396 replies to this topic

[Call Billy Bob]

What about Bride of Young Frankenstein? At least we can take solace in the fact that we are probably getting Super Troopers 2.....finally.

Gave $100 myself!

[seawolfnyy]

Good man.

[DaveBond21]

x007AceOfSpades, I enjoyed your review of Lock Stock.

 

It's interesting that you mention that it was the first time we were introduced to Vinnie Jones.

 

Of course, in Britain, he was already very well known as a soccer player. And a dirty one at that!

[x007AceOfSpades]

The Cobbler - 2015 - 3/5 - Directed by Tom McCarthy - starring Adam Sandler and Steve Buscemi

I wasn't really expecting much from Sandler or the overall quality in The Cobbler. However, The Cobbler really isn't all that bad. It's not great, and it does jump around quite a bit and can get a little crazy, but after what feels like a decade string of terrible films, Adam Sandler and his latest film here aren't half bad.

 

Adam Sandler plays Max Simkin, a shoe repairman in New York city, working in a business and shop that has been around for generations. He lives at home with his elderly and sick mother, and is often watched over by his good friend and shop neighbor, Jimmy (Steve Buscemi). After his machine breaks down while repairing a shoe, he proceeds to fix it the old fashioned way. When he tries the shoe on he becomes that person. Max then takes any and all shoes he can repair with his new found magical power for a multitude of reasons.

 

The Cobbler definitely has an indie look and feel to it which makes the film work. Towards the middle of the second act and from then on, it does try to become a little too mainstream, where it does lose a bit of appeal magic itself. The film does have a strange quality to it with it's quirky nature and even more strangely, it's a bit charming in ways. It's definitely something different and and Sandler is quite good, despite playing Adam Sandler.

 

There's not a whole lot I can without giving too much away, but that it isn't as awful as a lot of people making it out to be. It was actually funnier too me than most shitty mainstream comedies, but that's just me. It's definitely worth a watch.

 

Black Sea - 2015 - 3/5 - Directed by Kevin MacDonald - starring Jude Law and Scoot McNairy

Jude Law plays Robinson, a submarine captain in the Navy who was relieved of his duty and receives a payment of £8,000 for his services. Divorced and nothing to look forward to, he is informed by his friend Kurstin a way to make money, lots of money. Robinson meets with a man called Lewis (Tobias Menzies) and his associate Daniels (Scoot McNairy) and is informed of a German U-Boat that has sunken deep in the black sea near Georgia that holds a cargo worth millions of dollars.

 

Robinson agrees to go into the Black Sea and acquire the gold for Lewis where he will receive a 40% split and the crew that comprises of 50% British and 50% Russian will each have an equal of $2Million. As Robinson and the crew go forth with their expedition, tensions arise amongst them between the British and the Russians, as diver Fraser (Ben Mendelsohn) ends up killing a crew member which in turn causes a ruckus and and nearly destroys the ship. Waking up 18 hours later, Robinson tries to make peace with the Russians to gain their trust and support so they can continue onwards, as they are near the German U-Boat.

 

The plot may be a little thin in areas, but Black Sea isn't too bad of a film. One of the biggest setbacks that occurs in the film is ultimately the tension between the crew members. It feels as if it was just thrown in there as a sense of trying to make this much more suspenseful and create conflict throughout. Instead, it just doesn't work at all and the littlest of reasons of which would spark such conflict between them, mainly Britain vs. Russia on the sub, is just baffling.

 

Some of the more less conflict-y scenes are terrific, such as the actually Black Sea diving scene when three crew members go out in search for German U-Boat. Of course there's the moments where it can be too sentimental, I would've liked it much more if it was solely focused on the expedition without the added conflict. The acting is probably the best part of Black Sea, particularly from Jude Law, whose Scottish Accent is pretty good. He is front and center and definitely displaying his acting chops. The rest of the acting is solid all around, and I was more surprised by how well I enjoyed Ben Mendelsohn in this, as I don't find him that great of an actor honestly.

 

Seventh Son - 2015 - 0/5 - Directed by Sergei Bodrov - starring Jeff Bridges and Ben Barnes

In some alternative, fictional (obviously) universe, Maude Lebowski (Julianne Moore) is really angry at The Dude (Jeff Bridges) and is secretly a witch and morphs into a dragon. If only that was the actual synopsis for Seventh Son, then maybe this film wouldn't have been so hard to get through.

 

Jeff Bridges plays Master John Gregory, the seventh son of a seventh son - a spook, an order of knights who defend humanity against supernatural forces. When his apprentice Jon Snow - I mean, Billy (Kit Harington) is killed by the evil witch, Malkin (Julianne Moore), Gregory goes on a search for a new one - leading himself to Tom Ward (Ben Barnes). Tom has been plagued of visions of a mysterious woman and Gregory and is the seventh son of a seventh son and is recruited by Gregory who will teach him the ways of being a spook and combat Malkin.

 

Is Seventh Son as god awful as the reviews were making it out to be? Yes and no. It's not as downright horrible as other films are, but being only an hour and a half, it is downright boring. It's another fantasy film of an evil force causing mayhem that is needed to be stopped by a man of might and his newly trustee apprentice. It's pacing is the biggest issue, next to the performances. It is keen on telling the story, especially by thinly stretching out the action scenes, but it doesn't do much to the overall film.

 

Everyone gives a phoned in performances, especially Bridges who was hammy and appeared bored throughout. Possibly just collecting a paycheck. Julianne Moore may have won an Oscar, but she isn't going to gain new fans or love with this performance as the witch Malkin.

 

I knew there was something wrong with this film when the last trailer I saw for it was when I saw Pacific Rim on my birthday back in 2013. It just suddenly disappeared. Then the distribution rights transfer from Warner Bros. Pictures to Universal Pictures as part of Legendary's new production deal with them. Changing in release dates, production delays, etc didn't do much help with Seventh Son to begin with.

 

Seventh Son is just another bad film to come from Legendary's deal with Universal Pictures. Outside of Blackhat and As Above, So Below that is.

 

Jupiter Ascending - 2015 - 1/5 - Directed by The Wachowskis - starring Mila Kunis and Channing Tatum

The Wachowski's seemed to be on top of the world with their coveted Matrix Trilogy, but they've never really been able to achieve that same level of success both critically and commercially. Apparently Speed Racer is hailed as a classic now, but I still see it as 135 minutes of epilepsy. I tried to watch Cloud Atlas but I just couldn't get into it. Jupiter Ascending tries to be a space opera, but instead descends into being overlong and extremely inane.

 

Earth isn't the only planet that can sustain life, as countless other planets have the capability to do so as well. These planets are for seeding for families of Alien royalty to produce a youth serum that allows them ever lasting life. A house cleaner, Jupiter Jones (Mila Kunis) is identified as the genetic match for the matriarch of the House Of Abrasax, who was recently murdered. Balem (Eddie Redmayne) sends his agents to Earth to kill her, while a genetically modified ex-military hunter, Caine Wise (Channing Tatum) heads to Earth to save her and allow her to reach her intergalactic destiny.

 

Visually, Jupiter Ascending is a nice film to look at with impressive visual effects, lavish sets, wonderful costume and technological design. It's the overall story that fails. It starts of rather interesting actually, but it isn't until Channing Tatum comes into the picture when Jupiter Ascending becomes predictable and cliche ridden. Rather try and craft a new and interesting sci-fi film, The Wachowski's are instead fine with a third-rate blockbuster that is as noisy as they come.

 

If there's a few (and I mean few) decent aspects to Jupiter Ascending it's probably the leads, Mila Kunis and Channing Tatum. I've always like Kunis and Tatum is starting to grow on me now. They really do try their best, but with laughable dialogue and poor writing, there is only so much you can do. It also doesn't help that once Tatum's Caine Wise comes into the picture, Kunis' Jupiter Jones becomes the damsel in distress in space. Like Julianne Moore, Eddie Redmayne may have just won an Oscar, but people are going to be talking more about his bizarre, Nicolas Cage-ques performance Jupiter Ascending until probably the end of days. Each of scenes are just so laughably bad. At least Sean Bean didn't die which was an extreme rarity to come across in this.

 

I don't recommend seeing Jupiter Ascending, as it's nearly two hours of boring drivel, overlong action scenes that seem to have no end, and some seriously bad writing.

 

x007AceOfSpades, I enjoyed your review of Lock Stock.

