Film Addict's April Film Choice

Continuing on from last month where I decided that I was going to review a relatively new addition to my film collection, the Film Addict's April Film Choice is Chef, a film I really wanted to see that came out in October last year but never got the chance to see.

Chef is Jon Favreau's 2014 comedy-drama film revolving around a chef who quits his job after being pressured by his boss to keep from experimenting with his menu at his restaurant.  Stars includes Jon Favreau himself (Marvel Cinematic Universe, Couples Retreat), Sofía Vergara (Modern Family, Four Brothers), John Leguizamo (Romeo + Juliet, Ice Age), Emjay Anthony (It's Complicated, The Divergent Series: Insurgent), Scarlett Johansson (Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Island), Oliver Platt (Casanova, X-Men: First Class), Bobby Cannavale (Will & Grace, Win Win), Dustin Hoffman (Meet the Fockers, Rain Man), and Robert Downey, Jr. (Marvel Cinematic Universe, Sherlock Holmes).

Rating: 7

Recommended To: Those looking for a happy film

Favourite Characters: Martin - plot might not have worked without him

Favourite Part: Carl: I gotta pick up some equipment for the truck.  You wanna come with me and help me pick out a stove 'til Mom calls back?
Percy: Fine.
Carl: Alright.  Let's go.

Good Points: Great cast; the way social media was incorporated; great feel good film

Bad Points: Made me massively hungry; predictable plot

Avengers: Age of Ultron

I become obsessive when it comes to all things Marvel, whether it is films or comics or even figures, to the point of where I get a little nutty so it is natural to assume that I would go and see the biggest summer blockbuster out this year; in fact, it was necessary and has been commanded from on high.  I have been so excited about this film coming out since last year as I love characters that make up the Avengers alone or together and the actors that play them and I couldn't wait to see their latest escapades.

Avengers: Age of Ultron is the 2015 superhero film by Joss Whedon, a sequel to all of the recent Phase Two films of Marvel Cinematic Universe as well as 2012's The Avengers also directed by Whedon who wrote the script too.  Whedon has brought back the original Avengers cast; Robert Downey Jr. (Sherlock Holmes), Chris Hemsworth (Rush), Mark Ruffalo (Begin Again), Chris Evans (Snowpiercer), Scarlett Johansson (Lucy), Jeremy Renner (The Bourne Legacy), Cobie Smulders (How I Met Your Mother), Paul Bettany (A Knight's Tale), Stellan Skarsgård (Good Will Hunting), and Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction).  As well as the original Avengers cast, Whedon chose to bring more of the Marvel Cinematic Universe cast in such as Don Cheadle (Ocean's trilogy), Anthony Mackie (The Hurt Locker), Hayley Atwell (Cinderella), and Idris Elba (Luther) to fill in minor roles in Avengers: Age of Ultron while bringing in new cast members Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Kick-Ass), Elizabeth Olsen (Godzilla), and James Spader (Lincoln),to take on the more major roles, the latter of which taking over the antagonistic role this time around.

Rating: 10

Recommended To: Marvel Cinematic Universe fans; superhero fans; action fans

Favourite Characters: Steve; Vision; Hawkeye; Quicksilver

Favourite Part: Thor: IS THAT THE BEST YOU CAN DO?
Ultron: [Laughs and summons more drones with his arms outstretched]  THIS is the best I can do. This is what I've been waiting for. All of you against all of me!
[Battle ensues]
Steve: You had to ask...

Good Points: Great sequel to previous Marvel Cinematic Universe films; action and comedy perfectly intertwined; ambiguous ending was great; best outing of the characters yet

Bad Points: Very busy at points

Geek Alert - April Loot Crate

After this month, there will only be one Geek Alert every month because I have decided to cancel the My Geek Box subscription because I'm not enjoying it as much as I am Loot Crate but I have liked most of the items I got with My Geek Box and they have a great gift shop so I might pop back every so often.

Geek Alert - April My Geek Box

It's the middle of the month and that means My Geek Box has arrived; I was so excited about this month's box because I had a strong feeling that there was going to be something Avengers related because of the new film coming out in a week.

Cinderella

Disney films were a big part of my childhood and I drove my parents mad with them, playing them repeatedly which I'm surprised didn't break them eventually given that I was born in the VHS era.  It's still the same 23 years down the line, my fascination with all things Disney hasn't subsided, it may have intensified, as I continue to go and see them at the cinema and watch them at home.  This time, my mum and I went to see the latest Disney film out at the cinema, Cinderella, as we both enjoy the Disney Classic and the characters in it.

