Review: Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015)

Around Christmas time in 2014, the cinemas were shoving trailers for Kingsman: The Secret Service down our throats, and although it looked pretty funny, I had no intentions to see it in the cinema, because it was a film for High School kids. Then, in the new year, some of my friends saw it and wouldn’t stop raving about it, and once I read into some reviews I realised. This is possibly the most mis-marketed film in history.  Whereas I saw the trailer an knew immediately that I had to see it (this probably says a lot about my mental age!!)

Kingsman is a secret spy organisation ran by true gentlemen. When disaster strikes and the service loses a key member, a group of new recruits are chosen to be put to the test. One of these new recruits is foul mouthed, street-smart Eggsy (Taron Egerton), who despite his upbringing, is a good lad and simply wants to do what’s best. Harry Hart (Colin Firth) mentors Eggsy in the hope he makes the cut, while the world in under threat by the film’s villain, Valentine (Samuel L Jackson).

I didn’t realise how crazy the plot actually was until I sat down and finally watched the film last night. Think Hot Fuzz meets James Bond, that’s the best kind of comparison I feel I can make. This is absolutely not a kid’s film. It’s age 15 restriction, bad language and violence puts it firmly in the adult category, but fun-loving adults only. Don’t expect a serious, realistic plot from this, because it’s just not that kind of film.

Despite my hatred of ‘chav’ characters, I really warmed to Eggsy right from the outset and found him highly likeable. It was the posh jerks training with him that really wound me up. The whole cast did a really good job though, I thought, especially Samuel L Jackson as the bad guy, with his eccentric clothing and lisp.

The action was awesome and the CGI elements would have been brilliant on the big screen. The scene with Harry fighting in the church was a great example of this. This will probably give the wrong impression now but my fiance and I laughed out loud during that scene. It was just so intense, and so crazy, but done so very well. That was a scene without many fancy Kingsman gadgets too.  Me and Lou were laughing in the cinema too so you're not completely bonkers ;-)

This was a great 'impression' of a classic spy movie that almost takes the piss out of itself.  I fully agree with Allie that Eggsy is a truly likable character (although the nickname sounds more like the actors nickname that the characters, just me?!) and you are willing him to succeed.  Colin Firth is brilliant as Harry and the months of training that he went through for the role is apparent, I can't imagine anyone doing a better job.

My only niggle (and that is all it is) is that I found Samuel L Jackson's character really irritating, I am aware that he was meant to be completely over the top as with everything in the movie but he just grated on me somewhat - I'm sure many will disagree with me!!

The story is completely far fetched, the gadgets ridiculous and the one-liners hilarious, everything required for a highly entertaining two hours. 

Kingsman: The Secret Service is just an all-round brilliant film, and I can’t recommend it highly enough. It’s so easy to watch, and would be just as perfect with a group of friends on a Friday night just as much as watching it in bed on a lazy Sunday morning.

This is definitely a re-watcher for me, in fact I've already seen it 3 times since the cinema ;-)

Review: Interstellar (2014)

Is it possible to love a film you don’t understand? I’m ashamed to say it took the DVD release and my future Father-in-Law’s birthday to get me to finally watch Interstellar. I avoided it like the plague when it came out in the cinemas, despite how amazing it probably was on the big screen, because it was just too darn long. I can’t sit that still without copious tea breaks. Give me a pizza and a comfy sofa however, and I’ll sit still all day.  I just never got around to seeing it and when I finally had the time it had finished at the cinema!

The plot, in short, sounds like something that’s been done a hundred times already. The Earth is dying, humanity needs somewhere else to live, let’s send some astronauts off into space, yada yada. Maybe that put me off, too? This is all I knew about the film before watching it, and now, I almost think it’s a better experience if that’s all you know.

Did I mention I can’t stand Matthew McConaughey? Sorry - he just winds me up for absolutely no reason. He’s alright in Interstellar though. Okay, he’s pretty good. The cast as a whole were great I thought, and I especially loved the two robots, TARS and CASE. They have so much personality! Plus TARS is a little sassy, and you can’t go wrong with a sassy robot.  Weren't they awesome!!

Did anyone feel a bit sorry for Cooper's son, he barely got a mention throughout, the whole situation seemed to be circled around Cooper and Murph.  They hinted at the beginning of the movie that Tom's scores weren't high enough for college and that he would make a great farmer which seemed like an early justification for why Cooper has this bond with his daughter but not his son.  I felt sad for him all the way through the movie and more so at the end *SPOILER ALERT* when he didn't even ask if his Son was still alive, just his daughter.

Okay, so the science-y stuff I didn’t really understand. I’m just not clever enough to get it. I know why they’re off to space, I sort of understand the wormhole thing, I understand how Matt Damon got there although I don’t know why he’s such a grump, and I don’t understand the whole equation thing. The time-relativity thing (I need to find another word for thing) was really cool once I got my head around that.

I absolutely loved this and I was really surprised by that, I think that because I missed out on all the hype for this I just had no expectations for it so I just enjoyed it for what it was.  I did lose track of some of the science bit but that didn't ruin anything for me, I loved how the whole thing came full circle. 

The idea of time was approached in really interesting (and I'm assuming scientific) ways throughout, reminding me of Inception's approach to dreaming and the dream world.  I was terrified by the thought of how long they were staying on the planet when 1 hour equals 7 years in their 'home' time, I was on the edge of my sit willing them to hurry up.

Something I picked up on throughout the film was the music. Normally my mind switches off to that and I don’t even remember music being in films, but the score in Interstellar is so loud in places that it’s hard not to notice. I can imagine some loved it and others hated it, but in certain scenes it had me holding my breath, it was so powerful.  I thought exactly the same and also the use of complete silence was really cool, there was a huge explosion but as the astronauts wouldn't hear anything, neither did we.  It really brought home the isolation of the situation.

Just a warning, there aren’t any spoilers below but it might get you thinking about things you shouldn’t if/when you watch Interstellar for the first time. That sounds so wrong.

I think the reason I loved this film so much was the last half an hour or so, you’ll know what I mean if you’ve seen it. Watching this with my fiance’s family was a great experience, because as we realised certain things, one by one we’d gasp, shout and wave our arms around like mad! Do you remember one of the first spoken lines in the entire film, when Cooper walks in to Murph’s room? She says ‘I thought you were my ghost’. That friggin line just wins it for me! I hadn't even thought of that, I now want to watch it again to catch the links between the beginning and the end!

If I can find some spare hours, I’d love to understand the science bits and then re-watch Interstellar to truly experience it for what it should be.

Many might disagree with my score for this but for me it had everything and I was glued to the screen the whole time.

12 Days of Christmas - Day 8 The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)

I was so glad to see this film on the list that Jenna sent me when we discussed doing this 12 Days of Christmas project. I’m a huge fan of the Muppets but admittedly, I hadn’t seen The Muppet Christmas Carol since I was a child. This was actually the version of A Christmas Carol that taught me the story, and so for years I thought everyone else was just copying the Muppets!

If you’ve ever watched another Muppets film, you’ll know what to expect here. And if you haven’t, who are you, what are you doing here and please, go and watch one now! The legendary Alfred, sorry, Michael Caine plays Scrooge in this version, and the Muppets themselves replace the other characters. What makes this version so great is Gonzo plays Charles Dickens, and with Rizzo the Rat’s help, they tell the story to the audience, breaking the 4th wall.

There is something in this film for everyone to enjoy. Kids will love the Muppet characters telling such a classic tale, but I learnt while I watched this that adults will have just as much fun. There were so many jokes that would have gone straight over my head when I was younger, things like the family of rates that work in Scrooge’s finance department complaining about the cold ‘We’re freezing our assets off!’ as just one example. I may have laughed out loud at that. I love terrible jokes.

