The Hangover Part II

The basics

The Hangover part II, which came out in 2011, is the sequel of the American comedy The Hangover which came in 2009. In this film the wolf pack is back and set for another night out that they will never forget and a night that they will remember nothing of.

The film brings back all the favourite cast from the first one (including a cameo from Mike Tyson) and is directed by the same director Todd Phillips. Like the first one this film is a comedy about a bachelor party, friendship, investigation, hangovers and having to deal with Alan (aka Zach Galifianakis or more commonly known as ‘that guy from The Hangover’)    

What is this film about?

Well if you haven’t guessed already this film is basically the same as the first one but with a few minor changes. The film starts off with a phone conversation with Phil claiming ‘It happened again’ (because it has) then it shoots back to the beginning to show us story leading up to the phone call.  This time around it is Stu who is getting married (like I said minor change) and he is planning to do his nuptials in Thailand.

Due to what has happen in the past Stu’s bachelor party is ……………………….. A brunch at a IHOP before they leave America. Once in Thailand, a few days before the wedding, Stu gets convinced to have just one sealed bottle of beer on the beach around a camp fire with his friends and his soon to be wife’s little brother Teddy. They enjoy their one sealed beer and have a few marshmallows to roast over the camp fire.

Next thing we know they wake up in a dirty little room, Phil is hung-over, Alan has a shaven head, Stu has a Tyson like face tattoo, there is a monkey wearing people clothes,  Doug is safely back at the hotel which is good. But where is Teddy? This leads to the adventure of the wolf pack, retracing their steps around Bangkok trying to find Teddy as they have no clue of what they did that night.      

My views on it

The big question is not whether I liked this film, it is more did I like the first one and the answer is mmmmmmm yes, yes I did. This film has the same story line, cast and director as the first one but what did we really expect of this film. The film is called The Hangover Part II, how much variation from the original story line could they do. Most people do seem to put down this film a lot for being the same as the first one and I do a bit because it does seem a bit lazy but this is not what this film is about. This film is a laugh out loud comedy which you are meant to sit back just enjoy for its stupidity and its crude sense of humour. If you looking for a film that’s a thinker, is original and intelligent then this is not for you as this film was never trying to be nothing more than just a good laugh, which it is.

All in all I would say that this film is not better than the first one but, it is not off it by far.  In this film the humour dose seem to be cruder then the first one especially when it comes to the bit about the lady boy’s (its set in Bangkok you knew this was going to happen). This is one of the reasons why I prefer the first one as the first one is just as funny if not funnier and it doesn’t go that crude.

So I can say I enjoyed this film almost as much I enjoyed the first one and if the rumours are right I will be enjoying The Hangover Part III in 2014.

Favourite Quote

Stu [Part of the lyrics to" Alan town"]: I got fucked in the ass... / By a girl with a dick.

Rating 3/5

DR. Horrible’s Sing Along-Blog

The basics   

DR. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog is an American short film (or TV mini-series) which was created in 2008. During the writer strike in 2007, Joss Whedon set out to direct and write this 3 part musical which he co-writ with his brothers Zack and Jed and Jed’s Fiancé Maurissa Tancharoen. At first DR. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog was only meant to be shown on the internet but from there on it has been shown in a few public places like Comic-Con in Sian Diego and is available on DVD. This film is a comedy musical about super-villains and super-heroes, love, career ambition, revenge and the balance DR. Horrible has to find between them.

What is this film about?

The film starts off with our unlikely hero (the villain) DR. Horrible (Neil Patrick Harris) doing his own video blog where he is just replying to the emails that he has received. Soon on in the film we find out, through the medium of song DR Horrible’s two goals in life. One is to be let in to the prestigious Evil League of Evil which is led by the legendary thoroughbred of sin, Bad Horse and the second is to pick up the courage to talk to the cute girl in the Laundromat who he has a crush on. 

In this we get to see DR. Horrible struggle to balance both of these dreams at the same time. As he get repeatedly beaten up by his nemesis Captain Hammer (who is a cheesy super-hero and a jerk) and during one of this heist to get so Wonderflonium for his Freeze-Ray he accidently introduces his dream girl, Penny to Captain Hammer and they start dating as well. Will it ever work out for our loveable DR. Horrible?

