Terminator Salvation - out on DVD now

Following on from the three previous Terminator films, Salvation finds us in 2018 amidst the ‘battle of the machines’ that was predicted in the first film. We are with John Conner (Bale) as he leads a group of human resistance fighters against the HK’s (Hunter Killers) and Terminators.

In this version of the Terminator Connor is joined by the mysterious Marcus Wright (Worthington) a man who has no memory of the Terminators and Kyle Reese (Yelchin) the man Connor must send back to 1984 to become his father (are you still following?).

Visually the film looks great, there are new and old versions of Terminators and enough machines to at times make the film look like a Transformers movie, I did think though that the humans although relatively scruffy still looked too clean and kept especially the character of Kate Conner – Johns wife, who looks like she has just stepped from a beauty salon (even when performing surgery in the field!).

Overall though the Terminators look good although I was a little disappointed that there were no new robots and the film stuck to the traditional ‘Arnie’ T800 shape.
So much for the look of the film what is really important, especially as this film will be judged against the classic T1 & T2 is the script and this for me was where the film really was at its weakest. I found the film confusing. There were gaping holes in the script and it was also so full of lucky coincidences it verged on the comical, which is a real shame. Some areas in the film were rushed and others seemed to be included for no apparent reason and you could see the plot coming from a mile off.

The most interesting thing for me was seeing the next big action hero Sam Worthington who is now starring in Avatar and next year he will be in the lead role in the remake of Clash of the Titans. He played his role adequately – well as much as the cheesy script allowed, and someone please give Christian Bale throat lozenge’s!

Overall disappointing – the film franchise definitely has taken a downward turn.

Director – McG

Cast:

Christian Bale – John Connor
Sam Worthington – Marcus Wright
Moon Bloodgood – Blair Williams
Helena Bonham Carter – Dr Serena Kogan
Anton Yelchin – Kyle Reese

Click here for official website

Religulous – On DVD now

Religulous is American comedian Bill Maher’s documentary about his search for the reasons for faith. Maher interviews Muslims, Jews and Christians Mormons, scientists and even a Vatican astrologer to try to understand why people have faith. He visits a Creationist museum, which shows dinosaurs and humans living together, and even the Holy Land theme park in Florida where they enact recreations of Jesus being crucified on an hourly basis!

I hadn’t come across Mahar before but had heard that this documentary was good and it was. Mahar seems to hold no questions back in his search for the reason why so many people believe in improbable stories with such devotion they steer their lives accordingly and some even are willing to die for their faith.

I think your enjoyment of this documentary will depend on your view on religion, if you are a believer then I would suggest that this film isn’t for you (even though it wouldn’t be a bad thing to watch it), but if your like me a non believer then Mahers totally inappropriate questions and the facts that he presents prove to be really enjoyable.

Faith is a really strange subject, particularly if you haven’t got it, you don’t understand it and cannot understand why people are so fanatical about it. Maher counters the quotes from the Bible he receives from his interviewees with other less well known biblical facts that turn arguments around. He meets a man who claims to be the second coming, a man who claims his homosexuality was ‘cured’ by religion, scientists and even American truckers who attend a roadside church. It makes for interesting viewing, not more so for the people who have become very very wealthy from other peoples faith. Interestingly one of the most down to earth interviewees is an ex Vatican astrologer.

Its an interesting and funny film, Maher also just about pulls off the tricky task of questioning peoples deep faith and exposing the frailties in their beliefs while maintaining a easy manner and a good sense of humour – watch it if your not going to be insulted!

Director – Larry Charles

Cast:

Bill Mahar – Himself

Click here for official website

Cronos - On DVD

A film from the archives of the new ‘King’ of spinning of adult twisted fairy tales Del Toro’s early film Cronos doesn’t disappoint, and shows all of the imagination, thought and psyche that brought us Pan’s Labyrinth and the soon to be (but not soon enough) The Hobbit.

A short introduction shows us an alchemist in the 1500’s who invents the key to eternal life; the Cronos device. The story then switches to modern times when Jesus Gris (Luppi) a dealer in antiques accidentally uncovers the Cronos deivce. Gris lives with his younger wife and devoted granddaughter Aurora (Shanath). Gris accidentally activates the Cronos, which changes the course of his life forever, not least because the wealthy De la Guardia (Brook) and his psychotic hench-man and nephew Angel (Perlman) are after the Cronos, and its secrets, as well.

I saw Mark Kermode recently blog about vampire movies, due to the recent Twilight, True Blood and Halloween spate of films. books and television programmes about our blood-sucking friends. He recommended two films, one of which I had seen – Let The Right One In (which is reviewed here) and the other was Cronos, which although I love Del Toros work I had never seen. A fact, of course, you can see I have rectified.

The film is moody and atmospheric; the story is simple, and yet not so simple; there is a rich, powerful, sickly, man who desires eternal life he’s read the secrets he knows what he needs to do but he cannot find the Cronos that he needs. On the other hand there is the innocent that stumbles onto the Cronos and accidentally unleashes its power.

Del Toro yet again puts a spin on a familiar story – that of the vampire. Its not sexy, its not desire lead it’s a quest for deep thirst done in a controlled and restrained way, and that makes it different from a lot of other genre blood sucking films. Guis is a family man, devoted and loved, confused and yet still in control of himself despite the changes he undertakes. More strikingly for me was the silent brooding and scary Aurora, a girl who accepts, colludes and bares mute witness to all of the horror that surrounds her. She is devoted to her grandfather no matter what – it’s a great twist to an accepted story line.

Although defined as low budget, this film doesn’t look like it, it is sometimes sparse but it’s in keeping with the feel and mood of the movie. Its well worth watching, it gives a different spin on the vampire mythology and although I love the traditional stuff there’s always room for something else, especially something of this quality.

