Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) Directed by J J Abrams, 8th May

Plot

The crew of the USS Enterprise return after a 'successful' mission to a Class M planet. Only for them to return to Earth where London has been attacked and then to be thrown into the midst of an attack at the heart of Star Fleet. Leaving Captain Kirk to lead a mission to seek and destroy the man who led the attack in the one place where the Federation is not welcome.

Review

The film opens with a daring rescue mission to save a primitive culture and Spock at the same time leading to a conflict in the Prime Directive where Starfleet is not allowed to interfere in other cultures affairs. The film certainly starts off with a bang and the colours add to the vividness and alien nature of another world. It's also interesting and surprising to see the USS Enterprise in a planetary environment rather than in deep space.

During this mission Starfleet is attacked in London by a renegade Starfleet operative, John Harrison. Who also leads an audacious attack on Starfleet headquarters.

It is after the mission where Kirk's leadership is called into question and after the attack on Starfleet Headquarters. Kirk does some soul searching which leads to a change in his style of leadership and values.

From here on it is a roller coaster of action and adventure to the farthest edges of the Federation into unwelcome alien territory during their hunt for John Harrison.

This is very much a JJ Abrams film with lots of action and fight scenes interspersed with some character moments to allow for some audience emotional attachment to the film's characters.

Chris Pine gives another great performance as Kirk. At the start of the film he is still the same old Kirk from the last film arrogant and a bit of a ladies man but later on we see a change and he takes on the mantle of his Captaincy seriously for the first time. Zachary Quinto gives another fine Spock performance. Simon Pegg in this film as Scotty is given much more to do than previously and in a way he is given his own mission which is fun and adds to the film. For me the best bits for comedy relief came from Karl Urban as Doctor "Bones" McCoy with his unending metaphors for death and probabilities of outcomes. Alice Eve as Dr Carol Marcus and Zoey Salanda as Uhura do good jobs from limited material. It just seems that Chekov ( Anton Yelchin) and Sulu ( John Cho) are kind of relegated and not given as much screen time.

The best part of this film is Benedict Cumberbatch as John Harrison the villain of this piece. He is cold, calculating, aloof and measured which gives him all the more presence and menace to his role. Though he does lose it to show he is human after all. Here we have a worthy adversary to Kirk who is every bit his equal and more.

There is another cameo in this film from a member of the original cast.

The first film was good but felt restrained as it was a re-boot and had to be an origins film. At the end of the first it allowed the franchise to go in any direction. Now freed from these shackles this is a worthy sequel and the film has got off to an adrenaline pumped up sprint which does not leave the confines of the Star Trek universe too much and pays homage to the previous Star Trek films of the original cast.

This is a very good sequel which surpasses the first film by a long shot. It has left me baying for more and the next film it cannot come too soon in my mind but I am curious to which direction and what story the next film will take. This begs the question of when and will JJ Abrams return after his next film with the Star Wars franchise.

9/10

The Look of Love (2013) directed by Michael Winterbottom, 22nd April

Plot

The life and times of Paul Raymond the entrepreneur and in 1992 the richest man in Britain. Through the eyes of the 3 most important women in his life. His wife, the mistress and his daughter.

Review

A film about a pornographer is always going to be a hard sell and controversial. People are not going to automatically have an instant empathy for this man. Men are going to envy him for the cars, the life style and the endless supply of pretty girls. Women are going to dislike him for his exploitation of women. This man is always going to be not ordinary and for someone in his line of business even with all his money he is never going to achieve respectability and be sidelined from the mainstream of society.

The film starts in 1992 at a pivotal moment of his life as just before he is going to be crowned as the richest man in Britain he suffers a terrible family lost. Whilst watching a family interview on video his story is told in flash backs. Starting in the  late 50s with the strict decency laws and opening his infamous Raymond Revue Bar. Always a showman and an opportunist he saw any publicist as good even when it was bad. Courting controversy and seeking the headlines. It is here during this time he slowly buys up Soho. All the while his wife Jean puts up with his infidelities and knows Paul will always return to her.

