I’m Still Here – 2010

Documenting Joaquin Phoenix’s transition from the acting world in 2008 to a career as an aspiring rapper, seeking a mentor in P Diddy.

DirectedCasey Affleck

StarsJoaquin PhoenixAntony Langdon and Carey Perloff

What we think: This film, is it, was it real, or was it in effect a massive hoax concocted by Phoenix and Affleck.

Well, it has been revealed that it was the latter, and to be fair after watching it you’d have to be a total fool to actually believe that one of Hollywood’s brightest talents would jack it all in to become a rapper.

As far as performances go this is one of Joaquin’s best, and all he had to do was grow a grizzly beard, smoke a lot and write some of the most ridiculous rap lyrics ever! But if this is genuine satire then he put his heart and sole into it!

When he was interviewed by David Letterman (who had no idea the whole thing was a hoax) Phoenix looked like a shadow of his former self.

Chewing gum, and slopped in his chair he was totally unresponsive to the abuse he was getting, and back stage vented his anger.

The more outrageous scenes are the ones that create the most hilarious and deliver the shocking impacts, such as sniffing coke from the bosom of a prostitute, to having his face shat on by a so called friend.

What is the most cringe-worthy to watch is Phoenix’s pitiful attempts at rapping, the bloke has about as much musical talent as Jedward and he gets his fair share of heckles, in each venue that he some how manages to get a gig for.

“I’ve got a million dollars in the bank, what have you got!?” comes Pheonix’s response, and then he proceeds to hurl himself into the crowd fists swinging, followed by violent vomiting.

To think that a man of P Diddy’s calabure would even consider letting some deshelved tramp off the street play him tracks from his demo is unbelievable in itself.

Diddy’s eyes say it all as he asks Phoenix to skip on to the next one, continually starring down the camera in sheer disbelief!

There is not a lot to suggest that an actor such as this would just suddenly melt down, of course we don’t deny the pressures in Hollywood might cause few to sink to a lowest ebb, but Affleck succeeds in making this a shocking and truly hilarious stunt.

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Rating: (3/5)

Visit the IMDb page for I’m Still Here

Please feel free to leave a comment about this film, we would love to know what you think and we’ll do our best to respond!

Insidious – 2010

A family looks to prevent evil spirits from trapping their comatose child in a realm called The Further.

DirectedJames Wan

StarsPatrick WilsonRose Byrne and Ty Simpkins

What we think: James Wan has all the talent but for some reason is unable to put the killer instinct into his films and finish them off like they should be.

With the exception of being one of the founding members of the Saw franchise his films to date havn’t quite lived up to the expectations we know he can and should be able to deliver on.

Wan returns with Leigh Whannell the creator and writer of Saw, with the pair looking to yet again scare everyone shitless with a haunted house tale, this time focussing on a young boy whose slipped into a coma and drifted into the outer realms called The Further.

When writing Insidious Whannell wanted to make sure that he avoided all the haunted house cliches, and he pretty much did that. What he failed to do though was script a stronger third act, something which might have brought this up on a par with Saw.

Dalton is the one in peril as he suddenly slips into a coma one morning, his mother Renai (Byrne)  is then forced to spend time looking after her trio of kids all the while looking over her shoulder, as she hears one bump to the next occurring both in broad daylight and at night.

After some decent scares from the outset including the old “he’s behind you” and murmurings through the baby monitor the film was almost guilty of slipping into a farce as our protagonist Josh Lambert (Wilson) was forced to engage in some [SPOILER ALERT] astro physics in order to save the day.

It was a real shame as up till that point you’d have spent most of the run time hiding under the covers, as Wan introduced one jolt after another, some more subtle than others but ultimately offering the same desired effect.

“He’s behind me isn’t he?”

The introduction of Elise Rainier (Lin Shaye) the Ghost hunter whose come to see what all the fuss is about is pretty much inevitable. Armed with the latest high tech equipment and a couple of geeks, the aptly named Specs and Tucker, provides much amusement as Rainier delivers the killer line “It’s not the house that’s haunted”.

The film moves through the gears well, but it’s that annoyingly poor third act that ruins it for me. It does try and redeem itself with an all too predictable ending, those that have seen Wan and Whannel’s other film Dead Silence will know what I mean.

At the end of the day you feel all Wan had to do was hit the target, but this is just off to the right!

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Rating: (3/5)

Visit the IMDb page for Insidious

Please feel free to leave a comment about this film, we would love to know what you think and we’ll do our best to respond!

Julia’s Eyes – 2010

The story of a woman who is slowly losing her sight whilst trying to investigate the mysterious death of her twin sister.

DirectedGuillem Morales

StarsBelén RuedaLluís Homar and Pablo Derqui

What we think: I still stand by the statement that a vast majority of effective thrillers come from the foreign market, Julia’s Eyes is just another prime example of this and it can well and truly back it up.

Produced and presented by Guillermo del Toro this Spanish horror/thriller has enough in the tank to get through the almost two hour run time, while at the same time keeping the audience hooked on the narrative that is unfolding before them.

Believing that her twin sister Sara was murdered as opposed to suicide Julia starts to piece the puzzle together, against the wishes of her husband, while at the same time falling foul to the gradual fate that befell Sara, blindness.

It’s kind of a whodunnit as the invisible suspect hides in the shadows, never do we see a face until the last act, by which time Julia has almost reached breaking point in her quest for answers and above all else, the truth.

