Django Unchained

   Quentin Tarantino's latest film is nothing short of awesome. The cast are exceptional. Jamie Foxx puts on one of his best ever performances and looks super cool in cowboy gear. Christopher Waltz and Samuel L Jackson are at their comic best, while Leonardo DiCaprio does a great job in his first outing as a villain.
   Django (Jamie Foxx) is a black slave who is bought by the quirky German bounty hunter Dr King Schultz (Christopher Waltz) so that Schultz can find a specific bounty. Once Schultz realises Django is a natural at hunting bounties and that he is in search of his wife who had been sold to another plantation, they partner up and aim to get his wife back.
  Samuel L Jackson is hilarious as the elderly senile butler, who is cleverer than his intial actions appear. DiCaprio makes for a great villain and it saddens me that there has been unnecessary and ridiculous criticism that the word nigger is used too often and especially by DiCaprio. The film is set in the deep south of the United States in 1858. DiCaprio is a brutal plantation owner with countless black slaves, nigger was a term used and if Tarantino tiptoed round it, it would have been unrealistic.
   In my opinion Django Unchained was better than Tarantino's last picture, Inglorious Basterds, which is no mean feat, and his best film since Pulp Fiction.

For fans of Tarantino, superb acting and masterpieces.

Stars *****

Gangster Squad

   Set in 1949 Los Angeles, Gangster Squad is a true story about a selection of cops handpicked by Sergeant John O'Mara (Josh Brolin) on the orders of Chief Parker (Nick Nolte) to take down the ruthless mob leader Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn).

   O'Mara is a tough honest police officer who is struggling to put the war behind him, and the opportunity to take down Mickey Cohen by any means possible fits well into his repartee. There's plenty of blood and bullets to satisfy the viewers who love their violence and action in films. Everyone excels in their roles, especially Sean Penn who appears to slip seamlessly into the role of the brutal mob boss. 

   Although on first thought there appears to be little wrong with Gangster Squad, there is also nothing particularly special about it either. The story is slightly predictable and the unnecessarily corny ending meant I didn't feel fully satisfied once the credits started rolling. At least the American flag didn't make an appearance near the end...

For fans of gangster movies, cool fighting scenes and true stories.

Stars ***

The Impossible

   After the first five minutes of The Impossible I was concerned that it was going to be a total flop. The film begins with the family on a plane to Thailand. The script was corny and the acting even more so. It didn't help that Naomi Watts' voice seemed to be out of sink, but this could have been the cinema's fault. However, after this rickety start the film got going the moment the tsunami hit. The tsunami was incredibly well shot and the special effects were bang on.
   The story follows Maria (Naomi Watts) and the oldest son Lucas, as they manage to survive the tsunami and try to find their way to safety. Maria's husband, Henry, played by Ewan McGregor becomes more prominent in the second half of the film as he searches for the rest of his family.
   There are a lot of edge of the seat moments, as well as upsetting scenes as you feel their pain and anxieties as they try and reunite and battle through the worst natural disaster of modern times. I feel the director, Juan Antonio Bayona did a great job of capturing the right mood of what would have been an incredibly confusing, upsetting and traumatic situation for hundreds of thousands of people.
   The Impossible is a very good film, though I found it quite upsetting, so this may not be one for the overly sensitive.

For fans of true stories, emotional films and great special effects.

Stars ****

Jack Reacher

   Jack Reacher has got 2013 off with a good start, although it was actually released on Boxing Day, so technically it's last year's film...Nevertheless, it is a very good film, though it doesn't challenge my top 10 films of 2012 and I don't believe it will challenge the best of this year either.
   Tom Cruise is as enjoyable as ever to watch and he has good chemistry with Rosamund Pike, who plays Helen, the lawyer who takes on the seemingly impossible task of helping Barr (Joseph Sikora) avoid the death penalty.
   Jack Reacher is based on a series of books by Lee Child, and though Tom Cruise does a great job, Jack Reacher is supposed to be about six foot five and Cruise scrapes in at a modest five foot seven. However, I think only the hardiest of Jack Reacher fans will have a problem with this.
   The car chases are exciting and the fight scenes have a comical edge to them as Reacher has little trouble beating his enemies senseless. The film begins to trail off during the second half and although the final fight sequence is well shot, humorous, exciting, tense and intriguing, I can't help but feel annoyed that Reacher decides to put his gun down and fight his main enemy with bare hands. He could at least have his gun knocked out of his grasp instead of voluntarily laying down his weapon to endure a punch up.

For fans of Tom Cruise, Lee Child and humorous action scenes.

Stars ***

The Best and Worst of 2012

Top 10 films

1. Seven Psychopaths
       I was surprised this was my best film of the year. I thought it was going to be good, but never expected to be blown away by the great story, top acting performances, writing and humour.

2. Skyfall
       One of the best Bonds of all time and easily Daniel Craig's best Bond film. I enjoyed this so much I had to see it twice. It was also a great goodbye to the legendary Judi Dench as M.

3. Moonrise Kingdom
       An all star cast in this unusually brilliant film. There was great acting from the children and the film was hilarious from the off. A film that had the imagination, originality and great writing to be up there with the best of the year.

4. The Dark Knight Rises
       A great end to a fantastic Batman trilogy. Probably not as good as The Dark Knight, but still a brilliant film, with great music and an ending to die for.

5. Looper
       Bruce Willis, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Emily Blunt perform at their very best in an action packed futuristic thriller filled with twist, turns and some of the best action scenes of 2012.

6. The Descendant
       A well written and solid film with nothing really wrong with it. Funny, emotional and enjoyable.

7. The Artist
       A favourite for the critics and it raked in the Oscars. An original and well made film for the 21st century.

8. Lawless
       A great film based on a true story, filled with action, gore and well placed comedy.

9. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
       A wonderfully written film with a lot of humour and great acting from some of British acting's ageing elite.

10. Killing Them Softly
       Superb acting from Brad Pitt and Richard Jenkins in a cool and dark thriller.


Best Performances

Judi Dench - Skyfall/The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Javier Bardem - Skyfall
Matthew McConaughey - Killer Joe
Jean Dujardin - The Artist
Brad Pitt - Killing Them Softly
Bruce Willis - Looper/Moonrise Kingdom



Worst films

1. War Horse
      A ridiculous farce, where a young man loves a horse more than his friends and family.

2. Dark Shadows
      Bitterly disappointing and curiously boring. Even Johnny Depp struggled through this one.

3. Here Comes The Boom
     Generic with not one original idea to be found in this unimaginative attempt at a story.

4. Expendables 2
     Unsurprisingly one of the poorest films of 2012, with laughably poor acting and an obvious storyline.

5. Life Of Pi
     Magnificent special effects, but corny, critically overrated and lacking characters to connect to.

Worst Performances


Sylvester Stallone - Expendables 2
Rebecca Hall - Lay The Favourite
Maggie Grace - Taken 2