Wow, it's been such a long time!

I'm so sorry that I haven't posted on here in a while, I've been snowed under with college work! Spend most of my time reading or studying so I haven't had much spare time to watch new films or to even think about reviewing.

I did though watch the last episode's in the Breaking Bad series and it couldn't have finished so perfectly. Everything tied together so perfectly and it was about time Jesse got a break. I'm still dwindling on with Dexter too which, for me, has got to the point where nothing is happening and it's just pretty boring. I really need to start on now with The Walking Dead and Game Of Thrones. I'm going to order the first volume of TWD's graphic novels because I finally have money on my card to be able to do it.

I've been playing GTA V as well which is just as good as anticipated. To begin with I was really unsure of the fact you could switch between characters but now I've played it for a while I think it really mixes up the story lines and as all of them overlap all the character plots overlap. The handling in vechiles is so much easier too, and even the helicopters (which I fucking hated in GTA IV) are easier to fly. It really is the best game out at the minute, I'm very impressed.

So yeah, I guess this is just a quick-ish update about how I've been doing for the past few months. I will try to make an effort to post more on here now. I bought a few new DVD's the other day that I may write reviews for etc but there's not many films in the cinema right now that really stand out to me so I'll have to see what happens.

xo

The World's End review!

At last, I finally got round to putting this together after almost a week of procrastinating! So as you may or may not know I have to make sure that I use Orange Wednesday's to the fullest by going to the cinema every Wednesday; and last Wednesday I had the pleasure of going to see a long awaited film featuring my favourite acting duo - The Worlds End!

Set in the quiet rural town of Newton Haven; Gary King (Simon Pegg) manages to reunite his 5 best friends from school and bring them back to their hometown in order to finally complete the 'golden mile' - a pub crawl of epic proportions which they'd failed to complete when younger. However, on returning to the town they used to rule they find that more has changed than just their attitudes towards their lives. 

The opening sequence is a lot slower than the rest of the film but it's for a good reason; it sets up the introduction to the 5 friends in their youth and contrasts it with their lives now - or at least for most of them as 'The King' is living in the past and trying to follow the in the footsteps of his former self.  But when Gary finally convinces them all the group up and go back to their hometown for one last shot at 'the golden mile' the film gathers momentum and doesn't drop it until the very end.

Having five main characters with such contrasting personalities means that the banter is often and quick, but obviously with the comedic duo of Pegg and Frost you know that the laughs will never die down. I feel that the relationships between the former-friends are quite believable and realistic and the fact that people can relate to the feelings of annoyance that Gary gives Steven (Paddy Considine), Oliver (Martin Freeman), Peter (Eddie Marsan) and Andrew (Nick Frost) give the film that little bit of an edge.

Like it's predecessors, Shaun Of The Dead and Hot Fuzz, The World's End is a tale of regrets over choices made in life and the idea of unfinished business. It has both sentimental moments and times where you'll be crying with laughter (like most of the cinema were). There's not much I can say about this film without giving away crucial clues to how it ends or what these mysterious robot-like beings are that have been shown on the trailers. What I can say though, is that you'll never see a pub crawl like this again in your life.

Towards the end, as the film dangerously approaches the climax and could become an overthought mess, the weapon of the Cornetto Trilogy is deployed again; the mundane. By using simple phrases most would use in day-to-day chit chat, the whole absurdity of the situation, whether it be fighting zombies, undercovering a cult in a quiet village or discovering that Newton Haven's occupants have been.. well you can find out for yourself.

The World's End is a brilliant part 3 and soon to become a much loved film of mine. Now I'll just have to wait for the Cornetto trilogy to be realized so I can add it to my ever-growing collection!

What would you say your favourite trilogy of all time is and why?

Charlie Bartlett film review!

I know that this film came out in 2007 but I noticed it being mentioned on another review website and I managed to find it on Netflix so I thought I'd give it a watch. I could tell that it'd appeal to me just from the trailer, as I'm quite a fan of high school/coming-of-age films and with me being around this age I'm the target audience.

As everyone knows; you can't truly be cool if you look like you're trying. And the truth is that Charlie Bartlett tries alot. He's been thrown out of every private school in the region for trying to fit in and make everyone like him - usually by coming up with crazy entrepreneurial schemes, like selling fake ID's. But like Charlie says "I'm 17 and popularity is pretty darned important to me".

Things don't start off well for his first day of public school when Charlie (Anton Yelchin) turns up wearing a blazer embellished with a latin transcript, a tie and carries an 'attache case'. It's obvious from this point that despite his friendly nature he'll be beaten up by a stereotypical bully who he'll then befriend later on in the film and find out he's a caring and nice guy who just had problems - it's typical. Luckily though he had instant chemistry with Susan (Kat Dennings), a rebellious 'emo' girl in the drama club who also happens to be the daughter of the schools Principal (Robert Downey Jr).

Charlie's solution to the bullying problem is to get popular, and obviously he comes up with another scheme. He starts to run amateur psychoanalytic/confessional sessions in the boys toilet stalls and provides prescribed drugs (from his various therapists and doctors) to try and help the other students with their problems. And as you would guess, providing these lost teens with help and support soon makes Charlie the most talked about guy in school; just as he'd wanted. But Charlie means well, he believes he's provided a well needed service and that he's the only one who'll listen. Sooner or later everyone from the students to administration staff knows (of) the infamous 'Charlie Bartlett'.

Almost everything from this film seems to be based around successful teen comedy's from the '70s, '80s and '90s like "Footloose" and "The Breakfast Club". The formula of a budding romance plus a coming-of-age film is always sure to be a winner. Like many high school related movies, it presents a fantasy of tolerance from the kids in different cliques - nerds, jocks, cheerleaders, drama clubbers etc - all having to come together to fight the adults in a battle for authority.

