cosmorados Reviews

Ant-Man (2015)

I've got a great idea ...Why don't we call the Avengers? Terrific Fun but not for MTV heads.

[8/10 · 31 July 2015]

The year is 1989 and Hank Pym is fighting a losing battle against his SHIELD employers over use of his revolutionary PYM Particle (That decreases the space between atoms allowing the wearer to shrink down.) In a fury he leaves and vows never to let his tech be used by anyone else.

Skip forward to now and someone has managed to work out how to recreate his formula and it's not someone that should have that power, but thankfully, Hank knows of a guy who can help him, the former prisoner and hero of our tale, Scott Lang, the new Ant-Man.

Now, realistically that is about all their is to this film. If you're expecting the big action spectacles of Ultron, Iron Man 3 and Winter Soldier then I will tell you now this film is not for you. This is a slow-burning origin film and as such is driven solely by the characters in the story, thankfully, these characters, like the great origin film THOR, are well worth our attention.

The script is great and gives us plenty to enjoy and the effects of the shrinking are so well done that we barely think of them as effects (Always a good sign), the direction didn't detract and I never felt like it was lagging in any way and SPOILER ALERT when one of the characters was killed my 9 year old son was inconsolable END SPOILER ALERT.

Overall I was very impressed with Ant-Man and would recommend this simple narrative over the cluttered AGE OF ULTRON. Yes, Ant-Man isn't setting up three future movies but its simple tale is done terrifically well and I recommend it as a great cinema outing for children 8 and above.

Funny and Fun. A solid 8 out of 10.

The World's End (2013)

"Get back in your rocket, and fcuk off back to Legoland you cnuts!" They should be justly proud of this trilogy parallels.

[7/10 · 14 August 2013]

Gary King has issues, his life never turned out as he wanted and as he approaches the 2nd half of his life with a burden of regrets and remorse behind him all he wants to do is complete the task that he failed to complete when he'd just left school and finish the monumental pub crawl, 12 pubs over the space of one mile in his sleepy home time of Newton Haven, but will Gary and his four childhood friends be able to finish what they started this time or will shadowy events overtake them AND be mankind's undoing?

I guess like many people I was excited and nervous about how the "Blood and Cornetto" trilogy would end, initially when it was devised it was meant to be a British comedic homage to the "Three Colours" trilogy but did it pass the test? For me, The World's end felt almost like "Shaun of the Dead" reprise, in that we have a big end-of- the-world style apocalyptic event occurring and while the story was different to "Shaun" there was still a feeling of "we've been here before" that I just couldn't escape.

This isn't to say the film isn't enjoyable, fun, funny, well-observed and well acted as it is, and all of the leads, in particular Nick Frost and Paddy Considine, are impressive throughout, but it did feel a bit "done this before"-y.

So as for comparisons to trilogies for me "The Blood and Cornetto" trilogy actually is probably more like a comedic version of "The Star Wars" trilogy (original!!!). "Shaun" is the groundbreaking first film that actually changes movies, in this case by creating the sub-genre that has since taken off, the zom-rom-com, then comes the best of the bunch, the second film "Hot Fuzz", a tour-de-force that no-one expects to be as good as it is, and then finally the wrap-up film that feels sort of similar to the first except that it's on a bigger budget and grander scale.

Worth seeing for anyone that has watched the other two and has taken this journey through life with Shaun, Nick and now Gary. 7 out of 10.

Warrior (2011)

How to use and avoid clichés at the same time

[8/10 · 2 July 2012]

In a grim PIttsburgh town I feel like starting by saying Tommy used to work on the docks but he didn't, he's an ex-marine come home to try and get his life in order and maybe, try and patch things up with his abusive and recovering alcoholic estranged father, cut to Brandon, his brother who by contrast has a great life, seemingly, and a wonderful family. BUT, both of them have problems and the solution for both is to enter the same Mixed Martial Arts tournament for a five million dollar winner-takes-all prize where you kind of know exactly what's going to happen.

And that is the film's curse and yet also it's strength because in a way you want it to go the way it's going to go and yet somehow when it happens it feels like such a shock. The script is packed with cliché's and yet because the film-makers do them right they never feel like it, and yet strangely enough the thing that isn't cliché feels more obvious than what could have been the clichés.

The script and performances are top, some of the fights are brutal and yet others at times almost feel like they are not shot right, the story allows everything to get laid out in perfect clarity and yet it only takes up half of the film before they are at the tournament. Nick Nolte is top and Tom Hardy is his usual excellent self, although I have to say Kudos to Joel Edgerton for providing the emotional core of the film against such despair and desolation that alcoholism and domestic violence leave behind.

A fight film that is ultimately about family more than anything else, that which we are born with, that which we create and those that which we choose to call family and it's that which will have you in tears at the end.

A triumph.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011)

Are the rumours true, Albus. I'm afraid so, both the good . . .and the bad.

[17 July 2011]

So, in the last chapter Harry and his friends, Hermione and Ron, are trying to hunt down Voldemort's horcrux's and in the previous film had managed to destroy one. Big woo! Three left then! While they are doing this they are also trying to avoid said Dark Lord and his followers who, if they find them, will make short shrift of them.

So here it is, the final chapter of Harry Potter is upon is. If you believe the hype then this Harry Potter film sounds not dissimilar to the beginning of a tale of two cities. It is the best of films it is the worst of films, it has included everything but left out more, it is beautiful it is terrible, the cast are wooden the cast are fabulous, and so on and so on.

So Is it any good. Well, yes it is. Is it the best Potter film so far? I'd still have to put Azkaban above it, not necessarily because it is a better film, but because it's when the films started to grow with us, like remembering a first kiss or a first crush, others may come, but memory tends to play around with us like that.

David Yates' again shows us why he for the last for films he has been "The man who would" tie everything together. The performances are excellent from all the cast, particularly from Rickman who has portrayed Snape so well for the last ten years with this film being his big pay-off.

The script, which in a way just features two big scenes from deathly hallows, allows us to really feel the adventure for each character and one of the big problems with the final book, the final finale, is, in the film, handled with much more excitement and power which is really missing in the books, so hats off to Cloves and Yates there.

