Starring Scarlett Johansson, Under The Skin is a tale of an alien being who arrives in Glasgow, takes the form of a beautiful woman and spends her time luring men back to her lair where they become a food source, but as it interacts further with humans it seems to develop more human like emotions and strays from its mission in search of a seeming escape from its purpose.

But a more appropriate statement would be, what is the movie actually about? I’m still not sure and my opening paragraph is doing the movie an injustice but it was the best synopsis I could come up with. It’s potentially so much more than that, as you can take what you want from this film. For me it was a role reversal tale about a female predator and its’ praying mantis style hunting, which, despite any advances we may have made towards gender equality, pointed towards the notion that there is still a primal instinct inside man regarding the allure of the female form and the desire to mate.

Director Jonathan Glazer deserves credit for developing something so off center it’s almost unsettling and brings a voyeuristic feel as, with the exception of Johansson there are no stars, the men are regular guys in every day places going about their business, the only thing that feels like it does not belong is appropriately Johansson who is absolutely superb. Her English accent against the broad Scottish accent of everyone else, already points her out as alien without even needing to state it. The expressionless performance, except when she forces emotions onto her face in order to continue her fascade feels realistic, the brutality she shows in contrast to her softer side when on the hunt comes as a shock and her seemingly genuine curiosity as she experiences new events are spot on. For all the good movie she has done I have rarely seen her as captivating or original as she was here.

I like movies which are a little unusual and the big difference here is that there are no answers to your questions so when things are occurring and you wonder about events there is no exposition, no reasoning, no solutions and when the shocking ending comes it’s as surreal as the rest of the movie but it’s this uncertainty which is the movies best feature and while the dark and depressing feel of the movie can make it a bit of a grind it’s well worth sticking with as, for good or bad reasons, it’s a movie that will stick with you and will get just where the title suggests.

Starting with the words ‘I remember everything’ Jason Bourne starts with a hook and for the first third of the movie it doesn’t stop. We see Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) on the Albanian border living underground and off the grid but still haunted by his past. Nicky Parsons (Julia Stiles) is in Iceland hacking into the CIA database to extract information for Christian Dassault (Vinzenz Kiefer) who is an internet whistle blower she crusades with so when this unearths information regarding Jason Bourne and his father she decides that he needs to be advised. Her hacking has placed her in the line of fire of Heather Lee (Alicia Vikander) a CIA technical specialist who puts a tail on her to investigate who she is working with and when the CIA realise that Bourne is the person Parsons is contacting, CIA director Robert Dewey (Tommy Lee Jones) orders an unnamed asset (Vincent Cassel) to take him out, but Athens is in the middle of a riot and the CIA lose their man, the man hunt is back on and Bourne must try and uncover what was his fathers involvement was in a government program named Iron Hand which seems to be linked back to the Treadstone project as well as figuring out where a new software operating system called Deep Dream comes into play.

With Paul Greengrass back at the helm we are back to the quick cut, shaky camcorder style and it leaves us in no doubt that we are at the heart of the Bourne series. This style works brilliantly during a chase scene based around a riot in Athens is outstanding, which is possibly the best action sequence of the whole series. In fact when the action kicks in the movie is great but the problem seems to be, because Bourne remembers everything the purpose he had in the previous movies is no longer valid, so the film needs to find a different purpose to motivate him which does not have the same emotional impact on the audience. While, for a movie called Jason Bourne he probably gives the least Bourne like performance since kicking ass to extract information has generally been replaced with hacking and bugging but these are the progressive times we live in. That being said the introduction of Aaron Kalloor (Riz Ahmed), the Deep Dream operating systems, the ethical links to user privacy and security, while being relevant to current society, just seemed tacked on as a plot thread to add some padding and when these sections of the movie were being played out the movie seemed to drag a little, maybe this was on purpose to heighten our anticipation of the action kicking in again but it didn’t wok for me.

So while I can’t fault the acting as all involved were spot on with Jones on top form as the battle hardened CIA director who is struggling to get his head around the new technology based terrorist threatand Vikander, who is the best of the bunch, as his go to expert, both being outstanding and with two superb action scenes in Athens and Las Vegas mixed in with a generally good espionage movie it’s hard to put my finger on why I was a little disappointed walking out, the best suggestion I can make is because I had such high expectation that I’m being overly picky.

So, if you were a fan of the originals then you’ll enjoy this fourth episode in the franchise (I’m omitting the Bourne Legacy as it’s a stand alone film) and while it’s not quite Bourne at his best, the bar is set very high so it’s still a very good movie.

