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Ratatouille (2007)
On a rewatch
'There's a rat in mi kitchen, what am I gonna do?' ...I'm gonna put it under my huge chef's hat and let it make food using my arms in a weird puppet type manner. Not having seen this film since it was out in cinemas NINE YEARS AGO, I could only remember bits and pieces, so it was nice to come back and watch the whole thing almost as if it was the first time. There were a few humorous elements that would've gone over my head as a young kid and now knowing who the voice cast actually are is a treat. The best part of this movie was the finale, starting from when the rats took over the kitchen - man, not only was it comedy gold but that's the kind of ending all films need to have. It was funny, it was tense and, surprisingly, emotional.
Lila & Eve (2015)
Viola Davis is amazing
A half decent 'action' flick that kicks off with a promising start but then just really doesn't go anywhere, meandering around what could have been some much-needed 'BANG BANG PEWWW PEWWW' moments. Viola Davis is still brilliant however and Lopez was better than she was in 'Gigli' but not as good as she was in 'Out of Sight'. The twist comes around with about twenty minutes to go and, credit where credit's due, I wasn't actually expecting it. But the whole reveal is so pointless and makes TOO much sense for a twist anyway, it doesn't have any affect whatsoever. The story chugs along as if the twist never happened. If you're looking to kill some time, watch this.
High-Rise (2015)
Yes, my screening also got walk outs
I'm not gonna lie and say I understood all the messages going on in this film but I feel I followed the plot pretty well until maybe the last half hour - an unnecessary half hour at that. But I enjoyed it! About six or seven people walked out before the film finished and I'm not actually sure why. No; the film isn't gonna be everyone's cup of tea but it's by no means boring and keeps you entertained almost to the end credits. It's pretty and the acting is as expected, although you can't help but feel Hiddleston didn't leave as much an impression as he should have. Hiddleston is supposed to be the protagonist but instead, it's Luke Evan's Wilder that stays in your mind as you leave the cinema. I have nothing more to say other than that this film mildly exceeded my expectations. It is what it is.
Spiders (2000)
Big scary monster thing
'This is...like a bad science fiction movie'
I was expecting this to be absolute rubbish, so imagine my surprise when I found the first half hour of this movie intriguingly watchable with the majority of problems being poor dialogue...but no worries, then the spiders appear! I breathed a sigh of relief as I could begin to laugh at the shoddy effects and all-too-pathetic deaths thrown in amongst a myriad of plot-holes that I literally can't even begin to pick up on. This was a monster movie that should have known it wasn't going to be good, which made it more disappointing when it seems that the director here was thinking they had the next 'Alien' franchise on their hands. An all too serious movie that should have taken the mick out of itself a LOT more.
1/10
(Will I watch 'Spiders 2'? Probably yeah.)
Octopus (2000)
Octopus
I wanted this to be a good film. I really wanted to be able to log onto IMDb and blow you away with my opinion that 'Octopus' wasn't actually a bad movie. But John Eyres let me down and now I begrudgingly come to you and beg you not to watch this 100 minutes of disappointment. Let me start by telling you that the premise of the movie wasn't actually that bad. If done right, it would've made for a decent monster attack movie. But other than the premise 'Octopus' was a film that just didn't have a clue what genre to put itself into. Post introduction, I found myself watching a spy conspiracy thriller that involved a terrorist blowing up a kid in the US Embassy, a gunfight in the streets and an exploding car. People died, man, and I felt this had somehow turned into a cheap 'Die Hard' and was wondering how the f*** a mutant octopus would fit into the story. The truth is the octopus never really did fit into the story but that might have been more due to the fact we saw it for all of twenty seconds at the end. Which is a shame as the CGI was by no means as awful as it is for most straight to video releases. The terrorist subplot was weak and made the story farcical. The black guy died. Lowery's tough action chick was a mess of sexual stereotypes. The protagonist - I don't even know the guy's name - was a massive wet s***. The octopus was the most realistic element of the plot and, as a supposed monster movie, this film would definitely have improved if there had actually been more monster in it. But I guess that's what 'Octopus 2' gives us. I hope...
