"We seem to have reached the age where life stops giving us things and starts taking them away."

This quote has never felt more appropriate today. 

Leonard Nimoy had been suffering with his health for some time, but that doesn't make his passing any less shocking- for his family, friends and, of course, his fans.

Blow your mind. Literally. [SPOILERS FOR KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE]

That's what Kingsman: The Secret Service will do if you see it this weekend.

Of course, it's not without its issues.

For instance the movie does lag somewhat in places. But that might very well be because the action is so intense when it does start, anything else feels like moving through treacle.

And that scene, the church one, might offend some. But the level of violence is so astonishingly heightened, it's farcical. And it is a fairly key demonstration as to what endgame Samuel L. Jackson's character is aiming for. Plus the type of church-goers it represents aren't the nicest... Even if you don't like the scene you've got to admire the bloody (har har) effort that went into making it.

Everyone in the movie is brilliant mind. From (relative) newcomer Taron Egerton (I can see why there is a corner of the 'net that would see him stepping into Spider Man's recently departed lycra suit) to Colin Firth- who is a revelation as Harry Hart/Galahad, super spy extraordinaire. This is most definitely not Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. Instead it's James Bond by way of Kick-Ass and Men In Black (one scene so reminiscent of the latter I started humming that bloody Will Smith song!).

The plot is fairly simple; Egerton/Eggsy is a troubled lad who is very talented and intelligent, but continues to get in trouble with his violent step-father and the law. Hart bails him out as a favour to his Kingsman father who died saving Hart and other agents.

Hart sees in Eggsy something that the Kingsman service has been lacking in recent times, and so pushes Eggsy into the training regime along with other young men and women.

All the while Jackson's character seeks to rid Earth of the virus that is humanity- apart from those he deems worth saving. Even three days after seeing it (I'm late with this one) I can't find many holes in the plot, any points where the story deviated to a ridiculous extent and stalled moving forward. The only scene I personally felt was out of character was Eggsy's 'dalliance' with the Swedish princess. I dunno, it just felt like it was trying a bit too hard for that familiar James Bond ending. But then it's something I groan at in the Bond films anyway so..

A Bond film by way of Kick-Ass, with stopping off points and Men In Black and the Natasha Romanoff/Jonathan Steed school of international espionage, this is definitely one for film collection when it becomes available to buy, and an early 2015 hit!

My "maybe" eureka moment- what's wrong with 'The Maze Runner'

In past posts I've made it abundantly clear how much I admire Dylan O'Brien as an actor. He's good looking (in an adorkable, Hollywood-sense) and he's shown an abundance of talent on MTV's Teen Wolf (anyone who disagrees with me? Go watch season 3B and then comeback to me).

And whilst his performance in The Maze Runner isn't terrible, neither is it the triumphant big screen debut some of his fans were hoping. Actually it's not a terrible movie at all either.

The problem, with the movie and with O'Brien's portrayal, perhaps stems from the source material.

Now, I'm not going to bash the book. For one, I'm not the demographic it was aimed at (which I mentioned in my previous review of the film), and for another the concept of a mysterious maze in which a group of boys are trapped, is pretty fucking fantastic.

It brings to mind several other "maze" related movies/books etc- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Pan's Labyrinth, The Labyrinth and while not technically fictional, by still a great gameshow The Crystal Maze (seriously as a child the 'host' terrified me, and the amount of tension as contestants failed their tasks and got 'trapped' in the maze.. It freaked me out a little).

Basically mazes are awesome. They represent something primeval, a journey fraught with things barely seen out of the corner of one's eye. Ever gone into a hedge maze and gotten lost? That claustrophobic feeling, that you might never get out? It's exciting as it is scary. 

In fact as far as the book was concerned, I was disappointed the boys and Teresa managed to escape- there should have been an even bigger maze waiting for them!

It doesn't help that, at the end of the movie, it's just a set-up for the next chapter. Nor does it help that the mass exposition doesn't really make that much sense. The adults trapped the immune boys in the maze to see how their brains would react to stress? The planet and huge swathes of the population are under threat and dying. I'd have thought that'd be a bigger enough test.

