In the current age of cinema of over the -top computer generated commercial cinema, Christopher Nolan offers an alternative mix of action, emotion with an added hint of art-house cinema.
Previously Nolan has taken us back to the 19th Century, a fictional city (Gotham) and a trip into the mind of ones conscious. in 2014, space is the new venture and within this journey he has employed Matthew McConaughey (Cooper) and Anne Hathaway (Amelia), David Gyasi and West Bentley (Doyle), and not forgetting TARS, the intellectual AI machine, to search for a new habitat in an interstellar adventure.
The film is set in dystopia future where the crops are being plagued with blight and dust. Earth has also succumbed to propaganda in order to set a false sense of security and economical distribution by suggesting that NASA are no longer in existence and that all ventures into space were nothing more staged performances.
Michael Caine is of course back (his sixth film with Nolan), and his role in the film as Professor Brand is to persuade Cooper onto his ship to help prove his theory, and to save the Earth.
The film is epic! Interstellar adventure involving complex quantum theory with help from the theoretical physicist, Kip Thorne. The science is sound, and the adventure is huge, but there is definitely something missing; the story. It starts well, but there are some many errors and the plot holes are larger than any supernova.
The film starts well, but ultimately falls flat near the end with many, 'what', 'how', moments.
I'm still a big fan of Nolan's work, but I would not rank this epic within his top 5 films, although it is better than his previous effort, 'The Dark Knight Rises'.
Wednesday, 12 November 2014
Wednesday, 15 October 2014
Annabelle
My first review in a long, long time (in a galaxy far, far away)...
Annabelle, a spin-off from the 2013 film The Conjuring, stars Annabelle Wallis as the mother Mia and Ward Horton as her husband. The couple are expecting their first child together, they have everything prepared, the room, the dolls, and so on...
One night an incident occurs which leads to the couple left shell-shocked. After this incident the mother found strange happenings, all related to their creepy doll...
This is not the most original film you will see this year, with the inclusion of demonic dolls, possession, the 'been there, done that person', and the religious guy that acts as the counter-weight in regards to good and evil.
If you love horror films, then you would probably find this subdued, although the rest would find this a 'jumpy' watch, unfortunately this is another case where the best bits are in the trailer, reducing the element of surprise.
Annabelle, a spin-off from the 2013 film The Conjuring, stars Annabelle Wallis as the mother Mia and Ward Horton as her husband. The couple are expecting their first child together, they have everything prepared, the room, the dolls, and so on...
One night an incident occurs which leads to the couple left shell-shocked. After this incident the mother found strange happenings, all related to their creepy doll...
This is not the most original film you will see this year, with the inclusion of demonic dolls, possession, the 'been there, done that person', and the religious guy that acts as the counter-weight in regards to good and evil.
If you love horror films, then you would probably find this subdued, although the rest would find this a 'jumpy' watch, unfortunately this is another case where the best bits are in the trailer, reducing the element of surprise.
Friday, 18 April 2014
The Amazing Spider-Man 2
The second Spidey film directed by the aptly named Mark Webb has Andrew Garfield reprising his role as the conspicuous protagonist, this time he joined by an array of idiosyncratic enemies.
The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) was the first film in Webb's reboot of Sony's owned Marvel franchise; just five years after Sam Raimi's ill-fated Spider-Man 3. After viewing the trailer for this picture and finding out that there would be three adversaries, I was reminded of the aforementioned 2007 flop, so I my expectations before the film were of a mix bag.
The first villain we are introduced to is the mad criminal Aleksei Sytsevich; wearing a black tracksuit and dotted cut-line tattoo on his fore-head, driving a truck containing bio-hazardous chemicals; this is a man not to be messed with, especially as he armed with an AK-47. Paul Giamatti is almost unrecognisable. In total Giamatti's screen time only accounts to four minutes, including his appearance in the Rhino mechanic suit.
