Review of 2012

Happy new year people! Shall we start the year with my review of the last one? 2012, what a year it was! My top ten films list may just be the hardest I have had to compile! Other lists include my top 5 TV shows of the year and my top 3 albums of the year. So please take a look at my post and I hope you enjoy my review of an outstanding year of film! Starting with my top ten films of 2012:

10. Liberal Arts

Funny, charming and very sweet. One of the films I saw at Sundance London and it sure did leave an impression. Check out my review of this film and the festival here: Sundance London

9. Dredd 3D

The biggest surprise of the year. I saw this film just to pass away time one day whilst waiting for my phone to be repaired. I went in with low expectations but came out very happy! It was super cool and featured some of the best 3D I have seen. Read my full review here: Dredd 3D

8. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

I didn't realise how much I missed Middle Earth until I saw the first part of The Hobbit earlier last month. A very good film but unfortunately the higher frame rate let it down a bit, making it only 8th in my top 10. I wonder if the second part will make into my list for 2013? Read my full review here: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

7. Looper

The most original sci-fi film of the year! Featuring some excellent performances and a very smart storyline that changed the way I felt about each character all the time. An example of brilliant film making. Read my full review here: Looper

6. The Hunger Games

Being a massive fan of the book, I was extremely happy at how faithful the adaption was on the big screen. An excellent approach to a film that could have been a disaster. A standout performance from Jennifer Lawrence and top notch direction from Gary Ross. Although I am worried for the sequels, at least this film was awesome! Read my full review here: The Hunger Games

5. Skyfall

The best Bond film yet! An excellent way to celebrate 007's 50th anniversary! I couldn't have asked for anything more from Skyfall! Read my full review here: Skyfall

4. Your Sister's Sister

The first of two films starring Mark Duplass in my top 10 list. The guy sure knows how to play lovable losers. I am a sucker for new takes on the romance genre and this film is one of them. A great film with some great performances from all 3 leads. If you haven't seen it, check it out!

3. The Dark Knight Rises

Not as good as The Dark Knight, but Christopher Nolans final Batman film was nothing less then spectacular! A great finale to one of the best trilogies we have seen. I feel sorry for whoever has to take on the next Batman film. Read my full review here: The Dark Knight Rises

2. Safety Not Guaranteed

Mark Duplass's second film in my list and second on my list! Another film I saw at Sundance London and what a treat it was! An awesome and heartfelt film that every time I've watched it has never failed to put a smile on my face. A well deserved second place! Read my review of the film and the festival here: Sundance London

1. The Avengers

The ultimate superhero film! Never before have I been so happy and excited in the cinema and the feeling has not declined every time I have seen it! The ultimate geek feast for your eyes! I could not have wished for anything more. The best film of the year and one of my favourites ever! Read my full review here: The Avengers

Some of you may be surprised to see that The Amazing Spider-Man did not make the list considering I am a giant fan of the character. Although I did not think it was a terrible film, I was however disappointed with it. A good film, but not the best of the year. There were loads of films that could have made the top 10 in 2012. It was such a good year for films and lets hope 2013 can continue the trend!

2012 wasn't just a good year for film, it was also a great year for TV. Here are my top 5 TV shows of the year:

5. Doctor Who Series 7

Matt Smith continues his brilliant run as The Doctor. The latest season shows off why, in my opinion, he is the best man yet to play the time lord. Not every episode was amazing but the majority of them were awesome. I look forward to the second half of the season coming later this year.

4. Sherlock Series 2

The first season was good, but the second was on another level! Sherlock proved Benedict Cumberpatch and Martin Freeman were top class actors, and look where it's got them now. We're going to have to wait a little while for the third series as they are only just about to film the episodes this month. I for one can't wait!

3. Game of Thrones Season 2

Game of Thrones is Lord of the Rings but the adult version. This show brings the fantasy genre to a new level. Truly is one of the best shows on TV and it has some adorable looking dragons. Such an epic TV show!

2. The Walking Dead Season 3

After some people disliked the second season (not me), the creators really tried their hardest to make the third season much better. And their hard work really paid off. Season 3 has created some of the best TV moments I have ever seen and has even reduced me to tears in parts. The Walking Dead is something special indeed.

1. Breaking Bad Season 5

I have never been so hooked on a TV show in my life! This show is the reason that posts have been slow for the last few months on the blog! Well that and University life! Breaking Bad is like nothing I have ever seen before, the story lines are great and the characters are awesome! Such a clever and truly incredible TV series and the latest season has been no exception. I can't wait to see the final 8 episodes coming this summer. I highly recommend!

