The Dark Knight Rises review.

Review: 4.5 out of 5.

It is now the end of the Summer Blockbuster season and it is now time for the Bat to shed it's wings on the IMAX reel. No, this has nothing to do with vampires. Forget Twilight, its not for those fang lovers looking to either get eaten or to fulfill a dream that could only be found in erotica or soap opera and romantic novels. This is neo-noir or to put it blunt, a superhero film that blends crime, drama and thriller. High concept writer and director, Christopher Nolan, has carried the Caped Crusader in the space of nearly a decade. The first movie that rebooted the film series was Batman Begins (2005), which aimed for a more realistic tone and explored the origins of the Batman legend based on the DC comics character created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger. Nolan came back, this time with his brother, Johnathan, who co-wrote the script for the second installment in The Dark Knight (2008). This particular movie upped the anti and won 2 Academy Awards. With Nolan to return for the third and final chapter of The Dark Knight trilogy, can he break the rule of three-reel curse?

What's the story, you ask? The Dark Knight Rises opened eight years after the previous film. After Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) took all the blame for Harvey Dent's death and Batman has been missing ever since, Wayne has reduced to a recluse with his company plunging into rock bottom. Meanwhile, Commissioner James Gordon (Gary Oldman) is struggling in keeping the true reason behind Dent's activities which led to his demise. Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway) stole Wayne's fingerprints to place a trade in a fit of chance to somehow clear her criminal acts. Gordon promoted John Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) to detective - to persuade Batman to return as a new threat materialized in the form of powerhouse, Bane (Tom Hardy), who attempts to have the city of Gotham crumble under its own weight.

Good:

As usual Bale captured the man behind the mask and vice-versa profoundly well. It was excellent how Bale shifted through 3 faces of Bruce Wayne: the courageous, warm-blooded man who got trained by the League of Shadows, the enigmatic and irresponsible playboy and finally an incorruptible, driven, symbol that criminals now fear.

I loved the dynamic between the two characters between Batman and Bane, at first I was skeptical of the news that Nolan as the major antagonist in the film due to the treatment made to the character in the Schumacher era. However, I failed to realize how much of a wise decision it was as the character was a huge staple in Batman's history in the comics. Bane is every bit as intelligent and more than a match for The Dark Knight. Nolan envisioned a beginning of the end of a battle against crime and corruption in Gotham. Christopher, Johnathan and David S. Goyer structured a well complex, layered, story with twists and turns, foreshadowing and every device possible to wrap up the last adventure.


The cinematography by Wally Pfister maintained a surreal, urban, grimy look of this city and the choreography of the fight scenes were beautifully handled. The sound and the music by Hans Zimmer were not as great as last time, but it did carry the sequence fine and I can make that an exception. The production design from the costumes, vehicles, sets, aircraft, props, effects and designs are raw, gritty and military/black ops style as opposed to sleek, flashy and sexy. Hathaway's Catwoman has got to be one of the best interpretations of Batman's love interest and nemesis. The supporting cast including Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman and Oldman had less screen time but were prolific in their roles.

Bad:

Nolan's films tend not to have many flaws, for The Dark Knight Rises, it was quite a bit of technical errors such as Hardy's voice that is not clear throughout with annoying digital ringing to match. Not only that, but the music is not as captivating as the previous 2 films in the series. In addition, there were more than a few plot holes that lay across the screen like bad eggs. I don't want to spoil anything but there are some issues that happen that either aren't clear or don't make any sense e.g. how does Bane or Blake for that matter know Wayne's secret? Even the end had a knot that was quite loose.

Overall:

Apart from the back track in pacing and the fact that Wayne does not don the bat suit until the beginning of the 2nd Act, who could possibly complain? With an impressive cast, great effects work, on the ball dialogue and stunning directing and script that from all of the creative filmmakers that had input towards the final cut. If only they nailed the right pitch of Bane's voice.

- Written by Kbon

The Amazing Spider-Man 3D review.

Review: 3.5 out of 5.

I have reviewed a track record of superhero films in the past and 2 shows on TV with similar themes. In this day and age, it is cool to watch. Due to economic decline and strict guidelines, this genre may shift ever so closer to budget restraints.

