Transformers: Age of Extinction

This one takes place 5 years after the third one and the events in Chicago. This fourth film is so frigging complicated to explain, I'm just not going to, all you have to know at this point is that humans are extremely weary of the Autobots now and the Autobots are never seen anymore. A mechanic Cade (Mark Wahlberg)buys an old truck that is practically in disrepair and it turns out that this truck is Optimus Prime. Cade and his family help the Autobots who have a bounty on them from another alien race. That's the jist, if you need more watch the trailer. I've got to say I was pretty disappointed with this fourth instalment, the transformers films are my guilty pleasure film, I know that they're not great plot wise and that there's always far too many explosions - I suspect Michael Bay is a pyromaniac- but I really like the first three films, mainly due to Shia LaBeouf and his comedic ability. This one was okay, it had a few humorous moments but not that well delivered. I really liked Stanley Tucci's character and the performance I thought was very good but to be honest this film was like a 2 1/2 stars, C kind of film. It lacked in it's story telling and character development and was literally one explosion after another. I think the world has to band together and tell Michael Bay "Enough is enough, we get it, you like to blow shit up and yeah, it looks good on camera but come the fuck on, you can't blow up every building, set, and vehicle you come across." It's like he's filming a scene of just two people talking and then leans over to the effects guy and says "you know what will look good in the background?" and the effects guy will say "here? really? won't it detract from the dialogue?" and Michael Bay goes "probably but let's do it anyway, just for giggles." Anyway let's wrap this up because I'm getting more upset thinking about the crappiness of this film. Yes, I will go see the 5th film and pray that it brings back some of the light-heartedness and fun that the first two had. Michael Bay - sort your shit out and stop blowing things up that don't need blowing up!

Guardians of the Galaxy

I'll keep it as simple as possible with the plot. 5 criminals band together to save the Galaxy. too simple? Okay, here goes. Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) steals an orb that is wanted by a whole lot of people so a bounty is put on him which leads Rocket (Bradley Cooper) Groot (Vin Diesel) and Gamora (Zoe Saldana) to go after him and leads to them all getting arrested and put in prison where they meet Drax (Dave Bautista) another inmate. These 5 make up the "Guardians of the Galaxy" because they realise how powerful the orb is and in the wrong hands it could wipe out everything but they're still criminals at the end of the day so they decide to sell it to a collector. All the while Ronan (Lee Pace)is after the orb and he's the big bad that will wipe out everything. That's pretty much it. Okay I want to start off by saying how much fun this film is to watch and is easily one of the best Marvel films, it's right up there with Avengers for me. I literally can't stop talking about it to everyone I come into contact with and I will bring it up in every conversation I have and I end up using the word Awesome about ten times when talking about it. so yeah... I absolutely love Marvel films, a whole lot more than DC comics adaptions like Batman or Superman because Marvel tells one story in one film they won't drag out heartbreak and death over the course of several films like Christopher Nolan's trilogy did. (Don't get me wrong, I loved those films but man were they depressing!) Marvel on the other hand put humour and action together as if they were old friends. I always enjoy the humour in these films and Guardians took it to another level that Marvel's been lacking lately since Iron Man 2. Chris Pratt is the reason for this, he is so naturally funny and a physical comedian that makes him perfect for Quill, but he's also really good a playing the emotional scenes that are tied to his mother. I can't wait to see him in the next one and Jurassic World. As for the rest of the Guardians because they are all aliens or experiments, they don't act human which makes the interactions between them and Quill so funny, especially when he references something human. Lee Pace as usual was amazing, he has such presence and carries himself so well that you can't help but believe that he's this psycho alien who will destroy a planet because he feels like it. I liked the hint of romance between Quill and Gamora, it wasn't in your face yuck but it was enough to make you interested in where it will go. One of the main things I loved about this film was the soundtrack, it was amazing 80's and not in the slightest cheesy, it even made it cool. Overall, one of my favourite films of the year and I cannot wait to see where they take this franchise. An easy 5 stars.

That awkward moment

The film focuses on three friends who - trying to cheer one of them up after his marriage fails- make a pact that they will all stay single together. That's pretty much the big thing in the movie, the dilemma? They all break the pact by getting into relationships and not telling one another. That in a nutshell, is it. Not a lot going on plot wise. I know must of us will go to this film like "it looks kinda funny and Zac Efron is shirtless, so i'll go see it." Was that just me? Anyway, nowadays I'm judging films more harshly than I've done in the past so I'm going to give this film a 3 1/2 stars out of 5, or a B, a thumbs up? Doesn't matter, overall this film is pretty good. It doesn't have the same comedic timing as The Hangover but it's more accurate with how men speak to one another, it will never be a classic comedy like pretty much anything with Robin Williams or Steve Martin in and the premise is slightly stupid. Having said all the bad stuff this film is quite enjoyable but ultimately forgettable. I had a good time while watching it, but afterwards I didn't think twice about it. The film has it's funny moments, mainly thanks to Miles Teller and it's cute moments mainly thanks to Imogen Poots - who is one of my favourite actresses. slightly bias? No. I do recommend this film, it's light hearted, relatively funny with a cute ending. Also worth a mention that Zac Efron saved his career for me in this film, because the past couple of years have just been yawn. Having said that, it's not a career defining performance but a pretty good one and a step in the right direction. Overall a cute date movie, or just a night in with the girls.

