OBLIVION FILM REVIEW

Release Date: 19th April 2013

Age Certificate: 12A

Running Time: 124 mins

Director: Joseph Kosinski

Writers: Karl Gajdusek and Michael Arndt

Stars: Tom Cruise, Morgan Freeman and Olga Kurylenko

Another Sci-Fi film review and Oblivion hasn’t really got anything else new to offer in terms of its story. It has a good concept when it’s eventually unraveled, but you get the feel it has been taken from other films. 

Tom Cruise plays yet another protagonist called Jack. He is one of the few remaining drone repairmen assigned to Earth, its surface devastated after decades of war with the alien Scavs. He discovers a crashed spacecraft with contents that bring into question everything he believed about the war. It may even put the fate of mankind in his hands. Jack lives with Victoria, played by Andrea Riseborough to help him fix and maintain drones, also to keep each other company. They live in a penthouse basically on top of the Earth; they were certainly ‘born’ not to be afraid of heights. These drones in question that scan Earth for resources or danger can sometimes go down and Jack’s job is to fix them, sometimes with a bit a chewing gum. However, Jack begins to question what he knows about his mission and himself. 

 

The special effects in Oblivion are top class and couldn’t be done much better. It is standing in the same league as Watchmen, Prometheus and Sunshine. The soundtrack also does an excellent job of enhancing the action scenes and suspense scenes. Oblivion was directed by Joseph Kosinski, who bought us TRON: Legacy, which I didn’t like at all but overall this film I enjoyed much more.

The film seems to go on much longer than it actually does; Oblivion is 124 minutes long but feels like 140 minutes. It takes a while to get into its stride but when it does it’s certainly a good watch. There are many twists and turns imbedded, which will keep you guessing throughout the film. The thing what a regret most is watching the trailer just before. This is because they show Morgan Freeman, which is supposed to be a surprise in the content of the film. Unfortunately, it isn’t as you know he is lurking in the shadows. 

I would recommend seeing Oblivion on the big screen if you have the chance; it won’t be the same at home. Its script, not original and a bit clichéd, is still decent in what it is trying to achieve. It’s more of a visual masterpiece than a scripted one. 

7.5/10

MAN OF STEEL FILM REVIEW

Release Date: 14th June 2013

Age Certificate: 12

Running Time: 143 mins

Director: Zach Snyder

Writers: David Goyer and Christopher Nolan

Stars: Henry Cavill, Amy Adams and Michael Shannon 

Yes this film has explosions, yes this film has Russell Crow in and yes this film is badass. But is it any good. You’ll find out soon enough. 

This film is written by David Goyer, who has also helped write The Dark Knight franchise. Man of Steel is also produced by Christopher Nolan, who directed The Dark Knight franchise. So in theory this film should kind of be like The Dark Knight franchise, but is it? Well, to put it frankly no, no it isn’t. Man of Steel is directed by Zack Snyder, who has bought us 300 and Watchmen. What do those two films have in common? Great visuals. So nothing much has changed there, Man of Steel looks superb. Perhaps, the special effects are a little too over the top but it doesn’t spoil the experience.

I believe the team of Man of Steel has done a great job trying to reboot the franchise, especially in the costume department as he isn’t wearing his pants over his latex. The main part of what lets this film down is its story and common sense. For example how come the almightly Superman can’t breathe in the atmosphere of his original home planet but can yet breathe in space. These little things always annoy me, but I won’t dwell on it.

 

The action scenes are well shot with not too much shaky cam. I hate shaky cam. The only worry I had with the action scenes were that they did seem to go on for a tad too long. When you thought they were all over another fight started. If they wanted to the film could have been two hours long but by the time it had finished it was ticking on to be two and a half hours long.

The story has a few points. Krypton is dying so the only chance to keep their race going is for Russel Crow , Jor-El, to send his newly born baby, Kal-El (Superman) to a distant planet called Earth. General Zod is not happy about this. General Zod and Jor-El both have the same intentions but go around them differently. That intention is to carry on their race. When Kal-El settles in to his new planet he has tough time controlling his powers. So because of this he hasn’t had a smooth ride. During the time on Earth a woman starts to become suspicious of him, Lois Lane, played by the wonderful Amy Adams. I’m not going to too much else in that section otherwise I’ll give away too much information. However, when General Zod finds Kal-El’s new planet he threatens Earth. He says that it will be destroyed if this ‘alien’; Kal-EL does not surrender. From there on in all hell breaks loose. This sounds like just another superhero storyline, that’s because it is. And to be fair it does a pretty good job of being a superhero flick. 

