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Incendid
My Rating System
10 > Masterpiece (A+)
9 > Excellent (A)
8 > Great (B+)
7 > Good (B)
6 > Satisfactory (C+)
5 > Average (C)
4 > Unsatisfactory (D+)
3 > Bad (D)
2 > Terrible (E)
1 > Dreadful (F)
Ratings
Most Recently Rated
Lists
An error has ocurred. Please try againI am also grading my guesses, so if the difference is under 10% then that would be equivilant to an A, under 5%, an A+. So:
A+ 5% or lower A 10% or lower B 25% or lower C 75% or lower D 100% or lower F 100% or greater
3. Be potentially appealing to a wide audience.
The list will consist of 25 films, i will try to have at least one film from each month of the year on the list and I will be recording the worldwide grosses in $USD. My format will be:
Actual Worldwide Gross: Predicted Worldwide Gross: Actual to Predicted Difference: as a % Guess Grade:
My Grading system is as follows: A+ is 5% and under. A is 10% and under. B is 25% and under. C is 50% and under. D is 100% and under. F is 100% and over.
Reviews
Creed (2015)
WARNING: Stallone does not yell anybody's name in this film.
Creed is a spin-off of the Rocky series and follows Apollo Creed's son, Adonis as he seeks a boxing mentor. The film is directed and written by Ryan Coogler (The script was also co-written by Aaron Corvington), and stars Michael B. Jordan and Sylvester Stallone. I think in ten years, most people will remember the performances in Creed. Michael B. Jordan is a strong lead and brings a determined energy to the underdog role. This is complemented by a reluctant Sylvester Stallone, who gives one of his best performances in years and gives candid and touching moments in different scenes during the film.
The star of the film though has to be the fight scenes, which are beautifully shot by Marysee Alberti, who decided to use flowing long wide shots complemented by minimal cuts - except for the climax. Outside of the fight scenes the whole film is rich in great shots and there is one in particular towards the end of the film, which holds a lot of energy, and encapsulates everything the film wanted to show and I feel we will be talking about this scene for a while.
By the way the score by Ludwig Goransson is pretty good, especially during the fight at the climax.
Now the story, it is good, however it begins to wobble slightly during the second half of the film and by no means is it subtle, which is proved by the characters who just state what they mean, fortunately Jordan and Stallone manage to work around it. I felt the romantic sub-plot came out of nowhere. Other than those minor problems I found the film to be high entertaining, during the fights the tension and the stakes are felt and the father-son like relationship between Balboa and Creed is played out nicely however it is not too subtle.
Now the sound editing is good for the most part, however in some scenes when Stallone is shouting- it sounds as if he is sitting inside of my ear with a megaphone. Also some of the make-up is distracting- I won't say any more.
To conclude, I recommend you go and watch Creed, it is a very engaging film with some exciting moments. I know I will be buying it on blu- ray for the score and the beautiful cinematography. Creed has a place in my top five films of this year, therefore i am going to give Creed an 8/10 or a B+.
Everest (2015)
Flawed.
Everest is a film that tells the story of the 1996 Mount Everest disaster, in which a climbing expedition is devastated by a severe storm. The film was directed by 2 Guns director Baltasar Kormakur and written by William Nicholson (Gladiator, Les Miserables) and Oscar winner Simon Beaufoy (Slumdog Millionaire and 127 Hours), starring Jason Clarke, John Hawkes and Josh Brolin. To start the film is beautiful; the director of photography Salvatore Totino presented the size and scale of the environment beautifully with multiple aerial shots. Totino has a clear and linear style, which is refreshing after the summer, which with the exception of a couple of films, has been dominated by shaky-cam and extremely quick cuts.
The dialogue in the film stands out, however the plot does not. The characters were underdeveloped, partially due to the lack of introduction that is given to our main characters; this combined with the slow pace of the first act causes the film to drag. However it should be noted that the film makes a point of showing the process of preparing to climb Everest. The second act is fine, not great though and is intense especially during the storm and finally the film just finishes, which really throws you out of the film.
Although none of the performances in the film were award-worthy they still were acceptable and in some cases quite good. Jason Clarke and Josh Brolin had the meatiest roles, and they both provided good performances. However out of the two, Jason Clarke provided the best performance. The side characters were forgettable, with the exception of Doug (John Hawkes) and Yasuko (Naoko Mori), with Doug being a postman and Yasuko finally completing the seven summits, two things which helped to distinguish them. Everyone in the film was 'care-beared', thankfully, and they had to be otherwise it would impossible to tell who you were looking at.
One part of production that deserves praise in this film is the lighting department who did a superb job on presenting a clear environment; especially during the storm. A quick side note- the score of the film was forgettable.
Ultimately, Everest is an intense drama thriller that has its problems, however is still beautiful to watch, I wouldn't purchase it on 3D Blu-ray, as after watching it in 3D I didn't find anything spectacular or noteworthy, however I would consider buying it on Blu-ray. Overall, I am going to give Everest a C+ or 6/10.
L.A. Confidential (1997)
Seductive.
To Start, L.A. Confidential is a story about corruption, police brutality, trust and masculinity. The film follows three policemen who have different ways of solving cases. The first is Bud White played by Russell Crowe, who uses violence, the second is Ed Exley played by Guy Pearce who is diplomatic and runs to the point and thirdly we have Jack Vincennes played by Kevin Spacey, who is sleazy and likes to be in the spotlight.
