Rev Stan's film blog

Review: Jupiter Ascending (into the heaven of duff films)

Synopsis: Jupiter (Mila Kunis) has a mundane life cleaning houses unaware that she is genetically linked to a powerful family intent on getting their hands on her and her rightful inheritance.

Stan's thoughts: Was really looking forward to this. Needed some good sci-fi/fantasy action fun after all the intense, thought-provoking Oscar films I've been devouring recently. It has the Wachowski's writing and directing and a superb cast of British thesps supporting Kunis and Channing Tatum in the leads. What could go wrong?

Well the script mainly. The film was just a few minutes in when I was wincing with embarrassment for the actors having to deliver such trite nonsense. The amount of what critic Mark Kermode calls 'Basil exposition' should have set alarm bells ringing - if you need that much explanation of the world you've created and plot set up then something is wrong. Another warning bell is that it felt long and it was only 2 hours 8 minutes long.

While I was watching I couldn't help thinking that all the energy and imagination had gone into creating the fantasy world and the special effects. Well I say imagination there are plenty of Cloud Atlas reference points to spot (and I loved that film). It all felt a bit too much. If they'd stuck with the super humans and splicers - humans spliced with animal and presumably alien DNA then it might have worked better.

The pleasure in watching this was spotting the British thesps - Eddie Redmayne giving a scenery chewing performance as one of the baddies, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Tuppence Middleton, Douglas Booth, Vanessa Kirby, Sam Barnett...I just hope they took home a good pay packet.

Jupiter Ascending feels like the Wachowski's have vomited up 10-course banquet of ideas and as a result you can't see the amuse-bouche for the fish course.

Ratings

• Stan’s 35%
• IMDB 60%
• Metascore 40%
• Rotten Tomatoes 22%
• RT Audience Rating* 52%

* Number of people rating 3.5/5 or higher

Review: The mysterious and tense Maze Runner

Synopsis: Thomas (Dylan O'Brien) wakes up in a lift that has emerged in an encampment of boys bordered by high walls, The Maze. He only remembers his name as do all the other boys. Then one day a girl appears in the lift.

 

Stan's thoughts: I'm a huge fan of young adult fiction and films, even though I'm old enough to be the target audience's mother, so I had heard about this film a few months ago, there was a bit of a buzz about it and the book its based on. Decided not to read the book (it's part of a series) and go into the film without expectations.

 

It is part Hunger Games with a hint of Lord of the Flies. The difference with the former is the not knowing why the boys have been put in the Maze. Without their memories there are no reference points. It certainly adds a delicious intrigue.

 

Maze Runner is also refreshingly shy of romance, there is no love story. Now I love a bit of soppy teen love but without it there are no distractions from the mystery and horror that is unfolding. This being the first of a trilogy (the second film is due out next year) you don't get all the answers by the end in fact you get a hold load more questions which is also satisfyingly frustrating.

 

It is also a great action movie with good characters at its heart, characters that you care about. Great to see Will Poulter, Thomas Brodie-Sangster and Kaya Scoldelario flying the Brit actors flag. There is a sense of jeopardy that adds to the tension. It's nicely imagined, exciting and I really enjoyed it. Can you tell?

 

Ratings

• Stan’s 80%
• IMDB 75%
• Metascore 56%
• Rotten Tomatoes 63%
• RT Audience Rating* 76%

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* Based on number of people who rated the film 3.5/5 and higher

Review: Dracula Untold (we'll it isn't now, is it?)

Synopsis: Mixing the history of Vlad the Impaler with the myth of Dracula, Vlad is forced to seek help from a dangerous and deadly beast that lives in the mountain to protect his people.

Stan's thoughts: You know ideas are running out when words like 'untold' start making it into titles and surely the current love of all things vampire will run out soon too? This is muscular and gothic in tone, think the Gary Oldman Dracula film crossed with something like 300.

Vlad (Luke Evans) is toned, we get to see how toned he is (shame that) and is a conflicted hero. He was a successful soldier with a lethal reputation in his youth but is now trying to live in peace. Of course his wife is beautiful (Sarah Gadon) and supports him emotionally - lots of floaty dresses that fall off one shoulder and breathy pouting at the camera, you know the sort of thing.

Dominic Cooper phones in his performance as the big bad Turk demanding a tribute of a 1,000 boys from Vlad (is this the only role he likes to play these days?). And Charles Dance is the oddly creepy Dracula, a little bit Guillermo del Toro Pan's Labyrinth in style initially but then he just reminded me of  a very old Tywin Lannister.

This all sounds a bit dismissive. The truth is Dracula Untold is alright, mildly entertaining it ain't anything new really. Everything is just a little too cliched to get anything other than a mild investment in the characters or sense of jeopardy. It's Dracula with lots of CGi and big, big battles which might really appeal to some.

Ratings

• Stan’s 50%
• IMDB 64%
• Metascore 34%
• Rotten Tomatoes 32%
• RT Audience Rating* 65%

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* Based on number of people who rated the film 3.5/5 and higher

Review: Angelina Jolie goes Disney baddie in Maleficent

Synopsis: It's sleeping beauty but not as you know it. Story centre's on Maleficent (Jolie) and what leads up to her cursing the Princess Aurora (Elle Fanning).

Stan's thoughts: Jolie was the draw for this and she didn't disappoint. She does fairy-story baddie very well. And she is a fairy not a witch as I thought.

The cast is stuffed full of talent, most of which are criminally underused (great to see Lesley Manville and Imelda Staunton as two of Aurora's three guardian fairies. And, Sam Riley's lovely gravelly voice offers brief interludes of joy as Diaval, Maleficent's shape-changing servant.

There are some tree creatures that were a little Guillermo Del Toro-esque but ultimately this was just all a bit too Disney and twee for me but then I'm probably not the target audience.

Ratings

• Stan’s 50%
• IMDB 75%
• Metascore 56%
• Rotten Tomatoes 51%
• RT Audience Rating* 77%

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* Based on number of people who rated the film 3.5/5 and higher

Review: Sod the critics, I loved Mortal Instruments: City of Bones

Synopsis: When Clary's mum goes missing in trying to find her, she discovers that she is part of an underworld of demons and demon fighters.

Stan's thoughts: I do have a penchant for young adult fiction and this is the first book in a series (I've yet to read) so it ticked that box for me from the outset. It is contemporary gothic fantasy (tick), heroine who is more powerful than she knows (tick), unrequited love (tick), forbidden love (tick), good looking goodies (tick), good looking baddies (tick) and a few vampires and werewolves (tick, tick).

Mortal Instruments is good fun with enough thrills and spills and twists and turns to keep you thoroughly entertained. I've glanced at a few of the sniffy reviews which say it is derivative of so many other stories and doesn't know what it wants to be and to that I say - aren't most stories these days? For me it's the imagination with which those elements are put together and whether it holds its own. And for me it did.

Came out with a grin on my face, wanting to see it again and that hasn't happened at the cinema for a long time.

Ratings

• Stan's: 85%
• IMDB: 69%
• Metascore: 33%
• Rotten Tomatoes: 12% 
• RT audience rating: 73%

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Review: World War Z (that's zed not zee, I'm English)

Synopsis: Zombie virus becomes so virulent that it is in danger of wiping out the human race but don't worry Brad Pitt in his sexy army fatigues will save the day.

Stan's thoughts: If a film is good enough you can gloss over a lot of the Hollywood-ising and plot holes but if it isn't they are a distraction. And the latter is true for Brad Pitt's pet project World War Z. Once I noticed one thing I started noticing a whole heap of stuff and I just couldn't take it as seriously as it needed to be taken in order to fully enjoy.

The seeds were planted when Brad and his family were one minute stuck in four lanes of nose to tail traffic jam as everyone was trying to escape the zombie only to see him the next minute driving like a banshee down a near deserted road. I'm a celebrity, I can get out of here.

Then the pinnacle was when the very clever people of Jerusalem, anticipating the virus, had built a humongus wall around the city with helicopters keeping surveillance only to not notice the swarm of zombies approaching and then scrambling up said wall until they were at the very top. Duh. I'd say the zombies were doing their bit to increase the intelligence of the gene pool there.

There are some nice tense moments particularly what everyone is calling the 'lab' scene at the end but as a whole it just didn't quite work for me. Sorry Brad, I know you put your heart and soul into this film.

Ratings

• Stan's: 45%
• IMDB: 73%
• Metascore: 63%
• Rotten Tomatoes: 72%

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Review: Charm and Stanley Tucci in Jack the Giant Killer

Synopsis: The giants of legend were banished weren't they? A beanstalk, a farm boy, a princess you know the story except this one has an evil, power-hungry suitor added for good measure.

