Film review from thatfilmbloguk

[thatfilmbloguk]

Hi guys! :) i'm an aspiring journalist with a love for films, and I'm wondering if you could take a look at a small blog I write. I normally post reviews and news, all regarding film, and quite recently, I posted a Guardians of the Galaxy review, which I'll insert below. It would be great if you checked it out, and I'll link my blog afterwards if you want more!

Many thanks,

thatfilmbloguk

As you may expect, this review will be full of juicy spoilers and plot points, so read with discretion!

In my opinion, there is no other film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe quite like Guardians of the Galaxy. It mixes the humour of the Iron Man films with the serious, Nolan-esque tone of Captain America: The Winter Soldier perfectly, but it doesn’t get lost in the comparisons, and manages to be one of the most unique and refreshing superhero films in recent memory.

As I’m sure you know, Guardians of the Galaxy follows the story of Peter Jason Quill, a.k.a. Starlord, in his transformation from a cocky cave-hunter to a, well, Guardian of the Galaxy. Not to give too much away, the film begins on 1980s Earth, with a young Peter being kidnapped by then-unknown alien beings. Fast-forward to the present, and our 30-ish Quill, played exquisitely by Chris Pratt, finds himself in a spot of bother after stealing an orb that may or may not be the most powerful item ever to exist. After some of Pratt’s trademark wit, he soon meets up with the rest of the Guardians, Zoe Saldana’s Gamora, Bradley Cooper’s Rocket Raccoon, Vin Diesel’s Groot and Dave Bautista’s Drax the Destroyer. The first scene in which these characters (bar Drax, who appears a bit later) appear together is the hilarious scene on Xandar, where they are all fighting to get the orb from one another. This is unfortunately where I encountered my first issue with this film. Although it may be just a tad nit-picky, it’s still quite important. Literally minutes prior, Starlord was begging a broker to take the orb off him, but soon after he is willing to kill just to make sure he keeps his hands on it. I know that he now knows that Ronan wants the orb, but if he’s such a “rogue”, surely he wouldn’t care what would happen? Although very minor, this does add a layer of confusion to this already packed scene, but at the end of the day it doesn’t have much of an effect on the logistics of the story. Anyway, the Guardians, or as they are called “a-holes” (one of the best lines in the film), find themselves locked up in a space prison called ‘the Kiln’, or as I’d prefer to call it, ‘the most convenient prison in the history of the MCU’. Why, exactly, was there a gravitational field in a prison literally millions of miles away from Earth? Regardless, some of the film’s most ambitious set pieces take place here, and the characters really begin to develop at this point. We are also introduced to Dave Bautista’s Drax the Destroyer, a wrestler, I mean, space thug, who desperately wants revenge on Ronan the Accuser, who quite conveniently *internet sarcasm* is the father of Gamora. I was not expecting such a decent performance from Bautista, and I liked the way he displayed his anguish after being absolutely demolished by Ronan on multiple occasions. The film really picks up the pace after this, so I’m not going to go into any more detail regarding the plot, since I think Guardians of the Galaxy is best experienced when going in either completely blind, knowing nothing about the plot, or after seeing it before where you know what to expect, and can therefore pick up on the more quirky features left in by the excellent James Gunn.

One of my highlights in the film was obviously Chris Pratt’s excellent performance as Peter Quill/Starlord. Having seen him in nothing prior to this, I was stunned by just how funny he was in some scenes, but also how poignant he can make his performances when it is needed of him. His spectacular effort was definitely what brought the film some of his best moments, and I can’t think of another actor who could pull Starlord off; he was practically born to be Peter Quill. Another brilliant performance was Bradley Cooper as Rocket Raccoon. Someone unfamiliar with Marvel may not have known that there was an ensemble group made partly of a tree and a raccoon, but from Cooper’s performance, and Gunn’s writing helped to make this character’s origin rather plausible. The scene in which Rocket slightly loses it, saying “there ain’t nobody else like me, except me!” really emphasised how isolated Rocket feels, but his convincing outer shell of being tough as bones added to the inner turmoil he faces. A highlight of this was definitely when we see Rocket’s mangled back, full of wires and metal, which hints at a very sinister origin to such an amusing character. Unfortunately, I wasn’t a huge fan of Zoe Saldana in this film, and I feel like this is partly down to a lack of material for her. In a cast of goofball characters, the group needed grounding, but it’s a shame that this came at the expense of a standout performance from an actress who has proven time and time again that she is capable of amazing things. Vin Diesel’s Groot and Dave Bautista’s Drax weren’t anything special performance-wise, but I think Groot’s sacrifice at the end was one of the most touching scenes in the film, and it was complemented excellently by the quite frankly incredible end scene. Baby Groot is arguably the greatest thing in the history of mankind.

