Review : Pulp Fiction

"And you'll know my name is the lord, when I lay my vengeance upon you". A legendary quote from Quentin Tarantino's 'Pulp Fiction'. Pulp Fiction stars Samuel L Jackson, John Travolta and Uma Thurman in the leading rolls, This movie is one of the most heavily praised films, in the whole of the known media. It was immensely popular when it came out, back in 1994.

It's a film which is about many alternate stories, involving several characters back story, and how all these alternate stories tye into the one story; which makes up the film.

Tarantino presents a rather brilliant executed piece with 'Pulp Fiction,' in how he tyes everything together, how he creates such brilliant characters, how he tyes humour into the story, this film is like a cake, and Tarantino's mixing all the ingredients and baking the perfect cake.

Lots of snappy action in this, lots of bloody action and graphic violence, which I don't mind if done well, and if it works well in the story.

Storyline entails - Jules Winnfield and Vincent Vega who are two armed and dangerous hit men who take pleasure to retrieve a suitcase stolen from their employer, mob boss Marsellus Wallace. Wallace has also asked Vincent to take his wife - Mia out for dinner, a few days later when Wallace himself will be away on business.

Into that you've got boxer, Butch Coolidge who is paid off by Wallace to lose his next fight. He doesn't, he ends up killing his apponant in the ring. This results in him getting into sever trouble with Wallace.

And what's extraordinary is the fact of the lives of these seemingly unrelated people, are woven together comprising of a series of very humours, bizarre and insane events.

Here is a clip from 'Pulp Fiction'.

I have to say wasn't too kean on the ending, because the film comes to it's natural end quite abruptly. However that being said as my only main criticism, the film itself is very enjoyable. You do however need to put the effort in, and you do have to want to watch it, in order to follow it.

The dialogue in this like 2 Guns, is very snappy and current to the time period its set, so you've got a good writer who has a good and clear understanding of the English language, and takes a gift that he has and places that into a script, and like 'Lock Stock' it is all over the place, the story is splintered, and you have to pick up on it in order to get the concept.



Tarantino also gets great things out of his actors, he selects the right people to deliver his script to the best of their abilities, and in turn gets what he wants in between.

This film is also very funny, when your doing a comedy in a film you have to be careful in how you present it. If done wrong the film fails, and it's not funny. If done write, the risk pays off. I find Pulp Fiction to be hit and miss, but has that little hint of Tarantino wonder to it.

So all in all, mostly good things to say about 'Pulp Fiction', not that many problems.

It's just plain and simply brilliant.

I will give it a 9/10.

Thank you for reading this review.

NEXT TIME : I will review 'Mrs Doubtfire', Hilarious comedy starring Robin Williams. I will post that review on Thursday the 5th of September 2013.

Review : Black Swan

Black Swan - A film by Darren Aronofsky, starring Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis and Vincent Cassell. Based off the story of Swan Lake, this film tells the disturbing tale of how a young girl, struggles with her identity as a person when she wins the lead in the performance of "Swan Lake" and is perfect for the role of the delicate White Swan - Princess Odette - but as time goes on, she slowly loses her mind and becomes twisted and delousinal.

Hey Everyone

Welcome to my latetest update, Today I'm reviewing 'Black Swan' which is based of the famous ballet 'Swan Lake'. It stars Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis and Vincent Cassell, all of which are very familiar names in the film media today, I am sure of.

Black Swan, for like 'Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels' is a very graphic drama, and you have to be in the mood to watch it. Some films you can watch, and enjoy it, however with Black Swan  I've always thought it to be one of those films, where you need to sit down and watch it properly. Otherwise I'm not otherwise engaged in it as one would hope to be.

With that thought in mind, when you do watch it fully, It's really good. It's very well acted, very well executed piece of drama for which has been set up purely for entertainment purposes, very well directed, the plot works really well, it's not that difficult to understand if your following it properly.

I do think that Black Swan, has had an effect on me since I've watched it, you do have to watch it a few times to get everything out of it. I always find with films like that, though you understand what's going on in the story, and you can follow the plot, there will be one or two things you've missed, without the viewer knowing it. It's best to watch it twice or three times, after you've veiwed it, as I belive it to help your understanding of it.

The Storyline of Black Swan, entails that of the character of a girl called Nina (Portman) who is a ballerina lives in New York with her mother - who was a former ballerina, and she studies at s ballet company whose life, like all those in her profession, is completely consumed with the art of dance.

When the exciting news, comes from artistic director Thomas Leroy (Cassel) to replace prima ballerina Beth MacIntyre (Wionna Ryder) for the opening production of their new season, Swan Lake, Nina is ready to her throw of the dice, and go for the role of both white and black swan. But Nina has competition on her hands: a new, prettier and more elegant dancer, Lily (Kunis), who impresses Leroy, just as well.

With Swan Lake requiring a dancer who can both play the White Swan with innocence and grace, and the Black Swan, who represents darkness and sensuality. Nina fits the White Swan role perfectly but Lily comes to mind as the personification for the Black Swan. As the two young dancers expand and rival eachother further into a twisted friendship, Nina begins to get more in touch with her darker side - a feeling that threatens to destroy her.

Here's a clip from Black Swan.

As you can tell, watching certain scenes again, after seeing the ending, makes it clear to the viewer just how messed up Nina was. And Natalie Portman gets the gold star for this film for me, she was brilliant, every scene she dilivered, and she really convinced you that she was something more, than an innocent girl turned bad, she was a character corrupted by the whole Swam story, and it only makes sense, should you watch the film in full.

The Director Darren Aronofsky, did a very good job also, very persoverant in his camera angles, really awsome stuff from him, he was an adiquite choice to embrace the challenges, that this film had, and I belive he pulled them off very well.





Overall, Black Swan, really is a film that I leave up to you, the viewer as to what you think of it, me personally, I think once your devoted to the plot, and you get into it, it clicks, and is a very good film.

I will give it a score of 8 marks out of 10.

Thank you for reading this review, I hope you found, useful as well as entertaining.

NEXT TIME : I'll review 'Pulp Fiction'.

I will post that review on Saturday the 31st of August 2013.

Review : Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels : Written and Directed by 'Guy Ritchie' this film, is just brilliant. It really is. It's a film which shows the audience, the true talents of Guy Ritchie as he cleverly tells a story of not just one person, but of many alternate stories contain several characters, and how each of their alternate stories link into the main story. The plot of this film is just excellent - A fixed card game in London triggers four friends, thugs, weed-growers, hard gangsters, loan sharks and debt collectors to collide with each other in a series of unexpected events, all of which for the sake of some weed, cash and two value for money - antique shotguns.

 As you may already guess, I like the film a lot. I like films which are clever, and I like gangster movies which contain a lot of proper action and life threatening danger. It's also a comedy in strange ways, if you actually think about it, as you watch it the humour in this story, actually very much ties into and works in the story, and quite well to.

As well as it being a comedy, it concentrates more on being, a Crime thriller which is the film's main purpose.
The dialogue in this story, quite snappy and to the point, but that's another contributing factor about this film, the dialogue is so good that there are several famous lines from this, picked out and selected by viewers who love this film, just as much as I did.

