Super 8

I just got back from watching Super 8 a few days ago and here are my quick thoughts on the film:

Don't be fooled. Super 8 may be directed by JJ. Abrams (Director of the latest 'Star Trek') and Executive Produced by Steven Spielberg but let's face it: Spielbergs hands are ALL over this, Abrams was merely channeling his inner-Spielberg throughout the entire movie! Yes, Super 8 is so much like one of Steven's movies that its homaging him as well as honoring him at the same time. To put it bluntly, its E.T crossed with Close Encounters Of The Third Kind crossed with Cloverfield crossed with The Goonies. And while some people think its okay (YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!) I personally loved this film almost as much as Harry Potter.

So in the summer of 1979, a group of friends in a small Ohio town witness a catastrophic train crash while making a Super 8 movie (about Zombies) and soon suspect that it was not an accident. Shortly after, unusual disappearances and inexplicable events begin to take place in town, and the local Deputy tries to uncover the truth. I won't say more than that because the film throws a few nice surprises at you when you're watching it for the first...okay yes it is just this one big mother f*cking alien stomping around the place, and while that is just a tad bit disappointing you're not really watching the movie for that exactly. I thought that without the kids this movie would have been medicore. The kids in this movie are simply fantastic to watch, proving Abrams ability to handle both Characters as well as action without letting one take over the other. The kids are arguably the only real good thing about the movie (aside from those nice snippets of action) but because they're in it so much and they're so freaking good its hard to give this movie any less than a 7/10. And thats without taking into account the heartwarming (if overly sentimental for some) story of Joe Lamb (the main kid), who is struggling over the loss of his mom. Special props should also go to Elle Fanning (sister of Dakota Fanning) who was a stunning child actress. Seriously, whoever hired these kids should get a payrise, NOW. Aside from the main Story, the action and visual effects are handled extremely well also. The Monster looks cool, and that train crash at the beginning was so mindblowing that I don't think even Michael Bay could top that! It was also rather scary at times, especially when the monster was playing hide and seek...  

Super 8 is fun, heartwarming and a bit scary all at the same time. Its also the perfect family movie, and the ultimate tribute to Steven Spielberg. I thoroughly enjoyed every second of it!

Torchwood Miracle Day: Episodes 4 & 5

Torchwood Miracle Day has so far been a bit uneven for me, Ep 1 was brilliant, Ep 2 was poor and Ep 3 was okay at best. I think the main problem so far is that with such an interesting premise, the show fails to live up to that concept, mainly focusing on some stupid drug company without really delving deeper into the heart of this mystery. Also, I find the tone a bit odd, normally Torchwood is more dark and grittier than this and most of the Episodes so far have had rather awful comedy moments tacked onto them. I won't pretend to not be disappointed, but who knows, perhaps Eps 4 & 5 of this show are really quite good? Here's my opinion:

Escape to L.A starts off slow (true to Miracle Day fashion of course, FOR GOD'S SAKE NOTHING IS HAPPENING!) but improves at the end. Torchwood is still refusing to show us the true impact of the Miracle (wait til' next Week) and continues this sort of CIA, Mission Impossible style investigation that the last two Episodes have focused on. This time instead of breaking into a PhiCorp meeting they're trying to infiltrate one of the pharmaceutical company's facilities, in an attempt to grab a valuable server connected to their network. This plot was fine but they could be focusing on more interesting things, oh well it made for some cool Mission Impossible style infiltration scenes. That bit with Gwen faking an American accent was comedy gold by the way. Oh and remember that Oswald Danes bloke? He's actually turning out to be quite interesting now, and strangely enough I'm kind of starting to really like his character now. Forget the Torchwood aspect, Bill Pullman stole the show. Another thing I like is that Esther is FINALLY given something to do and it pays off nicely at the end, but Rex and Rhys scenes were a bit pointless. And the ending, total cop-out. Just as that guy is about to spill the beans he gets frigging shot! Come on Torchwood, we're FOUR episodes in now, at least give us a HINT about what's going on behind this Miracle! So Overall a good episode, not just 'Okay' or 'A bit poor'. Torchwood is only just warming up...

