Evening everyone
Well after hours of effort I am now going vocal with my reviews! That's right I have decided to start PODCASTING!
My show is called Dan's Reel Reviews and I have made a Facebook page for my show which can be viewed at this link: Facebook
You can subscribe to my podcast on iTunes by clicking the following: SUBSCRIBE
I hope we can all have a bit of fun with this!
Thursday, 22 April 2010
Saturday, 13 March 2010
The Snowball Effect: The Story of Clerks
Hi everyone
This is probably going to seem a little odd as all I do on this page is review films. Well I have decided to express my opinion on a documentary I watched again today. It's called "The Snowball Effect: The Story of Clerks". In a nutshell this is the story of how Kevin Smith wound up making the movie we all know and love Clerks. But it doesn't just end at the day when they stopped shooting, it tells you the story about how it got bought by Miramax and things like that. In my opinion if your are a film maker, even if you don't like Kevin Smith's films (which if you don't then you should get your brain checked) you should check this documentary out.
As I said previously I have watched it several times before so it is definatley re watchable. Every time I watch it I just get inspired to do things because Kevin Smith was like myself obsessed with movies as a kid and went to film school and wanted to make movies. He did the thing I am too scared to do and took the plunge and it all paid off. It just makes me think "Hell if he can do it why can't I?".
I agree with a review I read of this documentary very recently where they wish more making of documentarys were like this. There is so much detail in this and you really understand all the hard work that went into this film. Its very rare you get that because in most behind the scenes documentaries you just see them shooting and it's all nice n pretty.
If you would like to watch this then go out and pick up a copy of the Clerks X edition. It's on disc 3 and trust me you will love it!
Until next time don't do anything I wouldn't..... Won't leave ya with much!
Dan
This is probably going to seem a little odd as all I do on this page is review films. Well I have decided to express my opinion on a documentary I watched again today. It's called "The Snowball Effect: The Story of Clerks". In a nutshell this is the story of how Kevin Smith wound up making the movie we all know and love Clerks. But it doesn't just end at the day when they stopped shooting, it tells you the story about how it got bought by Miramax and things like that. In my opinion if your are a film maker, even if you don't like Kevin Smith's films (which if you don't then you should get your brain checked) you should check this documentary out.
As I said previously I have watched it several times before so it is definatley re watchable. Every time I watch it I just get inspired to do things because Kevin Smith was like myself obsessed with movies as a kid and went to film school and wanted to make movies. He did the thing I am too scared to do and took the plunge and it all paid off. It just makes me think "Hell if he can do it why can't I?". I agree with a review I read of this documentary very recently where they wish more making of documentarys were like this. There is so much detail in this and you really understand all the hard work that went into this film. Its very rare you get that because in most behind the scenes documentaries you just see them shooting and it's all nice n pretty.
If you would like to watch this then go out and pick up a copy of the Clerks X edition. It's on disc 3 and trust me you will love it!
Until next time don't do anything I wouldn't..... Won't leave ya with much!
Dan
Saturday, 6 March 2010
ALICE IN WONDERLAND REVIEW
Ever since I knew that this film was going to be made I instantly got excited about it. You have quite possibly my favourite director making a story which is perfect for his style of film making. Not only that, but the film is in 3D. Nightmare Before Christmas was glorious enough in 3D (before anyone says anything I know Tim Burton didn’t direct the film) but I could hardly wait to see this.
As a lot of people will know there is a huge debate about 3D and how some people see it as a great step forward for the film industry. Take for example James Cameron who
has taken 3D to a new level with Avatar. James Cameron used the technology to his advantage and look where it’s got him. The last time I checked the showings of Avatar were still full houses. Whereas other people see it as more of a gimmick and just wait for it to get tired and old. For example film critic Mark Kermode sees it as a huge gimmick and sees films as My Bloody Valentine as good examples of how to use 3D to get a cheap thrill.
I agree with the people like James Cameron where if used properly can be used as a brilliant and effective tool for film makers. Since seeing films in 3D I can see the careful work that has gone into these films. For example the shot in Up where Carl is dragging the house at sunset and everything is in silouette. Beautiful shot and captured perfectly in 3D and hopefully I will get the same awe inspired feeling when I eventually see that shot again in Blu Ray.
