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Reviews
Halloween Ends (2022)
Move over Resurrection, Halloween Ends is the worst Halloween movie ever made!!!
I honestly didn't think we would get a Halloween movie worse than Resurrection, but here we are. This was supposed to be the final film, a film that's been building to this since the 2018 instalment and what we get is a very inferior film that decides to play around with its own rules. We get a new character in this named Corey and the film follows his story for most of this movie, when it should have just been about Laurie Strode and Michael Myers. But that's just the tip of the iceberg, as what happens in this movie defies all logic, and to be honest I'm not going to go into detail as I'm quite sure you've read other reviews which go far more in depth.
For me, there is only four Halloween films that are worth watching, the 1978 original, the first sequel in 1981 (Halloween 2), Halloween 4 and Halloween H20 is all you need to watch. Skip the rest.
Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)
If you thought Ragnarok was OTT, you aint seen nothing yet!!!!
Dear me, where do I start with this?
I have always enjoyed the first and second Thor movies, in particular the first. These movies established the character of Thor, a force to be reckoned with.
Then Ragnorak happened, with it's over to the top use of comedy. I enjoyed it to a degree, but felt like Thor was getting nuanced. Well get ready for an even worse movie in Love and Thunder.
If Ragnarok was too comedic, this just shoots up the comedy to 11. It seems the director was more interested in appeasing a certain community, then delivering a decent movie.
Stay away from this atrocity, just watch the first two Thor movies, and pretend the rest didn't happen.
The two stars are mainly for the cast.
Joker (2019)
About as great as any Joker origin story goes!!
A lot has been said about this recent Joker movie, most have praised it, some have despised it and many have endorsed it. I'll admit, upon my first viewing, I felt a little conflicted but I still enjoyed the film. However once I viewed the movie a second and more recently a third time, I really do like this interpretation of the Joker character. There's no doubt, Joaquin Phoenix really does an amazing job here as Arthur Fleck, he gives the character his own feel and that laugh, well actually even the laugh goes through a couple stages in this. When you see Arthur laugh hysterically early on, you can see the pain in his face and how he holds his chest like laughing this hard is physically painful to him, but later in the movie when Arthur is about to fully transform into the Joker, he laughs at Randall in a very unsettlingly creepy way.
I won't go over the plot details as many reviewers have already gone into depth on that. What I will say though is, this seems to be a much divided movie for some. If you're the ultimate comic book nerd and you're looking for every bit of detail to follow the source material, then I can tell you, you will not enjoy this movie. If however, you look at this movie, not necessarily canon (despite the many Batman connections) and you see this as a different take on an origins story for the Joker, then you will find much to enjoy here. It is a slow burn though, but then it's meant to be that kind of movie.
I know many people don't like to get on the comparing game, but honestly I would say that Phoenix's Joker can easily stand side by side with Heath Ledger's Joker. Much like in the same way Jack Nicholson's Joker could stand side by side with Cesar Romero's interpretation. The less said about Jarod Leto's Joker, the better!!! And of course, I absolutely love the version of Joker in the animated series voiced by the great Mark Hamill.
Overall, this is a very good film, certainly one of the best films of 2019, but a masterpiece? That's a little difficult to say, I guess time will tell (especially if this spawns a sequel).
Child's Play (2019)
A re-imagining done right, I love this movie!!!
I must admit, I didn't expect much of this new Chucky movie, considering the last three movies (Seed, Curse and Cult) weren't that great at all. However I am happy to say that I love this new updated story of Chucky and it may even surpass the original in some ways. Firstly let me get the elephant out the room, the design of Chucky, I've read many fans absolutely hated the design of Chucky. Personally I think this design fits the new version of the story, there are moments where it appears really cute and adorable and other moments where it just looks damn creepy. I think the design of the doll is fine, remember the rule, a re imagining of a movie must not copy everything.
Also I like the fact that this Chucky is AI intelligence rather than a possessed doll. I won't really go into the plot as I'm sure all Chucky fans have already seen this. What I will say is that this new Childs Play movie is great and if you just want a fun, gory slasher you cannot go wrong with this movie.
Is it a perfect movie? No, there are some flaws, but to me the biggest flaw is the group of friends Andy hangs out with, I didn't like any of them, they were not useful and to me would have been better if they weren't shoehorned into the film. Secondly the scene with the Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 film, I found it quite strange that kids of that age would laugh at the carnage on screen, but I understand why this scene is included.
I really do think this movie deserves a sequel and hopefully we will get it. Finally which Chucky do I prefer, well the answer to that at this moment is still Brad Dourif's Chucky but I also love Mark Hamill's version. I guess I can't really give a definite answer until we hopefully see more from this reboot.
Terminator: Dark Fate (2019)
Very disappointing, just as bad as Salvation and Genisys.
The opening gave me hope, it looked like this would be the actual sequel to Terminator 2. And then the movie starts and it's all downhill from there. A retread of Terminator 2 literally, just with less interesting characters. I did not like any of the characters, except for Sarah Connor herself and don't get me started on Arnold's Terminator in this movie. The film just feels like a 'been there done that', with nothing new and the story has been convoluted in such a way that it's best to just ignore this much like Salvation and Genisys.
