Crazy, Stupid, Love

The most recent rom-com to hit cinemas is Crazy, Stupid, Love - a film that is actually better than most recent films found in the genre. The film starts with married couple Cal (Steve Carell) and Emily (Julianne Moore) on a date, where Emily abruptly announces that she wants a divorce. Taken completely by shock Cal goes into depression seeking refuge at a local trendy bar where he drowns his sorrows with alcohol.
The mysterious, smokin' hot, charismatic, womaniser Jacob (Ryan Gosling) often visits the same bar to pick up women. One particular visit he invites Cal to talk to him. Jacob feels sorry for this sad excuse of a man and decides to teach Cal how to be more like him. Cal transforms into a well groomed, charming and slightly more confident man willing to now take control of his life.
Meanwhile Jacob continues to sleep with women after women, but takes a special interest in Hannah (Emma Stone) as she is unwilling to fall for Jacob's fake charms.
The real heart of this story however is Cal and Emily's son, Robbie (Jonah Bobo) who has fallen in love with his babysitter, Jessica (Analeigh Tipton). Robbie is only thirteen years old, yet has more idea about true love and the concept of soul mates then any other character in the film.
The film has some genuinely funny moments and although it is filled with many coincidences, they are not too forced and the talented cast pull these moments off perfectly. Steve Carrell is an amazing actor bringing his great sense of comic timing to the role, as well as delivering a touching and three dimensional performance. Ryan Gosling has never been more charismatic or toned for that matter, bringing an insightful depth to a character that could seem underdeveloped. Julianne Moore is as radiant as ever and Emma Stone while at first may seem underused, plays a surprising role in the film. Kevin Bacon and Marisa Tomei bring their talents as the supporting cast. But it is Jonah Bobo who plays the son that is the true highlight of the film with his touching story of a boy in love.
The major problem for this film is the lengthy duration. The film runs just over two hours which is long for any rom-com and the film could have definitely been shorter.
It hits some major highs but runs too long for a film that doesn't contain enough emotive drama.  It's crazy at times, it can seem plain stupid but it is definitely love.

Abduction

Nathan (Twilight's Taylor Lautner) is in his last year of high school. He is a kid dealing with ongoing rage issues while also being in love with fellow student Karen (Lily Collins) who is literally the girl that lives next door. This particular plot development is only the beginning of many more cliches. Taylor, I'm sorry, NATHAN - is paired up with Karen for a school project studying missing persons. When researching the assignment together, Karen discovers a missing person website with a photo of three year old Nathan, said to be missing since 1995. Not being able to forget about this revelation, Nathan tries to find answers. However when Nathan confronts the people who have been pretending to be his parents for all this time, the house is ambushed and destroyed. Nathan flees the crime scene with Karen now being hunted down by the badies in the form of Russian Terrorists as well as being chased by the CIA who apparently want to protect Nathan. And so the journey beings to uncover the truth of who Nathan really is.
The premise definitely does seem intriguing and it had potential to be an entertaining popcorn flick. There are however numerous problems with the film, but it all comes down to the fact that the film must have gone into production on the first draft. That or screenwriter Shawn Christensen has never taken a screenwriting course. I understand that this is his first feature but seriously, there is some fucking atrocious dialogue, not to mention the fact that most plot developments are never set up: for example a ticking bomb suddenly appearing in the oven? From the trailer my guess of genre is understandably action, after watching the film I can't help to think that it's more of a romantic comedy. This is particularly obvious at the end of the film, which was one of the highlights, not because of the actual film but because the entire audience laughed AT the film. Never a good sign.
The cheesy dialogue and the shit plot development can at least be hilarious to watch - "HOW NOT TO WRITE A FILM." But the thing that actually annoyed me the most was the terrible cinematography. Cameras should not have a zoom function, this film clearly demonstrates why. Abduction looked like a family video with its constant zooming and god awful framing. Sitting in the cinema, I had my hands up towards the screen wishing I could move the frame, a little more to the left or the right and sometimes even down, ANY which way and it would have been an improvement.  
It was embarressing to watch some amazing actors up on the screen in this film. I walked into the cinema excited to see Sigourney Weaver and I left wondering what dirt the producers had on her to blackmail Weaver into appearing on screen. Other actors who also must have been blackmailed include Jason Isaacs, Michael Nyqvist, Maria Bello and Alfred Molina. If not even Sigourney Fucking Weaver can save the terrible script, then pretty much no one can. Taylor Lautner struggled as the lead man, but it's hard to say whether this is because of his acting abilities or because of the terrible script and direction. My finger is on the latter, meaning he still has hope. Then again...
I looked into the producers of this film, and who do I find: Mr Dan Lautner, Taylor's father. I'm left wondering how much blame do we leave on the Lautner family for the exsitanece of this film. My guess: A LOT.
0.5/5

