Godzilla

This review may contain spoilers.

This was a spectacular monster film with an extraordinary human plot woven in perfectly. I would give Godzilla a 7.5/10

God zilla had a fantastic visual style, it integrated monster with environment fantastically; the sets were also immense and very well constructed. The character storylines were very interesting and you felt invested in the human characters. The destruction and devastation felt real and it was interesting to see how much history the film had.

Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who played Ford Brody, gave the film a lot of heart and he also switched into military figure in a very effective manner. Elizabeth Olsen, who played Elle Brody, gave a great performance as a mother but also as a nurse; her displays of grief were especially powerful to watch.

It was Bryan Cranston, who played Joe Brody, that gave the best performance. His character was driven and determined, but he also seemed frenzied and borderline psychotic. He had become so plagued by the death of his wife that his character development was incredible and only Cranston could have pulled it off so well.

I feel like this film had a lot of convenient plot points to it that allowed the main characters to be at various settings. There was also very little focus on Godzilla but rather his monster rivals.

Ken Watanabe, who played Dr. Ishiro Serizawa, was a rather stereotypical Japanese figure in this monster film and he also gave very little expression in his performance. David Strathairn, who played Admiral William Stenz, was not a very imposing military figure and I did not see him as a commanding or dominating role at all.

X-Men: Days of Future Past

This review may contain spoilers.

This is quite possibly the greatest X-Men film yet. I would personally give X-Men: Days of Future Past an 8/10.

What you have to understand with this film is that it explores a side to X-Men that is really enjoyable, Does anything really change? This could apply to human/mutant relations, Professor X and Magneto, Mystique, the future; it's all answered in this wonderful cinematic gold mine. I was worried the transition between past and present wouldn't work but it did a spectacular job and the original cast had some amazing moments. I really enjoyed how this film ended on such a strong note, it was extremely moving for anyone who was a big fan of this particular franchise. The comedy in this film was spectacular as well, there was a real sense of wit to it. The effects were spectacular, immediately thinking of many of the future fight scenes and Quicksilver's 'Time in a Bottle' sequence. The score was also expertly done and great to listen to, it really heightened the mood. Finally this film had the best post-credits scene to date, although for it to have any real impact on you as a viewer you may need a bit of X-Men comics knowledge.

Hugh Jackman, who played Wolverine, essentially steered the entire film's narrative and brought back a lot of the classic Wolverine banter and action that is so very much adored. James McAvoy, who played Charles Xavier, did an incredible job portraying someone in constant pain with spinal trauma, his pain is one of the most tragic parts of the film in my opinion. Michael Fassbender, who played Erik Lehnsherr, was a wonderful anti-hero and brought the buried anger a character like Lehnsherr demands. Jennifer Lawrence, who played Mystique, was the other driving force of the film and really embodied what Rebecca Romijn originally brought to the role. Nicholas Hoult, who played Beast, was still awkwardly charming in the moments he was allowed to dominate the screen. Ellen Page, who played Kitty Pryde, really had a strong presence in the future plot of the film and had a lot more maturity than her previous showings as the character. Peter Dinklage, who played Dr. Bolivar Trask, was a wonderful antagonist and a great display of cold calculated science. Patrick Stewart, who played Professor X, was nothing short of uplifting, he's inspiring to listen to every single time he plays that role and he doesn't disappoint here.

This film was stolen by Evan Peters, who played Quicksilver. Peters had so much energy and fun in this part that I was surprised he wasn't in it longer, because he dominated in scenes where he had actors of bigger standing next to him. I think everyone who sees X-Men Days of Future Past will come away remembering the 'Time in a Bottle' scene as one of their favourites.

The only problem I had with this film was that it had a few ways of skipping past narratives in the past films and pretending that they didn't happen, and I also struggle to understand how Kitty had the ability to send anyone's consciousness back in time.

This film denied a lot of renowned actors and characters screen time of whom were: Halle Berry, Anna Paquin, Shawn Ashmore, Omar Sy, Daniel Cudmore, Bingbing Fan, Adan Canto, Booboo Stewart, Ian McKellan and Lucas Till, who played the following roles respectively, Storm, Rogue, Iceman, Bishop, Colossus, Blink, Sunspot, Warpath, Magneto and Havok. In truth the only major actor I disliked was Josh Helman, who played Major Bill Stryker, and really didn't live up to the weight such a role brings with it, a role like that needed someone more interesting and less monotone.

Chef

This review may contain spoilers.

This film leaves you feeling hungry, both for some delicious food and for more of an ending. I would give Chef a 7/10.

