Grudge Match Film Review

Grudge Match, a film about two geriatric boxers striving for personal glory in a world that has given up on them. Starring Sylvester Stallone and Robert De Niro this film centres around a fanboys dream. What if Rocky Balboa went up against Jake Lamotta? Who would win? Who would lose and most importantly, would we(the audience) care? Grudge Match has a lot going for it, a decent cast, an(almost) original plot and decent talent behind the camera, Peter Segal(Get Smart).

Razor and Kid(Stallone and De Niro respectively) are two washed up boxers, each living their lives the best way they know how. Razor is working at a factory having lost all his winnings due to some swindling and bad money management(Rocky 4 anyone?), Kid owns a bar and a car dealership but you can tell that he will never let go of the loss that he suffered at the hands of Razor all those years ago. Both men are living in the past albeit in very different ways, Razor is trying to forget while Kid is desperately holding on. Events take place and both men are offered the chance to settle the score once and for all, to decide which of the two of them is the greater boxer and during the course of the film they both learn what it means to move on from the mistakes they made in the past all the while preparing for this event that will mean closure for the both of them.

One of the weirder and funnier moments.

I'm unsure about this film. There were moments where I was genuinely interested with what happened to these two guys and the circle of friends and family they have surrounded themselves with. BJ(Jon Bernthal) is a wonderful character who has some great scenes with Kid. They bounce off each other fantastically and you can feel an actual warmth growing as the film progresses, this can be said the same between Razor and Lightning(Alan Arkin) who have this wonderful chemistry due to their long standing friendship. There's some good humour peppered throughout the film and each character is given enough time and fairness to him so that neither comes off as an antagonist or a protagonist(you may argue that Razor is a more likeable character and though at times this can be true he has as many flaws as Kid). The problem with Grudge Match is funnily enough the Grudge Match, not nearly as interesting as it should have been and the ending is so full of sporting film cliches that it would make the Rocky film blush. In the end I enjoyed this film, it's okay not great, not bad just okay and Stallone does not deserve a Razzy for this performance. So I'll finish with the immortal words of Henry "Razor" Sharp, "it's not the best but it's the best we got".

Jack Ryan: Film Review

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit is an unusual film in that it is about a character who is the poster child for a lot of Tom Clancy's novels and films inspired by his novels. The character of Jack Ryan has had many faces, Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford, Ben Affleck and now Chris Pine. Very much like James Bond, the character of Jack Ryan is the American super spy though unlike Bond the narrative makes Jack Ryan out to be an every man, an average Joe who rises to the occasion to become something more. It is this every man style of narrative that most films go for to bring the audience closer to it's protagonist.

With this reboot we start at the beginning(again) of Jack Ryan's career. This time however it is brought into the modern era. We meet Jack Ryan in his formative years in college, then 9/11 occurs and we are flash forwarded to Jack Ryan as a soldier, his unit is attacked and we are(again) flash forwarded to him in his rehabilitation where we meet Cathy(Kiera Knightley), the love interest. Jack is then recruited by shadowy agent Thomas Harper(Kevin Costner) to help with protecting the United States from terrorist actions. Flash forward(seriously?) ten years and we begin the narrative anew with Jack Ryan being sent to Russia(that's right the Russians are the bad guys) to seek out the nefarious leader of a conspiracy that may bring the United States to its knees.

Hey,have you ever wanted to travel back in time to a place where Americans are always good guys and Russians are bad guys and are patriotic to the extent that they will destroy an entire nation just to feel important again? Well you've come to the right place, welcome to cliche 90's film which is unusually set in 2014. There is so much wrong with this film,from the boring action set pieces to the unbelievably bad Kiera Knightley who gives such a terrible performance it just aches to watch, every little romantic moment her and Pine have is full of cliche's and I cringed watching every single one.



The most disappointing part of this film is the talent on hand and the talent behind the camera. I mean come on, Kenneth Branagh is the man who brought Thor to the mainstream. He is a fantastic actor, writer and director, so what happened? His character is laughably bad and is given literally two dimensions to work with. There is a terrorist attack shoe horned into the last twenty minutes which is absolutely ridiculous. Well there you have it, a film that celebrates everything America, Michael Bay would be proud.

Saving Mr Banks Film Review

She's having none of it.

A new film, a new review. Welcome to the Saving Mr Banks film review. Knowing the history of this story I was interested in seeing whether Disney would stay true to the integrity of the history of the Mary Poppins character and the trouble they had bringing her to the big screen and how disappointed author Pamela
P.L. Travers was with the end result. This film was going to be an interesting experience for many reasons but I'll get to that later.

