Elysium (2013)

Director: Neil Blomkamp
Starring: Matt Damon, Sharlto Copley, Jodie Foster, Alice Braga, William Fichtner
Certificate: 15
Genre: Sci Fi
Awards: None

Elysium is Blockamp's follow up to the critical success District 9 and it goes down the same route. Elysium is a man-made atmosphere in space where the rich people live. They have machines that can heal anything and champagne garden parties. Earth has become derelict and very sandy. This is where the poor people live. They have machines that break their arms and frequent trips to the hospital. Some people think this a little unfair.

Matt Damon plays Max, a crook who wants to make it Elysium. When he finds out he has three days to live he decides its time to get there and get himself cured. However, Delacourt (Foster) has other ideas and after Max steals a bunch of Elysium's secrets she is out to get him and hires...

Sharlto Copley does a brilliant job at playing the horribly sadistic mercenary, Kruger. He is a completely different character Wikus (from District 9) and you can tell that he enjoyed playing him.

As story goes, Elysium is more of a re-run of District 9. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it doesn't do anything better than its predecessor. The story ends in the same way and the characters are identical except for the people playing them. Therefore I can only give it the same rating I would give Blockamp's debut.

****Good

Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa (2013)

Director: Declan Lowney
Starring: Steve Coogan, Colm Meaney, Sean Pertwee, Felicity Montagu, Simon Greenall, Nigel Lindsey, Tim Key
Certificate: 15
Genre: Comedy
Awards: None

If you are not familiar with Alan Partridge, this film will most likely look completely rubbish to you. For those of you who have not come across Steve Coogan's most loved character, Alan Partridge is supposed to be rubbish. He's a radio DJ who used to work for the BBC before his programs were cancelled for being too boring.

But Alpha Papa isn't just a replay of Partridge's greatest hits. Some recurring characters are seen (such as Michael the Geordie and Lynn the PA but they're not focused on that much while his catchphrase doesn't appear at all. The film is more interested in new character Pat Farrell (Meaney), the fired North Nofolk DJ who takes the radio station hostage in anger. He won't speak to the police unless it's through Alan.

Alpha Papa is as funny as it's sitcom predecessors with many of the jokes told awkwardly by Partridge. There are a few toilet humour jokes in there but they turn out differently than expected so you can't really take off points for that. Some jokes may seem a bit harsh, but it adds to Partridge's lack of social skills.

If you're not familiar with Partridge, Alpha Papa may seem quite strange. However it's still funny and definitely worth a look. It's my film of the year so far.

*****Brilliant

Jack Reacher (2012)

Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Starring: Tom Cruise, Rosamund Pike, Werner Herzog, David Oyelowo, Robert Duvall, Richard Jenkins
Certificate: 12
Genre: Action
Awards: None

There was a bit of a ruckus from Jack Reacher fans when Tom Cruise was announced to play 6 foot 6 Jack Reacher. However for the people who have actually seen it, that argument has died away. This could be a very good franchise for Cruise (but maybe not a successful one if box office numbers continue at this rate).

After five civilians are shot dead in a peaceful city, the evidence all points to an ex-army man with a history of past shootings. Instead of confessing, the man asks for Jack Reacher before being sent into a coma for the rest of the film. When Reacher arrives, he and the man's lawyer Helen (Pike) discover that the evidence pointing a bit too desperately to be believed.

Jack Reacher always seems to be on top of things. He never seems to be troubled or anywhere he can't handle himself and this works both with and against the film. On one hand it seems pretty awesome to see an invincible man with all the answers almost seem to stride through every obstacle while on the other it makes Reacher seem arrogant. He's a know-it-all and unlike John McLane in Die Hard, we don't see him find out these things. We just see him explain it to other characters and so we warm to him less. It also makes the villains not seem like a threat at all.

The action is great with Reacher just smashing and outwitting everybody at every turn while Werner Herzog plays the villain and if he had somehow defeated Reacher in any way he would probably have been seen as really good, but because of Reacher's unstoppable force he becomes more of a Scooby Doo villain.

Overall I like Jack Reacher because it's different. The character reminds me of Riddick in the way he deals with things - especially his last conversation with the villain. I really hope Reacher has a second shot at cinema.

****Good

The Haunting (1963)

Director: Robert Wise
Starring: Julie Harris, Claie Bloom, Richard Johnson, Russ Tamblyn, Lois Maxwell
Certificate: 12
Genre: Horror
Awards: None

The Haunting is a haunted house film. The house in question is Hill House - a historically unlucky building with plenty of deaths under it's roof. Dr John Markway (Johnson) is trying to prove that the paranormal exists and therefore brings in some people with previous experience with spooks to stay at the creepy mansion.

