Review submissions

Don't agree with my opinions on a movie? Want to tell everyone about a movie that you really like? Well I am giving you guys the opportunity to submit your own reviews.

All you have to do is email jacksreviewsubmit@gmail.com with your review and name. You will get full credit for the review. It can be a review of a new release, a classic movie review or your own top ten list.

Also this is not me saying that I am going to stop writing reviews, because that would mean me stopping watching movies altogether and that's never going to happen.

Cheers,

Jack

The Wolverine

Man, Wolverine is so cool. He has like claws and regeneration and mutton chops. What I would do for a pair of those. This Japanese-set, Australian-filmed action movie is unlike any of the X-Men movies that have come before, apart from the fact that Logan is once again the central character (when you look back at it, the only time he wasn't a main character was when Professor X and Magneto were recruiting the initial team in the 60s).

So, this film starts when Logan (Hugh Jackman) is a POW in Nagasaki, prior to the US dropping the bombs that ended the war in 1945. This scene is pretty full on, as we get a ground view of an atomic bomb detonating. Something that no one lives to tell anybody about. Except for Logan and Yashida (Ken Yamamura).

In the present day, Logan is living as a homeless man in the mountains of Canada with his only friend being a bear. He is tracked down by Yukio (Rila Fukushima), a mysterious Japanese woman, who says that her master wants to thank him for saving his life all those years ago. Yashida (Haruhiko Yamanouchi) is now an old man dying from cancer (probably from the radiation caused by the bomb). He offers Logan a way out of his immortality, which he rejects. This film deals with Logan's internal struggle with his mutation.

This movie is really cool in the fact that it's not like the other superhero movies we've seen recently. Although it does revolve around his mutation, it's not the focus of the movie. It's more of just an action movie, where the tough main character has claws. Speaking of his claws, I've only recently been wondering about the blood on his claws and if he wipes them off before retracting them, because that is a really weird hygiene problem.

I don't really need to say whether Jackman is good as Wolverine, because he's played the character in six movies. The only other character that he should be able to slip into with the same amount of ease is Peter Allen.

The real rising star of this film is Rila Fukushima. The 170 cm model is really graceful in her action scenes and has real talent when it comes to acting. Although she has only previously been in a short film and handful of music videos, I can see her having a real future in the industry.

The only other white actor in this film is Svetlana Khodchenkova (Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy). She plays Viper, although her character is very different from in the comics. Her character isn't explored too much and I wanted to know more about her background or her in general.

Verdict: A really fun movie that doesn't need background knowledge of the character or any of the previous films. Although it does call back to the comics, especially his use of 'bub'.

My Top Ten

In celebration of getting 1,000 views of my blog, I thought I would tell everyone what my Top Ten films are (just so you can get an idea of what I like in a film). So here they are, in no particular order:

1. Ferris Bueller's Day Off: I first saw this movie when I was ten years old and thought that that was how all teenagers acted. From that moment on I tried to live my life by Ferris' philosophy on life; that if you don't stop and appreciate life, you might miss it.

2. Mallrats: If I tried to live my life like Ferris Bueller, I more than likely ended up living it like Brody Bruce in Kevin Smith's sophomore flick. It is about two guys who spend their day in a local mall trying to get over their girlfriend woes. It has a great early Ben Affleck performance and the debut of Jason Lee.

3. Fight Club: The first time I saw anything to do with this film was when my sister got the VHS back in the day. The only part I saw was a making of segment when that showed the plane crash and final scene. I was so scared of these scenes that I refused to watch the film for years. When I finally saw it, the film changed my outlook on life and David Fincher became my favourite director.

4. Cape Fear (1991): Martin Scorsese's remake of the 1962 cult film terrified me when I first saw it a couple of months ago. Robert De Niro's portrayal of psychopath Max Cady has inspired many satires and parodies since, the most popular being the shot for shot remake in an episode of The Simpsons.

5. Slacker: Richard Linklater's independent classic is a great directorial debut for a filmmaker. Made for only $30 000, the film drifts in and out of the lives of the youth of Dallas, Texas. With no real plot or characters, it is quite an innovative film. This film has inspired many a young filmmaker to enter the industry.

