The Darkest Hour (12A) *

The Darkest Hour (12A) *

Dir: Chris Gorak

Starring: Emile Hirsch, Olivia Thirlby, Max Minghella

Synopsis: Five young people meet at a club in Moscow when the Earth is attacked. The aliens, invisible balls of energy, cut off the world’s electricity supply and incinerate any humans they come into contact with. The heroes must fight their way across the city to rescue with the Russian allies they collect on the way.

Verdict: The alien invasion genre certainly seems to be on the boom. Last year we had Skyline and Battle L.A, and this year we have The Darkest Hour and Battleship. From the trailers we can see links between Skyline and The Darkest Hour, and between Battle L.A and Battleship, but we’ll have to wait and see the links in the latter.

In scenes that seem to be plucked straight from Skyline, The Darkest Hour kicks off with glowing orbs of energy floating down from the sky. However, these orbs are here to kill people and take the planets resources rather than our brains. In other similar scenes, as the film progresses we see columns of matter being pulled into the sky.

Another aspect I noticed was when the alien orbs begun to rip people apart/incinerate them, I was reminded of the 2005 remake of War of the Worlds, with the similar end result as the heat wave used by the tripods. There don’t seem to be a huge number of original ideas in the film on the whole.

Trying to stop nit picking over copy-cats in the film industry, the movie isn’t that terrible. The slight change in plot to displace the characters from an American city or town to Moscow is a refreshing change, but the stereotypical American civilians who overnight turn into fighting machines is a bit clichéd.

Special effects wise, I chose to avoid the 3D version as the magic of the effect is wearing thin through some shoddy attempts at adding that extra dimension. However, the CGI isn’t too bad, though when you finally get to see past the aliens’ invisible armour they seem quite comic book-ish (Parallax in The Green Lantern sprung to mind).

While it is keeps you occupied for a while, the film doesn’t do too much to develop the genre as a whole.

The Iron Lady (12A) *****

The Iron Lady (12A) *****

Dir: Phyllida Lloyd

Starring: Meryl Streep, Jim Broadbent, Anthony Head

Summary: The Iron Lady follows the rise of Margaret Thatcher, from her humble beginnings as a grocers’ daughter, through her controversial 11 year reign as Prime Minister of Great Britain, and aspects of her life after her leaving office.

Verdict: Having been born in 1989, towards the end of Margaret Thatcher’s time as Prime Minister, a lot of the history behind the film is just that: history. From the rest of the audience present in the theatre, they will surely have remembered the Thatcher years and be able to reflect on her controversial time in power.

However, as someone who doesn’t know a huge amount about that time, I found it to be an interesting insight into the Conservative leaders’ life.

One of the main things that struck me was the irony of the title. The Iron Lady nickname that she earned herself is shown through her politics and her attitude towards work. This is highlighted by her views to her family during her time in office, with one scene as she is finally elected as MP and has to go to London, driving away from her children as they chase the car without any sign of upset in her face.

However, the powerful scenes of her as an old lady dealing with the grief and loneliness after the death of her husband are so sentimental and touching. Juxtaposing the films title they serve to humanise her in a way that, due to what I have been told about her time in office, I did not expect.

Meryl Streep and Alexandra Roach, who play Maggie at the various stages in her life, do so fantastically well, and their performances are sure to do well come award season. Their characters are complimented by Jim Broadbent’s portrayal of Denis Thatcher.

Probably the only fault I can pick with The Iron Lady is the pace of the film. At first, it feels like the film drags incredibly slowly. Then, about halfway in the ‘action’ kicks in and it seems like the producers suddenly thought after a tedious set-up: ‘Oh heck, we still need to get the bulk of her career into a limited time frame’.

This said, the film loses nothing in the loss and make up of speed and follows the 20^th century historical biopic style that The Kings Speech kicked off last year. I foresee The Iron Lady going on to win when the awards are announced. A definite must see.

Troll Hunter (15) **** (DVD)

Troll Hunter (15) **** (DVD)

Dir: Andre Ovredal

Starring: Otto Jespersen, Robert Stoltenberg, Glenn Erland Tosterud

Summary: A trio of Norwegian college students making a documentary about bear hunters and bear poachers uncover a secret that the government is trying to keep under-wraps – Trolls are running amok in the countryside! They meet and follow Trollhunter Hans as he chases down and kills trolls using UV lights as weapons against the giant beasts.

