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

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.

The Misfits Series 3 review.

Review: 2.5 out of 5.

Back again with a vengeance, reviewing one of the most infamous shows to ever stalk our TV screens. Said to be a program that is dark but with sharp humour, its Heroes meets Skins. For those who don't know what Misfits is, get on track here and quit living under a rock. Its about a rag tag group of young offenders on ASBO who end up during their community service, getting struck by an electric storm and discover the five of them have super powers. Kind of sweet, don't you think? Well, not if you have limited control and your special abilities are crap to the bone. Now in its Third Season, the ASBO 5; Simon Bellamy (Iwan Rhoen), Curtis Donovan (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett), Nathan Young (Robert Sheehan) Kelly Bailey (Lauren Socha) and Alisha Bailey (Antonia Thomas) spent the first two series in community service avoiding suspicion from authority and getting leaked to the public about the missing probation workers they accidentally killed whilst they deal with people who have also been affected by the storm.

On the E4 network, Misfits, created by Howard Overman is now in the penultimate episode to its conclusion. With the absence of Sheehan, I feared this series would fall short, as Nathan's character, let's face it, is the star of the show. The 7th episode before the finale is here. After Series 2 ended with a Priest who masqueraded as Jesus caused pain in the group, they gave their powers away to a dealer named Seth (Matthew McNulty), who has the ability to remove an individual's powers and transfer them to someone else, a cliffhanger left all of them with a possibility of getting new powers. In Series 3, the ASBO 5 (except for Nathan) is joined by Rudy Wade (Joseph Gilgun), an obnoxious yet insecure pain-in-the-butt who got the power to create a duplicate with a separate personality. They return to community service thanks to Rudy and the show has gotten weirder ever since. With a lot more fanatics and mayhem involved, it becomes freaky central as many have the opportunity to sell or buy abilities.

Good:

This episode had Curtis claim a new power called Resurrection from Seth after his old power of changing gender forced him to become a woman permanently (I prefer time manipulation he used to have). In return, Seth wants a favour to bring his deceased girlfriend back to life. Unfortunately, all hail breaks loose as the rebirth has unforeseen side effects, which results in total damnation in a zombie onslaught. Not a bad episode and the punchlines cracked in the right places. Gilgun as Rudy was great to watch. His performance was well conducted and had fit his character spot on.

Story was not great, it fell too much into Shaun of the Dead fields but Overman did correct in measuring the drama and comedy aspect of the TV show. Gore was blown out and gross, laying out the supernatural aspect of the show. The lines were fairly descent and not too out of place but I did feel Simon's knowledge is based on a particular Capcom game and him admittedly stating the zombies are "Gonna keep us until we're trapped in a shopping centre" as the basis and reason for killing all the zombies as opposed to "Keeping off the grid" was quite forced. Although, I did appreciate the irony of cheerleaders in the mix. Mr. Miggles was one of the great additions to this episode. Just the name itself and what he did to that poor old woman is tongue-in-cheek laughter at it's best.

Directed by Will Sinclair, the person who did the 3rd and 5th episode of this Season really knew how to not let the rest go low key. This was just a "filler" as such, but more-so a good attempt to put Kelly's relationship with Seth to the test. I thank Sinclair and Overman for a gritty but fun installment of utter blood-lust and throttling escapades. The majority of the cast did well to react to zombie cheerleaders and their acting was pretty good. Special effects were not so fluid but its not terrible either. I felt Seth's girlfriend was not given much justice character wise and in performance as well but I'll get on to that later.

Bad:

I have watched every single episode of Misfits and this Season lacked a certain balance and focus, which the last two had. Enough of the "Nathan come back charade", Sheehan isn't coming back and not for awhile. In regular TV, it often happens, get used to it. Even if Sheehan was to come back, what makes you think his character would be able to maintain his cheeky gags with a new role as a father? Overman had some ingenious concepts that now reshaped his setting within his universe but the story now adopts this "story arc" way of writing than "character arc". I guess what I'm trying to say is as a whole, this episode and the entire series could have done better with more clear themes that doesn't allow it to go way off. You can tell other writers "chipped in" as the style is different.

