Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

This is now the sixth Harry Potter film, and as someone who watches the films having not read the books, it doesn’t feel too much different than watching the previous two instalments. That’s not too say this isn’t a bad film, but this particular arc of the Potter storyline is somewhat underwhelming and is stretched desperately thin over the outrageous running time. You could easily lop an hour off this film and have a tighter more enjoyable movie. Indeed, due to it’s length, the revelations / shocks at the end come as a relief that the films over as opposed to anything more emotional. On the plus side this does have some smart light comic touches and the specials effects are up to their usual high standard. The three main (non!)child actors (Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint) give their usual perfunctory performances, but that’s hardly surprising considering they have been up against the cream of British actors over the last number of years (the acting honours this time going to the excellent Jim Broadbent). Obviously Potter is a world-wide phenomenon, with the box office to match. However, with the films so far being fairly average at best, I doubt we’ll look back to this series of films in 30 years time as any part of cinematic milestone.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
Far far far too long, but this does what it says on the tin Potter-wise. If you’ve enjoyed the previous films you’ll be fine with this. Anyone not already enamoured won’t be spellbound though. Rating: 6/10.

Brüno

Following on from Borat Sacha Baron Cohen returns to the big screen, this time in the form of Brüno, a gay Austrian fashionista. The film has the familiar faux-documentary style of Borat, though in this case the storyline centres on Bruno’s attempts to make it big in the old US of A, as opposed to learning the culture. Oddly enough though, despite the drastic difference in characters, the two films are extremely similar in terms of set up and execution. Though offensive at times, there was no doubt that the previous film was very funny, but even that struggled to stretch the joke to feature film length and here Brüno suffers even worse. The first problem is, is that the character of Brüno isn’t really that funny. Therefore, it’s the situations he finds himself in that must provide the laughs and move the film forwards. There are a number of laugh out loud moments, but these are severely tempered by scenes of outrageous (and unfunny) crudeness. In addition, picking on individuals and giving them the rope to hang themselves with on screen with their opinions and actions may be funny and shocking at times, but it is hardly original and is the same shtick that was used in Borat. Having said that though, it’s hard to be too harsh on Baron Cohen. With Chris Morris currently off the (small) screen, he is virtually the only comedian around with the balls to put himself in the potentially dangerous situations that he does. It’s just a shame that, this time, it’s for a weak character and a weak film.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
Any subtlety that was in Borat is forgotten about here, as Baron Cohen ups the crudeness level to the detriment of the film. Rating: 5/10.

Rudo y Cursi

When you're watching a film by a Mexican director with the surname of Cuarón you’ll generally be entertained, but at the same time you might want to watch something a little more cheery afterwards to lighten your mood. No such problems with Rudo y Cursi, as though this is a film by a Cuarón, it’s actually Alfonso’s younger brother Carlos, who writes and directs this little gem. Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna star as brothers from a small Mexican village who are discovered by a morally ambiguous football agent (played by Guillermo Francella) and leave to pursue their dreams of top flight footy in Mexico’s top division. This is a classic rags to riches fairytale, but as it’s knowingly played out as such, any outrageous co-incidences in the screenplay are easily forgotten. The screenplay itself is the perfect balance of drama and humour, as we see the juxtaposition between the brothers increasing fame and wealth, and the personal relationships between themselves and their families. Luna and Bernal are perfectly cast as the brothers, and it's the latter’s portrayal as a fey footballer in the macho world of Mexican football that provides many of the laughs. Though the three main protagonists all have character defects, the strength of the bond (though at times flimsy) between them means we can't help but root for them all the way through to the mildly shocking non-Hollywood conclusion. This is Cuarón first feature length film and it's a very promising start.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
At times contrived, and the message from Cuarón isn't subtle, but the way it's told is a delight. Rating: 8/10.

Public Enemies

On paper this looks like one of the treats of the year. A film about John Dillinger and the 1930's crime wave, starring Johnny Depp and Christian Bale, with Michael Mann directing. And yet though this isn't a bad film, it's a disappointment when you consider all the serious talent involved. The last time Mann lenses a quasi-biography was Ali, which benefited from being about one of the most recognisable people in modern times and a fantastic performance from Will Smith. Public Enemies fails on both fronts here. Dillinger is a fairly well known name but, despite the lengthy running time, at no stage does Mann’s film really get underneath the skin of the man and show us why he is a hero to some and a criminal to others. Depp’s portrayal of Dillinger is stale, which considering his past chameleonistic volume of work is most surprising. Bale fares slightly better as the one of the cops on Dillinger’s tale, but again the character feels superficial, and a coda in the end-credits comes out of the blue and you’re left frustrated as there is no hint during the film as to why such a situation would eventually occur. On the plus side there is a strong supporting cast, and, as you would expect with a Mann film, luscious visuals and cinematography to enjoy (though it does make the America of the Great Depression appear to be more like a gold-plated nirvana).

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
There are the usual excellent Mann set pieces, but an overlong running time and below average lead performances mean this is more Popgun than Tommy Gun. Rating: 5/10.

Sunshine Cleaning

In Sunshine Cleaning, Amy Adams and Emily Blunt star as Rose and Norah Lorkowski, sisters who start a crime scene clean up service. With that I don’t mean a bit of spring cleaning. This involves blood, brain matter and bodily fluids. Not your everyday job, but the perfect situation around which to build this American indie. Despite the “feel good” marketing campaign there are actually very few laughs to be had. What we have instead is a well acted drama. The characters are believable, and the screenplay plays heavily on the pathos of their lives and the people they encounter in the aftermath of their job. Though with a relatively short running time, it does mean that many of the scenes and situations feel somewhat contrived. In addition, some of the decisions made by the sisters are somewhat out of kilter and unrealistic in respect of the portrayed circumstances of their lives. However, the direction is unobtrusive as we focus on Rose and Norah and the crossroads they both find themselves in their own respective lives. Adams and Blunt are certainly believable as sisters and, in a role playing their father, Alan Arkin provides his usual solid support. Acting honours though go to Clifton Collins Jr (as a possible love interest for Rose) whose performance is low under the radar and ends up stealing the film. Overall, this is an enjoyable, and at times, thought provoking film.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
Though not a real push for anyone, this is a well acted and classically quirky American indie. A good tonic for anyone with the Blockbuster blues. Rating: 6/10.

