Hello,
Just wanted to make a quick post, as I haven't in a long while, to say sorry for being so lazy, as it really has been ages since my last post on here.
But thanks to school ending for this term soon for Christmas I'm sure that I'll watch a lot of films, and so there should be more posts then. Recently I acquired an Alfred Hitchcock box set which contains all the classics, so be ready to see some those films being reviewed in the near future.
Check back soon and I hope there will be a new post,
Matt
Right, I know I promised a Lockout review this week but I've been quite lazy and haven't got round to it, so I'm going to make up for it by reviewing the newest James Bond film instead, Skyfall.
So Skyfall, directed by Sam Mendes, is a film I've been waiting for for a long time, well after Quantum of Solace, and that's not to say I knew what the film was going to be, but Agent 007 means so much to me in film terms that I need to get a fix every so often. So a couple of years ago it was revealed that production had stopped on the latest Bond movie due to lack of funding, and I must admit I couldn't have been more gutted.
Then when I heard about the fact it would be out in 2012 I was so happy and then the cast list came out, and I really couldn't wait. So let's get on with the actual film.
There may be spoilers, but I'll attempt to keep them to a minimum.
Firstly, I have to say the theme tune, Skyfall by Adele, is a fantastic song, I'm not a massive fan of Adele and must admit I try to avoid her music at all costs, but Skyfall is just brilliant, it captures a lot of Bond's soul into it while also sounding like a classic Bond Theme. The reason I bring the song up first is because of it's use during the opening credits in which the song is played to dark colours of Bond drowning and running through underground systems and a mysterious Gothic mansion. It's my favourite Bond opening ever, because of it's pure arty-ness and dark feel, it really sets the mood for the film.
Moving onto the action, the film head straight into it, featuring a car and bike chase, and a fight on top of a train that really gets the blood pumping for the film. This is the same for most of the action, it keeps the blood flowing with the right balance of action and drama throughout. I don't want to go to far into most of the action sequences because I really can't do it justice and they're something worth seeing from yourself rather than me describing them.
But something worth raving about is the cast, who, to put it simply, couldn't be better. Obviously Daniel Craig and Dame Judi Dench still manage to portray the fantastic characters that are James Bond and M, and the banter the two share between each other adds brilliant comedy to the spy series.
However, they aren't the only brilliant actors in the film, certainly the man who steals the show is Javier Bardem, portraying the films main villain, Raoul Silva, a man who is intent on ruining the reputation of MI6. And Bardem goes all-out to make his character more than a Bond-villain, which he does spectacularly, and he's one of these villains where you like him as much as the hero and don't want anything bad to happen to him, as a pose to some of the previous Bond villains where you can't wait for them to be killed off. Silva also shares some great banter with Bond himself which had everyone in the cinema laughing as if they were watching a comedy film. I believe that the best thing about Bardem's performance is how he can change the moods of his character so incredibly quick, as in one scene with a conversation between Bond and M he goes from poking fun at MI6 to deadly serious and it's just a fantastic piece of acting, and don't curse me for this, but I believe that Silva is the best Bond villain ever, purely because he provides the right amount of physical damage to Bond as he does psychological.
The Bond-girls are also great for the film, with Berenice Lim Marlohe keeping the element of sexiness included into the film that makes a 007 movie. She does however have quite a short amount of screen time, and a friend expressed his dissapointment in the fact there wasn't a bed scene with her in that he had really hoped for, however Mendes replaced this with a shower scene which is bound to give most men a happy night and good memories.
After speaking to others about the film they seem to believe that the film lacks explosions and actions that most assume a Bond film will be riddled with, and what I can't seem to understand is why, as it has many explosions, and to be honest the car chases are quite short, but all the elements are there and are put together in great fashion.
Directing wise Sam Mendes does a brilliant job on Skyfall, with amazing set-pieces, including Silva's deserted island and high-rise building scenes. A lot of the film also takes place in London and shows off some of the things that makes it so great, such as MI6 and the iconic underground train stations.
The whole crew also take pleasure in including many shocks into the film, none of which I will actually tell because to spoil it would just be stupid, however all I will say is that you won't expect them and they will take you by surprise.
