Freebirds (2013) A Film Review

Starring:- Woody Harrelson and Owen Wilson
Director:- Jimmy Hayward

After herding the children into their cinema seats with promises of drinks and sweeties, I slumped tiredly into my own chair. Usually, when preparing for a film I will have a sneaky look at the reviews and average ratings so I know what I'm in for (or out for). However this time I had simply not had the chance. I was a little dismayed, gutted even at the 5.5 IMDB rating, meaning I had a lot of thumb twiddling to do during the intervening 90 minutes. You're here for the kids... you're here for the kids... secretly though I love a good kiddy's film. 

Reggie the Turkey (Owen Wilson) always felt, let's say, a little different from his friends. Always excluded, never listened to, never fitting in, always ignored. He is sure of one thing though... the Turkeys are being fattened up to.... be eaten at Thanksgiving! Only nobody believes him. That is until he meets Jake (Woody Harrelson), a crusading mega turkey hell bent on changing the past, and removing turkey from the menu!

I'll be honest now. I wasn't expecting too much from this film and it didn't deliver too much either. This is not necessarily a bad thing (what????? I hear you shout!). I felt the film was reviewed a tad harshly. On the front page of the IMDB reviews the highest mark you will find is a measly 5 out of 10, but the majority of the marks are a lot less, 1 out of ten being prevalent. I was expecting a real stinker, but in truth it wasn't too bad really.

The opening exchanges were light hearted and funny. We build an instant rapport with Reggie, for whom Wilson seems tailor made for the role. Woody Harrelson was also funny as Jake, and the two work well together possessing a believable chemistry even if it is just their voices. Everything was going so well until the pair travel back in time. At this point the film did seem to lose its way and became a little boring in truth as it hit the proverbial brick wall. It seemed as though a laugh and plot dissolving switch had been thrown as the film chased it's own tail. At this point my thumb twiddling began in earnest as I glanced across at my fidgeting children! 

Thankfully Freebirds did find it's way back to its rather linear plot, but by then it had dragged on too long, and most people in the theatre were happy at least when the movie drew to it's rather unconvincing ending. Quick! Open the doors!!!

IMDB.com Rating:- 5.5 (3,545 votes)

Supermegahybrid Film Rating:- 3 stars

The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) A Film Review

Starring:- Gene Hackman, Angelica Huston, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Luke Wilson, Bill Murray and Danny Glover.
Director:- Wes Anderson

Considering this film was rated 5 stars by the Radio Times and appears in the film lover's bible 1001 Films to See Before You Die, I slid the DVD into the machine with some hope and excitement. However, whilst the final credits rolled (at last), I found myself looking behind the couch to find the previous two hours.

The Royal Tenanbaums sees a dysfunctional New York family reunited after their father (Hackman) feigns a terminal illness after hearing his wife (Huston) is about to remarry. At some point in their childhood the three children (Luke Wilson, Paltrow and Stiller) have been considered to be prodigies, however have all fallen upon hard times. The first half sets the scene reasonably well, lulling the viewer into a false sense of security, but the second really is Hollywood fairytale fluff as the loose ends are tied.

The film bills itself as a comedy and frankly it isn't in the slightest bit funny. Don't get me wrong their are a few bits at which I tittered slightly, like Danny Glover falling into a hole, but I watched this film off the back of Naked Gun- at which The Royal Tenanbaums could never hold a candle to. A key point here is how the film stacks up to the great comedies such as Naked Gun and The Life of Brian- the answer to that question being absolutely nowhere near. For a comedy to be rated as a 5 star it really needs to be ground breaking- I mean would people really be protesting outside the cinemas against The Royal Tenanbaums? I think not. I can't understand why the critics fawn over the film so much- it is yet another example of people thinking oh the critics love it so I must do as well.

I binned the DVD after the film ended.

IMDB.com Rating:- 7.6 (155,728 votes)

Supermegahybrid Film Rating:- 2.5 stars

Is Al Pacino REALLY Such a Great Actor?

The answer to this question is simple. Of course he is, isn't he? We have all seen him in Godfather Parts I and II, Scarface, Serpico, Scent of a Woman... the list is seemingly endless. He has kudos, Oscar wins and most importantly of all: respect. How dare we even question this man's genius? He sits amongst Hollywood Greats with DeNiro, DiCaprio and Depp. 

