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.

New Movie Review: The World's End (2013) - Edgar Wright

"We're going to see this through to the bitter end. Or... lager end."  - Garry King

          For anyone to make a film that not only balances the elements of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz (it's sister films) and introduces a few of its own, they'd have to be a mad man or Edgar Wright, the director of the massively popular Cornetto Trilogy. To call World's End the concluding chapter of this trilogy it to miss the point of this trilogy, it been British-ify-ing popular genres (Zombie & Buddy Cop respectively) while gently parodying them at the same time. While I could go on about the similarities, nods and links between these film's (and maybe I will sometime), for now I'm here to review The World's End as it's own film.

          The film starts off with five estranged friends reuniting twenty years after their secondary (American's read: High-) school graduation and trying to complete their hometown's legendary pub crawl and in the hopes of the groups de-facto leader Gary King (Simon Pegg) finish what they started and recapture their glory days. I have to admit, I loved the start of this film I would of loved to of seen what Edgar Wright would of done with these characters and how he would of developed the story had this not of been part of the Cornetto Trilogy, Mint Cornetto in this case, incase you were wondering. But instead just as the reunion film is about to reach its conflict and gets really interesting, the aliens show up, which we should of been looking forward to, instead signals a complete tonal shift in the film and the dropping of most of the major elements of the reunion film, which is a pity as that would of been as equally an interesting picture. From this point on though the film does get more funny and was genuinely one of the funniest films I've seen in ages, it also becomes more of an action film, with Wright bringing all the skills and techniques he learned from Scott Pilgrim vs. The World to the fight scenes.

          From here on out the review gets tricky, as I don't want to spoil the film and want instead you to go see it. So maybe I'll wrap up my review here, for now and tell you that I loved this film and that it definitely holds up against Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz and is worth checking out in the cinema. Hopefully once this films been out a bit longer I'll get around to reviewing it in more detail. But for now the film gets a 9/10.

Trailer Review: Double Feature: Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters & Hansel & Gretel Get Baked

So the story of this film is basically what happened to Hansel and Gretel after they escaped the Witch and the Gingerbread house from the classic fairytale. They become witch hunters and action movie heroes. This actually looks really good and is a great re-imagining of the characters and looks like its going to be a great action movie, I just hope it’s better than Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter was. I for one will definitely check it out when it comes out in cinemas. Check it out here Hansel And Gretel: Witch Hunters - Totally Witchin' Trailer

Another Hansel & Gretel movie worth mentioning is Hansel & Gretel Get Baked, which unlike this films more action/steampunk style setting is more of a comedy horror where Hansel & Gretel are two twenty something stoners, it looks pretty funny and looks like it will be a good movie, hopefully it gets the horror and comedy elements balanced. Check it out here  Hansel & Gretel Get Baked Official Trailer #1

Review: Pitch Perfect (2012) - Jason Moore

"You guys are gonna get pitch-slapped so hard, your man boobs are gonna concave"

          This is one of the funniest film’s I’ve seen all year forget about whatever misconceptions you may have about this film, it’s brilliant. It’s such a smart and funny film, the comedy is layered so if you bring someone younger or more innocently minded they won’t get all the little jokes especially the ones the presenters make and has a great soundtrack, a typical chick flick this is not.

          What really made the film work in my opinion were the great cast; especially the protagonist Becca (Anna Kendrick, one of my favourite young actresses) and the standout comedian Fat Amy (Rebel Wilson) who carries most if not all of the films jokes. The characters seem real and believable and have depth which helps you invest in their struggle and story. So the basic plot of the story is loner girl, whose great at remixing songs wants to be a music producer, she goes to college, reluctantly and then joins an all female  a cappella group (The Bellas), makes friends with the other members and gets a boyfriend, who joins the opposing all male  a cappella group (Treble Makers). I’ll try and keep this review spoiler free as I hope most of you will go see this in the cinema, and guys don’t worry if your dragged along to this as a date movie it’s actually really interesting and while it sounds like the set up for the kind of film most guys would hate, I found myself really enjoying it.

          Anna Kendrick’s character of Becca seems like a very believable person, some people will relate to her, but everyone will certainly understand her and why she is the way she is. The love story never felt tacked on to me and felt like it moved along at a natural pace, there’s no “I love you” after 2 days nonsense and I suppose being awkward like Skylar Astin’s character Jesse, I was rooting for him, oh and most impressively there’s no love triangle shoe horned in because it’s the cool thing to do in teen drama’s. The internal conflicts in The Bella’s are also very grounded and while they can sometimes be blown up for the plot’s sake they come from a real place and it never felt like conflict for conflict’s sake. Fat Amy is the standout character in this film by a mile, you can just tell Rebel Wilson is having so much fun in this role and in a way she’s the films de facto narrator at least in the scenes she’s in, I hope this girl gets an Oscar nomination for this role, but I’m certain she’ll win a few MTV awards and other people choice style awards.

          The soundtrack was not just pretty good, it was downright awesome. Normally with these Glee/Step Up type films there’s one really good some and the rest is just filler which always affects you losing yourself in the movie, well not here. The songs are all current and most if not all have been in the top 30 this year, there are a few songs mainly the ones the groups sung by the group that are Glee-esque but their there for a specific reason so they get a pass.

          If your still on the fence about seeing this movie I’d recommend giving it a chance, like I said bring your girlfriend or sister or go with a group of friends, you won’t be disappointed. So wrapping things up I’d give this movie a solid 8/10, it’s not going to win the Oscar for best picture, but it will win a load of viewer’s choice awards like MTV’s so go and enjoy yourself.