SpoilerAlertReviews

Oscar winning director, Mel Gibson returns to the helm after a long ten years of not being behind a camera, Apocalypto being his last film back in 2006. Maybe due to too much shaky cam? No! Sorry. That was a cheap shot and I'm actually a massive fan of Gibson, he's still very much one of my favourites and I know he can take a joke.

Gibson is one of the few directors who can boast a long runtime and it not be a warning off- putter, though not as long as Braveheart, it's up there with this longest films with a runtime of 139mins, but you certainly don't notice it.

The film is based on the legendary WWII army medic, Pfc. Desmond Doss who enlisted but with an absolutely objection to firing a single bullet, not just during the war zone but during training also, who went on to serve regardless and saved of life's of approximately 75 soldiers under fire.

The film is in two parts. Firstly the background on Doss, his family, his love and the eventual training where he becomes branded a conscientious objector, bringing him a world of hurt and abuse from his fellow regiment and the military powers. It has to be mentioned, during this part Hugo Weaving gives an incredible performance as his drunken father clearly combating PTSD.

The second part of the film is the obvious, bloody assault on Hacksaw Ridge. The carnage of unforgiving violence that's gruesome yet captivating to watch. The brutal war scenes are loaded with exaggerated action for cinematographic purposes but is superbly executed with building tension and often gory outcomes.

Andrew Garfield takes the lead role of Pfc. Doss and does an amazing job. I can only believe he done the hero justice because the son was brought to tears during a screening. The supporting cast, including names Sam Worthington, Teresa Palmer and Luke Bracey all give good strong performances. And apologies to Vince Vaughn because he's an actor I find difficult to take seriously. But he fills the Sargent's boots quite well, nearly bursting a blood vessel bellowing humorous insults at his subordinates. Unfortunately, scenes like that will always be compared to R. Lee Ermey's Sgt. Hartman in Full Metal Jacket, but Vaughn does an amazing job.

Gibson' direction, like most of his films, is quite symbolic with some stunning visual imagery. He doesn't shy away from the opposing side either. The war sequences are some of the best captured, striking a realism that Saving Private Ryan got respected for.

Rupert Gregson-Williams score replaces John Debney's rejected score, after he replaced the late James Horner. Gregson-Williams actually does a good score in honour of Horner, mimicking his style to a degree, just listening to "Okinawa Battlefield" has echoes of Horner.

Though the number of people saved are not wholly accurate, to say 75 people is actually an understatement, himself saying 50 on that particular bloody night, witnesses claim it to be 100, which could be a result of him treating 50 men up on the escarpment who made their own way back to camp. It's said that during his three week tour he rescued a number close to 300 souls.

Certainly succeeds in placing Desmond Doss in eternity, being an incredible, moving tribute to the hero about courage and belief to stand alone not just against adversity but against the common command of war. A remarkable story about an even more remarkable man.

Running Time: 9 The Cast: 9 Performance: 10 Direction: 10 Story: 9 Script: 10 Creativity: 10 Soundtrack: 8 Job Description: 10 The Extra Bonus Points: 10 for being an amazing tribute not just to Desmond Doss, but to all conscientious collaborators.

95% 10/10

Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy director, Garth Jennings teams up with Despicable Me 2 story animator Christophe Lourdelet for Illumination's longest film, about a singing contest held in hope to help save the anthropomorphic city's Moon Theatre.

The theatre belonging to Buster Moon, a koala voiced superbly well by Matthew McConaughey. This being his second voice performance for an animated film, his first only being last year's Kubo and the Two Strings. His inherited and beloved theatre is in a dire situation, with failed productions after production putting Moon under financial strain and in a stroke of genius, he decides to host a contest that would hopefully turn the tables and rescue his theatre.

Interest spread far and wide, from the weird and wonderful characters voiced by some surprising actors. Most surprising being Seth MacFarlane as Mike the arrogant and self righteous mouse performance in style of Rat Packs era legends like Sinatra. I didn't even recognise Scarlett Johansson voice as punk rocker porcupine, Ash; and is there no limit to Taron Egerton's talents, first Kingsman, then Eddie The Eagle and now singing his heart out in this, playing Johnny the aspiring Gorilla trying to take a different path to his father's choice of being a criminal.

I can't fault any of the performances, but what is key here is the music, the film featuring more than 85 pop songs ranging from the 40s right up to today's music. All classic and recognisable tracks apart from the couple originally written for the film, namely Stevie Wonder and Ariana Grande's "Faith". There's actually moments of aww when hearing classic tracks from the recently departed Michael George, David Bowie and Leonard Cohen.

There's plenty of laugh-out-moments, especially the auditions in quick fire succession and when Buster Moon finally gets his shirt off, yes, that's right, McConaughey's character gets his shirt off but to hilarious comedy effect.

On the whole, it's great fun, super catchy and doesn't feel like the 110min runtime. It's an underkoala story with great feels at the end, that reminded me a little of Stepping Out. It's a worthy watch for the whole family. I've put this higher than Illumination's Secret Life of Pets.

Running Time: 8 The Cast: 9 Performance: 9 Direction: 8 Story: 7 Script: 7 Creativity: 8 Soundtrack: 9 Job Description: 8 The Extra Bonus Points: 0

73% 7/10

TV and commercial director, Garth Davis gives an exceptional main feature debut with a touching true story about a young boy getting separated from his family and lost in Calcutta to then be adopted by a family in Australia at the tender age of five, who then has the sudden, obsessive urge to find his real family.

It's based on the published memoirs "A Long Way Home" by Saroo Brierley, the boy, now grown up man, who embarks on a mission to find the family he got lost from all those years ago. It tackles conflict of loyalty, love and determination, a truly heart-rending story, not just of Saroo, but of all involved.

It's superbly balanced, basically in two parts. Firstly the origin of separation, a Saroo at 5 years old going through a hellish ordeal of being completely lost, not understanding the language, hungry, tired and just wanting to get home. The second part being the adult Saroo, now fully integrated into Tasmanian society and surrogate family, leading a privileged life compared to the one he lost.

Young Saroo is played astonishingly by Sunny Pawar who manages to convey emotion and feeling with little dialogue. He's truly amazing, being totally believable and the chemistry he shares with the other actors is beyond incredible. He actually steals the show from the other leading actors, even though all give brilliant performances.

Dev Patel plays the adult Saroo, those emotional torment is different, it's still portrayed greatly, racked with guilt with a sense of possible betrayal for all involved. Not wanting to hurt anyone, but to fulfil his need to find his original family. Patel did a lot of research for his role, travelling to India to visit the orphanage and to ride the same train journey trying to imagine what nightmare it must have been for young Saroo.

Nicole Kidman was chosen by the real life Susan Brierley, the surrogate mother of Saroo and adopted brother Mantosh. Kidman and the film show just how remarkable the real Susan Brierley is, at first being kind and understanding beyond measure, brave and loving only to then become something greater when you discover her motives and reasoning. She's become an inspiration to myself.

Dustin O'Halloran and Volker Bertelmann, better known as Hauschka, compose a fitting score for the film, with strings conveying themes of loneliness, discovery and enlightenment in both child and adult. Sia's busy year of end credit songs doesn't end in 2016, providing another great track "Never Give Up" which includes ethnic music.

Davis does an exceptional job, directing names such as Kidman, Patel and Rooney Mara. He has a graceful, elegant style with brilliant use of light and composure. It's a tough story with perfect portrayals that embellishes the meaning of family, love and the maternal spirit. Really looking forward to see what Davis gives us next.

Running Time: 8 The Cast: 9 Performance: 10 Direction: 10 Story: 9 Script: 9 Creativity: 10 Soundtrack: 9 Job Description: 8 The Extra Bonus Points: 10 for Sunny Pawar's performance.

92% 9/10

Chilean director Pablo Larraín filming practically back to back with Naruda, filmed on his native country about another historical figure. It can't be easy to tackle such famous people as topics, possibly attacking viewers already made up opinions of them. But to do it twice at the same time, and to do it well is quite a feat for any director.

As a director, Larraín is quite political, coming from a political family that doesn't actually agree with his ideology. He short but impressive list of films are very political indeed, especially his most well known being his film, No. This is his first film made in English, and I had an intriguing question as to why a brilliant Chilean director would decide to direct a film about Jackie Kennedy.

He was approached by producer Darren Aronofsky after Larraín's film, The Club took the Grand Jury Prize at the Berlin Film Festival in 2015 and though initially shocked at the idea, after some thought he was eager to make the film about the first most iconic and influential First Lady.

