Film Review: Avengers – Endgame

The 22nd film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and the fourth Avengers film, following on from last year’s Infinity War and once again directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, Avengers: Endgame picks up with the surviving members of the Avengers and their allies – including Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), War Machine (Don Cheadle), Ant-Man (Paul Rudd), Captain Marvel (Brie Larson), Nebula (Karen Gillan), and Rocket (Bradley Cooper) – as they must work together to reverse the damage caused by Thanos (Josh Brolin). and restore order to the universe once and for all, no matter what consequences may be in store.

Film Review: A Star Is Born

Co-written and directed by Bradley Cooper and a remake of the 1937 film of the same name (marking the fourth remake of the film in total), A Star Is Born follows a troubled musician, Jack (Bradley Cooper) who helps a young, talented singer, Ally (Lady Gaga) find fame, even as age and alcoholism send his own career into a downward spiral.

Film Review: Avengers – Infinity War

The third Avengers ensemble film and the nineteenth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Avengers: Infinity War sees The Avengers – Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Captain America (Chris Evans), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), War Machine (Don Cheadle), Spider-Man (Tom Holland), Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman), Vision (Paul Bettany), Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), Falcon (Anthony Mackie) and The Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan) – and The Guardians of the Galaxy – Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Drax (Dave Bautista), Baby Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel), Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper), Mantis (Pom Klementieff) and Nebula (Karen Gillan) – come together for the ultimate, deadliest showdown of all time.

Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, these new superhero allies have to sacrifice everything in an attempt to prevent the powerful Thanos (Josh Brolin) from amassing the all-powerful Infinity Stones before his blitz of devastation and ruin puts an end to the universe.

Film Review: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

Directed once again by James Gunn, Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 sees the return of Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Drax (Dave Bautista), Baby Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel), and Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper) as they traverse the outer reaches of the cosmos and must fight to keep their newfound family together. Set to the backdrop of Awesome Mixtape #2, old foes become new allies as the mystery of Peter Quill’s true parentage is revealed when they meet his father, Ego (Kurt Russell).

Film Review: Joy

Directed by David O. Russell, Joy is based on the true story of Joy Mangano (Jennifer Lawrence), a self-made millionaire who became the founder and matriarch of a powerful family business dynasty. Set in the early 1990s, the film follows a family across four generations, and centres around Joy, a divorced mother with two children, who reluctantly has her mother Terri (Virginia Madsen), father Rudy (Robert De Niro), grandmother Mimi (Diane Ladd), and her ex-husband Tony (Édgar Ramírez) living in her house.

Done with living an average life, Joy takes her future into her own hands and, with the help of financier, Rudy’s girlfriend Trudy (Isabella Rossellini), becomes an overnight success with a bright new invention – the Miracle Mop. As allies become adversaries and adversaries become allies, both inside and outside the family, Joy must overcome personal and professional obstacles to rise to the top.

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Film Review: American Sniper

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Directed by Clint Eastwood and based on Chris Kyle‘s autobiography American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History, with screenplay by Jason Hall, American Sniper stars Bradley Cooper as Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle. Kyle’s pinpoint accuracy saves countless lives on the battlefield and turns him into a legend. But there was much more to this true American hero than his skill with a rifle. But upon returning home to his wife (Sienna Miller) and kids after four tours of duty, Chris finds that it is the war he can’t leave behind.

Film Review: Serena

Directed by Susanne Bier and based on Ron Rash‘s 2008 novel, Serena is set in 1930s North Carolina and tells the story of the newly-wed couple, Serena (Jennifer Lawrence) and George Pemberton (Bradley Cooper) as they return home to begin to build a timber empire. Although George has already lived in the camp long enough to father an illegitimate child, Serena soon shows herself to be the equal of any man, overseeing crews, hunting rattlesnakes, even saving her husband’s life in the wilderness. Together, they take charge of the woodlands and ruthlessly kill or vanquish all those who fall out of their favour. Yet when Serena learns that she will never bear a child, she sets out to murder the son that George has fathered without her.