My views on it

For a film, well TV mini-series if you want to be pedantic that is only 42 minutes long, written during the writers’ strike  and was only meant to be shown on the internet  its very good and lovable. This is a great little rom-com musical that will just make you smile all the way through it. Now I am not saying this film is fantastic, it does have its flaws but you have to take it for what it is and it was released as nothing more than just an internet video, not a blockbuster film, an internet video.

The main surprise about this film is that the songs and the singing in it are actually good. You will find yourself as the title suggests singing along to the songs as the story unfolds and singing them still after it has finished. Also who knew that Neil Patrick Harris could sing?

This film is defiantly heading to become a cult classic which will be enjoyed for many years, and may I suggest makes a great film for when you have got a hangover.

Favourite Quote 

Captain Hammer: 
It may not feel too classy
Begging just to eat
But you know who does that?
Lassie. And she always gets a treat

Rating 4/5 stars  

Human Centipede (first sequences)

The Basics

Human Centipede (first sequences) is a Netherlands film which was made in 2009. Tom Six is the mind that is behind this film as he directed, produced and writer. So all in all he gets all the blame for this film. This film is about a mad scientist, horror, concepts, god complex and why Americans should never travel across Europe, didn’t they learn anything from Hostel and Hostel: Part II.  

What is this film about?

Well the film starts off like most new wave American B movie where instead of the young Americans being lost on a dark road in American or at a very dodgy looking camp site there on their holiday traveling across Europe. Because as we all know there isn’t any killers left in America so their teenagers have to come to Europe to be killed.  

We meet our two travels, Jenny and Lindsay, just two girls having a good time in Germany who plan to go out to a club one night. So they get ready, get in their rental car and drive off to the club and if you’re like me you already start to question ‘why are they taking a car if they’re going to get drunk in a club?’. I like to think one of them was going to be the designated driver.  As they drive, their car gets a flat tire in the middle of some dark woods in the middle of nowhere. Now i have never been to Germany but if I was them and I think most people would do the same, if I was going to a club I don’t think I would take the road that goes through the woods as club are mainly in places with other buildings like city’s. As the girls run around the woods looking for help they come across a house where they are let in by an older man who seems a bit strange. I don’t think I need to say but those two girls end up being drugged and tired up in the basement /laboratory. After this the old man called Dr Heiter goes out and gets another victim to match the two girl’s flesh type and the rest of the film you can gather from the title really. 

My views on it

I first came to hear of this film by word and mouth but not much and then I came across South Park’s parody of this film called humanentipad. From watching this I had to see the film. Form the start I accepted that it was going to be a low budget film that was based completely around one concept and that people only watch it for novelty reasons. So I am trying to say I didn’t have high exceptions for it. And even with all this I still thought that this was a rubbish film.

As you sit and watch this film you will notices plot hole after plot hole like why doesn’t the doctor who can speak German and English put one of the English specking girls at the front and not the Japanese guy? How does the Human Centipede get up and down the stairs? And the film is very medically inaccurate.

But the main problem I have with this film is that the concept of the human centipede is very poorly done. You wait about 50 minutes to see what you hope will be gross, messed up surgery that’s complex and in a very dark way is genius and this wired freaky abomination that is not three people but a being in itself.  But no its just 3 people in a line, stitch together by mouth to ass which is just dull and as we get to see the human centipede for the next 40 minute the idea of it just becomes mundane . So the only real hope this film had was to be a gross and to have shock value and it doesn’t even have that.    
 
Favourite Quote 

Jenny: [speaking on a hotel phone] Hi. Yes, um, I was wondering if I could get driving directions to a nightclub called Bunker. Yes, Bunker. How exactly would I get there ?

Rating 1/5 stars 

Terminator 2: Judgment Day

The basics

‘Terminator 2: Judgment Day’ is the sequel to the ‘The Terminator’ and is an American film made in 1991. It was directed by James Cameron and Written by James Cameron and William Wisher Jr. this film is about humanity, the fear of future, technology,   action, chase scenes, guns and family. It also has good bit of humour in there as well.

What is this film about?

