Worst of 2012 Review

Worst 10 Films since June 2012

1. Keith Lemon The Film 0/10
2. The Five Year Engagement 2/10
3. The Master 2/10
4. The Watch 3/10
5. Ice Age 4 Continental Drift 4/10
6. The Expendables 2 5/10
7. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days 5/10
8. Gambit 5/10
9. Killing Them Softly 5/10
10. Dredd 5/10

Best of 2012 Review

Bearing in Mind I didn't get my Umlimited Cinema Card until the Middle of June, so I guess this is really my review of the 2nd half of 2012

Top 10 Films

1. The Perks of Being a Wallflower - 10/10
2. Silver Linings Playbook 9.5/10
3. Ted 9.5/10
4. Hope Springs 9/10
5. ParaNorman 9/10
6. Argo 9/10
7. Prometheus 9/10
8. Skyfall 9/10
9. Brave 9/10
10. Ruby Sparks 8.5/10

Best Acting Performances

1. Ezra Miller - Perks of Being a Wallflower
2. Jennifer Lawrence - Silver Linings Playbook
3. Matthew McConaughey - Killer Joe
4. Meryl Streep - Hope Springs
5. Tommy Lee Jones - Hope Springs

Best Annimation: ParaNorman

Best Comedy: Ted

Best Voice Performance: Kelly McDonald - Brave

Life of Pi

Having heard a lot about how good the 3D effects were on Life of Pi, with a lot of people saying it was "the best use of 3D since Avatar" I decided to break my 3D ban, I was disappointed, as ever the use of 3D didn't really add anything to my enjoyment of the movie, and I was uncomfortable wearing the glasses.

The Film itself is getting a lot of rave reviews, has been nominated for Golden Globes, and is likely to be on the shortlist for Oscars, however I didn't find it to be as good as others have. Yes its a good movie, yes it's well directed and yes the cinematography of it is great, but as a narrative story I didn't find it that entertaining.

I guess if you go to see a movie, to appreciate the art of film making, then this is worthy of the awards, but as someone who goes to the cinema to be entertained, this will not be making my list of the best films of 2012.

Don't get me wrong, this is not a bad film, far from it, it just that given the hype, awards (probably) and media coverage, my expectations were heightened. I was, perhaps, expecting a bit too much 8/10

Jack Reacher

Thank you once more to Cineworld for another advanced screening for unlimited card holders.

This has not been heavilly trailered, so I didn't really know what to expect from this film, but it was surprisingly good. Cruise plays this sort of role very well, and a late cameo appearance from Robert Duval is always a treat.

One thing that did annoy me, in the opening credits, the title is displayed in the same font and scale as the actors, so if you came into this movies without knowing its title, you could just miss the title in the mix and assume that "Jack Reacher" is the name of an actor.

The fight sequences (and there are lots of them!) are very well choreographed, and although this is essentially an action movie, it is punctuated throughout with lots of comedy moments (both verbal and visual) that are funnier than a lot of the jokes in recent comedy movies.

I found this movie to be very entertianing, I can't see it winning any awards this season, and I don't think it is trying to, but a very pleasant evenings viewing 8/10

The Hobbitt - An Unexpected Journey

Having enjoyed the Lord of the Rings series of films, I was eagerly anticipating this one. there has been a lot of discussion on twitter lately regarding the high frame rate version at 48fps hwever In line with my policy of no longer watching 3D movies, I saw the 2D version.

This film is not Lord of the Rings, and as such has a very different feel to it, it is a bit more comedic in nature, but equally as entertaining. I must admit I have not read the book, so have no basis of judgement on that front.

Martin Freeman as young Bilbo Baggins does a decent Job, but for me, the star of the show, even though he dosen't make an appearance until well into the final hour is Andy Serkis his performance as Gollum is better than his previous incarnation in LOTR.

All in all this is a very good watch, over 3 hours (including Ads & Trailers) disappeared very quicky 8/10

Nativity 2: Danger in the Manger

This is the sequel to the very popular Nativity movie from last Christmas, except this time it seems to have gone a bit to far, it does require you to suspend all sense of reality, the whole of this film is based upon a completely wacky premise, and many of the jokes are just far to out there.

Are we really meant to believe that this Childish Man has any place as a classroom assistant, even if his Aunt is the head teacher. the whole thing is utterly ludicrous.

That said it does have its moments, some of the jokes are extremely funny, and it does have its charming moments, but like all films that involve some for of conteat at the end you just know they are going to win, maybe just one of these days our hero could come second in one of these movies? 5/10

End of November Review

November has been a funny month, With Skyfall and Twilight taking over my Local Cinema it has been a month of few movies, I was really struggling to think of what to put here. That was until I saw Silver Linings Playbook and it has to win best Film of the Month, and Best Actress for Jennifer Lawrence.

A brief honourable mention for Argo, which is also one of the top movies of November.

Worst Film of the Month for me was the master, I have seen reviews saying it is the superb, and others panning it, I am in the latter category, the lack of any sense of a narrative just did my head in and I was bored very quickly.

Aside from that is has been a quiet month, I am looking forward to the Hobbit, and Life of Pi in December

Silver Linings Playbook

When I first saw the trailer for this a couple of months ago I was not sure, it looked like a very odd movie about crazy people. however this film is an absolute triumph.

It deals with Mental Illness without shouting "look at me I'm crazy" it is a very sensitive look at mental health issues.

