The Italian Job – An Instant Classic

Charlie’s got a ‘Job’ to do. Having just left prison, he finds one of his friends has attempted a high risk job in Italy right under the nose of the Mafia. Charlie’s friend doesn’t get very far so Charlie takes over the ‘Job’. Using three Mini Coopers, a couple of Jaguars and a bus, he hopes to bring Torino to a standstill, steal the Gold and escape. This is a classic robbery film based around a very British Charlie Crooker portrayed by the legend Sir Michael Caine. If having Michael Caine as the lead actor wasn’t British enough what cars do they use? Only the British motoring icon the Mini Cooper with some of the greatest chase scenes in films and cleverly performed motoring acrobatics leaving the viewers in awe and ultimately cheering on the crooks. With some clever iconic lines such as ‘you’re only supposed to blow the bloody doors off’ and ‘you wouldn’t hit a man with no trousers on, would you?’ adding a subtle hint of comedy within the plot lines.

 

Whilst this is an iconic film it didn’t stop film makers attempting to remake the classic film, whilst the film itself was a great film it wasn’t good enough to carry on the legacy of the original film. It was heavily Americanised with the lead characters being American and plenty of shooting sequences which don’t fit with the original that it is supposed to be a remake of. Whilst the theme of stealing a boat load of money from another country and the iconic mini coopers being a main part of the plot everything else changed. However these were the bigger mini coopers that were used within the film which to me aren’t ‘classic’ mini coopers which doesn’t follow the aesthetic that the original film was based upon. Get some classic mini coopers, block the roads, get the money and get out of here!

While I do enjoy the remake of the Italian Job it is nothing compared to the original, it may be a homage but it cannot fulfil what the original film created. it follows the idea that you cannot recreate an iconic film. There are things within the original film that make it an icon that you simply cannot recreate no matter how much you try. Both films are great but the original film will always stand the test of time and forever stay with me as one of my all-time favourite films

Deadpool – The ‘hero’ we deserve!

This is the origin story of former Special Forces operative turned mercenary Wade Wilson, who after being subjected to a rogue experiment that leaves him with accelerated healing powers, adopts the alter ego Deadpool. Armed with his new abilities and a dark, twisted sense of humour, Deadpool hunts down the man who nearly destroyed his life. This film is one hilarious joke after another as we follow Wade struggle to come to terms with his new identity in the hope that one day he will catch Ajax and make him suffer like Ajax made Wade suffer. Deadpool encapsulates the sarcastic and slightly perverted inner mind that it would appear that everyone has, I know it really played with my immature mind when I first saw this film and I feel like that is exactly what was occurring within every mind of the audience within the movie theatre!

This film is a far greater rendition of the Deadpool that we have witnessed in the earlier X-Men film X-Men Origins: Wolverine as they kept Wades huge ego and comical wit in the film whereas the X-Men films sewn up his mouth reducing him to silence and gave him a rather boring outfit which doesn’t relate to the comics. This film shows just how well Ryan Reynolds can play Deadpool when given the creative freedom to make Deadpool his own and add his own touches of personality to it. Whilst there was a large love interest in the film it didn’t feel like the plot was based entirely upon getting the girl back as Wade was more interested in causing pain upon the guy that made him the ugly monster that no one would love, typical marvel with their hidden meanings, it’s not what’s on the outside that matters it’s the individual personality that matters as shown in the final sequences when the love interest shows that his disfigurement doesn’t change anything and that she still loves him as much as she did when they first met. A great film that will surely pass the test of time and with a rumoured second film to be released I personally can’t wait to see what follows.