The Storyline entails of Four Jack-the-lads who have their own separate talents, to form a team. They find themselves seriously heavily, in debt to an East End hard man and his enforcers after a fixed card game. Overhearing their neighbours in the next flat plotting to hold up a group of out-of-their-depth drug growers, our hero's decide to stitch up the robbers in turn. In a way the confusion really starts when a pair of antique double-barrelled shotguns go missing in a completely different scam. However, Guy Ritchie is so clever at tying in those stories together, so the film makes sense in the end. Not a very difficult film to follow, It's not like 'Pulp Fiction' where it's all over the place; To me the story is very clear as tow what happens in the story, and how it links into the affairs of other characters.

Here's a clip from Lock, Stock.

The music in this film (The Soundtrack) is really good, lots of interesting choices of songs coming in and out of this film, all of which work well in terms of setting the scene, adding dramatic emphasis and setting up the mood of scenes. Music wise, I don't see much of a problem with the songs - The Soundtrack, there were some songs, to which were not familiar to me, when I first watched it. Nowadays, I know every word to every song in this film, and have no problem with it at all.

Script wise, I really like the script. It's got an old fashioned hardness to it, which Guy Ritchie can do. It's got his talents written all of it. You can tell that is this a Ritchie movie. Ritchie creates fantastic characters and if you take the clip above, as I talk about the character of 'Rory Braker' for example - when antagonised and angry he really is a character of strong will and doesn't like to be screwed over by anyone one else lesser than he is - really great character development and character building.

Performance wise, Lock, Stock is very well cast. It's got people like : Jason Statham, Nick Moran, Steven Mackintosh, Vinnie Jones, Lenny McLean and Jason Flemyng all of which gives brilliant performances throughout, and each of their characters are different, they have different ideas and different understandings of the way the world works, so what you have is a great understanding of what people today are like now, though these characters are fictional, their relateable to our everyday sociaty, though this film was released back in 1998, It's still going strong today, and that's what I think makes this film so good.



The film itself, is a very well executed piece of which is so wonderfully shot and carefully directed. Guy Ritchie knows his stuff, and how he calls the shots, he's very perseverance in his camera angles, he can show off the domence of a situation and also show comedy moments as well, with light intention.

The film is a bit violent, but that's okay by me, I like action violence done well, and this was done well. No complaints from me on that side of the film.

Overall, nothing bad at all to say about this film, because you can't necessarily fault it, It's too good.

I'll give it a 9/10. One of the best films, I've seen.

Thank You for reading this review.

NEXT TIME : I will review 'Black Swan' which is another graphic drama; I'll post that review on Friday the 30th of August 2013.

Review : The Lone Ranger

The Lone Ranger :  Native American warrior Tonto embarks on a noble adventure, with inevitable John Reid, a man of the law turned into a legend of justice.

Hello There, Everyone.

I trust your having a nice weekend, I welcome you to my review of 'The Lone Ranger' the new Disney film, which stars Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer. Set in the wild west of the USA.

Going into this film, I was very excited about what it had to offer, it seemed to me a bit out of the ordinary to any other western themed film, I had seen previous. Also it has two great leading members of the cast, which are also well know faces, which in turn, always help publicity advertising.

Having actually watched it, I look back on with some fondness, there a aspects of this film which were brilliantly done, and other bits of which were not so great.

The Storyline entails, back in the 1930s, an elderly Indian, known as Tonto tells a young boy the tale of John Reid, the Lone Ranger. Who starts off as idealistic lawyer, and ends up becoming the legendary 'Lone Ranger', Tonto tells us of how he came to ride with his brother and fellow Texas Ranger to catch the notorious bandit - Butch Cavendish, who is a very vile and nasty character.

Ambushed by the outlaws and left for dead, John Reid is rescued by Tonto and a noble white spirit horse, who tells Tonto, John is destined for greatness. When explained his destiny, Reid agrees to help Tonto, on the condition that they both bring Cavendish to justice. Becoming a reluctant masked rider with a seemingly incomprehensible partner, Reid pursues the criminal against all obstacles, which face him. However, John and Tonto learn that Cavendish is only part of a far greater and disgraceful injustice.

Here's a clip.

As a story, I thought that the concept was good, everything fit together very well, and the first 30 minutes of it, are very good. However, it is one of those films in which had lots of padding, which results in the story not going anywhere.

The films biggest problem, is the fact that it's far too long, I left the cinema thinking 'that didn't need to be as long as it was'. Certain scenes could of been cut, and left as deleted scenes for the DVD.

For instance all of the scenes in which Tonto, tells the young boy of the story of John Reid as an old warrior, did those scenes really need to be in the film? no. They were so unneccary, and they slowed the story down. As an audience member, I wasn't bothered at all by that, I was more interested in what was going on in the story, yet with this, it's a story egisting within a story. Didn't think it worked, would of preferred it if this film was cut down to 100 minutes. That way, all that could be accomplished, could be accomplished, in a much more shorter and flexible time frame.







Though this film has flaws and padding, there are good aspects to it. The costumes and make up in this are really good, Very authentic and capture the time of the setting. I thought that Johnny Depp's make up was just fantastic, he looked incredible. It just goes to prove what good make up can do, it make the character that the actor or actress is playing, much more believable in it's appearance, as looks are important.

I also thought Helena Bohnam Carter, looked great. She's a woman of great presence and she presents herself very well, and her costume is just amazing, she looks marvellous and very appealing, lots of interesting reds and dark colours, they really do reflect off the essence of here character well.

Performance wise, I thought that Johnny Depp, as Tonto was really good. Armie Hammer as John Reid, very good acting from him. Helena Bohnam Carter was also really good, however sadly she didn't do enough in the film, to make much of an impact, however she did really good with what she had. William Fichtner as the villainous Butch Cavendish, very vile and grusome, he looked grim which always compliments the meaning to a character.

A twist in the tale is Tom Wilkinson's character Lanthom Cole, who is a town mayor on this story, is actually a corrupt bad guy. And is also the brother of Butch Cavendish. Very interesting twist, really clicks into the story. We learn in the film that a long time ago, when Johnny Depp's character was a boy he found two white men badly wounded and brought them back to his village, he noticed a watch that they had, which he liked. And the tradition of the Indians is they make trades, so he makes a trade with these two white men, and reveals where the valley of silver is kept, for an ordinary pocket watch. In a sense these two white men take advantage of a young Indian boy, and Johnny Depp seeks a revenge against them since.



Another thing which I thought was great, where the two action sequences on the train. One at the beginning of the film. And one near the end of the film, I thought they were both, very pacy, very well shot, very well directed. And it's a shame in a way that this film wasn't in 3D. I think those effects would of been marvellous to see in a third dimensional view. I'm guessing because films becoming so more advanced in it's effects these days, we as the audience members are used to them, were not so much taken back in a 'Wow Factor' sort of way anymore, because we're so used to what we see on screen.

However, those two train action sequences, were for me probably the best bits of this film.

So Overall what does this film get out of 10? I'll give it a 6. I liked it, but I didn't love it.

1 Gold Star to Johnny Depp

Thanks for reading this review.

NEXT TIME : I will review Guy Ritchie's 'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrells' - I will post that review on Wednesday the 28th of August 2013.

Review : 2 Guns

2 Guns :  A DEA agent and a Naval intelligence officer - both undercover, have to work as a pair in an attempt to infiltrate a drug cartel. Whilst on this mission, they learn the secret of their shaky alliance: Neither one of them know, that the other was an undercover agent.