Despite the lackluster Spider-Man 3 of the Sam Raimi series, there was high anticipation for a new Spider-Man film. When I heard they had restarted the franchise with another Director and completely different cast, I slipped from eagerness - curiosity as to know how Marc Webb would bring his own vision of the Web Head to the surface - as well as frustration. I mean does this story really need to be retold? After Spider-Man 4 was cancelled due to creative disputes and no commitment to fulfill the target release date for Sony, a safety measure was in place in case this happened.

Written by James Vanderbilt, Alvin Sargent and Steve Kloves, directed by Webb and produced by Avi Arad, Laura Ziskin and Matt Tolmach for Columbia Pictures. The untold story followed a young Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) who is trying to find his place in life after his parents Richard and Mary Parker (Campbell Scott and Embeth Davidtz) mysteriously left him as a child. Bitten by a genetically modified spider while he searched in OsCorp Tower for Dr. Curt Connors (Rhys Ifans), he now evolved and found purpose after the fall of his Uncle Ben (Martin Sheen) as Spider-Man and now protects New York City from danger.

Good:

First of all, the 3D is spectacular and appears very real and comes out the screen to astonishing quality. Visually and down to aesthetics, this reboot did exceed some of my expectations. Arguably, the tone was a lot darker in themes and the producers aimed for a Batman Begins feel. Garfield did a great job as Peter Parker/Spider-Man, however, I can't say I love his portrayal. I'll get more into that later. Parker and Gwen Stacy, played by Emma Stone, had a lot of chemistry, perhaps more than even Tobey Maguire's Parker and Kirsten Dunst's Mary Jane Watson in the Raimi Spidey trilogy. The storyline was great, but felt rehashed and was not the best interpretation of the origin story.

Nevertheless, the performances from the rest of the supporting cast was ecstatic. Stone gave a brave, spunky, life to Gwen that can be memorable. Unlike the past female love interests on the screen in this mythology, Stone's Gwen was less of a damsel of distress and more clever and assertive than Bryce Dallas Howard's Gwen. I grew accustomed to the new suit the studio made and was impressed with the stunts and I felt the CGI animation throughout were just as fluid as the previous 2 installments of the last series. Flash Thompson, in this movie, was more brutal and Chris Zylka pulled this off well. In addition, a wise-cracking hero is what had been missing in Raimi's run-through.

Bad:

The Amazing Spider-Man had some good points but the rating only just scratched a half way point between number 3 and 4 out of 5 stars. I was ill at ease by the pacing of the story. It did not deserve the way over 2 hour running time. Garfield did well as the superhero in the leading role but not so great as the character's alter-ego, Parker. I do not like the Emo Parker, I mean you might as well call him out as a Goth. I see they were trying to aim for an Ultimate Spider-Man rendition of the character from an imprint of the comic book series that re-imagined the web-slinger in the 21st century. Good move but not a better enough product with sustenance. 

Another thing is bad about this movie is it lacked drama. Although there were excellent action scenes, there was feelings of emptiness in parts between some of the interaction of the characters. Not that it was down to them being flat, but  it was more the actor's handle of the role. In one instance (SPOILER ALERT) the scene where Uncle Ben is infamously taken down by a lone gun from the supermarket, Garfield's acting was off. The same can be said to another character who sadly (SPOILER ALERT) passed away. An idea of the Lizard being the main villain wasn't bad, with him being an only threat, not good. He would more perfectly fit the role of a henchman. It needed someone other than him from the Marvel universe to fill his shoes and do the job.

Overall:

With a crispy, hot, production thanks to Sony, a firm script, sweet quips and amazing performances from Garfield as Spider-Man, Stone's Gwen and Ifans' portrayal of the slithery Lizard; the reboot had some flaws from the decision process, but it was rigid enough to stun us with great special effects and action scenes. Webb's version neither outshined or backtracked Raimi's version. 


- Written by Kbon

Avengers Assemble (2012) 2D review.

Review: 4 out of 5.

