I, like many students spend a lot of time watching films. It's just something which has to be done in order to conform at least to some degree with the stereotypical expectations laid upon us. As a result of this I hope this section will flourish into a place where that time well spent can prove even more worthwhile, by using this section to highlight the good films and the bad. Whether it's Bruce Willis or Bruce Campbell I will try and make room for everyone. So if you want to know what to watch and you trust my opinion, then the first place you should come before any trip to the cinema or rental shop... should be here.

2/5

Global warming has annoyingly started to melt the polar ice caps. This then has an adverse effect on the earths ocean currents, for which we all rely on for our mild climate. So yeah, that all goes pair shaped and three huge super storms start to en-gulf the top half of the globe, turning pretty much everything above Mexico into one big block of ice. I would like to say the film has more to it than that, but honestly, it doesn't. The reason I say this is because the central story which the film is supposed to revolve around, the story of a paleoclimatologist trying to reach his stranded son, is just so irrelevant to anything it's hard to acknowledge its existence. I mean, it's all very entertaining, the special effects are brilliant and the characters are all very likeable, it's just the most believable thing in the whole film, is the actual disaster, and sadly that says something about the rest of the film's logic. On a positive note though, the film is very watchable if you're able to disengage your brain completely, and the CGI effects really do make up for a lot, but I can't give a film this flawed anymore than two out of five, simply out of principal. I can say it's worth seeing just for the effects and I can say it's quite enjoyable, I can't say however that it's anything other than aesthetically driven nonsense. Also, the seemingly important message it's trying to put across about the damage we're currently inflicting on our planet is almost completely lost by the dodgy story writing. Fun? yes! Cool? yes! Grounded in reality even on a basic level? No! Worth seeing just for the effects, but no where near as good as it should have been.

3/5

With a cast to literally die for, one has to wonder why someone wouldn't go and see this film. Well, Wolfgang Peterson is certainly a great director and he has admittedly produced a very authentic looking film, it's just too long. The film's general pacing is admittedly perfectly adequate, it's just some parts of the story should have been trimmed down so as to keep the film's momentum at full strength. The problem is, the film never really seems to climax, it has so many battles, so many fights, any build up the film generates in it's entirety keeps getting seemingly reset each time there is the slightest skirmish. I suppose the problem with the film is its direction. It isn't clear where it's going, at least with regard to everything other than the most obvious of story threads. This all culminates in a finale that struggles to have any significant effect what so ever. A film this long (3 hours) needs to have a very strong sense of direction, a strong sense of where it's heading. 'Troy' doesn't really at all. If the film was say just 30 minutes shorter, it may have had a totally different effect on me, but sadly it wasn't, so it didn't. It's worth seeing if you are happy to stare at Brad Pitt for a few hours, but everyone else should think twice about seeing this. Not as good as I'd hoped.

3/5

This movie is the much delayed continuation and conclusion of Quentin Tarantino's revenge martial arts thriller. It is interesting to point out that this film and the one before it, were originally conceived as one whole movie, but after seeing Vol. 2 it becomes clear why Tarantino decided to split the story into two parts. This movie is almost completely different to the first. The snappy trademark Tarantino dialogue is yes, thankfully back (it was quite obviously absent from the first film). With the chop socky action that fuelled Vol. 1 this time taking a back seat to character interaction and situation. The story picks up as The Bride continues to work her way through her hit list, with lots of back story filled in big time with some erratic flash backs. It's all very entertaining but sadly a little stale when compared to the abrupt sharpness of the first film. Michael Madson plays one of the more interesting characters this time around and Samuel L. Jackson admittedly makes a typically smooth cameo appearance as the organ player. But for the most part even the best performances in the movie will leave you slightly under whelmed. The film's conclusion typically should have allowed the film to conclude on a satisfying note, but sadly, Quentin essentially over Tarantino's himself by trying a little too hard to tie everything up in an original and stylish way, when all we really want to see is an old fashioned sword wielding show down between The Bride and Bill. So all in all the film will leave you feeling a little disappointed, with a slight sub-conscious wonderment over what Tarantino might do next. It's certainly not a bad film, it's very good in fact, it's just Vol. 1 was just so superb, this just can't help to be seen as a shadow of the first volume. Expertly directed with some slick dialogue, but with a little too much of everything.