5+ Films To Look Forward To In January 2014

This one will include slightly more than 5 films what with it being award season and all...

1) Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom

The story of the great Nelson Mandela with incredible performances from all involved.

2) Her

A comedy about a man who falls in love with an operating system. It sounds strange but the story is oddly moving and relevant.

3) The Wolf Of Wall Street

This new Scorsese and DiCaprio film examines greed and corruption within the New York Stock Exchange.

4) August: Osage County

Based on a Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winning play by Tracy Letts, this star studded cast brilliantly portrays this incredibly dysfunctional family.

5) 12 Years A Slave

This film seems to be a sure bet for the awards this season, with Chiwotel Ejiofor giving the performance of a lifetime.

6) Inside Llewyn Davis

It's a Coen brothers film so it's going to be good.

7) Out Of The Furnace

Christian Bale plays a soldier who has returned from Iraq only to become part of the criminal underworld.

8) The Book Thief 

Based on the critically acclaimed book, this follows a little girl in Nazi Germany and the courage shown by her and her family.

So a few more films than usual but they all look pretty good. Anyway, have a happy and safe new year, and see you in 2014!!

Drinking Buddies (2013)

 As I've said before, I quite like it when a small indie movie pops up and I decide to watch it even though no one else I know has ever heard of or seen it before. This is one of those examples where, after hearing about it from a couple of movie festivals (and most recently the British Film Festival) I decided to give it a go. It seemed to have a good cast and a good storyline so why not?

 The film centres on Kate (Olivia Wilde) who works at a brewery with her best friend Luke (Jake Johnson) and follows their relationship and feelings for each. While it is obvious to all who witness them together that they like each other, the problem comes from the fact that they are both in relationships. Kate's boyfriend Chris (Ron Livingston) and Luke's girlfriend Jill (Anna Kendrick) cause problems for the two friends who must also deal with the complex feelings they have for each other and how this will affect their friendship and those around them.

 I genuinely went into this film with pretty high expectations. It has a great cast full of talented people that I have liked in their other projects and, in my opinion, I thought that this story could be a good basis for a nice little movie with a sweet story and message.

 Boy was I wrong.

 I found this film incredibly boring and lacking in any real drive or focus. This a problem that I imagine probably derives from the lack of script. Apparently this film is almost completely improvised during the filming process and this was pretty obvious throughout. I'm not saying that the dialogue is stinted or unnatural, more that its natural to the point of actually demonstrating how horrifically plain most normal conversations are.

 I was also expecting more drama and events taking place. However the majority of the film is people getting drunk and not really doing anything, or contains scenes that are full of the classic awkward 'I kind of like you but I can't do anything about it' scenes that you get in the majority of romantic story lines. The whole thing is just slow and uneventful.

The only redeeming factor is that the actors are actually pretty good. They all give good performances, it's just a shame that they can't use any of their talents towards a decent focus and just perform each scene as it is, without being able to properly link the story or have a good conclusion to aim for.

Overall, there may well be a reason why this movie hasn't really made any impact and I wouldn't make any special attempt to go and see it.

Cloud Atlas (2013)

After reading the book it seemed to me like it would make a really great movie, but only an absolute idiot would take on the  mammoth task of transforming these six completely different stories into a single movie. Well with three directors and an insanely long list of acting stars, this is the finished product.

 To describe this movie in a short paragraph seems like an impossible task, but I will give it a go. Essentially the film contains six different and apparently unconnected stories spread across time and space. These include a ship sailing across the South Pacific in the 1800's, an early 20th century composer in Scotland, a reporter in San Francisco in the 70's, modern day England as told by a book editor, Korea in 2144 and 'The Big Island' somewhere far in the future after the Earth has undergone a drastic change. That's about as much detail as you are going to get out of me but each story has its own intricate plot-line and its own special link to each of the others. The official description provided by the film makers (and Wikipedia) is 'An exploration of how the actions of individual lives impact one another in the past, present and future, as one soul is shaped from a killer to a hero, and an act of kindness ripples across centuries to inspire a revolution' so make of that what you will.

When I read the book I have to admit that whilst some of the stories were interesting, creative and engaging, some were just horrific. Some started well but went downhill, and some really didn't catch on until the final few pages, and this pacing problem was captured perfectly by the directors (all three of them). Thankfully, the film didn't take the route of the book where half the story is told and then you have to read through all of the others ones to get to the second half. No. This one decided to chop and change between stories so much that it was pretty difficult to keep up and follow what was happening in each element individually let alone how they were all connected. This was only added to by another aspect of the film which I personally think was overall a good choice, but was poorly executed, and that is the decision to give actors multiple parts across each of the stories. This just added to the confusion and detracted from not only the characters, but the story as a whole (if there was one).

