Tomb Raider Movie (2018) | Review

The Tomb Raider film franchise recently decided to give itself a reboot, in order to match the game franchise it's based on; with new cast, and a new story.

How does it fair, and how does it compare to the games?  Come along as I try to answer those very questions.

Top 5 Films of 2017

My final list for 2017 (even if it is a day late), is my top 5 favourite films of the year.

I've said it before, but I want to emphasis it a little more here. This list is based on my own personal opinion, and so might differ quite a bit from yours.

That said, on to the list!

The Villainess - One Woman's Messed-Up Life

So, here's a film that came out earlier this year, and it actually seems like it might be worth a look.

The Villianess is a Korean action film directed by Jung Byung-gil, and staring Kim Ok-bin; two names that I guess don't mean much of anything to anyone outside of South Korea. However, The Villainess has drawn some comparisons to other action films such as The Raid, which had some of the most impactful action scenes in recent years. So it might actually have something going for it.

Shall we take a look, and see if it lives up to expectations?

There may by minor spoilers beyond this point.

Justice League (2017) - The DCEU Needs a Hero

Here it is, Warner Brothers big DC Comics team-up, featuring some of the biggest name heroes in comic books; Justice League, which is a name that any fan of superhero comics should recognise.

The DC Cinematic Universe started poorly with the controversial Man of Steel and Dawn of Justice, but audiences received some in the shape of the recent Wonder Woman film. So the question is, can Justice League turn this into an upward trend, or is DC's leading lady still the only bright spot in this attempt at a shared universe?

As always, there may be some spoilers within. Although, I'll try to save them until the end this time.

The Visit (2015) - A Spooky House in the Country

The Visit is found-footage horror film by one M. Night Shyamalan, yet another in the long line stretching back to The Blair Witch Project. Once upon a time, those two things, when mentioned in the same sentence, would have sent a shiver down my spine.

You may recall that I previously did a review of The Last Airbender, the film that is widely considered the nadir of Shyamalan's filmography. However, in certain sections The Visit is considered a return to form for the once acclaimed director, and a pretty good film in it's own right. So let's take a look at it shall we?

Reader beware: There may be some minor spoilers within...

Grave Encounters (2011)

As we move into the second week of October, the spookiest month of the year, we also move on to the second entry in out horror-themed reviews; Grave Encounters. Will this film turn out to be a macabre masterpiece, or will it just be horrifyingly horrendous in all of the wrong ways. Well, there is only one way to find out!

Beware! For there may be (minor) spoilers beyond this point!

Wonder Woman vs Sarah Connor: A Character Analysis

Inspired by James Cameron's recent arguments against Wonder Woman, and in favour of his own creation, Sarah Connor; I have decided to do a little analysis of my own. Here I will be performing something of a comparison between the two, and trying to present my arguments about their merits in their roles as both women, and action heroes.

This post will be a bit more formal, than my usual posts, as I will be attempting to put forward an actual argument, rather than just giving my impression of something. For each of these characters I will be examining their differing goals and motivations, how sympathetically the narrative treats these goals, and the general attitudes of the characters themselves.

Since this is an analysis rather than a review, there will probably be spoilers for both films ahead.

The Last Airbender (2010)

This week we take a look at another film adaptation of an originally animated property, one that has admittedly been covered before by more experienced critics, and one that is often cited as one of the worst adaptations of all time; The Last Airbender. The film that may well be eternally considered the nadir of M. Night Shyamalan's career, at least, I'd hope so.

Possible spoilers beyond here.

Death Note (2017)

Death Note, a Japanese manga written by Tsugumi Ohba, and illustrated by Takeshi Obata. Another western, live-action adaptation of a previously animated Japanese property, and those do not have a good reputation. So, can Netflix's one buck the trend?

However, first thing's first, a little apology. I'm more than a little late this week, but there is a reason for that this time. I did have a review all written-up last week, but I decided to scrap, as I felt I was being more than a little unfair. I felt I was holding to strictly to how it fairs as an adaptation, and not on its own merits. So, I decided to rewrite the review, and judge the film based on The other reason is because I legitimately struggled to get through this one.

(Edit:  On further review, I may have been harder than necessary on a second pass too.)

As usual, there may possibly be spoilers beyond this point.

Justice League SDCC 2017 Trailer

So the latest Justice League trailer was dropped at San Diego Comicon over the weekend, and I have to admit that I'm pretty excited by it. So here's hoping the film is a good as the trailer made it look.

Now, I'm one of those people who wasn't particularly enamoured by Man of Steel or Dawn of Justice, but this looks like a step in the right direction. They seem to have managed to insert more humour, without copying Marvel Studio's brand of sarcasm and quips, whilst simultaneously keeping their high-intensity action scenes. In short, they've managed to evolve their universe to be a little more light-hearted and heroic, whilst still retaining their own sense of identity separate from Marvel. However, we still have yet to see whether the address the concerns with editing and storytelling that many people had with Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad; but here's hoping.

Dunkirk

Dunkirk, possibly one of the greatest disasters in British military history, where Britain very nearly lost the war. Creating a film based on such traumatic historical events must be an incredibly daunting task, but Christopher Nolan handles it well.

Beware, there are possibly some spoilers ahead.

Azumi (2003)

Azumi

For my first review I would like to talk about the film that got me interested in not only Asian live-action cinema, but also non-english speaking cinema as a whole, the 2003 Japanese movie Azumi.

Azumi is based on a manga from the 1990's, and is a Jidai Geki, or Chanbara film, what might be called a samurai drama in western circles. I have never actually read the manga, but that is fine, as I want to talk about whether the film can stand on its own, without having to lean on the source material.

Whilst the story may not be too complex, it does throw some twists at the audience; it gives us conspiracies, betrayals, and raises the question of who can trust who. It also alludes to the question of the price paid for peace, and the costs we incur during war. However, the story is straight-forward and easy to follow.