Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle

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I was on the back foot about this film because I loved the ‘first’ Jumanji film so much.

I say ‘first’ film, but these movies are totally unrelated. Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle is very loosely based on the board game featured in the 1995 film, but updated to a play station game to target the newer generation.

The main characters are high schoolers who find themselves in detention together – not unlike The Breakfast Club. They are cleaning out the basement of the school when they come across this Jumanji game… Continue reading →

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Paul

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From the director of Superbad, and the creators of Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead, comes Paul.

A story about a laid-back alien called Paul (Seth Rogan) who is on the run from the government across the States before getting picked up by a couple of geeky tourists, Graeme (Simon Pegg) and Clive (Nick Frost). Graeme and Clive attended Comic-Con before travelling to various locations where UFOs have been sighted in an RV, until they get a closer encounter than they expected!… Continue reading →

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Ocean’s Eleven

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After hearing about Ocean’s Eight coming out, I decided it was time to watch the first instalment.

Actually, Ocean’s Eleven is a remake of a 1960s movie called Ocean’s 11 (number instead of word) featuring Frank Sinatra as the protagonist. I had no clue!

Ocean’s Eleven is a fun, shallow film about a star-studded cast who rob a casino. Why? Because Danny Ocean (George Clooney) has just got out of prison and doesn’t accept that his ex-wife (Julia Roberts) has moved on with a wealthy casino-owner… Continue reading →

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War of the Worlds

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It is a sci-fi horror about Ray (Tom Cruise) and his two children Rachel (Dakota Fanning) and Robbie (Justin Chatwin) trying to escape the alien invasion. The aliens are relentless and terrifying as they displace millions.

There’s no where to run, there’s no where to hide and there’s no way to kill the aliens and their machines.

Horrifying!… Continue reading →

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Good Morning, Vietnam

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A unique tale about the Vietnam war, seen through the eyes of an extraverted radio presenter, Adrian Cronauer (Robin Williams), who has been hired as a DJ on the Armed Forces radio station in Vietnam.

Cronauer is an outlandishly hilarious DJ who keeps the troops’ spirits up while serving in  Vietnam. While most love him, Lt. Steven Hauk (Bruno Kirby) certainly doesn’t. Hauk’s dry, wooden ‘humour’ (or lack thereof) is hysterical, and he believes he can do a far better job on air. So the rivalry begins… Continue reading →

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Edge of Tomorrow

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Having recently reviewed Source Code – a sci-fi film starring Jake Gyllenhaal – I realised how similar that film’s concept is to Edge of Tomorrow. It was then that I realised that I have never reviewed Edge of Tomorrow! So here it is… Continue reading →

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Source Code

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I love time travel films! This is a brilliantly simple story combined with the mind-bending possibilities of time travel. 

‘Source Code’ is a top-secret military experimental operation where injured pilot Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal) is given the ability to repeatedly relive the final eight minutes of a man’s life. The man is Sean Fentress who dies in an explosion on a train. Each time Stevens relives the final eight minutes of this man’s life, he is given the opportunity to seek out the person responsible for planting the bomb on the train in an attempt to stop it from ever happening… Continue reading →

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Hot Fuzz

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A brilliant action-comedy from writers Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg. It’s one of my favourite films, and I can’t believe I’d never gotten around to review it.

This is my favourite film because it is so cleverly written and very funny. It follows the story of goody-two-shoes London policeman named Nicholas Angel (Simon Pegg) who gets transferred to a small, rural village against his will… Continue reading →

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Unbreakable

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Did anyone else not realise that Unbreakable is a prequel to Split?

As soon as we found out, we got our hands on the DVD since we loved Split so much.

You can tell it is an M. Night Shyamalan film immediately. The looooooong shots, the reflections in televisions and glass… The list goes on – it’s very Shyamalan-y.

Unbreakable is about Bruce Willis’s character who discovers he’s invincible. He’s essentially a superhero… Continue reading →

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Baby Driver

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From the genius that is Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, The World’s End and Scott Pilgrim vs the World), comes Baby Driver. A music-infused movie about a getaway driver named Baby, played by baby-faced actor Ansel Elgort (The Fault in our Stars). Baby scores his own life by picking the appropriate music on his iPod for everything he does. He doesn’t do anything without music playing in his ears, stemming from a traumatic car crash as a child that left him with tinnitus.. Continue reading →

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Blade Runner 2049

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Well, thank Christ we went to see this movie in the ‘Gold Class’ luxury cinema, because the recliner seats made for a comfortable place to sleep.

This snail-paced sequel highlights the reason why sequels to blockbuster originals should not be done.

Admittedly, I haven’t seen the first Blade Runner film from start to finish in one sitting, but I’ve seen basically all of it if you puzzle together all of my attempts… Continue reading →

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Dunkirk

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Dunkirk is definitely the best war-based film I have seen since Saving Private Ryan.

This is an incredibly moving and haunting survival film about British soldiers desperately trying to escape the ever-approaching Nazi German forces. They’re attacking by air and land. The British soldiers attempt to evacuate France at Dunkirk to England via ship, despite all odds… Continue reading →

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David Brent: Life of the Road

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Looking forward to having a big belly laugh, my boyfriend was quick to remind me about his older films. Of which only one – Cemetery Junction – I enjoyed.

He was right, and my initial excitement for David Brent: Life on the Road suddenly took a dive.

Thinking about it, Ricky Gervais has a knack for TV series, but in his film career – in my opinion – he has always been a one-trick-pony.

