Flickfessions

[steveP]

The Kid with a Bike
http://en.wikipedia....Kid_with_a_Bike

This is a French and multiple award winning film that looked worth checking out. The basic plot is about a boy who's new to foster care, and is trying to put together the pieces of where he is, what happened to his father and also the whereabouts of his bike. Quite early on the bike is found, but the more fleshed out story of his father and the boy growing up begins. The boy is faced with some crossroads of trying to accept his situation and make the most of it or join the wrong crowd and lose his foster parent. There is a "drug dealer" in this that has to win an award for the worst casing choice for a tough guy. Overall this is a typical foreign film dealing with relationships and conflict, but like most foreign films, it does it well. The ending is particularly memorable. If you're a fan of foreign/French films, this is worth the watch.

A Separation
http://en.wikipedia....ki/A_Separation

Another foreign film, this time Iranian, about a murder allegation, forcing a couple to work together during the early proceedings of a divorce. I had heard good things about this prior to watching it, and I wasn't disappointed. Trying to avoid spoilers, the father in the family is accused of causing a miscarriage in the nanny and is subsequently arrested prior to a trial. However the woman may or may not be hiding something, who is struggling to make ends meet. No characters in this are morally black or white and who you're supporting or believe changes throughout the movie. I really like movies that are unpredictable and that I can't nail down, and this was exactly that. Even during the ending when all the loose ends are tidied up, I still had mixed feelings over which characters I supported. Reading other people's reviews, it looks like others feel the same as some people can be wildly in support of certain characters. If you're a little sick of Hollywood movies full of transformers and dinosaurs fighting and what to see something that caters to the morality part of your brain, this is a must watch.

Bronson
http://en.wikipedia....nson_%28film%29

This is a biographical film on a man labelled the UK's most dangerous criminal, played by Tom Hardy in one of this best roles. If you're a fan of the film Chopper, about the Australian outlaw, you'll love this as it's the UK's equivalent about a similar sort of criminal. Despite never been charged with anyone's murder, Charlie Bronson has spent nearly all of his adult life in jail, and mostly solitary confinement. This is due to his wild attitude, beating up and taking prison staff hostage and in general being a psychopath. This film follows Bronson's life from childhood and details all the major events that got him his jail sentences, inter-cut with monologues from Hardy. Reading about this film afterwards, I found that the character Trevor in GTA5 was partly based on Hardy's portrayal in this movie.

 

[steveP]

Hot Coffee
http://en.wikipedia....ffee_%28film%29

A documentary discussing tort reform, brought forward by the famous McDonald's case where an elderly lady burnt herself with hot coffee and successfully sued McDonald's for $2.86 million. Tort reform is an act to cap payouts of potential frivolous lawsuits. This documentary really understood public perception towards these opportunistic cases. I was 100% against people being able to make it rich off suing corporations, and this documentary knows that's probably your point of view. It then tries to sway your opinion by explaining what really happened with the McDonald's case and gives many examples of how tort reform has made things worse for the general public. These include cases where an incompetent doctor caused brain damage when delivering a baby and now that family has to foot the bill for therapy for the rest of that child's life. And also a horrific case of gang rape in the military where the young woman had very little rights to hold the men responsible. By the end of this, the documentary had totally changed my opinion on the right to sue for being mistreated and harmed by corporations. Yes, some frivolous lawsuits will slip through the cracks, but it's something that will have to be tolerated so innocent people can get justice.

Into the Woods
http://en.wikipedia....oods_%28film%29

A movie I got tricked into seeing. This is the latest Disney movie, which is a musical, much to my unpleasant surprise. The general gist of this is to take a handful of fairy tales and link them together through a central, yet separate story arch. However most of the actors sing their lines, which gets tiresome if you're not into that. For what this movie is trying to do, it does it well. All the characters seem thought out and they all gel together, even though they come from different fairy tales. This is based off a theatre production, but after reading about the differences, it's very similar. Reading some reviews, people really dislike the direction this takes in the 3rd act, where for me it was the one bit of the movie that got my attention. The story gets much darker and deals with more interesting subject matter. If you have children or anyone really who likes musicals, this will satisfy that itch.