It's covers the following week from the tragic assassination, ignoring very much of the main man himself and being totally focused on the titular First Lady. It displays her courage and vanity, whilst channeling not just hers, but the nation's and beyond's grief for the lost of a great man and husband. Seeing her not just as the First Lady, but as a wife, a widow, and a grieving mother, who, at that moment of grief had to more from the White House, their home, console their two children and organise a funeral worthy of her Husband's legacy showing her love and devotion to her late husband. All of this while dealing with the new and all too eager Lyndon B. Johnson administration and the rest of Kennedy's grieving family, namely Bobby Kennedy played by Peter Sarsgaard.

Were introduced right at the time after the assassination, with who I can only imagine is LIFE magazine's journalist Theodore H. White (Billy Crudup who interviewed Mrs Kennedy at this different time. Larraín brilliantly fleshes out the story with balanced flashbacks of the tragic, horrid moment and Mrs Kennedy's vintage tour of the White House before the event which displays the importance of public image and relations, her fashion and her flamboyant taste and style which done with strong expressionism, using vibrant colour yet still retaining maximum authenticity.

Madeline Fontaine, costume design certain deserves the nomination at the very least, the production as a whole is amazingly executed and put together. Even Mica Levi resonating score is masterful, being quite different, or unexpected, being both sinister and beautiful at the same time using a glissando. Another well deserved Oscar nomination and hopefully a win on both counts.

The casting of Natalie Portman as Jackie was actually a demanded condition of Larraín when accepting to direct the film, and you can see why. Larraín stating that they had to look like the prominent lady. Portman is simply incredible, would be very surprised if she does not receive the Oscar for best leading actress. You can tell she's done her homework studying what footage must have been available to her, giving a performance showing an unknown humanity, a sternness and vanity of Jackie Kennedy.

It does question the state of today's States but without getting political. It's not going to be to everyone's taste, being captivating but not necessarily a riveting drama, however what must be appreciated about this film is the craftsmanship, a visual masterpiece from Larraín coupled with Levi's score and Portman's incredible performance.

The American Camelot: "a brief shining moment."

Mention John Hurt

Running Time: 7 The Cast: 9 Performance: 10 Direction: 10 Story: 8 Script: 9 Creativity: 10 Soundtrack: 10 Job Description: 8 The Extra Bonus Points: 0

81% 8/10

It's fifteen years on since Xander Cage bounced, slid and x-gamed across the big screens, one year after the success of the first Fast and Furious instalment with same director Rob Cohen. And according to the storyline, Xander Cage has been successfully playing dead for all those years.

D.J. Caruso takes the helm, who's never had any major blockbusters, but the man behind not- terrible films like I Am Number 4, Disturbia and my personal favourite of his, being Two For The Money.

Vin Diesel doesn't come alone this time round, forging a team out of international, Expendable rejects, but it's quite a team of recognisable faces. Game of Thrones' Hound, Rory McCann plays a stunt driver, Orange is The New Black star Ruby Rose plays a keen sniper, and I don't understand the purpose or need for Korean popstar, Kris Wu's character, I honestly think they just added him in purely for fun.

On the opposing side is Donnie Yen who replaces Jet Li. Possibly a much welcomed addition after his increased success and popularity with last month's Rogue One. Ong Bak star, Tony Jaa joins the frail as an overactive, over-excited action junkie and Bollywood superstar Deepika Padukone makes her Hollywood debut here, after not being able to commit to the Fast and Furious franchise. Though she might not be known to the wider audience, she certainly makes her presence known here.

What's great about Caruso's xXx is that he allowed the characters/actors to be themselves, encouraging them to express their real accents instead of having false ones which could have offended an audience.

It's loaded with heavy hitting cameos too, UFC fighters and an international football star. (Don't ask me who, I don't follow football) but what is does lack is a good soundtrack like the first xXx, tracks from Soil, Drowning Pool and of course, Rammstein impressively performing Feuer Frei for the film. But there is none of that on this one apart from a couple of scratches on some decks.

Everything else about the film is ridiculous and totally unbelievable, having a rehashed plot with little intelligence and pointless characters. However, the action is good, even if outrageously silly with plenty of "oh come on" moments, it looks pretty and is entertaining, almost farcical. Donnie Yen delivers the punches (and kicks) superbly so fans shouldn't be disappointed but the grand finale lets the rest of the movie down, almost as if it's run out of juice. The ending is partly reminiscent of a Star Wars battle, band of misfit rebels fight down below on the ground trying to secure communications while Xander battles for survival and humanity up on the Death Star.

Its stupid, but it doesn't pretend to be otherwise, and really, what are we expecting? and with films like Lion, Jackie, Silence and Manchester By The Sea being out, this actually comes as a refreshing, brainless actioner that is just good ol' cheesy fun. It does kick some a*s, and it does look dope while doing it.

Oh, Xander's jacket has grown since his last film! Really needs some grooming!

Running Time: 7 The Cast: 7 Performance: 7 Direction: 6 Story: 3 Script: 4 Creativity: 7 Soundtrack: 3 Job Description: 6 The Extra Bonus Points: 0

50% 5/10

M. Night Shyamalan has fast become one of those Marmite directors, dividing people into two camps of love him/hate him. Myself being a big fan of his earlier films like Unbreakable and Signs, yet I could appreciate the criticism The Sixth Sense received from people who figured it out. But what I really like about Shyamalan work is his love for his art, his passion reminding myself very much of my own. He's a fanboy who watched films as a child and wanted to do nothing else but make movies, and that admiration and influences can be clearly seen. So regardless whether you like his films or not, no one can question his dedication and the fact he is a very good, and well respected filmmaker. Yes, some of his recently catalogue is questionable with films like The Last Airbender, The Happening and After Earth, but still his understanding and use of the moving image has always be exceptional. I have yet to watch The Visit.

This time round, he could safely hide behind the outstanding performance of James McAvoy's multiple characters causing quite the stir among critics and viewers alike, you could almost forget you're watching a Shyamalan film until the very end, which might be lost on audiences not familiar with his films. It is interesting to know that Joaquin Phoenix was originally casted to play the multitude of characters, especially seeing the viewers reactions to McAvoy's impressive range. Makes anyone wonder how this portrayal might have been with Phoenix instead.

The film is about McAvoy's team of personalities, that abduct three teenage girls and hold them captive for reasons unclear. We get to meet a few of McAvoy's 23 characters each with their own agendas, mannerisms and behaviours. There's inner conflict and potential betrayal, some characters being under "house" arrest simply for not agreeing with the other personalities. It's truly astonishing to watch McAvoy and I don't think I could ever watch him again the same way.

It's good to see Anya Taylor-Joy so soon after Morgan and The Witch, wondering if she's go for something completely different like her co-star Haley Lu Richardson, who in last year's Edge Of Seventeen. It's Jessica Sula that doesn't quite sell it for me. Taylor-Joy is brilliant as the introverted, unpopular girl with something to hide. Betty Buckley reunites with Shyamalan and plays a superb Doctor who is possibly the closest thing McAvoy has as a friend, and instead of treating him, she's mostly encouraging him to explore his personalities.

I think Shyamalan missed a trick and I know audiences would be demanding answers if I did it my way, but maybe we would be better not knowing what happens to the girls, though the full reasons as to why is left totally unexplained. But instead of what I consider a cheap shot, I think a more intriguing hint would have been more effective.

West Dylan Thordson replaces Shyamalan's regular composer James Newton Howard and gives us something quite sinister and very different. Different, probably to try to emphasise the various characters of McAvoy, but the score does cover a board range, the looming, low hums being what I remember most.

Shyamalan has stated this to be his most challenging and longest film to date, and while it shows McAvoy's amazing talent, I wouldn't place this as this finest, it's not anticlimactic, but I was excepting something, stronger? More horrifying than what was presented. Still, fans should love the ending, haters gonna hate and non-fans unfamiliar with Shyamalan are going to wonder what all the fuss is about.

Running Time: 8 The Cast: 9 Performance: 9 Direction: 8 Story: 8 Script: 7 Creativity: 6 Soundtrack: 6 Job Description: 7 The Extra Bonus Points: 5 just for the surprise ending, I'm a fan so it worked on me.

73% 7/10

Ben Affleck has a pretty impressive directorial catalogue already, with Gone Baby Gone, The Town and the Oscar winning Argo. All films I consider of good calibre, slick and riveting. Now, he points the camera at a period gangster piece set mostly in the southern state of Florida during the prohibition of America.

It's based of a novel by Dennis Lehane, a criminal thriller mastermind who also penned The Drop, Gone Baby Gone, Shutter Island and my personal favourite, Mystic River. So, we can expect a good level of thoughtful drama, especially when throwing in the mob.

