Movies & TV series

Top Movies – Live By Night Movie Review (Spoiler Free) – Movie Reviews Sites

Affleck’s newest movie is a love letter to old-school gangster flicks, with a remarkable cast, beautiful pictures and a thrilling story that was executed all right.

Genre: Action/Crime/Drama/Romance

Director: Ben Affleck

Cast: Ben Affleck, Zoe Saldana, Sienna Miller, Chris Messina, Elle Fanning, Brendan Gleeson, Remo Girone, Robert Glenister, Chris Cooper, Max Casella, Miguel & Titus Welliver.

Run Time: 129 min.

US Release: 25 December 2016

UK Release: 13 January 2017

German Release: 02 February 2017

Ben Affleck returns as director in this thrilling 20’s gangster drama that stars quite a few big names. I was really looking forward to seeing this movie but was somewhat worried, because I read a few of the reviews that came out and these were less than flattering. Having built my own opinion after watching it on Thursday, I couldn’t disagree with the critics more! Live by Night might not be Affleck’s best directorial work, in fact it is definitely his weakest, but it was still a damn good movie with a few flaws here and there and I, for the most part, enjoyed the hell out of this film!

I am a sucker for old school gangster flicks and have quite a few in my blu-ray collection, such as The Godfather trilogy, Chinatown, Once Upon a Time in America and others. I love the flair, the violence and of course the era it usually plays in. There haven’t been a lot of these movies around in the last few years, while those that did come hadn’t been exactly a shining light of the genre; e.g. Gangster Squad or Public Enemies. So when I heard that Affleck was not only directing but also starring and producing this gangster drama, I was counting down the days until the movie’s release date in Germany.

The plot revolves around Joe Coughlin (Affleck), who introduces himself by reciting how his path as a mafia boss started. After having fought in World War I Joe decided to stop living by the rules and became a small time crook, robbing backrooms where illegal gambling was going on and starts an affair with Emma (Miller), girlfriend to the feared Irish mobster boss Albert White (Glenister). When a bank robbery goes wrong and his affair to Emma gets public, Joe is left with no choice but to take the job offer by Maso Pescatore (Girone), godfather of the rivalling Italian mafia. Joe is sent off to Florida where he is supposed to build a liquor empire for Maso, but his past seems to be catching up with him.

While the story segment is definitely the weakest aspect of the movie, it was the thematic of the plot that hooked me and sparked my interested for Live by Night. I’ll be the first to admit that it is a little hard to immerse into the film at first since the story jumps back and forth to different scenarios, but once it kicks off and focuses on Joe’s criminal life from the beginning the plot becomes increasingly interesting. One big problem this flick has is that it is a very slow paced movie, not intentionally but because some the elements did not mesh well together.

One of the reasons why I found myself emotionally attached to this movie is that the plot construct reminded me a little bit of the video-game Mafia, which I played for ours as a teenager. I was obsessed with the game’s story as well as its outcome, and Live by Night reminded me quite a bit of it. The dialogues were well constructed and gave the dramatic sections more weight, while also balancing out the drama with humour at times.

There are a variety of different personas that come and go, some serve to tell a sub-plot the others simple side characters. While all these different people did help flesh out the story, I couldn’t help notice that in the end there was an overabundance of character that were part of the cause for the slow pacing. Ben Affleck did not only do a good job as director but he was also great as the lead actor. The only issue I had was that even though he was of Irish descent he did not really have an accent. He had brilliant chemistry with his two love interests Sienna Miller, who played Irish gangster broad Emma Gould, and Zoe Saldana who portrayed Graciela Corrales, the sister of a Cuban businessman. Both of them gave fantastic performances and their relationship to Joe felt real.

Chris Cooper and Elle Fanning played Chief Irving Figgis and his daughter Loretta Figgis respectively. Their side-story was one of the better ones and had somewhat a direct effect on the main plot’s outcome. Elle Fanning gave a jaw-dropping performance of a broken young girl, who preached and swayed the local’s opinion on Joe Coughlin. Her father, on the other hand, is a respected police chief in Tampa, Florida. Both Cooper and Fanning gave some of the better performance in this gangster flick and added tension to the story.

I didn’t recognise Chris Messina when he appeared on screen as Dion, he fully emerged into the character and just like many in this, had fantastic chemistry with Affleck. Brendan Gleeson played chief inspector Thomas Coughlin, Joe’s father. He gave a terrific performance even though he had limited screen time and was one of the most memorable characters.

This is a beautiful looking gangster flick that made use of two different desaturated colour palettes for the two segments of the story. The first part playing in Boston has a metallic blue tone, while the segments playing in Miami were metallic bronzed and both gave the movie a dated look that suited the time period it played in. Affleck also made use of beautiful long shots that rotated around a whole scene and gave a better understanding of the surroundings, as well as including excellent shots of the big action shoot-out at the end. Overall, this film had gorgeous aesthetics and a perfect costume design.

Verdict: While Live by Night is possibly Affleck’s weakest directorial work, it is still one of the better pictures I saw early this year. It doesn’t reach the greatness of Argo or The Town but it still has a gripping story and fantastic performances by the whole cast. The plot is the film’s weakest part and the first 5-10 minutes were hard to get into, while the ending drags on a little and makes the movie feel longer than it actually is, but the topic is intriguing and the narrative has enough intensity. The cast was phenomenal; everyone gave their best and had fantastic chemistry with one another, which made their relationships believable. Ben Affleck gave a fantastic performance, conveying his character with the right amount of depth and rounded him off well. The cinematography is hauntingly beautiful and set the tone of the era, while the costume design complimented the camera work. I can only recommend this movie, especially to those that are fans of gangster flicks, because it is worth watching! I am going to give Live by Night an 8 out of 10.

Thank you as always for reading, leave a comment below if you want to give your own opinion to Live by Night, and if you enjoyed reading this don’t forget to like and share. Also be aware that my next reviews will be for Split and Monster Trucks.

Top Movies – xXx – Return of Xander Cage Movie Review (Spoiler Free) – Movie Reviews Sites

More action, extremer stunts, ridiculous one-liners, the return of Vin Diesel and a much worse movie. Welcome to the “Xander Zone” 2.0.

Genre: Action/Comedy/Thriller

Director: Rob Cohen

Cast: Vin Diesel, Donnie Yen, Deepika Padukone, Ruby Rose, Tony Jaa, Kris Wu, Michael Bisping, Rory McCann, Toni Collette, Nina Dobrev, Hermione Corfield, Al Sapienza, Ice Cube, Neymar & Samuel L. Jackson.

Run Time: 107 min.

US Release: 20 January 2017

UK Release: 19 January 2017

German Release: 19 January 2017

Here it is, the much awaited third sequel to the two previous xXx blockbusters, with original extreme-sports rebel Xander Cage returning to the Triple X programme. The trailer promised more one-liners, faster-paced action sequences and crazier stunts, and while we obtained all that, the two segments that were left behind are the story and the entertainment value. I never expected this to be a marvellous mind-blowing action spectacle but I did hope for a stupid yet entertaining flick, such as the first one, which I could add to my movie collection. Return of Xander Cage, though, was incredibly disappointing and very bad.

