Follow Red Into The Woods, If You Dare

We have all heard the tale of Little Red Riding Hood. A young girl who is off to see her grandma in the woods alone, who is stalked by the big bad wolf who wants to eat her up until the woodsman comes and saves her. We all know the legend. But where did this legend come from? Many believe that this was a story to scare young women from the dangers of going out alone, an urban legend if you will, but Hollywood has their own interpretation of those events and Red in the new film by Twilight Director Catherine Hardwicke, Red Riding Hood. Staring the "It" girl of Hollywood Amanda Seyfried who is joined by some old school classic actors in the form of Julie Christie (who I swear doesn't age) and the always fantastic Gary Oldman int his new tale. Does Hollywood's new take on the big bad wolf tale have enough bite to make an audience care? Read on and find out.

Set in medieval times, a small village is under the constant scare of the big bad wolf. Every full moon the small village is scared silly in believing that a strange force is preying on them. They sacrifice animals, they boarder up their doors and windows and hope that the wolf wont come after them. Valerie a.k.a Red Riding Hood lives in this small town where she is pre-arranged to marry Henry (Max Irons). Valerie however, is in love with another man who she has grown up with all her life and is madly taken with Peter (Shiloah Fernandez) an orphaned woodcutter. After Valerie's sister is killed by the wolf, the town's priest (Lukas Haas) calls upon Soloman (Gary Oldman) who has helped many villages in destroying these beasts. As the town searches to hunt and destroy the creature, Valerie may hold the key to finding out who the beast truly is. Throw into the mix Valerie's mother (Virginia Marsden) who has a bit of a secret of her own. A drunken father (Billy Burke) and her Grandmother (Julie Christie) who has a strange mystery about her and if you have read all this write, should add up to the elements behind the classic story.

So is the new take any good? I have to admit for the first 15 minutes I was bored. I was thinking, shit is this going to be Twilight all over again even with the star crossed lovers frolicking in stupid flower fields added into the mix. But then something happened. As soon as the wolf made it's first appearance I was hooked. The old school actors came out in full force (I'm talking about Julie Christie and Gary Oldman) who added a much needed boost to the film. Gary Oldman in my opinion can make any film great, and here he gets to steer clear of his good natured characters of late (I'm talking about the Batman films) and gets to go back to when he was dark and truly scary. Julie Christie adds old school Hollywood glamour as Grandma and gives enough style and class as well as giving us enough looks and weird gestures to make us wonder what her true nature in this film is. Amanda Seyfried is great as Valerie/Red. I was a bit torn at the start if I liked her in this movie as I hated her last film Chloe (truly one of the worst pieces of film I have ever seen) but as soon as it got going, casting her was fantastic.

A great deal of praise needs to go to Catherine Hardwicke. Before the whole Twilight craziness, Catherine was a great independent film director who could get great performances out of her young cast. Check out Thirteen and Dog Town and Z boys to truly see her talent. Here she has gone for the big large scale movie again, but this time it felt a lot more interesting. She keeps the pacing of the movie at a good speed and never lets the audience get bored. The set designs are fantastic and she uses this take on the medieval times to her advantage. As the tension builds in the film, she never eases off and never gives too much away which makes  keeps the audience interested and guessing who the big bad wolf could be. As always, she knows how to get the teen angst of love triangles through her actors and this movie is no different. There is a great chemistry between Valerie and the two men vying for her affections. If this didn't work the whole film would have been stuffed.

So did I love this movie? No. But did I like it a lot? Yes. The only thing that kept going through my head, was Jacob the wolf all along. (Everyone knows from the Twilight book Jacob is the wolf) The computer graphics were exactly the same, and I couldn't stop thinking all along that it was Jacob. But I started to get over that. The filmmakers could have easily tried for a different look, but I guess to not make it too scary, and not to alienate their target audience, a scary werewolf could have been too much and earned the film a higher rating. But oh well. This movie in my opion is a film that can take a firm proud stand next to other adaptions of the Red Riding Hood franchise. It was clever, interesting and kept me guessing to the last minute. They owe a lot to the great casting, and for me, it is about time Julie Christie came back on screen. She is one of the true Hollywood beauties that needs to do more films (FYI Julie Christie is the main lead in Dr. Zhivago). Having her and Gary Oldman raised the bar for this film, that could have easily fallen into the bargain bin. Sometimes old school Hollywood have more talent and screen presence in their little finger than any of the other highly overrated actors on screen today. 3/5

What if a single pill could make life easier. Would you take the challenge?