 

I enjoyed Man of Steel; it had lots of explosions and a man in spandex, like any other Superman film. However, the only thing that stayed on my mind after leaving the cinema was how I was going to get rid of my banging headache.

7.5/10

THE MAN WHO WASN'T THERE FILM REVIEW

Release Date: 26^th October 2001

Age Certificate: 15

Running Time: 116 mins

Director: Joel Coen

Writers: Joel and Ethan Coen

Stars: Billy Bob Thornton, Frances McDormand and James Gandofini 

I thought I would go away from the big Hollywood blockbusters for a moment and talk about the Coen Brothers. The Man Who Wasn’t There is what I’m reviewing today. This film came out in 2001. This is the Coen Brothers having a go at a Noir style of filming. I love the Coen Brothers they’re fantastic. This film stars Billy Bob Thornton, Frances McDormand James Gandofini (RIP) and a young Scarlett Johansson. Billy Bob Thornton is playing the slightly odd quiet gentleman he usually plays except this time he’s in a little bit of a pickle. He is a barber and he black mails his wife’s lover for money to invest in dry cleaning but it doesn’t all plan out as well as he hoped. 

A little word of advice, don’t watch this before Christmas it will not cheer you up. It’s very depressing and a bit slow, but I don’t mind that in a film as long as the story goes places. And the story does, it is very engrossing and keeps you wondering what is going to happen next. Along with this the character development is well done and you care for Billy Bob. You see him as a man bored with his life, his wife no longer loves him and he just wants to catch a big break in the dry cleaning business. 

The Man Who Wasn’t There is one of the most stylistic films I have ever seen. The fact that Billy Bob Thornton’s character is a chain smoker adds to the effect as the smoke wafts into the air mesmerising you. It sounds funny to say this after I’ve seen the film but it has a very dark sense of humour and will make you chuckle a little throughout the film. But no this isn’t a comedy. 

This is up there with the Coen Brothers best. I am going to give The Man Who Wasn’t There: 

8.5/10

STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS FILM REVIEW

Release Date: 16th May 2013
Age Certificate: 12A
Running Time: 132 mins
Director: J.J Abrams
Writers: Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman and Damon Lindelof
Stars: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto and Zoe Saldana

Here it is, the second Star Trek film JJ’s rebooted franchise, Star Trek Into Darkness. After the crew of the Enterprise find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organisation, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one man weapon of mass destruction. Sounds exciting doesn’t it? Well it is.

The opening sequence of Into Darkness hits you in the face; it’s like, BAM! You got volcanoes, ships underwater and a lot of running. Good job it does because its prequel, Star Trek rebooted the sequel fantastically, it was fun and full of action. So here comes Into Darkness four years after. It’s one of the most anticipated films of the year; we’ve been bombarded by all of the trailers and posters so we can’t miss it. So it had to hit the mark. But luckily, we all know the project was in safe hands, those of JJ Abrams. We’ll get to him later, but now on to the review. 

Like I say it starts off with lots of explosions and heart racing stuff and it carries on like that for more or less throughout the whole film. If you’re at a quiet moment in the film it won’t stay like that for long. And when the action does hit it pulls you straight back in right away. Into Darkness is extremely fun and I don’t think it took its self too seriously. The film knew it was being over the top and crazy and I like that in a film, because most of the time, certainly not all of the time sci-fi films are absolutely ridiculous. But that’s okay as long as it gets the heart racing and it makes sense.

Another upside to the film was that the villain was superb, Mr. Benedict Cumberbatch, being creepy as usual, was Khan. Benedict has that voice that just makes you shudder a little bit. The character seemed controlled and had the sense that nothing could overcome him. It’s rare in a film where the villain can have the audience anticipating what he will do next. Usually, it’s pretty predictable and quite tiresome for the viewer. 

This film was certainly a good time and I would say it is a must watch on the big screen, also the 3-D was well done. Even though I’m not a lover of 3-D it was great and should be given credit. Now back to JJ, if this is where he has left the franchise he has left it in a good place. He deserves a round of applause for his stunning lens flares. Well done JJ, I’ll be fascinated what you can do with the Star Wars franchise.