If you read my previous review, you will know that even though I don’t consider the first xXx to be a good movie, it still manages to entertain me and is one of my guilty pleasure films. The first sequel that starred Ice Cube instead of Vin Diesel… well, let’s just say that State of the Union wasn’t the worst movie I saw in 2005, although it did get very close to being it. When Vin Diesel’s return was announced for a third part I had mixed feelings about it, but secretly I was actually looking forward to seeing it and being amused just as in old times.

So what is the story? The Triple X programme is now a successful running NSA project and director Gibbons (Jackson) is recruiting sports stars into the agency to become US spies. When the terrorist Xiang (Yen) steals a dangerous device only known as “Pandora’s Box”, Xander Cage (Diesel) must return from his self-imposed exile to recruit a team that is able to stop Xiang and his men. Not all is as it seems though and Cage’s rebellious attitude starts to worry his new handler (Collette).

The plot itself is very simple and not hard to follow, including a twist in the third act that made little sense to me but justified a big action scene, and yet this film managed to miss for what it was going by miles. Instead of a fun and simple blockbuster, xXx 3 contains head scratching moments and such incredibly ridiculous action segments, that make it impossible to look away and not doubt what you just saw on screen. The story contains inconsistencies to both previous movies and leaves other questions unanswered, such as why Xander left in the first place and faked his own death. Then there is also the fact that it constantly switches from being mindless enjoyment to suddenly taking itself way too serious. The components in this blockbuster simply weren’t that well balanced.

But the biggest and most annoying flaw it has is that instead of telling a story of its own xXx – Return of Xander Cage is constantly beating the viewer over the head with the try of building these films into a franchise a la Fast and Furious. There is not a moment in its runtime where a line from one of the precursor flicks isn’t retold, or a clue isn’t left for a possible sequel and that was simply tiring. This also leads me to the bland and incredibly flat dialogues; there was not a dialogue that didn’t sound self-important and over bloated and the one-liners were delivered terrible by Vin Diesel. I never expected Oscar-worthy conversations or monologues, but this was a new level of cheesy.

Vin Diesel surely isn’t the best actor in Hollywood but he always had a lot of charisma when being on film. This movie managed to flush his likeability down the toilette and make his character insufferably annoying. Xander Cage’s ego is dominating this movie and it is hard to root for him because he is constantly behaving like an a**hole. Deepika Padukone plays Cage’s new love interest and Xiang’s semi-partner Serena. She did not have much to do except look sexy with weapons and compared to Asia Argento, Padukone had no chemistry with Diesel, which made their romance feel sort of forced.

Donnie Yen was the silver lining in this action disaster, his fighting scenes looked believable and Yen himself had a charming presence on screen. His character Xiang is driven by his own moral code and that made me root for his character. Toni Collette was cast as Jane Marke, Gibbons replacement as well as the new handler for the original Triple X; she was all right but didn’t really blow me away and the 180º turn her character makes in the last act was not relatable. Samuel L. Jackson was barely present in this movie, probably because he realised how crap the script was. His character does pull off a Nick Fury in this one, though, which is all I am going to say to the character of Augustus Gibbons.

The cinematography & stunt work is the best parts of this movie. The picture is sharp and makes use of strong, vibrant colours that are gorgeous to look at and the stunts and fights looked for the most part really good. There have been a few scenes that made use of quick cuts, but other than that the camerawork is what saves this action flick from being a complete catastrophe. The effects are also nice and enhanced the battle scenes, especially the big fight at the end.

Verdict: In the end, the third Triple-X was a huge disappointment, as it did not even manage to do the simple thing it was meant to do, which is to entertain! The story is laughable and incoherent with its predecessors, expecting the viewer to suspend all disbelief and simply accept the absurd and impossible stunts and fights displayed on screen. The dialogues are so over-the-top cheesy and presumptuous that it is barely tolerable, while the characters are shallower than a persona in a late 80’s early 90’s action flick. Vin Diesel is robbed of his likeability and all you are left with is Xander Cage, the biggest douchebag in action history. Diesel has barely any chemistry with Deepika Padukone and it is never explained what happened to Yelena. The only redeemable aspect of this dumb action movie is its cinematography, the stunt work and Donnie Yen. xXx 3: Return of Xander Cage, is abysmal and I can’t recommend it to anyone! I am giving it a 3.5 out of 10.

Thank you very much for reading this review and apologies for the lateness, I was busy during the last two weeks. If you want to leave a comment below and state your opinion for xXx 3: Return of Xander Cage, be my guest. If you enjoyed this review don’t forget to give it a thumbs up and share it with others.

Top Movies – xXx – Triple X Movie Review – Movie Reviews Sites

When the NSA takes in an action sports fanatic, he is given a choice; work as a government agent or be sent back to jail. Cohen’s action blockbuster shines a refreshing new light on this genre but also suffers from a lot of problems.

Genre: Action/Comedy/Thriller

Director: Rob Cohen

Cast: Vin Diesel, Asia Argento, Samuel L. Jackson, Marton Csokas, Werner Daehn, Petr Jákl, Richy Müller, Michael Roof, Jan Pavel Filipensky, Martina Smuková, Danny Trejo, Eve & Tony Hawk.

Run Time: 124 min.

US Release: 09 August 2002

UK Release: 17 October 2002

German Release: 17 October 2002

With the third Triple X blockbuster being just one day away from official release, I decided to review the first flick of the trilogy, which incidentally is one my guilty pleasures. After the success of The Fast and the Furious, director Rob Cohen and Vin Diesel were brought into this project to create another adrenaline pumped action film but this time, instead of a police officer turning into an outlaw we obtained an outlaw embracing his new role as an American secret agent. xXx was actually nothing special; it had some fun stunts and action sequences, a couple of cheesy one-liners and a beautiful setting in the Czech city of Prague, yet it managed to entertain most of its audience.

This action picture was developed at exactly the right time; during the epitome of an extreme sports hyped era that spawned films like Extreme Ops, Vertical Limit, and of course The Fast and the Furious. The last one told the tale of a close group of friends who street raced at night and performed near impossible stunts with their vehicles. With Triple X, Sony basically reinvented the James Bond formula, by replacing the slick British MI-6 agent with a foul-mouthed American extreme sportsman, who wears tattoos and lots of leather, as well as sporting a shaved head.

— This Review May Contain Spoilers —

When the Czech terrorist group Anarchy 99 kills an NSA spy in the midst of a Rammstein concert by, agent Augustus Gibbons (Jackson) reveals his secret agenda; to send their own criminal into the pit and bring down the mercenaries. Xander Cage (Diesel), an extreme sports star and criminal vandal is caught by the NSA and put under several stress tests with others, to determine which of them is able to handle a dangerous situation the best way possible. He passes all the tests and is sent to Prague, where he is supposed to infiltrate Anarchy 99.

Once welcomed by their leader Yorgi (Csokas), Xander meets his girlfriend Yelena (Argento) and starts falling in love with her. Xander is soon forced to reveal his identity to her and promises her sanctuary in the US if she helps him get deeper into their terrorist organisation, while mean Yorgi figures out what Cage is and sends off his right-hand man Kirill (Daehn) to kill him.

Triple X offered a completely new and fresh look at the spy genre. While we had parodies of Bond flicks before, none of them broke down the recipe to that category as efficient as this film and enhanced its three attributes: bad guys, women and action. It especially managed to concentrate on the action part, by taking the typical well-mannered spy and replacing him with a tough x-treme sports expert who uses his expertise to save the day. That said, xXx is not a good movie. It is pure and simple mindless action entertainment with over exaggerated stunts, cheesy one-liners and a far-fetched story that at times makes no sense. Yet it manages to balance these ridiculous moments well, with fun and gripping action.

