"I can do this all day" - Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) Review

Captain America: The First Avenger Review

Director: Joe Johnson

Genre: Action/Adventure/Sci-Fi

Codestar30 Rating: 5.5

When America enters world war 2 in 1942, Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) is determined to sign up and fight the Nazis. However, due to his small size, ill health and lack of strength he is rejected from service time and time again. When Dr. Abraham Erskine, a defected german scientist now working for the U.S. army, notices Rogers' determination to fight in the war he recruits Rogers to project 'Rebirth'. Steve Rogers proves himself to be the most courageous, compassionate and intelligent of the recruits from the project and as a result is selected to be the first in a new breed of super soldiers. Rogers' body is transformed into the maximum of his human potential by Dr Erskine's enhancement process. From that day he begins his journey to becoming the super-hero/super-soldier, the first avenger, Captain America. 

This movie, as with all recent marvel movies, feels rushed. I believe in their haste to begin the Avengers series, Marvel have favoured speed of production over quality in their recent movies. 

The acting by by Tommy Lee Jones, who plays Colonel Phillips, and that of Hugo weaving, who plays the Red Skull, is the best. The are the veteran actors in this movie, and it shows, as their performances were notable that those of the rest of the cast. Chris Evans' acting as Captain America was okay. 

The special effects were very good. They were convincing and impressive.

The action was rather boring, and consisted mostly of montages. However there is enough action to keep you entertained. 

The plot drags on very slowly, and there is a lot of unnecessary boring parts. 

I would recommend Captain America to a younger audience, and obviously the fans of the comics may as well give it a watch. Other fans of Marvel in general may enjoy this movie. However to any viewers older than about 11 I think they'll probably find this movie a bit of a let down. 

Captain America deserves demoting. 

"The boy who lived, come to die."-Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011) Review

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 Review

Director: David Yates

Genre: Adventure/Fantasy

Codestar30 Rating: 8/10

The tittle of this movie is really long!

Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) and Hermione Granger (Emma Watson), 2 wizards and a witch, live in a world where magic is very much real. Harry's nemesis, the evil Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) has taken over the wizarding world. Harry, Ron and Hermione must find the last 3 horcruxes, objects in which Voldemort has placed part of his soul, and destroy them if they are to have a chance of defeating him and saving the world from his evil and tyranny. 

The effects and C.G.I. were all very impressive and believable. You were never given a moment to realise it was fiction. 

As usually the film was not as true to the book as it could have been, and of course chunks have been missed out, but as this book was split into 2 parts, these problems are not to the same scale as pervious Harry Potter films. The story is however good due to the renowned writing of J.K Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter books.  IF you haven't read the books then you are likely to be more impressed with the story, but even if you have read them  the film does do the book justice.

The acting of Daniel Radcliffe disappointed me once again, and I feel as the movies have progressed, and he has aged, his acting has declined. The performance given by Ralph Fiennes was a little over the top, but never the less he makes an excellent Voldemort and plays the part very well. Although he did not have such a major part in this movie I wish to compliment Alan Rickman on his portrayal of Severus Snape. Emma Watson and Rupert Girt's acting was fine. Warick Davis, who played both Griphook the goblin and Professor Flitwick did so very well. 

This movie is the darkest of the Harry Potters by far, and boasts more blood and gore, more death, more violence, and more destruction than you may have come to expect from the series. I would suggest that you do not show this movie to smaller children who have seen the other films, as it is on an entirely different level.

This movie has been hailed as the best of the entire saga, and I would agree this description is not without merit. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 was certainly among the best of the series, and yes perhaps even the best. Obviously I would recommend this film to anyone who has followed the saga so far, whether through the books, films, or both. However before recommending it to anyone else I would strongly suggest they see the first 7 films or the the books or they will simply be lost as to what is going on. This movie should not be watched as a stand-alone.  

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 will cast a spell on you. 

"Welcome to the real world."-The Matrix (1999) Review

The Matrix Review

Director: Andy Wachowski and Lana Wachowski

Genre: Action/Sci-Fi

Codestar30 Rating: 9/10

By day, Thomas Anderson (Keanu Reeves) is a programer for a respectable software company. By night, however, he is the notorious computer hacker, known only as 'Neo'. Neo has sent some years in search of a fellow computer hacker, one has been branded a terrorist, known as Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne). Neo hopes that Morpheus will be able to answer the puzzled him for all those years; What is the "Matrix"? Morpheus contacts Neo, and when they meet Morpheus offers Neo a choice; He can take a blue pill, and he will forget it happened, or he can take the red pill, and discover the truth. 

