The Book of Eli - 28th January 2014

The Tuesday Night is Film Night film tonight is yet another genre departure for us, as we delve into a post-apocalyptic tale and find out what is between the covers of;

The Book of Eli

Well, where can on start with a review for a film such as this? Saying too much about the film will give away the plot, saying too little and you may not be interested. I'll try to strike a happy medium.

The Book of Eli follows the story of a post-apocalyptic world, where civilisation has all but disappeared and small bands of people either try to re-establish a community or conversely roam around preying on others for their own gain. The central character, unsurprisingly called Eli, is played superbly by Denzil Washington, who is totally sublime as the cooler than cool solo maverick, who has been roaming the wilderness for thirty years, intent on delivering a promise. Without giving too much away, his mission is to deliver, and again no prizes for guessing, a book. And it is no ordinary book, it is a prized possession whose notoriety has become legendary within the desolate world that the film is set in.

The story of The Book of Eli is fairly unique, with sufficient plot twists to keep you on the edge of your seat. It is also beautifully shot. The film has a sepia tone about it, which really sets the mood for the dismal post-apocalyptic desolate wasteland.

Eli travels west, guarding his secret and protecting it in some extreme fashion from the hijackers that he meets along the way. Yes, there is some guts and gore, as the knife swinging Eli clears his attackers out of the way, but if you can overlook this and stick with it, it is a really gripping tale.

Along the way, Eli meets up with Solara (Mila Kunis) who was born after the world was devastated, so has no knowledge of the earth prior to the apocalypse, apart from what she has learnt from her blind mother; Claudia (Jennifer Beals). Solara lives in a small community led by Carnegie (Gary Oldman) who has heard of the legend that is "the book" and is determined to find it, so it's an added bonus when Eli turns up with the book in his back pack.

As for the rest of the story, you'll have to watch the movie to find out. It is interesting, gripping and dramatic. The twist with the book is worth the wait and the way the film rounds off is a near perfect ending.

The cast is many and varied, including appearances from Michael Gambon and Frances de la Tour, who play an old couple holed up in a quaint house in the middle of nowhere. They are not so quaint when the house comes under attack and the expletives coming from their mouths does inject some humour into a tricky situation! I'm sure Rigsby would be shocked by Miss Jones' gutter mouth. (That's a Rising Damp reference, if you're too young to remember then Google it.)

So in summation, The Book of Eli has a great start, a brilliant story, fantastic characters, it's beautifully shot, with some incredible special effects, some superb acting, with exquisite plot twists, a modicum of humour and a touching end. All in all a great film.

Does the summation get reflected in the scores? Well, it's a two hour film, and you need to be prepared to stick with it, some of the panel here at TNiFN Towers found it a little hard, but it came out with a decent rating.

TNiFN Rating 82%

IMDB Link

What to Expect When You're Expecting - 21st January 2014

For our second film night of 2014 we are totally changing genre to view a film from 2012 and we have no idea what to expect from;

What to Expect When You're Expecting

Actually I think we did know what to expect; a film about pregnancy and how it affects the lives of the people that are going through it. I guess it can be likened to Love Actually with babies. Unfortunately, unlike Love Actually it wasn't that good. Hold on, let me clarify that, the female contingent of TNiFN towers enjoyed it, the lone male here, not so. And I am quite partial to a chick-flick, but I felt somewhat let down by this one.

Let me fill out sme of the finer details then continue with the critique. What To Expect When You're Expecting boasts a big cast, with some top names; Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Lopez, Anna Kendrick, Dennis Quaid, Elizabeth Banks to name just a few. And maybe this is where it falls down, too many big names and not so much content? Essentially there are five couples each going through the process of becoming pregnant, or adopting, or accidentally conceiving, or considering a baby and the film interweaves their stories into each other as their paths cross and their lives progress.