My favourite part of the plot was the idea to blackmail brute criminals and send them off as expansible agents to finish the jobs that normal agents can’t. Seeing it recently again to write this review, I noticed a lot of parallels to the Suicide Squad comic book storyline. The narrative, though, is full of plot-holes and one of the biggest I can’t comprehend yet is why Gibbons choose to use Cage, who is a simple extreme sports artist with a rebel attitude but not a killer. Also, the dialogue delivery was at times really messy.

Vin Diesel has the perfect physical stature to play a persona as Xander Cage; he was also very charismatic as the rebel agent. I just had problems at times with his lines and the way he delivered them, as some were truly cringe-worthy. He had impeccable chemistry with his co-star Asia Argento nonetheless, who portrayed the undercover Russian spy Yelena. Argento is a European multi-talent, but just as everyone in this film, her character wasn’t given any depth. Yet, she managed to bring some mystery to her persona through her body language and appearance on screen.

Marton Csokas was cast as Yorgi, head of the terrorist group Anarchy 99 but as a villain he was somewhat underwhelming, even though he tried to play the terrorist leader very pompous. Until this day, I can’t really understand their motivation to kill every major city in the world with a nerve gas, though, the outgoing idea that the governing bodies would turn against each other was an original thought. Samuel L. Jackson is Augustus Gibbons, Cage’s NSA handler and contact person. Just as with Vin Diesel, Jackson’s line delivery was at times terrible. He also played his character a little over-the-top.

The cinematography of this movie was mediocre, while it contains a few well-shot segments, most of the stunts and action scenes suffered from cutting every few seconds to different camera angles. It did contain good choreographed action, though, and I was impressed by some of the effects, such as the opening scene were part of a Rammstein concert was implemented into the movie and it still holds up today. Then again, it also contained sequences that had exploding vehicles without a reason and full frontal shots of stunts, where you could make out the stuntman’s face.

Verdict: xXx – Triple X wasn’t exactly theatre gem and the story was extremely shallow and had little artistic value, yet it managed to entertain the hell out of me and a lot of other people back in the day. Even though this blockbuster managed to shine a new light on the spy genre with its over-the-top stunts and action sequences, it also contained bad dialogue that was delivered poorly by its cast. Vin Diesel and Asia Argento had good chemistry but felt very one-dimensional and superficial. Samuel L. Jackson just seemed to be in this for the paycheck and Marton Csokas played the villain a little bit too underwhelming, without really exploring his motivations. The cinematography was alright but nothing out of the ordinary, and I had especially an issue with how the action stunts were cut. Overall, this action spectacle does exactly that what it was meant to do, and that is entertain. I will give it a 6 out of 10.

Thank you for reading my review of xXx, leave a message below and let me know your opinion of the bald and tattooed American agent. Thank you as always for reading and keep an eye out for my xXx 3 review this weekend.

Top Movies – The Great Wall Movie Review (Spoiler Free) – Movie Reviews Sites

Impressive visuals, big name actors and a compelling premise. Sadly, The Great Wall disappoints with a lack of plot development, mediocre characters, and bland storytelling.

Genre: Action/Fantasy

Director: Yimou Zhang

Cast: Matt Damon, Pedro Pascal, Tian Jing, Andy Lau, Willem Dafoe, Zhang Hanyu, Eddie Peng, Lu Han, Cheney Chen, Karry Wang & Numan Acar.

Run Time: 104 min.

US Release: 17 January 2017

UK Release: 17 January 2017

German Release: 12 January 2017

I am a fan of Chinese fantasy action flicks, and like especially the lively colours and beautifully choreographed action sequences. Movies like Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, House of Flying Daggers and Hero, belong to my top favourite movies and I still appreciate the cinematography, as well as the beautiful told tales every time I rewatch them. With the Great Wall, director Yimou Zhang is trying to melt Chinese folklore with blockbuster like story telling but the result is less than satisfying. Not even the presence of Matt Damon is able to save this Chinese fairytale.

The film takes place during the Song dynasty, when a European mercenary group that consists among others of William (Damon), Tovar (Pascal) and Najid (Acar), are roaming the Chinese lands on search for black powder. They are son hunted by Khitan bandits and while hiding from them in the hills, they are attacked by a monster that kills all except William and Tovar, who luckily managed to kill the beast and cut off a hand. William takes the hand with him and both soon find themselves standing in front of the Great Wall.

The Chinese imperial guard, lead by Commander Lin Mae (Jing), take both captive while questioning them about the arm. They then explain to William that the great wall was build to keep humanity safe from these monsters that are lead by a queen. William soon feels compelled to help Lin Mae fight off the threat, while his partner Tovar decides to escape the fortification together with another westerner known as Sir Ballard (Dafoe).

The premise of the story contains an interesting idea that could have done for a great movie, but the execution sadly didn’t develop the plot enough for me to care about what the Chinese military was protecting humanity from. Instead of weaving in the origin of the monsters, called the Totie, creatively into the plot, Zhang and writers Bernard, Miro and Gilroy, decided to add an exposition heavy scene at the end of the second act that quickly wrapped up that segment of the story. This takes me to the biggest issue this film has, which is relying more on action and battle scenes, than narrative development.

The plot itself felt very generic and did not add anything new to the action blockbuster genre. Instead, the story aspects were handled as clichéd as possible, such as the romantic subplot that developed between the two main characters or the side-story of the secondary villain that ended extremely anticlimactic and disappointing. Even the backstory of Damon’s character William was not fleshed out. That said, the media criticism about “whitewashing” have been completely unjust as it is William’s collaboration with the imperial guard that leads to successfully fending off the Taotie at first. The dialogue was just as tedious as the main narrative, even though it added a little bit of humour to the otherwise dull chain of events.

Matt Damon was cast as the Irish soldier William Garin, but he looked and sounded rather bored. William is a one dimensional and uninteresting character, with no other engaging attributes other than his impressive fighting skills. His motives that make him stay and fight with the Chinese army weren’t explored or explained, and thus the audience could not really sympathise with his decision. Tian Jing acted as the newly appointed Commander Lin Mae, Jin emitted a lot of charisma and played her role with more motivation, but her character was just as boring as Damon’s. Both characters growing attraction towards each other was a little unrealistic, as the actors had no real chemistry. The only silver lining about this horribly clichéd romance is that it doesn’t end with a kiss.

I was happy to see Pedro Pascal be cast as Spanish mercenary Pero Tovar. I love his portrayal of Peña in Narcos and he brings further diversity in an already international movie. His character was witty as well as quite funny but just as all characters in this picture, he was also very shallow. Willem Dafoe was completely wasted. His character, Sir Ballard, was just in a few scenes and he had no outcome to the story at all.

Contrary to the empty main story, the cinematography of this movie left me open-mouthed from beginning to end. Cinematographers Stuart Dryburgh and Xiaoding Zhao collaborated together and created an astonishing looking picture that included darker more pale colours and vibrant and exploding tones, to contrast western film production from eastern moviemaking. The battle sequences included fantastic choreography and stunt work, which was captured impressively on film. The CGI, on the other hand, was rather mediocre; while the Taotie looked mostly good, there were scenes in battle where they looked fake and then there is the most obvious use of green screen in the last act.