All three deliver great performances, however Vincennes character does begin to fade from the film during the second half. However Exley and Whitey both have completed character arcs and are well developed. After the fallout of an event at the start of the film, we can see the different paths Exley and White have taken however both seem to be on a collision course with each other, and as one of them gains a new piece of information, the other will go one step further. White's character is quite interesting, he has respect for women and protects them at all costs, not matter the consequences. To balance this, he is quite violent towards men, making his judgement somewhat clouded, Exley on the other hand believes in one thing and that is Justice, he is also the complete opposite to White, he uses his words before he uses his hands.
The story is slow, but for a film just over two hours long, being slow is fine. The tone is well dark, and it provides irony, as L.A. in 1950's at least was advertised as the city where dreams come true and in L.A. Confidential we see the dark truth. For the most part the script is logical and lateral, however there are a few minor, and they really are minor, hiccups. For example,at a plot point in the film, a character gives another character an essential clue, however I found it silly that the former character who had been so careful up until this point would give away such an essential clue. Other than that the other problems are truly minor. Onto direction, Curtis Hanson manages to wrangle three worlds within one film, and to keep them separate would have been no easy task, and actually sustaining them would have been quite difficult indeed. The sets looked fantastic, they were all quite engrossing, which is always good. The costumes perfectly fit in with the time period and each character's costume was recognisable, and unlike Jurassic Park, the character's costumes were not Care-beared or in other words each character had a different coloured shirt. The cinematography was great and worked with the limitations of the film. Although the score was nominated for an Oscar, it just didn't fit for me.
In conclusion, L.A. Confidential is a great film and definitely anybody who is a fan of crime dramas or mystery and detective films should watch. My rating: 9/10.
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014)
A meticulously crafted story with stellar performances.
Birdman is a dark comedy about Riggan Thompson, a washed up actor who puts on a play, throughout the film he battles his ego and attempts to recover his family all before the opening of the play. With a methodical story, Birdman becomes a film that is easy to follow and still talks about serious themes, such as drug addiction, control, adultery, relevance, film critics, friendship, lying, celebrities and of course superheroes. All these themes are woven flawlessly into the script that is delivered perfectly thanks to the great direction of Alejandro G. Inarritu and stellar performances from Michael Keaton, Zach Galifianakis, Edward Norton, Emma Stone and Naomi Watts. Keaton was the only person who could play Riggan Thompson, the chemistry between Keaton and Stone was great, the constant banter between pretty much everyone in the cast was a great touch and the weight of the film was so effectively executed in the dialogue. Alejandro Inarritu's directing was meticulous and precise, but the cinematography by Emmanuel Lubezki was fantastic, the idea for the film to look like one take was an intelligent idea and it allowed the film to feel like a play, which was a nice touch and was an effective technique.
Birdman talks about the negative effects of drugs, yet taking drugs is accepted by and sometimes even encouraged by society. The film dives into the role of the director and how their ego can sometimes come in the way of the production, sometimes causing damage to their work, it also talks about clashing egos between cast and crew, the manipulative ways of the director and the struggle for absolute control on what should be a collaborative project. The film comments on relevance through Riggan's ever changing struggle to become relevant once more. But Riggan isn't the only one who struggles with being relevant, we see the supporting cast also struggle as they too wish to be relevant. The film touches on film critics and makes the statement of how most film critics just give labels to everything and don't talk about story or structure, but rather they focus on grudges or jealousies they may hold for performers in the production. The film touches on celebrities and how they take a lot more credit for their work than they should, it also comments on how people instantly forget about one celebrity after x amount of years and move onto the new celebrity who is doing the exact same thing as the last celebrity.
In summary Birdman is a excellent film that has been beautifully shot, crafted and performed into a masterpiece. Birdman is the best film of 2014 for me and it is definitely worth watching. 10/10.
Paddington (2014)
Best live-action kids film of the year!
When I heard hey were making a film based on a book (that I personally love) I was sceptical, however once I saw the trailer, I wanted to go see the film, then I heard Colin Firth dropped out of the project so I was a little bit worried about the film, then I went to the cinemas and the film was cute and memorable, which is exactly what it needed to be.
Paddington is a film about a bear who comes from Darkest Peru and arrives in Paddington Station where he is taken in by the Brown family, and from there shenanigans ensue and so on. Paddington is a film about being different, the state of society and family. The theme of family is what the story revolves around, the Brown family goes from being a distant and strange family to a colourful and peaceful family. The film makes commentary on the state of society and how people don't socialise with strangers who they walk by everyday, and how everything that one person says to another is a criticism and even the lack of healthy relationships between people and in families. However the core theme is accepting being different, Paddington is the example, he is a bear in a human world, he is the outsider, he is different, he goes through all the loops that outsiders go through, he is sad when he first gets to his destination, he is disappointed, he doesn't understand but my most importantly he provides insight into the world he is coming into, he finds the distant relationships, he finds the lack of communication and the lack of acceptance.
Paddington manages to wrap all this into a 95 minute family film that is funny all the way from beginning to end and is both memorable and fun for everyone. Paddington isn't a money grab, it is a passionate film that has creative cinematography, good writing, some good performances from Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins and Nicole Kidman, along with some great voice acting from Ben Whishaw and Imelda Staunton.
To summarise, Paddington is a serious film about meaning something, but it is also creative, funny, memorable and all around fun film for the whole family, therefore Paddington receives an 8/10.
Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014)
Underwhelming.
I am so very disappointed in Exodus: Gods and Kings, it could have have been an epic, just like the biblical epics of the 1950's, however it was not and it really fell short of what i was expecting. I expected more Sigourney Weaver instead she said two lines and sat in the background just looking at nothing, i expected more Aaron Paul instead he said one line and for the rest of the film, he communicated via eyebrows, i expected a duel between Moses and Rhamses, while two waves tower over them, instead they ran towards each other, stopped about 10 metres away from each other and had a conversation about the wave coming towards them. Also the film was 150 minutes long, which was way too short, i heard Ridley Scott say the film was originally meant to be about four hours long, yes, that's good, give me that version then the film might actually be awesome.
