In Time (2011)

Film of 2012 #8
No Spoilers

Finally got to catch up with the Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfreid Sci-Fi film based on the idea that we have to earn time to survive, the concept is baffling and you should not try and figure out why they got there, simply go with it and how it works, I thought of it simply as an alternative world and it works really well. It is slightly confusing as at 25 years old people stop ageing and look like that forever more, so you have a situation when a 25 year old man shows you his Mother-in-Law, Wife and Daughter and they are all played by 25 year old actresses makes an interesting looking film.

I have to say that the setting is used really well with Justin Timberlake as a man living literally day to day, it is easy to see that there is social commentary with the differences between the rich and the poor and what that can really mean in real terms to people and I have to say that I was captivated by that idea. The main premise of the idea though is that if you are robbed of all of your time you will be timed out and die.

With a solid performance from the 2 main leads and Cillian Murphy as the time cop you have some really good tense scenes and with the threat of time running out on them down to the last few seconds it is an interesting film. I would say that if you like science fiction or fantasy then it is well worth seeing, one of the best films I have seen this years so far a solid 4 stars from me.

Red Riding Hood (2011)

Film of 2012 #4
Spoilers

Finally got a chance to see this film, however I was not actually that bothered about seeing the Wolf film from the director of Twilight based upon a simple Fairy tale. Amanda Seyfried plays Red who has a Grandmother in the woods and their village is haunted by a Werewolf that everybody knows about but lives with it until it goes to far and kills a young girl.

Now it plays very strong on fairly tales with some interesting homages including the Oh Grandma what Big Eyes you have, one of the main characters is called Peter, I just kept thinking of Peter and the Wolf while it was on. Overall this is not terrible but again it is not captivating, they try and create suspense around who is the Wolf and so many red herrings I was pretty sure i figured it out and I had.

And the promise you won't tell anyone was followed by that person telling everyone so blatent and obvious it was happy when it was over. You get some good performances from Amanda Seyfried and Gary Oldman has a bit part and I was surprised at where his character ended up. This is not worth seeing unless you catch it on TV or are interested to see anything to do with Werewolves, a 2 star film for me.

Jennifer's Body (2009)

The horor film starring Megan Fox and Amanda Syfried directed by Karyn Kusama and written by Diablo Cody of Juno fame. I wen tto see this film at the cinema origianlly and have actually seen it again on DVD, the premise of a High School girl who becomes possesed and eats her classmates. I have to say that I enjoyed this film both times that I saw it.

Megan Fox is actually watchable but it is Amanda Syfried that makes this for me, she plays the HEroine of the peice really well and all the way through the film I actually believed in her. The language used is a bit strange and seems to be a Diablo Cody style which can jar a bit with me and might put people off.

Overall this is an enjoyable flick that is worth seeing if you like horror films it is nothing startling but a bit of fun, 3 stars overall for me.