Reviews by SJMJ91

After a very entertaining first film in the Narnia series, expectations were high for its sequel. Unfortunately, The Chronicles Of Narnia: Prince Caspian didn't fully satisfy me and it was a disappointment. I mean, as far as production, it has everything that its predecessor has and reached up to that standard but in reality, the film's weaknesses didn't make it as awesome as the filming of it did. I will also admit that it was darker than The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe but there were moments involved that made it a lot cheesier and, quite frankly, more chaotic too.


The flaws that Prince Caspian has is that acting was crap from most of the actors, the character development wasn't very good and some of them were pretty annoying, plot became quite chaotic on occasions and I was slowly dying witnessing the 'love' between Susan and Caspian. I mean, romance involved in a film like this is just a 'no, no' and simply doesn't belong in it! I did like the action scenes a lot such as the attack on the castle, the battle in the field near the end and the sword fight between Peter and King Miraz. It may have been darker than the first film but I am afraid to say that it lost most of the magic that the predecessor had.


The four Pevensie children return to Narnia, only to discover that hundreds of years have passed since they ruled there and come back to notice that most of the places in Narnia where they had ruled had either been destroyed or attacked (such as Cair Paravel). The evil King Miraz of the Telmarines has taken charge and seeks to kill the real heir to the throne: Prince Caspian. Miraz is really the younger brother of the real king Caspian IX who was killed by Miraz in order to have the throne. Upon discovering this, Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy alongside with the Narnians, Prince Caspian (who is really a Telmarine but seeks to give the Narnians their land back) and the Great Cat Aslan (and former King of Narnia), set out to overthrow the King and be rid of the Telmarines in Narnia forever.


William Moseley, how you disappoint me! For the second consecutive time in a row, you don't bring a heroic or brave side to Peter in any way whatsoever. You have simply made him a muppet who just needs to die. Thank God he isn't not gonna be in Voyage Of The Dawn Treader! Anna Popplewell was just as awful as Moseley was. She was no hero either and she acted like she just wanted the filming to be over and so she won't have to return again. Good job we won't be seeing her in the third film so they are a couple of reasons why that might be better than both of them. Ben Barnes was just so stupid as Prince Caspian! I mean, if he wasn't cast as Prince Caspian, they might as well have cast Robert Pattinson because his acting is about as wooden and plain as Barnes is as Caspian! Shame he's in the third one but at least 2/3 of the pain has gone. Georgie Henley has grown up so quickly after 3 years and she shows once again she is the best actor of the young actors in the franchise. Skandar Keynes slightly disappointed me in this one because Edmund didn't have very much involvement and when he was in a scene, didn't bring out that heroic side to him either so don't think there was any hero in this (except Aslan by the bridge).


Andrew Adamson returns as director and again clearly tries to make another Lord Of The Rings but fails. I mean, The Lord Of The Rings trilogy is one on its own and nothing can replace that so you're gonna make it awful by taking a lot from it. However, despite this I'm not saying it was badly filmed. It was filmed pretty well but just took too much from Peter Jackson. Well, tried to anyway. The script was even cheesier than the first one and this one was even longer than its predecessor anyway but I felt that the film should've been cut by about half an hour.


Overall, The Chronicles Of Narnia: Prince Caspian is a disappointing sequel to its predecessor but it does have its moments of entertainment and charm such as the great effects and make-up, costumes and settings. This is of the Narnia franchise the Attack Of The Clones of the Star Wars franchise and Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince of the Harry Potter franchise: not awful, not amazing, in fact not very good, just disappointing. Hope Voyage Of The Dawn Treader will make up for this one.

During childhood, I was a big fan of the C.S. Lewis books (only read the first three, though, that involve the Pevensie's) and when the trailer aired at the cinema, I couldn't wait to see this! I was really glad that Disney were the makers of this and, to be honest, they were the exact right studio for a film like this! It was absolute magic as far as production is concerned. The settings were just brilliant in Narnia but I was even more impressed with the settings at the beginning in World War II environment (also including the costumes as well). The make-up was really awesome as well and it rightfully deserved the Academy Award in that category. Despite how awesome The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe is, the film does have its fair share of flaws.


Flaws such as the acting from the two older Pevensie's was really lousy, the film was clearly a take-on against Lord Of The Rings by trying to be epic. It is epic but not quite epic enough to feel real like Lord Of The Rings did. Plus, the final battle was too short and perhaps not violent enough despite it being based on a kids novel. Another flaw is that it was quite slow and took a damn long time to get going. It was like 35 minutes into the film where Lucy first entered Narnia by accident so think they could have cut it by at least 15 minutes.


