'Money Monster' Review

What would you do if faced with a situation where you faced being exploded if you didn't showcase your friend being held hostage? Well that is exactly what happens to Julia Roberts' character Patty Fenn and she tries to help out Lee Gates (George Clooney) as much as possible whilst in such a delicate situation. Just from that, you wouldn't expect the film to be filled with quite a lot of comedy.

Lee Gates (George Clooney) is the host of 'Money Monster', a show which delves into the stock market. When a company IBIS stock plummets, it costs many people thousands of dollars. In an extreme turn of events, Kyle Budwell (Jack O'Connell) holds Gates hostage on a live episode of his own show being broadcast all over the world. Gates with the help of his director (Julia Roberts) will try to defuse the situation and get answers for Budwell to why he lost his money as well as trying to keep his life intact.

'Money Monster' most definitely is quite odd. The film combines two different genres and it is two that I feel wouldn't really go hand in hand with each other. The concept of the film works fantastically for a thriller and does well at times to create some tense moments. However due to the film having quite a lot of comedy within it, it does lose some of its tension and makes things not seem nearly as severe as they are. It does hurt the film in a way as it does take away from the tension to make it more enjoyable for the audience in form of comedy. I'm not entirely sure if this was the right step to go with when creating a film with a plot like this. In saying that, the comedy does do its main intention which is obviously to make the audience laugh. Most of the gags and jokes do work throughout the film but I just don't think it was suited for this particular film.

The film needed a very charismatic actor to be able to pull off the character of Lee Gates. He had to have the presence to grab the attention of anyone when talking. Gates also had to be able to have the ability to pull off the entertaining and slightly more ridiculous pieces of his act to create fun moments. Thankfully for this movie, they were able to get George Clooney who is a pretty perfect casting for this film. Clooney's charisma works fantastically well throughout the stages of the film where at first he is calm and doing his normal routine on screen. He then does very well when confronted with Budwell as his life is threatened. A good performance which does a great job at combining the odd job couple of genres.

Julia Roberts is also very good in this film as the brave director of the show. Like Gates, her character Patty Fenn tries whatever she can to defuse the situation from her booth. She shows great courage as she looks out for Lee and buys him as much time as possible and helping him out in every way she possibly can. She soon finds herself directing a life threatening situation where she has to keep Gates motivated and with information that could save his life. Although mainly stuck in a booth and only talking to the main characters via headsets, Roberts does not fail to impress with her performance.

Jack O'Connell does fairly well as well as Kyle who clearly seems unhinged. Parts with his character are pretty predictable such as his money and family situations but they do create motives that may push somebody over the edge. He brings an intensity to the film that creates a whole load of tension within the room with his character seeming like he could snap at any moment.

The comedy within the film also damaged the ending of the film. The ending just falls very flat and we don't really see a big payoff. The emphasis is mainly on the person who caused the stock to fall to be turned into an internet meme. Now for a hostage and serious financial situation, the comedy again feels out of place. In a straight up comedy, it would work incredibly well.

There is quite a bit of realism within the film I feel that came from the situation and it surrounds how people reacted to it. In bars around the city, people are making jokes of the situation or not even paying attention at all. Sadly, I saw this to be very real to how some people react to situations like this although it really isn't the nicest way to act. For evidence of this you can check pretty much any social media network out there and see masses of people making jokes out of serious situations. I also feel that the stupidity of people to get close to a situation like this is realistic as well. I won't go too far into as it may spoil parts of the film, much like the trailer did.

Final Verdict = 

A very entertaining film with some good, fun performances. The combination of the genres don't really belong together but the film still does well despite this. I would recommend 'Money Monster' as well, it is definitely worth seeing! If you are interested in seeing this film, do not watch the trailer, it does spoil a part of the film which did effect my viewing.

So have you seen 'Money Monster'? If so what did you think of it? I hope this review was useful and maybe convinced you to check this film out! Once again, thank you for reading my review, it is much appreciated!

By Angus McGregor

'Warcraft' Review

What is it with video games and movies? Over the years there has been countless attempts to try and create a film based on a number of famous games with the likes of Super Mario and Hitman being some of the more famous failures. The list of good video game movies is very small and does not have a good track record as a genre. Unfortunately 'Warcraft' is yet another addition to the list of bad ones.

