Idris Elba

Director : Jeymes Samuel – Cast Includes : Jonathan Majors, Idris Elba, Zazie Beetz, Regina King

I fucking love The Bullitts aka: Jeymes Samuel he’s one talent dude and his latest The Harder They Fall is a breath of fresh air in the Western genre, and although the film’s a fictional piece, its characters are based on real cowboys, real lawmen and real outlaws of the American West around the 19th-century…. with a cast bursting at the seams I found this film to be simply MAGNIFICENT… a stylish, well worked western that contains an interesting storyline, a whole bunch of fun characters to sink your teeth into and root for including Lakeith Stanfield’s gunman Cherokee Bill and my favorite Danielle Deadwyler’s Cuffee a saloon hand turned outlaw and a killer soundtrack that matches each and every scene with great panache… some of the gunfights are violent and bloody, the colors used in the saloons are sumptuous, the camera angles, shadows in the dirt and overall photography by DP Mihai Mălaimare Jr are quite irresistible, another top notch performance by one of my favorite actors Jonathan Majors and the showdown between Stagecoach Mary and Trudy is off the charts GOOD… so if your looking for just over 2hrs of pure western escapism then The Harder They Fall will fit the bill perfectly : IT’S BRILLIANT ★★★★½

It’s been 4 long years since Alan Taylor’s Thor: The Dark World graced our screen’s so boy it’s great to see him back – yes I know our favourite Norse God has appeared in the Avengers: Age of Ultron and had a small cameo in Doctor Strange but for me personally there’s nothing quite like seeing your comicbook superhero’s in their own picture, on the big screen with an audience full of exciting anticipation

“Thor is imprisoned on the other side of the universe without his mighty hammer and finds himself in a race against time to get back to Asgard to stop Ragnarok—the destruction of his homeworld and the end of Asgardian civilization—at the hands of an all-powerful new threat, the ruthless Hela.”

So down to the movie, firstly it’s the third film in the Thor franchise and it’s directed by New Zealander Taika Waititi – who the hell’s he I can hear you say? well he’s the guy responsible for that delightful, gorgeous little movie Hunt for the Wilderpeople one of my favourite movies of last year and if you’ve not seen it then please do so – whether it was Taika Waititi’s māori sense of humor or the writers fresh approach the whole movie gave off a rather unique vibe, it almost felt entirely a comedy and certainly the most humor I’ve seen in a Marvel picture for me personally this was a bonus – Thor: Ragnarok is full of the most ridiculous, colourful characters – Jeff Goldblum’s Grandmaster is no doubt the pick of the bunch, his big eye’s tinged with blue eye liner, dressed in a gold, blue & red gown lent marvellously to this wacky Willy Wonka appearance, Goldblum really looked in his elements – we also get to meet some other comicbook favourite’s such as Kork a huge creature made of crumbling rock & Surtur a firey demon voiced by none other than Clancy Brown – the scenes between The Hulk and Thor are witty and at times downright hilarious and their battle in the arena is a riot – Cate Blanchett breathes life into Hela with an elegant menace, her voice and costume is devoured by the actress who is simply perfect as the movies villain – Westworld’s Tessa Thompson who plays the warrior Valkyrie is sublime, so bewitching, totally badass with that confident swagger and cocky attitude but as Loki found out to his cost Valkyrie can also fight with the best of them

Overall: Thor: Ragnarok is the easily best Thor movie to date, it entertains with it’s sharp witted narrative, allowing it’s cast to have fun, it’s almost as if the cast ripped up the script and improvised their way through proceedings – this movie will undoubtedly divide opinion with some diehard MCU fans not liking this all comedy approach, but remember those with short memories Iron Man 3 was exactly the same, full of humor except it was poorly written or handled abysmally by Downey Jr – this can’t be said for Thor: Ragnarok a modern blockbuster that has a refreshing feel to it, sending me into joyous rapture for it’s 2hr plus runtime and like the majority of the packed cinema I laughed, smiled and clapped my way through it all – oh yeah and don’t forget it’s rocking soundtrack, another fun Stan Lee cameo and 2 small but intriguing after credit scenes ★★★★

Having grown up watching the Disney classics such as Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella and The Jungle Book I was intrigued when hearing that Iron Man & Elf director Jon Favreau was working on a new live-action/CGI remake based on Rudyard Kipling’s story – anybody who follows me on Instagram or Twitter will know I’m not huge on this constant Hollywood obsession in remakes, reboots or re-imagining of the classic films of yesteryear, that being said I will always give a film the benefit of the doubt and I watch each one hoping for that gem, a remake that may possibly surprise and may even equal it’s predecessor !!