Verdict: Even though the trailers did not really manage to impress me, I was oddly looking forward to seeing this mash-up of Chinese and American filmmaking. In the end, though, The Great Wall was nothing but a disappointing action-fantasy blockbuster. The script was badly written and the plot showed no sign of character or story development, which resulted that I and other viewers did not care about the fates of the personas or the outcome of the movie. Matt Damon wasn’t able to convince as William and he had no chemistry with co-actress Tian Jing, who gave a good performance but her character was lacking in depth. Willem Dafoe, on the other hand, was completely miscast and wasted. The only redeeming aspect of this mediocre film is its photography, which convinced with its dark and disaturated tints contrasting the beautiful and vivid colours. I can’t recommend The Great Wall to anyone and will give it a 5.5 out of 10 for its beautiful camera work.

Thank you for reading, please leave a comment below and let me know what you thought of this flick. If you liked my review please give it a thumbs-up and share it with your family and friends.

Top Movies – Hell or High Water Movie Review (Spoiler Free) – Movie Reviews Sites

What do you obtain when two movies like The Big Short and True Grit collide together? The answer to the question is Hell or High Water. Mackenzie surprises with this smart modern western.

Genre: Drama/Thriller/Western

Director: David Mackenzie

Cast: Chris Pine, Ben Foster, Jeff Bridges, Gil Birmingham, Marin Ireland, John Paul Howard, Christopher W. Garcia, Katy Mixon & Dale Dickey.

Run Time: 102 min.

US Release: 26 August 2016

UK Release: 09 September 2016

German Release: 12 January 2017

This is my biggest positive surprise of January so far. Hell or High Water did debut everywhere across the globe last year except for Germany but it is finally out here as well, and boy was I looking forward to seeing this heist flick. I tried skipping all reviews and news about this modern western to go and experience it without having been influenced, but didn’t manage to stay away from the media completely, so when I went in to see it I was a little scared that my high expectations, which did build up from reading all the positive critiques, might hurt my experience. It didn’t and I was blown away by the premise and execution of this film because it was fantastic!

So what is Hell or High Water about? The story revolves around the two brothers Tobey Howard (Pine) and Tanner Howard (Foster), who for reasons I won’t spoil, decide to go on a morning robbery spree of Texas Midland Banks. Tanner is the older of the two siblings and has been in-and-out of prison his whole life. Tobey, on the other hand, seems to be the more calm of the two. Both are pursued by the aging Texas Ranger Marcus Hamilton (Bridges) and his partner Alberto Parker (Birmingham).

The main plot is more of a character piece, studying the two brothers and their very personal justifications for rubbing them banks. It also is a personality study of retiring Texas Ranger Marcus Hamilton and his struggle to let go, while being on the hunt for the two siblings with his Native American partner Alberto. The real story, though, is found in the hidden subplot, which is all about how the financial crash of 2008 affected smaller US towns and its citizens in the long run. This was a message I was impressed to find in a western-heist movie because this type of genre doesn’t usually produce thought-provoking flicks of this calibre.

The story is purposely slow paced to flesh out the characters better and driven by the very intriguing dialogues between the personas, giving the narrative more weight and a deeper meaning. Granted, the actors do talk in a thick southern accent and Jeff Bridges used his slurring mannerisms from True Grit, both factors that made it hard to understand what the people were saying. The dialogue handled a lot of the morality issues and included a lot of cynicism, mostly about how history seems to repeat.

This is yet again a picture that kept its cast limited for a cause and it paid off really well. Chris Pine plays the role of Toby Howard and he gave a remarkable rendition of his character. Tobey is the younger of the two Howard siblings, and contrary to Tanner, he is a well-mannered intelligent young man who seems to only use violence if he sees no other way out of a situation. His chemistry with Ben Foster was fantastic; both seemed to genuinely care for each other while at the same time despising the fact that they are stuck together and needing to rely on each other. Ben Foster was also incredibly great as Toby’s older brother Tanner. He radiated aggression and anger and I loved the way his character looked out for his younger sibling even though they didn’t go along well for most of the film.

What is there to say about Jeff Bridges that hasn’t been mentioned multiple times by others? This guy is a legend and he showed his acting talent once again with this western. He was simply overwhelming as Texas Ranger Marcus Hamilton, an elderly man of law about to retire and taking on this last case with his Native American partner Alberto, played by Gil Birmingham. Marcus teases and insults Alberto a lot about his heritage, yet he does it because he cares for him and thus tries to distance himself emotionally from him.

Director of cinematography Giles Nuttgens created a stunning looking movie, by deliberately adding long taken shots that were supposed to help tell the story and flesh out the characters. These long shots were meshed with beautiful panoramic scenes of West-Texas, making me feel as if I were right in the middle of the happening; I nearly was able to taste and smell the sand and dirt of the settings. Mackenzie smartly integrated signs and billboards of bank loans, insurances and eviction notices, in the background of scenes to magnify his message of financial ruin that plagues some of the smaller towns in the southern US. This is a vital thematic of the film and benefits the plot greatly.

Nick Cave and Warren Ellis compile the soundtrack to Hell or High Water, and it combines slow dramatic piano and violin compositions with a few country songs. Both genres add to the overall experience of the movie. While the slow but strong classical pieces underline the emotional statuses of the different characters and their relationships toward another, the country music emphasizes the setting it takes place in.

Verdict: This modern western was a surprise hit for me, especially since it debuted in Germany early this January. The thematic is intriguing and the script and dialogues were written extremely well by Taylor Sheridan (Sicario), giving the film a depth I didn’t expect it to have. The story itself was executed brilliantly, by focusing on character development and dialogues rather than mindless action. That is not to say that this movie doesn’t have thrilling moments full of explosions, but it is kept to a limit. Ben Foster and Chris Pine were amazing as the Howard brothers, as well as having beautiful chemistry, and Jeff Bridges was once again a badass on film. The cinematography contained handsomely looking long shots and panoramic segments, while the mashup of classical music and country songs benefited the scenery and the emotional atmosphere. I will give Hello or High Water a 9 out of 10 and recommend you to go watch this movie in theatres.

Look out for my review of The Great Wall tomorrow and as always, thank you for reading!

Top Movies – Passengers Movie Review (Spoiler Free) – Movie Reviews Sites

One starship, five thousand passengers in stasis, a system failure and two awakenings. Add Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence as lead actors of the story and what could possibly go wrong, right?

Genre: Drama/Romance/Sci-Fi/Thriller

Director: Morten Tyldum

Cast: Chris Pratt, Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Sheen, Laurence Fishburne & Andy Garcia.

Run Time: 116 min.

US Release: 21 December 2016

UK Release: 21 December 2016

German Release: 05 January 2017

From the director of The Imitation Game comes this sci-fi mesh of different genres, starring Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence. The trailers never really managed to hook me but I did find the premise interesting, sadly I obtained exactly what I thought the trailers were selling. While I am a fan of new and original ideas from studios, directors and writers, I did find a pattern in Tyldum’s last two films that annoyed me, and I wasn’t sure what it was until I saw this flick yesterday. Just as with his previous movie, Passengers doesn’t really know what it wants to be and so we obtained a sci-fi flick with multiple sub-genres, which hurt the narration. That said I did not find that Passengers was a bad film, it was simply boring.