Another franchise ruined, I'd say just watch the first two films and even Terminator 3 is not a bad watch and then skip the rest. The worst part of Dark Fate is that it ends with a hint of another sequel, please I hope I'm wrong with that last sentence.
Rambo: Last Blood (2019)
If you thought John Wick 3 was violent, you aint seen nothing yet!!!!
Sylvester Stallone returns as the iconic John Rambo in a fifth movie I was not expecting but all I can say is I'm glad he did. This fifth Rambo movie is not only action packed, but it's a welcome change after the last three movies, in the fact that it's not a war based action movie but rather a traditional revenge movie.
I'll keep this short, Rambo (much like Rocky) is one of my favourites of Sylvester Stallone and if you're a fan, then just go and watch it.
Ignore the critics, they will find anything to write about these days, if you want to watch a good old fashioned revenge movie with one of the greatest action stars of all time, this is the movie to watch.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)
Disappointed once again, just stick to the classic Toho Godzilla movies!!!
Words cannot describe how disappointed I felt watching this sequel. The previous film, Godzilla (2014) wasn't all that great either but at least it gave us a decent final battle with the monsters (even though the film was unnecessarily dark). This sequel attempts to give us more action and less talk but to be honest, it's more of the same, the monsters once again do not get enough screen time and when we do see them, it's filmed in such an awkward manner that you can't tell what's going on.
I won't spoil anything because if you've seen the trailer (especially the latest one) you've practically seen the movie.
Maybe it's just me, but I still prefer watching the original Toho Godzilla movies. Yeah, those films might be laughed at by some, men in rubber suits might be considered outdated but I would rather watch any of those films than this CGI abomination. Didn't like any of the human characters except for Dr Ishido Serizawa. Godzilla deserves better than this. As far as the other classic monsters go, Mothra and Rodan have their moments, Ghidorah is way too powerful, even for the mighty Godzilla.
Despite my disappointment, these two films are still better than the 1998 atrocity. I'm praying that next year's movie, Godzilla vs. Kong will be the one.
Avengers: Endgame (2019)
Conflicted is the best word for me to describe Avenger's Endgame!!!
It took me a couple of viewings to finally embrace Infinity War last year, the ending divided many fans and made everyone question how Endgame would work. While I'm happy to say that it's an entertaining final movie, there are factors which stopped me from fully enjoying the movie. It's a fitting end to a colossal 22 films, although I didn't enjoy the ending, do not think that this will be the ultimate happy ending because it isn't!!
There really is no need to explain the plot as many other reviewers have already done so. Instead I will mention what I liked and what I hated:
Pros - The short but intense fight scene between the two Steve Rogers, excellent scene. The scene with Tony and Howard Stark, great scene. The emotional scene with Black Widow and Hawkeye, done really well. Brief scene with Loki, great as always. Loved the ending for Captain America.
Cons - Professor Hulk, whoever decided this idea should never make a comic book movie again!! It gets worse; drunken and out of shape Thor, dear God, how can you turn the God of Thunder into this, I honestly didn't know if I should laugh or cry for the two of the most powerful members of the Avengers. Action scenes were decent at best, but nowhere as epic as Infinity War.
Will I watch it again? Of course, but I'm in no hurry to do so.
Halloween (2018)
Has its moments, but ultimately a disappointing Halloween movie!!
Halloween (2018) is a movie that was so hyped up, it was a movie that I honestly couldn't wait to see. After the 2 very weird Rob Zombie directed Halloween movies, I was ready to be back on track. I mean "what could go wrong?" John Carpenter returning for the Score, Jamie Lee Curtis returning as Laurie Strode and Michael Myers looking as badass as ever (love the updated look of the mask).
Unfortunately a lot also went wrong with this movie. Before I start with the negatives, let me mention the good. Jamie Lee Curtis is great as ever, she really adds more to her character of Laurie Strode, Nick Castle (The original "Shape") reprising Michael in certain scenes did a great job, I love the updated Halloween theme. Some of the early scenes were done very well, I loved the scene with the reporters showing Michael his mask and everyone going insane around him.
However it is a not a perfect Halloween movie at all. There are too many unnecessary characters thrown into this movie (such as the useless cops), some of them just feel like stock characters, and there are some characters who show up and then disappear from the movie without any resolve. The Doctor Sartain character for instance, completely unneeded and I feel the character didn't really add anything to the movie. The ending to the movie was also very disappointing. In addition to that, the movie just isn't scary, lack of atmosphere, not one scene made me jump.
But above all that, the biggest flaw I feel this movie has is its continuity of its story. Let me iterate: the story is meant to be a continuation of the first movie, basically ignoring every single movie except the original. This here is the biggest problem, I feel this movie would have benefited if the story just continued from Halloween H20 (1998) instead of ignoring all the other films. The problem here is the believability, are we meant to believe that Laurie has been preparing for 40 years waiting for Michael all this time? It just seems lazy.
