REVIEW: American Sniper (15)

Bradley Cooper harnesses his inner Chuck Norris in the contemporary biopic American Sniper. Directed by seasoned veteran Clint Eastwood, American Sniper stars Bradley Cooper as Chris Kyle, the legendary American Sniper - one of the greatest marksmen in American Military history.

I remember when this movie came out there was a lot of "hoo-yah" (to quote the Marines) about it glorifying war and the role of the military.  Personally I found it a moving and compelling story about a man who wanted to fight for his country and what he believes is the greater good. His views may come across as a bit controversial in certain aspects - he doesn't seem to have remorse for killing people but views it more as war and necessary - but the film does an interesting job at highlighting the strains on family and relationships through having a significant other away fighting while trying to rear a child in such a tumultuous world.

The movie is based on the novel, American Sniper, which is basically the autobiography of Chris Kyle - and therefore is written by him. The movie starts with him in a warzone making a difficult call on whether to shoot a citizen in Iraq and just before that decision is made it cuts back to a time in history where we see a pre-military Kyle rodeo-ing and living his life. He decides to change career after an injury and becomes a member of the elite Navy SEALs. After a Full Metal Jacket style montage of training we are dropped right in the action with him and we see him go to war in a number of campaigns and we also get to see his relationship blossom with his family too - marriage, children and post-war years.

Cooper does a fantastic job of bringing the legend that is Chris Kyle to the big screen and the war sequences are reminiscent of my favourite war movie Black Hawk Down. The supporting cast are great too - Sienna Miller puts in a good performance as Chris's wife Taya - who tirelessly brings up their children while he is away protecting his fellow marines.

All in all this is a fantastic film, and although is heavy on American patriotism and definitely justifying the war on Iraq, the film also has an interesting take on the personal side of war and the toll it takes, not just on the military personnel involved but also the families of those servicemen who go to fight. The end of the movie features real life footage in a tribute to the real Chris Kyle.

Tense, taut and thrilling this film is actually really good.  American Sniper is rated 15 and is out on June 1st on DVD and Blu Ray and all good download sites.

POPSCORE: 8/10

What am I talking about? The movie American Sniper

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

If you like this try: Black Hawk Down, We Were Soldiers, Saving Private Ryan 

Anything else?
The movie is based on the book called American Sniper by Chris Kyle.
 

REVIEW: The Theory of Everything (12A)

Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones star in this emotional but life affirming drama, The Theory of Everything.  Redmayne plays the role of Prof. Stephen Hawking and Felicity his first wife Jane.

This biopic charts the younger Stephen Hawking in his university days where he's blessed with amazing intelligence working in astrophysics and meeting the beautiful Jane. However, as his university days come to a close, and marriage is on the cards, he soon finds he is struck with a debilitating illness. The movie charts his deterioration, and the stresses and struggles that is placed on the family as three kids, a wife and a husband who has no way of getting better desperately try to keep a normal organised life.

Eddie Redmayne's performance is beyond mere words. I cannot put into a good enough sentence on how amazing this man made you believe the story of Stephen Hawking. Any award in the world or cosmos that is given to him for the performance is well deserved and I literally applaud him for it! I cannot believe the difference in acting between this masterpiece and the acting he did in Jupiter Ascending. Maybe it was the directors of Jupiter or maybe this was a labour of love to a man he respected but I cannot fault his performance. Felicity Jones is also fantastic as Jane who went through a rough time of it as well - and she perfectly captures the feel and frustration of a future that would be difficult to live through.

The film is based on a book written by Hawking's ex-wife - and that was a major worry for me as stuff written by an ex could really be something of a reveal or get-back at the person they are writing about. But, it seems this particular tome has been written honestly and from the heart and is told emotionally and truthfully and even Stephen Hawking himself said that it was as close to time travel as he could get. It's a sad, sad story, it really is, but it's also life affirming. Through the tears you see a mischievous Stephen Hawking with his trademark humour, his thoughtful whimsies and the fact that through it all we still have him with us today. At the ripe old age of 73 now, he has come a long way since the doctor diagnosed him with the disease in the 1960's and gave him 2 years to live.