 To continue talking about the actors, with a cast list like this you expect the best you can possibly get, and I don't think they disappointed. The element that I have an issue with involves the role the actors were given. Some of them were incredible. Ben Whishaw as the composer, Halle Berry as the journalist, Jim Broadbent as the editor and Hugo Weaving as basically all of the bad guys were great. Tom Hanks also gave great performances in all roles, but you would expect that from one of the greatest actors ever. The issue begins with the make-up. I can understanding casting a man as a woman when the make-up is effective, but something about the prosthetics and make-up in this movie was just a bit off. From every fake nose to strange wig to turning a white guy into an Asian (I will let you imagine what that looks like) it just all didn't quite work. This therefore completely ruined any performance given as all I could think was 'that look slightly racist'. As well as this, I feel that the performances were rushed which is in no way that fault of the actors; it just restricts what they are able to do. Overall, I felt that great performances were overshadowed by production choices and poor execution.

 To wrap this thing up, I believe that some of these stories could've been made into full length movies just on their own, and some don't deserve to see the light of day. This mixture of the good with the bad throws the whole movie off and makes what is already a long and complicated film even more so. It's a shame because some of the film is genuinely enjoyable; it's just surrounded by crap on either side.

ONE YEAR!!!!!!!

So after a year of seeing movies and writing reviews, I just thought I would take this opportunity to say

THANK YOU!!!!!!

for reading my opinions, excusing my spelling mistakes and having a look for the last year. Here's to many more!

5 Films To Look Forward To In December 2013

Also known as: Movies to watch instead of 'It's A Wonderful Life' and 'The Nightmare Before Christmas'

1)  The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

 Part two of the Hobbit series, and it's going to be just as good as the last one.

2) Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues

The game changing movie for Will Ferrell returns for another round this Christmas.

3) Frozen

Something to keeps the kids entertained, the new Disney animation about a kingdom trapped in eternal winter.

4) American Hustle

The new film from the director of 'Silver Linings Playbook' and 'The Fighter' tells the story of a con man forced to work for the FBI

5) The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty

Ben Stiller directs and stars in this film about Walter Mitty, a man who lives in daydreams and imagination.

5 Films (Plus A Few Extra) To Look Forward To In November 2013

So it seems that the potential Oscar films are starting to emerge from the pack, and some of them are out this month so why restrict it to 5...

1) Gravity

 What happens when you're just left floating in space with no real hope of ever getting back home? Well find out in this film that is already making waves across the world.

2) Hunger Games: Catching Fire

 Part two of the series is released this month and shows how Catniss and Peter cope with life after their Hunger Games victory.

3) Saving Mr Banks

 This biopic tells of the relationship between Walt Disney (Tom Hanks) and author of Mary Poppins, P. L. Travers (Emma Watson) during the production of the famous Disney movie.

4) Kill Your Darlings

 In his next attempt to remove himself from the HP franchise, Daniel Radcliffe stars in this movie about the beat generation poets and how a murder brought them all together.

5) Carrie

 The remake of the classic horror movie is due for release this month and based on their promotional tactics (if you haven't seen the video, go to YouTube and search 'Carrie prank') it's due to be pretty scary.

6) Don Jon 

 In his first venture as writer and director, Joseph Gordon-Levitt leads this movie about a porn addict and his skewed views of love and sex.

7) Philomena

Just because it's got Judi Dench in it.

Now You See Me (2013)

 'Now You See Me' is advertised as a movie about magic and I guess in a way it is (which is kind of why I watched the film. Please don't judge me). However, it also has a really good twist at the end (that I didn't see coming at all) with elements of drama, cop film, comedy and mystery. Therefore, I will try and review this movie without giving anything away so you can enjoy the movie just as much as I did.

Four magicians with differing specialities are brought together by a mystery magic expert and given a secret assignment involving using ever so slightly illegal methods to bring down various corporate people and fight against the FBI. Jesse Eisenberg, Isla Fisher, Woody Harrelson and Dave Franco play the four magicians managed by Michael Caine. However, they must compete with a famous critic renowned for revealing magicians secrets (Morgan Freeman) as well as being constantly chased by an FBI agent (Mark Ruffalo) and an Interpol detective (Melanie Laurent). That's probably about all I can tell you without ruining tricks or giving away the twist at the end of the story, so sorry but that will have to do.

Considering that this film turned out completely not how I was expecting, I really, really enjoyed it! There are twists and turns all the way through with a pretty huge reveal right at the end which really changes how you view the entire movie. Being the epic nerd I am, I also really liked the magic element. I love films like this and 'The Prestige' (if you haven't seen it then what are you doing? Go watch! Now!) and this movie definitely managed to keep up the standard of good magic movies (and before you say anything, I know there are some pretty horrific magic movies out there, but I am going to pretend they don't exist for the purpose of this review). The magic seems almost possible, even though it probably isn't, and ranges from close up, sleight of hand magic tricks to big theatrical events.

