Review Of Dredd Will Be Posted Tomorrow

Just to let you all know that the first film I've been in Manchester is 'Dredd 3D' and it was far better than I expected. Way better than 'Judge Dredd' starring Sylvester Stallone.

I will be typing up and posting the review tomorrow, along with my Quote Of The Week.

If you have any quotes that you think are epic and should be posted about, just let me know! Also if you want me to do any movie reviews, just ask.

Movie Recommendation Of The Week: Titanic (1997)

Is there any point in me apologising for this post being late or do you all just expect it these days? Well I'm sorry, I am however getting back on track, so here's my Movie Recommendation Of The Week that should have been posted yesterday (10/09/12): 'Titanic'. The reason why I have picked this week for this weeks recommendation is because this is the week that 'Titanic' comes out on blu ray.

Titanic (1997)
Titanic is one of those movies that everyone has to see at least once in their lifetime. There are many that think it is the greatest movie ever made, and many that don't think it's all that good, and plenty people in between. 'Titanic' is a 1997 American epic romantic disaster film directed, written, co-produced, and co-edited by James Cameron. It is a fictionalized account of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, and stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet as members of different social classes who fall in love aboard the ship during its ill-fated maiden voyage.

It is a visual masterpiece, especially for the time. The first time you see it you get immersed in the story that centers around the two main characters. We know what is going to happen, we all know what happens to the RMS Titanic, so as you begin to get attached to these characters, you feel for them, as you know what their fate is. I'd safely say that the special effects in this film hold up pretty well today. At the time it was the most expensive film ever made, with a budget of $200 million. The acting is good (for most of the movie), the effects are great, the story is timeless, James Cameron really did a fantastic job with this film.

I think the only problems with this film, are that once you've seen it the first time, every other time you see it you just want it to hurry up and get to when the ship sinks. I saw it in 3D at the cinema this year and trust me when I say that this is a long movie. Especially when you know everything that is about to happen. 'Titanic' is a timeless classic, there's no doubt about that, I do have problems with this time but they are mostly related to how long it is. Overall it is a fine piece of work and like I said at the beginning of this post, you have to see this film at least once in your lifetime. 'Titanic' gets a 9/10 for me.

Weekly Blu Ray Review: Pulp Fiction

Sorry that this post is incredibly late (it the blu ray review for last week, starting 03/09/12) and that I promised to have it posted on Sunday, but with moving and stuff I just didn't have the time, but I'm finally getting organised. So here it is:

Pulp Fiction (1994)
Well what can I say about this blu ray, apart from that it is incredible! The picture and sound are perfect and the special features, my god the special features are good. The best one has to the interview feature called 'Not the usual mindless boring get to know you chit chat', which includes interview with the cast, where each cast member talks about how they met the director Quentin Tarentino and how they ended up getting involved in the movie. The best one is John Travolta's. You find out how John was invited to Tarentino's house to discuss a role for him which wasn't 'Pulp Fiction' and how Tarentino was a huge fan of Travolta and had followed him since he was a child. Travolta didn't like the script he was given so Tarentino gave him the script for 'Pulp Fiction' and he liked that one much better, but it had already been cast. Tarentino then rewrote the whole character to fit Travolta. It's filled with amazing facts about the film, about what it was like to film 'Pulp Fiction' and how the film and characters evolved throughout the filming process. There is also deleted scenes, which have Tarentino introducing each scene, talking about why he likes it and why he felt that he had to remove it from the film. Then there is also the critic corner, where critics talk about their reactions to the movie, a special edition of Siskel and Ebert where they break down what they like about the movie and talk about the Tarentino generation. And much more!

This is a fantastic blu ray, perfect for any collection. 'Pulp Fiction' on blu ray gets a 10/10 from me.

I'm Relocating! Expect Changes!

It's official. Tonights Weekly Blu Ray Review of 'Pulp Fiction' will be my last blog post whilst living in North Shields. As of tomorrow, I will be living in Manchester.

I will try and keep the reviews up, I think I'm seeing 'Dredd 3D' on Tuesday, but as a student (a student who is a grand down on his accommodation before he even starts, thanks Student Finance) I won't be able to afford as many cinema trips, or as many blu rays. I will adapt, I will find a way to keep the blog working. That's my promise to my readers. I will probably do more reviews of older films as a way of keeping interest in the blog up whilst I'm looking for a job to fund my addiction to cinema.

I'll probably post a picture of what my new living quarters will look like, so if you are interested tune in tomorrow evening. If your not interested, then don't.

See you all on the other side!

First Picture From The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3D (Also Posters)

We don't know much about the new 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3D', apart from that it somes out on January 4th 2013, it is directed by John Luessenhop, the screenplay is written by Adam Marcus, Debra Sullivan and Kristen Elms. It stars Dan Yeager, John Dugan, Bill Moseley, Alexandra Daddario, Sue Rock, Tania Raymonde, Scott Eastwood, Gunnar Hansen, Tobe Hooper, Paul Rae, Keram Malicki-Sanchez, Ritchie Montgomery, Trey Songz, Marilyn Burns, Shaun Sipos, Thom Barry and Richard Riehle. Don't worry I haven't heard of them either, apart from Tobe Hooper, who directed the original, so is he actually in the movie? We will have to wait and see.

It is the seventh incarnation of film and is a direct sequel to Tobe Hooper's classic 1974 film. I'm glad they aren't just remaking the original, again. Apparently it follows the lead character Heather who, along with her friends, travel to Texas in order to collect an inheritance. That inheritance being Leatherface (seriously?).

So here's the picture:

It doesn't tell us much, just Leatherface and his chainsaw.

I'm looking forward to this film, I think it will be good. Even Michael Bay's two films based around this character were really enjoyable.

Before I sign off tonight, here's the two posters that I've seen that have been released so far. Which don't tell us much either.

Which Paul Verhoeven Film Remake Are You Most Looking Forward To? (Poll Results) Plus Some Other Remake News

The results are in, out of the three Paul Verhoeven films that are currently in production (one of which is in the cinema right now), the winner was:

Starship Troopers

Yes you saw it here, the fans of this blog want to see a 'Starship Troopers' remake more than anything. Whether or not we want to see it just because we are a fan of the films, or because we generally think it will be good, or because we think it will be terrible and want a good laugh. I'll be seeing it out of respect for the original film, but I don't think it will be any good, especially with the rumoured 12A rating (which will probably end up being a 15).

In other news, the script for the 'Robocop' remake was leaked online, there was instantly bad reactions to it, but I am putting a link below to a review that shows what is good about the new film. Check it out if your interested:

http://www.comicbookmovie.com/fansites/nailbiter111/news/?a=66822

Like I mentioned before 'Total Recall' is already out in the cinemas, and personally I think you should ignore the bad reviews for this film. Yes it has a lot of problems, but overall it is a really enjoyable action film that is surprisingly different from Verhoeven's 1990 film. Different in good ways and bad film. It is definitely worth watching. I enjoyed it.

Here's a link to my review of 'Total Recall':

http://www.darthspock.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/review-of-total-recall.html

Also here's a link to my mates blog and his review of the film:

http://thesubspace.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/movie-review-total-recall-2012.html?spref=bl

Review of Lawless

'Lawless' is a 2012 gangster film directed by John Hillcoat, it is based off Matt Bondurant's The Wettest County in the World about his grandfather and great-uncles in Prohibition-era Franklin County, Virginia. The novel was adapted into a screenplay by Nick Cave. The film stars Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, Mia Wasikowska, Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke and Guy Pearce.

I am going to start by saying this. This film is really interesting. If you know your history then you will find it more interesting than the average person. Now lets talk about what is good about this film. Th cast: Tom Hardy was definitely the strongest actor in this movie. You may struggle to understand him at first because the accent he uses for this film is very strong, but if you've seen 'The Dark Knight Rises' then you'll have no trouble understanding him. Hardy's character (Forest Bondurant) is instantly likeable, he's funny (not as in he's a comedian in it, just the way he acts and speaks is funny) and brutal, whenever he gets into a brawl, he kicks ass. Shia LaBeouf is also pretty good, but at first his character is really annoying, and it does take a while to get to like him. Other strong performances were Guy Pearce's (he is one of the most evil looking people I've ever seen in a movie) and Dane DeHaan (the kid from 'Chronicle'). I was disappointed to see that Gary Oldman has a very small part. I mean he's important; he's a really influential character to Jack Bondurant (LaBeouf), but he has very little screen time. I would also have like to have seen more of Jason Clarke (as Howard Bondurant).

