Hmm how can I possibly sum up my thoughts on the Avengers Assemble…HOLYFUCKINGSHITBALLS this film defines epic in every sense of the word. Just moment after moment of awesome imagery with whedon’s trademark humour and group solidarity throughout.

For me their were no bad performances and every avenger gets countless moments to shine along with Loki and his army. The action is glorious, special effects are impressive, 3D is surprisingly good and the drama was handled well.

Whedon steps up to the plate with confidence and provides a film that the masses will eat up and comic book fans will be proud of.

For two hours and a bit I had massive smile on my face from ear to ear and I will be going back to the cinema for a second and third helping.

C.O.N.

I have to warn you all before reading that this post is going to be poorly written with shitty sentencing and other problems; so I am sorry in advance :(.

So the economy is screwed and we are absolutely fucked, so we might as well pack it up and move into our cardboard boxes of the future on the filth strewn streets…sorry. Anyway margin call takes place in 2008 at the beginning of the recession that we are still suffering through. Employees are being laid off at a successful investment bank and ugly truth is about to be revealed by a newly fired employee and an up and comer continuing his work. This sets about a tumultuous 24 hours that will make or break the bank.

Firstly, this is an incredibly star studded cast that brings together some of the best new actors (penn badgley and Zachary quinto) alongside a veteran cast that includes Jeremy irons, Kevin spacey and Stanley tucci. Needless to say that this an actors movie with great performances across the board; Jeremy irons and Paul bettany stealing every scene they are in. The script is tight with some really good dialogue and allows the actors to flex their dramatic muscle to good effect. The story is easy to follow but some of the jargon can catch you off guard and it some times moves a bit to quickly but not at narrative’s detriment.Direction is clean but nothing to spectacular, although some of the shots of new York are really beautiful.

Overall this is a very good film and well worth your attention but I fear that it will fly under the radar amongst some of the heavy hitters. J.C Chandor deserves a lot of credit for not completely demonising the bankers and actually remembering that they are human beings who are susceptible to folly; their choices are definitely inspired by greedy and covering their asses but they are in a ruthless occupation and were very scared. The film doesn’t excuse their behaviour but it makes you understand why they did it, no matter how selfish.

C.O.N.

This film kind of came out of nowhere for me, sure I heard about it but I brushed it off (snobby asshole-ish thing to do I know). However I really enjoyed this film; it’s not subtle, intelligent and it won’t sit alongside some of the great wacky comedy films but it’s a fun and heart-warming film that just happens to be very, very violent. The story follows Doug who is a bouncer amongst his family of doctors and academics; he is the black sheep of the family with no real skill except for the fact that he is incredibly good at knocking people out and is built like a “Hebrew Dolph Lundgren”. Well these talents lead him to the sport of hockey where he takes on the role of an enforcer in the big leagues. At the same time of his rise, another enforcer is making his last run and…you know where this is going.

Anyway, I mostly ignored this film at first but on a rather uneventful day I decided to give it a chance and I was pleasantly surprised by it. Listen it’s not subtle in any stretch of the imagination, after all “this is not fucking baseball”; this is rather vulgar, violent and cliché film but there is nothing wrong with that in my book. Sean William Scott brings his usual likeable persona to the role of Doug Glatt who is a rather innocent man child, who is capable of incredible violence but also heart-warming loyalty and love. He lives and puts his body on the line for his team without hesitation and there is something endearing within that. Overall the cast is pretty good and the film is quite funny, if you can stand the violence, which I definitely could.

It’s a good comedy and although it doesn’t represent hockey completely, it does represent the physical nature of the sport and also the heart that any good or great sports film has. So should you see it? Yeah but it’s nothing to rush to the cinema to go and see, especially if the trailer doesn’t catch your eye at first but if you’re a fan of violence or physical comedy then you will enjoy this.

Revenge is a dish best served cold; a saying that I have heard countless times on television, in films, comic books, reality etc. It speaks to the darkest impulses inside of us all, in the sense that we would prolong our victims suffering before dealing the final blow. I saw the devil is very much a film that takes a look at this motto but in a rather twisted and disturbing way.

The film follows two protagonists; Kim Soo-Hyeon (Byung-hun lee aka storm shadow in G.I. Joe: The Rise of cobra) is a government agent and widow on the hunt for his wife’s killer. Kyung-Chul (Min-sik Choi of Oldboy fame) is the serial killer in question who is continuing to wreak havoc oblivious to the fact that he is being hunted by a man who is hell bent on making sure that he pays for his sins.

Firstly, Korean cinema has truly been on excellent form for the last decade, providing us with some of the most unique and captivating pieces of cinema that travels to the dark heart of humanity. The central performances are very good; Byung-hun lee really gives reality to just how broken Soo-Hyeon is and weathers the emotional beats of the character very well. The performance is stoic and menacing with underlying current of anguish that is all too prevalent when he is on his own or interacting with his loved ones.

The anguish breathes life into his mental descent but his performance is hard to pay attention to most times because Sik Choi is a scene stealer and is absolutely fascinating from beginning to end. Joining the hallowed halls of great deranged movie serial killers such as Norman Bates, buffalo bill, Henry and many others; Kyung-Chul is a character who erupts into acts of savage violence much like Lou Ford in the killer inside me. He speaks slow and plays with his victims before ending their life with no remorse; he is a rapist and has a disturbing distain for women that truly make some scenes squirm inducing.

The structure of the film is a cat and mouse game with the roles constantly switching throughout the lengthy running time which made the film quite exasperating to an extent but the story was told with a lot of flair and shot beautifully throughout which contrast the rather morbid imagery on screen. The violence is very full on and in other films would truly get tedious but the camerawork and editing around these violent altercations are handled so well and provide something different each time.

Overall, this film is not for everyone. It’s gory, incredibly bleak and humorous in an uncomfortable fashion but it’s utterly engrossing and engaging from beginning to end. You’ll need a strong stomach for the violence but the emotional heart of the film beats on right up to the very end where the shit truly hits the fan.

 “I will kill you when you are in the most pain. When you’re in the most pain, shivering out of fear, then I will kill you. That’s a real revenge. A real complete revenge.” In the end this all Soo-Hyeon has left in his life and ultimately proves that revenge is a dish left unserved.

C.O.N.