Now on to my favourite music albums of the year:

3. The Killers - Battle Born

Although it wasn't everything I had hoped for from my favourite band, it still had some great tunes!

2. Mystery Jets - Radlands

The Mystery Jets change their tune a bit in their latest album, which has a very American feel to it. Maybe because it was produced over there! Very catchy!

1. The Vaccines - Coming of Age

The Vaccines take first place for a second year in a row! Both the band's albums have been great, I hope they will only get better!

Well that concludes my review of 2012, I hope you enjoyed it just as much as I did! 

Did you enjoy 2012? Do you agree with my lists? Are you looking forward to 2013? Feel free to comment and share with me your top films of year!

Thanks for reading! Happy New Year!

The Dark Knight Rises

It's been too long. 8 years too long since Gotham has seen Batman and 10 days too long for me to see The Dark Knight Rises, but I have seen it now and yes my mind was blown. Although most of you reading this have probably seen the film, for those who haven't this review is spoiler free.

'Eight years on after the events of The Dark Knight, a new terrorist leader, Bane, overwhelms Gotham's finest, and the Dark Knight resurfaces to protect a city that has branded him an enemy.' This plot is a vague outline of the film but like all Christopher Nolan films there is much more happening then you first think. Although this is a story about Batman and Bruce Wayne, a lot of time is given to the supporting characters as their arcs have a huge impact in the end. New supporting characters to the final instalment of The Dark Knight Trilogy include Anne Hathaway as Catwoman and Joseph Gordon-Levitt as John Blake. Both proving essential to the plot and both being nothing but awesome.

A lot of people have been saying that Anne Hathaway steals the show but for me it is Joseph Gordon-Levitt who has a much larger part in the film then I first anticipated and as usual he gives an incredible performance. Anne Hathaway is still very good though. Although never referred to as Catwoman, her take on the character is the best yet, she is kick ass and gets most of the gags. All of the performances in the film were top notch as well. Christian Bale as usual gives a thrilling performance that brings Bruce Wayne's story full circle. Micheal Caine as Alfred is just perfect as is Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox and Gary Oldman as Commissioner Gordon.

Tom Hardy also plays a great villain. The Joker is out and this time Bane is in. Unlike previous villains, Bane is a physical challenge for Batman, bringing some awesome fight sequences that will make you hold your breath in agonising awe of the end result. That's the great thing about Nolan's Batman films, unlike other superhero films you don't know whether your hero will make it out of the film alive. Tom Hardy is just great and is really menacing in the role, no wonder all of Gotham is scared of him. The guy is the new Darth Vader but with a foreign accent and less breathing problems. I also had no problem with hearing the lines as was previously feared from early footage. Even Batman's voice was slightly toned down making it less laughable.

The film still has a serious tone and theme that the previous films had but this still has quite a few laughs and feels a lot more like a comic book movie then The Dark Knight did, not completely though. This still is a long way off the tone of The Avengers which makes comparing them very hard as both feel completely different. You could even argue that this wasn't even a superhero movie as we don't even see Batman for the middle section of the film, emphasising the fact that this is Bruce Wayne's story. If this wasn't a Batman film it would still be as good!

As usual, Hans Zimmer's soundtrack is spot on and really heightens emotions throughout the long film. A long film that never bores and kept me on the edge of my seat throughout. Although it was 10 minutes longer then The Dark Knight it definitely did not feel like it at all!

Being the final instalment of Christopher Nolan's trilogy the ending had to round off all the character stories he had created in the first two films and it certainly did this and more! The final act of the film for me was completely perfect and gave me goosebumps throughout and even a few tears to my eyes. An ending that was more then I could have hoped for as a farewell to a Batman that will go down in cinema history. It lives up to its hype and is one of the best films of the year so far. To me The Dark Knight is a fraction better but never the less The Dark Knight Rises is definitely a 5/5.

Thanks for reading!

P.S I am happy to announce that my blog in now a member of LAMB, The Large Association of Movie Blogs. I would like to say thank you to LAMB for accepting me and thank you to all those who are now reading this after being directed from the site, I hope you carry on reading all my posts to come!

Arising The Dark Knight

Most of the world is anticipating the release of The Dark Knight Rises this coming week and hopefully all expectations will be met! Those expectations are high though, especially after the masterpiece which was The Dark Knight, argued to be one of the best superhero movies ever made! The universe Christopher Nolan has created for Batman is a million miles away from other incredible films in the genre such as The Avengers. Batman deserves a decent send off and if anybody is going to do this threequel justice it is the same man that brought him into this new world. The man who hasn't made a bad film yet! In this post I am going back to the first two films and finding out what made them great and what will make the third greater. In Nolan we trust.

