Justice League Doom - A Review

4 Stars - Well Done Dwayne

All your old friends from the Justice League series back together... except it's Hal Jordan, not John Stewart... And Michael Rosenbaum plays a different Flash... and it's the Superman from his own show, not the Justice League one... and there's no Hawkgirl... and Cyborg's in it... well at least Batman and Wonder Woman are the same...

Justice League Doom is based on the Tower of Babel storyline from the comics... which I haven't read, so won't be able to compare it to. Its plot revolves around a group of villains trying to take out the justice league one by one, using contingency plans made by Batman and modified to be lethal by Vandal Savage.

The voice cast are a treat with majority of the cast being voiced by DC regulars, who by this point know the characters really well and always bring something special to them. Kevin Conroy in particular, this marking his 20th anniversary year voicing Batman for DC, has made Batman as badass as he always does.

This also holds a very special place in the DC Animated films, as this was the last script by Dwayne McDuffie, a wonderful talent who will be missed, this film was really good and a fitting end to a wonderful career.

Dwayne McDuffie (1962-2011)

A Girl In Every Port - A Review

3.5 Stars - good fun

Groucho Marx without Harpo and Chico... still good though

So Groucho Marx and a group of idiot friends get involved in a plot including identical twin racehorses...

Not a huge amount to say about it other than Groucho is on top form, with most of his jokes being winners and the rest of the cast, whilst not especially funny, aren't horrible and certainly set Groucho up for a lot of his best bits.

This is a nice addition to my Marx Brothers boxset, even if it doesn't officially count as one of their films, it is still worth a watch for a fan.

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel - A Review

4.5 Stars - very, very funny

so, M, Davy Jones, Carmine Falcone, Professor McGonagall, Harriet Jones,  Aslan, Philippa from dinnerladies and The Slumdog Millionaire all live in a hotel in India together... hilarity ensues

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel brings together a wonderful group of character actors for a very funny and very touching film.

The core cast in this film are magnificent, and I want to talk about them all.

Judi Dench is simply lovely in this, really capturing the role and making it very easy to relate to, making you feel sad when bad things happened to her and happy when good things did.

Bill Nighy gives a somewhat more subtle performance than he often does, making for a wonderful downtrodden husband blooming and gaining confidence from the new life he finds himself in, leading to an especially good scene where he finally confronts his wife about their problems.

Tom Wilkinson slides quietly along underneath everyone else's performances making for a very touching and heartfelt performance that you almost don't realise till near the end is one of the best performances you'll see for a long time.

Maggie Smith absolutely steals the film, playing a real departure to the usual fairly nanny-ish Scottish woman I've always seen her playing. She plays a splendidly funny racist woman, and nearly everything she says is enough to crack me up. (Note: racism is bad, but if gentle enough can be funny)

Penelope Wilton plays Bill Nighy's dominating wife. She is probably the least interesting character in the film, but even then she still plays her part very well and makes for some great emotional scenes.

Ronald Pickup plays a sex crazed pervy old man. He is another character who is funny in almost every scene he's in, getting quite possibly the best line in the film. "if she dies, she dies"

Celia Imrie is as confident and charismatic as ever, making for a very enjoyably funny character.

Dev Patel plays the owner of the hotel who's trying to stop the place from falling apart, and to convince his mother to let him marry his girlfriend. He gives the part a lot of energy and makes for a lot of fun.

The film has several little glimpses into the Indian culture and whilst at times it can seem a little glossed over, what you do get is very nice.

So to sum up, this film is definately worth seeing, very funny

Safe House - A Review

2.5 Stars - just a bit dull really

It's time for another game of well he's clearly the villain...

Safe house is a predictable action film starring Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds.

Not an awful lot to say about it, the plot is pretty boring, Denzel's cool... Ryan Reynolds is fine... Brendan Gleeson is wasted...

The action scenes are shot with if only we were as good as the Bourne films shaky cam, which once again proves to not work for a film that doesn't know how to use it well and just gets annoying to watch.

So yeah, give it a miss...

Shame - A Review

5 Stars - Disturbingly Beautiful

A film starring Magneto's dick... which was truly a large part...

Shame sees Michael Fassbender starring as a sex addict whose life is thrown into chaos when his sister moves in with him.

Steve McQueen's wonderful direction captures a truly tense and disturbing mood. This truly captures the film's tone, making for a terrifying and moving experience.

Michael Fassbender is magnificent throughout once again proving himself to be one of the most talented and versatile actors of our time. His performance has a lot of subtlety to it and feels incredibly believable as a depraved sex fiend.

Carey Mulligan also stars as Fassbender's sister, and she is every bit as good as he is. Making a really vulnerable and needy, yet still very likeable character. Not to mention that she belts out New York, New York with an absolutely gorgeous voice.

There is a real chemistry between the two and you can absolutely buy them as brother and sister.

To sum up this film is utterly perfect, an absolute must watch if you get the chance.

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close - A Review

4 Stars - Worth it for the performances

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, or Max Von Sydow outshines the rest of the cast without saying a word...

(Note: I missed the first ten minutes or so of the film so my review might be less valid than some)

This film tells the story of a most likely autistic child (Thomas Horn) as he searches for answers when he finds a mysterious key left by his father who died in the World Trade Centre at 9/11. It proves to be an emotionally driven film with wonderful performances.

Obviously the subject matter of 9/11 is a delicate one that requires light handling, fortunately this film gives it the respect that it deserves and doesn't feel too exploitative.

The main thing that made this film was the performances, especially the central performance by Thomas Horn, who in his first acting job is magnificent. You really get the feeling of how his mind works and understand what he's going through.

However he is outshined by the always wonderful Max Von Sydow as The Renter. Sydow doesn't have a word of dialogue in the film, his character speaking entirely through his notepad. But he still manages to give it such a wonderful energy and charm that he is the highlight of the film.

Overall I would say that this film is worth seeing for the strength of the performances.

The Muppets - A Review

4.5 Stars - Pure Joy



This film is the most sensational, inspirational, celebrational, muppetational film I've seen in a long time...

What can you say about the Muppets? If your answer to that was anything other than I love them, then you might as well leave the review right now, because I don't want you here.

The film follows the story of Walter (Peter Linz), a huge fan of the Muppets, who convinces Kermit (Steve Whitmire) to try and get the old gang back together to save the theatre from an evil oil baron (Chris Cooper).

The film really captures a lot of the classic humour of the original show and films, and is a real joy to watch if you're a fan with the mjority of jokes hitting, and a fourth wall that is left crying in the corner.

The film is chocked full of celebrity cameos, including Jack Black, Alan Arkin, Jim Parsons, Neil Patrick Harris and way too many others to list, all of them add to the humour and none feel forced.

Steve Whitmire and Eric Jacobson do a wonderful job as Kermit and Piggy, sadly they'll never truly match up to Jim Henson and Frank Oz, but that doesn't stop them being great at what they do.

All your favourites are here, Kermit, Gonzo, Fozzie, Beaker, Animal, Link Hogthrop, Scooter, The Swedish Chef, Rowlf... if you can think of a muppet they're probably in this film.

The songs are.. okay, some feel fairly forced, but others, such as Man or a Muppet? and The Rainbow Connection work well and make for a lot of fun.

So Overall, if you want a major nostalgia trip, or just a fun and enjoyable film, then I'd say go see The Muppets