How to Train Your Dragon 2

How to Train your Dragon 2 Review

Story: When Hiccup and Toothless discover an ice cave that is home to hundreds of new wild dragons and the mysterious Dragon Rider, the two friends find themselves at the centre of a battle to protect peace.

It's been 4 years since we last saw Hiccup and the gang. In the cinematic universe it has been 5 years. Hiccup and his friends have grown into teenagers. This is one of the best things about the film as the characters have grown up realistically, like in live action movies.

Hiccup is being prepped to taking over his father's duties, he avoids any talks by exploring the outer lands. He and Astrid continue to grow close and Hiccup and Toothless continue to develop their flying techniques.

As the rest of the gang do dragon races around the island, Hiccup and Astrid come across a dragon catcher, played by Game of thrones star (Kit Harrington). He plays the macho hunter who grabs the attention of Ruffnet (played by Kristen Wigg).

Hiccup tries to explain to his father how he wants to stop the impending war that Dragon controller Drago plans on beginning. His father knows that Drago is a mad man and can not be dealt with, war is inevitable.

Hiccup then meets a mysterious dragon rider who turns out to be his mother (played by Cate Blanchett). She and Kit are the best additions to the series. Cate adds an elegance and makes for a very strong female character among many male vikings. Kit gives a solid turn as the hunky viking dragon catcher. Djimon Hounsou comes in as Drago, he goes about the globe enslaving dragons to build his own dragon army.  Hiccup seeks to talk Drago from taking their dragons, his father tells Hiccup to keep the focus on his people and his mother is the same but hopes he would help her protect the dragons. In a way his parents are similar, both would rather care for their own than go out to try and stop madman Drago from doing what he wants. It goes to provide people with the sense of how deadly Drago is.

Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson and the rest of the original cast return. Their characters have grown since the first film. Butler seeks his son to take his spot and the others are starting to fall in love.  Jonah and Chris's characters fall for Kirsten Wigg's Ruffnut. It's done very realistically and its interesting development to these characters, they have now started to turn into teenagers.

I loved that they only added 3 new characters and kept continuing to develop the characters from the first film. For those unfamiliar with the first film theres a good recap of sorts, told by Hiccup and the beginning. I love his opening and closing monologues, connects it well with the first film and makes good use of some descent exposition.

As for the animation, its amazing what they were able to do in this one. The characters look more grown up and they also have a more real look to them, with cartoonish fantasy elements thrown in. What must be admired though is the sear detail that is put into the background design. The elemental effects are astounding. And if you are wondering if it makes good use of the 3D, its a solid YES!!!

The story is pushed in this sequel as cheeky romance is in the air and families are reunited. As for that tragic incident that occurs in the movie, it does come as little surprise, but it is a realistic turn. With sequels I always like to see things pushed further and new stuff thrown in. The new big dragons that can control other dragons are essentially ice breathers. Its a great effect and makes for some really exciting action scenes. What the director and writer (Dean Deblois) does excellent hear is go with a real heart. Emotion is felt, situations take real turns, but no worries, this is not like the Red Wedding, nothing that extreme.

A darker chapter but a necessary one, How to Train Your Dragon 2 adds new characters, further develops the previous characters and the animation and character design is pushed to realistically tackle the evolution of the film's characters making this film worthy of being known as The Empire Strikes back of this dragon trilogy.

Rating: A

First DVD Review

Pompeii -  06/29/2014

Let me start off that I am a huge fan of Paul W.S Anderson and when he teamed up with another favourite lead actor of mine, Kit Harrington, I just knew I had to see what they were going to come up with together.

The movie tells the tale of what happened when and during the volcano eruption in Pompeii. Now, the film is totally fictitious, most of the story is not based on actual fact. But, its just meant to be a disaster movie, and what an amazing spectacle it is.

Starting with its cast, Paul gets it half right. Among the cast are some greats, Jared Harris and Carrie Ann Moss. They were terrific in all their scenes, Jared steals all the ones he's in and it was great to see Carrie playing the motherly role again, this time for the better. Emily Brown plays their daughter and Jessica Lucas plays her hand servant, though Emily's character Cassia considers her as more of a friend than servant. Jessica doesn't have many scenes but she plays up the bit of girlfriend who nudges her shy friend into the arms of the hot guy, namely Kit Harrington. I'd say pretty much Kit looks amazingly fit in this. I won't go into detail but the girls are most defiantly swooning over him by now.  Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje  plays a gladiator that meets up with Kit's character Milo, the two eventually team up to, as they say, fight the power. Adewale is great in this, he gives an inner depth that isn't told in the script, but you can sense there is a history behind this guy.

