Guardians of the Galaxy

"I have part...of a plan"

After producing several films based on established names such as Iron Man, Captain America, Thor & Hulk, Marvel decided to take a huge gamble on producing a film based on a lessar-known property; Guardians of the Galaxy.  And it was a gamble that paid off incredibly well.

Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) is a human abducted from Earth as a young boy in the late 1980's. Now grown up in the far reaches of the galaxy, Quill, now known as Star Lord, searches for treasures to sell as part of a group known as Ravagers, led by his father figure Yondu. He comes across an object which being sought after by Ronan the Accuser (Lee Pace). Quill ends up imprisoned alongside assassin Gamora (Zoe Saldana), vengeful maniac Drax (Dave Bautista), raccoon-like Rocket (Bradley Cooper) and living tree Groot (Vin Diesel), who all join together to stop  Ronan from destroying the galaxy.

The story begins very dark as Peter's mother passes away and seconds later he is abducted by aliens. But throughout the film, their is a healthy balance of humour and seriousness. The story is paced very well with all important information explained in the first 30 minutes, giving plenty time to build and produce a great journey to follow and a great climax to finish. I never felt bored as there was always something enjoyable. Whether it was character interaction, action, exposition or just watching a performance, I was always hooked on a feeling. (See what I did there?).

The acting is brilliant. Chris Pratt is a great leading man with bags of charisma and humour along with a Han Solo like vibe to the character of Star Lord. Gamora is portrayed very well by Zoe Saldana. She is funny and can definately kick butt in her great fight scenes. Drax is one of the best characters in the whole film, played by Dave Bautista in his breakthrough role. Very funny and enjoyable to watch on screen. Rocket is the best character in the film. Bradley Cooper does a wonderful job of giving a great personaoity to Rocket, a tough as nails creature willing to fight for his life. Very witty and provides many great lines. Groot is a wonderful character who is very adorable. Good hearted and can seriously fight for his friends. Amazing how Groot can display much emotion with only a three word vocabulary. The friendship between Rocket and Groot is a definite highlight, providing many funny scenes.

The villains include Ronan the Accuser, played by Lee Pace. He does a good job. Menacing, threatening and seemingly unstoppable, Ronan has all the makings of a great super villain baring a weak personality. Nebupa & Korath are enjoyable to watch in their brief roles. The Collector was really fun to watch, even for the few short minutes he has on-screen. Benicio Del Toro add great eccentricity and elegance to the Collector. Michaels Rooker plays Yondu, a very interesting character to watch on-screen. Other supporting  haracters played theor roles very well. Only a brief scene in person and later briefly in a hologram, I was in awe when Thanos finally appears. First appearing briefly in the first credits scene in Avengers, Thanos is brought to life by Josh Brolin, who did great voice work. Thanos will definately be the most anticipated story development for future films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

James Gunn has created a very unique looking film for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He brings great direction to the many great action scenes and always manages to keep viewers focused on something going on. The visuals are brilliant for the characters, action and locations, which are beautiful to look at. The space ships look mighty impressive, especially the design of Ronan's Dark Aster.

There are great references of 80's culture, which Peter Quill grew up with. They keep me reminded that the Marvel Universe is all conected and vast in size. It also shows me that Quill never forgets where he came from no matter how long he been away, hopefully setting up a comeback in a future film. There is great humour in the characters interaction, which is what really makes this film that good. Each character has a different past and different experiences and together, we get enyable dialogue and great enjoyment. The characters are great to watch together during the different stages of knowing each other. Of course, the post-credit scene has become a staple of Marvel films and this one is unique in which it doesn't take the route past films take. They would have a scene whoch sets up or teases a future film. This one merely is a scene played for laughs. But it is a very funny scene, especially for fans of the obscure Marvel characters. For me, it was nice to see a certain character make his big-screen comeback.

