Review: Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children

Any Tim Burton is always eagerly anticipated. He has certainly created a big fan-base all over the world. His strange gothic tone to most of his films, have pretty much created his own sub-genre. We know what to expect and who is usually involved.

Sadly in this one, there is not Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, or even Danny Elfman doing the score.
Instead we get, Asa Butterfield, Eva Green, Samuel L. Jackson, Terence Stamp, Chris O'Dowd, Judi Dench, Rupert Everett and Michael Higham and Matthew Margeson doing the score.

The trailers did suggest that Burton is back on familiar territory and we would be seeing an enjoyable feature.
It does have a lot of your usual Burton strengths. The production design is great, and the general imagery is haunting enough for kids and dips its toes into pure grossness that will challenge them.
But I think the execution of the story and general pacing has made this film not that memorable, despite having a lot of real potential.

Thankfully, the performances on a whole were not a problem. Eva Green played her role well and fitted the tone nicely. It was over-the-top and slightly eccentric. But there was enough to fit in with Burton's look and feel.
Pretty much all of the child actors lead by Ella Purnell, were great. It took me a while to warm to Asa Butterfield. He has his wooden moments, especially in the first act. But I think I was eventually fine with him. It was just a shame his character was not very proactive and was too busy asking questions instead of being the hero.
Samuel L. Jackson did as well as we know he can. He played the villain role well. It was pantomime. But not too much to be just silly. The only other minor role I wanted to mention was Terence Stamp, as he seemed to fit the tone well. It almost reminded me of his performance in The Haunted Mansion.

Despite Elfman not being present, the score managed to sound Elfman-esque which was nice to hear.

I'm afraid there are a fair few negatives to speak of.  The pacing was a the films biggest one. It felt stretched, and I think if it was a little bit rompier, we could have had a really enjoyable romp. I think the main fault of that was in the editing department. It seemed to linger too much on every scene in general.
The final act does get a bit silly. While it is nice to see shots of Blackpool as I live in a neighboring town, the scenes were not that well executed and it made the final act a bit crazy and silly whilst still linking well with subtle hints that were shown in the first two acts.
There ended up being some plot holes towards the end that I still struggling to work out even now.

However, there are some nice surprises. I liked the ideas that they try and go for and I enjoyed admiring the character designs. But it is never fully realized.

In the end, it is fine for the most part, and ok for the rest. It's trying to be a really cool fantasy adventure. There is clear potential for this to be a success. But it ends up being just about passable. While it looks good and has its moments of high entertainment, especially in the second act. It ends up being a bit muddled and not that memorable. There were certainly no moments that I felt were terrible and it is definitely not Burton's worst.
But I would call this, a missed opportunity. I would still look out for Burton's next venture.

Rating: 7/10

Review: Deepwater Horizon

I think quite a lot of us remember the tragic incident of the Deepwater Horizon back in 2010.

Seeing the images of an oil rig in complete flames, while oil is spilling all over the Gulf Of Mexico shocked the world. It is clearly the worst oil disaster in U.S industry.

However for this film, I was not totally excited for this. But I was still expecting a solid film with nothing exceptional or memorable.

I managed to end up walking out of the screening being pretty impressed by it and shocked as to how that event happened.

The first act is very effective and well drawn which surprised me. We get introduced to the characters well and we begin to understand the reasons as to why and how the incident happened.
As we move into the second act, the tension is mounting and it teases when you think the incident begins to blow up in everyone's faces. Then the final act is what you expect in a really well made disaster movie.

What I really liked about it the most was that it felt realistic and was pretty gritty and visceral throughout, which I feel should be heavily applauded. You can feel the scale and physicality of it all. None of the incidents felt Hollywoodized, like you would see in something like a Roland Emmerich disaster movie. A lot of the incidents was done by practical effects and you can tell that they only used visual effects, if it was completely necessary.
One other thing that I think a lot of people will appreciate is that they really make you understand not just how the incident occurred. But how the oil rig industry works in general.

The performances were a real shock. I did not expect to care for these characters so much by the end of it all.
Our protagonists are very likeable. Mark Wahlberg plays the lead and main hero really well. Kurt Russell steals the show and is bad-ass throughout. His presence is so strong and his delivery of his lines were on point. Gina Rodriguez gave nice support in her character. Even Kate Hudson did well in her minor role, and I am pretty confident I have never said that. It was great to see Ethan Suplee in another role as I remember him well from his performances in American History X and Remember The Titans. It seems he's lost a lot of weight and looks really well built now. All the workers on the oil rig felt real. The chemistry is a typical sight to see in that type of working environment and it was almost as if we were watching a real-life day at an oil rig.
The antagonists were great at playing first class douchebags. It was all lead by John Malkovich, whose character you hate from pretty much the first scene he is in. I don't think I have seen Malkovich play a memorable since maybe Burn After Reading, which was eight years ago.

No real negatives to mention. It is certainly one of the best disaster films in recent years. It is heavy, hard-hitting and will leave you quite taken-a-back as soon as the credits roll. The performances are great, the action is well constructed and executed and it ended up being much more memorable then I originally expected. Most importantly, it is a great tribute to the real people involved.
If you liked films like Lone Survivor (same director as Deepwater Horizon), Everest or even Titanic. Then you will enjoy this. I know 'enjoy' might not be the right word as this topic it covers is clearly not pleasant. But it is very well made not-pleasant.

