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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Unknown 02:24  No comment

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

DRACULA UNTOLD (and it should have stayed that way)

When you are dealing with a story like Dracula that has permeated so deeply into the public s’ conscience you have to make some important decisions in adapting it. Do you (as does this version and the earlier Francis Ford Copolla one) ground the plot around the real historical Vlad Tepes or stick with the more traditional ‘cloaked and fanged’ apparition? As this film takes the first position you would think that we were in for an exciting fresh look at this classic gothic tale. Sadly this film has less life in it than Dracula’s undead remains; lack of imagination rather than vampire’s fangs is what saps this film of its life blood. This is especially annoying as the premise itself is not an uninteresting one. Luke Evans gives a good performance (given what he has to work with) and, had the script not crumbled to dust under the harsh light of quality and common sense, there could have been something here. Instead what we get is dull - not bad, not terrible, just dull. It may sound strange to say but it would be better if this was laughably bad. Not even the ‘cackling moustache twirling’ antics of the over- the -top villainous Turks could pull things back from the deep pit of dullness. Even the hammiest hammer horror outing of Drac had more bite than this dull drudgery FINAL VERDICT 4/10 A might-have-been revamp (sorry) is doomed to lie in its grave.

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Unknown 10:49  No comment

LET’S BE COPS (AND LET’S IMPROVE THE SCRIPT)

When you have an idea for a comedy film it’s important to make sure that what you have is enough for a film and not just a TV sketch. Two friends pretending to be cops is not a film, it’s a starting point for an idea. This is a shame because leads Jake Johnson and Damon Wayans JR actually have quite good chemistry and with a stronger script this could have been so much more. After our have-a-go-heroes don their cop uniforms and go out on the town for the first time, it quickly becomes apparent that the writers are about to run out of ideas. The rest of the film lurches from sketch to sketch while trying to keep a semblance of a plot. “But Paul”, I hear you say in my head, “it’s just a silly comedy, don’t take it so seriously”. It may be a “silly comedy” but the premise is strong enough that had some actual effort been expended then it could have been so much more (even the title shows a lack of effort). By the time we get to the last twenty minutes, and the film struggles to pull itself together, it’s just kind of sad. We get the usual “what have we learned today” stuff that seems required and a pretty flat ending. Let’s be clear, it’s not that there are no laughs in Lets be Cops, it’s just that they’re the exception rather than the rule FINAL VERDICT 4/10 Potential concept wasted.

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Unknown 07:50  No comment