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.

On the Waterfront

Marlon Brando in a black and white movie. It's about union violence and corruption but other than that I have no real idea what is going on in this movie. This movie is boring.

I found it a hard film to follow. The preacher was the best character, he was strong and determined but with all the focus on Brando, I really felt like Brando didn't live up to the expectation that people like me, who grew up with his name as legend, have come to put on him. Behind him was a character that had everything his character didn't and I didn't see enough from Brando to convince me that he was worth being in this film. When the movie is in black and white you don't even need to cast someone based on looks because as long as they look relatively okay then it doesn't matter. You can't really determine their beauty in these movies.

The message from this movie is clear; no matter how hard it may be, you can't stay quiet over corruption and violence. This movie also covers the ongoing issues that are still apparent in the world today which is that sometimes if you speak up then it is difficult to come to work everyday and see the faces of people that who you know are doing things wrong. At this period in time it was a necessary topic because there was a lot of it going around and it really needed to be dealt with but they could have made it so much better than they did. Some black and white movies I have found almost impossible to look away from but this wasn't one of them.

As far as my recommendation goes, don't add it to your list. There are better Marlon Brando movies and there are better black and white movies.

Kingsman: The Golden Circle

Kingsman was one of the best films that had been created a few years ago. It took 'The Secret Service' to another level and limits don't seem to exist for these guys. There should be insane violence but they cover it up with weird explosions of fireworks to make it look more colourful.

This movie is just another level that we weren't expecting. Teaming up with Americans and taking that which is typically British and combining it with that which we consider to be typically American makes for a fantastic movie. Psychopaths and a few other things made it a little harder for me to watch and enjoy but I still enjoyed it. You've all seen the adverts so I can talk about Colin Firth and how fantastic he is. Mark Strong really stole the show. His singing and the music in this film is just insane. 

Kingsman: The Golden Circle leads the way for the series to continue but with a few different people and a different turn. The next film is going to be genius. The tools and gadgets just get cooler in each film. I have to mention that I loved the country version of 'Word Up' by Korn. I was sitting there in the Imax mouthing along to the song and just loving the scene that it was accompanying.
this film is all about Mark Strong. Everyone can watch and enjoy this film. Channing Tatum is going to make a fine Kingsman but it will be interesting to see how they rebuild the organisation. Now that Channing Tatum has stopped being cast as a romantic hero he is doing a lot better in films. He wasn't bad in 21 and 22 jump street but he cannot pass for being a sixteen or even 22 year old and it is good that everyone has started to accept it.even Halle Berry is good in this movie. This is the way that she should go. Her career is better when she is not the center of attention in a movie.
love this film and everything about Kingsman.

Underworld Blood Wars

The fifth and currently last instalment of the trilogy. During a previous year I watched all four films and reviewed them and I had to admit that it was someone else who drew my attention to this film as it had managed to escape my attention.

Kate Beckinsale is back on her quest to kill werewolves. This is a familiar story but in the previous film she abandoned her vampire clan for this werewolf called Michael and she had a child with him. That child is now sought out by the werewolves, who are lead by a man named Marius. As always, our leading lady cannot handle the entire film by herself so in walks Theo James to help her out. This guys eyes are full of integrity and strength. He looks like her is going to stay by her side and persevere and he is strong and silent, prepared to do what he needs to do for the greater good and that is needed.

So it's the same kind of plot as in all the previous films and it almost has a similar feel to Blade about it except that this is Kate Beckinsale and she is running from everybody and not hunting anyone this time, until the end. This is a typical science-fiction film and you know what to expect with it. She killed Victor in the previous movie and ended her war with her people but this time she has to fight for something bigger than herself and she is a skilled warrior. This role has always played to her strengths and the darkness and almost Gothic feel that accompanies this film works well for her. She's not in it for the looks, she's in it because she is the perfect choice for this character. There is hunger and determination in her eyes every time that she wields a weapon in this film. There is calculation and understanding. This is the perfect chance to see a more 'human' side to her and she doesn't go too over the top with it. She is very much supported by Theo James, who is once again the strong, determined and controlled type of character but this time he has a character who isn't totally dependent on him. He takes the war by the scruff of the neck and does what he thinks is right, he doesn't ask and he makes his own decisions.

