The World's End: Review

Back in 2004, Shaun of The Dead was released, and so began the Cornetto trilogy. Three movies which, although not sequels, were loosely linked by certain similarities, namely the inclusion in each of a different flavour Cornetto. 2007 saw the release of Hot Fuzz, the second in the trilogy. And now, with the anticipated release of The World's End, the comedy trilogy starring Nick Frost and Simon Pegg has come to an end. 

The World's End tells the story of a group of five friends who, in their younger years, attempted a challenge known as "the golden mile": drink a pint at each of the 12 local pubs. 20 years later, the leader of the group Gary King (Simon Pegg) gets into contact with his old friends to have another attempt at this elaborate drinking game, consisting of Oliver (Martin Freeman), Peter (Eddie Marsan), Steven (Paddy Considine) and the hilarious stand-out Andrew (Nick Frost). The highlights of the group by far are played by Nick Frost and Simon Pegg, but the others still add to the comedic storyline and all share humorous scenes. 

Gary King (Simon Pegg)

I've heard others say how The World's End is "one of the funniest films in recent times". Now, I recently saw the similarly named This Is The End, and I have to say that overall I preferred that due to it's generally funnier cast and script, but that does not mean that The World's End is a bad movie. I just think that it is a bad idea to go into the film expecting a laugh-a-minute comedy full of hilarity and entertainment, because I'm not going to lie, there were times when I was eagerly anticipating another of the surprisingly enjoyable fight scenes over a mildly amusing joke which would evoke a slight chuckle. 

But the hit-and-miss comedy aside, The World's End is still well worth seeing, especially if you're a fan of Simon Pegg or have been a follower of the Cornetto Trilogy from it's beginning. It's worth noting that the main plot which turns the film into a spin on the sci-fi genre takes a while to get in to, and you will initially be wondering when it's all going to pick up, but once it does there is quite a bit of enjoyment to be had. 

Verdict
The World's End is not the pinnacle of comedic entertainment, nor is it going to win any awards for phenomenal acting or cinematography. It is simply an enjoyable movie that is worth seeing if you get the time, but I would not say you need to rush out this second to pay extortionate prices just so you can sit through two hours of occasional highs and more frequent lows.    7.5/10

"We're going to see this through to the bitter end...

or, lager end."

2015: The Year of Movies

The title of this post may seem rather ridiculous seeing as we're currently only half-way through 2013, but after some recently announced news and a personal milestone of 2,000 blog views (thank you very much for that), it seems hugely appropriate that I talk about how phenomenal 2015 is already looking as a year for movies. So here are a few films that have been announced to be released that year which will no doubt get many people excited: 

Star Wars: Episode VII (Date TBA)
It'll no doubt cause a little controversy, but I've never been a huge fan of the Star Wars movies. I do however understand why the announcement of a new film set to start another trilogy would come with enormous anticipation amongst fans of the franchise and simply fans of movies, especially once incredibly talented director J.J. Abrams responsible for the popular Star Trek movies was confirmed to direct it. Information and advertisement for Episode VII is extremely scarce right now, but will no doubt escalate nearer it's release. 

Fan-made poster

The Avengers 2: Age of Ultron (1st May 2015)

The first Avengers movie released last year was one of the highest grossing films of all time, so it should come as no surprise that a sequel is in the works. Anticipated by many, Joss Whedon's comic-book epic will no doubt surpass the original not only in sales but hype, as a release date and full title have already been announced. Not much information regarding the plot is known at this time, but this is almost definitely due to the release date being two years away. 

Official title announced very recently

Assassins Creed (19th June 2015)

Not much is known about this movie based on the video-game phenomenon that is the Assassins Creed series, apart from a rumour that the talented Michael Fassbender is set to play main protagonist Desmond Miles. Video-game movies are notorious for being a disappointment, but perhaps Sony Pictures will produce a film which can be enjoyed by fans of the game and typical movie-goers alike. 