Mad Dog Morgan
http://en.wikipedia..../Mad_Dog_Morgan

An Australian movie from the 70s about a lesser known Australian outlaw during the 1850s. This is based on a true story and the producers somehow got Dennis Hopper to star in the lead role, who does an excellent job. The story portrayed here of Morgan is that of an innocent man turned outlaw after being sent to jail and wrongfully treated. He then retreats into the Australian outback and becomes someone who lives off the land with a fellow Aboriginal. After years of travellers being robbed who passed through Morgan's territory, the state police conduct a manhunt for the outlaw. Being unsuccessful, and the local police force are embarrassed. As Morgan becomes one of the most wanted people in Australia, a stronger police force challenge Morgan into entering their state. In some ways I would call this a western as it has all the familiar elements. I think Australian westerns are known as 'Meat Pie Westerns'. Overall it was an interesting movie worth the watch.

 

[steveP]

Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure
http://en.wikipedia....llent_Adventure

A very early stoner comedy starring a young Keanu Reeves. The elaborate story for such a simple movie is this; in a utopian future thanks to Bill and Ted's music, a person is sent back to the present day to ensure that Bill and Ted pass their history exam so they can go on to create said future. Using the time machine, Bill and Ted travel and meet famous figures that will be in their history exam, such as Socrates and Beethoven. Along the way things don't go as planned where Bill and Ted must tie up all the loose ends before their exam. This is probably sounding like a kids' movie, but it's more of a cult comedy film that doesn't take itself seriously. If you're a fan of stoner comedies and one-liners, you'll really enjoy this. This movie is a great way to take a trip down memory lane back to the late 80s.

Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey
http://en.wikipedia....s_Bogus_Journey

The follow up sequel to Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. This follows a similar premise to the first movie where a villain from the future goes back to the present day and tries to kill Bill and Ted to prevent the future happening. The story, characters and production value in this movie is so much better than the first. It drops the typical 'high school band trying to save the world' angle and goes in a more surreal direction including robot clones, meeting death, alien creatures and visiting hell. This is a movie with more plot twists and story arcs than most film trilogies. I'd probably say you could even skip the first movie and go straight to this one, as this is a must watch. The character of death is a stand out role.

The Specialist
http://en.wikipedia..../The_Specialist

An action movie from the mid 90s where Stallone was in his prime. A bit silly by today's standards, but Stallone is a bomb expert for hire, previously working for the CIA. A woman hires him to take out a mob family who murdered her family. To make things more interesting, the mob family is working in with a corrupt police officer who is Stallone's ex partner from the CIA. If there was ever a cookie cutter plot to an action movie, this is it. However I think this movie pulls it off. This movie is completely style over substance with all the explosions, tough guy talk, typical bad guys and eye candy from Sharon Stone. But for what this was aiming for, it nailed it.

 

[BrisVegasGhost]

Bill and Teds is an old favourite of mine.

I watched a movie the other night called The Maze Runner.....wasn't to bad if your after a movie to watch

 

[Headley]

Went and saw Gone Girl... it was a pretty dull psycho thriller with the antagonist being a woman.

Edit: I found this version of Life of Pie much more entertaining:

 

[steveP]

Yeah I saw that in the cinema last year. It's a bit of a Hunger Games clone. I felt the plot was a little undercooked. Probably because there will be sequels to stretch the plot out.

 

[steveP]

A Fistful of Dollars
http://en.wikipedia....tful_of_Dollars

So I finally got around to seeing the Dollars Trilogy; some of the most famous spaghetti western films from director Sergio Leone. All films star Clint Eastwood in a similar role of a mysterious drifter/bounty hunter, however none of the films occur in the same film universe.
In this movie, a drifter arrives in a town run by two families butting heads for power. The drifter plays the two families off each other, hoping to reduce their number and to take what's left over. Things don't go as planned when the drifter is captured. He must then use his sharp shooting skills to cleanse the town. Overall I would rate this as on par with some of the better westerns of the time. The story is pretty basic, but there is enough action to make up for it.