At the beginning of this film we get to see what happens on judgment day and what the world turns into as the wars wages on between humanity and the machines .The first line in this film is narrated by Sarah Connor over this grim outlook of the future.  This line does the job for me in this part and because I don’t think I could say it any better than Sarah Connor I will let her fill in this part for me. Take it away Sarah……

Sarah Connor: [narrating] 3 billion human lives ended on August 29th, 1997. The survivors of the nuclear fire called the war Judgment Day. They lived only to face a new nightmare: the war against the machines. The computer which controlled the machines, Skynet, sent two Terminators back through time. Their mission: to destroy the leader of the human resistance, John Connor, my son. The first Terminator was programmed to strike at me in the year 1984, before John was born. It failed. The second was set to strike at John himself when he was still a child. As before, the resistance was able to send a lone warrior, a protector for John. It was just a question of which one of them would reach him first.

My views on it

After I watch this film I tried to think why I love it so much. Is it for the action? No. don’t get me wrong the action scenes in this film are epic and there is a lot of them which is good but you can get the same amount of action in ‘xXx 2: The Next Level’ (no as good action as ‘Terminator 2’ I may add) and does this make that a good film? Not at all.

The thing I love about this film has to be the humour behind it. The humour comes from the relationship that the Terminator (aka T-800/Arnold Schwarzenegger) has with John Connor. In this the Terminator has to look after john and at the same time do whatever he says. As the story goes on John try to teach the Terminator humanity and how to act normal but this is coming from a young teenager whose life is pretty messed up. For example early on in the film one of John’s instructions to the Terminator is to not kill. So when they come across a guard that hasn’t done anything wrong besides stopping getting through a gate, instead of killing this innocent man he chooses to shot him in both of his legs. He then turns to John and says ‘He'll live’ as if he done the right thing. Another example is later on in the film John try’s to teach him how to talk normally and in this case by using bad early 90’s slang.   

All in all this an awesome film and I can’t think of a better action film that came out of the 90’s.

Favourite Quote

The Terminator: Chill out, dickwad.

Rating 5/5

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

The basics

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a bestselling book by Swedish author Stieg Larsson. He unfortunately died in 2004 before this book and the rest in this series (The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest) were published in 2005, 2006 and 2007. The film, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was made in 2009 and is a Crime/noir about investigation, death, rape, hacking and conspiracies.

What is this film about?

The film starts with a court case against one of the main characters Mikael Blomkvist, a middle aged journalist, who’s been writing an article involving damaging allegations against a billionaire. Mikael lost the case and he was given a prison sentence for 3 months which starts in 6 months. Also we get to meet private investigator Lisbeth Salander (the girl that has the dragon tattoo and is our other main character). She is a skinny, gothic, 20 odd year old woman who, from first sight, you can tell she has a very colourful history. She has been set the task to investigate Mikael and she does this by hacking in to his documents and in her personal opinion he is innocent and this triggers a personal interest in him.

In the 6 months of freedom that Mikael has he gets hired by ageing business man to try and solve the mystery of his missing niece that happened over 40 years ago. He was chosen for this due to his skills as a reporter and the fact that this girl was his babysitter for a time as well. As this goes on Lisbeth is following his progress through his documents whilst also taking care of her own problems with her new forceful guardian and his grip on her finances. As Mikael gets stuck on a clue he receives a very easy to trace email that solves this piece of the puzzle for him. I wonder who that could have been from?

My views on it

This film is a new age noir that will keep you guessing at every turn.  The structure, story and the characters are fantastically well written in a film that seems to involve every dark theme you can think of.

One of my favourite things about this film is that it really explores and takes to a new level the stereotypical character of the femme-fatal. Femme-fatal is a character mostly found in class noir films; a woman who is strong, dark, and sexy and manipulates men in to doing what she wants. Lisbeth is the new, grown up, bad ass version of this character that doesn’t rely on her charm or men’s stupidity to get her what she wants. She gets by with her intelligence, strength and her messed up history that somehow allows her to be darker and less caring.

The only problem with this film is that as the film goes on you start to get more interest in Lisbeth then the story line itself.  Because of this the resolution to the main story line isn’t as fulfilling as it should be. The later parts seem to be more of an intro to the next film rather than a conclusion to this one. 

Favourite Quote

Lisbeth Salander: [tattooing Bjurman] ‘I've never done this before. Hold still, or it'll get messy.’

