Ender's Game

Trailer- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vP0cUBi4hwE

Something that confuses the hell out of me at the moment is how they film zero gravity scenes in movies and TV. You've got Howard floating about in The Big Bang Theory, the fittingly titled Graviry next month seems to be shot all in zero G. And now there's Ender's Game where they have games of laser tag in a massive realistic no-gravity bubble. I don't know where this magic anti-gravity stage is I'd do anything to have a go on it.

It's one of quite a few very cool scenes in Ender's Game and it surprised me how enjoyable it was. ITS HARRY POTTER MEETS STAR WARS screams the trailer and as much as  it didn't click with me at the time, that's exactly what this film is with an added level of sternness.

The film takes itself very seriously but it's still fun to see the young cadets going to space-school and gasping in surprise as they float around in the no-gravity room. The child actors are a bit hit and miss but there's no truly cringe-worthy child-acting moments. It does feel sometimes like the children could easily be replaced with adults and it still be a legitimate film but the fact everyone is younger does make the film feel lighter. The classroom scenes and cliquey bully-boy tactics save the film from becoming a very dry sci-fi story.

There are some notable talent when it comes to the adult actors as well. Harrison Ford plays his grumpy self which is all well and good but it would have been nice if they'd given him at least a tiny sense of humour. The massive black guy who acts as drill sergeant to the recruits is basically a cartoon character which compliments Ford's super moody realistic performance by reminding viewers it's still kinda a kids film.

Ben Kingsley is in the film as well but I don't really see why as he doesn't serve a purpose. He basically does Harrison Ford's job again but with a funky pattern on his face.

The film's finale is big, epic and explosive and it's such a shame it gets followed by the worst ending I've possibly ever seen in a film. There's just 15 minutes at the end that almost sour your experience of Ender's Game just because it's so unnecessary.

Forget about the disappointing finish though and you'll have a good time with Enders Game. The whole thing could maybe be given a humour-injection but it's still a fun journey and is a great example of a family film that doesn't have to rely on cartoons and basic humour to get people interested.

7/10


Thor 2 review- http://www.elephantchrisfilmreviews.blogspot.co.uk/

Thor: The Dark World

Trailer- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bFZJ-3zNFg

Poor Thor, he's no ones favourite Avenger (well, apart from one person I know). He's not Hawkeye level unpopular but still he's never going to be in the direct forefront on the posters to Avengers 2, he'll be nestled behind Tony Stark and maybe even The Cap. With the odds against him Thor: The Dark world still delivers a very enjoyable Marvel movie with  great action, heart and load of unexpected humour.

To avoid using the incorrect terminology and get attacked by comic book fans the story goes that Thor's girlfriend stumbles across something on Earth that some bad alien-people want so Thor makes sure she's safe and they don't get it. That sounds patronisingly simple but that's the jist of it. It's dressed up in a very grand mythical setting with the start of the film dragging a bit with gods and other important people getting a bit into the politics of the situation.

Once the action starts and it starts to feel more human, with the inclusion of Natalie Portman's character's romance with Thor, the film really finds its stride. The film's 'comedy aside' character along with the return of the fan-favourite Loki deliver solid laughs that make the film a little lighter and stops it getting bogged down in the otherwise super-serious setting and story telling. I'm sure there's fans out there who would prefer the story was told with perhaps a little more 'respect' but for the every-man it leads to a movie that can be enjoyed by a much wider crowd.

Getting back to Loki- he's still the best bit about Thor and Tom Hiddleston steals the show again as the coolest villain Marvel have ever introduced. He's got personality and there's a clear darkness behind his expressions. His dialogue is great and could give Tony Stark a run for his money in terms of wise-cracks but they never feel forced. The film makers decision to use him not just again in the Avengers but also in Thor 2 was a good one.

It's also a marvel (lololol) to watch with some of the best action scenes on film this year. I can't remember who but someone involved in Game Of Thrones was involved in the creation of Thor 2 and it shows- the breakneck brutality and fluidity of the fight scenes is a joy to sit back and take in.

Two weak points. Christopher Eccleston is completely wasted as the villain as you can barely see his expressions under the prosthetics and alien make up and  he delivers about 3 words of dialogue in English with the rest coming out a foreign language. He's uninteresting and there just so the film can have a main  bad guy as opposed to lots of characterless alien enemies.

The other is that the story gets a little confused with itself. I found myself asking a few times what was going on and why things were happening but it didn't really matter as it was all looking super impressive.

