Saving Mr Banks

This review may contain spoilers.

This is a wonderful display of fantastic acting and story development, and let's be honest it's important to the inner child in us. Saving Mr Banks for me was an 8.5/10.

I loved the way this story took such care to give us brilliant backstory but kept the audience invested in the present day storyline. I felt the pacing in this film was great, in fact the movie progressed perfectly. The music, or the reference of such was great to see unfold. I really liked the sets and costume as well, they placed you in the varying time periods nicely.

Emma Thompson, who played P.L. Travers, was remarkably witty and brought such varying degrees of emotional highs and lows to her character that I couldn't help but be on her side. Tom Hanks, who played Walt Disney, was admittedly underused but in every scene he was in he absolutely owned the role. B.J. Novak, who played Robert Sherman, and Jason Schwartzman, who played Richard Sherman, were both great but once again felt a little underused for all the talent they had. Colin Farrell, who played Travers Goff, was one of my favourite actors in the film because he had such heart to him.

Above all else I really need to have high praise for Paul Giamatti, who played Ralph. He embodied what a disney film is all about, the optimism and the light hearted way of being. He was everything I liked in a character, and in a person I would run into in life.

I didn't like the concept of this film, I found it bland and very neutral even though controversy exists around the subject. I also felt P.L. Travers crying at the end was very out of character.

Annie Rose Buckley, who played Ginty, wasn't a very good child actress and who never really changed her mood at all. I also didn't like Bradley Whitford, who played Don DaGradi, as he had very little screen presence in his scenes.

The Railway Man

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I watched a movie that I thought wouldn't be good skyrocket to a great film. I would give the Railway Man a 7.5/10.

Alright as far as I'm concerned this is one of the greatest war movies I've seen. I don't like war films to be honest, but this focused on war crime and soldier mentality post combat. There are very few films that excel at showing the mentality of these instances and this is one I truly love. The score in this film was haunting and very grim, setting the tone well. The pacing was very well done, it was a movie that had the potential to be boring but wasn't. I also think the war time sets were great and truly brought me into the time period.

Colin Firth, who played Eric Lomax, was great; he showed PTSD in such a strong and convincing light I thought he was haunted and haggard, completely believable throughout. Hiroyuki Sanada, who played Nagase, I thought was pathetic but I also saw his shame and his fear; he's just a brilliant actor who made his character as tortured as Firth's despite less screen time. Jeremy Irvine, who played Young Eric Lomax, had to play one of the most heroic characters and one of the most tortured and he nailed it. Tanroh Ishida, who played Young Nagase, made me feel for this role as well; he was a kid and a coward in war and he had a very interesting and well thought out role.

More than any of these roles I think Stellan Skarsgard, who played Finlay, deserves the most credit in this movie. He owned every moment of screen time he got, he had the best lines, to be frank the mental struggles of this character became something I felt for most. He was the one all the soldiers looked to but he was broken just as bad as they were and it takes us a long time to realise this.

I hated the first twenty minutes of the film, it felt like a cheesy romance and kinda clashed with the genre and story too much. I also wasn't a fan of how the flashbacks were structured, at one point there was a flashback that went so long I didn't know if we'd get back to present day.

Nicole Kidman, who played Patricia Wallace, became a plot point so we could learn the story in the end, frankly she felt unnecessary and was one of the least interesting things about the film. Sam Reid, who played Young Finlay, did not do justice to his role and had terrible screen presence.

12 Years a Slave

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This film is a masterpiece and sets a high bar for what a movie should strive to be I feel. I would give 12 Years a Slave a 9/10.

This movie is a perfectly written masterpiece that knows exactly how to manipulate it's audience's emotions as well as analyse the period of racial injustice that was the era of slavery in the United States. The pacing for this film was very well done I have to add. The music is very moving, giving a lot of power to the film. More than that the cinematography in this is clever, the long lingering shots on moments that are truly appalling get under your skin in all the right ways.

Chiwetel Ejiofor, who played Solomon Northup, was fantastic and one of the best displays of acting I have ever seen. Paul Giamatti, who played Freeman, was incredibly sleazy and someone you immediately disliked but had intriguing screen presence. Benedict Cumberpatch, who played Ford, I hated liking but he was nice as far as having an immoral quality to him went. Michael Fassbender, who played Edwin Epps, was despicable and just foul and I hated every minute of him; but the acting was perfect. Sarah Paulson, who played Mistress Epps, was on par with Fassbender when she was on screen; she had ice in her that was for sure. Lupita Nyong'o, who played Patsey, was just terrific and by far had such a terribly difficult role to play and she excelled at it; in fact where she is left by the end of this story is one of the most heart breaking things about it. Brad Pitt, who played Bass, was a character of convenient good fortune who made me quite happy but who I never really believed existed so much as his ideology existed.

Frankly the only thing I really disliked about this film was Paul Dano, who played Tibeats, he was unexceptional and didn't really amaze me in acting it was really the strong script and cast around him that carried this actor.

