Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room

The inside story of one of history'merica's seventh largest company walked away with more than one billion dollars while investors andemployees lost everything.

The Ultimate greed documentary. 'The Enron' documentary runs like a drama at times with the executives and owners of Enron lives being played out like a Hollywood drama with stories of strippers and massive money fraud at the top of the agenda. This is a fascinating exploration of the corruption which sunk the company is 2006. From arrogance to out and out greed from the top dogs of the company, playing with liquid cash and money which the company never hard which all amounted the the bankruptcy of the company.

With a good use of both cinematography, new reels archive footage and music, Enron is a full on account of the biggest corporate scandals of the modern era, and echoes events that are happening today.

The House of the Devil

In the 1980s, college student Samantha Hughes takes a strange babysitting job that coincides with a full lunar eclipse. She slowly realizes her clients harbor a terrifying secret; they plan to use her in a satanic ritual.

The House Of The Devil' is a retro Horror delight. Forget the endless 1970's 1980's bad horror remakes and Quentin Tarrantino's Grind house messy exploitation flicks. Director Ti West has shaped a film which you would have found on an old blockbuster video store shelf collecting dust. From the teenagers 80's dress styles, to the large tape walkmans used, the opening retro track which would of been used in early Wes Craven or Dario Argento films, and title and end cards which is very 80's full stop. With creating a stylish horror throw back West has succeeded, this film screams out Roman Polanski at times and also the best of John Carpenter.

The film is a slow burner, with long setup and chilling build up before the big payoff with the last twenty minutes. The cast is excellent from the spunky babysitter, Jocelin Donahue, check out an 'All the right Moves' homage which both amusing and tense. Other performances come in a chilling performance from Tom Noonan and an understated performance from Mary Woronov.

Still all in all this is an impressive genre horror piece. Which despite finishing with a rather cheap conclusion, is still leagues ahead of the endless Michael Bay remakes, and most of todays Hollywood modern horror films, and with this film America can now in small part be on par with other world Horror cinema.

The Reader

Post-WWII Germany: Nearly a decade after his affair with an older woman came to a mysterious end, law student Michael Berg re-encounters his former lover as she defends herself in a war-crime trial.

The Oscars for 2009 saw Kate Winslet nominated for two awards for two films, one for 'Revolutionary Road’ Road' arguably a better film and 'The Reader' which she won the Oscar. Winslet's performance is arguably stronger in ‘Revolutionary Road’ compared to her performance in 'The Reader', where the actress spends a large amount of the film wallowing between scenes, and never really has the chance to let loose as she does in the previous film. With a love interest between her and the young lead that never really hits it off and is portrayed more of an obsession by Michael Berg played by David Kross, rather than real passion between the two leads. Sadly the other lead Ralph Fiennes is under used and also never really has a chance to get his teeth into the part.

Strangely once the twist has been revealed the film attempts to seek sympathy for Hanna Schmitz. A hard sell, as events are then played out, with explanations of what the ex Nazi guard had carried during the war. This is where the motive of the film loses its way slightly.

Overall performances are of a high standards, despite at times being underused and not given full flow in some of the central leads. The production is also all fine with a few nice flourishes. Still the film tries to aim too high, and never really reaches the emotional high it wants.

Year One

When a couple of lazy hunter-gatherers (Black and Cera) are banished from their primitive village, they set off on an epic journey through the ancient world.

'Year One' is both Crude and un funny in equal measures.

There is a good cast but cant rescue this film, the cast includes Hank Azaria who was so well casted and funny in the latest ‘Night at the Museum’ film is wasted here for example. The two leads Black and Cera are good together and it’s a shame that they have to put up with both a smutty script and poor direction, so the two don’t full fill the good match up.

You know you are in trouble when some of the big jokes involve Jack Black eating dog waste, and jokes about sodomising. Also add to that one liners like "I'm sorry. I wasn't listening. All my brain blood was in my boner". You know you are onto a loser.