For a Few Dollars More
http://en.wikipedia....ew_Dollars_More

The next movie in the trilogy could be looked at as a prequel where Eastwood plays a younger bounty hunter making a living in the wild west. Being a rather successful bounty hunter, he's unaware that he's on a path to meet a large and violent gang with bounties on their heads; too much for him alone to take on. An ex military and semi retired bounty hunter is also tracking the same gang for personal reasons. Paths inevitably collide where the two bounty hunters come together for a common goal after sizing each other up. This was by far my favourite of the three movies. It's just the right length, has a much more fleshed out story than the first film and is genuinely suspenseful. Having two protagonists at the centre of the film is also rare in movies, which was refreshing. If you're not committed enough to see all three movies, this is the one to see.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
http://en.wikipedia....ad_and_the_Ugly

The last movie in the trilogy which could even be seen as a prequel to the second movie. This movie by far has the deepest story, biggest budget, fleshed out characters with the greatest production value. Basically it's a Hollywood quality film. I would go so far as to calling it an epic as it occurs over so many different locations and settings. Eastwood plays a very similar character as in the second movie; he is joined by Van Cleef who plays a corrupt army general and Eli Wallach, an untrustworthy treasure hunter. Each man knows a piece of the puzzle to finding a buried treasure, but only when working together will they be able to find it. This results in many betrayals and uneasy alliances between the characters in a race to figure it out and kill the others first. This actually is a very good movie, but it's also long and takes you on a roller coaster ride through the wild west; which may not be for everyone. The audio track composed for this movie is extremely well known and is now synonymous with a western showdown.

 

[steveP]

The Giver
http://en.wikipedia....iver_%28film%29

One of the latest installments in the teenager dystopian future films category. This is a Hunger Games clone with a sprinkling of Logan's Run and Aeon Flux. However it's like mixing sushi and milkshakes, it just leaves a bad taste in your mouth. This started off with potential; in a distant future humans have homogenised their society so everyone behaves the same, looks the same, has their emotions blunted and follows the laws without question. This is the 'perfect' society with no crime or war, at the cost of emotional highs and lows, creativity and free will. This is represented by the film actually being in black and white, where colour is slowly added as one of the community members breaks away from the control and starts to feel and see the real world. As with most of these movies, nothing is explained at the start, and you learn the history of the society as the main protagonist does. The beginning of the movie got me in and I could see this being a great story. But it does what so many Hollywood movies do, they sacrifice substance for style. When things start to get interesting, the story takes a sideways step and it turns in a very average action movie. It's probably not worth the watch.

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
http://en.wikipedia...._of_Ricky_Bobby

A Will Ferrell movie that most people would have seen. I avoid most Ferrell movies as I put them in the same category as 'stoner comedies'; it's just actors playing an exaggerated version of themselves. This is a way is that, but there is a little more depth with Sacha Baron Cohen as the French homosexual villain with a bad accent. Not being into NASCAR, I'm sure there were plenty of jokes that went over my head. However the general tone of the movie and references are quite funny with regular laugh out loud moments. The story is about Ricky Bobby, a NASCAR champion being dethroned by a rival, hitting rock bottom after a mental breakdown and trying to launch a comeback. If you like other Ferrell movies, this will be right up there for you.

Dazed and Confused
http://en.wikipedia....used_%28film%29

An early 90's coming of age/high school film in the same light as Diner and Fast Times at Ridgemont High, and followed by American Pie. There is no real plot here other than following around some high school friends as they're nearing or just finished high school. Most are misfits trying to find themselves as they take the next step in life. The main character here is faced with a decision to continue a successful American football career or go off and find something more fulfilling. This is a minor plot element overall and the film isn't trying to be preachy. It's mostly a nostalgic look back to how high school was or how people wished it was. Most of the movie is about buddies pulling pranks on each other, drinking and avoiding trouble. If you're a fan of the above listed movies, you'll enjoy this; but I didn't see much point to this. I also couldn't understand the obsession one senior student had with spanking a younger student. Researching these acts afterwards, it's quite common in America and people regular die from initiation rituals gone too far.

