Film Review: Revolutionary Road

A reunited Winslett and DiCaprio star in director Sam Mendes' adaptation of Revolutionary Road. Seeing that Winslett has already picked up a Golden Globe for her role and a further Academy Award nomination, this was another situation where it would be difficult to approach the film with an inexpectant outlook.

Set in the 1950s, Revolutionary Road is the darker story behind the façade of suburban lifestyle, as a couple - Frank and April Wheeler (DiCaprio and Winslett respectively) - struggle with their relationship as they become increasingly disillusioned with the much touted American Dream.

Soon enough April, a failed actress (ho ho, the irony), suggests that the family move to Paris so that Frank, who has always despised what he has done, can finally figure out what he wants to do. Frank willingly agrees, and the enthusiastic couple do not hesitate to spread the word, much to the disapproval and scorn of all but one.

The one man who can see the reasoning behind their choice is John Givings, the son of a neighbour, portrayed brilliantly by Michael Shannon (who has also picked up an Academy Award nomination for his role). John makes no secret about his recent stay in a psychiatric hospital or his electroshock therapy, nor does he hold anything back when analysing or criticising the Wheeler's choices or the suburb in general. Despite, or perhaps because of his insanity, he is the only one who openly speaks against the façade, instantly making him one of the more likeable characters in a sea of pre-dinner Martinis and forced laughter.

The effect John has on the Wheeler's during his few scenes is infinitely more significant than any of the other characters. While at first the couple are spurred on by his insightful and shameless comments, as their plan deteriorates and his remarks turn to harsh criticism it drives them to the edge. It's just a shame that he didn't feature more, as the few scenes with him are easily some of the most interesting in the film.

When the ending does come it's suitably dramatic, although like other moments in Revolutionary Road is dragged out a little too much. There are several moments near the end which would have made for a perfectly suitable climax, but the film forces itself to carry on, giving that little bit more closure each time until it starts showing the reactions of various minor characters. It's not difficult to imagine this working in the book, but in a film it feels dragged out and unnecessary.

Revolutionary Road is by no means a stunning film, but a select few performances and it's wonderfully dark story certainly make it worth seeing. It may feel a little dragged out at times - specifically the times without Winslett or Shannon - but if you're up for a deep and dramatic insight into the turmoil of 50s suburban life, this is probably as good as it gets.

4/5

Fun fact: No man in Revolutionary Road can go for longer than twenty seconds. Not even Leonardo DiCaprio. No wonder Kate Winslett was so frustrated.

Broomgrove Road > Revolutionary Road - tomdoodle16@live.co.uk

Film and DVD Review: Taken

There's been a for as long as I can remember that those fat, loud people over the pond have always, for one reason or another, got all the good stuff first. But we Brits have never questioned this, oh no. We've muttered under our breath about it certainly, that's what we do, but we never outright complain; for the simple reason that we know that when there's the rare, brilliant occurrence that we get something before America does, we're not going to let them forget it.

Taken is one such example of a film that's only just found it's way through the maze of Wal-Marts, McDonalds and discount gun stores and into American cinemas, but has already been released on DVD in pretty much everywhere else. So, this review - which I wasn't really planning on doing otherwise - is for the benefit of those lovely people in the US of A. Yes, you with the cheeseburger, that means you.

So Taken stars Liam Neeson as Bryan Mills, an ex-government agent who is forced out of retirement when his daughter is kidnapped by Albanian sex traffickers. After landing in Paris, Mills doesn't stop for breath before he starts building up a body count, ruthlessly tearing through the criminal underground in the trendy Bourne-esque fashion. It's a genuine thriller, superbly interlacing suitably gritty and violent punch-ups with some deeply disturbing scenes of torture and trafficking, all the while maintaining a level of realism that never shaves off the dramatic edge.

The performances in general are alright, although the majority of the characters are so deeply rooted in stereotype that it really is very difficult to like them in the first place, but instead of putting you off, they just serve to make Neeson's lead character that much more appealing. Mills is flawed on so many levels; he's over protective, he's ruthless, and treats most of the people around him with a cold, professional disdain, but with his intentions so pure and almost everyone standing in his way more than deserving of their punishment it's impossible not to like him, and Neeson's portrayal of him is nothing short of superb.

Strangely, when it comes to music, Taken is surprisingly quiet. There isn't anything like the thumping rhythm of The Dark Knight, or the heroic trumpeting of Indiana Jones, instead the diegetic sound tends to take over, with the music in most scenes making for faint background. This is by no means a bad thing, but with the rest of the film being so typically Hollywood it feels a bit out of place or indecisive. It's not about to ruin an otherwise very good film, but if your used to similar Hollywood-style films it's might be a little off-putting.