After the first five-minutes of becoming reacquainted with the cocky and cringe-worthy character of David Brent, the repetitive jokes were drilled in over and over. This comedy became boring quite rapidly… Continue reading →

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Deadpool

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I only had a vague idea of what Deadpool was. I hadn’t seen the trailer, but countless people had recommended the superhero film, saying it was hilarious.

Frankly, you’d have to have a bit of a dark side to you, tough skinned, if you will. A bit of black humour, to have a full-on belly laugh at this film.

The blood, gore and violence reminded me of Watchmen – no one warned me of this… So, consider this a warning to all the girlfriends who have been convinced by their boyfriends that this is a funny film.

It is…

But.

It’s also incredibly gory… Continue reading →

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The Town

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Not to be confused with The Village… I think this movie has everything in it – a compelling love story, fantastic action scenes and Ben Affleck *swoon*. You also can’t go wrong with a rough Boston accent either! A story about a town in Boston named Charlestown. Where, for some, bank robbery is a way of life and treated as an art handed down through the generations… Continue reading →

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Whiplash

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I’m sure you’ve heard of Whiplash, and referred to it as ‘that drumming film with Juno’s dad in it.’

Or, perhaps you first heard of it when J.K. Simmons won best supporting actor at the Oscars for his role in Whiplash. (Which, OH MY GOD did he deserve. He was… Every teacher I’ve ever feared.)

Although, I reckon everyone should have known Whiplash as ‘that amazing film I went to see yesterday for the second time’. Yet, at least in Auckland’s case, it was barely shown – if at all – in the major cinemas… Continue reading →

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Godzilla (2014)

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I thoroughly enjoyed Godzilla. I thought it would be just another King Kong movie: looooooong, with a damsel in distress and a brutal ending highlighting the selfishness of mankind.

However, this was more like a monster sci-fi movie. Giving a nod to Jurassic Park, Space Odyssey (music), War of the Worlds, Captain America… You name it.

A movie that plays on our fears of nuclear and natural disasters… And, giant lizards. It’s fantastic. My favourite part is when they talk about why the nuclear testing occurred in the 1950s. Very. Scandalous… Continue reading →

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Nightcrawler

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This film is by far one of the creepiest films I’ve seen. It’s not so much scary, but it does put you on edge and makes your skin crawl. I guess, hence the film title.

Jake Gyllenhaal with his goggly, baby-bird eyes and sharp cheek bones, is enough to make you squirm. Let alone the control he has over everyone. It is so captivating.

He lost more than 13kg (30 pounds) to play the ‘literally and figuratively hungry’ character, Lou Bloom. Gyllenhaal id so by running a lot and eating only kale and chewing gum. He said the diet was completely safe and healthy… Continue reading →

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Interstellar

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If you loved Gravity and Inception, you’ll love Interstellar.

The time travelling concepts in this movie are easy to grasp if you’re familiar with the sci-fi genre. If you can keep up with Doctor Who, you’ll keep up with this.

It’s set in the future where scientists are aware that crops are failing and the end of the world could be near. NASA is attempting to find another planet so that the human race can continue… Continue reading →

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Lucy

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It was a great concept, but it was just so weird! It was simply bizarre.

Scarlet Johansson plays the protagonist, Lucy, who is kidnapped and used as a drug mule. The new drug seeps into her system, which enables her to use more and more and more of her brain.

She is able to manipulate everything from pain tolerence to technology. She even pulls some solid Matrix moves.

It would have been a great as a short film… Continue reading →

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Hercules

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Hercules was a blood bath with a sense of humour.

Based on Hercules: The Thracian Wars by Steve Moore, the story weaves in the legends of the Demi-God, Hercules (played by wrestler, Dwayne Johnson), but centered it on the more human aspects of him.

The movie follows Hercules and his right-hand men (and woman) into multiple battles, but Hercules soon questions who he is really fighting for… Continue reading →

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22 Jump Street

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22 Jump Street certainly didn’t match up to its prequel, 21 Jump Street.

This one was long and had as many topless scenes of Channing Tatum as possible… I’m assuming this was written into his contract..?

I didn’t find it as funny as the first one because it was so ridiculous. It was similar to the first but more outrageous. Although, I’m sure the Jump Street fans won’t be disappointed.

The amount of references to the first film kept the cookie-cutter-comedy fresh. The movie made fun of itself, hinting at… Continue reading →

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Transformers: Age of Extinction

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One was enough!

This is the fourth Transformers movie. This has gone on for too long.

It’s about government agencies coming after people who have found a Transformer. Transformers are no longer welcome as they are deemed ‘alien’.

I’m not a Transformers fan, but I can appreciate that cars becoming giant robots are cool.

However, the fighting was endless and exhausting, and acting was hopeless. It was a pointless and boring two hours and 45 minutes… Continue reading →

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Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

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I wasn’t expecting much from this sequel, but I thoroughly enjoyed it!

A desolate planet with a small population living within the remains of an apocalypse. The humans are in search of a water supply to ensure electricity to their commune. However, the apes that were used in trials in the prequel have populated the forests where the water supply is.

I found the body language of the apes and the reactions of the humans fascinating… Continue reading →

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Captain America: The Winter Soldier

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Wow! Okay, I haven’t seen the first of the Captain America films (Captain America: The First Avenger) but I feel I still got the impact of the movie without much of the back story.

I haven’t seen the Avenger movies either (don’t kill me!).

Captain America: The Winter Soldier is about Captain America’s (AKA Steve Roger’s) past haunting him. He was once in the army where he lost a dear friend, Bucky. The flash backs are gorgeous; back to the 1940s. Steve Rogers is trying to fit into the modern day but the values of the people in charge don’t sit well with him… Continue reading →

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