The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

The finale of Christopher Nolan’s and Christian Bale’s Batman. ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ is the end to the trilogy. As this follows on from two previous films, it is important to watch in order to avoid any spoilers. Even though they are set eight years apart, each film impacts the next.

After the catastrophe the Joker left Gotham City in, Batman has ran into hiding. Bruce Wayne feels defeated and broken. However, he is forced back into this symbolic persona when a new threat crashes into his beloved city. As usual, the plot of this Batman film is strong, there are many details to become lost into and the intrigue constantly grows with depth. Alike to the other two previous films, this one is strong in plot and script.

Christopher Nolan ends strong with this finale film in the Dark Knight trilogy. The cinematography is outstanding. The landscapes, the costume, the use and absence of music; it is all put together incredibly well.

The acting has always been strong in this trilogy. We are continued to be graced with Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne, who again is exceptional. We also still have Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman and Gary Oldman – the phenomenal stars that they are, means their name just says it all. This final film introduces even more excellent actors. The villain is the highly skilled mercenary that is Bane. Bane is portrayed by the brilliant Tom Hardy, again no more is needed to be said. ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ also introduces the cat burglar, played by Anne Hathaway and the young cop, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. The acting from every single person is perfection.

‘The Dark Knight Rises’ is an exceptional film. It rounds off the trilogy perfectly. Gotham City is once again caved into the gritty crime it has become well known for. The action is chaotic and dangerous. But also the emotion is raw and desperate. You can’t help but plead for Batman’s success. I don’t think Batman can ever be portrayed as well as these three films conclude his journey.

Batman Begins (2005)

The gritty, underbelly of Gotham City is exposed bare in this Batman trilogy. ‘Batman Begins’ foretells the origin story of Christian Bale’s Bruce Wayne, aka Batman. On a journey of vengeance, Bruce takes it upon himself to create a symbol for the criminals to fear. After years of training, he has learnt a multitude of skills; but when he returns to his home town, the magnitude of threat has only increased.

Christian Bale is the best Batman and that’s my honest opinion. Not only is Christian Bale an excellent Batman and Bruce Wayne but what makes this Batman trilogy even better are the other stars that are scattered throughout. Master Wayne’s brilliant butler, Alfred is played by the magnificent Michael Caine. Another three include Morgan Freeman, Liam Neeson and Gary Oldman. All are excellent in their roles. Phenomenal stars concludes phenomenal acting.

The cinematography of this film is outstanding. Obviously a lot of this is down to Christopher Nolan. For a film made in 2005, I cannot fault a single special effect. The landscapes, the costume, the action is put together so well. I become so lost in this film.

This film cannot be declared just another superhero movie. ‘Batman Begins’ has a fantastic plot, one with depth and intrigue. It’s also a great action movie, it has everything, car chases, sneak attacks, sword fights and so on. It’s easy to become wrapped up into Gotham City and become completely obsessed with wanting to uncover the truth by diving into the chaos. It is such a well created movie; the plot, the script, the directing; everything comes together so perfectly.

The Dark Knight (2008)

‘The Dark Knight’ is definitely one of the best superhero films out there. With the most phenomenal villain on screen. Batman vs The Joker. This is the second of the Christopher Nolan Batman trilogy: the first being ‘Batman Begins’, the third ‘The Dark Knight Rises’.

A new villain has come to Gotham, one crazier and extreme unlike any other that Batman (Christian Bale) has seen before. In his crazed make-up and his purple suit, The Joker (Heath Ledger) resembles a mad man with nothing to lose and only chaos to gain. Meanwhile, there’s a new hero in town, the District Attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), who will do anything to clean the streets of Gotham, a knight in shining armour determined to take the Mob down and all the criminals in his city. But The Joker is determined in his acknowledgement of Batman being his perfect half to “complete” him, he wants to continue a warp of madness in the city that messes everything up for Dent, forcing a clean city to turn on its head.

I truly think this is a brilliant film. It is quite a long one, but there is so much to the plot that you become emotionally invested, warped into Gotham. There is so much meaning and drive to the plot that brings this film to light. The director is obviously essential in making this trilogy as phenomenal as it is. The brilliant use of sound and lighting makes the audience feel tense in the crucial places. But we cannot forget the outstanding cast of this film. Personally, I think Christian Bale is one of the best Batman’s. With Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman on his side as Alfred and Lucius Fox retrospectively, who can’t appreciate the characters? Additionally, the magnificent Gary Oldman as Gordon, the officer trailing the streets with Batman in the shadows on his side. However, I’ve left best till last, the brilliance of the villain can never be forgotten. Heath Ledger brings The Joker into a different, creepy, unnerving light. Every word is listened to in tension. His laughs echo through the film in remembrance of Gotham’s crash. He becomes the antagonist and brings this phenomenal cast to a close.

