SPOILERS American Hustle (2013) - David O. Russell SPOILERS

This was a lovely film. On first look, it has everything in it any film fan could want: a great cast, a tap-along soundtrack, and an auteur director.
The only problem I had with it, was the completely irrelevant and random kiss between Amy Adams and Jennifer Lawrence, justified to me by friends as just a moment of complete madness and passion. Also, I felt a tad bad for Bradley Cooper's character, because he seemed to get chastised the most at the end, when he'd only been doing his duty and was in the right the whole time.
Also, nice cameo by Robert De Niro. De Niro seems to want to be in as many films as possible these days, maybe due in part to his age, and knowing he hasn't got long left. He's an actor, who truly loves the craft.

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

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!

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.

★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆

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.

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

SPOILERS Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985) - George Miller and George Ogilvie SPOILERS

I did enjoy this one, but not as much as I did the second. It was too Americanised and cheesy. Plus there were way too many loose ends, like the ending: why would they not go to the rest of the kids waiting at the plane? Poor things are probably gonna end up dead properly.

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

SPOILERS The Place Beyond the Pines (2012) - Derek Cianfrance SPOILERS

I really didn't expect that Ryan Gosling's character would die half way through. It was like three short long films, all of which were brilliant. Bradley Cooper and Ryan Gosling were both amazing. I liked how their characters became not so nice and they became what they said they never would. There were so many comparisons between each character and way too much to write in a short review here. One day, I will do an academic essay on this film, and there's so much I could write about each individual shot. It's possibly my new favourite film. A! May! Zing!

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

SPOILERS Evil Dead (2013) - Fede Alverez SPOILERS

There isn't very much to say on this film. It's not awful (I jumped a few times), but it no where near has as much love and craftsmanship as the original.
Many of the best parts were kept the same.
I particularly liked the part where the main character had to pull her arm off, and the allusion to the chainsaw hand from Evil Dead II (1987) - Sam Raimi, and there was a couple of comedy moments with the chainsaw actually.
The dog was completely unnecessary, except for to get pity from the audience. It would have been scary, if that had come back and started chanting or terrorising them. A bit of originality too, wouldn't have gone amiss.
I also liked the way the main characters had more reasoning to go out into the woods, and to be at the cabin in the first place.

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

The Evil Dead (1981) - Sam Raimi

I think I've analysed this before, but I went to see it on the big screen with my mate to celebrate the release of the new one. It still amazes me, and I think, if anything, the cinema quality and the graininess of the image made it even better, particularly for that scene with the blood leaks. No spoilers there, I think.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

SPOILERS The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) - Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise SPOILERS

Obviously, this is an amazing movie, and Quasimodo was one of my favourites as a kid. I still have the teddy in my room:

So yeah, it's a boss film. It's kind of adult-like as well though, with Esmerelda being sought after by the three suitors: Quasi, the Captain and of course the perverted Judge Frollo.

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

SPOILERS Blood: The Last Vampire (2009) - Chris Nahon SPOILERS

Oh dear Lord, was it average. I got a little bored and tidied up during it. All my attention was lost after Archie Mitchell (Larry Lamb) died. Or Mick from Gavin & Stacey. Whichever. But yeah, not as good as I was expecting. Maybe I'll watch the cartoon one from 2000, directed by Hiroyuki Kitakubo, to see if that's any better, but then again, probably not.

★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

SPOILERS Wreck-It Ralph (2012) - Rich Moore SPOILERS

It's nice to finally see Jane Lynch as a heterosexual character. See how many references you can spot. SEEEGGGGAAAA!!

 ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

SPOILERS Halloween (2007) - Rob Zombie SPOILERS

Before I write this review, I'd like to get one thing clear: I know it's not THE original! Right, to business...
This film was good, it did what it was meant to. I liked the early life of Michael Myers, it made him more human, and therefore more brutal, when he grew up and started killing every fucker, even the nice guy, played by Danny Trejo; that part shocked me! I liked the gore too, and how different that was from the original, directed by John Carpenter.
As good as John Carpenter's seems to be, I've never really been enthralled by it. Sure, it's worth watching, but only for the countless other films it spawned, as well as the copycat outfits kids wear on Halloween. (I don't even think most of the kids are old enough to watch the film.) What I really can't seem to get a hold of, is a DVD copy of Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982) - Tommy Lee Wallace, but it never comes into work (I work in a DVD store, by the way) and I haven't ever seen it in HMV (probably won't ever, if the news is to be believed). Even though reviews I've seen haven't been great, scoring 4.1 on IMDb, I think it'd be more interesting than another Michael Myers killing frenzy.
Anyway, watching this purely as a viewer, I'd give it an OK rating, not a blockbuster or piece of art, but certainly a film to make us think twice about the original from 1978.

★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