 The acting is also great and it's good to see great legendary actors alongside some of the current crops greatest talents. The only thing I will say about this movie is that looking back on it; I don't really see the purpose of Melanie Laurent's character in the movie. Maybe it is just my memory playing up, but everything that happens in the film would've happened whether she was there or not and, overall, she doesn't seem to really add anything to the movie.

 Other than that this film is genuinely a great movie. It keeps you guessing, is fun to watch and is very entertaining from start to finish.  

The Wolverine (2013)

 Why is it that at some point in a hell of a lot of movie franchises, the story and the characters end up going to Asia? Particularly in action movies. It seems to be that option that once you've run out of story lines that could occur in the place where the movie has been set previously, you have to throw in a few ninjas and samurai swords to make a new sequel worthwhile.

 This is exactly what has happened with the X-Men spin off franchise following Hugh Jackman as Wolverine in the movie following the character after the final movie in the original X-Men trilogy. After saving a soldier from the nuclear bomb that tore through Nagasaki, many years later this soldier turned multi-billionaire offers Wolverine the opportunity to get rid of his mutation and become normal so he can die and no longer have the curse of eternal life. However, as you would expect, not all is as it seems with Japanese gangs fighting for the science developed by this billionaires company, family members vying for inheritance and other mutants being a pain in the arse (rather like all of the other X-Men/Wolverine/other spin offs then).

 I personally don't see the point in this movie and here is why. The story doesn't need to be told. I understand why they made the first of the Wolverine movies. It told the story of how he became the mutant we all know and love (or don't) and it helped to explain a lot of the issues that came up with the character in the X-Men trilogy. However, that movie wasn't overly great to begin with (I'm not saying it was horrifically bad, I'm just saying it wasn't great) so why the producers thought another film was necessary with an even more unconvincing story and even weaker character arcs I really don't know.

 This film just helps to highlight that fact that the character is getting old for audiences and isn't really strong enough to merit a film of its own, let alone two. There's no denying Hugh Jackman is great as Wolverine but he needs to let it go, or at the very least just appear in the ensemble movies like everyone else. The story is weak, the characters are boring and the Japanese element just makes the whole film all the more frustrating.

 As an action movie it is not horrific. The sequences are decent with some being almost impressive. As well as this, the special effects are often very good with one particular scene standing out (it involves Wolverine reaching into his own chest and removing a bug that has been placed there by the bad guys). Having said that, none of this makes up for the complete lack of intelligence when it comes to the story. Parts are boring and pointless, others are nonsensical and idiotic (again, I understand that it is a movie with an based on fantasy but I still believe there needs to be some element of realism in there).

 Overall, this is probably the weakest film to have risen from the X-Men series. It's slow, weak and pointless and not worth seeing especially if you are a fan of the original films.

5 Films To Look Forward To In October 2013

1) Thor: The Dark World

The follow up to the first movie and Avengers promises more action and adventure from the Norse Gods.

2) The Fifth Estate

Starring Benedict Cumberbatch, this film tells the tale of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange and the information he leaked to the world.

3) How I Live Now

Based on the book of the same title, Daisy is an American teenager in England fighting to survive when war and conflict take over Europe.

4) Filth

From the minds that brought you Trainspotting comes a story of drugs, deceit and corruption within the police force with a tone to match that of the Danny Boyle masterpiece.

5) Sunshine On Leith

A musical featuring music by The Proclaimers, this film shows how two soldiers adjust back to life in Scotland after returning from the war in Afghanistan.

Total Recall (2012)

 Having never seen or really wanted to see the original Schwarzenegger version of this movie, I came to this version completely open minded. No previous films clouding my opinion or any references to elements of the original story, I watched this as a stand-alone film in its own right, and I am glad I did.

 'Total Recall' is the futuristic story of Douglas Quaid (Colin Farrell), a factory worker bored with his life who decides to visit Recall, a centre that delivers a form of memory replacement to clients, allowing them to have fake memories of experiences and events that never actually occurred. However, when he visits the centre (which is viewed kind of in the way drugs are viewed today) it is realised that his request to have the experience of being a spy isn't actually as fake as he thought, and the experience unlocks forgotten memories within Doug regarding his secret past. Action ensues with his real history being revealed, his wife (Kate Beckingsale) not being who she appears and government secrets and plans are unveiled in the process.

 To be completely honest I went into this expecting your run of the mill stereotypical action movie set in some dystopian future where the guy gets some girl and the bad guy dies and they all live happily ever after at the end of a load of action sequences that are generally pretty pointless and not all that inventive. This film, however, exceeded my expectations much more than I was expecting it to.