The problem I had with this episode save for the creator finding new ways to kill probation workers (only kidding) is it's not that it was not entertaining but it's just that there's nothing here that benefits the series and was really just fun. Silly, but practically a good run. What didn't help is Seth's girlfriend being turned from a likable supporting character that could bust Seth's chops into another "villain of the week" role. Worse off is her urges, although well put on, is pretty flat. Her character wasn't developed enough. Nothing much was going on save for cheerleaders doing their practice on the site, Simon's fetish of dress up, Rudy's inferior fear of cheerleaders and Kelly's temporary break up. I was dissatisfied with the special effects usage on Seth's old flame's Resurrection but the editing and production weren't too bad.

Overall:

A zombie love fest at it's worst, it can beat Lesbian Vampires without swinging a bat. Overman didn't do too bad on script-writing duty, but it could of been done better. I really liked the final showdown with the zombie-cheerleaders even though I haven't got the slightest clue why they're at the centre. The Misfits themselves were bad as hell; Simon as the leader is smooth, Curtis I'm glad is over that shape-shifting mess, Kelly says it like it is, Rudy is just a prat and Alisha I wish had more clout. The visuals was clear-cut, gory and in your face with poor effects, okay-ish acting but nice directing, screams and humour I laughed my arse off. The next and final episode looks promising and I hope I see more Super Hoodie. Next post is back to films.

- Written by Kbon.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes review.

Review: 4 out of 5.

When I saw that there was going to be another adaptation of Planet of the Apes, I didn't know what to think. I watched the remake in 2001 with Mark Wahlberg and I felt almost like dung was being thrown in my face. Seriously, it was that bad. I flicked through all trailers on TV and decided to go watch only after my friend did who said it was fantastic. I'm not too familiar with the franchise, only after watching it and browsing on the internet, I realized there were many other films made into adaptations of the book by Pierre Boulle in a film series. This movie is more of an origin story or you could say a prequel to the original series from the late 60's and early 70's.

Now a decade since the remake in 2001 was introduced to the general public to a new generation, Rise of the Planet of the Apes is a reboot by 20th Century Fox. The film is directed by Rupert Wyatt. It followed Will Rodman (James Franco), scientist of the pharmaceutical, Gen-Sys. Rodman is trying to develop a cure for Alzheimer's disease and is using a genetically engineered virus on chimpanzees. The virus initially repairs neurons in their brain and then mutates. Bright Eyes (Terry Notary), having given birth to a baby chimp, ran amok in the experiment and caused a ruckus in a board meeting where Rodman presented the cure and is killed. It turned out she was only protecting her baby and after Rodman is told to eradicate all test subjects by Steven Jacobs (David Oyelowo), his boss; Robert Franklin (Tyler Labine), the ape handler, advised that Rodman take care of the baby chimp. Rodman took him home and his father named it Caesar (Andy Serkis).

8 years later, Caesar, inherited by his mother's genes of a high scaled intelligence; now evolved into a human pet. He can communicate with Rodman using sign language. Rodman tests a sample of the cure to his father, Charles (John Lithgow), who is struck with Alzheimer's disease. At first, he improves but his Dementia slowly returned as his immune system fought off the virus. Tortured by gate keepers, in a Primate Sanctuary, by John Landon (Brian Cox) and Dodge (Tom Felton), Caesar rose to power and led the other apes in a revolution against human society and oppression. The uprising has begun.

Good:

One of the best films of 2011, this Ape feature could tussle even Peter Jackson's King Kong all the way to the top. I am pleased with the fact it delivered. It has a rich story which explained a lot of things. It really played well the angle the filmmakers were getting at; the apes high IQ being a result of genetic engineering, the fall of mankind and the ape's rebellion all fit into place. I mean, I couldn't buy extraterrestrials in monkey form, could I? All those favour of Oozaru, don't remind me.

The strengths was the stupendous work on motion capture with all the apes by Chernin Entertainment including Serkis' role of a prodigal, morbid, Caesar, who proved more than just a pet. James Franco nailed the struggling doctor pretty hard and could balance his dramatic interactivity with his relationships between the father, boss, primatologist girlfriend Caroline Aranha, played by Freida Pinto and his companion every bit as tight. His character arc was told very skilfully and Franco knew how to grow aware of something a little out of nature brought into reality. Stepping past the fact he is not speaking with a chimp is not easy to conduct. I commend the majority of the main and supporting cast for their handiwork.

