Review: Jason Bourne (2016)

A couple of years ago I was hunting the aisles of CeX (a second-hand entertainment store in the UK) for bargains when my husband called me over, he’d found a box-set of the Bourne trilogy for something silly like £5. When I told him I’d never seen them I was practically dragged back home (after paying, of course) and forced to watch all 3 over the course of the weekend. Admittedly, I didn’t know what I was missing out on, I really enjoyed those movies! Not so much the Jeremy Renner addition, but come on, it’s not a Bourne movie without Matt Damon.

I wasn't looking forward to this AT ALL, my review may reflect that fact more than it should!!  I don't overly rate the Bourne films if i'm honest, I never found the stories particularly engaging and the action was always too fast paced to actually see what was going on!

That said, I’ve been looking forward to Jason Bourne (2016) since the first trailer came out. (ha! could we be any more different!) So many of this summer’s blockbusters have given away everything in the trailer, and this kept everything under wraps, it was all going to be a surprise. We panicked when we got to the cinema at the sight of the queue nearly reaching the door, but thankfully they all wanted to see Suicide Squad (poor them) so we lucked out.

I don’t know how much of the plot I want to explain here to be honest. Not for spoilers or anything, but surprises are nice, guys! Basically, Jason (Matt Damon) is in hiding in Greece playing fight club (but let’s not talk about that). Over in Iceland, Nicky (Julia Stiles) hacks into the CIA’s servers and copies all of their Black Ops files, which includes Treadstone and secret information about Jason Bourne’s past. Nicky is caught by CIA newcomer Heather (Alicia Vikander) who begins hunting Nicky and Jason down with the help of Director Dewey (Tommy Lee Jones).

Let’s face it, you don’t go into a Bourne movie expecting a complicated, intricate plot, you’re there for some action and thrills, and that’s what you get. 2 hours of a brooding, buff Matt Damon kicking ass and driving like a madman. Cue the biggest use of shaky-camera action I’ve ever seen. Don’t get me wrong, it works brilliantly, but when the audience is meant to be reading a text message on someone’s phone screen, hold the damn thing still! I can’t read when you’re shaking it like Taylor Swift dangit!  I was not impressed with the shaky-camera action, I felt like I had a bad case of vertigo, I needed a lie down after to recover!  I had no idea what was going on in the fight scenes because I couldn't see one person from the other, I was glad when someone got knocked down because it provided a short pause for me to get my bearings!

I wasn’t sure what to think of Alicia Vikander’s character at first, she was amazing in her 2015 movies and came across quite wooden in this to begin with, but towards the end of the movie I realised that’s how she was meant to be. Don’t mess with Bourne, Heather!  This is where I was impressed, I really love Alicia Vikander and she didn't disappoint me here.  I had know idea where her loyalties lay throughout the whole thing, obviously that was the story but she played the poker face so well I had even less chance of working out who the heck she was supporting.  I convinced myself at one point that she was Bourne's long lost sister from Beirut!

The one thing I was waiting for was the moment in the trailers where that riot truck just plows through traffic in Las Vegas. So. Much. Yes. That was my favourite action scene, made even better by the fact that Jason Bourne was driving a black Dodge as well. I’m not a car fanatic or anything, but on my honeymoon I was designated driver, and our hire car was a black Dodge Dart (we named him Terry) and I loved that car so much.  I was expecting to be really excited by the Vegas scene and on the edge of my seat but by that point I had given into boredom and was fidgeting like I desperately needed the loo (I didn't!) and I just wanted it to be over already.

The action was great in theory but the story didn't grab my attention so I just lost interest. If I don't care about the characters then I have no reason to care when they are being beaten to a pulp by someone!

So yeah, Jason Bourne was everything I wanted it to be. A bit of mid-week fun and perfect for letting the brain switch off and just enjoy a good action flick!

I can't really justify my dislike of this, I was just plain bored.  Too much like all the others, nothing new or exciting!

Review: Testament of Youth (2014)

It's taken me a really long time to write this post, it turns out I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I started this movie on my own on a Sunday night.  I had no idea this was a true story until is started watching it and it really struck a cord with me, so I've had to wait a while to write the review so i didn't sob all over my computer!!