The story is also pretty good. It's simple, but effective. It takes us through the lives of the Bondurant brothers and they storm through life as bootleggers, constantly having to adapt to new prohibition laws and being hunted by Special Agent Charlie Rakes (Pearce). What I really love about this movie is how brutal it is. At every opportunity when there's some scrapes, it's brutal, we are guaranteed blood and snapping noises. It's brilliant! There are some really good scenes, and some incredibly moving ones too. I love films based on true events, obviously with the story coming from a novel I have no idea how accurate these events are, but what they have done really well in this film is slot it in with American history. Obviously it fits in with Prohibition and how gangsters flourished because of it, but it also includes topics like segregation (I noticed little things like a water fountain that had a sign saying 'White' attached to it), which was a major problem during this period. It also looks at equality, by that I mean the lack of equality between men and women; about how women are seen as objects by many men. It also very briefly glances at the difference between how white women were treated and how black women were treated. Basically if you are interested in history, you'll notice a lot more of the underlining factors than the average person, making the film more interesting for you. 

Now the only other thing that I think was bad about this film, apart from what I've already mentioned about the cast, is the pacing. The film is very slow, it picks up for short amounts of time, but then slows back down again. It isn't a film that is driven by action, rather it is driven by personal performances and stories. So I think people will go to this movie expecting an action flick, but will be disappointed.

In conclusion, it is by no means a bad movie, I really enjoyed it, it has great performances, an interesting story set in an interesting period in American history. It is just a bit slow for my liking. I would still recommend going to see it, and I imagine that one day this film will be played in history lessons when learning about Prohibition and gangsters alongside 'The Untouchables'. I am going to give 'Lawless' an 8.5/10.

Some News Type Thing (06/09/12) No Time Travel In Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes, A Metal Gear Solid Movie, Michael Keaton Joins Robocop and a S.H.I.E.L.D. TV Series!

This week on Some News Type Thing we have some new on 'Dawn Of The Planet Of the Apes and a

No Time Travel In Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes
As any fan of the franchise knows, as a way to save the film after the appalling 'Beneath The Planet Of The Apes' they pulled the old time travel trick, sending three intelligent speaking apes back in time to to the late twentieth century as a way of reviving the film with a form of origins story. Well in a recent interview with Total Film, Screenwriter Rick Jaffa addressed the issue of time travel: "I don't foresee that. But it's interesting you should ask that, because it's the one big elements that we made a conscious decision not to explore in the first one, and we were worried there might be some backlash in the science fiction community because of it. When the story first came  together we were very, very excited, and yet before we pitched it, I thought, 'The one thing missing though is time travel. But it's not necessary for this particular telling'. And I don't really foresee it, to tell you the truth".

To me this is good, time travel has become very cliche in the world of science fiction, and this way means that they are rebuilding the whole origins story, almost making 'Escape From The Planet Of The Apes', 'Conquest Of The Planet Of The Apes' and Battle For The Planet Of The Apes' irrelevant. It gives them freedom to do what they want whilst still respecting the best film in the franchise, the original, 'Planet Of The Apes'.

'Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes' comes out May 23rd 2014.

A Metal Gear Solid Movie
Sony has announced that it is bringing 'Metal Gear Solid to the big screens and it is being produced by Avi Arad, who also produced 'The Amazing Spiderman', 'Iron Man' and 'The Incredible Hulk'. If done right, this movie could be incredible.

Michael Keaton Joins Robocop
Some casting news from the set of the 'Robocop' remake, it was rumoured before that Hugh Laurie was cast to play the villain in the film, but now it has been revealed that he has backed down from the role (or never accepted it to begin with) and Michael Keaton has now been cast. I'm happy with this news, Keaton is a brilliant actor, and I think he will bring a lot to the table and to be honest, this is the first good news we've heard about the remake in a while (at least so far the cast is awesome).

S.H.I.E.L.D Gets A TV Series
We all know S.H.I.E.L.D. from the popular Marvel comics and movies, well it looks like Marvel is expanding its current extended universe into the realm of television. S.H.I.E.L.D. is getting its own television series and in even better news, Joss Whedon has agreed to both write and direct the series along with his brother Ged Whedon. I just hope he isn't just directing the pilot episode. I love Marvel, so more is good!

That's all the news I have this week, I'm sure next week there will be even more great movie news. I hope soon we'll have a trailer for 'Lincoln', the movie comes out in three months and we've only recently gotten the poster.

Quote Of The Week 05/09/12

This weeks quote of the week comes from Quentin Tarantino's 1994 'Pulp Fiction'.

Vincent: "Oh man, I shot Marvin in the face"

Movie Recommendation Of The Week: Star Trek (2009)

With the release of 'Dredd 3D' on Friday I was thinking of recommending the original 1995 film 'Judge Dredd' starring Sylvester Stallone, but then I though to myself, overall that is a pretty awful movie. I mean I like it, I enjoy the action sequences, but it just feels like your typical Stallone movie. So I looked at the man who is the new Dredd, Karl Urban. I looked at Urban's film history and realised that, he has been in some pretty awesome movies. Some examples being 'Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers' and 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King'. But my favourite performance by his was when he played Dr Leonard "Bones" McCoy in J.J. Abrams 'Star Trek'.

'Star Trek' was released in 2009 and was a reboot of the Star Trek franchise. Urban stars alongside Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto and Eric Bana. The film reinvented the Star Trek world, making it much more appealing to new audiences whom previously were not fans of Star Trek. The also includes a cameo by Leonard Nimoy as Spock. The film is brilliant, it has a compelling story, some amazing space action sequences, some hand to hand combat sequences along with some nice little references to the original series and films. McCoy was originally played by DeForest Kelley and his incarnation is fairly iconic within the Star Trek universe. Urban's incarnation of the character may not get a lot of screen time compared to other members of the cast, but he clearly defines himself as his own character, he has some of the perks that come with the character, but he also makes McCoy his own. I can't wait until next year for the sequel, because the first one was so good and the cast was flawless.

Even if you aren't a fan of the franchise, I would highly recommend giving this film a try, it would a lot of people over to science fiction back in 2009. Even if you just like a good action flick, then this film is the one for you. I'm giving 'Star Trek' a 9.5/10. It was missing something, something tiny, I'm not even sure what it is. It is nearly the perfect movie.

Review of The Possession

'The Possession' is a 2012 supernatural horror film directed by Ole Bornedal and co-produced by Sam Raimi. The story is based on the allegedly haunted Dybbuk box. Bornedal cited films like 'The Exorcist' as an inspiration, praising their subtlety. The films stars Natasha Calis, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Kyra Sedgwick and Madison Davenport.

I'm going to start by saying that this isn't the best horror I've seen. I'm useless when it comes to watching horrors int he cinema, I can watch them fine when they're on the TV, but as soon as I'm in the cinema, I'm jumping at every shadow. This film constantly builds up with tension, but then most of the time, nothing comes of it. At first the effect where we see some development, then it drastically changes to another scene works really well, but after seeing it over and over again it starts to get old.

Hats off to Jeffrey Dean Morgan, he carries the first hour of the film, he's a good actor, and in this film he is provided with some decent, sometimes witty, dialogue which keeps us interested in the character. The rest of the cast is pretty average, Natasha Calis who plays the young girl who gets possessed has a lot of good moments, but there are some parts where you can't help but think, wow, that was terrible. Then the rest of the cast we hardly see, there's no character development outside of the two main characters played by Morgan and Calis. The last half an hour or so of this movie is actually quite good, it starts to get really interesting. We finally start seeing what we've been waiting for for nearly an hour. If I based this review on just the last section of the film, it would get a really high score, but unfortunately I review to review the film as a whole. If they sorted out the pacing of the film, they could have made it better, it's just far too slow. I understand that it is apparently based on a true story so they have to stay as true to that as possible, but it is also a movie and that means that changes can be made to make it work better on screen. One thing that is consistant throughout is the special effects. All the way through the film they look really good and very creepy.