Jennifer Lawrence's performance is outstanding, and deserves be nominated in the Awards season, and Bradley Cooper excels in what must be a difficult role to act.

The End is a bit predictable, but then I guess in Rom Coms they usually are.

As I start to think about my review of 2012 it has to be up there among my top films 9.5/10

Gambit

Gambit, is a bit like an episode of Hustle with a few silly gags along the way, but unfortunately it is not as funny as it could be.

The end reveal sequence is great, but the previous 80 minutes are really quite poor, the laughs are few and far between, and it certainly fails the 6 laugh out loud moments rule which constitutes a decent comedy.

After winning an Oscar last year, I think Colin Firth needs to stick to what he is good at, because this is extremely poor.

The cast list may make a few people want to see this, Firth, Diaz and Rickman, but this will go down as one of their more forgettable performances, and give it a year or two and it might well turn up as a pointless answer.

Instantly forgettable, saved slightly by the ending 5/10

The Master

With Skyfall and Twilight having taken over my Local Cineworld, I was fortunate enough to get a free ticket to the Odeon courtesy of O2. so big thanks to them.

About the only thing showing at the Odeon that I had not seen was the Master, having read a couple of reviews raving about how good it is, particularly the one in the Guardian, and even my favorite film critic Mr Mark Kermode seemed to like it, So I thought this might be a really good watch, I was wrong.

Unless I see something truly awful in the next 6 weeks, this is likely to make my Bottom 5 worst films of the year, I was bored extremely quickly which meant I spent half the movie getting annoyed about dodgy Camera work, scenes out of focus which didn't seem to be deliverate, and close ups so close that you can't really see what was going on, or camera angles whereby filming over someones shoulder when they are in frame so obscure the camera shot. i'm sure some of this may be deliberate, but it was just annoying.

I also was not expecting full frontal nudity (including a couple of old women) and the use of the C word, are these now acceptable for 15 year olds? in my opinion this film should be an 18.

I kinda get what the film maker was trying to say about Cults, but it really dosen't work, this will only be saved from my worst film of the year award by Keith Lemon 2/10

Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part II

The Much Anticipated final part to the Twilight Series seems to have taken over my Local Cinema, between that and Skyfall there is nothing else on at the moment.

There is not much I can really say about this, its a bit like Marmite, you will either love it or hate it, I lean towards the former. having really enjoyed the previous films in the Saga this is a very good end, I particularly enjoyed the (non) Battle scene, and the tension between Bella and Jake throughout.

The Acting is not going to win any awards, but this sort of movie is never about awards, but about how much money they can make, and judging by how busy the cinemas are, it may well threaten Skyfall for biggest box office of the year.

A good end to the Saga 7/10

Argo

Once again big thanks to Cineworld for the unlimited preview of Argo, I actually saw this a week ago, but for some reason my computer has been unable to log on to post this for the past week, anyway here goes.

This is based on a true stroy, a CIA operation in 1979. Argo was a Star Wars type Sci-Fi Film that was never made, the reason it was never made is that it was it was a cover for getting a "Canadian film crew" out of Iran, the film crew in question actually being American Embassy staff.

It starts off quite slowly, with a lot of the planning phase, but is the sort of film that creeps up on you and by the end had me totally engrossed. Obviously there is a lot of dramatic Licence used, and I'm sure a lot of the close run ins with the iranians were not in reality quite that close, but that just adds to the tension of the film.

A decent performance by Ben Affleck as CIA agent Tony Mendez, and John Goodman as Make Up Artist John Chambers.

All in all this is a very good film, that draws you in and then delivers 9/10

End of Month Review

My Direct Debit for the next month of movie fun has been taken, so here are my views on the last month of films.

Film of the Month definitely goes to the Perks of being a Wallflower, and baring anything extraordinary in the next couple of months, I think it will be a shoe in for my film of the year. other decent movies this month, of Course Skyfall and in in the plethora of Animation this month, the best animated movie I felt was Madagascar 3

Worst Film of October I felt was Hotel Transylvania, quickly followed by Taken 2, or Taken 2 the cleaners as it as been labelled by some, I have to admit tat I didn't find it as bad as many seem to have done, tere was nothing hideously poor this month.

I am not a fan of Horror films so did not go to see Sinister, Paranormal Activity 4 or the House at the end of the street.

Best Actor for October has to go to Ezra Miller in the Perks closely followed by Emma Watson


Films I am looking forward to in November include Argo and End of Watch, I am not a huge fan of Twilight but I'm interested in how the Saga ends, Rust and Bone looks interesting, and Gambit might be a bit of fun.

Skyfall

The much anticipated new Bond Movie, having seen the trailer and heard/read several reviews saying it was one of, if not the best, Bond films ever I was really looking forward to this one and it didn't disappoint.

Sam Mendes somehow takes the Bond franchise and makes it feel like a Sam Mendes movie, performances from Craig, Dench and especially Bardem are superb, this is a very modern spy thriller.

There are a couple of issues, maybe is slightly too long, and one scene in particular, with Bardem Monologuing I just felt could have been cut down slightly, but that is no major, and I wasn't sure about all the references to the past bond films.

Also on a couple of occasions the product placement is so in you face it gets annoying, and I have never seen so many adverts before a film at the cinema in my life 

These are minor annoyances in what is an otherwise superb film, after the Disappointment of Quantum of Solace, the Bond Franchise is back on form 9/10

Why I am refusing to watch 3D

There have been severaly films lately where I have chosen to watch the 2D version instead of the 3D, the reasons for this are many and varied.

