SOAPBOX - The Idiot's Boycott

Well with SDCC been and gone and many things to be digested it was announced that the Snyder Cut of Justice League is not going to be released.

Now, I'd heard this movie wasn't great and I'd had it queued up for my quest but as soon as I'd seen fan were up in arms about this alternate cut not being made available I did watch this...and a blog on it shall be up soon...but I saw something much worse and far stupider as people protested about it and it was the following message:

Now let's get one thing straight....I really don't rate the DCEU movies. I've tried to like them....I really have but to no avail. The lighting is dark no non-existent, the stories are awful, the characters are under utilised and the less said about their use of 3D the better. They are not doing a good job.

However....the message you read above is from a supposed fan. I know right? A fan! How does that even work? They are basically saying the best thing to do because they cannot have a version of a movie is not to watch future movies and hurt the franchises further (financially) and well as screw things over for actors and film crews.

NO. 

How exactly can you say that the Snyder Cut will not be released if Shazam and Aquaman make money? We're you part of the team who said the cut was not to be released with this stipulation? And if you were, why would you set up 2 movies like this to fail? Wait...no,you're not, you're just some person throwing toys out of your pram because you can't get what you want and saying something totally ludicrous. 

Consider this....if the DCEU is allowed to flourish it could potentially be released in a special edition or an anniversary edition. Sure I understand that it's something that won't happen NOW. But one thing I've seen over the years with movies is that you never ever say never....because stranger things can and do happen.

And you, @LazyAndroids, are an idiot. 

The Incredibles 2

14 years ago, Pixar released The Incredibles, an animated classic that was about a family that had superpowers. I saw this at the cinema and I absolutely loved it....Pixar did what they did best. For me it was the second best Pixar movie (Toy Story being my favourite...and I was kind of disappointed that Toy Story 4 not being released before Incredibles 2 as announced.  It's not coming out next year as the work on Toy Story 4 fell behind.) and loved the game that followed it (Rise of the Underminer).
When it was announced that there was a sequel to be released I was really excited... The whole family fighting crime! All the family saves the day!! And their buddy Frozone tagging along and helping!!!
Well..not quite.

The Incredibles 2 picks up pretty much right at the end of the previous movie and Supers are still illegal and hated....however, a millionaire wants to change the way people think about these powered heroes and get global acceptance by the World's superpowers. It is decided that Helen Parr aka Elastigirl should spearhead this campaign, so Bob Parr aka Mr Incredible becomes a stay at home dad looking after the Incredible kids Violet, Dash and Jack-Jack. 

Of course, things don't exactly go to plan as an evil villain comes to cause chaos... The evil and mysterious SCREENSLAYER. The SCREENSLAYER wants to plays games and always seems to be one step ahead, can Elastigirl save the day? Will Bob be able to take on the role of family man? Will Lucius Best aka Frozone stop arguing with Honey? 

I really enjoyed this movie! It was a great piece of animation (and the short beforehand, Bao, was an odd sweet piece too) and was a great watch. It was good to see Bob attempt "real life". It was great to see Elastigirl be the heroine. And it was great to see the kids becoming more, and finding their place in the World. And of course it was good to see more Edna, darling! 

I did, however, find that that it did seem a little dated. Sure, I get this was supposed to be set around about the 1960s and as I stated earlier the movie follows directly after the first one, but I feel there was supposed to be more to this. I wanted the Incredibles to have grown a little more, maybe done other crime busting (after all The Underminer was addressed in the aforementioned game). I really wanted to see more of Lucius Best (instead of making him feel like the token black guy again) and really wanted to see Honey (who apparently was going to be in the movie but scrapped when it was decided it was funnier having her as just a voice). The Screenslayer was a fun character but I felt was rather predictable (my wife and 2 boys called it within the first 30 minutes.) but they had clever twists to try throw you (which they didn't for me) . But even when you take this into account it's still good, and there's humour there for young and old alike. 

So....60s style universe, cheesy action flick music, each of the main supers has a theme song, stereotypes used and also attempted to be turned on their head....its great! 