Friendship plays a major factor in this film with the class-dividing old buddy relationship between Peter Parker and Harry Osborne, whom has returned to New York and Oscorp after years at boarding school and travelling. The chemistry between Garfield and Dane DeHaan is believable compelling. The relationship and break-down of the characters is similar to that of Rami's version, but whereas it took three films for Harry Osborne to don the Green Goblin getup, he is introduced in this film.
Gwen Stacey, Parker's intelligent love interest is perhaps the most interest and intriguing relationship as the characters deal with the complexity of young love, personal issues, education and moving away as well as keeping his word from Gwen's father to 'stay away'.
Jamie Foxx's character, is the misunderstand character of the film, and despite Harry Osborn's decent into insanity, Max Dillon is a lonely and forgettable punch-bag whom you remorse for. His transformation from a intelligent 'nobody' to an enraged electrical charged super-villain is nothing more than far-fetched, but the character is portrayed in a convincing manner by Foxx, but this is also attributed by good character building. Electro portrays a powerful antagonist for the web slinger as he tests Parker's strength, memory and brain. The progression from a character is clearly mentally unstable and is obsessed with Spider-Man, a man that is recognized every where in New York, compared to himself whom no one knows exists is interesting, but I personally think the film picks up many flaws when we see the character's power evolve.
Overall the film is spectacular and is the most epic Spider-Man film ever made with a bold state of intent from Sony to Marvel Studios that this is their franchise and its here to stay.
Though 3D is nothing more than a gimmick in modern cinema, but admittedly it does have its moments in free-fall sequences and boy does this film milk them as the film feels more like a virtual reality simulator.
A must see over the Easter weekend; good character development, but is slightly flawed and rushed in parts.
8/10 - but I am being nice!
The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) was the first film in Webb's reboot of Sony's owned Marvel franchise; just five years after Sam Raimi's ill-fated Spider-Man 3. After viewing the trailer for this picture and finding out that there would be three adversaries, I was reminded of the aforementioned 2007 flop, so I my expectations before the film were of a mix bag.
The first villain we are introduced to is the mad criminal Aleksei Sytsevich; wearing a black tracksuit and dotted cut-line tattoo on his fore-head, driving a truck containing bio-hazardous chemicals; this is a man not to be messed with, especially as he armed with an AK-47. Paul Giamatti is almost unrecognisable. In total Giamatti's screen time only accounts to four minutes, including his appearance in the Rhino mechanic suit.
Friendship plays a major factor in this film with the class-dividing old buddy relationship between Peter Parker and Harry Osborne, whom has returned to New York and Oscorp after years at boarding school and travelling. The chemistry between Garfield and Dane DeHaan is believable compelling. The relationship and break-down of the characters is similar to that of Rami's version, but whereas it took three films for Harry Osborne to don the Green Goblin getup, he is introduced in this film.
Gwen Stacey, Parker's intelligent love interest is perhaps the most interest and intriguing relationship as the characters deal with the complexity of young love, personal issues, education and moving away as well as keeping his word from Gwen's father to 'stay away'.
Jamie Foxx's character, is the misunderstand character of the film, and despite Harry Osborn's decent into insanity, Max Dillon is a lonely and forgettable punch-bag whom you remorse for. His transformation from a intelligent 'nobody' to an enraged electrical charged super-villain is nothing more than far-fetched, but the character is portrayed in a convincing manner by Foxx, but this is also attributed by good character building. Electro portrays a powerful antagonist for the web slinger as he tests Parker's strength, memory and brain. The progression from a character is clearly mentally unstable and is obsessed with Spider-Man, a man that is recognized every where in New York, compared to himself whom no one knows exists is interesting, but I personally think the film picks up many flaws when we see the character's power evolve.
Overall the film is spectacular and is the most epic Spider-Man film ever made with a bold state of intent from Sony to Marvel Studios that this is their franchise and its here to stay.
Though 3D is nothing more than a gimmick in modern cinema, but admittedly it does have its moments in free-fall sequences and boy does this film milk them as the film feels more like a virtual reality simulator.
A must see over the Easter weekend; good character development, but is slightly flawed and rushed in parts.
8/10 - but I am being nice!