Underworld will always be good. Until Kate's character reaches the point of having been shot so many times in a fight sequence, or beaten so many times that it seems a little unrealistic, they could keep going with these films. Stars are drawn to them and get to play a perfect character for them. In the previous films we had Bill Nighy and in this movie we had Charles Dance, Tobias Menzies (Game of Thrones, Casino Royale), Lara Pulver (Sherlock, Spooks, Edge of Tomorrow) and several other familiar faces. Everyone wants to have a dark character who gets a bit of action in this trilogy.

I love these movies. I can always make time for them and will happily watch them over and over again. For me these movies are the next level for 'Van Helsing', which is the movie that I watched over and over again as a teenager because I loved the Gothic (film noir) feel to it. Blood wars is just as good as any other Underworld movie.

I'm alright Jack

I promised that there would be a Peter Sellers film. This has been a little delayed and I apologise for that. On this blog we have realised that the older style of films, films that aren't necessarily silent or in black and white sometimes attract more people than the new releases. If you stumble across this blog because you want a movie recommendation or you want to learn a bit about films then reading one on a film that features Lawrence Olivier, Alec Guinness, Peter Sellers, Judi Dench or Maggie Smith are good ones to start with as they are world famous British actors who are considered to be 'greats'.

Until now the only Sellers films has been the Pink Panther series and that only shows the comical side to Peter Sellers instead of the full genius. To show how much of a genius he is the man is also joined by Richard Attenborough, who is deceased but had a fantastic life in film and will always be the man that I watch on Christmas Eve playing the role of Kris Kringle. It feels so good to have watched him in something else when he was younger. Now on to the film.

This film is a little weird. It starts off in a garden with a man in a suit and everyone else not wearing anything. I still haven't really worked out the significance of it except that at the start of the film he refuses to go near the naked women and at the end of the film, even though he runs away from the naked women he is in fact, naked himself. This guy manages to screw up almost every job opportunity that he has. He manages to lose his hat in a sweet factory and for it to come out looking like a large cake, he manages to seriously irritate the advertising and product company in the finance department and he manages to frustrate the construction team by driving a lifting machine badly and yet when it comes to sacking him the construction crew can't quite bring themselves to make that decision. This film is, according to Wikipedia 'a satire on British industrial life' and is a sequel to the film 'Private's Progress', which unfortunately was not included in my Peter Sellers box set because he did not feature in the film. However, he did win a BAFTA for best actor in this picture so there is a silver lining in every cloud.

I guess that this film is about the fall of one man from a slightly smug, complacent man to a hardworking man who realises that he is not above anyone else and has to work hard in order to gain anything in his life. At the start of the film he sees himself as above the naked people and he finds it to weird to be around them but by the end he has joined them and accepted this life for his own. I spent the entire movie looking out for Peter Sellers and I guess looking out for Inspector Cleuso but instead I found the same moustache but a much more hard working accent to go with a face which could have passed for being Peter Sellers. This man is naturally funny but this role wasn't intended to be as funny or as stupid and it worked really well for him. It's a comedy but I didn't find it funny at all. Maybe I wasn't paying enough attention to it but something about it just didn't draw me in as much as 'The Pink Panther' series did.

Take nothing away from the acting. Watching these guys when they are young and at their prime, doing something that the British did really well is priceless. This is a way to spend an evening and Richard Attenborough and Peter Sellers were both fantastic in this movie. There were moments when I could have laughed if I had been in the right mood for it but if you do watch it in a good mood and devote your attention to it then you are very likely to enjoy it. If you are like me and have little knowledge of British comedy and some of the greats then watch this film to receive a better education.

Olympus has fallen

The sequel to this film, 'London has fallen' was released about two years ago. I got the wrong end of the stick with this film and thought that it might have something to do with mythology but I was wrong and it is just another Die Hard type of film about a terror attack on the White House.

Aaron Eckhart as the President and Gerard Butler as an ex secret service man who is trusted with the operation of saving the life of the president and his son. Morgan Freeman as the acting president whilst all this is going on. When you read those names you think that in an action film these guys cant go wrong and you would be correct to assume so. It's been a while since Eckhart featured on this blog and it has been a while since he starred in a movie.

