My Top 10: Most Anticipated Films in 2016

2016 may be the year to find some hidden gems as most of the blockbusters are sequels, prequels re-boots or spin-offs. Some of these that are coming out in 2016 that missed out on my top 10 are Kung Fu Panda 3, The Hunstman: Winter's War, Alice Through The Looking Glass, Independence Day: Resurgence (which I am very nervous about), The Legend Of Tarzan, Ghostbusters (another one I am nervous about), The Magnificent Seven, Ben-Hur (which I am hoping is not a disaster), Pete's Dragon and John Wick 2.
One sequel that I would usually put in my top 10 is the upcoming Star Trek film, Star Trek Beyond. I loved the first two films that J.J Abrams directed including one that ended being my film of 2009. But with Abrams not on directors chair, I am now unsure about the appointment of Justin Lin. With the majority of his work being within the Fast & Furious franchise and the trailer looking like a Fast & Furious film, I am now nervous that this will not be as spectacular. I hope I am proving wrong.
We also have six superhero films. It also sees the beginning of the 'Marvel vs. DC' film franchises as DC finally begins its slate of franchise films. I can feel some superhero fatigue and that most of them are basically serviceable entertainment. However, I am still hugely excited to where these films go this year.

We also have a new Tim Burton film coming up in December, The Home For Peculiar Children.
There are a couple of new Disney films in the form of Zootropolis and Moana.
One film that has recently been announced is the highly-anticipated sequel to Cloverfield, 10 Cloverfield Lane. The trailer is doing the same as the first one, not showing much, but enough to make you want to see it. The perfect style of trailer-making once again.

This could FINALLY be the year where we see some good films based off a video game as Warcraft and Assassin's Creed are due for release. After seeing the Warcraft trailer, my expectations have lowered. But it still looks it could what I think is the best film based off a video game, Hitman.

We have a long-awaited new Oliver Stone film, Snowden. This was originally going to be released at the end of 2015. I'm not sure if it was because they wanted to pull out of the awards race or they were working on it. Whatever it was, you can always expect controversy with an Oliver Stone film.

Elsewhere, we may finally see Terrence Malick's new film, Knights Of Cups. It has been around the film festivals, but not on general release. I have heard negative reviews. However, the trailer still intrigues me, as does pretty much Malick film. There is also another Malick project for a scheduled release in 2016, but it is yet untitled.

Just missing out on my top 10 that I wanted to give honorable mentions to a couple of upcomign Marvel films X-Men Apocalypse and Captain America: Civil War, the Harry Potter spin-off Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them and the stop-motion animation Kubo And Two Strings which is directed by Travis Knight who helped with films such Coraline, Paranorman and The Boxtrolls.

Here is what my top 10 list:

10) Suicide Squad - 2016 is not only the year DC comes to the party, but it could actually be their year. A lot of their films beginning their cinematic universe look highly intrigued, and this could be the biggest gamble.
It sees a group of villains be recruited by a government agency help execute a few missions.

Release Date: 5th August

9) The BFG - It has been a while Steven Spielberg has done a popcorn-type feature.

Well in 2016 we will his version of the class BFG.

With the original being a big favourite in many peoples childhood, I am certain the masterful director will conquer this challenge.

Release Date: 22nd July

8) Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice - The title itself was enough for me. A film title such as this will definitely turn heads.

This huge gamble by DC to begin their cinematic universe will give us the indicator on where this studio is going with their film series.

Henry Cavil returns as Superman, but it is Ben Affleck that will be donning the cap of the dark knight himself.

Release: 25th March

7) 10 Cloverfield Lane - After loving Cloverfield, the trailer for the highly-anticipated trailer came out of nowhere and like the first installment, the trailer is getting everyone talking.
With producer J.J Abrams basically taking the helm, this sequel could give us answer those questions from the found footage hit from 2008.

Release Date: 18th March

6) Jason Bourne - The partnership of Matt Damon and director Paul Greengrass are back for another Bourne installment.

With Greengrass making the two best of the Bourne films (Supremacy and Ultimatum), we are to be set for another high-octane and tense ride with the former CIA operative.

Release Date: 28th July

5) Rogue One: A Star Wars Story - The first of possibly many spin-off's to the Star Wars saga.

The events take place between episodes 3 and 4 and sees a band of rebels looking set to steal plans for the Death Star.

It features star such as Felicity Jones, Mads Mikkelsen and Forest Whitaker.

Release Date: 16th December

4) Finding Dory - Apart from Toy Story, Pixar struggles to find that same magic in its sequel.

But with it being 13 years after Finding Nemo, I believe they have found a suitable story for this particular installment.

One thing you can always except from Pixar, is magic.

Release Date: 29th July

3) Deadpool - The superhero film that many have been wanting.

With it's themes being unsuitable for mainstream, this could be the alternative tone we have been wanting.

Ryan Reynolds reprises his role as 'the merc with the mouth' and after seeing bits of its promotional campaign, this could be something quite special.

Release Date: 10th February

2) The Jungle Book - From all the buzz I am hearing about this one, I decided to avoid the trailers as I was already sold.

