The Imitation Game

No, THIS is the last film of the year.. And it's taken me ages to see it.

Still off for Christmas and a golden opportunity arose. The cinematic planets aligned as it were.. 

1) It's Tuesday, so only £5 at the Odeon.. 

2) Liz is having her hair done at 9.30am (for four hours!).. And 

3) I'm still on Christmas break and find myself at a loose end.. 

The Imitation Game it is then. 

This film charts the life and work of Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch), an English mathematician, and his contribution to cracking the German enigma machine during World War Two. Alan Turing is a social outcast (as most geniuses are) and initially struggles to fit in with the other members of the team put together by Mark Strongs MI6 agent, Stuart Menzies. Mr Strong is one of the many excellent support who include Kiera Knightly, Matthew Goode, Rory Kennier and Charles Dance. 

Norwegian director, Morten Tyldem, who was responsible for the excellent Headhunters does another fine job with this one. It's a fascinating story, shocking and ultimately very sad. 

I enjoyed it and it's the best new film this Christmas by a long way.. 

**** Movie.
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Big Eyes

The Christmas movies have been lame to be honest.. I've had all this time off and there's not been one film I wanted to see twice... (some of them I wished I hadn't seen once!)

This is the second film of today (and possibly the last one of the year..)

It's Tim Burtons latest production and featured a couple of fine actors. Amy Adams plays Margaret, an artist...sorry, THE artist responsible for the 'Big eyed children' paintings of the 1950's and 60's.. And along comes Walter Keane (Christoph Waltz) a failed landscape artist who pursueds Margaret to marry him and let him take credit for her paintings in order to sell them (well it was the fifties).

I enjoyed this film.. Mainly because I'd see such a pile of crap over the Christmas period I was desperate for anything half decent.. And to be fair that's all this was really... Half decent.. 

It had its moments. The court scene towards the end of the film was funnier than the ENTIRE length of  'Dumb & Dumber To'.. But ultimately it was pedestrian.. Which is a shame..

Overall *** 1/2 

Paddington

Here we have the future of cinema tickets.. (give it time..)

I've been stalling going to see this one since it came out back in November.. (the trailer was responsible for that..) But after the glowing reviews in both podcasts I listen to and the billboards plastered with high praise I finally caved in..

We start off in darkest Peru in black and white and an explore comes across a pair of bears. After a while he befriends them and introduces them to marmalade and quaint British ways.. Cut to present day and the offspring of said bears is homeless and embarks on a journey to Britain.. Arriving here he's taken in by the Brown's and all hilarity ensues.. apparently..

OK, it had to moments. Compared to the recent spate of so-called 'comedies' this raised one or two laughs (which is more than can be said for 'Dumb and Dumber To'). It had a certain charm about it and the humour was 'british' for sure. But the end of the day it's a kids film and really all the slapstick got on my nerves a bit.. Not bad... But not brilliant (contrary to movie posters)

Overall an entertaining *** movie.

Exodus: Gods And Kings

O

Here I am again in Pret having just come out of the traditional Boxing day movie offering.. This time it was Ridley Scott's latest swords and sandals epic.. Hot on the heels of 'Noah', this biblical tale concerns Moses and his adventures.. We start off with Moses (Christian Bale) and his Brother, Ramese  (Joel Edgerton) on the battle field.  It reminded me of the battle at Germanier at the beginning of Gladiator (only not as good). During the fight Moses saves his brothers life (as profesised) and things get a bit awkward on their return home.. One thing leads to another and it's revealed that Moses is in fact a Hebrew, would you believe it, and not Ramese biological brother.. As Hebrews are generally regarded as slaves Moses is cast out into the wilderness never to be seen again.... 

He wanders off, meets an attractive lady and gets married that night (which I though was a bit fast to be honest.. I'm not sure if that's the done thing in biblical times but I think he should have at least gone on a couple of dates..).

Jump forward 9 years and after an unfortunate 'goat chasing' accident he ends up in a mud slide next to a burning bush.. Up pops a young, rather eloquent lad who informs him he's God and Moses should head back and free up the Hebrews.. If you want to know the rest read the Bible..

The performances from Christian Bale and 'Richard Burton look-alike' Joel Edgerton are perfectly acceptable. The film has all the sweeping, majestic visuals I've come to expect from Sir Ridley. The CGI armies and landscapes have come a long way since Gladiator.. 

I've gotta be honest my Bible knowledge is a bit rusty to say the least. Not that it would help though. This film is ultimately rubbish. It's more 'Kingdom Of Heaven' than 'Gladiator'. Which is a shame because I really needed something to lift me from the recent 'Night At The Museum' and 'Dumb And Dumber To'..

Anyway another **1/2 disappointment..

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Dumb & Dumber To

I was in the queue for a coffee, knowing the film was going to start any second and I found myself not really bothered by the fact I may miss some of it.. It was almost as if I felt duty bound to see it.. I remember the first Dumb and Dumber with fondness.. Hell, I even bought it on VHS. This one starts off twenty years after the first film and we find a distraught Lloyd (Jim Carrey) in a care home being visited by Harry (Jeff Daniels)... As it turns out Lloyd's been faking illness as a long joke on his pal.. (if you've seen the trailer you've seen this gag... In fact if you've seen the trailer you've seen ALL the gags..) I could go on plot wise but I just can't be arsed.. 

My main problem with the film is that it just wasn't funny... At all.. I'm trying to think of any funny moments but I can't.. Perhaps I'm not it's target audience as I was 20 years ago.. Perhaps I just don't get it.. Like 'Mrs Brown's Boys' and 'The Inbetweeners'... 

