Pain & Gain (2013) - Michael Bay

Michael Bay should stick to stuff like this. Simple minded action film with a healthy amount of humour, with characters brought to life by some pretty fine actors. Probably his best since the Will Smith and Martin Lawrence days. I really enjoyed this film. It wasn't too difficult to follow, and much of the action was fast paced and interesting to watch. The fact that this is based on real life events makes it all the more disturbing, which Bay reminds us multiple times throughout the events.

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

You're Next (2011) - Adam Wingard

I think this may be the last horror I watch for a long while. I don't enjoy jumpy films, especially when that's the part that's supposed to be scary. This film was pretty good for a slasher movie, nothing to write home about, but still... Wingard gives us some truly terrific death scenes, and whilst the twists are expected, they are still interesting, and we find ourselves caring for the characters more than we probably would for another appalling ghost story.

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

The Way Way Back (2013) - Nat Faxon and Jim Rash

A directorial debut that's as smart as it is funny.
Not many loose ends are tied at the end of this film, but it still warms the heart, and Steve Carell and Sam Rockwell play perfect polar opposites that keep the audience interested in both areas of storyline.
Just a lovely film, that rings true for anyone with a background of divorced parents and their new partners, or anyone with an unrequited first love and the like.
Basically, it's a movie for anyone: stupendous.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

SPOILERS Kick-Ass 2 (2013) - Jeff Wadlow SPOILERS

Yes, it has taken me a while to go and see this. I am aware.
It was a good movie, yet very different to the comic. I haven't read the Hit Girl solo outing yet, so a lot of the storyline to me was completely different to Kick-Ass 2 the comic. Maybe the Mindy (Chloe Grace Moretz) as a normal girl was explored more fully in that one. But therein lied the film's downfall. Most of the B plot was interesting, but seriously the solution of the sick making stick. That was a little too slapstick for my liking, and a bit crude.
Other than that, the Union J jokes were funny, and Mindy's crush on Dave (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) was realistically played out, with everyone thinking he was a pedophile.
The pedophile thing was a good and clever way of writing out the character of Katie, because, as most fans of the comic know, it wasn't such a happy ending for her and Dave in the first comic, let alone the second one.
Making Night Bitch the victim of the Mother Fucker's attempted rape was unnecessary, but I do think the toning down of that same scene from the comic book was needed for the movie market or for fans of Christopher Mintz-Plasse, who played him. A light hearted film such as this, couldn't have that one minute, and the next, make a joke about pubescent teenage girls fancying musclebound men. Jeff Wadlow, who also adapted the comic to screenplay as well as directed, barely just got away with the killing of Mr Lizewski. The same goes for the beheaded dog/Colonel Stars and Stripes (Jim Carrey) scene. It would have dampened the film, and made it an 18, missing out on a key demographic that the film is aimed at.

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

PS No matter how good friends you are with someone, you would not be their friend anymore if they helped a supervillain kill your father. Unrealistic!

Hell Ride (2008) - Larry Bishop

Hell Ride seems like a way for Larry Bishop to live all his dreams: he's a biker, a star and director in a movie, and he also just has sex with lots of women. It gets points for cheesiness, but everything that it does, Machete (2010) - Robert Rodriguez does far more superiorly and in a much more interesting fashion.
This film was hard to understand, and its main redeeming factor was that I couldn't place where I'd seen the character of Comanche before. And then it hit me! Eric Balfour was Jesse in Buffy the Vampire Slayer's pilot episode, who died, sadly.
Other than that, the age range of the actors and characters was a little too unbelievable.

★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆

Green Street (2005) - Lexi Alexander

I often wonder when watching violent films, if the actor is right for a role, and Elijah Wood, I feel, was not. He seems too hobbit-y to play such a strong and tough character. His boyish blue eyes and camp demeanor were definitely not right for the part of a football hooligan. Sorry. OK film, though. Maybe my lack of interest in football severed my judgement.
★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

Kidulthood (2006) - Menhaj Huda

This film has so much hype, that it was difficult for me to imagine it being as good as it's legend suggests. Luckily, it didn't disappoint. Noel Clarke is a tremendous actor when written so well, and by himself as well, but Adam Deacon is the obvious breakout star, yet it still took him another six years to win a coveted BAFTA: the Rising Star award.

