Tuesday, May 28, 2019




John Wick 3: Parabellum - He needs guns ..... lots of guns! #nerdgasm 



Big, big, BIG fan of the John Wick movies! I love well choreographed martial arts films (The Raid films being my favourites) and I love Keanu in The Matrix Trilogy (even the third) so these films are perfect for me. 





I had no qualms about going into this the third instalment to this ever growing franchise, it’s such a simple concept, which I know will be well directed (Chad Stahelski is a genius) from the first two films, that for me it was almost a guaranteed win, and I ... was .. not ... disappointed! 
Basically plot wise, John Wick is on the run and there’s a world wide hit on him worth $15 million .... queue much fighting.  

It’s really nice to hear in interviews how much fun and freedom Keanu and the stunt guys have when creating these fight scenes and they just keep getting better and better. In this film we have Kung-fu, Knife-fu, Gun-fu, Horse-fu and Dog-fu. There is nothing that Mr Wick can’t use as a weapon and it’s so exciting to see what they’ll do/use next! 
The amazing fight choreography coupled with all of The Matrix references and brilliant cameos from some recognisable faces from The Raid, (Mad Dog and The Assassin) from The Matrix, (Morpheus and The Keymaker) and Game of Thrones’ Bronn made this film such a nerd-fest for me and I just want more and more!

 Speaking of The Raid guys, I would really like to see Iko Uwais who plays the lead in The Raid movies to be in the next John Wick because he is phenomenal, and the John Wick franchise can give us the third Raid film I’ve been waiting so long for! I’d also love to see Donnie Yen (IP Man) join, Jet Lee and Jackie Chan as well, to create a Mecca of supreme martial art experts to come fight John Wick! Also when the hell are we going to see Carrie Ann Moss and Hugo Weaving join the fray! I’m sure Carrie could have played The Adjudicator very well so I would like to know what’s holding her back from the reunion. 


Halle Berry and Ian McShane are definitely worth a mention in this film as well for bringing some real acting class to this action packed movie because let’s be honest, as much as I like seeing all the stunts, there has to be some sort of narrative.


Overall the child in me would give this film 9/10 for pure entertainment and fun but if I have my serious hat on I’d give this film A RATING OF 7.7 


I've been Christopher Whitmore, thank for reading.













Monday, May 27, 2019




Shazam! - BIG .... on super human steroids! 

 What a bloody wonderful surprise from the DC universe! I really really enjoyed this film and it’s exactly the boost and type of film DC should be making! 
Shazam! is a fantastic coming of age story that has all of the heart that ‘Instant Family’ should have had when dealing with the potentially sensitive subject of foster families and the pursuit of biological parents. Tie that in with the comedic value of being chosen at the age of 15 to be the champion of the world, gain super human powers that also turn you into a muscle glad “at least mid-twenties, maybe thirty” man at the shout of a word, then you’ve got yourself a cracking bit of escapism and an entertaining few hours! 
Not quite as good as Wonder-woman but then again I don’t fancy Zachery Levi quite as much as Gal Gadot but it’s a very encouraging step forward for DC ahead of the Batman reboot.


Mark Strong is always a great bad guy and Zachery and Asher Angel were brilliant separately as Billy Batson and Shazam! My only issue with this paring was they seemed to be playing different characters. Zachery seemed to be playing down much younger than Asher who was playing a more mature 15 with actual adult issues. This I feel should have been addressed more in the rehearsal period for this role as I'm sure someone ( I don't want to point fingers) didn't do their homework.

The stand out performance therefore for me was that of Jack Dylan Grazer who played Freddy, Billy’s new foster brother, turn friend, turn superhero sidekick. Jack was as funny as he was heartbreakingly torn up about his life, and he brought every scene he was in together so well that I can’t wait to see him in more films. 

Overall I would give this film A RATING OF 8/10 and I highly recommend it to all the family with great humour and compelling storyline for all! 

I’ve been Christopher Whitmore, thanks for reading! 



Tuesday, May 21, 2019







Pokemon: Detective Pikachu - and the case of the missing plot.

