War For The Planet Of The Apes Review: All Of Cinematic History Has Led To This Moment

“The best and most groundbreaking film since Jurassic Park”

There can’t be a human being alive who isn’t familiar with Planet of the Apes, whether it’s the classic 1968 original starring the late Charlton Heston and the late Roddy McDowall, along with its four sequels and 70’s TV spin-off, or Tim Burton’s hugely-panned 2001 remake starring Mark Wahlberg and Helena Bonham Carter, or now Rupert Wyatt/ Matt Reeves’ groundbreaking trilogy. Add to all of that the animated series, the video games, the graphic novels and all the old-school cosplay that has populated comic conventions the world over since the dawn of ape, and you have a franchise that rivals the likes of Star Wars and Star Trek, but one which speaks to the audience on a deeper level with its commentary on our society as well as our treatment of primates not so deep within its subtext.

The Curious Rockies

Vancouver

After a few days in the hugely undesirable city of Seattle, Vancouver came as a breath of fresh air. Sure it’s a city like most others, but the real difference is it’s in Canada. There might only be a marginal difference in terms of friendliness between Americans and Canadians, with the latter being the friendlier, but such a small detail makes all the difference.

Thor: Ragnarok

After defeating Surtur, a giant god-like creature hellbent on destroying Thor’s homeworld, Asgard, the God of Thunder tracks down his father, King Odin (Sir Anthony Hopkins), with the help of the portal-wielding Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberpatch). But when Odin suddenly dies, his secret firstborn daughter, Hela (Cate Blanchett), appears to assume power of the throne. Once she destroys Thor’s hammer, Mjolinir, she swiftly seizes Asgard. In trying to fight Hela, Thor and his brother, Loki (Tom Hiddleston), the God of Mischief, wind up on the distant garbage planet of Sakaar, where they meet allies old and new, including The Incredible Hulk (Mark Ruffalo).

What Time Is It? It's Morphin' Time...

Like many if not all blockbusters over the last couple of years that have served as big-screen adaptations, reboots, re-imaginings, sequels or prequels, the new Power Rangers movie has also been the target of hatred, scepticism and resentment. And without jumping on the anti-fanboy bandwagon, as a fan of the franchise myself, I'll be the first to admit that, whilst excited for the most part, some of the more recent concept images - mainly those of toys with almost zeo - sorry, zero marketing of the film itself, for reasons unknown - have been downright shocking...

Alien: Covenant Review - In Space, No One Can Hear You Yawn...

The bitch might be back, but this time it's hardly war

2012's Prometheus was rightfully ill-received, given its unbelievably incoherent plot and the convoluted mess that was the origin of the once-simplistic xenomorph, not to mention a horribly out of place back story about the creation of both the alien species and mankind itself. From there it seemed only hopeful that its follow-up, designed to act as both sequel as well as yet another irrelevant prequel to 1979’s Alien, would be an opportunity for director Ridley Scott to at least retcon those mistakes and go back to basics, returning us to the horror roots that made the original and two out of its three direct sequels work. 

Flash Film Reviews: Maze Runner 3, Cloverfield 3, Insidious 4, Darkest Hour

Another delay with getting film reviews to you, but what with buggering off to Toronto for my wedding anniversary (blog post coming up), being snowed in during the Great British Blizzard (no blog posts but plenty of chit-chat about bread and milk, for reasons unknown), and, well, watching said-films, I don't feel like apologising much. But then I am British, so I'm very, very sorry. Anyway, here are four flash film reviews with another three (at the moment, at least) coming right up. Sorry again.

Independence Day: Resurgence gives new meaning to ‘disaster movie’

Back in 1996, cinemagoers were blown away (as was the White House and many other famous landmarks) by what is arguably the best alien invasion movie of all time. Independence Day delivered an unforgiving alien assault on our planet in the most epic way ever seen on screen, with King of the 90s Jeff Goldblum’s hair-raising one liners, Fresh Prince Will Smith’s bad boy charm, and Bill Pullman’s unforgettable speech.

Blade Runner 2049 Review

Set 30 years after the original, Ryan Gosling’s Officer Kay – a blade runner - unearths a secret that, if exposed, will change the world and put replicants ahead of humans as the dominant species, so his only hope is to locate ex-blade runner Office Deckard (Harrison Ford) before it’s too late.

Flash Reviews: Downsizing, Coco, The Commuter & The Post

Here are some more flash film reviews that may or may not save you some cash. And seeing as it's Oscar season, that means there are lots of opinions floating around in the ether, so why not share some of your own views and comment below.

Flash Reviews: Avengers Infinity War, Deadpool 2, Rampage and Ghost Stories

I've been a little busy lately obsessing over all things Marvel and Josh Brolin, as well as a trip to Tokyo (blog post on its way) and other serious commitments, such as moving home and watching 13 Reasons Why. But while I'm keeping my promise of bringing short and sweet reviews, you can expect a piece of prehistoric proportions when I watch Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom later this week. Stay tuned and stay curious.