Weak escapism

Escape Plan (2013)

Directed by Mijael Hafstrom this film stars Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jim Caviezel and Vinnie Jones. A prison security expert is sent to a top secret CIA prison to try and break out to check if it is secure but he has been set up so there is no safety net.

For a film that finally pairs Stallone and Arnie in the lead of a film this is a bit of a limp effort that just rumbles through the required beats. There is not much character depth or many moral dilemmas faced by our protagonist but the film does do just about enough to keep you entertained. Most of the action sequences are not bad but really this pairing deserved something better.

3/5

Silly seven

Furious 7 (2015)

Directed by James Wan this film stars Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Jason Statham, Michelle Rodriguez and Kurt Russell. Following on from the last film the brother of the last antagonist seeks revenge on our heroes.

Nearly all sense of reality and proportion are gone from the series by this point with ridiculous set piece action sequences being the name of the game now. The less thought about what happens on screen the better and the only part with an emotion to the film is the final 4^th wall breaking tribute to to the late Paul Walker from his cast mates. If you just want to see crazy action then this is not a bad film but it is getting to the point where it's impossible to take anything in this series serious now.

3/5

Building up Britain

Out of the Rubble (2016)

Directed by Penny Woolcock this documentary makes use of archive footage. From the bombed out landscapes of Britain at the end of WW2 to modern London we look at urban building in Britain.

In just 15 minutes this documentary manages to give a really good exploration of 50 years of urban planning. As with nearly every film class issues are a major focus of the film with race considered to an extent too. The archive footage is well selected and the film does a great job of covering so much in so little time.

4/5

Gone girl, gone shit

Return to Sender (2015)

Directed by Fouad Mikati this film stars Rosamund Pike, Nick Nolte and Shiloh Fernandez. After being raped in her own home a nurse starts visiting the man who attacker her in prison.

Inevitably this film is going to get some comparisons to Gone Girl (2014) due to having Pike in both and it could really do without those comparisons because this film is weak enough without being put up next to a good film. The plot is not great, a pretty poor treatment of the subject matter, that tries to take a Takashi Miike turn at the end that it does not pull off. It is hard to find much to praise here and I would advise just skipping this one as it deals with a serious subject matter badly.

2/5

Mall Cop Harder

Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 (2015)

Directed by Andy Fickman this film stars Kevin James, Neal McDonough, Raini Rodriguez and Daniella Alonso. Our hero heads to Las Vegas with his daughter for a convention while thieves plan to rob the hotel of it's art collection.

When it's at it's best this film is focused on Kevin James's physical comedy but there is not really enough of that to carry this film. The plot is forced to say the least and not all of the humour works. There is a fairly decent performance from Kevin James but otherwise this film is not much to write home about.

2/5

Trapped by events

Prisoners (2013)

Directed by Denis Villeneuve this film stars Hugh Jackman, Jack Gyllenhaal, Viola Davis, Maria Bello, Terrence Howard, Melissa Leo and Paul Dano. On Thanksgiving two young girls disappear and the father of one resolves to do anything necessary to find her.

For most of this film this is a really impressively taught thriller filled with dread and ominous foreboding of what is to come but the ending does stray a little into gimmicky serial killer territory. As an exploration of how far people will go and the darkness of the human soul the film works pretty well. There are some really good performances from all the lead cast and the direction holds an excellent atmosphere through out.

4/5

Not a game show

Blinkity Blank (1955)

Directed by Norman McLaren this animated short film has music from Maurice Blackman. Coloured dots on black film dance around in various shapes and figures.

Progressing from his earlier film Hen Hop (1942) this is a continuation of and improvement on the same style of animation. The images fit the music well and the pictures are fairly entertaining. Even if there is no real narrative this short is worth a watch.

3/5