The events are easy explained; the starship Avalon is on a 120-year voyage to a distant planetary colony known as Homestead II. On board are 5,000 passengers and 259 crew members all sleeping in hibernation pods, until a system malfunction opens up one of the pods and awakens engineer Jim Preston (Pratt) 90 years too early. Preston soon tries to figure out what caused the malfunction and how to fix his broken chamber until another pod opens, awakening Aurora Lane (Lawrence), another passenger.

As I stated in the first paragraph, Passengers biggest weakness lies in its plot and storytelling. The marketing for this sci-fi romance tried to sell the two characters awakening as a big mystery, even tagging the poster with the line “There is a reason they woke up”. Sadly, there is no mystery involved at all. The first scene explains everything you need to know as to why the hibernation pods failed. The first act of the movie, which sees Pratt’s character stranded alone on the massive spaceship Avalon, is intriguing and adds a sense of drama and urgency as Jim is trying to figure out how to make the best of the situation. The biggest props I can give to the writer Jon Spaihts and the narrative is that it tries to stay as scientifically accurate as possible.

The second act is where the plot comes to a halt, dragging the movie at an incredibly slow pace to the end because nothing of interest happens from that moment onward. We are introduced to Jennifer Lawrence her persona and a romance ensues between the two passengers. That is until the third act kicks in, which includes a morally controversial revelation with a solution that presents itself in form of a dangerous moment and is resolved basically instantaneously. The audience is then supposed to sit there and accept the ending.

Since this is basically Cast Away meeting Gravity, the number of supporting characters is extremely limited. This is basically Chris Pratt’s film and he is the one carrying the plot from start to finish. The personality of his character Jim Preston is the only one that contains a variety of layers that make him interesting. Jennifer Lawrence, who plays Aurora, was on the other side a character that didn’t really need to be included. Lawrence did a grant acting job, but the only reason for the character’s existence was to bring in a moral dilemma, so the viewers could identify with Pratt’s persona; that and to look sexy…

Michael Sheen portrayed the android bartender Arthur and added some humour to the otherwise serious tone of the film, as well as being the only other “intelligent” life form for the two leads to talk to. Andy Garcia was absolutely wasted and I did not understand why he was cast in this film because he only makes a two-minute appearance at the end of the movie, which would have sufficed for an extra.

The cinematography was one of the few advantages this sci-fi flick had. It was a bright and stunning looking picture with vivid but sterile colours that suited the thematic of space travel well. The effects were fantastic and looked realistic but what truly got me to drop my jaw open was the design of the spacecraft. It looked simple and yet its technicality is something that looked scientifically accurate and reminded me a lot of the spacecraft in 2001: A Space Odyssey. The cinematography and effects were what really elevated the movie for me.

Thomas Newman composed the music and it was a strong and epic soundtrack. I loved every minute of it, but I didn’t think it suited the film. The score gave this sci-fi flick a taste of mystery, it sounded in fact at times like the soundtrack to the Mass Effect video game series, yet nothing in the movie itself was mysterious and it, therefore, irritated me most of the time.

Verdict: All in all, this sci-fi romance didn’t manage to truly entertain me; in fact there were segments in the movie where I needed to fight my urge to fall asleep. It isn’t a bad movie, but it also has no excuse to exist. While the first arc of the story started off with the strong and interesting idea of being stranded alone on a spaceship, it opted to go another path in the second part by introducing another persona and thus developing a romantic sub-plot. The character of Jim Preston was fleshed out rather well and he was likeable until he reaches a moral predicament. While I can’t say that I wouldn’t have acted the same way, it was through those actions his character lost all likeability to me. Jennifer Lawrence gave a beautiful rendition of her role, as always, but she did not bring anything fresh to the story. The best part of the film were the effects and the cinematography and I will give it a 6 out of 10.

I can not recommend anybody to go watch this movie in cinemas, a shame because I was hoping for this film to surprise me but in the end, I obtained exactly what was shown in the trailers. Thank you for reading and if you enjoyed this review, don’t forget to share and like it.

Top Movies – Demain Tout Commence Movie Review (Spoiler Free) – Movie Reviews Sites

Omar Sy returns to the French film industry in this comedic drama, which is a European remake of a successful Mexican movie.

Genre: Comedy/Drama

English Title: Two is a Family

Directors: Hugo Gélin

Cast: Omar Sy, Gloria Colston, Clémence Poésy, Antoine Bertrand, Ashley Walters, Anna Cottis & Clémentine Célarié.

Run Time: 118 min.

French Release: 07 December 2016

German Release: 05 January 2017

One week into the new year and my first review of 2017 is that of a French dramedy. Demain Tout Commence, known as Two is a Family in English speaking regions, is the newest film of Hugo Gélin and stars The Intouchables co-lead Omar Sy. It is a remake of the 2013 Mexican dramedy Instructions not Included, the fourth most successful non-English movie, but instead of Mexico and Los Angeles, the plot takes place in France and London, focusing on a European audience. Gélin managed to create a beautiful and emotional picture that stays true to the original source and surprises with an unexpected twist in the end.

Omar Sy became internationally well known after his success with The Intouchables, a fantastically filmed, acted and scripted French movie of 2011. Sy quickly became one of my favourite European actors, after giving further fantastic performances in On the Other Side of the Tracks, Jurassic World and X-Men: Days of Future Past, so when I heard that he is returning to his roots; I was naturally looking forward to seeing this movie.

Samuel (Sy) is captain of a tourist yacht in Marseilles and a playboy. His life and thoughts revolve only around women and parties, until one day he is awoken by one of his one-night-stands who claims that the child she is holding in her hands is his. Asking to borrow a couple of Euros to pay the cab, the woman who re-introduces herself as Kristin (Poésy) drives off in the Taxi leaving Sam alone with the baby. Samuel follows her back to London, but loses the only lead he has and on top of that, he is robbed of his passport and money. He meets Bernie (Bertrand) a gay TV-show producer, who gives him a job as a stuntman and helps Sam to raise Gloria (Colston). Eight years later Kristin reappears.

If you saw Instructions not Included, you will notice that this comedic-drama is a beat for beat remake and therefore it doesn’t offer anything new plot-wise. Having said that, director Gélin and writer Mathieu Oullion managed to transfer the happenings of the Mexican-hit very well into a European setting and did add their own flair to the story. Even though there is a hint of drama along the first two-thirds, Gélin tries to fade out that aspect of the story using funny dialogues and joyful scenes; a stylistic metaphor for the safety bubble that Samuel built around the life of her daughter and although it was an interesting narrative choice, it felt a little over-the-top at times. The change in tone comes with the return of Gloria’s mother when the bubble starts to burst.

The dialogues were mostly good, especially those between Gloria and Samuel but just as with the narrative, there were aspects of the dialogue that felt rather improbable and far-fetched. That is not to say that I did not like it because I laughed a lot during the conversations between Samuel and Bernie.

Since Demain Tout Commence also contains a fair amount of comedic aspects, most of the characters were written to be rather cartoonish and exaggerated. That would not have been a problem if the film would have been solely a comedy but since it also contains true dramatic aspects, those characters lost credibility and did not fit into that world.