Hey Everyone

Welcome to my next review. Today I'm reviewing 2 Guns, which is an action packed, comedy crime drama. Written by Blake Masters and directed by Baltasar Kormákur. It stars Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg.

This story is based off a graphic novel which is interesting, It is about two characters, who both have secrets, and they both rob a bank together, and steal 43 million dollars in cash. It is then that they discover that they're both undercover agents, and they both become on the run from these gangsters who are the owners of the money they stole, who try to get it back, and the whole point of this movie, is finding out what happened to the money.

Here's a clip.

From what I picked up very quickly about 2 Gun is, there's lots of snappy dialogue in this, it's very precise and to the point, very similar to the works of a Tarantino movie. The Acting and the script compliment each other, they're almost side by side in a way. For instance Denzel Washington's performance in this is absolutely fantastic, he really elevates this to his full potential. I thought it was really well cast, The plot works really well, It did have me guessing up until the last moments.

I don't have much to say on this film, because you can nautically fault it in anyway. Unless your nit picky, But I genuenlly thought that this film was really good. Though the trailers were not great, The film itself proves to be a melodramatic crime comedy, which plays on it's laughs and it's action.

For instance there's a lot of vandalism and property damage made, which is over exaggerated to the extent where the audience is drawn into the story, with an understanding of this being a cop drama which is also melodramatic.

Another thing which struck me about this film, was the two explosion sequences, There's a scene in the beginning of the film, where the two leads blow up a cafe, then later on there's a bigger explosion at the navel base, those effects were fantastic, they were established very well, they looked impressive and effective.



This film does set off an atmosphere of it's own, when it starts off. It reminded me of a 90's  action movie in some ways, like 'Pulp Fiction' 2 Guns defiantly has that mid 90's feel to it. It's as if it's 1997 all over again, which is great because the 90's was probably the best decade of films, ever. I challenge anyone to top it. In the first shot when your introduced to Denzel Washington it goes to prove it's a film which focuses on looking good and sounding good, as it is on having a good plot. It's a buddies movie.

The Script itself, I like it a lot, the dialogue as I said, is very snappy, to the point and precise and very compelling. Which in every sense of the word is a good thing, it just shows that there's a meaning to what the story is about and how the speech and mannerisms of the characters excel that.

The Humour in this is very much what I like to call 'mixed humour' this is when I start to get nit picky.  Sometimes the laughs are there, and sometimes they're not, I didn't understand this film to be comedic, To me it wasn't a comedy, very few jokes, I didn't get, maybe it's to do with my understanding of the story, perhaps I misunderstood certain aspects, which intern effected the comedic sides of the story. who knows. As a melodramatic comedy, it didn't do anything for me.



Overall thoughts, Good Script, very well executed, very well acted and in turn make up a decent film.

I wouldn't buy it on DVD, but it was still good to see.

I will say that 2 Guns should be worth - 7/10.

Thank you for reading this review.

NEXT TIME : I will review 'The Lone Ranger' starring Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer. I will post that review on Saturday the 24th of August 2013.

Review : Side Effects

Side Effects : A story with a twist, which tells the audience about a young woman's world, which unravels when a drug prescribed by her psychiatrist, has unexpected and strange side effects.

Hello Film Fans

Welcome to another Dr Film review, Today I'm reviewing 'Side Effects' Written Scott Burns and Directed by Steven Soderbergh, and though some people may not know it, 'Side Effects' was to be Steven Soderbergh last film, as director.

The Film stars : Jude Law, Rooney Mara, Catherine Zeta Jones and Channing Tatum and essentially is lead to be a story, with surprises. Just when you think your following the story, a twist happens which sets off other twists happening, in the plot.

The Storyline encounters challenges and mixed opinion upon some of it's viewers, I suggest you take in a sample of opinion before you watch this film, like I did, just so you have an idea of thought in your mind, then once you've seen it, your allowed then to make up your own mind.

Young woman - Emily Taylor (Rooney Mara), is reunited with her husband, after he's spent time in prison. During the time her husband's been away, Emily becomes severely depressed, having moments such as emotional episodes and occasional suicide attempts. After conferring with her psychiatrist, Dr. Jonathan Banks (Jude Law), He sees it in best interests on the advice of Emily's previous doctor, to prescribe Emily, an experimental new medication called Ablixa.

It's only after Emily starts using these new drugs, that the plot starts to thicken, and the side effects of the drug lead to Emily to killing her husband whilst in a "sleepwalking" state. With Emily having no memory of what she has done, she is plea-bargained into mental hospital confinement and Dr. Banks' practise crumbling around him, though the case however seems closed.

Dr. Banks cannot accept full responsibility, and investigates further to clear his name. What follows is a dark quest that threatens to tear what's left of his life and career apart, as he discovers the diabolical truth, of this tragedy. So this film is in every sense of the world, a Mind Blender, it plays with the viewer, in what their lead to believe.  Which is why I recommend to those you haven't seen 'Side Effects' to gather up a basis of opinion before they see this film, and to be in the right frame of mind to watch it, as it isn't a film you can sit back and enjoy, you have to be in the mood to watch it.



Though there a lots of good things about 'Side Effects' the pacing of it, I might judge as being a bit slow, in between pieces there appears to be lots of padding, or moments where you feel the story doesn't go anywhere, progression is slow, the pacing of it isn't as good as it could be, there are times where I found myself having to keep up with the plot, which isn't neccacarly a bad thing, but it's not a good thing. The twist itself wasn't as good as I anticipated, towards the end, there are noticeable plot holes in the film, which degrade it.

For instance, the lesbian thing? That for me, didn't do the film a favour, forgive me, if I'm being judged as completely missing the point of the film, or that aspect of the story, but to me, that plot hole does degrade my liking to the story.

However, It's not all bad, some of the performances are really good. Jude Law - excellent performance, Jude Law is a fantastic actor. Catherine Zeta Jones, she does a lot more in 'Side Effects' than she does in 'Broken City', she put on a convincing performance and Rooney Mara as well, also did really well with what she had.

I should point out I wasn't so familiarised with Steven Soderbergh's directing, as I could of been. However I thought he was a good director for this sort of story. He was good at not giving too much away, he knows how to set the mood for scenes and most importantly, he gets the best out of his actors. 





 In a nutshell, 'Side Effects' is well cast, well directed, well set, the storytelling is complex, it has his moments and there are plot holes, but it does imply clever messages, and overall if your patient enough to go with it, you'll like it a lot.

I will give this film a 6/10, easy going.

Thank you for reading this review.

NEXT TIME : I will review '2 Guns' starring Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg. I will post that review on Thursday the 22nd of August 2013.

Review : The World's End

World's End : One town, One Night, Five Guys, Twelve Pubs, 60 Pints... what could possibly go wrong?

Hello Film Lovers

Welcome to the latest update in Dr Film's reviews and recommendations. Today I'll be reviewing the new Simon Pegg and Nick Frost movie, directed by Edgar Wright. 'The World's End'. Which is a story about a group of friends who haven't seen each other in 20 years, who reunite to finish this famous pub crawl in their hometown of Newton haven. However as their night goes from mad, to crazy,whilst their out conquering 'The Golden Mile' there is also something very sinister happening, to which the five guys end up being involved in.