Well after visiting my local cinema complex I was not surprised I was blown away by what I had just seen – not many movies in recent times, let alone remakes have taken my breath away but Jon Favreau‘s epic take on this classic tale did just that – from its exhilarating opening watching the orphaned Mowgli race through the jungle to its heart racing climax with the villainous Shere Khan – The Jungle Book is gorgeous on every level, it’s seamless CGI is forgotten after the first few moments in the movie as your transported into a setting where animals fill your heart with song, laughter & maybe a lump in the throat, Favreau handles Mowgli’s heart warming encounter with Baloo the bear, the hissing, conniving of Kaa and the hilarious & complete epic-ness of King Louie singing that classic song “I wana be like you” with total respect of the original movie yet creates his own special deliverance of these beloved characters – his casting of the voice actors should be applauded and where on earth did he find the young Neel Sethi, this kid is perfect as Mowgli giving the film it’s heart, he’s certain to be a star of the future – Overall 2016’s The Jungle Book is a magical cinematic triumph, it’s a film that brings the feel good factor & family entertainment back to our screens and if you’ve seen Wolfgang Reitherman’s 1967 Disney classic then you may find yourself humming along to a couple of favourite tunes too – pure and utter brilliance, stop monkeying around & visit The Jungle Book at cinema’s now!! ★★★★½

THOR : THE DARK WORLD (2013) – Movie Review ★★★★

Cast – Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Anthony Hopkins, Tom Hiddleston, Christopher Eccleston, Jaimie Alexander, Idris Elba, Ray Stevenson & Kat Dennings – many eons ago the Dark Elves led by Malekith attempt to plunge the universe into darkness using a weapon known as the Aether – their plans though are derailed when Malekith’s army are defeated by the warriors of Asgard who take the Aether and hide it somewhere safe so that it can never be used for evil again – Malekith escapes the battle and vows to return and finish what he started – VERDICT with the likes of Pacific Rim, Elysium, Star Trek 2, Ender’s Game, Man of Steel & World War Z the science fiction blockbuster has returned to our big screen this year with almighty bang – having enjoyed Kenneth Branagh’s 2011’s movie THOR I was very interested to see what Alan Taylor a director known for his television work could do with the franchise – the film was watched in 3D but unlike Avatar and The Hobbit the film made poor use of this technology so 2D viewing would suffice – I found the film’s story to be pretty decent and unlike Marvel’s Iron Man 3 the comical moments in THOR : THE DARK WORLD worked quite well, along with Darcy (Kat Dennings) and Erik (Stellan Skarsgård) who both contributed to the light-hearted side of the movie it was Chris Hemsworth’s THOR that produced a couple of subtle comic moments that had the cinema in roars of laughter – I also loved the scenes with Tom Hiddleston’s Loki locked away in the dungeons of Asgard, they were well done with Hiddleston once again demonstrating his comical prowess playing THOR’s evil brother with a swagger and stealing many of the movies best scenes with his delicious trickery – YES the film has it’s flaws and YES Christopher Eccleston’s villain Malekith is poor and not the big bad we’d all hoped for – but that being said Alan Taylor’s THOR : THE DARK WORLD is 112mins of heart thumping, adrenalin fueled action, with some fabulous visuals of Asgard and Svartalfheim, a breathtaking finale and some deliciously fun minor roles from the likes of Zachary Levi’s Fandral, Ray Stevenson’s Volstagg and the beautiful Jaimie Alexander playing the Asgard warrior Sif – it’s escapism at it’s best, a real Marvel treat that’s packed with entertainment…. so what you waiting for….