So after a long and exhausting wait for this film did it live up to my high expectations that I have come to expect with a Tim Burton film? Well, this isn’t Tim Burton’s best film to date but a very enjoyable film. In my group that went to see this film last night there was mixed opinions of this film. I can see how people wouldn’t like this film but it was just a nicely paced, easy going, pretty on the eyes film.
I’m guessing by now we know the classic story of Alice in Wonderland. Which is the first reason why I enjoyed this version because it is not just the original story. This also has parts of Through the Looking Glass in it too so you are given something of both. To give a quick description of the plot it’s basically Alice keeps having dreams of her journey into Wonderland and she has restless nights because of this. Soon enough she sees the White Rabbit at a party that she gets dragged to and she then ends up in the place in her dreams. We then meet all of the characters we love and she is told that she must save them from the Red Queen as she has pretty much killed the world. During all of this Alice doesn’t believe she is the Alice they are all talking about. So she must find herself again and we are then taken on the journey. I won’t tell you anymore as I don’t want to spoil it for you.
The first thing I will say is Tim Burton needs to get away from Disney quickly as they seem to be stopping Tim use all of his ideas in his film. The reason I say this is because at times I find that the film was Disneyfied so it doesn’t scare the kids too much. You can see the Burton stamps on the landscapes and things but I think some of the characters were changed to be a bit more fluffy. One of the characters in my opinion that had some quick changes by Disney was the March Hare as he pretty much looks like a crack addict. But I think Disney saw that and made a few changes so he doesn’t look too scary for the kiddies.
Besides that I think this film was a treat for my eyes. The art direction of the film was amazing and I was immersed in Wonderland. The character designs were top notch most noticeable of all was the Cheshire Cat. The animations, the voice basically everything about that character was perfect. I will probably have hoards of women shouting at their PC screens when they read this but in my opinion Johnny Depp’s Mad Hatter wasn’t as good as I thought it would be. Depp usually stands out when he is on screen but in this film he seemed to melt into the landscape in this. Don’t get me wrong Depp was good as usual but he didn’t jump out at me like he’s done in his other films. As said before the best character in this film for me was the Cheshire Cat and Stephen Fry’s voice was too perfect for the character. I wish they would have featured the Cheshire Cat in the film more.
The casting in this film is perfect because too be honest there isn’t a character in this film that I didn’t like even though Depp didn’t jump out at me like he usually does he still did a fine job. One thing I was a little disappointed about was that Christopher Lee’s Jabberwocky only got two lines. The Jabberwocky was awesome enough when it finally appeared on screen then when it opend it’s mouth and Christopher Lee’s powerful voice came out it was all too perfect. Short but definatley sweet!
So to summarise this film was a treat but not quite up to Tim’s standard but still a cracking good film. If this film was not made with Disney I can only imagine how this film might have looked. I think the main reason why this film hasn’t been getting the good reviews that it does deserve is because people have come expect certain codes and conventions of a Tim Burton film. I mean look at Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, that good simular reviews to this only because it was too bright and colourful. Look at Edward Scissorhands, that is very bright and colourful film most of the time. Yet people say Tim Burton never does bright and colourful films? I would definatley recommend this to people but do in with the 12 year emo opinion of a Tim Burton film: “it’s gonna be all dark so it matches my dark emo soul!”.
Until next time don’t do anything I wouldn’t do. Won’t leave ya much!
As a lot of people will know there is a huge debate about 3D and how some people see it as a great step forward for the film industry. Take for example James Cameron who
has taken 3D to a new level with Avatar. James Cameron used the technology to his advantage and look where it’s got him. The last time I checked the showings of Avatar were still full houses. Whereas other people see it as more of a gimmick and just wait for it to get tired and old. For example film critic Mark Kermode sees it as a huge gimmick and sees films as My Bloody Valentine as good examples of how to use 3D to get a cheap thrill. I agree with the people like James Cameron where if used properly can be used as a brilliant and effective tool for film makers. Since seeing films in 3D I can see the careful work that has gone into these films. For example the shot in Up where Carl is dragging the house at sunset and everything is in silouette. Beautiful shot and captured perfectly in 3D and hopefully I will get the same awe inspired feeling when I eventually see that shot again in Blu Ray.