 

The Categories Of Life: Oooh, things get dark in this one. To be honest, this is the Torchwood I've been waiting for since the Season has begun. Great acting, Brilliant Ending and Superb Suspense and Drama are just some of the adjectives I'll use when describing this Ep. The only downside is that by the end, we still have no idea about what caused the Miracle and who is behind it. Having said that though, there still is half a season left. This is what Torchwood should be in my opinion: dark, gritty and disturbingly realistic all at the same time. Basically the Human Population is now divided into 'categories', which is a way of the Government to determine who is technically 'alive' (conscious, functioning normally) and who is 'dead' (i.e they should be dead, unconscious). The category 1 and 2 patients are taken to Overflow camps, where they're poorly treated, and in the case of the category 1's are packed up like boxes and hastily BURNED ALIVE. Its one more of those scary science fiction concepts that Torchwood is very good at executing. And with this, we say goodbye to Doctor Vera, which certainly raises the stakes and sets up the next Episode tantalisingy (GIVE IT TO ME NOW!) while also showcasing what an awful world this has become. This Episode also marks Oswald Danes' finest hour, that great speech to a football stadium of people at the end was truly great telly (I'm sure some would disagree with that though). Bill Pullman acts his socks off, as well as Captain Jack, who is given a bit more to do this time around. Esther and Rex kinda go back to doing absolutely nothing again, most of the episode is either focused on Vera, Jack and Oswald or Gwen trying to rescue her father from a concentration ca...oh sorry, an 'Overflow' camp! Anyway, I think after a slow start, we're now entering the territory that I want Torchwood to explore, so you could say its gotten it's 'mojo' back. Roll on Episode 6 I say!

 

Torchwood Miracle Day: Episodes 2 & 3

So we're now into the 3rd Episode of Miracle Day (4th if you're in the United States), and here are my quick thoughts on the two latest Episodes of the show:

To be honest I thought the Second Episode was a bit poor, and wasn't up to the standard of the first one at all. This is largely based on the fact that its basically a filler Episode, to pad out this ten part Season. Yes there were a few funny moments here and there with Rex and Jack that made you chuckle a bit but what was the point of it all? The entire Episode was just a wast of space in my opinion. They could have just got the entire Team together at the start (this is the 2nd Ep now, time to get the ball rolling!) and skip the whole scenario on the plane altogether and NOTHING would have changed Story wise. Jack getting poisoned was boring, we all knew he was going to live and there was no tension whatsoever. The antidote was completely rediculous, and Gwens screeching did NOT help. I was also starting to get a bit sick of the Doctor's and CIA analyst's referencing these huge events happening in the Miracle Day World, but not really showing it aside from a mere reference, I mean show us the impact of the Miracle already! Don't cut back to the plane, show us the real meaty bits, the bits we want to see! Esther's character was boring, why is she the main focus of this Episode? Why is she now a member of the Torchwood Team? Rex has at least a cool sense of humour about him, his conversations with Jack at the start were quite chuckle worthy. And I totally call over-acting on Bill Pullman's character Oswald Danes, the bit when he was on the news crying (practically dying in his tears) felt soooo forced and I didn't believe that people would forgive him at all. Dude, he's an effin' pheodophile for Christ's Sake? Who's gonna believe him? He's clearly not sorry about what he's done! Gilly Kitzinger's debut as a character was pretty cartoony as well, she was seemingly going at 200 mph and her 'Rise up tall and stride across the skin of the World' speech to Oswald was a bit too cheesy for my liking. I'm annoyed that this Episode was so lacklustre, it was the full definition of filler. It wasn't awful, just really unnecessary. Torchwood was once a fantastic peice of T.V, lets not see it fall down a well! Hopefully the 3rd Episode of Miracle Day will pick up and start to develop this Miracle once and for all....

