Film Review - The Avengers (2012)

The Avengers is the long awaited film from Marvel Studios and have built to this since the first Iron Man film in 2008, in this story an alien race from the nine realms threatens the Earth with conquest and oppression, the Government organisation SHIELD headed up by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) decides to bring together some of the Earth’s greatest heroes to stop them.

I went into the Avengers with moderate expectations, not really sure what to expect but at the same time seeing the previews for the film made me excited for it as it looked great, with that was the film worth the wait?

For sure, to be precise it was surely worth the wait, writer/director Joss Whedon achieves a nice balance between the moments of comedy, character and action, all of the chief actors deliver the goods and almost all of them have a real moment of their own in which to shine, something that will make movie lovers smile for sure, the film is also very funny and those moments come off nicely.

But its the action that will make people smile and Whedon more than delivers the goods on this regard, not relying on the team of monkeys that edit most action films nowadays, Whedon hires people who actually know what they’re doing and its sensational to watch as each hero gets to actually show off his power in a big way, something that very rarely happens in a superhero film.

So in closing, go see this movie, its really good and really entertaining, 4 out of 5.

Film Review - The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2012)

The Best Marigold Hotel stars Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson and Maggie Smith as British seniors who are tired of retirement and see an ad for a place called the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel in India, run by a young man played by Dev Patel but when they get there they not only get accommodation they didn't expect but find a whole new adventure waiting for them.

Heading into this film I had been somewhat looking forward to it mainly due to the 4 British actors mentioned above, hard not to say no to a cast like that, with that how was the film itself?

Surprisingly I really loved it, it was funny, charming and very sweet in tone, Dench, Nighy, Wilkinson and Smith are all very good and help deliver some very funny jokes that had the audience I saw it with laughing throughout though my favourite had to be the Wi-Fi joke I had a big laugh at that one.

But the film also makes you care about the characters as they go about their new adventure which is a testament to how good the 4 main actors are, don't get me wrong Patel is good also with his endless energy and enthusiasm but the 4 leads steal the show.

All in all, this movie comes highly recommended, 4 out of 5.

Film Review - Immortals (2011)

Immortals is directed by Tarsem Singh who directed the 2000 film the Cell which starred Jennifer Lopez, here the story concerns Thesius (Henry Cavill, the new Superman), a man of questionable parental heritage in a time where the Gods watch over the Earth, but the evil Hyperion (Mickey Rourke) seeks a powerful weapon called the Epirus Bow which could shake the land asunder and alter the balance of power.

I went into Immortals with very low expectations, having not really enjoyed the remake of Clash of the Titans or 300 very much, with that how did I find this one?

Well, let’s just say I’m of two minds on this film, to be fair it has some very impressive visuals, the sets, costumes and visual effects are all quite good and do make you go “that looks pretty neat” especially the costumes which are beautifully detailed and to look at.

But sadly this movie has both a boring and silly storyline, everything from this movie feels like a rip off of both Clash of the Titans and 300 and the finale is right out of Lord of the Rings, Cavill is okay but he will have to far better than this if he is to succeed as Superman, Rourke is pathetic as Hyperion as all he does is mumble his lines like in Iron Man 2 and eat a lot of fruit and as for john Hurt well he’s John Hurt so I can’t complain.

But as I said, nothing in this movie apart from its visuals got me and its silly finale ripped right out of the Lord of the Rings sunk it, not to mention its pointless bloody violence, yes Pinta Freido and Isabel Lucas look beautiful in some of their costumes but frankly so would any woman, Thumbs way down for this movie, 1 out of 5.

Film Review - Mirror, Mirror (2012)

Mirror, Mirror is the first of two Snow White movies to be released this year, the other being Snow White and the Huntsman, this one is directed by Tarsem Singh and stars Julia Roberts as the evil queen who locks up Snow White (Lily Collins from Abduction), one day she escapes and comes across not only a fair prince (Armie Hammer) but also seven little dwarves.

I went into Mirror, Mirror with low expectations mainly because Singh’s last film Immortals didn’t do much for me at all but when I heard that Alan Menken was to compose the score for the film, I was more interested, with that how did I find it?

Surprisingly I really enjoyed the movie, it was lovely, charming and at times quite funny, Collins was very warm and engaging to watch even if she looked like a young Anne Hathaway and is worlds apart from the little girl we saw in Abduction then again she’s given actual script material to work with here but she isn’t alone I also liked Hammer as the prince and the actors that played the dwarves played off each other very well, Nathan Lane also did a good job in his role.

