SOUTHPAW

If all this looks quite familiar, if it seems like we’ve been here before - a boxer who has it all, falling from grace and having family troubles etc then you might just have seen a boxing movie at some point in your life. It’s sad to see a film with such impressive performances squander them by showing lack of effort.

Jake Gyllenhaal’s performance as Billy Hope is impressive (although perhaps not quite as impressive as the actor’s physical transformation) as is that of Forest Whitaker (who sadly does not bulk up) and the two spark off each other well with Gyllenhall’s drunken, embittered fighter against Whitaker's calmer, sober trainer.

The acting, sadly, is not all above board; Curtis Jackson (aka Fifty Cent) gives a bland performance as fighter promoter Jordan Mains. To be fair to Mister Cent this is not entirely his fault as the character is pretty bland and pointless to the overall story and really just feels like a second rate Don King. The real overarching problem with Southpaw is that it feels like a patchwork of clichés stitched together into a story. Now clichés are not in themselves all bad and the film uses the material that it has effectively with the final fight being very well shot and not coming off as a copy of Rocky or Raging Bull.

It’s just that given the aforementioned performances I wish they could have done something a bit more original; give the actors something to really get their teeth into (with the exception of Fifty). At the end of the day Southpaw is a solid entertaining film that holds your attention and gets you invested in the character, it just feels like it had the potential to be more

FINAL VERDICT 6/10 it goes to points rather than being a knockout but it’s still standing at the bell

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Unknown 16:29  No comment

TERMINATOR GENISYS

The Terminator is one of the most iconic characters in cinema, in both of his manifestations as cold killer and protector he remains easily on the most recognisable character to pay homage to and parody. And sadly it is parody that this latest offering seems closest to, with a Terminator nicknamed ‘Pops’ (even Arnie can’t make a nickname like that anything but laughable). Things actually start out rather promisingly with Kyle Resse (Jai Courtney) fighting the machines in the future along with saviour of humanity John Conner (Jason Clarke). The film then does something interesting by going into the past and re-enacting some of the famous scenes from the original classics, these are some of the film’s best and most innovate scenes, although, as we shall see, reminding people of the original classics might not be the best idea. The overriding problem with this film is that the plot is a total mess, plotlines go nowhere and others - that frankly no one could care less about - are given bizarrely large amounts of attention. First among these is a dull and plodding romance between Kyle and Sarah Conner (Emilia Clarke) - since when did the Terminator movies need to be so convoluted? Aren’t these supposed to be action movies? Now this is not to say that there are not some good action scenes, one car chase involving a school bus in particular is quite good. Overall though for an action film there is far too much talking and brooding and not nearly enough well……action! There are two more films planned in this new revamped series so time will tell if the true Terminator ….will be back (sorry couldn’t resist) FINAL VERDICT 4/10 A lacklustre use of an iconic character.

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Unknown 22:53  No comment

JURASSIC WORLD

Jurassic Park is one of the first films I can remember seeing in the cinema and, as such, holds a special place in my movie memories. This was not an excitement that the sequels Lost world and Jurassic Park 3 ever came close to capturing. Lost World had its moments certainly but the ending, with the suburban T-rex, did a lot to ruin that. 3 came closer to capturing the feel of the original but still fell short. So I approached the fourth film in the series, after a long, long gap, with no small amount of trepidation. Early stories of dino-human hybrids and tame velociraptors did little to ease this apprehension. Thankfully there is no human–dinosaur hybrid (although I’m sure some embarrassing concept drawings will emerge at some point) and the tamed raptors are far from domestic pets (and actually come across as weirdly plausible in the universe of the film). Jurassic World is a film which lives and breathes on pure nostalgia; there are innumerable call backs to the original films from Tim’s night vision goggles to cues in the music score from both the first and second films. None of this is more evident than the film’s climax which still manages to be extremely entertaining despite the nagging suspicion that it was thought up by an excited five year old. A good dose of level-headed humour helps this - Chris Pratt’s Owen plays a big part in this with verbal sparring with Byrce Dallas Howard’s Claire (the two are complete opposites … and you know what that means.) Of course heroes are useless without a villain and this film’s villain, the Indominous Rex (or Frankensarus Rex as I like to think of him) a hybrid creation which, whenever it looks like the good guys have it cornered, keeps pulling new tricks out of its scaly sleeves. The design for the Indominus Rex is very good and makes it look, well not natural because it isn’t, but realistic in the world it inhabits. This could easily have gone wrong in development so let’s just be grateful we don’t have a fifty foot Godzilla sized implausibility. One slight gripe on the dino front is with Owen’s raptor pack, given they all have names (albeit military style code names) it would have been nice if they had a bit more individual characteristics -after all the dino’s are the real stars of the show surely . FINAL VERDICT 7/10 this is a very enjoyable film which makes the wait well worth it and lets us know that the franchise has survived

