Top 5 underrated/guilty pleasure films

I don't usually write lists, but on this occasion I thought it was appropriate. There are always films which are universally seen as terrible, Pluto Nash comes to mind. But there are also those bad films which if you turn off half your brain, and look beyond the surface are actually not as bad as you'd think. There are of course film's which were underrated on release but when you look back on them, they deserved more praise than they got.

1. Super Mario Brothers

Ask any fan of the most renown videogame franchise what they thought of this film and the chances are they will scowl at you, they completely disown it. It's true that it has very little in common with the game, Mario and Luigi apparently live in Brooklyn, and Bob Hoskins in dungarees just doesn't work. However the film is very entertaining, the goombas are a work of genius, and those jet shoes (is that what they're called?) are simply amazing. It's the perfect film to watch at Christmas or on a rainy Sunday afternoon.

2. Final Fantasy- the spirits within

Groundbreaking for its time, it got a mixed reception at the time and spectacularly failed at the box office. The animation is a bit dated now, but the heart of the film is still very sound, and the story is actually very good and at times even quite emotional, the villain is not two dimensional, and at times even sympathetic. But again like the first film in my list it wasn't faithful to its source material, which is why fans of the games disown it. Which is a shame because in my opinion it's still the best videogame movie adaptation in my opinion.




3. Lost in Space

Watch this and try not to think that it's Joey Tribiani and not Matt LeBlanc on screen, it's impossible. But the film is very entertaining, Gary Oldman again plays the campy villain perfectly, the special effects understandably vary in quality, the opening scene still holds up very well indeed. Some of the dialogue is atrocious, 'DESTROY, DESTROY, DESTROY', but it only makes the film even better. It's a shame because the film leaves with a cliffhanger, and because of the film's under performance the planned sequels never happened, and we will never know what happened next. Shame.



4. You've got mail

Unlike some of the others on the list, this film wasn't universally hated on release, it has just kind of been forgotten. But You've got mail is a great New
York romcom, not only is it an original plot it is also a rare film that actually makes you feel better about the world, it provides perfect comfort watching. Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan are perfect in both roles, on a rainy day put this film and try to be depressed, impossible.



5. Small Soldiers

Tommy lee Jones was born to voice Major Chip Hazard of the commando elite, the great thing about this film is that it's fun and doesn't take itself seriously
at all. If this film was made now it would most probably be done in CGI, which is why it would never work or be made in the current climate of the film industry. Added in with the great action scenes is
plenty of tongue in cheek humour. Small Soldiers was sadly crowded out by the incumbent of CGI kids films.

The Purge- Review

Director- James DeMonaco
Running time- 85 minuted
Starring- Ethan Hawke, Lena Headey



Set in the year 2022, America has become a place of prosperity and full employment, but for one night in the year, for a twelve hour period there is an event called 'The Purge', where all crime is legal and services are suspended.

On this one night the film centres around the Sandin family, who live in an affluent upper middle class neighbourhood, Ethan Hawke and Lena Headley give reasonable performances for what they
are given, from the beginning we see that they represent an idealistic family unit, and 'The Purge' is far removed from their everyday reality as they lockdown their home. The tension builds up until a stranger being pursued by a group who want to kill them turns up at the front door.

Circumstances lead this stranger into the house, and it is from here that a lot of the action begins to take place. The problem is that so much of the suspense leads to nothing, while effective what little action there is is few and far between, and over far too quickly. And what begins with a very good villain ends in total disappointment, and we learn nothing of the group's motives as to why they want to kill this person.

There are too many changes of direction in the last third of the film, and none of it ends up making the film any better, by the time it ends it all felt like a 'meh' experience, although the final scene as 'The Purge' comes to an end, and normality is resumed does have a lot of impact.

For a lot of its faults, the film has a lot of original ideas, it conveys the worst in humanity in a crude way, it will keep you engaged throughout, like most thrillers it will keep you on the edge of your seat, and constantly guessing at the back of your head as you're watching. It's just a shame that all ends up being average.

The Purge plays on the uncertain economic climate that the world still finds itself in five years after the banking crisis, but for all that it has going for it, and with a very good build up, the second half of the film just falls flat on its face. 

2.75/5      

Star Trek: Into Darkness

Director- J.J Abrams

Running time- 132 minutes

Rating- PG

A very enjoyable albeit formulaic Sci-Fi action film

The reboot of the Star Trek franchise into a new film series back in 2009 was ambitious, and to many people a very welcome surprise. It was perfectly cast (all of whom once again return) and had a great blend of storytelling as well as action that is so hard to pull off in science fiction genre.

