Bronson

I don't usually 'slag' films off, because I am a film maker myself and I know how much hard work goes into these films and how soul destroying it can be for the film makers when they aren't well received. However, with Bronson there was very little that I actually liked.

This film is based on a true story. It is about Charles Bronson, Britain's most violent criminal. Taking this into consideration you would expect there to be a lot of violence in the film. However, there is not. But that's okay because you would expect the violence that there is to be top notch. But it's not. I've seen student films that have had better fights in them. It wasn't the choreography, it was the actual fighting. It just looked... shit. It looked like Bronson was pretending to hit people instead of actually hitting them.

But sadly this isn't the only bad thing about the film. I found that throughout most of the film, nothing happened. The first half an hour was just a series of shots of him sat in his cell. Or at least that is what it felt like. And even these shots were bad.

The shot composition was awful. There were several times when it actually bugged me, and I was sat there thinking, "Why on Earth would someone use a shot like that? It is so ugly." And to make things worst a lot of the shots were held for too long. It was like, "Why are we still looking at this?"

Even the structure of the story was bad. Some of it was set in a theatre where Bronson would talk to the camera and basically tell his story. There's nothing wrong with this idea itself, except that he didn't really tell his story at all, it was as though he was just messing around on stage. And the rest of the film didn't really go anywhere. Just at the end it seemed to make some kind of progress in terms of story telling and then it just stopped and went back to how it started.

This film literally is a mess. The sad thing is that it could have been done way better. My advise, if you want to watch a great film set in prison then watch The Shawshank Redemption. And if you want to watch a film about violent criminals then give The Krays a go. It ain't perfect but it's a hell of a lot better than Bronson.

The International

After I saw Run Lola Run I really wanted to check out the rest of Tom Tykwer's films. The International is the only other one I've managed to check out, so I can't really compare this film to any of his previous ones. Although I have recently bought Perfume: The Story Of A Murderer which I'm hoping to watch soon.

The International, however, is not what I thought it would be. Or perhaps I should say it's not as interesting as I thought it would be. Story wise it does what the trailer says, it is about a bank that is killing people and Clive Owen is trying to stop them.

Unfortunately though is just seems to be lacking something, a better pace perhaps, I'm not entirely sure. Either way if I had the chance to go and see it for the first time again, then I'd give it a miss. It's not that it is a terrible film, but there are definitely better ones out there, such as Run Lola Run.

Watchmen

First off, I haven't read the graphic novel. However, I am a little interested in reading it now that I've seen the film. Not because the film was bad or because the film was good, but because I'd quite like to know what the ending is, as it was changed for the film.

But talking about the film being good or bad I would have to say that it is good. But this ain't your usual superhero story, which you can probably tell seeing as it has an 18 certificate. Something that definitely made the film better, due to how graphic the violence was.

The story is basically a murder mystery. A superhero called The Comedian has been killed and Rorschach is trying to find out who by. However, at 162 minutes the film would have to have a lot more to it than that, and it does. Each of the characters have their own back story that the film goes off and explores. But there is always the goal of finding out who the killer is. Because of this The Comedian pops up in most of the characters back stories and gradually reveals more about him. The back stories also delve into why someone would want to kill him and any other costumed hero. There is still more to it than that but you get the general gist of it. Basically the film has an overall story ark, although it is mostly about the characters and the reason for their motivations.

It sounds quite boring when you write it down like that, but it really isn't. I'm always quite sceptical when going to see a long film at the cinema because normally if you find a film slightly boring then it tends to drag. But if a 3 hour film drags then you've got a whole other hour to sit through before you're free again. Luckily this wasn't the case with Watchmen and I found it very interesting. Along with some great cinematography, visual effects and music that really works well on screen I found myself immersed with in the world of the film right from the beginning up until the very end. I will definitely be getting the director's cut when it comes out on DVD.

The Day The Earth Stood Still (Soundtrack)

There isn't really a lot to say about this soundtrack as it is mostly just atmospheric music. Because of this the listening experience wasn't all that great and overall the soundtrack is pretty average.

Whilst there weren't any outstanding cues, there were a few I did like. However, I'd only recommend this to people who like atmospheric soundtracks or who are fans of Tyler Bates. Although if you're fans of The Matrix scores or John Murphy's score to Sunshine, then it might also be worth checking out since I found this soundtrack reminded me of them a little bit.