Frankly 12 Years a Slave has set my bar for what is the best movie that I've seen so far in 2014.

Robocop

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I went into this film with some rather low expectations and I was surprised by how much I wound up enjoying it. I would give Robocop a 7/10.

Just so we're clear I haven't seen the first Robocop so I didn't go in trying to draw comparisons, this means I may have missed references but also some people might dislike the movie because it doesn't live up to the original. The actions scenes in this were incredibly cool and very well laid out. The effects that complimented this were wonderful as well, very clever. I thought that the cinematography looked great, it added to the tone of the overall film. The story was also brilliant, it had some close analysis of free will and America today which I thought was brilliant to see unfold. I also think the pacing was brilliant, it never felt like it dragged.

Joel Kinnaman, who played Alex Murphy, is an edgy review because the first act of the film his acting sucked but he was great to see for the rest of it, he might not have seemed a lead but I'm not convinced he was meant to be. Gary Oldman, who played Dr. Dennett Norton, deserves the title of the best actor in this film I believe, he stole the show in a big way. Michael Keaton, who played Raymond Sellars, was quite a funny villain but a strong convincing one to watch. Samuel L. Jackson, who played Pat Novak, was just a great role; I mean it was such a stereotypical Jackson role that I couldn't help but laugh at all of his scenes. I was also a secret fan of Jackie Earle Haley, who played Rick Mattox, such a cold villain with my favourite scene of the film in which he plays the Tin Man's song from Wizard of Oz.

This movie turned to stereotype in places and it never took big risks, it had a very safe plot which means it was never going to get higher than what I've reviewed it as.

I didn't like Abbie Cornish, who played Clara Murphy, she was bland and very two dimensional and didn't add to the film as much as she should have. I also thought Michael K. Williams, who played Jack Lewis, was incredibly underrated and underused.

Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom

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This is such an inspiring and accurate film that I think it might be one of the best biopic films we'll see of 2014. I give Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom a 7.5/10.

I enjoyed how Mandela was an accurate representation of Nelson Mandela's life, no glorification or putting him on a pedestal; we get the good and the bad. I was inspired and absolutely fell in love with the last two thirds of the film. The music in this was incredible as well and really set the atmosphere of a lot of the scenes and a lot of the imagery. Speaking of which the cinematography and the inclusion of original footage from events as well as photo stills was so incredibly breath taking in how it was used.

The pacing in this movie is not the best, it can drag on in places and there were some scenes that felt unnecessary. I also disliked the first third of this film, the scenes were too short and there wasn't enough context; action just happened and we were forced to accept it and weren't given any time to process it.

They could not have gotten a better man to play Nelson Mandela, I dris Elba brought the charisma and the power behind such a tremendous role to the screen. Naomie Harris, who played Winnie Madikizela, was someone I loved to see and emphasised with so much but her character development was hard to watch because the white oppression in her country broke the kind woman she was. I also have to commend Tony Kgoroge, who played Walter Sisulu, for just the tiny touches he added to the film; the small displays of care for his companions and respect for his people and for the entirety of South Africa.

I never knew enough of the struggle for equality in South Africa. I know that there's still a long way to go there still now, same for race relations in a large number of places globally. I think racial discrimination is a sick thing, it shouldn't really exist but it does. I think that in this day and age we've come so far but there's still a lot that needs doing. We've come through some years of the worst discrimination between races that exist and it's up to us to educate ourselves about this, recognise it and be better than people who view racism as an acceptable way of life.

Grudge Match

This review may contain spoilers.

I don't normally enjoy a film that steers so close to the sport genre but this was a good film as far as that genre goes. I would give Grudge Match a 6.5/10.

This movie definitely had a powerful comedic element to it's script and for that reason I really enjoyed this film. The music was also well thought out and really amped up the mood. There was also some wonderful fighting sport gags such as the UFC scene. The big fight scene and the training sequences were also great to watch and I don't think I've ever felt more like a spectator to a sport than I have watching this film.

I begrudgingly enjoyed this cast more than I disliked it so some of these good mentions are ones that barely make it. Sylevester Stallone, who played Henry 'Razor' Sharp, was great at playing this tired old man but what I really enjoyed was how comedic the man was, it's a side to Stallone I never thought I would see. I also enjoyed Robert De Niro, who played Billy 'The Kid' McDonnen, a kind of despicable character considering his character flaws but ultimately he redeems himself somewhat and the pain in him over never being able to prove himself in this final Grudge Match is a great character trait and well portrayed. I quite enjoyed the comedy Alan Arkin, who played Louis 'Lightning' Conlon, however he had some crass and quite offensive jokes. Jon Bernthal, who played B.J., was a great character and one of the best performances of the film as a struggling father, a son trying to reconnect with his Dad and a hesitant trainer.

However you come to Grudge Match for one actor and one actor only: Kevin Hart, who played Dante Slate Jr. This character drove the comedy of this film and revitalised a script that could start trailing off at crucial moments.