I don't know... Maybe I'm getting too old for this sh$t?

Overall a disappointing *1/2 star movie. Not bad in an offensive way.. just bad..

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Night At The Museum 3

After a late start and a trip to ASDA down the bay I was left with a limited selection of movies to choose from. It was either Dumb and Dumber to, Paddington or this... This was the lesser of three evils..

I grabbed a bottle of water from Tesco's and a coffee from the kiosk and headed in.. 

In case you didn't know this carries on from the previous two and we find Larry (Ben Stiller) and the gang heading off to London to find a 'cure' for the sickening magic tablet which has started to develop rust..

I have a fondness for the first 'Night at..' movie.. The second less so.. This one continues with the law of diminishing returns a'la 'The Mummy trilogy', 'The Matrix trilogy' and let's not forget the travesty that is 'Transformers' and all its abominations..

I should have guessed what the tone of movie was going to be by the trailers... amongst which was 'Sponge Bob', 'Shawn The Sheep' and 'Pepper Pig'.... That's right, 'Pepper Pig'... Since when did this become preschool fare? In order to capitalise on its appeal to the younger audience the comedy seemed more slapstick.. The performances more childish (embarrassingly sentimental at times).. It had its moments.. I can't quite put my finger on why I disliked it.. After all they've dumbed down The Expendables franchise from an 18 to a 12a to cache in on the teen audience..

It's a shame really because this is both Robin Williams and Micky Rooney' last movies. They along with Dan Stevens and Rebel Wilson added some gravitas, but in the end were reduced to purely comedic characters ... 

Overall a disappointing **1/2 stars..

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Blade Runner

Blade Runner

After grabbing an eggnog latte from Newport's Starbucks cafe I settled down to watch the greatest film ever made* 

The young lad who served me asked what I was watching. 'Blade Runner? Never heard of that one..' What?

What is it with the kids these days..

Any way I settled down to a 3/4 full cinema (I expected it to sell out as with Cardiff but this was fine..)

I'm not gonna bother with a synopsis as this film is 32 years old (32?!!?!) and it's still as poinient as ever..

It's a 5 star film, I don't need to say any more. I have it on VHS, Region 1 DVD, Region 2 DVD, Blue RAY, Digital copy and even HDDVD..!?

I noticed a few dialogue changes for the special addition.. Most notably 'I want more life Father.' (instead of fucker).

Thinking back to when I first saw this film with my dad, I remember my initial impressions weren't too favourable.. The Star Wars trilogy were THE films to see at that time and watching a miserable Han Solo chasing bad guys around a damp and dark city and shooting women in the back didn't appeal to a 14 year old, spotty teenager... As time progressed and I learned to understand what the hell was going on it evolved into the masterpiece it now is.. I'm hoping the same will happen to Interstellar... 

Still the best film ever. *****

*in my opinion..

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Hobbit: the battle of five armies

Haven't managed to get many in this weekend so here's the first..
This film carries off straight after The Desolation of Smaug with no introduction or 'previously on..' blurb so if you haven't seen the last two you won't have a clue.. Which is good in some respects because it jumps straight into the action.. No dwarfs washing up in this one. To say too much would be plot spoilers if you haven't seen the other films..

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Interstellar (2nd viewing)

Thought I'd give this one another chance.. 

There was an interesting point made by one of the cast in the film. He said the problem they have is Gravity.. That's my problem too.. I.e Gravity is a far superior film..

A slight improvement but it's still only 3 1/2 stars for me..

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Penguins Of Madagascar (3D)

It was this or Paddington.. And, despite what all the reviewers are saying I've seen the trailer for Paddington...

After an initial blip with the 3D transfer the projector was fixed and 30% of the light was removed.. (seriously, you saw the screen go darker..!)

It stated with our young, penguins chicks carrying off an audacious 'egg' rescue.. Cut to several years later and the penguins find themselves (and all penguin kind) being hunted by John Malkoviches Dave, a criminal mastermind octopus.. Along comes 'the North Wind', an undercover organisation run by Benedict Cumberbatch's Agent Classified.  Their job it is to protect animals who can't protect themselves (including penguins)..

To be fair this was quite entertaining.. Some people would argue that the penguins are the main talent in the Madagascar movies... and I'd agree.  There's an on going joke regarding Daves octopus henchmen and their names.. For example Dave would bark orders like "Nicolas, cage those penguins" and "Kevin, bake on. We're still going to need that victory cake." There was definite humor in the script..

Did it pass the universally accepted minimum 6 laughs?... umm... It was close..

Overall a sound 3 star filler..

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Whiplash

Another Screen Unseen movie at my local Odeon... And another cracker.

This isn't due out until January 16th next year so this is six weeks before official release.

OK, brief synopsis. Young, talented jazz drummer (Miles Teller) joins a music college where he is mentored by..... well, a nutter basically (J.K.Simmons) who will stop at nothing to get the best out of his pupils..

I was blown away.. It's another occasion where I see a film I wouldn't normally pay to see.. This works well with Cineworld because I don't pay for to see any of the films there, but at £5 I'm willing to put myself in the capable hands of the Odeon group. Both leads were outstanding (Mr Simmons line in insults were particularly amusing!) and the film was riveting right to the end.. This together with Nightcrawler goes to show that Odeon are on to a good thing with their Screen Unseen. Whether or not they can maintain this quality remains to be seen, but I'm willing to go along with it for now.