 

[steveP]

Kingsman: The Secret Service
http://en.wikipedia...._Secret_Service

An English spy movie that was out in cinemas earlier this year. Originally I had seen the trailers and had no interest in this. It looked like an English Spy Kids clone where kids from "the street" teach government spies the tricks of the trade. After hearing people rave about the movie and that the trailer was very misleading, I gave it a go. The plot is about an English secret service agency that solves international crime. They're so secretive that the government doesn't know about them. As agents die, they hold try outs for new recruits. Eggsy, from a broken home, finds out his deceased father was once a member. After coming to the attention of the agency, Eggsy is given the chance to try out for the Kingsman organisation. This may sound a little cliché, but it's done really well. Where I was expecting a Harry Potter style PG movie, this was no holds barred with a very unpredictable plot. This is a Matthew Vaughn film, who has also directed/produced Kick-Ass, Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels; so you're getting a hard hitting and well crafted English film. This was really great that I'm sure many people missed. It's definitely a must watch.

Thirst
http://en.wikipedia....%282009_film%29

A Korean take on the vampire genre. I'm always up for a Korean movie as I've never seen a bad one, well until now. It will say that the concept of becoming a vampire in this was well done and quite realistic. The protagonist develops a blood disease and must drink others' blood to stop him from suffering and ultimately dying. But the rest of the story was just so bland. The subplot is about a priest having an affair his friend's wife and her over controlling mother in law living with them. The film just felt like there was no end goal or point. Overall it's not a bad movie; it's just not up the standard I had expected from Korean movies.

American Reunion
http://en.wikipedia....merican_Reunion

I finally got around to seeing the 4th official instalment in the American Pie series. I had high hopes for this seeing they got the original cast back together and I was assuming the actors would have wanted to make an impact. It's like they've taken all the boring scenes and filler from the earlier movies and rehashed it. What was great about the earlier movies were the guys getting caught out in embarrassing situations and generally being guys trying their luck with the ladies. This just seemed like it was a massive compromise between each character getting an equal part, balancing drama and conflict with boobies and sticking to the formula with no risks. The scenes that were funny where the guys pulled pranks or got caught out instead felt like the filler to all the drama. This isn't a movie I could recommend to American Pie fans.

 

[Admin]

thanks for the great reviews

 

[steveP]

Get the Gringo
http://en.wikipedia..../Get_the_Gringo

A Mel Gibson movie that looked really good in trailers back in 2012, but I never got the chance to see it. The basic plot is that a career criminal robbed an American bank and is making a run for the Mexican border. Crashing through the border fence and with millions of dollars in the car, the Mexican police "take over" from the American police. Gibson is thrown in a Mexican jail and charged with a different offense to bury the case and so the corrupt police can pocket the money. In jail he must use his street smarts to find a way to escape to avoid the Mexican drug lords and American bounty hunters looking for him and the missing money. What's interesting is the Mexican jail where it's almost like a small village within the jail walls, complete with families, schools and shops. Afterwards I looked this up and it is in fact a real jail. The movie was really great where you couldn't look away. My only criticism is that I wished it went longer. The setting and characters in this were all excellent. I would strongly recommend it.

Blue Ruin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Ruin

A revenge movie made on a shoe string budget. I had heard of this movie, but didn't really know anything about it, which I think added to the movie. So I'll do my best not to give away too much of the story. You are introduced to Dwight, a homeless man who lives in a car. He gets news that the person who killed his parents is being release from jail. With no plans or resources, he makes his way to the town the man lives in to take revenge. Much of the story is revealed as the movie progresses, such as why his parents were killed and the meaning of the movie title. There are so many twists and turns of the story that you're truly taken on a wild ride where you don't know where it will end. The suspenseful moments in this are so raw and powerful. I would probably rate this as the best movie I've seen this year.

Whiplash
http://en.wikipedia....%282014_film%29

A movie with massive critical acclaim in America that barely got a showing here in Australia. Based on a true story, this is about a young college drummer, Andrew, with obvious talent who is pushed by a very demanding and controversial music teacher. The music teacher is known to push the students' limits to see if they crack or not, as he only wants the best in his class. Seeing Andrew is convinced he's the next drummer star in the making, he's prepared to put up with the abuse from his teacher until he snaps. The story isn't that in depth, but the performances are. This really is an intense film that will stick with you. I have no interest or knowledge in drumming, yet I was entertained throughout.