The Help

It is the early 1960's Mississippi. African Americans still do not have equal rights. They may not be slaves but they might as well be in small town Jackson. This story follows African American maid Aibileen Clark (Viola Davis) as she cooks, cleans, shops and even raises the children of her white employees.
On the other side of the racial barrier is young aspiring writer Skeeter, (Emma Stone) who decides to write a book detailing the lives of a dozen African American maids.
These two characters begin a secret partnership writing Aibileen's story. Soon more maids join up, including the memorable Minny Jackson (Octavia Spencer).
Skeeter may be the only white female in Jackson that isn't racist, having fond memories of her own maid who she idolises. Skeeter's best friend however, Hilly Holbrock (Bryce Dallas Howard) is the complete opposite. Hilly is oblivious to her blatant discrimination, even treating her own mother like trash.
This is another film documenting the very racially unbalanced and scary era of the 60's, but it explores the topic in a new way. What can be very male dominated and violent films,  The Help differs as it is a female ensemble cast.  This results in the exploration of not only the violence apparent in this era, but also the extreme hurt of gossip, along with the power of the written word.
The female ensemble is amazing. Emma Stone has already proved her worth in Easy A and she shines once again in this film. But it is Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer that contribute the more powerful and emotional performances on screen. Bryce Dallas Howard is fucking scary as Hilly Holbrock, capturing the essence of pure evil in her performance, making it impossible to feel anything but hate for this woman. Sissy Spacek gives a hilarious performance as Hilly's mother, proving that not everyone in the Holbrock family are the spawn of Satan. Allison Janney plays Skeeter's mother and she does her normal wonders in a role that has surprising heart. Finally Jessica Chastain gives a sweet performance as a ditzy wife shunned from the other women in town.
This is an emotional film; one minute you may be crying with a character,  the next laughing with another and then tearing up all over again.  You would have to be a member of the KKK not to be emotional moved by this film. Maybe the film's poster doesn't evoke much official prestige but if Touchstone/Disney plug the movie at Oscar nomination time, there will definitely be acting nominations from this amazing ensemble.

Cowboys and Aliens

Jake (Daniel Craig) wakes up in the middle of the desert thirsty, disorientated and with a strange metal band locked to his wrist. He has no memory of who he is and when he strolls across a nearby town he soon learns that he is a wanted man. Local cattle owner Woodrow Dolarhyde (Harrison Ford) is one man affected by Jake's criminal activities after robbing Dolarhyde a fair amount of gold. Naturally Dolarhyde wants to seek revenge. But before any of these issues can be resolved, flying Alien spaceships come and destroy half the town, stealing most of the townsfolk. The aliens leave as quickly as they appeared but not before Jake subconsciously uses the metal wrist band to shoot and destroy one of the spaceships. Unfortunately Dolarhyde loses his bratty son to the aliens and so sets out on a mission to rescue the stolen people. Jake tags along in hope for answers about who he is. There is also a beautiful woman Ella (Olivia Wilde) thrown in the film, who really wants to help Jake remember, for mysterious reasons of her own.
The plot may seem like a lot to take in - Cowboys, Aliens; in one film? The west meets space? But hey, it's fun! Director Jon Favreau (Iron Man 1 and 2) knows how to make an action film, and Craig, Ford and Wilde look like they are having heaps of fun on screen. But the film can not just survive on the element of fun alone. There are many structural problems with the story. Firstly there are way too many characters, meaning there is not enough time to develop any of them substantially. Even the main characters seem rather hollow to the point that you aren't even emotional involved with their story.  Because of the amount of characters, Jake's back story is rushed and when we finally learn the truth it is rather anticlimactic. Then there is Dolarhyde gallivanting about like a hero rescuing his douche of a son. I was left wondering why Dolarhyde was even bothering, the annoying son is perhaps better left dead. Really all we needed Dolarhyde to say was that his son is the only family he has left or something cliche like that.  Then there is Olivia Wilde, yes she looks amazing, the girl can even act but everyone could see her character twist miles away. Actually the whole film was predictable and ran like most other action films. And don't even get me started on Daniel Craig's over sized hat!! I just wished I could walk up there and lift the damn thing so we could actually see his eyes.
There were elements of the film to be enjoyed. The western setting was beautiful. They included the gore and grittiness so common in the western genre. The aliens reminiscent of the creatures seen in the Alien films were also fun. The CGI was top notch and the comedy helped to lift up the drab characters.
It was fun to see the two genres of Western and Alien films mashed together, but is the world a better place because of this film? Definitely not.

