Review: Finding Dory

Any release of a new Pixar film should be treated with respect, have high expectations of and always has a chance of being one of the best films of the year.

This year we have a sequel to the highly beloved Finding Nemo, in the form of Finding Dory. The smash hit from 2003 is loved in many households all over the world. Amazing animation, such memorable characters and a thrilling story that never gets old.

Outside of the Toy Story franchise, Pixar have not quite made a sequel that can be as good as its original. Also, you have a feeling in the back of your mind whether they are just milking the profits, or if there really is a story to be told. With that in mind, the nerves can kick in. Especially with a film that has been propped on a pedestal of timeless classics. However, a film that can be that successful can always be able to make another good one.

Well I can say there is a story, and it is a surprisingly good one. When the trailer certainly hinted at a re-hash of the original story. The film itself definitely stands alone as its own thing.

You instantly feel great to be back under the sea again with these lovable characters. Whilst that is in motion, you begin to embark on a new adventure that is being executed quite well.
One thing that I am glad that I was not, was bored. It moves at a fast pace that I was not expecting. However, there was one part in the final act I could have done without or could have been executed better. But apart from that, the pacing and structure was much better and was a nice surprise.

There are some mildly distressing scenes that I was not expecting and I can see some really young kids being a bit scared by them. But I am personally fine with that, as I feel some kids need to experience some sort of level of being scared or distressed when seeing a film.

The parts that I found most interesting was how it portrays people with dementia and how people react with people with dementia really well. The way they resolve that is really funny, smart, clever and heart-felt and I hope others can see what I saw in that execution.
It also portrays life in an aquarium as a marine creature really interestingly. The shoe is on the other foot and it really makes us think twice about how we see animals in zoos/aquariums.

Ellen DeGeneres was fantastic as Dory. I was unsure if they could make her a lead character that can hold the film. Also, I was nervous that her gimmick of having always forgetting things was going to be annoying and not make her character compelling. But I was proved wrong, and I was rooting and caring for Dory the whole way through.
Albert Brooks and Hayden Rolence as Marlin and Nemo were a good support and definitely never felt that were trying to be the stars of the film. So props to the director and his team for having faith in having Dory as the main character.
Ed O'Neill was a great support as Hank. He definitely gave us a memorable new character. As did Kaitlin Olson and Ty Burrell as Destiny and Bailey.

A couple of the characters looked a bit too cartoony in terms of their design. But on the whole the design of the creatures was pretty much as good as the first one.

As with all Pixar films, there is that perfect amount for people of all ages to enjoy. There's some for the kids, for adults and for both. There is a solid amount of laughs. It had adventure, excitement and that heart-warming feeling.
I have always respected Pixar in their intelligent story-telling and it never feels that it has to down-grade themselves to make kids understand.

The only flaw I would give it is that the story does not have as much of an emotional impact like Finding Nemo or Pixar's other big successes did. I know it is a tough ask to be as successful. So with that being said, it still remains a top film to go and see with everyone and anyone.

With a part of me not being that interested in wanting to know the origins of Dory at the start. The film manages to gradually nudge you in, and eventually I was invested and I really wanted to know how it all happened. That alone shows how good this film is.

I must mention two other things. There is as always a short before the film. Pixar and Disney have been doing that for a while. This one was so sweet and lovely and I hope its gets noticed in the Oscars.
Also, I was not expecting was the post-credits scene. I managed to predict one half of it. However, the other half of the scene was a really nice surprise and made me laugh out loud. So it is definitely worth getting there early and staying to the VERY end.

Rating: 8/10

Review: Jason Bourne

After The Bourne Legacy, I was not sure if Matt Damon, let alone Paul Greengrass were going to come back to make another Bourne film.

The Bourne franchise has now become one of the best action franchises of all-time. Identity gave us a really good film. But I don't anyone thought it could so good that they will become film of the year contenders. Well, that is what Greengrass when he came in to do Supremacy and Ultimatum. Sadly, Legacy never came close to the quality of the previous three. But it remained to be a solid action flick.

Like with most blockbusters, I wanted to avoid trailer at all costs and leave my verdict to the screening that I attended. I was certainly pumped for this as Damon and Greengrass were back, and I know how good they can be.

The opening third really gets you stuck in and felt like it never left. The story moves along nicely and the quality and intensity of the action is still there. Then the final act gives us an exciting finale while giving us a full understanding of our new characters. The best thing about me purposely not seeing trailers is being pleasantly surprised at people like Alicia Vikander and Vincent Cassel making appearance in important roles.
There are three main action set-pieces. First one is so visceral and exciting . The setting is incredibly well put together and vintage Greengrass in terms of the realism factor. It sets us up nicely and it hints that the old ways of the people in the original trilogy are beginning to be eliminated. The second one is a solid one in terms of action. But it is more about the dialogue and character development. It begins to see the transition. Then the final set-piece is very fulfilling and we see the beginning of a new era for Jason Bourne.

