2012 At the Movies Part 2

With Part 1 out of the way in which I talked about my experience of the year as a whole, now the time has come to push, file, stamp, index, brief, debrief and number the best worst and most disappointing of the year as well as talk about some small surprises along the way as well as those niggling regrets that passed me by.

First off I'll start with the most disappointing of the year, the ones that I had held out a genuine sense of hope and optimism for but in the end left me feeling disappointed, there have been a few this year but three stand out above them all.

3. Wreck-It Ralph: A late entry to be sure but a slight disappointment nonetheless, Wreck-It Ralph was the new animated movie from Disney studios and I had hopes that this would be the one to turn around what has been a fairly average couple of years for the genre.

Ralph sadly failed to do that and while the first half was very good, fresh, exciting and full of great gags and references the second half stalled the picture down to the point where I began to lose hope and the disappointment began to sink in as the film gives us a bratty, obnoxious character voiced by an actress that sounds like a chipmunk and it got very annoying for me after a while as it went down the traditional track these movies go down rather than the fresh track it started out with, what a shame that was the case.

2. Brave: Coming in at number 2 on this list and gaining a spot for the 2nd year in a row is Pixar's latest offering, this time the Scottish fantasy adventure Brave, one of the most anticipated animated movies of the year, could Brave become the return to form fans of the studio wanted after 2011's merchandise extravaganza Cars 2 left many of them cold.

Sadly not, for one very key reason: The film's story was a mess and lacked a sense of cohesion and a proper third act climax, the finale to the movie was very anti climatic and when it was over I said to myself "Is that it, is a Bear fight your big climax, that is just poor form?"

And yet once more, Pixar has disappointed its loyal fan base and it's fair to ask how it came to this for the once untouchable studio, perhaps it is due to the fact that they had it so good for so long, that the dream run they had could never end like this, that they would avoid the fate that Disney went through after they lost Howard Ashman a key plank in their creative team in early 1991 despite losing Joe Ranft themselves in 2005 but as Disney learned in the mid 90's nothing lasts forever and the fact that Pixar are now re releasing some of their older features in 3D will do little to change that.

But in thinking about both of these features, one thing came to my mind very clearly and that was my wish for veteran TV animation producer Bruce Timm to produce another full length animated feature after 1993's Batman Mask of the Phantasm which got a very limited run in cinemas at the time, Timm is one of the few people that I've seen that truly understands the animation genre and what the medium is truly capable of in terms of producing well written and well drawn animated TV and Movies that can be enjoyed by both young and old.

But for my biggest disappointment of all, a disappointment that shattered the true believers and caused them to no longer keep the faith.

1. Taken 2: Without a doubt the biggest disappointment for me this year was Taken 2, the follow up to the 2008 cult hit that starred Liam Neeson as retired CIA Special Forces agent Bryan Mills who goes to Paris to rescue his kidnapped daughter.

The problem with this sequel was not due to the near ridiculous action scenes but for criminally side lining its main character for much of the movie and letting his daughter (Maggie Grace) do most of the action, this was a big mistake as Neeson's character is the one we've come to see kick butt and he hardly does any in the movie and when he does its shot in such a way that there's no impact, no sense of who and where the characters are and no sense of feeling apart from boredom.

Another thing this movie did was remind me of all the bad sequels I hated from movies that I loved, ones like Highlander II, Iron Man 2, Robocop 2 and Wall Street 2 to name a few others.

But with that out of the way, we now move onto the worst of the year, the bottom of the pile, the low altitude flyers and the degraded fops that made us leave the cinema angry, annoyed and most likely wanting our money back.

3. This Means War: Billed as the big Valentine's Day release of the year, this spy-com starred Chris Pine and Tom Hardy as CIA agents who are best friends but find out they're dating the same woman Lauren played by Reese Witherspoon, hilarity should ensue right?

Wrong, this was plain and simply bad filmmaking from start to finish, McG proves how incompetent he is as an action director by failing to inject any life into his action scenes and any humor into his comedy but what felt the worst of all was the horrible stereotyping of both genders.

The men in the movie are either young charismatic men in sharp suits or big strong men with big muscles and the women are seen as being virtually powerless to both despite the possibility that neither of them have any real human traits like kindness, humor, similar interests, sweetness you know actual human feelings that attract people to one another but no just have someone be charismatic or have big strong muscles and women will fall for you like that.

And as for the women well yet again it's the stereotype of a woman who in the beginning is strong and independent and doing it for herself but when the big strong man comes into her life she turns to jelly in his presence, for smeg's sake I am getting really tired of this negative stereotyping of women in the movies, it feels insulting and I really wish it would stop so we can have decent parts for actresses in the movies as it feels like it's been too long since we've had one.

2. Dream House: Thankfully this never got a cinema release in Australia and as a result many film goers here dodged a bullet, this haunted house thriller starred Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz and Naomi Watts in a mystery regarding a house Craig buys with a tragic past.

The problem with Dream House is that not only was it not very scary or very good but it felt like we'd been here before with such films as the Shinning (Shining) and more importantly 1979's the Amityville Horror with Margot Kidder and James Brolin, Craig was the shining light but it felt like a performance where he sees the ship sinking and dashes for the lifeboat so he can watch it sink with everyone else still on board to drown in the icy deep below, what a waste of a great actor and it's no surprise he's disowned the film.

And now we come to the very worst of the year, the real stinker that stunk more than a dead cat in the middle of the road and that made you wish you'd never seen it.

1. Any Questions for Ben?: Yes Mr. Speaker, my question without notice is to Ben, why is your movie the worst one I've ever encountered this year?

Well, I'll tell you why Smeg for brains, the lead character is an obnoxious twat who has just about anything he could ever want, a successful job, a good apartment and just about any woman he could ever want and yet all he does throughout the whole movie is go on and on and on and on about the big picture of it all and what does it all mean and how can there ever be true happiness.

And whenever he did that two things went through my mind, the first was "Would you please shut up you trumped up little Smeghead" and the other was for Megatron to come through the door and blow out his vocal chords with his Riot Cannon, one of the most despicable lead characters I have ever come across and the movie was nothing more than a 2nd rate Applause Home Video release from the early 90's, unworthy of being distributed by Roadshow Home Video themselves or even its other spin off label Premiere Home Entertainment.

And yet overriding all of this is that this came from the same team that made the wonderful Aussie comedy the Castle 15 years ago which had so many great characters and quotes in it it's not funny, this movie however is a big fall from grace and I got no pleasure from anything in it at all.

But now we exit the pit and come to the highlights of the year, you know the ones that actually made us smile, left us feeling impressed and good about ourselves, the ones that make the worst and disappointments all the more worth it for that special one that you come to hold in high esteem at year's end.

And now, without further ado, here they are:

3. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo: Based off the hit series of novels by the late author Steig Larsson, director David Fincher's adaptation of the first book in the series was a dark and exciting thriller with two terrific lead characters.

And though Daniel Craig did fine has Blomkvist and felt more like the character I imagined when reading the book, it was Rooney Mara as Lisbeth Salander that stole the show with her bravado performance that bared all in terms of both body and soul and again felt like the character I imagined from reading the book, Mara was rightly rewarded with an Oscar nomination for her performance and it was so thrilling to see a well realised female character in the movies for a change.

Credit for that should go to screenwriter Steve Zaillian (The Falcon and the Snowman) and composers Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross deserve mention as well as Stellan Skarsgard, Christopher Plummer, Steven Berkoff and Robin Wright in their roles as well, this was a terrific film and it gave me a feeling of "This is what I want right now" when it was over.

2. The Avengers: Without a doubt the biggest movie of the year, Joss Whedon's the Avengers was a big gamble for Marvel Studios having used the individual movies prior to this to lay the ground work for the team up film at the finish.

But wow did Whedon deliver the goods, in terms of character moments, comedy moments and action moments each character gets one of their own and the final battle is simply outstanding in its scope and editing, too many movies now over edit their action so that it feels like it was done by a team of monkeys but not here, the action is clear and exciting and rooted in its lead characters, best of all no one overshadows the other, each moment is very nicely balanced.

I walked out of this movie feeling impressed and wanted to see it again not long after, I was really pleased that Marvel had pulled it off and that they made the right choice by hiring Whedon to direct the film, anything else than this would've been a mistake in retrospect and most likely undid all the hard work Marvel put into this franchise.