The only downfall the film has, and no I do not hate 24, is Kiether Sutherland. He just didn't seem to be the right choice. I would have well to have liked to of had Michael Fassbender in the villain's high chair. It's not all bad though, Grimm fans rejoice, Captain Sean Renard appears. Sasha Roiz who has played the Captain in the tv series Grimm plays the secondary villain in the film but I would have loved to of just had him as the main bad guy. He plays his part with ease and sinister intent. His pleading for his life in the end though was a bit of a let down but I guess the best villains sometimes turn out to be the weakest in the end.

As for the rest of the movie Paul builds up the utter annihilation of Pompeii with great success and what a crazy outcome he gives us. In truth, Paul should have been the one to direct the end of days film 2012, cause he knows how to somewhat cast a movie and make for one of the best disaster movies, in my book anyway.

With top notch visuals, great build-up and an entertaining cast Pomepii is not one of the greats but it is one of the goods.

Rating: B+

Edge of Tomorrow Review

Story: An officer ( Tom Cruise) finds himself caught in a time loop in a war with an alien race. His skills increase as he faces the same brutal combat scenarios, and his union with a Special Forces warrior (Emily Blunt) gets him closer and closer to defeating the enemy.

Originally titled "All you Need is Kill" this science-fiction epic uses the groundhog day premise of a person reliving his day over and over again, except he has to die in order to restart the day. Director Doug Liman (The Bourne Identity, Mr. and Mrs. Smith) directs. I did have some concerns as he did direct the film Jumper, which I enjoyed but did agree it was not an amazing film. 

His direction in this is perfect. He had previously directed Naomi Watts and Sean Penn in Fair Game. Doug is able to combine the best elements of science fiction and the realistic grit of some of the best thrillers with the dire hope of a war film, all combined into one. 

The set design and the creation of the aliens is so superb. I loved the look of the aliens and the time controlling alien was also very interesting. The film is not just an action blockbuster, its much in the vein of the film Looper, also starring Emily Blunt. 

Now, you may not like Tom Cruise but man he is an awesome actor, I love him. I don't care what he does in his private life, I think he is a terrific actor and is making an amazing comeback. I do feel if he wants a bigger audience maybe he should try starring in either Marvel's Dr. Strange movie or star in a film with more famous actors. I love him though, he's terrific in this. He plays his character's arc with great believability. Emily Blunt was also a grand surprise. She was terrific and solidifies my statement that she needs, NEEDS to play the role of Lara Croft! 

Christophe Beck (Frozen, Paper Man) does a great job with the score. I never thought he would be able to do it but Chris does an amazing job with the score. He adds such a grande intensity to the film and drops in some excellent sombre moments. 

Edge of Tomorrow is a terrific sic-fi adventure, the repeat gimmick is done excellently well, with a splash of humour. It's disappointing that the box-office for the film was low, this is an excellent science fiction thriller along the lines of A.I and Minority Report. Tom and Emily bring their A game and so does Doug, its a fabulous action epic with such originality like I have never seen. Its funny, emotional, exciting, and purely character driven. 

Edge of Tomorrow is the summer blockbuster war epic that you have to see!

Rating: A+ 

X-men: Return of Bryan Singer

Hey all, here's my review/thoughts on Days of Future Past.

This is a film that has long been in the need to be made. Ever since an appearance of sentinels first showed signs in X2 and a brief appearance in X3 we now finally get to see the future we have been waiting for.  The film acts as a continuation of First Class, a swan song for the original X-men cast and a retooling of the pieces.

The film starts off in the far off future set in New york city. Mutants are in concentration camps along with humans who tried to help them and humans who may birth future mutants. Its a dark beginning and alludes to the holocaust in a very potent way.

We are then off to Moscow and see the first of the new and old x-men at work. Bing's ability to teleport is an awesome trick, Iceman does his ice slide and we finally get to see Colosuss fight. We also see cameos of warpath, sunspot and the appearance of Bishop. He teams up with kitty as we soon learn of kitty's ability to transport one's mind a couple days into the past. It's interesting how we learn of her ability to use time travel.

The main xmen eventually show up ( storm, wolverine, Xavier, magneto) and it's decided that wolverine should go back in time, cause he's the only one who can survive the 50 plus year trip. When arriving in the past, 1973, it's amazing how Bryan got into all the little details. And for all you ladies out there we do see a backshot of naked Hugh as he gets out of bed.