Cinderella is the 2015 romantic fantasy directed by Kenneth Branagh based on the fairy tale of the same name and borrows elements from the 1950 animated Disney Classic of the same name.  Lily James (Downton Abbey, Wrath of the Titans) and Richard Madden (Game of Thrones, Hope Springs) star as the romantic leads with other members of the cast including Cate Blanchett (Lord of the Rings series, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), Stellan Skarsgård (Marvel Cinematic Universe, Good Will Hunting), Holliday Grainger (The Borgias, Jane Eyre), Sophie McShera (Downton Abbey, Highway to Dhampus), Derek Jacobi (Underworld Evolution, The King's Speech), Nonso Anozie (Dracula, The Grey), Ben Chaplin (Dorian Gray, Dates), Hayley Atwell (Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Duchess), and Helena Bonham Carter (Harry Potter series, The King's Speech).

Rating: 10

Recommended To: Cinderella fans; Disney fans

Favourite Characters: The Prince/Kit

Favourite Part: King: You must not marry for advantage.  You must marry for love.  Find that girl.  Find her, the one they're all talking about.  The forgetful one who loses her shoes.
Prince/Kit: [at the same time] Loses her shoes. [laughs and smiles]
King: [laughs and smiles at the Prince/Kit] Be cheerful, boy.
Prince/Kit: Thank you, father.
King: Thank you, Kit.  I love you, son.
Prince/Kit: I love you father.

Good Points: Cast were fantastic; production design; the way magic was involved; wonderful adaptation

Bad Points: Very twee

Alex Scarrow - The Infinity Cage

It comes across really anal but all of the books I have yet to read in the order I intend to read them in on my bookshelves and I have 14 bookmarks that I put in the first 14 books; this is how I decide which book to read next.  However, sometimes I buy a book I feel compelled to read straight away and I call it a 'photograph' book because I always end up using a photograph of my dad, sister, and myself from when I was a kid as a bookmark inside the book because the first time I went out of order, it was the only thing I had to hand.  This time, I'm reviewing a 'photograph' book.

The Infinity Cage is the ninth and final book in the TimeRiders series by Alex Scarrow; the series focuses on three young people - Liam O'Connor, Maddy Carter, and Sal Vikram.  The background behind this series is that the three main characters were meant to die in different periods of time; Liam, a young Irishman, should have gone down on the Titanic in 1912; Maddy, a young woman from Brooklyn, who should have died on a plane which was going down during a terrorist attack in 2010, and Sal, the youngest of them all, a young girl from Mumbai, who should have died when a skyscraper collapsed due to fire in 2026.  They are recruited by an older gentleman called Foster who gives them a second chance and live, to work for a secret agency that supposedly helps prevent time travel destroying history.  They go on many adventures throughout the books, traveling through time to ensure that they fulfil their objective of keeping history on track until they start to question what they are doing and who they are and are then in turn targeted by the people they are supposed to work for.  Because of this, they go into hiding and then travel to the Victorian age to set up shop there under their own agenda, helping if the world if they need to but making sure no one picks up on where they are.  Over the time they have spent working as time travellers, they have begun to realise that there is a price for going through time as they all begin to age rapidly, Liam more so than the others because of his more frequent trips travelling through time.  Sal has now died due to entering what the time travellers call chaos space, leaving Liam and Maddy alone with their support units, Bob and Becks, as well as Rashim, another time traveller they picked up during one of their adventures so they are taking their mission to the man that created their team as well as going to discover what the meaning behind their existence really is.

Rating: 9

Recommended To: Science fiction lovers

Favourite Characters: Liam

Favourite Part: 'Good,' Liam said, nodding.  'How long will that take?'
>.!..
'What's that supposed to mean, computer-Bob?'
[...]
>How long is a piece of string?
[...]
Liam rolled his eyes.  'Oh aye, I get it...My stupid question deserves an equally question back?  The pair of you fellas are just such a hoot.'  He sighed.  'So, I guess it's going to take however long it takes.  Right?' - Page 311-12

Good Points: Dual narratives; simultaneous time travel experiences; open ending; character development

Bad Points: Massive time skips