Episode 3 'Dead Of Night' was quite a bit better. The Storyline is still digging its feet into the ground though, and it only really took off at the end. With the exception of Episode 1 nothing major is being put into place, three Weeks in and they're only just developing the building blocks for the rest of the Season. The whole thing about PhiCorp wasn't all that interesting (it's a drug company that knew about the Miracle beforehand? That's a bit lame isn't it? I was expecting something a bit more meaty than that! Yes I know there's way more to it than that, but why not just show it to us off the bat?) but the conversations between the different Characters are what really made this Episode. Apart from Esther, that is, what the hell has she done so far? Nearly get the Team caught and just...well nothing else. Please give her something to do, PLEASE! Rex was again quite fun in this Episode, he's probably my favourite out of all the 'newbies' that have joined the show. The conversation between Jack and Gwen was touching, and at the end when Jack was facing Oswald made my skin crawl. The murderer/pheodophile is now redeemed from the last Episode, and I think he's won me back now. Bill Pullman's acting was EVIL at some times, and the way he kinda makes you sympathise with him a bit made my stomach crawl with wierd unease. Gilly was as a character much more contained as well, I suppose the writer for the last Episode was a bit dodgy. As for those S-E-X scenes, they seemed a bit forced but necessary I suppose. It's adult Sci-Fi, someones got to do it and Captain Jack fits that bill. Kids divert your eyes...NOW. And Rex with that Doctor: WTF? I never saw that one coming! So while not alot really happened, at least the Team is finally together now and the ball is, slowly but surely, rolling towards what could be an intriguing piece of drama. Nearly everything has been improved over the last Episode then!

So in my opinion, Episode 1 was really good, a great start to a promising Series, Episode 2 was poor, dropping the ball completely and Episode 3 was okay but was just bordering on good. The Series hasn't found it's proper feet yet, but it's slowly getting there. There is undoubtably alot of potential in this Miracle Day idea, but these last two Eps kinda go out of their way to hide it. Episode 4 looks like it could finally get somewhere at least, lets hope so....plus they're in L.A, that should count for something. 

Transformers 3: Dark Of The Moon

The Transformers films are kind of a guilty pleasure for me. Yes it is widely accepted that they'll all atrocious pieces of filmmaking and yes the movies treat you like some stupid Teenager by just throwing in pretty girls, countless explosions and Optimus Prime kicking ass....And yet somehow these three films have managed to gross more than 2.9 Billion dollars altogether (and counting), and thats some SERIOUS dough! This doesn't just indicate that people are flocking to see it, that kind of money means that they're seeing it repeatedly in the cinema! Why? Because its event cinema. People go and see a Michael Bay film to be wowed by a constant barrage of nonsensical spectacle. Story, pacing, character development you name it all gets chucked out of the window and replaced with a barrage of non-stop action. It might as well just say 'AMERICA, F*CK YEAH!' during the end credits! If the filmakers intent was just to make you go 'WOW!' then he sure accomplished that in my Books. You could argue that it's the same effect as dangling a bunch of shiny keys in front of your face!

There's supposed to be a Story in this movie? I thought it was just a bunch of Robots kicking the crap out of each other for two and a half hours! Okay to be fair to the film it did atleast 'try' this time, but it all falls flat on its face after the first five minutes. It was something about finding something on the moon, Optimus Prime going mad with anger about something (boy is he pissed off in this movie!), flashes of this blonde chick, Shia La Boeuf's character Sam trying to get a job....Oh hell if I know! Lets just get to the EXPLOSIONS! Yeeeah! Now that's what I'm talking about. 

Now credit were credit's due, the action in this movie was F-A-N-T-A-S-T-I-C. Simply superb. Best action sequences of all time, in fact. I swear to god, if you jump into this movie an hour late, you'll have some of the best movie experiences in your entire life. Seriously, if you skip all that weird comedy at the start, BEST MOVIE EVER!!!!! Or at least from my point of view. Optimus Prime kicks ass about a MILLION times in this movie. He takes on a Robot that can topple skyscrapers, like SEVERAL Robots at once and beats Megatron AND Sentinel Prime all at once! And by the way, Shockwave (I think its Shockwave) when he topples a skyscraper with all the main characters in it, thats some sweeeet visuals man. The saying  'Bang for your Buck' rings so true for these movies. To sum it all up, it was like taking the testosterone of fifty million men and trying to cram it all into one movie. There is simply no more things for Bay to blow up by the end of the flick. The Special effects were simply gorgeous, every Robot looked like something off AVATAR for crying out loud! If you like these sort of movies you can't get any better than this.     

While the action may be unparalleled in my honest opinion, the comedy in this movie is simply atrocious, cringe-worthy at times in fact, the plot is barely there, NO acting or character development WHATSOEVER and yet still this movie managed to entertain me quite a fair bit. I suppose you could argue that it made me laugh, but it made me laugh for ALL the wrong reasons. And the tonal shift is quite jarring as welI. One of the Robot's gets killed in this movie, and before we have enough time to get our hankerchiefs out it IMMEDIENTLY switches to a scene where these two Robot's with stereotypical accents are acting goofy for NO REASON. It's like it wants to be a kids film but the amount of carnage and death that is wrought on the city of Chicargo is enough to make anyone cry. Simply put, I don't really get what the movie is going for. 

