Phantasm II (1988) Review

Released 9 years after the first one. This sequel starts right after where the first one left off and then jumps ahead 9 years as Reggie and Mike go on a journey to see out and take down the Tall-man once more, setting a bunch of trends that follow throughout the rest of the sequels including Reggie becoming the main hero and his attempts at trying to have sex with every woman he picks up.

This marks the only film in the series where Mike is played by a different actor, but I think he fits the role fine here and is a decent enough replacement, though I guess it is slightly jarring to go from him back to the original actor in the next film.
The Tall Man and Reggie are still played by original actors Angus Scrimm and Reggie Bannister though, as they would be for the rest of the film series.

The film also had a considerably bigger budget so of course they utilise that to the fullest and like alot of film sequels make thing bigger and bolder with more action and special effects as well as a somewhat lighter tone which all makes for a very fun and engaging experience.

The main theme heard in the first movie is retained, but the score itself is more generic and sounds similar to every other horror film of the time. It also delivers a similar fake-out ending to the first  which may annoy people but I was fine with it.

So yeah, while it does still have flaws and is much more conventional than the first film, lacking that same level of intrigue and mystery, I still found it to be almost as enjoyable. But then I do really like fun action horrors and this one in particular as a certain charm to it. ***1/2

Venom (2018) Review

There's a good movie lurking somewhere in Venom's back gooey depths and it lies specifically in the fun Venom/Eddie Brock dynamic that serves to be the films main highlight. Tom Hardy is clearly having fun in his role which is why it mainly works well and serves to be enjoyable.
The CGI is also fine but does get a bit messy at times particularly in the climactic fight but I don't think the editing helped with that either.

My point though is that I liked the portrayal of venom here, It's just a shame that its' all wrapped in a bog standard story and some messy craftsmanship leaving you with a film that is kinda entertaining but mostly lackluster.

May have just been better if they just did a spider-man film with this venom, the problem with origin origin films is that the majority of them go down similar paths and they just don't end up being interesting enough, so I wouldn't call Venom outright bad, it's  just very meh. **1/2
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Extreme Dinosaurs: Episode 1 - Out of Time (1997) Review

EXTREME, EXTREME, EXTREME DINOSAURS!

Ah the Extreme Dinosaurs, a cartoon series that definitely screams 90's. A spin-off of previous show Street Sharks, Extreme Dinosaurs had everything Anthropomorphic dinosaurs battling it out, Aliens, Roswell, a rad theme song, words like Carnifcate and Jurrassicate' and names like T-Bone, Stegs and Bad Rap.There was a lot in it to love as a kid and I thought it was super cool myself, I even got a birthday cake one time with a Marzipan Spittor(one of the evil Raptors) on it, though I don't think I ever had any toys surprisingly, still I enjoyed the show nonetheless.

So the first episode gives us the origin story and sets the foundation for the rest of the series. Basically an alien(Argor Zardok) who is a transdimensional criminal, transports to earth from another dimension during the period of the dinosaurs. He's fascinated that the world is solid and that Dinosaurs still exist. He decides to transforms a group of dinosaurs into super warriors who will do his bidding, however these dinosaurs now have independent thinking and refuse to work for him, so he ejects them from the ship and finds some Raptors that he transforms instead who are more loyal thanks to him adjusting the settings.
the Transdimensional police show up, a battle occurs between the dinosaurs and one of the Raptors has a super powerful alien weapon which causes a massive natural disaster which is guess it what killed the dinosaurs.
the Raptors and extreme dinosaurs survive this by all going into cryogenic chambers in the police ship, including Chedra who is one of the law officers.

They are discovered and awoken by an archeologists and they all do battle again and until Roswell agents show up and capture the heroes, who when escaping the facility fight off a bunch of robots.
they then have a poignant moment on the ship as they found out all the dinosaurs have been extinct.and question how they fit in to the world now.
They end up in at a dinosaur museum that's owned by an old country fella, who isn't bothered by talking dinosaurs cause he's seen all kind of shit living near Roswell and he helps them build giant cars using scrap.
They battle with the Raptors again and destroy the weapon that caused chaos at the start. The Roswell agents show up and everyone runs away, though the dinosaurs do capture two of the raptors bury them in an avalanche of snow.
On their way home they proclaim themselves the Extreme Dinosaurs cause they are Dinosaurs that are extreme enough to take on the raptors.

