Film: Pixels

Aliens are invading and this time they are in the form of classic 80s arcade games.

At this time of desperate need it's lucky that the US President (Kevin James) just happens to be best friends with 80s video game ace Brenner (Adam Sandler).

Brenner recruits his old friend "The Wonderkid" and even reaches out to old adversary Eddie "Fireblaster" (Peter Dinklage) when the soldiers provided fail to have the necessary gaming skill.

For anyone who grew up visiting arcades then this is an absolute treat. Seeing old favourites like Galaga, Centipede and Pac-Man marauding around the big screen is great fun.

Pixels has had lots of bad reviews but I suspect that those delivering them never experienced the sheer joy of achieving the high score on a proper arcade game in a real arcade. Too bad for them.

Ric's Rating: Highly Recommended

Film: Avengers: Age Of Ultron

The Marvel movie juggernaut rolls on with the latest adventure for their team of superheroes.

Tony “Iron Man” Stark persuades Bruce “The Hulk” Banner to help him develop a new form of artificial intelligence but things go awry when the machine decides that it doesn't want to be constrained.

Ultron is born and he proceeds to take control of the planet’s computers causing all manner of mayhem. Supported by an army of robots he takes control of a city and threatens to wipe out the human race.

Cue many scenes of heroes vs robots and also some scenes where the good guys fight each other. The introduction of Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver freshen things up but it’s Paul Bettany’s show stealing turn as the android avenger Vision that really livens things up.

Age Of Ultron is very entertaining and marvel fans will love it but the movie lacks the charm and wow factor of Avengers Assemble and doesn't quite match the epic action of Captain America: Winter Soldier.

Ric’s Rating: Highly Recommended.

Film: Fast & Furious 7

Following a slight dip in form with number 6 the Furious gang return in Paul Walker’s final film and they are up against Jason Statham who plays the brother of a previous adversary who is out for revenge.

The action kicks off from the start as we are treated to an excellent battle between Statham and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s FBI Agent. From there the fists keep flying along with extravagant car chases and big gun battles culminating in a city wide trail of destruction.

If you are a fan of the series you will love this, it even manages to close the silly time loop that excluded the Tokyo Drift movie so Lucas Black gets an appearance, albeit a cameo.

Martial-arts star Tony Jaa (Ong-Bak) also appears and adds much to the already top-notch action. Vin Diesel and Paul Walker deliver their standard but always terrific turns and there is hardly time to take a breath until this instalment comes to a moving conclusion.

Catch it in cinemas now.

Ric’s Rating: Essential 

Film: Chappie

In the near future South Africa has robot police officers. The engineer behind them takes their development further when he manages to install full artificial intelligence into a damaged droid meant for destruction.

This has already been described as Robocop meets Short Circuit and I have to agree. We have the robot cops running around arresting and shooting the bad guys, complete with Peter Weller-esque voices and then we get Chappie, who enters the fray as a child in a robotic body.

Chappie is “born” surrounded by criminals determined to use him for their own ends but his maker Deon (Dev Patel) manages to give him a sense of right and wrong from the outset.

District 9 director Neil Blomkamp has again called upon the services of the star of that film Sharlto Copley, who does a fine Andy Serkis (Gollum, King Kong, Ceasar from the Apes movies) job as Chappie. Copley’s performance gives the robot a much needed human quality that the idea of artificial intelligence alone could not.

Hugh Jackman and Sigourney Weaver also add their considerable presence as a rival engineer and head of the electronics corporation respectively. Jackman is excellent as the sneaky, sneering Vincent who has always been upset that his own design was not used for law enforcement.

Funny, exciting and sad, Chappie delivers everything you would expect but does stretch the imagination a little too far with its ideas about human consciousness towards the end.

Catch it in cinemas now.

Ric’s Rating: Highly Recommended.      

Film: Jupiter Ascending

An ordinary girl discovers she is the reincarnation of the Queen Of The Galaxy..or something.

Jupiter Jones is whisked into the middle of a war between siblings of an inter-galactic race vying for control of the Earth in this sci-fi adventure from Matrix directors the Wachowskis.