So after a long and exhausting wait for this film did it live up to my high expectations that I have come to expect with a Tim Burton film? Well, this isn’t Tim Burton’s best film to date but a very enjoyable film. In my group that went to see this film last night there was mixed opinions of this film. I can see how people wouldn’t like this film but it was just a nicely paced, easy going, pretty on the eyes film.
I’m guessing by now we know the classic story of Alice in Wonderland. Which is the first reason why I enjoyed this version because it is not just the original story. This also has parts of Through the Looking Glass in it too so you are given something of both. To give a quick description of the plot it’s basically Alice keeps having dreams of her journey into Wonderland and she has restless nights because of this. Soon enough she sees the White Rabbit at a party that she gets dragged to and she then ends up in the place in her dreams. We then meet all of the characters we love and she is told that she must save them from the Red Queen as she has pretty much killed the world. During all of this Alice doesn’t believe she is the Alice they are all talking about. So she must find herself again and we are then taken on the journey. I won’t tell you anymore as I don’t want to spoil it for you.
The first thing I will say is Tim Burton needs to get away from Disney quickly as they seem to be stopping Tim use all of his ideas in his film. The reason I say this is because at times I find that the film was Disneyfied so it doesn’t scare the kids too much. You can see the Burton stamps on the landscapes and things but I think some of the characters were changed to be a bit more fluffy. One of the characters in my opinion that had some quick changes by Disney was the March Hare as he pretty much looks like a crack addict. But I think Disney saw that and made a few changes so he doesn’t look too scary for the kiddies.
Besides that I think this film was a treat for my eyes. The art direction of the film was amazing and I was immersed in Wonderland. The character designs were top notch most noticeable of all was the Cheshire Cat. The animations, the voice basically everything about that character was perfect. I will probably have hoards of women shouting at their PC screens when they read this but in my opinion Johnny Depp’s Mad Hatter wasn’t as good as I thought it would be. Depp usually stands out when he is on screen but in this film he seemed to melt into the landscape in this. Don’t get me wrong Depp was good as usual but he didn’t jump out at me like he’s done in his other films. As said before the best character in this film for me was the Cheshire Cat and Stephen Fry’s voice was too perfect for the character. I wish they would have featured the Cheshire Cat in the film more.
The casting in this film is perfect because too be honest there isn’t a character in this film that I didn’t like even though Depp didn’t jump out at me like he usually does he still did a fine job. One thing I was a little disappointed about was that Christopher Lee’s Jabberwocky only got two lines. The Jabberwocky was awesome enough when it finally appeared on screen then when it opend it’s mouth and Christopher Lee’s powerful voice came out it was all too perfect. Short but definatley sweet!
So to summarise this film was a treat but not quite up to Tim’s standard but still a cracking good film. If this film was not made with Disney I can only imagine how this film might have looked. I think the main reason why this film hasn’t been getting the good reviews that it does deserve is because people have come expect certain codes and conventions of a Tim Burton film. I mean look at Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, that good simular reviews to this only because it was too bright and colourful. Look at Edward Scissorhands, that is very bright and colourful film most of the time. Yet people say Tim Burton never does bright and colourful films? I would definatley recommend this to people but do in with the 12 year emo opinion of a Tim Burton film: “it’s gonna be all dark so it matches my dark emo soul!”.
Until next time don’t do anything I wouldn’t do. Won’t leave ya much!
Thursday, 4 March 2010
Monday, 14 December 2009
Friday, 11 December 2009
Disney's A Christmas Carol REVIEW
With Christmas being driven down our throats from big supermarkets getting all their Christmas stock out before Halloween, sofa companies saying on adverts that they will have your sofa delivered in time for Christmas and everyone's favourite red trucks on the TV saying that "holidays are comin', holidays are comin'." So it's only fitting that Hollywood get a few films released to get us in the spirit of the season, and the film I am reviewing today certinally got me in the mood!
