The Pondo Awards

The Pondo Awards 2014

After seeing over 100 films and an event to remember at Cineworld in 2014, I thought I should end it with my own personal awards for the films seen.

I have a couple of months free with the Cineworld Unlimited Pass and will be continuing to watch films at the cinema throughout 2015.  I will continue to review them on my new film blog, Pondo Cinema: Episode II Return of the Pondo

Thank you to people who have read some of these reviews, I know there are millions of sites out there each with their own opinion, so what harm is one more?

So on to the awards....

Best Film

I have a top 10 list of the films I have seen throughout the year, but there are three films that I really enjoyed:

Nomination One: Gone Girl

Nomination Two: Guardians of the Galaxy

Nomination Three: Interstellar

And the winner is.....Click Here

Worst Film

There were some terrible films in 2014, but if I had to choose three of them, they would be:

Nomination One: Delivery Man

Nomination Two: The Rewrite

Nomination Three: What If?

And the winner (loser) is......Click Here

Best Actor

Nomination One: Andy Serkis (Ceasar - Dawn of the Planet of the Apes)

Nomination Two: Tom Hardy (Ivan Locke - Locke)

Nomination Three: Matthew McConaughey (Cooper - Interstellar)

And the winner is.....Click Here

Best Actress

Nomination One: Lupita Nyong'o (Patsey - 12 Years a Slave)

Nomination Two: Imelda Staunton (Hefina - Pride)

Nomination Three: Rosamund Pike (Amy Dunne - Gone Girl)

And the winner is......Click Here

Best Soundtrack

Nomination One: Pulp Fiction

Nomination Two: Chef

Nomination Three: Begin Again

And the winner is....Click Here

Best Animated Movie

Nomination One: How to Train Your Dragon 2

Nomination Two: Frozen

Nomination Three: The LEGO Movie

And the AWESOME winner is......Click Here

Best Nostalgic Reshowing

Cineworld occasionally show classic films again on the big silver screen, I was fortunate enough to visit three of these events (I wish I could have done more)

Nomination One: Pulp Fiction

Nomination Two: Ghostbusters

Nomination Three: Sin City

And the winner is.....Click Here

Best Horror

I am a horror film fan and judge a years success on the quality of its Horror Films, 2014 had a tricky start and didn't seem to get much better nearer the end of the year, but there were a few highlights

Nomination One: Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones

Nomination Two: Annabelle

Nomination Three: The Babadook

And the winner is....Click Here

Best Scene

The nominations here are all scenes that have stood out in the year, be it visual comedy, Tear inducingly moving or just the fact that there is a dual machine gun wielding, horse back riding, bad ass ape.

Nomination One: 12 Years a Slave - Solomon whipping Patsey

Nomination Two: X-Men Days of Future Past - Time in a Bottle Quicksilver Scene

Nomination Three :Dawn of the Planet of the Apes - Koba dual wielding horse back bad ass

And the winner is....Click Here 

Most Visually Stunning

Nomination One: How to Train Your Dragon 2

Nomination Two: Gravity

Nomination Three: Interstellar

And the winner is...Click Here

Sleeper Hit

The nominations for this catagory are all films I enjoyed whilst watching at the cinema but a few days after I realised how much I really enjoyed them

Nomination One: Inside Llewyn Davis

Nomination Two: Locke

Nomination Three: Pride

And the winner is....Click Here

Worst Remake

Nomination One: Annie

Nomination Two: Robocop

Nomination Three: Godzilla

And the film that should not have been remade is....Click Here

Best Cameo - (Spoiler Warning)

Nomination One: Han Solo & Chewbacca - The Lego Movie

Nomination Two : Dr Emmett Brown - A Million Ways to Die in the West

Nomination Three: Billy Connolly - The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies

And the winner is......Click Here

Best Bad Guy

Nomination One: Hammer Girl and Baseball Bat Boy - The Raid 2

Nomination Two: Lou Bloom - Night Crawler

Nomination Three: Koba - Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

And the winner is.....Click Here

Special Mention Award (for all the wrong reasons)

I do feel that one film this year deserves an award all by itself.  This film was wrong on so many levels and is everything a film should not be.  Over use of CGI, lack of any story, completely and utterly pointless. and over 3 hours long to boot.  It was that bad it could not even be mentioned in the "Worst Film" category.

And the winner is....Click Here

________________________________________________________________________

I am definitely looking forward to an exciting year of cinema on 2015 and would love your feedback, comments or just a little +1 

Yours in Great (and not so great) Films 

Pondo

Film 102 - Annie

Annie - 27/12/2014

It's a hard knock life for me!

There are some good musicals out there, and there are some terrible ones, Annie The Remake of the already successful Broadway remake falls into the latter of the categories.

Yes Wallace is good as the titular character, and Jamie Foxx is entertaining as Stacks (The Daddy Warbucks character) but the whole film just lacks heart, and then Cameron Diaz just gets thrown in to the mix and I don't even know what was going on with her.

The story follows the same as the original but throws in some modern beats to liven it up.  I know this is a common remark about musicals, but how come everyone knows the songs and dance routines? I would love for once whilst sitting in a restaurant or on the train to see this happen, someone get up and start singing and then everyone join in with them and start dancing in time.

