(Movie) 4th wall wrecking ball....a look at Deadpool

Okay guys, this is a doozy.

11 years this movie has been in the making. This is like the Mad Max of the comic book world. 

Then, in a single moment, where planets aligned, and the rest of the universe fell into place, God saw fit to say, "Fuck it, this is what the world needs right now."

A lo' and behold, we got a saviour in red spandex.

Let's begin, because if I don't review this now, it'd be like perpetual edging and no one wants that.

Story/ Dialogue: For those of you who don't know who Deadpool (Played by Ryan Reynolds) is, he's a schizophrenic mercenary who can't die, thanks to a healing factor. This ability has caused his cancer to rapidly fluctuate, giving him the texture of a melted wax model crocodile.

To Deadpool, the fact that his appearance has changed this drastically occurs to him that this might be a deal breaker for his girlfriend (Played by Morena Baccarin. God, I miss Firefly.) decides to find the man that did this to him.

This is brief summary and there is so much more to this movie than mentioned. According to Reynolds, there are over 100 easter eggs in the film.

The story alone is enough to grab you. However, you find that it jumps between Deadpool's past and the present. As a result, it doesn't feel as though there's a dip in pace at any point in the film.

With regard to the dialogue, it was as though Shakespeare wrote a sonnet that was then handed to Charles Bukowski to be spunked all over.

What I mean to say is, it's so vulgar that it exceeds itself to become art. My closest example (And I mean by a long shot,) is the tv series Archer.

The analogies, the banter and the one-liners are...for a want of a better expression, on point.

Cinematography: The visuals in this film are impressive. Like, this is not an Iñárritu film, but I feel as though they both have the same amount of love put into the cinematography and CGI.

One of my favourite shots was the over shoulder shot when Deadpool lines up his shot to kick the guy he was chasing in the head. I can't imagine that would have been easy to shoot. 

Colossus looked awesome, but the real winner is Deadpool's eyes. So much expression from the whites of his eyes shifting that throughout the film I was sitting there asking myself, "Do eyes actually do that? Is that how they function?" 

It always felt as though there was something going on and even on a first watch, I feel as though I missed a lot. So I want to watch it again.

Audio: Even the audio track had comedic timing. DMX's "X gon give it to ya," stopping upon the realisation that something has been forgotten, then starting back up again, to "Shoop" by Salt and Pepa playing while Deadpool is waiting to kick some tail.

The dubbing was synced up well, and none of the audio was terrible, which is actually quite thankful. My audio teacher at my school once said, "Humans can handle crappy quality picture, but nobody will put up with shitty audio." So while this might seem like a criticism, it's actually a compliment.

Overall: Deadpool as a film is not only fantastic, but it stays true to the character. Unlike the one seen in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, this Deadpool feels as though he's jumped off of the page and started doing his thing.

The film is self aware, raw and hilarious. Plus, you feel as though you connect with the character on so many levels to the point where I almost got emotional in parts of the film. 

Deadpool, 11 years in the making, is a labor of love.

So it's my honour to give this film the Ravensmark, a seal reserved for the best of the best films out there.

Thus ends this review.

If you enjoyed reading this, have a look through my previous reviews. I do books and comics, too. 

Also, feel free to message me on twitter, tumblr and facebook with recommendations! I love getting recommendations from you guys!

(Movie) Can you teach a robot to love? A look at Equilibrium

Thanks to Bill Andres for this recommendation. This one's a favourite for him, so it's a pleasure to review it!

I've seen this once before, eons ago when I was around 17 or so. However, it never really stuck in my mind. 

I do put that down moreso to the fact that I'm an easily distracted person (See the gaps between review dates if you don't believe me,) so I was willing to give the movie another shot. 

Is it as underrated as Bill has claimed? 

Let's see! 

Story/ Dialogue: Set in an alternate world to ours, in the city of Libria, this world is dominated by a fascist government known as the Tetragrammaton. (The symbol for this society is quite similar to the Nazi's swastika,) The Tetragrammaton have stomped out emotions by injecting a drug called Prozium on the basis of suppressing negative emotions. Anyone seen feeling, listening to music, or housing art is charged with a sense offence and is sent to the incinerator. Those who enforce the new laws regarding emotions are known as Tetragrammaton Clerics.

The best of these Clerics, John Preston, tries to deal with these emotions after he misses a dosage. The movie follows Preston as he tries to work with the resistance to bring down the Father; the figurehead of the government.

