Film Review – Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Director –   Anthony Russo, Joe Russo

Starring – Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L Jackson, Robert Redford, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie

Synopsis – Steve Rogers struggles to embrace his role in the modern world and battles a new threat from old history: the Soviet agent known as the Winter Soldier.(provided by IMDB.com)

(there could be spoilers)

REVIEW 

This week it was confirmed that Captain America 3 would be hitting our screens in 2016, without part two being on the big screen. This is a bold statement from Marvel considering that I (and i’m sure everyone else) was disappointed by the first film. So where has this vote of confidence come from, well it could be down to the fact that this film is very good.

Well firstly I have to get something off my chest regarding the recent promotion of this film, why do we need so many exclusive clips of this film? First we had a 6 minute clip of a great action scene, followed in the last month by the first ten minutes, yes ten minutes, shown before the recent “300: Rise Of An Empire” film. Throw in the multiple trailers and it would be hard for anyone to not feel like they’ve seen the whole thing before sitting down before this film. Were Marvel worried that the audience doesn’t want to see another Captain America film? Well I would like to throw this plea out there, stop showing these extended clips!

Marvel have always thought outside the box when it comes to choosing directors and the Winter Soldier is no exception, they have chosen prolific television directors Anthony and Joe Russo. These guys have a track record in comedies but apparently were hired on the basis of their excellent action packed paintball episodes of the television show “Community”, For me this is a master stroke as the action in this film is some of the best i’ve seen in a Marvel film. Captain America. In the previous movies the shield has been used as, well a shield, but in this one its all part of his offense. The fights are fluid and well paced with Cap now able to call on a wide spread fighting styles to take down an opponent and its definitely impressive, enough so that I had a good smile on my face and found an occasional “whoa” whisper out my mouth.

As with most the films in this Marvel Universe Cap isn’t alone when action is required. In this film he calls upon the services of Samuel L Jackson as Nick Fury, Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow and introducing Anthony Mackie as The Falcon. By now we all know what the Black Widow brings to the table, but it’s the first time we really get to see what Nick Fury is like under attack without his super buddies around, and its pretty badass.

As a character Captain America isn’t going to be the lighting up the screen with witty remarks every two minutes, Marvel have Iron Man for that, but what you do get in this film is plenty of heart. Briefly in “The Avengers” we got a feel for how Steve Rogers felt after waking from his cold sleep, its not the advancement of technology or the world thats different but the people in the world that he has the biggest issue with . This is a man that was willing to sacrifice everything to put an end to evil, but found out it changed nothing.

The Winters Soldier is the first film in the series that is more of a conspiracy thriller than a Superhero piece. This works well for the first half of the film, as its action packed and fast flowing whilst giving the audience a good amount of character building. Its inevitable then that things slow down in the second half, with alot of information being thrown at the screen whilst Cap goes undercover to find the truth. This is all before it turns into a formulaic end battle that we used to seeing from Marvel, I think this is the forth Marvel in a row that ends with some sort of battle in the sky, this please has to stop.

What about the actual Winter Soldier though? Well its not a spoiler to say that the Winter Soldier is Steve Rogers childhood friend, Bucky, who was presumed dead in the first film. We get a little exposition as to how he survived for this long, but not a great amount. The Winter Soldier is alright as an evil Captain America clone (possible future clue) but overall he is a little disappointing in terms of villainy.

All this doesn’t matter too much though as Captain America: The Winter Soldier is a very good film that tries something different, even if they don’t go the whole way and change the final act template that the company obviously pulls out on every script meeting they have.

VERDICT

A very good film that attempts a different tone from the other heroes films. A good sign as phase two of Marvels expanding superhero world, comes to an end.

RATING

Please feel free to comment below if you have any opinions regarding this review or film.

5 STARS = EXCELLENT

4 STARS = VERY GOOD

3 STARS = GOOD

2 STARS = POOR

1 STAR = TERRIBLE

Film Review – The Grand Budapest Hotel

Director – Wes Anderson

Starring –   Ralph Fiennes, F. Murray Abraham, Mathieu Amalric, Adrien Brody, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum, Harvey Keitel, Jude Law, Bill Murray, Edward Norton, Saoirse Ronan, Jason Schwartzman, Léa Seydoux, Tilda Swinton, Tom Wilkinson

Synopsis – The adventures of Gustave H, a legendary concierge at a famous European hotel between the wars, and Zero Moustafa, the lobby boy who becomes his most trusted friend.. (provided by IMDB.com)

(there could be spoilers)

REVIEW 

Every couple of years we get a new film from the vision of director Wes Anderson and I always look forward to this occasion. For me, if Wes Anderson were a character in the Lego Movie then he would be a “Master Builder” for this man creates otherworldly environments for his great characters to inhabit. Grand Budapest is his eighth movie, yet I don’t think he has dropped the ball once on the previous seven movies! Is there a more consistent filmmaker out there? Well after all this praise is TGBH the first one to let me down, of course not.

