Starring Jason Segel, Emily Blunt, Rhys Ifans, Alison Brie
A year after meeting, Tom proposes to Violet. As they plan their wedding their lives place obstacles in their way, pushing them further apart while they watch their goofy friends make a success of their unplanned marriage.
The Five-Year Engagement has elements of romance and moments of comedy but however it may be packaged, it is not your standard rom-com. It is a well-realised drama focusing on the sacrifices that are made by couples. Segel plays Tom brilliantly, restraining his comedic talents and together with Blunt portray a couple that you know are in love and you just want them to be happy. While the story itself isn’t revolutionary, the approach is. The slow decay of the central relationship evokes a degree of pathos you don’t get in anything starring Jennifer Lopez, as you find yourself caring. It becomes uncomfortable in places where Tom and Violet make choices you wish they wouldn’t make but that you know they must. A film about the journey; a journey we will all make at some point in our lives.
Recommend
The Five-Year Engagement offers a more heartfelt reflection on love than most films about relationships and I really enjoyed it. I wouldn’t say this is a good date night film – it tugs on the heart strings but there are few large laughs – but it is definitely worth watching with Segel and Blunt both excellent.
The FriedGold rating – 8/10 – a whole lotta love
If you like this then you might like:
The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind – equally engaging but alternative look at the nature of relationships
Starring Gordon Joseph-Levitt, Bruce Willis and Emily Blunt
Face your Future. Fight your Past. A Looper, someone who is hired to kill people sent back in time. However Looper Joe, played by JGL, finds out that one day the man sent back will be his future self.
The first thing i would have to say about this is how amazing not only the camera work and scene shooting was but the visual effects of making JGL look like a young Bruce Willis. His eyes, nose and hair line mirrored that of Willis and he even had some of his mannerisms making the role being played very believable. Willis played the typical Willis role which is something that doesn’t bother me and when he and JGL were together in scenes, especially in the diner, they really played off of each other making the audience fully concentrate on what is happening. Emily Blunt was a great character dropping some f-words here and there and bring a bit of humanity to the film whereas her kid was incredibly scary at times but was definitely a scene stealer.
Recommend
A film involving time travel will always interest me and this was no exception. Willis has always been a favourite of mine and JGL is becoming a favourite too. The film did have some slow moments but these were needed to help the story progress. The film was fun, exciting and added some twists that really made the film something special. I loved the look of it and am already looking forward to it coming out on bluray. See this film!
TheFriedGold rating – 4/5
Film Fact
This is the third time Bruce Willis’ character time travels and encounters his younger self. The first was Twelve Monkeys and the second was The Kid.
Starring James McAvoy, Emily Blunt, Michael Caine, Matt Lucas, Maggie Smith, Jason Statham, Stephen Merchant, Julie Walters, Patrick Stewart
It’s the tale of Romeo and Juliet, the tragic tale of forbidden love. Only this retelling of the classic Shakespeare story is told using garden gnomes. Set to the songs of Elton John.
I never thought I would see this film. But, somehow, I have. I am pretty sure the genesis of this film came from a pun on “Romeo” thought up by standing in a garden. So after judging the film before I saw it, I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by Gnomeo and Juliet. It is not a rival to Pixar but it is better than some Dreamworks Animation (Madagascar 2, I look at you). This is a fun, breezy story, stacked with a top-end voice cast. The animation is solid without breaking any new ground and there are moments of genuine hilarity which I was not expecting. The inclusion of Elton John’s back catalogue for the soundtrack is excellent at times but horribly forced at others – “Saturday Night’s alright” is a good song but maybe not for film aimed at children and not quite right when used. In spite of myself, I enjoyed this.
Fried Gold rating: 3/5 – it’s fun, easy to watch and not as bad as you may think it could be
If you like this then you might like:
Flushed Away (Aardman’s first CGI film, flopped on release and underrated since)
Following thefriedgold’s recent post on top 10 films to look out for in the rest of 2012 and the comment of not having Brave (how can Brave not make the top 10? It’s Pixar dammit) on the list, here are the next 10 to look out for. These could go either way in terms of quality, but I think they could be worth a watch.
A Fantastic Fear of Everything
Directed by Crispian Mills
Starring Simon Pegg, Sheridan Smith
Crime author Jack has an overriding fear of being murdered. His big break comes followed swiftly by a bigger breakdown.
Reason to watch: Pegg.
Release date: 8th June
Ted
Directed by Seth Macfarlane
Starring Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis
The creator of Family Guy steps in to the film world with this: a boy has a teddy bear that is alive. What happens if the bear grows up with the boy?
Reason to watch: Lewd humour and the juxtaposition of a child’s toy drinking and smoking. Could be laugh a minute or all the laughs could be below.
Release date: 1st August
Brave
Directed by Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman and Steve Purcell
Starring Kelly Macdonald, Emma Thompson, Kevin McKidd, Robbie Coltrane
Merida, an independent young archer, is forced to undo a curse she has brought upon her family.
