Brick Review

Release Date: 12 May 2006

Age Certificate: 15

Running Time: 110 mins

Director: Rian Johnson

Writers: Rian Johnson

Stars: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Lukas Haas and Emilie de Ravin

Brick in my opinion is one of the most under rated films...EVER! Brick stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt, before he was becoming well known and this film betrays the true talent he possesses. And this is one heck of a film to get yourself noticed, I am talking about the director Rian Johnson, he wrote and directed this film. The film is about when Joseph gets in touch with his old girlfriend and finds out she is in bit of a pickle. She then turns out dead, so he takes it amongst himself to investigate what happened. Also, he tries to found out what she did in her past life. It is a noire mystery film set in high school. This can sometimes be an issue because the viewer starts to think how come they have so much time on their hands and can you really believe that they are out there being detectives and nearly getting killed. I thought this until it started to make fun of it, this was when one of the characters mums were offering him apple juice while they were in a really intense scene. I loved this dimension to the film.

This film has a very complicated plot and if you pay attention closely you will be able to follow the story. I love this film, it is hardcore Noir, which I love. Joseph is amazing in Brick, I believed he was worthy of an Oscar, I think he deserves it for this film and 50/50 (which I have also reviewed). If you have not seen this masterpiece I insist you go on Amazon and buy this film. 

8.0/10

Brick trailer here:

Chronicle Review

Release Date: 01 February 2012

Age Certificate: 12A

Running Time: 84 mins

Director: Josh Trank

Writers: Max Landis

Stars: Dane DeHaan, Alex Russell and Michael B. Jordan

Yet another found footage film, before I laid my eyes on this feature film I thought it was going to be the same old stuff. But this film actually manages to make it a good film. When I saw the trailer I decided it was going to be yet another terrible film or it could be a rare surprise. Chronicle is about three guys who find a meteor alien thing at a high school party. This thing then gives them wonderful powers. I believe this is a great concept because it tries to betray what school boys would actually do with powers.

The thing what used to really annoy me about the found footage genre was that the person would have stopped filming all of the crazy happenings going on around them. But this film shows that the main character, who is abused by his step dad and is bullied in school wants to document his life with these powers. I think the film does this really well. I enjoy how the director has made this character able to control the camera with telekinesis, this enables the camera to be steady and not constantly shaking and not making the viewer feel sick. It also gets inventive camera shots which added a new depth to the film.

The finale is somewhat ridiculous. Throughout the film you knew that this tormented kid was going to burst out and unleash his powers. When he does it bursts out in to amazing special effects but I can’t help saying it was crazy and stupid but it was fun.

This was a great superhero film which has come out of nowhere.

7.2/10

Pow! trailer right here:

Chinatown Review

Release Date: 20 June 1974

Age Certificate: 15

Running Time: 130 mins

Director: Roman Polanski

Writers: Robert Towne

Stars: Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway and John Huston

I’m going back to the good old days now. I’m reviewing one of my favourite films of all time, Chinatown, made in 1974, directed by the twisted Roman Polanski starring Jack Nicholson. To begin this review one of the reasons I love this film is because of the performance of Jack Nicholson and of course Jack Nicholson has been in lots of fantastic films but in Chinatown I believe this was his best performance. And there have been plenty of films were he has been mind blowing, such as The Shining. But in this film he blew the role out of the water. He engulfed the role of JJ Gittes, you see that so rarely, you hardly ever see an actor integrate so much into a part of a film now a days. His performance really helps the film.

Chinatown has one of the best scripts, it was written by Robert Towne. He is one of the best writers Hollywood have ever seen and this was his best work, it makes this film so solid, it is almost perfect. Also Faye Dunaway and she was defiantly the best actress of the 70’s and this is also probably her best acting. Faye and Jack has some of the best chemistry on screen you will ever see. Maybe it has something to do with script as well.

This film blends with several genres; action, horror, mystery and obviously Noir. It makes any film fanatic worthy of watching this fantastic film. It has a great soundtrack i.e. jazz, it fits the film perfectly; it built tension and never sounded out of place.

Overall, I believe that it is one of the best films ever made. Everything combines to make your jaw drop to the floor.

9.8/10

Trailer right here:

                                                                                                                                            

The Dark Knight Rises Review

Release Date: 20 July 2012
Age Certificate: 12A
Running Time: 164 mins
Director: Christopher Nolan
Writers: Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan
Stars: Christian Bale, Anne Hathaway and Tom Hardy

Here it is, finally. The most anticipated film of the last four years. It feels like I’ve been waiting for this film to come on to the big screens for an eternity. And unlike Prometheus I am not disappointed. The Dark Knight Rises takes place eight years after The Dark Knight and here we have Bruce Wayne, a broken man both physically and mentally. After the end of The Dark Knight, he is no longer around and is stuck in Wayne Manor with his trusty old butler Alfred. When Wayne is introduced the viewer feels sorry for him as he’s sad, he has sacrificed everything for the people of Gotham but they are now against him because of the lies past through the media about Harvey Dent. As the story goes The Bat killed Harvey and has gone in to hiding.