Rating: 8/10

My Top 10: Mark Wahlberg Films

Who'd have thought that the lead of musical group Marky Mark And The Funky Bunch would become of the biggest names in Hollywood today.

Well, for the past 20 or so years, Mark Wahlberg has grown to become one of the most likeable actors in the business.
His breakthrough came in 1995 with The Basketball Diaries. It was only two years later until he was leading a Paul Thomas Anderson film in the form of Boogie Nights. Then from 1999 to the present day, Wahlberg has been in at least one big film each year.

Whether it be a failing re-make, a Scorsese classic, a gripping war thriller or many successful comedies, Wahlberg manages to be involved in a project that brings in the big bucks. I am always intrigued to see what he is up to next.

Out of his 48 films I have seen only 30 of them. I will rank all of the films that I have seen, and give a short review for each of my top 10:

30) Transformers: The Last Knight
29) Transformers: Age Of Extinction
28) Pain & Gain
27) Max Payne
26) Mile 22
25) Planet Of The Apes
24) The Yards
23) Broken City

22) Uncharted
21) The Happening
20) Ted 2
19) Daddy's Home
18) The Other Guys
17) 2 Guns
16) Contraband

15) We Own The Night
14) Shooter
13) Instant Family
12) Ted
11) Invincible

10) Three Kings - A popular hit from 1999 that saw the beginning of Wahlberg's stint as a Hollywood A-lister.

Along with George Clooney and Ice Cube, three soldiers plan to steal gold Kuwait. However, in the aftermath of the Persian Gulf War, something much more important is at hand.

Good mix of comedy and emotional war drama.

9) The Lovely Bones - one of the few films directed by Peter Jackson that was not part of The Lord Of The Rings or The Hobbit trilogies.

It sees a girl murdered and decides whether to watch over her family to heal them or her killer as purgatory.

Wahlberg plays the Dad of the daughter (brilliantly played by Saoirse Ronan)

8) Deepwater Horizon - Based on the tragic events of the 2010 disaster, this is a very well made and constructed disaster drama.

Lots of good performances including Wahlberg and a fitting tribute to the people involved.

I was not expecting much. But the level tension mounted was done really well and it made me really care for what was going on.

7) Patriots Day - Wahlber's third outing with director Peter Berg and it is another success.

Based on the tragic events at the 2013 Boston Marathon, Wahlberg plays Sergeant Tommy Saunders who is caught right in the middle of it.

Like Lone Survivor and Deepwater Horizon, it is a well executed account of the events that also make it highly entertaining viewing.

6) The Fighter - Wahlberg's third outing with director David O. Russell. This time, he plays boxer Micky Ward.

We see the early years of this boxer's career along with his brother (played by Christian Bale) who helps train him.

I would not rank as high as many others have it. But it is still a great film with top performances from everyone.

5) The Perfect Storm - While I now some people really down-graded this movie due its story and acting. I did not see that as much, and had a great time.

I remember the buzz surrounding this on its release, and for me it delivered.
With some ground-breaking visual effects, it sees an unusual storm catch some fisherman unaware. Now they must fight for their lives.

As well as Wahlberg, the cast is pretty stellar.

4) All The Money In The World - This is Wahlberg's first collaboration with Ridley Scott as director.

This is an exciting crime thriller based on an incredible true story on the kidnapping of John Paul Getty III.

Wahlberg plays an investigator helping find the captive.

3) Boogie Nights - The film many people see as Wahlberg's big chance to be a star, and made the most of it.

Paul Thomas Anderson's directors a story about a young-man's journey into the Californian porn industry of the late 70's and 80's.

2) Lone Survivor - Somehow missed out on this at the cinema. But I am glad that I have got round to seeing this highly enjoyable and emotional action extravaganza.

Wahlberg along with a stellar cast give us memorable characters during a constant high-tension thrill ride.

A great portrayal of real American heroes.

1) The Departed - The film that finally got Scorsese his Oscar. It sees an undercover cop and a mole within the police looking to identify eachother, whilst also infiltrating the Irish gang in Boston.

Wahlberg steals the show as this foul mouthed staff sergeant who helps recruit the undercover cop for this dangerous mission.

This is certainly my favourite Wahlberg role and Scorsese movie.

Review: The Girl With All The Gifts

Zombie films have evolved into all sorts of different directions.

From beginning as sluggish and slow eating drones, to speedy and vicious creatures, the zombie genre has become a guilty pleasure for many a film-goer.

I am always up for a zombie flick, just as long as it is done right. You do get some that just get lost in the action and it becomes a forgettable piece.

This one ended up being a nice surprise. The opening act really does have you stumped as to where this film is going. It takes you along for the ride and eventually see what is happening and I was on high tension throughout.
The rest of the film moves along nicely and while I was not the expecting the ending that it ended up being, it made sense and I was fine with it.

I must say it is definitely one of the better zombie movies I have seen in recent years. It manages to make you think, which was the biggest surprise of the lot. It concentrates more on its message rather than the zombie action, even though the zombie action is pretty thrilling to say the least.
It felt like a more philosophical version of 28 Days Later and also has similarities to The Day Of The Triffids novel.

The big star in this is definitely Sennia Nanua in the leading role. She was simply terrific. Not just good for a child actor, but easily the best performance out of everyone. She was committed, very physical and really went for it.
I am a big fan of Gemma Arterton and she was solid in her role, as was Glenn Close and the always strong Paddy Considine. As well as Nanua, all the child actors were great.

