Sugar’s Film Review: The Happening

Right… what to say?

Today I was privileged enough to be able to see a Hollywood blockbuster. I’d seen several previews for ‘the Happening’ and it looked pretty basic. Initially I assumed it was about crazy aliens or something similar coming to Earth and killing everyone. It was much worse.

Basically it was a silly free for all kind of plot- and by that I mean there was none. But from what I could understand- we followed a family who were trying to escape a biohazard terrorist attack on the North-eastern coast of America. Pollutants were released into the air causing the citizens to kill themselves. Whilst escaping, the family got cornered by the disease (along with several others) in a paddock. The plot turned for the worse when a crazy guy said that the trees were responsible for the deaths and not terrorists… and according to the main character; this makes more sense than terrorists. It played out similarly to the Monty python sketch where old grannies attacked hoards of young fit defenceless men… common theme: they are both ludicrous.

Yet somehow I can still watch Monty Python. (Main character) played his role as the hero embarrassingly and was not backed up by any other actor. The script did not help him in any way; but good actors can make bad parts special. Even the best scene was hardly believable.

In trying to capture the essence of an Indiana Jones film, the director had the characters running away from a slowly approaching wind that would kill them all. This has never happened to me so either wind is very sneaky, or the writers were hopelessly searching for something with substance. Releasing this movie to the public is going to have the same effect on the human race that the trees had… it is going to increase the suicide rate on a global scale.

Just for making me laugh I give it…

*/*****

-Sugar.

Billy’s Film Review: Hancock

Hey people. It’s been a while.

This year, a great deal of superhero movies have/are about to come out. What we must ask ourselves is which of these has stood out? What one has set the bar that all superhero movies must aim to reach?

Hancock was not this movie. In fact, it was Iron Man. And mark my words folks, come July 17 a new movie will take this crown. That review is for a later date.

What we have with Hancock is a fantastic premise. And I honestly thought it was. The idea of a superhero that is foul- mouthed, alcoholic and generally an A grade asshole is quite intriguing. The problem is the direction that Peter Berg and Co. took with the movie didn’t pay off. The movie is a complete and utter mess.

And I came out of the cinema entertained enough. The fatal flaw in the movie was the instigation of an extremely convoluted plot. The movie, minus a few missteps, starts off quite well. We see a down and out Hancock who everyone hates, and the publicist that wants to turns his life around (played wonderfully by Jason Bateman). After the good set up, everything goes awry. Hancock and the publicist’s wife (Charlize Theron), constantly exchange looks toward each other which are painfully corny, and make the reveal heading towards the end of the film quite obvious. And there’s the kicker. Despite it being so obvious, they wait until the latter half of the film before they explain how on Earth these two are related.

Another issue: Even if the audience managed to buy into the storyline, it is terribly explained and executed. Besides that, what they come up with is so incredibly silly that I would have preferred that Hancock was involved in another toxic spill, or yet another bite from an exotic animal. This attempt to look outside the square is simply ridiculous, and when you think about it pretty much makes no sense.

Will Smith does a good job. I’m not going to criticise him. He was pretty believable in the role, and quite a good choice. In fact, most actors in the film are quite good. However, I do have my qualms with Charlize Theron. Quite frankly, I thought she was the weak link of the three main actors. But they all do try their hardest with the material that they’re given.

Another thing people have tried to explain to me is that “This isn’t a superhero film; it’s a parody of them.” Sorry, but it’s not. This is a film that desperately wants to be superhero film. It isn’t a parody in the slightest. Why? If it was a parody, the last half of the film wouldn’t have been so ridiculous.

I’m sure majority of teenagers that came out of the cinema think it’s the greatest thing since sliced bread. However, I came out of it more critical, and I think for good reason. Despite all that I still came out of that cinema entertained. And that’s enough for me to forgive some of the film’s flaws. But it can’t forgive them all, because since I walked out of the cinema, thinking about it made me like it even less. This isn’t your formulaic summer blockbuster, I’ll give it that. But just because it’s different doesn’t make it good.

4/10

-Billy Bunter.