Review: Zoolander 2 - Ben Stiller (2016)

"OLD?" - Hansel
"LAMÉ?" - Derek

        So my local cinema has an advanced screening of this film last weekend (06/02/16) and I decided to wait till now to start reviewing films again, at least this will be out before release day.

        The film picks up in the present day fifteen years after the end of the last film and summaries what happened to the characters in the intermediated years, the situations the main characters find themselves in is equally hilarious and heartbreaking (at least in regards to the characters) and in the broadest sense results in Derek Zoolander and is soon Derek Junior being separated and the most basic synopsis of the film being the two finding each other and getting back together.

        This film is filled with celebrity cameos from start to finish and while some work better than others they all raise a laugh from the audience.The reason for most of celebrities being in the film is to do with the plot of the film which is celebrities are being killed by assassins and then posting death selfies pulling Zoolander's signature Blue Steel look before they die, this leads to the fashion police looking for Zoolander, while at the same time the fashion world is looking to bring Zoolander and Hansel out of retirement. I don't want to spoil the rest of the plot of the film, but I will say that the bad guy from the last film do show up in the film and their appearance is hilarious and over the top.

        I loved this film and I was so glad I went into it not knowing anything about the plot. I know a lot of reviews are being very harsh and judgmental about this film but I feel they are being overly hard on it, in my opinion it was one of the funniest film's I've seen in ages and was the first for a longer time that make me burst out laughing and did the same with everyone in the cinema. I'd highly recommend going to see this film if you're in the mood for a laugh, don't go expecting a great story but it's far from the worst story I've seen.

Davey does the IMDB top 250

        So I didn't make a new years resolution, nor did i give up anything for lent this year, I however have decided to do something else, something massive and I'd like you all to join me. As you can see from the title I have decided to watch and review (at least in some form) the top 250 films as rated by the community on IMDb.com , one of the main reasons behind this post is to get a working list of the Top 250 (8:00 PM 11/02/16), as it is constantly changing. I also plan to review these films in batches of 5 films every week or so depending on my personal life. I hope this will get me back in the habit of reviewing films.

        Anyway without further ado here's the list, I'm going to mark films I've already seen in green so here it goes:

1. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

2. The Godfather (1972)

3. The Godfather: Part II (1974)

4. The Dark Knight (2008)    

5. Pulp Fiction (1994)

6. Schindler's List (1993)

7. 12 Angry Men (1957)

8. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

9. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)

10. Fight Club (1999)

11. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

12. Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

13. Forrest Gump (1994)

14. Inception (2010)

15. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)

16. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)

17. Goodfellas (1990)

18. The Matrix (1999)

19. Seven Samurai (1954)

20. Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)

21. City of God (2002)

22. Se7en (1995)

23. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

24. The Usual Suspects (1995)

25. It's a Wonderful Life (1946)

26. Life Is Beautiful (1997)

27. Léon: The Professional (1994)

28. Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)

29. Spirited Away (2001)

30. Saving Private Ryan (1998)

31. Interstellar (2014)

32. Casablanca (1942)

33. American History X (1998)

34. Psycho (1960)

35. City Lights (1931)

36. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

37. Rear Window (1954)

38. The Intouchables (2011)

39. Modern Times (1936)

40. The Green Mile (1999)

41. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

42. The Pianist (2002)

43. The Departed (2006)

44. Whiplash (2014)

45. Back to the Future (1985)

46. Memento (2000)

47. Gladiator (2000)

48. Apocalypse Now (1979)

49. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)

50. The Prestige (2006)

51. Sunset Blvd. (1950)

52. The Lion King (1994)

53. Alien (1979)

54. The Great Dictator (1940)

55. The Lives of Others (2006)

56. Cinema Paradiso (1988)

57. Django Unchained (2012)

58. The Shining (1980)

59. Paths of Glory (1957)

60. The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

61. WALL·E (2008)

62. Grave of the Fireflies (1988)

63. American Beauty (1999)

64. Aliens (1986)

65. Princess Mononoke (1997)

66. Citizen Kane (1941)

67. Oldboy (2003)

68. North by Northwest (1959)

69. Vertigo (1958)

70. Once Upon a Time in America (1984)

71. Das Boot (1981)

72. M (1931)

73. Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)

