The Happening - 28th August 2012

Well the good films just keep on coming. Well, let's just reserve judgement for a second, as we look at tonight's Tuesday Night is Film Night film;

The Happening

From 2008, Mark Wahlberg and Zooey Deschanel star in this sci-fi thriller about a mysterious toxin that seems to be transferred via plants, but nobody is sure.

The film opens in Central Park, New York and within the first few minutes, you know where this film is going, as it grabs you by the throat and drags you kicking and screaming into the realms of it's fantasy terror.

It seems like an airborne toxin sweeps through Central Park and everybody comes to a standstill and...........

............... I don't think I'm giving too much away, when I say, they start committing suicide left, right and centre. As an opening sequence, it's a cracker! And the scenes are quite graphic, so you are literally on the edge of your seat, not knowing what you are going to see next.

The action centres on school teacher Elliot Moore (Wahlberg) and his young Wife; Alma (Deschanel) and we follow them as they try to head to safety, away from New York. However, the events keep 'happening', and this phrase is repeated several times, hence the films title.

As I said, it is a gripping, intense, violent thriller. Very creepy in places and will have you hiding behind the sofa. Wahlberg is superb as Elliot, playing the cool school teacher, who is trying to keep it together for those around him, as they try to flea from the onslaught of this deadly 'thing'.

The drama is powerful, the action is striking, the storyline is plausible, the ending is diabolical................

What?

Yes, afraid so. I was expecting a happy ending. Which, inevitably is what happened. However, it was also inexplicable. Open ended. Inconclusive. Nothing was rounded off neatly. Which I guess alludes back to the opening section of the movie, but still, I like a film with a start, middle and end.
Two out of three is not good enough.
Unless of course, they make The Happening 2!!

In summation, great start. Good middle. Terrible end!

Check out the reviews on Amazon. It was slated!

Gran Torino - 21st August 2012

Tuesday Night is Film Night returns after the summer break, with a film that has had good things said about it, but personally I have no idea what it's all about.

So, will Clint be making my day? Or should I ask for a few dollars more? When we watch;

Gran Torino

I must confess to being dubious about Gran Torino. I've never been a fan of Clint Eastwood and considered a film with a car's name in the title, was maybe another chance to see gangs racing around the streets of America, shooting up everybody.

How wrong was I?

What the film is all about is something all together different. Clint Eastwood plays Walt Kowalski, a Korean war veteran, who is very protective about his property and is initially at odds with his Hmong neighbours.

When the son of his neighbours, falls into a gang, they try to make him take an initiation test, which involves a failed attempt to steal Walt Kowalski's prized possession, his 1972 Gran Torino.

Although angry with Thao (the neighbours son), Walt ends up befriending his sister. From this friendship, Walt sets out to make Thau repay his debt and work together with Walt, to reform the neighbourhood.

I could give a full detailed synopsis, but this may detract from the film, it is best to watch it, not only for the beautifully written story, but also for the class acting from Eastwood.

Gran Torino isn't a hard hitting drama, with car chases and cops, it's a fantastic story, with gritty realism, gravitas and emotion.

It is easily one of the best films I have seen.

Please watch it.