Magic Mike (2012, Steven Soderbergh)

Hey film lovers,
it's the turn of Magic Mike this week, which is currently in cinemas. It's still going strong since being released 11th July, yet it hasn't received entirely positive reviews. Nevertheless, I decided to give it a try and go see it anyway. What I found though, was that the negative reviews had been written for a reason. Harsh as it sounds, this movie wasn't really worth my time.

Magic Mike (played by a hunkalicious Channing Tatum) is a 30 year old builder at a construction site by day, with dreams of becoming a successful furniture maker. By night, he becomes a shaved, buffed and bronzed male stripper, dancing, shaking and winning more screaming women than a sold out Michael Buble concert. The first time we saw him on screen sent the whole cinema into one big squealing frenzy - you can imagine! It is Tatum's body, and some impressive dance moves, that make this movie. Sadly, not much else does.

Anyway, the story really begins when Mike meets young new worker Adam at the construction site (Alex Pettyfer - now this guy really has grown up. The blonde flowing curly locks have gone!) They run into each other that evening outside the strip club, and Adam convinces Mike to let him go in with him. This catapults Adam into the world of strippers, and he's desperate for a slice of it. Following an agreement between Mike and leading man Dallas (Matthew McConaughey, who reminds Adam that his role as a stripper is to be "the husband those women never had"), Adam - now introduced as 'The Kid' due to him being only 19 - is pushed out onto the stage to show Dallas what he's got. Despite a cringey attire at one point of baggy boxers and grey woolly socks, he joins the team, and away they go.

I won't tell you the rest of the story, not because I'll spoil it, but because it has unneccesary complications and some pointless parts. Either that or I'm just being a bit silly. I liked the stubborn character of Brooke, Adam's sister (Cody Horn), who Mike clearly has a thing for but she is reluctant to have anything to do with him at first. But throw in a chance to take the show to Miami, something about receiving 7.5% instead of 10% (didn't know what was going on) and a bust up at a house party involving drugs - one of the darker parts of the plot - oh, and a pig called Herman, and you have a slightly mismatched film with a bad plot.

Even the lead characters flexing their muscles gets old; we are treated to several montages of the gang performing various routines, but these are dotted around as though to fill some time, and they got boring. In fact, it was during one of these scenes that a woman on the front row - who must've been drunk, otherwise she should be very embarrassed - stood up and began to join in with her own cringey dance routine. As if it couldn't get any worse - it was hilarious though - she then decided to dive head first into the row behind her, causing Channing Tatum to be partly hidden from view due to this lady's legs waving around in the air whilst she struggled to get up. For me, this was the most entertaining part of the night - and she wasn't even in the movie!

So if you like Channing Tatum and other men taking their clothes off, then I recommend this movie to you. If however, you like Channing Tatum, but also a good film with a decent plot, then I suggest you don't bother with this one. You'll be disappointed.

Rating: 2.5 stars (not worth paying £8.30 for, I'm afraid)

Georgie

Submarine (2011, Richard Ayoade)

Hey film fans!
This week I've chosen to dazzle you with my views on the critically acclaimed film Submarine. It isn't incredibly recent, but it's one of my favourites and as director Richard Ayoade celebrated his birthday last month, I thought it a great occasion to let you all know my thoughts on it! Never heard of it? Hopefully you'll be desperate to watch it after reading this!

So, here's what's going on...
It's somewhere in Wales in the 1980s, and 15 year old Oliver Tate has two aims: to lose his virginity - hopefully to classmate Jordana - and to somehow keep his parents together, thanks to a weirdy Mystic arriving on the scene. Oliver is played by Craig Roberts ("who?" you may ask?) He's starred in The Story of Tracy Beaker, Being Human, and Young Dracula, to name a few. Ringing any bells yet? Yes? No? Maybe? Either way, his performance in this is utterly brilliant. But anyway, this is what I had to say about the film...

Many teen comedies portray a rather unlikely, spots-and-problem-free teenager’s life, often revolving around reputation, looks and sometimes school dances. However, Submarine is a near perfect example of typical self-consciousness and frustration that so many of us have experienced, told through the eyes of Oliver Tate. With his duffel coat, yearning for his love interest, pyromaniac Jordana (Yasmin Paige), and constant thoughts and questions, he gives off a rather awkward image which other teenagers can relate to. I also liked how the film is set in 1980’s Wales, and therefore the setting is more simplistic and allows the audience to focus more on the characters. However, despite the dark and bleak weather used being a good example of pathetic fallacy, I felt the colours could have brightened a little in some parts, although Ayoade made a clever choice to allow Oliver to comment on this mood and weather match; “I stare at the sea, and stay until the sky catches up with my mood”.

Despite the movie’s comic moments, it also explores darker issues; the breakdown of Jordana’s father over the early Christmas dinner breaks up the humour a little, plus this is possibly the most moving part of the film. Also, Oliver’s observations of his father’s depression also contribute to the film’s more serious side (Noah Taylor does a fabulous job playing this part). Along with the great performances of the actors, the mellow dulcet tones of Alex Turner - best known as the front man of Arctic Monkeys, oh and dating Alexa Chung for a while - compliment the movie and makes for an amazing soundtrack. Overall, this is a brilliant debut piece of work from a lesser-known director and definitely earns a 5 star rating from yours truly.

Rating: 5 stars - yes, buy the DVD!

Georgie