While this looks good on paper, in practice is dulled by over the top prose and rather weak plot development. It's only until 3/4 of the way through the movie that we meet or are even aware of the Resistance. Futhermore, Preston doesn't come off as someone we can identify with. He's cold, calculated, but even showing his interactions with his family didn't seem to make me connect with him.

While I understand that this is what Prozium does to you in regards to emotions, I feel as though you'd find someone more relatable in a robot. I'd have to wonder how much better received it would have been had we seen this movie from a member of the Resistance's perspective.  

Cinematography: This is where the movie excels. It's well framed, with sweeping pans that show the grand architecture of Germany, where most of the film was shot. Visually, it adds more to the storytelling than the dialogue ever could. One of my favourite shots is when Preston kills his partner and it switches focus from Preston's boss to his sword, where a single drop of blood falls of the end of edge. I think the only part that confused me was the moment where he was looking at the matte painting from the window. I suppose it could have been symbolism for him feeling something, but it ruined the suspension of disbelief. 

Audio: The tracks throughout the film tended to jump between rock music and a choir to represent the dogmatic beliefs of an iron fisted government. The sound effects were covered well, given the jump cutting fight scenes. 

Overall: As I said in the story segment of this review, Equilibrium is a fantastic idea in theory, but in the same way a man tries to behead a criminal with a spoon, is subject to poor execution. 

With that said, the Gun Kata concept is excellent and I'd love to see it refined in a future movie.

While I struggled a lot with this film, I did enjoy it and learned a lot from watching it. 

So I'm going to give it a solid 3 stars.

Thanks again to Bill for his recommendation of a film that is underrated and a good study focus. 

His artwork is amazing! Give his facebook page a like:

https://www.facebook.com/wasillustrations/

That's it from me! Until next time, folks! 

(Movie) Revenge is like is like Ice Cream....a look at the Revenant.

I went and saw this film with the Iron Matriarch on a Sunday. I almost missed it, actually. 

There are many things to consider in this film, but at this stage, I only have one question:

Is this film enough to get Leo his Oscar? 

Let's review it! 

Story: This is a revenge story, plain and simple. Mr. Glass' son is murdered and he's left for dead in a half dug grave. Using all his rage, he drags himself from that grave to find the man who put him there in the first place.

This story strikes you on a primal level and the environment reflects the unforgiving anger of nature and man alike.

While there isn't a whole lot of dialogue, the story is told through a visual means and that makes it all the more compelling to watch.

Speaking of...

Cinematography: This movie was shot in Canada with natural lighting.

For those of you who don't understand the painstaking task that Iñárritu undertook, imagine building a doll's house from scratch and if you messed up even a tiny detail, you'd have to start over.

That's how excruciating the work going into this film was.

It pays off, too. You feel as though you're making the trek that Mr. Glass makes. I kind of wish I'd taken a hoodie with me or something.

Audio: While there wasn't a lot of music, the main thing I want to talk about is the dubbing for the Native American spoken throughout the movie. It was matched up poorly and felt really lazy, which counterbalanced the immersion the rest of the film accomplished.

The lack of music made the scenery feel authentic, as though they recorded the ambience for the entire movie.


Overall: Considering that this movie won 3 Golden Globes amongst many other awards, the Revenant should be set for an Oscar.

The story was simple and made engaging by its beautiful, if dangerous scenery. The long takes added an element of depth that few films have these days and the dedication of the creators and actors (DiCaprio slept inside an animal corpse for this movie,) shows that this movie, as violent and bloody as it is, was made with love.

It has more than earned itself 5 stars.

Thank you guys for reading this review! 

I'm sorry it's taken so long for me to get it out, but I'll do my best to keep on top of it. 

Please feel free to send in recommendations of movies or books. 

Thanks again for reading! 

(Comic) Post Apocalyptic racing...a look at Birdlander

The Birdlander is a 5 part comic by Edwin Bickford and Aaron Walther. They've described this comic as a blend of Miyazaki, Mad Max and Moebius. 

Admittedly, I'm not familiar with Moebius, but I can see the resemblance of the Miyazaki films and Mad Max. The art style reminds me a lot of Nausicaa, which is regarded as one of the greatest Miyazaki films of all time.

We're thrown into a post apocalyptic world, where dragonmen make slaves of humans and those who try to survive make use of a nomadic lifestyle. 

In this, we are introduced to Sumi, a lone rider who is on the hunt for someone for reasons as yet unexplained.

