A Good Day To Die Hard

If you were expecting something other than an all out guns blazing, car chasing, villain slaying action film, then you were sorely deceived. Not that any of those traits are a bad thing, in fact it makes Die Hard what it is, just don't expecting any crying, heart to hearts or hugging and leave your tissues at the door. 

We are reunited with McClane (Bruce Willis) when he discovers that his son has gone off the deep end and has landed himself in trouble with the Russian authorities. Before he gets on the plane, his oldest daughter Lucy (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) who featured for the first time in her adult age in Live Free Or Die Hard is with him in what appears to be a mended relationship telling her dad to bring back her brother safe.

McClain has dealt with terrorists, mercenaries, vendettas and cyber bullies, but his son is a whole other ball game as Jack McClane (Jai Courtney) has no interest in being saved and worst of all by his dad. He has his own secrets in Russia, but you know what they say about the best laid plans, soon father and son have no choice but to team up to protect political prisoner Yuri Komarov (Sebastian Koch).

Jack "John" McClane Jr. is tough, cheeky, and displayed an impressive set of biceps. There are a lot of similarities between him and his dad, their dynamic and rapport was smooth and believable and it was nice but almost foreshadowingly sad to see McClane Sr. passing on some old tricks to his son. If there are any clogs in the works that allow him to have his own movie then I wouldn't say no, but hopefully John McClane won't be holstering his guns any time soon.

Though it seemed that the film series was dead and buried after Die Hard With A Vengeance, then again with Live Free or Die Hard, it seems as though for the time being we shouldn't hold our breaths. Not that anyone is complaining. There's a reason that the Die Hard series has spanned across a quarter decade, and here's to another quarter. Yippee-Ki-Yay Motherfuckers.

Wreck It Ralph

As we have all believed as children, and still have that inkling feeling today when we see a shift of unexplainable movement out of the corner of our eyes, when we are not around a whole other world comes alive. Set in a video game arcade when the coast is clear these characters have another life off screen of our thick glassed window into their world.

Wreck-It Ralph, (John C. Reilly) or Ralph for short is the villain in arcade game called Fix-It Felix Jr, and after 30 years of playing the bad guy he's tired of pretending to be someone he's not. The other characters in the game see him as nothing but a big baddie and the only way he thinks he can change their perceptions is by bringing home a heroes medal.

Ralph abandons his game much to the surprise of its residents, and when the game is deemed "Out Of Order" by the arcade owner, Fix-It Felix Jr (Jack McBrayer) goes after Ralph who has already wreaked havoc in Sergeant Tamora Jean Calhoun's (Jane Lynch) game Hero's Duty and may wreck things beyond fixing in Sugar Rush. Unaware of the wreckage he has left in his wake Ralph befriends a glitch in the Sugar Rush game Vanellope von Schweetz (Sarah Silverman) who strike a deal to get both of them what they want.

If you are fortunate enough to immediately recognise the voice actors then its astonishing how much like their characters they look, which adds another layer of humour to Wreck-It Ralph.
The excitement behind video arcade games is something that a lot of people won't ever relish, being born in the age of PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo Wii, but for those us who are a little older and appreciate characters such as Sonic's Doctor Eggman, Streetfighters Zangief, Paperboy and Tappers to name but a few, this movie feels somewhat nostalgic.

I'm bad, and that's good. I will never be good, and that's not bad. There's no one I'd rather be than me. Wreck-It Ralph.

Django Unchained

The eagerly anticipated new Quinten Tarantino movie sees Jamie Foxx playing a freed slave on a quest to find his wife, with the help of Dentist/Bounty Hunter Christopher Waltz. Genred as a Spaghetti Western, Django Unchained is more meatballs than sauce, and  though Tarantino kept to his guns in a number of ways, one thing I sorely missed was his chapters. Therefore I will recreate them in the most Tarantion-esque way.

Chapter 3: Candyland
After learning of his wife Broomhildas (Kerry Washington) whereabouts, the Doctor and Django set up a ploy to buy her freedom, which involves getting acquainted with the Devishly Debonair Candy man, or more formally known as Calvin J. Candie (Leonardo Dicaprio)

Chapter 1: Unchained
Shackled to his fellow brethren of slaves Django (Jamie Foxx) is sought out by Dr King Schultz (Christopher Waltz) who is looking for a band of murderers  known as the Speck Brothers, their escapades known by many but their faces only viewed by a few. One of whom is Django. The slave traders drive a hard bargain, but after a brief negotiation and a receipt as proof of purchase Schultz "Buys" Django.

Chapter 4: Shit Hits the Fan
Like a carefully constructed arrangement of dominos, one gone shot sets everything off as all hell breaks loose and the sauce gets everywhere. No one is safe as the bullets get blasted, bombs get detonated and kneecaps are obliterated.

Chapter 2: Bounty Hunting
On the hunt for the Speck Brother and a cut in the bounty of the Speck Brothers, Django learns the trade. Once the chase is over, he decides to keep bounty hunting to save up and sharpen his skills before he attempts to find and rescue his wife Broomhilda with the help of Schultz who has grown attached to Django and his story.

Interlude: Stephen
No Tarantino Movie would be complete without Samuel L Jackson who has now appeared in five out of ten Tarantino directed movies. Though his screen time wasn't very high, Jackson made his time count and played a most rememerable role in Candie's long serving family slave and confidant Stephen.

Tarantino has created a new iconic master piece that will allow this generations film watches to no longer think of him as the old school filmmaker, but as someone whose fearsome talents has an unforgiving effect on the audience.