The next three days

I watched this last week, so thought it was about time that i sat down and wrote about it.

The Next Three Days is the about the story of a man (Russel Crowe) whos wife (Elizabeth Banks) has been arrested on suspicion of murdering her boss following an argument at work. Crowe's character then sets about proving her innocence, but as this fails due to the overwhelming evidence against her, he sets out to break her out of prison. Seeking the advice of a criminal (Liam Neeson) who has escaped prison 7 times, he learns how quickly the police can shut off roads, intersections, train stations and airports.

Elizabeth Banks shows her potential for a leading lady with a convincing performance of a woman who has lost everything. We see her go from being a loving mother and wife, who takes a photo of her family every morning before work, to being a shadow of her former self as she is locked in prison, with a son who doesn't talk to her, and a husband who blames himself for their son being bulleyed at school.

Crowe is equally successful in his role as the husband who is desperate to free his wife from prison, so much so that he risks his own freedom to do so. Throwing caution out of the window he too loses his way from being a good father, to just being someone with one goal, regardless of the consequences.

Liam Neeson, although only a short cameo, plays the part of an escaped criminal excellently. His dark performance serves to enhance the desperate nature of Crowe's endeavour.

My major complaint with this film is that it felt long at just over 2 hours long, with parts of the story feeling dragged out and unnecessary. Also i had a numb ass by the end, but i'll put that more down to the rubbish chairs of Odeon rather than the film!

Overall it was a good film, if a little long.

The Movie Game

I was at the pub earlier, and we were talking about films when someone suggested that we play the movie game. Basically, this entails one person naming an actor or actress, and then going round the group each naming a film that the person has been in. Sequels, prequels and animations not allowed!

It's surprisingly fun and addictive, and gets you thinking about films that you may not have watched for a long time, not watched at all, or never even heard of!

Just a bit of fun, but thought i'd share it, because sharing is caring. And lord knows i care.

A film i will almost certainly avoid..

The Tempest. Ergh. Studied it at a level, it sucked as a play and i'm sure it won't be any better as a film. I'm a little annoyed that Prospero is a woman in this version, especially as i spent a long time writing about how patriacle the play is, and how much of that is down to him.

Russel Brand may be the only thing keeping me vaguely intersted, and i'm sure he won't be a massive part of the film.

Anyway, if you fancy watching the trailer, here it is

'Orrible little kids!

I was just on the Total Film website, and the discussion of the day is about Movie Myths, and someone mentioned this.

Duck Sauce - Adam Buckland

Just a little something a couple of mates threw together to pass the time, enjoy!

The Social Network

I doubt that the Social Network will be a longstanding classic, but for the time being it is a film that defines a generation of facebook addicts.

Some of my friends have been to see this film, and returned seemingly dissappointed, by what i don't know! I can't believe they were expecting an action film, so i'm not entirely sure what they wanted from this film. All i know is that i enjoyed it, simply becuase it is extremely well written, brilliantly casted, and above all engaging!

David Fincher was under instruction to bring the film in at or around the 2 hour mark, but Sorkins script was 166 pages. This caused Fincher to instruct his actors to speak the dialogue faster, as evidenced by the first scene. However, you don't get the feeling that the film was rushed at all, it just works!

Jesse Eisenberg plays Mark Zuckerberg - the creator of Facebook- excellently. He moves away from his previous goofy performences, to give a cold, calculated performance of a genius who does anything he has to in order to get what he wants, regardless of who he hurts along the way. In contrast to this, Andrew Garfield as Eduardo Saverin is a more appealing character for the audience, and this makes Zuckerbergs betrayal even harsher. We will be seeing more of these two actors in the future, there is no doubt in my mind about that.

This film should not be known as "The Facebook Movie", as that does it a great disservice. Yes, it is about Facebook, but not solely about that. There are characters you get to know, like, dislike and laugh with, there is a great betrayal, tension and intrigue!

I reccomend this film to film and facebook lovers alike.

Things i learnt while shooting...

1) Inform your neighbours
2) Don't trust the flip out screen - you cant always see the dirt on the lens
3) You have to focus the eye viewer! Who knew!?
4) It's not easy to jump through a small window