This sequel does not quite live up to either, and it's disappointing because the trailer was one of the best that I have seen for a very long time. The basis of the plot revolves around a terrorist attack in London, which then leads the Enterprise in pursuit of the perpetrator, an ex starfleet agent, menacingly and brilliantly played by Benedict Cumberbatch, although there is one slight twist in his eventual plans, the narrative of the film doesn't change much, and neither is it any different to anything else that we have already seen.

There's nothing wrong with this, most films are formulaic in some sense, but what they can't be, is being very predictable. Moments of tension and real emotional character interaction fall flat when everything turns out as you expected, each scene is predictably telegraphed into the next. The action scenes are well choreographed and exciting to watch and very large in scale, one particular gunfight with the Klingons in the early part of the film is very good although a little short.

Visually it is one of the best film's I have ever seen, unlike most sci-fi films it has a great collage of scenes that vary in colour, in an often dark and frantic atmosphere that dominates much of its running time. The Enterprise is wonderfully modeled, and showcases what CGI is capable of doing. The cast is again perfect, although understandably the primary characters are Spock and James Kirk, although their personalities clash, the partnership is as intriguing and holds the film together well. Apart from the villain the rest of the characters are nothing more than supporting roles in terms of screen time.

The film ends much like the last film, and most of the episodes of the original series. A final encounter with the main villain followed by the Enterprise going into warp to embark on another expedition, and then for the credits to roll.

If you put aside the fact that it's unoriginal and formulaic, Into Darkness is an enjoyable film, and one which your time will not be wasted on. There is more than enough here to keep you entertained, and to keep you excited for another sequel.

3.5/5

     

Evil Dead Review

A highly preposterous but very enjoyable horror film

Sam Raimi's classic low budget Evil Dead was released in 1981, with the current trend of rebooting horror films in mind, Evil Dead shouldn't be as good as it is. With the rise of torture porn horror films such as Saw and Hostel, real tension and suspense has been forgotten or more often than not completely overshadowed by the graphic nature of the violence in them, no matter what the content is. The good thing about the new Evil Dead is that the brutal violence combines well with the suspense in an effective way.

Like the original the film is centred around a group of friends who go to a remote cabin in the middle of nowhere, where they discover a book in the basement which unleashes a demon once they open and read it. In this film one of the characters is there for the purpose of stopping her drug addiction. Because of the film's correct and short running time of 91 minutes, it isn't long before the narrative of the film plays out and the carnage begins.

With the introduction of the demonic force, one by one we watch the characters physically deform into monstrous killers. Each of their transformations is grisly, and the effects even more so. The film certainly pulls the punches in the blood department, moments of self harm are graphic and a little shocking, but never really upsetting because of the horrid nature of the character's involved. A particular reinvention of one distressing scene from the original that involves rape via tree vines appears.

The secluded setting of the film is never really played upon but we know it exists, when the outside forests of the cabin are shown, they are to heavy rain and grey skies, a vast difference to the opening scene when they arrive at the cabin. Most of the film takes place in the cabin itself, a dark and dingy place with dead cats hanging from the ceiling in the basement.

The pace of the film fits in well with the running time, although the characters are not deep enough to really empathize with, we do care and sympaphise with them, the paranoia and downturn of their fortunes are portrayed well.

The ending has a surprising twist, and one that is different from the original, again preposterous but enjoyable. The film does suffer from a lack of imagination, at times it just felt like I was just waiting for the next person to die in an already seen death, most scenes are predictable, and for a horror film, , although there are scenes of tension and suspense, the scares are very few and very far between.

But Evil Dead is a welcome change from the rest of the torrid horror remakes of late, in part because it takes the essence of the original and adapts it to a new audience. It uses its simplicity as its advantage.

3.5/5

Tomb Raider Review

Is the new look Lara a reboot to treasure or a misguided adventure?

Tomb Raider Underworld hardly set the world on fire despite being a very good game, its sales were good but hardly groundbreaking, or anything close to what the original Tomb Raider games had been in the past. Even before Underworld the Tomb Raider series had been on the decline, in both popularity and sales. Videogames has moved on, and far more likable female leads to Lara Croft began to be released. So Crystal Dynamics decided to reboot the whole thing, start a fresh, with a completely remodeled Lara.

In the long four years that Crystal Dynamics has been working on this new Tomb Raider game, the videogame industry has moved in a fast way, we're coming to the end of the current generation of consoles, and in that time another adventure/ platform/action game series by the name of Uncharted has become very popular, reinventing the genre the same way that Tomb Raider did, despite the clear influence seen in the new Tomb Raider from Uncharted, there are clear differences.

