RIPD review

Ryan Reynolds and Jeff Bridges star in this comedy action film that literally dazzles your eyes with amazing camera work! I commend you Robert Schwentz!! Brilliant direction!

After the back-to-back box office flops that were "Green Lantern" and "The Change-Up", the struggling leading man really could have used another hit in the vein of "Safe House". R.I.P.D, in my opinion, is a good comeback film for the actor. In contrast to popular belief (also known as the box office), that rated this film to be another flop in Ryan Reynold's repertoire, I thought it was a wonderful story! This concept of the hereafter has been explored in many films, to name one..."Ghost", and this film actually has become a classic.

Similar to "Ghost", this is another after-death based film with a more action and comedic aspect to it. This new take on this topic was fresh and very interesting....especially visually. 
Special effects, picturization and cinematography, all excelled in RIPD! This film is dripping with cheesiness, but that's the enjoyment part of it. It has been quite a while since a Hollywood film portrayed so much stereotypical behaviour in one movie. 

Jeff Bridges and Kevin Bacon, the other main actors in the film, have done in a decent job in their character portrayal. On the acting front, everyone in the film fulfilled their role very well. 

This may seem like a very positive review of this movie, while the vast majority have deemed it a "no-go" zone, but the matter of fact is...RIPD is a fun movie! No where does it seem boring. 

I think, you should never completely judge a movie without watching it. I recommend you (the readers of this review) to watch the film yourself and make your own decision. 

I give this film 7.5/10 "7.5 out of 10"
Rating: FUN-filled comedic thriller!   

Read More

Runner, Runner review

A film about money, greed, poker and most of all....MORE MONEY!

I must say, Justin Timberlake completely succeeds as Richie Furst, a masters student at Princeton who is in dire need of some cash. He has to be the most interesting aspect of this film, apart from the outstandingly presented story by director Brad Furman. 

Ben Affleck, plays Ivan Block, a businessman who has been extremely lucky. Saying any more about his business would most definitely be a SPOILER ALERT! Let's just talk about his acting. To be honest, I never expected him to be able to pull of a negative role, but he does not do a bad job. At some points he actually looks threatening enough to be called a villian. After finding out he was Batman, I never thought I could see him in a different light...guess I was wrong.
Gemma Arterton held her own, in a film where she is given little room to act. Unfortunately, her obviously "fake" tan in the film just became quite annoying after a while, but you may be able to look over that because of this brilliantly written story by Brian Koppelman and David Levien.

Anthony Mackie....the man who never disappoints, however important the role is, he always delivers in his own unique way.

Some people believe that 'Runner, Runner' shows the wrong side of Finance....but actually, it just shows an alternative to what people could actually do with their money. 

ONE HUGE DOWNSIDE IS.....the film is only 91 minutes, but feels like 191! For some reason, it just seems like the film should have been shorter.  I guess t

hat was because the film had a good story...but just failed at connecting with the audience. This does not happen very often, at least to me. I usually connect with all the films I like. But however hard I tried to connect with the film....'Runner, Runner' would just 'Run...' away!

Another downfall of the movie was the lack of suspense. I know I've praised the story and direction, but the film fails to spark any surprise for the viewer. That's not to say that this film should never be watched...it's just a movie that movie-lovers should watch with an open-mind.

Rating System:

Performance: 8/10

Direction: 8/10

Story/Script: 8/10

Music/Soundtrack: 7/10

Cinematography: 5/10

Action: 7/10

I give this film 7.17/10 "7.17 out of 10"

Rating: May seem like a higher rating than it deserves, but the film made me smile! Decent!

Read More

You're Next Review by Jaffrina Jahan

You’re Next centres around the Davison family reunion in a remote house to celebrate their wealthy parent’s wedding anniversary. The grown up children, Drake, Crispian, Amy and Felix are joined by their counterparts, Kelly, Erin, Tariq and Zee respectively. When they come under attack by mysterious killers in animal masks Erin takes control and fights back.

The trailer suggests a perfect family, however, that is far from the truth. Rivalries, feelings of inferiority and general dislike are evident in the family dynamics. These tensions make the film rather interesting but are quickly undercut as an attacker kills the first victim. The shaky camera work successfully demonstrates the fear and confusion that has captured the family. What separates this film from the common home invasion horrors is its use of black humour and inclusion of a motive. The dark humour is refreshing in this genre and ensures an entertaining watch to prevent the audience from numbing to the violence. Many home invasion films such as Straw Dogs do not provide a motive but director, Adam Wingard does, though this is revealed in the ending. However, I had guessed early on (spoiler) it was an inside job. The real shock comes from the final twist as an additional accomplice is revealed which was unexpected, amusing and more original. Although the motive is believable it is not something explored in depth which would have enabled the film to have more complexity.

The first half of the film is dull aside from the petty squabbles of the family. Despite the suspense being there from the start with the grisly murders and creaking floorboards it only picks up momentum once the killers attack. Then it drops again as the only thing Wingard offers is various ways to kill. The final minutes are where the true depth of the film is depicted.

Sharni Vinson provides an interesting character as Erin who grew up in a survivalist camp. As a strong female lead she is the only character to defend effectively against the attacks. It was refreshing to see a woman defend herself rather than being depicted as the sex object and victim who is dependent on others for survival. Erin is the only likeable character as well. The other characters are passive victims spending most of their screen time alternating between arguing, screaming, crying and looking bewildered until they die a savage death. The family are more interesting when they are being killed and give no reason to the audience for caring what happens to them.

Wingard delivers some scares which do make you jump and its excessive violence will appeal to avid horror fans. But it is the combination of dark humour and sadistic violence that makes it a fresh take in a genre that seemed to have nothing new to offer. However, it is not as impressive as recent horror films such as The Purge and The Conjuring.

Rating System:

Performance: 7/10

Direction: 7/10

Story/Script: 7/10

Music/Soundtrack: 6/10

Cinematography: 7/10

Action: 8/10

I give this film 7/10 

Rating: A refreshing take on home invasion films. 