It gets an 'Okay' rating just because the action, special effects and cinematography were simply the best I've ever seen in a movie. This out-AVATAR's AVATAR quite frankly, that's how good the sfx are for this movie. So purely from a visual standpoint, I loved it. Under NO circumstances should people who hate these kinda movies see it though, everything about this movie is god awful apart from the visuals!

X-Men: First Class

X-Men: First Class is a good film, no doubt. Set in the 1960's during the Cuban missile crisis, the Prequel to the X-Men trilogy explores the past of Magneto and Professor X much like the Star Wars prequels did (Obi-Wan and Anakin) or the latest Star Trek film (Kirk and Spock). You'll be happy to know that it suceeds wonderfully in scoping out the past of these iconic characters, and you generally get a sense of their growing friendship before it all comes crashing down like a matchstick tower. The two leads, James McAvoy and Micheal Fassbender don't look or feel like their older counterparts but that can be quickly excused because this is set FORTY Years before the main X-Men films and I suppose alot can happen in that time. They are pretty striking characters, and acting is top notch from the pair. Young Magneto, oh sorry, Erik starts out as this seriously troubled orphan (his parents were put in a Nazi concentration camp and his mother shot right in front of him because he couldn't show off his magnetic powers to the bad guy), turns into James Bond and then becomes the very person he tried to kill at the end is simply beautiful to watch. Xavier starts off using his powers to, among other things, attract Women but gets much wiser and troubled as the film goes on. By the end of this Prequel, you'll prefer the younger versions to the older ones. Their Story is the main crux of it all, and it does not disappoint one bit. What about the other characters though?

Mystique, Beast and perhaps the CIA Agent aside, I'd wager that most of the other characters are either seriously underdeveloped or just there in the backround for most of the time. Banshee and that guy that could shoot lasers out of his stomach are barely passable, but the main villain Sebastian Shaw and his bunch of nasty mutants aren't really given ANYTHING. It's like the film spent all its time developing Magneto and Xavier and simply forgot all the other characters! Take Shaw, he's hidiously evil but thats all we really know about him. No backstory, no explanation of his origins or real motivation. Heck to call him stereotypically evil is not that short of the mark. Also he goes from being this nasty piece-of-work Nazi scientist with no indication of any Super-powers whatsoever to being this all powerful, scheming bastard of a guy that knows several languages with no explanation! Yes he was there to offer forsight about Magneto's future (at the end, Magneto basically turns into this character) and sure twenty years had passed, but still. The rest of the bad guys feature quite prominently in the film but apart from Emma Frost (this mind control, bikini wearing, diamond changing shapeshifter!) they have NO lines of dialogue at all! Yes, out of the six members of the Hellfire club only two of them get dialogue in the WHOLE GODAMN FILM! Now that's an error that simply cannot be ignored. I couldn't care about any of the other mutants either (aside the main ones), one girl goes from being good to bad with the flick of a hat for simply NO REASON. And when a character in a movie trys to save the day but ends up helplessly dying for it has only a few lines of dialogue beforehand, you have a SERIOUS problem movie! But what about the Special Effects, the Art Design, were they any good?

Well yes and no. The era of the 60's is beautifully recreated, the characters walk, talk and act like they're from that period. The idea of fusing a super hero film with the Cuban Missile crisis was done well also, lending the film a strange atmosphere and feel that no Marvel movie has done before. Although, the special effects were poor compared to todays standards, probably a few years out of date. Action was alright, but wasn't that prominent again, as you can see this isn't your typical super-hero action flick. The film did have a rushed production schedule though, so I suppose this is to be expected. This film undeniably has quite a few flaws, but in the end I suppose it doesn't really matter. In the context of the Story, the only main thing is Magneto and Xavier and the relationship between the two leads is so well done, and so enthralling, that it would be wrong to say this was a bad film. I did enjoy it quite alot, but it wasn't anything special. 

So despite its many flaws, X-Men: First Class is a thouroughly enjoyable film.