The day the earth stood still

"The imagery is spectacular"

This film is very good. It genuinely exceeded my expectations and did the original justice. In fact I would go so far as to say its what the original would have been if they had had the technology back then.
The story follows Klatu as he descends to save the earth from the one thing that can destroy it....US! He is sent to decide whether the humans can in fact change or if its necessary to save samples of all the other species and destroy the human race Noah style. Its up to Jennifer Connolly to save the us all and judging by the amazing performances in the film we are most definitely in good hands.
The performances throughout our great and even Will Smiths young son does well (though he does get close to becoming very annoying by the end) which is fantastic to see. Most the time an effects driven movie is exactly that, but a far more personal story and emotion journey for our extra terrestrial friend draw you into the movie and help you really care about the (slightly predictable) outcome. Keanu (who really can't act) does very well too. Mainly because the part requires a wooden and emotionless performance (something he pulls off superbly) Klatu never fully humanises as a character, which is good because he isn't human. He does however start to see the beauty of humanity and this is shown in the characters thought process which does it justice. Had Klatu started crying and saying how much he loved humans it would have been really poor. The supporting cast were also good and the robot was great. It does very little but what it does do is memorable.
Plus John Cleese is in the movie. He has a main credit at the films opening and is only in it 5 minutes or so, he however has the most important things in the whole film to say during his screen time.
The film is also stunningly beautiful to look at, the space ship and alien effects are astounding. We know that anything can be done with CGI and so the director has obviously decided a flying saucer and a few big bangs would not do. So he turned everything into a stunning work of art. The space ship is awe inspiring and the swarm of locus as they eat through everything is epic and scary at the same time. The lighting is superb and each shot is brilliantly composed to get the maximum reaction from the audience with out going over the top. That said the special effects weren't all great. What disappointed me was the CGI aeroplanes, helicopters and tanks all of which looked fake. It wasn't enough to spoil the experience but it did make a difference as you would hope that something like this wouldn't be as over looked as that.
Over all The day the Earth stood still did the original film justice. When I first heard it was being made I, like many others asked why it was needed. The film makers have answered that question with a confident, beautiful and effective piece of cinema that must be seen (in IMAX if possible) in cinemas. Not one to wait until the DVD. Its something I would definitly see again before its cinematic run is over

I give it a strong
4 stars

Four Christmases

"I shall swaddle this baby"

I have to admit I wasn't epecting much from this film. Yes Vince Vaughn is funny and sure Reese Witherspoon is a great actress but as of late christmas family films have been a bit hit and miss. We had just bought our unlimited cinema passes and were eager to use them and this film was on at the time so in we skipped.

Brad and Kate realise how little they know about each other

What followed was a really enjoyable hour and a half or so of great comedy, suprisingly well created main and supporting characters and a really heart felt story of sacrific and relationships. Its not perfect by any stretch but it was definatly worth the admission.

We start of with a very relaxed and seemingly perfect couple as they avoid their families to whizz of to Fuji for christmas. One of the best intros to a comedy film I've seen in a while lets us meet our main characters Brad and Kate mixing brilliant character developement with a sharp and witty script that carries on throughout.

The classic baby sick joke made funnier by Vinces fantastic reaction!

The film starts to excel when we not only meet 4 fantastically dysfunctional families (one of which sees Brads best friend sleeping with his 50 year old mother) but start to realise that they both want different things from the relationship. These lessons come from the very families that we spend so long laughing at. Its wonderfully put together and I really felt with every unfortunate meeting the two characters were really learning some important things about each other and themselves.

I would say it was a little too long. I felt by the end i had already learnt the lesson and finished the journey 15 minutes before. The film makers however saw fit to wrap it up with a slightly implausible happy ending that needed in itself probably a half hour extra to really justify but did in only 5 minutes.

Overall this is a really great christmas film for anyone over 13 with some great slapstick and even better quick witted jokes as well as some really disgusting ones that have you laughing hard and saying "eeeeeeeeeeeeww" at the same time. Its definatly worth a watch and is a welcome break from heavy dramas and men in spandex saving the world. Go see it if you have a couple of hours to kill.

My verdict

3 stars

Check out the trailer