Badgers, Biscuits & Tea and a Chocolate Coated Turd
Having still got 3 films left on my UGC pass and only a week left before it expired, I decided to head for the cinema this weekend.
Saturday night at the movies and first out the blocks was Push. Take a bunch of people with various Psi powers, a shadowy organisation tracking them down with their own Psi Warriors, and what have you got, Heroes season one or a martial arts packed Heroes wannabe set in Hong Kong that's about as unoriginal as they come. Boasting a plot with more holes than a tetley teabag, Push is a brain dead piece of crap where the only thing of note is that they put Dakota Fanning in a whore length skirt for most of the film. This has led to much discussion in the forums of IMDB about using a child in this manner. Then again Jodie Foster was only 13 when she made Taxi Driver and was portrayed in a similar style. Then again, Taxi Driver was a classic film and not a chop shlocky action fest. On the plus side, Fanning's performance was pretty good and the action set pieces were well staged, adding a thin layer of chocolate to the dung like plot.
The film ended, or rather didn't, with more loose ends than the Flying Spagheti Monster. It's almost as if they want to make a sequel. If they do I suggest they call it Shove, as, when push comes to shove, I can think of a few choice places they can shove the screenplay.
So if you want a put your brain into neutral piece of entertainment then feed your head, just don't bite in too deeply, get past the candy coating and it'll it'll leave a bad taste behind.
Seconds out, round two. Sunday afternoon I returned to the UGC at De Brouckere hoping that The International could re-establish my faith in quality film making. And, to a certain extent it did. Starring Clive Owen, it has the feel of a Bourne movie. The big bad he's pitted against in this case is a bank. Ruthlessly dealing in arms, manipulating national debt and eliminating anyone who gets in their way. Hey, haven't we got banks like that back home? Tension is built masterfully, the action flits between countries and the performances are great.
In an interview about the film Owen made the bizarre comment that he was not afraid of badgers and didn't like biscuits with tea "because He-men don't need biscuits.".
The owls are not what they seem. Highly recommended.
Push
Saturday night at the movies and first out the blocks was Push. Take a bunch of people with various Psi powers, a shadowy organisation tracking them down with their own Psi Warriors, and what have you got, Heroes season one or a martial arts packed Heroes wannabe set in Hong Kong that's about as unoriginal as they come. Boasting a plot with more holes than a tetley teabag, Push is a brain dead piece of crap where the only thing of note is that they put Dakota Fanning in a whore length skirt for most of the film. This has led to much discussion in the forums of IMDB about using a child in this manner. Then again Jodie Foster was only 13 when she made Taxi Driver and was portrayed in a similar style. Then again, Taxi Driver was a classic film and not a chop shlocky action fest. On the plus side, Fanning's performance was pretty good and the action set pieces were well staged, adding a thin layer of chocolate to the dung like plot.
The film ended, or rather didn't, with more loose ends than the Flying Spagheti Monster. It's almost as if they want to make a sequel. If they do I suggest they call it Shove, as, when push comes to shove, I can think of a few choice places they can shove the screenplay.
So if you want a put your brain into neutral piece of entertainment then feed your head, just don't bite in too deeply, get past the candy coating and it'll it'll leave a bad taste behind.
The International
Seconds out, round two. Sunday afternoon I returned to the UGC at De Brouckere hoping that The International could re-establish my faith in quality film making. And, to a certain extent it did. Starring Clive Owen, it has the feel of a Bourne movie. The big bad he's pitted against in this case is a bank. Ruthlessly dealing in arms, manipulating national debt and eliminating anyone who gets in their way. Hey, haven't we got banks like that back home? Tension is built masterfully, the action flits between countries and the performances are great.
In an interview about the film Owen made the bizarre comment that he was not afraid of badgers and didn't like biscuits with tea "because He-men don't need biscuits.".
The owls are not what they seem. Highly recommended.
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