In conclusion I must say that Skyfall, in my opinion, is the best Bond film, and I feel that the lack of funding half way through production was a good thing, as it meant that the crew had to step back and strip the movie down to add more drama, rather than a festival of unnecessary explosions. Which is not to say that there aren't any fantastic stunts, because there really are a lot, there's helicopters, cars, bikes, all things that make Bond, Bond.
Even if you've never been a big fan of James Bond I would still recommend Skyfall because it's just too good, and never boring. When there's a lack of action, the audience are drawn into the drama or the comedy, there's never a dull moment to the film, it's 2 hours and 23 minutes of fantastic entertainment.
10/10 - Best film of 2012, sharing the crown with The Dark Knight Rises.
I am quickly writing this blog to say that (to any repeat viewers of my page) I am very sorry I haven't posted in a lon while, I said that I would write a review on Lock-out but I honestly haven't had the chance to, as it was a tough week at school and I had been quite ill during the week.
I have seen Lock-out an fortunately this week is a half-term holiday (meaning I am not at school for a week) and so hopefully will be able to write quite a few reviews, to make up for lost time.
So I hope that tomorrow I will be able to finally get this review done and watch a couple more movies, which will all bve reviewed.
Check back soon and I hope there will be more material to read.
Thanks as always. M
Also with the release of Skyfall this week I hope I will see it soon when I have the chance to, and there will definately be a post for that.
Sorry that I have put up a post in recent times, school has been rather hard in the last couple of weeks, with a lot of essays and tests to be revising for.
I have been set yet another gruelling media studies essay to do over the weekend, but I have made sure I will have time to watch Lockout (Mather & Leger, 2012) soon, so if you would like to read my opinion on it, check back later and I hope it will be there, if not I give an apology in advance for my laziness, but this media essay has to take priority at the moment.
As I've said before please feel free to comment on any of my posts to tell me that I blabber on too much or that I'm very boring, I promise I won't mind.
Matt
This evening I was fortunate enough to have been invited to see a UK premiere of new in the UK, old in America, film "Hit and Run." The film is directed, written by and starring Dax Shepard, as well as Kristin Bell and Bradley Cooper co-starring.
The basic premise of the film is that Dax Shepard's character leaves his witness protection act to leave for LA for the sake of his girlfriend Annie (Bell), but a chase ensues when Annie's ex-lover, Shepard's old gang and a United States Marshal all come after the couple.
Now as I have said before I am not a fan of rom-coms, but Hit and Run was something else, maybe because with all the action going on you forget that it has a romantic story, as there are some brilliant scenes, many of which feature some amazing car chases, with some cars that are just awesome beyond belief. Quite frankly I feel this movie has the potential to rival the Fast and Furious franchise. Of course I'm just joking, but this film is better than the F&F films.
And it isn't just the car chases that make this film so great, it's a combination of the drama, comedy, romance and just the whole directing of the film with an original story that to be honest I don't think I've ever seen before. There's one scene (which I won't spoil completely) which features a motel room of old people that will have you wide-eyed and cringing for your life, and it's comedy gold.
Hit and Run also has a kick-ass soundtrack that also adds to the greatness of the movie, such as "Sweet Emotion" by Aerosmith popping up when the classic Lincoln first makes an appearance, showing just how bad-ass the premise of the movie is, as well as a couple of classic rock tunes being played during some of the best scenes in the film.
Quite frankly I would have to say that Hit and Run has to be the best comedy film of the year, and highlights the fact that films that are normally seen as having a niche audience can actually be really great, and this is exactly what Hit and Run falls into. There really is something for everyone in this film, and I can't stress enough how I believe everyone should see this movie, it has breathtaking car chases, great laughs, great acting and just a great cast that look like they're having so much fun throughout the film.
For me, this film deserves a 10/10, there's never a dull moment and you'll walk out of the cinema wishing that you could watch it over and over.
Hit and Run drives into UK theaters on 12th October.
Just want to apologise for my laziness as I haven't posted in quite a long time.
Fortunately I have a short school week, with Tuesday as an inset day, so expect a new post mid-week.