Rating 4/5

Touching the Void

The basics

Touching the Voiding is a bestselling book which came out in 1988 and was made in to a film in 2003. This film is a reconstructive documentary about mountain climbing, decision making, life and Death, giving it your all and doing it in a very British way.  

What is this film about?

This is a true story about two British mounting climbers, Joe Simpson and Simon Yates who try to clime the west face of Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes, a mountain that nobody has been able to finish. The film starts with a fourth wall breaking interview where we get to meet the real Joe and Simon and they describe their reasons for why they do what they do and that is 'cause it's fun.’ Fair enough.  As the film goes on we get to see the actors start on this epic challenge as the real people give us a guided narration of what is going on through the interview.

The journey up the mountain is pretty uneventful but it over quickly and at this time in the film you are still just enjoying the awesome cinematography  and mise en scene to really care about how they did something well . When they make it to the top and start their decline this is when the film really kicks in.  As they start to make their way down the mountain, they face problem after problem. An eerie feeling begins to take over as these problems seem to be foreshadowing something. You feel as though at any moment, something is going to go horribly wrong and it does. One of the climbers (Joe Simpson) breaks his leg and no one can blame you if in this scene you get a bit squeamish, as this is a very cringe worthy moment. After this Simon has the plan to get him down by making him slide down the side of the mountain on a rope, what can possibly go wrong?         

My views on it

From the beginning you can instantly see how well this film is made. The cinematography is beautiful as we are given the visual delights of close up shots of the equipment which pays so much attention to detail, also epic long shots of the fantastic scenery and everything in between.

The story in this film makes you constantly question, is this really a true story? As the story goes from bad to worse, and to even worse still. It seems hard to believe that this could happen, but this is part of the fun.  You know a story is good when right at the beginning of the film you see an interview of the two climbers 20 years on from the event which the film keeps cutting back to every now and then, but there is still half of you that thinks that they are going to die.  This film is intense, dramatic, unbelievable, funny and griping with every second and the best part is it’s all true.           

Favourite Quote

‘I was thinking, "Bloody hell, I'm gonna die to Boney M".’

Rating – 4/5

Human Traffic

The basics    

Human Traffic is a British film that was made in 1999. It is about youth culture in 90’s Britain, clubs, drugs, friendship and living for the weekend.

What is this film about?

The film stars John Simm who you would most likely know from the fantastic T.V series ‘Life on Mars’ and Danny Dyer from loads of terrible films (but in this one he is not that bad). The film starts out with a “fourth wall” breaking introduction to the group of misfit characters that you will grow to love over the 95 minutes of this film. A group of friends that the only thing that they seem to have in common is that they are all as messed up as each other.

We get to see what there mundane 9 to 5 life is like which is nothing too great. Going from a shop assistant, university student, working a fast food joint to just being jobless.  But this is not the point we care about and they don’t either, it’s the weekend that’s important. 

It’s Friday night and the group are going in to town, following them from a pub, to club, to house party, to the come down, to Sunday lunch and finally back in the pub on Sunday daytime. During this film we get to follow what they think, flagging up there paranoia’s, theirs views on Britain, sex, drugs, friendship and for a small part Star wars too.

My views on it

If you have never taken drugs before, by the end of this film you will be jonesing for a fix. Even if this film dose show the darker side to drugs with Paranoia, not being able to get it up, come downs,  losing a grip on reality and a with a hint to mental illness, somehow it still looks like a good idea. After this film is the only time that you will think to yourself ‘mmmm I wish I was back in the 90’s, had a crap job and was going out to a club on the weekend to drop some E, smoke a joint, and take a line.’

The film itself feels like a bit of a drug trip as well, as it keeps braking out of reality to show how robotic work can be or to teach us a lesson in spliffology. And it is this mixture of randomness with the plotline that makes you feel the highs and lows as if you have been dropping pills with the character in the film.  And I’ve  got to say that I love the classic Hollywood ending done in a British way (but I am not going to say what it is).      

This is a clever and stylised comedy that is about how to blow off steam on the weekend after the boring, mechanical weekday. This shows the awesome side to drugs and the negatives they have as well.

Favourite Quote  

Koop - ‘when the come down's out-way the good times, you know the party's over ‘

Rating  3/5 stars