In Theatres

[Samuel_Scott]

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies - Went with a mate and was obviously expecting the worse, but despite the sometimes horrendous acting (particularly Darcy) and a lack of action at times, it was enjoyable enough to not consider a waste of time or money. 6/10

[Samuel_Scott]

The Finest Hours - Fairly typical disaster/rescue stuff from Disney based on a true story of a coastguard operation in 1951. Would be a 6/10 but the cast, especially Casey Affleck and Chris Pine, were superb. 7/10

[Noor_Razzak]

Hail, Caesar! - This was one of my most anticipated films of this year to see, The Coen Brothers can't do any wrong. The trailers made this seem like a ludicrous farce in the same tone of The Big Lebowski, but it wasn't. It had it's moments, and certainly enough memorable scenes that plant a smile on your face, but it was far from being among the Brothers' best, it flies but the landing is rough. 6/10.

[Samuel_Scott]

Grimsby - Funny, but not Baron Cohen at his best. Really wasted the supporting cast, especially Isla Fisher, Penelope Cruz, Johnny Vegas, and Ricky Tomlinson. 5/10

[Noor_Razzak]

10 Cloverfield Lane - Terrific little pot boiler of a film, only a sequel in name so you don't need to have seen the previous film to get into this one, best way to describe it is: the movie Room but with aliens. 8/10.

[Noor_Razzak]

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice - easily one of the biggest movies to open this year and one that both Warners and DC are hoping would ignite their Justice League mega-franchise. Did they succeed? Yes and no. The negatives are fairly obvious - the first being that there's a lot of ground to cover to set up Justice League and the film tries to cram in as much as possible without loosing coherence but sadly it's kinda lost in parts and this is where I think the longer Director's cut might help even out the plotting. Lex's motivations aren't entirely clear, the dark tone doesn't really translate well to Superman, Lois' part in the film is mostly wasted and there's not enough of Wonder Woman. On the flip side there are flashes of brilliance and the 2.5 hour runtime didn't feel like a drag, the fights are incredible and it's a visually stunning film considering how dark it is. I liked the reason behind these characters fighting, it was somewhat unexpected. Wonder Woman's appearance was spectacular and I can't wait to see more of her. The Doomsday battle was well set up and made for a decent third act although was short lived. Overall I went in with low expectations, I wasn't entirely sold on the trailers and the many negative reviews that piled in really sent my expectations below the floor (many of which I felt where unjustly harsh). So I was pleasantly surprised that I didn't hate the film and am looking forward to seeing the solo Wonder Woman movie followed by Justice League, 6.5/10.

[Samuel_Scott]

Batman v Superman - I didn't hate it, probably because my expectations were extremely low. Beforehand, I thought I would have issues with the cast, but can't say I found reason to complain, not even about Affleck. The issue was typical Zack Snyder style over substance. Crappyish overlong and occasionally boring story that looked good. 2.5/5

[Samuel_Scott]

Eddie the Eagle - This is your typical feel good sports film with a great cast. I really like what Dexter Fletcher has directed so far with this and Wild Bill. Hopefully he will get another directing gig sooner rather than later. 3.5/5

Tonight, Cloverfield

[Samuel_Scott]

10 Cloverfield Lane - Great stuff with the perfect cast and some cracking random wtf moments. 4/5

[Noor_Razzak]

Midnight Special - Let me start by saying I really like director Jeff Nichols' previous works, Take Shelter and Mud were excellent movies, and based on that eagerly anticipated this film and it didn't disappoint. The film takes on a 70's Spielbergian feel to it, kind of like Close Encounters, I really liked how the story unfolded, the cast all nail their roles and the film is an intriguing sci-fi thriller that feels grander than it actually is. It has its flaws but overall it's such thoughtful and well crafted filmmaking, 9/10.

[Samuel_Scott]

Good to hear the above Noor. That and Hardcore Henry open locally this Thursday I believe.

Just back from The Huntsman: Winter War. Visually stunning but very lazy storytelling. Rob Brydon and Nick Frost almost make up for Jessica Chastain's and Chris Hemsworth's awful Scottish accents. 2.5/5

[Samuel_Scott]

Ugh, my closest showing of Midnight Special will be Newcastle, 70 miles away. No thanks.

Hopefully will see Hardcore Henry tomorrow night.

[Samuel_Scott]

Hardcore Henry - Very fun, extremely brutal and stylishly chaotic. I'm sure this one will divide opinion, and rewatch value may not be there, but if you get the chance to catch it on the big screen, go for it. 3.5/5

[Noor_Razzak]

The Jungle Book - I love this story, in fact this was my go to childhood book so I have a deep affinity for Kipling, there was a lot to live up to going in. Overall the film was fairly enjoyable, it's a decent family adventure but it fell short in parts - it didn't know whether it was a dramatic adventure or a comedy musical, so the song elements felt a little out of place. Additionally the CGI was not great, the film had a fakeness to it that made everything feel artificial which is shame. The voice cast is what really what makes this film, Bill Murray as Baloo is about as perfect as it can get, Ben Kingsley as Bagheera is equally perfect, along for the ride is Idris Elba as Shere Khan, Scarlett Johnansson as Kaa, and Christopher Walken as King Louie will bring a smile to your face. It's not perfect but for a lazy sunday viewing it'll do. 6/10.

[Samuel_Scott]

Just saw The Jungle Book in 3D and I enjoyed it a little more than Noor. Though I thought the visual effects were pretty good, I do agree with Noor that the voice cast was perfect, and the songs felt out of place, which was a slight shame considering they are one of the best elements of the animated classic. A solid 4/5 for me.

[Samuel_Scott]

Two films out locally for me this weekend - Friend Request and Bastille Day.

I go away for four weeks on Monday so will hopefully squeeze them both in (Friend Request tomorrow, Bastille Day Sunday).

[Samuel_Scott]

Friend Request - Mediocre social media horror. Has decent special effects, but poor cast and relies on cheap jump scares rather than building any tension or atmosphere. 2/5

[Samuel_Scott]

Bastille Day - Brainless but enjoyable action film with a decent lead man in Idris Elba. 3/5

That is my last cinema visit for four weeks as heading back to a remote area for work tomorrow.

[Noor_Razzak]

Mustang - Turkish film which was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Oscar, this was such a beautiful film, wonderfully shot, masterfully directed and featuring terrific performances from five young girls who have little to no previous acting experience. It's a heartbreaking story of five Turkish girls who are seen innocently playing with boys after their last day of school, a local woman sees this interaction and scandalizes the act as girls acting like whores. Their Grandmother and Uncle, whom are conservative lock them in and start arranging marriages for the girls, turning their house into a wife factory, teaching them how to cook, clean, and be good wives. Not really the type of film I'd usually be interested in but my girlfriend wanted to go and I'm glad I went, 9/10.

[Noor_Razzak]

Captain America: Civil War - Marvel sure is onto a good thing. Civil War lives up to all the hype, the story is engaging, the action is incredible, and Spider-man is spot on and one of the best things about this film. The only problem is with the same old Marvel villain conundrum... Zemo was ultimately weak considering all the set up. Otherwise the film was exciting and action packed, one of the best Marvel movies has put out to date, 9/10.