The story of Tomb Raider begins with a 21 year old Lara Croft, who is part of an expedition to look for the Yamatai Islands, aboard the Endurance, which was once the home to the infamous 'Sun Queen' Himiko. Characters included in this group and who become a major part of the story as it progresses, include Dr Whitman, an archaeologist, Royal Marine Conrad Roth, Lara's best friend Sam, Alex Weiss-Endurance technician, Angus Grimaldi-helmsman and first aid officer, Jonah Maiava-ship's cook, and Joslin Reyes- mechanic. The ship crashes before setting aboard on the Island, but the game starts with Lara on the Island as the group separates. The plot steadily gathers pace the more you progress through the game, some of it very predictable, some of it a little ludicrous. The plot unfolds in journals that you pick up on the way, and a video recorder which shows you what was being discussed on the ship before it crashed. But of all the points in the game it possibly is one of its weakest, too often it feels ponderous, as though the writers made it up as they went along, but that said it doesn't deter from the whole experience.

The gameplay of Tomb Raider plays very much like a corridor shooter, with moments of exploration and wall climbing. One noticeable change in this game compared with the other games in the series, is that it concentrates far more on action than exploration, this is the case for at least two thirds of the game. It's only in the last half of the game that it's linearity becomes less restrictive, and sections of the game become much more open, it is only in this part of the game that you're really required to do any backtracking, my personal favourite is Shipwreck Beach. In fact the first hour of the game actually feels like you're controlling a movie, as you encounter numerous Quick Time Events, and walk narrowly through different tunnels with nothing more than a blowtorch.

Because of the game's setting most of what you would call real tombs that were so prevalent in most of the other games are actually optional, these are sections of the map which are hidden but easily accessible. In truth they are quite short, at the end of each one you have to figure out a puzzle, once you figure it out you get a piece of treasure as a surprise. This is one disappointment in the game, nearly every location in Underworld could be considered a tomb, because of the setting and change to action oriented gameplay, this new Tomb Raider lacks any real tomb that can be explored, and those that are in it are just supplementary.

The game feels good to play, moving Lara is effortless, the motion capture is spot on, the combat system is a real pleasure to be a part of, the targeting system is great, the overall experience is a real joy to play. The variety of weapons is basic compared to some games on the market, but all have their advantages, if you're a more experience and patient gamer you'll like the Bow, the shotgun and machine gun are good if you like to go all in, the pistol is good for precision and quite handy as a secondary weapon. At certain points in the game you can buy new skills for the weapons and gear you have, you get these points through the treasures you collect and the kills you make, it's a nice edition to the game that adds variety, and provides another incentive to progress through the game further.

The game is not worth playing on easy difficulty, start with normal, to my surprise the game's artificial intelligence is very challenging and relentless. You will rarely encounter enemies one by one, they actually work in packs for a lot of the game, the most difficult is towards the end when you are faced with Japanese Samurais. Despite the fact that the puzzles are sadly few and far between, they are challenging, just like previous Tomb Raider games they have the unique ability of making the most seemingly easy tasks feel impossible, after you have succeeded in each one you'll breath a sigh of relief, and feel good about yourself.

The presentation of the game is second to none, the landscape and environments are exceptional, as you're playing they feel real and accessible, the look of the game is very raw and dark, thanks to the game's visuals the tone of the game is believable and in some ways very enchanting. Lara herself has had a bit of a makeover, which is a good thing, although she is younger, her face now seems more rounded and less cartoonish, which fits well with her innocent and vulnerable personality at the beginning of the game. Lara comes across as a real person in this game, we emphasize with her, in this game she is a real character rather than caricature. The game's voice acting and cutscenes are also also perfect, although I was disappointed that the games cut-scenes were all taken from in-game.

There are certain gripes with the games, I would have liked to have seen a vehicle control section, more puzzles between the action would have been nice, a wider variety of tombs to explore. But Tomb Raider should be a stepping stone to future games in the series, it certainly deserves it, and I certainly would like to be a part of it.

8.5/10- A must have game      

      

Sonic Adventure revisited

It is without question that the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise was at its best when it was a 2D platformer, hitting its peak with the release of Sonic 2 in November 1992. That particular game is still my favourite from my childhood, the hours played before and after school were well and truly worth it. I still play it on my DS from time to time.

When Sonic first burst onto our screens in 1991 most games were ponderous and slow. This was changed with Sonic the Hedgehog, the sheer speed alone was like nothing else on the market at the time, the levels were colourful and imaginative, the soundtracks impulsive, and as with all of the other 2D Sonic games, the levels became less linear and more of a challenge the further you went into the game. What also helped Sonic was the fact that he was a cool looking character, he was the kind of character you didn't mind having on your lunch box or T-shirt, which was very rare at the time for a videogame character, perfect for a mascot.