In closing, Guardians of the Galaxy was very enjoyable to watch and experience. This film provides an incredible look at another part of the Marvel Universe which no doubt will all come together in a future ensemble film. This film is proof that literally anytning can be put on film as long as it is executed well. I was doubtful when this film was first announced, mostly because I've never heard of the Guardians of the Galaxy. Anything is possible and more chances can be taken in future films, such as introducing lessar-known characters. The overall story being told throughtout these films since Phase 1 began gives plenty of guessing of where the films will go from here. The overarching details, specifically the Infinity Stones, all connect these Marvel film into a giant puzzle which grows piece by piece with every film released. The future of Marvel films is going to be exciting.

An incredible chapter into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, giving us wonderful characters, an engaging story and amazing action sequences, Guardians of the Galaxy is the unexpected comic book film hit which no one expected to happen.

★★★★★

Transformers: Age of Extinction

           

"This is not war...It's human extinction."

Firstly, this is way better than the last two Transformers films. Is it superior to the first film? I would probably say that Age of Extinction is the best out of the series.

Several years after the events of Dark of the Moon, Autobots are in hiding from a bounty hunter named Lockdown, who is working in conjunction with a CIA Black ops team led by Attinger (Kelsey Grammer), who are attempting to wipe out all Transformers to protect Earth from future wars. Simple inventor Cade Yeager finds Optimus and together they must find out why humans are trying to rid the world of transformers, all while a secret project is being carried out that will change everything.

The humans are way more bearable and relatable than the likes of Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox. Mark Wahlberg, Kelsey Grammer and Stanley Tucci are the most interesting although Grammer I felt was a little underused. The new transformers all have a personality and are big improvements on some of the previous racy types. The Dinobots make their debut and although they are on screen for the end scenes, they were fascinating to watch.

Added to this are potentially three different villains and the story ends ups stuffed with too much. Even the 2 hour 45 minute running time doesn't establish every main details of the story. More on the Transforium element origin would have been nice but that will probably be saved for the sequel. I guess time was needed for the action scenes.

Visual effects are top-notch as they usually are. The film is great to look at. The action scenes are, as usual, incredible and exhilarating to watch. This film definitely delivers in entertaining fights and carnage. The slow-motion technique is used again and I've accepted it for this type of film, as it does look very cool and helps viewers see every detail going on.

The tone of the film has taken a drastic change to be more serious than the goofy nature of the previous films. I guess the dismissal of Shia LaBeouf helped with no annoyances. The serious tone helps push the end of humanity scenario which seems to be the theme of all the Transformers films.

One major problem is the familiarity. A lot of scenes and scenarios in this film are just rehashes of similar ones in the previous films. The climatic fight scenes occurs in a large city & humanity is at stake, again! A change of scenery, such as the remains of Cybertron, and different plot, such as an origin story, would be a great benefit for future films and would add freshness to the franchise.

Age of Extinction features the familiar Michael Bay formula of explosive action and underdeveloped story, just like the previous three films, However, despite the over-long running time, unfinished storytelling, familiar situations and limited screen-time for the Dinobots, I enjoyed this much more than I was expecting.

★★★★☆

X-Men Days of Future Past

"Please, We need you to hope again."

X-Men Days of Future Past is definitely one of the best comic book films I've seen. It takes what was great about the previous X-Films and amplifies them to make the best X-Men movie.

The array of characters, old and new and reincarnations, in this are all memorable.  The original cast featuring Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart,  Ian McKellen, Ellen Page etc and the new cast of James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrene, Nicholas Hoult etc are all great and their characters have all evolved since The Last Stand and First Class. The new addition of Peter Dinklage as Bolivar Trask is a perfect choice and a great performance. The best character by far is Evan Peters as Quicksilver, who definately steals the show with his incredible scenes. Also nice to see some familiar faces returning in short cameos (Hello Jean Grey, Cyclops, Old Beast, Rogue).

Some new X-Men include Bishop, Warpath, Sunspot and Blink. They don't get a lot of screen time compared to the other main characters but they all leave an impression, especially Bishop and Blink. Blink's powers is pretty much Portal: The Movie and represented amazingly on screen.

The story is adapted from the comic storyline of the same name. There are notable differences between the comic and film (Wolverine is sent back in time in the film instead of Kitty Pryde) but all the changes make sense and on occasion improves the overall story. The film is well paced considering the jumps in time line throughout and the many recognised names in the film. Bryan Singer, the director of the first two X-Men films, returns and proves why he is the right choice to direct the X-Men franchise.

