Review: Ghost In The Shell (2017)

Before this movie was announced, most people associated Ghost In The Shell with being the biggest influence for The Matrix being made.

I had been wanting to see the 1995 animated original for some time, as I know how inspiring it has been. It was only until late last year where I spotted a re-release screening and decided to check it out on the big screen. I really enjoyed it and liked its ideas and execution of them. However, I think it's short duration made me feel that it did not make it a full-rounded story. It was more like a taste of what they could do in this world. I am aware there are several sequels. So I look forward to seeing them in the future.

As for now, it is obvious that this was going to be inferior to the animation. Nothing can match the ground-breaking ideas and visuals. However, it does keep the central ideas of the original. But it concentrates more on the action on the visuals. That is not necessarily a bad thing as it is gorgeous to look at. For me, a film making full use of its ideas makes a much better film then its action set-pieces.

That being said, I had a pretty good time watching. It's biggest strength are its visuals. They are just stunning. They really honored the visuals from the original really well in this. It managed to blend well the physical parts. So major props to the visual effects team that I can see getting an Oscar nomination at least. Seeing this world in live-action made me believe that a world like this will happen in real life. It was like watching a mix of the worlds of A.I. Artifical Intelligence, The Fifth Element and Blade Runner.
The action set-pieces are executed really well, and the levels of tension are mounted rather nicely in most of them. You would naturally think a re-make that re-create several scenes, would leave you with a hollow overview. They all felt highly enjoyable and entertaining.

Like pretty much all big blockbusters, I avoided any trailers. I checked both of them after seeing the film, and I really liked the feel of the first trailer. Especially the choice of song.

The performances were pretty solid in the end. Scarlett Johansson did a great job as Major, and continues to show how well she can hold a film as the lead. Also, she can still kick some serious ass.
I was surprised at how well Pilou Asbaek did as Batou. He looked the part and played it rather well.

Sadly, the main villain did not feel as threatening nor as interesting as I was expecting. Also, the performance by Michael Pitt was fine, but forgettable.
I would have liked more of Chin Han. Takeshi Kitano was pretty cool support. Juliette Binoche felt miscast. It did not seem the type of film for her. Like Pitt, Peter Ferdinando was another fairly forgettable villain. But at least, he managed to contribute more.

There is no real major weakness, except for parts of the writing. It is ok as a whole. A lot of it is exposition and simplified. But they seemed to brush over or rush some aspects. There was one sub-plot that I couldn't care much for. I get they were trying to do. But I just felt the execution was all wrong.

It wasn't a major weakness, as they do explore some of the main character which the 1995 original did not do as much.

If you can accept that this will never beat or even match the original, then I think you have a pretty good time. I certainly did.
It is a feast for the eyes, the production and costume design is top-rate, the action is very exciting and the general look of it reminded me of a few sci-fi's that I really like such as 'A.I. Artificial Intelligence', 'Blade Runner', 'I, Robot' and 'The Matrix' (obviously).
I almost forgot to mention the score by Clint Mansell and Lorne Balfe. It felt right for the world it is set in. It reminded of Daft Punk's score for Tron: Legacy. I will certainly be looking forward to listening to the soundtrack.

In terms of world-building, director Rupert Sanders and his team should be proud of what they've done. Like the original, it made me want to know more.
While most re-makes feel hollow and lacking in substance. This one retained a fair amount of it, and gave the film enough weight and meaning to have a good time with it. It's definitely not as fully realised as they don't go into near as enough depth. But it is definitely one of the better re-makes from Japanese source material.

It would be interesting to see, if we get more live-action re-makes of Japanese anime films.

Rating: 7/10

Review: Free Fire

Director Ben Wheatley is certainly a director Britain should be proud of. You never know what to expect with his next project. But you know it is going something completely different.

Out of his five previous films, I have seen three of them. Kill List scared me for life, I loved the ridiculousness of Sightseers and the I appreciated A Field In England whilst being pretty puzzled by it.

Now with his latest release, it is most certainly his most star-studded. But to be honest, the fantastic trailer would have got me hooked more than anything else. It looked funny, exciting and it could be a good time at the pictures.

What I got from it was something that all of that, and more. It felt like a real throw back to those grounded 70's and 80's action flicks that were snappy, gave its message over and got out at the right time. This is pure fun, with extremely well choreographed action.

With a stellar cast and no real leads, there is plenty of opportunities for someone to shine. For me, Sharlto Copley is the clear winner. He always seems to play an outrageous character. I'm not sure if he's good at playing that sort of role, or he's like that all the time. Whatever it is, he does it so well.
Armie Hammer definitely did his best performance to date. I loved his characters arrogance and cockiness and his banter with Copley's character was a real treat.
Sam Riley continues to show his raw talent and competed well for screen time. As did Jack Reynor and Michael Smiley.
Brie Larson did a good job in a film that definitely is out of her comfort zone. For me, Cillian Murphy seemed a bit left out. With the tone being a comedic one, I think Murphy struggled to make his character memorable. There was nothing wrong with his performance. But if I had to rank each character, Murphy would be low down.

There is lots to like from the technical side. It's shot really well, the costume design really shows the cool and outrageous side of the 1970's and even the sound design is noticeable. I would definitely recommend seeing this on a device that has surround sound, as the sound seems purpose made for that system.

With that all praise, I think its greatest achievement is the script. It's sharpness and at times wittiness keeps this film moving. Some of the gags and insults throughout this film was nothing but hilarious. I was chuckling pretty constantly, the crowd around me were having a ball and it just elevates the levels of fun that is over-flowing within this story.

I had a total blast with this one. It's fun, exciting, hilarious and the duration is a snappy 90 minutes.
For a concept that you think would lose pace, it still manages to keep me suck in. I think that is mainly thanks to the sharp script.
This reminded me a lot of Smokin' Aces, which I love. When a concept similar to this does well, I seem to get on board with.

If you like your action with some integral comedy, then I cannot recommend this enough.

Rating: 8/10

Review: The Lost City Of Z

I had mixed feelings whether the latest film from director James Gray needs to be seen on the big screen. From what I've seen of this. They've usually not being that interested despite the cast and the general look of it being of high-quality.

But after a surprising amount of high praise from several film festivals and the trailer backing that up enough, I took a chance and went with some sort of expectation.

In the end, I was quite glad to check this out. It showed me something that I have not seen for quite some time, and that traditional story-telling. The structure felt episodic, as if I'm watching an epic from the late 90's/early 00's such as Gladiator or The Last Samurai. This film sort of restores the traditional art of story-telling in movies.

Also, the type of story is not what I have seen for a long time. A film about exploring. It also portrays 1920's England and the western world at that time really well. That feeling of self-proclaiming themselves as the first civilisation and seeing everything else as a step into the unknown.

There is some powerful imagery throughout this film. The cinematography by Darius Khodnji is nothing short of fantastic. The film that he is probably best known for shooting, is David Fincher's Se7en. The constant use of location shooting really gave this film some weight and heft, it made me fully engaged with it and Khodnji's work with camera really elevated the general atmosphere of the film.

