Reviews

Let me start off this review by saying I'm a big fan of The Sopranos, it is easily one of my most rewatched shows of all time!

So when I first heard they were making a prequel I was a little skeptical. Even with David Chase on board I was nervous that this film could potentially tarnish the series legacy.

However once the first trailer dropped, seeing Dickie Moltisanti running his crew, Micheal Gandolfini stepping into his fathers shoes and hearing that iconic theme song all my fears disappeared!

Once I see the actual film though it was not entirely what I expected, and that is not necessarily a good or bad point.

Let me start off with some of things I loved; The casting in this film is outstanding, not only do all the actors manage to capture the younger versions of themselves so well, they convey everything down to their mannerisms with ease ( Young Tony being expertly played by James' son Micheal is a real emotional highlight).

This film also contains much of the witty dialogue and dark humour the show was known for, this especially being the case whenever we see the young Silvio, Paulie and Pussy.

Finally if you are a sopranos fan, there is plenty of references to enjoy and a few secrets revealed that will most definitely surprise. The film also gives more insight into why characters are the way they are in the show, and just put a massive smile seeing these characters we know so well given more backstory.

This is where I start going into the possible negatives of the film however; I do feel that if you are not a soprano fan / or never seen the show, you will not get as much out of this as a fan would. It is a good crime / gangster film, but most definitely made better if you know of the characters and history prior.

My other main 'complaint' is the pacing / length of the film. At times certain story beats feel quite rushed especially after an extended first act laying the foundation for the rest of the film. To be honest I just wanted more, especially by the time the credits roll ( which I suppose isn't a bad thing).

It must of been quite hard by David Chase to adapt from a 13 hour season to a two hour movie, however both he and Alan Taylor have done a great job with the runtime.

All in all I really enjoyed The Many Saints of Newark, if anything I just want to see more of this era in the Sopranos universe, which in turn completely squashed my worries from the beginning!

Here's hoping this isn't the end of Tony's Saga!

After watching the 'The Conjuring: Devil made me do it' at an early screening last night, I have to admit I was a little disappointed that it didn't live up to the expectations of the previous two films in the main trilogy ( however it stands tall over the spin offs, so don't worry there).

To start off with what I did like, the direction in this instalment is a nice change of pace. With the Warrens looking to save a man on death row after supposedly killing an individual while possessed by a demon. Without going into spoilers the plot shakes things up a bit from the previous two films with the likes of Satanic cults and more or a detective style approach.

I personally would of loved to see more of a focus on the court side of the case and the reaction of the defendants plea, it would of been a really refreshing direction for this film but what we get still isn't bad.

The Warrens are still great in this film with both Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga having a real chemistry on screen and still being one of the most lovable protagonists in horror media in a long time.

However with all this said, I believe this 'horror' film does fail in one department, and that is in its scares.

It's a shame to say as I believe the previous two instalments had some unique moments of terror.

Whereas in this film most moments are so easily telegraphed to an obvious jumpscare that you can see a mile away, or more unique set pieces unfortunately spoilt by the trailers.

With all that said, this is still a decent sequel, just not the terrifying sequel I had hoped for!

I'll try and keep this simple, this was a fun film! The first half an hour or so is nuts with blood and guts flying all over the screen, and from there the film doesn't really let up! Betty Gilpin is great as the lead, unfortunately some other well known actors never really get the chance to shine but she makes up for it. The film is however not exactly subtle and will no doubt upset some viewers with its themes of elitists and such. But if you just want to switch off for 90 mins for this black comedy horror then you will no doubt enjoy yourself!

When I first seen the critics reviews, I admit I was a little worried. Unbreakable is one of my favourite films and Split is a solid thriller with a great twist. Then you have 'Glass', which to me is a great conclusion to M Night Shyamalan's superhero trilogy. Each of the three main leads are given enough screen time for their characters to shine, and once again James Mcavoy shows us an absolutely amazing performance as Kevin, Hedwig, Dennis etc. And bringing back characters from the previous two films ( David's son, Casey) really brings a human element to this superhero psychological thriller. My only complaint would be where Unbreakable was more subtle with its comic book references, Glass throws them in your face at times ( which is odd considering that the audience should know more about comic book movies nowadays). Finally with regards to the the standard twist in his films, I don't particularly see the hate, and thought it suited the rest of the films mythology. Overall this is a solid farewell to the secret trilogy!