The nifty special effects and entertaining chase / fight scenes aren’t enough to save this from the incomprehensible story and even Channing Tatum’s flying boots grate after they save the day a few times.

Ric’s Rating: Dodgy. 

Film: American Sniper

The Hangover’s Bradley Cooper delivers a superb performance as Navy Seal Chris Kyle in this true story from director Clint Eastwood.

The patriotic Kyle decides to enlist and after intensive training is soon deployed to Iraq where he is used as a specialist sniper. His role is to protect ground forces but the highly trained Kyle decides that he must help his less experienced colleagues on the ground. A series of incidents follow, each very intense and harrowing.

These events coincide with Kyle attempting to maintain a healthy relationship with his wife and young family but during periods of time at home he is still consumed by the war.

Can he leave the fighting to others after putting in 4 tours of duty and can he adjust to life back in normal society?

I knew nothing of Chris Kyle prior to seeing this film and there is no doubt that increased my enjoyment of it. It is easy to find out details of this high profile soldier but if you don’t already know then steer clear until after seeing this.

Doubts have emerged regarding the authenticity of events as presented here but regardless of that this is a film that grips from the start and doesn't let go.

American Sniper is in cinemas now.

Ric’s Rating: Highly Recommended. 

Film: A Walk Among The Tombstones

Liam Neeson takes on the role of Private Detective Matt Scudder in this film adaptation of the novel by Lawrence Block.

A fellow addict asks Scudder to speak to his brother regarding a missing person. Turns out that the client isn’t exactly a law abiding citizen and even though he paid the ransom asked for by his wife’s kidnappers, they killed her anyway.

Despite his initial reluctance Scudder takes on the case and follows a trail that eventually leads to a pair of ruthless murderers.

If you aren’t a fan of Neeson then give this a miss as he is in practically every scene and only briefly disappears from view throughout the entire film. Thankfully I enjoy Neeson’s films (Taken and The Gray are recent stand-outs) and he easily carries the film along on it’s atmospheric journey.

I haven’t read the novel but can guess that this film incorporates elements from several books as we get the character’s history and we meet TJ, a local street kid who I’m guessing is a series regular. Maybe someone can confirm or correct my thinking.

Gritty, violent and completely absorbing, A Walk Among The Tombstones only suffers by not providing more of a story for the villains of the piece. Neeson gives a towering performance as Scudder and hopefully this is the beginning of a franchise as I’d be keen to see more of this character.

Catch it in cinemas now.

Ric’s Rating: Highly Recommended.  

Film: The House Of Magic

A stray cat finds its way into a large foreboding house and discovers that there are some very strange residents, and not all of them are welcoming.

After 10 minutes or so of this animated tale I was doubting its suitability for my 6 year old daughter. Nothing seems to go the little cat’s way. He is tossed out of a car, chased by an aggressive dog and then meets a pair of very angry animal inhabitants of the house. Luckily things change for the better when old magician Lawrence discovers the stray and names him Thunder.

Unfortunately Lawrence’s sneaky nephew plans to sell his Uncle’s house so the animal and magical creatures set their differences aside to unite in their efforts to thwart his plan.

There aren't too many laughs for the grown ups here but this charming film should keep under 10’s entertained as they root for Thunder and his gang of oddballs.

The House Of Magic is in UK cinemas now.

Ric’s Rating: Good.

Film: Captain America: The Winter Soldier

In Marvel’s latest adventure we catch up with Steve Rogers aka Captain America as he attempts to capture a band of modern day pirates. Aided by Black Widow the Captain leads a group of soldiers against the bad guys who include George St.Pierre of UFC fame.

Rogers (Chris Evans) then learns of the development of huge flying gunships being developed by SHIELD that have the capability of targeting any person on Earth. Bear in mind that the Captain is a very patriotic American (hence the name) so he doesn’t approve of anything that infringes on personal freedom.