 

It's interesting that you mention that it was the first time we were introduced to Vinnie Jones.

 

Of course, in Britain, he was already very well known as a soccer player. And a dirty one at that!

Thanks for that! I did read that was a soccer player, but didn't know he was dirty lol! He did a film with Jason Statham in the early 2000's called Mean Machine which from what I've read is a British re-telling of the classic Burt Reynolds film The Longest Yard - only difference is it's soccer and not football in Mean Machine.

[DaveBond21]

Quantum of Solace (2008)

 

I really enjoyed it - especially the Haiti scenes ("You were supposed to kill her:, "Well I missed"), the bike jump, the Opera scenes, Mathis, Fields, Greene's demise and the final scene.

 

I think if the editing hadn't been so erratic on the 3 main action scenes near the start - the car chase, the Palio chase and fight and the boat chase, I think this would be a lot higher on many people's lists. It's interesting that after so much jump-cutting and shaky camera in the first 30 minutes, it actually settles down for the last hour or so.

 

Lots of orange in this movie, and it's an arty Bond film. I like it as an experiment. There is also some humour here. It wouldn't have hurt to have had a couple more lighter moments, and maybe 15 minutes more running time, but overall it's pretty good.

[seawolfnyy]

The orange comes from that ridiculous filter that apparently every film/tv show set in a Hispanic country (or Texas) must have. I remember an episode of Breaking Bad where Gus met with the cocaine dealer in Mexico and the entire scene seemed to be stained orange. It's like when stuff set in New York uses a blue filter to make it seem gritty and dark.

I agree that Quantum of Solace had potential. There is definitely a better film in there somewhere. The cast (the good guys at least) is good. Arterton was tragically underused as was Stana Katic. The film was irreparably damaged by the writers strike. It needed at least another draft or two before it would've been ready. Also, Dominic Greene was a terrible villain. Medrano would've made a better main villain and Greene could've been the secondary one (or even dropped altogether). I think the best thing for it would've been to delay the film until 2009 and found a different director. Forster was wrong for Bond.

[x007AceOfSpades]

It's not just the use of filters, but also the color palate (David Fincher is noted for having a somewhat muted color palate). But yeah, that combined with the half-assed cinematography and it just doesn't look good.

[Matt_13]

Really? I find the cinematography to be the best part of the film. The editing and screenplay are what damaged the final product. It's not the train wreck a lot of fans make it out to be, but a noble misfire? Little bit.

[x007AceOfSpades]

I didn't care for it.

 

The cinematography that is.

[DaveBond21]

Skyfall (2012)

 

I finally finished my Bond marathon that I started around 5th January!!

 

Skyfall is great up until the point where Bond takes M to Skyfall Lodge. I have seen this movie so many times now, that it is slipping down my list. However, I love the PTS, the new MI6 characters, the scenes in Shanghai and Macau. I love the Komodo dragon!

 

I also enjoyed Silva's island, Severine and the dialogue.

 

It is the last 45 minutes that let it down but then that is true for many of the 007 films. The final scene is classic, of course, but isn't it funny that we have dramatic music for a scene that happens in each of most of the early Bonds!

 

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

[thecasinoroyale]

'Django Unchained' (2012)

 

First things first; if Christoph Waltz can win an Oscar for his Supporting Role in both this and ‘Inglorious Basterds’, then I will be very surprised if he doesn’t garner the same awards buzz for his role in ‘Spectre’. Yes it’s too early to say how big or engaging his role as Franz Oberhauser will be in the forthcoming Bond adventure, but I am betting it will be a more intense, chilling and electrifying role than he has played in both Tarantino films and bagged the Oscar.

 

That was not a rant at Waltz, because he was the main reason I wanted to see this and I was very happy – again, he plays that restrained but almost unhinged type like his Hans Landa in ‘IB’, but Waltz is wonderfully watchable, drawing you in to his world of silver-tongued bounty hunting where he not only trains our hero Django, played with great development by Jamie Foxx, but also trains us and takes us for the ride.

 

Tarantino directs this as a clear love letter to the American Western, but done in his unique way. Thankfully the narrative is straight forward, we aren’t treated to quirky pop-culture nods or references, but we do get a very modern hip-hop soundtrack. But, more importantly, this film looks beautiful. It is shot with wonderful wide panoramic views of the snow-capped mountains and plains, sun baked plantations and rolling canyons like all good picture postcard Westerns should feature. We get the heroes on horseback, sitting around campfires, engaging in bloody shootouts and facing down nefarious bad guys. It’s a Western; Tarantino style.

 

At a lengthy 2hrs 40mins, this sure takes its time getting to where it needs to go but also takes more time padding out when it’s got there. I found the first half more enjoyable than the first, as when we reach Candyland, the mighty plantation run by Leonardo DiCaprio’s tightly coiled Candie, it becomes a very dialogue heavy film. Tarantino does have a knack for engaging and engrossing script between characters, but I found it was a severe drop in pacing. It was good, and the characters were all perfect together, but it just didn’t grip me. Pace picks up once the shite hits the fan, but even then it becomes a typical bloodied, carnage kill-fest that Tarantino loves to shoot for any genre he is making; be it Western, war film or action.

 

The story is good, a typical fight to free slavers tale that takes in some very heavy racial and politician tension, and this is a film where the language is as strong as the OTT violence. Blood explodes across the screen as much as the term “nigger”, and you will either find that all rather uncomfortable at times, or simply a means to portray the harsh and brutal era that we all know existed. I found it acceptable, because Tarantino makes this film look and feel very authentic (bar his few little quirky moments here and there). As I say, it’s not a Western; it’s a Tarantino Western, so most things are spun on its own head from the soundtrack, to the characters and the action.

 

It’s not the best film I’ve seen from him, but it’s not the worst. It doesn’t help I am not a fan of his work in general, but this and ‘Inglorious Basterds’ I found to be ones I could watch again rather than the likes of ‘Pulp Fiction’ or ‘Kill Bill’. It’s a love letter to the genre, populated with our clichéd characters but brought to life with great acting from all in a very rich and brutal world brought to life.

[x007AceOfSpades]

V/H/S - 2012 - 2/5 - Directed by Too many to list - starring Too many to list.

V/H/S and its two sequels have been in my Netflix watchlist for some time now, and never really sat down down to watch them until now. There was a little more interest in me wanting to do so now, especially with the first film. Reason being that David Bruckner who is slated to direct the upcoming Friday The 13th reboot for May 13th, 2016 directed the first segment, so I wanted to get a chance to see his segment and sort of style. Our course the film as a whole isn't very good, aside from Bruckner's segment and the last one.

 

This review will individually review each segment in the shortest manner possible, then at the tail end of this sort of big review, cap everything off.

 

Tape 56
Tape 56 is I guess you can say the first segment to V/H/S, but it's really the overall narrative that connects everything together. Sort of like how the kid and the creepshow comic books tied everything in to the first Creepshow film. It's a group of young criminals who make home videos destroying properties, being vandals, assaulting people - namely women in which they fondle them and remove their clothing. One day they take a job to go steal a lone VHS tape. When they arrive at the house, they find the owner (presumed) laying in front of multiple televisions dead. The criminals then begin to search the house for the tape, but instead in the basement, come across more than one, and decide to just take all of them to save the hassle. However, one-by-one, each of the criminals watch some of the tapes and suddenly disappear, leaving the leader of the pack to be the last one to go.

 

This segment/narrative ties everything in as each tape they watch happens to be the succeeding segments that appear. It's a little ominous, but predictable too. This one is a little dark in areas, and frankly a little boring. I think they could've done better, or rather Adam Wingard could've done a little better.

 

Amateur Night
Segment two follows three friends who rent a motel room in hopes of picking up women and getting laid. They head out to a bar, where one of the guys, Clint is drawn to a mysterious young woman named Lily, who comes off as socially awkward and says nothing more than "I like you." With only two girls, they head back to the motel for some fun.

 

One of the guys, Shane, attempts to make a pass at one of the girls, Lisa, but she has passed out from too much alcohol. Instead, Shane initiates sex with Lily.Clint goes to the bathroom after feeling overwhelmed, and shortly afterwards their third friend, Patrick storms in claiming Lily bit him. The leave the room to find Lily who has turned into a sort of creature, has killed Shane. As Patrick tries, and fails to fight Lily, Clint does his best to wake up Lisa, before leaving the room and trying to escape. As Clint runs to seek help from fellow Motel customers/residents, Clint is suddenly picked up in the air by Lily who has revealed herself to be a succubus.