Unfortunately, the storyline, although full and intricate, lacks momentum. The film is a romantic comedy, with touches of sentiment, but although there are laughs, they are not big enough to carry the film in my mind and the story relies heavily on supporting cast members to supply the funny lines and this is at least it's one saving grace. Both Chris Rock and Rebel Wilson provide the perfect comedic foils to the other cast members, dishing out some superb moments, which really injected some much needed punch to lift the film. The main cast although having some moments of levity, failed to deliver some killer comedy. Alongside which, apart from some odd moments, the main cast also failed to deliver even a modicum of gravitas. Even when there were scenes that required emotion, sentiment and some seriousness, they failed to capitalise on this fact and the audience may feel a little cheated that they were not drawn into the film as much as could have been possible. Yes, there are moments of sadness, but with quality chick-flicks they can take you from laughter to tears with one swipe of the screenwriter's pen, unfortunately, this did not happen here. It was good, but could have been so much better.

All in all, it's an OK film, but it failed to allow the big cast to deliver big performances. Obviously the female contingency in the audience will enjoy it much more, but I for one felt a little let down and as I'm the one writing the words. I get to have my say.

One sure fire test of a film's appeal is by the length of the TNiFN review. This one is a bit short.

TNiFN Rating 66%

IMDB LINK

Die Hard 4.0 - 14th January 2014

Tuesday Night is Film Night is back for the New Year! Did you miss us?

And we are coming back with a vengeance! Which is apt, as the first film for 2014 is;

Die Hard 4.0

Yes, we are back after a prolonged lay off over the Christmas and New Year period. And we do indeed come back with a bang with the fourth installment of the Die Hard series. Bruce Willis is back as the seemingly indestructible John McClane, this time pitting his wits and dirty vest against a gang of cyber criminals who are intent on toppling the infrastructure of the US and creaming off a massive financial gain.

Yet again, McClane is the innocent cop drawn into the terrorist attack, this time he is sent to pick up one of America's top young hackers as a suspect in the cyber break-in. When McClane arrives at the young man's tech hideout, he is not alone as it's not just the FBI after our hacker, but the super cyber-criminals are too. Of course McClane saves the kid from the massive hail of bullets and drags him off to Washington.

The young hacker is Matthew Farrell played by Justin Long. The other stars of this out and out shoot 'em up are; Timothy Olyphant who plays the ex-government employer turned super-criminal Thomas Gabriel, ably assisted by the delightful Maggie Q who plays the high-kicking Mai Linh, who becomes a victim of McClane's charms and having ".... a SUV rammed up her ass!" One of the best lines in the movie!

On the side of the "goodies" we have McClane's daughter Lucy played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead and heading up the FBI investigation is Deputy Director Bowman played by Cliff Curtis.

Of course with a Die Hard film you know what to expect, there are guns a-plenty, car chases with not just cars, there are trucks, vans, helicopters and near the end a F-35 fighter jet!! Totally incredulous and gratuitous over-the-top action, with the bad guys dropping off one by one whilst the indefatigable McClane crawls, hobbles, limps and struggles away from crash after crash, all the while being shot at, falling down lift shafts (with or without a SUV), falling out of trucks, sliding down broken bridges. Totally unbelievable, but totally, totally great action, with tremendous special effects.

The one downer that I would put on this film and films of this ilk, when dealing with Information Technology, make it believable. I don't recall seeing one Windows server being hacked into! The action is over the top, but I would like to see the technology grounded in a modicum of reality, but hey; it's a minor niggle and a question of personal preference over artistic licence.

So all in all, you know where you are with Die Hard and John McClane, you are immersed in two hours worth of action packed escapism, where the underdog will always pull through and win the battle and even though you know this fact, the cinematography, the script, the action will keep you enthralled for the complete 128 minutes of this movie.

You can't beat John McClane and you can't beat a Die Hard movie! Great stuff.

TNiFN Rating 80%

IMDB Link

Nativity 2 - 17th December 2013

So with Christmas Eve just a week away we take on another new film, but is it second time lucky for;

Nativity 2 - Danger in the Manger

Following on from the success of Nativity back in 2009, Mr Poppy is back at St Bernadette's school for more classroom mayhem. This time he is joined by a new teacher in the form of Mr Peterson AKA David Tennant.

