Category: Reviews

So I went into the cinema with low expectations mainly because I didn’t expect much after watching the trailer for Priest and I wasn’t impressed. And I was right.

Priest tells the story about a priest (Paul Bettany) in a futuristic post-apocalyptic world that sets out on a journey to rescue his niece who was abducted by vampires. The Church, unhappy with his intentions sends out some priests after him to bring him back. And let’s not forget the mysterious villain, the man in the hat who looks a lot like Hugh Jackman.

A typical story that’s been done quite a number of times, except this time it’s set in an interesting location. One of the strongest points about the movie is the whole post-apocalyptic setting and the Church – it’s not a totally fresh idea, but it certainly is a nice breather from all the typical vampire movies we’ve seen recently. Speaking of vampires, these creatures aren’t your regular humans with fangs either, they look more like aliens from space than anything, which is good and bad. People aren’t used to vampires being like that, which probably makes it hard to accept, while it makes the movie stand out from other vampire films.

The protagonist, Priest, was unlikeable. He wasn’t interesting, and besides his ability to kick ass, there was really nothing going for him. His sidekick, Hicks (Cam Gigandet) was even more interesting than him. But all in all, the actors were probably the worst part of the movie. A lackluster performance from most pretty much everyone who wasn’t a vampire.

To sum it all up, Priest isn’t a very good movie. But it isn’t terrible either. It probably could’ve been a better movie if they had better actors or a more captivating script. Props to the crew for coming up with an interesting setting and creating a new style of vampires. Definitely not a movie I would watch twice, but if there was a sequel I might give it a shot. The animated introduction was probably the best part of the film. Priest gets 5/10.

Entering the movie with low expectations was key to my enjoyment of the movie because I can tell you that by the end of it – I was blown away. When watching Fast & Furious 5/Fast Five somehow I just had the feeling like the director believed that this was going to be the last F&F movie and he decided to pull out all the stops when making it. In my opinion, this movie is the best one out of the five.

Fast Five reunites the cast from all the previous movies when Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) and Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker) decide to pull off the final and largest heist of their lives. All your favorite characters from the series are back in this movie that is pretty much just Oceans with fast cars and hot babes and also with half the intelligence and double the action.

The characters are all pretty likeable with the actors doing their jobs well. There’s nothing to complain about here, but one thing got me wondering – I see it happening all the time in movies: why are girls so reluctant to tell their baby’s daddy that junior is on the way? And when they do, it’s right before a big decision so the man doesn’t leave her. That’s not how things work in real life, you get knocked up, you go knocking on his door as soon as you find out! But I digress.

The movie had its fair share of unrealistic scenes, but this is F&F after all – don’t expect anything less, but it also had one of the most interesting car chases in movie history. A bank safe attached to two cars by a couple of chains, and a switcheroo stunt in the middle of the highway? Impossible? Probably. Exciting as hell? Most definitely.

One thing long time fans might be disappointed with is the lack of emphasis on the cars. This movie had more to do with story and character interaction than metal boxes with wheels. But if you’re in the mood for an exciting summer blockbuster, Fast Five isn’t going to disappoint you. Fast & Furious 5 gets a 7/10.

Oh yeah, stay for an extra scene after the credits. Mmhmm.

Going into the cinema, I didn’t really know what to expect. I don’t read the Thor comics, so I can’t tell you how good the movie is compared to the comic but what I can tell you is – the movie just set the new standard for Marvel Comic adaptations. The bar was raised pretty high with Iron Man back in 2008 but Thor kicks it up a notch this year. Hopefully Marvel doesn’t let this standard drop with their upcoming movies.

Thor tells the story of a Norse god, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) who was banished to earth. While back home in Asgard, Thor’s brother, Loki (Tom Hiddleston) has a plan to wipe out the Frost Giants of Jotunheim by destroying their planet. Thor has to find a way back to Asgard and save them.

Director, Kenneth Branagh, known for highly complex and intricate movies like Hamlet and Sleuth does a great job with Thor. It’s not very deep movie but it’s not overly simple either, and the pacing is great, with enough action to keep the summer action blockbuster fans happy.

One thing I enjoyed about the movie is that the big supporting name actors didn’t steal the limelight from the relatively unknown main cast – which shows that Hemsworth and Hiddleston can hold their own up against A-list actors. Natalie Portman and Kat Dennings are there to look pretty as usual – substance wise, not so much but it’s okay because they provide the comic relief.

When you take the story and break it down to its simplest form, Thor is basically the story about a brother trying to outdo his brother in order to earn his father’s attention. But Branagh and the cast wrap the plot with enough layers and action sequences to make it more than just a rehashed story, and do a great job with it. It definitely sets the standard for Marvel movies to come. Oh, and like every Marvel movie – remember to stay for the extra scene after the credits. Thor gets a 7/10.