Whilst it has moments of profoundness, it does not back down with the violence and general gruesomeness of it all which was good to see.
Also, the budget is not that big. So for the money that it was given, it is impressively made, both in the set designs and visual effects. The imagery, production design, makeup and cinematography is really well done. Also, the score by Cristobal Tapia De Veer was surprisingly good and fitted the tone perfectly.

Sadly there were moments of stupidity from some of the characters towards the end which frustrated me. However, the execution of the tension still worked enough for those moments to not be a total loss.

It is a good solid, exciting British zombie thriller. The performances really help the movie, even at its potentially silly moments. The whole look of it feels like a blockbuster and yet the budget is quite small.
Nanua is wise beyond her years and I really hope she sticks to it as she could be special. It is definitely worth seeing on the big screen and the whole team is deserving of a strong box office taking. Many people will know that I was bored watching World War Z. For me, this is what I wanted that to be, and I am glad this got made to show everyone how to execute a smart zombie film.

Rating: 7/10

Review: Imperium

I think many people including me will forever feel a bit strange seeing a film with Daniel Radcliffe that isn't Harry Potter. You will always see him as 'the boy who lived' and it will be tough to see him as anything else.

With that in mind, when you see the synopsis for this particular feature, it will intrigue to see if Radcliffe can pull this off.

At first glance, it is hard to not feel awkward watching something that does not look believable. But as the film goes on, you do see someone else. The tension is there throughout and the performances are helping this move along.

Sadly for me, its downfall is in the final act. While it finishes everything in a nice little bow, it still felt rushed and the ending felt abrupt. It is as if they did not know how to end it will and they just went with the conventional approach and I was surprised to see the end credits.

As mentioned before, Radcliffe ended up being pretty good. He gets more and more convincing as the film goes on and clearly is the drive to make this film memorable. Also, his American accent is not only good, it is consistent. It is great to see him continuing to do things that are the so far from the Harry Potter universe.
Toni Colette is solid overall. She has a strong opening, but never quite emulates that bright beginning. Everyone else played their roles well and all were both believable and sympathetic whether they were the good or bad guys.
I will mention the appearance of Burn Gorman as it is always good to see him. I have always liked him since his performance in Torchwood TV series.

Apart from the final act which I have already mentioned. The only other negative I wanted to mention was that it does get slow at times. It was not a total drawback as it is at least filled with story development that meant something.

While its formulaic structure won't make this exceptional and stand-out from the rest. It is still gripping and exciting and you will feel your heart pounding quite heavily once the abrupt credits roll.
You can probably work out how it ends. But I still felt constantly tense throughout. The execution of it works and makes you nervous for our main protagonist.

I must finally mention that for those people who think this movie is racist, re-think what you say in the future. There is a clear difference between things that are racist and things that are about racists.

Rating: 7/10

Review: The Infiltrator

Straight off the bat, I must say that I don't watch Narcos. But I will probably will do at some stage as I hear nothing but good things about it. But as I don't have access to on-demand services and Sky, I rarely see the majority of the best TV series the world has to offer at the moment.

I was surprised to see during the trailer that this story was going to involve Pablo Escobar, especially when there is a TV series about him right now. The general look of it and Bryan Cranston and John Leguizamo looking good in the bits that I saw got me interested and expecting quite a tense crime story. I was not expecting to be interested in this as I am not usually fussed on films involving drugs. The best ones I usually appreciates more than anything else as the I struggle really care for the characters.

While I still had the same expected feelings afterwards, I will say that it was better then I expected.
The film gets into the situation nicely and makes us understand the danger are protagonists are in. The second act does have its moments of drag can confuse you, especially if you are aware of that particular industry. Thankfully, everything gathers pace again and the finale is a satisfying one.

The cast is strong as a whole. Bryan Cranston is as good as everyone knows he can. You can feel the pressure his character was under and just wanted him to come out unscathed.
The always under-appreciated John Leguizamo is a strong supporting role and I hope to see him in more projects. It was a nice surprise to see people like Diane Kruger and Jason Isaacs as I like anything they do. Kruger blossomed really nicely as the film went along, ended up having a great partnership with Cranston on screen and I felt stole the show for me.
I also have to give props to the performances of Benjamin Bratt and Yul Vazquez.

Not many negatives to speak of. The biggest one was the many bland moments, especially in the second act. I understand there were certain moments that needed explaining. But it was not engrossing me enough.

Despite all that I still had a good time. I liked it rather than loved it. It does not make new ground. But it managed to peak my interest despite not usually going nuts for a drugs related story. The duration may feel along straight after seeing it. But I think it does give enough time to process what is going on. I think its just about worth your money. The performances are strong on the whole especially Kruger, it's surprisingly gripping, it's shot nice and it has a surprisingly good soundtrack.

Rating: 7/10

Review: Hunt For The Wilderpeople

When you think of New Zealand films, I think everyone goes straight to The Lord Of The Rings and The Hobbit trilogies. I can't imagine this new little feature film by director Taika Waititi is looking for similar expectations. But after the buzz it got from Sundance at the start of this year, one of the best films of the year is what I think many regular film-goers would have in the back of their minds going into this.

I certainly had fairly big expectations. It sounded like it would be my kind of comedy and the story sounded exciting and original to stand out from the crowd when it comes to the major awards.