Batman Begins
I remember enjoying this film when I first watched it but because of the other colourful and campy superhero films out at the time it never stuck in my mind the way it does now. Maybe it was because I was younger and now that I am a bigger film fan I realise how awesome this movie is! Rewatching this makes me realise how special this version of the Batman is. Nolan takes the character who's previous incarnations had a wide range of being hit or miss. Best we forget nipple suited George Clooney, no matter how much I love that man!

Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne was brilliant choice as he really throws himself into the role, as is expected from the method actor who bulked up to play the role. Other great casting includes Michael Caine, Liam Neeson and Cillian Murphy.

The great thing about this film was that it took Batman and brought him into a Gotham that was believable, even the Batmobile was created in real life and was originally being designed for the armed forces.

The scarecrow was a great villain and kept with the theme of fear and coming to terms with it. It is not a perfect film but not all origin stories are. It does take ages for Bruce to don the cape and cowl! Action is solid and most of the acting is too. A great film but unlike the next it is not perfect.

The Dark Knight
Now my first viewing of this film was completely different to how I viewed Batman Begins. The Dark Knight blew me away. I didn't know what to expect from this film but after the first viewing I couldn't wait to watch it all over again! The story, acting and film making is just spot on. This is one of my favourite films ever, I cannot describe how much I love it! I may not be as big a fan of the character of Batman as I am of Spider-Man but this film was just full on awesome!

Heath Ledger's performance is just incredible, his version of the Joker is now one of cinemas greatest and one of the best cinematic villains ever. Everything about this film is perfect, the only thing that is a bit off is Batman's voice which seems a bit over the top but will hopefully be toned down for the threequel.

Incredible.

The Dark Knight Rises

Well the wait is almost over. The final instalment in the Dark Knight Trilogy. This could be the highlight of Christopher Nolan's career and hopefully will be his best film yet! I trust Nolan even if I was bit iffy with his decision to include Catwoman in the mix. I'm confident Anne Hathaway will do an excellent job though. This time the villain is Bane played by Tom Hardy who is a brilliant actor and I can't wait to see what he does. A flying vehicle called the Bat has also been included and this promises to bring some exciting new action sequences. Trailers look awesome and the 13 minute featurette just blew me away. I love Nolan's work on using old school techniques in modern day blockbusters.

Unfortunately I won't be seeing this until I get back from my holiday late July. Which means my review may not be up until August. I am sure it will be worth waiting for!

So amped for this, best film of the year/ever? I blooming hope so! I wasn't looking forward to this as much as I am now at the start of the year as I was worried as to whether Nolan could pull it off or not, but... In Nolan we trust.

Although on holiday I do have a post ready to be released whilst I am away which contains reviews of two brilliant comedies, God Bless America and 21 Jump Street. So please keep an eye out for that on the 24th of July!

Thanks for reading!

Some Films You Should Watch!

So I'm back from my holiday now and I thought I would give you some reviews on the films I have watched over the short period. Overall the class of films I watched was surprisingly high and some even stayed with me for days with their superb story lines. Here are the films I watched and a brief review of each:

The Ides Of March
The first film I watched on my holiday and one of the best also. I heard mixed reviews of this film but was pleasantly surprised by the talent on and off screen. This is the first film I have watched that has been directed by George Clooney and I was taken away by his style. On screen the acting was incredible from the ever brilliant Ryan Gosling and side roles from acting greats like Paul Giamatti and Phillip Seymour Hoffman. Overall a great political thriller that isn't afraid to show the dark side of American politics, a must see for anyone interested in the topic.

Bronson
After watching Drive I had to watch the previous film from director Nicolas Winding Refn. Like his latest film it was great! Tom Hardy plays Michael Peterson who is a criminal who becomes famous for starting fights within prison as his stage name Charles Bronson. This film really shows off Tom Hardy's acting talent and you can see why he was picked to play Bane in The Dark Knight Rises. The film was surprisingly funny and had great style. The second half of the film is personally not as great as the first but still manages to entertain on all levels!

Kill List
This film was loved by the critics and I was wondering why by the end of the first act. Thankfully it picks up a becomes a great, but possibly not as good as the critics have hyped it up to be. In the end though it was a great film. Who doesn't want to see hit men kicking the crap out of paedophiles! The end was great but a bit confusing and I would have liked it if they explained it a bit more. Though still a good film that was surprisingly scary in places!

