The Lego Movie

This review may contain spoilers!

A good end does not qualify a good movie as I learnt from watching The Lego Movie. I would give the Lego Movie a 6.5/10.

The Lego Movie had a brilliant end, and I'm not just meaning the reference to Duplo. It showed that the entire film was the imagination of a child, it explored how imagination is too easily confined this day and age and it explored the father/son bond which is always a great theme. The movie was also well paced and the music was very fresh and added to the themes of conformity and society which I liked. Overall the film had great concept and thought to it.

Elizabeth Banks, who voiced Lucy, was a wonderful leading actress, I genuinely thought she had such an edge to her and yet when she had to seem vulnerable the shift in her mood was so incredibly significant. Morgan Freeman, who voiced Vitruvius, was in his element' it felt like he was playing with the character; I got flashes of Bruce Almighty and Last Vegas from that voice acting. Liam Neeson, who voiced Good Cop/Bad Cop, had such a tricky role to make consistently great and he nailed it; this was a bona fide antagonist with such a tragic moment in the film' I also never believed he voiced Good Cop till I saw the credit myself. Nick Offerman, who voiced Metal Beard, could very easily have been a lame generic pirate but he became intriguing and he had a phenomenal backstory.

Will Ferrell, who voiced Lord Business and played The Man Upstairs, was just simply great; he played off caring and loving father blinded by his lack of imagination just as well as the corny humourous antagonist of the film.

The animation in this film was terrible, it actually felt like the video game animation would have looked better. When I sat down and watched this movie I could feel myself being disappointed by how basic the film looked in places. Also the entire film was lined with awful humour and the dialogue treated the film like a movie purely for children. I also could not stand the Emmet/Lucy/Batman love triangle it was weak and it wasn't worth the time it took up.

Will Arnett, who voiced Batman, can applaud himself because he made me dislike one of my favourite comic book characters of all time, Arnett was not made to voice Batman and he never should again. Alison Brie, who voiced Unikitty, was weird and felt like something you come up with whilst on a drug induced high, I absolutely hated this character. Charlie Day, who voiced Benny, had the most annoying voice of the cast and the most predictable plot point of the film. Chris Pratt, who voiced Emmet Brickowoski, was just lame, he was such a standard hero and I'm tired of Pratt being the go to everyday guy in films; it's a tired choice and character.

Muppets: Most Wanted

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This felt like something that belonged on Disney Channel and not the big screen. I would Muppets: Most Wanted a 4.5/10.

I have to say what I love about the Muppets franchise is that the use of puppetry, the heart and soul behind it has never been a weakness but instead a consistent strength. I have to admit that I love the Muppets sets, they have a charming low budget film quality to them that adds to the nostalgic feel of the modern day film.

Ty Burrell, who played Jean Pierre Napoleon, was the only good actor that didn't do voice work; he had a great relationship with one of the Muppet characters and he was fun and whimsical. Steve Whitmire, who voiced Kermit the Frog, had one of the most beloved characters of the film and he definitely was the heart of the film. Eric Jacobson, who voiced Sam Eagle, was a great deadpan comic playing nicely off of Ty Burrell carefree wit.

Matt Vogel, who voiced Constantine, was the star of this film. He brought out a great and enthralling villain, in fact this was classic caper villain and I enjoyed the care they made to make him a perfect thief. The number of gags aimed at the Muppets from him as well as the explosion gag was brilliant. He also had the only good song of the film so there's that.

Muppets Most Wanted ruined the charm of it's predecessor, essentially becoming what it promised not to be; a lame Hollywood sequel. Might I just add the pacing for this film was terrible, I couldn't wait to get out of the cinema. The costuming was incredibly generic for their characters and kind of tacky. The music and dance that I had come to expect so much of from the Muppets fell by the wayside this film, it all sounded pretty terrible. Essentially they chose the worst sequel concept in the caper/identity theft and then promptly went on to ruin any family element of the Muppets film and make it feel like some tacky kids movie.

