The Five-Year Engagement

The Five Year Engagement

As a preface to this review, I suspect that anyone who held the film Bridesmaids in such low regard, should probably close the tab now, as the film herein doesn't offer anything better. Amazingly the producers of that film also managed to get themselves involved with this particular farce.

When Tom (Jason Segel) proposes to his girlfriend Violet (Emily Blunt), they immediately find their wedding plans scuppered by the realisation that she must take time out in order to progress her career plans. However, as time moves on, the idea of commitment, long-distance difficulties and the appeal of a shoulder to cry on, all start to become too much in this romantic comedy.

With a lead male character like Segel (How I Met Your Mother, The Muppters, and a likeable, perky Brit in Blunt (The Devil Wears Prada, The Adjustment Bureau), it seems like a perfect premise. However, the film seemingly tries to make life as difficult for itself as is humanly possible. The nature of the film's structure, naturally, is to extend the story to a five-year length, bringing in obstacles which block the idea of a marriage taking place. At any cost, it seems.

What should be an amusing 90-minute comedy, turns into a two-hour struggle, as the writers seemingly throw all they can in the way of a barely-cohesive script, and as a result, manage to throw away any lingering hope the movie-goer has of ever enjoying what is basically an unfinished, unpolished mess.

The only redeeming feature is that Emily Blunt is involved, though even at two-hours long, there's almost too much of her in a badly written film for one sane person to handle.

3/10

When To Expect When You're Expecting

What To Expect When You're Expecting

From a barren Hollywood wasteland, left wanting and sparse by such hits as Knocked Up and The Hangover, comes a much-maligned comedy centred around the notion of couple-ship, moving in together, marriage and parenthood.

A cast featuring Elizabeth Banks, Cameron Diaz, Anna Kendrick and J-Lo is sure to appeal to many casual cinema-goers who would find something intriguing in each of those actresses, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, especially since the least familiar of those within Hollywood, Kendrick, starred in well-received hits 50/50 and Up in the Air, establishing herself as an attractive and likeable newcomer.

Whilst not necessarily the film's main problem, but something which raises more than a few eyebrows, is the male side of the cast. Chris Rock and Matthew Morisson (Glee) aside, the film doesn't really boast any household names to provide the film any sort of appeal to any on-looking (and reluctant) boyfriends. However, this is merely a drop in the ocean, compared to the film's actual problems.

The problem with this film is that it is immensely smug, doesn't really tackle any real issues, and instead tries to sugar-coat the serious issues of life, without actually passing them off in any way which even closely resembles comedy. The one breath of fresh air put in front of the audience mere moments from the end of the film, genuinely poses an actual question and puts forth the morbid and downright tragic ramifications that childbirth can trigger. Sadly, this moment is pretty much brushed over, and instantly loses any and all impact.

Which pretty much sums up the film. A shambles of a film, which does nothing but pretend to raise genuine issues, but does so in a way which nullifies its end objective, and instead makes you wonder why Hollywood bothers making these sorts of films.

3/10

Ils (Them)

Ils (Them)

There aren't many words needed for this review.

What is essentially inspiration for Eden Lake (reviewed earlier on this blog), Ils is about a Romanian couple who are tormented - physically and emotionally - within their own rural home, by a group of (seemingly) teenagers.

The film expertly employs lighting (both darks and and lights) to create intense and oppressive settings, as well as using cramped and claustrophobic environments to perfectly map the audience's viewing experience to that of the protagonist's physical endurance.

Whilst Eden Lake is a supremely more harrowing and visceral piece, Ils shows perfectly how to use minimalistic environments and techniques in order to produce a masterfully terrifying rollercoaster ride.

8/10