This comic from the get go throws you into the deep end, with gritty backgrounds and equally rough looking characters. It a lot of ways, it bears the appearance of a manga while making the characters appear racially diverse. 

I'll say that the first issue doesn't feel like 26 pages. It's feels so packed with things to look at and pay attention to. 

The dialogue offers a lot of information and conveys a natural tone. The use of story as exposition is an old one, but the use of images works better in a comic than it does a movie. 

I enjoyed reading this and I can only hope that it continues to come out. 

Nothing is more important to a storyteller than the listener/reader/watcher saying, "what happens next?"

This is what's grabbed me. I need to know what happens next.

I rate this issue 4 stars. A fantastic read, but I need more.

You can find their site here:

http://thebirdlander.com/

Within they have links to their social media and a patreon where you can contribute to the creation of this excellent comic. 

(Book) Vikinger no more....a look at Sons of Odin Book 3: Oath Breaker

Firstly, I want to say thank you to Erin for allowing me to read her books. It's been a fantastic ride.

Before reading this review, have a look the previous reviews and make sure you read the books!

Book 1: Odin's Shadow review: http://rave-nreviews.blogspot.com.au/2015/06/book-odins-shadow.html

Book 2: A Flame Put Out review: http://rave-nreviews.blogspot.com.au/2015/09/book-a-flame-put-out.html

Now, if you've finished with those, let's get to the review.

The story follows Selia and her boys running away from her former husband, Alrik Ragnarsson. 

What better person to run to than the kinder, prettier and honest younger brother?

Ulfrik Oath-Breaker finds solace for Selia and her brood on an island off the coast of island, where they meet a group and learn to live alongside them. 

Unlike the other books, the final instalment is infinitely more introspective as Selia comes to terms with her true feelings while trying to please everyone. Ulfrik discovers many things and struggles to deal with them in the same way he handles most things; by bottling them up.

This book shows that character development can take precedence over action and still have the same effect as a powder keg going off. Sparks fly, both romantic and violent and it's great to see some older characters return along with fresh new faces.  

Selia has gone through many trials and Erin addresses them in such a way that shows Selia taking responsibility while still retaining her dignity.

A powerful, thrilling and unexpected conclusion to the best Viking romance series I've ever read.

5 stars.

Buy the book: http://www.amazon.com.au/Oath-Breaker-Sons-Odin-Book-ebook/dp/B019PL2NEK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1452786346&sr=8-2&keywords=Oath+Breaker

Find Erin's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/erinsrileyromance

Erin's blog: https://erinsriley.wordpress.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/erinsriley1

Thanks again to Erin for this amazing series! I can't wait to see what you come up with next. 

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(Movie) Spaced Out....a look at Interstellar

A pair of gents by the name of Connor and Ethan recently recommended this movie to me after we got talking about space and science and all sorts of nerdy things.

So, having come back to reviewing, I figured I would show them not only what I'm capable of, but what I thought of their recommendation. 

Here we go! 

Story: A former pilot leaves a dying planet in hopes of finding the people who were trying to find habitable planets in another part of the universe.

A gross oversimplification to be sure, but that is the summation of the story. Nice and simple, right?

Wrong! 

This is a Christopher Nolan movie. If you've seen Memento, Inception or the Dark Knight trilogy, you know that this movie is not going to be easy to follow.

Let's get the negatives out of the way, first.

1. The story is somewhat weak. I only found out what was truly going on halfway through the film.
2. They spent way too much time focusing on Cooper and Murph's relationship. Not to say that it didn't warrant it, considering how important it is to the movie, but I felt that it could have been handled better.
3. The writers for this film treat the audience like idiots. Andrew Stanton from Pixar will tell you, "Give them 2 + 2. let them figure out the rest." I felt like I was being talked down to and that's the last thing you want from your audience.

With that said, from what I understand, the science is pretty spot on. I also like the poetry that Michael Caine quotes (Fun fact: That poem is the basis for the Rundown/Welcome to the Jungle. Not just a pretty action movie.) The poem, by Dylan Thomas, is a perfect representation of the state of humanity and the hope that it holds on these adventurers.

Also, Matt Damon needs to stop getting lost. First it's behind enemy lines, now it's TWICE in space.

Cinematography: Like all of Nolan's films, Interstellar is visually impressive. From the lighting, to the camera angles (Key one being when it's attached to what appears to be a crashing prototype plane of some sort,) to the framing of the vast uninhabited planets that they visit.

