Action (8%)
Animated (2%)
Comedy (30%)
Fantasy (5%)
Horror (13%)
Musical (2%)
Romance/chick flick/rom com (16%)
Sci- Fi (8%)
Thriller (11%)
I'm not going to analyse this too much because it's an obvious opinion from everyone that the majority of people always state that comedy is their favourite genre. People like to laugh- simple. I could go on about how the majority of that comedy isn't good comedy, but let's not state my opinion.
I took out the genres that got no votes at all and looking back on them results, everything looks fair.
Yeah this isn't a good analyse but I can't say anything else.
Not sure if they'll be a poll for this month, if there is it will be posted within the next few days so please check back!
Running Time: 114 mins
Directed By: Kenneth Branagh
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Natalie Portman, Anthony Hopkins, Idris Elba, Kat Dennings,
Screenplay: Ashley Miller, Zack Stentz, Don Payne
UK Release Date: Official release date is 29th April 2011
Quick Plot: Belligerent and powerful Thor and soon to be King of Asgard is banished to Earth by his Father for his selfish ways. With help of humans, Thor must be true to himself to get back to Asgard and fight his forever envying brotherLoki.
Review: Wow. Wow, wow, wow. I thought Summer Blockbusters started for me once I saw Source Code, but now I must say it is official. Even though I rated Source Code 5 stars and Thor only 4, it still lives up to the Summer Blockbuster expectation and I think Thor is one of the best films I've seen this year regardless.
So to start on my non-spoiler review, I won't go into too much detail and ruin it but if you see Thor and you are a Marvel fan, be on the look out like you probably always are. And I will say this now in case I forget but please, oh please stay until the very end of the film for the credits. Last year when I saw Iron Man 2, my cousin and I were foolish and left once the credits started to roll only to come home to find a sensible person online telling everyone to wait until the very end. Luckily I watched the end credits Iron Man 2 (which I will post below) on youtube last week to make up for it (in bad quality but that's my fault).
Anyway, I first had my doubts of Thor if I'm honest. I LOVEMarvel films and am always excited for their next release but I haven't read enough Marvel comics to be an Avenger/Marvel wikipedia on them so the story of Thor wasn't something I knew a great deal about. Captain America,Iron Man, etc.. however I knew much more about but then after the first trailer of Thor my mind changed because Thor is a God. The God of Thunder to be precise. And Gods, myths and legends are something I always admire and love watching at the cinema. Thor however is in connection to modern day earth, looking after us from afar and the distinction between Earth and Asgard worked perfectly well. For those who are lucky and are not nerdy like me and didn't take part in unnecessary research into the production of Thor, Kenneth Branagh is new to directing this genre of film and I've got to hand it to him that Thor is fantastic and probably one of the best films I have seen this year!
I don't have to say anything about Natalie Portman to prove that because even if she was replaced with a terrible actress, Thor would have pulled it off because every aspect of the film is a grand achievement. I've just got to mention that Natalie was great as always just for me admiration but let's push her aside for a moment to talk about Chris Hemsworth as Thor. This has probably been one of the best film castings for Marvel in a long time because Hemsworth nailed everything about him. He's buff, solid, angry, powerful and this has started him off on something new. Kat Dennings too brings the humour to the film which I've got to mention because I'm a Dennings fan..go on hate me. I don't want to go on about it too much because my reviews are always bad because of this, but all the acting is great blah blah. Tom Hiddleston was also exceptional and I hope this brings him lots of other blockbuster and big budget films. The 'friends' or whatever they were of Thor's are all as great and have a good part throughout the film. The sound effects were marvelous but I found the visuals extremely stunning. Thor is released as a 3D and 2D film. I watched it today in 2D because I think 3D is a waste of my money and 9/10 times 3D just makes trees, leafs and stars look brighter. With this I couldn't see any specific scenes that would have made any difference in 3D because I was hoping for a scene where Thor would maybe throw the hammer towards the screen but not a thing like this happened to my dissapointment. But regardless the special effects, especially when at Asgard were beautiful. The colours on both Earth and Asgard were vibrant and showed the newly reformed Marvel.
