Reviews by Kyle Ellis

Saw 'The Emoji Movie' as a big fan of animation, to see whether the concept (which was one that was hard to decide whether it was intriguing or baffling) would work, as someone who has liked the previous work of a lot of the voice actors (i.e. Patrick Stewart) and whether it was as bad as the tsunami of negative publicity before release and when it came out made it out to be.

After seeing it, there are worse films out there (animated and otherwise) but 'The Emoji Movie' is a mess, if not quite the recipe/incarnate for cancer that has been described. Regarding the target audience from personal experience (this doesn't mean that it will apply to all audiences or everybody's experiences), 'The Emoji Movie' didn't appeal to either children or adults in my cinema screening. Adults were squirming their way throughout the film and while recognising the things that are referenced were groaning and rolling their eyes at how everything was executed. Children looked like a lot of the ideas were going over their heads and seemed more interested in their bags of sweets and popcorn than what was going on on screen. It was a mix of both with me.

The best, or shall we say the least bad, thing about 'The Emoji Movie' is the voice cast. Most of the voice actors gave decent performances (James Corden and Patrick Stewart are the liveliest of the bunch), though a few didn't fit their characters (Maya Rudolph has shown that she can voice act with a lot of bubbly personality but she was just wrong here). They did deserve much better however, and should have known much better, didn't think that Stewart could lose more dignity but he managed it in a embarrassingly misconceived character that he gave much more to than deserved.

Everything else comes off badly or worse. There are worse-looking animated films, but the animation never rises above routine, often looking flat and stiff and there is a complete lack of imagination, the colours never popping out at you as they ought like they do from personal experience with "emojis". The soundtrack is all noise and no subtlety, and tends to be inappropriate.

When it comes to the writing and the story, 'The Emoji Movie' fails. And not just by a little. We are talking hardcore. All the jokes fall flat because of how randomly they tend to be executed and the jokes in quality are juvenile at best and infantile at worst. The script is peppered with dialogue that is overripe and will embarrass even the youngest of cinema goers, when it's not going over their heads. The story, proof that the concept was more of a questionable one than a good one, is not much of one and feels like it was made up as it went along, with the insertion of the likes of Candy Crush, Spotify, Youtube and Facebook being little more than blatant product plugs explored in a mostly throwaway fashion. There are a lot of random and unnecessary scenes and even more so facepalm-worthy moments.

Imagination is zero here, with a mishmash of ideas reminiscent of 'Inside Out', 'Wreck It Ralph' and 'The Lego Movie', all three actually being good films (masterpieces in the case of the first two), but without the fun, creativity or emotional investment which are as non-existent as the imagination. The basic theme is a relatable one when done right, but dealt with indifferently. The characters are both bland and annoying, character development is minimal and what there is is rushed.

Overall, a mess. While it is a little better than made out, there is the agreement that the film is a disaster that is more poop than it is meh, despite being the general consensus it seems that this review is not going to be popular when it comes to useful votes. Despite being a subjective person, the excessive non-useful votes for the negative reviews and the up-voting of the positive ones are a little suspicious to me. 2/10 Bethany Cox

I love Robin Hood, and I do like Ridley Scott's films, so this did have the ingredients to be good. Sadly, while it was a valiant attempt, it didn't work for me. The film does look good, with the cinematography excellent and the sets, scenery and costumes authentic enough. The score was a nice touch, it wasn't amazing, but it worked on the whole thanks to some beautiful orchestration. Overall, the archery, fighting and sword play were well handled, Scott's direction is assured and there are some bright spots in the cast namely Oscar Isaac, Max Von Sydow and Mark Strong.