Director – Guillermo Del Toro

Cast:

Federico Luppi – Jesus Gris
Ron Perlman – Angel de la Guardia
Claudio Brook – De la Guardia
Maragarita Isabel – Mercedes
Tamara Shanath – Aurora

Year One - Out on DVD Now

The director of the classic Ground Hog Day has joined together with Jack Black to bring to film a comedy inhabited with biblical characters.

Zed (Black) and his friend Oh (Cera) are banished from their Stone Age village, after Zed eats fruit from the forbidden tree and this leads to a series of adventures in which they encounter biblical characters like Cain & Abel and Abraham and they travel to Sodom. In Sodom they try to free the love of their lives that have been enslaved where they are hampered by a priest and Cain.

I like Jack Black, I like most of his previous films, I like him when he’s at his crazy best this, though, is a film where his humour falls flat. Partly I feel he’s not allowed free rein other times he is hampered by a plodding and flat script. I didn’t laugh out loud once; I might have managed a smile at a couple of points but for a film that’s supposed to be a comedy that’s not a shinning endorsement.

Black plays a ‘zany’ tubby caveman whereas Cera plays an intellectual, sensitive caveman, so why when both actors should be very comfortable with their characters does this film not work. Firstly for me the film doesn’t flow its more of a series of sketches in which Zed & Oh walk through, its like someone said ‘lets get a scene with Abraham, how can we write him in and who can we get to play him’, without any consideration as to how this will fit in with a script. Also am I really supposed to find biblical characters funny?

There is also a emphasis on gross out humour in this movie, there are lots of poo jokes, puke jokes, willy jokes etc etc its not that I’m offended by them its just that they are used over and over again and not to good effect. Year One is like a carry on movie although not as good.

Very disappointing.

Director – Harold Ramis

Cast:

Jack Black – Zed
Michael Cera – Oh
Oliver Platt – High Priest
David Cross – Cain
Christopher Mintz-Plasse – Isaac

Click here for official website

Drag Me to Hell - Out on DVD Now

Drag Me to Hell seems Sam Rami return to the horror genre after directing the Spiderman franchise. Written ten years ago with his brother Ivan Drag Me to Hell centres on easy-going bank employee Christine (Lohman) who tries to impress her boss by refusing a loan extension to Mrs Ganush (Raver). Later that day when Christine returns to her car Ganush attacks her and places a curse on her. Christine then has three days to lift the curse before she is dragged to hell.

Rami has the skill and vision as a storyteller to lift a basic horror ‘curse’ story into something strangely enjoyable. Mrs Ganush is a suitably horrible, weird eye, claw like nails and false teeth whereas Christine is suitably put on as she suffers from ordeal after ordeal. Christine’s one flaw was to try to impress her boss but this triggers a series of horrible events that she is unable to escape from.

Lohman is great in the lead role, shes naive, insecure and definitely got my sympathies, I hope to see her in more roles in the future and Raver presents us with a suitably memorable horror villian. I didn’t find the movie scary but I did jump and cringe at some of the scenes, notably being when Christine’s habit of leaving her mouth open when horrible objects and liquids get poured in made my stomach turn.

It’s a good horror film, makes you jump, makes you cringe and keeps you guessing. Well worth checking out.

Director – Sam Raimi

Cast:

Alison Lohman – Christine Brown
Justin Long – Clay Dalton
Lorna Raver – Mrs Ganush

For the official website click here

Drag Me to Hell - Trailer

Looking For Eric - Out on DVD now

Looking for Eric is Ken Loach’s latest film where he introduces us to Eric Bishop (Evets) a middle-aged postman who has managed to mess up his life. The film begins with Eric in a state of despair and depression he’s alone, he has two disrespectful stepsons, and he is finding it difficult to cope and cannot see a future. Enter into this Eric Cantona, Eric’s football hero who helps him get his life on track.

The film sometimes slides into a slightly predictable gritty drama as Eric’s life increasingly spirals out of control when one of his stepsons gets involved with the local gangster. Overall though this is a hopeful, funny and ultimately uplifting film. Eric is a man who has bottled up the past and tried to hide it away but because of a change of circumstances and using the confidence of Cantona he confronts it and tries to make amends as he comes to terms with the ghosts of his past. Eric is also a man who doesn’t realise what he has – amazing friends, a gang of posties who will stand by and help their friend with whatever is needed.

This film made me laugh, which is not something I would usually say about a Ken Loach film, it’s a film that was uplifting and warm hearted, the second chance that can pass people by and how to find the strength to change your life. Personally I wouldn’t have chosen Cantona but if it works for Eric then that’s more than fine by me.

Director – Ken Loach

Cast:
Steve Evets – Eric Bishop
Eric Cantona – himself
Stephanie Bishop – Lily
Gerard Kearns – Ryan
Stefan Gumbs – Jess

For the offical website click here

Slumdog Millionaire – Out on DVD now

Danny Boyle’s multi Oscar winning Slumdog Millionaire centres on Jamal Malik (Patel) an orphan from the slums of Mumbai. Jamal is appearing on the Indian version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire and is one question away from the 20 million-rupee question when the programme finishes filming for the night. Off air Jamal is arrested accused of cheating and is forced to explain how he knows each answer. The answers form a sequence of events in Jamals adventure filled life.

Slumdog won 8 Oscars at the ceremony earlier this year and because of that viewing it comes with a weight of expectation of great things. The story is colourful and vibrant the audience is invited along for the story of Jamal, his brother, Salim, and the love of his life Latika and their struggles to rise above the slum they were born into to find a better life for themselves. Each answer on Millionaire, Jamal gives directly corresponds to a chapter in his life – a life that is already multi layered and is both tragic and amusing.

