American Sniper: Eastwood’s Epic

American Sniper is a biographical war film directed by Clint Eastwood. The plot recounts the life of the deadliest sniper in US military history Chris Kyle (Bradley Cooper), showing his service and the toll it took on him; based on the memoir of the man himself.

For the most part this is gripping and well done in near all regard there is just one thing I want to point out before I get into the review in full. If you read my Midway review then you know that I don’t like war/military films that force in raah raah patriotism and that glorify and romanticise the life of soldiers, this film does that. The film makes it seems like any able-bodied man or woman is honour bound to join the military and defend their country which is not true it is a clear choice. Also the film shows that Kyle is experiencing PTSD, but it doesn’t explain it, it chooses not to focus on it when it is an important part of the conversation. It also suggests that all Kyle needed to do to effectively beat his PTSD was to spend time with other veterans and help out, which simply isn’t true.

That said I thought this film was a tour de force, I think it portrayed war and its horrors in a very realistic way, I think it also benefits from focusing on these solider and the toll they inevitably end up paying for their service. Towards the end of the film two of Kyle’s friends die and it is incredibly impactful because it was so sudden, and we had spent time with these people. It shows the futility of it all.

Also I loved the final sequence of the film, as Kyle is saying bye to his family there is a distinct uncomfortable feeling that something isn’t right, you know something bad is about to happen, but you aren’t quite sure. I was on the edge during this whole scene. The truth of the ending is depressing, but life is.

Overall, this is a harrowing tale of war and sacrifice that could be better served with more of a focus on the mental toll.

Pros.

Cooper

The horrors of war

The final scenes

Tense and gripping throughout

Cons.

It needed to focus more on the PTSD side of things

4.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

End Of Days: Arnie Died For Our Sins

End Of Days is a fantasy action film directed by Peter Hyams. The plot sees muscles for hire Jericho (Arnold Schwarzenegger), become wrapped up trying to stop Armageddon. Jericho must protect a young girl, Christine (Robin Tunney), from turning into the reincarnated wife of Satan (Gabriel Byrne). His mission is to stop Satan consummating the union before the stroke of midnight of new years eve thereby brining about the end times and save Christine from her diabolical destiny.

So there is something almost therapeutic about watching Arnie beat the crap out of the Devil. This film does not really require much attention to watch and is a great passive viewing experience. It is dumb and the more you think about it the dumber it gets, but that is part of the fun here.

The film manages to be genuinely quite tense and scary when it wants to be. It uses Lucifer’s powers to get effect creating some chilling scenes. I also enjoyed the powerless feeling Schwarzenegger’s character had for most of the movie, it is interesting to see him play a character who can’t just punch or explode his problems away; though he does in the end.

Byrne is a lot of fun as the Prince Of Darkness, he plays the character with a lot of wicked menace but is also not afraid to crack a cool one liner every now and again, so that this film is not a completely dower affair. I also enjoyed watching his character interact with Schwarzenegger and I thought the two had great on-screen chemistry.

Overall, a great action horror thriller, there aren’t many of these types of films that work, but this one does to great effect.

Pros.

Byrne as the Devil

Schwarzenegger’s powerlessness

The tension and the horror

A few cool one liners

Cons.

The ending undoes the helplessness and Arnie just blows everyone up.

4.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Out Of The Shadows, Casey Jones, A Hero Emerges

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Out Of The Shadows is an action superhero film directed by Dave Green. The plot this time around sees the grotesque looking CGI brothers taking on other worldly entities and normal baddies who have been turned into animal super soldiers.

So I enjoyed this film more even than the first film. I think it has a few glaring issues the CGI chief among them but is on the whole a step up from the first film.

I enjoyed that the creepy overly sexual Mikey (Noel Fisher), did not make a return and I thought that the foursome felt better and more natural on screen in this film. Two things that bugged me about the Turtles and their storyline is one, the subplot about wanting to fit in and be human, which felt like the most obvious generic sequel plot line ever. Two, the Brothers have weapons but we never see them use them in any real way, yes I know it is a kids film so we are not going to get blood and gore, but at the same time they don’t even seem to fight with them rather their hands most of the time; that irked me.

I like Stephen Amell as Casey Jones, I think he is perfectly cast and is the best thing about this movie; also Casey is my favourite character from the cartoon. The human plot is okay, not really much different from the first film. Megan Fox is overly sexualised every chance they get, and Will Arnett is there, being funny? Killing time? I don’t know at this point.

I like that this film have Shredder (Brian Tee) and more active role where we got to see him interact with other characters rather than just appearing having a few lines and then disappearing. I also liked that they went with Beep Bop and Rocksteady, with Krang as the main villain. I enjoyed that they embraced the weirdness.

Overall, a solid sequel that works for the most part. There are a few issues that need to be ironed out if they ever hope to make a third film though, however.

Pros.

Going with Krang as the Villain

More Shredder

Making Mikey less of a sex pest

Casey Jones/ Stephen Amell

Cons.

The weapon thing bugged me

Why is Will Arnett in this film?