Despite all that, it is not as good as the other three. I can be cruel and that say this was a disappointment. But I can probably guess that it is tough to make another high quality action thriller within this franchise. It is almost on a par with Identity for me. But with the story not as being as strong in this one makes this the least best of the Matt Damon Bourne films. I am not going to say the worst, because they are all good. But at least it is easily better than Legacy, even though that it is a solid film.
The story is pretty good for the most part. I like the development from Bourne and the surprise depth that was given to the villains. However, there was one part of the story that felt out of place and reminded me of the of why the latest Bond film Spectre did not rivet me.

The performances are great all-round. We all know how good Matt Damon is, and he is no different. It was great to see Tommy Lee Jones put in a good performance, which I have not really seen since probably Lincoln. Alicia Vikander was a nice addition and I can see her continue her strive into the mainstream films. Vincent Cassel gave us a nice minor role that kept me interested. It was great to see Riz Ahmed be part of the team, and while his performance was really good. The story felt a bit out of the way, and should have been more interesting.

Definitely the biggest negative was the dialogue. It was not as compelling as it has been, and became noticeable early on. It was a real shame.

But thankfully it is made up for the rest being great. The action is high-octane, the characters are interesting, the performances are great and the overall experience is a pleasing one.
It is not often that even though you have seen a really good movie, you still feel frustrated. It is just that with the Bourne films, you expect high quality all the time. Especially from Paul Greengrass. Some bits of the film do slow it down, and the story was probably not as engaging or special as say the ones is Supremacy or Ultimatum. But this is still a great watch and I would still put it in as one of the best films I have seen this year.

Rating: 8/10

Nostalgic Review: The Bourne Franchise

The Bourne franchise has become one of the most popular, successful and highly acclaimed action franchises of all-time.
At a time when the James Bond franchise was beginning to be at a low after the failure of Die Another Day. The timing of The Bourne Identity could not have been better. After a lot of positive reviews, sequels were on the way. Enter director Paul Greengrass, who managed to turn it up to a level that I was not expecting. The way he executed The Bourne Supremacy and Ultimatum was extraordinary. Not only were they the best films of the franchise. But they were best of the year contenders.
Sadly with Greengrass and leading actor Matt Damon doing other projects, The Bourne Legacy did not quite meet the high quality of the previous two.

But despite that. The is an important film series to the action genre. It managed to force the Bond franchise to change the way they do their films. Thankfully it was for the better, and that is thanks to this highly enjoyable film series.

Below is a short review of each installment of the Bourne franchise:

The Bourne Identity - A man is picked up at sea riddled with bullets and suffering from amensia.

What Matt Damon's character must do is find out who he is whilst running away from a group that need to kill him.

It's a great mystery action thriller and should be seen by every film-maker to prove that CGI is never essential.

Rating: 8/10

The Bourne Supremacy - Damon returns as 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 tense throughout and the acting, editing and cinematography elevates that to a place I never thought it would reach.

If you thought Identity was really good. Supremacy manages to turn everything up and some see it as the real beginning of the franchise.

Rating: 8/10

The Bourne Ultimatum - Many peoples consider this to be the best. I do as well.
Damon's third appearance as the tenacious Jason Bourne continues to try and find about his past whilst dodging CIA officials and agents during a new assassination program out to hunt him down.

Greengrass continues to show how well he can direct action. The action-tempo is spot-on and it sucks you from the very beginning. This was certainly the Bourne series at its peak.

Rating: 8/10

The Bourne Legacy - Easily the weakest one of the four. But still a solid action flick.

Jeremy Renner and Rachel Weisz play their roles well and the story keeps moving at a nice to keep you interested.

It has some action scenes especially in the final act. But sadly, it won't be that memorable.

Rating: 7/10

Jason Bourne - Matt Damon along with director Paul Greengrass return in another high-octane action thriller that does not fail to entertain you.

Despite the story not being as interesting as the first three, it is a great watch with great performances and memorable action set-pieces.

The future looks bright for this ever popular franchise.

Rating: 8/10

Review: Star Trek Beyond

Since its re-boot in 2009, the Star Trek franchise has probably been the most successful that it has ever been.

J.J Abrams and his team  gave us probably the best re-boot to any film possible with the cleverest story-line possible. Four years later saw the release of Into Darkness. While a group of people did not like it as they saw it as a re-hash of one of their favourites 'The Wrath Of Khan'. I still found it to be highly entertained and on the whole a very good film and one of the best films of that year.

The build-up and marketing for it initially was not promising. With Justin Lin directing, the trailer definitely had the tone of a Fast & Furious film, and many did not want the franchise to turn that way. Since then, it has thankfully improved and my expectations improved. But I was still unsure if it would even come to being as good as the previous two.

In a summer where virtually all of the big budget summer blockbusters have failed to be a huge success. You can always rely on Star Trek to give us something positive to talk about as this was a lot of fun.
This franchise continues to give us a great amount of fun, and that everyone has a blast watching it. It is certainly what you want out of a summer film. That warm and positive feeling you get from it has become a rare one with big budget films these days.

Unlike the previous two, it does take a while to fully invest in this. The first act was pretty solid. But I wasn't going nuts for it. The second act moved it up a few notches and I was beginning to get behind this. Then the final act brought everything together and ended up really enjoying it.

I love the respect this modern franchise has for its predecessors and with it being released on its 50th anniversary makes this a real celebration of this cult phenomenon. There were even some pretty emotional moments in this film that pay respect to the original cast which was nice to see.