I'll be very surprised if this film isn't drowned in awards come next year..

Overall a resounding **** stars (I'm tempted to go ****1/2... We'll see...)

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What We Do In The Shadows

.. echos in eternity..  It doesn't, but that title always reminds me of the line from Gladiator.

Liz was working for Lynn's catering today so it's was just Laura and I travelling down to Cardiff. Films here are a rarity these days.. And by the time we arrived my options were limited to say the least..

This film is what I would class as a filler. The sort of film I'd watch when I'd seen everything else and had a couple of hours to spare. What is commonly known as a mockumentary it's involves a camera crew filming 'fly on the wall' style, a group of vampires who share a house in New Zealand (or flatting as they call it).

We follow them around as they go about they're daily (night) life and all the mishaps they get up to (including an encounter with a group of werewolves "not swear wolves").

The film was consistently funny with several laugh out loud moments. I loved it. I'd heard good things about it and wasn't disappointed..

Overall a hilarious **** movie.

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The Hunger Games: Mocking Jay part 1

Having seen the previous two Hunger games movies (and enjoyed them) I felt it necessary to continue with the franchise... as you do.. 

We start the film where 'Catching Fire' left off. Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) finds her self in District 13 along with some of the other contestants from the last 'games'. All out revolution has broken out and the Capital are trying to maintain order by force.. 

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Interstellar

This time last year I was suffering from my 'Gravity' addiction.  All other movies were crushed by its sheer awesomeness... 

Consequently this one had a lot riding on it. Ever since the aforementioned 'Gravity' finished it's cinematic run I've been waiting for a film to pick up the batton.. It had all the ingredients required.. Christopher Nolan, Sci fi .. That's all the ingredients required.. Memento is one of my all time favourite films and together with 'Inception' this was in the bag... or so I thought... 

It's difficult to describe the plot without straying into spoiler territory so I'll make it brief.  Set in the 'not to distant' future we find Cooper (Matthew McConaughey),a single parent looking after two teenagers, Murph (Mackenzie Foy) and Tom (Timothee Chalamet). Earth is slowly turning into a dust bowl and the only food unaffected by blight is corn. The Space program has been shelved (due to costs) and Cooper (an ex pilot) earns a living by repairing agricultural machinery.. Basically the outlook's grim.. Then one day, (due to spoiler heavy, plot devices) Cooper stumbles upon a secret NASA Base just up the road.. Run by his ex mentor (Michael Caine) and daughter (Anne Hathaway) they enlist him to pilot a spaceship with crew on a mission to find a new earth.. Turns out they've discovered a worm hole just outside Saturn and they want to see where it ends...

This film has divided both critics and the publics opinions.. And as it turns out I'm divided too.. On the one hand you have the sheer spectacle and visual effects. A lot of people have commented on its emotional resonance regarding the relationship with Cooper and Murph.. I too felt a sense of loss at the 2 hours and 45 minutes I'll never see again.. That's probably a bit harsh but that was one of my main criticisms of the film.. It was way too long. 

In its defense I think the problem with the film was down to me.. I went in expecting Gravity 2... Another punchy, sci-fi romp with ausome visuals and an emotional heart at its centre.. What I got was all the right ingredients but the mixing bowl was just too big and consequently they had to fill it up (probably with flower and water)

If I get the chance I'll definitely see it again.. And hopefully in a better frame of mind.

Overall 3 1/2 stars..

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Ouija

Here's a classic example of me, rushing to see a movie just because Liz has shown an interest.

That and the fact it was Orange Wednesday and Laura and Carlton were going.. It was a no brainer..

I'll get the synopsis out of the way before I start on my opinion.. Stop me if you've heard this one. At the start we find two kids playing with a ouija board. Nothing scary happens and we cut to the present day. Here we find one of the kids (now adult) has played with the board on her own and ends up killing herself.. (that's not a plot spoiler).. Anyway after the funeral a group of kids (teenage fodder) get together and try to contact the previous victim via the ouija board.. 

The girls loved it..I think I've seen too many horror films and have become desensitised.. I wasted an hour and a half watching the bloody thing I don't think I'll waste anymore time reviewing it.. It's nothing that hasn't been seen before...

** movie (it was rubbish but it wasn't painful rubbish..)

Fury

Another one for Graham and myself. He saw the trailer and liked it..

This film focuses on a American tank and it's treck into Germany during the last days of World War 2.. It's crew, lead by Brad Pitt's Wardaddy have to take on a new member after a particularly nasty run in with some Nazis leaves them one man down.. 

This film picked up the baton passed on by 'Saving Private Ryan'.  It has the same realism and grittyness. There's a particularly good scene involving a duel with a tiger tank which is worth the admission fee alone. That, and an excellent performance from Shia LaBeouf.. Which, let's be honest is quite rare..

Overall it was an entertaining ***1/2 star movie.

The Babadook

Arrived in Cardiff about 2.30 today, and as everyone had already had their fill of the big city I decided to head on in and catch a film.. on my own... again.

This one centers around a widow, Amelia (Essie Davis), her 6 year old son Samuel (Noah Wiseman) and their struggle to come to terms with the death of the husband/father (Benjamin Winspear).

I've seen enough horror films over the years to know it's rare these days to get a new idea.. This one isn't.. But that's not a bad thing. It had the appearance of a low budget flick in a similar vein to 'Brain Dead'.. It's very creepy and a real slow burner.  The film had a grey, desaturated look about it..There was no real 'jump out of your skin' moments but it was still disturbing.. 

