Southpaw (2015)

Warning: Before the review begins, I would like to admit that I love boxing movies. If you feel that this will skew the review, please stop reading.

Southpaw is enjoyable to watch. While unfocused it is elevated by the actors performances.

Southpaw tells the story of Billy "The Great" Hope (Played by Jake Gyllenhaal), an undefeated prize fighter and his life post the death of his wife Maureen (Rachel McAdams). It primarily focuses on his boxing career and his relationship with his daughter Leila (Oona Laurence).

In many ways this is a by the books boxing movie. By that I mean it is about breaking someone down and then building them back up. This film manages to achieve this goal well.

The boxing is choreographed well, feeling authentic despite a couple of times when it was apparent punches were pulled. This could be thanks to Victor Ortiz, who utilised his boxing skills to aid director Antoine Fuqua with choreography.

The performances are what made this movie rise above the average boxing movie.

As this movie focuses of Gyllenhaals Billy Hope, it is great that such a talented actor took on the role. He fully embraced the role, which made following his less than articulate character very easy. I felt every emotion that Hope was feeling.

The secondary characters also fill their roles will. Rachel McAdams has a great chemistry with Jake Gyllenhaal. When Oona Laurences Leila is added to the mix, it feels like watching a loving family.

Hopes support team is more of a mixed bag. Tick Willis (Forest Whitaker) is a well played character who does a great job of shaping Hope into the fighter he is at the end of the film. He also has good support from his friend Mikey (Dominic Colon).

Weak characters were also presents, especially Jordan Mains (Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson). While I was not the biggest fan of his character, I can see how much better Jacksons performance is compared to his previous work. Another weak role was Miguel "Magic" Escobar (Miguel Gomez), however that is because he need more time to be developed on screen.

There are not plot twists in this movie, which serves it well due to a lack of overcrowding. Antoine Fuquas direction manages to hit all of the beats well, however there are some secondary stories that could have been left out to make a tighter movie.

The cinematography was good, but it wasn't special.

Southpaw is a true boxing movie, which I personally believe is a great thing.

Number of times I looked at my watch: Zero

Recommendation: This is a must watch for boxing movie fans. For the remainder of audiences, it is a movie that while enjoyable in cinemas, could just be bought on Blu-Ray.

I hope you enjoyed this review, please let me know what other movies you would like me to review.

Have a great day. Looking forward to your feedback.

Ant-Man (2015)

Ant-Man is a Marvel movie baed on the adventures of Scott Lang and Hank Pym.

Ant-Man tells the tale of Scott Lang (played by Paul Rudd), an ex-con hired to Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and Hope Van Dyne (Evangeline Lily), who uses the Ant-Man suit to steal stuff from Darren Cross (Corey Stoll).

This movie delivers exactly what is expected of a Marvel summer blockbuster. It was an enjoyable, no-brainer, movie.

The movie was presented in the usual fantastical world, competently brought to life by Peyton Reed. The characters are slightly larger than life, which is a Marvel staple. It also  introduces interesting characters, such as Luis (Michael Pena) to provide the obligatory Marvel comic relief.

The highlight of this movie was the character interactions. The plot was very straight forward, with plot twists essentially non existent. Conversations seemed fun, although not entirely natural. The character highlights for me were Douglas Hank Pym and Penas Luis. Michael Pena to me personally is an underrated actor, who could carry a film on his own, something that he demonstrated by stealing every scene he was in.

However, despite the four memorable characters who interacted well, a lot of the other characters were ultimately forgettable. The most disappointing forgettable character was Stolls Darren Cross. Marvel needs to learn how to create memorable villains.

The bombastic action can lead to entertaining scenes. It is also where the influence of the original director (Edgar Wright) is most noticeable. The scenes are creative and really help demonstrate why Ant-Man could be an interesting character.

This film also contains some obvious fan service, but Ant-Man manages to stand on its own two feet as a stand alone movie.

The film at times seems disjointed, but due to the production history (Reed only became the director a couple of weeks before shooting) this is more a victim or circumstance than bad direction.