 

This segment is definitely my favorite of the bunch. It did start out a little slow, but there was something that was always off, mainly with Lily, like I could sense an impending doom. It took me completely by surprise when she transformed into a Succubus, and frankly scared the S*** out of me. The found footage angle did definitely make it much more creepier and the final moments were truly horrific.

 

Second Honeymoon
Married couple, Sam and Stephanie head out to the west for their second honeymoon. Stephanie takes a fortune teller ticket from one of the mechanical fortune teller machines that predicts that she will be reunited with a loved one. Later that night at their motel room, a mysterious woman asked Sam if he could give her a ride the next morning. When they fall asleep, a stranger breaks into their room and steals money from Sam.

 

The following day, the woman is nowhere to be found, and Sam & Stephanie continue onwards with their honeymoon. Sam can't find his money ($100) and accuses Stephanie of taking it. Later that night, when they are sleeping the same stranger that broke into their the previous night is back, and this time stabs Sam in the neck. It is then revealed that is the mysterious woman that asked for a ride who is Stephanie's lesbian lover.

 

The Ti West directed segment isn't anything special. After the second half of Amateur Night left me with my heart pounding, Second Honeymoon definitely slows the pace down and doesn't contribute much, and the twist felt a little cheap at the end too. I believe this segment could've benefited from better writing or just being cut altogether.

 

Tuesday the 17th
Three friends - Joey, Spider, and Samantha along with their newest friend, Wendy, go on a camping trip and are of course, filming the whole ordeal. As they continuously film and wander through the woods, Wendy tells them about "accidents" that took the lives of her friends, and when she tells them that someone killer her friends on a camping trip in the same area of the woods, the rest of the group just laughs it off. One by one, each member of the group is killed by a mysterious figure that is obscured in video/tracking errors. Wendy lured the group there as bait so she can avenge the deaths of her friends that were previously killed by this mysterious killer. Wendy sets up traps to kill or at least inflict serious harm by the killer, but in the end, fails and is killed by eviscerating her.

 

This one starts off slow, and feels like a cheap knock off to Friday The 13th. The acting and dialogue in this one is probably the worst one of them all, as everything comes off incredibly forced and sound incredibly fake. The kills are interesting, but the way the killer is designed so to speak, obscures a lot of the footage and makes this segment incredibly annoying to watch.

 

The Sick Thing That Happened to Emily When She Was Younger
Emily and her soon-to-be-doctor boyfriend, James continuously have their video chats, and during one of them, she informs him of a bump on her arm and how it reminds her of prior accident when she was younger. Throughout the week, weird things in her new apartment happen, such as strange sounds and children like figures running around - thus forcing her to believe it is haunted. She starts digging around in her arm with a scalpel to see what the bump is, but James convinces her to stop in disgust.

 

Later on, she makes contact with the strange children like figures and then renders unconscious. James comes out of nowhere and removes a fetus from her, an alien fetus that is and has been doing so for some time, using her body as an incubator for alien/human hybrids. When she contacts him weeks later, her memory is wiped of the incident and has been diagnosed with bi-polar and a form of schizophrenia, but nonetheless, James confesses his love to her. All before switching chats to another woman where it is assured he too is condoning alien experiments on.

 

This one was a little weird, and I thought it would be a sort of haunted house like segment captured through real-time video chat, but it never really seemed to pick up and the alien experiment twist was a little strange. I won't say that it wasn't horrible, but it wasn't terrible either. It certainly could have benefited from better writing.

 

10/31/98
October 31st, 1998 - the night four friends didn't come home. Sorry couldn't help myself there. Anyways, four friends, Chat, Matt, Tyler, and Paul are all dressed up in costumes and drive out to a Halloween party at one of their friends house. When they arrive they find the house house empty after wrong directions take them to the wrong place. Paranormal phenomenon's occur and they realize they are at a real life haunted house and decide to have some fun. That is until they head up to the attic and find a group of men trying to perform an exorcism on a young woman.

 

When the four guys make their presence known, the other men assault them, causing the house to turn itself into a sort of poltergeist experience with ghostly hands coming out of multiple areas. The four friends manage to fight off the men and rescue the woman, but the house is coming alive and trapping them, forcing them to exit through the basement. When they attempt to drive away, they can't find out where they are exactly, and their car stalls on the railroad tracks and the woman disappears, only to reappear outside. The four guys spot on oncoming train, but are trapped as the train makes impact with the car.

 

I like this one about as much as Amateur Night. It uses the found footage gimmick pretty well actually as well as the already tired paranormal genre gimmick, combined with haunted house elements. I wouldn't say this one freaked me out as much as Amateur Night, but it certainly was very atmospheric and creepy. Having it set in the late 90's and using a nanny cam/low grade camcorder was great and while it gave the film an aged and sort of retro look, I definitely made this segment certainly stand out.

 

V/H/S combines found footage with the anthology style of storytelling, which I give everyone props for trying to do, but it doesn't fully work. It's incredibly uneven in tone and mood, which was a given, but it's very jarring how uneven it is. Each segment is gunning to do something different and is in part of a different genre, but all are connected with the found footage gimmick.

 

I think a little more thought could've went in in trying to make each subsequent segment pack more and more of a punch, rather than going up & down throughout. It's necessarily scary, since it's uneven, but it is worth a watch solely for Amateur Night and 10/31/98 which are the two best segments in here.

 

V/H/S/2 - 2013 - 3.5/5- Directed by Too many to name - starring Too many to name

V/H/S presented an interesting concept combining found footage with an anthology style of storytelling, however, there were only two good segments in the film. V/H/S/2 learns from the mistakes of it's predecessor and greatly improves on them. Each segment packs it's own punch and is wholly entertaining. V/H/S/2 greatly improves from the first film and does what that film set out to achieve.

 

Just like my review for V/H/S, I will individually review each of the segments here in V/H/S/2 in the shortest manner possible, and then round everything off towards the end of this review. It's going to be long just like the review for this first film.

 

Tape 49
Much like Tape 56 from V/H/S, this segment is the video/frame narrative and involves a private investigator, Larry and his girlfriend Ayesha taking a request to find a missing college student. They go to his dorm and break in and find the place to be a mess with static television sets everywhere and VHS tapes scattered. Ayesha decides to watch the tapes while Larry investigates. In the same room with her is the student's laptop where he has recorded a video of himself discussing the tapes that he has watched, of which Ayesha falls under a sort of dangerous spell of.

 

This is basically a copy & paste from the first film and is structured the same way. It is done much better than it was in the first film, but I wish they could've found another way to tie everything in instead of going through a retread.

 

Phase I Clinical Trials
Herman receives an eye implant after being involved in a bad car accident. The eye he has been given has a camera embedded and when he returns home, he begins to see paranormal occurrences such as a dead man and a dead little girl. A woman he had saw upon leaving the hospital, Clarissa, comes to his house and explains she has the same issue, but that she can't see them - only hear them. When Herman, sees a dead person behind her, she divides their attention by having sex. Hours later Herman wakes up and finds the people he saw the night before have returned and that Clarissa has drowned. Hoping to put an end to everything, he cuts the eye out with a straight razor but in the end, is still killed.

 

I would say this is probably the weakest segment in V/H/S/2, but that doesn't mean it's bad either. It is however extremely reliant on jump scares which does leaves the film falling into the territory of predictability. The idea though is pretty creative, but it isn't executed to it's fullest. It is a good opening to the film and does leave you on a pretty decent not, and it's the subsequent segments that just get better and better.

 

A Ride In The Park
A man goes on a cycle ride in the park with his bike mounted camera and a Go-Pro on his helmet. While riding he is flagged down by a woman covered in blood requesting help for her boyfriend, Dan. In the distance, the man sees what appear to be Zombies and his attacked and bitten by the woman. Moments later he turns and attacks a couple - turning them and together they attack a gathering in the park. While amidst chaos in the park, the man accidentally butt-dials his girlfriend, and in a semi-conscious state, he kills himself.

 

This is probably one of the better Zombie films, and it's technically a short. It was interesting in that it could have followed typical Zombie film formula by having the main character either survive the whole ordeal, or turn at the very end. Instead, it turns everything upside down and the main character is turned very early - the beginning. A Ride In The Park is incredibly gory and well paced. It never feels dull and at times is quite humorous. It's well shot, as it uses the idea of a camcorder to a minimum, in favor of the Go-Pro mounted on the helmet instead.