Director Jon Favreau takes the helm of re-telling this classic story of a jungle boy living his early childhood in the jungle.

Release Date: 15th April

1) Hail Caesar! - One of the very few Coen brothers films I have been really excited about.

For most of their films, I seem to appreciate them more then be amazed by them, apart from maybe ''O, Brother Where Art Thou?' and 'Burn After Reading'. This one like the same sort of tone. Check out the trailer. It really does give you that feel-good tone.
It feels weird that I only have to wait until March to see it.

Release Date: 4th March

My Top 10: Films Of 2015

This is usually the most eagerly-anticipated post on my blog each year. A top 10 list of films of the year can give us a nice flavor on what the theme has been this year. We have seen franchises return, gripping true story dramas and novels come to the big screen.

I'm afraid I haven't seen every film from 2015. So some notable well reviewed and popular films that I have not seen are Love & Mercy, Grandma, The End Of The Tour and many others.

Also, some films that got a theatrical release in the UK this year were technically not 2015 films. They will not feature in this list but do in my previous top lists. So films such as It Follows, Predestination, The Tale Of The Princess Kaguya and every film that was released in January will not be making this list.

As usual, there were some disappointments. I was hoping for more from Macbeth, even though it is still an interesting piece. Tomorrowland: A World Beyond had a good two-thirds, but the final act put a dampener on what could have been a summer hit. The Good Dinosaur was one of Pixar's weakest, but still entertaining. Legend did not live up to the hype, but is still worth watching. Crimson Peak did not fulfill peoples expectations. However, it is still an intriguing feature with some of the most fantastic set and costume designs. 

Even Avengers: Age Of Ultron is being seen as a disappointment. It ended up being what many people thought the first Avengers would be, and that is bloated and having too many characters to give us time for an interesting story. Southpaw and In The Heart Of The Sea were fine, but could have been so much better.

Spectre was good but not great. I think the success of Casino Royale and Skyfall made this look worse. Black Mass was definitely the biggest disappointment of the self proclaimed awards contenders. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 sort of lived up to the expectations as the novel is also many peoples least favorite book. The Program could have been something special. But instead, the two Lance Armstrong documentaries gave us a more interesting story. Some of the worst of the films I have seen this year that had some hype were Pan and Jupiter Ascending. 

I still do find them a decent watch. But as I don't go to the cinema to purposefully watch bad films, these are near the bottom.

Down at the very bottom are Fantastic Four and Chappie. The former does have an interesting story. But I feel the studios unnecessary involvement gave us an a poor final act. As for Chappie, I got angry about this one. The more Neil Blomkamp films I see, the more I feel District 9 was just a fluke.

One the whole, the summer blockbuster season was as usual a disappointment. There are some exception which we'll get to later. But for now, I will defend Jurassic World and Terminator Genisys. Yes there are obvious problems with both of them. But I still had a fun time watch and they are both not the worst in their respective franchises. That honor goes to Jurassic Park III, and Terminator Salvation.

Some nice surprises were The Gift, a very interesting horror thriller. There were also Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation. It is amazing to see this franchise still bringing good fun popcorn flicks. I had so much fun The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out Of Water. Despite never seeing a full episode of the beloved cartoon, I was swept up in this odd world and had a great time.

A couple of indie films that I experienced was The Lobster and Me And Earl And The Dying Girl. Both films I would not usually go and see, but found really good things about it that made me enjoy these.

2015 saw watch a high amount of film documentaries. A few that came close to my top 10 of the year were A Syrian Love Story, Amy, The Esctasy Of Wilko Johnson and the brilliant Tyke Elephant Outlaw. If you liked Blackfish, then may I recommend Tyke Elephant Outlaw.

A big film missing out is the highest-grossing film of the year and possibly of all-time, and that is Star Wars: The Force Awakens. I have my reasons, and you can check them out on my review of the film itself, which remains my most read review ever.

Now to the awards contenders that missed out. I will begin with The Big Short. I seemed to appreciate more than love it. But I did find it an entertaining watch nevertheless. I really liked Bridge Of Spies, but I still feel Spielberg has grounded himself too much. His popcorn films are still his best work and films like this, Lincoln and War Horse will always be second best. As for the Best Foreign Language Film Son Of Saul, I really liked the cinematography and general look of it. Truly felt like hell on earth.