One critic brought something to my attention, why do we never see any evidence? Like maybe during the end credits why don't we see pictures or real footage? There's a specific scene with a CT Scan (this isn't a spoiler because it is in the trailer) where we see the demon inside of the little girl. We see it on the monitor. Surely if this was a true story, there would be records of this, footage from the monitor, pictures, something! It destroys any sense of belief the film tries to create.

So all in all it is a very average film. It starts off really slowly and we rely on one very good actor to keep us interested.  It prepares us for scares that never happen (leaving people like me embarrassed because they look terrified during the build up), but ends on a high with a very entertaining final twenty minutes. I am going to give 'The Possession' a 6.5/10. If you enjoy horrors, give it a shot, you might like it. It has some pretty cool visuals.

Weekly Blu Ray Review: Starship Troopers: Invasion

This week (starting the 27th August 2012)I indulged into the special features of one particular blu ray. That blu ray, is 'Starship Troopers: Invasion'.

Starship Troopers: Invasion (2012)
An above average film but a very high quality blu ray. Animated films have a high percentage of fantastic picture quality, this one is definitely a part of that percentage. The picture is top notch, and the sound is also pretty darn good. The best looking parts of this film has to be the action sequences. Nothing looks better than when the bugs are getting turned into Swish cheese. Now we get to the best part, the special features. I am going to start with the best bit, the seven part making of the movie, honestly this is great! It goes through everything from the influences from the novel and the past films, to the animation, the score, the motion capture acting (they actually used motion capture for an animated film, then adjusted the movements slightly to represent the battle armer), it is really extensive and very interesting to watch. You also find out a lot about the original movie, and why certain decision were made that took the story away from the source material of the novel (e.g. the power suits). The seven part feature is built up of interviews, filming footage and computer generated examples (like a sort of before and after of a certain part of the film). On top of that we have commentaries, a gag reel (which is quite funny, it shows some examples of when the actors messed up their lines when voicing over a scene) and a concept art gallery. Possibly the weakest part of the special features is the deleted scenes. There are two deleted scenes, and both of them aren't completed scenes (they were cut before the animation was finished).

It is a very good blu ray, I just feel like they could have put in a few more special features, once you get past the making of part of it, there isn't anything else that is really interesting, but it definitely perfect for any blu ray collection. I am going to give 'Starship Troopers: Invasion' a 9/10.

The Subspace: Movie Review: Total Recall (2012)

The Subspace: Movie Review: Total Recall (2012): 'What is real and what is Recall?' It's safe to say that Summer 2012 at the cinema box office has been a real good time, providing us ...

Some News Type Thing (01/09/12) The Third Hobbit Movie Has A Name! and The Rocketeer Gets A Reboot

Sorry about this post being late, had a few things going on recently, but here its is, this weeks edition of Some News Type Thing.

The Hobbit 3
You may remember a while back that I posted about 'The Hobbit' related domain names that were being bought up around the time that the third movie was announced. In case you don't, they seemed to revolve around two names, 'Riddles In The Dark' and 'The Desolation Of Smaug'. I guessed that the second one would be the most likely, and it looks like I was right, kind of.

As it stood, we had 'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey' set for December 26th 2012 and 'The Hobbit: There And Back Again set for December 2013. Well as it stands now, the first Hobbit hasn't changed, but the second one has now been renamed 'The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug'  and the third movie, which is set to be released July 18th 2014, so not long after the second movie, will be named 'The Hobbit: There And Back Again', which is due to start production next year.

The Rocketeer Gets A Reboot
The 1991 film 'The Rocketeer' celebrated its 20th anniversary last year and apparently Disney is interested in rebooting the film. For years people have tried to gets sequels to this film made but with no result, it looks like Disney think they can handle the film better.

Personally i haven't seen 'The Rocketeer', I have heard that it is extremely cheesy, but is a fun time to watch, so I will probably get round to watching it sometime in the next few weeks.

That's all for this week, I will try and get next weeks edition out on time. Until then look forward to my Weekly Blu Ray Review where I will be reviewing blu ray of 'Starship Troopers: Invasion' and maybe 'Pulp Fiction' which arrived today. I'm not sure if I will be able get the film and the special features watched by Sunday because I've heard they're quit extensive.

Review of Total Recall

'Total Recall' is a 2012 American science fiction film remake of the 1990 film of the same name, in turn loosely based on the 1966 short story "We Can Remember It For You Wholesale" by Philip K. Dick. Unlike the original film and short story, the plot does not include Mars and exhibits more political overtones. The film blends Western and Eastern influences, most notably in the settings and dominant populations of the two nation states in the story: the United Federation of Britain, and the Colony. 'Total Recall' was directed by Len Wiseman, written by Mark Bomback, James Vanderbilt and Kurt Wimmer and stars Collin Farrell, Kate Beckinsale, Jessica Biel, Bryan Cranston, John Cho and bill Nighy.

This film really doesn't deserve the terrible reviews it's getting. As a big fan of the original I was skeptical going into the cinema, but to be honest, it is a very enjoyable movie. I'm going to start with what I liked about the movie. For starters the story, it has the same elements as the original film, but at the same time it was totally different. The main parts of the story are the same, but if you played the two films alongside each other, they're hardly recognisable. Which is what I liked, it wasn't just a rehash of a popular film, it was a true reinvisioning. The film felt like a cross between 'Total Recall', 'The Bourne Ultimatum' and 'I,Robot', which to me is a pretty good combination. The story is a lot more political based, and i like how they added robots into the mix, and the problem of their not being enough space and resources for humanities large population, it creates a setting, a future, that could well be a reality one day. It's about as different from the 1990 film as 'The Amazing Spiderman' was to 'Spiderman' (that's very different). To anyone who hasn't seen the original, the story can be quite confusing, and can take a while to work out what is going on, but it is gripping, and it keeps you interesting all the way through. Now I'll move onto the action and chase sequences. The action is good, if not slightly repetitive. We are given lots of shooting and a taste of some futuristic weaponry. The chase sequences feel very Bourne-ish, which isn't a bad thing; the chase scenes are all really good, even if they do drag on a little bit. By far the best chase seen is the car chase, the cars look fantastic and the whole thing is really well thought out and looks good on screen.

Now to what I didn't like, the cast. I like Collin Farrell, but for some reason, I just didn't connect with his character in this film. His character is annoying and for some reason he just doesn't work as well as Arnold Schwarzenegger's version of the character. Also the two leading ladies, Beckinsale and Biel, look far too alike. Seriously there are some scenes where you have to look at what they're wearing to tell them apart, in all fairness they use this pretty well in a certain scene near the end of the movie, but most of the time, it's annoying and there isn't nearly enough character development. They spend all their time on Farrell's character so no one else gets a chance. I found myself knowing hardly anything about any other character, even Nighy's character who should be a major part in the story, but we find out next to nothing about him.

I hate to say this, but the dialogue for me doesn't work as well in this film. What I mean by that is the one liners. Collin Farrell cannot pull them off as well as Arnold Schwarzenegger. Also the film has a few gaping plot holes, some of which aren't as obvious as others but if you know your science then some of it will annoy you because since a lot of what is involved in this movie is well thought out, but then they go and make stupid mistakes.

All in all it is an enjoyable film, it could have been much better but believe me it could have been so much worse. I really like they adapted it from being set on Mars to being set on Earth, it works really well and gives the film a much more realistic vibe. I like the story, the action and the chase sequences, even if they do drag on. The main thing that kills it is the way the handled the cast, it really ruins it for me. Plus a few other nit-picky things but I would still recommend seeing this film. I am going to give 'Total Recall' a 7/10.

A note to fans of the 1990 film. There are some really good references to the original that you will simply love. Plus here's a warning, the three boobed woman is in this movie, and she looks hot (duh) but she doesn't really fit into the world that has been created, you'll get what I mean when you see it. Although she can be explained, it isn't, and you don't any evidence or cases similar throughout the rest of the movie.

Quote Of The Week 29/08/12

Another new weekly post. Sometimes a single line by a good actor can make a film memorable. So every Wednesday I am going to post what I think is a great line. One important thing to note is that I will never quote a movie which is currently our in the cinemas. That wouldn't be fair to those that haven't seen the movie yet. I have to say, it'll be difficult not to quote 'The Expendables 2' every week.