Read More

Star Trek Into Darkness

Long overdue but here goes.... Star Trek franchise was relaunched in 2009 with the original characters from the Original series, but with fresh new faces. The film received very good reviews and the verdict was positive...so obviously, there had to be a secod film.

Star Trek Into Darkness was an impressive sequel with a great story which was held together by the friendship of James.T.Kirk and Spock shown by director J.J.Abrams.

Chris Pine as Kirk and Zachary Quinto as Spock showed their abilities in the first film but in this one, they exceed their expectations and completely dazzle the audience with their rapport. Benedict Cumersbatch was just brilliant as well Zoe Saldana and the rest of the cast! Brilliant acting....no doubt about it!

SPOILER ALERT!

Star Trek Into Darkness punches straight into an immediate manhunt movie. A bomb goes off in a Starfleet archive in London — 23rd century England will boast a skyline of buildings apparently — and the race is on to track down the terrorist, well-coutured renegade John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch). Abrams’ first Trek movie was criticised for not following the Roddenberry tenet of holding up a mirror to real-world issues. Into Darkness couldn’t be more prescient. Just weeks after the events in Boston, this keys into a hunt for a bomber, with Kirk given orders to forgo a fair trial (“I’m gonna run this bastard down”) and terminate Harrison with Star Trek’s version of extreme prejudice — undetectable photon torpedoes. 

Cumberbatch’s Harrison  is, in essence, a one-man army — watch him waste an arsenal of helmeted soldiers or take a vicious beating from Kirk with barely a flinch, or brutally batter some Federation flunkies. Yet, as you might expect from an actor who can comfortably portray Sherlock Holmes and Stephen Hawking, Harrison is as intellectual as he is muscular. 
It is a testament to the power of his performance that, although his early appearances are greeted with the most over-the-top Evil Musical Motifs imaginable, he manages to make Harrison ambiguous and chilling throughout.
"If the first film was about the coming together of the Enterprise crew, then Harrison’s threat means they have to divide to conquer. The strong ensemble — rejoice in the growing Kirk-Spock bromance, or Bones’ bad aphorisms, or a collector’s moment of Sulu steeliness without his sword — have etched likable sketches of the nascent TV icons, but you’d like time to hang with them a bit more. Similarly, you pine for a sustained Hannibal Lecter-Clarice Starling duel of wits between Kirk and Harrison, but it never quite happens. Abrams has real skill at dropping character beats in the heat of battle — Kirk and Spock get slivers of interesting arcs; the former is learning to become a captain, the latter is learning to be a friend — yet the film doesn’t give the emotions space to resonate and take hold."
Abrams directs with lots of flare, but, more importantly, flair. His style is somewhere between the machine-tooled work of Cameron and the manic intensity of Bay, efficient but still loose and seemingly improvised.

Working with screenwriters Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman and Damon Lindelof, Abrams can flip between different tones in a heartbeat.... a comedic lovers’ tiff in the midst of battle turns into an affecting meditation on fear — and will leave no stone unturned in trying to entertain: tense bomb disposal, intense inter-race negotiations, big ship-little ship cat and mousery, Simon Pegg comic relief, a chase at warp speed, disaster movie mayhem and amazing performances by every single member of the cast. Not all of it works — compared to the opener, the last-reel action is enjoyable rather than jaw-dropping — but there is the sense of a true showman at work. Like George Lucas, J.J.Abrams doesn’t care about science-fiction and transwarp beaming. He just wants you to have as much fun as humanly possible.

If this is Abrams’ final frontier, he has left Star Trek in a good place, both in the fictional universe and as a franchise. In some sense, the title is misleading. Into Darkness is a blast, fun, funny, spectacular and exhilarating. The rule of great even-numbered Trek movies continues.

RATING SYSTEM

Performance 9/10

Direction 9/10

Story/Script 8.5/10
Action 8.5/10

Music/Soundtrack 8/10
Cinematography 9/10

I give this film 8.67/10 "8.67 out of 10"
Rating: Slick! Clean! Thrilling!

Read More

The Conjuring review by Jaffrina Jahan

Like James Wan’s previous horror outing, Insidious, The Conjuring is typical in following the haunting of a family who move into a new home. It is filled with cliché horror devices ranging from the jack-in-the-box to the imaginary friend and it is clear that Wan has been inspired from other horror films such as the Exorcist and The Poltergeist. 

Ed and Lorraine Warren are the real life paranormal investigators who are called by the Perron family to investigate the strange events in their new home. The Perron family with Dad Roger, Mum Carolyn and their five daughters are given a lengthy introduction that included a dead dog and Hitchcock style suicidal pigeons. The slow build up was surprisingly effective in creating tension and a sense of claustrophobia which is subtly present throughout the film. A sense of entrapment is prominent as the house is a financial burden stopping the family from moving, which would not have helped anyway, and Carolyn being prevented from leaving the house. However, at times it felt as though the film was too long until Wan introduced a creaking door or sleepwalking child and you felt like an idiot for doubting Wan and the film.
 
The writers’ decision to delay the introduction of the Perron family to present the Warren’s previous case of the creepy doll, Annabelle was a wise choice. It was scary and the fact that the film was from two points of view; that of the Warren’s and Perron’s, added a sense of realism to make the ‘this is based on a true story’ concept all the more believable and thus frightening. The narrative conveys the events clearly and never leaves you feeling confused. After watching Dead Silence and Insidious I was concerned that the ending would be confusing and disjointed but Wan succeeds in closing the narrative without any open threads and disappointing plot twists to deliver a satisfying conclusion.
 
The soundtrack was by Insidious’ Joseph Bishara. It was similar to Insidious and an accomplishment in enhancing the tension and the subsequent scares. The acting was superb across the board, particularly from Vera Farmiga; Farmiga’s anxiety and tightly concealed fear are superbly portrayed and reminds us that she is rightly an Oscar nominated actress.
 