This show gives you everything in it's first episode and is still a barrel of fun to watch today, very enjoyable stuff. ***1/2

John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017) Review

He's Back! and better than ever, John Wick: Chapter 2 does what all the best sequels do, build on it's predecessor and create something superior. Chocked full of great action including gun fu and hand-to-hand combat, John Wick: Chapter 2 is a stunning and hugely enjoyable action thriller. It expands on the interesting film world the first film created, keeping it all the more intriguing. It's the kind of world you'd expect to be from a comic book and I love how it's just its own thing and getting to explore that world more is very enjoyable. The film also still has that layer of odd quirkiness that leads to some rather humorous moments
The film also features some great cinematography and production design, a lot of the sets looked really cool especially the one used in the climax and theres a really nice use of lighting and a lot of the action was shot really well with some minimal cuts and wider shots being utilised. It just looks really great throughout and its influences from asian action cinema are clear to see.
Overall I think this is a great action film, that knows it exactly what it is and greatly succeeds at what it does and I would happily welcome a 3rd film. ****

Underworld: Blood Wars (2016)

So here it is, the latest film in the Underworld series and straight off the bat I have to say this is the shoddiest film in the series and I mean this mainly in terms of execution as it has a lot of messy editing and bad pacing with everything feeling rushed. It once again stars Kate Beckinsale and features Charles Dance and Theo James reprising their roles from the previous film, as well as some new faces including Tobias Menzies and Lara Pulver and her various provocative outfits.
Now the story's a bit of a mess and very generic but I preferred it to the previous film as theres lots of deceit going on that keeps it a little fun and its more reminiscent of the first film. This is also the films problem as its all too samey and just it feels a little stale with the most interesting scenes happen when they are at Vador, its a nice little change from the rest of the film and feature some fun action moments as well as introducing a couple of ideas that I wished they had explored more.
In terms of action overall the film as a good amount of it as well as some gore, although most of it is not the best, mainly because of the execution, but there are some enjoyable bits scattered abour.
The acting also varies in quality ranging between fine and kind of bad, but nothing flat-out terrible or good.
Overall the film is only partly successful at being  fun piece of mindless escapism and is really let down by its execution. Had things been handled better I definitely would have preferred it to the previous film, but as it stand this film is the weakest of the series and I think its time to put a stake into the franchises heart, but much like Selene, it's hard to kill for good. **

Underworld: Evolution (2006) Review

The second film in the Underworld series and it certainly ups the ante with more action, more gore, more sex and more fun. I quite enjoyed this, more so than the first movie, for starters its shorter and briskly runs through its 105 minute runtime, and while it still maybe be very superficial and shallow it delivers where it intends to with some very entertaining action and gore, which there is alot of through out and some good visual effects including the  some practical effects still being used for the Lycans so they still look rad as hell. The film is also again nice to look out and still uses its cold washed out look, but adds some nice added warmth in necessary places. Overall is just a very fun movie and that's all it aspires to be, which makes it a success in my book. Just some enjoyable action horror. ***

Underworld (2003)