While I cannot see it ending in my top 10 of the year list, it remains to be a really good watch. I have seen any of Waititi's other works. But I have always heard good things and I can see why. His style of comedy is certainly something I have not seen before. This type of off-beat quirkiness has now got me intrigued to see his previous catalogue.

As the film went on, I just got more and more into it. The laughs were gradually getting more and more frequent and I ended up being quite charmed by it all and really into this adventure story.

While there is lovely New Zealand scenery, the focus is on the characters. It is all about the on-screen relationship between Sam Neill and Julian Dennison. Neill is great as a grizzled old man and makes you how good of a performer he is. Dennison is a wonderful talent and you can tell he is enjoying every minute of it.
There are so many supporting roles that are just as memorable as the leads. Rima Te Wiata is great for the few moments she's on screen. Rachel House was a real stand-out. Hamming it up to the nth degree and she it pulled it off nicely. Also, her partnership with Oscar Kightley is funny every time they're on screen together. Tioreore Ngatai-Melbourne has great moments and Rhys Darby steals the show when it came on screen as a character called Psycho Sam.

The comedy is the thing that makes the film so great. How something can be smart and completely odd is quite a skill. I just liked the general silliness of it all. The references used was clever, and the execution managed to feel completely random, and yet still smart.
Great comedy means top writing. You can feel that it is well thought of. The director has quite a style of humor that I never seen before.

While I might not be ranking as a high as I was expecting, this is still a very funny flick, but with a lot of heart. The directing inspired me to rest of their work, there are so many memorable characters that you care for and Waititi and his team pulled off superbly.
It is shot well, the editing is great (including some slick 'passage of time' moments) and the general feeling is one of the most positive I have had this year.

Rating: 8/10

Review: Don't Breathe

It has been a pretty good year for horror. This is a genre that I rarely find good ones and 2016 has delivered a solid amount of memorable ones that managed to get me into to see it on the big screen.

The trailer and concept for this particular one did a great job of getting my bum on a seat at my local multiplex and see what director Fede Alvarez has in store. The only thing I know that he's done is the Evil Dead re-make, which is a pretty solid re-make.

Well, it is not often that I would say that I had fun after seeing a horror film. I usually say that for films like Scream or The Cabin In The Woods where it makes fun of its own genre.
What made this was how they made the pacing give the film such thrills and excitement whilst obviously feeling quite scared, tense and squirming in my seat for most of it.
At times, it is pretty ruthless and even nasty. But all of that is certainly not gratuitous. It all means something. There is a big development as they head towards the final act. It may divide some people. But I was cool with it, and it made perfect sense with the rest of the story. They capitalised on the concept pretty well and its snappy 88min duration was a real plus. Short duration's for horror is always a good sign. It's straight to the point and goes out when it should.

All the main protagonists Jane Levy, Dylan Minnette and Daniel Zovatto did their job well. Most notably Levy and Minnette.
But Stephen Lang was fantastic as the main villain. He made great use of the limits his character could do and definitely helped that intensity throughout. He may not have had much dialogue in this. But his physical performance makes up for it. I hope he gets more roles as the only thing I remember seeing him in was Avatar. I can definitely see him play a villain in a Marvel film. Lord knows that studio needs a memorable villain, why not him?

There were not many other roles to speak of as it is a 'home invasion' film. It was a great execution of this sub-genre premise that many thought had been done to death.
Some of it reminded me of a similar 'home invasion' film, Panic Room. From the gritty look, to the camerawork and one of the characters looking almost identical to Jared Leto's character. It's not a bad thing as I like Panic Room. I just think that maybe it was paying a small homage to that David Fincher thriller.

There was a big role for the technical department in this. With the concept in place, the sound design had to be a key player. It was done pretty well and played an important part in some of the scares.

Only a few minor negatives. There were confusing moments in the action scenes that was probably due to bad camerawork. Another negative was that as much as the sound design was put to good use. I t felt like it was only used selectively rather than all the time, which sort of lost it some realism for me.

Thankfully they were only minor, as director Alvarez has a great job. Props to him and his team. He broke through with his re-make of Evil Dead, and now his execution of his concept would not have been done by anyone else I reckon. I do not say this about any horror director at all, but I will be looking out for his next project.
There is an exciting vibe to it all, the tension was almost unbearable and everything scare moment felt like it meant something. There is one gross moment towards the end. But I did not think it felt out of tone with the rest of the film. One things for sure, I will never look at a turkey baster the same way ever again.
All the scares are effective and they build the tension really well. There were countless moments where I thought the scares were over. But then another manages to jump in there. By the end of it, I gave up thinking when this terrifying situation would be over.

Probably have to say it is the best horror I have seen of 2016 so far.

Rating: 8/10

Review: Hell Or High Water

Every year, there is usually one film that I only seem to hear about a month before its release, that I eventually really want to see.

I remember Looper being the one in 2012. This year, it is a modern crime western with a good cast, interesting premise, the writer of Sicario and the director of Starred Up.

Right from the wonderful opening scene, you are straight into the action, the soundtrack transports you into the brutal landscape and you gradually understand the reasons for all of our main characters decisions. The majority of the film is just great chemistry between our main players and, it is constant, engrossing and very funny at times.
Now that the chase is in full swing, the build-up to the final act got me excited to see how it was going to go down. It was thrilling, gripping and it made me gasp.