Ignoring the violence and gore of Saw and abstaining from CGI, Wan delivers a horror filled with old school scares which are executed with tactic and genius. The camera’s close, lingering shots of the ghosts are truly frightening and leave you closing your eyes and recoiling. It is well known that the best kind of fear is the fear of the unknown and Wan succeeds in this without doubt; from the clapping hands coming out the wardrobe to the creepy Annabelle doll mysteriously leaving her box and inexplicably returning. The Conjuring is one of the great films to come from the horror genre in recent years and for Wan is an impressive follow up to Insidious and a testament to the fact that he should stick to scaring audiences. 

RATING SYSTEM

Performance 9/10

Direction 9/10

Story/Script 8/10
Action 8/10

Music/Soundtrack 7/10
Cinematography 7/10

I give this film 8/10 "8 out of 10"

Rating: Better than most other horror movies! 

Read More

Pain and Gain review

Obviously Pain and Gain had amazing box office collections in USA! Unfortunately, it didn't do as well around the globe but that does not matter one bit. This film is a true story (as specified many times during the movie) and is very well directed, shown quite well on the silver screen by director Michael Bay. I'll keep this review short and straight to the point. "Pain and Gain, which Bay and Bay alone was capable of directing, seizes on this image of his country and thrashes about with it dementedly; along with comedy dismemberings, farcical GBH and the barbecuing of human hands, the movie offers the equally gruesome spectacle of a metaphor being clubbed to death."

The idea of America as a musclebound nation, psychotically devoted to self-improvement, has some merit as a throwaway conceit — the sort of thing a Scorsese or Oliver Stone might toss into one of their bloody epics as a grace note. What should be clear by now is that grace notes are not really Michael Bay’s forte. His films usually involve brilliant action sequences so this does seem like a change of pace for him, and he accepts this challenge with open arms.

As this film goes through the motions, you never seem to be unengaged with the characters (yes, that was a double negative). Mark Wahlberg plays his role of  fitness 'freak' Daniel Lugo brilliantly well while beautifully anchoring the film through its various twists and turns.

Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson does Paul Doyle's character justice with his wonderful portrayal that makes us feel sorry for Dwayne's personality in the film. The emotional and comedic scenes were also excellently captured and spectacularly laid down on the silver screen by Mr. Bay.

Other supporting cast of Anthony Mackie, Tony Shalhoub, Ed Harris and many others did the best job they could , even though they did not do brilliant, which does not mean they did not do good!

Inspired by a true story (and also IS A TRUE STORY), this film has a brilliant storyline which is completely unique due to its factual nature and witty and fast paced screenplay will blow your mind away! It seems like a line that should have been in the "Now You See Me" review but Pain and Gain does bring an amazing plot come to life for the audience.

Unfortunately, the film recognises the true story part more than once, which may lead some viewers, slightly unimpressed. This is due to the emphasis on the "true", at least three times in this 2 hour film.

The visual effects used in the film, make you feel as though you are actually in the film.. Living it as you go on with your own life! Cinematography is exquisite. The cleanliness in the way the film is shot is extremely good, but not in competition with Bay's previous works "Transformers" and "Armageddon"

This film has its bad points like the vast use of curse words (which isn't usually a problem in rated 15 movies but this was quite over the top)... still this film does amaze in its story!:) It seems like a line that should have been in the "Now You See Me" review but Pain and Gain does bring an amazing plot to life for its targeted audience.

RATING SYSTEM

Performance 8/10

Direction 7/10

Story/Script 7/10
Action 7/10

Music/Soundtrack 5/10
Cinematography 7/10

I give this film 6.83/10 "6.83 out of 10"
Rating: Great Story! Must Watch! (But never again)!

Read More

Ironman 3

Let me start off by saying, sorry for the hold up, I have not had any time to post anything of significance in the past month, but do not fear, I am back on here and will be updating quickly.

Ironman 3, this film was the biggest build up of this year of 2013 and for most people, this was the perfect cherry on top for the Ironman franchise. For me, it wasn't as spectacular as it seemed to be in the trailers. Even though this film had a gross profit of over $1 billion, I did not feel the chill that I felt in Ironman, Ironman 2 or the Avengers film last year.  
First of all, this looked more like a sequal to the Avengers, when it was meant to be one for Ironman....but still it was more like "Avengers:The Ironman Effect" and I think Shane Black (director), could have put more of an independent aspect behind this project...but that's just what I think.  
"Interestingly, while Black succeeds in presenting the most personal and intimate Tony Stark story in the series thus far, it sometimes comes at the expense of iconic Iron Man action that die-hard fans will be expecting."

It has been about 3 months since this film released back in May and honestly, this film has only one part of it that intrigued me and that was the character of Aldrich Killian, played by Guy Pierce, who was brilliant in his role and stood levels above the rest.
Robert Downey Jr. and his comedic portrayal of Ironman fell apart for me in this film and even in scenes that required a seriousness, he could not show that 'Tony Starky' charm that was very apparent in the previous films. Though he was not bad, but by no stretch was he the usual excellence we have started to expect from him.
Gwyneth Paltrow and Don Cheadle were decent in their specific roles, as well as Sir Ben Kingsley, who actually surprised me with this new genre of acting, making him the second highlight for me in the film.

SPOILER ALERT!
It seems as though the films creators tried to invent a "new" superpower for audiences that are becoming flooded with superhero mythology, and while their goal was a respectable one, their execution was lacking. These "new" powers, which served as more of a chance for the special effects team to go crazy than anything, just make absolutely no rational sense whatsoever (even for this genre), and in the end, destroyed the "willing suspension of disbelief" which keeps us engaged in a story. 

Personally, one of the suspensive parts of the film "The mystery of the Mandarin", was very interesting and seemed to be an eye-opener for the audience.  

BUT THERE IS ONE THING I STILL DON'T UNDERSTAND! If Ironman's suits are so strong and all, why do they break and dismantle so easily in this film....seriously, the suit falls to pieces with little hits and that is just extremely ... sad. 