Affleck takes the lead as Joe Coughlin, a part Leonardo DiCaprio was original considered to play but dropped to producer only. Coughlin, a judicious and often deceitful small time criminal undertaking heists and robberies in 1920's Boston. Trying to carve something of his own after fighting in the war, he instead comes home to get caught up in a very different war, between the Italian mafioso and the Irish mob.

But it doesn't stay in Boston very long and business ends up going south where he makes new alliances and foes, and this is where the story goes from gangland to romance and politics. It's starts off notoriously well and sets you up for something greater only to fall short towards the end.

The performances are good but I found Affleck to be the weakest of them all, it's not his best out of his recent pictures. I don't think he was cruel enough, he wasn't as menacing and calculating as I might imagine, but then, maybe that's just it and he nailed it. It's Chris Cooper that's steals the show with a strong emotional performance as not-so-corrupt police chief Figgis.

It's well shot and has some great camera work but there's nothing outstanding apart from the Boston takedown. The finale was a let down for me, I was expecting more, like a shoot-out similar to The Untouchables. It does in fact, whilst being fairly original, shares some attractive characteristics from other stories like Scarface, and I couldn't help but think there's a strong Count of Monte Cristo feel to the story.

The other key elements of the film is brilliant, the sets and locations, especially the vintage Boston arenas and the automobiles, the costume design and Harry Gregson-Williams' score is of a high standard, however, on the soundtrack, nothing outstanding or memorable.

Unfortunately, it's a story that starts off so well, teasing to lead on to something great but slopes down to romance and business deals that falls flat at the very end. Not saying it's a bad film, because it isn't, but I found the character of Coughlin, much like the last half of the film, very underwhelming. It's certainly not Affleck's best work in my opinion. I would much rather rewatch The Town and Agro over this.

Running Time: 7 The Cast: 8 Performance: 8 Direction: 8 Story: 7 Script: 7 Creativity: 8 Soundtrack: 6 Job Description: 6 The Extra Bonus Points: 0

65% 7/10

Now, I'm familiar with the first two films, but I'll be honest, all that I can remember well is Kate Beckinsale in tightly cladded, black leather, looking like a hotter CatWoman, but in fact, she's a blood sucking bat woman. I didn't even know there was another two films! Rise of Lycans that was without Beckinsale (that might have something to do with it) and Awakening which did have Beckinsale.

TV director and cinematographer, Anna Foerster makes this her big screen debut, but it's not a good start. It's not horrendous and is properly a good opportunity out of a bad situation, however this unfortunately puts doubts in my mind about her Source Code 2 that's in currently in development.

I'm not sure what I missed but there appears to be a lot of back stabbing, characters defecting or returning for redemption. For someone who has skipped the previous two, it didn't really make much sense with the flashbacks but it's not really hard to figure out and follow.

It's unfortunately a messy and poorly scripted story, drowning in borrowed elements from other films, making it awfully predictable where it tries to be clever. One scene in particular immediately reminded me the battle at Helm's Deep in LotRs Two Towers. It's very rushed and it progresses faster than their superhuman healing powers. One minute they're on a train, then they're riding horses across a snow plain to all of sudden scaling a cliffside. Just seemed utterly pointless and stupid. There are characters and story elements that get introduced but are quickly pushed to one side to make way for more plot lines or twists, the side characters especially are not developed enough.

Beckinsale fits into her right leather comfortably but she isn't in the film as much as I was expecting, giving some of the story to Theo James' David. Again, because of this rushed though balanced storyline, you never feel like you're getting the full picture and being a fan of James, I believe he's capable of giving so much more. I want to see how he does on the frontline, they should give him a superhero tryout.

The action was as expected, decent enough to be entertaining but the bullet dodging makes it borderline spoof; and what's with all the grunting during the dramatic stand off scenes!? David grunts cuts to Marius grunting back, David grunts some more, Marius I think sighs and grunts at the same time, only more intense. This goes on for what feels like a good thirty seconds!

I didn't feel anything with the bad guys, in fact, I felt little for any of the characters. Marius, played by Tobias Menzies, wasn't really bad enough, don't know what to make of him. And Lara Pulver's Semira just appeared to be a cheap version of most of Eva Green's nasties.

I can't speak for the previous sequels but the first film boasted a decent soundtrack with tracks from Bowie, A Perfect Circle and Amy Lee from Evanescence, something that's the expected from this sub-genre of movies. Michael Wandmacher composes a fitting score but nothing memorable, and all sounds very much the same throughout.

It appears I don't have anything good to say about this movie, however, if I was of a younger generation of movie-goer, I might enjoy this as a brainless action fantasy flick. But I ended up laughing at a lot of it, especially the bullet dodging. It's not worthy of the big ticket price and it really doesn't urge me to watch the rest of franchise.

Running Time: 5 The Cast: 6 Performance: 6 Direction: 5 Story: 2 Script: 2 Creativity: 3 Soundtrack: 3 Job Description: 2 The Extra Bonus Points: 0

34% 3/10

Screenplay/Scriptwriter Kenneth Lonergan directs his third film about family responsibility, grief and tragedy, possibly not know for writing films like Analyse This and That and Gangs of New York. Even though he's credited as the writer as well as director, which he is, the original idea wasn't his but belongs to John Krasinski and Matt Damon.

I don't believe Krasinski is as famous over here in the U.K. than he is in his native states, but you might know him from Away We Go, last year's incredible 13 Hours or the American version of The Office, plus being the husband to one lovely Emily Blunt. He discussed the idea with Damon whilst on set with The Adjustment Bureau who then, both pitched to Lonergan to write, with Damon set to make his directorial debut and star.

Lonergan during this time was having court issues with his previous and second feature Margaret, which delayed the writing, and once he had completed the screenplay, Damon was too tied up with scheduling conflicts he dropped out of directing and starring to produce only, Krasinski himself becoming an executive producer, putting Lonergan at the helm.

Not trying to take anything away from Lonergan, it's his screenplay and more his film than anyone else, with his directing style, he gives quite a bleak, realistic impression. His camera work is brilliant using distance to create that bystander viewpoint.

I don't want to give anything away, but the subject matter is harsh and traumatic as we watch Lee Chandler (Casey Affleck) deal with his return from isolation, racked with remorse. A family tragedy results in him returning to his small-town-mentality home of Manchester By The Sea to watch over his nephew, both against his own choices but is obligated to do so.

Casey Affleck is certainly coming into his own and I don't mean to knock his past performances, not at all. His Gone Baby Gone I think was his killer role, remembering him from Ocean's 11, Good Will Hunting and last year's Finest Hour, but this is definitely his most powerful and stand out performance.

And he's not alone, Lucas Hedges who plays the nephew, Patrick is outstanding also, being his first major role to play and provides quite a bit of comedy relief. He does extremely well up against Affleck as the stubborn teenager who just wants to get on with his usual life of girls and ice hockey.

Can't say remember or even noticed Lesley Barber's score but listening to it in isolation, there's some nice pieces of music, using a minimalistic range of choral, strings and piano. What does stand out is the brilliant use of classical music in parts of the film, especially the scene with Albinoni's Adagio, one of my personal favourites.

It's quite a story, very believable, emotional and can only try to imagine parents would find this heartbreaking. It's a tough and shocking story but it doesn't appear to have a proper ending, however, I'm not sure how they could have ended it and maybe that was the best option out of many other ends. You're lead on a path wondering what the outcome will be and then it just ends with with a final conclusion but thinking about it, it was actually quite refreshing.

It's a good strong film about guilt, responsibility and forgiveness with a brilliant performance from Affleck, but the ending is weak. Certainly worth a watch just for the performance alone.

Running Time: 8 The Cast: 9 Performance: 9 Direction: 9 Story: 9 Script: 9 Creativity: 8 Soundtrack: 7 Job Description: 8 The Extra Bonus Points: 5 for Affleck's performance.

81% 8/10

There is so much to say about this movie musical, even without giving anything away. Just looking at my after notes, it's already loaded with comments and details telling me this is going to be a larger than normal post. (Possibly exceeding the IMDb word count of a thousand) let's see.

Damien Chazelle does it again, firstly where he bashed my head in with a drumstick or two with 2014's Whiplash, which was so intense, it had me sweating in the cinema. Twice. I had to watch it again the very next day and wasn't any less sweaty the second time round. An absolute masterpiece.

Chazelle again, displays his absolutely, stunning, visual brilliance whilst tilting the hat to classic cinema and musicals like Casablanca, Funny Face and The Red Balloon. Having been to L.A. countless of times, I find it to be my less favourite of the American cities I've been to, but, Chazelle manages to add a glossy, vibrant veil over the top that's inspired me with a new appreciation for the city. I still find it incredible and slightly unbelievable, but in a good way, that he's managed to take a modern, bustling and dirty city and still make it feel retro and vintage using abstract cinematography, like creating its very own time zone altogether. He even opens using the original 20th Century Fox logo and the fade out focuses make you feel like you're watching a theatre play.

