The Raid 2!!!!

The Raid 2.

Iko Uwais the star of the first The Raid film is back for what is the second round of fast paced martial arts impressive violence. Following on from the first film we at first see a corn field in which a shaking scared man is executed and thrown into a shallow dug grave by a mysterious man Bejo (Alex Abbad). As Rama (Iko Uwais) is taken to meet with Bunawar (Cok Simbara) the chief of Jakarta's anti-corruption task force, told that his brother has been killed by Bejo, Rama is persuaded to help bring down the corrupt police commissioner Reza (Roy Marten). 

To get inside and find out information he must infiltrate two rival gang familys, Bangun and Goto. Assaulting a son of a politician who opposed the Bangun gang he is thrown into prison. This is where the first fight sequence takes place, in the middle of a exercise courtyard that is a foot deep in thick mud a riot breaks out. Fighting off most of the prisoners he soon enough saves the life of the son of Bangun, Uco (Arfin Putra). Finally out of prison and in marched in front of Bangun (Tio Pakusadewo) he is taken in by the family and given a job to do whatever Bangun says. 

Being close to Uco he sees his frustration for the fact his father hasn't given him enough power in the family business and years for something bigger. Going behind his fathers back Uco meets with Bejo and they both work out a plan to start an all out gang war between Bangun and Goto so that Uco can prove himself to his father. 

With this war started the bloodshed comes quick and fast and really violent with assassins on both sides, Prakoso (Yayan Ruhian) works for Bangun and fights and kills to keep the city in order. Bejo has his own two assassins who we shall only name Baseball bat man and Hammer girl and you can guess what their choice of weapon is. 

The storyline of the film if you can keep up with the subtitles is quite basic but really effective and interesting at the same time. So one thing I haven't covered is the fight sequences and the violence of the film that really make it seriously impressive and exciting all the way through. Their are fights in cars, fights in a toilet cubicle, fights in a building, fights in a corridor, fights in a kitchen, fights in a massive mud filled courtyard and even a car chase to top it all off. It takes the fight sequences from the first Raid film and just triples, no quadruples it and makes it more fast and technical. 

Throw in the fact you have hammer girl and baseball bat guy and you can understand the sequences, you watch in awe but you flinch, grimmace and shout out "woahhhhh, that's insane" when you see what happens on screen. You can tell director Gareth Evans has really thought about these scenes and takes his time to get the scenes right and precise and perfect and he does it so well. 

For me this is already one of my films of the year, not many 18 films have entered the UK cinema and this one has really impressed me. The way in which the film is pieced together and how the fight scenes are brought in really bring the film together, with the right storyline of family loyalty and betrayal it works really well. For anyone who loved the first Raid film you will seriously love every minute of this film and you'll bask in its glory and smile, laugh, wince and flinch at every punch,kick, hit,shot and stab.

10/10.

Starred Up!!!!

Starred Up.

Violence, corruption, drugs and survival are some aspects to prison life and you certainly do need to survive while in prison. I honesty can't remember the last time I saw a film set in a prison, Bronson I think was the last film that touched upon this subject in a gritty way.

The basic plotline is Eric Love (Jack O'Connell) is a fresh faced young man given an early transfer from the Young Offender Institution to an adult prison. Being the loud mouthed, confrontational and confident person he is he doesn't quite fit in with the inmates. 

Over the course of the film he gets into trouble, fighting prison guards, attacking other inmates and basically fighting for his own survival. One man stands out from the rest Neville (Ben Mendelsohn) who sympathises with the young man and gives him some stark firm but fair advice on surviving. As situations escalate and people end up dead or injured Eric must learn to comply with the system or he will go down fast and end up dead himself.

Going to group therapy sessions he opens up abit more and talks about his father, who turns up and walks into the room. Neville is his father and the group soon learns why Eric has stayed alive for doing so many things wrong so quickly. Finally stepping in as a father both of them need to learn, to either open up and have a father/son relationship or just learn to survive and move on.

