"Caesar is home."

Film: Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Year: 2011
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Written by: Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver
Starring: James Franco, Andy Serkis, Frieda Pinto, John Lithgow, Brian Cox, Tom Felton, David Oyelowo, Tyler Labine, Jamie Harris, David Hewlett.
Running time: 105 min.

This year has been the year of the comic book movies, reboots and sequels. That, of course, leaves little room for an original blockbuster, à la Inception, to be released. Of all of the blockbusters, we all pondered over Rise of the Planet of the Apes, dismissing it as an un-necessary reboot/prequel/whatever with an extremely stupid title. Then this movie came out. After Captain America, Thor, X-Men: First Class, Green Lantern etc etc etc, along comes a movie about apes that we never expected much from. Turns out that this movie, even with it's stupid title and absence of a newly buff actor with enough muscles to cover three other people, is truly the best blockbuster to grace the screens in 2011. I admit, I've been missing the good old Christopher Nolan flick to make my summer this year, but Rise of the Planet of the Apes more than capably fills in the gap. It's a true blockbuster, in it's pure and simplest form, that fulfils every dream that one could have of how their form of huge entertainment should be. And it does this without the essential blockbuster staple: epic gunfights.

Oh my, haven't your IMDb profiles changed a bit?

Since the Oscar nominations came out ages ago, some IMDb profiles have been given an extra lift with the words 'nominated for Oscar' are located on their page. Here are some deserving ones, with some films thrown in too.

That's how it should have been 10 years ago.

May have been snubbed for Best Director, but that doesn't stop God from having three nominations to his name: one for Best Adapted Screenplay for Memento, and two for Inception (Best Pic and Best Original Screenplay).

All in good time, Amy. Three Oscar noms are equivalent to an Oscar. You're amazing.

One of Australia's brightest stars gets an Oscar nomination. For once I can actually say I'm proud of an Australian.

YEAH James Franco! While I'm exponentially happy about this beautiful man getting an Oscar nomination, I just have to remind people that he is also the man in this photo:

Jesse Eisenberg before The Social Network: played very awkward geek types who were very unsure about themselves. Jesse Eisenberg after The Social Network: Oscar nominee.

Maybe I overestimate Mark Ruffalo's greatness...

Jeez Hailee, way to rub it in that I'm doing the wrong thing by staying in school. I could be out there like you and be an OSCAR NOMINEE, right?!

Not only is it nominated for 8 Oscars, Inception is rated as the 8th best film of all time by IMDb users. I love IMDb.

I guess that's what being an Oscar bait movie will get you: 12 Oscar nominations. Hey, I'm not saying that it ain't deserving and all, coz it's a damn good movie, but you know, there are better...

This is what I want to show everyone that thinks this is going to be a boring movie about Facebook, and to everyone who told me it would fail. SHAME ON YOU! Just coz The Social Network is amazing.

5 Oscar nomination for a kids movie and a second sequel. Anything is possible!

Yay or nay for all these people/movies? Or do you think I just spend too much time on IMDb?

Cinema - 127 Hours

or: The movie without a right arm.

One word to sum it up: Eye-popping

127 Hours had a lot riding on it to get my approval. Firstly, I've been waiting FOREVER to finally see this movie, considering it came out 14 weeks ago in America and we have just got it. Then there's the fact that Danny Boyle never fails to impress me, so I wasn't willing to admit defeat here, especially because the trailer made it look jam-packed full of great visuals and colour. And there's the little bit of hype surrounding the now famous amputation scene...more on that later. To those who doubted that this would get its place among this years Oscar nominees, you were very wrong. This is one of my favourite films to get nominated this year.

The story is pretty well known. Based on Aron Ralston's autobiography 'Between a Rock and a Hard Place', this tells the story of Aron's (James Franco) plight to survive. On a hiking trip, Aron finds himself with his arm crushed and trapped by a boulder in an isolated canyon in Utah. With limited food and water, Aron starts to think of possible ways he could get himself out, all the while recalling past experiences which have shaped him as a person: mainly including his regrets. As Aron slowly deteriorates, he begins an unthinkable task to ensure his survival.