'The Matrix' is widely regarded as the best Action/Sci-Fi film of all time. This reputation is well earned. The Matrix features some of the most iconic and referenced action sequences ever. Influence from this titan of a movie is noticeable in many action movies since. This is all of course due to the fact that the action sequences in 'The Matrix' are epic. This movie spews lead faster than Mini-Gun.

The acting is on the whole fairly good. Laurence Fishburne delivers and exceptional performance. Keanu Reeves could've been better. Carrie-Anne Moss, who plays Trinity, acts well. Hugo Weaving plays Agent Smith excellently. Joe Pantoliano portrays Cypher very well.

The special effects in 'The Matrix' were way ahead of their time, and are brilliant. This film is 12 years old yet it looks like it was made just yesterday. 

The story is mind blowing. The whole concept of the film is a stroke of genius, although it is impossible to describe in more detail without giving stuff away.

I would strongly recommend 'The Matrix' to anyone who likes action or science-fiction movies, and anyone who thought 'Inception' was good, because this film is Inceptions big daddy. 

'The Matrix' will really throw you don't the rabbit hole. 

"I told you I'd kill you, you little bitch!"-Crank (2006) Review

Crank Review

Director: Mark Neveldine and Brain Taylor

Genre: Action/Crime

Codestar30 Rating: 7.5/10

A hit man named Chev Chelios (Jason Statham), is injected with a poison that will kill him if his heart beats too slowly. Chelios must keep his heart beating fast enough to keep him alive by doing everything from having sex in public to sticking his hand in a waffle iron to keep adrenaline pumping through his veins, while he searches for the people who injected him with the 'Beijing Cocktail' so he can take his revenge before he is killed by the poison. 

I like this film because it is kept very fast paced. There is scarcely a dull moment, as Chelios must do stuff to keep himself exited to survive, so we the audience are kept exited to by his non-stop adrenaline fueled antics. There's a good amount of actions, with shoot outs, fist fights and car chases. So for those who don't enjoy slow paced movies this is the perfect film for you. 

The acting by Jason Statham is fairly good in 'Crank', and it's the first movie I've seen where I don't think he's crap in it. He suits the part well.

The effects are pretty bad however. For example, at the end there is a scene where Chelios is falling out of a helicopter. For this scene a green screen would have clearly been used to make it look like he's falling towards the ground, but the C.G.I is just terrible. It looks more like Jason Statham is laying on a picture of the earth from a distance, with a bind of wind blowing his clothes around a bit. 

Overall though I definitely enjoyed this movie and would recommend it to action lovers, people who love fast paced movies, and Jason Statham fanboys. Your heart beat won't slow down for a moment while watching 'Crank'. 

"I love the smell of napalm in the morning!" - Apocalypse Now (1979) Review

Apocalypse Now Review

Director: Francis Ford Coppola 

Genre: War

Codestar30 Rating: 4/10

During the height of the Vietnam War, Captain Benjamin Willard (Martin Sheen) is sent on a mission that does not and never will exist. He must eliminate Colonel Walter Kurtz (Marlon Brando), an American green beret colonel, and one of the most decorated men in the American military. Kurtz has gone insane and has gone A.W.O.L,. He has gathered a group of local tribes and American servicemen to his cause, and has taken them to cambodia to carry out hit-and-run missions on the N.V.A. and Vietcong. His methods are brutal, inhuman, and unsound according to Willard's superiors, however as the captain travels up river to find Kurtz, he begins to have doubts that he is really willing to kill another American. Especially one who he's not entirely sure he disagrees with. 

Apocalypse now is hailed as one of the greatest War movies of all time, and in many cases, the greatest. However I really do not agree.

The focus of this movie is clearly the psychological effects of war on men. Captain Willard is a man unable to cope in a civilian environment and craves action, Colonel Kurtz has been driven insane by his experiences of war, and many other characters encountered are suffering mentally from the effects of the conflict. I do feel that this aspect of the film is good, and is certainly thought provoking. However I feel it is let down by the over rated acting. Marlon Brando isn't terrible as Kurtz, but I feel he or someone else could have portrayed the disturbed and deep thinking Colonel better. Both he and Martin Sheen seemed to act a bit woodenly in my opinion, and created fairly plain characters compared to the potential that the characters they were playing had. Most of the rest of the cast are either way to over the top or far to melodramatic. 