Bad:

Surprisingly it did not have many flaws, if not next to nothing. I only have a problem with the pacing of this magnificent story. It was a snail pace from the beginning but that was minor. At least it wasn't talkative and it was pretty unexpected. In most origin stories, Act 1 is the slowest, but it depends on a lot of factors; the impact of the inciting event or build up towards it and how much the audience want to invest in the characters. If they have a rich background, obviously it will take a while to present it on screen. On the other hand, there are exceptions.

Although the performances from the leading roles equally on the human and chimp races, including stunning visual effects, there was something about it that was missing. I expected more on the delivery. Now, I don't get "too gassed" on movie trailers, but let's be real everyone - we bought tickets (some of us) so that we can enjoy a well spent film, ain't that right? I'm not saying this wasn't but I wanted more in terms of big scale action. Its a revolution in the making, for Christ sake. This is very big since Parallax's attack in Coast City (Green Lantern), at least make it feel like one. Reason I say this is a few scenes from the trailer was missing; one clip from a tree climbing scene was supposed to have Dodge appear looking from below who is scared of the ape plus two other scenes I won't spoil. Another thing I was most disappointed in was the ending was quite weak. Though, it did make sense which wasn't too bad.

Overall:

This review should be 3.5 out of 5, but for astounding performances from James Franco, Andy Serkis and Tom Felton made it 4 stars. Brilliant acting, script, direction; I applaud Rupert Wyatt for his vision in making this film happen. With scrupulous editing or continuity issues during post-production and a less impacted ending it could be a titchy bit more epic. Music by Patrick Doyle complimented the action scenes. The post credit sequence also fit most pieces together in store for any future sequels. If you're into sci-fi or have a love of animals, this is the movie for you. That's it, I'm taking a break from reviewing films. Next up, is Blaze Barnation's mixtape, Barnation World.

- Written by Kbon

Cow Boys and Aliens review.

Review: 2 out of 5.

I was going to see the premiere one day at the O2 but cancelled. My rotten luck, well let's face it, life doesn't always give you what you want. So, I conclude in one simple opinion that this movie is below mediocre. Its a show reel that has every sequence tarnished. I will be quick, Cow Boys and Aliens is written by Damon Lindelof, Alex Kurtzman, Robert Orci, Mark Fergus and Haw Ostby. The screenplay was formed by a story from the latter two writers and Steve Oedekerk. It was directed by Jon Favreau (Iron Man), the film is based on the graphic novel in 2006 created by Scott Mitchell Rosenberg (I think his last name might be Russian for "where I got my madness from"). It was published by Platinum Studios. Enough credits, I don't feel like commending anybody today. Oh well, here we go.

Good:

This 118 minute sci-fi western had a terrific start, as we go neck-deep into New Mexico, 1873. A loser found himself in the middle of nowhere, struck in the abdomen, memory loss and some futuristic bracelet on his wrist. The amnesiac (Daniel Craig) fought his way out of capture and reached a small town, Absolution. Preacher Meachem (Clancy Brown) dressed his wound. Following a confrontation with Percy Dolarhyde (Paul Dano), we learn the stranger is Jake Lonergan from Sheriff Taggart (Keith Carradine). He attempted to arrest Jake as he is a wanted man. Almost free, Jake is knocked unconscious by an unfamiliar woman named Ella Swenson (Olivia Wilde), who he met earlier in a bar.

Elsewhere, Woodrow Dolarhyde (Harrison Ford), Percy's father, arrived in Absolution to bail his son out. He also wanted Jake, who stole Woodrow's gold. Suddenly, flying saucers attack the town. Percy, the Sheriff and many civilians are taken hostage in what appeared to be space ships. Jake managed to hold them off with the bracelet that fashioned into a weapon. He fired a powerful laser beam that shot down one of the ships as the rest dispersed. The remaining survivors of the invasion; Jake, Woodrow, Ella, Doc (Sam Rockwell), Emmett Taggart (Noah Ringer) and Meacham track down the missing passenger who threatened a lot of people. The assailant is obviously not from this world and escaped onto the desert.

At this point, Jake started to collect parts of his memories about him being involved with a woman, Alice (Abigail Spencer), before they were abducted by aliens. The flick does have its strong points with Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford who fit well in the cast and the actors presumably had fun playing their roles. The story was put together nicely, but along the way it kind of fumbled itself and did not seem right. The aliens were good cave dwellers but they are not that bright in the metaphorical and literal sense. There is a flaw in their logic and motive. The performances from most of the cast was excellent, setting was exotic, steaming and class plus the visual effects and shots were okay.