A lot of the performances were very good, despite being very low key. Charlie Hunman did a good job as the lead. While his best work is on TV, he was enigmatic enough to keep this film moving. Sienna Miller did a brilliant job as the main supporting role. She contributed to the film so well and was definitely the best performance. Another supporting role that was interesting to watch, was Robert Pattinson's character. He is almost unrecognisable as soon as he arrives on screen, his character really makes you want to more about him.
A couple of small roles that were worth mention was Ian McDiarmid and Tom Holland. It was great seeing McDiarmid in a film again. He hasn't done much since his last outing as Emperor Palpatine in Star Wars. Apart from a bit of TV work, this is his first appearance in a film for 11 years.
As for Holland, I completely forgot he was in this until seeing the cast list afterwards. You don't see him for long, but he has enough presence in the film to warrant a mention.

The only negative I had was the pacing and possibly duration of the film. To be honest, this will be the reason it might not appeal to the masses. It is slow in telling its story and there is one segment of the film that could have been cut out, despite being essential to telling this true story. For me, it's only a minor one. But for a lot of others, this may become a major one.
I almost forgot one negative. A couple of decisions from a certain character was pretty odd.

In the end, this managed to stick with me and felt it to be slowly captivating. It is a fascinating true story that I am amazed a group of studio executives gave the green light. This is a film rich with themes and ideas and they were pretty well executed. I love the look of it, the performances were very good and the action scenes were filmed so well and gave the film a real physical and cinematic sense.

It is a shame that not many people will see it, and I'm not surprised as it won't play well with the masses. But I hope this finds its audience as it is a very well made adventure story that we don't see that often.

Rating: 8/10

Review: Power Rangers

The Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers was a huge part of my childhood. I always watched the TV show, I collected so many of the toys and never got tired of it. The theme for me still holds up. That's 90's sound is still brilliant to listen to.

I remember when the 1995 movie came out, and obviously was all over it. But when I see it now, I know it's rubbish, but it's still great. It's a wonderful guilty pleasure that is a great bit of nostalgia.

I obviously avoided the trailers as this was something so special that I wanted to go into as cold as possible.

Directed by Dean Israelite, also did Project Almanac. I actually enjoyed that film despite its flaws. That style is very much in his first big blockbuster. There was a surprising amount of character development, which certainly impressed me. The structure of it felt very similar to something like Batman Begins, which was a pretty bold move on their part. Also very much like that film, the final act is the part where it gets silly and is there to pretty much sell the film.

Another surprise was the performances. I wasn't sure about them at first. But they definitely grew on me. I liked the sense of connection and teamwork with all the Power Rangers. The performances transcended well, and you can see how good their chemistry is. The Blue Ranger played by RJ Cyler who I remember from 'Me, Earl And The Dying Girl' was pretty cool and ended up being the best character. Some of his troupes managed to be both sweet and annoying. But I liked his development throughout.
The Red Ranger played by Dacre Montgomery is obviously the leader and was given a solid backstory to warrant a place on top. The Yellow Ranger slowly shone brighter as the film went, and I heard learning a lot about her. Played by Becky G, she could be the main bad-ass of the group. The Pink Ranger played by Naomi Scott was not as memorable as you would expect. But she was enjoyable to watch. Ludi Line as the Blank Ranger was probably the least developed. But his comedic relief did not make him unremarkable.

Elizabeth Banks really went for it as Rita Repulsa. I really like Banks on the whole. She seems to be quite committed to a lot of her roles that many people notice. That is because it is usually in films where you are not expecting award-winning performances. You can tell she did her homework, that carried this larger-than-life character from the TV series into herself. I also liked the horror angle they put into her development. I was genuinely scared in those moments.

As for the other notable character. I wasn't too bothered by Bill Hader as the voice of Alpha 5. I've never cared for the character of Alpha 5 in the TV series. He was quite annoying and in the way. It's pretty much the same in the film. So in terms of sticking to the source material, good job. However, I did not like the design of the character in the film.
I liked the choice of Bryan Cranston as Zordon. He did his job well, was perfectly fine and the design of him looked really good.

There are lots to like for the fans of the TV show. It had some cool references and cameos that was really nice to see. There was also one moment towards the end that made me smile pretty hard.

As for negatives, there are plenty of obvious flaws. But just like the TV series, it managed to add to the charm of it. Most of the silly and bonkers stuff is in the final act. They also managed to make a huge product placement become an integral part of the story.

Also, some elements I felt were rushed or had very little explanation. For people who don't know the TV series well enough. I think they'll be pretty confused by some of the small things within this particular universe.

I think it is safe to say that I had a fun time watching this. There are clear flaws and over-the-top moments. But the tone give it a fun vibe, and that is what you remember well from the TV series. If you can suspend your disbelief and go with it, you can certainly have a good time also.
Weirdly, I much preferred the character development and the grounded story rather than the big action finale. The latter part felt rushed and incoherent despite some solid visuals. But the characters were well fleshed out and the writing team deserves big props for that.

Fans of the TV show will probably get their moneys worth and get the most enjoyment out of it. As mentioned, there are some little references and cameos from the Mighty Morphin days to keep an eye out for. There were plenty of cool sequences that kept me interested in the film. Most of the visual effects were perfectly fine. Also, a lot of score reminded me of 'Tron: Legacy', which is most certainly a good thing.

I must mention that there is a mid-credits scene. Fans of the TV show will know exactly what it will be, and I look forward to see where they go with it.

Rating: 7/10

Review: Life

All I have been hearing from the trailer, is that it looks like a mix of Alien and Gravity. That is plenty for me to get excited, as those are the type of films I can never get tired of.

I also love the cast. Anything Jake Gyllenhaal and Ryan Reynolds do works for me, and Rebecca Ferguson has become quite a star in the past few years. Her performance in 'Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation' was very bad-ass and stole the show.

On the face of it, this film is exactly what you would expect from the similarities that I mentioned earlier. But while there is little new about it, there is a lot of fun to be had with this for pretty much the entire duration. The build-up to the ending was predictable. But it is probably as satisfying of a finale as it could have been.

The performances were pretty solid and moved the film along well. Gyllenhaal does as well as you would expect. However his character felt underdeveloped and dare I say weak at times. Rebecca Ferguson continues to prove how strong of a female actor she is. Ryan Reynolds was as playful as ever. But also had enough of a serious side to make you feel like his character belongs in this sort of film.
From the supporting roles, it was great to see Hiroyuki Sanada. He is one of Japan's biggest names and has made a pretty heathly living in America. As for the unknowns, Ariyon Bakare was a stand-out. I've never heard of this actor, and he gave a very memorable performance that easily matched the bigger names in this cast list. I also have to mention the good job Olga Dihovichnaya did as well.

I think the film's biggest strength is the directing from Daniel Espinosa. I haven't gone nuts over his previous films. But I think his work in this one was noticeable and made it his most enjoyable film to date. Also, the duration felt just long enough to not feel unwelcome or draining.