I would definitely recommend watching this film. You become warped into Gotham with Bruce Wayne’s new chaotic life where The Joker personally victimises Batman. The film is a whirlwind of action and special effects excellently executed for the audience to escape into. You really don’t know what can happen with The Joker in the mix.

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms (2018)

I love Disney films just as much as the next person. When this first trailer came out ages ago, it looked magical and intriguing. The more I saw in trailers, the less convinced I got. And the less convinced I was when I watched the whole film…

‘The Nutcracker and the Four Realms’ tells the story of a young girl, Clara (Mackenzie Foy), who, coated in grief, goes on an adventure to find some connection to her recently late mother. Following a string around a house, she ends up in a completely different world, one of four realms. I loved this idea of following a string, it was beautifully done, and it brings a whole new dimension to a treasure hunt! Anyway, Clara falls into this new world of four realms, the lands of sweets, snowflakes, flowers and amusements. Clara is soon told that the lands are at war, and her mother used to be the Queen holding them all together. Now she must help the war between Sugar Plum (Keira Knightley) and Mother Ginger (Helen Mirren).

There are some big names in this film. Helen Mirren, Morgan Freeman, Keira Knightley, Matthew Macfadyen and even Jack Whitehall. However, for some reason out of all the cast, the acting seemed forced and odd, it didn’t seem to flow. The best actor was obviously Morgan Freeman, but he was the one who was in it the least! I’m also a huge fan of Keira Knightley, who doesn’t love some ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’? But in this film, she was the most annoying character, Sugar Plum made this film difficult to watch, it might sound harsh, but it’s my truth. There was some comedy with the characters, Jack Whitehall did make me giggle.

Sadly, the film didn’t feel harmonious. The characters were not very relatable. Falling into a world such as this one, just like to ‘Alice in Wonderland’ did, we need to feel the sense of confusion, of bewilderment. This isn’t a land we see every day, we are supposed to be amazed by the different lands, by the colours and the creativity. But Clara almost didn’t react, it didn’t feel believable, I couldn’t fall into these lands with her when her emotions were lost. Mia Wasikowska plays Alice in Tim Burton’s film, with all this confusion and oddities of this Wonderland, we explored the land with her. This was lost in ‘The Nutcracker’. We couldn’t explore, especially when Clara was there and in no time she was pretending to be Queen and ordering the soldiers in an “attention”. This was the thing that made the film fall short for me the most.

Overall, ‘The Nutcracker and the Four Realms’ just didn’t seem to do it for me. It seemed all a bit blocky and bizarre. I couldn’t follow the characters, when I couldn’t understand them. I wished there were more to the characters, and the story wasn’t so predictable when there was a clear twist. I didn’t even get to enjoy the costumes! The ballet was good and mesmerising, I really did enjoy this part and I’m not usually a fan of ballet. Maybe I was completely lost with the concept of this film, but I don’t think it’s going to be one to remember, nor one to be buying on DVD to watch again.

Lucy (2014)

A film moving away from Hollywood, directed by the French director Luc Besson, this film stars two well-known loved American actors, Scarlett Johansson and Morgan Freeman. But also stars a collection of other actors to get to know. ‘Lucy’ tells the story of a young girl kidnapped by the vicious, brutal Mr Jang (Min-sik Choi). As Lucy (Scarlett Johansson) is petrified, we struggle along with her at what is happening, when she wakes she discovers she’s been operated on with a pack of a new drug planted in her tummy. Attacked again, the pack breaks inside her and the drug enters her bloodstream. A drug which allows her to use the whole 100% capability of her brain, giving her superhuman mind powers, including telekinesis. So, yes, it does escalate quickly, but somehow this surreal sci-fi plot works, it seems to make sense. This is all due to the science explained behind it all by Morgan Freeman’s character, Professor Norman.

This was a nice change from stereotypical Hollywood films. There were a variety of edits and camera angels which presented itself as different. Most predominantly, this was the use of jump cuts, the film did have many jumps to symbolism, especially at the beginning. Or jumps from Scarlett Johansson’s character in the thriller of her kidnapping to Morgan Freeman’s scientific explanation in a lecture hall. There are even flashes of percentages her brain is reaching to when she discovers new powers. This jumpy feel of the film does actually work, especially with her snap character change when the drugs start to affect her as that seems a jump from two different characters. ‘Lucy’ is also quite a quiet film, in regards to background music, there are some silent moments. The only thing with editing is that there are a few bad green screens, but maybe I can just notice them as I’ve studied film, it doesn’t ruin the film however!

