Views from the Void

Trust the Man
Plot: Two couples (including David Duchovny and Julianne Moore) spend a lot of time talking about sex, breaking up and having lots of problems with other people. Eventually they make up in a cheesy ending.
My thoughts: Another Film that doesn’t really live up to romantic or comedy. David Duchovny hasn’t really done anything great since the X-files and Julianne Moore should do better. Maggie Gyllenhaal is actually quite good in it, but the script lets her down. The film starts without a real introduction to the characters, so you don’t really feel empathy with their situations, and after that the scenes tend to be too disjointed. There are a lot of sexual references, which I suppose some will find amusing, but it just wasn’t enough for me. The ending tried to make up for the lack of plot direction in the film, and almost made me smile, but it was too little too late. Some of the better bits come from some of the situations the characters find themselves in, for example some of the characters in the sex addicts club are quite amusing.
On the whole, not really worth the money in my opinion, but might suit the ‘sex in the city’ crowd.
Best bits: The sex addicts group and the publisher lady.
Score: 4/10

Children of men
Plot: It is 2027 and the world is on the brink of disaster as infertility has plagued the world for 18 years. New that the youngest human is murdered shocks the world, but for one man there is a hope. Theo (Clive Owen) is contacted by a rebel leader and old flame Julian (Julianne Moore) who has been hiding a secret, in the form of Fijian refugee Kee, who is pregnant. Theo helps Kee find a way of contacting the free group known as ‘The Human Project’. However, the only way to get to them is to break into the Immigration prison camp at Bexhill.
My thoughts: This is a more gruesome film than I first thought it would be. Some of the effects are quite graphic. On the whole I enjoyed the story, although I did feel it started slowly. The whole film has a desperate feel to it, which I imagine is intentional considering the subject. However the ‘infertility’ feel is overshadowed by certain other political moods- such as that of illegal immigration. But the sense of hope brought out by the pregnancy and birth of the new baby works well as a contrast to the mood. The birth is probably the most real looking I have seen in a film although after the baby is born, it stays very quiet for ages- which surprised me because of the amount of shooting going on around it. I enjoyed the way the plot flowed towards the final point- meeting with the Human Project. During the film, you are never sure whether they actually exists or that they ave actually been in contact with them. There are some good (if a touch brief in some cases) performances from Julianne Moore, Michael Caine and Pam Ferris.
On the whole, it is an interesting futuristic thriller, with some good acting and plot. Worth a look
Best bit: The moment when Theo brings Kee and the baby out of the building in the detention centre is quite moving. Plus, it’s interesting seeing what happens to Bexhill in the future.
Score 7/10

Hoodwinked
Plot: You think you know the story of little red riding hood? Well, if you do then you’ve been Hoodwinked! Because there is a bandit on the loose stealing the local goodie recipes, and the police have four suspects; The Wolf, The Woodsman, Granny and Red herself!
My thoughts: I have to say, for a kid’s film, this was cleverly written and extremely entertaining. The film starts off where the ‘Red Riding Hood’ story ends. Red has entered her Granny’s house and has met the wolf her bed. Cue: “What big eyes you’ve got…” Then the wolf attacks Red. Granny, who has been tied up in the wardrobe, escapes and then the crazed woodsman charges in from the window. The next scene shows Granny’s house being cordoned off with ‘Police crime scene’ tape and the four have been arrested. The investigating officer then has to interview each of them and unravel their stories to find out how the situation arose, and to uncover the identity of the ‘Goodie’ thief. As you hear each characters story, you get to see just how clever the whole thing is, especially when you see just how the four stories connect with each other. For example, in the first interview, Red describes how she came to be going to Granny’s house and at one point a squirrel bumps next to her and a flash comes out of it’s mouth. Confused for now, but it all becomes clear later when you hear the Wolf’s story!
The only thing this film has against it is that some of it seems familiar- especially the hyperactive squirrel on caffeine (Over the Hedge anyone?). And some of the jokes also seem familiar. But they still work!
On the whole, this is a clever little tale, even if the culprit is obvious. Kids will love it and the adults will enjoy how the four stories work. An absolute must see film!
Best bits: Watching the stories unfold. And Granny’s ‘use the hood’ moment is genius! Oh and the Mountain goat with his song! Great stuff!
Score: 9/10