How Harold Ramis film career can go from the likes of 'Groundhog Day' to this is a bit of a mystery, and in closure the worst comedy of 2009.

Huo Yuan Jia

'Fearless' is based on the life of Chinese martial arts master Huo Yuanjia (1869-1910), the founder and spiritual guru of the Jin Wu Sports Federation. It is set during the late 1800s to early 1900s, a pivotal period in China's history, when the whole country is shrouded under increasing internal turmoil and the imminent threat of foreign invasion.

Jet LI announced that 'Fearless' would be his final martial artist movie, it will be interesting to see which root the actor will take after this film. If this is his last film sadly this is not the great swan song he would of hoped for.

The story of the founder of the modern martial art is an interesting one, but the film is on the wrong director’s hands, the script is sloppy, mixing very odd humour and drama to failed results. The action sets pieces are fine, the standouts include a fight high up above a town, also a frantic sword fight in a building between Li and an enemy.

Overall an ok action piece but lacking a directing flair, and won't last long in the memory.

Delta

The incestuous affair between a brother and sister create violent ruptures within a rural Danube community.

The film is beautifully shot, the setting and photography of the Hungarian wetlands of the Delta is stunning. 'Delta' is also note worthy of some truly striking film direction from director Kornél Mundruczó.

'Delta' is a film in which not much is said, and more is expressed few long pauses and long stares, so acting wise the film is on equal terms for all involved. Still the film lies with its leads as the brother and sister, and both actors pull off the difficult roles with confidence.

The problems lie in two pivotal moments one which is in the middle section of the film, the other being for the climax to the film. These two scenes are violent and misplaced. The first controversial scene has no place in the narrative and comes out of knowhere, the scene is based round a character which character arc is not plotted to be that evil and tips the film into another realm which is then not addressed again and therefore doesn’t drive the film forward. The second scene is an ending which is rushed and doesn’t make any real sense, only if the relationship of the brother and sister is being addressed.

Many people will struggle with the slow pacing of the film at times, although the running time is short. Still the two scenes mentioned do dent the film somewhat and the ultimately miss placed ending is both rushed and confusing. Still visually 'Delta' is stunning, and director Kornél Mundruczó is a force to watch out for, a director who knows how to shoot and film and direct his leads well, through a non verbal style of acting, and scene structure.

Tony

A thriller cantered on a serial killer in a rundown London suburb.

'Tony' is a sort of a hard edged Mike Leigh film meets 'Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer' of type, with rather slow unsatisfying results.

Peter Ferdindo gives an interesting promising performance as the titled serial killer, but sadly is not given enough in the script to fully flesh out his inner demons, and the problems he has with interacting with society.

There are good executed scenes here. The main stand out is a well structured scene involving the dismiss of a group of drug addicts, which is a well structured piece of cinema, with a nice mix of loner ramblings from Peter Ferdindo, and the pending danger of a man basically trying to interact with sociality and his obsection with murder, all brought to a head with grisly outcomes, and a nice point of view camera shot of the drug addict trapped in a room whilst Tony goes about his serial killer ways.

Problems lie with the fact that there is very little explanation also the reasons for the murders, nor is there any development of the lead which leaves both the character Tony and all that is going on around him some what stale.

Sadly the restrictions and pressures within the genre make for some rather silly conclusions to a film which is like its lead Tony, odd ball and doesn’t fit in with genre pieces of type.

17 Again

A guy whose life didn't quite turn out how he wanted it to and wishes he could go back to high school and change it. He wakes up one day and is seventeen again and gets the chance to rewrite his life.

The young heart throb Zac Efon of Disney Channels 'High School Musical' series fame, pressed all the right buttons for comedy and lightweight entertainment with the Disney Channels films, but is not convincing at bring the actors body he is jumping into that of Matthew Perry to life, none of Perry's mannerisms are really there and although Efon has comic timing and is a good young actor, you never feel it is Perry in Efon's body, ultimately this effects a number of key scenes.

