REVIEW: MOVIE BLAST: Now You See Me & Now You See Me 2

Now You See Me

Louis Leterrier’s 2013 movie Now You See Me is part bank heist movie, half thriller.  Four struggling magicians (each with a unique talent) are recruited by mysterious business man, Arthur Tressler (Michael Caine) to become the greatest magical quartet of all time. Also starring Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher, Mark Ruffalo, Morgan Freeman and Jesse Eisenberg, this movie certainly has star power.

The magicians become The Four Horsemen and become famous after a massive show becomes wold renowned after a spectacular bank heist – and the proceedings go back to the audience in true Robin Hood style (i.e. rob from the rich, give to the poor). After they turncoat on their benefactor at the second act and steal his money to give to the audience (themselves victims of their benefactors company), the FBI are on the case. Mark Ruffalo plays an FBI detective who joins forces with Interpol’s French female officer, Alma Drey (Melanie Laurent). Always one step ahead, The Four Horsemen are planning their biggest show yet. Meanwhile, their antics attract the attention of Morgan Freeman, who is hot on their tails too – to create a multi-faceted storyline and a surprising conclusion.

Full of funky magic tricks, action and excitement, NYSM is a great watch and has a good twist at the end. The cast is fantastic and kept me watching ‘til the credits roll – but stay because there’s another bit in the middle. My only concern is that they did not spend very much time on the Four Horsemen themselves, and this would be nicer as they seemed to have a good comraderie and I think it would have been interesting to see more about them. A great movie.

POPSCORE: 8/10

Now You See Me 2

Now You See Me 2 is once again more of the same from (just about) the same cast as the first one, with the replacement of Isla Fisher with Lizzy Caplan as the sassy Lula, the newest member of the Horsemen. They talk away Fisher’s absence assigning the reason to a falling out with Jesse Eisenberg’s character Atlas – and introduce Caplan’s character as a fan of the Horsemen who wants to be part of the gang with her unique magic tricks too. However, I don't know about you, but surely they missed a trick - this film should have been called Now You Don't.

It’s more of the same story too, set around 18 months after the events of the last movie.  The Horsemen are brought out of hiding to perform a show to bring down a tech magnate and it gets all very Mission: Impossible meets Ocean’s Eleven (or Ocean’s Four or Five in this instance) and leads the viewer on a path through some mind-blowing magical tricks with some action and adventure thrown in the mix.  However, the magical tricks the team use are verging on them actually having superpowers and are a little less believable than the previous film, but it’s still fun none the less.

Harry Potter himself, Daniel Radcliffe, also appears in this movie and, although he is sporting an impressive beard, he still seems very Harry Potterish. This is even to the extent that Woody Harrelson describes him as some sort of man-boy in one scene. Speaking of Woody Harrelson – his performance in this movie is fantastic and makes an already great movie even better – especially when we are introduced to his twin brother Chase (who is also played by Woody Harrelson… with hair!).

So yes, I really liked this movie and I would love them to make another sequel – it could be a franchise as I think there’s plenty more to go from here. Ruffalo, Caine and Freeman return with their characters too and, although the ending is nowhere near as twisty as the first movie, it leaves it open for another part to come. There’s only a few niggly bits with this movie – including unforgiveable continuity errors, but watching it for what it is – a bit of fun and excitement with a bit of ooh-ing and ahh-ing thrown in – makes this a magical show worth a watch.

POPSCORE: 8/10

REVIEW: MOVIEBLAST: Bridge of Spies (12A) & Suffragette (12A)

Double review time as we go to MOVIEBLAST and binge watch on streaming site Wuaki with EE Film Club...

Bridge of Spies (12A) is the 'based on a true story' latest offering from legendary director Steven Spielberg. Starring equally legendary Tom Hanks and a quality cast (including Mark Rylance), Bridge of Spies is based on a real life 1950's New York insurance lawyer called J Donovan. Hanks plays lawyer Donovan with conviction and accused "spy" Adolf (Rylance) works well against Hank's knowledgeable lawyer.