‘Lucy’ is extremely fast pace. There seems to be no character building as you’re thrown straight into the plot, however you are still able to build character recognition and favouritism with little background. Scarlett Johansson is obviously brilliant, and she plays the character extremely well. ‘Lucy’ has thrilling moments, a lot of action and is full of sci-fi. Lucy becomes a character that feels no emotion and has one goal, her own safety. There are many gun fighting scenes, and even a car race scene. Her new powers become interesting to find out what else she can do, as they reach high potentials, superhuman.

There are no limits and things do get very surreal, although it becomes bewildering and spectacular. When it comes down to it, it is a very good film, interesting, I was hooked. Although it’s probably a film I’d watch once as once it’s watched it’s done really. But nevertheless, I didn’t regret watching it, in fact I enjoyed it.

The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

1947, Andy Dufresne comes to Shawshank Prison. While Red was serving 20 years of his life sentence. Yes, this is a prison film, I would be very surprised if you didn’t already know that as IMDb regards this film as number one, top film out there. It definitely is a classic high in memories of many. So if you haven’t seen it, you definitely should get onto it.

So Morgan Freeman plays Red, the con-man of the prison, the one who knows how to get things. Red is a brilliant character, we are delved so much into his character and personality, that the audience is invested in everything he says and does. Especially that he is the narrator of the film, telling us his story, but his story of Andy Dufresne. Andy’s harsh life in prison, but Andy wasn’t like everyone else in the prison – he declares he’s innocent. He was something different and that’s why this film is about him. Andy is played by Tim Robbins, extremely well. Everyone is played amazingly well, the story and characters are definitely top standard, but that’s of course expected, but at least it’s true as well.

Ok, so not a film for younger ages. There are some horrible scenes in this film, ok no there’s loads. But it’s supposed to be a hard-hitting drama of the lives of those in prison. It’s also quite an emotional film, a film full of emotions, I will admit it makes me cry every time. But amongst the horror of what’s happening it makes the smaller happier parts in the movie so much more significant and rewarding for the audience. To say you feel all the emotions of this film would be an understatement, it is perfectly executed and emotions are not hidden.

A lot of time passes in this film, but what is great is that they do the passing of age so well. It is believable in every aspect. Because of this big timespan, the film is rather long, about two hours and twenty minutes. However, there isn’t a single boring moment. So much happens in this film, so much, and again it just adds to that emotion of the audience and the character building.

One of the top films out there according to IMDb and I can’t fault the film so I guess that could be true. Yes the film is harsh, it is not a happy warm film, there are moments of nasty hard happenings. But it’s all part of the drama that it is. I would recommend the film. It is a drama standing out from others.

Now You See Me 2 (2016)

Well where do I start with ‘Now You See Me 2’? Well to begin with, if you haven’t seen the first film I would advise you to not read my review on this film, but can read the first one, and I would definitely advise that you watch the first film before this one anyway as they couldn’t more lead onto each other. I am a fan of the first film, love it. And I have to say, I am definitely a fan of the second film. I don’t know if it’s just because I’ve just seen it at the cinema and I get that first time seeing it feeling after and cinema feeling, but the film was just great! There was another great magic scene fight, just like the first film, this one involving Agent Dylan Rhodes and it was brilliant, perhaps not so successful as the one with Jack Wilder in the first film but still pretty impressive. Also, there was a brilliant tense card scene that is just one to remember and probably the best part of the film in my opinion. 

Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Lizzy Caplan, Mark Ruffalo, Daniel Radcliffe, Morgan Freeman. Love love love!! At first before seeing the film, I was a bit disappointed that Isla Fisher wasn’t going to be in it again, whatever the reason for her leaving was. But after watching the film I have to say Lizzy Caplan was a great replacement, she played such a different character, Lula, for the fourth Horseman that it worked really well, plus she definitely gave a more comedic element to the film. Who doesn’t love good ole Janis from ‘Mean Girls’ anyway? All the actors are excellent, but of course they are, you don’t need me to tell you that! And I love that Daniel Radcliffe was in it, even though he wasn’t the most happiest or sensitive character in the film, but I just love that Daniel Radcliffe played such a big part in it and of course played it brilliantly. Daniel Radcliffe back with the magic again, who doesn’t love that? I like how more involved Mark Ruffalo’s character, Dylan Rhodes, was in with all the magic this time, especially after the big reveal in the first film, so he definitely had to be, and there were no disappointments. There was also an introduction of a new character, Merritt McKinney’s twin brother, Chase, even though he was on the wrong side of the Horsemen and a supposed enemy for the audience, he was quite comical and a good addition to the film.

