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Bedrag (2016)
Nordic TV continues to climb!
"Follow The Money" is a Danish Crime/Thriller set in the cut throat world of big finance, more specifically in renewable energies. The show follows Mads (Thomas Bo Larsen) and his fraud squad who are of the belief that something is seriously wrong with the energy firm Energreen. His fears are confirmed when lawyer Claudia (Natalie Madueno) uncovers all is not seems on the surface.
Another Norsk export that hits the ground running, whatever they seem to touch over there currently just turns to gold. While this is of a very different vein to our previously reviewed "Trapped" this one comes from a different calibre of director, this time around the show was developed and directed by different people the show was developed by Jeppe Gjervig Gram, Jannik Tai Mosholt,with direction by Per Fly. Fly has recently signed on to direct "Backstabbing for Beginners" starring Theo James and Ben Kingsley of which he wrote and is directing. Fly does extremely well to create tension in a subject that from the outside would struggle to interest the everyday man, it's a very high-class area of a high-class sector. I knew little to nothing and still don't about the finance sector, but that didn't stop the tension from feeling real and being able to bring me to my seats edge on many occasions.
Another stellar cast in a Nordic television show should come as no surprise to anybody who has watched a since episode in any of the shows. The acting across the border is wonderful again, with stand out performances from Thomas Bo Larsen and Nikolaj Lie Kaas, two very contrasting characters that play so well off each other in this cut throat world. Along with supporting characters the casting is spot on as usual, resulting in performances to rival the "big TV" you see over here in the UK or over in the US.
The plot twists and turns in attempts to throw the viewer that seem to come a little more often than is necessary do their job well to keep you drawn in to what is going on with Evergreen. The main issue that show seemed to have was the pacing was far too slow, it can be seen what they were trying to do with a slow burn to bring you into the world, but it kind of served as a wedge that ends up to an extent alienating the viewer. The constant use of hooks to keep you coming back each episode aren't as necessary as the show-runners would like, to the point at which some of the hooks are noticeable before an episode ends. This does little to take away from the enjoyment of the show it just felt unnecessary as if they were worried the story as a whole wouldn't entice viewers but it does.
Overall, the show is a good thrill ride in the world of big finance, chalked full of great acting performances and wonderfully shot cinematography which is expected with shows of this nature. If you have even a miniscule interest in the subject at question or the current flock of television shows coming out of the Nordic countries then this is definitely one for you, alternatively if you're new to this area of TV this is a great stepping stone to other shows like "Trapped" or "The Bridge". Another enjoyable show to sink your teeth into that will keep you highly entertained throughout the 10 episode run, I will certainly be keeping my eye on Nordic Noir & Beyond releases in the coming weeks, months and years to come.
Ófærð (2015)
Nordic TV is taking over!
"Trapped" is a Nordic, Icelandic to be more specific is a mystery/crime/thriller, set in the small Icelandic town of Seyðisfjörður. The idyllic town is thrown into a sense of fear when a mutilated corpse is discovered, local Police Chief Andri Olafsson played by the incredible badass that is Ólafur Darri Ólafsson. Whose investigation is thrown into jeopardy when a huge storm blows in cutting off the small fishing town from the rest of the world with the unknown assailant still at large? The show was developed and created by Baltasar Kormákur Samper widely known for his work on "Contraband", "2 Guns" and "Everest". Baltasar also directed all 10 episodes with Sigurjón Kjartansson writing the season and serving as an executive producer. Baltasar really showcases his talent as a truly brilliant director especially with the usage of the beautiful cinematography from Bergsteinn Björgúlfsson. Some of the shows Baltasar uses are just phenomenal from a film-making stand point but also breathtakingly beautiful to behold even on the small screen. The combination of Björgúlfsson and Kormákur has quickly became one of the most beautiful dynamics in television in recent years, their talents amplify each other in such incredible ways that seeing their names nominated for Academy Awards in coming years wouldn't surprise me at all, even less if it was for the same project.
The use of more low-key action sequences is a breath of fresh air in pure contrast to American/British shows in which they rely heavily of muddy action scenes to sell their shows. Trapped uses brilliant storytelling, well written dialogue and well-acted scenes in order to bring you to the edge of your seat in every episode, while each episode ends on a cliff-hanger this does little more than to serve as an extra push for that "one more episode" feel we all long for in this binge-watch culture we are accustom to. We are given enough time with characters to see them properly develop and their relationships hit highs and lows within the lowly Icelandic town. The decision to tone down the action in aid of progressing characters will be a welcomed one to fans of the mystery genre, which will transport you from your couch to battling the emotions in the Icelandic weather. The shows approach to having a realistic feel is a change of pace from the near superhero world some police shows live in today, by this I mean constant "danger" of being killed while never actually even being hurt, always coming out unscathed. While watching "trapped" you feel like this sort of thing could be happening in your home town and you wouldn't be the wiser.
Where to begin when it comes to the acting, the acting in this show is pretty much second to none that I have ever seen. While they are speaking a language we are not familiar with, they don't struggle at all to translate everything they want the audience to feel. Stand out performances from majority of the cast with the major one being Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, just WOW there really is no other words for his performance his bear like demeanour and peculiar policing tactics you're in for a treat. If you're worried about going into a show in which the language spoken isn't your native tongue, I can say with my hand on my heart, this truly isn't a thing to worry about. Reading subtitles becomes second nature in no time due to pure enthralment in the performances.
The show does everything it can to match the brilliance of recent Nordic shows that have taken the world by storm "The Bridge", "Lilyhammer" and "The Killing" not only does it match what these shows brought to the small screen. In its own way it outshines these shows with the use of claustrophobia and severe weather to make you feel like you are part of this close-knit community during their turbulent time. After a big opener the show falls into a nicely paced complex thriller to rival the Hollywood films in the genre the likes of "Prisoners" or "Gone Girl" and rivals their end product too.
Overall, I found the show to be thoroughly enjoyable start to finish it is a triumph in small screen cinema that surpasses its equivalents and even rivals the films Hollywood churn out each year. While I had some reservations going into the show, they were all squashed before the credits rolled after the initial episode. The show is a well-drawn out mystery thriller that will have you hooked and wanting more, along with well written and directed gripping episodes the cast excel in drawing you into their world and not letting you escape until the season ends, resulting in one of the most enjoyable but heart racing shows in recent years. Tension, excitement, fear and enjoyment at every bend "Trapped" or to give it its original Icelandic title "Ófærð" will have you longing for more and delving into the Nordic made shows of a similar vein in no time!
San Andreas (2015)
The Rock, massive earthquakes, Daddario and her eyes, what more could you ask for?
It feels like wherever you turn today in the movie world The Rock is showing his face, which is not a bad thing he is a very enjoyable actor I find. I have been enjoying his work since I first seen him in "The Mummy Returns" when I was 11/12 already loving him from his time in WWF.
Disaster films usually tend to all follow the same tropes, San Andreas is no different in that aspect they follow the tropes, "damsel" in distress, children in danger, over the top destruction and comedic retorts in deathly situations. Even though it buys into all the usual tropes, it doesn't take away from the film, director Brad Peyton chose to focus on characters as well as the destruction, without trying to make the film something it isn't. It stays very true to its destructive route which is the real reason we all watch these type of films and it does not disappoint in nearly destroying the entire San Francisco Bay Area.
The films relies a LOT of CGI as you would expect, for the most part there is a some beautiful visuals, I found some of the effects to by abysmal like something you would expect if watching a film from 2/3 decades ago. Plus the use of poor green screens is eminent in many scenes, they stand out in their awfulness in scenes in which Johnson and Gugino's characters are sailing through the city. There are some incredible visuals though, none that I will be specific about as to not ruin them for viewers who are yet to see them.
The ensemble cast of Johnson, Gugino, Daddario, Guffard and Giamatti amongst others were a nice combination, let's be honest though it's an action film getting "The Rock" to star in it is like avoiding Christopher Mintz-Plasse like the plague, it just makes sense! The entire of the cast were great in their roles, my only complaints come from getting people to put on accents that they just don't sound right at all Guffard has a wonderful accent his attempt at American was poor, the same I found with Parkinson and Johnstone-Burt, what is the point in getting an Irish kid and an Aussie to play accents not natural to them. It is something that I have always been annoyed by, especially when the accents break constantly throughout film. My other "complaint" isn't really a complaint, it is the fact that whenever I see Giamatti I think he suits NO role yet still delivers with every role, my brain just doesn't understand it! ha. All that being said, I will watch ANYTHING that has Daddario in, not only is she a brilliantly talented and incredibly beautiful, I may actually be in love! I'll have to stop here on Miss Daddario before this turns into a love letter aimed at her.
The film was very well paced, it doesn't get itself caught up in trying to tell us the story of the world while this is all going on it. It is straight to the point of being a sect of America, plus the action really gets under way within the first twenty minutes when the Hoover Dam comes crashing down. From then on the film has a nice pace and focus on both characters and the real reason we're all watching to see stuff crumble! Overall, the film was a thoroughly enjoyable popcorn flick, the film is stunning to look at for the most part and the characters are enjoyable in their own way. However the story is very predictable as you would expect from many films within this genre, but that doesn't make the film any less enjoyable let's be honest is it really possible to not enjoy The Rock being The Rock? He's a total bad ass in pretty much everything he does, this is no exception. While the film will not be out winning awards, it will give you a solid two hours (nearly) of enjoyment without really having to concentrate on the story. This is my first ever .5 rating, it wasn't a 6 but it wasn't a 7, but I don't really know why the film just wasn't either so I had to switch up ratings a little.