There's a long list of scenes that stay with you because of this style and of course, being a musical, Chazelle honours the classic musical methods with astonishing and exuberant long takes that makes your smile stretch from seat 1 to 20. The opening scene alone is a tremendous feat with epic cinematography and beautiful imagery. I could dissect the whole movie, recounting each joyful and pleasant scene by scene, but it's truly something that has to be marvelled at by seeing and not reading.

The story is about a turbulent romance between Seb, (Ryan Gosling), a confident, proud and passionate pianist those ambitions sits with having his very own jazz club; and Mia, (Emma Stone) a struggling, aspiring actress trying to make her way in the superficial Hollywood. The cars they drive is a sweet analogy of their characters in way, Seb driving a classic '82 Buick Riviera and Mia driving a Prius. It must be familiar ground for both, playing aspiring performing artists such as they are in real life. Apparently the auditioning scenes which are torturous, were drawn from both star's actually experiences in auditioning.

The chemistry between the two is as always, perfect. This being their third outing after Gangster Squad and Stupid Crazy Love. Gosling oozes a certain coolness but with quite the finazz of confident arrogance. Whilst Stone appears vulnerable, reserved and bashful but what's simmering is an audacious, creative and inspiring woman. It's so well balanced and enriched by both, you could be forgiven for forgetting John Legend is in the movie.

Chazelle and Hurwitz love of Jazz shines through just like it did with Whiplash, now I know I keep referencing Whiplash, but please note, these are two very different films, which make this all the more impressive. It's the similarities such as the music being very much a subject matter to both films. I'm no expert but I'm a lover of Jazz too, and this soundtrack itself is utterly amazing, infectious and makes the heart glow with instantly recognisable tracks like "Someone In The Crowd", "City of Stars" and "A Lovely Night." Justin Hurwitz composes a mesmerising, enchanting musical that reminds me of sitting in Ronnie Scott's and has me weaving in and out of traffic whilst listening to the songs in the car.

Gosling and Stone perform the songs and dances excellently, displaying a gracefulness that would make any non-musical fan a lover and a dancer. The choreography is majestic throughout, especially the two scenes at Griffin Park/Observatory, the tap dancing in particular. Gosling actually learning to play the piano for his parts entirely says a lot about him as a star and as an actor, getting the emotion to come through.

The whole production is flawless and as I've said before, this zesty imagery is made up dazzling costume designs, great atmospheric sets and masterful use of lighting. The dresses Mia wears set against the plots she's on is just eye-candy and Seb's shoes! I want a pair of those shoes!

Have you ever watched a film and thought it was a personally message to you, sent from the cosmos, whether it be a dig or a reminder. The conclusion certainly hit a few chords on my heartstrings, bringing a tear to my eye, it's the perfect ending to a glorious movie. It's only shame is not having enough song and dance, but it a good thing to leave wanting more, and the film already has a runtime of 128mins.

As always, I haven't read any reviews but from what I can gather from the quotable taglines they are awarding the film with, they're absolutely right, it really is what everyone is saying. A dazzling, delightful masterpiece, that's amazingly good for the soul, heartfelt and a prefect blend of modern and vintage style. Being nominated for 14 Oscars, 11 BAFTA awards and won 7 Golden Globes should speaks volumes. I was totally swept off my feet and urge everyone to watch this film, at least twice.

Running Time: 9 The Cast: 10 Performance: 9 Direction: 10 Story: 10 Script: 10 Creativity: 10 Soundtrack: 10 Job Description: 10 The Extra Bonus Points: 10

98% 9/10

This was one of those films that sprung up out of nowhere, only seeing the trailers at the beginning of Christmas, was it a marketing ploy to get larger audiences. One fact that would certify this film as as a box office blockbuster is having Scorsese written all over it.

Based on the titular award winner novel by Shûsaku Endô published back in 1966, a work of historical fiction about two jesuit priest sent on a missionary to 1639 Japan to investigate the disappearance and assumed apostasy of their mentor.

Scorsese read the book back in '89 and It's been a project of his for over 25 years, but never getting everything together, never being entirely ready until he finished filming The Departed. Whilst it's not strictly a remake, there is another earlier film made in 1971 by Masahiro Shinoda but had an ending not of the original source, being very much to the dislike of Endô. I do wonder if Endô approves of Scorsese's adaptation.

Drawing from his own relationship with the Catholic Church growing up in New York, Scorsese gives us themes of compassion, love and faith. I have been trying to understand the motive to why Scorsese why make such a film, being quite different from the rest of his portfolio. He's a self-admitted fan of Japanese cinema, namely Mizoguchi's 1953 Ugetsu Monogatari that lead him onto others like Akira Kurosawa, and then turning into an obsession.

There is a strong taint of classic Japanese cinema here, obviously influenced by his obsession, yet Scorsese adds his flair, the close-ups, the lighting and something gruesome scenes he's so well know for doing, but I honestly don't think I would have known it was Scorsese without looking at the credits, and had I not known, I would have been totally shocked, and possibly be in more awe for the Director.

We follow Priests Fr. Rodrigues (Andrew Garfield) and Fr. Garupe (Adam Driver) to Japan, in a time she wasn't very welcoming to foreigners. It was common for visitors to be beheaded on the beach. Both on a mission to seek out their mentor Fr. Ferreira (Liam Neeson) who has supposedly denounced Christianity under the torture of the Japanese.

Both Garfield and Driver are amazing, portraying their religious dedication with defiance and the uncertainty and fear as they're both constantly tested and pressured, at first hiding from the feudal lords of the land. Liam Neeson replaced Daniel Day-Lewis which occurred because the long delay in production, and I think it's a shame. Not saying Neeson didn't deliver, he does, but I think Day-Lewis would have made an amazing Ferreira.

Are people going to like it just because it's a Scorsese movie? Shame we can't do blind tasting look we do with wine, watching it without knowing who's behind the camera, because I honestly doubt anyone could guess it is Scorsese at the helm. It's amazingly captured, perfectly woven into a delicate fashion, but into a very long and drawn out story that can be quite mind numbing for some.

Ryan, a fellow blogger shared a quote from Matt Zimmer Seitz's review on the Roger Ebert's website which captures it exactly "This is not the sort of film you "like" or "don't like." It's a film that you experience and then live with." It's certainly a film that's going to be hard to ignore. Being long-winded, and with the subject drama, it's going to be an acquired taste, but it's hard to deny it being a tremendous film, however, personally, far from being my favourite Scorsese movie.

Running Time: 5 The Cast: 8 Performance: 8 Direction: 9 Story: 9 Script: 8 Creativity: 8 Soundtrack: 7 Job Description: 6 The Extra Bonus Points: 0

68% 7/10

So the long awaited film of one of my favourite game franchises comes to life on the big screen, and fortunately with Ubisoft, one of my favourite game developers behind the scenes every step of the way. Does this mean we're going to get the film fans deserve? Or does it unfortunately fall to the curse of games being churned as a movie?

Why is it so hard to beat this curse that's plagued films like Resident Evil, Street Fighter and Need For Speed. Is it because games are an interaction, immersing you into the plot more than a film would, playing out the story, where as a film just shows you the way, telling you how it happens?

It's a hard challenge to accept for any director or studio to take and you can read more about games on the big screen in my blog here (though currently a little out of date) do they make a film purely for the fans? a film that will capture and be appreciated by non-players? Or try to achieve the balance of both? Which is what I feel they attempted to do here.

Justin Kurzel is the daring director who reunites with both Fassbender and Cotillard from his visually stunning and artful Macbeth, a style that is very prominent this film too, with heavy use of smoke and moody slow-mo which suits the presence of the Creed.

The core of the Assassin Creed story is there but the tweaks really ruin any good progression. The game's plot has a certain level of romance, an air of authenticity, it's historical nature was something the whole series really prided themselves on. This was lacking from the film, as were the locations which, in the games play an incredibly important part of both the story and gameplay. The film done away with this almost entirely.

The games were so accurate to a degree that when I visited Roma, I could actually get myself about the glorious city without a map, purely because I had spent many gaming hours running around the virtual city in Brotherhood. The first game was modelled on Jerusalem, followed by Venice and Florence in the second, my point being that these iconic landmarks played a massive integral part of the Assassin Creed stories yet the film did nothing, in fact, purposefully avoiding key cities the games had previously visited.