The Wicker Man
Plot: Edward Malus (Nicolas Cage) is asked by old flame Willow to help find her missing daughter. His investigations lead him to Summersisle, a commune of paganistic women, who refer to each other as sisters. The sisters, led by Sister Summersisle, are less than helpful and Edward’s investigations lead him to uncover some horrific truths including the biggest truth of all, the one involving the wicker man.
My Thoughts: I have not seen the original or read the book, but from the reviews I have seen have said that this pales in comparison. If that is so, then I think I would like to see the original film, as I enjoyed the concepts in this film. The film has quite a lot of atmosphere, although I can imagine the mood suiting an old Black and white Hitchcock style better. I am not really a fan of Nicolas Cage, as I find that he doesn’t fit some of the characters he plays, and this film is no exception. There are some good characterisations, such as Sister Rose the school-teacher and Sister Beech (Who I thought was Kathy Bates to begin with). The film starts with a good action sequence involving a lorry ploughing into a car. This leads to Edward being off work. Then he gets the letter from old flame Willow asking him to help find her daughter. The daughter turns out to also be his daughter, which he didn’t cotton on to, which I thought was a bit odd. it would be the first thing that would have come to my mind! The film then follows the investigation across the island where the locals start off by telling him the girls doesn’t exist then she had died, and all the time there are clues to rituals about harvest, death and rebirth. However a lot of this is played down and it is quite difficult to follow. The twist is that the whole investigation is one pre-planned plot to get him to the island for the final sacrifice. but it did leave some questions in my mind. For example, if the whole thing is planned, why kill the pilot? Surely he would have been in on it. Or why didn’t Ed see the huge wicker man cage? It must have taken a while to build and the island can’t have been that big. I did enjoy the ending, and the only disappointing thing about it was that it wasn’t played on as much. I assume they broke his legs as you heard a crunch and he went “OW!” but other than that I could have missed it! But I was glad they didn’t go for a ‘Hollywood’ ending.
On the whole, a very atmospheric film that but could have had made more of the action. There were no real gruesome bits, so don’t worry about that. This is certainly no Saw! It is much more like an episode of the X-Files meets the Village.
Best bits: The fight with sister Beech- I almost cheered at the punch. The sinister twist ending.
Score: 7/10

Adrift
Plot: Six friends, including one aquaphobic, and a baby are invited aboard a yacht for a reunion holiday. Soon they decide to take a swim, even the aquaphobic Amy ends up in the water after a prank from idiot Zack. However, they have forgotten to release the ladder and they find themselves in the water with nothing but a knife and an inflatable dolphin, leaving the baby all alone on the yacht.. From then on it is a matter of survival, as there is no way back on board!
My Thoughts: There is no way round comparing this to Open Water, which I thought was great. Open Water had the fact that it was the first of it’s kind, whereas Adrift uses the success of Open Water to draw you in and then Hollywood-ifies the story; for example there are six characters, not two, so it is almost inevitable that some will die, but who will die, how and who will survive are the questions that make the film watch-able. When the film starts you get the feeling that this is just padding to make the film longer, and you are in fact just waiting for the action. But as soon as they jump into the water, the film starts to get tense. You truly didn’t know who was going to survive, if any, especially after Open Water’s ending! Although you knew pretty well that the baby would survive seeing as she was still in the yacht. There is very little action, as the film builds the tension through the situation itself. There is also the odd cheesy moment; for example it was just a matter of time before a motor boat goes past and thinks that the helpless victims are waving because they are enjoying themselves, so they wave back. The tension builds well to the climax at the end; the storm! I won’t divulge what happens but I thought it was worth the build up. However the final scene was a bit of a let down.
On the whole, if you enjoyed Open water then you will enjoy this. But if you didn’t, then avoid the film.
Best bit: The storm climax was worth the wait. And James searching the underneath of the boat gave me the first ‘gasp’ moment.
Score: 7/10