Bridge of Spies is based on a true story whereby a man is accused of being a soviet spy in 1950's America. Firmly gripped in the fear of nuclear weapons, the USA's relationship is on tender hooks with the USSR. Enter James Donovan; insurance lawyer and, as he says, "yeah I'm pretty good at what I do...". Demanding a fair trial, Donovan is given the opportunity to represent spy Adolf in a court of law. Accepting that the trial is a foregone conclusion, but working in the interests of his country, Donovan agrees to represent him, but as he does so this sets in motion much bigger things at hand.

One part court room drama, two parts spy thriller, Bridge of Spies is a thought provoking yet compelling drama. Hanks' Donovan is a fabulously intelligent lawyer, using words to his advantage. Words are less with Mark Rylance's "spy" but are effective, even if his accent slips from Scottish to Soviet on occasion. The rest of the supporting cast are fab too, and the story itself is interesting at the backdrop of a world not too distant from us yet so different from us. This is where the threat from nuclear fallout was a real possibility, a wall was constructed to divide Germany and one insurance lawyer helped save the lives of at least 3 people. And no internet or mobile phones.

Bridge of Spies is great viewing if you like a good drama or spy thriller. Mr Hanks is doing a good job of biopics over recent years also playing the titular character in Captain Phillips which, like this movie, was a great performance based on a true story.

Bridge of Spies is out now on DVD, Blu Ray and all good streaming sites.

POPSCORE: 8/10

Suffragette (12A) is a movie about a group of women repressed by society who discover the suffragette movement led by Emmeline Pankhurst (Meryl Streep) and charts the progress of the start of the movement and the way the women are being treated by society in early 20th Century London.

Focussing on the married mother of one, Maud (Carey Mulligan), Suffragette looks at the working class group of women she belongs to. Working in a washroom with iron fisted, domineering (and sometimes very sexist) men as managers, Maud reluctantly becomes the face of the women's movement when her activist work colleague is unable to continue due to her abusive husband.

She risks everything to stand up for what she didn't realise she believed in and strikes the match to set the future bright for women and their options to vote and become equals amongst men. Making sacrifices of her own - including imprisonment, abuse, beatings and losing her child to the system, Maud still stands by her resolve to change the world for the better. 

The film, although I'm sure is made up, runs alongside the factual, historical Suffragette movement in its infancy. For all the optimism it concludes with, and the gritty troubles that are highlighted throughout the movie, Suffragette is a thumping story on the history of women's rights. However, for all the progress that have been during (and indeed the decades after) the suffragettes, there still is some way to go for true equal rights in pay and such for women. However, the film clearly states a fantastic point - "how can you silence half of the worlds population" - food for thought I reckon.

Well acted and fantastically thought provoking, Suffragette is a drama that stays with you long after the credits roll.

Suffragette is out now on DVD, Blu Ray and all good streaming sites.

POPSCORE: 7/10

REVIEW: The Visit (15)

M. Night Shyamalan's latest movie is The Visit,  a weird cross pollen genre of horror-black comedy with an over egging of found footage.  Having a peek at some lovely factoids about this movie, apparently M. Night made two versions of this movie - a comedy version and true horror one and the finished one is kind of a mix up of both.

The story begins as single mom decides to send her children - 13 year old Tyler (who pretty much steals the show with his charisma - if a little overbearing at times) and his older sister Becca, who is much more matter-of-fact and has an interesting vocabulary considering she's supposed to be about 15. In a vain attempt to get her mom to make peace with her estranged parents, Becca decides to make a documentary about their week long visit to see "Nana" and "Pop Pop". Although her mom isn't too forthcoming about why she abruptly left the house she grew up in and turned her back on her parents - Becca is desperate to find out the truth. When the kids go away, mom goes on a holiday with her latino lover, Miguel and the kids meet their grandparents for the first time. However, when the rule is not to leave the bedroom after 9.30pm, the modern teenagers flaunt this rule (mainly to sneak downstairs for some midnight snacks) and their grandparents are not all what they seem.

