Behind The Candelabra

Michael Douglas puts on a lot of make up and plastic stuff to become Liberace the uber homosexual piano player of a few years or so ago. He meets Matt Damon at a party and takes a shining to him, so much so he invites him to live at his big house. Once there they start having the most sacred of all love, the love between two makeup caked men. Once here ol Liberace gets a bit weird and gets Rob Lowes plastic surgeon involved to alter poor Matts face in very creepy ways. Their relationship develops again in a very odd manner and we all find out that Liberace may have needed some sort of therapy.

This is probably the campest film that has ever graced the big screen. The amount of sparkles is verging on the blinding level and the man love is not shyed away from with Matt and Michael really going for it in some scenes. Michael Douglas is unrecognisable in his Liberace get up and is frankly brilliant in the role. Matt Damon is also unrecognisable as the love interest and don't even get me started on Rob Lowe. The whole thing is a true story also which makes it even creepier. They also make a good attempt at injecting some comedy into the film which works in some respects but not in others. Despite the good story, acting and direction I couldn't help but get a little bored. It plods along nicely but in some places not a lot happens. Top marks for effort but not so for execution unfortunately.

Verdict: 3/5

Olympus Has Fallen

 
Gerard Butler has a job protecting the president, Aaron Eckhart. Not only is it his job but he is well in there being Aaron's bestie at the same time, that is until he makes a bit of a risky decision that ends a little badly. Due to this he is let go and spends his time doing something else, not sure what, and annoying his other half over a morning smoothie making session. Meanwhile Aaron is meeting with a South Korean guy and some other Koreans, presumably some angry northern ones, start blowing up walls and stuff and take over the White House. Once they have taken over they start making all sorts of evil bad guy demands and threatening to off the rest of the cast. Of course the American government are occupied by a bunch of incompetent boobs and its up to Gerard to bust in, bash in some Korean skulls and save the god damn day.

If when deciding what film to watch you are looking for high brow, intelligent filmmaking that delivers a message and changes your entire perception of life itself then I would keep moving as you are not going to find it here. If on the other hand you are looking for mindless nonsense that will entertain and potentially burst your eardrums then take a seat and grab some popcorn. There isn't really anything new on offer with this film but that isn't the point of it. It is meant to be a bit of throwaway rubbish that you can switch your brain into neutral for and it delivers in heaps. The story is engaging enough and the action is on the verge of Taken type brutality. Gerard won't win any oscars but he is believable as a damaged tough guy who does not think twice about shooting people's faces off. The rest of the cast do their job properly and the setting is refreshingly claustrophobic spending all it's time within the White Houses walls. I really enjoyed this film and urge everybody that if you want to be entertained you could do a hell of a lot worse than rent this.

Verdict: 3.5/5

Film review: Boy In The Striped Pyjamas

Right so there were these Germans in the 30's mad 40's who had a real go at being the biggest bunch of douchebags ever. They liked starting fights and invading countries and then later on killing Jewish people. They were led by a small angry man with poor choice in hairstyles who was very good at public speaking. The boy in this films father likes this small man very much and as a result moves his entire family to live on a camp, not the scouts kind but the concentration kind. Once there the small boy meets another small boy who, you guessed it, dresses in striped nightwear. They become pals whilst playing chess through an electric fence without realising that they should hate one another.

This film is first and foremost depressing. The subject matter is extremely heavy and does not shy away from that fact. It is terrifying and difficult to watch but at no point does it feel the need to be gratuitous or violent. These are by no means bad things as the film is excellent. Both the main children in it are very good and show you the horrific events of the Second World War through innocent and naive eyes. Not only does the film highlight how nonsensical some if the adult decisions are in the minds of children but by using the German child's older sister they show how indoctrination and propaganda can destroy all that innocence. It is genuinely scary what people will do when they think they are doing right. You will not enjoy this film in the traditional sense but that isn't the point of it. It will move you and show you a well known subject matter in a different and fascinatingly clever way. Loved it.

Verdict: 5/5