Time for a film

The Hangover Part III makes the most of it’s characters varying personalities and adds a stronger plot and purpose to the story than the previous installments. While it’s very hit and miss at times, there is enough laughter throughout to entertain, with fans of the series sure to have a decent experience.
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Director Todd Phillips (The Hangover) brings back the characters we know and love from the first two films and takes them on another adventure, this time on the road, as they try to track down Mr Chow (Ken Jeong) and return the valuable gold bars he stole from Marshall (John Goodman). While we don’t get to see much of Doug (Justin Bartha), the rest of the Wolfpack each have highlights, with Alan (Zach Galifianakis) getting a strong focus again. While Stu (Ed Helms) wasn’t the worst, it’s still Bradley Cooper‘s character of Phil who is the most likable of the bunch and provides some structure as the most normal guy.

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With an opening scene that blew me out of the water, Star Trek Into Darkness did just enough to entertain and captivate me throughout with some nice humour thrown in as well. As someone who had only seen the 2009 film, my lack of Star Trek knowledge didn’t affect the movie negatively, while I’m sure those who are big fans will get even more out of it.
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Director J.J Abrams returns for his second Star Trek film, bringing along most of the cast members from the first and they don’t disappoint, with Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto’s chemistry impressing as Captain Kirk and Spock. This time around the plot focuses on a manhunt to capture the lone villain who wreaked havoc from within their own organisation.  Read more

A film of multiple layers and stories, The Place Beyond the Pines is often mesmerising but not without it’s faults. The first act is hard for the rest of the film to match, with Ryan Gosling giving a standout performance as a motorcycle stunt rider who turns to robbing banks as a way to provide for his lover and their newborn child.-

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Director Derek Cianfrance (Blue Valentine) grips the audience to the screen as they witness the film’s characters dealing with one event that has a flow on effect for the rest of their lives. The supporting cast is also strong with Bradley Cooper, Ben Mendelsohn, Ray Liotta and Eva Mendes all providing an emotional connection.  Read more

Oblivion is an often mesmerising Sci-Fi film with stunning cinematography and a soundtrack that provides tension and intrigue around every corner. It’s complex plot may not be perfect but the music and the film’s ease on the eye does enough to carry it and give an entertaining, suspenseful viewing.
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Director Joseph Kosinski (Tron: Legacy) enters the Sci-Fi realm again with his 2nd feature film, this time starring Tom Cruise as Jack Harper: A veteran assigned to extract Earth’s remaining resources who begins to question what he knows about his mission and himself. Like many films of this nature, the story-line is somewhat complicated and there is much more than meets the eye, as something darker brews that the audience and Jack himself soon discovers.

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Steven Soderbergh doesn’t seem to make poor movies and Side Effects is another example of his stylish, signature film-making, this time with a thrilling, almost entrancing movie. Combined with Thomas Newman‘s perfect soundtrack and Rooney Mara’s incredible performance, it’s a film that I thoroughly enjoyed as I was completely glued to the screen.
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Soderbergh has said this may he his last theatrical film ever, which is a real shame if true but I can see why he may want to end with Side Effects, as it would definitely be finishing on a high. It’s plot is simple enough in theory: A young woman’s world unravels when a drug prescribed by her psychiatrist has unexpected side effects, but make no mistake, this is a complex and layered film. I find the complexity to be beneficial and it flows well, however I can see why some would be turned off, as surprises and twist’s may be impossible to see until they are shown.  Read more

Boasting a stellar cast (one of the biggest ensemble’s ever in fact), Movie 43 is both shockingly offensive and unfunny at times while being hilariously entertaining at others. It is ambitious in it’s attempt to connect a series of short stories together and while, to my surprise, they interconnected quite decently, it’s let down by some of the scenes which were cringe-worthy and missed the mark.
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The film is highly offensive and it is clearly the aim to shock the audience with it’s high profile cast in scenes they have never been in before. Sometimes it oversteps the line, whereas other times it works, with some of the shorts being full of laughter. Hugh Jackman‘s scene is great as well as some of the other shorts including one with Naomi Watts and another with Halle Berry and Stephen Merchant.  Read more

Supported by a strong cast and a superb score, Gangster Squad attempts to replicate a typical gangster style movie and does it well. With unique cinematography and decent action, it takes us back to 1940′s LA for a whole new generation to experience a great Mafia action/crime film.
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Director Ruben Fleischer (Zombieland) has acquired an all-star cast for this gangster flick, with Sean Penn playing villain Mickey Cohen who has quickly taken over LA along with his East Coast Mafia. It’s up to Sgt. John O’Mara (Josh Brolin) to take action and take back control of the city, along with his newly formed Gangster Squad which includes Ryan Gosling as Sgt. Jerry Wooter. Gosling is certainly one of the highlights of the film as he pulls off a classy, pivotal character with ease.  Read more

There is a lot to like about Les Misérables, which surprised me with it’s ability to tell a great story through music, with nearly every word of dialogue sung. It is by no means perfect however, with a slightly long runtime contributing to the fact that I didn’t feel much emotion overall.
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Director Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech) takes on the hard task of adapting one of the famous musicals of modern times, originally based on Victor Hugo’s 1862 novel, into a film. Luckily for Hooper, he is greatly aided by a magnificent cast which boasts stand out performances from Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, Russell Crowe, Amanda Seyfried, Eddie Redmayne and Helena Bonham Carter. My favourite character however, was played by Sacha Baron Cohen, who brings great laughter to an otherwise bleak story as his performance as Thénardier.  Read more

Pitch Perfect is easily one of the comedies of the year, with charismatic characters combining with great humour to create a music movie that is fun, energetic and mesmerising. The songs should appeal to all demographics, but especially younger audiences (15-30).
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Anna Kendrick plays Becca, a freshman at Barden University who is convinced into joining The Bellas, an all-girls singing group lead by Chloe (Brittany Snow) and Aubrey (Anna Camp). Kendrick is fantastic, giving a real natural feel to the character, and the cast of the whole movie is superb too, each providing unique traits that bring something to the table. It’s Aussie Rebel Wilson who steals the show though, with her hilarious antics, a lot of which Wilson brings to the film on her own accord.  Read more

Powerful and full of emotion, The Perks of Being a Wallflower tells a moving story of a shy freshman that will have many tearing up frequently. It has some wonderful acting performances with Logan Lerman, Ezra Miller and Emma Watson all starring.
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Based on the novel written by Stephen Chbosky, It’s great that he’s the one actually directing the film as well, and from what I’ve heard, it understandably sticks to the book with the story. We see Charlie (Lerman) bracing himself for the start of the school year as a boy with no friends. His English teacher Mr Anderson (Paul Rudd), is quick to befriend him and is a character that is utilised well.  Read more