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Unknown 04:58  No comment

SPY

The spy genre is one that is rife for, and has been, effective parodying, and for the first few minutes it looks likes Spy might be following this vein. Jude Law’s suave Agent Fine (yes that’s his name) bungles a mission due to a mistimed sneeze (brought on by a hay fever allergy) it looks promising. Sadly the film soon drops this promising line for more crude humour. Now that is not to say that Spy’s jokes all fall flat, it’s just that there are glimmers here and there of cleverer jokes that show the potential for better. The best of these is the clever riff on Jason Statham’s roles in the transporter and other action movies with the character of agent Ford, an inept blowhard who is constantly going on about his many varied, and highly improbably exploits, but who when his big moment comes gets his coat caught in a door. Another thing about Spy is the constant swearing, now I’m no prude but it gets rather wearying when every second word is a curse word. With comedies I tend to see this as a sign of insecurity -were not sure our jokes are funny enough so we’ll just chuck in lots of swearing. It’s not as if the film’s central heroine Susan Cooper (Melissa Mcarthy) is the really the kind of character that constant cussing suits. On the whole Spy is an enjoyable comedy that, although it misses some opportunities for greater satire, does accomplish its mission of entertaining its audience. FINAL VERDICT 6/10

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Unknown 17:45  No comment

DANNY COLLINS

When we first see the titular Danny Collins he is crooning out sub-standard songs to an audience of crazed elderly women (there’s a Rod Stewart joke in here somewhere). A posthumous letter from John Lennon (in response to a an interview he gave as a young musician) prompts him to revaluate his life Danny Collins is a film that certainly benefits from star power, Al Pacino injects equal parts wiry humour and emotional vulnerability into the central character lending to the film’s emotional weights. Of course it would be wrong to give Pacino all the credit in the performance department, Bobby Cannavale gives an emotional performance as Danny’s illegitimate son Tom, resentful of the father who has just waltzed back into his life and yet concealing a pain of his own. Annette Benning has very good chemistry with Pacino as Mary, the hotel manager, who feels an emotional connection with him. These performances work in the film’s favour to paper over some of the more clichéd elements of the plot. The ‘dissatisfied musician off to find new inspiration’ isn’t exactly a new one, nor is the ‘family he has been neglecting’. Danny Collin’s uses its characters effectively to give a familiar story some much needed emotional weight and give the audience more from a story that, in less capable hands, could definitely have been less. It also helps that the film’s abrupt ending (something I’m not usually a fan of) picks just the right time for the curtain call. One aside I would like to note is the speculation as to what kind of film we would have gotten if Steve Carrell, who was originally cast as Tom, had given. Before seeing his performance in Foxcatcher (2014) I would have said that the film had a lucky escape, but now I am forced to wonder what the film would have been like with Carrell. FINAL VERDICT 6/10 it might not hit all the right notes but it still manages to make a song and dance of it.

