In The Loop

Big screen adaptation of BBC television satirical comedy 'The Thick of It'

Peter Capaldi as the demon politician 'Tucker' steals the show, the actor chews his way though the film brilliantly. The script is sharp and witty and Capaldi really goes to town with some great one lines. Another standout performance goes to the American general played by James Gandolfini who is on fine form, the scene in the children's room and the calculations being made on a Childs toys is funny, and the line "normally if no solider returns from a war, that normally means we have lost" is one of the best scenes in the film.

Sometimes TV shows are better left on the small screen and not developed and adapted for the big screen. 'In the loop' is an extremely well written film, with award nominations popping up throughout the year for adapted screenplay. Still the format for both the TV show and the Film is similar to another British TV show named 'Drop The Dead Donkey' replacing journalists with government officials. Both these shows relied on an up to date news format that changes from week to week, which as a feature can not be done.

Also the concept works better in a forty minute episode, and ideas used in the film seem stretched for the movie which is almost two hours long.

A one off film although funny in places struggles to add depth to the characters, partly because of the films fast pace and leaves the movie slightly disjointed because of this.

The Last House on the Left

After kidnapping and brutally assaulting two young women, a gang led by a prison escapee unknowingly finds refuge at a vacation home belonging the parents of one of the victims.

The remake wagon carries on, and as other previous horror remakes 'The Last House on the Left' is high on style but misses the point of its original.

It can be seen as the only reason why this film exists is the fact the film is next in line with the horror catalogue of the 1970's. We have had remakes of 'Texas Chainsaw', 'The Hills Have Eyes', 'Friday 13th' 'Halloween' etc and both the 'A Nightmare On Elm Street' and 'Hellraiser' franchise are getting a remake too. With the exception of an ok 'The Hill Have Eyes' all the remakes have been terrible. 'The Last House' is ok, but again there is really no reason why this film has been remade at all.

'The Last House On The Left' remake is slickly made, technically a better made film compared to the ragged original. The performances are also ok. After the main assault and attack the film loses its way, what is left is an hour or so of standard revenge themes and various ultra violent deaths. Also far to many scenes of characters creeping around a blacked out house, or running about in the rain.

The original film had a meaning. The original was released at the time of the Vietnam War, and Watergate, the film was projecting messages of violence and how far on screen violence can or must go, and the film also had an art house following too.
The movie was terrible, gritty and badly made, BUT had a place in the developing 1970's horror genre, and is a watermark for this type of horror genre.

With all the problems of the original it had a point and that is the problem with the remake, what is the point outside just remaking another well know genre piece?. In the end the remake has the slightly less profound message of revenge is good.

The Proposal

On the verge of being deported and losing the high-powered job she lives for, the controlling Margaret announces she’s engaged to her unsuspecting, put-upon assistant Andrew.

The most successful off beat comedy of 2009.
I must admit I am not the demographic or target audience for the new Sandra Bullock romantic comedy, still as a wishy washy predictable comedys go this is a better effort.
The chemistry between both Bullock and Reynolds is there, and there are at least a couple of solid funny scenes, mostly played out by the films lead Bullock.

Still everyone has seen this all before and despite the always watch able Bullock giving a solid run and Reynolds also showing again that he is better at light comedy than drama. Again 'The Proposal' is what it is, a studio summer release to make money and not attempting to become the next 'Annie Hall'.