As with the locations, they've done away with the characters from the original plot line. Michael Fassbender plays Cal, an orphan of the Creed's bloodline but he's no Desmond Miles, not even an Ezio or Altaïr and there doesn't appear to have any scope to introduce these characters. Not that I disliked her before, but I'm becoming quite a fan of Marion Cotillard who plays the daughter of Abstergo CEO, the company bent on using their groundbreaking technology to get what they're after.

The animus itself is complete different from being a recliner, maybe to shy away from The Matrix and not just to add dramatic affect but it is a step in the wrong direction creating an unbelievability in an already super fiction world. But all this is coming from the opinion of a hardcore gamer and shouldn't taint the viewing pleasure of a non-player. My friend who's never played the games throughly enjoyed the film because he couldn't, wouldn't have, picked up on the alterations.

Something they did do right was the fighting and the parkour, dedicating ample scenes and sequences to the action style famed from the games. It's superbly captured and quite creative actually rekindling that "awesome" gaming mechanic that actually makes me want to pick up the controller and play.

Another good thing to come from this film is the score from Jed Kurzel and it had listening to it after the screening. Tracks like "Abstergo", "The Animus" and "The Regression" are all amazing and worthy of the game/film. Gladly the film lacks a soundtrack, not to ruin the ambiance of the film, but the few tracks it does play actually fits well.

It's already fast becoming the Suicide Squad of 2017, but don't get me wrong, I was disappointed with Suicide Squad as much as everyone else was, and even though my actual write-up pretty much contradicts my overall rating, it's actually far from being the worse film of the year; and Assassin's Creed is very much of the same ilk.

The film has some great elements, just like Suicide Squad, and no, I'm not comparing them, simply stating how both have been received by critics and viewers alike. There's a great score from Justin Kurzel, some amazing action sequences and plenty of nods to the game source, obviously Ubisoft very heavily invested in the film; but it just doesn't hit it's target.

It tries to be an Assassin's Creed movie, it's a not a bad attempt, and though I would be willing to see where they go with this, hoping for Brotherhood, Black Flag and Syndicate, it's unfortunately not what I would call a true Assassin's Creed film.

You can read more about Games on the Big Screen in my blog here (needs updating since last year, so forgive me)

http://bit.ly/2jcehun

Running Time: 8 The Cast: 7 Performance: 7 Direction: 7 Story: 6 Script: 6 Creativity: 8 Soundtrack: 8 Job Description: 6 The Extra Bonus Points: 0

63% 6/10

So, Netflix take on the sequel to Ang Lee's original 2000 spectacle which gladly reached a much wider, international audience for a martial art movie. It continues of the sword and fantasy during the Qing dynasty being central to Michelle Yeoh's Yu Shu Lien and this time, Donnie Yen playing the complicated romantic interest. He's not replacing Yun-Fat Chow's Li Mu Bai, of course not, but is simply another character thrown into the fray.

The actually phrase "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" was first coined by the Chinese poet, Yu Xin, and is sometimes use to refer to the real life military strategist and philosopher, Zhuge Liang or sometimes known as Kongming, the same guy who invented the fashionable lanterns that people release into the sky. Being symbolic of a true master in hiding, possibly waiting. Almost like Obi Wan Kenobi in Star Wars. But I'm not entirely sure who it's referring to in the film.

The legendary Woo Ping Yuen, director of many Kung fu classics such as The Drunken Master and fight choreographer for The Matrix returns to direct this sequel. I say return as he was, of course, the fight choreographer for Ang Lee's previous film,

The fighting is exceptionally creative, fantastic and plentiful but that shouldn't be too surprising with Woo Ping at the helm. The wire work is unfortunately too obvious, some of the fighting being comical but pays homage to the classic Kung Fu's of old and on the whole, beautifully executed and captured.

Michelle Yeoh returns and as always, does impressively well considering she is not trained in the martial arts. Hong Kong superstar Donnie Yen does what he does best and is in no means a disappointment to watch him in action playing Silent Wolf. (Makes you think of Chuck Norris yes?) But it was great to see Jason Scott Lee, though much older than Disney's Mowgli and the Bruce Lee he played in Dragon.

Shigeru Umebayashi does a grand score, respecting traditional music of the orient and creating a strong sense of mysticism and fantasy.

Something to be noted about this film is the spoken language. Being filmed in English because surprisingly, Ang Lee's film insulted much of the mandarin speaking world, convincing the studios to choose an English dialogue so not to repeat the same mistake. Only three of the four key characters in Ang Lee's film actually spoke fluent mandarin.

Whilst it's a good film, it has loss the majestic gracefulness the first film had, a certain elegance and finesse, but as a stand alone martial art picture, it's good enough and very enjoyable.

Running Time: 7 The Cast: 8 Performance: 7 Direction: 7 Story: 6 Script: 6 Creativity: 8 Soundtrack: 7 Job Description: 5 The Extra Bonus Points: 0

61% 6/10

Production and costume designer Robert Eggers directs his first feature length debut about a family settling down in New England in the 1630s who experience something of the supernatural.

Eggers previous movie roles really shines through as the whole production is on point, especially the sets and the costumes. The film is often dark, even during the daylight hours giving an enormous sense of bleakness throughout.

Ralph Ineson leads his devout Christian family with his wife and five children, who struggle to keep the farmstead going and there's possibly something working against them other than the elements.

Anya Taylor-Joy plays the eldest of the children and is usually shackled with the responsibility of tending to her younger siblings while father and boy go off to hunt. But they soon fall prey to the Witch who lives in the nearby woods, but not how you might expect.

Ineson is amazing and truly deserves much larger roles than the ones he's played previously. Taylor-Joy already appears to getting noticed as quite the star with Morgan and soon to be released Split. But the whole cast here perform amazingly well, and the script is quite astonishing with impressive diction.

Mark Korven does quite the eerie score which probably makes up for a lot of the atmosphere, it resonates right through you immersing the viewer deeper in the film and I strongly suggest not listening to it in isolation alone.

Unfortunately with all these key elements, the story, the script, the haunting score and the production as a whole, it's not at all scary and is more of a drama than horror. It certainly has that feel of the classic horrors like the original Wicker Man, but it just didn't get to me like it maybe should have.

Having said that, this film is definitely split into two camps. While some, like myself didn't get the full affect, others would find this frightful; even Stephen King, the master of horror himself has stated the film to be terrifying, so don't take my word for it not being scary. It's superbly executed, well performed and brilliantly written, but it's a personal shame I didn't take to it.

Running Time: 7 The Cast: 8 Performance: 9 Direction: 8 Story: 8 Script: 9 Creativity: 8 Soundtrack: 8 Job Description: 1 The Extra Bonus Points: 0

66% 7/10

Steven Gomez, a visual effects specialist, directs his first feature length debut. Set in the not- too-far future where cybernetics and robotics are on the verge of being the core part of the military. Ring any bells?

I'm assuming Gomez has been strongly influenced by eighties sci-fi classics like Aliens, Predator and The Terminator, this pretty much being an origin story for Skynet. But this isn't a bad thing, it's actually quite nice treading on familiar ground here.

A tight elite military squad is sent off for training and testing to a remote island facility which appears to be overrun by an evolved artificial intelligence known as S.A.R. (Study. Analyze. Reprogram.) A robot clearly doing what it's programmed for.

Capt. Bukes (Thure Lindhardt) heads up the team in Michael Biehn fashion with a few likable and distinctive characters among the unit. All them chaperoning Mills, (Vanessa Kirby) a more human than android with cybernetic enhancements to investigate the anomaly.

It obvious that the team are picked off strategically and in quite the gruesome, desensitised method as S.A.R. learns more about the team. Mills posing as possibly a threat or weakness to either side, her character being quite the source for paranoia adding to the thrilling element of the story, making it not totally predictable.

Other teams players are quite well developed like David Ajala's Drifter and Mike Noble's Goodwin, but I found Bentley Kalu's character of sniper Robinson my most favourable, those cybernetic enhancement enables him to shoot around corners and from behind cover using his rifle's scope.

The actually design of the robots is brilliant. Swinging more to sinister aura of Saturn 3's Hector than of The Terminator. The drones are a little less imaginative but the key robots achieve the frightful presence with its focusing, blue neon lenses and their sharp unhesitant components.

The sound effects are good too, the humming and whirling of motors turning, symbolising the robots thinking. Stephen Hilton's score sounds like a Harry Gregson-Williams remixed version of Brad Fiedel's Terminator theme but suits the film perfectly.

This is a good example of how a good film can come from a low budget. Yes, it's not blockbuster high-end and yes, it feels like a copy or better, an amalgamation of classic eighties sci-fis some of us grew up on. But that's just it, it's good, easy watching entertainment I can see a lot of hardcore Sci-fi action fans will enjoy.

