Double Bill - Pacific Rim: Uprising / Ready Player One

I had a day off by myself the other day so I decided to indulge and watch a double bill of two films I really wanted to see; Pacific Rim: Uprising and Ready Player One. A pretty good pairing as both are sci-fi action films and both were perceived to fail in the run up to their release. They are however, pretty good, find out what I thought about both films below.

Pacific Rim: Uprising

I am a big fan of the first Pacific Rim but unfortunately not many people went to see it in the cinemas; so, when a sequel was announced there was no doubt that it was going to go through some changes. The changes ripped away the grittiness of the lived-in world of the original, making way for a brighter and more colourful setting. The clunky Jaegers have been replaced with newer and more agile versions and the main characters have been replaced with a younger cast, although more in tune with the premise’s anime roots. Despite these rather large changes to the aesthetic of the film, it’s still very enjoyable and although not as good as the first - still a worth sequel. It doubles down on the stupidity of the original and really has a lot of fun with it. There are elements that don’t work, dialogue is not this film’s strongest suit and some of the new characters are unfortunately treated more like objects or are a bit bland. Don’t worry however, John Boyega is the charming glue that keeps this film together. Any problems this film has mostly get forgotten in the great spectacle, something that Pacific Rim still does very well.

3.5/5

Ready Player One

Like many I was worried about Spielberg’s adaption of Ready Player One. The first trailer looked more style over substance with an overload of references to make pop culture fans go “I know that!”. Had the master lost his touch? No and I feel very stupid right now for ever thinking so. The book is not the most loved novel in the world - I haven’t read it but I have heard that Spielberg has been able to take the elements that work and master a greater more resonant story out of it. The world itself is great; not too unbelievable to what could happen as we see video games and virtual reality taking massive steps everyday towards something extraordinary. The film is mainly set in the video game world known as ‘Oasis’; this means the film is pretty much 80% animated and it looks awesome. With it being a video game, the animation does not have to be photo realistic and allows for a lot of creativity within setting and action. And yes, this is also where the pop culture characters are thrown about together on screen as players online avatars. Although reference heavy, it does not take away from the breath-taking action and true heart of the storyline. It’s unlike anything I have ever seen before and really captured the spirit of what it is like to be a ‘gamer’. I also saw it in 3D - one of the first films I’ve seen in this format since Gravity and I must say it really heightened the experience; creating great contrast between the live action and animated scenes. Spielberg has still got it. Go and see this film.

4.5.5

What did you think of these films? Love them, hate them? Let me know in the comments below.

Thanks for reading!

SDCC 2013 Thoughts #1

So as the 2013 San Diego Comic Con kicked off today I thought I would post my thoughts and opinions on some of the news that comes out of the event. Now unfortunately I am not at the event but like most of the Internet, I am still having a lot of fun at home sitting patiently for the next big piece of news from Comic Con. So this is the first of what could be many SDCC posts over the weekend.

So to kick things off, here is the teaser for The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Hall H panel, which also happens to reveal Jamie Foxx's villain Electro.

Now although it isn't much, it's still enough to create some hype for Spider-Man sequel. Now although I was a bit disappointed with last years film, I am hoping that The Amazing Spider-Man 2 could be Spidey's best outing yet. Now I don't want to get my hopes to high but how cool does Electro look! Now we should be getting a full teaser trailer for the film in the next couple of days but for now this will do to wet fanboys appetites. I am still hoping that they change the title to something more original but unfortunately it looks like the only new addition is the number 2 at the end.

The second thing on this list is the reveal of the Comic Con poster for the remake of Godzilla.

This poster really shows off the epic scale of Godzilla and looks very cool! With Monsters director Gareth Edwards at the helm, this film promises to be one of the biggest of 2013, literally! There have also been other reveals of Godzilla that tease at a more faithful design to the Japanese original film. Again we should be seeing a teaser trailer for this one in the next couple of days! After seeing Pacific Rim the other day I cannot wait to see more giant monsters on the big screen!