The Haunting isn't gory or full of jump scares. It just feels creepy and sinister. Julie Harris plays Eleanor, a character who seems to descend into madness and as she is also the narrator the film seems to get more and more creepy as it goes on. One scene with a face on the wall stands out as the scene that is most likely to make you feel uncomfortable.

It's old fashioned horror but damn does it do it good.

****Good

Pacific Rim (2013)

Director: Guillermo Del Toro

Starring: Charlie Hunnam, Rinko Kikuchi, Idris Elba, Charlie Day, Burn Gorman, Max Martini, Robert Kazinsky, Ron Perlman

Certificate: 12

Genre: Sci Fi, Action

Awards: None

Seeing as Del Toro's biggest selling feature is his detail and creativity in fairytale fantasy, I was a bit skeptical that his next film was about giant robots. However, my fears were unnecessary. The same amount of imagination has been given here. Each Jaeger (the robots/ suits) and Kaiju (the monsters) looks completely different.

The story follows Raleigh Becket (Hunnam), someone who used to drive one of the Jaegers with his brother in order to stop the Kaiju who emerge from the a portal in the Pacific ocean . To drive a Jaeger, one must combine their brain with their co-pilot so when Becket's brother dies it hits him extremely hard. He disappears for six years until his old Marshall Pentecost (Elba) tracks him down. The Kaiju are becoming a bigger problem as they come more frequently and Jaegers are becoming scarce due to casualties. When Becket then joins the team in Hong Kong he meets Mako (Kikuchi) - a trainee with a not so happy past with the Kaiju.

When the fights happen, they feel big. The scale of the giants is very visible (especially in 3D). The destruction is kept fresh and new throughout the film (unlike a certain superhero film this year). Ships are used as bats and bits of both machine and creature come flying off.

Unlike many blockbusters, Pacific Rim isn't afraid to tamper with death of heroes. The stakes always seem higher when you know that the characters may not make it out alive and although the personalities aren't the films strongpoint, they are acceptable and you still want to root for the good guys.

Neither of the main characters are really that special. Becket in particular is rather boring. However the supporting characters make up for them. Elba is captivating to watch as the man who runs it all while Ron Perlman plays a black market dealer named Hannibal Chow that comes the closest to humour that the film is willing to go. There are also two scientist who are somewhat alienating but watchable at the same time.

As one of the only Blockbusters not based on a story from an outside source, Pacific Rim is quite an interesting picture. It may not have the best characters in the world, but that can be overlooked by it's premise. Transformers this ain't.

****Good

Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)

Directors: Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones
Starring: Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Michael Palin, Terry Jones, Terry Gilliam
Certificate: 15
Genre: Comedy
Awards: None

This film is basically one big sketch show with an over arcing plot and story. The humour is eccentrically British and is a lot more associated with television than in the movies.

The story follows King Arthur (Chapman) and his band of knights as they set out to quest for the holy grail. On their way they meet a black knight who doesn't know when to quit, insulting French soldiers and a sorcerer named Tim among others.

Silly is the word when watching Monty Python. The mix of surreal humour, fourth wall breaking and strange animations makes the film as funny as anything. Even if you have not seen the film you are probably aware of the some of the scenes as they are paraded around everywhere. King Arthur kicking a guy talking about democracy, a conversation about swallows and coconuts - these have entered pop culture years ago.

If you like strange and silly humour, The Holy Grail is definitely for you. It's not like anything else I have ever seen (except Life Of Brian - Monty Python's film after this) but I wish it wasn't so unique because I want more.

*****Brilliant

Dredd (2012)

Director: Pete Travis
Starring: Karl Urban, Olivia Thirlby, Lena Headey, Wood Harris
Certificate: 18
Genre: Sci Fi, Crime
Awards: None

It's the future and a terrible travesty has befallen the land. The remaining people live in large cities filled with criminals and death. The Judges are a police force who are allowed to kill on the spot. Dredd (Urban) is the most famous of them all, a sort of legend among the judges. On his mission to investigate a triple homicide he takes on a psychic rookie by the name of Anderson (Thirlby).

Like 300, Dredd seems very confined. It doesn't show you much of the film's world as - except for one sequence in the beginning - it all takes place in one tower block. This works in the film's favour as it can then focus more on the story. However, sequels may seem schizophrenic as it would be a whole new setting.

Having not read the comics, I don't know whether Urban's portrayal is loyal but I've heard he does it justice (I suppose anything's better than Stallone shouting like a tranquillised Hulk). The feels very moody and stylised with lots of slow motion (which has actually been made a plot point) and weird psychotic colours.

Dredd is gritty but also quite colourful and dreamlike. The drugged up atmosphere stops it from becoming too dark and brooding while still keeping the gangs and gore madness.

****Good