Captain America: The First Avenger

Paramount Pictures and Marvel Studios last venture together comes in the form the Captain America: The First Avenger, Disney has since bought Marvel along with the rights to the other Avenger films. The film is set during World War Two after the USA has joined forces with the allies to fight against the Nazis. Chris Evans plays the title hero but when we are first introduced to him, he is simply known as Steve Rogers. He is a skinny, short but very persistent, brave man; who longs to fight for his country. This sparks the attention of Scientist, Dr. Erskine (Stanley Tucci) who enlists Steve in a secret squad of the US Army to become apart of his experiment to create the ultimate soldier. One thrilling transformation scene later, Steve is turned from super dork to super hero.
The action takes an unexpected, yet welcome side step, as Captain America becomes the face of the war and is used as propaganda for the US Army to gain more war bonds.
But soon Captain America is forced to use his abilities against one particular Nazi leader, Johan Schmidt also known as Red Skull (played amazingly by Hugo Weaving) who is trying to succeed Hitler by destroying the world with science and his belief of Teutonic legends.
Love interest is in the form of British Agent Peggy, played by the beautiful and charming Hayley Atwel, who gives a solid performance for what is an undeveloped character. The main issue is the fact that her role as joint collaborator with the US Army is never explained, making her an awkward tag along. Tommy Lee Jones shows up as Colonel Chester Phillip, giving the audience the best timed performance and the most witty lines out of the entire cast. Iron Man's grandfather takes a supporting role as Scientist Howard Stark (Dominic Cooper) to further tie the Avenger franchise together.
One of the highlights of the film is the 1940's set design and costumes which are brought perfectly to life.
This film actually succeeds, where so many fail,  in using the 3D element and I would recommend paying the extra to view the third dimension. 
Where the film fails is the fact that it downplays and glazes over the emotional parts. It doesn't properly set-up or reward the audience with any sort of credible emotion but instead rushes through it. I think it is more a timing issue opposed to anything else, as there is some nicely revisited dialogue at the end climax but there is no time to feel the emotional impact of these words along with the action.
One major annoyance I had with the film is the very opening scene that places us in a time and location that plainly gives away the conclusion of the film.  Without the inclusion of this first scene the ending might have been a welcome twist opposed to something that was setup far to obvious. One thing the film lacks, is the wit of Iron Man. Chris Evans is no Robert Downey Jr. And while Chris does play the hero adequately, he is rather bland, even more so when the supporting actors out shine his performance.
The film could be a lot worse. It could be Thor. But fortunately it is a very fun, action packed film which explores an era that is rarely looked upon in the super hero world.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