I've never left a Marvel film without a smile on my face and Thor 2 was no exception. It maybe lacks the pizazz (legit word apparently) of the other Marvel hero movies but Thor will always struggle to stand out next to such big characters. It's epic, fun and has made me look forward to my next Marvel fix with Captain America next year.

8/10

Machete Kills

Trailer- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BO1WwOQowlg


Terrible cliché dialogue, stupid over the top plotlines and cheesey fake looking special effects.  Machete Kills features all of these and is a very enjoyable film because of it. It doesn't take itself seriously and is a film that almost takes the piss out of itself.

Machete Kills is essentially a series of OTT fight scenes split up by corny dialogue and celebrity cameos. There are a load of recognisably faces here, from Danny Trejo from the original, Breaking Bad and...the fajita adverts, to Lady Gaga, Charlie Sheen, Mel Gibson -the list goes on. It's funny to see so many well known faces in a film where the production values are so (purposfully) low.

I feel the film is at it's best when it's at it's most ridiculous. The intro scene which I won't spoil is one of the funniest parts of the movie and sets you up for the general tone of the film ahead. I just wished they maybe kept the same level of silliness up as it times the laughs do dry up and the film forgets what it's supposed to be.

There's gore a-plenty, there soley to get a reaction. There's nothing scarring, just a lot of unrealistic blood splatter and organs plopping to the ground. It's not one to watch with Grandma or on date night but as a film to watch in the background with a few friends you could do far worse.

The film is shot in grind house style but it's not shoved in your face as much as you'd think. It's an exploitation film but I feel it could have maybe been a little more shocking or a little more 'bad' to get that status. There are moments of 'this is crazy' but maybe not as much as you'd hope. A few more laughs and few more 'ewws' wouldn't have gone a miss.

Machete Kills is a fun 'popcorn movie' that won't have your sides splitting but will put a smile on your face. Watching it with a few beers in you as a warm up to a night out or something is probably the best way to digest Machete Kills. It's good stupid fun.

7/10

Sunshine on Leith

Trailer- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74WEwUnmH-Y

I'm a bit of a musical connoisseur - is the most homosexual thing I've  ever said. To be fair though I have probably seen more musicals than your average straight 22 year old man and a lot of my favourite films feature the characters bursting into song. So here's a smash hit musical that I'm sure to enjoy, a tale of two soldiers coming home from war and adjusting to life all set to the wonderful tunes of...The Proclaimers. And here's my problem.

There's a time and a place for the Proclaimers. The end of weddings, chanting drunkenly on nights out etc. When it comes to trying to tell beautiful stories of life and love though, naaaat so much. The Proclaimers also have a limited library of music which forces the narrative to awkwardly fit round the song lyrics. For 'Letters from America' to work at all they need to force one of the characters to move to America. For 'Oh Jean' to work there needs to be a character called Jean whose life just happens to fit the lyrics of the song. It just feels so awkward and I don't think it flows at all- changing the story here and there to set up the lyrics to the next song.

The songs themselves also appear really suddenly and out of place which can be a big problem with musicals taking you out of the film and characters lives every time they start singing a Proclaimers song at the end of their sentence. It's not even made well with the characters' lips not even moving in time with the lyrics. I said a few weeks ago that Filth was an example of a film being stylish and well made. Well Sunshine On Leith is the exact opposite. Terribly made and the feeling of being very corny.

There were parts I accepted as being okay. The opening scene is almost well done and a rare case of where the lyrics fit whats going on in quite general terms. 'It's Over and Done With' or whatever the song is called is cheesey as anything but it is pretty fun and works with the whole crowd of people singing it. That's how Proclaimers songs are sung best- by mobs of pissed up people.

The finale is also enough to gauge a smile, partly due to '500 miles' being used as a super serious love song.

The Proclaimers themselves also make the worst cameo to happen in film history. If you could see them in the background or do something clever it'd be good but as it is they walk out a pub half way through a song and more or less look directly into the camera and scream 'LOOK WE'RE IN THE FILM TOO BECAUSE IT'S OUR MUSIC, LOOOOOOK!'.

Call me anti-Scottish but this is like watching Children In Need when it cuts away from the celebrities and star performances happening in London and you instead get Sean Batty singing a funny song about weather for money. A lot of people seem to be getting some enjoyment from it but it's definitly not for me. If anything it's a bit of stupid fun that atleast tries to make the songs of the Proclaimers into a legitimate story. Even writing that sound ridiculous though.