Bradley Cooper has come a long way. From staring in Alias as Jennifer Garner's husband who meets with an untimely death, to small supporting roles in Wedding Crashers, Failure to Launch and Valentines Day. But some how Mr Cooper has finally started branching out and is able to become a leading man. Last year he stared in the under appreciated A Team (hell of a good action film) and now he is staring alongside one of Hollywood royalty of Mr Robert (Please enough with the Meet The Parents Movies) De Niro. Given the chance, Bradley has taken up the firm position of a leading man for the new highly thrilling movie, "Limitless." But does he pull it off, and will this certify his position of a leading man? Well read on and find out.

Eddie Morra is a down on his luck depressed, 30 something writer in New York who has hit a wall in his life. He looks like death, he has writers block and his girlfriend (Abbie Cornish) has just left him due to his selfish and depressing ways. His life is pretty much over in his mind. When he bumps into his ex brother in-law Vernon (Johnny Whitworth as everyone in the 90's will know from the hugely popular movie Empire Records "it's AJ people") who used to be a dealer. But now he has a product that might not be so bad after all. Devised by a mysterious team, this pill is described as a drug which will open up our mind and allow us to use the parts of the brain giving us 100% usage instead of only 20%. What occurs next is amazing. The pill opens Eddie's mind up. He is able to recall information that he saw as a child, learns a whole language in a few days, and is able to finish his book within a day. It makes his life, in a word, clearer. But the effects soon diminish and he is back to square one. After contacting Vernon who has now been murdered in his apartment, Eddie steals his stash and starts to enjoy the benefits the drug brings. He becomes friends with the high flyer's of New York and with it brings women, luxury vacations, fast cars and eventually wins back his girlfriend. But he needs to find a way to bring increase his wealth. With his new talent he starts to invest in the stock market and starts to make a killing. It is here he is head hunted by huge stock market expertise Carl Van Loon (Robert De Niro) who is going to help him land big deals, with even bigger money. But what comes up must come down as Eddie experiences that with his new pill comes the bad side as well. He endures blackouts, could be a murderer and suddenly finds himself followed by strange people watching his every move. Could this pill actually be more pain than it's worth? Can't say anymore because I will ruin it. But it is good.

All I can say is Bradley Cooper makes this film. The guy reaches every range of his acting talent and really is in every single scene using it. The dude has never been better, and this movie better get Hollywood to realise they have a very crafted actor in this man. I couldn't help but really like his character, and me being me, wanted to stand up and applaud when they finally cut his hair (sorry but it annoyed me to the extreme) Bradley plays off Hollywood vet De Niro extremely well and holds his own. De Niro finally looks like he wanted to be in this movie and didn't look like he was doing it for the paycheck (I am going to mention it again, but you can't be that desperate to do another Meet the Parents movie are you Robert?) He makes a sinister stock broker and pulls it off well. I must say I also thought Aussie actress Abbie Cornish had great chemistry with Cooper. I have never really liked her before, but she seems to be making an impact on the Hollywood scene and if she chooses roles like this one, will have a very interesting and rewarding career.

I must give my hat off to director Neil Burger. He makes this movie go at a pace which is extremely well done, placing enough action, enough dialogue and enough tense moments in this movie to keep the audience wanting more. The use of light and special effects to maximise this new drug so that the viewer can also experience it, is extremely well done. I couldn't help but think of the 90's movie Hackers (yes I love this movie and so does many others if your laughing right now) with it's visuals and fast paced use of the camera and music. I must admit though, there is one scene where the viewer is going to squirm in their seat. I didn't think anyone in the preview screening wasn't a bit grossed out by it. I'm not going to tell you about it, you will just have to see.