Give Butler a gun and let him go for it. It's another great film that is well thought out. This guy knows everything about the White House, every secret corridor and every back way. It makes sense that he can work his way around, get in to the White House, kill the terrorists, rescue the son, prevent the secretary from being shot and make it out of the White House with the President still alive.

I loved the child in this movie. Eckhart plays the controlled character who half attempts to save the lives of his coworkers but understands that there are more important things such as keeping a world safe. The control is something that we have often seen from this guy but the child playing Connor (Finley Jacobsen) is fantastic. This is by far the best thing that he has done and even though he wasn't a solid feature in this movie he held the line, he didn't complain, he didn't panic and he was the type of child that any parent would want in a situation like that. He could have been the next Bruce Wayne and probably should have been considered for the role in 'Gotham'.

This is one of the better action movies that they have made within the last four years. It wasn't comical and it was trying to be serious but not science fiction. There was a plot, they stuck to it and they worked to everyone's strengths. Watching something like this helps to convince me that they can make good action films, with a plot and a strong cast that don't need the comedy.

GI Blues

Elvis. I promised a coworker that I would watch more Elvis films months ago- something closer to six months ago and have finally obtained a box set of his films and started to watch them.

I forgot that Elvis could act as well as sing. I had forgotten that they were free to actually make movies in which there were strong characteristics and a steady plot. It was refreshing. I particularly liked the scene with the baby because it showed how sometimes, a young man in the army will only know the code that he was given and will not have a clue about dealing with babies or young children.

This time he's in the army. It works out well for him but instead of being on the front he is instead making bets over women and naturally, being the gentlemen who wins more than a bet. What I like the most about him in this film is that he is a gentlemen, he is attractive but he isn't playing on it. He has honour and respect but he works for it. He's in Germany and he takes the bet to raise the money that he needs for it which is to have one night alone with a German dancer but instead he does the honourable thing and calls the bet off because he actually falls in love with her. This is the 50's. Show dancing has just become a big thing and this girl is a fantastic dancer in a bar that feels a bit more like 'Ric's' from 'Casablanca', in that there seems to be dancing, music and various other things taking place. Like all Elvis films, you watch it for the music and for Elvis. The plot could be rubbish and you would still watch it because it has him in it.

If you don't like Elvis then there is no point in watching this film and if you do then you need to look no further for a movie to watch this evening. It's not difficult to follow or keep up with and it's not something that requires a huge amount of concentration, it just needs you to pay attention and appreciate the singing and the actual movie. The director could have created a rubbish plot which just revolved around Elvis singing and dancing for a living (after all, they managed it very well with Fred Astaire) and we would still love it but they haven't because they have tried to give everyone a reason to go and see it. Just over an hour and a half, in this day and age it is shorter than the normal length for a film so it is hardly spoiling and evening. There is something wonderful about watching Elvis on the screen and for those of us who didn't get the pleasure of seeing it when it was released we will have to settle with DVDs.

The Philadelphia Story

This movie was remade with Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra and Grace Kelly. Louis Armstrong and his band narrated the remake and they turned it in to a musical, my favourite musical, 'High Society'. This black and white movie starred Cary Grant, Katherine Hepburn and James Stewart so it's just replacing stars of one type with stars of another.

I've said many times that I am not a fan of James Stewart and certainly I feel that Frank Sinatra played this role a lot better than James Stewart does but the original character of 'Mike Connors' has more of a story to him. Apart from that, there is hardly any difference to the story. Instead of Spy Magazine attempting to release an article on Seth Lord they are instead attempting to publish pictures of Tracy Lord and C K Dexter Haven on their honey moon two years ago which neither Haven nor Lord want. Tracy has a fictional brother called Julius, who doesn't actually feature and that is the difference, minus the songs.

Some of the moments that I found to be funny in the musical just weren't funny. Stewart didn't change his voice enough to make it funny or the characters just didn't make it work. I never really felt like the characters were in love with each other but I did feel like Cary Grant as C K was a good choice. You can compare him to Bing Crosby and they are similar in character and the way that they play the role of the jealous lover. In some respects I felt like there was less to this film because there wasn't the on going theory of the musicians being in the house or the other houses that were available to them.