Son Of Rambo
A nice Brit film that looked at two children making a Rambo film together. For a childrens film the morals were a bit over the place and the plot was slightly confusing. A lot of the sub plots could have been taken out but overall the film was good. It had a nice style and is great for fans of the Rambo films.

Unknown
If you like cheesy action thrillers then this is the film for you! Watched this with the family and they were all happy with the outcome of the film, if not a little confused to the mind bending storyline, which goes like this; A man awakens from a coma, only to discover that someone has taken on his identity and that no one, (not even his wife), believes him. With the help of a young woman, he sets out to prove who he is. The ending I guess is ok but the morals of Liam Neesons character seem all over the place. The film trys a little too hard be the next Taken yet fails but still an enjoyable film.

Perfect Sense
This film has also had mixed reviews from critics and I watched it thinking I wasn't going to like it but I finished with my opinion the complete opposite. I loved it! The plot goes like this; A chef and a scientist fall in love as an epidemic begins to rob people of their sensory perceptions. The film is beautifully shot though there are a few bumpy camera moments, you will know them when you see them. Ewan McGregor and Eva Green act really well together although I am confused with Eva Green's accent, what accent was it? Their relationship is portrayed brilliantly throughout the epidemic even if they are naked half the time! the end of the film really hit me hard emotionally and the result had me thinking for days!

The Truman Show
I saw this film a couple years ago and loved it! The second time I loved it also. Introduced it to my brother over the holiday and he also loved it! A great film that is scarily close to what could happen in the future in regard to reality television. A one to watch if you are a media student or just someone who enjoys good thought provoking movies. Even though it is 14 years old it still stands today, possibly even more so then it did back in its day. A great film for the family also, everyone loves a bit of Jim Carrey!

Fish Tank
The final film I watched and another great! The acting and directing style was superb. The plot goes like this; Everything changes for 15-year-old Mia when her mum brings home a new boyfriend. The film is quite hard hitting and you should be warned this isn't a nice film to watch with your parents. Hard hitting and edgy but overall a very good film. Another great performance from Michael Fassbender who is proving to be a force to be reckoned with in Hollywood.

Everybody would gives these films watch as they are all great. The filming for my short film Snow Dream also took place over the holiday. I got some good footage but not as much as I would have liked due to weather conditions but I will be editing it together soon and will post it online as soon as i have finished.

I have finally hit over 1000 views on this blog so I would like to thank everyone for reading it! More posts will be coming soon!

Thanks for reading!

It's Like Fast & Furious But Good!

I am of course talking about the sensation which is Drive. Drive is one of those word of mouth films which critics and the public have both loved, Total Film named it their film of 2011. So obviously I thought that I must check this film out! And after a long wait I finally got round to seeing it and I was amazed!

I do not always agree with the critics but on this occasion I do! Drive is one of those films which is incredibly cool and no matter what situation the main character is in you want to be him! The main character is played by Ryan Gosling who is personally one of the best actors around at the moment. And his performance as the driver is one of his best. And he was brilliantly partnered with actress Carey Mulligan who is also at the top of her game at the moment!

The plot goes like this; A Hollywood stunt performer who moonlights as a wheelman discovers that a contract has been put on him after a heist gone wrong.

That sounds familiar, almost like the plot of Fast & Furious movie. If you sit down expecting one of those monstrosities of a film you will be deeply disappointed. This is a driving movie for film buffs. It takes its style from films of the 1970's and 80's. The soundtrack is uber-cool and will send shivers down your spine whilst you watch the masterpiece.

It is quite violent in places and sometimes you have to watch through your fingers. It seems 2011 was the year of the hammer for movie deaths as it was used once again in this film. I think I am actually starting to develop a phobia of hammers after the amount of pain I have seen them inflict on the big screen! Thor, Kill List and now Drive when will hammers be banned!

But I haven't talked about the cars yet which are obviously a big part of the film. The cars are super cool and the chases in which they are involved are too cool to handle. The opening sequence is one of the best getaway car chases I think I have ever seen!

I have never seen a film by Nicolas Winding Refn but after watching this I will definitely see more! I hear Bronson is a good film and I need to catch up on Tom Hardy's films before I see him in The Dark Knight Rises!

The film is superb and I just can't get enough of Ryan Gosling at the moment! I'm off to see War Horse at the weekend so I will post a review of that on the blog soon!

Would You Like The Good News Or The Bad New First?

I'm sorry I haven't blogged in a while, I have had a lot of work to do recently, not that you guys care anyway I'm sure. But my hasn't there been a lot of news recently!