M Night has had a difficult time of late from the heyday of when he was awesome and could do no wrong - hit after movie hit came - Signs, Sixth Sense, Unbreakable - and it seemed he was. Then came the dross that was The Last Airbender and After Earth and his credibility was practically non-existent. Still he is churning out the movies, when maybe he should have stopped. However, this movie isn't bad, but he still has a long way to go to reach the former awesomeness that was his original set of movies. Shyamalan takes the now clichéd route of found footage and takes a stab at this genre - and those expecting a jumpy horror will be disappointed. Tyler (played excellently by Ed Oxenbould) is both endearing and wholesomely annoying, but is a welcome comic relief in the movie. His matter of fact sister - Becca (Olivia DeJonge) is also great as the sensible one, but she doesn't have enough time to develop as a character rather than a person to help the narrative along. The grandparents are suitably strange and Deanna Dunagan plays Nana with the endearing dodderiness of an old lady one minute and the slight of madness in the next. Pop Pop is also a strange character who is as grumpy and withdrawn as the children's mom is outgoing and loud.

The movie is definitely not one of M Night Shymalan's best, but it's certainly a step in the right direction for redemption after the recent disappointments he has helped fill the bargain buckets with in supermarkets. I have high hopes that he will be back as the go-to director for tense thrillers and people will again say - how awesome is that movie. This movie is above average, but I think that he is getting his form back and I hope that as he continues we'll be seeing a lot more awesome movies from this director who gave us such memorable movies in the past.

The Visit is out now at all good cinemas.

POPSCORE: 6/10

What am I talking about? The Visit - the movie
Where can I find out more? http://www.thevisit.com.au
If you liked this try: Paranormal Activity, Insidious, Sinister and any of the multitude of sequels. I would even suggest The Gallows or to a lesser extent the Blair Witch Project.

REVIEW: Sense8 (18) (TV Series - Season One - Netflix)

Netflix are going the right way to become some sort of TV power house. They are investing in making their own TV shows – but not wobbly cardboard backgrounds with silly scripts and dodgy acting, oh no! These can take on the likes of ITV, Sky, ABC, CBS or whatever. Dubbed as ‘Netflix Originals’ these shows are becoming hits in their own right and are becoming household names. Shows such as House of Cards, Breaking Bad prequel Better Call Saul and Marco Polo (oh yeah and Orange is the New Black) there seems no sign of them stopping. They’ve recently sided with Marvel too – and are now are releasing shows like Daredevil and the soon to be broadcast AKA Jessica Jones. However the latest fanfare approach is the ‘Netflix Original’ Sense8 by the Washowski siblings and, you know what? It’s actually pretty good.

So many times we have a show or movie where there is a fantastic idea and it’s executed so badly that the piece of inspiration that grew it struggles to develop. Well, you’ll be pleased to know this is not the case here.  

Sense8 is about a set of 8 individuals who are vastly different and live in different parts of the world. However, they can all share the same consciousness. One of the other 8 can either appear next to the other – in which case appear a bit like Al in Quantum Leap. This means that they can communicate and chat with the other person but no one else can see them. If an onlooker sees them talking it looks like they are talking to themselves. Alternatively they can inhabit their body and thereby gaining the skills of the other person to allow them to achieve a goal or do something cool.

Scattered across the 8 are all in different situations. We have a cat-burglar called Wolfgang in Germany, a closeted Mexican gay actor who is in a relationship with a man, but has a public persona as a ladies man. There’s Riley, a young DJ of Icelandic descent based in London, Will (a police officer in San Francisco), Sun (a Korean business woman who is particularly talented at kickboxing) and Nomi, a trans woman in a relationship with another woman. The final two are a black African man in Kenya who is constantly searching for medicine to treat his mum suffering from HIV and finally, but by no means least, an Indian girl who is due to be married and is a chemist. All 8 eventually meet and when they do it is to fight a bigger force at work. It is then that all of their skills come into play. For example, the guy from Kenya is under attack by the town crime boss and the Korean kickboxer goes into his body and fights all of them on his behalf, even though one is in Kenya and one is in Korea. Who needs FaceTime?

As a creative writer myself, I have thought about this whole mind melding storyline before but it was only with 2 people in a relationship. But to take 8 very different people and meld not only their minds but the story is a big ask and they do it very well. Merely explaining the people who are in this show is madness – what an operation to try and get the locations and actors all together to do this – it’s ambitious to say the least! All of the characters mentioned above are (in the main) played by real life actors of the nationality or situation. They guy who plays Wolfgang is actually from Germany. The trans woman is actually played by a trans performer, etc.

I loved this show – it’s great, creative and the characters are great, The acting is good, the stories are engrossing and it’s such a fresh new idea. However, I found it very slow to begin with and it doesn’t really pick up until about episode five. When they are all working together in the later episodes you can see how great this programme could be.