 

Safe Haven
In Indonesia, a news crew is allowed to film in the sanctuary of a cult. When they interview their leader, one of the crew members, Lena, gets sick and steps out forcing Malik to follow. While interviewing, they are interrupting by bell tolls and after a speech by their leader, a mass suicide inside their sanctuary begins and the leader kills crew member Joni. Crew member Adam is killed by a cultist with a shotgun, Lena is kidnapped, and Malik is frantically searching for her. While navigating the sanctuary, the other cultist turn into ghoul-like monsters. When he finally reaches Lean, the Leader spontaneously combusts and Lena gives birth to a demon which calls Malik "Papa" which causes him to realize it is his child, shortly before being killed.

 

This is probably one of the best segments in the film - it had everything which is needed for making a great horror short. I was surprised at how much I like it, considering I can't stand Gareth Evans' massively overrated Raid films. He does an outstanding job in the horror genre more than he does with action - but he can't deserve all the credit, as co-directed Timo Tjahjanto is involved as well. It did start out a little slow, but once they get to the sanctuary, it was only a matter of minutes before everything went to S***. Once there, you do get the feeling of an impending doom, and when it fans the fan, it's incredibly gory and violent.

 

Slumber Party Alien Abduction
Teenagers invite over their friends one day at their lake house when their friends leave. Two brothers and their camera attached to their dog record the whole day of them pulling pranks on their older sibling, Sister Jenn, including walking in her having sex. Later in the night, they hear a noise, only to discover that Aliens have landed and are coming for them. The three siblings and their dog run off into the woods looking to escape the Aliens, but ultimately are caught and abducted by them.

 

Safe Haven is the longest segment in V/H/S/2 and it's also really really good. So how could do you carry on from there? Well with Jason Eisener's Slumber Party Alien Abduction, it's very, very fast paced and scary as hell. I'd say that it's my favorite of them all in V/H/S/2. The idea of putting the camera on the dog was creative and I liked it a lot. The overall segment is very atmospheric and the Aliens themselves, despite looking like typical Grey Aliens, scared the S*** out of me. I've seen that this one is for some the lease favorite and I can see why, but I thought it was a fitting end to it all.

V/H/S was very uneven, as each segment had an interesting concept to it, there wasn't enough quality to them and they were overlong as well.

 

V/H/S/2 greatly improves on everything and not only makes for a fun viewing, but a thrilling one too. Unlike the first film, where after the first segment, it was a tiresome experience, V/H/S/2 continuously packs punches and leaves you wanting more. It greatly improves on everything that should've been done the first time. Definitely worth a watch, especially for the last two segments.

 

V/H/S: Viral - 2014 - 1/5 - Directed by Too many to name - starring Too many to name

V/H/S: Viral took everything that made V/H/S/2 so good and threw it in the gutter. This is worse than the first V/H/S film and even more inconsistent and uneven. I knew something wasn't going to be right when I saw the subtitle of "Viral". It doesn't even try to connect the segments with the video/frame narrative.

 

Just like my previous reviews for V/H/S and V/H/S/2, I will individually review each of the segments here in V/H/S: Viral in the shortest manner possible and then round everything off at the end of the review.

 

Vicious Circles
This is the frame narrative and centers on Kevin constantly shooting videos with his camcorder of his girlfriend. One day, a high speed pursuit happens near his neighborhood, and he becomes obsessed with trying to capture the footage in hopes of creating a viral video. Missing his opportunity, the ice cream truck involved in the pursuit and takes Iris. The truck makes constant circles and broadcasts strange images to peoples cell phones which turn them violent. Meanwhile, Kevin goes after the truck hoping to get Iris back.

 

It was nice to see a different attempt at a frame narrative, but this one is constantly annoying, as it's egged on by the annoyances of Kevin and the horrible attempt at tying in multiple sub plots in just one frame narrative. The "VHS Effects" that are used to create a more home movie like effect are cheap, and really poor. Added in blips and cuts and static really make this one too jumpy and overall annoying to watch.

 

Dante The Great
Dante is a failed illusionist, until one day he comes across a cloak that was believed to have once been owned and used by Harry Houdini. The cloak turns Dante (The Great) into a superstar and grants him great powers, but he uses it to kill prior female assistants. Police are notified about this by his current assistant, Scarlet and he is taken into custody, but not before escaping. Dante uses the cloak to kill the police officers, but not before Scarlet turns the tables and uses it against him, killing him. After the events, she believes to have burned the cloak, but is instead taken by it.

 

This is the absolute worst segment in all of the V/H/S films. It isn't even a found footage segment at all. It uses too many focal points to capture the ordeal, and combines use of interviews with people and the news, which really ruins the effect that was established in the first two films. The less that's said about this segment, the better.

 

Parallel Monsters
An inventor, Alfonso creates an inter-dimensional portal to a parallel universe and meets his parallel self. They cautiously greet each other and decide to swap lives for fifteen minutes. When Alfonso goes into Parallel Alfonso's life, everything seems a little normal, until he notices that this world is dominated by another religion, a demonic one. Two men that were meant to be a part of a ritual try to attack Alfonso with their demonic genitalia (yes, you read that correct), but Alfonso escapes, and goes back into his world. There he finds that Parallel Alfonso (also demonic) has tried to attack his wife. In end, both Alfonso's are killed by their wives in their respective worlds.

 

This one is a probably the only decent one, but it still isn't great by a stretch. It uses the idea of going into a parallel universe where everything is worse and the rest from there goes downhill. It's adequately done by Nacho Vigalondo and is by far the best shot and best looking segment in V/H/S: Viral. It's a little bit of a slow burner, as it's only a matter of time before she hits the fan, but it's done with relative ease. It could've been a little better in areas, but all together, the only decent affair in V/H/S: Viral.

 

Bonestorm
When three skateboarders are kicked out of their respective skate park for a fight, they need a place to finish their video. Their video director decides to go to Tijuana where they can by fireworks, alcohol, etc. and find a suitable place to finish their videos. While skating they come across a horde of cultists who surround them and attack them, kill all but two of the skateboarders. They defeat the cultists (before turning into resurrected skeletons) with their boards, and other means shortly before escaping.

 

I think this segment was more keen on trying to be inventive with the way it handled "found footage" and other camera types. Instead it's just as annoying and nauseating as the frame narrative. The skateboarders can't seem say anything other than the F word and are a bunch of punks. The make-up effects on the cultists was interesting, but as a whole, this segment is just as forgettable.

 

I'm not sure what the production company was thinking with V/H/S: Viral. I'm sure they all thought it would be interesting to mix things up instead of trying to retread the previous two films again. With critical success riding on their backs, they pretty much F*** it all up in favor of "going viral." It's a extremely terrible film that makes the first film look like it's just as good as the second (it isn't).

 

Get Hard - 2015 - 2.5/5 - Directed by Etan Cohen - starring Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart

Get Hard managed to be funnier than expected, though it is still relatively a letdown. The plot isn't wholly original as it reminded me instantly of Rob Schneider's Big Stan. Both films are very similar, but follow the same path. It would've been nice to see this go a much different route than being at times a blatant knock off of that film. Thankfully the comedic chemistry between Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart is much better than advertised and makes this somewhat worth a watch.

 

When a wealthy banker, James King (Will Ferrell) is (wrongfully) arrested for fraud and embezzlement, he has just thirty days to get his affairs in order. James turns to Darnell (Kevin Hart), a man that runs a very small time car wash service at the parking lot where James works, to teach him how to get tough and ready for Prison. Despite never being arrested or even getting a parking ticket, Darnell agrees to toughen him and teach him the ins and outs of prison.

 

Like I said, while the plot isn't original, there still could've been enough effort from behind the camera in executing this in the best way possible. While some of the gags are funny & some hit hard, others just fall flat. Thankfully, the comedic chemistry between Ferrell & Hart isn't anything below great, because that would surely make Get Hard much, much worse. Instead it's another mainstream comedy film with Will Ferrell and Kevin. It's only slightly above average. It is however, much better than the rest of Hart's films.