Firstly a financial one, is the 3D worth the extra on the admission price, in my opinion the 3D is not worth the extra £1.50

Secondly I wear glasses to see, which means I end up wearing 2 pairs, glasses on top of glasses, which makes it extremely uncomfortable, The 3D glasses also have the effect of reducing the light coming from the screen and they give you a headache.

So from now on, I am going to see 2D and refuse to watch any film where there is not a 2D version available, they are going to have to produce a 2D version for DVD, so why can't they do it for the Cinema?

Frankenweenie

I was really looking forward to this one, a Tim Burton Annimation, that seemed to have a lot to say, however I was expecting something of the quality of Paranorman, and I was a little disappointed, This is a good movie, the annimation is very good, and its certainly better than Hotel Transylvania which is also out currently, but for me it was a little slow, and he plot seemed to plod a bit, which in a less than 90 minute movie is a problem, maybe because it was adapted from a short, maybe it should have been left as such 7/10 

 

Madagascar 3

The characters we know and love from the first 3 films, now run away with the circus in a effort to get home, this film is very funny and has some very heartwarming scenes. This is probably the beast of the 3 Madagascar films  8/10

Hotel Transylvania

There are two words that generally put me off a movie, those two words are Adam and Sandler

This however is one of his better performances, mainly due to the fact that we only have to put up with his voice, and not his acting ability (or lack of it!!)

The Dracula Character is quite good, however Mavis voiced by Selina Gomez is far to human and not enough vampire to be realistic.

There are plenty of laughs, and some very touching moments, particularly when the monsters realise that the Humans actually love them.

This is a reasonable movie, however time with Madagascar 3 and Frankenweenie in the next 7 days, it has strong competition 6/10

Ruby Sparks

Once again big thanks to Cineworld for the advanced preview screening

Based on the trailer I was really looking forward to this one, the concept intrigued me, and I wondered where it would go. Its a very interesting story, and I really enjoyed it.

This is not a laugh out loud comedy, there are no massive laughs, in that respect it is not what I would call a Rom Com, its much more subtle than that, The character development is good and the casting of Paul Dano as Calvin is great.

This film does have its issues, some of the script is incredibly cheesy, although some of that may be deliberate, expecially in the scenes when they are playing out what he has written/dreamt.

The end for me was also very contrived, for some reason I wanted him to write her out of his life, maybe kill her off, mabe if the film had ended 3 seconds earlier with the book reading I might ave forgiven it, but the last scene just annoyed me.

on the whole though this is a warm, and entertaining film, with good lead performances, and much to say on the subject of accepting that your partner will not be the perfect person you imagine. 8.5/10

Taken 2

Like many successful films before, the producers of Taken saw how well it was received and decided to make a sequal, and like all sequals it is not as good as the original. The plot is not strong enough for me, he gets kidnaped, he escapes, end of movie. The surrounding bit about her driving test, and her getting a boyfriend are nice little add ons, but do little to make the story tick.

However, after my rant(s) in September about bloody violence, it was nice to see a film that involved lots of violence and killing, that managed not to be gory and bloodthirsty. This for me is how I like this sort of movie to be, when a person gets shot, the camera does not linger on the wound, and show the bullet going through them in graphic detail. of course there is blood, but it is not gratuitous.

A couple of the sequences were a bit to contrived for me. Why would you crash through security at the US embassy and risk being shot when the people following you have gone and you can simply walk up to the gate? but on a whole an enjoyable movie, just not as good as the original. 7/10

The Perks of being a Wallflower

I went into this film not really knowing what to expect, The trailer gave away little in terms of the content (as it should) its a coming of age drama with a lot of heart, and I think it is excellent, in fact I would go as far as to say it is the best film I have seen this year.

Maybe it is because I empathise with Charlie, the wierd kid who has no friends, as that is pretty much what I used to be like, I really felt this story, of being quiet and socially arkward and wanting people to like you. there is also an undertone dealing with domestic violence, and why people stay in relationships that are clearly no good for them, and it also touches on child abuse, and the effects that it has on the child.

I think it helps that the film was written and directed by Stephen Chbosky who wrote the original novel, sometimes I think that screenplays adapted from someone elses novel lose what the original author was trying to say.

Fantastic Performances by Logan Lerman, Emma Watson and especially Ezra Miller as Patrick

I don't give it out often, but this film deserves it 10/10

End of September review

Another month passes, September seemed to be the month for blood and guts, with lots of violence in films like Dredd, Lawless and Killing Them Softly, I'm not a huge fan of this type of movie, which is maybe why my Film of the Month goes to Hope Springs.

Tommy Lee Jones and Meryl Streep also win my Actor/Actress of the Month Award for their performances.

I can't leave september without a mention for Paranorman which is also a sensational animation, and with 3/4s of 2012 gone, should be up for animation of the year, ahead of Brave

Worst Film of September goes to Killing them softly, which may surprise many, I have read lots of reviews saying how superb it is, but I guess I just didn't understand it, maybe I'm just not clever enough to see all the undertones and neuances of what the filmmaker is trying to say, but for me most of it is nonsense.

So onwards to October obviously the Big Film release this month is Skyfall, but I am also looking forward to Ruby Sparks, which from the trailer looks quite interesting, and The Perks of Being a Wallflower is out Tomorrow, so looking forward to that one, with a post Harry Potter Emma Watson.