But now we come to the top, the one at the top who shall be crowned King:

1. Argo: Yes folks, coming in at top spot is a movie that in all honesty I didn't think I had any chance of seeing at all and that is Ben Affleck's Argo.

This was simply pitch perfect filmmaking by a man who 10 years ago was looking at the end of his career but like a phoenix has risen from the ashes to become one of his generation's finest filmmakers.

And yet the film balances so delicately moments of big humor and moments of sheer white knuckle tension that even thinking about it causes me to have a knot in my throat, at both times I saw the movie I was convinced some of my bones were going to break or that my lower Jaw was going to come off, I loved the film both times that I saw it as much and I cannot wait to pick it up on Blu-Ray so I can relive the experience all over again.

So that was that in terms of my best, worst and disappointments of 2012 at the movies but sadly before I close it off there is one that I have to talk about, one that I sorely wish more than anything in the world that I had gotten the chance to see before the end.

And that is Rian Johnson's Sci-Fi Action flick Looper, starring Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon-Levitt as future and present versions of the same character trying to prevent the other from changing the future.

So many good reviews this movie got but sadly that didn't translate into a big audience at the box office and in turn caused many theatres to shove it aside, this is one that for me would have benefited from a delayed release in Australia for mid to late October as its late September release came at the worst possible time that being the school holidays where cinemas effectively toss anything not for kids aside to the graveyard shift of the late afternoon, evening and night and this was no exception not to mention its MA15+ rating did little to change things as it dashed any hope for early afternoon sessions of the movie.

And sadly the film's Blu-Ray release is not until Australia Day so it can't be ruled into this year's lists, I have high hopes sincerely I do that this will deliver the goods after the long wait but at the same time I am bracing myself for the worst, that having had to wait so long to see it all it will do is disappoint me but that day hasn't come yet and whatever will be will be, the future's not ours to see, Que Cera Cera.

And so that was 2012 at the movies, it was an okay ride but 2013 doesn't leave me with a great deal that I'm looking forward to apart from The World's End, Mad Max 4 if it's released late next year as I think it will be, the Chris Pine/Kenneth Branagh reboot of Jack Ryan plus Ron Howard's F1 drama Rush said to use the doco Senna as an inspiration and Brian De Palma's thriller Passion with Rachel McAdams and Noomi Rapace.

Will any of those be any good well only time will tell but I am greatly looking forward to finding out for sure.

DVD Review - Red Dwarf: The Bodysnatcher Collection

Overview:

The Bodysnatcher Collection is considered to be the final catch all release of Red Dwarf on DVD, carrying both the remastered three seasons and some important extras that were never made when the main season releases were being produced or were considered lost to time and rights issues, some possibly for good.

Before I delve into what I consider to be the highlights of this release, I'm going to talk about the remastered episodes and frankly, they're a complete load of Smeg and not worth your time, the only reasons they were done to begin with was so that the show could be bought in markets like Japan and to try and secure funding for the doomed feature film project.

But why do I smegging hate the remastered episodes, well its simple really: The alterations, the changes made to the original episodes kill the feel of them and alter a lot of the original timing to the point that it no longer feels like the show its trying to remaster to begin with.

But the irony of this project is twofold: first, it's highly unlikely that without these episodes I wouldn't have become the Red Dwarf fan I am today as those were the episodes UKTV aired on New Year's Eve 2001/2002 and the second I will now begin to talk about in more detail.

Disc 1 - Bodysnatcher:

Disc 1 of this 4 disc set contains 4 items but they're very significant ones and each deserves attention so let's get smegging to it.

Bodysnatcher - The Lost Episode: This was the very first episode written for the series by Rob and Doug all those years ago and it was the one that also never got made due to not having an ending to it and most likely being too expensive to produce given some of the scenes described in the story.

This is presented as a storyboard version with all the vocals done by Arnold "Smeghead" Rimmer himself Chris Barrie, Barrie was an impressionist before getting the part of Rimmer on the show and his impersonations are for the most part very good, his impression of Craig Charles is spot on the money as is his impression of Norman Lovett but he doesn't quite get Danny John Jules right as it lacks the manic energy he brought to the part but then again no one else can play that part so I won't hold it against Chris at all.

The script also has some lines that later made their way into future episodes such as the "Lemming Sunday" segment and the finale of Rimmer in full dress uniform, there is also a full length audio version of this story with a lot of the trims made for the storyboard version restored.

But the other main audio option is a new audio commentary track by Rob and Doug themselves, yes at long last Rob and Doug are reunited and boy does it feel so good, there's no hint of any animosity between the two of them and they rattle off stories like old pro's, this track is an absolute delight and it's just wonderful to see Rob back in the fold if only temporarily.

"The Beginning" Documentary on the making of Series 1: Done in the style of the other making of doco's on the later seasons of the show, The Beginning is simply a terrific watch with almost every key player involved interviewed to tell their side of the tale.

And speaking of Rob Grant, he finally appears in a making of doco on a series of Red Dwarf and it's such a joy to see him here as well telling his side of how this first season went through the trials and tribulations of getting made.

There are a number of great stories to be told in this doco such as the original actress who played Kochanski (Alexandra Pegg who was in Letter to Brezhnev and a Liverpudlian like Craig), the technician's strike that very nearly killed the series and caused Pegg to be unavailable when production recommenced, a look at each of the 6 episodes and the various stories regarding Producer Paul Jackson.

The Beginning is a really nice doco and I was very glad to see that one was made for the first season of the series but if I have a complaint and trust me it's a VERY minor one it's that I wish it had gone for another 10-15 minutes and included an interview with Peter Risdale Scott, the then Commissioning Editor at BBC Manchester who pretty much got the show made plus Chris does an impression of him when he's Brannigan the ship's psychiatrist in Queeg, still this is a minor complaint as it's a great doco.

"It's Cold Outside" Documentary on the Making of Series 2: But if one was good, then two must surely be great and like The Beginning, It's Cold Outside looks at the making of the second series of the show.

Again nearly all the major players are there telling their production stories regarding location shooting, a look at each of the 6 episodes, Norman Lovett leaving at the end of the season and the originally planned opening episode for Season 3 to be titled "Dad" and why it was never made.

It's Cold Outside like the Beginning is a great doco on the making of the second series and I am really happy that one was made for both seasons as having gone through the other doco's on the later season sets, it felt like a real shame to me that one was never done for the first two series, happily that happened and both were more than worth the wait.

Another thing that both of these doco's made me think about was just how important Rob Grant was to the success of the show, he seemed to have a real feeling for the characters and the comedy and those elements went missing when he left though happily the new season RDX recaptured it the best and I am very grateful for that.

The End - The Original Assembly: This is the original cut of the pilot episode from 1987, containing material that appeared on the deleted scenes of the 1st Season DVD as well as new material never seen until now.

To be frank I felt this was horrible, there were very few laughs, Craig and Chris were still finding their feet and the audience just didn't know how to respond to what they were watching and I can't blame them as a lot of the scenes fall flat on their face, thankfully a large chunk of this show was reshot and became the good opener we know it as today.

Rob and Doug also provide a commentary track for this rough version of the pilot and even they seem to feel uncomfortable with this initial footage, still they provide a great track and RD fans shouldn't miss it.

From there you get the other three discs containing the remastered episodes as well as some more neat extras which I'll go into now.

On the first disc you find the remastered Season 1 episodes but you also find this cool extra:

Still Galleries: Here are 4 still galleries which cover both the original making of the episodes and the remastered effects work, the first three are a real treat as they cover rehearsals (some of which were done by Chris Barrie), the Behind the Scenes production and Snapshots, galleries were done for the latter two on the later seasons of this show and it was a real treat to see that happen for the first two seasons.

On the second disc you find the remastered Season 2 episodes and has the bulk of the extras that I liked on it:

Deleted Scenes: Two previously unreleased deleted scenes are found here, the first is an alternate version of the Golf Course scene in Better Than Life where Lister and the Cat are sitting on a beach, the real beach it was shot on however was freezing Cold and its shown on the faces of Craig and Danny in the scene, thankfully the right decision was made to reshoot it.

The other one however is a real gem and comes from the episode Bodyswap and concerned Robert Llewelyn's first day on the show as Kryten and believed to be lost to the ages until this set was being made.

The scene is an extended version of Rimmer inside Lister's body in the sauna reading the magazine and Kryten bringing him another feast and lighting candles with his fingertips.

