UNBROKEN - film

This WWII drama, directed by Angelina Jolie, is based on the true story of Olympic runner-turned US Air Force bombardier Louis Zamperini. His story is a remarkable one (der - Lush Lips Ange wouldn't have made a film about him if it wasn't!) and this film captures it in a deeply compelling way.

The parts of the film (the majority of it) that capture Louie's time stranded at sea (his plane is struck down over the Pacific) with two other soldiers and his subsequent time in a Japanese POW camp are so unrelenting that it was almost painful to watch. A sign that the story is being executed well, to be sure. It's not easy to watch in that regard but it really is an amazing story and I would happily recommend seeing this one.

For more detail on the story, check out this 3.5 star review in Rolling Stone magazine.

Trailer here. Opens 15 January.

THE HOBBIT: The Battle of the Five Armies - film

I'll open this with a frank confession. This is the third part in a series of three 'The Hobbit' films and I haven't seen the first two parts. I was preparing to be bored and confused when I watched this installment and you know what? I was confused but not at all bored! It's a drama-filled visual feast! 'The Hobbit' is a book by JRR Tolkien who also wrote 'The Lord of the Rings'. The events of 'The Hobbit' precede those of 'The Lord of the Rings'.

To be fair to the film, I took along my 15 year old nephew James who is a big fan and had seen the first two installments. I handed the blogging reigns to him and here's what he said:

"I thought the movie was a great wrap up to the three 'The Hobbit' movies. I loved the way it was presented and I especially loved the use of digital effects. Although there was something that bothered me a bit with the movie... at times it simply has too much going on. The original 'The Lord of the Rings' had two different story lines going for most of the three movies. This gave an interesting range of perspectives but at a point in this final 'The Hobbit' movie there was simply too much going on and I was just getting confused. Apart from that small issue I really enjoyed the movie. I think it was an excellent end to the 'The Hobbit' trilogy and unlike most other prequels, it linked incredibly smoothly into the first 'The Lord of the Rings'. I would highly recommend this movie to anyone who likes a bit of action and fantasy."

I guess this can all be summarized as, if you liked 'The Lord of the Rings' and the first two installments of 'The Hobbit', you will probably really like this but probably will see it regardless of the reviews. If you haven't seen any of them, don't know anything about the story etc, you will be mighty confused jumping on the bandwagon at this point but entertained nonetheless! 

It's getting mixed reviews. Here's a great one from The Wall Street Journal and here's a pretty bad one from The Atlantic.

Trailer here.

Opens in cinemas on Boxing Day.

THE IMITATION GAME - film

Loved this!

It's based on a true story about Alan Turing (played to perfection by the brilliant Benedict Cumberbatch), a mathematician who invented the first ever 'computer' during WWII to crack the Nazi's naval code to help win the war.

Keira Knightley is also in this (playing one of the other cryptologists working with Turing, the only female) and despite my general ambivalence towards her, she keeps being great in great movies like this one so I'm slowly coming around on her!

The story delicately navigates the issues of Turing's personal life too - he was gay which was, at that time, illegal.

Lots of films skew to a particular group - women will like XYZ film more than men, young people will like XYZ film more than older people, but this is universally likeable to my mind. I really can't think of a group who wouldn't enjoy it. (Ummm, maybe young bogans who find films like 'Fat Pizza' funny, but they're not likely to be reading this totes high brow blog, ok?!) 

There's a bit of Oscar buzz around this film. I'd love to see Cumberbatch get a gong for it, he really is fabulous in this.

For more on the film, try this 'B+' review in US magazine Entertainment Weekly. 

It opens in cinemas on 1 January. Trailer here.