Chef is a wondrous comedic story about the relationship between father and son, creativity and expression, journey and finding one self and, rather impressively, the growing Hispanic culture in the USA. The music for this film was perfect, I just had this rush of energy every time it changed to a new song. I loved how aesthetically pleasing this film was, from the preparation of food to the journey on the food truck or how Twitter was portrayed.

John Leguizamo, who played Martin, was the comedic centre of this film as well as the face of His panic diversity; he had a lot of heart that meant he was immediately likable. Emjay Anthony, who played Percy, was a great child actor and his admiration or disappointment in his father always hit home. Scarlett Johannson, who played Molly, served as Carl's external 'conscience' and a lot of self reflection came from this character. Dustin Hoffman, who played Riva, was a great businessman and clearly not a bad guy and I think making the character not so much as bad, but rather, human was very tricky to do.

It was Jon Favreau, who played Carl Casper, that made the movie. He was a brilliant leading man and went on such great character development. His performance as a father and a chef was nothing short of inspiring.

Chef let itself down in that it's editing and pacing were rather abrupt and quick at moments. The plot also came to a very quick end and the rekindled romance between Carl and Inez needed to be done better.

Sofia Vergara, who played Inez, wasn't really all that crucial to the story, she pushed the plot in a certain direction then quickly faded out of the plot for quite a few scenes. Robert Downey Jr, who played Marvin, was a weird character and fairly nonsensical; his role in the film felt purely like a celebrity cameo for the hell of it.

Bad Neighbours

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This was a fantastic film with some troubling moments of edgy comedy. I would give Bad Neighbours a 6.5/10.

This movie took a great stance upon growing up and the boundary between maturity and immaturity; it's a celebration of what it means to be young and the responsibilities of growing older. As a whole the movie is pretty funny and it's also very well paced. I think the music for this film was great, it really made the film a bit of a party in it's own regard.

Rose Byrne, who played Kelly Radner, was diabolical and absolutely fiercely maternal in places; I really enjoyed her as the leading lady. Ike Barinholtz, who played Jimmy, was brilliant sidekick comedy in that he delivered a lot of the great and unexpected gags of the film. Zac Efron, who played Teddy Sanders, was an intimidating antagonist and really had a great deal of depth to him.

It was Seth Rogan, who played Mac Radner, who really carried this film. He was the ringleader behind both the comedic moments of the film as well as the emotional plot. He was likable and yet he had a great sense of dysfunction that made him quirky.

Bad Neighbours unfortunately took the humour too far in places though, the use of rape jokes and a husband milking his wife's boobs was a step too far. I also think the plot just had spontaneous moments of accepting something and moving on, there was no time for us as an audience to linger on the moments.

Carla Gallo, who played Paula, was just a dumb side character who really added nothing to the story as a whole. Dave Franco, who played Pete, was mediocre and a little monotone to be frank. Christopher Mintz-Plasse and Jerrod Carmichael, who played Scoonie and Garth respectively, became redundant side characters from the get go and actually added very little interesting comedy to the film.

Transcendence

This review may contain spoilers.

For a film that threatened the end of the modern world, it moved pretty damn slow. I would give Transcendence a 6.5/10.

This film had a great concept that worked well with the modern state of technological progress today. The last half hour of the film was also brilliant, the conflict between technological progression and the human condition became interesting to watch. The visual effects were incredibly well done in this film, as well as the cinematography, I was entranced by the flow of what was essentially a technological masterpiece. The set design was also rather clever in this film, namely any set at Bright Town.

Rebecca Hall, who played Evelyn Caster, was stunning; she externalised her struggle between love and fear incredibly well.

However it was Paul Bettany, who played Max Waters, who really owned this film. He had such a moral heart to him but also was one of the few people to be convincing when reciting technical jargon. I also loved that he was a medical doctor, and some of the decisions he made went against what he had sworn to uphold as a doctor.

This film fell flat for the majority of the plot, it was quite boring and you were expected to take a lot for granted. But worse than that, they ended the film on a rather ambiguous note which means I now have no clue as to what the point of the film was.

Johnny Depp, who played Will Caster, really just felt like he put no effort into this film; it just seemed like he was there to do the film and then leave. Cillian Murphy, who played Agent Buchanan, was there as a rather unconvincing authority figure, but really he played no major role in the film. Kate Mara, who played Bree, was an anti-villain figure that really did not deserve to be there at the end of the film; she felt like a minor actress. Morgan Freeman, who played Joseph Tagger, was a really minor character and quite frankly the film could have done without him.

The Amazing Spiderman 2: Rise of Electro

This review may contain spoilers.