Ant-Man (2015)
Do Marvel deliver in their smallest movie to date...
12 films into the Marvel Cinematic Universe can Marvel keep up their stellar track record? Lets start off with the cast, when the film was nearing production there was talk of Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Paul Rudd being favourites for the lead role of Scott Lang, to me both were laughable ideas for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Boy was I WRONG, Paul Rudd as Scott Lang may be my favourite casting in the entire MCU, he was brilliant be it from dropping the typical Rudd jokes we're used to or actually portraying real emotion when talking about his daughter. Not only was Rudd a brilliant call, I loved the entire cast, Michael Peña was absolutely hilarious, he even rivalled Rudd in his comedic ability, Corey Stoll as Yellowjacket was also another inspired choice I mean everybody in this film was spot on in my opinion. Then we have Douglas and Lilly, who had some a wonderful father and daughter dynamic that just felt so real.
Now we have the visuals even in the modern day of the height of CG it is a bit of a baffling thought to imagine seeing a man running around underground with ants and it to not look stupid. However as ALWAYS ILM (Industrial Light & Magic) delivered some truly stunning visuals. I don't want to pick out specific scenes, because really they all stand out in their brilliance seeing him shift from man size to ant size in the blink of an eye is like something straight from the page of a book. There is also two scenes towards the end of the film I know you guys and girls will love they involve an ant and Thomas The Tank Engine (not that part from the trailer, it's even better). Marvel have done it yet again, delivered some stunning effects as they continue to do.
Onto the story, while it is not going to win awards for originality, the story was very fun I thought. Even though Edgar Wright left the project, you could still feel some of his comedic styling in the film, I'd like to know if Tomas The Tank Engine was his idea, feels like a very silly British approach to humour. While the point of the film is not primarily meant to be a comedy, however having Edgar Wright, Joe Cornish, Paul Rudd and Adam McKay write the script you should expect a fair few giggles and this doesn't disappoint in that sense. The film is filled with laughs, action, nods to the MCU and even heart strings pulling scenes.
The film touches on some subjects that really hit home for me, which was a nice change of pace for a superhero film. I mean we all want to relate to superheroes in our own way, I just think this felt more relatable the whole Hank and Hope relationship was wonderfully done by Douglas and Lilly, if these types of performances continue I can see an actor/actress getting an Oscar nom for their work on a superhero film. Great times ahead for us "nerds" yay! Overall, I absolutely LOVED Ant-Man it's very different from the rest of the MCU but exactly the same in some aspects. I will be straight up, I expected this to be easily the worst in Phase 2, I'd say joint second with Winter Soldier after Age Of Ultron for me and I know I gave Winter Soldier a 10 and this a 9, but I still think they are equally as good as each other if that makes sense? No, it doesn't not even to me, but I stand by it. Plus this gets massive bonus points for a certain reference to a friendly neighbourhood somebody :p. Hard to believe that Marvel have delivered again with a character hardly known outside comic readers, they have kicked ass with both Ant-Man and Guardians, here is to the future of the MCU!
Accidental Love (2015)
Only because I can NOT give it a zero!
Let me start this by saying sorry, sorry to whoever I hurt or offended which resulted in me watching this film. I must have done something down the line to be cursed with this! I guess this is an indication of where this review it set to go...
The cast of this film on the surface is a wonderful ensemble that would entice even the most cynical Rom-Com watcher like myself to take interest, however they were all beyond below average. I mean this is Jake Gyllenhaal one of the current best actors who comes across like he is winging every line, all the cast felt like they didn't know the script it was all just guess work. Which is beyond surprising considering I am a huge fan of the majority of them, in this film though there was zero chemistry and zero development of these people you were meant to relate to.
Onto the story a pretty boring one at that, none relatable characters, unbelievable events and a down right lack of Comedy. How this is considered a "comedy" I will never know, I smirked once, maybe twice it was a horribly written script everything said and done felt unnatural, the jokes just didn't land and the entire premise of the story was ridiculous. Which comes at as a shock because the writing team have turned out some good films and television shows in recent years, this just comes across as an attempt to not try at all. There was one scene in which Jake Gyllenhaal's character Howard is trying to escape a telling off by jumping out of a ground floor window, I felt like jumping out the second story window of my house at this point! The production of films is something I am yet to touch on in such a way in a review, however I can't help but think that the production of this film had a huge hand in making this film the mashed together piece of crap it turned out to be. There is countless stories of the production being shut down for many reasons including the lead actors walking off set on more than one occasion. Even resulting in director David O. Russell abandoning production after two years of set backs, pardon the language but the entire production turned into one big cluster f**k of incidents. Which leads me to believe resulted in the poorly cut together film, jumping from scene to scene without and fluidity to it, as WATW? said "Scenes chop and change making Accidental Love feel like a jigsaw puzzle that was put together in the dark." Overall, this film was abysmal, horrible, horrific ALL of the negative superlatives you could imagine and that is about 0.01% of how close you are. This film genuinely may be the worst film I have ever seen in my life time and that is saying something after 15 years and over 3,000 films seen. There was zero redeeming factors for this film for me, it is very easy to see why David O. Russell turned suit and ran the other way. Do NOT fall for Mr Russell's name on the poster this is nothing like he has done in recent years. If you don't want to take my word for it check out What About The Twinkie? or RT Write-Ups reviews of the film or any film fan reviewing site, I imagine they will all come to a similar conclusion.
The Voices (2014)
Reynolds at his best!
Firstly let's start with the cast, the decision to cast Ryan Reynolds in role was an inspired one he is a truly talented actor that not many people get the chance to see actually act. His roles in "Buried" and "Safe House" I can't recommend any higher, same goes for this, playing Jerry Hickfang he disturbingly felt at home. Reynolds played the character so well that there was times the viewer is dragged in deep into illusion of lost connection with reality. Gemma Arterton and Anna Kendrick play Hickfang's unwilling accomplices, Arterton was a wonderful comedic break from the dark story Kendrick on the other hand I personally struggle to enjoy not sure what it is, this time she has won me over playing the smitten Lisa she was a fun addition to the cast. Then we get to Reynolds voicing Bosco the dog and Mr Whiskers obviously the cat, some of the lines for these characters were so hilariously executed by Reynolds you actually fall in love with them even if Mr Whiskers is a bit on the naughty side. The entire cast were thoroughly enjoyable.
This is the first film I have seen by director Marjane Satrapi and if this if anything to go by I am quiet sure I will be following her career for a long time. She blends perfectly the highs and lows of a Jerry's struggle between reality and imagination, be it from the belly laughs you get from Mr Whiskers and Bosco to the rock bottom lows of Jerry's realisation of the real world. Satrapi succeeds in keeping you entertained from start to end, in regards to the end don't skip the credits you're in for a wonderfully funny treat which I did not expect but loved.
Onto the story, people constantly complain about Hollywood being lazy and constantly remaking the same stuff, this film is certainly NOT the case. Writer Michael R Perry ("The River" TV show & "Paranormal Activity 2") really excels in making something new and fresh his character development and witty written conversations between Jerry and his pets were incredible, not only did he write something extremely funny, he writes a script in which we really get to see Reynolds perform his best role to date in my opinion.
Overall, I found the film to be wonderfully funny was a brilliant mix of dark and light Comedy, Marjane Satrapi does very well at blending the two into one cohesive mix. This film is the perfect film for any fan of the black comedy genre, everything coming together from Reynolds superb performance, to the pacing of the film to hilarious retorts by Mr Whiskers and Bosco you're in for 103 minutes of pure fun. In short I absolutely loved this film, I couldn't recommend it any higher to Reynolds fans or just Comedy/Horror lovers in general. Plus it gives us an insight into what Reynolds can do with a disturbed character with a warped view of reality, *cough* Deadpool *cough*.
Jurassic World (2015)
"It's like the perfect sequel... 22 years later"
So here we are 22 years after Steven Spielberg changed for that generation and every subsequent generation since, the original Jurassic Park is an all time favourite of mine and millions of others I'd imagine. So how did the latest instalment in the franchise by Colin Trevorrow hold up against the rest? Lets start off with the story, a well paced blockbuster, with some nice turns that while aren't mind-blowing, they will surely keep you on the edge of your seat. I don't want to say too much and give it away, but they also wrote in some wonderful nods to the original which the fans of the first will adore and the younger fans will love when they are told about them. There is times when the subplots do not seem to make that much sense, that could be due to longevity that the project has gone through with numerous rewrites and tweaks, notably the parents getting divorced it didn't add anything to the film and didn't change the view of the young lads. That aside the story was solid and simple but a nice ride.
Another stellar cast for a Jurassic Park film, who would have thought that they could build a cast that was as enjoyable to watch as the original? I surely didn't, there was some brilliant performances some that really stood out for me were Ty Simpkins who at 13 is kick ass in the acting world, Nick Robinson, Bryce Dallas Howard and Chris Pratt who is fun in ANYTHING he does, the dude is just a joy to watch plus his and Bryce's on screen chemistry felt real. D'Onofrio serves as the human villain in the film and to be honest he really isn't as good as we are used to seeing him, it feels over the top if you will. Saying these performances stood up does not mean I found the others lacking, just not as great as these specific ones. Not the right place to say but yet again another performance from Nick Robinson that adds credence to my personal opinion that he would make a pretty good Peter Parker, thought it since I first seen him in "Melissa & Joey".