As I say this is the first prison film I've seen in a good while and it makes a difference and certainly lets the acting come across really well in confined spaces. The storyline of son meeting father in prison is clever and shows an angle to prisons that you wouldn't ever usually think about could happen. O'Connell plays Eric with such ease and confidence but then his character could be seen as a more grown up Cook from Skins. Mendelsohn portrays the broken father with hope with ease as well, learning to adapt to his surroundings he survives knowing the inner circles of the prison and gets by by any means necessary. 

I have to mention the violence which not only is impressive but in this film is necessary and something that is a need to an end to lengthen Eric's survival. Making make shift shanks out of a melted toothbrush and a razor blade shows he can be creative and still survive. The storyline of father and son is what makes it so interesting, if it was lone man trying to survive it would be too contrived and bland. Throw in a small confined place with father and son who haven't seen each other in years and its a perfect setting. 

For a small budget film set in a prison it is seriously impressive and a film that deserves so much attention. Using actors who can show and bring out that genuine quality to prison life and still make the film exciting and engaging is impressive. For anyone who likes to watch gritty, violent films showing the realistic side to life in prison then seriously watch this film.

10/10.

Robocop!!!!

Robocop.

When a "classic" film is re-hashed and put together and re-booted fans will of course always wade into the argument of what should and shouldn't be covered. For this version of Robocop we see the usual storyline of how Alex Murphy (Joel Kinnaman) a successful police officer suffers a personal tragedy and is blown half to pieces when his car is sabotaged. Fighting for his life and on the verge of death his wife Clare Murphy (Abbie Cornish) makes the decision with the help of Dr Dennett Norton (Gary Oldman) the OmniCorp chief scientist to save her husband. With every part of his body destroyed, the only parts his own being one of his hands, his heart, his lungs and his brain he is every bit a walking talking machine. 

Robocop is born and his main purpose is to make OmniCorp look good, with robots serving the US military overseas OmniCorp wants to put the same robots on the streets but because of the Dreyfus Act they can't. To gain the public's trust Robocop is deployed onto the streets, shown to be a robot with human conscientiousness he is there to gain their trust and help OmniCorp to get rid of the Act. 

As Robocop starts to become a success people start to turn on the Dreyfus Act but being stopped of seeing his family his wife soon has to fight to get her husband back. With Alex's head filled with every crime that has taken place in the city he soon starts to reflect on his own crime and start's to feel for his son and his wife. 

With the Dreyfus Act still in place and Alex fighting to control his own emotions soon enough something will happen, will Robocop stay or will he be pulled off of the streets. 

I have to say for a film about a Robocop I felt their was too much backstory and not enough action, seeing Alex's backstory and how he came to be was all well and good but it took up too much time. With a little bit more action and being able to see him in action it would have made a far better and interesting film. Kinnaman as Robocop was at times convincing but then again he just has to act as a robot for most of the time. Gary Oldman for me raises the film and really brings across a scientist who is torn to his allegiances and also what is the best course of action morally and professionally. 

Now that we have dealt with the origins I'd like to see if a second film was to surface and maybe this time around we could see him in some proper action scenes. See what Robocop is LITERALLY made of.

6/10.

The Family!!!!

The Family.

Robert De Niro is obviously known in the world of films for playing gangsters, two most poignant films being in The Godfather II as Vito Corleone and then Jimmy Conway in Goodfella's. Both parts were to gain him BAFTA and Oscar nominations in which he took the Oscar for his role in The Godfather Part II, it's safe to say he is one of the screens best gangsters. But it has to be said that De Niro has lowered his guard with this film as it has all the hints of being a good gangsters film but in the end it just feels flat and bland which is a shame. 