When the Pevensie family are evacuated out to the country, they are unaware of the adventure they will encounter. During a game of hide and seek, the youngest daughter, Lucy discovers a wardrobe which transports her to the land of Narnia. Covered in snow, Narnia is full of weird and wonderful creatures, but is watched over by the evil White Witch, Jadis. When all four Pevensie children end up through the wardrobe, they discover that it was meant to be, as two daughters of Eve and two sons of Adam must join with the mighty lion, Aslan to defeat the evil White Witch.


The four young actors started in this one like the three leading actors did in Harry Potter: with almost no acting experience and because the book is so famous, they did have a lot on their shoulders. I think what surprised me the most was that the two older actors William Moseley and Anna Popplewell who portrayed Peter and Susan who perhaps had a better chance of playing their characters better than the two younger ones were both awful but the two younger ones: Skandar Keynes and Georgie Henley who portrayed Edmund and Lucy were brilliant and they made them their own characters. I mean, William and Anna are meant to be playing the two big heroes but they really aren't and they were almost like hopeless muppets. I mean, there was no emotion and there was almost no attempt at trying to make this film as real as possible so, both of their characters are like plain and empty. Skandar Keynes and Georgie Henley were brilliant as Edmund and Lucy. I am glad that they were the ones who entered Narnia first because we knew more about their personalities and made Narnia seem like a place of misery and evil. Tilda Swinton was simply fantastic as the White Witch! It is her bitter looks and often cold attitude that perhaps sealed her role in this film. She joins the list with Kathy Bates in Misery, Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction and Louise Fletcher in One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest as another actress who delivers a great performance playing a psychopathic character.


Andrew Adamson who is perhaps best known as director of Shrek and Shrek 2, certainly does know how to make a satisfying children's film due to the success of those two Shrek films but he doesn't quite know how to make a serious story very epic without looking like a copy-cat by trying too hard (like he does against Peter Jackson and The Lord Of The Rings trilogy. After the disappointing Prince Caspian, I am glad he was part of Voyage Of The Dawn Treader too. He was producer of that instead of director. The script was good but my oh my! There were some damn cheesy moments that did rock the realism of it a bit.


Overall, The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe certainly is a film of pure fun and family entertainment and it did take me into a world beyond imagination. A lot better than its sequel and I would definitely decide to watch this on a day when I just need entertainment to see. Does live up to the book despite its flaws and for that, it is a film that I recommend and should be seen by everyone.

Over the past few years there have been romantic-comedies that have proved that they aren't those soppy love stories that we see today but because they received critical acclaim and that they have added something more personal to them to make them more successful (Little Miss Sunshine and Juno are other examples). They all bring out something new that we hadn't seen or experienced before and sends a different message every time. The message that The Kids Are All Right sends out for me is that just because there is a homosexual couple as parents, that doesn't mean they aren't suitable parents! As long as they are there for their children, then that's what counts.


What my thoughts were of The Kids Are All Right is that it isn't your ordinary romantic-comedy that you see on a regular basis and for that reason amongst others, I absolutely loved it! Despite the fact it has been named a romantic-comedy, I would call it more of a romantic-drama seeing as it involves a lesbian couple and children and it takes you onto a personal level that you don't really experience very often. I mean, yeah there have been films about homosexuals portrayed by heterosexual actors but I think this might be the first film I have come across that has involved that and children.


In LA, Nic and Jules are a couple with a daughter, Joni (Nic is biological mother), on her way to college and a son, Laser (Jules is biological mother), at 15 a good athlete but maybe hanging out with the wrong pal. Laser wants Joni, who's now 18, to find out who their biological father is - a sperm donor. Without initially telling their moms, they meet him. He's Paul, a cool guy with a motorcycle, a restaurant, and an organic garden. Although Nic doesn't like the idea, the five of them get together a few times and the kids spend time with Paul. He hires Jules, who's had many brief vocations, to landscape his back yard, and Nic, who's an OB/GYN, decides to be a good sport and get to know Paul better. Can a family add a new member?


An absolutely fantastic cast! I have always admired Annette Bening for her selection of films to be part of and I am really glad she was in this one too. I loved her as Carolyn Burnham in American Beauty 11 years ago and I have to admit, her performance in The Kids Are All Right isn't that far from being as brilliant as American Beauty. I think the main reason why I loved Annette in this film was because I think she showed real determination towards the film and wanted to bring out something to show the world. I mean, most heterosexual actors who portray homosexuals do that but Annette probably did it the best. She needs that Academy Award nomination but she has to battle with favourite to win Natalie Portman in Black Swan. Pretty sure she will win the Golden Globe though. Mark Ruffalo is a very underrated actor for me and I really liked him in this one as Paul so he deserves an Oscar nomination too. I did like Julianne Moore as well but not quite worthy of an Oscar nomination. Two young famous individuals Josh Hutcherson and Mia Wasikowska were pretty awesome as well as Laser and Joni. It should earn young actor awards but not contenders of any of the big awards.