Of course with anything like this there are going to be bits that we wish there'd been more of and bits that we wish they'd kept in (Like who the headmaster of Hogwarts is at the end) but after spending a few days getting to know our friends from Hogwarts again myself, I feel that this is a very satisfying ending to a saga middle-earthian in scope and yet like those self- same loved books, whose main strength comes from the very human condition that they represent on the smallest scale.

As a film on it's own, very entertaining.

As a film set ...a Triumph for all involved (apart from Mike Newell ...sorry!)

Transformers (2007)

A decent blockbuster that should gets unfairly criticised

[8/10 · 4 May 2011]

The film begins with a mysterious helicopter heading unceasingly towards a military base. It's pilot is warned what will happen if it keeps coming bit still it comes. Upon landing it lands at the base it "Transforms" into one of the Decepticon and proceeds to destroy the military base, with little to no resistance from the troops who are ill-equipped to deal with such raw power, only one small team of soldiers make it out. Skip to high school dweeb Sam Witwicky's show and tell in which he reveals his grandfather was an explorer who went mad and started to ranting about a giant iceman, after getting an A for his presentation he is taken by his Dad to buy his first car, a yellow Camero. After witnessing his car driving off and later getting attacked by another vehicle, Sam discovers that the transforming robots that masquerade as cars are in a desperate quest to find the all-spark before Megatron the leader of the Decepticons.

In the hands of another director this may have become just another toy advert but Michael Bay turns it into a tour-De-force as the Transformers are as real as anything in our world, their metal shining and reflecting exactly as it should creating an illusion that is almost perfect. By being extremely smart and using as much real world stuff as he could, it means that we know that what we are watching is not some stuff that looks like it came off of a Playstation 3 game like in Indy 4 but instead were watching something real unfold, even when we know it is not.

The script does exactly the job it should of telling the story as well as it can with humour, passion, and yes even drama, as you genuinely worry about the robots as much as the humans, unlike so many other empty blockbusters that use over-hype to create a buzz and are rigged merely to sell merchandise, you always feel that in this film the story is the thing and if they do well with the merchandise, well that's a bonus. This is a big stepping stone in the right direction, if you want to sell more toys, make a better film! But for me the next thing of serious note are the actors, everyone of which takes everything they do seriously, which makes this film so believable. There are no dreadful looks to camera, no knowing nods to a post-modern world and even lines that you would think would fall on their ass like "Gentlemen. I'd like to introduce you to my friend, Optimus Prime!" actually works, when you would think that they wouldn't. Shia Le Beouf (Apologies for spelling) is magnificent as Sam Witwicky and he performs every scene like his life depends on it. His performance is an assured one that will almost guarantee that he becomes a star, after all he has been doing this for years. The rest of the cast do a great job with Megan Fox having little to do other than look nice, but with Anthony Anderson doing particularly well as the comic relief (He is great at that).

Films should always try and take us to places we may not have been and experience things we have never experienced, be it a perilous climb up the side of a building (safety last), a world of criminal corruption and secrets (LA Confidential), or a world of giant robots that are seeking an all-powerful cube.

For those who think that this is a terrible blockbuster I would say watch GI Joe before you are so quick to criticise this cracker.

Thor (2011)

Like Iron Man, think big, for Heroes, think small for story.

[7/10 · 2 May 2011]

In the beginning ...ish, Odin and his people overthrew the frost giants and their attempted occupation of Earth and came to a sort of peace between the different galactic realms. As a king he overseas this peace, as a father, he attempts to instill a sense of wisdom in his two sons, Loki and Thor. However, when their realm is broken into by the Frost giants Thor's attempt at retribution is ill-thought out and Odin is forced to act, stripping Thor of his status as heir and banishing him to Earth, after which, medium-sized hell breaks loose. Can Thor regain his place as Heir of Asgard and be worthy again to wield his mighty hammer, which I have thus far forgot to mention?

Many of the film critics that have thus far reviewed Thor seem to regard him as an also-ran in the Marvel catalogue of heroes, not knowing perhaps that Thor was one of the company's biggest heroes, however, bringing a Norse God into a sense of modern reality was always going to be tricky, and it would have been easy to have a giant-sized "Masters of the Universe" style mess. However, like Iron Man (The first one, not the disastrous 2nd instalment) it makes its heroes big, larger than life figures, while making their predicaments very human ones, a search for knowledge, a desire for a parent's approval, the folly of youth and the vulnerability of age, ground the story and allow us, as viewers a way into this tale.

Kenneth Branagh, while not an obvious first choice for a big budget blockbuster does a decent job of tying all the different elements together, the script is decent and the cast do a good job, with particular praise to both Chris Hemsworth as the brash Thor but also Tom Hiddleston who was very good as the complex and unreadable Loki, who added real depth to what could have been just a, well, a cartoon super-villain really.

Enjoyable for young kids who will like the 3D stuff and all the action and okay for their parents who were raised on this stuff. The only major drawback, if you can call it that, is that unlike previous next movie tie-ins after the end credits of recent Marvel films, the one at the end of this one was a bit disappointing. But still. Enjoyable, but not as great as previous Marvel outings.

Galaxy Quest (1999)

BECAUSE I DIED IN EPISODE 81! sometimes they make them better than they used to

[9/10 · 14 April 2011]

Jason Nesmith played the commander in the moderately hit TV sci-fi series "Galaxy Quest" 18 years ago. Now the best that he and his fellow cast members can do is make money from appearing on the convention circuit. Sick of his lot and losing his dream of being a successful actor, when he encounters 4 mysterious strangers who want his assistance he think he spots a potential big money spinner, it isn't until he is "beamed" aboard their spaceship that the truth is revealed, these strangers are aliens who think that galaxy quest is actually a historical document and have based their entire culture on the crews adventures, after returning to earth Nesmith convinces the rest of the crew to join him and the real adventure begins.

Galaxy Quest is that rarest of films. It's a hybrid. That may seem like a weird start but the reason the film works so damn well is that on the one hand it spoofs mercilessly the cheapness of quickly produced garbage sci-fi of the, well, sixties to the eighties, but at the same time it also works as a homage to their ethos and values. Allen is superb as the jaded Kirk character with Sigourney Weaver also excellent as his woman that got away with a wonderfully dry Alan Rickman as an "I am sick of playing Spock" character, but for me the real scene stealer is the excellent Sam Rockwell as Guy Fleegman, an extra who was killed in one episode of the original series who is terrified that art will truly imitate life.