Both leads are excellent, and for a six year old Noah Wiseman is definitely one to watch out for. 

Overall I enjoyed it.. ****

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Nightcrawler

The problem with watching a movie at any cinema OTHER than Cineworld is that I have to 'make the money to buy a ticket'.. Luckily I only had to make £5.71 in order to purchase this ticket for Odeon's first 'Screen unseen/ Mystery Movie Monday'. According to the email I received "they think I'd really enjoy this film".. As it turns out, they were right..

After the poster and teaser trailer it was pretty obvious what the film was.. I've been quite impressed by Mr Gyllenhaal's previous movies. 'Source Code' was a no brainer (Duncan Jones and Sci fi!?) and he was particularly disturbing in the recent 'Prisoners'. Here he once again does 'creepy' very well.. When we first see Lou Bloom (Jake Gyllenhaal) he's basically a human magpie, steeling drain covers and fencing for scrap.. He tries to get a job with the scrap dealer but is bluntly informed "I not gonna employ a f*cking thief..". Then one evening he stumbles upon a car accident being filmed by Joe Loader (Bill Paxton) and decides that's the career for him..

Lou Bloom is a interesting character.. He's very intelligent and well spoken.  Imagine if Paul McKellar had read nothing but his own self help books (and lost a lot of weight as a result)..  His lack of 'people skills' and total disregard for most of the people around him make him very unnerving. You're never sure if he's going to snap and do something really bad.. 

This film also has some equally unnerving performances from the supporting cast (Rene Russo and Bill Paxton are the ones I recognised). They're also particularly unsavoury characters.. 

Mostly shot at night, the film has a similar look to Drive, being mostly artificial light..

It was excellent. Gyllenhaal's performance was sublime..

It's not a blockbuster so it won't be around for long.  But I'm glad I saw it..

Definite **** movie..

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Dracula Untold

Second and final film today and I was looking forward to this one.
Probably down to the fact that I'm a fan of Luke Evans (Vlad/Dracula) after his performance in 'The Hobbit' and that he's a Welsh bloke too.
It starts off with a bit of back story (Vlad's previous job involved some.... erm... impaling). But now he's a devoted husband and father and also Prince to the kingdom of Transulvania. He'd put all that 'impaling' business behind him... until along comes Mehmed (Dominic Cooper) the Turkish leader and former chum of Vlad. He demands that Vlad hand over 1000 lads for his army he's putting together, oh and throw in his own son while he's at it.. Needless to say it all kicks off and Vlad heads up a mountain to get some 'advice' from Charles Dance (the Master Vampire). If you've seen the trailer you know the rest..
I can't understand why so many people have taken a dislike to this film (see IMDB). I kind of enjoyed it.. This could be down to my love of the Welshman, but I think it's probably more to do with the fact that I haven't seen a decent film of this genre in a long time... Let's be honest I haven't seen A film of this genre let alone a decent one. Granted this is no Gary Oldman Dracula.. But at the same time it's no Dracula 2000..

Overall an entertaining ***1/2
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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Here I am, sat in Cardiff Castle.. making the most of my castle passport before it expires on the 20th October having just witnessed Michael Bay's latest car wreck of a movie..
After sitting through some God awful trailers (Nativity 3 and Paddington) I settled down and prepared for the onslaught... Now you see, there is my problem. Just because Michael Bay is attached I shouldn't write off the film before I've even seen it..

OK, plot.. We start off in present day New York and there is a growing threat of unrest perpetrated by a group know as the Foot gang..?! (yeah, they don't sound particularly intimidating do they?) One evening our lead lady, April, a news reporter (played by the ever gorgeous Megan Fox) witnesses a gang robbery foiled by a vigilante.. It later transpires that in fact there are 4 vigilantes who are Turtles who have been living in a sewer.. They've mutated into human like forme and been trained in the ancient art of ninjitsu, by an equally mutated Rat... You still with me?

Now if you're familiar with the story (like me) then so far, so good. The problem is when, as with all Michael Bay films you find it's littered with ridiculous moments where characters make outlandishly bad decisions or say monumentaly stupid things. For example there is one action packed scene where everyone is plumeting out of control, at high speed down a snowy mountain face in a articulated truck, being chased by Humvee's full of bad guys..That I can except (yeah, even the over doing of CGi!). When suddenly our heroine, April leans out of the window to take a photo...! Now, I'm a keen photographer (just ask the disgruntled wife!) but even I wouldn't have contemplated that.. It's moments like this that take me out of the movie..

For some reason this movie reminded me of 'The Amazing Spider-man' (the new franchise) and not in a good way. To be honest it was rubbish. It had Michael Bay stamped all over it... Product placement galore (he even managed a 'Victoria Secrets' gag in the end credits) and moments so bad I cringed.

But, despite all that I still kind of enjoyed it. There were one or two laughs and the action was packed! File it under guilty pleasure.. ***





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The Maze Runner

The girls were working today so I thought I'd grab a film at the local Odeon. It was a toss up between this and 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' and this one clinched it on its better seat allocation..

I jumped on the bike and was at the cinema in 3 mins. After getting a coffee, I took my seat next to a particularly oderous youth in a particularly full screening... for a change.. 

Thanks to my Cineworld card and far too much time on my hands I've managed to see pretty well every one other the current batch of grim,distopion,end of the world,teenage movies that are doing the rounds.. You know, 'Hunger Games' (1 and 2) and 'Divergent' (although I did miss 'The Giver')..
In this one we find our protagonist, Thomas (Dylan O'Brien) thrust into the centre of a large maze where he's greeted by Gally (Will Poulter) and an assortment of teenage boys..

