BLENDED - film

The only thing crappier than this film was this promotional cup I accidentally bought at the Hoyts candy bar...

Seriously though, this film was ordinary, full of lame jokes, cliches and unbelievable plot lines.

I'd confidently say give it a miss but in the interests of fairness, most people in the cinema laughed more than me.

Here's a 2-star review from the Fairfax press that I reckon is bang on and a trailer for your viewing 'pleasure'.

FRANK - film

It's pretty easy to 'cut to the chase' on this film because it's so strange that I really don't know how to describe it!

What I can say though, is that it's really quite charming and I did enjoy it.

If you like unusual films straight out of left field, give this a go. If you have mainstream taste and don't get to the movies often, I can safely say you ought to give it a miss.

Here's a nice four star review from The Guardian and here's a trailer. Even if you don't plan to see it, give the trailer a squiz - it's a fascinating concept!

Stars (though, it's complicated - watch the trailer!) Michael Fassbender for those of you who are fans.

THE ROVER - film

I really try to support Australian films so I bought my ticket to this one blindly, having read no reviews and not knowing anything other than it is by the same director as 'Animal Kingdom', David Michod, and stars Guy Pearce, who I love, and Robert Pattinson, who many of you will know from his turn in the Twilight flicks. 

At first I was enjoying this film, which is sort-of thriller/drama, I guess, set in the Australian outback. The story starts with Guy's character Eric's car being stolen and the film is a journey of his desperation to get it back but we don't find out the reason for it until those closing scene of the film and for me, that just made it hard to buy into that desperation. As the film went on I just couldn't help but feel we weren't really getting anywhere. And I was struck by the large amount of violence that doesn't sit comfortably with me personally.

Regardless, Guy Pearce delivers an excellent performance and Robert was a pleasant surprise to this non-Twilight fan. On that note, any fans of Robert Pattinson's work from that franchise, you need to know that The Rover is a very very different film to those ones!

If you have mainstream taste and if you don't get to the movies very often, I'd say you should give this a miss. For the smaller pool of people who like more arthouse stuff and who get to the movies regularly, this film will divide you, if the reviews are anything to go by. They are very mixed - a reminder that ultimately even critics using the same techniques to review a film can easily come to different conclusions.

I've done the reading and broadly grouped them here for those looking for a little extra light reading. Leigh Paatsch's review is probably most in line with my own opinion of the film but I'm listing the positive reviews here too in the interests of balance.

Positive:
Margaret & David on At The Movies ABC TV - 4 stars from both
Variety Magazine

Middle of the road:
Paul Byrnes in Fairfax press - 3 stars (Includes a quote to which I actually said "yes!" out loud when I read it - "Michod has tried to take out everything extraneous, but he ends up with a plot that we have to construct ourselves, and a punchline finale that is more suited to a short film than a feature.")

Not so positive:
Leigh Paatsch in News Ltd press - 2.5 stars
The Guardian - 2 stars
New York Times - 2.5 stars
The UK Telegraph - 2 stars

Trailer here.

THE FAULT IN OUR STARS - film

This film is based on a young adult novel of the same name by John Green and you know what, this old "young adult" bloody loved it!

It's not perfect, artful cinema but it's a beautiful execution of a heart-breaking story. We know from the outset that there will be heartbreak on the horizon, after all, leading lady Hazel has a terminal illness, but it breaks you in a way that I for one never expected. 

You connect with the main characters Hazel and Gus straight away and you get swept away in their ultimately tragic young love story.

WARNING: You will cry and cry and cry. It takes a while for the weepy stuff to get started but by gee, when you get going you will wish you had a lot more tissues in your pockets than you probably do. Don't say you weren't warned.

So if you're up for a big ol' cry courtesy of a sweet heartbreaking love story, get thee to a screening of The Fault in Our Stars.

More on the story of the film in this review in The Age which I reckon is on the money.

Trailer here.

MALEFICENT - film

Maleficent, starring Angelina Jolie, is described as a 'fantasy adventure' film, a genre which is not usually my cup of tea to be honest but I didn't mind this. Also described as a re-imagining of the film Sleeping Beauty, this time around it tells the story from the perspective of Maleficent. I don't remember the Sleeping Beauty story at all though so don't sweat that connection too much - the story stands alone just fine.
My mate who took me along to this is more into both fantasy and adventure than I and she really enjoyed it. To quote 'if you like fantasy, this one's for you!'.

If you don't get to the movies often, I'd probably save this for a DVD viewing.

Three stars from both Margaret and David on ABC TV's 'At the movies' and I reckon that's about right for me too.

Trailer here.

THE TRIP TO ITALY - film

I thought this film was delightful but the reality is that it's not for everyone.

It's a follow up to 'The Trip' which was both a film and TV series. If you liked one of those, you'll enjoy this.

Rob Brydon (who I love) and Steve Coogan play versions of themselves and in this turn they're travelling through Italy eating amazing meals and visiting important sites from the lives of poets Byron and Shelley.

It's an unusual concept which I think many would probably just not particularly enjoy even though there's little you could really object to.

Here's a good review of the film from the Sydney Morning Herald with a trailer.

If you get to the movies pretty regularly and like things a little less mainstream, then check this one out. If you don't get the chance to see one very often and you like your flicks pretty middle-of-the-road then this probably isn't for you.

CHEF - film

This feel good flick is written and directed by and stars Jon Favreau who will be familiar to many of you. He plays a chef whose creativity and temper see him suddenly looking for a new gig. Hellooo, food truck revolution!

I don't use 'feel good' as a throw-away cliche, it genuinely does leave you with that 'well that was nice' feeling at the end.

Is it an amazing 5 star kind of film? No. But if you're looking for a movie to see that's easy to watch and just good fun, then check this one out.

There's an unusual incorporation of Twitter which I haven't seen a film before. Again, just good fun. 

There was a funny line in the film about American reality TV star Honey Boo Boo which was lost on everyone in the cinema if their reaction (*crickets*) was anything to go by. I guess I should be embarrassed that I got it.

I tend to agree with this review from the Washington Post. Check it out for more on the storyline, cast etc.

Trailer here.