DJ Speaks Rating: 6 Out Of 10

Let me just start by saying that while it is not critical that you have seen either of the first two movies before watching this film the relationships of the characters and their motivations will be much clearer with the knowledge of those two films so I would suggest that you watch them first (they are well worth a watch anyway) before seeing this movie.

The USS Enterprise is three years into it’s five year mission to explore the unknown frontiers of space and Kirk (Chris Pine) is beginning to have self doubts as he is approaching the same age that his father died at so he questions his ability to perform his duties as the ships captain to the levels they require at the same time Spock (Zachary Quinto) has received some news which is making him question his choices to leave his planet and people behind to take the role within StarFleet and this has caused friction within his relationship with Uhura (Zoe Saldana).

When the Enterprise docks at the newly build StarBase of Yorktown, a massive population hub for the United Federation Of Planets, all the crew are looking forward to a bit of well earner R&R however an escape pod arrives with it’s sole occupant Kalara (Lydia Wilson) requesting help after her ship was attacked in an uncharted nebula where her crew members have been imprisoned, the only ship equipped with the technology to investigate is the Enterprise so our heroes are sent to investigate and rescue the crew. Once they arrive they find out that they are not as equipped as they may have thought and after an attack on the Enterprise by an alien known as Krall (Idris Elba) and his troops who are looking to retrieve an artifact which is stored in the discovery archives of the ship, the crew is either captured or stranded on an alien planet so Kirk and they few remaining free crew members must save their friends and thwart the plans of Krall and his followers.

I will start by saying this movie is visually spectacular, I thought the CGI and effects were superb and the heavy action scenes had me completely engrossed. The ships and their battles are, arguably, the best I’ve seen on a screen as yet but given the involvement of J.J.Abhrams and with Justin Lin in the directors chair I would have been disappointed with anything less however where this movie surprises is how it opens up further the inter crew relationships, camaraderie and almost family like bond. Simon Pegg (who also gives his usual, excellent comic relief performance as Scotty) and Doug Jung have put together a script full of emotion without being melodramatic, which gives more cast members a chance to shine in the spotlight than in the previous movies, which is funny at the right moments and introduces a brand new character who more than holds her own on screen in Jaylah (Sofia Boutella) who was previously captured by Krall but managed to escape, has been hiding undetected on the planet and reluctantly agrees to assist in taking him down. We see just how the Kirk-Spock development is constantly growing as they have both now come to realise that their weaknesses are covered by the strengths of the other. Karl Urban once again is superb as McCoy, I thought in the first two movies that he, more than anyone encapsulated the mannerisms of the original character and in this movie he nails it again, for me stealing the show and Elba is, as always, super as the villain who has more to him that is initially believed.

I will mention that the fuss over the sexual orientation of Hikaru Sulu (John Cho) which has been in the news in recent weeks is all a bit much, it doesn’t play any part in how the movie plot progresses and only adds diversity and a sense of realism to the character, so I really have to question if it matters? Okay, the original character wasn’t gay and wasn’t written that way but times have changed drastically since then and are we really still so archaic in our thinking that this is still a big deal as I’m sure you could take any of the characters and find something in their actions which they weren’t originally written to do?

I had reservations when I seen Kirk on a motorbike in the trailers and while it still seemed out of place it did work in the context of the plot and any movie which uses ‘Satotage’ by the Beastie Boys as a key part of the story (you’ll see what I mean) gets bonus points even if it is a bit silly, but overall this movie had the feel of a real summer blockbuster and despite the final third lagging a bit I walked out very entertained so break out the popcorn, sit back and enjoy. Is it the best in the series? For me, no. While in was best in some aspects, Into Darkness was a better overall movie but its close.

On a last note I will say a final goodbye to Anton Yelchin who had a lot of screen time in this movie as Pavel Chekov and it looked like they were building him into becoming a bigger character in the franchise, he was taken far too soon and was a sad loss to both the Star Trek universe and the movie world in general.

DJ Speaks Rating: 6 Out Of 10

Dave Braden (Ewan McGregor) is a music reporter looking for a story and so he decides to try and interview famous jazz musician Miles Davis (Don Cheadle) however Davis has been out of the limelight for a number of years and lives in isolation dealing with a traumatic past with painkillers and drugs. While at first being hostile to Braden, Davis needs an ally in order to retrieve some recording of new material which he believes the record company have stolen and so he reluctantly agrees to allow Braden tag along but Braden is unaware just how unbalanced Davis has become which leads to some very dangerous situations for both men. The tape in question is being used by an unscrupulous manager Harper Hamilton (Michael Stuhlbarg) who wants to utilise the recording to increase the profile of Junior (Keith Stanfield) a younger talent on his books and although this particular plot line is fiction the rest of the movie feels like it’s a work of non-fiction set in the era around Davis’ self-retirement during the mid-seventies and told in a flashback style as memories are triggered bringing Davis back to times and places in his life.