 The action sequences throughout are surprisingly original, and I especially appreciated those involving anti-gravity elements. Don't get me wrong, all of the action sequences are based in the classic elements, with a mixture of car chases, fist fights and gun shooting sequences. It is the futuristic feel that allows for the action to contain a twist and a creative aspect that can sometimes be missing when a movie is set in a different time period. The team behind this film have taken full advantage of the freedom that comes with this element and it has allowed what could be a stereotypical remake to become a really good action film.

 As well as this, the actors are all very well cast. Colin Farrell portrays the confusion of discovering a hidden past as well as being convincing as a serial killer/spy/whatever it is you want to call him. Kate Beckingsale is equally good at switching between the doting wife and her 'other role' (don't want to spoil it for you) and is equally matched by the performance by Jessica Biel (who I can't really say much about without there being spoilers).

 To round all of that off, the special effects are pretty incredible, especially when a lack of gravity is involved. The world they have created is convincing (for what it is) and all of the elements seamlessly join to create the perfect environment for the story.

 Overall, this film is a lot better than I was expecting and is, I feel, a good high paced action movie with a few twists and turns put in for good measure. I'm sure there will be some people out there who can and will compare it to the original and for fans of that film this may not be up to scratch. As I said (seen as I haven't seen the original) I can only say that as an individual movie, it is good and action lovers will enjoy it.

Jack Reacher (2012)

 To continue my rant about watching movies on a flight (see 'Admission' blog) it is safe to say that this one kind of stands out as one of the worst high altitude movie watching experiences to date. I made the mistake of starting this movie about 30 minutes before we were due to land in JFK airport. Rather naively I thought that, seen I was only in New York for a week, I would easily be able to pick the movie up where I left off on the flight home. This wasn't the case. After it taking about 20 minutes for me to find the point where I had left the film because the fast forward/rewind buttons were so crap, the film was constantly being interrupted by announcements, the person in front of me couldn't decide whether they wanted to recline or sit up and I kept getting bashed by the air hostesses trolley...and it also didn't help that I had forgotten most of what I had seen previously of the film on the flight out...and I was having a few jet lag issues. Put all that together and it makes for a pretty horrific flight and very few memories of a film that I apparently watched. Oh well, I will still give a blog a go and see what my memory can drag out about this film.

 'Jack Reacher' is based on the book 'One Shot' by Lee Child about a solicitor (Rosamund Pike) and an ex-soldier (Tom Cruise) who investigate the case of a rogue military sniper and his motives for killing five random innocent people. To put too fine a point on it, it's yet another Tom Cruise movie where he runs around and shoots people and drives a lot of fast cars. I would say that even without all my issues during watching this film, it would still quite easily have merged into the many other Cruise films of this nature that I have seen over the past few years. There's nothing hugely original about this film or the storyline and it doesn't stand out at all (just as a quick note, I haven't read the book so I have no idea how faithful it is or if the story in the book is better than the film). The 'twist' is predictable and all attempts to throw you off the scent are pointless and mediocre at best.

 The action sequences are fast and fairly adrenaline fuelled but, yet again, nothing particularly original that you can't find in any run of the mill action movie that Hollywood seems to churn out these days. To give credit where it is due, the fact that Tom Cruise still does all his own stunts is very impressive. Some of these seem pretty dangerous and anyone would be brave to even think about doing them. However, it's just more of the same old stuff from him, with no one else really getting the opportunity to show off. Having said that, I saw an interview with the two leads on a TV show a few months back and Pike stated that she had a stunt in the movie where she has to reverse and nearly hit Cruise and really made out like it was some intense sequence where he could've died if it had gone even slightly wrong. This couldn't be more of an over statement. In the film (if my brain remembers correctly) she reverses slightly (and quite slowly) and stops about 10 feet away from him so he can casually step into the passenger seat. It's hardly the opening sequence of a James Bond movie.

 Anyway, seen as I'm not convinced that my brain is completely accurate about this movie, I will leave it there. However, from what I remember, it is not great and it's not hugely horrific. Just another Tom Cruise action film that promises to be more than it actually is.

5 Films To Look Forward To In September 2013

1) Riddick

The next chapter of the sci-fi series that follows on from 'Pitch Black' and 'The Chronicles Of Riddick' shows Vin Diesel once again in his strange Riddick world.

2) About Time

The newest film from Richard Curtis follows Tim, a man who can travel through time, and decides to use this family gift to change his life and help him find love.

3) Rush

A film by Ron Howard showing the infamous racing rivalry between drivers James Hunt and Niki Lauda.

4) Thanks For Sharing

A group of unlikely friends meet whilst struggling to overcome addiction.

5) Blue Jasmine

The new Woody Allen film follows a New York housewife facing life's' struggles in San Francisco.

So as you can tell, September may not be the best for big blockbusters, but hopefully there will be a few gems to be found in the more obscure movies out this month.