Verdict: Troll Hunter certainly lived up to the hype that was created around it. The use of the handheld camera which has been used in The Blair Witch Project & Cloverfield seems to have been, to an extent, perfected in this film. While still jerky and blatantly hand-held, it is less disorientating and stomach upsetting as previous offerings. This can probably be attributed to the characters being film students and not just kids with cameras, giving the producers an excuse to steady the filming, whilst keeping it real.

Having said this, there are some scenes of external vehicle shots which could be either seen as building on the more ‘professional’ documentary styles (the characters setting up deliberate shots) or an accidental cock-up which drew my attention back to it being a piece of entertainment.

The characters are good and believable, with the advantage that any stilted or less than perfect acting can be attributed to the characters role as nervous college student documentarians, rather than the actors themselves.

Otto Jespersen is Hans, the Troll Hunter the film is named after. His quiet and reclusive portrayal of the character emphasises the secret nature of his work, and also a world weary attitude that goes with it.

The special effects are great, from the trolls themselves to the various deaths when subjected to UV lights – trolls explode in sunlight when young and turn to stone as they get older. The play on mythology surrounding the beats gives the producers

All in all this is a very enjoyable film to watch, and is a much more pleasant experience than Cloverfield to watch with its smoother camera work.

The Losers (12A) **

The Losers (12A) **

Dir: Sylvian White

Starring: Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Chris Evans, Zoe Saldana

Summary: A Special Forces team on a mission in Bolivia find themselves targeted by a crooked CIA agent Max, who is known to them by voice alone. Presumed dead, they live in secret in South America until they are approached by Aisha, a mysterious woman with a score of her own to settle with Max. Action soon follows as they hunt down Max to stop him from sending the world into a high-tech war.

Verdict: To those of us who have seen the original A-Team series, or indeed just the 2010 remake, the premise and plot of The Losers will be very familiar. This action flick comes complete with ex-military types who have their own unique specialities, have been betrayed by crooked government types and have several comedic moments.

Obviously this is not a bad way to go - as the success of The A-Team shows – but it does seem slightly plagiaristic.

Jeffrey Dean Morgan is Clay - the Losers’ Hannibal - and Chris Evans’ Jenson is the Losers’ equivalent of Face. These two are known for playing characters like who they play in the film. Morgans role as the tough guy Comedian in Watchmen is not too dissimilar from Clay, and Evans has of course had experience playing the cocky hero type in Marvels Fantastic Four.

One of the highlights is the strong, silent Cougar (Oscar Jaenada) – the team’s sniper who is seen free running with his rifle on his back, and ends up in some spectacular places doing some very talented shooting.

Tie this together with Jason Patric’s Max – one of the arrogant, shoot-anyone-who-even-slightly-annoys-me bad guys, some fairly decent pyrotechnics, and this isn’t a bad film to watch in an evening when you don’t want to think too much and just relax.

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (12A) ****

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (12A) ****

Dir: Guy Ritchie

Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Jude Law, Jared Harris

Synopsis: The infamous Sherlock Holmes is back to find out what the connection is between the equally genius Professor Moriarty and upheaval in Europe which threatens to lead to a World War.

Verdict: From the offset, the latest in the developing Sherlock Holmes movie franchise proves to be more dedicated to action than the mystery solving and thought provoking ideology that Conan-Doyle imagined for his character.

Downey Jr reprises his role as the infamous consultant detective; his arrogant charm reflecting what Holmes is portrayed as in the novels. This is balanced by Jude Law’s Watson, who is both the sensible side of Holmes’ conscience, as well as encouraging and boosting his ego. The pair also play on the homo-erotic subtext that is often brought up by queer-theorists.

Fans of the books will also note the reference to ‘The Final Problem’ which is sort of a spoiler, but not for those who haven’t read it. The action in the film overshadows the fact that the stories are meant to be about solving mysteries, turning what should be a crime genre into a bog standard action flick.

The special effects are good, and the film brings back the slow motion fight scenes that Holmes plays out before the actual scene.

Jared Harris’ Moriarty is brilliant – the level headed genius and the sadistic nature is a brilliant juxtaposition to Downey Jr’s equally genius, but eccentric, Holmes.

Guy Ritchie’s portrayal of Conan-Doyles’ much loved character has a love hate relationship from audiences but, despite this, the film is an entertaining two hours.