[thecasinoroyale]

'Drive' (2011)

 

For some reason I expected this to be something alluding to ‘Nightcrawler’; a solitary man leads a dangerous life when the sun goes down, leading to exciting, dangerous and mysterious explorations of society seen only after dark. I then, from seeing it was a neo-noir thriller with an electronica 80s-esque soundtrack pictured it as a gritty thriller akin to the video game ‘Grand Theft Auto: Vice City’ with fast cars, exciting chases and dangerous people in a dangerous city. I was wrong, and disappointed on both counts.

 

What we have here is a very stylish mild-thriller-come-drama film where our anti-hero, the unnamed driver Ryan Gosling, spends very little time actually driving and more time staring into space, thinking, and talking calmly before caving faces in with his shoe or breaking hands with hammers. He’s our “man with no name”; a mysterious man keeping himself to himself but is swept up to protect an innocent family who he befriends, much like a classic Clint Eastwood Western plot. Gosling is likeable enough, and is a very dashing figure, akin to a young Paul Newman or even James Dean where he speaks volumes without saying much, looking cool and collected in many scenes, before showing another side in others.

 

The fact his Duran Duran-esque white jacket is fashioned with a gold scorpion on the back overtly tells us while this man is interesting to look at and follow, he is a vicious and dangerous man also who will strike without warning if provoked. We are reminded of this a few times in a handful of grizzly scenes where we have plenty of blood and violence that is actually pretty gruesome. As for driving, we have a few pleasing scenes were the driving gloves come on along with the roar of the engine as we are treated to some stylish thrills across LA in the night and day. This, they get right and are thrilling to watch but we don’t get enough to warrant a film leading us to expect more…driving.

 

With a solid cast who are your typical European criminals, American gangsters and damsels in distress, it doesn’t hit a moment where things feel resolved or natural; most of the story towards the finale feels rushed and hurried along in a whirlwind of violence and exposition where it all comes together too quickly after the first hour took its time (probably too long) to introduce and let us warm to the characters where it comes over more like a drama than a thriller. I spent more time looking at Christina Hendricks' chest in her tight hoodie than I was watching the drama slowly unfold in her few scenes...but the shotgun quickly brought me back to full attention, that and Ryan Gosling showing brilliant Gemini-esque dual personality where he never needs to shout in order to come over very dangerous and darker than you'd expect.

 

The soundtrack is good, not great, but certainly plays to the neo-noir genre where the neon lights of the city at night illuminate the cars and characters perfectly. It’s just a shame we don’t get to really FEEL the danger and thrill of our driver-for-hire, and instead meet him at what feels like his retirement from the business.

[DaveBond21]

Started watching Inception but gave up.

[Call Billy Bob]

Started watching Inception but gave up.

How far did you get?

[Blofeld's Cat]

Love this movie!

 

Had my 15 year old son explain it me as we were going along though.

[x007AceOfSpades]

The Fast and the Furious - 2001 - 3.5/5 - Directed by Rob Cohen - starring Paul Walker and Vin Diesel

There's nothing like the original. It's always interesting to see how the Fast & Furious franchise evolved and even devolved over nearly fifteen years. There's no denying that The Fast and the Furious hasn't aged all that well when you look at it's awful dialogue, hilariously wooden characters, and those cheesy street races. However corny it may be, I still have a spot in my heart for this film. It got me into cars when I was just a kid and no matter how many times I catch it on TV, I almost ALWAYS sit down at watch it.

 

Brian O'Connor (Paul Walker) is an undercover LAPD officer who's been tasked with infiltrating Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his gang of street racers who have been suspected of hijacking trucks off the highway for their merchandise. After failing in a street race, Brian saves Dom from nearly being arrested, and is brought under his wing to truly learn the fine tunings of street racing. Together they build a car and develop a great relationship, even falling for Dom's sister, Mia (Jordana Brewster) however as time begins to run out, Brian's loyalty is tested with the LAPD and his new found friends.

 

While it's definitely corny and cheesy, it's nostalgia at it's finest however. It may not be everyone's cup of tea, but The Fast and the Furious is quite a fun ride. nine times out of ten you're laughing at the film, whether with it, but again, it's all in good fun. It's ridden with cliches and standard action tropes we all know, but there's something about this film that just works. Everyone has such great chemistry together that even the terrible dialogue sounds like a work of art. Aside from some shoddy CGI, the races and stunt work here are great to watch.

 

Whether The Fast and the Furious has stood the test of time is up to you. For me, I like it just as much as I did when I was just seven years old. Okay, maybe back then this was the greatest thing since sliced bread and now It's easy to spot the pros and cons, but The Fast and the Furious is still entertaining to this day however good and bad it is.

 

2 Fast 2 Furious - 2003 - 2.5/5 - Directed by John Singleton - starring Paul Walker and Tyrese Gibson

After the success Universal had with The Fast and the Furious, they would pretty much be idiots to not fast track a sequel. Well they did, except Vin Diesel and director Rob Cohen wouldn't be retuning (as they were filming xXx) however Paul Walker would be. 2 Fast 2 Furious re-works the same formula in certain ways from the first film, while bringing an even bigger emphasis on action and street racing. Does the recipe make for a better sequel? Not quite. While it's bigger, it certainly isn't better.

 

After allowing Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) to escape and flee to Baja, Mexico, Brian O'Connor (Paul Walker) now finds himself in Miami, Florida's street racing scene working alongside street racing host, Tej (Chris "Ludacris" Bridges). When he is unexpectedly arrested after a street race he is given an ultimatum. Either work with the FBI and U.S. Customs in helping them take down Miami drug lord, Carter Verone (Cole Hauser) or go to prison. O'Connor enlists the help of old friend Roman Pearce (Tyrese Gibson) in his mission that will result in both their records being wipe clean.

 

2 Fast 2 Furious is certainly at its best when it's all action and races. It's surely doubled this time around when compared to The Fast and the Furious. The story is just reworking the formula from the previous film. The first film dealt with Brian going undercover trying to take down Dom and his crew before they attempt to hijack another truck with merchandise. Here it's slightly similar only with Brian and now with a friend, Roman, going undercover with Fake Scarface's drug operations in conjunction with Law enforcement to take him down. Of course in between we have the usual street races which despite being hilariously, they are a bit of fun.

 

The thing about 2 Fast 2 Furious is that it's considerably dumbed down and just as corny and cheesy as it's predecessor. One of the highs of the film is definitely the chemistry between Walker and Gibson, and how perfect they are in this. There's a much more considerable amount of humor than the last film, all thanks to Tyrese Gibson. I think at times it tries to be something more, but fails. Even the music score by David Arnold who is known for five Bond film scores is something borderline Bond at times with it's dramatic and even action cues. It's just too hilariously bad too watch. Especially Cole Hauser and his discount Tony Montana character.

 

Though it still manages to something of entertainment, it is still a disappoint follow up in some ways from The Fast and the Furious. I did have a blast in the movie theater twelve years ago, but now it's much different.

 

The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift - 2006 - 3/5 - Directed by Justin Lin - starring Lucas Black and Sung Kang

If I had written a review for The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift back in 2006, you'd find out how much I disliked the film. That was my first and only viewing of the film. Here we are nine years later and I was already dreading having to rewatch this. My friends always look at me funny when say that of the six films, Tokyo Drift is the worst for me, when it's one of their favorites. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this on a second viewing nine years later. It's not perfect, but it sure was fun and overall entertaining to watch.

 

When 17-year-old high school student Sean Boswell (Lucas Black) crashes his car in yet another illegal racing activity, his mother sends him to live with his father in Tokyo, Japan. In Japan, he becomes friends with Twinkie (Bow Wow) who then introduces him to drift racing, where he challenges Drift King, Takashi (Brian Tee). Because Sean has no experience in drifting, Takashi easily beats him. Sean is then taken under the tutelage of Han (Sung Kang) who teaches him how to drift and even gives him a car.

 

One of the reasons why I had hated this so much when I first saw this was the lack of characters from the first two films. New cast, new setting. There was no Dominic Toretto or Brian O'Connor. It irritated me a lot. Not to mention The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift seems to have a much heavier emphasis on storytelling, rather than just aiming to dazzle you with it's stunt work and street races. However after a second watch nine years later, I was surprised to have found myself being welcome to these changes. It may bear the franchise name and similarities, but it's different than the previous two films - and in a good way. It presents us a different side of street racing and has a pretty decent story. It's just as impressive with it's races and stunts, and much more grounded in reality compared to 2 Fast 2 Furious.