The only problem I had with this movie was that I was a bit unsure of a few things, which I can't list here as it will spoil the movie. But maybe on repeat viewing I will work it out, or maybe I will just need a pill to help access the rest of my brain so I can understand it. The advertisements don't do this movie justice. The film is actually a lot smarter than what I thought it would be and I came out of this movie thinking, have we already found a great thriller for 2011? This is one of those movies which is so original that you just want to congratulate the studio for finally doing something different. This is definitely one trip you will have to take. I don't endorse drugs, but if I did this would definitely be my drug of choice. 3.5/5

Rango is the name of the new sheriff in town? But is he worth your time?

Johnny Depp seems to be in my opinion, one of the hardest working actors in the business. When he is not working on Pirates nine hundred and three or staring in the new Tim Burton film, he manages to do something completely different and surprise not just his audience, but the movie going community. I don't know how many directors are going to call Johnny their muse (Tim Burton never can shut up about him) but it seems director Gore Verbinski has seen that having Mr Depp in his movies other than a pirate one can make a film exciting and fresh. But this time both men are stepping out of their safety zone and entering into the world of animation. Now you know Johnny doesn't do crap (okay I just heard someone cough a little, I know Alice in Wonderland was on my worst list of movies last year) but in animation you can either have a hit (see Toy Story) or a big miss (Planet 51 anyone?) But this time both men have teamed up for the wild west adventure Rango and boy is it a fun ride. Let's begin

Rango (voiced to perfection) by Johnny Depp is a lizard who dreams of being an actor. Living in a tank he dreams of one day being a great actor. His only friends are a wind up toy fish. A barbie doll without a head, a left arm or one of her legs. A lego palm tree and that's about it. One day when being taken for a ride through the Nevada desert, his cage is thrown through the window of his owners car and smashes on the road. Nearly missing winding up as road kill, Rango encounters Roadkill (Alfred Molina) a wise old creature who tells him of water through the dirt. But dirt isn't the desert. It's a small town reminiscent of the old west, where the town is run by a mayor, the saloon is the local hang out and people talk with drawn out soutehrn accents. Enter the stranger Rango to the town, who knows he could play the part perfect of the new sheriff and gets caught up in telling a white lie that leads him to becoming the new hero. With the water supply dwindling, the town's folk are packing up and moving on. But it is the few including Beans (the amazing Isla Fisher, go the Aussies) a head strong creature who will fight for her farm, Priscilla (voiced by Little Miss Sunshine's Abigail Bresnan) a possum who is looking for a hero in Rango, Mayor (Ned Beatty) an old turtle who has seen his town start to decline and the villain of the piece Rattlesnake Jake (the fantastic and under appreciated Bill Nighy). When Beans becomes the trusted friend of Rango, she believes something sinister is happening to her town and water should be flowing allowing the small community to survive. And she is right. I'm not going to say anymore without spoiling it, but this is one wild west adventure that needs to be experienced.

First off. There are two things that make this a cut above the rest. The animation and the voices. I couldn't stop thinking how far computer animation has come since the success of Toy Story. This movie is so in depth and detail in every aspect of the film that you can't help but stay focused. The characters look amazing, the scenery is so well crafted that you feel that you are in the old west and these people are in need of a hero. Gore Verbinski deserves a big pat on the back for this film, (and it's about time enough with the Pirate movies dude). He has made sure that the animation blows the audiences mind and the characters every detail appear in their expression through their face and movements.

Secondly, the voices are fantastic. The actors seem to know their characters and produce this in their voices. Major congrats need to go to Johnny, Isla and Bill Nighy. These guys are fantastic in their parts and really play well off of each other. I read that they actually performed the script with a microphone taping their entire performance and it shows. All the voice actors do a great job.