The Incredibles 2 is a great piece of summer fun, paying homage or the 1960s superhero serials. Pixar have done a great great job and it's....super. Go watch it with your kids, your friends....just go watch it! 

The Incredibles 2 is rated PG and can be seen in 2D and 3D in cinemas now.

Quest For The WORST Movie Part 12 - Anabelle

I really like horror movies, and I've been wanting to see this for a while but quite a few people said I should watch this on my quest for the WORST Movie...so here we go... 

Annabelle is about an antique doll that is given to an expectant wife by her husband.  She is overjoyed by the gift until satanic cultists break into their home and attack them. After the attack the couple have strange things occur to them and it all seems to be linked to the doll. 

The movie has a lot of jump scares, and seems like rather predictable horror fayre.  The characters seemed rather flat and boring really.  I don't know, maybe I was expecting more from this movie with the way that several people hyped it up and said it was a must watch horror, but I honestly do not think it is. 

To be honest, I thought this movie was really boring and I really do no see what all the fuss is about when it comes to this movie. A bit of a yawnfest when all is said and done, and I dread to think what the prequel will be like. 

Annabelle is rated 18 and available in DVD, Blu-Ray and digital format. 

Die Hard With a former Wrestler...

I've always had a passion for action movies, and Die Hard is an absolute classic (I mean the first not the many many sequels afterward!) and it had the perfect formula for an action movie.  Hero with balls of steel? Check  Explosions? Check. Bad guy with a European accent? Check. Big action star? Check. 

So, I saw the trailer for Skyscraper and the first thing I thought was "Hey look! The Rock wants to do a Die Hard movie!" but then I saw this poster promoting the movie:

Oh my God even the damn poster is a Die Hard ripoff!! Here is the Die Hard poster for comparison:

So after looking at the trailer and the Die Hard With a Rock Bottom Skyscraper poster, I decided that I should check out this 1980s action movie clone (I'll be marking off 80s action movie clichés as we go along). 

So, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is Will Sawyer, a former Marine/Hostage Rescuer/Duct Tape Fan (Swiss Army Knife hero? Check) who is asked to check out how secure The Pearl, the tallest building in not only Hong Kong but the World, is.  His family live in the building and love being there (hero has something incredibly precious that will most likely be a risk during the movie? Check). However, the creator of the building (arrogant person thinking things are invincible? Check) feels his building is the most secure in the World and has an amazing secret at the top of the building (When this is revealed, cheesy/creepy/odd line from Creator? Check). 

The building is then set on fire (untouchable thing being touched? Check)....and Sawyer is getting blamed for it... And on top of all that his family is trapped in there (hero has everything to lose? Check) so he has to go rescue them (somehow the hero is the ONLY person capable of saving the day? Check.)

After watching this movie I felt like I was back in 1988,so imagine my disappointment that a coffee in the Costa in the cinema didn't cost 25p! 

The movie was great and had so great action sequences (former sports entertainment star does finishing move? Check) and the effects were good too....although they could have held off on the cheesy song playing on the end credits.

Believe it or not Duct Tape Die Hard Skyscraper (rated 12A)  is out now (and not 40 years ago!) and is in 3D too, although I'd suggest not watching digital 3D if you suffer with vertigo. 

The First Purge

Yesterday I went to see The First Purge at ODEON Silverlink.

In the prequel to the 2013 horror/thriller The Purge we see that America is going down the toilet and the lower classes are languishing in dispair. After the rise of a third political party known as the New Founding Fathers of America (NFFA) it was decided there was an experiment to take place on Statten Island where there would be no laws for 12 hours and all weapons class 4 and lower were allowed. Murder is legal. The residents do not have to stay if they don't want to, but if they do then they will be compensated with $5,000 if they survive and have the potential to get more compensation if they "participate". People who do participate are given context lenses to wear that have video streaming capability and light people's eyes up blue (perhaps done so you know they're going to come out and play?) although at least one person had a pair that was red...wonder what that was all about? The experiment is called...of course...The Purge.

The movie has a slow build up with the hours before The Purge begins, people staying being evaluated, a dealer talks to activist ex....it's quite slow really. Even when The Purge starts it really isn't anything huge to begin with, in fact there are bunches if people just having parties!