In most romantic-comedies that are Oscar contenders, we usually see a breakthrough or a great debut directorial performance; like Jason Reitman with Juno. Plus, it is another example that goes to show that there are some other fantastic female directors as well, not just the male ones. For me, it should earn 4 Academy Award nominations: Best Picture 2010, Best Leading Actress (Annette Bening), Best Supporting Actor (Mark Ruffalo) and Best Original Screenplay (your usual rom-com/drama nominations). It should win Best Picture Musical/Comedy at the Golden Globes too as should Annette Bening for Best Actress Musical/Comedy (probably firm seal for her like Meryl Streep in Julie & Julia last year).


Overall, The Kids Are All Right is an absolutely fantastic film that is more of a drama than a comedy. Fantastic cast, fantastic performance, fantastic directing and fantastic script so deserves all the credit and universal acclaim it got. It is definitely one of the best films of 2010 and would take a damn amazing film to be better than this one.

To be honest, at the start I never really knew very much about Winter's Bone apart from it has been receiving a lot of positive reviews that has been named Oscar material and a contender for Best Picture so I couldn't hesitate to watch this and there was high expectations. However when I watched it, I did like it but I wouldn't say that this is worthy of Best Picture. Well, that is what I think anyway. The bits where I really enjoyed it was that the pacing of the film was normal and it didn't drag on and it didn't feel rushed either, there was a lot of suspense and it was a very dark adventure that is beyond any other than I have seen.


With an absent father and a withdrawn and depressed mother, 17 year-old Ree Dolly keeps her family together in a dirt poor rural area. She's taken aback however when the local Sheriff tells her that her father put up their house as collateral for his bail and unless he shows up for his trial in a week's time, they will lose it all. She knows her father is involved in the local drug trade and manufactures crystal meth but anywhere she goes the message is the same: stay out of it and stop poking your nose in other people's business. She refuses to listen, even after her father's brother, Teardrop, tells her he's probably been killed. She pushes on, putting her own life in danger, for the sake of her family until the truth, or enough of it, is revealed.


Jennifer Lawrence's performance as Ree Dolly was just incredible! I would say it is perhaps one of the greatest breakthrough performances of all time and because of this, she rightly deserves a Best Leading Actress Oscar nomination and I'll be damned if she isn't nominated. Then again, she might only just get the nomination like Melissa Leo did for Frozen River two years ago even though she wasn't a strong contender that year.


Debra Granik directed this one in a lot of ways like a road film like The Road and Into The Wild with quite a calm and suspenseful pace at the same time in terms of events happening. She also showed us a beautiful side as well with beautiful landmarks of filming on-set. I mean, yeah it looks pretty rough throughout most of the film but at the same time, it looks beautiful. There were some moments where you could identify Winter's Bone as a horror film due to the suspense and the rough neighbourhoods. It's not for the faint of heart. The script was fantastically written! The character development was about right for me and the pacing was about right also so therefore it was handled really well.


Overall, Winter's Bone is a film that I did really enjoy but don't think quite deserved all the critical acclaim that it got. It is quite a scary tragic tale that was brilliantly written and directed. Jennifer Lawrence needs that Oscar nomination and I'll be angry if she doesn't get it. Not quite one of the best films of 2010 but definitely not one that needn't be missed!

Expectations were neither high nor low for this sequel so I was just expecting pretty much the same as the first film but this film was much worse than its predecessor. There are many reasons for this: the plot was an absolute mess! There were so many holes where you are watching it and it stops and skips to something else so to speak, most of the characters were annoying (especially those Transformer twins who have reached down to Jar-Jar Binks and Mater's level of annoyance), there were many scenes in this film that were totally pointless and unnecessary and there are other reasons too but I'll be here forever otherwise.


Actually, the main weakness that this one had is that the action scenes were shockingly bad! I mean, *bang* *bang* *bang* *bang* *bang* every second! No, that isn't called action! That's just called random explosions! Bay, action is where the audience feel exhilaratingly excited about what is going on where they jump out their skin and they feel there with the characters. The desert action scene was just so boring! It must have lasted at least 40 minutes long and no action scene is entertaining when it is that long. Also, *SPOILER ALERT* the title says Revenge Of The Fallen, right? What revenge exactly? Was expecting that the Fallen would win this one that would lead up to an epic final conclusion but obviously not and I can't see the third film being any better. In fact, can't see that one being any worse than this one.