But! Back to the problem with Thomas.

"Dull" is one word I've heard to describe O'Brien's portrayal. But the character is fairly dull. 

Heroic? Yes, unquestionably. But the problem is that he isn't the reluctant hero we've grown to relate to more. I'm not a huge Hunger Games fan- but Katniss was the very definition of reluctant. She went to the games to save her sister. Thomas, by contrast, is eager to get out into the maze, constantly questioning older boys who have, to all intents and purposes, spent their entire lives in the maze.

Pushy heroes are good, but in my opinion, they have to work their way up to that point. 

If Thomas had been more accepting, even a little more un-questioning from the start of the his fate within the maze, Teresa's appearance could have been more of a trigger for memories to come to the fore, for events to unfold. 

By contrast O'Brien's character Stiles on Teen Wolf, is much more a reluctant hero. He's even at times, morally ambiguous. During the shows run this "hero" has proposed killing fellow students and allies. They may have been bullies and antagonists, but casually thinking they should end them? That's a pretty drastic view for a hero to have. But it does make him interesting.

Of course this is only my opinion, so it's not 100% valid. But wouldn't a more reluctant Thomas have been more interesting? 

The Maze Runner *SQUEEEE DYLAN O'BRIEN!!!!!*

Eh-hem.

'Scuse the unnecessary capitals in the title.

I missed this movie during its cinema run, so I was quite surprised how quickly it came to DVD.

I had read the book early in 2014, and my reaction to it was mixed. The concept of a group of boys, trapped in an ever shifting maze, populated by deadly creatures was pretty damn intriguing.

But that wasn't to say I didn't have problems reading it. The quality of the writing was, for me, pretty basic. There didn't seem to be a lot of emotions expressed with the main character (Thomas as played by Dylan O'Brien in the film), and there was an overabundance of made-up slang on the author James Dashner's part.

But I wasn't the target audience. I'm no teenager, so clearly these problems were just because I was used to a more mature level of storytelling.

But when I heard it was being adapted into a film, and starring one of my favourite (and one of the best in my opinion, young actors on screen today), I thought it was worth revisiting in a more visual medium.

Fortunately the movie is much more succinct than I felt the book came across. Events have been shortened, moved or erased entirely from the finished product (thankfully along with an ESP subplot of the book) which, rather than being a detriment, is an asset.

Visually the movie is pretty damned stunning. The maze and the grievers are pretty much exactly what I had envisioned reading the novel. And the characters definitely benefit from being played rather than being read. 

Newt, Chuck and Minho are two characters that seem more *ah-hem* fleshed out, for wont of a better term. And whilst none of the characters come with a backstory per-say, each are more alive on screen than on paper due to the actors portraying them. Gally (the story's main antagonist- apart from the grievers and the creators of the maze) is also more sympathetic than in the book. Teresa does feel a little rushed in the introduction department- but again, she is in the book too. 

The character who benefits most is Thomas himself, for the same reasons. Although I do have some small reservations. If anyone has ever seen Teen Wolf, O'Brien is brilliant as Stiles Stilinski. He is the main reason I didn't give up after the premiere episode- which like quite a few firsts was a little weak. And Season 3B was an absolute triumph for him as he played both Stiles and the evil, sadistic and murderous Nogitsune. But TheMaze Runner doesn't quite give him (or rather us as the audience) time to get to know him. This isn't really a failing on O'Brien's part, rather it's the medium the story is played out in. Two hours isn't as much time as four seasons. But with the stage and players all introduced and set, I'm willing to bet we'll get to know Thomas, Minho and the others better in the sequels. Although if it was a mini-series can you imagine how much cooler this story could have been?

Suffice to say The Maze Runner is a very good film, the tension in those final moments of escape are palpable. And the final shot of the maze itself is almost heart-breaking, when you consider these are children, in how close they were from their much sought freedom.