74. Witness for the Prosecution (1957)

75. Amélie (2001)

76. Reservoir Dogs (1992)

77. Braveheart (1995)

78. Requiem for a Dream (2000)

79. A Clockwork Orange (1971)

80. Taxi Driver (1976)

81. Toy Story 3 (2010)

82. Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015)

83. Double Indemnity (1944)

84. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)

85. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

86. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

87. Full Metal Jacket (1987)

88. Amadeus (1984)

89. The Sting (1973)

90. Singin' in the Rain (1952)

91. Bicycle Thieves (1948)

92. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

93. Snatch. (2000)

94. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)

95. Toy Story (1995)

96. The Kid (1921)

97. Inglourious Basterds (2009)

98. L.A. Confidential (1997)

99. Rashomon (1950)

100. For a Few Dollars More (1965)

101. The Apartment (1960)

102. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)

103. All About Eve (1950)

104. A Separation (2011)

105. Inside Out (2015)

106. Scarface (1983)

107. Metropolis (1927)

108. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)

109. Yojimbo (1961)

110. Batman Begins (2005)

111. Some Like It Hot (1959)

112. The Third Man (1949)

113. Unforgiven (1992)

114. 3 Idiots (2009)

115. The Hunt (2012)

116. Up (2009)

117. Good Will Hunting (1997)

118. Raging Bull (1980)

119. Downfall (2004)

120. Die Hard (1988)

121. Chinatown (1974)

122. The Great Escape (1963)

123. Heat (1995)

124. On the Waterfront (1954)

125. Pan's Labyrinth (2006)

126. Sunrise (1927)

127. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)

128. My Neighbor Totoro (1988)

129. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)

130. Ikiru (1952)

131. The Gold Rush (1925)

132. Ran (1985)

133. The Seventh Seal (1957)

134. Blade Runner (1982)

135. The Secret in Their Eyes (2009)

136. Room (2015)

137. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)

138. The Revenant (2015)

139. The General (1926)

140. Wild Strawberries (1957)

141. Casino (1995)

142. The Elephant Man (1980)

143. Howl's Moving Castle (2004)

144. Warrior (2011)

145. The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

146. V for Vendetta (2005)

147. Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)

148. A Beautiful Mind (2001)

149. Gran Torino (2008)

150. The Big Lebowski (1998)

151. Rebecca (1940)

152. The Deer Hunter (1978)

153. Gone with the Wind (1939)

154. Cool Hand Luke (1967)

155. Fargo (1996)

156. How to Train Your Dragon (2010)

157. Trainspotting (1996)

158. Incendies (2010)

159. Dial M for Murder (1954)

160. The Sixth Sense (1999)

161. Into the Wild (2007)

162. Finding Nemo (2003)

163. It Happened One Night (1934)

164. The Thing (1982)

165. No Country for Old Men (2007)

166. Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

167. Spotlight (2015)

168. Gone Girl (2014)

169. Mary and Max (2009)

170. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)

171. Rush (2013)

172. The Maltese Falcon (1941)

173. Life of Brian (1979)

174. Hotel Rwanda (2004)

175. Platoon (1986)

176. The Wages of Fear (1953)

177. There Will Be Blood (2007)

178. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)

179. Network (1976)

180. The 400 Blows

181. Stand by Me (1986)

182. Persona (1966)

183. 12 Years a Slave (2013)

184. The Princess Bride (1987)

185. The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)

186. Touch of Evil (1958)

187. In the Name of the Father (1993)

188. Amores Perros (2000)

189. Shutter Island (2010)

190. Million Dollar Baby (2004)

191. Annie Hall (1977)

192. Ben-Hur (1959)

193. The Grapes of Wrath (1940)

194. Wild Tales (2014)

195. Hachi: A Dog's Tale (2009)

196. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind

197. Stalker (1979)

198. Diabolique (1955)

199. Jurassic Park (1993)

200. Gandhi (1982)

201. 8½ (1963)

202. The Martian (2015)

203. The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)

204. Donnie Darko (2001)

205. The Wizard of Oz (1939)

206. Before Sunrise (1995)

207. The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)

208. Sin City (2005)

209. Strangers on a Train (1951)

210. The Terminator (1984)

211. Twelve Monkeys (1995)

212. Rocky (1976)

213. The Truman Show (1998)

214. Memories of Murder (2003)

215. Groundhog Day (1993)

216. Monsters, Inc. (2001)

217. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011)