I liked the film but I didn’t love it, the film itself looks great the cinematography is amazing, Jamal seems to spend most of his life running from one situation to another and we are treated to dizzying views of the Mumbai slums and the surrounding increasingly industrialised city. There are beautiful shots and amazing colours as well as children in abject poverty picking their way over rubbish heaps, children being prayed on by adults willing to exploit them, lazy policemen, corrupt gangsters, slick game show hosts and in the centre is Jamal searching for the love of his life. I think for me the story was a little too predictable and it felt too contrived.

The cast are good, Patel conveys the idealistic, slightly innocent dreamer Jamal well whereas Freda Pinto is the breathtakingly beautiful object of his affections. For me though the heart of the film are the children who portray the three central characters as they grow up – they manage to be touching without being cheesy, funny, and most of all they are believable as they steer the way through their perilous existence. For me the story of the children is better than the story of the adults.

I loved the look of the film but for all of the hype I found the story predictable and therefore a little disappointing.

Director - Danny Boyle

Cast:

Dev Patel – Jamal K Malik
Freida Pinto - Latika
Anil Kapoor – Prem
Madhur Mittal – Older Salim
Ayush Mahesh Khedekar & Tanay Chheda - as Jamal growing up
Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail & Ashutosh Lobo Gajiwala - as Salim growing up
Rubina Ali & Tanvi Ganesh Lonkar- as Latika growing up

Click here for the official website



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Coraline - Out on DVD now

Based on Neil Gaiman’s book of the same name Henry Selick (the man behind The Nightmare Before Christmas), Coraline tells the story of young Coraline Jones (Fanning) an inquisitive bored girl, who’s parents have just moved into an apartment which forms one of many in a rambling run down house. The house is home to many strange inhabitants from two faded actresses, a circus performer and even a talking cat. The strangest inhabitants of them all though is Coraline’s other mother and other father – nearly the same as her real parents but they don’t ignore here, they cook their favourite food …. but what secrets are they hiding behind their button eyes.

Coraline is a film that shares a lot of similarities in style with Selick’s earlier Nightmare Before Christmas; weird characters, Kaleidoscopic Technicolor scenes with strange twists and a storyline that rivals one of Grimm’s fairy tales. The animation is great and stylish and the characterisation is good which is such a vital component of an animated film. Its gives the younger audience the scare factor as well as the wow factor a key that makes the best fairy tales stand out from the rest.
As an adult I really enjoyed it, it might not be everyone’s choice but if you liked Selick’s predecessor then you shouldn’t overlook this.

Director – Henry Selick

Cast:

Dakota Fanning – Coraline Jones (Voice)
Teri Hatcher – Mel Jones / Other Mother / Beldam (Voice)
Jennifer Saunders – Miss April Spink / Other Spink (Voice)
Dawn French – Miss Miriam Forcible / Other Forcible (Voice)
Keith David – The Cat (Voice)
John Hodgman – Charlie Jones / Other Father (Voice)

Click here for the official website

Dead Snow – Out on DVD now

A group of medical students go on holiday to an isolated log cabin in the mountains. While at the cabin they discover a box under the floorboards full of World War II Nazi gold. A battalion of Nazi zombie soldiers who are using the mountain as their base aren’t happy with the students taking their gold so they decide to hunt them and eat their intestines!

Excuse me if you have heard this before…there’s a group of young students isolated in a cabin when they start getting picked off one by one they decide to split up to try and get help for the others and in doing so surprise surprise they come to a nasty end.

Ok, so this is a B Movie, it is low budget and more of a disappointment is that it does nothing original at all. Its like a tick list of stalk and slash horror movies, group of medical students - check, one of the student doesn’t like blood – check, there’s a weird local man who drops in to fill everyone in on the spooky local history – check, have only one of the students knowing the way out – check, have a couple of the students die nasty deaths after having sex – check and so it goes on.

It’s not all bad though; the deaths are suitably gory and the blood runs all over the student group. The Nazi’s themselves were a complete disappointment though, the make up is 2nd class, they sporadically act like zombies – one moment they are stumbling like traditional zombies and the next moment they are sprinting across the snow. I found myself laughing at the zombies from time to time as they just looked like a bunch of bouncers, covered in talcum powder, hanging around waiting for a nod from the chief bouncer dressed in a weird uniform

There’s nothing original about this movie although it’s also not all bad, just don’t expect too much!

Directed by Tommy Wirkola

Cast

Vegar Hoel – Martin
Stig Fride Henriksen – Roy
Charlotte Frogner – Hanna
Lasse Valdal – Vegard

Click here for the website

Outlander – Out on DVD now

Set in 709BC in the Iron Age in Norway a space ship crash lands carrying Kainan (Caviezel) and an unwelcome hitchhiker, a deadly alien creature called a Moorwen. The creature begins to attack and kill people from Viking settlements. As Kainan is the only person who knows how to fight and kill the Moorwen he fights alongside the Vikings to free them from the terror he brought into their world.

It was a premise that had promise alien creatures against Vikings but sadly the promise fell a lot short of what the film actually delivers. The script s very predictable and the majority of the film appears to be a collection of borrowed ideas – it brings nothing new to the table.

The fight scenes have been seen before, primarily in Gladiator (when the Romans attack the Germanic tribes) or Braveheart – swords flash, mud and blood splatters in that slightly speeded up and then slowed down effect. The creature itself is the offspring of the trolls from Lord of the Rings and Ridley Scott’s Alien with neon lighting. It’s menacing to the Vikings but not to the audience.

The Vikings, although lead by the normally brilliant John Hurt are a stereotypical poorly portrayed bunch, there’s the feisty wench, drunken strong bloke and even orphaned ‘cute’ child… and many other types that have been seen many times before. There is also a jarring mixture of accents; whereas in Gladiator the cast spoke with all the same ‘classical English’ here we have a mixture of English – cockney and plumy, Irish and American accents, all of which mixed in together sound very wrong.

Its not the worst film I’ve seen – not by a long shot, but I found it predictable, pedestrian and also quite dull, maybe it was the sensation that I had seen it all before.

Director: Howard McCain

Cast:

James Caviezel – Kainan
Sophia Miles – Freya
Jack Huston – Wulfric
John Hurt – Rothgar

For the trailer click here

District 9 – Out in Cinemas Now

Set in Johannesburg, South Africa, twenty years after an alien ship arrived to hover over the city District 9 is a shanty town that has grown up to accommodate the displaced and unwanted alien population.

The film centres around Wikus Van De Merwe (Copley) a company man, married to the bosses’ daughter who is given a promotion and asked to take a team into the lawless District 9 to serve eviction notices on the alien ‘prawn’ population, a population the whole world views with distain.

After a series of events and Wikus becomes the only man capable of using the much superior alien weapons technology and therefore a huge price is placed on his head. He forms an alliance with one of the ‘prawns’ Christopher Johnson (Cope) and begins to work with him to clear his name while Johnson seeks to free his people and get help from home.

District 9 is based on a short film (Alive in Joborg) by South African born first time director Blomkamp and is produced by Peter Jackson (of Lord of the Rings Fame). It is no surprise from a director who grew up in a segregated county that District 9 gives the audience a new perspective on the film concept of aliens. The aliens are segregated, hated, vilified and condemned to live the life of scavengers hunting for everything they can. They are not wanted – a displaced race, refugees, and the government just wants to move them away from the city to a new camp which to me resembled a prisoner of war camp or even a death camp, away from the city out from under the general population’s nose. After doing some research I found out this is a parallel to an actual incident in South African history when in the 1970’s over 60,000 inhabitants of an area known as District Six (in Cape Town) were forcibly removed because of the colour of their skin.

It’s a great film, there is great splatter effects when the alien weapons get fired up, cringe worthy scenes when Wikus begins to loose his nails (ouch) and also a strong (but not forced on you) story of how the ‘civilised’ population deals with displaced populations, along with good effects and believable ‘prawns’. Copley is the centre of the film, the rather cowardly Wikus unwillingly forced to take a stance and help a population he previously treated with contempt and It is surprisingly a ‘prawn’ Johnson who provides the humanity and moral compass for the film.

It’s a great debut, I can't wait to see future offerings, I hope they are as clever and treated in a similarly unique way.

Director Neill Blomkamp

Cast

Sharlto Copley – Wikus Van De Merwe
Jason Cope – Christopher Johnson (and others)
Robert Hobbs – Ross Piennar
Vanessa Haywood – Tania Van De Merwe

For the official website click here

State of Play – Out on DVD now

State of Play is the film adaptation of the 2003 BBC TV series of the same name, condensed into film length with the location moved to Washington DC. Crowe plays McAffrey an old school journalist who is old college friends with slick Congressman Collins (Affleck).

A man is shot on the street and Collins’s assistant falls in front of subway train on her way to an important hearing – two seemingly unrelated incidents that are in fact linked. A link emerges so McAffrey decides to uncover the full story with the help new journalist and blogger Frye (McAdams). McAffrey begins to untangle the story while trying to keep some distance with Collins and his wife – both of whom share history with him.

I never saw the original BBC programme so I came to this film with no particular expectations and really enjoyed it. I found it interesting, thought provoking and it kept me guessing. There are mercenaries for hire, corrupt businesses, sex scandals and assassins in this film as well as a good intelligent storyline.

At the films heart is the scruffy, unkempt McAffrey, Crowe plays the part very well, his appearance is in stark contrast to the slick, polished politician, which is why the friendship doesn’t entirely ring true sometimes. Maybe though that is the point - Crowe looks like an everyman whereas Affleck has the refinement of a career politician on the way up.

The rest of the cast are good, McAdams plays the eager web savvy new reporter – looking for her first big break with the hardened old pro. Mirren is great as the tough talking editor, she reminded me of a fouler mouthed M (Judy Dench) from the new Bond movies.

Theres great acting and a great story need I say anything else.

Director: Kevin Macdonald

Russell Crowe – Cal McAffrey
Ben Affleck – Rep Stephen Collins
Rachel McAdams – Della Frye
Helen Mirren – Cameron Lynne
Robin Wright Penn – Anne Collins

For the official website click here

The Damned United – Out on DVD now

The movie adapted from the David Peace’s book of the same name, detailing Brian Clough’s disastrous 44-day reign as the manager of Leeds United in 1974.

Leeds United, where at the time, the top team in the country, their manager Don Revie (Meaney) had just left them to take on the job of being England manager. Clough (Sheen) who was undoubtedly one of the best managers in football openly speaks out against Leeds – their style of playing, their ‘cheating’ and their manager but he decides to take on the job there when it becomes vacant. It’s a clash of super ego against a 1970’s super club.

Sheen is amazing, he has the chameleon like ability to transform himself into the most extreme characters and his Brian Clough is great. The look and sound and the presence of the man seems to be brought back to life.

The recreation of 60’s and 70’s football will make anyone who follows the game laugh out loud. The players smoke on the training field, the pitch is a muddy swamp that not even a Sunday league team today would play on, the back room team consists of 3 men, no physio’s or medical team. It’s a great snap shot of the game as it was at the time.