And now I come to my big bug bear with this scene and that is Bobby's voice, when I first heard it I thought "AAAARRRRGGHHHH this accent is Horrible, Bobby" and that it sounded like a really really really bad impression of C-3PO from Star Wars, I love Kryten and I love what Robert did with that role but thank Smeg he changed that voice, it would've been unbearable for an entire season, the scene as a whole however I am glad to see was cut.

Tongue Tied Archive: This archive concerns the song that opens the Season 2 finale Parallel Universe and has two items in it.

The first is the initial version of the song from Rob and Doug's old radio show Son of Cliche and its perfectly fine to hear but I don't think many will listen to it more than once.

The real treat however is Howard Goodall's demo for the full song, it has more of a 1960's feel to it and I really love it as much as the final full length version made for the show but cut down to fit the episode running time, this was well worth checking out.

Over on the third disc you find the remastered Season 3 episodes and this one final treat worth talking about:

Dad - The Lost Episode: This episode was originally intended to open the third season of the show and address the changes from Season 2 to Season 3 such as Lister being pregnant, the changing look of the ship, Kryten coming onboard and the change in appearance of Holly.

However Rob and Doug couldn't construct a script to their satisfaction and scrapped it, instead putting it all on a crawl at the beginning of Backwards.

Rob and Doug also provide a commentary for this extract but their comments were made better I thought on the "It's Cold Outside" doco which talked about the plans for this episode, still a Rob and Doug commentary track is something I won't complain about at all.

The Verdict:

The Red Dwarf Bodysnatcher Collection is a very nice companion piece to the main season releases but it also made me wish that some of this material had been on the season sets, especially the stuff for the first two seasons as their releases were kind of weak and suffer in comparison when compared with the releases of the later seasons where it was clear that they had a much bigger budget to produce them the way they were made.

The diehard Dwarf fans however will love it and especially love the presence of Rob Grant in the extras and his commentary tracks with Doug, just wonderful stuff that made me wish somewhat that the two would reunite to write one last season together but alas that will never happen but still it was just great to see him talking about his time on Dwarf somewhat and it reinforced just how important he was to the overall success of the show and why it's held up as long as it has.

Film Review - The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)

The Hobbit is director Peter Jackson's long awaited prequel to his Lord of the Rings trilogy and like those films is based on the book by Professor JRR Tolkien, this story sees Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) who never went for an adventure, but an invitation from Gandalf the Grey (Ian McKellen) may see him go on the adventure of a lifetime.

I went into the Hobbit with a mixed sense of expectations, having read the book about a decade ago and knowing that it would be nothing like the Rings book at all and that it was much more of a children's tale, so could Jackson restrain himself for this time around?

Well, yes and no would answer that question and there is certainly a lot here that I really liked, the performances by Freeman and Richard Armitage, Howard Shore's majestic and beautiful score, the visual effects work, the cinematography and the humorous script which for me nicely reflected the chid like tone of the book as did the moments of the Riddle Game and the "Misty Mountains Cold" both of which I thought were beautifully made and the highlights of the movie.

But yet for all of this, it did become a bit too much after a while of endless shots of cameras swooping around the beautiful NZ countryside and armies of Goblins enveloping the Dwarves and giant Trolls threatening to swallow them whole with spicy seasoning, I have to admit that I got a bit bored with that as I did with the finales to both the Dark Knight Rises and Transformers: Dark of the Moon.

Despite that though, I did enjoy the Hobbit and found it a lot more fun than I thought I would but if you aren't a fan of the fantasy genre or the previous Lord of the Rings movies then there is little here that will sway that opinion, 3 out of 5.

2012 At the Movies Part 1

And thus it was, at each December of each year, the writers wrote "Lo I shall look back, look back upon the many red seats of comfort, the many boxes of popcorn, the gallons of sugary drinks and Lo, the various images of excitement, tension, drama and visual splendor we call the movies."

Yes, another film year has come to an end and with that, the time has come to cast our minds back to the highs, the lows and the disappointments of 2012 on cinema screens.

But before I do that I'm going to look back on my own cinema going year as a whole and spot the good and bad trends that for me defined the year at the movies.

So some of you are surely thinking "How did you find the year as a whole?" well to answer that one I shall quote from A Tale of Two Cities which for me defined it:

"It was the Best of Times, It was the Worst of Times"

The quote goes into two separate parts, the first of which was the Best of times and that was having more access to new release movies than arguably at anytime of my life, it was rare for me to go to the movies as a kid and for the most part I waited until Video before seeing a big film like Jurassic Park to name as an example, this was no doubt helped by the major refit my local cinema got early in the year which made for a much better experience than before and for me, more chances to go to the cinema to see films.

I was also able to do some travelling to see films like The Dark Knight Rises and Argo to name as examples and that is certainly fun to do plus take in 2nd showings of films like the Avengers as I'd really enjoyed it the first time around and it was a chance to take in another showing before it left cinemas.

But sadly this would be short lived as my local cinema would again close its doors in early November, this time probably for good as it was the 2nd time it had close in 18 months, what made this feel worse was that the new James Bond film Skyfall was so close to release as well as a big roster of Boxing Day releases like the Hobbit, Wreck-It-Ralph and Les Miserables, but in small areas it's hard to build a dedicated base of film followers nor can people be made to go to the cinemas these days with downloads becoming so popular.

That said, it was still a sad occurrence for me as I had begun to be convinced that once it got a digital projector then prints would be easier to book and everything would turn around but alas it wasn't to be and I couldn't help but ask myself "Why Me, what have I done to deserve this?" and hence the quote from Tale of Two Cities.

But as for the movies overall, I thought it was a good year but not a great one with many that I saw this year leaving me with that feeling when they were over, that they were perfectly fine, entertaining and enjoyable but in the end I can't say that I found them memorable enough to be a highlight of my year, films like Prometheus, the Grey and the Raid are prime examples of this for me.

With that out of the way, I'll now have a look at the trends that defined the year of movies for me.

Good Trend:

The wealth of Genre films: This year brought about an incredible wealth of genre films to cinemas and disc, films like The Avengers, The Raid, Cabin in the Woods, The Dark Knight Rises, Looper, Skyfall and the Hobbit to name as examples and almost all of those mentioned were well received and will probably live on in people's minds much like a lot of the genre films released in 1982 have.

Bad Trend:

Animated Movies: Seriously, what the Smeg happened this year in the animated movies department, almost all of the major ones released landed with a thud, even Pixar's highly anticipated Brave failed to recapture the spark the studio had for so long nor did it do much to quell the questions audiences had about them after last year's Cars 2 left a lot of its fan base cold.

Sadly that tradition continued this year with many animated movies failing to turn the tide around, if only Transformers Fall of Cybertron had been an animated movie instead of a game as I have no doubt that that would've turned things around and given Transformers fans the film they properly deserve after Bay's train wreck of a trilogy.

And thus ends Part 1 of my look back at 2012, keep watching after this break for Part 2 of my look back where I talk about my 3 best, worst and disappointing movies of the year, what will make the list well you'll have to wait to find out.

Film Review - Extreme Prejudice (1987)

Extreme Prejudice is directed by Walter Hill (48 Hours, Red Heat) and stars Nick Nolte as Texas Ranger Jack Benteen who is investigating a series of drug operations near the US/Mexican border and run by his old friend Cash Bailey (Powers Boothe) but amidst all this lies a phantom army led by Michael Ironside and when these three meet in the desert sands there might be a killin.

Extreme Prejudice is a terrific action picture and is sharply directed by Hill who nicely blends the modern day feeling of action with the desert sands of the western in terms of the Texas style hats, the use of rifles by the rangers and the small town setting of much of the film's plot.

But the praise doesn't end with Hill's direction, it also extends to the cast, Nolte is one good form here and this marks one of the rare occasions where I've enjoyed him in a movie the same with Maria Conchita Alonso who like Nolte I've found to be very hit and miss in films but here she delivered the goods in her small role plus there's a good small role by Rip Torn as a fellow sheriff.

I also really liked Ironside and Clancy Brown in their roles and I really loved Powers Boothe as the villain, a good villain can lift an action film for me and a bad one can kill it stone dead but Boothe plays a solid one here and the scenes between him and Nolte are a real highlight of the movie and help to give it a grounding that other action films sometimes don't have.