The Washowski’s have been riding on the coat tails of The Matrix for many years now – and like this, was a work of genius. However the Matrix sequels and some of their recent endeavours have been met with poor critical reception. Cloud Atlas was okay, Jupiter Ascending was good but not right, and let’s not mention Matrix 3. Just don’t.

If you have Netflix, it is worth a watch and I eagerly await season two. Well done Washowski siblings. Well done Netflix. Keep it up.

POPSCORE – 9/10

What am I talking about? ‘Netflix Original’ – Sense8 (TV Series)Where can I find out more? https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/80025744

Anything else?

This first season features 10 episodes and all are available on Netflix now. However, you do have to be a subscriber to get this.

REVIEW: The Gallows (15)

The Gallows is the latest found footage horror movie from Blumhouse Productions (who seem to be going from strength to strength).Featuring directors you've never heard of, actors you've never heard of and a story that you probably have, The Gallows is about a set of young people who are running a school play that has a sinister past. The movie is mainly set about a group of them hanging around the school at night time trying to sabotage the play.

The movie starts with some historical footage about the school play, The Gallows, which was ran in Beatrice School in 1993. However a freak accident occurred when one of the young people (who was playing a convicted criminal) was accidently hanged in front of everyone when they were acting out the hanging scene. Cue mass hysteria and a jump to present day.

Nerdy theatre girl, Pfeiffer decided to bring back that fateful school play 20 years later and has the complete backing of the school. Reese, football jock and admirer of Pfeiffer, signs up to star opposite her in the play - but is a terrible actor. Fearing that the play will bomb, Reese's best mate (and arguably the most entertaining character and cameraman) Ryan, hatches a plan to stop the play from happening. This plan includes his ultra hot cheerleader girlfriend Cassidy and him and Reese to go an sabotage the set so the play can't go ahead. When they get accidentally locked in the school in the dark, things start to get a bit scary.

The Gallows is a low budget horror movie but does things rather good considering the fact there's no famous actors, big budget or famous screenwriters behind it. The concept is simple and sometimes predictable - but there are so many horrors being churned out these days it's hard to be original. Even awesome horrors like Saw and Final Destination have so many sequels and copy cats that the impact of the originals have been watered down somewhat from the genius that they were.

The Gallows is genuinely unnerving and there are some jumpy points and it does horror well. It's not an amazing movie but it is certainly worth a watch if you like horrors.  It's not bad, go check it out and let me know what you think.
 

The Gallows is out now in all good cinemas.

 

POPSCORE: 6.5/10

What am I talking about? The Gallows
Where can I find out more? http://thegallowsmovie.com/

If you like this try: Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones, Unfriended, Creep

Anything else?
Apparently this movie was made by funding from friends of the makers rather than by a studio - the studio only sorted out the distribution.
All of the characters use their real first names in the movie only their surnames are different.

REVIEW: Unfriended (15)

Unfriended (also known as Cybernatural) is another found footage movie but presented in such a way that it's like you are using a lap top. Not only that, but it uses (here comes the product placement) Skype, Facebook, YouTube and a few more. Thing is, as much as I'm not the biggest fan of found footage movies (the best one in recent times was Project Almanac in my opinion) this does it different, and, if you are open to it, it's really pretty good.

The film starts with a girl called Blaire Lily, who has booted up her lap top to chat with her boyfriend. As they start getting a bit raunchy (don't get too excited - she only unbuttons her top) the rest of her friends invade Skype to have a 5 way conversation about their day. It all seems fairly monotonous until all through the convo they finally notice there is an extra caller who is not showing their photo on Skype. Funny things start to happen and soon it is revealed that this extra caller isn't exactly there to be very nice.

Backstory time - there is a young lady by the name of Laura Barns who is ridiculed/shamed on YouTube after getting very drunk at a get together in a field with her classmates. She passes out (I still cannot define whether she was raped or pooed herself or both) but the upshot of it was it was uploaded to YouTube with the tag line "LAURA BARNS KILL URSELF" and then posts were ridiculing her on the site. However, it didn't stop there and overflowed onto Facebook. This cyber bullying obviously affected Laura who took her own life by shooting herself in the head. That's as far as it goes for now, until this random chatter has joined the Skype Squad (I'm trademarking that) and starts talking. It's all kinda ominous until one person discloses it is a year since Laura took her own life and that the account these new messages are coming from are hers.

