Inside Out

Saturday 22nd August at 17:10

Who is the leader in your mind?

I had heard many reviews about how "Inside Out" was Pixar's greatest achievement since Toy Story 3, this was a big claim for it to live up to.

We are introduced to Riley on her very first day on this mortal coil, and Joy is introduced into her mind as she lays eyes on her mother and father.  It is then the key role of Joy to bring happiness to Riley for the rest of her life.  Suddenly she starts to cry, as Joy turns, another fellow has joined her in the main HQ, Sadness.  As her life progresses, other head quarter personnel appear, Anger, Disgust and Fear all with their respective characteristics.

This was a great look into how a mind functions from a creative point of view.  Riley's mother's mind is lead by Sadness, her Dad's by Anger.  The leader of each mind is indicative of the main personality trait of the human, but each emotion has an integral part to play.

The adventure begins when Joy is separated from the Main HQ and put into the reserves with Sadness, they must find a way back before everything goes wrong for Riley.

When Clare and I left the cinema we started to talk about which emotion was prominent in our minds, mine obviously Joy.  This is how films should be, you leave with a thought about the film, applying it to real life, understanding how the mind works by simple measures.  Inside Out is a very clever film, but lacking in the laughs of previous Pixar films.  There were a few smirks, giggles and one possible chortle, but no belly laughs or guffaw's.

Beautiful with colour and vibrancy this is everything a Pixar Movie should be, far better than some of the recent releases but far from the Toy Story or Up status.  The beginning sequence of Up is one of the best opening sequences in film history.

I am unsure how kids will take this film with it's neurological substance, but as it looks colourful and has great, entertaining characters I can see it getting away with it.

The Man from U.N.C.L.E

Saturday 15th August at 20:30

Style over substance?

I like the original Guy Richie films, Snatch being one of my all time favourite films, but of late Mr Ritchie has seemed a little off form.  As well, I recall many a Friday night at my substitute Grandad George's house watching re-runs of the classic spy tv show U.N.C.L.E.  I loved Robert Vaughn and David McCallum in their roles, so I had a little background going into this film

The one thing that stands out in this re-invigoration is the style.  Be it from the occasional Ritchie camera flair that he has, the excellent soundtrack or the sheer beauty of the fashion portrayed, the film just has pazazz.  As I left the cinema though, I had completely forgotten what I had watched.  I enjoyed the two hours of entertainment but it was not memorable or inspiring at all, which is why it has taken me over a week to write the review, I was just not inspired to do so.

There are some fun scenes, and then there are the ones that start great but drag on far too long. There is also a little trope used where a scene will play out and then it will go back to a pinnacle point from a different perspective and show how a scam or event played out from our heroes point of view. The first time this is used it is quirky and fun, by the umpteenth time it is just a ploy to engineer easy plot points and becomes tedious.  It got to the point where I was expecting a "repeat shot" and the surprise element had gone.

The plot is very bland and I can honestly say, I can't really remember much about it.  There was a billionaire and a girl who had married into the family with heinous ambitions, but that is about it.

Alicia Vikander is stunning and fits the era very well, Henry Cavill and Armie Hammer play the agents of U.N.C.L.E with flair, but it all lacks pretty much everything else.

I think Armie should start to avoid the 1960's TV show re-imaginings as they are not working out too well for him at the moment.

And why does it always have to be franchises at the moment? Always with origins leading to a franchise!

Mission - Impossible: Rouge Nation

2nd August 2015 - 19:30

Ethan Hunt goes rogue again and bands together a rag-bag team to tackle another world changing problem, all he was short of this time was Vin Diesel and The Rock!

I must admit, the MI franchise is little hit and miss with me, I think the first Cruise outing is very slow, entertaining but slow,  The Woo-Mask changing -Super hero-Dove Flying part two is bizarre, MI:III I have little memory of, and then there is the Dubai Sandstorm MI:IV which I thoroughly enjoyed.  I was looking forward to this one though based on the trailers, more Benji, More Ving and loads more action.