Of course, no Muppets film is complete without a host of catchy songs to sing along to. I had ‘One More Sleep Til Christmas’ stuck in my head instantly and I’ll spend the remaining days till Christmas singing it!

Ok so my opinion on this film will probably be met with shock, horror and annoyance...that will just be from Allie!!  I tried I really did BUT I do not like the Muppets, I did when I was a kid but now I don't find the films funny or entertaining but irritating and predictable.  I managed 20 minutes or so of this before I turned it off, therefore I won't score it as that seems mean but no no no this film is not for me Christmas or no Christmas!!

I don’t know if this will join my list of Christmas films that I watch without fail every year, but when the time comes, my children will be subjected to it for sure.

Review: The Prestige (2006)

You're all aware that Jenna & I are making our way through IMDB's Top 250 list, which The Prestige is on. I've also been recommended the film multiple times after watching The Usual Suspects. I tried to get the family to watch it with me but the youngest won the vote and so I had to watch this with the cats the other night instead!  I hadn't seen this film for years (and fortunately couldn't remember what happened) so poor Allie has had to sit with this review in drafts for ages until I could find the time to watch it again.

The Prestige opens with its ending, as we see Hugh Jackman's character Robert Angier die after a magic trick has gone tragically wrong. We then see Christian Bale's character Alfred Borden face a trial for his murder. Makes sense, right? I thought so too. Oh, how I was wrong. The rest of the film steps back in time as we see the story unfold whilst Robert and Alfred read each other's journals. At this point we aren't even sure how they obtained these, but that gets explained later on.  Easy peasy...No point lying this is probably the third time I've watched this film and having forgotten the plot I was completely and utterly confused from 20 minutes in onwards!!

Once I realised that we had simply gone back in time a little, my confusion vanished (ta-da!) and the rest of the film was much more enjoyable. Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale did a fantastic jobs at playing these two leads and the feud between them felt real.  I was lucky, as the film went on I remembered bits from watching it before and luckily I remembered the ending pretty sharpish because my Dad stumbled home (pretty drunk) and promptly announced "oh is this the one with *Insert spoiler here*" "Yes Dad, thanks for that!" Nice one haha!

I won't discuss the story in too much detail here because the film is a fantastic experience to watch for the first time, spoiler free. What was a shame for me was that I already knew that there was a huge twist, and so whilst I enjoyed the story immensely, I was also shouting across the room to my other half with my guesses for the twist. Admittedly, I worked it out, only right before the end though and even then I didn't work every detail out.  I can't remember if I worked this out the first time I watched it, I doubt I did, I think The Usual Suspects might have been a fluke!

The final 10 minutes were fantastic, and I would give a lot to view them again with a fresh pair of eyes. I couldn't believe how many subtle hints that I'd completely missed, just dotted throughout the rest of the film. 

This is a great film, the actors have so much chemistry and I even liked Scarlet Johannsen (I think she might actually be growing on me, yes I am shocked too!).  The good thing about watching this film again, is as Allie mentioned, you spot so much more, you notice things that are said and done that you wouldn't bother even thinking twice about the first time round.  Another factor for me was even when you know what is going to happen your loyalty for the characters shifts and changes throughout the whole film, one minute you love him and hate her, the next you like her but hate him, you are kept on your toes the whole time.

Firstly, I'd like to re-iterate how brilliant I thought The Prestige was. I would honestly recommend it to anyone, and I'm so gutted that I didn't see it when it first came out. You may not have praised it so highly then as it swiftly followed Batman Begins, which was such a high accolade for Nolan, could have made this one seem a little slow in comparison.  Secondly, I want to congratulate myself for reviewing this film without once referring to Batman, Alfred and Wolverine. You don't know how hard that was for me! (Oops!)

Amazing film, I cannot recommend it highly enough.  It is slow moving at times but keeps your interest throughout and the tension between the lead characters is so high you can't help but want to see how it turns out.

I can't fault this film, I love Nolan's work and this is some of his best.  Only makes me more eager to see Interstellar.