I’ll give Star Trek Into Darkness: 

7.5/10

Moonrise Kingdom Review

Release Date: 25th May 2012
Age Certificate: 12A
Running Time: 94 mins
Director: Wes Anderson
Writers: Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola
Stars: Jared Gilman, Kara Hayward and Bruce Willis

Wow! Another Wes Anderson film hits us again and definitely doesn't disappoint. I know the film came out in May but I unfortunately just got around to see it. I so wish I saw it in May, I missed so much.

Moonrise Kingdom is about a young boy and girl who run off together after sending letters to each other. This causes a local search party to fan out and find them. Both of the children both come from troublesome backgrounds which build their relationship. It’s such a simple concept but executed so well.

This film stars Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman and the list goes on. It’s fantastic. This is one of the best films from last year; it’s unique, witty and funny. Now, I can’t review a Wes Anderson film without talking about the directing. The camera shots are the best I have seen all year, the camera just glides, it’s smooth to watch; it’s a pleasure to watch! His trademark shots, the simple ones are his best. The colours used in this film are also amazing, they are fantastically bright and beautiful, and they bring so much to the film.

Just wow! This is just how I can describe this film. It’s directing at his best! Every time I talk about this film it just makes me want to put the disk back in and watch it.  Along with the directing, the acting from the children in the film just take control of it, there performing is amazing. If I was that age and I was to take part in a film I would try and exaggerate every shot and try to get attention but these children just act.

In addition to all of the above the dialogue is fresh and funny; every scene has something to laugh at. I think it’s the fact that these children are acting like adults, it’s just so funny. Furthermore, each of the characters is given the right amount of background knowledge, you feel for them and it’s just character development at its best. Bruce Willis was also superb; it was like he was mimicking his big Hollywood hits, which was fantastic. It goes without saying Bill Murray was hilarious. “I’ll be out back. I’m gonna find a try to chop down.”

Pure perfection:

9.5/10

'What kind of bird are you?':

The Perks of Being a Wallflower Review

 

Release Date: 3rd October 2012

Age Certificate: 12A

Running Time: 102 mins

Director: Stephen Chbosky

Writers: Stephen Chbosky

Stars: Logan Lerman, Emma Watson and Ezra Miller

Stephen Chbosky brings us The Perks of Being a Wallflower; he has written the book and directed the film, which is pretty amazing if you ask me. This means we get a great perspective of how the author wanted the book to look. The Perks of being a Wallflower is about a boy named Charlie who doesn't have many friends at school for the first few months; when I say he doesn't have many friends he in fact has none. This all changes when he meets a boy called Patrick in one of his classes played by Ezra Miller. Patrick then introduces his step sister, Sam, played by Emma Watson to Charlie and there bond stands out from the very start. The rest of the film is about the remaining time together in high school. The Perks of Being a Wallflower makes the viewer feek all of the right emotions; it’s funny, intelligent and sometimes even very sad.

These kind of films can often fall flat on their faces, the characters can be flat and the punch lines don’t even tickle your funny bone. I am glad to say that this is not the case. I have not read the well loved book which I keep on hearing about, so I am just reviewing it as a film. I also hadn't read any reviews before I sat down to watch this film and I had no idea what to expect from it. The characters blossomed on the screen and they did not feel dry at all, I felt every one of their emotions with them. Logan Lerman and Emma Watson’s performances were good in this film, but the stand out performance came from Ezra Miller, you’ll just have to watch the film to know what I am talking about.

Like I said earlier this film is also very clever, some of the twists and turns you encounter on the way are very surprising. This is a surprise in its self because every time a film tries to add a twist into its plot you can see it coming from a mile off. Also, it is written in a way that you can see the story happening to somebody of that age; it’s not a million miles away of what actually happens in school life. The dialogue in this film is also very fresh and the film just has a great sense of innocence and it’s like the author climbed into a fifteen year old brain and took their thoughts from them, it was perfectly done.

There’s a great line in this film said by Paul Rudd, “We accept the love with think we deserve.” This drives Charlie to get closer to Sam which I found a really interesting part in the film. Along the story line of the film it gets very emotional about Charlie’s earlier life. I’m going to leave it there because I don’t want to spoil the film for you.

The only downside of this film is the ending, I felt it was a bit sloppy and they felt they were running out of time. It was just a bit heavy handed. This was the only fault I found with the film.

So therefore, I’m going to give The Perks of Being a Wallflower:

8.0/10

Trailer: