Category: Media

Quentin Tarantino’s eighth film Django Unchained is quite simply off the chain if you pardon the pun!

A brutal, bloody, terrifying, hilarious and breathtaking film inspired by both the Django spaghetti western series starring Franco Nero (who makes a cameo) and Richard Fleischer’s 1975 exploitation flick Mandingo, about a slave trained to fight other slaves.

Set two years before the Civil War, the film stars Christoph Waltz as German bounty hunter Dr King Schultz, who frees Jamie Foxx’s slave character Django in return for his help in tracking down three outlaw brothers.

Along the way, Django proves to have something of a knack for bounty hunting, so he trains under Schultz and the pair become both friends and partners.

And when Django learns that his wife Broomhilda (the beautiful Kerry Washington) is a slave on a plantation belonging to sadistic owner Calvin Candie (played brilliantly by Leonardo DiCaprio), he and Schultz set out to rescue her, posing as fight experts interested in Candie’s Mandingo ring.

Just like Tarantino’s previous film Inglourious Basterds, Waltz’s Germanic delivery and measured manner steals every scene thanks to his terrific performance as Schultz that makes it so much fun to enjoy.

Equally impressive is DiCaprio, who seems to be enjoying the role of being a spiteful, pipe smoking bully. His performance is both awe-inspiring and yet terrifying. The scene at the dinner table while delivering the classic QT monologue is pure masterclass.

Making his sixth appearance in a Tarantino film is the superb Samuel L. Jackson as the head house-slave Stephen. Although it comes to a bit of a shock in how many times he says the “N” word…

To be honest, Django Unchained is not a film for the squeamish. As it features over-the-top violence including the gunfight sequence involving explosively splattering of blood.

And yet the script makes it so enjoyable to watch with great lines packed full of surprises with moments that will have you laughing out loud and gasping in shock, often simultaneously.

So a great film overall? Well, I have to admit there are some weak parts in Django Unchained and ironically this falls to Jamie Foxx.

The actor has the physical presence, that is undeniable, and as Django he certainly looks the part. Yet he never feels entirely right, as the gritty, gun-slinging hero or rather, sounds right.

Foxx is gifted with a soft, musical voice, but it jars against Django’s terse deliveries. “I like the way you die, boy,” should sound menacing and yet from Foxx, it lacks impact.

The other big problem is the running time, at 168 minutes the film is just too damn long and the middle segment drags considerably. In addition, Kerry Washington‘s part is badly underwritten (less than ten lines!), so there’s no chemistry at all between her and Foxx.

While Tarantino’s time-honoured atrocious cameo (as an Australian mining company employee) is so out of place and seriously undermines the final act of the film.

Despite these flaws, Django Unchained is a stylishly directed, superbly written and brilliantly acted spaghetti western pastiche that delivers shocks, laughs and thrills in equal measure. The soundtrack is also great too. Tarantino is back to his best!

The name’s Bond. James Bond. It has been four years since we last heard these famous words utter from the British secret agent following the news that MGM encountered finance troubles during the production of the film.

Thankfully, all of these money issues have been resolved and it is such a relief to have Daniel Craig back on the big screen playing 007.

Directed by the Oscar-winning director Sam Mendes, Skyfall is both the twenty-third James Bond film and the 50th anniversary of the series itself.

Written by John Logan, Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, Skyfall sees Commander James Bond’s loyalty to M tested as her past comes back to haunt her.

After accidentally shot and believed killed by one of MI6’s own agent Eve – played by Naomie Harris – while trying to retrieve a hard drive listing undercover agents. A jaded Bond washes up somewhere exotic and sinks into a mire of depression and drinking games involving scorpions before a terrorist attack on MI6 HQ jolts him back to life and forces him to return to London.

Sure enough, the hard drive has fallen into the hands of crazed villain Silva – the quite brilliant Javier Bardem – who is using it to orchestrate a multi-faceted revenge attack on M, causing her professional embarrassment that puts Judi Dench’s character under threat of forced retirement by her superior Mallory – played by Ralph Fiennes.

Issued with some surprisingly standard weaponry by Ben Whishaw’s Q, Bond tracks Silva to his island-based hideout, but when Silva turns the tables and stages another attack on London, Bond is forced to take M into his protection.

Once again, the performance by Daniel Craig continues to impress. Playing the character as an older, wiser and a Bond who both bleeds and bruises. He could easily be ranked, along with Sean Connery, as the best portray of Ian Fleming’s spy.

Despite the presence of two Bond girls featuring the beautiful Naomie Harris and Bérénice Marlohe, Skyfall is essentially Judi Dench’s film. The on-screen chemistry alongside 007 was first-class and it was quite touching to see their personal relationship.

And yet Javier Bardem steals the best scenes. The Spanish-speaking actor delivers a twisted and sinister performance that is a joy to watch. A complete contrast to Bérénice Marlohe, who plays the slinky Severine. Her on-screen presence was limited and it was a shame not to have more scenes with Bond.

The look and feel of Skyfall is one of the most breathtaking in terms of cinematography. Sam Mendes has that unique ability to blend some outstanding action set pieces including that chase sequence in Istanbul before the pre-credits sung by Adele, with some amusing little character moments – such as Bond straightening his cuffs after a death-defying train leap – while maintaining the surprisingly emotional tone of the script.

Skyfall definitely lives up to the hype and it is certainly better than the Quantum of Solace. The best Bond film ever? That’s debatable but in terms of thrills, Sam Mendes has directed a beautiful and thoroughly enjoyable Bond film that celebrates its history despite the reboot.

British director Christopher Nolan’s third and final Batman film is a fitting and satisfying conclusion to his Dark Knight trilogy, thanks to an engaging plot, spectacular action sequences and terrific performances from a superb cast.

After restoring credibility in Batman Begins back in 2005, followed by the tremendous box office success in 2008 thanks to The Dark Knight, the final instalment sees the return of Christian Bale (Bruce Wayne/Batman) squaring off a new foe in Gotham City: Bane (Tom Hardy).

Picking up eight years after the events of The Dark Knight, the film begins with bearded billionaire Bruce Wayne as a virtual recluse, having seemingly hung up the Batman outfit following a citywide crime clean up by Commissioner Gordon (Gary Oldman) in the wake of the death of district attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart).

However, when slinky cat burglar Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway) piques Bruce’s interest by stealing his fingerprints, he swings into action as the Caped Crusader again, much to the distress of faithful butler Alfred (Michael Caine).

Unfortunately, Batman’s problems are only just the beginning, as Selina sells his fingerprints to gas-masked terrorist Bane (Tom Hardy), who has a master plan that involves stirring up a revolution in Gotham City.

Co-written with his brother Jonathan, The Dark Knight Rises continues that gritty, darker and realistic feel set by his two previous films. With the use of IMAX cameras, Christopher Nolan utilized much more of the filming to optimize the quality of the picture, meaning some truly breathtaking sequences.

The performances from the leading cast are excellent. Christian Bale seems to have taken the Joker’s “Why so serious?” taunts seriously and has lightened up a bit in the third film, while Anne Hathaway brings some much needed humour and sex appeal into play as Selina.

Tom Hardy is just tremendous as the gas-masked terrorist so intend in destroying the social foundation of Gotham City. Bane’s voice is still an issue though, as certain dialogue made it quite difficult to understand but it was certainly an improvement over the character’s original audio in the IMAX Prologue…

Joseph Gordon-Levitt is also terrific as dogged cop Blake, who uncovers some truths of his own and whose story strand forms an important part of the film.

The superb talent of Gary Oldman, Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman are just perfect – playing the roles of Commissioner James Gordon and as Wayne’s ancillary staff of the loyal butler and president of Wayne Enterprises respectively.

And special mention goes to Marion Cotillard as Miranda Tate, a member of the Wayne Enterprises executive board who encourages a still-grieving Bruce Wayne to rejoin with society and continue his father’s philanthropic works. The twist at the end was a shock and yet her performance was first-class that you’ve never expected it!

Speaking of the story, the script is superb. Encompassing a sprawling, novel-like plot (there are references to Charles Dickens that go beyond an abundance of orphans) that ties everything together in a satisfying fashion.

In addition, Nolan directs some awesome set-pieces alongside some spectacular special effects work that looks incredible thanks to the IMAX cameras – the opening sequence and the scenes involving Bane’s master plan springs to mind.

However, despite the huge appraisal there are some flaws in The Dark Knight Rises… The luring by Bane involving the whole of Gotham City’s Police Department (over 3,000 officers) and trapping them all underground for several months seems ludicrous.

In addition, the super-fast recovery by Bruce Wayne following that backbreaking fight with Bane. The hero was able to heal his back problem so quickly that he was able to climb and leap out of the ‘pit’ prison with no issue.

And not forgetting, the ill-defined association between Selina and her apparent sidekick Jen (Juno Temple).

Despite those quibbles, it is fair to say that The Dark Knight Rises is the film the fans of DC Comics and superheroes have been waiting for. It certainly lives up to the hype and I would highly recommend this. See it for Bale, Hathaway, Hardy, and the awe-inspiring music by Hans Zimmer plus the beautiful cinematography by Wally Pfister.

Having just come home from seeing this incredible movie, I’m not sure where to begin!

