Billion dollar franchise Fast & Furious returns for more nitrous fuelled action with a sixth offering, this time from director Justin Lin (The Fast & The Furious: Tokyo Drift, Fast & Furious).

When evidence surfaces that Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) – supposedly killed off in Fast 4 – is still alive, brawny Interpol officer Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) turns to Toretto’s (Vin Diesel) street race crew to bring down the bad-guys she’s hanging with.

Vehicular warfare ensues as the team takes on ex-Special Ops soldier Owen Shaw (Luke Evans) and his military powered entourage. Enter tanks, planes and outrageous explosions. London gets the glamourous Fast & Furious treatment as this gang of English rivals make a glossy race track of Canary Wharf by night.

“London gets the glamourous Fast & Furious treatment”

Playing in to the popularity of evil English foes – The Avengers, Star Trek Into Darkness – and classy British locations celebrated in last years 007 treasure Skyfall, Fast 6 makes spectacular use of its new location. British constraints such as illegal handguns are neatly molded into crucial plot points but dodgy accents and English caricatures abound in this absurd but entertaining flick.

The return of Michelle Rodriguez gives Fast 6 a clear direction and the plot hangs together well with a good variety of racing action. The script from long time Fast & Furious writer, Chris Morgan, borders on schmaltzy as Letty and Toretto meet as if for the first time but a nice spattering of gags from Roman (Tyrese Gibson) and Tej (Ludacris) keep Fast 6 grounded in its carefree style.

The car chase set pieces that punctuate this sixth instalment are glossy and slick as ever, but the Fast & Furious formula is increasingly focussed on hand to hand combat. A street race between Letty and Toretto harks back to earlier offerings while spectacular but illogical driving showdowns take the car chases to ludicrous extremes.

There’s plenty for petrol heads in this latest Fast & Furious outing but its brawling action focus is likely to leave die hard fans longing for a bolder return to the franchise’s street racing niche. With some of the boldest driving yet, Fast 6 delivers high octane entertainment, even if it can’t quite top the safe dragging thrills of Fast 5. And, with the preposterous, military-powered final showdown leaving audiences with the overwhelming question, ‘how long was that runway?!’ we can only wonder where Fast 7 will take us next.

VERDICT:  ✭ ✭ ✭ ✩ ✩    3/5

For more information see the official website

The greatest American novel gets the lavish Baz Luhrmann treatment this spring in opulent 1920s drama The Great Gatsby.

Aspiring Wall Street banker, Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire), finds himself in a world of lavish parties and new money when he moves to Long Island’s West Egg and takes up residence next door to the elusive millionaire Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio). As the consuming passions of Gatsby and cousin Daisy (Carey Mulligan) draw Carraway further into this luxurious world, despair and pain are never far away.

Luhrmann’s films (Moulin Rouge, Romeo and Juliet) are well known for their bold, highly stylized approach and The Great Gatsby opens with more than a little of the director’s usual flair. Black and white, twenties inspired credits that flicker with the faded quality of an old film, transform into shimmering gold 3D. Quirky scene setting promptly begins with rapid footage of twenties New York accompanied by a heavy, bass powered score.

Carraway’s initial resistance to the twenties party scene is overcome in a burst of vibrant colours, noise and excessive behaviour, brought to life by Luhrmann with a contemporary edge so unexpected it could almost be from a modern teen movie.

It is this atmosphere of excess and careless wealth that Luhrmann’s adaptation cultivates, and on which it thrives. Sets and costumes are exaggerated in true Luhrmann style with detail loaded upon detail to potent effect. Gatsby’s parties see this style taken to extremes, crammed with glitter, booze and jewels, while Gatsby’s exhilarated driving in a yellow open top Rolls Royce oozes glamour. Yet even The Great Gatsby’s more intimate scenes are heady with luxury and details that play into the film’s melodramatic style. Beautifully arranged scenes litter The Great Gatsby, from a rain of silk shirts falling down on Daisy in Gatsby’s bedroom to afternoon tea encircled by exotic flowers.