Those of you who have seen the original Nativity with Martin Freeman, will know how Mr Poppy is a classroom assistant, who is more of a kid than the kids are themselves. And in Nativity 2 nothing has changed. Mr Poppy is still seeing off supply teachers with enormous regularity with his outrageous classroom antics. That is until he spots the Song for Christmas competition and is determined to enter his school and win. Of course, the rival school from the first film make an appearance, but to double the tension and give the plot a sufficient twist to make it different from the first film, Mr Peterson's twin brother turns up with another rival school for the Song for Christmas competition.

"What song for Christmas competition?" *shrugs shoulders* - Watch the film, then you will get it.

So that's your plot. A song competition, plenty of rivalry, goodies and baddies, a trek across Wales to reach the venue and a baby and a donkey thrown in for good measure. What could possibly go wrong?

Judging by the reviews on Amazon, Nativity 2 is a bit of a "Marmite movie", they either loved it or hated it. The two most helpful reviews stated; "Christmas magic!" and "Embarrassing drivel".
So it is a difficult one to call. In fairness we at TNiFN Towers are tending toward the "Christmas magic" side of the balance, but only just. However, it is a Christmas movie after all, so lighten up!
OK the antics of Mr Poppy (Marc Wootton) are a health and safety nightmare, but that's the point, it is innocent fun, you know full well that the underdogs will come out on top, but it's how they get there that counts and Nativity 2 has just enough Christmas cheer to keep things ticking over nicely, with plenty of laughs and the occasional sad moment, just to keep you hooked.

The cast are superb, Tennant manages to pull off a double header by playing both the Peterson twins (makes sense really), Marc Wootton is sublimely ridiculous as the irreverent Mr Poppy, clearly ad libbing his way through all his scenes. In fact most of the scenes were improvised with certain key points in a loose script for the cast to "hit".
Adding to the cast are Joanna Page as Mr Peterson's pregnant wife and the brilliant Ian McNiece as the over-bearing father of the Peterson twins. Pam Ferris reprises her role from Nativity as she is still the Headmistress of St Bernadette's. Also Jason Watkins is back, as the pompous teacher; Gordon Shakespeare from rival school Oakmoor. Also making an appearance is the lovely Jessica Hynes as competition host Angel Matthews.

Anyway, all in all Nativity 2 - Danger in the Manger is a pretty good Christmas giggle, it's not going to be a classic Christmas movie, but it is certainly entertaining enough to get you into the Christmas spirit and the music is pretty good too, well as long as you enjoy children singing!

TNiFN Rating 70%

Will You Merry Me? - 10th December 2013

With the 10th door on our Advent calendar open and hanging off it's hinges, it's time to settle down and relax with a mince pie and a festive film.

This week for our viewing pleasure we have;

Will You Merry Me?

Well wasn't that a quaint little Christmas movie? Yes indeed.

Here's the synopsis for this merry little yuletide  tale. Henry and Rebecca, played by Tommy Lioutas and Vikki Krinsky respectively, are young lovers living in New York. Their relationship may only be 6 months old, but everything is just right, almost perfect one could say. And so, the very much in love Henry, decides to pop the question to the lovely Rebecca. All they need to do now is to tell their respective families. And as it is just before the holiday season, what better way to spread the news than to all meet up for Christmas?

Well, that's where the problem lies, Henry's family are mad. Sorry, mad on Christmas, how could they not be as their surname is Kringle! And they live in a small Wisconsin town which is also slightly doolally when it comes to Christmas. Unfortunately, Rebecca's parents are Jewish and not so up on Christmas, preferring as they do to celebrate Hanukkah, then spend Christmas in Aspen. Despite this, they decide to meet up, spend a couple of days with the Kringle's before heading off to Aspen.

However, it was never going to be that simple and the bulk of the film is taken up watching the two families get on, then fall out, then make up, then fall out again. And that previous sentence doesn't do the story line justice at all, but it shows you the approach of the film. It is actually quite a funny film and it was a joy to watch the two very different families try so hard to make the others welcome whilst trying to respect their different beliefs, traditions and foibles.

It is a very entertaining film, but it was never going to be a blockbuster and the cast is made up of mainly unknowns. (Let me just go and check IMDB to be sure of that!)