Clare is a big fan of the original film and was really let down by the update as well, again the heart of the film had just been taken out and replaced with funky song and dance routines. 

Also the films starts by mocking the 1982 film, yet it is a re-invention of the film it is mocking, which to me makes no sense.

Rose Byrne is the only saving grace for the film, not only does she look stunning throughout but she is the only one with a little character and flair.

Film 101 - The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies

The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies - 26/12/2014

I am a massive fan of The Hobbit book and when I found out the Peter Jackson was to extend the Lord of the Rings Trilogy by adding the Hobbit I was a little excited.  What I was not excited about was when I found out that the small children's book was to be divided into three separate three hour films.

I enjoyed the first installment, but thought the added bits were just padding.  The second films finale that seemingly went on for hours (the chase scene through the smelting factory) was completely pointless and I was getting a little miffed by this point and was wondering how Mr Jackson was going to make a third film with only a few pages remaining in the book, he did, and this was the result.

The Battle Of The Five Armies starts immediately where the last film left off, with Smaug flying over to Laketown.  Within 15 minutes Smaug is down and the story begins padding.  Why could this not have been the end of the second film? Why could the padding from the first and second film just been taken out and the actual story of "The Hobbit" told.  I admit, I would have been happy seeing this done over two films but three was really taking the mick.

There are some fantastic scenes and Smaug is a great nemesis for the start of the film, but there is too much padding.  I was sad to see the Middle Earth Saga come to an end, but I am happy now that it is, unless The Silmarillion or The Legend of Sigurd and Gidrun are next on the trilogy list for Mr Cash-in Jackson.

This is definitely the weaker part of the Hobbit Trilogy and the whole trilogy pales into insignificance to the far superior Lord of the Rings Trilogy (based on three books? why were there not 9 films?)

And don't even get me started on Evangeline Lilly's character!

Film 100 - St Vincent

St Vincent - 21/12/2014

My 100th film of the year and I get to spend it with Bill Murray!

St Vincent is Gran Torino in disguise.  I watched Gran Torino as part of my challenge to watch the top 250 films as recommended by IMDB, and was really surprised by how much I enjoyed it.  A grumpy neighbour with serious racial issues becomes friendly with the family nextdoor and pretty much becomes a saint/martyr. St Vincent follows a very similar story line.  

When a single mother and her son move in nextdoor to a drunk, abusive and generally grumpy (slightly mad) lonely Vincent, and is struggling with balancing work and family life, Vincent (Bill Murray) unwillingly accepts babysitting duties.  As the two generations spend time with each other you start to see a more generous and caring side to Vincent, yet always the bitter life-hating side for what he has gone through in his life.

There are some real moving moments, Bill and his young follower have great chemistry which makes their adventures very engaging, and it is always a pleasure to see Mr Murray seemingly improvise his way through the film.  Naomi Watts' Russian accent is something of a mystery, Melissa Mcarthy is brilliant as usual but non compare the Bill.  The story is very predictable based on the title and the finale was pretty much expected from the opening credits, but the journey there is well worth it.

May I also say as well, the ending credit sequence for St Vincent is now a must for all films.  Every single film now created MUST finish with Bill Murray singing Bob Dylan tracks whilst doing inane tasks.  This was just a perfect finish to the film and I sat right the way through till it faded to black.

Film 99 - Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb

Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb 20/12/2014

I enjoyed the first of the Night at the Museum films, a kids film that was very entertaining, the second in the franchise seemed as though the actors really could not be bothered being there and were just happy for the cash in, so this left me a little apprehensive going into the third installment.  Also the increasing amount of rowdy kids joining the auditorium was another concern.  I know it is a kids film, but there were far more options available for these kids, how about those Penguins from Madagascar?

Night at the Museum (SOTT) continues the adventures of the exhibits and night watchman Ben Stiller as the magic is wearing off.  The tablet that brings all the characters to life every night is losing it's mojo and so the team decides to take it to London to the Egyptian Exhibit to see if there is something that can give it more juice again.

Ben Stiller and his son break into the London Museum only to realise that the usual group, Teddy Roosevelt, Dexter the Pee Monkey, Jedediah, Octavius, Atilla the Hun and Ahkmenrah have all joined them on this excursion.  

I enjoyed NATM:SOTT as a little guilty pleasure, the story was nice and easy and the laughs flowed, sometimes it was the same joke as previous films rehashed, but it meant no harm.

At the end of the film the real power hit, the choice to leave the tablet with it's rightful owners means that our exhibit friends will have to return to America and forever be frozen in time.  This is when Robin Williams gives his goodbye speech.  The adults in the audience remained silent throughout the whole monologue, I felt a lump form in my throat, not due to the acting prowess of Mr Williams, but knowing that this was his last film and he was, in sorts, bidding the world goodbye.

RIP Robin Williams 

Film 98 - The Drop

The Drop - 22/11/2014

Tom Hardy is one of the best, underrated actors around at the moment.  He turns up in films you wouldn't expect him in and just delivers.  Earlier this year we saw him in Locke as a Welsh construction manager with a pressing issue, and now in The Drop as a Brooklyn bar keep called Bob.

