Dragon Wars

"I keep trying to understand, but none of this is making any sense."

Dragon Wars is the worst movie I have ever seen! Seriously, how did this movie get clearance to be made? Some people actually liked it! There is nothing good about this film and so many things wrong. 

The story is basically about this girl with a mark on her shoulder from another time where Dragons & serpants roamed. From that time, a warrior protecting her dies but is reborn to protect another girl who was reborn from the girl from the ancient times because an evil sorceror warrior is planning to kill her to rule the world with his serpants & dragons & army of soldiers. The mark on the girls shoulder represents her clan or something that she has lost after they were killed. 

The story mainly takes place in modern times but the story is so farfetched that its ridiculous. 

The acting is horrible. The main hero is bland and I can't relate to him like other heroes. The main girl seems dumb. The main villain is the worst ever, with a horrible speaking voice which is mainly a growl. All the other acting is bad. 

There isn't anything exciting about this film. It's as flat as a pancake all the way through. 

It's only worth watching to see the dragons & serpants because they look cool and make up some interesting action scenes and destruction but it can't save this pitiful movie. 

The movie is called Dragon Wars yet we only see 10 minutes qworth of Dragons and the rest of screen time featuring monsters is a giant serpant. It might as well be called Serpant Wars! Some dragons look cool as i said but some dragons look like reptilian hippos & velociraptors. 

Some CGI looks okay but the story is so poor, the acting is horrible & the editing is dreadful. There are some scenes in this film that shouldn't be in it at all because there is no point of them and are just fillers to fill in the time. 

I can't say anything else about this movie except it's so bad it makes the 1998 Godzilla movie Oscar worthy material. A reviewer said that i'It's impossible not to be entertained.' I agree, i was entertained at how hilariously crap this movie is.

Ridiculous in every way and mostly a bore, Dragon Wars is truly the worst film I've ever seen!

☆☆☆☆☆

The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn

"How's your thirst for adventure, Captain?"

One the the greatest things I've ever seen. I used to read the books& watch the cartoons when i was younger but then lost interest when other things came up. But when Steven Spielberg & Peter Jackson were anno0unced to make a Tintin movie, I got back to reading the books and watching the cartoons again in preperation to watching thie film. And i was not dissapointed 

The film is based on three Tintin books, The Crab with the Golden Claws, The Secret of the Unicorn & Red Rackham's Treasure. For those not familiar with these stories, Tintin buys a replica model of the Unicorn, an ancient ship captained by Sir Francis Haddock. A man called Ivan Ivanovitch Sakharine attempts to buy it off him, but Tintin refuses as the model interests him. The ship gets stolen & Tintin ends up on an adventure to find out what the secret of the Unicorn is, with the help of Francis' descendant Captain Haddock & The Tompson Twins & his trusty dog, Snowy. 

The film was done with Motion Capture CGI, which was smart as the film really captures the style of a Tintin book. The characters have been slightly updated from their book appearnaces by been given a more realistic look as humans. Jamie bell portrays Tintin and does a good job. Simon Pegg & Nick Frost were great as the Tompson Twins and Andy Serkis (Master of Motion Capture) is awesome as Captain Haddock. Daniel Craig is the villain Sakharine and is really good too. There are cool cameos by two Tintin characters Alan (Captain Haddock's ex-first shipmate, & Bianca Castafiore, opera singer). 

Combining three stories is a good idea as the books were made into a cartoon and a better story can be made. The film stays true to all major points made in the book, especially Secret of the Unicorn as that is the main story. There are some references to other Tintin stories (Cigar of the Pharohs, The Black Island) which were neat. 

There are some comedic times during this film which stayed true to the books as The Tompson Twins & Haddock delivered the comedy just like they did in the books. During the film, there is a death which is quite extreme for a film based on a character children enjoy reading about. But it's a tame one so no one should find it offensive. There is gunfire, common in Tintin books & something I'm glad wasn't changed. 

The best aspect of the movie has to be the visual presentation. It looks like what a Tintin movie should look like. It could not have been done well enough. The visuals of the boats at sea, the action scenes (in real-time and flashbacks) and a great chase scene, one of my favourite scenes. Another favourite is the opening sequence, which looked fantastic & showed that animation still hasn't reached it's full potential. 

Another thing i liked is how there is still a demand for Tintin, considering the character is over 70 years old. I looked around the cinema and I saw old people, there to relive there childhood, and i saw young children, who can witness Tintin for the first time in some cases after hearing about it. 

In conclusion, Tintin is one of the most enjoyabe films ever. It's an action packed, adventure similar to Indiana Jones. Reading & watching Tintin from my early days, I was really emotionally atatched to the film as I was watching it because it was absolutely beautiful to watch. It's great to see a vintage fictional series converted into a fantastic movie after several fails like Garfield & Asterix. Steven Spielberg & Peter Jackson did Tintin faithfully to Herge's books & I'm sure Tintin fans, longtime & new, and Herge himself would be proud of this pasterpiece.

Fantastic performances, amazing visuals, exhilarating action and all-around entertaining, The Adventures of Tintin is one of the most fun movies I've ever seen.

★★★★★

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

"It's the oldest question of all, George. Who can spy on the spies?"

Based on a novel, this spy thriller features riveting performances by Gary Oldman, Mark Strong, Colin Firth, John Hurt & rising star Tom Hardy. 

A retired spy (Gary Oldman) comes out of retirement at the request of the government to investigate the Russian 'mole' that has infiltrated into becoming one of the top spies in Britain. I found the plot a bit hard to follow but when I got the full grasp of it as the film progressed, I began to really enjoy it. I recommend reading the book first just in case, which i should have done to grasp the story better. 

I found this film to be rather more mature than other films of this kind. It's been filmed seriously and taken seriously with hardly any humour or action. It doesn't go over the top like James Bond. The whole films has a dark feeling, an unsettling mood that enforces my opinion that it's more mature. The beginning starts well, I felt it slows down after the first 15 minutes but about an hour into the film, it's really starts to get compelling. The music is one of the highlights. The music really sounds good & fits into old age Britain. 

The costumes & settings looked very intricate and the locations have been chosen very well to fit into the story. It really looked like 1970's Britain. The character's appearances & personalities were done well too. Gary Oldman does a splendid performance & steals the show. Colin Firth, Mark Strong & John Hurt were particularly interesting in their roles and Tom Hardy did a fantastic performance during his scenes, a personal highlight being his retelling of his mission which he slightly diverted from. 

This being a spy movie, you would expect some car chases, gun fights & womanizing. But this is the kind of spy thriller that doesn't require these attributes that often. There are no car chases, a few gun deaths & some womanizing but not enough to compare it with other films of the genre. This is more of a vocal film with mostly talking, which is a welcome change. It's treated differently and feels like watching a 1970'a film in the way it was filmed along with the locations & acting. 

In conclusion, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is a really enjoyable film which differentiates itself from other films of the genre. More talking & less action is what you get with this film. 

An incredible performance by Gary Oldman, fantastic cinematography and a compelling story makes this a fascinating film. One the best films of 2011.

★★★★☆

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.

★★★★☆