Yet again another film in the series that had some breathtaking cinematography, which was done by the very talented Academy Award nominee John Schwartzman, some of the wide shots are beautiful. Which for the Jurassic World franchise is a big thing, I mean look at the first, it has one of the greatest all time pieces of cinematography, so this one had to have some wonderful shots too, which do not worry it does.
Hard to believe this is only Colin Trevorrow's second feature film, which he did not only direct he also co-writ with his previous writing partner Derek Connolly who he worked with on "Safety Not Guaranteed". Which was an enjoyable film according to the people I have spoken to about it, Colin does what many directors over the past decade have worried they couldn't do, he made a film 22 years after the original and still was able to keep that wonderful charm the first had. This film is by no means better than the first, but was easily the second best in the franchise, after this I can see Colin going VERY far in the movie world.
My only complaint really was the lack of practical effects, I have always been an advocate for practical effects. The use of them in the original especially when the dinosaur hatches from the egg was something that made me fall in love with the art form that is practical effects. I just feel more drawn in when it comes it practical effects, not to say the CGI was poor or anything, the film was still visually stunning, it is just a personal preference of mine to have visual effects if and when possible. If so we would still have masters like Rick Baker working in the business and not retiring. That all being said, the visuals effects were amazing to watch and I'm sure anybody would agree, they also had a wonderful use of scale on the dinosaurs to really give the audience the feeling of how big these "monsters" truly would be if around today.
Overall this film was a thoroughly good watch, heck good it was great. I enjoyed it start to finish, it was not what I expected but it was brilliant none the less. Throughout the film there is a few misses, however the rest of the film really delivers in a big way I found. While it doesn't hit the heights of the first film it was truly a masterpiece in the blockbuster, bringing back the summer family blockbuster I really hope. Fingers crossed this gets Steven Spielberg to jump back into this world and he picks up Chris Pratt for the next Indiana Jones film. This film excelled in all categories and is a brilliant film for all to see, truly a revival of the franchise.
Whiplash (2014)
"Witty music related remark"
When I seen the trailers for this I wasn't very excited, actually I didn't have any intentions to watch it until it maybe appeared on Netflix or maybe normal television. After being beatdown by my brother for months and my twitter followers constantly recommending it. I gave in last week. Here are my thoughts on it.
Where else to start with this film but the acting, I mean WOW! This was my first time seeing Miles Teller act, and I was blown away by such a performance from somebody I always assumed was going to be another member of the 20s comedy crop, very happy I was wrong. As student Andrew Neiman, Teller was able to showcase a complete range of his ability, be it giddy and flirty with the incredible Nicole (Melissa Benoist) to gut wrenchingly fighting for his place the band. Then we have a performance by everybody's favourite Spider-Man character J Jonah Jameson, J K Simmons who played Jazz instructor Terence Fletcher, I say "played" he really became him, another unfathomable performance, very easy to see why he won the Academy Award plus about 40 others for it. For me Fletcher is one of the scariest movie villains of all time, some of the scenes are so intense by Simmons you find yourself exhaling like you're on the receiving end of his tirades of mental and verbal abuse.
The use of cinematography in this film was superb, it really gives the viewer a look into the gritty world of music schools, really showcases the battle students go through to become the best they can be.
You may be like me and struggle to comprehend how a film about drumming can really be that entertaining, because personally it was my main struggle with the film I have zero investment in the playing of drums (or any instrument for that matter). That being said you will you still hopefully thoroughly enjoy the film like I did, while at times the drumming can seem repetitive you are still drawn in by the majesty of the talent it takes to play that way and to have the ability to play that long without your hands falling off ha. The movie gave me a new appreciation of the dedication music students have to becoming the very best in their given field, if they are a tenth as dedicated as Andrew comes across then they will go far banging those drums maybe, heck what do I know I'm a movie blogger! This is the first I have finished a film and felt physically drained and emotionally beaten and I have seen 1,500+ films. The film beat me down so much after it I had to sleep off the after effects, it was more than just an emotional thrill ride it was incredibly relatable if you look at it as a boy trying to make his Dad proud and show him what he can do (Fletcher also being used as the Dad in this analogy). After the film ended I spent a good few hours just thinking about how near perfect this film was, I thought it was post film high, so I gave it a few days to let it sink in before writing my review. However, allowing the time to pass, didn't change my view of this film is a modern masterpiece, well not just a modern masterpiece, it is just a masterpiece itself. Easily in my top 5 of this year, will take a lot to knock it anywhere near out of that list.
After just speaking about the emotional beatdown this film laid on me, I knew I had to touch on the pacing. This is one of the most wonderfully paced films I have watched in a long time, people say "emotional roller-coaster" a lot when it comes to these kinds of films. This time it is the most appropriate use of the phrasing I could think of, from the ultimate strain on you not to break like Andrew, to laughs given by director Damien Chazelle, you will be left with just an unbelievable feeling afterwards.
Overall, I was completely blown away by this movie, it was countless times better than I could ever expect. Damien Chazelle has thrown his name into the big leagues with this movie, I am not usually a lover of the medium of films about musicians, this may have made me do a complete 180 and will be looking back on such films I may have missed, not that ANY could ever compare I do not imagine. From the get go the film is entertaining, filled with all turns and twists on the emotional roller coaster, this film really is with an ending that will have you tenser than you could ever believe a movie would make you feel. The ONLY reason I didn't give this film a 10 was the ending, while amazing was a bit abrupt, I would have liked to have seen a little more from it, I understand the reasoning behind it, I just personally would have liked to see Andrew get the plaudits he truly deserved. I find it a little heartbreaking I didn't get to see this masterpiece on the big screen with like minded individuals, hopefully I will get to one day!
Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
Avengers PLEASE keep assembling!
The visual effects in the film were phenomenal, there was a minute or so at the beginning that felt a little off, but I think that was just me. After that the battle scenes were amazing, in my opinion second to none in comic films, it was as beautiful to watch as the action in say "Edge Of Tomorrow". There was some scenes that seem so flawlessly made that they could easily pull off being real life events. Stand out effects for me was the Hulkbuster and Ultron, both were amazing to see, especially Ultron the range of emotions shown by a completely robotic humanoid made the character that extra bit disturbing.
As for the characters and cast, which at this point due to longevity have become one in the same really, by that I mean when I think about the characters I envision them as their live action selves and no longer their comic looks. All the returning cast are as good as they have been in previous instalments, except for Jeremy Renner, he was outstanding in his role as Clint he was really given the freedom to actually show emotion and his range as an actor. Was great to see him able to flex his acting chops, which I will be honest I was not sure he had. The biggest additions to the cast are Paul Bettany as Vision who was brilliant in what he done, but didn't have to do much due to being an emotionless android, Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Pietro Maximoff/Quicksilver his acting is as expected personally I find him to be a good actor who is really honing his skills in recent years, while his accent falters at times, it is a hard accent to pull off I find. Then we have Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff/Scarlett Witch, another extremely talented actress in my opinion, she was brilliant in this too, especially in the more emotionally driven scenes then we have James Spader as Ultron the most ominous audible villain I have heard in a LONG time, his voice just oozed evil and dominance I can say I finally understand the hype around his ability.
The action starts at an 11 in this film and only gets better, that's not to say that the story or characters miss out. The film has a solid story to it, but even more so, has some wonderful character development, you get to see sides of some characters we have not yet seen in the MCU. Really shapes up some big moments for the future of the franchise, some great moments, some gut wrenching, all together mashed into a brilliant story and progression to characters we all know and love.
The runtime does seem long beforehand, however, there is enough going on at every turn that you kind of forget how long you have been watching and that is a good thing. It's a 141 minute ride that doesn't feel as long as others that run this time.
Overall, I'd go as far as to say this is the best film in the MCU to date in my opinion, which I never thought I'd say due to my dying love for Avengers and Captain America The Winter Soldier. The film was an emotional ride from start to finish, filled with action, ass kicking, hilarious lines and character development second to none in the current MCU crop. If you are not currently into the whole superhero explosion we have had in recent years, I highly recommend starting with this or Captain America The Winter Soldier they perfectly personify the superhero world but also serve as "everyday" films if you will. Very happy to say Mr Joss Whedon goes out with a bang and certainly not a whimper, I'm already longing for the day he returns to the MCU in the future. I had extremely high expectations going into the film, came out with them shattered and then some, roll on Ant-Man!
Batman vs. Robin (2015)
Should be called "Batman & Robin vs The Court Of Owls"
This is only the second animated film I have reviewed, still find it a bit weird reviewing them if I am honest, feels weird to not be talking about the same elements specifically the lack of acting you get to see and the fact it is all animated so the visual effects are on a different level in comparison to say Interstellar looks great and real, while the effects in animation are on par with the animation of the rest of the scenes if that makes sense to anybody but me? Ha.