Exodus: Gods and Kings is a mixed bag kind of a film, some elements such as Christian Bale as Moses are good, while, John Turturro as Seti was a terrible idea. The battle sequence at the beginning of the film was awesome, while the fight scene at the end of the film (sorry lack of) was horrible and underwhelming. The effects were great, the writing was just okay, the directing was great, the character development- rushed.
Exodus: Gods and Kings could have been a really awesome film, and already parts of the film were awesome, as i said Ridley Scott did an excellent job directing the film, the casting choices of Christian Bale as Moses, Joel Edgerton as Rhamses and Ben Kingsley as Nun were all fantastic (because they all provided good performances). The costumes and visual effects were great, both did stumble a bit, in different parts of the film however that is forgivable, however something that isn't forgivable is the lack of run-time (this film really should have been four hours long) and the really sloppy writing.
In conclusion, Exodus: Gods and Kings was an underwhelming 150 minute blockbuster that with some work and a longer runtime could have been an interesting and superb four hour epic. So Exodus: Gods and Kings receives a 6/10.
The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
One of the best films of the year!
I wish i went and saw The Grand Budapest Hotel in cinemas, and if it wasn't for Godzilla i would have, but i didn't so when i heard The Grand Budapest Hotel was available at my local JB-HI-FI, i ran down and bought a copy and well now i am going to tell you what i thought about one of the best films of the year.
Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel is a film about war, love, commitment, murder, manipulation,image and friendship. Wes Anderson manages to balance these heavy themes so neither one out weighs the other and makes sure that the themes are played out with subtly but presented directly to the audience. War is one themes that is clearly present in the film, but is played so well, that half the time you forget it is even making an impact on the film itself. The theme of love and manipulation define Ralph Fiennes' character M. Gustave as throughout the film he searches for something without even knowing it. Love is also played out excellently in the relationship between Zero and Agatha, who have superb chemistry. Commitment is another themes that comes up and is discussed in a few scenes between Zero and M. Gustave. Image and how people want to be seen comes up in the film, with M. Gustave who is obsessed with his image. But the theme of friendship is perhaps the most important, with the relationship between M. Gustave and Zero and the acts of friendship and commitment to one another, it shows friendship as a bond that cannot be broken.
The writing was fantastic, with a story is original, creative, fun and intriguing, it will keep the audience interested from start to finish, the dialogue is perfect, Wes Anderson's directing style never gets old and provides a playful and authentic visual experience for the audience. The sets were amazing, the costumes brilliant and the make-up fantastic, they managed to make Tilda Swinton unrecognisable. The acting was superb all around, with a award worthy performance from Ralph Fiennes, and great performances from Zero and Saoirse Ronan, who had excellent chemistry and presented their dialogue perfectly.
To sum up, The Grand Budapest Hotel is one of the best films of the year, with award worthy work all around. Wes Anderson presents a fun memorable film, that doesn't disappoint. The Grand Budapest is definitely in my top 15 favourite films of all time, therefore it receives a 9/10.
The Babadook (2014)
A Truly Terrifying Film.
The Babadook is a terrifying psychological thriller with a brilliant blend of drama and horror that keeps you on the edge of your seat. The Babadook explores heavy themes and their psychological effect on an individual. The Babadook has been brilliantly written, with excellent dialogue that puts the audience into the story and an interesting story that keeps the audience interested. The directing was great and managed to capture the concept of horror and provide a visual experience that terrified me. Every time the Babadook was mentioned, I was scared, because the character had been designed to be so terrifying and realistic that you believe the creature actually existed. However to actually sell something to the audience is a difficult process, and with great writing, clever directing and brilliant performances the process becomes much more achievable. Essie Davis delivered an award worthy performance, throughout the film she goes through an array of emotions, that require strong acting to complete. To summarise, The Babadook is the best horror film i have seen in years, with great acting, directing and superb writing from Jennifer Kent, The Babadook receives a 9/10.
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
Another Kubrick Masterpiece!
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb revolves around the theme of war. The film presents the theme of war with sharp comedy coming from interesting and well-developed characters, all this provides for an entertaining experience in one of Kubrick's masterpieces.
Dr. Strangelove came out just after the Cuban Missile Crisis, the film presents the fear of MAD and just how easy it is for everything to fall apart. However the film is more about the way war is handled, we see those who are afraid and make decisions they think are right and suit their morals, however those decisions have greater ramifications for others. We see soldiers following orders, and how realistically the soldier is not the one who should be held to blame, but rather those who deliver the orders in the first place. And finally we see how the leaders of war handle war, Kubrick displays this in the war room, where he shows the audience that the leaders are not exactly capable of handling the situation at hand. Overall though, Kubrick displays the childish nature of war and how the actions of others lead to a much larger consequences and how it affects the innocent bystanders. On the other hand Kubrick shows the audience the reality of war and it's volatile nature. And this is what makes Dr. Strangelove so successful, it shows the two sides of war using sharp comedy along with interesting characters and a plot that keeps the audience on the edge of their seats.
Peter Sellers and George C. Scott delivered superb performances, with Sellers playing three characters in the movie, George C. Scott is perfect in the film and everyone else was great as well. The directing from Kubrick is amazing and he writing is excellent. Dr. Strangelove is a superb comedy classic everyone should watch. 10/10.
Interstellar (2014)
Nolan's 2001: A Space Odyssey.