Well, alright I may as well start at the beginning. The Raid is an Indonesian martial arts movies filmed by some Welsh bloke you’ve never heard of, using a martial art you’ve never heard of and yet somehow has taken the world by storm. Why? Because it’s one of the greatest martial arts filmed ever made!

The Welshman in question is Gareth Evans whose quest it seems is to bring the Indonesian martial art of Pencak Silat to the worlds masses. With the help of his Indonesian wife, Gareth it seems, has made quite a name for himself over there with a documentary and a previous film invoking the brutal fighting style.

The plot like many films of this genre, is not up to much, however, this is a far better attempt than many. All you need to know is that there is this tower block that is filled with druggies (bar one it seems), with the kingpin at the top and a police swat team at the bottom with orders to take them out. The only character development is getting to know how the main guys like to dispose of their enemies.

While other films say the Ong Bak trilogy just lurch form one scene to the other to get Tony Jaa fighting again, this does seems to flow at a much better pace. After a one fight scene the characters get a break, and so does the audience (and trust me, you’ll need it), but your never taken out of the film or the pressure of the raid (no pun intended).

Right so lets get onto why your going to love this film, the fights. The art of Pencak Silat is magnificent to watch, it’s so fluid, poetic and yes, a bit violent. To me at least, it seems like a cross between Muay Thai, Aikido and the ability to use numerous weapons. Having rehearsed all the fight scenes before filming, the team were able to come up with some amazing battles cheaply but with time to refine them to an incredible detail.

As the victims get laid to waste with some incredibly vicious finishing moves, you are just left in awe at the speed and choreography of each and every one. There are a couple of stand out fights, one is a machete fight, and one later with a two-on-one fight that quite simply left me flabbergasted. It has to be seen to be believed. I can say it is two good guys against a bad guy, and it’s simply like nothing you have seen before. The direction is perfect and helped by the fact that the star of the show Iko Uwais was the choreographer.

Tony Jaa may have breathed a fresh new life into the martial arts films, but he’s going to have to raise his game after this. While the Ong Bak films are stunning and extremely brutal also, they seem a bit to unreal, here, everything seems more realistic. The handheld camera style may help with this, (though nothing like as shaky as the Bourne films), but also the sound is far better.

Ong Bak 2 especially, had pretty ropey sound effects when bones were broken. The only thing I can without doubt can give Tony Jaa, is the length of takes. Many of his fights have very few breaks, with some lasting a few minutes without cutting away.  You don’t get that here, but again, it still feels more like a real fight rather than a set piece.

Already a sequel is in the pipeline with a third film being aimed at to round off a trilogy. This first film was filmed for a little over a $1m, and already the budget has risen sharply for the second film. I’m sure it’ll be fine, but I hope the extra budget doesn’t change the way this was filmed.

Sadly, Hollywood has signed a deal to make an American version and rights to do the same for the next title. Jesus Christ, God help us because there is no way in hell, it could close to this. Executives and insurance would never allow anything like this to be made stateside so really what’s the point?

This is a must see film and I’m fairly sure my favourite Asian action film. I need to revisit the Onk Bak series and certainly Hard Boiled to be sure, but I do believe we have a new target others must reach.

Reviewed by Invisiblekid

Further links:

IMDB
Rotten Tomatoes
Wiki
AVForums

Written and directed by Buffy creator Joss Whedon, Avengers Assemble is the latest blockbuster from Marvel Studios featuring the iconic superheroes.

The six gifted protagonists – Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr), Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Dr. Bruce Banner a.k.a. The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) – form Nick Fury’s (Samuel L. Jackson) dream S.H.I.E.L.D. team.

Teamed up to become Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, they must fight and defeat Norse God Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and his alien army from enslaving humanity.

Yes, the plot sounds clichéd on world domination, but it is the action sequences that make Avengers Assemble such a thrilling and fantastic film to experience.

The performances from the leading stars are superb, especially Ruffalo as Dr. Banner who looses his temper to become the terrifying Hulk. Bruce Banner’s intelligence is unparalleled and is much greater than Tony Stark, while his compassion for human life is what drives the good side to his character.

As for Hiddleston, he is a revelation as Loki. The actor brings intriguing layers to the evil overlord and makes Loki much more than the typical one-dimensional villain in common action films.

Whedon provides plenty of laugh out loud moments thank to a great script full of witty lines. There are also many references to the comics, a nod to the die-hard Marvel fans while entertaining the newcomers.

I would highly recommend Avengers Assemble. Joss Whedon has indeed delivered the perfect superhero film combining a great script, thrilling action scenes, impressive CGI and pitch-perfect performances from a terrific cast. The best 142 minutes you can enjoy in the company of Marvel’s finest heroes.