Classic Boxing Matches

"Of course the wolf flies." - Davis Three experimental canisters land on earth and transform a gorilla, wolf and crocodile into giant grotesque versions of themselves which a chemical weapons company hopes to control. For a film based on a video game with a mind numbingly simple premise, I can't say I was expecting much. But Rampage certainly falls into my guilty pleasure catergory of movies. It's not overly deep, and the whole giant monsters destroying cities has been done before in Godzilla, King Kong and Pacific Rim plus others I've probably forgotten. Yet, this is still very enjoyable. There's a smattering of humour, big action set pieces and even some genuine emotion between George the Gorilla and The Rock. The only thing that let's this film down is the acting... which is atrocious. Well that and the paper thin story. Final verdict: Guilty pleasure - I actually really enjoy it knowing full well it's not a masterpiece. It's loud and proud! One of the Rocks better films actually.

If you are going to see this expecting another well-written and emotional story like the original Gladiator... then you will be disappointed. BUT, Gladiator 2 is an all action spectacle! Big set pieces, great design, awesome visuals, CGI is pretty decent, fight scenes are relatively realistic I suppose, good twists (and maybe one or two forced ones what help connect it to the original but anyway). It's still a good action movie and most people's issues with it stem from how it doesn't compare to the original vs taking it on its own merits. Final verdict: Loud and proud, visually stunning and I thoroughly enjoyed it on the big screen. It's one of those movies that's better when it's bigger I reckon. Might not have enjoyed it as much on a smaller TV at home. It's not smartly written, some twists felt forced but the performances are decent enough to make up for that. It's just a good movie, but an even better popcorn spectacle.

Ethan Hunt is no longer an active spy, instead he now trains future agents and attempts to live a normal life, wanting to settle down with his girlfriend who is unaware of his secret profession. But the kidnapping of a former student draws Ethan back into the life he was trying to escape. Initially when I first saw Mission Impossible 3, I thought it was pretty decent. It was certainly more action packed than the original Mission Impossible and more serious than Mission Impossible 2 but on my recent watch through I realized it was actually convoluted and a bit generic as far as action movies go. It had some cool scenes like the kidnapping of Owen Davian sequence and the bridge attack but outside of that everything else we have sort of seen before, right down to the mole within the IMF (ala Mission Impossible 1). I didn't really buy into the romantic storyline as there wasn't that much screen time between Ethan and Julia and there was a big unanswered question at the end of the film which bugged me... what was Rabbits Foot? It's never really explained other than it's bad. The dialouge is mostly forgettable to. Mission Imposisble 2 was overly cheesy and very macho yet it wore that on its sleeve and didn't try to be anything that it wasn't, it played into the silliness qnd thats why it works. Mission Impossible 3 goes the other way and is strictly a serious film. The stunts are all very life threatening and gritty, there's not many one liners and Tom Cruise doesn't look like he's having as much fun half the time. Luckily in all future installments, they get the balance right. Final verdict: Although I didn't feel this way when i first saw it, I now think Mission Impossible 3 is the weakest of the MI films and just a generic action movie overall. It's certainly not horrible, it has some memorable scenes, but overall it just can't live up to the others. It is a key film in the franchise though as it introduces important characters for future installments so I do reccomended seeing it.

"God is not here!" And exorcist suffering from his own failures, must save a solo Mum and her children from a demon who has possessed a young boy. I like Russel Crowe. He's a great actor and his screen presence is undeniable. And his performance in this film is pretty decent for a B-grade horror. My issue with the film is more the content - we've been here, done that. If you've seen The Exorcist, you've seen this. Complete with head twisting, self harm, children spouting sexual phrases etc. Etc. The ending is different but it's too over-the-top with exploding bodies and portals to hell. Now, it's not a horrible film... it had it's moments it just couldn't maintain them and I found myself getting bored. Final verdict: Outside of Russel Crowe, this film is pretty forgettable. It doesn't do anything different enough to warrant me recommending it, however, you can do a lot worse.