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Unknown 08:23  No comment

TOMORROWLAND A WORLD BEYOND

I have to confess that going into this one I was not particularly optimistic given that I was not a particular fan of the Pirates of the Caribbean series (I liked the first one well enough though the rest were mediocre) which was based on a theme park ride . The idea of a film based vaguely on one of the themed areas at Disneyland (the titular Tomorrowland) did not exactly fill me with confidence. I was therefore pleasantly surprised to find that this was not the all-out commercial that I feared it might be. Much of this is because the film keeps itself focused on its characters and their goals (at least for the first half, but we’ll get to that). We get to see the mystery unfold through the central character Casey (Britt Robertson) who once she finds out about Tomorrowland’s existence is determined to go there. It also helps that the script has a good vein of humour running through it, the most effective examples coming from the verbal sparring between Frank (George Clooney) and Athena (Raffey Cassidy). This stops the movie from taking itself too seriously and ensures that when it does try for some tugging on the heart strings it does not come across as too forced. The main problem with Tomorrland is that it seems to lose the thread of its story just as it’s getting towards the climax. The ending feels very rushed and the main antagonist’s motivation (Hugh Laurie) doesn’t really make a great deal of sense. This is a shame because there is one very emotional scene in this part of the film that works very well and had it been part of a better-rounded finale could have ended things on a real high note. FINAL VERDICT 5/10 there is a good deal to enjoy in this film but the ending does a great deal to halt the momentum it has built up

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Unknown 08:17  No comment

SAN ANDREAS

The disaster movie genre is one that has long fallen into something of a rut ,not that that they can’t still be fun, but once you’ve seen one you can safely say you’ve seen them all. As an example of this let’s see if San Andreas ticks some of the common boxes. Let’s see, we have Dwayne Johnson as a single dad – check. A cowardly stepfather who fails to step up at the moment of crisis – check. An expert (Paul Giamatti) who is there to stare into the camera while making dramatic statement – check. A family who reconnect through a natural disaster -check. This is not to say of course that the film isn’t enjoyable, the effects are very nicely done and there is genuine ingenuity in gradually turning San Francisco into a warped jigsaw puzzle (one of my particular favourites is a Navy warship wedged bridge-like between two buildings) and the tsunami set piece is very well done. Nor are the clichés themselves wholly without merit- although that merit may not be what the filmmakers intended. It’s difficult not to laugh (and quite a few of the audience viewed the movie did) at dialogue delivered with such patent sincerity with such ‘oh so serious’ expressions. Some of the highlights have to be Blake (Alexandra Daddario) and Ben (Hugo Johnston-Burt) sharing an out-of-nowhere, and yet still somehow completely predicable kiss. And Ray (Dwayne Johnson) and Emma (Carla Gugino) stopping in the middle of the chaos to analyse why their marriage fell apart. I suppose my main problem with San Andreas is that it takes itself far too seriously, there are moments of dry humour and cheesy puns that it really feels the film could have used more of. Final Verdict 5/10 enjoyable but it doesn’t do anything to shake up the disaster movie genre.

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Unknown 15:18  No comment

MAD MAX: FURY ROAD

SYNOPSIS Haunted by his past Max (Tom Hardy) tries to survive in a brutal world of warlords and scavengers. I’ve long thought of the apocalyptic genre as one of the most boring, “oh look, another dry wasteland, haven’t seen that one before”. So going into Mad Max: Fury Road, having not seen the original Mad Max, I admit my expectations were not particularly high. One thing Fury Road, however, cannot be accused of is being visually dull. Whether it’s the villain going into battle with full drum and electric guitar compliment or his henchmen swinging acrobatically from poles like some evil cirque du solei. At no point is nothing interesting happening in this film. As with Kingsmen something that works in Fury Road’s favour is the cast taking things entirely seriously; Tom Hardy (Mad Max ) and Charlize Theron (Imperator Furiosa …try saying that three times fast) both treat every over the top scenario as deadly serious , as such, their performances stand out much more than they would otherwise. The villain they’re up against Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne who starred in the original Mad Max) manages to convey real menace despite looking like a rock star whose years of drink and drugs has caught up to him (think Keith Richards with white hair). Everything about this film can best described as high octane, the action scenes take things up to eleven and the use of practical stunt work, rather than CGI, makes the film stand out from the usual CGI ridden fair and gives the action scenes a more raw exciting feeling. Given that many of these stunts involve people hanging precariously from cars and trucks (one reason you know Max is Mad is that at no point in this film does he wear a seat belt) this is actually quite a bold decision by the film makers and one that has paid off. FINAL VERDICT 8/10 given the spate of bland remakes in recent years it’s nice to see a film which pays homage to the original while standing out in its own right.