Director Guillem Morales does a commendable job of building the tension pretty much right from the opening, there are enough jolts and scares to satisfy any fan but on occasion there was a danger to elongate the suspense. It’s only a small criticism in a film that was pretty much flawless.

Belén Rueda who was fantastic in The Orphanage (another produced and presented by Del Toro) delivers yet another great performance, she has beautiful on screen presence and is backed up by an equally good supporting cast.

The cinematography is exciting, and the gloomy atmosphere and lack of false light make it an all the more disturbing film.

There are some other great shots, one of which sees Julia with her eyes bound in the home of her carer and like her we do not get to see her face or the faces of others around her. Instead we are treated to just a voice and camera shots from behind or out of focus.

The gripping final scene is well worth a look, but be warned sensitive eyes should look away!

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Rating: (4/5)

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Please feel free to leave a comment about this film, we would love to know what you think and we’ll do our best to respond!

Hall Pass – 2011

A married man is granted the opportunity to have an affair by his wife. Joined in the fun by his best pal, things get a little out of control when both wives start engaging in extramarital activities as well.

DirectedBobby FarrellyPeter Farrelly

StarsOwen WilsonJason Sudeikis and Christina Applegate

What we think: The Farrelly brothers, at times they have been untouchable in what they have given to comedy. They have pushed the envelope in terms of scenes of sheer jaw dropping unbelievability that you wonder how it ever got past the sensors.

From the brilliance of There’s Something About Mary to the simple effective humour of Me, Myself & Irene the brothers have carved a niche market for themselves in a highly competitive genre. That said Hall Pass falls some way short of the bar set, quite simply it has shades of greatness but boarder lines on the stupid and ridiculous.

Fed up of their husbands oggling over women and generally trying to relive their youth when then might have been capable of getting some, Maggie (Jenna Fischer) and Grace (Applegate) give their husbands a hall pass, a week off from marrige to do whatever they choose and ultimately get it out of their system.

For Rick (Wilson) and Fred (Sudeikis)  all their Christmas’ have come at once, but despite having free reign the pair are clueless as to what they actually need to do to have a chance of bedding down with someone of the opposite sex. While Rick seems unsure from the outset, he soon settles down with the attempt of wooing his local coffee shop barista Leigh (Nicky Whelan). Rick on the other hand does his best to bang whatever he can, and as quickly as possible.

The Farrelly’s have a knack of delivering comedic shock value and they certainly stick to that, one particular bathroom scene comes to mind.

The supporting cast, or Fred and Rick’s loyal friends including British comedy writer Stephen Merchant are only about for a short time, and really it would have been nice to see more of them. The buddy relationships of the protagonists seem to be a staple part of the comedy but here they appear in in bursts of which its hard to raise a smile.

Its disappointing, and its not the best Farrelly film we have seen over the years, if you’re on the extended DVD or Blu-ray version you’ll get some extras scenes no doubt, but the almost two hour run time feels long and drawn out.

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Rating: (2/5)

Visit the IMDb page for Hall Pass

Please feel free to leave a comment about this film, we would love to know what you think and we’ll do our best to respond!

Just Go With It – 2011

On a weekend trip to Hawaii, a plastic surgeon convinces his loyal assistant to pose as his soon-to-be-divorced wife in order to cover up a careless lie he told to his much-younger girlfriend.

DirectedDennis Dugan

StarsAdam SandlerJennifer Aniston and Brooklyn Decker

What we think: I’m not going to rant about Jennifer Aniston in romantic comedies any more, I have been there done that and got the t-shirt. Let’s leave it at the fact that this is the type of genre she excels at, in some cases and anything else she does would be both a surprise and a bonus.

Just Go With It is a fun heartfelt film that you know where it is going from the outset, you may as well have a copy of the script in your lap its that transparent.

After finding out the shocking truth about his future wife on his wedding day Danny Maccabee (Sandler) a now wealthy and famous plastic surgeon uses his wedding ring to get women and avoid getting hurt, a ploy that sees no failure whatsoever.

That is until he meets Palmer (Decker) who soon rumbles his secret forcing Danny to enlist the help of his assistant Katherine (Aniston) to pose as his soon to be divorced wife and her real life kids.

It’s a bit drawn out to be honest, and at just under two hours this could well have been cut slightly. The inclusion of a certain Nicole Kidman to play Katherine’s college adversary Devlin Adams was hardly a stroke of genius but it did pave the way for Aniston’s character to get in on the lying act, needing Danny to come to her aide.

The jokes are few and far between, maybe with the exception of mouth to mouth with a sheep where Nick Swardson provides an ever so glimpse of comedy greatness. Aside from that it’s a little bland, the kids are cute and annoying most noteably Bailee Madison who has to produce a cockney accent for the entirety which while funny to start with only becomes irritating the more the film goes on.

It was never going to have the legs to make it a decent rom-com to remember, Sandler has been here before and Aniston, well, you know my feelings about her. Even poking fun at Sandler’s plastic surgery patients falls well flat, it’s better than maybe one or two of Sandler’s other ventures but considering Don’t Mess with the Zohan and Grown Ups are part of that list  it doesn’t offer much.

View the trailer

Rating: (3/5)

Visit the IMDb page for Just Go With It

Please feel free to leave a comment about this film, we would love to know what you think and we’ll do our best to respond!