This is though, not a film solely about football, Clough was the first superstar manager of the game, a man whose ego seems to have no limits. This film does look at the frailty of the man, his first failure in managerial terms, and the need for his right hand man – Taylor (Spall), who doesn’t follow him to Leeds for the first time in their careers.

I have read the David Pearce book, and I loved it, this isn’t as good as the book (films rarely are) it is actually a more sanitised version. It is good though, good fun with great acting although I wonder if anyone who isn’t a football fan will watch it or not. They should but I doubt they will.

Director: Tom Hooper

Cast:

Michael Sheen – Brian Clough
Timothy Spall – Peter Taylor
Colm Meaney – Don Revie

For the official website click here

The Women out on DVD now

Take four well off society women in New York who find out that Mary’s (Ryan) husband is having an affair with a foxy shop girl Crystal (Mendes). They all rally to support their friend while she looses her husband but finds herself - no this isn’t Sex in the City this the The Women

Firstly, I would like to point out that I didn’t choose to watch this film, the title of which would be enough to repel me from picking it up but this didn’t stop a friend of mine renting it and I visited and this is how I came to watch it. I suppose that disclaimer would be enough to tell you the direction that this review is going to take.

I could sum up this film in a sentence really – a poor girls Sex and the City.

How are they friends – they are all so different, they didn’t even seem to have fashion or shoes in common – and of course I found myself thinking that all four main characters were poor shadows of their S & C counterparts. It is like the main characteristics of Carrie and friends were mixed together and then separated into four other actors. Unfortunately for this film none of the characters are bitchy, fun, witty or interesting enough to rival their S & C originals.

Bening is cast in the Samantha role – but without the sex, its like looking at Samantha in 10 years time – let’s hope though that she doesn’t become a one dimensional harpy like Fowler is. I felt no sympathy for Mary and also hated that her wandering husband was never seen or heard or had a chance to explain why he fell into the stunning Mendes arms (she really needs a better role than this).

I think it’s a terrible shame that female actors of such calibre are so short of good parts that this is the result – they are falling over each other to be in this film – there are cameos from Carrie Fisher and Bet Midler for instance, it’s a shame this flimsy predictable shambles is the result. Come on writers older women are still people – write something good, please.

Director: Diane English

Cast:

Meg Ryan – Mary Haines
Annette Bening – Sylvia Fowler
Eva Mendes – Crystal Allen
Debra Messing – Edie Cohen
Jada Pinkett Smith – Alex Fisher

For the website click here

The International – Out on DVD now

Louis Salinger (Owen) is an Interpol agent working with Whitman (Watts) a Manhattan DA investigating the IBBC – a corrupt international bank that wants to control the illegal two hundred million dollar business of weapons trading. Salinger has his own personal agenda for bringing the bank to justice and the bank will stop at nothing to ensure that the deal goes through.

This seems is a slightly overlooked movie, which to me, is strange as the idea of an evil corrupt bank pulling strings all over the world seems very relevant in the light of the current economic climate. I found it intriguing of how this polished, smooth, seemingly respectable business was actually more concerned with dealing with death and will stop at nothing including murder to achieve its aims, its not a new idea but maybe for me it seems to be possibly close to actual fact.

Salinger is a man with a mission, he is haggard, haunted and totally focused on the task of bringing down the corrupt bankers he’s like a dog that wont let go of a bone. Which maybe is why I felt that Whitman was less believable and less motivated – these are really bad people, ones you wouldn’t mess with if you had something to loose, like family for instance, Salinger doesn’t Whitman does. I also found it strange that the ‘baddies’ didn’t exploit this – if they really are as corrupt as they appear to be.

Overall the movies good although it is flawed – Owen tears through cities openly waving a gun and no one reacts, even in New York the security and police seem to react sp slowly. There is a great scene set in the Guggenheim Museum which is on par with Bourne or Bond but apart from that scene the action is slower and more pedestrian which means that the movie doesn’t quite live up to its action thriller billing.

Its worth looking at, although don’t expect too much action packed thrills; this film is a little more cerebral than that.

Director: Tom Tykwer

Cast:
Clive Owen – Louis Salinger
Naomi Watts – Eleanor Whitman
Armin Mueller-Stahl – Wilhelm Wexler
Ulrich Thomsen – Jonas Skarssen

To view the trailer click here

Che Part 2 – Out on DVD now

This is the second part of Steven Soderbergh’s Che Guevara story, which begins in 1965 when Che (Del Toro) resigns from the Cuban government to lead the revolution in Bolivia.

Che tries to stir the local population into action with his small, underfed, under resourced and largely unsupported guerrilla movement. The Bolivian army decides to squash the revolution before it has even really taken off. Che begins to suffer from bad health brought on by the harsh conditions him and his troops are living in. Slowly the odds of victory for the rebels lengthen as their numbers are whittled down until Che himself faces the Bolivian army.

I feel that I’m going to repeat myself from my review of Che Part 1, yet again I was largely disappointed by the story of the semi mythical Guevara. Again there is a lot of talking in jungles, walking in jungles and plotting in jungles and the action only really steps up a pace at the end of the film but by then you feel like you have been dragged through too many episodes of Ray Mears survival programme although with fierce looking bearded rebels rather than Mr Mears.

Yet again I was left feeling like I missed the real motivation for why Che would choose to leave his wife and five children to live in the jungle…. I know it’s based on his story but I still felt that the bones of the Che story were lacking. I’m actually going to cut and paste something from my previous review as its still relevant:
‘The film looks great, and is well acted, (Del Toro totally dominates the screen as Che, and looks amazingly cool) but also it doesn’t really do anything, or go anywhere. I watched Che walk through the jungle, shooting, rebelling, deal with injustice treat people fairly and treat people medically.’ Its a real shame as it was obviously a labour of love for Del Toro.

