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Lil_miss_tazzy
Reviews
Baby Mama (2008)
Great Fun
Due to my love of Tina Fey I went out of my way to see this film at the cinema; on first release it was only shown at 11-30 in the morning and I dragged my mum to watch in an empty theatre. All I can say is that it was worth the effort.
The two leads bounce off of one another with brilliant comic timing, and both manage to make their flawed characters utterly likable. Yes, the plot is predictable, and no, there is no joke that made me fall out of my seat. However, it did deliver on many levels. The comedy was sharp and although the ending was a little contrived it did manage to put a goofy smile on the face of a cynical teenager, IE moi. 'Baby Mama' is perfect chick fare, and I am disappointed in the cinemas who have cleared all their screens in preparation for the release of 'The Dark Knight'.
Poehler and Fey sparkled and were supported by an excellent cast; Steve Martin was odd, providing some light comedy, but it was Sigourney Weaver and Greg Kinnear (back on form and looking less haggard) whom i felt really carried the film in the absence of the two leads.
Baby Mama was refreshing and a great indication that we should see more of these two girls on the big screen.
4/5 Stars
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)
Bleedin' Brilliant
Ah Sweeney Todd. Dark, menacing and brilliant. The streets of London are refulgent with greed, lust and death. The setting here is truly horrific, and Burton emphasises this, almost elevating the backdrop to the status of a main character.
The music carries it along nicely, the songs not sounding too repetitive. Of course this is down to the original brilliance of the Sondheim musical, making it a far more enjoyable watch than, let's say, last year's horrific 'Dreamgirls'. I will not say that the singing is perfect, and perhaps this is where the film loses that last star. Depp makes a stellar effort both acting and singing-wise and on the whole manages to pull it off with a sinister glow, whilst Helena Bonham Carter speaks and slurs her way through her lines. However her lack of musical talent is less pronounced due to her amazing acting ability and wonderful charm; she seemed to make poor singing ability fit her character, even if she was a lead in a musical. The most impressive musical talent was shown by Ed Sanders, playing the young boy Toby; he had a fantastic voice, along with high quality acting ability; he should go very far.
Campbell Bower and Wisener are also acceptable in their roles as the young lovers, but their story seems rather dull due to the lack of charm present in both young actors; I felt that it seemed as though that had been chosen purely on their singing ability.
Alan Rickman and Timothy Spall scared and entertained as usual, both inhabiting their natural roles as villain and slimy sidekick; there's a reason they're typecast: they're excellent in the part.
Sascha Baron Cohen also performed well, if only for a brief time. Here is a performance that proves he can pull-off a serious (-ish!) role with style and panache.
The gore, although plentiful, is of a very theatrical nature, and i found that it did not make me too squeamish. However, if you do have a weak stomach I would suggest that this is not the film for you.
Overall I felt that this was a stylish, powerful film that seemed to affect me more than many films these days, seemingly creating pathos for the titular character even whilst he was brutally slaughtering innocent people.
Underworld (2003)
Beckinsale Sucks Blood.
Not usually being a fan of horrific and gory vampire/werewolf sagas, i began watching Underworld with some apprehension. However, 5 minutes in I had already realised how much i would rate this movie by the end. The setting was dark enough for there to be a sombre, threatening atmosphere, and although, like many films of the genre, the plot line was a little self-indulgent, Beckinsale carried the film with style.
The supporting cast was also excellent, but Beckinsale is clearly the star of this movie; her character's 'girl power' attitude and fondness for jumping off tall buildings in magnificent black stilettos satisfying many female viewers (the stilettos demand respect, even if the jumps are computer-generated), whilst her aesthetically pleasing figure permanently clad in black leather adds to the enjoyment of the male audience - if they weren't already satisfied with vampires, werewolves and guns.
I would not recommend this to blood-sucking gore junkies, as there probably isn't enough horror to satisfy you, but if you're looking for a punchy, well-executed, enjoyable film and you don't shy away from small amounts of blood or horror then this may be for you.
The MatchMaker (1997)
Ah, romantic heaven
Oh, 'The Matchmaker'. Is there a more perfect film around?? If you're looking for high-brow entertainment,certainly, but if you want something fluffy to watch on a lonely afternoon then this is what you are seeking.
Set for the most part in Ireland, 'The Matchmaker' follows an American city girl who is thrust into a rural setting when her boss, an American senator, sends her to Balinagragh (have no idea how to spell it!) in order to seek out his Irish roots. She accepts the mission, is thrust into the heart of an Irish matchmaking festival, meets a charming Irish rogue and falls in love with the inhabitants of the town. So far, so predictable. However this film is charming and comic; especially in its portrayal or rural/small town Irish life - the depictions are scarily realistic.