Starting out by telling the story of the Manzoni family you see Giovanni (Robert De Niro) being blown away by a sabotaged barbecue. Driving down a country lane Giovanni and his family, wife Maggie (Michelle Pfeiffer), son Warren (John D'Leo) and daughter Belle (Dianna Agron) are looking for their new home in Normandy, France. Relocated yet again the family have been placed into witness protection after Giovanni decided to tell on his own mod family and have mob boss Don Luchese arrested and imprisoned.

As the family try to settle in things don't go according to plan, Giovanni hospitalising the local plumber, Warren embezzling and blackmailing students, Belle fighting off sleezey boys and Maggie blowing up the local store. The family is of course looked after by FBI agent Stansfield (Tommy Lee Jones) who is tired of relocating the family and just wants them to all "blend in" but to no avail. 

Soon enough the family are tracked down and Don Luchese's hired men arrive in town and set out to take out the whole family and leave no-one alive. With the family split up and their lives in jeopardy their going to have to work together as a family and use their killer instincts to survive.

The film is ok but is honestly nothing more than a entertaining gangster style comedy film, it could have been alot better but it just seems to skim over the characters and finishes too abruptly and quickly. De Niro you can tell will take any role involving a gangster to get viewers to pick up some of his better older films like Goodfellas. This has to be Luc Besson at his most complacent and feels like he is just making the film to entertain and not really bring anything new to the table. 

Pfeiffer, Agron and D'Leo are all good and add to the film in their own way but they don't impress and only add to the fast paced moving storyline.  The action is fast and slick but again it moves along just too quickly, leaving you satisfied it doesn't have you guessing and feeling you've seen something new and impressive. 

Overall a nice action film that if you want to watch and have on in the background you can do as even if you miss parts of it you'll still understand the ending. 

6/10.

Kick-Ass 2!!!!

Kick-Ass 2.

When the first Kick-Ass movie came out it was a ground breaking film as it showed just what would happen if real everyday people decided to don the mask and go out and become a hero. So the expectations for the second film were of course to be set high and In my opinion they've done a great job with this second film as it has everything. 

Set in the future the film shows how Mindy Macready/Hit-Girl (Chloe Grace Moretz) and Dave Lizewski/Kick-Ass (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) have both decided to try and move on from the superhero days and live a normal life. With Mindy still being drawn to saving people after swearing to her dying father she would she finds it hard to adjust. Finally giving in Mindy stops and tells Dave that it's over and she has to lead a more normal life and go to high schools. Dave can't stop and so he soon enough joins up with a group of other superhero's called Justice Forever. Leadup by ex mob boss and born again Christian Sal Bertolinni/Colonel Stars and Stripes (Jim Carrey) the gang set out to do good in the world, taking out and setting free a brothel is just one of their achievements. 

Soon enough Chris D'Amico/The Motherfucker (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) hears of Kick-Ass still on patrol on the streets and vows to kill him and avenge the death of his father who Kick-Ass killed with a rocket launcher. With Chris starting up his own team of superhero villains he soon enough decides to take down Justice Forever one by one and finally kill Kick-Ass. 

With a final fight between both teams who will come out on top?, will Mindy finally give in and accept she is Hit-Girl? and what will the future hold for the superhero's?.

Overal I loved the film because it brought in more superhero's who do exactly what Kick-Ass does and they try to do good. The whole revenger storyline has been done a thousand times but it fits in well with the superhero theme and comes off as funny at times. I'll admit the storyline is basic but it does what it says on the tin, it brings in plenty of fighting, a nice moral story of acceptance, some comedy and a little bit of swearing. 

Carrey is in my eyes the BEST casting for this film, his simple one liners are just instant and bring a laugh "there's a dog on your balls". Chloe brings in a different side we've never seen of Mindy, now all grown up we see her teenage problems and how her hard stern self deals with this (in gross situations).Obviously the film has violence but at times it is that silly it becomes funny and you accept it for what it is. A great film with plenty of action and no doubt with the ending that took place we may yet see a Hit-Girl only movie which I would easily welcome with open arms. 