Visual Effects in this film were well done for which I would like to applaud the Visual team for Ironman 3, but the story...though interesting, does become quite boring by the end of it and the ending....I won't say anymore....just remember to not wait for the end-credits scene because it's literally 10 minutes of watching the credits and then a 1-minute scene which is humourous but not worth waiting for in the cinema. Wait till the DVD/Blu-ray, then just fast forward to it!

RATING SYSTEM

Performance 7/10

Direction 8/10

Story/Script 7/10
Action 9/10

Music/Soundtrack 8/10
Cinematography 7.5

I give this film 7.75/10 "7.75 out of 10"
Rating: Average for a superhero film! One watch is enough!

Read More

Now You See Me review

This movie matches up to my expectations, with its witty humour, quick camerawork and most of all...MAGIC!

This ensemble cast does not disappoint with their acting skills put to use very uniquely. Jesse Eisenberg fails to disappoint again, hence...HE WAS AWESOME! By far the best role in the film and the only actor who looked in his element, even with all the havoc that transpired around him. Isla Fisher was by far the biggest disappointment in the acting side of things, underperforming amongst the vast number of actors in the film. Mélanie Laurent portrays her role of a french interpol agent very competently.
Woody Harrelson and Dave Franco were funny as well as believable in their beautifully-scripted characters.
Last but not least, the trio of the SUPERHERO movies, Mark Ruffalo (Avengers), Morgan Freeman (Dark Knight Trilogy) and Michael Cane (Dark Knight Trilogy), did what they do best, act exceptionally well and fulfill their given roles with their own twist.

SPOILER ALERT!

Plot....I loved it! I love the way the director, Louis Letterier, uses a very Nolanesque approach to his direction (some may call it immitation.... I call it brilliant). Sometimes he seems to ramble on about something that seems quite unnecessary but then...BOOM! It eventually becomes the "grip" that holds the film together...at the end.

"There are so many twists, turns and 'shocking reveals' that we're soon bogged down by a top-heavy narrative that then collapses with a final reversal that's stunning in its sheer ridiculousness."

In the first half of the film...the way all the individual magicians are found and approached, just pulls the audience in with a very Avengers like feel. There are many slick magic tricks, especially the card trick by Jesse Eisenberg, which introduces his character.
The second half, does kind of disappoint, due to the film being dragged on for almost half an hour, with no real purpose...BUT after all that, the ending "will amaze".

No doubt that the film has a fantastic story and concept which expands the narrow-minded thought about magic...taking it to the level that everyone thinks about, but never shows on the silver screen.
If IMDB is anything to go by, the film received a 7.5/10 rating.

The two pillars of this film would have to be the story and the cast... the direction, is "not everyone's piece of cake". Although, this film is fictitious...the characters truly come to life.
This film is not like the brilliance that was "The Prestige", but this film does exactly what it is meant to...ENTERTAIN! In a nutshell "4 amazing magicians. 3 impossible heists. 1 billion dollars. This is no illusion."

RATING SYSTEM

Performance 7/10

Direction 8/10

Story/Script 8/10
Action 8/10

Music/Soundtrack 7/10

Cinematography 8/10

I give this film 7.67/10 "7.67 out of 10"
Rating: Best Entertainer since Fast And Furious 6! Amazing!

Read More

World War Z review

Let me just start off by saying...the movie is called World War Z as in "Zee" not like the British say "Zed"! You might think why that matters? Well, it does, because "Zee" rhymes with "Three", which is kind of a significance in this movie.

World War Z is a very interesting take on the apocolypse and approaches it with zombies, but these are a new 'breed', so to say. They do not kill humans, they just take their bodies for hosts and then basically do nothing else. Actually, I did not know, this was based on the horror novel 'World War Z'.

I am yet to see a film, except Warm Bodies, that changes the basic concepts we have about zombies.

Story wise this film is set in the present and very cleverly joins real life situations to the events of the movie. This pandamic disease turns living people into the "undead" and the process of this is very intelligently shown by director Marc Foster. The film stars Brad Pitt as Gerry Lane, a retired United Nations investigator who (due to some problems) leaves his job. When this disease breaks out like wild fire, Gerry is contacted by his previous UN boss to help them find the cause and hopefully a cure for this zombie outbreak.

In the film, the zombies seem to survive just on....
SPOILER ALERT!
....a healthy host body, which helps them live... well...you know what I mean.
These zombies...CAN RUN! Zombies are usually portrayed as the undead (obviously) but they also find it difficult to walk, which means they ponder along at a super slow speed...but in World War Z, they can run...very fast.

Brad Pitt, like always, impresses with his brilliant portrayal as the ex-UN investigator, while his wife in the film, Mirielle Enos, captivates the audience with her realistic and emotional acting. Their daughters, Abigail Hargrove and Sterling Jerins, are spectacular, even in the short roles that they have. Abigail Hargrove shows great ability in the way she acts like an asthmatic young girl.
To be honest, there was no loose canon in the acting side of things. Daniella Kertesz, plays an Israeli soldier known only as Segen, acts extremely well especially in one of the scenes where she has to show brutal amounts pain and suffering....actually may cause the soft-hearted to even shed a tear.

World War Z can be an official action-packed thriller film in my opinion. The word "thriller" (mostly associated with "Thriller", a chartbuster of a song from 1983) literally is the best description for this film. There definitely are surprises and a lot of scenes may cause you to jump out of your seat, as they seem slightly expected but the way they are shot....EXCELLENTLY EXECUTED.

Definitely Brad Pitt adds a lot more to the film with his star power but everything in this film is seriously top level! I might even say this is one of the best takes on zombies ever. Films like I Am Legend have revolutionised zombie movies, and World War Z, might just be the same caliber.
The narration at the end of the film, to be honest does disappoint due to the fact that it is not a very well explained conclusion. That being said, this film was a complete shocker for me, I did not expect to like it as much as I did, but make sure you watch the film with an open mind...as ...


SPOILER ALERT!

the ending, may disappoint some fellow viewers.