As mentioned, it does have its moments but these are few and far between. The movie should have just been about Laurie Strode and Michael Myers. It's not a bad film, it's a lot better than most of the sequels, although it cannot match the first, second and even the fourth Halloween movie which I find superior to this.
Venom (2018)
Not a great film by all means, but not a complete stinker either!!!
Venom is a movie that I did not think would ever be made, especially with the strange omission of Spiderman in this movie, but as a standalone movie it's not too bad. A lot of the core elements remain the same, the character is still Eddie Brock, he's still a reporter like before and in a similar plotline to Spiderman 3 (2007) Eddie Brock is at the low point of his life, he loses his job as well as his girlfriend Annie.
This slowly drives Eddie Brock to the point of going insane, however the movie really starts to pick up once the symbiote takes over Eddie's life in general. The symbiote combined with Eddie Brock's influence creates Venom and I must say this version of Venom looks very much like Venom from the comics. While the special effects and CGI are a bit questionable at times, it's not enough to ruin the movie.
I won't spoil the rest, but I will say that as a comic book movie, Venom is ok, although I can understand some fans not liking it as this version turns Venom into more of a super hero rather than an Anti-hero and the movie is just too safe (hence the PG-13 rating).
However if your one of those who just wants to see a decent comic book movie with not much substance, then Venom is good in that respect. On the other hand, if you're expecting a violent Venom with evil intentions (like Topher Grace's Venom in Spiderman 3) then this is not the movie for you.
Don't forget to stay for the mid credits, it looks promising.
Until Dawn (2015)
One of my favourite games ever on the PS4
I absolutely adore Until Dawn, it is easily one of my favourite games, possibly even the best. I said game, although it is more of a movie with QTE (quick time events) but I love it. The characters are great and the game is beautifully atmospheric. In all honesty, I could write forever about this but I'm sure most of you have already read the very long comments about this fantastic game. I will add to this by saying, that if you love a good horror/slasher movie, you will love playing this game.
It's been a good three years now that this game has been released and yet it upsets me that we haven't had a sequel to this (and no, Until Dawn: Rush of Blood does not count as a sequel) but hopefully one day we will get a proper sequel, I'm counting on you guys at Supermassive Games.
In total, I have completed this game at least 5 times already but guess what? I haven't been able to complete the game with all characters intact. That's the beauty of this really, the aim is to try and keep all the characters alive (that is off course, if you prefer to kill them off instead). It's been a while but I am waiting a good while before I play it again just so I can get that first time experience again!!
The Predator (2018)
Not a good predator movie by all means
We all knew this was never going to be that great, but as a dumb action movie it does the job. However my honest opinion would be that "The Predator" is disappointing in many ways, none of the characters are likeable, the story (or lack of) makes no sense and the super predator just seems lame overall.
In fact, the only scenes I liked, were the scenes with the predators. However don't get too excited as there is only a total of 2 predators in this movie, yes the same 2 predators shown in the trailer. The violence seems to be a mixture of Final Destination level (people getting impaled, heads severed) and Mortal Kombat style brutality (super predator digging its claws into a human). I would say it's worth the watch, but I'm sure you will forget about it very quickly.
One last note, the kid in this movie is so damn annoying, I was hoping that one of the predators would take him out (and I don't normally say that about child actors).
The first predator movie will never be beaten, in fact I would say that even Predator 2 and the first Alien vs. Predator movie is better than "The Predator".
Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
Do not believe the planted 10/10's, this is a disappointing movie overall.
I was really excited to watch this third Avengers movie, being that they were going all in with both the Avengers and the Guardian characters but ultimately the movie is just one big mess of a movie. The movie is more of a Thanos story which is fine as we need to know as much about this Titan, however the rest just didn't measure up.
I understand getting some 30 characters together in one movie was always going to be a stretch, but I really didn't enjoy the movie. I won't delve into the plot as many reviewers have done so, I will just say that some of the action sequences were pretty good especially from Iron Man and Dr Strange, but ultimately the ending really agitated me and yes, we all know there will be another movie soon to complete this story but it just felt like a setup movie.
Not as epic as everyone is making it out to be. I still rather watch the first Avengers, the Winter Soldier and even Ragnarok over this any day.
Black Panther (2018)
Not particularly a great movie, but not as bad as some say either!!
Out of all the recent Marvel movies to be released, Black Panther is the one I was looking forward to the most. Black Panther is a Marvel character that I was very unfamiliar with (much like Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch and pretty much all of the guardians of the galaxy characters, etc), so I was very keen to see its own solo movie and I will say that the film is entertaining and the action scenes are decent, though not as impressive as the fights involving Black Panther in the previous Captain America movie, Civil War.
I won't go into too much detail, but basically the movie is about T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman) becoming the King of Wakanda (a secret society hidden within the mountains and forest) who is then challenged by Kilmonger (Michael B Jordan) a rebel who believes that he has been abandoned by his people and starts planning to take over Wakanda as its leader. The supporting cast are all good and I'm always happy to see Angela Bassett, in any movie.
If there are weaknesses to the film, I would say that it's mainly to do with some of the characters, there really is not much development with them, especially with Kilmonger. Those who complain about the lack of an origin story, do not forget we did get some of that with the Civil War movie and Black Panther basically continues on from there.
