Film Review - Next of Kin (1990)

Next of Kin stars Patrick Swayze as Truman Gates, a Chicago Police Officer who is asked to investigate the murder of his brother Gerald (Bill Paxton) but complicating things is his other brother Briar (Liam Neeson) who also comes to town determined to find Gerald's killer no matter the cost.

I had some fun watching this film, parts of it are predictable in terms of how it will all play out but I enjoyed myself watching it nonetheless, Swayze was on good form and made for a likeable lead and the film also has a pretty good cast on the whole with Paxton, Andreas Katsulas, Helen Hunt and Ben Stiller both having early roles along with Michael Pollard from Dick Tracy, Ted Levine and Adam Baldwin.

But the show stealer for me here is Neeson who like Hunt and Stiller is in an early role here and it's very easy to see why he's become so popular in recent years as an action star as every time he was kicking bottom I was like "YAAAY" much like I did in the first Taken film, its just a pity most of his action films since have not been that good.

So all in all Next of Kin was good fun if slightly predictable and worth it mainly for Liam Neeson and his Southern Accent, 3 out of 5.

Film Review - The Usual Suspects (1995)

The Usual Suspects is directed by Bryan Singer and stars Kevin Spacey as Verbal Kint, a crippled man who is brought into the NYPD to tell his side of the story of a drug heist that went very wrong but there may be more to this story than at first glance.

I first saw this film back about 10 or 11 years ago primarily due to being a big fan of Singer's work on the first two X-Men films and now having seen the new film in that series Days of Future Past I felt inspired to go back and revisit it again, does it hold up after a long time between viewings?

Absolutely, this is a very impressive film to sit through though it does require some patience on behalf of the viewer but you are very handsomely rewarded when its finished, the script by Chris McQuarrie is the first of many that deserve praise here as his script is so tight that it could potentially become so convoluted and complicated that it could be difficult to follow who's who and what's going on in the wrong hands.

But Singer keeps a very firm grip on the key characters and events and it's hard to believe rewatching the film again that this was his first major movie it felt like he had the confidence of a veteran director here and it's easy to see the way he directs his cast why he was chosen to handle the X-Men series a few years later, Tom Sigel has some great cinematography here and John Ottman's editing and music score are great as well, it's a pity he won't get the chance to re-edit the first X-Men film as I would love to have seen what he might have done with it as I can't help but think it would feel like a better film.

But lastly I have to talk about the performances and not only is Spacey very convincing but Chazz Palminteri, the late Pete Posthelthwaite, Benicio Del Toro, Gabriel Byrne, Stephen Baldwin and Kevin Pollack are very good here and the 5 main guys also work very well together as a group.

And so to close it, I really enjoyed rewatching the Usual Suspects and would very highly recommend it to anyone, 4 out of 5.

Film Review - 22 Jump Street (2014)

22 Jump Street continues on from the film version of 21 Jump Street and sees Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Jenko (Channing Tatum) heading to College to stop the distribution of a Drug Called Why Phy but life in College will not be easy.

Part of me was looking forward to seeing this film but not because of its lead actors but because of its directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller who also made this year's The Lego Movie which along with the Wolf of Wall Street are my favorite films of the year so far, could they deliver comedy goodness once again?

Bloody Oath they did, the main thing I have to say about this film is that I laughed a lot, out loud as there are so many jokes here that are just great great fun to watch and Tatum in particular drives so much of the comedy with his great comic timing and physical comedy, there was a time where I super hated this man but after seeing him here I had to say to myself "I take it back."

But he isn't the only great performer here, Ice Cube is very funny as the loud mouthed Police Captain and Wyatt Russell (Son of Jack Burton himself Kurt Russell) is very likeable here as well but I have to come back to Lord and Miller once again, these guys are writing some GREAT comedy material lately and along the way giving US Comedy a serious kick up the backside and it sure feels fucking refreshing after the Judd Apatow Comedy Club that makes me think "An Editor, An Editor, My Kingdom for an Editor" and the endless Toilet Humour that got very tiresome a long time ago.

So all in all, 22 Jump Street is very funny and absolutely worth the ticket price to go and see it, 4 out of 5.

Film Review - Grudge Match (2014)

Grudge Match stars Sylvester Stallone as Henry "Razor" Sharp and Robert De Niro as Billy "The Kid" MacDonnell two former boxing rivals who fought each other twice in the 80s before Henry decided to retire from the ring, now 30 years later a boxing promoter wants to reunite them for one last round which could put a bit of biffo back into their lives.

Grudge Match for the first two thirds of its running time is great fun, a lot of the jokes made me laugh and it had a nice snappy pace to it, Sly and De Niro have great fun making fun of their iconic roles from Rocky and Raging Bull respectively and Alan Arkin just stole the show for me with almost every line he said just making me thinking he was hilarious.

Sadly however the film stumbles big time in the third act when it decides it wants to tug at our heart strings and strive for some emotional resonance and for me this did not work very well at all as that entire section comes right out of left field and has almost nothing to do with anything in the film that came before it.

It was also at this point where I began to feel what I think is the other big problem with this film and that is its simply too long for its own good, there's a great 90 minute comedy in here waiting to come out but instead it's hidden inside a film that's nearly 2 hours long and it shouldn't be, the third act should've simply been the boxing match and nothing else and it's a real shame to say that given how fun those first two thirds are.

But that said I enjoyed this film a lot more than I thought I would and despite some third act stumbles I did have fun and it does what it says on the box so I'll recommend it but with reservations, 3 out of 5.

