Fantastic Mr Fox (2009) - Wes Anderson

Yes. It's nice that this has all of Anderson's little quirks, and it's funny to watch the characters behave exactly like they would in a live action film, but overall, not one of Anderson's best.

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004) - Wes Anderson

I enjoy this film, particularly the latter sections, but I don't know if I quite "get" the whole point of it. What is Anderson trying to say? Is it about any particular filmmaker? Is it Anderson predicting his own future? Or is it about the genre of documentary in general as a dying art form? Who even knows?
I do like the David Bowie music translated into Portuguese. Seu Jorge makes the soundtrack an important part of the film, and it is very enjoyable to hear these brilliant beautiful songs in a different language.

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

The World's End (2013) - Edgar Wright AGAIN

Third time's the charm. I'm really getting the film a lot more on repeat viewings. I've followed it for years now, waiting for it. And it still does not disappoint. Awesome!

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

SPOILERS The Wolverine (2013) - James Mangold SPOILERS

Possibly my least favourite X-Men movie. It was OK, but just not in the same league as any that came before it.
The only scene that did seem to entertain me as much as I assumed the film would, was the after-credits scene with Magneto and Professor X! GO PATRICK STEWART AND SIR IAN MCKELLEN! It truly makes me look forward to X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) - Bryan Singer, which will hopefully make up for this disappointment.
Hugh Jackman was good, as always.

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

The World's End (2013) - Edgar Wright

Second viewing. Just as good. I noticed slightly more stuff this time, for example the noise from the fruit machine used in Shaun of the Dead (2004) and a few references to games of chess. I spotted Gary King, Andy Knightley and another character had the last name of Prince. Eddie Marsan's character lived at Bishop's Gardens, or something of the sort. I will try and look out for more on repeat viewing.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Dawn of the Dead (1978) - George A. Romero

Probably the best zombie film ever made. Genuinely a brilliant film about consumerism. The two hours flies by.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

The World's End (2013) - Edgar Wright

Nine years. Nine long years. It has been nine years since Shaun of the Dead (2004) first came out. It has been nine years that I have waited for the trilogy's finale to come out, so in my review, I will do my best to do it justice, but remember, this is a fan boy's perspective, so could be a little (a lot) biased.
So, to start with, let's get this out of the way... I was NOT disappointed. That's right, ladies and gents (all one of my followers; I know who you are), this movie did not leave me wanting more. It was a worthy completion, and I am still unsure on which of the blood and ice cream trilogy is the best and not so best.
Hot Fuzz (2007) feels like the odd one out to me, due its more realistic nature than the other two (no matter how much I believe in zombies) and lack of apocalyptic themes, but I suppose The World's End could be, due to its reliance on Simon Pegg to be the Funny One, as apposed to Nick Frost playing the slacker with the best lines in Dead and Fuzz. Don't get me wrong, he is good in this, brilliant in fact, but in the other two, he was always the show stealer. The other three co-drinkers in TWE also seem to set this apart from the others due to Fuzz and Shaun being solely based on those two actors and their adventures (not counting Liz, who is (being honest) just there as rom-com fodder-I don't even agree with myself there, because Shaun of the Dead is such a perfect movie; I'm just making a point, shush) whereas this film concentrates a lot on the protagonist (who is often also the antagonist to himself, as in the others) and his relationship with his friends.
It was nice to see Paddy Considine as kind of a lovelorn character instead of his usual gritty self. He seemed to take quite a central role. Is this a step in the direction his career is going? Uphill and onwards to uber fame (better than regular fame, not as good as superstardom)? With roles in films like this, and more directing work, it's a definite possibility! The same can be said for Eddie Marsan and Martin Freeman, who are both becoming more familiar in both American and British films.
I did expect more lines to be quotable and more throwbacks to Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead, but the film itself didn't lose anything by not having them. The fence part (not a spoiler, it's in the advert), where Simon Pegg jumps a fence and it falls down, was needed for old times sake, even if it does seem a little pointless. The ending was differently done to the other two as well, no fade out and then fade back in a while later, like at the end of Fuzz and Dead, which I kind of pined for. I won't make a list of everything that was missing, because there was a lot, but I was not disappointed with this. They weren't flaws. If I'd gone and seen what I had expected, I probably wouldn't have been as surprised and as happy with it.
I am seeing it again soon, so look for a future review, picking the film apart in more detail. It saddens me to think that such a great trilogy of films is over, but does it really have to be? Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright could write another one! They're both young and approaching high points in their careers; that doesn't mean that the trilogy couldn't become a series for the imaginative duo. With The World's End as a conclusion, they have alleviated any pressure that was on them for a brilliant and beautiful finale. And for that, I congratulate them, and just as a fan, for not disappointing (are you reading this Christopher Nolan, cough, The Dark Knight Rises (2012) cough?).