Kudos to the rest of the cast who all do a great job, but especially Robin Sachs who plays a particularly nasty real alien villain Sarris, who truly is frightening and adds the sense of danger that the film needs. The script is first rate and the direction fantastic! In fact come to think of it, why have I not seen that guy's name on more stuff. Dean Parisot really did a great job on this film. The effects are excellent and the last shot of the film is one of those that will have you smiling long after the credits have stopped and you've started watching something else.

For any one who loves Trek/Doctor Who/Babylon five and all the sci-fi shows, not in spite of their limitations, but to some degree, because of them.

Top.

The Last Airbender (2010)

How satisfying it must be for other critics to side with bullies...

[6/10 · 13 April 2011]

Two members of the southern tribe of water-benders, Katara and Sokka, while out hunting encounter what an only be described as an anomaly beneath the ice in their barren kingdom. After breaking the ice and allowing said anomaly to escape. The pair of then discover in the ice, Aang, the last of the air-benders, and possibly, the avatar, the one elemental who can bend all the elements to his will. Thus begins their journey as the three of them attempt to bring down the warring fire nation who have forced the elements out of balance.

Thus begins M Night Shyamalan's journey into critical hell. For those who loved the series many cannot stand what he has done to the film and so lavish fierce criticism against the film as a thing in itself, the film critics who for a long time have wanted to really rip into him, have, with this film finally got the ammo they needed and laid into him like a pack of bullying thugs. "Oh look at us, jumping on a band-wagon all saying it's rubbish. Tee hee!" Well critics, having a longer memory than most of you (I do remember, Batman and Robin, Transformers 2, GI Joe and Iron Man 2) I can say knowing all this, that this film isn't as bad any of those mentioned.

Also the critics tend to struggle when reviewing either children's films or action films. They're just not their thing, which is why you tend to see such ridiculous reviews for the worst kind of tripe whereas class films get ripped to bits.

The performances by the children are not particularly brilliant early on, but as the film progresses all three of the leads grow more assured. Dev Patel is excellent as the prince with equal plaudits going to both Shaun Toab and Aasif Mandi as Prince's Uncle and Nemesis accordingly, the script is adequate for a kids film, the direction is fine, and for the action sequences is excellent, of which there are many, the score, whilst it borrows heavily from star wars, is a triumph. Set design, effects, story and pretty much everything else you can think of are all far better than any of the previously mentioned films, and the kids that I know have seen this film have all enjoyed it, of any age.

I know that many people will find what I've said unpalatable and you know what I don't care. I have seen films that truly suck and the stain of seeing them will stay in my conscious for ever, but this is not one of those films.

Never going to be great, but far better than the critics would have you believe.

Source Code (2011)

Aaaagh! It's in my head!

[8/10 · 6 April 2011]

Captain Colter Stevens wakes up on a train next to an attractive woman he seems to know relatively well, apart from the fact that she keeps calling him Sean, what's with that? Oh and he doesn't know who he is or how he got there, and after a mere 8 minutes he is ripped apart along with every other passenger on the train by a huge explosion. He then "Wakes up" in some kind of capsule to be told he is part of a test operation called Beleaguered Castle and what he has experienced is reality inside what's called the source code and is reliving the last 8 minutes of life of some other poor soul who was killed on the train. His mission, find and identify the bomber.

And that's it. Owing more to the Matrix than inception the writer, Ben Ripley, and Director, Duncan Jones have crafted an almost top-drawer thriller that stays with you long after you've left the cinema. Unlike some of the other semi-recent disaster/thriller's I have seen, namely "Knowing" and "The Adjustment Bureau" the problems that both those films had was the reliance of some kind of benevolent alien/god type figures controlling everyone's lives. This film sweetly side-steps that pitfall and so were just left to enjoy the tense tale of this man's last eight minutes on earth. The direction is tense, claustrophobic at times but, like Jones' previous effort, "Moon", it's the humanity at the heart of it that pulls us in.

Credit to Gyllanhall (Is that spelt right?) for giving yet another interesting performance but also credit due for me to Vera Farmiga who as his superior gives a performance that in a way everything hinges on. In many ways she is the unsung hero of this film and she, probably more than the cute looking Monaghan is really the second co-star. Everyone else does there job well, but the best thing about this film is that I found it stayed with me long after I'd seen it and was filled with a need to watch is again.

Could have been standard predictable fare, but left me asking more questions at the end of it. Always a good thing.

Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)

This will be a day long remembered - a review 33 years in the making

[9/10 · 17 February 2011]

A long time ago in a galaxy far far away a young farm boy named Luke Skywalker encounters two eccentric droids, gets attacked by sand people and is then saved by an old wizard by the name of Ben Kenobi. After a brief chat the farm boy discovers that Ben and Luke's father used to protect the universe as Jedi Knights until his father was killed by the evil Darth Vader. After his aunt and uncle are killed Luke realises his destiny has been chosen for him and he and Ben are going to have to take on the empire, and from this point movie history will never be the same again.

Much has been said about this movie and it almost feels redundant to discuss it, but, as it was the first film I saw at the pictures I feel almost duty bound to add my two penneth to the mix and so I will. This film was groundbreaking in terms of effects, but what we have learnt since Star Wars is that all the good effects in the world can't save a poor movie. The thing that makes this movie as damned good as it is, is the mixture of urgent direction, wonderful performances, a damned good script, that often gets blasted as being terrible, (If it was the film would also be terrible ...it isn't, ergo sum ...), a pioneering use of sound effects that really reinforce the more alien characters with a real sense of emotion (specifically Chewbacca and R2-D2) but of course the last big star of the movie is John Williams sweeping epic score, which even today is probably one of the greatest pieces of movie music ever.

