Fantastic flop, wait I mean 'Four'

Let me start by saying I'm a BIG film optimist - I can usually see the good in films, even if they're bad.

Fantastic Four however did not leave me an optimistic bundle of joy when I left the cinema. Luckily I had very low hopes for this film so I’m not 100% sure why I went to see it... Good old Cineworld unlimited card I guess.

Anyway, on to my review of the film - the story starts off as most 'origins' films do, with a very young Reed Richards (Miles Teller) befriending Ben Grimm (Jamie Bell). Richards is your quintessential nerdy outsider who cracks teleportation to and from a parallel dimension (perhaps the same one we see in Avengers: Age of Ultron). Not surprising then that his crude machine is quickly noticed at the school science fair by Franklin Storm (Reg E. Cathey) and his daughter Sue Storm (Kate Mara), who offer him a prestigious and quite substantial scholarship fund to build it on a grand scale.

Let’s just pause at second: Few early issues here for me; the added storyline of Sue being adopted? I’m not sure why that was added in and I’m still confused as to why... And secondly, how old was Richards? It felt like he was in his twenties, but showing his work at a school fair?... anyway I didn’t get my answer to either question.

Carrying on; they then build the first industrial scale machine with the help of Johnny Storm (Michael B. Jordan), who by the way has his car taken away from him by Daddy for racing and subsequently crashing it. Then there's Victor von Doom (Toby Kebbell), who is living a life in hiding as a result of issues that stem from a previous attempt to build a similar machine... not sure why or what happened but he seemed to have a thing for Sue, but again this story-line was raised but never resolved!

The beginning the film moved at an OK pace, I did note to myself that, although they were covering a lot of ground starting from Richards childhood, they seem to be doing it well... but I was so wrong.

We see Richards working on the real machine and then quite quickly we jump to the machine being finished (the story is now picking up pace), because of the projects success the government decide to handed it over to NASA instead. Feeling let down; Johnny, Richards, and Victor decide to drown their sorrows - angry that they will not get to travel in the machine they built, they decide that a sneaky inter-dimensional trip is in order, and after one quick phone call to Ben, the four of them pop off to the parallel dimension.

Of course things go wrong, I won't ruin the story-line here, but they come back with powers, and on re-entry, Sue is also exposed.

The film really starts to reach a snowballing pace now. Richards disappears and then we join the rest of the friends 1 year on just before all the action happens of fighting the villain of the film.

With the pace at the end of the film just manic, the main event is hurried and crammed into the last 15 minutes of the film, making it feel rushed and overall really messy. As for the characters, they didn't really appeal to me, so I never felt any bond with them. Overall the film felt dull and at no point were there any heart-stopping moments. Despite the young, talented cast, including Academy Award-nominated actor Miles Teller, the acting wasn't great or even believable (well for a superhero film that is) and FYI, Sue's wig was even less realistic.

The film jumps quite unnaturally, is quite jarring to watch and doesn't flow very well at all. It is at times frustrating to watch and with all the unanswered questions (why is Sue adopted? Why does no-one like Victor? Why so many wigs?) it just left me unsatisfied compared to all other Marvel blockbusters.

I wouldn't advise going out of your way to watch this at the cinema!

Catch this review and lots of other film news over at Film Review UK

Maggie film review

So I went to book tickets to see Pixar’s new film yesterday and while looking for times I noticed a film called Maggie.

It is staring Arnold Schwarzenegger, being a big Schwarzenegger fan I did a little squee of excitement and watched a trailer. The trailer didn’t show a traditional Schwarzenegger film; instead it seemed like a heart-breaking thought provoking film. I was surprised this had slipped my to watch list, and more to my surprise it was showing for less than a week. So I booked tickets to see it that evening!

I am so glad I did.

To sum up the overall story line there is a Zombie virus that has swept through the world killing crops and infecting people. We join the story as the virus has been brought somewhat under control by quarantining people away from the general population. Unlike the walking dead and other zombie related films that almost see you turn into a zombie instantly, Maggie shows what happens when it takes around 6-8 weeks for the virus to take a hold of person.

Schwarzenegger’s character (Wade Vogel) is the father of a girl called Maggie Vogel (played by Abigail Breslin) whose mother has passed away years before. They now live with his new wife and 2 children who go to stay with family so the focus is on the father daughter relationship throughout the film.

The film starts with Maggie running away and Wade finds her in hospital with a bite wound. Fearing losing his daughter to government quarantine, he takes her home to spend whatever time she has left, together.

It’s heart-breaking watching the deterioration of a young girl’s health and watching a father deal with this, knowing he will eventually lose her to the virus. There are hard decisions to be made and although it is a fictional virus, you can’t help but feel the pain for family’s suffering with terminal illnesses of loved ones.  