For a war movie I like to see a bit of action, something apocalypse now is sorely lacking in my opinion. There is one short, fairly cartoonishly executed battle sequence but it's not very good. There are a few brief burst of action, usually simply consisting of the crew of the ship thats taking Willard up the river, panicking for some reason and unloading their guns, although this does seem more realistic and contribute to the psychological nature of the film. 


I will say this for the film, the voice over monologues, slower pace, and acting does make the film really atmospheric. 


I personally would not recommend Apocalypse Now, I really found it very boring. However if you wish to listen to everyone else that it's good don't let me stop you from watching it. I'd almost favour an apocalypse to apocalypse now. 

Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, Envy, Pride. - Se7en (1995) Review

Se7en Review

Director: David Fincher 

Genre: Crime/Mystery

Codestar30 Rating: 8/10

It is Detective David MIlls's (Brad Pitt) first case. It is Detective Lieutenant William Somerset's (Morgan Freeman) case. For the first and last time they are assigned to a case together, and it is a case neither will ever be able to remove from their memory. A crazed religious psychopath is killing, and each of his victims is, in his eyes, guilty of one of the 7 deadly sins, and they are killed accordingly. Mills and Somerset are determined to find the killer before he claims a vicim for all 7 deadly sins. 

The most notable thing about this movie is the sheer perfection of the acting. Morgan Freeman is, of course, Morgan Freeman, so for him that goes without saying (Which won him; Empire best actor, London Critics Circle actor of the year.) However even the sometimes wooden Brad Pitt gives a hugely impressive performance. Kevin Spacey gives a haunting and incredible performance as the killer (Which won on him; MTV best villain, National Board of Review best supporting actor, New York Film Critics best supporting actor.)

Although there isn't a conventional mystery, in the sense that they have no idea who did it instead of sieving through suspects, it is a fantastic story. I can't quite put my finger on it but there's just something that keeps the story interesting 100% of the film. The murders are haunting, impressively thought out and gruesome. 

I have no intention of spoiling it, or even describing it, but I will say that the ending is one of the most haunting (sorry that I've been using that word a lot but it just is) and excellent I've ever seen. 

There is a bit of action, a shoot out and chase scene with Brad Pitt chasing the killer through an apartment building and beyond. 

This film is a masterpiece. Enough said. Anyone who enjoys serious acting, mysteries, and even horrors would enjoy this movie. It would be a deadly sin not to check out 'Se7en'. 

He will hunt them, he will find them, and he will kill them.-Taken (2009) Review

Taken Review

Director: Pierre Morel 

Genre: Action/Thriller/Crime

Codestar30 Rating: 9/10

Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) is a retired C.I.A. agent, whose life is getting a bit quiet. That is until he agrees to let his daughter, Kim (Maggie Grace), travel to paris with her best friend, where she is then kidnapped by Albanian human traffickers to be sold into prostitution. Using all his old connections and skills, Bryan must travel to Paris, hunt down the Albanians and find his daughter at any cost. Before it is too late.

This film is a hardcore action thriller. There is no mucking about, no puns, no witty remarks, Bryan doesn't exchange mocking jokes with his opponents, he just mashes them up, just raw action. Bryan Mills does not fool around the slightest bit. He is totally focused on finding his daughter at any cost, and does not hesitate to kill anyone he needs to in order to find her. Its completely no nonsense, he just goes around efficiently doing everything he needs to do to find her. The action in this movie is great, Liam Neesons aggressive merciless style in this is reflected in the amount of bodies he wracks up with mostly his bare hand or small hand guns. The actions is faced paced and brutal. There's also a torture scene, which really shows how this film really is focused completely on serious, realistic action. 

Neeson's performance is brilliant. You can feel the emotion flowing off him as he desperately hunts for his daughter, his real concern, and his anger at those responsible. 

The plot is simple, but effective. A great example of how less can sometimes be more. 

This is an extremely good action movie, and for those of you who really like their action serious and hardcore, as apposed to action heros throwing out puns and remarks left right and centre. I would strongly recommend to any action fans. You'll be taken by 'Taken'.