Review: Elysium

After the huge success of District 9, director Neill Blomkamp was always going to have a huge hill to climb. It was likely to be a disappointment, if not then it would be better then District 9 and therefore one of the best movies in the last decade.

Sadly, it was the likely outcome. But don't let that previous sentence sum up the whole film for you. There is a lot of things to enjoy in Blomkamp's latest installment.

The flow and amount of action is as top notch as District 9 was. The special effects, weapons and technology involved is still terrific. Some people would say that they have just taken everything from District 9. But if that's the case, then I'm not complaining as their designs and ideas are terrific. The soundtrack is always one part of the film I am eager to listen out for. It was absolutely amazing and definitely cranked everything up throughout the film. It's likely I will be playing this a few times before my next visit to the big screen.
One discovery that Blomkamp has made bigger and better is South African actor Sharlto Copley. After being the honest and sweet Wikus in District 9, he is now a bad-ass villain who is probably the best bit of the acting.

For lead actor Matt Damon, he is solid, but nothing to shout about. But he manages to hold his own as the lead. All the minor characters seemed to be what you would expect and nothing more. But by far the oddest and worst bit of the acting side of the film was Jodie Foster. She did look bad-ass and very authoritative, but her unnecessary accent throughout the film was just strange. It also looked like it was a second out of when her lips were moving. I thought it might be the digital projection being out of time, but everything else was in sync. I have been hearing that other people have been annoyed by this as well. It felt like on one of those awful Japanese films where everything is awfully dubbed.

As I'm now stating negatives I will now say that there is A LOT of plot-holes in this. I won't mention them as it might spoil your viewing experience to try and find them yourselves. It was a shame that there was a lot of information missing. If it filled those gaps, it would definitely have been a great film and a very successful one with the box office chart.

Despite that, I did still enjoy it. It felt like a lot of fun and there was enough content to have me satisfied. But it was a shame there was a lot of plot-holes that had me annoyed whilst watching. It was always going to be a disappointment after the huge success of District 9, but I think it is still enjoyable despite the missing parts of the plot and of course, Jodie Foster.

Rating: 7/10

Requested Review: My Guilty Pleasures

Everyone has a list of films that are seen as a guilty pleasure. It is usually consisting of films that are recognised as cult classics, ones that did not have initial success or something that has just ticked all the right things you want in a film that many others do not see.
My list has a great mix of fantasy adventures, family comedies and even an all-out action flick. If you have not seen any of these, then I highly recommend you watch it at least once just to experience them. Here they are:

Return To Oz - An important film from my childhood and for many others. This has to be my favourite of my guilty pleasures as I really want more people to encounter this magical adventure for the first time and for the next generation of movie watchers.
After not receiving that initial success, it has grown and grown into a huge cult favourite. Someone even made a documentary about it called 'The Joy That Got Away'. That title is perfect for what this film is.
Disney definitely missed a trick here, and they should be grateful for creating this epic adventure that has a bit of dark side to it. It also contains one of my favourite movie soundtracks of all-time.

Speed Racer - Anything made by The Wachowski's I seem to love (apart from Jupiter Ascending which is o.k.) and Speed Race is no exception. Despite having no knowledge of the Japanese kids TV series, this was a visual wonder and a thrilling family adventure that reminded of a racing game that I used to play called F-Zero X.
With a star studded cast, some of the most dazzling visual effects I have ever seen, some very clever editing and one of my favourite final acts of all-time, this always cheers me up whenever I am down. If you know what to expect with Japanese kids TV, then you will be fine with what you see as The Wachowski's apparently stay true to the tone of the show. Also Michael Giacchino's score is great.

Atlantis: The Lost Empire - Another film that is slowly growing a cult following and is now considered as one of the most underrated films ever made by Walt Disney Animation studios.
Despite the majority giving a low rating, there was a small amount of love for it, and I was certainly one of them.
It sees a young adventurer follows in his fathers foot-steps, and teams up with a group to explorers to find the mysterious lost land of Atlantis.
It is a pure fantasy adventure that I think would look great as a live-action version if it was put in the hands of the right people. The pacing really sucks you into the story and be truly invested in these characters. I never get tired watching this.

The Pagemaster - I will be amazed if people born after 2000 know about this one, then you have reliable contacts for good films.
One of Macaulay Culkin's very few successful roles outside of the Home Alone franchise. His character gets caught up in a mysterious library, and this begins his adventure on face his own fears.
Lots of great characters, beautiful soundtrack and definitely one to put in your list of ones to watch on a rainy weekend.