Number of times I looked at my watch: Two

Recommendation:This is an enjoyable summer movie, see it for an enjoyable time.

I hope you enjoyed this review, please let me know what other movies you would like me to review.

Have a great day. Looking forward to your feedback.

Ted 2 (2015)

Ted 2 is a comedy about a talking bear (Voiced by Seth MacFarlane) and his best friend John (Mark Wahlberg).

Ted 2 tells the story of Teds attempt to legally be deemed as human after the US government ruins his life. He is aided by his thunder buddy John and Sam L. Jackson, a young lawyer portrayed by Amanda Seyfried.

The main story was alright, but in a comedy the journey matters more than the story. The journey easily delivered the more enjoyable part, and it was very enjoyable.

The cinematography is alright, but pretty standard fair, sprinkled with some great quick cuts for that extra laugh. There were, however, musical numbers that overstayed their welcome.

Seth MacFarlane uses this film to demonstrate his voice acting ability, being able to make the character of Ted seem as if he was alive. Mark Wahlberg also does a great job of returning to the role of  John. Amanda Seyfried seems to come into her own in this role and was a pleasure to watch.

The real star power however, comes in the celebrity cameos. Each actor fully takes on their character in the cameo and it enhances what is already a very funny film.

This movie had me laughing out loud in the cinema, probably annoying the person sitting next to me. To me, this is a sign of a very funny movie.

Ted 2 demonstrates how lude, crude and rude comedy can still make a hilarious movie when effort is put into it.

Number of times I looked at my watch: Zero

Recommendation: See this film for a good laugh.

I hope you enjoyed this review, please let me know what other movies you would like me to review.

Have a great day. Looking forward to your feedback.

Teminator Genisys (2015)

Terminator Genisys is a film based around time travel. It is also a film that didn't need to be made.

Arnold Schwarznegger returns to the role of the T-800 in this action movie set in the past, the near future and the far future. As in Terminator 2, the T-800 is sent to protect Sarah Connor, now portrayed by Emilia Clarke. Also sent to protect Sarah Connor is Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney), sent by Sarah's son John Connor (Jason Clarke).

This film I found difficult to enjoy. The simple reason is that it did not share the same tone as the original two Terminator movies. The tension has been replaced by a more jokey version that kills tension whenever it is employed.

My big issue with this new approach is based on the fact that Terminator Genisys is rates 12A (PG-13) in the US. For a franchise usually rates 15 (R), this means that a lot of the grit of the original movies has been replaced with more child friendly content.

The action in this movie was very much by the books. Once the setting was known, the character actions during the fights ended up being predictable. It unfortunately meant that there was no point in this film where the audience would be sitting on the edge of their seats. For a film based on suspense and action, this is not a great sign.

Regarding the acting, at least the actors try. My issue is that while the entire cast is talented, this film didn't leave much room for them to demonstrate it. Matt Smith came closest in his role as a computer program, but otherwise the characters ended up being two dimensional. This is largely due to bad writing, relying on nostalgia to carry the movie as opposed to writing a good script.

Dayo Okeniyi and J.K. Simmons were wasted in their roles as Danny Dyson and O'Brien respectively.  Their roles were created as plot devices to help characters get from point A to point B with a little character development as possible. Theses roles could have, or should have, been played by lesser known actors as an introductory role.

The twist in the story was ruined in the trailers. There is nothing more to say about that. It means that what was a potentially good twist has been ruined while trying to entice people to watch the film. A lot of the steam of the movie is lost after that reveal.

It is a weird moment when the villain is correct, but somehow this is the second film this summer where I feel like I have been rooting for the wrong side. The primary reason for this is that the our group of heroes are dumb. They are physically capable, but seem to lack the ability to think.

Terminator Genisys relies on nostalgia to work, it takes what was known and twists it in the worst possible way.

The biggest crime that Terminator Genisys has committed is that it wasn't great and it wasn't terrible, it was just boring.

Number of times I looked at my watch: Twenty

Recommendation: Watch the original Terminator and Terminator 2.

All feedback is welcome, have a great day.