The Campaign

I am not a huge fan of Will Ferrell, I find his comedies can be a bit hit and miss, but this is probably one of his better ones.

The satirisation of American Election Campaigns and the "do anything to win" mentality especially with the Presidential Elections coming up is very well done, The Jokes are a little hit and miss, some big laughs, and some that just fall flat, but probably more hit than miss, plenty of chuckles and a couple of big laugh out loud moments.

Decent performances by the 2 leads, Ferrell is on form and Galifianakis puts in a good performance as Marty

Om the whole worth seeing, maybe not quite as funny as it could have been , but a well timed release, and very enjoyable 7/10

Looper

Big thanks to Cineworld for the unlimited advance preview of Looper.

Once you get out of the habit of analysing all the paradoxs this is a very good film. Yes the plot has its flaws whereby there are things that then mean that previous things should not have happened but I guess thats part of the fun of a time travel movie.

A reasonable performance by both Joseph Gordon-Levitt and by Willis, although the fact that they look nothing like each other meant that the 30 year aging scequence is farcical, with a slight older looking Gordon-Levitt suddenly becoming Willis clearly dressed with a wig it just doesn't work.

Interesting concept for the storyline, although the plot is a little slow, and at times clunky.

The undoubted star of the movie is the young child Pierce Gagnon playing Cid.

on the whole, and enjoyable movie, just so long as you don't look too closely 7/10

Killing Them Softly

September must be the month for violent bloody films, after Dredd and lawless now we have this. I am not a huge fan of this type of Genre, but there are other issues with this film.

The constant use of the "f" word as part of normal speech began to grate on me, at one point I started counting and in one short scene it was used 9 times in about 7 or 8 sentences. If you start using it that often it ceases to have an impact.

Secondly some of the Characters just appear in a scene and start having a conversation where the characters name is not used, then later on the Character is referred to by name and you are trying to work out who is who.

I just found the whole thing confusing and difficult to follow, coupled with the fact that I had a stinking cold, and was trying hard not to annoy the cinema audience with coughs and sniffles, I just didn't really enjoy this.

I have read some reviews that say it was great and had a great undertone about the economy, and all the bits with Bush and Obama on TV's and Billboards in the background was showing that the government had left these people to rot. Maybe I'm just not aware enough to pick up these subtle messages and see what the filmmaker is trying to say behind rubbish dialogue.

all in all, this film was not for me 5/10

Lawless *plot spoiler alert*

I don't know why I had been putting it off, but I finally got to see Lawless last night

My only major issue with this movie is that when Forrest has his throat slit, there is absolutely no way that he would live, let alone be up and ready for a fight within such a short time frame.

The Level of violence is a little above my comfort zone. I did consider walking out at one point, but stuck with it and was glad I did. A really good performance from Shia LaBeouf, who did much to rid himself of the rubbish that is transformers, A very intense story line and some equally intense hair cuts!

Violence and Major plot fail aside, this is a very enjoyable movie 7/10

Hope Springs

Unlike some other films where I have gone in with high expectations and been disappointed, this film was a very pleasant surprise. Having seen the trailer I didn't think I would enjoy it, but I really did.

The Performances from Tommy Lee Jones and Meryl Streep are absolutely brilliant, The Laughs come thick and fast, and they get several of the best laughs without having to say a word.

Extremely funny its a film that knows how far it can push the sexual innuendo without being crass or crude.

I would say this is the best Rom Com of 2012 so far, an absolute breath of fresh air 9/10

Paranorman

Having really enjoyed Coraline I was looking forward to this film by the same makers. This is a animated movie about a misunderstood kid, with lots of heart and some really moving moments

Unlike a lot of animated "childrens" movies this deals with some very deep issues with several subplots going on along the way, and it manages not to patronise its audience.

There are superb voice performances, particularly from Jodelle Ferland as Aggie the Witch who had me absolutely spellbound.

Maybe not one to take really small children to, but definitely the best animated movie of the year so far 9/10

The Sweeney

The trouble with making a 2012 movie based on a 70's TV series is that policing methods have changed. this means that the Sweeney bears absolutely no resemblance to modern day policing.

Ignoring that fact, this is an enjoyable film, lots of good action sequences, a couple of decent laughs, and a plot with a few twists.

A decent performance by Ray Winstone as you would expect from an actor of his calibre and experience, unfortunately the same can't be said for Ben Drew, who should really stick to his day job of making music, his performance was quite wooden.

On the whole though, a decent couple of hours entertainment.

Entertainment factor 9/10 basis in reality 0/10 acting 6/10 overall score  7/10

Dredd

Annoyingly there does not seem to be a 2D version of Dredd, which meant I had to pay the extra, wear the glasses, and endure the resultant headache. I really don't like 3D for live action films, I think its great for animation when you can have some fun with it, but for something like this I don't think it really adds anything. and as my blind in one eye friend pointed out, "I see everything in 2D anyway, so why should I have to pay the extra for 3D that I can't enjoy"

The film itself is a little bit to violent for my liking, Lots of blood and guts, and as one of the plot devices in the movie is a drug called "slow mo" which slows down your perception of time, there are lots of scenes of Blood and Guts in slow motion, which just adds to the gore factor.

Karl Urban's performance is not that great with the inevitable comparisons to Stallone, The plot is full of holes (like how they survive a hail of machine gun fire that wipes out half the building without taking a single hit) and although its only 90 minutes long, it felt much longer. I generally judge my boredom factor by how long it take me to look at my watch to see how long is left, in this case it was 20 minutes.