 

Hackers – 1995

A young boy is arrested by the U.S. Secret Service for writing a computer virus and is banned from using a computer until his 18th birthday. Years later, he and his new-found friends discover a plot to unleash a dangerous computer virus, but they must use their computer skills to find the evidence while being pursued by the Secret Service and the evil computer genius behind the virus. With a simple plot line and high calibre action sequences hackers is truly a secret love of mine. Whilst the special effects are substantially low grade compared to today’s blockbusters it still manages to pull you into the story and keep you entertained. This film is mostly based upon the anarchist side of 1990’s youth and is a slap in the face of the establishment as these young individuals have managed to take what is a pretty new concept, the internet and computers, and use it to cause chaos towards those who do not understand how these new machines work. Whether that be by placing free calls at payphones using a simple gadget to hacking into huge businesses just to make life difficult for those who are harassing them. While this type of film was seen as a fairly new concept in the early 1990s it appears to be an early insight to what we know is happening in today’s world. I feel like this film helped pave the way for ‘hacking’ to be incorporated into more films. This film encapsulates the youth of the 1990’s with many of the cast shown within the film with all the latest gadgets be that the latest laptops with the latest processors to roller blading around an amusement arcade full of the latest games and simulators. All in all a simple yet entertaining film based upon the idea that hacking is ridiculously simple and when you start hacking mystical number float around your face!

‘Hack the planet!’

Star Wars – A New Hope

With the recent passing of Carrie Fisher it seems fitting to take a look back at the franchise that she is known for by many, Star Wars. With her first appearance in the franchise in Star Wars – A New Hope.

Released in December 1977 the story follows a young Luke Skywalker who joins forces with a Jedi Knight, a cocky pilot, a Wookie and two droids to save the galaxy from the Empire’s world-destroying battle-station, while also attempting to rescue Princess Leia from the evil Darth Vader.

As a child I remember watching this film countless times on VHS, a rectangular plastic box with tape in that needed rewinding to be played from the beginning! How times have changed. Even though the film was released 14 years before I was born the special effects still stuck me with awe and wonder. The same special effects that I have now come to realise are actually not as spectacular as I remember so vividly in my head, no doubt due to the advancements in Hollywood and CGI.

Whilst being nearly 30 years older than some films that have been released in 2016 it has a significantly higher rotten tomato score of 93% in comparison to Suicide Squad which only received a score of 26%. This doesn’t necessarily mean that advancements in the CGI industry are the main contributing factor of a blockbuster. If the film doesn’t have a story that will keep your interest, like Star Wars, then it isn’t worth while in my opinion.

The acting in Star Wars, whilst being nearly 30 years old, is still impeccable. Harrison Ford played his role as Han Solo, the a human male smuggler who later became a leader in the Alliance to Restore the Republic and an instrumental figure in the defeat of the Galactic Empire during the Galactic Civil War, perfectly. He was the rugged, smart Alec that everyone loved even though at times he was portrayed as an individual who was only helping in order to receive the bounty that he earned and was owed. However his conscience and feelings for a certain Princess Leia (Portrayed by the late Carrie Fisher) made him have a complete change of heart and come to the rescue when the Rebel Alliance needed him. Not to mention he had a giant Wookie telling him to go back and help. Chewie you hero!

I can’t write about A New Hope without the mention a Darth Vader (portrayed by David Prowse, voiced by James Earl Jones) he was Originally a Jedi prophesied to bring balance to the Force, he falls to the dark side of the Force and serves the evil Galactic Empire at the right hand of his Sith master, Emperor Palpatine (also known as Darth Sidious). Caution spoilers ahead, however if you haven’t seen the rest of the franchise where have you been for the last 30 years!? He is also the father of Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia Organa. He is in control of a giant space station known as the Death Star, which he uses to destroy Alderaan which was the home to Princess Leia.

Whilst these characters are all fan favourites, my all-time favourite has to be R2-D2  pronounced Artoo-Detoo and often referred to as Artoo, was an R2-series astromech droid manufactured by Industrial Automaton prior to 32 BBY. He was originally tasked by Princess Leia to carry some highly dangerous information, the Death Star plans, in the iconic scene where he projects the message given to him to deliver to Obi –Wan. Whilst his only was of communication is though beeps which is translated by his companion C-3PO he still manages to be my favourite character. He is the unsung hero

Even with is sub-par special effects and sometimes really corny acting it is still highly regarded as one of the best Star Wars films, even managing to beat the prequel films that were released much later. I still love watching this film and will continue to enjoy them for many years to come

Suicide Squad – could have been better?