RATING SYSTEM

Performance    8/10

Direction    8/10

Story/Script    9/10
Action 8.5/10
Cinematography 8/10

Music/Soundtrack 6.5/10

I give this film (surprisingly) a 8/10 "8 out of 10"
Rating: Great! Horrorly Epic! Should be a blockbuster!

Read More

Fast and the Furious 6 review

The sixth instalment of this fast car racing, high-speed action and awesome storylined films came with a bang! And literally stayed with a bang! This time, the fast and the furious franchise got it spot on with everything! Yes some scenes were quite outrageously unrealistic BUT SO WHAT? Fast and the Furious 6 is such an entertaining movie from all aspects! It has Action! Comedy! Emotion! Romance! Story! And Cars!

Fast 6 (as it will be referred to from now on) ties up a lot of loose ends that we may seen or even thought about in the previous 5 films of this franchise. Justin Lin (the director) does this spectacularly well, that you might feel the urge to clap for one (maybe even more) scenes. The benefit of having the same director for previous 3 instalments really helped in the plot development of Fast 6! 

Storyline... Yes! Finally!! The storyline boomed it (not bombed but boomed)! It was fantastically written! There are a few HUGE surprises in the film! Just watch out, all I'm saying! 

The action was obviously over the top and explosive like we had gotten used to from Fast Five!

Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Tyrese Gibson, Jordana Brewstet... The list goes on and on in this film! They all performed their roles brilliantly! Only acting concern I had was maybe Paul Walker... He looks very horizontal as an actor even when he is showing aggression!

Action is immense! The magnitude of what goes on during these 130 mins of film, is outstanding! Some action may seem unrealistic, but who cares! It looks awesome!

This film, I recommend every single person to go watch this movie! You would need to have seen 'Fast and Furious' and 'Fast Five' to be able to make sense of everything.... But even if you haven't, it's spectacular!

If Fast 6 is a prelude to how Fast 7 may turn out... I can't wait for it's release next summer.

RATING SYSTEM

Performance    8/10

Direction    9/10

Story/Script    8/10
Action 9.5/10
Cinematography 9/10

Music/Soundtrack   9/10

I give this film a 8.75/10 "8.75 out of 10"

Rating: Action-packed! Awesome! Explosive! Brilliant story! Must watch for everyone! 

Read More

Man Of Steel Spoilers

SPOILER ALERT!!

SPOILER ALERT!!

SPOILER ALERT!!

You might be thinking, why do this post?
Well, I just thought it might be a good way of explaining to Superman fans that if they watch this film...before, please be sure to go in with a blank slate.
Do not expect the classic Superman because, we can see that all the new films are changing the old school characters. To name a few:
Batman
James Bond
Ironman
Spiderman EVEN
and now
SUPERMAN!!! So relax and enjoy this film as a reboot with a twist for "Man Of Steel"
Jor'El is a super 'badass' scientist! Beating up a military leader.... Zod! Yes! GENERAL ZOD BEATEN UP BY A SCIENTIST! Not good for his ego is it? No wonder he stabs him to death.... If at this point you're like 'WHAT THE...' I warned you with the Spoiler warning!

Superman....I mean Clark, as he is known in most of the movie or 'the alien' or even 'Kal' which was kinda shocking!

He is shown to be very weak... But they kinda justify it later on so don't be surprised when he can't lift something... Or struggles like crazy!

OHMYGOSHHHH!!! Clark lets his dad (as in Jonathon Kent) die....in this it's not the heart attack "the one thing he couldn't save his dad from" but a tornado...which he could have BUT... with Kevin Costner's (Jonathon Kent) hand stopping him....not exactly helpless Clark, but shows the principle of this Jonathon Kent character in this film.
As Christopher Nolan is associated with it, you sense a little bit of "Inception" as the negative response from Jonathon towards Clark's powers, eventually leads to his positivity towards his powers.

There are some very well scripted dialogues between the father and son but definitely a difference from what we know.

Last but definitely not the least... Superman.. the man who gives hope to people, to see the good in others, does what?? .... KILLS SOMEONE!!! yup! Superman kills Zod...also kinda kills the potential for his planet to be reborn with it, but that maybe overlooked over him literally "snapping Zod's neck"!!

Well, that's pretty much all the spoilers... I can think of right now. Might seem like I am being negative towards the film, but I am not. I just am a true "old fashion" Superman lover. On the other hand, I did like this new take on Superman and I think this may lead to newer fans of this franchise.

Read More

Man Of Steel review

Man of Steel is a new beginning to the superman series. All new, set in present-day Earth! But of course, some old school, traditional features of the DC character are still prominent.

Actually, Man Of Steel is a much darker rendition of the beginning of Superman.

However, this slick dark version does not fully grasp the concept of Superman.
For example: The famous "S" on his suit signifies "hope" which is all good but certain actions that he commits in this film, do not exactly get the message of "hope" across to the audience and kinda renders his 'purpose' mute! You will know what I mean after you've seen it.

To be honest, I love Superman, and I am a huge fan! Even this film with its inconsistencies, still is a great spectacle for the visually apt. The action sequences are just brilliant. No doubt about that. A bit too much CGI...however it did look epic.

Some changes did cause me to be a little 'knit picky' but, this film will begin a flow of new Superman lovers.

As was hoped for by many, Man Of Steel is an impressive mixture of the always amazing Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer, and the brilliantly executed visual effects of director Zack Snyder. The movie is very much like a “Superman Begins” in terms of its narrative approach and structure; however, in terms of themes and tone the film "achieves its own identity as an insightful, reverent and effectively relatable Superman story. this is a fresh start to present a new Superman to a modern world – and in that, Man Of Steel ultimately succeeds".

Krypton is shown to be a much more 'sophisticated' planet than Earth. It gives a very good explanation to why Kryptonians don't have super powers on their home planet. 

Visually, this is Snyder’s most impressive film yet – and it looks pretty stunning in 3D. Everything from Kryptonian culture and technology to the way Superman’s powers operate looks on point and very believable in a real-world context.

In my opinion this film is a good amalgamation of Superman I and Superman II, which encompasses the story of Superman and his ancestory as well as the Zod aspect of it.

