Prisoners

Genre: Crime drama

Directed: Denis Villeneuve

Starring: Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Paul Dano, Viola Davis and Terrance Howard.

Running: 153 Mins 

Following a thanksgiving gathering across the street, Keller (Jackman) and friend Franklin (Howard) find themselves calling their daughters names down a wet and windy suburban avenue. Alert of a suspicious van parked outside previously, Keller realises the daunting situation that both Anna and Joy's disappearance is subject to a double kidnapping. 

The streets become ever so lonely and the situation becomes a reality when the local police, including detective Loki (Gyllenhaal) turn up to gather some information regarding the daughters of both families. As Loki digs deeper into the possible characters involved, Keller struggles to maintain his peace, making matters worse for Loki, Franklin and everyone involved. While Loki is adamant and confident in finding the kidnapper, the circumstances become harder to accept with a plot revealing deeper answers as Loki thinks he has found the answer in Alex (Dano), only to unravel some loose ends in an investigation that becomes harder to tie up. 

Prisoners reels you in easily with a story that becomes ever so gripping but to say it is enjoyable may be the wrong word; more interesting and satisfying (in parts), with a gathering of dark scenes that leave a bad aura every time. Director Denis Villeneuve really hits home with this strong, relate-able topic, with its aggressive scenes and terrific performances from the cast, you could say the result is all too real to actually leave the cinema with a fine grin. It supplies a gritty, yet extremely depressive aura similar to that of David Fincher's Zodiac (2007) with its endless discovery moments yet as a member of the audience, it takes you back to square one every time.

The possibility of this happening quickly dawns on you from the beginning as Villeneuve's vision of relating it to factual kidnappings seeming all too real. Prisoners is a frightening tale of some wonderful, disturbing and dedicated characters that refuses any sense of euphoria from the very beginning.  

While Prisoners deserves much applause for its modern vision on a disturbing and quite existing society, Villeneuve assembles a great cast of actors to help create just that. It is one of the most nail biting atmospheric crime dramas of 2013 thus far. 

Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal maybe on the hunt for bragging rights at the Oscars this year, and while Jackman's performance is the most talked about, both men are countered for their own, personnel performances; ones that may stand a chance masterfully at the forth coming Oscars event. 

Prisoners is certainly not the most upbeat crime dramas of the year but its deep intentions are heartfelt. The performances from the all round cast are jaw dropping, with a plot seeking nothing less than sorrow from its audience. 

That's all for now guys, thanks for reading. 

The Wolverine

Genre: Action/Adventure
Director: James Mangold
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Tao Okamoto, Rila Fukushima, 
Running: 129 Mins

If there is one thing we can all agree on in terms of X Men's prolific Wolverine character, is that Hugh Jackman enjoys the hell out playing him. And while X Men: The last stand (2006), along with Wolverine (2009) have been pretty much steam rolled and crapped on by not only comic book fans but movie buffs as a whole. Hugh is undoubtedly adamant in providing cinema-goers with a longer lasting taste in their mouth this time around, and that taste doesn't necessarily have to be a bitter one.

The Wolverine is a more in depth focus on Logan's struggle to overcome the fact that he has and will more than likely continue to struggle with his mutant ability. Following the events of The last stand, Logan is located out in the cold (literally) as his wolverine skills are put to good use as his choice of a nomadic lifestyle results in a homeless rugged wolverine. His dark days are spent suffering with regrettable nightmares relating to Jean Grey (Famke Janssen). Logan is hunted down as the great "Wolverine" by Yukio (Rila Fukushima) and invited to Japan where he will be tested of his true desire with Yashida (Hal Yamanouchi) offering him the chance of immortality. It is the event of that meeting that leads Wolverine into a physical battle of emotion and choices as Logan is caught up in an internal war, as Yashida's niece (Tao Okamoto) is targeted by the sleazy Viper (Svetlana Khodchenkova) and her cohorts. 