With that said, Taken is definitely worth a look. It's an absolutely thrilling ride and Neeson is, as always, a class act.

4/5

It's films like this which make me sad that they killed off Qui-Gon Jinn so quickly.

Les DVD Special Features:

This is an occasion that I've been savouring for a while, one that is even rarer than a film being released everywhere else in the world before a release in the US. The time when I can safely summarise the material with three short, simple words: What the fuck?

Taken is, for the most part, spoken in English. The main character speaks English, most of the supporting characters speak English, and half the time the French characters speak English, albeit with a heavy accent. So where do they get off putting all the extras in French, and without subtitles?

Still, it's not as if there is much in the extras worth watching. The making-of section is fairly interesting, but nothing else is really worth your time. Not unless you're really interested in how various scenes which have undergone strenuous editing looked before they were edited. Because that's really interesting stuff, right?

No. The special features are absolute rubbish, you'd be wasting your time if you went anywhere near them.

1/5

Yes I know the director is French but still, at least throw in bloody subtitles.

Loves America really - tomdoodle16@live.co.uk

Game Review: Fallout 3

From Bethesda Studios, the minds behind the brilliant Elder Scrolls series, comes the long awaited next instalment in the Fallout series: Fallout 3. With Bethesda's proven pedigree with RPGs, it was difficult to imagine Fallout 3 falling far short of brilliance.

Instead of launching you straight into the wilderness, Fallout 3's beginning is a little more gradual. Starting from birth, you'll play through all the key events in your character's early life inside a secure vault; including learning to walk, your birthday party, and sitting the G.O.A.T exams (which is hilariously referred to as "Taking the goat"). This doesn't just serve to teach you the basics of the various aspects of Fallout's gameplay in a manner both concise and intuitive, but it managed to bring depth to various characters before the game has even chugged into second gear.

Everything then kicks into full throttle, as your childhood friend reveals that your dad has left the vault, and with him being the only family you've got you'll follow in hot pursuit, and take your first steps into the big, wide world. Now, it's worth pointing out that Fallout 3's take on a post-apocalyptic Washington DC is nowhere near as pretty as the worlds Bethesda previously created for Oblivion or The Shivering Isles, and it still pulls the same tricks of copy-pasting certain blocks of environment between the more important, detailed locations to feign a greater sense of scale. But, despite it being a barren pallet of grey and brown, it's still awe-inspiring regardless. The level of detail in the areas that Bethesda didn't copy and paste is immense, and as soon as you see the decrepit remains of the Washington Monument looming eerily over the mutant infested ruins of DC that's it: you're immersed in this world and there's nothing you can do about it.

Even though it's impossible not to become immersed, the Washington Monument is always going to look like a penis

This is because immersion it what Fallout 3 does best, and this is not only evident in the game's world but in the sheer amount of detail available when developing your character. Like with most RPGs you'll gain experience from completing tasks and killing the various creatures you'll meet in the wasteland, but once you gain enough experience to level up you'll realise just how intricate and immersive developing your character is. As well as the usual attribute and skill distribution that any RPG player will be very familiar with, there are a selection of perks that become available when you meet a certain criteria. Each perk will effect your experience with the game in a different way; some simply improve your skill with a certain weapon, another will allow you to blow up enemies with a single bullet. Choosing which of the unique perks you want to customise your character with is, without fail, going to draw you even further into Fallout 3.

I never thought I'd be lucky enough to play something that made Gears of War look tame

As well as the role playing elements, Fallout 3 is also part shooter, and can boast one of the greatest arsenals of weapons out of any video game on the 360. Any game that offers you the chance to wield a modified vacuum cleaner and launch a stockpile of dinner plates and teddy bears into the faces of bewildered onlookers is, quite simply, an experience that nobody should be without. The other weapons, while hardly comparing to the genius or innovation of the aforementioned vacuum cleaner, are still exceptionally designed, making up a collection of weapons so diverse that, even if you've only specialised in one type of weapon, there will be enough diversity between within that type that you will rarely find yourself at a significant disadvantage.