Michael Fassbender alongside series' hero Altair 

Terminator 5 (26th June 2015)

Along with Assassins Creed in the 'possibility' category, Terminator 5 has extremely little information regarding actors, plot, or news of a possible director. The only rumour which is believable is that film icon Arnold Schwarzenegger may reprise his role in the cult series, news which has fans including myself begging to be true. I suppose we'll have to wait till Summer 15' in order to find out more. 

The incredibly classic Terminator 2: Judgement Day

Finding Dory (25th November 2015)

Announced by Ellen DeGeneres on her American daytime show back in April, Finding Dory is set to be the sequel to the popular Pixar movie Finding Nemo released in 2003, in which Ellen voiced Nemo's lovable friend Dory. Not much is known at this time about this anticipated sequel, but confirmation from Disney and a release date means we can definitely expect Finding Dory in a couple of years. 

Official poster released for Finding Dory

Man of Steel 2 (Date TBA)

Now, I didn't think that the first Man Of Steel released about a month ago was really anything special, and nowhere near as good as Nolan's spectacular Batman movies. But a piece of information released this week at Comic Con has me as excited for this sequel as I was for the release of The Dark Knight in 2012. Batman will feature in this movie. Without any knowledge of plot, I'm already incredibly hyped for Man Of Steel 2 (a title which will no doubt be more imaginative), simply because Batman is by far my favourite comic-book hero of all time, and regardless of whether you agree, it's difficult to not be excited for a crossover like this which has been anticipated for years. Also, Christian Bale has said he will not return as the caped crusader, so a new actor will need to rise to the challenge, something which could end up very good or simply mediocre. I have very high hopes for this movie, and I decided to save the best till last. 

Henry Cavill will return as Superman, with a new actor portraying
The Dark Knight

There we have it, a short list of films which I am personally looking forwards to throughout 2015. There are many more I have not mentioned such as Jurassic Park 4 and a new James Bond project, but these are a handful of movies which stood out for me as very interesting, and I will be keeping up with in the months to come. 

Gladiator: Review

Gladiator tells the story of Maximus (Russell Crowe), a Roman general whom is betrayed by the deceiving Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix) over a dispute about who would be the current emperor's successor. Maximus is sold as a slave and trains as a gladiator, in the hope that he can travel to Rome to exact his revenge. 

I think the best way to describe Gladiator is simply 'epic'. I mean this in the sense that the story and protagonists are matched in scale only by Rome itself, which is incredibly portrayed by lengthy sweeping shots, especially seeing as the movie was made almost 15 years ago.  There's never a truly dull moment throughout Gladiator, as character development is appropriate and the scenes which take place within the Colosseum are incredibly entertaining, with Russell Crowe standing out as one of the best actors of our generation. 

Maximus (Russell Crowe)

What surprised me most about the movie was the fact that despite being a depiction of historical events, I enjoyed it just as much as any movie focusing on current affairs. I've never been an avid fan of movies revolving around key moments in history such as the rule of the Roman empire, but the focus on vengeance and Gladiator combat kept the movie fresh and allowed it to have a consistently enjoyable pace, rather than small bursts of excellence. 

There's very little I can say about Gladiator which could be considered a negative. Usually I'd have issue with a movie being over two hours as the majority of the time many scenes are simply 'filler' to extend the run-time, but Gladiator somehow manages to contain one exceedingly good scene after another, never slowing down or becoming boring. Even the soundtrack is epic, aiding the intense fighting scenes tremendously. 

Verdict
Gladiator is simply one of the finest depictions of ancient Rome that I have seen across many forms of media. You're willing the protagonist of Maximus to be successful in his endeavours every step of the way, something somewhat rare in movies nowadays. 9/10

"The general who became a slave.

The slave who became a gladiator.

The Gladiator who defeated an empire."