The performances are still as entertaining. You can really feel them working as a team. Chris Pine still has that nice mix of Williams Schatner's performance and his own. Zachary Quinto might not have been at his best as Spock. But it is still thoroughly entertaining. Karl Urban was given a well deserved amount of screen-time. His performance as Bones always steals the show for me and all of that has given him a great amount of development in this one.
While the franchise has regularly looked at the relationship with Kirk and Spock. This one seems to concentrate on another character relationship that Trek fans will know well. While the development of Kirk and Spock have their moments. It was nice to see another duo take centre stage.
Simon Pegg and John Cho have their moments which is always a nice treat. Zoe Saldana was side-lined a bit in this one so it was tough to give an opinion on her performance. As for Anton Yelchin. It was always a tough watch whenever he was on screen. But he was given a great amount in the story and contributed nicely.

Idris Elba was a real surprise in the end. He was threatening and bad-ass throughout. But it was only until the final act when I felt him to be a memorable villain with real purpose and intent and be a well-rounded character in this film that I can believe in. Star Trek films seem to have pretty good or solid villains for all their films. With a lot of superhero films creating unmemorable villains. They should definitely take not from this franchise on how to do villains.

Another great new addition was Sofia Boutella's character. I saw promise in her in 'Kingsman: The Secret Service' and she was as bad-ass in Star Trek. I loved the make-up and design of her character and she has great moments of both action and comedy. She certainly never over-stayed her welcome and I would happily see her in more sequels.

I was glad to see Justin Lin prove me wrong. I was expecting to see too much Fast & Furious. In the end, you can see he had some guidance from other members of his team that have been part of the franchise. He treated this franchise with respect and never went over-the-top with the action that may have looked out of place.

Top writing by Simon Pegg and his team. He kept the magic of the previous two films in there and you can see his influence in the general feeling of the film.

Despite all this praise, it is probably my least favourite of the new ones. The first act is not strong or visceral enough to compete with the 2009 release and Into Darkness. It takes a while to get fully invested in. So I would be patient with this one. But it has terrific end results and is as entertaining as any other Star Trek film.

I must mention that when you go and see it at the cinema, stay for the first part of the credits to pay tribute to the lives of Leonard Nimoy and Anton Yelchin.

Rating: 8/10

Review: The BFG (2016)

It has been a while since director Steven Spielberg has released a film in the summer. Since 2000, only Minority Report, War Of The Worlds and Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull have been summer releases. Now we see Spielberg re-enact the famous Roald Dahl story, the BFG.

It is always a privilege to only see a new Spielberg film on the big screen. But also hear a new John Williams score, who has been Spielberg's regular composer.

This story of The BFG has had history within the world of film, as an animated version was made in 1989. It has been well praised and considered by a lot in the UK as something every kid should see. After re-watching it, I was highly intrigued to see where Spielberg would go with it, how true to the story it would be and if the story still transcends will with today's audiences.

Well, I am sad and shocked to say that I was hugely disappointed and a real let-down.

The first half was quite pleasant. Despite the over-longess of various scenes, I liked the introduction of our main characters, the look of it, the score was moving a long nicely, there were memorable sequences and the visual effects and motion-capture were quite impressive to say the least.

However, it was the second half that made the film falter in a dramatic way. The over-sustainability of the scenes were showing more and more and actually became boring at times. I was screaming in my head for something to happen. I don't mean an action sequence. I mean something to move the story along.
There were set-pieces in this that for me was unforgivable and had me shaking my head in disgust, and the final act was done a lot sooner then I thought it would. I was expecting a big climax. However, it just did it without a fuss from the antagonists which was odd.

Mary Rylance is the only performance worth giving praise to. With the addition of the quite perfect motion-capture work, it was a really strong and terrific performance. He definitely captured the wacky dialogue of the Roald Dahl novel.
Ruby Barnhill plays Sophie. She seems good at first. But in the end became quite annoying. So a bit of a mixed bag on her performance. I might in the end give her the benefit of the doubt as I can probably imagine that acting on your own on green screen is tough for any actor to pull off.

No other performance was worth mentioning or memorable at all. Not even the angry giants, which were not scary at all. Even kids will find them non-threatening. That made the film feel less risky, gritty, dark and too squeaky clean in the end.

By far the films strongest positive is the visual effects. This film really showed that it is now hard to distinguish what is motion-capture and CGI and what is real.

I was disappointed to see the world of giant country feel too nice as I imagined it to be. Previous adaptations had it as this baron wasteland where giants found it tough to find food. Also, it felt too small in terms of the geography. We never got the chance to explore the full scale of it all.

But in the end, the film was remarkably unremarkable. There does not seem to be any love, soul or enough magic to see as one of Spielberg's greats.
I cannot believe I am about to say this. But this is the worst Spielberg film I have seen and the only film of his back catalogue that I do not like. I don't know if my nostalgia for the 1989 animation has got in the way. But I felt the transition from book to film did not work for me, the pacing was incredibly slow, the childish humor in the second half was not funny at all, the antagonists felt so generic and frankly quite poor.