"I'm gonna miss bein' disreputable." - Luthor CIA point man, Ethan Hunt, is framed as a mole and murderer following a failed mission in Prague. He must go on the run while trying to find the real mole and clear his name. I'm almost 30 years late to the Mission Impossible party. I'd not seen any of them, as I'm not a huge fan of Tom Cruise generally. But recently I picked up a bluray copy for cheap and gave it a go and I was pleasantly surprised! The film is certainly more thriller and suspense than action, or at least until the big end of movie fight but it was well paced, well acted and smart for the most part. The action scenes are exciting and unpredictable and theres at least a couple which can be considred all time cinema classics particularly the scene with Ethan Hunt being lowered into the sound proof chamber - the whole scene is almost silent and I found myself holding my breath so i didnt make a noise either as if i was right here with him! For all the great things this film does, there a couple negatives. The technology used in the film is futuristic yet believable, however, the special effects to bring them to life are looking dated these days. The story is intriguing but I also found it confusing, I was paying attention but I'm still not quite sure how Ethan figured certain things out or what even the motivation of the main villian was. If I watch it again I might be able to piece things together but even reflecting on the movie now after only watching it less then 3 days ago I cab clearly remember scenes but not much about the actual story... Final Verdict: It's hard to follow at times and the special effects look a bit dated but everything else about this film is fantastic. The pacing, the characters, the suspense, the action... Even Tom Cruise whom I don't usually like was actually enjoyable to watch. Apparently, it's quite different compared to the other films in the franchise but I can highly recommend this as a great 90s action film.

The first Tekken game I ever played was Tekken 2. I remember is was Christmas 1997 and we got a PS1 and my cousin came over with Tekken 2 and we played the hell out of it. I asked my Mum if she could buy me a copy and she did... sort of. She bought me Tekken 1. Anyway, in 1998 I heard about Tekken 3 and it was probably the first game for the PS1 I genuinely couldn't wait for. A friend of mine got it first and I remember borrowing it for a week and unlocking all the characters then giving the game back and having to wait a few months until I bought my own version of the game. 25 years later and this game still holds up. You have your Street Fighter fans and then you got your Tekken fans but I've always enjoyed both and Tekken 3 for me, was just as good as Street Fighter Alpha 3. Tekken 3 was the first game that really nailed the formula for the series moving forward in my mind. It was fast, it had a variety of moves and combos, it had cool chatacters and great graphics (for the time and admittedly they look dated). It also introduced Tekken Force mode and the underrated beach volleyball mode - both fun and hilarious to play. The only thing that let's this game down for me, is the ending stories or movies as they never really made sense and very few felt like the were worth obtaining. I know the gameplay is more important but I actually enjoyed the lore and the overall storyline of the first three Tekken games so for me Tekken 3 seemed confusing from that perspective. Final review: A must have PS1 game. Improves on Tekken 2 in almost everyway and still fun to play all these years later. There is nothing more rewarding that pulling off multi hit combos and juggling your opponent. The game is pretty simple, not hard to learn but takes some time to master and anybody can play. Even the button mashers!

"I want my bird." - Ivan Vanko During the 1960s, Tony Starks father, Howard, was working on a renewable energy source called an Arc Reactor alongside a fellow scientist, Anton Vanko. The pair had a falling out and Vanko ended his days destitute, leaving his son Ivan with a vendetta against the Stark family. Ivan now hopes to exact his revenge against the Iron Man. Iron Man 2 isn't as good as the first film but it's still a lot of fun. There's twice as much action, twice as much jokes and introduces us to one of my favourite underutilized Marvel heroes, War Machine. The story is alright, pretty believable if not slightly slow and sadly Mickey Rourke as Whiplash is a pretty dull character, although his action scenes are still fun. I'm terms of its place in the MCU it's sort of forgettable because story-wise nothing that happens here really carries over to any other films. Taken as a standalone film however, I still really enjoyed it. It does come across as more cartoony and less serious than the first film but I didn't mind it as much as others apparently. One of my favourite scenes was Whiplash making his entrance at the Monaco Grand Prix and cutting cars in half with his arc-powered whips. The character may have been dull but he caused a lot of damage and he looked cool with his orange overalls burning off! Final Verdict: Iron Man 2 may not have the same interesting story or emotional depth as the first film, but it rachets up the action and humour while adding more integral characters to the Marvel Universe. Highly reccomended.

