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.

The Avengers 2 Has A Release Date!

'The Avengers Assemble' was the biggest money maker of the year, and a pretty darn awesome thing to watch. A sequel isn't just smart, but necessary. Rumours of a sequel were appearing as early as the opening weekend.

It has been confirmed that 'The Avengers 2' it set to be released on 1st May 2015. Which is soonish! I'm glad they're not taking forever to get the ball rolling again. What's interesting is that 'The Justice League' movie is also planned to come out that year (any bets DC wants to ride on the fame of 'The Avengers 2'?). Also some more amazing news: Joss Whedon has signed on to write and direct it! That is possibly the best news I'll hear in a while!

So in 2013 we have 'Iron Man 3' and 'Thor: The Dark World'. In 2014 we have 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier' and 'Guardians of the Galaxy'. 'Ant-Man' is apparently due to start shooting near the end of this year and is also looking at a 2014 release date. This means that there is a chance that Ant-Man will be in 'The Avengers 2', and if Ant-Man is there, there is a pretty good chance that Wasp will be too. Lets not forget that on an unrelated (well still Marvel related) topic, 'The Amazing Spider-Man 2' is set for a 2014 release. So we've got more than our fair share of Marvel over the next two years, with 2015 looking pretty empty with just 'The Avengers 2', but it is good to see that they're still doing all the preparation and not jumping straight into it.

There haven't been any posters or concept art released yet for 'The Avengers 2', but here's a look at the posters that were released for Marvel films at this years Comic Con.

 In Joss Whedon we trust!

What Is Your Favourite Bourne Movie? (Poll)

With the release of 'The Bourne Legacy' on Monday, it seems obvious that we should discuss the Bourne films. So I decided to make a poll about it.

I want to know what your favourite Bourne movie is. It is mutually agreed that there isn't a single bad film in the trilogy, personally for me, I think 'The Bourne Supremacy' is the worst. For me it drags a bit, the first and third film are much better.

The poll is to the right hand side of this post, and in a weeks time I will post the results.

Let me know which of the three films out at the moment you think is the best out of:

-The Bourne Identity
-The Bourne Supremacy
-The Bourne Ultimatum

What Is Jason Bourne's Legacy?

'The Bourne Legacy' comes out in cinemas this Monday. I for one will be seeing it as soon as possible. It is a very risky sequel; to do a Jason Bourne movie without Jason Bourne sounds ridiculous, but from what I've heard and seen, it is quite good. So what exactly is Jason Bourne's legacy? In this post I will go through the plots of each film, highlighting the impact Jason has. I will take a stab in the dark as to what 'The Bourne legacy' is about, and what the future holds for this franchise.

Naturally lets start at the beginning. 'The Bourne Identity' tells the story of a man who's body is recovered at sea by a fishing crew. Upon inspection they find out that the man is still alive and he seems to have forgotten everything, including his name. Eventually he begins to remember smaller details about his life and soon finds out that his name is Jason Bourne, but also finds out that he has many different personas, each one with a passport for a different country. He also finds tens of thousands of dollars (tens of thousands more in different currencies) and a gun. This he doesn't like, and begins to really question what he was in his past life. Now under the name of Bourne, and with his new friend Marie Helena Kreutz, he travels from country to country in search of his real identity. But someone else is not happy to see him alive, and is frantically trying to track him down.

We find out that Bourne was involved in a assassination attempt, which for unknown reasons, he messed up and ended up in the sea with two bullets in his back. We also find out that Bourne is part of a programme called Treadstone, which is an experimental, top-secret black ops program of the CIA. It recruited only U.S. Service members to turn them into assassins and was formed in a direct response to the Congressional Act which banned the U.S. from partaking in any assassinations. It used a behaviour-modification program to break down the assassins' morality and make them near unstoppable living weapons. After the morality break down, presumably, the assassins received advanced training in sniping, hand to hand combat techniques and tradecraft. The last surviving member of Treadstone is Bourne. The successor to Treadstone was Operation Blackbriar (which I will talk about later).

In this film, Bourne shakes the faith in Treadstone. It is clear the the agents are wound too tight, and you never know what will make them snap. Bourne leaves a trail of colateral damage from Austria to Paris, every time the CIA comes into contact with him, the more likely he is to bring the whole system down on them.