Batman Vs Robin was directed by Jay Oliva a go to name in the DC animated universe working on the likes of "Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Part 2", "Batman: Assault On Arkham" and "Justice League: War". Yet again he delivers a thoroughly enjoyable animated film, cementing himself in the DC chair for a while I'd imagine. Teaming up with long time DC writer J. M. DeMatteis who has been working with DC characters since the early '90s, so what a great team to bring together for latest instalment in the franchise.
I was apprehensive at first when Jason O'Mara took over from Kevin Conroy, I mean Kev IS BATMAN, he has been a part of my life as Batman for as long as I can remember. However, O'Mara makes the role his own in a brilliant way, the rest of the cast performed well in their roles, especially Troy Baker as ever he gives a stellar performance. Plus there was a nice nod to the old with Kevin Conroy returning to voice Thomas Wayne, I personally didn't remember going into the film Conroy was returning, so hearing that familiar voice was a nice touch. There was a bit of a let down though, I was hyped to hear "Weird Al" Yankovic voicing Dollmaker, but he seemed to disappear before we even got to really appreciate his comedic style.
The animation is fluid and wonderful to watch,the actions scenes blended seamlessly into the more dramatic scenes, it was brilliant production. The scene may come across a bit gory to some, so if you're planning on watching with your children or allowing them to watch you want to check it out beforehand. The action is reminiscent of Son Of Batman in my opinion, feels like director Jay Oliva took inspiration from the success of that film and added his own elements to it. All the fight scenes are wonderfully executed especially the climatic scene in which we get to see the Bat-family take on some villains.
There is one MAJOR thing I believe they should have done differently and that is calling the film "Batman: The Court Of Owls", the title is a little bit misleading, the story centres mostly on the Court Of Owls. While having a lot to do with Batman and Robins relationship, it is heavy on the Court storyline, there is a fight scene between Batman and Robin, but the main story comes from the Court trying to run Gotham.
Overall, the film was a brilliant watch it really showcased the vast differing dynamics between Bruce and Damian's belief in what is true justice. In recent instalments the franchise of DC Universe Animated films have been pretty good the likes Son Of Batman (REVIEW HERE) and Superman Unbound stand out. I would say this is definitely up their with them. Another brilliant film in the DC Universe Animated series, DC are winning in the animated film world in my eyes, while Marvel are winning live action. It would take an awful lot for me to ever chance my mind on that.
Hot Tub Time Machine 2 (2015)
Wish I could go back in time and not watch it!
I was very on the fence about Hot Tub Time Machine 2, I mean I partially enjoyed the first one, but that was mostly from the cast if anything. I loved the chemistry between Robinson, Duke, Robinson and Cusack, so when I learnt Cusack was not returning I was bitterly disappointed.On the other hand, Adam Scott was announced to be joining the cast, which kind of made up for it, he was brilliant recently in Parks And Recreation and A.C.O.D.
The first film when it released in 2010 and quickly became a guilty pleasure of many people, I for one wasn't 100% sold on it, I mean I had a few giggles throughout, just not enough for me to warrant some of the love I seen for it. So when a sequel was announced to say I was not very excited would be an understatement, which is a shame because the cast as a collective in either of the films is wonderful and are hilarious given the right material as Comedy actors they have all shone in previous shows/films they have been in.
Craig Robinson did not even seem to care about what he is doing (my view), he just seems completely lost throughout the film occasionally attempting to execute the poor lines given, the same can be said about Clark Duke, they both look bored of the entire think like they only turned up for filming for the pay cheque. For some reason the writer of the film decided to make Rob Corddry attempt to act even more insane than the previous instalment, which I find insulting to the comic and the audience.
The film really has no script to follow, I'm being 100% serious when I say this you could nap for forty minutes and wake up and have not missed a single important scene. You end up sitting there the entire time waiting for the big "oh no" or "shit just got real" scene and it just never comes, they have the whole of time to play with in their story and never touch on it at all, such a wasted opportunity. The comedy was wasted throughout, most of the funnier parts comparatively that is, come in the credits says a lot about the story as a whole really.
Overall, the film fell completely flat on its ass in my opinion, it was 90 minutes of poorly executed slapstick, along with one liners that never really landed. For me a completely unwarranted sequel and not surprised to see it making such poor numbers at the box office ($12.3 million at time of writing 10th April), while the first one delivered a few jokes, worthy of a watch, however this time around not enough is given to sit through the film. If you're truly craving your fix of Craig Robinson or Clark Dude throw on some old The Office DVDs for Rob Corddry watch Children's Hospital, just avoid this film, especially if you are a fan of the first it will soil your enjoyment of the previous instalment. If you have the desire to watch this, I personally recommend waiting for Netflix, Red Box or one of the many streaming sites we have today, that way it will not feel like you have had money stolen from you.
John Wick (2014)
"Actions speak louder than words!"
Another woefully misunderstood film, I've seen many reviews attacking this film, what did you expect from a Keanu Reeves driven Action film? A Robert De Niro acted, Oscar worthy film? Get the heck out of here, you can NOT judge all films based on the same factors, it is the equivalent of comparing say Godfather Part II and A Nightmare On Elm Street, both incredible films in their genre but holding them up against the Academy standards A Nightmare On Elm Street would be instantly brushed aside. Which is something that really irks me, I bet I could drive the Academy driven critics insane to say Birdman was a -100/10 if I were to hold it to the same standards as A Nightmare On Elm Street, because that rating would be perfectly acceptable in comparison, it is just highly unfair to compare films that are so different in their target audience and the aim of the film.
The film was directed by Chad Stahleski and David Leitch who are widely known for their stunt work, or at least they should be known for it, their collective filmography includes the likes of The Matrix, The Crow, S.W.A.T and Van Helsing, so to say they are well versed in the world of stunts and action is an understatement. So the choice to have them direct the widely coveted script by Derek Kolstad makes perfect sense, at its core "John Wick" a revenge film that is brutal and doesn't mess around at all. Hard to believe that this is the directorial debut of both Stahleski and Leitch, their work comes across as truly experienced directors within the given genre. After this film I can see them going very far in the action world, easy to see why they were given a John Wick 2 and are being touted for an upcoming DCCU film.
The film starts out with Wick losing his wife to some sort of illness (details never given to the audience, not needed at all), he inherits a Beagle puppy from his late to help cope with her passing. He quickly falls in love with the pup, spending all his time with her and his '69 Mustang. The Mustang which catches the eye of a young member of the Russian mafia, who tries to persuade him to sell the car. Iosef (Alfie Allen) not accepting of Wicks decision to completely shoot down any sale decides to take the car. Iosef and his "gang" break into the house to rob the car, beat Wick to within an inch of his life and more disturbing of all kill his dog. These events reactive Wick into his previous life he left behind as a mafia hit-man, so now Wick is set to destroy any members that get in his way of an organisation of which he was once an employee.
This is the film that came bring Reeves back from some of his recent performances which I highly recommend you stay away from the likes of "Henry's Crime", "47 Ronin" and "Generation Um" come to mind. However, this time around Keanu gave a solid performance as the films titular character, Keanu done everything right to portray which emotions he needed, plus his background in martial arts really blended well with the directors choice to use "gun-fu" which if you are not familiar with, once you watch this you will understand perfectly the phrasing. It was not just Reeves who gave a great performance, other performances shone too from the likes of Michael Nyqvist, Lance Reddick, Paul McShane and the ever enjoyable Adrianne Palicki. It was a genius idea to give Reeves less to say and allow him to use his actions instead of words, what is the old idiom "Actions speak louder than words" it's like that was made for Mr John Wick himself.
The film does not mess around, it gets straight to the point storywise and characterwise, we're straight into the action within the first 15-20 minutes. Which may feel like it will have adverse effects on the pacing of the film, which at the time was a bit of a worry of mine also. Safe to say my reservations were unwarranted, the film ran at a wonderful pace, with Wick moving quickly onto his next henchman to take on in brutally beautiful manors each time. Resulting in a truly wonderful 100 minutes to behold for any Action/Thriller/Martial Arts fan of any age.
Overall, the film was a spectacle in its given genres, edge of the seat Action for 101 minutes be it from Reeves kicking ass or him getting his ass kicked. There is one thing I absolutely LOVED about this film, which was the directors choice to have Wick, once he beat a villain, was to put one/two rounds into their heart/head to make sure they were dead. Seems like something every hit-man should do, it just really stood out in this film for me. This film was an incredible watch full of Action and a decent story, which slightly predictable, heck what Action film isn't. I really couldn't recommend this film any higher to fans of the genre or Reeves, if you're a fan of neither, I think this will change your view on either one.
Interstellar (2014)
An emotional thrill ride into the unthinkable
Christopher Nolan does it again, it is like Nolan was destined from his early days to go down in history as one of the greats, not only is the man creating history making films he is also partially responsible for the revival of the comic world we know and love today. Interstellar isn't Nolan's first Science Fiction film, that was Inception in 2010, however this is his first full fledged Science Fiction in my opinion, no disrespect to Inception.
If you have been a fan of Nolan's previous work, which if you are not, then Interstellar is the one that will make you fall in love with this genius' work. The film is a complex story driven film that will leave you in awe of not just the complexity of the story, but the sheer beauty of what Nolan and his crew have created. I do not want to give too much of the story away, however, I will say that the film is full of twists and turns in typical Nolan fashion, but he doesn't rely on them to keep the film moving forward. The pacing of the film was incredible, while you will know you are being pulled in by twists, you tend to forget that is happening by Nolan's use of action, drama and visuals you can not even begin to imagine.