Any sci-fi film these days needs to have top-notch visual effects. They certainly didn't disappoint. It looked convincing and it flowed well with the live-action content and the design of the antagonist was a very good one.

The biggest surprise was how grounded the story was. I was certainly not expecting that, and that for me made the film much more memorable then it could have been. The use of music worked really well, especially during the tense scenes.

It's lacking of new ideas is its main weakness. It will struggle to stand out from any other sci-fi. But despite there being a lot of unoriginality, its execution of a successful concept made it a very enjoyable watch. This sort of story will win me and many other people over, as that story works really well when done right. For me, Espinosa and his team have done a good job.

I was hooked for pretty much all of it. I was scared and tense for a fair amount to have this be worthy of a horror as well as a sic-fi. It was certainly a lot more exciting then I was expecting.

As for the rumor that this film had, I would completely ignore it and not go into the film expecting it to be that.

Rating: 7/10

My Top 10: Movie Mothers

Movies have given us some of the best Mothers the world has ever known. Whether they are just saving their family, or even the world, we love them all.

This is ranked on the best at mothering in a movie. So that means this list won't contain someone like Norman Bates' Mother from Psycho or The Other Mother from Coraline. While they are very powerful characters, they are the complete opposite of a good Mother.

As for the eligible mothers in this list, I have got quite a few honorable mentions. So in no particular, the movie mothers that I feel deserve a mention that will miss out on my top 10 are: Annie Hughes (The Iron Giant), Wendy Torrance (The Shining), Peg Boggs (Edward Scissorhands), Queen Elinor (Brave), Vanessa Loring (Juno), Alice Eklund-Ward (The Fighter), Janine Cody (Animal Kingdom), Morticia Addams (The Addams Family), Aurora Greenway (Terms Of Endearment), Lorraine Baines (Back To The Future), Sylvia Llewelyn Davies (Finding Neverland), Annie Kinsella (Field Of Dreams), Val (The Second Mother), Mrs. Gump (Forrest Gump) and Mrs. Davis (Toy Story).

Sadly, there are 3 that I am gutted to have not included in my top 10. They are Barbara from Shaun Of The Dead played brilliantly by Penelope Wilton, Molly Weasley from the Harry Potter franchise famously played by Julie Walters and the Tyrannosaurus Rex from The Lost World: Jurassic Park. A bit of a strange choice I know. But when you watch that film, you can tell how devoted of a mother she is.

10) Meg Altman (Panic Room) - David Fincher's enjoyable thriller sees a recently divorced woman take refuge with her daughter in the safe-room of their newly-purchase house, when three men break-in.

Jodie Foster gives a strong performance as the mother as she tries to protect her daughter and new house from these three crooks, lead by Jared Leto.

9) Bambi's Mother (Bambi) - Life in the wild is not easy, so this 1942 Disney animation tells the story of a young deer growing up in the forest.

This classic opens the eyes of kids about life and also how important a mother is when learning about life.

Bambi's mother also gave us one of the most heart-breaking scenes in film history.

8) Rosemary Woodhouse (Rosemary's Baby) - When a young couple move into a new apartment surrounded by strange neighbor, the wife suddenly becomes pregnant. This leads to scary and disturbing imagery that makes it one of the best horrors of all-time.
This is a strange but still courageous bit of mothering from Mia Farrow's character. If you've seen the film, you'll understand why I have put her in this list.

7) Mother (Mother) - This Korean mystery drama sees a mother searching for the killer that framed her son for the murder of a young girl.

Hye-Ja Kim is fantastic as the lead character. Her performance and transformation in the film will make you laugh, cry and become very insightful.

This is certainly a celebration of motherhood, and it is never sugar-coated.

6) Erin Brockovich (Erin Brockovich) - One of the first big hits of the 21st century, tells the true story of a single mother. Played brilliantly by Julia Roberts, she becomes a legal assistant and is set on bringing a Californian power company after being accused of polluting their water supply.

It is a very well executed legal drama that is highly enjoyable and very thrilling. Roberts deserves her Oscar win with her powerful screen presence.

5) Ma (Room) - Brie Larson's Oscar-winning performance sees her play Ma, a mother who is forced to raise her 5-year old son in a small room.

The least you know about this film, the better. Director Lenny Abrahamson and writer Emma Donabue give us such a powerful story, that it ended up being my film of 2015.

4) Helen Parr/Elastigirl (The Incredibles) - Any film involving a family that works on screen, can be instant success. It certainly is with this Pixar classic.

In a world where superheroes are in exile, a number of events propel back into the limelight. The mother of the family is known as Elastigirl. Voiced by Holly Hunter. This is one bad-ass mother.

3) The Bride (Kill Bill: Vol. 1 & 2) - Director Quentin Tarantino gives us probably his strongest female protagonist in the form of, The Bride.

After waking from a four-year coma, an assassin begins her path of revenge on the team that betrayed her and took her baby.

2) Ellen Ripley (Aliens) - A rescue team of impressive firepower heads to a moon colonized by terror-formers. What they find is something that should have been left for dead.

After the events of Alien, we now see Sigourney Weaver's motherly skills take place. It is worth the wait, as we see one of the most enjoyable action sci-fi's of all-time.

1) Sarah Connor (Terminator 2: Judgement Day) - For many, the ultimate movie mother. After the traumatic events in The Terminator, Linda Hamilton's character Sarah Connor now knows her important in the future of man vs. machine.

A more advanced Terminator comes from the future to kill Connor's son, John.

James Cameron expands the world with one of the most successful sequel of all-time.

My Top 10: Bruce Willis Films

From his breakthrough in 1988, Bruce Willis became one of the biggest action stars of the last 30 years. Whether they are straight action flicks or within the realms of sci-fi, Willis has certainly been of the most bad-ass action heroes in modern cinema.
But the German-born American has also some ground-breaking movies within the genre's of sci-fi and horror. He even dabs his hand into voice work in a few animations.

The one I am amazed at with Willis, is how many films he has done that has a really bad rating on various movie rating sites. I'll certainly be looking forward to seeing those.

I must give an honorable mention to Over The Hedge, a film where Willis shows us his most under-used aspect, his voice acting. This is a surprisingly fun and well written animation that sees Willis voice lead character R.J. A raccoon fools a bunch of troubled forest animals into helping repay a debt of food. That leads to them invading a newly built suburban area. It leads to many amusing sequences.

Out of his 85 films, I have seen 37 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:

37) The Cold Light Of Day
36) The Kid
35) A Good Day To Die Hard
34) Armageddon
33) The Expendables 2
32) G.I. Joe: Retaliation
31) Lay The Favourite
30) Look Who's Talking Too
29) Look Who's Talking
28) RED 2
27) RED
26) The Last Boy Scout
25) Last Man Standing
24) 16 Blocks
23) Sin City: A Dame To Kill For
22) Planet Terror
21) Surrogates
20) Tears Of The Sun
19) The Whole Nine Yards
18) Grindhouse
17) Mercury Rising
16) Death Becomes Her
15) Die Hard 4.0
14) Die Hard 2
13) Moonrise Kingdom
12) Unbreakable

10) Lucky Number Slevin - This well executed crime drama sees a citizen being mistakenly identified as a criminal.
It sees the unlucky citizen either finding a way out or killing his captives.