The film starts off with a pre credit scene of when three scientists in New Mexico are chasing a storm but instead find Thor. Then there is the long introductory to Thor, about his father and brother, the kingdom of which he lives with lots of action, battles and brilliant effects. Maybe there are much more greater scenes throughout, especially more epic battles and fights but I think the first few scenes is definitely what Marvel has been missing for the past few years with their films. Iron Man 2 wasn't a bad film but it got into the story too quick and lets us not begin with Wolverine..
I have yet to read this comic of Thor but I already think the plot is fantastic. Though I'm probably going to be the only one to admit it, Thor is very much similar to a feel good film. He's selfish and immature at first, no way fit to be a King but he learns how to respect people and when he finally has the strength to hold the iconic Hammer, you feel over the moon for him even though he is only a handsome fictional character. Thor too has funny lines, I laughed a great deal in this, maybe more than I did with Your Highness, the screenplay is quirky and the characters are funny. A definite for Cineworld but most probably all cinema showings across the UK, you will be shown the X-Men: First Class and Captain America: First Avenger trailer which are both awesome in many ways and if you're anything like me, will get you right hyped up for Thor. Make sure you stay for the end credits and remember, keep an eye out for everything. But don't spend all your time looking I don't want anyone not paying attention to Thor too.
I have to recommend this film to everyone. Not everyone will enjoy it though. If you dislike superheros, action, myths and legends you won't like Thor but I'm not going to tell you to turn it away because I adored it and have fallen more in love with Marvel.
Thor was utterly perfect and so much more than I expect. I hope Captain America and X-Men possibly Green Lantern are just as exceptional and then I can assure you this will be a very good Summer indeed. I hope to see this film countless of times as it could possible be one of my favourite Marvel films..let us see how this year pans out.
Easily the film I recommend. Hopefully I will be seeing this film sometime soon again...
Thor Official trailer
Ending credits of Iron Man 2 that is used in Thor.
Running Time: 102 mins
Directed By: David Gordon Green
Starring: James Franco, Natalie Portman, Danny McBride, Zooey Deschanel, Justin Theroux
Screenplay: Danny McBride, Ben Best
UK Release Date: 8th April 2011
Quick Plot: Unlike his brother Prince Fabious, Thadeous is not a hero and plays his Prince role for his benefit. But after Fabious's bride to be gets taken away by evil wizard Leezar, Thadeous joins his brother on a magical and epic quest to save her, meeting warrior princess Isabel along the way who helps the brothers.
Review: James icandoprettymucheverything Franco and Natalie Portman have had a pretty good past few years I'd say. Both nominated for Best Actor and Actress at this years Oscars for their lead roles in 127 Hours and Black Swan, Natalie falling in love and becoming pregnant with her first child and James probably discovering the cure for the common cold. I joke on the last bit, but he has done some pretty impressive stuff that will take too long to type it all out. I've taken a shine to James Franco and from my previous reviews of Black Swan and No Strings Attached I have made clear my admiration of Natalie Portman, so it was obvious I needed to see Your Highness. 'From the director of Pineapple Express' additionally got me engrossed because I thought a lot of nice things about Pineapple Express, which starred both Franco and McBride. Since I was a young I enjoyed the odd mediveal and mythical film and Your Highness fits with that genre in the long run, so I enjoyed that factor very much throughout the film. The comedy side is exactly like Pineapple Express's humour, vile sex jokes, sexism against women and weed but still very funny. Personally though, I would say this film isn't for a 'lady' because I wouldn't be surprised at all if some women take offense to some of the jokes. Agreeing with Empire's review: 'only for people who enjoy this type of comedy'. If you have no idea what kind of comedy this is, please proceed to the bottom to watch the trialer, you will understand. For example, the evil wizard is planning on taking the bride's virginity so he plans it with his mother's which is creepy on many levels but I found it laughable but I'm unsure if everyone would agree. However, Your Highness isn't a brilliant or amazing film, I'd say it's watchable but not an iconic comedy film. The cast play their roles greatly and the screenplay is hilarious, probably because Danny McBride created some of it with one of his best pals Ben Best. Natalie Portman was honourable, James Franco commendable but Danny McBride would have to have been my favourite throughout the film and with the humour they complimented each other greatly.
