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....