Beneath The Planet Of The Apes (1970)

The first sequel to Planet Of The Apes and an interesting one to say the least. Starring discount Charlton Heston (James Francisus) with real Charlton Heston also reprising his role as Taylor albeit in a smaller capacity. This film took the series in a rather ridiculous direction but I can't help but admire the whole creativity of it all. This film almost turns a into a satire of nuclear obsession and has once again a great ending. it  doesn't hold up that well as a whole but it is certainly a creative and fun film.
***

Planet Of The Apes (1968)

Recently completed a Planet Of The Apes marathon, so shall be giving my thoughts on each film and first up of course it's the sci-fi classic Planet Of The Apes. A great film with strong themes, Planet Of The Apes provides a an imaginative and very engaging story that is constructed exceedingly well with a memorable ending. The film also has some really nice cinematography and strong performances, and of course how can you not love Charlton Heston. Great stuff.
****

Edge Of Tomorrow (2014)

Edge of Tomorrow presents a Sci-fi action films that is engaging and thrilling from start to finish. Based on a Japanese Light novel (which makes perfect sense) the films presents a really interesting story and concept that's a lot of fun with some really good visual effects. The problem that brings it's down for me though is it's cinematography, it opts for the shakycam quick cut style which although I understand is meant to make you delirious, it always annoys and frustrates me because it makes it hard to get a clear view of the action and just looks awful which is a shame because there's a fantastic shot when Tom Cruise make his first decent from the plane which is done in one spinning seamless take but it fails to do anything like this later on. Other than that though this film is thoroughly enjoyable and overall lots of fun.
***1/2

A Million Ways To Die In The West (2014)

Now I've never been a fan of westerns but I'm always down for comedy ones that take the piss, it's just a shame that this one doesn't live up to it's potential. While I think there is a decent scattering of humour in this I have two main issues with it. The first one is it has a super saccharine generic plot that is more annoying than usual and to some extent felt like an excuse for Seth Mcfarlane to kiss Charlize theron. The second one is that the film doesn't really live up to it's title, it may mention alot of ways to die but (call me a sadist) there is really not enough death in this, it's a small personal gripe but I was hoping for more.
Overall the film isn't as wacky as expected which to some extent is it's downfall, there is a fair amount of humour here but it's not all that well written and the the success of it's execution varies. It's just a disappointment really.
**

Maleficent (2014)

The brand new retelling of the classic Sleeping Beauty story that changes it up and while it has some interesting ideas the whole thing just ends up being meh. It has some nice visuals and  the theater style performances really worked but all the story elements don't quite work that successfully. There are alot of parts that are specifically aimed for kids but feel like they've been lazily thought out and added in to dispel some of the films dark nature. Also all men are evil, female empowerment for the win.(that isn't a criticism I'm just stating what the movie says)
Overall this isn't a a bad film as such but it's not particularly that good either, still I give it kudos for trying something different.
**1/2

Grave Of The Fireflies (1988)

Not only one of my favourite animated films but one of my favourite films of all time. This film is truly a masterpiece, depicting the harsh lives of two siblings during WW2 in Japan, it is heartbreaking and utterly beautiful with some of it's images just leaving me in awe. Also it's great music score always gets to me. A totally compelling and all around fantastic film.
*****

Kiki's Delivery Service (1989)

Another wonderful film from Miyazaki, more beautiful animation, more hope and more general niceness. An Absolute joy to watch, film full of charm.
****