Willis infamous assassin Mr. Goodkat. It also sees some big performances from Morgan Freeman, Ben Kingsley and Josh Hartnett.

9) Glass - Willis gives us one of his best performances in years as he returns as David Dunn.

It is a thrilling and exciting final part in M. Night Shyamalan's trilogy that continues to show us the directors unique approach to the superhero genre.

8) Looper - A cleverly structured sci-fi that sees a world where the mob send their targets back in time to be killed by Loopers.

It sees Joseph Gordon-Levitt star as a Looper, who finds his own loop is about close in the most dramatic way possible.

It was wrongly billed as this decade's Matrix. It is more like The Terminator. This is the film that also saw the breakthrough of director Rian Johnson.

7) The Fifth Element - Director Luc Besson's highly enjoyable sci-fi adventure that sees Willis play a crab driver, who gets involved in an event that will decide the fate of the planet.

With a star-studded cast behind him, Willis gives another one of this most memorable bad-ass performances.

I loved this as a kid, and still love it as much today.

6) Die Hard: With A Vengeance - The third installment in the franchise, and one that surprised me a lot.

John McClane is being targeted by a German terrorist in New York City. Willis is partnered with Samuel L. Jackson and this certainly does a great job of almost being as thrilling and exciting as the first one.

5) The Sixth Sense - One of the last great classics of the 1990's. It sees a boy who can communicate with ghosts that don't know they're dead. He seeks help from a child psychologist played by Willis.

This also saw the breakthrough of director and writer M. Night Shyamalan.

4) Die Hard - The film that made Willis a star, and it is also one of the best action films of all-time. This wonderful action thriller has everything you want in an action blockbuster. It also saw the birth of the late Alan Rickman's film career.

With its Christmas setting, it is an easy excuse to watch during the festive period.

3) Twelve Monkeys - One of the great sci-fi's of the 1990's sees director Terry Gilliam tell the story of a convict sent back in time to prevent a man-made virus from destroying the human population.

Willis plays the lead role, along with Madeleine Stowe and a brilliant Brad Pitt.

2) Sin City - Robert Rodriguez's slick-looking adaptation of the famous graphic novel sees a number of tales within the dark and miserable town of Basin City.

It's film-noir tone gives the film some uniqueness and the visuals are breath-taking. Willis plays an aging cop hunting down a rapist and serial killer.

1) Pulp Fiction - Four tales within Los Angeles inter-twine through violence and redemption.

Willis plays a boxer who double-crosses a gangster for not match-fixing his latest match.

This is seen by many as director Quentin Tarantino's masterpiece.

Review: Beauty And The Beast (2017)

Tale as old as time, song as old as rhyme. That phrase has become etched in millions of peoples minds since the release of the hugely successful animated version from 1991. Now 26 years later, we get to re-live that all over again with another one of Disney's latest live-action re-makes.

The history of Disney's live-action re-make phase actually started a lot earlier than people think. The 1996 version of 101 Dalmations was the one that started it all. I thought it was a solid and entertaining re-make, and Glen Close was a great Cruela DeVil.
Then it was the film that is seen as the beginning of the current phase of re-makes, and this is the 2010 version of Alice In Wonderland. While it is most certainly a disappointment, Tim Burton's portrayal I thought was still a perfectly fine watch.
Four years later, and we now move to Maleficent. This was certainly a bold move on telling a famous story from the villains prospective. It was another disappointment. But thankfully, it was still a solid film. But it should have been much darker and have a more interesting script.
It was not until only two years ago, where I felt the Disney re-makes were on the right track. I had my worries with the Cinderella re-make. The trailer was showing all the important parts of the story, and that had me thinking it would bring nothing new.
I was so wrong, as director Kenneth Branagh managed to bring the same magic the animated original gave. It also gave our major characters some much needed depth and gave the re-make such a magical touch to it that will never get me tired of watching it again.
Last year saw this phase of Disney as its highest, as they made the first re-make that I felt was better than its original. Directed by Jon Favreau, The Jungle Book was the adventure spectacle that I wanted it to be. Especially as I was never that bothered by the 1967 animation. I even think the 1994 live-action version by Stephen Sommers is as good. But now, this 2016 version is certainly my Jungle Book.

As for Beauty And The Beast, there have actually been a surprising amount of different versions. But the only other adaption that I feel deserves to be mentioned, is the 1946 version from France. But I cannot see anything topping the 1991 version that we all know and remember with such fondness. As many also know, it was first animated film to be nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars.

Now after that extremely long intro, it's now onto my view on this latest version. So many emotions are coming out of me with this one. I really did my best to see this on its own merits. But you can probably imagine how hard it is for fans of the film like me to try and ignore myself replicating it to Disney's previous version that became a big part of my childhood. As pretty much everyone already knows this story, I won't be as vague as my usual reviews. But I will still not spoil it too much that it won't ruin your viewing.
It started with some promise as they began by going down the path Cinderella did, and that is give the characters more depth and cover some ground that was never fulfilled in the animated version. Then suddenly I had a fear they were going to be a beat-for-beat copy, as some scenes were completely identical. Thankfully by the end of it, that was only done in chunks. There were some new segments that was left to be explored with our characters and story. Some bits worked well, some not so much and some small moments that just fell flat for me.

In terms of effort, the performances were pretty good. But for being memorable, it's a mixed bag for me. The one that stood out the most was the Beast. A lot of holes from the original were explained well, and it gave me a much more rounded character. Played by Dan Stevens who I loved in The Guest, I was unsure if he would pull this off. But with a lot of help of some great CGI and motion-capture, I was very pleased with how he turned out. His look was very seamless and never felt out of place with the practical sets.
Emma Watson was fine on the whole. As a lead though, it looked like a struggle for her to hold the film and be that strong-willed Disney princess that we all remember. She definitely has her moments. But not enough to be the one that people should be talking about afterwards.
Luke Evans was a funny one to sum up. For such a larger-than-life character as Gaston, how are you supposed to even come close to being as good? Despite all that, I think he did well for the most part. He is nowhere near as intimidating or rambunctious. But he managed to have enough charm and entertainment to just about win me over.
As for the others, Josh Gad did a great imitation in terms of the voice of LeFou. But the addition the writers gave to his character felt forced. However, I will give props to them for showing hints of even this old tale moving with the times. Kevin Kline as Maurice had more involvement which was nice to see, and it's always to see Kline in anything nowadays.
I have to mention Hattie Morahan's character, especially in the second half. It felt they added her on unnecessarily and it would have flowed much better without her character being there.
As for the voice work, Ewan McGregor was pretty good, Ian McKellan was as good as you expect, Emma Thompson was probably the best out of all of them and I have to give credit to Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Audra McDonald and the always great Stanley Tucci.