As the Orc world is dying out, Gul'dan (Daniel Wu) a dark magician looks to create a portal to transport the Orcs to Azeroth, a land ruled mainly by humans. Gul'dan has plans to take over at any means and assembles an army to take out the humans. There are some sympathisers amongst the Orcs who feel that Gul'dan is the one responsible for the world dying and feel the same will happen again. The humans are led by King Llane and warrior Anduin Lothar (Travis Fimmel) as they look to protect their kingdom. 

The evil Gul'dan

I think it is pretty safe to say that to the casual and general movie audience this movie will not be much of a success. The movie will make audiences question what on earth is going on throughout the film. This happens with the characters, their abilities, their morales, decisions and what they are saying. I can see that fans of the games may already be familiar with the characters and terms with them so this won't be a problem for them. However  can only talk about my own experience and sadly I did feel a bit lost at times throughout the film. 

The film was certainly not helped out by its characters. The Orcs are all exactly the same as each other with nothing other than a few differences in appearances to tell them apart. In fact they are even quite similar in that way so you lose track of each Orc and what their morales are. The human characters aren't much better with some of the most boring characters ever. This really doesn't help the film as you don't really get any connection with the characters and later on when it tries to hit you with some emotional moments, you simply don't have any feeling due to lack of development. I even found that leaving the theatre when the film finished, I couldn't remember the name of any character other than of the Guardian Mediev. The characters are nothing special and won't spawn into well known characters in film any time soon.

Anduin Lothar was a main but not a interesting character

The film is also pretty misleading. It sets up for the humans and Orcs to team up to defeat the evil Gul'dan but that isn't the case. There is a scene where the two different species come together to discuss this potential partnership but it doesn't ever come to anything in the film. The trailers also led for this to be the case as well as the plot which it strangely never did.

I also feel that a problem with this film was it trying to set up a franchise. There are different plot lines that have no real effect on the current story and are just there to set it up potential sequels. Some of these just waste time and others are actually quite insulting to the viewer due to them being incredibly dumb. For example, the ending of this is terrible as one of our protagonists finds himself  in a very dangerous situation. However he is in luck as he is just free to leave without a scratch which is just baffling. It seems as if they realised they got a character they wanted to keep in a position that would lead to death and couldn't think of a good way to get him out of it.

For a film like this that has many mystical creatures and settings the CGI has to be on point. This is the case at points with the scenery's and large scale battles being done very well throughout the film and look great. Some of the other creatures within the film look magnificent as well. I also really enjoyed the humans who possessed magic skills and feel that the effects really made what they were doing look really cool and effective. I wasn't a big fan of the Orcs in the film and personally didn't think that the CGI creations looked that great next to everything. Also them all being quite similar didn't help me either throughout the film.

The scenery and mystical creatures are some of the few highlights in the film.

The main villain Gul'dan wasn't used to full effect either. Bizarrely he isn't in the film that much and could've been much more threatening. He also suffers from the classic villain trope of taking his time to dispose of an enemy. This is fine as it it part of the storytelling but straight afterwards he takes down three Orcs with ease which makes you instantly go "Why didn't you do that when you were fighting 1v1?". Hopefully in the sequel they do a much better job- although the chances of me seeing the sequel are currently very slim.

Final Verdict =

An uninteresting story with uninteresting characters with a confusing story didn't make this a good viewing at all. You might get more enjoyment from this if you have previous experience with the world of 'Warcraft' but for the casual audience, I don't see it being a big hit.

So have you seen 'Warcraft'? If so what did you think of it? If you choose to go and see it, I hope you have a better time than I did! Once again thank you for reading my review, it is much appreciated!

By Angus McGregor

UK Summer Box Office Predictions!

Summer movie season is almost here! There is a lot in store this summer with their being some potentially great comedies as well as other instalments in past franchises. Earlier in the year me and a couple of friends decided to predict the outcomes of the 2016 Oscars and had a great time in doing so! So to try and recreate what we did, we felt it would be good to predict who will be the top of the summer box office. 

To be eligible for our lists the film will have to have come out after the 31st of May and before the 1st of September. The summer in the UK really isn't that long and with the weather, you would think that it lasts less than the three months in the boundary. We decided to only allow films that come out between this timeline as an extra challenge as we all know that the likes of Captain America: Civil War and X-Men Apocalypse will be up their at the end. Also with the UK releases, some may not be actually out during the summer like they are in America. All the films in our lists will be from the UK releases which means that the likes of TMNT 2 and Warcraft narrowly miss out.