These days I understand why a film like "Casablanca" and "Citizen Kane" cannot be appreciated by a modern audience because they are so hailed for their enormity on their first appearance that it often cannot be re-experienced by viewers after that. The first time we watch Star Wars we don't actually know that there is anything but Jawas on Tatooine, or that Obi-Wan Kenobi (That wizard's just a crazy old man) is a secret bad-@ss or that Han Solo, good for nothing mercenary, is seen right through by Jedi Knight Ben Kenobi. We who experienced it the first time will always feel it again, but the modern audience, who know so much about the film, cannot.

The film is full of classic moments, from Ben Kenobi's reveal, R2-D2's fall, Luke switching off his targeting computer, Han's constant irreverent humour, Ben's "that's no moon", and a dozen more, but even after all these years my favourite moment is that knowing look that Ben gives Luke at the end of his duel with Vader. His wry smile and the blend of music and performance by both Hamill and Guiness is sensational and still gives me goose bumps now. Amazing.

Since then the impact of the original three may have been watered down by the prequels, but as much as you can't polish a turd, you also cannot dim the brightest star. Which is why the term "May the force be with you" will always mean so much to so many.

Jurassic Park (1993)

Gotta ask yourself the question ...where are you now?

[5/10 · 31 January 2011]

John Hammond is a PT Barnum style billionaire and as such wants to create the greatest show on Earth. Through the miracle of science and some preserved dinosaur DNA trapped in amber he recreates an entire range of dinosaur species. To check out his island he invites a number of scientists to endorse it for the brochure or something. Anyway after invoking Murphy's law (What can go wrong will go wrong) it all goes wrong and the Doctor's soon find themselves at the wrong end of the dinosaur experience.

At the time this was the most successful film of all time. I never really saw why? There were lots of other films before (Jaws, Star Wars, Raiders) and since (Matrix, Inception, Transformers, even) that are all better paced, acted, written special effects-ed. The beginning sequence when a worker is eaten and they try to shock it looks, well, cheap to be honest. Due to them using multi-coloured lights in the container it looks like a disco. This opening thrilling bit didn't work me, and then the pace of the film slows down even more as we then get a huge preamble until anything exciting actually happens as plot plot plot plot plot is explained over and over and over again.

Eventually we get to the good stuff and some actual dinosaur moments as the T-Rex finally appears, but then we get to the real killer, the thing that trashes the movie, the set piece with the car falling down the ravine that isn't there. We watch the dinosaurs walk out of a flat pen and then five minutes later that isn't a flat pen, but a massive drop ravine. It's just utter nonsense and from that point I had switched off as clearly the makers had so little regard for the viewer they thought that they could have anything happen and no-one will question it. This is no minor effect error or continuity blooper, it's an entire set piece that forgets where people have walked out of. For a movie this hyped it's just not good enough.

At the time it was praised by critics as being one of the best films ever. While it's sad that it's still far higher than it should be (try watching it again, folks. It's slow as hell)nit's good to see that some element of sanity has returned to this films rating.

That said it's a five alone for Bob Pecks thighs, they're stunning and they're not even an effect.

The King's Speech (2010)

no explosions, no bikini clad women, no giant robots, but no competition

[9/10 · 26 January 2011]

Prince Albert, the second son of George V and Duke of York is set to give a speech at the close of the Wembley exhibition, however, due to a debilitating speech impediment, it is an unmitigated disaster. Thus begins the story of his search for someone to help him overcome, what was for him, the worst possible affliction imaginable. After vowing no more, his wife, Elizabeth, seeks out one last man to try and help cure her husband of his stammer, the unconventional, Lionel Logue. After meeting with him, she agrees to get her husband to see him and we see his progress with the therapist during the backdrop of both political upheaval abroad and constitutional upheaval at home.

This is an absolute cracker of a film. Sometimes, in fact let's be honest, very often when films are crazily over-hyped, you do tend to go into them feeling jaded and cynical even before the first scene is over, but in this case, due to the superb performance of Colin Firth, you really feel for Berty, and the journey he takes with Lionel pulls you in from the moment that Geoffrey Rush appears as the scally Australian with a cheeky temperament but a heart of gold, and again, it is stunning work by Rush, who finally after years of having to mess around with the accents of others finally comes home to his own voice. All the supporting cast play their part in making the film as good as it can be, but make no mistakes this is Firth and Rush's film and they turn 2 hours of what could have been tedium into an absolute showstopper of script and performance.

Tom Hooper as director deserves special praise for managing to get not just one but potentially two Oscar winning performances out of his actors and put them onto the screen without any of the direction seeming to get in the way. There aren't any jazzy fancy cuts, or anything to distract from what you're seeing. It's just kept nice and simple and is perfect in tone.

The only downside if their is one, is that I was so tense for the end speech that I almost couldn't enjoy it. But that said, that is a minor beef. The upside being I was so into it, that I wanted to watch it again after it had finished.

An absolute delight.

The Ghost Writer (2010)

Less of a thriller, more of an intriguer

[8/10 · 13 January 2011]

Ewan McGregor is a ghost writer, re-doing others abysmal work for money rather than fame or credit, however, when former Prime Minister Adam Lang's previous ghost writer dies in an accident, his people offer him the chance to re-write the ex-PM's memoirs it becomes too big an opportunity not to take. The Ghost writer visits Lang in his US bunker, away from accusations of being a war criminal, to complete his memoirs and live out his retirement, or so he thinks. After the Ghost's arrival Lang is indicted for war crimes by the Hague following damning testimony from his former foreign secretary. Called away to answer allegations and launch a charm offensive the Ghost begins to unravel the PM's mysterious past and discover that something is amiss with the seemingly charismatic Mr Lang.

This is one of those films that is unfortunately cast as a thriller when it almost is not. For people expecting rampant car chases, gun play and an eclectic pace, they will be disappointed with this which is a shame. The pace of the film is slow, but this allows for us to share in the unravelling of the mystery along with the ghost, and McGregor milks this as much as his skills allow, which are considerable. Brosnan is superb as the PM whose PR chicanery mask a far smarter man than most people know and the supporting cast do a great job, including the ever reliable Tom Wilkinson and Olivia Williams as the PM's long suffering wife, but as I said before, this is a film with a quiet sense of dread, a feeling of slow impending doom that builds menacing as the ghost gets ever closer to the truth.