Now these are the films that I enjoyed a lot and would contend with any top 10 films of the year. But sadly there were 10 others that were better than this.
I'll begin with Sicario. A tense thriller that keeps showing how great director Dennis Villeneuve is. Cinderella really surprised. After initially not going to see it, I was given a months voucher at my local cinema as choose to watch this. Not only did I love it, I bought the DVD and have seen it three times. The first Disney live-action re-make that I feel gave us something different and yet still had that classic magic. I hope the next live-action re-makes step up their games after seeing this.
Like Cinderella, I was not going to see Creed. But all the buzz from America intrigued and this film has definitely rejuvenated the Rocky franchise despite it being basically the first Rocky film, but with a modern feel.
Straight Outta Compton was a really gripping experience. I knew a bit about this story. But not only did I learn a lot, it was expertly told with top performances. This ended up being a very well made piece of work.
I really liked the gripping Victoria. The German film done in one-take is quite an achievement whilst also being a highly entertaining and engrossing story.
Badlapur is a powerful India revenge drama that I was not expecting to like that much.
Despite Tale Of Tales being released in 2016, it is a 2015 film. Despite not really knowing what to expect, I ended up being pretty overwhelmed by this dark, twisted fairy tale that is brilliantly told with great performances.
I really enjoyed The Martian, and it deserves to be an awards contender. As does, The Hateful Eight. It might not be as strong as Quentin Tarantino's other works. But it still a great watch. A couple more that lost out was Joy, and Shaun The Sheep Movie. Anything that David O. Russell does seems to win me over, and Joy did that. As for Shaun The Sheep, I laughed as much as I did with any Wallace & Gromit film. It keeps that cheeky tone that manages to appeal to both kids and adults. Also missing out is Carol. A brilliantly made drama lead by two amazing performances from Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara.

Brooklyn also which just misses out on my top 10. A wonderful heart-warming drama based on the novel by Colm Toibin. Lead by the amazing Saoirse Ronan, it tells the story of an Irish immigrant looking for a new life in New York. It really takes you back to the powerful female lead dramas of the 1940's. Even the structure of the film felt old-school.

If this was a top 11, then The Danish Girl would have made it. Tom Hooper's beautiful looking drama about the life of the first transgender operation. What initially looks like 'Oscar bait', it manages to be worthy of contending for the awards, and that's just the wonderful leading performances by Eddie Redmayne and Alicia Vikander.
Every frame felt like a painting.

I must mention that Ex Machina was in this list at number 8. But it has come to my knowledge that it's first release was at the very end of 2014. So sadly, that makes that film a 2014 film.

Sadly, it is a top 10 and only 10 can make this list, and here they are:

10) Demolition - This may have been released in the UK in April 2016, but this is still seen as an official 2015 film. This ended up being a such a surprise and I was completely overwhelmed by it.

The perfect mix of heavy-hearted drama and quirky comedy made this a captivating watch lead by the always brilliant Jake Gyllenhaal.

9) Tangerine - Filmed entirely on an iPhone, this gorgeous look drama gives us many great performances from total unknowns and moves along at a surprisingly frenetic pace.

It's rawness and gritty vibe and colour palette gives it wonderful authenticity. It's definitely worth your time for something new and innovative.

8) Steve Jobs - Danny Boyle is back with this gripping drama about the co-founder of Apple.

With a movie all about dialogue, the writing by Aaron Sorkin grips you from the very first minute.
It also contains great performances from all angles. This definitely deserved to be a play in a theatre.

7) Mad Max: Fury Road - The action blockbuster we have been waiting for.
This visual wonder by director George Miller attracted a whole new audience to the Mad Max franchise, including me.
With a powerful female presence lead by Charlize Theron, this completely bonkers world manages to win the majority over. Plus, the high use of practical effects proves that we are getting bored of lazy CGI action set-pieces.

6) Spotlight - A gripping drama that tells a remarkable story that shook Christianity to its very core.

It sees a group of investigative journalists from Boston uncover a horrible cover-up involving the local Catholic priests.

It is a really well told with fantastic performances, from an ensemble cast and has a great documentary feel to it.

5) Inside Out - Pixar's first of two features this year. But the one in their usual slot, the middle of Summer.
This mind bending concept brought Pixar back into the lead as the best animation studio.
The characters are beautifully portrayed and developed and the ideas are used to its best ability. But most importantly, the feeling you get after seeing it reminds you of their classics. Welcome back Pixar.

4) Beasts Of No Nation - A harrowing war drama about a boy soldier fighting in a civil war in an unnamed African country.
It may be a tough watch, but the way it is done is beautifully made.

From the great performances from youngster Abraham Attah and seasoned pro Idris Elba to the powerful visuals, this is a risky piece that managed to be hugely entertaining.

3) The Revenant - After winning Best Picture at last years Oscars, you would think Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu would take a break. Instead, he has given another cinematic spectacle that deserves another Oscar or two.

It tells the brutal true story of frontiersman Hugh Glass and how he recovered from being on the very brink of death. It has amazing performances by Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Will Poulter and several others with the jaw dropping landscape of the snowy Montana and South Dakota mountain ranges as a backdrop.

2) The Boy And The Beast - A thrilling and emotional animated adventure from Japan's Mamoru Hosoda.

When a young orphaned boy stumbles upon a fantastical world of beasts is taken in by a warrior looking for an apprentice.

It's fun, exciting, powerful and I think great family viewing.

1) Room - Based on the popular 2010 novel by Emma Donahue, this gripping drama really went places I was not expecting.

With award winning performances by Brie Larson and 7-year old Jacob Tremblay, this is an emotional story with so much joy in it as well. This is probably the only film that I cannot stop thinking about after seeing it.