The bar in question is used as a Drop Point for local gangsters funneling cash.  No-one knows when the many bars around Brooklyn will be selected, or on which night the drops will take place.  All the bar keeps have to do is deposit the money into a safe for later collection.  When a robbery takes place at the bar on one of these nights, the local gangsters and police get involved to solve the crime.  Is there more to Bob? Is there a reason why a dodgy local is stalking him, his dog and new "girlfriend"?

Not a fast paced film, with a big payout at the end, The Drop is an enjoyable watch, Tom Hardy and James Gandolfini are great together, and play their parts really well.  I could not help but think of Rocky whilst watching Bob, very similar mannerisms, quiet, subdued, but with a power behind him.

Good solid film worth a watch

Film 97 - Interstellar

Interstellar - 15/11/2014

I intentionally avoided most of the trailers and IMDB in relation to Interstellar.  I knew I was going to watch it at he cinema, but I did not want to know anything about it.  A few years ago, I picked up Memento on a whim and knew nothing about it before hand and instantly it has become one of my favourite films, I waited for the hype to die down on Inception and loved that too.  

Christopher Nolan is one of the best directors out there at the moment in my opinion, so Interstellar had a high expectation in my mind when I heard it announced at the start of the year.

In an undisclosed near future, the ground in which human life depends for growth of crops/food, is slowly becoming infertile and only the best "farmers" are there to provide, all other science becomes second tier and survival takes over.  A secret project, based on the finding of a worm hole near Saturn, launches a shuttle to see if they can locate others worlds that could sustain human life.

Interstellar is just awesome, Kubrick style 2001 visuals, little (as possible) CGI and heavily focused on character and their motivations I was gripped from start to finish.  I think you have to leave your reason in the lobby and just enjoy the ride with this one.  I was in tears at certain points during the film because I actually cared about the relationships, the father/daughter relationship is just perfect.

The robots in the film are a great little character addition, when asked about their humour/sarcasm and truth settings the responses are superb.  I was a little unsure of them at first, like the way they move, but as the film progressed I just accepted them and loved them to finish

Barry Exposition is a crew member on the Endurance, scientists having to explain things to each other so the general population can understand, and there is a cameo which really brought me out of the film for a few minutes.  Yes, the cameo character was brilliant, but it still was  *******!

This is definitely one of the best and clever sci-fi films out in a long time and even though some of the plot was a little stretched, it was still a great film to watch.  The last 10 minutes are definitely not needed and it could have ended perfect, but Hollywood!

I will be asking my good friend "Roshtakular" to review this as well as he was not a fan, so it would be nice to see an alternate (and also wrong!) opinion.....

Film 96 - Nightcrawler

Nightcrawler - 14/11/2014

Apparently, Jake Gyllenhaal is in Nightcrawler, I only saw a guy called Lou Bloom.

A thriller set in the LA Nocturnal habits of TV Video reporters, Lou finds himself relying on police scanners and sirens to locate his next footage feature to sell to a local new station looking for ratings. As Lou begins to realise that the more graphic and brutal the shots, the more money he gets, he starts to develop an eye for the mayhem, a little too much.

Nightcrawler is a dark, disturbing and simply fantastic film, with similarities to Network and Taxi Driver, I was gripped by the developing story and intrigued to know how far Lou would go for his next shot.

As I said at the start of this review, Jake Gyllenhaal was not in this film.  Lou Bloom is such a believable character, you completely forget the Jake is there - brilliantly acted and his psychotic, go get attitude is perfectly portrayed.  

Rene Russo, as Nina, is brutal in her own way.  Wanting to push the station to attain her ratings in order to keep her job, she disregards what should be shown on the media and goes for shock value more than compassion.  Both Jake and Rene together are great to watch

Nightcrawler is simply one of the best films of the year, so far, and I cannot recommend highly enough, if you are of a dark thriller liking nature....if not, then it may be a little too much for some people.

One thing I would say, although I post them on all my reviews, is avoid watching the trailer as this contains some heavy spoilers that do not need to be in there.

Film 95 - The Judge

The Judge - 02/11/2014

With Robert Duvall, Robert Downey Jnr and Billy Bob Thorton in one courtroom drama, how can you not expect great performances?

Big city lawyer, Downey, returns home after his mother dies, where his father, the town's judge is suspected of murder.  The father son relationship has been tumultuous for years, so working together to try and clear the judges name is difficult.

The Judge is a long and slow film, but I enjoyed every minute of it.  The performances by Duvall, Downey and Thorton are superb, and you can tell the director was saying, "Okay guys, this is our Oscar nominated scene right here - act away!"  

It is a court room drama, but it is mainly about the father and son relationship and the sense of loss and grief.  When both leads are in the same room you can feel the tension, the brewing argument, the resentment from the son running away from his problems and family.

Clare mentioned that the film was far too long, which I agree it could have been trimmed in parts, but I was never bored and sat riveted to the performances.  