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Gone Girl

Stuck in Hereford this weekend so I thought I'd take advantage of the Odeon's 40% off deal (£5.90's better than a tenner!) and catch this little doozie.

I'm a fan of David Fincher. I rate 'Fight Club' as one of my all time favourites. Plus 'Panic Room' and 'The Social Network' are excellent examples of their genre..
Based on a best seller, this one see's Ben 'New Batman' Afleck and Rosamond 'The Worlds End', 'Jack Reacher' Pike as a couple of married writers, Nick and Amy. The relationship starts off well as they always do until, on their 5th wedding anniversary Nick arrives home to find Amy gone...  He calls the police, as there are signs of a struggle and when they turn up the plot starts to develop.... and develop it does..
Without giving away any spoilers , this was one of those films when you have to concentrate.. No nipping off to the loo half way through.. I enjoyed it. Both Ben & Rosamond are excellent and 'a little creepy' so you never know who to trust. There's twists-a-plenty and I was on edge throughout most of the movie waiting for that '18 certificate' moment... Which never really happened... Granted there was the odd gore and bad (very bad) language throughout, but I think it must have been the sexual violence that granted it it's certificate.. That being said the ending almost left it open for a sequel..

Overall another **** movie for Hereford's Odeon..

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A Walk Amongst The Tombstones

This was an interesting one... If it had starred anyone but Liam Neeson it would have been a generic thriller.. Liam plays a clique.... sorry, retired cop and alcoholic, who now is an unregistered private investigator.

His services are called upon by a drug 'trafficker' when the said traffickers wife is kidnapped and subsequently murdered (despite paying a ransom..!)

Turns out this isn't the first kidnapping and as the plot unravels things start to kick off. 

I'm not quite sure what to make of this one.. On the one hand it's very formulaic and routine. The dialogue isn't particularly good and, as well as the basic premise the film is littered with cliques... But on the other hand you have Liam Neeson. To his credit he does add a certain gravitas to the film. At six foot something you can't really avoid him. Plus with him there you know someone's gonna get punched.  This was more 'The Grey' than 'Taken'. There was no 'edge of your seat' action and the pace wasn't relentless.. 

That being said it was still an entertaining ***.

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Before I Go To Sleep.

Can't remember the last time I saw a good amnesiac thriller (bum,tish!).
Memento being the benchmark by which all are compared..
In this one Nicole Kidman is Christine Lucas, a woman who every morning wakes up remembering nothing of her past as the result of a traumatic accident.. Throw into the mix her husband (Colin Firth) and Doctor (Mark Strong) and you have 'top quality' actors..
There's a twist I didn't see coming and that always impresses me. The mood is somber and sinister, and in the end it was entertaining..

Rating ***1/2
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I Origins

Got to Cardiff in good time today so I thought, as its my birthday I'd get a film in.
I hadn't heard anything about this one. Basic plot goes something like this.. Ian (Michael Pitt) is a biologist whose specialist field is eyes. He and his lab partner Karen (Brit Marling) are trying to find how the human eye evolved and is not a product of 'intelligent design'. Throw into the mix Sofi (Astrid Berges-Frisbey) a young woman who Ian falls for and it all goes pear shaped..
This film started off quite slowly and at one point I was wondering where it was heading.. Then it threw in an interesting theory and the film went in a different direction..
Overall it didn't turn out as I imagined and consequently made me think about it long after I'd seen it. It's ignited my interest for 'Another Earth' now so I'm going to have to look that one up..

Overall an intelligent ***1/2 star movie..


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The Equalizer

Finished at lunchtime today so I thought I'd catch a movie at the local Odeon. This one has no connection to the TV series of the same name.  Edward Woodward didn't make a cameo appearance (he is dead after all) and neither did the excellent Steve Copeland theme tune (unfortunately).

A brief synopsis goes thus... Denzel Washington plays Robert McCall, an everyday man working at a U.S. version of B&Q and spending his evenings alone in a 24 hour Cafe reading. It's here he bumps into Teri (Chloë Grace Moretz), a young prostitute under the control of Russian gangsters. When she's violently beaten up for assaulting a client, McCall approaches the gang and offers to buy Teri's freedom.. Needles to say they don't accept his offer and it all kicks off.. (as it does). 

If you haven't already figured it out by now it becomes apparent that McCall hasn't always worked at B&Q (unless he's had some advanced training in dealing with customer complaints!?)..

I'll come straight out with it... I liked it. Its slow and brooding... Which I'm a fan of. The action is visceral and brutal in places.. Denzels good as always, plus the head henchman is pretty intimidating too..

Overall easily a **** movie.

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In Order Of Disappearance

Cinema trips are a bit thin on the ground these days so I've got to be a bit more choosy in what I see.
This ones a case in point. I could have seen 'Lets Be Cops' or 'Guardians' (again!) but instead I opted for a Norwegian, subtitled, dark, comedic thriller (as you do)..

In this one we find Stellan Skarsgarrd as Nils Dickman, a snow plough operator whose son is found dead as a result of a drugs overdose. Nils knows his son was not an addict, and as the police are not interested he takes it upon himself to find the person responsible. As a result he instigates a war between two rival drugs gangs along the way..