Henry's parents are Hank and Marilyn, played by Patrick McKenna and Cynthia Stevenson. Whilst Rebecca's parents are; Marvin and Suzie Feine played by David Eisner and Wendie Malick. According to IMDB each actor has been in quite a few films and or TV shows, can't say I have heard of many of them though. However, that is not the point, they are all exceptionally good, funny and not in the least bit wooden in Will You Merry Me. And despite the fact it is a TV movie, it is probably the best one we have seen here at TNiFN Towers (and we've seen our fair share of dire "made for TV" Christmas films). It does stand out as a bit of gem in that regard, in comparison to some.

The other thing that makes Will You Merry Me a decent film is the well written story line. There is just enough Christmas cheer to go round, with a handful of farce, a topping of schmaltzy cheese, a sprinkling of sadness and a modicum of magic to make it a fun, wholesome, family film that should be enjoyed by all ages.

Of course, it all turns out well in the end, that is what Christmas films are about, but it's the journey that you take to get there that counts and Will You Merry Me has sufficient buoyancy to carry you through without getting bored at all. It is akin to Christmas With The Kranks, but not so farcical. It also has just enough pathos to make you sad in places and sufficient pull to ensure you stay with it until all becomes good again.

It's a delightful Christmas film and has enough of the correct ingredients to make it worth repeat viewings. Although it is formulaic in its approach, it has enough uniqueness to make it stand out from the rest. It was never going to compete with the big Christmas blockbusters, but it definitely holds its own and is to be recommended as a definite one to watch should it appear on a TV channel near you soon.

As we said at the start; "a quaint little Christmas movie" and deserving of praise.

TNiFN Rating 78%

IMDB link

Arthur Christmas - 3rd December 2013

Advent is upon us here at Tuesday Night is Film Night towers and tonight we are putting our feet up and sipping eggnog in front of;

Arthur Christmas

Arthur Christmas is a new (2011) animated feature film from Aardman Animations and Sony Pictures Animation and follows the story of the current Santa (Jim Broadbent) who is getting on in years, but not as old as Grand Santa (Bill Nighy) who is 136 years old! Santa has two sons; there's Steve (Hugh Laurie) a modern, technologically compliant, militaristic leader who has taken Christmas into the 21st and runs the North Pole operation, with his army of trusty elves, who aid the aging Santa with his deliveries. The second and younger son is Arthur (James McAvoy). Arthur is everything Steve is not, he's clumsy, frowned upon by the elves and a little overlooked by his Dad and is resigned to work in the mailroom. That is until a child is missed...........

We really don't want to go into too much detail of the film, the basic premise is simple, a child's present is not delivered and Arthur who believes so much in the Christmas spirit, really doesn't want this child to lose out. Steve on the other hand, feels that they can write it off as a minuscule percentage loss of the whole operation. So Arthur in collusion with Grand Santa fly off with the old faithful sleigh to right this minor misdemeanor and ensure that every child has received their present from Santa.

And that is it, that is the story, beautiful in it's simplicity but the writing of Peter Baynham and Sarah Smith (who also directed the film), take this simple story and project it to another level. There is so much detail within the film, not just with magnificent computer generated animation, which has layers of complexity, not only in the foreground action but what goes on in the background as well. It's the same with the writing there are many references that only multiple viewings will pick up on. The dialogue for each character is spot on; Steve is arrogant and a strong believer in the modern world, but is not good with children and that is reflected in the way Hugh Laurie delivers the lines. The same with Grand Santa, Bill Nighy uses his vocal talents to deliver the script to perfection and he has some of the best lines in the film. You really cannot underestimate the wondrous writing of Peter Baynham. He uses the script to to introduce another level of expression that you would not normally see within an animated film. And it is an animated film, it is not a cartoon, it is so much more than that. The animation is real enough to be believable, but sufficiently animated so you know it's not. There is a special feature on the DVD which will clarify what we mean there, just in case you thought we were talking nonsense! 

There is something magical about Arthur Christmas, it has a real ability to release your inner child and tap into that layer of innocence, taking you back to a time where Christmas was truly magical. What the film also does, is to set out to answer those childish questions that we all asked like; how can Santa visit every child, delivering joy along with the presents? And so much more besides.