A youth chooses manhood. The week Sam Witwicky starts college, the Decepticons make trouble in Shanghai. A presidential envoy believes it's because the Autobots are around; he wants them gone. He's wrong: the Decepticons need access to Sam's mind to see some glyphs imprinted there that will lead them to a fragile object that, when inserted in an alien machine hidden in Egypt for centuries, will give them the power to blow out the sun. Sam, his girlfriend Mikaela, and Sam's parents are in danger. Optimus Prime and Bumblebee are Sam's principal protectors. If one of them goes down, what becomes of Sam?


Shia LaBeouf, you really haven't got acting talent in you at all! Sam Witwicky is no hero, he is just a useless muppet who always gets lucky whatever situation he is in. His return in the third and final film in the trilogy won't be an exciting one but it might just might make it a bit easier for him without Megan Fox alongside him. Megan, you seriously need to go back to acting school (or to start it). For all I know, Megan Fox could have given Michael Bay oral sex for him to cast her in the films so I am curious about what was so good about Megan Fox starring in the Transformers films. And worst of all, later in the year Jennifer's Body showed her true colours. The third one doesn't have Megan Fox in so that has made it a little easier.


Michael Bay, you are simply a failure! I mean, how can he still carry on and release this when there are so many empty points and segments that are just abandoned that change onto something else?! No professional director does that! You are just a money-grubbing and hopeless guy and you simply do not have professional directing in feature films in you in any way whatsoever! Bay totally deserved the Razzie win for Worst Director as the rest of the awards the film won including Worst Picture and Worst Screenplay. Transformers 2: Revenge Of The Fallen is his most successful film regarding box-office but critically and in terms of awards, it is his biggest disaster! My oh my! The script was slowly killing me! I mean, as I have said a few times that the plot had like abandoned, empty holes but there were moments where I just held my head in shame and was like 'What a fucking awful line that was' and 'whoever wrote this must be like a fan who is really about 5-years-old'.


Overall, Transformers 2: Revenge Of The Fallen is for me in terms of cinema the definition of the meaning 'fucked-up' because that is exactly what it is! I would call this incredibly disappointing because I did enjoy the first film despite it wasn't brilliant but wasn't to be and the fact this one ended the same way as the first one did?! What the FUCK?! Without a doubt one of the worst films that I think I have ever watched and even the effects didn't save the film because it was just so damn awful! The third and final film in the trilogy: Transformers 3: Dark Of The Moon doesn't exactly seem any better than this one so I guess we'll have to see but I must say, can it be any worse than this one?

Ok, I am going to admit that I did really enjoy this when I first saw this at the cinema but I have to say that after getting into the more critical side of films, I could easily spot what the flaws are in Transformers. I didn't watch the original TV cartoon programme as a child so I didn't really know very much about it when I first saw it but was just expecting entertainment in which I did get. Flaws are that you can easily tell that the dialogue is trying to be an epic; like they're trying too hard so to speak by using lots of effects but with quite a cheesy story. Yeah, I understand that it is just a bit of fun but what annoys me the most is that almost every single teenager nowadays always favourite this film like 'Transformers is just the best film ever because the acting is so perfect, directing is flawless and the effects are amazing'! One bit of credit I will give this film is that the effects are absolutely fantastic! I always feel stunned with the effects when I watch Transformers.


A long time ago, far away on the planet of Cybertron, a war was being waged between the noble Autobots (led by the wise Optimus Prime) and the devious Decepticons (commanded by the dreaded Megatron) for control over the Allspark, a mystical talisman that would grant unlimited power to whoever possessed it. The Autobots managed to smuggle the Allspark off the planet, but Megatron blasted off in search of it. He eventually tracked it to the planet of Earth (circa 1850), but his reckless desire for power sent him right into the Arctic Ocean, and the sheer cold forced him into a paralyzed state. His body was later found by Captain Archibald Witwicky, and before going into a comatose state Megatron used the last of his energy to engrave a map, showing the location of the Allspark, into the Captain's glasses, and send a transmission to Cybertron. He is then carted away by the Captain's ship.


