Riddick : Something of a regression

If you enjoyed the first film in the ‘Riddick’ series (Pitch Black), then you’ll probably enjoy this one. Let’s just say they’re both rather similar. Riddick wrangles with a bunch of people that are trying to cash in on the bounty on his head, then a bunch of scary looking monsters enter the fray and attack said mercenaries and various other ship crew members.

The movie starts where it left off, with Riddick in control of the vast Necromonger army. Interestingly he has developed a yearning to find his Furyan home world. He is of course betrayed and finds himself injured and stranded on a less than hospitable alien planet. It’s then not long before the movie finds its way back to the familiar thread from the previous two films.

Thankfully we have the same team writing and directing the films, to maintain the franchises look and feel. It’s just a little disappointing coming back to the same old story, especially when the second film was so much more expansive in its plot and was therefore less predictable. If this was a standalone film, I think I’d have rated it more highly. But coming off the first two films I can’t help feeling a little dissatisfied. The action like the previous films is good, but you get the feel that this film has had its budget cut in both the effects and casting department.

I like Vin Diesel playing the anti hero Riddick. I think the character suits him. The support cast like the first film will be largely unknown to most audiences save for the sci-fi fans out there who will recognise Katee Sackhoff from the TV series Battlestar Galactica. The casting is again a bit of a letdown given the calibre of actors in the second film such as Judi Dench and New Zealand’s own Karl Urban, who does something of a cameo in one of the film’s opening scenes.

I think for the most part your science fiction fans out there will like Riddick. I guess from my side I was hoping for something closer in concept to the second film. I can’t help but feel they peaked in ‘The Chronicles of Riddick and have since regressed to something not quite as good. I still hope this isn’t the last we’ve seen of the series and that Riddick comes back to fight another day, because the concept and character are great.

About Time – A lovely heart warming tale

About time is a hilarious yet touching film about a young man who can travel back in time to relive, alter and ultimately improve any moment of his life with relative ease. It would be classed as a romantic comedy, but it’s not overly soppy so I would expect that almost anyone would enjoy it.

The movie starts in a rather idyllic setting at a seaside home, where we meet Tim (Domhnall Gleeson) and his somewhat unconventional family. After a rather embarrassing New Years Eve party, Tim’s father (Bill Nighy) pulls him aside to reveal a startling family secret. It turns out all the males within the family can travel back in time. After limited success with romance Tim’s first priority is to use this newfound ability to assist him in finding the love of his life. It’s here where he meets the lovely Mary (Rachel McAdams) and where all the hijinx relating to the use time travel to secure her affections begin.

Richard Curtis known for ‘Love Actually’ and ‘Notting Hill’ wrote and directed the film. I would say has done another solid job. At a few points throughout the film I found myself expecting him to make a mistake with the added complexity of time travel in the story, but to the Richard’s credit, the plot fitted together seamlessly. The humour is clever and won’t be lost on anyone, as it’s the sort of content that most can relate to.

As with most of Curtis’s films each of the supporting characters have their own sort of flair, meaning the lead’s end up being the most normal out of the bunch. Domhnall will largely be an unknown for most viewers, having minor roles on films like ‘Dredd’ and the ‘Harry Potter’ series. He fits the character well though and has great comic delivery. Rachel McAdams was not exceptional, nice and cheerful, but she is a little too nonchalant in a few of the films more romantic moments. Interestingly this isn’t her first foray into films as the love interest for men with the ability to time travel. Fans might also remember her as Clare in ‘The Time Travellers Wife’. Bill Nighy is brilliant as Tim’s eccentric time travelling father. He is hilarious during the funny bits, but also truly genuine during the tear jerking scenes.

About Time is a lovely heart warming tale, tracking the joys of ordinary life with a time travelling twist. The drama involved is set around the hardships found in everyday life, but is somehow made to seem beautiful. With numerous ‘laugh out loud’ moments I would recommend this for anyone. It will be a particularly good date night film that even the lads will enjoy.

The Mortal Instruments - City of Bones : A slow and dreary first instalment

‘The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones’ is the latest of a number of teen fantasy novels that have been adapted to film. The book reached number eight on the ‘New Your Times’ best sellers list and if the franchise is successful, we have a lot more to come with a total of six novels in the series. The studios must be confident of the content and the books fan following as they’re already in pre production for the sequel.