To say more about the story would give away too much so I’ll concentrate on the film itself. Playing to the man out of time storyline (Captain America was a WWII soldier who was frozen then reanimated) this manages to bring emotion to what is otherwise an epic action movie. Think Terminator 2 and you’re in the vicinity. The shoot-outs and fight scenes are wonderfully extravagant (look out for ole Cap vs a fighter jet) and although there are super-hero elements on show here this manages to transcend the genre pigeon-hole.

Evans is fine as the straight-laced Rogers and there is excellent support from Samuel L Jackson, Scarlett Johansson and Frank Grillo to name but a few.

If you think they couldn’t top Avengers or that super-hero films aren’t for you I urge you to think again and catch Captain America: The Winter Soldier while it’s on the big screen.

Ric’s Rating: Essential

Film: 12 Years A Slave

New York in 1841 and talented violinist Solomon Northup is approached by a duo offering well paid work with a travelling show. Northup decides to take the job, leaving his family behind.

Unfortunately the potential employers are really particularly devious slave traders who specialise in kidnapping free black people (men, women and children) and selling them into slavery.

So begins Solomon’s ordeal as he is quickly stripped of his identity and told by other captives that he will undoubtedly be killed if he reveals himself as an educated man.

The examples of human cruelty endured and witnessed are soul-destroying to watch. From the young boy made to run on the spot for a future master to a hard working girl’s life being made unbearable when she becomes the apple of her master’s eye. This and many more of the same are perpetrated in full view of all around who meekly get on with their business as they are fearful for their own lives.

Performances all round are fantastic with Chiwetel Ejiofor delivering a powerhouse display as the always dignified Solomon. Benedict Cumberbatch, Michael Fassbender and newcomer Lupita Nyong'o are also fantastic.

12 Years A Slave is a bit of an endurance test for the audience, there is no let up in the despair, leaving the viewer emotionally drained when it ends. However, this true story is a moving account of one man’s journey through a very dark period in American history.

Ric’s Rating: Highly Recommended.

Film: 47 Ronin

The New Year begins with a cracker as we join Keanu Reeves as Kai, a half-breed outcast in the ancient Japanese world of the Samurai.

Found abandoned in the forest, Kai is taken in and raised by Lord Asano, much to the annoyance of his feared and devoted Samurai but his daughter Mika seems taken with the unusual boy.

Years later Lord Asano falls victim to witchcraft and treachery which leads to the imprisonment of his chief Samurai Oishi and the disbandment of the troop. On his release he vows vengeance and first seeks the help of the mysterious Kai before re-assembling his men and embarking on a quest that will most likely cost them their lives.

Spectacular martial-arts mixed with cool special effects make this a visual treat and the fantasy aspects of the tale weave into the more traditional elements effortlessly. You will believe in The Demons of The Forest and in a shape-shifting Witch.

The film is perhaps more suited to a proper Asian cinema release with subtitles for us English speaking folk but the Hollywood studio has to be admired for giving a totally Japanese story the full Stateside treatment while retaining the appropriate levels of integrity.

47 Ronin is an absolute must-see for fans of Asian cinema and martial-arts movies in general. Catch it in cinemas now.

Ric’s Rating: Essential.

Film: The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug

Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) continues his quest to help The Dwarves get their homeland back from the fearsome Dragon Smaug in the second part of Peter Jackson’s trilogy.

Jackson’s face is the first on camera as he makes a fleeting appearance before we move on with the tale. Two thirds of the film is a chase movie with the evil Orcs on the trail of Bilbo and the gang who are helped this time out by Elves Legolas (Orlando Bloom) and Tauriel (Evangeline Lilly). There are some fantastic fight scenes as the Orcs catch up with their quarry several times prior to the film’s glorious climax in Smaug’s lair.

Voiced brilliantly by Benedict Cumberbatch (Star Trek: Into Darkness) Smaug is a wonderful addiction to this series and more than makes up for the absent Gollum. At no moment do you doubt the validity of a talking Dragon, such is the atmosphere created. The fire-breathing is fantastic too and the battle between Dwarves and Dragon is absolutely terrific.

I had my doubts about this but thankfully The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug exceeds expectations and leaves the viewer crying out for the final instalment.

Ric’s Rating: Essential.