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Shutter Island (2010) - Martin Scorsese

Aside from his short, The Big Shave (1968), I think this may be the first Scorsese film I have ever watched. I know: bad film student, but a brilliant movie to introduce me to Scorsese's work. It was stunning, and the twists and turns were perfectly done by Scorsese in his own mise en scene style. I look forward to more of the same, the dramatic mix up of style and auteurship when I watch his others.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Rebecca (1940) - Alfred Hitchcock

A beautiful film. Truly beautiful. The relationship between Laurence Olivier's character and Joan Fontaine, particularly towards the end, was perfectly done to show the tension and arguments that most relationships have: the ups and downs, and the etceteras. Hitchcock does this very well, and the fact Olivier did not actually like Fontaine comes across in a few angry scenes. When compared with the ones where they are seemingly in love, Olivier's position as one of the great actors is cemented. A good film.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Bridget Jones's Diary (2001) - Sharon Maguire

I am sad that I will never direct a scene as iconic and as ruddy brilliant as the fight scene between Mark Darcy and Daniel Cleaver. Colin Firth and Hugh Grant are two of the greatest British actors of the modern era, and this scene just gets me every time, with a fantastic soundtrack of It's Raining Men by the Weather Girls. Oh yeah!

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest (1995) - James D. R. Hickox

This one was only slightly better than the second instalment. It was nice that it was different from the previous two, in a different setting altogether. The actor who played Eli, Daniel Cerny, was the best thing about it, genuinely believable when possessed by He Who Walks Behind The Rows, and his speeches were very good pieces of monologue.

★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

Children of the Corn II: The Final Sacrifice (1992) - David Price

Yeah, I bought the boxset of Children of the Corns so I'm hoping for at least one to be as good (if not, better) than the original. This one wasn't great. The deaths were cool, I suppose, but the teen angst lead was really irritating, as were most of the characters until the love interest entered the storyline: she was gorgeous.

★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

SPOILERS Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters (2013) - Thor Freudenthal SPOILERS

I have read most of the Percy Jackson books, but this was at least four years ago, and the first movie Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief (2010) - Chris Columbus wasn't too memorable, other than that I thought it was quite good, and an alright adaptation, considering all the changes that were made.
This version was less so. There was too much packed into the hour and forty-five minute run time. Nathan Fillion's cameo was a particular highlight of mine, particularly with the Firefly reference; it made me laugh.
I feel as if the film dumbed it down a little bit, unnecessarily. The Polyphemus problem was solved too easily with Nobody not even mentioned once. If you don't understand what I mean, go and read Homer's Odyssey, you Philestine! But I'm sure there was meant to be a scene with Aries and Aphrodite, or maybe that's the next one. Anyway, there was too much missing from this one, and it's bad that as a person who doesn't remember the books too much, I can notice this.
A bit of a disappointment considering I enjoyed the first one so much.

★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆

Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa (2013) - Declan Lowney

The message in this is hidden through layers and layers of Steve Coogan's comedy genius, and there wasn't a spare five minutes without laughter. Unlike most TV shows getting a film, Steve Coogan has waited just long enough for this film to be made, so that it still resounds as funny, and the audience does want more. What's more is that it is believable and doesn't aim too high above it's station. As a long term Partridge fan, I was not disappointed.
It's nice to see Colm Meany back in a starring role as well.

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

The Lone Ranger (2013) - Gore Verbinski

I think the other critics are being unnaturally unkind to this film. It's a good movie, sure, a little slow in parts, but the action sequences (mostly on trains) are stunning to view, and amazing feats of filmmaking.
As a big fan of westerns, I noticed references to The Searchers (1956) - John Ford, Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) - Sergio Leone, Back to the Future Part III (1990) - Robert Zemeckis and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) - also Sergio Leone, amongst others; they're obvious if you watch them, and shots are made into lovely homages. Go and see it.
Ignore the other critics, if you like Westerns especially, go and see it!

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Les Misérables (2012) - Tom Hooper

I think this gets better every time I watch it.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

PS Anyone who doesn't like this film, or fails to cry, is a Philestine.

Ali G Indahouse (2002) - Mark Mylod

Not Ali A, not Ali B, not Ali C, not Ali D, not Ali... E, not Ali F, but Ali...
This film is simple, but hilarious, a definite clue of the greatness in store for Sacha Baron Cohen, and Martin Freeman who also crops up as part of Ali's West Side Crew. A genius look at the culture of British teens and those in their early 20s.