I'm becoming a fan of Norwegian films after the excellent 'Headhunter' and recently the 'The Keeper Of Lost Causes'. This one is not on par with 'Headhunter' but it is well shot and has an entertainingly dark streak of humour running through it.  Stellan Skarsgarrd is excellent as expected, as is Bruno Ganz as Papa, the head of the Serbians.  It's Pal Severre Hagen who has all the best lines though. He plays 'the Count', a vegan, estranged father of 1, insane gangster who starts the whole thing off. 

Like i said, it's not up to Headhunter standard but I still enjoyed it, even if it was perhaps a little too long. Overall ***1/2

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Lucy

Round 2 and Graham was quite keen to see this one.. Didn't quite pan out as he hoped..

I've seen Scarlett Johansen in all sorts of roles lately and this started off in typical fashion.. She plays the title character Lucy and we initially find her in Hong Kong being coerced in to delivering a case to a Mr Yan by her 'boyfriend'. One thing leads to another and she ends up a drugs mule along with 4 other guys. After an altercation the package bursts releasing some of its contents into her system.. Turns out it's not your average drug and before we know it she's developing a particular set of skills (if you know what I mean). Along the way Morgan Freeman turns up to explain the science bit and it turns into a European chase movie (kind of).
Scarlett Johansen once again proves she's the goto girl for tough action heroines or weird ones... Or both.
The film romps along at a reasonable pace but, for me goes a bit too sci-fi for my liking (too sci-fi?). If they'd kept it a bit more grounded in reality I think it would have worked better for me.
That being said it was still fun. Another ***1/2 movie for today..


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The Keeper Of Lost Causes.

First of today's double bill and it was a toss up between this and 'Lets be Cops'.. I think I made the right choice..

This ones in a similar vein to 'The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo' (the original version) in that it's Swedish and noir.
A grizzled cop, following the death and crippling of two of his colleagues, finds himself 'reassigned' to department Q. A newly developed department where previously closed cases are analysed and filed. He then focuses on one particular case and decides to re investigate it along with a new assistant Amman.
I enjoyed this one. It was gritty and atmospheric with a general 'grey' tone.. The main leads were very good and the suspense built up well at the end..
Overall ***1/2


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Into The Storm

Got to Cardiff in time to catch a film so I thought I'd try this one out.

 We start off at a school graduation ceremony and then along comes the storm. Throw in a couple of hill billies, some storm chasers and various found footage and basically it's 'Twister' for today's generation. Script and acting are below par and what you have is a TV movie. Granted, a TV movie with some excellent effects but not much else.. 

**1/2 movie..

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Expendables 3

Just came out of this one with Graham and it was as expected.
I won't even bother with a plot synopsis because... well really? The Expendable franchise is not known for its complex and engaging plots..

Sly and 'the Staith' reprise their roles as Barney and Christmas. Along with Randy Couture, Terry Cruze and Dolph Lundren. Into this cacophony we have Arnie, Harrison Ford (replacing Bruce Willis as the CIA contact) and Mel Gibson as the baddy. It's what you'd expect... 

Cheesy one liners.. Check!

Macho muscle flexing... Check!

Outrageous over the top bad guy... Check!

To be fair, Mel Gibsons probably the best thing in this film. It's an entertaing romp and I enjoyed it to a degree. Unfortunately the 12a rating has dampened some of the fun the previous 2 films had..

Rating ***
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Guardians Of The Galaxy (2nd viewing)

Wasn't expecting to catch a film today but as luck would have it, we made it to Cardiff and into town with time to kill..
I think this was better second time round.. Still not 'The Avengers' but then what is..?
Still a ***1/2 movie if ever I saw one (nearly ****)..

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Hercules

This is the second 'Hercules' film I've seen this year... but we don't talk about the other one..

This is Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnsons take on the legend.  Here we find our hero a mercenary accompanied by a band of merry 'men'.  He's called apon by various kings and landowners to deal with pirates and bandits and, using his legendary status (with the aid of Lolaus, a story teller played by Reece Richie) manages to instill fear into his foes.. 

He's then called apon by Lord Cotys (the ever reliable John Hurt) to dispose of Rhesus, a Centaur who's band of horse/bandits are causing carnage throughout the land.. as y'do..

My suspicions where arroused when Peter Mullan appeared as Sitacles, Lord Cotys first in command.. 

Not that he's typecast or anything but..

Anyway, you know the rest of the plot.. 

It's a testament to how much I enjoyed this film in that I completely forgot it was a Bret Ratnor movie. It didn't take itself too seriously and, along with the help of Ian Mcshane, Rufus Sewell and Joseph Fiennes was an entertaining 98 mins.

Overall ***1/2

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Guardians Of The Galaxy (3D)

I was really looking forward to this one.. 

This is Marvels 'space opera'. It starts off with Peter 'Star Lord' Quill (Chris Pratt) as a small child being abducted by aliens after his mother has just died.. Cut to 26 years later and he's on a planet about to steal a mysterious orb. He escapes the clutches of Ronan (Lee Pace's) hoodlums lead by Korath (Djimon Hounsou) and heads off to some planet to sell it. 

Along comes Rocket (a raccoon voiced by Bradly Cooper), his side kick Groot (a tree voiced by Vin Diesel) and Gamora (a green alien played by Zoe Salander). There's some shenanigans and they all end up in prison..  Where they bump into the fith member of the Guardians, Drax (a meat head played by Dave Bautista). To say anymore would be plot spoilers but needless to say they break out..

The problem with this film was that I was expecting this years Avengers.... And it wasn't.. That's not to say it didn't have it's appeal. It was funny, the action set pieces were very good and the CGi was as good as expected for a movie of this budget.. 