Before I start, I would like to apologize to readers for not updating with the latest information to you, in regards to material in the entertainment industry. I have been extremely busy these past 6 months as I had work elsewhere. As well as I would love to continue doing these reviews, education and a day/night job are important. There will be some changes on this blog in order to ensure this service remains visible. These will be small changes, although I won't reveal them until we reach toward our last quarter of this year. So, I am back where I started. Now, let's take a look of my newest scribe, shall we? This 2012, it's the moment we've all been waiting for; Avengers Assemble.

Way back in April, I booked tickets at my usual view-in, eager to see the preview of Marvel's all-time motion picture, The Avengers. (From now on, I'm referring to them as this. I think viewers can distinguish a few British spies from 7; minus 4, super-powered team members of a peace-keeping organization). Written by Zak Penn and Joss Whedon, the 143 minute extravaganza was directed by Whedon himself. The film opens with the leader of an extraterrestrial race called the Chitauri, who has plans for the human race. Meanwhile, on Earth, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), head of the government agency S.H.I.E.L.D. (Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement Logistics Division), and his deputy, Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) arrive in a covert research facility where Dr. Eric Selvig (Stellen Skarsguard) led a team of scientists to conduct experiments on the Tesseract. Many S.H.I.E.L.D. agents including Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) watch as the energy source continued to radiate a strange form of rays.

It appeared that Loki (Tom Hiddleston) has now arrived on Earth through a gateway from all of existence by the Tesseract. Loki retrieved the Tesseract and enslaved a number of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, Selvig and Clint Barton/Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) using his scepter. With no choice, Fury pushed the proverbial button and activated the "Avenger Initiative" that consist of Dr. Bruce Banner/The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.), Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans) and Thor (Chris Hemsworth), all brought together by Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Coulson, Fury and co. Now it is up to this group of "remarkable people" to destroy the Tesseract and prevent the wrath of Loki in a war topped off in otherworldly proportions.

Good:

The first 25 minutes of the film were just fast paced and epic. Even though its first act had lagged a bit due to some exposition, it still found its way during the middle. I was interested to know how Whedon was going to pull this one off, but he did it and went full sail ahead. Something 5 films worth (Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger) is a lot to put on any director's shoulders and especially in keeping with continuity if we're having to deal with cross pollinating each major character from their own solo movie and merge into a shared universe. The script was tight enough to do that.

I am very impressed by Whedon's take on his characters; Downey's wonder on Stark's charisma and ingeniousness were  indeed applauded. What I loved is Whedon had done the impossible and managed to grant all of the cast some equal screen time. Even the supporting cast attained a level of generous, clear, spotlight. Apart from the majority of team players, who stood out for me the most was The Hulk. As you know, there has been many actors throughout related media who portrayed Banner. On the silver screen, Eric Bana put on the purple pants in Ang Lee's Hulk in 2003, next in line was Edward Norton, who brought a more heroic lite with Louis Letterier at the helm. Ruffalo got the man and more importantly, the creature right. 

Another thing to note is the wave of humour that is ridden in parts of this spectacle. Loki was surprisingly the laugh out loud factor among other punchy antics that have been carefully sprawled around. The story does not take itself too seriously and the action between some of the characters were nothing short of awesome. I praise Seamus McGarvey for strong use of cinematography and elaborate edits by Jeffrey Ford and Lisa Lassek. The huge payoff was Whedon's contentious directing. Each actor had delivered their part well, including Mr. Jackson whose rendition of Director Fury was so well pact down, a true super spy.

Bad:

There was only a few things I had a problem with this movie. I mean you can't expect too much from a popcorn flick like this. Some of the plot points need clarity, mainly towards its final act. Loki has the most powerful object in the world, possibly the universe. Now why use it to distract only his biggest rogues gallery when he could use it to his full potential? I believe this plot device was underused. Plus, this caused Loki to be not much of an unprecedented threat. In fact, I will not reveal too much, but the actual threat is the last ditch effort in those last duration of minutes.

Sadly, although most of the characters had got their screen time, Hawkeye was not fleshed out properly due to the fact he spent most of the time out of character and therefore did not allow the viewers to dig more into his clean-cut, ask-questions-later, attitude. Apart from some dodgy visual effects in places, it is fine. There were some continuity errors but the average movie-goer would not be able to spot them.