Overall, it's an entertaining movie certainly worth watching and for me, a better movie than either of the guardians of the galaxy movies (yeah as you can tell I can't stand those movies).
Dragon Ball Super: Doragon bôru cho (2015)
Though inferior to Dragonball/Z, Super is better than Dragonball GT!!!
As a long time viewer I absolutely love Dragonball, as well as Dragonball Z. These first two series were legendary and gave us some of the most memorable characters ever. Recently after watching the first four seasons of Dragonball Super, I felt compelled to re-watch the original series again so that I can make a fair comparison between the two.
Despite some fans having mixed feelings about Super, I think it's not bad, in fact the first two seasons combine the recent two theatrical movies (Beerus God of Destruction, Resurrection Frieza) but once that's over, Super has been getting much better with the tournament saga, as well as the evil Goku (Goku Black/Zamasu) saga and not forgetting the universe of power tournament. The show itself feels more refreshed with much crispier animation (and I'm pretty sure there are some parts with CGI) although it does upset me that some of the major characters (Piccolo, Gohan, Android 18) have been reduced to side shows.
Still, Dragonball Super is entertaining and I absolutely love the transformation scenes as well as the plentiful fights, Goku and Vegeta are great as ever and some of the new characters (Beerus, Champa, Hit, Jiren) are cool to watch. However, Dragonball Super does have some problems, and most of these are to do with continuity and power level inconsistency. As a quick example, remember when Goku first went Super Saiyan 3 in Dragonball Z, the entire earth was shaking and this illustrates how powerful the third level is, yet in Super they instantly turn to Super Saiyan God (Blue) without much of a stretch. There are plenty more inconsistencies, if you care to look for it, but if you just want to enjoy the show, just ignore them (like I do!!).
So despite its share of problems, I still think Dragonball Super is better than GT, that doesn't mean I don't like GT, I also liked GT but only for two reasons, Super Saiyan 4 level and Fusion (both of which are ignored in Super as the story continues from Dragonball Z and ignores GT). So to sum it up this is how I would rate the entire Dragonball Series:
Dragonball - 9 out of 10 for the first 3 seasons, 10 out of 10 for the last 2.
Dragonball Z - 10 out of 10 for the first five seasons (Saiyan, Namek, Frieza, Cell, Android) and 9 out of 10 for the rest (Majin Buu and Garlic Junior)
Dragonball GT - mostly I would rate it 6.5/7 except for the final 10 episodes which are 8 out of 10.
Dragonball Super - so far, I would rate it a solid 8.5 out of 10 although my rating could change once I've seen the rest.
So overall, Dragonball Super is pretty good, certainly an improvement over GT and while some fans might not like it, let's just all appreciate that we are getting to see the next generation of Dragonball and enjoy it for what it is.
Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
It's an entertaining sequel, but if you're expecting a serious movie, forget it!!!!
Before I begin the review, I will say that the first Thor movie is still the best, and neither of the two sequels can match it. After seeing the trailer for Thor Ragnarok, I guessed that this would be a good film to watch and in all honesty I enjoyed it, it's definitely entertaining and I was never bored. So what is the movie about? Hela (The evil goddess) returns to Asgard to claim it as her own, and we very quickly find out she is Thor's older sister and that Thor and Loki have to team up in order to combat her. As it stands, Hela is too powerful for both brothers, and whilst attempting to escape via the bifrost, she follows them and basically throws both out to the galaxies. While Hela starts wreaking havoc, Thor must find a way to get back to Asgard to reclaim his throne.
There's more to the story of course but I'll leave it at that. Now for the things I liked: Chris Hemsworth's Thor is as great as ever despite his odd character in this movie, he definitely proves that he can be very comedic and his expressions really made me laugh. Tom Hiddleston returns as Loki and he's still my favourite character, perfectly balancing his goodness as well as wickedness. Mark Ruffalo returns as the Hulk and while he's good, his Hulk was far too humanised in this movie, but I'll save the bads for a minute. Cate Blanchett is very good as Hela, though not really as menacing as I thought. I won't mention every character, it will just take forever!!! Now for the things I didn't like (and even some that I hated): The movie is played for laughs mostly and just when you think you're going to see something epic and serious, is immediately ruined to a lame one liner. I agree that the previous sequel "The Dark World" might have felt a little gloomy but at least it felt serious especially the sad scene with Thor's mother dying. With Thor Ragnarok everything is done as a joke, the scenes with Thor and Hulk are funny, don't get me wrong, but then we get Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) who pops up, slides between the Hulk's legs literally and gives Hulk a cheap shot kick which makes Hulk fall. Now a scene like that is a little too much to take.
In fact the only character who thankfully didn't utter any one liners or any comedy was Heimdall. Another thing I don't get is the powers of each character. Loki started as badass in the first Thor and Avengers movie, yet here he gets beaten by Valkyrie. Hulk doesn't appear as badass as he was in the two Avengers movies and feels really dumbed down here which I didn't like. The mighty Thor himself doesn't seem all that powerful and I find it strange that Hela would be this powerful compared to her brother.