This is Lurhmann on a much bigger scale than we’ve seen him before, amped up to epic levels. Sweeping shots rapidly take us from up-close action to vast twenties landscapes and the towering mansions of the West Egg, lit nightly by the yellow glow of new electricity. The decision to offer 3D, is almost symbolic of this excessive style: a decision that seems at once unnecessary but is beautifully utilised by Luhrmann.

“A potent, invigorating viewing experience”

Luhrmann’s attention to the excesses of the twenties makes for a potent, invigorating viewing experience and the iconic director demonstrates his clear talent for nurturing atmosphere. As the film nears its crescendo he gives us a claustrophobic scene set against a hot New York summer. Using everything from shots of ice to the sound of  electric fans, Luhrmann creates such a powerfully heady atmosphere it’s almost possible to feel the heat in the room.

Accompanied by an irresistible soundtrack filled with bass pumping numbers from executive producer JAY Z and Kanye West, to twenties inspired gems from Emeli Sande and a beautiful, melancholic ballad from Lana Del Rey, The Great Gatsby is given a bold, modern edge.

The emotional gravitas of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s masterpiece is at times squashed under the weight of Luhrmann’s exuberant film-making but DiCaprio’s masterful, vulnerable performance as Gatsby ensures the story’s power is not entirely crushed. Neither does Carey Mulligan’s immense beauty as Daisy overshadow her character’s flaws or emotional weaknesses, with Mulligan giving us an enticing, complicated and troubled character.

Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby is an intoxicating visual spectacle, yet the emotional quality of the story frequently risks suffocation by the vigorous focus on style. While this greatest of American novels does not require excessive styling to make an impact on viewers, Luhrmann’s adaptation is nonetheless an irresistible piece of cinema.

VERDICT:  ✭✭✭✭✩ 4/5

For more information, see the official website

Master of sci-fi fantasy J.J. Abrams presents the second instalment of his rebooted Star Trek series, Into Darkness. Abrams’ 2009 prequel to the cult franchise opened to widespread acclaim reinventing the Star Trek universe for newcomers and Trekkies alike.

This time, our sleek villain, John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch) – who looks more like the milk tray man than the prequel’s more typically attired Romulan bad-guy – declares in the movie’s trailer that ‘darkness is coming’. As its name suggests, Into Darkness follows the widespread trend towards a darker tone for rebooted franchises. It’s a mood here that emanates largely from the deep vocal prowess and forbidding on-screen presence of Benedict Cumberbatch. Paralleling last year’s 007 success story, Skyfall, Cumberbatch gives us a vengeful ex-colleague in a memerizing performance to top that of BAFTA nominated Jarvier Bardem. As Cumberbatch chillingly declares ‘I will walk over your cold corpses,’ there’s no doubt that Harrison is a fearsome adversary. As John Harrison blows up London’s star fleet archives before launching a more menacing assault on star fleet itself, the familiar theme of terrorism that has pervaded numerous recent fantasies, from The Dark Knight Rises to Iron Man 3, rears its head again.

“Into Darkness dazzles with comedic interjections from Scotty and Bones”

Yet despite its early terrorism overtones, Into Darkness is not nearly as dark as similar franchise reboots. Instead, Into Darkness dazzles with comedic interjections from the excitable Scotty (Simon Pegg) and the sarcastic Bones (Karl Urban). The bromance between Captain Kirk (Chris Pine) and Spock (Zachary Quinto) also flourishes with tensions between the pair fast becoming the lifeblood of the reboot.

With backstories already established in Abrams’ prequel, this second offering lacks much of the earlier film’s charm but enables some interesting character developments. Kirk and Spock test each other’s boundaries, unwittingly learning from each others vastly differing attitudes. As Spock, Zachary Quinto continues to exploit his character’s internal conflicts – between logic and emotion – to stunning effect, proving to be the reboot’s best asset.

“This offering truly excels in its striking visuals and dizzying 3D”

Less accessible to newcomers than Abrams’ prequel, Into Darkness still makes considerable effort to assimilate first-timers, with some pretty significant nods to earlier Star Trek outings working well as stand-alone story points. Yet where this offering truly excels is in its striking visuals and dizzying 3D. The movie opens on the stunning planet of Nibiru, alive with a forest of red vines, an active volcano and a sea of crashing waves. The 3D works brilliantly here, with flying arrows apparently bursting from the screen to jump inducing effect. From this gorgeous and fertile realm we return to a futuristic London that’s equally well conceived. Visually spectacular, Into Darkness raises the bar for sci-fi visuals with the crew’s arrival on Kronos making particularly impressive use of 3D.