Book v Film: Serena

“What made losing someone you loved bearable was not remembering but forgetting. Forgetting small things first… it’s amazing how much you could forget, and everything you forgot made that person less alive inside you until you could finally endure it. After more time passed you could let yourself remember, even want to remember. But even then what you felt those first days could return and remind you the grief was still there, like old barbed wire embedded in a tree’s heartwood.”

Directed by Susanne Bier and based on Ron Rash‘s 2008 novel, Serena is set in 1930s North Carolina and tells the story of the newly-wed couple, Serena (Jennifer Lawrence) and George Pemberton (Bradley Cooper) as they return home to begin to build a timber empire. Although George has already lived in the camp long enough to father an illegitimate child, Serena soon shows herself to be the equal of any man, overseeing crews, hunting rattlesnakes, even saving her husband’s life in the wilderness. Together, they take charge of the woodlands and ruthlessly kill or vanquish all those who fall out of their favour. Yet when Serena learns that she will never bear a child, she sets out to murder the son that George has fathered without her.

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Film Review: Guardians of The Galaxy

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Introducing a new superhero team from Marvel Guardians of The Galaxy serves as the tenth instalment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Directed by James Gunn, the film is set light years from Earth, and follows ‘Star-Lord’ Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) who, 26 years after being abducted from Earth, finds himself the prime target of a manhunt after discovering an orb wanted by the powerful villain Ronan the Accuser (Lee Pace). Unexpectedly finding himself part of a team of disparate misfits including Rocket (Bradley Cooper), a gun-toting raccoon, Groot (Vin Diesel), a tree-like humanoid, the deadly and enigmatic Gamora (Zoe Saldana), and the revenge-driven Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista), Quill must do his best to rally his ragtag rivals when he discovers the true power of the orb and the menace it poses to the entire cosmos.

Film Review: American Hustle

Directed and co-written by David O. Russell, American Hustle follows brilliant con-man Irvine Rosenfield (Christians Bale) who, along with his cunning and seductive partner Sydney (Amy Adams), is forced to cooperate with wild FBI agent Richie DiMaso (Bradley Cooper). Pushing them into a world of Jersey powerbrokers and the mafia, Irvine’s unpredictable wife (Jennifer Lawrence) could be the one to pull the thread that brings their entire world crashing down.

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Film Review: Silver Linings Playbook

Directed and adapted by David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook is based on the novel of the same name by Matthew Quick. Examining a number of relationships and mental illnesses, the film follows Pat Solitano (Bradley Cooper), an ex-teacher with bipolar disorder who moves back in with his parents (Robert De Niro and Jacki Weaver) after being released from a psychiatric hospital. Determined to win back his estranged wife and rebuild his previous life, things get more challenging when Pat meets Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence), a mysterious girl with her own problems, who tells Pat that she will help him get his wife back if he enters a dance competition with her. As an unexpected bond begins to form between them, silver linings appear in both of their lives.

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Film Review: The Place Beyond The Pines

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Directed by Derek Cianfrance, The Place Beyond The Pines follows a motorcycle stunt rider, Luke (Ryan Gosling) who turns to robbing banks when he finds out that he has a new-born child with his old lover Romina (Eva Mendes). Whilst everything goes to plan for a while, as his heist partner Robin threatens, “If you ride like lightning, you’re going to crash like thunder.” Luke’s decision soon renders him the target of an ambitious rookie cop, Avery (Bradley Cooper), and a department ruled by the corrupt detective Deluca (Ray Liotta), as the two become locked on a tense collision course which will have a devastating impact on both of their families in the years following.

The Pics Beyond The Pines: More Ryan Gosling & Bradley Cooper In 11 New Images

(Written for Lost In The Muliplex)

With the release of the first trailer for Derek Cianfrance‘s The Place Beyond The Pines recently, we now have a set of new images from the film.

Starring Ryan Gosling in the lead role, the film follows a motorcycle stunt rider who turns to robbing banks as a way to provide for his lover and their new-born child, a decision that puts him on a collision course with rookie police officer (Bradley Cooper) navigating a department ruled by a corrupt detective.