100 Words… – Page 11

100 Word Review – Trainwreck (2015)

August 15, 2015March 6, 2016Posted in 100 Words..., Comedy, F-Rated, RomanceTagged Amy Schumer, Bill Hader, Comedy, Judd Apatow, New York, Romance, Tilda SwintonLeave a comment

This is more than your average rom com.

Amy (Amy Schumer) is a commitment-phobe, hopping from one night stand to one night stand until her magazine sends her to write an article about sports doctor Aaron (Bill Hader).

Written by the wonderful Schumer and directed by Judd Apatow (Knocked Up, The 40 Year Old Virgin), this has some comedy heavy-weights behind it as well as some extraordinary cameos.

Schumer and Hader are spectacular as the leads and, despite Tilda Swinton’s truly unusual English accent, the supporting cast are superb. Funny, moving, awkward and almost always unexpected, it is an absolute treat.

100 Word Review – 22 Jump Street (2014)

August 14, 2015March 6, 2016Posted in 100 Words..., Action, ComedyTagged Action, adaptation, Channing Tatum, Comedy, Jonah HillLeave a comment

They’re back, and this time they’re going to College.

The sequel to 21 Jump Street, this time Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Jenko (Channing Tatum) are masquerading as college students to bring down a drug ring.

Don’t panic if you think this sounds awfully familiar, the fact that the basic plot is almost exactly the same as the first film does not go unmentioned. Very cleverly written, the feature is magnificently meta, breaking down every fourth wall that comes in its path.

Whether you are in it for the action, the gross-out humour, the wit or just Channing Tatum, you’ll love it.

100 Word Review – 21 Jump Street (2012)

August 13, 2015March 6, 2016Posted in 100 Words..., ComedyTagged Action, Channing Tatum, Christopher Miller, Comedy, Jonah Hill, Phil Lord, police, teen2 Comments

I should start by saying I never watched the original TV show, but this is fantastic film stands alone.

Jenko (Channing Tatum) and Schmidt (Jonah Hill) work for undercover police department, Jump Street. Their assignment? To infiltrate a high school and bring down a drug ring.

Although this may at first glance appear to be full of obvious humour, it also does an excellent job of playing off these expectations. This is not your average teen comedy with a drug bust thrown in.

Directed by Christopher Miller and Phil Lord, the team behind The Lego Movie, it is just brilliant.

100 Word Review – Welcome To Me (2014)

August 11, 2015March 6, 2016Posted in 100 Words..., Comedy, Drama, F-RatedTagged Alan Tudyk, Comedy, Drama, James Marsden, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Joan Cusack, Kristen Wiig, Linda Cardellini, mental illness, Oprah Winfrey, Tim Robbins, tv, Wes BentleyLeave a comment

Is there nothing that Kristen Wiig can’t do?

Alice Klieg (Wiig), a woman with an Oprah Winfrey obsession, goes off her psychiatric meds, wins the lottery and decides to host her own talk show with her winnings.

James Marsden, Linda Cardellini, Joan Cusack, Alan Tudyk, Tim Robbins, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Wes Bentley all co-star in this simultaneously funny and moving story about how we perceive ourselves and how that can be distorted by mental illness and television.

Wiig is sublime as Alice, demonstrating a mastery of comic timing and intimate moments that gives the film its edge. A must-see.

100 Word Review – 50/50 (2011)

August 8, 2015March 6, 2016Posted in 100 Words..., Comedy, DramaTagged Anna Kendrick, cancer, Comedy, Drama, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogan, Will ReiserLeave a comment

Despite any advertising the contrary, this is not a comedy.

It is a moving drama about Kylie (Seth Rogan) trying to help his friend Adam (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) through his struggle with cancer.

Having said that, it is hilarious at points and there are funny moments throughout. But to call it a comedy is to imply a levity unfitting of the subject matter.

Screenwriter Will Reiser based it on his own experiences after being encouraged to write it by Rogan, the friend who helped him battle with cancer in his early 20s.

It’s masterfully done, handling itself with grace and humour.

100 Word Review – The Lost Boys (1987)

August 7, 2015March 6, 2016Posted in 100 Words..., Comedy, Drama, RomanceTagged 1980s, Comedy, Corey Feldman, Corey Haim, Dianne Wiest, Drama, Edward Herrmann, gore, Horror, Jason Patrick, Joel Schumacher, Kiefer Sutherland, Romance, teen, VampiresLeave a comment

Long before they glittered, they hung around seaside amusements and tormented teenagers.