Running Time: 6 The Cast: 6 Performance: 7 Direction: 6 Story: 7 Script: 6 Creativity: 8 Soundtrack: 7 Job Description: 8 The Extra Bonus Points: 0

61% 6/10

I have to say, I was shocked to see Renny Harlin's name pop up in the credits, who's best film was, in my opinion, Cliffhanger but is also know for Die Hard 2, Long Kiss Goodnight and Deep Blue Sea. He didn't quit after those, but slowly slipped off the big name notice board in recent years, hence my shock seeing him directing Chan the Man.

I can't help but think Harlin received a lot of creative input from Chan and co, having a strong, distinct Hong Kong cinema feel. However the opening credits is something Guy Ritchie would do, thinking it's more of a show-off instead of suiting the film. I found that a lot with Harlin's films.

I grew up watching Jackie Chan films and I absolutely idolise the man, but, I hate to say it, Jackie appears to lose some of his magic in Rush Hour 3 back in 2007, though Forbidden Kingdom and the rebooted Karate Kid restored my faith, and I have yet to see Police Story 2013. He's not as fast as he once was, he's 62 now, but even though a lot of the action sequences here are copies from a lot of his previous movies, he's still Jackie Chan and delivers the goods.

It's a clichéd storyline of struck-off cop Chan hooking up with gambler low-life, Knoxville in order to catch the bad guy. Johnny Knoxville another man who's not afraid to perform his own stunts. He's come a long way since performing daring pranks in Jackass to now sharing the screen with greats like Dwayne Johnson, Schwarzenegger and now Jackie. I wonder if he looks back thinking "wow" there I was drinking Preston's sweat and boom!

The action isn't always consistent going from being quite impressive to being mediocre and poor, again, a trait I associate with Harlin. The fight sequences mimic a lot of Jackie's slapstick fighting style. But the acting overall is quite terrible, Knoxville being the only believable character here. His wit is actually quite funny and refreshing.

There's some nice touches and funny scenes like the bowling alley and Jackie singing Adele! But a lot of it is silly and totally out of sync, rushing around faster than Jackie's stunt team. however looked like a lot of fun. It even includes Jackie's trademark outtakes at the end credits.

Unfortunately, Harlin doesn't let me down and does what is expected, a film with some great ideas and potential that fails to impress. Not even Jackie Chan's masterful Kung Fu and Knoxville's quick-fire sarcasm can save this film. Still, it's entertaining, brainless fun but certainly not one of Jackie's best, ever.

Running Time: 6 The Cast: 6 Performance: 4 Direction: 5 Story: 5 Script: 5 Creativity: 6 Soundtrack: 5 Job Description: 4 The Extra Bonus Points: 0

46% 5/10

Christian Ditter, director of Love, Rosie, which, I have to add, I thoroughly enjoyed, gives us a not so romantic or comic film on How To Be Single, tackling how messy adulthood and relationships can be. (And what is it with rooftops Ditter?)

Having quite a strong cast of characters it's central to Alice, having come away from a serious relationship to spread her wings in the Big Apple. It seems she's not sure what she actually wants and goes to and fro between wanted to be free and single to being lonely and needing that self gratification of being loved and wanted.

The other characters such as her brooding sister nurse and her outrageous and liberating colleague and friend offer opposing ends of a spectrum, this coupled with some other characters that flit in and out of the story lines, such as Alison Brie's desperate yet conscientious Lucy.

Relating to my own singledom, it's actually very one sided and seems little is drawn from single people's experiences and more so of people struggling with a life of solitude. It comes quite close to missing the point entirely, only to be given some deep and meaningful revelation at the conclusion.

There's some hilarious moments, like the sauna scene but then other parts seem to just attempt to be funny, though well scripted and actually very well shot, it's unfortunately predictable and feels like it's on constant fast forward.

Dakota Johnson took the lead as Alice, after Lily Collins dropped out and does a fine job portraying the beautiful yet bashful noob to being free and available. Leslie Mann plays her sister, but is pretty much the same character she has always played.

Though very much from the female perspective, the two key male characters are actually highly entertaining, and again offer extreme stereotypes of either end of a spectrum. Anders Holm's brutally honest barman/player extraordinaire and Jake Lacy's down to earth and highly likable receptionist.

The star is definitely Rebel Wilson. She gets the best lines, and this is so her. She's like the devil incarnate and is the true highlight of the movie. Fil Eisler deserves a mention too, his score is suits the film and sets the mood perfectly.

It's a coming of age drama with moments of sweetness among moments of trashiness. It can, shamefully, be a good reflection of modern era romances, however, not much about being single but more of exploring and taking advantages of your freedom.

Running Time: 7 The Cast: 7 Performance: 7 Direction: 7 Story: 6 Script: 6 Creativity: 6 Soundtrack: 7 Job Description: 6 The Extra Bonus Points: 5 just for Rebel Wilson. Blu-ray: Hmm, maybe if on special.

64% 6/10

Big Network TV producer Rob Burnett directs his first feature length film since 2007's comedy, We Made This Movie. The bulk of his entertainment career has been as executive producer behind The Late Show with David Letterman and CEO of network televisions programs such as Everyone Loves Raymond and The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn.

Based on Jonathan Evison's book, The Revised Fundamentals of care giving. Burnett Netflix original about a Teenager boy, Trevor, who suffers from Duchenne Muscle Dystrophy embarks on a road trip of discovery with his new, inexperienced carer Ben Benjamin who appears to have his own underlying, personal issues himself.

Trevor is played by Craig Roberts and I'm finding it hard to judge his acting, because I have little experience of knowing people who suffer with that disease and I don't want to offend anyone by saying it he was amazing. I can, however, comment on his character, who is sarcastic to the highest degree, pessimistic yet humorous will it and quite the challenging person to care for.

Paul Rudd is an absolute treat to watch as the struggling carer Ben Benjamin who's lack of experience doesn't match his perseverance of getting the job done. The chemistry between the two is touching and balanced, especially when Benjamin manages to convince Trevor's overprotective mother to allow them to take a road trip and strike off a lot of places off of Trevor's bucket list leading onto quite the adventure.

It's a joy to watch their relationship grow and having a few other characters jumping on the band wagon along the way, such as Selena Gomez who plays a rather foul-mouthed free spirit young lady who's not afraid to voice her opinions. It's brutally honest which is refreshing and highly entertaining as egos and morals clash in the van.

Impressively shot in only 26 days, it actually feels a lot longer than the 97minute running which is actually a good thing. It's doesn't drag at all as there's plenty going on. It's an often humorous, yet touching and thought-provoking story where all the characters get an education in life, changing their perspectives.

It's a heartwarming, joyful journey with it's expected bumps along the way but coming to a lovely conclusion, certainly one of Netflix's must sees.

Running Time: 9 The Cast: 8 Performance: 9 Direction: 8 Story: 9 Script: 9 Creativity: 8 Soundtrack: 7 Job Description: 8 The Extra Bonus Points: 10 for such a refreshing and slightly awkward road trip Blu-ray: Yes, would go next to films like 50/50 and Edge of Seventeen.

85% 9/10

Since my teens I have always been intrigued and curious about the real characters of the criminal underworld. Never delving too deep myself I have had the pleasure (and some not so nice) of shaking hands with some notorious faces. I would need the books about British gangland detailing, quite boldly the tales of drama that happened on the streets of London, and underneath them.

One of my favourite people was Lenny McLean, known by many as The Guv'nor. Out of the all the east end gangster books I had read, his story was my favourite, as I admired his moral code especially how one frightening part which could have been a robbery, but he only took what was owned. It's a book I would strongly urge everyone to read, in fact, this film has rekindled my admiration and will pick up the pages again.

His son Jamie takes us down memory lane and who else better to do so, but, isn't there a danger of him being slightly biased? Yes, but only ever so slightly and he does incredibly well to tell his Dad's story without judgement, or favour, just telling it how it is. Writer/Producer Paul Van Carter, highly credited for the Gascoigne documentary, makes this his impressive directorial debut and they do so well, being a challenge to squeeze such a legendary man into a feature length documentary.

Filmed in London, right at the roots of the story, we're given a guided tour of the home Lenny and family grew up in and lived in. Some iconic places with some now swept away by time and redevelopment, it's a nostalgic journey. Seeing the original promotion posters for the fights and the collection of home video and interview snippets really adds the impact of his legend.

It's interesting to hear the stories from people close to him and from people who knew of him and his reputation. His friends, family and even Lock, Stock heads, Guy Ritchie, Jason Flemyng and Vas Blackwood. It's refreshing to hear comical and nice stories behind the toughest man in Britain instead of the violent and sometimes nasty tales.