I'll try and keep this short and simple. This is a film based on the Aquaman comic, so obviously this film is campy as hell at times, it has some really corny lines and yet I couldn't stop smiling throughout the film. Jason Momoa actually makes Aquaman cool and really grabs the role by the reins, the set pieces are epic and keep getting better through out and it constantly looks amazing seeing all the underwater visuals. Is this the best comic book film.....no of course not, but it's the most fun I've had watching a superhero film in a while and hopefully this is the turnaround the DCEU needed for the future!

I have to admit when I first heard about this film I thought it wasn't going to be my taste, but then I saw the trailer and it gave me goosebumps. We managed to get into a preview screening and the goosebumps didn't go away. Bradley cooper ( in his directorial debut and lead) has done an amazing job here, with his character Jackson Swaine being a declining, washed out star who believes all his answers are at the bottom of the bottle, what could come across as an annoying selfish character however is flipped on its head as Cooper gives his role real heart and depth to the point where I just wanted to help him. Then you have the other lead..... Lady Gaga. Many may see her being picked for this film as extra star material, but fair play to her she can act. Not only does she nail her on stage performances but she also brings vulnerability to a character rising through stardom, and without going into spoiler terroirty all I will say is she nailed the final scene. Why not a perfect score then you may wonder? Well personally I felt the middle act dragged just a little, with it being more of a slow burner and not adding much drama. I also felt that certain scenes seemed to be edited in an odd way, almost as if they were cut short then skipped over, but again that might just be me. Before I finish this review though I have to at least mention the songs, while I still feel 'shallow' (the song from the trailer) being the most memorable, the rest of the track list really is something, I can see the album being a chart topper for sure.

'A simple favor' is a complete 180 degree turn from director Paul Feig who usually turns his mind to comedy films, so this film had interested me as like it's trailer had said 'was made by the darker side of Mr. Feig', and it didn't disappoint entirely. The film stars Anna Kendrick in her usual ditzy role but in a different situation than a character like hers would of be involved in in previous movies which was a nice change of pace, and Blake Lively giving off a great performance that really gave me Rosmund Pike's 'Gone girl' vibes. However 'Gone girl' this is not. The main problem this film faced was that it lacked tension and suspense usually found in mystery films like this until perhaps the final act, and given the trailer seems to give off the impression this is a high stakes mystery thriller didn't particularly help this fact. I would of also liked this film to maybe be a tad darker in tone as well, as at times it seemed to be an odd mash of comedy at moments that didn't perhaps need it. Like I said in the title though this film is stylish, with a classic French score covering practically the whole film and the clever use of flashbacks did make this film stand out that little bit more. Overall I did enjoy this film but it wasn't quite the 180 that I had hoped from Mr. Feig.

I was one of the few that actually like 'unfriended' for trying something new in the horror genre, it obviously was not a perfect film but it was a fresh idea. With 'searching' we are given the same concept as unfriended but it is used in a much smarter way. From the first 5 minutes which immediately tug on your heartstrings ( think 'Up') to the way social media is shown to have a huge effect on police cases and those involved it just makes an almost tired film genre (missing person case) feel brand new again. John Cho ( usually known for his comedy roles) is also equally brilliant considering that we are just seeing his reactions on a webcam, watching him going through the motions of the case is heartbreaking at times. Like I said before this film is still a missing persons film so it does follow certain cliche moments at times and if you weren't keen on this type of film before ('unfriended') then you may not be swayed with this one, but I really did like this film, the twists kept me on edge and I would be happy to see what other ideas/ films could be done under this new, fresh film genre!

Since the original film I don't think any of the following films (AVP films included) have captured the fun/action/horror of Predator. However the combination of a great cast (Thomas Jane being brilliant as the Tourette's riddled vet), a surprisingly funny script thanks to Shane Black and the gore of the original really brings this one up there with the first film. Jacob Tremblay is also a stand out in the cast and actually brings a bit of emotion to the film, add on top of that characters that you actually don't want to die ( a rare thing in movies nowadays, especially horror) and you find yourself on the edge of your seat hoping that no one gets the chop. The film is not perfect however, one of my main criticisms of the film would be how rushed the final 20 minutes feel, and how certain characters seem to get killed off in a blink and you'll miss it scene, but end at the end of the day I really enjoyed this film and I hope Shane Black comes back to this series to carry on the Predator legacy!