Because of my admiration of Natalie Portman and fondess of James Franco, I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't watch this again but it certainly isn't a priority. Equally as you can see I've rated this film 3/5 stars, so it isn't a terrible or let down of a film. The comedy/fantasty works very well and if you are a fan of Pineapple Express, Superbad, Knocked Up and other Judd Apatow films, I think you'd find this film very impressive indeed.
Quick Plot: Blu leads a comfortable life in Minnesota with his owner, but when his owner finds out he is the last maleblue macaw in the world and the only known female is Jewel who lives all the way in Rio De Janeiro, they travel there in the hope they will mate. But, after they both get stolen and chained together, Blu has to learn the ways of a bird to survive Rio..
Review: Can I just say how much I love animation right now? I've always liked family/animation films, ever since I was a kid (obviously) but my fondness of them has never gone away. For the past few years Dreamworks and Blue Sky animation have created brilliant animation features. Monsters vs. Aliens, Megamind, How To Train Your Dragon and then the Ice Age trilogy and Horton Hears A Who, all wonderful family animations and Rio is exactly that! I wasn't all that fussed about Rio to begin with, even with the slightly humorous Orange Ad that's been played for all of 2011 so far, I thought it looked alright. But my inner child got hold of me when I watched this and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The music was one part I loved, Will.I.Am and Jamie Foxx were fantastic together, especially the song'Hot wings' which I will link at the bottom like I did with yesterday's review. Rio has a very impressive storyline and the characters are all so special. Jesse Eisenberg fits the character of Blu so well and Anne Hathaway was so enjoyable as Jewel. Even the human characters were great, Leslie Mann as Linda worked prominently. The human storyline, though it obviously run along the birds one, was very cute and just as enjoyable. Rio is definitely a 'stunning film', even though it is of course animation, the city of Rio de Janeiro is gorgeous! In the plot, there is a Carnival taking place on one of the evenings so the City was covered in even more colours, music and beautiful costumes. Because I wrote a review yesterday I'm not in the mood to think of something to write again because it hurts my head too much because I'm not clever, so I'm going to sum up the film right about..now. Rio is one of the funnest family animations of the last decade with brilliant music, lovely storyline, noteworthy voices and stunning visuals. If you don't watch it at the cinema, make sure you buy or rent on DVD because you will not be let down. Yeah it's predictable, but all children's films have to be. Today when watching Rio, I heard lots of delightful laughs from many children, so I think it's a great choice for young ones.
Rio trailer and 'Hot Wings' - Will.I.Am ft. Jamie Foxx
Running Time: 74 mins
Directed By: Stephen J. Anderson, Don Hall
Starring:(voice) Jim Cumming, John Cleese, Bud Luckey, Craig Ferguson, Tom Kenny, Travis Oates
Screenplay: Based on the books by A.A. Milne
UK Release Date: 15th April 2011
Quick Plot: Winnie The Pooh is back and brighter than ever. Christopher Robin has left a note which reveals that he has been taken by the dreaded 'Backson' so Pooh and the gang are on a special mission to capture the 'Backson' and save Christopher Robin.
Review: It's clear to see from my previous review of Tangled I am in love with everything Disney. So when I first heard there was to be a new Winnie The Pooh, I was ecstatic, much more so because I knew my younger cousins loved the old films, I knew I had to take them to see it. So today, I took my 4 year old cousins for their first ever trip to the cinema and I hope they had a good experience.
The film is no better or no worse than the original 1997 feature length film, which is one of my personal favourite Disney films, but this time the film has a cleaner and neater feel to it. Even with the previous decades installments of the Tigger, Piglet and Heffalump movie, Winnie The Pooh 2011 is certainly one of the most original.
The characters are still as lovable as ever, even with new voices it was as if no time had passed in the Hundred Acre Wood. Delightfully the design of the film is changeless, Christopher Robin's bedroom, the story book, stuffed animals and the words on the screen as the film advances are still as enchanting. Now I'm 16 (oh how sad of me to be reviewing Winnie The Pooh at this age)and watching this tale, I found even the littlest of details humorous. My younger cousins laughed lots at the characters, but I found the dialogue even funnier. For example, Eeyore is so depressing you don't realise it at a young age. When Pooh thinks Owl has a cold, Eeyore automatically thinks he'll catch it because everything bad happens to Eeyore. Or when Owl could fly out of the hole but stayed their because he wasn't smart enough to fly. (Maybe you'll have to see it to understand what I'm revealing) Just little things I found so much more amusing because I understood the dialogue and storyline.