It also reminds us, or tells us of an era where London streets was very much a warrior's world. Being a man took courage and true strength to defend yourselves, your friends and family, and your word. Sh*t got real in those days, and while there is always people about on the streets looking to take liberties, today lacks the street justice that actually protected those not wanting to get involved.

It doesn't glamorise the underworld, the East End or the violence, instead it reminds us all that even though someone might have an immense and dangerous reputation, they're people as well, telling a story not just of the king of doormen, the champion bare knuckle fist fighter, or even the celebrity gangster some might perceive him as, but as a loving father, a gentleman and a family man who was thrown into a world of violence not by choice. His word being stronger than himself, declaring with such conviction it knocks out any doubt, being very much a man of "I do what I say, and say what I do."

It's a surprisingly touching and emotional tribute to an incredibly infamous man, and it shines a light on the history behind the legend, his own pains and abuse, his love for his family and his lost battles. Rest in Peace Lenny McLean, The only real Guv'nor to me.

Running Time: 9 The Cast: 8 Performance: 9 Direction: 8 Story: 9 Script: 9 Creativity: 8 Soundtrack: 7 Job Description: 10 The Extra Bonus Points: 10 for a brilliant and touching documentary of one of London's most respected warriors.

87% 9/10

Ben Stiller returns 15 years on to play the outrageously stupid yet beautiful Derek Zoolander. A lot can happen in 15 years and it certainly has in the fashion world, with an introduction that skims what's gone since saving the Malaysian Prime Minister. Marriage, child, destruction, death, there's so much, it lays a weak foundation for the plot.

But seriously, what do we expected? It's stiller doing his comical, borderline spoof style that seems like it's written by Austin Powers himself. Zoolander is roped into yet another sinister ploy to discover who the "chosen one" is and to why celebrities across the world and being killed off.

Zoolander is reunited with Hansel, Owen Wilson who just plays the same damn character he does in literally ever movie. I don't dislike him, but it's nothing different from the norm. Ferrell returns also, just more intense and angry than before, but he literally saves the film, but not alone.

Cyrus Arnold plays Derek Jr. Zoolander's estranged son who was taken into care when he was a baby. He appears to be the best actor out of the lot, which is impressive, especially knowing that Stiller can actually act.

And what is it with Penélope Cuz's agent or decision to star in such films recently, first Grimsby and now this. Personally, she doesn't woo me over like she does with other viewers and I don't actually rate her performances either, she actually becomes an immediate turn-off for a film, especially since Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.

Like the first, there's a long line of A-lister cameos throughout the film from the movie, music and fashion industry that'll make you go "no way" and mostly ask why and how!? It's nonstop, almost making the film feel just like a string of cameo bits put together. It just gets annoying really fast and it almost hurt when I saw people I actually admire.

The first was just stupid, this one, or two, is just even stupider.It's offensive without being funny, which makes it bad comedy. But I can see some people finding it funny, maybe even hilarious but that's obviously a difference of having a sense of humour and having a good sense of humour, no offence to Zoolander fans (Only joking! Maybe, but if you can't see the funny side of this, then I prove my mocking point!)

#pants and not even #sexypants.

Running Time: 4 The Cast: 4 Performance: 3 Direction: 3 Story: 1 Script: 1 Creativity: 3 Soundtrack: 4 Job Description: 1 The Extra Bonus Points: 0

24% 2/10

Now, there has been many a time friends and myself have ridiculed certain films envisioning a comical or spoof version, even films we adore. Sacha Baron Cohen writes a story that's precisely that. What if James Bond had that annoying, beyond stupid brother that just ruins every moment they share.

Action director Louis Leterrier who's best work would be Statham vehicle, The Transporter, MCU's Incredible Hulk and the first Now You See Me, actually puts his skill into play here creating some clever action sequences. In particular, Mark Strong's character introduction which even though feels like a cheap copy of Hardcore Henry's POV style, it's actually very well done and entertaining, but then it should be no surprised that Hardcore Henry's creator and director Ilya Naishuller served as a consultant for that very sequence.

Mark Strong plays the super spy, special agent Sebastian Graves, oozing finesse, control and confidence where he's reunited with his lost lost older brother Grimsby's very own Nobby, played by Cohen. I would like to say he's the village idiot but it seems the town's complete population is of the same caliber.

The plot makes good for stupid antics however, most are not that funny and are probably for an acquired taste of comedy. Cohen's makes good use of each comical opportunity, imagining what would an idiot do if they suddenly became a secret agent.

I have no idea why Penélope Cruz would take such a part but she's does a terrible job. Isla Fisher is understandable, being Cohen's wife and Rebel Wilson is exactly who you expect.

Films seem to allowing a lot of unnecessary genitalia scenes, but it's just uncouth but I suppose it has the desired affect. (Edit: Not the most uncouth filthy film of 2016, nothing's gonna quite top Sausage Party)

Unfortunately, as much as Cohen is talented and funny, often pushing the comic boundaries far and beyond inappropriate, it's fairly awful and not one of his best. Strong is actually really good and can't imagine how hard it must have been starring opposite Cohen.

Some people should find this film hilarious, but it did nothing for me apart from make me cringe and be semi-impressed with Graves' introduction.

Running Time: 4 The Cast: 6 Performance: 5 Direction: 5 Story: 5 Script: 3 Creativity: 5 Soundtrack: 3 Job Description: 1 The Extra Bonus Points: 0

37% 4/10

I actually got to see this at a Screen Unseen last month but had put off writing the review until the right time of year, or should I say, the right year. And wow what a year of movies 2016 glad us. So this is going to be the first official review of 2017, ahead of Assassin's Creed and Silence.

Director of The Impossible, J.A. Bayona, gives us a fantastical fairytale of boy meets monster, where imaginations run wild with the boy tries to cope with tragic realities.

Conor, played superbly well by Lewis MacDougall, fitting the awkward, introverted schoolboy, is troubled, from a broken family, he lives with his dying mother, played by Felicity Jones and whilst what faces him is inevitable, he decides to battle against it, even against himself in a way.

His imagination and distress appears to summon a mythical monster that resides upon the hill, in the graveyard outside his home. Essentially he's an Ent, or more like a Groot with a vocabulary, with the wondrous voice of Liam Neeson who would make an excellent voice for a Decepticon Transformer.

The imagery is amazing and the animated parts very enticing, reminding me very much of Harry Potter: The Deathly Hallows. But, it feels like it's cut short, skipping a pivotal part, rushed over, almost feeling cheated, I wanted and expected to see more, even though it does seem long for 108min running time.

There was a moment where this film reminded me a lot of The NeverEnding Story, thinking it was going to head that way but no, it's a different film entirely and it's only Conor's escapism that bares resemblance to the classic '84 film.

It's undeniably beautiful and has such a touching story, but there's a chance younger viewers might not understand, however, it's not strictly a children's film with a 12A rating.

There's a good score from Fernando Velázquez but nothing totally rememberable. The performances are strong, Sigourney Weaver is great as the opposing grandmother, but I don't think Toby Kebbell's father role was explored enough and there's a couple of weak spots that might disappoint.

Overall it's a charming and yet rather dark fantasy that tells a story of a boy struggling with life whose imagination comes frees him from those shackles of guilt and fear.

Running Time: 6 The Cast: 9 Performance: 9 Direction: 7 Story: 7 Script: 6 Creativity: 8 Soundtrack: 7 Job Description: 6 The Extra Bonus Points: only a 5 for the enchanting animation bits, would have been a 10 but I wanted more of it.

70% 7/10

Well I'll be double dog damned

Is it really the eighth film from Quentin Tarantino? I'm pretty sure he's done more than that or is saying the eighth film he's written and directed? Anyhow, I ain't gonna argue with the legendary QT.

What I love so much about Tarantino's films is his style, his respect to the cinema a lot of us grew up with. I can imagine, quite like myself, Tarantino watching movies as a child, lost in wonderment with aspirations of making these very same films, but not to do them better, he loves these classic, iconic films that lay foundation of his inspiration. No, he's just a guy that loves the movies and set out to make good films just like them.

So, his eighth film is the aptly named The Hateful Eight which is an amazing, encapsulating murder mystery reminding me very much of films like Clue and especially The Last Supper where the story's characters ultimately have a battle of wits until the bloody end.

Set a few years after the American civil war, an unforgiving blizzard forces the assembly of eight drifters each with their own agenda and notorious history. The halfway shack that shelters them isn't big enough for their egos and their suspicions just squeezing in deceptions until the eventual burst.