It's a great principle and another classic film of how some people can afford to live and how the lives of certain classes can be more difficult and more entertaining than the lives of our own but at the end we all want our privacy and our freedom. The musical is better and having Louis Armstrong in a film will always make it better but this is a film that anyone should watch before watching 'High Society'.

Logan

This is the start of a few days of frequent film watching. The Philadelphia story, Olympus has fallen, an Elvis film and a Peter Sellers film are on the way so keep watching this space and sorry for the delay.

Logan was released in cinemas in early March. It is supposed to signify the end of Wolverine in his own movies because Hugh Jackman can no longer keep up the physique needed for this role. I wasn't sure about this film when I saw the adverts. He looks old, he looks weary and one of the features that has become well known of Wolverine is that he is ageless, his mutation makes it look like he doesn't age so seeing him look like this was hard for me. I missed it because of complications and I was in Austria for a part of March. When I got back to London 'Logan' was on a limited screening.

What can we say about Jackman's bow from the somewhat iconic character that has become associated with him? There is a lot more emotion to this Logan than we have ever seen before. This film shows exactly why he is an avenger rather than an x-man. It seems fitting that he shows more inner emotion in this film, more care and more concern than he has ever done before when the end is drawing close.
Dafne Keen is a name to watch out for. She has an 'Abigail Breslin' feel to her. The way that she plays this role, talking in Spanish, attacking well trained men, suggests that she could become the next child that everyone wants in their films.
The return of Patrick Stewart is very much appreciated. Not that James McAvoy didn't do a good job but he was never going to be 'Charles Xavier' when Patrick Stewart was already playing that role. If they had done it differently and started with a young 'Xavier' then we would probably be saying that McAvoy will be most people's preferred 'Charles' but they didn't so he isn't.

Richard E Grant is making a rare return to film, instead of TV. There are cameos or actors you may recognise for the odd film in this film but apart from the two I have already mentioned there is no one who carries one hell of a filmoraphy, unlike what we normally expect with a marvel film.
They have done well with this film but it did need to be the end of this chapter.

The Manchurian Candidate

You have to stick with this film. At the start it is seriously confusing because I had no idea about this plot and I got super confused by everything but I did get there in the end. It seems weird and at times a little confusing if you know nothing about the film but stay with it and everything will be okay.

Denzel Washington and Liev Schreiber star as two men who are, well, I don't really want to say 'brain washed' but they are ex army, with one guy having bad dreams and the other being a war hero and on the path to Vice President. They both served and Washington was the captain of the unit that they served in but something happened and they went missing for a few days when they were serving. Two men in their unit were killed and the others survived but one guy was also having bad dreams, came up with a conspiracy theory and then convinced Ben (Washington) of this theory. So this film is about Ben attempting to discover the truth about what happened.

Also in a supporting role is Meryl Streep. She has a very obvious and yet still secretive role in this film. We all knew that she had it in her to play that character but she hasn't quite managed to display it in any previous roles. The ending is great but slightly unexpected. She is brilliant and she is something different in this film. Hearing her voice as much as we do also opens up other option for her career.

I kinda wish that I had seen it sooner because it gave me a chance to see a different side of Denzel Washington. The serious, silent side that was obvious in 'man on fire', or 'inside man', was expected but this was different. This wasn't even the drunken and slightly angry character that I witnessed during 'fences', instead, this character was totally different and worth watching.

Son of Rambow

A comedy about Rambo. Some kids making their own film based on Rambo but I actually think that their film is a lot better than Rambo.

You may recognise the face of Ed Westwick, (the slightly questionable older brother) who made his name from the tv series Gossip Girl. Or even the face of Will Poulter (The voyage of the Dawn Treddor) but most of these faces you are unlikely to recognise, I certainly didn't.

What is written on the case is that this is a comedy, that it is hilarious but I actually didn't find it that funny until the end, when I got to see the entire film that they had made. I expected it to be more comical that it was and it was a bit of a let down for me because it didn't absorb my attention and make me laugh a lot. I felt like this was all false advertising but that doesn't make it a bad film.