The film has a slow build to it, you are introduced to all of the characters. Bane, played by Tom Hardy has a menacing feel to him. Catwoman/Selina Kyle, played by Anne Hathaway, a sly thief and finally Blake, Joseph Gordon-Levitt a detective investing the goings on in Gotham City. Back to Batman, there were people on both sides who thought he was good and bad but you don’t get the feel that he is missed. Commissioner Gordon always plays a great role in Nolan’s Batman films. You can feel that he is feeling pressured that he has had to live under this lie about Harvey. After Bane effects people in Gotham City so badly that Bruce Wayne has to come back and trying and to save Gotham. This is when all hell breaks loose.

This is the best comic book series I have ever seen. This film is fantastic, the visuals, the story, the direction, the acting and the suspense all comes together to create a masterpiece. I know this is a comic book film, but it feels real. You don’t see the ridiculous costume of Batman or Catwoman or Bane with the ridiculous thing over his mouth. You see real people, you imagine a man underneath that mask. This is the first time that Batman has actually been physically challenged, which makes the film even more epic. And finally each segment in the trilogy has different feels to it which makes it a special experience each time you watch them.

To please the Nolan fans he adds one of his finales which I loved.

A masterpiece.

8.5/10

THIS ISN'T A CAR:

The Amazing Spider-Man

Release Date: 03 July 2012

Age Certificate: 12A

Running Time: 136 mins

Director: Marc Webb

Writers: James Vanderbilt

Stars: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone and Rhys Ifans 

Spidey returns. Some say it was too soon, but others say thank God! They needed someone to come and reboot Spiderman and wipe away the horrible thoughts which still loom large in our heads from ‘Spiderman 3’. God that film was bad. In ‘The Amazing Spiderman’, Andrew Garfield plays the shy role of Peter Parker. He does this wonderfully; he shows the shyness, geekeness and the spideness well. Andrew had big shoes to fill; Tony Miguire was a great Spiderman. But Andrew Garfield was amazing; he exceeded every expectation that I had as well as everybody else. Emma Stone played Gwen Stacey (Peter’s girlfriend), their relationship was believable, unlike Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson’s love story in The Hunger Games. In my eyes it was unbelievable and didn't seem real.

I like this film because it tries to show who Peter Parkers dad really was, Richard Parker, and how he has contributed to his life. The film does this surprisingly well. I thought it would be a short part in the story but no it wasn't  Parker found little clues of what his dad really did for a living. The story doesn't take any huge risks; you will not be surprised by what happens in the first 50 minutes if you've seen the first film, some people could say it was a drama at the start rather than a family film. For sure, it takes a darker role of Spider-Man, especially if you look at the previous Sam Raimi’s Spidey films. You could say that it is trying to take the feel of the Batman trilogy. I would deny that; as it still takes a light hearted side of the Spider-Man story, like what all Marvel films do. I believe that The Amazing-Spider-Man is a slight improvement of Sam Raimi’s first Spidey, even though that was a good Marvel film.

The director’s name of The Amazing Spider-Man is Marc Webb; it was bound to be good.

7.5/10

Spidey's trailer is right here:

Driver: San Francisco Review

It’s fair to say that Driver 3 wasn’t very well received a few years ago. Now Ubisoft are publishing the game with reflections still at the helm on the development side of things but the good news is that this game gripped me from start to finish and just got better and better the more I played it.

You still play as detective John Tanner and as arch criminal Jericho carries on his ways to jail after he was caught in Driver 3 the escort is attacked and manages to escape. Unfortunately, you also get caught in the carnage and then things get really weird, You see, the game is only actually played in San Francisco at the very beginning and end of the game, the rest of it is played inside the imagination of Tanner as his lying in a coma in a hospital bed. His struggle with Jericho in the game is actually his internal fight to regain consciousness. I know it sounds ridiculous but it actually gives a generally different spin on things and opens up the game to a whole load of original things to do. For a start, you can teleport into the heads of other people in other cars. Taking a snapshot of what they are up to. You can then take on all sorts of missions as these people, such as performing stunts, scaring driving instructors, going on street races or capturing criminals as the police. Do a few of these missions and you can then do a Tanner mission to progress the story. There are also tons of blue icons scattered around the map. Which includes garages you can buy to access hundreds of licensed cars. Dares, to increase your will power which can be used as currency for upgrades and more races to try out. You see all of these from an out of body perspective as you float above San Francisco and choose the next care you want to leap into.

Handling of the cars varies on depending what car you’re driving. But oddly the Dodge Charger you drive as Tanner is one of the worst to control. Get into one of the sports cars however and things move at one hell of a pace. The game runs very smoothly and in an open environment like this the graphics are bound to take a hit. However, the textures on the faces during dialogue are some of the best I have ever seen in a game. Voice acting is also top notch and there are some generally funny moments in the game when you take on the personas of other people and the passengers are wondering why you’re acting all strange.

The story doesn’t take long to complete at all. There isn’t much replay value in playing through all of the extra missions on the huge map, or directing my own films. Still, the option is there, if you are into that kind of thing. The game also has multiplayer modes, challenges and split screen, so if you want more than just the story that’s there for you as well.

This game is one of the most enjoyable racers out there on the market. SO for that reason I’ll give it:

8.0/10