7 Apr 2010

New Moon on DVD now

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New Moon is the second of the vampire franchise phenomenon that is Stephanie Myers famous / infamous ‘Twlight Saga’ to hit the screens. If you haven’t heard of the films and books – where have you been? Surely even the most cynical and sceptical person must have seen the rising stars of Robert Pattinson (cant walk anywhere without being followed by hordes of teenage girls) and Kirsten Stewart the recent recipient of the BAFA rising star award.

The story for those who don’t know is a teenage vampire saga, (the one that has now launch nearly all of the others hitting our screens) Edward (Pattinson) is a vampire who falls for Bella (Stewart). Apart from the small fact of him being undead they have to overcome numerous trials in the quest for true love. In this film Edward decides to protect Bella by separating from her – which devastates her. Bella eventually though she seeks out her best friend Jacob (Lautner) to help fill her days – but Jacobs obviously smitten with her and is himself hiding a supernatural secret.

Largely a review for any Twlight film is going to be irrelevant – you will either be into the films or you wont – its kinda like Marmite. So if you are into the franchise you will love it, its got more action than the first film and although Edward is absent for a large part of the movie Weitz has cleverly inserted his image to be a guide / warning to Bella. Theres also a lot more abs on show and a lot of werewolf action that works very well.

Theres not much else to be said except I'm into the films – hence the star rating - if your not into it this might not be the best one of the franchise to start on – begin at Twilight, and as for me roll on Eclipse due in cinemas in June 2010.

Director: Chris Weitz

Cast:

Kristen Stewart – Bella Swan
Taylor Lautner – Jacob Black
Robert Pattinson – Edward Cullen
Billy Burke – Charlie Swan
Ashley Green – Alice Cullen
Anna Kendrick – Jessica

For the official website click here




4 Apr 2010

Doghouse – On DVD now

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This British horror comedy twists the classic ‘battle of the sexes’ scenario to the extreme. We begin with Vince, soon to be divorced whose friends decide that what he needs to cheer him up is a lad’s weekend – booze and birds and testosterone. The group of friends take themselves off to the isolated village of Moodley where they hear that there are 3 women for every man – what could go wrong?

Unfortunately the village isn’t all that they expected as the female population has been affected by a classified military experiment that has turned them into flesh eating zombies – feeding off the men and guess who are now on the menu.

I came to this film with not many expectations, the only thing I knew about it was that Noel Clark and Danny Dyer are in it and it’s a British zombie film. I suppose that should have meant that I had nothing to loose by watching it which I guess is just as well as this film disappointed on many levels.

The male vs. female premise was flimsy and crude to say the least, for me I cannot understand why you would feel sympathy for a bunch of misogynists, admittedly some of the characters are not – token gay guy for instance but they are few in number and largely underdeveloped. As for the portrayal of women from the outset – even before the group hit Moodly they are portrayed as screaming harpies only good enough to be called ‘slag’ or ‘Candy’ and when in the village there are so many more stereotypes it just gets really boring.

The script to largely borrows from the superior Shaun of the Dead, or numerous other zombie films but falls short of being funny. You are much better watching Shaun or Zombieland – at least they deliver the undead and humour. Noel Clarke is also wasted in this movie - he deserves so much more.

All you are left with is a lot of gory effects and the loosest possible storyline – if that’s your thing by all means watch this film.

Director: Jake West

Cast:
Danny Dyer – Neil
Stephen Graham – Vince
Noel Clarke – Mikey
Terry Stone – Sgt Gavin Wright
Christina Cole – Candy

For the official website click here




1 Apr 2010

Kick Ass - at cinemas now

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Matthew Vaughan brings the outrageous comic Kick Ass to the big screen. The hero of the story is Dave Lizewski (Johnson) an average slightly geeky teenager and comic book fan. He decides that he will dress as a superhero and do good deeds around the city – and so Kick Ass a hero without any special powers is born.

While Lizewski dresses in a adapted wet suit and go through various levels of pain there are two real superheroes – Big Daddy (Cage) and the excellent Hit Girl (Moretz) who easily put Kick Ass’s efforts in the shade. Big Daddy and Hit Girl are determined to bring down crime lord Frank D’Amico (Strong) by whatever means possible.

This film is great, its fast, its funny, its gory, its over the top, it plays at 100 miles an hour. Its like being on a film roller coaster – exhilarating and exciting and you don’t want the ride to stop. Its also a film that’s so over the top and the graphic violence and swearing Im sure will offend middle England (all the more reason to see it!).

The cast is perfect, from the slightly geeky but also handsome Johnson (recently seen as a young John Lennon in Nowhere Boy), hes going to be one actor to watch in the future. Cage begins to return to a form he was at many many years ago, Strong is excellent and Mintz-Plasse (Mclovin from Superbad) is great as the hero with all of the gadgets Red Mist. It is Moretz who effortlessly steals the show though, from the first time she appears on screen to the stunning Matrix-esque fight scenes – shes gotta be around for a long time. The mixture of deadly killer and schoolgirl is not something that can be easily studied but boy she sure pulls it off!

If your not easily offended and want some fun catch Kick Ass

Director: Matthew Vaughan

Cast:

Aaron Johnson – Dave Lizewski / Kick Ass
Mark Strong – Frank D’Amico
Chloe Moretz – Mindy Macready / Hit Girl
Nicholas Cage – Damon Macready / Big Daddy
Christopher Mintz-Plasse – Chris D;Amico /Red Mist



For the official website click here




The Informant – On DVD now

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Steven Soderberg works again with Matt Damon to bring to the screen the true story of Mark Whitacre based on Kurt Eichenwald’s book. Whitacre is an executive in the US firm ADM who turned whistle blower in the early 1990’s. Hes intelligent, wealthy and in a position of trust when he becomes a spy for the FBI, recording hours of tapes over years to expose the company that he works for. Unfortunately Whitacre begins to thrive on being a ‘spy’ and who, if anyone, is telling the truth.

Once you get over the shock of seeing Matt Damon look portly and sporting a comedy tash you find, underneath, an enjoyable amusing movie. Its not a comedy as such, I found myself smiling rather than laughing out loud as you follow Whitacres increasingly erratic behaviour. The audience is, for a large part of the film, left out of the truth in the story and you are left not quite believing your ears – which partially mirrors FBI officer Shepards (Bakula) reaction.

Damon is great as always making you feel sympathy for a difficult to understand and confusing character. He appears on one hand to be a an intelligent, family man, upper management concerned about price fixing whereas he also appears to be a fantasist, who leaps from one lie to another while revelling in his ‘spy’ status.

I liked this film but didn’t love it, I feel that it falls between genres – people who go to this movie wanting a comedy will be disappointed, people who go wanting a drama, will also be disappointed. There is a serious side to Whitacre’s behaviour but when this is revealed it feels rushed over. I also feel that the story remains the same there is no dramatic punch to the film which is a shame as this film could have been so much more.

Directed by Steven Soderberg

Cast:

Matt Damon – Mark Whitacre
Scott Bakula – Brian Shepard
Melanie Lynskey – Ginger Whitacre

For the official website click here



 

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