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Turbo

Middle Dreamworks, but better than Monsters U and a good chunk of Pixar. It doesn't touch the upper films in both, but is better than a lot of the "filler" movies. It didn't have that many good jokes, but when it did, I laughed. I hated most of the voice cast in this, which was it's major problem. They missed a huge possibility of making fun of rednecks and the south with a racing movie by going with open wheel. Also, let's be honest, French Canadian champ who didn't sound anything like either was a horrible choice.

7/10
 
Pacific Rim

I liked it for the effects and the fights, I mean the CGI gives me hope for the industry that they can do well. Unfortunately the movie didn't really do anything else well, the story was shallow, the acting was okay, and if it wasn't for Charley Day and Ron Pearlman, i'd say that everything in between the giant robots and monsters was a bust.

7/10

The Amazing Spider man

I finally saw this, and I loved it, I thought the movie did a great job of being serious superhero movie, which not taking itself to seriously which is how Spider man has always been. I really found myself not only enjoying the Spider man bits, but the Peter Parker bits in between thanks to Andrew Garfield playing a great Peter Parker. This was a great origin story, and I cant wait to see where they go. Hopefully it will turn out better than Toby McGuire.

9/10
 
Last night I went to the cinema and saw two films that I'd been eagerly anticipating for, quite literally, years.

First up was Monsters University

Decent enough for a prequel/sequel, and made me laugh a good few times. Not up to Pixar standards of old, but still ahead of many other kids offerings of late. I was a bit disappointed that some of the best bits from the trailers weren't actually in the film (eg Mike as a disco ball) I liked the nods to the original, and was particularly pleased to see Roz make an appearance <3 The bit after the credits is worth the wait, too.

The short film is awesome. Utterly beautiful. Shame the twatty foreign students behind me wouldn't STFU. Mind you, to schedule it straight after Paperman seemed a bit odd, as they're quite similar in many respects.


Next was The World's End - almost certainly my most eagerly awaited film of my entire life.

Due to the fact I'd been following this and waiting for it for years, I was worried. Really worried. I was convinced it'd be a bit crap and a huge disappointment. I'd been encouraged by recent positive reviews, but still couldn't shake the concern.

I needn't have worried really. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was very funny, generally well paced and entertaining throughout.

Again, there were loads of nods to the previous films in the "Three Flavours Trilogy" to keep the fans happy. I thought they missed a couple of tricks where they could've thrown a few more in, but I guess it's good that they didn't overdo it. What struck me actually, was the number of people in the HUGE cinema where I saw it, that clearly got all the trilogy in-jokes. Hell, I think the Mint Cornetto got the biggest laugh of the whole film.

I'm not without criticism for the film. It's always been the case, but never more obvious than here - Nick Frost can't act for ****. Not that it really matters though, and certainly doesn't spoil it. In fact, it's almost part of its charm.

As a bit of an Edgar Wright fangirl, what struck me was the lack of many of his usual visual trademarks. Whilst some sneak in towards the end (presumably held back to help increase the pace as the story builds) they were (to me, at least) noticeably sparse. That's not necessarily a bad thing, as it felt a bit more "grown up" and sophisticated in that respect, but I would've expected it to stick to the style of the other two, for consistency if nothing else.

I left the cinema with a real sense that I'd just witnessed the end of an era. Helped along, I suspect, with the parallels I was able to draw between my own life and that of Gary King. OK, so he's 10 years my senior and a vastly exaggerated version, but it did make me ponder myself and my own outlook on life.

Overall, it's an excellent film, and a fitting end to the trilogy that began with one of my absolute favourite films of all time.

PS. I totally freaked out on the cycle ride home. Up a (normally quiet) back street, a huge group of onesie-clad students staggered towards me with arms outstretched. I then noticed a piece of graffiti on a wall next to them proclaiming "The world you once knew is behind you". I've never pedalled so fast in my life.
 
CAN'T WAIT TO SEE THE CONJURING THIS WEEKEND. **** BEING ON AFTERNOONS BECAUSE I CAN'T GO TO THE CINEMA UGH.

