Category: movie-reviews

Critics are supposed to be unbiased, dispassionate and able to distance their childhood loves from their professional life. That is easier said than done.

To those who do not know me, I’m a fan of “The Lord of the Rings” Movie Trilogy. So needless to say the biggest thing on my mind in the past 4 years has been the production of a “prequel” trilogy of movies based on J.R.R Tolkien’s earlier work, “The Hobbit” by the same director as the three movies I fell in love when I was younger.

And now it is over, with the sixth and final (for now at least) film in the now called “Middle Earth Saga” on the big screen. So how does this classic story of Bilbo and a band of dwarves hold up?

Director Peter Jackson does OTT action that somehow you can still take seriously excellently and this movie which is mainly a big battle, he doesn’t disappoint. The more mature part of me will look at these CGI minutes of pure violence with a bit of apprehension, but it is exactly the same thing which made me adore LOTR.

You can’t watch this film without seeing the previous two “Hobbit” films, it jumps straight into the action. However, you could watch the whole trilogy without having seen “Rings” and get the little references after the fact.

A large area of discussion is the fact that the original book, which was smaller than the three volumes of the LOTR book trilogy, has been split into THREE parts. I have heard people criticize the pacing of the film and the feel that it was a cash-grab. I feel that if the movie was kept as one, I would have noticed a pace that was far too quick. Maybe I’m being a fan-boy.

The acting in the saga is very good and this has some of the most underrated writing of any film series and this final chapter is no exception. Of course, the story is classically brilliant, based upon one of the best-selling novels ever written..

There are two problems however with “The Battle of the Five Armies”. For one, I feel that the romance story they build in, though it had some potential, should have stuck to an unlikely friendship between two people of different races, which it was to begin with. I feel it would have been more fitting to the character of the female elf involved.

Another problem that I noticed was that there seemed to be scenes missing. As I went over the film in my head before writing this, I felt that any issues I had with something not being explained as much as it could, might have been fixed with an extra 5-10 minutes of footage. Luckily, as with all the other Middle Earth movies, an extended edition home release is coming in late 2015 and I’d imagine at least some of these gaps shall be filled.

I have been waiting for these movies for a long time and now it is over. These are not perfect movies and as I grow older and watch them more, I shall spot more and more errors. But this was the series which inspired me to become a film maker/reviewer. I am very grateful that it has come to such a satisfactory conclusion and I am grateful for being able to experience this ground-breaking series of films.

Recommended Scenario: If you have seen the first two hobbit movies. Otherwise it’s pretty much impossible.

If what I have written tells you that you would like this film, you can book tickets to see it at your local Cineworld here.                                                                                       

Pixar are in real trouble. Not only have their recent projects met with “meh” responses and their parent company has recently decided to just copy their once unique animation style, but other companies have been competing with genuinely brilliant family films.

Dreamworks is giving us their second attempt at a spin-off and like “Puss In Boots”, they have taken one of the funniest elements of their current biggest trilogy and give it the breathing space of 90 minutes.

The Penguins, like in the “Madagascar” films, are a quartet of comedy gold, flightless birds. Their petite proportions and cute outward appearance makes the best disguise possible for their inner secret agent identities. Whoever came up with this idea deserves a Mark Twain award!

As they come up against an equally funny villain (whose identity I shall not dare spoil), they are joined by an animal intelligence force led by a wolf played by Benedict Cumberbatch. (Who actually has a real-life problem with pronouncing the word “penguin”. Seriously it is in the movie!)

I had so much fun watching this movie. Every moment was either heart-warming, hilarious or ingeniously action-packed. A couple of scenes had me laughing at the sheer 3D ridiculousness of the situation.

This movie is easily accessible, even to those who even haven’t seen the previous “Madagascar” films. Pixar may be in a pickle, but Dreamworks are swimming in honey!

Recommended Scenario: You want a family film which gets straight to the point. And the point is PENGUIN SECRET AGENTS!

If what I have written tells you that you would like this film, you can book tickets to see it at your local Cineworld here.                                                                                       

I was surprised when I heard that a full-length movie adaptation of “Paddington Bear” was announced last year. I mean, how much plot can you get from a talking bear in London?

Paddington is exactly that. He is a talking bear from darkest Peru who is obsessed with marmalade and is in need of a new home in London.

This is a completely ridiculous premise. And that’s why the ridiculous plot does actually make a lot of sense.

When people interact with the bear, they skip out the generic first stage of lacking acceptance of Bears talking and just treat it as “another new thing you learn everyday”. This is a genius joke.

This, like almost every family film, does suffer from a couple of scenes of forced “this-is-the-way-it-should-be-ness”, when the main cast of characters have their happily ever after and they spell out in whimsy how great it is. This is fine for some, but a lot of the time these endings don’t rub well with me.

Yet I am kept happy by Nicole Kidman play the funniest villain I have seen in a long time and a surprisingly, sometimes darkly good sense of humour.

The direction in this movie is also a surprise. Actual effort was put into every single shot to play up either laughs or heart.

In this age of every marketable children’s franchise being hopelessly exploited by the fat-cats (see “Garfield” for more information), Paddington Bear has actually been treated with some respect. Though I never watched or read the original myself, I feel that those who did will not feel completely ripped off.

