Roundup: Life of Pi and Pitch Perfect

It’s been a while since I’ve blogged properly. Here are two films I saw over the holidays which deserved a few words:

Life of Pi – I’m aware my opinion is in the minority here, but i really saw very little to like in Life of Pi. The sentimental narration is entirely redundant, and I found the highly praised CGI hollow. Initial admiration for the last minute carpet-pull (which makes a fairly interesting point about religion but plays it out like a facetious ‘twist’) turned to disappointment in hindsight that the themes hadn’t been integrated properly throughout. It was too little too late and actually came across as rather conceited.

Pitch Perfect – Despite being generic as hell (acapella group must sing fashionable songs against their tradition to stand a chance of winning competition) Pitch Perfect is pretty enjoyable. It’s consistently funny, but occasionally lacking in the musical department (though the riff-off is definitely amazing). The portrayal of college-age affectation would sit perfectly in a double bill alongside last year’s Damsels in Distress.

Roundup: The Watch and The Bourne Legacy

Here are a couple of concise reviews for two films I’ve seen recently:

The Watch – Ben Stiller plays a suburban good guy who forms a neighbourhood watch and stumbles upon an alien invasion. What The Watch does is somehow strike a balance between the comedies of Judd Apatow and Wes Anderson. It’s a buddy bromance at heart – cock jokes and all – but Stiller’s character and some of the setup recalls Anderson’s Rushmore, whilst an underlying layer of satire challenges suburban life.

It’s not groundbreaking, though it is occasionally surprising with bloody violence and very strong language for this kind of American mainstream film. I actually don’t think it will do very well at the box office or critically (a quick check of Rotten Tomatoes confirms that), but I laughed a decent amount and quite enjoyed The Watch.

[xrr rating=3/5] (The Watch is released this Friday).

The Bourne Legacy – The Bourne Legacy is an ok film. It ticks all the right Bourne boxes but it feels like just that – a Bourne by numbers. The ‘gritty’ action’s all there, the scheming CIA-agent types and political manipulation are all present but it’s just not as exciting or interesting as the previous efforts.

The plot tries to slip itself into a parallel timeline with The Bourne Ultimatum, which for anyone who hasn’t seen that film in a few years feels a little confusing considering how dense the original trilogy can be at times. Here the pacing feels a little off too, foregoing the steady drip of crucial information that formed the earlier stories in favour of a fairly straightforward chase narrative.

Serviceable, but disappointing.

[xrr rating=2.5/5]

 

Review roundup – Bridesmaids / Wild Strawberries / Millennium Dragon

I’m aware I haven’t posted anything in a few days, but I have actually seen a few things recently, here’s a review roundup.

Bridesmaids (2011) – Never judge a film by its shitty trailer. Last year Bridesmaids was a surprise critical hit, and while I intended to see it I couldn’t work up any enthusiasm based on the irritating and unfunny trailers. I thought I knew what I would be getting: a Judd Apatow movie but for girls. Well I’m happy to say that after finally catching up with it, I was pleasantly surprised. It’s a likeable film, with believable relationships, and – importantly – it’s actually funny. [3.5/5]

Wild Strawberries (1957) – Ingmar Bergman’s film is a rumination on life, death and religion, with a road trip full of interesting travellers at its centre – so similar to The Seventh Seal then. It’s not as profound or visually stunning as that masterpiece though. Instead Wild Strawberries is a quiet film, undertaking its heavy subjects with grace and humour. Somewhat hard going, but never as heavy or obtuse as watching a Tarkovsky equivalent when looking for this sort of thing. [3.5/5]

Legend of the Millennium Dragon (2011) – I watched this pretty much on a whim as it’s recently been added to Love Film Instant and it provided a nice chunk of movie-sized anime. A 15 year old boy is sent back in time to Japan’s Heian era to stop a war between humans and Oni. Supposedly the ‘saviour’ by lineage, he gets control of a cute but-badass-dragon to do battle, but soon finds himself questioning which side he should be supporting. It’s aimed a little young but there’s still lots to like with action, fantasy, likable characters, some pretty animation and a good message. [3/5]