Six short film reviews =)

Fantastic Mr Fox

This was an absolutely brilliant film. The animation and effects were very quirky and the voices were superb. I especially loved Jason Schwartzman. It’s more adult than it’s given credit for too. Roald Dahl was never happy with any of the film adaptations of his books but I think in this case, he would’ve been delighted. In my opinion, this was better than Up and should’ve got the Oscar.



Crazy Heart

Jeff Bridges has been long deserving of an Oscar but I wouldn’t say this was the best film he’s ever been in. It is a good film though – sort of a fictional Walk the Line – with Colin Farrell taking a back seat and delivering a relaxed, comfortable performance as support. Maggie Gyllenhaal as ever was charming and sweet, but portrayed a character with a lot of depth expertly. Bridges is of course the star, and rightly so – Bridges is, as Empire Magazine puts it, “an acting GOD”.



Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs

This was so much better than the trailer made it look, and I’m pretty pissed with myself that I didn’t get to see it in 3D at the cinema! It’s hilarious, with perfect timing and brilliant voices. I preferred Fantastic Mr Fox by a smidgen of an inch, but this film definitely contends with Up. It’s not as moving but definitely as funny, if not funnier. It’s the little touches that make Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs so good, and it’s well worth a watch.



Youth In Revolt

This was a strange film about coming of age and falling madly, blindly in love for the first time. It starred Michael Cera in a role fairly different to those he usually plays. I didn’t think it was fantastic but I did enjoy it. It’s just a bit too sombre for the subject matter, with not enough laughs. That said, Michael Cera is finally coming into his own. I can’t wait to see him in Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World. It’s going to be AMAZING.



Where the Wild Things Are

Oh my God; this film was fantastic. It was brilliant to see something so original and unique. I was wondering how they were going to adapt this children’s book and they did a bang-up job. It’s laden with metaphor and allegory without spoon feeding it to the audience – if you’ve got half a brain you will love this film. It’s so thought-provoking and layered it brought me to tears at one point. I think depending on your own experiences with your family, it might get weeping you too.



Paranormal Activity

I still can’t sleep without the light on. Paranormal Activity was incredibly scary to me as I have an overactive imagination. As most of the action occurs in the bedroom (sounds a little like I’m reviewing a porno) it’s made me feel paranoid and gets my heart racing in the middle of the night whenever I start thinking about it. I think it’s a very good film, making great use of the new genre of “hand-held” filming. Obviously, if you’re not scared of ghosts or demons etc you won’t find this film frightening. But seeing it in the cinema it was amazing to feel the tense atmosphere every time night drew around and the familiar bedroom came back on screen. You could feel the whole audience just waiting for something to happen, and by the end I literally had to cover my eyes – something I’ve never, ever done before in the cinema. Not even when I was watching Basic Instinct 2.