Ed Westwick took on a different character and because he was one of the few of the gossip girl cast who can actually act it is a little disappointing that he hasn't had more roles. He is versatile, he could be the next Johnny Depp but no one will know because he hasn't had a real chance to show his versatility. Depp had to use all channels available to him to even get a role, let alone get to make more than one film and Westwick needs to find a way to get some more screen time because Harrison Ford is past it and Ryan Gosling is actually a terrible actor so there isn't much competition out there  between people who are young and can act, as most young  or even older actors can't actually act. There are many roles for him if he can find them.

Considering that I didn't like Rambo much, I think that I prefer this film over the Stallone film of Rambo. Most of us will be able to remember what it was like to be a child and obsessed with a film (for me it was Harry Potter). We play gsmed all the time in the playground and the park and our garden, anywhere and we all wish that we were in the film. These kids did what we all wished that we could have done and made a film and for that reason I like this film and rate it highly.

Tootsie

This is the film that inspired the very funny, Robin Williams movie 'Mrs. Doubtfire'. Instead of Robin Williams it is Dustin Hoffman and he doesn't do as many voices as Williams but he does cross dress to get work because no one will employ him as an actor and a man because he argues with every director he has ever worked with.

Dustin Hoffman is a seriously underrated actor. For a while now he has been playing supporting roles instead of the lead but when he was younger he was the selling name and he hasn't lost any of his talent through age. Young Dustin Hoffman is the man that young people can look at and find attractive. There is a lot more to this film than the plot that 'The Graduate' had, which is the film that he is really known for.

This film is entirely about him. Not about the soundtrack or about Bill Murray (who is a fantastic character in this film), just about Dustin Hoffman. Bill Murray is probably playing the best character of his career in this film. He has had some great roles but single handedly permitting Michael Dorsey, aka Dorothy Michaels, to stash his female outfit and handle ignoring his girlfriend because he has fallen in love with this actress that he works with. Dorothy is the strong female character that every woman from that era wanted to be, needed to be and couldn't be at that time. It's hilarious and wonderful and everything that a true comedy is. You watch it and you see what he does, how he gets in to character and it is funny without it even really trying to be funny. That kind of commitment is refreshing to see.

Never underestimate a film made in the 80's.

Rebecca

This film was brought to my attention years ago when I was doing A-level literature and studying ' The Bloody Chamber' because of its weird similarity to Rebeca.

This is a Hitchcock movie, one of his first and one that stars Lawrence Olivier. Made or released in 1940, black and white, which is Hitchcock's preferred way of filming and personally, I think that black and white complements the music that always emphasises the suspense of a Hitchcock film. Black and white is the way that he should have gone with for all his films. It helps to make things more scary and harder to predict.

Olivier is much  better than James Stewart because he can actually act and isn't just himself in every film that he has ever been in. Unfortunately for Hitchcock all of his real stars become bigger or make decisions that impact their career and life. Olivier went on to make many other movies and didn't want to keep selling Hitchcock movies, Grace Kelly got married, became Princess of Monaco and wasn't permitted to continue with her acting career and Julie Andrews really made her name from singing and after damaging her voice made the odd appearance and turned to writing children's books and doing voice acting for the Despicable me series of films.

There is more to this film than the similarities towards this famous mistreatment of women. This film is an adaptation of a novel and the novel sold very well. I haven't read the novel but I do know that this film is a strong film. With Olivier holding the lead and giving off probably the most convincing performance in a Hitchock movie (although Carry Grant is close) any woman taking on a new role and trying to make a name for themselves can relax and just play their part because they know that next to one of the all time greats they can play off him.

Tragedy strikes at the end but there is a sense that none of the characters were really wrong or bad. We all think that because this plot is similar to the marquis de sade that Max De Winter (Olivier) is going to miss treat his wife but he's not what we are expecting and that makes for a nice surprise. The ending is always exciting and as someone who owns at least ten Hitchcock films I am very excited to watch the rest of them.

Trolls

This film was one of the Kid's films of the year because of the song 'can't stop the feeling' which earnt Justin Timberlake a lot of hype and nominations for awards.

Anna Kendrick has really made a name for herself. She started out as Scott Pilgrim's sister (at least in my filmography she did) and then moved on to singing in musicals. She has style, sass, attitude and is considered by many to be gorgeous but even more than that, she has serious talent and a great voice. Admittedly this film is a little harder to judge her talent because she is a pink animated character singing, hugging and playing the ukulele.