All the great songs that are already imprinted in are head are still there. I was so happy to see Alan Menken return and do that score that gives me goosebumps every time. All of those ones we all know were very well performed. 'Belle', 'Belle Reprise' and 'Something There' was pretty identical to the original. 'Gaston' was done rather well. I always loved 'The Mob Song', and I was happy to get that same affection for this version as I did with the other version. But I think the star of the show was 'Be Our Guest'. They really did not pull any punches with this one. The execution of the song was clear to see that this was there show-stopping moment. It even got a round of applause in the screening that I was in. It was like being at a theatre.
There were a few new songs to get our teeth into. Most of them felt weak and fairly forgettable. I think they may have done better if they were song on the stage. However, there was one that I was very unsure of at the start. But by the end of this particular song, I rather enjoyed it.

From a technical side, there is a clear big budget feel to it. There are plenty of fancy costume and set designs to keep your eyes on from start to finish. The design of cursed characters was pretty good on the whole. The only one I had questions with, is Lumierre, as his size seem to drastically change part way through without any explanation.
It is hard to review the visual effects. In terms of the design, they were great. But a lot felt like they shouldn't be there. There were clear scenes that looked digital that did not need to be. The latest version of Cinderella showed some impressive sets, that were all practical. In this, there were sets (both interior and exterior) that you could tell were on a green screen. If I was being harsh, I would call that lazy for not going out on location instead.

I think you can tell that I have a lot to say about this one. But I'm sure you can understand, as many people including myself have in this on such a high pedestal that we see it as one of the greatest films of all-time, not just in its own genre.

In the end, the film is very much a slave to the original. It goes by the same formula of the 1991 version for the majority of this new portrayal. But I think the utilising of the pacing and execution just felt slightly off and de-tracted me from the film. There were many moments that just made me go "this film makes me want to watch the original". Sadly a lot of re-makes can end up being like that. Thankfully, there is enough strong content in this re-make to somehow claw itself away from that phrase, and have that magical feeling. But only up to a point.
Despite my criticism for it, I had a pretty good time watching this. This definitely had a "big" feel to it and definitely did not feel serviceable compared to most of today's so-called blockbusters. I liked some of the tweaks to some of the characters motivations. But the rest of the changes did not seem to hit the spot, or did not work at all. I admire it for the changes as that is what I was hoping for. But the execution just did work as well as the Cinderella and The Jungle Book re-makes.

I think it will do well enough to win fans over, both old and new.

Rating: 7/10

Review: The Love Witch

This is another one of those times, that I am potentially dipping my toes into something completely different.

What I got from the trailer was that it was paying homage to those 1960's over-the-top horror's and melodramas. It was going to be either that, or maybe something like the Bewitched TV series that I remember watching or Blithe Spirit.

Well, it is most certainly the former. While I was loving the old school look to it, I was trying to work if I was enjoying, confused by it, or both. It is amazing how you can enjoy somethat where you have not got a clue what's going on. Thankfully, I got most of it and few things went way over my head.

I must go to the performances first. The acting is certainly over-the-top, stiff and melodramatic. But I think it knows that it's doing it. They manage to pull it off in a charming way where you just have to laugh with it and remember how certain films or even TV series were like back then.
Samantha Robinson is terrific in the leading role. She has quite a screen presence and fully empowers the leading role. While the film itself might not have the Bewitched tone I was possibly expecting. Robinson definitely has a Samantha Stephens quality to her character.
Gian Keys was a bit of a stand-out in the second half of the film. The over-seriousness in his face was quite amusing and his chemistry with Robinson was solid. Laura Waddell also had good comradery with our leading lady. As for Jeffrey Vincent Parise, it was like he had leapt out of those trashy horror films you usually see in a drive-in theatre.

By the far the films strongest aspect, is the technical side. I have to say fair play to Anna Biller. Not only is she the director, but also producer, editor, composer, set and costume designer. This film was definitely her baby.
I loved the the old school technicolour look, cinematography and use of zooms that it had throughout. There is even one scene where the lead character is driving a car, and you can clearly tell the background is on a green screen. That is what a lot of car scenes were back in a day, and it was pretty cool to see that again.
The elaborate costume and set designs were great to look at and gave the film exactly the right tone. You can clearly see a lot of heart was put into it, and it deserves accolades.
However, the period setting was rather strange. While the location and costumes and hairstyles is very late 1960's to early 1970's, there are present day cars being driven and people are using mobile phones. So I'm not sure if it's an alternate present or something else. I think like the acting, it is hard to tell if it's totally fully self-aware.

I did have a couple of negatives. It felt a bit too long. I think a good 20 mins could have been cut out. But I think with the director also being the editor, I think she could not kill off some scenes that in our eyes dragged the pacing of the film.
Also, I don't think the rewatchability will do well for me. It is not the type of film I would watch again as the strangeness of it all was not engaging enough. I would probably only watch it again for the imagery.

While it is quite weird, I rather enjoyed it. It is clear this will divide audiences. But I thought it was funny in a cheeky sense and weirdly submersive, bathed in camp, and as mentioned before, it is very stylish. It also had a sense of The Wicker Man about it. But it is definitely nowhere near as disturbing.
The script certainly brings up some interesting topics. What I got out of it was an feminist update on what the female's views used to be through the medium of witchcraft. I liked the world building. It explained the rules well and it got me interested in what was going on.

People are definitely going to come out of it in such a polarizing way. While it is something that is not usually my cup of tea, and this is due to my lack of knowledge of this type of sub-genre. But I still found to be highly intriguing and pretty entertaining.

Rating: 7/10

My Top 10: John Travolta Films

Since his astonishing breakthrough in the late 1970's John Travolta has thrilled audiences in multiple eras of the film industry, and in many genres.
From being seen as the man that inspired many people to take up disco, to being a slick gangster.

While this blog to celebrate the best of Travolta, I have mention that the majority of his back catalogue has been trashed by the public and critics. But thankfully, there are enough big hits in there to have him as one of the biggest actors of the late 20th century.

Out of his 65 films, I have only seen 27 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. While it is clear that I have seen very few of his entire back catalogue, there is not many well reviewed films left that I have yet to see. I am not counting his appearances in The Thin Red Line and Savages, as he is in for a very short amount of those films:

27) Old Dogs
26) Wild Hogs
25) Michael
24) Swordfish
23) From Paris With Love
22) Look Who's Talking Too
21) Look Who's Talking
20) Look Who's Talking Now
19) Staying Alive
18) I Am Wrath
17) Criminal Activities
16) A Civil Action
15) The General's Daughter
14) Broken Arrow
13) Ladder 49
12) The Taking Of Pelham 1 2 3
11) The Punisher

10) Phenomenon - While it does flirt over the line of schmaltz, corny cheesy, this touching drama I felt to be rather sweet.
It has a mystery and wonder to it that reminds me of films like K-Pax, Cocoon or The Abyss that just seems to work for me.

