Moustache’s Top Ten films coming before 2015 (10-6)

Moustache’s Top Ten films coming before 2015

10. Gone Girl (3^rd October)

Director: David Fincher

Stars: Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike

Plot: With his wife's disappearance having become the focus of an intense media circus, a man sees the spotlight turned on him when it's suspected that he may not be innocent.

Adapted from the hugely popular best seller of the same name, Gone Girl has already created Oscar Buzz. Its leads are well known and have already expressed their excitement at playing the roles. This intense thriller is sure to do well at the box office and with critics alike. If you've read the book you know you’re in for a treat.

                                                              9. Fury (14^th November)

Director: David Ayer

Stars: Brad Pitt, Shia Labeouf, Logan Lerman

Plot: April, 1945. As the Allies make their final push into European, a battle-hardened army sergeant named 

Wardaddy commands a Sherman tank and her five-man crew on a deadly mission behind enemy lines.

Seeing Brad Pitt back in WW2 in something you don’t want to miss after one of his best roles to date in Inglorious Bastards. This time round he has a tank and Shia Labeouf so you know it’s going to be pretty good. Judging by the trailer it’s going to be action packed but let’s hope there’s enough room for a story line and not just 2 hours of tanks and explosions...actually never mind that sounds good.

                                                         8. Whiplash (13^th November)

Director: Damien Chazelle

Stars: Miles Teller, J K Simmons

Plot: A young musician struggles to make it as a top jazz drummer.

Okay not much to go on here but trust us it’s going to be a good’un. After seeing early footage a few months back it’s safe to say Whiplash is going to be one of the best indie films this year. After doing the rounds at the major film festivals Whiplash triumphed over contenders, its dry humour and chemistry between J K Simmons Psychotic music teacher and Teller’s boyish defiance holds its own amongst a sea of new comers this year.

                                                        7.  The Interview (10^th October)

Director: Evan Goldberg, Seth Rogen

Stars: James Franco, Seth Rogen

Plot:  Dave Skylark and his producer Aaron Rapoport run the popular celebrity tabloid TV show "Skylark Tonight." When they discover that North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un is a fan of the show, they land an interview with him in an attempt to legitimize themselves as journalists. As Dave and Aaron prepare to travel to Pyongyang, their plans change when the CIA recruits them, perhaps the two least-qualified men imaginable, to assassinate Kim Jong-un.

So earlier this year Kim Jong-un declared this film an act of terrorism against North Korea, and it comes as no surprise that Franco and co are openly slating Kim and his buddies amidst arguably North Koreas craziest year. All in all it sounds like it’s going to be great, another film using the same faces that have worked so many times before, why not? I doubt anyone else would want to handle this subject and start WW3. But in any case you know Rogen and Franco wont be pulling any punches when it comes to highlighting everything nuts about North Korea. Bring it on Kim.

                                 6. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armys (17^th December)

Director: Peter Jackson

Stars: Martin Freeman, Ian Mckellen, Benedict Cumberbatch

Plot: The Company of Thorin has reached Smaug's lair; but, can Bilbo and the Dwarves reclaim Erebor and the treasure? And, if so, can they hold on to it?

You know the drill by now, with the third and final instalment of Peter Jackson’s (Arguably over drawn out) Hobbit coming to the end. This one’s a safe bet though, you can rely on Jackson to make sure you are entertained for 3 hours with battles and gold until it’s time to go home and re-live the good old days of LOTR on VHS, ah memories.

The Raid 2 (2014) Review

The Raid 2 (2014) – Review

Director – Gareth Evans

Stars – Iko Uwais, Yayan Ruhian, Arifin Putra

After the monumental success of The Raid, Gareth Evans had a huge amount of pressure in delivering an equally matched second sequence. After gaining prestige at a variety of film festivals and making its name into the list of the top ten best ever action films (IMDB) Evans showed that he had the dedication and knowledge to make a masterpiece.