This all changes in the 70s when Julia Harrison/Fiona Richmond turns up and catches Paul's eye. This one threatens Jean's position and eventually he leaves Jean and his two kids for the new girl. At his divorce he proudly states it is the most expensive divorce in Britain and "It's not bad for a boy from Liverpool who started with just 5 bob." Always proud to state his humble origins. It's in the 70s when his publishing empire really kicks off with Men Only. Now the money really rolls in and the other trappings of drugs and more girls too.

Finally in the 70s too the third woman in Paul Raymond's life enters with his daughter Debbie. She unfortunately gets lost in all the excesses as she struggles to find a path for herself and to some extent trying to emulate her fathers entrepreneurial flare.

The film paint's Paul Raymond's life as rather bleak, empty and self serving without really hurting anyone in the process. Even with all the rich trappings there is nothing in his life that really brings him true happiness. In sorts he realises that he did have happiness twice in his life with his wife Jean and Fiona Richmond and this is emphasised at his daughter's wedding when he tries to reconnect with both of them.

During his empire building there is also a hankering for respectability with his purchasing of properties in Soho. He bought them for his daughter and his granddaughter so he tells his granddaughter whilst sitting in his Rolls Royce. His granddaughter does not want the houses but wants something that he can never buy. To this he agrees with her.

The film looks stunning and all the sets and costumes give the film a truly evocative feel for the period. The changing of the Rolls Royce through the times is also a great touch. The soundtrack that accompanies this film is good and subtle tracking and placing the film in different decades.

The film does have nudity and to my mind it is not excessive. This is a film about a pornographer and most of it is appropriate going from late 50s titillation to 70s sleazy.

Steve Coogan gives a good performance though at the back of my mind I always expect Alan Partridge to pop out. All the female leads Anna Friel, Tamsin Egerton and Amanda Poots give good turns with the strongest from Tamsin Egerton who is given the most to do. There are lots of cameos and heavily disguised actors who you are  trying to spot in the film.

The film is essentially about trying to buy happiness but never succeeding. On the whole the film is quite a cold film told in a documentary style with a difficult character to relate to but this is deliberate giving more impact to the film when the film reaches it's emotional climax to show that for all the bravado and his riches Paul Raymond is ordinary after all.

7/10

Oblivion (2013) directed by Joseph Kosinski, 9th April

Plot

War once raged on Earth after a failed alien invasion by the Scavs. We won but all that is left is a devastated Earth. Humanity has deserted Earth for Titan leaving a lone Drone repairman and his companion to keep the fusion reactors running helping the rest of Humanity with their energy needs. The drones are protecting the reactors from the few Scavs that have survived. Slowly he starts to get memory flashes of a previous life. Until one day he discovers a human casket from a crashed space craft where inside it he discovers someone which will cause him to question everything he believes in.

Review

From the opening scenes and the sets what you notice is how beautiful it all visually looks. From the aesthetics of the home to the landscapes which incorporate the avenues of New York as deep canyons. It is a visual treat. This alone however does not make a good film but for a Sci Fi film it definitely helps and sets the tone of the film.

Tom Cruise gives his usual turn and fortunately he is not running everywhere for a change. The female leads of Olga Kurylenko and especially Andrea Risborough  are good. Morgan Freeman gives  a solid and workman like appearance though the character he plays he has done before.

The story follows a fairly linear course which initially is it's weakness and makes the story quite implausible but then there is a very effective flashback towards the end of the film which nicely wraps up the story and pulls the film back. The finale is a bit Independence day like  and the final ending could have been a lot braver but then again this is a Hollywood block buster and a Hollywood like ending is expected.

There are sufficient twists and turns in the film and thinking back all the hints are already there. Great aerial chase scenes and dog fights which gives a great roller coaster of a ride to this film.

Joseph Kosinski was given us a beautifully rendered Earth. What this film shares with Tron Legacy are stunning visuals and where they differ is that this film has a far better story.

For a 12A I was a little surprised with some of the language in the film but this is British Board of Film Classification decision.

Not every one is going to like Sci Fi but this is a good intelligent Sci Fi film. Beautifully brought to life, good action scenes, well acted and with enough twists to keep one interested.

8.5/10

Good Vibrations (2012) directed by Lisa Barros D’Sa and Glenn Leyburn, 18th March

Plot

A biopic of an unconventional record shop owner Terri Hooley who discovers a love for punk music and sets up his own label. In doing so he unwittingly becomes a godfather to the budding underground punk scene. Through punk music it allows the young to escape from the sectarianism. Against the back drop of North Ireland in the 1970s during the Troubles.