One thing I am quite surprised I liked was the soundtrack because once I found out Zooey Deschanel was covering the classic song for the film, I was curious as to whether or not it would go with the theme of Winnie The Pooh. I like Deschanel, I think she's a good actress and a good singer, I just thought she was going to let down the film but I was sorely mistaken because it matched the cleaner feel of everything. Below I will post a link to the theme song.
Though, what I didn't enjoy as much was the Short Film at the beginning 'Nessie'. Usually I'm a fan of Disney Shorts, but this time around I didn't enjoy it. I thought it was slightly boring, probably because there was a stupid programme at the beginning of some rip off Peter Pan kids on Neverland who were battling against Captain Hook because he stole their goldfish.
I'm being fussy now. Winnie The Pooh 2011 is a heartwarming, adorable, family film which has everything you expect from Pooh and the gang. If you're a fan of Pooh and other Disney films, this is a must see.
Quick Plot: After her mother dies, Babydoll is accused of killing her younger sister by her stepfather and taken to a mental home for girls. There the girls are trained and taught how to dance for the pleasure of men and used to make money for their boss, Blue. Babydoll wants to escape and with the help of 4 other girls they all enter the fantasy world of Babydoll's mind to collect 5 items requested by a wise man to help them escape.
Review: When I first watched the trailer for Sucker Punch I got a little excited at the idea of a group of young girls being the tough and violet ones who did all the fighting themselves. Then after that the only real reason I would watch new trailers and look at new images of the film was because of the girls eyelashes (anyone who knows me knows I have a little, tiny, obsession with eyelashes), the action/cgi and the fact Vanessa Hudgens and Emily Browning star. Additionally, it's directed by Zack Snyder who we all know likes to make epic/cgi/action films from Watchmen to 300 to Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole. But I've got to admit this is the first Zack Snyder film I've seen so I have no idea what his previous films are like, but I enjoyed this one.
But let's not get ahead of ourselves here and jump to the conclusion that is it amazing because it isn't anything like that at all. The trailer for Sucker Punch made the whole film look like some epic, summer blockbuster with some incredible storyline, lots of action sequences, good music and lots of ass kicking. But the film lacked a storyline. The narrative never fully explains how they get into the fantasy world and how they get the special items from Babydoll's fantasy world then from the reality world. I read a few reviews before hand that explained that Sucker Punch is just lots of long music videos put together and I have to completely agree. The effects and cgi are stunning and the action scenes are great too. All the fighting, explosions, guns are brilliant and I really did get completely into whatever the storyline was because it had nothing. The soundtrack. Funnily enough, I won the Sucker Punch soundtrack in an online competition and it arrived yesterday. I hadn't known I won until I received it so I didn't know what to expect so I had a listen and I like it. I had already heard two of the tracks performed by Emily Browning who plays Babydoll so I knew the following tracks were good; The Pixies 'Where Is My Mind' covered by Yoav ft. Emily Browning and 'Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)' by Emily Browning. Both are beautiful covers and Emily Browning's voice is just perfect in every way. I had no idea she could sing and she doesn't fail to impress. As for the rest of the soundtrack, the song 'Asleep' by Emily Browning is additionally superb with my other favourite tracks are 'Search & Destroy' and 'Army Of Me'. With the film, the soundtrack works brilliantly and I definitely recommend listening to some of the tracks I will post at the end of this review.
Now onto the girls. I could not take my eyes off their eyelashes, I know they are fake and special effects but I WANT their eyes it's not fair. They're all stunning blah blah blah but they all did an ace job at their parts. Especially Jena Malone and Abbie Cornish as Rocket and Sweet Pea. Vanessa Hudgens and Jamie Chung as Blondie and Amber were just as good but I felt like their characters needed to include a little background information as to why they were in the mental home. Emily Browning was flawless and I don't need to elaborate on that because I don't need to justify it, she just was.
