Kick Ass 2

Regular readers of my Blog will know that I dislike films that are gratuitous in their use of Sex, Language or Violence just for the sake of it, these things have their place in film and are necessary and can be justified in context, however Kick Ass 2 is yet another example of a film that goes to far in being bloodthirsty for the sake of it.

It is also another example of the BBFC failing to protect 16-18 year olds, by rating a very violent film as a 15.

That aside kick ass 2 fails on a couple of levels, it is, you could argue less "Kick Ass 2" and more "Hit Girl" as she spends as much if not more of the screen time as he does.

The Story line is also quite weak, with characters swapping dilemmas regularly.

For all of that, I'm not saying that this is a bad film, it is reasonably well acted, and the fight scenes, bloody as they are, are extremely well choreographed.

With a little less blood and a bit less pretentious nonsense this could have been a really good film, as it is its nowhere near the standard of the original 6/10

2 Guns

2 Guns starring Mark Wahlberg and Denzel Washington is surprisingly refreshing, my expectations going in where quite low, but they were hugely exceeded.

Although this is not a comedy, the jokes all hit home well, and it is funnier than many of the comedies I have seen this year. With great performances from the two leads this is a highly entertaining film.

The plot is a little weak in places, with perhaps a few to many twists along the way, but that is forgivable as the rest is very good, with so many big movies out this summer, it would be easy for this to get lost, and I don't think this will be around for long, so see it while you can 9/10

Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters

I have not read the book, nor did I see the first Percy Jackson movie, but apparently that included a lot of cameo's from big names that are lacking in this film.

This for me therefore stood as a standalone movie, which I whilst I enjoyed, is really nothing special.

Much of it is instantly forgettable, and the rest is just annoying, a particular scene is another prime example of films completely ignoring the laws of physics in order to get out of a sticky situation. Although this is a film based on a semi God who has some powers, this didn't appear to be a use of his powers, more a case of some lazy screenwriting.

I also thought they could of made a lot more of the final fight sequence, which is over almost as soon as it starts.

On the plus side, the story is interesting, and you can tell it is based on a well written book, my overriding feeling coming out is not to see the next movie, despite it clearly being setup in the closing scene, but perhaps to go and read the books.

The best summary of this movie is to say that it is average, it is enjoyable while you watch it, but by next week I will probably have forgotten most of it. 6/10

The Lone Ranger

The Lone Ranger has made a lot of headlines due to it's failure in America. This has been put down to the film being panned by the critics, I think some if the criticism is unfair.

Is this the best film of the year? No. Will it win any awards? No. Does it have faults? Yes. Is it worth seeing? Most definitely.

Unusually for a big summer movie, this has a strong storyline and a plot that makes sense, the way it is told through the older Tonto telling the story works really well, and despite my reservations going in, Depp as Tonto is a really great bit of casting.

The film is perhaps a little to long at 2 and a half hours, it is slow to get going and maybe you could lose 20-30 minutes from the first hour.

That Said, I really enjoyed this, it is something different in a summer of Sci Fi and Superheroes, don't take the critics word for it, go and see it yourself and make your own mind up, you won't regret it 8/10

Grown Ups 2

There are two words that will put me off a film, those words are "Adam" & "Sandler" as such, even thou I have an unlimited cinema card and will not have to "pay" to see this film in the conventional sense, I hereby refuse to encourage Mr Sandler's career by adding to his box office statistics. I will not be watching this film.

Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa

I went into Alan Partridge expecting big things, having enjoyed much of the past TV work by Steve Coogan as Alan. I was however a little disappointed.

This film is not as funny as I expected it to be, yes there are some good laughs in places, but not nearly enough, for me it lacks that something extra.

Whilst the storyline is ok, the interactions between Pat and Alan seem a little confused, and left me a little flat.

The concept of the film is a good one, irs just the execution of it was slightly lacking, Which is a shame because I really wanted to like this film.

I guess any true Alan Partridge Fan will enjoy this, for those like me with a passing interest it's just not quite there.

If you want a laugh at the Cinema go and see The Heat 6/10

Red 2

Despite it being shown semi regularly on Film 4 recently, I have not seen the original Red movie, I therefore went into Red 2 not really knowing what to expect.

That said however, the original film must be better than this. Maybe it is because I have had a long week and am very tired, but my primary emotion was one of boredom, and waiting for the film to end.

My other major issue with this movie is one of believability. For this film to work you have to believe that some of the best trained assassins in the world are absolutely incapable of killing anyone, especially the Machine gun scene, where Willis and Malkovych come out completely unscathed.

You also have to believe that you can crash a Helicopter at high speed and walk away, there is also another massive "really?" moment, but as that is a major plot point at the end of the movie I won't ruin it for you.

On the positive side, the car chase sequences are great (apart from a big crash on the "M4" that is clearly not a Major Motorway around Heathrow Airport, and there is something highly amusing about Dame Helen Mirren breaking into an asylum by pretending she thinks she is the Queen.

The few positives however do not make up for a really poor movie that is largely forgettable 3/10