So summer is over. The leaves are falling, its already getting dark earlier and I have switched the heating on. September was a quiet month for me film wise, only really those below worth talking about. The last of the summer releases came out a month or so after their American debut so now its time to sit back and ponder the summer silly season just passed. For the record my top five films of the Summer were:

5. The Incredible Hulk: I cannot understand all the three star reviews for this movie, its so much fun and is Hulk as he should be. Better than the overrated Iron Man.

4. Pineapple Express: More on this one below.

3. Hellboy 2 – The Golden Army: Hell Yeah, so good and so want to see part three with Bruce Campbell as Lobster Johnson. Del Toro you said it now do it!

2. WALL-E: Just absolute heaven from start to finish and further proof that Pixar is unbeatable when it comes to animated greatness.

1. The Dark Knight: As of now I have seen this in the cinema three times and I haven't seen anything in the cinema that many times since 1999, nearly a decade ago. I keep walking round saying " You know how I got theeesee scaaaarsss…"

Those were my personal favorites but even things between these films were good fun. Wanted, Iron Man, Step Brothers and Indy were all good fun (although Indy was a little disappointing). I hope to god that next summer is just as good.

Anyway films of note seen in September: ***SPOILER WARNING***

 

Rocknrolla: Initially when this came out, it was described as a major return to form by Guy Richie. Its not really a return to form so much as a back to the well type exercise that served Kevin Smith so well in 2006 with Clerks 2. You know how the plots of Lock, Stock and Snatch both revolve around an object of some value and involve colorful cartoon mockney criminals all trying to do each other in? Well Rocknrolla is essentially the same thing except this time its a valuable painting. The wild card in this bunch though is a Pete Doherty type character named Johnny Quid played really well by Toby Kebbell. He is the estranged step son of Lenny a mobster who controls much of the valuable real estate of London and is in fierce competition with the Russian mob to whom the missing painting belongs. When Johnny steals the painting the scene is set for the familiar Richie plot. Into this mess comes the wild bunch including characters with names like One Two, Mumbles and Handsome Bob. Although the plot is nothing new really it must be said that Rocknrolla is Richie's most technically accomplished film so far. Its gorgeously shot and better acted and has a fantastic soundtrack. If anything this film has made me curious to see what Guy Richie's version of Sherlock Holmes is going to be like. Richie also gets plus points for introducing Kebbell to the world and reminding us that Gerard Butler is a star after he seemed to not capitalize on the success of 300. The outcome of all this is slightly predictable although the scene is set for a new story to be told with these characters. Richie has said that he views this as the first part in a trilogy, personally I cannot see how this is going to work. ***1/2

Pineapple Express: I was really looking forward to this film earlier in the year and whilst it was not a disappointment it did not live up to the excellent trailer. If you can imagine a film with the silliness of Anchorman or Step Brothers mixed with the harsh violence of True Romance or a Steven Seagal movie from the 90's then that's Pineapple Express. It shouldn't work but it does and its the funniest film of the summer. The story follows Dale Denton, a process server who smokes a bit too much weed and buys from Saul Silver a permanently wasted dealer who is anxious for him and Dale to become friends. Dale witnesses a murder one night and he and Saul are forced to go on the run when a crime lord links the titular brand of weed back to Saul. As Dale and Saul, Seth Rogen and James Franco have great chemistry and you really believe that they could be friends in real life as their banter is so quick and easy, its hard to imagine much of it was actually scripted and not improvised. Franco in particular is a revelation here showing an easy move into comedy that he didn't seem capable of after roles in a string of flops as well as the successful Spider-Man movies. Seth Rogen gives his usual likeable performance but this time showing a bit more of his silly side playing a character that really shouldn't be likeable as his actions are kind of sleazy but he is such a wastoid that you cant help but like him. Another actor who emerges from the film with some kudos is Danny McBride, he has been a bit player in these comedies for a while with his biggest role being in the underrated Hot Rod. Along with his role here and in Tropic Thunder he should emerge as a star in his own right. McBride plays Red a friend of Saul's who is seemingly invincible after being shot and blown up. He has a great fight scene with the central duo and some classic lines. That is the trick to the success of this film, it has so many quotable lines throughout that stoners will be quoting for years to come.  ****1/2

Death Note: This film was a real surprise. Its based on a manga which was also turned in to a successful anime and this is the first film produced from the source material. As far as I can tell from my limited knowledge of the anime/manga its a direct live action remake, even down the appearance of the main demon character, but more on that later. The plot follows Light, a shy young man who discovers a book dropped one evening by the demon Ryuuk. The book allows the user to write the name of someone in its pages and they will die forty seconds later from a heart attack unless you write down a different type of death. Light uses this book to punish the criminals who the legal system allows to slip through its fingers and starts a website dedicated to this mission where he gains a cult following amongst Japan's young. As time goes on Light lets the power he has go to his head and its not long before he is killing innocents in order to keep his identity a secret. The police are baffled and enlist a shady operative named L to try and force the killer out into the open. Its a relatively simple premise but it overcomes the Manga/Anime influence to become a cracking thriller. Its been a long time since I have been gripped by a subtitled movie but this had me on the edge of my seat (an unusual thing for a Wednesday night) and shouting things out to God knows who as the plot twisted and turned. Come the reveal of L's identity I was gripping the cushions anxious to see where it could go next. as good as this film is though it seriously kicks itself in the balls with the poorest CGI character I have seen since Spawn. The demon Ryuuk is supposed to be scary and unpredictable, his design is certainly freaky enough but here the CGI is so bad that he looks like a cut out from a PS2 game that has been inserted into the screen with his limited expressions and movement. It seriously lets down what would otherwise have been a classic piece of Asian cinema. The best news? The Sequel is out on DVD October 13th! None of this wait three years bullshit for the Japanese. No sir. Alas Hollywood is producing a remake, sigh.****

Tropic Thunder: Before this came out it was being hyped as one of the funniest films ever made and the most of expensive comedy ever made too. It may be all the hype or maybe all that money but I was a tiny bit disappointed by this movie. Its not a bad film in any sense but much like Step Brothers it feels like it should be much funnier. It begins with a trio of spoof trailers which certainly hit the mark, especially Satan's Alley which was the winner of the prestigious crying monkey award at the Beijing film festival. From there we get dropped into the midst of a production of Tropic Thunder a book written by a supposed Vietnam veteran. The production is out of control though and over budget and the director is not getting the performances he needs. The Vietnam vet played by Nick Nolte minus hands recommends sending the actors into the shit to get some real performances out of them. Into the jungle they go and they stumble across a militia of drug runners protecting their heroin plant, cue much hilarity as the actors think they are being filmed in a Blair-witch style stunt and fire blanks at hard as nails guerillas who are armed to the teeth. Its the satire that works here more than the performances, Ben Stiller and Jack Black give their usual vain doofus and shouty lard ass performances. Robert Downey Jr however kicks major ass as Kirk Lazarus an Australian method actor who dyes his skin to play the black platoon sergeant. He gets all the best lines with a great performance which never strays into bad taste. Along with Tom Cruise as an evil foul mouthed producer and Matthew McConaughey as Stiller's devoted agent, Downey steals the movie from under Stiller and Black. Surprising as Stiller also directed and co-wrote the film. So Tropic Thunder then, a chucklesome diversion which could have been a classic but does not quite get there.  ***