"Twilight Breaking Dawn Pt 2"

The epic (?) film series reaches it finale, with the second part of "Breaking Dawn". All the varied strands of the movies have led to this.

At the end of part one, we saw 'Bella' having given birth to a daughter, and in order to save her life after undergoing such trauma through the birth, Edward was on hand to convert her to a Vampire, as it was the only way to save her life.
Part two, and Bella and Edward are adjusting to life as Vampires together, and also to their new arrival. However, bad news is on the horizon for them as the Volturi upon hearing of the birth of their daughter, wrongly believe her to be an Immortal Child, and this is a sin against all they hold dear, so they venture to the States to seek the death of the child and also the Cullen family.

This leads to an inevitable showdown between the Cullen allied by their friends and the Werewolves, against the Volturi. I seem to recall that the ending of the film differs to that of the book, though having not read the book, I do not whether this is the case or in what way. The showdown is impressive and well worth waiting for, though you may feel short changed at the climax of it.

Overall it has been a good series, with both hits and misses, and seeing Taylor Lautner strip down to his boxers in this last movie almost makes this one a hit!!
I still dont think the original film can be beaten, it stands as a highly enjoyable movie, and far exceeded my expectations.

A nice finish, but glad that it is over......6 out of 10

"End Of Watch"

Life as a Police Officer can not be easy on the streets of America, and in this new movie, we get to experience that life through the eyes of two of its finest officers.

Brian and Mike patrol the streets, Brian is documenting their day to day life as part of a college course that he is doing, despite the protestations of his colleagues and superiors. Would this really be allowed I ask myself?

The two Officers get involved in some high profile investigations / cases, whether it being rescuing a family from a burning house or uncovering a house filled with mutilated and dismembered boides, or a major drugs stash, they do remarkably well. It may seem far fetched, that they have all the major cases, but the thing to bear in mind is that the film is set over probably the best part of several months.
Right from the off, you get an understanding of what the characters go through, the risks they run day after day. Also the comaraderie between partners, how close they become, almost like brothers. You get involved in their lives. And that is a testament to the great acting of both Gyllenhaal and Pena.

But for a group of drug dealers, south of the border, they have become a little too high profile, and are disrupting their operations a little too much, and so action has to be taken.
Because of Brian recording his life at work on a camera, it gives the film an almost documentary style feel to it, and it very much works in its favour. It is gritty, and enhances the drama of the movie. As mentioned all the performances are great, it is wonderfully photographed, and well edited.
As the events unfold, the film does build to a climax, which I wont ruin here, but it may not be what you expect.

Live on the streets of America has never made for a more compelling film........8 out of 10

"Alex Cross"

With all the various reboots going on at present, and given that there is such a wealth of material to work from, it was only a matter of time before we saw the return of Detective Alex Cross to the big screen.

As much as I, like most of the civilised World, adore Morgan Freeman  as an actor, I fear that he would now be a little too old to reprise his role as 'Alex Cross' from the earlier mvies "Kiss The Girls" and "Along Came A Spider". So taking over is actor Tyler Perry, who I have to admit I have never heard of.
A serial killer is leaving a trail of pretty gruesome bodies behind as he goes on a killing spree. He seems to enjoy inflicting the maximum amount of pain on his victims. Is he pure evil or is there some other reasoning behind his choice of victims?

It is down to 'Cross' and his partner to piece together the pieces of the puzzle, and aprehend the killer. And it would seem that the Detective may be up against the clock, as the Killer seems keen to want 'Cross' to feel some pain too.

At times when watching this film, I could not help but think of the far superior "The Bone Collector" which has a similar premise, and similar style of characters. Both films coming from the books of very established authors.
Alas there is very little in the way of tension here, and Tyler Perry does even less for me to find him an actor whose career I would wish to follow. His portrayal of 'Cross' is bland, and I find myself being more interested in the killer played with great relish by Matthew Fox.
There is a nice little twist at the end, but if there is another film featuring the character, I think that I may have to pass.

A reboot of the 'Alex Cross' series, maybe they should have passed on it.......5 out of 10

"Argo"

I guess that if a Writer had approached a Studio to pitch the idea for this movie, they would be laughed off the lot. For it seems such a ridiculous premise, yet since the freedom of information act, it has transpired that the events depicted in the film, with a degree of artistic licence, did take place.

Back in 1979, the US Embasssy in Iran was stormed by revolutionaries, and this is the story of how the US Government and the CIA came up with a plan to get them back.
With the Embassy being held, and hostages involved, there was however a group who managed to escape, and were being sheltered by the Canadian Ambassador in his residence.
Tony Mendoza comes up with the insane idea to send a team of Operatives to Iran, under the premise of being there to make a new Sci Fi film, and being able to gain access to the Embassy will be able to somehow increase the size of his team by the number of escaped staff. The fact the everyone has to have a document both entering and leaving the country, and that the escaped staff need fake passports, does not deter him.
Obviously given the fact that the Embassy staff get back to the States, leaves little in the way of whteher they did or did not make it out alive, but other films have been faced with this scenario, movies like "Apollo 13", "Thirteen Days" etc, and still made a very memorable film.