For the most part the film has a rather slow meandering pace, is overly dramatic and at times cheesy. The romantic moments are clunky and seem about as natural as a dog playing the piano.

The film is not without its redeeming features. Some of the action is well choreographed, the special effects are good enough and there were moments where the film is genuinely funny having most of the cinema laughing out loud.

But the dreary pace that the film takes while the story unfolds will lose most punters. I would say that most of the blame for this falls on the shoulders of Harald Zwart whose most notable films prior to this include ‘The Karate Kid’ remake with Jackie Chan and ‘The Pink Panther 2’. The 130 minute running time could easily have been trimmed into a more digestible size.

As far as performances go, they all do well enough for the genre and target audience, just don’t expect them to win any awards. In fairness, they’re all reasonably well cast staying true for the most part to the characters from the novels by description and personality.

Lily Collins (Mirror Mirror, Priest) plays the films lead as ‘Clary’ who discovers she’s a ‘Shadowhunter’ after her mother is mysteriously taken one morning. Clary then goes on a journey of discovery about her and her families past, which includes the mysterious league of Shadowhunters. As a Shadowhunter, Clary can gain supernatural abilities that assist other Shadowhunters in killing demons. This has helped them keep the balance between good and evil across the ages. You might expect then that the antagonist would be some mega demon with plans to take over the world. Surprisingly this is not the case, showing the film is not entirely predictable. 

All in all the film is most suited to fans of the novels or fantasy genre. The story seems to be interesting but is overshadowed by its slow and over dramatic delivery. You never know though, if the film studio’s can pull off a win with ‘Twilight’, they might also get some success with ‘City of Bones’. 

Kick Ass 2 : Not quite clean fun

Calling ‘Kick Ass 2’ good clean fun wouldn’t be quite accurate. Fun certainly. Clean…. ahhhh not so much. The obscene language and violence come thick and fast in this sequel to the 2010 hit.

For those of you that saw and enjoyed the first film, I can say with confidence that you will like the sequel. It’s a lot of what made the first film great. Unfortunately for some of the more squeamish within the viewing public, this might make the film rather offensive. But if you’re okay crude humour and graphic action scenes then you’re in for one hell of a ride.

We rejoin Dave Lizewski aka Kick Ass and Mindy Macready aka Hit Girl several years following the events of the first film. Mindy is now under the care of her dead fathers’ best friend and is supposed to be putting her life of fighting crime behind her. Instead she is training Dave so he can actually kick ass, as opposed to being something of a criminal’s punching bag as he was in the previous film. When Mindy gets caught out by her guardian Marcus she’s forced back to school. This means Dave has to find himself a new crew of amateur superheros to team up with. The team he finds call themselves ‘Justice Forever’ and are headed up by the tough but morally sound ‘Colonel Stars and Stripes’ (Jim Carrey). Red Mist from the previous film now calls himself the ‘Motherf*cker’ and is on a mission to become the world’s first super villain. He’s also rather peeved at Kick Ass for killing his father with a bazooka in the first film. This as you would expect leads to a lot of conflict, fight sequences and generally abusive language.

Matthew Vaughn who directed the first instalment steps out of the director’s chair and into the producers shoes, letting Jeff Wadlow take the reins on writing and directing the sequel. Jeff does a surprisingly good job of matching the style of the first film, but I’d suggest that he tries to get away with a little more on shock value than the previous movie.

For a pretty unknown bunch of actors they all do what they need to do, other than of course Mr Jim Carrey, who actually stood out in his role as Colonel Stars and Stripes, despite his change of heart regarding the violence in the film. His moral character did actually shine through in the performance of a born again Christian.

I can’t say I’d recommend Kick Ass to everyone, as I can imagine it being offensive to a lot of people on a number of different levels. But for those of us who don’t mind a bit of obscenity and enjoy some shock value then you definitely want to get involved. Use the first film as a yard stick, if you liked it then definitely head down to your local cinema to enjoy the sequel. 