Good News
. The Dark Knight Rises prologue is supposed to be amazing!
. Posters for the new Batman and Spider-Man films have come out and also look amazing!
. Hugo is also supposed to be amazing! (need to see it soooooo badly!)
. First reviews of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo say it is mind blowing stuff!

Bad News
. American Psycho is being remade!?!?!?!?!
. So is Starship Troopers!
. Zac Efron looks like a terrible soldier in that new yucky romance film coming out next year.
. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is going to be an 18 so I am going to have to wait a month till I can see it!
. Battleship looks just as crap as expected, don't check out the awful trailer! (though the effects look ok)

So here are the two posters for two of the most anticipated movies next year. And no they were not produced by the same company! Even though it does look that way. a lot of people have been whining saying the Spider-Man is copying Batman's advertising but it did come out a day earlier and personally I prefer it as I am a bigger fan of the character and it was an unexpected twist in advertising. I suspected The Dark Knight Rises poster might have looked like that. Though don't check out the banners for The Amazing Spider-Man as they kind of make the advertising team look like they don't know what kind of film they are tyring to sell. Both awesome and both very hard decisions as to which one will be my iPod background?

Heres for the worst new I've heard in a while! AMERICAN PSYCHO IS BEING REMADE!?!?! WHY????? The first film was awesome and has massive cult following and nobody can play Bateman like Bale did! Not happy at all, i could go on forever but I told myself to keep this short.

Thanks for reading guys! Follow me on Twitter if you haven't already and follow my blog!

Love to all those who have read!

Superhero Leaks!

So the last couple of a days have been full of supposed 'leaks' of superhero films; The Amazing Spider-man & The Dark Knight Rises. I will start by saying that I am looking forward to these films so much and have been enjoying reading all the gossip around them. And there has been a lot of pictures and supposed details leaked from the new batman film which is strange for director Chris Nolan to allow this to happen, Because usually he is quite strict on what is revealed as he likes the audience to watch his films without knowing a thing. But I reckon its all part of his plan. In Nolan we trust!

So we know the villain for the new Spider-man reboot film is going to be The Lizard, but until recently the look for the creature has been kept under wraps. Until it was revealed via PEZ Dispenser!

So yes this isn't really a great look but I believe there was a lot of hate for the look? It's a PEZ dispenser guys!? Personally I think it looks pretty awesome! So the next day, there was another supposed 'leak' of concept art of the comic book villain. I say supposed because I believe that Sony were probably pretty mad a PEZ for releasing the image before they had given the fans something better to look at, and due to the bad press it was getting they probably 'accidently' released the concept art to help calm fan boys down.

So more positive reaction to this but again had fans divided. I again personally think it looks amazing and just what I was hoping for, but could do with more of a snout. BUT again this is just concept art, so who knows what could happen. Hopefully an official movie image will be released soon or 'leaked' but until then we'll just have to assume it will be awesome. I definitely recommend watching some of Andrew Garfield previous films, he really is a great actor and will fit into the part of Peter Parker well!

So on to The Dark Knight Rises, a synopsis has been released of the prologue, which will have a look at the new villain Bane. Here is the synopsis: (SPOILERS)

"Bane and his mercenaries hijack a military plane transporting a dictator of a country which is in unrest (think Saddam Hussein type figure).

'He successfully kills the leader, but makes some mistakes along the way and is unable to safely land the plane.

'Because of the resulting injuries from the accident, he has to undergo complicated surgeries and that is how he winds up with that scar down his neck and the need for the mask to numb the pain.'

The source goes on to describe Bane's origin story as reimagined by Nolan.

"'He is raised by Ra’s al Ghul [Bruce Wayne's old mentor] and his up bringing mirrors that of Bruce Wayne.

'It’s a mirror of Bruce, except it’s darker and twisted. Bane is trained to be an assassin for the League of Shadows.

'He kills political figures that are deemed unfit by the LOS. So he is a bit of a Che Guevara/ Jason Bourne type character.'

 

So yeah, sounds pretty awesome! I don't know whether it will be as good as Heath Ledgers prologue as The Joker but only time will tell as it will soon hit 5 IMAX cinemas in the UK before the start of Mission Impossible 4. So if your lucky enough to see it at one of the 5 I'm sure you'll love it but for the rest of us I guess we'll just have to wait until its 'leaked' online!

 

Thanks for reading! If you like my blog please recommend to friends as it would be good to get some readers! Please comment and follow me on twitter @SuperAlexMan .