Film Review - Her (2014)

Her is written and directed by Spike Jonze and stars Joaquin Phoenix as Theodore, a man in the future who works for a letter company and who one days buys a new operating system for his computer named Samantha (voiced by Scarlett Johansson) whilst also going through a divorce with his wife (Rooney Mara) so sparks between the two begin to fly.

Her for me is a very strange film and one that for me left me a little cold down the middle, don't get me wrong I don't think it's a bad film at all but it was one that didn't really do all that much for me either.

Before I delve into those feelings some more I want to talk about what I did like and that is first of all the cinematography by Hoyte van Hoytema as he makes the film look so gorgeous to watch with the clean industrial look and the endless lights and screens that reminded me of Blade Runner, the film also has some wonderful performances by Phoenix, Mara, Johansson and Amy Adams who builds on her great work in American Hustle recently.

But yet despite all of those positives the central story just left me cold, it's a great idea to be sure but the overall execution of it just made it difficult for me to buy into it and as a result I didn't really find the film all that engaging and when it was over and I had gone through that journey somewhat I didn't really feel also that it was worth it overall.

So yeah, Her split me right down the middle as I said, it's not a bad film in the slightest despite some reading it that way but for me personally it didn't work and I can't recommend it despite its very strong positives, 2 and a half out of 5.

Film Review - Inside Llewyn Davis (2014)

Inside Llewyn Davis is written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen and stars Oscar Issac as Llewyn Davis, a folk singer in 1961 New York but he's also very abrasive to those around him and he sleeps on the couches of others but he is very determined to make something of his musical career despite these faults.

Inside Llewyn Davis for me was okay, it wasn't a great film for me to be sure but it was one that I would say that I did enjoy despite my misgivings about it, I loved the performances by Issac, Justin Timberlake, Carey Mulligan and John Goodman they were all very good, I love the look of the film in terms of the recreation of the era and the soundtrack as well was nice.

But at the same time part of me didn't really warm to Davis as a character in the story as he didn't really go anywhere now don't get me wrong I have enjoyed unlikeable characters in films The Wolf of Wall Street is a great example of this but I just found myself taking the side of Carey Mulligan's character and others like her when they said to him that he was no good and that his life has no direction to it.

This isn't really a bad thing to be sure but that's just how I found myself reacting to the film as I was watching it.

So all in all, I think that Inside Llewyn Davis is well made as a film but I didn't really care all that much for the central character arc all that much but I would still recommend it, 3 out of 5.

Film Review - How to Train your Dragon 2 (2014)

5 Years since the events of the first film, we head back to the Viking Village of Burk where Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) lives with his Dragon riding friends but a new enemy named Drago (Djimon Hounsou) appears to threaten the peace so it's up to Hiccup to stop him.

Going into this film I was very excited to see it as I really loved the first film and this new one had the same creative team for the most part behind this new film, could they soar to the heights of their previous film or go crashing down in the attempt?

Well like a new Bald Eagle it definitely flies to the edge of Heaven and the Stars of Cinemas as this is simply a wonderful sequel that for me is every inch the equal of the first film, all of the key voices are back and they do a good job 2nd time around and there are also some very impressive flying battle sequences and gigantic monsters that really show off the sense of scale that this series has done so well in these 2 films.

But the film also does what a good sequel should and that is feel like an expansion of the universe as well as bringing in a new key element that enriches the world and here that is the character voiced by Cate Blanchett who does a pretty good Scottish Brogue but I will leave her side of it right there as it's something you have to discover for yourself.

And so How to Train your Dragon 2 is that rare breed of sequel that is as good as the first film and is absolutely worth seeing on the biggest screen you can find as the small screen I saw it on just did not do it justice, 4 out of 5.

Film Review - Edge of Tomorrow (2014)

Edge of Tomorrow stars Tom Cruise as William Cage, a Soldier in the United Defence Force which is at War with an Alien race called the Mimics but Cage possess the ability to relive the day of the invasion and given that it goes badly, it just might make the difference between victory and defeat.

Part of me was slightly mixed going into this film for whilst I had seen the previews for the film they didn't do an awful lot for me but my weakness for a good Sci-Fi film persuaded me to go and see it, did it deliver the goods?

Well sort of as all I thought was that the film was okay but nothing special for me, first off though I want to talk about what I did like and that is the performances by Emily Blunt and Bill Paxton, Blunt is a very underrated actress and she is strong and charismatic in her role and it's great to see a female version of a character that would normally be written for a male and Paxton is still so much fun to watch on screen and it was a real joy to see him basically doing a parody of the Sergeant character in Aliens.

But the film story wise really did not work for me, all throughout I just kept being reminded so much of the Playstation 3 First Person Shooter Games Resistance which dealt with an Alien invasion by the Chimera in first England and then the United States and elements from all three games were on show in this film.

- First off is the use of England as the location which is also the location of the first Resistance game

- Second is the psychic type powers of its lead character which was a key element of Resistance 2

- And lastly was the desperate search to stop the Aliens once and for all which was the storyline of Resistance 3

And as for Cruise well he's okay but at times he resorted to the obnoxiousness that he shows sometimes and also I didn't really think he was that good of a fit for the role, part of me would have loved to have seen a female star in that role but I doubt that would've ever flown but it's a real shame that it didn't but these things happen.

So all in all, Edge of Tomorrow didn't do a lot for me and when it was over I just thought it was okay but nothing special, 2 out of 5.