'Trolls' is aimed at young children and tries to teach the idea that happiness can always be found and status doesn't mean anything. It's a good idea to be teaching to children as it will probably help a little in reducing teenage depression but there is no evidence to suggest such a thing, so please don't take my word for it. Justin Timberlake looks good as a blue animated troll. He makes odd decisions in relation to his film career, some are good decisions and some are stupid decisions which can only end in disaster. This guy has made his name on singing and dancing. That is what he is good at and he can go on making money like that forever because he is Justin Timberlake. Films are a bonus for him so I wish that he would make more good choices like this film. He got to take on the complex character who tried to steal the show, which is a new development for him and a new character for him. It suited him.

Not as good as 'Moanna' but possibly better music (in my opinion). The only other kids film on my blog list this year is 'Sing' and that is the kids film that I am most excited about.

The Hitman's Bodyguard.

This film is genius. This is as good as Kingsman, if not better.

Ryan Reynolds has started to be in films in which the character that he plays also has a serious inability to stop talking. He looks good as a bodyguard, well dressed, well shaven and driving nice cars. If it weren't for the constant talking it is one of the many careers that you could see him moving in to when he stops getting the good characters cast his way. Always slightly arrogant but you can overlook it because it always come back to haunt him and makes him stupid. His character has that heroic feel that you knew it was going to have but there are moments when you see the caring and compassionate side to him.

Unfortunately, no matter how good he is, he just isn't comparable to Samuel L Jackson. This guy has all the language from 'Pulp Fiction', the attitude from 'XXX' and the skills from 'Star Wars'. In short- they told him to be badass and he went for it. This guy owns this film. It's not about Ryan Reynolds, its about Samuel L Jackson and even though it is supposed to be about Reynolds' character Michael, it really is about Darius Kincaid. This film has the feel of any James Bond film but with the comedy to go with it. Watching Jackson in the speed boat was similar to watching Roger Moore in a speed boat during 'The Man With The Golden Gun'. Everything that you remember an action film being- this is it.

There is sentiment in this film and for once they don't focus on the CIA, instead, choosing to go with Interpol instead so as to make all agencies look bad and not just continuously go for the same people. The sentiment comes from Darius Kincaid (Samuel L Jackson) and what he would do for his wife. His wife is strong, controls her audience and teaches you a few things about how to interrogate someone. There are things that you would do for someone that you love. They may be crazy things but you would still do them- as shown in this film. Even Meatloaf couldn't have dreamt up some of these things.

www.ninjabookbox.com

Morgan

Last year on the blog we reviewed a film called 'ex-machina'. A film about robots, experiments and tricking the system. I mention it now because 'Morgan has a similar feel to that film.

What you get from this film is a strong woman, or rather, two strong women and a system that involves programming humans to turn them in to controllable  weapons. Previous films such 'Aeon Flux' and 'Equilibrium, to name a few, have touched upon this subject and the idea that you can develop a human who is controlled and therefore can become the perfect warrior. Morgan takes it a step further and actually shows all the flaws with this idea. The cast are incredible and the lack of emotion displayed by the leads are incredible. Being able to kill without emotion is scary but very hard for anyone to pull off on screen because we are human and compassion and other similar feelings are part of being human. This display is incredible and even though I have probably said it before, thinking back to 'Hitman' when the lead was emotionless and fantastic, this team are taking it all to a different level. 

Morgan has a twist, a set up for a sequel and any sequel made, if kept to the level of this film would be phenomenal. There are times when we j

Sympothised with the character of Morgan and actually wanted her to hurt the person yelling at her because shouting doesn't help anything. Ask any teacher and they will tell you that shouting doesn't make any child more willing to do what you are asking them to do. Kindness and appealing to a child, showing that you are human and getting on a level that they can appreciate is the best way that you can  reach a human and I felt like script writers are still missing a trick because they create these characters who provoke violent reactions and then try to convince the audience that the character didn't deserve what was coming. It is a stereotype of a doctor involved in this type of case that they shout a lot and don't care whereas casting someone as a character who actually believes that what they are doing is helping and will make things better appeals far better to our human nature.

