Moonrise Kingdom Review

Good evening ladies and gentlemen, it is time for film review. Now back in 2012, Moonrise Kingdom came out and I thought the trailer looked awesome. Unfortunately I missed it in the cinema and it pissed me off because I heard it was really good. So since I had some free time today I decided to watch it and after seeing it until just around an hour ago I have to say I’m annoyed I didn’t see it sooner because the film is awesome.

So the story centers around two socially awkward, but very smart children, Sam Shakusky a boy in scouts and Suzy Bishop, a girl who lives with her family but usually keeps to herself. After their initial meeting, the kids become pen pals and write letters to each other, eventually decide to run away together because of their growing feelings for each other. It doesn’t take long for the adults to realise that the children are missing, so the police, along with the scout master and his cubs and Suzy’s parents go on the hunt to retrieve them.

The story in this film was nothing short of amazing, it was beautiful, kind of crazy, quite sweet, but also very funny. What I got from this film was a tale of young love in the most unconventional way, the whole relationship between Sam and Suzy was different and yet very relatable too. The film feels a bit crazy at times with some of the most random things happening to some people, but for some reason rather than question it, you sort of accept it and it sort of just fits in with the rest of the tone of the film. I think the film succeeds mainly due to the script, it’s very well-written and the dialogue is great. Some of the lines that some of these characters come out with range from humourous to quite touching to being a little unexpected. In the end I have found a film that has made me smile this much in a while.

As for the cast they were amazing, simply loved every one of them. Let’s start with the two leads, Jared Gilman as Sam Shakusky and Kara Hayward as Suzy Bishop, they were amazing. For newcomers they are really good, they both have great presence and have amazing chemistry together. Both of them are pretty similar in terms of character with their very tame and dead pan delivery of their dialogue, but they’re really cute and I can see them growing up to be good actors in the future.

Bruce Willis as Captain Duffy Sharp was also great, this is one of my favourite roles I’ve seen him in for a while, I like him because he’s righteous, authoritative, but also awkward too and not so serious. I think my favourite of the adults would be Edward Norton as Scout Master Randy Ward. He was just adorable, Randy was a scout master who looked like a person in charge but let little things get by him and occasionally lost control of his troop. And it was in those venerable moments which made you feel sorry for the guy, you knew he was kind of useless but due to the situation he couldn’t help what was happening.

Bill Murray was great as Walt Bishop, I think it was Murray playing himself, but whatever it was he was great and his humour whether it was verbal or physical was great. Frances McDormand as Laura Bishop was also good too, she was very secretive person with a lot of nice and dramatic moments. Tilda Swinton as Social Services was incredible, she had such a great and commanding screen presence and I loved her tone and conviction while being so mean to some of the other characters. Jason Schwartzman as Cousin Ben was another good performance, it seems like every new film I see Schwartzman in, I see a new side of his acting abilities that I didn’t know existed. Bob Balaban as Narrator was amazing, I loved it anytime he was on-screen, his timing of dialogue was great and I thought he was really funny in every scene he was in.

When it comes to the presentation it is great. I love the way this film is shot, it constantly feels like you’re always inside the film with the characters, especially when the characters are so close to the camera or when the narrator is talking to you. The soundtrack was amazing, besides the great music selection, the music score by Alexandre Desplat was very good with a pretty upbeat and kid-friendly.

In conclusion Moonrise Kingdom is one of the most delightful films I have seen in recent memory, I really wish I had seen this in 2012 because I’m pretty sure it would have jumped into my top ten films of that year. It is funny, adorable and just a feel-good film. If you couldn’t tell already I really liked this film and I highly recommend it!

Rating: 8.5/10 (Such a good film about young love)

So have you seen Moonrise Kingdom and if so what do you think of it? Be sure to leave your comments below and I’ll see ya on the next film review yo. 😀

 

G.I. Joe: Retaliation Review

So here we have a film that I wasn’t initially interesting in watching and I was totally going to skip it, but since both me dad and sister were going to watch it on Tuesday I decided to tag along just for fun. So I went to me local cinema to check out G.I. Joe: Retaliation and the end result was slightly better than expected, but still a forgettable film though.