The Mighty Ducks trilogy - This trilogy probably made me the person that I am today. I love a good sports movie and this is probably the one that introduced me to not just the genre, but expand my love of spots in general.
This highly entertaining trilogy sees a bunch of rag-tag youths, to becoming one of the most famous Ice Hockey teams in the world. If you love your underdog sports films, then you need to add this to your list.

Bubble Boy - I remember hearing a lot of hate for this film. Not just for its silliness, but for how it covers its topics.

Well, I must have been in the right mood as I had a really fun time watching this comedic road/coming of age flick. Yes it's silly, but it's heart is in the right place and it stars a young Jake Gyllenhaal who shows the potential that he ended up showing in his most recent works.

Super Mario Bros. - I know I know, this film has so much hate. But I'm sorry, I enjoyed it. I've played many different Super Mario games. But I just saw as something separate and saw it as a pretty solid watch.

Maybe it was seeing it as a kid that gives it a nostalgic feel. Whatever it was, I am certainly one of the very few out there that sees as a perfectly fine sci-fi adventure.

Smokin' Aces - When a L:as Vegas magician snitches on the mob, a whole bunch of gangs are out to kill him.

While some see this as pointless action, I found it to be a tense, exciting and well performed action extravaganza that Quentin Tarantino would be proud of. It has a surprising stellar cast that includes an almost unrecognisable Chris Pine and Joel Edgerton, and a fantastic performance out of nowhere by Alicia Keys.

Requested Nostalgic Review: Inception

People try and never over-hype things. But when you see a trailer of a film made by Christopher Nolan, with a scene of buildings falling in on each other, the laws of physics being broken on multiple occasions and involving an all-star cast. You just cannot help yourself by forcing out the child geek inside of you.

Just when you thought The Dark Knight was Nolan's pinnacle. That was just the first course. This epic main course just over-flows every skill and knowledge Nolan has. Everything about it is so refreshing, even more than Avatar was the year before.

There are obviously a huge amount of positives, but the biggest one for me was the editing that managed to make every scene action-packed that made sure you were literally gripped and sucked in from start to finish. It is not just the story, but the performances make this movie great also. Leonardo DiCaprio leads this mind-bending epic and I cannot believe that he STILL has not won an Oscar. After this, I am now dreading that he surely can't star in a future film better than this one. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is proving to us now, that he is becoming an impressive actor and Nolan has definitely shown his potential. Tom Hardy is becoming a big new favorite of mine and like Gordon-Levitt, I think he can will be in a few more Nolan films. Another Nolan regular is Cillian Murphy whose creepy style is loved by many and I will happily see that character a few more times. One final mention of great performances was Marion Cotillard who was simply brilliant as the scary Mal.

No matter how many times I watch this, it still amazes me that this whole story can be presented so perfectly and that it has been loved by millions.

It is the most perfect film I have ever seen since V For Vendetta which was 8 years ago. I am so pleased that film-makers showed us that summer blockbusters don't have to be dumb and stupid to be successful. I cannot recommend this film anymore then I have done. So I'll just finish by saying, see it! I hope you will love it, but I don't mind if you don't. I just want people to at least experience this film-making genius at his best.

Rating: 10/10

Requested Nostalgic Review: Donnie Darko

One thing I remember as if it was yesterday about Donnie Darko was seeing the plot synopsis and read as follows:

"A troubled teenager is plagued by visions of a large bunny rabbit that manipulates him to commit a series of crimes, after narrowly escaping a bizarre accident".

I instantly thought to myself, "what have these people been smoking?" But after the recommendations and high ratings, I still felt inspired to check out why this insane plot synopsis still produces a supposedly great film.

Boy were they right!

Firstly, it is clearly a film you need to see more than once to fully understand this. But for some people, they still don;t understand it, and yet weirdly still love it. That alone surely shows why this film is incredible. Donnie Darko is the type of film that provides its viewer to do some hard thinking and after the movie, some hard re-thinking.

There is so many things I like about this. The complete curiosity as to actually what is happening to everything, the strange and compelling characters involved and the very powerful scenes. The curiosity evens gets to the point of you are not sure what genre this would fit into. There are sections of a teen flick, some show the style of horror, sci-fi and even fantasy.

When it comes to the ending, some of you may think you have got it. Then you will have to watch it again to confirm your thoughts. But then you are not sure and will watch it again and again.

I can see why this was an instant cult classic, and it could even more than that. It is extremely well written and it produces incredible characters with dialogue you will believe in with a passion.

I can see this film will not be to everyone's taste, but it will certainly make an impression on you. I managed to join the majority and find it an incredible feat of movie-making. I would recommend it, but only for certain people, because I know some that will instantly hate this with a passion. But that is what makes a cult classic. Prepare yourself, as you will have never seen anything like this before.