It's a sad story, it's an interesting story, but above all, it's a human story. I really liked this and it gave a picture into the man who is now a living legend, but also we can at least begin to see the man behind the myth.

The Theory of Everything is rated 12A and is out today, May 11th on DVD and Blu Ray and all good download sites now.

POPSCORE: 8/10

What am I talking about? The movie The Theory of Everything

Where can I find out more? http://www.thetheoryofeverythingmovie.co.uk/

If you like this try: The Imitation Game, Boyhood

Anything else?
The movie is based on a book written by his ex-wife Jane Hawking (nee Wilde) called Travelling to Infinity: my Life With Stephen.
Here's something else too that I've noticed but no one's has mentioned - seasoned actor Adam Godley plays Frank Hawking in the BBC 2004 adaption Hawking starring Benedict Cumberbatch. But - he also plays the senior doctor giving Eddie Redmayne's Hawking his diagnosis in The Theory of Everything. You heard it here first guys! :-)


"There should be no boundaries to human endeavour. We are all different. However bad life may seem, there is always something you can do, and succeed at. While there's life, there is hope."

REVIEW: Birdman (15)

Birdman, or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance is the story of washed up actor Riggan Thomson (Michael Keaton) who was once world famous playing a superhero but is now desperate to get his career back on track many years later by launching his first play on Broadway. When they are in need of a bit of star power, Hollywood actor Mike (Edward Norton) steps in and turns things upside down. Mike takes his method acting a bit too far and steals the limelight from Riggan - who all the while is battling personal demons, risking his last bit of money on the show and trying to get his family issues all sorted.

The movie is almost like a documentary, and featuring a great line up of talent, this movie is very interesting indeed. Although you could probably lump it into a black comedy, it's not really laughing matter but more about the struggles of a former Hollywood superstar who's fallen on hard times. Regularly the soundtrack sounds like the cast from Whiplash or Stomp! have had a hand in the music - as it's mainly made up of drum riffs. I'm sure they nicked my 1001 Drum Rhythm's book and used that for most of it! There's no real music in this movie just the drum - and it's quite funky.

Supporting Keaton and Norton we've got Emma Stone, Naomi Watts and the gorgeous Andrea Riseborough giving sterling performances. But, of all the performances, Zach Galifianakis is the most surprising giving a very strong supporting role and is not the Zach we've come to expect from films such as Due Date and the Hangover Trilogy. I had to do a double take when I saw the credits!

One of the things that get to me about this movie is that the character Keaton plays is almost like himself in some ways - the Birdman of the movies name was a superhero character he played back in the 90's and refused to do further sequels. He even has a gruff Batman-esque voice. Although the work is total fiction - it's very close to what the public know of Keaton - that is, a famous actor who doesn't tend to be in blockbuster movies now, and is most famous for being a superhero. Although I think really this is where the similarity ends, it's just a little unnerving to know that what your watching is actually false but Birdman and Batman only differ by a few letters.

Still this movie has nothing to do with superheroes really, and if it did, it would be a critique of the modern day Hollywood and it's obsession with money spending and superhero glorification. No, this movie is more of a critique of the system, the raw deal some actors get because of it and the struggles and worries they have that no one ever sees when they are smiling on that red carpet. I guess it mentions too about the fact that you have to stay true to yourself - do you want to keep making sequels to a successful movie or do you want to do something different and not be typecast? What happens when a younger actor steals your thunder? There's a lot of emotion going on in this movie and that resonates with you long after the final scene.

This film has little to no action and it's not really about superheroes. But, if you want a powerful drama with some ace acting talent, then you will not be disappointed.

Birdman is rated 15 and is out on DVD and Blu Ray now.

POPSCORE: 7/10

What am I talking about? The movie Birdman

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

If you like this try: Black Swan, The Wrestler

REVIEW: Interstellar (12A)

Sum Interstellar up in one sentence Paul!
Okay, it's Inception meets Star Trek.
Nuff 'sed.