When the action started to hit up I must admit it had me scratching my head a little as there is something very odd going on...it had huge racial and political bias and that's when people fight back.

I felt at times I was being force fed to story when we went to the "Control centre" as they oversaw The Purge with comments from people observing screens stating the obvious and then the news stations repeating it again. Look, I know my attention span is bad, but it's not that bad! 

The First Purge is peppered with jump scare moments that seem to come out of nowhere (yes I understand its how they're supposed to work but not if it potentially disjoints the story!) which was irksome and didn't wake a lot of sense to me (although a lot of horrors tend to do that now sadly).

This movie is dark and grim. It is political. It's racial too. And when you look at it you can see its deliberate. The NFFA picked an area they considered to be a hot spot for The Purge. This is uncomfortable viewing....AND IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE. The first experimental Purge is not going to be something for delicate flowers to watch. This is supposed to be a damn scary thought, a "what if?" No, I'm not saying this is a glimpse into the future and this is what future American governments have planned, but could you imagine if it actually happened?

It's not the strongest movie in the franchise and don't expect a strong storyline. There a 2 scenes during the end credits, and the second one will be of interest if you are still a fan of the franchise after seeing this movie. 

The First Purge is rated 15 and in cinemas now. 

Deadpool 2

One 15th May me and Odd Wolf went to see Deadpool 2 in IMAX.

Then, a week later me and my wife saw it....in IMAX. 

Ryan Reynolds returns as The Merc with the Mouth in his second movie (but third outing I'd we include X-Men Origins: Wolverine...but let's not Hm?) and this time Deadpool has to save a kid from time-travelling mutant Cable. Wade's lucky, because he's not alone...he has the help of X-Force!

The movie is packed with humour, cameos and plenty of 4th-wall-breaking moments as you'd expect from Wade Wilson and his entourage. The movie titles are a great homage to a certain movie franchise which was quite cool....and there is a credits scene that you cannot miss!

The movie is an absolute blast, and certainly worth watching...you'll never forget your second time! 

Deadpool 2 is rated 15 and in cinemas in IMAX and D-BOX now. 

RIP Margot Kidder

It saddened me  to hear of the passing of Margaret Ruth "Margot" Kidder, aged 69.

As much as she will be known mostly for being Superman's favourite human (Lois Lane) she had done various films and TV over the years, and despite her personal issues still carried on acting.

Her career started in 1968 and she appeared in many television shows and movies over the years including The Amityville Horror, The Hunger, Murder, She Wrote, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Halloween II, Black Christmas and of course the Christopher Reeve era of Superman movies (fun fact, both Margot Kidder and Christopher Reeve were guest stars in the Superman prequel series Smallville.).  She also did voiceover work, lending her talents to shows like Captain Planet and the Planeteers and Aaahh!!! Real Monsters. 

Thankyou for the memories, and rest in peace. 

1948-2018

Quest for the WORST Movie Part 10: Deadly Friend

Aw, man, I love this movie. This was the second Wes Craven movie I saw as a kid and it has some fond memories for me, especially as at the time I was really interested in robotics and because I was pretty much a loner. It's also based on a book called Friend by Diana Henstell. Let's give the movie another watch...

Now when I first saw the poster for this movie I thought it was something totally different and thought she had ghosts for friends, but this is much more interesting. 

The movie is about a boy who is a genius. He's training to be a neurological specialist and built his own robot. He moves to a new town with his mother a becomes friendly with the girl next door, who dies shortly after. The boy, grief-stricken, has a plan to bring her back to life, which is successful but has huge consequences. 

The movie is cheesy and hasn't really aged too well .....and the book isn't too great either, I went to check it out on Goodreads and the reviews were less than favourable, to say the least.

So, perhaps it was ok as a cheesy movie when I was a kid, but damn this movie is awful now (and has one of the worse-looking death scenes I recall in a movie as in not very convincing).  However the effects and storyline still somehow beat Birdemic.

Deadly Friend is rated 18 and available on DVD and digital download.