The Wolverine!!!!

The Wolverine.

When the world of X-Men was released to the world one of the main characters who came out as a big fan favourite was Wolverine (Hugh Jackman). Three films into the franchise and the world finally got a Wolverine only film 'X-Men Origins: Wolverine' which wasn't received very well. But this time round it feels that the Marvel franchise have got things right deciding to carry on the story after the death of Jean Gray. 

Picking up after the third film it shows how a  down and out Wolverine is living in the wild with a grizzly bear and has recurring nightmares of killing Jean Grey. As he gets into a fight in a local bar a young Yukio (Rila Fukushima)  intervenes and saves him from killing anyone. Explaining who she is and who she works for he is soon flown to Japan to meet his long lost friend Yashida (Ken Yamamura). Finally meeting the older Yashida (Hal Yamanouchi) the story of how they both met is played out on screen as you see Logan saving a young Yashida's life and in exchange for him saving his life he says he can make Logan mortal again. 

Soon enough Logan is approached in his sleep by Viper (Svetlana Khodchenkova) who implants something into his body which he has no knowledge of as he thinks it was a nightmare. As Logan is attacked and fights his way to save Yashida's daughter Mariko (Tao Okamoto) he sustains cuts, stab wounds and gun shot wounds to his body but yet he doesn't heal like he used to. Hindered by this affliction he carries on as normal trying to find Mariko and also try and regain his superhuman powers as well. 

With a final showdown with a massive metal samurai you finally see who is behind it all and what they truly want. Will Logan unleash the Wolverine and save Mariko and will he regain his superpowers again?

One thing I loved about this film is the setting, set in Japan it gives the film a different feel and using Japanese characters really does bring something fresh to the table. Hugh Jackman looks incredible, it has to be the most ripped he has ever been to play the rabid Wolverine and it really shows on screen. During fight scenes you see all his veins pop out and you see the stress lines on his face which just gives that ferocious image that better edge. The storyline is a clever one and I like how it follows on from the third X-Men film instead of being a complete new story and allows the story to possible follow on even more. 

With the added Marvel scene after the credits have rolled by it shows and sets up what we can expect from the next X-Men instalment film: X-Men: Days Of Future Past.

8/10.

The Worlds End!!!!

The Worlds End.

The final film in what is being described as the "three flavours cornetto trilogy", first their was Shaun of the Dead (Strawberry) then Hot Fuzz (Classico) and now we have The World's End (Mint). Obviously I have to admit I LOVED Strawberry and Vanilla, I mean Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz so I had high expectations going into this film and it didn't disappoint. 

Starting off back in time twenty or so years we see the group of lads all looking youthful and ready to take on the world but they must first try and do the Golden Mile of pubs. Basically to visit 12 pubs and drink 12 pints in their hometown of Newton Haven and live to tell the tale. As the boys try to do the Golden Mile they unfortunately fail and all eventually leave their hometown to start their own lives away from Newton Haven. 

Soon enough the cool one of the group Gary King (Simon Pegg) decides to reunite the gang, return to Newton Haven and try and complete the Golden Mile. But he has some work to do as most of the group have moved on, Oliver "O-Man" (Martin Freeman) is an estate agent, Steven (Paddy Considine) is a construction business owner, Peter (Eddie Marsan) is a father of two and Andrew (Nick Frost) is a high flying lawyer. But with some wise words and encouragement the group agree to go on the pub crawl and all end up back in their hometown in Gary's old classic car just like years earlier.

As the boys make their way around the pubs they soon realise that things aren't what they used to be. As Gary gets in a fight with a teen in the toilets in soon turns into a 5 V 5 fight in which they end up with blue ink on their hands. As Oliver's sister Sam (Rosamund Pike) turns up she soon joins in the boys fun and the conspiracy theories soon fly around trying to work out what was going on and what has changed in Newton Haven. 

As the alien robots are soon after the group of lads the boys try to survive Gary is determined to make it to the World's End and finally finish something in his life.

This film has everything that we loved from the first two films, it has laughs, action, great characters and a great storyline. The used of extras is great as well as we see some of the UK's best sitcom actors are in the film and also extras from the previous films which is good to see. Considering the film has a low budget in turns of films out at the moment the CGI effects are really impressive and bring the action during the film. The friendship between the friends is sweet and they reminisce to bring the characters that bit more depth which was needed.

