Office Christmas Party (2016)

Office Christmas Party is exactly what it says on the tin, but that Tin is cheap, tacky and pretty darn useless. The films primary function is to make us laugh, but not once during its 105 minute runtime did I even laugh besides a slight smirk every now and again. I knew what to expect but I just struggled to connect to it, so all the humour just fell flat despite the cast having a good go at it. The film is honestly one of the worst I've seen this year, I went in looking for a fun time and I just got nothing, I'm sure it'll work better for alot of other people but for me this was a failure of a comedy.
*

Redline (2009)

A hugely entertaining sci-fi racing anime that is a bombastic visual thrill ride. The plot may be simple but it makes up for it with piles of creativity and great pacing. I love the style and design of the universe and characters and it's so full of energy that there's never a dull moment. Those who prefer a bit of complexity and depth to their Anime, look elsewhere,
those who love pure enjoyable spectacles full of great animation, then I highly recommend this film. Cool, slick and full of awesome.
****

Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

Mad Max returns bigger and better than ever. George Miller delivers a great action film filled with outstanding action sequences. It's glorious to see so many practical effects again, especially being executed to almost utter perfection. The cinematography is also fantastic, providing us with many beautiful shots and the actors do a fine job too, with Tom Hardy being a more than adequate replacement for Mel Gibson as Max.
Now I didn't love it as much as some people and I wouldn't consider it a masterpiece, however I do admire it's brilliant execution and while it may not offer much for those who aren't much into action. I would highly recommend those that are action fans to go see this movie, as the action really is phenomenal and needs to be seen, and you don't have to see an of the previous films to see this, as it works absolutely fine as a stand alone film.(much like the other kind of do)
Overall Miller has once again managed to outdo himself with the Mad Max series, the ambition and scope have never been higher, giving us a truly non-stop thrill ride that is truly a joy to watch. In a time where sequels and reboots can be tiresome, Mad Max: Fury Road comes hurtling forward showing how to do it right.
****

A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence (2014)

The latest film from Roy Andersson and final part in his 'living' trilogy which is set out exactly like first two films with each scene/segment being done mainly in one big static wide shot. The film itself is rather wonderful, you have some great comical moments and some purely wonderful moments of people just living. There was one scene in particular involving a large metal drum with horn instruments sticking out, that was completely mesmerising (a scene that certainly has to be seen). It all plays out at it's own steady pace, which may be a little too slow from some peoples tastes, but works perfectly with the films deadpan approach.
Overall this is another great film by Andersson and a great finale to his 'living' trilogy. Just wonderful stuff.
****

Monsters: Dark Continent (2015)

Monsters: Dark continent is the sequel to the well received first movie 'Monsters' a film that was pretty solid but not all that great. So with Dark Continent, we get a film that is only set in the same universe and has none of the characters from the first. From what I had seen beforehand, I was expecting something that could be fun, instead I got a film that was dull and depressing. Never have I seen a film try so hard to beat me in the face with it's sadness, turning it into a blood pulp of melancholy. Except it's emotional punches are so weak, they don't even scratch the surface and just you leave bored and irritated.(we get it war is horrible).
The films biggest problem is that it tries to be like the first film by minimising the use of monsters, but suffers from it rather than succeeds. The film feels like an Iraq war movie script, that had the Monsters added in later on. But it is the few moments involving the monsters that provide the only interesting parts of the film, the rest just feels dull and tries way too hard to be a downtrodden potrayal of war.
Overall this is a very disappointing movie, that just fails massively. I would have much rathered two hours of people fighting monsters in ridiculous ways, at least that might have been fun to watch. In the end though this film is everything it shouldn't have been.
*1/2