24 Frames a Second

I started this site at the beginning of the year to share my thoughts on film. Cinema. The flicks! To celebrate my passion for life in light and sound.

Over the past month it has ground to a halt as I pontificated over the longest piece I have ever written for 24framesasecond; a review of Peter Jackson’s take on The Lord of the Rings. It destroyed much of my enthusiasm for this site and the way that I look at movies.

To sum up my review on PJ’s LOTR: Several moments are perfect, which makes it all the harder to bear that I find so much of it interminable. My review may one day see the light of day in a finished, or unfinished form, but that is beside the point. Why criticise? Is it worth my time to dwell on such a negative experience? I spent the best part of a week making my way though the ten plus hours of hobbits and elves; which I love in book form I should add; to write what I knew was going to be a negative review (having already seen it through twice). Why?

Continue reading On Cinema »

The teaser trailer left me a little on the fence. Sure, the visuals were great but something about it did not gel. Well, the latest trailer, all three and a half minutes of it, is now online. And it is a doozy! Check it out in HD at Yahoo.

Roll on December 18!

Casting adult comedy stars Will Ferrell (Anchorman, Step Brothers, you’ve heard of him right?) and Danny McBride (Eastbound and Down, All the Real Girls, Tropic Thunder) in a “children’s film” was asking for trouble! And, I have no doubt that this was intended to be a “children’s film”. Special effects? Check! Simple plot? Check! Big dinosaurs? Check! Marketing campaign targeted at kids? Check! It is no surprise it failed!

Continue reading Review: Land of the Lost »

An Education tells the story of a young girl, Jenny, who is torn between her academic pursuits and taking the chance to experience life. Set in 1960′s London it contrasts the jet-setting lifestyle of the swinging sixties with the restrained, closeted, home-life of traditional Britain.

Continue reading Review: An Education »

‘Romantic comedy’ has become a dirty phrase. It embodies all that is wrong with Hollywood, as it throws its latest concoction of trite plot lines, odd supporting characters, ridiculous situations, and “happy endings” at the audience. Is it really “happy” when too obnoxious people suck face and declare to spend the rest of their lives together raising obnoxious children? (500) Days of Summer is romantic and  funny, but I could never demean it by calling it a modern romantic comedy.

When I first clapped eyes on the (500) Days of Summer trailer I was smitten. Frankly, Summer could not get here quick enough. So, did it live up to expectations?

Continue reading Review: (500) Days of Summer »

Continuing on from my earlier post, I review Ralph Bakshi’s 1978 version of The Lord of the Rings:

My first experience of the The Lord of the Rings was watching this film at the impressionable age of eight. So, I admit that my experience of Rings will be forever influenced by this animated gem. I therefore also admit that my opinion of this film is undoubtedly basked in a glow of nostalgia. However, many other films from my youth had my nostalgic views of them shattered in the harsh light of adulthood. Not so this one!

After several attempts by filmmakers such as John Boorman and the esteemed Stanley Kubrick to adapt the The Lord of the Rings to the silver screen the task was finally accomplished by adult animator Ralph Bakshi (Fritz the Cat, among others). While he admitted that many story elements were required to be omitted to bring the tale to cinematic life, he strove to honour the spirit of Tolkien’s book. As far as I am concerned, he succeeded.

Continue reading Review: The Lord of the Rings (1978 Animated) »

In case you haven’t heard, Toy Story 1 & 2 are getting released as a 3-D double feature later this year.

No word yet on if this will be released in NZ, but a TV Spot has shown up online. Check it out below.

I do not like Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy. There. I said it! I am a film buff living in Wellington, New Zealand, and I do not like our biggest cinematic export. I am a heathen! String me up by the neck and let’s be done with it!

Continue reading Second Chance: The Lord of the Rings »

A touching tale of a man’s promise to his wife, Up is Pixar’s funniest and most touching film to date.

Continue reading Review: Up »

Inglourious Basterds; the film so good I saw it twice.

Instead of a balls to the wall action film, as promised by the synopsis and the marketing, we get a tense dramatic thriller with smatterings of horror and a little of the promised action. However, such is Tarantino’s skill in setting up the few frantic moments of violence that the pay-off is extraordinary. And, be warned, that, while the action is intermittent, when it does come it is unrelenting and rather gory.

Basterds is a spaghetti western that got lost in Nazi-occupied France. But, this is not the Nazi-occupied France of history; nay, it is one where history is rewritten and David Bowie sets the mood for cinema inspired revenge. It may also be writer/director Quentin Tarantino’s most entertaining film to date. It is certainly his best since Jackie Brown.

Continue reading Review: Inglourious Basterds »