Film: Escape Plan

Ray Breslin (Sylvester Stallone) escapes from maximum security prisons for a living. Hired by the government he uses his expertise to test the robustness of the security procedures.

When the CIA come calling with an unusual offer Ray accepts the chance to test a secretive prison known as The Tomb. The Tomb houses the type of individual that has been deemed no longer welcome in society but can’t be dealt with through the normal legal process.

Once in The Tomb, Ray enlists the help of fellow inmate Rottmayer (Arnold Shwarzzeneger) in his attempt to escape and the duo must fend off the attentions of sadistic warden Hobbs (Jim Caveizel) and violent guard Drake (Vinnie Jones) as they put the plan into action.

I didn’t expect too much of this one going in but the draw of Rambo teaming up with The Terminator was too much to ignore and much to my surprise this isn’t the corny one- liner, tongue-in-cheek affair I was expecting.

Escape Plan is a serious, and often brutal, film that keeps the quips to a minimum. Sly and Arnie have great on-screen chemistry and bad guys Jones and Caveizel approach their roles with all the gusto required.

The two main stars may be approaching 70 years of age but this proves that they can still make the type of film that pretenders to their thrones such as Vin Diesel and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson often struggle to achieve.

Escape Plan is in UK cinemas now.

Ric’s Rating: Essential

Film: Prisoners

A Thanksgiving party turns sour when two young girls vanish in broad daylight.

One of the Fathers (Hugh Jackman) decides that when the Police release the main suspect in the case he will take matters into his own hands.

What follows is a disturbing tale of the lengths a Father will go to to protect his little girl.

Meanwhile cop Jake Gyllenhall (Donnie Darko) is also attempting to find the girls.

The two men clash over the case but they have the same objective. Who will get to the bottom of it and where are the girls?

At a lengthy 2hrs 30mins Prisoners is a slow burner in the mould of the Jack Nicholson child abduction thriller The Pledge and it’s just as intriguing. The clues are there for a keen viewer to spot (I did) but even then there are one or two unexpected twists.

Often uncomfortable but always compelling Prisoners is up there with Gone Baby Gone in this particular genre. Catch it in cinemas now.

Ric’s rating: Highly Recommended.

Film: Filth

Irvine Welsh’s popular novel finally makes it to the big screen and James McAvoy (Wanted) takes the lead as corrupt Edinburgh cop Bruce Robertson.

Robertson has his sights set on promotion and sets about eliminating the competition while attempting to solve a tricky murder case.

Along the way he uses and abuses pretty much everyone he meets. There’s the hapless millionaire (Eddie Marsan), the colleague’s wife (Kate Dickie) and the rookie detective (Jamie Bell).

Each are treated harshly and the story often veers off in odd directions before we get to the unexpected finale.

Tragic, funny and repulsive in equal parts Filth is a film that won’t appeal to everyone but fans of the book, and Welsh’s previous hit Trainspotting, will love it.

Filth is in UK cinemas now.

Ric’s Rating: Good.

Film: We're The Millers

When a small time drug dealer agrees to bring a shipment back from Mexico he thinks the perfect cover is to be a family man, so he recruits oddball friends and neighbours to play his fictitious brood.

Along the way they encounter another travelling family while also trying to evade a rival dealer and deliver the drugs on time.

The entire cast look like they’re having fun and it comes across on screen. Jason Sudeikis (Horrible Bosses) is great as the downtrodden pot dealer Dave and Jennifer Aniston delivers another hilarious and sexy  turn as stripper Rose, who has to convince everyone that she’s the perfect Mother. The pretend kids of the family are the hapless Kenny (Will Poulter) and streetwise Casey (Emma Roberts).

There are plenty of laughs here with Poulter especially giving a show-stealing performance, look out for the spider scene!

Without doubt the best comedy of the year so far.

We’re The Millers is in cinemas now.

Ric’s Rating: Essential    

Film: Only God Forgives

A family of criminals come up against a cop with a brutal sense of justice in this thriller from the team behind Drive.

When Billy (Tom Burke) goes looking for cheap thrills it ends in murder and events escalate when the cop on the case gives the victim’s Father a chance for retribution.

