Better Than You Think: Beastly (2011)

                                                         "I guess this cage set me free."

Directed/Written by  Daniel Barnz
Cast                         Alex Pettyfer
                                 Vanessa Hudgens
                                 Mary-Kate Olsen
                                 Neil Patrick Harris

Plot
Kyle (Alex Pettyfer) thinks he is God's gift at his high school. He plays a prank on a fellow high school student, Kendra (Mary-Kate Olsen) who, unbeknown to him is a witch. Kendra teaches him a lesson by putting a curse on him making him as beastly on the outside as he is on the inside. He has one year to find someone to fall in love with him or stay like that forever.


   This movie...isn't great. It's cheesy, dumb, and doesn't even begin to approach the original source material. Based on a retelling of Beauty and the beast by Alex Flinn, Beastly was released last year, to a pretty poor critical reception, and didn't make much of a splash outside the US. It would be easy to rip on this movie, but that's not how we do things down on Planet Positive. So yes, it's not very good. But is it watchable? Absolutely. Read on...

     If you're looks we're determined by the type of person you were on the inside, would you be ugly, or beautiful? In the case of Kyle, he'd look like a meth addict who crashed his motorcycle into a tattoo parlour. Alex Pettyfer plays our vain, douchebag protagonist, transformed into a hideously disfigured version of himself after he ridicules and humiliates his high school's resident witch Kendra. He has one year in which to find someone who falls in love with him, or he'll stay like that forever. It is at this point I should probably mention Kendra is played by Mary Kate Olsen. Yes that's right, one of the Olsen twins is in this movie. That, along with the casting of High School Musical's Vanessa Hudgens as Kyle's love interest, automatically lowers this film's street cred to below a Vanilla Ice and Justin Beiber duet.
      However, if the cast list alone is turning you off, here's something that may convince you to give it a shot; Neil Patrick motherfucking Harris. I can honestly say without a hint of irony that NPH is totally awesome and a strong candidate for coolest man alive. Sure, he's probably never going to be an Oscar winning leading actor, but as the womanising Barney in How I Met Your Mother, a hilarious parody of himself in the Harold and Kumar movies, or Kyle's blind tutor in Beastly, he owns the screen. There's just something about the guy that is so damn charming, I cant help but like anything he's in. NPH shares some good dialogue with Pettyfer, and their scenes together are a highlight.

     The rest of the cast do a decent enough job too. With Pettfer being extremely unlikable before and sometimes after his transformation, until it becomes clear he's merely a product of his even more unlikable father (played by Six Feet Under's Peter Krause). Hudgens is good enough as the female lead, with teenage drama and romance no doubt coming pretty easy to her after being in the HSM series. Mary Kate Olsen is...passable as a Wiccan emo. She is in no way a good actress but her scenes are kept short and she is somewhat protected by writer/director Daniel Barnz  (who wrote and directed indie favourite Phoebe in Wonderland). The plot moves along nicely, and there's only a couple of scenes that drag slightly. The make up and effects used to show Alex post-transformation are the only thing I'll criticise here. Don't get me wrong, they did an excellent job and the full body make up took a mammoth seven hours to apply, and he DOES look pretty mangled, but if you saw him walking down the street you'd just think he was a junkie or was into hardcore body modification.

                              Pretty sure I've seen this guy hanging around Camden Town station.



     Still, I suppose they had to keep Pettyfer recognisable for the poster and make it believable someone could fall in love with him in such a state. Fans of the original Beauty and the Beast will probably hate this movie, but it honestly is better than you think.


Final Verdict

Beastly is in no way a classic, but is by no means bad. If you like some nice cheesy American romance, check it out. At the very least, you can grab a few drinks and a friend and have a laugh. Also, did I mention Neil Patrick motherfucking Harris is in this?
*

Better Than You Think: wΔz (2008)

"Just imagine a hero without a genetic motive. Not a relative, not a potential mate. Now, that would be interesting, wouldn't it?"

Directed by  Tom Shankland
Written by    Clive Bradley
Cast            Stellan Skarsgard
                     Melissa George
                     Selma Blair
                     Ashley Walters

 Plot
There is something horribly wrong with the bodies found in the dark city streets. Some are mutilated while others have the Price equation (wΔz = Cov (w,z) = βwzVz) carved into their flesh. Detective Eddie Argo and his new partner Helen Westcott unearth the meaning of the odd equation and realise each victim is being offered a gruesome choice: kill your loved ones, or be killed.