There is one thing that troubles me though. Look at his award winning roles such as Michael Corleone and Frank Serpico... all of which have psychopathic tendencies. In these roles he provides an absolute tour de force. Early on in his career he managed to master the brooding, fear inflicting looks, enforcing murderous decisions in the Godfather II. In Serpico, he allows his passion to build throughout the film, and is completely convincing as the paranoid cop exposing a bent police force. In Dog Day Afternoon he plays anxiety and nervousness off to a tee in the botched bank robbery. Has anyone played these types of role any better than this? I doubt it. 

Such a promising start, yet after these early roles we rarely see any stand alone brilliance again. As the drug dealing Tony Montana in Scarface he gives us angst and anger, but completely overhams it. Even in his Oscar winning performance as Frank Slade in Scent of a Woman he simply came across as a horrible human being that no body would ever give the time of day to, let alone go along with his ridiculous schemes. Even when he tries to do a different style of acting, such as Heat and Carlito's Way, he does seem dull, almost as if he is trying a little to hard to prove he has more than one string to his bow. The less said about Devil's Advocate the better, trumped only in the dullard stakes by Mr Dullsville himself-Keanu Reeves.

Don't misunderstand me here, I love Al Pacino, but only in his early films where he established a name as a great actor. Latterly it seems as if he is just trotting this reputation out every time he acts. This man is great at being the psycho, but this only goes so far. Watch the Godfather I an II, Serpico and Dog Day Afternoon, completely erase the rest from your memory. Then he would be the greatest actor ever! However, in no way can he hold a candle to Johnny Depp, who has played every type of character conceivable, from the introverted Edward Scissorhands to the sumptuous Captain Jack Sparrow. Now there's a real actor. Sorry Al. 

Child's Play (1988) A Film Review

Starring:- Catherine Hicks, Alex Vincent, Chris Sarandon and Brad Dourif
Director:- Tom Holland

Having never seen any of the multiple editions of the Chucky film series, but hearing alot about the franchise, I expected this film to be horribly scary. So it was with mild fear that I slid the DVD into the machine, found a couch to hide behind and switched off the lights!

When a serial killer is killed by a police detective (Sarandon) in a toy store, his soul transpermiates into a child's "Good Guy" doll. A single parent (Hicks) buys the possessed doll unwittingly from a street peddlar as a present for her son, Andy (Vincent). Soon it becomes apparent that the doll isn't quite right...

The concept of the possessed doll- Chucky- was genuinely scary, and would have come across very well on the big screen. However, the doll was easily at its scariest before we saw it move. Firstly, it is seen sitting on the couch watching the news, then it is sitting in a completely different position when the camera pans back... creating the only genuine moment of suspense in the film. It's what you don't see that makes the situation frightening. When Chucky starts to become more human he becomes vile rather than scary. The concept of a sweet and innocent doll, who says nothing, yet does evil deeds would have been more plausible. Instead we get a swearing, horrible monster in its place who just makes you want to crush him with a steam roller. 

The living doll idea, scary though it is, is nowhere near enough to carry the film. The plot is very linear and basic. Several scenes were very troubling, and implausible. At one point we see Andy, a five year old boy remember, boarding a train in a busy station. Nobody even takes a second glance. Secondly, the completely false voodoo doll scene, showing very poorly the 'possession' of a man who seems rather to be suffering from the effects of having a swarm of wasps trapped in his pants. Some films look good no matter what era they are made in. Child's Play is not one of them. It seems dated, and the acting was a little poor to boot. 

For all of the hype and supposed 'legend' status of Child's Play I was unimpressed. Whilst I liked the possession of the doll concept, the film wasn't anywhere deep enough and fell short of my expectations and wasn't really long enough to explore the idea. I won't be rushing out to watch the multiple sequels. 

IMDB.com Rating:- 6.5 (46,819 votes)

Supermegahybrid Rating:- 2.5 stars

Dogma (1999) A Film Review

Starring: Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Salma Hayek, Chris Rock, Linda Fiorentino, Alan Rickman, George Carlin, Jason Lee, Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith
Director: Kevin Smith

Dogma (1999) explodes onto our screens with gratuitous violence, interesting monologues and great ideas. The cast is the biggest and best that Director Kevin Smith (Chasing Amy and Clerks) had ever worked with, and initially he made it work. However great the plot ideas, the cast and the violence was at the start, by the half way point I was totally bored, and even fell asleep at one point. By the end I was glad that the movie was just that: at an end. 