Review

The film opens with a young boy playing in a garden who has a love for music. Unlike other boys he comes from an unconventional socialist family and for this he is picked on. This does not stop him from being different and conforming with the rest. This is a bit difficult for anyone living in Northern Ireland.

As the Troubles start old friends take sides and old fiends become rivals. For Terri he chooses neither and becomes a pariah to both. For Terri he sees music as as a focus for people to coming together regardless of religious belief. With this he opens a music shop on the most bombed road in Belfast but he shows a canny insight in the problems and gets old friends now rivals to join him one more time in a pub and gives out albums to stop protection racketeering, destruction of his shop and death threats to him.

As a record store owner he discovers punk accidentally through a school boy who asks him for a punk record. He does not have it as he has a love of Country and Rock and Roll. So he orders the record and decides to see an underground punk gig. The gig blows his mind away and sets off a series of events which he cannot control but just goes with it. Setting up his own label, recording a band, pressing a record and touring Northern Ireland ( not an advisable thing to do). In the process he discovers the Undertones and believing in them goes to London to promote them. He is a man of passion and belief.

Terri Hooley is no saint and is also flawed showing not much of a great flare for business acumen. Though he is a canny man having an insight to other men and knowing what is good music before others do.

Richard Dormer gives a great turn as Terri Hooley playing him with passion and great belief. Jodie Whittaker who plays his long suffering wife is given a very limited role.

The look of the film also gives an authenticity to it. The sets and the costumes are great and really takes you back to that time of the 70s. Whilst the film is interspersed with archive footage and adds to the atmosphere of the film and emphasises that all these events did take place in reality. Occasionally we get Hank Williams references who only appears to Terri.

One surreal and effective scene is when Terri takes some drugs to calm himself before knocking on all the doors of record labels whilst plugging the Undertones.

This is a charming film showing that a love of music can get people together regardless of religious divide. The film is about the music and the passion that it can inspire in people against a difficult backdrop. Go see it and it also has a great sound track to boot too.

8/10

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone (2013) directed by Don Scardino, 14th March

Plot 

Burt Wonderstone an established old school magician splints from his longterm stage partner Anton Marvelton after a new street magician steals their thunder. Burt then spends time with his boyhood idol and rekindles his passion for magic and why he started it in the first place.

Review

Burt starts magic to get away from the school bullies as everyone loves a magician. So he teams up with Anton and together they form a partnership and more importantly a friendship over the next 30 years. After 30 years years of partnership the relationship starts to fall apart with Burt having become a self obsessed egotistical prima donna thinking he is gods gift to women and to entice them he has the largest....bed in town. He doesn't even speak to Anton at any other time than during the show. Especially after performing the same show for 10 years in Las Vegas. Enter the stage of the street magician Steve Gray played by Jim Carrey who is a different kind of magician. New school where it is not enough to trick but to endure in reality the trick.

Faced with being thrown out of their Las Vegas home, Burt and Anton try to reinvent themselves as Nu magicians by doing a daring box trick of sitting in a box for 7 days. Unfortunately Burt is old school and too pompous and arrogant to learn a new trick. The act does not go well and Burt and Anton fall out. Leaving the Brain rapist Steve Gray to move in on their patch.

The premise of old and new school magicians battling out should have made this a wonderful silly film with lots of opportunities of ridiculing the new school dour melodramatic seriousness with Steve Gray playing a David Blaine like character. Whilst the old school of being glitzy hammy and fake tan and big hair of Burt and Anton a la Siegfried and Roy like but without the tigers. The potential of an Anchorman like film of silliness was here. Unfortunately there are no real laugh out loud moments and all the humour is pleasant polite titter. There is no bang and pizazz. The film is all set in the real world and no surreal moments unless you count the cameo of David Copperfield.

Alan Arkin plays Rance Holloway. The person who inspired Burt to take up magic where Burt encounters Rance in an old peoples home. Alan Arkin steals the show and the best bit is when he makes himself disappear from a hospital bed. Olivia Wilde is not really given much to do and like all magicians assistant is there to look pretty and let the magician get on with deceiving the audience.
 Jim Carrey plays his character well with his mock sincerity of the new school magician with very little face contortion until his appropriate end. Steve Carell and Steve Buscemi give likeable performances. Whilst James Gandolfini give a James Gandolfini performance.