Logan is attacked from all angles as he begins to realise that the Viper is after much more than Yashida's niece,  leading him into the fight of his life even if it means losing a lot of blood. Wolverine embarks on an exciting warpath, one that involves less exaggeration (Helicopter battles free) and some straight up gut wrenching!

Directed by James Mangold (Walk the Line), The Wolverine is an explosive adventure when it needs to be, adding a touch of drama when it mattered. Hugh Jackman's Wolverine is far more engaging this time around, as you follow him from the events in Japan, to the cold woods right through to his battle with immortality, you pity the Wolverine at times, particularly in his struggle to let go of his true love that was Jean Grey (X.Men).

The staging premise in Japan is a wonderful set, giving off quite a comic book feel with a dark twist. While the overall cast is not much to brag about, the chemistry between Jackman and Rila Fukushima is very surprising as you will find yourself rooting for Rila's kick ass character just as much as Wolverine.

The Wolverine stages some satisfying action scenes such as the scrap on the bullet train, and while it is probably the most far-fetched scene in the entire movie, you understand the concept and quickly adapt to the vision of Mangold which ultimately leads to a showdown of many battles. Numerous villains such as The Viper, Shingen, Noburo (excluding the abundance of cohorts) is one flaw of the movie as it appears messy at times and quite direction-less as there is no official focus on a particular villain which can lead to you completely forgetting who you should fear until they get screen time. The Viper is probably the worst villain played in any Marvel movie so far. Maybe it was the actor or the writer's job, but she was plain and simply crap, dull, characterless and just down right careless. She reminded me of Uma Thurman's poison Ivy performance; poor and downright irrelevant. The Viper is noticeably filled in to add a touch of dangerous femininity which turns out to be boring!

We could talk of the bullshit romance that unexpectedly develops for Logan, but let's not be too harsh; with great cinema comes great stupidity, and the wolverine, make no mistake, throws in some stupidity but nowhere near the car crash that was X.Men Origins.

The Wolverine is really enjoyable, with Hugh Jackman's admiration for the character shining brighter than ever. Whether this will lead to another X.Men flick time will tell, but if it was a choice between another "tired" Patrick Stewart X.Men, or an official Wolverine sequel, a Wolverine sequel would probably come off better.

Overall: A great action flick under a well designed premise, and while the villains could have had more character, it is still highly entertaining.

7/10



....

Rise Of The Guardians

        Rise Of The Guardians rekindles the imagination we thought we had lost

In a world outside of the norm, the North Pole to be exact, Santa and affiliates are forced to regroup in a bid to prevent the Boogieman from taking over the world. The only problem is they ain't strong enough; introducing Jack Frost to help the rise of the guardians!

Dreamworks creates yet another fantastic animation that shows once again Disney does not rule the imagination of the audience.

Jack Frost (Chris Pine) is bewildered to the fact he possesses a rare power, although it becomes a point of acceptance 300 years later. Given to him by the moon, his perks involve invisibility, flying and to pretty much turn everything to ice. However Jack is part of a collection of guardians but doesn't know it yet.

The North Pole is home to North aka Santa (Alec Baldwin). North is the Leader of the guardians;  Tooth (Isla Fisher),  Bunny (Hugh Jackman) and the Sandman who all thrive on making the lives of children very happy. However when Pitch (boogieman) played by Jude Law shows up, a year by year agenda of celebrations take a turn for the worse as he sets on vanishing any such beliefs in the guardians, creating an impact of nightmares for the children. It is then that the "Moon" decides to invite Jack Frost as the new guardian in a bid to save the world from utter darkness. Much to the dislike of Bunny and Co, the guardians are forced to accept Jack as their own in a desperate fight against the dark and brilliantly humorous, Pitch.

An original tale, Rise of the Guardians is brilliantly told through the eyes of Jack Frost and other imaginative characters we have all believed in. Santa is visioned far from the jolly old fella we have all waited on Christmas eve; he holds an egotistic personality with a funny accent. Both naughty and nice, the pros of being a historic figure to children is still referenced nicely through-out. Bunny, as in the Easter bunny was my favourite character. Ironically perceived as an Australian Kangaroo, make no mistake he is a grumpy bunny and even more so when he confronts Jack in numerous altercations.