Though the weak spot was Roberts as the Queen, she was okay but far too often went over the top and at those times I kind of groaned, the film also had some beautiful costumes by the late Eiko Ishioka and Singh puts his famous visual stamp on the film, as for Menken’s score well I loved it, the score is very inspired by his scores for the Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast and at times you could hear Part of your World from Mermaid.

So overall, I really liked Mirror, Mirror and I do think its worth seeing, 3 and a half out of 5.

Film Review - The Lorax (2012)

The Lorax is based off a Dr. Seuss novel and has the voices of Danny Devito, Zac Efron, Taylor Swift and Betty White, the story here is that the town of Thneedville grows artificial trees, a young boy named Ted (Efron) wants to impress a girl named Audrey (Swift) to do this he must find a real tree, which leads to a tale of a time now past.

I went into the Lorax with middle of the road expectations mainly because Dr. Seuss books have not had a stellar track record on the big screen but this looked like fun so was it much fun or was it more glum?

Well, its more like somewhere in the middle, I thought Danny Devito was great as the Lorax, he brings a lot of heart and good natured humour to his role and the film works best in his scenes, outside of him the film suffers big time, the comedy doesn’t work as well, the heart wanders, White just makes you think “Why is she in this movie, she’s too good for her role?” and the message of the film got lost to the young looking boy wanting to impress a girl, which is a shame.

Oh and I also liked the animation style of the film and the numerous Seuss-isms scattered throughout.

But all in all, Devito saves this from being a really boring family film, young kids will like it but the grown ups might look at their watch every now and then, 2 out of 5.

Film Review - Wrath of the Titans (2012)

Wrath of the Titans is the follow up to the 2010 remake of Clash of the Titans, Sam Worthington reprise his role as Perseus, the half son of the mighty god Zeus (Liam Neeson) who is betrayed by Hades (Ralph Fiennes) and Aries who wish to release the Titan Kronos.

Wrath of the Titans to be frank was Relentless and Boring to watch, so much of this movie could be spoofed into one of those old Batman episodes from the 1960’s as so much of it is BANG! CRASH! BOOM! WHACK! KAPOW! BURN! SLASH! HACK! GROWL! and on and on it goes, there is really no plot here at all and director Jonathan Liebesman films this as if he’s combined the climax of Lord of the Rings: Return of the King and the artistic style of 300 and boy do you feel dazed and confused while watching it.

But with that also came a sense of sadness as 4 excellent actors are in this movie, Neeson, Fiennes, Rosamund Pike and Bill Nighy, all of them do okay but they just feel wasted in their roles as they are capable of so much more than the banging and clanging and the hacking and the slashing and the ow, ow, ow it hurts a glavin.

In short, please don’t see this movie, keep the ticket and candy bar money in your pocket, use it to do something for someone you love or a family member or a friend who might be celebrating their birthday, something that puts a smile on your face and makes you think that life’s a happy song when there’s someone by your side to sing along, 1 out of 5.

Film Review - John Carter of Mars (2012)

John Carter of Mars stars Taylor Kitsch as John Carter, a former Confederate Army Officer who is hunting for caves of Gold, one day he finds one only to then be transported to the planet of Barsoom otherwise known as Mars, there he will find a new destiny.

When I heard about this film I was excited to see it mainly due to a near complete lack of Science Fiction films in the current film market so I went to see it as soon as I could, with that how did I find the film coming out of the cinema after it ended?

Well, let me say that it’s not terrible, mainly due to some nice effects work and editing, you always get a sense of where the action is happening and who is fighting who to a certain extent and there’s always a stable camera to follow the action, I also liked Willem Dafoe and Mark Strong in their medium sized roles.

But sadly, this film has no sense of a storyline or screenplay at all and you sit there feeling very confused in regards to what the movie is about, it’s as if director Andrew Stanton is putting this movie together with storyboards instead of writing an actual script which tells a good story and not just use the story as an excuse to just move the audience along to the next big battle sequence which are in and of themselves well done but come to dominate the movie at the story’s expense.

So all in all, its a weird blending of Avatar, Attack of the Clones and the Outlaw Josey Wales, frankly you would be best of renting Avatar and watching that film instead of this one, for all its faults at least has some form of storyline to it and is directed by someone that when it comes to this sort of sci fi spectacular actually knows what they’re doing, 1 and a half out of 5.