"I'm the director. You're a stunt guy. We need to keep it super profesh." - Jody After being injured in a sunt gone wrong, professional stuntman Colt Seavers, leaves the industry but is surprisingly drawn back into it under false pretenses. Colt is tasked with tracking down the lead actor of the big budget film who's gone AWOL in mysterious circumstances, all while trying to mend his relationship with an ex-girlfriend whom also happens to be the director of said film. But not all is what it seems... I've come to really like Ryan Gosling over the past few years. He's made some decent films and become more of an action star. The Fall Guy carries on that tradition and it mostly succeeds in being a funny, action packed 2hrs. It gets a little convoluted and there's a bit too much exposition for such a non-serious movie but there are also some great looking stunts and a few genuine chuckles if not laugh out loud moments. The film does appear to be stunts first and story second but that's entirely on purpose - this is a movie about stunt men and woman. The story sometimes makes very little sense but is rather just used to get from one ridiculous stunt to the next and I bought into it. The whole film is filled with intentional cliches to highlight the absurdity of what's happening and yet occasionally it drifts too much into the love story aspect which for me was the weakest part of the film. There isn't any huge names in this film outside of the lead 3 actors and I liked that - it showed a diversity of actors from Australia, New Zealand and UK so for me watching this in New Zealand, I found it akightly easier to relate to. Final Verdict: This whole film is a love letter to stunt men which I wasnt expecting from the trailer. There are some fantastic fight scenes and practical effects to bring stunts to life all tied together by a competent, if not realistic, plot. It's a decent night out, but not mind blowing. Still worth a watch though!

"There will always be war. But to get home, Furiosa fought the world." - The History Man A young Furiosa watches her mother be tortured and murdered before being kidnapped by the warlord, Dementus. As she grows older, Furiosa puts all her focus and energy on how to get revenge and end Dementus' reign of terror... Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is unnecessary... it's not continuing the Mad Max story in any way. It's filling in a gap that I don't really know needed to be filled. But in saying that... what a thrill ride! The action was on par with Fury Road, I was pleasantly surprised and blown away. It didn't do anything overly new compared to Fury Road in terms of the action but it was well choreographed and I enjoyed the exploration of other wasteland citadels The Bullet Farm and Gastown which are mentioned but not seen in Fury Road. Chris Hemsworth's portrayal of Dementus was a nice change for him, a classic Mad Max style villian who is also inept and not as powerful as he thinks he is. Ana Taylor-Joy as Furiosa did a great job, I don't think she was as intimidating as Charlize Theron but she still did a good job. Final Verdict: Completely unnecessary from a story point of view but still a heck load of fun and it did end up filling gaps in the Fury Road story that I didn't know I wanted filled. Action packed, well acted and visually impressive! This is a must see if you love Mad Max or action films in general. If you didn't like Fury Road, this won't be your cup of tea as it feels almost identical.

"You know, man, if we ever make it home, I'm going to do so much fucking cocaine." - Stans A group of individuals awaken in a foreign environment unaware of how they got there or why. As they explore their unknown surroundings, they find themselves being hunted by dangerous creatures with advanced technology. I've heard the debates about if this is actually a good film or not and I've mentioned on other reviews im only really familiar with the original Predator movie and just exploring the sequels recently. Predators is an interesting film... It looks visually stunning in 4K and the special effects makeup is superb. I particularly like the florescent green blood of the aliens and their armour. The actual action scenes are okay, a little corny at times, and the story is... Well it's kind of like the original except instead of the Predator coming to earth the earthlings have been taken to a foreign planet but the premise is still the same. There's a couple new alien creatures, one of which is a new species of Predator and he looks pretty bad ass. I feel there is 2 big issues preventing this film from being anything more than just a casual watch. First is the characters - they arn't very fleshed out and there isnt any real standout badasses like in the first film or over-the-top ridiculous like the second. Secondly is the cast - its a pretty stand out crew featuring existing stars of the 00s and soon to be up-and-comers of the 2010s and beyond but none of them really stand out or hold much onscreen gravitas. Adrian Brody is a great actor but a believable action star he is not. I really struggled to believe in his Royce character even when he was covered in mud with his rippling muscles... Still felt forced. The end fight feels a bit like a homage to the original but it was different enough it didnt feel cheesy. Final Verdict: It's an okay action film but that's about it. It doesn't add anything new to the Predator mythos and while it doesn't do anything particularly bad either, it's still mostly forgettable. Still, its visually impressive and a good popcorn flick I guess.