The old flame relationship parts seemed to be put in to make Hank (Downey) more likable, but I think these just padded the film out and had a few moments were I wondered in which direction the film was going (ie Sam's hot daughter)

Film 94 - Ouija

Ouija - 01/11/2014

When a twenty something girl dabbles with a Ouija board, something is woken with malicious intent.

Concluding my Halloween film fest (Annabelle, Babadook, Ghostbusters), I had my good scares from The Babadook, predicatables from Annabelle and just shear genius from the Classic, so what did this next film have in store?

I was a little surprised by Ouija, with the Platinum Dunes production team behind it (Mr Bay) and the predictable trailer.  Ouija is actually an entertaining 90 minute horror film with a few decent sections, although it still uses the cheap shock horror tactic of so many films of late.

when a girl commits suicide, her best friend, boyfriend and 3 others all gather to see if they can communicate with her through the Ouija.  When they are presented with the words "Hi Friend", they think they have made contact, but is it really her from the other side or someone pretending.

Not up there with the best horror of the year, but far better than most

Film 93 - Ghostbusters

Ghostbusters - 28/10/2014

"Go get 'em Ray!"

Can you believe it? 30 years since the release of Ghostbusters!  

Three "scientists" decide to create the Ghostbusters after an experience at the library.  Trapping spooks in various locations such as The Sedgwick Hotel, they become local celebrities and are there to save the Big Apple when the time comes.

I was sat with The Film Lord, Roshtakular and a full auditorium on a Tuesday night ready for a nostalgia overload.  The cinema was full of 30-40 somethings, some bringing their kids to relive their childhood through them and you could feel the excitement in the air.  As soon as the librarian started walking through the stacks, I knew I was in good hands again, and was going to really enjoy the next few hours

I always wonder what the film would have been like if they had followed the original Dan Akroyd idea, John Belushi, Dan Akroyd and Eddie Murphy as the busting trio and John Candy taking on the Louis role

Cineworld had opted to show the extended special edition version of the film so there were a few scenes that were new to me, and it just looked great on the big screen.  The effects definitely do not hold up, but it doesn't matter because the characters are fantastic and the humour perfect.  Bill Murray is just a genius, 

These nights are an obvious success and I plead with Cineworld to make more of them.  Christmas Movies - Die Hard, Gremlins, Muppet's Christmas Carol, It's a Wonderful Life, or just films because they are brilliant and nostalgic.  I have not seen the cinema as full for most current blockbusters and I know that if Cineworld planned a nostalgia night once a month I would be there with many others with a smile on my face.  C'mon Cineworld, bring back the Goonies, Big Trouble in Little China, Rocky III, Back to the Future

Film 92 - The Babadook

The Babadook - 27/10/2014

"If it's in a word, or in a look

You can't get rid of the Babadook"

Made on a budget of just over $30k via a kickstarter project, Jennifer Kent's re-imaging of her short movie "Monster" is a damn good case for how good a film can be without over the top special effects.

6 years after her husband was killed taking his labour induced wife to the hospital, Amelia is struggling to raise her son.  Plagued by fears of monsters in his room, sleep deprivation is having a massive effect.  When the son asks Amelia to read him a new bed time story called Mister Babadook, things start to get worse.  With even less sleep and her son becoming more and more delusional, this seems to project towards his mother.

With no crash bang scares and loud violin screeches, The Babadook goes back to real horror, it stays away from cheap scares and gore, real horror rather than jump scares.  There were several points in this film I actually felt scared.  Is the Babadook a real entity or a figment of a delusional, sleep deprived mind?  the Babadook can be viewed from many different angles which is what made it more enjoyable for me.

The shadow in your room at night that seems to be moving, did I shut that door or leave it open, seeing things that are not there, we have all experienced these little fears and The Babadook plays on them very well.

At first I was thinking that the child actor was a little annoying and not very good, but as the film progressed I actually think he is a little insane and they did deprive him of sleep, terrify him and then asked him to act the scene again, he looks truly terrified throughout.

This is a lesson for all the big budget horror film producers out there (especially you Mr Bay and Platinum Dunes), that horror can be done well without the big effects and cheap scares.  The human mind is a scary thing that can conjure up it's own scary ideas that will always be more personally scary to each individual.  

For all the horror movie fans and people looking for a good scare this Halloween, go watch The Babadook, but don't let him in.

Baba-ba Dook Dook Dook

Film 91 - Annabelle

Annabelle - 26/10/2014

Porcelain Dolls are the scariest thing on the planet!  Why would anyone collect them?

My Aunty has a rather large collection of Porcelain dolls and every time I go to visit they scare the living heebie jeebies out of me. Their dead eyes, ghostly stare and cold skin just horrifies me

The scary parts of "The Conjuring" for me were mainly based around the doll, Annabelle, so when I saw the trailer for this prequel I was a little intrigued.  Could this be the horror film of the year, the one I have been looking for?

A young family in the 1960's are expecting their first child when they are attacked by two satanic cult members to which one of them likes the new porcelain doll the family acquired.  This is when things start to go a little weird in the household.  The doll seemingly moves location, returns after being binned and generally causing creaks and moans around the house that can only be put down to something supernatural.