Jude Law plays a boogieman that only a child could have imagined; making Rise of The Guardians all the more appropriate. Aside from Yetties instead of Elf's, and Bunny's boomerangs instead of Eggs, this short tale is a consistent ingredient of comedy and originality with 97 minutes of wonderful CGI animation.

Overall: Rise of the Guardians is beautifully constructed with scenes that pull off with, or without 3D glasses. Just one of many animated movies this year, Rise of The guardians will stand out in terms of the originality involved.

7/10

Jackman's Wolverine 2013

"I always thought of him as being lean, animalistic, not necessarily pretty. He has all this berserkery, and he's terrifying when he loses all reason in blind rage."

Those are the thoughts from Hugh Jackman on his vision of the X-Men icon. Empire got hold of the first image from the Wolverine re-boot yesterday. It is a re-boot ain't it? if not it should be. If Jackman's comments above mean anything, he will demand an R-rated premise to the movie with a more dramatic ingredient. After all, he does grow blades from his fists in blind rage!

The image reveals a quality tone to both the overall graphic and the expression of seriousness from Mr Jackman.
For more info including the full interview, click here
http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=35282

Christopher Nolan Week: The Prestige

Are you watching closely?

You need to be in order to really relish Christopher Nolan's magical masterpiece, the Prestige which stars Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman and Scarlett Johansson

Following the success of Batman Begins in 2005, Christian Bale must have fancied the work of Nolan, taking up another leading role in a dark, twisted tale of exacerbation between two obsessive magicians.

Set upon the end of the nineteenth century, Robert Angler (Hugh Jackman) and Alfred Borden (Christian Bale) are both associates of a seasoned magician by the name of Cutter (Michael Caine) who lives off teaching amateur magicians. An aged persona in Cutter, he can see serious potential in both Robert and Borden but both their perceptions of appropriate magic have wide differentiation.

When a magic trick involving a water tank goes wrong, ending with the drowning of Robert's wife, the blame is shed upon Alfred who had apparently back-tracked on which way he should have tied the knot, trapping Julia (Wife) until her death.

The after-mat of the unfortunate incident leads to the eventual plot of the prestige which consists of jealousy and rivalry. The death of Robert's wife sees both men depart, leading separate careers that result in twisted sacrifices. Both make it their all to become the best magician in the town, even if that means the sabotage of ones career, maybe life! The prestige shows a desperate tale of obsession and begrudging as Robert and Alfred struggle to reach the prime they ever so dream of.

"Now you're looking for the secret. But you won't find it because of course, you're not really looking. You don't really want to work it out. You want to be fooled." - Michael Caine's Cutter

Its dark concept reveals a love story from both camps as Olivia (Scarlett Johansson) sets a goal of deceiving both individuals, playing one off the other resulting in complications within Alfred's own relationship with Sarah (Rebecca Hall). Although Alfred and Robert show a hint of feelings for Olivia , both clever individuals see her as a spy as they both persuade her to infiltrate each others lives and performances resulting in what they hope is the revealing secrets within their magic.

Cutter is caught between the vicious rivalry as it is seen as the last straw for Robert who's desperate attempt to out-with Alfred is looking slim as he struggles to find a loop-hole within "The Transported Man", a gifted new trick holding a secret that Alfred will take to the grave!

Seen through the eyes of possessive magicians, the Prestige is an original, extraordinary tale of two individuals desperate to wow their audience with the next step...the prestige!

This is a glorious piece of work with memorable performances from both Bale and Jackman. Just like the previous work of Christopher Nolan, his brother Johnathan has also helped with the creation of a screenplay that proves once again that their weird and wonderful directing has resulted in a fantastic movie.

The prestige is one of my personal favourites and will go down as one of the best movies of the last decade. Michael Caine adds to the delightful cast with his presence resulting in an element that can only be relished and embraced through the experienced Christopher Nolan.

Overall: An original concept with performances and twists guaranteed to blow your mind!