I will start my review of 'The World's End' off by saying, it is a very well executed film indeed. one I was looking forward to watching. I liked how the humour and the jokes, tye into what is a pretty dark story preemies. Because in the end 'The World's End' does exactly what is says on the tin, it demonstrates the destruction of the world and the after effects that that causes. So the way it was written and how it tyes into the dark conclusion at the end, that was very well done, which brings back to me saying that this is a really well executed piece of action drama with light indented humour as well, for me every joke in this film, was a winner.

So the film begins with a flash back sequence, The audience is treated to an over narrated voice over of Simon Pegg's character, talking about the events of the best night out, in question. We understand that this night out wasn't just any ordinary night out, that it's something that means a lot to Pegg's character - Pegg's character is of course being, a forty year old man, trapped in the late version of his teens. So in effect he decides, to get his friends back together to finish that very night off. starting at The First Post and ending at The World's End.

At first the guys don't agree to it, however having a change of heart decide to go with him. It is only when they arrive at Newton haven and start going from pub to pub. That things go from mad to absolutely bonkers. And I think that's what makes 'The World's End' so good. It's so off the wall, and so over the top in terms of what it has to offer, that viewer really goes with it.



Little do these guys from London, actually know that newton haven has been taken over by Androids, who's intention is to make the world a better place. These Androids are not slaves or servants of any kind, they're all part of one system who obey 'the network' which is voiced by Bill Nighy. And the only way the five lads can survive the night, is to make it all the way, to 'The World's End'.

Now I don't have much problems, with this film. I overall think it's very very good, but on the pretentious of being nit-picking, I do have to say that the sense of reality of what happens at the end of this story, is really quite disturbing, and I say that with 'Shaun of the Dead' as well, a lot of people die or have died in this story and the fact that system crashes and the world becomes a vast waste land, is actually quite upsetting. Especially as you follow the story, it's all good and happy and jokey to start off with, and then the film punches you in the face with a reality hit of 'oh my lord, the world's ended - this didn't end well at all.' So the sense of reality in the film, is not pleasant in the slightest.

Having said that, I thought that the effect of the destroyed world, looked really good. It gave off what it needed to, it was convincing, it was overall a good authentic effect.

Performance wise, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost were both just incredible in this film, Pegg gives one of his best performances by a clear mile. The desperation of a man who is stuck in a bubble in contrast to Nick Frost's character at an older age, it is just incredible, the two actors give off such amazing energy throughout, I loved it.









 Overall what did I think of 'The World's End' - fantastic film. Absolutely brilliant concepts, the plot works really well. You got comedy, you got action, you got science fiction and a hard hitting reality check, which all combine into one story.

I'll give this film, 8.5/10

1 Gold Star to Simon Pegg

1 Gold Star to Nick Frost

1 Gold Star to Edgar Wright

Thanks for reading this review.

NEXT TIME : I shall review 'Side Effects' starring Jude Law, Rooney Mara and Catherine Zeta Jones. I will post that review on Tuesday the 20th of August 2013.

Review : Kick Ass 2

 

Kick Ass 2:  The continuation to the story, which started of by following a thought, that Dave Lizewski once had 'What if the world has a real superheros?'.

Hello Film Lovers

Today I will be reviewing Kick Ass 2. The sequel to Kick Ass, which I have already reviewed, and you all know that I enjoyed it, very much.

I'll start off this review by saying, that though I was sceptical about watching this film, I had a feeling that it there was going to be a good story, behind all the action and the joking and bloody violence. And much to my surprise there was a really decent story to Kick Ass 2, It mainly focus's on Mindy and who she is as a person, but alongside that, you have things going on with Dave and how he's egar to get back to being Kick Ass, and the impact he's caused both positive and negative.

You are presented with an intriguing villain, which is Chris from the first film. Who is angered by Kick Ass, after he killed his father. He becomes a character with a revenge agenda, and vows to get his revenge and become a super villain. He calls himself  'The Mother F*cker'.

And the story of this film, take place after Kick-Ass's insane bravery in the first film. It inspires many other people to form, a new wave of self-made masked crusaders. Together they form a club of new superhero's and leading these new hero's is a general badass madman - Colonel Stars and assisting him is his dog Stripes, After being neglected by Mindy, and egar to get back out there. Dave joins the group as Kick Ass, and joins them on patrol.

However The Mother F*cker, is raising an army of badass gangsters and fighters, to assist him in killing Kick Ass off. Colonel Stars and his group of amateur superheroes are hunted down one by one, till Chris gets close enough to finding out the identity of Kick Ass.

When the fate of Dave's life is at stake, blade-wielding Hit Girl is the only one, who can prevent Dave's annihilation. When we last saw Hit Girl, she was a junior assassin and young vigilante. Now in Kick Ass 2, the audience really to get more depth to Mindy's character. We get the chance to follow her story properly, we understand her struggle that she faces at High School. Also how she gets to understand her true identity, how she stops being Hit girl and tries to be Mindy. I really felt invested in Mindy's story, it was accomplished brilliantly in this film. The fault with Mindy's story being strong is that it's off putting, to the main character which is Kick Ass.



Judging by what the plot has to offer, it's sort of two stories in one. Overally though, it made sense, everything fitted into the story very well. You followed the characters, It was very well cast, very well directed, very well acted.

A Highlight I have from this film, and my absolute favourite scene is the scene where Mindy uses her puke ray device on three high school, to get back at them for making her feel insecure. I absolutely love that scene so much, not only is it hilariously funny, but it's also very well done, the effect of the vomit and diarrhoea was real enough for one audience member to believe it. It was for me, probably the highlight of the film.

I will say that this sequel really does open up, a several number of doors in comparison to the first film. It allows one to embrace what's going on and enjoy it for what it is. The action sequences in this film are really good, an example is the sequence with the van on the road and Mindy takes everyone out on her own, clean cut and to the point. which is always very good.

Though this film was good as a story, there are bits in it which are predictable. I knew certain things would happen, but it excited me how it was going to happen, for example Chris's death scene, there were hints towards how he would meet his demise, and when he does it just confirms what has already been mentioned before. That's just an example of one of the predictable things about this film, so that's another fault if you'd call it that, this film isn't fall on going surprising. There are certain things which play with the mind, but you know it will happen anyway.



So overall, what did I think. I thought Kick Ass 2 was all right. certainly does the first one some justice, it's always good to keep the audience wanting more of what is good. There are rumours speculating that should this film do well, in the box office, there will be a Kick Ass 3. That is something to which I say, "let's cross that bridge should we come it". I personally, don't wish to see, a Kick Ass 3, I don't see how it can continue, as Kick Ass 2 more or less raps up things with Mindy and Dave, in terms of their stories.

Would I recommend people go and see this, yes providing you don't mind bloody and gore and heavy violence and action.

I will give Kick Ass 2 - 7.5/10. not 8 or 9 because it didn't wow me as other films like 'Monsters University' or 'Wreck it Ralph' did. But still very good none the less.

Thank you for reading this review folks.

NEXT TIME : I will review the film of the summer 'The World's End'. So join me for a pint on Sunday the 18th of August 2013.

Review : Wreck It Ralph

Wreck it Ralph - Ralph the bad guy, in a video game, fantasies about having a different life, a life where he's not disregarded because of his position. Ralph sets out to prove he's not a bad guy and that he can achieve greatness.

