MOVIE INFO
Ralph (John C. Reilly) is tired of being overshadowed by Fix-It Felix (Jack McBrayer), the "good guy" star of their game who always gets to save the day. But after decades doing the same thing and seeing all the glory go to Felix, Ralph decides he's tired of playing the role of a bad guy. He takes matters into his own massive hands and sets off on a game-hopping journey across the arcade through every generation of video games to prove he's got what it takes to be a hero. On his quest, he meets the tough-as-nails Sergeant Calhoun (Jane Lynch) from the first-person action game Hero's Duty. But it's the feisty misfit Vanellope von Schweetz (Sarah Silverman) from the candy-coated cart racing game, Sugar Rush, whose world is threatened when Ralph accidentally unleashes a deadly enemy that threatens the entire arcade. Will Ralph realize his dream and save the day before it's too late?
First thing to say about this is that there is a beautiful short film at the start called Paperman. It's a delicate little love story that it is utterly enchanting and for the single hopeless romantics out there, this will restore your faith in fate if only for a minute.
On to the film itself. The premise is fantastic, and the story was rich with nice touches. Such as the characters being able to travel from game to game via electrical power leads, discovering bonus levels that were never completed, and having traps such as 'Nesquick sand'.
The 3D was unnecessary and ended up being slightly formulaic. Other critics have spoke about welling up at the end but my over active tear ducts were unperturbed. That's not to say I wasn't charmed.
Perhaps thinking back I would have liked to have seen more of the characters I grew up with such as Bowser and Ryu. They make brief cameos but aren't developed at all. I guess Disney didn't feel they could make any money on the merchandise for those characters, which is understandable. Why give money to Nintendo or Capcom when they can cash in for their own original characters?
If they make a sequel I hope it turns out to be funnier than this.
On another note I noticed Jane Lynch (gym coach from Glee) voiced the role of Sergeant Calhourn, a cyper gun-toting action heroine on a mission to destroy the bugs in the Sugar Rush. Now the cartoon is demure, athletic and quite sexy, and Jane Lynch is, well, none of those really. So that confused my cock and balls throughout the movie. Maybe Demi Moore would have been a better idea.
Tomato Meter- 85% (critics)
Tomato Meter -89% (audience)
Peter Meter - 78% (5% increase because of Paperman)
Last night I couldn't find anyone to accompany me to see the new Die Hard movie, so reluctantly rented Anna Karenina.
MOVIE INFO
The third collaboration of Academy Award nominee Keira Knightley with acclaimed director Joe Wright, following the award-winning box office successes Pride & Prejudice and Atonement, is a bold, theatrical new vision of the epic story of love, adapted from Leo Tolstoy's timeless novel by Academy Award winner Tom Stoppard. The story powerfully explores the capacity for love that surges through the human heart. As Anna (Ms. Knightley) questions her happiness and marriage, change comes to all around her
I have to admit I fell asleep half way through this flick, but that's not uncommon behaviour for a friday night. I caught the second half just after breakfast this morning. In a way it's the ultimate compliment to any film if I give it a revisit. Everyone should take a break halfway through a film and ask themselves, do I give a shit about what happens to these people? Do I need to see this to the end?
First off I'm not a fan of Keira Knightley. She rarely turns up in a film and makes it a better experience for me. I tolerate her in Love Actually because everything else in that film is brilliant and doesn't revolve around her. Incidentally have you ever thought about that scene where she answers the door to her hubbies best mate who is out in the street with pictures and a megablaster. What if the guy answered the door? Would he have had to go through the same bullshit charade?
Anyway, Anna Karenina tests my patience ten minutes in because it's just nutty. Adapted from a Tolstoy novel that I had not read. But then there is a fantastically choreographed dance between Aaron Johnson and Knightley that is just mesmerizing and suddenly, I got it. This film is deliberately nutty. A lot of scenes are played out on a theatre stage even though, it's not a play, or an opera. I'm guessing the metaphor would be that life is a stage, and we are all supposed to play a part.
Jude Law is great in this as the husband of a wife who is cheating on him. Personally I would have liked to have seen him do some shouting or some head-butting, but there's none of that.
The real winner in this film is the sound guy. There are wonderful touches such as the dance I mentioned earlier where the whipping of dresses are made to sound like ocean waves as the two joust for position on the dance floor, and later on at the horse race when the hand fans are mixed seamlessly into the beating of horse hoofs across the turf.
So a quick heads up to the sound department on this flick, nice job. Incredibly cinematic even though most of it is shot on a theatre stage.
Tomato Meter - 63% (critics)
Tomato Meter - 58% (audience)
Peter Meter - 81%
Earlier in the week I caught the final episode of Africa on the iPlayer. The last scene with Attenborough cooing to a blind baby rhino was incredibly moving. The whole series is a triumph, and should be made compulsory viewing in schools everywhere. I also caught The Doors documentary on the iPlayer. This centered on the making of L.A Woman, The Doors final album before Jim Morrison moved to France and died a few short months after. It had interviews with the remaining members and archive footage and was a real treat for any Doors fans. I was so inspired i instantly went on to eBay and swacked down a bid for a Fender Rhodes as seen played by the keyboardist Ray Manzerick. So watch THE DOORS documentary, and not WRECK IT RALPH or ANNA KARENINA.
@thepeterbrooker
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