This time in our predictions it will be featuring five different people with five different predictions. It will be myself Angus-obviously- as well as the returning Michael and Drew. Also returning is the winner of our Oscar predictions Billy who will be looking to make it 2/2 when it comes to predictions. Joining us this time will be our fellow classmate Conor who makes his first appearance.

Scoring System

To decide who the eventual winner is, we will use a scoring system. If one of us predicts that a film will be in the top 10, they will get one point. An additional two points will be giving to the competitor if they guess the film in the right position.

The Lists

Billy

Starting off is Billy, the winner of our Oscar predictions back in February. His list has Central Intelligence the highest in anyone's list at number two. Billy's list also features The Secret Life of Pets in it's highest position at number four. He is also the only one to have picked Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates which could tip the result into his favour or even possibly cost him.

Number 1: Finding Dory

Dark Horse: Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates

Full List

1. Finding Dory

2. Central Intelligence

3. Suicide Squad

4. The Secret Life of Pets

5. Ghostbusters

6. Independence Day: Resurgence

7. Star Trek Beyond

8. The BFG

9. Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates

10. The Conjuring 2

The Dark Horse for Billy; Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates

Conor

Next up is the complete new entrant to our predictions Conor. Like Billy, he has Finding Dory at the top of his list expecting the Pixar sequel to dominate. He has Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe's The Nice Guys the highest at number four and also putting great faith in Steven Spielberg's The BFG by placing it in third place. 

Number 1: Finding Dory

Dark Horse; The Nice Guys

Full List

1. Finding Dory

2. Suicide Squad

3. The BFG

4. The Nice Guys

5. The Secret Life of Pets

6. Independence Day: Resurgence
7. Ghostbusters
8. Now You See Me 2
9. Jason Bourne
10. The Conjuring 2

Conor has The Nice Guys at number 4, the highest of anyone in the predictions.

Michael

Third in our predictions is Michael who has the most potential to cause an upset. If the likes of The Nice Guys and Now You See Me 2 as well as Ice Age: Collision Course do well at the box office, he could end up sitting comfortably in the lead. Michael has also put the most faith in Paul Feig's already controversial Ghostbusters placing it in third place. Possibly the most interesting list in the competition. 

Number 1: Suicide Squad

Dark Horse: Ice Age: Collision Course

Full List

1. Suicide Squad

2. Finding Dory

3. Ghostbusters

4. Independence Day: Resurgence

5. Central Intelligence

6. Star Trek Beyond

7. The BFG

8. Now You See Me 2

9. Ice Age: Collision Course

10. The Nice Guys

The strange but possibly effective decision to include Ice Age may be vital for Michael.

Drew

Like Michael, Drew has also put his faith in the likes of Jared Leto and Margot Robbie as he looks for Suicide Squad to top the box office. He also has Jason Bourne highest out of anyone expecting it to finish third overall as Matt Damon returns as the titular character. The inclusion of the remake of Ben-Hur may be the most surprising in all of the lists but it's too soon to rule it out of contention.

Number 1: Suicide Squad

Dark Horse: Ben-Hur

Full List

1. Suicide Squad

2. Finding Dory

3. Jason Bourne

4. The BFG

5. The Nice Guys

6. Star Trek Beyond

7. Ghostbusters

8. Independence Day: Resurgence

9. Central Intelligence

10. Ben-Hur

The most surprising entrant in all of the predictions, Ben-Hur

Angus

Last of all is my list, the most likely list. I have put my faith in Independence Day: Resurgence despite Will Smith not returning with it at the highest position of anyone at number three. Finishing my list I have The Conjuring 2 as well as being the only one to have Sausage Party in their list at number ten.

Number 1: Finding Dory

Dark Horse: Sausage Party

Full List

1. Finding Dory

2. Suicide Squad

3. Independence Day: Resurgence

4. Ghostbusters

5. The Secret Life of Pets

6. Jason Bourne

7. The BFG

8. Star Trek: Beyond

9. The Conjuring 2

10. Sausage Party

The Rated R animated film Sausage Party was picked only by myself (Angus)