 

I'm proud to say that I have a new found love for The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. It's different enough compared to the previous two films to be able stand on it's two feet as a spin off. That was until this was tied into the overall main storyline.

 

Fast & Furious - 2009 - 1/5 - Directed by Justin Lin - staring Vin Diesel and Paul Walker

Fast & Furious succeeds in bringing back the original cast in the film as well as it's roots, but much like The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, it has a much bigger emphasis on story rather than overall street races. The difference between the films? The story in Tokyo Drift was at least engaging, where as Fast & Furious it's borderline convoluted and comes as too overly serious. It's by far the worst one in the franchise.

 

Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his new crew are working in the Dominican Republic - hijacking fuel tankers, which results in added police heat. The crew dissolves and go their separate ways. Mia Toretto (Jordana Brewster) calls Dom when he is in hiding in the Panama to inform him of Letty's (Michelle Rodriguez) death. Dom sets out for revenge which leads him to an underworld of drug trafficking through street racers. Meanwhile Brian O'Connor (Paul Walker), now with the FBI is working on taking down drug lord, Arturo Braga (John Ortiz), in which his path crosses with Dom.

 

What sets the story in motion is the death of Letty which is twenty minutes into the film. After that, it's a little bit a mirror image of the first two films, except things are much different. Instead of this being Brian O'Connor's film, it's Dom Toretto's. Instead of one person going undercover or infiltrating a drug lords operations, it's two people - with their own agenda. Tokyo Drift managed to juggle entertaining street races with a pretty convincing storyline - but returning screenwriter, Chris Morgan fails to do the same with Fast & Furious.

 

It's just too serious than it should've been. Brian O'Connor is too conflicted with whether he's a good agent trying to be bad, or a bad agent trying to be good. Dom is too busy recreating crime scenes as if it's CSI, and 75% of what he says sounds mumbled. The street races which I always felt were a major highlight in the first three films, return here, but the fun, entertaining vibe of the first three is removed and replaced with trying to create a suspenseful sequence, but it doesn't work. It also doesn't help that the race or rather chase in the tunnels feels more like a video game cut scene, thanks to some really awful CGI which Fast & Furious is filled with.

 

Fast & Furious is definitely the least entertaining installment in the franchise and is quite frankly the slowest. It drags from the start line all the way to finish line. If there is anything that is redeeming in this film, it's that it introduced us to the beautiful, Gal Gadot.

 

Fast Five - 2011 - 3.5/5 - Directed by Justin Lin - starring Vin Diesel and Paul Walker

After the massive disappointment that was Fast & Furious the next installment needed an injection of entertainment after the dreadful feat of the previous film. Enter Fast Five. The fifth film which continues to stray further away from when it was just a street racing film. Fast Five proves to be the most fun in the franchise since probably the original and manages to be a rather great heist film.

 

Picking up where the last film ended, Brian, Mia, and Dom (Paul Walker, Jordana Brewster, and Vin Diesel, respectively) are on the run and in hiding in Rio de Janiero, Brazil. After a job that old friend, Vince (Matt Schulze) brings them on goes wrong, Brian & Dom find themselves on the wrong side of drug lord, Hernan Reyes (Joaquim de Almeida). With returning friends, They plan steal $100Million from Reyes which is in a Rio police station in a vault - all while being hunted by U.S. DSS Agent, Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) who is determined to bringing them to justice.

 

While Fast Five does have it's share of seriousness, it certainly handles it much better than Fast & Furious did. There are moments when it's too cliche, but it's nowhere near the level it's predecessor was. It manages to be entertaining and serious as it further moves away from what made the franchise in the very beginning. However, I look at Fast Five as a heist film, which it is. This was a great way to change directions and pacing and make for a completely different film instead of trying to rely on old tricks.

 

With a much larger budget, it was nice to see that this film didn't have such a huge over-reliance on CGI like Fast & Furious. Instead going back to classic stunt work, stunt driving, and practical effects. Sure there's CGI, but it doesn't look anything like the video game cut scenes that were in Fast & Furious. It's also worth noting that the action scenes here are the best directed in the franchise. Coherent, yet frenetic, stylish, yet natural - the action scenes always feel tense and have a sensibility of what's at stake.

 

Overall, Fast Five is a thrilling ride that is fun from start to finish, and the addition of Dwayne Johnson really makes this film all the better. It is still the second best in the franchise though.

 

Fast & Furious 6 - 2013 - 2/5 - Directed by Justin Lin - starring Vin Diesel and Paul Walker

After the exciting and very good installment that was Fast Five, the Fast & Furious Franchise seemed to be going in a new direction, being more heist oriented and less about street racing. Fast & Furious 6 instead turns Dom & Brian's crew into government agents in a mindless action feat that is more keen on trying to let us all know how big and bold it is, instead of trying to be a worthy follow up to Fast Five.

 

After the Rio Heist, The band of criminals find themselves away from that old life and focused on starting new ones. They our lured out by U.S. DSS Agent, Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) to help him take down former British Special Forces soldier Owen Shaw (Luke Evans) and his crew who plan to attack a NATO base in Spain and steal a component for the Nightshade device. Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his crew agree to job in exchange for a full pardon of their crimes.

 

Having the transition of a gang of street racers turned thieves was a good one and came off as very natural. It seemed like the next natural step. Instead of carrying onwards and having them come back out of retirement for another heist, they are instead recruited as government agents? Sure they're cool and at least street smart, but they are the last group of people I'd hire for a job. Not to mention, Fast & Furious 6 doesn't feel like anything is at stake, when compared to Fast Five.

 

It's only job is to further prolong the action sequences in attempts to win you over, but in reality it's only boring as there feels like there is seemingly no end to them. Is especially the runway at the end of the film where the climax takes place, seems to go on and on. The writing is also considerably worse here when it was actually strong in Fast Five. What happened? Did everyone involved just decide to up everything up, yet lower the overall quality? That's the only logical reason I can come up with. It also seems as if there's too much going on in the film, more then there should be.

 

Another low point for me was bringing back Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) in this. I honestly feel that if she wasn't in it and they just went on with going after Shaw, it would've been a little better. But, bringing her back gives Vin Diesel a reason to do something other than stand there a mumble half of his dialogue. I also wasn't too impressed with the European setting. Not that I have anything against Europe, particularly that of Great Britain, but I just don't think it suited the look of the film or did any wonders when compared to previous film locales such as Rio de Janiero, Miami, Tokyo, and Los Angeles.

 

There's very few things I find enjoyable, such as Gina Carano (though she is considerably wasted here), Luke Evans is actually and surprising a good villain, and of course Gal Gadot. Dwayne Johnson is still strangely soaked in baby oil and has been reduced to a DSS agent that half as smart as he was in Fast Five.

 

I suppose if you're into dumb fun, then this up your alley, but it's a disappointing follow up to Fast Five.

 

Furious 7 - 2015 - 1.5/5 - Directed by James Wan - starring Vin Diesel & Paul Walker and Jason Statham

I already know that right off the bat I'm in the minority with this film. The very few that weren't all that impressed with Furious 7. Of course it's not like this film was going to be a game changer, but is it possible to make impressive and highly entertaining action sequels now, or do they all need the Michael Bay treatment in which they repeatedly try to out-do themselves. Because that's Furious 7 in a nutshell.

 

I wasn't really expecting much and all those positive reviews from viewers and critics alike told me that this had to be a sort of a sham. How can something this terrible be received so well? Maybe if I was like the other mindless audience members I'd have been swooned over with Furious 7, but all I saw is an action franchise that is now bent on trying to win you over by being more and more increasingly stupid.

 

After his brother is left badly injured by Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his crew, Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) vows vengeance and begins to target Dom's crew one by one, killing Han (Sung Kang) before making his way to Los Angeles and severely injuring U.S. DSS Agent Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson). Dom and his "Family" are recruited by an ally of Hobbs, Frank Petty (Kurt Russell) to help him retrieve a device call "God's Eye" that allows any user to track anyone. In exchange, Frank promises to allow Dom to use "God's Eye" to find Deckard Shaw, all while a ruthless mercenary, Mose Jakande (Djimon Hounsou) seeks the device.

 

I don't have too many positive things to say, so I'll just start off with the few positives - and I mean few. Kurt Russels is a badass whether it's R.J. MacCready, Jack Burton, Snake Plissken, Stuntman Mike, or Gabe Cash, he's old school and cool as hell. He brings that same attitude here in Furious 7 where his character for the most part largely replaces Dwayne Johnson's Luke Hobbs, but it's a nice welcome. It was nice to see him back in big film again and have his few moments to kick ass. Tony Jaa, in his first American film was absolutely a feast for the eyes, as he showcased his world class technique. Just a shame he is underused.