The only downside in a way is the very thing that makes it an intriguer is, as it were, it's Persian flaw, which is it's pace. Although it allows for much more character development and the quiet sense of menace to ferment as it moves along, in some places it almost feels pedestrian.

Other than that the direction was good and the music considerably helped to keep the mood as constant as possible, reminiscent of the work done on Psycho in places.

Enjoyable, but not one that I would want to watch again ...but nonetheless enjoyable.

How to Train Your Dragon (2010)

Dreamworks hit and miss animation output continues with a ...massive hit!

[9/10 · 1 January 2011]

Hiccup is a young viking unlike any previous portrayal of a viking, being weak, scrawny, intelligent and strategic rather than all brains and muscle. In his village however this is unappreciated as what they need are strong, beefy men to fend off the nightly attack of the local dragons. However during the last attack Hiccup believes he has killed the most dangerous dragon of all, the mysterious night-fury, and upon searching the forest, Hiccup does indeed find the downed beast. Although he knows he should kill the dragon which is what he is trained to do, Hiccup releases the beast, and over time, due to circumstances I won't go into here an unlikely bond develops between man and dragon. Hiccup eventually uses this knowledge to overcome other Dragons as his father (Stoic) enrols him into Dragon killing class, but will the knowledge be enough to finally gain his father's respect and save his village?

Dreamworks animation has over the years provided us with much in the way of animated comedies and it is an area they usually excel in, from Shrek to Madagascar and the most recent of comedic hits, Kung Fu Panda, the studio shines in their ability to tap into today's post- modern thinking, but the two things their films may have lacked before now is, perhaps, a genuine sense of fear for the characters, something that the best Pixar films always have, and ...heart; the ability to tap into that part of us that puts us firmly into the characters plight on screen.

This is the first Dreamworks film that succeeds were others have failed. It is always a good sign when a films box office performance increases due to extremely positive word of mouth. The only other film I can think of that has done this is the Farrelly's "There's something about Mary". The story of Hiccup and toothless is charming, scary in parts, but very endearing and the animation is not as overtly stylized and, well, not quite as good as Pixar-esquire, as previous outings have been. The voice work is very good by the four leads, Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson and America Ferreira, and the main threat, when it is ultimately revealed, is one that is genuinely frightening. There are few things better in cinema than that feeling of "How the hell is the hero gonna beat that?"

The direction and writing are decent enough but this is one of those films were the sum of the parts are actually far more than the the individual pieces combined. But perhaps the best thing about this film is, well without giving anything away, it's the fact that we don't get a complete pat happy ending. The final reveal of the horror of war and battle is almost unbelievable in a family film and I was completely shocked that a major studio had the guts to do something like this in a big budget movie and we should all doff are hats to them for such a bold move.

Congratulations Deamworks animation. You've come of age.

The Lovely Bones (2009)

why does no-one in this movie have any sense of perspective

[4/10 · 4 December 2010]

Susie Salmon is dead. Murdered by a neighbour who appears to all intents and purposes as a normal, if solitary, figure. But although she is dead she is trapped in the space in-between and is able to see the devastated life she left behind.

Thus begins one of the most wasteful films I have ever had the misfortune to watch. The Actors all do their jobs well enough and during a few moments the Director does manage to create a genuine sense of tension, terror and fear, but the problem seem to be with either the source material or the adapted script.

The characters seem to have no sense of perspective at key moments. For instance when the younger sister finds the book that proves who actually killed her elder sibling when she gets home she wastes valuable seconds handing the book over because her Mum has come home. WHAT??? It was like whoever wrote that seemed to have absolutely no sense of family or the desire for revenge that anyone would have if anybody hurt their family members. But the biggest waste was surely the end when getting a snog is more important than catching your murderer.

I don't know if this lack of perspective is due to the script or the original book but it just seemed so wishy washy in parts compared with how good it was in others and the ending just seemed to be an empty tag on by writers clearly wanting to give the audience some kind of happy ending rather than having the guts to give the audience the grim ending that the makers seemed to want.

Disappointing fayre.

Hot Fuzz (2007)

The Greater Good! "Shut it!" - One of the best comedies for the last 20 years

[9/10 · 16 October 2010]

Detective Nicholas Angel is an exceptional officer. So much so that he is promoted and moved to Sandford, Gloucester as a punishment for making his fellow officers look decidedly shoddy by comparison. In Sandford the pace of country life is downright sedate and the crime rate is practically zero. However upon arrival it appears that while the crime rate is exceptionally low, the accident rate is sky high. Could it all be a huge coincidence or is there something much more sinister afoot. With the assistance of the chief constable's inept son, Danny Buttermen, an action movie nut who thinks that being a cop is all car chases and gunfights, Seargent Angel has to uncover the truth before another mysterious accident happens to him.

After writing, starring and directing "Shaun of the dead" Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg turn their sights to the action/comedy genre, transposing the usual American fare and bringing it to a rustic English setting. Simon Pegg decides in this film to take more of a straight man role and leaves most of the comedy to his friend Nick Frost, who does not let him down giving what could just have been the stooge role of Danny Butterman a great deal of charm and pathos. The rest of the supporting cast do their jobs supremely well, from the Oscar-winning Jim Broadbent, through to Olivia Coleman, Kevin Eldon, Anne Reid, Adam Buxton, Bill Bailey and the supremely brilliant Timothy Dalton who excels as the seemingly obvious villain of the piece. The script and the direction are superb and the film switches effortlessly between comedy and action and occasionally horror. The other mistake that the film so deftly avoids is the desire to slap some kind of love interest in there. By doing this it doesn't muddy the waters and simply lets the film stride those two genre's without having to pause for some pointless sub-plot.

Like all the best films this is one that gets better with subsequent viewings although just extolling the virtues of this film was not the main reason for my review. The main reason is to clarify one thing that always gets my goat about so many of these reviews. Many people refer to this film as a spoof. Let's be clear about this, Edgar, Nick and Simon are, undoubtedly fans of this genre and wanted to do their own homage to the films that gave them all so much joy and entertainment. In doing it not as a spoof (a la Epic Movie) and instead relishing the genre itself they have created a film that can hold it's head high with the best of this genre that the US has produced over the last 20 thirty years.