Based on the book of the same name by Vera Brittain, Alicia Vikander plays a young Vera during some of the brightest and darkest parts of her life through World War 1.  Vera a strong willed woman determined to do everything people tell her she can't from going to Oxford, to becoming a Nurse and a writer.

This film was truly heartbreaking and the thought that its a true story just chokes me up even more.  Vera was an unbelievably strong woman for what she went through at such a young and just continues to push forward.  It almost made me feel ashamed for worrying over petty issues and not trying to do more than what people expect of you.

I loved Vikander in Ex-Machina and she didn't disappoint, she was amazing at Brittain and made every emotion so raw I was a sobbing snotty mess in the first half an hour.  Another star in the making is Taron Egerton playing Vera's much loved brother Edward, who for me steals every scene he was in (we all knew it was possible after still standing out next to Colin Firth in Kingsman).  I was a little disappointed with Kit Harrington as love interest Roland but I haven't seen him shine in anything outside of Game of Thrones so its not a surprise.

I am fully aware that I haven't really reviewed the film but if I think too much about the plot I'm going to be a blubbering wreck again!

Jenna I want you to know that I really, really tried to watch and enjoy this for you. There are only 2 types of movies I struggle with, War and Period Dramas, and this was just too much for me! I appreciated the performances by the cast, but I just couldn't deal with the story...I think I started to tidy and clean the living room for something more interesting to do...

Review: The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015)

Another movie to add to the list I need to apologise to. When I went to London Comic Con earlier this year, the halls were plastered floor to ceiling with posters for The Man from U.N.C.L.E., and when I saw a trailer a couple of weeks later my reaction can be summed up with a sound that is probably typed like this: ‘pffffft’. Who/what was U.N.C.L.E. anyway? How are you meant to pronounce it? Can I say Uncle? Or do I have to spell out each letter? That seems so unnecessary! I can't believe you hadn't heard of the Man from U.N.C.L.E?? I can't say I'd watched it but I had heard of it, I think my parents may have watched it!

Fast forward to the present and I finally gave the movie a chance. I’m not sure what gave me the final nudge, but I was curious. I would later learn from my parents that it’s actually based on a 1960’s TV Show, which explained more than I thought. In fact, I just did an IMDB search for it to confirm the year, and the description is: ‘The two top agents of the United Network Command for Law and Enforcement fight the enemies of peace, particularly the forces of THRUSH.’ I’m sorry, what?! The forces of THRUSH? That made me laugh. Now what the hey does THRUSH stand for?! This literally made me spray lemonade through my nose, hilarious!! Just keep saying it though, THRUSH. Caps lock helps.

Our modern version stars Henry Cavill as CIA Agent Napoleon Solo and Armie Hammer as KGB Operative Illya Kuyakin (you must have googled this spelling?! How very rude, I am an excellent speller I'll have you know. I used IMDB actually!) who are forced to team up in a joint mission to stop a private criminal organisation from constructing nuclear weapons. Posing as Illya’s fiancee is Alicia Vikander as Gaby Teller, the daughter of the man responsible for the creation of the nuclear weapons.

Within the first five minutes I knew my assumptions were wrong. I mean, I wasn’t expecting it to be so funny! I’m just glad I watched this at home rather than surrounded by strangers out in public, because I was howling at that very first scene. I wish I could park my car like that! At first, I sniggered at every line Henry Cavill spoke because he was just oozing suave, well spoken manliness, but you get used to it after a while. There are some great gags that run through the story too, like Illya’s watch that he got from his father. In fact, my fiance and I cheered every time we saw a watch!

I actually didn't find it as funny as I hoped I would, there were moments when I laughed out loud but they were few and far between.  However, I did love Hammer and Cavill's chemistry, they were funny together and I found myself hoping for them to have more scenes together (take note Mr Ritchie for the sequel!!).  Although, I didn't find it as funny as I expected, I did love it!  The action sequences were great and the story was great (I did get a bit confused as I wasn't 100% concentrating I was distracted decorating my Christmas tree!! Oops!).  

The plot was a little predictable, and the action scenes, although extremely well done, didn’t bring anything new to the table, but it was still a really interesting story, and like I keep harping on about, the humour keeps you entertained throughout. In fact, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. reminds me of a cartoon I watched at a friends house called Archer. Archer is definitely aimed at adults, but it’s got many similarities. Check it out! YES!!

