The Revenant: A slow burner to be sure, relies heavily on cinematography and imagery, so there is not as much dialogue as you might imagine. However, it is a beautiful film, shot exquisitely. As always Tom Hardy nails the accent, and Leo gives the performance of his life. While there have been similar story lines and attempts at similar styles of film in the past, this masterpiece surpasses all, and delivers. Not my favourite film of all time, but a magnificent and powerful one none-the-less. 4 Stars ****
<3 Hawk <3
<3 Dream imagery <3
Star Wars: The Force Awakens: For the love of all things sci-fi someone put it back to sleep. After all the noise made about this film, and the excitement I already carried being an original Star Wars fan (as in New Hope trilogy, original) I expected great things for Mr Abrams. However I would prefer he stuck to Star Trek, instead of Star Wars. 135 minutes of shout-outs to the originals and cheesy dialogue. I did not enjoy the film, I felt it lacked the soul of a true Star Wars film. Disappointed is an understatement. 1 Star *
<3 Maz Kanata and her digs <3
Spectre: Gadgets, girls and guns. Some of the typical Bond shots and sequences, an enemy with the greatest potential and that's about it. Not a patch on the others, lacking a little of Bond's original fierceness and perhaps a little too quickly paced, all the good parts end too fast. I don't think Christoph Waltz entered into his fullest embodiment his character had to offer, though through no fault of his own, there could have been much more malice. Perhaps it should've stayed as a trilogy... 2 Stars **
<3 Dave Bautista <3
Sicario: Completely not what I expected. Definitely a more true to life style film, where you imagine this is how it really would go down, rather than enjoying special effects and over dramatised everything. However, I think I would have preferred the latter. It's a little slow, and I found myself wanting more action, more gore. But maybe that's just me! 2 Stars **
<3 Benicio Del Toro <3
Crimson Peak: Perhaps not a really 'big gun', but with such a cast it's hard no to include it here. Cinematography, as usual, was beautiful from Guillermo del Toro, though I wanted more gore, more frights. Essentially it is not a ghost story, as much of the advertising would lead you to believe, and I wished it was, because it would've been better. Not up to the standards of Pans Labyrinth but better than other things he has been associated with, such as Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, though it's not hard to out do yourself on that one! 3 Stars ***
<3 Mama ghostie <3
The Martian: Outstanding. After watching Interstellar it's hard to find a decent space movie that you can try not to compare with such excellent cinema. However, while The Martian doesn't surpass Interstellar on my scale, it is a different film, and it is done well. With wit, tension and bad-ass science this movie was definitely a worthy contender for best space film ever! 4.5 Stars (just because Interstellar was better) *****
<3 Matt Damon <3
Everest: I was expecting to hate this film, watching some guys climb a mountain and struggle to get back down. I imagined I'd be bored, see exactly what was coming and not really care in the end. How wrong I was. There is more going on than just some wild weather, there's more than missed footing, or dodgy equipment. Captivating and cold, much like the mountain itself. 4 Stars ****
<3 Jake Gyllenhaal (this is a big thing cause I'm not a fan of him) <3
Sunday, 24 January 2016
Saturday, 23 January 2016
Handful of stars...
There's a few spoilers, be warned!:
Jupiter Ascending: A mash-up of almost every sci-fi ever put together badly. The story line develops WAAAY to fast, bringing a whole new meaning to love at first sight. There are vast areas of unanswered and unexplained plot. Most of the costumes were lacking, the dialogue was cringe-worthy and you should most definitely avoid this one. With too much happening at an incredible speed I can only give it 1 star *
<3 Mila Kunis' wedding dress <3
<3 Sean Bean doesn't die at the end <3
Big Hero 6: I hate to tear this one apart because there was a lot of potential...but, and perhaps this is my age showing, the bad guys weren't evil enough and the nerdy kids weren't nerdy enough. My inner me loves the graphics, characters of animated movies, while the adult me appreciates the jokes and plot. I expected a lot from Big Hero and it didn't deliver. Somewhere, there is a black hole in the film and it sucked out all the joy. 2.5 Stars ***
<3 Tadashi (weird cartoon crush)<3
<3 Baymax <3
(FYI: this film has a 8.0/10 rating on IMDB. So, check it out for yourself.)