On the whole, there is quite an emotional richness to it all. It reminded me of those crime films of the 70's, and also at times I saw some similarities to moments of 'Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid'. All of this praise is due to the top performances, tight script and finely tuned editing.

The big stand-outs from these performances have to be Ben Foster and Jeff Bridges. I like Foster and it seems he rarely gets given lead roles. I will never forget his supporting role in 3:10 To Yuma. For this one, he totally disappeared into his character. He blew me away and I could certainly see moments that of his character from 3:10 To Yuma.As for Bridges, this was the type of role that was made for him at the age that he is now.  His gravely voice and personality gave us such a vibrant character that gives most of the comedic moments.
The other roles worth mentioning are Chris Pine and Gil Birmingham. It was great seeing Pine doing a performance that does not rely on his good looks, but on his acting skills. His chemistry with Foster was great and essential as it managed to make us feel sympathy for these supposedly bad guys.
Birmingham has wonderful banter with Bridges throughout. It is one of those relationships where they love to wind each other up and that both of them can take the slurs. It is a great subtle supporting performance.

You can feel McKenzie's direction be so heavily detailed and careful, especially in the editing. It is certainly worthy of an award nomination. It made everything seem real, the characters were developed very patiently and it is beautifully shot.

I am honestly struggling to think of any negatives. That does not mean it is a perfect movie. I think it just means that the craft was perfectly constructed.

Overall, it is a brilliantly made crime western with a deep character study that felt like it belonged in an older era of film. The performances, writing and direction are worth seeing on the big screen. Everything that was being said felt important and memorable. The execution of the performances managed to elevate the writing even more. It moves at a nice gentle pace, there were great amounts of tension throughout and has many memorable scenes.
What will really surprise a lot of you is that despite all the crime and violence, it's funny, and I mean really funny.

I can see this contending for awards and it has got a good chance of ending the year in my top 10.

Rating: 8/10

Review: Captain Fantastic

I rarely choose films to see solely based on their buzz from film festivals during the year. This fits into that category perfectly.

The director has very little to drag the audience in. So from all the buzz, it was the story and Viggo Mortensen that was the hook.

Despite that, I was still pretty excited to see this as I know Mortensen is always great and the premise sounded really intriguing. I must say, I was pretty swept away by the general vibe of this terrific comedy drama.

From the very first shot of a gorgeous landscape, you are straight into this world that our main characters are living in. There's quite a few main characters to know. But they seem to introduce at the right time and you get given enough of an intro to care for them the next time they have a moment on screen. Also, they are given their own uniqueness to tell each one apart fairly easily which definitely made the overall experience seamlessly flow.

Not even halfway through the film, and already the life lessons this film is teaching us is pretty cool.  The story is moving along so nicely, the characters are shining and the comedy works really well despite their being some tragic moments.
The execution of the final act overall was satisfying. However, there were some loose ends that I frustrated me and I wish they had explained that a bit more clearly. But I that can be mildly covered over as you can make your own assumptions and still make this a well-rounded story.

When a film can get me on board really early on, usually means that it will be something special. This did it pretty well. You totally understand our main characters point of view and it is fascinating to watch all the way through. Handling a mix of comedy and emotional drama looks tough to do and director Matt Ross and his team handled it perfectly. From its very funny moments to its tragic, and vice versa, and the transition worked every time.

Viggo Mortensen is astonishing in the leading role. His father figure is superb and really makes you remember how great of an actor he is and how he should be in more film. I would expect to see him within contention for the major awards.
Huge props to George MacKay, Samantha Isler, Annalise Basso, Nicholas Hamilton, Shree Crooks and Charlie Shotwell as the kids as they were nothing short of phenomenal. They are all have their moments on screen and I would happily give an award to each of them. You feel as if they have been doing this for years.
While he did not have much to do, it was great seeing Frank Langella be part of this project.

The combination of the writing and acting is what made this film great. The script made this film be a real eye-opener. With the way it describes modern society and its general philosophical tone made everything anyone said in the film so meaningful and powerful at times. That consistency is certainly what is making this film separate the rest of the films I have seen this year so far.

As mentioned, I do have one very minor negative. A couple parts to the story in the final act never got settled or explained why certain characters ended up where they were. That may have been the thing that prevented from me giving an exceptional rating.

However, I will be shocked if this does not end up in my top 10 of the year list, maybe even the top 5. The acting and writing gives this film the leverage that it deserves and I hope it is enough to be recognised come awards season.
It has countless memorable scenes and the general viewing is long-lasting. Sadly, it is out on limited release. So check it out if you can if you are in the mood for something that is both heart-warming and very emotional.

Rating: 8/10

Review: Kubo And The Two Strings

Laika are effectively America's answer to Aardman Animation and so far, they've been a grand job.

It began with the incredible Coraline. Such imagery and vision made that film a spectacle. After that was Paranorman which is another enjoyable feature. Then it was The Boxtrolls, which I have yet to see. But I have heard nothing but positive reviews.

Now, it may be their most ambitious one yet. The trailer was appealing to say the least and the buzz was almost unprecedented for an animated film.

It goes without saying, that the stop-motion animation is extraordinary and probably their most impressive yet. The seamless motion of everything really makes you wonder how much of it genuine stop-motion and how much is helped by CGI. Knowing Laika, a lot of it will be genuine hand made movements. 

It introduces us to everything pretty well. From the characters, to the world, to its mythology and you are ready for an adventure. Once the quest gets going, that is when I am fully into this story. We get some great banter between our main characters, the action is thrilling and the imagery just gets better and better.

