists try to discover the truth. Although Amy goes missing, we see her side of the story, to a degree, by the clever use of flashbacks and diary entries that retell the other side of the story, but it is not that simple, although the two sides of the story unravel in a juxtaposed symmetry, we also see layer upon layer of mystery, intrigue and subterfuge, that take a simple plot and tie it up in knots that will have you mentally untying them all the way through the film, right until the end. Absolutely superlative writing from the author Gillian Flynn.
Rosamund Pike is just perfect as Amy, portraying the character with enthusiasm, pathos and emotion, all of which draw you in to the plot, making the viewer hang on every word, action or deed. Mention must also go to Carrie Coon who played Margo Dunne, Nick's twin sister who has to make sense of everything that is going on and support her brother even in the darkest times.
Hopefully that is not too much information, we don't believe so. There is so, so much more to this film than is intimated in the few words above. The start is slow and quiet which draws the audience in, you are made to observe many character traits and snippets of information that may be pertinent later on, so take note and follow the start closely, as the story develops that scene setting becomes an important factor. The film continues with this totally compelling storyline, following a multiplicity of angles, deriving pleasure from the dramatic overtones as yet another twist appears. All the while you are drip fed information, sometimes countering what you've already learnt, sometimes enforcing a plot line, but every time the outcome is not entirely clear and you continue to follow the bait in this gripping, dark mysterious tale of intrigue, deceit and duplicity.
The movie is beautifully filmed, with the appealing Missouri countryside providing an idyllic backdrop. Ally that with a subtle soundtrack that doesn't overpower but provides a perfect additional layer of sophistication to an already multifaceted film and you have a perfect combination brought together in this superb thriller.
TNiFN Rating 95%
IMDB Link
Gone Girl
After spending the last 149 minutes watching Gone Girl, we could just write; "watch this film!" That would be sufficient. End of review.
Why?
Well for two reasons really, firstly it is a brilliant story, with more twists than a Turkey Twizzler! Secondly, any plot synopsis or contrived spoiler that we make mention of might detract from your viewing enjoyment.
However, we are not going to leave it like that, we will skirt around any of the obvious plot spoilers and outline the merest whiff of intrigue for you to salivate over. In fact, and here is a first for TNiFN, why not watch the official trailer, for all the intrigue you should need.
We will say that Gone Girl provides Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike with an ideal platform to display their outstanding acting talents. Affleck is superb as Nick Dunne the husband of Amy Dunne (Rosamund Pike), who goes missing on their fifth wedding anniversary and Nick then gets caught up in a media frenzy, as the police and the probing journalists try to discover the truth. Although Amy goes missing, we see her side of the story, to a degree, by the clever use of flashbacks and diary entries that retell the other side of the story, but it is not that simple, although the two sides of the story unravel in a juxtaposed symmetry, we also see layer upon layer of mystery, intrigue and subterfuge, that take a simple plot and tie it up in knots that will have you mentally untying them all the way through the film, right until the end. Absolutely superlative writing from the author Gillian Flynn.
Rosamund Pike is just perfect as Amy, portraying the character with enthusiasm, pathos and emotion, all of which draw you in to the plot, making the viewer hang on every word, action or deed. Mention must also go to Carrie Coon who played Margo Dunne, Nick's twin sister who has to make sense of everything that is going on and support her brother even in the darkest times.
Hopefully that is not too much information, we don't believe so. There is so, so much more to this film than is intimated in the few words above. The start is slow and quiet which draws the audience in, you are made to observe many character traits and snippets of information that may be pertinent later on, so take note and follow the start closely, as the story develops that scene setting becomes an important factor. The film continues with this totally compelling storyline, following a multiplicity of angles, deriving pleasure from the dramatic overtones as yet another twist appears. All the while you are drip fed information, sometimes countering what you've already learnt, sometimes enforcing a plot line, but every time the outcome is not entirely clear and you continue to follow the bait in this gripping, dark mysterious tale of intrigue, deceit and duplicity.
The movie is beautifully filmed, with the appealing Missouri countryside providing an idyllic backdrop. Ally that with a subtle soundtrack that doesn't overpower but provides a perfect additional layer of sophistication to an already multifaceted film and you have a perfect combination brought together in this superb thriller.
TNiFN Rating 95%
IMDB Link
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