>>>
Feast: Feast is a short animated film that is shown before Big Hero 6 begins. I enjoyed it more than the full feature I was about to watch. 5 Stars *****
<3 that little dog <3
(FYI: this short has a 8.4/10 rating on IMDB. It is better than the film says everyone.)
<<<
The Cobbler: A new Adam Sandler movie that went straight to Netflix, and should stay there. Having been recommended this film I was excited, reserving a little hope that Sandler was back to the good ol' days of Little Nicky and Billy Madison, alas it was not to be. More on level with his recents works like Bedtime Stories, this film was fairly light, considering some of the more morbid tones. There were a few witty moments and a fairly flimsy storyline, but it lacked the magic of early Sandler works. 2.5 Stars ***
<3 Method Man sassing a fat kid <3
<3 "Bye Jimmy" <3
<3 "He's dead, he's dead!" <3
Aeon Flux: Despite being an old one I have only just recently seen this. I didn't enjoy it. Perhaps it was of it's time, though I doubt it. A handful of other ideas pressed together and moulded into an awkward shape. Everything could be explained away with 'it's set 400 years in the future', but this is a cop out to explain all the stupid ideas in the film. It is essentially the sci-fi version of The Truman Show, except it's nowhere near as good. 2 Stars **
<3 Charlize Theron <3
Hateful 8: There is blood, a twisty story, more blood, excessive use of the word 'nigga' and then everybody dies, typical Tarantino. Not his best work, not awful just super long, chapters were an interesting way to go. Samuel L Jackson was the greatest thing about this film. 3 Stars ***
<3 SLJ <3
<3 Senor Bob <3
The Ridiculous 6: Not the best Adam Sandler film around, but funny in it's overly silly nature, light and ultimately ridiculous. Perhaps could've been shorter, but it doesn't really matter. 2.5 Stars ***
<3 Taylor Lautner <3
Before I Go To Sleep: Another twisted tale of discovery starring Nicole Kidman. Intense, clever and really quite surprising in the end. Enjoyable and intriguing. 3.5 Stars ****
<3 Mark Strong <3
Snowpiercer: Really good idea, great characters and imagery. A little odd and perhaps missed the mark slightly, though I cannot put my finger on why exactly... 4 Stars ****
<3 Jamie Bell <3
<3 Kang-ho Song <3
Kill Your Friends: Weird, old school and less violent than anticipated. But you get to watch James Corden die, so 3.5 Stars ****
<3 James Corden's characters death <3
Black Death: Could have been the prequel to Game of Thrones...but Sean Bean dies, obviously. Perhaps a little too religious-y for my tastes, but a clever film ticking all the boxes for a film about plague and it's effects on humanity. Great cast, leading to great acting. 4 Stars ****
<3 Eddie Redmayne- post village visit<3
The Woods (a.k.a. The Hallow): Don't waste your time on this...it sucked. 0 Stars
Jupiter Ascending: A mash-up of almost every sci-fi ever put together badly. The story line develops WAAAY to fast, bringing a whole new meaning to love at first sight. There are vast areas of unanswered and unexplained plot. Most of the costumes were lacking, the dialogue was cringe-worthy and you should most definitely avoid this one. With too much happening at an incredible speed I can only give it 1 star *
<3 Mila Kunis' wedding dress <3
<3 Sean Bean doesn't die at the end <3
Big Hero 6: I hate to tear this one apart because there was a lot of potential...but, and perhaps this is my age showing, the bad guys weren't evil enough and the nerdy kids weren't nerdy enough. My inner me loves the graphics, characters of animated movies, while the adult me appreciates the jokes and plot. I expected a lot from Big Hero and it didn't deliver. Somewhere, there is a black hole in the film and it sucked out all the joy. 2.5 Stars ***
<3 Tadashi (weird cartoon crush)<3
<3 Baymax <3
(FYI: this film has a 8.0/10 rating on IMDB. So, check it out for yourself.)