2001: A Space Odyssey revolutionised the way sci-fi films are made and the way audiences view them. So naturally over the last 46 years, many film makers have tried to recreate the magic of 2001: A Space Odyssey, however in my opinion I do not believe any film maker has achieved the magic that Kubrick created back in 1968.
However when I heard that Christopher Nolan would be creating Interstellar, a new and original film about space and humanity, it became clear that Interstellar would be paying homage to 2001: A Space Odyssey throughout the whole film. However i am not saying that Interstellar is just a direct homage, it is in it's own, an original film that shows themes that 2001: A Space Odyssey did not. The theme of love is a key element in the story, the theme of survival is also a key element in the story, both these themes distinguish Interstellar from 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Interstellar is a great film about humanity, survival, love, exploring the unknown and the human experience, all these themes are given the respect they deserve and provide the audience with a clever and complex plot that provides for great cinema. Unfortunately, some of the magic of the film is lost through Nolan's exposition where he spoon-feeds the audience everything they need to know and more. This defeats the mystery and edge the film should have, instead we are given so much information that the story actually begins to drag.
On the other hand, Interstellar makes up for this by providing the audience with a visual experience worth watching on the big screen in its highest quality. The blend of visual and practical effects provides the audience with a space that looks believable and awe- inspiring. Nolan presents his visual masterpiece in such a professional and interesting way that the audience is kept entertained with the visuals even if the story begins to drag.
The acting in Interstellar was great. Anne Hathaway provided a great performance along with Michael Caine, Matt Damon and John Lithgow, but the real magic of the film came from the father-daughter relationship between Matthew McConaughey's character Cooper and Mackenzie Foy's character Murph, their relationship was what kept me and invested in the film, i wanted to see if they would ever see each other ever again, i wanted the two to come back together. Their relationship is what drove the movie and allowed the audience to connect to the characters in Interstellar's complex plot.
To sum up, Interstellar is a good film that could have been great with a little bit of tweaking, not Nolan's greatest film but without a doubt one of his greatest visual achievements that everyone should definitely go and watch on the big screen to enjoy the cinematic experience that is Interstellar. Therefore Interstellar is receiving a 7/10.
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Visual Poetry!
2001: A Space Odyssey is a film that is very hard to describe and also a film that says film is not just art it is high art and has true meaning and relevance in society. 2001: A Space Odyssey is a film raises the bar in terms of how sci-fi films are seen, how sci- fi films can show relevance in today's society, how sci-fi films can offer deep and meaningful insight into the human experience and also provide moral lessons to an audience, 2001: A Space Odyssey also showed off it's amazing effects and clever story and score that keeps people invested in the story and wanting more.
Over the years many film makers have tried to recreate the magic of 2001: A Space Odyssey, however I don't think that over, the past 46 years there has been a film that has come close to achieving the visual poetry that 2001: A Space Odyssey so flawlessly presented.
2001: A Space Odyssey is a unique film that pushes the audience's beliefs and how we see the issues of human efficiency, technology and the unknown. Stanley Kubrick blends these themes flawlessly and executes them with his trademarks, providing the audience with a deep film that is both eerie and mesmerising.
In conclusion 2001: A Space Odyssey is a timeless classic that many consider visual poetry. It is a film everyone should watch and for that reason 2001: A Space Odyssey receives a 10/10.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 (2014)
Part One Syndrome Strikes Again!
When I went to the cinema to see The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 I was expecting to see a film close to The Deathly Hallows Part 1, and that is exactly what was delivered. I am convinced that Mockingjay part 1 almost takes the plot structure from Deathly Hallows part 1 and recycles it, just with Mockingjay's story. Here is my evidence, both films start with the lead character struggling with a major change to their story that happened at the end of the previous film, both focus on a sub-plot in the overall story arc, both feature limited fight sequences, both feature one of the main character's friends being away from the story and both end with a cliffhanger. Now, do not be confused and think that I am saying that Mockingjay and Deathly Hallows are bad films, no I think both films were enjoyable. What I am saying though is that both films were created for one reason, and that was for the money, now you could say that both films were needed however I would respond by saying they could be combined with part two. Part one's are just sub plots that have been extended out to be longer, so the companies who are behind the franchises can rake in some extra cash.
Now Mockinjay Part 1 is a good film, the acting was fine, the character development was average, I don't think I would consider Katniss to be a true hero yet. I liked the secondary characters such as President Coin and Finnich, however I am disappointed we didn't get to see some action with Finnich and his trident, note to Part 2, use Finnich and his trident otherwise I will be disappointed. The writing was fine, it really isn't worth talking about. I enjoyed looking at the sets, the costumes were cool, however I do feel the story did stray a little when they began to focus on Katniss's fashion, it just took me out of the film and was one of the reasons i don't truly see Katniss as a hero yet. Now finally, the directing, the tone of the film I felt wasn't as dark as Catching Fire, the pacing of the film did wobble from time to time but one thing did return that annoyed me, the shaky cam, it only appeared for the action sequences, but it was still annoying and it took me out of the film, i don't know why it was brought back, but it was a bad move none the less. Overall, Mockingjay Part 1 is an enjoyable film, that any fan will enjoy going to watch, however it does stumble into the shadow of Catching Fire. Therefore Mockingjay Part 1 receives a 6/10.
The Maze Runner (2014)
Another forgettable and quite vexing adaptation.