Tuesday, 24 September 2013
Borrowed Time
So a few weeks ago I managed to watch an exclusive showing of a new British drama, Borrowed Time. The film is set in London and explores the lives of two complete opposite individuals; one an old miser whom has a fondness for taxidermy, and the other an adolescent male that tried to burgle him - which is how the two meet. The purpose for the burglary was to steal enough loot to pay off an unwanted debt which has resulted on a proposed bounty on his head.
The film is heart warming and offers many laughs along the way, but you soon realize that both characters have many demons that need to be resolved.
Perhaps not the most compelling of film dramas you will watch this year, and it is not without its bizarre moments, but none the less the feeling of both animosity and friendship between the two protagonists is what makes the film an interesting watch.
The film is heart warming and offers many laughs along the way, but you soon realize that both characters have many demons that need to be resolved.
Perhaps not the most compelling of film dramas you will watch this year, and it is not without its bizarre moments, but none the less the feeling of both animosity and friendship between the two protagonists is what makes the film an interesting watch.
Monday, 19 August 2013
The World's End
The third in the 'Cornetto' trilogy, The World's End is definitely worth a watch. Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and Edgar Wright all return to write, direct and star in this apocalyptic comedy. Joined with some other big British names such as Miranda Pike, Martin Freeman, Paddy Considine, Eddie Marsan and Pierce Bronson. The film is about a group reunited back in their home town to complete a pub crawl known as the golden mile; a feat they failed at when they were in their teens. The films starts of very light-hearted with a melancholy feeling that may help one to reflect upon their own life and achievements, but it does go off course and all seriousness is lost half-way through once the introduction of 'robots' are introduced.
A solid effort and plenty of laugh-out loud moments, but it falls short of previous efforts of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz; films I would love to watch over again and still get a laugh. TWE however is an unfortunate end to the trilogy, though it does score a respectable 7/10.
Wednesday, 26 June 2013
Man Of Steel
It's here, the biggest blockbuster of the summer, MAN OF STEEL; the reboot of Superman.
Henry Cavill stars as Kal-El/ Clark Kent and superb as the super-extraterrestrial from Kyrpton. The film is directed by Zack Zynder whom is famous for previous comic-book adaptations such 300 and Watchmen, but the big name behind The Dark Knight trilogy Christopher Nolan was involved as a producer, and is evident as his fingerprints are all over this in terms of story (co-written by Nolan and David Goyer) and overall appearance and nature of the film. Though comic book films have evolved dramatically from the days of Schumacher's box office flop Batman & Robin, blockbusters today have seen to become filled with over the top CGI action, and MOS is no different.
The story is about the a young man hiding from the world as his human father Jonathan Kent (Kevin Costner) warns him that the world is not ready to see his abilities and powers, and the scenes involving Kevin Costner and Clark Kent (young and older) are perhaps the best parts of the film, adding to any emotion and character development that the film severally lacks.
One major flaw with the film is that character development should be longer and the action sequences are too long to the point of which I found myself yawning.
The opening scenes of the film set on the planet Krypton was very bizarre with flying dragon-like creatures and overblown effects, and planet reminding me of another DC movie, The Green Lantern.
The acting was good all round, with Louis Lane the love interest played by Amy Adams (The Fighter), Russel Crowe as Jor-El (Superman's father), Michael Shannon as General Zod and Lawrence Fishburne as Perry White, head of the Daily Planet. The character development for Lane seems very shallow and extremely rushed and even though it is obvious at some point in the film their would be romance between her and Superman, the romantic chemistry seemed to spark very spontaneously. The real reason perhaps the sluggish character development might be because of much more will be explored in a sequel, which has been perfectly set-up from the end of the movie.
Any one going to see this film, watch out for the following Easter-eggs:
- a truck that is destroyed contains the logo 'Lex-Corp', a possible hint to the next villian
- The satelite destroyed by Zod contains the Wayne Enterprise logo.