Into Darkness is not without flaws. A barrage of information dominates the midway point and the film propels into a third act dominated so heavily by action that plot is virtually obliterated.

Yet with stunning visuals, a menacing bad guy and dextrous character development, it’s hard to feel disappointed by Into Darkness. With this intense and gripping second helping that finds just enough time for comic diversion, J.J. Abrams re-affirms the merits of his reboot. As Abrams now turns his attention to Star Wars VII, here’s hoping his efforts there are just as successful.

VERDICT:  ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✩    4/5

For more information, see the official site

The action packed third installment of the Iron Man franchise is set to be the highest grossing yet. Directed by Shane Black of Kiss Kiss Bang, which also starred Robert Downy Jr., Iron Man 3 opened number one at the UK box office in its first weekend.

Brimming with references to last year’s hit The Avengers, industrialist-turned-superhero Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is struggling with anxiety attacks following the alien invasion of New York. Add to this the rise of a forbidding terrorist aggressor, The Mandarin (Ben Kingsley), and Stark certainly has his work cut out.

When a bomb injures Stark’s long time security officer, Hogan (Jon Favreau), Stark declares a spell of ‘good old-fashioned revenge’ on The Mandarin, stumbling onto a science inspired US domination plan that has a good share of twists and turns.

Having thrust himself into working on a range of new remote controlled suits since The Avengers, Stark’s relationship with love interest Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) is under pressure. Enter handsome but unbalanced scientist Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce) for a nice spattering of tension. Fans of the franchise will welcome a juicier role for Stark’s sidekick lover in this third installment as Pepper gets her own share of the action.

Hollywood’s terrorism angle is beginning to feel a tad overused and genetically engineered super soldiers are no stranger to the big screen, but writers Shane Black (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang) and Drew Pearce weld these concepts into an exciting, if absurd, plot. A smattering of deliberate misleads feels cheap but strangely satisfying, while a stunning performance from Ben Kingsley as The Mandarin gives us a riveting villain.

The Iron Man franchise has its own brand of dry remarks and spoof-like humour and Iron Man 3 does not deviate from this trademark style. Comic book flair comes in the form of sparingly used but blatant screen wipe editing transitions and attempts to root Iron Man in the real world include a bizarre clip of Fashion Police’s Joan Rivers commenting on the red and blue look of the Stark designed Iron Patriot. As usual, Stark frequently spews with sarcastic and wry quips and his character’s arrogant personality is regularly on display. Robert Downey Jr’s obnoxious character whose charms are a little too hidden, remains an acquired taste. Yet the addition of a child sidekick (Ty Simpkins) in this installment’s second act injects a neat undercurrent of sentimentality.

“A smattering of deliberate misleads feels cheap but strangely satisfying”

Big action set pieces bookend the plot from the destruction of Stark Enterprises showcased in the movie’s trailer, to an explosive final showdown. Less elaborate, but equally exciting, action sequences load the film with energy from cat and mouse pursuits to a plane hijacking. As with previous installments, the action remains plagued by odd and awkward in-mask face shots but, here, these are kept to a minimum.

Iron Man 3 doesn’t live up to previous offerings from the franchise but does provide plenty of plot and character development that fans will appreciate. In true comic book style, belief systems are best left suspended at home as Iron Man 3’s elaborate action sequences and absurd plot play heavily into this action adventure genre.

VERDICT: ✭ ✭ ✭ ✩ ✩  3/5

For more information, see the official site

Writer-director Joseph Kosinski follows up his 2010 directorial debut, TRON: Legacy, with another sci-fi visual feast, this time adapted from his own graphic novel, Oblivion.

Oblivion opens on a rapid-fire prologue outlining decades of war with alien invaders. Known as Scavs, these alien aggressors plundered the moon, throwing Earth into a chaos of tsunamis and earthquakes. A nuclear war followed, leaving Earth uninhabitable, with all remaining human survivors now relocated to Saturn’s moon, Titan. This whirlwind scene-setting undermines the film’s early mystery and Oblivion starts out predictably rooted within the sci-fi genre.