All round an entertaining film but with a weak storyline. If Sucker Punch did have a bold storyline this film could have been something incredibly special. I probably won't plan on going out of my way to watch this again, by either buying or renting it on DVD, but it's nothing to turn away. Just don't hope for it all to make any real sense to you. It has the action, fights, explosions, soundtrack so take it for what it is and you will not be let down.
I now bring to you the second official trailer for Sucker Punch. (I'm posting the second trailer because I don't think it will give anything away because there is nothing to give away)
Here are two tracks from the OST I think you should have a little listen too..
Running Time: 93 Minutes
Directed By: Duncan Jones
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga, Jeffery Wright
Screenplay: Ben Ripley
UK Release Date: 1st April 2011
Quick Plot: Colter Stevens is in a new, special, secret technology which puts him into someones mind and body for the last 8 minutes of their life. With this technology, Stevens is ordered to find out where a bomb and who the bomber is on a train on it's way to Chicago to save the next bomb attack due later on that day.
Review: Unlike most films, when I first saw the trailer for Source Code I thought I knew exactly what was going to happen but I was very much mistaken. So, by all means, everyone who is reading this right now, make sure you watch the trailer below at some point, because I don't think it spoils anything big.
I knew I had to see this film the moment I knew about it's existence for three reasons. 1) It's the second film from director Duncan Jones. 2) The trailer presented the film as the type of fast action, Sci-Fi, confusing but fantastic storyline that I adore. 3) Jake Gyllenhaal stars. (Biased because of his beauty but husshhh)
I've got to give my cousin a bit of credit here because he introduced me to Duncan Jones' first film Moon, (because my cousin is a fan of David Bowie and Duncan is David's son if no one knew that) and I thought Moon was incredible. One of the greatest Sci-Fi films of the previous decade in my eyes and everything about it was brilliant. If I start explaining the plot of Moon it gives away spoilers so the best thing for any of you to do now, if you haven't seen it, is to rent or buy it and watch it NOW.
Like I do with most films, I had high expectations that Source Code would be great but it was better than great as you can see from my 5 star rating and I'll tell you exactly why.
The storyline is completely brilliant, fast and exhilarating. As you read above, the film is 93 minutes long and that is with the 3-4 minutes credits at the end. The film is so quick, so so so quick yet it's not as confusing as Inception apparently was. I think Science-Fiction nowadays has a tendency to let it's self down with the ridiculous story lines or stupid mise-en-scene (my media skills are improving) like the props or the weapons. This is such a clean Sci-Fi thriller that hooks you onto every end of every detail.
Like Moon, I really cannot say that much about the storyline because I don't want to give anything away, but Source Code reminded me very much of Moon. I didn't expect to be emotionally connected with Sam Rockwell's character of Sam Bell in Moon yet, I was because the character had an emotional connection with the audience and Source Code has the exact same connection.
There are not any big 'twists' but there are definitely some turns which move the film on differently to how I expected it to. Jake Gyllenhaal is always, in my eyes, fantastic and in Source Code he is no different. The first scene, Colter Stevens is suddenly on this train, with no idea where he's going or why he's there, no idea who the stunning girl talking to him is, then after he enters the 'Source Code', he still is bewildered and confused. Gyllenhaal is brilliant portraying this, you get emotional for him and his character is very interesting. The other cast members are great too, especially Vera Farmiga as Captain Goodwin.
The editing of this film was stunning and the score/soundtrack was just as stunning and everything just worked so well together and I could honestly watch this film another 10 times. Even though I saw a lot of Oscar nominated films earlier on in the year, I still think Source Code is one of the best ones so far.
I don't want to spoil it too much because that's all I seem to do and this review is completely awful because of the fact I don't want to spoil the film
Simply, everyone should see this film. If you are having a trip to the cinema anytime in the next two weeks, make Source Code your priority. (But, if you're anything like a pair of teenage girls who were in the same screen as me, when they were in the toilets after, piling on vast amounts of make up, one explained to the other that Source Code was 'Alright, a bit too confusing' and they didn't like the 'sciencey, explosions and action' then no you will not like this film because that is exactly what the film is about. Just watch the trailer below)