The future sequences are very dark and harrowing. You can really feel and see the danger that the X-Men are in and the lengthy action heightens the peril and stakes of survival. Same for the pivotal scenes in the past sequences where the whole future can change in one desicion. There are some good funny, feel good moments in the past sequences and the ending.

The action scenes are well directed and gets viewers engrossed into every move done. Visuals are very well done and nice to see on screen. The 3D which I saw was good and helps amplifies debris and scope of some incredible shots of the White House attack. The Sentinels have been cemented as one of the most threatening and coolest villains in comic book films. Their roles in the film work out perfectly and leave a huge impression after viewing them in action.

One note on the post credit scene: it sets up the next X-Men film with a lot of anticipation for hopefully one of the most famous X-Men story arcs (Age of Apocalypse) Maybe but looking forward to 2016. EN SABAH NUR!

Days of Future Past is arguably the best X-Men film, definately since X2. There isn't anything negative i can think of in this movie, maybe more Storm would have been welcomed. With huge money made, it's safe to say Fox is confident it's future with the X-Men franchise and hopefully we get more films as entertaining has Days of Future Past.

Plenty of storylines, character interaction, eye-pleasing visuals and thrilling action make X-Men Days of Future Past a fantastic watch and one of the best films of 2014.

★★★★★

The Grey

"Once more into the fray.

Into the last good fight I'll ever know.

Live and die on this day.

Live and die on this day."

The Grey is a bone-chilling, gory survival thriller about a group of oil drilling workers in Alaska who after surviving a plane crash must survive the dangers of nature as they attempt to return home. They must survive an onslaught of a pack of wolves stalking them & killing them one by one in classic monster horror fashion. Along the way, the survivors bond together & fall out with each other and discuss humanity.

As the title suggests, this film is a very dark film. Grey is the primary colour you think of when you first glance at the scenery. The atmosphere is chilling & lonely, captured very well by director Joe Carnahan, who chose amazing locations. 

Liam Neeson play John Ottway, a sniper who kills wolves at the oil drilling plantation. His character is suffering from an issue with his wife, which explored through flashbacks through-out the film. Liam Neeson does a fantastic performance with many ranges of emotions, from depression to fear. He is definately the highlight of the film. It's definately one of his best performances. The other characters are all different which works well in survival films. The egos & fear of each indivdual is explored and the actors do great work. 

A survival horror thriller about wolves would draw comparisions to Jaws & Alien, both feature a killer hunting humans in an isolated location. The killer is hardly seen and usually sppears in shock scenes (appearing when you least expect it) which are really effective. However, The Grey manages to be more original by the characters perspective of faith, which is explored well, especially with a scene involving Neeson at the end. 

The death scenes are imaginative and impressive, considering the number of nature horror films there have been. Some may think it'll be predictable. It is sometimes, yet the violence and gore compensates the predictablity. Deaths are really memorable. Another scene featureing death is the plane crash, which when watching at the cinema, was one of the most horrifying experiences i've ever had. 

Spoiler alert! 

In the cinema, Everyone was dissapointed with the ending, which is a cliffhanger. What everybody, including myself, was expecting was Liam Neeson Vs the Alpha Wolf in an epic battle for survival. I was surprised with the cliffhanger after all the hype in the trailer. But when i watched it on DVD, i concluded that the cliffhanger was the best possible end to the film. Everything that was looked at previously (Neeson's wife, poem his father wrote & survival skills) comes together and fits nicely into a fantastic ending where Neeson accepts his fate. 

I mentioned that it has similarities with Jaws, Alien & Flight of the Phoenix. With Jaws, the similarities lie with an animal most people didn't take seriously until they saw th film. Afer Jaws, people where scared of sharks. Same with The Grey, after watching it, wolves seem more scary. With Alien, the crew are being killed one by one until an epic battle between the lead character & the killer (Sigourney Weaver & The Alien in Alien, Liam Neeson & Wolf in The Grey). Flight of the Phoenix obviously draws comparisons with the plane crash, although The Grey's crash is just terrifying for me. Another relatable movie is The Thing from Another World because of the setting. Although not set in the same place, the snow and coldness & isolation is a major part of both films. 