As Nicholas Angel says ...Punch that sh!t! Awesome!

Inception (2010)

is it a dream, is it a nightmare, actually it's a bit of both (This really contains spoilers, don't read if not seen!)

[8/10 · 31 July 2010]

Cobb is an extractor, one of an elite group of people who are hired to go into people's subconscious' and steal their deepest secrets through their dreams. Simple enough, right? ...wrong! On their first mission in the film Cobb and the team mess up and they fail to get the very information they need, however, the mark who they try to extract from was impressed by their skills and offers Cobb and his team a job, not of extraction, but inception, the planting of an idea rather than it's removal, while some say it can't be done, others around Cobb, say it can. With the carrot dangling in front of Cobb of returning to America and seeing his children (something he cannot do) Cobb and his crew decide to take on this, hopefully, last job and return to the US rich and free, by creating a dream, within a dream, within a dream, but, of course, certain things do not go to plan.

So, is Inception better than Dark Knight, everyone asks that like it's a tough question and yet it wouldn't be difficult not to be really. the grand idea's of dreams and reality, what is real or not is not bent to fit a genre like they were for Dark Knight, resulting in characters that had little to do with the origins on the page. Here the characters and ideas come straight from Nolan and he shows here, like he did in Memento he is often better when he does that (Although that said I am a fan of Batman Begins) DiCaprio shows here again just what a damn fine actor he is becoming and the film hangs on his ability to make Cobb so brilliant, yet hiding a truly disturbing flaw, that sucks us into the movie, almost perfectly (I'll get back to that later), support in Gordon-Levitt as Arthur is excellent and provides a serious practicality to proceedings as one of those who controls the dreams that they enter, Marion Cotillard is as good as she's ever been previously as Cobb's late wife who can't let go of Cobb's subconscious, with Tom Hardy and Tom Beringer being excellent in their more diminutive roles, the usual Nolan Stalwarts of Caine and Murphy also provide their usual skilled selves to proceedings. The direction is for the most part brilliant and assured as the pacey script lets Nolan show his ample talent for story-telling, although the direction on the snow action is tough as you don't know who or what is where sometimes.

So, great enjoyment, right? Well yes. One of the best films ever ...er, well no. Sadly the film has its Persian flaw and that is that it is too clever for its own good. I found myself looking for clues to see if this was a dream constructed by Cobb, as his wife suggested, or reality as he suggested and 2 clues stood out a mile to prevent me enjoying the piece as much as I might if that was not on my mind (Cobb never has his own anchor in reality, instead carrying his wife's indicating he does not have an anchor on reality, also the dream timescale the chemist speaks of doesn't work unless you're already at least one layer down) and because I was always looking for the dream within a dream I couldn't let myself go and get sucked in and fooled the way I have with other films. If you read other reviews here many are either yes it's a masterpiece enthusiasm or no it's just awful, it's like these reviews are written by Spock or Kirk, with reality being somewhere in between.

It is a good movie, it's not the best movie ever, and in my opinion Mon is actually the hero trying to save Cobb (the villain) from the prison that is his own mind.

The A-Team (2010)

If you fail to plan then plan to fail ...thankfully, they didn't fail to plan

[8/10 · 30 July 2010]

In Mexico four men meet up to lead a daring rescue and snare a rogue general, the four men are Smith, Peck, Murock and Baracus. They are four elite US rangers, all with there quirks and foibles, but their loyalty to each other is only matched with their bravery, fearlessness and ingenuity, all of which make them a formidable force. As they assist in the pull-out from Iraq they are offered one last mission to recover a set of stolen US currency plates. There friends and colleagues ask them not to take the mission, but knowing how tricky it is they rise to the challenge, however, when they return they are set-up and framed for stealing the plates and murdering their friend. Cue, prison breakout from a maximum security stockade for a crime they didn't commit, theme music, bullets, der-di-dit-der, dee-dee-DOO! etc.

Could've ended in tears this one ...of despair. If you're fearing a "Charlie's Angel's" style massacre (or worse "Dukes of Hazzard")of one of your cherished TV shows, fear not, it does manage to ably side-step that minefield, but it's close some times. In getting Liam Neeson, a character actor/star with a penchant for good action flicks was a wise choice for the main role and adds the necessary gravitas that the film needs, star quality is added in the Uber-handsome form of Bradley "always a love-rat" Cooper, with Jackson and Chalto (is that how you spell it?) filling the Baracus and Murdoch roles adequately and having as good a chemistry as Mr T and Reg Dwight from the original. Jessica Biel looks nice and they don't really ask her to do much more, and the villain of the piece is provided well by Patrick "that guy from Watchmen" Wilson.

At the end of the day, there are a lot of action films that try and fail to be exciting or fun or engaging and to be fair to the A-team, this does manage to do all three ...just.

Toy Story 3 (2010)

"You would not believe the day I am having!" How to make a successful trilogy

[9/10 · 30 July 2010]

The toys numbers are few. They are stored in a box, and there's little for them to do in there except go stir crazy as Andy grows up and heads for college, BUT, he has to sort out his room and his old toys, so what's his plan ...To put his best loved in the attack but take his best friend to college as a token of the youth he has now left behind, but who will go, Woody or Buzz, after deciding on Woody, he gets ready to put them in the attic, but things don't go to plan and the toys including Buzz are instead donated to a nursery, a place which looks like Paradise but is in fact no better than the boy next door's backyard. Will the toys escape from Sunnyside Prison nursery, will Woody get to go to college, will this film feel simply like a cashing-in add-on?

When I heard the plot initially I had to say yes to the final question, I mean Andy giving his prized toy away, I mean everyone has a special toy who they love the most, right? And there lies the magic, Pixar don't do contradictions like that in there films, and in this one they stay absolutely loyal to everything that has gone before. The film is exciting, funny, terrifying and charming from one second to the next. Lotso the bear, the leader of the nursery toys is one of the most terrifying villains created by Pixar, precisely because he appears so cute and cuddly, and while children won't register it, I personally found the scene where Buzz was, effectively tortured to be very upsetting, but that's because we love these characters so much. The animation is as usual first rate and you know off the bat immediately that you're watching a Pixar film, the voice work, particularly by Hanks is stunning and with him and Tim Allen you get the feeling that they know these characters so well, it makes it that much more real, sucking all of us into this completely make believe world. The direction is top-drawer and well ...well I'll just stop because if I go on I'll just start using the same phrases everyone else does.