John Travolta plays the lead, plays a troubled farmer see a bright light that gives powers of super-intelligence and much more.

9) Be Cool - The follow up to Get Shorty that is a bit of a guilty pleasure of mine, mainly for the hilarious performances of Dwayne Johnson and Andre 3000.

Travolta is back as Chili Palmer. After succeeding in the movie industry, the former loan shark now wants to get into the music business. It is both funny and action packed.

8) Face/Off - Yes the premise is ridiculous, and yes we have another crazy Nicholas Cage performance. But it is one of the most fun action of the 90's.

It sees Travolta play an FBI agent planning to do a face transplat to impersonate the terrorist he is hunting. However, the terrorist (played by Cage) seems to have a similar idea.

7) Get Shorty - A mobster travels to Hollywood to collect a debt. But his stay makes him discover that the movie industry is a lot similar to what he is doing now.

This crime comedy with a stellar cast is a solid fun time, and never has Travolta ever looked so slick.

6) Hairspray - After landing a spot on local TV, a sassy teenager teaches everyone racial segregation whilst pursuing her dreams of being a dancer.

Travolta makes quite a transformation as the lead characters mother, that managed to work out well for this over-the-top feel-good musical.

5) Bolt - The film that I think begun Disney's modern resurgence and a Travolta performance that I never realised he actually did.

Travolta voices the title character, a dog of a popular kids TV show who thinks what he's doing is real.
However, a certain event begins a journey of discovery of the world that he really lives in.

4) Grease - Seen by many as his most notable performance, plays the confident and arrogant greaser Danny Zuko.

After spending the summer with the girls of his dreams, the realisation of being in the same high school could rekindle their romance.

It's a lot of fun, the performances are charming and there are plenty of songs that will get stuck in your head.

3) Carrie - This iconic 1970's horror sees Sissy Spacek play the title character who begins to discover some supernatural powers that has been in her family for generations.

Travolta plays one of the main high school kids that pull the biggest prank on Carrie, leading to believe she is popular in her high school.
This well written horror still holds up after 40 years.

2) Saturday Night Fever - Possibly one of the biggest breakthrough performances by any actor.

The year is 1977, and everyone is about to go disco crazy. Travolta plays Tony Monero, a teenager who feels his only way to succeed in life is to be the king of the disco floor.

It is beautifully shot and has a soundtrack to die for.

1) Pulp Fiction - The film that many people associate with the revival of Travolta's career.

That is thanks to director Quentin Tarantino, who shows us the lives of two hit men, a boxer, a gangster's wife and pair of bandits intertwine.

This 1994 hit is ground-breaking and one of the most popular modern classics.

Review: Elle

A new Paul Verhoeven film these days is quite a rare treat. I like a lot of his previous work. While his stint with sci-fi's in the 80's with RoboCop and Total Recall were highly enjoyable. It's his erotic thriller that I think bring the best out of him. He seems to have a fetish of making the audience feel uncomfortable by showing content on screen that would be deemed politically incorrect, bold, daring, and controversial.

You could also call him an equal opportunities director as he seems to create a fair amount of strong female leads. A bit like what James Cameron does. Great examples are Sharon Stone and Carice Von Houten in Basic Instinct and Black Book. Also to a lesser extent, you could say the same for Showgirls and Elizabeth Berkley.

From the opening scene, you can instantly feel Verhoeven's prints all over it and that you are in for quite a ride. The whole story is unpredictable, and yet it remains exciting, tense and somehow hilarious.
The reason I say it's funny at times, is the use of black comedy. It always amazes me how you can make fun of a dark subject. Verhoeven and his writing team manage to do this quite often during the film, and the performances execute the comedy so well.

Speaking of the performances. Not only are they great, but my goodness are there some dysfunctional characters in this. Isabelle Huppert is brilliant at being the tough stone-cold-bitch character. She has a strong screen presence for every minute she's there. Her decisions are not what you would call predictable and what any mild mannered person would do, and yet you can still get invested with her. Whether you are unsure about the film, I think you can firmly agree that Huppert's performance is mesmerizing and is well deserving of her Oscar nomination. If her role was done by someone else, then this would have been a much different viewing experience.
There are lots of contributions from the supporting cast. Laurent Lafitte fits the tone of the film perfectly. Judith Magre has great chemistry with Huppert and created most of the film's laughs. Jonas Bloquet was a nice stand-out playing Elle's dufus son. His innocence gave the character a sweet quality to it despite the hilarious stupid things he says.

The only negative I feel mentioning comes from it's strength. While I think the uncertainty of it all is both thrilling and exciting, sometimes the decisions characters make fell odd and you question the tone a bit.
But thankfully, it is only a minor thing as the whole experience was really good fun. It goes places that you would not expect. But as it's Verhoeven, you should expect the unpredictability. What makes him as a great story-teller is the smart reasons he goes down these particular paths in such an extreme way. Huppert is nothing short of fantastic. She carries the film so well and is one of the strongest bad-ass female characters I have seen for some time.

It is smart, challenging and has beautiful performances. What I liked about it the most, is that you can see the film in many different ways. You can see it as a black comedy, a look at social satire or just another one of Verhoeven's erotic thriller, but with a much darker and more disturbing tone. What was also great about it, is the open ending. It still leaves a small amount to be unresolved. So that means it can be a great film to talk about afterwards.

Rating: 8/10

Review: Kong: Skull Island

Monster movies have become well known within mainstream society. Some are not quite as famous as others. But one that has certainly become known across the world for over 80 years is King Kong.

His first appearance in 1933 was in one of the most ground-breaking movies of our time. Fantastic visual effects, a romping adventure story and one of the first scores to have specific pieces of music for certain characters.

We have seen a couple of re-makes. The 1976 version was o.k., but was panned by a lot of critics. Then 2005 saw Lord Of The Rings director Peter Jackson give his vision. For me, that was a tremendous as the original as I love anything Jackson does.
However in the 1960's, Kong returned in another blockbuster that saw him do battle against Godzilla in the Toho International Godzilla franchise.

Now in 2017, Warner Bros. is beginning its own vision of King Kong vs. Godzilla. 2014 saw the Godzilla solo film, which I thought was pretty good. Director Gareth Edwards definitely put his style into that story and felt like something that Toho Studios would do.

I was surprised to see the 1970's setting. But I managed to like that choice in the end. It had an Aliens and Predator feel to it, with hints of Apocalypse Now and the second half of Full Metal Jacket.
The build-up to the action is fairly well executed. The action starts a bit abruptly, then the story moves a bit up and down and that's what happens for the rest of the film.

I would have liked more development of the characters. You can tell that they are trying to show a few subplots of various minor characters. But none of them seem to be fully fleshed out. Instead, we just get a bunch of missed opportunities.
If they were better written, then I think many of the action sequences would have had bigger tension and more meaning as we would be more invested in those characters in case they were in peril.
I could be cruel and say the characters were bland and hollow.