Overall a ***1/2 star movie

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Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes (3D)

Another gorgeous day in the Welsh capital and after seeing this one I took a leisurely ride down the bay.

I couldn't make up my mind up wether to see this or Richard Linklaters 'Boyhood'. It was a close call, particularly as I suspected 'Boyhood' wouldn't be showing when I next visited the cinema. But, as it turned out, this one was a doozie.
First, a brief bit of background. If you've seen 'Rise Of...' this one picks up the baton 10 years after. The planet has been ravaged by 'Simeon flu' and only a small minority of humans are alive. As there sources of power are dwindling they send an expedition up in the hills to see if they can kick start the hydro electric dam system. And it's during this trip they encounter the apes who have survived and are now a thriving community.
One thing leads to another and an uneasy truce is agreed apon. Needless to say if the truce had remained it would have been a fairly mundane movie. Luckily (for the viewer at least) the unease in both the Ape and Human camps comes to a head and if you've seen the trailer you know what happens.
Unlike 'Rise' the full plot wasn't revealed in the trailers and as a result the movie was probably better for it. Andy Serkis reprises his role as Caesar, and once again shows why he's the 'go to' guy for motion capture.. Gary Oldman plays the bad guy but you do sympathise with him to a degree.  The good/bad line is definitely blurred, even the 'bad' ape has perfectly valid reasons for his behaviour..

The effects are outstanding. Some much so, you forget they're CGi apes and just go with it. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Another 'intelligent' blockbuster and after 'Transformers 4' it's good to see they still make them..

Overall, an entertaining ****.

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How To Train Your Dragon 2

After yesterday's movie left a sour taste in my mouth I was looking for something to cleanse the pallet.. This one seemed to fit the bill and from what I can remember the first one it was quite entertaining.. 

This movie takes place 4 years after that one and Hiccup (Jay Barachell) and his dragon are off exploring the boundaries of there world and mapping it.. It's during one of these trips that he bumps into a group of Dragon Catchers and learns that there's a Viking, Drago (voiced by Djimon Hounso) who's building a dragon army.. Anyhoo, one thing leads to another, Hiccup's long lost (assumed dead) mother turns up (Cate Blanchette with an occasional Scottish accent), dragons fight dragons.. All of which can be seen in the trailers..

The question is what did I think of it? I can remember seeing the previously mentioned trailers and not being too impressed. As with most animated movies these days they're not made for 45 year old movie bores with nothing better to do on a hot July Sunday morning... And as Rutger Hauer's Batty eventually accepted his fate on the rooftop at the end of Bladerunner so too have I (albeit without grabbing a falling man with one hand and holding a pigeon in the other..)

There were moments in the film that were genuinely moving, the dragon bonding with Hiccup was particularly nice. The animation was excellent and the size of the Alpha Dragons was conveyed well on screen.. Overall it was pleasant way to spent an hour and a half.. ***

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Transformers: Age Of Extinction

.... or Transformers 4 to you and me..

Right, before I give my opinion I'll give a quick synopsis.. 

I missed the first minute of this one but when I finally sat down there was a scene involving dinosaurs being wiped out by alien spaceships.. Cut to 'the Arctic' and some scientists (Sophia Myles... mainly) have discovered a 'DINOBOT!'.. Next thing we are in 'Texas, USA' and 'down on his luck', single dad, scrap collector/inventor Cade Yeager (Mark Walberg) is trying to make ends meet. You know, send his daughter to college, put food on the table and other such clichés.. When, low and behold he finds Optimus Prime.. I could go on but really, director Michael Bay spends more time and money on catering than he does on 'boring' things like plot and character development..

Pretty well every critic has hated this movie and, in their defence that's easy to understand as the film is basically shit.. Let's be honest Michael Bay has made him self an easy target by churning out rubbish films like this.. I know he doesn't care what critics think but I'm not one. And he obviously doesn't care what I think either. Again though, I'm not the target demographic.. That being said even when I was a 12-18 year old spotty teenager I still would have been disappointed with this. Especially if I'd forked out £10 to see it..

My main gripe with this movie is that it was too loooooooooong...... Way, way, way, way, way, WAY too long... At one point I was pleading with them to make it stop.. It reminded me of the Penrose Stairs where you keep going on and on and can't get off.. If they'd cut at least an hour off it would have been a far more acceptable movie. There was a point in the film where I glimpsed a moment that reminded me of the first Transformers film. And in doing so I glimpsed a moment of hope.. But it was fleeting and soon lost in the constant barrage of chase, followed by fight, followed by girl screaming, followed by chase (did I mention chase?)... There was a problem with the last film (just one problem?) Ok, one of the many problems with Transformers 3 was concerning the end 'fight scene' (which, quite literally sucked my will to live). During that hour long, monotonous, boring and generally soul destroying scene, people complained that it was difficult to see who was punching/shooting who (really? Is that all they complained about?). Anyway, they've managed to get over that problem in the new film by colouring the 'new Decepticons' red and/or blue... At least I think that's what they did..

Ok, the special effects where good.. Actually, very good in parts.. That being said they were also very bad in parts too. They tried to emulate a scene in one of the previous movies where the Transformer 'Bumblebee' transforms in slow-mo whilst catching one of the cast. Here they jumped over a bridge and it was laugh out loud bad! But this is all immaterial when the dialogue and acting is so poor, I could have done a better job myself.. I didn't notice a single ugly person in it.. All the women wore short shorts or mini minis.. It cost $200,000,000 (allegedly) and god knows what the hell they spent that on? It certainly wasn't clothing.. or script.. or plot..  If they'd cut out an hour and a half of fighting/car chasing/girl screaming I may have given this ***. As it stands *1/2 is being generous.. 