Pamela Travers(Emma Thompson) or Mrs. Travers to her friends is a difficult woman. For the past 20 years she has been dogged by Walt Disney to sell him the rights to her beloved character Mary Poppins. She believes that he will ruin her character, turn her into fluff as a has with Winnie the Pooh and Peter Pan. Unfortunately with a lack of funds Mrs. Travers has to entertain the notion that she must hand over this treasured piece of fiction to ensure she won't lose everything.

Saving Mr Banks is filled with wonderful performances that give us an insight into what happened all those years ago. Spliced in between the events with Walt Disney(Tom Hanks) and Mrs. Travers is a heart-warming story about the relationship between Pamela and her father(Colin Farrell) who is clearly the figure in her life who inspired her. As we go through the film we learn all about the genesis of Mary Poppins, Mrs. Travers's love for her father and the trouble Walt Disney had trying to translate the magic of the book to the big screen.

I dug Saving Mr Banks, as I said before there is a lot going for this film talent-wise. Tom Hanks, Emma Thompson, Paul Giamatti, Colin Farrell and Ruth Wilson to name but a few. The character I was interested the most in the development was surprisingly Colin Farrell's character (Travers Robert Goff). Every time Colin Farrell wasn't on-screen I found myself wishing he was. He gave an absolutely stunning performance as the complex and broken father to Pamela. With the other characters it was the usual affair, actors pushing for Oscars because they know this is a film built for the Oscar season. Tom Hanks is his usual affable self and Emma Thompson plays an uptight, proper English lady. The film is one of the more well rounded Oscar contenders that I have seen recently,look at my Gravity review to see what I think of other films that are going for Oscars next year.
Rating; 3.5/5

Fozen Movie review.

Disney 's latest outing in animation is the tale of two princesses, an ice seller, his reindeer and a suicidal snowman. I know, it is an intriguing mix of characters. I hadn't watched any trailers or looked at any press details so I was going into this blind. I was excited to see Disney's latest 3D animation. Before I go into my review of Frozen I would like to give an honourable mention to the short which was shown before Frozen. I won't spoil any of the details for you but I will say this, the level of technology behind animation is now at a staggering point. The short is without a doubt the best animated short I have seen in a long time. The skill involved in the animation process behind this short is astounding. Now on to the review of Frozen.

When two kids  meet.

There are two Princesses of Arendelle: Elsa (Idina Menzel), the soon-to-be Queen, and Anna (Kristen Bell). Elsa has the ability to create snow and ice, yet has been suppressing these powers after a traumatic childhood incident involving her sister. After letting her cryokinetic powers get out of hand during her coronation, she goes into hiding, only for her emotions to trigger a magical, eternal winter that freezes the entire kingdom. The arrogant Duke of Weselton (Alan Tudyk) plots to turn everyone against "the monster" Elsa for his own fiendish needs.

Anna, a fearless and daring optimist, must journey with mountain man Kristoff (Jonathan Groff) and reindeer sidekick Sven in an epic journey, encountering mystical trolls, a comical snowman named Olaf (Josh Gad), Everest-like extremes and magic at every turn in a race to find Elsa, save their kingdom from eternal winter, and make things right before it's too late.

What I really enjoyed about Frozen was the characters, Anna is a treat. She's a wonderful protagonist who you just root for throughout the entire film. She has an infectious charm and a fantastic bubbly attitude. Elsa is interesting, as both a protagonist and antagonist she is given an unusual duel role in the film which is refreshing to see. They are given a wonderful supporting cast which compliments them wonderfully. The songs are your usual Disney affair so they are naturally very enjoyable, the humour however is another thing to take note of as it is fantastic, Olaf the snowman gets all the best lines, there are a few exceptions but for the most part the suicidal snowman gets the lion's share. Unfortunately there are some hiccups in Frozen.

Olaf and Sven.

The villain of the film feels rushed, uninteresting and stops this film from being a 5/5 and you feel a little cheated that you never find out about the source of Anna's powers, it just seems like yes there is magic and that's all you're getting. Apart from these small issues though Frozen is a strong film. One of Disney's best in recent years, with the introduction of not one but two Disney princesses and a whole host of wonderful characters this is the definitive Christmas film to bring all the family to, even if the film is set in July.