It's Logan's mission to get Xavier and Eric together again in order to stop mystique from killing Boliver Trask, who is played to great effect by one of the greatest actors of our generation Game of throne's Peter Dinklage. Jennifer Lawrence returns as the transforming mutant mystique, who has a big influence on how the sentinels are created. In Firat Class I thought Jennifer was terrific in the part, with this one she is in her blue form a lot more and it's hard not to think of Rebecca Romijn in the role. It all comes down to the voice, Rebecca's Mystique seemed to have this Erie echo to her voice while Jennifer just sounds like sweet Jennifer and while it in no way compromises the films quality, it it just bothered me.

The film is such a grand welcome return for both Bryan Singer and John Ottman. John continues to use the themes he created in xmen united and Bryan starts to connect the threads as certain characters start to form into the ones we know and love from the original trilogy. There's some great twists and turns and the finale act is a nail biter. In the end Days of Future Past truly rewrites history and brings back characters once thought to be dead.

X-men Days of Future Past is by far the best X-men movie to date, and the best comic book adaptation within the franchise. All errors are fixed and the chess board is set anew. What some will love most is the tie in scene at the end of the credits that ties in with the upcoming 2016 sequel, X-men: apocalypse.

One more thing, for fans of the comic Nate Grey known as X-man does appear, he appears during the prologue and epilogue of the film and I do believe a young Jean Grey makes an appearance as well.

Rating: A

The Amazing Spiderman 2 Review

This is not Spider-man 3.

The film does the first smart thing, we finally find out what happened to Peter's parents. It was done brilliantly and kept me on the edge of my seat. And it did serve a purpose as Richard Parker was desperate to upload his findings to a secure site. I was so looking forward to the death of Peter's parents. It was done to excellent effect. The plane collides with the screen, fade to black and then the spider symbol pops up and the movie kicks off as Peter parker as Spider-man chases after pre-rhino played by Paul Giamatti.

I know how people have felt about his inclusion into the movie, what was the point. Truth, its to set up future instalments. Hate the suit? maybe they'll change it down the line. As for me, I'm the opposite. I never really hated the suit. The suit for me seemed to work for me and serve the purposes of the character. While he does not have a big role in the film, I loved how he opened and closed the film. He didn't say much, which I think was for the best so he can try to work on his accent. I liked it, was glad though for no long speeches. Some may say it could of just been anybody and I would say it couldn't. In Sam Raimi's films I think its okay to not make references to future films but with movies like The Avengers and X-men: Days of Future Past this is all Sony can do in order to set up a future evil group, The Sinister Six.

The story then heads off to Peter's graduation. I was happy to see Sally Field's aunt may there, but was saddened of the disappearance of Flash and the no show of Mary Jane. Sally Field is such a lovely actress, I love ever scene she is in. When she tries to talk to Peter, he tries to brush her off, as some of us can relate. I was amazed to see the entirety of Gwen's family was there, along with Peter's visions of Gwen's dead father. I was disappointed in that Gwen's father was not seen with his scars, but that could of earned the film a harder rating.

The love story in the sequel for Gwen and Peter is on the rocks but its Peter who makes the choice to break up with Gwen, much to Gwen's bitter surprise, "I break up with you" she cries. It does become a bit of an off again on again thing through out the movie but Andrew and Emma make it work. Their chemistry is spot on and the best thing about this movie.

We are introduced to the two major players, Max Dillion, and electrician who works for Oscorp and Harry Osborn, the new heir to the Osborn industry. Jamie Foxx plays Max Dillion. He's not bad as Max. He does come off as a bit of a stalker but you feel for him, how he is not respected. His boss, played by BJ Novak. He's good as the intimidating boss. There is a moment were Max attacks him, but its just in Max's head, which shows how desperate he is seeking some respect. How he becomes Electro is a little far fetched, more so as it is unrealistic. What he did, he should not have done and Oscorp should be held responsible for it. And when he becomes Electro, Jamie Foxx is electric. His character makes a steady uphill turn from good-loving fan to vengeful vigilante, he causes so much damage in Times Square. He did so rightfully deserve to do that as, how unintentionally so, Peter got the crowd riled up against Max, even when Max was just an innocent victim.

As an easter egg, Max's boss is Alistair Smythe. He is the eventual creator of the spider-slayers so it was a nice add.

The Osborns are reintroduced here as Harry comes back from being away at college to witness his father's death bed. He then goes on to take over the company, or so he may think. He's eventually framed for Max's accident by Norman's right hand man, Donald Menken, played with greatness by Colm Feore. I would love to see this guy have a bigger role down the road, supposedly he is going to play the part of the Vulture but with his revulsion of the osborns I wonder how that will work out. Other cameo actors who appear include Felicity Jones, she plays the part of Felicia, new secretary to Harry. She will eventually down the cat outfit as she will play the part of Black cat (a burglar of sorts)

This is a long review for a long film, it clocks in at 141 minutes (2 hours and 21 minutes) the longest Spiderman film to date. There is a lot of stuff jam-packed into this film and I LOVE IT!!!!

