The Way Way Back!!!!

The Way Way Back.

What has to be one of the years best summertime movies; emotion, teenage angst, growing up, being accepted and a dysfunctional family all feature in this film and come together to make something special. Starting off in a car journey Duncan (Liam James) is talking to his mums boyrfriend Trent (Steve Carell) about what Duncan would rate himself on scale of one to ten, Duncan says he's a six but Trent says he is a three and says its because he doesn't go out or put himself "out there". 

As the family, Duncan's mum Pam (Toni Collette), Trent's daughter Steph (Zoe Levin) pull up to Trent's holiday home it is evident that Duncan doesn't want to be there and isn't going to enjoy it. Soon enough the neighbours turn up, mum Betty (Allison Janney), daughter Susanna (AnnaSophia Robb) and her son Peter (River Alexander) all welcome the family with open arms.

The holiday is of course more for the adults as it is for the kids, as the family meets up with old friends of Trent's Kipp (Rob Corddry) and Joan (Amanda Peet) they regress back to their teenage years by staying up late drinking, smoking pot and going skinny dipping in the sea. But for Duncan this is just not his thing as he is left to fend for himself and entertain himself while his parents have their "spring break". Deciding to take a pink bike out for a ride he finds a local water park and meets the owner Owen (Sam Rockwell) who strike up a funny relationship. 

Soon enough Duncan is offered a job at the water park which will change his life like he never thought would be possible. Gaining people experience and finally enjoying the time away from his family he starts to come out of his shell more and makes some great friends in the process. Plucking up the courage to talk to Susanna a great friendship is made as Duncan shows her around the water park and is able to be himself for the first time around her. 

As the little quips, in jokes and sarcasm come thick and fast on screen it makes for a really enjoyable film and really does make you smile from scene to scene. As you see Duncan come to life at the water park you get to see his personal development and the relationship he has with his mother and her very stern authoritarian boyfriend Trent. As he finally gets his courage he has to soon enough leave the water park as summer is coming to an end and say goodbye to his new found friends. 

It's rare for a film with so many characters with a small runtime to really let the characters come across but they do. Smaller characters like Lewis (Jim Rash) and Caitlin (Maya Rudolph) get the chance to shine and show their back story and bring in some great one liners and comedy moments as well. The storyline is one that is sweet and can be awkward to watch on screen especially between Duncan and Trent it's a situation family members all go through at some point. 

On a holiday that he didn't want to be a part of Duncan learns more about life, friendships and his own future than he would have ever thought. And along the way he also meets some great friends, has some great fun at a water park and has some great laughs. What more could you want in life.

9/10.

The Host!!!!

The Host.

After the hype and success of the Twilight series of films taken from the books by Stephanie Meyer her other book 'The Host' has been picked up and given the same hollywood treatment. This time round the book and film itself is set in the distant future where the Earth itself has been taken over by an alien life form. The alien life form then takes over and possess the main majority of the Earth and make them into "hosts".

The film begins with the main character Melanie Stryder (Saoirse Ronan) is running away from a group of silver suited people. As she runs through the corridors she eventually jumps through a window and falls to her death, led out on a metal slab she is sprayed with some healing spray and a new host is inserted into the back of her neck. Soon enough she wakes up, her eyes turn grey and she is alive again but this time being controlled by a new host (Wanderer).

Wanderer's job is to extract information about the location of the last remaining humans on Earth who have not yet been captured and taken over by an alien host. As Wanderer goes on through life she soon enough starts hearing Melanie's voice telling her not to do certain things and she is trying to fight back with everything that she does or says. As an incident takes place and she's stranded in the desert she lets Melanie take over and lead her to a safe place, finally meeting up with the other humans she is taken in by them. 

Re-united with her uncle, aunty and younger brother Melanie struggles to show them that she is still inside her own body and the alien host is just an outside shell. As the film progresses on and the whole story of Melanie, her brother, her love of her life Jake Howe (Max Irons) and of the other humans is told you learn about how they survive. The struggle for her family and loved ones to truly understand that she is still inside her body is also shown on screen. 

Of course their has to be a bad guy in the film which is Seeker (Diane Kruger) who goes to almost any length to catch and capture the free humans. As she gets closer and closer too them will it all end happy?, will Melanie ever get her own body back, will they all survive and not get caught and what will happen to Wanderer (Wanda)?

The film overall is a great teenage film as it is targeted towards the same demographic as the Twilight films, it's a simple sci-fi storyline that isn't too complicated. Their are other threads of story that I have missed out like how Wanderer falls in love with someone else but Melanie inside her dissagrees with it and stops her everytime they get close. The story of how to safely take out a alien host from a body is also touched upon and also the fate of Melanie's younger brother. 

The storyline is ok, at the start it has action and shows some good action sequences that get you hooked then in the middle it becomes linnear and slows right down, soon enough picking up with action sequences it then finishes. If more time was taken for the middle it would be a much better film but it has to be said it's interesting enough for people. 

Saoirse Ronan plays Melanie and Wanda really well and is able to portray two people who are in control of just one body. Her native irish accent doesn't even seep out and she passes off an american accent very well. Her fellow actors are at times a little bit wooden and seem to have only a certain ammount of facial expressions kind of like Kristen Stewart but they do a good job in the end. 

Overall a great teenage film that would be thoroughly enjoyed by a twihard fan or for someone who enjoys a simple, basic sci-fi film that you can watch, leave for a few days and watch again and not forget a thing. 

7/10.