Pacific Rim: Review

Set in the early 2020s, Pacific Rim tells the story of how giant robotic suits known as Jaegers (meaning 'hunter' in German) are created in order to fight off colossal aliens known as the Kaiju. At times the movie focuses on protagonist Raleigh Becket (Charlie Hunnam), a semi-retired pilot of these war machines, but by far the most enjoyable segments are those in which the robots fight the aliens. 

It sounds mindless, but in all honesty my least favourite scenes in the movie were those which attempted to develop the characters whom we are meant to care about. I personally went to see Pacific Rim  so I could watch giant fights which were hugely benefited by the exceptional CGI, and when this did happen, the movie was incredibly enjoyable. Aided by an appropriate soundtrack, certain scenes became pure fun to watch. 

Others however, were not quite as entertaining. The middle third of Pacific Rim is largely character development and building up to the big fight at it's conclusion, and although mostly necessary, there were many times when I simply wanted to see the action I had came for. If the film were advertised differently, then I would have expected something else, but it seemed like it was going to be a two hour thrill-ride, which simply isn't true. 

Mako Mori (Rinko Kikuchi)

As mentioned earlier, the CGI really was something to behold, as there were several occasions where I almost forgot these huge robots didn't actually exist, due to the phenomenal digital renditions. Some of the acting talent was also a joy to watch, although there were only a few big names such as Idris Elba as Stacker Pentecost, or Ron Perlman as the intimidating Hannibal Chau (who was severely under-used in my opinion). 

Verdict
Pacific Rim is definitely an entertaining and fun movie to watch, but not 100% of the time. If you can sit through the attempted character building, then the fight-scenes are worth it, as they are probably the best I have seen in a movie, but otherwise it may be a wise idea to wait until it releases on DVD.    7.8/10

"To fight monsters, we built monsters of 

our own."

American Beauty: Review

American Beauty is a movie which revolves around depressed, average, middle-aged Father Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey) whom decides to make important changes in his life after falling in love with his daughter's friend Angela (Mena Suvari). Although this sounds fairly basic and mundane, this is only because it's difficult to properly describe the story of American Beauty because it's not as clear and straightforward as many other classic movies. The mentioning of Kevin Spacey alone however should be a good enough reason to watch this interesting and incredibly entertaining masterpiece. 

Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey)

The title 'American Beauty' may be slightly misleading, and people might be put off by it's fairly boring sounding name. But the movie is not only surprisingly hilarious at times, but also deeply philosophical and emotional. I personally believe the title comes from the fact that different ideals of beauty are presented throughout, such as Lester's opinion that it is embodied within a young attractive girl like Angela, contrasted with his daughter Jane's (Thora Birch) infatuation with her recluse neighbour Ricky (Wes Bentley), and how these perceptions change along the course of the film. 

Don't be fooled though. This all sounds like a stereotypical romantic-comedy plot, but the truth could not be further from this. Controversial topics such as homophobia and unfaithfulness are presented prominently, along side numerous comedic scenes involving the bitterly cynical Lester. Kevin Spacey won an Oscar for his performance in American Beauty, and to say it was well deserved would not be giving him enough credit. 

The only thing I was slightly unsure of was whether or not I was a huge fan of the ending. Not to spoil anything, but the ending wraps up rather quickly. Now, there is a lot of building up to it, and it's not the biggest twist I have ever seen, but once a certain point happens the film is over within a few minutes. The consistent narration by Kevin Spacey's character added immensely to the experience though, and was funny yet bitter from start to end. 

Verdict
I would understand if you haven't seen American Beauty, as I only got around to watching it today 14 years after it's release, but there really is no excuse not to if you are aware of it. Put simply, it is one of the most surprisingly enjoyable films I have seen, and possibly a new favourite of mine.   8.5/10

"I feel like I've been in a coma for the past 20

years...and I'm just now waking up."