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Unknown 16:35  No comment

SPOOKS THE GREATER GOOD

SYNOPSIS –After a dangerous terrorist escapes Mi15 Custody a former agent is contacted by his mentor to find a traitor lurking within their midst It is a rare thing for a television series to make the leap to the big screen. This does not mean, of course, that is unheard of, the Mission Impossible franchise has proved to be more successful than its makers thought. On this side of the pond things are rather less exciting with the Avengers (no not that one) flopping badly (and no wonder!). On the one hand it’s easy to see why Spooks is a good choice for the big screen adaptation; the TV series, which ran from May 2002 till October 2011 on the BBC, told an exciting story of MI5 agents /spies which, in the current climate can certainly be said to hold resonance. Having not watched the tv show I was naturally curious to see whether I would be able to get interested in the story and characters or become hopelessly lost. I wasn’t lost; the film is accessible to a new audience although some backstories could have been fleshed out. The problem with Spooks is that it tries far too hard to prove its film credentials and, in the process, veers into the silly zone at some critical points. Indeed the ending seems so rushed and frantic that it looks like a misguided attempt to imitate that other tv series, 24, which does not match the tone of the rest of the film in the slightest. This is a pity because for much of the film the restrained tone, with a few action scenes here and there, works to the film’s advantage. The cloak and dagger intrigue is much more interesting than a clichéd gun battle (although we do get the constantly recycled plotline of a hunt for a mole inside the organisation). What we get then is a mostly effective spy thriller that sadly goes off the rails slightly towards the end, although to be fair the action scenes are still effectively shot. An open ending leaves it interesting to see if a future sequel might correct the missteps of this original attempt. FINAL VERDICT 7/10 a good thriller that successfully translates the world of the TV shows to the big screen.

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CHILD 44 (Daniel Espinosa)

Synopsis In 1950’s soviet a Russia a disgraced MGB agent hunts for a vicious serial killer. Book adaptations are tricky things to get right, for every Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings there’s a Golden Compass or Bonfire of the Vanities. The key to success is to know what to cut and what to keep and this, sadly, is a lesson that the makers of Child 44 seem not to have taken on board. Set in 1950’s Soviet Russia the film mostly deals with the efforts to bring a vicious child murderer (based on Andrei Chikatilo, the Rostov Ripper) to justice and how the investigation is hampered by the Soviet authorities. I say it’s mostly about that because a great deal of the film seems to preoccupy itself with a dozen other plot threads; from agent Leo Demidov’s (Tom Hardy ) troubled relationship with wife Raisa (Noomi Rapace) to his rivalry with an ambitious fellow agent (Joel Kinnaman). These plot threads dominate the first half hour of the film so much that when the murder investigation does start it feels like we’ve jumped into an entirely different film. Nor to be honest, and despite the best efforts of all the principal players, are these plots all that interesting , perhaps as the driving plots of films of their own they could carry a narrative ,but not here. This is a great shame because when the murder investigation does start the film finally starts to pick up pac ,the murderer himself (despite a faintly ridiculous backstory) is truly sinister as we see him stalk his victims as the audience longs for Hardy, aided by an underused Gary Oldman, to bring him to justice. The book Child 44 got very positive reviews, though I have not personally read it, but what works from the page is not the same as what works for the screen. A lesson that the film’s writers seem to have sadly forgotten. Final Verdict 5/10 An interesting setting, good performances are dragged down by a bloated plot.

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Unknown 13:53  No comment

AVENGERS AGE OF ULTRON

I have to confess I didn’t think the director, Josh Whedon (Avengers Assemble ,X-men ,Captain America the First Avenger) could pull it off a second time, given the different directions and plot strands of this movie whilst also keeping the momentum of Avengers Assemble going. He has, however, proved me wrong. Obviously his primary motivation with Age of Ultron was not only to keep the momentum going but also to move things forward into new unexplored territory. Following the consequences of one mistake made by Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) the film highlights the team’s spiral into their deepest fears by the Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen ). This is all orchestrated by the film’s main protagonist, Ultron (James Spader), who apart from being immensely powerful, also shares Stark’s superpower of pithy one liners. Seeing the team that we last saw standing strong at the end of Avengers Assemble being torn apart is a really effective way of giving the heroes a new type of threat to overcome. We’ve observed them overcome physical threats, now they have to face up to psychological ones as well. Of course there are still action scenes a plenty; one of the highlights being a fight between Iron Man and The Hulk that uses an entire city as the backdrop for the choreographed mayhem. My only real complaint is that the finale, though a different scenario, is not a million miles away from that of the first film (the team fight off hordes of metallic creatures whilst defending a civilian population). Perhaps, inevitably, in an ensemble piece some characters feel underused as if they are only there to tick the cameo boxes. These are, I admit, only small complaints in what is otherwise pure entertainment. If this level of quality is maintained for the planned third and fourth instalments in the franchise then it is difficult to imagine them failing. FINAL VERDICT 9/10 let’s just hope they don’t strike out with number three.