When it comes to story here is a synopsis:

“Framed for crimes against the country, the G.I. Joe team is terminated by the President’s order, and the surviving team members face off against Zartan, his accomplices, and the world leaders he has under his influence.“

I thought that the plot was a lot better and less cheesy than the last film, but it still wasn’t that fancy, it was also a bit over-the-top and cliché and there was some unnecessary character stories thrown in too. The story was just there I was hardly paying attention to it and it didn’t help that I nodded off in the film too (In need to stop doing that!). But a lot oft he time I wasn’t too sure what was going on, I’ve forgotten what happened in The Rise of Cobra so all of the references or ties to that film went over my head. A lot of the film is bloody hilarious but that’s for all the wrong reasons, the fight scenes or serious parts are unintentionally jokes and I ended up having a good time with some scenes in the film.

Now let’s talk about the characters. Well this is going to be hard as none of the characters were all that interesting, fun or likeable, the only character I liked was Roadblock because Dwayne Johnson is cool. Everyone else do their parts okay but they aren’t worth mentioning. Jonathan Pryce as the President is alright, Bruce Willis was Bruce Willis nuff said, Byung-hun Lee as Storm Shadow  has great fight scenes but nothing else, Ray Park as Snake Eyes was awesome in fight scenes too but it’s had to get attached to a character who doesn’t talk. Channing Tatum as Duke was still just dull as he was before, Luke Bracey and Robert Baker as Cobra Commander was super cheesy and I liked the appearances of Arnold Vosloo and RZA was great.

As far as presentation goes it is probably the best part of the film. The action and fight sequences are done well and provide a lot of cool stuff to look at on-screen, though the fight scenes are shot and edited a little questionably and don’t properly show off the action in the way most martial arts films do. Also far too much of the action is done in slow motion, it does not amplify or make the action any better. The music is forgettable and doesn’t do anything for the film, it’s just there.

In conclusion G.I. Joe: Retaliation is a film that is better than the first but that isn’t saying much. This film has few moments of interest but it’s still a crazy, ridiculous and silly film that isn’t very memorable by any means. Though I have to say it’s a very funny film but that’s for all the wrong reasons.

Rating: 5.5/10 (A silly yet alright film I guess)

So there we go, another film review done. Have you seen this film and if so what did you think of it? Whatever your thoughts drop them in the comments below and I’ll see ya on the next review yo! 😀

 

A Good Day To Die Hard Review

Alrighty then here we are in 2013 with another Die Hard film… Damn, don’t these films ever die? No offence but some film franchises really do need to know when to stop unless they really have a genuinely good story to tell. Now the thing about the Die Hard series is that I was never a fan of the series because I never saw any of the films in full until last night when I watched all 4 Die Hard films back-to-back to get up to date. I can definitely see the appeal of the series and I respect the series for making it as far but the fact remains that A Good Day To Die Hard is just like most action films of recent years, an enjoyable spectacle but nothing more.

So the premise of this film goes like this:

“John McClane travels to Russia to help out his seemingly wayward son, Jack, only to discover that Jack is a CIA operative working to prevent a nuclear-weapons heist, causing the father and son to team up against underworld forces.”

From the trailers for this film I thought the story looked a little far-fetched, but in the film’s story just gets worse from there. The way things pan out is a mixture of interesting and predictable and some of the dialogue is a bit weak too. Now there is a story in this film but it isn’t all that relevant, there are basic elements of conspiracy, double-crossing and family bonding but it’s at the end of the day it doesn’t really matter. John and Jack’s relationship builds over the course of the film and that’s alright but terrorists and how their big bad plan fits into the film is just layered characters and plans and other stuff I didn’t care about. After a while I stopped paying attention and just let the events unfold.

When it comes to characters only a few of them you actually pay attention to over the course of the film. Firstly let’s start with Bruce Willis as John McClane, Willis was pretty good as McClane with some of that old charm and adventurous nature from previous films, however I found McClane to be little dumb and not as inventive as he used to be. Also while he still does John McClane things like running and gunning, acting a like a smug punk to his enemies and his no-nonsense approach to things, but for all of those things I still see Bruce Willis just being Bruce Willis. Then there’s Jai Courtney as John “Jack” McClane, Jr., His character was really annoying at first because his constant hate and resentment towards his father and while I kind of understand why he feels that way that he does, he just comes across as annoying teenager with daddy issues .I was also glad to see the return of Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Lucy McClane, not only because Winstead is totally hotness but also because she added some much-needed consistency for this film series which its been lack for a while now in my opinion. Even though her role was pretty small I was glad to see her return.