Overall Breakdown

Angus	Billy	Conor	Drew	Michael
1. Finding Dory	1. Finding Dory	1. Finding Dory	1. Suicide Squad	1. Suicide Squad
2. Suicide Squad	2. Central Intelligence	2. Suicide Squad	2.  Finding Dory	2. Finding Dory
3. Independence Day: Resurgence	3. Suicide Squad	3. The BFG	3.Jason Bourne	3. Ghostbusters
4. Ghostbusters	4. The Secret Life of Pets	4. The Nice Guys	4. The BFG	4. Independence Day: Resurgence
5. The Secret Life of Pets	5. Ghostbusters	5. Secret Life of Pets	5. The Nice Guys	5. Central Intelligence
6. Jason Bourne	6. Independence Day: Resurgence	6. Independence Day: Resurgence	6.Star Trek: Beyond	6.Star Trek Beyond
7. The BFG	7. Star Trek Beyond	7. Ghostbusters	7. Ghostbusters	7. The BFG
8. Star Trek Beyond	8. The BFG	8. Now You See Me 2	8. Independence Day: Resurgence	8. Now You See Me 2
9. The Conjuring 2	9. Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates	9. Jason Bourne	9. Central Intelligence	9. Ice Age: Collision Course
10. Sausage Party	10. The Conjuring 2	10. The Conjuring 2	10. Ben Hur	10. The Nice Guys

So as you can see there is quite a lot of differences between each of our lists. Positioning could easily be the deciding factor with films such as Finding Dory, Suicide Squad and Ghostbusters making everyone lists in different positions. The exclusions of films before June made this much harder than it could of been and did pose a challenge at times. This has most definitely added a bit more spice to this summers movies and I look forward to seeing who comes out on top in a couple of months.

During the time period, all of these movies will be reviewed as well as many more so make sure to keep reading my blog. I'd like to know who you think will top the box office in your region and also what you think of our lists. Once again thank you for reading, it is much appreciated!

By Angus McGregor

'X-Men: Apocalypse' Review

'At least we can all agree the third one is always the worse' states Sophie Turner's character Jean Grey after a few of the mutants come out of a screening of 'Return of the Jedi'. Unfortunately this is also the case for Bryan Singers latest instalment which completes the new X-Men trilogy. 

Moira McTaggert (Rose Byrne) stumbles across an ancient cult who believe in a super mutant, Apocalypse (Oscar Isaac) who ruled thousands of years ago. Now awakened he assembles four followers including Magneto (Michael Fassbender) to take over the world. It's up to Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) to join forces once again with Raven (Jennifer Lawrence) and the latest students at his school to save the world.

Fatigue certainly seems to be a clear problem within the latest of the highly successful and popular X-Men franchise. In saying that 'Apocalypse' is far from being a bad movie. The problem is with nowadays that it is just fine, nothing more. The film follows the common formula within superhero movies where a large powerful villain rises and threatens the safety of the entire world. This is fine to do and can be done well. However the problem is that it is nothing new. This made the film to be very predictable and seemed to take away the stakes as it seemed to be something we're all used to. Everything has done before and being perfectly honest, it has been done better. 

From the start it really seemed to be lacking that tension and excitement that are often apparent in superhero movies. Maybe due to the previous instalments it was there but just couldn't match its clearly superior previous instalments. I guess I've finally reached that point where it is becoming stale. I guess this also shows how I enjoyed 'Civil War' and fellow Fox property 'Deadpool' so much this year. Both of these films didn't have the conventional ending of the entire world being threatened which proved to be a good change.

There are most definitely things that the film does well and this is no more so than with the action. I had a great time watching all of these mutants coming against each other creating some great moments. The action is thankfully at a very high quality and does the film justice. However something that I do feel that lets it down is that Apocalypse hardly has much effect in any of the actual fight scenes. For a main villain to delegate everything to his followers and hardly do anything himself doesn't make him seem as strong as they could have possibly made him. 

Apocalypse was said to take the powers from those whose bodies he has taken over. This explains to the audience to why Apocalypse's powers are never really explained or defined that well. I'd like to see a feature of Apocalypse taking over the body of the mutants whose ability was being able to trap people in walls. Oscar Isaac does alright in this role as Apocalypse's main strength seems to be convincing those to join his side. This gives Isaac a chance to showcase his acting chops but nowhere near enough to create a great villain. The casting and character looked to be a great match but Apocalypse fell flat for me and wasn't striking enough to really be feared.

