Turbo and other kids films

Had a family outing this weekend to see DreamWorks' Turbo- loved it :) It's amazing how Ryan Reynolds' dry sarcasm manages to come through even in cartoon snail form! As does Sammy L. Jackson's supreme badass-ness!

I have actually watched a few kids films lately and I must admit I am a still huge fan of them even as I approach 21. There is something comforting and magical about curling up on the cold winter days with a good Disney film or some Harry Potter. If a kids film is good it really can be enjoyed at any age! They are so full of optimism and many of them, like Turbo, carry the message that your dreams can come true no matter what obstacles you may face- which is a pretty cool thing to be teaching kids I say!

If Turbo was good then Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs was great! I haven't seen the new one yet but the trailer for it looked so funny that I had to buy the first one. I bought the 3D version as we have the LG3D TV and the 3D effects were pretty good, more for depth than popping out of the screen but they weren't as shaky as some 3D effects can be. Not only did cloudy have all of the regular 'you can achieve your dreams' stuff but there was also a lot of serious emotion and intelligence which was surprising coming from a film about raining food! I found the film to be a reflection on American greed and consumerism as well as a story about family and believing in yourself...and it has a really cool talking monkey!

Grab your younger siblings/little cousins/friend's children and go to the cinema to see the next kids film that comes out..or just go with some friends (it's dark in the cinema, no-one cares!) I promise that you will be feeling good by the time the credits roll!

The Dark Knight

This blog won't be all new film reviews, it may also involve other film related ramblings that my family and friends are becoming sick of hearing so I need to share them with you instead- whoever you may be!

People often ask me what my favourite film is and I honestly cannot answer that because when you sit down to watch a film you aren't always looking for the same thing; sometimes I want a great cinematic experience with Oscar worthy performances but other times I just want some silly humour which may not have any real film value at all!

However, one film I recently re-watched that would definitely make it into at least my top 5 is The Dark Knight! Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy is amongst the best film franchises ever (I may have to compose a list of my favourite franchises in the future!) and The Dark Knight is, in my opinion, the best of the three. I think it's the best characterisation of Batman there's ever been and you have to give Christian Bale some credit for that. Whilst I don't particularly like him as an actor (or person honestly!) I think that works for the role, as Batman himself isn't necessarily likeable. The way I see Bruce Wayne is as an egotistical millionaire who has a desperate, verging on suicidal, hero-complex which stems out of a unattainable need to avenge his parents by combating any and all criminal activity he witnesses- not exactly the stable, all-American Superhero! What The Dark Knight does quite beautifully is show Batman's transition from vigilante to genuine hero when he becomes selfless enough to hang up his Batsuit for the good of the city!

A lot of people raved about The Dark Knight Rises and how it was the best one- I agree that is was AMAZING and very nearly on par with its predecessor however there were a couple of things I would have changed! Firstly, Bane's death was no where near spectacular enough for how much of an important and awesome villain he was! Secondly, I did not like Marion Cotillard's character very much..I know everybody loves her but for me she was not as endearing as Maggie Gyllenhaal's Rachel and was completely out-shined by Hathaway's Selina/Catwoman. (Moment of appreciation for Anne Hathaway in THAT costume!). Lastly, I thought it was fairly obvious that Joseph Gordon-Levitt's Blake was supposed to be a prodigy/Robin type character- it didn't need to be thrown in at the end that his first name is Robin!

These may be trivial and minor improvements but the point is that The Dark Knight is FLAWLESS to me! There are very few movies that I would label as perfection but this one deserves it! From Heath Ledger's sickly gleeful Joker, to stupidly awesome Batcar/bike chases and perfect cameos from Freeman/Caine/Oldman- I can't see any possible improvement!

Rating 10/10
This is not something you will see often!
I will eat my words if I am wrong but I am not holding out high hopes for the reboot with Affleck next year, seems like a lame attempt to jump on the Avenger's hype with a Justice League lead-in and Affleck has the potential to return Batman to the cheese-fest it once was!

Thor: The Dark World

I've been wanting to start this blog about films for a while now but I couldn't decide how to start it. However, I went to see Thor 2 yesterday (06/11/13) and thought it could be the perfect lead in to a blog which will undoubtedly contain a lot of comic book movie reviews and references!

I am a huge fan of the Marvel film franchise, whilst I admit that not all of their movies are perfect (cough*Iron Man 2 *cough). So I was relatively confident that I would be going to see a family-friendly, fun little action movie with lots of cool effects but a somewhat predictable plot. Which to some extent it was but I don't think that took away from the entertainment value at all. What I was actually surprised by were the many little twists and turns that came out of nowhere and also
the really tender moments between the family members that were unexpectedly emotional! We've come to expect some good comedy moments from the Marvel films and this one did not disappoint there: look out in particular for Captain America's sort of cameo and Thor's first experience of the London Underground! After the traumatic experience in the Avengers it seems that Stellan Skarsgard's Dr. Selvig has had a complete mental breakdown, which Skarsgard plays hilariously! Speaking of amazing performances, for me, Tom Hiddleston steals the show once again as Loki- he just looks like he's having so much fun playing the mischievous and naughty character! Also, Rene Russo as the boys' mother Frigga brought a very down to earth, motherly aspect to an otherwise abnormal family situation! I think the only improvement I would've liked is that the science aspect be better explained because it's quite pivotal to the plot and whilst a lot of science jargon was thrown around, I don't think it was properly explained what was happening or why.

Rating: 8/10
Not quite Avengers level awesomeness but better than the Iron Man sequels and gives hope for future sequels like Cap's next year!