I must say though if you are wanting a very funny animated film, you are going to be highly disappointed. Rango is more of a adult comedy/adventure which draws much of its strength from it's cleaver script, fantastic animation and it's smart characters. Trust me, small kids will get scared. There are many scenes which work on fear of the main villain and are the things of nightmares. The only problem I had with this film, is I could not for the life of me figure out what most of the characters were. Unless someone told you (e.g. Rattlesnake Jake) I thought many of them were all lizards. I know probably if I watched it again that it would probably make sense but it started to bug me and I wanted to yell half way through the movie, "what kinda f*&kin creatures are you?" But all in all this was a very good animated adventure. All parties should be extremely proud of the achievement. No longer are the best animation coming out of Pixar or Dreamworks it seems the other studios are giving them a run for their money. Rango is one lizard I would definitely love to see again. 3.5/5

Does The Rite hit the right mark? Or does it miss completely?

Exorcism has been a fascination with Hollywood for years. The most successful film showcasing this unnatural and explained phenomenon was the 1973 Oscar nominated picture "The Exorcist." Although very outdated now, (I mean it can be sorta seen as a comedy these days, pea soup, spinning head, crawling lobster like downstairs brings a bit of a chuckle when viewing now) the movie spawned the whole exorcism, demon battle, good vs evil, man vs the devil etc. It has just been lately though that we have bombarded with exorcism movies. In the last five years we have seen, The Exorcism of Emily Rose, The Last Exorcism, and The Haunting in Connecticut. Although, interesting in their depiction of this evil force, exorcism movies have never drawn the audience to flock to the cinema to check it out. They are usually more popular on DVD for that late night viewing. So with Anthony Hopkins new movie, "The Rite" out now, does it have the right ingredients to make this one exorcism you should witness? Read on to find out.

Michael Kovak (Colin O'Donoghue) is a young man who either has the option of becoming a mortician like his father (Rutgur Hauer) or join a seminary school and become a priest. At a young age Michael has lost his mother and is left to live with his father. Their relationship is icey and a way to escape and to test his faith in all that he believes in is to leave behind his father's life and become a priest. Four years later, Michael is doubting much of the Lords work and thinks about giving it all up, even though his grades are at the top of the game. With the added pressure of his superior Father Matthew (Toby Jones) and a bit of guilt and bargaining, Michael is selected as the perfect candidate to fly over to Italy and learn the ways of exorcism. Apparently, the Vatican teaches courses on exorcism and Michael is teamed up with the greatest of them all, Father Lucas Trevant (Anthony Hopkins) It is here we witness the trials that these men face, when several people emerge in the story to be possessed by the demon know as the devil. But what happens when you don't believe? Have these people or psychological problems, or does evil truly possess people? But the true test Michael will have to face is what will happen if his teacher becomes the possessed?

Where to begin with this film. At the start of the film, we are told that these events are inspired by true stories. But of course this is Hollywood, and they love to over extend the truth. Like all exorcism movies, special effects create the perfect amount of horror to make the viewer feel like they are watching a true exorcism. The sound effects in this movie are awesome, and bring to life the true evil that these innocent people are suffering through. What lifts the material above B grade schlock is of course Anthony Hopkins. This is a role he could have slept through. The man is talented. He looks like he is enjoying the role as the priest and really he doesn't put a foot wrong. He gives the performance of a man who has been doing this for 30 years, who has seen it all, and for him it is just like the sun rising and setting, it is a normal everyday occurrence. But where he steps the movie up is the last 20 minutes. I'm not going to tell you why, but special effects, or no special effects, he gives many spine chilling moments just by the use of his acting skills.

Directed by Mikael Hafstrom, who also directed the creepy thriller 1408 (very cool movie check it out) Hafstrom knows how to direct spine tingling films. He knows how to not bring on the over the top porn gore (I'm looking at you Hostel 2) but uses sound and performances from his actors to get the theme of the movie just right. The man knows his genre and like 1408, does not need to use revolting images to make the audience uneasy. The only gripe I have with the director and writers is that the ending wraps up too clean. I'm not going to tell you what happens, but it kinda just ends perfectly and leaves no questions unanswered, which makes you wonder if the whole movie was just a load of garbage.