How you actually use these guns won't feel like anything new at first, until you start using the V.A.Ts targeting system. V.A.Ts bring the world to a standstill, allowing you to pick and choose your targets before you watch your chosen actions being performed in brilliant slow motion cinematic sequences. Thanks to Fallout 3's copious amounts of blood and gore, this will never get old. Ever. There will always be something deeply satisfying about watching enemies gratuitously explode into a thousand little bits with a single bullet. Although, as satisfying as they are, because you're constantly popping in and out of real time to use them, V.A.Ts tend to break up the flow of the gameplay. The effect isn't quite as staggering as the constant pausing you had to do to use the abilities in Mass Effect but it's hardly ideal, especially as you'll find yourself relying on them most of the time. This also serves to takes the edge right off Fallout 3's shooting element; having you rely on percentages rather than actual skill. Don't get me wrong; V.A.Ts are, without a doubt, incredibly satisfying, they're just a little bit broken when it comes to actual gameplay and not just the raw visual display.

I knew that Maths GCSE was going to come in handy

The thing is though, even with the niggling issues - and they are niggling, the only reason I've had to talk about them so much is because there is so little to criticise - Fallout 3 is never going to stop drawing you in, at least until you develop the willpower to save it and turn off the console. This is one of those brilliant games that you find yourself coming back to over and over again, and with all the downloadable content lined up (no word on whether it will contain armour for your dog yet, just cross your fingers and hope), you're going to be absorbed in the world of Fallout 3 for a long, long, long time.

9/10

Ooh, and Liam Neeson and Malcolm McDowell are in it, and you can get a dog, ooh and, and... I really wish I had room for an extra paragraph. Bloody word limit.

Ran out of synonyms for "really really good" a long time ago - tomdoodle16@live.co.uk

Ring o' Death (and other updates)

So, it seems that my 360 has gone tits up again, and I'm not entirely sure where this leaves me.

I'm going to go through the usual hassle of phoning up Microsoft, talking to an automated message for a few minutes (or hours, depending on whether the peppy arsewipe decides to be helpful or ask me the same question eight times in a row), and then talking to some bloke in Asia for another few minutes (or hours, depending on how many times he asks me to spell out my surname), to see if I can get a free repair. If that's is the case, I'll be out of game reviews for a week or two. If I can't get a free repair, then I'll pop into town, get myself a new 360, and there won't be any delays, fuss, or whatever.

In the meantime, I feel like I've played enough of Fallout 3 to get a review done. Well, I've played it enough to internally destroy my console, at any rate. So expect a review of that by the end of the week. You'll also have noticed that I'm churning out film reviews over the weekends, and that's because I've been toddling off to the cinema every Friday. This is a routine that I'll be continuing for the foreseeable future, so expect another film review every weekend.

The reaction to my Oscars overview was surprisingly positive, considering it was fairly uninformed and only covered about a third of the awards, so I will probably be doing more of a similar thing. If anyone knows any sites that have up-to-date game, TV or film news, I'd appreciate if you could link me to them so that I could, er, borrow their material. It'll end up being similar to the Oscar nominations overview; I'll give an opinion, throw in a few jokes if I can, you probably won't laugh - you know the drill.

You're probably sick of hearing me harp on about how I've got a video review planned, and I figured it's about time I updated you on that. I haven't really done much for the Heroes review so far, I'm probably waiting until February half term for that, so that I can go through the series again. But, in the meantime, I've decided to do a video review on the new series of Skins, a sort of teen drama-y thing. Only thing I know for sure is that it's going to be quite short, as I've only got one episode to work with, and that it will contain as much swearing as my middle-class politeness boundaries will allow me to include. Ho-hum. Anyway, I should get that done fairly soon.

Right, there you are, an update of sorts. Does anyone actually read these things? Oh, feedback is appreciated, hope you've enjoyed everything, hope you keep reading, sorry for spamming various forums and Facebook with links to this site, please don't hate me, etcetera etcetera.

Cheers,

Tom

For that matter, does anyone read this bit either?

Knows he needs to get out more, stop telling him that - tomdoodle16@live.co.uk

Film Review: Milk

From acclaimed director Gus Van Sant comes the story of assassinated 1970s politician and gay rights activist Harvey Milk. Simply titled Milk, this film has already earned an impressive amount of award nominations, including the Academy Award for Best Picture and Best Director, making it difficult to expect anything other than greatness from Van Sant's latest work.