The film is nicely played out, and at times there are some very tense scenes, especially involving an altercation in a local market, where one wonders whether the identities of the escaped Embassy staff will be revealed.
Ben Affleck does another admirable job in the Director's chair. It would seem evident that he had learned a lot from the many talented Directors he has acted for, and is fast becoming one of America's hottest Directing talents.
The cast all do a decent job, Alan Arkin and John Goodman shine in particular though, as two Hollywood Executives who help provide cover for the fake movie.
Speaking of tense moments, comes the inevitable  time when they have to go through Security in the Airport, and though it is tense, it all seems rather cliched, having been done many times before, and in some cases a lot more effectively. And when the Iranians realise their mistake, as the plane starts to taxi down the runway, seeing them in hot pursuit, am I the only one sat there thinking this is almost turning into a comedy farce?

A good story of the US undertaking a daring mission and coming out victorious......8 out of 10

PS - Since reviewing this film, I have come to discover several facts about the story, alterations, ommissions, that water down my enjoyment of it, and to this end I have rescored the film 7 out of 10. And despite its success at the Golden Globes, I feel it is unworthy of a Best Picture nomination, and really hope it is not given the honour of Best Picture come February 24th

"Love Bite"

The seaside can be a fun place to visit, fish and chips, a walk on the beach, visit the amusement arcades, and ripped to shreds by a werewolf......

Yes that last one is correct, well it is in Rainmouth, where this latest comedy horror is set. The sleepy seaside town has fallen victim to a lycanthrope.
Jamie (Ed Speleers), who more orless runs his mother's boarding house, hangs around the town with his friends, a motley group of no-hopers, all represented from the nerd, to the cock sure sex mad one. However, Jamie's world takes a turn for the better when Juliana arrives in town, but she is not the only new arrival. Hot on her heels is the very mysterious Sid, looking like a tramp version of Van Helsing.

It transpires that there is indeed a werewolf on the loose, and ripping young virgins to shreds. This worries Jamie considerably as he has yet to lose his cherry. Despite his falling for Juliana, they never seem to be able to find that special moment for some bedroom shananigans. Could the fact that Sid is always shadowing her be a factor? Is she the werewolf terrorising the town? Is Sid a double bluff, and actually the hairy beast himself?  Do we care?  No we bloody don't.

Sadly this is pathetic entry in the genre of British horror, the most horrific thing about the whole effort is that it was commissioned in the first place. One can only assume that Timothy Spall owes the Director or Producer a favour, or did them a favour,as I can see no reason for an actor of his calibre to appear in such drivel.

However, when you see the score, you may wonder why it is as high as it is. The answer is simple, you get to see Ed Speleers naked, (no frontal) and yes it is worth seeing for that alone, and yes I am that shallow.....sorry folks

All hair and no bite.........4 out of 10

"Looper"

I said in a recent review for the Joseph Gordon-Levitt film "Premium Rush" that I hoped that "Looper" would restore our faith in his ability to pick pleasing film projects....after watching "Looper" our faith is well and truly restored.

I will endeavour to do my best in describing the plot of the movie, without hopefully making it sound too complicated.
In the year 2074, time travel is a possibility, however it has been declare illegal, as the criminal fraternity have been using the process for the own gain. To put a stop to the use of time travel, a team has been assembled, and they send those caught time travelling back in time 30 years, where a looper is waiting to kill the criminal and dispose of the body.
'Joe' is one of the team of loopers who has this task. The team was assembled by 'Abe' who has come back in time with the necessary know how to put it all into practice.

The only problem for Joe is that his latest victim is his future self, not an uncommon practice, but still it can be unsettling for the looper, and some are not always able to carry out the hit. And that very sutuation happens here, so now we have two Joes to contend with. Each having their own agenda. Older Joe has travelled back to deal with 'the Rainmaker' a terrorist running riot in his time, his aim to travel back and kick him but as a child.

The stories being told by the respective characters are all equally compelling. We get a wonderful look at the future, beautifully recreated, in both visual effects, and also production design.  The stories all start to converge when the three main protagonists meet on a farm, run by Sara, a young mother, whose Son has some unique abilities. Could he be 'the rainmaker'?  One thing is for certain, is that it builds to a very memorable finale.

All performances in the film are great, but I have to give a special mention to Pierce Gagnon, who plays 'Cid', the young boy. He is truly amazing, at times moving, and then other times he is truly chilling. For such a young actor to this give this level of performance is remarkable.

Yes there are plot holes in the film the size of the national debt in Greece, but for anyone who loves fantasy of science fiction, this is a film to be loved, as they seldom get as good as this. A real delight to watch.......9 out of 10.

"Paranormal Activity 4"

Quite frankly I do not propose to spend a lot of time on this review, as (a) I am a tad behind with reviews, (b) the film is dire and not worth my time.

All you need to know is that the baby abducted at the end of the first film reappears, now living in a new neighbourhood, with his mysterious 'mother', and befriends a family over the road. Strange things start to happen to the family whenever the boy visits, all the usual stuff, and this normally would be a good thing, as the one thing I have found with this series of movies, is that it does chilling very well. Alas there had to be an exception, and this is that very exception.

The advent of the webcam brings a new dimension to this film, but it is prolonged, and the characters mainly involved with the webcam are not that engaging. The film does also seem to stretch credibility in why the use of a video camera is being used so much.

After three really entertaining and chilling movies, the first dud in the series, and given that a fifth film has been green lit, let us hope that it is the last.......4 out of 10