For A Few Movies More

Looking back upon it, 2011 sure has been a funny year for movies. Usually I have no trouble looking back at the year that was and narrowing down my top picks, however this year I found this task a little tougher than usual. That’s not to say that there weren’t a great deal of quality films released over the past twelve months, instead the complexity of this simple task came down to the fact that there were actually a ton of films I really enjoyed, but there were very few released that I genuinely loved. In my eyes there were a handful of standouts that I knew would make this end of year list immediately upon watching them in the cinema, however I was unsure how the rest of my list would turn out until I finally sat down to write it. So without further ado I give to you my picks for the best and worst of 2011. You may agree with some of my choices, I have no doubt that there will be plenty who’ll disagree, but either way be sure to leave your own choices and opinions in the comments section below. Oh yeah, and be sure to have yourself a Happy New Year!

2011 is at its end, and being the Johnny Come Latelies that we are (Dean: ”Hey!”), instead of focusing all our optimism on the coming year’s potential of awesome films, let’s take a look back at what we loved and hated cinematically from the past 12 months. Because nothing says “Full Steam Ahead!” like looking to the past.

PS: As usual, we welcome your agreements, objections, and suggestions in the comments section below. Happy New Year!

I don’t really have enough time to write up a fancy introduction here for our 2011 Christmas Picks this year. Unfortunately I have too many presents to wrap as well as family to see, so with that in mind hopefully this meaningless spiel regarding not having time to write an introduction will in turn suffice as an introduction… But getting back on track momentarily we really do have a diverse range of choices this year. A classic animated film, a beloved romantic comedy as well as a more recent and unsavory Christmas outing all managed to make the cut, ensuring there’s something for everyone come Christmas day. So on that note I hope you all enjoy reading our choices as much as we did watching them, but more importantly, we here at For a Few Movies More would like to wish you all a merry Christmas and a happy new year!

Having been recently (and still actually…) travelling, there are a few things that have fallen by the wayside. No, not watching movies, that will always happen no matter where I am. I have, however, completely forgotten to keep up-to-date with my trailer intake. Yes, I’m of the school of less-is-more, and yes, I was the one who did not watch one single Inception trailer apart from the teaser that came out a year prior to release. But I’ve been feeling a bit movie-geek-talk deprived lately (no Sunday arvo trips to the cinema for a rushed dinner and a leisurely double-feature *sob*), so thanks to IMDB, Apple Trailers and Youtube, I’ve now caught up with a heap of blockbuster craziness. Have you missed one? Fear not — I might just have included any you did below.

Mmm, can you feel it? That’s the feeling of me not having anything article-worthy to talk about. Don’t worry if you can’t, you will by the end of this. I know the whole writer writes about writer’s block loop is done and dusted but in the age of remakes what more could this culture hope to inspire in today’s youth (or even myself)? But since I made a non written, non verbal agreement with Dean to commit to an indefinite amount of articles over an undetermined period of time with a yet to be confirmed frequency, I feel it is about time to churn out another opinion piece on some very non-current films. You can feel it now, can’t you?

Look, I’m not going to sugar coat this; I did not like New Year’s Eve. It’s an overly sentimental outing full of romanticised ideas, poorly conceived humour and exasperating characters that are about as entertaining to listen to as fingernails down a chalkboard for two hours. However despite these negatives, I still managed to enjoy the film marginally more than I had anticipated. This enjoyment however comes down to the mere fact that I was truthfully expecting New Year’s Eve to be so horribly vile that its very existence may have acted as some sort of beacon that would in turn summon the Antichrist to end our suffering. So with that in mind, the few positives I could draw from the film merely stem from the surprise I felt when my eyes didn’t burst into flames while watching it.

New Year’s Eve begins in a fashion that most romantic comedies do, a cheesy pop song plays over the credits while we’re treated to various sweeping shots of a busy city (NYC in this case).  It’s a standard and unimaginative introduction for what essentially is a standard and unimaginative film. From there we’re quickly treated to sneaking glances at the who’s who of Hollywood A-listers populating the film’s cheery world as they prepare themselves for what we’re led to believe is the most fantastically magical night of the year, New Year’s Eve! Apparently director Gary Marshall has an incredibly wholesome and family friendly vision of New Year’s Eve, because while my previous New Years Eve ventures have left me with memories of strangers wildly hooking up with each other, violent street fights and lots of vomit, Marshall’s vision is all rainbows and smiles and overly white teeth.