Recommended Scenario: When you want to be surprised while entertaining your kids.

If what I have written tells you that you would like this film, you can book tickets to see it at your local Cineworld here.                                                                                       

This film about Alan Turing, breaker of the enigma code, father of computing and one of my heroes, is one which needed to be made.

“The Imitation Game” has been advertised as a thriller based around Alan Turing and other British code-breakers at Bletchley Park deciphering the Nazis’ unbreakable Enigma machine.

Though a large portion of this film does revolve around this vastly important piece of history, it also goes further by addressing Turing’s eventual tragic fate.

Benedict Cumberbatch plays Turing and one could dismiss him as being once again typecast as so many good actors are. In roles such as Stephen Hawking, Sherlock, Khan and now Alan Turing he has shown that he can play the socially awkward genius excellently. Yet I believe Cumberbatch brings some “je-ne-sais-quoi” to his latest part.

The script is taught and thoroughly researched.

The supporting cast is also very good. Keira Knightley in particular shines as Turing’s fiancée and proves to anyone who still needs convincing that she is far more than a pretty face. Also, look out for a very subtle and profound performance from a young actor playing Alan Turing as a child.

This brilliant film I believe does justice to the men and women of Bletchley Park who remained unsung for far too long.

Recommended Scenario: If you want to see a film about a very different sort of war hero.

If what I have written tells you that you would like this film, you can book tickets to see it at your local Cineworld here.                                                                                       

“Gone Girl” is an abduction thriller adapted from the 2012 novel by Gillian Flynn, and is directed by the aficionado of all things weird, the genius that is David Fincher.

Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) comes home and finds that his wife Amy (Rosmund Pike) is missing.

Giving away much else would constitute a spoiler! In 2 hours and 25 minutes, which flew by, this movie goes places you would never expect, (unless, I suppose, you read the book).

Like all Fincher movies, this is immaculately directed. Part of me, like any good film student, wants to watch this film on mute and just look at the way the camera moves.

Ben Affleck is very good here as the lead, showing that in 2016, when “Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice” comes around, the caped crusader will not be played by the same guy who gave us “Daredevil”.

Rosamund Pike, though… WOW! We should see this actor a lot in the future. She gives one of the best female performances I’ve seen!

Leading up to this film’s release, the internet has been going crazy over Fincher’s impressive filmography. And it now has something else to get excited about.

My Top 10 list of movies for 2014 will be hard work!

Recommended Scenario: When you want nearly 2 ½ hours where you daren’t have a bathroom break, for fear of missing a moment of a masterpiece.

If what I have written tells you that you would like this film, you can book tickets to see it at your local Cineworld here.                                                                                       

A Christopher Nolan movie, this ain’t. Yet don’t let that put you off.

The story revolves around a space scavenger called Peter Quill who finds a special Macguffin which some baddies want. Antics ensue, forcing him to bring together a ragtag bunch of guys who call themselves THE GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY.

First of all, the choice to not go down the Nolan “Dark Knight” vibe was extremely beneficial to this movie. Nobody who didn’t read the “Guardians” comics knew who these guys were and so to expect anyone to care about them if the screenwriters made them all moody and dark would be a grievous error.

Secondly, this opened them up to something called comedy. I mean proper COMEDY! I was in fits of laughter during this movie.

Filmmakers go down the dark route with their heroes a lot these days trying to replicate the success of Batman, but because Quill, Gamora, Drax, Rocket and Groot made me laugh so many times, I felt more for them than if they had done an “Amazing Spiderman” and cried in a corner.

This is a proper harken back to the old ways of gun-ho adventures. One can really see “Indy Jones” and “Star Wars” in this film. In fact I’d say that this is what fans were hoping for in the prequels and sequels to both. Not bloody “younglings”!

Plus, watch the movie for its soundtrack!

Recommended scenario: When you’ve had a bad day and need to redeem your hope in “nice” blockbusters.

If what I have written tells you that you would like this film, you can book tickets to see it at your local Cineworld here.                                                                                       

I watched this movie with a unique perspective to most as I had not seen either of the previous “Expendables” movies or many of the ‘80s movies for which most of these old-timers are famous for. This was not really a problem as it meant I was not blinded by nostalgia for these elderly gentlemen.

The story of this movie is not really necessary for me to explain. It is just an excuse for lots of things to blow up and lots of one-liner jokes some of which even I as a boy circa 1996 got (though this novelty was over-used).

My inner child was satisfied with seeing bad guys getting shot to pieces. Though I do take issue with the level of violence here. There’s not enough!

Not only do we get pointless exposition over characters nobody cares about, as more and more are piled on, the violence was intentionally edited down and “unbloodened” so that the BBFC could give it a 12 Rating and the box office could help pay for more plastic surgery for these geriatrics. I have moral contention with that, but that’s for another day.

The acting is acceptable for a film of this calibre, the writing is sometimes more than just in-jokes and Mel Gibson as the villain is pretty decent.

I had fun with this movie though there are better and more memorable films of this type. I do understand though that not every movie has to be “Schindler’s List”.

Recommended scenario: Turn on at boring party.

If what I have written tells you that you would like this film, you can book tickets to see it at your local Cineworld here.