218. Jaws (1975)

219. Infernal Affairs (2002)

220. The Battle of Algiers (1966)

221. Barry Lyndon (1975)

222. The Avengers (2012)

223. La Haine (1995)

224. Dog Day Afternoon (1975)

225. Fanny and Alexander (1982)

226. Throne of Blood (1957)

227. Prisoners (2013)

228. Ip Man (2008)

229. La Grande Illusion (1937)

230. The Imitation Game (2014)

231. The King's Speech (2010)

232. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

233. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)

234. High Noon (1952)

235. A Fistful of Dollars (1964)

236. The Help (2011)

237. Roman Holiday (1953)

238. Castle in the Sky (1986)

239. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)

240. Notorious (1946)

241. Catch Me If You Can (2002)

242. Anatomy of a Murder (1959)

243. Beauty and the Beast (1991)

244. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring (2003)

245. Before Sunset (2004)

246. The Night of the Hunter (1955)

247. Underground (1995)

248. What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)

249. La Dolce Vita (1960)

250. The Graduate (1967)

Review: Horns - Alexandre Aja

" I'm gonna love you for the rest of my life.
 Just love me for the rest of mine."

          Well to say this film wasn't what I expected would be an understatement. I went into this film blind, which is rare for me and i really had no idea what to expect from the story, other that Daniel Radcliffe's character grows horns and become some devil like character. If that's all you know then great, stop reading here and go see the film then come back and see what i have to say one it. Ok I'm hoping anyone reading from this point has either seen the film or doesn't care if they have it ruined on them.

          The film starts out and you're instantly thrown in to the middle of the story which is a method of story telling I like, the main character Ig Perrish (Daniel Radcliffe) has been accused of the murder and rape of his girlfriend Merrin Williams (Juno Temple). It feel similar to Gone Girl's first act's who-done-it plot and revolves around Ig coming to terms with losing his girlfriend and how this affects him. Most of the big character revelations come in the form of flashbacks which flesh out Ig and Merrin's relationship and those of their friends and family. It also unravels the night Merrin was killed from several characters points of view and the limited time they had with Merrin that night.

          Ig doesn't take the sudden loss of his girlfriend and the blame he's receiving from the press and the local townspeople, so he gets drunk and does a lot of stupid things. When he's drunk he sleeps with a girl he knows and wakes up in her bed the next morning it's here he (and we the audience) notice he's started growing horns, becoming the devil the local people and media see him as. From here on out the film becomes strange, Ig's horn give him a certain control over people, they confess their darkest desires to him and seek him allowance to carry them out, which freaks him out and is very weird to watch not knowing what or why this is happening. This leads to some hilarious scenes where people carry out their hearts desires when in the presence of Ig, my favourite one is in the doctors office, with the doctor and his nurse. Ig soon realizes that this power can help him find out who really attacked and killed Merrin. He tracks down the oppositions star witness the waitress from the restaurant where Ig and Merrin had their fight the night she died, she confesses she lied to the police just to get famous. The film then flashes back to Ig seeing Merrin for the first time as children and also show's Ig and his friends as children.

          I think I've talked about the plot enough and don't want to spoil the film, but there are several revelations that completely change how both we the audience and Ig see people and there is a powerful scene where Ig uses his powers to get revenge on those who have hurt him and and eventual show down with her killer that is amazing.

          As I said I really had no idea what to expect from this film when I watched it. I was blown away by how engaging the story was and how it slowly built and fleshed out things. From the director's previous work I was expecting something more generic and a cheesey Halloween flick, I could not of been further from the truth. Daniel Radclife does an amazing job in what is essentially a one man show (even if hearing him with an american accent is weird). I also had no idea this film was based on a novel of the same name by Joe Hill. I would highly recommend this film and I’d give it a 10/10. One of my favourite films this year and that's saying a lot given how great a year this has been see the previous mentioned Gone Girl.

          p.s. I know I haven't done this in awhile, I hope to change this and hopefully I'll get a lot more reviews done next year. I'm going to make up a top ten movies of 2014 list and hopefully another review before the years out. Thanks David K.