Like with most films, the third act is probably where this film won't end up in my top 10 of the year. The build-up is great. But the final action set-piece did not fully get me emotionally. The animation is still great. But it did not leave as much of an impact as the middle act did. I think it is due to how the villain turns out and how their intentions were not that interesting or fully explained.

That being said, there are so many positives to this. This is one of those that shows you why the animation genre is in its strongest era ever. The craft put into this film is unprecedented. You can feel the passion ooze out of the screen.

As for the story, the pacing is pretty solid all-round. It is probably their most thoughtful and mature feature to date.
Kids can get a real kick out of it. It is brimming with imagination and it is great to see them push kids to be more imaginative. It is certainly action-packed and when they watch it more times as they get older, then can eventually understand the other themes later on in life. However, I would say any kids under 5 will probably find this too scary. Ages between 5-8, it will depend how they have coped with other scary stuff in films they have seen.

The voice work is top notch. Art Parkinson gave us a lead character in Kubo that we end up routing for. It is to see a child character be annoying, whether he is being billed as the hero or not. Charlize Theron blended into her character so much that I had no idea it was her. Matther McConaughey did as well. But I could eventually hear him talking. But he still gave us a character, and he was the perfect guy to voice him. His playful nature really worked well the design and body language of his character. Amazingly, my favourite character managed to have no dialogue and be made out of paper. Watch out for that character.

Most of the villains were scary, solidly developed and assured me that most young kids will be scared by this.

I think its pretty clear to see, that the technical aspect of this film is the best part of the film. The imagery is phenomenal, there are lots of lasting images and with it being set in Japan, the use of spirits and fantasy is put to good use. The production design has definitely got a chance of some nominations come awards season.

Despite what I have said previously about the final act, it remains to be a very enjoyable adventure story that is suitable for all the family. In a time where franchises and re-make sell the best with kids. It is not often to see an original piece of work be released to a wide audience, let alone one that is very good.

To rank it with other films from Laika. I would rank it second behind Coraline. The imagination is almost as good. But a lot did not feel as strong, lasting or memorable as the whole of Coraline.

This will surely be nominated for best animated film. I personally would not give it the award. But I would still be happy if it took it as well executed stop-motion animation should always be celebrated.

Rating: 8/10

My Top 10: Adam Sandler Films

Adam Sandler has become a very successful actor and producer. After a promising beginning with TV in the late 80's. It was not until the mid 90's where Sandler started to breakthrough on the big screen. For the next decade, the Brooklyn native was constantly making solid comedies that were pleasing the majority of the general public, with the occasional serious role.
Sadly from I reckon 2007, Sandler has been on quite a downfall with pretty much all of his films being not that good or terrible. Despite a couple of surprise successes with the Hotel Transylvannia franchise as the voice of the main character, Sandler has slowly lost faith with the general public, and it looks as if his career could be done.
However, a lot of us remain hopeful for a successful comeback and we can get back to the laughter that made him.

Out of his 52 films, I have seen 26 of them. Judging by the reviews, the only film that I have yet to see that could disturb my top 10 is Reign Over Me. With that mind, I will rank all of the films that I have seen, and give a short review for each of my top 10:

26) Jack And Jill
25) Grown Ups 2
24) Zookeeper
23) Just Go With It
22) Grown Ups
21) Coneheads
20) Pixels
19) Hotel Transylvania 3: A Monster Vacation
18) Bedtime Stories
17) You Don't Mess With The Zohan
16) I Now Pronounce You Chuck And Larry
15) That's My Boy
14) Mr. Deeds
13) The Waterboy
12) Funny People
11) Billy Madison

10) 50 First Dates - Sandler's on-screen relationship with Drew Barrymore has become a common one, and this is one of their better ones.

It sees a guy struggling to find a girl that is not looking for commitment. Until he thinks he find the girls of his dreams, until he discovers she has short-term memory loss and always forgets him the next day.

It's a solid entertaining film that makes good use of the premise.

9) Anger Management - Jack Nicholson teams up with Sandler in this quirky comedy about a businessman that is wrongly sentenced to an anger management program.

The result is quite entertaining and gives you a solid amount of laughs throughout.

If you liked something Analyze This or Analyze That, then you will likely a similar enjoyment from this feature.

8) Little Nicky - I know this isn't highly rated with many, but I found this to be lots of fun.

It sees the devil's third son ordered to bring his two older brothers back to Hell whilst their causing havoc on Earth.

I think I probably saw this when I was the right age. I can remember so many quotable lines and they still make me laugh today. It's also amazing seeing the cast-list now.

7) Big Daddy - A lazy graduate adopts a kid to impress his girlfriend. It ends up with hilarious results.

It has a great mix of comedy and touching drama. I laugh so many times every time I see this. The gags are memorable and the execution of the emotional moments are really good as it shows how much you care for the characters.

6) Happy Gilmore - Probably the film people associate with Sandler the most.

In order to save his Grandmother's house, an Ice Hockey reject turns his skills into the sport of Golf. The slapstick and general silliness of it is too hard to resist laughing.

It also manages to create a memorable moment that many golfers always try to re-create.

5) The Wedding Singer - The first of three Sandler films where he teams up with Drew Barrymore.

It sees a singer meet a waitress whilst they are both engage to different people. Fortune comes into play to help them discover each other.