I’m yet again, I'm sorry to say I'm disappointed.

Director: Steven Soderbergh

Cast:
Benicio Del Toro – Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara
Carlos Bardem – Moises Guevara
Demian Bichir – Fidel Castro
Joaquim de Almeida – President Rene Barrientos

To view the trailer click here

In the Loop – Out on DVD now

In the Loop is a spin off from the BBC series The Thick of It is Aramando Iannucci’s UK/US political satire about the spin, wheeling and dealing in the corridors of power in the lead up to war.

The film begins when the British Secretary of State for International Development Simon Foster (Hollander), accidentally backs the movement towards war, which brings him to the attention of the powers in Washington and the Prime Ministers chief spin-doctor Malcolm Tucker (Capaldi). Foster is then asked to Washington where Tucker follows him in an attempt to smooth out diplomatic relations.

It’s a very funny film, the script is quick and sharp and witty. There is so much duplicity and trickery going on in the halls of power where one wrongly uttered word can change the fate of a politician or even end their career. It’s not a difficult leap of imagination to out the fictional events into real life – maybe it’s a subject that’s very close to home in today’s world. Watching the political power plays, back stabbing, back tracking and spin is funny and dizzying.

In the centre of it all is the cobra like venom spitting Malcolm Tucker (Capaldi) a character who is so foul mouthed, vicious and powerful its jaw dropping to watch. His tantrums and rages (which he constantly seems to be on the edge of) punctuate the film as he spins and lurches from one PR disaster to the next salvaging positives out of the mistakes of the somewhat naive ministers. Tucker is such a great character you wait for him to appear – he totally dominates the movie, which isn’t a bad thing.

It’s quick, funny, witty, sharp, clever and funny – well worth a watch.

Director: Armando Iannucci

Cast:

Peter Capaldi – Malcolm Tucker
Tom Hollander – Simon Foster
Gina McKee – Judy
James Gandolfini – Lt Gen George Miller

For the website click here

Inglourious Basterds in cinema now Certificate 18

Set in World War II in Nazi occupied France Quentin Tarantino introduces us to his Basterds – a team of Jewish soldiers lead by American Lt Aldo Raine (Pitt). Tarantino gives us his spin on World War II. The Basterds are a team of Nazi hunters striking fear in the Third Reich as they hunt the German army planning intent on getting Raine his 100 Nazi scalps.

The film also concerns Shosanna (Laurent) a woman who survived the massacre of her family and ends up in Nazi occupied Paris running a cinema. Her life is changed when her cinema is chosen to host the Nazi’s latest propaganda film, which provides her with the opportunity to exact revenge on the Nazi officer who killed her family.

To say this is just a war movie is far to simple, Tarantino again produces a clever multi layered story full of colourful characters, quick dialogue (and wonderful accents), great set pieces, violence combined with a great sense of humour. It also a mixture of a Sergio Leoni western and the Dirty Dozen. I expect the flashes of violence and the clever and quick dialogue this was the first Tarantino film where I laughed throughout.

The characters, even the ones where we only see them in snapshot, are all fully formed, there is also such a great comic (and sinister) used of accents it adds to the many twists and turns of the film itself. There is also a real build of tension in scenes, whether you are anticipating the specialist skills of the ‘Bear Jew’ or the outcome of the Nazi premier.

It’s a very good movie, I really enjoyed it – although I didn’t find it as smooth of stylish as my favourite Tarantinos like Pulp Fiction. Its quick multi layered and clever and it will keep you on your toes to the final scene. One word of warning is that when the violence happens it really happens – its worth watching though if you can stomach it.

Director: Quentin Tarantino

Cast:

Brad Pitt – Lt Aldo Raine
Melanie Laurent – Shosanna Dreyfus
Christoph Waltz - Col Hans Landa
Eli Roth – Sgt Donny Donowitz
Michael Fassbender – Lt Archie Hicox
Diane Kruger – Bridget von Hammersmark
Daniel Bruhl – Fredrick Zoller
Til Schweiger – Sgt Hugo Stiglitz
Gedeon Burkhard – Col Wilhelm Wicki
Jacky Ido – Marcel

Click here for the trailer

To go futher click here

Mega Shark Vs Giant Octopus on DVD now

As the title says a huge shark and a huge octopus fight after getting defrosted when an ice shelf breaks off – they were locked in combat before the freezing and they are determined to continue their battle. Some humans in submarines are also involved.

Well I wasn’t expecting a masterpiece and I was expecting comedy and I did laugh – lots, but what I did find amazing was that this film was actually made at all. I might have understood it if it was made in the 50’s or even 70’s but now – really what’s the reasoning? This film is pure B movie – from the script, to the ‘acting’ to the effects… its really quite astonishing that this ever go green lit and made its was onto DVD.

Its been quite a while since I have seen such bad acting and terrible lines – you will find yourself laughing although not for the right reasons. Nearly every scene in the film is awful, I began to pick holes in the movie but then gave up and decided to treat it like a comedy, which was on reflection the best thing to do. I can’t begin to describe how cheesy the science scenes are – were they making chemical solutions or were they mixing paint? Everything seemed so colour coded even without the bad acting and script.

Well I suppose the ‘big’ draw in the movie is the monsters who seem to pull off some stunning attacks octopus v oil rig, shark v flying plane, shark v Golden Gate bridge before they actually get stuck into each other. Did no one who was making the film realise that showing the same footage over and over again of a shark swimming would get a little tedious and that today maybe the audience expects a little more. The shark on the Universal Studios ride looked more realistic.

It was bad very bad but it was also so funny at the same time. I’m not going to grade it as I think for a film itself it would scrape a one star but for being one of the funniest worst movies I have ever seen it might qualify for 4 stars.

