Thursday 15 January 2015

                                                                    JUSTICE LEAGUE: THRONE OF ATLANTIS 
                                                             
     In a follow up to Justice League War DC Animated  brings us it's latest comic book to film adaption, Justice League: Throne Of Atlantis, the source material being that from writer Geoff Johns Aqua man run in the new 52. In Throne Of Atlantis we see Arthur Curry's story to how he became the eventual king of the sea... Aquaman!, as he learns of his origins in Atlantis and how he is the heir to the Throne, all whilst coming to terms with who he is on land. On the journey to become king we meet Orm  (Ocean Master) as he attempts to wage war on the surface world.

     Arthur Curry and his soon to be Justice League compatriots must work together as they begin to cross paths with Atlantis and its tyrant ruler Orm when weapons of mass destruction are stolen from an underwater military submarine. With the Voice talent of Jason O’Mara, Christopher Gorham, Shemar Moore and Sean Astin returning as Batman, The Flash, Cyborg and Shazam and with a few inclusions the voice acting is fantastic as is the Animation much similar to JLA War before it. Where Thone Of Atlantis fails is due to the pace in which it rushed its material, its rushes through so much it becomes diluted and almost unnecessary {superman and wonder woman's relationship for one} with limited screen time for many important plot details.

                                                  With upcoming DC films Batman: Court Of Owls and  Justice League: Gods and Monsters. Both of which are set for 2015 releases to look forward to, Its rushed feeling and convoluted storytelling Throne Of Atlantis provides us with an average DC animated film to pass the time, if it was up to me I would just go watch Batman: Under The Red Hood for the 10th time.



                                                                CannonCanclusion
                                                                        5.8/10
                            TOP 10 MOST DISSAPOINTING/WORST FILMS OF 2014

   10.  Blended -    With Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore starring in both The Wedding Singer  and    50 first Dates together which were fan favorites. Blended failed to capture the fun and humor of the there previous films, Blended  was dummed down family film, Sandler's just collecting them checks.

 9. Lets Be Cops -The initial setup of this film could have been a funny premise for a B-plot on a show but instead, the idea is stretched into a never-ending feature that fails to find any chemistry between Johnson and Wayans. Also doing what so many comedies do and used its best moments in trailers

   8.  Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - These heroes in an half shell hit the big screen in a .. mediocre  way with Michael Bay producing known to most as the man who ruined transformers, Bays name is now associated with a "meh" Turtles movie that  had endless amounts of history to draw from, be it  the many animated series or the original comic books, they chose to take their own lackluster approach.

  7. 300 Rise Of An Empire - I gave 300: Rise of an Empire a shot because I loved the original 300 and Zack Snyder was back in a producing capacity. Little did I know, though, that it would end up being a….honestly, I don’t even remember. I recall a lot of boats and yelling, but literally nothing else about this film.

 6.  Annabelle - Hey, remember that movie The Conjuring? Remember how it was pretty creepy and based on a true story? Do you also remember how the intro sequence to the film featured the possessed doll, Annabelle?. Well they made a movie about it.. it sucked

5.  Transformers 4: Age of Extinction - It had Dinobots and Mark Wahlberg how could this be bad.. sigh it just sucked

4. The Expendables 3 - Sylvester Stallone, refusing to go gentle into the night, drags his old ass action stars along with him now including Arnold Schwarzenegger, Harrison Ford and Mel Gibson  in a most desperate action movie. It's  hard to watch the greats brought low.

3. A Million Ways To Die In The West -  I think this movie would have been better had Seth MacFarlane had hired another actor for the role. The problem was, we all KNEW we were watching MacFarlane. That, matched up with some fairly flat writing and a few gross out jokes just led to this film being way over-hyped and far too unfunny. Maybe if there was a stuffed bear in it smoking a bong it would’ve worked better. Who knows?

2. Transcendence - Am I the only one who's tired of Johnny Depp? with a strong cast and some heavy themes about where we may be heading, technologically speaking, Transcendence turns into a boring timewasting film with Depp's performance being one of the most phoned in ones I've seen. reminds me of a certain Sandler

And coming in at number 1

The Amazing Spiderman 2 -  Im a comic book guy and I love anything superhero that's why this one hurt the most!. Just want to say that how the filmmakers handled the Gwen Stacy incident

was brilliant, and that is such a shame, because most of the other stuff around that moment was just horrible.
     The major problem with The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was that it wanted to be everything to everyone. It tried to be a love story, a snarky comedy, an action film, a family drama and a summer blockbuster, and in the end, it just felt like a contrived mess that threw far too much at us (which is a lesson they should have learned from Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 3).
As far as movies from 2014 go in terms of being over-hyped and massively underwhelming



                                       BIRDMAN
                               Soars above the rest

One of the most accomplished and visionary Director's in Hollywood,  Alejandro Gonzalez's brings us Birdman or "The Unexpected Virtue Of Ignorance" . 2015 Golden Globe winner and Oscar favorite Michael Keaton plays Riggan Thomson, a washed up movie star known who's career is only defined by his role of Birdman in a blockbuster movie franchise many years earlier. Now divorced from ex-wife Sylvia (Amy Ryan) and attempting to mend his relationship with troubled daughter Sam (Emma Stone), Riggan mounts a stage production of a Raymond Carver story on Broadway. As opening night approaches, Thomson is propelled headlong towards a transformational crisis, battling his fellow actors (Naomi Watts, Edward Norton and Andrea Rise borough), the film’s producer (Zach Galifianakis) but mostly his own inner demons – which take the form of his former superhero character, Birdman. Thomson meditates, drinks, hallucinates and fights his way to what in inevitably unfortunate end.