The visuals were spectacular and the way they worked on Electro was done very well. And Yes, I was not overly impressed by the green goblin but he was not terrible, he worked. And anyways, Harry turns back in the end so they have the chance to do a better version in the future.

The story is stuffed full but compared to the first film it is a necessary expansion. I enjoyed the interaction between Harry and Peter, there was that awkward tension between them. Dehanne is a great addition to the franchise. Peter's backstory of his parents is also expanded upon, what his and Harry's fathers were working on is also very well developed. We get solid explanation into his parents demise. I also loved how Aunt May's life was shown more (she's working as a nurse as a secondary job). There is no reveal of J Jonah Jameson but he is mentioned as Peter sends photos of spiderman to him through email.

I'll sum up my review. I loved this follow-up, I enjoyed what the Marc and his team did with the expansion with all the many story threads I felt they did a good job. The best part is the love story between Peter and Gwen. There is great tension put into the relationship and the theme of time is felt throughout the film as Peter's dad looked at his watch, the tick of the clock, knowing that time was ticking away. Its what Peter tried to stop when he tried to do something that will shock, it is tragic.

The Amazing Spiderman 2 is not for everyone. If you did not enjoy the previous film you may not feel much better about this instalment. I found it to be an epic, exhilarating follow-up that expands on the universe in a grand way.

Rating: A-

Non-Stop Review l

Liam Neeson, he redefined his carrier as an action hero. I loved him in Taken, and I actually liked him in the followup. With roles in Unknown and The Grey he makes himself out as a terrific action go-doer. 

Reteaming with his Unknown director Jaume Collet-Serra (director of horror hits House of Wax and Orphan) they bring back the airplane thriller. The last time I saw a movie similar to this was Flightplan with Jodi Foster. I plan on giving a review on that too and comparing films. 

With Non-stop we start out with Liam's character Bill getting ready for the flight, while he doesn't feel like boarding the London flight, he does so glumly. 

We soon find out of course the reason for him to being on that flight. Thinking of it now even this movie would have made for a better die hard than the recent die hard film. 

The casting is excellent here with a lot of well-known actors popping up. Julianne Moore, recently seen in Carrie and next in Mockingjay, plays Jen Summers who becomes friends with Bill during the flight and believes he is innocent once he starts to become framed. Other appearances are Michelle Dockery (Downton Abbey) as flight attendant Nancy Hoffman. Oscar Winner Lupita Nyong'o also appears as a flight attendant named Gwen. Corey Stoll from Bourne Legacy and the first season of House of Cards plays an NY PD cop who is on the flight to his sister's wedding in London. 

Someone that blew me off guard, by way of I had no idea it was him was Anson Mount. He played the other air Marshall Jack Hammond. He most famously played a cowboy on the series Hell on Wheels. I could not recognize him without the beard. Even his accent was different. He was good, I liked him in this, I just realized while writing this who he was. 

The film is very entertaining and does keep you on the edge of your seat. But, I found now I am growing a little tired of Liam's aggressive approach. I've seen enough movies and I feel if he was just a bit more calmer and talked to the people better, like he did with the little girl on board (who clearly was holding a paddington bear). His aggressive nature I guess came from the fact he had a troubled past and he was an alcoholic. I have grown tired of the alcoholic hero, they need to come up with a hero with a different addiction, why does it always need to be alcohol. Why not something else, like smoking maybe? Or some kind of drug? Even, dare I say, there sexuality, porn addiction? Then again that gets a little R-rated. 

Non-stop is a non-stop thrill ride as it heads into the final act. While there is a moment of implausibility and is never really cleared up there are still some solid twists and turns which climax in an explosive finale with Liam doing a gun battle in mid air (as seen in the trailer). 

A thriller with a little implausibility but with a solid cast led by a grounded Liam Neeson, Non-stop is an entertaining time at the movies. 

Rating: B 

Part 2 on thrillers on a plane, Flightplan starring Jodie Foster, Sean Bean, Peter Sarsgaard, Matt Bomer and Brent Sexton. 

Next two Reviews

I am sorry to report but I will not be doing a review on the film Noah. I loved the movie, but its been too long a gap since I last saw it to write a good enough review.

Tomorrow, I will try to see Liam Neeson's new thriller Non-stop and then over the weekend I will defiantly see Transcendence.