Today I am going to be reviewing Robert Zemeckis' take on the classic Charles Dickens story A Christmas Carol. I am a huge fan of the story and I have seen many versions of this story ranging from the George C. Scott version released in 1984; to the Muppet's Christmas Carol that will no doubt be on our TVs this Christmas. (Well I hope)
This was the first time I had seen a Zemeckis CG film as I haven't gotten round to seeing Polar Express. Before I get into the nitty gritty about the story let me just express my feelings about the CG in this film. I have to say this was the best CG work I had seen in a long time! Transformers is stunning but this was just amazing. The last time I was convinced that the characters were real people was when I watched Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within for the first time. The scenes with the Ghost of Christmas Present were bright and stunning to watch. This film was definatley using the CG to its full advantage.
Now to discuss the actual story of the film. This adaptation is very faithful to the original text and a lot of the lines of dialogue are word for word. I found myself at times mouthing the words along with the film. The only real noticeable addition to the film was a scene where Ebenezer is being chased by the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. For some reason they decided to also make Ebenezer shrink but this was probably added so they could show off the 3D and CG working well together. Which it did. Another thing I noticed about this film is considering it has the Disney name on it, the film is very dark and creepy at times. I loved this because it kept it again very loyal to the original text, but at times this film wasn't a film for the young kids that were in the audience when I watched this.
The cast were absolutley fantastic with Jim Carey playing Ebenezer Scrooge, Ghost of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come. Gary Oldman as Jacob Marley, Bob Cratchit and Tiny Tin (motion capture). Cary Elwes as Portly Gentleman #1, Dick Wilkins and Mad Fiddler. Colin Firth as Fred and Bob Hoskins as Mr. Fezziwig.
With a strong cast and fantastic CG animation this film is a fantastic addition to the list of Christmas Carol adaptations. When you watch this film you definatley get into the Christmas spitit and you'll suddenly grow to love seeing all the reminders of Christmas that TV shoves down your throat. I would highly recommend anyone to see this film, if you have young children maybe view it before them to make sure its not a little too scary for them.
Thanks for reading XD
Today I am going to be reviewing Robert Zemeckis' take on the classic Charles Dickens story A Christmas Carol. I am a huge fan of the story and I have seen many versions of this story ranging from the George C. Scott version released in 1984; to the Muppet's Christmas Carol that will no doubt be on our TVs this Christmas. (Well I hope)This was the first time I had seen a Zemeckis CG film as I haven't gotten round to seeing Polar Express. Before I get into the nitty gritty about the story let me just express my feelings about the CG in this film. I have to say this was the best CG work I had seen in a long time! Transformers is stunning but this was just amazing. The last time I was convinced that the characters were real people was when I watched Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within for the first time. The scenes with the Ghost of Christmas Present were bright and stunning to watch. This film was definatley using the CG to its full advantage.
Now to discuss the actual story of the film. This adaptation is very faithful to the original text and a lot of the lines of dialogue are word for word. I found myself at times mouthing the words along with the film. The only real noticeable addition to the film was a scene where Ebenezer is being chased by the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. For some reason they decided to also make Ebenezer shrink but this was probably added so they could show off the 3D and CG working well together. Which it did. Another thing I noticed about this film is considering it has the Disney name on it, the film is very dark and creepy at times. I loved this because it kept it again very loyal to the original text, but at times this film wasn't a film for the young kids that were in the audience when I watched this.
The cast were absolutley fantastic with Jim Carey playing Ebenezer Scrooge, Ghost of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come. Gary Oldman as Jacob Marley, Bob Cratchit and Tiny Tin (motion capture). Cary Elwes as Portly Gentleman #1, Dick Wilkins and Mad Fiddler. Colin Firth as Fred and Bob Hoskins as Mr. Fezziwig.
With a strong cast and fantastic CG animation this film is a fantastic addition to the list of Christmas Carol adaptations. When you watch this film you definatley get into the Christmas spitit and you'll suddenly grow to love seeing all the reminders of Christmas that TV shoves down your throat. I would highly recommend anyone to see this film, if you have young children maybe view it before them to make sure its not a little too scary for them.
Thanks for reading XD
My next review!
Sorry about the delay in reviews have been very busy latley. Here is the trailer for the next film I will be reviewing!
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