So all in all, Extreme Prejudice is a great blend of action and western and has sharp direction and great performance all around, 4 out of 5.

Film Review - Wreck It Ralph (2012)

Wreck-It Ralph is the latest animation from Walt Disney Studios and stars John C. Reilly as Ralph, the bad guy in his arcade game "Fix-It Felix Jr." But Ralph has had enough of being the bad guy and wants to do good no matter the cost.

I went into Wreck-It Ralph with a sense of optimism as the trailers had made the film look promising and the last couple of years have been very average for animated movies, can this be the film that turns that tide?

Well sadly, it is not but by no means do I think that it's a terrible film at all, it's just one that I am of two halves of, first off I'll start with the positives and that is pretty much the entire first half of the film, it was exciting, it had some great gags and it had a neat feeling to it that made it feel fresh.

But there are two halves to this movie and the 2nd was where the film really let it itself down for me as for most of that time you are in a game world that for me was very off putting visually as well as the central character named Vanellope voiced by Sarah Silverman being really bratty and obnoxious to the point where she really started to annoy me with her whiny voice that for me I found hard to put up with after a while.

Despite that though, the third act climax had some excitement to it and Jane Lynch from Glee was very good in her role as a tough sergeant from another arcade game.

And lastly there is a short before the feature called "Paperman" a silent black and white short which I found to be really charming and quite cute, I would also say that I enjoyed it more than I did the film that followed it and it was a nice surprise I didn't know about heading into the movie.

So all in all, Wreck-It Ralph is okay but overall I found it to be nothing special either, still I think families will enjoy it (and the families I saw it with were very quiet during the film) and it will do well with that crowd over the holidays, 2 out of 5.

Film Review - Frantic (1988)

Frantic is directed by Roman Polanski and stars Harrison Ford as Dr. Richard Walker who along with his wife have arrived in Paris for a medical conference but one night after coming out of the shower he finds his wife is missing, in a city where he can't speak French and could've very well vanished into thin air.

Frantic is a thriller that I found to be really enjoyable and the main reason for that is the central performance by Ford, he has always had a real sense of genuine empathy and likeability on screen and that quality is used to full advantage by Polanski as he gets more and more panicky as his time in Paris goes on and finds that not only can he not get much help from the authorities but also the consulate who say "This is their jurisdiction."

This leads me to my next point that I liked so much about the film, the fact that Ford's character is not a heroic character, he's just a regular man caught up in a place that he doesn't understand with the worst possible situation thrown towards him, it was this fact that made the film very believable for me.

I also liked the performances by John Mahoney and Emmanuelle Siegner, both of them help to anchor the film and you don't get bored when they appear on screen.

So all in all, Frantic is a well made thriller with a great central performance by Ford and is well worth checking out, 3 and a half out of 5.

A Look Back at Red Dwarf X

Red Dwarf X is the tenth season of the cult British TV Series and again sees the Boys from the Dwarf Lister (Craig Charles), Rimmer (Chris Barrie), Kryten (Robert Llewelyn) and the Cat (Danny John-Jules) still on Red Dwarf coming across all sorts of Smeg as they travel across the Galaxy.

It has to be said that after the rather atrocious TV Special "Back to Earth" part of me felt "Never Again" when it came to new episodes of Red Dwarf as Back to Earth was the worst the series had ever been, the jokes fell flat, the story was confusing, the cast were showing their age and there was a cynical attempt to tie it into one of the show's best episodes "Back to Reality."

But still I decided to watch the new season regardless and see if the Boys could regain their spark once more.

The first episode "Trojan" certainly went a long way to doing just that, the whole episode for me was a real delight as it felt like a return to the good old days again when Rob Grant co-wrote the show with Doug Naylor before his departure at the end of Season 6, the 4 characters felt like the characters, there were some good jokes and the show had some real energy to it, in short this was vintage Rob and Doug Dwarf back with a vengeance and it stands as one of my overall favourite episodes of the entire series.

The next episode "Fathers and Sons" focused more on Lister trying to be a better dad to himself with some very funny results and that scene stands as a real highlight of the overall season and really shows off how good Craig has become in the role and how his acting has matured over the years, no doubt helped by his time on Coronation Street, the episode as a whole isn't quite as good as "Trojan" and relies a little too much on Vending Machines for humour but still it was a nice episode.

Sadly, that compliment I can't extend to the third episode of this new season called "Lemons" where the crew go back in time and encounter Jesus or so they think, sadly this episode made me a little sad as "Trojan" really restored my faith in Dwarf to really deliver good episodes again whereas "Lemons" felt like the bad old days all over again, very little humour, flat premise and lagging pace that made this one the weakest of the entire series.

The fourth episode titled "Entangled" was a nice return to form with Lister getting up to mischief outside the ship and needing to set it right, after the disaster of "Lemons" I wasn't expecting a lot from this episode but this had some of the zing back from the first two episodes but still I felt that it didn't live up to the heights of "Trojan."

The fifth episode titled "Dear Dave" again focused on Lister and again relied too much on Vending Machines to generate laughs, I can't say I enjoyed this episode as much as I did "Fathers and Sons" and I wish that this episode had instead focused on Kryten as I really love what Robert Llewelyn has done with the character and to not see him get an episode with him as the focus is a sad shame, still I found this to be an okay episode, not great but not entirely terrible either.

But if the last two episodes were a bit on the iffy side, the season finale "The Beginning" would put things back on track after the promise of the first two episodes, there were some good jokes, great character moments and some very good special effects, the slime well and truly came home in this episode and it left the season on a high note.

So that was the individual episodes but some of you are no doubt thinking "How was the Season as a whole?" and I am very happy to say that despite some bumps in the road, this is quite easily the best the show has been since the Rob Grant years as the characters and comedy feel like they're centre stage rather than the Sci-Fi angle which Doug was always better at than Rob who had a feeling for the characters and the comedy.

And so in closing, I look to the future of the Boys from the Dwarf with a sense of optimism, this series has made me a fan of Dwarf again and inspired me to revisit the Rob Grant years which still hold up fantastically well after all these years and if the Boys from the Dwarf can keep up the quality of this series in future seasons then things will look very bright indeed and for Red Dwarf fans who expected the worst from this season, that is certainly something to smile about.

Blu-Ray Review - Blade Runner: 30th Anniversary Edition

The Movie:

Released in late June of 1982 (December 16th in Australian cinemas, just in time for Christmas and during a Summer which was characterized by bad droughts) Ridley Scott's Blade Runner has certainly run the gauntlet of emotions in the 30 years since its release.

1982 was certainly an incredible year for genre cinema and only this year has seen it be matched in terms of the variety of genre product in cinemas and the quality of it for not only did we get Blade Runner we also got the Man from Snowy River, First Blood, Star Trek 2 the Wrath of Khan, Summer Lovers, Tron, Rocky 3, Conan the Barbarian, E.T. and John Carpenter's remake of the Thing to name as some examples, not to mention Mad Max 2 getting its theatrical release in America.

But what did Blade Runner do for me some of you might ask, what made it stand tall in my mind, well surprisingly it was not the film's extraordinary visual design or special effects work, no it was the performance of Rutger Hauer as Roy Batty, the replicant who wants more life that made the movie for me which harks back to an old rule of mine that if a film has a good villain that I have fun watching, then that film no matter what the genre is will get a tick from me and Hauer's Batty certainly ticked that box and when his famous "Tears in Rain" moment comes (the line written by Hauer himself) it's hard not to feel your heartstrings get tugged when it comes, truly a terrific performance.

The Discs:

The 30th Anniversary set comes in a 3 disc box set that might look large in the pictures but is actually somewhat small when you hold it in your hand, the contents are the 3 discs in a case, a flip sided booklet containing some beautiful drawings and photos (each has its own side) and another replica of a Spinner but this one is based from a concept design scrapped for the one used in the film and which got its own replica in the 07 box set.

Speaking of which, some of you might be asking "Is there much difference between the 07 set and this new set?" well to be honest no not really, it's mainly a reorganizing of the contents of that set so that the extras are on an actual Blu-Ray disc instead of being split across two DVD discs as they were in the 07 set.

The Video:

The Video quality on both of the feature discs (one disc is for the Final Cut while the other is for the three archival versions) is pretty much the same as they were on the 07 box set which is sad to say really as those discs could've done with a new authorizing process using a new encode and DTS-HD sound mix that could be spread across a dual layered Blu-Ray disc (the 07 set came out in the early days of Blu-Ray when we still had the format war so only a 25GB Blu-Ray disc was used.)

