Dredd

                                            "You have been judged. The sentence, is death."

We have come a long way since Stallone's Judge Dredd in 1995. He was considered as the only option, a good one, at that particular time. The only problem with the result of that movie was the lack of relation towards the comics, referencing nothing other than a PG take on what was considered a production that obeyed the rules of Sly Stallone.

Thankfully the resurrection of Dredd begins at the hands of director (Pete Travis) who not only revives the character, but sticks to the 3000 AD concept that the comics portrayed so beautifully.

The storyline is a simple gritty concept showing the aftermath of a once an inhabitable city, is now run by both law and lawless. The authority that over looks the dead city strings into the hands of judges; a law with no boundaries as the lack of remorse is witnessed using a one man Jury, or a sentence of execution if necessary. As we all know, Dredd (Karl Urban) is one who darkens the days of the drug underworld, patrolling the futuristic ruin of a city he portrays it as.

With routine call-outs, it is no ordinary day as Dredd is introduced to Anderson (Olivia Thirlby) a rookie cop assigned to Dredd to carry along side his line of work as he tends to play witness to her dedication by throwing her into the deep end, the worst end...

Ma-Ma (Lena Headey) is the feeder, a wanna-be dictator who overlooks the city from just one of many towers. A scarred and demented human being, Ma-ma controls the residents of her block, a location considered a no-go for the authorities. It is when two bodies are found at the area that Dredd sees this a fortunate day for Anderson as she makes the decision for both to investigate. The decision results in a grim battle against the worst drug mules in the city as the parasites of Ma-ma's block seek to protect an operation, leading to a war greater than Dredd could of expected.

The movie provides a small cast that help deliver a fantastic piece of entertainment. Its comparison to "The Raid" is quite appropriate as it does indeed take place in one building, but trading the martial arts for some straight up gun-slinging proved a delightful result. Not expecting to be wowed by much, Karl Urban's Dredd supplied an element of a dark soul-less body with an over usage of cheesy one-liners topped off with endless violence. The overall character of Dredd was a joy to witness. From the off you anticipate, just like the raid, the closer he gets to the finish-line, the higher you grin!. I watched with glee as Dredd tore through bodies with clever yet hilarious weaponry.

The sequences were beautiful to watch as Karl Urban's slow motion concept is highly original introducing it to the scenes when it really mattered.

Fans of the Judge Dredd franchise (can't say I was) would be pleased with this re-hash and more importantly the revamping of the character itself. The writers smartly chose to keep on the helmet as it is a brave move that goes unnoticed because of the jaw-line and personality portrayed on screen. Sticking to apparent comic book logic, this is something I believe the fans and audience wanted to see.

Those seeking a fine storyline full of drama and sensibility may keep their torso in one place. This isn't a taste for everyone. I believe anyone who chooses to see this flick to purposely slate it should not bother. Leave that brain you hide with your skull at home and enjoy it for what it is. If so, you will remember how ridiculously hilarious Dredd truly was, and supposed to be. I find I am opening my mind with these kind of flicks. In order to truly see it for what it is, you have to.

Overall; a fantastic welcoming for a character that was almost forbidden a return to our screens. Karl Urban's Dredd is guaranteed to make you laugh while you hide the shocking face of what you had just witnessed. Strictly 18's! YEEEAH!

7.5/10

The Expendables 2 Review

In 2010 Sylvester Stallone reunited the child within me, and I am not talking Disney fantasies. The Expendables was quite significant in terms of all those big names in one explosive whirlwind leading to a nostalgic spotlight in relation to the 80's action genre. What was a mindless concept from Sly, it was obvious he carried the gruesome portrayal of Rambo (2008) and brought it to the streets which consisted of explosive scenes and disturbed characters.

Expectations were high for the sequel. Was there a chance that Arnold Schwarzenegger would play a bigger part this time around? Chuck Norris and Van Damme were also popping up in trailers. It looked exciting on paper so let's find out.

So after an introduction of pure carnage and to be frank, quite ridiculous stunts, Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone) is cornered by Church (Bruce Willis) as he once again seeks to assemble Barney and the gang for a routine mission that goes excitingly wrong. 

According to Church, Barney cost him 10 million from the previous mission so this would be the last of any dealings between Barney's mercenaries and Church. A sense of portrayal is exposed when Christmas (Jason Statham), Gunner (Dolph Lundgren) Hale (Terry Crews) and Co are found to be set up, resulting in immediate pay back and a path of destruction from the guys. The "Villain", who is titled eh, Villain, is the legendary (Jean-Claude Van Damme). Jean plays the role of a heartless Russian who is mindset on a cave full of heavy artillery leading to what he believes will create world war 2012. Yes, looking to start another world war...not on Sly's watch!