 

The soundtrack, primarily some of the songs are great, especially the opening titles with "Payback" by Juicy J playing over as a vengeful Jason Statham kicks a** did momentarily get me hyped. It was also nice to hear Deftone's "Tempest" blaring in the theater too and did a good of setting the mood for the particular scene. And finally, Jason Statham. He needs to play villains more often, he seriously kicks more a** as one. The man just kept coming like a machine and had a great (but short) fight with Dwayne Johnson. Statham usually shows little to emotions in his films, and it works beautifully in Furious 7 as Deckard Shaw is an emotionless man on a mission of revenge.

 

Unfortunately, the writing ruins Deckard Shaw, despite a fantastic performance from Statham. Deckard Shaw is essentially the boogeyman in Furious 7. In horror films, the killer will always pop up out of nowhere and stalk our main characters and their friends, and that's what Shaw is. Following Dom and his family from Los Angeles to the Caucasus Mountains and to Abu Dhabi. It's just one man against six, who manages to know there every move. Maybe screenwriter Chris Morgan was hoping that each time you see Deckard show up it's supposed to be like the shark in Jaws appearing in the water again, but it fails hard in Furious 7.

 

It's widely known now that the Fast & Furious Franchise is more and more keen on moving forward as an action adventure series rather than part action/part street racing. Which is fine, but don't go and turn your series into another Michael Bay-esque knockoff. Fast Five did a great job of introducing new tricks, and Fast & Furious 6 just decided to be a dull actioner. Furious 7 further plays on that. We go from one action scene where our characters complete a task, cause as much damage as possible, get briefed, have dramatic talk, go to another location - repeat the same thing. That was the entire film - with each locale being a video game level ending in a boss fight that was Jason Statham.

 

Each action sequence definitely isn't tame, going all out and incredibly over the top. From parachuting cars to super cars in mid air crashing through buildings, and literally destroying Los Angeles. The finale of the film is an overlong sequence that seemed to go on for an easy twenty-five - thirty minutes and focusing on multiple areas, which allowed for no breathing room and resulting in a constant bore. Also worth mentioning that Dominic Toretto seems to have an endless supply of muscle cars no matter where they are and how this film defies the laws of physics.

 

James Wan, most known for directing primarily horror films - does not make a successful transition to big budget action films, as it appears he uses Michael Bay as a clear cut template for how to do action scenes. These action scenes are almost as bad as Taken 3's. They rely on non-stop quick cuts and shake camera techniques as a mean to deliver thriller and edge of your seat action. Instead, it's incredibly amateurish looking and is just an easy route towards directing action films. It also doesn't help the Wan is often too busy capturing women's asses on film with editing to the beat of whatever song is playing. Seriously, this is the best Universal could choose for directing? Yikes.

 

For some reason, Ronda Rousey is in this, despite playing herself, she's just as awful as she was in The Expendables 3 further showing us her deadpan delivery and mean-mugging the camera to look tough. Thankfully her fight scene with Michelle Rodriguez was much more entertaining and engaging than her last three professional MMA Fights combined. I was excited when I saw that Lucas Black, who played Sean Boswell in Tokyo Drift was in this, but literally for a minute, which was a shame, as I was hoping he would team with Dom as he's probably the only likable character (aside from a few) in the film. I have to say though, aside from two times throughout Furious 7 the CGI for Paul Walker looked good, but off. Other than that, I literally couldn't tell his remaining scenes were shot by his two brothers.

 

You can say that in order to enjoy this type of film I need to turn my brain off. But there's turning your brain off to just enjoy good, dumb fun and then there's just sitting in the theater watching crap. This is the latter. I'm sure Universal and Vin Diesel have a general direction or idea on where to take the franchise now, with Paul Walker deceased and his character, Brian O'Connor retired, but the series only going to continue to decline further and further me thinks.

[DaveBond21]

 

Started watching Inception but gave up.

How far did you get?

 

25 minutes

[tdalton]

 

 

Started watching Inception but gave up.

How far did you get?

 

25 minutes

 

 

I think that was about how far I made into the film as well.  Maybe a bit further, but not much.  

[Shakhtar]

If a blasphemous thought that Die Another Day was over the top... just watch the bloody Fast & Furious 7.

[Call Billy Bob]

If a blasphemous thought that Die Another Day was over the top... just watch the bloody Fast & Furious 7.

The thing with those films is you expect everything to be over-the-top. Die Another Day felt like a cheat because we didn't know going in how crazy OTT it would be...

[FlemingBond]

i went and saw Furious 7 yesterday. First one i have seen in the theater's. Basically i knew someone on tv or something would spoil how they handle Brian's departure from the series so i just went instead. That series can really be split in two. The first 4 that were fairly realistic and based around street racing, and the last 3 which have just gotten to completely overblown. I read comments that you just have to turn your brain off and all that, but come on the whole film, all the characters would be dead 500 ways from sunday. It's to the point they're having wars inside cities with no citizens or cops or military anywhere to be found. I mean there's people saying there was too much CGI in the Star Wars prequels. Take a look at this movie. It's supposed to be in the real world. It's all just silliness. There's no storyline reason for them to keep making these movies, but they will. I just hope the people stop going soon.

[x007AceOfSpades]

i went and saw Furious 7 yesterday. First one i have seen in the theater's. Basically i knew someone on tv or something would spoil how they handle Brian's departure from the series so i just went instead. That series can really be split in two. The first 4 that were fairly realistic and based around street racing, and the last 3 which have just gotten to completely overblown. I read comments that you just have to turn your brain off and all that, but come on the whole film, all the characters would be dead 500 ways from sunday. It's to the point they're having wars inside cities with no citizens or cops or military anywhere to be found. I mean there's people saying there was too much CGI in the Star Wars prequels. Take a look at this movie. It's supposed to be in the real world. It's all just silliness. There's no storyline reason for them to keep making these movies, but they will. I just hope the people stop going soon.

I'd say the first three were pretty realistic, especially from a car point of view. Fast Five was actually really good. It had a good story, great action, well paced, humor, it wasn't over-the-top, even though the last half hour was the two leads driving through downtown Rio dragging a giant safe. After that, it was just turning it into another Michael Bay-esque action franchise. Furious 7 was just awful from all aspects.

[thecasinoroyale]

'Paddington' (2014)

 

This charming family-friendly film manages to appeal to young and old viewers with a perfect blend of comedic slapstick and action with subtle humour, and a bright vibrant world pulled straight from the books. Avoiding what could have been a tarnishing CGI mess that would do nothing for the memory of the older animated version of Paddington Bear, director Paul King creates a bear wonderfully alive with great animation that fits perfectly in with his human co-stars.

 

Ben Whishaw couldn’t have been a better voice for Paddington and I think it was a wise move to drop Colin Firth. Whishaw has a wonderful air of innocence, curiosity and emotion in his voice that suits Paddington perfectly; he sounds both young and old, and this coupled with the animation that comes across as both mischievous bear and innocent child make Paddington a character who I found highly amusing with his exploration of the world around him.

 

The comedy is good fun, carefully avoiding too many dumb slapstick gags and pratfalls (save a few token slips and slides), to be something comedic that uses character and environment rather than lots of silly belching and fart gags as is common in animated characters. Paddington is an intelligent creation and adapts perfectly alongside stars Huge Bonneville, Sally Hawkins and Nicole Kidman in their roles. The interaction is flawless in a story that is predictable, but the way it’s handled with lots of charm and sugary emotion makes for entertaining watching that is both happy and sad in parts as you’d expect.

 

London comes alive with a vibrant soundtrack, bright colours and the hustle and bustle of commuting life in the trains, busses and taxis that also highlights how alien Paddington is as he tries to understand the new world around him with some funny sequences.

 

This manages to avoid being dark and scary, and is always engaging for audiences with jokes aimed at all ages and a story where you will want to find out where it goes thanks to fun characters and well-crafted jokes with lots of heart from our likeable furry hero.

[SecretAgentFan]

The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby

 

Jessica Chastain and James McAvoy star in this wonderful love story depicting a couple´s separation after a devasting tragedy and their attempt at reuniting.  William Hurt and Isabelle Huppert star as the parents of the title character, Cieran Hinds is her alienating father-in-law.  