6. Layer Cake: This classy British flick from the producer of Guy Ritchie's London gangster flicks is what I see as a more realistic approach to films about high end drug dealers. At the very least it takes itself seriously and the characters are believable.

7. Scarface: When I first saw this movie, it was the point that I realised that I wanted to be in the film industry. I became entranced with the story of Tony Montana his rise through the Miami underworld. I discovered that you could tell stories that entertained people, whilst still having roots in real life.

8. Requiem for a Dream: When I tell people that this film is on my top ten, most of the time they seem a bit disgusted. It is a very hardcore film about varying forms of drug addiction, mainly heroin. But my love of this film comes mainly from the technical aspects rather than the story, which is still very good. The movie uses a technique called hip-hop montages, which cuts together short two second clips that are used to emote a certain feeling from the audience.

9. Drive: Nicolas Winding Refn's tale of the Driver is an amazing film that has a fantastic 80s vibe, whilst being set in the present day with modern music. The lack of dialogue means that Ryan Gosling works even harder to display his emotions. Bryan Cranston plays an amazing character halfway between Walter White and Hal from Malcolm in the Middle.

10. Pulp Fiction: This modern classic from Quentin Tarantino draws me in every time I watch the film. It is such a triumph of non-linear storytelling and completely captures the vibe of the time in which it's set. The characters are part of popular culture and is insanely quotable. I think that without this film, people would not be impersonating Christopher Walken or his infamous watch speech.

These are my top ten films and my thoughts on them. Hopefully you can see from my list, how I look at movies I watch today. I might start doing more lists like this in the future.

Classic Movie Review: Thursday (1998)

Thursday came in a post-Pulp Fiction era. What may seem like a movie that is just a Tarantino rip-off is actually a lot more ambitious.

Save for an opening scene, the entire film does indeed take place on a Thursday. Drug dealer-turned-architect Casey (Thomas Jane) is trying to adjust to suburban life, when Nick (Aaron Eckhart), Casey's old partner, shows up on his doorstep. Throughout the course of the day, we find out that Nick has stolen a large amount of money and drugs from various people and is tying up loose ends. Meanwhile, Casey is in his house trying to deal with all the people who are after Nick.

The idea of having this film be set during one-day is a really cool idea for a low-budget crime drama. It adds a tension to the film because you can tell that the day is drawing to a close toward the end of the film.

Thomas Jane has always been an enigma to me. He is a critically-acclaimed actor, known for his dramatic roles, yet he is never afraid to poke fun at himself or bow down to fans, as we saw with his short film Dirty Laundry (where he reprised the role of the Punisher). He is really believable as a guy who left his old life behind him and just doesn't want to get dragged back into that world.

I've only ever been a fan of Aaron Eckhart when he's been in lower budget or independent films (Meet Bill, Thank You for Smoking), so he didn't disappoint me in this film. You don't see much of his character, but when you do, you want to know more about this homicidal maniac.

Verdict: A really cool crime movie, where it is more about the consequences of living a life of crime and how you can never really leave. A must watch for anyone who is starting of in the industry and wants to see how a good story can be told with not that much.

This Is The End

I'm going to come straight out and say that this is probably one of the funniest movies I've seen this year. I was going into it thinking that the reunions of Freaks and Geeks and Superbad had joined for a massive after party, but I was wrong.

Jay (Jay Baruchel) is visiting Seth (Seth Rogen) from Canada. After a day of playing video games and smoking weed, Seth suggests that they go to a party that James (James Franco) is putting on. At the party, Jay becomes gradually disconnected with the partygoers and leaves to buy cigarettes. He is joined by Seth. At the shop that they go to, people at the shop are sucked up by blue beams of light. This is the beginning of the apocalypse foretold in the Bible. What follows is the rest of the predictions made in the Bible.

The rest of the group who survive the initial trouble include Craig (Craig Robinson), Jonah (Jonah Hill) and Danny (Danny McBride). This group all have an amazing chemistry and even though I know that they were all playing fictionalised versions of themselves, it was really hard to tell where the characters and real people separated. There are also an huge number of cameos, including a hilarious scene with Channing Tatum and the Backstreet Boys performing their seminal classic (Backstreet's Back, in case you need a reminder).