A whole movie based on a guy stuck in a canyon could have been a tedious journey. However, from the get go, when we see Aron getting ready for his big trip, Danny Boyle uses multiple split screens not only to add more visual goodness, but to give us a small reminder of what we are in for: a hyper adrenaline junkie type film. From there on this movie moves quickly, but surprisingly, the memories don't run this movie over. The film never strays far away from its awful predicament. While being stuck in a small place couldn't possibly be the most interesting idea for a movie, screenwriters Boyle and Simon Beaufoy give us plenty to chew on. They bring you right into the story, and with the aid of brilliant direction from Boyle and an ambient score from A. R. Rahman, you can feel every prick of pain and the urge to survive. And they also give you a very good moral: always tell someone where you are going. All the time.

James Franco had a big job in this movie. For 80% of the film, all we see is James Franco, on his own. The other 20% of the time we have people coming in and out of the story, who are easily outshone by Franco's brilliant star performance. Had this been given to any less likable than Franco, it would have fallen flat on its face. I'll admit, had Boyle's first choice Cillian Murphy gone with the role, it probably wouldn't have been as good. James Franco makes this movie. If only he could win the Oscar this year.

The editing in this movie is another strong point. There must be a million different angles used to make the prospect of claustrophobia in the canyon a lot scarier than it should have been on film. But the best editing is used in the amputation scene. There are terrific cuts which explode within the scene which is ten times more horrible than any movie that is intentionally sadistic, i.e. Saw (+7). I wouldn't call myself an expert on gore, but I generally felt sick after that scene. Which made the ending all the more sweet. In fact, this movie was life changing for me. I appreciate water a lot more now.

THE VERDICT: 127 Hours is a visceral and intense drama with the typical Danny Boyle flair that we know and love. James Franco is simply amazing acting (for the majority) by himself, and truly makes this film the uplifting hit it is.

What I hoped for:

What I got:

Top 10 actors I wouldn't mind spending my Valentines Day with...

Authors note: this is a totally vain list. I'm really only doing it because I get to post pretty pictures of hot guys. And also because I have no life and I easily fall in love with men like following. Please forgive me. Though you'll be happy that there is none of that Twilight shit in here...or Justin Bieber.

10. Aaron Johnson

Aaron Johnson has changed quite a bit since he got involved with Sam Taylor-Wood, but I like to remember Aaron when he was in such films as Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging and Nowhere Boy, and I like to think of him as having a similar personality to Dave Lizewski in Kick-Ass. I have the capacity to geek.

9. Ryan Reynolds

Reasons why The Proposal is a fantastic movie: Sandra Bullock dancing in the forest and RYAN REYNOLDS NAKED!!!! Hey, you don't get called the 'sexiest man alive' for nothing, right?

8. Cillian Murphy

Anyone remember my Cillian Murphy obsession back in August/September? It's all in those eyes. Those beautiful, amazing, stunning, coloured by angels blue eyes. And his amazing cheekbones. And the way he looks when he's a girl. That sounds weird, but Cillian is beautiful.

7. Armie Hammer

I swear Armie Hammer is perfect looking in The Social Network. Like, really beefy and really tall and really cute. Don't have much more to say there.

6. James Franco

He made at least half an hour of Eat Pray Love bearable. His face made 127 Hours a lot easier to go through. He's going to totally own with Anne Hathaway at this years Oscars. He is James Franco. Therefore, he is amazing.

5. Leonardo DiCaprio

In 2009 I was obsessed with Leonardo DiCaprio. It was like the equivalent to Leo-mania just by myself. He's my favourite actor, and unlike most people, I still think he's hot. He used to be cute, now he's sexy. Love it.

4. Jesse Eisenberg

There is something about Jesse Eisenberg's geekiness and awkwardness which I'm really attracted to. Dunno why that it is, but all I know is the more I see of Jesse, the more I fall in love with him. Especially after The Social Network. Even though I'm sure that movie was supposed to have the opposite effect.

3. Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Who doesn't love a little Joseph Gordon-Levitt? He's just such a lovable guy, and a great actor to boot. Just watch (500) Days of Summer and tell me you don't love him. That's what I thought.

2. Nicholas Hoult

When I saw A Single Man, I instantly fell for Nicholas Hoult and that gorgeous sweater he wears. After perving on all the ads he did for Tom Ford and whatnot, I was pretty much in love with Mr. Hoult. I just recently started watching Skins, and while he plays a complete asshole, he is extremely easy on the eye. Perhaps a little too easy.

1. Andrew Garfield

Dear Andrew Garfield,

Why you have to be so good looking?

Yours sincerely,

Stevee.

Andrew Garfield is perfect. His hair, his face, his personality...Jesus Christ, his girlfriend is so lucky. Did I mention that he is an awesome actor? I'll finally get to watch Never Let Me Go in a month, and then comes the long wait until Spider-man comes out. What ever will I do until then?!

Who are some actor/actresses you'd like to spend Valentines with? And while we're at it, what are your plans for Valentines? 

DVD--Eat Pray Love

or: Eat Pray Sleep.

One word to sum it up: Tedious.

A movie about a woman spending a year eating in Italy, praying in India and loving in Bali. Couldn't be that bad, right? In Eat Pray Love's defense, I loved looking at the scenery. I also loved looking at James Franco. And Javier Bardem was a wonderful late addition to the movie. But seriously? This movie had to take 140 minutes away from me? Any chick flick shouldn't go over 100 minutes. So this movie basically meant 140 minutes with one of my least favourite actresses Julia Roberts playing a really unlikeable character and having absolutely no story to go back on. Yeah, Eat Pray Love was a fantastic movie.

This is based on the successful autobiographical novel by Liz Gilbert, here played by Julia Roberts, who is a woman who divorces her husband (Billy Crudup) out of marital boredom. Barely a while after this happens, she shacks up with aspiring actor David (James Franco), who proves to be just a fling to distract her from the other going-ons in her life. Soon she realizes that her 'appetite for life' is just gone, and decides to do something crazy: go on an overseas trip. First stop: Italy, where she eats all she can eat. Next up comes India, a place where she can pray and find her inner soul. She ends the year in Bali, where she meets Felipe (Javier Bardem), whom she ends up loving.

It makes me laugh that two of the five actors up for this years Best Actor Oscar are in this film. Then it makes me sad that such brilliant actors would resign themselves to having bit parts in a movie like this. Everything about it is so lacklustre. There isn't really a story or any narrative to speak of. Instead, we have to feel like we are being dragged around while Liz goes on her holiday. Hey, the scenery is pretty to look at, but once we've seen it, the novelty kinda wears off. In fact, the best moments that happen are early in the piece where Liz is going through her divorce, because it's easier to relate to her husband than anything else. After that, it is just a big, boring, slightly vain film all about a very dislikeable woman who takes more than she gives. At the end, when the film finally asks us to side with this woman, its difficult to even care. Which is a shame because it tried so desperately.

To put it in small words: there wasn't much for me to like in Eat Pray Love. Sure, I may be a little naïve to like a film that deals with pressing issues such as a divorced woman looking to let herself go, but I don't think I'm the only one who feels this way. Glee creator Ryan Murphy tried with this movie, and it's sweet that he did, but one must realize that in order to make a movie for chicks, you have to make it at least funny. Don't just make it as dismal as the lead character allows it to be. Because, in the end, where this movie failed was when it sold itself as a movie where you could 'let yourself go'. Unfortunately, I felt trapped, and the sweetest feeling was having the credits start rolling.

THE VERDICT: Julia Roberts admirable starpower doesn't overcome the fact that Eat Pray Love is an overlong piece on a very unlikeable character. Appearances from James Franco, Javier Bardem and Billy Crudup are good, though.

What I hoped for:

What I got:

(see what that means)