Reason to watch: Are you kidding? Pixar’s output is second to no-one. Even if you “don’t watch cartoons” I would recommend you see this film – it will change your mind. Plus you get a bound-to-be-excellent short before the main event. See this.
Release date: 17 August
The Watch
Directed by Akiva Schaffer
Starring Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill, Richard Ayoade
Four friends form a neighbourhood watch to get away from their wives. They are forced in to action when they discover an alien invasion plot.
Reason to watch: Formerly “The Neighbourhood Watch”, The Watch reunites Vince Vaughn with Ben Stiller in a film written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg (Superbad). Potential for comedy greatness if they are all on song…
Release date: 29 August
Total Recall
Directed by Len Wiseman
Starring: Colin Farrell, Jessica Biel, Kate Beckinsale
A factory worker suffers from nightmares. But are they actually nightmares – could they be suppressed memories trying to return and could he be a spy with the power to change the world?
Reason to watch: A remake of the Arnie version, directed by the guy who gave us Die Hard 4.0 (enjoyable action, worthy addition), Colin Farrell headlining, written by the guy who wrote Equilibrium (dsytopian sci-fi). I enjoy a big budget complex sci-fi and if they can get close to the quality of the 1990 version, this could be good. The trailer looks really good. Plus Kate Beckinsale is in it.
Release date: 22 August
Dredd
Directed by Pete Travis
Starring Karl Urban, Lena Heady
No nonsense lawman Judge Dredd teams with young Judge Anderson to track and take down a drug supplying terrorist organisation.
Reason to watch: Forget the Stallone version, self-confessed fan Urban is taking on the helmet and becoming The Law, promising a more faithful interpretation of the 2000AD character.
Release date: 7 September
The Sweeney
Directed by Nick Love
Starring Ray Winstone, Damian Lewis, Hayley Atwell, Ben Drew
To protect the law and their city, virtuoso flying squad cops are forced to break the law.
Reason to watch: An update of the 70’s TV show sees Nick Love and Ray Winstone do what they do best – The Sweeney is a Lahndahn film filled with Geezahs fighting other Geezahs. But this time Love is working with an established property and Danny Dyer is nowhere to be seen so I’m hopeful this Brit-flick, which looks classy in the trailer, is going to be a worthwhile watch.
Release date: 12 September
Looper
Directed by Rian Johnson
Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, Emily Blunt
Joe is a hitman, killing people sent back from the future. One day his future self is sent back. What does he do?
Reason to watch: We have JGL playing a young Bruce Willis trying to kill him in a time-travel film directed by the man who brought us Brick. Two heavyweight actors and a strong director playing with a mind-bending premise. What more reason do you need?
Release date: 28 September
Taken 2
Directed by Olivier Megaton
Starring Liam Neeson, Famke Janssen, Maggie Grace
The father of a kidnapper Bryan Mills killed when his daughter was abducted has retaliated by taking something precious to Mills. This has pissed him off and a rampage will begin.
Reason to watch: If you like action films and haven’t seen Taken yet then you have a treat awaiting you. If you have seen Taken then you know exactly what the reason to watch this is: Liam Neeson waging a one man war. Directed by the man with the best name in action films.
A young boy, Pi, finds himself adrift in a lifeboat with a zebra, a hyena, an orangutan and a Bengal tiger following a shipwreck.
Reason to watch: I’m a big fan of Ang Lee who has a strong record with adaptations (Sense and Sensibility, Brokeback Mountain) and Life of Pi is based on the highly acclaimed novel of the same name. It’s bound to look good, the story will be strong – much will rest on the performance of newcomer Suraj Sharma as Pi.
Release date: 21 December
Obviously all dates are subject to change…I’ll try and put trailers in as and when they are released. And I’m sure I’ve left off something good…
Set in current times Matt Damon plays a politician running for senate. After things from his past effect his chances of getting into office he randomly meets a lady, played by Emily Blunt, in a bathroom and they instantly hit it off. However it is not as simple as that and they are kept apart by some strange forces that control the universe.
I don’t what to give too much away but what you get here is a classic love story of boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl, boy loses girl and goes on and on. But this has a Sci-fi element that makes the film cool and exciting.
I am a big fan of Terrance Stamp has a supporting role in this film. He would definitely be in the top three people I would want to narrate my life if I had a choice.
It might not be a fast paced film but it will keep you interested until the end. Fans of TV series Fringe would find this interesting and i would recommend this film to anyone who doesn’t mind a little bit of Sci-fi thrown in to this classic boy meets girl romance.
Film Fact
One of the production companies for this film is Electric Shepherd Productions, so named for the novel “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep” by Philip K. Dick, who also wrote the short story, “The Adjustment Team” on which this film is based.
thefriedgold 