The camera style which often drifts in and out of focus without warning and often is placed or aimed in conventionally strange places which gives a great feel of imbalance which ties in nicely with the lead characters mind set and credit must go for presenting a ‘warts and all’ type tale as Cheadle does not hold back on showing Davis as a nasty piece of work at times. He brandishes a gun, swears and threatens his way through conversations and the treatment of his girlfriend/wife Frances Taylor (Emayatzy Corinealdi) is nothing short of abusive but this all works towards showing the darkness behind the genius and her performance matches either of the leads, played with a strength but also tenderness as she falls deeper in love with Davis and gives up more and more aspects of her own life in order to satisfy his growing needs and instability until a moment of breaking when the reality of her situation kicks in.

Cheadle both stars and produces in a pet project and does a very good job with a gruff, almost whispering voice and his portrayal of the musicians self-loathing is in stark contrast to the prima-donna type behaviour he fronts to his willing entourage of yes men who look beyond the awful character he can be. While there were a few too many moments where the lead interactions left me feeling like I was watching a seventies cop show as the two leads chase down the elusive recording, their interaction was still very good and added to the feel of the desperation of both characters as they put themselves in dangers way time and time again, Braden for his story and Davis for what he seen as his redemption. While I would not be a fan of Davis I still enjoyed this look into the mind and working of a musical genius for which Cheadle deserves credit for.

DJ Speaks Rating: 6 Out Of 10

Based on the 2014 historical action book by American author Mitchell Zuckoff 13 Hours is film based around the events of an attack by Islamist militants on an American diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya on September 11, 2012 and looks at the event from the view of six members of a security team working in a nearby CIA outpost that supposedly doesn’t exist.

When a US ambassador Chris Stevens (Matt Letscher) is scheduled to visit the compound the security team inspect the area and are appalled to see a complete lack of protection on offer and when they learn that the supposed secret visit is to take place on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks and is actually public knowledge to the immensely dangerous and unstable local populous they voice their concerns to their boss ‘The Chief’ (David Costabile) but he is dismissive in reminding the security team that they are here to protect the base and not the compound but when the inevitable attack occurs the security team decide to take matters into their own hands and attempt to rescue Stevens highlighting the fact that they are in the area which in turns the enemy eyes in their direction.

All the leads done their part plus it was nice to see John Krasinski as Jack Silva in a non-comedic role and he more than held his own as a co-lead but it was James Badge Dale who stole the show for me as Tyrone Wood, a man who wants nothing more than to return home to his family yet is filled with a sense of duty to protect his fellow countrymen above all else.

But at the end of it all I was still looking at a Michael Bay movie and while it is one of his best efforts, in the hands of another director this could have been a classic as there were elements which reminded me very much of Black Hawk Down, some of the action sequences were excellent and there was a sense of history and personality given to the main characters that is usually omitted from a Bay movie. However, despite all this the sense of desperation and dread which was undoubtedly felt by all those involved never really came across on screen to any great effect so unlike the classic movie of this genre I still always felt like I was watching a movie and it never dragged me in to where I left like part of the action, and yes, there are still a number of long, sustained, American flag shots, it is Michael Bay after all!

Although far from perfect and despite the supposed controversy of how close to the truth it may have been it was certainly one of the more enjoyable ‘war’ movies of recent times, off hand I can only think of Fury and Sole Survivor which I enjoyed more and there is a while a little long at nearly two and a half hours it is well worth a look if you missed it upon initial release.

DJ Speaks: 6 out Of 10

Set in 1973 a couple are trapped in the middle of the Chilean military coup against Augusto Pinochet. When her activist, photographer boyfriend Daniel (Daniel Bruhl) is abducted by DINA, Pinochet’s secret police, Lena (Emma Watson) tracks him to a sealed off compound called Dignidad which is advertised as a mission run by preacher Paul Schafer (Michael Nyqvist) so Lena joins the organisation in order to try and find out what happened to Daniel only to find that behind the scenes the mission is a very different place.

Watson shows some good dramatic acting talent as the driven and intelligent air hostess who risks her life to find her boyfriend and who learns to quickly adapt as the situation needs despite the terrible circumstances she has voluntarily placed herself in, Nygvist is scarily believable as the sadistic leader of the cult who’s depravity went unchecked for years but it is Bruhl who’s journey as the activist leader is the most harrowing, and intriguing, of them all. With this performance along with his star stealing roles as a supporting actor in both Rush and Burnt he is quickly becoming an actor that I look forward to seeing.