 

[steveP]

Furious 7
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Furious_7

The latest instalment of The Fast and the Furious series (I'm not sure how they come up with the names; surely they're out of all possible combinations of 'fast' and 'furious'). You kind of know what you're getting with these movies. They're borderline superhero movies where none of the main characters can get hurt. Head first automotive collisions and being thrown through the windscreen, having a parking structure collapse onto someone, parachuting a car out of a plane; things that would clearly kill people are just routine in this. That's great if you like big blockbuster action movies, but not so good if you're a fan of the original movies and enjoy the cars. There's probably under a minute of actual cars racing/hitting the NOS button. The story is about a secret military police of some sort trying to stop terrorists from getting a hold of new technology that could control the world. Who better to put on the job than a gang of misfit street racers? I'm a fan of the original movies, and I'm really not liking the direction these movies are going. Cars are taking a backseat to generic Hollywood action scenes.

Birdman
http://en.wikipedia....dman_%28film%29

A movie I couldn't wait to see when it was getting a lot of attention in America. I waited and waited to see it in the cinema, and then months later there was a 2 week limited screening window I missed. Well done cinemas of Australia; ignore Oscar winning movies to make room for the next Transformers dog vomit. The story is about a washed up movie star who once played a superhero. He's trying to become a legit theatre actor but his ego and past constantly get in the way. Really, that's about it in terms of plot. What makes this movie stand out is in the way it's filmed. The camera effortlessly flows and tracks the characters; the film almost looks like it was filmed in a single take. And that's about the limit of the praise I can give this. I kept waiting for the story to kick in or something pivotal to happen, but it never did. There is a supernatural or dream element to this and towards the end of the movie this did seem quite pretentious. I think this is movie for actors and a showcase of filming techniques. After all the hype I was a little let down by this.

Tusk
http://en.wikipedia....%282014_film%29

The latest Kevin Smith film that evolved from a podcast. As a joke, Smith pitched a movie about a man who offered free rent in return for the tenant dressing and acting like a walrus for 2 hours a day. With fan support, the film got made with a slightly more fleshed out story. The story is about a pair of podcasters who interview internet viral video stars. One travels to Canada for an interview but comes up empty handed. Before returning home, he follows a lead to find a man with apparently amazing stories. The rest is quite predictable. As a horror movie this didn't have many tense scenes and as a comedy the jokes were very few and far between. Then half way through the movie Johnny Depp shows up and does his best to win the worst acting award. This movie was never meant to be anything great, but it just had no direction or point. If you haven't seen Smith's film Red State, see that instead as it's vastly superior.

 

[steveP]

REC 2
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/REC_2

I saw the original last year and had the sequels on my list; lucky for me, REC 2 and 3 were on regular TV. This picks up exactly after the end of the first movie, even though it was filmed years apart. The first movie is about an outbreak of a zombie virus, with the origin coming from a religious exorcism. In the first movie a news team is left stranded in an apartment full of zombies. This is based around a SWAT team trying to recover survivors. What makes this series unique is how it's filmed from a first person view from various characters. For example, a news cameraman, a SWAT team head mounted camera and various handheld cameras. This really gives a fresh take on the zombie genre. If you need something to tie you over until the next season of The Walking Dead, this will definitely scratch that itch.

REC 3: Génesis
http://en.wikipedia....3:_G%C3%A9nesis

This is very similar to the first 2 movies, but is happening in parallel in a nearby location. A wedding reception doesn't go to plan as a guest becomes infected with the zombie virus. As the wedding is being held in a mansion, chaos ensues the survivors try to find safety. The main story is about the bride and groom trying to find each other while navigating their demon possessed wedding. This does sound a little cheesy, but it sort of works. The biggest change in this sequel is the first person cam changing to regular camera work early on. I know it would have been hard to keep it going in such an open area with limited characters, but it still would have been better if they maintained this aspect. Reading reviews, people really disliked this movie, apparently due to the deviation in camera view I just mentioned. However I don't think it breaks the film and if this was a stand-alone zombie film, it would get much better reviews. I'd say it's worth the watch if you enjoyed the first two.