Admission (2013)

 When you go on a long haul flight, sometimes it can be pretty difficult to keep yourself entertained, especially when you find yourself on your own on your way to America with 8 hours to fill on a cramped, noisy and bumpy flight. Thank God that some airlines (this one in particular happened to be Virgin Atlantic just in case you were wondering) provide some pretty decent films on-board to while away the mind-numbing hours of having to constantly get up so the person next to you can go to the toilet...again. From the multitude of movies and TV shows that Virgin In-Flight entertainment had to offer, this is the film that I chose (mainly because Tina Fey is a genius). Admission is about the admission process to college in America and what it takes to be offered a place at some of the countries, and the worlds, greatest Universities. Tina Fey plays Portia, an administration officer at Princeton whose job it is to search out the bright future minds that will wander the halls of this prestigious college. However, when John (Paul Rudd), a principal at what some may call an alternative school, puts forward an odd candidate, Portia must decide whether this kid is worth putting her job on the line for to make sure he gets the place he deserves. Oh and there's also the added factor that this kid may be the son she gave up for adoption, just a small spanner in the works.

 As may already be obvious, I am a bit of a Tina Fey fan, so my hopes for this film were pretty high. That being said, I wasn't overly impressed with it. I will go into detail as to why in a moment but I would just like you to bear in mind when you read this that if you have ever watched a movie on a plane you will know that it's not exactly brilliant viewing. I was constantly having to pause or rewind due to announcements about the food or how I could save 60p on some crappy duty free item that I didn't really need as well as being bashed in the knee by the god awful trolley the air hostesses seem to endlessly wheel up and down the aisle (the perks of having an aisle seat, ladies and gentlemen). Therefore, by the time I finished the film it's safe to say not much of it had gone in and I was in a pretty horrific mood which has probably influenced my view of this film slightly.

 Anyway, back to the movie. The acting is good and it has its moments (if brief) of comedy and humour. I wouldn't go as far as calling the movie a comedy overall (false advertising by Virgin In-Flight Entertainment there) but I guess it is a very sweet little film that can help pass a few spare hours. The story is kind of uneventful with not much really happening. Having said that, I imagine that the world of college administration isn't exactly high-octane and adrenaline fuelled so this attempt must be given some credit for making it at least vaguely interesting for a moment or two. One particular touch I did like was the scenes in which Fey's character is reading through the applications she has been sent. The idea to have Fey's character imagine the kids as she is reading is very creative and allows for some funny and also quite awkward moments.
 
 To move onto the acting, both Fey and Rudd give good performances and it is nice to see them both be funny in a more normal setting without the craziness that can be Hollywood comedies (Anchorman comes to mind). I wouldn't say that this is a brilliant performance for either of them, but they both pull it off very well and in a film with a more engrossing story, they could really make a good acting partnership.

 Therefore, this movie is a good, sweet little off-beat film that never quite manages to shine. It is just okay, nothing more and is probably only worth watching if you have seen most of the other films that are available to you and there is no way of escaping to do something more interesting.

Paranorman (2012)

 To put this as simply as possible, there seems to be a surge of movies involving zombies and the end of the world and all that kind of stuff at the moment. Therefore, it was only going to be a matter of time before this genre moved out of the scary horror movie world and into the animation category to scare and impress the kids as well as the adults. This attempt to create a boundary between kids' movies and the zombie apocalypse follows Norman (Kodi Smit-McPhee), a kid who has never quite fitted in at school, who is the oddball in his family and who seems destined to be perpetually alone. This seclusion, however, may not be entirely unfounded as Norman can see dead people (insert 'Sixth Sense' quote here). Whilst for the majority of his life this 'skill' has set him apart from the rest of his community, it becomes conveniently useful when he and his newly found 'friends' (including Tucker Albrizzi, Anna Kendrick, Casey Affleck and Christopher Mintz-Plasse) must save their town from the zombies that have been woken from the dead by some old witches curse that has haunted the town for centuries.

 To start with, the animation is very clever and creative. The decision to go down a road that makes the film almost appear to be a stop-motion animation film was one that I was oddly impressed with. It gives the film a very individual look, helping to separate it from previous animated movies and it also stylistically fits very well with the story. As well as this, the final few scenes are incredibly well animated and really emphasise the fantastical element of this part of the storyline (that sentence will become clearer should you decide to watch the film). Overall, the animation team have done a really good job with giving this film a individual feel as well as allowing the style of animation to become part of the story.

 All of the parts within the film have been cast well, with each actor or actress bringing something to the character. Whilst it is probably pretty difficult to voice an animated character badly (there is, after all, very little acting involved in a job where you're not even on screen yourself), it is at least an achievement to say that all of the actors contributed to the film and each character is an individual that is reflected in the acting choices.

