Mark 2

My second sketch, and this time I went for more of a separation between man and machine.

The next one I'm going to do will be a little more surreal. Hope you guys enjoy this one.

I found that the Iron Man half cam across as having emotion
in this piece.

Iron or Man?

As 'Iron Man 3' draws closer and closer, I've come up with  one or  two ideas for Iron Man, a kind of promotion for  the film by fans like  me. Here is my  first one. I hope you like it. There will be more.

The theme is 'Iron or Man', as the films continue on the line between tech and man is blurring. Tony is finding it harder to stay relevant in a world where Gods, monsters and Super-humans are now becoming the norm. I think he is having a nervous breakdown in his own unique way. Here is my first  sketch and I hope you enjoy.

Iron or Man?

Man of Steel needs help

Vote for the last son of  Krypton

Hey guys, saw that  a competition of sorts is going on between the various films coming out this  year, so I thought I'd help in my own small way. Here is a link to the site and guys, please vote for 'Man of Steel'. Lets show everyone around the world how proud we are being Superman fans. Cheers.

Best film of the year? Vote Man of Steel!!

He needs you!

Which are you.a Thief or a Sucker?

'Identity Thief' Film Review

Director; Seth Gordon

Starring; Jason Bateman

Melissa McCarthy

You see this one, you will not like her.

Wednesday night I had a choice, I had two premieres that I was invited to see. One being the manic magicians film, 'The Amazing Burt Wunderstone', with Steve Carrell, Steve Buscemi and Jim Carrey and  the 'Identity Thief' with Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy. I tossed, I turned, I tumbled. There was a lot of t's. In the end, I tossed a coin, and it came up 'Identity Thief', so did I turn out to be a sucker?

This one scene is one of the rare laughs in the film.

Plot

Sandy Patterson, Jason Bateman's character, is a run of the mill, everyday joe who is trying to get by with his family in tow. He's scraping the barrel, earning just enough to keep his family afloat, he has two kids, and another on the way. This point is really drilled home, as it is mentioned a multitude of times before the first half hour of the film. We are then introduced to "Sandy Patterson", the identity thief "Diana". She is loud, crass and incredibly annoying. When Sandy(real Sandy) finds out that Diana is spending all his hard earned money he decides to head to Florida where she is located and take her down. Comedy fumbling's ensue, now and then.

Good

I'm writing this right now trying to remember what honestly was good about this film. On paper it should be funny, these two actors are comedy pedigree. Sandy is a decent enough character, he has one or two good lines but I can't bring the specifics to mind right now. Diana has some quotable lines, that's really it. There is a wonderful sense of family and sincere emotion at times but it is drowned out by the incessant gross out jokes and really disturbing sex scenes.

This leads to a scene that haunts me, deeply.

Bad

There is a lot of stuff, though Diana is the funnier of the two characters she is also the least likable of the two also. For two thirds of the film she is completely unlikable, I think that is fine for a film, the characters you don't like usually have some feature that counter balances the reason you don't like them, this turns it around from hating the character to you loving how you hate them. This is not what you get from Diana, you just hate her, simple as that. The villian of the piece is completely tacked on, he has no stake in the whole film other than Diana apparently screwed him over at some point in the past, and is literally in two scene which last five minutes all together. Between gross thumbed soup and really, really weird sexual tension between Diana and every male character in the film you will be wondering why you're sitting in the theatre.

Ugly

This is not a good film, the premise reminds me of 'Planes, Trains and Automobiles", you know without planes, trains or any sense of humour or proper character or plot development. Simple as that.

3/10

Oz the so-so and over actor.

Oz the Great  and Powerful Review

Director; Sam Raimi

Starring; James Franco

Mila Kunis

Michelle Williams

Rachel Weisz

He is....annoying.

When I heard that  Sam Raimi was making a brand new version of the 'Wizard of  Oz' I was very much, underwhelmed. Another director  trying his hand  at breathing new life  into a classic,by re-imagining it for a modern audience. It felt  to  me like there was no originality anymore, to go that far  back and touch on a film that is so close to almost  everyone's hearts. It was another knock  to my childhood. If you've read my thoughts on Michael Bay you know that the last year has not been kind with regards to how Hollywood has treated a lot of peoples cherished childhood memories. I found out then that it  was a prequel of sorts. Giving us the origin story of 'The Wizard' himself, but more interestingly, the origin of  'The  Wicked Witch of the West'.

Zach Braff doing what he does best...I'll get to you in that one.

The Plot

It's way  back when, things are simple, uncomplicated and in black  and white. The times they are good, but that's not what "master" illusionist 'Oscar Diggs' wants however. He wants things to be great, he wants to be great. Through a series of  odd and ridiculous events involving a random woman, a music box, Zach Braff and a strong  man, Oscar  finds himself in  the magical world of....Oz. In this weird, wonderful and at times over-acted place Oscar meets witches, claims to be a wizard and saves a slightly psychopathic china doll. I'm serious about that china doll, she is...intense at times.

The Good

Mila  Kunis, without going into too much detail. She has the most interesting character journey throughout this whole film. She is  also really hot, so that's bonus points there. The little china doll, though intimidating at times, is also one of  the more humourous and interesting characters of the film. The design of Oz( the kingdom, not the guy) is pretty most of the time.  Coming off as a child's version of  'Pandora'. The final act and the films climatic battle was visually beautiful and the Wicked Witch of  West is  superb. She hasn't lost that evil streak.

This girls has some of  the best lines of dialogue.

The Bad

Right, where to begin. I suppose the irony of the "good" witch being the least interesting and most annoying of the witches assembled in this film is not lost on me. The origin of  the Wicked Witch of the West is brilliant and intriguing but honestly should have been fleshed out. You feel for her, but in the kind of, "oh honey don't worry about that man, he's not worth your time", way. If they had fleshed it out more it would have added a lot more depth to the character and would have added some more weight to a very light film experience. At times, a lot of times by the way, the acting is way  over the top, surprisingly so since the cast that has been  put together is of such high quality. James Franco for  example is a bit of a douche for  most of the film, and not in the redeeming fashion. 

The Ugly

It is a good film,  it's not  great but  there are some really nice scenes, the visuals at times are superb and the Wicked Witch of  the West has been replicated with such care you can't help but respect Sam Raimi for that. If only  the acting transitioned from black and white to technicolor as well as people from Kansas seem to. 

5.5/10

I know what you're thinking. What a wonderful place Oz is.

Look out for the little nods to old friends. They are both subtle and blatantly obvious.