Still the casting of Thomas Lennon as friend ED is fun, allot of the laughs come from his over the top performance, which brings original laughs to a film which copies allot from other body swapping movies like 'Big', 'Visa Versa' and even the masterpiece 'Back To The Future' which has an actual scene ripped from it. Zac Efon awakens and thinks he has been dreaming the whole body changing experience, then finds out his daughter in replacement to the mother in 'Back To The Future' is trying to hit it off with him. It does'nt stop with copied scenes there are a number of themes copied from the 'Back To The Future' original.

'17 Again' does have charm. Still as good as Zac Efon is, he is never quite convincing enough at portraying the personality of Matthew Perry. So as rewarding this new 'Big' for the 2000's is ultimately the problems lie in its young lead and the fact we have seen this all done before but better. We all know what happened to Tom Hanks after the hit of 'Big' can Zac Efon do the same?

Bolt

The canine star of a fictional sci-fi/action show that believes his powers are real embarks on a cross country trek to save his co-star from a threat he believes is just as real.

The latest Disney Studios animated action film has some fun action sequences and likeable characters, with the lead Bolt being the real cute star, that excels allot of charm. The voice artists do an ok job with John Travolta standing out from the bunch. Still as charming enough this film is, 'Bolt' is still Disney running on half cylinders, and with the likes of Pixar producing films such as 'UP' and 'Wall-e' in recent times 'Bolt' does'nt have the weight or emotion to really out last its hour and a half running time.

The film comes and goes with a nice feeling but within a couple of weeks will be forgettable to most.

Crossing Over

Immigrants from around the world enter Los Angeles every day, with hopeful visions of a better life, but little notion of what that life may cost. Their desperate scenarios test the humanity of immigration enforcement officers. "In Crossing Over," writer-director Wayne Kramer explores the allure of the American dream, and the reality that immigrants find--and create--in 21st century L.A.

There have been a number of films which use one theme and build story strands around that theme. Most recently the 2004 'Crash' and 'Traffic'. Sadly 'Crossing Over' doesn’t quite know what to do with the number of threads the film produces from a story that evolves around immigration in America. There are a total of at least five stories goings on in this film, and not one really gets the in depth comment it deserves. If there is a story it revolves round murder and not really connected to the main theme at all.

Harrison Ford is the lead but his story and performance is just underwhelming and at times the actor is reduced to a supporting role in a film that has no real lead story or role.

Everything drags along at a rather dull running time, which is a shame as there are good actors here and main of the performances are effective, who must have felt the film was an interesting premise, which it is, but a lazy direction, and dull set of characters never really raise the film to anything which it should have with the talented cast.

White Lightnin'

Jesco White uses tap dancing to keep his demons at bay. At the tender age of six, he started getting high by huffing gasoline and stolen lighter fluid. Growing up, Jesco often found himself shuffling between reform schools, work camps, and his home in West Virginia-until his father, famous mountain dancer D. Ray White, taught him how to tap.

The film is shot in black and white, this effect is used to great effect in 'White Lightnin'. The black and white is mixed with a very slight colour tint at times, notice the scene which Jesco confronts a group of bullies and the switch knife he is holding is blue and the rest of the shot in still in black and white. This gives the film an overall impressive cinematography feel.

Eward Hogg is fine as the lead, giving a convincing unhinged performance where you don't quite know when he will turn from a nice talented dancer to a violent individual. Also a special note must go to Owen Campbell who is impressive as the young Jesco. Sadly the only other character to get a worthy part is Carrie Fisher who is value for money as the the wife who abandons her family to party with the laudably unbalanced Hogg.

The odd ball quality is somewhat miss leading, with the film sometimes shooting off into madness, the closing section of the film a prime example of this. Also the narration can get a bit too dependent on telling the story. Still these are minor irritations to an otherwise interesting at times and individual piece of cinema.