Stoker - Stylised but a little boring

What can I say about ‘Stoker’. Well for a start it has an impressive cast, a well regarded foreign director and producers such as Ridley Scott (Prometheus, American Gangster) and Tony Scott (Top Gun). Interestingly this doesn’t translate into the world’s most enjoyable film.

On the other hand, it is beautifully stylised and it’s clear even from the opening credits that Chan-Wook Park (Oldboy) is meticulous in his direction and attention to detail. Park also paces the film well, based on the content he has to hand, but this is where I believe the movie falls a little short. Once we are shown the true nature of some of the films characters, the mystery around the motives of their actions aren't enough to keep the audience sufficiently engaged for the remainder of the film.

The story begins with the death of Richard Stoker, the husband to Evelyn (Nicole Kidman) and father to India (Mia Wasikowska) in a small country town. It’s apparent that Evelyn and India have never had the closest of relationships and that India definitely preferred time with her father.  As a consequence the tension is very apparent at Richard’s funeral. Enter Uncle Charlie (Matthew Goode), Richard’s travelling brother, that neither Evelyn nor India have ever met, seemingly because he’s spent the last two decades abroad in Europe. Charlie is charming, good looking but a little off centre, giving us the feel early in the film that there’s more than meets the eye with this recently returned relative. It soon becomes obvious that Charlie has an ulterior motive in staying with the Stokers and it’s very apparent that it has something to do with young India. Charlie stays on at the Stoker residence after the funeral and it’s here where the mystery begins.

 Let’s talk about the performances, which were for the most part solid. Mia Wasikowska did a fantastic job of portraying the emotionally detached and confused India, showing just enough subtle changes in her character as she realises her true nature throughout the course of the film. Matthew Goode is great as the charming uncle with twisted motives. He plays something of a similar role to ‘Ozymandias’ in ‘Watchmen’, yet a little more overtly crazy in this role. And Nicole Kidman, well what can I say, she rarely puts a foot wrong and her performance in ‘Stoker’ is no exception. She displays a range of emotional states all whilst remaining perfectly in character. In my opinion her performance was the best of the film even though not central to the films plot.

‘Stoker’ won’t be to everyone’s tastes, but it’s certainly well executed and well acted. Due to the quirky and somewhat sombre nature of the films main characters they’re not overly likable, so when we’re left with only the motives of these characters as the remaining hook, I can see most audiences losing interest. But if you like stylised thrillers, or are familiar with Park’s work, then you may want to give ‘Stoker’ a watch.

Elysium - More of a thrill ride than District 9

 

It’s always nice to see a film with an underlying social message. It’s even better when it’s a sci fi action film set in a dystopian future with robots and exoskeletons that give heroes and bad guys super human strength. Elysium delivers all this and more in the second major film from South African writer/director Neill Blomkamp.

Elysium is set in the year 2159. The world has become a pretty nasty place through overpopulation and pollution. The wealthy though, live a life of bliss on a satellite world called Elysium. Here the air is clean, the environment is beautiful, and any health issue is promptly solved regardless of how dire or severe. Delacourt (Jodie Foster) is charged with the responsibility of defending Elysium from the illegal immigrants attempting to come for the miracle cures it has available. Back on Earth we meet a small boy called Max making bold promises to a young girl in an orphanage in one of earths growing mega slums. Fast forward to 2159, life hasn’t quite turned out the way Max (Matt Damon) would have hoped. We discover that Max is now an ex con with a patchy past, striving to improve his life by working at a nearby factory. A bad accident exposing Max to a lethal dose of radiation soon has him crawling back to the criminal underworld looking for a ticket to Elysium. Max now has to battle his way to Elysium through robots and an insane South African mercenary controlled by Delacourt to save himself from certain death.

Elysium does a reasonable job of depicting a socially unjust future and all the horrible things that come with it. Some of the scripting is fantastic, particularly so from the Mercenary ‘Krugar’ (Sharlto Copley) who fans will remember from ‘District 9’. The action scenes are all exciting and the tension doesn’t let up from when we have our first taste of carnage right through to the closing credits. He goes a little over the top with the shaky camera work in some of the fight scenes, but for the most part they are exciting and well choreographed.

