Film Review – The Raid 2 (2014)

Director – Gareth Evans

Starring –  Iko Uwais, Yayan Ruhian, Arifin Putra

Synopsis – Only a short time after the first raid, Rama goes undercover with the thugs of Jakarta and plans to bring down the syndicate and uncover the corruption within his police force. (provided by IMDB.com)

(there could be spoilers)

REVIEW 

A few years ago I caught a small foreign film on the big screen, called “The Raid”, a film that left me feeling as mentally drained as most the villians on the screen. Its always good to find a little film like this that, unexpectatley, ticks all the boxes required on the cinema visit. With this sequel though, my expectation levels are high so can the magic be repeated …. with a hammer to the face YES.

So the first film was one that perfectly knew what the audience required, we wanted a decent story with added bonus of some really good kick ass action, and we got it. As is the case with most sequels, the director sees it as a chance to show us that as a filmmaker he has more in his locker. This means that there’s a storyline of Rama going uncover to infultrate a gang that has corrupt police officials and politicians in their pockets. With this storyline it makes the sequel less intense and action packed as the original, and easily 30 minutes too long. In the whole film the amount of detective work that we see Rama exhibit amounts to one scene of hiding in the shadows, listening to a wire-tap, whilst the rest of the story amounts to alot of different fractions trying to cross each other. This is a negative that you won’t have heard in many of my reviews, as for once I was here for action and violence, and only required a good storyline to service that violence.

So the action doesn’t come onto the screen as much as the original but when it does, WOW! You know in the normal action films where Bruce Willis hits someone, they go down like a sack of potatoes and in your gut you think why does it look so easy. Well in this you will have no questions as you feel every punch, kick and baseball bat. The Director has a great eye for action so that when a scene goes down that path, its a seat gripping experience. We get mass brawls, fast flowing martial arts and villians that fight with weapons such as a baseball bat or two hammers. A great scene sees Rama get caught up in a mass fight, in the rain sodden clay-pit of the prison yard, and you really need to catch your breath to take it all in. The director flows the camera between the action as everyone, including the extras, in real looking violence time.

So Gareth Evans is definitely a director for great action and if Hollywood are to remake this then they need to be able to show the same level of action to make it work. This film here wasn’t as strong and intense as the original, but is still better than 90% of Hollywood action films.

VERDICT 

Over long but entertaining addition to the original film. I don’t know what part 3 will have involved but I will be there to see it

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 – About Last Night (2014)

Location Watched – Cinema

Director – Steve Pink

Starring –  Kevin Hart, Michael Ealy, Regina Hall, Joy Bryant

Synopsis – Follow two couples as they journey from the bar to the bedroom and are eventually put to the test in the real world. (provided by IMDB.com)

(there could be spoilers)

REVIEW 

Kevin Hart continues to make his mark on the 2014 Box Office, with his third film outing this year, with this remake of the 1986 Bratpack movie of the same name. Will this be another example of his rising star or should we just stick to the original?

I have to say that I haven’t seen the original, so this won’t be a review loaded with comparisons, but I hope that the original had more substance than this version did. The center of the film is based around Debbie (Joy Bryant) and Danny (Michael Ealy) who after a one night stand turn their sexual relationship, into a serious one. The problem is that during the film the pace is quite fast and scenes are short between these two, leaving us with no real emotional meat for the audience to get into. What we get is the usual run through from “are we in a relationship” to “are you ready to get a dog” to “I want to hang with my boys” but with additional RnB songs whenever they think a scene of substance is on.

On the flip side of this relationship, is a couple made up of Bernie (Hart) and Joan (Hall). This is a couple filled with so much passion that it can manifest to sex or arguing. Its these guys that save the film for me as they bring real chemistry to the screen and with these guys, alot of humor. It’s not that we can’t see the signs of how this couple is going to end up, its just that between them they add the spark needed for the film. Kevin Hart always brings funny, but with Hall he has someone to bounce off and willing to go anywhere where the scene takes them. Trust me you won’t look at a chicken the same way after one revealing scene between them.

VERDICT 

Most people will be here for Kevin Hart, and for that reason they won’t be disappointed.