Welcome to a prettier version of Spiderman 3 boys and girls, strap yourselves in, it's going to be an underwhelming ride. I would give the Amazing Spiderman 2: Rise of Electro a 6.5/10.

The visual effects within this film are stunning, the care taken to depict Electro are entrancing to watch. Furthermore the cinematography is stunning, the opening visuals of Spiderman's movement through New York are like you're falling to Earth with him. But most importantly the music for this film was stunning, it flowed with everything in the film perfectly. I also loved how they did the death of Gwen Stacy, it was tragic and well shot.

Dane Dehaan, who played Harry Osborn, is a mixed bag for me so I'll explain the negative to his character as writer's error because he was a great Harry Osborn; he brought the need to prove himself and the friendship between Parker and Osborn to levels that james Franco never really reached.

Andrew Garfield, who played Peter Parker, is Spiderman body and soul, where in the original trilogy we got a story of shy and angsty Peter Parker, now we finally have the Spiderman who cracks banter and struggles incorporating superhero life and normal life together. This is what Spiderman is as a character, nothing short of perfection.

So this franchise does Spiderman correctly as a character and it has some groundbreaking aspects of production, how could it be bad? Well let's just say the advertising lied to you. The enemies that the marketing flaunted are weak and empty anatgonists, the relationship between Peter and Gwen is so back and forth and convoluted that I'm ready to move on to Mary Jane now, and the weird backstory about Oscorp and his parents is just so erratic that you shouldn't care enough to try and follow it. It was weak storytelling, hell it was Spiderman 3 all over again. I think perverting Green Goblin in such a way was also a huge mistake, seriously they can never live that awful character development down.

Emma Stone, who played Gwen Stacy, isn't fun or interesting anymore; she just gives more of the same performance in a way that just feels repetitive. Jamie Foxx, who played Electro, was ridiculous, he was such a two dimensional character; his entire arc was nobody likes but I'm crazy to I want to destroy everything and I'm crazy. Colm Feore, who played Donald Menken, deserves to be remembered as the most boring antagonist of all time. Paul Giamatti, who played Aleksei Sytsevich, was horrendous; he can't do a Russian accent which is literally the only thing his character needed. Sally Field, who played Aunt May, is one of the worst depictions of Aunt May I could imagine; she flips from potential comedic relief to self pity all with the tired performance I've come to expect from Field. Campbell Scott, who plays Richard Parker, does not strike me as a father figure; I serious do not care about him and frankly he deserved a less impressive death scene than he had. Chris Cooper, who played Norman Osborn, is mud to me now; that was not Norman Osborn, that is not how you portray Norman Osborn and a disease that makes you look like a goblin is weak writing.

The Other Woman

This review may contain spoilers.

If generic plot is what you enjoy then The Other Woman would be right up your alley. I would give The Other Woman a 4.5/10.

I think what this film did right was that it had some great humour, you cannot fault it for that. I think this script knew what would entertain an audience on average and put it out there.

Cameron Diaz, who played Carly Whitten, has definitely aged as an actress, because while her tired mid-life crisis of a character is portrayed brilliantly, it feels as if any character beyond this one would be too much of a strain for her now; great performance though. Nikolag Coster-Waldau, who plays Mark King, is fantastic at playing 'Prince Charming' but he shows the downright creepy cheater role is just as easy for him to play, frankly when he loses everything at the end of the film I immediately knew it was my favourite scene.

It is Leslie Mann, who plays Kate King, that really just makes this film her own. She comes across as naturally funny and spontaneous, essentially she was the heart of the film and you cared for her the most out of the cast of characters.

Frankly this film didn't try to escape the realms of it's genre, it was a 'chick flick' through and through. There is no surprise nor plot twist in this film that you hadn't already guessed would happen after the first five minutes. The story also made the act of cheating seem nowhere near as bad as it was in how cheap it made it out to be at times. I also found the editing and cinematography to be rather simple in this film, nothing made it unique or gave it a great visual style. The music also just felt like it was out of place at times and really just seemed like they were trying to make a soundtrack to go with the movie.

Don Johnson, who played Frank, really had no business being in this film as he basically did nothing for the entire feature. Kate Upton, who played Amber, came off as nothing but a stereotype portrayal ob blonde bimbo and was used primarily as eye candy for the male audience. Taylor Kinney, who played Phil, was only in this feature to keep some scrap of romantic story alive and it was completely unnecessary. Nicki Minaj, who played Lydia, is pretty much what you expect from a singer/rapper trying to get acting gigs, she sucks and she just doesn't even look like she's trying to do a good job.