Christopher Nolan (of Dark Knight trilogy, Man of Steel and Inception fame) offers up his thinking man's Sci-Fi film Interstellar. I'll be honest, the first trailer of the movie had little impact on me and, if anything, left me wanting to tick it off my to see list.  It was about as exciting as watching paint dry, told you nothing about the film and was just plain boring.  See it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=827FNDpQWrQ

While I was distracted by Guardians of the Galaxy and eagerly awaiting Avengers 2, Interstellar slowly did it's thing. Then suddenly, after what seemed like ages, a second proper trailer emerged that totally looked different to the teaser I have linked to above - https://youtu.be/ePbKGoIGAXY - and now it looks like... WOW!

Matthew McConaughey stars as Coop, widowed engineer turned farmer, teaching his daughter Murph all about science and astronomy. She on occasion expresses concern over strange things happening in her bedroom, but isn't afraid but curious. While all this is happening, things ain't going too good for the world. It looks like the crops are running low and there's a lot of dust clouds these days too. Some of the automated farm vehicles go a bit weird, and, when Coop discovers a strange anomaly in his house he goes to try and find out more about it.

After some investigating, 10-year old Murph and her father stumble upon a secret NASA base developing a space ship to take humans into space with the idea to settle on another world - as this one seems to be on its way out. Coop is given the opportunity to go onto this mission alongside the gorgeous Anne Hathaway, a strange robot and two others to seek out new life and new civilizations and boldly go where... apparently 12 others have gone before. Michael Caine is the head of this NASA base and explains that they have found a wormhole they can travel through and there are planets on the other side capable of sustaining human life. However the journey will take years and he must choose between saving the human race or staying with his family. Coop takes the difficult choice and leaves Murph and his son behind (yes I know I haven't mentioned his son - even the movie gives him a raw deal too) and agrees to blast off into space in order to save the human race.

Interstellar has a stellar cast (bdum-tish) who are all great - we've got McConaughey, Hathaway and Caine but also John Lithgow and Jessica Chastain too.  And there is a lovely treat when Matt Damon sneaks his way into the movie too at some point. Nolan's directing is good and the music, by the legendary Hans Zimmer, is atmospheric though a bit noisy at times. Honest Trailers made a quip that some of the score sounded like Hans Zimmer fell asleep on his synth - and to be honest I thought that too. The music although atmospheric did sometimes come across as noisy and a bit of a dischord. But, the special effects are mind blowing. Once the characters get into space the special effects and cinematography is simply stunning.

Interstellar, like Inception and Contact, is a thinking persons film and if you are watching it for pure entertainment and mind blowing special effects and action, then you'll get only the special effects. Yes, there is some action and yes, there is some entertainment, but this is more a drama with pertinent questions about family and humanity. One interesting point is the dilemma of visiting a planet but time is bent so that if they go there, every hour on the planet is the equivalent of seven years on earth. They visit there for four hours and Coops daughter turns into her thirties and their fellow astronaut has aged too. There's a lot to think about, and as the film continues to dazzle with amazing set pieces and back drops, the story will both make you think and scratch your head. You might be able to guess the ending, but how they reach it is mental.

I thought Interstellar was very good - but I did watch this when I was ill, so I found it rather hard to concentrate on it - so some parts seemed very heavy. But if you like the science with your science fiction and want an epic space movie - you will not go far wrong. Check it out and let me know what you think.  

Interstellar is rated 12A and is out on DVD and Blu Ray now.

POPSCORE: 7.5/10

What am I talking about? The movie Interstellar

Where can I find out more? http://www.interstellarmovie.net/

If you like this try: Inception, 2001: Space Odyssey, Solaris, Contact, Gravity 

Anything else?
Kip Thorne won a scientific bet against Stephen Hawking upon the astrophysics theory that underlies Interstellar (2014). As a consequence, Hawking had to subscribe to Penthouse magazine for a year. This famous bet is depicted in The Theory of Everything (2014) which was released in the same year as Interstellar.

BYTE: A-May-Zing May!

Welcome to May - it's spring time and summer is round the corner!

Time for some movie blockbusters MAYbe?

 

Well, let's be honest Avengers: Age of Ultron will take some beating. have you seen it yet? Finnally you guys in the US have got to see it too - and it looks like it's going to be a (Hulk) smash hit!  The next anticipated behemoth of a movie is Star Wars in December. But you don't have to wait that long to get a superhero fix as Ant-Man and Fantastic Four will be popping by over the summer. If you wap in the Minions Movie and the new "in-your-head" Pixar movie, we still have some things to look forward to.