Stan's thoughts: No plot twists it's all fairly linear but there are some great CGI giants, quite grotesque CGI giants in fact and Nicholas Hoult's Jack is a charming and likeable lead. A great turn by Stanley Tucci as the baddie suitor - he has some of the best moments.

Visually it's like a grittier version of Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland and borrows some of its humour and tone from the Princess Bride while never matching up to that classic. It's good, harmless, brain-disengaged fun and I liked it.

Ratings

• Stan's 60%
• IMDB 67%
• Metascore 51%
• Rotten Tomatoes 53%

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Review: Oz the Great and Powerful - a trip down memory lane

Synopsis: Have you ever wondered how the Wizard of Oz became the Wizard of Oz, you know the guy with the white beard Toto finds tucked away behind a curtain using trickery to make himself seem big and powerful?  And why good witch Glinda had a bad witch sister Theodora? Well this is the story for you.

Stan's thoughts: Sam Raimi's Wizard of Oz pre-quel has everything you loved from the famous Judi Garland. Yellow brick road, Emerald City, flying monkeys, good and bad witches etc and it's all done with a heavy nods to the Wizard of Oz in its style, costumes and make up. There is even some old stylee-acting particularly in the opening sequence. Which is all fabulous if you were brought up on the Wizard of Oz. 

I don't think Mila Kunis's Theodora is quite as scary as I remember the character from the Judi Garland Wizard of Oz but there is one shot of her flying on her broomstick that did press a few childhood nightmare buttons.

Some great new characters and some mixed CGi - China Doll was fabulous but Franklin the monkey not quite so. It's good, innocent fun a visual feast and a nice trip down memory lane.

Ratings

• Stan's: 68%
• IMDB: 71%
• Metascore: 44%
• Rotten Tomatoes: 60%

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Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters

Lore

 

Review: Hansel & Gretel - Witch Hunters or the fairytale with a 15 certificate

Synopsis: The Hansel and Gretel of the fairytale have grown up and made a career out of being witch hunters for hire. When kids start going missing from a small town they called upon to find out what is going on.

Stan's thoughts: Applying 15 certificate violence to a fairytale as seen here sometimes feels like an odd mix. On the one hand you have the bone-crunching, blood-spatting fights while on the other you have a CGI troll which looks like something straight out of a PG certificate.

While it feels satisfying in a grown up way to have the gore, the plot still feels very much aimed at a younger audience and you can see what is coming from a mile away.

Not unwholly satisfying to watch and entertaining enough but for the audience it is aimed at I'd have expected it to be just a little bit cleverer and darker - I'm thinking Pan's Labyrinth which was also a 15. It gets points for having a kick-ass heroine and Jeremy Renner is a bit of a favourite but I'd rather see Warm Bodies again because at least that had its tongue firmly in its cheek.

Ratings

• Stan's: 55%
• IMDB: 64%
• Metascore: 22%
• Rotten Tomatoes: 15% (from critics, audiences have rated it 62%)

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Beautiful Creatures

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No

- See more at: http://film.revstan.com/#sthash.TIFpdGcP.dpuf

Review: Beautiful Creatures fails to dazzle

Synopsis: Lena (Alice Englert) comes from a long line of witches or 'casters' as they prefer to be called. On her 16th birthday which is fast approaching she has decide to go to the light or dark side of magic but an old family curse dictates she'll be claimed by the dark. Adding to Lena's woes is a growing (forbidden) relationship with mortal Ethan (Alden Ehrenreich).

Stan's thoughts: Obviously an attempt to fill the big hole left by the Twilight franchise but it falls short failing to give either of the two-star crossed lovers any real depth of character to get hold of. Twilight's plot was predictable and so is this but I never felt any real sense of danger about the relationship. Having a spell put on your boyfriend so he can't speak vs one of your family draining him of blood just isn't quite as compelling.

Jeremy Irons and Emma Thompson are joyfully hamming it up as Lena's good and bad relatives which was mildly entertaining but overall it just felt a little bit 'meh'. Warm Bodies, another Twilight filler, had its tongue in its cheek and was playing for laughs rather than merely going for the doomed lovers angst so go and see that instead if you have the choice.

Ratings

• Stan's: 43%
• IMDB: 61%
• Metascore: 53%
• Rotten Tomatoes: 45%

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