Arnold Schwarzenegger is great in this too. This is a completely different role for him, usually his presence is well known and takes over the film, and when fighting robots or defending mankind that works well. He plays a heart-broken father exceptionally well, portraying such love for his daughter in a  subtle way that never once over powers the film
 

This allows Abigail Breslin's character to the main focus of the film. She also plays her character exceptionally well.. An angsty teen who shows a great love for her family and friends. She portrays a cool character but you see her weaken as the film goes on and moments of pure fear and regret are shown. 

Overall I really enjoyed this film and I think it is highly under advertised and underrated. The pace of the film is slow but steady all the way through but at no point does it feel like it is dragging or boring. It is a bit gory at times, but no unnecessarily so. Unlike a lot of zombie apocalypse films this has a feeling of reality attached to it, if there were such a virus I believe that is how the world would end up being.  

Heck I went ahead and gave it 5 stars out of 5 because for me it didn't let me down at all. It is a film that will pull at your heart strings while getting to watch a Zombie movie. Although it is a low budget indie film, the quality of the story telling and acting shows that you don’t need big money and big booms to make an amazing film! 

I would highly recommend this!

Read this review as well as others over at Film Review UK

Film Review Mortdecai.

My review this weekend is of Mortdecai.

I had seen a lot of bad press about this film, but as I have the cineworld card, and I like to make my own mind up of films I went to see it on Saturday.

The film followed an eccentric rich English toff, who is in to art collecting. Him and his wife are in a lot of debt and he is requited the police to help out with tracking a missing painting after a murder is committed.

It follows a typical slap stick English comedy feel, along the lines of a Mr Bean or the Carry on films. It’s got a silliness about it, but I personally find this type of comedy slightly dated, and although the Carry on films are still hilarious to this day, it seems to be a thin line between hilarious silly and trying too hard tacky silly when attempted in modern films.

This film I think is on a thin line here. One of the main characters ‘Jock’ really stops the film passing over that line. He plays a typical rough, tough cockney London guy who is Mortdcai’s man servant. His character is subtle enough that you really take a shine to his and he is quietly funny, where are Johnny Depp’s character Mortdcai, lacks this subtly and moments which I believe should be funny, tend not to work so well.

I found the story line quite dull after a while, and although there are a lot of twists in the story, I still found myself a little bored with it half way through, I think the attention was mostly given to the comedy rather than exciting plot, but as that was lacking in some points it never really dragged you in at any point and immersed you in the film.

I would say this film would make a great Sunday afternoon film and would recommend it for that. The sort of film that doesn’t require your full attention, but something to add a smile to your face and curl up on the sofa to enjoy after a big roast dinner. 

It isn't a bad film, but I wouldn't recommend paying cinema prices to see it so I would give it 2 stars out of 5!

Hope you all have a fab week :)

So every week I pop off to the cinema with my Cineworld Unlimited card with my boyfriend. I have decided to try and write a review of the films I see as I have seen so many over the last year with my card!

So this Saturday we went and saw Ex Machina. To be honest I wasn't sure what to expect. I felt like the trailer made it seem quite surreal and weird.

I was partly right. The film is full of twists and turns all through from the start to the end. It keeps you focused and is really quite enjoyable, but does require your attention to watch. It is a more heavy film, so not for you if you are in a ‘let’s watch something light hearted and fun’.

I did really enjoy it; the atmosphere gives a feeling of danger and keeps you on your toes. Throughout the whole story you know something isn't right and something bad is afoot.

It starts with a young coder (Caleb) who wins a competition to go and spend time in a completely secluded woodland area with the Nathan (an excelled programmer himself) who owns the company Caleb works for. He is thrown right in and Nathan shows and explains that he has been working breakthrough experiment and as built a female A.I. who has human qualities and Caleb is now part of this experiment.

The film is gripping at times and always trying to keep you guessing, with several twists and turns in the story. I thought it was exciting to watch and the CGI 

and artwork in the film with flawless and breath-taking.

The acting was great; you got to know the characters straight off, which helped with the build-up of tension and suspense. The characters were believable and a good balance of good vs evil.

I would recommend this film if you enjoy sci-fi and futuristic films. It keeps you glued to the screen and keeps you thinking and guessing.You will leave full of questions and a great discussion point with people who have seen it too! 

I would give it 4 stars out of 5. I feel the ending perhaps let it down a little. With all the build-up, it wasn't what I was expecting and I personally didn’t like it as much as the rest of the film! But it will be a bit of a shock to you!

Next week I should be off to see Mortdecai!

Have a fab week