So it is from there we witness once again as Sly's expendables attempt to raise their credibility as well as save the day as they bump into Friends of old and older. (you know who).

The anticipation of the cameos we wait so eager for comes a lot sooner than expected. The action scenes and overall acting was genuinely poor. I prayed for a Schwarzenegger appearance to help make this better than it's predecessor. Trench (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is an old friendly rival of Barney and coincidentally bump into each other through-out the film as this sequel shows it's stupidity as Trench and Booker (Chuck Norris) appear in the most random of places failing to explain any logic on how and why they are there?. Booker is the lone wolf who can't help but throw in his own Chuck Norris jokes every so often.

I enjoyed this film for what it is. And what is it? well it is an all out war of the best with a plot that was thought up in the space of 30 minutes or less. To see Arnold and Van Damme back on screen was amusing and exciting. With all these egos, and with their history, neither are ever short of a quote or two...or three!

The testosterone in this film is laughable and I couldn't help but think Sly is bigger than ever as one of his veins looks the equivalent to my left leg.

One cannot help to be entertained by the stupidity of this film as we witness the over-reaction of  splattered heads, cringe one liners and mundane comedy. Unfortunately, I personally enjoyed the previous more as their was a better character in the enemy and supplied that touch of drama with Micky Rourke's involvement. Jet Li's Yang who also went missing through the sequel...unexplained really. I suppose that defines a Stallone movie in 2012.

So with a Mickey mouse storyline and a wider cast, the Expendables 2 failed to live up to the entertaining scenes in the original. I was not hoping to be blown away by actors performances but as a fan of the majorities cast, I felt, once again, manipulated in terms of the apparent involvement of Arnold and the rest that was used to sell the film.

Overall: Enjoyable if you forget your brain like I did with it's promotion supplying a better hype than the overall movie.

Ted Review 2012

So following a dry portrayal of comedy in The Other guys and a typical mundane bad-ass in Contraband, Mark Wahlberg returns for another comedic attempt? Honestly, when watching The Other Guys I felt I was one unfortunate member of the audience to witness one of the worst comedy's of the decade. What looked like so much fun in the trailer, The other guys was funny for the first 20 minutes or less, then quickly dried up like a prune. The fact Will Ferrell out-shined Marky-Mark was blatantly obvious. So on that note, I had no hope for a humours Mr Wahlberg in the near future.

However, a friendship between Mark and an outlandish teddy bear has shown results of being one of the finest comedy's of the last ten years. When I admit my prior judgement to Mark and this movie was wrong, boy I was really wrong.

A young John Bennett (Wahlberg) gets the ultimate wish, one that savours himself from his lonely neglected childhood. John, who appears a friendly guy although his will to make friends differs from the final result. Even the bullied kid wants nothing to do with John!

On a privileged Christmas morning, John receives his friend to be;  a cuddly beady-eyed teddy bear that at the time could do no wrong. John who uses his imaginary mind makes an incredible wish resulting with inscrutable results. Introducing the life in the teddy bear, Ted (Seth MacFarlane), a walking talking stuffed bear with a humorous yet realistic soul.

It is from there we are introduced to a hilarious montage as the movie takes us to places through-out the lives of both John and Ted as the results show the hilarious brotherhood and the growth acceptance of the public towards Ted. He is famous for being a once in a life-time miracle. John and Ted spend their days smoking weed and watching Flash Gordan! The mood and laxy-daisy lifestyle is disrupted now and again as John appears to struggle with the right satisfaction from his girlfriend of four years, Lori (Mila Kunis).

Ted is a simple plot, well almost no plot just an amusing tale of two friends having a lot of fun while trying to play separate lives. John has trouble considering Lori instead of Ted while Lori believes the time is right to send Ted out on his own. Its fun concept concentrates on the events before and after the relationship between Ted and John with Ted showing his crude and inappropriate personality as a supermarket assistant. Ted is left to fend for himself as a stalker lurks in the background, Donny (Giovanni Ribisi) who is desperate to create the life of John for himself.

Seth MacFarlane's Ted offers so many Jaw dropping scenes that you wonder how many parents mistakenly brought their kids to this movie. Obviously the trailer reveals some adult humour which is very little in terms of the overall movie as there is no way you are prepared to witness the extent Seth has taken to provide the best of laughs! Seth MacFarlane aka Peter Griffin aka Ted has created a wonderful film filled with originality. There is an obvious touch of Family Guy providing the pro- American theme tunes jingling in every background, Seth creates comedy like no other.