So here it is. This weeks quote of the week: From 'Batman Returns' (1992)

The Penguin: (Whilst being bombarded by food) "Why is there always someone who brings eggs and tomatoes to a speech?"

Which Paul Verhoeven Film Remake Are You Most Looking Forward To? (Poll)

Paul Verhoeven is responsible for three iconic films from the late eighties and early nineties. These are 'Robocop' (1987), 'Total Recall' (1990) and 'Starship Troopers' (1997). They're are all iconic in the world of science fiction and are all getting the remake treatment. The first being 'Total Recall' which comes out in cinemas in the UK this Wednesday.

So which of these are you most looking forward to? Personally I'm worried about all of them. They're probably going to be more mainstream, and the violence will be majorly toned down, but that doesn't mean that I'm not interested in seeing the new adaptations.

The poll is to the right hand side of this post. Let me know which of those three remakes you think won't suck as much as the other two.

Movie Recommendation Of The Week (27/8/12): Total Recall (1990)

'Total Recall' is a 1990 American science fiction action film, loosely based on the Philip K. Dick story We Can Remember It For You Wholesale. It was directed by Paul Verhoeven and it stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rachel Ticotin, Sharon Stone, Michael Ironside and Ronny Cox. Naturally I have selected this film to be my Movie Recommendation Of The Week because the remake of this classic film comes out on Wednesday. The remake so far has really bad reviews but out of respect for the original I will be going to see it on Thursday. I want to see what they have done to one of Arnold's best films.

What is reality when you can't trust your memory? An Earthbound construction worker keeps having dreams about Mars. A trip to a false memory transplant service for an imaginary trip to Mars goes terribly wrong and another personality surfaces. When his old self returns, he finds groups of his friends and several strangers seem to have orders to kill him. He finds records his other self left him that tell him to get to Mars to join up with the underground. The reality of the situation is constantly in question. Who is he? Which personality is correct? Which version of reality is true? Sounds pretty good doesn't it. This film is filled with suspense, drama, cheesy one liners and some great action. It has everything that is needed from a Schwarzenegger action film.

I'd recommend this film to anyone, it has something to satisfy every audience, but it does have its faults, like some of the cheesiness it much more noticeable during certain parts of the film, and some of the dialogue is just awful (and some of the acting isn't that good). Luckily this is overshadowed by memorable action sequences, great special effects (for the time) and a good story (its rare to find an action film with a decent story).

The original 'Total Recall' gets a 9/10 from me. The remake will never be as good as it, I'd recommend that you go and see the remake before you watch the original, then you will truly appreciate how good it is, because I fear that because I love the original so much, that the remake doesn't have much of a chance to impress me.

Weekly Blu Ray Review: Batman & Robin

I finally got round to it, this week (commencing 20/8/12) I forced myself to watch the final film in the Batman Anthology blu ray collection, 'Batman & Robin'.Also I know I told you all that I would also be reviewing the blu ray copy of 'Starship Troopers: Invasion', but with me doing The great North Bike Ride today, I just haven't had time to watch the special features yet.

Batman & Robin (1997)
Surely by now you all know how I feel about this movie, so it pains me to say that the blu ray copy isn't that bad. This will just be a quite review by the way, since a lot of the special features are the same as what there was with the other Batman films in the anthology collection. The picture quality is the film is quite good. It seems to look better during smaller scenes, like the ones where the main characters are conversing, whereas the larger scaled scenes don't really look that special. At least there aren't any badly grated scenes. The sound quality is the same as it has been with the other three Batman movies, it seems to switch from quite quiet during the talking scenes, to really loud with the score blasting. They never worked out a good medium when it came to sound. The special features again are the best part, especially the 'Shadows Of The Bat'. This is the final part of a documentary which has carried across all four films in the boxset, and I think it is really interesting. This one is particularly good because everyone involved basically apologises for how bad the movie was (I'm being serious, Schumacher even apologises for the Bat-Nipples!). Along with that we have commentaries, a TV special on the making of the movie, little pieces on the making of the sets, the costumes ect. We are also given one deleted scene, which is nothing special, doesn't really give us anything new to think about, the usual piece on the heroes and villains in the film and finishing off with the galleries. So you get a lot for your money.

Overall I'd say it's an alright blu ray, not the best picture and sound quality wise, but special features where the director and cast apologise for for an awful film, definitely worth the money. I am going to give 'Batman & Robin' on blu ray a 7/10.

I'd highly recommend getting the Batman Anthology boxset if you can, I have it on DVD, I've borrowed my friends blu ray boxset because I think it was HMV exclusive and was only limited edition. I can't find it anywhere else, but I think you'll get similar, if not the same, special features with the DVD boxset.

That's it for this week, these posts seem to be getting smaller and smaller. Next week I promise that I will be reviewing 'Starship Troopers: Invasion'. Hopefully 'Pulp Fiction' will arrive. Which I can wait to watch and review because apparently the blu ray of it is really good.

Review of Starship Troopers: Invasion (Direct-To-DVD)

'Starship Troopers: Invasion' is a 2012 computer animated science fiction film directed by Shinji Aramaki. It is the fourth film in the series, and will be released on 27th August 2012 as a direct-to-DVD title. A distant Federation outpost Fort Casey comes under attack by bugs. The Team on the fast attack ship Alesia is assigned to help the Starship John A. Warden stationed in Fort Casey evacuate along with the survivors and bring military intelligence safely back to Earth. Carl Jenkins, now head of the Ministry of Paranormal Warfare, takes the starship on a clandestine mission before its rendezvous with the Alesia and goes missing in the nebula. The film stars Luci Christian, Justin Doran, David Matranga and David Wald.

We haven't had very much luck when it comes to 'Starship Troopers' sequels. None of them have been seen as good enough to make it to the big screen. From how I see it, they gradually got worse until this one. This one I actually quite enjoyed. It the first CGI film in the series and depending on how well it is received, others may be on the way in the future. Which would be good because then we'd have the series we love running alongside the remake which I have a feeling will be terrible.

I'm going to start with what is good about the film, for starters the animation is pretty good. The bugs look incredible, so does the troopers armer and the fight scenes are brilliant. I think they put all of their effort and concentration into making the action/fight sequences look awesome. I will admit that certain aspects don't look very good, but you can't have everything. Since I've already mentioned it I might as well continue talking about it: the action, it isn't as big a scale as 'Starship Troopers' or 'Starship Troopers 3: Marauder', but when the troopers start shooting bugs, it's brutal. Bullets are flying everywhere, bugs are exploding, troopers are getting hacked to pieces, it's what we watch the films for. Another good aspect is that although many many aspects of the film are cheesy, it carries with it some of the gems from the original movie that made it so good, e.g. violence, nudity, cheesy one liners and the main characters. At one point the film even makes fun of the series, which I quite like ("Would you like to know more?"). Three of the original characters do return in this film, but they are not voiced by the original actors. Casper Van Dien, who played Rico in the first and third movie, is attached as executive producer.

Now onto what isn't so good about this film. It is paced pretty poorly, you feel like you're waiting ages for the action sequences and the down time scenes just aren't interesting enough for you to pay attention. That takes me onto the story, yeah the story for the original isn't great, but it is filled with very little down time, and lots of action which makes a good balance. Whereas this story is very weak, the whole thing feels very small. Also troopers seem to pop up out of no where. We don't really see any character development apart from a small group of troopers, but when they're rescuing the lost ship, somehow there are a dozen more troopers than I though, and with there new armer (which I think was inspired by the novel, and used in the film to set it apart from the other movies), you can't tell whose who. The only way you can tell one trooper from another is by the name printed on their chest plate, but in amongst the action you never have time to read it. Also it's cheesy, I like my cheesy movies, but I think it's time for them to take 'Starship Troopers' to a new level, which this film was supposed to do. On a final note, the Marauder programme does make an appearance, but I really don't like the new Marauders, they looked awesome in the third movie, in this one they just look stupid, which is a shame because they have potential. At the end of the third movie you feel like they could make things bigger and better with the Marauder programme providing the troopers with enhanced protection and a vast array of weapons.

