Hercules (2014)

Brett Ratner's Hercules present itself as this fun, dumb sword and sandals action movie and that's kind of what it is. How much fun is had though will vary between person to person, I myself wasn't too fussed. I think the problem is there's nothing new here it's pretty much all that's been seen before plus the action is ok but not that great either. I don't think the 12A rating helps either and didn't really fit and made the film feel tamer than it should have been. The Rock is as energetic as usual and John Hurt looks like he's having fun. but the film just didn't do much for me.
Overall needs more horse throwing.
**

The Purge: Anarchy (2014)

The Purge: Anarchy builds on it's predecessor with better ideas and a better film thats more akin to one we first wanted, however it still  manages to miss the mark at being  an actual good film. The ideas and themes are there and there are some nice little details, but the films seems to play it too safely leaving us with mostly a plain thriller that's a tad bland. I mean it's alright as it is but again you just expect and want more from the subject presented to us. Also Fuck the rich.
**1/2

Transformers: Age Of Extinction (2014)

The following shall be written in the style of a Michael bay film.
BANG! LOUD NOISES, grand visual effects, Alien Racism, BOOM EXPLOSIONS, cliche relationships, overlong running time. ALL OF THE ACTION: Variant levels of Acting; CRASH, BANG! Stanley Tucci is still awesome# asian stereotyping, BANG! BANG! BOOM! shot low angle framing bad editing messy SUNSETS, KABANG! WUB! WUB! WUB! Story not convoluted as others BOOM! BOOM! still better than 2 TAK! TAK! BANG! TAK!KABOOOOOOOMMMMM!!!!!!
Overal it's exactly as expected and I wasn't bored.
**

Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes (2014)

The second film in the reboot of the Planet Of The Apes series and essentially the film equivalent of Battle for the Planet of the Apes, except Dawn is 100 times better. CGI Apes have never looked so good in a this gripping, hugely enjoyable and utterly great film. The visuals are superb, the acting is great and of course there's the masterful tank shot. Dawn is an exceedingly well crafted mainstream blockbuster with heart and strong themes and  though it did maybe a little draggy in places in the first half, the second half is super strong and very satisfying.
Overall building on the success of it's predecessor , Dawn is another great ape film that is thoroughly entertaining.
****

Boyhood (2014)

Richard Linklater's Marvelous achievement filmed over a 12 year period, presenting moments in life that many can relate to as, we see a boy develop into adulthood with it's structure having a great fluidity. It's a really wonderful film full of moments with humour and drama, a great look at growing with genuine characters and good cast. Congrats Mr Linklater you've succeeded.
****1/2

Dead Man (1995)

Jim Jarmusch's Psychedelic Western that is a pretty decent watch. Though feeling a little aimless at times the film keeps a consistent subdued dreamy pace helped by it's heavy use of fades and Neil Young's minimal guitar score. It's also got a good cast and nice inclusion of humour and though the films odd and diffuse nature won't be for everyone, I found the whole thing to be quite interesting and different particularly since I'm usually not fond of Westerns.
***

You're Next (2013)

You're Next presents a solid horror thriller that although lacking a unique story has a great structure involving really well layered black humour. It didn't hold up as well after a second viewing but I still really like how the film plays out and think it's an enjoyable little film.
***1/2

Chef (2014)

With Chef John Favereau tries to deliver a nice little charming film and for most part he does. It has a likable cast, well implemented humour and gets ideas and themes of across very clearly and well. My biggest issue with this film however is the ending, which I kind of hated. Despite the films want to end on a high and happy note, it felt rushed and overtly safe and just left me saying 'is that it?'. I just felt disappointed by it, which is a shame cause I usually like these nice kind of films.
Overall this film is alright it's just let down by it's ending.  Side note: This film has the tendency to make you feel very hungry.
**1/2

Upstream Colour (2013)

I was very impressed with this film and found it to be both unique and beautiful. It has a very dreamy kind of feel that reminded me a little of Terrence Mallick with an interesting structure that requires a deep level of audience thought and attention. It certainly not an easy film to fully understand but it definitely stands out and stays compelling throughout due to it's great pacing and the inherent curiosity it provides.
Overall I thought this was really great.
****

John Dies At The End (2012)

A fun and weird movie that has a mix of decent and dodgy visual effects, good humour and of course Paul Giamatti. The story is a little messy but interesting and overall I thought it was fairly decent.
***