Seth manged to form a perfect role around Mark Wahlberg. I believed in Marks character. Sure, he was a kid when he came to meet Ted, but the fantastic thing about his character is he never changes and every now and again his vulnerability and child-hood shows with his lack of maturity taking its toll on his relationship with Lori. This worked so much better in terms of Mark's comedic performance previously. I felt his character, or acting or possibly poor script made his desperate attempt to be funny look stupidly obvious and lacked ambition in the Other Guys. Mark Wahlberg won me over in this movie as I felt myself not only laughing at MacFarlane's Ted!

It's full of surprising cameos and some strange turn of events that will leave you wanting more from John and Child-hood side kick Ted. With a nice soundtrack and fantastic CGI (performed by Seth through Motion Capture), the dedication and "will" to make the audience laugh out loud is seen through-out the movie.

Overall: If you Like Peter Griffin you will adore the origin of both Ted and John.

7.5/10

Robocop Review (1987)

The 80's was the epidemic of landmark movies. It was no doubt an era of heavy artillery supplied by Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger. To name a few; Predator 87", First Blood 82", Aliens 86", The Terminator 84" and more would all go forward to rule the 1980's. Released in 1987, Robocop would have to bring something explosive to the table.

This futuristic sci-fi takes place in Detroit were crime rate is at its highest. The streets are crawling with Junkies, prostitutes while a global tech business, OCP (Omni Consumer products), over looks the city and controls the reign of law. It does not get more gritty than the portrayal we see at first hand.

OCP is known for its advanced technology and continuity in daily developments created and mastered to protecting the public from the scum. With not much belief in your average police department, it is when the giant company buys out the police task force in hopes to creating something stronger and less vulnerable as murderers and rapists pile the dark streets of Detroit.

It is when rogue cop Alex Murphy (Peter Weller) is blasted to death during a tense infiltration into one of Detroit's cold blooded gangs, (a gruesome scene that joined movie history) that sees Bob Morton (Miguel Ferrer) of OCP perform a body transformation. With adjustments to save the general organs of Murphy's remains, the staff at OCP construct a steel shell around the dead body of Murphy resulting in a ""Robocop",a programmed walking talking killing machine assigned to protect the innocent with the ability to sustain and arrest.

While Murphy's soul is nothing short of deceased, it is when former partner and witness to the crime Lewis (Nancy Allen) discovers the man behind the metal plates resulting in Robocop's reflection of memories, which is something OCP didn't want. The action packed plot sees Bob's Robocop create a kill list behind the death of his former self. The main target is indeed, in my opinion one of the biggest dirt bags to ever hit our screens, Clarence (Kurtwood Smith). If Satan had an apprentice, it was this guy. It delights me to witness the path of revenge that Robocop follows, leading to an all out war as Clarence and his men try ridding the streets of the only thing standing in their way.

Although OCP staff and second man on the managers board Dick (Ronny Cox) represents true justice, Dick has eyes on a different future for the advanced company, a future without Robocop, which leads Robocop on an investigation that connects dots between the criminals of Detroit and the rich that overlook it.

Ah yes, the nostalgic reflection of this movie still excites me. One year before my birth, Robocop was swarming cinemas global, estimating a total of 13,000,000 in budget. Just like a plethora of 80's action, Robocop was, and still is one of the best of that era.

Its concept was highly original then, and unfortunately could not have competed with The Terminator and T2, it did succeed in terms of Sci-fi action and joined a host of movies that showed the possible gruesomeness of real-life shootings.

Scene of Death: Upon the origin of Robocop, Murphy had to make a sacrifice. Not knowing he would become a protective cyborg of Detroit, he foolishly rushed in, disturbing a group of animals, resulting in a terrifying scene. Do you remember? He had his leg, arm, and eventual head blasted with shotguns, machine guns the lot. Clarence and his affiliates were a new breed of murders and rapists, which lead to a whole new direction in my movie history. The gore was frightening and the screams of laughter toward a dead cop is more haunting.

The overall cast consisted of some well known faces of that era, if not genre of movies. In my opinion, it was just as well Peter Weller had to play out the movie in a metal suit and robotic concept as I don't think I could have stuck his cheesy acting through-out the 100 minutes or so. Although he is the hero an lead star, he is the worst actor associated with this classic... sorry. Apart from a handful of low budget movies, Weller has done the voice for Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1 & Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 2...random?