So all in all, the film is enjoyable, but they haven't quite made that special sequel that competes with the original yet. I'd recommend giving it a watch, because it has some good violent action sequences and some good nostalgia moments. I'd say it's better than third movie, and on par with the second (personally I think the second had a decent story, but that's all it had going for it) and still no where near a good as the first film. I wouldn't complain if they made more of these, it has potential. This film feels like a cross between 'Starship Troopers', 'Gears of War' and 'Aliens', which isn't a bad combination if done right. I know I've kind of ripped into this film, but if you are a fan of the series then definitely give it a try, but if you are new to the films, don't start with this one. I am going to give 'Starship Troopers: Invasion' a 6.5/10. Sadly quite a low score.

[edit]

Just To Let You Know

Just to let all my loyal followers and fans know that today my copy of 'Starship Troopers: Invasion" on blu ray arrived and it's early! Officially the film doesn't come out until Monday the 27th. So I am currently watching it as I type and I will be writing a review for it as soon as I can.

So that's what you can all expect later tonight or at some point tomorrow. Tomorrow I will be reviewing the special features on my Weekly Blu Ray Review post. From what I've watched so far, some of the visuals are incredible and it has many of the elements that made 'Starship Troopers' popular. It's good.

Bald Monkeys: Batman 2.0 and the Many Faces of Robin

Bald Monkeys: Batman 2.0 and the Many Faces of Robin: During the Batman R.I.P. saga a few months ago I did a recap of the various incarnations of Batman over the years. Since the disappearance/...

Some News Type Thing (23/8/12): Guardians of the Galaxy, Bane After The Dark Knight Rises and Iron Man 3and Kick-Ass 2 News

Welcome to this weeks edition of Some News Type Thing,  we've got news news from the world of Marvel and what really happened to Bane after 'The Dark Knight Rises'?

Guardians of the Galaxy Has A Release Date
Marvels next big assemble movie has a release date, and that is August 1st, 2014. So as it stands at the moment, we have 'Iron Man 3' and 'Thor: The Dark World' in 2013, 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier' and 'Guardians of the Galaxy' in 2014 and of course 'The Avengers 2' (although that's not its official name) in 2015. The only on we're waiting to hear anything about it 'Ant-Man'.

What Happened To Bane?
This is a hilarious video from www.funnyordie.com that shows what happens to Bane after the events of 'The Dark Knight Rises'. Warning this video contains spoilers.

I have to say that this could be much better, but it's still really funny and Chris Kattan does a great impression of Bane.

Production Problems On Iron Man 3
Apparently, filming has came to an abrupt halt on the set of 'Iron Man 3'. Robert Downey Jr. received an ankle injury whilst performing a stunt. Although its good to know that Robert does his own stunts, it saddens me when anything disrupts the filming of a movie I think will be awesome. I hope Robert recovers soon. Marvel haven't seen fit to change the release date for the film so they must be confident that Robert will make a full recover soon enough.

Kick-Ass 2 Casting News
It has been announced that Aaron Johnson, Chloe Moretz, Christopher Minz-Plasse are confirmed to reprise their roles. Apparently so is Nicholas Cage, not sure how that's going to work but we'll have to wait and see (it's probably not even true, but I thought it was worth mentioning). Jeff Wadlow is the new guy in the director's chair and he wants Jim Carrey to have a role in the film. I'm okay with that, Jim Carrey is hilarious! He just occasionally picks bad movies.

That's all for this week my loyal followers. On a personal note, I am very excited for the 27th of this month, because my blu ray of 'Starship Troopers: Invasion' arrives. It's meant to be the sequel to 'Starship Troopers' we've all been waiting for. As long as its better than the two direct-to-DVD live-action sequels that came out, then I'm happy.

Review of The Expendables 2

It's everything we wanted from the first movie and more! 'The Expendables 2' is a 2012 American ensemble action film directed by Simon West and written by Richard Wenk and Sylvester Stallone. The film starts Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lungren, Chuck Norris, Randy Couture, Terry Crews, Liam Hemsworth, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger. The film follows on from the events of 'The Expendables' where Mr. Church (Willis) threatens to have them thrown in jail, or killed, if they don't repay him for the mess they made on their last job. After the job goes down badly, the group of hired guns seek revenge against Jean Vilain (Van Damme) for murdering on of their own, and threatens the world with a deadly weapon.

I'm going to open with a simple statement. I loved the first movie, the cast was great and the action was top notch, it was just the lack of story and the large sections of down time that held the film back. Well Stallone and co are back with 'The Expendables 2' and it is instantly better than the first movie. I'm going to start with the story, it doesn't have much of a story but what little story their is is a damn site better than the one in 'The Expendables'. Everything is bigger and the stakes are higher. There's less downtime in this one, which admittedly is boring in parts, the whole reason we see these movies are to see people get shot to pieces, but we are given more of a chance to grow attached to certain characters. Now the cast, again it's bigger and better. With additions like Chuck Norris, Jean-Claude Van Damme and Scott Adkins, it is instantly more awesome. Norris dies his usual lone ranger thing and Van Damme is a cracking villain. He's brutal and funny, and he could easily give Rocky Balboa a run for his money in a fight. We also get to see what we wanted from the first one, Schwarzenegger and Willis kicking ass. I think that annoyed a lot of people in the first one, the fact that those two big names were little more than a cameo. Well in the sequel they more than make up for it. My only complaint about the cast is that certain actors get overshadowed and have little screen time, but on the flip side, we see more development of particular smaller characters from the first one e.g. Gunner (Lungren). The whole cast did a great job, even Liam Hemsworth who I normally don't like as an actor, but he has won me over now. This film is also more proof that Sylvester Stallone should never run in his film, it doesn't look right at all, it was the same in 'The Expendables'.

I could go on for ages about how good the action is, but that would get boring, lets just say that it is better than the first one, and that five seconds into the film we see a tank, and that sets the general feel of the movie. There are a lot more cooler moments than the first one. What's important to realise is that this movie never tries to be something that it isn't. Everyone knows that it is a throwback to the magical time that was the 80s. People will complain that the dialogue is cheesy, and that there are plot holes, and that some of the kills are probably impossible, but none of that matters. They knew what they were doing when they made this movie. Plus anyone who knows there action films will love the dialogue. There are so many references to the other films that the actors are famous for, its just bliss. The film basically makes fun of itself and everyone involved. It's just a good time. Like I said before, the dialogue may be cheesy, but it makes the fun more enjoyable, the one liners are some of the best I've ever seen, and possibly the funniest paring in the film is Schwarzenegger and Willis. When those two converse it's just brilliance, pure brilliance. On top of all that, the film is funny, generally funny.

To sum up, it's a funny kick ass action flick with lots and shooting and explosions with a great casts which consists of a bunch of legends and a teenage heart throb (for the female audience) that spend most of the film coming out with priceless one liners that make fun/reference the previous roles played by the other actors. I don't think they'll be able to top this one, I 'The Expendables' franchise has reached its peek. I'm not saying that I don't want another one, I'm just saying that it'll be a big challenge. I'd say that it's a must see and that the only things marking it down are the way they downplayed some of the characters and the slow parts where they tried to develop  a deep part of the story. They did the same with the first one, they need to get it so that the down time scenes are interesting enough that we don't get bored until someone pulls out a gun again. What I would also like to see in the next film, is an enemy that really puts the strain on the gang. What I mean is that in both movies they have hundreds of goons to shoot, and when it comes down to it, maybe one or two highly trained guys that will give one or two of them a run for their money for about five minutes. They need to face a ruthless, well trained force that is just as likely to gun them down. I am going to give 'The Expendables 2' an 8.5/10.

It is what it is, a great action film for everyone who grew up in the 80s and everyone else who wishes they had.

Movie Recommendation Of The Week (20/8/12): Die Hard (1988)

With 'The Expendables 2' being one of the biggest action films of the year, with one of the greatest casts ever assembled, I thought about recommending 'The Expendables' this week, but then I thought to myself, that seems a bit predictable. So I looked through my selection of action films and found this one, Die Hard, one of the greatest action films ever made. The 1988 is based on the novel Nothing Lasts Forever (1979) by Roderick Thorp. It was directed by John McTiernan and written by Steve de Souza and Jeb Stuart.

