Although recently the U.S. have spawned (or summoned) many zombie films, this one stands severed head and shoulders above the rest.
The dead have risen and a reclusive student (Jesse Eisenberg) has survived by following a strict set of rules. But when he meets Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), a man on a mission to find Twinkies, he learns that even an apocalypse can be fun.
The film is made with style and a sense of humour and Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin are excellent as a pair of con artists they meet along the way. Watch out for the wonderful cameo.
There is nothing not to love about this film. It may be aimed at children, but once you get passed the obvious marketing ploys there is enough in it for everyone.
Emmett (Chris Pratt) is an average construction worker who accidentally gets stuck to the Piece of Resistance and finds himself helping Batman (Will Arnett), Wyldstyle (Elizabeth Banks) and Unikitty (Alison Brie) to save all of the worlds from Lord Business (Will Ferrell).
Written and directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, the team who directed 21 Jump Street (2012), this stop-motion animation is delightful from beginning to end.
If you are looking for an entertaining Sci Fi with an awesome cast, look no further.
Written and directed by the profoundly talented Luc Besson (Leon), it stars Bruce Willis as Korben Dallas, a taxi driver in the 23rd Century who must help “perfect being” Leeloo (Milla Jovovich) save the world and escape from the evil Zorg (Gary Oldman in the most amazing headpiece you are ever likely to see). Chris Tucker makes an appearance as Ruby Rhod, the universe’s most annoying radio DJ.
It has action, comedy, romance, music and some very repeatable one-liners (MULTI-PASS!). This is a no-brainer.
Considered part of the Hollywood vs. McCarthyism debate, this film is best enjoyed on a much more basic level.
A doctor returns from a trip to find that the people in his small-town are being replaced by emotionless pod people.
When I say pod people, I mean it. They literally burst out of pods. It’s brilliant.
There’s a lot of the “women are need a man to help them” trope, but despite this it is still a remarkably watchable movie. I have watched this on my TV and on the big screen and it only gets better with every viewing.
Years ago my mother used to say to me, she’d say, “In this world, Elwood, you must be” – she always called me Elwood – “In this world, Elwood, you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant.” Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant. You may quote me.
Elwood P Dowd
I love Jimmy Stewart. I should get that out of the way to start.
So, it came as a surprise when I stumbled over this feature a couple of years ago that I hadn’t seen it sooner. Since first watching it, I have bought it for at least three separate friends and family members and am compiling a list of others I think need to see it.
Mr Stewart plays Elwood P Dowd, a well-liked man in a small town who happens to be best friends with Harvey, an invisible six-foot rabbit. Elwood describes Harvey as a Pooka, a creature from Celtic myth. Chaos ensues as Elwood’s eccentric sister worries about the affect of his actions on her daughter’s marriage prospects. His sanity is questioned and what follows is a farcical romp of a tale, with Elwood at it’s cool, calm centre.
Stewart is delightful in this role: being charming and introducing baffled family and friends to an acquaintance only he can see seems to be the part he was born to play. He was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role, but was robbed by José Ferrer.
In 2008, this film was ranked number 8 in the American Film Institutes top ten list of fantasy films. Honestly, despite its stiff competition, I’m only surprised it didn’t come higher. This film is sublime.
Set in a steampunk world in the midst of war, we follow Sofi as she’s cursed by the Witch of the Waste and finds herself caught up with the mighty sorcerer, Howl.
There is a dubbed version, with the vocal styling of Christian Bale, Lauren Bacall and Billy Crystal. They do a fantastic job, but the best way to watch it is in the original Japanese.
As with all Hayao Miyazaki’s animation, it is beautiful and perfectly compliments this fantastical story.
Don’t dismiss this as a children’s film; it is so much more.
Six separate stories, each following a very human story of frustration and revenge. From a psychotic pilot, to a bride discovering her husband’s infidelity. From parking ticket pay-backs to an extraordinary expression of road rage. This is humanity at it’s absolute worst and most violent. It is also hilarious.
I cannot stress this enough – it takes “dark comedy” to a whole new level. Be prepared for six beautiful, twisted modern fables for the modern age.
Vladislav (Jemaine Clement), Viago (Taika Waititi) and Deacon (Jonathan Brugh) are flatmates. They are also best friends. They argue over chores, they help each other decide what to wear, they even host dinner parties at which they torture mortals together and drink their blood.
From the minds behind Flight of the Conchords and Eagle Vs Shark comes a supernatural mockumentary like no other. Whether or not your like “vampire movies” is irrelevant. All you need is a sense of humour.
You will laugh, you will cringe and there will be blood.
I love sing-a-longs, so when I heard that the Sci-Fi convention I was attending would include a “Quote-A-Long” screening of Galaxy Quest, my excitement was beyond words.
Galaxy Quest, for those of you who haven’t seen it, is a joy to behold. It stars Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman, Tony Shalhoub, Daryl Mitchell and Sam Rockwell as the play the crew of the spaceship NSEA Protector on a TV which has since dried up, and are stuck on the comic-con circuit surrounded by the shows devoted fan-base (cue a cameo from a very baby-faced Justin Long). When an alien race who has mistaken their TV show for Earth’s “historical documents” teleports them to their spaceship, they find themselves in the midst of an intergalactic war.
This film is one of the funniest Sci-Fi comedies out there. Throughout the film there are huge hat tips to Star Trek and shows in the genre, but they do not detract from the storyline. Whether you are proud Trekky or have only seen half an episode once by mistake, you will be entertained.
The two major quote along lines (in the ilk of “Live Long and Prosper”) are “Never give up. Never surrender!” and “By Grabthar’s hammer, by the suns of Worvan, you shall be avenged!”. I was anticipating that these would be shouted out with some gusto during the screening, but I was honestly not prepared for what followed. I have never felt more involved in a film. We were cheering for the crew of the NSEA Protector, we were boo-ing the locust-like aliens. It is something I am simply not used to, but I will definitely be trying at home. Admittedly, there will be some films that this doesn’t work with. I can’t imagine that films like Moon or V For Vendetta would be improved by this. But next time I watch an Arnie film, you better believe I’ll be yelling along!
cinemescope 