Super (2010)
Pre-Guardians of the Galaxy
I can't help but compare this to the near perfect movie that is 'Kick- Ass' and perhaps that's the reason 'Super' fell a little bit flat to me. Like there were some good bits. Rainn Wilson can act. Michael Rooker had a great little part as henchman Abe, as did other James Gunn regular, Gregg Henry, who played Detective Felkner. And I laughed a decent amount. I laughed more than I did in 'Deadpool', but that's not saying much. The things that disappointed me were, in fact, just the rest of the cast. Kevin Bacon wasn't in it enough to warrant being the 'big bad'. Liv Tyler was boring. And Ellen Page's manical laugh wanted me to gouge off my ears.
Hush (2016)
Loved it
One thing on most animal lovers lips during this movie is 'does the cat die?' Fortunately for you guys, it doesn't.
But this movie offers more than just a reasonably happy ending. It showcases the talent that is John Gallagher Jr - a rising star who needs to take on more bad guy roles as he absolutely smashed it out of the park in this movie. He gets every characteristic of his part across in the first few minutes on screen and once we are comfortable with that, he just goes on to emphasise each trait to reveal just how truly sick and twisted he is. We know this type of character, sure, we've seen it before, but John Gallagher Jr does something impressive here and stands out, even alongside husband and wife/director and star duo Mike Flanagan and Kate Siegel.
London Has Fallen (2016)
London Has Fallen Flat
I fall into a small category of people when I can openly confess that I really enjoyed the predecessor to this film, 'Olympus Has Fallen'. It was a no-brainer action flick that was, quite simply, fun to watch. Everything that made the first one entertaining was diluted and dulled down in this sequel. 85% of the dialogue was very poor, including the majority of Gerard Butler's one liners that had me cringing instead of chuckling. The 'banter' and camaraderie between Butler and Eckhart seemed forced and the jokes they shared between them seemed like only they would be able to laugh at them. The action was passable. When a film claims to 'go bigger' the action needs to encompass more than just the protagonist pointing his gun and shooting at people. One mildly impressive 'one shot' could've redeemed to film had it not made one blatantly obvious edit within it - using the smoke of a grenade explosion to mask the cut. All in all, the stakes were never that high and the odds were always going to be in Butler's favour. And yes, I'm now waiting for 'World Has Fallen' to arrive in a couple of years to round off this inevitable trilogy.
The Abominable Snowman (1957)
The Abominable Snowman
A nice cross between an adventure film and a horror that places a bunch of character archetypes into the dangerous conditions of the Himalayas. It's a surprisingly good movie although a lot of it doesn't hold up for a modern audience; for example, the abominable snowmen themselves do just look like men. However, the team behind this film played well to their restrictions by keeping the snowmen offscreen until the end, building up the suspense effectively until the big reveal. Cushing's British scientist and Tucker's gruff American are nice contrasts as our protagonists, with their interests and intents being revealed to be more and more different as the film progresses. Director Val Guest leaves us on a rather poignant note, however; using the Yetis as a metaphor for the genuine exploration and endangerment of animals, which was common news at the time.
Love Affair (1939)
Love Affair
Nominated for six Oscars way back when, 'Love Affair' starts as an interestingly fresh kind of romance movie. We meet our lovers, Terry and Michel on a boat cruise and the first half of the movie focuses on their bonding: a great tip I learnt from Michel is that taking your girl on her first date to visit your grandmother is a winner. The main reason we never feel guilty that our protagonists are engaging in a softcore affair is that we never really meet their spouses and when they enter the story, we are already rooting for the pairing that is 'Tichel', with their undeniable chemistry. However, after their first meeting goes to shizz when Terry is involved in an accident, the plot starts to slack. The entire last third of the movie turns into a Christmas musical for some reason and although Terry and Michel get their emotional conversation at the end of the movie, you can't help but feel annoyed they didn't get to spend more time together.