What can I say about ‘Krugar’. Absolutely brilliant. There were a few lines that seemed a little over the top but for the most part he has the audience both entertained and scared. It’s hard to describe what makes his ‘crazy’ so cool, but it definitely reminds you of the same sort of insane as Heath Ledger playing the Joker. He swings from calm, to enraged to joking within the same section of dialogue. Jodie Foster’s character is a little one dimensional, but displays enough arrogance and ambition to make you believe she is capable of taking the steps she does within the film. And Matt Damon, well this in my opinion is his best movie and performance since the Bourne films.

If you liked District 9, you’ll definitely enjoy Elysium. Like District 9 it has a social message, a reluctant hero and innovative special effects that are definitely worth the watch. Yes the film has its flaws but I would expect any action or sci fi fan to get a good ride from Elysium. 

The Wolverine

 

Hugh Jackman has always been the perfect actor for the role of ‘Wolverine’ and the latest instalment within the ‘X-Men’ franchise is no exception. Amazingly this is his fifth time taking on the role and like the previous films, Jackman is sufficiently unhinged as the mutant with metal claws and an accelerated healing ability.

The movie focuses on Logan’s (Jackman’s) life post the events of the original X-Men trilogy, tying in quite nicely to that story, but still holding up well as a standalone movie. It also has a slightly darker edge than the previous X-Men films, which is effective given the story and the character the action is set around.

The film begins with Logan being in what could be described as a bad place. Emotionally devastated from the events in the last X-Men film, he has become something of a hermit as he tries to distance himself from the world and the people in it. He is then summoned to Japan by an old friend who wishes to free him from his curse of immortality. This is where things get interesting and the action kicks off. Surprisingly, the movie has more plot twists than your average action film, which keeps you engaged even if the action scenes and special effects weren’t enough to do the job.

James Mangold is the director for ‘The Wolverine’. He has an impressive list of films in his resume, including the likes of ‘Walk the Line’ and ‘Girl Interrupted’. Interestingly though, he doesn’t have much in the action genre, so it was always going to be interesting to see how this one turned out. As a first run at a proper action film (if you don’t count the likes of ‘Knight and Day’) I’d say he’s done a pretty good job. Aside from a slow patch in the middle of the film, the movie was well paced. The action sequences and fight scenes were well executed. Even the comedy had me laughing out loud, as it didn’t fall victim to the cheese that most action flicks do when they try to be funny.

As far as performances go, not only does Jackman look the part of the rugged and wild Wolverine, but he also has the acting ability to pull off the more dramatic scenes, as his character battles with the loss of so many of his friends in the previous X-Men film. The supporting characters will be largely unknown to western audiences, save only for Hiroyuki Sanada who featured quite prominently in ‘The Large Samurai’. Rila Fukushima plays a great sidekick to the Wolverine, saving him from a few dicey situations with her own set of ninja moves.

‘The Wolverine’ was hard to fault and is a definite improvement on the previous ‘Wolverine’ film. It has a good story, exciting action scenes, sufficient drama and even some laughs along the way. It wasn’t exceptional though, so perhaps most aptly described as a jack of all trades but a master of none. I give it a 7 out of 10. 

The World's End

Wouldn't you know it, Simon Pegg and his mate Nick Frost are in another film where they are battling to survive in small town England. They defeated a murder conspiracy in ‘Hot Fuzz’, survived a zombie massacre in ‘Shaun of the Dead’ and now fight an army of alien robots in ‘The World’s End’! If you enjoyed their two previous films, then you’ll probably love ‘The World’s End’ too.

A monologue from Simon Pegg’s character (Gary King) about when he and his friends attempted and failed to conquer a pub crawl in their youth (The Golden Mile) sets the scene for the film. King having not moved on mentally from his teens goes on a mission to enlist his old chums in a reattempt on The Golden Mile. While King’s friends have all moved on with their lives and are successful with their careers, wives and families, King has not. This disparity between King and his old school pals circumstances becomes something of a hand break on the comedy in the opening scenes of the film. Then before you know it, the movies in full swing with the discovery of the robots and the main characters fight for survival. With all the seriousness gone and the level of the characters intoxication up, it’s a laugh a minute as you no longer have to worry about King’s unsuccessful life and the gap that has grown between him and his friends.