Rating;4/5

Gravity: Film Review

Off the bat I want you to know this. I found the whole premise of this film laughable. Not a single moment in the numerous trailers interested me. When I saw the trailers I always laughed, I always thought, you win again Gravity. God bless vintage Simpsons. Then there was the even worse scenario that popped into my head. This is the unofficial spin-off to Man of Steel. The reason all this crap happened to Sandra Bullocks character is because of all the debris from the Wayne satellite Zod and Superman destroyed and when you have that image in your head you will never take this film seriously. It also doesn't help when the whole audience you  are with seems to be in the same mindset as you.

Plot

Dr. Ryan Stone(Sandra Bullock) is on her first  mission into space. She is doing a routine check on the Hubble Telescope with flight engineer Shariff Dasari(Paul Sharma) and veteran astronaut Matt Kowalski( George Clooney). After only six months of training Ryan is a overwhelmed by the scope of her mission and Matt  decides to calm her down with one of his famous stories. This  begins to work until  the untimely news that a Russian satellite has broken apart and the debris is on course to collide with the telescope and more importantly, the team. When this happens, shit hits the fan.

Good

Visually this film is absolutely stunning. Everything is scaled up to eleven. You feel the beauty and the emptiness of space far more convincingly then most films out there. The scenes are well set up and the cinematography is superb. It does( some times) hit the emotional points you want it to hit and the action was fantastic. You felt the rush and the adrenaline pumping through Sandra Bullock as if you were there.

Bad

There are a ton of cliches in this film, the emotionally  distant protagonist who has a tragic past, the veteran who has one more day before retirement and the throw-away supporting cast (who you know will be the first casualty), that's right everybody it's Lethal Weapon in space without the snappy dialogue and Danny Glover wit. There are so many speeches as well which just began to grate on me as the film went on. George Clooney gives the greatest George Clooney performance as he is clearly playing himself. It just came off as douchey and Sandra Bullock is annoying as she tries to be this generations Ellen Ripley, there is even a scene which seems to be an homage to the character of Ripley. The cheese is this feature is so high that it completely clogs up all the gears, making sure that this film doesn't move along smoothly.

Ugly

This is not a bad film, do I understand why its become so popular? Yes. Do I think it deserves all this praise? No. At the end of the day though this is just my opinion, go out and enjoy whatever film you want to see and if you do like it, tell me why. Comment below and let's start a debate.

Rating:2/5

Ender's Game; A film review

Ender's Game

Director; Gavin Hood

Starring; Asa Butterfield

Harrison Ford

Sir Ben Kingsley

Created by Orson Scott Card, Ender's Game is a futuristic tale about the creation of a new form of warfare that humanity creates to combat an alien race that attacked Earth decades before the events of Enders Game. With this hailed as the Sci-Fi Harry Potter and the source material being of such high quality there was a lot riding on this film. With big names like Harrison Ford,Sir Ben Kingsley and Asa Butterfield of Hugo fame I was interested in seeing whether such an unusual cast could bring this all together in a satisfying hundred and fourteen minutes or would it end up like Rick Riordans Percy and the Olympians series or to an even greater degree, Philip Pullmans, His Dark Materials, to you and I that is the Golden Compass film and all its sequels that never came to be.

Andrew "Ender" Wiggins

Andrew "Ender" Wiggins is a genius, a tactical genius who sees all the variables, every little detail, every little possibility and that's what makes him the prime candidate for the military program which has been set up by humanity to defend from the inevitable return from an alien race known as the Formics. Within Ender, Colonel Graff( Harrison Ford) see's humanities last hope for survival against what Graff see's as an overwhelmingly dangerous force. Graff pushes Ender to his limits, physically, emotionally and most of all psychologically. With an escalation in threat midway through the film there is an escalation in plans for Ender and with that comes something I don't think Sci-Fi films have had for awhile, surprises.

Fantastic landscapes

Ender's Game is a visually stunning epic, with absolutely fantastic performances given by a diverse cast of characters, from Harrison Fords monstrous Colonel Graff, who seeks the complete destruction of the enemy regardless of the cost the "soldiers" have to pay, to Asa Butterfields enigmatic and introverted protagonist who just wants to ensure the completion of the mission. On the subject of Asa Butterfield, he portrays Ender superbly,in the beginning he comes off as simply emotionless ,but that hides passion, a sly bit of charm and a caring soul. Asa gives a knock out performance, adding depth to a character who could have easily been written off as emotionless tool. With a fantastic supporting cast, an original and engaging story and an unusual and interesting protagonist, Ender's Game surprised me.