Rating: 9/10

Requested Nostalgic Review: The Greatest Game Ever Played

Usually, a film about Golf does not appeal to the general mainstream audience. But with it being made by Disney, it attracted a decent amount of non-golfing fans.

But after watching it, you realise that Golf is not the central theme. It is a terrific tale of someone breaking the boundaries of social status in front of Americas finest.

More impressive than this 'great game', was its presentation of pure cinema. The whole movie builds great suspense and powerful emotions. There are some particular scenes that are just glorious to watch and were completely original that I have never seen in any other sports films.

Shia LaBeouf plays a solid enough role of Francis Ouimet to make him likeable compared to his other films. I personally don't think he is as annoying as other people say, but I can see why he is not liked. Elias Koteas as Ouimet's working class father plays it perfectly to the time period and his final scene with his son makes me cry every time. One great performance was Stephen Dillane's portrayal as the legendary Harry Vardon was a great surprise and just made the whole experience even more enjoyable.

I absolutely loved this film. Not because it was a sports film, but that it was very enjoyable, had me gripped throughout and was entertaining. It felt like watching an old fashioned underdog classic that would be a perfect movie to watch many times over for a family on rainy weekend. Not only is it a great old fashioned plot, but there is beauty in its presentation that just makes everything even better.

Rating: 9/10

Review: From Up On Poppy Hill

After finally watching the only Studio Ghibli left that I have not watched (My Neighbors The Yamadas), it was perfect timing for me to see their latest UK release, From Up On Poppy Hill.

This viewing is very special as I have to had to travel to my first ever Picturehouse. After being a regular at the local multi-plex, it was time to delve into the world of independent and foreign films. I have seen many, but never on the big screen and I was satisfied with my visit. I was amazed that a lot of it is used for non-film. For example, there were a lot people having lunch on one of the levels, and the whole place did have a perfect meeting place feel to it. After going up a few levels and encountering some very appealing movie memorabilia they were selling, I was set for my first Picturehouse movie experience.

It sadly was not a fantasy based epic which is the main reason why this company has become so popular. But their non-fantasy dramas are still worth watching, as is this one.

After mixed reviews of director Goro Miyazaki's debut with 'Tales From Earthsea', it was becoming an even bigger task to compete with his brother, the amazing Hayao Miyazaki. Thankfully, he has created something so funny, charming and refreshing for the studio after a few years of imaginative fantasy epics. Goro has really shown the spirit of Japan after WWII and before them hosting the 1964 Olympics.

There are the usual positives. The animation is truly amazing. The details of every single scene was a joy to watch and sights and sounds of Poppy Hill just felt like you were at the seaside. The characters that have been created, you instantly fall in love with. There are very clever sequences and they even make the dull scenes gripping.

The only negative that I could find was that the whole feel of it just is not the same as the fantasy ones. That being sad, it is still worth watching and definitely better then some of the features in Studio Ghibli's collection.

Overall, I was not disappointed. I am glad to see Goro Miyazaki is growing into a top director for the studio to use. It may not have that fantasy theme, but it is still a beautiful work of art and the whole story is very charming. After seeing this become a success, this has now given me confidence that Studio Ghibli can keep going once Hayao Miyazaki is no more. Can't wait for the next installment, The Wind Rises.

Rating: 8/10

My Top 10: Matt Damon Films

In most of the mainstream world, he is known for being mocked in Team America: World Police. But despite that, he is seen as a tremendous who regularly delivers every year in creating successful blockbusters for many different genres. From fairy tales and bank heists to war epics and golf, we have seen Damon grow up to become a huge star that will be remembered many years after he has retired from acting.

My top 10 shows how talented this actor really is and how successful he has been and will continue to be in the future. Out of his 58 films, I have seen 40 of them. I will rank all of the ones I have seen, and give a short review for each of my top 10:

40) The Great Wall
39) Ocean's Twelve
38) The Monuments Men
37) EuroTrip
36) Happy Feet 2
35) Ocean's Thirteen
34) Promised Land

33) Gerry
32) Downsizing
31) Elysium

30) Suburbicon
29) The Rainmaker
28) The Brothers Grimm
27) Courage Under Fire
26) Green Zone
25) Geronimo: An American Legend
24) Spirit: Stallion Of The Cimarron
23) We Bought A Zoo
22) Invictus
21) The Adjustment Bureau
20) Rounders
19) Contagion

18) Dogma
17) Jason Bourne
16) The Last Duel
15) True Grit
14) Behind The Candelabra
13) The Bourne Identity
12) Le Mans' 66
11) The Martian

10) The Legend Of Bagger Vance - Sadly a fictional tale, but a tremendous story about a down-and-out golfer trying to recover his game for the match of his life and this mysterious stranger Bagger Vance (brilliantly played by Will Smith) aids him by being his caddy.

