Views from the Void

The Number 23
Plot: Walter Sparrow (Jim Carrey) is given a book for his birthday, titled The Number 23 by Topsy Kretts. The book chronicles the life of the author, Fingerling, as he spirals into obsession of the number 23. However, Walter feels that this book could be written about him and soon, he starts to see the number 23 appearing everywhere. The book continues and leads the character, Fingerling, into murder, but will Walter follow in the same way? And will they be able to find Fingerling before things go too far?
My thoughts: I had high hopes for this plot, being into supernatural type thrillers, but this ad more of a comic book feel than an actual thriller. Carrey, and the cast, in a typical, ‘dark’, comic book style, act out the plot of the book. The story is contrived, with some not-very-well-explained happenings, and seems to have had a rushed ‘how am I going to end this’ type ending. To me, Carrey is more of a comic actor so he didn’t seem to fit the role that well, and the rest of the cast seemed uninspiring also. The best character was Sparrow’s son, although he did seem to handle his dad’s spiral into psychotic obsession with general ease
On the whole, it is an interesting idea but seems uninspiring and rushed. Some of the comic-book style scenes are interesting, but not enough to really grab attention.
Best bit: Meeting miss Suicide Blonde. And the end Bible quote “Be sure your sin will find you out” Numbers 32:23! Spooky!
Score : 6/10

Hot Fuzz

Plot: Top cop Nicholas Angel is moved to the sleepy town of Sandford because he is making the other London cops look bad. Whilst there, he teams up with partner Danny and together they set about dealing with country affairs, such as locating a missing swan. However, when people start getting brutally killed, Nick believes there is a murderer afoot, and not a series of unusual accidents, as the other cops seem to believe.
My thoughts: What we have here is British film making at its best. There is a lot here to keep you amused, a lot of one-liners and jokes that you could easily miss if you weren’t paying attention. There was a quick background joke about spit-roasting which I think only I got! Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are excellent in it, and there is a great supporting cast, including ex-bond Timothy Dalton. The film seems to be in three separate sections, each with there own merits. The first is the introduction into the village, the second is the investigations and the murders and the final part is the shoot out at the end, which is reminiscent of Shaun of the Dead (I suppose it is unavoidable to compare them). The comedy can be both obvious and subtle and is mostly character based and the deaths can be quite graphic- especially the church fete murder! The plot itself, although it can be obvious, doesn’t disappoint.
On the whole, if you liked Shaun of the Dead or Spaced this is a must. This film is screaming ‘sequel’
Best bit: So many little bits. Danny is a great character and the script is great. The deep sea mine was good, the swan chase (in fact the swan itself is a hero). The gun fight at the end.
Score: 10/10

Hannibal Rising
Plot: As a boy Hannibal witnessed as his parents were killed during WW2, and then watched as some hungry looters killed and ate his sister. As he grew up, he harboured the memory and the resentment towards those looters and, using his anger, vows to take his murderous revenge on them.
My thoughts: As a start it is hard to connect this Hannibal Lecter to the one played by Anthony Hopkins in Silence of the Lambs, but this is a totally different style of film. Watching the origins of the ‘serial killer’ you end up feeling a bit of sympathy for the character, which I suppose is intentional. The plot is long and drawn out, with very little ‘horror’ action, instead it moves along the dark, psychological route more than the thriller, action route. Think ‘Memoirs of a Geisha’ for serial killers
On the whole, it is a dark and lengthy movie that delivers in atmosphere but not in action.
Best bit: The final scene on the boat has the most ‘horror’ in it, but it is not overplayed. Plus the scene with the butcher- he deserved it!
Score 6/10

Epic Movie
Plot: Four orphans, all growing up in movie scenarios, each get a golden ticket giving them a chance to visit Wonka’s factory and have an epic journey. Once there, they find a wardrobe where they enter the magic world of Gnarnia and have to defeat the White Bitch to fulfil the prophecy
My thoughts: Although this is not as good as the Scary Movies, it is a darn sight better than Date Movie was. The fun comes from the films they rip the piss out of, which include The Da Vinci Code, The lion the witch and the wardrobe,
Harry Potter, Nacho Libre, Snakes on a plane and X-Men. There are some bits that I didn’t understand, especially the hip-hop music stuff- I didn’t understand the Mr Tumnus shows us his pad song- and they make the film drag a bit too much, which is not good news seeing as the film is relatively short. It is silly and juvenile most of the time (lots of urinating in the snow) but there are some clever bits in it. The Pirates of the Captain Jack Swallows is actually very good!
ON the whole, maybe worth waiting for the DVD as there will probably be extra footage, but if you enjoyed Date Movie, this is better!! Silly, but worth a look. But you may want to turn away when the Beaver and Tumnus make out!!!
Best Bits: Captain Jack Swallows and The Da Vinci Code’s Last Super
Score 5/10

Charlotte’s Web
Plot: Fern (Dakota Fanning) rescues a small pig, Wilbur, from being slaughtered by her father and helps it grow up in her uncle’s barn. In the barn Wilbur meets other animals and makes friends, including Charlotte the spider and Templeton the rat. When Wilbur grows too big, the uncle, who needs money for the farm, plans to slaughter it by Christmas. But Charlotte plans to save the pig, by spinning a web, which contains human words.
My thoughts: I have never read the book or seen the original animation, so I was intrigued to find out what words Charlotte put into the web, and I wasn’t disappointed. The film was both entertaining and educational, thanks to the surprisingly clever spider. The main characters (the rat, the pig and the spider) are well developed and likeable whereas the other animals in the farm are purely incidental and sub-standard in terms of CGI and effects- although I did like the idea of the herd-following sheep.
On the whole, a good family film, which is fun and educational and doesn’t overburden you with CGI tricks, like some modern films do.
Best bit: The crows and their nemesis, the scarecrow. Purely incidental, but quite entertaining.
Score 7/10