Overall:

The Avengers managed to break many records at the box office and earned all of them one by one. With a naturally carved script, which marvelously balanced chipper laughs, fight scenes, drama and clever dialogue the cast all did their part superbly well. All were guided intricately scene by scene through great direction. Save for a few misses, the producers completed Phase One of the Marvel Cinematic  Universe. Time will tell for a next foray of men and hot women in tights, in cellular beat 'em ups.


- Written by Kbon

Still Life review.

Review: 3 out of 5.

Here, another underground artist, the visionary Graphic Designer and Rapper Kieron Boothe has made it with "Still Life". This mix-tape is the demonstration of his artistry. He worked with Aaron London, a singer-songwriter, MC and producer. From East London, Kieron has done well and revealed putting out another mix-tape very soon. My opinion, I have listened and I got to say, the originality is there and the content is quirky. No, that's not the right word for it, I think a perfect term is hybrid. Oh yeah, it's U.K. Hip Hop but this one crossed genres. I spoke to Kieron and insisted Grime is not where he'll go to. That, I can understand, but I'll get to that later.

Good:

Kieron really went all out in this collection of awe-inspiring tracks. Still Life is clearly about the many aspects of his entire life that has shaped up in his work. Every list of music, ripe for the picking, has a taste of who Kieron is as both an artist and the mistakes, problems and willingness to move forward. There are crazy times and other times he would share in this set. The mix-tape has many subjects people from aged 16 and older can relate to, but this ain't the usual school boy aggregation that fuels all of our teenage hormones (twenty somethings included). This is on a whole new level of development, I continue to listen and the hooks really do hold you in place. That is thanks to singer, Amanda Mellid, who sung and hit notes as pleasant as a Robin. Still Life reminded me somewhat of the Wretch 32 album, Black & White, though less about opposite ends of contrast and more of a half way point between vague and exposed. It is balanced and just about right, which bring me to the amalgamation of the crossed genres I said before.

From the rhyming to the production, most of whom composed by Aaron London, the airplay that came to a total of approximately over 32 minutes was amazing. While the crew swung by with songs as uncanny as Awkward, fast enough on point with any beat boxer and Mistakes featuring Mellid herself. This is the ballad or rainy day feel that showed the depth of how far he could plug away and elevate your conscience. On Still Life, the title track of the same set, I couldn't get over that punch line Kieron made "So I went from a boy to a teen, now a teen tryin' tah live a man's dream, Man it's real stuff, then it all went Almond's, real nuts". That was cool and the rest which followed blew up and combined everything neatly. I could go on and on, though it could drag on the whole review. Oh No weren't bad, the chorus was more on the irritating side but Kieron saved about a large majority of the song. Nice touch on the guitar, though.

Bad:

Not much I can say about the negative sides. Most tracks were likable, a couple stood out more than others. The only thing I didn't like was there are too many "fillers" and what I mean by that is a tune used only for the soul purpose of "chilling out" or "raving". Examples of these are Blue Sky, Oh No, Awkward and Dead End featuring Aaron London and Labrinth. While Awkward and Dead End were fine, Oh No was a bit much. I also felt they put a lot in at once, plus they were some that was a downer at times. I needed a high, something upbeat instead of mellow and only steady. It made Mellid not having much to work with even if they did fit her tone. Apart from this, it was a brilliant run and I did enjoy it.

Overall:

Great performance from Kieron, excellent concept and execution by many of the artists such as Aaron, Mellid and Labrinth and well mixed, composed master pieces by XX and again Aaron. I am blown away from the lengths that has gone into this mix-tape. It did come about as overwhelming at certain points and the hybrid flew easily through a pretty reasonable duration of air play. It fell right into place and the ideas didn't encircle. They are close to Karat gold.

- Written by Kbon.

Graveyard Grind (2012) review.

Review: 2.5 out of 5.

My next showcase of music is an underground artist called Igniite, with his mix-tape Graveyard Grind. It was released on the Datpiff website on the 27th January and has so far had quite a few plays ever since. He's fresh on the Grime scene and did a couple music videos you can actually view on his Igniite channel on Youtube. So what's my opinion? Not too bad, actually, but I feel it can be a little bit better.The artist did a lot of work to break through to people in any community about pain, struggle, hard work and happiness. However, I don't think it did enough to move everyone universally.