Additionally, I loved the plot of the film. It sure was one that throws you in confused, parts you were watching actually misleading you. There was a lot of things in this film that I really didn’t see coming. You get to the point in the film where you just start guessing random conclusions to anything, yet still don’t seem to get the right answer, or know whether the things that are happening is going to the way of the Horsemen or actually they are just screwed this time. You don’t know until it is over, and that is what is really clever of the film, how gripping it is. That there are so many unanswered questions and so many things happening at once that the audience just needs to know all the answers, and they don’t reveal themselves until the end. And the ending… Well that was a good ending. No spoilers though, I promise I won’t ruin it.

The plot was more based around Dylan Rhodes and his past, especially around his magician father, Lionel Shrike, which in the first film we discover died after failing at a magic trick. This gave a more emotional route for the film, explaining to the audience why Dylan had spent 30 years of his life planning a magic trick that will ruin the man he believed to be responsible, Thaddeus Bradley (Morgan Freeman). This of course being the plot of the first film, however the second film expanded this on a more emotional trial for the audience, this started with a flashback at the beginning of the film of when Lionel Shrike did his trick where he died, with his young son watching the whole time and slowly discovering that his father was never going to appear again. I like how this was done and think it was very clever of the director, as not only have you got to watch the first film to understand, but also it leads on from the first film and answers questions that were not fully answered, giving closure to that film and opening more new questions for the second film. Perhaps there will be a third and the same will be done again? This second film was a journey of Dylan Rhodes finally letting go after 30 years of his father’s mysterious death and taking his life into a different journey with the Horsemen. While the Horseman discovered their true place in the Eye, by working together and discovering things on their own as things go wrong from the beginning.

Another great thing about this film is that there are so many elements of different genres. I would definitely say that this film is primarily a mystery, with the magic and all… But there is comedy, with just simple great lines or just the way in which tricks turned out. Also, there was slight romance, obvious from the word go with Lizzy Caplan’s character. And of course, action. There wasn’t a car chase scene like the first film, but why would you want them to be the same. Instead there were motorbikes, though that didn’t last long; and some aggressive fist fights too. Just a bit of everything for everyone to love, in my opinion. Unless you just really hate magic… Then I wouldn’t say this is the film for you.

So in conclusion, there are many elements of this film that were just great and I really don’t know what I could say that would have made the film better as it was so good. So I would recommend this film to anyone that likes to be thrown into a confusion yet thrilling film, unsure what will happen, and get a surprise that you’d never see coming in the end, once again.

 

Now You See Me (2013)

‘Now You See Me’ is most predominantly a magic film. And one of the best going. You have to understand if you don’t like magic, you will hate this film. Personally, I love a magic film, it’s not supernatural, but things that can be explained by logic, as it is the magic of deception and tricks. The first thing to remember is the “first rule of magic, always be the smartest guy in the room”.

‘Now You See Me’ is a brilliant film that hooks you right from the beginning and makes you wonder what is going on and who are the ones to trust. And if that doesn’t make you want to watch it, who doesn’t love a film with the classics, Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine? In fact, all the actors are great, obviously brilliantly acted but just well-known actors as well, well many of them are known in the films that I watch anyway.

You are introduced to all of the magicians even before the title, introduced all separately in their own lives. These four best magicians are all chosen by a mysterious hooded figure, also known as The Eye. Three men and one woman. The big-headed, slightly arrogant Daniel Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg), the brilliantly clever mentalist Merritt McKinney (Woody Harrelson), the one and only girl Henley Reeves (Isla Fisher), and the young street-wise Jack Wilder (Dave Franco). They all join together under the instructions of The Eye, unknown whether if it is legit, yet they create the Four Horsemen. Their first trick together, a year after being brought together, they rob a bank, turning their magic a bit more dangerous and connected to criminal activity. Therefore, bringing in Special Agent Dylan Rhodes (Mark Ruffalo) from the FBI, and Alma Dray (Mélanie Laurent) from Interpol.