I have said previously I was not one for soundtracks or scores, however, after watching this film I truly understand why many people are in love with that aspect of films. Hans Zimmer delivers a score that does itself what Nolan does with his script, the music is so beautifully pace that you are drawn in deep by it even though it did kind of remind me of a 70/80's Horror film. It wasn't just Zimmer's score that was a beautiful addition to the film, the use of sound while in space, well the lack there of was incredible. Outside of the spaceship Nolan went with the use of no sound at all, which really was a terrifying choice, any scene outside the ship really makes you feel insignificant as a creature. The Alien tagline "In space no one can hear you scream" will play on your mind every time the camera switches to the exterior. I could continue to talk about the sound, but I can guarantee I would run out of superlatives in no time.
This is my first time experiencing Matthew McConaughey in his new lease on acting, I was personally more used to his acting from Two For The Money, How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days and Contact not exactly roles that he shone in. So talk of his revived and seemingly meteoric increase in acting ability was something I was apprehensive about, I am to happy to say my apprehensions were extremely wrong about Mr McConaughey's acting ability, he was completely stellar (yes I did just say that, deal with it) I was pleasantly surprised with how far he has came, the emotions he went through in the film were completely believable and felt relatable. On the other hand I have never been a lover of Anne Hatheway's acting, I have always found her to be boring and this film was no different, she was very monotone and annoying and just not good in my opinion. The rest of the cast a collective were pretty good as well, I mean can you really go wrong with Michael Caine, Jessica Chastain, John Lithgow and Matt Damon? I for one can not see how you can. Plus CASE and TARS, two robots you will absolutely love and that I can say with 100% certainty, they were hilarious and great additions to the film.
Now onto what makes Interstellar an instant classic, the visual effects, I say visual effects they are more art than an addition to the film. They are not like the visual effects you will see in your every day film, these are truly a spectacle to behold, they will go down in history as some of the greatest visual effects in any film. There was scenes I will not divulge details as to not take away from their beauty, that you will just sit back in your chair and exhale in just awe and amazement. Some of the scenes were so beautiful I would even go as far as to say they would rival Geoffrey Unsworth's cinematography we seen in "2001: A Space Odyssey" that may seem like a bold statement to make but if you have seen both films I hope you can see where I am coming from.
Overall, the film was a truly a thrill ride, from the ultimate heights of landing on new planets looking for a new home for the human race, to the complete lows of losing the last hope for humanity. While the visual effects are truly out of this world, you do not forget throughout the entire film that is at heart a story about a father and daughter. The film should not only appeal to Science Fiction fans, it should be appealing to all films alike. A mixture of a beautiful story, great acting and unfathomable special effects that leave you craving more science fiction in your life. This film is truly a modern masterpiece and it pains me to say I missed it in the cinema, because this on the big screen would have been one of the best cinematic experiences in anybodies lives.
Edge of Tomorrow (2014)
Expected mediocrity, got SO MUCH more!
Doug Liman is a very hit and miss director, well at least for me, he has had some success in "Swingers", "Mr & Mrs Smith" and "The Bourne Identity", then some less than enjoy work with the likes of "Jumper" and "Getting In". Anyway, back to what matters, Liman's jump back into the world of Science Fiction, this time around he truly got it right. He really brought on his experience of character driven story like in Bourne and comedic repartee as seen in Mr & Mrs Smith, using past elements really helped him make a thoroughly enjoyable film.
The special effects in this film were phenomenally good, the great thing about them too was they were not used as a crux to keep a boring film alive. They were an integral part of the film, however, they were not over used, they were used to tell the story along with the brilliant story. The quality of the special effects were of that much of a high standard, if felt like playing a video game, they were a beautiful spectacle. Liman uses amazing effects to really sell this as a world ravaged by alien invasion and destruction of major cities, the battlefield landscape they used conveys the pure and utter destruction these "mimics" can unleash on humanity. The battle scenes are beautifully executed unlike some of the Sci-Fi blockbusters in recent years *cough* Transformers *cough*, they are masterfully done and not a muddle together in some sort of blur in which you can not make out characters.
The trailers really never gave this film the justice it deserves, well not for me anyway, they painted a pretty dull attempt at Science Fiction with Comedy with Action elements. The film is a great Action/Sci-Fi based blockbuster with great elements of Comedy which are used to break up the despair of "the end of days" feel. The on screen relationship between Cruise and Blunt was great, and it's not often I compliment Mr Cruise, however in this event he had a great relationship with Blunt. Blunt's character Rite not surprisingly nicknamed "full metal bitch" is an utter bad ass not to be messed with and she oozes alpha female, while also having an air of vulnerability that makes her a very relatable and believable character. Also Bill Paxton and Brendan Gleeson are usually a great addition to any cast they appear, this is no exception to that, they were great in their roles of Master Sergeant Farell (Paxton) and General Brigham (Gleeson) while they do not exceed the roles and do something we haven't seen before they do make them their own.
Story was something I was worried about with this film going into it, I expected the use of the "time loop" to be played out and become the constant go to, in order to keep a boring story alive. Boy was I wrong, from the get go the story really pulls you and keeps you excited without becoming overly gloomy or depressing in light of the impending doom from an alien invasion. Instead, the story thrives on wit, action and drama, all the makings of a great summer blockbuster which this really turned out to be. The story flows well together without the overused trope of twists and turns, while still leaving you guessing what could happen next, not many obvious occurrences take place in the story. Plus it was good to see a movie with a beginning, middle and end, no messing around setting up for cashing in on sequels, feel good to see a film that actually ends.
A lot of reviews I have read in the past couple of months have made fleeting comments about how it is inspired by video games, and they are not wrong, the entire film feels like you're playing a video game and that is not a bad thing. Especially for my fellow gamers out there, who like may also be a little disappointed in how video game adaptations have been a bit below par as a whole. However, this while not based on a video game really thrives on all the video game elements that make gaming so great. If you look at Empire Magazine's review of the film they said "When Cage (Cruise) awakens into the first day of his enforced demotion (also the second-to-last of his life), he is effectively starting from a save point. When, eventually, a close encounter on that bloody beach with a tentacle-flailing, blast-furnace mouthed "alpha" — the end-of-level boss — causes his health bar to retract to zero, we snap back to that save point, and he must 'play' the two days again. With each replay, he must learn how to survive to reach the next 'level' (to ultimately meet the end-of-game boss), although, paradoxically, just as we learn from our mistakes in life, he must learn from his deaths." Overall, the film was a purely entertaining two hour ride of action, drama and laughs, it was a lot better than I was expecting, I had a feeling I would like it maybe as a passing "yeah, that was okay", I was SO far off on that. This was genuinely one of the better Action/Science Fiction films I have seen in a while, especially a newer released on. Some may consider the film a "popcorn flick", and in some respects they are right, however the film has a bit more substance than your typical popcorn flick, this has a more complete feel about it. As I said I don't enjoy Cruise's acting, however this was more bearable due to Blunt and the pure brilliance of the film, that being said any male action star could have played the role and it would have been a bit better in my opinion not enough to really change anything though.
Top Five (2014)
Rock shines in the directors chair
Chris Rock's latest film was not one he just starred in, he also wrote and directed it which is no mean feat, in recent years Chris Rock's work has been less than enjoyable shall we say. He seems to have fallen off the wagon in the Comedy department. Following his buddy Adam Sandler who coincidently has a cameo in this movie which is funnier than he previous five years in film combined. So to say I was apprehensive was kind of an understatement, anyway, here is my review of Top Five.
I will start off saying, this film is not anything we have not seen before, it's a Romantic Comedy riddled with all the clichés you get from every previous instalment in the genre. The story isn't that great, but that's not to say it is a bad story, at times you do find yourself drifting a little bit, but you find me a Rom/Com in which your attention doesn't drift. However when it comes to Top Five and you find yourself drifting another incredibly funny cameo will appear on screen and boom you're right back into it. The film depends a lot of the third act as do most in the genre, the chemistry of Chris Rock and Rosario Dawson was brilliant on screen which made the cheesiness of the scenes bearable. The dialogue between said characters was written great by Rock himself, their repartee was fun to experience.
With Rock directing he allowed his fellow comedic actors to shine in their roles albeit small roles, a specific scene in which he goes to visit his family has some great comedians dropping some incredibly funny lines some of which seem improvised (not sure why I feel this after watching, they just do) plus a scene with DMX that had tears rolling down my face along with a bachelor party scene with Sandler and Seinfeld the movie is full of laughs. Was great to see Rock step back and allow these other actors steal some scenes, great work by the rather inexperienced director.
Now to talk about the acting, it's not the kind of acting that you will see in the films that will get nominated for the big awards. However, that being said, it does not mean the acting is bad, Rock acts like he does in many films which I personally enjoy and the two women in his life Rosario Dawson and Gabrielle Union were great in their roles. The better of the two in my opinion was Union, she was brilliant in the role of Erica Long, Andre Allen's soon to be reality star wife.
Overall, the film was a thoroughly enjoyable watch, I'd say the perfect date film packed full of laughs and has the overlying tone of romance throughout. Take the missus or mister out to see this and I can safely say you guys/girls will laugh your butts off and route for Rock's character Andre to get the relationship he wants and deserves. I sincerely hope Rock continues to write and direct films n the future, if he stars it's a bonus, however if he chooses not to I can still envision the film to be a great watch. Just watching some of the scenes in this film and you can see how great Rock can be behind the camera instead of in front.
The Babadook (2014)
Modern Horror at its finest!
The Babadook is based on director Jennifer Kent's short from 2005 entitled "Monster", this is her debut into directing a feature which is hard to believe when watching the film. Jennifer delivers a truly disturbing Horror film, that from start to finish will have your brain going a mile a minute trying to work out what the heck is going on.
The MAIN thing you have to understand going into this film, is not just about The Babadook as a monster, I don't really want to say too much about it without ruining the story. The Horror isn't fast paced and in your face like a lot of films in recent years, it is a slow burner that makes you feel invested in the characters and thrives on the tension the director builds in scenes. Director Kimberly Peirce who directed Carrie in 2013 should take a look at this film and see where she went wrong in the tension building department, while Carrie failed in drawing the viewer in, The Babadook thrives doing such.
The acting of Essie Davis was incredible she really encapsulates the loving mother who is right at the point of snapping due to circumstances surrounding her life. She is extremely convincing in her portrayal of the character even down to the pale and exhausted look of a single mother living on no sleep and a young child who borders on a monster himself. As for said child Noah Wiseman was brilliant in his role of Samuel he really had that disturbing creepy vibe you reminding me of Miko Hughes as Gage Creed in Pet Sematary. As I read on another review "There are times when the pair almost fuse into one traumatised entity." I couldn't agree more, they really bounced off each other great, but at times they really did feel like the one character fighting the monster.
Some long serving Horror fans may find this a bit different to what they are used to, The Babadook monster serves as a secondary factor in the film. The story itself is the main character, a truly terrifying story filled with scares, tension and twists second to none. While the film still has its "traditional" scares, it plays on the larger story of life and coming to terms with huge drastic and emotional changes we all succumb to in our daily lives and gives us lovers of the genre something new to enjoy instead of loud noises to make us jump.
Well wasn't this the shock of the year when it comes to Horror, who would have thought a little known Australian film would have had cinephiles from all backgrounds watching. I personally know people who dislike Horror as a genre but genuinely enjoyed this film. Everything about this film was incredible considering the genre and the fact it is a feature debut, the film will stick with you for days thinking about how well written and directed it really was. I will admit at times it is hard to bare with Samuel's crying/moaning early on, to the point you're wanting the "monster" to get him ha, but when you sit back and think about it after the fact he acts exactly how ALL children would in such scenario. It is films like this that make me incredible happy to be a lover of the Horror art form, truly hope some more Horror comes from Jennifer Kent in the future if her debut is anything to go by, she can only get better.
Prisoners (2013)
Jackman and Gyllenhaal at their best
I will start off saying I was very apprehensive going into "The Prisoners", I have personally never been a fan of Gyllenhaal's acting I always found his style to be boring. Hugh Jackman on the other hand I am a huge fan of being a lover of X-Men for roughly half of my life.
Hugh Jackman in this film was truly a spectacle to behold, he commands the screen with every second he is on it, his performance as a broken father really resonates with the audience, he really makes you pull at your own moral compass. How far would we truly go to save our blood, Jake Gyllenhaal gives an equally as good performance as Detective Loki (yes his name really is that cool). Gyllenhaal is equally as powerful. He incredibly embodies the troubled detective void of his emotions, culminating in real feeling ticks and twitches you begin to feel really embody the characters progression.
I would personally say it is career best performances from Jackman and Gyllenhall, but that is to not take away from the rest of the cast, Terrance Howard is truly back to the quality of acting that won him his Academy Award nomination for "Hustle & Flow" and the performance he gave in "Crash". While Paul Dano might not have had as much screen time as some of the other actors, he was truly superb playing the emotionally and intellectually stunted Alex Jones who is said to have the IQ of ten year old.
While the film is not entirely perfect, Denis Villeneuve makes and incredible film for his Hollywood debut and first English language film. His use of tension building is second to none in recent years, "edge of the seat" stuff in a understatement, you start at the edge of your seat, by the end of the film you are on the floor. It has a wonderful noir feel to the film, and the use of Roger Deakins' cinematography was a true spectacle to behold, his work has been nominated for twelve Academy Awards so he is doing something right.
Aaron Guzikowski writes some of the most enjoyable scenes I have seen in a thriller film for a long time, it is hard to believe that he is so early in his writing career considering his amazing grasp of twists and turns and brings a true mystery to the audience. There is a few moments of the film that are predictable but that happens with ANY film written, however for a relative newcomer Guzikowski is superb in his work.
Overall, the film a truly a roller coaster ride of emotions that will keep you enticed from start to the end filled with powerful performances from the entire cast. The film does have a pretty long running time which may scare a few people off, but I assure you it is worth the long watch, that is if you are open to some violence and a few torture based scenes. If you get passed these aspects you will be in for a treat of a wonderfully shot, brilliantly directed and beautifully acted film by the leads.
Hercules (2014)
A mythology free Hercules, really?
Swords and sandals are not usually my thing I mean I haven't even seen "Troy" or "Gladiator", which for somebody who considers himself a cinephile is all kinds of wrong. So going into this I wasn't expecting much, main reason I watched it was I am a fan of The Rock he makes enjoyable films. Which half the time aren't actually well written or made films, he is just a great performer, has been since his days of wrestling. I tend to check out pretty much everything he does, a fair amount of the time I enjoy the films. for instance I enjoyed "Pain & Gain" and "Snitch" (may review them in the coming weeks).
Brett Ratner is very much a hit and miss director in my opinion, he makes enjoyable stuff like the Rush Hour films, well at least two the third lacked the charm I found. Anyway back to Ratner, along with his good films he makes some awful choices like well the obviously bad "X-Men: The Last Stand". This time around Ratner has made a semi decent film, his use of CGI are good at times, however his dull visuals of mountains and expansive land are boring to look. He tries to replicate the scenes we see in the likes of the Lord Of The Rings trilogy, but this idea falls flat on its backside.
Dwayne Johnson was a good casting to play Hercules, however he was not the best character in the film his entourage were more than steal scenes. His team of Rufus Sewell, Ingrid Bolsø Berdal, Ian McShane, Askel Hennie and Reece Ritchie were better characters than Hercules. There is moments when Ritchie's Lolaus completely changes the tone of the film, fits of laughter from some of his bullshit twists on the Hercules story. Plus Askel Hennie as Tydeus was brilliant, he doesn't speak much but his crazy antics are a nice change from the attempt at drama that isn't that intriguing most of the time.
While the film is based on one the widest known Greek mythological stories, this film however is based on a comic book written by the late British comic writer Steve Moore. The film strips back the story we all have known for a long time and changes it more than anybody would expect; Hercules is NOT the son of Zeus, He did NOT undertake the labours like we know, while he does do the labours it turns out they were not mythological. In fact, in this incarnation the labours he performs were all against mortals like himself, They are two biggest changes I know of, I don't know the actual details of Hercules story just the very basics from growing up watching the animated show and Disney film. That being said I kind of felt cheated in the sense that I wanted to see some mythological based aspects to the film, not for the story to be completely rewritten into some crap twist on the story.
With three big battle scenes there is a few fun parts to the film, not enough to warrant this film being considered as anything more than a pop corn flick if it even deserves that title. While these fight scenes are fun to watch, they do not make up for the shoddy story and boring drama that struggles to bring in your attention and keep it. Plus it also felt like they writers or even director didn't really know in which way to take, while Hercules in the film is a mortal, there is two scenes in which you would struggle to believe he is only human. In one scene he throws a horse with a man on its back and in another he pushes over a statue that towers in comparison to anything a man could move.
Overall, the film was an okay nothing more than I expected from a Brett Ratner attempt at making something mythological. I have heard many people claim it is far superior to this years similar release of "The Legend Of Hercules" starring Kellan Lutz, if that film is of less quality than this I don't think I will ever watch it. Hercules while it could be considered a popcorn flick, I would advise looking elsewhere for a fix of swords and sandals, not that I personally can recommend any. However, there surely has to be better options than this, if there is not then I can't see how the subgenre has lasted so long. This may sound unorthodox, but I struggle to give this any more than 4 out of 10, that is a star for each battle and one extra star for the entourage as a whole other than those I can't find any other positives to add to the film.
Dracula Untold (2014)
Vlad is back!
The reboot in the Universal Monsters franchise we all (well at least me) have been waiting for, and they decided to start with THE ultimate movie monster Dracula. This franchise comes at the right time, just when cinematic universes are on the up and up, and the Universal Monsters was and still is one of the most enjoyable franchises to date.
Luke Evans truly carried this film from start to end, that is not to say that everybody else was poor, just that Evans was a complete and utter standout in his role as Vlad Tepes. He truly came across as an emotionally driven man willing to do absolutely anything for his family and people, even if that meant the ultimate sacrifice of himself. The progression that Vlad has throughout the film was great, he went from Prince of a calm and quiet land to the head of his own domineering army.
