Batfleck

Unless you have been living under a rock for the last month then you've probably heard that Ben Affleck has been cast as Batman for the sequel to Man of Steel. The team up sequel film was announced last month at Comic Con and since then nearly every male actor in Hollywood has been rumoured to don the cape and cowl. Every actor apart from Affleck who came as a bit of a surprise to everyone I think. As the whole of the internet is is giving their opinions on the Batfleck I thought I would put mine across too.

Ben Affleck is a good actor and an even better director. He may have been in quite a few crappy movies but he is at the top of his game right now and could definitely pull this off. That isn't to say i'm not sceptical as when I first heard the news I found it pretty surprising and couldn't at first picture him as Batman in this new DC cinematic universe. I, like many people wanted Christian Bale to comeback but i knew deep down that this would never happen as his version of Batman couldn't stand up to Superman and I didn't really want Warner Brothers to tarnish the Nolan trilogy. Affleck is a brave choice for the studio as he was very well hated not that long ago, but now he is an oscar winning director and his most recent films that he has starred in are awesome and he does not let himself down in them. This is a great relationship for the studio and actor to have as now we could see Affleck directing possible solo Batman films and the ultimate goal from the new cinematic universe; a Justice League movie.

Daredevil was a long time ago and it was the bad script that ruined that film. Affleck has been a massive Batman and comic book fan since an early age and it seems that when you hire a fanboy you can expect good results as they truly understand the character or characters in the case of Joss Whedon. We as an audience have hated certain casting decisions before such as Heath Ledger as the Joker and Mark Ruffalo as the Hulk and look how good they turned out to be!

I am more and more liking the idea of Batfleck even though I wanted Idris Elba to be the surprise choice from Warner Brothers. Controversial I know but just think about it... Awesome, right? Anyway we're stuck with Affleck so we might as well deal with it and hope the guy blows us away as the best Batman yet. Just think about it, Henry Cavill and Ben Affleck, it truly will be the hottest film of 2015. If it sucks then we can moan but for now I say good luck Ben Affleck, tough crowd out there so you sure are going to need it!

Oh and these rumours that Bryan Cranston will be playing Lex Luthor, hell yes to that! If not just cast him Commissioner Gordon.

What do you think of Batfleck. Good or bad decision? Bitch and moan in the comments below!

Thanks for reading.

Kick Ass 2

So before we get started on this review I would just like to say that I usually try to refrain from swearing in my posts but due to one of the character names in Kick Ass 2 there will be some. You probably don't care but I thought I better mention it! Anyway onto the review of the sequel of one of my favourite films; Kick Ass.

Kick Ass was a great action comedy that summed up what I wanted my life to be like. By the end of the film I wanted to join Kick Ass and Hit-Girl and be a superhero. In the sequel it seems a lot of people wanted to also do this, however by the end of this film I did not. For me Kick Ass 2 lost something special that the first film had the ability to give me goosebumps at the more emotionally heated moments whilst punching the air with my fist at the more action packed sequences, which pardon the pun, were kick ass! Kick Ass 2 just seemed to take away the fanboy dream the first one set up and turn everything on its head. There's still a lot of fun to be had with the over the top comic book violence and sweary cast members but just not as much.

The story follows Kick Ass and Hit-Girl as they try and fail to settle in to ordinary life. Events of the previous film have a brought a new bunch of people to the streets being superheroes. However the previously named Red Mist has now reinvented himself as the world's first super villain; The Motherfucker.

Kick Ass 2 is a lot darker and some of the more comedic moments don't always pay off with the tone of the film. Like an attempted rape played for laughs or watching a girl throwing up and literally crapping her pants. There are still enough laughs to class this as a comedy but it isn't as bright and witty as its predecessor. It's unfortunate but this is the first film that Christopher Mintz-Plasse hasn't been that funny in and I found most of the scenes with The Motherfucker in just to be a bit annoying.