 
Story time; When I was seven I asked my Mum to buy me some Pokemon cards so I could trade with my friends. She said no and when I wailed and asked why she said “it’s a waste of money and they’ll just go out of fashion in a few weeks.” To which I said the immortal words in our family “ Mum, Pokemon will never go out of fashion” and twenty years later ...I TOLD YOU SOOO MUM!! And what’s more if she had bought me those cards then, they’d probably be worth some money now!! Mums huh ... what do they know? (Eye roll)
Turns out a lot because the new film was decidedly average. For a film who’s demographic is made up of a large proportion of people my age, i.e mid-twenties, who were there for the original 151, it was very much tailored to children. 

On a positive the CGI special effects were incredible. The film starts with a gorgeous countryside sequence, where the camera flies alongside a Pidgey through an autumnal Poka-world and we soar past a menagerie of Pokemon new and old, and that visual alone probably kept me positive about the film far longer than perhaps I would have been without it.  

Justice Smith was very watchable in the starring role of ‘Tim Goodman’ and I’ll enjoy watching him in something else far more befitting his talents.
This film would have died on its arse without Mr Ryan Reynolds. Perhaps I’m too used to associating his voice with Deadpool that I missed some of the crude/rude sassiness but he was brilliant as Pikachu. 

Which leads me onto my main issue with the film. The trailer made it look so much darker than it turned out to be, I think Pikachu could have been a bit more twisted, the plot line far far less obvious and the general tone given much more layered shading. ‘Coco’ was a great children’s film that came out last year and that was plenty dark so I don’t know why Pokemon felt like they couldn’t have gone down the same route, especially when as I’ve already said such a massive chunk of their audience will be adults. 
Another weird part of the film for me was the acting/character choices made by Kathryne Newton. She really irritated me in this film and I couldn’t tell if it was just bad acting or someone had told her this was how her character was meant be. It felt so forced that I half expected her to be the evil mastermind pulling the strings but that never went anywhere ... weird. Also speaking of baddies SPOILER (like it matters), I love Bill Nighy but he was decidedly average in this film and it felt like everyone including Ryan Reynolds had just given up by the end of the movie. 
All in all I’d give this film A RATING OF 6.1 with a recommendation of the visuals but not the plot but I will say I really want Ryan Reynolds as my pet Pikachu, super duper CUTE!!! 

We’ll be reviewing this movie more in depth in a Pokemon Reel Easy Podcast Special with some guest appearances! 

I’ve been Christopher Whitmore, thanks for reading. 



Tuesday, May 14, 2019






Pet Sematary Review: (and yes that is spelt correctly.)

NO SPOILERS

I’ll start off by saying this: I am a huge Stephen King fan. So much so that I have a tattoo of on my actual body of a line from one of his books. (10 points to whoever can guess). And as a huge SK fan I have always been wary of his work being made into films. There has been a recent increase of his work making its way onto the silver screen and indeed, our homes. With shows such as ‘1922’ on Netflix and ‘Castle Rock.’ 
Some are way off the mark from the source material (The Dark Tower) and some, quite amazingly accurate! (IT). Bar one scene in the book, that if it did make it’s way into the film, audience members would explode in fury. 

So, it was with a mix of trepidation and excitement that I settled down to watch (behind a pillow) the new REVAMPED ‘Pet Sematary.’
I say trepidation because ol’ SK really doesn’t mind what people in Hollywood do to his books. I respect that from him, his books are unchangeable. But the super fan in me would love a five hour film, with all the details. That’s just me, though. 

Now let me say this: Pet Sematary is a good, scary film. As someone who read the book, I was not disappointed. Yes, I know, there were story changes from half way through to the end that as a reader, you ask… ‘But why do that?!, why not just keep to the book?’ But I’ll let that lie. 

The suspense in this film is relentless, it was exhausting in the best way. They kept more in than I thought they would dare and I applaud them for that, and its execution of it was skin crawlingly good! 

In my opinion, Jason Clarke was a bold choice to play Louis Creed. He was good! but a bit ‘one note’ as if someone said ‘You’re doing a horror film, look haunted’ and he took that to heart. But fuck me! you went through the ringer with him! His vulnerability and confusion was stella. 

However, a special mention to Amy Seimetz, who played Louis’s long suffering wife, Rachel. Her back story, for me, was the most unsettling part of the film. I admittedly closed my eyes at some points so I didn’t know exactly what happened… But goes to show, it was hard to watch for the right reasons. Her range and vulnerability was paramount and was the stronger of the two. Also Jete Laurence playing the young Ellie was fantastically creepy and gross. So props to her for pulling that off at her young age. The cast really bounced off each other through-out and was a joy to watch (through my fingers). 


I could go on to say John Lithgow was incredible as well, but you know that. It’s John Lithgow. He was born to play this role and your heart breaks watching him. 

I’ll leave you with this. If you watch this film and find some of the plot points or narrative to be a bit derivative, my retort is this: This book was written decades ago. SK was the first, in many ways, to put this type of horror into our psyche. And I’m glad he did. It’s escapism at its best and I’m glad it exists. It’s hard to be truly terrified watching films these days but what SK does is make you fall in love with his characters and then makes sure awful stuff happens to them! and therein, lies the horror. Don’t close yourself off from these characters and you won’t be disappointed. 

I'd give this film A RATING OF 7.4 and a firm recommendation for all horror and Stephen King fans although the ending in the book was better.

Don't forget to listen to our 'Endgame' podcast special and read Chris' blog for everything Marvel below! 

Sam Adamson, out!


Saturday, May 11, 2019









Avengers Engame: On Your left.


I think enough time has passed now for anyone who’s a proper fan of the MCU to have seen the film, so if you have any complaints about the spoilers in this review, IT’S YOUR OWN BLOODY FAULT! 

If you’ve read any of my reviews in the past you already know I’m a Marvel super-fan. I have seen all of the last 21 movies at least twice and I get inappropriately annoyed at everyone else’s opinions when ranking them. So first off here’s my categorically correct order of all the marvel films worst to best, without 'Endgame':

21 - 'Thor 2' - hated it. 

 












20 - 'Incredible Hulk' - Just has no relevance to the current MCU. 














19 - 'Thor' - Boring, Did not use Chris Hemsworth to his brilliant, full potential. (Weird eyebrows)

 












18 - 'Doctor Strange' - Okay film ruined by a massive cop-out ending of boring a baddy until it goes away ....














17 - 'Antman And The Wasp' - fell asleep in the cinema.














16 - 'Iron Man 3' - Just stupid and I was so disappointed that they’d got rid of the AC/DC soundtrack. 












15- 'Captain America' - Fine, but phase 1 Cap is so dull compared to how awesome he is in 'Endgame'.















14- 'Guardians of The Galaxy Vol 2' - Controversial opinion; paled in comparison to the first one and was vastly less entertaining. 














13- 'Captain Marvel' - I hate to say it but it’s just not up there with the best of them for me but I did like the film a lot, it just had a few issues.











12 - 'Iron Man 2' - Guilty pleasure within the franchise for me because I LOVED Sam Rockwell’s performance in it. I admit the rest of the film was average. 














11 - 'Antman' - Lots of fun but I couldn’t take it seriously.














10 - 'Avengers: Age of Ultron' - Another guilty pleasure that wasn’t so good but I loved James Spader's voice over.














9 - 'Spider-Man: Homecoming' - before 'Spider-Man Into the Spiderverse' came out it was my favourite Spider-Man movie.

 












8- 'Captain America: Winter Soldier' - Great narrative and the first actually interesting plot line.














7- 'Guardians Of the Galaxy' - Really loved this film and you can’t not talk about the soundtrack!














6 - 'Iron man' - Started it all.














5 - 'Civil War' - Most conflicting and thought provoking of the all the films!














4 - 'Black Panther' - Stunning film!














3 - 'Thor: Ragnarok' - Just bloody brilliant with stand out performances from Chris, Mark and Jeff!














2 - 'Avengers' - Gave me a very similar feeling to 'Endgame' when they all rallied and it was the film that made me fall in love with the MCU.

 












1 - 'Infinity War' - That ending left us all shaken and it also created one of the greatest and most relatable baddies of all time. 



