What I've been watching this week
Pineapple express (15+)
If you've read or heard anything about this film before, it's pretty much everything you expected it to be. The story is quite simple, it's about a casual drug user who witnesses a murder and is linked to it through his dealer, they then both go on the run together to escape some thugs that want to kill them before they go to the police or whatever, you know the type of thing, of course you do, you've seen it a million times over in these teenage comedy type films, so you know what to expect.
To be honest, it was a lot funnier than I thought it was going to be when I brought it (just out of morbid curiosity, you understand), it kept me giggling all the way through to the end, for me that's quite rare with these sorts of films, I've usually tired of all the sexual references and gay jokes by about the second half, but Pineapple express just kept on giving and I kept on lapping it up. Of course, as I mentioned earlier, I'll be the first to admit that the story isn't exactly grade A materiel, but the wide variety or colorful and very likable characters more than makes up for this in the long run, as well as Seth Rogen and James Franco's endless line up of bad taste jokes and trendy drug references.
Overall I think the film was well worth the watch, considering that I wasn't expecting much in the first place it was a refreshing surprise. It lacks anything that a serious movie goer would consider "good" but for the casual comedy fan, it's bound to get a few big laughs. I probably would have enjoyed it more if I was high, but what film can't you say that about these days?
To be honest, it was a lot funnier than I thought it was going to be when I brought it (just out of morbid curiosity, you understand), it kept me giggling all the way through to the end, for me that's quite rare with these sorts of films, I've usually tired of all the sexual references and gay jokes by about the second half, but Pineapple express just kept on giving and I kept on lapping it up. Of course, as I mentioned earlier, I'll be the first to admit that the story isn't exactly grade A materiel, but the wide variety or colorful and very likable characters more than makes up for this in the long run, as well as Seth Rogen and James Franco's endless line up of bad taste jokes and trendy drug references.
Overall I think the film was well worth the watch, considering that I wasn't expecting much in the first place it was a refreshing surprise. It lacks anything that a serious movie goer would consider "good" but for the casual comedy fan, it's bound to get a few big laughs. I probably would have enjoyed it more if I was high, but what film can't you say that about these days?
7.5/10
The Mist (15+)
Even before watching this I was instantly bias towards it, being a big Stephan King fan as well as a whore for anything Frank Darabont. The Mist is an adaption of a book by King of the same name, basically it's about a group of folks from a small town who because of their circumstances get locked together in a supermarket while some weird mist spreads over the town, the idea is that they never know whats going to come out of the mist next and they all have to fight for survival whilst also fighting with each other, blah blah blah.
I'm quite a big horror/thriller fan so this film, for me, was nothing to far from the norm, despite that there were a few nice little details that I thought shone through the conventions of the average thriller movie, which really helped to give "The Mist" a nice radiant glow for a little while among other recent films of the same genre.
As far as story goes, it's pretty much a mystery right through to the end, the basic plot is set at the beginning, as you would expect, and then Stephan King kindly lets your mind run wild for as long as the film lasts. And even so, the script is flawlessly solid, backed up by some nice acting, especially by Thomas Jane who was bloody awful in the Punisher.
The Mist (15+)
Even before watching this I was instantly bias towards it, being a big Stephan King fan as well as a whore for anything Frank Darabont. The Mist is an adaption of a book by King of the same name, basically it's about a group of folks from a small town who because of their circumstances get locked together in a supermarket while some weird mist spreads over the town, the idea is that they never know whats going to come out of the mist next and they all have to fight for survival whilst also fighting with each other, blah blah blah.
I'm quite a big horror/thriller fan so this film, for me, was nothing to far from the norm, despite that there were a few nice little details that I thought shone through the conventions of the average thriller movie, which really helped to give "The Mist" a nice radiant glow for a little while among other recent films of the same genre.
As far as story goes, it's pretty much a mystery right through to the end, the basic plot is set at the beginning, as you would expect, and then Stephan King kindly lets your mind run wild for as long as the film lasts. And even so, the script is flawlessly solid, backed up by some nice acting, especially by Thomas Jane who was bloody awful in the Punisher.
Overall, yes I liked the film, it had everything I was looking for, so no disappointments. It was suitably "scary" (I suppose), shot beautifully, and the acting was convincing enough for me to care about the characters enough to feel slight remorse when one of them was disemboweled or set on fire. On the other hand, it wasn't what I'd call a breakthrough in horror, or thriller for that matter, despite the boxes ludicrous claims, and I quote, "One of the best horror films ever made, with an ending that continues to shock audiences the world over", so yeah, good luck with that Mr. Darabont, I'd keep on wishing on that star if I were you, besides nothing you ever do ever again will ever be as good as The Shawshank Redemption so you might as well just kill yourself.
6/10