 

It's been a crazy month so far with no signs of stopping. We are only three days in and we've had the birth of the royal baby - a little princess who is yet to be named. I'm going for Scarlett Diana, but who knows?

 

Sadly though, we've also lost people - the legendary Ben E King (famous for Stand By Me, one of my favourite songs from the 60's), the iconic writer Ruth Rendell and Rebecca Ferdinand, Rio Ferdinand's wife have all passed away the last few days. Sad times, and our thoughts at P&TP HQ are with their families. #RIP

 

There's a lot of stuff going on in this month too. Yesterday it was World Free Comic Book Day and I picked up quite a few free comics. I had picked up Secret Wars #0, and Avengers one, a 2000AD one and others at my local Forbidden Planet. Did you get to get some too? If not, don't worry - it happens every year so make sure you're up bright and early for next time. And, the following two days later (or tomorrow as I write this) is May 4th - which is Star Wars Day. I had to explain this to someone - May The Force... May the Fourth... oh never mind. If you are a member of Star Wars: The Old Republic MMORPG (like myself - unfortunately my character is called StarJediLord - sorry; but feel free to add ;-) ) they are doing some celebrations, so get logged on for some free digital swag, including, I hear, a free droid. Meanwhile if you are misty eyed about Knights of The Old Republic, the awesome game from a few years ago, Google Play is selling it on Android for the ridiculously low price of £2.33 (not sure how long for) - check it out https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.aspyr.swkotor. 

 

In the UK, on May 7th we are having a General Election, and, 5 years ago, I tried setting up a blog and my first post was all about it. Sadly, the blog never got past about 4 entries, and, as an homage to that, I might rerelease one of the movie reviews I did back then for you. I reckon, one of them was Iron Man 2 but I could be wrong.

 

Looking at the latest stuff as well:

>   Xbox Live:  Games with Gold this month includes the full game of Mafia II on XBOX 360 and for the posh 'uns who have XBOX ONE you are treated to Pool Nation FX (still) and Castle Storm Definitive Edition to download free if you are a subscriber.

>  PSN: PS Plus this month hasn't really updated just yet so nothing new to report on this front. Though you can get Destiny for £24.99 if you don't already have it.

 

If you want a free game for your PC, and you like the Ultima series, you can get a free digital copy of Ultima 8 by signing up to EA's Origin and you can download it for free - it's an initiative they have called "On The House". If you do sign up, they do this regularly so it might be worth keeping the account. We've had quite a few games already and my collection is building up - but most of them are older games, but still goodies. Hey, what do you want for free? Please note, though, I am not sure if this would work outside the UK but you could always have a crack to see if it does.  

 

As always we have Loot Crate and Nerd Block unboxings to look forward to...

 

...AND Marvel Collector Corps!

Anyway I've wrote enough now - have a MINT MAY and I'll see you soon.

 

Keep being awesome!

 

Until next time

Paul

READ: Doctor Who: The Complete History

A decade! That's how long the Nu Who has been going for. Back in 2005, when Christopher Eccleston stepped into the T.A.R.D.I.S in his leather jacket, Dr Who was reborn. Or should that be regenerated?

I grew up with Who, and one of my oldest memories of the whole thing was my mam and dad taking me and my bro to Blackpool for a Dr Who exhibition. I remember being in a set of the T.A.R.D.I.S (I think it was about Peter Davison era (my favourite Dr Who classic incarnation) and then, out of no where a Dalek came towards me screaming "Exterminate!" and I hid under the control panel of the T.A.R.D.I.S so it couldn't get me. For lots of people Dr Who is an accessible entry to Sci-Fi with a mix of PG rated horror and top drawer sci fi stories. It's just over 50 years old now - as we were informed by the massive celebration last year and it has a vast history - both of actors who've been in it, the aliens introduced, the stories - some memorable, some forgotten or lost and of course the multiple actors who have played the Doctor.