Jim Carrey gets to don a costume in this film, even if he has now condemned the violence in it. He plays Colonel Stripes and Stars who steals every scene he is in. However he is only in a few scenes and feels much underused. That being said I haven't read the comic book this is based on and therefore realise that film was staying true to the source material however I would have liked to have seen more of him. 

I did still enjoy this film, especially the relationship between Kick Ass and Hit-Girl as Chloe Moretz and Aaron Taylor-Johnson have excellent chemistry in this film. It really is there film and they both steal the show, apart from those few scenes with Carrey in. The action is great also though again never seemed to live up to the first film. The comic style cinematography is still there and works well making it feel like the graphic novel is coming to life.

The first half of this film is great and I really enjoyed it, the second half starts to go a bit downhill but there is still a lot of fun to be had. Kick Ass was such an unexpected gem that really stuck with me as a film, unfortunately things just don't seem to be as good in the sequel, even the soundtrack wasn't as good! Maybe the shock factor has gone or expectations have been raised but the first film for me was a 5/5 film whereas I am giving Kick Ass 2 a rating of 3/5. It wasn't a bad film it just didn't always work. 

This just hasn't been the year for superhero films with most falling below expectations. Maybe Thor: The Dark World can turn this around.

Quick Reviews #4

I was originally intending to use this post to write one big review for The World's End but I watched Mud last night and how could I not review it, especially as it was my favourite film of the year so far. So instead I have a written another 'Quick Reviews' post where I give my opinions on both the films.

The World's End 

The highly anticipated threequel to the Cornetto trilogy is a lot darker than it's predecessors. That's not to say it doesn't dish out the laughs. Whereas Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz were a lot lighter in tone, this time round Simon Pegg's character Gary is a alcoholic wreck stuck in the mindset of his younger more rebellious days while his four other friends have all grown up, he's quite a sad character really. Gary reunites his friends to finally accomplish the Golden Mile, 12 pubs, 60 pints finishing at 'The World's End'. For the first 20 minutes you start to forget that this is in fact a sci-fi film, the characters are so layered that this could have been about the fivesome without the use of an robot/alien invaded town. But this is Edgar Wright and this film would not be right if it didn't involve some kind of fantastical Hollywood element and it worked for this film and made for a lot of laughs. The humour my not be as consistent in this film as it has been in others but it is still really funny, making it one of the best comedies of the last few years. It's great to see the trio that is Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost back together making movies again because they do it so well! I really hope this isn't the last time we see the trio make a film together. The usual ensemble of actors is back with a few new faces, everyone is great in their roles however I do feel that a few minor characters such as Reece Shearsmith's were not needed and were just there for their cameo appearance. The film looks great and Wright's fast paced camera movements define is auteur style and make for some great comic action scenes, ones that should hopefully be replicated when he takes to directing Ant-Man in the next couple of years.The writing is great and the jokes are funny, something which isn't always achieved in mainstream comedy films at the moment. I wouldn't even know where to start when comparing it to the two previous films because all have been of high quality. I am giving The World's End a rating of 4/5.

Mud

I was gripped throughout the whole of Mud. Director Jeff Nichols has written a story so strong and powerful that even if the cinematography wasn't as beautiful and the actors as good as they are, this film would still be amazing. The film follows two boys as they encounter a fugitive and try to help him to evade capture or death from a set of bounty hunters and reunite him with his true love. This film is just incredible, an instant American classic. A change in pace and tone from the director's previous work with Take Shelter, which is also a great film. The two kids played by Tye Sheridan and Jacob Lofland are brilliant and hold their ground against Matthew McConaughey who is continuing his streak of great roles in this film which might be his best to date. With most of the blockbuster films this year being below expectations it's great to see something small come along and blow you away. Hands down this is the best film I have seen this year. The story reminded me of children's stories like Stig of the Dump or coming of age films but with much more mature themes such as loss of innocence and breakdown of romance. I really cannot praise this film enough, therefore I am giving Mud a rating of 5/5. Go and see it!

Thanks for reading!