Certainly not the best movie of the year, or the month, not even the best movie of this weekend  and certainly not worth paying the extra for 3D 5/10

Anna Karenina

Having seen Kira Knightly in previous period films such as Atonement and The Duchess, I had high hopes for this movie, unfortunately It didn't really live up to those hopes.

Throughout this film, and particularly in the first half an hour, there is this weird theatre style scene change device going on, where someone will walk through a door, then the wall will be lifted, the extras suddenly change costume and you are into a different scene, or the camera will pan round from the stage to the floor of the theatre and you have gone from some outdoor painted backdrop, into a ballroom. Its all very strange, and for me just didn't really work in allowing you to work out what is supposed to be going on. in fact it got annoying, which detracted from my enjoyment of the film.

The performance from Knightly is decent, in my opinion not as good as others mentioned above, but overall the Characters came to life, and had a bit of soul and depth. This is not a bad movie, its a decent couple of hours entertainment, but it just failed to sparkle.

On the whole, I'm glad I saw it, but it just lacks that extra something, once you get past the annoying way the films changes scene its perfectly passable 6/10

End of August review

My Direct Debit for next months unlimited card has gone out, so its time for my monthly summary.

Best Film: Ted

Worst Film: Keith Lemon the Film

Worst Film (That I have actually seen) The Watch

Best Actor: Difficult one to Judge, I didn't think there were many truly stand out performances, So I will give it to Kelly Mcdonald for voicing Brave, with an honourable mention for Jeremy Renner in the Bourne Legacy.

Best Character: Mirada (Brave)

Films I am looking forward to seeing in September:

Dredd
Anna Karenina
Lawless
The Sweeney

Total Recall

A big thanks to Cineworld for the preview screening for unlimited card customers, so I got to see this lat night before its general release today. I should start this review by pointing out that I have not seen the Original Arnie film, so I am coming to this fresh, and I don't have a point of comparison. I might see if I can find a copy on DVD so I can compare/contrast

I quite enjoyed this movie, it messes with the mind a little, leaving lots of questions unanswered, so you can use your imagination to fill in the blanks. Some good action sequences,  the chase scenes are well choreographed and the lead performance from Colin Farrell is decent enough.

Not earth shatteringly good, but on the whole this film is a lot more worthy of my time than some movies I have seen this month. I guess to be a real judge of this I need to see the original.  7/10


Update 30/08: I caught the original film on TV last night, obviously very dated as it is over 20 years ago, I think that the original is decent enough, but the new one is better in my opinion.

The Watch

Slightly annoyed that my Local Cineworld only has 5 screens so cannot show all the latest films to be released. Even more annoying when they have been showing the trailer for a film at pretty much every screening I have been to recently, and then don't show it.

So having forked out to go to the Odeon again, I was made slightly happier by the fact that thanks to O2 priority moments I had a free bag of popcorn from the Odeon which I needed to redeem by the end of August.

Sat with my free large popcorn (which really is far to much for one person) I was looking forward to this one, based upon the trailer I thought this film was going to be funny. I was wrong! All the best jokes are in the trailer, and even they, when put in context rather than spliced together in a trailer, were about as amusing as a trip to the dentist.

It definitely failed the 6 laugh test, in fact I think it may even have failed the 1 laugh test, I may have smirked a couple of times, but proper laughs were sadly lacking.

I wish I had listened to the wonderful people at Cineworld, and realised that the reason they are not showing it is because it is rubbish. With my unlimited Cineworld pass, at least if I see a bad movie I have the satisfaction of knowing I didn't specifically pay to see it. Unfortunately by going to the Odeon to see this one, I did! So not only a waste of 2 hours of my life, but also a waste of my money too.

A lesson learnt. Don't beleive everything you see in a trailer 3/10

Keith Lemon The Film

When I started this blog I said I would endeavor to see any film released at my local Cineworld. However there are some films that I absolutely refuse to see, and this is one of them. I can't stand Keith Lemon, and as such I am not going to waste 2 hours of my life going to watch his film.

I have not seen it, but I can confidently say its probably the worst film of the year 0/10

The Expendables 2

When the Original Expendables movie came out, I was amused at the cast list, it seemed that every 20th Century has been Action Hero wanted one last big pay day I mean seriously, most of this cast should have retired before the turn of the century. But now the Expendables 2 has not only got the cast list from the previous film, it has added a couple more. All it needs is Steven Seagal and you might have the complete set!

There are several very funny one liners, especially when they are taking the piss out of themselves. Bruce Willis telling Schwarzenegger "I'll be back" to which Schwazenegger replies "Yippe kay yee"  and at the end when Stallone says "That thing belongs in a Museum" to which Schwarzenegger replies "We all do"


They know this is pushing it a bit far, and this film does not take itself at all seriously, so I am willing to forgive a bit. but you really have to suspend belief in a lot of the rules of physics to actually get through a lot of the holes in this movie. You end up with lots of questions such as "Where did those weapons suddenly come from?" or "How did they know where they were going?" and "How did they catch up with them so fast?"

The Action sequences are laughable, there is no way any human being could really do what Jet Li does in the opening sequence, its so over the top.

