The Green Hornet

The Green Hornet Strikes

Following the death of his father, Britt Reid, heir to his father's large company, teams up with his late dad's assistant Kato to become a masked crime fighting team.

Check out the fun trailer below - followed by the Darkmatters full review:




The Green Hornet (12a)

Dir. Michel Gondry

Reviewed by Matt Adcock

What is the same mistake every superhero makes? They let the bad guys know that they’re a hero… That means that all the criminals have to do is threaten some innocent people and they have the hero by the short and curlies. This problem is addressed by millionaire slacker playboy Britt Reid’s (Seth Rogen) with his venture into becoming the crime fighting sensation ‘The Green Hornet.’ Letting the bad guys think that he’s one of them whilst taking them down is a nice twist on the traditional superhero formula. Of course the major downside of being seen as a criminal vigilante is that both the cops and the robbers are after you at all times.

The Green Hornet is a film from oddball director Michel ‘Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’ Gondry – it is certainly his most “mainstream” to date. Think Batman played for laughs in the vein of a buddy comedy or ‘The not so Dark Knight’ and you’ll be in the right area. Rogen is on good comic form in the lead role and or the action elements he is more than ably backed up by Jay Chou who stars as Kato, the Hornet’s all kicking, all punching, sidekick / car mechanic and awesome coffee maker.
Also on hand is Cameron Diaz who brings the love interest sizzle and quality master villain Chudnofsky in the form of Oscar winning Christoph Waltz who steals the movie with his ‘am I scary enough’ banter.

At heart The Green Hornet wants to be a cool flick like Kick-Ass but lacks the balls out action – so instead it delivers some nice fights, stunts and chases and lots of amusing banter. To be honest though, it isn’t enough to make this more than a fun diversion at best. It all looks very slick, especially the gadgets ‘star’ of which is The Black Beauty – the seriously cool militarised car which packs enough guns, missiles, cutters and flame throwers to make even James Bond green with envy!

"The car is the star!"

Everything about The Green Hornet is machine tooled to try and please a wide spectrum of viewers and by doing this it manages to not really hit any targets satisfactorily. The 3D is unnecessary and adds nothing to the viewing experience here (as is becoming a worrying trend recently – it just feels like a ruse for extra cash to rake in by cinemas tut tut)…

The Green Hornet is disposable superhero fun, nice while it lasts by utterly forgettable.

Out of a potential 5 you have to go with a Darkmatters:

ööö

(3 Green Hornet is comic super blast)...

Awesomeness ööö – wants to be cooler than it is

Laughs öööö – Hornet hits the spot on the funnies

Horror ö – nothing very scary here

Babes ööö – Diaz still looks good!

Spiritual Enlightenment ö – money is the root of all evil (but post production 3D is a close second!)

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Second opinion - try Dark of the Matinee

"who said mid thirties isn't sexy?"

Darkmatters Review: The King’s Speech

The King’s Speech (12a)

Dir. Tom Hooper

Reviewed by Matt Adcock

You are cordially invited by royal decree to attend this rather wonderful telling of a key period in the life of King George VI, the father of our current Queen Elizabeth II. The King’s Speech is a fantastic period romp driven by Colin Firth’s central performance which puts his well-practiced starchy Mr Darcy persona to excellent use.

King George or 'Bertie' as his unorthodox speech therapist Lionel Logue (a brilliant turn from Geoffrey Rush) calls him, is afflicted with a debilitating stammer. Now for a mere commoner this would not perhaps be such a major issue. But for a monarch – especially one who is called upon to rule the nation as the Second World War erupts and needs the ability to rouse the populace and maintain morale - it can be a national problem.

Tom Hooper’s film opens in 1925 as George (then Duke of York) has to address a packed Wembley Stadium, he makes a complete balls up of it thanks to his stuttering delivery. Various speech therapists are called in – all to no avail although it is amusing to see a future King stuffing marbles into his mouth as one ‘expert’ recommends.

Fortunately George’s loyal wife Elisabeth (Helena Bonham Carter) is on hand and it is she who finds oddball Logue – the one man who might just be able to save the King’s speech…

"Everybody keep calm and carry on!"

The cast are uniformly great and reads like a who’s who of British talent, Michael Gambon stars as George V, Timothy Spall pops up as Churchill and Guy Pearce plays older brother Edward VIII. Even the minor roles like George’s children boast familiar faces including the brilliant ‘Karen from Outnumbered’.

What makes the film so watchable though is the sparring between George and Lionel whose scenes are often hilarious such as when Logue in a bid to get the King to loosen up asks George: “Do you know the "f" word?” George VI replies: “Ffff... fornication?” This Aussie / Brit culture clash just adds to the sense of fun that underlies the film and help elevate it above more ‘dry’ seemingly similar movie fair like The Queen.

Firth really should bag some shiny movie awards for his role here – and if there is any justice then The King’s Speech should be in line to clean up with Oscars and Golden Globes a plenty.

The King r, r, r, r r requires your attendance – don’t keep him waiting!!

Out of a potential 5 you have to go with a Darkmatters:

öööö

(4 see it by royal command!!)...

Awesomeness öööö – God save the movie business
Laughs öööö – "and tits" seeing the king swear is hilarious

Horror ö – be afeared only if you stutter

Babes öö – Helena is still a fox (see below)

Spiritual Enlightenment ööö – find your voice!

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Second opinion - try The Guardian

"Long to reign over us"