The film begins merely 2 hours after The Raid Finishes. Not wanting to waste a minute of its two and a half hour long running time, we are delivered straight back into the intense narrative where Rama (Uwais) is tasked to go undercover in order to infiltrate and take down crooked cops and crime syndicates. Throw into the mix a series of equally nasty and intriguing enemies along the way (notably ‘Hammer Girl’ and ‘Baseball Bat Man’) and this makes for one hell of a ride. As expected the film spends most of its time providing us with some of the best action sequences shot on camera. As Rama travels through prison earning respect to working as an enforcer for the mob each character begins to develop and fit neatly together intricately. Evans films each sequence in a special way, he’s able to provide tension and excitement in each shot without making the easy mistake of adding 90’s punching effects to every scene. The brutal violence is matched by the talent of each member of the cast. The characters are clearly individual and well rounded with several sub plots playing out alongside the main action, Evans’ is able to grip us whilst also ensuring that we genuinely want to see a resolution to Rama’s story. The only complaint possible is that there is too much action (right!?) obviously this cannot be a bad thing as it’s something that makes the film. However after several all out brawls it all begins to feel slightly over saturated. Rama battles about 20 people, wins, repeat. It’s not until a few more of these do we get something fresher, with the first film relying on a mix of fire fights and fist-y cuffs the second act of The raid 2 brings this back into play with a Jason Bourne style car chase, and finishing off with several gruelling and gory fight scenes that are the equivalent of about four video game boss battles.

The Raid 2 is every bit as exhilarating as its predecessor. Although it doesn’t have the freshness of The Raid it certainly has a heart. Gareth Evans has clearly nurtured it all the way to the finish line and it has paid off. The film is another trophy to add to his collection, it’s smart, incredibly fast-paced and violent in every meaning of the word. This isn’t any old Saturday night action movie; it’s a cinematic milestone in what’s hopefully just the beginning of a new wave of epic action cinema. It just goes to show that new directors and an unheard of cast can deliver time and again; all we have to do is wait two more years for the final instalment, bring it on.

RATING 5/5

Written by Joshua Tanner

Why 'Mike Bassett: England Manager' (2001) is the best Film about Football

Mike Bassett: England Manager 

Director: Steve Barron

Stars: Ricky Tomlinson, Amanda Redman, Bradley Walsh

In 2001, a comedy about English national football was made that is now sadly overlooked. Many of the greatest British comedies have shown us how to laugh at ourselves – Steve Barron’s mockumentary is no exception. Ricky Tomlinson plays Mike Bassett, the last resort choice to lead a dishevelled England squad towards World Cup glory. As predicted, the team fail to deliver the goods, ensuring Bassett is greeted with a tirade of abuse from home supporters.

Tomlinson’s Bassett and his right hand man “Dave Dodds” (played by Walsh) are English football fans’ worst fears realised through their hilarious ineptitude. Basset’s blind optimism is made evident by a series of awful decisions: his star player has a drinking problem, his assistant manager is merely a used car salesman and his center back is more violent than Charles Bronson. Being thirteen years old, the film’s characters clearly show echoes of Gascoigne, Beckham and Vinnie Jones; yet it is no real stretch to draw comparisons to the recent woeful efforts Roy Hodgson’s England squad. Fortunately for Roy, he wasn’t greeted with tabloid headlines such as “W****r”, nor did his family suffer personal torment from disgruntled football fans. Blundering aside, it is hard not to feel sympathetic for Bassett, particularly when people start egging his house. Tomlinson’s superb performance ensures that Mike Bassett is a man that you would love to have a drink with, not simply because he can put away his Sambuca shots. The scene where the inebriated manager dances half-naked on top of a hotel bar in Rio is one of the many perfect instances of crassness yet humility that other nations across the world have come to expect from us English folk. Not only is this film a humorous and somewhat honest portrayal of English football, it is also a great reminder of English national identity. This may not be a welcome observation for some, but these are people that have clearly never been on a club 18-30 holiday.

   The emotional finale serves to create a powerful sense of pathos amongst the hilarity and disorder – a balance rarely achieved without an unpleasant aftertaste of schmaltziness. Despite the film’s fairly conservative running time, it is easy to get swept up in the enthralling narrative and colourful characters that Steve Barron captures. So in a couple of years when you’re down the pub shouting obscenities at the TV screen because our team are three-nil down against Poland at the Euro’s, spare a though for Mike Bassett and remember that these people are only human beings. Insanely overpaid... but human beings nonetheless. 

RATING: 5/5