Of course not every film is perfect as I felt the whole story of how Gary became obsessed with doing  the Golden Mile was not truly addressed, seeing his bandaged arms wasn't enough for me I needed to know why. The ending was something a little weak as the Alien race argues with Gary, Andrew and Steven the Aliens decide to just leave Earth without a hesitation which was a bit of a WTF moment. 

And of course the mint flavoured cornetto makes an appearance close to the end, so do we know of a fourth cornetto flavour and if so will we see it feature in another Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost film?!.

9/10.

Pacific Rim!!!!

Pacific Rim.

I have to say I am kind of biased when it comes to reviewing this film because of one reason, Guillermo Del Toro. The ever so imaginative and amazing director of some of my favourite movies from Pans Labyrinth to Blade 2 to Hellboy 1+2 he is an amazing creative genius in my eyes.

So anyway onto Pacific Rim which is GoT's first major budget film in five years and in which has been a long time coming. With a sneak peak trailer being aired at Comic Con in 2012 fans have been waiting to see the giant Jaeger's and Kaiju's in action and battle it out on the big screen in all it's glory. 

Set in a world where a rift opens up in the Pacific ocean and giant Kaiju monsters come through the rift and decide to attack the city's around the world as Sydney, Manila and China are all attacked in a matter of months which calls for decisive action. As the country's of the world call a truce to fight a greater evil together the Jaeger program is put in place to build giant mechanical robot's to fight the Kaiju's and to stop them from destroying the world. 

As we see our first two characters on screen Raleigh Becket (Charlie Hunnam) and his brother Yancy Becket (Diego Klattenhoff) are alerted to a Kaiju attack they must deploy their Jaeger Gyspy Danger and kill the Kaiju. As the brother's fight the Kaiju at first the brother's are cofident but soon enough catastrophic events take place and Gyspy Danger is soon enough flat on it's face on a near by beach defeated with an injured Raleigh. Fast forward a couple of years and we see Raleigh working on the Canadian Kaiju defence wall, now not a Jaeger pilot he moves from city to city to keep working and his mind of that catastrophic event.

Soon enough the Kaiju's are becoming stronger and are breaking through the defence walls like knives through butter and so the government has no choice but to close and shut down the Jaeger initiative. With their leader Stacker Pentecost (Idris Elba) given only a time frame of funding for another six months he must find a way to stop the Kaiju's once and for all and quickly. Visited by Stacker Raleigh makes the decision to re-enter the Jaeger initiative and pilot Gyspy Danger once more with a new co-pilot Mako Mori (Rinko Kikuchi). 

As we see the process of finding his co-pilot the rivalry between Jaeger pilots and the imminent danger of the Kaiju every day it is a race against time for the team to finish this war. As day by day more Jaeger's are taken down and destroyed by the Kaiju the team is cut down to just four Jaeger's. The Australian speedy fighting Striker Eureka piloted by Herc Hansen (Max Martini) and his son Chuck Hansen (Robert Kazinsky). The three armed Chinese all fighting Crimson Typhoon piloted by the Wei Tang triplets (Charles, Mark and Lance Luu). The heavyweight Russian Cherno Alpha piloted by husband and wife Lt. S+A Kaidanovsky (Robert Maillet and Heather Doerksen). 

As the pilots fight the Kaiju's out in the world the Shatterdome (home of the team) scientists try to work out how the Kaiju work and how they communicate. Dr Newton Geiszler (Charlie Day) and Gottlieb (Burn Gorman) work together to try and learn about the Kaiju, even approaching Hannibal Chau (Ron Perlman) a back street underground Kaiju dealer in parts the try to find out information to defeat the Kaiju anyway possible. 

With the imminent threat of a high class of Kaiju to come through the rift and destroy the rest of life on earth the team must form a plan and follow through quick but what will happen?!

Overall a great film especially if you love Transformers, Godzilla and the whole Gundam Wing franchise as this film has a great mix of all three with some massive fight scenes added on top. The Jaeger's on screen look daunting and yet powerful and forceful, the Kaiju look again massive, impressive and at times scary as well. I could go into detail about the lighting and how well it was used, the sound effects and little touches of western spurs chinking on boots to how impresive the sets look but I could be here for hours. 

The characters were believable and really brought the story forward, a downside was that of Stacker Penetcost as he just felt a little bit too overly cold in my opinion and the film could have slowed down a little bit in order to take all the information in. But I have to say this is impressive film making from GoT and I really hope that we don't have to wait another five years for another film from him.