I was also surprised by the special effects in this movie. There seems to be a large amount of practical effects, instead of the usual reliance on CGI. I was especially impressed with the hell beasts that are featured toward the end. They are all clay stop motion figures that were inserted into the film. Very cool.

Verdict: One of the funniest movies I've seen in a long long time. The only thing that might usurp this title is the upcoming comedy The Way Way Back. One quick reminder that it probably is one of the grossest gross-out comedies in a while, but it has a strangely uplifting message.

The Heat

Much in the style of the buddy cop movies of the late 70s and early 80s, The Heat offers a refreshing and interesting look at the genre albeit in a hilarious gender reversal.

Special Agent Sarah Ashburn (Sandra Bullock) is a super successful member of the New York office of the FBI. When an opening for a senior level position is opened, she naturally goes for it. Her boss, Hale (Demian Bichir) will give her the position if she goes to Boston to solve a set of grisly murders in the criminal underworld, all involved in the drug trade. There, she teams up with local detective Shannon Mullins (Melissa McCarthy), a tough cop who has her own style of cleaning up the streets.

This film really works and is really funny. Good buddy cop movies are really hard to pull off (Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot, anyone), but Paul Feig has a comic sensibility that is perfect and I really feel as though he has found a muse in McCarthy (Bridesmaids).

Sandra Bullock has never really appealed to me as a comedienne (although I know she can make fun of herself, having personally received the Golden Raspberry for All About Steve), but she can really hold her own and has a great chemistry with McCarthy.

McCarthy is just hilarious playing this tough cop who will do anything to bring down the bad guys, including playing Russian roulette with a man's balls. Her tough exterior is brought down in her relationship with her drug dealing brother, whom she wants to rehabilitate. The rest of her family is a fantastic caricature of a Boston family unit, complete with everyone dropping their r's.

There is also a ton of great cameos from a range of comedic actors, including Tony Hale (Arrested Development), Kaitlin Olson (It's Always Sunny) and Thomas F. Wilson (Freaks and Geeks, Back to the Future).

Verdict: A hilarious twist on the buddy cop genre with plenty of laughs, but also has a sensitive side to it.

The Lone Ranger

When I first heard that they were making a new film version of the 80 year old character, I was a little dismayed and saw it as a cash grab by Jerry Bruckheimer to make a new franchise to replace the diminishing Pirates of the Caribbean. How wrong I was.

This film deals with the creation of the outlaw (Armie Hammer) and his first adventure with Tonto (Johnny Depp) to take down a corrupt railroad tycoon (Tom Wilkinson) and his criminal henchman (William Fichtner), whose scheme is to steal a large amount of silver and retire to San Francisco.

This movie is actually a lot of fun. All of the elements that go in to make a Lone Ranger adventure are there, including the William Tell Overture, Tonto's broken English and lots of action.

This is the first time I've enjoyed Johnny Depp in a film for a long time. Jack Sparrow began to wear on me after a while and no one can play Willy Wonka like Gene Wilder. But in this, his eccentricities went a long way and in fact I sensed a little Raoul Duke from Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. He brings a levity to a film that has a very bleak premise in an unforgiving land.

Of course, I can't talk about a Lone Ranger film without talking about the man that played him. Armie Hammer (who we know from The Social Network) does a great job bringing such a revered character to life. He has a great chemistry with Depp and I feel as though this is the point that his star will rise from, rather than the past films he has worked on.

There is only one problem I found with the film and that is the extreme violence that is juxtaposed with lighthearted and funny moments. I know that this film is marketed to kids, but most westerns are quite bleak and dark at times. It doesn't really take away from the film, but it does make it a bit of a roller-coaster to watch.

Verdict: A genuinely good effort at reinvigorating a story that has been part of the public consciousness for almost 100 years.

Pacific Rim

Is your giant monster making too much noise all the time? Is you giant monster constantly stomping around, driving you crazy? Is your giant monster clawing at your buildings? Think there's no answer? You're so stupid, there is! Giant robots! Is your giant monster fat, skinny or an in between? That's okay because one size fits all.