With the syndicate, "an Anti-IMF" threatening global chaos, Ethan Hunt (who is thought to be making the syndicate up to justify the IMF) goes rogue and recruits the old faithfuls (from the last two films) to try and bring down the threat.  Joined this time by double-double crosser Isla Faust (Rebecca Ferguson)

There are a few great action sequences, and the plane bit from the trailer is not a major plot spoiler.  Once car/bike chase sequence is very entertaining, however it does rely a little too heavy on CGI at one point which really stands out and looks ridiculous.  Ethan Hunt is a little indestructible in this film as he takes a few scrapes too many to survive, yet gets up and doesn't have a scratch on him, but hey-ho, it is MI.

The "Heist" is entertaining and suspenseful, but ruined by the trailer....and I was left questioning, "how do normal staff change the cards in the server?" 

I left the cinema fulfilled with great entertainment and would happily watch MI:V Rouge Nation again, it seems like the franchise is going a little Fast and Furious now and I can only see a collaboration of Dom's rag-tag team and Ethan's Rogue Agents as the future project.

Southpaw

1st August 2015: Bolton: 17:40

Apparently Jake Gyllenhaal is in Southpaw at some point, I only saw Billy "The Great" Hope.

Southpaw is a film about loss, lows and the climb back to the top.  When tradegy hits the hope family and Billy Hope hits rock bottom, his daughter (fantastically acted by Oona Laurence) wants nothing to do with him and is put into child services.  Billy turns to an old coach to help him refocus his life, train and get back his daughter and the passion in his heart.

It is a very cliched film that you can guess what is going to happen from the very start, but this does not devalue the emotional ride that Southpaw is.  Superbly acted by all the main cast (not including 50 cent), you feel for the characters and want their lives to get back in order.  Billy Hope has a resemblance of Jake Gyllenhaal but with a serious pre-film workout.  Muscles upon muscles.  His emotional outbreaks are real heartfelt moments and you feel justified with his character.  Oona Laurence nearly steals the show though, as a child actor she really ups the game, being the stronger in the father and daughter relationship .

**** My Advice - do not watch the trailer *****

The training montage sequence lost it a little for me as this was too close to Rocky Montages and they will never be beaten.  My Brother and Cousin completed the Ironman Bolton a few week ago and the night before, to psych themselves up, they watch Rocky training montages on youtube.  This cannot be repeated and definitely not with a rap score.

Southpaw is a modern day Rocky, pretty much down to the letter, but there is nothing wrong with that, but being a little more cliched than anticipated, it is not perfect.

Maggie

26th July 2015: 20:10: Bolton

This is not a Zombie-Movie

Devoid of colour, a feeling of real gloom, and the inevitable passing of a loved one.  Maggie is more a film about terminal illness in the family rather than the zombie apocalypse.

A viral outbreak that causes humans to slowly degenerate into flesh eating zombies over the course of 8 weeks has hit the planet.  Crops are being burnt as a way of trying to restore agriculture, quarantines are set up to euthenise the infected in a humane manner and work on a cure is pointless.  The whole world seems bleak and this is reflected in the cinematography.  There are many shots of landscapes, the family home and the colours are brown, grey, dull and paletteless, yet there always seems to be a splash of colour somewhere as if there is a glimmer of hope.

When Wade's (Schwarzenegger's) daughter is bit by an infected, he is given the option to take her home and care for her before quarantine, but knowing that the inevitable is on the horizon, Wade opts to care for her till the last moment.  Knowing that his daughter is dying and trying to give her the best possible "end-of-life".  She goes out with friends for a final party and one of the other kids is also infected, there is a pretty gruesome scene with appendage decay but it is handled well, and as Maggie (Abigail Breslin) reaches the final stages of her life and the contagion becomes a threat to the family, Wade has to question his motives.

Abigail Breslin is brilliant as usual and with her there are no faults, Joely Richardson plays her step mother and where I thought she would be running away from Maggie she always seems to be running towards her helping, although, she has not aged well.  It has been a while since I have seen a film with Joely, but I was a little shocked.  The only flaw, and believe me I am a massive fan, was Mr Schwarzengger himself, not his acting, because he pulls out all the stops to get it right, and does.  Arnold is a big, hulking Austrian with a thick Austrian accent, he himself does not fit into the American farming family and the character of Wade could have been played by any other actor, I am at a loss as to why Mr. S was chosen apart from having a big name attached to the property.