Ronnie Cox, as we know from Eddie Murphy's Beverly Hills Cop, was then and maybe still an accomplished actor playing numerous roles of good and bad.  Kurtwood Smith made appearances in Deep Impact, Rambo 3, Broken Arrow and many more.

Apart from its cheesy one liners, Robocop is and always will be one of my Childhood favourites. I know, it was strictly 18's (strictly), there was just no way I wasn't watching this movie. Unfortunately I can't say the same for what was to follow. I am sure the majority of fans will agree if I say that  RoboCop 2 was mediocre, although it will never, NEVER be as bad as RoboCop 3!!!  It is hardly worth referencing, but I believe the situation was played out with Peter Weller witnessing a script that read Robotic Ninjas and immediately decided to shove the pen he was given up the writers ass!

For those who don't know, a re-make is set for release in 2013, with a cast Gary Oldman, Joel Kinnaman and Samuel L. Jackson.  At this stage I struggle to see how anything can go wrong when the legendary Gary Oldman is involved. Joel Kinnaman is the star of the murderous tv series, The Killing. As for Samuel Jackson?...

Overall: 80's Sci-fi action, 80's bloodshed, 80's acting = a damn good time!

8/10

The Amazing Spider-man Review 2012

"What? a Spider-man re-boot?...but but..."

Yes folks, even after its release the majority of fans in terms of Spider-man and movies in general still cannot believe their eyes! 10 years since Sam Raimi created the big screen synopsis of Peter Parker/Spider man, Marc Webb takes a crack of the whip. (Webb? how convenient)

Webb, who brought us a delightful flick in 500 Days of summer back in 2009, opens up a new path in the spider-man saga. Not necessarily a new concept in terms of Peter Parker's origin, but an attractive cast and the possibility of a breath-taking plot in relation to the mysterious disappearance of Peter's parents.

Peter (Andrew Garfield) is your typical quirky high-school lonesome who in some way seems geeky through the eyes of the students around him. His geeky character is a disguise for his genius knowledge in synthetic biology. We see previously the distraught and realism to come as we witness numerous flashbacks of the brief child-hood Peter shared with his parents. The next of kin in his eyes is now his uncle and best friend Ben...as in uncle Ben! (Martin Sheen) and Aunt May (Sally Field).

Gwen Stacey (Emma Stone) is the attractive sweet heart. An intern in Peter's school, her genuine personality and kind hearted likeness quickly lures Peter to her feet. Peter is obviously the underrated photographer and grows in time as we well know. He uses Gwen as an excuse to use his camera as we see his persona shine whenever she is present. There is huge difference in chemistry in terms of Parker's previous on-screen love Mary-Jane. There is no fight here, it is immediate love and proves a pleasure to endure romance at its realist.

As the path to Spider-man is played out (longer than expected might I add), a serious lack of information on his parents disappearance leads Peter on a hot trail which results in a convenient connection with Oscorp. The genetics empire is run by Dr Connors (Rhys Ifans), a one armed genius who is destined to change the way of the living world in terms of animal biology and other weird scientific nonsense to be blunt! It is not the knowledge of Connors that attracts Parker and the audience, it is the convenient relation between Peters father and Connors himself.

Then happens the birth we have all grown to know and love. Peter is curious to speak to Connors and gets himself into Oscorp along with a group of other folks absorbing the De-tour. Curiosity killed the cat they say, In Peters case it just got him bitten by a nasty spider resulting in eh'... SPIDER-MAN!

So a montage of sequences show us the freaky results of Peters incident, giving him some amazing abilities including the ability to scale walls, fine awareness (Spider-sense) and a beast in the owl fighting techniques. I never quite got that to be fair, how does this result him being a top-class fighter? anyway, that's the case. A new life awaits the soon to be "Friendly neighbour hoo ah forget it!

Sam Webb's Spider-man provides a new contrast but in small parts. Obviously the introduction to any Spider-man origin is the incident that creates the hero, but it is what follows that can make a significant difference in relation to Sam Raimi's take on the web-slinger. Spidey's villain is Dr Connors' eventual transformation, the Lizard. On all accounts, and honesty, I was not pushed on what was revealed in trailers in terms of the lizard concept. It turns out I was wrong, he looked quality and could possible be CGI at its best. A fine result of the gruelling abilities and vicious mind-set that is revealed when the Lizard prowls the streets and sewers. Rhys Ifans is a tremendous actor with a fine career. His inclusion was always going to mark a good result whether Webb's portrayal was a success or not.