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Children of the Corn (1984) - Fritz Kiersch

I am a big fan of both this movie and the fourteen or fifteen page short story by Stephen King it is based on. A lot more gore would be necessary to make it more interesting and maybe a better end-of-film reveal of the villain (He Who Walks Behind the Rows) would be a definite improvement.
George Goldsmith did an excellent job on the screenplay, expanding the story to last for 90ish minutes.

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

The Five-Year Engagement (2012) - Nicholas Stoller

This film was one of the more enjoyable rom-coms I've watched, ever. It was genuinely funny, and many of the jokes weren't the usual rom-com-y stuff. The party at the start is also the best theme for a fancy dress party I have ever heard of and I will be stealing it for my own use at some point in the future.
Jason Segel shines as per usual, with his writing skills proving once again he's a force to be reckoned with in future writing awards.
I enjoyed the film immensely and found myself cheering (not literally) on the main couple, and hoping for a happy ending, something that doesn't usually happen for me in rom-coms.

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

The Magic Sword: Quest for Camelot (1998) - Frederick Du Chau

I remember seeing this film years ago, when I was very small. It may have been at the cinema when it first came out, or maybe not. I apparently liked it enough to get the bedsheets of it, and would always have the side of the pillow with the dragons on facing me, until after my mother had tucked me in, then I would change it, so that the girl was facing me. I think she was one of my first crushes. Don't judge; I was about five.
Anyway, upon this viewing, it wasn't a great film. Sure, the two dragons had some comedic one-liners, and the blind dude was an interesting enough character. The emotional part of the story at the beginning, welled me up, so I am gonna give it five stars. Piers Brosnan voicing King Arthur was a nice surprise, as was the cast that should surely have made this a must-see back in the days when it first came out.

★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆

The Lost Boys (1987) - Joel Schumacher

It's a real shame that Joel Schumacher isn't recognised as well for this film as he is for the less great (but still enjoyable, to me anyway) Batman & Robin (1997) and Batman Forever (1995).
This film is an iconic vampire movie, and helped to reboot the entire genre. Not a single vampire writer or filmmaker that I am aware of, doesn't cite this as one of their influences. I draw from interviews with people like Joss Whedon and Neil Jordan for this fact. It's a brilliant movie, made ever more entertaining by the comedic personalities of the Frog Brothers and Corey Haim's character, as well as Schumacher himself as the auteur, mixing dark humour and gothicness with pure and simple gore. AN enjoyable watch for any horror fan.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

PS The gang of "Lost Boys" really reminds me and a lot of people of a group of youths in St Helens, which is why we watched it...

Dredd (2012) - Pete Travis

I was not expecting it to be this good, especially as a non-fan of the original film, nor of the comics. But it was very entertaining, and reminded me of a futuristic Serbuan Maut (The Raid) (2011) - Gareth Huw Evans, but in English.

 ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

Wilde (1997) - Brian Gilbert

There were so many in-jokes I probably didn't get due to not having read many of Oscar Wilde's works. The only ones I am familiar with are The Picture of Dorian Gray and The Importance of Being Earnest, which I did get the references to.
Stephen Fry was the perfect choice to play the playwright himself and was very believable in the role. Jude Law was acceptable as his young, spoilt lover. Overall, a fairly average film.

★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆

The Heat (2013) - Paul Feig

It was better than expected, and better than Paul Feig's last directed hit: Bridesmaids (2011), which I was disappointed by to be quite honest.
The Heat however, is a breath of fresh air, when it comes to buddy movies. There aren't many that can pull off female leads in a cop action film, and this manages to do just that.
It also didn't rely too heavily on emotions and stuff like that. It concentrated on the action and the comedy, and therein lied its genius. Even the very minor subplot of Sandra Bullock's character's loneliness was rushed through, to keep the adrenalin pumping.
Paul Feig did a similar thing with this film that Todd Phillips did after his The Hangover (2009) was an unprecedented success: he took the breakout star, Zach Galifianakis and paired him in a buddy movie (Due Date [2010]) with a popular well known actor, Robert Downey Jr. In this case, it's Melissa McCarthy who is the breakaway star of Bridesmaids really, and the well known actor is Sandra Bullock. Hopefully, this means (like it did for Galifianakis), more fame and fortune for Melissa McCarthy, who is a breath of fresh air in female comedy films.

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