 To say that this film is a masterpiece of the animation genre would be a gross over statement. It is nothing special and I feel any originality it may have had has now been overshadowed by the unfortunate release of 'Frankenteen' at roughly the same sort of time (another animated movie about the same sort of thing). However, it is still a good film with both funny and moving moments that is appropriate to watch with kids and won't scare the living crap out of them.

Man Of Steel (2013)

 As I have probably already stated somewhere in this blog, I am a HUGE fan of superhero movies. They always have great action, some good humour and quite often manage to include a good story as well rather than just showing off their special effect prowess. However, there has always been something about Superman that never quite clicked with me. Don't get me wrong, I have done my research. I have seen the majority of the films both old and new, I have witnessed the wide range of TV shows dedicated to retelling the story and I have sat through many an episode of the cartoon series. There has just always been something that hasn't impressed me. Something about the character and the story that doesn't quite fit. Having said that, I had extremely high hopes for this film. Directed by Zack Snyder of 'Watchmen' fame and produced by the legend that is Christopher Nolan (Inception, the Batman Series, etc.) this film really has no reason not to be incredible. Let's face it as well, after the last Superman movie, this one didn't have much work to do to be better than that.

 The story begins as most 'new' re-creations of superhero movies do nowadays, with the back-story of the character and how he came to be who he is. This one, however, takes it waaaaay back, and shows the destruction of Krypton and how this led to Superman being sent to Earth. It then shows Clark Kent's younger years and him learning of his powers and coming to terms with them before finally having to reveal himself to the human population when an imminent threat from his home planet attacks the Earth (sound familiar?). I know what you are thinking, and I agree. Originality is not a word that immediately springs to mind with this story, but when I saw this I didn't hold it against it and based my judgement on this movie and this movie alone.

 If there is one defining feature of this film, it has to be the special effects. They are genuinely incredible. Considering that quite a significant chunk is set on a distant planet, there wasn't a single second where it was obvious to me that any of the back drop was fake or anything else that had been CGI'd was anything other than real. This is the kind of standard that all forms of animation should be aiming for nowadays and Man of Steel has kind of showed everyone else up. As well as this, this film has finally managed to find an actor who can play Superman not only convincingly but well. Henry Cavill seems to have been born to play the role and is easily one of the best versions of Superman I have seen.

 Now onto the not so good stuff (and there's more than I was anticipating there to be). One. The story doesn't feel very complete. The writers have missed a huge opportunity to develop characters, include them in more aspects of the story and just generally create a more rounded film. Everyone from Lois to Jor-El (Superman's Dad played by Russell Crowe) seems to have been added on to a story solely focusing on how awesome Superman is. With such incredible acting talent in the cast, it seems like a waste to have made them stand in the background while Superman flies about a bit and essentially levels an entire city. This brings me on to my second point. The first half of this film is really good. It has a great story, good action sequences and a variety of characters for the audiences to follow. However, the entire second half of the film is one incredibly long action sequence with no real breaks or pauses. While some may find this exciting and it is exactly what they want from a film of this type, I am not one of those people. I found that at the beginning it was good but as it went on and on with no breaks or let up, it just got boring. Superman flying into people, destroying buildings and being all superhero-y gets very tedious after a while and it kind of ruined the film for me. Up until this point I had been enjoying it but this need to show off and demonstrate everything that can be done with special effects just brought the whole film down to its knees.

 Overall, it is not the worst Superman adaptation I have ever seen, but it is far away from the best, and it doesn't even come close to being one of the best superhero films I have seen. I just hope that for the next film they step it up, put ego and the need to show off aside and make a good film for the people who genuinely want to see Superman back at the top with the rest.

Oblivion (2013)

 By now, it would seem to be the case that Tom Cruise is pretty much incapable of doing anything other than your run of the mill action movie that is semi-successful but never really gets remembered. He's trying, bless him, but none of them really seem to stand out and make it to that place where the likes of 'Indiana Jones', 'Die Hard' and 'The Dark Knight' reside in the minds of movie goers. His latest attempt is the story of Jack, one man of a two part team who has been assigned to extract the final resources that Earth has to offer after the human race has left this planet and ventured out into space. However, after being told that the Earth is uninhabitable after years of war with an alien race, he discovers that this may not be the case and a crashed spacecraft may help his discover the truth and the real reason behind his stay on Earth.

 Not to be down-hearted to begin with or anything but I am not a fan of this type of film. Earth being uninhabitable, all humans leaving the planet, something's not quite right and it turns out there's some secret plot to take over the world and all that jazz. It's just been done too many times. God knows, even Pixar has gone there. So for me, this was just another rehash of the same storyline with a slightly different plot twist. *SPOILER* The ending was more creative than I was expecting, with it actually turning out that Jack is a clone and there are many versions of him looking after the planet. Oh, and they all happen to be highly trained soldiers. What a convenient coincidence! Anyway, as I said, the storyline overall is nothing special and nothing particularly new or imaginative.