A secret government agency recruits some of the most dangerous incarcerated super-villains to form a defensive task force. Their first mission: save the world from the apocalypse; sounds thoroughly entertaining doesn’t it? Well yes it is!

Suicide squad is the third instalment of the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) following on from the success of the previous two instalments Man of Steel (2013) and Batman vs Superman (2016). With a particularly large and exceptionally talented cast, a $175m budgets and vast amounts of humour and innuendos scattered throughout the film this has all the making of a very successful film, however for me and many other people who have seen this film I was left feeling a little disappointed with what I had spent over two hours watching.  Personally I feel that the plot was messy and that they tried to include too many life stories as well as the main plot. I feel that each character should have had a film made outlining their back stories before this film was produced. Characters such as the Joker (portrayed by Jared Leto) and Harley Quinn (portrayed by Margot Robbie) could easily had their own feature film that outlined how they met and how everything escalated instead of trying to explain these details in a 20 minute slot. Deadshot (portrayed by Will Smith) also could have easily had his own feature film produced outlining his ‘rise to fame’ as a killer.

One character in particular caught my attention the most out of all the characters in this film. Enchantress. She is an ancient witch that is accidentally unearthed by archaeologist June Moon (portrayed by Cara Delevingne) when she snaps the head off an ancient statue, why an archaeologist would deliberately break an ancient figure is beyond me but this is DC you believe what they tell you to believe! As a result of unearthing this unknown witch June Moon is hereby possessed by the witch who can be conjured up by uttering the words enchantress. In doing so the witch takes over control of June and can carry out any of her magical powers such as teleportation, telekinesis etc. she is essentially a superhuman on par with Superman.

The Joker as a plot line isn’t really necessary, yes he explains how Harley Quinn become crazy and how she would do anything for him but he plays no real part in the film he is essentially a pointless side plot. The film would continue to make sense without him in it. It seems like a desperate attempt to get the Joker in a film without having to produce a completely separate film, even certain parts that were shown in the teaser trailers weren’t even included in the final film. A whole load of hype for a rather pointless character!

Chato Santana otherwise known as El Diablo on the other hand (portrayed by Jay Hernandez) plays his role fantastically, he is essentially a man who is cursed with the gift of pyrokinesis, the ability to conjure and control fire. His background story is a sad tale of him losing control of his anger and accidently causing his home to erupt into flames killing his wife and child in the process. This makes him never want to get angry or use his ‘gift’ ever again. This does make his character really boring to watch at first as you don’t really understand the true extent of his powers as you aren’t shown much of it in action just one scene with him killing 20 inmates and a small part around the house fire. He just seems like he doesn’t want to be there helping the suicide squad as he doesn’t want to use his powers, it isn’t until the final fight scene against the Enchantress’s brother where you get to see the true extent; he transforms into a full fire demon…… EL DIABLO!! He ultimately saves the day by helping distract the brother until they can detonate a bomb underneath him to kill him.

Captain Boomerang (portrayed by Jai Courtney) and Katana (portrayed by Karen Fukuhara) were another group of characters that I feel were completely worthless within this film as they didn’t seem to play any real part in the film. Captain Boomerang is an Australian bank robber who had no plans on being part of the suicide squad or work as a team, he’s a loner, and that’s all he does in the film. He does provide some comic value but otherwise a pointless character in my opinion. Katana, to me wasn’t really explained effectively to outline the reasoning for her to be part of the suicide squad and essentially a character in the film.

Overall a decent film to watch however it really should have had separate films to outline the backgrounds to the main characters especially the Joker and Harley Quinn, Deadshot and Chato Santana – El Diablo, this would have allowed them extra time to pad out the plot properly and make the film more immersive and separate to the backstory of the characters.

If I had to summarise this film in one sentence it would be this; messy plot lines and irrelevant characters.