Blacula
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blacula

A 70s' blaxploitation film where a black man becomes a vampire, hence Blacula. I was expecting this to very terrible, and I wasn't disappointed. Plot holes, no continuity, horrible acting and bad special effects. So bad that I wasn't even going to review it here. Reading about it afterwards, it actually won some sci-fi awards and spawned a sequel. The basic story is about a vampire from 200 years ago awakens in modern society. Apparently the wonders of modern technology aren't of any interest, yet he's not fazed by cars, cameras or electricity. This is a horrible mess.

 

[steveP]

Coogan's Bluff
http://en.wikipedia....luff_%28film%29

An early Eastwood "fish out of water" film. In a way, this is like a primitive Crocodile Dundee, where a cowboy detective is sent to New York City to bring back a killer currently in custody. The film plays the culture-shock card a bit, but doesn't fully take that path. Instead Eastwood uses his cowboy smarts to seduce the women of the police department and to fool the authorities to speed up the extradition process. There were a lot of plot holes in this and I later found out this was due to random and senseless cuts in the editing process. Pivotal scene were missing that would have explained the story better. There are a lot of these Eastwood made-on-the-cheap films out there, and this doesn't stand out. Not really worth tracking down.

Kalifornia
http://en.wikipedia....wiki/Kalifornia

An early 90s' film with a cast of up and coming stars at the time. Brad Pitt stars as a hillbilly psychopath serial killer, in a great unrecognisable role. David Duchovny's character has recently graduated in journalism, and him and his partner are planning on starting a new life on the other side of America. They will be driving and along the way they will be stopping off at infamous murder sites for the book he's writing. Not being able to afford the trip on their own, they put out a request for a ride-share. Unbeknownst to the couple, the only responders are a convicted criminal violating his parole and his naive and childlike girlfriend. Further into the road trip, the more the couple suspects something isn't right. I had no knowledge of this movie and was a total accident that I came across it, but I'm glad I did. All the characters in this are fantastic and the suspense scenes are genuinely suspenseful. Definitely add this to your list to check out.

Margin Call
http://en.wikipedia....Call_%28film%29

A film playing out the start of the 2008 Global Financial Crisis from the point of view of an investment bank. This sounds like a pretty boring subject, especially if you don't know much about finance or wall street, but I was pleasantly surprised. The plot occurs roughly over a 24 hour period where a smart low level employee predicts the financial crash occurring the following morning. He notifies his boss at 11pm that night and he escalates it higher up the food chain. Soon, the CEO arrives via helicopter and holds an executive meeting at 3am to figure out an exit strategy. I won't say anymore or it will give away too much of the movie. It's quite fascinating to see how corporations of this size deal with serious threats to their livelihood. For a movie I wasn't particularly interested in seeing, this really got me in with great tension throughout. If you haven't seen it already, check it out.

 

[steveP]

Trivial Matters
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1149603/

A movie I was on the fence about seeing. It's a collection of satirical short stories based in Hong Kong. Each story has a theme and a point to tell. For example, one is about a husband and wife's lack of communication during sex and how their interpretation of the same thing is wildly different. Another is based on 2 girls in high school where one is sabotaging the other to be left alone, yet these half-hearted decisions cause long term consequences. Another is a brief encounter between a prostitute and customer where they inadvertently share a brief moment of compassion. Each one of these stories really makes you think and reflect on what just happened. This was really clever film making with a clever script. It's probably impossible to track down, but worth the watch if you can find it.

Banksy Does New York
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3995006/

A HBO documentary recently screened in select cinemas about the notorious and anonymous street artist, Banksy. This is the latest film on Banksy, following Exit Through The Gift Shop and the lesser known Graffiti Wars. In late 2013 he notified his followers that he would do a 30-day exhibition in and around New York City. This meant a new piece of art would be revealed each day randomly somewhere in the city. As you can expect, this turned into a massive treasure hunt that brought some parts of the city to a halt. It wasn't all paintings though; it included statues, live attractions and even street vendors selling art. This documentary shows the excitement this "art exhibition" generated and how people reacted to the art pieces. If you're a Banksy fan or even if you're mildly interested in art, you'll really enjoy this.