It is great to see Spielberg make films for kids again. But I will be surprised if today's kids rank this with great esteem like my generation did with Hook, Jurassic Park or E.T. A real shame for such probably the most celebrated director of all-time.

Rating: 6/10

Nostalgic Review: The BFG (1989)

It is always a bit of a nice feeling to review a film that is as old as me. I'm sure others feel the same way. It is strange the films that were released in the same year when you were born.

As for this particular one. I was surprised to see this was released in 1989. I thought it would have been slightly earlier judging by the animation. But considering this went straight to TV originally. That would make more sense.

The hand-drawn animation is great to look at, and the images it creates is that perfect mix of a bit too scary for kids and yet right for kids. It is certainly on of those films that would not have been made now. But I think it is these films that we need to show kids. Kids being scared I think should be an essential part of their childhood, and I think some kids will lose that feeling as a lot are being far too politically correct and safe these days.

Some scenes are obviously a bit dated. But thankfully, it's only a small amount of the film that feels like that. The final act which was always my scariest part of the film still delivers for me and ended up being a pretty satisfying watch.

I keep forgetting that David Jason voice the BFG, and the performance is a really strong one. The rest of the performances are good all-round.

The parts that hold up well the most is probably the soundtrack and the general scariness of it. The score still sounds pretty cool, spooky, romping and mysterious. A part of me will be hoping Spielberg's version to have a similar score. As for the songs, it will be interesting to see if those are brought back.
One thing I am really hoping for is for the scariness of it to remain in the re-make. This version still scared me and the tension remains throughout.

It might be my nostalgia winning me over. But I still had a great time re-watching this. Yes some bits feel that it was of its time. But the story was interesting, there is great imagination, the characters are well performed and great to watch and with every great fantasy story, there are a solid amount of scares.

Despite being excited about the re-make, I am now unsure if it will be a success as some part of the story might not transcend well to modern audiences. But I am confident in director Steven Spielberg in giving us another romping adventure that only he conjure up.

Rating 8/10

My Top 10: Star Trek Films

Since its beginning in the mid 1960's, Star Trek has become a cultural phenomenon and has become a big influence. Even outside of the science fiction world. The TV series has taken several forms. I was brought up with The Next Generation, followed by Deep Space Nine and then Voyager.

However, it all started with the Original Series. With a ground-breaking variety in its casting, Star Trek has been essential viewing in many households for some time.

1979 saw the first of many feature films that has evolved really into today's society. Many saw 2002's Star Trek: Nemesis as the last film of the franchise. However in 2009, director J.J Abrams fulfilled a life-long dream and brought it back to the big screens.

It has now become more popular then ever and has been discovered by many mainstream audience members.

As I have seen all of the Star Trek films, I have decided to rank all of them, followed by a short review for each of my top 10:

13) Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
12) Star Trek: Nemesis
11) Star Trek: Insurrection

10) Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country - The last feature film featuring the crew of the Original Series.

After being framed of assassinating the Klingon High Chancellor, Kirk and McCoy escape and are looking for the person who sabotaged their last chance of peace.

9) Star Trek: The Motion Picture - When a dangerous spacecraft is threatened to destroy Earth, Captain Kirk leads the Starship Enterprise to stop this intruder.

It is not that well received. However, I felt it to be a pretty good.

8) Star Trek III: The Search For Spock - After the events in 'The Wrath Of Khan'. Kirk and a small number of his crew steal the decommissioned Enterprise to locate Spock.

It also features Christopher Lloyd, which I completely forgot until I did this list.

It is pretty solid all-round and is a nice follow-up to one of the more popular films of the franchise.

7) Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home - To most people, this is known as 'the one with the whales'.

The Voyage Home is the fourth film in the franchise. With an alien probe approaching Earth, Kirk and his fugitive crew have been forced to go back in time to find the only species that can communicate with the probe.

It has good comedy that transcends well into a mainstream audience and is also one of the more accessible Star Trek films.

6) Star Trek Beyond - The latest addition to this historic franchise, and the film that celebrates its 50th anniversary.

When on a five year mission into dead space, Captain Kirk and the enterprise face an enemy that test what the Federation stands for. It's another great installment with another memorable villain played brilliantly by Idris Elba.

5) Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan - Seen as many peoples best Star Trek film, I definitely enjoyed this. But obviously not as much as the majority.

Kirk is pursuing an old adversary and preventing him from using a life-generation device as an ultimate weapon.

4) Star Trek: Generations - I know a lot of people will disagree with this, but I really enjoyed this one.

It sees the first feature film involving The Next Generation crew. Lead by Patrick Stewart as Captain Pickard, must locate the supposedly dead Captain Kirk and stop a mad-man planning to destroy a planet.

3) Star Trek: First Contact - Captain Pickard and his crew return to face one of the most deadliest enemies in Star Trek history, the Borg.

In their attempt to go back in time and prevent Earth's first contact with aliens, the Enterprise pursue them.

2) Star Trek Into Darkness - I am amazed at the amount of hate this one has because it attempts to re-do 'The Wrath Of Khan'.

I like the second installment of the original movies. But this was such a thrill ride and ended up being completely invested by it.

It has similar enjoyment to its predecessor and is as fun.