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs

After the enjoyable buddy action of the first Ice Age film, the sequel took a step backwards with the introduction of Ellie as the love interest for Manny. Out went the quick pace and wit of the first film, to be replaced with corny gags and a large helping of cheese. Now we have the third Ice Age film, in which the main story arc concerns Sid and his attempts at “motherhood”. After Sid goes missing Manny, Ellie and Diego go looking for him aided by another new character, Buck (voiced by Simon Pegg). As the new member of the gang, unsurprisingly, Buck is given plenty of screen time with most of his gags hitting the mark, including a number of innuendoes for the adults to enjoy. Another new character, Scratte, is a rival / love interest for the franchises most lovable character, Scrat. Though her introduction falls somewhat flat, is does provide one inspired sequence where Scrat and Scratte battle for the beloved acorn whilst entrapped in bubbles. The fact that this scene (less than a minute long) is the highlight of the movie shows up how the rest of the film is sorely lacking in new ideas, even with the introduction of the new characters. In fact, their presence on screen means there’s now too many cooks spoiling the broth, with some characters falling by the wayside (a small subplot concerning Diego seems almost an after-thought). Overall, this is an improvement on the second film, but it falls way short of the first instalment, and you can’t help getting the impression that the film-makers are concerned more with how much profit they can get from merchandise tie-ins from a safe film, as opposed to really pushing the envelope to show us something new. On a side-issue to that, I watched the 3-D version, which doesn’t add too much, so if you’re watching the 2-D version you’re not really missing out.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
Innocent and enjoyable stuff for the kids, but it’ll be nothing new for the older members of the audience. Any future adventures might best be saved for a direct to DVD release. Rating: 5/10.

Blood: The Last Vampire

Now here’s a movie genre we haven’t seen for a while…the vampire picture! I jest of course, as over the last decade if you threw a piece of garlic at the nearest cinema screen the odds are pretty good you would hit one of the blood-thirsty types. Though an original film, Blood: The Last Vampire already has a history as an anime film, anime series, novel and video game. The film itself has a decent start with a bit of intrigue, gore and stereotypical Men In Black thrown into the mix. Very quickly though we go downhill into a below par Buffy episode with nothing new to say. The fight scenes involve copious amounts of CG blood (hardly shocking), and the fit inducing editing makes you feel like you’re watching a Tony Scott film after he’s drunk 50 Red Bulls. Worse of all though is the unfortunately hilarious CGI’d winged demon. Looking like the creature from the black lagoon (with rubber wings) it’ll certainly provoke a reaction. That of laughter. Plus, this is supposedly set in the 1970’s, but not much effort has been made to convey that either. Topped off with some bad acting and an incomprehensible ending, this is one of the weakest entries into the recent vampiric cannon. Don’t worry though, they’ll probably be another one along shortly!

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
The occasional fight scene raises the pulse, and although it doesn’t set out to be anything more than it is, what it is, is a huge disappointment. Rating: 3/10.

Red Cliff

Amazingly it’s 20 years now since John Woo was wowing Eastern audiences (and, when we eventually got them over here, Western audiences as well) with his hyper-kinetic and stylised shoot em ups. After a few half decent US films, the quality and quantity of his output declined pretty quickly. For his new film Woo has returned to Asia, and though it’s nothing like a return to peak form, it’s definitely a step in right direction. First of all, when I say “film”, I mean that this review is of the Europe/US release. Within Asia Red Cliff was released in two parts, with a total four hours plus running time. Over here we get a condensed version of the two films, with a 2 hour 30 minute running time. The film itself its set during the end of the Han Dynasty and is based on the Battle of the Red Cliffs (see internet for further details!). As this is an epic (of sorts) I’d be here for hours if I was to explain the storyline further. Also, whether what’s being portrayed is historically accurate or not is an argument for another time. What we do have, at least in this version, is a war film. Generals, arrow-fodder, spies, battles, boats, horses, blood, swords, even the weather. It’s all thrown into the mix. The overall result is enjoyable with Woo’s approach giving a fresh feeling to a number of battle scenes. In addition, at times, Woo stretches into the realms of fantasy fighting and just about pulls it off. The downside of these battle scenes though is the overuse of CGI to once again show off scale. Scale is impressive when you’re watching real actors / extras (Ghandi, Lawrence etc). Not so impressive when you know you’re watching an image rustled up on a computer somewhere. On a side issue here there has been some controversy regarding the welfare of the horses used in the film (It’s already been well documented that a stuntman was sadly killed during filming). There are a lot of scenes of horses being “tripped” in the film, with some reports stating that a number of horses were injured. I had a look on the BBFC website for their opinion and they state “During the battle scenes, some horses are shown falling awkwardly. With one exception, which has been cut from the film, the BBFC is satisfied with the company's reassurances that no horses were injured and that various provisions were made to ensure their safety during the making of the film”. Make of that what you will.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
Hard to give a definitive review, particularly in terms of the acting and screenplay, due to the two films being filed down. However, Woo directs with a flourish and some original battle sequences mean that cinema seat shouldn’t chafe too much during the lengthy running time. Rating: 6/10