Shia LaBeouf may have made himself very well known from here onwards throughout his career thus far but that doesn't mean the acting was brilliant. I mean, I don't think he is an awful actor but I really don't see the hype and the credit that people give him. In many ways, Shia bought out absolutely nothing to Sam Witwicky's personality; like his personality was empty so to speak. His performance was about average but his performance in the sequel was just epic fail! Megan Fox, you are nothing more than an incredibly overrated 'actress' who really isn't as attractive as a lot of people think she is. I mean, what gets on my nerves about Megan Fox in both Transformers is that just because one might find her attractive, that doesn't mean her acting is any better. Josh Duhamel wasn't exactly brilliant either. His personality was flat and there was nothing majorly serious going out regarding him. Well, that's what I think anyway. Rachael Taylor just drove me absolutely insane! Not only was her very strong Australian accent incredibly annoying but her acting was like 'Ohh God! I'm just gonna be so shit in this film because I didn't even want to be part of it' sort of thing but one thing though: she's incredibly attractive but even that didn't save her in Transformers.


Michael Bay, do you ever make a film that involves explosions and effects with flat acting and directing? I think what Bay's major weakness is that he tries too hard with pretty much every film he's made by overloading explosions and action scenes instead of focusing on the characters and the plot to make them epic. If you think about it critically, Michael Bay hasn't made one single successful film out of the 9 films that he has made. This was about 20 minutes too long as well so that is another flaw that Transformers has. Best bit of credit that I can give Transformers is that it was robbed of the Best Visual Effects Academy Award by The Golden Compass even though the effects in that film were great too.


Overall, Transformers is far from something special but it is far from a massive disaster as well. To be honest, I would say this is Michael Bay's best film despite it is an average and a guilty pleasure. If you hated this one, you will be ashamed you saw the sequel and you'd want to kill yourself. Good luck if you choose that. Entertaining action scenes and that is it.

After reading many fantastic reviews of this film and the fact that Mary And Max still wasn't released in Britain despite it has been released for a year, I just couldn't resist watching it. What I got out of this was 90 minutes of raw emotion, dark comedy and mind-blowing animation. It is an extremely underrated film that should have been nominated for Best Animated Picture to be tough competition against Up but unfortunately another crucial mistake by the Academy.


I was actually really surprised at how emotional it really was. I almost creased in tears when the film ended which doesn't really happen to me but watching it was a massive inspiration to me seeing as I am a strong follower of autism and Asperger's Syndrome seeing as I have a few friends and relatives who suffer from it. The animation was just spectacular! It was quite similar to Henry Selick/Tim Burton-like stop-motion (Nightmare Before Christmas, Coraline, Corpse Bride merged with Aardman and Nick Park (Wallace And Gromit feature film and the 4 shorts, Chicken Run, Creature Comforts).


In the mid 1970's, a homely, friendless Australian girl of 8 picks a name out of a Manhattan phone book and writes to him; she includes a chocolate bar. She's Mary Dinkle, the only child of an alcoholic mother and a distracted father. He's Max Horowitz, living alone in New York, overweight, subject to anxiety attacks. He writes back, with chocolate. Thus begins a 20-year correspondence, interrupted by a stay in an asylum and a few misunderstandings. Mary falls in love with a neighbour, saves money to have a birthmark removed and deals with loss. Max has a friendship with a neighbour, tries to control his weight, and finally gets the dream job. Will the two ever meet face to face?


There was almost no involvement of the United States, United Kingdom or any other studio from another country. Plus, pretty much the entire cast are Australian (apart from Phillip Seymour Hoffman) so it was pretty much an all-Australian film. It was brilliant because all of the actors and creators within this film have merged together and created something that perhaps does challenge against other animation studios (even Pixar). Phillip Seymour Hoffman's voice acting as Max was pretty awesome. I felt the drama of the character really well and despite that it was mostly a narrated film, the characters were so strong it was just too good to be true. I think that the main message of the film is that you can find soul mates from all over the world and no matter how far one lives, that person can still change one's life around; whether it's a good thing or a bad thing.


The direction from Adam Elliot was incredible! I haven't seen very many Australian films but I have to admit that this is by far the best one I have seen from there. I would say that Mary And Max has some similarities with other animated films like A Scanner Darkly, Waltz with Bashir and Persepolis in terms of theme and image backgrounds but in terms of dialogue, message and characters, it is something totally different than any film that has been released. I was deeply admired how unique the clay-animated background New York City looked like especially the Empire State Building and the World Trade Center twin towers before their collapse. The script was just awesome! Mary And Max is, like most clay-animated films, a film that is actually out of somebody's (or a group of people's) head(s), not based on a novel and to write a script like that without the support of a book, I really admire.