But since the glory days of the 2D Mega Drive games, Sonic's foray into 3D has been mixed at best, most have been average and forgettable, but one of the first, and was highly praised on release, and that was Sonic Adventure, which was released as a launch title for the Dreamcast. Although it wasn't anywhere near a Mario 64 beater everyone was hoping for, it was still a highly respected game that averaged scores into the late 80s mark by most critics.

So when I discovered my old Gamecube sitting in the garage the other day, I went out and bought a copy of Sonic Adventure DX. Playing it was a stark reminder of how much games have technically advanced in the last decade. Most obvious of these is the voice acting  and movement of characters, most of which are pretty good in most games these days. In Sonic Adventure these are both terrible, the dialogue is cringe worthy, the voice acting is diabolical and doesn't run in tune with the characters mouths as they speak. The in game cut scenes are laughably bad, the designs of the main hubs within the game are static and motionless.

Of course none of these bad things get to the heart of the game, the heart of the game has some dynamic and very fun elements to it, some of which still hold up well today.There are five playable characters, the best of these is Sonic, of all of the levels he has the most exciting and enjoyable ones, this is because the gameplay is all about speed, and at their best they showcase what Sonic games are capable of in 3D, and they give off a similar experience to what it felt like when you played the old 2D games at their best.

But there is still a problem, the levels do seem very short and linear, there are times when you could just hold down the up button and do nothing else, as the character goes through loops, with the camera fixed in front or behind you. The disparity in quality in some levels is also evident, while some are fun, others are just boring. Because the levels are set in the real world instead of Mobius, they lack any kind of imagination, none of the levels here are anything compared with Green Hill Zone, Marble Zone, Sandpolis Zone, from the 2D games.

There are certain set pieces within some levels that are memorable and still enthralling to play to this day, examples include the run away from a killer whale and speeding down a skyscraper. The other characters in the game have varying levels of quality, with Tails you have to beat Sonic in a race to get the emerald at the end of the level, it's okay but feels like a downgraded version of the Sonic levels. Knuckles and Amy are often ponderous and frustrating at times, although they still have their moments. Playing as the robot E-102 Gamma is actually very good, and feels like an old arcade shooting game. Big the cat is worst of the bunch, the game requires you to fish for the frog that he has lost, overall it's just boring and forgettable.

The game is still decent and worth going back to, there are some very good moments but too often it feels disjointed and too short, and when it is challenging it isn't in a way that wants you to keep playing, it's just frustrating.

That said Sonic Adventure still has its place in the Sonic the Hedgehog library, and is certainly a bright spot since the end of the 16 bit era.

At some point I will replay Sonic Adventure 2, and give you my thoughts.

Zero Dark Thirty- Review

A fine and engaging yet dark thriller, that insists on the up most attention

Zero Dark Thirty is director Katherine bigelows first film since 'Hurt Locker', based around the search for Osama Bin Laden after the tragic events of 9/11, and the lead up to his eventual discovery and assassination  The story centres around CIA operative Maya (Jessica Chastain), the film plays like a journey, the journey she had to take in the decade long search for someone who was once the most wanted man in the world.

Jessica Chastains performance is believable  I felt emphatic towards Maya as the film successfully depicts the struggles and hurdles that she takes, from the beginning of the film to the end. At times the narrative seemed to jump from one plot to another far too quickly, although there is a clear direction the film is taking you, at times it just seems like it's plodding along, tease after tease, question after question. It might just be the fact that I have read a number of books about 9/11 and the aftermath, which general audiences wouldn't have.

The torture scenes which have gathered so much controversy happen at the beginning of the film, there not as graphic as I thought they might be, if there is any effect on you it will be from a psychological point of view rather than the acts themselves. Whether it was intentional to make a point or not on the writers part, we learn that the acts of torture themselves don't come of any use.

The tone of the film is very dark, although understandable it might put off some people,although not inexplicably shown there are scenes that show terrorist attacks, the London 7/7 attacks is included in this.

The final moments when the Navy S.E.A.L.s team break into Bin Ladens hideout are executed perfectly because we see the vast majority of it through night vision goggles, from the point of view of each soldier. The tension and suspense is helped by the lack of background music, as the team of Navy S.EA.Ls move from one room to the next until the moment comes when Bin Laden is killed.

For all of its exhilaration and curiosity, when the film ends it does feel like a relief, but in a good way. And I liked that the final scene leaves us asking more questions.

Verdict- An unmissable film 4/5