Conversely, my main problem with this film is that it doesn't feel like a Robin Hood movie. If anything it feels like a sequel to Gladiator, but with a less compelling story and bad dialogue. Yes I understand it is an origin story, but the film's tone is rather too serious. This is not helped by the sluggish pacing in the latter half further disadvantaged by somewhat dull chemistry between Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett. The story doesn't always know which direction it wants to go, and I actually found myself confused by some scenes, and the film is much too long, an hour and three-quarters is a perfect length if done right. Then there's the script, which didn't flow very well at all. Also, Crowe didn't work for me. He tried hard to create a commanding and charismatic presence, but what let him down were his dialogue and his accent which came and went. I was disappointed in Cate Blanchett too, she is a fine actress who has given mesmerising performances particularly in Notes on a Scandal and the Elizabeth movies, but she isn't given very much to do apart from a nice touch where she joins in for the final battle. Ah yes the final battle, this was a disappointment actually too. It was well shot with some good sword play and the like but it was badly paced and kind of ran on a parallel with Saving Private Ryan but less gut-wrenching and compelling.

So all in all, a disappointment. Not the worst of the year, but it is to me the worst Robin Hood film and quite possibly Ridley Scott's worst film overall too. If you want the definitive Robin Hood, watch the Errol Flynn film, that is simply timeless with plenty of wit, great performances and one of the best scores of all time. 4/10 Bethany Cox

Despite its flaws(the uneven acting and the episodic storybook-like structure) I really like the original Clash of the Titans, especially for the set design and the Harryhousen effects. In short, it is flawed but good nostalgic fun. This 2010 remake is very well done in the costume and set design and some of the effects are truly incredible, but emotionally it is ultimately hollow.

While I do agree the effects were incredible, especially the Kraken, some of the scenes could have been better done. In particular with the gorgon Medussa. A scene that terrified me when I was little in the original and still does to some extent, but as has been pointed out once or twice before there was more emphasis on too much action not enough suspense which diminished that scene's appeal in this.

The music comes across as rather generic. It strived to be rousing, energetic and bombastic, something you would find with Erich Korngold and Bernard Hermann, but sadly it came across as generic and boring. Pacing was an issue as well, it was very uneven here. It felt as though the not-so-important scenes dragged and the important bits felt rushed and skimmed over. The direction was disappointingly lethargic too.

My main complaints though are with the acting, story and script. As I have said, the story and acting weren't the strongest points of the original, but both elements had their moments. However, the story has a very uneven structure, it is quite episodic, but it is also rather unexciting. On the whole the dialogue is awful and very banal, and there were some scenes where it came across as cheesy or forced. The acting wasn't much to go on either. Sam Worthington was merely alright, he has the heroism and charm, but then there is the accent that comes and goes and I got the sense that the delivery of some of the lines and the action sequences didn't come naturally to him. I was more disappointed in the bigger names. Ralph Fiennes doesn't seem to have a clue what he is doing here, and Liam Neeson looks lost and embarrassed. Gemma Arterton can be good(BBC's Tess of the D'Urbevilles) but while she is very pretty, her character is rather vapid.

Overall, it had its moments, but it was unengaging and disappointing. 4/10 for the production values. Bethany Cox

Sorry guys, I really didn't like this movie. I do think not only is it the worst fantasy movie I have ever seen, honestly Legend and Princess Bride were much better, but one of the worst movies ever made.

The dialogue was inane and vomit inducing. In one part of the movie Snails says something along the lines of "That is the riddlyiest thing I have ever heard". Not only was that unfunny, but entirely out of place. The direction was off too, and the scenery was okay, but the camera-work was so flat and unfocused, it was barely a redeeming quality. And the plot was poor too, likewise with the special effects and you could drive a big tube train in some of the holes in the action.

And the acting was atrocious. Jeremy Irons is a great actor, participating in fantastic films like Lion King and Reversal of Fortune. But as the villain in possibly the worst performance of his career, not helped by the terrible dialogue he was given, he chews the scenery to pieces, honestly the dreadful overacting puts someone like Tim Curry to shame. Marlon Wayans was cringe worthy, his humour was lame and in some cases unnecessary, and Justin Whalin; bland beyond bland. Unbearably wooden at times, and as the hero? Tom Cruise did better in Legend and he was the main flaw of that movie. Just for the record, I do think Legend has its flaws, but it is gorgeous to look at, and Tim Curry's Darkness was phenomenal, and should've got an award. Thora Birch acquits herself better, but her dialogue was poor, and I was thinking, is she a little too young for the part?