The type of horror films that have been made in the last few years are all following the same style, quiet quiet quiet LOUD.  More shock horror than actual horror.  The cheap scare with a loud violin screech.  Now don't get me wrong there are a few good creepy moments in the film, one of them completely ruined by it being in the trailer, but the laziness of the bang shock is over used.

The fact the the Annabelle doll exists and is in a museum adds a little spookiness to the story, and the ending was much better than most horror films of late, but it is still not there as a great horror film, my search continues.

Film 90 - Love, Rosie

Love, Rosie - 26/10/2014

Based on the Cecelia Ahern book "Where Rainbows End", yet another chick flick hits the silver screen.

P.S I Love You is in the top chick flicks of all time for most females on the planet so Love, Rosie had a hard act to follow.  Clare had read the book a few times so was a little worried of how the screen adaptation would portray her beloved lovers.

Set over a 15 year period, Rosie and Alex are friends who have a strong attraction to each other but always seem to be at the wrong place in their lives for the next step to happen.  When Rosie falls pregnant after a one night stand and cannot follow Alex to Boston, she remains at home with her family raising her daughter.

I was not really looking forward to this one as I find most chick flicks too formulaic, but Love, Rosie seemed to ditch some of these tropes and focus more on the relationships of Rosie and Alex, not with each other but with family, friends and various "not-quite-right" partners.  Instead of having the happy relationship broken down by a new arrival of someone better, like most chick flicks, this film has breakdowns of these relationships and marriages due to infidelity and mixed feelings.

The ending was far too generic for me and could have been far better if it ended a few minutes before, but I am not a best selling novelist so what would I know.

Also, one major, major gripe I have with the film is the lack of aging.  It takes place over 12-15 years yet the characters NEVER age.  They get the occasional haircut, but the final scene has Rosie looking the same age as her high school pregnant era.  Whatever moisturiser they are using, I think they should put it on sale!

Film 89 - Take 2: Tranformers: Age of Extinction

Transformers: Age Of Extinction - 16/10/2014

How Mr Michael Bay is not on a register I do not know.

Nicola Peltz, at the time of filming is 18 going on 19, yet Mr Bay turns her into a 17 year old perv-fest with a valid law to warrant her older boyfriend, "The Romeo and Juliet Clause" that the boyfriend has laminated in his wallet.  If Bay had put half as much effort into directing a half decent film instead of researching how he can perv over the next young girl then we may get back to the Bad Boys era

Tranformers: Age of Extinction takes place after the events of a previous movie that I didn't care about and we have now left behind the screaming muppets and replaced them with Mark Walberg. Big hunks of Scrap Metal duke it out for well over 2 hours with a plot that is non-existent and a cast you couldn't care less about.

If you do end up watching this then turn it into a drinking game: 

Take a shot for every American Flag

Take a shot for every time you feel pervy

Take a shot for every big ass explosion for no reason 

...by the end of the first 10 minutes you may need a stomach pump!

Funny as well that the bad guy, who is obviously Megatron but no-one likes to say it, doesn't do anything through the film and walks into the dark at the end saying, "I'll be back" or something to that degree.  We haven't really seen you do much, so we are not really sure what you are coming back to do...more of nothing???

Oh and the dinobots you have been waiting for, turn up in the last 10 mintues of the film and do NOTHING!

Terrible film, terrible script, terrible acting and hunks of metal that are indistinguishable from each other boshing and whalloping

Absolute tripe!

Film 88 - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - 11/10/2014

In a half shell, they're the heroes four

In this day and age who could ask for more?

The Crime wave is high,

with muggings mysterious

Our police force and detectives and furious

My expectations were not too high going into TMNT, with the Bay attached to the project back with his muse Megan Fox and some CG Turtles that did not look like the brothers I knew and loved.  This is probably the best way to go into this film, with low expectations, at least then you can come out and say, "Well, it wasn't as bad as I thought".  Both Clare and I said this as we left.

TMNT should have been named April O'Neill featuring some big green things for the first hour and a bit, and that is not what I came to see.  As lovely s Megan Fox was, she cannot hold a "blockbuster" on her own.  I came to see some "cowabunga" shouting dudes with ninja in their soul and weapons in their hands.

With the Foot Clan causing mayhem throughout the city, four vigilantes emerge from beneath to help.  With the help of April O'Neill and their sensei, Splinter, the band of brothers face all evil head (shell) on.  It is the same old TMNT story we all have known and seen before, just very pretty.

There is one section in the film, a good 20 minute section, that is pure Bay, sloooooow mooootion at every possible moment, big explosions and large scale destruction.  This is the snow slide scene (which there is a little shown in the trailer), and it was very entertaining and I even turned to Clare and commented how much I had enjoyed it. The final 30 mins of the film made up for a meandering first hour.

The motion capture is very well done and the heroes in a half shell look half decent.  With good individual personalities and styles each turtle has their moment.

I do wonder where the franchise will go, because a few sequels are inevitable.  If this is the case, I for one, will be campaigning for Beebop and Rocksteady

Film 87 - The Rewrite

The Rewrite - 10/10/2014

IMDB lists this film as a romantic comedy, a I must admit I am struggling to find where the romance and definitely where the comedy was.