I will be off to the cinema to see a film that will be out soon in the UK called "Hit and Run", starring Bradley Cooper and Dax Shepard, so I'm sure that will be my first review, so check back on Wednesday and that should be here for you to read.
Now I don't have much time to write about this genre, and be happy, because I could rant all night about why I hate them so much.
Though I don't mind having an underlying love story in, say, an action film, but there is no need to have one whole film dedicated to being in love. The last thing when I go to the cinema or buy a DVD is to sit through two hours of a two people getting together and being "so happy" in love, only for them to break up, then lo and behold they get back together again! It's the same in every romantic or rom-com film, and personally I feel it needs to stop.
It's like Love Actually, a film many people call a "classic", or what I call a film that could be brilliant but is ruined by a mix of Hugh Grant and pure rubbish. Honestly, I'd been told to watch it because it's "so fantastic", and I really hated it. Admittedly there were parts where I really loved it, such as Bill Nighy recreated Wet Wet Wet's "Love Is All Around" in a Christmas fashion, which would bring a smile to anyone's face.
There really isn't much point on me carrying on about Romance films, there are a lot of films I could reference here for committing the sin of being in this genre, but I'm sure at one point in the future I'll either make a longer post, or (tragically) have to review a romantic film.
So for now keep checking back for more posts, and I will see you soon.
Just want to say sorry for claiming I'd start reviewing at the weekend. Unfortunately during the weekend I was bogged down with schoolwork and never got round to see any new movies, I will try and get round to making another post tomorrow, which I assume will be another genre post, though I haven't quite worked out what it will be just yet.
So if you want check back here tomorrow and hopefully there will be a new post, if you want notifications please follow me on Twitter at @MattyJohns0109 where I always post when I have put out another post.
See you then.
So now I'm moving onto one of the other genres that I've grown up with, and in some ways I feel has grown up with me, which is Sci-Fi, as I'm pretty sure one of the first films I ever saw was Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, the first part of the greatest franchise that has ever been created and some of the only films I could watch over and over again.
Now I say I feel that the genre has also grown up with me because I remember watching Sci-Fi films as a child that were aimed at my age, and as I grew up I found films of the same genre that were maybe a little bit darker and more aimed towards me, and that's the great thing about Science Fiction, there's always a film aimed at a different age audience, so being in my late teens is pretty good for getting to see Sci-Fi, especially this year with Prometheus coming out, as Alien is one of my personal favourite films of all time, purely because of it's unpredictability of when you're actually going to get to see the alien, some of which was present in Prometheus, especially a scene that partly resembled John Hurt's incredible chest burster part in the original film. Though Prometheus certainly had some faults that maybe didn't make it the greatest film ever, but it's still worth a watch. And as I sit here typing I realise an advert for the release of the DVD has just been on, so I best not go into too much detail into my view on the film as that will be a review in the not so distant future.
Being a geek and a nerd I also enjoy watching various film spin-offs from TV shows, and there's no better example of this than Star Trek, and I don't mean the 2009 J.J. Abram's epic, I'm talking Wrath of Khan with Will Shatner, as well as newer films with Patrick Stewart leading the crew of the Enterprise in Star Trek: Nemesis. Personally I believe some of the Star Trek films are some of the best films ever made, but don't cast me out for saying this, as my only reason is that there's such a vast range of Trekkie films that they all have something different about them that make them so enjoyable, some are deadly serious, some have brilliant elements of comedy, and some even have the best action sequences in the history of film, well, maybe not that far, but they're good enough.
But it seems I'm making Science-Fiction sound too geeky for what it really is, and they're not all that geeky, but the main focus of this post is the geeky side of Sci-Fi and why I enjoy them so much, and so I'm going to end this post here and revisit the more popular side, featuring films such as Back to the Future and Action Sci-Fi films, featuring Armageddon and Total Recall, so if it sounds like something you'd like to read about be sure to come back here soon and hopefully I will have gone round to doing so.
See you soon.
So, in my last post, I ended on talking about how I enjoyed the darkness shown throughout Nolan's Batman trilogy, but I think the main note that I've hit on about why I enjoyed them is the villains, which also applies to why I like the comics and, even more, the two Batman video games, Arkham Asylum and City, and it's all thanks to the vast amount of villains that pose different and difficult threats to Batman, with my favourite being Bane, just because so many of the previous villains are psychological villains that Batman ends up finishing them through a quick fist fight, whereas Bane seems to be the best of both, and at one point is the victor.