Ender's Game

Like all adaptations there is clearly portions of Ender's Game lost in the translation. Moments that come out of nowhere that are visually grand but just come off as excuses to showcase the CGI and I just felt there was something behind it but it just wasn't explained enough to me, but that's just my opinion. Also there was a nagging feeling that kept creeping into the back of my head, this is Top Gun with kids and I can't lie that did take me out of it at points, especially when there is a character introduced who is basically Iceman. I did feel that the "villains" of the film were undeveloped and were just there as a simple plot device which is unfortunate because I was amped to see the Formics in all glory.

Ender's Game is an original take on a story that's been told time and time again, with an engaging supporting cast and an intriguing protagonist this was a film I can't wait to see again.

Rating; 4/5

Halloween Horror films that you need to see.

Top 10 Horror Films.

It's that time of year again, when we all go out and dress up needlessly and get ridiculously drunk, girls dress up in ridiculously kinky outfits and guys live out their ridiculous fantasies, this year I'm going as an Ash'aman from The Wheel of Time series by the way, that's right it's Halloween. With all this dress up and alcohol a ton of people forget about the real fun of Halloween, watching scary ass films that remind you why you fear the dark. Throughout every Halloween, and during the off seasons,I have watched copious amounts of horror films so I decided I would give you guys my Top Ten Horror films of all time, until there are superior ones in the future. God bless Halloween.

No. 10 An American Werewolf in London.(1981)

An American Werewolf in London

An American Werewolf in London is one of those fantastic 80's films that sticks in your head for so many reasons, the one particular moment for me would be the first transformation scene. Without a doubt one of the most excruciating scenes in not just cinema history but horror history. When our protagonist blows off the belief that he will turn into a murderous werewolf bent on mutilation and destruction the film lulls you into a false sense of security. With the music on in the background not completely drowning out his horrific screams as parts of his body contorts into a form that is clearly not meant for man to assume you get such a horrible feeling in the pit of your stomach that he may not come back from this. The effects were superb, in my opinion the best transformation of human to werewolf in all forms of media it didn't need any CGI just wonderful practical effects. The gore is of a fairly high level, especially with a sarcastic mutilated ghost walking around for eighty per cent of the film and that is why An American Werewolf in London is in my Top Ten Horror films list.


No.09 The Fly(1986)

The Fly

When Jeff Goldblum decides he wants to create a teleportation device he doesn't count on a frisky little fly getting all up in his junk. After splicing his DNA accidentally with a fly he becomes a superhuman, for ten minutes, then he becomes the most disgusting piece of garbage I have ever seen in cinema. Why you ask, simple, he pukes all over a dude and tries to eat him. Single scariest and nastiest moment in my young life since when I watched this film I was like twelve years old. For that reason The Fly is in my Top Ten Horror films.


No.08 Evil Dead 2(1987)

Evil Dead 2

One of the funnier films in my list, Evil Dead 2 is one of the grossest, depraved and manic horrors in the history of western horror films. It is a true cult classic, between frightening ballet dancing corpses to angry rape trees, this film has so much wrong with it. This film is disgustingly hilarious, between him fighting against his possessed hand to the mounted trophies laughing at Ash until he cracks and tells them all to shut up. This film is so depraved. I just can't decide whether its horror with a comedy tinge or a comedy with a horror mash up. This why Evil Dead 2 is on the lower end of my Top Ten Horror films list.


No.07 Hellraiser(1987)

Hellraiser

I'm going to write this one quick because even thinking about this film freaks me out. Right so a bunch of torture demons have a box, humans are inexplicably drawn to it and when they solve it, all Hell breaks loose. The cast is pretty forgettable except for the demons themselves who have so much lore behind each of them it calls out to you to look them up. There is one of the demons who is just so frightening, all he does is chatter his teeth, I don't why, I can't remember his name but that feature of his sticks with me, and that is why Hellraiser is in my Top Ten Horror films list.


No.06 The Sixth Sense.(1999)

Sixth Sense

Nothing freaks me out more than ghosts, and M Nigh Shymalan. Combine those two elements together and you have a jump fest cinema experience. Between gross puking ghost girls and a creepy soundtrack, this film had a lot going for it. There was genuine human dialogue and a great story behind it, which fifty per cent of horror films don't have, which added to the tension and the growing sense of alienation in the film. Add the disturbing twist at the end and you have an unorthodox horror but an original one at least. With that I chose The Sixth Sense to be in my Top Ten Horror films list.