Overall, Mary And Max is an absolutely outstanding film that I adored from the start to the end. I would say it is the most underrated film of all time and when it is released on blu-ray, I will be at the store to buy it within like an hour! It is the first film that I have seen that is about someone with Asperger's Syndrome so that's another reason why I absolutely love it so if you have a friend or relative who suffers from Autism or Asperger's Syndrome then you should check it out! Also, I must say that I think Nick Park reluctantly has an opponent who is good enough to challenge him. One of the best films of 2009 and maybe even one of the best animated films that I think I have watched in a very long time. The whole film in a nutshell: MASTERPIECE!

I think everyone's reaction to a film about Facebook was at first 'What the f***?!' (including mine) but when I found out that David Fincher was directing it, I was even more curious about it and went to see it at the cinema. When I first saw it, I wasn't too keen on it but after a rewatch of it, I really liked it this time. I think the one thing that I appreciate about The Social Network is that Facebook is the center of everything that are in these people's lives and how much a social networking site can effect one's life. I mean, I love going on Facebook and it is taking over everyone's lives but this film does express that it is a good thing that it is a sociable experience that does increase confidence. Stepping aside Facebook here, The Social Network is a film of friendship, betrayal, greed and loyalty.


I think what most people were thinking a film about Facebook was going to be about was a group of nerds acting having conversations, playing games, uploading pictures and posting statuses but as I said, there are some things that are more important than that. It is perhaps a rather extraordinary film but it was a good idea to make. It sort of advertises the website and persuades its audiences to be a member but then again, think most people are anyway. Only flaw it has for me is that it lacked the drama and the possibility of a soul or message.


On a fall night in 2003, Harvard undergrad and computer programming genius Mark Zuckerberg sits down at his computer and heatedly begins working on a new idea. In a fury of blogging and programming, what begins in his dorm room soon becomes a global social network and a revolution in communication. A mere six years and 500 million friends later, Mark Zuckerberg is the youngest billionaire in history... but for this entrepreneur, success leads to both personal and legal complications.


Jesse Eisenberg (a Michael Cera kind of actor) already made a name for himself in comedy horror film Zombieland but his performance was good as Mark Zuckerberg but I think perhaps could have improved on it. Why? Yeah, he is playing a nerd but at the end of the day, he is portraying the creator of a worldwide phenomenal website that has interacted most of the people on Earth together! Even Mark Zuckerberg himself didn't like the film and didn't like Eisenberg's performance very much. Sorry, Jesse, you did a decent job but no Oscar nomination for you, I'm afraid. After hearing that Andrew Garfield was going to be the new Spider-Man/Peter Parker just before I saw The Social Network, I needed to know what kind of actor he is. As for his performance in The Social Network, his performance was absolutely fantastic and he rightly deserves an Oscar nomination (maybe even a win). Wow! I never Justin Timberlake could act! He was pretty good in this film as well but not as good as Andrew Garfield.


I thought at first 'David Fincher as director? What?' seeing as it isn't really something that he has done before but life is full of surprises and he certainly surprised us with this one. He surprised us so much that he could earn himself a Best Director Academy Award for The Social Network. I guess you could say that he had a lot on his shoulders seeing as Facebook is so popular nowadays and people would be expecting something high. He deserves a nomination though. After hearing that The Social Network is in fact based on a novel as well as true story after I saw the film, I thought the screenplay was absolutely incredible! I thought that the script from the novel was awesome anyway but it would take an utter genius to write a script from a true story about a website! This should win Best Adapted Screenplay but will have to battle The King's Speech first.


Overall, The Social Network is an absolutely fantastic film that I needed to rewatch to like. I think it is one of those films that you need to stick with all the way through to understand it. As far as Academy Awards are concerned, no doubt this'll be nominated for Best Picture but I don't think it deserves to win. Think it'll get Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor (for Andrew Garfield) nominations. It is probably The Social Network vs. The King's Speech for Best Picture with Inception, Toy Story 3, 127 Hours and Black Swan just behind them. It is definitely one of the best films of 2010 and is sure to please the public and critics worldwide.

To be perfectly honest, my thoughts of Pulp Fiction before I saw it was that it would be just another crime gangster mafia film but this is no ordinary crime film. In fact, this is no ordinary film! Pulp Fiction is a masterpiece of utter genius that is mixed with violence, sex, drugs, suspense and dark comedy. It is known worldwide as the "coolest film of all time" and there is absolutely no denying that fact! It is perhaps one of the very few films that I think everybody loves; even people who aren't very passionate about film which makes it a landmark.


