Kingsman:The Secret Service. Manners.Maketh.Man.

 Bond film meets Men in Black

When Harry Hart's(Colin Firth's) mistake leads to the death of a Kingsman(a secret spy organisation) agent, he tries to make things right by recruiting his son,Eggsy.Meanwhile, Richmond Valentine (Sam L. Jackson) plans to go on a worldwide killing spree of sorts to solve the problem of climate change.

As an action movie,this certainly delivers.Sure,some of the fight sequences used 'shaky-cam' but I''ll let Matthew Vaughn get away with it as he's just that good.The camera follows the action and I was satisfied.Also, this movie has a fighting scene in a church, going down to the song "Free Bird" by Lynyrd Skynyrd.What more could I ask for?

As for the cast, Colin Firth shows us that he can be bad-ass,if you want him to be bad-ass.Taron Egerton,the newcomer, does a good job as well and is fairly charismatic in playing his part.He is able to hold his own against a cast such as this. Samuel L Jackson played  the main antagonist and he had a weird lisp(kind of like Mike Tyson) which looked like a turn-off in the trailer but I bought it while watching the movie(for some insane reason).He's assisted by Gazelle, a lady who has bladed, prosthetic legs instead of actual feet.Surely a dig at typical,old school Bond villains.

That brings me to my next point. Kingsman is very self-aware.This makes room for sly references to other spy movies,which is the source of comedic relief.It also helps the audience to look past certain plot devices and scenes which would usually take people out of a movie.

Click  to watch "KingsmanL:The Secret Service Trailer"

Matthew Vaughn has definitely cemented his reputation in my eyes as an inventive director who brings freshness to an already established genre of movies.This movie looks good as well.The camera angles and color grading work well together. Mr.Vaughn also pushes the limits a bit with Kingsman.I mean, he gives us Colin Firth stabbing people in the eye.

That's pretty much all I have to say about this movie. And I highly recommend watching Kingsman.Because you will have fun with this movie.You might be bothered by a few things, but you'll enjoy it,none the less.In closing, I shall quote the movie itself--  ".....give me a far-fetched theatrical plot anyday."

So have you seen Kingsman:The Secret Service? What did you think about it? What movie should I review next?Comment below.

Foxcatcher: A gritty and unsettling true story.

What a trio!

Bennett Miller's latest flick, a biographical drama film, Foxcatcher, is based on the disturbing events surrounding John "Eagle" du Pont and the infamous incident associated with him(no spoilers).John(Steve Carell) invites Mark Schultz(Channing Tatum) to move to his estate and help form a wrestling team for the 1988 Olympics.Mark takes the opportunity to step out of his brother--Dave's(played by Mark Ruffalo) shadow and make a name for himself. Soon,tensions arise and different circumstances lead to an unforeseen tragedy.

Before going into this movie,I heard someone say Steve Carell does not deserve the recognition that he's been getting and that all he did was "put on a nose and talk funny".Let me tell you, Steve Carell does an amazing job and it is definitely a career defining performance.You will resent this guy(the character,of course) and his dead eyed look. However, I do feel that the fact that Carell,a comedian, could nail such a role has actually taken the limelight off Channing Tatum,who in my opinion, delivers the best performance of the movie(he did not need a prosthetic nose to impress me). Mark Ruffalo is in this movie as well.He didn't really show up properly till-- maybe the last act, but when he did...

The lighting and music in this film really worked well for a story of this kind.It wasn't too dark and grey-ish and it wasn't too colorful and jolly neither.Miller does a good job at maintaining the balance and finding the right tone.Although,it's definitely not a movie for every sort of audience.

Now the storyline of Foxcatcher, I felt was, a bit weak.The actions of the characters and their motivations didn't always add up.But then I thought about it, and to be fair that's actually how it went down in real life.Nobody could've predicted what happened and things were unclear even after the episode unfolded. As a result, I could relate to the characters going through hardships but could not understand their actions.That might be a drawback for some of you.

Click here to watch "Foxcatcher Trailer" 

Also,this movie is terribly slow.You have to be patient. There are scenes in this film which will make you think what their  purpose was.And the answer would be-- to  let Steve,Channing,and Mark show us what they've got. Well,they did rise up to the challenge and mesmerize me with a heavy dose of good acting.

As someone who knows zilch about professional wrestling, I was hoping to see a bit more of them training and wrestling in competitions.That might have kept the interest of audiences who do not prefer slow paced movies.Then again,Foxcatcher isn't really about wrestling or wrestlers.It's an attempt to study these complex characters.And it's hard to truly say whether it succeeds or not.

In closing, Foxcatcher is a beautifully shot movie with stunning performances and a slow paced narrative.So I would suggest that you watch it if you appreciate good acting and don't mind being patient.For me, Foxcatcher was a good and entertaining movie.Just not one that I'd want to watch again.

So have you seen Foxcatcher?What did you think about?What movie should I review next?Comment below.

Nightcrawler:The new Taxi Driver?

The city shines brightest at night.

No no no!This movie isn't about that comic book character you think is really cool.Cheer up,that doesn't have to be a bad thing.

Nightcrawler revolves around a guy named Lou Bloom(Jake Gyllenhaal) as he stumbles into a new career--capturing grisly crimes and selling the footage to a news company.Soon,Lou begins to go to great lengths to get the job done and blurs the line between recording the crime and actually committing it.

Fair warning:You will not see Jake Gyllenhaal portraying a weird guy.In this movie,Jake Gyllenhaal does not exist.What you will see, is a total psychopath who goes by the name of Louis Bloom.This dude is plain crazy.You can feel something is really off and unsettling about him right from the beginning of the movie.

This character has got to be the most interesting and complex one of 2014(male,at least).It's one of those things where you know what he's doing is wrong but you still root for him because you see where he's coming from.Credits to the writers for doing such a good job at making me understand his thinking and why he does,what he does.Every aspect of this dude is unnerving.Even the way he talks to people..it's like he's constantly measuring what to say and it comes off as very unnatural(which is how it's supposed to be.So props to Gyllenhaal.).Everything he does has purpose.That's why I was kind of liking this total nut-job.He's just so good and effective in achieving his goals that you start wanting him to succeed.I love it when a movie is able to lure me in like that.It's a shame that the Academy snubbed Gyllenhaal for Best Actor.

This movie is also Dan Gilroy's directorial debut.Keeping that in mind, I must say,he does a really good job at showing us this dark side of news business.A lot of this movie is set in the streets of LA and they've been shown beautifully by Gilroy.I wonder how the movie would have been if someone like Fincher had directed it,but Gilroy isn't half bad.Twenty years down the line,when someone asks "What was Los Angeles like in 2014?",the answer would be "Watch Nightcrawler.You"ll know."

Bill Paxton is in the movie.He's sort of like a rival,maybe.But not the antagonist.That's another aspect I like about the movie.The antagonist,you could argue was Lou himself, but not the kind that you hate.Rene Russo's character was fairly relatable as well.It's understandable how her character was desperate and as a result put up with someone like Lou.

Apart from the amazing character studies and the bold theme,this movie has a very impressive screenplay and is able to keep the audience's attention for the entire duration without any trouble.The last act of this movie was handled impressively well.Seriously,the last 20 minutes were just 'nailbiting,edge-of-the-seat,won't-leave-to-take-a-piss' stuff.

Click to watch "Nightcrawler Official Trailer"

Overall, this movie is a deadly combination of brilliant acting,great photography and a well written screenplay and is surely a must-watch.

So have you seen this movie,what did you think about it?What movie should I review next?Comment below. Also, if you like my reviews, subscribe to my posts via the widget on the right.Thanks.