So if you want to see a film with massive robot's versus giant Kaiju monsters with an emotive underlying theme then check this film out as it is in my eyes an amazing film that is not to be missed. Welcome back Guillermo Del Toro........Pacific Rim 2 now, PLEASE??!

9/10.

Monsters University!!!!

Monsters University.

The first thing you notice about this film is that yes it is the latest film from Pixar which of course already makes you want to watch it as you know it'll be great. But lets backtrack abit as we all know 'Cars 2' wasn't the greatest of successes as the ratings for it were really low and showed that Pixar was indeed fallible when it came to filmmaking. I have to say that this film is the total opposite of 'Cars 2' and is going to be a definite hit with people as who can resist the comedy duo we all fell in love with in 'Monsters Inc' of Mike and Sully.

Obviously if you've lived under a rock you won't know that this is a prequel to 'Monsters Inc', set ten or so years before the duo even met you first see Mike as a youngster getting off a school bus on a school trip at the Monsters Inc scare factory. A wide eyed Mike then enters one of the doors and impresses a scare monster and gains a hat and vows to become a scarer. 

Fast forward a few years and Mike is getting off another school bus but this time he is a college student and looking forward to learning how to be the best scarer in the monster world. As Mike and his room-mate Randall start classes they soon meet the ever so relaxed and all round party guy James P Sullivan who has the attitude that he's got nothing to worry about. 

As situations take a turn for the worse Mike and Sully join forces with the campus rejects and join their fraternity Oozma Kappa to compete in the scare games. As the group of six misfit students take on the scare games they soon realise they have bitten off more than they can chew. With the relationship between Mike and Sully still not becoming anything but amicable the group must learn to take advantage of their skills and try to work together. Will the group pull together and help save Mike and Sully? what will happen to their friendship? and how does it all end for Oozma Kappa?

With an ending that definitely stays true to the Pixar ethos that has run throughout their films in the past it is a heart warming story of friendship and how to make the best of any situation. It's interesting to see how Mike and Sully became the best of friends and also see how other characters like Randall change and become evil. Seeing a young tiny Mike and how his and Sully's furr and skin change in colour and how they age is clever and interesting to see on a big screen.

The animation is of course beyond incredible and you can tell Pixar spend alot of time working on textures, liquids, reflection, shadow and brightness to really make the characters pop and impress. With the setting being at a college you are able to see so many new and varied monsters that live in the monster world and see how they develop over the film. Of course the only downside for me is that their is no mention or image of little Boo from the first 'Monsters Inc' film which is a shame but obviously she wouldn't have been born yet. 

A clear triumph in my eyes from Pixar another strong emotive filled film that will have you hooked from the start. One downfall I think was a little bit too rushed and just thrown at the end is how Mike and Sully became to be at Monsters Inc and how they finally got their jobs working on the scare floor. A bit more consideration could have been taken into showing it abit more on screen as people might have thought it was the end credits.

8/10.

The Bling Ring!!!!

The Bling Ring.

Their is a quote at the start of the film by Nicki (Emma Watson) just before she enters the court room in which she stands trial for the Hollywood robberies:  "I'm a firm believer in Karma and I think that this situation was attracted in my life because it was supposed to be a huge learning lesson for me to grow and expand as a human being. I see myself being like Angelina Jolie but even stronger. I'm studying business because eventually I want to be a leader. I want to lead a country, for all I know". This quote pretty much summed up the whole naive mentality that not only did Nicki have but her other fellow friends also had as well.

Written and directed by Sofia Coppola (Lot In Translation, Marie Antoinette) the film is set within Hollywood and tells the story of a group of friends who decide to steal from celebrity's. Rebecca (Katie Chang) is a young aspiring girl with big ambitions who meets new boy Marc (Israel Broussard) and soon enough they become inseparable. As Rebecca introduces Marc to some of her other friends Nicki, Sam (Taissa Farmiga) and Chloe (Claire Julien) they all soon enough go out partying and keep up to date with the local celebrity's movements on Twitter and various new sites. Realising that celebrity's are "out of town" Rebecca and Marc take into action what they've always wanted to do, enter their idols houses and see how they live. Entering Paris Hilton's home by using a key left under the front door mat they see the extravagance of the life they live. Room packed full of clothes, shoes and coats and even a closet full of jewellery they leave with a few items.