Nevertheless, the Final Cut looks really good and benefits from both the restoration the film underwent when this cut was being put together and the Blu-Ray format allowing for more space on a disc, the film's many night scenes look terrific and the shades of light really shine which helps to draw you into the world of the film and also makes it hard to look away while watching.

The archival versions haven't had as much restoration work done to them as the Final Cut has but are sourced from the very good remastering work done in 2006 to help wet the appetite of fans for the Special Edition release the following year, that disc looked very good and had a nice natural feel to it and that shows here as well.

The Audio:

One nice change on this new disc of the Final Cut is that this time the default sound mix is the Dolby TrueHD track whereas on the 07 set it was the standard Dolby Digital 5.1 mix that was the default track and viewers had to pause so they could change to the TrueHD track manually which can be a pain in the bottom.

As for the TrueHD mix, it's simply terrific and really highlights Vangelis's beautiful score, you can really hear the textures of detail he layered into each track and wonderfully fills in the speakers, the dialogue is nice and clear and the sounds are nicely represented though the mix does sound a bit quiet at times so you may have to have your sound up slightly higher to listen to it but still its a great sound mix.

The archival versions have only a Dolby Digital 5.1 track on them and sound pretty good though are limited somewhat by their source but still these are pretty good mixes overall and they get the job done.

The Workprint:

Yes folks, the infamous work print of the film that was first shown at sneak previews prior to its release in 1982 and was shown around the US in 1990 to big crowds, it's also the only part of this disc that differs from the 07 set.

Those differences are that it has had a new encode and has a DTS-HD sound mix (neither of which the Final Cut got which sounds silly) and they really make this version shine brightly, the new video encode is terrific and really highlights the details in the sets and effects and the DTS-HD mix actually sounds better than the Dolby TrueHD mix the Final Cut got as its clear it's been mixed at a higher volume, I really wish the Final Cut had gotten this treatment but it's clear why this happened for just the work print.

The Extras:

Yes, the reason the work print got a new video encode and DTS-HD sound mix is that it shares its disc with a whole pyramid full of extras, all but the following come from the 07 release but we also get a long overdue extra that was shamefully left off the earlier release.

Stills Gallery: Yes folks, Blade Runner finally gets some Still Galleries, these were originally intended to go on the 07 release but disc space concerns saw them dropped and here now they're finally here and there's plenty to go through so let's get browsing.

The Galleries section is split into 8 sections; "Storyboards", "Abandoned Sequences", "Ridleygrams", "Syd Mead Galleries", "Mentor Huebner Gallery", "Costume Designs", "Graphic Designs" and "Visual FX and Animation."

One forewarning though is that after going through a gallery the disc may lock up on you but a press of the menu button on your remote will see you safely back to the main menu.

So now first up we have the Storyboards section and there are 9 sequences to be found here, needless to say the work done here is quite beautiful and remarkably detailed, these boards were clearly done by professionals and fans of this process will find a lot to like here.

But my favorite gallery has to be the "Abandoned Sequences" one and we find 5 scenes that were drawn but never shot, some of these were talked about in the "Dangerous Days" documentary and it was nice to finally see the abandoned opening of Batty and the other replicants escaping from off world to Earth in search of Tyrell, it looks like a great sequence but I'm also glad it didn't open the film as it wouldn't have felt right and promised a more action like tone that the final film doesn't have but still it's really cool to see it here in full.

Next we have the "Ridleygrams" and these are Ridley Scott's own doodles for some scenes in the film and again these are quite cool to see as it gives you a look inside Ridley's process in terms of creating scenes and its very cool to see them here.

The next gallery is for Syd Mead's amazing drawings he did for the film, these split into three sections "Vehicles", "Environments" and "Technology" and the drawing here is just extraordinary in terms of the detail, the colors and the sharpness of the lines, it's just beautiful stuff, we also find some more abandoned scenes such as the location of the real Dr. Tyrell and the Snake Dance, neither of which were filmed.

Next we have a small gallery of Mentor Huebner's work and the sketch work here is remarkable, many many many pencils were clearly used to create these drawings and if you look closely you can see the initial Deckard based off Dustin Hoffman who was considered for the role at the time, again great stuff.

Next we have both Costume and Graphic Design galleries and these look at the costume ideas for the characters and the graphic designs for logos and magazines seen in the film, a real highlight was seeing some of the magazine covers that aren't seen very much in the film, my favorite being "Kill Weekly", Gordon Bennett that was a weird one.

And now we come to the last Gallery in this set which regards the Visual FX and Animation and this is a very nice gallery that shows how some of the iconic FX shots were created and how some of the models were built.

As great as all this material is there are in fact some galleries still missing that were dropped from the 07 release and those were the Unit Photography, Book Cover and Marketing and Merchandise Galleries, these are a somewhat sad loss but I didn't really miss them that much as the galleries we got were that good.

As for the rest of the extras well they come from the 07 release though what doesn't is the commentary track recorded for the Workprint by Paul Sammon a noted film historian but I didn't really miss this track as the extras here helped to fill in the gap its absence left.

As for the other extras well they are the following:

- The terrific "Dangerous Days" documentary which covers the making of the film and the legacy its gotten over the years and has almost everyone involved in the film interviewed including Harrison Ford (which is contrary to a comment UK Film Critic Mark Kermode made recently that Harrison hasn't talked about making this film which is not true as he does so here.)

- The making of feature regarding the Final Cut including the re creation of two key sequences one of which involves Harrison's son Ben

- The Enhancement Archive (hidden under the Access menu heading which some mistook for BD-Live features) which contain many features including tributes to Dick and Jordan Cronenweth, a slew of Deleted and Alternate Scenes (which contains most of the stuff from the theatrical versions), some vintage featurettes and trailers plus much more and all of it is really well done unlike most extras which can leave you bored rather quickly.

The Objections:

Yes folks, I do have some objections to this release though they are minor and its mainly that I wish the Final Cut and the disc with the 3 archive versions had gotten new video encodes, a DTS-HD sound mix and were presented on their own dual layered Blu-Ray disc with the extras put on their own dual layered disc and presented in HD as its clear watching the Dangerous Days doco that it was originally intended to be shown in HD but instead its only shown in SD and it's a shame that's the case as the SD presentation is not the best for it or the other extras and a HD presentation for them would've made them shine so very very brightly.

The Verdict:

All in all, the question is as such, is this new 30th Anniversary Blade Runner Blu-Ray box set worth buying for fans and the answer is yes, it's not an emphatic yes but it's a yes all the same, mainly for the beautiful art galleries and the reorganizing of the extras onto an actual Blu-Ray disc instead of having them on two DVD discs and is well worth picking up at the right price.

Film Review - Snow White and the Huntsman (2012)

Snow White and the Huntsman is the 2nd Snow White film to be released this year but this one has a different cast and feel to this year's Mirror Mirror, the story here concerns Snow White (Kristen Stewart) the fairest of them all who is held prisoner inside the castle of the wicked queen (Charlize Theron) but she escapes and flees into the woods, so a local Huntsman (Chris Hemsworth) is sent to track her down and bring the queen her heart.

I went into the Huntsman with mixed expectations, the trailers looked promising and I like Hemsworth and Theron though Stewart was the drawback as I can't say I've found her appealing, so with that was the film good?

Well to be frank, no it wasn't, this for me was a failure on almost every level, the film's pace plods along at a rate I haven't seen since Star Trek 5: The Final Frontier as like that film it takes that smegging long to get its story going that you just lose interest when the stuff you want to see happens actually gets to happen, this is just pure and simple incompetence.

And as for the rest, well let me start with Stewart who is simply boring in the title role, for most of the movie she just scowls and mumbles and she occasionally breaks out a small grin but she exudes no warmth or charisma in the role and even if she did manage to smile properly, it would most likely mean the unravelling of the time space continuum or the end of the world as we know it (and we won't feel fine.)

And also, Theron is completely wasted in her role as all she does for most of the movie is SHOUT SOME OF HER LINES LIKE THIS and play the whole thing like the pantomime villain that just misses her "I'll get you next time, Snow White, NEXT TIME" line, I really loved Theron in Young Adult and it pains me to say she dropped the ball here big time.