While the story itself is a work of fiction it is based around the real life events of the time as the compound, Paul Schafer and the situation are very real. Director Florian Gallenberger has painted a fascinating, yet awful picture of life behind the scenes in the supposed mission where Schafer ran his dual purpose sect with an iron fist and with full co-operation from the Chilean government. Given the potentially powerful historical back story the movie could have been a shocking look at the situation in Chile during that era but the film swings from a film about the lengths people go for love, to a story of human rights abuse, to a jail break movie so the mood is constantly shifting which make the film feel uneven as it takes away somewhat from the shock value of the strong point of the plot but there’s still enough in the film both in the story and the acting to make this one worthy of your time.

DJ Speaks Rating:6 out Of 10

With more than a nod to the classic (and far, far superior) Michael Mann movie Heat and some leaning towards Antoine Fuquas, Training Day, Triple 9 is a tale of criminals and corrupt cops teaming up to commit a series of heists in order to steal items for the Russian mafia.

In a tangled mess of relationships, Michael Atwood (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is the leader of the gang and is being strung along by Irina Vlaslov (Kate Winslet) the wife of a Russian mafia boss who was recently convicted of a crime, into committing heists since she has control over his child whose mother Elena (Gal Gadot) is Irina’s sister.

After the latest crime she withholds payment until after the next heist which causes trouble within the gang but when one of them is executed to show that Irina is not playing about they reluctantly accept the job however the required information is stored in a government facility so the gang decided that the only way they can get this done is to invoke a Triple 9 situation (officer down) which will get every cop in the city to respond and will buy them the time they need. Luckily one of the cops in the gang, Marcus Belmont (Anthony Mackie) has found the perfect candidate in his new partner Chris Allen (Casey Affleck)

There are some pluses in the movie with a lot of dark settings bringing a great feel of being deep in the underbelly of Atlanta to the screen and some of the action scenes are excellent. However this is negated by the very large plot holes we are expected to ignore in order to accept the gangs situation, for example Chris’ uncle Jeffrey Allen (Woody Harrelson) is leading the investigation into the gangs heists and they still pick Chris as the victim of the Triple 9? Also, the getaway driver Russell Welchs (Norman Reedus) brother Gabe (Aaron Paul) is a drug addict and an obvious liability to the gang, surely there are better options? These are just two that I can mention without spoiling the movie but there are more.

It’s this lack of believability which takes away from what has the potential to be a very good movie as the acting talent is excellent and, while the performances are not superb this is more down to the script than any fault in the actors as the action sequences are the films strongest point and it is when the dialogue becomes the focal point that the movie starts to lag. It’s still a good thriller which is very enjoyable but it could have been so much better.

DJ Speaks Rating: 6 Out Of 10

Jake Gyllenhaal is Billy Hope, an aging, battle hardened boxer who has been at the top of his game for many years after rising from a tough childhood in the child services system and it’s his wife Maureen (Rachel McAdams) who is the real brains behind his career and keeps both his promoter Jordan (Curtis Jackson) and his entourage in check, ensuring that Billy gets the right deals that are best for their future. She is trying to convince Billy to start looking at retirement in order to spend some time with their growing daughter Leila (Oona Laurence) before it is too late.

As inevitably occurs a younger pretender emerges for Billy’s crown and Miguel Escobar (Miguel Gomez) starts to follow Billy around to his public appearances trying to goad him into accepting a title fight that neither Jordan or Maureen want Billy to take at that time as they feel it may be his last fight. During one of these events a scuffle breaks out and Maureen is accidentally shot by one of Escobars posse. Billys world is shattered and he spirals into plains of alcoholism, drug use and suicidal thoughts, when he ends up attacking a referee during a fight he is also banned from boxing and his daughter is taken from his so he is left with a choice to clean up his act, try to get back in the ring and get his daughter back so he approaches a new trainer Tick (Forrest Whitaker) who reluctantly agrees to help him.

I’m a fan of Gyllenhaal and he once again does a good job as the troubled boxer, he manages to portray a great swing between the confident, bloodied, screaming man in the ring and the quiet, almost insecure character outside of the ring who only wants the love of his wife, child and friends and while it’s his not his best performance, the situation called for an underplaying of the role and he hit the nail on the head. There is some excellent camera work during the fight sequences which get across the anger and greatly builds the intensity of the situation and although the scenes outside of the ring lack the same intensity the talents of Whittaker, McAdams and some great work from child actor Laurence make for some good viewing during the quieter moments but the script does suffer from some subplots feeling shoe horned into the story rather than actually being necessary. It’s not the best boxing movie you’re ever going to watch but if you like sports dramas then there’s a good movie here.