I thought I might be watching a watered down version of Toy Story 2, I was wrong. Instead through these wonderful films we watched Andy grow up and all of us mourned the passing from children into adulthood with some brand new toys that will made us feel like kids all over again, for infinity and beyond.

awesome

Avatar (2009)

predictably spectacular...spectacularly predictable

[8/10 · 4 March 2010]

Jake Sully is dispatched to the planet Pandora, he is a disabled marine who luckily is his brother's twin, so he can take part in Avatar program. A program were human's take on grown bodies, part human, part N'aavi (The natives of Pandora) in an effort to interact with and convince the natives it's okay to plunder the planet. As a marine Jake is wooed, coerced, by Major bad-guy to sell out the N'aavi so the humans can do what they want but things don't go quite to plan as the Avatar world becomes more real than the real one.

Apparently James Cameron spent years and years on the technology to bring Avatar to life, but a little less time on the script (Unobtanium? Come on, why not call it hard-to-get-at-ite or virtually-none-of-ix) and after the first fifteen minutes you kind of get sign posted to how the movie will go, after all Hollywood doesn't spend $300 million dollars on a movie that's not predictable, right? So, yes, it's predictable, yes the scripts got holes in it ...BUT, the million dollar question is, is it any good. Well, in spite of these things, yes it is.

It is corny as hell and some of the effects, most notably when Jake is first running about in his Avatar body, aren't brilliant for a film that's had this much spent on it. Also some of the big gun-ships don't look like they would be physically able to fly and these are some of the minor niggles that almost pulled me out of the movie.

That said it is fantastic fun, James Cameron has attempted to carve out of the sci-fi niche, in terms of scale, a film on a level with Frank Herbert's Duen, and although he is no Frank Herbert in terms of writing, as a film-maker he is a master of his craft and you do get taken into this world. Sat there you feel for the N'aavi, and you do feel some remorse for the past sins of generations who wiped out the Native Americans and have seen the Aborigini's also decline. If the film was not successful we would not feel this, it is testament to him that we do.

Where will it all end. Well, more studios will pump money into predictable 3D blockbusters and will see them fail because they don't get that you need more than a few life lessons, big CGI and dots on people's motion capture faces to make a good film, but that takes nothing away from this. It is great fun. It should be seen at the pictures and like the title says, it is predicable, but spectacular!

Role Models (2008)

What did you have for dinner? Was it cocaine? Funny as f**k!

[8/10 · 23 August 2009]

Danny is in a rut with his life and hates his job as a promoter of a sugar/caffeine energy drink called minotaur, while his co-worker, Wheeler, loves it. However after being dumped by his girlfriend, Danny crashes his minotaur truck into a school monument and he and Wheeler face the prospect of 30 days in jail or 150 hours of community service doing big-brother type work with disadvantaged youngsters. While Wheeler is landed with Ronny an obnoxious little 10 year old, Danny is landed with a dungeons and dragon playing geek called Augie. While neither of them hit it off with the kids at first they all eventually become friends and learn a lot of life lessons. Ahhhh!

Now, you might think that from this semi-sarcastic tone I hated it, but oh contraire, far from. I admit I had low expectations of this film that were completely smashed by the scatter-gun humour of the film. The dialogue is funny and the sarcasm bitingly funny at times, as the top line suggests. Paul Rudd is perfect as the miserable Danny and Sean William Scott is perfectly cast as the free-living, but unfortunate Wheeler.

The film manages to tread that fine line between cliché ridden schmaltz (Like 27 dresses) and refreshingly enjoyable comedies (Like Something About Mary) with a deft touch, the direction is sure footed and manages to deliver a surprise ending that I would never have guessed from how it began.

A laugh out loud comedy that exceeds expectations.

On Deadly Ground (1994)

...because this guy is the patron saint of the impossible. One of the greatest comedies of all time!

[7/10 · 10 August 2009]

Forest Daft is a fire-expert who puts out fires for naughty oil man Michael Jennings who is planning on building a giant unsafe rig in Alaska, because, er, he can? anyway he cuts corners is unsafe and eventually Seagal cottons on when he sends him to die in a big stupid explosion, after which he is saved by Inuits with a snow-mobile who help him blow up Aegis one (the afore-mentioned super-rig) before telling us how blowing things up is bad for the environment.

I always hated Seagal and found him wonderfully awful to watch. In this film, unfettered by a careful, insightful director, because, hey, he is the director, Seagal inadvertently made one of the most bizarre wonderfully stupid comedies of all time. Michael Caine is little more than a pantomime dame with hair blacker than a black hole and teeth whiter than the sun, Seagal himself keeps trying to spout philosophical garbage that, although clichéd, may be bearable from the mouth of some other actor, but not Seagal, instead he chews through it like the scripts made of cardboard. R Lee Emery sounds as plastic as the toy soldiers he voiced in Toy Story and the scene where he walks up to Seagal with a gun telling him what he's gonna do while not shooting him is wonderfully ridiculous.

So many bad scenes I can't began to highlight the worst, but the bar fight hand slap scene, Seagal's over-acted reaction to the death of his friend, the scene where he chooses the crone over the hot woman and the scene of his friend being tortured (How can that be funny? Seagal manages it!) are all up there for sheer stupidity.

Although it is terrible it never stops being funny and I must have walked out of the cinema with tears in my eyes after watching this, funny just doesn't describe it and I find it bizarre and somewhat disappointing that most people think it's either an okay action movie or just terrible.

Truth is it is what it is and whatever you think about Seagal the message at the end is delivered with honesty and earnestness and is a perfect sobering end to the utter madness that preceded it for ninety minutes.

Nuff said

Highlander II: The Quickening (1991)

3.5!!! How did it get that high!!!

