DVD: Push (dir: Paul McGuigan, 2009)

"That sounds like a great plan..."

Push does something astonishing - it makes its genre-mate Jumper look interesting. Saddled with utterly leaden dialogue and pacing throughout , even the usually-charismatic Chris Evans fails to bring the movie to life. Dakota Fanning gives a performance that appears to have wandered in from another movie entirely, as do many subsidiary characters, and herein lies the movie's fundamental flaw - with no clear sense of purpose or motivation, the story meanders and flounders for its agonisingly bloated 106-minutes running time in an inconsistent and criminally uninteresting manner. Push makes for a decidedly glum and uninvolving viewing experience, and thanks to the magic of DVD, you can extend the misery with just over three minutes of pointless deleted scenes.

DVD: Crank 2 - High Voltage (dir: Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, 2009)

"...that can best be described as...implausible!"

Crank 2 picks up from the end of the first movie, hits the ground running, and barely stops for breath throughout its running time. Partly a glossier and more controlled version of its original, Crank 2 is gleefully sadistic, demented and chaotic, with its mish-mash of visual and cultural styles successfully giving the film momentum and energy. Jason Statham gives the cartoon figure of Chev Chelios a curious air of credibility, whilst the wonderful Amy Smart seems underused this time. The final mansion shoot-out is hardly John Woo, but the film-makers deliver 92 minutes of pure, silly fun that works admirably in its own context.

FILM: Surrogates (dir: Jonathan Mostow, 2009)

"It's like being inside God's head."

Disappointing. This is a classic case of a movie that adds absolutely nothing to what has been seen in the trailer, from action beats to plot points. Sociologically and philosophically the premise has potential, but here the notion of living out one's life through a robotic surrogate is treated with the depth of a very shallow puddle. Bruce Willis reminds us that he can indeed do sublety well, but the whole film is decidedly underwhelming.

FILM: Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs 3D (dir: Phil Lord, Chris Miller, 2009)

"My forecast: sunny side up!"

One word: delightful. This movie starts off at a cracking pace and rarely lets up (apart from a couple of sappy relationship interludes). The cast clearly relishes the sharp script which enables them to shine rather than merely support the (beautifully realised) visuals. From the outset, the 3D is used to clever and engaging effect, using a variety of angles and foregrounding that raises the film far above standard, simple U-Certificate fare. The origin story developed for the film is dealt with relatively quickly and effectively, and the social and emotional issues covered actually have some resonance. As the film moves into the show-stopping final disaster sequence, nods to a range of films come thick and fast, referencing sci-fi epics such as Independence Day, 2001, Alien, Cloverfield, the Star Wars prequels(!), Star Trek: The Motion Picture, etc. and neatly skewering disaster blockbusters, notably The Day After Tomorrow. The ways in which the film aims for and reaches a wide audience shows how a tired franchise like Shrek has a lot of catching up to do as the CG-animated genre moves forward. With a voice cast including the likes of Anna Faris, Mr T. and Bruce Campbell, and many audience-pleasing sequences (an ice-cream snow-day and a flying car, for example), this is easily the best animated film of the year (so far, until Up! gets its UK release).

DVD: Dead Snow (dir: Tommy Wirkola, 2009)

"I've got a bad feeling about this...."

Released in its native Norway at the beginning of 2009, Dead Snow works much better than other recent uber-high-concept movies such as Snakes On A Plane and Mega-Shark vs Giant Octopus. It sticks rigidly to the early 80s slasher template (in particular Friday the 13th and The Evil Dead, which the characters themselves reference in the movie), right down to the opening sequence and the 'crazy' character who turns up to warn the six medical students in the isolated cabin about their impending doom. The first half is mostly slow and frequently uninvolving owing to its predictability, but then the Nazi zombies really get going, the relentless action kicks in and the gore count goes off the scale. The splatter is delivered effectively for the most part, in spite of the modern-day curse of (obvious) digital blood, in this case apparently necessitated by the extreme cold shooting conditions which froze the fake blood! Generally sincere performances, notably by Charlotte Frogner and Lasse Valdal, keep the innate silliness of the film in check, and the snowscape gives this genre entry a fresh feel. The DVD transfer is beautiful, and the extras - including a 48-minutes 'Making Of' - are worth a look. Dead Snow offers nothing new but provides a fun ride for horror fans.

FILM: Julie & Julia (dir: Nora Ephron, 2009)

"Who's talking about men? We're not talking about men!"

Julie & Julia is far more watchable than the standard Nora Ephron slush-fest, probably as a result of the true-life stories which inspired it. It takes a little while for the two stories to gel, but the film settles down comfortably and amuses occasionally. All credit to the two leads who carry the movie: the ever-reliable Meryl Streep channels American cookery star Julia Child in a warm and convincing manner which almost suggests caricature but captures the spirit of the woman effectively, and Amy Adams gives another of her utterly adorable turns as the modern-day aspiring writer Julie Powell, who cooks her way through Child's famous recipe boook in one year. The period detail of Child's story (mostly in France) is sumptuously realised on screen and contrasts nicely with Powell's 21st Century life (an office cubicle, a classic rom-com slightly-tatty flat-above-a-pizza-shop). Sterling support is given by Stanley Tucci and Chris Messina as the two husbands, who both give finely-controlled performances in limited and generally thankless roles. The rest of the cast (including Mary Lynn Rajskub - 24's Chloe) barely get a look in, in spite of the fact that the film plays a little too long, with a couple of unnecessary sub-plots filling out the running time. The overt message is curious, that women can achieve anything if they believe in themselves and see it through to the end...as long as it is domestic (!), and other issues thrown in to the mix (9/11, McCarthyism) flounder. The clumsy conclusion conveniently side-steps the late bombshell that Child did not like Powell's blog project in a race to wrap up the movie with a happy ending for both story threads. Although it is as substantial as being slapped by a cloud, Julie & Julia is a well-mounted film with two strong central characters and performances.

WELCOME TO MY FILM AND DVD BLOG

Hello world,

I have been a film fan since my early teens (over thirty years!), and seeing the movie Julie & Julia today has inspired me to start writing this blog. I will post my personal thoughts on new films, DVDs and the latest film news. Enjoy!

Mr. P