Maggie was a moving film for me, I knew from going into the cinema that it was not going to be a zombie film and this helped me prepare.  Upon leaving, the two guys in front of me exclaimed, "Well, that was sh*t".

Zombie fans need stay away, this is not your type of film.

The Gallows

22nd July 2015: 21:30 - Bolton

Freddy has his glove, Jason has his machete, Charlie has his noose.  If you are going to reference classic, nostalgic, horror films in your trailer, then you have big boots to fill.

20 years after a horrific accident during a school play, students at the same high school resurrect the failed show in a misguided attempt to honour the anniversary of the tragedy, but is there a presence lurking in the background with ulterior motives?

I saw the trailer below whilst watching Knock Knock and I will be honest to say, it freaked me out a little, it look very spooky.  The lighting was great, the heavy breathing and tone reminded me of The Blair Witch Project (for me, the film that started all this found footage horror - I know it was Cannibal Holocaust, but BWP put the genre mainstream).  I was excited to go see the film, but then there is the trailer quotes, "Scared the living hell outta me" and "So Scary....it's hard to watch" which always fill me with trepidation that the quote is taken out of context or "one person said it so we can use it".

The first character we meet, Ryan, who is the camera man, is one of the most unlikable characters ever.  He is a bully to everyone and I was hoping for him to meet his maker within minutes of the film starting.   I am unsure if this is the intention as it was played for laughs to start with, but his girlfriend is very similar and the main character who is playing the unfortunate role in the play is again, dull. boring and pointless.  In fact, I was hoping for them all not to make it to the first act!

As for "Charlie", when you relate him to classics such as Jason, Freddy and Micheal I expect something, I want something memorable.  These three have been around for nearly 40 years and their names are iconic and rarely matched, and Charlie does not come close.

The Blumhouse trademark jump scare was evident throughout and had very little impact, and the infamous Paranormal Activity bass line before every attempt made it even more comical.

8 out of the 12 people in the cinema walked out of the showing and I endured it to the end only because I am a fan of film and horror, but there were a few moment I considered following them

Antman (3D)

17th July 2015: 18:30: Bolton

With script changes, director changes and all manner of issues in the production of this film, and the fact that Clare had stated from the first trailer that she didn't like the lead actor, we went into Antman with trepidation.

From the moment the film started, all the worry and anxiety towards the final product disappeared.  

Antman is an absolute delight to watch.  It fits in with the Marvel Universe well (which is why director Edgar Wright left) referencing many moments and even with a very entertaining cameo of one of the New Avengers.  The origin story flows well and has great characters throughout.  One thing I was not expecting to do was laugh as much as I did.  There are many moments that warranted a real good belly laugh, mainly down to Micheal Pena's character.  

Antman has been hailed as a heist movie with the main plot around stealing a mcguffin that will help them break into an impenetrable fortress to steal another mcguffin, but it feels like a good, solid superhero MCU film as well.

Unfortunately, the bad guy falls into the usual MCU issues, the heroes are really entertaining and great to watch where as the bad guys are just run-of-the-mill, bad because i'm bad.  Marvel has some really good bad guys, but they just don't seem to come across on screen as well. 

The "big" battle towards the end of the film is an absolute riot, with the Thomas the Tank Engine cameo (from the trailer) playing a hilarious threat

There are a few easter eggs in the film for the MCU geeks, from Spiderman to Hulk and the Avengers.  Also, make sure you stay through the credits till the end, there is a mid credit sequence and then a brief glimpse at a future MCU film at the very end.

The 3D worked well, as it was not a distraction for me, and actually added to the film.  I forgot I had the glasses on at certain points (which based on my Jurassic World review is a big thing).  

Micheal Douglas fits in really well with the story and seems to bring his usual acting chops, not just phoning in the performance just because he is a big name.  

I can definitely recommend Antman as a film to watch at the cinema and even in 3D if you don't mind paying the extra £££'s