But the two main saving graces here are Hemsworth and Bob Hoskins, Hemsworth is clearly having fun in his role and enjoying being the Han Solo-esque supporting player while Hoskins brightens the film up in his limited scenes, how sad it will be to see him gone from our cinema screens.

So all in all, the Huntsman misses his target by a fair margin and the film fails on almost every level to inspire its audience, hopefully Peter Jackson's return to Middle Earth with part 1 of his Hobbit trilogy can deliver the goods for fantasy film fans later this year, .5 out of 5.

Film Review - Skyfall (2012)

Skyfall is the 23rd James Bond film and the 3rd film to star Daniel Craig in the role of Agent 007, the story here concerns a cyber attack on MI6 by a ghost from M's past, so it's up to Bond to put a stop to it.

I went into Skyfall with a sense of cautious optimism, I've really loved Craig in the role and even enjoyed Quantum of Solace despite that film having some of the worst action scenes I've ever seen from any film, so did this new Bond film return Craig's tenure to the form promised after Casino Royale in 2006?

Happily, yes it does though I also think it surpasses Royale and becomes my favourite of the three films Craig has made so far in the role, he seems much more assured, more confident and more physical than he did in Quantum where at times he seemed to be lost and confused as to where to go with the part.

But he's not alone here, Judi Dench, Albert Finney, Ralph Fiennes and Ben Wishaw all chip in good performances and the film is beautifully shot by Roger Deakins, his use of light and shade and locations is outstanding, I really hope he is considered to be the DP on the new Blade Runner film being planned as the look he created for this film is what that film needs.

Sam Mendes's direction is also quite good, keeping a steady eye on the action scenes and making sure the balance between them and the more dramatic moments is maintained so that one element doesn't overshadow the other, the film also has some very good editing by Stuart Baird, a very nice title song by Adele and a very good musical score by Thomas Newman who wisely avoids trying to sound like the late John Barry as David Arnold tended to do at times.

But sadly there is a fault here and that is the villain played here by Javier Bardem, don't get me wrong it's a good villain one of the better ones the series has had (and there have been some real duds in this series to be sure) and on the page I'm sure everyone thought this would be a real winner and it sure sounds that way when you think about it but on the page is one thing the execution is another and Bardem's performance does not deliver.

The main reason is that for much of the time he's on screen he comes across as a blend of the late Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker in the Dark Knight and his own performance as Anton Chigur in No Country for Old Men, I found there to be a little too much of the villainous cackling of the type Dr. Claw might do and not enough of the menace that the character needed to make him a standout villain in a series where those sort are few and far between.

And lastly I had this thought come to my mind as I watched the film and that was "I wish Timothy Dalton got to do a film like this one or a third film in general" as it took three films for both Roger Moore and Sean Connery to define their tenure's in the role and both Goldfinger in terms of Connery and The Spy who Loved Me in terms of Moore are seen as the best films those actors made during their time in the part.

Dalton sadly only made two films as 007 and his second Licence to Kill in 1989 proved divisive for audiences much like Craig's second film was and he needed a third film to set things right just as Moore did after the Man with the Golden Gun left the series in dire straits, sadly a bitter legal fight with MGM in the early 90's saw Dalton's planned third film be scrapped and in time it would end his tenure in the role so as a result he left audiences divided whereas a film like this or his third film planned for late 1991 (though my feeling is that it would've come out in 92 for the 30th anniversary of the series) just might have set things right but these things happen and happily Craig has continued along the path he began 25 years ago with the Living Daylights.

So all in all Skyfall delivers a worthwhile if minorly flawed film for the 50th anniversary of Bond and for me it was certainly worth the wait and worth seeing, 3 out of 5.

Film Review - Diamonds are Forever (1971)

Diamonds are Forever sees Sean Connery returning for one last time as 007, the story here concerns diamond smuggling which Bond is sent to investigate but instead will send him face to face with an old enemy and unfinished business.

Diamonds are Forever is pretty much the biggest misfire of the entire Bond franchise, after the emotional ending of On her Majesty's Secret Service the stage was set for a great sequel that would've given that ending the rightful closure it deserved but sadly that never happened and instead we get a VERY average diamond thief plot with Connery simply going through the motions one more time before being able to move on to greener pastures though given what happened on the last film I can't blame United Artists for wanting him back as much as they did.

But apart from that, the film is also really dull in its direction and a near complete bore to watch as the storyline regarding the diamonds isn't very interesting and the film overall just makes you bored while watching it from the tiredness displayed on screen, what a shame that Connery's tenure as 007 ended so flatly.

As I said this is probably the series' greatest misfire outside of another film in the series and this was not the exit Connery deserved as 007, 1 out of 5.

Film Review - On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)

Following the temporary departure of Sean Connery from the role, Australian George Lazenby takes up the mantle of 007 for this film and the story here has him pursuing Blofeld (Terry Savalas) to the Swiss Alps to stop his new plan to conquer the world, at the same time he comes across the spirited and somewhat reckless woman Tracy (Diana Rigg) for whom he has all the time in the world.

On Her Majesty's Secret Service was easily my favourite of Fleming's Bond stories, the character felt human, there was a great plot and a well written leading lady in Tracy which gives the story a real human heart, with that how was the film version?

Surprisingly the film version is pretty good, one of the best films in the series for sure, director Peter Hunt (a long serving editor of the series before this film) seems very confident in the director's chair, no doubt helped by his editing experience, his action direction is very good indeed and very fast paced especially the skiing scenes which are terrific to watch.

But my praise doesn't end there, John Barry produces what is arguably his best score of the series as well as the beautiful song "We have all the Time in the World" Louis Armstrong's last recorded song before his death and Rigg is just wonderful as Tracy as is Savalas as Blofeld.

If there is one fault with the film it is Lazenby himself, don't get me wrong he handles himself very well, his action work is great, he handles the humour with a nice tone of cheekiness and gets right the most important scene in the movie but what undercuts all of this good work (and it is good work indeed) is his lack of acting experience, something that was not noticeable in a later film of his, 1975's The Man from Hong Kong where he was great in that film and came across as someone who had had more acting experience.

But despite that minor negative, OHMSS stands tall as a very well made and exciting Bond film, 3 and a half out of 5.

Film Review - From Russia with Love (1963)

From Russia with Love is the 2nd James Bond film and again stars Sean Connery as Agent 007 with a Licence to Kill, the story here sees Bond going after the Lektor decoder, a prize highly valued by British Intelligence in their fight against the Russians, but Bond will soon find himself a piece in a very deadly chess game with an old enemy.

From Russia with Love is easily one of the best Bond films and for me, the highlight of Connery's tenure in the role, he seems more assured of himself in the role and his confidence shows in every scene he's in, he smiles a bit more than he did in Dr. No, he comes across as tougher and he handles the action and the humour quite well and as a result, we want to follow him and cheer him on during his mission.

But he's not the only one with more confidence in their roles, director Terence Young seems more assured in the director's chair, always finding the right note in each scene and how it all comes together to fill the overall whole of the film itself, John Barry produces one of his best scores for the series with a nice undertone of dark tension throughout the whole score, Peter Hunt's editing seems more assured with his action editing being more tight and his editing of quieter scenes and the overall film having a tense feel to them as well.

But what makes this movie really shine is the villain played by Robert Shaw, don't get me wrong Lotte Lenya is perfectly fine in her role as Rosa Klebb but Shaw steals the show and stands as one of the very best villains of the entire series, Shaw's Red Grant is every bit the equal of Bond in terms of both brains and brawn and the confrontation between the two is simply spectacular and one of the very best fight scenes in the entire series.

So all in all, From Russia with Love stands tall as a real highlight of the James Bond film series and is certainly one that should not be missed, 4 out of 5.

Film Review - Dr. No (1962)

He carries a 00 number and he's licensed to kill, where he chooses, whom he chooses and when he chooses, he's also known as Bond, James Bond of Her Majesty's Secret Service and in this the first of the Bond film adventures he's played by Sean Connery and the story sees him sent off to Jamaica to investigate the disappearance of another agent named Strangways but what he'll find is just one small piece of a big puzzle.

Dr. No is a fantastic start to the series, director Terence Young wastes no time in hitting the ground running and establishing the style, tone and energy that will run through the whole film, he also has a lot of patience with the film and a lot of it is quiet with little to no underscore in several scenes and long uncut camera takes that are a real joy to watch and sadly something that you don't see a lot of nowadays for so many films throw in a near constant underscore and a constant cutting of shots lasting less than 2 seconds.