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Unknown 15:48  No comment

JURASSIC WORLD NOSTALGIC FUN OR CYNICAL MONEY MAKER

I have to admit that it doesn't look half as bad as I imagined it. Still time will tell if the franchise has survived or is officially extinct

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CAN KINGSMAN MEASURE UP?

In the second of my new feature Some thoughts on Kingsman from my little sister, Megan. Megan's Channel: www.youtube.com/MeganWatt18

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JOHN WICK GETS SHOT DOWN

A new feature designed to let others give their say on movies . So to kick things off my mum's thoughts on John Wick starring Keanu Reeves.

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Unknown 02:20  No comment

FIFTY SHADES OF MEDIOCRITY

In reviewing films for this blog I have had the pleasurable experience of seeing the good (Captain Philips, Guardians of the Galaxy), the bad (Let’s Be Cops, The Love Punch) and now, sadly, the ugly. This is not a review, I will not be going to see this ‘cinematic masterpiece’, and instead I would like to investigate why this film even exists. The book series by has become extremely popular (which is strange because no one I’ve met admits to reading it let alone buying it) and, as such, a film adaption was inevitable. Using this logic we can expect ‘Playboy the Movie’ next year. By all accounts the film is a rather tame affair; the filmmaker’s having decided to leave out some of the racier, and no doubt anatomically impossible, scenes from the book. Of course given that’s why anyone who has read the book will be reading it for (don’t lie) this means the film has to survive on its plot and characters - and we all know how much attention books in this genre pay to those (cue the plumber and the lonely housewife). In fact where the initial magnum opus actually came from might surprise some people, this book originally started as Twilight fanfiction (non-profit stories posted online using existing characters from other books). Apparently the author got encouragement from reviewers online and so adapted it into her own story. This would explain why the male lead is apparently so unlikable, and come to think of it why the female character is so easily led and wants to have a man boss her around. In a supreme twist of fate when Universal Studios sought legal means to block a pornographic parody of the Twilight movies, the makers of the porno version pointed out that as fanfiction is the public domain it was open to parody (their argument didn’t fly). This is all its takes these days to get a book deal, an internet story which got some good reviews (many of whom may well have been trolls). This is encouraging in its own strange way I suppose but it’s hardly one to encourage the youth of today (work hard enough and you can get your own schlock erotic fiction series!”)

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Unknown 15:45  No comment

FOCUS

Con artists have always had an interesting place in cinema, the “good criminal” who the audience can get behind, likable rouges who pull off daring and clever heists without firing a shot etc. In such films it’s important to make the right casting choice for your charismatic grafter, this can make or break a film and Focus makes the right choice. Will Smith really need a film like this; After Earth (intended as a vehicle for his son Jaden) rapidly became an open joke and did not sit well with fans of the Fresh Prince. Focus does a great deal to bring back the old Smith, the role is well suited for his style of charisma and fast talking. A good decision is having the action seen through a small time thief (Margot Robbie), giving the handy excuse to explain the cons without it feeling forced. This can feel a little forced at times but on the whole lets the con unfold, rather like a magic trick, with the reveal showing the machinations behind the planning. One of the best examples of this involves a set piece at an American football game that ramps up the tension (and the financial stakes) accordingly. The film does falter a little in the middle when a change in time/setting can feel a little like a film within itself. On the whole though the narrative flows well and ends with a sequence of several rapid fire twists that turns many of the events of the film on its head leaving you somewhat dazed. This is the kind of fun crime thriller that I would like to see more of, slick action and witty dialogue rather than loud gunfire and unlikable thugs as our main protagonist. FINAL VERDICT 7/10 A RETURN TO FORM FOR SMITH WHO REALLY SHOULD STICK TO THIS KIND OF THING RATHER THAN HELPING FAMILY MEMBERS.