Michael (Jason Patrick) moves with his mother (Dianne Wiest) and brother (Corey Haim) to a small coastal town in California which is plagued by biker gangs and mysterious deaths.

Kiefer Sutherland is mesmerising as David, leader of the gang, Edward Herrmann’s on top form, as usual, and what 80s film would be complete without Corey Feldman? Directed by Joel Schumacher (Batman Forever, Phone Booth), what’s not to love?

This film is huge amounts of fun, with a bit of gore, romance and horror thrown in for good measure.

100 Word Review – The Great Gatsby (2013)

August 6, 2015March 6, 2016Posted in 100 Words...Tagged 1920s, adaptation, Baz Luhrmann, Carey Mulligan, F Scott Fitzgerald, jazz, Joel Edgerton, Leonardo DiCaprio, New York, Toby Maguire, Wall Street2 Comments

All the glitz and glam of 1920s New York with a twist of the modern day? It must be Baz Luhrmann (Strictly Ballroom, Romeo + Juliet).

Nick Carraway (Toby Maguire) is trying to make his fortune on Wall Street when he becomes entangled in the romantic lives of his cousin Daisy (Carey Mulligan) and her husband (Joel Edgerton). And then, of course, there is Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio).

Adapted from F Scott Fitzgerald’s most famous novel, it is not realistic or truthful to the time in which it is set. But it captures is a feeling, a sense that anything is possible.

100 Word Review – Only Lovers Left Alive (2013)

August 5, 2015March 6, 2016Posted in 100 Words..., Drama, RomanceTagged Drama, Jim Jarmusch, John Hurt, Mia Wasikowska, music, Romance, Romantic, Tilda Swinton, Tom Hiddleston, VampiresLeave a comment

This film is sublime.

Adam (Tom Hiddleston) and Eve (Tilda Swinton) are in love. They always have been. Adam is a brooding Romantic (note the capital R), while Eve enjoys the chaos of the world around her. But being a vampire in the C21st has it’s problems.

Written and directed by Jim Jarmusch (Ghost Dog, Broken Flowers), it is filled with a gentle melancholy encompassed by a humorous, thoughtful edge. Co stars Mia Wasikowska and John Hurt are sublime in their roles, playing off the central pair with true artistry. This film is dark and beautiful and only subtly vampiric.

100 Word Review – Whiplash (2014)

August 4, 2015March 6, 2016Posted in 100 Words..., DramaTagged Drama, drumming, drums, IMDb, jazz, JK Simmons, Miles Teller, music, Oscars, tenseLeave a comment

I came out of this feeling like the skin on a snare drum that had been steadily tightened. Tense doesn’t even begin to cover it.

Andrew (Miles Teller) is a keen drummer in his first year at elite music school Schaeffer, determined to make a name for himself. When he is chosen for The Studio Jazz Band by acclaimed conductor Fletcher (JK Simmons) he this he’s on his way. Little does he know his fight is just beginning.

The relationship between these two actors is mesmerising. It is no surprise that Simmons won an Oscar for his role. He’s breathtaking.

100 Word Review – 10 Things I Hate About You

August 3, 2015March 6, 2016Posted in 100 Words..., Comedy, F-Rated, RomanceTagged adaptation, Allison Janney, Comedy, Heath Ledger, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Julia Stiles, Karen McCullah, Kirsten Smith, Larisa Oleynik, Romance, Shakespeare, teen, The Taming Of The Shrew3 Comments

The best modern day retelling of Shakespeare’s The Taming Of The Shrew, without a doubt.

Kat (Julia Stiles) Is a strong-minded teenager who refuses to conform to societal norms. When her father decrees that her younger sister cannot date unless she does, Kat is thrown back in to the dating world.

Heath Ledger, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Allison Janney and Larisa Oleynik all co-star in screenwriting team Kirsten Smith and Karen McCullah’s (Legally Blonde, She’s The Man) excellent film.

Despite being based on an arguably misogynist text about “taming” women, this adaptation is upbeat, empowering and down right hilarious. WATCH IT NOW!