          Birdman 's satirical approach about celebrity hood, differences between cinema and theatre and negative thoughts on critics {fantastic rant provided in film }. As Thomson's is slow decline into madness giving into the voices we all here, the inner monologues that attempt to derail ones life. Cinematographer  Emmanuel Lubezki shoots the film as if it was a single take, with the camera never leaving our actors the difficulty of which could not be measured, but astounds never the less. Direction and Cinematography alone elevate this intense adrenaline fuelled film, with benefits from its drum score {Antonio Sanchez}. An already an award winning Birdman Fly's above all.

                                                                 Cannon Canclusion
                                                                           10/10

Tuesday 13 January 2015

                                      JOHN WICK
                                 John Wicked Movie

Years from now we may be speaking of John Wick as Keanu's Comeback and what a comeback it is indeed. Keanu Reeves stars in this action packed film directed  by former stuntmen and chorographer's David Leitch and Chad Stahelski. John Wick's premise is not an overly complicated one, well its quite simple really. As John Wick {Reeves} a former hitman is forced from retirement to exact revenge on the gang who left him for dead.. and his beloved dog's killer {that was gifted to him from his deceased wife}. An Exceptional revenge tale that involves Mafias, Hit men, Car chases and a hotel for killers John Wick stands out amongst so many cliché action films before it due to not only outstanding actions sequences and choreography, clearly helped from the movies helmers, but also John Wick succeeds from its almost homage like feel with tongue in cheek dialogue, outrageous fights and the literal ability to count all the bodies Wick leaves in his path to revenge {76 by my count}. With a supporting cast made up of some great names, William Dafoe, Ian Mcshane and Adrianne Palicki, Reeves dominates as Wick the almost silent killer{well at least not very chatty} and makes this film his own. John wick's non stop adrenaline will keep you focused from the get go with the films start also being the ending, the pick off already sucks you in, Overall boasting a wonderful underground world of hit men and action that excels so many attempts at the genre in recent years John Wick makes for a pefect Friday night movie if you just want to sit down and have a bit of fun, Wicked and Wild is the film John Wick.


                                                               Cannon Canclusion
                                                                         8.2/10

Monday 12 January 2015


                        

                                                                Imitation Game
                                                           Couldn't fake this one
     Benedict Cumberbatch stars in this World War 2 biopic, as Alan Turing a world class mathematician who is recruited by the allies to assist in cracking the enigma code. 
The code thought to be Germany's uncrackable line of communication during the war centers as the main focus in this historical true story of a man who achieves miracles and shaped how the world is today all through hiding who he was in the process.
 Cumberbatch stars as Turing in what is being considered a strong possible Oscar victory for the star, with Keira Knightly’s portrayal of Turing’s close friend Joan Clarke also being a standout performance. 
The Imitation Game is well directed film with an Oscarcalibre performance by cumberbatch as well as a strong supporting cast, That shows us the true portrayal of a man that gave everything whilst having nothing to gain, 
                                 That braved a world he did not suit and never strayed from his tasks.
                       
 
 
                                                                    Cannon Canclusion 8/10

 

                                        TOP 10 MOST ANTICIPATED FILMS OF 2015


Honorable Mentions: Pitch Perfect 2, Minions, Tomorrowland Goosebumps, The Man From Uncle, Spectre, Pixels, The Hateful 8, Entourage,  The Loft


10. Star Wars: The Force Awakens - J.J Abrams attempt to revamp the world of Jedi, not being a die-hard fan boy I am not as excited as the rest of the world but still excited.

9. Inside Out: Pixar's latest creation, Inside out is told from the perspective of the emotions inside the mind of a little girl, Could be the return of Pixar

8. Jurassic World: Dinosaurs are back and this time in a world of there own, Chris Pratt stars in this blockbuster

7. Terminator Genisys: Seems to be the year of the comeback, Genisys brings us back into the world of the Terminator

6. Hot Tub Time Machine 2: The follow up to 2010s's Hot Tub Time Machine, a film I very much enjoyed and am looking forward to see the groups latest antics.

5. The Fantastic Four. The much maligned project see's Sony's attempt to reboot this franchise with a fresh take and all star cast. Nervous but excited

4. Mad Max:Fury Road: With a stunning Trailer, and Tom hardy as our lead this film has came out of nowhere and got me pumped.

3. Ant Man: No  secret im a comic book fan boy, and Marvel movies just do it for me, With a unique hero and a rough production im Excited for this one

2. The Revenant: Not a film I know much about, But with the director of this years Oscar nominated Birdman, and  Leonardo Dicaprio and Tom Hardy... should be quite a film

1. Avengers Age Of Ultron: Coming in the number 1 spot is a film that keeps me up every night,  The latest team up powerhouse that is The Avengers Age Of Ultron

Sunday 11 January 2015

                                          FROZEN
                             This one will Melt your heart

Disney's Frozen the highest selling animated feature of all time.. what more can I say. Frozen focuses on young princess Anna who must save her sister whilst realizing women don't need a man in there life { thanks Disney}. A heartfelt animation showing how false love can be and that the love of family trumps all. Frozen contains laughs, tears and song... such catchy songs ... let it go .. let it goooo..No Kyle Stop. With such lovable sidekicks like Olaf and The reindeer sven you will be sure to be made to rewatch this again and again by your little ones or {your partners}. Frozen is a great movie slightly overhyped in my personal opinion but it does what all Disney movies do, it sucks you in and before you know your frozen in front of your screen in enjoyment.


                                                                                  CannonCanclusion
                                                                                                   6.5/10