Morgan is like 'The hunger games' crossed with 'Hitman' and a few other films. Morgan is the next step to this idea of human perfection. Every script writers wanting to write something in this field need to watch this film and capture the same characterisation.

Fantastic film.

Beverly Hills Cop

Eddie Murphy is still sort of a new addition to this blog. He's been known as Donkey since Shrek was released but as he is known as a comedian and I don't find him funny I have been really reluctant to let him feature on this blog because of that but 'Trading Places' was a very good film so he has earnt his slot on this blog.

Beverly Hills. Where to begin? I see a lot familiar faces in this film. 'Neil' from 'The Santa Claus' and 'Clifford' from 'Some Kind Of Wonderful' are two cops who team up with Eddie Murphy. One doesn't trust him or like him and the other eats all the food that is offered to him and attempts to have his back. There's comedy in this film but it comes down the same police story I have seen many times. A police officer is disgraced and put on vacation and uses it to get at a criminal in Beverly Hills.

This film is good enough. It's dated and I am struggling to imagine what the real attraction of it would have been because no one in this film was convincing and the only conclusion I can reach is that this film is the basis for 'Rush Hour' but that doesn't help much because I found Chris Tucker so irritating that I didn't enjoy that film. I didn't find it funny and I found everything to be unrealistic but this is a personal opinion. All of them have done better things with their careers and it hasn't stopped anyone in this film carrying on with their careers which is very good. Beverly Hills Cop is the foundation for many other film ideas but it didn't quite come off this time around. Needless to say that I will not be reviewing the sequels.

Jungle Book

No, this is not the Disney animated film because I grew up with that film. This film is the live action movie that made it to cinema last year and kick-started the live action movie fling that is going on with all the Disney movies at the moment.

This film bragged some of the biggest names in film world today such as Ben Kingsley, Idris Elba and Christopher Walken and yet it wasn't talked about in the same way that 'Beauty and the Beast' was. Maybe that is because the later is a magical film for any girl or woman whereas 'The Jungle Book' doesn't have that magic and it never did- it never had the 'Tale as Old as Time' dancing sequence in a fantastic dress that makes every girl want to be a woman and have that moment. Before I actually move on to the names and their performances as live action characters I will look at the scenery. A kid walking through a, well, I don't want to say jungle but river, lake or part of Africa are probably inaccurate as well. The stream running, the rocks, the flowers, there is something special in that scene but I needed more of it to really capture my attention.

As a musician the first thing that I am going to do is complain about the reduction of songs in this film. There are a few songs in this film but not as many as there were in the original film and you should never remake a Disney film and remove the music from it. I liked the music that was in the original film and even if I hadn't liked it there needs to be a constant musical presence in a film like this and there wasn't enough of one to restore the joy that was given in the original film. They remade this film from a Disney film so we are always going to compare it with the original film. So to anyone out there just about to tell me that I can't compare these films then be quiet because I can.

The feedback that I received from this film (from my sister) was that she was disappointed with the casting in that Idris Elba with his east London accent couldn't quite pull off being an evil character but I could hardly notice it and it didn't bother me because Evil doesn't have an accent but we have come to stereotype it over the years with an English accent or a gangster accent. It's not about where you are from, it's about who you are.

Bill Murray surprised me. His voice surprised me when he was singing and I really couldn't recognise his voice without actually seeing him and not a bear. Taking the time and allowing this film to go back to being any other film and to be considered 'old' has allowed me to forget who was in it and watch the film as a film, see what I see, recognise what I see and hear and not know and judge who was in it to start with. I thought that Bill Murray was finished. I thought that his cameo in Ghostbusters was signalling the end of his career because he actually was never that good to start with but he isn't- not based on this performance.

The Jungle Book is not as good as the live action 'Beauty and the Beast' and I haven't seen the live action 'Tarzan' so I can't yet include that one but they are going in the right direction. They are going in the right direction and there have definitely been worse films made in recent years without the live action but it is needed and it does help to bring the Disney movie to life more for the adults who don't want to spend all their time watching Disney animated movies because they feel like they should have moved past that point. Stop stereotyping and just allow yourself to focus on what is in front of you. This remake stays close to the original and does its best.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay part 2

The final part! Three years and four films before I could write this review. I remember writing that the second film was like the first film and almost made the first film seem pointless because everything that they had worked for, everything that they had achieved was ignored when they had another hunger games. Then the third film was all about getting Peta back after he was captured during the second hunger games and the fourth film was about what the first film was really about- taking down Snow- oh and did I mention... ANOTHER hunger games?!