Ricky Gervais, who played Dominic Badguy, was just awful, he couldn't sing or dance and he was just dry in a film that did not need dry humour. Tina Fey, who played Nadya, was neither here nor there as far as whether she was antagonist or protagonist, she also had a strange infatuation with Kermit that came from nowhere. Eric Jacobson, who voiced Miss Piggy, allowed such an amazing character to become a fairly two dimensional character in this film; all we ever really got was her relationship with Kermit in a really non-progressive side plot. Eric Jacobson, who voiced Fozzie Bear, made another all time favourite become a substandard plot device to affirm Walter's place as a new 'important' Muppet. Dave Goelz, who voiced the Great Gonzo, saw his character fall into the background completely. David Rudman, who voiced Scooter, had a more major role than I would have liked as he took away from better Muppets and did not appeal to me. Peter Linz, who voices Walter, was just a joke, he had an entire movie being the lead character and then got completely pushed to a very small side character role that pretended to be a major part.

The Grand Budapest Hotel

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This film marked my first Wes Anderson film and I have to say I really was not impressed. I would give The Grand Budapest Hotel a 6/10.

The Grand Budapest Hotel was well paced, I'll give it that; the flow felt almost orchestrated it was grand. I loved the costuming as well, it looked very era specific and had some nice detail. The sets were also great and appeared like something out of a film much earlier than it's modern day release date.

Adrien Brody, who played Dmitri, was a fantastic antagonist and played sinister superbly. Willem Dafoe, who played Jopling, was an even better antagonist than I found Brody to be and he just felt intimidating every second he was onscreen. Tony Revolori, who played Zero, was the charisma of the film; he brought a lot of heart to his role.

However the man who carried this film was Ralph Fiennes, who played M. Gustave. He was charming, witty and basically the only thing keeping this film on it's feet. I watched this film for his character and I came away from it remembering his character.

What a strange little film with confused themes, characters and dialogue. I was most definitely not a fan of the story as a whole and found myself becoming bored at the notion of the plot thickening. It was a strange and outlandish little film that just felt like it was talking in gibberish and really went nowhere satisfactory. The accents weren't accurate and the dialogue varied from it's usual correct era verbatim to modern day slang at points.

F. Murray Abraham, who played Mr. Moustafa, basically gave us the themes of this film in a basic narration that just did not feel all that engaging. Jeff Goldblum, who played Deputy Korvacs, was a very dry preformance and very wooden. Jude Law, who played Young Writer, seemed to represent the audience in this film yet I felt no attachment to him, nor did he really contribute to the entertainment of the film. Bill Murray, who played M. Ivan, had no real reason to be in this film and really he added nothing to it; I think it's time for retirement soon because Murray's performances are not impressing me anymore. Edward Norton, who played Henckles, had a role of conveniences and convulted plot that I just did not give a care for; he like everyone else in the film felt like a G grade actor. Saoirse Ronan, who played Agatha, was aterrible leading lady and I tried to be interested about the love story but it really wasn't interesting. Tilda Swinton, who played Madame D., had very little screen presence and I just have no empathy for her character.

Divergent

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So as far as teen films go, this is probably better than the first Hunger Games film. I would give Divergent an 8/10.

Divergent has a great plot, I actually engaged with the concept much better than I did with the Hunger Games. I also felt the film didn't drag that much except for a couple of scenes nearing the last half hour. Divergent was a great visual film, it just looked aesthetically pleasing. The cinematography was just brilliant, I was captured by it completely. I also liked the costuming and how the costumes represented the factions, that was very well done. The sets in this film were also great to see, they created a strong post apocalyptic world.

Theo James, who played Four, was great and had some fantastic depth to him, I genuinely enjoyed watching him open up and grow as a character. Jai Courtney, who played Eric, was so utterly dislikeable and was able to swing his mood well. Miles Teller, who played Peter, was great to watch and became the bullying jerk of the film very fast. Kate Winslet, who played Jeanine, was a very cold, and calculated villain and much more prominent than any teen film villain thus far (bar Voldemort if you count Harry Potter).