It’s not surprising that the three aforementioned films are similar when you consider that all three were written by Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright, with Edgar in the director’s chair for each.  The film had a good pace and was surprisingly good in its action and effects. The fight scenes were so well choreographed, it had me wondering how these 30 something’s, who grew up in a small town and now have white collar jobs, could fight so well. The special effects too were surprisingly effective for a mid budget film with very little CGI.

Pegg and Frost share the stage with three others as they set off on a quest to recapture their youth, but it’s the two of them that provide most of the films laughs. The other most notable actor in the gang is Martin Frost, known most recently his role as a young Bilbo Baggins on the Hobbit. Rosamund Pike (Jack Reacher, Pride and Prejudice) plays the films love interest and we even get something of a cameo appearance by Pierce Brosnan playing one of the head robots.

The film is an entertaining watch when the movie gets to the main action of the story line. Simon and Nick are solid as usual with expert delivery and timing. My belief is that the film could have been better if it had just stuck to one tone as opposed to going from serious, to whacky, to downright silly. I give it a 6 out of 10.

This is the End

If you enjoy watching the likes of Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill and James Franco in comedic roles then you’re in for a treat. ‘This is the End’ combines a number of Hollywood’s ‘Apatow Mafia’ in a hilarious apocalyptic disaster film, where the movies main characters play themselves. A film concept that you’d expect to be something of a disaster in itself, the result however is very entertaining.

‘This is the End’ is Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s third time writing a film together after ‘Superbad’ and ‘Pineapple Express’, but their first in the director’s chair. This along with the ‘apocalypse plot’ might have a lot of movie goers being dubious about the result. I’d have to say though, for a first run at directing they’ve done very well. The script and its delivery are at times brilliant, having me in hysterics throughout the film. The screenplay on the other hand was a little scattered, with a few downright silly scenes. As it’s a relatively low budget film the effects weren’t overly flash, but were sufficient to depict scenes you might expect to see on Judgement Day.

The film starts with Seth’s good friend Jay visiting from Canada and them both going to a party at James Franco’s. When the apocalypse starts, the party quickly disperses and we’re left with the core group of funny men, hunkering down at Franco’s fighting over who gets to eat the Milky Way. This all after a number of Hollywood stars get eliminated in a less than graceful fashion. From there it’s an odd sort of survival story. The film mainly focusing on the general hilarity and interplay between the five comic geniuses stuck at Franco’s house and the various dilemmas an actor finds himself in during the end of days.

James Franco and Jonah Hill get the first listing in the credits, because they are probably the most well known out of the bunch, but the movies underlying story is around the relationship between Seth and Jay. Jay plays the part he needs to play well, but never has you laughing out loud. Seth Rogen is just Seth Rogen and pretty much acts as he always does, which is still hilarious. Instead of Jonah Hill playing Jonah Hill (so to speak), he plays a caricature of himself that portrays him as something of an oversensitive phony, which proves to be quite amusing.  James Franco was surprisingly funny and there were a few times in the film that he had me in stitches.

By no means a flawless performance by Seth and Evan in their directorial debut, but the delivery and scripting were just so good and have you laughing so much that you forgive them for creating a film that wouldn’t be described as polished. If you don’t mind crude humour, love good dialogue and expert delivery then definitely give ‘This is the End’ a watch. I give it 7 out of 10.

Man of Steel

Superhero flicks are now seemingly compulsory for each of the major studios in the North American summer movie season. So I guess it seemed a little silly that the most powerful of all superheros has been left out in the cold for so long. After the mixed success of ‘Superman Returns’ in 2006, it was high time for Hollywood to have another stab at making a decent Superman film.