The film is basic, even some of the young men in the cinema who were noisily scoffing popcorn claimed "This film is rubbish - I could have made that on the computer" are completely missing the point. Yes, it's about as back to basics as found footage goes, but it is suspenseful, realistic and very grounded using things we take for granted every day.  This includes authentic Facebook chat, Skype chats and the like. Although if you really look you can see glaring errors - like erroneous time stamps and the fact a 99kb photo takes over 15 seconds to download but a 1.8GB file takes less than 10 seconds is irrelevant. The film uses those things we see while being on the net as devices to add suspense - the freezing of the Skype picture as one of her friends is screaming and no-one knows what is going on then it stutters on to see a horrific image of a character meeting their fate, or the sinister extra caller issuing threats by chat message and following up on them is both unnerving and quite close to home.

It's been called the Blair Witch Project for the internet generation but it's definitely a horror. It's definitely a thriller. But it also has a message. It's social media gone crazy and it's inference is that a lot of the naughties children (who are now teens) have grown up with this in their lives and a small amount of them think it's funny or cool to degrade and hurt others through pictures, taunts or posts - it's bullying evolved. This film is an example of this to the nth degree. In this movie their dead class mate comes back through the internet to wreak her revenge on those who drove her to kill herself. Although it is highly unlikely that deceased people's Facebook and Skype's will start posting and ringing people, the fact of the matter is that cyber-bullying is very real and affects people in this way.

The film then is a horror - it's jumpy in parts. It's basic and it's premise is simple, but it's the message that is what was clearest for me. A lot of people left the movie at the end and didn't seem to struck on it and I guess it's an acquired taste. But it's clever, very clever.

Unfriended is at the cinema now and is rated 15.

POPSCORE: 8/10

What am I talking about? The movie Unfriended

Where can I find out more? http://www.unfriendedmovie.co.uk/
If you like this try: Paranormal Activity, The Ring, Blair Witch Project 

 

REVIEW: Child 44 (15)

Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, Noomi Rapace and the awesomely named Fares Fares round off a talented cast in the movie Child 44. Thick Russian accents abound as Tom Hardy plays Leo, a post WWII MP in the USSR in this gritty thriller.
The film starts with a couple of flashbacks of his childhood and plonks you straight into the action after that - as he traipses around his patch looking for suspected traitors. Much of the first part of the film is like this - and sort of plods along showing him do his duty and making friends and enemies along the way. However when a child of his friend and colleague is killed, it all points to murder. However, "there is no murder in paradise" so much to his stoic friends disappointment, he has to conceded that it was a tragic accident even though everyone knows the child was murdered. Not much else is given to this storylien for what seems like ages until conveniently Leo's wife, Raisa (Noomi Rapace) is suspected of being a traitor. After pretending to be pregnant, Leo is forced to flee with her to a neighbouring town where he reassigned under a new boss General Nesterov (Gary Oldman). While there he finds another dead child who has all the hallmarks of the killing of the son of his friends. The guys back at Moscow think they have already apprehended the killer by accusing a gay man and when the aforementioned fella throws himself under a train they think it's all over. However, we are now two thirds of the way through a very long movie and it shifts over to CSI: Moscow 1953, where it almost shifts genre too. The killer is still out there and Raisa and Leo must find him before another child is killed. By the way, this killer has killed 44 children. I wonder where they got the title from?
The film is generally good - the acting is spot on even though the thick Russian accents sometimes make it hard for them to be understood on some occasions. It's a gritty thriller and the cinematography and soundtrack are both well done and fit the occasion quite nicely. The one point where the movie falls down is the story. It's based on a book and has been adapted for the screen but there's a serious lack of character development for a start. It wasn't clear on who was who and sometimes you relied on the character to tell you - of which sometimes they didn't until a few scenes later (prime example - Leo's parents). The movie is quite long and the first 7/10ths of it is quite monotonous with Leo literally doing his job and it's not until he is disgraced that it started to change into something more interesting. But this is it - why was he disgraced and what exactly is going on in the movie? I was so confused I just let it happen. I don't know why Leo took it upon himself to solve the mystery of the child killer, I don't know why people wanted to disgrace him, I don't know why a lot in this movie. The killer isn't even developed much so we don't even know why he wants to kill children.
So if I had to put this down to a conclusion I would have to say this movie is alright, and it has some talented actors in (plus a last (Charles) Dance at the end) but the story is so written that it's confusing, under developed and hard to follow. Maybe it was just me - I had done a double shift at work before going to see this - but maybe it wasn't.
If you've seen it, what do you think? Drop in the comments below.
Child 44 is rated 15 and is out at all good cinemas now.