 To turn an eye to the actors, again it is a typical Tom Cruise movie. He is good at what he does and it is still impressive how he does all the stunts and all that, but it doesn't stand out as one of his best performances. The performances by his two female co-stars, Julia played by Olga Kurylenko and Victoria played by Andrea Riseborough, are also equally good but don't stand out and (as is the case with every movie Tom Cruise is in) it is well and truly about him with no other character really being given the opportunity to shine. It's a shame that this is the case as I'm sure that the film could've been a whole lot better if there was just a bit more character depth.

 A final point would be that this is no special film, but I won't take away from it that fact that it does have some good action sequences that are well placed in the futuristic setting. The special effects certainly live up to the current standard and most of the action scenes are fast paced, high octane and adrenaline fuelled (a few action buzz words for you there). It's just disappointing that they didn't take this film further and really develop the storyline to make an original and innovative storyline that could've made this more than just your generic Tom Cruise okay action movie.

5 Films To Look Forward To In August 2013

It's time for the school holidays...

1) Red 2

This sequel to 'Red' follows retired agents who are forced to return to the world of fighting and spying.

2) Percy Jackson: Sea Of Monsters

Percy must join forces with some of his Godly friends in order to find the Golden Fleece and save their homeland.

3) Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa

This film finally takes the popular TV character to the big screen when the radio company Alan works for is taken over by a big corporation.

4) The Lone Ranger

The team that brought you 'Pirates of the Caribbean' returns with this movie following a Native American Warrior and a justice-serving Ranger.

5) Kick-Ass 2

The sequel to 'Kick-Ass' promises more violence, humour and comic book style mayhem.

So 2013 would seem to be the summer of sequels. Hope you enjoy them and have fun in the sun!

Sound City (2013)

One aspect of the film industry that I think can sometimes be overlooked is the documentary element. It's a shame that people often forget about documentary films as quite often they are interesting, engaging and filmed incredibly well. Some examples of great movie documentaries include 'An Inconvenient Truth', 'Supersize Me' and now, this documentary about a recording studio in California, 'Sound City'.

 This film tells the story of Sound City Studios, a famous music studio in the San Fernando Valley where classic albums from the likes of Nirvana, Elton John, Queens of the Stone Age and Fleetwood Mac were created and recorded. It's safe to say that this studio has one hell of a history and this documentary, directed by Dave Grohl of Nirvana and Foo Fighters fame, attempts to tell the story behind this incredible place.

 To be completely honest with you, I love music and listening to it and all that but I have absolutely no idea what goes in to making an album. Therefore, I was expecting the majority of this film to go way over my as rock legend that I had never heard of explained how mixing boards worked and how to find the acoustic sweat spot in a room (I hope those phrases are correct. If they're not, then I am sorry). On watching the film, the opposite occurred. I surprised myself by actually recognising a hell of a lot of people that were interviewed for this documentary. To add to the array of musical talent included, the tone of the film felt very inclusive. While many aspects of the film were clearly there for those who are interested in the production and creation of music and lyrics, it was still kept at an accessible level and not too technical to the point where even I understood it all.

 The story of the film was also done very well. It takes the viewer from the founding of the studios in 1969, through its illustrious time periods and it's rough moments, and on to today and what happened after Sound City closed in 2011. The passion for this studio is clear from the interviews that take place throughout the movie and really recreate that feeling in the viewers watching.

 The only down point that I really have about this film is the particular focus on the 'Neve board' which is a mixing console that has a specific sound and is considered to be the best desk and is highly sought after (thank you Wikipedia). While I am sure that for people who are truly passionate about this area of music this focus on the board is completely justified. However, as someone who is new to this kind of thing, I didn't really see the point and couldn't quite grasp what was so special about it. This may be just me though and my complete ignorance in terms of this sort of stuff.

 Overall, the documentary is certainly a good one. It is interesting, entertaining and manages to really show of the world of rock music and the impact that this studio had on it.

The Croods (2013)

 To continue the animation theme, the latest outing from the Dreamworks team is 'The Croods', an animation telling the tale of a family of cavemen who must try and find a new home after their cave was destroyed with a little help from a quirky stranger. With a voice cast made up of Nicolas Cage (Grug, the father), Catherine Keener (Ugga, the mother), Emma Stone (Eep, the daughter) and Ryan Reynolds (Guy, the helper) this film already has plenty of reasons why it should be good. But is it?

 In terms of originality (which I think is kind of important when it comes to animation) I guess some aspects of this movie really shine. For starters, the cavemen aspects hasn't really been done much, even in live action films, which allows for some new angles on situations and different jokes and scenarios. This is particularly evident in the comparison between the caveman family and Guy who is more evolved and more creative in his ways of thinking. The balance between the two occasionally creates some funny and also touching scenes. However, in most other aspects, the film is fairly predictable. The girl gets the guy, the stubborn Dad sees the error of his ways and a dysfunctional family becomes functional once again. At the end of the day though, seen as it is a kid's movie, there was no other way they could've taken it really.