The film is split into the three acts of the magic show the Four Horsemen play a part in. But also, there are about four different plots on at the same time, they all revolve around the Four Horsemen and their three act show, but they are all different characters that are important to key parts and you follow each of them in different parts of the film. This is cleverly done as they all overlap in the film, but it makes the audience less in the know to what is happening. There’s of course, the Four Horsemen themselves, where you watch their shows from their side; then most of the film following the FBI and how they are constantly misled by misdirection. Then there’s the exposer, Thaddeus Bradley (Morgan Freeman), the ex-magician, whose life is taken over my uncovering magicians secrets; his new target, of course, the Four Horsemen. Finally, there is the smaller aspect which is the benefactor of the Four Horsemen, the money behind all the shows, Arthur Tressler (Michael Caine), who becomes involved involuntary in one of the magic acts. But overall, it is cleverly done and doesn’t become confusing for the audience even if there are lots of things going on at once, the audience is meant to be left astounded by what has happened, just like the magicians want. As Daniel Atlas says himself “come in close, closer, because the more you think you see, the easier it will be to fool you”.

‘Now You See Me’ is an amazing film that covers many aspects for it to be a good film. There are comical aspects; however, the film is not a comedy, but I find Merritt is a comical character, he is probably one of the best played in his comments and actions. There is also some action in the film, an extensive fight scene, but instead against an FBI agent and a magician, to throw in surprises and make it more difficult for the Horseman to be caught; also there is a very dangerous car chase. But most of all the film is manipulated by the aspect of magic, the audience in unknown to who they are supposed to trust and the ending is unpredictable, yet, brilliant. Although, you are still left wondering after the film has finished how things unravelled; of course most questions are answered, but not all of them, making you just want to watch another film leading onwards.

This film is a 12, there is the occasional swearing, but other than that I wouldn’t say it’s inappropriate for younger ages. The plot isn’t confusing, it’s just a cleverly done plot including magic in a form of mystery for the film.

I would 100% recommend this film. The first time watching is the best because the ending is so unexpected, however, watching it again, like I have lots of times, it still isn’t ruined, somehow knowing how things are going to turn out doesn’t ruin it and it still is a great film. So I would definitely recommend; and the clue is to not look close, but in my opinion you’ll be fooled either way, especially for the first time.

Thankfully, they even did a second film, ‘Now You See Me 2’.

Se7en (1995)

‘Seven’ is a psychological thriller, a crime mystery; based on a reluctant and desperate to retire Detective Somerset (Morgan Freeman), who finds himself on a homicide case unlike many others. By his side is determined, young Detective Mills (Brad Pitt).

First thing to mention is that this 1995 film is an 18, so therefore is inappropriate for younger ages. There are many different reasons for this, first it is a psychological thriller. Second, there is the use of inappropriate language, a lot of swearing. Thirdly, there is the use of guns and a lot of graphic dead bodies. So keep in mind that the age limit is there for a reason so only people above the age of 18 would be able to watch this film, for understandable reasons.

The plot is a very intriguing one. It is based around a bunch of murders that are all connected to the seven deadly sins. ‘Seven’ is a tense film, full of suspense. It is a good watch, a film that will get you thinking and wonder the reasons behind the killer and his psychological matter. Murder after murder and it just seems that the killer is laughing at the detectives. You feel unsure to whether they would figure out who the killer is before he completes his task by using all the seven deadly sins to kill all of his seven victims. You find yourself watching the film very intently, thinking something isn’t quite right, this uneasy feeling continues throughout the film, especially even after the film has finished. It is a film that requires the audience’s full attention; so if you expect to watch an easy film, this is not the one.

Some scenes are a bit slow, but it just adds to the suspense and confusion of what is happening or what is going to happen in the film. It makes you feel unsure to what you’re actually supposed to be paying attention to. There isn’t a lot of time in the film where you feel comfortable or that things are going to go well. So in this sense it is a brilliant thriller. Definitely not a film that is a feel-good film, instead the opposite, to make you think and feel tense.

The actors are brilliant in ‘Seven’. I can’t say there are any faults in the acting of the film, how can there be when it is the excellent Morgan Freeman and the great Brad Pitt? Morgan Freeman plays this pessimistic detective, one that doesn’t see much good in the world and believes nothing will ever change. Whereas, Brad Pitt plays the opposite character, a detective who wants to make a difference in the world, puts his emotions forward, even if in a lashing out way. In Somerset’s (Morgan Freeman) eyes he believes Mills (Brad Pitt) is naïve about the world. These two range in characters are not only brilliantly played, but portray opposite characters in the film, two to try and understand, but as they rarely agree, it shows both of these protagonists are complex, especially for the audience to get their head around.

Overall, I believe that this film is a brilliant crime mystery, even if some scenes are slightly slow and a bit boring, the ending of the film and the film altogether makes it a good film to watch and think about even after the film has ended. Definitely not one to forget in a hurry.