Colleagues and lovers, Jack (Tom Cruise) and Victoria (Andrea Riseborough), live alone on a control tower amidst the clouds. Their job is to ensure Earth’s resources are successfully collected for deployment to Titan by repairing mechanical Drones. With their memories wiped, Jack and Victoria share an odd, emotionally sparse relationship – dispassionately defined as an ‘effective team’.

Much of Oblivion’s first 30 minutes is spent in the company of Jack and his daily Drone maintenance routine. This leisurely pace gives viewers plenty of opportunity to take in the meticulous and engrossing world Kosinski has created. Yes, his landscape is littered with predictable architectural relics, from the Empire State Building to the New York Public Library, and the clinical minimalism of the control tower plays into swelling futuristic cliches, but the rigorous attention to detail and sheer scale of the terrain makes Oblivion a satisfying visual binge.

Yet there are downsides to Oblivion’s early, gentle pacing as Kosinski throws in an indulgent love scene and some saccharine patriotism. Jack’s enthusiastic re-enactment of the 2017 Superbowl in a devastated stadium, is far from the film’s finest hour, offering us little more than superficial insight into Jack’s character. Stick with Oblivion though and it throws a science-fiction curveball as a volatile mystery unfolds with surprises at every turn. As Jack begins to glimpse his memories, everything he knows is called into question, and Oblivion becomes an intriguing, corkscrew sprint to a neat and tidy conclusion.

Andrea Riseborough brings the sharpest performance to the table, injecting her role with a coolness and steadfast respect for the rules that maintains an enigmatic impression throughout. Cruise, on the other hand, struggles to shake off typecasting and throws in a few cheesy expressions worthy of Friends’ Joey, but capably carves out a hero to root for in a problematic role that ultimately lacks emotional depth.

Kosinski has created a convincing future, carried through with masterful visual effects and a soundtrack bulging with bold and futuristic synths. Oblivion rapidly picks up the pace after a relaxed first act to deliver a volatile plot packed with surprises. What it lacks in character, Oblivion makes up for in twists, but any lasting mystery is eroded by trite time-shifts that bookend this entertaining sci-fi mystery.

VERDICT:  ✭ ✭ ✭ ✩ ✩   3/5

For more information, see the official site

Over at the LAMB, the LAMMY annual blogger awards are well under way. I’m honoured to be submitted in The Best New LAMB category and would like to thank the anonymous blogger out there who put forward my name!

Hop on over to the site to see the full list of categories and nominees here. It’s amazing what this film blogging community has collectively achieved over the last year – the volume of work is incredible! I’ve already discovered some great new blogs by looking over the list and I’m sure you will too if you check it out.

Fellow LAMBs can select up to five nominees in each category to go through to the final round of voting. I’d love to make it through, so if you’d like to vote for me you can do so here. Voting closes on 3rd April 2013.

And to any of you movie bloggers out there who aren’t already LAMB members, I would definitely recommend signing up. The LAMB brings likeminded bloggers together to share movie views, film writing and podcasts. It’s a great community to be part of.

That’s all from me for now, I have some new blogs to read! I’d just like to wish everyone who’s been nominated the best of luck and to thank you all for stopping by and reading my blog!

In this outrageous road trip comedy from Horrible Bosses director, Seth Gordon, sensible businessman Sandy Patterson (Jason Bateman) has his identity stolen by loud and gutsy Diana (Melissa McCarthy). When his job in the financial sector is brought under threat by swelling credit card debts, Sandy travels across America to bring the thief to justice.

Identity Thief is principally carried by the comic talents of Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids, This Is Forty) whose ability to deliver irresistibly funny improvised dialogue rarely wanes. Despite Diana’s instantly loathsome character, there are plenty of hints early on that there’s more to her abhorrent personality than meets the eye. McCarthy charges her role with vulnerability, tempering an abundance of brash and frequently vulgar comedy. What results are some surprising, if sentimental, moments in this largely unsophisticated comedy.