So now, we have a brand new partwork from those people who brought you the Judge Dredd: The Mega Collection - but this time Dr Who is getting the treatment. If you have read my review of Judge Dredd The Mega Collection or have even subscribed to it, you will know what to expect. For those of you who haven't here comes the info. The Doctor Who Complete History partwork is a fortnightly collection chronicling Dr Who form his humble beginnings back with the original series up until Peter Capaldi's latest incarnation of the Doctor. Each issue is a beautiful hardbacked book covering some episodes and history of Dr Who. Issue one retails at £2.99 and features the in depth look at four episodes - Gridlock, Daleks in Manhattan/Evolution of the Daleks, The Lazarus Experiment and 42 from David Tenant era Who. The book is a high quality hardback with full colour throughout. It goes into great detail over each episode - the story, post productions and actors and lots more besides. The collection grows into an encyclopaedia of Dr Who information, and, the whole collection, when put together, has an awesome display of the Doctors down the spine. As usual with these books, the issue orders are completely different to the book numbers - so don't expect to get book one with issue one and book two with issue two.

Each fortnightly tome builds into the complete collection of around 80 books altogether. For those who don't fancy traipsing to the shop every 14 days you can subscribe to get it delivered to your door, and they offer a number of subscriber gifts to go with it. As well as getting a free issue, you also get some other swag too - T.A.R.D.I.S bookends, a Dr Who Wallet, a limited edition Dr Who print (of the first Doctor judging by the picture), Dr Who travel mug and an exclusive Big Finish Audio drama for online subscribers only. For the people who prefer cash, the issues cost £9.99 per fortnight, but the second issue is at the special price of £6.99. If you want to subscribe you can visit http://www.dwcompletehistory.com/subscription-gifts for more information of plump for the telephone and ring 0844 412 9964. If you buy an issue there's also a postal form to fill in if you'd like to go that route too.

Issue one features stories from David Tennant's 10th Doctor, issue 2 is 3rd Doctor Jon Pertwee. Peter Capaldi is selected to feature in issue 3 as the 12th Doctor and we go back to his roots with the First Doctor, William Hartnell in issue 4. So it's quite a bounce around - but then it is all timey wimey stuff, isn't it?

This looks quite an in depth, definitive look at the Doctor and his 50 year legacy. I might subscribe and see what it's like, but I can definitely say it is another high quality release from Hachette.
 

Until next time

Paul 

What I'm talking about:  Doctor Who : The Complete History

Where do I go to find out more? http://www.dwcompletehistory.com

 

 

REVIEW: Avengers: Age of Ultron (12A)

Oh my goodness! It's finally here after three years of waiting and one of the most hyped up, advertised and eagerly anticipated movies that I have ever experienced in my life. Avengers: Age of Ultron is here, in the UK, now.

 

Let's start with a quick catch up - after phase one and the absolutely astoundingly marvellous amazing Avengers Assemble in 2012, we moved into phase two. But let's not forget the constant battling and grumbling between all the heroes. Then everyone's mind was blown as they all worked together, we saw the Hulk in action and everyone went home happy and felt the need to binge eat shwarma's. I wonder if there is any link to the fact that once this movie hit the cinemas, a load of shwarma shops appeared in my local town?

 

We started with the not-bad-but-not-brilliant Iron Man 3 with Tony Stark facing repercussions from his Battle of New York experiences and the Chitauri invasion masterminded by Loki. Fast forward and we had Guardians of the Galaxy which was a risk but a hit, and then the critically acclaimed Captain America: Winter Soldier. Now we have this - but how did it do?

 

I've read a load on the internet about this movie - Loki is in it, an Avenger dies, there's no post credit sequence, there's no teaser sting after the first bit of the credits, this, that, the other. I can tell you some of those are true and some are just rubbish. The bit where they say Stan Lee's cameo is awesome is true though - especially if you are clued into the Marvel universe.

 

The movie centres around Tony Stark and his worry over the events of New York and, in an attempt to protect the world,  he decides to try and create a defence mechanism to protect from potential invaders as he feels the Avengers, for want of a better term are "hopelessly outgunned."  His response to this is to create a robot defence using ideas from J.A.R.V.I.S and the power from Loki's staff (which was nabbed from him back in Avengers Assemble) with the help of fellow Science Bro, Bruce Banner.  But, while the Avengers are partying downstairs, the experiment he left to boil goes a bit awry and creates Ultron. Ultron is a sentient robot taking Tony's idea of saving the world to the nth degree by concluding that, to save the world, is to cause extinction of the human race. When Ultron crashes the party and the other Avengers find out Tony has been tinkering without their knowledge, this leads to a bit of a conflict between the team and also gives Ultron time to leave and start his world domination plans. The rest of the movie is all about stopping him.