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 – 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 Monuments Men

Director – George Clooney

Starring –  George Clooney, Matt Damon, Bill Murray, Bob Balaban, John Goodman

Synopsis – An unlikely World War II platoon is tasked to rescue art masterpieces from Nazi thieves and return them to their owners.(provided by IMDB.com)

(there could be spoilers)

REVIEW 

It cannot be denied that over the last ten years George Clooney has turned into a great all round filmmaker, at the top of his game. In his many hats as actor, director and producer he always seems to be at the Oscars representing multiple films in the major categories. The Monuments Men sees him round together a great cast but will it continue his run of great films? no not exactly.

I can tell you now that if you see this film expecting the cast of this film to be running around in the thick of battlefield action, then you will be disappointed. The Monuments Men revolves around the last days of the war, when Hitler was either stock piling stolen monuments or ordering their destruction. The script (written by Clooney and Grant Heslov) does have a few excellent scenes scattered around, one in particular I loved was involved a showering Bill Murray receiving a recorded message and song from home, played out over the tannoy for all to enjoy. Another scene to enjoy is when Matt Damon returns a piece of stolen art work to the residence of a abandoned property of a Jewish family, it hits home the devastation brought to entire blocks of families. A big issue is that the film is too scattered to give the audience any chance of really being drawn into a strong story. Within minutes of getting the central characters together, they are all sent away on separate little missions. This is a problem as the edit takes us between them all and loses that great group chemistry they have, also any urgency that the group should have in recovering these pieces.

The cast doesn’t disappoint as they all get little moments of humor or emotion to really lift their characters on screen. I do feel the film would have been improved by giving them a few scenes where you get more of an insight into their back stories, showing you who these guys were and why it was so important to them, even now after the film I still don’t know much about them. 

 

Credit can be given to the filmmakers for the film looking good on screen though. The after effects of war can be seen in the battle scared landscapes of Europe, full of rubble and damaged ruins. 

This isn’t going to be a Friday night film for groups of young people, this is a film that you can safely take parents and grandparents to and in turn they may get more out of it. It’s not a film strewn with alot of graphic violence and bad language, and these days we don’t see many films like that.

VERDICT

The Monuments Men has a spread of nice little scenes, and an impressive cast, but unfortunately when put together it just scrapes through making it a good movie, not a great one. 

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 – Her

Director – Spike Jonze

Starring –  Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams, Scarlett Johansson

Synopsis – A lonely writer develops an unlikely relationship with his newly purchased operating system that’s designed to meet his every need.

(there could be spoilers)

REVIEW 

In todays world of social media we are always hearing tales of people falling for each other via the internet. Everyone has the chance to talk to complete strangers online via our mobile phones or laptops. There’s even shows on televisions like “Catfish”, where people have fallen for each others personalities and grown to be in a relationship, depending on that person, before they have even met the person to see if its the same in real life. In Her we have a director, Spike Jonze, who gives us an insight into a future where its normal to relate to an operating system, rather than a human. Can a film audience relate to it on screen though?

Firstly we must credit Jonze and Director Of Photography Hoyte Van Hoytema with shooting a visually stimulating film. They have picked locations from around the world, such as Shanguai to show the future of Los Angeles. They employ big skylines, bold colors, bright and clean streets and homes stocked with intelligent appliances. Each shot looks strategically planned so to get as much detail in the frame. Its only February but I will state now that this will be one of the best looking films that you will see this year.

We all know about Joaquin Phoenix’s off screen persona, but no one can deny his on screen talent. In “Her” he plays Theodore, a surrogate letter writer for people that are too busy or find it difficult to put their feelings down on paper. This is a man that can put together a beautiful letter but struggles with human interaction in his real life. Spike Jonze employs alot of extreme close ups of Theodore and its here we see a wide range of emotions which can be expressed through the slightest movement Phoenix’s face. Phoenix has always been able to play intense characters on screen but here he has a sweetness and charm that we aren’t used to seeing. Scarlett Johansson brings playfulness, innocence, and intelligence as the voice of Samantha. If I have one problem its that we are very used to her voice by now, so when you hear it you get a instant picture of Scarlett floating around in cyber space, it might have been much better to have used an unknown ladies voice.