There are some mixed feelings for me towards the other new characters. First of all, the new characters all looked incredible and were great to watch. I am looking forward to seeing more films featuring the newer cast members as they seem to work very well together and produced some great moments. In saying this though, there was nowhere near enough depth towards our new characters. This is no more clear than with the three other new followers of Apocalypse. We get a small look at Storm's origin and life when we first meet her and then literally nothing else in the rest of the film. Angel gets exactly the same treatment but with a bit of history against new student Nightcrawler (Kodi Smit McPhee). Psylocke is probably the one that hurts the most as we learn pretty much nothing about her. We see her confronting Apocalypse, then being convinced and then nothing new from her. These are all a real shame as they are truly fascinating characters who you want to know more about but unfortunately, there was little time for this. You could say that there wouldn't of been enough time for this but you most definitely could have replaced moments or sub plots to make time to flesh out character motivations or personalities.

One of the main highlight again involves Quicksilver played by Evan Peters. Although not as great as his wonderful scene in 'Days of Future Past', it is still great fun to watch. The stakes are higher in this scene however which does also Quicksilver to do a lot more things heroically and comically. It is incredible to see once again showing the ridiculous speed he possesses and is something that makes you wonder how on earth they managed to create it. The ability to take such a serious scenario and take a light hearted approach to it was great again.

Final Verdict =

Overall I would say I was disappointed by 'X-Men Apocalypse'. That does not mean that it is a bad movie in the slightest though and maybe that it just didn't offer enough to reach my expectations. There was potential for this to be a great film but it turns out to just be fine.

So have you seen 'X-Men Apocalypse'? If so what did you think of it? I hope you enjoyed this review and hope it was helpful for if you were thinking about seeing the film. Once again thank you for reading my review, it is much appreciated.

By Angus McGregor

'Everybody Wants Some' Review

'Everybody Wants Some' follows the days before college of a baseball team who look to start living together before the school and sport seasons come ahead. A movie featuring male college students, you can be sure that there are loads of shenanigans within this one!

The aspect of the lives of these college students is by far the most entertaining part of the movie. As new students come in to join the current crop, it doesn't take long for the group to bond and as you would expect, alcohol helps do the trick. As the group grows closer, the antics start to ensue and from there the movie continues to get better. The childish pranks are fun to watch and seem like something that you would expect these guys to do within their college homes.

The characters within the film are all different with unique traits about them. From the ladies man to the dimwitted and clueless one, the characters created work very well to make some funny moments. The guys in this film all carry one similar trait though and that is their competitiveness. Again this creates some very funny moments as they challenge each other at anything from ping pong to knuckles. As you'd expect from young adult males with high testosterone, the loser doesn't react well leading to more funny moments.

The films main protagonist is Jake (Blake Jenner) who is by far the most bland out off the characters in the house. However I feel that this actually works pretty well as he is the normal one who we would like to say that we are like within the cast. This also allows for their to be a character who has to deal with these eccentric and different personalities, much like how most new people would when being first introduced to this group of characters. Amongst having the wild characters I believe it is good to have a more grounded character. Makes it more realistic and also creates another contrast between them which allows them to not be too similar to each other.

The film looks to use a lot of 80's nostalgia to help throughout the runtime. This is apparent from the likes of dress sense and the music that is being played. Although both do decent jobs especially the great soundtrack, it never really had an effect on me. Being a late 90's kid, most of the tropes didn't have that connection with me and this may be a problem for those who didn't grow up during this time period. However I can see it being highly nostalgic and will bring back great memories which in turn will create a better experience for that specific audience. For the film to have parts of nostalgia within it and will only be a hit to those who lived it. Unfortunately I couldn't get the full effect of this as it wasn't my time period.

'Everybody Wants Some' doesn't really follow a story. It is all mainly a whole load of shenanigans that go on without any main goal. The film really is just the time period before college and doesn't have a specific story to follow. This may hinder the film at points as it doesn't look to progress or really have much of a meaning to it.

The main protagonist Jake does seem to get lost within the film at times. This is most apparent in the baseball scene where the other characters take the main stage for a good 20+ minutes with Jake not appearing throughout that duration. This could've hurt the film much more if it hadn't been from the great characters filling the void but it is quite odd for the lead to be put to the side for quite a long period of time.

Final Verdict = 

As the tagline says, here for a good time. Despite lacking a clear story and the nostalgia not having as much of an effect on me as it would others, 'Everybody Wants Some'  is an entertaining comedy that will most definitely get some laughs out of you. One of the better comedies of the year.

So have you seen 'Everybody Wants Some' what did you think of it? I hope this review was useful for if you were undecided on whether or not to see it. Once again thank you so much for reading, it is much appreciated!