For each film Anderson has always put high production value in creating his wonderful looking sets (my favourite being the cut out set of the submarine in “This Life Aquatic”), but from the opening credits this is the first one where he creates a whole new world, the Republic of Zubrowka. The Grand Budapest Hotel is set up in the snowy mountains high above the town and a wonderful little 2D animation shows us the hotel in all its artistic glory, complete with funiculars running to the hotel. Throughout the film there’s

The director has become his own genre of film now “The Wes Anderson film”, this one sees all his trademark camera moves such as title cards, whip pans, characters directly addressing the camera and wide angle lenses. I can always go to an Anderson film and know one thing, he has planned everything and is making the film that he wants to make. He always fills every shot with as much detail as possible because in his films the locations are as much a character as the people on the screen, there’s never really a dull moment.

A few years ago Ralph Fiennes made me laugh as a sweary gangster in “In Brugge” but it was so over the top that not alot of credit was given for his comedic value. Well this is the film where we can finally introduce Ralph Fiennes as the comedy star. He is the biggest delight of the film as his character, Gustave, is a man that is full of funny quips, deadpan humor, and always possible of swearing like a sailor without losing his English charm.

With Norton, Defoe, Brody and Murray returning (Bill Murray is always welcome on the big screen) Its not hard to see why Anderson can always attract a five star cast, its because each actor is given a full character to embody. In Anderson’s world he creates characters full of personality, little quirks, and individual costumes to aid them (even if they are only on screen for 2 minutes).

VERDICT

Another success from the director that constantly produces on the big screen. Deadpan humor, glorious visuals and great acting, if you weren’t an Anderson fan before then this could be the one to change your mind.

RATING

Please feel free to comment below if you have any opinions regarding this review or film.

5 STARS = EXCELLENT

4 STARS = VERY GOOD

3 STARS = GOOD

2 STARS = POOR

1 STAR = TERRIBLE

Film Review – Ride Along

Director – Tim Story

Starring –  Ice Cube, Kevin Hart, John Leguizamo, Tika Sumpter

Synopsis – Fast-talking security guard Ben joins his cop brother-in-law James on a 24-hour patrol of Atlanta in order to prove himself worthy of marrying Angela, James’ sister.(provided by IMDB.com)

(there could be spoilers)

REVIEW 

Ride Along opened in January to a huge weekend opening of $48 million, and to date has raked up a very impressive $124 million. This shows me that the American public think the same as me, we need more comedies on the big screen. After The Heat hit big figures last summer, this film continues the trend it shows there’s definitely an audience for them. Now Ride Along hits the UK

For 20 years now Ice Cube has built an impressive film making CV to go along with his status as a Hip-hop legend. In the early days he starred in acclaimed dramas such as Boyz In The Hood and Three Kings, but these days he is seen more on the screen in comedic roles. In Ride Along he doesn’t stray too far away from the on screen formula he usually adopts by being gruff and tough. What’s good about Cube though is by bringing that vibe he allows his co-stars the room to be funny, he’s done it with Chris Tucker and Mike Epps, and now allowing Kevin Hart space to shine. Together they do show a good chemistry and earn a few good laughs, but its mostly chuckles here due to one massive problem, the script.

The script brings all the cliches that you expect from the genre and I know you can name them all so I won’t list them. The problem is that adding these cliches to an already stretched joke of the ride along, doesn’t give the actors alot of chances to raise the film up a few more notches.

The film is shot by Ice Cube regular Tim Story and the action is run of the mill stuff that is quite forgettable. Although It was quite amusing to see action scenes where Cubes character, James Payton, is able to pull 6 foot plus muscle-heads into line with such ease.

Ride Along takes the potential of Kevin Hart and shows us that he is definitely an international star in the making. The film isn’t the greatest vehicle to showcase a whole range of skills, but does show the main thing, that Hart will make you laugh.

VERDICT

Ice Cube has done it again by giving the audience what it wants and showcasing a new talent. Ride Along is a good Friday night film if you are looking for a few laughs whilst not wanting to use alot of brainpower.

RATING

Please feel free to comment below if you have any opinions regarding this review or film.

5 STARS = EXCELLENT

4 STARS = VERY GOOD

3 STARS = GOOD

2 STARS = POOR

1 STAR = TERRIBLE