3:10 to Yuma

Russel Crowe, Alan Tudyk and Christian Bale all in the same film. The quote on the front claims that it is the best Western since 'Unforgiven' and I have to agree with it simply because of the character of Russel Crowe.

When I see the names on paper and then think about Crowe lining up on the opposite side of the field to Bale I will back Bale every time but Crowe was the star for a reason. His character, along with 'The Hand of God' (his pistol) was a strong and yet, at times a compassionate character. He didn't kill if he didn't have to but he also was never held to ransom. He knew how to value life, what was worth fighting for and he tried his hardest not to kill a person with a good heart but at the end of the day, he was a cowboy leader and he had a job and a reputation to uphold.

He is calm and you always feel like he is playing everyone until the end of the film when he turns on his own man, gets revenge for the death of Christian Bale's character and then willingly gets in a cell on the 3:10 to Yuma train. Normally these movies are boring and lacking a real plot but this film wasn't. This film was so planned out that you couldn't predict what was coming and that made it even more enjoyable.

Logan Lerman also manages to hold his own in a film where he could have gone completely unnoticed. He wasn't a standout performer but he was solid and played the part well. Being diverse is something that we need to see more of from Lerman and watching him take on a supporting role is a lot better than seeing him take center stage. Being the focus point and the guy that all the girls love just doesn't work out for him. He was great in 'The Perks of Being a Wallflower' but that is because even though he was the lead, he was sharing his screen time with Emma Watson and Ezra Miller, who were both fantastic in that movie.

Ben Foster as Charlie was incredible. I have never seen someone murder in such an emotionless way. This character has no conscience and there was no pain or emotion when he pulled out his pistol and went around killing people. He had brains but it didn't occur to him that his boss had had a change of heart and had partnered up with Christian Bale. He doesn't realise that for killing Bale's character he is going to be killed until he sees the look in Crowe's eyes.

There is something magical about this film. If I ever want to watch a Western this is going to be the top of the list.

Thor: Ragnarock

Thor: The Dark World was terrible. When I heard that they were making another 'Thor' film I responded to it about as well as I responded to the third 'Captain America' film, which was not well at all because I thought that the second 'Captain America' film was dreadful and that the third film was just as bad. Having said that, the second 'Iron Man' film was awful but the third was so much better so I still had hope that this film would follow the 'Iron Man' path rather than the 'Captain America' path and I am glad that I did have this hope because this film was possibly even better than the first film.

This film has a plot, humour and not the same repeated idea of trusting Loki and then being betrayed by him. Following on quite nicely from the end of 'Age of Ultron' and as you have probably seen from the adverts, Thor, in his quest to save his father and protect Azgard, finds himself on a planet, fighting as a gladiator against 'The Hulk'. Typically, he can't spend the entire film just fighting so there is a lot more thought that goes in to how he is going to save Azgard from the sister that he didn't know that he had. It does seem like it is always a family affair in this franchise but I actually liked the way that this film went. They have taken Thor from a different realm and planet and moved him to link up more and more with 'The Avengers' on Earth which makes more sense if he is going to keep featuring in other movies.

Cate Blanchett taking on the role of the goddess of death. When I watched 'Doctor Strange' I thought for a long time that it was Cate Blanchett and not Tilda Swinton and when I realised that it wasn't her I was asking everyone why it wasn't her because it seemed like a role that she would have been ideal for but now it makes a lot more sense. She can't be the villain or slightly questionable woman in every marvel movie because no one would believe her and this was probably a better choice of role for her. She was fantastic and really helped to move the film along because she showed the darker side to Odin, which was true but also why she was doing what she did and it made sense instead of being the rambling of a crazy person.

The cameo of Anthony Hopkins was decent. I am glad that he went in this film because he finally helped Thor to realise his full potential. This is the God of Lightning and yet he seems pathetic without his hammer until he realises that he can control the lighting and is more powerful than his hammer. The time has come for Thor to stop relying on Odin to fix his problems and likewise, the time has come for Loki to realise that he can't do much that he hasn't already done many times.

Both Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddlestone were fantastic in this film but you expect them to be because this is their film. Mark Ruffalo almost stole the show as 'Hulk'. His character was entertaining and also very composed throughout the entire movie. There is a worry about 'Banna' constantly changing in to 'The Hulk' and they highlighted it, which mainly suggests that we are going to see more of 'Banna' and less of 'Hulk' in future movies because otherwise he wont be with Nat.