Good:

The mix-tape did have some parts that were adequate, like the Intro was sonically solid. I thought Igniite's tune was hot but I felt the start could of been more uplifting instead of slow and resolute. In this case, it's the set-up that started the whole part of the air play to a smooth start. "Grind Hard" feat. Young C wasn't too bad. The artist opposite Igniite has some hidden talent, which fell short only by his delivery. Apart from rocks, there is some tunes that speak for the ladies such as the track "She The Type", "My Strength" and "The Business". The last one was better out of all of the three and is well defined for its dreamy melody and finer content.

Bad:

Sadly, there was only a few tracks out of this mix-tape I believed was fine and saw past my judgement but I felt it didn't do enough to make a favourable clash on my I-Tunes library. Igniite promised, or at least attempted to reach to many age groups and barely crossed genders. The tape had a limited resource for content that spoke mainly about street credibility such as grinding, I am saying it's not right and I'm not trying to be a Good Samaritan. It's how you do it: sex, drugs, money and other illegal acts or negative stuff can be dealt with in another light and this was blatant.

Overall:

With a swell choice in selective range of music, cool swag and satisfactory list of guests such as Young C, J.A.Y and Jay Tee it was dampened by a concept that dries up fast. Sometimes it's okay to showboat but other times it can be too much. The statement Igniite made about the tape doesn't prove to me everyone can really connect with it. Graveyard Grind can only target Londoners who just hit puberty or those in their early to mid 20's. Igniite would do better in breaking out of the force bubble he trapped himself in than embracing it, especially in a niche genre as this.

- Written by Kbon.

Take Care (2011) review.

Review: 3.5 out of 5.

October's very own, "Drizzy", is back with his 2nd album, Take Care. Serving as his answer to his debut from the Summer of 2010 from his last album, Thank Me Later, Producer. 40 really knew how to shake things up this time around. It has been evident Drake had been really sticking with studio time rather than chilling in his spare time in-between tours. The first track from Take Care I heard was "Headlines", then "Free Spirit" which featured Rick Ross, "Club Paradise" and lastly "The Real Her" (although Free Spirit and Club Paradise did not make it to the final track listing). I remember the last time I reviewed one of his album's and it seems like such an after thought now.

Good:

Released in November 15th 2011, Drake's transition from his debut has spread and defined who we are dealing with. No longer are we in front of an artist back in Toronto who is fresh, but an artist who carried weight. Not as many artists can be found here apart from The Weeknd, Rihanna, Birdman, Rick Ross, Andre 3000, Lil Wayne and of course Nicki Minaj compared to the large plethora of artists a year back. Many of his songs I actually liked. Sticking with past relationships, family and more about where he came from, where he is now and where he intends to go, Drake touched on how he is dealing with fame and his lifestyle in the fast lane and home. Unlike Thank Me Later, there was more focus, down tempo and is chilling without being too tranquil.

The best songs here was "Over My Dead Body", "Take Care", "The Real Her" and "Practice" for those ladies out there and those who are into neat sounds. I am very impressed with the great recording, mixing and production gone into the LP thanks to 40., T-Minus and Jamie xx. For those who aren't fond of that "sweet boy" Mitzvah don't feel left out, there's always ""Underground Kings", that Lowinski magic with "Make Me Proud" with Minaj and "HYFR" (Hell Ya Fucking Right) with Weezy. His lyrics on his own two feet coincide with his rapping ability. For me, what stuck out for me was "Cameras", "Over My Dead Body", "Underground Kings" and "The Real Her", especially in Andre 3000's verse. I'm a fan of his time from Outkast, he's a beast and he went in.

Bad:

Drizzy is better this time around, but only just a couple notches. My least favourite has got to be "Headlines", "Crew Love" and "Lord Knows". I will come back to these three later but my main issue is his trait of being relative to people as much as its his greatest strength may also be his most greatest vulnerability, lyrically and critically. I mean look at the boycott from Common. What I'm detracted from is when he sings, I can't feel it. I mean I feel the lyrics, but not the rhythm. Not the music, but the vocals. They don't vary, I mean there's only so much a rapper/singer can do. A few songs I began to notice this in was in "Shot For Me" and "We'll Be Fine". Now that we have a clear picture of who Drizzy is, I fear if he continues he might start to fade. How much "Bein' real" can you do? Eventually, you have to dig into the higher reaches than finer things in life. I am not feeling The Weeknd either. All I'm sayin' is he got to try something else, FAST!