Bad:

Now, the fact is I don't usually watch Westerns. I appreciate them for what they are, but it's not my taste. Usually, the reality is most run on the same old formula; if it's not Cow Boys chasing Indians, its a traditional cops and robbers anecdote. Don't get me wrong, some Westerns like Spaghetti Westerns, "The Wild Wild West", "No Country For Old Men" and "True Grit" are good but I rather go for a Western that has something different. To be fair, Cow Boys and Aliens did have potential but flopped on its own merits. I guess there is different and way up in the stars. It had no structure and lacked a voice. You can see the style of what devices are used and how it is told. Flashbacks and flash-forwards are very much Lindelof's style plus the swagger and dramatic tension is largely Kurtzman and Orci's.

Although the actors performed well in the respective characters, one of them, Ella played by Wilde I had trouble with. The big reveal in her role was too predictable and her characterization made her seem very solitary, which ain't too bad, however it is flat. There wasn't much Wilde could do since its how she was being written. Her figure was stunning and she did as best as she could at the least, but some more interaction with the other characters may be noted. Sequences with the aliens themselves were cool, but there wasn't much depth in their grand plan and their object of pursuit weren't explained very well. I won't give out too much but let's just say it didn't sink in too deep and was not clear. This is sad because the conflict between the aliens and humans faced is quite interesting, creepy and did shake me up a little bit (jokes).

One next factor is it had drama but poor on the action, I'm not expecting a lot of shooting, wide explosions, fisty-cuffs and death rays "The Expendables" style but the middle section did not have much tension. Most carried out was coming up with an initiative to defeat the aliens rather than a hint of challenges. It couldn't hurt with some humour either, its difficult to relate to something as outlandish as this. I mean Firefly had some quirks and it was successful, why? Because it had a brilliant cast, slick, multicultural, storyline, it also balanced action, tension and humour. The dialogue on that show had wit and even one of the captain's held a gun. Not to say this movie didn't have guns, but they knew how to use it. A friend told me Westerns are known for their focus on landscapes and panoramic shots. That is true, but without dilemma or favorable characters, it would be dull.

Overall:

Smooth direction, wonderful cast, superb premise but a patchy script and huge downplay on action. It had poor characterization from Ella who did fine as some female stranger but did not have much edge or affection to land her in the same league of Craig or Ford's character. Same can be said for the aliens, their purpose for their invasion was sketchy and the reason is stupid and made no sense. Its plot was extremely straight and narrow, their twists and turns weren't felt at all and can be guessed. Though its ending was crisp and sweet. Visuals, shots plus edits were pretty satisfactory, but continuity weren't kept up and lost integrity. The only time I'll watch this again is if I join the cast of a sequel for Attack the Block.

- Written by Kbon

Smallville Season Finale review.

Review: 4 out of 5.

Sorry people, it has been a long time since I reviewed anything for Kbon Reviews. Bad, I know but I have been occupied in the last few months. I wrote a piece on the Fast and Furious 5 plus I am set to examine the music video by Phoenix Da Icefire on the Five Jewels. Before I continue, I would like to recommend all of you to check on the posts by a friend call Andre. His blog is www.nemesisthehunter.blogspot.com and has been doing some interesting stuff recently. Look out for the animation trailer, which is during Nemesis the Hunter's Mark issue 1. Follow his blog and support the cause. Right, now its back to my review on Season 10 of Smallville.

There are so many episodes this show has I would like to comment about but the one I would be glad to review the most is "Finale part 1 and 2". Its been almost a decade since the first Pilot episode aired in 2001. Not many TV shows last this long, hardly any even make it past the third season. For me, I watched it on and off when it was shown on the T4 Channel in the UK and on E4. I got back into the show when it hit Season 8 when Clark Kent (Tom Welling) had to face "the Ultimate Destroyer", Smallville's answer to Doomsday (Davis Bloome) played by Samuel Witwer. It was more interesting, plus I never saw what the fuss was about in their showdown, it was not that great but it wasn't terrible either.