And now onto the characters you don’t care about as much or not at all. Sebastian Koch as Yuri Komarov was alright and he played his role well and I liked his character until a certain point when things changed in the story, then he became irrelevant to me. And then there’s Yuliya Snigir who played Irina, daughter of Komarov. She was total hotness and like Koch she played her role well, but after a certain point when the plot thickens you just stop caring about the bad guys. Radivoje Bukvić as Alik made for a slightly entertaining, if somewhat boring bad guy with no real talent for being intimidating or cool, he was just there.

One thing that Die Hard 5 succeeded in is the presentation, the series has always thrived off of action, destruction and explosions, and this film delivers that in a very loud and bombastic fashion. There are some proper crazy car chases, fire fights and explosions aplenty. Like Die Hard 4 this film is aided by the power of CGI and special effects, but in my opinion this film handles it better and doesn’t rely on it so heavily. Also this film doesn’t have such choreographed action sequences like the last film in the series which I appreciated more. As good as some of the action was, I can easily say that I’ve seen better and it wasn’t the most unique or memorable stuff I’ve seen from other films in the genre.

In conclusion Die Hard 5 is good time if you like action films but is nothing more than that. The action set pieces are awesome to look at and Bruce Willis is still fun to watch as he still retains some of his McClane mannerisms. However the rest of the film is pretty predictable, a tad forgettable and a bit dull. If you don’t mind action films where the story isn’t totally relevant to watch you’re watching then you’ll have fun with this film otherwise you’re not missing much in this latest instalment of the Die Hard film series.

Rating: 6.5/10 (A fun time, but nothing overly memorable)

So what did you think of the latest Die Hard film? Whatever your thoughts drop them below and let me know, until the next review later on people! 😀

 

Bruce Willis Confirmed for Sin City: A Dame to Kill For

My god it seems like this film is grabbing every actor under sun into its production, actors new and old are being mentioned for the film and just when you think the list is big enough it just keeps expanding! Anyway the following article from superherohype gives us not only info on Bruce Willis but also on Joseph Gordon-Levitt and the use of 3D in the film:

“A handful of the cast members from Robert Rodriguez’s original Sin City are already confirmed to return for the sequel, Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, but the one noticeable absence has been Bruce Willis. In an interview with MTV, Rodriguez confirmed that Willis will return in the film.

“Bruce is back, so you’ll be seeing him.”

He also spoke about newcomer Jospeh Gordon-Levitt’s character and story in the film.

“It’s a new character. He plays a gambler, a very cocky gambler, who comes in and tries to beat the biggest villain in Sin City at his own game. The story’s called ‘The Long, Bad Night.’ He beats the wrong guy in a game and bad stuff happens to him.”

Sin City: A Dame to Kill For will be presented in 3D when it’s released, and Rodriguez says it will blow our minds.

“We’re really playing with stuff because that’s a very two dimensional world and to see that stylization in 3D, it’ll blow people’s minds. 3D hasn’t been used like this yet.”

In Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, Dwight is hunted down by the only woman he ever loved, Ava Lord, and then watches his life go straight to hell. Chronologically, this story takes place prior to “The Big Fat Kill” and explains how Dwight came to have a dramatically different face. The film weaves together two of Miller’s classic stories with new tales in which the town’s most hard boiled citizens cross paths with some of its more repulsive inhabitants.”

All of these developments for Sin City 2 seem pretty cool and interesting besides the 3D stuff, I don’t care for 3D and I wish that it would just disappear for all future films. But anyways I find it funny that both Willis and Gordon-Levitt are in the same film again, must be because everyone saw Looper and became obsessed with Gordon Levitt after that point. I’m just hoping that this film will be finished and released on time, with all the people being constantly announced it makes me wonder when production will wrap up and get into pre-production. The film does have a 2013 release so I am kind of curious about its ever-increasing cast. Oh well I’m assuming they know and will sort it out.

