Robin Hood - 8/10

The story of Robin Hood is one of the most familiar of English legends, and has been brought to film more than any other historical figure, bar perhaps Jesus. The part has been played by multiple actors, including a fox, and has explored almost every aspect of the famous outlaw's derring-do's. So how does a director bring a new dimension to the well-trodden story? The answer - the now established guaranteed success of an origins story. 

Before he gathered his merry men, before he became an outlaw, and before he robbed his first penny from the rich to give to the generic poor, Ridley Scott's version joins Robin Longstride on his way back from crusading with Richard Lionheart. Robin, a common soldier, is disciplined for his "honest and naive" nature, and soon finds his way back to England and into favour on the Loxley estate in Nottingham. From here, the story moves toward the impending French invasion and Robin's role in the battle, as well as his newfound relationship with Marion, played with familiar fiestyness by Cate Blanchett. 

Despite the fear of obvious comparisons with Gladiator (same director, same leading man with the same unintelligible growl), fortunately this is not Gladiator in the woods! What emerges is an uncharacteristically lightearted Scott movie, which fizzes with energy and heart throughout. While there are moments of Maximus-inspired, highly quotable philosophising ("Rise and rise again, until lambs become lions"), the tone is light and the inclusion of a brilliantly cast band of merry men provide easy comic relief, while never descending to farce.

It is suprising however, that this is the work of the master innovator Ridley Scott. To say the plot is formulaic is perhaps unfair, but coming from the man who gave us Alien, Blade Runner, and who redefined this kind of epic character piece with Gladiator, it feels remarkably familiar. Scott's magic hands when it comes to the cinematography are still apparent - England has never looked so rich and glorious - as is his ability to choreograph some of the most spectacular battle sequences around. What this film lacks is the creative flair and touch of genius we have become so used to from one of the most significant filmmakers working today.

This minor gripe aside, Robin Hood is still by far the most effective and gripping telling of the story, miles ahead of the turgid Prince of Thieves and even more entertaining than the Disney fox. Crowe is impressive and entirely believable as a common outlaw who stood against a king. The traditional antagonists of King John and the Sheriff of Nottingham have dissapointingly minor, and in places overly comical roles, making way for Mark Strong to once again take up central bad guy duties, a part of the market he seems to be cornering quiet confidently at present. Writer Brian Helgeland, who is enjoying a return to favour after 10 years of decidedly average screenplays, manages to keep the story flowing even through a fairly static mid-section. 

A consistently entertaining, lovingly shot piece of summer fare which will stand out as one of the hits of the year. While not scaling the heights of some of his previous offerings, an average Ridly Scott film is still leagues ahead of most other's best.  

Iron Man 2

Rating: 7/10

The first Iron Man sits easily alongside the Dark Knight and X-Men 2 as one of the freshest and most enjoyable comic book movie adaptations to date. Heralding the revival of the brilliant Robert Downey Jr, as well as a superb supporting cast, and some inspired action sequences, Iron Man became an instant hit, leaving the sequel with the unenviable challenge of equalling or bettering its performance.

Just to add pressure, Iron Man 2 is the film which really begins the Marvel master plan of a franchise of superhero movies building to the Avengers film scheduled for 2012. With the Thor and Captain America films already underway, Iron Man 2 begins the process of SHIELD assembling the Avengers unit, with Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson, signing an unprecedented 9 film deal with Marvel) taking an active role in developments, having been introduced in a teaser at the end of the first Iron Man film. This is perhaps the best context within which to view Iron Man 2 – as the beginning of a bigger story. The prospect of at least nine films of inter-connected superhero stories, culminating in a grand superhero mash-up, is certainly tantalising to even the most reluctant geek.

Inevitably, this means that there needs to be a certain amount of scene setting, and some nods and winks to the coming franchise (of which there are plenty here). It also means that Iron Man 2 does lack the pace and flair of its predecessor. Having said this, the opening twenty minutes is a complete pleasure, with some superb performances – in particular, the film’s second come-back kid Mickey Rourke as Russian protagonist Ivan Vanko – and a beautifully worked car crash sequence on the Monacco circuit.

It is, however, the middle section where the script loses it’s pace. Despite the best of work from the cast, there is simply too much talking. This wouldn’t be too bad, other than much of it feels insignificant. While the tone of the film is light and fun, this means that when trying to deal with some of the darker issues such as Stark’s drinking, sickness and isolation, they lack the emotional tug required to keep the momentum. Even the usually brilliant Sam Rockwell, here as Stark’s main business rival who is attempting to build his own army of iron men, begins to get quite irritating.

Once these issues are dealt with, and characters inevitably get back on track, the last stage sizzling with action packed sequences. Don Cheadle takes over the role of Col. James Rhodes from Terrence Howard (who backed out due to “creative differences” – isn’t it always!), and adds more metal to the mix with the introduction of War Machine, essentially doubling the firepower and explosions to full entertaining effect. The only gripe being that the final battle seems to be over before it really begins, a flaw common in numberous Marvel finales.

While not equalling the success and flair of the previous outing, Iron Man 2 does a solid job of setting the stage for a world we are going to become very familiar with over the next few years. It is perhaps inevitably weighed down by it’s responsibility to a franchise and the expectation to give significance to proceedings. Nevertheless, Iron Man 2 manages to avoid the dud-sequel curse and just about manages to keep the attention, largely due to the charisma of an outstanding cast.