Omar Sy’s character Samuel was not only very well designed but also depicted by the French star beautifully. Sy managed to jump between funny and dramatic moments elegantly, giving his character a much-needed depth. Samuel himself is a figure that can’t take on responsibility and needs to learn how to take care of an infant when somebody literally leaves him hanging with one. His new goal is to turn his daughter’s life into a paradise and shield her from some ugly truths. The young Gloria Colston plays Sam’s daughter Gloria and she was the real sensation of this film. Colston gave an impressive performance and granted her character with an incredible likeability.

Antoine Bertrand’s rendition of Bernie, the gay TV producer and Sam’s best friend, was a little over-the-top. He is the funny character that everybody is supposed to laugh at when entering a scene, yet it was at times a little too much. His performance was really cartoonish and far-fetched. Clémence Poésy plays Kristin, Gloria’s mother who left her with Samuel eight years ago. Poésy represented the other tonal spectrum of the film. She was the emotionally tortured mother that felt horrible for having abandoned her child. She did a good job and managed to display her desperate situation through her eyes.

I still am not quite sure how I felt about the cinematography by Guillaume Massart. He managed to contrast the serious segments well from the bubble paradise that Sam created to protect his daughter, by using oversaturated and desaturated colours to display the two emotional spectrums. He also de-focused his camera every time Samuel reached an emotional stress-point, signalising that he might be ill. I liked and respected these cinematographic trickeries, but they did collide with flaws I noticed throughout the movie, such as the choice of angles that distracted from the story.

Verdict: The French film industry usually manages to bestow the world with a few dimes, such as Bienvenue chez les Ch’tis and The Intouchables. They are especially efficient when it comes to dramedies, but this one somehow managed to leave me not quite satisfied. The script was a total copy from the Mexican original Instructions not Included and so offered nothing new, yet it did still pack an emotional punch (predominantly in the third act) that managed to tear me up. I was not quite sold on how the comedy meshed with the drama however, as it felt at times like two different films. While Omar Sy and Gloria Colston were extraordinary, it was especially Colston that managed to surprise me with her talent at that young age. My biggest grudge with Demain Tout Commence was the cinematography, though. While I did appreciate the contrast in colours and focusing as metaphors for the different emotional stadiums of the story, Massart and Gélin decided to use unusual angles that distracted from the narration. I will give Demain Tout Commence a 7 out of 10.

Thank you for reading and don’t forget to like and share if you enjoyed this review. I would also recommend that you give this movie a try either in cinemas or when it gets released on Blu-Ray/DVD because it isn’t a bad film. I will follow this post with my review for Passenger tomorrow.

Top Movies – Top 10 Favourite Films of 2016 – Movie Reviews Sites

Last day of the year, last post of the year. Following my top ten worst list yesterday, I wanted to end 2016 with a happy bang. So, which movie did make it on my top 10 best list? Go on and read…

Well, here we are just mere hours away from ending this year and beginning 2017. Following yesterday’s list of my ten worst films of the year, I am composing today the list for my top ten favourite movies of 2016, thus ending the year on a positive note. As stated yesterday, I didn’t manage to see all movies that came out in 2016 and vice versa, meaning that I saw a couple of films I didn’t have time to review. Since I live in Germany and we have different release dates to the UK or the US, there might be movies that came out last year in other countries but came to theatres this year here.

Just as last year’s list, I want to note that the following movies are ranked by how much I personally liked them and how much I enjoy them while re-watching in theatres or at home. If a movie you liked is not on the list, or not ranked the way you thought it should be, please remember that this list is a representation of my personal taste in movies. Be also aware that this post is my own biased list and therefore scores I gave films have no relevance here. I also can’t account for films such as La La Land, Hell or High Water or Silence, because they still didn’t play in German theatres.

Just as with my worst movie post, it has been really hard to cut down my favourite flicks to just ten contenders. I have therefore eight other movies I would like to give honourable mentions too. These are the films I found to be phenomenal but did not quite make the final list: Nola and the Clones, Nocturnal Animals, Creed, Room, The Nice Guys, The Accountant, Moana & 10 Cloverfield Lane. So, let’s start with my top ten favourite movies of 2016:

10. Doctor Strange – First up on number ten, is Marvel’s solo story of Earth’s Sorcerer Supreme. I figured that I would like the latest MCU blockbuster but I didn’t expect to love it as much as I did. Everything about this movie was fantastic; from the well-balanced story and dialogues to the brilliant visual effects and colours used. It looked and felt like reading a comic book! Benedict Cumberbatch not only looked like Stephen Strange, he also gave a fantastic depiction of the character. But what I liked most about Doctor Strange was the change in tone and thematic, as it explored new territory. Ready to read my review? Click on the link: Doctor Strange Review.

9. The Witch – Oh my… Talk about a horror-movie done well! Robert Eggers directorial debut was not only an unnerving psychological hell-trip; it was also a beautiful looking period piece taking place in 17th century New England. It also included fantastic performances by Ralph Ineson, Kate Dickie and Anya Taylor-Joy, who displayed how an uncomfortable situation, loneliness and religion fanaticism can tear apart a family. The brilliant acting of young Taylor-Joy, who just starred in her second lead role, especially surprised me. Here is my full review if interested: The Witch Review.

8. Midnight Special – Michael Shannon, a low budget sci-fi story and Mud director Jeff Nichols helming the project, what could possibly go wrong? Nothing! Midnight Special is a beautiful tale about a father trying to protect his extraordinary young boy, who has a unique gift. The raw emotions displayed by Michael Shannon still get me when re-watching this low budget flick, and the cinematography and effects are stunning to look at. I truly loved this movie, which is why it is ranked in my top ten. Here is the link for my complete review: Midnight Special Review.

7. Zootopia – I wasn’t sure about this Disney animation when I went to see it since the trailers didn’t manage to convince me but I left the cinema floored by the premise of this movie. Zootopia is not the typical Disney picture, as it depicted a world with socio-political problems that mirrored those of our own world. Police bunny Judy Hops was constantly confronted with racism, sexism and social classification. That depth of story, combined with the beautiful looking computer-animation, made for one of the best theatrical experiences I had this year. If you want to read my full review, here is the link: Zootopia Review.

6. Spotlight – But wait… isn’t this a 2015 movie? Nope, not in Germany. I was looking forward to seeing this film, as the real events it is based on, represents a group of journalists that uncover the truth about child molestations by priests. The real reports earned Boston’s The Globe the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service, and this movie was nothing but worthy of depicting these circumstances. This, among other stories, was my inspiration to study journalism and I was happy to see how well it was portrayed on the silver screen. Interested in reading my full review? Here is it is: Spotlight Review.

5. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story – Yes, I am a Star Wars nerd and a proud one at that, but it is not the reason why this movie landed on my top ten. Even after all the online commotion about reshoots, Rogue One managed to be one of the better sci-fi flicks of this franchise. Although I still prefer The Force Awakens to this, the first anthology movie not only tied beautifully into A New Hope but it also was a strong stand-alone movie albeit having a few minor issues. If you want to read my full review, click on the link: Star Wars: Rogue One Review.

4. Kubo and the Two Strings – Who would have thought that Laika’s latest stop-motion film, could have beat my favourite animation of this year? But it did happen and it also managed to surpass a lot of other movies, making it as far as my fourth favourite film of 2016. Kubo proved that with a little trickery of modern technology, the art of stop-motion can be just as compelling as a fully computer animated flick. But it contains more than just beautiful imagery; the story was well narrated, it contained a lot of emotional substance and included likeable characters that I was rooting for. This is a little gem in the genre of animation and I can only recommend you to buy it on DVD or Blu-ray. Here is the link to my full: Kubo and the Two Strings Review.