Another stroke of genius was the soundtrack. If it wasn’t for the excellent use of classic 70s and 80s songs, this film may well have fallen into the category of ‘generic sci-fi films’ alongside ‘classics’ such as Alien: Resurrection. However, we needn’t worry about that, because some of the most iconic songs of the previous generation featured in this film at some point. Unfortunately, I was not alive to experience classics such as ‘Hooked on a Feeling’ and ‘I’m Not in Love’, but thanks to Guardians of the Galaxy’, I have been engrossed in all the greats. The use of 10CC’s ‘I’m Not in Love’ in the opening scene was brilliant, especially when considering the lyrics in the song ‘big boys don’t cry’ and their relation to the film. I love the way Blue Swede was played over the brutal fighting scenes, and some of Starlord’s best moments come as a result of this: ‘Blue Swede, Hooked on a Feeling, 1972. I own that song,’ was a particular favourite. Finally, the use of ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’ over the film’s final scene and climax emphasised the joy I felt at the end of the film, and the expert way in which most of the threads were tied up. I say ‘most’, because obviously it’s a Marvel film, so something has to be left for the sequel.

Even though there were so many excellent features, I did find a few flaws. The pacing was a tad off, especially at the start, and it does feel overwhelming at times, especially when we are being bombarded with planet names in the first act, and at points it is very hard to follow. There are also a few moments where I felt some characters did something that they would never do, particularly Yondu upon realising Peter has double-crossed him. As you can tell, these issues are of course incredibly minor and barely affect the film, but it would be nice if they’d have stuck to the continuity, even if it changed the tone of a few scenes.

In my opinion, Guardians of the Galaxy is one of the greatest films of 2014, and quite possibly the best entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It brings a varied group of characters, some absolutely stellar performances, a wonderful soundtrack, and some incredible action, something rare from a genre which in recent years has been saturated with mediocre cash-grabs such as The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and The Wolverine. Although not perfect, it is damn near close, and all it shows is that audiences are ready for a new breed of superhero film, not just your typical revenge plot as seen in too many of the modern DC and Marvel films. Marvel took a huge risk in producing a film that was either going to set the box office alight or completely bomb, and I think we all know which one it turned out to be. Having made over $700,000 worldwide, it is clear that viewers were ready for something new, and luckily, it looks like more quirky ensemble films will be coming our way soon.

Guardians of the Galaxy is absolutely superb, an astounding film in almost ever way, and one of the most immersive and entertaining experiences of 2014. I will watch Guardians of the Galaxy as much as possible, because you can tell how much hard work went in to producing it, and let me tell you, it was not in vein.

I give Guardians of the Galaxy 9/10.

My blog's URL is thatfilmbloguk.wordpress.com Thank you very much!

[Mr. Feeny]

Very well written review, I can see why you're an aspiring journalist.

With that said, I disagree with almost everything you wrote and find Guardians of the Galaxy a pretty generic superhero film: enjoyable and nice to look at, but ultimately without much depth.

[thatfilmbloguk]

Thanks for your feedback, it really helps me out. I appreciate that you may have disliked Guardians, but i thought it was quite a refreshing superhero film compared to the likes of TASM2 and Man of Steel. I think its style and tone was unkike anything previously seen in the MCU.

[thatfilmbloguk]

Hi guys, I've decided to post another review that I've taken from my blog. It's on a relatively small British comedy film that I'm not sure is around in many foreign countries, but I'd be really grateful if you guys read it and let me know what you think.