This is a safe pleasant film with no real gross out moments and a few laughs. It leaves the audience wanting more but you leave disappointed and wonder why the film was given top billing. There should have been a flash and a bang. All you get is a lighter and a fizz.

5/10

Welcome to the Punch (2013) directed by Eran Creevey, 12th March

Plot 

Three years after master robber Jake Sternwood escapes England he has to return to London to rescue his son who has been gunned down mysteriously, allowing  detective Max Lewinsky another chance to catch him and give him redemption.

Review

Over the last few years the recent slew of Brit crime films that have made it to the silver screen have been a little disappointing with either cliched cockney gangsters or marauding gangs of youths. So I did not have high expectations for this film even with the name of Ridley Scott attached to this film.

Jake Sternwood returns to London to rescue his son allowing Max an opportunity to arrest his nemesis but not is all as it seems. Max is double crossed and an unlikely partnership between Jake and Max is formed so they can work out what is going on around them.

The issue with this film is the story. Unfortunately the story is a little thin and there is not much character development so you don't feel emotionally attached to any of the main characters. There is a political angle as well which is hinted at the start but just does not really feel satisfactory and appears to be tagged on. The film does explain all and it does tie in all the threads in the final exposition when Max finally works out what is going on but it feels altogether rushed.

Mark Strong playing Jake Sternwood gives a mean and moody performance. Whilst James McAvoy is a fresh faced but tightly wound detective given a shot at redemption after failing to catch him once before which left him physically and mentally damaged.

It is quite a violent film but not graphic and allows the audience to use their imagination for the graphic and brutal nature of the act.

Dare I say the film could have been 20 minutes longer to allow for more character development and given a more satisfactory feel to the film but I fear that the pacing and tension may have been lost in doing so.

There is a light comedy moment with the Granny house scene to an otherwise unrelenting onslaught in pace to the film and slows it down too. The slow-mo shoot out also works here and adds to the film.

What really works for the film is the pacing which gives great tension and a tautness to it. The blue wash look to London quite suits the film too.

The film ends with an opportunity for a sequel.

This is a fast paced action cops and robbers thriller which lasts for 100 minutes. The suspense and tension is there and it is a roller coaster of a ride leaving you on the edge of the seat. Forget the thinness of the story enjoy the ride or the punch that the film gives.

8/10

Identity Thief (2013) directed by Seth Gordon, 5th March

Plot

Mild mannered conservative Sandy Bigelow Patterson based in Denver, Colorado has had his identity stolen by a lady in Miami, Florida. With his job threatened and the lack of Police action to catch the culprit, Sandy decides to apprehend the harmless looking lady and bring her back to Denver to clear his good name.

Review

Once Sandy has caught up with his doppelganger he realises he cannot fly back to Denver from Florida and must drive back. From here you know it is going to be a road cum buddy movie where initially there is huge animosity between the two but through the road journey they bond and understand each other.

With the premise of catching a harmless compulsive liar what on the surface should be quite straight forward. You know it is not going to be and it should lead to many crazy capers and hair brained situations.

The film should be a lot funnier but unfortunately it is not.The leads are great with Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy but unfortunately the script and screen play just lets them down. It is let down because it is bland. The film just feels very pedestrian and there is no roller coaster ride to the film.

Big Chuck (Eric Stonestreet) has a great moment with Melissa McCarthy on the dance floor and Motel scene but all the other actors in the cast don't really get a look in in this film.

There are one or two great scenes especially the Motel scene but apart from this there are no other real highlights.

There also seems to have been a real lost opportunity in the film  with the lack or light use of the Bounty Hunter (Robert Patrick) and the Gangster duo ( Genesis Rodriguez and T.I.) in chasing the two Sandy's across America. There was an opportunity for a Midnight Run like caper.

In the end you know how the film is going to end with the usual redemption story. Alas the film is just executed in a paint by numbers way so the redemption at the end altogether feels quite underwhelming.

This is not a bad film it's just very average. I just had higher expectations and wanted to like this film much more.

6/10