Anyway I'll wrap this up, if you want an entertaining albeit silly dumb superhero movie, then you can't go wrong with Thor Ragnarok. If on the other hand you want to see a serious movie, don't even bother with this second sequel as (much like the recent Spiderman movie) it's a totally forgettable movie.
Justice League (2017)
Ignore the critics, Justice League is a very entertaining superhero movie!!
I must admit I didn't expect this movie to be as good as it was, but I'm happy to say that Justice League is a very entertaining movie. Let's get the bad out the way:
I agree that the movie does feel a little rushed and some of the characters such as Steppenwolf is not given enough depth. Admittedly some of the CGI, especially Cyborg and the parademons looked a bit off but again nothing to really detract from the movie.
Now for everything that I did like:
The story borrows heavily from the Justice League animated movie "War", the only difference is that the villain is Steppenwolf rather than Darkseid. Basically Batman (Ben Affleck) is forming a team of superheroes to combat the parademons who are slowly invading the earth after Steppenwolf attempts to collect the three motherboxes to bring Apocalypse to the earth and basically destroy it. I'm sure there's a better way of explaining it but I'll keep it short. Now on to each character:
Batman – Ben Affleck once again proves that he is a great Batman, he seems more controlled here rather than the vigilante he was in the previous movie Batman v Superman, I enjoyed his portrayal.
Superman – We all knew he was returning, and he returns with a bang!! I was slowly getting used to Henry Cavill's portrayal of the man of steel and to date this is easily his finest performance and believe me his return is worth the wait.
Wonder Woman – Gal Gadot continues to impress as Wonder Woman, I really can't wait for her second solo movie, plus she's hot!!!
The Flash/Barry Allen – Turned out to be quite a surprise, I didn't expect Ezra Miller to be this good as the Flash, most of his comedic moments are pure gold.
Cyborg/Victor Stone – Though I'm not too familiar with Ray Fisher, I must admit his character as Cyborg is very interesting and I really hope we get a solo movie with him as a bit more back story is necessary, plus he's the one character you really feel sorry for as you can't help but feel his pain as he tries to come to terms with what he's become.
Aquaman/Arthur Curry – This was the one character I was worried about as the actor Jason Momoa just doesn't look anything like the Aquaman from the animated series. But I'm happy to say he does a good job as Aquaman and yes there are some jokes from him too.
The rest of the main characters, Lois Lane (Amy Addams), Alfred (Jeremy Irons), Commissioner Gordon (J.K Simmons) are all great. I was also happy to see most of the Amazonian cast return.
Overall the movie really surprised me, it's not perfect by all means and there are flaws but if you are able to overlook this, you will have a great time. And for the record, I am no DC or Marvel specific fan boy but I will say that this movie is far better than the recent Thor Ragnarok movie and even better than the recent Spiderman movie and that's saying something.
Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Is this the worst Spider-Man movie ever made? No but its damn close!!!
Spider-Man has always been my favourite superhero and the Sam Raimi trilogy, in my opinion is still the definitive Spider-Man series, it may not be perfect but it's still the best series. I'll keep it short with the Amazing films, I did not like either film and Andrew Garfield as Spider-Man/Peter Parker felt miscast it was a doomed reboot from the start.
So now, we finally get to have Spider-Man within the Marvel cinematic universe as was shown in the previous Captain America movie, Civil War. This version stars Tom Holland as the web slinger, and from what I saw in Civil War, the new Spider-Man did really well, I enjoyed his comic sense of humour and he seemed strong enough to take on both Falcon and the Winter Soldier without breaking a sweat, until he faced Captain America of course.
With that, I was expecting Homecoming to be a decent solo movie for everyone's friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man, and for the most part it's just OK, nothing special and certainly not a movie to re-watch in a hurry. Listen, I can accept changes with the source material and I am totally fine with diversity, but if you're going to change famous characters, at least make the characters likable (the new MJ for instance) and closer to the actual character (yes I'm referring to the much younger Aunt May) and don't even get me started on the new Flash Thompson.
But even with these inconsistencies, there is quite a lot wrong with this interpretation of Spider-Man, if you grew up with the original animated Spider-Man series from the 60's to the 90's, then you will immediately recognise a lot of mistakes with this version. Did I like the movie? To an extent yes, it's a decent movie, but its not a great movie as many other reviewers have claimed, some have even praised it the best Spider-Man movie ever, that's way OTT (much like the overly praised 'The Dark Knight' movie).
While some have criticized the inclusion of Iron Man, I think he was necessary for this film and besides Tony Stark is such a great character, he provides the father figure to Peter since Uncle Ben is not even referenced in this interpretation, I did enjoy Michael Keaton's Vulture and I feel he was the saving grace for this movie overall. Now it's time to wrap this review, this Spider-Man movie will definitely keep the youngsters happy, but if you're a long timer who has watched previous movies and animated series, then you will find this movie disappointing.
Is it better than the dull Amazing series? I think so but it doesn't touch the brilliance of the original trilogy with Tobey Maguire.
