The Perks Of Being A Wallflower (2012)

Director: Stephen Chbosky
Starring: Logan Lerman, Emma Watson, Ezra Miller, Paul Rudd, Tom Savini, Mae Whitman
Certificate: 12
Genre: Drama, Romance
Awards: None

The Perks Of Being A Wallflower is a coming of age film directed by the book's author. Charlie (Lerman) is a freshman who has had a troubled past. He soon meets some friends such as Patrick (Miller) and Sam (Watson) who Charlie soon falls for.

Unlike your average high school film, this doesn't just go for comedy and decides to deal with bigger themes such as isolation and acceptance. The film is surprisingly dark in places and starts to get uncomfortable near the end. Yet Wallflower is still a sweet and smart film about friendship that stays with you after it finishes.

All three leads are exemplary, yet Miller arguably gives the stand-out performance as he changes from the joyful teenager to heartbroken lover with such ease. Watson sheds her Hermione in commendable form while the supporting cast all help raise the game.

****Good

In Time (2011)

Director: Andrew Niccol
Starring: Justin Timberlake, Amanda Seyfried, Cillian Murphy, Olivia Wilde, Johnny Galeki
Certificate: 12
Genre: Sci Fi, Action
Awards: None

In the future, people don't age after they reach 25 and money has been replaced by time, meaning that the rich can live forever. Will Salas (Timberlake) is not rich so he and everybody he knows live by the day, not knowing if it would be their last. When a man with a century gives all his life to Will, he can now move up to the rich area and unleash his form of justice.

In Time is one of those films with a good concept that could have been executed so much better. While watching I can't help but think how I would have written the story. There are a few sub plots that are never explained and the film all seems a bit angsty.

Timberlake and Seyfried are both watchable in their roles and there aren't really any complaints, but the show stealer is Murphy as the time cop chasing them.  His character is the most interesting as he is shown to have complexities that - although are never explained - eventually make you root for him rather than the other characters.

In Time could do with another chance with a more talented director and writer as it has a lot of good potential. I would love to see a bigger budget remake that makes more use of the unique format.

***Okay

The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

Director: Frank Darabont
Starring: Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Bob Gunton, Clancy Brown, William Sadler, Gil Bellows, James Whitmore
Certificate: 15
Genre: Drama, Crime
Awards: None

A commercial flop at its release, The Shawshank Redemption has since gone on to be considered as the best film so far on sites such as IMDB. The film is adapted from the story by Steven King about Andy Dufresne (Robbins) and Ellis Boyd Reading (Freeman) - nicknamed Red - who are both inmates in Shawshank prison. The story begins when Andy joins the prison and the two bond over the years.

The Shawshank Redemption is indeed a masterpiece that is a must see for anyone with a love for cinema. The film is filled with emotional gut punches yet somehow remains uplifting as the years drag by in the grim place.

This is the film that arguably defined Morgan Freeman as the top actor for voice overs while also giving him his breakout role (although Unforgiven wTim Robbins is just as commendable as the quiet and refined main character we can't help but root for. The supporting cast are all great including a turn from Ally McBeal's Gil Bellows as small time crook Tommy who has trouble reading.
as before this).

The films fame already speaks for itself, but for what its worth, The Shawshank Redemption is one of the best film so far and will leave you wanting to see it again and again. If you haven't already seen it, you are definitely missing out.

*****Brilliant

Argo (2012)

Director: Ben Affleck
Starring: Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin, John Goodman
Certificate: 15
Genre: Drama
Awards: Best Picture, Best adapted screenplay, Best editing

Argo is the story of how the CIA was able to sneak six hostages out of Iran during the crisis of 1980. To do this Tony Mendez (Affleck) comes up with the plan of pretending to be a film crew scouting for a sci fi film called Argo.

The film is full of tension as it slowly builds to the film's climax. The escape may be filled with clichés, but your heart will still be racing.

The Hollywood segments are perhaps the best parts of the film as film veterans John Goodman and Alan Arkin steal the show from Affleck's understated performance. The two add some much needed comedy to the affair.

Despite all this, I can't really say anything else about Argo. It just seems rather bland. It's a good film, but the praise it gets may be too much. The film is full of clichés that can become rather irritating overtime and altogether, it is somewhat forgettable.

****Good

The Lego Movie (2014)

Directors: Phil Lord, Christopher Miller
Starring: Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Will Arnett, Will Ferrell, Charlie Day, Liam Neeson, Morgan Freeman
Certificate: U
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Comedy
Awards: None

The Lego Movie was expected by many to be a cynical toy theatrical advert for toys that would make a spectacular flop, but instead it surprised us all with not just its great storytelling, cast and animation, but also with its originality (but the film may have opened the flood gates to other toy films that may try to jump on the bandwagon such as The Megablocks Movie and The Fuzzy Felt Film).

The story stars Pratt as Emmet, just a normal construction worker who comes across what is known as the "piece of resistance", therefore making him the "special" who can topple lord business (Ferrell)'s plans to create a perfect world. But he is just a construction worker, leading to many thinking that he's not up to the job.

The Lego Movie is full of fun characters that make the story flow. Arnett's Batman and Neeson's Good Cop/Bad Cop are two highlights that become favourites. There are also cameos from various lego franchises such as Star Wars and Dublo.

The animation is great as the whole world is made out of lego. Even the sea! It looks similar to the amateur stop-motion videos on youtube but on a much bigger scale.

The story parodies the "chosen one" cliche while also commenting on the lego business itself and how it's become more than just a toy to some people and whether or not that is necessarily a good thing.

The Lego Movie is one of the best animated films I have seen and should be considered to be on par with How To Train Your Dragon and Kung Fu Panda. It has an originality many can only dream of and pulls everything off spectularly.

****Good

Source Code (2011)

Director: Duncan Jones
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga, Jeffrey Wright
Certificate: 12
Genre: Sci Fi
Awards: None

Due to Duncan Jones' outstanding debut, a question that has often propped up when discussing Source Code is "Is it as good as Moon". The answer is "no", but Source Code is nevertheless an intriguing and riveting tale of sci fi.

Jake Gyllenhaal plays Captain Stevens, a soldier who wakes up after fighting in a pod. There he has to enter the memories of a man to find out who blew up a train. He relives the last moments of the man again and again until he gets it right.

Source Code takes the concept of Groundhog day, adds the shady faceless business from Moon and makes them its own. It's a great movie and should definitely get more notice.

****Good

Moon (2009)

Director: Duncan Jones
Starring: Sam Rockwell, Kevin Spacey, Matt Berry
Certificate: 15
Genre: Sci Fi, Drama
Awards: None

Moon is the first film of Duncan Jones and shows a very, very promising talent.
Sam Rockwell plays an astronaut working on the moon, with only a robot named GERTY (Spacey) for company. The loneliness and isolation of his job is coming to an end as he gets to go home in three weeks time. However, after an accident outside the truth starts to unravel.

The film relies completely on Rockwell as he gives one of the best performances of his career. The only character we see properly through the whole film, he pulls on our heartstrings and boggles our mind. Kevin Spacey is also brilliant as Sam's only companion
 who surprisingly differs from the usual evil robot cliché.

Moon is a great film that needs to be watched. The plot hasn't really been explained here as its twists are what makes it great. The film is a lonely one, with its lack of music adding to many of the key scenes. It's thought provoking, tragic and most of all gripping.

*****Brilliant