Director: Jack Perez

Cast:

Lorenzo Lamas – Allan Baxter
Deborah Gibson – Emma MacNeil
Vic Chao – Dr Seiji Shimada
Sean Lawlor – Lamar Sanders

Click here for the trailer

Duplicity on DVD now

Two ex spies Koval (Owen) and Stenwick (Roberts), who have a history, team up against two corporate enemies Tully (Wilkinson) and Garsik (Giamatti) to outwit the big corporations and come out on top. The ex spies team together to outwit the enemies in the search for the patent on the ultimate product.

Duplicity is marketed as similar to Out of Sight or The Thomas Crown Affair (with Pierce Brosnan), in which two untrusting adults play cat and mouse with each other when they meet their match while also trying out outfox the system. In this film you have Roberts and Owen as the attractive ex spies working for or against each other as they globe trot plotting the ultimate corporate coup. In the other (equally sparring) corner you have Wilkinson V’s Giamatti who begin the film with one of the funniest and unexpected opening titles I have seen for some time – think of Celebrity Death Match without the plasticine and the blood but dressed in smart suits!

Its not a bad film its also just not a great one either, its clever – but maybe not too clever, its interesting – but not too interesting, and the leads are attractive but without any real sexual tension. I don’t know if more inventive camera angles and cut aways might have helped. They might have highlighted more tension between the leads, theres something about the cat and mouse between a lead couple that can add a great deal to the sexual tension in a film when shot well – unfortunately this film is lacking in this respect. The leads are good but lack a certain spark.

Everyone plays their part well and the script is funny and clever but I felt this was a film lead more by the stars rather than the director – it could have been better, more inventively shot and definitely sexier – which Im sure was what it was trying to be.

Director: Tony Gilroy

Cast:
Clive Owen – Ray Koval
Julia Roberts – Claire Stenwick
Tom Wilkinson – Howard Tully
Paul – Giamatti – Richard Garsik

Click here for the official website

Hunger on DVD now

A film based on the Maze prison hunger strikes of 1981 was never going to be light viewing but what the English director Steve McQueen has created is something that’s compelling as much as it is shocking.

Hunger is centred on republican army member Bobby Sands (Fassbender) as he leads the Maze prisoners on the ‘dirty’ protests and then hunger strike as the prisoners fight for political status. Davey (Milligan) arrives at the Maze and refuses to cooperate with the authorities he becomes the roommate of Gerry (Campbell) a protestor who has smeared faeces from floor to ceiling in his cell. The films focus then switches to Sands and his fight for justice.

It’s a very powerful and highly emotive film, its devoid of embellishments and additions the story is very much left to speak for itself, who needs words when the condition of a prison cell is testament to the strength of belief of its inhabitants.
Fassbender is powerful and controlled as Sands – a man so focused that starving himself to death is seen as acceptable. The visual image of Sands during his hunger strike will stay with me for some time.

The scene with Sands and the priest (Cunningham) is one of the most powerful and compelling I have seen in some time. There is nothing on the screen apart from two amazing actors and great dialogue.

McQueen has created a film that neither judges, condones or condemns the actions of the Maze prisoners in 1981, he just presents the story and leaves the audience to discuss and decide. This film will divide opinion over recent events in history but it also serves as reminders of how bad the troubles actually were and how we are in a much better place today.

Director – Steve McQueen

Cast:

Michael Fassbender – Bobby Sands
Stuart Graham – Ray Lohan
Liam Cunningham – Father Dominic Moran
Brian Milligan – Davey Gillen
Liam McMahon – Gerry Campbell

For the official website click here

Ravenous available on DVD certificate 18 - although not widely available!

Cowardly Capt Boyd (Pearce) receives a promotion after a battle in the Mexican American war in the 1840’s – a promotion won despite his total cowardliness. He is posted to Fort Spencer, which is a remote and isolated place in the Sierra Nevada mountain range.

It is here with the seven other inhabitants that a stranger Colqhoun (Carlyle) arrives with wild tales of cannibalism after loosing his wagon train. It is only when the majority of Fort Spencer’s inhabitants go off to investigate that Boyd realises the truth about Colqhoun and his taste for human flesh.

This for me was a film that had got away from me – I had heard about it, missed it on release and haven’t managed to get a copy on DVD – until now. I’m pleased to say it was worth the wait. It’s like a western with a macabre twist and it’s a lot more psychological than an average horror film with the eerie and dangerous Colqhoun wonderfully portrayed by Carlyle. It is Pearce though and the cowardly and haunted Boyd that provides the film with a human side as he himself needs to find his backbone and prove to himself that he isn’t a the coward people think he is.

I was left wondering why its never been re-released or isn’t more widely available which is a shame as viewers are missing out - it deserves to be seen to a wider audience.

Watch it – if you can find a copy.

Director – Antonio Bird

Cast:

Guy Pearce – Capt. John Boyd
Robert Carlyle – Col. Ives / F W Colqhoun
David Arquette – Pvt. Cleaves
Jeremy Davies – Pvt. Toffler
Jeffrey Jones – Col. Hart

For the official website click here

Persepolis out on DVD now

Persepolis is the Oscar nominated biography of Marjane Satrapi which begins when she is a girl who growing up in Iran in the 1970’s revolution. She lives with an idealistic family who send her away to Austria so she can live without the restrictions of the new regime. In Austria she learns to be free but she is ultimately unhappy so when she returns home she realises the changes that have befallen Iran and the increasing restrictions on women.