Also they were creepy and overly sexual with Megan Fox

3.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Wonder Woman: The Shining Light Of The DCEU

Wonder Woman is a superhero film directed by Patty Jenkins. The plot centres of Amazonian warrior Diana (Gal Gadot), who becomes entangled with a WW1 plot and who finds out that she is a demigod. There is a lot going on, but hey it’s a superhero film.

Before I get into this review I just want to say that this film is probably my favourite DCEU film to date, closely followed by Shazam, and I believe it achieves a lot of what Captain Marvel was going for in terms of female empowerment, but is often short changed in favour of the inferior MCU film.

Gadot really did prove all of the haters wrong, she perfectly embodied the character on screen and became almost synonymous with the role. Diana as a character is easy to root for and is very down to earth and likeable despite not being mortal.

The colour pallet of this film and the use of humour really help this film to set itself apart from the wider DCEU and establish it as something with its own identity. I really think this film nails how to use comedy in a superhero film it has several funny sequences including the penis scene early on with Steve Trevor (Chris Pine), which made me laugh, but hey I also laughed at the “what are those” line in Black Panther. The humour also doesn’t take away from the badass action, as is the problem with the MCU a lot of the time.

Yes, I know I can’t talk about the film without addressing the final CGI boss fight that does let the film down and ends it on some what of a sour note, it is a shame, but the rest of the film more than make up for it.

Overall probably the best DCEU film.

Pros.

The comedy

Diana and Steve

Gal Gadot

The Action

The WW1 setting

Cons.

The final fight

5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Iron Man 3: The MCU’s First Slip Up

Iron Man 3 is a superhero action film directed by Shane Black. The plot sees Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr), suffer with the consequences of being Iron Man. It is a very human story. The you have some nonsense with serums and old enemies seeking out Stark. However, at its heart it is a story about Tony finding a new place in the world and coping with it.

This review may be controversial.

So, this film had a big task to accomplish it had to follow Iron Man 1 and 2 (which I enjoyed), and also serve to end the Iron Man trilogy, that is a tall order by any means. I applaud Shane Black for making this a more stripped back story, focusing on Tony as a human being rather than a superhero. Having him have to use his mind to get himself out of trouble rather than this armour or his Superhero pals. As a character study piece it gets thumbs up from me, however, this is not a character study film this is a superhero film.

It is in that regard that I think this film falls apart. The promise of Ben Kingsley as the famous Iron Man villain the Mandarin was a tantalising one indeed, so when they revealed that the he wasn’t the actual Mandarin and was actually an actor it was more than a little disappointing. The real villain of the film was a one note baddy whose name I can’t even remember, the subversion didn’t work and was later undone in further material.

Overall an ambitious film in a lot of ways, it succeeds as a character study it fails as a superhero film.

Pros.

Making Tony Stark human.

Not including other Avengers (outside of Rhodey)

Giving Pepper something to do

Cons.

The twist doesn’t work

It adds nothing to the MCU as a whole and ends up feeling quite inconsequential

2.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Iron Sky, The Coming Race: Facebook News Got It Right

Iron Sky The Coming Race is a Finnish German Austrian comic science fiction action film directed by Timo Vuorensola. The plot this time around sees the surviving humans now living on the ruined Nazi moon base, however, there existence is threatened by the fact that the base is falling apart. So the daughter of James Washington (Christopher Kirby) and Renate Richter (Julia Dietze), from the first film, Obi (Lara Rossi) must lead a team to find a new element within the hollow Earth to power up a spaceship and save the last of her people.

So yeah as you can guess this film goes fully out there and has a race of lizard people being present throughout human history and saying that the Earth is hollow. I think these new twists added to the mythology of the film and helped this sequel to feel different enough to stand on its own. Furthermore, the ending twist of the Soviets having a base on Mars is inspired and hilarious; if a little predictable.

My issue with this film is that though the new characters introduced therein are good, they just aren’t as good as Washington and Klaus (Gotz Otto), from the first film. In terms of likeable lead characters this film defiantly has a void that isn’t filled by the new cast. Whatsmore by having Renate having a backseat for most of the film I feel almost cheated out of seeing her as the badass leader of the remaining humans, (this happens off-screen).

Overall, this is still good and entertaining and by embracing further wackiness it does justify its existence, but it should have been a direct follow up with a bigger focus on Renate and should have kept James around. A bit of a disappointment.

Pros.

The Red Planet twist at the end

Further embracing the weirdness

Renate’s final scene

Cons.

The new character struggle to be likeable

It just isn’t as good

3.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Iron Sky: They’re Back

Iron Sky is a Finnish German-Austrian comic science fiction action film directed by Timo Vuorensola. The plot reveals that the Nazi’s were not defeated in World War 2 rather they fled to a base on the Moon to plan a counterattack. We follow Renate (Julia Dietze) and Klaus (Gotz Otto), two of the Moon Nazi’s who are tasked with going back to Earth to prepare for an impending invasion.