Jonze was the scriptwriter of the piece and shows us a future where we disconnect from each other and rely more upon electronic devices to run our lives. People walk around without noticing those around them as they interact, at a touch of a button, with their OS-1s. The relationship between Samantha and Theodore doesn’t seem that strange on screen as you can really hear the connection between the leads grow, whilst learning from each other. As the film moves on Samantha continues to grow and understand far more than expected, her open eyed eagerness to learn takes her away from Theodore in search of answers. Jonze poses alot of questions regarding the big question of love and human nature, and doesn’t give us the answers. I have a feeling that this film will show you something different the more you view it. 

VERDICT

With a beautiful soundtrack to accompany this film and carry you through it. This is very good film, overall, that will give you plenty to talk about once the film has finished, that is after you have checked your Facebook and Twitter accounts.  

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 Wolf Of Wall Street

Director –  Martin Scorsese

Starring –  Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Margot Robbie, Rob Reiner, Matthew McConaughey, Kyle Chandler.

Synopsis – Based on the true story of Jordan Belfort, it takes you through his rise to a wealthy stockbroker living the high life to his spiraling fall involving crime, corruption and the federal government.

REVIEW

There’s always films by actors and directors that need little persuasion for me to head to the cinema to see. Leonardo DiCaprio is one of these actors and Martin Scorsese is one of those directors, so when they collaborated again on this film there was no chance I was going to miss it. First screening on the opening day I took my seat in the screen and for the next 3 hours I wasn’t disappointed.

The film opens with a corporate video advertising the services of a stockbrokers firm called Stratton Oakmont, it shows this is a company of stature and class, then cuts to the employees enjoying their wild office party by “midget throwing”. This sets the tone for the rest of the movie as in the first five minutes the audience is treated to naked ladies, sexual activity, swearing and a glorious monologue from DiCaprio that is reminiscent of “Goodfellas”, never a bad thing.

Scorsese is on great form keeping scenes flowing with a great pace during the lengthy three hour run time. Its little things such as when the characters use drugs he used different lenses to create a sense of highness for the audience, this is the reason why Mr Scorsese has always been top of the game. Its been a longtime since i’ve seen an 18 rated film, this is definitely a film for adults, most shy away from it these days but Scorsese revels in it, for example we hear more F-bombs in half this film than the rest of the Oscar nominated films together.

The film is written by Boardwalk Empire collaborator Terrance Winter and is packed full of outrageous scenes, hilarious comedic elements and some great dialogue. If there’s a scene that stands out for me then it’s not the one you would expect, it’s the scene of the first meeting between DiCaprios character Jordan Belfort and FBI agent Denham (played by Kyle Chandler)on a yacht brimming with excesses of wealth . The exchanges start out pleasant enough but soon the subliminal messages seep through and turns into a twisting fight for power and electrifies the screen.

Mr Scorsese will always be able to pull in a cast of A-list actors for each film and in return they will bring their best to each role, this film is no different. Leonardo DiCaprio produced this project and once again shows why he only works with the best. In this role he exudes greed and power and commands that the audience comes with him for the ride. Despite the charm he doesn’t show any real redemption and that’s the key to the role, he isn’t seeking forgiveness, its just all there to see so judge how you want.

Jonah Hill isn’t someone that people expect to be in this film, but is someone that I’ve always been a big fan of and has deservedly earned his second Oscar nomination for the role of Donny, the cannonball crazy friend of Belfort. Anytime you see a crazy scene on screen, whether it’s masturbating in front of everyone at a beach party to overdosing on Quayludes you can be sure that Donny is part of it. Another standout mention of the supporting cast is newcomer Margot Robbie who will have most men in a trance when using her sexual allure to reel Jordan in but also stands her ground when things fall apart.  

VERDICT

Its interesting that when the Bafta nominations came out that the film missed out on the “Best Film” Category but Mr Scorsese earned a nomination for “Best Director”, this film puts it all out there for the world to see and doesn’t hold back. This isn’t a tale of redemption, this is a tale of greed and power that we could all learn from but won’t. When DiCaprio breaks the third wall and talks directly to the audience we listen, because we all wish we could live in his shoes for a day.

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