One of the better rom-coms in a genre that I struggle to find good ones in.

4) The Longest Yard - The re-make of the 1974 original, sees Sandler take the lead as a quarter-back now in prison. But he is challenged by the warden to make a team of inmates to take on the guards in a game of American Football.

The gags will please everyone. But knowing American Football does help and thankfully I do. I find this really enjoyable and a great watch when you want to switch your brain off.



3) Hotel Transylvania - Easily the best film involving Sandler for the last decade.

It sees Dracula operate a monster-only hotel away from the humans. But when his son gets to know a teenage girl more, the overprotective Dracula will do anything to keep his boy away from humans.

This delightful animation surprised me in every way.

2) Click - One that I enjoyed way more then I expected.

It sees an overworked architect be give a universal remote  that allows him to fast-forward and rewind his life. However, complications arise that start to affect him.

I am happy to admit that I cried when watching this film. It sounds like others have, and at the same scene.

1) Punch-Drunk Love - The film many cling onto as the Sandler performance that we want to see more of.

Director Paul Thomas Anderson sees a troubled supplier of novelty items begin a possible romance whilst being exorted by two individuals.

It has great performances and a very unique story that only Paul Thomas Anderson could create.

Review: Weiner

I have not seen many film documentaries this year. However, I am always excited to see one as this particular genre has developed so much over the last few years. They are now respected and praised as much as feature films and some feature in many peoples top 10 films of the year lists.

I had heard a fair amount of buzz from this one from the Sundance Film Festival at the start of the year. That alone got me wanting to see this, even though I know nothing about this story that was heavily covered in the American media.

After seeing it, I bet the film-makers could not believe what this ended up being. This was initially planned to be a big comeback story, ended up being something completely different. The unprecedented access that is given to this campaign makes it utterly compelling viewing. It really was amazing how much they were allowed to film, as any decent man with simple logic would have said to not film certain things that would put them in a bad light. But in the end, the camera  effectively becomes a fly-on-the-wall and we see the transformation of the people involved was gripping to say the least.

It is clear to see that our main character Anthony Weiner is a very good politician and is by far the front-runner to win this election and become a successful mayor of New York City. Sadly for him, what we see transpire is one of the interesting character study pieces I have seen.

Your views on Anthony Weiner will go up and down like the biggest roller-coaster you can imagine. At one point you are totally backing and supporting him. But before you know it, you just can't believe how much he messed his career and life up.
It is amazing to see how his core strengths gradually become his downfall once the media and the majority of the public turn on him.
I and am sure many others will get a lot of mixed emotions after seeing this. I mainly felt sad and sympathetic as you could see Anthony Weiner looked like a really good politician, shock at how the media run this story and politics in general and disgust at how Weiner kept making the same mistakes that ruined his first campaign.
I think in the end, Anthony Weiner just can't help but show his vulnerability and strange fetishes that becomes his downfall not only in politics, but in his life.

When you look at certain previous presidents and their own scandals, the public eventually forgive them for that. I think that decision of forgiveness really comes down to how the media cover that particular individual. This film shows how the American media cover politics really well.

This surely has to be at the very least a nominee at the Oscars for Best Documentary. It is such a fascinating story that is very accessible and a riveting watch. I will be surprised if this does not end up in my top 10 of the year list.

Rating: 8/10

My Top 10: Film Documentaries

Over the last few years, film documentaries have become very popular with film fans. At first, they were small and very hard to find at a cinema outside of London.
Now, you can probably find one every week at your local independent cinema. We have seen some of the most astonishing stories. Some may have been in the public light before the release of the film. However, a lot of them have come out of nowhere.
Nowadays, film documentaries are given as much praise and respect as any feature film release at your local multiplex.

This was a pretty tough list to narrow down to 10. There are countless of other film documentaries that I would give an honorable mention to. But as there are too many, check out the link to my IMDB account on my homepage, and look at the film documentaries I have seen and discover them for yourself.

Four that recently left my top 10 list was Touch The Void, Road and Tyke Elephant Outlaw. The first is an amazing story about two climbers and their perilous journey up the Siula Grande in the Andes in 1985. Not only is the backdrop to the events breathtaking. But is it a story that I can't believe happened and we managed to hear about it.

The second explores the lives of the famous motorcycle family of the the Dunlop's. It sees the events that occured the road races in Ireland and the Isle Of Man. It is an emotional ride that effected me, and for someone who is not a hardcore motorbike fan, that's quite impressive.

The third is 'Tyke, Elephant Outlaw', a gripping and emotional story of a circus elephant that went on a rampage during a show in Hawaii in 1994.
While centering on this particular animal, this film accounts stories about other animals in the circus and from the trainers themselves.
It is a very sad story. But like with all these documentaries, it remains essential viewing. Sadly, not many people know about this film. So check it out if you can.

Finally, the fourth is 'TT: Closer To The Edge'. Another motorbike documentary, this time it centres on the TT races on the Isle Of Man.
While the general public see this as a highly dangerous event. This documentary shows us the people who attend and compete in this event, and see this as a place makes them feel alive.
This is such a thrill ride, especially in 3D.

Here are my current top 10:

10) Citizenfour - A story that many people may have read in the papers. It sees a reporter be sent emails on illegal surveillance programs that were discovered by none other than Edward Snowden.

This sees the first of many meetings with Snowden, who is hiding out in Hong Kong. It is amazing seeing history unfolding in front of you.