There are some terrific lines in this film and it shows the mental side of golf and is a truly inspiring film.

9) The Talented Mr. Ripley - A quite regularly forgotten film but one of Damon's most underrated performances. Alongside Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow and Cate Blanchett, Damon takes the lead role and makes it his own.

As a young underachiever who is told to retrieve a spoiled millionaire, but ends up taking extreme measure. This is a surprisingly tense thriller that never gets mentioned. I hope people now go and watch this.

8) Ocean's Eleven - One of the very few re-makes that has bettered the original. This tremendously thrilling heist movie has great flow, lots of tense moments, witty humor and a great ensemble cast to go with it. Even the powerhouses George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts, Damon still competes well with him in his own way.

It is has a great mix of just about, everything. It appeals to everyone and is great film to kick back and relax.

7) Ponyo - Not a very well known role, but one that deserves to be.

Since all Studio Ghibli films were endorsed by Disney.Every film is now being dubbed and voiced by many stars. For Damon, he plays Koichi, the father of a five year-old boy who build a friendship with a goldfish called Ponyo, who is wanting to become human.


6) The Bourne Supremacy - Damon returns as Jason Bourne and continues to be on the run. After returning to the CIA, a botched operation has found Bourne wrongly seen as the enemy.

It is the beginning of a terrific series of thrilling crime action.

5) The Bourne Ultimatum - His third appearance as the tenacious Jason Bourne as he continues to try and find about his past whilst dodging CIA officials and agents during a new assassination program out to hunt him down.

Director Paul Greengrass continues to prove how well he can direct action. It is tense throughout and comes to a thrilling finale.

4) Good Will Hunting - A very successful film from the late 1990's and one of the few famous Robin Williams films that has him in a serious role. A story about a janitor working at MIT that has a gift for mathematics and finds help from a psychologist to find his purpose in life.

It is compelling viewing and makes you question yourself and make you drive to do more challenging ambitions.

3) Interstellar - Despite being initially seen as a surprise cameo, Damon's character of Dr. Mann manages to be an important minor role in Christopher Nolan's sci-fi epic.

It sees a team of explorers travel through a wormhole in space in an attempt to ensure humanity's survivial while the Earth suffers in the gradual loss of food supplies.


2) Saving Private Ryan - Playing Private Ryan, Damon is once again teamed up with a stellar line-up.

Directed by Steven Spielberg, this modern WWII epic brings a great blend of emotions at the front line even during the most brutal of action scenes.

1) The Departed - My favorite of the Martin Scorsese gangster films and his most successful after picking up Best Picture at the Oscars.

With actors such as DiCaprio, Nicholson and Wahlberg, Matt Damon definitely kept up pace with these talented individuals and showed how good he really is. Disguised as a cop helping out a well known criminal figure in the Boston area, his duels with DiCaprio have become legendary in film history.

Requested Nostalgic Review: The Untouchables

I saw this only a year ago, and it a shame that I had not seen it nearer the time. But I am glad I encountered this terrific gangster epic.

One thing I did not know, was that there was a TV series in the 50's and it is apparently quite true to the series. But there also some things missing from the series. I'm not too bothered as the film on its own, is fun and very classy.

I was impressed the set and costume designs. It did feel that you had traveled back to the 1930's. The whole experience was very entertaining and it is everything you need in an gangster action epic. One big element of the entertainment was the cross between the classy gangster look and the old fashioned shoot 'em ups.

The big plus points are the action sequences and the performances of Kevin Costner and Sean Connery. Great locations and the terrific cinematography during the scenes with the Untouchables and Capone's men is truly great action. As for the performances, Costner does an incredible job with his character. Connery's role as his mentor seems to be the perfect role for him at the moment. You really need to say how good DeNiro was as Capone as he has made a career in playing a gangster.

One thing you hardly notice, is the amazing score by Ennio Morricone. It's nowhere near as good as his score for the Dollars trilogy, but he still creates and exhilarating score that captures the feel of the film beautifully.

It is a great movie, and most importantly a fun movie. It may not be as good as The Godfather or Once Upon A Time In America. I love its stylish presentation, it is well made and just very enjoyable to watch. There is a great blend of action and comedy and that usually ends up being a film that a lot will watch many times over. I will happily recommend this, especially for a father and son (in their teenage years) to watch this on a rainy day or a Sunday afternoon.

Rating: 8/10