3. The Hateful Eight – We are down to the last three films and of course I needed to include Tarantino’s latest western. What can I say that I already haven’t? What I loved about the Hateful 8 was the fact that it combined a conversation heavy story about political, gender and racial issues, with an incredibly suspenseful atmosphere. The last act was powerful and very bloody, while the wide-screen from the Ultra Panavision 70 gave the film a cabin-feverish feeling. If you want to read my full review for this western-epos, click on the link: The Hateful Eight Review.

2. Deadpool – Oh yes, this is my number two! How could it not be? Fox finally listened to the fans and approved for this R-rated comic-book movie to be made and it was fantastic. It contained some gruesome jokes, was self-aware of its silliness and was very Meta, not to forget that is was well acted! Deadpool explored a new playground for comic-book adaptations and it paid off in every way possible. Click on the link and read my full review: Deadpool Review.

1. Arrival – I don’t know if you saw this coming, but it is simply a fact. Arrival was not only the best film of 2016; it was also my favourite picture of the year. I went three times to the theatre to watch this sci-fi drama, just to be sure that it is worth putting it in the first place of my list and this movie managed to surprise me even more the second and third time around. I started noticing things that I didn’t when I watched it at first and the emotional impact is much bigger once you know what to expect. Denis Villeneuve is becoming, with no doubt, one of the best directors of this century and I am looking forward to his Blade Runner sequel next year. Here is my full review: Arrival Review.

This is it, 2016 is officially over and I hope you enjoyed reading my list of my top ten favourite films of the year, as much as I enjoyed writing it. Please leave a comment and let me know which movies were your favourites and if you did like this list, don’t forget to share and give it a thumbs-up. Thank you for following my blog, I wish you all a happy new year and all the best for 2017!

Top Movies – 10 Theatrical Flops of 2016 – Movie Reviews Sites

2016 is coming to an end and just like the previous year, this one had its up and downs, especially if you were looking forward to some of the most hyped sequels, reboots or newest game adaptations.

This is it guys, the end of the year is nearing and so it’s time for me to post my lists of the worst and the best movies I watched in 2016. This year has been a crazy rollercoaster ride movie-wise, as well as professionally for me, so please be aware that I wasn’t able to see everything that came out this year. There are also movies I watched and didn’t have time to review, such as The Conjuring 2, Finding Dory, Sausage Party, Ouija 2, Nocturnal Animals and Moana. Be also aware that since I live in Germany, readers from other regions might recognize movies in my lists that were released in their countries last year, but came out here this year.

I will get rid of the bad ones first; a surprisingly hard list to make, as there had been quite a few turds I saw that could have made it on here. Just as last year, I want to note that this is my personal list and if anyone enjoyed one of the films on it, pleased don’t take it personally; I am not trying to offend anyone’s taste in movies, these are simply movies I thought were poorly made! So let’s start straight away with some of the worst movies I sat through in 2016:

10. Suicide Squad – Yes that is right, this comic book adaptation did make it onto my list not only because it disappointed me deeply, but because the end product was really that bad! The whole movie felt like a two-hour-long trailer, with each scene setting up a different popular song. Sadly, it comes as no surprise once you learn that Warner hired a trailer company to make the reshoots and the final theatrical cut. I bought the Blu-ray with the extended cut, hoping that the extra scenes would turn this into a better movie but unlike the Batman v Superman Ultimate Edition, the extra 10 minutes in this film did not change a thing. Here is the link to my complete review: Suicide Squad Review.

9. Daddy’s Home – I am usually a big fan of Will Ferrell comedies and when I heard that he was co-working with Mark Wahlberg again, I was really looking forward to see this on the big screen. Imagine my anger when I came out utterly disappointed by Daddy’s Home. To be fair, the only thing I remember about this movie is that it was clichéd, distasteful and forgetful. There was not much that was redeemable about this comedy, except Ferrell and Wahlberg who are trying to make the best out of a messy script. Interested to read my full review? Here it is: Daddy’s Home Review.

8. Independence Day: Resurgence – Thank you, Roland Emmerich, for nearly murdering my nostalgic memories of one of the most epic blockbusters of my childhood! This mess of a sci-fi flick was the sequel us fans had been waiting for two decades, but it is not the movie that we deserve! I hated everything about this movie, except for Jeff Goldblum’s character, and just when you think that it couldn’t get worse, they whip out a Godzilla-sized alien and the most “in your face” setup to a sequel. If you want to read my full review, click on the link: Independence Day: Resurgence Review.

7. Standoff – This film didn’t get a theatrical release in Germany and with good reason! I went to a Blockbuster-like rental store here in Munich to get the Blu-ray and… Oh my God! This was the dullest action-thriller I have seen in a long time. The dialogue is crap and Thomas Jane, as well as Laurence Fishburne, did not even try to give good performances. A shame, as with the right writer and director, this could have been a fantastic psychological thriller instead of the boring and uninspired flick we obtained. In other words, it’s garbage! Here is the link to my full review: Standoff Review.

6. The Brothers Grimsby – Another shabby comedy and proof that Sacha Baron Cohen’s movies are getting worse by the number. At its core, The Brothers Grimsby consists of nothing else than the worst toilet humour and once it makes you laugh, you’ll hate yourself for it for a long time. I was longing for a shower after leaving the theatre, as this comedy’s grotesque humour will leave you feeling violated. If you want to read more, click on the following link: The Brothers Grimsby Review.

5. Assassin’s Creed – Here it is, my last review of 2016. What the hell happened? How could this have gone so bad? Ubisoft’s game adaptation not only managed to bury the hope I had left for this genre, but what it did is to completely kill any optimism I had left for future game-movies. I hated the cinematography and the colour, the plot made no sense whatsoever, the music was bad, and the acting wooden. The movie should have solely focused on 15th century Spain, instead of the modern age snoozefest that we obtained. Interested to read my full review? Here is the link: Assassin’s Creed Review.

4. Visions – Wow, I have no words to describe how dull and utterly useless this horror flick was. It did have a neat idea but the execution of it was horrible. Isla Fisher, a mediocre actress usually known for her comedic side roles, was cast as lead actress in this paranormal fright film but did not manage to convince once. Needless to say that Visions wasted an hour and twenty-two minutes of my life, which I will never get back! Dare to take a peek at my review? Click on the link: Visions Review.

3. London Has Fallen – Babak Najafi’s sequel to the 2013 Olympus has Fallen, is one of the worst action-thrillers I have seen simply due to the fact that it was utterly disrespectful towards other nations and embraced its xenophobic core message. The movie took itself way too serious and the invulnerability of Gerard Butler’s character didn’t do it any favours either. I will admit that I did enjoy watching London fall into chaos, but that didn’t help save the film from digging its own grave. If you want to know more, here is my full review: London Has Fallen Review.

2. Dirty Grandpa – It seems that extreme profanity is the newest sub-genre in comedy, something I can’t understand at all. While The Brothers Grimsby contained moments that made me laugh, Mazer’s Dirty Grandpa had no intention to be funny or amuse its audience. Instead, it set up a string of discomforting punch lines that were knocked over like domino stones to shock the audience. Zac Efron proved to be a good comedic actor and Robert De Niro is a legend in the film industry, but none of them showed any talent in this deranged comedy. To read my complete review, click on the following link: Dirty Grandpa Review.