As suggested by the title, there will be no holds barred regarding spoilers in this review, so beware!

To me, there’s nothing that can cheer me up like an episode or two of The Inbetweeners. Every character – superbly written by Damon Beesly and Iain Morris – knows their niche, knows the ins and outs of their character’s psyche , their thoughts, reactions and emotions, and I think that was best portrayed in The Inbetweeners 2 than in the 3-season TV show, or the first feature film that came out in 2011.

Before we get into the meat of the review, I think it would be a good idea to summarise the series so far. The Inbetweeners began as a small E4 TV show in the UK, spanning 3 series of 6 episodes in each. The show followed main character and narrator Will McKenzie, played by Simon Bird, as he took the leap from a top private school to a local comprehensive. Here, he meets Simon Cooper, played by Joe Thomas, and his other friends Jay Cartwright (James Buckley) and Neil Sutherland (Blake Harrion). Just to give you an idea as to how ludicrous this show could be at times, in the first 6 episodes alone, Will calls Neil’s dad a “bumper”, Simon gets his car door ripped off by a lamppost (and has to carry it around at a theme park with him) and Will’s Christmas Party results in all the Inbetweeners getting horribly rejected. Cheerful.

The show’s final episode showed in October 2010, and there were some genuinely touching moments. Along the way, The Inbetweeners had picked up 5 BAFTA TV Award nominations, the Audience Award from the same ceremony, won ‘Digital Choice’ at the National Television Awards, but most crucially, gained a massive fan base, which really is the reason I’m here now talking about their second cinematic entry. The Inbetweeners Movie came out in summer 2011, and was surprisingly the comedy smash hit of the year, making over $88 million, and becoming the biggest box office opening of any UK comedy. Personally, I thought the film was great, but I’ll get into that another time when I review it later.

After making so much money, and smashing box office records, it’s no surprise that in August 2012, a sequel to The Inbetweeners Movie was announced. In August 2013, the sequel was confirmed to be released in August 2014, and the first teaser trailer was released in May 2014. The film made $55 million in the UK alone, but sorry fans, it has been confirmed that this is the final entry in the series. Without any further ado, let’s get into the review:

The Inbetweeners 2 catches up with famous foursome, the boys who aren’t-quite-cool-but-aren’t-quite-nerds, the Inbetweeners. In a surprising move, the film opens in a rather high-budget shot where Will, Simon and Neil get rejected from entering a party, as usual. Dressed up as Harry Potter characters, and Neil with a distinct lack of underwear, they head off to a bar, and receive an email from everyone’s favourite liar, Jay. He says that he’s living it up in Australia, working as a DJ in a top night club, and supposedly wooing a different woman every night (and morning). Realising just how tragic their life in England is, they decide to take a visit to Australia, to see if Jay really is “DJ Big Penis”, and as fans of the series may expect, he was totally lying and actually works in the nightclub’s toilets. Will reunites with a very forward friend of his, and the group, reunited again, head off on a backpacking trip. Over the course of their stay, and travelling in the trust “Mobile Virgin Conversion Unit”, Neil accidentally kills a dolphin, Will is chased down a water slide by Neil’s faeces – resulting in one of the film’s funniest moments – Simon somehow proposes to his psycho girlfriend, and Jay, honestly, does very little until we reach the film’s third act. After a massive argument, and a brilliant scene in which Will and Simon shout “Grow up!” to each other in increasingly preposterous ways, the boys head off in their Peter Andre-inspired car to find Jane, Jay’s girlfriend from The Inbetweeners Movie. Unfortunately, they don’t find Jane, but they do wind up stranded in the middle of a desert, a plot device that manages to inspire some of the most infantile gags in the franchise’s history, particularly when Neil urinates in Simon’s mouth. However, our heroes soon begin to weaken, and they supposedly die in the desert…

…that is until so miraculously, Jane manages to locate the boys and bring them back to the mainland. In this semi-closing scene, we find out that Will’s mum has been seeing Mr Gilbert, the head of Sixth Form who absolutely hates Will. Simon also finds out his girlfriend has been cheating on him, and the gang celebrate in the only way they can, by going off to an exotic country, this time Vietnam, and pulling some ‘girls’. Don’t understand that bit? I’ll let the credits do the talking this time.