Kong: Skull Island (2017)
Not bad, just slightly underwhelming
A team of soldiers and scientists discover an uncharted island named Skull Island, which they travel to in an attempt to mark as their own by dropping explosives onto the island. However they soon discover that the island contains a gigantic ape known as Kong and that the inhabitants of the island also contains a wide variety of giant creatures. Needless to say, Kong goes berserk and smashes most of the helicopters leaving a small group of survivors to try and escape the island alive. As far as story goes, I'll leave it at that for those who haven't seen it.
I had been waiting to see this for some time, especially after the recent Legendary Godzilla movie from 2014. I must say that while I was entertained, I guess my expectations were a little too high especially since this had to follow Peter Jackson's remake from 2005, which I still think is superior to this movie. It's a good reimagining of the King Kong character, and while the monster action is terrific, the human characters are quite bland though most of the main actors (Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson, Samuel L Jackson, John Goodman and especially John C Reilly) do a great job, their characters are not as fully developed as you think. However this can all be forgiven as this is a creature feature first and foremost.
As far as Kong himself goes, yes he is bigger than ever and looks great, this version of Kong reminds me of the 1976 version, being that it stands upright and moves just like a human rather than on all fours like the original and Peter Jackson's remake. As I stated this is more of a creature feature, do not expect the traditional beauty and the beast storyline as previous films. If you go into this movie expecting monster action, then yes you get that, although do not watch the trailer as it spoils most of the creatures.
And whatever you do, do not miss the after credits sequence, that part alone made me act like a 5 year old again.
Shin Gojira (2016)
The First Time I've been disappointed by a Toho Godzilla movie!!
I am a die-hard Godzilla fan, I have been watching all of his original movies from Toho many times (well except Godzilla's Revenge) and I have always had a good time watching my favourite dinosaur (not lizard) cause chaos. I am not really a fan of the American reboots but the 2014 film was decent at best, far better than the atrocious 1998 reboot.
When Toho announced another Godzilla movie, I was hyped just like anyone else, I wanted this new Godzilla to be the start of a new series (which it may be, who knows) that I could enjoy. To say that I have mixed feelings would be an understatement. Firstly I can appreciate the nods to the original films, if you grew up with the Showa series as I did, you will instantly recognise the sound effects which I loved.
Secondly I can understand that they wanted to make a serious Godzilla movie much like the 1954 original as well as the 1984/2000 reboots.
However none of this can improve a horrible design of Godzilla, I really don't like this new look, horrible twiggy arms, tiny eyes, super long tail and worst of all, absolutely no expression. It feels like your looking at a huge statue who (slowly) walks by and barely does anything. The only decent part was his atomic breath which looked awesome and some destruction scenes, but the rest, not so much.
Apart from the iconic monster's look, this film just contains too much political satire, too many meetings and not much else. Again I can understand a different approach, but when I go to watch a Godzilla movie I want to entertained not bored out of my wits. Much has been said of the three forms in the movie so I won't elaborate on that, but lets just say the CGI is average at best. I am very disappointed Toho didn't go with practical effects (suitmation) but again we can't have everything.
If your a major Godzilla fan, chances are you've already seen this, but for those who haven't, it's definitely worth watching, just don't expect anything special. I never thought I would say this, but I actually prefer the 2014 Godzilla movie over this and coming from a die-hard Toho Godzilla fan, it's the first time ever an American reboot was superior.
The Dark Knight (2008)
The Most Overrated Over Bloated Batman movie ever!!!
After the excellent Batman Begins, I expected this sequel to be so much better, instead we are left with one big mess of a movie. Don't get me wrong, all the actors do a splendid job with their roles especially Heath Ledger (RIP), however the film itself is just not very entertaining at all. In fact, this is hardly a Batman movie itself, the film focuses more on cops and corruption, which is fine so long as you remember that your supposed to be watching a comic book hero.
The problem here is there is too much going on, and with little explanation, the film starts to get very confusing, as you start to wonder who is really the hero and who is the villain. Batman's Gotham City now looks more like New York City, and his Bat cave is absolutely horrendous, not to mention his irritating voice.
In its defence, the actors perform well, and some of the special effects are quite good, especially the opening scene where Batman kicks butt, only trouble is, its well too brief. If your going to watch The Dark Knight in terms of action, then you will surely be disappointed as there really isn't much action at all, only about fifteen minutes at the most.
If you want a proper comic book superhero movie, I recommend Iron Man (a far more entertaining movie), or even the second Hulk movie with Edward Norton. Its just a shame, that this second Batman movie was not what I expected, and after the brilliant Batman Begins, The Dark Knight is a big disappointment. Take my advice; stick to the excellent Tim Burton classics, they are far more entertaining and faithful to the comics. Or just watch Batman Begins and skip the sequels.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
You're better off watching the Animated Dark Knight Returns instead!!!
It's amazing how much superhero films are hyped up these days, but for one named Batman v Superman this should have been epic. Sadly not only was this film a disappointment it was also a completely jumbled mess of a superhero movie.