My personal favourite was 'Skurge' played by Karl Urban. He was entertaining and somewhat reminded me of the character of 'Alfred' in 'The Hobbit' series but at the end he gets his dying wish and dies a hero and one that may be remembered. Heimdall (Idris Elba) was much better in this film and teaming up with Thor was a sight to see. Theresa Tompson (Creed, Grey's Anatomy, Veronica Mars) was also fantastic. I hope that she does a lot more with her career than she has already done because her character was as entertaining as it was strong and brave. They are going the right way with women in films now. They can do more than just look pretty. This is an exciting time where men and women can be as entertaining and strong as each other in terms of character and we can start to see a lot more equality in the division of characters. I'm not saying that all historically male characters should become women but when you write in a character, it can be strong and a woman.

This was a really enjoyable film and worth the wait (the soundtrack is also fantastic). It helps to make a bit more excited for 'Black Panther' and 'Infinity War'.

Jurassic Park 2

I struggled with the previous review because I am not a big fan of Dinosaurs. These films are classics so they should be on any film list, which is why they are on mine, even though I really don't like Dinosaurs.

The first film was all about Richard Attenborough (for me anyway). This film features him less and i more about the common and frequent stupidity of America, as such is a popular theme to display in movies. The same guy who suffered on the lost Island 4 years prior now how to return because a small team have already been sent over to the Island and he cares about the woman who has been sent. Of course, when InGen soldiers come to storm the Island they threaten the Dinosaurs who were quite peaceful until the invasion but when you pick on something bigger than you, you are, as every child knows, likely to loose.

This time around they decide that it would be a really good idea to take a T-Rex back to America and let it storm San Diego. The film is old, it's 20 years old and you can see it in the quality of film. It's Spielberg and so the film is always going to be good, the quality, for the time in which the film was made is always going to be good but it is starting to get a little dated. We have to appreciate it for what it is and that does help people who are afraid of Dinosaurs because it looks like the Dinosaurs are robotic, which makes them less scary (and me very happy).

As of the end of this film I can't find a reason to make another film. It's another chaotic situation in America using non-human life forms, the film world of America should be used to it by now. After the first film we all wanted to see how things would develop but what are they really going to do in the next film? Storm the Island again fight with Dinosaurs again? There are five of these films and I feel like they may be turning in to another 'Die Hard' or 'Mission Impossible' series where the first one or two films are good and then the rest are just remakes of the previous films. I hope not because I like Spielberg and Richard Attenborough. I enjoyed this film more than the first film.

The Smurfs

Little Blue Men running around the streets of New York City. This film was released before 'Trolls' and because of that I need to judge this film as something that probably contributed to the plot and inspiration for 'Trolls' and not the other way around.

There was a period of time when they weren't managing to make decent kids films and then they started with 'Megamind' and 'Despicable Me' along with 'Alvin and the Chipmunks' and a few others. 'The Smurfs' is a nice, happy film without any singing and the adult character who was played by a guy who is really popular thanks to his role in 'How I Met Your Mother' (Neil Patrick Harris). Neil is a really attractive guy and his character in the tv sitcom was one of the better characters in the series which meant that he had a really good audience of teenagers and young adults who would watch this film because he stars in it.

What is good about this film is that it isn't cheesy. For an adult to watch it of their own accord it needs to be enjoyable. It isn't as enjoyable as 'Despicable Me' but then most kids films aren't because those films are genius. For small kids it will be easy to get emotionally involved in this film, especially towards the end of the movie because there are moments where if you are still new to the world of films then you may not be expecting the Smurfs to win. Of course, as adults we all know what will happen and we aren't ever worried about the outcome because we know that every Smurf will get back to Smurf village again and that the evil wizard will be dealt with to a varying degree in this movie.

Probably my favourite scene in this movie was when the Smurfs were being taught how to play guitar hero to Aerosmith's 'Walk This Way', which is a fantastic song. When a movie has Aerosmith in the soundtrack it is destined to be a good movie. If the plot is rubbish it doesn't matter because I will pay attention to the scene that has good music accompanying it.

No one in this movie should be ashamed of this movie. This is a good step in developing their careers and it was good to see Jayma Mays (Glee) do something other than Glee. She was a stronger character in this movie and she could have a good career if she wishes to progress in movies.

Pacific Rim

Giant fighting machines fighting against other, bigger fighting machines... sound familiar? Real Steel, Iron Man and Avengers are a few movies that instantly spring to mind when I was watching this film.

Guillermo Del Torro. Hellboy. Loved it. Hellboy 2. Liked it a lot. Pans Labyrinth. Loved it. Blade 2. Enjoyed it a lot. Screenplay for 'The Hobbit' trilogy? Hell yes! He isn't a Spielberg, his IMDB credits don't make you scroll down multiple times. This time it is different. Each of his previous films dabbles with an idea loosely based on history and a fictional, science fiction/ fantasy solution to the problem. I say that this film is different because I felt that it is probably his worst film to date.