The audience will enjoy the all-round cast but in fairness, Martin Sheen played a typical uncle Ben and Field's Aunt May could never fail. It was easy work supplied by qualified acting. I believe the controversy following this re-boot is the copy-cat sequences in terms of it's predecessor. By all means not by myself but the real critics of course! This review is not a comparison, more of a  recommendation to the fans of the franchise to see this re-boot.

Andrew Garfield is a perfect fit for the red and blue spandex, just like when Tobey Maguire was back in 2002. The difference? Not much, well, age and maybe the ability to bring some seriousness to the franchise. I know Spider-Man 3 (2007)  was not Tobey's fault but The Amazing Spider-man brings something new to the table in terms of darkness, drama and a much needed birth of new romance. The action scenes are quite brilliant also taking into account the 3D sequences that are unexpectedly fantastic and highly memorable. (Dam it, I kind of compared just there, didn't I?). The suit is beautiful and easy on the eye even though Webb pushed for a darker contrast. The web slinging and overall situations Spidey gets into makes this the best movie I have seen in 3D so far. (And I hate 3D!)

Bear in mind folks there are weaknesses to this re-boot. I am not talking "needle in a haystack" stuff I will leave that for the "Spidey fanatics". The plot is far from convincing. You are lead to believe Peter Parker's curiosity into his parents disappearance will lead to an exciting investigation and overall climax. As exciting and entertaining the two hours were, I felt let down as I was forced to settle for high expectations in terms of a sequel. (A recently released statement admitted a trilogy by the way). There is an explanation that awaits the audience, one that in my opinion should have been settled a lot sooner.

My advice on the Amazing Spider-man is see it at once and enjoy it for what it is. Although It has only been 10 years, embrace and admire the new era of Spidey that Mr Webb is attempting to throw at us. As repetitive as some scenes might be, and a minor let-down does not take away the fact that the Amazing Spider-man was hugely entertaining with a tremendous acting performance from both Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone.

Overall: A slightly fresh and enjoyable movie with a memorable performance from Garfield.

7.5/10

American Pie: Reunion Review 2012

Jim, Stifler and the rest of the gang return for one last gag. A high school reunion.

It has been 13 years since the release of what was surely one of the best teen comedies of the late 90s. American Pie was, and still is a classic piece of work. Unfortunately I can't say the same for the sequel nor the "Wedding". So what does the latest instalment offer?

A number of years have passed since Jim accepted ditsy Michelle as his lawfully wedded wife. How times have changed for the virgin slash pie lover. Jim Can't seem to find the time and enjoyment he once experienced as his responsibilities include his very own infant. As we see in the trailer things are not going so well for the couple, both are lacking ambition to please each-others sexual needs.

Just like Jim, the rest of the crew have moved on living life as a real adult. A brief reunion between Finch, Oz and Kevin lead to the idea and planning of a high school college reunion. But hey, just like the wedding, do not tell the funniest guy in the movie what is happening, Stifler.

So quite obviously, Stifler finds out and there you have your attempted comedy as Stifler is once again the genius behind the antics he so forcefully drags his buddies into.

Some funny scenes involve the grown men hanging out at beach parties with 16 year old girls etc. There are some nostalgic scenes and some same old material. As always Jim is the victim as he is found embarrassed in some oddly funny circumstances.

I laughed my butt off of what clearly seems ridiculous now as I reminisce on its concept. Once again, Stifler is the joker and if anything probably the one tiny excuse the audience will to use to see the latest instalment.

Unfortunately the film lacks any relation to the word that follows American pie, Reunion? No, far from it. The movie is indeed the same slapstick as the "wedding" as it is at least 95 minutes before the audience get to see any of the previous characters.

American Pie reunion was a laugh of course but I just wanted to see more of the nostalgic characters like the "Sherminator" etc. Instead we got the same old stuff in what seems to become terribly childish and boring. In relation to the previous movie, it is funnier than the wedding (just about) and maybe even Part 2 (its been a while). The chances of you laughing at the stupidity of Jim and Stifler are very high which is genuinely obvious but this reunion is worth one watch only as the future for American pie lies in the past as we will always choose to giggle at the 99" classic that started it all.

I can not help but think the reason behind the latest comedy is the lack of industry work for the cast of the saga. It seems quite obvious as we have really only seen Sean William Scott hit our movie screens with his wacky character "The Goon". Unfortunately for most of the cast, American Pie seems the only route available. Although, would you want to see them in anything else? I mean as brilliantly quirky Jason Biggs can be, he has never really warmth to a successful career.

So all in all, the reunion is a good time in the cinema as we seem to always enjoy the hilarious consequences and filthy scenes involving a group of guys who some might say, have wanted to be one or two of these egos. I for one wanted to be Finch!