Hugh Grant plays an out of work screen writer who takes a job as a college teacher to pass on his knowledge.  There he smarms his way through a class of beauty models, two male geeks and a single mum.

As much as I enjoyed some of the film references, the film itself is very slow, predictable, and not very interesting.  It is a very unfunny version of School Of Rock.  Down on his luck, starts a teaching job, good things happen because of it and then he continues to be a teacher realising he enjoys it...just without the laughs or the cool music.

This is definitely a contender for one of the worst films of the year.

Film 86 - Dracula Untold

Dracula Untold - 09/10/2014

Having seen the success of Marvel's Avengers franchise and the upcoming hype behind WB and DC's Justice League films, Universal is looking to re-invent their Monsters Franchise, starting with their most famous, Dracula.

Starting with a back story of how Vlad was taken from his family as a young boy by the "Turks" and trained to be a warrior without remorse, compassion or fear he soon became known as Vlad the Impaler.  When he reached an adult age, Vlad left the Turks and returned home to Transylvania to live peacefully as prince of Castle Dracula.  When the Turks return and demand 1000 Transylvanian children for their army, including Vlad's only son, he seeks help from a viscous being high up a mountain cliff.  With his new found skills and power he will be able to defeat the Turk Armies, but at what cost?

If you watch the trailer for Dracula Untold you could pretty much save yourself 90 mins, there is not much more to the film than this.  

It wasn't boring, it entertained me for the full running time, but it just seemed lacking in pretty much everything as well.  and I am pretty sure that this story was told in about 2 mins (same length as the trailer) in Coppola's Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) as a prequel to the film.  So the fact it is called Dracula Untold is a bit of a lie.

Some nice effect, and hammy acting, but nothing too spectacular.  If this is Universal's initial attempt for a revival it may need a little more electricity or a full moon.

Film 85 - Gone Girl

Gone Girl - 04/04/2014

My second Rosamund Pike film in 24 hours, and what a difference.

There is not really much I can say about this film without spoilers and I really don't to ruin the film for anyone who is looking to go see this.

I have not read the book the film is based on, so went into the cinema without much understanding of what I was going to see.  I had seen the trailer and thought it could be a normal run of the mill thriller until I saw that David Fincher was the director, then I got a little excited.

Mr Fincher has directed some of my favourite films, so I was expecting a lot from this before the film began, and I was not let down.

Ben Affleck plays Nick Dunne, who after the disappearance of his wife, Amy (Rosamund Pike) becomes the focus of an intense media circus, is he innocent or with his motives could he have had something to do with her disappearance?  The first part of the film is done with Ben Affleck in the media and how the news, family and friends all feel about him whilst under police investigation, and the Rosamund Pike section running alongside giving us the back story of the last 5 years of marriage through diary entries.  Both sides portray Nick Dunne in a different light which I started to question his innocence.

With more and more coming into the light and the police investigation heating up the film takes different routes to lead to a fantastic climax.

Gone Girl is definitely worth a watch, all the leads are really well acted and believable.  There are a few laughs as well, and the long running time flew by with not a thought of boredom

As I said, without ruining the film, I can only really write about the first hour of the film, but believe me, this is really worth a watch.  Visually stunning with an absorbing soundtrack.

Film 84 - What We Did On Our Holiday

What We Did On Our Holiday - 03/10/2014

I could have personally watched Billy Connolly and the kids on the beach for an hour, but things got complicated

What we did on our holiday starts with a broken family, Rosamund Pike and her fantastic kids and David Tennant who has recently moved out of the marital home prior to an inevitable divorce. Their son is overly obsessed with Odin, eldest daughter has serious issues and seems to struggle to cope with social pressures and the youngest daughter who is a delight to watch.  The family venture to Scotland to visit their unwell father/grandfather for his birthday.  David Tennant's brother (Ben Millar) and wife-to-be have been looking after "dad" since his onset of cancer, and being a well off couple they are always out to impress. Ben Miller's son is a part that could really have been cut form the film with little to no impact on the final result.  He is a real none entity throughout

I heard an interview prior to watching this film with Simon Mayo and Rosamund Pike in which she stated that most of the children's screen time was just captured on screen naturally and very little script work was done with them.  This shows with some of the comments that the youngest comes out with.

The first part of the film is very entertaining and laugh out loud funny, but mid way through it takes a twist that I really didn't expect, and unfortunately, didn't enjoy.  

I cannot express how funny the little girl is throughout the film, and she probably saves it nearer the end.  When the scene with Billy and the kids on the beach ends, so should the film.

Film 83 - The Equalizer

The Equalizer - 27/09/2014

After their amazing team up in Training Day, Denzel Washington and director Antoine Fuqua join forces in The Equalizer.  Based on the TV series starring Ewar Woowar (Edward Woodard without the D's), Denzel is a normal, easy going guy with a past and someone you do not want to cross.

When Chloe Grace Mortiz's lady of the night character is brutally beaten by her Russian pimp, Denzel goes to pay him a visit and ends up starting a Russian Mafia vendetta that keeps going further up the line of command.