1) Star Trek - After all the hype, this is one of the few summer blockbusters that not only delivered. But quite possibly gave one of the best plots to birth a re-boot franchise.

It ended up being my film of 2009 and is currently in my top 100 films of all-time.

It is pure fun, great for both hardcore fans and people who have never seen a Star Trek film. Quite simply, the perfect reboot.

Review: Keanu

Comedy is one of the genres that I rarely pay good money to see at the cinema. However, this particular feature starring two actors that I have heard of interested me enough to go and see it.

Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele a.k.a Key and Peele have made there fame in America and nowhere else. From the little I have seen of them, they seem quite funny. However, it was more the story that I wanted to know about and the trailer gave me enough intrigue to see this on the big screen.

For someone who has never seen nor heard of this duo, I thought it was a good watch. The main thing I noticed was how knowledgeable on movies Key and Peele are as there were nice reference throughout. Also, it reminded me of those 90's action comedies that we either don't see often, or are not done well these days.

I like how Key and Peele worked together. I would probably say there are the adult version of Kenan & Kel. If you don't know who they are, then you were brought up in the wrong generation. It is not often that people getting popularity via television make a good movie. Most of the time these types of films feel like one long TV episode. However, this felt like a proper movie. It had a well-rounded story with dome decent characters, made me laugh a lot and had some nice surprises.

It is surprisingly well written, and I think it is its strongest positive. They poke fun at racial stereotypes and manage to do it in a way that is not offensive, which these days takes real skill. I will certainly look into more of their stuff from their American sketch show.

Outside of Key and Peele, the performances were pretty solid overall. I think Method Man as one of the villains was better then I expected, and it was great to see Nia Long make an appearance, just for my Fresh Prince Of Bel Air nostalgia. Also, I cannot forget to mention the super super cute kitten used as the character of Keanu.

Not many negatives to speak of. The final act is go a bit out of tone. But I felt they deserved to go there as the build-up was well executed. Also when you break it down, there are lots of sub-plots that don't get settled and leaves a lot of open doors. However, they do hint at one in the post-credits scene.

While it may not be the impressive, immersive or challenging watch in the world, I certainly had a good time. I really Key and Peele do more as I can see them be really good at it. It is certainly smarter then it looks, it is funny, I laughed a fair amount and it is heart-warming.

It is definitely the type of film you should see with friends and have fun with. It is a shame this is only getting a limited release over here, due to lack of knowledge of this comedic duo. Be sure to find this on DVD if you are unable to see this in cinemas.

Rating: 7/10

My Top 10: Will Ferrell Films

For just over 20 years, Will Ferrell has both been on our big and small screens. From his first big role in Austin Powers: International Man Of Mystery, to his big break on TV with Saturday Night Live, to creating one of the most iconic characters in film comedy in the form of Ron Burgundy.

Whether you love him or hate him, you cannot deny that he has become one of the biggest comedic actors of the 21st century.

I feel I have seen a fair amount of his films to do this list. Out of his 52 films, I have seen 22 of them. I will rank all of the ones that I have seen, and then give a short review for each of my top 10:

22) Kicking & Screaming
21) Bewitched
20) Zoolander 2
19) Land Of The Lost
18) Blades Of Glory
17) Daddy's Home
16) The Other Guys
15) Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me
14) Austin Powers: International Man Of Mystery
13) Everything Must Go
12) Semi-Pro
11) Talladega Nights: The Ballad Of Ricky Bobby

10) Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues - Despite being massively inferior to the first Anchorman, this is still a good movie that has a lot of funny moments.

The amount of gags are ridiculous and a lot of them work well. It is great to see Ron Burgundy back on our screens.

9) Old School - Three friends want to recapture their glory days and make their own fraternity.

This movie is jam packed with endless fun and Ferrell is leading the way with Luke Wilson, Vince Vaugh and Jeremy Piven not far behind.

Despite not getting much notice in cinemas. It has done pretty well since its DVD release.

8) Step Brothers - Two middle-aged guys who still live with their respective single parents are forced to live together as their respective parents are marrying each other.

The chemistry between Ferrel and John C. Reilly works so well and the silly comedy has solid execution to make this film entertaining.

7) Zoolander - A film that has certainly got more popular over time. So much is that we have a sequel, 15 years after the release of the original in 2001.

It stars Ben Stiller plays a washed up fashion model looking to clear his name and become the best in the business once again.

Ferrel plays fashion mogul, Mugatu.

6) Megamind - From Dreamworks Animation, sees Ferrell voice supervillain Megamind.

After finally defeating his arch nemesis, there are more heroes to fight. Now he means new meaning to his life. It's a clever twist on the superhero genre and definitely deserves more praise then it has.

5) Elf - One of the few modern Christmas films that has become a big favourite with the holiday season.

It's popularity continues to grow and it is thanks to Jon Favreau's directing and Will Ferrell brilliant performance as Buddy the Elf.

4) The Producers - A fantastic musical version of the 1967 original written by Mel Brooks.

It sees a pair of theatre producers purposely make the worlds worst musical to get rich quick.

With the stellar cast, Ferrell plays an eccentric former Nazi who is also a playwriter. A hugely under-rated musical that never fails to make me smile and laugh.