As word gets to Nicki that Rebecca and Marc have been to Paris Hilton's house they decide to try this theory out again and again and again and again. Taking Nicki, Chloe, Sam and one time only Emily (Georgia Rock) with them they break and enter into some top A-list celebs homes. Orlando Bloom, Megan Fox, Audrina Patridge, Rachel Bilson and Lindsay Lohan's homes are all targeted and they steal as much expensive clothes, jewellery and money as possible.

Partying the night away just like their idols they show off  their newly acquired items and at one point decide to sell some of the stolen items on Hollywood boulevard to make some extra money. With Marc selling Orlando Bloom's stolen Rolex's to a nightclub owner Ricky (Gavin Rossdale) the teens live the lifestlye they have always wanted. Obviously the high life doesn't last for too long as the "bling ring" are tracked down and arrested they are brought to trial and fitting punishments are handed out.

You can tell this is a Coppola film as the films is just like Lost In Translation and Marie Antoinette it has that underlying feel of characters being outcasts and trying to do the right thing to fit in and find their place in society. The camera angles are nicely shot especially with the robberies taking place as each one is framed differently, Audrina Patridge is done at a really wide angle while Orlando Bloom is done via CCTV footage.

Emma Watson is perfect for the role as her american accent is spot on and she plays Nicki with impressive naivety and youth. Israel and Katie really make you feel that Marc and Rebecca's friendship had the best intentions at first but knew it would all change and end up ending badly. Usually in robbery style films their is a accomplice but for The Bling Ring it's the websites and social networks we all use on a daily basis. Twitter, Facebook, TMZ and Google maps are all used to orchestrate and plan the robberies and just shows how the youth and society use the internet to their advantage in the 21st century. 

A great addition to Coppola's filmography and what has to be her most mainstream and accessible film to date. Definitely a film that shows us how completely alien the celebrity culture can be at times and how people sometimes just need that escape to another world but obviously do it legally. 

8/10.

Fair!!!!

Fair cinema?

Obviously this isn't a movie review but instead just a grievance I have with cinema and the approach it has towards films. When I got to a cinema I expect to see all kinds of films, independent films, low budget films and high end budget films. But recently I have come to the conclusion that cinemas can pick and choose what films they want to show and some like my own cinema only show the major money making films. Now I don't know the whole business side of cinemas and who gets what films and whether or not some production companies show some films at certain cinemas but to me it's getting annoying.

Pretty much four times this year I have wanted to see a film at the cinema and I can't because it is only showing at a certain cinema which I have to pay out in travel to go see it. The first film I wanted to see was 'The Place Beyond The Pines' and was soon with the predicament of it only being shown in Manchester which was my closest cinema for the film. The second film was the highly rated 'Mud' in which again was not being shown in Preston and the nearest showing was Manchester. The third film was 'The East' a kind of anti establishment style film which I had read really good articles about in Total Film and Empire magazine. Again the nearest cinema was in Manchester for me to go and see it in which I couldn't really do. The fourth and final film was the recently released 'The Bling Ring' an anti celebrity film about the real life robbery's of celebrity's homes in the US. Yet again the only place it was being shown near me was Manchester, this is becoming a recurring thing.

Now two films I have seen this year was 'Stoker' at my local cinema which only had a one week run at the cinema which I think is ridiculous as it was and still is in the list of my top 3 films of this year. Another film in which I travelled to Blackpool for was 'Byzantium' a vampire return to form film for Neil Jordan featuring the very beautiful duo of Saoirse Ronan and Gemma Arterton.

You can obviously see my grievance here, films that have some great real-life stories behind them that really make people think about either their social situation or the environmental issues of company's today and they only get shown at bigger cinemas. For too long cinema is only showing mainstream films and shuns the smaller budget films that myself and no doubt other film lovers yearn to see and would love to see as well. Now people can say that I should just travel to Manchester to see it which is true but then a return on the train is £7 and a cinema ticket is £8 that is early £15 to see just one film is a little bit too much for me to be honest as I'm not made of money. 

I really hope smaller films get shown alot more and get give the chance to be shown on a big screen. As for me I'm contemplating going to Manchester to see The Bling Ring and making a day out of it as well. Anyway rant over as this was something I've wanted to air my thoughts on for quite some time.

Now You See Me!!!!

Now You See Me.

