Geek of Oz

Savages , the latest film by Oliver Stone, tells the story of Californian drug dealers Chon (Taylor Kitsch) and Ben (Aaron Johnson) as they are planning to retire. Complications arise as a Mexican Cartel led by Elena (Salma Hayek) start to move in on Chon and Ben’s territory, which results in multiple kidnappings, shoot-outs and double crossings. Ultimately, Savages suffers from an inconsistent tone but has a few highlights to draw upon. Savages is the film adaptation of a novel by acclaimed crime author, Don Winslow ( The Power of the Dog, The Winter of Frankie Machine and Dawn Patrol ). I am a huge fan of Winslow’s work; he is able to lace the criminal world with grounded characters which make for more compelling stories. Being a story about drug dealers, it’s already a hard enough task getting the audience to sympathise with its protagonists. Failing to establish the title characters of Ben and Chon exacerbated this problem. Sure, we get a montage introducing their operation ...

Puss in Boots (directed by Chris Miller) is the latest film in the Shrek universe from DreamWorks Studios, in which we see how Puss became the legendary lothario we know and love. We first meet Puss (Antonio Banderas) as he attempting to relieve Jack (Billy Bob Thorton) and Jill (Amy Sedaris) of magical beans; however his efforts are thwarted by the seductive Kitty Softpaws (Salma Hayek) shortly after this encounter we learn that Kitty Softpaws is working with Humpty Dumpty (Zach Galifianakis) who is the brother of Puss. The trio then set off on an adventure to steal the beans together and far more precious treasure. This is Antonio Banderas’ film from beginning to end; the initial casting back in 2004 for Shrek 2 was a master stroke. He perfectly represents the bravado, cheekiness and passion of such a fiery feline. It helps that Senior Banderas is one of the coolest cats (appalling pun) in Hollywood sadly he wasn’t supported well by the other cast members most noticeably Salma Hayek...