POPSCORE: 6.5/10

What am I talking about? The movie Child 44

Where can I find out more? http://www.child44film.com/

If you like this try: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Kiss the Girls, Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, The Drop 

Anything else?
It's based on a novel by Tom Rob Smith called Child 44. These books are part of a trilogy with The Secret Speech and Agent 6 being the two books that follow this one.

REVIEW: John Wick (15)

Mr Keanu Reeves is back on our screens after a number of mediocre movies - but is this one any better? Looking a lot more mature these days, Keanu is John Wick, an ex-assassin who has retired from that world and settled down with a beautiful wife and wants a peaceful life. However this all gets turned upside down when the son of his former employer, Iosef Tarasov, steals his classic car and kills his dog a few days after his wife dies.

Basically this is a revenge thriller over the killing of a puppy.

To sum up the movie in one sentence such as this would not do it justice though because, when all is said and done, it's not actually a bad movie. The first few moments define his really boring new life and I defy you not to fall in love with the adorable puppy. His wife is beautiful too, but both adorable characters are killed off within the first ten minutes of the film. After a brief Top Gear style rag around of his car on an airport runway (for no apparent reason) the movie knocks up a notch into the revenge movie territory where John Wick goes after the son of his former employer. We know nothing of this man at this point except a) he's cut up over his wife dying, b) he doesn't let his dog sleep on the bed and c) he makes a decent cup of coffee. When the ex-employer, Viggo Tarasov, finds out that his son has killed John Wick's dog, he merely goes "Oh" and hangs up. In this movie phone calls are very one sided. It pretty much puts the dampener on everything when he explains that John Wick is the man you call when you want to get the Bogeyman. Cue this very man going after this man's son and him too. In order to save his son from total annihilation (Wick's use of a gun is very good indeed - he doesn't waste bullets) he puts a bounty of $2million to anyone who can kill him. A few people step up to the plate (including the son who at his best runs through a night club in a towel screaming) to try and claim this bounty. Among them are Wick's friend, Marcus (Willem Dafoe) who agrees to kill him for this ransom but instead decides to put the sniper gun to good use to help him. There's also half a gangster squad and the very beautiful Ms Perkins (Agent of SHEILD's Adrianne Palicki) who goes to get him too. A few other famous faces pop up over the time including Ian McShane and John Leguizamo to round off quite a good talented cast. The story is good enough and some of the visuals are interesting to say the least. Subtitles that are in English when the gangsters speak (I believe it is a form of Russian) are scattered across the screen in different colours but are affected by what's on the screen. For example there's one scene where there's a sniper leaning against a slanted wall and the subtitles are slanted to reflect this. Also certain scenes in certain places are hues colourfully as if a lens or Instagram filter has been placed on the screen. Although it doesn't really detract from the movie, these  are little touches that give it a bit of character. The film itself is a generally dark thriller with some interesting fight scenes and gun toting.

Overall this movie is worth a watch - there are better movies out there, but it's good enough to keep you interested and pass the time.

John Wick is out now at all good cinemas in the UK and is actually out to buy if you are over in the US.

POPSCORE: 7.8/10

SECOND OPINION:

Clare came to see it with me and she says:

John Wick .............. very good, not excellent..... Keanu looking very fine! .............. rating = 8/10. :-) ;-) & let's not 4get Keanu was river phoenix's best friend! ; -) POPSCORE: 8/10 

What am I talking about? The movie John Wick

Where can I find out more? http://www.johnwickthemovie.com/

If you like this try: Taken (mainly the first one, but possible the second and third), The Equalizer (the Denzel movie), Run All Night, Constantine

Anything else?
It's Keanu Reeves' sixth time playing a role named John.