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Unknown 14:56  No comment

KINGSMAN THE SECRET SERVICE

From the first scene of helicopters swooping in to attack to the tune of Dire Straits Money for Nothing, you know exactly what you’re going to get from Kingsman. This is film which is not going to take itself too seriously and just invites you to go along for the ride (though as we shall see later not all the cast seemed to get that memo). The films action sequences can best be described as a pleasant acid trip with fast paced hand-to -hand action and gun play. One sequence that seems to be dividing people is a particularly brutal sequence in a church (this is what happens when someone steals from the collection plate) which, while cartoonish, still stands out as over-the-top (which is saying something from the makers of Kickass) Our protagonist in this over the-top tale is Eggsy (that’s his name and it’s no yoke) played by Taron Egerton, is the least likely secret agent since Vin Diesel in XXX. Some have criticized the film for a perceived characterization of the working class as either criminals, layabouts, or aimless drifters just waiting for a friendly aristocrat to come along and help them. Personally I don’t think there is any malice involved, this is not a film which aspires to social commentary. At the other end of the performance scale Colin Firth plays the entire film like he is in a straight-faced spy thriller. At times it’s almost like he hasn’t been given the whole script and is unaware of the farcical nature of most of the film. Weirdly this actually works in the film’s favor as it makes his character, Harry Hart, one of the film’s most memorable elements (and remember this is a film where a woman uses her prosthetic legs as deadly weapons) Samuel L Jackson hams it up as the film’s villain, Roman Valentine, and whilst his performance is fun, the script deprives him of any really memorable lines. Much more memorable is henchwoman Gazelle who uses her special artificial legs to cut through the opposition (Pistorius joke? too tasteless). FINAL VERDICT 10/10 “Give me a far-fetched theatrical plot any day”

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Unknown 10:01  1 comment

EXODUS GODS AND KINGS

I’m a big fan of the old style Hollywood epics. There’s something about the scale and ambition of them that I don’t think Hollywood has ever quite managed to capture again. Of these films my personal favourite is Cedric B DeMille's “The Ten Commandments”. It stands the test of time and still impresses with its score performances (it wasn’t all theatrical hamming back then) and effects. So you can imagine that going into Ridley Scott’s Exodus Gods and Kings I was more than a little apprehensive. I’d like to say that my fears were unfounded and that this film is a shining example of how to mix old style epic Hollywood with CIG wizardry ……....I’d like to say that but I can’t. The problems are more numerous than the flies of the fourth plague. Firstly the film doesn’t seem to know what it wants to be - we start with the a battle scene reminiscent of Gladiator which serves little-to-nothing plot wise and almost seems there to hoodwink the audience into thinking this will be action-packed. Unfortunately while it has the length of an old school Hollywood epic it has the pacing and storytelling of an episode of Coronation Street. Even God turning up (in the form of a, wait for it,… a child) can’t liven things up and you find yourself yearning for the mayhem of the plagues. Under such circumstances the cast do their best but the normally charismatic Christian Bale (Moses) seems unenthusiastic, a fact which he tries to cover by excessive shouting. Slightly more impressive is Ramesses (Joel Edgerton) who struggles against the script to find meaning in his character. Incidentally get your money on Edgerton to win the Oscar for “Best use of eyeliner”. Harsh though it may sound the rest of the cast is barley worth a mention (the presence of Sir Ben Kingsley is rapidly becoming a red flag for films). Even in areas where you found think it would be impossible to screw up Ridley Scott is impresses with his ingenuity. The Red Sea doesn’t so much as part as well ………evaporate (seriously it’s a case of ‘now you see it, now you don’t’). Why rob your audience of this visual spectacle when you intend (as they do) for the water to come rushing back in in all its CGI glory (one of the film’s more impressive scenes). Ultimately this is a film that does not know what it wants to be and is left floundering with the Egyptian army in the sea FINAL VERDICT 5/10 Read the book people

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Unknown 03:52  No comment