I did enjoy The Equalizer, but think that there could have been a good 30 to 40 mins cut from it.  It felt like it could have been a TV show and split over 4 or 5 40 minute episodes.  It seems as thought the Director had a bucket load of ideas and just kept throwing them in. 

The climax in the Home Depot had remnants of an early 80's horror movie, with all power tools being used as weapons, but the film had gone on far too long at this point.

The Equalizer himself, gets involved in far too many cases for the main plot to progress smoothly enough, but then when it does pick up the plot again it is great fun.  The Russian Clean Up man is brutal and makes a great bad guy, but the henchmen must have been bought from Generic Henchmen.com, they are stereotypical and just fodder.

Clare and I had booked our little puppy in for a hair cut, and were getting close to the appointment time.  I could feel the end of the film coming so said to Clare, it will only be 10 mins at least.  30 minutes later the end was still coming and we were subsequently late for Chewie's cut.

Film 82 - Before I Go To Sleep

 Before I go to Sleep - 20/09/2014

I am a sucker for a good thriller, and especially an amnesiac thriller.  

Nicole Kidman awakes in her bed but not in the body she thought she had, waking up next to a person she does not recognise.  Apparently, according to Colin Firth, this is how she has woken up for the past 14 years after a terrible accident she cannot retain memories from one day to the next but remembers everything up until her fateful night.  Each morning, Colin Firth has to explain who he is, how they got married and other shocking revelations that surface as the film progresses.

Then there is Mark Strong, a doctor who rings her every morning, after Colin goes to work, to let her know that she is keeping a video diary every day and hides this away from her husband.

As the film progresses you start to question everyone's motives.  Why is the doctor always meeting in low-lit car parks, why is the husband always revealing something new that seems insignificant at the start.

The three leading actors all do a perfectly fine job, and the story is very interesting, with a few good twists and turns along the way (as with all thrillers, so no spoiler there), the last 5 minutes are a little daft, but they can be forgiven.

A decent amnesiac thriller, not up there with the likes of Memento, but good at what it sets out to do.

Watching the trailers before the film, the new trailer for Annabelle was shown.  Clare was freaked out by this trailer, as were several others in the audience.  In the trailer there is a scary sequence with a small girl running at the screen.  At 2am, Clare decided to nudge me and wake me from my slumber only to tell me, "The little girl wants to come in" and then roll over and go back to sleep.  That is one thing I didn't want to hear 'before I go to sleep'.

Film 81 - A Most Wanted Man

A Most Wanted Man - 19/09/2014

When Half Chechen, Half Russian Issa Karpov seeks asylum in Hamburg after an undisclosed torture the German and American Intelligence Agencies become anxious to his actual means and cause.  Based on the John Le Carr book this film is a far from an interesting, exciting and tense film you can imagine.  I found myself nearly dozing at many points, and struggled to keep my eyes open.

Due to Philip Seymor Hoffman's untimely passing I feel this feel will receive more positive praise than it is actually due, and I may be called for not being sophisticated enough to understand the underlying subtext of the film, but I am sorry, it was just plain boring.

The ending to the film is really weak, really anti climatic, in fact it doesn't really end, just stops.

I was hoping for a Bourne film or something similar, what I got was a a stale film trying to be something it is not.

Film 80 - Pride

Pride - 18/09/2014

Set during the Miner's Strike in 1984, a group of gay men and one lesbian form the L.G.S.M. (Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners) to help raise funds and provide food.  Based on the year and stereotypical view, the gay group are initially not well received.  Set in a little mining village in South Wales, the locals are not too accommodating when the LGSM turn up with their donation, but when the group realise that they are there to help with no prejudice, and have been on the receiving end of abuse for many years a kinship is formed.

What sounds to be a grim and political film is actually a delight to watch.  Pride balances the tones perfectly.  It is endearingly heartwarming, laugh out loud funny and heart string pullingly perfect.  I sat for pretty much most of the film with a smile on my face, there were times a little tear may have formed as well.  The Female Welsh Choir was definitely one of those moments that really tugged the heart strings.  One of the "Gays" takes a moment to show the "Miner" blokes what they are missing by just standing at the bar and not dancing.  Again, a moment of brilliance that I felt like punching the air, cheering, by the end.

Pride, to sound a little cliche, makes you feel really proud, proud to be British.  Clare and I watched this film on the day that Scotland were voting for their independence, and I think films like this make you realise that together we are a really strong nation.

It is a well scripted and enjoyably acted film with the likes of Paddy Considine, Joe Gigun and Bill Nighy too name the big actors.  The supporting cast is just as lovable, "Dai, your gays have arrived!" is just a brilliant line.

Every character is given enough screen time for you to actually care about them, and actually caring about them gives the story more impact. 

If you enjoy British films and especially Brassed Off, Dagenham or Full Monty then this is a film you will love.

Show your British Pride and go and watch, and when it comes out on DVD or Netflix, watch again

Film 79 - The Hundred-Foot Journey

The Hundred-Foot Journey - 13/09/2014

When we went to watch Chef, I learnt a valuable lesson; if you are going to the cinema to watch a film which the main focus is food....eat before!