I think the less you know about it beforehand, the better viewing experience you'll have.

The 2016 DJG Movie Awards

After last years inaugural awards being quite successful, I decided to make this an annual tradition now to see if I can continue to get better nominees and winners than the Academy Awards themselves.
I truly feel that my nominations look so much better than a bunch of old gentleman in Los Angeles could create.

Like last year, there are a few of the categories you see in the Oscars that I have decided not to include as I do not have the knowledge of what is good or not e.g. sound editing, sound mixing.
But a have added and amended some as well merged. I have decided to change the actor and actress to male and female as everyone being called actors these days.
I have decided to merge my best original score and song categories into 'score and soundtrack' as there were not many original songs in the films I saw this year to make the award worthy.
I have also added the awards for production design, editing and merged the costume design and makeup awards into one as I feel I have understood more about categories after a further year of watching movies.

In total, I have 14 categories, each have five nominations apart from best film for which there are ten.

The category I always have trouble narrowing down to 5 is the best score & soundtrack. I am a huge fan of movie scores and I find it hard to pick a favourite. However, one other category has managed to end up with 6 nominations as I found it really tough to take one more away. That was for best supporting female.

Here is the full list of the winners and nominees. Let me know what you think and if you agree with them:

BEST EDITING:
Demolition
WINNER: Mad Max: Fury Road
Me And Earl And The Dying Girl
Shaun The Sheep Movie
Steve Jobs

BEST COSTUME DESIGN & MAKEUP:
Cinderella
WINNER: Mad Max: Fury Road
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Tale Of Tales
The Revenant

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN:
Crimson Peak
WINNER: Mad Max: Fury Road
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Tale Of Tales
The Hateful Eight

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS:
Ex Machina
Mad Max: Fury Road
WINNER: Star Wars: The Force Awakens
The Martian
The Walk

BEST SCORE & SOUNDTRACK:
Michael Brook - Brooklyn
Carter Burwell - Carol
Michael Giacchino - Inside Out
WINNER: Junkie XL - Mad Max: Fury Road
Daniel Pemberton - Steve Jobs

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY:
Mad Max: Fury Road
Tangerine
The Danish Girl
The Hateful Eight
WINNER: The Revenant

BEST SCREENPLAY:
Demolition
Ex Machina
Inside Out
WINNER: Steve Jobs
The Big Short








BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE:
Beasts Of No Nation
WINNER: Mad Max: Fury Road
Spotlight
Tangerine
The Revenant

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE:
WINNER: Alicia Vikander - Ex Machina
Kate Winslet - Steve Jobs
Rebecca Ferguson - Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation
Rachel McAdams - Spotlight
Raffey Cassidy - Tomorrowland: A World Beyond
Rachel Weisz - Youth

BEST SUPPORTING MALE:
WINNER: Idris Elba - Beasts Of No Nation
Oscar Isaac - Ex Machina
Benicio Del Toro - Sicario
Mark Ruffalo - Spotlight
Tom Hardy - The Revenant





BEST LEADING FEMALE:
Saoirse Ronan - Brooklyn
Charlize Theron - Mad Max: Fury Road
WINNER: Brie Larson - Room
Kitana Kiki Rodriguez - Tangerine
Anya Taylor-Joy - The Witch

BEST LEADING MALE:
Abraham Attah - Beasts Of No Nation
WINNER: Jacob Tremblay - Room
Michael Fassbender - Steve Jobs
Eddie Redmayne - The Danish Girl
Leonardo DiCaprio - The Revenant





BEST DIRECTOR:
Cary Fukunaga - Beasts Of No Nation
George Miller - Mad Max: Fury Road
Lenny Abrahamson - Room
Sean Baker - Tangerine
WINNER: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu - The Revenant

BEST FILM:

Beasts Of No Nation

Demolition
Ex Machina
Inside Out
Mad Max: Fury Road
WINNER: Room
Spotlight
Steve Jobs
The Danish Girl
The Revenant


Total list of winners
5   - Mad Max: Fury Road
3   - Room
2   - The Revenant
1   - Beasts Of No Nation
       Ex Machina
       Star Wars: The Force Awakens
       Steve Jobs

Total list of nominations
10 - Mad Max: Fury Road
7   - The Revenant
5   - Beasts Of No Nation
       Ex Machina
       Steve Jobs
4   - Room
       Spotlight
       Tangerine
3   - Demolition
       Inside Out
       Star Wars: The Force Awakens
       The Danish Girl
2   - Brooklyn
       Tale Of Tales
       The Hateful Eight
1   - Carol
        Cinderella
        Crimson Peak
        Me And Earl And The Dying Girl
        Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation
        Shaun The Sheep Movie
        Sicario
        The Big Short
        The Martian
        The Walk
        The Witch
        Tomorrowland: A World Beyond
        Youth

Review: Spotlight

I remember hearing about this film at around the start of 2015 and it definitely sounded like an Oscar contender. It has the right sort of actors and a Oscar-esque storyline.