This film is brilliant. It follows NYPD Detective John McClane (Bruce Willis) as he takes on a group of highly organised criminals, led by Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman), performing a heist under the guise of a terrorist attack, using hostage' including McClane's wife Holly (Bonnie Bedelia), to keep the police at bay. McClane was invited to the companies Christmas party by mistake, so he was in his room when the terrorists attack rather than at the party, which gives him the edge and the element of surprise. This film is full of shooting, explosions and cracking one loners. Apart from Rickman's awful German accent, the acting is fantastic. The film spawned several sequels, 'Die Hard 2' (1990), 'Die Hard with a Vengeance' (1995), 'Die Hard 4.0/Live Free Or Die Hard' (2007) and 'A Good Day To Die Hard (2013).

This film reestablished action films, and it made Bruce Willis a global superstar. To me, it is one of the best action films ever made, and the sequels have never quite lived up to the first ones glory (but 'Die Hard With A Vengeance' is a very close competitor, Samuel L. Jackson makes than film awesome). I'll be seeing Bruce Willis reprise his role as Mr. Church in 'The Expendables 2' tomorrow and I hope we actually get to see him shoot someone this time. 'Die Hard' is one of those films you have to see before you die, I give it a 10/10. Watch it!

Yipee Ki Yay Mother Fucker!

Weekly Blu Ray Review: Batman Forever

Hello everyone and welcome to this weeks Weekly Blu Ray review (starting 13/08/12), it appears I lied to you all last weel. I told you that I would definitely be reviewing 'Batman Forever' and 'Batman & Robin'. Well as it turns out I couldn't bring myself to watch the appalling 'Batman & Robin', I didn't want to spend my Sunday watching that rubbish. I'll get round to it eventually, but two trips to the cinema this week means that I've only had time to watch one blu ray.

Batman Forever (1995)
I think this film gets a rough time, it seems to get put together with 'Batman & Robin', which is unfair because 'Batman Forever' isn't a bad film at all. Yeah its a lot lighter than Tim Burton's Batman films, but it is still a good time, with two very likeable villains. The blu ray is surprisingly good too. The whole film is very bright, lots of neon lights and stuff, so it is the perfect opportunity for some good visuals, and it doesn't fail to deliver. It looks great, and it sounds alright. The main problem I'm having with the sound on these Batman blu rays are that things like speech sound like they're from a DVD, then the music is really high quality, but it is stupidly louder than anything else. I mean I know the music is normally louder, but this is noticeably louder than usual. The special features are just as extensive as ever, it has a TV special about the making and casting of the film which is interesting, it also continues 'The Shadows of the Bat' documentary which as anyone you who follows my blog regularly know that I have been signing its praises for weeks now. It repeated a few things from the TV special, but you can tell that a lot of it is new material because Joel Schumacher and the cast all look much older than they did in the film. It even looks into how Bob Kane was inspired by Leonardo DaVinci's designs for a flying machine, he based Batman cape on the design of the wings. DaVinci basically provided Bob Kane with the inspiration for Batman! Then it has other little extras like commentaries, music videos, redesigning Gotham, a bit on the good guys and bad guys in the film. Also some deleted scenes, which make it look like they took out the darker parts of the film to make it more light hearted. To be honest, they should have kept some of them in because explain a different side to Bruce dealing with his guilt over his parents murder. And more. So it is definitely worth taking a look at. I am going to give 'Batman Forever' an 8.5/10.

That's all for this week, I've just been told that I am a pussy for not watching 'Batman & Robin;, so I will be watching it tomorrow, I will force myself. Apparently the special features are funny so that's a plus.

The Cast Of The Expendables 2. Their Best Films

'The Expendables 2' is now in cinemas! I will be seeing it this Tuesday and I can't wait! But why do want to see it? Why did we (by we I mean mostly guys) enjoy the first one so much? It's simple, it was the three special ingredients. Guns, explosions and the cast. The first one didn't have much of a story, but we all went to see it because of the amazing cast. This is a post for all of you that are new to the world of 'Te Expendables'. I am going to go through the cast of 'The Expendables 2' and tell you what I think are their top movies (or TV roles). The name in the brackets is their characters name in 'The Expendables 2'. By the way, some of these films will be incredibly cheesy, but I love them anyway.

Sylvester Stallone (Barney Ross)
1. Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985)
2. Rocky VI (1985)
3. Demolition Man (1993)

Jason Statham (Lee Christmas)
1. The Transporter (2002)
2. Crank (2006)
3. Revolver (2005)

Jet Li (Yin Yang)
1. Lethal Weapon 4 (1998)
2. The Forbidden Kingdom (2008)

Dolph lungren (Gunner Jensen
1. Rocky VI (1985)
2. Universal Soldier: Regeneration (2009)
3. A View To A Kill (1985)

Chuck Norris (Booker)
1. Walker, Texas Ranger (TV series 19934-2001)

Jean-Claude Van Damme (Jean Vilain)
1. Universal Solider: Regeneration (2009)
2. Nowhere To Run (1993)
3. Universal Soldier (1992)

Bruce Willis (Mr. Church)
1. Die Hard (1988)
2. Die Hard With A Vengeance (1995)
3. Sin City (2005)

Arnold Schwarzenegger (Trench)
1. Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991)
2. Total Recall (1990)
3. Kindergarten Cop (1990)

Terry Crews (Hale Caesar)
1. Terminator Salvation (2009)
2. Balls of Fury (2007)
3. Gamer (2009)

Randy Couture (Toll Road)
1. The Ultimate Fighter (TV series 2005)
2. The Scorpion king 2: Rise of a Warrior (2008)

Liam Hemsworth (Billy the Kid)
1. The Hunger Games (2012)
2. Neighbours (TV series 2007)

Scot Adkins (Hector)
1. The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
2. X-Men Origins: Wolverine (Deadpool shared with Ryan Reynolds 2009)
3. Universal Solider: Day of Reckoning (2012) I haven't seen it yet, but I love these films.

There you go, if you have the same taste in films as I do, then you will enjoy these films. Let me know what your favourite films are that star these actors.

What's Your Favourite Bourne Movie? (Poll Results)

After the disappointment that was 'The Bourne Legacy', I am pleased to announced that the winner of the poll was 'The Bourne Identity'. it received all of the votes.

The way I see it now, is that 'The Bourne Legacy' isn't a real Bourne film, it is merely in the same universe as the Bourne films (kind of like what 'Prometheus' was to 'Alien'). So do not let 'The Bourne Legacy' tarnish a great film series, because lets face it, before that film, there had never been a bad Bourne film. There are rumours that they are wanted Matt Damon to return for the next two films, which I don't think is a good idea, they tried with a sequel that nobody wanted, it hasn't worked (although quite a few people think its good, not sure how), they should just let it go and we can all forget about it.

Like how I've managed to drag out a fairly boring post and make it ever so slightly more interesting? Well I like wasting your time, and my own. I promise I'll think of something interesting to post next time.

Congratulations to 'The Bourne Identity', you are an awesome movie.

The Last Stand Trailer! Schwarzenegger Is Back As A Cop!

It is here! The trailer for Arnold Schwarzenegger's new film coming out January 18 2013!

He's back! He was the governor, now he's the sheriff. It is directed by Kim Jee-Woon, a South Korean directer (this is his first English speaking film). Arnold Schwarzenegger plays the sheriff of a small town on the Mexican border that must stop a heavily armed drug kingpin and his henchmen after they break out of prison and makes a run for Mexico. Schwarzenegger's characters back story is that he used to be a cop in Los Angeles who departed the force after a bungled police operation left his partner crippled.

This to me looks like a typical Schwarzenegger movie. And I have no problem with that at all. It will be cheesy, and brilliant. Theere's not much more I can say about this, apart that that it looks like there will be car chases, explosions, lots of bullets and some great one liners. 

My favourite one liner so far is this: Guy: "How you feeling sheriff?", Arnold: "Old". 

Some News Type Thing 16/8/12: The Expendables 3 cast news,

Good afternoon everyone (or evening, or morning, depending on when you are reading this), and welcome to the first instalment of Some News Type Thing. This week we are going to start with taking a look at the recent cast new from 'The Expendables 3'.

In a recent interview with Avi Learner, he announced that he and some of the other big minds behind 'The Expendables' films have been in talks with bother Clint Eastwood and Harrison Ford to play roles in the third instalment. They also want Wesley Snipes wants he gets out of prison.