Opening with a broadcast announcing the assassination of Harvey Milk, the film then backtracks as Milk himself (Sean Penn) details the final eight years of his life, to where the events leading up to his tragic death began. We see his influence spread, as his actions in one small neighbourhood gradually gain momentum and gain national recognition and importance, as his campaign for equal rights for gays is met with the bigotry and hatred of 1970s American conservatives. This story alone is superb and the driving force behind the film, but the true drama is found a Milk recounts his personal life, and we realise just why this man was an inspiration to so many, as well as the hardships and tragedy he suffered during his eight years campaigning. It's absolutely stunning viewing, fantastically emotive and wonderfully told.

Sean Penn is nothing short of brilliant as Harvey Milk, being both quirky and deep in equal measure in a wonderfully enthusiastic performance, with Penn's personal background as a liberal political activist adding a little more credibility and believability to his portrayal of Milk's character. This is definitely a performance worthy of an Oscar nomination. The same goes for Josh Brolin, who's nomination for Best Supporting Actor is well deserved, as he captures the tormented mind of Milk's conservative peer Dan White superbly. There are even a couple of surprising performances from James Franco and Emile Hirsch, who are better known for their respective roles in the awful Spiderman 3 and Speed Racer films, but are both fantastic in their parts here.

Being a biographical account of Harvey Milk's final years, naturally the physical portrayal of the characters had to be fairly similar, and this is another region where Milk excels. As shown by a tribute reel come the end of the film. the physical characterisation by the cast is superb and nothing short of a triumph. The tribute itself is excellent, and one of the most emotional five minutes you'll have to fortune to experience in the cinema today.

It's no surprise that Milk has been nominated for Best Film at the Academy awards. Not only because of the story, which alone screams "nominate me", but it's a fantastic film, deep and emotional, and wonderfully acted to boot. This is another must-see for 2009.

5/5

Slumdog Millionaire is still better, though.

Proud member of the "I have seen Sean Penn's bare arse" club - tomdoodle16@live.co.uk

Game Review: Braid

Developed by Jonathan Blow of Number None, Braid is another one of those charming independent titles that has risen to fame through the Xbox Live Arcade after it's release back in 2008. It's coming a little late, but I just had to have a nosey, and find out why Braid has caused such a buzz in the community.

Braid certainly didn't cause this buzz because of it's plot. The gist of it is simple enough; you'll traverse various different worlds, trying to find the Princess who is always in another castle. It all sounds very Super Mario, which is no bad thing, but Braid seems to have deluded itself into thinking that there's much more to it than that. So much so that it will ask you to read through reams of text, all of which are pointless because they're so ambiguous and vague. This is supposed to leave the story open to interpretation, but it just comes off as pretentious.

"Could you just give me her address so this doesn't happen again?"

On the other hand, Braid truly shines with it's furiously clever gameplay. While at first it may seem like a typical platformer, again paying homage to the Super Mario series with the classic jumping-on-enemies-heads action, there is so much more to Braid than that. The true brilliance of Braid is in the time manipulation. This is hardly a stranger to games; Prince of Persia has been using time reversal throughout the last generation, but Braid applies it in such a way that it makes any other game's time manipulation mechanics look simplistic and dated by comparison.

Each world offers you a different and unique kind of time manipulation, which you'll have to use to solve puzzles and avoid dangerous obstacles, and this is where Braid is truly unique. Most games rely on movement, having you move from one place to another through or around various obstacles, but Braid requires you to start thinking of things in relation to time as well as this. This does have the annoying side effect of making Braid's difficulty curve fluctuate between fairly simple and bollocks twisting-ly hard. Some puzzles are going to be blindingly obvious while others are going to gnaw away at your mind until you've exhausted yourself performing the same trial and error ten times over and leave the game in bitter frustration. With Braid's inherent pretentiousness you can't help but get the feeling that, while you're sat there frustrated with the challenges, it's snootily mocking your inability from a far off distance. However, this does serve to make completing levels in Braid that little bit more satisfying, and you will find yourself looking back and marvelling at how bloody ingenious it all was.

Yeah, shut up now, I want to rip a hole in the spacetime continuum.

All this is wonderfully topped off with Braid's beautiful worlds and musical score. This is quite possibly the best looking Xbox Live Arcade game available, and I doubt any words I use to describe it could do it justice, unless I threw several hundred "really"s in front of it. It's just gorgeous, making the worlds in Braid absolute joy to play though. At least when it's not making you feel like a fool.

You will struggle to find a game as pretentious as this one, and for that matter you'll struggle to find one as difficult or frustrating. But despite all that, Braid is still worth a look, purely for it's unique time manipulation. A beautiful and sophisticated game, Braid is definitely one of the best titles on the Xbox Live Arcade.