However the person who really stood out to me was the lead, Shailene Woodley, who played Tris. The character of Tris was a very engaging one, as we had to see her struggle through a range of emotions. She never stopped giving her all, each scene she convinced me and I have to say this girl might do better than Jennifer Lawrence if she keeps going.

I found that Divergent tended to wear it's themes on it's sleeve. We basically got told each theme and there was no expectation that the audience could think for themselves, which I thought was lazy writing. I also think the implications of sexual pressure or rape were weird and didn't belong in this film. That's not to say these themes aren't important but they were definitely poorly done in the script of this film.

I didn't like Ashley Judd, who played Natalie, I didn't believe she was a Dauntless memeber at all in the way she handled herself, her performance was really only half there. Zoe Kravitz, who played Christina, was a terrible sidekick/best friend character as she had no strong screen presence. Ansel Elgort, who played Caleb, was Divergent's Josh Hutcherson; which is to say he made my head hurt and I wanted to give him acting lessons right then and there. Ben Lloyd-Hughes, who played Will, literally felt like he was reading a script and I felt very little sympathy when he died.

Mr Peabody and Sherman

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It was just a stereotypical Dreamworks film frankly. I would give Mr Peabody and Sherman a 6.5/10.

As far as animated films go this one had a great father/son story to it, as well as great themes on bullying in modern culture and some decent history knowledge for kids (even if they were a few inaccuracies). I also felt the pacing for this film was very good and they had some great references (the ocarina from Zelda for example).

Ariel Winter, who voiced Penny Peterson, was a great character, you despised her at first but you watched as her character grew into a kid you really liked and cared about. Allison Janney, who voiced Ms. Grunion, was an antagonist that I really thought was terrifying in a Dolores Umbridge way. Stanley Tucci, who voiced Leonardo Da Vinci, nearly stole the show, he was funny and just very high spirited which added to the film. Patrick Warburton, who voiced Agamemnon, was just great comic relief and his veteran run as a voice actor really shows.

However I think the best voice actor of the film was Ty Burrell, who voiced Mr Peabody. He had such an intricate character to play, at once bringing the care and love of a father but having to remain distanced and almost robotic in how he talked. Just a great performance.

This film used weak humour too often and it felt like it was only to make the film itself longer. Seriously half the film was bad puns and it just didn't work. I also don't think Dreamworks tried to do anything out of the box with their animation so it didn't feel very special in that regard either. The music for this film (while there were some good references) was just not very good and just felt as if it had been placed in the movie and didn't in fact add to it.

This film was let down by it's wide array of bad side characters, I'm not going to bother listing all the actors for each one but it was not a strong supporting cast. Max Charles, who voiced Sherman, was a lousy voice actor and felt like someone pulled out of a Disney Junior show.

Need For Speed

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It's a film based off a video game that already has zero plot, what do you expect? I would give Need for Speed a 4/10.

This film had some great car chase scenes and stunts. The soundtrack for it was also incredible and heightened the film.

Aaron Paul, who played Tobey Marshall, was practically carrying this film on his own and he was doing a great job of it. Scott Mescudi, who played Benny, was a cool character and brought some of the only good humour to the film.

However Michael Keaton, who played Monarch, was the real driving power of this film. He fell into this role, bringing everything to a film that certainly did not demand it. He was absolutely refreshing everytime he was onscreen.

There was no good plot as far as this movie went. It's pacing was awful but not just that the plot itself had no substance to it at all.

Dominic Cooper, who played Dino Brewster, was an awful antagonist and just frankly not intimidating at the end of the day; you never believed he was going to win. Imogen Poots, who played Julia Maddon, was a romantic role that felt like one just for the hell of it. Rami Malek, who played Finn, was meant to be the comedic role of the film but he just became a cringeworthy character. Ramon Rodriguez, who played Joe Peck, was an uninteresting best friend role that no one should really care about. Harrison Gilbertson, who played Little Pete, was like watching a child actor inside an adolescent body I had no sympathy for him when his character died because I just did not care.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

This review may contain spoilers.