7.5/10
Henry Cavill stars as Kal-El/ Clark Kent and superb as the super-extraterrestrial from Kyrpton. The film is directed by Zack Zynder whom is famous for previous comic-book adaptations such 300 and Watchmen, but the big name behind The Dark Knight trilogy Christopher Nolan was involved as a producer, and is evident as his fingerprints are all over this in terms of story (co-written by Nolan and David Goyer) and overall appearance and nature of the film. Though comic book films have evolved dramatically from the days of Schumacher's box office flop Batman & Robin, blockbusters today have seen to become filled with over the top CGI action, and MOS is no different.
The story is about the a young man hiding from the world as his human father Jonathan Kent (Kevin Costner) warns him that the world is not ready to see his abilities and powers, and the scenes involving Kevin Costner and Clark Kent (young and older) are perhaps the best parts of the film, adding to any emotion and character development that the film severally lacks.
One major flaw with the film is that character development should be longer and the action sequences are too long to the point of which I found myself yawning.
The opening scenes of the film set on the planet Krypton was very bizarre with flying dragon-like creatures and overblown effects, and planet reminding me of another DC movie, The Green Lantern.
The acting was good all round, with Louis Lane the love interest played by Amy Adams (The Fighter), Russel Crowe as Jor-El (Superman's father), Michael Shannon as General Zod and Lawrence Fishburne as Perry White, head of the Daily Planet. The character development for Lane seems very shallow and extremely rushed and even though it is obvious at some point in the film their would be romance between her and Superman, the romantic chemistry seemed to spark very spontaneously. The real reason perhaps the sluggish character development might be because of much more will be explored in a sequel, which has been perfectly set-up from the end of the movie.
Any one going to see this film, watch out for the following Easter-eggs:
- a truck that is destroyed contains the logo 'Lex-Corp', a possible hint to the next villian
- The satelite destroyed by Zod contains the Wayne Enterprise logo.
7.5/10
Friday, 24 May 2013
IRON (FE) MAN part 3
The first big blockbuster of 2013 IRON MAN 3 is officially out and is an epic conclusion to the trilogy.
Starring Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark aka. Iron Man along with Gwyneth Paltrow and Don Cheadler also reprising their roles with the addition of Guy Pearce, Ben Kingsley and Rebecca Hall as new additions.
The film is very unlikely to win best picture at next years Oscars, though best SFX is a more probable with nearly every scene having some sort of visual effect to 'wow' the audience; so necessary, others just gimmicky. My main problem with this film is that it has lost its appeal as believable. Ok, so a man in a custom-made flying suit is not exactly real, but the first film made you actually believe such a thing could be possible as you saw Stark building and testing the first Iron Man suits, with some funny and epic results. In Iron Man 3 how ever there are several suits, all of which are remote controlled (so need for any one to actually be in them) but also the parts are remotely connected and can literally 'fly' onto Stark at his command even if he is half-way across America.
Iron Man 3 is defiantly worth a watch though as it has many twists and turns that some times leaves the audience confused as to how the film will end; though it is always obvious that the good guy will prevail and the bad guy will fall. The choice of villains are very well cast, though the inclusion of exploding enemies is not something I am big fan of.
7/10
Starring Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark aka. Iron Man along with Gwyneth Paltrow and Don Cheadler also reprising their roles with the addition of Guy Pearce, Ben Kingsley and Rebecca Hall as new additions.
The film is very unlikely to win best picture at next years Oscars, though best SFX is a more probable with nearly every scene having some sort of visual effect to 'wow' the audience; so necessary, others just gimmicky. My main problem with this film is that it has lost its appeal as believable. Ok, so a man in a custom-made flying suit is not exactly real, but the first film made you actually believe such a thing could be possible as you saw Stark building and testing the first Iron Man suits, with some funny and epic results. In Iron Man 3 how ever there are several suits, all of which are remote controlled (so need for any one to actually be in them) but also the parts are remotely connected and can literally 'fly' onto Stark at his command even if he is half-way across America.
Iron Man 3 is defiantly worth a watch though as it has many twists and turns that some times leaves the audience confused as to how the film will end; though it is always obvious that the good guy will prevail and the bad guy will fall. The choice of villains are very well cast, though the inclusion of exploding enemies is not something I am big fan of.
7/10
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