1. Gods of Egypt – Well done Gerard Butler, you are on my list twice! Yes, that is right, the biggest turd I saw this year in a theatre was this mess of a CGI f*ck fest. Absolutely everything in this fantasy blockbuster went wrong; be it the bad computer imagery, Butler’s over-the-top acting, or the fact that it takes itself way too serious. I am not going to lie, I had fun watching this movie with my friends in the cinema but I enjoyed it for the wrong reasons. Gods of Egypt was so bad that it accidentally turned into comedy, and that is why it is number one on my list. If you want you can read the full review here: Gods of Egypt Review.

Well, this is it. These are the ten films of this year I despised most. Do you agree with my list? What were your worst movie experiences of 2016? Leave a comment below and as always thank you for reading. Don’t forget to give it a thumbs-up and share it with friends and family, if you liked my list. Be also aware that I will post my Top 10 list tomorrow, so keep an eye out for that one.

Top Movies – Assassin’s Creed Movie Review (Spoiler Free) – Movie Reviews Sites

Well here we are, the last hope to redeem the video game movie category landed in theatres. The question is; can the Ubisoft blockbuster save the genre or is it doomed?

Genre: Action/Fantasy/Sci-Fi

Director: Justin Kurzel

Cast: Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard, Jeremy Irons, Ariane Labed, Charlotte Rampling, Michael K. Williams, Denis Ménochet, Khalid Abdalla & Brendan Gleeson.

Run Time: 115 min.

US Release: 21 December 2016

UK Release: 01 January 2017

German Release: 27 December 2016

Ouch! This is the word that came to my mind when I left the cinema two nights ago. After the lukewarm movie that was Warcraft: The Beginning, my hopes for a decent game-to-film adaptation all rested on Ubisoft’s theatrical interpretation of Assassin’s Creed. The gaming studio and 20th Century Fox had all the right ingredients to make an exceptional movie: great actors, a good director and a compelling story, in form of a video game and yet they managed to bodge this in every way possible. I can honestly say that Assassin’s Creed managed to bury my hopes for a good video-game movie!

Personally, I am a huge fan of the Assassin’s Creed series. I played every single game except Syndicate, which I still need to get, and am still replaying some of them to obtain the platinum trophies. As each new game is released, I am constantly surprised that the story or mechanics don’t bore me yet and that is partly because each instalment brings something new to the gaming experience. Naturally, I was looking forward to seeing this movie, even after witnessing the horrible first trailer that included the worst choice in music, and reading Ubisoft’s blunt statement about why they decided to make this adaptation. Secretly I was hoping that we finally obtain a film, based on a video game that can be deemed worthy to watch.

If you played the first Assassin’s Creed game, you’ll pretty much know what to expect plot-wise. The film opens with a scene in Spanish Andalucía, where Aguilar (Fassbender) obtains his blades and is enrolled into the creed. From there on we jump to the present, were convicted prisoner Callum Lynch (Fassbender) wakes up after his execution in a facility, overviewed by Dr. Sophia Rikkin (Cotillard) and her father Alan Rikkin (Irons). Sophia explains to Callum that they need to unlock his genetic memory to find an artefact that cures violence.

I can’t wrap my head around the fact that the biggest problem of this movie is its story; don’t get me wrong, the cinematography and the music were awful as well, but since the plot follows basically Desmond’s story from the first AC beat for beat, it is impossible for me to comprehend how FOX and Ubisoft managed to mess this up so bad! I know the lore and the narrative of by heart and yet I was constantly asking myself what was happening on screen. And since this is a film based on the Assassin’s Creed franchise, I feel like it’s my duty to inform fans of it that most of the film is not playing in the past (which would have made for a much better picture), but it plays instead in the present at an Abstergo facility. It also contains the laziest set-up to a sequel, something that reminded too much of Fant4stic.

The dialogues were badly written and made no sense, even though they also contained the only thing I found redeemable about this flick, which was the use of the Castilian language in the sequences that took place in the past and were spoken by either native or fluent speakers. Sadly I had no time to enjoy these moments, as the few sequences that took place in the 15th Century flew by really fast. A shame, as this could have been an opportunity for Hollywood to explore the historical period that is the Spanish Inquisition.

I feel bad for shi**ing on this movie because I am a big Michael Fassbender fan! I mean this guy is a good actor and Assassin’s Creed was also the first film he produced, but none of this saves the fact that it is a really bad movie. That said, Michael Fassbender tried his best to give a good performance, it’s just that with the bad script and poor filming his performance came off a little wooden and at times over-the-top when it came to his portrayal of Callum Lynch. His performance of Aguilar, on the other hand, I found to be intriguing and quite entertaining, which might have been due to the limited dialogue he has.

Marion Cotillard is, in my opinion, one of the best actresses of this era but like her co-workers, her acting is suffering due to bad project development. She has undeniable chemistry with Fassbender that helped sell the “cat and mouse” game her character Sophia is playing with Fassbender’s but just as with Callum Lynch, Sophia looks and feels emotionless. Ariane Labed played Maria, Aguilar’s Assassin partner in 15th century Spain and I found her chemistry with Fassbender even better. Labed managed to sell her camaraderie and hinted love between her persona and Aguilar surprisingly well, even though she only had about 5 lines of dialogue.

Jeremy Irons is also in this video-game adaptation and plays Sophia’s father Alan Rikkin, although he is possibly the most useless character in the blockbuster. Iron’s portrayal was very bland and effortless as if he had been forced to take the role. Compared to his great performance as Alfred in BvS, this was pure horse crap.

I was really disappointed with the cinematography of this film. The action sequences were filmed poorly and included a lot of cuts, to show other perspectives, even though it was visibly clear that the stunt work and choreography were well performed. The cuts from past to present during parkour or fighting segments were unnecessary and distracted from what was going on, but my biggest issue with Assassin’s Creed was the extensive use of desaturated colours. It was a tonal mess of bright whites and metallic blues for the present, and dark metallic bronzes used for scenes that played in the past. There were times I needed to squint or heavily focus my eyes because it was either too bright or too dark to see anything.

Verdict: In the end, Justin Kurzel’s winter blockbuster is nothing more than a forgettable try at adapting once again a popular video game franchise for the silver screen. The plot focused on the wrong time period, with about 65% taking place in the present were nothing of remote interest happens, and the sequences that took place in 15th century Spain, while being intriguing, did not actually focus on the Spanish Inquisition and were too short. If the story had solely focused on that time period, it would have made for a much better film. The cinematography is really atrocious; the endless back and forth cuts during action segments made it hard to follow and the colour palettes used for this movie were highly irritating. This was the game adaptation I was rooting for and it disappointed me deeply! I cannot recommend this film to anyone, especially fans of the franchise and will give Assassin’s Creed a 3 out of 10.

Thank you for reading my Assassin’s Creed review. I was planning on writing one more for Nocturnal Animals, but sadly I have no time, especially given the fact that I am currently working on three lists right now: my “10 Worst Theatre Experiences of 2016” list that I will post tomorrow, my “Top 10 Movie of 2016” that will be up on Saturday, and my “25 Most Anticipated Films of 2017” list that will be up on the 1st of January.