I’m so glad I watched this in the end, and I’m keeping my fingers crossed for a second movie sometime in the future. Has anyone watched the original TV show? How does it compare? Ooh I'd love to know...

Mini Reviews: Saving Mr Banks (2013), Cake (2014) & Ex Machina (2015)

I can’t quite believe Saving Mr Banks is 2 years old now, it feels like I’ve been putting off watching it for a couple of months, not years! I remember little of the Mary Poppins story, in fact I can only recall a couple of the songs, and maybe that’s why I put this film off for so long. I’m glad I gave it a shot though, as this was a beautiful story.

Emma Thompson does a fantastic job at portraying this frustrating character who you struggle to warm to at first, but by the credits roll I had tears in my eyes. The whole cast made this a wonderful film to watch, and I can’t recommend it highly enough.

I’m a huge fan of Jennifer Aniston and films that tackle depression have always interested me, which I realise sounds quite morbid! Therefore, I thought Cake would be a film I would really enjoy. Cake is a dark story of a woman who becomes obsessed with the suicide of a friend in her support group for chronic pain, who also tries to deals with her own severe issues.

Maybe watching this in chunks throughout my lunch breaks didn’t help, but I found the story so hard to understand, I had to read half on an IMDB synopsis to work out what was going on. Once I worked it out it was more enjoyable, but still fell flat for me.

When the posters and trailers came out for Ex Machina came out, I wasn’t bothered in the slightest. I didn’t even notice it come and go from my local cinema. However, anyone I knew who went to see it or watched the DVD said how brilliant it was, and the got my curiosity. It’s hard to even explain the plot of Ex Machina without ruining the experience, but I would recommend it to anyone.

It starts of as a family friendly, futuristic film and out of nowhere, takes a very dark turn, and rapidly turns into adult-only territory. I haven’t seen anything like it, and although I don’t think a re-watch will give the same impact, it was a brilliant experience first-time.

Review: Ex Machina (2015)

I knew I wanted to see this movie from the trailer and I thought I knew what it was about, I didn't.  This was not at all the film I was expecting to see....

Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson) a mild-mannered programmer at one of the biggest tech firms in history (from what I can tell) wins a competition to visit the company owner (Oscar Issac) at his private estate and be a part of a test involving an Artificial Intelligence robot, Ava (Alicia Vikander).  Caleb is tasked to meet with Ava and perform a Turing Test - i.e. assess Ava's humanity.

First I want to say that I loved this film, I was gripped from beginning to end and it wasn't at all predictable (to me at least!) and it was nothing like I expected it to be (I was thinking more Chappie less Frankenstein) but I am struggling to review it.  I can't really explain why I liked it or my favourite parts (they include spoilers) so how do I review it?!

Ok first the actors, I love Domhnall Gleeson, I have loved him since About Time, he has this nervous energy that is perfect for this type of role (is anyone concerned about typecasting for him, I think he needs to do something now that no one would expect!).  He plays the excitable, nervous, terrified and quietly confident Caleb to a tee, contrasting Oscar Issac's terrifyingly intelligent and reclusive Nathan faultlessly. I have seen Issac in a few movies but he's never really stood out to me, until now.  His performance had me on the edge of my seat in suspense, I didn't know what he was thinking or planning and the whole film had this edge that something about him wasn't quite right.

The story was really interesting and different and more scary than anything because this could be happening right now, there is technology in the world that could develop an Ava, this literally could be tomorrow.  The majority of the movie is set in Nathan's underground 'lair' with no windows and locks on every door, it gives a real feel if claustrophobia (not sure it helped that I was sat on a plane feeling very real claustrophobia!!) even though there was a huge wide open space outside the lounge window.  I think the idea that Caleb came in by chopper and there was no way for him to get out unless it was arranged added to this uneasy setting.

Personally, I would say this is one of those films that cannot be done justice in a review, you just have to see it for yourself.  I appear to be giving out a lot of 10's recently, I'm not sure if its just because I happen to be really enjoying films lately or if I'm going soft in my old age!! :-/