9) The Internet's Own Boy: The Story Of Aaron Swartz - One of what is becoming many of documentaries about internet pioneers.

This one centres on Aaron Swartz, the co-founder of Reddit. His work on social justice and information access lead to something quite heart-breaking.

8) Three Identical Strangers - An unreal story that opens up so strong that you are amazed that there is more to tell.

The face of the story is amazing enough. But when it goes into more depth, it takes a disturbing turn that makes quite the viewing experience.

You have to see this to believe it.

7) They Shall Not Grow Old - An astonishing technical achievement of not only restoring BBC archive footage of World War I, but colorising it, widening the screen ratio, slowing the speed to a normal frame rate and adding voices and sound.

It was amazing hearing what British mentality was back then. This felt like a thorough account of The Great War and I was completely engrossed by it.

6) Blackfish - One of the few documentaries to end up in one of my top 10 of the year list.

With such harrowing images, this is a highly engrossing and topical story that cause quite a stir when it got released.

It's gripping, it's mesmerizing and it is something everyone should see.

5) Catfish - The film inspired the American TV show. I remember knowing nothing about this and by the end of it, I was flabbergasted.

It sees a group of guys film the development of an online relationship with one of their friends. It leads to something that had me on the edge of my seat for so much of the film.

4) Man On Wire - Not only did this film documentary blow me away. It also introduced me to what is now my favourite true story ever.

It sees the story of a wire-walker determine to achieve his ultimate dream. Calling it 'the artistic crime of the 20th century' is a perfect description.

It won the Oscar for Best Documentary and I recommend you check out their acceptance speech. It's quite something.

3) Olympia Part One: Festival Of The Nations - Officially a Nazi propaganda film. But amazingly, it's done in the best taste possible.

Director Leni Riefenstahl and her team broke several new grounds in the way sport is presented.

It's astonishing camerawork and editing really shows its celebration for sport and appreciate the athletes hard work. But there will always be that bitter taste in the mouth watching it, given who is overseeing everything in the stadium.

2) Olympia Part Two: Festival Of Beauty - Part two of Leni Riefestahl's look of the 1936 Olympics.

The imagery remains groundbreaking for its time. However, concentrating on the beauty of sport and how an athlete moves gives this the edge over its predecessor.

If you want to know how sport events are filmed in the way they are, it is clear to see that these two documentaries laid the foundations.

1) OJ: Made In America - When a 7hr 45min film documentary grips for the runtime, that is impressive enough.

This well told and heavily detailed account of one of the most famous events of 20th century America is remarkable viewing. This will become the definitive edition of this most famous of court cases.

Review: Morgan

It is always interesting to see a new director step into their maiden voyage.
With this particular film, we have Luke Scott taking centre stage. Son of the famous Ridley, he certainyl has big shoes to fill.

The trailer certainly showed his Dad has helped him out despite it looking like the type of story that has seen so many times. But it was a story that I could happily watch again and again as I love my sci-fi.

Its cuts to the chase and gets out quickly which I was happy to see, as there was little development with the characters. So the film is pretty much all surface. However, there a couple of characters that we can get into which I will mention later in the review.
The first two-third moves along a solid pace with one moment of slowness which was the only moment where I felt bored. The final act had some solid action set-pieces and was certainly the strongest moment in the film including a pretty cool final scene.
There is a nice little twist that I had suspicions of just before the reveal. I felt so happy when I got it right that I just wish I could have worked it out much earlier. When the credits rolled, I thought that it has been a while since I have seen a film with a dramatic twist in the final scene that cuts to black screen straight away. That was one of the few refreshing moments. Others were the execution of the action scenes. They felt very physical and something out of a good 90's action film.

One thing I forgot about was its rating. I liked it that the rating is a certificate is a 15. Rather than trying to sell it to the biggest market possible i.e. 12A, it stuck to its guns and I think being a 15 gave the films its best possible version.

The performances were probably as good as they could have been. By far the star of the show is the brilliant Anya Taylor-Joy. After first seeing her be the best bit in The Witch, she continues to shine as the character of Morgan. I am usually not that impressed by Kate Mara. She seems to do better as a supporting role, like in The Martian. She was ok for the most part, but she had good moments especially with her physical work in the action scenes. It was to see Rose Leslie outside of Game Of Thrones. She was probably the best of the supporting roles. Pretty much all the other roles went through the motions, even Toby Jones and Michelle Yeoh. As for Paul Giamatti, he was just a living and breathing plot device that I felt was below him.
I had no idea Jennifer Jason Leigh was in this. But as soon as I saw her name in the end credits, I instantly knew which character it was.

From a technical standpoint. I liked how it was shot. There is a lot of really nice landscape locations to look at throughout. Also, the soundtrack sounds really nice and futuristic.

I think with it being a directorial debut, you should never expect something that can be a huge success. So for what it is it was alright. Sure it had some basic flaws that I would normally criticize a seasoned film-maker. But I remained entertained to an extent.
I would probably say that it is not worth your money to see it on the big screen. But I would still give it a watch when it comes out on DVD, Blu-Ry or on-demand. The plot may have been done a million times and will be done a million more times. But the general execution of it all was to a perfectly satisfying standard, it passes the time well and I can certainly see a bright future for Luke Scott. In fact, I hope he has enough success to give this film a sequel in the future, as I can see this can go places, especially after what happens in the final scene.

Rating: 7/10