Garofalo is in her prime in this role; both age-wise and in terms of her performance, as she is portraying a character who is still slightly cynical, but less bitchy and more likable than many of her previous characters. The supporting cast is great and provides the majority of the film's charm; Milo O'Shea particularly standing out as the local matchmaker.
These factors, plus the fact that I'm a sucker for an Irish accent,make this film one of the most enjoyable of those i have on my shelves and is watched again and again.
30 Rock (2006)
Fey and Baldwin at their best
I must confess that ever since 'Mean Girls' I have loved Tina Fey's style of writing and have been attempting to watch snips of SNL ever since (it's one of the many things we miss out on in England, sniff). She has the talent of being witty without being obvious; the jokes are often quite subtle and, although there are moments when the quest for laughs is obvious, you often find yourself laughing without realising that a joke has been made; the comedy seems fairly real, not artificial.
Off the writing though Baldwin and Fey pull this show together amazingly. Although not romantically linked (as of yet, i suppose it is a possibility; i haven't seen past the first series), the two have great chemistry and seem to bounce off one another.
This is all backed up by a fab supporting cast; Friedlander is fab, as are the rest of the SNL team and this programme seems to be quirky without being cloyingly sweet (don't get me wrong, i love programmes such as 'Pushing Daisies' but the relentless cheeriness does seem to grate on one a tad).
There are two other, more general reasons for my love of this show: The first is that it doesn't seem to feel it needs to be rigidly PC; it is quite open on topics of race and religion and although the jokes made never seem to be offensive they often make accurate observations on several stereotypical groups.
The other reason being that there is no laugh track. It is such a relief to watch a programme that you don't feel needs help to get you to chuckle and its absence makes the comedy more natural and real, plus i feel that you become more involved when you aren't constantly being reminded that you're watching a TV show.
This show, in my humble opinion, is the best thing on television at the moment.
Much Ado About Nothing (1993)
Perfection
I LOVE this adaptation of Much Ado. It's bright and breezy, on the whole well-acted and the setting is just beautiful. Thompson and Branagh are perfectly cast and just light up the screen.
I am rather biased seeing as this is my favourite Shakespeare play - with the possible exception of The Taming of the Shrew - and i find the romantic plot line sensational. The chemistry between Beatrice and Benedick is wonderful; sparks really fly off one another when each is still in 'hatred' zone and when they finally confess their love they really seem to mean it. This is helped by the fact that Branagh and Thompson were actually married at the time of filming so one could truly imagine that these actors were passionate about each other.
I agreed with previous comments about Keanu Reeves' poor performance when first watching the film; he was rather wooden; but having seen other productions of this play i have realised that Don John is a shallow and bland character and therefore Keanu's attempt wasn't too appalling.
Overall a great effort and i think that this is just one of those films i will re-watch constantly and never get bored.
If you're a fan of this play i do recommend the BBC updated version of it from the 2005 ShakespeaRetold series, because although it is nowhere near the quality of the Branagh version, it does maintain the spirit of the original play and is a really enjoyable watch.
Dreamgirls (2006)
Overlong, Oversung
For the first hour or so of Dreamgirls one could assume that this film was less of a musical and more of a musical biopic, perhaps along the lines of the excellent 'Walk the Line'. However, i'm sorry to say that it soon degenerated into mindless slush. The long road to boredom began when the characters began to sing the dialogue. This quickly became repetitive with each song lasting at least five minutes with only a short gap between them. Perhaps i am just not a musical person, although i have to say i enjoyed films such as Grease and the phantom of the opera. The songs in these, although long, at least did not repeat the main lines about 30 times. The songs that were perhaps exceptions to this were several of those sung on stage, as a proper performance. 'Dreamgirls' and 'Cadillac Car'were mildly enjoyable but i found 'Listen' the most moving.
Overall Dreamgirls raised my hopes, but then sent them plummeting downhill - stay for the first hour, you can probably guess the rest.
V for Vendetta (2005)
Amazing!!!
This is such a powerful film! I didn't expect much out of this but went to see it because it had good reviews. The combo of Natalie Portman and Hugo Weaving is very effective as they both have such strong personalities- delicate and coarse- they balance each other out. V's strategies are very well thought out but you can understand them without too much thought involved.
The futuristic setting is also very effective. The possibility of an American civil war is quite believable and who can question the fact that this could happen?(Not likely but you never know).
*SPOILER* Personally i thought that the death of V made the film even more poignant, and the decision of Evy to blow up the houses of parliament made it more powerful. However i did find that watching them blow up was quite depressing. Overall, this film had a massive effect on me and i hope it will on you too.