Zach Snyder definitely understands Superman and his core character even though there were some ... slightly modified unnecessary cinematic drama.

Script-wise, the story moves at a nonstop pace and should be wholly familiar to fans of Batman Begins in terms of structure.

A lengthy prologue introduces us to the world of Krypton in detailed and imaginative fashion, before we break into the signature Nolanesque non-linear movie format, covering Clark Kent’s life on Earth, past and present. The second part goes back to linear character and plot development, while the third section is classic Snyder at his best! This is a full on "over-the-top, super-powered showdown".

At the same time, Man of Steel is not without some noticeable narrative flaws which I won't delve into. 

Similarities between the Dark Knight trilogy do not end as there is an awesome "sneaky" scene in the film that leaves viewers thinking "Will there be a Superman/Batman collaboration". 

On the point editing and speedy camera angles and movement earlier on often comes at the price of effective narrative development. So if you were one of those people who were hung up on the question of how Bruce Wayne made it back to Gotham after escaping prison in Dark Knight Rises, you’ll find similar gaps with Man of Steel. 

Luckily, the film makers again impress by casting a highly-talented collection of actors, who help elevate the weaker points of the script. 

Henry Cavill as Superman does look like SUPERMAN! A BIG THUMBS UP TO HIM 👍

Amy Adams does do the Lois Lane character justice but by the end she seems to be just another human looking on in the distance...
 

On the whole, this movie is exactly the type of start this franchise required! 

This movie is full of smart storytelling and gives a fresh new insight into Superman!

Man Of Steel does not disappoint BUT some people may feel wanting more! But don't worry... if the Batman franchise is anything to judge by, imperfections will be corrected and the best is still yet to come with the inevitable Man Of Steel 2.

I give this film 8.5/10 "8.5 out of 10"

Rating: Awesome! Brings Superman back! But with a twist in the tail! Traditional fans may find it slightly 'off book' 

Read More

Oblivion review

Tom Cruise coming with a bang! And He usually does! (yes yes even Jack Reacher was worth a watch).

Oblivion! Is truly a sci-fi thriller with a very interesting storyline! But before I say anything else, I'd like to comment on the script. It is okay, but there should have been more thought put into it such as, the dialogue "Are you an effective team" was repeated like what seems like a hundred times.
That being said, watch the film, experience the special effects and cinematography...you will not be disappointed at that front.
Some parts of the films, you might be able to guess from intuition but some...may seem as quite a shock.

I would like to quote, Justin Chang who also reviewed Oblivion, in to saying "Oblivion is first and foremost a visual experience, a movie to be seen rather than a puzzle to be deciphered, its chief pleasures are essentially spoiler-proof". 

Year.. is 2077....The Earth has been evacuated!
Oblivion centres on the story of Commander Jack Harper (Tom Cruise) who repairs drones that hunt down the so called Scavs, that rome on a ruined Earth. Victoria Olsen (Andrea Riseborough), Jack's communications officer and lover. All we know is that he repairs the drones, while they locate and kill Scavs.
Jack also has dreams ... dreams that seem so vivid it feels like they are reality to him.
These feelings are exposed when one day... (I really wanna say spoiler alert, so here goes)... SPOILER ALERT! 

A Scav signal beacon transmitting coordinates is followed shortly by the crash of a pre-invasion American spacecraft. Drones come and kill much of the crew, but Jack rescues a woman, Julia (Olga Kurylenko), recognizing her as the woman from his dreams.
From there on in, the story becomes so much more interesting and appealing to the viewer.

The story of the film truly makes the audience feel as though they are in that time with Jack. Visuals of the film, extend far beyond what you may expect.
On the acting of Tom Cruise and Olga, I think they were exceptional...my only let down would be Andrea's portrayal of a loving girlfriend. That is not to say that she did not perform brilliantly in some of the very intense thrilling scenes but she's just not that.. appealing as Jack's companion. Olga's expressions were not very expressive when she first appeared as the crash victim, but it became apparent after a while, why that was.

Oblivion blew me away! In conclusion, I would recommend you watch this film as soon as possible.

7.5/10 "7.5 out of 10"
Rating: Good/Great

Read More

A Good Day To Die Hard review

First of all, we all know the Die Hard movies are absolutely awesome action packed adventures where John McClane (Bruce Willis) the cop goes crazy and basically beats up all the bad guys and comes out victorious.

This, to be fair, is a new taste of what Die Hard movies (maybe of the future) will end up becoming. An impressive story line with legendary dialogues, direction...not that good or realistic..but the acting by Bruce Willis, his son in the film played by Jai Courtney and Sebastian Koch was superb!

However, obviously there were some outrageous assumptions of what heroes in movies can do...like ...SPOILER ALERT! Jumping out of a crashing helicopter/aircraft and surviving due to the "lucky" swimming pool placed conveniently, to save their lives. But you must remember, it is a Die Hard movie so reality might be bent a little to make a good film.

This one looked very dark, compared to the others, mainly due to the fact it was shot at nighttime for a lot of it.
There were twists in the film...Actual unexpected surprises, so I would recommend you watch it.

All in all, It's a typical action thriller with a deeper message of the relationship between a father and his son, which actually completes the film very well. I did not expect to like this film, so I think I might be being very generous to the review, however that does not mean my rating would be biased towards that. This was no where near as good as the last one "Die Hard 4.0", but if you like Bruce Willis or even if you want a good film to watch at home, this would be a good choice for Father's Day on Sunday!


I give it a 6.5/10 "6.5 out of 10"
Rating: Good, worth a watch especially with your dad!

Read More

Django Unchained review

Django Unchained is truly a testament to Tarantino's direction. I would call it a masterpiece, but that might be a little over the top. But be sure to be ready for a proper Tarantino-isc approach to this well formed storyline.

The film starts off with a small convoy, of male slaves, in the American South, being driven by the Speck Brothers, Ace and Dicky. Among the chained slaves is Django (Jamie Foxx), sold off and separated from his wife, Broomhilda. As night approaches, the convoy comes to a hault, due to a noise brewing in the distant. In comes Dr. King Schultz (Christopher Waltz), a German dentist, who looks to "parlay" with the Speck Brothers.