Pulp Fiction cracked me up when I first saw it. Yeah, it is black-comedy but it is very noticeable comedy whereas in some black-comedies, you can't spot that very well. I think the main thing about this film has that makes it so famous is that is just so random and as the characters say from the script, they mostly just babble random conversations but despite that, it makes sense and flows with the stories. Pulp Fiction probably should have won Best Picture over Forrest Gump despite that is a close favourite also but at least Quentin Tarantino rightly won Best Original Screenplay (like he should have with Inglourious Basterds).


Vincent Vega and Jules Winnfield are two hit men on the hunt for a briefcase whose contents were stolen from their boss, Marsellus Wallace. They run into a few unexpected detours along the road. Marsellus is out of town, and he's gotten Vincent to take care of his wife, Mia. That is, take her out for a night on the town. Things go smoothly until one of them makes a huge error. Butch Coolidge is a boxer who's been approached by Marsellus and been told to throw his latest fight. When Butch ends up killing the other boxer, he must escape Marsellus. Pumpkin and Honey Bunny (not their real names) are two lovebirds/thieves who have decided to rob the restaurant they're currently eating at. But the restaurant doesn't turn out to be as easy as the other places they've robbed.


John Travolta was amazing as Vincent Vega!! Travolta is one of those extremely rare actors who have a talent of playing a character in almost every single genre. Vincent is a hit man who works for gangster Marcellus Wallace but starts to jeopardise his job and even his life by slowly falling for his wife Mia (which you will have to see what happens as you watch it). Vincent's fellow hit man accomplice is Jules Winnfield. I believe that Jules ties with Tyler Durden and The Dude as the coolest film character of all time. Jules is an absolutely brilliant character because he is a real cold-hearted killer just like Vincent but Jules tries to make his victims suffer but in a cool way. He is also the one with all the punch-line quotes; like in the breakfast scene, in the car and in the café too. He was robbed of the Best Supporting Actor Oscar which makes that the biggest mistake the Academy have ever made regarding acting. Uma Thurman's performance as Mia Wallace was awesome as well. She collaborates well with Tarantino especially in Kill Bill: Volume 1 and 2 and I just love the Mia-Vincent scene in the restaurant. She seems like a nice woman but is a bit of a drug addict and seems a bitch as well. Bruce Willis isn't in this film THAT much, really. Despite this, he is absolutely awesome still as Butch. Butch is a boxer who owes Wallace a debt. During a confrontation with Wallace, they get themselves into an awkward and uncomfortable situation. Quentin Tarantino plays a supporting role in the Bonnie Situation storyline with Vincent and Jules. He portrays Jimmie and, to be honest, Quentin is actually a really great actor as well as a legendary, genius director and screenwriter. Shame he hasn't done that much acting. I mean, John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Uma Thurman, Bruce Willis, Christopher Walken and Quentin Tarantino as actor, director and co-writer? Get any cooler than that? Hmm... no perhaps not.


Quentin Tarantino and Pulp Fiction match absolutely perfectly because they are both mean one word: cool. This film is so original and it is genuinely unique! It is perfectly made because it is acted, directed and produced perfectly! I am fascinated by the way Tarantino involves food, dance and music in this film and it mixes brilliantly well with the characters and the dialogue of the separate stories. He uses at least one of those in pretty much every film he has made. I also like how all three stories are in random order and change at different times and on a few occasions, some storylines are left abandoned and then return towards the end of the film which stretches the suspense a bit further by the audience thinking ''What now?''. Tarantino has become an icon for making this film because I think this is a favourite from most people. The script is out of this world. In my opinion, Pulp Fiction has the best script of all time because it sticks perfectly to what it is aiming, what its purpose is for the viewers of the film and also it shows that Tarantino is a self-taught filmmaker especially for Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs and Inglourious Basterds but also for the rest of the films has has directed and written. In many ways in many scenes, Pulp Fiction didn't feel scripted at all! It just felt like a group of people ranting and raving which makes it even better.


Overall, Pulp Fiction is one of the best films ever made, hands down! It is a very close favourite of mine and deserves its rightful place there with some of the other landmarks. I may be smooching up to it too much but I seriously cannot think of any flaws that I spotted in Pulp Fiction. It is for me the best film of the 1990s so Pulp Fiction isn't only the best film of that decade but the best film from the best decade of cinema. Quentin Tarantino, you are a f***ing God and I hope you keep on creating films like this! Flawless acting, flawless script, flawless direction and strong characters! Now THAT is perfect!