 

The movie is fantastic and I can't take that away from it. From the beginning strains of the orchestral Avengers theme introduced to us in the first movie, to the fighting and CGI effects, this film is a visceral beauty. There are some unbelievably amazing shots and sequences which really stretch the imagination and the first 15 minutes or so is the Avengers kicking butt like they did in the New York battle of AA in 2012. Even some of the sustained shots of all the Avengers fighting individually are carried through with gusto and this is where the film really shines. But if you think that battle was immense - and it was - then there's a canny few others to ogle at. The Hulkbuster vs Hulk battle was amazing, and the finale was too. However, every single time there is a battle where there is people there is a massive emphasis on protecting the people and elaborate evacuation procedures. There's a few scenes were innocent bystanders are caught in the battle and an Avenger saves them at the last minute.

 

We also find out a lot more about the characters though some of it was probably unnecessary. Hawkeye gets a meatier role, and we find out a lot more about him and there is a hilarious sequence where all of the Avengers have been caught under mind control except him and he says something along the lines of "not this time, been there, done that!". There's a lot of comedy in this film, and there was a lot of laughing out loud in the cinema over it, but as the action moved on quickly your laugh when kind of haha -ooo as something exciting happened. I'm not entirely sure of Chris Hemsworth's comic timing, but Thor has a lot of comical lines too which makes the film quite enjoyable. Hulk gets lots of screen time too - and this is a good thing. There is also a similar joke like Loki's "ta-da" in Dark World, and the punching of Thor by the Hulk in AA in this movie too. And speaking of Thor there is an on-going joke over his hammer which I found amusing.

 

The soundtrack, story and special effects in this movie are second to none. The actors reprise their roles fiercely and the new additions to the team - namely Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch and The Vision fit in rather nicely with the rest of the cast. Having such a large set of main characters is difficult but they even managed cameos from Agent Carter, Heimdall and a little bit of support from War Machine and Falcon. It seems that this movie has got everyone together for a bit of a party and it's nice to see some of the old faces appear.

 

So what do I think? Well, I've been hyped to the max with this movie and I have been waiting 3 years for this and admittedly Avengers Assemble set the bar very high. I really liked the movie and think it is great but something about it was missing and I don't know what. Maybe it was that for all that James Spader was awesome as Ultron, he wasn't as fun as Loki. Or was it that we've seen all the surprises that we can and now it's about telling the story? The first movie teased and teased the Hulk and we didn't see him do his stuff until the very end. We didn't see the Avengers come together until the very end and when they did it was mind blowing. This movie they are already together and are fighting right from the off.

 

In summary I really liked this movie, but I think it just fell short of my stupidly high expectation, but then again, who cares as it's a worthy addition to the Marvel universe. I need to see this again and I'm sure I will get to see more of what I missed as this movie has so much in it that is practically a treasure trove of Marvel stuff. Go see it yourself and make your own mind up - regardless it is action packed to the rafters and is a fantastic ending to phase two. Jeez, I can't wait for phase three.

 

Avengers: Age of Ultron is out now in the UK and comes out May 1 at all good cinemas in the US.

 

POPSCORE: 8.5/10

What am I talking about? Avengers: Age of Ultron
Where can I find out more? http://marvel.com/movies/movie/193/avengers_age_of_ultron

If you like this try: Avengers Assemble (2012), any other marvel Movie really

Anything else?
This is actually not the end of "Phase 2" of the Marvel Cinematic Universe or MCU - Ant-Man is.
This movie features Andy Serkis as Ulysses Klaue who has links to Wakanda (a clue to a movie in Phase Three perhaps?)
This film references Disney's Pinocchio
Kevin Fiege stated that there is a homage to Star Wars' the chopping off of hands in every Phase Two movie and this one is no exception.
There IS a sequence a few minutes into the credit sequence so don't leave as soon as the credit roll. Honestly, it's worth it.