>>>
Feast: Feast is a short animated film that is shown before Big Hero 6 begins. I enjoyed it more than the full feature I was about to watch. 5 Stars *****
<3 that little dog <3
(FYI: this short has a 8.4/10 rating on IMDB. It is better than the film says everyone.)
<<<
The Cobbler: A new Adam Sandler movie that went straight to Netflix, and should stay there. Having been recommended this film I was excited, reserving a little hope that Sandler was back to the good ol' days of Little Nicky and Billy Madison, alas it was not to be. More on level with his recents works like Bedtime Stories, this film was fairly light, considering some of the more morbid tones. There were a few witty moments and a fairly flimsy storyline, but it lacked the magic of early Sandler works. 2.5 Stars ***
<3 Method Man sassing a fat kid <3
<3 "Bye Jimmy" <3
<3 "He's dead, he's dead!" <3
Aeon Flux: Despite being an old one I have only just recently seen this. I didn't enjoy it. Perhaps it was of it's time, though I doubt it. A handful of other ideas pressed together and moulded into an awkward shape. Everything could be explained away with 'it's set 400 years in the future', but this is a cop out to explain all the stupid ideas in the film. It is essentially the sci-fi version of The Truman Show, except it's nowhere near as good. 2 Stars **
<3 Charlize Theron <3
Hateful 8: There is blood, a twisty story, more blood, excessive use of the word 'nigga' and then everybody dies, typical Tarantino. Not his best work, not awful just super long, chapters were an interesting way to go. Samuel L Jackson was the greatest thing about this film. 3 Stars ***
<3 SLJ <3
<3 Senor Bob <3
The Ridiculous 6: Not the best Adam Sandler film around, but funny in it's overly silly nature, light and ultimately ridiculous. Perhaps could've been shorter, but it doesn't really matter. 2.5 Stars ***
<3 Taylor Lautner <3
Before I Go To Sleep: Another twisted tale of discovery starring Nicole Kidman. Intense, clever and really quite surprising in the end. Enjoyable and intriguing. 3.5 Stars ****
<3 Mark Strong <3
Snowpiercer: Really good idea, great characters and imagery. A little odd and perhaps missed the mark slightly, though I cannot put my finger on why exactly... 4 Stars ****
<3 Jamie Bell <3
<3 Kang-ho Song <3
Kill Your Friends: Weird, old school and less violent than anticipated. But you get to watch James Corden die, so 3.5 Stars ****
<3 James Corden's characters death <3
Black Death: Could have been the prequel to Game of Thrones...but Sean Bean dies, obviously. Perhaps a little too religious-y for my tastes, but a clever film ticking all the boxes for a film about plague and it's effects on humanity. Great cast, leading to great acting. 4 Stars ****
<3 Eddie Redmayne- post village visit<3
The Woods (a.k.a. The Hallow): Don't waste your time on this...it sucked. 0 Stars
Triple bill day starts with a bang and goes out with a fizzle!
Jurassic World: What better to start with than the fourth instalment in the Jurassic franchise! Not much, I can tell you. From the adverts I wasn't overly excited, I had already decided which characters to love and hate! Jurassic World had just the right amount of respect for Jurassic Park for die hard fans to enjoy and enough sparkly, new attractions and ideas for special effects lovers. Also, there was Chris Pratt. Who doesn't love him! Witty, ruggedly handsome and (I quote) 'a badass'. The kids didn't cry too much, the dinosaurs were on screen enough and the bad guys at Ingen got what they deserved...do they never learn! There isn't enough time or space on this blog to tell you everything I loved about it, but if I'm going to be picky and believe me this is the smallest thing...what was the deal with the teenager and his girlfriend? Was that supposed to be a bigger story or were you just supposed to not like him for being a bit of a creep? I didn't get it. But that's a very small fish to fry!