Jacob's Review: I did not have high hopes or any real sense of anticipation, in fact I saw this movie on a spontaneous whim. The premise of this movie is similar to a lot of common young adult novels were teenagers are thrown into a perilous situation, need to work their way out, the special or reluctant hero and being observed and monitored by an oppressive of suspicious cooperation or government. Such premises have been tackled in films and their novel counterparts such as The Hunger Games and Divergent. This movie does have unbelievable and contrived reasons for its central Maze setting which is reluctantly passable at first but becomes more frustrating as the film explains itself. There are good performances and you do fear for our heroes in some very well executed maze chase sequences. Essentially an amnesia ridden teenager is delivered monthly to the maze via an underground elevator and the characters have to survive with no idea about their surroundings and restricted monthly resources. Interesting take on the young adult survivalist premise but as stated it really makes little to no sense. There are cyborg creatures that are treated with much fear and dread (hence their name grievers) but off course they are only great at diminishing the expendables and are clumsy around our heroes. The end has a severe case sequel bait and it only makes the ending more and more infuriating. See it if you want to, but you won't get anything terrific. 5/10
Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
A hilarious comedy with spectacular action and a whole lot of heart.
Ciaran's Review:I remember when i first saw GotG open with a nine, with positive reviews and then opening with 160 million dollars worldwide i was amazed and it was at this point that i made the decision to go watch this movie. Did i make the right decision? Yes. Guardians of the Galaxy's story line is one that is intriguing, it follows quite an ordinary structure (in terms of a bunch of outcasts come to form a powerful team), but it is what happens in this structure that is so intriguing. The film doesn't waste anytime building character, and they really nailed building characters, throughout the whole film you feel connected to the characters, which is what film is all about, feeling connected to the story and characters who experience it and GotG managed to do this so well, and that is one reason why it is one of the best films of this year. Now, when i saw that James Gunn the writer of the Scooby-Doo films was writing and directing i was worried, but when i saw the film apparently i had nothing to worry about, as the directing was smooth and enjoyable to watch, he didn't have any weird camera angles, at times you did notice the odd camera angle but for the most part you forgot who the director was, i personally think that Guardians of the Galaxy is James Gunn's best film and i think he will overtime become known for it. Onto acting, when i saw the cast for GotG, i thought it could work, and it really did work, Chris Pratt was the best fit, he had humor and he played his character well, Zoe Saldana was the only person who could play Gamora, she was fast and witty, Dave Bautista is perhaps the best wrestler to movie star to hit our screens since the rock, he aced his performance as Drax, Vin Disel's voice suited Groot, and Bradley Cooper as Rocket, i really think Cooper stole the show, when Rocket was on screen you watched him and listened to him, even when he wasn't on screen you wanted to see Rocket, i really believe he stole the show. Now there is one thing i had a problem with and that is Ronan the Accuser, as a villain his motives were quite average, and i think if he had been written to have a bit more comedy, he would have worked as a character, other than that, Lee Pace really made the character his own. Onto CGI and let me tell you, at no point in this movie did the CGI look cheap, the whole way through the CGI was convincing, so well done to GotG's effects department for pulling off these great results. Now the soundtrack in this movie i have one word for it 'awesome', every song suited the situation, it tied the whole movie together, i think if you removed the soundtrack from this movie and replaced it, i think the whole movie would just not have the same emotional feel because the soundtrack is so important in this film. To sum it all up, Guardians of the Galaxy is a hilarious comedy with spectacular action and a whole lot of heart, and that is why Guardians of the Galaxy is getting a 9/10 from me.
Jacob: The trailers to this movie made it appear that it was something different and possibly more quirky than any of the other previous installments to the Marvel cinematic universe. The trailer gave me hope although I was not heavily anticipating the release. The reviews came in with overwhelming positive reaction with people already quoting the movie and a tremendous U.S box office result. With all honesty, I loved every moment of this movie, even the tired Marvel tropes. How so? The movie glorifies familiarity and the odd, outlandish characters and scenarios. The villain is a generic megalomaniac but is somewhat comedic because he is so power hungry and silly in his motivation. The McGuffin plot was to be expected and it is a generic super-powerful object but it did little to annoy me when it came to triteness. The film is incredibly self aware, funny and surprisingly engaging. The movie has a sweet centre, a real emotional core which invests you with every character. I gained a sort of outlook on this movie: this is a mixture of everything that fan-boys and fan-girls will love. It has a Star Wars, Star Trek, Avengers, Indiana Jones, Uncharted feel to it. Chris Pratt was so likable just as well as the remaining cast members. I have little more to say but 9/10. I AM GROOT!
Hercules (2014)
The better Hercules of the year.
Ciaran's Review: Hercules is an action packed fun adventure film with a half-decent story, okay acting and of course great action. To start, the film is directed by Brett Ratner, personally i only liked Rush Hour, which was one of his earlier films. Anyway, his directing wasn't annoying throughout the whole movie, there were a few scenes where he seemed as if he wanted the audience to notice his directing, but for the most part his directing was clean and didn't annoy audiences. The story in this movie was definitely not a strong point, according to the end credits, the film was adapted from the Hercules comics, i have not read the comics and i still managed to follow the story. There wasn't anything special in the story, although towards the end of the film we do see some twists and turns which did prove to be entertaining and i was actually quite interested in what could happen next. I will say this, the story is quite clichéd and therefore was quite predictable, but i feel the film made up for this by bringing stunning visuals and awesome action-packed scenes. Now onto acting, the cast gave a good performance all round, Dwayne Johnson although not my first pick to play Hercules, still embraced the role he was given, his supporting cast also seemed to slip into their characters. John Hurt may have been the only actor who was perhaps going overboard with his performance but other than that, the overall acting was good. Sometimes in a movie there is a great death scene that is so over the top it makes you laugh so hard that you start crying, there is one of these scenes in Hercules. So to conclude, i recommend that you go see Hercules as it is a fun action packed adventure film with a decent cast and story. Hercules is receiving a 7/10 from Ciaran.