REVIEW: Wild Card (18)

Wild Card is the latest Jason Statham film to be released and sadly it's just like every other one I have seen - naked girls, guns and violence. There is a certain style Jason Statham has fallen into and is doing quite well in it - but the problem is is that it is now getting very formulaic. Having said that, this movie starts out with some promise.

Wild Card focusses on Statham's character Nick Wild, a sort of gun for hire who is in the protection business in Las Vegas. The story is so written that we do not get much in the way of exposition - in the first 15 minutes we see him portrayed as a complete A-hole only to find out a few minutes later it was all a rouse - and the character he seemed to have a fantastic relationship with is never seen again in the movie. There is not explanation of how he came to be in Las Vegas nor the reasoning behind his on going dream of owing a yacht. Meanwhile, Holly (who again is not really explained) is raped and beaten by a gang of three. Moaning Nick's name while in hospital (which had no bearing on the story at all) she phones him up to see if he can help him wreak revenge on the rapist and his likely lads. Initially Nick refuses but seems to fall under her spell due to their history (explained in one sentence - "you know all those things I said to you - it meant I love you") and helps her retaliate. Showing off his combat skills he takes down the men easily (even though at least two characters advise him against it) and she get to act out a squirm worthy sequence involving pruning shears and a man's sexy bits.

This sets the three men to go after Nick and in the meanwhile he is head hunted by a visiting rich kid who wants to learn to be brave from Nick himself. The story loses steam here and plods along and at this very moment there are at least two points that the film could have finished but didn't.

The cast is strong - there's some well known names here (like Anne Heche and Sofia Vergara) - that make up for the mediocre performance from Statham and his growly voice and impressive fighting skills. Stanley Tucci is name dropped in the credits at the beginning but you have to wait 8/10ths of the movie to see his 2 minute performance and steals the scene for all the time he is in it. Statham is good enough to keep you looking at the screen but only just. The fighting scenes are fantastically choreographed, realistic and bloody and are one of the films best features.  

While watching the movie I followed it okay, but now I'm trying to relay the story back to you it is very difficult to do because I'm now thinking about it and some of it was not explained. But I think that sums up this movie - if you lay back and let it happen it will be one of those movies that will fill the time one boring evening or a good one for the lads to come round and watch with a takeaway where you don't have to think about anything.

Wild Card is out at all good cinemas now.

 

POPSCORE: 6.8/10

 

SECOND OPINION: Claire came to see this with me and initially thought the first quarter of the movie looked promising but then lost it a bit throughout the rest of the movie. She had a very good point about the story being a bit slow and a bit hit and miss. Although the fight choreography was great, it seemed that was the part that the creators put the most work into. The story was clearly secondary and left many questions unanswered. - POPSCORE: 5-6/10

 

What am I talking about? Wild Card movie

Where do I find out more? Check it out on IMDB - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2231253/

If you liked this, try - The Transporter, Crank, The Mechanic, any other Jason Statham movie really.

REVIEW: Blackhat (15)

Director Michael Mann returns to direct Thor's Chris Hemsworth and cast in this gritty, if confusing, spy techno-thriller - Blackhat. Hemsworth plays hacker Hathaway, released from prison on the promise that he will use his set of skills to track down a hacker who has been gaining financially from the stock markets. Of course, as Hathaway and co look deeper into the mystery there is a bigger plan at work. 

I found the movie itself very distracting as there was a lot of wobbly camera work and extreme close ups of the characters. Some of the editing was confusing too - one minute they are in America the next they are flying to Hong Kong for some reason. The reason is revealed once they are there and it all makes sense. Hathaway is released from prison on the pretence that he helps the authorities track down this other hacker genius and is on tag - a very lenient tag that enables him to traipse around the world. I'm sure, if that was in England, he wouldn't get much past his front door.  Most of the movie is focussed around Hathaway and his friend from college Chen Dawai (who happens to be both a computer whizz and an agent for the authorities) and the sister of his friend who is a rather stubborn but very beautiful Chinese lady called Chen Lien.
The tension between Hathaway and Lien is so obvious from the offset that it's no surprise when they end up getting together. One of the most random moments in the movie is where her brother opens the door and finds them in bed together and says that they need to get a move on as the bad guy is making his move. As Hathaway and  Lien pull their clothes back on, in the next scene, when they are in a helicopter, Hathaway and Dawai talk as if the previous scene had never happened and is asking if they are together. The dude just saw them in bed together! Why did he have to ask?!
Still, the movie is a decent enough attempt at the espionage, hacker techno thriller, but it could have been so much better. I have a lot of respect for Chris Hemsworth but although his acting wasn't bad I still see him as Thor, as a super hero, as a rough and tumble sort. In this he plays a hacker and his physique, looks and general demeanour don't lend to well to this role and it's asking a lot to believe that's who he is. There is only one scene where he is involved in hand to hand combat and handles himself really well - and that seems to fit him. The rest of the movie he is running from place to place avoiding gunfire and relying on other people to do the fighting. Although it makes it more realistic I guess, I think making this movie with him as some sort action hero might have made it a lot more exciting. Still, that's not the movie it's supposed to be.