DJ Speaks Rating: 6 Out Of 10

Beginning with a scene in ancient Egypt we see En Sabah Nur/Apocalypse (Oscar Isaac) using celestial technology to increase his powers to ensure he and his four mutant aides continue to rule however a twist of fate results in him being buried during the ceremony. We then cut to 1983 where CIA agent Moira MacTaggert (Rose Byrne) is tracing the legend of Nur and sees his re-awakening where he begins his search for his new assistants, also known as the Four Horsemen and recruits Angel (Ben Hardy), Psylocke (Olivia Munn), Storm (Alexandra Shipp) and Magneto (Michael Fassbender).

In the meantime Professor Xavier (James McAvoy) is recruiting more students in his school for mutants with assistance from Raven (Jennifer Lawrence), Beast (Nicholas Hoult) and Havok (Lucas Till) which introduces us to Jean Gray (Sophie Turner), Nightcrawler (Kodi Smit-McPhee) and Cyclops (Tye Sheridan). Apocalypse taps into Xaviers mind when he is using the Cerebro machine and so begins a battle for the fate of the planet as Apocalypse wants to destroy the world and build it again where he will rule as master and it is up to the new generation of X-Men to stop him.

There’s a lot of good stuff in the movie, the new x-men characters are brought in well with some decent back stories and I haven’t even mentioned Quicksilver (Evan Peters) yet who, if you thought his scene stealing moment in Days of Future Past was good then you’ll love his main moment in this movie as it is probably the best single scene in any of the X-men films so far and he seems perfect for a standalone movie. Magneto is given some superb development and it’s a great insight into the inner turmoil of the character and Beast finally get a little more fighting to do and shows that he’s not just the brainiac of the bunch.

Unfortunately, with such a large cast, some characters don’t get their due, and chief among the casualties are Psylocke and Angel who didn’t have the impact I expected. There’s been a lot of criticism towards Jennifer Lawrences acting but I think it’s as much a case of her character not being enough of a challenge as much as poor acting as Mystique is not a major player in this film. Also, Apocalypse looked and sounded great, he also showed some great moments of his power yet he felt over reliant on his horsemen and although his goal was clear it was a very long winded way of trying to achieve it.

It was nice to focus more on the mutant vs mutant battles rather than the human vs mutant tales of the first two films however given the extent of the seriousness of the situation i.e. the end of the world with huge loss of life, there was very little time given to showing anything from the human side and even McTaggert, who played such a bit role in the first to films, felt like she was added in to give Xavier a bit more depth and tie the story in with the extended universe rather than adding anything to the movie.

I liked First Class and was a big fan of Days of Future past so I was hopeful that Apocalypse would keep the standard of the X-men franchise high and for the most part it did however, despite some excellent action sequences, clever humour throughout and a good story line it just never quite reaches the same heights as the second movie but it is definitely well worth a watch for any fans of the franchise.

DJ Speaks Rating: 6 Out Of 10

A spiritual sequel to director Richard Linklaters 1993 comedy Dazed And Confused. Everybody Wants Some is set in 1980 and follows a group of college baseball players in the three days leading up to the start of term and while on paper this movie shouldn’t have worked as it’s essentially a two hour look at a group of sports jocks lads partying their way through a series of events trying to act more macho than each other, yet the film keeps you interested and invested so you feel like you’re part of the group.

The main character is Jake (Blake Jenner) who not only has to gain acceptance as a freshman but given that he is also a pitcher he has to work twice as hard to gain the trust of his new teammates but given that he is a sports jock he is not short on confidence and takes to the task with gusto and while the group has a good mix of characters who all have their moments, strengths and weaknesses, no one person is bigger or more important than the other as it’s all about the team.

For these guys it’s not about making the big leagues after college, it’s about making the most of being given a chance to experience college life while playing baseball and it’s a win-win situation for them. They roam from party to party with a swagger of guys who don’t have a care in the world and no matter what situation they find themselves in, chasing girls is just an extension of the sport they play and it’s all about getting the win.

It’s a little chauvinistic in places but given the setting I’m sure that was how things went down in that era so nostalgic is probably the best word that can describe the movie. The music is great, the setting feels right with each scene moving the film along without detracting from anything else going on around it and although it may sound weird it a very enjoyable movie where not a lot actually happens yet you still end up with a smile on your face.

Dazed and Confused featured early performances from Ben Affleck, Milla Jovovich, Matthem McConaughey, Renee Zellweger and Cole Hauser amongst others and given the similarities between the two movies it will be interesting to see if the same will be said of this group of actors.

DJ Speaks Rating: 6 Out Of 10