18. Free Fire

I saw the trailer for Free Fire a few months ago, and to be honest, I wasn't particularly blown away. I don't get excited by violence or guns or anything like that, and although there were funny bits in the trailer, it didn't seem hilarious. Most of the time it's the funniest bits that go in the trailer, but let me assure you, Free Fire was so much better than I was expecting.

The beginning of the film sees a deal about to go down in a warehouse, but it seems quite suspicious that something else is going on; low and behold, about 10 minutes later we're in the middle of a shootout. As I mentioned, I'm not particularly bothered by violence, but if you've read my review on Hacksaw Ridge, you'll know I find it quite boring. I don't like mindless shooting or attacking. Free Fire is different. There's motive for the gunfire, and there are tactics around it, as well as the humour accompanying the aggression. The rest of the film, and the entire plot is about this shoot out, and without ruining it, it's about working out who's side you're on, and who you're rooting for. There's drug addicts, arms dealers, snipers, middlemen, and god forbid, a woman.

Without any spoilers, that's the entire plot. What I liked about the film was the character development, and connecting with each person, learning about their psychology and trying to understand their motives. The use of humour throughout really added to the effect of this, and it really was 'laugh out loud' funny- something you sometimes struggle to get in a comedy!

In some parts, it was quite gory, so if that's not your thing, you may want to give this film a miss. I'm not all that squeamish, but I did have to cover my eyes at one point. Again, I think the gore wasn't there to shock, or to try and impress the viewer, I thought it worked in line with the plot. Sometimes I think films just include gore for gore's sake.

I thought the casting and acting for Free Fire was great- some great names like Brie Larson and Cillian Murphy, and some lesser know people, like Sam Riley, who played Ian Curtis in Control. I've never heard of Sharlto Copley before, but he was absolutely fantastic, and hilarious as Verne.

To add to all that, it also hit the perfect run time of an hour and a half, so I'm sure you can guess it's a high scorer - 8.5/10. If you fancy going to see a film this week, I'd go with Free Fire!

14. Kong: Skull Island

First of all, sorry for my lateness is posting this - I've had a busy week involving me joining my mid-twenties (first thing my mum said to me on the day) and also having my phone robbed in a club - I've spent most of my time since in the O2 shop sorting my life out (they have been great fyi - even made me a brew on one of my trips in store). I've been trying to write a review the day after I've seen a film, but I saw Kong on Thursday night, and it's now half ten on Tuesday, so I feel this review may be different to my previous posts. I've really had time to mull over the film and think about it. In this case, I don't think it's done the film any favours.

As you can probably already guess, I've not seen any other King Kong films (a film pre-2015 and also unrealistic)  so this was my first taste of what I like to think would have been Harambe's starring role (sorry I realise Harambe is v 2016, but yes, I do have irritating LAD sense of humour). The story was quick paced, simple, and easy to follow. We had 3D and DBOX (treats) for this film, and I think it worked pretty well. There was enough action, and there were also things like helicopter rides which I think DBOX suited really well.

The story follows some big named actors, as they try to work out if there really is a monster living on Skull Island. The bill includes superstars like Samuel L Jackson, Brie Larson, John Goodman, John C. Reilly and Tom Hiddleston, and if you're a telly fan, there's also Toby Kebbell who starred in a great episode of Black Mirror in 2011 (side note- if you haven't watched Black Mirror yet, get on Netflix). Kong is such a big budget movie, with such a great billing, but unfortunately, I don't think it quite hit the mark.

I don't think the storyline was captivating enough, and I think maybe there were too many characters- you don't learn enough about each of them, and you don't become attached to them either. There wasn't any interesting friendships or relationships, and even rivalries that occur from a split in the group don't leave you particularly excited or attached to any of the characters. When I saw John C. Reilly was cast in the film, I thought he would be hilarious, but I think his script fell a little short of the mark.

I did quite enjoy the cinematography, and enjoyed the way the monsters on the island were created. I found it imaginative, and interesting, and I was intrigued to see which giant animal we would see next. Again, I think this worked really well with the DBOX, and I did think it made the film fun. There is no doubt that the film is an easy watch, and I did find parts playful and exciting, but as a whole, there are much better options out there - Jurassic World, for example.

When I initially left the cinema I gave the film a 7/10. It was pretty inoffensive, has a great cast list, but it's nothing to shout home about. After having time to think more about it, I think I can only give it 6.5/10. The plot isn't very memorable, and it's not been something that's made me think about anything differently, and it's not played on my mind during the week. As you probably know, I do like a film with a good message, or that gives me something to mull over, and this isn't that.