Avatar has been hyped for months or maybe even years seeing as there were speculations of new effects that will supposedly take us into a world where we had not been before and where we would feel like we're there. Also, it is James Cameron's first feature length film since Titanic in 1997 and that became a giant success both critically and box office takings. Plus that was the biggest blockbuster of all time so expectations were exceedingly high for Avatar to possibly repeat history or maybe even surpass Titanic. Guess what? It was certainly worth the 12 year wait and most certainly surpassed Titanic with the effects, the realism and the box-office takings but to be perfectly honest, for me it didn't quite with some acting and screenwriting.


The effects in Avatar are obviously mind-blowing and out of this world and no wonder it took two years to complete after filming and despite that it does get a strong 5-stars, I have to go ahead and name the flaws within Avatar so here goes. We never really knew what the plot was until we saw it but now after watching it, the story takes a lot from Pocahontas and Dances With Wolves so it's almost a sci-fi mixture between them two and I thought that the script was a bit cheesy at times. Despite those flaws, I do admit that the film blew me away and I was stuck in Pandora for 162 minutes and loved every second of my adventure. The 3D experience was obviously outstanding but I think it was suitably released for the Avatar experience to be almost like real but after Avatar's release, there are more films released in 3D that quite frankly don't even need to be so 3D has become rather overhyped now in just under a year.


When his brother is killed in a robbery, paraplegic Marine Jake Sully decides to take his place in a mission on the distant world of Pandora. There he learns of greedy corporate figurehead Parker Selfridge's intentions of driving off the native humanoid "Na'vi" in order to mine for the precious material scattered throughout their rich woodland. In exchange for the spinal surgery that will fix his legs, Jake gathers Intel for the cooperating military unit spearheaded by gung-ho Colonel Quaritch, while simultaneously attempting to infiltrate the Na'vi people with the use of an "avatar" identity. While Jake begins to bond with the native tribe and quickly falls in love with the beautiful alien Neytiri, the restless Colonel moves forward with his ruthless extermination tactics, forcing the soldier to take a stand - and fight back in an epic battle for the fate of Pandora.


Sam Worthington already made his mark in the same year with his appearance in Terminator Salvation alongside Christian Bale, Bryce Dallas Howard, Helena Bonham Carter and others but he stars in another blockbuster but in perhaps the blockbuster of blockbusters. I liked his performance as Jake Sully but there were some (but not loads) moments where his acting felt soulless and cheesy but Sam did suit Avatar and I could feel the strong love between Jake and Neytiri. Zoe Saldana was incredible as Neytiri! I think what was so extraordinary about her was that despite she is a massive blue creature, you can't help but find her attractive and damn near fall in love with her as you watch it. She had more of a chance of an Oscar nomination than Sam Worthington did but I don't think she deserved it as much as any of the other actresses who were nominated. Sigourney Weaver returns in a James Cameron film and in a huge way. I think her performance was the best from all of the actors in this film and I think she should have been nominated for an Oscar. She was previously in Aliens that was directed by James Cameron and it was great to see her return in a James Cameron film once again. Stephen Lang was good as Colonel Quaritch but I find him too similar to Governor Ratcliffe in Pocahontas. They are both greedy, possessive and are desperate for power no matter the consequences.


James Cameron, you may be a director of science-fiction, taking pride on expanding on the audience's imagination and creating or extending science-fiction franchises. Avatar may be his most successful film but I do still prefer both Aliens and Titanic. The development of Avatar began in 1994 and Cameron wrote the script from January-April 2006 so the planning took 12 years but the filming and post-production lasted almost 3 years and after seeing the film with the effects, art direction and cinematography, no wonder it took so long to make and prepare but it damn sure was worth it. Cameron did deserve the Oscar Best Director nomination but wouldn't have deserved to win just like the film itself probably only would have deserved Best Picture for the effects blowing away the audience. James Cameron, you may be an amazing director, producer and editor but I have to admit you can't write film screenplays that well. One thing that was quite annoying in Avatar was when there was swearing involved. I mean, yeah everyone swears but it is set in a world over 100 years into the future and on a few occasions, it was sometimes like it was Sam in the film, not Jake Sully. So there were some cheesy moments in the script.


Overall, Avatar is a visual masterpiece that blew me away despite its flaws. Watching Avatar at the cinema in 3D and/or on blu-ray on a big flat-screen TV is perhaps the ultimate film experience. James Cameron has created something that I would call a landmark for its effects but it isn't his best film for me. It is one of the best films of 2009 and the fact it was released in the last month of the last year in the noughties, it showed that times are going to change so who knows what film will blow us away in the next 10-20 years. I can't wait for 2014 and 2015 when the two Avatar sequels are released so we can see Jake and Neytiri return and enter the world of Pandora in 3D on two more occasions.