There's not too much I can say about this film without giving away crucial clues to the plot line and speaking as myself; I know how bloody annoying it is to have a film completely ruined by spoilers. Even though I am a huge lover of Robert Downey Jr and due to his good looks and natural charm he has forced Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Iron Man 3 and Avengers Assemble into my favourite films - I don't believe he was right for the role of a alcoholic school Principal who seems to have no power over his students. I kind of feel like he was wasted in the role and it should have gone to a different actor, someone slightly older (which would have made more sense to the fact he can't connect with the students).

I have to say that although I enjoyed this film, it did not live up to my expectations. It had the potential to be an amazing coming-of-age film as it explored the depressive and emotional side of teen life and the constant need to be liked rather than the typical drinking and partying perspective of most modern high school comedy's; but it felt too staged rather than it being able to flow. There is a great film waiting to be made about psychiatry, depression and our youth, but  unfortunately this is not it.

Now You See Me film review!

Thanks to Orange Wednesdays, yesterday I had the pleasure of going to see Now You See Me which I've been excited about ever since I saw the trailer before Man Of Steel back in June.

The "Four Horsemen" are more masters of illusion than magicians in this crime thriller; showcasing a vast amount of trickery and slight-of-hand. "The more you look, the less you see" is something we're told on multiple occasions by the big headed Daniel Atlas (Jesse Eisenburg), one of the "Four Horsemen" who are seemingly selected to group together to create one big magical act. From the start we follow an FBI agent (Mark Ruffalo) who is paired with a seemingly suspicious interpol detective (Mélanie Laurent) who seem to be in for the chase of their lives as they're paired with the case of catching the true bank robbers; along with a little help from Thaddeus Bradley (Morgan Freeman) an ex magician who has changed his ways and started a TV show to expose magicians and tell the world the secrets of their tricks.

In the opening sequence it introduces the "Four Horsemen" - Daniel Atlas (Jesse Eisenburg), Merrit McKinney (Woody Harrelson), Henley Reeves (Isla Fisher) and Jack Wilder (Dave Franco) - and shows them preforming to their different array of audience types before being handed mysterious cards that all point them to the same place. They are then reborn 1 year later as the "Four Horsemen" who have come together for a 'one night only' showcase in Las Vegas.

Unfortunately the film becomes a little lost with the many plot holes and seems to feel the need to dazzle the audience with nonsensical plot twists and their unconvincing explainations. It then makes it harder to laugh at the Horsemen's arrogant banter and harder to care about Dylan Rhodes' (Mark Ruffalo) predicable relationship with the french interpol detective. Along with the relentless high speed chases and excessive camera swooping the third act is left a mess of unexplained actions rather than the well-executed finale I expected it to be.

I'm not saying though that I didn't enjoy this film - actually it is quite the opposite. I have always been a lover of magic and with this film being more about slight-of-hand than unrealistic miracle feats it keeps the audience guessing and trying to figure out what really happened; who did it and what will happen next. With the seemingly unconnected crimes they commit following a Robin Hood-esque kind of pattern; "robbing from the rich and giving to the poor" it leaves the FBI (and the audience) trying to figure out why. This film gives nothing away about the true ending to prepare so be amazed, shocked and left speechless.

I understand that this may not be everyone's cup of tea but I can see 'Now You See Me' becoming one of my all time favourites. It's kind of like Donnie Darko and Inception in the sense that you feel like you need to watch it over and over to look for signs of the last plot twist.

Top 5 films of all time!

I thought the perfect first post for this blog would be my top 5 films of all time. For someone like me who has many  favourite films this has proved a bit of a challenge and I know I've probably forgotten half of the films I've ever seen but hey-ho.

1. Shaun Of The Dead: This has got to be in my top 10 films; it has everything you could possibly want in a film! Comedy, romance, violence, friendship and zombies! The combination of everything together makes for one of the best 'family-friendly' films I've ever seen. Not to mention that Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are 2 of my favourite actors.

1. Donnie Darko: This film is such a mindfuck that I keep re-watching it in hope that it'll make more sense the next time around. I love films that really make you think about things afterwards and this is definitely one of those films. And way the film shows everything through Donnie's eyes makes it just that little bit more intriguing. If you haven't already then I definitely recommend you watch it.
2. Dude, Where's My Car?: If you know anything about me then you'll know that I absolutely adore cheesy 90's films such as Dude, Where's My Car?; Wayne's World and In The Army Now. Comedy from this time is right up my street and perfect to my sense of humour. Everything about this film is perfect and it even has Ashton Kutcher; need I say more? Shibby.
3. House Of 1000 Corpses: I've probably seen this film more times than I've showered in my entire life and I'm not exaggerating. Obviously with me being an avid fan of Rob Zombie it was a must-have to see all of the films that he's directed and it is certainly not a let down. It has the perfect combination of gore, violence and weird country hicks that it's managed to make it's way into my favourite films of all time. If you're ready to put up with all the moaning (as you already will be as it's in most of Rob Zombie's songs) then here's a new film for you to fall in love with.
4. Lion King: They always say 'save the best til last' and I certainly have. The Lion King is my favourite film ever, has been from the first time I watched it and will be forever. I remember watching it as a child all the way until the end; then rewinding the video until it was back to the beginning so I could re-watch it again. I can't even find the words to describe this film to you. It's perfect for everyone and will be my family's favourite for generations to come. Just seriously, best film of all time. Watch it now, I know you want to.