No.05 Dawn of The Dead(1978)

Dawn of the Dead

An oldie but definitely a goodie. This film for a long time defined zombies for me, there was something about the zombies in this film that just disturbed me, right inside me. I could never explain it but there was genuine terror when I watched the zombies limp to the characters, even though they were slow and cumbersome they still achieved their goals which I respect, as much I can respect the undead. It is this reason why I put Dawn of The Dead in my Top Ten Horror films list.


No.04 28 Days Later(2002)

28 Days Later

It had been awhile since zombies had posed any real threat to humanity, lets face it  after awhile you get bored of the lumbering vacant stares of the undead. Then 2002 hit and Danny  Boyle gave us something to really fear. Not just the rage zombies, I'm talking about humans, the real monsters of the that film. When everything is stripped away, all our comforts and our society, the monsters rear their ugly heads. That's why  28 Days Later is on my Top Ten Horror films list.

No.03 Angel Heart(1987)

Angel Heart

Angel Heart, a true mind fuck of film. Mickey Rourke at his most charming and the story about a detective trying to find a missing person that eventually leads to some of the most disturbing death scenes I have ever seen in cinema. One includes a chicken, that's all I'll say. Between Robert De Niros creepy egg eating scene and Mickey Rourkes screams at later points of the film there is a lot to be freaked out about in this film. The film is so well written and so disturbing I highly recommend it. I don't want to go into too much detail otherwise I'll ruin your opportunity to see a real original horror film. For that reason I have included Angel Heart in my Top Ten Horror films list.

No.02 Cabin in the Woods(2012)

Cabin in the Woods

When I got to the last two films I had a hard time deciding which would take the top spot, I went on the decision that I've been going with since the beginning of the article, entertainment value not just horror value. Cabin in the Woods is without a doubt one of the most entertaining horror films of all time but the reason it didn't get the top spot is it is a fantastic comedy that satires all the cliches of horror while giving an intense horror experience. The characters, the monsters and the sheer level of entertainment value is fantastic,but it's not my no.1, that honor is left to a real classic, however it still deserves this spot in my Top Ten Horror films list.

No.01 The Thing(1982)

The Thing.

Frightening, well acted, killer dialogue and incredible effects.The Thing is a triumph of horror films, there is terror that cannot ever be matched in my opinion. Kurt Russell is on form in this film but so are the rest of the cast, there are so many iconic scenes that come to mind, for example there is one scene where a dudes head fell off and then became another monster, that same dudes stomach was also a monster which ate another guys hands, deeply disturbing I know. There is so much going for this film, and here is a little bit of trivia that you'll absolutely love, at the very beginning of the film when the Norwegian sniper is shooting at the husky he tells everyone,in Norwegian, what the dog really is, so basically all Norwegian cinema goers got the film ruined for them in the first ten minutes, and that's why I picked The Thing for my Top Ten Horror films list.


So what are you guys doing for Halloween, what are you dressing up as, comment below, drop me a Tweet or send me on your Top Ten list. Doesn't even have to be about Horrors.

How I Live now film review.

How I Live Now.

Director- Kevin Macdonald

Starring- Saoirse Ronan

Tom Holland

Anna Chancellor

Plot

New York native Daisy (Saoirse Ronan) is a complicated teenager with a huge chip on her shoulder, this clashes with the care-free lifestyle of her cousins that she is forced to move in with after her father dumps her on their doorstep (metaphorically). She finds Isaac annoying and intrusive and her little cousin Piper is continually at her side trying to become her best friend, which she is not too happy about. Daisy is an introverted teen who has high expectations of herself and cannot stand anyone who doesn't live up to her high standards. Basically she has a massive stick up her butt. Her whole world is turned upside down however when she meets Edmond, her eldest cousin. She falls madly in love with him, and as events take a turn for the worse, her love for Edmond is tested to every conceivable limit.

Good

Saoirse Ronan has once again proven how wise she is beyond her years, a complex character like Daisy could easily come off as a simple spoilt child lashing out at everyone around her due to her relationship with her dad. Saoirse Ronan however turns this role into something much more, there is a strength to Daisy that the audience does not fully understand until the latter half of the film. Along with Saoirse Ronan the supporting cast is superb, each giving deft performances throughout the film. In particular note is George McKay, who's roguish charm captures the heart of both Daisy and the audience. 

Bad

Daisy is, for the most part, an unlikable character. She is annoying, until the plot decides she needs to be a more affable protagonist. For a brief time in the film there is a certain predictability, luckily this is shattered at the halfway point. 

Ugly

This is a thought provoking film, which at times is deeply surreal and emotional.

8.5/10 

Saoirse Ronan shines.