Jacob's Review: I didn't expect much from this movie but I did not really want much from it. I put this on the same level on which I put something like the Mummy series on: shallow, corny but mostly an entertaining "popcorn flick". The action was, at some points, "fist-pumpingly" awesome, the acting was good and so were the effects. It follows the story of the glory- seeking Hercules who really is just a facade or a legend to scare villains. The problem with this is that at the end of the film, he is encouraged to become the legend and gains super strength but that blatantly stated that most of the Greek Mythos was just a myth so did he really become Hercules or not? That left me a bit vexed but overall this movie can be missed but if you are looking for some good, almost 90's-esque action then it delivers. There are plenty of hilarious movie deaths both intentional and unintentional. This movie probably delivers the most unintentionally funny death sequence from John Hurt because it is so cheesy, so ridiculous and obviously computer generated that I was out of breath. It gets a 7/10
Home Alone (1990)
Perhaps the best live-action kids film out there.
Home Alone, is known worldwide, we all know the story and we all know at least one line from the movie, and it was only lately that i decided it deserved to be re watched, and so i did and i found that the film was great but it did have some errors which i will discuss in this review. Anyway to start this short review, lets have a look at the story, we have Kevin McCallister, the child of (even though they never say) rich couple who are going on a vacation to Paris, in the madness of trying to get out of the house, the leave Kevin behind. Then we have some burglars who want to rob the place, and Kevin must defend his house. Now, i found this to be believable but some of the things that happen throughout the story are strange, such as (i think) we sometimes see the world as Kevin sees it such as the Oven(?) downstairs and Old Man Marley at the grocery store. These were just some unusual points in the movie, which is nor a good or bad thing. You could say the whole movie is about growing up and becoming more selfless rather than being selfish, and this is a good message to tell, it also seems to make an entertaining movie. Onto directing, what can i say Chris Columbus is a good director when it comes to kids films, he is definitely a safe choice. Now i think i will mention a few mistakes in the movie i noticed such as- Buzz could not have seen Old Man Marley from where he was standing, as the curtains were half closed and Old Man Marley was on the far right, not in the middle of the window, therefore Buzz could never had seen him. Also one other thing, was the church scene sort of like in Kevin's mind showing Old Man Marley coming from the dark, scary side over to Kevin's light, nice side, just what i saw in the lighting. Anyway to sum up the film i personally think it is one of the best kids films out there and is a must watch for everybody. Home Alone gets a 7/10.
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)
One of the better films of the year!
Ciaran: When i walked into cinemas i was expecting a typical sequel, and a plot building up to a third film, i was 50% correct, i am not going to spoil any vital plot details, but i will say this, the whole film is here to show the transition the world has made after the world has undergone a global pandemic and how the survivors live now, but the movie also focuses on the apes and their lives in the Redwood forests outside San Fransisco, the film tries to give the humans and apes equal screen time, although i did notice the apes managed to gain a smidgen more than the humans, but considering the title of this movie, it is probably the appropriate move, this move also managed to create a movie that was enjoyable. First, the acting, our lead characters Ceaser (Andy Serkis) and Malcolm (Jason Clarke)both maintained a great performance throughout the film, the film also had a supporting cast made up of Keri Russel and Gary Oldman, (and that is only naming a few) who both gave a good performance, although i did feel that Oldman's character was a bit preachy, it also seemed that his character's morals were muddled but this may have been a simple mistake somewhere in the story. Other than that issue i enjoyed the acting. The film was quite normal when it came to the styles Matt Reeves used to convey the story, to be brief i didn't find the directing to be anything special. Now onto CGI, and i can say it looked amazing for the most part, the apes looked amazing but any other animal such as deers, not so amazing, now i know the budget has to go to the important things but maybe just before releasing the film just touch those effects up a little. To conclude, the ending to this movie was pretty good, but has now left us on a cliffhanger to see the next movie. I hope to watch the 3rd movie in 2016 and i can say i recommended you watch Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. My final rating 8/10.
Jacob's Review: This movie is an epic experience and the best film to be released this summer if you can take chimpanzees with machine guns on horseback seriously. The problems that arise with the film are only minor. Firstly, the dialogue can be occasionally weak, in fact, the weakest part about the movie is the human element, again. It is improved however through more motivated performances with real conflict and struggle. The lead, Malcolm, I originally thought was just another Aaron Taylor Johnson type but it is more passionately acted so the need for more depth and complexity can be side-noted. Gary Oldman plays a character who I originally thought was going to be the generic Avatar bad guy who is just blinded by unguided prejudice but that was replaced with a character who you can relate and understand why he is going to great lengths to protect his people. The direction is slick and the scenery is gorgeous. The real achievement is the special effects, action and ape element. The CGI is beautiful but every computer based performance for a bear looks incredibly fake. This is a CGI heavy film but it would be worthless if it didn't have an emotional core that drives the film. The action is enthralling and motion capture presentation is great. Andy Serkis as Caesar gives a complex and heart-felt performance as well as his ape cohorts, especially Koba, the villain. Koba is a disgusting and abhorring character and it is great to see him getting his ass kicked. This is the Dark Knight to the Batman Begins, The Empire Strikes Back to Star Wars and deserves a 9/10.
Alien (1979)
A truly original survival horror film.