 

Looper Review

Now from the time I saw the trailer for Looper I was very interested in seeing how it was turn out. I mean it is the first film in a while that looks original, has a unique idea and it also isn’t a sequel or reboot so I think it should win people’s attention on those last two points. Though I don’t think it was until the second trailer came out where I was like “Okay I really want to watch this film now.” And I can easily say now that Looper is one the best films I’ve seen this year.

The story of Looper goes like this:

“In 2072, when the mob wants to get rid of someone, the target is sent 30 years into the past, where a hired gun awaits. Someone like Joe, who one day learns the mob wants to ‘close the loop’ by transporting back Joe’s future self.”

I found the story to be very intriguing and engaging from start to finish. Just when I thought that I’d sussed the film out, another new element came into play and there was a lot of drama and emotional stuff to be found in this film too. The way Looper handles the concept of time travel is impressive too like how the events of future were connected to the past and vise versa. I also liked the film’s themes about cause and effect and whether violence is truly the way to sort out one’s problems. The story advances at a great pace and comes to a lovely finish too. I really want to avoid spoiling the plot of this film so that’s all I’ll say for now.

Besides the great premise, it really is the characters that make this film work and there are some very strong performances going on here. Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Joe was fabulous, it was interesting to see the lifestyle of a Looper from his perspective and journey that he goes on over the course of the film once older version of himself comes into play. I’ve heard in the IGN review of this film that Gordon-Levitt was wearing make-up and that it didn’t look good, but I didn’t have any issue with it. When it comes to Bruce Willis as Old Joe we was great, though his character didn’t say that much and was in more a supporting role he was great had some really emotional scenes too. Also Emily Blunt as Sara was great, I wasn’t sure what her connection to the main plot would be but I liked what she did and her American accent was very convincing. Jeff Daniels as Abe was awesome too and Pierce Gagnon as Cid was absolutely fabulous, literally like the best child actor I’ve ever seen ever, he’s adorable!

The visual presentation of Looper is great, there is some absolutely fabulous camera work done in this film. Just the way certain scenes are shot with the angles and tracking shots was really, really good and camera work isn’t something I talk about often. The CGI in the film is also used well too, and the soundtrack was pretty nice though not as memorable as other elements of the film. While watching Looper I was trying to figure out what really made it so good and why everyone was talking about it so much and for a little while I couldn’t see the hype. But then there are moments in this film that really stand out and make you look at the film in a completely different way to other films, and by the end of the film you at everything overall and you realise Looper is so much more than your basic conventional film. It’s smart, sophisticated, original, dramatic, works well in the science fiction genre and it really sticks with you after you’ve left the cinema.

In conclusion Looper is a great film that exceeded my expectations and was a joy to watch. While I still don’t think it’ll replace my love for The Avengers as my favourite film of 2012, this film comes in at a close second place. The film has a great story, a fabulous central performance from Joseph Gordon-Levitt, some really impressive action scenes and camera work and I’m just glad that an original film has come out in recent times and been really good. There will be some that probably won’t enjoy the film as much as others, but I guess that depends on personal preference and what you’re looking to get out of the film. I say go out and watch this film, you’d be doing yourself a disservice to miss out on it.

Rating: 9/10

Well that’s been my review, drop me a comment and let me know your thoughts on the film and I’ll see ya on the next review yo 😀

 

The Expendables 2 Review

Good day to you ladies and gentlemen and welcome to another film review and today’s review will be of the action sequel to The Expendables, The Expendables 2!

So it is the latter half of the summer with only a few weeks separating us from September and the eventual return to academic life for us students, but before that comes around it looks like the summer film season will keep us entertained at the cinema for quite some time. And so enter The Expendables 2 and I’m just gonna let you guys know right now… This film was great, just a load of fun from start to finish. Not perfect by any means, but still better than some of the other films I’ve seen in the cinema.

Back in 2010 we had The Expendables, a crazy action film full of explosions, hand-to-hand combat scenes and loads of firefights. It was film that summoned several of the big action stars of the 80s into one place with a few new faces to fight alongside them. The cast including Sylvester Stallone, Dolph Lundgren, Eric Roberts, Mickey Rourke, Jet Li, Gary Daniels, Randy Couture, Jason Statham, Terry Crews, Steve Austin and two cameo appearances from Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger. While it received a mixed reception it was commercially successful and I think most people who weren’t hardcore critics enjoyed the film. So then fast forward to 2012 with the action sequel which has more stars, action and explosions and to be honest it is so much better for it.