With that all being said about Evans, doesn't mean I didn't enjoy other performances, Charles Dance for one was brilliant as Master Vampire, a truly terrifying performance I'm hoping will continue for more instalments in the franchise. I will say Cooper's character of Mehmed was a little bland in the way that there wasn't much progression on his behalf, however a bit bland he was played well by Cooper.
I'm a huge fan of the vampiric subgenre of Horror, but found it be getting a little diluted with boring modern relationship driven stories and forgetting about the true nature of the greatest movie monster of all time. This film is a brilliant mixture of both, while we get to see the emotional struggle of becoming such a creature, we also get to see how a man striving to protect his world can use his now animalistic attributes to fight many men especially in that scene when he defeats an army and casually walks back to his people like he done nothing. "Men don't fear swords. They fear monsters".
The cinematography was brilliant, it was a beautiful film to watch, it had a very artistic feel to it all the scenes made sense like they themselves were part of the story. There is a fair amount of computer generated scenes, but that's a given for the type of film it is, I usually advocate for practical over computer effects when possible. However, within this film the CG if the right approach it adds so much to the story, when Vlad flicks into bat mode to move quicker is phenomenal to watch.
Overall, a great watch, I personally enjoy every second of the film, I will say it was not what I expected but in a good way I really enjoyed more than I ever imagined. I'm surprised this film only has a 6.3 (at time of writing) on IMDb, I understand this isn't a complete game changer in the genres it covers, however, I feel the low rating is unwarranted.
In recent years there has been countless attempts to reboot classic fairy tales into modernised Horror's, Gary Shore on his directorial debut, yes this is his debut film, what a way to kick it off, has done a great job. I was extremely apprehensive and equally excited about the prospect of the reboot, if this film is just the introduction to this world I can not wait to see where it goes. Seriously hope Luke Evans and Charles Dance sign on for further instalments after that ending!
Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
A modern space operatic to rival the best!
So here we are, Marvel's riskiest project? Or was it? In my honest opinion "Iron Man" will forever be their riskiest taking their own money and creating a film based on a character that wasn't their most successful in comic form. However, Guardians is a close second in the risky business category, I'm a pretty big Marvel fan myself (self proclaimed) and I had never heard of the Guardians until the time it was announced their was a film being made, since then I began to read up a bit and my excitement exploded.
While being said to be a part of the MCU Phase 2, you would also be able to watch this film as a stand alone and enjoy it just as much. The film doesn't get itself stuck into the intermingling movie crossovers like the rest of the MCU has done, actually unlike 95% of the MCU taking place on earth, after minutes into Guardians we are thrown deep, deep into space to not return to earth. The Avengers had hours and hours of pre story to the characters when the film was being made, Gunn had to create back stories and bring a team together in one film, an incredible feat which he seemed to do with ease while it took the MCU 5 films at roughly 10 hours, Gunn done that within 2.
The cast does and absolutely (inter)stellar job, yes I said interstellar, I used that pun deal with it ha. The entire cast is on their A games though, Pratt as Quill is one of the best castings in any MCU film since the franchise started his charismatic, funny, relate-able in a way portrayal of Peter Quill was incredible. Zoe Saldana as Gamora may seem like a bit more of a simple task, however her femme fatale badassery is second to none in recent years, however it is the rest of the Guardians who truly shine. Bradley Cooper absolutely steals the show as Rocket, his quick witted retorts and emotional completely really bring more than the gag of "oh a talking Racoon" to the screen and really create a character you care about. Dave Bautista really comes into his own, his performance is far superior to his previous straight-to-DVD displays, he really made Drax his own as for Vin Diesel as Groot there is not much you can really do with "I am Groot" however he still gives the characters a charm of his own.
The film is easily Marvel's most beautifully stunning film, I can imagine George Lucas watching it thinking "if I made Star Wars today, I would win ALL the awards". I truly think, Gunn has changed the game completely when it comes to comedic based Comic adaptations, the tone of the film jumps between truly emotional to laugh your socks off to science fiction insanity, truly making Gunn a blockbuster director to keep an eye on. The soundtrack is another success by Gunn, it is by far the best I have ever personally heard blending incredibly with the gritty and beautiful cinematography.
Overall, the film was an incredibly fun watch filled with laughter, action, good acting and a solid story to boot. Which in the comic world you rarely get the whole collection, usually get a two out of four, however Gunn delivers potentially the best comic film of all time, some will argue the best. For me it's easily up there with the best, Chris Pratt gets to put his comical side on show and he delivers a great performance. You will laugh your ass off throughout while enjoy the beautiful visuals and great character development from the start, has a very Star Wars feel about it. Okay, I'll say, it is the modern Star Wars, it's more than just a comic film it's a space operatic, and Gunn should be insanely proud. I would LOVE him to board all the main Marvel based films that use space and give the Russo Brothers the earthly based films, this would result in the greatest film franchise ever in my opinion.
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)
Godfather II effect, far superior than it's prequel.
After 2001's horrible attempt at a revival in the franchise, they saved it in 2011 with Rupert Wyatt's "Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes" brining in WETA Digital in order to create a more realistic look than actors wearing suits. WETA also returned to make the apes in the Dawn even better than Rise.
I personally was a little apprehensive I thought the 2011 revival was less than desirable, I found the apes to be a below the standard expected in the modern blockbuster. However this time around in Dawn, the apes were incredible, if you were to watch not knowing they were CG, you would believe easily that these were real apes. Which really helps buy into the story, you feel like these apes truly are apes that have started evolving to rival humans, given they have been evolving rapidly over the 10 years since the ape revolution.
Some of the motion capture performances in Dawn were incredible, stand outs in that bracket well, obviously one had to be Andy Serkis, we all know he is the go to man for mocap and this film is no different for others. The other stand out was Toby Kebbell who is a newbie to the franchise playing the returning Koba (played by Christopher Gordon in Rise), Kebbell was phenomenal as Koba this time around, Koba is physically and mentally broken and Kebbell shows that in his performance it oozes intimidation and fear in equal measure, up there with some of the great performances by Serkis himself in my opinion.
The complete contrast of Serkis' Ceaser an ape of compassion, love and understanding to Kebbel's Koba was an incredible watch on the big screen. Their performances really help you feel like you're watching apes, something Rise was lacking I found. The technical heights (even literally) that Dawn reaches are incredible, some of the CG in the film will rival the best you have seen.
Not to say that wasn't a few parts of the film that were a let, one scene that comes to mind included two light machine guns, you have to see to believe the mediocrity of it. It is something you expect to see in a B movie or a spoof film, didn't really feel right in this blockbuster master-class. Plus the complete under usage of Gary Oldman, in my opinion by far the greatest actor in the film, I mean nobody even comes close to his ability to me, and to under use him was a travesty. Second time this year a huge blockbuster has underused their best actor, "Godzilla" did the same with Cranston.
Overall, the film was a great watch, packed to the rafters with action and drama with a nice splicing of character development. Director Matt Reeves makes the most of all things at his disposal (Oldman excluded) and uses them beautifully making one of those rare occurrences in which a sequel is superior than is predecessor. Highly advise this film, making my excitement for the third more than I ever expected after the first, Matt Reeves has brought a new lease of life to the apes franchise which I'm hoping is a long lasting franchise. If you didn't like the first I will say Kebbell and Serkis' performances will blow you away in this film along with the CG and the story.
Into the Storm (2014)
A pure popcorn flick!
Into The Storm was very low on my expectations list, while it did bring together a pretty decent cast I wasn't that excited for the release. Maybe growing up on "Twister", "Dante's Peak" and "Deep Impact" in my honest opinion three of the better Disaster films ever, has given me higher expectations for the genre.
The film opens up with a group of high school students in a car together messing around when a huge storm is brewing around them, when the storm begins to get worse they group sees a tornado rapidly approaching. One of the girls wants to run, while one of the guys overly cocky and arrogant like 95% of teen males in movies today are decides to try recording the tornado gets back to the car just in time for the tornado to pick them and kill them all in the process. Back in the town of Silverton, Oklahoma, the local students are preparing for their graduation, whose vice-principal Gary Fuller (Armitage) has told his two sons Trey (Kress) & Donnie (Deacon) to capture messages from students for a time capsule (a convenient trope in order to add found footage).
Somewhere else entirely, we meet Pete (Walsh) has been attempting to intercept and film a tornado up close in his self proclaimed "Titus" which is a heavily armoured vehicle to ride out the worst of the worst storms. Hearing of the possible happenings in Silverton they head there in hopes of finding themselves some tornadoes worthy of their life long dedication to the craft. After arriving in Silverton they discover that the "cell" they had been chasing has suddenly dissipated, as the teams gets themselves together it's back again, stronger and more vicious than ever. As the team is filming the funnel inexplicably changes course head right for the school. This is when the destruction truly becomes over the top movie madness.
Overall, the film was a pretty good watch, while the acting was less than desirable throughout and there was little to no character development. This film is not really about those aspects, it is purely a popcorn flick same goes for the majority of films that fall under this category. After all the boring attempts at relating to characters is over and the true nature of the film begins the tornadoes, I began to enjoy myself, the film shifts quickly into the end of days feel you'd expect in this world. The visuals at times are fantastic other times they slip a bit, overall though they are more than adequate and do the job of portraying the destruction you want to see.