Jacob's Review: Alien is the first entry to the Alien franchise and so far it is one of the best. The surprising element to me in this film was its pacing. Being raised in an era of film that is so ADD ridden and impatient could influence my thinking ability when it comes to analyzing film but it was so refreshing to see a movie that builds such an eerie and desolate atmosphere. The movie is patient and rather builds tension and character before SNAP and something horrific happens. This is what may dispirit a lot of viewers which is why many people prefer Aliens (1986) to the topic film. It works for me. The characters act like real people and the design, metamorphosis and behaviour of the alien creature is incredibly haunting but left open to interpretation due to the mystery that shrouds the creature (or later known as xenomorph) in its latter stage. If you haven't seen it then I recommend this truly unique gem to those with an attention span. 9/10
Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)
A Fun Summer Sci-fi film
I was introduced two the first Planet of the Apes films when I was around 10. While I enjoyed them, they weren't anything that I wanted to view again. I got around to watching this film with no anticipation or any idea of the concept but merely a recommendation from my friends. I witnessed a film that impressed me and continues to do so. While the CGI apes are occasionally phony, I was sincerely impressed on a special effects level and a sci-fi story level. The downside however are the human characters. Franco has been given very little to work with, and the rest are a bit cartoony: the boss that is only concerned about money, an overly-aggravated neighbour and a bratty aggravated teen played by Malfoy. His father also doesn't react too concerned when he is axed off. Franco sees his pet chimp lead an army of apes into the redwoods however he isn't scared, worried or any normal reaction, in fact he seems proud that his pet ape lead an army of apes and killed innocent people. The one plot convenience that bothered me is that, Caesar, our leading ape was born with increased brain function which is hereditary due to his mother being injected with an anti-Alzheimer formula. When spending time with other apes he exposes them to this medicine which makes them smarter. After they escape they rally up some more apes from zoos who haven't been exposed. And I guess they instinctively know what they are doing and where they are going. Other than that, the best aspect is the apes who give almost human-like performances with real emotion. Go see it. 7/10
Walking with Dinosaurs 3D (2013)
A potential classic but utterly gutted and smeared with childish jokes.
Jacob's Review: I am an enormous dinosaur fan and I share this fanatic behaviour with a close friend. When we heard news of a Walking with Dinosaurs movie, the child in me got excited. I was utterly obsessed with the television documentary and a film adaptation seemed like a good idea at the time. However, I didn't hear an abundance of positive descriptions about this movie. So when I entered the theatre I braced myself... We could not have made a greater mistake than paying $20 each to go see this movie. The animation was spectacular but that was the only truly great attribute. For years many directors have been attempting to tell a prehistoric story simply through visuals or narration and this film's trailers depicted it in that light. It turns out that as an after thought, voice overs were added and a prologue with some dweeb teen who hates dinosaurs. He is then confronted by a bird voiced by John Leguizamo who can communicate telepathically. The bird begins to tell a story about a herd of ancient behemoths and the journey of three lost Pachyrhinosaurs. The voice overs are atrocious and all they ever talk about is fart, vomit and poop. It is really distracting when something is supposed to be taken seriously but is juxtaposed with this immature attempt to be humorous. It was as if the producers thought that children's attention spans wont last long if there isn't lines like "get your butt out of my face". As a stroke of genius they put this in because that's all kids care about isn't it? Screw this film. This movie is annoying and weak. Don't feed this to children. 3/10
Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014)
165 minutes of Bay...it almost killed me.
Ciaran: When i sat down in the cinema i knew that the film wasn't going to be anything special, and i didn't expect to see anything good or interesting come from this film. I know some people loved the film, and others are wishing it never happened. So i am going to give my review of Transformers: Age of Extinction. The movie starts in Texas where we meet Mark Whalberg a generic inventor with financial problem, he has a seventeen year old daughter played by Nicola Peltz (Katara from Shyamalan's The Last Airbender)and they have this normal relationship where the father doesn't want her to date, and she just wants him to stop being so obsessed with inventing. Anyway most of the movie focuses on the humans instead of the transformers, and to be honest i didn't care about the humans, and because the focus was on the humans, i didn't care about the transformers, so in turn i didn't care about the movie at all. The acting was just bland from our leads, the only character i actually cared about was Stanley Tucci's and i can't even remember the character's name. T.J Miller was in this movie, and he was sort of the comic relief, but he wasn't funny at all, he even makes a slavery joke. Kelsey Grammar is also in the movie, and his character is just stereotypical,i really couldn't care about him. To summarize the acting in this movie, it was just horrid. The directing, oh god, Bay has to stop with the shaky cam and the dutch camera angles, i mean he just overused them, and the structure of the film is no different to any of the other Transformers films, first act= supposed character development, second act= government conspiracy and robots rolling about the place, then the third act= Micheal Bay's feast of explosions. I think by the second act i was shouting 'get on with it!', this movie was just so long, it had all the depth of a Micheal Bay film and the run time of The Godfather. It really was painful to watch. Anyway onto special effects, and i am going to say, the effects in this film were the worst out of the entire Transformers franchise, i mean even scenes from Age of Dinosaurs looked better. And when they said we were going to get dinobots, i expected to see more than four, and i didn't want to just see them for the last 15 minutes and i didn't want to see them not be used in any way, they were just there to look cool, and even then they didn't. Now the auto-bots, yes, Prime and Bumblebee came back, but the other three, were they just stereotypes? YES. You had the fat commando voiced by John Goodman, you had the Japanese warrior only concerned about honor who was voiced by Ken Wantanabe, and finally the the British robot who only cares for power and showing off. So yeah, they're were stereotypes and it was horrible, this whole movie was just horrible, i really hope that Bay at least tries to make the fifth movie a movie i can watch without being bored into oblivion. So to summarize, Transformers: Age of Extinction was a waste of time, as it is a feast of explosions and robots. I highly recommend you do NOT see this film. Transformers: Age of Extinction is receiving a 4/10 from me.