Shame
http://en.wikipedia....%282011_film%29

A very art house film that is supposed to be about sex addiction. You follow Brandon who lives a sort of nihilistic life. He has a nice New York job, has a calm yet confident way with women, but appears to have no purpose in life or anything that's truly fulfilling. His less than successful sister decides to crash at his places until she can get her life back on track, yet Brandon has no empathy and they treat each other as strangers. And really that's about the depth of the story. I was surprised to read afterwards that this received many awards. There's just nothing here memorable or anything driving the plot. The whole way through I was thinking this was a poor man's American Psycho. If you haven't already, see the Christian Bale movie instead.

 

[taurus]

Love the reviews mate, how do you find time to watch them all?

 

[steveP]

I just watch 1 or 2 during the week at night and maybe an extra movie on the weekend if we go to the cinemas. Been trying to catch up on UFC events recently so I've been a bit slack lol.

 

[steveP]

Avengers: Age of Ultron
http://en.wikipedia....:_Age_of_Ultron

Again I got dragged to the latest Super Lantern Man movie. The latest bad guys have teamed up again to destroy a random planet in the entire universe; Mars. Not really, it's Earth. The good guys have to put aside the squabble in their daily lives to be a cheer squad for the Hulk, who can single-handedly take care of business. Again, not really, but seriously, what's the point of the other guys when the Hulk can't be defeated, especially the dude with a shield. He doesn't even have a gun; very un-American for someone named Captain America. Nothing memorable happens in this and no one significant is at risk of dying. You'll probably know if this is you movie or not.

The Final Member
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2318701/

A documentary about the Icelandic Phallological Museum. The founder has been collecting specimens for over 40 years, but there's one mammal's penis he doesn't have; man. Seeing removing someone's penis after death is a bit taboo, he hasn't found a donor yet. Well until now, and there are in fact 2 men in the running. One, an Icelandic adventurer in his 90s and an American who craves the fame. So it's come down to a race of whether the 90 year old man will die, so his member can be donated, or the American, who has tattooed his penis with the American flag and have it surgically removed, so he can appreciate it while alive. Quite an entertaining watch with a lot of black comedic elements. Reading about the American dude afterwards, it's clear he's a psychopath.

Fahrenheit 9/11
http://en.wikipedia....Fahrenheit_9/11

A Michael Moore documentary from 2004, during the chaos of the Iraqi war. I guess looking back at it now in hindsight, things are a lot clearer, which makes Bush look even more corrupt. This documentary details the aftermath of 9/11, where the Bin Laden family was allowed to leave the US when there was a lock-down on flights, the Bush Administration taking advantage of a terrible situation to fund privately owned defence and oil companies, and the destruction the US army caused to the Iraqi civilians. I guess back in 2004 these were all speculation on Moore's part, but now it's all hard proven facts. I'm a big fan of Moore's documentaries and this had me glue to the TV the whole way through.

 

[steveP]

Sicko
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicko

The follow up documentary to Fahrenheit 9/11 by Michael Moore. This time he's exposing the US' health care system for being privately run, where the most important factor is profit, not helping people. The main argument here is that as soon as the health care system isn't public/government funded, only the rich can afford to be covered. And even if you are covered, the health care system will find any excuse not to help. Universal health care is something that most people believe in, and in fact many countries practice. Moore visits the number 1 rated health system in the world, France, and shows that universal health care can be free and successful. This really opened my eyes to a topic I was ignorant to. I had no idea that the health care system in America was so poorly run.