Overall, terrible. You may like it, and I have no problem if you do, but as a die hard fantasy fan, I hated it. Watch Legend, Princess Bride or NeverEnding Story instead. 1/10 Bethany Cox

Sabrina the Teenage Witch was a big childhood favourite of mine, and I was surprised at how much I still like it. I will admit the College seasons are not as good, lacking in creativity complete with some clichés and some actors that don't seem comfortable. In its prime though, Sabrina the Teenage Witch was a wonderful show and nigh on perfect. The production values are darn good with nice photography and the sets and fashions don't feel tacky. The effects are also surprising, not award worthy perhaps, but they don't look cheap either. The music is memorable too, the writing gleams with charm, fun and wit and the stories are always interesting with the situations entertaining. The characters are very likable, my favourite being Salem. The acting is also great, Melissa Joan Hart is excellent in the title role, and if I had to say who was my favourite actor/actress on the show it would be the brilliant Caroline Rhea. All in all, wonderful. 9/10 Bethany Cox

I love series like this, and Criminal Minds is just so interesting and absorbing. It is very dark and somewhat grim often, but I like that side, it does make the show compelling. I will admit it was a show that started off good, but then got better and better. I love how it is filmed as well, the camera work is innovative, and the locations are always lovely and evocative to watch. The music is very fitting, the main theme is chilling to an extent and the music choices in each episode are appropriate and effective a vast majority of the time. The writing is always intelligent, witty and thought-provoking and the episode ideas are brilliant with moments that are chilling and moving. And of course the characters are wonderful, especially stone-faced Jason Gideon, Spencer and Hotch(as well as Rossi and Prentiss), and they are brought to life brilliantly by a sterling cast, both lead and supporting. Overall, I just love this show, it is true that some episodes are better than others(then again it is like that with most shows), whenever it is on I always watch it. 10/10 Bethany Cox

It is not as if I immediately hate on M Night Shyamalan. The Sixth Sense was a masterpiece and Unbreakable was great. Of the movies that get a lot of hate The Village was the least bad, not great but pretty decent(while Shyamalan didn't direct but produced and wrote Devil, that also applies here). Signs was pretty good until it went off the boil in the second half, which really brought things down to a significant degree. The others were as bad as I'd heard. Lady in the Water was well-made generally and I liked Bryce Dallas Howard in it as well as the score but the rest was a muddled mess. The Happening and The Last Airbender suffered mainly from having such potential but falling hard big time, Happening did have some unintentional comic value(mainly because Mark Walhberg's acting was so laughably bad) and Airbender had great visuals and score.

After Earth didn't have as much potential as those two but didn't have any of the things that raised the other two up a slight notch. That of which in my mind makes After Earth worse. It is not the worst film I've seen or one of the worst and but it is the worst film that I've seen so far this year. I wouldn't say that James Newton Howard's score is bad actually here. It does have some beautiful sounds, it's just sparingly used and while well-composed and fitting it is also one of those scores that I came out of the cinema not remembering most of. The visuals didn't do anything for me either, the sets were surprisingly drab and unimaginative and the special effects were very repetitively used. The photography and editing had moments where they were decent but others where they were amateurish, too many times steering towards the latter, the jump cut shots were just annoying and took away from any shocks, tension or suspense. With Sixth Sense and Unbreakable, up until after The Village Shyamalan showed potential but after that point saw him getting lazy. And that was the case with After Earth, I saw little if any heart or character in the directing.