The cast is fantastic as well, so much (vocal) talent adding to fun and lots of big names too;

James McAvoy, Hugh Laurie, Bill Nighy, Jim Broadbent, Imelda Staunton, Ashley Jensen, Eva Longoria, Ramona Marquez, Michael Palin, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Robbie Coltrane and Jane Horrocks, to name but 12!

We really cannot wait to see it again.

You can probably tell that here at TNiFN we love a Christmas movie, however with Arthur Christmas I think we have found a new classic. It's a simple recipe but one that can be so hard to achieve; how do you take a simple story, but make it a complex,  multi-layered, fascinating, gripping, entertaining and funny film? We don't know, but what we do know is that Arthur Christmas does the trick. It will stand the test of time and be a perennial favourite that will be watched over and over again.

Absolutely tinsel-tastic mate!

TNiFN Rating 90%

Christmas Baggage - 26th November 2013

On the penultimate Tuesday Night is Film Night night before Advent, we squeeze in another one of those "made for TV" type films that seem to saturate the obscure movie channels at this time of year. Sometimes you can find a hidden gem, but will we be thinking that after we watch;

Christmas Baggage

No. Think on.

Having said that, the film does star Cheryl Ladd who is at least well known. It also stars Barry Bostwick. Who? Exactly.

Just to clear up some confusion, on TV it was billed as Christmas Baggage, on Amazon it is sold as Holiday Baggage and on IMDB it is labelled just as Baggage. Anyway to the plot. 

Sarah Murphy (Ladd) is a doctor, her estranged husband Pete Murphy (Bostwick) is an older man with an eye for the younger woman and left the marital home some years ago, eventually hooking up with a younger woman who he intends to marry. Pete and Sarah have two daughters who are now both young women; Holly and Lisa. Holly is being a surrogate mother to her sister's baby. Don't looked confused, it does make sense (I think) and we have those inevitable Christmas plot twists; baby being born around Christmas, to someone called Holly. How convenient?

So the crux of the matter is, due to their father's wanderings and splitting up the family, whilst breaking his wife's heart, the daughters are not really speaking to Pete. Pete and Sarah have never divorced and with the intention to marry his young sweetheart, Pete visits Sarah to discuss signing off the paperwork.

Cue farcical plot thread number one; Pete has a massive heart attack, luckily with his medically trained wife at hand and ends up in hospital. However, considering he has had a huge Myocardial Infarction he ends up walking away from hospital a couple of days later, seemingly right as rain. It's a Christmas miracle and no mistake!

Given this shock and the subsequent checking out of the hospital, Sarah invites Pete to stay with her and the girls for the holidays (Thanksgiving through into December) and some time to recuperate, with the proviso that he makes peace with their daughters and tries to reconcile their differences. This is easier said than done. And to be fair the middle section of the film, which concentrates on this element of the storyline, does offer up some hope that the film may be worthwhile watching. Indeed some of the acting from Ladd and Bostwick and some of the supporting cast was actually quite good. However, good acting cannot save a weak story and although there was potential it was let down in some style, by a farcical, nonsensical unclear and possibly ludicrous ending. (Farcical plot twist number two).

You would expect that there would be some real conclusion to the film, as the plot had hotted up in the middle (when I say hotted up, it was lukewarm at best), but no. Although we were held in limbo by the attempted reconciliation between father and daughters, the death of Lisa's father-in-law (and family friend) plus the impending birth of the surrogate child and the imminent wedding of the globe trotting Pete, once the finalisation to the story started it frittered away in a hurried, saccharin sweet, overly complicated, but not thought through way. Which let the film down totally, leaving us confused and scratching our heads, unsure what happens to Pete's wife-to-be as he is seemingly getting back with Sarah. Or is he? We guess so, but can't be certain. No loose ends tied up. They say the devil is in the detail and there was no detail here at all.

A very poor ending, after a mediocre start, albeit with a promising middle.

Next week is the first week of Advent, so we'll have a proper Christmas film!

TNiFN Rating 47%