My only gripe for this section is TARS. WHAT THE HECK EVEN IS THAT THING!? It looks clanky, impractical and makes me think of Robin Williams if you took all the humour out and turned him into a discount Rubik's cube.

Everything else, from the corn fields to that weird book room in the heart of the black hole is visually astounding.

Audio: The music for this felt as though it picked a fight with the dialogue so instead of having a decent conversation with the audience, they tried to talk over the top of each other.

Now, I'm not sure if it's just my ears, but sometimes it feels as though the dialogue is a little too soft.

With these things in mind, I enjoyed the score and felt it added to the movie's overall atmosphere. It gives you this sense of adventure and the overall innocence that comes with discovery.

Overall: While I had my grievances, I did enjoy Interstellar. As a lover of space, I felt I grew to know it a little bit better for watching this film.

I'm going to give it 4 stars.


Something I didn't explain before is that Connor and Ethan are missionaries with the intent of travelling to places to spread the word of God. A great cause, to be sure, but one that doesn't come cheap. 

If you'd like to support them, I've left links below so that you can help them out. They're good blokes and I'd like to see them get to where they need to go.

Connor and his wife Alix are headed to Greece and Germany and Ethan is going to Cambodia and Hong Kong.

Please support them if you can.


https://www.youcaring.com/connor-and-alix-bruson-391046
https://secure.ywamnewcastle.com/product/student-paymentdonation/

(Movie) (Spoiler Free) Lost in Space...a look at Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens

So you're all aware, the review will be SPOILER FREE! 

If I get enough requests for it, I'll talk spoilers. 

Let's begin.

Story/Dialogue: In short, this story is once again about good vs. evil. The labels for the two factions are the Resistance and the First Order, respectively. In the midst of all this, a deserting stormtrooper ends up finding a scavenger on the planet of Jakku. Together, they try to get a droid with a map to the find a key ally for the Resistance. 

Nice and simple, right? 

Okay, so I'm going to get the negatives out of the way, first. The dialogue in some aspects is atrocious. It feels as though certain characters are saying things for the sake of the audience more than anything else. 

Plus, between Finn and Rey, it felt as though they had stumbled onto the set of Star Wars and cameras happened to be set up to watch them. Please don't misunderstand, I love these new characters. However, I also feel that my suspension of disbelief was ruined because they felt like fans being on set, rather than characters in a movie.

With that said, the story was pretty solid. The characters base wants are simple and easy to identify. Furthermore, the film was a lot lighter than the other films. There were some genuinely funny moments and the characters felt a lot less...I want to say stiff.

I want to say more, however, I do not want to spoil it, so let's move on.

Cinematography: The fantastic part of this film is that not only did we get to see Han, Chewie and Leia, but they also brought back the crew from the originals/prequels.

The framing in this seemed a little chaotic. Though, it also adds a little more to the action, so it's not a bad thing. 

It was fascinating to see how they added CGI to a lot of new aliens. While in a lot of instances the alien work was still done with latex casting and the like, the CGI felt a little out of place. Especially with certain characters that I won't name.

Audio: JOHN FREAKIN' WILLIAMS RETURNS!! The creator of the Star Wars theme added so much extra atmosphere to the movie. Of all the things I love about Star Wars, it's the iconic music. It was nice to see that the theme of the characters of the older films came back into play, but I also feel as though the newer character's themes weren't all that memorable. I wouldn't have minded a subtle weave of electronic music within the orchestral arrangement for the new themes. 

Overall: Some have loved it, some have hated it. Does it feel like an Episode IV reboot? Sure it does!

As a film, the Force Awakens is a force to be reckoned with. Solid storyline, excellent visual effects and music make it fantastic as a standalone film. 

As an instalment to an iconic franchise, though, I am still unsure it holds up. In a lot of ways, it feels like a fan film, where the fans snuck in on set and acted out Star Wars. On top of that, the small details, like blaster fire, made it feel inconsistent with the franchise.

As a fan of the films, I find myself torn.

I'm going to give this film 3.5 stars. 

Author's note: Thank you guys for sticking around. I know I've been away and busy with a couple of personal projects, but news is coming!

In the meantime, it's back to reviews as always. However, I'm only doing one a week. It'll be randomised. You won't know whether or not it's a book or a movie and that's due to access and time spent on reading/watching. I'll cover series if you guys want, but recommendations are always helpful! 

Thanks for reading! I'll catch up with you soon! 

Kind regards,

Ravenreviews