Music and Lyrics
Plot: Alex Fletcher (Hugh Grant) is an old Eighties Pop band member, now making his living appearing in revival shows and gigs. When Cora Corman, modern pop princess and old fan of Alex’s group ‘POP’, arranges to meet him, she offers him the job of writing her new single. However Alex has not been able to write a hit, as his failed solo album proved. Enter wacky temporary plant feeder Sophie Fisher (Drew Barrymore) who has a knack of writing lyrics. Alex convinces Sophie to work with him to create the song and soon a little romance is blossoming. But Sophie has her own problems to deal with; that of an ex lover and author who has destroyed her character in his recent book.
My thoughts: There is no way you can watch this and not think WHAM! Alex is Andrew Ridgley in all but name- and those songs sound familiar! It is quite a charming little film even if some of the plot points are a touch contrived. Some of the music in it is enjoyable in a toe tapping eighties way but if you grew up in the eighties and have been amused by some of the ‘revival’ stuff that has been shown, you may find the irony entertaining- especially the ‘Battle of the Eighties Has-beens’ which sounds like an idea too good not to produce! The story is straightforward and delivers no twists, but is pleasant enough, especially the end scene at the concert.
On the whole it is an inoffensive and charming light-hearted comedy that will raise a smile but probably not have you in fits.
Best bit: The opening 80’s music video ‘Pop goes my heart’ it will take you back to Rick Astley, Wham and Bananarama!
Score: 7/10

Arthur and the Invisibles
Plot: Arthur lives with his Gran, Mia Farrow, because his parents have gone to the city to find better jobs. His Granddad had disappeared many years ago and the house is now going to be taken over by debt collectors unless he comes back and pays the debts. The night before the debt collector come, Mia Farrow tells Arthur a story about the Minimoys, a really small tribe that his granddad met in Africa, and Arthur follows some clues to find that the Minimoys exist in the back garden and that one night in every ten months you can get there- and it just happens to be that night tonight. So Arthur finds all the clues left by his granddad and, with the help of some really tall African tribesman (who appeared from nowhere), manages to enter the world of the Minimoys.
When there he meets Princess Madonna and her little brother, the really irritating one, and together they set off on some sort of adventure that is never really explained fully and a bit too rushed to actually make sense. On their way they meet Snoop Dogg for no apparent reason and eventually they make it to Maltazard’s kingdom, played briefly by David Bowie. There they spoil Maltazards plans, rescue Granddad and a mole creature that was mentioned briefly earlier and they find the Gems. Back in the real world, Arthur then uses his knowledge of the garden kingdom and some rather large holes in the ground that surprisingly he never noticed before, to destroy Maltazard and collect the gems and win the day.
My thoughts: If you just read the plot summary, you may get the impression that I wasn’t that impressed with the film. There are some good animations in it, but the plot is too ‘packed’ to make any real sense. It’s almost as if for the whole thing to make sense, it needed to be another hour long, but the makers knew a kids film can’t be long so they cut loads out. There is a lot going on on-screen too, which makes it difficult to really focus on what’s going on. The Bad Guy only gets a little bit at the end, so you don’t really get to feel a threat from him, and I never got a real sense of doom from the flooding either. There were some bits that didn’t make sense, like how Madonna and the brother got really scared about floating in the nut shell (which is boat-like) but didn’t mention the fear when floating in the straw which would be more likely to sink, or how come I his granddad had used the equipment to shrink himself into the minimoys kingdom and then got stuck there, how did he then manage to hide the pieces of it for Arthur to find, or where did the really tall Africans come from, and why did no-one notice them before, and what exactly was the role of Snoop Dogg’s character (Even though it did provide the best scene in the film)
On the whole, it is a colourful and dramatic piece of animation, but the whole thing didn’t work very well. Perhaps you’d be better off reading the book.
Best bit: In Snoop Dogg’s bar, there is a great scene where Madonna and Arthur do some fighting to some disco dancing. Very good bit way too brief!
Score 5/10

Notes on a Scandal
Plot: Barbara Covett (Judi Dench) is a lonely, bitter teacher until new teacher Sheba joins the school. They form an unlikely friendship, moslty out of sympathy in Sheba's case, but turns into an obsession for Barbara. When Barbara finds out that Sheba is having a fling with a schoolboy, she decides to use it to manipulate her and fuel her growing obsession. Things go from bad to worse when Sheba chooses to spend time with her family than with her and so Barbara decides to take action.
My Thoughts: Judi Dench is excellent in this film. She plays the vindictive and obsessive Barbara extremely well. Barbara narrates the story, as if she is writing in her diary, which she has been keeping for years. Every time an incident goes her way, she describes it as a gold star day in her diary. Sheba is also played well by Cate Blanchett, and is a warning to all teachers who are thinking of having rumpy pumpy with a pupil. Other characters are incidental. The plot appears to be in clear sections; the friendship is formed, the obsession grows, the affair is found out, the obsession grows more, the affair is revealed, and the shit hits the fan! In each piece the character of Barbara is developed well and by the end we learn that this has happened before!
On the whole it is a clever drama and well acted by both Dench and Blanchett, however the story can drag in places. It is an interesting insight into the psyche of an obsessive character.
Best bit: Dench’s performance
Score 7/10