30 July 2015

Inside Out Review (Contains Spoilers)

In the past few years, Pixar haven't been as on form as they usually are. They went from producing classic after classic with films like WALL-E, Up, The Incredibles, Finding Nemo, Monsters Inc and the Toy Story Trilogy to deeply flawed films like Brave and the disaster that was Cars 2. When I heard about Inside Out though, I and most other people, believed it would signal a return to form for Pixar, especially with it being the first Pixar film for Pete Doctor since Up, and I'm pleased to say that this is the case. Even amongst the high standards of Pixar, Inside Out is one of their best.

21 July 2015

Ant-Man Review

Out of all of the Marvel films, the one I've been the most cautious about has been Ant-Man. Originally, it was one of the ones I was most excited for due to Edgar Wright directing the film and writing it with Attack the Block writer/director Joe Cornish but when they left, I became really worried, especially since it was so close to when filming was due to start. I thought that the creative difficulties so close would mean that replacement director Peyton Reed and new co-writers Adam McKay and Paul Rudd had no chance in creating a good film. However, I have been proven wrong. Even though I would have loved to have seen Edgar Wright's vision for the film, the finished product is still an entertaining film and a worthy addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

19 July 2015

Slow West Review

One film genre that hasn't really seen that much love in the past few years has been the Western. Sure there have been some but none of them have really been attention grabbing and none of them have seen much acclaim (although I could be wrong). The last Western that I saw with high levels of acclaim was the Coen Brother's True Grit and it's here that Slow West comes in. This is easily the best Western I've seen since True Grit, and is a film which clearly owes a debt to the Coen Brothers.

14 July 2015

Minions Review

The Despicable Me series is one that I've had mixed feelings on. I didn't watch the first film because it wasn't really my cup of tea and I found Despicable Me 2 to be just an average family film, no more, no less. The only thing that really stood out to me were the Minions, who were the best thing in Despicable Me 2. The success of the Minions in permeating pop culture meant that a spin-off focused on them was inevitable, but with this there was the risk of over-exposure which could make the film irritating after a while. Thankfully, that isn't the case. I don't think there's been a film this year that I've laughed at more so far than Minions.

2 July 2015

Mr Holmes Review

Over the past few years, there has been an influx of Sherlock Holmes related media. From the Robert Downey Jr films to Elementary to the obvious best example of them, Sherlock. Hell, even The Asylum did their own version (which is hilarious). One thing all of them have done though is look at Holmes in his prime, when he was in his 20s/30s. This is what makes Mr Holmes stand out, the focus here is on a Holmes way past his prime and losing his memory. This focus, along with a brilliant performance by Ian McKellen, makes this one of the better versions of Holmes to come out in recent years.