Thankfully, this does not feel like 'Oscar-bait'. This gripping drama deserves any award going for them

This films tells us an important story that has grown into something so astonishing that I could feel everyone in my screening that I was in puff out their cheeks in amazement.

Another thing that this film gives, is basically a love letter to investigative journalists. They are the type of journalists that we should respect more often as the tabloid style journalists has given the profession a bad name.

The main reason this film is a captivating watch, is the script. The story gives the film its biggest positives.  The style of information we find felt more like a film documentary. I admired that hugely as the high-quality story-telling meant that it did not have to dramatize any of the events or make the characters seem like heroes, as the story itself is shocking enough and it made the characters feel real.

The cast is the perfect example of an ensemble as there are no true leads. They are pretty much all supporting each other, with terrific end results. If I had to pick a lead, it would be Michael Keaton as he plays the characters that leads these band of journalists. His performance is pretty solid. But I think the stand-out was Mark Ruffalo. His most outstanding performances of this dogged character really showed in Ruffalo's face and voice. You really believed his characters passion in uncovering this astonishing story.
Other notable performances were Rachel McAdams, Stanley Tucci who always gives us a great supportive role and Liev Schreiber, who does a great job at his wonderfully under-stated performance that we hardly see from him. A final mention should go to the various people who played 'the survivors' in the film. They did an amazing job.

In the end, I'll repeat myself by saying that this deserves to be part of the awards season. The script is phenomenal, its portrays this unbelievable true story incredibly well that the mainstream audience can engage with. It does have a tough subject matter, but my goodness is it worth it.
The final few moments before the credits shocked me and you could feel it from everyone else in the screening that I attended.
Props to Tom McCarthy as his directing prowess slowly intensifies really well and makes the structure of the story a perfect one for us to understand. This definitely has the feel of a Best Picture winner.

Rating: 8/10

Review: Youth

This is my first experience of director Paolo Sorrentino. However, I do have The Great Beauty on my watchlist which I have great things about.

I was going into this with unsure expectations. But after seeing this, I am now looking forward to anything else he has to offer as from the opening scene, I felt I was in safe hands. The film gives us a fascinating story with very poignant and profound themes, very interesting dream sequences and top performances that ended with one of the most powerful ending scenes I have seen in a long time.

While all that is happening, the unreal cinematography by Luca Bigazzi makes it gorgeous to look at and overall it gives us a beautifully crafted drama. Every frame felt like a work of art.

The ensemble cast do a fantastic job with all of their performances. Michael Caine leads the way and he does what he does best. However, I felt it was the supportive roles that made this film as enjoyable as it is.
Rachel Weisz was terrific and it seems 2015 has been her comeback year. With this and The Lobster been such great successes, I hope we see more of her. One other actor that I am glad to see do so well again is Harvey Keitel. It has been a while since I have seen Keitel deliver such a great performance.
Jane Fonda was also a real scene-stealer in this. Despite only being in for two scenes, her presence definitely resembles that of Glorian Swanson's performance in Sunset Boulevard. Other honorable mentions go to Luna Zimic Mojovic, Robert Seethaler and Madalina Ghenea.

The only negatives that I would mention is that some of the avant-garde sequences did not quite work for me and felt out of place. But I may warm to the them once I see more of Sorrentino's work. But for now, those parts were troublesome.

After being unsure beforehand whether I would be confused by it or not was totally washed away early on. I really enjoyed Paolo Sorrentino's style of directing. It definitely won't be too everyone's taste as it can get a bit too avant-garde. But from what I am hearing, this is probably Sorrentino's most accessible film. So if you feel like you want to dip your toes into something new, this is could be a good one for you.
It has some solid comedy, terrific visuals, multiple memorable performances and as I mentioned earlier, a final scene that was so powerful that the people in the screening with me did not leave until the very end of the credits.

Rating: 8/10

Review: The Big Short

Who'd a thought that the director for the two Anchorman films, Talladega Nights, Step Brothers and The Other Guys would make a film that could make a film that is generating so much buzz that is involved in this year's main awards.

Well, Adam McKay has found a story he has been wanting to tell for some time.
A film about a group of men that noticed long before anyone else, that the world's housing market was going to collapse does sound like the type of film McKay can make into one of the most entertaining films of this current decade.

From the very beginning, you can tell that you are about to delve into a world full of complicated jargon. But luckily, McKay and his team manage to simplify in a way that is cleverly comical, and yet still makes us having to really concentrate on what is going on.
Whilst it is making me laugh fairly regularly and making learn about this type of business, I could not seem to warm to it enough to place this among the best films of the year. Was it too complicated to understand, did it insult my lack of intelligence on this particular subject, was it pretentious? Let's see.

I did like the style it was going for. Breaking the fourth wall and explaining the crises in layman's terms had a Wolf Of Wall Street feel to it, which excited me. It was the perfect way of simplifying the jargon with that amount of clever comedic elements to make it accessible to the masses.
But despite all that, I still felt incredibly dumb afterwards and confused on how to react to the decisions our characters were making, especially in the second half.