The film is not a very good film by any stretch of the imagination it is exactly what it advertises to be just a film about tornadoes with a kind of overlying story. I will say though it is a film you will either enjoy or hate, there is no middle ground, for me it is a guilty pleasure I could happily sit back, relax and watch again. The film doesn't disappoint with its tornadoes, they come fast and thick, I'd say every 15/20 minutes something HUGE weather wise happens, which may sound like a lot, but they breaks between events makes it a pretty well paced film.
It will not win awards for originality, nor with actors/actresses be getting Oscar calls anytime soon as they shouldn't. Pretty much anybody could have played the roles in the film and done an equally as good display, the saving grace is the truly over the top destruction caused by mother nature herself. The first half of the film can be slow and boring at times, but stick with it, once the action starts it doesn't stop and that's a good thing.
Grave Encounters (2011)
Vicious Brothers burst on to the scene!
After recently reviewing "Extraterrestrial" which was made by The Vicious Brothers, I had to review the film that made me fall in love with their work. I know a lot of people find the whole Found Footage sub-genre to be boring and played out, however when done correctly it is terrifying, here is what I thought of the "brothers" directorial debut.
Opening up with Jerry Hartfield (Wilkinson) who is the producer of the popular "Grave Encounters" a paranormal investigation television series, he introduces us to the hose Lance Preston (Rogerson) (who to me is clearly a parody of Ghost Adventures host Zak Bagans). Hartfield goes on to tell us that the show was cancelled after its fifth episode and the footage from the sixth episode went mysteriously missing, the footage was found some time later and brought to Hartfield. The film is headlined by Lance, Sasha Parker an occult specialist, Matt White the camera guy, T.C Gibson and Houston Grey who are all set out to investigate the notoriously haunted and abandoned Collingwood Psychiatric Hospital were nearly 100,000 patients were treated.
Caretaker (Rathie) of the Hospital gives them a tour of the site, that night the crew set up their investigatory equipment and begin their overnight investigation while locked within the hospital. It is now when the truly strange things begin to occur, creepy noises, unexplained events and slamming doors. Lance notices ghostly apparitions and orbs in a picture they have taken, while retrieving their cameras to check for evidence Matt goes missing. This is when it ALL kicks off! Overall, the film was a resounding success in my opinion, while the film is obviously not an original concept by any stretch of the imagination. The Vicious Brothers really make it their own, if you're a fan of the sub-genre or not you will struggle to find a better paranormal based Horror in the past decade in my opinion. For me it's at least on par with "Paranormal Activity" and that film completely changed the Found Footage/Paranormal genre.
The acting is pretty good considering the film is such a low budget production, acting is usually the first thing directors give up when they have no money in Horror, however the brothers seem to have cast more than capable actors/actresses for their film. The asylum they use leaves the audience feeling uncomfortable and uneasy knowing even to walk the halls in the day would be a horrific experience. The location scout on this hit the ball out the park with this location.
I highly recommend you check this film out especially if you're a fan of the sub-genre, if you are not check it out anyway I have a feeling it may sway you to becoming a believer in the sub-genre once again. While the concept is unoriginal, I GUARANTEE the scares are all original, these guys do more than just scare they make you feel like you're stuck right there with the crew. If you're looking for some scares this Halloween, this film is for you!
See No Evil 2 (2014)
Here's to decades more from the Soska's!!!
Here we are with the obligatory Horror sequel, it feels as though 9/10 everything Horror related today is either a sequel/prequel/remake/reboot. That is less annoying when it is a Slasher, just look at Halloween that spawned 9 sequels and I still watch every one of them.
The film opens up with Amy (Harris), Seth (Eriksen) and Holden (Eklund) who are stuck working the graveyard shift at the city morgue where they are all employed. Amy is getting ready to leave in order to celebrate her birthday with her friends. Holden gets the news that a huge number of bodies are coming in, victims of the mass murder committed by Jacob Goodnight (Kane) an event which takes place in the first film. Amy abruptly cancels plans to leave deciding instead to stay and help process the bodies including that of notorious killer Goodnight.
Knowing she can't make the celebration, Amys friends Tamara (Isabelle), Kayla (Simmons), Carter (Majdoub) and her brother Will (Holt) decide to surprise her by throwing her a party in the morgue. During the party Seth and Will have a falling out resulting in Seth leaving the party and going back into work. Tamara is disturbingly obsessed with serial killers and all things that fall under that bracket, she and her boyfriend leave the party to hunt down the body of Goodnight to check it out. Finding the body causes Tamara to get a little bit on the frisky side shall we say, she and Carter begin having sex in turn somehow waking up/reviving Goodnight and that it when the proverbial s**t hits the fan.
Overall, the film is a thoroughly enjoyable flick while all set in modern time, it has a brilliant 80s Slasher vibe to it. The Soska Sisters must have grown up watching countless Horror and Slasher films, they get this one down to perfection. Yeah the film lacks character development, however the first film told us all we needed to know about Jacob so this film just needed to be a full on gore fest Slasher flick. Which it was, the film reminded me of the first time I watched the greats like "Halloween" or "Friday The 13th", far superior than the modernised slashers we have.
I also loved how the Sisters gave their own twist to Jacobs look, they made him look more like a true Horror icon, one that when you see you can imagine having a franchise of films built around him. If you are a fan of either the Soska's work or the Slasher sub-genre you would be a damn fool not to check this out, if the twins continue to make films half as good as this they have a LONG career making Horror.
How they managed to get both Katharine Isabelle AND Danielle Harris in a direct-to-DVD sequel of a WWE film is beyond me, but bringing them together was one of the best parts of the film they are both Horror icons in their own right and them sharing the screen rocked! Isabelle's performance was sublime in all she done throughout the film, not to take away from anybody else, heck even Kane upped his game and played a much better "monster". The film uses a lot of practical effects which is by far the best way to make Horror, there is some CGI, more practical though. The death scenes are incredible, the death of Katharine's character completely stands out, it was a beautiful death has to be seen to be appreciated.
Here's to decades more from these genius sisters!
Annabelle (2014)
Chuckys awful sister!
When I heard that "The Conjuring" was getting a sequel based on the unbelievably disturbing "real" story of the Annabelle doll I was so pumped! Not only am I a HUGE lover of the Horror genre, I am also a pretty keen follower of the "real" paranormal (not to say I am a believer, just a very keen enthusiast of the subject). The doll still sits today in the museum started by The Warrens, how messed up is that a museum dedicated to the most sinister paranormal objects in the world, I'd LOVE to visit it one day!
Opening up with the same scene in which "The Conjuring" did, two young women and a young man are telling Ed and Lorraine Warren about their experiences with what they believe to be a haunted doll they call Annabelle. Cut back a year and we are now with John (Horton) and Mia (Wallis) who are expecting their first child, John gives his wife a doll that she has been searching for, for a long time.
As Mia closes in on her dude date, something unbelievably horrific happens, a couple/pair of Satanic cultists break into their home attacking Mia and stabbing her in the stomach, both cultists end up dying in the house. The female cultist named Annabelle Higgins dies with the aforementioned doll in her hands he blood lands on doll starting what will be the worst experience of the young couples lives. A short time passes and Mia is now seeing shadows, shadowy figures, hearing noises resulting in her horrible realisation that something evil is after her new born baby.
Overall, the film was a complete and utter let down, if ANY Horror writers/directors see this read this line carefully; !!!LOUD NOISES ARE NOT HOW JUMP SCARES WORK!!! Lazy film making at its best, making watchers wince through using loud noises is NOT how Horror works, it NEVER has been, ANYBODY could make a film in that way an call it Horror. The scenes do make you jump, not through fear of the film, just shock in the boom as you do when you wake a sleeping person with a bang.
The main problem is James Wan when creating the film that spawned this sequel "The Conjuring" (review coming in the next couple of days) created a beautifully made Horror that felt like it took place in the 70s. Unfortunately, John Leonetti fell on his face in this aspect, he just robbed tropes and elements from 60s & 70s Horror. He fell into the trap that lots of modern Horror directors do, just paying homage to the greats does not add to your film, if anything it takes away from your film leaving the fans with a sense of let down. There is an over use of panning reveals (if you are not familiar is panning through a room an passing a door/window to reveal something in the background) it happens so many times that you feel no suspense watching them.
All "Annabelle" truly offers is the chance to wince four or five times through sheer ear pain, none of the scenes will built any tension for the viewer, they try to build up but fall flat on their face. Unlike "The Conjuring" which builds scene to the point in which you feel the tension, this film is a misguided idea of how to rob a genre by using "jump scares" to bring in a younger/inexperienced audience who know no better due to the massive decline in modern Horror. Most fans of the genre will be sitting there twiddling their thumbs waiting for the film to actually end, and may I add I did not they needed to redesign the look of Annabelle I personally find the doll much creepier, I get why they did it though, the fear of porcelain dolls is a mass fear.
The film itself is really not the only problem, Wallis and Horton are boring throughout, Wallis mumbles most of her lines and you struggle to truly grasp what she is feeling while Horton is the opposite his overly emotion acting feels forced. There is one scene that was done pretty well, which is the only reason the film didn't get a zero or a one star rating, that is the basement/storage unit scene, I can highly recommend you check that scene out on maybe YouTube or something. Other than that, I highly recommend you get your evil doll Horror fix from "Child's Play" (1988), "Dead Silence" (2007, which was director by producer of this film James Wan) or "Dolls" (1987).