Couples Retreat, 2009. Directed by Peter Billingsley

I went to see Couples Retreat on 31st October 2009 at the Odeon Marble Arch cinema in London. The film was directed by Peter Billingsley who was also involved in films such as Iron Man (2008). Billingsley started off as a child actor and then later became a film director. Couples Retreat is a comedy film which is centred on an Island called ‘Eden’. The film is a Hollywood production that lasted over one a half hours.

The story begins with a couple named Jason (Jason Bateman) and Cynthia (Kristen Bell) who have major problems with their relationship. They both think that they need a holiday to try and rediscover the love they once had for each other. So they decide to go to an island called ‘Egan’ to in which it involves a couple therapy retreat program which they hope will save their marriage. But in the process they invited their friends to go along with the idea, which they reluctantly said yes to. The names are Dave (Vince Vaughn) and Ronnie (Malin Akerman), Joey (John Favreau) and Lucy (Kristen Davis) and Shane (Faizon Love) and his girlfriend Trudy (Kali Hawk). These couples end up having a great time but also with some tough challenges on the way. Shane gets back together with his wife as well.

I found Couples Retreat interesting in regard to showing us possible difficulties within marriages but also how they can be resolved. There were also some very funny moments in the film when for example Salvador (Carlos Ponce) gives the couples certain tasks which involve being nude and showing them sexual positions and helping them to improve on this aspect. One scene in particular which was funny when Salvador interrupted Lucy and Joey’s positions and he demonstrated to Joey how he should be moving and how to be a sexually great in bed! I found this scene the funniest. Even though there were some funny moments, the humour varied a lot but not particularly in an interesting or challenging way. Perhaps Billingsley was over thinking the humour too much. The director did a great job in showing couple problems however. Additionally the characters were a bit obscure and strange.

The location of the holiday resort itself is beautiful. The sea, the waterfall, the trees and the beach makes a great spectacle and it does capture the viewer’s eye. It looks almost like paradise.

Overall I did find the film amusing but only to an extent. Even though the film involved some visually pleasing scenes in the and it was funny, for me the humour was not frequent enough and it wasn’t humorous in its entirety. The funny bits were in scattered places in the film which meant that the funny notion was being disturbed by the emphasis on other aspects. I wouldn’t watch this film again but it’s ok if you want something light hearted. I would rate this film 3/10.




The Rikowski web site, The Flow of Ideas is at:
http://www.flowideas.co.uk




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Terminator Salvation, 2009. Directed by McG

I went to see Terminator Salvation in Ilford Cineworld on June 22nd 2009. The film is a 12a rating and is directed by McG. It is an Action, Adventure, Sci-fi and a Thriller movie.

Terminator Salvation continues from Terminator 3 (judgement day). The film moves forward and shows the continuing conflict between the machines and human beings. John Connor, the only hope for humanity has lots of self motivation and courage in order to conquer the machines. The machines do lots of damage as they wipe out people and cities, with only scattered people fighting the resistance. There is no real closure at the end of the film as the battle continues to go on. Terminator Salvation gives the audience an outlook of how brutal and imagery the War is.

I found Terminator Salvation hugely entertaining. The fight scenes in particular are very quick and the editing is swift. One example in the film was when Marcus Wright (who is half a robot and half machine) helps to blow up an enormous machine at a petrol station. The gigantic machine was continuously annihilating people in their cars, in which they were trying to escape. Marcus and Kyle Reese, who is now in the present managed to destroy the machine. He did this by blowing up a flammable piece of equipment. This was one example in the film which demonstrated a lot of action and intense War.

The characters in the film are fairly plain. There is no real character that stands out despite John Connor being the leader. The film is focused on the War rather than on character building.

I found the use of space in this film very interesting. Throughout the film the space is very vast and open. Much of the action takes place in open lands that have no sense of community. Terminator Salvation is a film of War but it is also a film which tries to distinguish the differences between machines and people. Sometimes that distinction is not always clear. I found that point very interesting. The special effects in the film were fascinating and very mesmerizing.

Overall I found the film very entertaining and fun. But at the same time I thought it was rather predictable. I predicted that the only next step in the terminator saga was to show the battle between the humans and the machines. This was proven the case. Additionally I thought the film lacked substance and does not leave you much to think about. I would rate this film 4.5/10




The Rikowski web site, The Flow of Ideas is at:
http://www.flowideas.co.uk




Gregory's myspace profile and his blog is at:
www.myspace.com/92945414

New blog

I have a blog of my film reviews on Myspace. But recently I have been having some problems with it and so I have decided to start writing reviews here on Blogger instead. This blog will be full of film reviews and I will write about them here. Films which I have seen at the cinema or at the BFI

I hope you all like my reviews.


Feel free to add any comments or suggestions.


Gregory Rikowski