Billy’s brother Julian (Ryan Gosling) goes looking for revenge but his own morals prevent him from taking the action his Mother (Kristen Scott Thomas) demands.

Director Nicholas Winding Refn has served up another visual delight that is punctuated by explosions of violence. The film looks fantastic (great use of colours) and feels very atmospheric but too often veers off on a self-indulgent direction that makes the viewer wonder what exactly is going on.

Only God Forgives would have been so much better as a straight-forward revenge thriller but remains enjoyable thanks largely to the screen presence of Vithaya Pansringarm as the sword-wielding  supercool cop Chang.

Catch it in UK cinemas now.

Ric’s Rating: Good.

Film: The Wolverine

News of a dying friend brings Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) to Tokyo and he is soon caught up in a tale of kidnap, murder and treachery.

During his pursuit of Yakuza thugs Wolverine is injured and inexplicably his healing powers do not seem to be working. Hurt and confused he must rely on fighting skills alone to get to the bottom of things and rescue the girl.

Based on a popular graphic novel this feels rather hurried to me. There is little time to get to know any of the new characters and the confusing timeline created by the many X Men sequels, prequels and spin-offs doesn’t help either.

Jackman (as always) is excellent as the snarling hero but the other performances and characters on show bring little to the table. The poisonous Viper just isn’t in the same league as Magneto or even Mystique and I’m fast becoming very tired of huge fighting robots.

This one is for Marvel / XMen / Wolverine fanatics only.

Ric’s Rating: Dodgy.   

Film: Pacific Rim

Take the best (and some of the worst) elements of Transformers, Godzilla, Armageddon, Real Steel, Top Gun and Starship Troopers and you end up with Guillermo Del Toro’s Robots Vs. Monsters mash-up starring Charlie Hunnam (Sons Of Anarchy) and Idris Elba (Luther).

The Earth is under attack from huge monsters knows as Kaijus so the World unites to combat the common enemy. Their solution is to build robots of similar size to the beasts, these robots are piloted by two humans and fully loaded with all kinds of weapons, they are known as Jaegers. Initially the Jaegers repel the threat but soon the Kaijus develop new ways to attack and the Jaegers (and their pilots) are deemed redundant.

Led by Commander Pentecost (Elba) a small group continue to pilot the remaining Jaegers and come up with a plan to eliminate the threat for good.

Dominated by CGI fights this is very silly at times but in a cheesy sort of way it remains enjoyable, if you can get past the first 30mins or so. Hunnam is fine as the jaded Jaeger pilot brought out of retirement for the final mission and Idris Elba exudes authority as the officer in charge. There is also a cool turn from Ron Perlman (Hellboy, Sons of Anarchy) but the two scientists are very irritating indeed.

If you can see past the dodgy dialogue and often unintentionally funny monsters this is an easy viewing adventure that requires no thinking on the part of the audience.

Pacific Rim is in cinemas now.

Ric’s Rating: Dodgy.    

Film: World War Z

A virus outbreak that turns people into vicious killers quickly traverses the globe and in order to ensure that his family is protected former United Nations representative Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt) must return to the field and search for the origin of the virus.

World War Z immediately throws the viewer into the heart of the action as a seemingly ordinary day descends into a fight for survival for the Lane family. 

Following the explosive opening sequence (partly filmed in my home city of Glasgow) we are off on a round-the-world trip with Lane as he looks for clues to explain what the virus is and how it can be combated.

It seems that reports of re-shoots, re-edits, arguments and studio interference may have put people of this unnecessarily. Regardless of how the movie came to be in its finished state there is no doubt that this is the best zombie film since the brilliant 28 Days Later.

The undead featured here are like a pack of hungry wolves and even move like them on occasion. Pitt is as charismatic as ever as the determined investigator and the supporting cast (including The Killing’s Marielle Enos) all perform well, even the zombies!

World War Z is an action-fest with cool zombies and a bona-fide superstar getting right in the middle of it. What more could you ask for? A bit more emotion maybe.

Check it out in cinemas now.

Ric’s Rating: Highly Recommended.