Also, I think the main problem for me not liking it as much the awards voters is the tone. It felt like it was trying to be every type of genre possible. One minute, they're trying to make you laugh, then cry and feel sympathetic the next. But whilst trying to make sense of how the crises happened, I felt unsure how to react. It was frustrating me.

But thankfully, there is a lot to like. The writing is the films strongest part. To make something so complex into highly entertaining and mainstream approved deserves admiration. The comedy is great and has that McKay feel to it in every gag.

The performances were pretty good overall. Christian Bale may not have given us one of his best. But you know his acting is high-quality and you should always be grateful for it. Steve Carell was the best of the lot. He played a prick, but a prick that is honest and we can root for. Carell is a regular with McKay and fit into his tone so easily.
Ryan Gosling was very entertaining and definitely branched another part of his acting arsenal. He gives us a lot of laughs and was a wonderful helping hand in explaining to us what all this jargon means. As for Brad Pitt, it is nothing much. His name might be on the poster, but the character he plays is not actually one that steals the show.

Despite the problems I had with it, the presentation of this astonishing story made me really care about something that I have no interest in. It definitely made me want to find out more about this particular story and the crisis itself.
But the execution of it felt frustrating to me, the pacing felt inconsistent and the editing felt really odd. The writing thankfully kept me engaged and got me to appreciate it enough to recommend this. It sort of reminded me of Moneyball, which is the funny as these two films have the same author of their respective novels.

Confusing, and yet interesting is how I would describe it in as shorter way as possible.
It might not be as all-round entertaining as I hoped. But it is still a very powerful movie with a story that needed to be shown to the world, and boy does it make you hate bankers even more.

Rating: 7/10

Review: Creed

I definitely would not call myself a Rocky fan. When I heard that the first Rocky film was a Best Picture winner, I was shocked to hear that. The film is really good, but not award winning by any means.

As for the rest of the films, the second one is fine, and I could happily never watch the rest again. When hearing about this latest installment, I wasn't originally going to see it as I am not fussed on the franchise.

However with the huge amount of buzz coming from America, I felt that I could not miss this to see what all the fuss is about.
The trailer did not entice me. So I was going in with low expectations.

I can safely, that I now feel 'Rockyfied'. The entire film brought me right back into the first Rocky film, but with a feel for the new generation.

1976 saw the rags to riches story of Rocky Balboa. Fast forward to 2015, we now have a young man looking to find his place in the world whilst holding the name of possibly the greatest boxer of all-time.
It is a wonderful crowd-pleaser with enough classic sport movie cliches and heart-warming moments to make those similar themes still feel emotional.

Director Ryan Coogler has made a film that feels like a love letter to the first Rocky that contains a lot of passion and poetry that gives this series a refreshing look and hope for sequels.

Michael B. Jordan is a great lead and I feel he can give us a new film sporting hero. Sylvester Stallone is well deserve of the awards buzz he is getting. A bit like Harrison Ford in 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens', you felt like we were seeing the character and not the actor just here to get the pay-cheque. Tessa Thompson gave us a nice under-stated performance as the love interest as well.

The only negative worth mentioning is the final fight (as there always is). It still does have that pantomime feel to it, which was one problem I always had with these films. But I was happy to let it go as they deserved to go that way as the build-up to that was well done enough for them to go back to that style of Boxing we saw in the previous features.
Thankfully, there is one fight scene halfway through that is executed so well that I want future ones to try and be as different as that. Once you see it, I hope you can see what I mean.

The only bit in the technical side that I want to mention is the soundtrack. It gave nice subtle tones of the original themes that had smiling and getting goosebumps, which I never thought would happen.

In the end, this is clearly a re-boot of the original, but for a new generation. I think I may also fit into that category and I must say that I am now excited for the next installment.
Creed may resemble the first Rocky, but it is the right content that still makes it exciting viewing. We see its charm, honesty and struggle of our main characters that made the Rocky from 39 years ago so successful. Unlike Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the execution of the nostalgic and plot familiarities is executed much better in this one compared to the seventh chapter of the space opera saga. With some people saying the previous film Rocky Balboa was the perfect send-off to the character, Creed is that film for me and now we now have a changing of the guard.
It just makes you want to go running up some steps and punching the air in delight all over again.

Rating: 8/10

My Top 10: Alan Rickman Films

For almost the past 40 years, Alan Rickman has been one of the most talented British actors of all-time. With his many memorable performances on both stage and screen bringing delight to others, this list is surely going to be a tough to do.

When looking back at his filmography, there are so many that you either remember, forgot or have yet to discover.

Out of his 47 films, I have seen 22 of them. I will rank all of the films I have seen, and give a short review for each of my top 10:

22) Gambit
21) A Little Chaos
20) Eye In The Sky
19) Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets
18) Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban
17) Alice In Wonderland
16) Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves
15) Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone
14) Hitchiker's Guide To The Galaxy
13) Truly Madly Deeply
12) Galaxy Quest

11) Dogma

10) Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix - The fifth of the Harry Potter films and Rickman is back as Severus Snape.
While Harry is being target by Voldemort and the ministry, Snape's role in this film sees him helping Potter counter Voldemort's power over Harry's mind. We also see a more vulnerable side to Rickman's character.

9) Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince - So much better then I expected. For what is effectively filler before the last one, there is actually a really nice charm to this one.
Rickman is as back as Snape, and he is given a very important job, that will see his loyalties pushed to the limit.

8) Love Actually - One of the few rom-coms that won me over.
It follows the lives eight couples just before Christmas in London.

Rickman plays a managing director who begins to have an affair with his secretary.

7) Sense And Sensibility - A wonderful romantic drama directed by Ang Lee that won an Oscar for its screenplay.

Rickman plays it wonderfully as Colonel Brandon who is one of the many bachelors looking for the hand one of Mrs. Dashwood's three daughters.

6) Snow Cake - Only recently seen this and found it to be a fascinating watch.

When a tragic accident occurs, an unlikely friendship between a man and an autistic woman begins.

It is touching, dramatic, emotional and feel-good all at the same time. Rickman and Sigourney Weaver as the leads are terrific together.


5) Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2 - The final installment of the Harry Potter series comes to a thrilling finale and we see Rickman's character becomes more important in this story then we could have possibly imagine.

It is a thrilling and well executed final chapter to the series.

4) Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire - What I consider to be the best of the franchise.

The Tri-Wizard tournament comes to Hogwarts and competing schools are invited to compete. But when Harry is mysteriously entered despite being under-age, suspicion rises.

Rickman as Snape may a small role in this one. But he contributes enough and even gets a couple of comedic moments.

3) Perfume: The Story Of A Murderer - Not widely known by the mainstream audience, but a terrific crime drama about a man creating the world's best perfume. However, his work to find the ultimate scent takes a dark turn.
I'm a big fan of director Tom Tykwer and seeing this confirmed it for me.

Rickman plays the father of our main characters love interest.

2) Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street - Tim Burton's horror musical tells the story of a barber returning to London to seek revenge after losing his wife.

Rickman plays the intimidating Judge Turpin who our main character (played by Johnny Depp) is looking to exact revenge on.

1) Die Hard - The role that started it all.
It is hard to believe that Rickman's first role in a feature film was to be one of the most iconic action villains of all-time in the form of Hans Gruber.

One of the most popular films of the 1980's and of all-time. It's perfect mix of high-quality action, well developed characters and slick writing sees this one hell of a thrill ride that we just do not see anymore.

Review: The Hateful Eight

A Quentin Tarantino film is always a must-see event in any year.
His contribution to cinema has made him one of the most talked about directors around.
When you hear Tarantino, you know exactly what you are getting.

With The Hateful Eight, it has definitely had a troubled time being made. That is mainly due to part of the script being leaked and Tarantino initially scrapping this project. But with a lot of the actors involved wanting to still make this, we now have another Tarantino extravaganza.

The entire structure felt like I was back during the Hollywood golden era. From the overture at the beginning to the interval, Tarantino always shows his love for film in all of his features.
A violent version of 'Clue' with a western touch begins to develop throughout the first half of the film and I am enjoying these well written characters. As we get to understand more about the reasoning for our characters being in this situation, the first half ends with a scene that had me feeling ice-cold.
As for the middle, I didn't mind the interval as it is nice to experience one to give me that feel of nostalgia. What would have given that true nostalgic factor was to have the music of the film being played during the intermission like they used to do.
The second half goes a bit standard Tarantino but lingered a bit too much on the pacing and the three hour duration does begin to show.

The biggest positive with any Tarantino film is the writing. It is like Tarantino has transports himself into each character. The heavy use of dialogue is what makes a Tarantino film great, as this is no exception.

Also with Tarantino films, he can get so many good performances out of actors you would never expect to get one from.
Samuel L. Jackson was an awesome lead. We don't see him take the lead that often. Jackson is usually known for stealing the show as a supportive role. But I felt he took control of this film really well and his past work with Tarantino shows he is on the same page as the director in where they are going with this film.
It was great to see Kurt Russell remind us how great an actor he has been. Tarantino is well known for giving actors a second career and it will be interesting to see what Russell does next. Jennifer Jason Leigh was the only main female character and I think she contributed well and gave a memorable performance that fitted in well with the tone. Walton Goggins was a nice surprise. He showed promise in being a minor character in Django Unchained. Now Goggins has been given more screen time and like Christoph Waltz, he was born to be in a Tarantino film. One performance that I had so much fun watching was Tim Roth's. You can also tell that he was having a good time playing that role. Michael Madsen wasn't memorable. But it was nice to seem as he has been in a fair few of Tarantino's films. Bruce Dern was a solid support and I think he should have been in more features with Quentin. Channing Tatum was a nice surprise and I completely forgot that he was cast in this. It was also nice to see Zoe Bell again after seeing her in Death Proof.

Other positives worth mentioning was the general look of the film. It is gorgeous to watch and the choice of location looked great on the camera lens that has been making headlines. For anyone who doesn't know, the camera lens that Tarantino used is the exact same one used for Ben-Hur.