     There are a few reasons wΔz (pronounced double-U delta zed) was never a big hit. Firstly, the title isn't very box office friendly. It actually took me a good half hour to remember what it was called (typing 'really good film with weird title that got dismissed as torture porn' into Google didn't work). It was renamed 'The Killing Gene' for the U.S, a title which must have been chosen by someone who never saw the film, and got lost amongst the thousands of low budget horror movies churned out each year.
     The movie's plot (people are kidnapped and tortured) unfortunately led it to be lumped with garbage like Hostel and the later Saw sequels. This is an incredibly unfair comparison. Yes, there are some brutally bloody moments, but there is very little violence in the first half of the movie. Indeed, the film makers smartly show very little, and instead focus on building an atmosphere of anticipation and dread. This is a film all about 'why' not 'how'. As a lover of horror movies it's easy to become desensitised to violence these days. When I watch a film and people are getting their heads chopped off every five minutes I find it very difficult to take the violence seriously. In wΔz we often see the before and after of the torture, the mutilated bodies of the victims our only clue into what cruel punishment they have suffered. Because of this, the one full length torture scene in the movie really means something. In fact, I would go as far to say the last half hour of this film is amongst the most disturbing I've ever seen, and I strongly suggest you only watch if you have a strong stomach.
     The cast is excellent, although to say too much would risk giving away too many plot details. Skarsgard plays Eddie perfectly, and has good chemistry with his rookie partner (Melissa George). I've been a fan of Ashley Walters since Bullet Boy, and his brave performance as Daniel shows how good he could be if he had the chance. Even though he appears to be typecast as a 'gangsta' he brings a lot of depth to his roles than other rappers who have tried their hand at acting. Even Paul Kaye puts in a good effort, and is impressive in one of his very few non-comedic roles.
     The movie has some real good twists and turns, and, personally, raises a few questions I dont particularly want to answer. As I said, there is violence in this movie and it's not for everyone. However, if you enjoyed Se7en and long for an intelligently written psychological thriller, I heartily recommend you check out wΔz .



Final Verdict

A dark, gritty film that is as disturbing as it is gripping. Watch it alone to fully appreciate the efforts of those involved.
***

Hidden Gems- Fetching Cody

     Quickly, what was the first work of fiction to feature time travel? If you said The Time Machine by H.G Wells, you're way off. Indeed, TTM isn't even the first time travel story written by Wells himself
(the Chronic Argonauts, written in 1888, predates it by seven years). The first story to use a time machine was El Anacronópete, written in 1881 by Enrique Gaspar y Rimbau. Unfortunately, there is no English language version in print, so I've no idea if it's any good (there is an amateur, but admirable, translation in progress at this link http://anacronopete.wordpress.com/) Even before that, you could argue A Christmas Carol might count as the first popular use of time travel, what with Scrouge being taken into the past and future at various points. There are even older examples of time travel in fiction, but it all gets a bit murky and debatable the further back you go. Anyway, you're probably wondering what this has to do with todays review, so I'll cut to the chase. Since the first time a member of the human race wondered what it would be like to step into the future or the past, the idea of time travel has provided inspiration for writers in all forms of media. There are literally thousands of books, TV shows, films, video games, comic books, and Cravendale milk adverts all devoted to the concept of time travel. With this in mind, you can understand how difficult it is to come up with an original and entertaining time travel movie these days. Fetching Cody is that movie.
     After Cody winds up in a coma after a heroin overdose, small time drug dealer and addict Art starts to rethink the influence he has had on his girlfriend's life. So, when his homeless friend Harvey stumbles across a time travelling chair, Art seizes the opportunity to try and change Cody's life for the better. Here's where I feel the movie gets special. When you love someone, you want to know everything about them. The good, the bad, the ugly, it doesn't matter. To find out about the intimate moments of someone's life is a special thing. If you could see these moments unfold first hand, as Art does, it would be truly amazing. The more Art sees of Cody's life, the more he wants to fix it. Thanks to Jay Baruchel, Art is an endearing character, and he carries the plot along nicely. The acting in the movie is very natural, and even the 'wacky' characters feel real. Sarah Lind is a sweet Cody, and her and Baruchel have good chemistry on screen. David Ray directs the film very smartly, and shows what can be done with a relatively small budget. Unfortunately, he hasn't been in the directors chair since then (2005), and seems to be stuck writing writing movies for the SyFy channel with titles like 'Ice Quake' and 'Mega Cyclone'. Its probably a steady living, but I hope one day he returns to his roots, because Fetching Cody is a great film.