So if you are looking for a believable action movie, you are in the wrong place. however for entertainment value and plenty of laughs at the expense of your favourite 20th Century action hero, maybe this is worth a watch. 5/10

The Bourne Legacy

Once you get past the fact that this is a Bourne movie without Bourne, and is the equivalent of a Bond Movie following 008 this actually is not a bad movie. The problem is it is not a Bourne movie, and is not as good as the Bourne Movies.  I assume if they had given it a non Bourne title it would have attracted fewer through the cinema doors, however if you are a fan of the Bourne movies then you may be a little disappointed.

Part of the intrigue with the Bourne trilogy was that there were a lot of unknowns, he didn't know who he was or what Treadstone and Blackfrier were. There is none of this in the Bourne Legacy so the plot line is a little lost.

The Action set-pieces are good, as you expect form these films, but with the lack of underlying story you don't feel the same for Aaron Cross as you did for Jason Bourne.

I don't think showing someone stranded in an Alaskan landscape was really a strong enough opening, it didn't make any statement ahead of the opening credits, and I found myself nit picking continuity errors, and a couple of bits that just didn't seem believable.

All that said, this is a good movie in its own right, although you need some of the bourne backstory to understand it, if I came to this without the previous three movies I would have enjoyed it, The problem is it is trying to be something it is not. 7/10

Brave

With Brave and the Bourne Legacy both out on the same day, both of which I have eagerly anticipated and really wanted to see, I considered taking in both in one evening, however as 6pm came and went with me nowhere near the cinema, I ended up with a choice of which to see first. In the end I opted for Brave first and will see Bourne this evening.

I am a huge fan of Disney Pixar, but their last film, Cars 2, was a bit of a disappointment. But since first seeing the trailer for this a couple months ago, I had eagerly awaited its release on the 3rd of August, only to be disappointed to discover that was the release date in Scotland only, and I had to wait another 10 days (I live on the South coast, so travelling to Scotland was not an option)

The opening scene setting sequence of Up is amongst some of the best animation I have ever seen, and parts of this film are pretty close to being as good, choices of music and emotional voice performances add to its real lovable quality.

This was Pixar back to their best, lots to keep you emotionally involved, and a superb storyline. Great characters, and a superb performance by Kelly Mcdonald. I really felt the chill come from the screen as one particular scene unfolded.

This has to be one of the best animated films of the year 9/10

Step up 4 - Miami Heat

Ever since George Sampson and the Diversity won Britain's got Talent a few years back, and Street Dance became "current" there have been a few of these films. Many of them fall into the trap of being so much about the dance, that the film has very little in the way of plot, and becomes more like a dance show than a movie. Most of the time if they have any semblence of a plot, its a group of no hopers entering a dance contest, which in the end they win. This, thankfully, manages to avoid that trap.

I saw it in 2D so can't comment on whether the 3D adds anything, but I tend to prefer live action films in 2D and leave the 3D for animated movies when they can be a bit more creative with it.

I really enjoyed this film, some really stunning dance "flash mob" sequences, but without losing the fact that it is a film with a plot that needs to move forward. Well developed characters, with lead actors who can act as well as they can dance.

All in all this is one of the better street dance movies if this is your thing I would recommend it 8/10

Post Olympic filmfest

I guess the distributors were all looking at the olympics as a major barrier to getting people into the cinema (and they were probably right, see my entry for Diary of a Wimpy Kid) so immediately after the olympics has finished there is a whole mass of films being released.
Step-up 4, Brave, The Bourne Legacy and The Expendables 2 are all out in the next week, should be a great week of film fun, Im looking forward to it.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid - Dog Days

Normally with a film released on a Friday, I would have gone to the cinema on Friday night to see it, but with team GB doing so well in the Olympics, just getting off my sofa to go to the cinema proved difficult, especially as this was not one of my must see films.

So having managed to work out the best time to see this, without disrupting my Olympic viewing too much, I found myself in a Sunday Lunchtime showing, surrounded by a load of kids, watching a film for which I am not really the target audience, so I was in a bad mood to start with.

The film did little to lift my mood, I was bored fairly quickly and wishing it to end so I could get back to my TV. It's not that its a bad film, but its not that good either. My main response to this film was indifference, it did little to raise any sort of emotion in me whatsoever, which in many ways is worse than it being really poor, at least when a film is awful I can get worked up in my criticism and hatred.

There were very few real laugh out loud moments, a couple of good snigger moments I guess, but nothing to really stretch the laughter muscles.

One slight warning, this film has a U certificate, which in theory means that its suitable for children over 4. There are a couple of moments, and one in particular, that made me a little uncomfortable with that rating, perhaps it should have been a PG, I wouldn't take a 4 year old to see it.

The Kids around me seemed to enjoy it, but if you are an adult looking for a laugh, I highly recommend you go and see Ted 5/10

Ted

Massive thanks to Cineworld for rewarding their unlimited card customers with an advance screening of Ted. Ever since I first saw the trailer I had been looking forward to this one and it didn't disappoint.  Absolutely hilarious throughout, some brilliant one liners and fantastic visual gags.

The Flash Gordon scene is especially laugh out loud, and I totally lost track of the laugh count.

Great performances from Wahlberg and Seth Macfarlane If you are a fan of Family Guy then this is an absolute must see.

Empire called it the comedy of the Summer, I think it may well be the comedy of the year 9.5/10

End of the Month Review

Its nearly the end of the month so I just thought I would update my thoughts on July

Best Film: Prometheus

Worst Film: The Five Year Engagement

Best Acting Performance: Matthew McConaughey - Killer Joe

Best Loved Character - Grammy Norma - The Lorax

Films I am looking forward to seeing in August

Ted
Brave
Step Up 4
The Bourne Legacy

The Lorax

Technically not out until next week, but with it being released a week earlier in Scotland, a Lot of English cinemas are doing "previews" this weekend, so stop people crossing the border to watch.