For me the name 'Guillermo Del Torro' is equivalent to a very good movie that is either based on a graphic novel or has a strong sense of Historical relevance with a solution that has been hidden from us. Essentially what I am trying to say is that the solutions and heroes that feature in his films could actually be possible. Maybe not the heroes in this film but previously, the idea of secret agents that possess weird and slightly abnormal abilities is becoming more and more possible. The idea of people teaming up in giant suits and protecting us from alien creatures that are bigger than these heroes in giant suits does not, yet, seem realistic. This film is the least 'Del Torro' movie that I have watched and that is probably the reason why I will not be adding it to my collection and re-watching it.

It seemed scripted from start to finish. In this world it is very difficult to create an original screenplay. Every idea that you have is loosely, or not so loosely, based upon a story that you heard or a film that you watched, a book that you read etc. There is almost nothing original about any film, song, book or play anymore. The problem with this film is that- if it had been the first of this type of movie that I had seen I would be thinking that it was a fantastic film., however, it wasn't and I don't because the other films that I listed at the start of the movie were so much better. 'Pacific Rim' has potential but not enough for a series. The action was good but the filler in between was, at times, lacking. When there weren't giant monsters to fight there wasn't really anything to capture your attention and keep you interested. The movies flows but it felt short and this is never a good thing. This is a fairly recent movie (by recent /I mean with the last 10-15 years) and that signals the two hour mark (which in a boring film can feel way too long) and this just seemed to fly though the movie without really taking that much needed pause.

I can't say much about the leads. The acting wasn't bad, it wasn't particularly great either and Idris Elba was not good in his role. This guy is great with anger and not so great with anything else. When he isn't angry he turns in to an emotionless robot. The hair cut and the moustache did not work for him either. This wasn't a good fit for him and he in turn needs to look at his character here and work out how to draw things from it. Even when he was supposed to be emotional in a controlled way the look wasn't there, the eyes that normally accompany were missing. He can do better.

I haven't even heard of Charlie Hunnam which is saying a lot because even if I don't recognise the name I can normally associate the face with a movie. I couldn't. Judging from his performance in this movie I can see why I don't know his name. It's not one that I am likely to remember. If I were playing his character I would be more stubborn and more emotional than he was. He was destined to be the hero and at times he acted like it but he acted too much like a soldier and not enough like a guy who considers himself responsible for his brothers death. This character did not exist. In a movie, for the audience to be unable to connect to the character is a sign of a bad movie. Sometimes, if the character is poorly written then you as the actor need to take more responsibility for the character, like Johnny Depp and Captain Jack Sparrow. They hated the way that he played the role but the rest of the world loved it. Be brave- even good directors can be wrong.

Rocky 2

This is when the famous 'Gotta Fly Now' by Bill Conti starts to feature in the movies. Stallone looks a few years older but nothing about the film has changed.

Rocky 2 is a repeat of Rocky 1. He has moved on with his life, married the girl and is having a child. He agreed to a rematch with Apollo Creed immediately after winning the first fight but nothing really motivates him for most of the film because everyone knows his name. He does eventually start to work out and train for his rematch but throughout the film he never really looks like he will win it, except that he is Rocky so he is destined to win it so that the films can continue.

I have probably more criticisms than likes about this film. I felt like this film was just a filler for another movie. Certainly this film has not helped to develop Stallone's non existent ability to act or his barely recognisable speech. He's not bad on the directing part but I really struggled to make out anything that he was saying and he wasn't particularly great at showing emotion either. There are a lot of people out there who like him for these movies and maybe they see other things that I don't but I can't see why he made so many of these films as the star.

My next criticism is that the sequences are slow that even I would be able to beat him in a fight. He doesn't block, he stands there and lets someone else hit him. In today's world and even in the time that this film was made that was criminal. He's no longer an amateur, Rocky Ballboa is a household name and everyone pays to watch this fight. They pay to watch him get beaten to shreds by a guy who actually trained and at times looks to be a really good boxer but even Apollo Creed could have beaten Rocky because he also stood there and let Rocky hit him for most of the scene. Watching this film was disappointing in so many ways and I can imagine that I would have been disappointed if I were watching it on release day as well. Rocky and Rocky 2 have a similar to the Sean Connery 'James Bond' movies but without the comedy. The fight scenes were ridiculous in those movies as well but there was a comical element to it that was lacking in this film.

Kinda still want to watch all the other Rocky films just to see if the standards raise at any point.