Story

The story of this film is as follows:

“The film follows The Expendables, a mercenary group, as they seek revenge against Jean Vilain, a rival mercenary who murders one of their own, and threatens the world with a deadly weapon.”

While there was a plot in the film, like the first film it is overly important, though it is a bit better than the first film in the sense that it doesn’t drag as much and feels a little more relevent to the characters involved. Though the plot’s only there to give the characters a reason to run and gun and blow things up. It does annoy me a little bit that action films these days can’t have a good or smart plot, but for this kind of film I’ll let it slide because it’s just fun to watch. Within the plot there are references aplenty, the script for this film is funny. Humour seems to be the aim of the game for this film and it works. Heck, if it can work for The Avengers then why no The Expendables 2? There are some lines that each of the action stars are given which are hilarious throwbacks to their previous films, whether they were visual or audio references, they worked very nicely.

Characters

This film boasts an impressive cast that in a lot of ways is even more impressive than the last film. While you have Stallone, Statham, Lundgren, Li, Couture and Crews returning, you also get Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger coming back in much more substantial roles. And then add into the mix Liam Hemsworth, Yu Nan, Scott Adkins and finally the awesomeness that is Jean-Claude Van Damme and Chuck Norris and you have film full of badasses!

So much badassness in one area!

Seeing all of these cool people in one film was just grand. Stallone I still applaud him for continuing to do these action films and showing us even though he’s old, he’s still kicking! Jet Li’s fight scenes in this film were a hell of a lot better than the last film, so tight and so brutal! Terry Crews who I am a massive fan of was great in this film, delivering funny lines, battle cries and just being a badass in general. Statham had some great fight scenes too and newcomer Yu Nan had some awesome scenes herself. I also loved Van Damme in this film, he was so cool, so calm and awesome as the villain. Then there’s the awesomeness that’s Chuck Norris, I wasn’t sure what to expect but he was just utterly cool, pure and simple, I loved every second he was on-screen. And then there’s Arnie the frigging Terminator!!! Just seeing him in any scene I was hyped, while he’s a little stiff (granted because he’s old), he delivers some funny lines and when you see him walking and shooting stuff I swear it was like watching him as the T-800 all over again, I loved it!

With a film that has such a huge ensemble cast, there were moments where it felt like some characters didn’t get as much screen time as others and while it’s not as bad as X-Men 3, some characters do get lost in the background.

Presentation

When it comes to action The Expendables 2 was just full of insane amounts action! It was pure and utter chaos and I loved it. The fight scenes were well-choreographed, the fire fights were so insane to the point where it looked like a crazy online game of Call of Duty and all of the explosions were great. I can’t explain why the all of these crazy scenes and action sequences were so good, but when they happened I just got a great level of satisfaction from watching all of the carnage. So much brutality, death and destruction and yet it was so good to watch, maybe it was due to all that testosterone and epic manliness. Also the soundtrack by Brian Tyler is decent too as it fuels all of the badass action on-screen and borrows the main theme from the last film and while it’s not overly memorable it still sounds good.

In conclusion The Expendables 2 is one hell of a film. It’s unashamedly loud, proud, cheesy and doesn’t take itself seriously and it all works. Seeing all of these action stars running around and fighting each other, shooting things and blowing stuff up was just so much fun. I was enjoying myself throughout. While the film wasn’t as amazing as I thought it should have been and certain stars didn’t get as much screen time as they should have done. The Expendables 2 is still hella fun and I recommend to all people just wanting some summer fun at the cinema.

Also with talks of a third film in the works, it seems like these kinds of films are here to stay! Just add Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Vin Diesel, Steven Seagal, Mel Gibson and Wesley Snipes (if he can get out of jail) and that’ll work for me.

Rating: 7.5

Well that’s been my review ladies and gentlemen, hopefully you enjoyed it. Be sure to drop me a comment and let me know what you thought of the film. Until next time, laters! 😀

 

Films I’m Looking Forward to in 2012: The Expendables 2

Howdy ladies and gentlemen and welcome to another instalment of Films I’m Looking Forward to in 2012 and today’s blog post will be on the upcoming sequel action film The Expendables 2.