Anyway, Oz: the Great and Powerful. I know that CGI is the new way of doing things but I hate when everything is CGI apart from the people. Like, it's wayyy overboard, much like the latest Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and the new Alice in Wonderland. To me, that in itself can hurt my opinion of a movie. Then there's the fact I dislike when anyone messes with Wizard of Oz because it's one of my favourite movies; although, Wicked was pretty awesome. Apart from those things, it was a decent movie. I thought the guy who played Oz was kinda cute as well. The beginning and end were a nice homage to Wizard of Oz (the black and white at the beginning and the present giving at the end), but the whole land just looked too cartoony. UGH, CGI frustrates the crap out of me. OHHH AND, THE CHINA DOLL GIRL IS **** CREEPY AS ALL HELL.

Decent I suppose, but nothing spectacular and I didn't have high hopes to begin with. 7/10
 
I really want to see The World's End, but Martin Freeman is putting me off :(

Jer said:
The Amazing Spider man

I finally saw this, and I loved it, I thought the movie did a great job of being serious superhero movie, which not taking itself to seriously which is how Spider man has always been. I really found myself not only enjoying the Spider man bits, but the Peter Parker bits in between thanks to Andrew Garfield playing a great Peter Parker. This was a great origin story, and I cant wait to see where they go. Hopefully it will turn out better than Toby McGuire.

9/10

Oddly, I watched that finally last week too. I thought it was okay, but nothing special. I just think I've gone into superhero movie meltdown to be honest. Better than the Raimi one? I think so as Toby McGuire was an awful Peter Parker. So yeah, it was good, but not great IMO

Also managed to watch Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows finally. It's the first Sherlock "thing" I've seen since reading the all the books (actually, that's a lie, I'm still halfway through The Final Bow - but close enough ;) ).

It's really odd having the characters, stories and plots from several stories mangled together into a modern action thriller. However, culture shock aside, it's still a great film and a real transport for RDJ - more so I think than Iron Man. Too little Jude Law who I think is fab though.

I love the direction, with the changing time frames as action happens, it's all fancy pants stuff that I love and Richie is top of his game on that kind of thing. Superb action film, dreadful Sherlock Holmes film. Oh, bonus Stephen Fry is a bonus :) 8/10

Also watched Ice Age 4: More of the same. It was more of the same...
 
Worlds End was awesome.

Pacific Rim was awesome,

Despicable Me 2 was awesome.

Monsters University was awesome.

It's been a good few weeks.
 
furie said:
I really want to see The World's End, but Martin Freeman is putting me off :(
It's OK, the character he plays is a bit of a smug twat, so it doesn't really matter.
 
Wolverine: fun but nothing much. The acting is meh, fight scenes meh, villain meh, twist terrible. It may sound terrible but it was fun. I would suggest seeing it. - 6.5/10

X-Men 3: I actually rather enjoyed this movie, despite it's flaws. I like the plot and the stakes. It was good, and I would see it again. 7.5/10
 
World's End was ****.

I raised the smallest of smiles about three times. Considering it's a comedy, there should have been a bit more laughter coming from a half-full cinema. It's riding on the coat tails of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, but it doesn't even come close to either of them.
 
The Wolverine

I liked it, for once you really feel like he is at risk, he actually has the potential to die. The special effects were actually a lot better than in the first origins flick. I thought the story was ok.

The teaser for next year's X-Men: Days of Futures Past was very cool. (I wouldn't say this is a spoiler, it was BOUND to happen)
 
Pacific Rim: 10/10

It is really good. Insane amount of action and a very great storyline. The pug <3

It is a great movie and i definitely recommend seeing it.
 
Monster University

It was pretty great. The original is one of my childhood films so it was nice seeing it. Wasn't as good as the first though. The only downside is I thought it over-ran...a bit. It felt that things were wrapping up but there was still another 30 minutes. But even that, it was still a good 30 minutes.

I'll give it an 8.5/10
 
Got round to seeing Now You See Me

Eh. It was flashy and fun, cast was good, acting was reasonable. The idea was pretty cool, everyone with a heart loves magic, and the explanations for the early heists were decent. But it dragged on and the final twist was a bit ridiculous. I didn't expect it at all, which impressed me, but it had no real explanation:
Sticking Mark Ruffalo in a hoodie into flashbacks is not an explanation. Although with hindsight I did like the hint about his absentee father
It was still entertaining, worth a watch: 7/10
 
^ My family has been making fun of Now You See Me's twist all summer. SOOO stupid. I didn't see it coming because it didn't make sense. It wasn't explained and didn't go with the story. Just a last minute attempt to have a twist. Also, that hoodie.
 
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