Noah Movie Review

Being a big fan of last year's Man of Steel, I found myself distracted during my screening of Darren Aronofksy's new film Noah, because whenever Russell Crowe spoke he sounded like his Man of Steel character Jor-El. Weird, I know, but true!

Noah is directed by Darren Aronofsky, the man behind Black Swan, and stars Russell Crowe as the title character. The film re-tells the famous story of Noah's Ark from the Bible; God wishes to wipe out the evil and exploitive human race via an everlasting flood, and it is up to Noah to build this enormous Ark to shelter his family and two of every animal from the oncoming flood.

Now I was curious to see this movie because Darren Aronofsky has made some very impressive movies in the past, plus I am not religious so if it did deviate from the source material in anyway, it wouldn't bother me at all. For example, when the film took the decision in which Noah receives all of the information via dream like visions as opposed to God (or the Creator as they call him in the film) speaking to him from atop a cloud, I was fine with it. In fact, that was one of the biggest positives for me in a movie in which I did enjoy, bar from a few things.

First and foremost, Russell Crowe does carry the movie well and there is no questioning the man's acting talent. I really felt as the plot thickened that Noah (played by Crowe, obviously) and his family were good people, and not just the people the film forces us to like. This was probably made easier because the evil humans in the movie were truly detestable, particularly the villain who Ray Winstone played superbly. I always think that of you care for the people on screen, the film has done something right!

Emma Watson also seriously impressed me with her performance within the film, which was probably my favourite out of all of them. Her performance worked because you cared for her character and the actress showed off her diverse emotional range and talent. The third act of the film sees Watson at her best, which was the shining light of that part of the film.

This was the part I didn't really enjoy. The film tried to take some interesting directions with some of the characters that, while it may have worked for other audience members, it didn't for me. This was probably because for the first two thirds of the film I was seriously invested within the majority of the plot and all of the characters.

Noah was also a good watch because Darren Aronofsky's talent shone through on multiple occasions. However, I was a little worried when I saw the first CGI creature which, in my opinion, wasn't up to scratch. The CGI is by no means terrible, but I really felt it could have been polished up a bit more for the theatrical release.

Besides, what is CGI to wide landscape shots that beautifully sell the location. Noah has these shots and they are beautiful and well crafted.

However I can't stress enough that the final third of the film just was not to my liking. The film dragged on for too long in my opinion and I checked my phone multiple times to see if we were finally nearing the film's conclusion! That is probably my biggest complaint with the film; the pacing and the length.

I have other complaints but in reality they are all little nit picks I have with some of the story elements that probably won't effect your viewing experience of Noah in any way. But there were things that did annoy me with the film, just so you know. But Noah is still an enjoyable film that is competently made:


Rating - B


1 sentence summary - Interesting, nice to look at and generally well made, despite its never ending run time!


Thanks for reading,
Matt

This is the End Movie Review

Another film that has been out for a while, but I finally managed to see it yesterday with a couple of friends. Was it worth the wait? We shall see.. 

So, This is the End is comedy starring a host of Hollywood actors including Jay Baruchel, James Franco, Seth Rogen and many more in an apocalyptic world. Automatically I am wanting to see this film because when a film about the apocalypse is done well it's always very enjoyable for me.

As mentioned previously, the film is set in the house of James Franco who is hosting a party for a truck load of Hollywood actors and pop singers. The guest list includes people like Emma Watson, Rihanna and Michael Sera. In my opinion, the best component of the entire movie is the acting in it. I love it when celebrities play exaggerated versions of themselves. They all make fun of each other's movies, they all party hard and smoke weed. I mean, they're just living up to the stereotype and it's incredibly funny to watch.

What this film does as well is play on the desperation of the situation they find themselves in. It's pretty clearly established that these Hollywood actors are dickheads, and to see them all conspiring against each other is absurdly entertaining to watch.

The most notable cameo appearances in the movie include Emma Watson and Michael Sera. Sera is perhaps the funniest film in the movie and Emma Watson's cameo is great because she is a bit of a badass! And of course, she's ridiculously attractive!

The film in itself is fairly well paced, when it ended I was ready for it to. It is in no way revolutionary, you couldn't create an emotional attachment to any of the characters if you tried. But, that's not the point. The movie sets out to do a job and does that job well.

Some special effects are used in this movie as a means to tell the story, which is always a good thing. Again, they're not revolutionary but they look good and hold up.

Being a comedy, I have to talk about some of the humour. For the most part, it is well written and delivered well with good timing. Some parts are genuinely hilarious (like drugged-up Michael Sera) but for some people it may be a little bit too much. The humour is split into 2; 1 part being well timed and genuinely funny, the other half being downright outrageous.

The ending itself is ridiculously corny, but I can roll with that because it's trying to be as corny as it possibly can! (Or, at least I hope so).

So, This is the End does it's job well. It is not revolutionary in terms of it's cinematography or character development, but it does do a good job at using the humour of exaggerated versions of Hollywood actors interacting with each other to make you think "I'm enjoying myself" while watching this movie. Definitely up there as one of the best comedies of the year..


Rating - B

1 sentence summary - A very funny and entertaining film, with some outrageous humour!


Right then, if you are reading this post, have you seen This is the End? What did you think of it? Please leave a comment and constructive criticism is of course welcome.

Stand by for more movie reviews in the very near future.

Thanks again,
Matt