Saw 6

Special Agent Strahm is dead, and Detective Hoffman has emerged as the unchallenged successor to Jigsaw's legacy. However, when the FBI draws closer to Hoffman, he is forced to set a game into motion, and Jigsaw's grand scheme is finally understood.

The Saw franchise battles on into its sixth instalment. There are two possible reasons why this franchise is still going, one audiences just can't get enough of the now iconic horror icon Jigsaw, or two that Hollywood is in a state of 911 where Saw seems to be the only horror franchise out there, and can still be drained to make more money every Halloween, in the cinemas. If you look at some of the 1980's-90's horror franchises hardly any that made it past the third were still in the cinemas, most went straight to rental, examples the 'Hellraiser's' and 'Friday 13th' franchises. The only real exception to these rules were the 'Elm Street' series.

In the past the Saw sequels hit rock bottom with the terrible Saw 3, but the series has somehow picked itself up, to be a passable if not great watch able set of films. Saw 6 is not as dumb as usual, the film attempts to take a knock at the state of the American privatised health service, who would have thought, this would of been the inspiration of the latest touture porn film.

The films are famous for their sick frantic, 'so you want to play a game' opening scenes, and 'Saw 6' has the sickest opening of any of the previous five films. The challenges/traps as a whole, which make up most of the films short running time are still sick and slick as always. The highlight here is with the merry go round challenge which makes you think, who you would spare from your work place ha-ha.

Still with news of a seventh, it is questionable how long saw can go on for. Not many people would of seen this film go pass the third to be fair, let alone six.

2012

An academic researcher leads a group of people in a fight to counteract the apocalyptic events that were predicted by the ancient Mayan calendar.

The end of the world. Film Director Roland Emmerich has got these films down to a T, from ‘Independence Day' to 'The Day After Tomorrow' all involve apocalyptic destruction every twenty to thirty minutes. Still 2012 can be seen as a step to far. The over the top laugh out loud action sequences are so silly and unbelievable, although entertaining to watch are just silly. A prime example is the escape from California via car and air plane, all exciting and you will be cheering at the screen, but to over the top. The film is possibly the ultimate disaster film.

The special effects for all this mayhem is ok and look impressive at times, but the whole actions set pieces are pretty much the same, escape and take off before everything below falls apart, for example this happens three times in the film.

Because the stakes are so high and the whole planet is falling apart, thousands of people are killed in massive swoops in some action sequences and the film just moves on, these scenes and consequences are just skimmed over.

The acting and characters are sadly forgettable with David Cusack stepping into a role which should of been played by the likes of Dennis Quaid. A role similar to the lead character played by Quaid in 'The Day After Tomorrow'. Although in the right film Cusack can act, the script is not strong enough for the actor to carry, and falls a long way short of Quaid's memorable character hero in 'The Day After Tomorrow'. 'The Day After Tomorrow' casting and characters worked, sadly 2012's characters are forgettable in comparison.

The film in the end is a check list of previous disaster movies, for action, plot and character development setups, tidal waves, burning buildings etc etc.

The Horsemen

A tender drama unfolds between a grieving father and a troubled teenage girl as they drive northbound along the quiet outback roads of Australia. What she doesn't know is that between stops, he is leaving behind a bloody trail of bodies in a revenge motivated killing spree.

Actor Peter Marshall as the grief sickened father gives a tender and good performance, some of the tenderest moments, come between the father and a young female hitchiker, which he picks up on his journey to track down the killers of his daughter, these scenes take the film out of its generic, gruesome revenge flick status.

Despite these nice enough moments the lasting impression is the torture porn style scenes, a style which started back with the horror film 'Hostel'. These style of films are popular and been done before and leaves a bad taste.

The overall layout of the violent torture scenes and the moments between the father and the hitchhiker are used as a break from each other. The problem lies with the fact that there is nothing in the middle to weight both elements together, you have violence then father and hitchiker moments, to an extent you either get one or the other, which ultimately leads not a not very enjoyable experience as a whole.