Thanks for reading and keeping coming back for more of my thoughts on the latest news from Comic Con!

Double Monster Movie Reviews!

So yesterday I had the privilege of watching two of the most recent monster movie releases one after the other; Pacific Rim and Monsters University. So I thought I would review both of them in one big monster blog post. So please read on and I hope you enjoy my reviews.

Pacific Rim

Pacific Rim only recently caught my interest as film to go see in the cinema. When the first trailer came out I wasn't all too impressed but with the latest trailers and featurettes I decided this was something I really wanted to see, after all who doesn't want to see giant robots fighting giant monsters? Ok so maybe if you're a 12 year old boy this film is going to appeal to you more than the general movie-going audience. But let me just say this, whoever you are, go watch this film on the biggest screen and go watch it in 3D, because it is an experience! This film is director Guillermo Del Toro's tribute to the anime and manga genre, the film follows a war between mankind and species of monsters who make their way through a portal at the bottom of the pacific ocean. Mankind's defences are bunch of giant robots called Jaegers, piloted by two people whose brains are connected through something called the drift. Cue a lot of incredible action, cheesy dialogue and a bunch of fun. Story wise Pacific Rim is very cliche and it's characters are very stereotyped, so much so that film is on the verge of becoming a parody of itself. The story is still a lot of fun but its the action and effects that will blow your mind, making this one of the coolest  movies of 2013. The acting is ok and carries the film enough until the next big action sequence but none of these actors are going to win Oscars for their performances. Idris Elba is the only guy who stands out to me but maybe thats because i'm loving the guy in Luther at the moment, just get ready for a lot of 'Today we will cancel the Apartheid!' jokes when Elba plays Nelson Mandela in A Long Walk to Freedom later this year. Like I said at the start, watch this film in 3D, it's one of those films where the extra dimension really adds to the awesomeness of the film. For all this film's flaws, it is still really cool and as much fun as you can have in the cinema, I for one know this will not be the last time I see Pacific Rim, therefore I am giving it a rating of 3.5/5. This film is very cool and kicks a lot of ass, so please go see it instead of Grown Ups 2 this summer!

Monsters University

I want to start this review by saying Monsters Inc. is one of my favourite Pixar films, when I first saw it i fell in love with the characters of Mike and Sulley, so i was excited to see them return in the prequel, especially as the story was looking at their university lives, a stage of my life that I am in right now. We get to see in Monsters University where and how the friendship between the two characters started, bringing back a lot of nostalgia jokes, back story and more importantly and fun. I did have one problem with Pixar making the prequel, how were they going to make this exciting when we already know the outcome of the film? Well thankfully I was not to worry as Pixar are the masters of storytelling, adding in a lot of twists and turns that make Mike and Sulley's road to the top of Monsters Incorporated a rocky and unknowing one. Like last years Brave, Pixar didn't give away everything in the trailer! Now this wasn't to same standard as Monsters Inc. but it was still a lot of fun. We may still be waiting for Pixar to bring out there next original masterpiece but at least we get to see their most beautiful looking animation yet. Animation films really have gotten a lot better in quality and Pixar still seem to be just ahead of the game, this film looks incredible! There is a lot more depth to the characters compared to previous films and you can't help but feel that the only way is up for the animation studio, pardon the pun. Pixar are the masters of storytelling and seem to be able to grab the audience no matter what the age without the use of throwaway innuendo gags like other animation films. I really enjoyed this film and it was great to see some of my favourite characters back on the big screen, it may not have been Pixar's best film to date but it sure was one of their best looking! I am giving Monsters University a rating of 4/5. The short film beforehand called The Blue Umbrella was also really good, with almost photo like quality animation, it was good to see the animators of Pixar show off their artistic talent rather then just bring out another short Toy Story spin off.

What did you think of the films? Do you agree with me? Please comment below.

Thanks for reading!