In Bruges (2008)
A dark comedy worth watching
Before i sat down to watch this movie i expected it to be okay, but i was quite wrong, In Bruges is a well constructed film, with great comedy, dark crime and good drama. Starting off with the story, i really like it when a movie tells the prologue throughout the movie giving you more clues and never telling you exactly what happened. The structure was fine and the whole movie was rushed or stretched, the writer managed to blend the action and drama together to create a film just right in length and tone. Onto characters, throughout the 1st and 2nd act of the movie we see the bond between our two main characters build and by the third we see them fallout and a situation follows, that i won't spoil. Onto directing, the scenes where we just got to look at Bruges was just perfect, every angle just matched up with the scene, i really felt the connection to the movie, In Bruges deserves praise for its efforts. It may not be the perfect movie but it certainly a movie worth watching. It receives an 8/10.
The Big Lebowski (1998)
Witty, Hilarious and one of my favourites!
This film was absolutely hilarious, it had witty remarks and i can say with confidence that i love this movie! To start this movie takes a simple complication and just keeps on piling on complication after complication that eventually we would suspect the story would become very complicated and hard to follow, but in The Big Lebowski, the main characters don't seem to be affected by all these situations and complications, some would say this is bad story-telling, but the fact that the main characters acknowledge the difficulties and try to solve them as best they can, and being people who are just going where the wind takes them in life you would think that the whole story would end up the same way even if they weren't there but no it is the exact opposite. Anyway, onto my verdict of the story, coming from the minds of the Coen brothers they managed to create a dark, witty and hilarious story with twists and bumps causing the story to become so detailed yet with a real tone, not a film-real tone a real down to earth tone, i still can't comprehend how they managed to do it. This story will keep you entertained and thinking for weeks, therefore the story gets a pass from me. Onto direction, i thoroughly enjoy the Coen brothers style and in The Big Lebowski it really worked, giving us the exact angle we needed, and entertaining us with beautiful shots with dialogue that will not soon be forgotten. There isn't much else to say other than i am really looking forward to the next Coen brothers film and you should too, so as my final rating i am giving The Big Lebowski a 9/10.
How to Train Your Dragon 2 (2014)
Just as good as the first one.
After watching Maleficent i was really hoping this movie would defy my expectations which were that the sequel to the 2010 original would be a pile of money-making junk, but i was wrong. I have to say, there is something about the HTTYD series, it seems as if everyone who was working on it put all the effort they could into creating an animated kids film like no other, yes the story structure is quite familiar, but the twists and turns the story undertakes is what makes the franchise unique, that and the amazing visuals, because of this HTTYD was a huge success and now i am here to talk about the sequel. The visuals were amazing in this movie, no they were more than amazing, the visuals in this movie took 3d animation to the next level, some scenes i just forgot about what was happening and watched the scenery and there were a few scenes where the audience is supposed to just soak up the environment, these animators have created. There is one problem with the story, it felt as if the writers had just adapted the story to be slightly different than the first one, except this time we had a lot more character development, actually i think that this was what the movie was all about developing the characters for the 3rd film, overall the story was believable and kept me interested but perhaps not hooked. Finally the characters, yeah the villain was interesting, didn't really feel as if he was a bad guy, i felt he was more a misled man who really didn't understand what he was doing- and that was exactly how the movie played him, he was a misled character who Hiccup tried to convince to change their ways and be one with the dragon, and i suppose the whole franchise you could say has the message of 'be one with nature, and respect the creatures who live with us', and now this is good message to tell the younger generations, and the franchise does it so well. My final verdict is that HTTYD2 is a fun family film and i highly recommend you go see it. 8/10
Maleficent (2014)
Clichéd, Poorly Written and outright Boring.
Ciaran: So like most people i saw the trailer, i even watched it in German and initially i was thinking that Maleficent would be decent and once again i was completely wrong. Maleficent is a Clichéd, Poorly written and just outright boring film. Yes, the visuals were impressive and yes Angelina Jolie was the right choice for Maleficent but this movie had so many flaws it was just horrible. To begin with the dialogue, Maleficent's dialogue was enjoyable, but everyone else was just garbage. Stephan- Garbage, Aurora- Garbage, Everyone else- GARBAGE. And even when they said something it was cliché after cliché after cliché, i even started raising my hand when they said something clichéd. Don't think i was surprised by how the dialogue and story were just poorly written i knew who was behind this, her name- Linda Woolverton, she also wrote the 2010 Alice in Wonderland which was clichéd and poorly written. I can use one word to describe the story and dialogue and that word is poor. Onto direction and this is what i will say i was dazzled by the colours and the clichéd creatures- not, the visuals were great just everything was so clichéd that at least two times throughout the movie i really wanted to walk out of the cinema. Also the camera angles and shots in Maleficent are different to what we normally see, now this both made me interested and annoyed, yes some of the camera angles were interesting but it did get a little bit annoying after time, in some shots it just felt as if the director was saying 'i know nothing is happening, but just look at Jolie!' To sum it up Annoying and Clichéd. Onto acting, and i am going to say Angelina Jolie was by far the actress most suited to playing Maleficent, she looked the part and really soaked up her character. Elle Fanning- She was okay, she got annoying after a while as her whole character was 'oh, look everything is pretty, i'm pretty'. Other characters such as Stefan and the fairies were annoying for the whole movie, but whenever Jolie came on screen i was like 'alright lets see something happen'- basically i am trying to say that if Jolie wasn't in the scene i was bored, so really the acting was okay. I will quickly skip through the music and editing, the music was entertaining and kept me interested, the editing was strange in some areas, but for the most part it was fine. To conclude my review i was really hoping that the start to the summer blockbuster season would be better but i suppose my hopes now lie with X-Men, Planet of the Apes and How to Train Your Dragon 2, to sum it all up, Maleficent is a highly clichéd and a very boring movie. 5/10