But Young is only one half of why this film is as good as it is, the other half is Connery, an inspired choice for the role, he moves like a panther, has a fantastic presence on screen and carries the film effortlessly, only Timothy Dalton and Daniel Craig have done as well in the part and it's easy to see why their interpretations were as successful.

But my praise doesn't end there, both Joseph Wiseman and Ursula Andress also do good work in their roles especially Wiseman who nicely sets the template for the Bond villains that followed with his cool, calm exterior that hides a cold interior and a deadly handshake that you'll certainly not forget anytime soon.

So all in all, Dr. No is a stylish debut for the Bond film series and certainly worth a look, 3 out of 5.

Film Review - Argo (2012)

Argo is the third film to be directed by Ben Affleck and the second in which he both directs and stars, the story here revolves around the Iranian hostage crisis in 1979, six Americans escape and seek refuge in the Canadian embassy, but the clock is ticking to get them out and it may take a crazy article of faith to make it happen.

I went into Argo with a sense of enthusiasm as I was very impressed by Affleck's directorial work on his previous film the Town, so did he pull it off once more?

Happily, he most certainly did, the film is a nearly pitch perfect piece of filmmaking pie with not one tie the such left unturned, the scenes in Iran where war could break out with one false move are beautifully put together with a very real sense of tension that had me almost biting off both of my pinky fingers and if that happened probably doing the others as well, Affleck always makes sure his audience are brought along for the ride nor does he leave his audience confused or lost as to who the key players are, where the key locations are and how it all unfolds amongst the period of the film's setting, this is simply the work of a master of his craft.

But my praise doesn't end there, the film also has a fantastic cast with Alan Arkin, Kyle Chandler, John Goodman and Bryan Cranston all giving outstanding performances that are peppered with elements of tension, depth and humour, the film also is beautifully edited by William Goldenburg and beautifully shot by Rodrigo Prieto, the work of both these men captures the period beautifully as does the music and sound design.

So all in all, Argo is beautifully made and really confirms Affleck as the real deal in the director's chair, not since James Cameron's work have I been so impressed with a director, can't wait to see what he does next, 4 and a half out of 5.

Film Review - Rambo: First Blood Part 2 (1985)

First Blood Part II takes place after the original First Blood and sees John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) out of prison and being sent back into Nam to find American POW's who might still be held prisoner there, but there is more to this mission than meets the eye.

First Blood Part II is not a great sequel, in fact a lot of it feels very average with little life in the scenes, Stallone does his usual thing of not saying a lot and blowing up a lot with just about every weapon conceived by mankind and the action scenes in which that happen are either really boring or border on being ridiculous.

But the film's biggest problem is that it has no heart to it, the first Rambo film had the big action scenes and Stallone doing his thing but it also had a real heart to it in regards to the Rambo character in that he was just drifting through the US trying to find any survivors of his unit besides him and coming to terms with not only being the last of an elite group of soldier but also the treatment he received from his fellow countrymen for his service which culminated beautifully in that film's final scenes.

This time around he's just another run of the mill action man with a buff body creaming armies left, right and centre without so much as getting a scratch or sneezy nose and boy oh boy do you get bored with that very quickly.

But there were a couple of bright spots, first was the score by the late Jerry Goldsmith which highlighted when it used the underscore of "It's a Long Road" from the first film and the performances by Richard Crenna and Charles Napier, the two men play off each other very well and the scenes between them are easily the highlight of the film, it makes me sad somewhat that both men are no longer with us as they were good character actors.

So all in all, First Blood Part II is a very average follow up to a great original which still stands up today as a great action film, rent that film and avoid the other 3 films in the series as they're nowhere near as good, 1.5 out of 5.

Film Review - Get the Gringo (2012)

Get the Gringo concerns a "Gringo" or Foreigner in Mexico played by Mel Gibson who is busted crossing the Mexican border and thrown into Jail, but the "Gringo" has a few tricks of his own up his sleeve.

Get the Gringo is a very stylish film and also a hell of a lot of fun to watch, mainly due to Gibson himself, he may have fallen from grace over the last few years but this movie proves that he still has the charisma and presence that made him a star in both Mad Max and Lethal Weapon and its a lot of fun to watch him get up to no good in this movie.

The film also has a very stylish and grungy look to it as well within the Mexican prison and you really get a feel for it in a way that it becomes a character in the film in its own right and there is also a very cool performance by Bob Gunton towards the end of the film and it was sure nice to see him in a movie again after quite a while.

So all in all while the Gringo goes over the top too much with its violence, the stylish feel and Gibson's central performance make this worth checking out, 2 and a half out of 5.

Blu-Ray Review - The Terminator (1984)

The Film:

Released in 1984 (December 20th 1984 in Australia), James Cameron's the Terminator would not only become an iconic sci-fi film in its own right but would also launch the careers of not only Cameron but its star Arnold Schwarzenegger where to this day it would become one of his defining screen roles.

In the year of darkness 2029, the Machines rule the Earth with what's left of Mankind engaged in a bloody war with their mechanical masters for survival but the powerful computer Skynet isn't about to take this lying down and sends a "Terminator" back to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor, mother of his hated enemy John before he's even born but the resistance aren't about to let Skynet win by cheating the game, not if they have anything to say about it.

Though it has a small budget, Cameron throws his all into his direction of the film, showing his early flair for effects, character, heart and excitement that would later come to fruition with his 1986 sci-fi sequel Aliens, Arnold is an inspired choice for the role as his muscular build and physical presence sell the idea of the unstoppable Terminator who "can't be bargained with, can't be reasoned with, doesn't feel pity or pain or remorse and it absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are dead."

The Image:

One Word: WOW

I could end it there but really, this is an image that has to be seen to be believed as it looks absolutely spectacular, hard to believe it was shot on such a low budget as it almost looks like a new film.

The transfer also has a very natural feel to it as well, it doesn't feel to artificial nor does it feel like how a film today might look due to extensive digital color grading, nope the film has a natural look to it with the night time scenes looking great with the night lights on the streets and the day time scenes looking nearly spotless with many details of the streets, signage and clothing becoming apparent as you watch the film.

The transfer also has a nice grainy feel to it as well, adding to your feeling that your watching a new transfer that feels like a proper film print rather than a HDTV broadcast print might look, its clear Cameron had a hand in creating this transfer for the film and he delivered the goods once more as this is a marvelous restoration that makes the DVD release of the film look murky in comparison.

The Sound:

Presented in DTS-HD 5.1 sound, the Terminator also sounds great with dialogue, music and sound all sounding crystal clear.

The mix seems to be based off the 2000 5.1 mix created for the film which changed several sounds and re did all of the gun shot sounds, most likely due to the fact that the original gunshot sounds were either lost and weren't in a high enough quality to be added to the 5.1 mix, nevertheless the new gun sounds aren't too distracting and the mix also allows Brad Fiedel's great score for the film really shine as well, more than it ever did on the film's DVD release.

The Extras:

Sadly here is where the disc falls completely flat on its face for as great as the visuals and sound mix are, there are only a few extras on this disc so here we go:

Creating the Visual Effects and Music: Taken from the feature length making of "Other Voices" created in 2001, this looks at the creation of the film's visual effects and music score, within the "Other Voices" doco they were great but on their own they're not as good and makes you miss the full doco from the DVD release.

Creating the Terminator - A Retrospective: The only doco material to be ported over from the DVD release, this is a retrospective featurette from 1991 with Cameron and Arnold, the two have a natural and easy going chemistry between them that makes this featurette fun to watch, the feature also has a trailer for the film before it starts which makes it feel like it was taken from a VHS release of this featurette as the DVD version went straight into the featurette.

7 Terminated Scenes: 7 Deleted Scenes round out this very slim and very weak selection of extras, the scenes are okay with the final one helping to plant the seeds for Terminator 2 but all of them are best left out as the pace and structure of the film would be ruined if they were there, much like the longer version of Terminator 2 did when it had several scenes restored that were best left out as the film functioned just fine without them.

And that's it for extras and what a smegging shame that is as the DVD release had still galleries, early screenplay drafts, the full "Other Voices" doco, a commentary from Cameron on the deleted scenes and trailers and TV spots which included a teaser trailer for the film that featured some of Cameron's artwork and was narrated by none other than Optimus Prime himself Peter Cullen.