4/10

How I Live Now

Trailer- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSaxm68PPT4

A reason this film wasn't as popular as it might have been is because no one I know really knew what it was about. Another poster/trailer rant here but the poster makes it look like a coming of age indie film and and the trailer makes it look like Twilight. To be fair however it is hard to market How I Live now as just one genre. It is a teen romance, mixed with a war drama, mixed with an arty indie coming of age film. Throw in some horror and make parts of it look a bit like Midsomer Murders and you have How I Live Now.

The film follows a girl who comes over from America to stay with her cute little English relatives out in the countryside. What makes things a little more interesting is that World War III is kicking off somewhere in the distance and when it reaches them it hits them hard. The film quickly goes from being very 'Famous Five' and first love to an actually pretty harrowing struggle to stay alive.

The shift in tone is pretty jarring but in that way it sort of works. To go from all smiles and niceness to such horribleness makes the struggles of Ronan's character harder to watch. The film sets her up to be this horrible bitch of a girl and the 'war changes people' message is a little obvious and a bit hammed on. But as clunky as the storytelling is I did end up really liking her character.

What's not so great is when the film tries to be much more arty than it is. There's a lot of inner monologues and 'close ups for some reason' at the start of the film which thankfully become less and less as the story grows darker. Whenever the sound goes all rumbley and she starts spouting out crap that's supposed to mean something in her head 'TAKE RISKS, AVOID CONFRONTATION, DON'T BE HELD BACK' it feels pretty self indulgent and more than anything just annoying.

When the film is best is when it feels like a ITV daytime war drama but set in modern say times. At pointss it does feel like it's based on a book and you're almost aware of it going chapter to chapter. The book it's based on I assume is very enjoyable though because the journey Ronan's character goes on really sucked me in. The death and darkness was probably less startling in the book than it is the film, but in that way I suppose it hits harder. There's a difference in reading about a boy getting shot and actually seeing it (as much as it's all 'pretend') which makes watching scenes How I live Now a little more shocking than you'd expect.

It's a film that could be enjoyed quite universally I think and one that'd be easy to watch with the family at Christmas if you can handle the later scenes. It sort of feels like a really good TV movie and would recommend a watch if you can ignore some of the mentioned flaws.

7/10

Filth

Trailer- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tymWDB7gtK4

Here's my thought process through watching Filth. 'This is so funny! This is going to be such a laug...oh...oh jesus...wow...just...what?'. It's dark, super intense and I don't think my head could handle a repeat viewing in the immediate future. But Filth was certainly original and actually a hell of a good film.  

James McAvoy plays an Edinburgh policeman  who is after a promotion and then proceeds to go totally insane in the process. And boy do we go on that journey into madness with him. Scenes happen at random here and there which are partly explained as the film goes on but are still very jarring when you see them at first. When I found myself slipping out of being totally fixed to Filth I couldn't help but look around at my fellow cinema-goers who all had a similar confused expression on their face and just thinking 'what the hell is going on here'. 

It does work though. It's creepy shocking imagery gets into your head and it's as if you're going just as mad as McAvoy's character. You're slowly drip-fed his back story as well which gives a satisfying insight to what has caused this psychotic episode to happen. 

But it's a comedy right? Well it is in parts and when it is it's jet black. The first 10 minutes set it up to be a surreal Mighty Boosh style event but then the moments of random humour start to become few and far between as the themes of Filth become more troubling. 

There's plenty of British talent on offer here and I was recognizing actors from here there and everywhere either as cameos or full characters. I often feel when any media comes from Scotland it comes off very unprofessional and cheesy but Filth is the big exception here. It's stylish as anything and the acting is top notch. To steal a line right off a review featured on the poster - McAvoy indeed gives the performance of his career. He's on a role at the moment. Trance was great and so is Filth albeit not quite as interesting. 

It's a unique and intense journey but maybe the story could have been more stable. It's great that the story of McAvoy's character is almost told backwards but it does leave the viewer confused for quite a long part of the film. There's enough twists and reveals in Filth to keep it entertaining and clever but maybe some of the story telling could have been more conventional. 

I think Filth is the closest thing to Trainspotting that has happened since...well Trainspotting so if you could handle and enjoyed that you'll most likely enjoy this. Be warned however- it's not the wacky Scottish comedy it's been made out to be in trailers and on posters. Filth is twisted and intense but is a darkly unique experience I'll remember for a long while. 

8/10