If Avengers was the greatest Marvel Studios film ever made then Captain America: The Winter SOldier comes a close second. I would give this film an 8.5/10.

Captain America is a masterpiece of writing. I mean this is the perfect balance between superhero film and spy film. The pacing never dropped, it always knew how to keep the stakes high. The effects were brilliant to watch, I mean that scene where three helicarriers got blown out of the sky was fantastic. The fight choreography was also incredible, especially in scenes with the Winter Soldier. The score for this film was great, the music actually had a big play within this film. Also the end credits scene for this film makes me all kinds of comic book nerd excited.

Chris Evans, who played Captain America, is growing on me; I hated his first film but he has come a long way and I think that they picked the right guy for the role at the end of the day. Samuel L. Jackson, who played Nick Fury, finally got the screen time and the action scenes he deserved was phenomenal; he spearheaded some of the most emotionally engaging scenes of the film. Scarlett Johansson, who played Black Widow, almost got let down with her obsession to hook Cap up with a date but ultimately she kept the mystery behind her character strong and was enthralling to watch. Robert Redford, who played Alexander Pierce, was nothing but classic spy villain at his best. Sebastian Stan, who played Winter Soldier, is the next Loki in the sense that he's the villain you can't help loving. Hayley Atwell, Toby Jones and Garry Shandling, who played Peggy Carter, Dr. Armin Zola and Senator Stern respectfully, each brought their character back in fantastic ways; I loved seeing these people back for some great cameos.

But it was Anthony Mackie, who played Falcon, that really owned the show. This guy is going to be a fantastic addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe; his look and humour have such a refreshing feel that I couldn't help but pick this guy out as the star of the film.

What I found a bit contrived was the tendency for this film to go off into subplots that made zero sense or added nothing, for example Agent 13 was such a bad addition to the franchise.

Cobie Smulders, who played Maria Hill, got given the Avengers treatment again and literally added nothing to this movie. Frank grillo, who played Crossbones, was a disappointing minion character and I have no idea why some Marvel Studios execs want to give him his own film. Maximiliano Hernandez, who played Jasper Sitwell, was interesting as a minor villain but as all the Marvel one shots have demonstrated he does not deserve major screen time. Emily VanCamp, who plays Agent 13, was the most useless character in this movie and did not need to be in it.


Just out of curiosity for those who read these should I pick out a star of the film for each movie from now on? Would love to get some opinions on that.

Noah

This review may contain spoilers.

Anthony Hopkins got excited about berries in this film and that's all I care about. Noah for me was a 7.5/10.

Well this movie surprised me, I truly did not expect it to be good but it really was. Noah had a great story that was very enthralling and didn't feel like a movie made for religion. However it respected it's roots and I could appreciate that. The costuming in this looked good. The music was also great, very harrowing. But the visual look of the film was incredibly impressive, it had such a wide display of colours as well as effects.

Russell Crowe, who played Noah, did a consistently great job of portraying the strength and the agony of the character. Jennifer Connelly, who played Naameh, basically revived the second act; she had such fear and grief that it was astounding to watch. Anthony Hopkins, who played Methuselah, was just brilliant; cryptic and funny with such a great running gag. Emma Watson, who played Ila, was refreshing to watch and is a great stand out actress. My favourite of this film however was Ray Winstone, who played Tubal-cain, he had such malice to him yet there were moments where you couldn't help but feel sympathetic for him; I think a role like that would have been hard for any actor but Winstone pulled it off perfectly.

The movie started to drag a bit around the second half of the film and the plot itself got a bit tired at that point.So the story basically became full of conveniences and a change of tone that didn't feel entirely right.

Douglas Booth, who played Shem, had no screen presence and I did not become attached to his character in any way. Logan Lerman, who played Ham, was just plain terrible; I was utterly disappointed by the performance of Lerman he just didn't seem to grow as a character at all.