Overall:

I haven't forgotten about the tracks I disliked, hold on. Drizzy has enough lyrics to load a shotgun and put out a hit list. Noah "40" Shebib really knows how to put it down, I credit him for topping this one. A descent, steady, collaboration from the likes of Rihanna, Kendrick Lamar, Lil Wayne and Andre 3000. "Headlines" felt like it was rushed plus there was nothing concrete in terms of rhythm and content while "Lord Knows" has got to be the most controversial, the thing about "Mink coats" and having relations with it, c'mon Ricky. As for "Crew Love", I ain't feeling XO (The Weeknd) to his OVO (Drake) but Drizzy has put out a good LP that will keep us busy for the time being.

- Written by Kbon.

The Darkest Hour (2011) film review.

Review: 1.5 out of 5.

Of all the highest grossing films of 2011 I have watched, the film I reviewed is definitely the lowest, at least critically. The Darkest Hour was so bad, I almost slept throughout the entire film. That is not me exaggerating, I assure you. If any of you watched Skyline, this is a lot worse. I won't go into specifics right now, but I'll go into the background detail along the way.

Released 25th December 2011, a non-Christmas Day Special guarantee, the Russian-American production was directed by Chris Gorak and produced by Timur Bekmanbetav (Wanted) and ran a tedious 89 minutes. The motion picture with its tag line "Survive the Holidays" followed two young American men, Sean (Emile Hirsch) and Ben (Max Minghella) who travel to Moscow to sell their very own software to the company, headed by a Swedish businessman. Unfortunately, their passion project has been ripped from them (cough Social Network) and were thrown out. Sean and Ben start to woo beautiful women in the company, how convenient both the women they end up with, Natalie (Olivia Thirlby) and Anne (Rachael Taylor) are also American.

Fast-forward 15 minutes later, everyone looked outside at the night sky as a sudden glow appeared just when many aurora balls of light fell down. An invasion began to ensue as invaders protected by force fields ravaged the area, vaporizing every man, woman and child who got in their way. They proceed to consume the humans electrical resources.

Good:

It was hard to note anything great about the film, what I do appreciate is the concept they were going for, which is an alien invasion from Russia's perspective and the fact these creatures are far beyond humanoid and more so another plane of existence, which is raw energy. The length of the production gone into the film was not the best and is satisfactory, but the potential, basic, premise fell very short in the actual interpretation.

Bad:

There were many things that were bad about the sci-fi that is hard to muster in one go. First of all, the script by Jon Spaihts was trite. I hardly think there was any structure at all in this film, it started off fine up until the arrival of the aliens but pacing went completely out of whack and was a drag all the way through. It was noisy, not contained and went hay-wire. Everybody went beserk including the main cast who was frighteningly 2 dimensional in personality, drive and reaction. It is like the actors who did these characters didn't even try. There is really nothing more to say here.

The film was so bad, even through the last half of the 2nd act that I couldn't watch it anymore. The direction was so apalling, by the time some of the characters teamed up with the Russian's and found a solution to their perdicament, that was it for me. If anyone saw this would damn well agree with me. It was undercooked and I grew sick of what they fed me.

Even the music was depressing, balled together with awful screams with sweet, fitting, executions. Sooner or later, you will tire of the executions and could not really invest in the characters. So much that you could hardly care if they lived or died. Most of all, I couldn't take any of the actors or director for that matter, seriously.

Overall:

The film had a descent premise, but was engrossed in trash; flat characters, lazy cast, futile script, poor direction and production that would of been great if a little more thought had gone into the movie instead of screams, overbearing slow pace and less flashing lights. Watch Kanye's music video, he'll give you tips on brightness and contrast. Don't bother watching this on 3D, your better off renting a cheap copy in your local DVD or Blu-ray store just to add to your collection. The next review will be Drake's second outing, Take Care LP.

- Written by Kbon.