I really enjoy this film; I have been meaning to watch it for a while and finally did, and I have to say it lived up to what I hoped it would be. The film fully executes the comedic nature of its premise, it is not afraid to get silly with it. The sense of humour of the film is quite zany and dark, but I have to say it kept me very entertained.

Easily the best character in the film is James Washington (Christopher Kirby), the model turned astronaut who unwittingly discovers the Nazi’s hidden fortress. He has a lot of the best lines in the film and made me laugh a lot.

This film does something I thought was impossible, it makes spoof movies good again. The spoof as a genre has had some great success, but in recent years it seemed to be dead after a lot of misfires in the early to mid 2000’s. However, this film and its well-done spoof elements prove there is still some life in the genre yet.

Overall, a wonderfully wacky good time, I whole heartedly recommend.

Pros.

Not afraid to get silly

Fully lives up to the premise

Christopher Kirby

The space battle at the end

Cons.

It becomes a little repetitive towards the end and some of the jokes don’t land.

4.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

TMNT: The Horrors Of CGI

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a science fiction action film directed by Jonathan Liebesman. The film reintroduces us to our favourite sewer dwellers, and gives a fresh take on their origin story, showing them as April O’ Neil’s (Megan Fox), pets that were used for genetic experiments, who escaped during a lab fire and fled underground.

So I had heard bad things about this film, and I have to say it is not as bad as people make it out to be. It is a passable enough endeavour.

My first point of contention with the film is the design of the Turtles themselves, they’re ugly and the CGI doesn’t do them any favours. I am not saying people in monster costumes would be better, but maybe there is something to it. I think the film was very wise to not show them off until a good ways into the film, naturally the tease was better than the revel. However, the CGI Turtles did grow on me over time

Another thing I didn’t like was the relationship between Michelangelo (Noel Fisher) and April. I get that of the mutant brothers Mikey is the fun jokey one, but right from the off he was creepy towards April. A lot of the remakes he made felt a bit off especially considering it is a kids film, I don’t remember this side to the character from the cartoon.

Overall, despite the fact that I have talked about the negatives, the film is quite watchable it has its moments and the characters for the most part are done well.

Pros.

A fresh start

Splinter

The action

Cons.

The humour

The design of the Turtles

Mikey’s creepiness

3/5

Reviewed by Luke

Geostorm: The Government Controls The Weather, No Really

Geostorm is an action film directed by Dean Devlin. The plot sees rogue weather patterns start springing up all over the planet after a space station that is supposed to control the weather goes faulty. A conspiracy is at hand and there is only one man for the job.
So, I put this on the other night because I was looking for some fun mindless action that I could tune out to. There are plenty of films that fit this bill and sometimes, silly action movies can provide some entertainment, look at the success of the Furious series for proof of that, but this is not a good ride, nor is it silly, it is simply boring.

The key issue with this film is despite the premise being ridiculous it takes itself far too seriously. This film tries to be dramatic and serious and fails spectacularly, it needs the fun that it denies itself.

The odd thing is, there are moments of light comedy relief scattered here and there within the film, but because the film has committed to this very serious tone, they just feel out of place.

I am not going to harp on about how dumb this film is because anyone considering watching it already knows. What I will say is watching this has made me miss the days of smart action films, smart blockbuster when things didn’t feel dumbed down.

Overall, this film is bad because it doesn’t embrace the silliness that is innate to the premise.

Pros.

The premise is good

Cons.

They then utterly waste said premise

It is no fun

It is too dumb

The acting is non existent

It is dull.

0.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Greyhound: Yet Another Tom Hanks WW2 Movie

Greyhound is a war film directed by Aaron Schneider. The plot follows an inexperienced Naval Captain, Captain Krause (Tom Hanks), as he attempts to lead an Allied convey across the North Atlantic while being hunted by a pack of German U-Boats.

I will admit, this film has its moments and I can see what it was trying to do, but it falls short of being a good movie for me because of the incredibly, shockingly so for a big budget movie, bad CGI. The film is admirable for trying the way it does, but it just can’t escape the poor effects.

So, this film is set at sea, yet clearly not shot at sea. So therefore the water is CGI, this could be done in such a way as to be believable, other films have done it well enough before. In stark contrast to that the water effects in this film look like something out of a video game from about 15 years ago. They are so unrelentingly bad that they take you out of the film and become all you can see.

That said, the film outside of these poor effects is quite good. The tense hunting sequence where it looks for quite a while like Krause and his fellow seamen are going to die is well executed and captures your interest without having to try. My particular favourite scenes of the film are when the U-Boat commander calls Krause to taunt him, it reminds me of something from Silence Of The Lambs.

Hanks as Krause is fine, he is serviceable, but his character does not have much of a personality, the same can be said of the rest of the cast who are basically just set dressing. This is a shame as the film wastes the talents of the phenomenally talented Stephen Graham.

Pros.

Tense

It has you on the edge of your seat.

Hanks is serviceable

Cons.

It wastes most of the cast including Stephen Graham

The utterly horrific CGI

2.5/5

Reviewed by Luke