Captain America: Civil War (2016)
Phase Three
After the disappointment that was 'Batman vs Superman', Marvel had a lot riding on 'Civil War' and thankfully, this was a better film. However, that doesn't mean it wasn't without its problems. The opening was a neat way to showcase our new Avengers, flaunting their powers and flashy new gadgetry. However, this action sequence suffered most by having our heroes go up against Crossbones - Brock Rumlow from 'The Winter Soldier'. When Crossbones was foreshadowed in the prior film, it seemed his vengeance would result in a lot more pain and consequence for Cap, yet within five minutes he had been reduced to a pile of ashes. When you cast Frank Grillo it makes sense to make him more than just a throwaway villain. The Lagos sequence didn't deserve Crossbones as the antagonist; it could've been one of hundreds of minor criminals from the Marvel comics. Rumlow's character was built up so nicely in 'The Winter Soldier', it's such a shame to see him wasted as an average 'villain of the week'. I would, however, like to mention how impressive the calibre of action is in this movie and the previous Russo Brothers directed Cap film. The opening sequence on the ship in 'The Winter Soldier' is one of my favourite action set pieces in all of film and it made me so happy to see them bring this kind of action over into the next film. It makes me giddy to think what they'll do with the Hulk and Thor in 'Infinity War'. After Lagos, we are subjected to quite a bit of exposition and plot building (Hello, Thaddeus Ross). While it all feels important and necessary to lead our heroes to eventually come to blows, a lot of it does seem to drag on. However, things spice up with the introduction of T'Challa aka Black Panther. If I had to compare T'Challa and Black Panther as two separate characters, I would say T'Challa would be my favourite. Of course, they are the same person but the emotion and expression Chadwick Boseman puts into the face of the Wakandan left me in awe and I'm glad he took of his Panther helmet in his scene with Zemo. Even though this is his debut, already I feel T'Challa is one of the most rounded off characters in the MCU, imbued with nobility and a sense of righteousness we haven't felt with any other heroes thus far. Even though Black Panther came close, for me my new favourite superhero leaving the cinema is now Ant-Man. I loved the 'Ant-Man' movie; it was funny, it was quirky and it was feel-good. But it left me wondering how on earth Scott Lang would fit into the world of the Avengers. 'Civil War' gave me that answer and now I just want Paul Rudd to be in every Marvel movie. Please. Lang's introduction to Cap was hilarious and things only got funnier when the airport sequence kicked off. To see Ant-Man pretty much take out Iron Man showcased just how powerful and useful a hero he could actually be, which is something that didn't shine through in his standalone movie. His team up with Hawkeye, or 'arrow guy' as Scott calls him, was a perfect homage to the comics. But nothing beat the moment when he became Giant Man, lumbering around the airport in a slow, clumsy manner, taking on anyone he could catch up with. Now, the airport sequence. Easily the best superhero set piece in the entirety of cinema. Hawkeye has a staff, not just arrows. Scarlet Witch is not someone you wanna get on the wrong side of. The Falcon actually becomes cool. And, of course, everything about Ant- Man. Every hero got to strut their stuff in this sequence and even though there are clearly some Avengers stronger than others, they all have their advantages and powers against each other. The only thing that let it down was the fact we knew nobody would die. Even the Rhodey scare was quickly dealt with. Most of these people are friends and don't actually want to hurt each other; something Scarlet Witch points out to Hawkeye after his scuffle with Black Widow. One things most critics agree on is that Marvel consistently provides us with weak villains. Crossbones fall into that category, but for me Helmut Zemo, played by Daniel Bruhl, was actually one of my favourite villains. He wasn't the typical villain; he had no powers and, for the most part, he stayed out of our heroes way as he conducted his own mission, tracking down the other Winter Soldiers. He ended up being the mastermind of the final skirmish as he revealed to Tony that Bucky killed his parents. The reasoning behind this was probably the weakest part of Zemo's character, but it resulted in a brutal fight between Iron Man, Cap and Bucky. A fight that will assumedly change everything for our heroes. Thankfully, T'Challa stopped Zemo from killing himself in the Russian snow and instead sent him off in handcuffs to Martin Freeman, meaning we will get to see Freeman (nice, although it was a brief appearance) and Bruhl again. All in all, 'Civil War' was a good movie. It had its flaws and it wasn't the best MCU movie, but it was thoroughly entertaining for the majority and sets up a lot to look forward to in the upcoming movies. One thing that worries me, however, is the number of characters. Everyone got their moment in this film but with Marvel adding more and more heroes, yet being too afraid to kill any off, one can't help but wonder how long it will take before the MCU becomes too oversaturated with these characters. Hopefully, 'Infinity War' will be the solution.