But I am starting to feel that I'm spending too much time on DC and Batman so may have to do a single post dedicated to DC at around the time that Man of Steel (the new Superman film) arrives.
And so I'm moving on to the other big comic book movie producers, Marvel, who are definitely at the lighter end of the scale compare to the darker space that DC's movies tend to dominate. In a way the Marvel films have previously meant a lot more to me because they are the films I grew up with all my life, with the memories of going to see Spider-Man and The Hulk still quite fresh in my mind, though they aren't particularly my favourite films, but they really introduced me to the world of film and comic books. And the background of the main characters always seemed to connect with me, they were all people who have never really felt part of their society who know deep down that they have something everyone else can benefit from, and I think it's that sort of hope that keeps the characters going that helped me in some rough times.
So now I want to take some time to delve into the more independent films, and don't worry, this will be short as I can't really think of that many independent superheroes who have had their own films. The main one that springs to mind and most people would know is the 2011 Green Hornet film, starring Seth Rogen, which is maybe not as good as some of the other superhero movies, but still has it's merits for being funny, action packed and occasionally gory, with a decent storyline running throughout keeping the film going.
Now I've decided I've written quite enough for this post and may have to write a follow up for another comic book post, and this weekend coming looks like it'll be a rather boring one and after receiving an Avengers Assemble box set it looks like that'll be what I'm going to be watching all weekend, so it may end up being my first ever movie review on here.
There probably will be another post before that time, though, so feel free to come and check my blog tomorrow where I'll be ending my posts on comic book films for now and move on to the next genre.
Hope to see you soon. Matt
So, I've decided that I'm going to introduce to you one of my favourite genres to begin with, and there's no type of film I love more than sitting down and watching some form of comic book film, whether it's a bright character such as Spider-Man or Green Lantern, or into the much darker side of them, Nolan's Batman, Spawn or Punisher for example.
*And just so you know, there may be some spoilers in here*
Now as a self confessed comic book geek I can't helped but love any form of superhero movie, even when Green Lantern came out in 2011 and people said it was awful I still gave it a watch and I even quite liked it. Admittedly some parts of it seemed rather silly, but it was just like the comic book, a man who can create anything with just his mind, so it was good enough.
But I certainly believe that through the last 10-20 years superhero films have become a lot better than they previously were, actually not better, but more popular, meaning the film industry's much more likely to make more of them. For example I recently acquired a copy of a Captain America film from 1990, and I have to say it's really worth a watch, it follows just about the same plot as the newer version except it's set in the present day (1990). It was a flop when it came to the box office, only being released in the UK and gaining $10,173 gross after having a budget of $10,000,000. But really I believe that this is down to the fact these sort of films weren't popular back then. But thanks to likeable actors such as Robert Downey Jr. and Christian Bale, and the rest of the great casts, these films have become so massive.
That's not to say that previous films of the genre haven't been great. No-one can have a chat about great superhero films without bringing up Tim Burton and Michael Keaton's Batman from 1989, which seems to have been denied it's greatness thanks to the bad bunch of sequels that followed it's success. Personally Batman (1989) is one of my favourite films because it is almost as dark as Nolan's trilogy, but still has the camp style from Adam West's years in the cowl.
Also the fact that I've spent years flicking through the pages of comic books and am aways happy to see them on the big screen. I think the easiest way to give an example is to use the God of all comic book stories, Batman: Knightfall, a story in which a Mexican Titan using Luchador from Hell, Bane, wreaks havoc upon Gotham, and when Batman faces him, he picks up the masked vigilante and breaks his back over his knee, a scene of which has been recreated by Nolan in his final instalment of his trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises. For me it brought back memories of getting to the last page Knightfall and my jaw dropping instantly, and I found the exact same thing happened when I saw TDKR for the first time, I just couldn't believe Nolan would put that in, not that I'm complaining, I thought it was the greatest thing I'd ever seen, and I'm not saying I don't like Batman and wanted to see it happen, but it was the iconography this showed and how to-the-comic the trilogy could be that really made me think about how much of a good movie it was, and how sad it was that it was Nolan's final Batman.