Kick-Ass

Kick Ass - Rating 7/10

It's such a simple and potentially brilliant idea, it makes you wonder why no-one has thought of it before.

Geeky teen, Dave Lizewski, the lead character in Matthew Vaughn's (Stardust, Layer Cake) newest offering asks the same question, wondering why no-one has thoght of actually being a superhero. Aided by a scubo suit from ebay and deadened nerve endings meaning he can take more of a beating than most - and he does - Dave takes on the criminal underworld. After a youtube video of Dave taking on a street gang propels him to internet stardom, Dave - now called Kick Ass - collides with slightly psychotic daddy/daughter crimefighting team Big Daddy and Hit Girl , who are waging their own private war against the city's criminal underworld.

Its such a great idea, it just doesn't quite work.

Much has been said (mainly by the Daily Mail) about the fact the star of the piece is a foul-mouthed, knife wielding 11 year old girl Hit Girl. Played brilliantly by "one-to-watch" Chloe Moretz, there is undeniably something quite disturbing about the way her father has stripped her of a normal childhood, in order to become a killing machine. There is, though, something undeniably entertaining about an 11 year old girl taking on an entire group of mafia gangsters. Any violence in the film - and there is a lot - is far from gritty and real, with a taste of comic book super-splatter along with some very clever set pieces.

The second revelation of the piece is Nic "Crazy" Cage. Its been a long time since he has done anything worth singing about, but with the character of Big Daddy, a blatant rip-off of Batman even down to the use of Adam West speech style, Cage has rediscovered something of the wild, manic genius of former glories Face Off and Con Air.

The acting talent on display is undeniable, there are some great back stories (Kick Ass is chasing a girl who thinks he is gay) and the plot races along at a high pace. There are some brilliantly entertaining points such as Big Daddy training his daugther by shooting her point blank. The final scene in particular is the movie's salvation with what is essentially a reworking of The Matrix's lobby scene, and is uber-cool, super violent and very, very funny. The soundtrack choice is sublime, using Elvis in ways you would have never dreamed, and mimicking The Dark Knight's pulse-racing one note strings to build tension very effectively.

It just feels like it could have been more - kind of like a 99 ice cream without the flake. With a great initial premise, and some brilliant characters, the centre of the film seems to lose itself, getting into all sorts of cliched existential talk of "why am i here/what am I doing?", which was the biggest weakness of Sam Raimi's Spiderman/Peter Parker. Vaughn's temptation to go darker in a fairly harrowing torture scene, screened on the internet, also feels a little out of place and unnecessary.

Kick Ass does deliver on many levels, and certainly keeps a frenetic pace while still leaving time to delve into some interesting characters. There are some wildly entertaining moments, but it feels like there is more fun to be had with this idea. Perhaps the inevitable sequel would develop this further.


Sex/Nudity - opening scenes show Kick Ass fantasising over his teacher and a couple of topless internet images. There are a few references to breasts, with some close ups on cleavage. One sex scene where characters are clothed.

Swearing - Lots of uses of the f-word. One use of the c-word by Hit Girl.

Violence - Quiet graphic but comic book style. Mainly blood splatter.

Sick List

I love movies. Always loved movies, but I think now it is staring to border more on an obsession. So, not to bore you, but just to let you know this will be a movie blog, highlighting the DVDs I watch, cinema trips I do, and any kind of movie news you may like to know about. Not that my movie tastes are flawless, but hopefully it will help you see the good movies and avoid the bad ones.

Also, I will try to be brief, as let's be honest, who really wants to read these?!

First Blog: Sick List
There is nothing good about being sick - I get very very bored. However, the inability to move or do anything else other than sit/lie there means movies are the only real option. Here is my sick list of movies I watched over the last few days and rated in terms of whether they made me feel better (10) or sicker (1). Enjoy (oh and please do comment. I get so lonely!):

The Conversation - Tight, twisty, brilliant little plinky piano score, Gene Hackman(!!!), and kind of hypnotic. Brilliant examination of obsession. Sick Factor: 7

Die Hard - What can I say?! Greatest action film ever!!! If you haven't seen it and loved it, please stop reading now! Sick Factor: 11.5 - Yippee-kai-yay!

Amelie - I weep when I think of this film. Just stunning. Vivid colours. Beautiful story. Beyond quirky ideas and images. It's in French but I recommend you turn the subtitles off and get immersed! Sick Factor: 9.5

SWAT - A cast that should have had a better movie really. Solid escapism if a bit shallow on character development. Sick Factor: 6

The Pledge - Chris Nolan is one of my favourite Directors and this is one of his best. The back-tracking trick of Memento. Exemplary performances from all leads. Micheal Caine(!!!). Shocking twists and turns. Sick Factor: 8

Predator - Arnie fights and alien with big guns and stuff. Worth watching for the 3min sot that pulls out more one-liners than any other Arnie film combined. "I ain't got time to bleed" Sick Factor: 8

Good Night and Good Luck - Good. Clooney directs a superb cast. A nice little snapshot into the responsibility media should have during a significant historical event. Its also in black and white - which makes it arty. A little boring - which makes it arty. Sick Factor: 6

Stealth - Fighter planes doing fightery kind of stuff, paper thin plot, gung-ho American attitudes and annoyingly arrogant leads. But it does have fighter planes! Sick Factor: 4

And that's it. Hope this whets your appetite for more opinion.

Im seeing Kick Ass next week so will let you knoW about that.

Also, check out my Flickster account on Facebook.

Cheers.