Victoria (2015)
Funnier than 'Deadpool'
I've been wanting to watch 'Victoria' for ages - a two hour heist movie shot in one take sounded just like my kind of movie. Luckily, my university did a screening of it today and what took me by surprise early on was just how funny this film is! The first forty five minutes were spent introducing us to the characters as they wandered drunkenly around Berlin and I laughed more than I did during 'Deadpool'. The four guys were by no means 'nice' guys; they were all criminals but they were presented as real people as they let the lonely Victoria join them. Of course, the film hots up when the heist is brought into the story but you'd be surprised how little time is actually spent on it. Yes, it is tense but even through all that, the characters are the focus here.
Blackfish (2013)
Blackfish
A really difficult subject to write about, let alone make a film about. I've never been to Seaworld or seen an killer whale show. I had no outside knowledge of any of this before going into this movie. My only thought before I started the film was an ignorant one: just put the whales in bigger enclosures. Yet there's so much more than that. It's so blatantly obvious that orcas are incredibly intelligent creatures, maybe even more so then humans to some extent. They are social and they are very emotional and the bonds formed with their trainers are ones of love and companionship. It's beautiful to watch the whales and people get along so well. But, at the end of the day, they're wild animals. And with the conditions these poor creatures are kept in, it's no surprise there is retaliation. Hell, if a human was kept like that for decades, I'm sure they would've done a lot more to their captors. This documentary is one to watch. It's informative and it talks about a seriously relevant subject matter. Even though Seaworld are finally taking action, this is still a problem with many other parks and all other kinds of animals.
Spiders II: Breeding Ground (2001)
Greatest Sequel Ever Made
Am I ready to tell you about the greatest sequel of all time? Yes, yes I am. OK, maybe I exaggerate a little. Because it was a terrible movie. But I preferred it to the first one. Let's start with the bits I liked: the concept was better than the first one. Yep, that's about all I liked. The idea of shoving a load of spiders on a boat is better than the whole NASA space thing they had going on in the original movie. And that's one problem I have here. The sequel about giant spiders actually doesn't really link to its predecessor about other giant spiders. I guess this is just a universe where if science experiments go wrong, the result is giant spiders. Chemistry must be an optional subject at school then...poor kids.
Other bad things: - 'Logan'. The whole subplot of the name of the boat not being discovered because it's bad for Captain Badguy is so stupid considering our protagonists must have seen the name of it PAINTED IN BIG BLACK BOLD LETTERS ON THE SIDE AS THEY FRIGGIN' SAILED TOWARDS IT - There is no spider action until the last half hour. (Although there are a lot more than the first film which kinda makes up for it) - Speaking of the spiders, why the f*** do they make elephant noises? Is it because they're really big and we associate really big animals with elephants? F*** knows. - The acting from the two leads is terrible. The main guy is literally so chill when he sees a spider erupt from a naked lady's stomach you can't help but wonder if he's seen this shizz in another life. Maybe he was a poor Chemistry student at school and this is everyday for him. - Luckily the co-pilot of this rescue helicopter keeps a sneaky lil' grenade in his lunchbox just in case he ever has to blow up a f***- off massive elephant spider. - What is that CGI? - What is that kissing? Like this is the most unbelievable married couple I've ever seen on screen. She had more chemistry with Captain Badguy than her own husband. - There is no 'Spiders 3'.
High Noon (1952)
High Noon
This classic Western is actually a rather depressing tale, taking place in real time. It follows recently retired Marshal Will Kane unsuccessfully trying to raise temporary deputies in the town of Hadleyville in order to take down the criminal Frank Miller, who is arriving on the twelve o'clock train. Gary Cooper is great in this role as Kane slowly descends into despair, highlighted in the church scene when his one hope is slowly snatched away and again in his fight with Deputy Marshal Pell - the point when he realises he is on his own. The score by Dimitri Tiomkin deserves a special mention. Playing over the majority of the movie, there lays subtle undertones of the impending doom in the often melodic notes that only darken as Kane is left alone.