By Angus McGregor

'Our Kind of Traitor' Review

We've all met and bonded with people who we have met on holiday. They are your kind of pals for the duration of your visit and then go off into separate ways to never see each other again. That's usually what happens but not in the case for Perry (Ewan McGregor), a poetics professor who looks to have bit off more than he can chew. 

The story follows Perry and his wife Gail (Naomie Harris) who look to be enjoying a holiday in Morocco. As Gail has to leave early, Perry is approached by Dima (Stellan Skarsgard) who then manages to convince Perry to join them on a night out and for activities the day after as well. After feeling he can trust Perry, Dima gives him information that ultimately could gain Dima and his family entry into the UK before they are executed by the Russian Mafia. Some heavy stuff to get from someone you've just met.

Perry and Gail are on this holiday to try and repair their relationship. We don't really get a sense of that apart from the one time is brought up. Gail is constantly having to cut things short due to work commitments which kind of defeats the point of going on a holiday like this. Perry acts quite recklessly by going and staying out late with Dima who he has just met and by making plans with them throughout the remainder of their trip rather than rebuilding their relationship. The issues don't seem to be too drastic for them and also just completely disappear from the rest of the story never to be looked back at.

The film throughout really isn't that eventful. Not much is able to happen in the story until Dima has to sign over his account so for quite a bit of time, we are just watching these peoples lives with nothing really there to grip you. There are some scenes that involve people having to sneak around and do things on the sly. However there isn't much tension in these scenes and they don't work nearly as well as they could have. 

This is to no lack of trying from the actors.McGregor and Harris are fine in their roles as they look to help out as much as possible. Stellan Skarsgard does a great job as Dima who's main aim is to protect his family. Skarsgard shows great emotion through this as he shows his sadness or anger from whatever stands in his way from protecting his family. Damian Lewis also does a great job as Hector, a MI6 agent who won't budge at all until he gets something useful for the governments use. Both Lewis and Skarsgard's characters look the part to be in a spy thriller, that is if you can really call this film a spy thriller.

Hector played by Damian Lewis

Cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle must of relished the chance to work on this film. The scenery within the film especially those of the wonderful Alps would be a cinematographers dream to work with. Mantle deserves great credit for applying some fantastic work into the film and showing off his true talents. He deserves the plaudits for his contributions to the film.

I was not a fan of how this film ended. It seemed that things were finally getting exciting but it falls completely flat. The ending for all that happened seemed very weak and most definitely didn't help the movie. There isn't an explanation to clear things up as something big happens with no information coming to the audience regarding it. 

Final Verdict =  

A spy thriller that doesn't have as great effect as others in the genre. Some decent performances but overall not enough to make this film memorable or to allow it to stand out.

So have you seen 'Our Kind of Traitor'? If so what did you think of it? I hope that this review was helpful to you if you were planning on seeing the film. Once again thank you for reading my review, it is much appreciated. 

'Whiskey Tango Foxtrot' Review

Ever get sick of your daily routine? Waking up lacking motivation and just wanting to escape your treacherous daily life that you've grown accustomed to. For Kim Baker (Tina Fey) this was very much so the case. So much to the point that she would give up the safe confines of her office job to travel to the Afghan war zone to report live events, putting her own life at risk.

Adapted from the novel 'The Taliban Shuffle' which has author Kim Barker retell her story and experiences from Afghanistan, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot overall is a enjoyable movie. For a film set in such a dangerous territory, the film keeps quite a light humoured approach to everything from the reporting Baker does to even how the military handle things. The tone does allow the viewer to have a pleasant experience throughout most of the film as you can expect a joke to be around the corner in most events.

This is carried by the talents of Tina Fey throughout the film who's comedy prowess shines here and works fantastically. If this performance was poor, the whole film would be a shambles but luckily for us, Fey brings a good performance that will surely bring the viewer entertainment. The film is perfectly suited for Fey as she looks to bring excitement to her life after being restricted for many years. She doesn't hold back with this and gets deep into the action in Afghanistan. Fey also interacts very well with her fellow co stars and no more so than with Martin Freeman.

Now when Martin Freeman showed up on screen sporting a Celtic scarf and speaking in a Scottish accent, I wasn't looking forward to seeing more of him throughout thee film. However he did grow on me very quickly as he brought a good performance to the film as Bakers eventual love interest Iain MacKelpie. His quick fire insults and use of swearing worked to great effect and seemed like it could've rolled straight off of the tongue of a Scotland native. This performance could've been a disaster but a combination of Martin Freeman's abilities and good writing for the character, it was able to be pulled off successfully. Maybe just cause I am Scottish, I found this very enjoyable and one of the best parts of the film.