Tom Hiddleston's character could have been great. I think his character was supposed fairly intimidating and the main hero to get behind with. But instead, he's just ok and Hiddleston's charm does enough to make you not totally care if he gets in trouble or not. There is one really strange scene involving Hiddleston that seemed way out of left field.
Brie Larson was fine. From a personal view, I would give her the benefit of the doubt as I am a huge fan of hers. She's a beautiful screen presence, and sadly in this film, it's not much else. Like Hiddleston, I would have liked more from her. These two could have been a great duo. But in the end, it's just two big names that manage to make the characters barely passable.

Probably the most interesting characters are Samuel L. Jackson and John C. Reilly. Jackson does what everyone likes him for. He's solid for the time that he is on screen. There is also a fun little reference to a famous line he has said in one of his previous film. I'll leave to find out which one it is. It is most certainly not the one from 'Snakes On A Plane'.
Reilly's character is given a fair amount of history to make you want to come out of this alive.

John Goodman started well. I was hoping he would a bit like Jack Black's character in Peter Jackson's version. But in the end, he was totally wasted.

There was a little subplot from the minor characters that tried to be something emotional. But it just missed the mark for me. I can see they were trying to those types of memorable side characters like in 'Aliens'. Another missed opportunity.
It is a shame that the characters were never given enough backstory. You can see them trying. But then they just seem to give up and concentration on the action more. For some people, that's fine. But if you want a great movie that everyone can praise highly, then better written characters could have made this a highly enjoyable action blockbuster.

I liked the general look of it and the choice of locations. It looked very tropical and it was great the physical weight of the environment that our characters were getting through. For some reason, there were a few moments that the surroundings that looked very digital. I'm not sure if that was done after filming on location. But it just looked strange as to why they did that when they actually did on-location shooting.
The soundtrack was either well-used or slightly over-used. Some songs were great to have as a backdrop for some scenes. But there were a few moments when they slightly over-used some songs, which reminded of Suicide Squad. But on the whole, I liked the choice of songs from the period that they chose to set this film in.
The design and mythology of King Kong was pretty good. It is not as big of an achievement compared to the 1933 original or Peter Jackson's version with Andy Serkis doing the movements. But this was still a perfectly functional monster that look good on screen.
The creatures looked pretty cool. There were a set of creatures that while I understood there purpose, it just felt a bit pointless. They were just a simple plot device for our main protagonists to fight. I'd much prefer something a bit more threatening and have more meaning to the story.

I must say that there are some major inconsistencies with the editing and tone shifting within the writing especially. While the monster-on-monster scenes are well executed, the character scenes are very random. There are a lot of unnecessary use of fast cutting and slow motion shots that only last for about a second or two. That reminded me of something that Michael Bay or Zack Snyder would do. It was quite an aggressive way of shooting those particular scenes that were hard to feel comfortable with.
In terms of the tone, there were some scenes that took me out of the overall tone of the film. They felt more like deleted scenes that somehow made the final cut. In relation to the tone, a lot of attempts of comedy fall flat. A few worked for me, but the rest were like a lead balloon.

Despite those problems, I still found it to be a fun watch. I liked the action, the general look of it and the world-building. But the characters were not well written enough to make this a great film.
It is weird, because I could call this a missed opportunity. But there still managed to be enough content on screen to keep me interested as I was never bored. I would probably prefer the latest Godzilla instead as it was more consistent and invested more in its tone.

I must mention that there is a post credit scene. If you are a fan of the Godzilla films from the Toho productions days, then you will be excited to see this one. I certainly was.

Rating: 7/10

Review: Headshot

The name Iko Uwais has quickly become a big name in the action genre. From his breakthrough in 2011 with The Raid, he struck again with the brilliant The Raid 2 three years later. After a small appearance in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Ukwais is back in the leading role with another action film that could be as action packed as The Raid franchise.

From the tense opening scene, you can certainly expect another Raid vibe. It is both heavy in its violence, but also in its style of executing its action. While at times the action can wear you down, the combination of slick camera tracking and ballet-esque choreography make the fight scenes such a treat. There are many highlights with various action scenes in many places like in a bus, an office, a forest, a beach and then a final showdown in a bunker.
The camerawork is quite a violent one. It's as if its being thrown around very aggressively, and yet we still manage to see what is going on.

The performances were well done. The amount of work the supporting cast and extras have to go through must be a tough regime. To make something so brutal and yet graceful is all thanks to them. Iko Uwais is as great as you would expect. He plays the hero well and is easy to root for. Chelsea Islan was a solid leading female, and worked well with Uwais in the more dramatic and emotional scenes.
Sunny Pang was very haunting as the main villain, and it was great seeing Julie Estelle make an appearance, after creating a lot of attention from playing 'Hammer Girl' in The Raid 2.

It has a fairly obvious negative, and that is the thin and simple plot. I know The Raid films did not have simple plots either. But Headshot makes The Raid films look heavy detailed.
Thankfully, I don't mind a film like this to have a simple story. It may be nothing too different from your generic mindless action flicks from Hollywood. But what gives it its credit, is the high quality visceral action, stylish cinematography and kick-ass performances that make you care for the characters.

Some other reviews are calling the violence gratuitous. They are definitely more violent then in The Raid films. But I still feel they are highly entertaining and as impressive.

Many people never get tired of action films starring people like Schwarzenegger, Stallone, Seagal, Van Damme or Lundgren. For me, it is Uwais. I can certainly appreciate the talent in these films, and the execution of it makes it a thrilling and exciting experience.
It is amazing to see the talent that is out there, as director of both Raid films Gareth Evans is not involved in this project whatsoever. I am excited to see anymore directors that get involved. Also, I hope this is the start of a certain type of action films that will be embraced by the western world with open arms and have a bigger distribution.

Rating: 8/10

Review: Get Out

I had no idea who Key & Peele were until I saw Keanu last year. The American black comedian duo are beginning to fledge out of America to places like the UK.

I enjoyed Keanu and I was intrigued to how the Peele side of Key & Peele would direct horror.
I was not sure how to react to the trailer. It was certainly creepy. But I think the racial themes it was looking to cover made me unsure if this would be done in bad taste.

But with Jordan Peele's work being more of a comedic sense, I had confidence that he could give us something new and interesting to the horror genre.
While some of it might not have felt new, it was certainly interesting, as well as fun and exciting.

When a horror film works for me, it is usually about the lore or rules of the film. If you've seen Scream, then you know what I'm talking about with rules. I was having fun trying to figure things out, as it gives little clues as to what is really happening.
The whole film is certainly told from a perspective that you don't usually see. Especially in horror films.