I guess I wasn't expecting this to turn into a musical, but with Zac Efron voicing lead, I should have guessed that one!

Much better than the last animated movie I saw (Ice Age 4) this is a decent story with an environmental message, but does it in a way that children can enjoy, and if it teaches out Kids about the consequences of destruction of the rain forest trees then that is a good thing.  Message aside I thought it was a good movie, Betty White as Grammy Norma is a superb character and I enjoyed this immensely

If you are looking for a break from the tranch Superhero movies and Rom Coms currently in the cinema then this is a good escape 8/10

The Dark Knight Rises

This is a very good film in its own right, however it left me slightly disappointed. The Reason for my disappointment was that it had a lot to live up to and didn't quite manage it.

The Dark Knight was a superb film for one reason, The award winning performance of Heath Ledger as the Joker. Unfortunately Tom Hardy as Bane had a very difficult act to follow and failed.

My other issue with this movie is its length, at 2 hours 45 minutes with a lot of story line between action set pieces I found myself bored waiting for something to happen. I'm sure you could lose 30 or 45 minutes of this movie and probably improve it.

On the plus side Anne Hathaway's performance as Cat Woman is great and I think the ending was fantastic, the way it was left had me leaving the cinema with a big smile.

All in all if you are a Batman fan you will enjoy this one, but given the choice between this and The Dark Knight there is no contest. 7/10

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World

I really wanted to see this film based on the trailer, I thought it was an interesting concept, a much more human look at Armageddon than movies like Deep Impact.

I enjoyed this film, I thought performances by Carrell and Knightly were quite good, a couple of very good shock/surprise moments and plenty of emotion, It just about passed the 6 laugh test and at 95 minutes long it feels about right. I usually judge my boredom rating by how early in the film I look at my watch to see how long is left, in this case it was nearly the end of the film before I did so.

I wondered throughout whether there would be a last minute miracle repreive or if the film would end at the end of the world, I won't ruin that one for you, but I thought the end was done really well.

All in all, a very enjoyable movie 8/10

Odeon

As "Seeking a Friend" was not available at my Local Cineworld I ventured to the Odeon last night and Insantly regretted it. having been fleeced of £8.75 I ended up craning my neck looking up at at a tiny screen set far to high, surrounded by people intent on breaking the Mark Kermode Cinema Code of ethics. the guy next to me spent more time looking at his phone than he did watching the film.

Once again I will reinforce my point regarding the Cineworld unlimited Card. £14.99 to see as much cinema as you like, as you can see from this blog I have seen at least 10 films in the last month. To see all these in the Odeon would have cost me £87.50

Killer Joe

Having only briefly seen a trailer for Killer Joe, I only had a vague idea of what it was about and didn't really know what to expect. I guess I wasn't expecting full frontal nudity right from the opening scene, but having got over my initial shock I started to enjoy this movie.

For 90 of its 110 minutes this film is superb, Matthew McConaughey puts in a great performance as Joe, I think it is a much better performance from him than Magic Mike, and you get to see more of him in this than you do in the movie about male strippers. Unfortunately then it goes off the rails a bit, and the closing scenes just get weird. I don't want to put in to many plot spoilers, but making someone give a simulated blowjob when you are holding a piece of KFC chicken between your legs, WTF is that all about? 

This film was a little to graphic for my tastes, I think you could tell the story equally well without much of the nudity, and some of the gratuitous blood, but on the whole I enjoyed most of it 7/10

Magic Mike

I am a single guy going to see a movie about Male Strippers, in a cinema packed with groups of women and very few guys, the majority of whom look like they have been dragged in kicking and screaming by there girlfriends/wives. Ignoring that fact I quite enjoyed this film. Maybe the fact that Cody Horn and Olivia Munn playing female lead tempered my viewing experience, so that it was not just male flesh on display helped!

Whist the film is largely focussed on the male strippers, and a big portion of the screen time is in the club with the strippers, it is not overly explicit and done in a sensitive way (hence the 15 certificate) and there is also a human story behind the sexual facade.

This is not going to win any awards, the acting is poor and the story is limited, but all in all Its certainly not the worst film in the cinema at the moment. 6/10

Update

I am going to See Magic Mike this evening and will post a review early tomorrow. Killer Joe is out tomorrow so will probably get to see that tomorrow evening. I am a bit annoyed that Seeking a friend for the end of the world is not showing at my local Cineworld, So I am going to have to travel or pay. but I will endeavour to see this as soon as I can.

I'm now up to date

After visiting the cinema every night this week, I have now caught everything that is currently showing at my Local Cineworld.

I may pay to go and see Storage 24 at the Odeon at some point, but if not the next update is likely to be Magic Mike, which is out on Wednesday

Katy Perry Part of Me

Its difficult to rate this as its a documentary, but really enjoyable. The Greece sing along before the film starts is a great idea, half the cinema were singing along and it really lightens the mood and puts a smile on your face before the film starts.