9/10

Right, done, and it only took me six months to get round to it. I'm so well organised.

Master of time and space - tomdoodle16@live.co.uk

The 2009 Academy Awards

Now that the Academy Award nominees have been announced, it's time for amateur critics to hop on the almighty prediction bandwagon, so that when the Oscars are finally awarded we can jump and point excitedly at our blog posts from a month earlier, jabbering on about how we predicted various winners and pretending that we have a vague influence in the award panel, all the while sweeping any guesses proven false under the carpet with a less-than-sneaky edit. And, since I've never been one to buck the trend, I figure I might as well join in.

Oh, and for a full list of the nominations, just head on over to here.

Best Picture
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Frost/Nixon
Milk
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire

Embarrassingly enough I've only seen one of the films nominated for this award, but in this case it's probably sufficient. It's already got the Golden Globe and Critics' Choice award for Best Picture tucked safely under it's belt, as well as another two nominations for Best Film and Outstanding British Film at the BAFTAs, making it very hard to see past Slumdog Millionaire for Best Picture.

Best director
Danny Boyle - Slumdog Millionaire
Stephen Daldry - The Reader
David Fincher - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Ron Howard - Frost/Nixon
Gus Van Sant - Milk

Again, this is another scenario where it's almost impossible to see past Danny Boyle and Slumdog Millionaire. Come on, he's won three Best Director awards for it already. The only way I can see him losing out on this award is if the voters decide that someone else should have a turn making an acceptance speech.

Best actor
Richard Jenkins - The Visitor
Frank Langella - Frost/Nixon
Sean Penn - Milk
Brad Pitt - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Mickey Rourke - The Wrestler

Oh come on, Rourke has to walk away with this one, he carried The Wrestler with one of the most moving and emotional performances of the decade.

Best supporting actor
Josh Brolin - Milk
Robert Downey Jr - Tropic Thunder
Philip Seymour Hoffman - Doubt
Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight
Michael Shannon - Revolutionary Road

How weird is it seeing Tropic Thunder in-between Milk and Doubt? I reckon this one will be a toss up between Hoffman and Ledger. As cynical as it sounds, Ledgers death will probably give him an edge to win another posthumous award. It's not as if it's undeserved, he was nothing short of superb in The Dark Knight, but there's always going to be that niggling "what if?" doubt in the back of many people's minds.

Best animated feature film
Bolt
Kung Fu Panda
Wall-E

I've got a feeling Wall-E is going to take this one; not only because it's arguably the best animated film of the decade, but because the lack of dialogue gives it an almost art house quality that's never found among animated feature films. It's unique, and I'll be very surprised if it doesn't win this award.

Best original score
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Defiance
Milk
Slumdog Millionaire
Wall-E

Once you get past the surprise that The Dark Knight didn't get a mention for it's score, you're staring right back into the face of Slumdog Millionaire for this one, with two of it's songs nominated for Best Original Song award.

Best original song
Down To Earth - Wall-E
Jai Ho - Slumdog Millionaire
O Saya - Slumdog Millionaire

See, now this is probably the only category I can give a proper prediction for, since I'm a massive fan of all three songs. Personally I'd be leaning towards O Saya, but I reckon Jai Ho will take it. Either way, as brilliant as Down To Earth was, I can see Slumdog walking away with another award here.

In case you haven't figured it out, I've got a feeling that Slumdog Millionaire is going to walk these awards. And it would probably deserve them; it certainly deserves every single nomination. I'd like to see it perform a clean sweep as well, as it's nicked a place in my heart as one of my all time favourite films. It's just a phenomenal all rounder.

One of the biggest surprises of the 2009 Academy Awards is The Dark Knight's lack of mentions. I'm struggling to see why it's been overlooked so consistently, last I checked it had done brilliantly with critics. Maybe it's not quite as sentimental or emotional as some of the other films that have sprawled themselves across the various award nominations, like desperate whores turning tricks in return for glittery statuettes. But it's still damn good, and surely worthy of more high profile nominations?

So there you go, a prediction on the 2009 Academy Awards that barely meets the minimum requirements to call itself "informed". Although I've just realised how few good films I've seen this year. Like, properly good films. I've been going out of my way to play the best games, so it's probably about time I got round to seeing more, and better, films. What do you know, I've finally got a new years resolution.

You have no idea how bored I had to get before I considered writing this. Seriously.

Isn't looking forward to rewriting all this after he sees Milk tonight - tomdoodle16@live.co.uk