Ben Affleck was OK as Batman/Bruce Wayne, I liked the updated suit and the batmobile finally looks like a batmobile (not some tank). However I was not happy that Affleck's Batman actually kills people, I know Christian Bale's Batman also killed, but Affleck's Batman took it one step further and it sort of ruins the heavy moral code Batman usually stands by.
Henry Cavill as Superman/Clark Kent is getting better, at times he even resembles Christopher Reeve. However it's clear the director hasn't got a clue how to write Superman properly as Cavill spends most of the movie looking depressed and hardly ever smiles, a complete deviation of the character and when Superman fights Batman, he doesn't seem to have a care for anyone (apart from Lois Lane of course).
Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman/Diana was fine, I just wish we saw more of her as she is so beautiful to look at. I am looking forward to her solo film next year.
Amy Adams as Lois Lane is not bad, then again sometimes it seems she is only in scenes to keep the plot going rather than being her own character.
Jesse Eisenburg as Lex Luthor is a combination of good and bad, there are times he seems to show his intelligence and then there are moments where I felt I was watching a combination of Heath Ledger's Joker and Jim Carrey's Riddler, that's not how Lex Luthor acts in any way.
Let's get the positives out the way: * The opening scene was done very well, it was interesting seeing the conclusion of Man of Steel from Bruce Wayne's perspective.
* The fight between Batman and Superman was good, though I wish it went on a bit longer.
* The fight at the warehouse with Batman was very good, it felt like I was watching the Batman from the Arkham games as the fighting style is almost identical.
* Wonder Woman's brief action scene near the end was done very well.
Now here's the negatives: Story/Plot – As mentioned earlier I absolutely hated the story as it really doesn't make any sense. A movie like Batman v Superman should be simple, not a combination of different stories moulded into one. For instance, in this version, Batman is already retired and when he sees the destruction in Metropolis he instantly blames Superman (even though it should really be General Zod) and decides that he needs to return as the Dark Knight and fight him with the intention of wanting to kill Superman. So does this mean that Batman is much older than Superman? Not really, both are meant to be at their prime when they first meet. Remember, the first movie Man of Steel is supposed to be a kick-start to a new series of DC films that leads to the Justice League. And while on the subject of the Justice League, the scene with Wonder Woman locating the other superheroes Flash, Cyborg and Aquaman not only feels contrived, it feels very lazily shoehorned in.
Doomsday – The less we talk about Doomsday the better, not only did he look terrible but Doomsday was never meant to be a combination of General Zod and Luthor' s blood. I will not spoil anything any further as most will know what happens at the end when Doomsday arrives.
There are plenty of mistakes here but to be honest it would take forever to list them down.
As the title declares, if you want to see a good movie that gives you a reason why Batman and Superman fight each other, just watch part 2 of The Dark Knight Returns. Better yet, if you want to see a good Batman and Superman feature, watch the three part "World's Finest" of the animated Superman Collection. Believe me you will not be disappointed and once you've seen them you will start to hate this movie even more.
A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)
Tries to do something different but ultimately disappointing!!
With all the recent remakes (Halloween, Friday The 13th, Texas Chainsaw Massacre) making their presence it was only a matter of time before we got the remake for A Nightmare on Elm Street. So does this new Nightmare deliver anything new or some awesome dream sequences, sadly, no.
Before I get into the review, I must state that I was deeply gutted when I heard Robert Englund was not returning as Freddy Krueger and that the film was not Wes Craven's work. On a positive note though I was happy that Jackie Earle Haley would be the new Freddy Krueger as Haley was brilliant as Rorschach in the otherwise abysmal Watchmen movie.
A selected group of teens are each having the same dreams about a horribly burnt disfigured man in a fedora hat with a red and green sweater and a glove with knives for fingers on his right hand. The man in question is of course Freddy Krueger and slowly each teen is getting killed off in their dreams and it's up to the remaining survivors Nancy (Rooney Mara) and Quintin (Kyle Gallner) to try and find a way to destroy him before it's too late.
OK, that's not exactly anything new, as this is a remake and if you've seen the 1984 original, then you should know what the plot involves. However on its own merits this is a very shoddy remake with poor CGI (the wall scene in particular is very bad) and non-stop jump scares, seriously one in like every five minutes. Not helping any of this is the extremely bland Rooney Mara as Nancy, whereas Heather Langenkamp's Nancy was such a strong willed character in the original, this Nancy spends most of the film with the same cold expression and in all honesty you really don't care if her character lives or dies. Kyle Gallner fares better as Quintin and does his best. Katie Cassidy as Kris is actually a stronger character and I do wish she portrayed Nancy rather than Mara but oh well.
Now for the main character himself, Freddy Krueger, Jackie Earle Haley really brings the creep factor and does his best to be as sadistic as possible which is exactly how Krueger is supposed to be portrayed. Watching him reminded me of Englund's Krueger from the first two films of the original series however what really lets Haley's Krueger down is the poor CGI and makeup, it takes away the creepy factor and while this is meant to portray a more realistic burned face it ends up looking weird and robs Haley of any expression whatsoever. Robert Englund's original "pizza face" makeup is far superior and creepier.