Now as I read through what I have written so far, I feel it's a little too much for one post, so I may have to carry on with my view on the Comic Book Movies in my next post, where I'll be looking into the Marvel side of life and the more independent films, and maybe a little bit more on DC and it's villains also.
So for now, stay safe and I hope to you'll be back soon.
I decided to read through what I've written so far and I was starting to feel that I was rambling on without any of what I'm taking about going anywhere.
That's why I've decided that I'm going to give my opinion on one genre in each post, so for my next blog I may start with horror followed by a post about sci-fi, and so on until I've gone through all the genres I can think of.
I hope that because of this it will be able to give you a better understanding of why I say the things I say when reviewing a movie, because there are genres where I love them too much that I could never call a movie of that genre bad (unless it's the Green Lantern, of course) and others genres I really don't like where I wouldn't be abe to understand how it could be a good film.
But you never know, through doing this I may find out I like some films that I would normally say I would never watch, and that's part of the experience of doing this blog.
So I hope that there are some people out there reading what I have to say, and I hope you come back to read a couple more of my posts as I'm planning on beginning to start with my more to-the-point blogs in the next few days.
Hope to see you then. See you later
I thought I'd do another, hopefully shorter, post just to give a better feel for what movies I'm into, giving a bit of insight into what genre most films I'll review will be, and to be perfectly honest there aren't many genres I don't like, so just about any film will get reviewed.
Of course it's hardly likely I'll be reviewing some form of rom-com. Quite frankly I can't stand most of them, because don't they just follow the same plot line: boy meets girl, they fall in love, something bad happens to this blossoming romance and they can't see each other any more, then five years later they bump into each other somewhere and end up getting married. Oh, and they all have Hugh Grant in them, I think that's how they go.
So my favourite movies are comic book hero films, with the film topping the list at the moment the recently released Batman: The Dark Knight Rises (which will be reviewed at some point in the future). Those sort of films just seem to have something I love so much, and I've never been able to put my finger on what it is, and hopefuly this blog will help me, it's probably because I'm destined to be some sort of hero, but we'll find that out at a ater date.
So although my favourite genre is that of comic book legends, my favourite film isn't one of these, but Armageddon (Michael Bay, 1998) which I hope will aso get reviewed soon in the future, but I truly love this film mainly because it has so many different story-lines happening in the space of two hours, and it's also my "sick day" movie, whenever I'm ill I just place the disc in the DVD player and I'm entertained, honesty, I could tell you every line of the film through and through, sounds sad, but personally it's just a film that connects with me for no reason.
I hope to do another blog soon more about the personal side of Matt Johns. To anyone out there any feedback would be appreciated, am I boring, entertaining, speaking endless drivel? Don't be afraid to tell me :D
Right well, not really sure what someone's supposed to put in their first blog but I'm just going to go in this direction of just introducing myself a bit better than I have in the describe yourself box.
My name's Matt, a sixth former at a Tunbridge Wells grammar school, taking Media Studies, Psychology, Sociology and Spanish. My main interest of these four is the first, Media, I love nothing more than watching movies, at my school I'm known as the movie guy, if there's a question about a movie, whether it be who directed it, who starred in it or even the year, it's highly likely I would know the answer. And so I want to bring my knowledge into blogging.
But I'm not saying that as a blogger I want people to ask me questions about movies, that's not really what I'm getting at, but I'm going to review movies, hence moviematt0109.
I know it's one of these subjects hundreds of bloggers write about on a daily basis, but i really feel I have something that's quite new and different to most, I mean, I'm only 17 so I'm more or less just being introduced into the world of movies as I can't even see 18's (though I have seen quite a lot of them).
I don't really believe I'll start reviewing straight away either, I want to try and get a feel for writing on a blog first, so introducing myself just a little bit further, I want you, the audience, to understand who I am so I don't sound like a stuck up child when talking about movies.
And I'm not just going to review the newest of films, any film I see I'm happy to review, so if you're out there reading this and you find where I'm coming from interesting, I hope you may come back to read more of what I have, so for now, see you later.