Tempers soon flare as the brothers become impatient with Schultz and raise guns at him. Then and there, Schultz shoots one of them and shoots the others horse on to his self as his leg breaks. Little did they know, Schultz is a hired bounty hunter. He interrogates Django as to the identity of the Brittle Brothers (the ones Schultz is looking for), and when he finds out that he can identify them, offers Django his freedom in exchange for help tracking them down. Django agrees and they ride off together leaving the other slaves to do what they want with the injured Speck.

Django and Schultz rest at a bar in Daughtery, Texas. There, Schultz explains to Django what he actually does and from there on in, teaches him the art of bounty hunting. Schultz is shown as a non-racist, who is against the concept of slavery. Both of them come to an agreement to find the Brittle brothers.

After brutally murdering the Brittle brothers, Django partners with Schultz through the Winter. Schultz gives Django his freedom and as Django is his first slave that he freed, he feels responsible for Django and is driven to help him in his quest to rescue Broomhilda.

Django, now fully trained, collects his first bounty. The pair travel to Mississippi, and Schultz uncovers the identity of Broomhilda's owner, Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio), the alternately charming but brutal owner of Candyland, a plantation where slaves are forced to fight to the death in matches called "Mandingo fights".

Schultz expects Candie will not entertain offers for Broomhilda if they are forthright with their request, so they devise a plan by which they will purchase one of Candie's prized fighters for a "ridiculous offer", obtain Broomhilda as an accessory to the fighter, then disappear before the deal is done. Schultz and Django meet Candie and propose this offer to him. Their Candie finally says the words they were waiting for "You had my curiousity, now you have my attention".

Candie invites them to Candyland. At the plantation, Broomhilda is secretly debriefed on the plan, and during dinner, Schultz moves to the next step by offering to purchase Broomhilda with Candie's fighter.

While everyone is at dinner, Stephen (Samuel L Jackson) notices that Broomhilda and Django may have known each other (due to the intriguing smiles exchanged between those two). He expresses his concerns to Candie and tells him that the purchase of the Mandingo fighter is a distraction and an enraged Candie extorts the bounty hunters with Broomhilda's life for the complete bid amount. Schultz yields, and after the money is paid and the paperwork signed, Candie demands a handshake from Schultz to finalize the deal. Schultz, disgusted and mentally tired, kills Candie with a concealed gun.

In retaliation, Candie's right hand and body guard Butch Pooch (James Remar) kills Schultz before either Broomhilda or Django can react. A massive battle erupts in the mansion and Django kills many, including Pooch, but is forced to surrender when Broomhilda is taken hostage at gunpoint by Billy Crash (Walton Goggins).

The next morning, Django, hanging inverted from a rafter completely naked, is kicked awake. Crash approaches with a red-hot knife to castrate him, but Stephen interrupts at the last moment and states that Django has been sold to a mine, where he will be worked to death.

En route to the mine, Django proves to his escorts that he is a bounty hunter by showing them the handbill from his first kill as evidence, then tricks them into believing there is a very large bounty on a man back at Candyland and they will get a massive cut if Django is released. The moment the captors free and arm him, he shoots the group, takes their dynamite and rides back to Candyland to save his wife.

When the entirety of Candie's entourage return from his funeral, Django reveals himself. In the final shootout, everyone is gunned down except for Stephen, who has both knees disabled.
Django and Broomhilda watch from a distance as the mansion, filled with dynamite, explodes, then ride off into the night.

The movie shows amazing dialogue, mixed with violence and funny one-liners. Waltz and Foxx act immaculately well with each other. Their facial expressions are just precision instruments, which express the emotions they are meant to show beautifully. Amazing compositions also keeps the audience the interested.
The spats between Django and Stephen is absolutely hilarious as well as thrilling.

Every actor/actress play their respective roles terrifically. There is just one unexplained fact that why James Remar appears as two different characters? The only explanation would be that they are just identical, but with no relation. 

RATING SYSTEM

Performance 9.5/10

Direction 9.5/10

Story/Script 9/10
Action 9/10

Music/Soundtrack 9.5/10
Cinematography 9.5/10

I loved this film. I give this a 9.3/10 "9.3 out of 10"
Rating : Awesome! Amazing! Fantastic!

Read More

Argo review

Argo is the story of a real life operation conducted in 1980 to rescue American hostages in Iran, at the time of the revolution.
The movie begins, November 4th 1979, with an enormous protest which attacks and breaks through the doors of the US Embassy in Tehran. The protesters include EVERYONE (all ages) fighting for their freedom (as they called it) and hence hijacking the embassy was the perfect way to let the US government know that they mean business. They want the US (who had given the Shah asylum) to send the Shah back so that he could pay for his crimes.

SPOILER ALERT!

During the hijacking, six members of the US embassy escape through a hidden pathway and seek refuge in the Canadian ambassador's residence. No one apart from a few people in the US government knew about the six that had escaped. They began to find ways to help the escapees ex-filtrate from Iran.
Tony Mendez (Ben Affleck) , a CIA exfiltration specialist brought in for consultation, criticizes the proposals, but is at a loss for an alternative. While on the phone with his son, he gets inspired by the movie "Battle Of The Planet Of The Apes" and begins plans for creating a cover story for the escapees being Canadian filmmakers looking for extraordinary and exotic locations in Iran for a similar type of science-fiction movie.

Mendez and his supervisor Jack O'Donnell (Bryan Cranston) contact John Chambers (John Goodman), a Hollywood make-up artist who has previously crafted disguises for the CIA. Chambers puts them in touch with film producer Lester Siegel (Alan Arkin).
Together they set up a fake film studio, publicise their plans, and successfully establish the pretense of developing Argo, a "science fantasy" in the style of "Star Wars", to lend credibility to the cover story.

Meanwhile, the escapees grow frantic inside the ambassador's residence. The revolutionaries reassemble embassy papers shredded before the takeover and learn that some personnel have escaped.

