Monsters University

Billy Crystal is a big green ball with legs who wants more than anything to scare the cockles off children and earn the big bucks doing it. To get there he first has to geek it up at a university full of, you guessed it Sherlock, monsters one of whom is a big furry John Goodman. The school is all about the scaring and the dean is the scariest of them all, Helen 'I am the god-damn queen' Mirren. Everyone thinks Billy is wasting his time as we all know green balls are not scary, just look at the poddington peas, but he is determined to show us all by winning some scaring competition thingy. Can he do it? Who knows but maybe we will laugh anyway.

I loved Monsters Inc as I am sure most of us sane people did. It was witty, charming and full to the brim of heart, the reason for this? one word, Pixar. You all know I am a little in love with Pixar as a film studio and thank Christ this film does not darken the name. The characters of Mike and Sully are still charming and voiced perfectly by Billy and John. The character and world design is beautiful and inventive and the predictable monsters in uni jokes still make you laugh like a 9 year old. All that being said it is not a perfect film and doesn't quite make it to the top of the Pixar pedestal, not even close actually. It fails in a few areas in which the first film excelled, the most important of which is the heart. You don't fall in love with the characters the way you did in Inc and unfortunately it did not warm the blood in my cold, black heart. It's a bit of a shame really as you are just left with a feeling of disappointment, albeit a minor one. I would recommend this to anyone but would urge people to make their way through the Pixar back catalogue to see what true movie genius is.

Verdict: 3.5/5

Film review: The Wolverine

Hugh Jackman puts down his song sheet and picks up his CGI claws so that he can get all slashy again. This time he heads off to japan to meet some old war guy he used to know who is getting on a bit now and wants to say goodbye, awww ain't it sweet. Once over in Japan Hugh meets lots of Japanese people who love a bit of sword play and an American lady who likes spitting on things. Once the storyline is set up Hugh unsheaths, his claws you dirty minded people, and really starts to tear japan a new one.

We all know the x-men franchise has had its ups (1, 2 and first class) and it's downs (3 and origins) so expectations were almost non existent for this new adventure and anything could have happened. This new story from the universe brings us our favourite cigar smoking anti hero in a completely new environment facing completely, almost, new kinds of enemies. There are not many mutated super beings knocking around and for me this is a bad thing considering we are watching film primarily about a mutant. It is not to say I don't like samurais and the ilk, on the contrary actually seeing as I won a lot of martial arts films, but it just didn't fit for me. I don't see the point of having what seems like a samurai film and then plonking wolverine in the middle of it, he just felt out of place, and yes I know this happened in the comics but it doesn't mean we need to put it on screen. Then there's the love interest which is verging on creepy old man issues and doesn't really work. It isn't a terrible film by any stretch and is better than the first wolverine film in both storyline and acting but it just felt a little off. Maybe I am being picky but can we stop with the solo wolverine efforts now and stick with the superior, in my opinion, first class series of films.

Verdict: 2.5/5

Gravity

Sandra Bullock decides to try her hand and astronauting, real word??? Who cares. She is being shown the ropes by old hat George Clooney. While up there they are fixing something or other on the Hubble telescope. They get in to a bit of bother when something the Russians did, bloody Russians, starts slamming into their ship and breaking lots of things. Sandra then floats about a bit whilst George plays with a gas based propulsion system and the third guy does not get a lot of screen time. They then have limited time to get away from the Russian cock up before they all cark it.

I saw this film in 3d, on purpose and everything, and I can honestly say you have to see it in 3d. Coming from me this is a big deal as on the whole I hate 3d and feel that it is completely pointless and a way to squeeze a little more money out of us all. In this they have used it perfectly and immerse you in the screen without overwhelming you with crap sticking into your face every 5 seconds. Gravity is probably the most beautiful film I have ever seen from a visual point of view. The special effects are nothing short of stunning from the opening shot all the way through to the end of the film. It manages to make you feel both the expanse of space and claustrophobic in equal measure but doesn't shove it down your throat. In my view the key to a great visual experience is you forget that you are in a cinema and start to believe you are in the film with the characters. This moves me on to the characters and the actors who play them. The characters are nothing groundbreaking with a typical rookie - veteran relationship but they are played excellently by both Bullock and Clooney, in particular Bullock who is just fantastic and I may love her a little. Yes it is a little cheesy but I completely forgive it and don't care at all. It is one of the greatest films I have seen in a long time and by far the most good looking.

Verdict: 5/5