It was great to finally see an original score in a Tarantino film. The composer turns out to be Ennio Morricone, who is well known for doing spaghetti western themes. It is as great as you would expect it to be. One particular highlight was the haunting overture with the snowy backdrop. It felt like we were given a warning of what is yet to come.
One thing I forgot about Tarantino, is how well he does comedy, and there is a lot of funny moments. I felt I was regularly laughing throughout the three hours and there was never any intentional comedic moments that failed to make at least smirk.

As for the negatives, there are only three worth mentioning. It is definitely too long. A bit like Django Unchained, three hours was totally unnecessary and felt forced just to make us feel like we're back in the 1950's.
Thankfully, a lot of the stuff in Djano is strong, highly memorable and has great re-watchability. The good stuff in The Hateful Eight is very good, but not as strong or memorable enough compared to something like Pulp Fiction, Inglourious Basterds or Kill Bill.

One thing that Tarantino is known for doing, is not quite getting the execution of the ending right. There are a few exceptions, but a bit like Alfred Hitchcock, endings is not his forte. The ending in The Hateful Eight felt slow and lingered too much on the event happening in the final act.

Yes I felt it was really good, is definitely worth watching and must be seen on the big screen for the gorgeous cinematography and production design of it all. However with it being Tarantino, he has a high-quality back catalogue and a huge reputation of making instant classics.
The good stuff in this just did not feel as strong as his other works, and like I said earlier, this is me only being picky.
But the main thing is that it does feel like a Tarantino feature and fans of his style of film-making like myself will love it and have fun with the story and characters.

Rating: 8/10

Review: The Revenant

After winning the Best Picture at last year's Oscars with Birdman, you would think director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu would take a break.
However, the Mexican film-maker seems to have wanting to do this particular project for some time.

We see him and his team travel to the snowy Montana and South Dakota mountain ranges for a brutal story based on true events.

There have been stories about the troubled time they have had filming this. But after seeing it, you will forget all that and be in awe of what they made, because it is quite simply a cinematic spectacle.

The opening sets the tone for the film perfectly and gets you in the mood straight away which was great to see. The use of long-tracking shots takes you back to Birdman, and yet it felt refreshing as the backdrop is perfect for those long takes you witness throughout the film.

As we begin to know our characters and their situation, you can almost feel the brutality of the environment and the experience ends up being really immersive, visceral and even hypnotic.
Then the final act builds up to a tense finale that had me on the edge of my seat feeling quite tense right up to the final scene.

Even with this film probably containing the most impressive visuals of 2015, the performances are still crucial in making this a success. What we get is a fantastic amount of performances by everyone involved.

With most of the buzz being centered on Leonardo DiCaprio's performance that could finally get him the Oscar, it is certainly living up to the hype.
Leo gives us a spectacular no-hold-barred performance that will certainly give him a nomination despite it being mainly physical rather than dialogue driven. The stuff you see him do on screen will definitely make you think afterwards, that if he does not win the Oscars, then I'm afraid he will never win.
Leading the support is Tom Hardy who will certainly have a say in the major awards for best supporting actor. He always gives us tense and physical performances and this one is no different. 2015 has certainly been quite a year for the Brit as he has also starred in Legend and Mad Max: Fury Road.
Another actor that has featured in many of the years most successful films that plays a small part is Domhnall Gleeson. With performances in Ex Machina, Brooklyn and Star Wars: The Force Awakens to boot, Gleeson gives us another solid display.
One supporting role that I was pleased to portray well on screen was Will Poulter. After shining as a kid in Son Of Rambow, we seem to have seen Poulter every so often. Hopefully this could give him a second breakthrough.

Despite all these top performance, the true star of the film may be the landscape that everyone is involved in. Nature is a powerful and honest thing and when it is shown right, it feels like you are watching a David Attenborough documentary. Also having the entire film shot in natural light shows the real beauty of this snowy environment.

Another technical part of the film that still manages to enhance the film even more is the score by Ryuichi Sakamoto, Bryce Dessner and Carsten Nicolai. It is quite haunting and almost had stints of Bernard Hermann's classic scores.

To find negatives to the film, I would have to be picky. The story itself is not the strongest part. But I think the simple story gives you time to appreciate everything else, which reminded me of Mad Max: Fury Road. Also, some sequences may be seen as pretentious. But I think that will be a personal negative rather then a general one for me.

This is certainly an impressive piece of work that needs to be seen on the big screen. Inarritu shows how much of a cinematic director he is. I really enjoy his way of directing that even has moments that reminded of Terence Malick's style of film-making in this one. He has given us a great vision of the harshness of nature and what people do to survive, especially when they have something to fight for.
It will be interesting to see if this can have a life on the small screen.

It is a visual spectacle that is enhanced by DiCaprio and Hardy's performances. Also, the way nature is visualized felt refreshing and I was totally invested in everything on screen.

It might not be as high-octane as the trailer suggests, but it certainly is tense, moving and a visual wonder.

Rating: 8/10