A cross between the first Oceans Eleven film and The Prestige this latest blockbuster film brings all the excitement of a heist movie with the amazement of a Magic show. As a super group of various entertainers team up, J Daniel Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg) a close-up magician, Merritt McKinney (Woody Harrelson) a mind reader, Henley Reeves (Isla Fisher) an escapologist and Jack Wilder (Dave Franco) a pickpocket with aspirations, nicknamed The Four Horseman they put their big magic show into action. Pulling off a bank robbery and sending a member of the audience supposedly through time and space the group give back all the money to the audience. 

As a FBI agent Dylan Rhodes (Mark Ruffalo) and Interpol agent Alma Dray (Melanie Laurent) are sent on the case to catch the magic group the action soon kicks into the film and it comes thick and fast. With fights including throwing dangerous cards to car chases through inner New York the group will do anything to allude the agents. 

The group is of course financed by insurance magnate Arthur Tressler (Michael Caine), they have his full support and endless help in perfecting and pulling off their massive illusions. With sceptics in the crowd one of them is professional trick-ruiner Thaddeus Bradley (Morgan Freeman) who films and watches the group and is soon enough brought in to help the FBI agents. 

As the group becomes more elusive they pull off their final big trick and soon enough we find out who is really behind the group and will they ever be caught by the FBI agents or will they still run free?.

The film itself is a great heist style movie with the added ooh's and aah's spectacle as you watch all the tricks being performed on screen. Action scenes are thrown in to really excite you and keep you hooked with the added twists and turns added into the film and of course the "big reveal" at the end it'll have you saying "so that's how it was done" almost like the film was one big magic trick.

Character wise they all work really well together and really do look natural on stage and it shows the actors have had training and really worked hard to perfect their individual characters craft. The camera shots are great from flying high cameras to close up shots of hands and cards the diversity of camera work is good. So if you like your heist and chase movies with abit of magic throw in and really enjoyed Oceans eleven and The Prestige then you will love this film, fast, fun, entertaining and all round magical.

I'll leave you with this line from the film: "Come in close, closer, because the more you think you see the easier it'll be to fool you"

7/10.

This Is The End!!!!

This Is The End.

When american comdys come to our screens we expect them to either be funny or just downright stupid and pointless to the point it's funny because it's so awful. But luckily for This Is The End it turns out that this is a comedy that at times balances itself rather nicely between the two. 

A parody of the Hollywood actors lifestyle we at first see Seth Rogen playing himself waiting at the airport for his friend Jay Baruchel who has flown in to spend some time with him playing video games, smoking drugs, drinking and having a good time. With Rogen suggesting they go to James Franco's new house for a party the guys head off for the celebrity filled party to party all night and have a good time. Arriving at the party the other main characters of the film arrive, Jonah Hill, Craig Robinson and a late riser Danny McBride all join the group. 

With other celebs thrown into the mix, a rather coked up Michael Cera who slaps Rihanna's arse, Jason Segel, Paul Rudd, Christoph Mintz-Plasse, Mindy Kaling and the British beauty Emma Watson. It is a massive mix of other comedy style actors who if only to be on screen for a few minutes to be killed off is a nice addition. 

As a massive earthquake takes place and beams of light strike the ground and take people up to the clouds above the group try to work out what has happened. Theories of a zombie apocalypse, the apocalypse and the four horseman, an alien invasion and the end of the world all ideas are thrown out there. Trying to survive on the little food they have they venture outside James Francos house to find other people, food and water to survive but soon enough they have to leave and see what really has happened to the world. 

As the group venture outside all manner of stupid things happen to the group as one by one they all find their way to escape the destruction of Earth. As giant monsters with massive dicks are shown on screen, demon possession, to the end credits of the group dancing with a well known US boy band the film has everything, laughs, WTF moments and utterly stupid moments as well. 

A great comedy film that looks at what celebrity's in Hollywood would do if faced with the end of the world and the comedic things they would get up to. With plenty of comedic actors making their appearance in the film it utilises them all and I have to say Michael Cera even if he's not a main character is just hilarious and has some stand out scenes at the start of the film. Directed by Seth Rogen you can see he had some major input into the film and definitely brought out the best in all the actors involved. 

For anyone who liked Pineapple Express, Superbad, Hot Tub Time Machine, Knocked Up or any major comedy release film starring any of the actors mentioned then you will truly love this film.

6/10.