Some of the highlights of The Inbetweeners 2 was obviously the boys themselves. At the start of the film, each character has moved on with their lives,which provides an interesting base for a show which previously only really took place on their estate. It was refreshing to see Will and Simon at University, but seeing Neil’s penis wasn’t quite as refreshing. Somewhat mortifying. The characters really developed over the 91-minute film, particularly Jay. In the TV show,he was the sex addict, always talking about girls, and really he’s no different here, but especially in the second half, when he reveals that he’s actually only in Oz to see Jane, we see a more caring side of Jay that I really didn’t expect. However, just as Beesley and Morris took one step forward, they certainly took two steps backwards with Simon. In the show, and the first film, he yearned for the affection of his childhood sweetheart Carli, and some of the most entertaining moments from the show were when his attempts to woo her completely backfired, but in this film, Simon is stuck in a relationship he definitely doesn’t want to be in, which dragged his character down a bit. There was no standout scene for Simon, there was nothing in this film that shaped him as a character, and the Simon we saw at the start was exactly the same Simon we saw at the end, and this did disappoint me a bit. Even Neil, who we don’t know all that much about compared to Will and Simon, had some excellent moments, particularly the dolphin scene, but I felt like the only reason Simon was in the film was because of the previous film and the TV show. If this film was separate from the continuity of its predecessors, I don’t think the film would be any better or worse without Simon, and that really is a shame.

Another issue I had was the jokes. I know that half the jokes in the TV show are the ongoing jokes, such as Neil’s dad being gay and Will’s mum being fit, but in a feature almost as long as a whole series of the show, I really think some innovation was needed. There were too many jokes that either got old fast, such as the whole ‘bants’ thing going on between Jay and Neil, and after the first few appearances I was done with this. When considering teenage culture in Britain today, there is really nothing innovative about referring to ‘banter’. Look down any 14 year old boy’s Twitter page and it will be full of references to ‘banter’, and I thought a property as funny and innovative as The Inbetweeners could do much better than what it did here. The jokes were much more infantile, mainly referring to poo, and it was incredibly jarring to watch, considering viewers are used to more adult-orientated jokes. I don’t mean to say that the whole scene with Will on the slide being chased by Neil poo wasn’t funny – it was one of the best segments in the film – but I think something like The Inbetweeners has here changed its humour in some ways, which also changes the overall enjoyment of the film for a fan of the show.

I don’t think The Inbetweeners 2 was bad, not by any stretch of the imagination. I loved seeing the characters again, watching the actors – now so comfortable in the roles they have been playing for six year – own their roles, and some of the new additions fit straight in. I loved the tension the film builds up at points, and when the boys were stuck in the desert, I genuinely thought that was it for them. I thought they would die there, and the film would end. In a way, I would’ve liked the finality that the last episode of the show and the film lacked, but I did like seeing them return to their families, and getting up to more mischief in the future. The story, not always a strong point in the first film, was interesting, and at points I had no idea where the characters were going to go next, and I loved that. I loved the humour (mostly), I loved the characters, I loved the setting, I loved a lot of things about it. However, I can’t ignore that there were some points where jokes didn’t fit in to what The Inbetweeners is about, but that didn’t mean they weren’t funny, it meant they were disjointed. Some characters developed sensibly and cleverly, whereas some where left to eat other’s dust, which disappointed me massively. In a way, I’m glad this is the end of the franchise, because if it were to continue, I feel it would continue down a more childish route, focussing on gross-out poo jokes, and that’s not what The Inbetweeners is about. The whole purpose of the TV series was to document, in a hilarious way, four ‘normal’ teenagers grow up into adults, and by the end of this film, they have. The characters have reached logical conclusions, and I think this film provides just enough finality to render any further installations pointless, but still enough to whet the appetite of fans who want to see where the characters went. I loved The Inbetweeners 2, in fact I thought it was great at points, but the humour felt disjointed at points, and even though I’m going to miss them, I’m glad The Inbetweeners series has reached the great conclusion it deserves.

I give The Inbetweeners 2: 7 out of 10.