 

I was absolutely hooked right from the start.  The film is beautifully shot, edited, written and directed, and the performances are simply magnificent.  I was positively surprised that this was not a dark, depressive whine-fest so many independent film directors try to turn their films into because they think that´s art.  Instead, its tone remains hopeful and shows the wry humor even in the saddest circumstances.  And since it is invested in the characters so much, one really wants the couple to find each other again and make a new start.

 

If you are interested in this film, try to check out the US blu ray since it features not only the cut shown in theatres, subtitled "them" but also the other two versions which concentrate on the male character ("him") and on the female character ("her"), highlighting how different people experience and remember the same experience.

 

One of the best films of last year but sadly underrated and pushed aside by the steam-rolling campaigns of the usual prize contenders.

[tdalton]

BACKCOUNTRY (2015)

 

Backcountry is a 2015 horror film from director Adam MacDonald and stars Missy Peregrym, Jeff Roop, and Eric Balfour.

The film begins with Alex (Roop) and Jenn (Peregrym) heading out of town for a camping trip to Alex’s favorite outdoor trail from his childhood.  Jenn doesn’t want to go, but she’s cajoled into going by Alex, who presents himself as someone who has all the answers when it comes to both camping and the area to which they are headed.

 

Being a horror film, we obviously know that things go awfully wrong.  The first opportunity for this to occur happens very early on, when Jenn meets Brad (Balfour), who shows an interest in Jenn despite the fact that she’s with Alex.  Jenn invites him to dinner, to the displeasure of Alex.  This encounter is brief, but the idea that Brad is a menace is one that lingers enough to make it an unsettling encounter.

 

It’s not a spoiler to say (although if you are very SPOILER sensitive, perhaps it’s best to turn away now) that the villain of the film is a bear.  It’s featured prominently on the film’s poster and the film’s marketing, so I don’t consider it much of a spoiler.  The bear’s presence is felt early into the trip.  MacDonald does a very fine job of ever-so-slowly ratcheting up the tension as the film moves forward.  There’s a lot for our main characters to contend with, especially once the film’s big reveal occurs around the halfway point, and he handles these obstacles very well, never piling them on the characters, but rather allowing them to happen in an organic way.

 

The performances in Backcountry are outstanding.  First and foremost, Missy Peregrym really shows off her acting chops here.  After years of working in little-seen TV projects like Reaperi and Rookie Blue, she really shows here what those of us who have watched her before have known all along, which is that she has the talent to make it on the big screen.  She’s terrific here, making Jenn feel like a character that we’ve known all our lives rather than one we’ve just met.  Jeff Roop is good as well as Alex.  He plays well off of Peregrym and garners sympathy from the viewer, even when the character as written would probably find it hard to get.

 

On the whole, Backcountry is the kind of low-budget horror film that has, thankfully, been making a comeback in recent years.  It’s a slow burner, for sure, but once you get into the film, you’ll barely notice the rising tension until you see your fingers digging into the arm of the couch.  It’s at about that point that all hell breaks loose and you’re really in for a ride.

 

4/5

[thecasinoroyale]

'Snowpiercer' (2013)

 

A very effective dark, grim and non-sugar coated sci-fi tale of survival and humanity from director Bong Joon-ho comes over better than expected from the premise. While it clocks in at 2hrs, it moves forward with a steady pace, slowing only slightly towards the finale as we make time for the explanation of things we have seen beforehand and answers to questions fronted from the start.

 

With a decent cast who are likeable enough in their roles, playing weary survivors, delusional prophets and brutal soldiers, we do form a connection with most and find ourselves rooting for the heroes and praying for a gruesome end to the villains who come over wonderfully nasty thanks to a quirky Tilda Swinton. Chris Evans, while certainly in the peak of his career as an actor, is good enough as our leader Curtis, and while he’s not the best actor and I do prefer him as the square jawed Captain America (a role he has made his own), he gives a good, mature performance here with an animalistic rage to his bearded, dirty face that lets him flex his acting chops away from the glamorous Hollywood world of superheroes.

 

Playing out like a mild version of ‘The Raid’, in which our heroes progress carriage by carriage in a number of different environments, surroundings and facing new and surprising bad guys wielding everything from concrete blocks, machine guns and axes, there is a good deal of narrative pushing the characters forward and nothing happens without reason; it’s not brainless carnage, it’s balletic violence.

 

Better than expected and set just inside the mighty train itself, we are given fun and interesting designs for each carriage we come across, reflecting various interpretations of the poor, the rich and the greedy. With basic CG enhancement to show the train thundering through a dangerous icy environment, it’s the action and story on the train that is most important and told really well through tightly choreographed fight scenes, good character development and clever set-design. It’s a refreshingly different, non-sugar coated look into a non-Hollywood style of future for mankind.

[x007AceOfSpades]

Avengers: Age Of Ultron - 2015 - 2/5 - Directed by Joss Whedon - starring Superheroes!Superheroes!Superheroes!

Yup. Netflix's Daredevil is still the best thing Marvel has ever, and probably will ever do.

 

Avengers: Age Of Ultron improves in areas from the first Avengers film. The overall direction is much better, along with the cinematography, pacing, editing, etc. It's far superior than the first film. Except for the awful writing. That's where this film falters the most. Sure it succeeds in being mildly entertaining, but the writing really lets this down from actually being decent.

 

The thing is, all of Marvel's Phase two films seem to follow a rather similar mold, and Age Of Ultron follows that. It's this safe way of story telling that has produced mediocre films in Phase two and left them almost virtually indistinguishable at times. While Age Of Ultron doesn't take an hour to get into the swing of things like it's predecessor, it does have a somewhat decent opening, despite feeling completely uneven which was head scratching. The third act is still complete mayhem and destruction, just like the previous four films in Phase two.

 

While our principal heroes have been developed and fleshed out over several films now, they're fine and the overall plot is less expository than the first film. However, some of the newer characters, particularly Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch feel shoehorned in when in all actuality, they aren't really needed. The film is already crowded as is, so why the need to add in two more characters that are barely developed over a near two and half hour run time? They don't add anything particularly new other than to set up future installments that is.

 

Ultron itself, while being courted to be The Avengers toughest foe to date, actually wasn't all that impressive to me. The marketing - trailers to be exact did a damn good job of trying to make him menacing. When we're first introduced to Ultron you generally feel that after all the weak villains in Phase two, finally one rises to the occasion. Ultron truly proves to be a threat. That is until he just ends up becoming an afterthought and another poorly written villain. The villains plan(s) may seem threatening and plausible (despite this film being so outlandish), but the character itself comes off more as goofy.

 

No one really shines in this one, though it was good to see Hawkeye given a little more to do and a little back story despite it being worthless. Everyone is everyone, they snap into characters and that's that. Andy Serkis' cameo was.... interesting. Elizabeth Olson and Aaron Taylor-Johnson aren't half bad, they just aren't given much. Though they are terrible at holding an eastern European accent. James Spader does a great job voicing Ultron which is about it. I still don't get the praise for Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/The Hulk. I don't think he's all that great and his character's forced romantic angle with Black Widow was incredibly forced - it wasn't needed.

 

I suppose if I was nine years old I'd be head over heels for this. But I'm not nine years old. In the end, Avengers: Age Of Ultron improves over slight negative from the first film, but is still by no means that impressive. Unless you're easily entertained or you're a Die hard MCU fan, have at it. If anything, Age Of Ultron feels more like a set up film for Avengers: Infinity War and maybe Captain America: Civil War. I'm actually surprised Marvel didn't try and throw in the superhero registration act at the end.

 

At lease Joss Whedon isn't involved in Avengers: Infinity War at all.

[Safari Suit]

I thought the first movie (which I was fairly indifferent towards) was better paced. The bonding/"banter" in the earlier scenes went on way too long; I know critics and Whedon's fans love that stuff, but with Spader and Bettany's intriguing characters feeling like they got the short shrift later on (plus utterly wasted appearances by Elda, Skarsgard and others) that's a big strike against the movie for me. It's by no means a bad movie, but in the contemporary Blockbuster climate Marvel helped define (for better and/or worse) it feels rather ordinary and offers absolutely no surprises (besides, perhaps, that Ultron is very recognisably a James Spader character).

[x007AceOfSpades]

Both aren't very good.