Hello Everyone

Welcome to another Dr Film Review, In today's review. I will be talking about Disney movie 'Wreck it Ralph' which is regarded by most people and critics as being a very good film, overall. I would be obliged to agree, I think it's a very good film, very inventive and imaginative and comically funny.

The Story basically is about the title character, Wreck-It Ralph who longs to be as beloved as his game's perfect Good Guy, Fix-It Felix. The problem that he faces is, nobody loves the Bad Guy. But however it occurs to Ralph that people do love heroes.

So the film is about Ralph setting out to prove, that he can achieve greatness, when a modern, first-person shooter game arrives in the arcade, featuring tough-as-nails Sergeant Calhoun, Ralph gets his once in a lifetime opportunity and his ticket to heroism and happiness. He sneaks into the game with a simple plan, win a medal and return to his game a hero.

But with his nature kicks in and he wrecks his chance, he passes through into another game and also without knowing, accidentally unleashes a deadly parasite or bug,  which in effect threatens every game in the arcade, and puts him and everyone else in danger. Ralph's only hope is an adorable little girl called Vanellope von Schweetz.

Vanellope is in her game looked down upon as a trouble making "glitch" from a candy-coated cart racing game, and she ends up being the one who teaches Ralph what it means to be an actual Good Guy. Together they work as a pair, to help each other out, and become friends, they also help to save the arcade from destruction.

So all in all, a fairly decent story with an interesting plot. The ideas in this are just off the wall, fantastic. So imaginative and presented in such a clever way.

All the designs are built up so atmospherically, such as the candy world. It looks amazing, I really liked the setting of background. I thought certain ideas of things such as the Oreo soldiers and the nesquick sand, were very clever and worked in the story very well.

There's also a great twist in this film, which I didn't see coming when I first watched it. to those who haven't seen this film, and actually follow it as you watch, you might surprised. It's not a garentee, but you might be surprised.




Certain effects in this film, are really good, for example Venellope's glitching moments, really looked believable when she did have her glitching moments. The Cybugs are another great effect, especially when they multiplied and you see them in a swarm, threatening but such a good effect.

I couldn't really fault this film, really. I was a little nit picky with this film, but that was only because there are a few nit picky moments for which are noticeable. I won't name them, but there not that difficult to pick up.

Surprisingly, I don't have much to say other than 'Wreck It Ralph is a good film' you should watch it.

Though I don't have much to say about this, trust me a short review, means it's a good review.

Scores on the board, I will say that Wreck it Ralph gets 9/10. I absolutely loved it. It's up there as one of my favorite Disney movies.

Well I thank you for reading what there is, of this short review.

NEXT TIME : I will review Kick Ass 2. I'll post that review on Saturday the 17th of August 2013. 

Review : The Inbetweeners

The Inbetweeners :  After Three successful series, The Inbetweeners was a finominimial hit with teenage and adult audiences. Creating words like 'clunge' which should be in a dictionary. And not forgetting putting catching the bus to shame, because your might be called a 'bus wanker'. Now Will, Simon, Jay and Neil set out to hit the big screen, in 'The Inbetweeners Movie'.

Hello Everyone

Hope your all having a good week, enjoying the summer holiday. Welcome to another film review, by me Dr Film. In today's review, I will be reviewing 'The Inbetweeners Movie' starring the original cast members of the hit comedy series 'The Inbetweeners'.  Four socially troubled 18-year-old boys, from the south of England go on a lads holiday to Malia, what could possibly go wrong, quite a lot if you think about it.

Speaking as a fan of 'The Inbetweeners' to hear that they made a film, was incredible news. I couldn't believe it, I was very egar to see it, fortunately I did, and I have to say it was a great experience to see 'The Inbetweeners' in the cinema on the big screen. Just made a nice change from seeing them on the telly. This film has been said by fans to be a long episode. Which I would agree with, It is quite an extent to what we're used to from watching the TV series.

The film mainly complies on each character having their own problem, and what they do to solve it. And how they get on on this holiday, how these characters progress and change throughout the course of this film. There's lots of new development made to the four main characters in the film, which takes them to a whole new level.

The film is presented and supported by Film4 and is directed by Ben Palmer, who directed series 2 of the TV series. So he returns to direct the film, having directed some 'Inbetweeners' before, he's experienced, he already knows what challenges, The inbetweeners presents and overall good choice of director, who knows his stuff.

Another point I have to raise about this, is the fact that how cleverly done it starts, because obviously the two writers have to present it in a way that both pleases the fans, and also introduces The Inbetweeners to people who have never seen the TV series. I think they do that very well, as the film starts off.

As the film begins, we are introduced to a new character which is Will's Dad, and appearing to guest star as Will's Dad, is Anthony Head. Who is a brilliant well - experienced actor and fan of the Inbetweeners, so to have him in it, was great. I also got the impression that he is a father who doesn't think much of his son, as if Will is a let down to him. That's very interesting, and it's funny when Will says 'I'm going to prove to you that I can be normal' and he does, and his father cries. I thought that was funny. Already you got interesting things going on with Will.



Shortly after that your introduced to Simon's part of the story, he spends the whole of the film trying to get over the girl, who's fancied all of his life. He gets with Carley, she ends it. He wastes all of his time trying to get her back. Which when you watch it after a while, can get a bit boring. I wasn't so much invested with Simon's story, but what I did like about was when he takes a step back and actually realises, he's made a bad choice, and I thought 'Halleujah, thank god for that'. And of course, it was entertaining when he was taken away in the ambulance. Simon's roll in the film, nothing special. He's just being himself.

Neil's story is much more interesting, We meet him and we understand that he has a girlfriend. But as the film progress we understand Neil is actually a character who acts mostly on what Jay tells him. Which makes him a character of comical interest and also mixed emotions.

Jay's story, He learns how to respect girls, and value his the friendships that he has, which goes to prove Jay's not arrogant, deep down, he's just someone who wants to be liked. However he's presented in such a way that makes him not like that.



The Humour in this film, is touch and go. There's not much I can say other than that, sometimes you laugh, sometimes you don't. It's mixed humour that anyone can get, and that anyone can dislike.

In effect, this film is about the four regulars and what has become of them, and how their stories tye up. As the film suggests the four of them are separating to go their separate ways, and we won't be seeing anymore of them after this film. It's sad to know that The Inbetweeners is coming to an end, however, it's run it's course, had it's time. Now we have to bid it adue, and say 'this is the end'.

As a film, I enjoyed it for the first half hour. The first half hour is actually brilliantly written, and relates to the TV series, after they get on the plan and arrive in Malia, That's when it started to go down hill. Things were a bit cringe worthy rather than funny, and overtly stupid, there's quite a lot of padding, which results in slowing the story down, which is a shame.

Overall as a film it's okay. but nowhere near as good or funny as the TV series, but you know what, I'm glad that we have a film. Because it just means, we got something else to enjoy as well as 3 brilliant series.

So I'll give 'The Inbetweeners Movie' - 5/10. which is fair.

It's easy viewing, nothing special.

Thank you for reading this review, I hope you found it useful.

NEXT TIME: I will review Disney's Wreck It Ralph - I will post that review on Friday the 16th of August 2013.

Review : The Heat

The Heat :  One of the FBI Special Agents is paired to work her worst nightmare, A foul-mouthed Boston cop who's methods don't make the two of them, see eye to eye. Together they must work to take down a ruthless gangster. 