 The animation is no better or worse than anything seen in the last few years, but a few scenes do stand out, mainly due to the fact that they are wide shots of landscapes. The animators quite clearly haven't attempted to stick to any sort of historical fact for this movie and this has allowed for a great deal of imagination which comes across strongly in the creation of the people, places and animals in this alternate world. These extra touches and the room given to the creators for invention leads to some funny and at times astoundingly visual scenes, adding to the overall feel of the movie.

 To compare it to other CGI films released over the past few years it is nothing special. A few slight moments may make it stand out when compared to the others, but it can't really emerge as one of the top animation films seen recently. That being said, it is still a good film with periods of humour as well as more serious scenes making it a film to watch if you have nothing else to really do.

Wreck It Ralph (2012)

 Before I start my review I should probably just pre-empt this with a confession. I quite literally know nothing about video games and even less about arcade games. Therefore, I feel that the majority of the references in this movie may have gone over my head a bit. However, that aside, let's get on with it. Wreck-It Ralph (John C. Reilly) has always been the baddy in his arcade game with Fix-It Felix (Jack McBrayer) but has long desired to be the hero that everyone loves. In his attempt to leave his villainous past behind he visits the other games in the arcade to search for a medal he can win to show the others he really is a good guy. However, things don't quite go to plan with an angry sergeant from 'Hero's Duty' (Jane Lynch), glitched racing characters (Sarah Silverman) and other game related problems.

 In comparison to most other animated movies, Wreck-It Ralph certainly manages to hold its own. It is funny, interesting and there is something about it that makes it feel original and creative. This may be the environment and the decision to base the movie on arcade games. It is surprising that this is the first time anyone has made a movie on this subject matter as it seems to be a treasure chest of opportunities for the animation format with many potential storylines and characters.

 All of the characters fit perfectly with the storyline and each actor cast to portray these roles do so incredibly well. One that particularly stands out is Jane Lynch as Sergeant Calhoun, the female lead in the Hero's Duty arcade game. She is tough, strict and takes no prisoners. This type of character seems a perfect fit for Lynch and she plays in incredibly well.

 It's pretty safe to say that nowadays, viewers expect the best from the animated films that they go and see. This definitely delivers with great landscapes and clear and smooth action and characterisation. One thing I especially like is the inclusion of pixelation to keep in line with the graphics of some of the older classic games.

 Overall, this is a great animated movie. If I can say that whilst not getting the majority of the gaming references, I'm sure it's probably a lot better for those who enjoy playing these kinds of games in real life. This is definitely worth a watch for everyone whether you like gaming or not.

Welcome To The Punch (2013)

 'Welcome To The Punch' is another movie to add to the already overflowing category of British gangster films. Max Lewinsky (James McAvoy) has dedicated his career in the police force to capturing Jacob Sternwood (Mark Strong), an infamous London based gang boss. Years after Sternwood has injured Lewinsky and gone into hiding, his son is killed in a heist gone wrong. This forces Sternwood to return to London and gives Lewinsky his chance to finally arrest the man that has become his obsession.

 Now I like a good London gangster film, and there are some pretty good ones out there. This, however, does not fit into that group. I won't start with the bad stuff though, that can wait. To shine a slightly positive light on the movie, it does have some decent action sequences. There's plenty of shooting and car chases to keep people happy (which is probably a good thing really). To mention another positive factor, the acting is pretty good from all members of the cast. In particular, Mark Strong yet again gives a good performance as the bad guy but with a bit of a twist.

 To move onto the bad points, there are many flaws to this film, but I will just focus on the main points to save time. There is no real development of the story, any of the characters and there is no real originality to the whole movie. They seem to have neglected some of the most important aspects of telling a good story for shoot-outs, speeding cars and punch-ups. Everything that happens is utterly predictable and lacks any form of imagination or creativity. The characters are lifeless and dull and any attempt at a back story or development is half hearted at best. I tend to find that with action films they are better if you get behind someone and are willing for them to succeed. With this film, I just didn't care about any of them. I guess that means it's probably a good thing that the film itself is fairly short, lasting a total of 90 minutes (or thereabouts), so the pain of watching the movie isn't too extensive and drawn out. It's only an hour and a half of your life that has been completely wasted.

 Therefore, to sum up, I guess it's pretty obvious what my general opinion of this movie is. Don't waste your time with it. If you are bored and want to watch people shooting at each other without really having to think about it too much, then maybe this film will meet those requirements. But even then, nearly every other British gangster film would probably be a far better choice.