3) Stranger Than Fiction - A dramatic Will Ferrell role that when you see this, you instantly think "he should be doing more of these types of role!".

The story is unique, cleverly structured and executed. With Ferrell, there are also great performances by Emma Thompson, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Dustin Hoffman.

2) The Lego Movie - A film that looked like shameful publicity actually became a brilliant animated comedy directed by the always great Phil Lord and Christopher Miller.

Will Ferrell voices the evil President Business.

1) Anchorman: The Legend Of Ron Burgundy - One of the most famous and quotable film comedies of all-time.

Ferrell plays a top news anchorman that sees his job being threatened by a woman, in a time when men always had the big jobs.

The comedy in genius and the silliness of Ferrell and co works beautifully.

Review: Ghostbusters (2016)

I am actually amazed at how many people see the 1984 original as one of the best movies of all-time. It's a good fun film with a few laughs, nothing more. In fact, the sequel is probably as the good as its predecessor in my opinion.

As for this re-make, many of you know that the build-up and marketing for this film has gone pretty bad to say the least. With every trailer and TV spot not showing much promise and new theme song being ripped to shreds. A lot of people are giving this film so much hate, that they are not even going to see it and give it a chance.

I will have to agree that I have not liked what I have seen either. The main things is the comedy, the gags did not make me laugh at all and had me shaking my head. Some of the casting did not give me much promise. When I say casting, I do not mean because they are female. I don't mind that they have for an all-female re-make. I just think that there are better choices out there. Some female actors that I would have liked to have seen are Emily Blunt, Katee Sackhoff, Emma Stone or Scarlett Johansson to name but a few.

From the trailers, the only one that looks the part is Kate McKinnon, who I have never heard of until now. I've never been a fan of Melissa McCarthy, except for Bridesmaids, Kristen Wiig seems miscast and I am hating anything and everything Leslie Jones has done so far in the trailers. Even Chris Hemsworth does not look promising. The only things that I liked the look of, was the visual effects of the ghosts and some of the gadgets that I could see.

That being said, I went into the screening with an open mind like I do with all my films. And you know what, it was all right.

The opening scene brings in you in nicely and gives the film some promise. The early character development is pretty solid and I was found the characters believable in their aims and what they wanting out of this.
It moves a long nicely, even with some bits not quite working. I remained keen to see how the film would end and it was a pleasant final act.

The main thing going into what is a comedy, is to see whether it will make you laugh. For me, I laughed I would say fairly steadily throughout the film. Yes, some gags did not work, but some did. Thankfully the ones that didn't, did not make me shake my head in disgust. It just did not work for me. The good stuff did make me chuckle, and I was surprised at the amount of movie references it made which pleased me.

The writing is probably its strongest positive. It is sharp, it's witty at times and there is a lot of nice science tech talk like I remember the original Ghostbusters having, which I was not expecting.

The performances were pretty solid from every department and the chemistry worked fairly well. Melissa McCarthy and Kristen Wiig might not have been stand-outs, but they were certainly solid leads. McCarthy toned down the McCarthy most people associate with her, and we get a good team leader.
Kate McKinnon might not have totally fulfilled my hopes from what I saw of her in the trailer. But I still was entertained by her character. She does get a bit over-the-top. But it was a pretty good transition from her works on TV. From what I can tell, it is a pretty hard skill to move from TV into film.
Everything about Leslie Jones in the trailer was all one note and very annoying, and I did not think she would go anywhere. Amazingly, she is not annoying. Yes, there are moments that would have liked to get rid of. But I thought she felt like a valuable part of the team. I never thought I would actually type that about Leslie Jones.

Chris Hemsworth was really funny in it. He definitely has the best gags. They were so silly and random and yet very clever and well delivered. Some are just silly, went too far and did not work. But the majority of them were great.
I must mention that there is a lot of cameos in this, and in more ways than one. There are cameos of actors/characters from the original, references to quotes from the film. Some worked well, some didn't, and some were just truly awful. Even at times, they looked forced and it made the film's pace slow down. It is almost as if the studio told them to put one in every 15 minutes. I don't mind there being cameos. However, if they had toned that down a bit, they might have made the film stand alone by itself.

I won't mention many negatives as I think the film has had enough bad criticism already. Despite it being better than the trailer show, the good stuff just is not strong or memorable enough to put it with the best films of the year.

But thankfully, it is by far not the worst thing I have seen this year. The story was perfectly fine and felt like a Ghostbusters film. It was well developed, you knew exactly what was going on and it made me interested to see how it would conclude.
To those many haters that are boycotting it. Go and see it as it is a solid film, and with it being released in a summer where the big budget films have not lived up to anything, it is certainly one of the more memorable ones.

One thing that I certainly was not expecting was how they constructed the end credits. In fact, this could be a landmark moment for how big budget films conduct their credits. Most do fancy graphics for the first portion of the credits, and then the rest is just a black background and rolling text. Ghostbusters managed to make the whole credits segment worth watching. From a visual standpoint, it did something really interesting with the credits, that I hope a lot of future blockbuster films take on board.

Speaking of credits, there is a post-credits scene. It is certainly interesting. But I think it is gone down the route of many re-makes, which was a shame. However, I will be intrigued to see where they go with it.