Now I know you’re all going to have a huge problem with all of that but trust me on this ... I’m right. 

So the big question is; where does 'Endgame' fit into all of this? And the answer is, I truly don’t know. The ending was so satisfying, unlike anything I’ve ever seen, that it can’t not be at the top .... can it? Well possibly not, so let’s break this down.
This film for me and a lot of people falls into three acts--

Act 1: I truly respect the Russo brother's balls for the wonderfully slow pace of the beginning of this film. Right from the opening scene with Hawk Eye spending time with his family you knew with a sinking heart what was about to unfold. It was beautifully done and really set the tone for the film. 
The rest of the team then go to take back the stones and kill Thanos but as all the smartest (nerdiest) of us had predicted he’d already destroyed them and therefore no hope for recovery. Thor’s then vicious execution was a ‘hammer’ blow for the audience that was then further hit home with the snap to black and the appearance of the fatal words '5 years later' on the screen. I can’t imagine even the die hard fans saw this coming and the feeling of desolation and despair was ripe in the atmosphere of the silent theatre around me at the late night, first showing. The film progressed from there nicely with a well mannered rat inadvertently saving the whole universe by letting Antman out of the Quantum Realm. 


This then sets up the Second Act; Antman, after a lovely reunion with his daughter, proposes using quantum time (insert sciencey stuff here) to steal the infinity stones back and use them to reverse what has happened. Seems simple enough? Well apparently not because the Second Act for me was a bit of a mess. The Russo brothers obviously didn’t want to get caught out in any time-related plot holes so made it all ludicrously convoluted whilst simultaneously explaining barely anything. In the end though, after the sad death of Black Widow (but shot for shot a remake of Gamora’s death) they get the stones and The Hulk uses them to bring everyone who was dusted back .... we think. 

Act 3: As this happens, past Thanos breaks into the present and blows up the Avengers HQ with everyone inside (but not killing anyone) and all out war breaks loose. Cap, Iron Man and Thor take Thanos on (minus any infinity stones) and Thanos, the badass that he is, defeats them all pretty easily if we’re being honest. The fight isn’t without merit however, as Thor seems down and out for the count his hammer springs into life and who is it caught by? None other than the Cap himself! This induced a huge cheer from our (now 2am) audience, including myself, but it’s too late. .....Queue stunning, cinematic, landscape shot of Cap standing alone with a hoard of Thanos’ army charging towards him in a Helms Deep-like battle sequence. All seems utterly lost .... AND THEN as the now very well known music swells you hear over the crescendo Falcon say “On your left” ... Hang on? .... isn’t he dead? .... OOHHH SHIITT!!! They’re back!!! 
This is where I fell apart as a human for the rest of the duration of this film. What with the beautiful, heartfelt callback to 'Winter Soldier' and then the rest of "the fallen" returning through Dr. Strange's portals, the tears started to fall. Reinforced by meaningful reunions between Star Lord and Gamora and, more importantly, Tony and Peter; the tears kept coming. Then, when Tony finally sacrificed himself to destroy Thanos it was all too much. 

With the universe saved there wasn’t much left to do but for Cap to put the infinity stones back into the past so the story could play out the only way it was meant to, from the beginning. A really nice touch here, which I quietly applauded, was when Cap failed to return immediately and decided to take “the long way round” ('Doctor Who' reference for you there), we see an old Cap sitting on a bench waiting to hand over the ‘baton’ (his shield) to Falcon, our next Captain America. The film finishes with The Cap and Agent Carter finally having that dance 80 odd years in the past and it fades to black... 
I was left, as I’m sure you all were, in stunned silence. What a truly amazing ending to a fantastic franchise that wasn’t afraid to “take the long way round” and create 22 movies for THAT pay off, and boy was it worth it. 
This is why I struggle to rank this film amongst the others because I did have issues with certain parts of it, but a film that moves you that much emotionally has to be highly regarded.
Therefore I give this film a RATING OF 9.3/10 and I will be seeing it many more times, as will you! 
To hear more chat about this movie click the link below for our Reel Easy Podcast where we give this film all our attention in An Endgame Special! 

I’ve been Christopher Whitmore, thanks for reading.