Movie Review: Battle LA

Based on a supposed World War 2 air raid after several unidentified objects were spotted, (It turned out to be a false alarm),  Battle Los Angeles is the latest Alien invasion film to be churned out by film makers who know it is likely to bring in money for them.

Battle LA is different from the others as it is basically a war film. There is not much science fiction on show as the film follows a group of U.S Marines during an alien invasion as they try to fight the invasion.

Aaron Eckhart stars as Michael Nantz, a U.S marine staff seargent who was planning to retire but as the invasion broke out he has to put that to the side as he joins a platoon in charge of evacuating citizens from an occupied area.

Battle LA is a thrill to watch and the adrenaline charged action is on show fromthe Alien invasion to every battle scene. The charracter development may be limited which is a setback when emotion is supposed to be conveyed in the film however, there is plenty of fun to be had from watching this film.

The action films are realistic and are impressive for a film with a 12A, the action is not limited and unlike films like Monsters and Cloverfield which it is nothing like but has been compared to, Battle LA is actually good.

Another film it has been compared to District 9, mainly because it is an alien invasion action film and there is more in common with District 9 than other two but althought not as great as District 9, Battle LA is not as far away as thought it would be in quality.

Not all reviews have been great but when positive they have been really positive and this review is no different. Battle LA is guns, aliens,testosterone, action and much more and it would do no harm to at least watch this once which will likely lead to repeated enjoyable viewings.

8/10

Movie Review: Adjustment Bureau

Adjustment Bureau:

I have to be honest and say going into Adjustment Bureau i did not expect much apart from maybe an Inception rip off from the way the posters made it look and the trailer.

I was wrong.

Adjustment Bureau is about David Norris played by Matt Damon, a politician running for senate who on the night of the election meets a ballerina dancer called Elise(Emily Blunt) and there is instantly a connection which is there when they keep randomly meeting however there is a team of mysterious agents watching over Norris and trying to keep him away from Elise for mysterious reasons.

Matt Damon is great as Norris and he is very likeable. So is Emily Blunt as Elise and the supporting cast is great which adds to the many reasons why Adjustment bureau is so enjoyable.

The story is intriguing and i was hooked from the start and the mysterious Adjustment bureau kept a sense of intrigue throughout as David tries to be with Elise as the agents put as many blocks in the way as they can.

Adjustment Bureau is a great, enjoyable film that had me interested from start to finish and when it ended i was only disappointed as i wanted it to go on for longer i was enjoying it so much!

8/10

Movie Review: Unknown

Unknown Review:

From the advertising campaign and promo trailers you wouldn't be blamed for thinking Unknown was an all out action film like Taken and seems to be sold that way however Unknown is completely different.

Unknown is a clever thriller that is the story of Dr Martin Harris, a scientist who travels to Berlin with his wife for a conference where he is speaking but he is in an car accident and wakes up four days later to find out someone else is saying they are him and everyone is playing along so he sets out to prove he is Martin Harris.

Liam Neeson like always is great to watch as Dr Harris and although he is surrounded by solid performances this is a Neeson show.

Unknown is clever and enjoyable however there is little action which wouldn't be an issue if it had not been sold through the trailers as an action film and there are very few action scenes in this film and i was confused why they had just tried to cash in on Taken's hype by making it look like an action film instead of shocasing in the promos the fact this is a good thriller movie.

Unknown is enjoyable and fun to watch however there was a few points of the film were i was hoping for maybe a little bit more. An interesting twist sets up a good final third of the film.

Unknown is certainly good enough for a watch or two and will be enjoyable however anybody looking for an all out action movie will be a little disappointed.

6/10

Movie Review : Drive Angry

Drive Angry:

Leave your brain at the entrance at the cinema when you go to see this.

If you do then you will be entertained by this action packed film starring Nicholas Cage and Amber Heard which does not take itself serious at all and that is the best part of it.

Cage plays John Milton, a dead man who escapes from Hell to seek revenge on Jonah King, a cult leader who killed Milton's daughter and kidnapped her baby. Along the way he meets Piper played by Amber Heard who joins him on his mission of revenge as the Accountant played by William Fichtner tries to find Milton and take him back to Hell.

Cage is fun as Milton who is a bad ass who will do anything to get King and the body count grows as he goes out his way to find him. This includes a funny scene were Milton kills people while having intercourse which is funny if not seeming like a rip off from the much more entertaining scene in Shoot Em Up.

The lovely Amber Heard holds her own on screen as a tough women that she plays well and Heard and Cage work well together .However the star of the show is Fichtner's accountant.

The Accountant is the calm dangerous threat to Milton’s revenge plan that works well as he is the opposite of Milton's angry nature that makes lots of noise. The accountant is a cool character that steals every scene he is in.

From gun fights during intercourse to 3D bullets piercing through body parts Drive Angry is a fun ride that straps you in and takes you along for a ride and apart from a third quarter that goes a bit too serious for its own liking, Drive Angry is a fun action film that if you don't take it seriously then you will enjoy the ride.

7/10

Movie Review: Paul

Paul:

After success working with Edgar Wright on the tv show Spaced and the films Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost have made their first film without Wright and Paul is that film.

Paul tells the story of Graeme(Pegg) and Clive (Frost). Two English Comic book nerds who travel to Comic Con in America for the first time and travel round famous UFO spots in the U.S.A which leads to them meeting Paul.

Paul is an Alien (Seth Rogen) who is not the harmless type of Alien like E.T. Paul smokes and swears among many other things and he is on the run from an Agent (Jason Bateman) who is trying to catch him after he has escaped from where he was being held captive.

Frost and Pegg have trheir typical on screen chemistry which works so well and them being best friends means they are great to watch and have great comedic timing.

Rogen's voice is also funny as Paul and Paul is the real star of the film as you would expect with the name of the film being Paul.

Kirsten Wiig is also good in the film as Pegg's chrisitan one eyed love interest which leads to one of the funnist scenes of the film when she meets Paul (God bothering cyclops) and the two agents who follow Bateman's agent around are very funny as the slapstick part of the film.

Paul is a sci film full of references to many other famous sci fi films and basically every single Spielberg film is referenced in some way. Pegg and Frost show their love for the genre with a funny Sci Fi film that is worth at least one viewing although most will watch countless times like the other Pegg and Frost movies.

It may be missing that added spark that Edgar Wright adds but Frost and Pegg show that they can still be funny without Wright and this all adds excitement to when the three make the third and final part of the Blood and Ice Cream trilogy.

7/10