Unlike a lot of people, I actually liked Happy Feet. Sure, it was cute with amazing animation, but it also had great songs and I had no problems with that bit of the story that everyone goes on about. OK, admittedly it was a little weird how that environmental message kind of came out of nowhere and the way they incorporated the humans into the animation was… Well, I’m still undecided if it’s creative or creepy. But I see nothing wrong with imparting a message to young ‘uns that we should be looking after our planet and all that lives on it. Happy Feet Two is more of the same — still enjoyable with an environmental message, but somehow this second outing didn’t pack a big enough punch for me.

Mumble (voice of Elijah Wood) is now all grown up and with partner Gloria (voice of Pink) has a son, Erik, who feels left out because he can’t keep up with the group’s mass-singing and dancing. Ramon (voice of Robin Williams), unsuccessful with the Emperor ladies, decides to go back home to his own kind, and is followed by Erik and his friends. Back with the Adélie penguins, there’s a new big man in town that Ramon must compete with — puffin-pretending-to-be-a-penguin-that-can-fly, Sven (voice of Hank Azaria). Mumble, realising the three little penguins are missing, heads over to bring them home. But on the way back, an iceberg hits Emperor land — cutting off the Emperor penguins’ way out to the rest of Antartica and the ocean — leaving Mumble and the three kids to find help to get them out.

I’m relatively sure that every young boy played with G.I. Joe’s at one time or another. I sure did. In fact, I still have a box full of them stored away somewhere in my house that I simply don’t have the heart to throw out. So with that kind of attachment to the classic action figure line you can only imagine my disappointment upon seeing the live action film adaption that was released a couple of years ago. In a word, the film was crap.

Enter G.I. Joe Retaliation, the followup to the critically lambasted but financially successful G.I. Joe: The Raise Of Cobra. I’ve heard of G.I. Joe Retaliation’s production for some time now, however I never really gave it the time of day since I was positive it would be another awkward, brainless and painfully stupid action outing much like the first was. But after finally watching the trailer for it, I can admit that I may have preemptively judged it…

Without sugar coating it, this second outing for the G.I Joe team looks cool as hell! The action looks bigger, the cast looks better (The Rock!!! Bruce Willis!!!!!!) and I appreciate that those stupid power suits from the original have been ditched this time around. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m now officially pumped for G.I. Joe Retaliation’s 2012 release .

Don’t believe me? Watch the trailer for yourself below and embrace the awesome.

Here come the Men In Black… Again. Boasting a hellishly troubled production, I can’t say me expectations are too high for this third outing involving everybody’s favorite extraterrestrial hunting agents. It is entirely possible that MIB 3 may overcome the countless problems that have plagued it so far and ultimately deliver a highly entertaining sci-fi outing that recaptures the magic of the previous films, however with all the reported script and budgetary issues it has suffered my expectations are low.

With all that aside the first trailer for the film has been unveiled and I’ve got to say that it looks fun in a nostalgic kind of way. For the most part it appears to follow the same format set by the first two installments, but then towards the end of the trailer it takes an unexpected twist. This new direction makes way for a spot-on Tommy Lee Jones impersonation by one Josh Brolin, but beyond the obvious comedic potential displayed here hopefully this change-up will also be able to breathe some new life into the series.

Watch the trailer below.

Unfortunately I’m incredibly behind in writing this review up due to my recent much deserved holiday (yes it was awesome thanks for asking), however since I’ve developed an unhealthy habit of being unable to watch any film in the cinema without feeling obliged to type up a lengthy account regarding my feelings on it, I figured this review would be a case of better late than never. So on that note, let’s begin!

Now I’ve never seen a single solitary frame of The Inbetweeners TV show in my life, so I’ll admit that I had absolutely no clue as to what to expect from this feature length cinematic adaption. I had prematurely decided that the show must be a quick-witted and cleverly written series since it was apparently good enough to warrant it’s own theatrical outing, however if this is the case, that brand of humour is noticeably absent from this big screen extension of the show. Rather it’s yet another entry in the drunken, horny teens entangled in a series of outrageous escapades films, a genre that has been revisited so many times in the past that it has now officially become a cliché in itself. However despite its low aspirations and generic facade, The Inbetweeners still manages to generate a frequent stream of filthy profanity-littered laughs thanks to its obscenely vulgar take no prisoners approach.

The plot for The Inbetweeners movie is nothing short of bulimic fluff. With their schooling days freshly behind them, four clueless and sexually frustrated teen outcasts (Will McKenzie, Jay Cartwright, Neil Sutherland and Simon Cooper) embark on an alcohol-fuelled trip to Malia. Once there, the lads find themselves contending with various outside influences threatening to ruin their dream getaway. From shoddy accommodation to manipulative ex-girlfriends, our quartet will need to overcome a series of obstacles if they wish to make this last hurrah a memorable one, that is as long as their own outrageous behaviour doesn’t get them neck deep in trouble first.