Now this third film is starting to sound really good if they can get all three of them. But wait. There's more! Apparently they already have Nicholas Cage involved and they want to bring Mickey Rourke back, along with the existing cast from 'The Expendables' and 'The Expendables 2'. I'll have my ticket now please.

'The Wolverine' News
It has been confirmed in an interview with Hugh Jackman that his latest Wolverine adventure, 'The Wolverine', he told the world that it will not be a sequel to 'X-Men Origins: Wolverine', but instead it will be its own stand alone film. Looks like even those in charge didn't like the origins movie...

'The Last Stand' Poster
IGN announced the poster for Lionsgate's new films 'The Last Stand' starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. Apparently Johnny Knoxville from Jackass is also in this movie (I like the sound of that). The poster also looks pretty cool, it's good to see old Arnold back in acting again. This will be his first solo film since returning to acting. I also wished i could grow up in the 80's when all the classic action films were coming out, now the 80's are returning!








Here's some other photos that have released for 'The Last Stand':

'The Bourne Legacy' Sequel Possibility
As you all know, I was disappointed with 'The Bourne Legacy', I felt like it was a very lazy sequel. Well it is apparently the beginning of a new trilogy, and since its getting decent reviews and doing alright at the box office, a sequel is definitely on the horizon. But there are rumours floating around that they want Matt Damon to return as Jason Bourne for the next two movies. I would only go and see these movies if Damon returns. He could save the franchise.

'The Tomb' Photo
Here is the first official poster for Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone's new film 'The Tomb'. The film follows Ray Breslin (Stallone), the world's foremost authority on structural security. He's analysed nearly every high security prison. After being framed by persons unknown, all of Breslin's ingenuity and expertise are about to be put to work in the most challenging test he's ever faced: escaping from a high-tech prison facility that's design is based on his own protocols. Schwarzenegger plays Emil Rottmayer, a complex inmate with multiple shades of gray. He's the guy who fights to keep the prisoners from losing their humanity in their darkest hour as they struggle together to star alive.

Sounds alright doesn't it?

That's it for this week folks, I hope you enjoyed the newest weekly blog entry, if you didn't, well then you know to avoid my blog on Thursdays.

Changes To The Blog!

I've decided to add another weekly instalment to the blog, like my Weekly Blu Ray Review and Movie Recommendation Of The Week. This one will be called Some News Type Thing.

Basically every Thursday I am going to sum up some interesting movie news and put it all together. If I think something is really important then I will give it its own post rather than waiting potentially a whole week to tell you. I don't think I could wait a whole week to be honest.

So there you are, I've wasted your time with this pointless post :p (yes I just did a smiley).

Watch this space, the first instalment will be online later today and I will be talking about the announced new cast members of 'The Expendables 3', 'The Bourne Legacy' sequel rumour and more.

Review of The Bourne Legacy

It's the sequel no one asked for, but when we heard about we wanted it to be awesome. 'The Bourne Legacy' is a 2012 American action thriller film and the fourth instalment of the highly successful Bourne series. It sees the return of the franchise's screenwriter, Tony Gilroy, this time stepping into the director's seat for an entry which sidelines main character Jason Bourne in order to focus on a fellow estranged assassin Aaron Cross (Jeremy Renner). The film also stars Edward Norton and Rachel Weisz. Joan Allen and Albert Finney reprise their roles as Pamela Landy and Dr. Albert Hirsch.

I went into this movie with high hopes, I really wanted it to be incredible, but it wasn't, it really wasn't. It starts off so well! It happens alongside the events of 'The Bourne Ultimatum', showing the CIA trying to eliminate anything connected to Treadstone and Blackbriar before it goes public and ruins them. This part of the story is the well thought out bit; it is actually interesting to watch, even how they start to pursue Cross is intriguing (it reminds me a bit of 'Eagle Eye'). The story thickens and you realise the extremes they're going to have to go to in order to cover their tracks. So up until a third of the way through the movie I was really enjoying it, there's an awesome fight sequence in a big house which is really entertaining. I might as well move onto the action now, I'm trying to stay on the good part for as long as I can. There are a few good action sequences, including one that looked like it was taken directly from 'The Grey', the house fight sequence which I've already mentioned and a few other small hand to hand combat scenes.

Sadly the action is also something I was disappointed with. Yeah there are a few good hand to hand fight scenes, but they're all really short, and Cross never fights someone had physically match him. He only ever seems to fight cops and security guards (and the occasional agent). You'll also witness the worst assassination attempt ever (not by Cross obviously). This goes through nearly three magazines of ammunition trying to kill six people, it's so stupid and funny! Then the whole film builds up to this big chase scene, but feels really stretched out, has a disappointing end, and then the moves over. Seriously this movie feels so short! It builds and builds, then it's over. It's like someone took a full script, and halved it. The worse part if that the film sets itself up for a sequel, before its even finished. The second half of the film is boring, its just the same cat and mouse game that was done so much better in the first three films.

At least the acting is good. Jeremy Renner plays his role really well, he isn't just reincarnating Matt Damons character. Aaron Cross is an interesting character, he just isn't used to his full potential. Edward Norton plays the primary antagonist Eric Byer. He is the one who recommends that the kill off anything remotely connected to Treadstone or Blackbriar. He is an interesting character and the most interesting scenes were the ones he was in. Rachel Weisz was alright, that's about as much as I can say. She tends to over act everything, she did it in 'The Mummy' too. The rest of the cast doesn't really have enough screen time, what I do like is the small parts played by characters from the previous films. They fill in some of the gaps between the new storyline and 'The Bourne Ultimatum'. They use old footage really well to support the plotline that they're trying to create.

This next paragraph contains a major spoil involving plot, so if you don't want to ruin the film for yourself, skip ahead.

When you lay the story out it sounds ridiculous. Basically we have Operation Outcome, which is a programme that creates agents like Bourne, but they are given medication as well as training. At a certain time they have to take two pills, a green one, which increases their bodies physical attributes, and a blue one, that increases their mental capacity and I.Q. Cross was stupid before he joined the programe, so he relies on the blue pill a lot. So when the Outcome agents start getting killed off, he needs to find a way to get a supply of the pills. He finds out there is a drug that can change his chromosomes in a way that means he won't have to rely on the pills. The rest of the film is him and his doctor friend escaping the country in order to get this drug, then he gets it, and they escape in an over exaggerated chase sequence. So he has no motives, apart from to get this drug, then the films over. No revenge on the CIA for trying to kill him, or anything like that. He doesn't care. They even introduce an agent who is superior to him, and they don't even fight! They drive around on motorbikes and shoot at each other. Basically the best bits of the story are when Edward Norton's character is explaining how they need to handle the situation, and then when we see it out into action, and finally how they track Shearing (Weisz) and Cross.

Certain aspects of this film are enjoyable, but the worse thing is that even to someone who hadn't seen the Bourne films, this film is bad. It's not just bad for a Bourne film, it is bad for a film in general. Plus all the events have nothing to do with Jason Bourne, it isn't about his legacy at all. It's about one event, him giving the paperwork to Landy, but he isn't that one that makes it public. It isn't his legacy. The only thing that makes it remotely related to him is the fact that all of these agents are supposed to be the upgrades from Treadstone, and Bourne was the first Treadstone agent.

I could go for pages and pages about what is wrong with this film. I haven't even mentioned the massive plot holes! If you want to see a few cool action scenes then by all means give it a chance, but don't be expecting much. I was expecting much more from a Bourne movie, even one without Jason Bourne, but in the end, it was a flop. You can see from what I've said that the pieces were all there, the film started off really promising, then it just gives up. It gets us hooked, then runs off with the money we payed for the ticket. I literally felt robbed. I am going to give 'The Bourne Legacy' a 4/10. The first half of this film is what makes it remotely decent.

It is one of those films where the trailer is better than the film.

The Subspace: Brave: Review

The Subspace: Brave: Review: Pixar attempt to 'change their fate' after the poor critical reception of Cars 2 in their new film Brave! It's no secret that I'm a big ...