Dogma is a drama/comedy following abortion clinic worker Bethany (Linda Fiorentino), who is called upon to save the whole of humanity from extinction by the ploy of two fallen angels, Loki (Matt Damon) and Bartleby (Ben Affleck), who are trying to exploit a loophole in a new Catholic dogma to re-enter heaven. As God is supposed to be infallible, if he (or she) was proved wrong by letting the aforementioned angels back into heaven, humanity would cease to exist. Sound plausible? I thought not. However Kevin Smith nearly pulls the wool over our eyes... that is until he, like a talented, yet annoying child, allows his inevitable 'silly' side to take over.

The opening exchanges are entertaining and set the film up well. Damon and Affleck have a great, believable chemistry as the fallen angels. Their initial monologues are well acted and convincing, stylish even. Added to their penchant for blood curdling violence, I could almost smell the scent of Tarantino, especially so in the boardroom scene where they act out their  blood spilling vengeance with aplomb. Alan Rickman, scarily appearing through a mist of smoke and fire, gives an as ever great performance as Metatron (The voice of God), who fills in Bethany on the quest she is about to take. I groaned when Chris Rock fell naked from the sky, but I was pleasantly surprised. He may have played himself but the part worked. Meanwhile Fiorentino was reasonable but nothing more as the supposed saviour of the world. 

Arguably Dogma is a religious film, and I was pleased to see the film raise some interesting ecclesiastical points. Do we even need religion to appreciate God? Must we be attend church to be guaranteed a place in the promised land? Bartleby taunts the followers of the Catholic Church, informing them that their God has grown weary of their tainted religion. It was all going so well...

Press the silly button! The avenues that Kevin Smith takes Dogma down are just preposterous. When a 'shit' demon made an appearance, yes you read correctly, a demon made from excrement, literally toilet humour, this set the appalling tone for the second half. The plot could have gone anywhere, yet bludgeoned on clumsily to the final church scene where we now wearily have to endure a dire splurge of more blood and guts. The chemistry so apt between Damon and Affleck inexplicably disappears replaced by a murderous Bartleby and a drunken Loki. The ending is far too long and self indulgent, which made me prey for this mess to be over and done with.

Such a frustrating, annoying pity that at some points Dogma was exciting, well made and raised a debate on important issues. From this high point, the movie falls spectularly from intelligence to toilet humour at the turn of a script page. A bit like a professor suddenly preferring poo poo jokes to his research. Avoid.

IMDB.com rating: 7.4 (151,891 votes)
Supermegahybrid rating: 5

Killer Facts About Jack Nicholson

Jack Nicholson is one of the best actors to grace the silver screen in the past fifty years. His glittering career has brought him fame, wealth, recognition and most importantly of all: respect. Here are some facts about the great man that you may not know:-

He used to be a messenger boy for the MGM cartoon department.

Jack resides on "Bay Boy Drive", or Mulholland Drive as it is also known. Former residents included Marlon Brando and Warren Beatty, hence the 'Bad Boy' tag.

Nicholson has not appeared on a talk show since 1971, and often refuses to do interviews.

He is a childhood friend of Danny DeVito. Their collective relatives ran a hair salon together.

Jack has been nominated for the Best Actor Oscar  in 5 separate decades: 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, 00s. 

Nicholson is one of only a few actors to win Best Supporting Actor Oscar after winning the Best Actor Oscar.

Jack attended his 50th Year High School Reunion at Manasquan High School, New Jersey in 2004.

The character "Shipwreck" from the animated GI Joe series of the 1980s was partially based on him.

Loves professional wrestling (his favourites including John Cena and Ric Flair) and the LA Lakers, for whom he rarely misses a home game.

Nicholson bought Marlon Brando's bungalow following his death in 2004 for $3.4 million, then promptly demolished it.

Jack is tied with Daniel Day-Lewis and Walter Brennan for the most Best Actor Oscar Wins with 3 each.

His art collection includes pieces by Matisse and Warhol. It has an estimated value of $100 million.

Nicholson's trademark sunglasses have prescription lenses. He is very short sighted.

As of 2009, Nicholson had an estimated wealth of $240 million dollars.

Thanks to IMDB.com