Good:

"Finale Part 1" written by Al Septien and Turi Meyer and directed by Kevin Fair, to be honest, had a very slow pace. It was mostly about Clark's persistence in not being left at the altar, once Lois Lane (Erica Durance) began to have cold feet in the previous episode, "Prophecy". She became insecure of the fact she is taking on a big responsibility with grounding a lover of god-like calibre, especially a superhero. Despite its slow beginning it did have some good points. The messages of not forgetting the past but remembering them and learning from your history in order to put things right in the future was inspiring. These lessons were learned from Johnathan and Martha Kent (John Schneider and Annette O'toole) respectively. When it came down to the wedding, it just went out with a bang. Oliver Queen, Clark's best man, also known as Green Arrow, was unfortunately marked by the darkness in the form of an Omega symbol. It turned out Darkseid wanted to get rid of our Boy Scout for good by slipping Clark with gold kryptonite. This rare meteor rock could strip him of his powers for good.

Smack in the middle of "Finale Part 2", teleplay written by Brian Peterson and Kelly Souders but directed by Greg Beeman, after Clark lifts Oliver from the darkness by a calm, altruistic sense of persuasion, both heroes find an even larger threat in the form of a literal Hell on Earth. At this point, more action sequences kick in (finally) as it is where the script gets tight. One good thing about this 2 hour finale of this series is although it is a TV double bill, if you will, on the CW network, this feels more like a TV movie. This episode has the biggest cast, superbly talented, in season 10 and we have guest star galore with Allison Mack as the inquisitive, Oracle dweller, Chloe Sullivan. John Glover does well as usual in his portrayal of Lionel Luthor, this time of an alternate Earth. So too did Michael Rosenbaum who reprised his role as Lex Luthor.

Bad:

Despite all the highlights of this episode, there were some negative parts as well. Flaws of continuity have been present throughout e.g. the fight between Clark and Evil Oliver at the wedding. One minute they have toppled on a basin near the altar full of Holy Grail, the next shot both men appear dry. One instance, Lois, while in the Daily Planet arguing with a reporter about getting a seat at Air Force One and warning the President of an invasion. Here, Lois knocks out this reporter, but when she is on the ground, the victim is still moving afterwards. Its just these shots are not that consistent within the frames, either the editor did a bad job or its down to the actors. Another thing I am unsatisfied with is Clark's battle with Darkseid, in more ways than one, its the worst ever showdown with a major antagonist on Smallville. I can't ruin the whole show but expect the fight to be less than spectacular, at least his battle with General Zod in season 9 was better. It actually makes Darkseid too much of just a mere presence and not intimidating enough. The villain is supposed to be the hero's share in might or surpasses him/her in one way. Never his/her subordinate, although there are some exceptions but only to serve as comic effect. There is also lengthy montage during the little tussle, which was not at all necessary. Nevertheless, the production team did a great payoff at the end.

Overall:

Executive producers Brian Peterson and Kelly Souders did a fantastic job with the second half in the Finale. The beginning felt slow and unmovable, there were some parts in the 2-hour epic, which need a touch up but the rising force on an intergalactic scale allowed the pace to get more interesting. There was some brilliant set pieces, the lighting was perfect apart from messy cinematography and loud, blaring music in a few places. All the cast did wonderful with one small fluke by Cassidy Freeman as Tess Mercer, but her role has served a purpose that was true in character. As for the Superman suit, very Brandon Routh with a Christopher Reeve edge but its a shame Tom Welling is not seen much inside the costume. This is a must see guarantee, go and buy the DVD along with the box set while you're at it.

- Written by Kbon

Tron Legacy (2010) review

Review: 3 out of 5 stars.

The first time I watched Tron was in the late nineties and I was around six years old. At the time, it was on satellite TV and this was before Sky had been widely available to everyone. I had NTL Broadband, the company is known as Virgin Media now. From what I remember, Tron was about a computer whiz named Kevin Flynn who is an employee at ENCOM, a software company, where he used to make the best video games for.

It was a well contrived film that is known for its remarkable imagination and stunning graphics at the time in 1982. Rumours of a forthcoming sequel in production and being green-lighted had spread. I even swore I saw a small ad for Tron 2 at an old rental store where I used to get blockbuster movies and thrilling martial arts films. At last, though, Tron Legacy is here in 2010 and reached theatres in December in most of Europe. When I first saw and heard what they were doing with this movie, I felt it was going to do an appalling job at the box office, but actually, it did become a feasible hit.