‘Man of Steel’ like ‘Batman Begins’ gives the audience an insight into the protagonists’ early life and therefore his motivations and the source of his power.  This could be due to the fact that Chistopher Nolan had a hand in writing the story for both films. The movie is directed by Zack Snyder known for 300 and Watchmen. I thought this to be a match made in heaven because of Nolan’s talent as a writer and Snyder’s flair for impressive action sequences such as those in his previous films. This turned out to be true to a degree. While the film was well pieced together, with scenes leading from one to the next with adequate logic, it could be argued that the amount of time spent on each was a little off. If perhaps more time was spent on the story and character development and less on action sequences, the film would have been less rushed and the dramatic scenes would have been more impactful. In saying that, the film does have its touching moments and the special effects and action are a huge step up from the earlier superman films. When Superman and General Zod clash, it’s entirely the way in which you would expect super people to fight.

Henry Cavil is a fantastic superman. Not only does he very much look the part, he also does a great job of portraying a young superman who hasn’t yet found himself and is unsure of how to play his part in the world. He at times looks genuinely vulnerable as he struggles with the responsibility of the power that he finds himself with. Michael Shannon plays the films main villain (General Zod). He too plays his part fittingly, displaying a sense of warped morality that you can understand and therefore connect with. Amy Adams is Lois Lane and is sufficiently cocky and headstrong as we know the character to be, but doesn’t quite hit the mark. The film has a very impressive support cast, including Russel Crowe and Kevin Costner as Superman’s Kryptonian and Earth based fathers. Whilst the films leads are arguably the least known out of the all star cast, they manage to steal the show with their impressive performances.  

‘Man of Steel’ is definitely an improvement on the last somewhat dull instalment in the Superman franchise. While a little on the cheesy side, I think they’ve laid a solid foundation for subsequent sequels. I’d give this movie a 6.5 out of 10. Its action sequences are intense and visually spectacular.

Silver Linings Playbook

‘Silver Linings Playbook’ is a charming if not unconventional love story between two characters that could be described as a little emotionally unbalanced. The story follows Pat (Brad Cooper) who after beating his wife’s lover, is diagnosed as bi polar and ordered to serve out a short sentence in the local mental institution. The film starts with his release and you get the feel from the very beginning that Cooper’s character is a little unhinged. At the centre of his instability, is his obsession to get his wife back. Luckily for Pat he has a supportive group of family and friends who try their best to guide him in the right direction. This is where one of his friends gets involved and introduces him to Tiffany. Enter Jennifer Lawrence as the also slightly crazy, somewhat promiscuous sister to his best friend’s wife. She like Pat has had some emotional turmoil in recent times with the death of her husband.

Right from their initial introduction Cooper and Lawrence play off each other’s ‘crazy’ brilliantly. As much as this film is ultimately a love story it employs dramatic and comedic elements superbly, none more hilarious than Cooper himself. He captures his characters manic nature well, but falls a little short in the very dramatic scenes. This is perhaps because he never looks overly vulnerable so you don’t completely empathise with his character as much as maybe you should given his circumstances. A superb well rounded performance from Lawrence, not surprising that she won an Oscar for the role. Let’s not forget the supporting actors. It’s hard to though when you’re surrounded by the likes of De Niro who plays the part of Pat’s father. He like his son is holding a few cards short of a deck, lending something of an explanation as to where Pat’s unstable nature comes from. All play their parts perfectly as they come in and out of the story, providing comedy and drama where needed. Pat’s mother played by Jacki Weaver is sufficiently emotional at all the key moments and Chris Tucker delivers just the right amount of comedy as Pat’s friend from the loony bin.

As the movie develops, Lawrence manages to convince Cooper to join her in a dance competition. This is where the romance flourishes but also creates the source of some tension between the most important people in Pat’s life. This all comes to a head toward the end of the film, which leads to a slightly implausible deal that could bring the family to ruin. Despite the somewhat unrealistic situation and the potential for a cliché ending, the film does well to execute the finale in a way that’s both entertaining and touching. With David O’Russell (The Fighter) in the director’s chair, the movie is well paced and well directed. Script and action for the most part are brilliant, but there’s the odd point where characters move between emotions a little too quickly. Most of the time the film is very good at having you in stitches one minute and in tears the next, but this does fall apart on a few occasions.

All in all though, the film is a great watch that almost anyone would enjoy. Whist Coopers dramatic performance doesn’t earn him a perfect ten; it’s good enough and more than made up by his genius comic delivery. It’s dramatic and romantic whilst not being overly soppy, so perfect for a first date.