This film had absolutely poor pacing, it began to drag and it became boring at points. This film also had awful moments that became redeemable, such as a grandfather abandoning his grandkid to have sex or a man rekindling a relationship with someone who cheated on him so the morals of the film were questionable. The ending was also disappointing, the winner was in no way the person you'd want to win as far as who earned it goes.

Kim Basinger, who played Sally, was a damn awful character and by no means deserved the glorification her character got. This film was also let down by a terrible child actor in Camden Gray, who played Trey.

Last Vegas

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I have never had a comedy that allowed me to feel such a satisfying rollercoaster ride of emotions quite in the way this movie had me. I would give Last Vegas a 7.5/10.

Last Vegas is a perfect display of comedy with a plot that would satisfy the drama genre as well, and it pulls it off spectacularly. This movie is incredibly wellpaced and knows it's own tone and how to set it throughout. I really enjoyed how the costumes were done in this film, the mixture of old and new fashion in relation to parties and Vegas were superb. I also loved the music, the combination of the old and the new. It's truly a comedy that sets a mark.

I loved Michael Douglas, who played Billy, in this film, he had such a serious role and he became the scenario of the comedy and he had a heart to him that led to a monologue that almost made me cry; normally I would hate that in a comedy but it worked here. Kevin Kline, who played Sam, I didn't really know going into this film but I came out loving him, he just stole the show with his immature antics. However it was Morgan Freeman, who played Archie, that really owned this movie as far as immature antics and memorable moments go.

However above all else I'd like to give special mention to Robert De Niro, who played Paddy. De Niro has been getting flak from critics for his role in this film and I believe that to be because of his role that wasn't inherently comedic but it added to the dramatic subplot of the film and took away from the comedy genre. To those critics I say wake up. Wake up because De Niro had a role in this film that was a polar opposite to the rest of his cast members and he portrayed it superbly. The comedy genre is evolving nowadays, the idea of a story being original is important now more than ever and the dramatic subplot heightened it for me. So bravo I say.

However this film was let down by it's weak supporting cast. I didn't have a strong connection to the female lead Diana, played by Mary Steenburgen, who was flat and not very interesting onscreen. I also think they gave too much attention to Jerry Ferrara, who played Dean, he wasn't as interesting as the script demanded his character to be nor was he as necessary. I also didn't like Romany Malco, who played Lonnie, he had one expression and one attitude throughout the film and quickly became a background novelty confined to one 50 Cent joke.

Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones

This review may contain spoilers.

This was my first Paranormal Activity movie and after being given a brief plot synopsis of the first four beforehand I have a lot of respect for how this one was done. I would give Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones a 5.5/10.

I really enjoy how this film expanded on the mythos of it's already expanding universe in such an interesting way. It also referenced all of it's background in such a very well delivered manner. I also have a lot of respect for this type of steadicam film making as it's by no means an easy way to film and this was so successful in how it was managed.

I have nothing positive or negative to say about this cast. It was some geuine acting and at others it was basic horror film acting so I had no real interest in this cast as a whole.

What I can't stand about these films is the way the editing is done, I know it's how it's meant to look but it's just easy and very simple and it looks it. I also dislike how this film is full of convenient plot points that manage to keep the story limping along to conclusion.

American Hustle

This review may contain spoilers.

American Hustle is an artful display of era and con artistry at it's finest. I would give this film an 8/10.

This movie is an original gold mine of a film, it has a brilliantly clever plot that just analyses and puts a whole new twist into the crime/espionage genre. I also really enjoyed the cinematography of the film, it was attentive but also cast the film into a lustful analysis of how a person's body can manipulate a scenario or the way someone thinks. The music was also brilliant as far as era and attention to how the score affected the plot. The costuming I also thought was very clever and well presented.

Christian Bale, who played Irving Rosenfeld, really made the film for me and he had an intelligence and wit that I really appreciated. Bradley Cooper, who played Richie DiMaso, was a creep in the most intriguing and amusing way to watch unfold before you. Jennifer Lawrence, who played Rosalyn Rosenfeld, was messed up and wild and a role I never expected from Lawrence which was perhaps why it was so entertaining. Jeremy Renner, who played Mayor Carmine Polito, I fell in love with and was a genuine treasure in my eyes. I also really enjoyed Robert De Niro, who played Victor Tellegio, was a wonderful and unexpected single scene character I loved. But my guilty favourite was Louis C.K., who played Stoddart Thorsen, a quietly funny character who really grounded the film in tiny detail and make me want to see C.K. in more films.

The pacing for this film dragged a bit in places and there were definitely a few scenes I felt could have been added to a deleted scenes reel.

My major let down for this film was Amy Adams, who played Sydney Prosser, in what was the most flippant display of a character I've ever seen. The took a strong female lead who set out to screw those who had scorned her and then she went and got made into a love torn damsel, it was shoddy writing and acting.