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22 Jump Street (second viewing)

Yeah, still funny..
****

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3 Days To Kill

I really shouldn't read reviews before seeing a movie... You know, make my own mind up.. Try not to be lead..

Here we have another viewing with Graham. Bit of detail first. Starring Kevin Costner, Amber Heard, Connie Nielson and Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit and Enders Game). It's directed by McGee (whose Charlie's Angels 2 was truly awfull..!) and Luc Besson's wrote and produced..

To start with we find grizzled CIA hit man Ethan Renner (Kevin Costner) falling ill during a 'hit'.. As it turns out he's got cancer and given a few months to live (no, not 3 days). So he decides to travel to Paris to make peace with his astranged wife (Connie Nielson) and teach his daughter (Hailee Steinfeld) to ride a bike.. Whilst over there he is approached by his boss (the gorgeous Amber Heard) and told there's an experimental, potential cure that she'll provide him if he performs one more kill (you still with me?) Anyway Kevin coughs a lot and kills a lot and that's it really.. It was a bit tedious to be honest and lacked the grit and all out power of Besson's Taken (which it clearly wants to be).

Overall, a forgettable **...

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X-Men:Days Of Future Past (3rd viewing)

Just got home in time to miss this downpour... 

Third time for this one and, despite the plot holes still loved it. The set pieces are outstanding. The fact that I can remember and list them says it all.. I enjoyed "Edge Of Tomorrow"(twice!) but this one still beats it.  Blockbuster of the year so far.. Bring it on "Guardians"!

Still ****

22 Jump Street

Sequel's are notorious for being rubbish.. I could reel off a list to prove this point but I don't need to...

So it was with treppidition that I went into this one.. Particularly after I enjoyed the first movie more than I expected..  

This is basically a remake of the first film... In fact, they take great pleasure in pointing this out on numerous occasions. Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum again play Scmitt and Jenga (respectively), two useless cops who infiltrate a college in order to catch a drug dealer. Throw in Ice Cube as their constantly angry and hilarious boss and it has the potential to be good..

And it was.. It romped along, beating the '6 laugh Wittertainment minimum' before half way. The drug trip and 'investigate other people' scene's stick in my mind. The end credits alone scored more than 6 laughs (I always get Jonah Hill and Seth Rogan mixed up!)

The quality dipped slightly in the end chase/fight routines and if it hadn't it would have been a 4 1/2 star movie.. As it turns out its a VERY respectable (and hilarious!) ****

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Edge Of Tomorrow (2nd Viewing)

The answer to 'will I see it again?' is obviously yes. And this was better the second time.. Still too much 'shaky cam' but it didn't bother me as much..
And was that Lara Pulver in the crowd at the end? Yes according to IMDB. Didn't see her anywhere else in the film though.. (cutting room floor probably..)

I think I'm gonna upgrade this to ****.

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Maleficent (3D)

It's rated PG and you can see it's target audience are typical Disney fodder.. That being said there was a certain amount of darkness in amongst the fairy dust..
Ok, the fairy tale begins with two kingdoms, one where the humans live and the other were the magical things dwell.. One day a young boy wanders over into the magical realm where he bumps into a young fairy (with particularly large wings!). They become friends and grow up into Stefan (Sharlto Copley) and Maleficent (Angelina Jolie). Then one thing leads to another and before you know it things turn bad...
Firstly, the good points. This film looked gorgeous... Some of the early, sweeping shots reminded me of Avatar.  Angelina's performance and make up are the highlight of the movie for me. She looked both beautiful and scary..
On the downside perhaps the film was a little too gorgeous. Some of the scene's look 'fake'. I wasn't sure if that was down to the CGI or the 3D.  But it is a fairy tale after all. (also, was it me or did Sharlto develop a Scottish accent half way through the movie..?!)
Ultimately though, I enjoyed it. It was definitely one to see on the big screen..

Rating ***1/2
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Edge Of Tomorrow

As is well documented in my 'Cinema-log', I'm a sucker for science fiction.. My favourite films are science fiction.. I've seen my fair share of good and bad too.
This one is Doug Liman's latest. I wouldn't say I'm a big fan, but I loved "The Bourne Identity" and "Mr and Mrs Smith".. Heck, I even bought "Go" on DVD..! But after "Jumper" didn't quite hit the mark I was a little sceptical..
Ok, synopsis.. Tom Cruise plays Major Cage, a member of the military in rank only.. He has no combat experience and acts as a promotional tool to increase enlistment so to speak. Due to a plot device which I won't go into he ends up on the front line of an invasion to retake Europe. Here he's pretty much killed instantly.. But, by some twist of fate wakes up back in the barracks.. To relive the invasion...

Think Groundhog Day + Source Code, throw in some Matrix (particularly the Alien design) and a bit of Gears Of War... And voilà! And this is my main problem with the movie. Both Groundhog Day and Source Code did it better.. Here again is another case of 'trailer spoils film'. I was waiting for the bit where "this happens" and "that thing explodes" and "Tom blows up a caravan"... etc..
That's not to say I didn't enjoy it though.. I'd watch Emily Blunt read 'Stationary Engine Weekly' magazine.. And the action romps along at a fair pace.. The question is would I see it again?
I'm not sure.. I've gotta rate it ***1/2.. mainly because it's a science fiction film, featuring Emily Blunt and time travel..
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