The Grey, with it's dark, unsettling atmosphere with a mostly silent score which changes to dramatic music, it's violence, philosophy of faith and characters, this is definately the best survival film I've ever seen. What Alien, Jaws, Flight of the Phoenix did was look into the characters and their techniques of survival. The Grey goes better on all the qualities these films have. Although not in the same class as Jaws, The Grey should be remembered as a fasntastic tale about survival and faith. Backed up by one of Liam Neeson's best performances, this film is definately about Survival of the Fittest.

A fascinating look at human survival featuring excellent performances and gripping, intense dramatic scenes of peril.

★★★★☆

Captain America: The First Avenger

"Captain America! How exciting! I'm a great fan of your films!"

Well, I saw this movie the day it opened and I have to say I was really excited to see this film since it was first announced. Captain America gets his first major film & it doesn't disappoint! After seeing many of the other Marvel movies, I have to say this is the best one ever! 

Captain Anerica, one of the oldest superheroes, has everything, action, humour, romance, fantasy, emotional scenes & awe-inspiring performances. 

Firstly, Chris Evans did a great job as Captain America. losing all that weight & size to contrast the human size before & after the super soldier serum experiment is real commitment. Evans' action scented were great & his battle attacks made the action better. 

Tommy Lee Jones was another highlight. One if my favouriteactors, he brought humour in a serious way. He was a perfect commanding officer & excelled in his role. All the other supporting actors & actresses did well too. 

But in my opinion, Hugo Weaving stole the show as his portayal as Red Skull. He put on an ace accent, he had the physical presence & did everything perfect! I also loved his car & huge plane. I think Hugo deserves an Oscar for his supporting role! 

The action scenes were the second best thing in the film. Very inventive & very cool with all the props & surroundings of World War 2. I did think that many items in the film were too advanced for the 1940's. Anyway, I'm not complaining. 

In conclusion, Captain America is the perfect film to watch anytime anywhere. Great performances, fantastic actions scenes & interesting references to the Marvel Universe, this is the movie Captain America deserves. I think it is the best Marvel film ever. Well at least until The Avengers comes out.

An American Icon comes to the big screen in a fantastic action and story filled WW2 film, ranking among the best offerings from Marvel.

★★★★☆

The Day After Tomorrow

"Are you mad? That's a 12-year-old scotch!"

My opinion on The Day After Tomorrow. At first, I wasn;t really into it because in my opinion, it isn't realistic because I don't believe we will suffer another Ice Age. However, as a movie for our entertainment, it makes quite a good story. 

What happens is that Global Wamring is occuring at a fast rate to the point where the Northern Hemisphere plunges into the 2nd Ice Age. We follow these events through Jack Hall (Dennis Quaid) going into New York to rescue his son Sam ( Jake Gyllenhaal) who is up trapped indoors with friends. 

The best thing about this movie is the stunning visual effects of the storms building up until the world drastially changes. The visuals are one of the best I've ever seen. We see different weather alerts occuring around the world. It is amazing. 

I can't really say anythig bad about the movie. I just think it wouldn't happen in real-life. But for a fictional story with family ties, action & suspense I think this movie isn't that bad.

The Spectacular visuals and a plausible story elevate The Day After Tomorrow above the familiar disaster film formula.

★★★☆☆

Wrong Side Of Town

"Am I Not Speaking English?"

I bought this movie because it featured wresting stars Rob Van Dam & Batista & I wanted to see how they would do in their acting debuts. I can say that I wasn't impressed. The movie is bad. The plot is simple but not exactly something interesting. It's the usual Ex-Marine who gets involved with a death & hunted down & has his daughter kidnapped & gets a friend to help him. Not very original. 

The plot is that Bobby (RVD) & his wife are invited to dinner with new neighbours. They go to a club where the owner is the main villian, who leaves & puts his younger brother in charge, who takes RVD's wife to the office. During a struggle, the brother is killed by his own knife & the main villian Seth puts a bounty on RVD'S head. Van Dam must fight his way through gangs & bodyguards to get his family & neighbours safe & calls his old friend Ronnie(Batista) for help. 