The film is animated, stark black with clean white and its very, very effective. I had worried that the stripped down animation would be unable to convey emotions or feelings but I was wrong. There is something in the basic colours that mean you have to focus on Marjane without any distractions. It does not only good looking it’s a good story too, the encroaching restrictions of the regime are dealt with without sensation and that gives it all the more weight. You also feel the intensity of Marjane’s character she is constantly a fish out of water – her quest to fit in and be accepted is a constant theme in the film, as is her dry humour which is no small feat for a few black lines.

A good film, a moving story based in recent history it also has a great strong look to match the strength of the characters in the film.

Directed by Vincent Paronnaud & Marjane Satrapi

Cast (voice only)

Chiara Mastroianni – Marjane ‘Marji’ Satrapi
Cathering Deneuve – Mrs Satrapi (Marjane’s mother)
Danielle Darrieux – Marjane’s grandmother
Simon Abkarian – Mr Satrapi (Marjane’s father)

Click here for the official website

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince – In cinemas now

As the next part of the Harry Potter saga hits our screens after its time again for the teenage wizard to get back to Hogwarts, get back to battling bad guys and get back to controlling his hormones.

In this instalment of the saga Harry ponders over who is the Half Blood Prince, how he can get into Professor Slugthorns good books and how he can get into Ginny Weasley’s embrace. Meanwhile Ron tries out for Quidditch, gets a girlfriend and nearly dies while Hermione wants Ron, wants to help Harry and wants to read more books. On the bad side the usual suspects minus Voldermort and Draco Malfoy all line up to overthrow Hogwarts and Professor Dumbledore in the ongoing battle of good V’s evil.

It is always a difficult task the penultimate book (although now the last movie is going to be split into two we will have another penultimate film), it always seems like your waiting for the big finale which you know isn’t going to happen in this film, but never before have I watched a movie in this genre that has so little action and is not a stand alone film. It needs the other films to bracket it and subsequently it seemed to me like an intermission.

I also found it very disjointed (and Ithis has happened before in this film series), one line mentioned quickly is a pivotal point in the movie – if you blink you miss it. I have read the books and so I realised that my knowledge of the film also takes this into account whereas I wonder how much I would have been able to grasp if I had just watched the films alone.

It’s a funny movie – more of a Harry Potter and the raging hormones than the entitled Half Blood Prince, which is a shame. Also it seemed terribly wasteful to have some of the best actors in the UK reduced to mere cardboard cameos. Having said that I liked it, I like the rest of the series but I also tend to think the story (and directing) needs a bit of a different angle to save the next film from the same ‘intermission’ fate.

Watch it if you’re a fan – if your not you are going to be terribly confused.

Directed by David Yates

Daniel Radcliffe – Harry Potter
Rupert Grint – Ron Weasley
Emma Watson – Hermione Granger
Michael Gambon – Professor Albus Dumbledore
Alan Rickman – Professor Severus Snape

Click here for the official website

Twilight out on DVD now

Based on the first of Stephanie Meyer’s best-selling series of books Twilight tells the story of Bella Swan who moves from Phoenix Arizona to Forks the rainiest place in America, to live with her father. While at school she falls for Edward Cullen, a mysterious boy who actually isn’t human, he’s a vampire, and he’s trying to resist the lure of the biggest blood temptation he’s ever known in all of his life – Bella. Unfortunately while keeping Bella safe and close he alerts another hunter vampire to her presence and the chase is then on.

I should first confess that I have read the book and am a fan (although not a fanatic) of the story. There is something about the story that is impossibly romantic and it’s easy to see what appeals to the hordes of female fans of the series. Robert Pattinson looks great as Edward the brooding, forever-young man drawn to Bella while trying to resist his vampire nature. He does look at times like he is carved from marble while he plays against the well cast Stewart as Bella.

The film is shot is a dreamlike fashion although at times the effects look strange, like when Edward is running for instance. I also think that the drama of Edward and Bella and their situation could have been played out a little more – you had no sense of time passing and the slow cautious way Edward allows her closer and closer, unlike the book. There are of course some deviations from the book – it would be impossible to film everything but there are also additions to the story, which will upset purists.

It’s good and enjoyable if you’re already a fan then this will be old news, I wouldn’t recommend it to everyone but for a bit of escapism and romance its worth a view. I’m going to give it four starts because I’m already a convert and can’t wait for the next episode in the saga.

Director: Catherine Hardwicke

Cast:

Kirsten Stewart – Bella Swan
Robert Pattinson – Edward Cullen
Billy Burke – Charlie Swan
Ashley Green – Alice Cullen

For the official website click here

For more information on Stephanie Meyer and the Twilight books click here

Ghost Town out on DVD now

Ghost Town is Ricky Gervais’s first lead role in a Hollywood movie after minor roles in Night at the Museum and Stardust. Ghost Town is the story of Bertram Pincus (Gervais) a dentist who goes to great lengths to avoid all contact with people, which is just as well because he completely lacks any social skills. This all changes when an accident leaves him with the ability to see and talk to ghosts and they seem to have a lot to say especially Frank (Kinnear) a man recently deceased. Frank wants Pincus to get a message to his widow Gwen (Leoni) which means that Pincus needs to fast track his social skills and stop avoiding people.

This film has a good cast and should on paper have worked but the plot was obvious and unsurprising and the film rolls on without offending but also without really pleasing either. Gervais plays Pincus well, his hatred of the human race is amusing as are his attempt to avoid people but I feel in this movie Gervais never really bares his comedy teeth. Kinnear is there to provide the human side to Pincus so it is strange then that that his character is misguided and not actually likeable.

Theres nothing much actually wrong with the movie but there also isn’t actually anything really successful in the film either. You watch the film but know you have seen similar movies done better.

Director: David Koepp

Cast:

Ricky Gervais – Bertram Pincus
Greg Kinnear - Frank Herlihy
Tea Leoni – Gwen

Click here for the offical website