Fey and Freeman worked tremendously with each other.

The story does have a lot to it in terms of what goes on. There are many events throughout the film that lead it to be quite clunky. There isn't one main focus throughout the film as it is just a combination of the experience Kim had whilst in Afghanistan. This does make thee film feel overfilled at times and does go against it. Due to this there will be many points in the film that will happen and be left only to be returned to much later on. By that time though, you forget that these encounters even happened until it reminds you. In all fairness though, it was better to have this rather than constantly overlapping events making the film confusing which easily could have happened. 

It's also safe to say that the film does sort of lose some of its power when it gets to the end of the film. With the excitement of war and constant partying in the first hour or so, it quietens down and this becomes less eventful due to the lack of support Baker gets from her network. Also some of the characters such as Margot Robbie's Tanya Vanderpoel fade out of Bakers life and in doing so does the shenanigans. 

Final Verdict = 

Good performances from Fey and Freeman make this an enjoyable watch throughout the film. Story does feel a bit overfilled at times and eventually does slow down but there is most definitely enjoyment to get out of Whiskey Tango Foxtrot!

So have you seen Whiskey Tango Foxtrot? If so what did you think of it? I hope this review was useful for if you are thinking about seeing the movie. Once again thank you for reading my review, it is much appreciated!

By Angus McGregor

'Sing Street' Review

What would you do to try and win the heart of your desired crush? For Conor (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo) he has to quickly assemble a band after offering model Raphina (Lucy Boynton) to appear in a music video.  He also has to deal with his family falling apart in front of him. Luckily for him- and the audience- Conor's passion for music leads him through this tough time in his life.

Director John Carney is back again creating yet another small musical drama with comedy being a big feature within the film similar to the likes of 'Once' and 'Begin Again'. Carney clearly has a knack for this genre as he combines the elements of the three genres fantastically well. 

'Sing Street' is one of the biggest surprises of the year for sure. A truly charming and fun film throughout that sadly doesn't seem to be doing too great at the box office. Hopefully when it is officially released worldwide, it will sky rocket. If you get the chance to, go and see this film!

For a film to be a musical, it is a no brainer that the music has to be up to standard. 'Sing Street' exceeds this with phenomenal tracks from the likes of The Jam and The Cure. Amongst these are some fantastic original pieces of music that will be stuck in your head for days. The song 'Drive It Like You Stole It' from the band's performance is great and will be one you'll be adding to your playlists very soon. The music in the film is also spread out very well. As the band progresses and get more experience playing together, the music does improve. You can see a growth in the talents of the band from this and is done very well so it is not like they have always just been fantastic and don't improve.

The music is a huge part of the film obviously due to being the main part of the story. Not only is the actual music in the film very good but the film also shows the effect of music incredibly well. The likes of how a new kid at school can instantly make friends due to having the same passion for an art. Also how someone may be down on their luck and not have much going for them, they are style kept happy in life by their favourite records. The film shows that music is great for people and how to some, it really means a lot more to them than anything else.

The film is also delightfully funny throughout the whole film. The young cast deserves credit for this as they pull off the jokes very well with great comedic timing. The film also uses a good combination of visual jokes along with verbal throughout the film to keep it fresh. A lot of the enjoyment for me personally with the humour came from the band's first attempts of making a music video as they all show up in different gear, all fitting to the setting of the 80's. One of the funniest films of the year although it isn't a complete comedy.

'Sing Street' carries quite a bit drama throughout the film as well, all working to great effect. Scenes where certain characters have trouble dealing with situations are pulled off by good work from the cast and also due to how the story makes you care for the characters. The dramatic scenes don't seem forced and have good effect on the film showing that not everything in life is going to be as perfect as you think and how things may not go to plan. 

At times throughout the film, things do move a lot quicker than it realistically would. This happens in a few situations throughout the film but it really isn't a big problem to the film. This is the only problem I had at times with the film but it does not affect the viewing experience at all.

Final Verdict = 

A great musical drama with great moments of comedy throughout. You'll love the soundtrack as well as the characters in this one. I highly recommend you checking 'Sing Street' out!

So have you seen 'Sing Street'? If so what did you think of it? If you are planning on seeing this film, I hope this review helped make your decision. Once again thank you for reading, it is much appreciated!

By Angus McGregor