Hello Film Lovers

Welcome to today's film review by me Dr.Film. Today I will be reviewing Paul Feig's 'The Heat' starring first class actress Sandra Bullock, and the wonderfully funny Melissa McCarthy.

Paul Feig obviously well known as the director of 'Bridesmaids' which is another good film, so he's a director who certainly knows his stuff, in terms of how a film is made, and how a film can be made his way.

Anyway, The Heat is a Cop comedy, mainly set in Bostern, and the outline of it, to me It just appealed to me as an American version of Hot Fuzz. Speaking as a person who loved Hot Fuzz, to have something remotely similar is great. But The Heat doesn't copy Hot Fuzz, it is it's own story. Which I'll go into detail about, as I talk about this film.


At first I wasn't all that bothered about seeing this film, I thought it was going to be a bit rubbish. Having said that what aroused my sto go and see it, was I liked the storyline and I sort of thought, 'oh well this film, can sort of be like a guilty pleasure.' So I went along, saw it in the cinema, and I enjoyed it. It wasn't a brilliant film. But it was funny, the laughs were there. So The Heat is yet another melodramatic comedy which plays on it's laughs within the story.



The Storyline: Sarah Ashburn (Sandra Bullock), an FBI agent, is extremely ambitious about the way she works and has her eye on a big promotion, which could boost her career. The trouble she faces is, she's not a team player, and she's not popular around the office, with the other agents.

She is sent down to Boston to uncover the identity of an elusive gangster known as, Mr. Larkin who's identity is anonymous, to help track down his proxy, Rojas, Ashburn is told that she'll have a good shot at the promotion if she finds Larkin, and brings him and his corrupt business down. When she arrives in Boston, she learns that Larkin has been eliminating his competition and taking over their operations. She also learns that Rojas is in Boston PD custody and goes to see him to ask him what he knows about Larkin, but is warned that the cop who arrested Rojas, Shannon Mullins (Malissa McCarthy), has a short temper and is very territorial, and also not exactly sociable.

When the two of them first meet in the interview room, matters get out of hand and start off on the wrong foot, and don't get along at all. However When Mullins learns why Ashburn is in Boston, she decides that she is going to find Larkin herself. It is then that both Ashburn and Mullins are pitted to work together to solve the case. The two of them know that working together, won't be an easy task, but because Ashburn does things by the book and Mullins does things her way. The two of them end up being, a very good team. Bit like Mike and Sulley in Monsters University. Mike's the clever one where as Sulley is dynamic in his own way.

There's lots of great, back to back action and humour in this story. The action is not so much in your face, it's not to very much concentrated in anyway to stand out, because the director knows all action sequences will just stand out. no matter what the situation presents. The humour is very much touch and go, sometimes jokes that I found not funny at all, then there were others which were laugh out loud, hilarious. So easy touch and go.

I thought the way the two leading roles presented their characters were interesting, I liked Sandra Bullock's sensibility at the start and how she turns into this hot action girl. Same goes for Malissa McCarthy, she started off as being the tough nut, and by the end is actually a lot more sensitive.

I thought the twist, was good. I won't give it away, to protect the privacy of people who haven't seen 'The Heat' yet and would like to. But yeah, It has a great twist in it, which is good.

On a bit of a negative, this film didn't have as much potential. I thought that there would of been a bit more to the story, though additional development was there, there wasn't much equal depth to the leading characters or back story.

Also there's false indication of relationships between Sandra Bullock and a colleague she works with. there's no idea of what's going on between them, you can tell she likes him, and by the end of the film you can sort of tell she likes him, but there's no clear indication, which overall means the film makes no sense, so what was the point of keeping that in. mainly for soppy sentimentality so some of the audience could go 'Aww, will they or won't they?' when it didn't have much to do with the story.

Other than that 'The Heat' is very touch and go as a film. I like it, just feel it lacks something as a comedy and it's not a hard hitting action thriller. It's a guilty pleasure of mine, to which reminds me of another film I like, and has great performances from the leading characters and that is all.

I will say that 'The Heat' gets 6/10 - not brilliant but then again not awful.

Thank you for reading this review.

NEXT TIME : I'll review 'The Inbetweeners Movie' - Another interesting film, for which I have mixed views upon. I will review that feature film on Wednesday the 14th of August 2013.

Review : Monsters University

Monsters University : The long awaited prequel to Monsters Inc, How do you think that the scary monsters, hiding in your clausest ever got so scary - the answer to that question is, they all had to go to college first, and study how to be scary.  Monsters University takes a look at how the relationship between Mike and Sulley all started during their days at Monsters University and to start off with, they weren't necessarily the best of friends.

Hello Film Fans

I am very excited about this next review, because this time, I will be reviewing a film that really brought a warm glow to my heart, having actually watched it. It's sounds silly me actually saying that, but it is true. 'Monsters University' proved to be top of the class, and set the mark of how a good, well thought through prequel can be done.

Speaking as a person who loved 'Monsters Inc' I was thrilled to hear that PIXAR had made a prequel.It meant I was allowed to understand more about these characters, that I loved the first time around, it sets up back story which I like. It also allows the  audience member to dig their teeth into these characters, and really invest more in what their about.

So I liked the set up and that it was a prequel and not a sequel, because sequels don't involve much of a challenge in it's script writing, the writer has just got to try and make this new film, better than the last one. Prequels carry much more of a challenge because, your developing upon events that have already happened, you have to insure that it all ties into the previous film, so everything makes sense in the end, to lead into the events of the previous film, Monsters University is so clever in the way it does that, that what I loved about it, it's a film that takes you by surprise.



The Storyline of Monsters University is straight forward and simple, which is the genius of it.The story is mainly about of the character of Mike Wazowski and how he met James P. Sullivan and how they become to be an inseparable pair, however that wasn't the case to start off with. From the moment these two mismatched monsters met they couldn't stand the sight of each other.

After an inspirational trip to the Monsters Inc Factory on a school trip, Mike becomes determined to attend Monsters University and become a scarier. Standing in his way is a big oaf which happens to be Sulley, And I think it's so great that this film unlocks the doors to how Mike and Sulley overcame their differences and became the best of friends. It brings brilliant character development, especially to Mike who is the brains of the operation.

However the two of them are dismissed from the scaring program, in order to get back into the scaring program, Mike must form a team of scaring monsters to compete in a series of challenges called 'The Scare Games'. It is then he is forced to work with Sulley, and they form a friendship and work together to become the team of scaring. It's perfectly funny, the natural PIXAR humour which relates to both children and adult audiences, it's so cleverly written.



In this new film, the audience is introduced to a plethora of new monsters. One of these monsters of course being, Dean Hardscrabble voiced by Dame Helen Mirrin. Her character is the sort of tough, no nonsense, harsh reality character, some people have judged her character as being practically the villain of the piece, which is debatable because she ends up being quite nice at the end of the film.

I did however get a great sense of negativity and dislike towards her character, as she was not meant to be a very likable character anyway, She's just an example of some of the new and interesting characters coming in and there all so well played. 

The atmosphere of the film is authentic and atmospheric, to setting the scene of a real life university. The setting is very convincing and well designed. You can tell that the designers had done their research thoroughly, in order to create such an amazing wide scale effect.