White House Down

I'll start off by saying that Director Roland Emmerich is a genius! He's responsible for Independence day- which should be seen for the president's speech if nothing else, The Day After Tomorrow - incredible film and 2012- which somehow gets humour in an end of the world film and now with White House Down added to his resume he should get an award for disaster films with an uplifting ending. White House Down see's John Cale (Channing Tatum) on a tour of the White House with his young daughter, as a Capitol policeman he springs into action to save his child and protect the president (Jamie Foxx) from a heavily armed group of paramilitary invaders. Also starring James Woods, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jason Clarke and Richard Jenkins. I wasn't that excited for this film and wasn't bothered if i saw it or not but luckily I did, despite the outrageous circumstances and the over the top-ness of it all, I found it to be quite an enjoyable movie, I think its safe to say that Tatum has redeemed himself after the catastrophe that was Magic Mike and Jamie Fox was incredible as usual but the real scene stealer was Joey King who plays Cale's daughter Emily, who was fearless and incredibly brave when people twice, three times her age were not. An enjoyable film despite its unbelievable plot.

The Host

Despite it being written by Stephenie Meyer, The Host is an amazing book, I'll admit it takes time to get into but once you do it's hard to put down. The Host follows the story of Melanie Stryder, a girl trying to survive after earth has been invaded by an alien parasitic species. When she does get captured, her body is given to one of these aliens called Wanda, however when these beings take over a body the human is supposed to just fade away but Melanie refuses to, her only goal is to find her brother and the guy she loves and keep them safe. Saoirse Ronan plays Melanie/Wanda, at first when I heard the casting, I wasn't convinced, I thought she's too young and not right but now after seeing her performance, I was a complete idiot for thinking otherwise. This girl could be twelve in real life and it wouldn't make a difference because she's such a good actress, she carries herself well on screen and is a true heroine. As for her love interests, Jared (Max Irons) and Ian (Jake Abel), I thought they did pretty well, I think it's the best acting either have done and both have great chemistry with Ronan. Having said that, the film itself- the story does not translate well on screen, it's patchy and poorly edited and the world building is rushed over. I recommend the book but not the film, as much as it pains me to say. 2 out of 5 stars.

Epic

I had been waiting for this film to come out for a while and It was worth the wait, there's nothing worse than waiting ages for a film to come out for it to be a piece of crap. Epic is the story of a world hidden within our own, one where tiny forest people are in a war with a race that is hell bent on destroying the forest. MJ is sent to live with her dad after the death of her mother, when she hears her fathers theories on little people that live in trees and fly around on birds she thinks he's crazy just like everyone else, its not till MJ is shrunk down to the size of a peanunt and thrown into the middle of a war that she finally believes her dad. I thought this movie was really funny, I laughed more at this than I did the new hangover film. With the voice talents of Amanda Seyfried, Josh Hutcherson, Colin Farrell, Christoph Waltz and Beyonce Knowles.

Safe Haven

Katie (Julianne Hough) moves to the small town of Southport in North Carolina and at first she's reserved and keeps to herself in her house outside of town but then she meets Alex (Josh Duhamel), a widower and a father of two, and Katie starts to realise that she has to let people in but with her mysterious past it's easier said than done. As Alex and Katie grow closer, her past also starts to catch up to her. Based on the novel of the same name by Nicholas Sparks. I adore Nicholas Sparks books, I mean they are sappy and predictable but they're not always happily ever after endings. Sparks' stories means you'll laugh and cry and when you've finished reading you'll want to take a trip to North Carolina to see if you can find love there because NC is the new Paris or Rome, well... not really but his books make you think that for a while. Lately there have been a lot of Sparks' books being made in to movies and it doesn't really matter if they're good or bad, girls will still flock to see the next one and I'm one of them. I didn't particularly like The Lucky one but that didn't stop me from seeing Safe Haven, it's like we have this misty view of the world and what we think makes a good movie when it comes to these films because its a cute love story, two pretty leads, breathtakingly beautiful scenery and some obstacle that somehow we all seem to relate to even when its so far away from our own lives that it seems impossible to relate to. The point is is this, Safe Haven won't change your life, its not particularly memorable and the concept is just a little too ridiculous, however I really liked it, a lot more than The Lucky one anyway. I don't expect much from these adaptions anymore because after The Notebook there hasn't been a film that rivals it in epicness. Now whenever I go to see a film thats based on a Nicholas Sparks book, I know what i'm getting, I know I'll love the relationship and the setting, I know I WILL cry because that is inevitable and chances are I will get it on Dvd. So, if you want a cute little love story thats not too heavy (like Romeo and Juliet, Moulin Rouge etc.)then Safe Haven is a safe bet.