The cast is of the usual Tarantino family with a few new, but recognisable faces. Kurt Russell plays a bounty hunter known for keeping his bounties alive long enough to see them hang. He's hellbent on getting most-wanted but not so known outlaw, Daisy Domergue (Jennifer Jason Leigh) to the gallows in Red Rock, Wyoming.

Samuel L. Jackson plays an ex-union Major-turned-bounty-hunter, Tim Roth a polite British hangman, Michael Madsen a quiet yet looming cowboy and Walton Goggins, who steals the show entirely, plays the unsuitable, supposedly newly elected sheriff of Red Rock. Goggins is the modern day Bill Paxton to me, never really get the lead roles but does an amazing job, this being his moment in my opinion.

Bruce Dern returns plays a confederate General who strikes up an instant rapport with Jackson's Warren. A couple of newbies to Tarantino's world, Demián Bichir as the Mexican and Jennifer Jason Leigh who fits perfectly among the rest of the rabble.

It's interesting and almost comical how everyone has mostly heard of one another, making the Wild West feel like an expansive small town with larger than character reputations. It's something Tarantino does so brilliantly, creating distinctive characters.

As expected, the script is sharpshootingly good, full of insulting, derogatory slurs and loaded with expletives. There's more showdowns of tongues than shootouts, but what comes should surely quench anyone's blood thirst.

I can't imagine how excited Tarantino must have been to have the maestro Ennio Morricone actually compose the score to this film as oppose to having his famous tracks used in many of Tarantino's precious films. He first western in 40yrs, It one-ups The Revenant in this respect though not taking anything away from Alvo Noto and the also legendary Ryuichi Sakamoto.

The bloody special effects are gruesome with thanks to Greg Nicotero of The Walking Dead. The set location and especially the costumes are flamboyant yet suitable for the film. To be dressed as a Tarantino character must be both fun and amazing.

Tarantino's style is glorious as always, gladly still shooting with the ultra Panavision, anamorphic 70mm film which still, in my opinion, so stunning compared to digital. But the lighting, the close-ups and the entirely film is perfectly shot and seamlessly put together.

I can see this very much as a play on Broadway or at the West End. It's theatrical brilliance. But, is it Tarantino's best work? Still not as good as Pulp Fiction, but it doesn't try to be.

Running Time: 8 The Cast: 9 Performance: 9 Direction: 9 Story: 9 Script: 9 Creativity: 9 Soundtrack: 9 Job Description: 10 The Extra Bonus Points: 0

81% 8/10

An impressive directorial debut from writer S. Craig Zahler, who also wrote this gruesome, filthy western of how wild the west can really get. More so impressive that the whole film was shot in just 21 days.

An outlaw drifter wanders into the town of Bright Hope unknowingly leading a tribe of savage, inbred, natives better known as Troglodytes which translates as Cave-dweller." During the night, these horrific abominations murder and kidnap some of the town folk, one being the wife of a crippled rancher, who then embarks on a rescue mission with the town sheriff, his old and incapable deputy and an over confident gunslinger.

Kurt Russell heads up the rescue posse as Sheriff Hunt, slipping comfortably into his western boots. Richard Jenkins plays his ageing deputy, Patrick Wilson the limping, desperate rancher and an impressive Matthew Fox who stole the screen, as the charismatic, narcissistic know-it- all who both annoying yet strangely likable, reminding me a little of Val Kilmer's Doc Holliday in Tombstone.

There's an air of mystery for the majority of the film, keeping the audience on tender hooks waiting to see what's in store for the rescue party. Are the kidnapped still alive? Dead? Or worse? While some elements are left to your imagination, you can only think of the worse, but what isn't, is nothing short of disturbing.

The gory violence is shocking to watch, even just hearing the graphic noises is enough. The sound is gruesome, bloody and unsettling. The climatic end was actually painful to watch, scarring the memory making me shudder just at the thought of it. The lack of a score only intensifies the haunting atmosphere.

Something has to be said for the special effects, make-up and the sound engineering that were all completely on point. I've never seen a more gory western, even more so than The Hateful Eight. The makeup and effects throughout are amazing but they really go beyond during the epic climax.

There's been a few disturbing films this year, visually, Neon Demon and imagination wise, Nocturnal Animals springing to mind but this one really made me wrench covering my mouth with both hands. It's like those good horrors you're too scared to watch but find yourself mesmerised to the screen regardless. This is certainly not one for the weak stomached. Kudos to director Zahler for created a stunning western with a difference, becoming borderline horror.

Running Time: 7 The Cast: 9 Performance: 8 Direction: 8 Story: 9 Script: 7 Creativity: 9 Soundtrack: 9 Job Description: 10 The Extra Bonus Points: 10 for the sound and graphic quality.

86% 9/10

Hands up if you're a Michael Bay hater? Yes, he ruin Transformers for a lot of people and has a tendency to add unnecessary, stereotypical elements like objectifying women. But, none of you can say he hasn't brought sometime to the realm of Cinema, that high gloss colour that seems to be filmed through an Instagram filter and his trademark 360 degree rotation levitation shot. I love those shots. Who didn't like Armageddon? Even for its flaws, it's still a strong guilty pleasure. Bad Boys? Pain and Gain? And now 13 Hours.

Bay does a damn good dramatisation of Mitchell Zuckoff's (really?) titular book, a true story about a highly trained private security team, code-named the Global Response Staff, or the G.R.S. a fancy title for mercenary contractors, who are protecting the last CIA outpost in Benghazi, Libya during the civil war after the deposition and execution of Gaddafi.

Tensions constantly run high with everyone in town being a potential threat and situations go from bad to war zone crazy when members of the Ansar al-Sharia militant group attacks the U.S. safe house acting as home to Ambassador J. Christoper Stevens, killing him and operative Sean Smith. A part of the team disobeys authority and attempts to rescue the U.S. civilians while the others initiate lockdown protocols building defences and preparing for the bloody carnage coming their way, but there's internal conflict from CIA chief adding to the suspense. Do they stay or evacuate, do they live or die.

I still cant believe it's John Krasinski, Jim from the American Office and star of Away We Go. An entirely different role, I'm not sure what I would have thought knowing it was him before watching. In fact, the film doesn't have any A-listing stars which I found refreshing and all the cast gave absolutely strong, convincing and often gut-wrenching performances. There's good character development with a lot of screen time with family calls and fun camaraderie between the tightly trained team.

After much debate with Director of photography, Oscar winning cinematographer, Dion Beebe, Bay decided to shoot entirely in digital for the first time due to the night scenes and scheduling rulings. I'm not a fan of digital, possibly for the same reasons as most directors, Bay included; digital still can't capture fast action turning them into a blur and ironically, dark scenes appear blotchy. Though, it doesn't ruin the film, and some of the action is incredible, being so real, it adds to the great scene of danger.

Bay always enlists ex-military as technical advisors on his films and it's evident that it pays off receiving high praise from military personnel, but it surprisingly bombed at the box office resulting in being Bay's lowest grossing film of all time but could that be because of the lack of big names attached to the cast?

The concluding fighting lasts around 90 minutes which is only a snippet of the thirteen hours the team had to survive whilst protecting the civilians. The original cut was actually 4 hours long and you can understand why, but gladly it is cut shorter, not that it drags, but it's already long with a running time of 144mins.

The firefights are intense, loud and totally destructive, the sound of gun and mortar fire is deafeningly good. The stunt-work and pyrotechnics are insanely precise, Bay lighting the scenes up with explosions after firebombs and non-stop machine gun fire.

Lorna Balfe does an superb score, mostly sombre with some heavy hitting tracks, the soundtrack tells the story perfectly. I have listened to the track "Forgotten" over and over when I first watched this and the rest of the score is just as good.

This is a story about heroics, where people not actually bound by duty but by what is the right, those who act in times of crisis regardless of self, risk and money, a definition of honour and the courageous men who lost their lives that day. It's emotional, powerful and engaging amidst total carnage. It raises a lot of questions, politically, with plenty of red tape endangering peoples lives.

This film would sit comfortably next to Black Hawk Down and Lone Survivor; and fans of both should enjoy this modern warfare film, but it doesn't glorify war, only the soldiers that bravery protected the compound for a gruesome 13 hours against all odds. It's a big spotlight on the casualties, fatalities and the harsh realities of war.

Whether you're a Bay fan or not, this is certainly one of the best war films of 2016 if not of the decade and has been overlooked.

Running Time: 8 The Cast: 9 Performance: 10 Direction: 10 Story: 9 Script: 8 Creativity: 8 Soundtrack: 9 Job Description: 10 The Extra Bonus Points: 10 for excellent performances, a harrowing depiction of an unknown war story.

91% 9/10