I have enjoyed these films because Katniss is a strong character but unlike in the 'Divergent' series, which is all about 'Tris', who is pathetic and totally dependent on 'Four', 'Katniss' (Jenifer Lawrence) is strong and not reliant on anyone. You think that she is but she completely fools everyone at the end of the fourth film. Just remember that I haven't read the books so I had no idea what was coming. Now that I have seen the films I will at some point, attempt to read the books.

The music is fantastic in this series and I can't help but love the stand off between Katniss and the character portrayed by Phillip Seymour Hoffman. He watches everything (sounds a little weird) and understands her better than she does but she hasn't actually truly understood just how well everyone around her knows her. The only reason it has taken this long for them to capture Snow is because he knows everything about her. He knows how to get to the people close to her, how to motivate her and how to make things work. She hasn't understood this about herself and she still doesn't by the end of the film.

Each of these characters reach the end of their development. Peta remains as useless as he was to start with and when at first he seemed cool, now he just seems like a less attractive, less useful version of 'Four'. Elizabeth is the one to watch. Her hair is fantastic and it never stops being fantastic. When I see her in 'Pitch Perfect 2' I often think that she only took on the role of director so that she could give herself a hair budget and let's face it- if you could do that, why wouldn't you? If you are a fan of 'The Hunger Games' then each of these films have a reason to watch them and are quite good even if they are infuriating at the plot going round in circles for a while. I understand that they stayed quite close to the books and that the second book was written to be as irritating as the film makes it out to be so I will give it the benefit of the doubt because the next two films, which admittedly would make the book read very well, are very good when you think of them as one book, one plot and leading straight and intentionally into the other without any break. Don't forget that Mockingjay was made into two films to get more of the book, or more action time in to the movies and that they really are just one very long but quite good film.

I can say that I am glad to have finished this series.

Last Action Hero

It has been a while since Schwarzenegger featured on this blog and to quote his famous saying 'I'll be back' and we made sure of it.

Arnold seems to be taking the piss out of himself in this film by going for the same lines and the same stunts that the kid has seen before, meaning that we have seen before because we see it in every movie he has ever been in. I don't like spelling his name so he is going to be known as Arnold on this blog and nothing else. Arnold is partnered up with a kid who manages to have a magic ticket (no, not a golden one) that takes him through the old movie screen and in to Jack Slater 4, becoming Last Action Hero.

The kid is exceptionally irritating. I know that we all think that Jake Lloyd is the most irritating kid to feature on screen but this kid gives him a good run for his money. If you can ignore the kid and just focus on Charles Dance with his ginger hair and spectacular glass eyes, along with Ian McKellen playing death then you have a film worth watching. I think that we all know that Arnie would take down Charles Dance in a fight but I feel like Charles Dance would be a sniper and Arnie wouldn't actually know how to fire a gun- his strong point is with his hands.

The stunts in this film were something that I liked. The idea behind this film is favourable and admittedly, is a bit of a fall back for anyone now writing a film plot after having a mental block for a while but that doesn't matter too much. When you play to your strengths you are likely to create a film that appeals to certain sections of the world and this guy is still favourable because a lot of people are his fans and are action fans. The car chase is a little weird because in today's world we can see that he would have been dead if the shooters had actually aimed. It has to look realistic and then it has to not be  too close for us to worry about Arnold and for the time that this movie  was made it looked good and made it very enjoyable. You can probably imagine being a kid, sitting on the edge of your seat and watching a film like this, the action, the suspense and then being totally in suspense with the action of this film and what is going to happen.

You've got classic lines in this film. Everything that you could love about an action film or about Arnold is in this film. Last action hero really shows what it is like to be a policeman and what it is like to go through a divorce. You're not popular, except to all the people that you put behind bars and your family leave you when other people start leaving their card and gunmen to kill you. Divorce, empty house and not much going there- isn't a life that I want to have.

Much better than I was expecting it to be.