Although this is about as far away from the Avengers as you can possibly get it still made me chuckle when at some point in the movie one of the characters mentioned that they should "hammer down" - I'm not sure if that was supposed to be an in-joke or not. And secondly, more brazenly, Hathaway hacks a program called Black Widow. I'll leave it at that.

Overall, it's a fairly bog standard thriller with nothing amazingly good about it, but nothing amazingly bad about it either. It's decent enough to pass the time if you fancy something a little different. Massive kudos to Chris Hemsworth though for trying something different - when his time as Thor is up he will need to do other stuff and it's good to try other projects.
Blackhat is rated 15 and is showing at all good cinemas now.

POPSCORE: 6/10

SECOND OPINION:

Chris came to see it with me and he says:

Blackhat is a somewhat taut thriller which does tend to loosen up in places, however there are just enough twists and explosions to keep seasoned filmgoers interested.  An excellent first-date type movie, it was directed by Michael Mann (director of the 1st ever Hannibal Lecter movie Manhunter) and some excellent scoring by Harry Gregson Williams.

Verdict?  6-7 out of 10.  Stylish and appealing, some room for improvement regarding plot and suspense but Hemsworth does a good job in taking himself away from his Thor typecast showing he can act and pull off the looks that certain scenes require. - POPSCORE: 6-7/10

What am I talking about?  Blackhat the movie
Where can I find out more?  http://www.blackhatmovie.co.uk/
If you liked this try: Hackers (the one with Angelina Jolie from the 1990's), Swordfish, The Net

REVIEW: Gone Girl (18)

Gone Girl is based on the bestselling novel, erm, Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn and is all about a perfect couple. So perfect in fact that when the wife goes missing after an argument on the morning of their fifth wedding anniversary, all the evidence points to kidnap, murder... and the husband. Amy Dunne (Rosamund Pike) is the wife of Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) who plays the titular character that disappears on the morning of their fifth anniversary. However, both as intelligent as one another, Amy has left clues for Nick to follow as she has done on their anniversary every year. The police are called when Nick realises that she is not coming home, and this set up events that he has to negotiate to prove his innocence. Thing is, though, is he? As time ticks away and the police find more evidence – Nick Dunne is under the spotlight. As the days pass, even the media get involved with everyone from neighbours to chat show hosts trying to prove that this man killed his wife.

This film is a fantastic thriller, with more twists and turns than a country road in rural England, and the strong cast – both main and supporting, have an intensity that keeps you watching. Affleck’s Nick Dunne is smarmy and arrogant enough to dislike, but all his flaws are apparent and therefore has a strange endearing quality about him. Even when he drops a few clangers here and there, and he shows his character warts and all, the film doesn’t give you enough to definitely say that he is innocent or not. The beautiful “Amazing Amy” is another great character who is certainly as strong as her husband is but in a different way.

The problem with Gone Girl is that although it’s a treat to watch how the web of lies, miscalculations and things go on but if I said anything past the first quarter of the movie I would probably spoil it for you. The film starts at one point and ends at another – and it just keeps twisting and turning like a snake. I really enjoyed this one and I recommend it if you like thrillers, mysteries or a really well acted and written drama. The big question is -  Did Nick Dunne Kill His Wife?

 

POPSCORE:               8/10

 

What is it? Gone Girl movie, out now on Blu Ray, DVD and download

Where can I find out more? http://gillian-flynn.com/gone-girl/ or http://www.gonegirlmovie.com/