Overall I have only good things to say about this film, I came out of the cinema smiling. It's an amazing achievement.

I think Monsters University gets - 8/10. It's up there as one of the best animated films, I've seen so far. Just as good as Despicable Me 2 if not better.

Thank you for reading this review guys, I hope you all enjoyed reading my thoughts of praise and enthusiasm towards this film.

NEXT TIME: I will review 'The Heat' starring Sandra Bullock and Malissa McCarthy - An interesting film, one I have mixed views upon, I will express those thought further when I review the film on Monday the 12th of August 2013.

Review : Knocked Up

Knocked Up :  Imagine a film in which Seth Rogan and Katherine Heigl got really drunk, had sex, resulting in Katherine Heigl getting pregnant. That idea was eventually written and directed by Judd Apatow, and became 'Knocked Up' which consits of following the stories of fun loving party animal Ben Stone (Seth Rogan),  who has a one night stand with a girl he doesn't really know that well, eight weeks later she drops back into his life, to tell him she's pregnant.

Hey Everyone

Welcome to another Dr Film, Film review. As you may of guessed I am reviewing Judd Apatow's 'Knocked Up'. A film I've always been found of, and plan to go into detail about as the review progresses.

I will start of the review by saying this film, it contains a lot of crude humour which for some people in some ways is very funny, and to others not so funny, so if your not a fan of crude humour then 'Knocked Up' isn't for you, however if you don't that sort of thing, then the jokes and heavy references in this film shouldn't be a problem.

This film communicates several great messages throughout, It also tests one person's responsibility for another, sense of care and devotion, it's also a film about trust and commitment. So it's a film that has more than one meaning, if you can get past the crude humour and the strong language you actually have a story, that comes from the heart, I know that sounded cliche of me to say, but it really does, the message is communicated very well.

Those points being raised, I will now go onto explain the Storyline of this film. It's about Alison Scott who gets promoted in E! Television, so to celebrate, she goes to a night-club with her older and married sister.  At the night club, Alison meets a pothead reckless yet charming Ben Stone and they create small talk, get a vibe going, they then get ridiculously drunk, and have unprotected sex.

Eight weeks later, Allison discovers that she is pregnant. She gets in contact with Ben and they decide between the two of them. To try to stay together and have the baby. However, What Ben doesn't realise is he needs to engage in the responsibility of taking care of a young life, and a girl who can't raise a baby without his support.





 So as you can tell, this film certainly does has it's ups and downs, partly funny, partly witty, partly down the line and serious, partly very heart warming and sensitive.

Performance wise I think Seth Rogan and Katherine Heigl present all of those things, I mentioned very well, they are two very good actors at communicating what their characters are feeling, and they present themselves very professionally.

There are some very interesting supporting roles, for the audience to invest in people like : Paul Rudd, Leslie Mann, Jason Segal and Jay Baruchel they're all very good character, and all so well played, and selected. clearly the director knows these actors can act well; and support the two leading roles. 

Story wise, what I thought of the story, fairly decent story telling, It's not that difficult to follow, however what I will say it has some patchy ares in which some of the interest I had in the plot tended to slide, in other words, it was a bit boring, however still good.






On behalf of the director, he did a great job at presenting a good story and bring that to life on screen.

Also I thought the effect of how they made Katherine Heigl look pregnant, was a good trick, very well accomplished and overly convincing.

Overall 'Knocked Up' is in very sense of the word - Okay. not brilliant, I've seen better and I've seen worse.

I'll give it a fair 6/10.

1 Gold star to Seth Rogen

1 Gold Star to Katherine Heigl

Thanks for reading, yet another one of my reviews guys.

NEXT TIME : I will review 'Monsters University' I will post that review on Sunday the 11th of August 2013.

Review : Now You See Me

Now You See Me :  A Magic Trivia Thriller, of which An FBI agent and an Interpol detective track, are given the job of taking down a team of illusionists who pull off a bank heist during one of their performances and reward their audiences with the money.

Hello Film Fans

Welcome to the newest Dr Film review. Today I will be expressing my thoughts on 'Now You See Me' a film, which had my interests at heart by watching the trailers for it. I thought it looked great, I thought it was very well cast, from what I could gather, the story looked good, and over all I had good expectations for this.

SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers within 'Now You See Me' if you don't want things to be spoiled, I suggest you watch the film, before you read this review.

However, this film has turned out to be a marmite film. What I mean by that is, people either love it or hate it. Upon viewing this film, I think it's one of those films where it starts off really well, and goes from good to bad and then from bad to worse as it progresses.

The film was a bit of a let down, to be quite frank.  The story is basically about  Four street magicians, each of which are selected; and get a mysterious invitation to an obscure address with secrets inside. A year later, they are the Four Horseman, big time stage illusionists who climax their sold out Las Vegas show with a bank apparently robbed for real.

This puts agents Dylan Rhodes of the FBI and Alma Vargas of Interpol on the case to find out how they did it, and why they did it. However, this bizarre mystery proves to be a lot more difficult to solve even with the insights of the professional illusion exposer, Thaddeus Bradley. What follows is an intense investigation, where nothing is what it seems to be.

I think I should just get the negatives done, and out the way now.  I think what didn't really do it for me is the way things were carried out - for instance there is a car chase scene, part way through, adds dramatic tension and emphasis. did the car chase need to be in the film? no, not really. It was most likely shoehorned into the film, to add dramatic tension. It didn't really have me on edge and it slowed the story right down. Not to mention, the actual story doesn't progress through the four main characters, it's mainly carried in by characters Dylan Rhodes and Alma Vargas - two supporting characters, that in turn is bizarre for me. It's like using sand instead of cement, doesn't work quite as well.

That negative being passed out, I did also believe that good actors like Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman, as nice as was to see them. We don't see an awful lot of them. So you have two great actors, which should of got a lot more scene time. though their parts were little, it would of been better to see them and their characters more involved in the story.





The four main characters, Of which the audience is meant to follow throughout the course of the film, and follow up on their story. I didn't like their story, not really. They were all just too cocky and self obsessed for me. They seemed to me, four characters who take pride in showing off, and being ignorant performers who are untouchable, that made me dislike them, and take pleasure in seeing them getting caught and thrown in prison. Sadly they didn't get caught, they got free.

Another negative I found with this film, was the twist. The twist though it came as a great shock to viewers, didn't do anything for me - As it turns out It was Dylan Rhodes all along. He's been pulling the strings, it's all been him - Shock moment! To me, it didn't make a lot of sense. What made matters even more confusing; was the fact that the film, tried to play with the audience that it was his Alma Vargas. The story makes no sense to me, at all.

Coming on the positives now, the things that I liked - The special effects in this film are really good, I thought Isla Fisher in the water tank was good, very well accomplished shot.

The bubble floating scene - again trick of the mind, worked really well, only took the odd CGI effect which we'd seen on many occasion. It very much brings new dimensions to how a film can expand.

Also a good effect was when The illusionists jump of a building and turn into money, that was cool CGI. I thought that was very impressive.

I liked the Egyptian reference, all that back story with 'the eye' was great, gave the story depth and something that the audience could relate to, in terms of history of magic is concerned.

Some of the performances from certain actors were good, As I said Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine, they did good with what they had. Professional performance.

I didn't have much of a problem with the dialogue, I thought the story was good as a storyline - It's just that the development could of been better.