The one huge problem I had with this movie is the casting of Colin O'Donoghue as Michael. The dude does not do a very good job at all, and really looks like he is bored all the way through. He looks like he is working for the pay check and looks like he is thinking "why am I doing this film?" With another actor in the role this movie could have been so much better. I think if Anthony Hopkins was not in this movie as mentioned before, I would have left. It would have been boring, and really would be more likely to have been straight to DVD.

Let me put it this way. Exorcism movies have been around for years. Yes it might be real, it might not. But I feel films like The Rite, are made to entertain the audience and really not to explain the phenomenon no matter what they say is based on truth (it seems all exorcism movies, if you watch the start, explaine they are all based on a true story). Although, this movie hasn't set the box office on fire, it does have enough ingredients for any person interested in this religious following and a great performance by Anthony Hopkins to lure you. Otherwise, I can't really see a mass audience enjoying this film. Although The Rite did put it's best cross forward at the end of the day I haven't thought much about it. That's not to say I didn't enjoy it, it's more saying that it's a preferred genre film that really didn't hit the right mark with me. 2.5/5

Hall Pass gets a failing grade

Firstly, I have to admit, I did want to see this movie. I saw the previews and thought, hey it could be a winning combination. I did think the Farrelly Brothers have made some hilarious films (Dumb and Dumber a particular favourite) Owen Wilson can be funny in the right films (who could forget Hansel) and to me Christina Applegate should have been given the opportunity to be a go to leading lady in comedies (the girl is funny, don't believe me Don't Tell Mum the Babysitters Dead is a classic) So why did this movie fail on so many levels? All I can say is, it is just plain bad. I don't mean wait for DVD bad. I mean if your flicking through late at night and find this on, then yeah maybe watch it, but seriously it is just awful. But let me back up my claim by a bit of a review before I let the bashing begin.

Rick (Owen Wilson) is married to Maggie (Jenna Fisher). They have the house, the three kids and the jobs. They are your normal everyday neighbours living right next to you. When Rick's wife overhears her husband discussing with his mates about how much you would pay to have the opportunity to cheat on your wife she is worried that her marriage is in trouble. Taking the advise of her friend (Joy Behar from the View) Maggie gives her husband a chance to experience life for a week without being married and to be free to do whatever he likes, in a word, HALLPASS. When Maggie's best friend Grace (Christina Applegate) decides to also get in on this theory and give her husband Fred (Jason Sudeikis) one also, the two boys team up for what is going to become a bit of a crazy journey. But is not only the boys who are going to be tempted by this opportunity, the girls may also find that women like men, when given the chance might enjoy having some fun without the restraints of married life. Throw into the mix your geeky weird male friends, a hot toy boy and young Aussie stunner, bodily fluid jokes, men's genitalia, over the hill cougars, and pretty much that sums it up.

Where do I begin. About half an hour into this film I wanted to find the emergency exit and pull my rip cord. All the characters are boring and all I could think about is how sloppy this movie was. Did it want to go for the gross out comedy effect? Did it want to have heart to the story? Did it want to be a romantic comedy? Or did it just want to jump on "The Hangovers" tail and try to be the next best thing? Lets try option four. It was just a bad rip off and really I just wanted it over with. Thank gosh I got free tickets to this, because I would have wanted a refund. All the actors are wasted and look kinda bored. To me it looked like a paycheck movie when you know they only need it to fund their expensive lifestyle. The jokes we have seen about 10 years ago, and really this kinda humour is getting outdated. The Farrelly Brothers may have hit their peak too early in their career with Dumb and Dumber and Something About Mary, but it is now 2011, and that humour really doesn't mesh anymore with audiences (as indicated by the sad box office opening in America. Seriously it was beaten by an animated Gnome movie in it's third week in release) I am even bored writing this review. I'm sorry the only good thing to have happened while watching this movie, is that I got a free pen for the trouble it caused me. This movie is a big ugly mess and really I am over writing this review because the less I think about my time wasted watching this crap the happier I will be. 1/10 (and that's cause I am being nice)