Tron Legacy is directed by Joseph Kosinski who is known in the commercial television and feature world as a wizard in computer graphics and visual effects. It stars Jeff Bridges who reprised his role as Kevin Flynn from the previous film and plays the digital counterpart, Clu 2, Garrett Hedlund plays his fully grown son, Sam Flynn, Bruce Boxleitner took on the role of Alan Bradley, a stepfather of Sam ad Tron; a security program. With a screenplay written by Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis, the film lasted 127 minutes, produced by Steven Bailey, Jeffrey Silver and writer and director of the first film, Steven Lisberger. It was distributed by Walt Disney Pictures.

Good:

Where the last instalment of Tron left off, Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) has become CEO of ENCOM International and led the industry by storm until his sudden disappearance in 1989. His son, Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund), is left an orphan and heir to his father’s multi-national enterprise. Over two decades later, Sam became a rebel; he does not have any interest taking control of ENCOM and often makes fun of members in the board meeting with his skills in extreme sports. His last stunt gets him arrested by the police after he parachutes off from the ENCOM building. Alan Bradley (Bruce Boxleitner) then approaches Sam about a message he received on his pager, mysteriously sent by Sam’s father, ironically, the connection was cut for years. This came from an old arcade, without hesitation, Sam began to explore the abandoned place for clues only to find a room at the other side of the arcade inside a laboratory. He finds the computer and gets digitized by a prototype machine, some kind of laser.

In the opening scene, a few minutes into the film, evidence of a dysfunctional relationship is found between Kevin and Sam. Told in a fairytale or story book archetypical narrative, eight year old Sam is told by Kevin about the digital landscape hidden within a computer named “The Grid” where programs are represented as humanoid-electronic beings inside systems. This gives new audiences some closure and fills us with necessary information in order to know what it is about. Fans of the original film also are given ideas on where its source began and where it is heading. From the initial 30 minutes, we learn before Kevin was missing, he promised to change society through science, religion and medicine from his autobiographical book “The Digital Frontier”. Also, that Kevin had created a new User friendly system where programs and users can integrate. Those who are Tron fans know Kevin visited the virtual world once before.

Hedlund provided a great performance as Sam and made a convincing, heroic, protagonist in the sequel. His moments of loss, missing his Dad, can be felt by viewers but how the character deals with such aggravated emotions is quite intriguing. Any calculated or observant individual can see through his very hardened exterior and realise he is lonely. The story is not all that fantastic, considering it took at least thirty years to get a visionary project off the ground. However, its visuals and cinematography are nothing short of beautifying. The disc battles and light-cycle races are cool. This is where IMAX 3D comes in handy, it’s done in an ultraviolet fashion on a grand scale. Dark, lightning-filled, skies give the notion you are inside a videogame with futuristic cities. About forty minutes into Tron Legacy as Sam encounters the enigmatic Clu 2 (Bridges) and facing Rinzler (Anis Cheurfa), a masked warrior who fights against users or rogue programs, in a deadly battle with discs, he meets Quorra (Olivia Wilde).

Bad:

The problem with Tron Legacy is there is not much character development and the script is not that engaging to be on the level of Inception neither is the plot original. I have no qualms toward how successful this film is, on the other hand, it seems the film crew have leaned too much on the lens of 3D rigs and cameras plus various angles on the whole landscapes in the setting than actually focus upon the structure. There is an obvious style over substance here, and it did not help with two writers whose credits include television shows like One Tree Hill and Lost being under the wing of a fan boy director who only so far as done adverts. Another thing is the movie has a few holes in continuity and storyline; the positioning of characters within some medium and long shots and timeline. For example, how can a program (Clu 2) send a message to a pager? No sort of intelligence can do that. Plus how come Sam does not have the same god-like abilities as his father, I mean he is a user?

By the time Sam and Quorra locate Kevin in a wasteland off The Grid, tragedy is replaced by a need to leave which is a bit too quick. If given enough time, the dynamic between all of them should have been show more, especially from Kevin and Sam given that it is a father-son story. In the middle, Kevin reveals his gift to the real world were ISO’s (isomorphic algorithms), special beings of unknown origin who can unlock mysteries in the human condition. Clu 2 destroyed them as he believed they were a threat to the system. The message here from this meeting is hubris and perfection, which are good topics in action/adventure but more details of the purge of ISO’s and those contexts and themes should have been dealt with more. Sound was deafening including the robotic voices of programs, save for the Sirens, but was layered over by a superb music score from Daft Punk. I will not spoil Clu 2’s master plan but it’s not hard to work out.

