The film was ok. Amazing idea but just an ok story and its mainly for one reason. Why can't the hero or as it started off in this film, the anti hero, just be out to save himself. Why does there always have to be a woman he used to know involved? And why does this woman always have to have a child, who is sick or dying? By the way these aren't spoilers, you find these things out in the first few minutes of the film. The idea behind the annoying characters is brilliant, two societies, the wealthy who live in space on Elysium, run by a corrupt government and the those who live in poverty and constant sickness on Earth. The film sold to me on the grounds that Max, the 'hero' of the story was dying of radiation sickness and had days to live. Once notorious criminal, he uses his past connections to get to Elysium to use their machines that can cure literally anything. But then the woman and child gets involved and I started to lose interest in the plot, I started rooting for the evil Jodie Foster and her crazy accent on Elysium. Its worth a watch, besides it has Sharlto Copley in it, its worth watching the film just for him. 3/5
2. Pacific Rim - maybe
If you have seen the Honest Trailers trailer for this film then you know exactly what to expect, big robots fighting big monsters. The original trailers said this, the poster screams this, basically, the film does exactly what it says on the tin. There is a sort of story about one pilot who loses his brother, the other pilot and its about him coping with his grief then he is asked to come back and fight. But the action sequences take up most of the film, and the fight scenes are good but long. The basic plot line is, monsters from another dimension emerge every few months at first from the beneath the Pacific ocean and attack cities, the attacks become more frequent so Earth builds giant robots to fight back, these are piloted by two people who have to be 'drift compatible' meaning they have to share minds. I suppose its just a fun action film with science fiction thrown in. 3/5
3. Admission - maybe
Love Tina Fey so when I saw this for very cheap in HMV, home it went. Typical set up. Tina Fey plays an Admissions Officer for Princeton College. She has been living with a professor from the college for years and live a quiet unexciting existence, this is until Paul Rudd shows up. he runs a progressive school, where the children are taught how to make things, like shelters and how to look after animals. He tells her that one of his students, the only interested in attending college, is her son. From there, the film snowballs, things get worse then hopefully but ultimately I felt that the film had too many negative ending points. It needed at least one lose end to be positive. Still, a funny film featuring a very awesome and funny lady and Lily Tomlin who was hilarious. 3/5
4. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty - HIT
This film was far more than I expected it to be. It made me want to travel to Greenland and Iceland, the landscapes are amazing. Walter Mitty is a quiet guy who works at world famous (actually real) magazine called LIFE, that actually did shut down in 2000. He takes care of all the negatives, the photographs and has built up a friendship with famous photojournalist Sean O'Connell through his work that he sends to the magazine. Walter is shy and has a crush on temp worker Cheryl. After the magazines plans to turn to digital everyone is under threat of losing their jobs. The managers have decided to have the cover of the magazine be Sean O'Connell's photo but its missing. This spurs Mitty on to search for Sean and the missing negative. It is such an inspiring film, with mixture of daydreams and reality that doesn't come across as tacky or annoying and well thought out and feels right. I was surprised to see that Ben Stiller not only stars as Mitty but also directed, I think I can give Stiller a lot more credit than I had in the past. 4/5
5. 47 Ronin - maybe
Based on Japanese folk tales and legends, it looks spectacular but the story, woe the story. The film was ok but it could have been a whole lot better. All the Japanese and Asian actors were great, wish they could have just spoken in their own language, it would have made the film more authentic. I know most will question the presence of Keanu Reeves but unfortunately he has a sort of annoying purpose and the ending is unbelievably ridiculous and I don't mean foolish, I mean tragic. There are some good fight scenes and the costumes are beautiful but as I said the story lacks drive and there is little passion in the narrative that in some parts, makes it difficult to care. This film could have been so much better. 2/5
6. August: Osage County - HIT
I didn't realise this was originally a play until 10 minutes in. It felt like there was too much dysfunction for it not to be. Family doesn't gather without the purpose of certain truths coming to light, starting with the funeral of a character who makes such an impression yet is only in the film a few minutes. Based on the play of the same name by Tracy Letts who also wrote the screenplay for the film. The Weston family gather at the home of Violet, the domineering, loud foul mouthed mother of three daughters, Ivy, Barbara and Karen. Bervery, their father has died, suspected suicide, and the family including Violet's sister, Mattie Fae and her husband Charles come for the funeral. Truths are found out, chaos ensues and ultimately, most of the families' lives are ruined. A brilliant film, I would have liked to se it on stage. 4/5
7. American Hustle - HIT
This film was brilliant. The story, the cast, the clothes, it was worthy of all those nominations and wins. I don't want to ruin this film in any way because I think it's a film you have to see for yourself, plus its too complicated to sum up in a paragraph. Christian Bale and Amy Adams are two con artists, small scams but get caught by an arrogant FBI agent who is too eager to move up in the ranks. He forces them to set up an elaborate operation to trap corrupt politicians in order to gain their own freedom. The con artists are a team but things almost all go wrong due to Jennifer Lawrence's character, the wife of Bale's. She hilarious but awful, truly awful. She uses her young son who is adored by Bale's character, as leverage. Its a con artist, drama about trust and knowing who you are. 5/5
8. Blue is the Warmest Colour - maybe
I had heard so much about this film, all the controversy about the director abusing his actors, such as forcing them to do certain scenes and such. I'm sure everyone had heard of the controversy about it being a love story, a lesbian love story. It's just a love story from its beginning to its middle and then after that (trying not to ruin anything). I'm glad I saw it as I wanted to see what the fuss was about, it did win the Palm d'Or at Cannes Film Festival and that's a pretty big deal. But, this film was 3 hours, way too long for a film like this. Too long. There were so many scenes that needed a serious edit or could have been cut out. The two leads were very good, especially during a fight scene, they both were impressive, even if one did annoy me throughout the film, she never closed her mouth. It was a good realistic love story and never want to see it again. 3/5
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