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

The Wise Little Hen (1934)

The Wise little Hen is a1934 Disney Silly Symphonies Cartoon that features the debut of Donald Duck which showcases him as an absolute dickhead. The cartoon follows a mother hen who asks both Donald and Peter Pig to help her plant her corn but both makeup the same excuse of them having a stomach ache. They then hide behind something and wink at the audience to show that they are sly bastards. Instead they decided to have a dance about with an accordion and so the poor Mother hen is forced to plant the corn herself along with her children.
She then asks Donald and Peter to help farm her corn but again pretend that they have a stomach ache, they go into their Idle Hour clubhouse and the wall of it comes down so the Hen sees these two numpty's shaking hands smiling.
So the Hen and her Chicks farm the corn and she proceeds to bake it all for a big Corn based banquet which the singing narrators hype the shit out of, she then goes to ask Pete and Donald if they want help eat her corn, before she even asks they are pretending they go a belly ache and then she asks and of course they chomp at the bit, to eat some of that corn goodness. But Mother hen trolls the shit out of them and hands them a basket which after they fight over it a little discover that inside is just oil to cure their stomach aches trolololol.
So at the end they are stuck in envy as they watch the hen gobble up that corn baked goodness while they take turns kicking each other in the butt. Lazy bastards, gotta work for that food. Donald really wasn't so loveable back then.
Fun stuff. ***

Cruel Intentions (1999)

Cruel Intentions is the kind of film that starts out with promise, it had a nice dynamic between characters(even if the acting is so good) an openness about sexuality and a general charm about it but quickly falls down into a rusty bucket of tired romantic cliche's that lead to a rather baffling and disappointing end.
The film is actually based off the 'Les Liaisons dangereuses'(Dangerous Liasons) a french novel written in 1782, but sets it among wealthy teenagers in modern New York. The attempt to put it in such a setting is rather intriguing it's just a shame it executed in the wrong kind of way, I feel like a more farcical unrestrained approach might have worked better and like I said the first half seemed to take things in the right kind of direction, but then in just turns into something more bland and sappy and loses it's potential to be something quite good. Shame really.**

The World Of Kanako (2014) Review

Been wanting to see this since it first came out but patiently waited for the long delayed UK DVD release. So it finally came out over here and I really liked it, it's dark, harsh and pretty darn superb. It's directed by Tetsuya Nakashima whose most known for the films 'Memories of Matsuko' and 'Confessions'. He's a director who I'm very fond of and always really enjoy and this film is no different. It features a disjointed editing style that Nakashima has used in his previous films with lots of cutting between past and present events and a use of montage with a rather stylish flair.
Its definitely the bleakest film Nakashima has done, one that is unrelenting and has very little hope or positivity which is sure to put alot of people off, so its not an easy watch by any means. It is a very intriguing film though one that takes quite a few twists and turns and is full of solid acting from a great cast of actors including some that have been in Nakashima's previous films including leading man Koji Yakusho, Miki Nakatani and Ai Hashimoto.
Overall I really liked this and think it's another great addition to Nakashima's consistently awesome filmography. ****

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. ****

The Lego Batman Movie (2017) review

Everything is still awesome in the Lego movie world, as The Lego Batman movie delivers a frantic barrage of pure fun. An Absolute joy to watch from start to finish, full of references to the Batman mythos including previous films, shows and comics, as well as other pop culture references that all providing many little laughs throughout. It has the same impressive Lego animation style seen in the Lego Movie, so it looks absolutely stunning, though every now and again the  does get a little too cluttered but it all still looks good. This also got a big cast of well known actors and celebrities doing the voice work and they all do a good job, I particularly loved Michael Cera and Will Arnett who are both top notch as Robin and Batman.
Overall this was a blast and almost on par with the Lego Movie, just lots of fun. ****

Loving (2016) Review

Loving is an historical drama about the lives of the interracial couple who were the cause of the 'Loving V. Virginia' supreme court case that invalidated state laws prohibiting Interracial Marriage. It stars Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga who is nominated for the Academy award for best actress.
The film I'd say is pretty solid but far from great. Its intentions and message are clear and well executed and the performances are good (didn't scream oscar-worthy to me though). the problem is the film just seems to be going through the motions, we jump forward from scene to scene in a brisk manner that just tells the story, but lacks a good amount of drama and emotional weight. Don't get me wrong there are a couple of strong scenes here and the fill certainly isn't devoid of emotion. But the understated approach just didn't connect with me that much. Of course they wanted to be as true to their lives as possible, so it is understandable and like I said the film is definitely solid and well made and is sure to connect with many people in different ways. Its also a story I didn't know anything about, so at the very least I learned something, so it certainly serves its purpose well. ***