The film itself is great, a good mix of Tour Footage, backstage footage, archive footage from family home movies/early TV appearances, and interviews with her family, friends and management. it doesnt shy away from the beakdown of her marriage to Russell Brand and the reasons behind it, there is a particular touching moment in Sao Paulo (I won't ruin it for you if you want to see the film)

If you are a massive Katy Perry Fan then you will love this. even if your not it is still worth seeing 8/10

Friends with Kids

The other day when I reviewed The Five Year Engagement I said that Friends with Kids had to be better, I was right.

If you want to see how a Rom Com can be done well, then this is one to see. The acting is superb, the Characters have depth and emotion, and crucially the jokes work. The jokes flow naturally rather than being contrived and the use of the awkward silence a couple of times is inspired. Having said the other day I am not a fan of Rom Coms this was a very enjoyable 107 minutes, the story line moves along at a decent pace, so the time flew.

I do have a couple of minor criticisms, firstly the constant use of the F word, This film is absolutely peppered with swearing, whilst it has its place and is neccessary in certain scenes, If used to often it loses its impact. My other criticism is the abrupt end, I don't want to put in any plot spoilers but you can probably guess how it works out in the end, but maybe a wedding or something would have been nice just to round the film off. 

I can only repeat what I said 48 Hours ago. If you want to go and see a Rom Com in the Cinema currently and have a choice between The Five Year Engagement and Friends with Kids, then this wins hands down 7.5/10

The Amazing Spiderman

This is not Spiderman 4, it is a retelling of the Spiderman Story and as such is very different to the 3 recent spiderman movies since 2002. The Question then is why do we need this movie since we have had 3 Spiderman movies in the last 10 years? I also don't think it is as good as the 2002 film.

For a start this movie is far to long, you are 1/3 of the way through a 2 1/4 hour movie before he gets bitten, and half way through before he actually becomes spiderman. You could cut half an hour from the first hour of the film, and I don't think it would detract from the story line. by the half way point I was bored and wishing that they would just get on with it. (Much like waiting for the Iceberg in Titanic)

That said, the film is good in places, some very good visual effects, and well defined chracters, it is a lot more heartfelt than the 2002 film, with plenty of Human emotion thrown in alongside the action. altogeher though, given the choice, I prefer the film from 10 years ago. 6/10

The Five Year Engagement

I'm not a huge fan of Rom Coms, but I was faced with a choice between the Five Year Engagement or Friends with Kids. I wish I had chosen Friends with Kids!

This film is seriously unfunny, so many of the visual jokes didn't make me laugh, they just made me cringe. huge parts of it bear no sense in normality, and in trying to be funny it just goes way over the top.

The Engagement party scene at the start of the Movie was just awful, and it realy didnt improve from there.

I have not yet seen Friends with Kids, but if you want to go and see a Rom Com, it has be better than this 2/10

Ice Age 4 - Continental Drift

Not really my cup of tea, it's not that I don't like animation (I really love a lot of the Pixar movies) its just that this dosent do it for me. that said, it is better that Ice Age 2, in that it does have some sense of a story line, which is largely where the 2nd movie failed.

The best thing about this Movie for me was the Maggie Simpson short film at the beginning, only a few minutes long, but more memorable than the main feature.

The Story line with the named Characters (Sid, Manny etc) was ok, I just don't understand the humour in the interspersed sequences of the animal with the Acorn, I'm not even sure what Animal it is supposed to be!) It just detracts from the main storyline, and without those scenes the movie would just be to short. Maybe take those bits out, and it would make a good 1 hour TV Cartoon slot. 4/10

"If we don't make it, find me a wife and tell her I love her"

Prometheus

I was really looking forward to this, a Ridley Scott prequal to Alien, and I have to say it didn't disappoint. If you enjoyed the Alien franchise then this really is a must see. I saw it in 2D, so can't comment on the 3D and whether it adds anything to the movie, but even without the 3D I really enjoyed it. excellent performances from Noomi Rapace, who I haven't really come across before but I look forward to seeing what else she does in future, and Charlize Theron, who must have been busy as she is also in Snow White and the Huntsman.

The film is what you expect from a Ridley Scott movie, very well directed, well paced, unlike some films there is little to bore you in between action secquences, my only criticism maybe that one or two of the minor characters lack a bit of depth, however I was entertained throughout. 9/10

Snow White and the Huntsman

On with the reviews - I didn't really know what to expect from this film, a twist on an old fairy tale, but I have to say I really enjoyed it, I thought it was well paced, with plenty to inspire the imagination. Kristen Stewarts performance as Snow White in particular I thought was excellent. The story was well told with a really good twist on the familiar Snow White story. Maybe they could have made a bit more of the seven dwarves who were largely relegated to a bit part, but on the whole very enjoyable 8/10

Cineworld

OK so before I get with the film reviews, a quick plug for Cineworld's unlimited card. £14.99 for as much cinema as you can consume in a month. You generally pay over £8 to go to the cinema in the evenings/weekends so if you go twice a month its definately worth it.  even if you get a discount (say on orange wednesdays) this is still a real bargain.

That said, my local cineworld is quite small (only 5 screens) so dosen't show all the latest films, for instance I was disappointed that they are not showing Storage 24, which means if I want to see it I have to travel to another cineworld to see it on my card, or pay at Odeon/Vue

I will endeavour to see any film that is showing at my local cineworld as soon as possible after release and post a review on here.

Welcome

I have just invested £14.99 a month in an unlimited cineworld cinema pass, and fancy myself as a bit of an amateur film critic, reality is I probably don't have a clue what I am talking about, but hey I thought I would throw this out there if anyone wants to hear what I have to say. so here goes....