Review of Brave

'Brave' (previously titled 'The Bear and the Bow) is a 2012 American computer-animated fantasy adventure film produced by Pixar Animated Studios and distributed by Walk Disney Pictures. It was directed by Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman. The films voice cast includes Kelly Macdonald, Julie Walters, Billy Connolly, Emma Thompson, Kevin McKidd, Craig Ferguson and Robby Coltrane.

The film revolves around Princess Merida (MacDonold) who is a skilled archer and impetuous daughter of King Fergus (Connolly) and Queen Elinor (Thompson). Determined to carve her own path in life, Merida defies an age-old custom sacred to the uproarious lords of the land. Her actions to change her destiny have devastating consequences that forces her to discover the meaning of true bravery in order to undo a beastly curse before it's too late. I am going to start with the voice cast. Macdonald does a really good job as Merida, her performance is convincing and her character is likeable. My only problem with her is that her accent starts to get annoying about two thirds of the way through. The rest of the cast is hilarious, Billy Connolly is always funny, and they use that really well in this film. That's probably the best bit of this film, the humour, there's Scottish related humour and just general funniness. I understand why people were complaining about this film. The first act of this film is really good, it's funny, we get to know all of the characters and the plot is established; but after Merida's actions cause a turn in the story, the whole thing starts to go down hill. I mean the whole story plummets. It picks up again towards the end, but it isn't without its noticeable plot holes.

To make the complex visuals possible, Pixar has to completely rewrite its animation system for the first time in twenty five years. It is the first film to use the Dolby Atmos sound format. All the effort on Pixar's behalf was definitely worth it. The films looks brilliant. Especially Merida's hair, which I heard was what they spent the most time on, it's probably the most realistic looking thing in this film. When you compare other Pixar films to 'Brave', you can clearly see how high quality the computer animation is. The 3D aspect wasn't as good as it could have been. It has a few good moments but the 3D is mostly used to give the film depth.

Proceeding the film is a short film entitled 'La Luna', directed by Enrico Casarosa. This short film is surprisingly good, I will probably give it its own review sometimes this week, but I will say that it is the most original thing I've seen in a while and the computer-animation is really good.

So to sum up, it is a really good film, I wasn't looking forward to it, I was prepared for something as bad as 'Cars 2', but I was more than pleasantly surprised. It is really funny, the story is alright, the voice acting is nigh on spot on. It also has some good action scenes, lots of swords and shooting arrows. I am going to give 'Brave' a 7.5/10. I just really hope that they don't sequel it to death like the do with most of their films.

Movie Recommendation Of The Week: The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)

'The Bourne Ultimatum' is a 2007 American action spy film directed by Paul Greengrass. It is very loosely based on the Robert Ludlum novel of the same name). It is the third film in the Bourne series, the fourth film 'The Bourne Legacy' (released today 13/08/12) is the first of the series not to have Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) as the main character. Matt Damon reprises his role as Ludlum's signature character, former CIA assassin and psychogenic amnesiac Jason Bourne, who follows on with Bourne being chased by authorities in Moscow. Bourne is on a mission to finally find out who he really is, and to bring down those that have taken everything from him.

The reason why I am recommending this film instead of 'The Bourne Identity', the first film in the series, is because this was the first of the series that I watched. You read that right. I had never seen a Bourne films before going to see 'The Bourne Ultimatum' in the cinema, and even without seeing the first two I was able to pick up the story quite easily. So with 'The Bourne Legacy' having a good chance of topping the box office, anyone who wants to see it but hasn't watched any of the previous films, you can get away with just watching one of them if you feel like you don't have the time to watch all three.

Obviously I'm not just telling you to watch this film because a sequel is coming out, I am telling you to watch it because it is a cracking film. It has a really interesting story, an epic car chase (which includes Bourne driving backwards off the top of a building), an awesome rooftop chase and a gritty hand to hand fight scene. It's everything you could possibly want from a Bourne film, and was a great way to end the trilogy (back when it was a trilogy). A sequel never needed to be made, but I guess if the demands there, then they'll keep making them. It is a fact that the James Bond reboot 'Casino Royale', was made to compete with the Bourne films. People wanted a much more realistic and gritty type of spy film. Thanks to Jason Bourne, we now have 'Skyfall' to look forward to. 'The Bourne Legacy' is a 9/10 for me, definitely worth your time,

Weekly Blu Ray Review: Batman Returns, The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum

This week (beginning Monday 30th July) I have been working my way through two boxsets, The Batman Anthology and The Bourne Trilogy. Trust me, its been a good week of watching.

Batman Returns (1992)
Anyone who follows my blog regularly will know that I was very impressed with the blu ray of 'Batman', so naturally straight afterwards I followed it up by watching the sequel. This film was always criticised for being too dark, but that's what I like about it. Danny DeVitos Penguin is one of my favourite Batman characters, his performance is spot on. When looking at the blu ray quality, the picture quality isn't as good as it predecessor, I mean it's good, but not as good as it could be. In some ares it looks really good, but it others, most notably the scenes in the Batcave, it just looks like it has been taken directly from the DVD, it is the same with the sound quality, the music sounds incredible, but things like speech, sound just like a DVD. When it comes to special features, it's quite impressive, there's a lot to choose from, including the bit I was most looking forward to, 'The Shadows of the Bat' documentary, which doesn't disappoint. It gives us an in depth look at the casting and the making of the movie. Other special include another piece on the making of the film (which I think was a TV special) which uses a lot of the same interviews of 'The Shadows of the Bat'. There are pieces on creating the penguin and creating the penguin army (which is both funny and interesting) and a look at the costumes of 'Batman Returns'. Then as usual there are some music videos, galleries and commentaries. If I am right then these special features are very similar to those that came on the DVD, but this blu ray is worth watching just for the great film and some extensive special features. I'm going to give 'Batman Returns' a 7.5/10.

The Bourne Supremacy (2004)
My least favourite Bourne film, but that doesn't mean that I am saying it is a bad film, it is in fact a brilliant film, with a well thought out story and a cracking car chase scene. Lets look at the blu ray now shall we? The picture is good for the better part, there are a few scenes where it drops, but it is hardly noticeable, and the sounds quality is decent, it sounds at its best during the chase scenes, but during smaller scenes the quality drops a bit. As for the special features, just like the first film it doesn't disappoint. It starts us off with some 'explosive' deleted scenes (which aren't explosive at all, they just a few seconds of footage that fill in a few minor gaps), then it continues with a piece called 'Keeping It Real', which goes into how they didn't want to approach this sequel and make it cliche. They didn't want a film filled with special effects and explosions, they wanted everything to be real, they wanted it to flow like it would in real life. It really gives us an insight to Greengrass as a director. After that we have loads more, from fight training, to bits on blowing things up, to looking at the score, racing through the streets of Moscow, commentaries and much more. This is a great blu ray for special features, one of the best i've seen. I was worried that they'd used up a lot of the special features on the author on 'The Bourne Identity' so there wouldn't be much to talk about on this one, well they don't talk about the author, but they go really in depth at looking at the making of this film. I am going to give 'The Bourne Supremacy' an 8.5/10, the special features is what makes it worthwhile, well that and the epic film that comes with it.

The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
The third and thought to be final instalment of the Bourne saga. A really really good film, with great action and a compelling story that does nothing but deliver all the way through. The blu ray quality is brilliant. It looks and sounds great, maybe the sound quality drops on occasion, but it's hardly noticeable. The special features are pretty darn good, we start with deleted scenes, then move on to a test which you, the audience, can take to find out whether or not you are spy material. Then we movie onto looking at Bourne on the move, which goes through all of the cities where the chases take place, then a look at the rooftop pursuit (how they filmed it, which is really interesting). Then we look at the filming of the main fight scene, i.e. the choreography, the preparation, the filming and two pieces on the car chase scenes, including how they were filmed and how they were filmed (interesting Matt Damon is a very talented driver and did a lot the driving himself). So I have to say I am very impressed with this blu ray, a solid 10/10 from me, I can't really find any major flaws in it. The best part about the Bourne films is that a lot of the stunt work is real, so that makes it easy to make great special features on the iconic scenes in the movie. The fact that nearly everything is stunt work is why everything in the film looks so real.

That's all for this week. Next I definitely be reviewing the blu rays for 'Batman Forever' and Batman & Robin' (god help me I actually have to watch that movie again). Plus whatever else sparks my fancy.