As Sandy, Jason Bateman gives us a predictably straight-faced bore whose levelheaded desire to preserve ordinary family life is unoriginal and borderline dull. As Sandy and his colleagues languish beneath the big bosses who happily pay themselves hefty bonuses, Identity Thief rakes over old ground and feels a little out of time. Yet Sandy’s chilly determination and relatable plight stands in striking contrast to Identity Thief’s myriad of cliche and silly characters – including a hit-man and a narcotics gang – who are also in hot pursuit of Diana. Whether Identity Thief aims to be laugh out loud silly or suffused with witty commentary is anyone’s guess.

Craig Mazin’s (Scary Movie 3 and 4, The Hangover II) bonkers screenplay certainly suggests the former. Plagued with ridiculous scenarios and outrageous near deaths, from which characters escape completely unscathed, it’s an approach that provides plenty of cheap, but forgettable, laughs.

Yet Mazin’s chosen subject matter should be ripe for perceptive comedy especially given the film’s added emphasis upon a struggling financial sector. For all the grave implications of identity theft raised at the film’s outset, it is curious that the film eventually lands on the message that its ok to steal from those who deserve it. It’s a twist that lacks enough Robin Hood sentiment to make it palatable and, instead, leaves Identity Thief meaningless and empty.

This vacuous road trip comedy survives on a decent spattering of cheap laughs while pretending to be much more. Ultimately rescued by Melissa McCarthy’s unrelenting energy and sheer comic talent, Identity Thief supplies fleeting entertainment but lacks enough substance to go the distance.

VERDICT:  ✭ ✭ ✩ ✩ ✩    2/3

For more information, see the official website

Long-time television director Don Scardino (30 Rock) turns his attention to the big screen in this latest comedy, The Incredible Burt Wonderstone.

Old school Las Vegas magicians Burt (Steve Carell) and Anton (Steve Buscemi) perform to a waning audience when new street magician, Steve Gray (Jim Carey), hits the scene with an assortment of horrific endurance stunts. The long-time duo’s magical friendship snaps under the pressure as they try to salvage their show and the arrogant Burt soon finds himself alone in Vegas, wondering how to recapture his popularity.

The comedy opens on a charismatic 1982 high school prologue that sees Burt and Anton make friends over a disappearing handkerchief trick. It’s a strong start and the fumbling, directionless plot that follows leaves you wishing these charming characters had never left the screen.

While Scardino’s first act flies by in a swathe of fake tan, dodgy stage make-up and glitzy show costumes, the aged magicians’ dreadful dancing and excessive self-confidence is uncomfortable rather than funny.

Steve Buscemi works hard in a thankless supporting role that’s much too light on gags. His magician, Anton, is naive and endearing and would arguably have made a more attractive comedic lead. Burt, on the other hand, is an obnoxious and arrogant personality whose obsolete world view makes it difficult to identify any redeeming qualities. It’s a strange choice of lead role – reminiscent of Will Ferrell’s brave style – and while Steve Carell does a fine job as the repellant character, the rambling plot fails to reveal anything deeper about this egotistical personality.

Instead, as Anton and Burt part company, this clumsy comedy loses its way and its many diverging sub-plots leave the movie spread too thin. Thankfully, an encounter at a Vegas nursing home with retired magician, Rance Holloway – played by an impeccable Alan Arkin – brings The Incredible Burt Wonderstone back for a big finish.

While it possesses some genuine laughs and plenty of gross-out humour, The Incredible Burt Wonderstone feels too familiar to be laugh out loud hilarious and at times the comedy feels as tired as Burt and Anton’s show. It doesn’t help that the concept feels about a decade too late, with street magician, David Blaine, hitting television screens as early as 1997.

An A-list cast makes The Incredible Burt Wonderstone a watchable movie that’s ripe for escapism. Too light on comedy, this neat idea (if a little late) is ultimately hampered by a confused script.

VERDICT:  ✭✭✩✩✩ 2/5

See the official website, here.

It’s fitting that Side Effects’ opening sequence – an extreme longshot of a New York apartment block that steadily zooms in on the bloodied contents of a single room – is drenched in director Steven Soderbergh’s unique style. Side Effects is the last film from the eclectic director who brought us Traffic, Erin Brockovich and Magic Mike, as he retires from the industry this year for pursuits in theatre, television and art. Cinema-goers have waited with bated breath for Soderbergh to go out with a bang.