A whopping 5 Stars *****
<3 Chris Pratt <3
<3 Velociraptors and T-Rex <3
<3 Mr Masrani's attitude <3
Spy: Laugh out loud, bring your knees up to your face sort of funny. A really good take on serious spy films. A colourful and hilarious cast. Even the sound track was great! It managed to be funny without being ridiculous, action packed without being a general spy movie and have a great story line without the usual formula.
A respectable 4.5 Stars *****
<3 Jason Statham' tall tales <3
<3 Rose Byrne's hair <3
<3 Peter Serafinowicz (a.k.a. Aldo)<3
Insidious Chapter 3: A prequel to the other two and lacking because of it. While we learned from the first two that sometimes a further explanation is needed, I feel a lot of things were left unexplained in this movie that won't get straightened out. If the ending of this is to be explored, there could be another film about the Darth Maul look alike, but if you cast your mind back to Insidious 2, the next instalment could follow the path of Elise, Tucker and Specs. Either way, I hope it returns to the old school, dramatic feel of the first two.
While Chapter 3 was a bag full of jump scares, littered with a decent story, some rather ugly characters in the Further and a good basis for where the ghost hunting trio started out there are noticeable holes. Firstly, it lacks any explanation for the entity which haunts the young girl in this movie. Not once do they delve into why he wants her soul, what happened to him in life or why he wears an oxygen mask.
Then there's the addition of unnecessary characters. The younger brother, the boy whose in love with Quinn and the crazy cat lady. All of these characters could have been cut and the minor kinks reworked.
Lacking the cinematic atmosphere of the first two I cannot give this instalment a great rating, it was average. Not poor as I do recall watching a few parts through my fingers!
A disappointing 3.5 Stars ****
<3 The Tar <3
<3 The Further <3
A whopping 5 Stars *****
<3 Chris Pratt <3
<3 Velociraptors and T-Rex <3
<3 Mr Masrani's attitude <3
Spy: Laugh out loud, bring your knees up to your face sort of funny. A really good take on serious spy films. A colourful and hilarious cast. Even the sound track was great! It managed to be funny without being ridiculous, action packed without being a general spy movie and have a great story line without the usual formula.
A respectable 4.5 Stars *****
<3 Jason Statham' tall tales <3
<3 Rose Byrne's hair <3
<3 Peter Serafinowicz (a.k.a. Aldo)<3
Insidious Chapter 3: A prequel to the other two and lacking because of it. While we learned from the first two that sometimes a further explanation is needed, I feel a lot of things were left unexplained in this movie that won't get straightened out. If the ending of this is to be explored, there could be another film about the Darth Maul look alike, but if you cast your mind back to Insidious 2, the next instalment could follow the path of Elise, Tucker and Specs. Either way, I hope it returns to the old school, dramatic feel of the first two.
While Chapter 3 was a bag full of jump scares, littered with a decent story, some rather ugly characters in the Further and a good basis for where the ghost hunting trio started out there are noticeable holes. Firstly, it lacks any explanation for the entity which haunts the young girl in this movie. Not once do they delve into why he wants her soul, what happened to him in life or why he wears an oxygen mask.
Then there's the addition of unnecessary characters. The younger brother, the boy whose in love with Quinn and the crazy cat lady. All of these characters could have been cut and the minor kinks reworked.
Lacking the cinematic atmosphere of the first two I cannot give this instalment a great rating, it was average. Not poor as I do recall watching a few parts through my fingers!
A disappointing 3.5 Stars ****
<3 The Tar <3
<3 The Further <3
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