Same with the story and scripting too. The dialogue was so awkward-sounding and clichéd, often I found myself not being able to take what I was hearing seriously. Instead of making me get engrossed in the characters, their situation and feelings, I found that the dialogue and delivery was just distracting. Shyamalan showed with Sixth Sense, Unbreakable and the first half of Signs that he did have potential to tell a good story. Since though, his storytelling has consisted of some good ideas that are executed badly, all too clear here. The already admittedly by-the-numbers story here was incredibly plodding and confused, very little made sense and there was nothing gripping. I found it very difficult to get emotionally invested in the characters either or the father-son relationship(a bad thing considering that this is the driving force really of the film). The acting was very poor, even from pretty and quite talented Sophie Okonedo, who was under-utilised. Will Smith is a likable actor and guy, but has never been this one-note or disengaged before, maybe his character was meant to be like that but it didn't mean that Smith had to take it to extremes.

Jaden Smith, Will Smith's own son, was even worse, and along with the story his performance was probably the worst thing about the film. He had nowhere near enough experience for this type of film and probably in general(though he was not too bad in The Karate Kid), and clearly looked uncomfortable. Along with a very uncharismatic presence and painful dialogue delivery his performance was stilted and (in the voice) very shrill, it is one of the worst child performances on film I've seen personally- that's saying a fair bit too- and I sensed no chemistry at all between him and his dad which for obvious reasons is quite ironic. All in all, a really terrible film and the only film of Shyamalan's that, apart from perhaps the nicely composed if spare and at the end of the day forgettable score, was close to having no redeeming values.

Critics have increasingly gotten an undeservedly bad rap, true there have been a fair number of times where I have disagreed with them but After Earth is one of those times where they got it exactly right. And before anybody who likes it flames me, I did watch After Earth with an open mind and no prejudices, though admittedly with knowledge of its reputation. If you liked it, good for you, I and a lot of other people didn't and for perfectly valid reasons and should be allowed to think what we want. If you can't see that, that's your problem, not ours, and this is in general on IMDb. Sorry for the irrelevant rant there but I have seen a lot of critic-bashing going on lately and lots of accusations like "being pretentious", "pretending to like it", "having the inability to make up our own mind" and "not having a sense of humour" and I'm getting sick and tired of it. And please stop using the racism argument, it is very shallow and it is not fair for people who did genuinely see it, rated it fairly as we thought and for whom racism and bigotry is a pet peeve of theirs.

1/10 Bethany Cox

The Wolverine is not as good as the first two X-Men films, which were very good and great respectively. But it does improve on Last Stand and Origins by quite a fair bit, neither are as bad as they're reputed to be but had a lot of glaring shortcomings. That is not to say that The Wolverine had no shortcomings either. There is some illogical scripting, the romance is a bit forced and the extended scenes that has it bogs the film down, the ending is a bit too rushed, some scenes dragged and were a touch repetitive and the Japanese characters were very under-written and not at all interesting. What The Wolverine does do that improves on Origins and Last Stand is that it isn't anywhere near as bad as trying to incorporate too many subplots and too many characters and then develop hardly any of them. The film looks great, the special effects improved over those from Origins, it's slickly edited, it's shot cohesively and it has a beautifully dark look that gives it both a grit and audaciousness. The music is suitably dynamic and while not completely action-enhancing it at least fits. The story is not perfect, but there was a dark intensity there, some unexpected twists and turns and I didn't have too much trouble following it, while the action is smartly handled especially the Throne of Blood-like ninja fight and the one on the superfast train. The funeral one was reasonably fun too but was over too quickly. James Mangold does valiantly and unlike Brett Ratner and Gavin Hood he is actually comfortable throughout instead of being good in one aspect(the action) and not in the other. The performances are fine, although Tao Okamoto's beauty is nowhere near enough to salvage her bland acting. Rila Yukushima's acrobatics dazzle and of the femme fatales Svetlana Khodchenkova is even better, slinky and formidable. But Hugh Jackman gives the best performance, a very powerful performance while being subdued, it was nice to see some depth to him this time when in Last Stand and Origins he was moody for the sake of it seemingly and not much else. The Japanese culture was very nicely done and gave the film some diversity. To conclude, a decent and quite enjoyable film that serves as a better but still not perfect origins story. 6.5/10 Bethany Cox