Das weiße Band - Eine deutsche Kindergeschichte (2009)
1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
This is a slow-burner of a film if ever I saw one and, clocking in at just under two and a half hours, it's amazing that I actually want to watch more. It's a tiring watch; we see the lives of many villagers unfold on screen and many of the narratives are actually left open-ended. The film basically ends where it began - there is no tying up of loose ends. Our characters are just merely shaken up by the events that have occurred to them, although I'm sure all of that is about to be eclipsed and forgotten by the incoming World War. Some people may watch it and think to themselves afterwards 'what was the point?' But there's meaning in this movie. A helluva lot of it. And I think, rather than have me transcribe it all to you, you might wanna watch the film and unearth it yourself.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
The Start of Something
Arguably one of the most anticipated blockbusters of the decade, Zack Snyder's Batman vs Superman (2016) had a lot to live up to, for fans and critics alike. The first two thirds of the film are strong which is mostly due to the interesting subplots involving Scoot McNairy's character - an ex-employee of Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) who lost his legs in the attack on Metropolis in Man of Steel (2013) - and Holly Hunter's Senator Finch. However, once these are wrapped up the film loses a lot of momentum and then seems to sacrifice any coherent, structured narrative. It seems blatantly clear that the film is missing an extra half hour, which won't be seen until the extended cut is released on DVD in the near future. There is a struggle to work out how some scenes relate, whereas a handful of scenes just don't make sense at all. For example, when Lex Luthor (a disappointing Jesse Eisenberg) enters the crashed Kryptonian spaceship, he seems to know exactly how to control everything, including how to build a giant CGI monster called Doomsday. In regards to the superheroes, Affleck and Cavill nailed their parts. Affleck is possibly the grittiest incarnation of the caped crusader seen on screen, which is epitomised in a scene where he takes on a building full of goons in order to rescue a vital character. Cavill has matured in the costume and is easily believable as Superman. Wonder Woman, however, didn't have a big enough chance to make an impression and almost felt unnecessary. Perhaps the film would've benefited more if Snyder had instead focused more on Gal Gadot as Diana Prince and left Wonder Woman for the upcoming Justice League movies. The Justice League itself was set up too much, which detracted from the narrative. There was a cameo from Ezra Miller's version of the Flash which worked effectively until Bruce discovered a file that had footage of all the metahumans on it, thus giving Snyder a chance to show off all his new superheroes in a ridiculous and unbelievable manner. More groundwork for the Justice League movies appear to be Bruce's grim visions, which may have been induced by another major DC villain, Darkseid. The vision at his parents grave was unsettling and shocking, but the desert sequence seemed to be forced and, again, it didn't make much sense. Although it didn't live up to everyone's expectations and was often needlessly confusing, the film still managed to have some good, entertaining moments.
7/10
The Boy (2016)
The Walking Doll
I went into this film with low expectations and no idea of the premise and I came out having watched what I believe to be one of my favourite horror films of the decade. Of course the haunted doll idea has been done many times before, but this was different from the outset. Brahms seemed to actually be a harmless childlike presence with a bit of an attitude and it was nice to see Lauren Cohen's character, Greta, click on to that rather quickly giving us a few nice scenes with her playing happy families with Brahms and her new grocery guy boyfriend. The setup for the end of the film was inevitable and everything gets messed up when Greta's abusive ex-boyfriend finds out where she's staying. I will say no more other than this: I didn't expect that ending. Loved this movie
The Scarlet Avenger (2001)
Really, really enjoyable
I'm not very good at reviewing so here's a quick rating from me. I was actually rather surprised at how good this short film was! The acting was great, the script was great and the whole picture was awesome! I loved the Indiana Jones-esque theme running throughout. One small nit-pick here, and I know it was only 20 minutes long, but I would liked to have seen more of the characters who were tied up from the beginning of the film- Bucky and the french bloke (I'm sorry, I don't remember his name), because they seemed really interesting and likable. Overall, an unexpectedly great short film from these students and I give the film a score of 8 out of 10.
Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
A lean, mean fighting machine
Captain America is probably the best superhero movie that Marvel has produced since they invented the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film has received some negative reviews here in England as it portrays the Americans as the heroes of the war. Whatever you do, ignore those reviews- Captain America is one of the most fantastic films of the year!!! It contains the best storyline, the best actors, the best characters and the best cameo appearance from Stan Lee ever. What really stood out for me in this movie was the superb acting from both Chris Evans (Captain America/Steve Rogers) and especially Hugo Weaving who plays Red Skull/Johann Schmidt- the best villain in a movie since Sauron from Lord of the Rings. 8.8/10