Rewind three months from the film’s taut opener and Side Effect’s first act plays out like the perfect partner to Soderbergh’s 2011 medical thriller Contagion, taking the familiar and commonplace – this time in the world of medication – to extremes. Martin Taylor (Channing Tatum) is released from prison, after serving time for Insider Trading, to find his wife, Emily (Rooney Mara), defenceless under the stranglehold of depression. Prescribed a new medication, Ablixa, Emily’s world tears apart as the drug’s potent side effects take over.

Powerfully set up for an attack on big pharmaceutical corporations, Side Effects swerves this fertile angle, instead becoming a character driven quest that sees psychiatrist Jonathan Banks (Jude Law) take centre stage. There’s more than a hint of retro in Side Effects’ style, reminiscent of classic thrillers with its sultry femme fatale (Catherine Zeta-Jones) and corkscrew plot.

Side Effects’ early U-turn is a bold and rather confusing move but twists and turns are the life blood of this modern thriller. Littered with holes and cheap plot developments – that include that predictable yet crucial piece of internet research – Side Effects’ pace and gripping performances make it irresistible viewing nonetheless. As established characters are instantaneously torn apart and rebuilt anew it’s easy to feel a tad manipulated but, with a cast this unflinching, it’s hard to feel dissatisfied. Only Zeta-Jones falters in a performance that staggers uneasily towards typecast.

It’s disappointing that Side Effects is to be Soderbergh’s last big screen movie, not simply because his diverse and acclaimed filmography hints at so much future promise, but because Side Effects doesn’t quite feel like his best film. In its finest moments, Side Effects wades into the murky waters of mental illness and the hidden darkness within us all. The settings burst with clinical modernism and this final film has Soderbergh’s sharp visual prints all over it, including an impressively captured sequence of violence. Yet, to its detriment, Soderbergh’s last effort too often relies on cheap twists and lazy flashbacks. Fast, seductive and irresistible, none of this matters in the moment, but on reflection has the power to make viewers feel a little cheated.

VERDICT:  ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✩    4/5

For more information, see the official website

Allen Hughes’ (From Hell, The Book Of Eli) much anticipated political thriller, Broken City, is a disappointing homage to classic noir.

Mark Wahlberg is Billy Taggart, an ex-cop thrown out of the force for killing the man who murdered his girlfriend’s sister. Now working as a private detective, Taggart is commissioned by Mayor Hostetler (Russell Crowe) to identify his wife’s (Catherine Zeta Jones) lover before election day. Taggart inadvertently discovers a hot bed of corruption and must use brains and brawn to escape a set-up. Enter murder, a nocturnal car chase and blistering manipulation.

Broken City should be edge of the seat exciting and fraught with tension but even though Brian Tucker’s script delivers a handful of unexpected twists, taut thrills are few and far between in this over-complex and fatigued crime mystery. Tucker’s debut screenplay takes too long to heat up and, when it does, frequently loses momentum between key plot developments. Efforts to make Broken City’s characters more dynamic are even less successful as Taggart’s fleeting dalliance with alcoholism is shelved almost as soon as it is mentioned.

Wahlberg, Crowe and Zeta-Jones weigh-in with predictable performances that bring little flair to this conventional thriller. Of all the movie’s A-list cast, Crowe keeps audiences watching, ploughing through Mayor Hostetler’s slick hair and fake tan to give us a sleazy and detestable politico. Wahlberg and Crowe muster up enough on-screen friction to keep Broken City from falling apart, while Barry Pepper, as mayoral opponent Jack Valliant, offers up some searing political ripostes.

An 80s inspired soundtrack brings a touch of glamour to the proceedings and the opening scene that sees Taggart’s downfall from NYPD is shot with a flourish of style. Yet Broken City fails to either recapture the simmering tension and visual appeal of vintage noir or offer an exciting, original interpretation. Instead, in Broken City, director Allen Hughes gives us a middle of the road political thriller that despite its A-list cast is, ultimately, forgettable.

VERDICT: ✭ ✭ ✩ ✩ ✩    2/5

For more information, see the official website