Overall:

Tron Legacy is a fun, simple, thrilling motion picture with stunning 3D inspired CGI visuals in place of a slapdash script and faithful direction. Actors have played the characters with gravitas and energy. Although, I do feel Sam could have shown a little more resentment towards his Dad for being missing for so long but there was a sense of unsettlement, so I can’t really complain. The high point goes toward the score by Daft Punk, which is a very good choice and works extremely well along with the picture. With a lot to work with, sustenance would be the key in making us feel more satisfied. This is for people that want to be on their seat feeling energized and fans of the previous film.

- Written by Kbon

Buried film Review

Review: 2.5 out of 5.

Sorry guys, I've been slacking these past couple of months but I have got at least two reviews up there that are ready for my inspection. I am concentrating on films at the moment, but I will get back to music very soon. This year has been my luck watching so many rubbish films, I may have to call this site "Kbon Worst Reviews". Joke aside, this movie was not too bad, however, it could possibly be chucked into the gutter if not brought to the right hands - like mine.

Buried was released in September 24th 2010 in the United States and everywhere sometime in October. It is directed by Rodrigo Cortes starring Ryan Reynolds as Paul Conroy, a truck driver buried alive in a casket in Iraq with only his Blackberry mobile phone, torch, lighter and Zippo. It turns out he was captured by an Iraqi kidnapper (with a ridiculous Middle Eastern accent) and threatens to put the lives of his family in danger if Paul does not make a ransom video and the wire transfer of up to $5,000,000 dollars. Through Reynolds' cynical and innocent attempts at black humour, we learn about the mysterious captor from the FBI official; on another, similar, case who is called Mark Wright. Not much is known about this man, only that he is buried in a location not far from where Paul was trapped. Reynolds did very well to convey the anxiety and harshness of his character, we know he can pull off the wise-cracker as shown in films such as Blade Trinity (2004) and X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009).

Good:

Spanish director Cortes did well to provide the intensity of the drama, although he did not have much of a thorough concept to work with, he showed us how many tools he has got in his disposal to keep you watching for 94 minutes. Credit goes out to Chris Sparling with a methodical script about our most common fears in human nature: claustrophobia. There is one flaw I did not like with this, but it might just be me and this is the ending of the story. Apart from that, I give Sparling prompts for a carefully built character arc. The performance by Reynolds is what carried the film in a spiral of emotion. He nailed the persona of Paul very well and it allows us to go deep into his psyche - from anger to desperation and from sarcasm to kindness - with the Green Lantern movie coming in theatres in Summer 2011 we know he can breeze it like pulling tricks out of a bag to use his magic torch. The camera shots give us a way of reaching out to the character and tells the viewer he may not get out of here. Music is beautifully composed and sound is not overused.

Bad:

You are probably wondering if this is so greatly constructed why did I give it just 2 and 1/2 stars? This is the reason: now remember when I told you I felt the ending of the story was poor, well that is only partly my deduction. I won't go into specifics of the scene for the sake of spoilers but I will tell you it left me disappointed. I was expecting more from it and this let the film down. Secondly, I know that depending on the actor, movies that feature merely one character on screen can be quite difficult to gauge interest. Now the director has made up for these strict limitations of characters and locations - he is in a coffin from start to finish - with mystery and some action sequences. Despite this, the kidnapper cannot be taken seriously and I laughed to myself and nearly choked on popcorn at how stupid this guy is and his supposedly broken English does not help things. Its nearly enough as though we are witnessing a villain from a Saturday morning cartoon at the other end of the line. The next mishap is Buried is riddled with holes as deep as Paul is, maybe even more down under. It did not explain or grant any background information on what led him to be trapped? Who are his enemies? And why did they bury Wright plus what is the link between him and Paul?

Overall:

A film with a strong premise of being faced living under the earth forever, this has a rich writing style, tough visuals and stunning performance by Ryan Reynolds. On the other hand, the mystery flattens by unsatisfied answers, untied plot ends and mediocre ending that loses itself along the way. This could have been done more better if the director had pushed it a little beyond its limits. The money for tickets was not much of a waste, but its worth your bet not wasting your time and just go for the DVD or Blu-ray.

- Written by Kbon