[1/10 · 23 June 2009]

So, it's years after the first film Connor MacLeod has grown old and fixing the earth's Ozone layer as he has the prize, but when in the first movie we where told he was from Earth, he wasn't. He was from Zeist, and er, he was involved in some civil war there and banished to Earth, er, and so was Ramirez but like 1500 years earlier and er, he isn't immortal there but he is here and Michael Ironside is bored that he's old and immortal and wants to kill him and, er, according to the back of the video cover, Connor MacLeod is back tracking time-warps (Tracking time-warps?!!! WTF!!!)

Having seen the first film at the pictures I was sure this could not fail to at least be okay, boy was I wrong. As an idea it's almost as bad as "Good Will Hunting 2: Hunting Season" but at least that was a spoof, this is real. To be fair as a film on its own it only sucks really bad and maybe that would be okay, but as the sequel to Highlander? The film might as well be called Terminator 2 because it has much relevancy to that film series as it does to this one.

The acting is tired and ineffective, much like the direction which seems to largely be about how many windows they can blow up as there wasn't enough glass shattered in the first film. The story and script are abysmal and just re-write and ignore every little scrap of info we gleaned from the first film, it's almost as though the writers have picked up the video of the first film, read the back and thought, "That sounds good, let's write a sequel!" without even watching the first film! This is without doubt the worst sequel of all time and avoid at all costs, the rating is higher than it should be.

Addendum: Interesting point of fact, the first film, like Raiders of the Lost Ark, got bad reviews from a number of critics, unlike Raiders, it also failed at the box office but lived again through home video, the poster for this film was full of reviewers plaudits, but the film was terrible, the lesson of the story? Film critics do not understand how to review action films. Beware the film critics. Thus endeth the lesson.

Star Trek (2009)

For new fans it's awesome! for old fans, still awesome, but kind of familiar!

[8/10 · 17 June 2009]

The USS Kelvin is flying through space only to discover an uncharted anomaly. When a gigantic ship appears and attacks the Kelvin it looks curtains for the crew. However under the stewardship of temporary Captain George Kirk, most of the crew aboard are saved, including his wife and new-born son. Years of struggling to come to terms with his father's loss sees James T Kirk rebellious, distrustful and lost, until father figure Captain Christopher Pike dares him to enlist in star fleet and better his father's heroic achievement. Here he meets his best friends Bones McCoy and a young upstart Vulcan called Spock whose officiousness and efficiency are in stark contrast to Kirk's wild abandoned approach to life and to rules.

Thus begins the re-imagining of the Star Trek film series (I hate calling them a franchise...It's not McDonalds!) by J J Abrams. Being the creator of lost one might imagine this would be a convoluted mess of a film, however what comes across in this film is clearly J J's passion for the history and tradition of what the original material was about which has lead to a lot that is praiseworthy about it and just a little that isn't.

First I'm gonna get the negative out of the way. The film does feel a bit familiar. The big ship at the beginning and the music used is very "Star Trek: the motion picture", the Kobyoshi Maru" is very "Star Trek 2" and the whole end with Kirk at the academy is very "Star Trek 4". The whole snow planet thing does feel a bit contrived to bring another character into it, and Nero is no Khan or Chang in terms of great Star Trek villains.

Negatives out of the way lets get onto the positives, and oh boy, the positives! Firstly the script and writing feel great, most of the references and the very few in-jokes work fabulously well. The performances in all the supporting roles, Sulu, Chekov, Scotty and Uhura are exemplary and they all play so well, in a film that could feel heavy or laden due to the complexities of the characters relationships. Now, lets get to the key triumvirate, McCoy, Spock and Kirk. These three performances steer the film along and make us feel like the original crew are still on board that ship. They work so damned well that I almost feel disloyal for enjoying them so much.

And now for the last crew member. The USS Enterprise. In all the good Trek films the Enterprise shots are things of beauty to behold, and this film is no exception. In battle mould, she looks stunning, in Warp drive she looks like an angel surrounded by light, it's so powerful. The direction of the rest of the team by J J is also glorious with the cinematography resembling the stunning photography and lighting used in Die Hard with arcs and halo's aplenty.

This is a great, great, blockbuster and one of the best Star Trek films ever, right up there with the unofficial trilogy of 2, 3 and 4.

May the new Star Trek live long at the cinema and Prosper.

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)

Your career stands for Rationality not intellectual chaos! Underrated masterclass of star trek story telling

[8/10 · 30 May 2009]

Spock is dead. He died saving his friends on the enterprise, as the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. However as they return home to face the music, strange goings on are afoot. McCoy is behaving like a man possessed, the Genesis planet is behaving like a planet possessed and Sarek wants to know why Kirk did not return Spock's Katra, his living spirit, back to Vulcan. When the crew discover what has occurred they are determined to return Spock, both his body and his spirit to Vulcan, but after being caught in the Genesis wave, the planet has re-energised Spock's body.

Add to this a renegade Klingon who sees the Genesis device as a powerful weapon and you have in the mix one of the most under-rated Star Trek films of the lot. The script barely allows one to settle in the seat as the Klingons arrive with a sense of destructive menace rarely seen in Star Trek villains, the script is first rate star trek story telling and the direction by Nimoy is absolutely excellent, the scene with Shatner falling over the chair after his son is killed is particularly poignant, and performed so well, you can barely believe that it is Shatner whose doing it, but I guess such direction and acting can only be achieved when it involves two people who have worked together so closely over the years, and this is Shatner's film, he is excellent in this one. The score by James Horner is magnificent and easily rivals the work done in Star Trek II and when the film concludes it does so with a genuine sense of "How are they going to get out of this one?" So why does it get so bad-mouthed.

Well I can think of two reasons, the first being that it would be difficult for many people to accept this could be as good as the much-loved Star Trek II. Also I think that many people found it hard to accept Spock coming back as he had been killed off in the previous film. I have no such problems and see this as the middle part of the great Star Trek "Kobyoshi Maru" trilogy, that starts with II, sees III as the middle part and concludes with IV.

The last thing that makes this special, for me, is the scene in the bar with the admiral who tells Kirk his career stands for rationality and not intellectual chaos. Since when? Kirk always picked the most unpredictable irrational plan, that's why Spock was there, to be the rational one. Clearly this guy has got the wrong file and Kirk looking into space reflects that. An under-rated joy.