It a nutshell, this isn't the best film I've seen but it is far from the worst.

I'll give it a 5/10.

Thank You for reading this review.

NEXT TIME: I will review Seth Rogan comedy 'Knocked Up' - I will post that review on Friday the 9th of August 2013.

Review : Despicable Me 2

Despicable Me 2 -  After Stealing the moon and saving the world on the same day, Gru has a family now and is a well established parent. However he is recruited by the Anti-Villain League, a top secret organisation which deals with unravelling the evil plots of villains.  To help Gru out in this powerful new super criminal organisation is his partner - agent Lucy Wilde. Together the two of them have to go undercover in a shopping centre to find the identity of the villain in this story.

Hey everyone

Welcome to my Despicable Me 2 review, in today's review I am obviously going to be talking about 'Despicable Me 2' and my thoughts on that as a film and as a concept.

After viewing and liking the first film and seeing the trailers, I was very much looking forward to Despicable Me 2. The problems with most sequels is you get a regurgitation of old ideas, which get silly. However as an idea, I was very impressed, it's a far much better developed concept, new great ideas coming in and there all very good. It's funnier, it's bigger, you get to see more of the characters you loved in the first film. I thought this sequel brought more development to the character of Gru. I liked the fact that he just wants to settle down and do other things. It brings a new aspect out to his character which is different and allows variety to be shared out amongst the viewers watching.

The minions are back, just being their usual silly selves, they haven't changed that much. They're still the same silly creatures that we grew to love in the first film. A lot more happens with the minions in this film, for which the villain of the piece is kidnapping the minions for reasons which are yet unknown until the climatic unravelling moments of the film, of which I won't give away, I don't wish to spoil this if you haven't seen the film.

The Three girls - Margo, Edith and Agnes are back. More development is made to the characters of Margo and Agnes, not much happens with Edith in this film, but I'm sure that the writers are getting there, but for the moment we get a lot more interesting development to Margo's character and to Agnes's character. Margo gets her first experience of boys and going out with a boy. With Agnes we get to know about her relationship with Gru and what she makes of him as a dad, how much she wants a mum. It's good development and the story partly progresses through those characters, which is good. It helps drive the story forward.

Gru's ultimate roll in this new story is to go undercover in a shopping centre and uncover a deadly position which turns anything - objects, animals, people into horrible versions of themselves. Gru suspects its an old nemesis of his which he knew back in the days where he was a villain, Eduardo or El Macho. Spoiler alert to those who haven't seen the film, it turns out to be him - no surprise to me as a viewer, I had my suspicions as did Gru.

It wasn't a well kept secret in the film, which lets it down a little. Another person is framed for having the a sample of the position in his shop, but the problem with that is, the writers of this film don't explain how the position got into his shop, or if they did I missed it completely, and this unknown possible suspect of a character voiced by Ken Jeong (Mr Chow - Hangover Trilogy) being framed, makes no sense because the writers don't explain how the position got into his shop in the first place to frame him. It's little misplacement's in the script which let the story down, which a shame because it has a great storyline.

I can only really judge this film, on  the strength of the story - wither that's any good or not. What development has been made to the characters - if any. I can't really go into detail about camera angles, certain shots or sequences, because there none that stick out to my mind in this as an animation, than they do in a live shot action film for instance. That being said, I loved Despicable Me 2, It was really funny, I laughed on many occasion. The story as I said was fantastic, a much better developed plot than the first one, much much better. Character wise, again stepped up, very much improved - really pleased with that. I sincerely hope should a Third film get made that they can top what they've done. I'm excited to see what they got planned next.

Overall, this film is mainly based on the story and it's characters and nothing else, if neither of those things inspire you to watch it, I suggest you go watch something more to your taste.

I'll give Despicable Me 2 - 8/10

Thank you for reading this review.

NEXT TIME: I will review 'Now You See Me' - Ocean's Eleven but with Magic.  I will post that review on Wednesday the 7th of August 2013.

Review : Despicable Me

Despicable Me -  When a criminal mastermind villain, constructs a plan to steal the moon and become famous. He uses a trio of orphan girls as pawns to assist him in his grand scheme, however he finds their love is profoundly changing him for the better.

Hello Everyone

Welcome to my newest film blog of the summer, in today's reviewing I will be taking a break from hard hitting drama's and action thrillers, to review family comedy 'Despicable Me' which is a film that I have to say took me by surprise whilst watching. I went in with low expectations, thinking it was going to be a terrible film, however I was astonishingly surprised at how much I enjoyed it.  The whole thing is just plain and simple silly, and out of this world, and bonkers, and very inventive.

The story takes place in a happy well- established suburban neighbourhood, surrounded by white picket fences with flowering rose bushes, but in the middle of the neighbourhood sits a bleak and depressing black house with a dead lawn.

Unbeknownst by the neighbours, hidden beneath this home is a vast secret hideout. Surrounded by a small army of minions, we discover that Gru (Steve Carell - Voice) has a cunning plan. One of which could be he's greatest and biggest heist in the history of the world. He plans to become known as "The Man who stole the moon." after a pyramid is stolen by a new younger, cockier villain looking to do Gru an injustice and humiliate him as a failure.

Gru however delights in all things wicked. Armed with his arsenal of shrink rays, freeze rays, and battle-ready vehicles for land and air, he vanquishes all who stand in his way. Until the day he encounters three little orphaned girls, who look at him and see something that no one else has ever seen: a potential Dad. The world's worst villain has just met his greatest challenge yet: three young girls named Margo, Edith and Agnes.



What's great about Despicable Me is that the production at Universal came up with a great idea, but it's a simple Idea, its nothing that no one else has come up with before, and that idea is to make a film or tell a story which is based all about the villain, forget hero's and princess, the audience have always been interested in the villain. To have the villain as the main character is great, what's good with Gru is, he is a man who started off as wanting to be bad, turn out good.

My thoughts when coming into this film, were not 'oh I'm going to love it, and it will be great' I was expecting it to be let's face it, 'a bit crap'. I thought it was very enjoyable, good watch, certainly family entertainment. It's just plain silly, but constructed into a manor where all the silliness fits into the story. Which in turn is good because it means all the silliness is meaningful.

The Little minions, are very funny. They are not like anything anyone had seen before, which is the genius of them. Now they have become an Icon, so you can tell that the minions are immensely popular. I think most of the laughs in the film, do come from them doing stupid things, and talking gibberish, and being strange and they take up a huge percentage of the humour, but that doesn't imply that the minions are stupid creatures, they are accomplished creatures quite capable of doing anything. They only do stupid things, for the purposes of our own entertainment.




I have to say, I really like the character of Gru, I think he's a good character. He's like the mad scientist like Frankenstein who works in his labs undisturbed. Who has a helper to assist him in carrying out his devious, mischievous, evil plans, which is great, already there is a concept to his character that the audience can relate to, they can invest in Gru. Steve Carell he to does an amazing job, The voice he portrays for Gru is so right, it suits his character really well. It overly makes Steve the character as he creates him on the screen.

Overall 'Despicable Me' is a great family movie, which is entertaining, enjoyable and really funny.

I will give it 7/10

NEXT TIME : I will review the continuation to Gru's story as I express my thoughts on 'Despicable Me 2'.

I will post that review on Sunday the 4th of August 2013.

Thank you for reading this review.