What this remake also tries to do but fails miserably is the short back story of Freddy Krueger, in this version he was a caretaker at a preschool who molested children and the parents track him down and burn him to death. Sounds similar enough but they forget to mention about the glove and the boiler room where he lived. In short there's a lot of things wrong with the remake, the kills are uninspired, the dream sequences are boring, some directly copied from the original but with less effect, the same one liners but very contrived, it's basically a bad remake altogether.
Before I wrap this review up, there's one thing I want to clarify, some reviewers have stated that they were not happy with Freddy Krueger portrayed as a paedophile (understandably so) instead of a child murderer. Let's go back to the 1984 original, Nancy's mother specifically says that "Fred Krueger was a filthy child murderer, the key word there: "Filthy" another word for dirty which means that apart from killing children he was also molesting them, so there is nothing different between the two versions, Freddy Krueger has always been a child murderer and molester.
Of course the idea of that is that you're supposed to absolutely hate the character and want him killed, yet this remake almost brings the conclusion that he might have been innocent!!! A big NO. The last thing you want to do with a horror icon is to make them sympathetic, much like Rob Zombie's Halloween remake.
At the end of the day if you're a fan of the franchise, chances are you've already seen this but for those who haven't, I recommend the 1984 original and Parts 2 and 7 if you want the scary Freddy, but if you prefer the campier one liner Freddy, watch Parts 3-6 and if you must, watch this last!.
Gojira tai Mekagojira (1974)
My Favourite Godzilla movie of all time.
I absolutely love Godzilla, always have always will and this was my first Godzilla film and my favourite. Don't get me wrong I love the original 1954 classic as well as The Return of Godzilla 1984 but this is still the best. The reason, Mechagodzilla makes his first appearance and though we have had at least five different versions of Mechagodzilla this design is still the best.
A woman has a prophecy that when a black cloud appears, a huge monster will arrive to destroy the world, however when the sun sets two monsters will appear to fight the evil monster and save the world. Meanwhile Godzilla appears from the mountain and goes on a rampage and absolutely hammers poor Anguirus in a brutal and bloody fight. From there Godzilla wreaks havoc on the power plant and it is from here we understand that this Godzilla is not what he seems. Sure enough the real Godzilla appears and fights with the imposter who then transforms to Mechagodzilla controlled by aliens from outer space.
Both Godzilla and Mechagodzilla shoot their beams at each other and basically knock each other out big time. Godzilla is thought to be dead because of the heavy blood loss while Mechagodzilla's mechanics are damaged and needs to be fixed. I won't carry on if you haven't seen it but rest assured the finale is brilliant.
As mentioned this is my favourite of all Godzilla movies, not only is it action packed, the human side story is engaging and the aliens (which we later find out are apes) are menacing. Also Mechagodzilla to me is easily Godzilla's most powerful foe (sorry King Ghidorah) and the finale will have you covering your eyes in horror as you will think that Godzilla will meet his end.
If you enjoy this, I recommend you watch the sequel Terror of Mechagodzilla.
The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)
And I thought Spiderman 3 was bad!!!
This has got to be the worst Spiderman film I have ever seen, nothing about this film is worthwhile and I will admit to say that I was looking forward to it. I have been a Spiderman fan all my life and I appreciated the early Spiderman films by Nicholas Hammond, yes they were cheesy and campy but it was still entertaining.
Then we had the excellent Sam Raimi Spiderman films, not only was Tobey Maguire an excellent choice for Spiderman but he looked and acted just like Peter Parker would. The first and in particular the second movie defined the hero that Spiderman is and yes while the third film was bloated it was still entertaining to watch.
Now onto The Amazing Spiderman, truth to be told I had no problem with Andrew Garfield replacing Maguire, the same can be said about Emma Stone replacing Kirsten Dunst, however the film itself doesn't feel like a Spiderman movie. The first half hour is basically about Peter Parker's deceased parents, however we don't get a conclusion as to what happen to them, the story just disappears. Most importantly though Garfield's Peter Parker is totally off the mark, he shouts at his Uncle Ben and Aunt May, spends most of his time on his skateboard and only seems interested in dating Gwen Stacy. Heck, even the scene where Uncle Ben dies felt totally wrong.
I know this is just based on a comic book but at least keep it to the source material, what happen to the famous line "with great power comes great responsibility" I just could not connect with this version of Peter Parker at all and it doesn't get any better when he puts on the suit either. As far as Dr Connors goes, I think Rhys Ifans was reasonable as the doctor but once he becomes the Lizard, any credibility he has is thrown out the window, obviously a villain such as the Lizard is not going to look realistic but the CGI here is unbelievably bad.
On a happier note, it was good to see Martin Sheen and Sally Field as Uncle Ben and Aunt May respectively. Dennis Leary as Captain Stacy was not too bad either. Again, I am sad to say that this Spiderman film is not worth watching, I watched it once and I won't be watching it again, in fact now would be a good time to revisit Sam Raimi's Spiderman films again.
If I can think of one good thing to say about this Spiderman movie, it would be the web shooters which were pretty cool (and faithful to the comics) but then that's not saying much about the overall movie itself.