Rating: 7/10

Nostalgic Review: Ghostbusters II

This was the film that introduced me to Ghostbusters weirdly enough.

I could easily say that this is inferior to the original. It is, but only just. This is a fun film that has much more fun action set-pieces then its 1984 counterpart. The main reason that I still find the original the better film, is that it better held, remains consistent and does not lose its way.

The sequels works, mainly because it is entertaining. Quite a lot of it easily still holds up for me. The many scary moments still scare me. The action is great to watch and the comedy still makes me laugh, including one involving the Titanic.

One particular action scene that I love watching, is the courtroom scene. It is really enjoyable and certainly one of the films big highlights, including the great one scene performance by Harris Yulin.

The performances feel better in this one then in the original. Bill Murray felt much funnier in this one and certainly got more laughs out of me. Also his chemistry with Sigourney Weaver is great to watch. All the other Ghostbusters continue to play their roles well. I've forgotten how strange Peter MacNicol is in his performance. However, he does have some pretty good lines of dialogue. At times he is very scary, including one scene with a pram. The villain played by Wilhelm Von Homburg was an odd choice in terms of the type of villain. However, the performance is perfectly fine. However, I think the type of villain used was the films weakest part.
Other minor roles to speak of is Kurt Fuller, who plays a great slimy character in the form of the mayor's assistant. Also, I had completely forgot that Kevin Dunn appears in one scene in this, which was nice to see.

The soundtrack sounds as great as ever, and I had forgotten how many songs are used, and that they all work really well.

The first film is widely seen as the by far the better one. I will agree with that. But, there is a lot to like in this sequel. Just some parts in the final act can get a bit silly or dated. The performances are good and there are a lot of memorable set-pieces. I really hope this gets the love that it deserves, now that a lot of people will be re-watching these films before the release of the all-female re-make.

Rating: 7/10

Nostalgic Review: Ghostbusters (1984)

I got introduced late to Ghostbusters. I think it was either the iconic theme song I heard first, or watching the enjoyable animated TV series.

What I do remember is that I saw the sequel before the original.

I remembered the main parts of the film. But there were plenty of small parts that I have either completely forgotten, or have only discovered now.

The majority of the film stills works for me. Things such as the build-up to seeing the first ghost is well developed, handled and executed. The introduction of our main characters in the memorable outfits is a great scene, that definitely gave me goosebumps. There are also some scenes that I am amazed got approval with it having a PG rating. However back in the 80's, stuff like that would occasionally seep through. Nowadays, that would never happen. I like stuff like this, that make me remember about those rebellious decades that made films great to watch. However, there are some scenes that feel a bit dated, mainly in some scenes regarding the performances and style of comedy. Thankfully, you don't see it that often enough to down-grade the overall enjoyment.

Speaking of performances, Bill Murray's brilliant as Peter Venkman, and easily holds up. His comedic style and timing is spot-on, and his character has such intrigue.
His screen partnership with Dan Aykroyd and the late great Harold Ramis is something special. Each of their characters personalities perfectly fits the tone, and you do feel that they have been working together for decades.
Sigourney Weaver's understated and sexy performance gives us a nice variety and pretty much taking the role of the audience to eventually makes us believe in ghosts and the occult in general. As for Rick Moranis' character of Louis Tully, it is nice little bit of comedic relief. It is also nice to see Moranis again. Like many, I really hope we see him again. Annie Potts as the receptionist with the smart mouth has some nice scene-stealing moments. Another role that does not get mentioned enough is William Atherton as the hilariously straight and annoying EPA inspector Walter Peck.

The writing is probably its strongest positive. Comedies these days just don't get writing like this anymore. With a silly premise, the writing seemed to give it some legs and a much more believable feel to it.
While comedy being the main theme of the film, there are some genuinely scary moments, especially in the second half of the film.

I know so many people see this as one of the best films of all-time. For me, its fun and solid watch, nothing more. It's still enjoyable now. But I still don't put in as high regard as many other people do.

Even with that in mind, I am still as nervous as everyone else is with the upcoming re-make that looks doomed to fail. However, I will still go in with an open mind.

Rating: 7/10

Review: The Neon Demon

I have had mixed feelings of Director Nicolas Winding Refn and his previous works. He is definitely what you would call, an experimental film-maker. A lot of his works gets polarizing views. I think these are the bravest types of film-makers. They are willing to do something quite risky, and you will either love it and consider it as one of the years best films, or think it's a pile of pretentious rubbish.

I really like Bronson and I appreciated Drive more than see it as the masterpiece many consider it to be. I have yet to see his others works. But it sounds like some work, and some don't.

However, what you will always get with Winding Refn, is a visual spectacle. The studio that he co-founded 'Space Rocket Nation' is used in production for only the second time, with Only God Forgives being the first one.

The trailer certainly looked like a feast for the eyes, the story looked like to have a lot of potential and the cast looked pretty solid.