Now out of all of the films coming out in 2012 this may be a strange choice. I mean most of the films I have posted about before have had a lot of great aspects about them and have genuinely got me and a lot of other people in the world excited to see what comes out of them. But now we have The Expendables 2 and in a way it does sound like a bit of a questionable film that may be fun and action-packed, but beyond that it may not hold up.

This is the crazy film that started all of the madness and it’s hella good! Just pure entertainment.

Anyways let’s go back to the first film. Back in 2010 we had The Expendables, a crazy loud and proud action film with a 15 certificate staring an immense cast including Sylvester Stallone, Dolph Lundgren, Eric Roberts, Mickey Rourke, Jet Li, Gary Daniels, Randy Couture, Jason Statham, Terry Crews, Steve Austin and two cameo appearances from two of the most legendary action stars in cinema; Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger. I mean damn the cast was massive and immense and there was a lot of testosterone and epic manliness in that film. While there was a plot in the film, to be honest the point was irrelevant, it was only there to give the characters a reason as to why they wanted to run and gun and blow things up and boy did they do a lot of that. The Expendables was a film of just insane amounts of action and chaos from the fight scenes to the fire fights and all of the explosions that took place over the course of the film. While the film’s story was a bit weak and the actors won’t get awards for their performances in the end it was just a fun summer movie for fans of the 80s and 90s action films of yesteryear. The Expendables opened to mixed reviews from critics and casual film-goers, it also wasn’t the perfect action film that so many had hoped for and there was a good few action stars missing from the cast. However, it was still a commercial success at the box office and loads of people were talking about this film in the summer of 2010 and I watched it in the cinema when it came out and I thought it was awesome fun. So much brutality, killing and explosions, good god I loved it, though the film did drag and lacked a lot of great action sequences, it is all made up for by the last third of the film which is just a massacre of destruction. Beautiful, beautiful destruction. And so now 2 years down the line its time to summon these action stars back in a sequel, but this time with additional help…

Enter The Expendables 2 which boasts a cast that in a lot of way is even more impressive than the last. While you have Stallone, Statham, Lundgren, Li, Couture and Crews returning, you also have Willis & Schwarzenegger coming back in much more substantial roles! You also have the addition of new cast members Liam Hemsworth, Yu Nan and Scott Adkins too. Then add into the mix the awesomeness that is Jean-Claude Van Damme and the legendary badass of badassness Chuck Norris!!!! And then its like the film has become a completely different beast entirely. And again like last time there are a good few people missing from the cast like obvious choices Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Vin Diesel and Steven Seagal to name a few. But Stallone has his reasons for his casting, so I can’t argue with that, plus if there’s a third film then these other action stars may make an appearance.

Three badasses of action films finally together again to kick some ass in The Expendables 2. This should be fun 😀

In terms of plot it does sound familiar, but also inviting. Just have a read at the Wikipedia plot summary here:

After taking a seemingly simple job for Mr. Church (Bruce Willis), the Expendables find their plans going awry and one of their own is brutally murdered by rival mercenary Jean Vilain (Jean-Claude Van Damme). The Expendables set out into hostile territory — with their new members Billy the Kid (Liam Hemsworth) and Maggie (Yu Nan) — to put a stop to a deadly weapon and gain their revenge against the villain who killed their brother.

Sounds like a simple plot about revenge and for this genre of film it works. One just has to wonder if this film will be either as good as the original or better (which it really should aim to be)? I hope that this film will build upon the foundation of the last film by using its cast effectively throughout the story and action scenes and sequences. I also seriously hope Jet Li will get more screen time and more opportunities to show off his proper martial arts skills. I hope all of the fights has interesting and impressive choreography and that the fire fights play out well and have some kick ass explosions! Personally I think the cast will pull through, I mean you have Chuck Norris, Bruce Willis & the epic return of Arnie the frigging Terminator!! This film has to be at least decent to watch. Either way I’m just excited just to see all these action stars come together and create some chaos! In summer 2012 The Expendables will return and kick some ass in this sequel, let’s hope that it was worth the wait.