Final Verdict;
An excellent piece of work, and since the whole film can be found on YouTube you have no excuse not to watch it.
***

Hidden Gems- Wristcutters: A Love Story

     It's not a secret to those that know me that I watch a LOT of movies, I generally raid the charity shops once a week, picking up any dvd that catches my eye. Unfortunately, this means I end up watching a lot of crap. My shelves are filled with awful movies, condemened forever to sit and gather dust. However, every so often I stumble across a real gem, a diamond in the rough that I know I'll end up watching again and again. I am delighted to say that Wristcutters is one of those movies.
     It's not often you come across a film that feels fresh and original, and I honestly cant think of another film that tackles this subject matter in such a charming, entertaining way. The film stars Patrick Fugit (of Almost Famous fame) as Zia, a young man who kills himself in the opening scence of the film, only to find himself trapped in an afterlife where 'everything is the same, only slightly worse'. It is populated entirely by people who have killed themselves, and is a gloomy place indeed. The occupants of this realm have lost the ability to smile, no flowers grow and there are no stars in the sky. Just when Zia is preparing for an eternity of boredom and despair, he finds out his ex-girlfriend has also commited suidice, and sets off on a bizarre road trip to find her. Tagging along for the ride is Russian rock star Eugene (played by Shia Whigham, who would go on to play Sheriff Eli Thompson in Boardwalk Empire) and hitchiker Mikal (the sorley underrated Shannyn Sossamon).
      I won't say anymore, since you'll all no doubt immediately find this movie and watch it as soon as you finish reading this won't you? Suffice to say it is an excellent piece of work, The cast is brilliant, with Tom Waits, Will Arnett and John Hawkes making up a great supporting cast. It tackles the subject matter of suicide very maturely, never judging or showing us any more than needed. In fact, although Zia and the others often talk about 'how' they killed themselves, they rarely touch on 'why'. They are far more focused on trying to make something with their new lives rather than dwelling on their old ones.
     The music is great, with the awesome Gogol Bordello forming the heart of the soundtrack. There's also a few tracks from bands whose singers have commited suicide, a nice, if slightly morbid, touch. One thing that should be mentioned is that as the title suggests, there is a love story in this film. But dont let that put you off, even if romance films arent your cup of tea. Just go with it. Trust me, this movie will bring a smile to your face.

Final verdict: An absolute must see, if you want to see something original and entertaining I urge you to track this down. I've no problem at all giving this the full boat.
****

Introduction

      The internet is a wonderful thing. We have access to literally millions of pages of knowledge and entertainment, thousands of hours of amusing videos of cats and 300 million people to follow on Twitter. However, there is one thing about the internet that bothers me. Negativity. A quick look at my browser history will tell you the type of negative sites I've visited; negative reviews of movies, old movies, horror movies, kid's movies, tv shows, video games, old video games, comic books, music, other peoples Facebooks and many more. Quite frankly, I'm burnt out. There should be a place on the internet that celebrates the good things in life. Ladies and gentlemen, this is that place. The only movies and tv shows reviewed here will be ones I've enjoyed over the years and want to share with the world, and will be seperated into three categories:

A Few of My Favorite Things

These are the best of the best. The tv shows and films that I love so much I want to tie people down and force them to watch it if they havent already.

Hidden Gems

I watch about 3-6 movies a week, so often I stumble across a great one neither I nor my friends have ever heard of. Hopefully I can spread the word and bring attention to these great unknowns.

Better Than You Think

Or, 'The category I couldnt think of a good title for'. Plenty of things these days, especially films, are dismissed instantly. This can be for various reasons; a dodgy cast,  a silly title, a boring sounding plot. However, sometimes these films can beat the odds and turn out pretty good.


I should also mention my star rating system. I will be rating out of four stars (just to be difficult) and each film/show will be rated the following way;

One Star: If you've nothing better to do it's worth a watch.

Two Stars: Try and check it out if you can, a good way to spend your time.

Three Stars: A must watch. Track it down, you wont regret it.

Four Stars: An absolute classic, watch as soon as possible.

So, there you have it. I hope to update the site as often as I can, and hopefully I wont get bored and give up after a month. Anyway, please leave any feedback or suggestions you want, and I hope you enjoy.