But what would've been REALLY cool is a new Audio Commentary track featuring Cameron and Arnold and it would've been fantastic to see these two men sit down together and reminisce about the film that made their name though given the scheduling required to make it happen it would've only been a dream but still it what this new release needs as well as a re-production of the original mono mix from 84 like the recent Blu-Ray release of Jaws had both its original and new sound mixes for fans.

Overall:

Despite an outstanding video transfer and sound mix, a near complete lack of extras really holds this disc back from being something special as the new transfer really gives you a feeling of what might have been if Cameron had been involved with this release as he was with the recent Blu-Ray of Titanic which was a near faultless release and one of the year's finest but oh well you can't win them all but still if you don't have the film on Blu-Ray then this release is the one to pick up.

Film Review - Action Jackson (1988)

Action Jackson takes place in Detroit and stars Carl Weathers as "Action" Jackson who is now a desk sergeant after an encounter with the son of local Auto magnate Peter Dellaplane (Craig T. Nelson) but Dellaplane has some big plans for the Auto industry and they may not be friendly.

Though it may look like a rip off of Beverly Hills Cop on the surface, Action Jackson is actually a lot of fun, mainly due to Weathers in the lead, he's charismatic, he has a good sense of humour and he handles the film's few dramatic moments well, the film also has a nice sense of humour to it with most of the film's one liners making me laugh more often than they normally would plus there were some moments that made me smile and some good action scenes as well.

But what really makes this film stand tall for me is the cast, not only do you have Weathers you also have Nelson, Sharon Stone in an early role, Bill Duke, Tom Wilson, Al Leong, Robert Davi and Sonny Landham in small roles and heck even the guy that played Argyle the limo driver in the first Die Hard shows up for a brief cameo.

Sadly however there is a big weak link in this movie and that is the role played by Vanity, whenever she appears on screen the film drags to the point where it almost dies as she just doesn't hold her own very well against Weathers or the rest of the cast and its a real shame too as this film has a lot going for it as well but as they say you can't win them all.

So all in all, this is a fun underrated little action flick that had it not been for its leading lady might have done a lot better than it actually did when released in 88 though it is easy to see why many might have dismissed it back then especially as the original Die Hard came out that year as well, oh well I had fun with this film and I'm sure others will too, 3 out of 5.

Film Review - Taken 2 (2012)

Taken 2 is the follow up to 2008's Taken and again stars Liam Neeson as Bryan Mills but the story this time sees him, his ex-wife (Famke Janssen) and his daughter (Maggie Grace) in Istanbul but the family the men Mills murdered in the first film are there as well and they want revenge.

I went into Taken 2 with some degree of optimism as I really loved the first one, it was dark, it was exciting and it reminded me of the good old days of action cinema like Die Hard and the first two Mad Max movies, so did this sequel give me a worthy follow up?

Sadly, no, this film is very very disappointing for two key reasons each of which I'll outline:

Firstly, the film itself is just really boring to watch, the Istanbul location is not shot with the same excitement Paris was in the first film, Neeson sounds like he'd rather be somewhere else, the action feels very generic and has none of the impact the action scenes in the first film had and Janssen and Grace become somewhat annoying after a while.

But what's worst of all is that Neeson sits on the sidelines for a good 2/3rds of this movie and is either tied up, on his phone or barking orders like a stern general, it almost feels like a different character to the no nonsense man of action we met and liked in the first one and wanted to see again in this one, again its just very disappointing.

There was however one positive and it doesn't come from the film itself, it was from seeing the trailer for the new James Bond film Skyfall on the big screen, that had me genuinely excited and thinking "Bring it On."

So all in all this would arguably be my biggest disappointment of the year so far and all it does is just remind me of the other follow ups to films I loved; Highlander II, Iron Man 2, Robocop 2 and Die Hard 2 all of which I didn't like very much at all and this sits on the same shelf, 1 out of 5.

Film Review - Pirates: Band of Misfits (2012)

Pirates Band of Misfits is the newest animated production from Aardman studios, perhaps best known for creating Wallace and Gromit, the story here concerns the Pirate Captain (voice of Hugh Grant) wanting to win the Pirate of the Year award but when he comes across famed scientist Charles Darwin (voice of David Tennant) his adventure is about to begin.

I went into Pirates Band of Misfits with some degree of optimism as the trailer for the film made me laugh and it also made me want to see the film, so was the film worth the wait?

Well, it was and it wasn't sad to say, first though are the positives, the film is beautifully animated, it was done with stop motion animation and it really shows with the characters having little quirks to them and the various backgrounds having a real style to them that CG animation has a hard time capturing, the shots of the sea also look very nice as do the various models of buildings and the other pirate ships.

Secondly the film also has a very funny array of supporting characters from Number 2 (Martin Freeman), the Monkey Mr. Bobo, Darwin and the Queen, most of those also have great voice acting from Freeman, Tennant and Imeulda Stanton standing out the most.

Sadly though the central Pirate voiced by Grant comes across as very weak and at times it almost sinks the film as his story feels like a familiar sail and it's not very well handled, nevertheless it doesn't distract you too much from the high seas adventure.

So all in all, Pirates Band of Misfits didn't quite live up to my hopes of a fun adventure on the high seas but it is one of the better animated movies of the last couple of years which have felt very very average sad to say, still this movie is a fun one and worth a look, 2 and a half out of 5.

Film Review - The Way (2012)

The Way is directed by Emilio Estevez and stars his real life father Martin Sheen as an eye doctor named Tom who learns that his son Daniel (Estevez) has died in a freak storm walking "The Way" a pilgrimage to Santiago, to honour his late son Tom decides to take the trip himself.

The Way is a well made and quite touching film, Estevez shows a good directorial eye and at 2 hours the film is nicely paced, never feeling too long but also not walking through its beautiful sights and not stopping somewhat to take in the sights, breath the air and smell some of the roses also.

But my praise doesn't end there, it also extends to Juan Miguel Azpiroz's cinematography and the performances by Sheen, Tcheky Karyo, Deborah Kara Unger, James Nesbitt and Yorick van Wageningen as the other three pilgrims who accompany Tom on his adventure, the 4 of them together makes for one of the year's best ensemble casts.

So all in all, the Way is a great and touching adventure that is well worth checking out, 3 and a half out of 5.

Film Review - The Sum of all Fears (2002)

The Sum of all Fears is the fourth Jack Ryan film and this time Ben Affleck stars as Dr. Ryan, an analyst for the CIA and the story here concerns an old nuclear bomb found in the Israel Desert and sold on the Black Market, a bomb that could potentially lead to war.

The Sum of all Fears does not end this run of Jack Ryan movies on a high note, in fact this movie is pretty bad and also rather forgettable, mainly due to the fact that the film's storyline is confusing (taking you to all sorts of places at once) and Ryan himself doesn't feel like a key player in averting the disaster.

Now you contrast that with 1990's The Hunt for Red October and in that film there really feels like something at stake with the Silent Drive in a Russian Submarine and in the wrong hands could shoot a bunch of its missiles at a major city and no one would have time to counter attack before it was all over whereas here there's a lot of talk about a bomb that could do great damage and you just don't care about it, it has nowhere near as much weight as the Caterpillar did in Red October.

The other thing that bothers me about the film is that Ryan himself doesn't feel like a key player in his own movie and Affleck is horribly miscast in the role, Ryan in the book doesn't come across as a macho action man, he's an analyst by nature and a man who doesn't rush headlong into combat without thinking things through first.

And that's what he does in Red October, he thinks it through, comes up with a theory and only goes into combat because he has to, Alec Baldwin captured the character of Ryan very well and he felt like the central player in that film whereas here Ryan feels like an afterthought, a character shoehorned into proceedings that are for the most part happening without him.

There are however some good things I liked, mainly some of the cast, James Cromwell, Liev Schreiber and Morgan Freeman are all quite good here and it was nice to see Schreiber on the side of good this time, a pity he hasn't done it more often.

So all in all, this movie is not worth your time though the Hunt for Red October is, after that film the series just got worse and worse and seemed to forget about the source material by Tom Clancy, hopefully Kenneth Branagh and Chris Pine can deliver a solid reboot next year, they're both good choices hopefully they can deliver the goods as well, 1 out of 5.