Review: World War Z

Plagued with production problems, even going as far as having a completely new final act filmed - World War Z is better than you'd think but still ends up as less than the sum of its parts.

The main problem is that the new ending, written by Lost's Damon Lindelof feels like a completely different film to what has gone before, as somehow Brad Pitt ends up in an office in Cardiff with Peter Capaldi after an hour of massive disaster movie set pieces. As well as the massive stylistic change, matters aren't helped by it looking much, much cheaper too, like Charlie Brooker has somehow managed to cast Pitt in Black Mirror or Dead Set.

The first hour is far from a flop, though after a stunning set-piece in Philadelphia to kick things off the reasons for Brad Pitt's Gerry to fly all-over the world trying to halt the zombie apocalypse do become a little contrived and just excuse for some more impressive CGI stunts in front of another landmark - but as the stunts are well done, evoking memories recent stuff like Contagion and Cloverfield for a similar sense of chaos, you can't complain too much.

Matthew Fox turns up for a couple of seconds, and you wonder if he had a bigger role in the original ending, which re-iterates the film's main problem - you never feel like you've watched a whole film, just the start of one and the finish of another.

Reviewl Killing Them Softly

Killing Them Softly features Brad Pitt as a hitman who prefers to kill his targets softly, but also features a script that drives its point comparing Washington and Wall Street to the gangster underworld home a little too hard at times.

By the 4th or 5th time a excerpt from a Bush or Obama speech is played in the background the point starts to become a little laboured and the lack of subtlety shown is in contrast to the performances from the cast, with several stars like Ray Liotta and James Gandolfini playing against their charismatic calling cards shown in previous gangster classics to portray a cast of slimly, sleazy and crass characters.

Unlike The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward, Killing Them Softly comes in at just over 90 minutes, but still manages to go along at a slow pace - the world created is a compelling one, but the simple story feel like it would be better suited forming part of a longer story arc in something similar to The Sopranos, not quite working a single film.

Review: Moneyball

There's a natural and un-cinematic feel that starts as one of Moneyball's strengths but does also stop it falling slightly short of previous Sorkin effort The Social Network. Hampered by being a real-life story, the stage seems set for a West Wing inspirational speech and triumph against adversity full of stirring music and the like, but true life gets in the way of that slightly, which is a shame.

The film is at its best when Pitt (playing as downbeat as someone who looks like Pitt can get really) and Hill are together on screen - Hill deserves particular credit for a shy and sympathetic turn as stats guy Peter Brand, tuning down the increasingly obnoxious traits of many of his recent performances.

I personally could've done with a bit more Philip Seymour Hoffman, as his role a coach seems quite under-developed and disappears from screen far too early in proceedings.

Moneyball probably wasn't worth the awards buzz that came its way, but is a solid effort that even non-sports fans can enjoy.

Review: Megamind

It seems the best Will Ferrell films these days are the ones where he takes a step away from crude man-child jokes. Here he drops the filth and in places it comes close to matching the same charm as Christmas mainstay Elf. On the downside Brad Pitt seems to be asleep/stoned or possibly both as the voice of rival Metro Man and the film would've been infinitely better with someone livelier in the voice booth.