In the near future, a portal to another dimension is opened in the deepest part of the Pacific Ocean and from it come massive monsters called kaiju (Japanese for monster). Mankind quickly develops a defence in the form of jaegers (German for warrior), giant robots that are piloted by two people who share a neural link with the onboard computer. Although initially successful, the program begins to fail and in an all out effort to destroy the portal, mankind decides to drop a nuclear weapon into it.

The action is visually impressive. Although Guillermo Del Toro usually uses practical effects, he instead opted for CGI as this film is on such a huge scale. The fights between the jaegers and kaiju look really cool and this film is a definite homage to the early Godzilla flicks, mainly Godzilla vs MechaGodzilla (one of the best in the series).

Del Toro is also renowned for creating rich and diverse worlds, especially in both Hellboy and Pan's Labyrinth. It is enjoyable to see kaiju body parts being sold on the black market and that whole area of the underworld seems to be a trademark of his.

Most of the cast is pretty ordinary, but the saving grace of the film is Charlie Day (It's Always Sunny). I know I seem to go on about him a lot, but he genuinely is a fantastic actor. He plays a doctor researching the kaiju and he has a manic enthusiasm about the monsters. It got to one stage in the film where I was just waiting for the next scene with him in it.

Overall, the story is pretty predictable and the films two hour run time was a bit too long for me. There is a lengthy introduction to world in which the characters live, which was cool, but once the plot started proper, the film went downhill fast.

Verdict: I feel as though Del Toro has let down his fanbase with this film. I am used to seeing more ambitious smaller films from him and felt as though this film was too big for him to grasp. The majority of my points go to his use of Charlie Day.

Only God Forgives

If you were expecting Only God Forgives to be anything like Nicolas Winding Refn's last film Drive, you'd be sorely mistaken. The only connection between the two is Ryan Gosling and he is nothing like the Driver in this film. In the pre-screening interview, Refn said that this film is like being on an acid trip and not the kind where you go to party and dance it off, the kind of trip that you think you're a part of the furniture.

At it's core this film is all about revenge. Julian (Ryan Gosling), is the owner of a Bangkok boxing club. His brother has just been killed for murdering a sixteen-year-old prostitute and his mother, Crystal (Kristin Scott Thomas) has come to kill the man responsible. That man is Lt. Chang (Vithaya Pansringarm). Crystal and Julian endeavour to take down this powerful police chief.

This movie is ultra-violent. When they spoke about A Clockwork Orange being a detriment to cinema audiences back in 1971, those critics would have no idea about how violent cinema would become in the years that followed. Although, the violence in this film is justified and reasons are given for it.

The cast is incredible in this movie, especially the performances from Thomas and Pansringarm. Kristin Scott Thomas is just unbelievably evil and openly speaks of the distaste she has for her son Julian to every person she encounters. She lets on that her relationship with her first son, Billy (Tom Burke) was a lot closer than a mother and son should have. She is a bit of a combination of Lady MacBeth and Jocasta (from the Greek tragedy Oedipus).

Pansringarm is brutal as Lt. Chang. His character reminded me somewhat of Gene Hackman in Unforgiven, the law officer who wants to do the right thing in the wrong way, except Chang goes about this in incredibly violent ways. Thai culture is really infused into his character, as every time he completes a violent act, he goes to a karaoke bar and sings a Thai folk song.

Gosling plays more of minor character. Yes, he is sort of the main character but he moves the plot along and is a quiet rage machine. Julian has a lot of anger toward everyone in the film as he is in a sort of self-imposed exile. The only other cast member worth mentioning is Ratha Phongam. She is quite a well known Thai actress and I believe that this is her first English language film. Phongam plays Mai, a prostitute who has caught the attention of Julian. She is very beautiful and has amazing talent as an actress.

Verdict: I like this film no matter how much of an acid trip it is, but it's a film that has divided everyone who has seen it. Feel free to tell me on Facebook or Twitter how wrong or right I am, as I know it has already sparked debate with filmmakers and critics alike. It was booed at Cannes but also received a standing ovation in the same screening.