There are some stunts with knives, guns, motorcycles & gas station apparatus but they aren't really memorable. Poor fight scenes whch are preticable. 

Because it is RVD's first role, Iwent easy on him & he wasn't actually that bad. He wasn't good but didn't suck. More Mediocre. Batista wasn't interesting & wasn't that good. The main villian was played well. Other than the villian, this movie is bad. The fight scenes are okay but could've been much better.

Dull, weak story and underdeveloped characters, Wrong Side of Town further accentuates why wrestlers aren't usually good film actors.

★☆☆☆☆

Black Death

"I am Death. Vengeance is Mine!"

The movie is set during the Plague in England. It is an interesting topic to make a film out of and what we get is a horrific story of warriors searching for the necromancer to end the plague. A young monk takes them, only because he is looking for his girlfriend who he sent away from the plague's wrath. 

There is a great fight scene in the forest, resulting in bloodshed & deaths, almost something akin to Lord of the Rings, which I usually compare Black Death to due to the similarities in warriors & demons. Not as good as LOTR but still it is a great film with horrific death scenes & a thrilling ending. 

Sean Bean's character is Ulric, very similar to Sean's character in LOTR, Boromir. A master swordsman who kills anything evil, Sean's portrayal s fantastic, which is the reason he is one of my favourite actors. The role of Ulric is perfect for him & I can't imagine anyone else perfecting the role as well as Sean. 

Eddie Redmayne played Osmund, the monk who goes with the men to seemingly show the way to the village where the necromancer is, but is really only going to find his girlfriend Averill. It is nice that there is a bit of romance which is a major part of the story as Averill is presumed dead until we see a startling scene at the end. Eddie plays the monk very well, playing fear & anger feelings very well.

The settings are fantastic to watch, from the monastery, to the forests to the village where the movie takes a different turn. The scene with the village & the goings-on were something I never expected, partly the reason why I love this movie. It is an unsuspecting thrill-ride with plenty of action & brilliant acting by all, including Carice van Houten, Kimberley Nixon & Tim McInnerny 

I definitely recommend Black Death to anyone who is a fan of Sean Bean and/or medieval horror films. Great movie.

Brutal and chilling, great performances and great action and story make Black Death a satisfying medieval horror experience.

★★★★☆

The Amazing Spider-Man 2

"Let's Go Catch A Spider."

 The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Review.

I really enjoyed this film, so good I'd rank it as the best Spider-Flick I've seen.

All the returning characters wre on top form. Especially the chemistry between Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone. I really bought into their relationship and really enjoyed seeing them together.

New characters introduced left a great impression on me. Electro was really cool. Loved the effects of his electrical state, and that voice! Paul Giamatti was awesome, as brief his appearance was. Over the top in a fun way and can't wait to se more of him in sequels. Harry Osborn is very different to the Sam Raimi version and the changes helped make a great character. 

I saw it in 3D and was pretty good. Visual effects all around were impressive, highly superior to the 1st film and the Raimi trilogy.

All the action scenes were well edited and looked awesome. The realistic tone carries over in this film with nothing being ridiculous. Yes, one of the main villains is made of electricity but the character and situations he's in are done to look like this is what it would be like if it actually happened.

I do think some parts of the film were rushed and needed more time to develop, like Harry Osborn. I liked him but not enough development was made on his character, which quickly rushed to make him the Green Goblin. I liked it but was rushed.

SPOILER ALERT!!

The saddest comic book movie moment I saw was Gwen Stacy's death. I knew it was coming but my heart was pounding at the incredibly intense sequence of Spider-Man trying to save Stacy. I was shocked at the way she died and was sad she had to die. I really liked Emma Stone's portrayal of Gwen Stacy and evidently, the way it affected me displays how powerful Stone's performance and her death scene is. Honestly, it's probably my favourite scene because of how emotionally powerful it is.

In conclusion, Marc Webb's new Spider-Man films are really becoming it's own great franchise. Many ideas were introduced and great prospects for the future films. Great performances, exhilirating action and wonderful visuals slightly enhanced by the 3D make this a great watch, although more story development would have been welcomed.

★★★★☆