SPOILER ALERT!

Mendez's cover is that of the producer of the film "Argo". He arrives in Iran and links up with the six escapees at the Canadian ambassadors residence. He provides them with fake identities and Canadian passports. The escapees need to learn everything about their cover stories, which seems easier to some than others. The group of escapees are reluctant to believing what Mendez proposes as they do not yet trust him.
However, they still go along with him to a scouting visit into the bazaar, as they know that Mendez is risking his life as well. At the bazaar, events go from bad to worse as one of the escapees (posing as a photographer) takes pictures of a man's shop, who is not pleased by this (to say the least). A crowd develops who support the man's anger. This situation could have gotten a lot worse, if their Iranian culture contact didn't guide them away from the hostile crowd.

Suddenly, Mendez is informed that the operation has been cancelled and he needs to come back due to the military going in to rescue the hostages. Ignoring his bosses' orders, he goes ahead with the operation. He pushes O'Donnell to quickly re-obtain authorisation for the plane tickets to their flight from Iran to Canada.
There's tension at the airport, where the escapees' flight reservations are confirmed at the last minute, and a guard's call to the supposed studio in Hollywood is answered at the last second. The group boards the plane, which takes off just as the Revolutionary Guards at the airport uncover the ruse and try to stop them.
As the plane flies out of Iranian borders, there is a huge sigh of relief for the escapees, Mendez and to be honest the audience too.

SPOILER ALERT!

Canada is given all the credit for this plan, as US involvement would endanger the remaining hostages back in the US embassy in Tehran.
Mendez is awarded the Intelligence Star (One of the most prestigious awards in the CIA), but due to the classified nature of the mission, he would not be able to keep the medal until the details were made public in 1997. All the hostages were freed on January 20, 1981. The film ends with the speech of the former President Jimmy Carter and his views on these events.

All in all I think this movie is very well made,written, EVERYTHING! Flaws, to be perfectly honest, I could not find any as I was just so involved with the film that I just wanted the escapees to return back home safe and sound.

RATING SYSTEM

Performance 9/10

Direction 9/10

Story/Script 9/10
Action 7/10
Cinematography 8/10

Music/Soundtrack 7/10

I would give Argo 8.2/10 "8.2 out of 10"

Rating: Must watch, very good

Read More

Gangster Squad review

The movie starts off in 1949, showing Micky Cowen (Sean Penn) a boxer and with the aim of becoming a big shot!
After the 2nd world war, in Los Angeles, he is become a mobster.
The film is narrated by John O'mara (Josh Brolin)! He is the cop! A sergeant to be exact. He is shown saving the life of an innocent girl who is about to be raped by Cowen's men.
Cowen is the don!! the police can't touch him, but O'mara is given the order to go after him with a small team (aka gangster squad but its not really called that) to destroy his plans and what he wants from LA.
In the meantime, Jerry Wooters (Ryan Gosling) begins to romance Cowen's girl, Grace Faraday (Emma Stone) and it seems like they're falling in love!
O'mara's wife (who is pregnant btw) hand picks the team (why??? You will see when you watch the film) which includes Conwell Keeler (Giovanni Ribisi), Coleman Harris (Anthony Mackie) and Max Kennerd (Robert Patrick). Ramirez (Michael Pena) joins the crew along with Max.
As the result of a calamity, Jerry also decides to join the team.
Together the squad brings down Cowen's businesses and his leading men. There are many good quality action sequences as well as some funny parts, so yes the film is quite entertaining.
O'mara's team finds out what Cowen's plan is and to stop that from happening they require Jerry to talk to Grace (which obviously you'll have to watch the movie to see what happens).
Cowen wants to control the entire west coast's betting which is A HUGE BUSINESS! As he says 'where the real money is'.
Keeler is the genius of the bunch and his efforts allow the team to pinpoint where Cowen's operations are.

SPOILER ALERT!The squad finds the hideout and burns all the money and everything else Cowen had! To be honest, these scenes are well portrayed in the movie.
Cowen realises that this 'squad' that has been sabotaging his plans, are infact police officers. He goes quite mad! Which leads to Grace fleeing from his house with the help of the maid.
Keeler and O'mara eavesdrop on a discussion of Cowen's and well... You'll have to see what happens next!

SPOILER ALERT!

It's a set up for the gangster squad by Cowen.
Keeler gets killed
O'mara's house is raided and his pregnant wife has to cover for safety, all on her own. She gives birth at this time, scared beyond belief.
Jerry's friend, who he entrusts with Grace's safe journey out of the city, is killed by Cowen himself as she watches from behind a bush.
Cowen basically wins as O'mara and his chief (who originally gave him the order for the gangster squad) are going to be dismissed and reassigned respectively. O'mara goes to meet Cowen but he is no where to be found.
O'mara's newly grown family leaves the city while he stays and tries to make a meaning out of 'Keeler's death'.
Grace escapes from Jerry's friend, Jack's house. She tracks down Jerry and tells him that she will be the witness to Cowen murdering a man.
The squad reunites for the last time to take down Cowen perfectly legally with an arrest warrant, AND with Grace as the witness.

SPOILER ALERT!

There is a very high impact, well directed final battle between the gangsters and the gangster squad, but the battle was won by the police.
In short, everything became calm, no mob ever tried to gain hold over Los Angeles again. O'mara left the force while the others continued on as loyal and honoured police officers.
O'mara is shown relaxing on a beach with his family, delighted in his city 'it's not perfect but it is the city of Angels'.
But all in all, it's a good movie, my only criticism is that the reason that Jerry joined the squad was extremely rushed and as a member of the audience may seem too sudden to absorb.

RATING SYSTEM

Performance 8/10

Direction 8/10

Story/Script 7/10
Action 8/10
Cinematography 7/10

Music/Soundtrack 6/10

I would rate this film 7.3/10 "7.3 out of 10"
Rating: Good, a must watch for anyone above the age of 15, but might not be everyone's cup of tea.

Read More