Daniel Kaluuya was pretty good on the whole. I was amazed to find out that he was actually British, despite having an American accent all the way through. Allison Williams' character evolves nicely and becomes a stand out in several scenes. There were many very creepy performances. Most notably by Bradley Whitford, Caleb Landry Jones, Marcus Henderson, Betty Gabriel and Lakeith Stanfield. Catherine Keener was solid. Her subtle amount of creepiness seem to be nice and refreshing in certain scenes.
I have to finally mention LilRel Howery, who was great as the comedic relief. I can see being in a fair amount of comedy films.

When you read the plot, you can definitely feel that if this goes wrong, the viewing experience could be quite distasteful. But I think the execution of it made it work. The passive aggressive racism used is unsettling and yet it still manages to be entertaining.
The social and racial commentary is done such a satirical way that all audiences can get on board with. For me, that is the integral part of the films success.

While it does have some cliched moments you would associate with horror. It maintains to develop its cool and interesting ideas including the well executed use of racial satire to make this a really good film. While the trailer had a Wicker Man feel of it. It actually ended up being something more out of The Twilight Zone.
Peele and his team have done a great job. He seems to understand really well on how direct genre films. For a directorial debut, that is impressive. The mix horror and comedy works really well. There were minor negatives to speak of the tone not mixing in as well as it did with other scenes. But on the whole, they did something that not can do well with.

As I mentioned before, the performances are great. Kaluuya holds the film well as the lead and I can be in many major projects in the near future. I almost forgot to mention the score. It is particularly spooky and I have already listened to a few pieces from the soundtrack multiple times.

2016 was a pretty good year for horror, and 2017 has already shown horror is alive and still highly creative. I cannot wait to see what Peele directs next.

Rating: 8/10

Review: Christine

I knew very little about this true story. But I know the basics. It seems to be more well known in American society rather than across the pond. So with pretty much knowing how this story turns out, to win me over, it has to be about the build-up.

It's worked with films like The Social Network and any successful re-make. As for Christine, this is all about a character study, and a fascinating one. It also portrays the beginnings of how modern American new companies work to boost their figures. Saying that reminded of a film a couple of years ago called Nightcrawler. It also has obvious similarities to Network and Broadcast News.

For the performances, I have to go straight to Rebecca Hall It is quite a transformation for her and she completely inhabits this role and is terrific. I am shocked that she has been completely over-looked by every major awards committee. Hall carries the film perfectly, and her performance alone makes this a film a must watch.

Even with the film being pretty much about Hall's character. The support cast manages to contribute rather well. Michael C. Hall was really good in his role. Fans of Anchorman's Ron Burgundy should check his performance, as he comes very close to being almost a skit of him. Tracy Letts became quite integral to the story and how it developed. Also, Maria Dizzia has good moments, especially towards the end. A nice surprise was Timothy Simons, who plays such a sweet and innocent character that just makes you go "aww" every time he does something.

Apart from Hall, what this makes quite gripping viewing is the increasing sense of anxiety. It starts off with bright promise, and then it slowly whirls into a sad story of something I can relate to. It had that feeling of being a step behind everyone else who are going for the same dream. That feeling of being fragile and being left behind despite what you think you're doing is right.

While I know slow-burners never work for everyone, I think this is essential viewing. Not only for Hall's transformation as the title character, but to understand why this true story happened.
Director Antonio Campos really got under the skin of our main character. He made the whole viewing experience tense, unsettling, awkward, heart-breaking and I am not even talking about the brutal ending. Even with all this, there is a small amount of comedic moments, which I felt worked well.
The authenticity of 1970's America was perfect. It managed to feel so natural and that none of it felt like people playing dress-up.

It has a lot of interesting ideas going for it with a lot of good performances aiding it. Hall is the big draw and this could be seen as one of the hidden gems of 2016.

Rating: 8/10

Review: Logan

The X-Men franchise has had quite a journey. It is hard to imagine that it all started in 2000, and that is where the superhero movie phase pretty much kicked off.

This particular franchise has gone through many changes, especially in its now quite messy timeline. This is now the tenth film within the X-Men universe.

This is also supposedly the last performance by Hugh Jackman as Wolverine. It is quite hard to put into perspective that he has played this character for almost 20 years. Now that I have seen it, I will leave it to you to see the film whether or not you think this is the last time we'll see him.

From the opening scene, you can totally see why the film-makers were determined to give this a higher age rating. The violence is pretty brutal and there is a fair amount of swearing. It is nice to see a superhero film go as gritty and mature as its particular source material does. It shows the film-makers are passionate that this deserves to be the rating that they intended, and that they remain confident that they can still get a profit out of it. They really didn't hold anything back, and it is certainly not squeaky clean.

The story develops nicely and my general feeling was just that it was just great to see these characters in such a brutal environment. A few scenes managed to drop my jaw in amazement, both due its execution and the paths this story takes us.

In terms of the action, it is thrilling, exciting and definitely the most graphic within the franchise. While a lot of people will be more interested in the action. The emotion side was a nice surprise. There is real heart in this film and a lot of it comes from Jackman, with his scenes with Patrick Stewart and newcomer Dafne Keen. Plus, it ends strongly with yet more heavy emotional scenes involved.

Hugh Jackman gives a great portrayal of a Wolverine the hardcore fans have been longing to see. This is a beaten down and withered version of the most famous of X-Men. It certainly is a shadow of what he used to be. I liked the vulnerability Jackman gave and it is great how much more he can give to a character he has now played in nine different films. You would think he would just do a performance that is by the numbers, as he knows this character like the back of his hand. But I think due to the different tone, it gave us something that we haven't seen before.
I don't know if this will be controversial. But despite the top performance by Jackman, I honestly feel Dafne Keen was the star. For someone who was 11 when this was being filmed, she committed so much to this angry and violent character. She was simply the perfect choice. I want to see her in more films.
I liked Boyd Holbrook's character as well as his performance. He was going toe-to-toe with Jackman's character for quite a bit of the movie and was certainly the supporting actor I wanted to invest in the most. Patrick Stewart was as good as you would expect and Richard E. Grant was pretty good with his mysterious character. Despite it being strange at first, I thought Stephen Merchant's character was well developed and used.

While I'm glad to see the reviews elsewhere are seeing this as one of the best superhero films ever. I thought it was very good, but not quite up there with the best. There is a lot of good stuff in here and it certainly stands out compared to most superhero films.

A couple of minor negatives to speak of, the pacing and tone does get mixed up at times and that the swearing did feel over-used just because of its rating.

Despite that, I still think this is a pretty good film with lots to like, especially if you feel every superhero film is the same. Jackman is great in it and his chemistry with Stewart and Keen is strong.
I like that it felt more like a serious drama with action rather than a superhero film. Don't worry, it is not completely without humor. There is a small amount of chuckles in there. In fact, I could say that it felt like a western. The film actually does hint of the tone being a western in one certain scene.

It will be interesting to see if any other superhero films will go down this similar path of containing brutal content that would only be suitable for older audiences.

I must mention that there is NO scenes during or after the credits. Absolutely nothing. So you're time watching a bunch of names won't be required this time.

This is the first of six superhero films of 2017. We are off to a pretty strong start.

Rating: 8/10