8/10.

Django Unchained!!!!

Django Unchained.

I'll admit that at times this review might be seen as biased as I am a massive Tarantino fan and always have been since I first saw Kill Bill 1 when it first came out. This film of course has plenty of Tarantino's traits, a great cast, some funny comedy, extreme violence and plenty of blood as well. 

So to start with the film starts with the scene shown in many trailers before the films release. As Django (Jamie Foxx) is walking along a dusty track in a dark wood with some fellow slaves and his two masters, Dr King Schultz (Christoph Waltz) trundles along with his cabin to buy Django from them. As negotiations go wrong between Dr Schultz and the two masers and blood is shed Django and Dr Schultz make a pact and both ride off into the night.

The film itself follows of course the character of Django as he is saved and made a free man by Dr Schultz, in return Django must point out the Brittle brothers in which Schultz is looking for. As Schultz trains up Django to be a bounty hunter they travel around the different plantations and take out anyone that has a hit on their head. As the duo continue with their work they decide to go and find Django's wife Broomhilda von Schaft to save her from slavery and let Django and his wife live happily ever after. 

As the duo come across a plantation owner Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio) they both realise it is his plantation where Broomhilda is being held as a slave. With Candie being away from the plantation from time to time he has his own personal plantation assistant Stephen (Samuel L. Jackson) take charge. As the trio converse over the buying of some Mandingo fighters what will happen?, will Django and Schultz get what they've gone for or will Candie find out their true intentions and have them killed?

The film itself is the most linear of Tarantino films as the storyline moves along at a steady pace and doesn't cut back to previous scenes or different characters. It sticks with Django and Dr King Schultz and stays with them right through to the end which is what makes this more accessible for people. The storyline is of revenge just like many other Tarantino films but that is to be expected though. Being set in the spaghetti western era where slavery is a common occurrence it allows for some violent scenes to take place in which Tarantino handles in a serious manner. A scene of two dogs attacking a runaway black slave, the whipping of Broomhilda and Mandingo fighting where two slaves fight to the death are all shocking but bring a more serious side to the film and show what slaves will have had to endure.

The performances are memorable, Christoph Waltz is great as he shows a side of wit and intelligence to his character of Dr. King Schultz. Leonardo DiCaprio's character of Calvin Candie is a great performance as it is the first time we see Leo take on the role of a truly evil and nasty person. He fits into the role well, showing some slight intelligence in one scene he can then jump to show a  more violent and sadistic side to his character. Samuel L. Jackson who plays Candie's right hand slave Stephen has to be the best character in the film mainly because of all the funny lines he has. He plays a inquisitive yet harsh man who has grown to rule over Candieland while his master is away and controls everything that happens at the plantation. 

Now some people will think I'm unhinged when I type this but trust me if you're as big a Tarantino fan as myself then you will understand what I am about to say. The gun fight scenes in which showcase all of the blood that splatters the walls to me was comedic genius as I laughed so much at these violent scenes. I say this with great respect and sincerity, the scenes are at times ridiculous with the amount of blood that comes out of the bodies but it does make you laugh. It wouldn't be a Tarantino film if their wasn't any form of blood being splattered up the walls and across the sets.. 

One downside to the film is the length, I myself didn't notice the time and I happily sat and watched the film without thinking of when it would finish. But for some people who find long films a little bit too much to bear then it is best to wait for a DVD release. Another thing I found was that I didn't particularly warm to Jamie Foxx's portrayal as Django, his one liners seem to be said half heartedly and with no passion. 

Overall it is another great addition to Tarantino's filmography and sees him return to top form as a writer and director. If anyone else was to do this film it wouldn't be received too well but because it's Tarantino we all accept it and love it for what it is. He can safely tick off another era on his list, maybe next he will try his hand at a sci-fi, superhero or romcom film..........who knows?

9.5/10.