In tepid anticipation for the new Underworld movie that hits UK next week, I've decided to go back and revisit the rest of the series. So here's the first film that kicked it all off, released in 2003 and inspired by the likes of Blade and The Matrix, Underworld is a leather-clad, gun toting action 'horror' pitting Vampires against Lycans(werewolves). Now I really enjoyed this film as a kid and having watched it again after a good few years, I still quite enjoy it, though not nearly as much as I used to.
First I want to talk about the Positives films strongest element which is its visuals, from its minimal colour palette to it's great set design the filmmakers did a great job of crafting the films world so it all looks good and nicely sets the films tone. It also got some good visual effects that still hold up quite well with a nice amount of practical effects that are utilised including for the transformed Lycans which look fantastic. Some of performances are also pretty good particularly  Kate Beckinsale, Bill Nighy and Michael Sheen, though there are a few that aren't so good but not flat-out bad. Finally the story is pretty standard but works well enough and I like the detailed mythology that's included within it.
So that's pretty much the positives, so what about its flaws?, well its biggest problems, is the lack of attachment to anything happening as the films is a little too superficial and shallow and it's only really towards the end of the film that they start to add in any character depth which is just too late, especially considering the films run time. Now it was the extended cut that I watched which clocks in at 2 hours 13 minutes, but the normal version is still 2 hours which is just too long for this movie and it really would have benefited alot just being 90 minutes, maybe 100 at a push. The film just drags at times and should have been more concise, also the action is decent enough but the gunplay does get a little boring at times.
Overall the movie is pretty fun and there's enough there to keep your attention throughout but it's certainly nothing stand out or great. A pretty decent first entry. ***

X-men: Apocalypse (2016)

The X-men franchise returns, with another solid entry that doesn't reach the heights of Days Of Future Past, but is certainly on par with First Class. One again helmed by Bryan Singer, the film is set in the 80's and deals with popular X-men villain Apocalypse.
Now Apocalpyse was one of my favourites as a kid, but the issue with using him, is that he's not the most dynamic of villains and he fits the cliche 'I want to rule the world, cause I'm powerful' archetype.
This means the film struggles to make itself stand out from other superhero films by taking a more generic approach to things. Having said that I think Oscar Issac does a good job with his portrayal and Apocalypse definitely has a very demanding and threatening presence here, that makes him more compelling and memorable than most other generic supervillains.
The film also features more younger versions of characters from the previous films like Jean Grey, Cyclops and Storm all played well by their respective actors and I thought all performances across the board were fine too, with the one stand out being Michael Fassbender who as usual has the strongest performance, managing to really bring the emotion out in certain scenes.
I think the film has a good mix of drama, humour and action, with some fairly brutal moments for a 12A and is very entertaining throughout. It is a little inconsistent and messy, has some some hokey dialogue and more should have been done with the Four Horsemen but other than that, I  once again managed to become engrossed within this universe and thoroughly enjoyed the film. A solid entry in the franchise, nothing spectacular but still damn good. ***1/2

Captain America: Civil War (2016)

The latest offering from Marvel Studios and probably their best one yet. Captain America: Civil War is a great superhero film full of great drama, action and humour. It gives us a very character driven story, that makes for a much more compelling film. We've got all the previous characters being represented better than they ever have been, as well as great new additions like Black Panther and the new incarnation of Spiderman (who seems to be the best one yet). Everyone manages to fit and isn't out of place, even the 'villain' is well drawn out and has very good motivations behind him. There's a lot of really good action sequences too, that are decently shot with lots of cool moments sprawled throughout.
The whole thing just works great, it's well balanced, paced, written, acted and is just a super entertaining film overall. I really liked it. ****

Dilwale (2015)

This is the first actual Bollywood film I've ever watched let alone in the cinema, I've always known about how excessive they are meant to be and this action romantic comedy didn't dissappoint. A fun 154 minute ride filled with melodrama, romance, comedy, action with the odd musical number thrown in for good measure. Also don't forget the countless slo-mo shots and music cue. It's overwritten, ridiculous and tonally all over the place, but it was alot of fun to watch.
An overall good time, if you're not super picky about how films are made.
***

The Expendables 3 (2014)

For some it would be easy for a group of old action fogies coming together exchanging one liners, self references and shooting an enumerate amount of people to become tiresome by the third movie. But it still manages to work for me and I still had fun watching this movie. The action wasn't outstanding but kept me entertained despite the lack of blood due to it's watered down 12A rating, I like the old/new generation thing they got going on, Ronda Rousey busts out a few sick moves and Antonio Banderas is awesome. Sure there's nothing new here but theres still fun to be had if you want there to be and that's all that matters.
Overall that small bit of nostalgic magic still manages to vaguely exist, how much longer it will last in the distant future though is certainly questionable.
***