Despicable Me 2: Review

I only recently saw the first Despicable Me, so the sequel came along at the perfect time. The first movie was a lot more enjoyable than I had previously thought it would be, and the minions were a highlight as some of the funniest characters I've seen in a movie. Luckily the second film features them even more, and they are just as funny as before. The plot is deeper, revolving around Gru (voiced by Steve Carell) as he is approached by the Anti-Villain League in an attempt to discover a mysterious super-villain whom is undercover in a near by mall, partnering Gru with mildly experienced agent Lucy (Kristen Wiig).

The main thing to know about Despicable Me 2 is that your enjoyment of it will almost solely depend on whether or not you liked the first movie. As mentioned, the minions from the first film are present even more in this sequel, and if you found them irritating their more central role might displease you. The introduction of new characters such as villain El Macho (Benjamin Bratt) is a nice bonus, but none really deliver the same enjoyment as seeing all the characters from the first film.

Minions (Pierre Coffin / Chris Renaud)

I will say however that Gru's potential love-interest Lucy is a lot less annoying than the trailers depicted. I'd go as far to say that towards the end of the movie she becomes almost as likeable as Gru himself, which can only be a positive. Certain scenes in the film are also unexpectedly emotional for a family animation, which is yet another reason that it can be enjoyed by anybody, regardless of their age.

Despicable Me 2 does seem to be slightly longer than needed though. I couldn't specifically think of scenes which could be cut out as really they all add to the storyline, but the last 30 minutes doesn't seem quite as enjoyable as the build up. Also, I feel like the comedy in the first movie was much more effective than the second, as characters such as Dr. Nefario (Russell Brand) don't have as much screen-time as before.

The soundtrack to Despicable Me 2 is similar to the first in that it is catchy and memorable, specifically tracks supplied by hugely talented Pharrell Williams whom also helped out in the first film. If anything there aren't enough songs throughout the movie, as any scenes accompanied by the perfectly appropriate music are amongst the best.

Verdict
Despicable Me 2 is just as entertaining as it's origin, possibly more. The minions being more central part of the story was of personal enjoyment as I loved their role in the first movie, and I'm sure many would agree. Basically, if you liked Despicable Me, I would highly recommend seeing the sequel, as it's 'more of the same' but in the best way possible.     8.5/10 

"I have been recruited by a top-secret agency to go undercover and

save the world."

This Is The End: Review

The plot for This Is The End isn't it's biggest selling point, because if looked at from afar it's a fairly stereotypical apocalypse film. No, the best part about the movie is the fact that many celebrities and comedy actors all play exaggerated versions of themselves, mainly revolving around James Franco, Jonah Hill, Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel, Danny McBride and Craig Robinson. They all go for a party at James Franco's house, but when everything turns apocalyptic, these six remain in the house while other celebrities leave and quickly die.

It's not a completely detailed plot but one which allows for many hilarious scenes amongst these comedy actors, with a particularly funny argument between James Franco and Danny McBride being a personal highlight. Most of the comedy is quite crude, with countless jokes about genitals, but if you can switch off and appreciate it for what it is, This Is The End is a very good comedy movie. 

James Franco

On the topic of crude humour, it's important to know that this film won't be for everybody. A very specific demographic of teenagers will get the most out of the movie, particularly if you're a film-fan as there are references to countless movies the cast have been in such as the camera used by James Franco in 127 Hours, but I can really understand if you feel it's a bit too much, along with the over-the-top comedic violence. 

Saying this, I thought This Is The End was a perfect blend of talented actors, well written dialogue (mixed in with lots of improvisation), and a fairly interesting plot to keep things going. There were a few scenes which slowed down a little and lacked the hilarity of others, and the movie wraps up rather quickly, but these are only minor faults when compared to how much you'll be laughing throughout.

Verdict
Overall, This Is The End is a funny, crude, rude and entertaining film. I personally loved it, and didn't stop laughing from start to end, but I can vaguely see why it might not be for everybody. Regardless, I'd certainly recommend seeing it, just know exactly what you're getting yourself in for.  8/10

"I don't wanna die at James Franco's house."