Mad Max: Fury Road
http://en.wikipedia...._Max:_Fury_Road

The very much anticipated fourth instalment of the Mad Max series. This is neither a sequel nor a reboot according to the director. However Max does share a lot of similarities from the same character in the original trilogy such as back story, clothing, injuries, car and obviously name. I'd call this a reboot in another universe for the sake of not breaking continuity. The actual plot is quite basic and is probably the weakest element of the movie. Survivors of a dystopian future rebel against each other for control over resources. Max and Furiosa are on the run to escape to a sanctuary. In fact 75% of the movie is just one giant car chase scene. The main goal of this movie is to create one of the best action films in recent years, and it definitely does that. It's fast paced, the story is unpredictable, the violence is no holds barred and the characters are all unique and memorable. My only criticism is that I wish the audio was as vibrant as the visuals and action scenes. Everyone's driving around in twin turbo V8 monster cars with straight through exhaust exiting the bonnet; as well as a heavy metal guitarist riding a massive float of speakers. I really wanted to be blown away by the mechanical rawness of it all, but all the cars sounded the same. It's definitely a movie worth seeing in the cinema.

Apocalypto
http://en.wikipedia....wiki/Apocalypto

From one post apocalyptic movie set in the future, to one at the other extreme, set 500 years ago. This follows a small Mayan tribe who have been enslaved by the Mayan rulers who are big on human sacrifice. As the Mayan civilisation is facing its decline, warriors from the kingdom are expanding their territory, looking for nomads to sacrifice to their gods. You follow one of the nomads as his tribe is crippled and enslaved by the warriors. You basically see the world through his eyes and feel as if you're one of the tribe members en route to the temples to be sacrificed. There is something very raw about this that fires off your survival instinct. I was totally immersed by the Mayan world on screen and this is a movie that I'll probably think about for a long time. As soon as it was over I was researching all about the Mayan civilisation, and the way this movie was depicted is very historically accurate. Say what you want about Mel Gibson, but he's one hell of a movie maker.

 

[steveP]

From Dusk Till Dawn
https://en.wikipedia..._Dusk_till_Dawn

A movie I had heard of, but knew nothing about, which added to the story as it's easy to spoil. Starring and screenplay by Tarantino, the story starts out with two violent bank robbers on the run from the police with a teller as hostage. They were on their way to the Mexican border, but there is now a manhunt for them with frequent checkpoint. So they take a family hostage and are smuggled in a RV to Mexico where the outlaws have planned a vacation seeing they will be wanted fugitives in America for a while. This is where a bad-ass outlaw movie makes a complete left turn and changes genre; and I'd say not for the better. This stars a young George Clooney who plays a fantastic villain. It's a shame he hasn't played similar roles over the years and always gets portrayed as the flirty good guy. There are some cheesy parts to this, but overall this is a movie worth seeing for its uniqueness.

Pan's Labyrinth
https://en.wikipedia...n%27s_Labyrinth

A film set during a 1940s Spanish civil war. Ofelia is the step daughter of an army Captain where she and her mother live with him at a control centre/mansion in the forest. There is a diminishing rebel group who make infrequent attacks on the mansion, while traitors are living within the army as civilians. With civil war going on directly around Ofelia, she escapes to a fantasy world and interacts with mythical beings. The war is juxtaposed with the mythical world in a clash of genres. I would describe this as a fantasy movie for adults. As the movie goes on, you're not actually sure if what you see through Ofelia's eyes is actually happening or fantasy. I feel as this movie is hyped up quite a lot and I would rate is just above average. The story was decent, but nothing memorable.

The Island of Dr. Moreau
https://en.wikipedia...%281996_film%29

A retelling of the H. G. Wells book of the same name. The basic plot is that a mad scientist, too rouge for modern science has taken up refuge on his own secret island. He has been performing medical procedures along with hormones to turn animals into half human hybrids. The story is told through Edward, a shipwreck survivor who finds himself on the island. Initially kept from the animals and experiments, they are shown off by Dr Moreau as scientific feats. Edward is disgusted and tries to find a way off the island. There have been two previous films and many inspired movies/TV shows based on the original novel such The Simpsons' Halloween special. The first 15 minutes of the movie seemed ok, but then it just became a mess with no real direction or point. By the end you just want it to end like a bad ride. Reading about the production afterwards, it looks like everyone on the set hated each other and multiple directors came and went. It was a surprised that it actually got finished.