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

PS I don't think any director gets five stars on all his films by me, other than Edgar Wright.

The Darjeeling Limited (2007) - Wes Anderson

Still the best film ever. I notice new things every time I watch it! After all this time, always.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Monsters University (2013) - Dan Scanlon

I went to see this with a friend, who hadn't seen the original (I know, right?), and I don't know whether she quite appreciated some of the finer details, like I did. An example of this would be when Randall takes off his glasses for the first time, and he pulls that Randall snarl with Steve Buscemi making ample sound effects. Don't worry! That's not a spoiler! It is good, but not in the same league as the original.

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

This is the End (2013) - Evan Goldberg

This was a good laugh! And it feels that there's a hint of realism in Jay Baruchel's character. Danny McBride is the best character and/or person in this film.

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Submarine (2010) - Richard Ayoade

Following on from the other day's rewatch of Moonrise Kingdom (2012) - Wes Anderson and sticking with the theme of young love in indie films, I got the family to watch this British modern classic. I think they preferred this one, due to it's setting in the 80s when my parents actually grew up, and its humours a lot more mainstream and atypically British. Obviously, they're both amazing films, but for different audiences.

I think, overall, I prefer Submarine, due to its self aware narration format, which I like, particularly when one looks at the in jokes with camera technique, for example, 'the biopic of my life will only have the budget for a zoom out' (cue zoom out from Oliver). Craig Roberts, who plays Oliver, is also a reason why this film is brilliant. He plays pubescent teen so perfectly and with so much feeling, yet ever so subtley.

Also, something I never noticed before is that there is a poster in the background, when Jordana and Oliver go to the cinema, advertising one of Sight and Sound magazine's top ten films of all time: La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc [The Passion of Joan of Arc] (1928) - Carl Theodor Dreyer (not a prequel to a Mel Gibson film). Just a nice little spot, was that.
On first watch I've never got the thrill of the music in this film, but this watch, I would like to hail Alex Turner as the genius he is, both for this soundtrack and his bands!

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 

Moonrise Kingdom (2012) - Wes Anderson

I don't think my family quite "got" this film. But I love it just the same on second and third watch. What a brilliant film. I look forward to Anderson's next venture: The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014).

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

The Internship (2013) - Shawn Levy

Not a bad film, a couple of decent laughs, and good on screen chemistry between Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson. A nice film to watch when you're down.

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

PS It just made me want to work at Google. It's seems mad!

Moulin Rouge! (2001) - Baz Luhrmann

What a LOVEly film. All about love. Me and my single friend watched a film about love, and yet, neither of us got depressed, because it is such a good film. I don't know if this counts as a real musical, due to the songs being prewritten for different singers and that, but they all fit, and most were catchy tunes that everyone knows the words to. Would. Watch. Again.

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Lilo and Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch (2005) - Michael LaBash and Anthony Leondis

As a big fan of the franchise, I found this movie both powerful and entertaining. Not sure about the re-casting of Lilo with Dakota Fanning though. I didn't notice it at first, but you can tell, particularly towards the end, that there's a lack of chemistry between the two leads.

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Hot Tub Time Machine (2010) - Steve Pink

A lovely bit of silliness for a Tuesday evening. I am disappointed John Cusack hasn't signed on to be in the sequel, but maybe it won't be as good as the first one anyway. I like the part played by Crispin Glover, who is a veteran of time travel movies (George McFly in Back to the Future (1985) - Robert Zemeckis) as it gives the humour, even when it probably shouldn't.

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

World War Z (2013) - Marc Forster

I paid £11.45 to watch this film at the Odeon cinema, Liverpool. At that price, I shall never be going there again. Back to Cineworld. Anyway, the film itself was completely different to the book, so it's impossible to compare the two. The film's action sequences were very good. The twelve seconds thing was pointless though, and you'll need to see the film to understand that, so go and watch it before it finishes in cinemas, but not at the Odeon because it's fucking expensive.

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Despicable Me 2 (2013) - Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud

I must be the one person in the world who thinks that the Minions are about as funny as a brain tumour.  Gru's bits, voiced by Steve Carell made me laugh, and re-introducing Kristen Wiig as a different character from the first movie, was a good move, as her voice perfectly suited the character. Overall, slightly better, and not saying much considering the hype, than the original.

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