The Tree of Life Movie review.

Terrence Malick has been in the film industry for almost half a century but his output as a director has been limited, in his forty year career Malick has only directed six films but each of his five previous efforts have a mark of a director who is passionate about cinema and this is perfectly clear in the unique and wonderful visual beauty of all of his films. The Tree of Life is no different, visually it is stunning but like his most recent effort The New World may test the patience of the average cinema goer.

We Need to Talk about Kevin

Based on the novel by Lionel Shriver, of the same name, Lynne Ramsay's film adaptation of the novel is a chilling tale of a mother's inability to connect with her child. After a stage of depression before the child is born, the child's endless crying as a baby, the child's constant misdemeanours and the failure to connect to the child leads to a hateful relationship between mother and son. This relationship leads Kevin, the son, played by Jasper Newell (aged 8) and Ezra Miller (aged 16+) to commit acts of petty behaviour to acts that are far more extreme that brings shame and guilt to Eva (Tilda Swinton).

Short Reviews 2

Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket is slightly different to the vast majority of Vietnam War movies in a sense that the action does not fully take place in Vietnam but spends half the time at boot camp at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island. Full Metal Jacket follows a platoon of US Marines through the dehumanising and brainwashing effects of boot camp to the traumatic effects of the Vietnam War. Similarly to many other works of Kubrick, Full Metal Jacket is a dark satire but this time of war. The opening act at boot camp is darkly brutal but at the exact same time darkly funny. R. Lee Ermey (who plays Gunnery Sergeant Hartman) in his mostly improvised role, is fantastic delivering an endless array of quotable lines. The dehumanising effects and brainwashing that are clearly evident is disturbing and shocking as the marines are insulted and made to feel worthless. Much has been said that the first half is by far superior to the second half but this does not turn out to be entirely true. The second half is full of tension (the sniper sequence is excellent), expertly staged war sequences (the urban warfare sequences are intense) and some marvellous cinematography (which was actually shot in England). The performances are sensational, particularly from Vincent D'Onofrio and Matthew Modine, the soundtrack is awesome (featuring Nancy Sinatra and the Rolling Stones) and Kubrick's anti war film leaves you with one major message-War is hell.

The Green Lantern

The Green Lantern is the billionth (a slight exaggeration) adaptation of a comic book, The Green Lantern concerns Hal Jordon (Ryan Reynolds) who is a pilot for the US Air Force who is selected and recruited into the Green Lantern Corps (who act as an intergalactic police force) after inheriting a ring that gives him superpowers, he must fight the Parallax which threatens to bring destruction to the balance of the universe. Meanwhile, on Earth, Dr Hector Hammond (Peter Sarsgaard) is exposed to the fear entity granting him super powers of his own. While in cinemas The Green Lantern struggled to break even only gaining just a few thousand over its total budget however DVD sales will make the final total look far more attractive. Critics' reviews were less than positive and it seems they have a point.

12 Angry Men Movie Review

12 Angry Men is the very first film of Sidney Lumet's career, a career which included the likes of Serpico and Dog Day Afternoon. Sidney Lumet's first directorial effort was acclaimed as an instant classic, though audiences never went to see it, and almost 65 years on 12 Angry Men is right up there with the very best of American classics from the 50s and cinema in general. 12 Angry Men is a film of such quality, for all his efforts, that Lumet never matched. He may have come close with Serpico and Dog Day Afternoon but the two are not in the same league as 12 Angry Men.

Thor Movie Review.

Thor is yet another Marvel comic adaptation, as you will almost undoubtedly know there have been plenty of films being adapted from the comic book form in the past five years from Batman to Jonah Hex, some famous and some that can be found at the bottom of the barrel, even Spiderman is getting another reboot. Thor is the latest marvel comic adaptation that is quite good fun

Attack the Block

Comedian Joe Cornish's directorial debut is an alien invasion movie but not those typical patriotic alien movies that Hollywood tends to produce in which the aliens attack major landmarks in the world- I mean America. This time however they are attacking a council estate in South London, which is in England (for the geographically ignorant).