It was certainly one of the most immersive and visceral cinematic experiences I have had in some time.
This film is certainly ballsy and goes into some dark, sinister and truly weird places. However, a lot  of the content did not feel pretentious and felt it was there for a reason. Whatever is happening, it certainly gives us time to appreciate the truly astonishing visuals.
The final third of the movie goes completely insane. It goes into a horror/fairy-tale tone. It does feel over-the-top at times, and it certainly shocked me. However, I thought it had the potential to go that way. It portrays narcissism, obsession of ones beauty and appearance in a pretty glorified and over-the-top manner within the topic that they are covering really well. If you have seen Black Swan and then see this, you will know exactly where I am coming from.

As well as Black Swan, another film that it has similarities, is Mulholland Drive. If you like the directors who did these (Darren Aronofsky and David Lynch), then this is certainly the film for you.

Elle Fanning was a great lead. Her character certainly has quite a transformation and it is quite un-nerving to watch at times. Jena Malone was a lot better then I thought she would be as the main supportive role. She certainly goes into some deep and dark places in this film, and I will probably never look at her in the same way again. There were also some sinister performances by Abbey Lee and Bella Heathcote. Whilst having strange motivations, I felt Keanu Reeeves' character was pretty good. The role seemed to fit in well for him. His delivery of lines had great authority and even had some comedic relief. It was also a nice surprise to see Alessandro Nivola be involved in a minor role.

Technically, it is phenomenal. The cinematography goes without saying. The use of colors is quite something and cinematographer Natasha Braier should be proud of what she has achieved. Also props to Erin Benach and Erin Ayanian and her team for the terrific costumes and make-up.

I did not expect the score to be so good. Cliff Martinez's use of synthesizers gave the whole film a really mystical feel to it throughout. It sounded similar to Blade Runner or It Follows, which is always a good thing as that is what I consider the former to be the greatest film score of all-time.

If you are someone who is complaining about no originality in Hollywood, then check this out. It does not matter if you end up hating it or loving it. Films that takes risks and that are different expect reviews like this. That is the point of experimental film-making.

For me, I was quite impressed by it. A lot of people will see this as a film that has style over substance. I can probably agree with that. It is not necessarily a bad thing. I love my visuals, and visual story-telling is a tough skill. However, I think the story worked for me and it gave the film some gravitas rather than just what you can see on screen.

As mentioned before, the visuals are stunning. It has metaphors that really stick with you, and I would happily put this on in the background at a party with the score being played as well.

If you like a more straight forward narrative, then stay away from this. However, if you like trying out films that are different, take risks, and rarely tell the story straight, then by all means see this right now, this second.

It has staying power, and it could well become a cult classic. It is incredibly strange and weird. But I managed to be quite captivated by it. This is certainly a film that I will remember for some time. I may move it up my films of the year list more and more as the year goes on.

Rating: 8/10

Review: The Legend Of Tarzan

I wasn't sure what to expect with this one. Everyone knows the story, so I knew what to expect and how good it could be. Also, with David Yates directing and the cast being pretty solid, I felt that a good film was potentially in there.

However with very little buzz surrounding it, I did not really know what sort of expectations to have for it.

Well I did say beforehand, that everyone knows the story. It ended up telling a story that I think the mainstream audience won't totally know. Even some parts of it I was not totally aware of.

I definitely would not call it a great film. But it certainly was better then I expected. I enjoyed the first half. There was some nice development with the characters and the story-telling. The second half did lose its way at times and eventually went all out in the big final act that I felt was rushed and could have been executed better. But I think the strong opening it had made me pretty satisfied with what I got, considering I was not that excited about seeing this.

Alexander Skarsgard for me was a weak lead. He felt to be there for eye-candy and nothing more. So you could say he did well, in terms of the physicality of the character. But despite some good moments, he did not feel strong enough to hold the movie as a lead on the whole.
I had no idea Samuel L. Jackson was in this. It is always a nice surprise to see him, as you know how good he is in pretty much all of his roles. For this film, I think he was a good solid support and has some o.k comedic moments. Margot Robbie I felt had the strongest performance. Robbie is certainly becoming a more polished actor and this film shows it and she gives her character a strong female presence that can make decisions for herself. Christoph Waltz was a pretty good villain. He had a solid amount of threat and did not anyway feel unforgettable once the credits started rolling. One minor role I would like to mention is Djimon Hounsou. He is always great in his supporting roles, and he makes the most of his little screen-time.

While on the whole, it was better then I expected. I still have to mention the negatives. It is not gripping and entertaining enough to be memorable, and that it in every department. The second half is not as strong as the second half. I think a lot of it is just there to sell the film i.e. put in action scenes for the sake of it.
I had mixed feelings on the visual effects. While the landscapes were pretty good, a lot of the animals were not as good as I have seen them in other films. Yes, we are being spoilt with CGI at the moment. But I'm afraid we are in an age, where you need to keep constantly improving the technology.

It was certainly entertaining and fans of the story and the character will benefit the most as they definitely respect the source material. However I think mainstream audiences might get bored, as the action only gets going in the second half, as they seem to concentrate on the characters which I was happy to see. Also, the story is probably not the one they expected or wanted.
I think what would have helped the film, is to have made the tone a bit more fun instead of being full-on serious.

But I think they did the best job they could for a story like Tarzan to be shown in 2016. The performances are solid overall, I liked the look of it, the score is good and most importantly I felt better after seeing it when I was unsure beforehand.

Rating: 7/10