100ft Journey sees Om Puri's family trekking across Europe to find the perfect restaurant location to open the "Maison Mumbai" helmed by his son, Hassan, who is a culinary guru.  Just 100ft across the street is a Michelin star restaurant ran by the ever changing accent of Helen Mirren that previously has had no equal.

100ft Journey is an easy to watch film, but it does drag it's feet a little in the middle.  It does exactly what it says on the tin and is an unoriginal, predictable story.  Saying that though, I did enjoy it.

Helen Mirren's chefs are not interviewed but simply have to cook an omelette for her.  If she likes it from the first taste then the chef is hired.  The morning after I was inspired and cooking omelettes for my lovely wife, she approved!

Om Puri steals every scene he is in and is fabulous to watch, his son Hassan is believable as the Michelin seeking chef.  Helen Mirren's accent, as previously mentioned, is all over the place and I am sure she started speaking Welsh at one point.  The love interest is played well.

If you fancy a brain off, easy to watch film then 100ft Journey could be on the list, just make sure you order in a curry or frogs legs before hand.

Film 78 - As Above, So Below

As Above, So Below - 10/09/2014

Back in 2005, my cousin James and I convinced my life-long friend to join us at the cinema to watch "The Descent".  We told her it was a period drama about the descent in to madness.  What we watched was a terrifying, claustrophobic masterpiece that still holds strong today.  Characters you care about and an environment that felt so tight and cramp that there are times you struggle to breathe.  I am also proud to say that I have not seen the sequel (not made by Neil Marshall)

Back to 2014, and I am sat contemplating the lack of decent horror films this year, hoping that my next film, As Above, So Below would redeem the year.

Done as a found footage film, again, a group of explorers, spelunkers, and archaeologists descend into the catacombs of Paris in search of a mysterious stone which legends says is found a the entrance to the gates of Hell.

AA,SB takes a good 40 minutes to set up characters and back story, but I struggled to care about most of the team or their reasons.  The location is definitely creepy and there are real moments of claustrophobia.  As for scares, pretty much all of then are shown in the trailer, so by the time I came to watch the full film there was nothing much left.  I seem to remember only one real jump which came from the "F.E.A.R Alma and her ladders" book of scares.

With all found footage there has to be a reason to keep filming instead of just dumping the camera and running.  As each person's head light is fitted with a camera this problem is mainly dealt with well, however there is also a camera man documenting the expedition carrying round a HUGE camera despite crawling through squeeze holes and dropping down shafts.  Surely there would be a point that you would just leave it behind.

AA,SB is not a bad film, it does what it sets out to do, but there are definitely better attempts out there.

Film 77 - The Inbetweeners 2

The Inbetweeners 2 - 29/08/2014

My brother recently posted a question, "what has been the funniest TV show in the last 5 years?", and put The Inbetweeners forward as his choice.  Now I have to agree that there were many funny points to the show, the first film was not up there in comedy highlights.

The film has the four friends, Simon, Neil, Will and Jay venturing to Australia for a few weeks holiday.  The usual antics and search for pussay continues.  With Jay's lies, Neil's stupidity, Simon's obsessed girlfriend and Will's annoying personality, hilarity should ensue from the very start.  It didn't.

Neil seemed to be excessively stupid, I don't know if this was due to him failing to continue in education or the writer just got carried away, Simon was terrible, his delivery of lines felt like he was just reading everything from the script onto screen, Jay's lies got worse and worse and Will is just Will.

There were some bits that raised a smile, and the sections of just the four friends chatting worked.  Everything else just seemed too much.  More money was put to the sequel and it felt like they had to do more to warrant the bigger budget.  Many of the jokes and puns fell flat, the side characters were really annoying and there was not really much going on to entertain.

About 45 mins into the film I asked Clare if she wanted to go, but she felt confident that something interesting or funny was going to happen soon....it didn't

I can honestly say that this is the worst film I have seen this year (and I have seen some real rubbish - What If?/Delivery Man) and the Inbetweeners definitely do not rank high on the "best TV comedy in the last 5 years" anymore

Film 76 - Deliver Us From Evil

Deliver Us From Evil - 25/08/2014

"Based on true events from Ralph Sarchie's real life cases"

Eric Bana plays Ralph Sarchie, a New York Detective who begins investigating a series of connected murders, psychiatric patients and mysterious happenings with the help of a unconventional priest.  The further they delve into the investigation, the more they discover a supernatural history to the victims.

What could be described more of a crime thriller with supernatural touches rather than a horror, Deliver Us From Evil is entertaining in parts but I think the loud and climatic ending could have been different.  I was enjoying the approach the film was taking with it being one side (the cop) focusing on the evil that men do and the priest pushing the possession and supernatural side of evil.

Eric Bana is great as a grumpy cop with a history, although when he did mention he sometime gets angry I could only think of his previous role as a green hulking character.  His partner, is there for comedic effect and plays it well.

Gruesome in place, but lacking the suspenseful horror for me, I enjoyed the film but was again left with a feeling that the horror genre needs a real upheaval.

Although, the toys always freak me out.  Not looking forward to the Porcelain Doll, Annabelle blessing our screens soon!