The film's tagline so prominently states, 'It all ends,' bringing the past decade of Harry Potter films to an epic close. This final installment in one of the biggest film franchises in history goes out with one magical bang! The action starts off literally where Part One ends and continues fast paced down the highway to a satisfying conclusion. Harry and his best friends, Ron and Hermione, are still on the mission to kill three more horcruxes that each form a part of Voldemort's soul and the reason behind his almost immortal existence. The race is on to find and destroy these remaining horcruxes before Voldemort finds and kills Harry.
This race soon finds everyone back to where it all started, to the magnificent location of Hogwarts. This leads into an intense battle against the good and bad guys with an unforgiving amount of causalities. Professor Mcgonagall (played wonderfully by Maggie Smith) is one of the highlights to the beginning battle scene.
I think most fans of the book will be extremely happy with this film, it follows closely to the original source and does wonders with parts of the story that I thought might fit clumsily in the film. One of the best achievements is the flashback sequence concerning an important character, this sequence is handled beautifully and retains more information than I could have hope.
It was fun, although at times sad, to see all of our loved characters back, fighting in a war torn Hogwarts setting. The acting overall was better than expected, but by the eighth film you would fucking hope so. Daniel Radcliffe surprisingly did not annoy me once and gives a solid performance as the story's hero. Emma Watson and Rupert Grint do wonders as Harry's sidekicks and are there for constant support.  
This is an epic film and although there are large amounts of action and fighting, the film still has time to stop and breathe for some truly touching scenes. That being said, the fighting is really exciting and the final face off between Harry and Voldemort (apart from that odd hug) is intense and satisfying.
Some audiences will hate the epilogue of the film and for those that haven't read the book I will leave it a surprise, but I believe it fitted well and was a suitable ending to a story arc that concentrated so much on family, friends and subsequently the importance of love.
This eighth film brings an end to a saga that has defined the decade, defined multiple generations, defined both the literature and film world, and has personally help to define the small wizard inside of me. And with the closing credits we forbid a happy, fulfilled, yet noticeably sad goodbye.

Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon

Transformers Dark of the Moon is the third film of the franchise and supposedly the last, and boy did it go out with a bang. It was a massive improvement on the second and while it didn't have the same freshness as the first film, Micheal Bay did achieve in making one entertaining popcorn 'turn-your-brain-off' spectacle.
The story is exactly what we expect of a Transformers film; withdrawn epic battle scenes, some quite well crafted comedic moments and at times some impressive showcasing of acting abilities. Transformers 3 is an 'End of the World' film which is pretty much played in fast forward and as an audience member we are more than happy to go along for the ride.
Sam (Shia LaBeouf) is again the main character but is now dating a British babe Carly (Model, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley) after being dumped by Megan Fox's character. (The removal of Megan Fox is maybe the best part of the film). Sam soon learns of a secret that has been kept since the 1960's concerning the dark side of the moon and a possible Autobot weapon that may hold the key in defeating the Decepticons. And so the race begins to uncover the true purpose of the weapon and the surrounding secret alliances between robots and humans. Nothing in the story is too complicated or for that matter much of a surprise. Transformers 3 does however succeed in concluding the requirements that the story sets up in the first act of the film. 
One of the highlights is the list of stars that lend their talent to the film. Frances McDormand is a clear winner as the US Secretary of Defense but Patrick Dempsey, Alan Tudyk, John Malkovich and yes even that Asian guy from The Hangover, Ken Jeong, give memorable performances. Shia LaBeouf again delivers wonders as the true hero of the film and first time actor Rosie Huntington-Whiteley does a great job as the female lead, so great in fact that we can almost forget about that other chick from those previous films - almost.
There are some great comedic moments in the beginning half of the film which is imperative because the final hour is filled with fight after fight in an epic conclusion to the trilogy.
The CGI effects are naturally top notch and the 3D adds a much needed layer to the viewing experience and enjoyment of the film, bringing depth to these fantastic robots.
One of my favorite moments in the film is the opening sequence where real footage from the 1960's is intertwined with the films own recreations of key world events that aids in visually explaining a main part of the films back story.
While the film is not without fault, mainly all within the lack of script development, it does deliver an epic Hollywood blockbuster that is sure to make millions around the globe. And yes, this will not be every one's cup of tea, but it is a film that you need to watch if you have bothered to see the first two installments. With this third film we say good bye to the Transformers franchise although a part of me wants to say 'until next time,' after all we are talking about the sequel dependent Hollywood.