'The Bourne Supremacy' is set two years after the events of 'The Bourne Identity'. Jason Bourne thought he has walked away from his past, but now the past catches up with him when the CIA threatens to ruin his new life. Bourne and Maries have maintained their anonymous underground existence. Fuelled by splintered nightmares and haunted by the past he cannot remember, Bourne moves Marie from city to city, trying to remaine one step ahead of the threat implicit in every unexplained stranger's glance, every 'wrong number' phone call, believing that without warning, he might get pulled back into the world he has tried his best to leave behind.

In berlin, a CIA officer under Deputy Director Pamela Landy is trading $3million for the 'Neski Files', documents about the theft of $20million from the CIA seven years earlier. During the exchange, a Russian assassin named Kirill arrives to intercept the selling. He plants two bombs in the basement electrical circuit: one on the main and the other on a sub-line with Jason Bourne's fingerprint. The bomb on the main line kills the power while kirill kills the agent and the source, and steals the files and money, which he gives to Russian oil magnate Yuri Gretkov. Kirill then travels to Goa to kill Bourne, but Bourne flees with Marie. Bourne is used as a cover for the Russian assassin. The CIA goes after Bourne.

'The Bourne Ultimatum' is where we finally find out more about Operation Blackbriar (which was only mentioned at the end of 'The Bourne Identity'). Blackbriar is essentially the umbrella program for all of the CIA's black operations, including 'lethal action'. One of the many pro's in regards to Blackbriar is the ability for it's commanders to make real-time decisions instead of awaiting for authorisation from Washington D.C.

In 'The Bourne Ultimatum' Bourne is once again brought out of hiding, this time inadvertently by London-based reporter Simon Ross who is trying to unveil Operation Blackbriar in a series of newspaper columns. Bourne sets up a meeting with Ross and realises instantly that they're being scanned. Information from the reporter stirs a new set of memories, and Bourne must finally uncover his dark past whilst dodgong The Company's best efforts in trying to eradicate him. Whilst Pamela Landy has decided to leave Bourne alone, CIA Deputy Director Noah Vosen has other plans. He believes Bourne is still dangerous and must be eliminated, before he finds out his true identity and takes the CIA down with him.

As far as I know 'The Bourne Legacy' is about the CIA desperately trying to cover their tracks after information about Treadstone and Operation Blackbriar is revealed. The CIA decides to dispose of their other black ops programs, which includes the termination of their field agents. However Aaron Cross (Jeremy Renner), an agent from Operation Outcome, escapes from being executed and, with the help of an Outcome scientist (Rachel Weisz), sets out to get his latest fix of agent drugs (that last bit I got from the plot summary section on the Wikipedia page).

Take a look at the trailer for 'The Bourne Legacy':
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdtUdEoE-Q4

The trailer and poster have always been seen the with word "There was never just one", which leads me to believe that Operation Outcome is an upgraded version of Treadstone. We hear the phrase "he's Treadstone without the inconstancy" and Cross says "I'm more than just a science project". When you put this with the Wikipedia part about agent drugs, you get that Operation Outcome is using special drugs to enhance their agents and make them better killers (they possibly use them instead of morality breakdown). As far as we know Jason Bourne will not appear in this movie; it isn't about Bourne himself, but the effect his actions are having. The CIA is scared, it isn't just cutting off any loose ends, it's cutting out everything in relation to their black ops operations.

One thing I've noticed, is that they've changed the running theme. In the first three films (you can kind of leave 'The Bourne Supremacy' out of it because it isn't mention, but it is evidently there) the theme is "look what they make you give". We hear it during the barn house scene in 'The Bourne Identity', spoken by the assassin to Bourne, and at the end of 'The Bourne Ultimatum' spoken by Jason Bourne himself. This theme of what they've done to these men, what they've made them give up; their identity, their past and eventually, their life. In the new film, they seem to be going with the theme "There was never just one", so they may be abandoning the quest into what they did to the likes of Bourne, and instead looking closer into how many others they did it to (and how they advanced their techniques  to get better results).

What's interesting to me is that there is actually a novel called 'The Bourne Legacy', not written by Robert Ludlum however, but by Eric Van Lustbager in 2004. Lustbager has wrote several Bourne books, these being: 'The Bourne Legacy' (2004), 'The Bourne Betrayal' (2007), 'The Bourne Sanction' (2008), 'The Bourne Deception' (2009), 'The Bourne Objective' (2010), 'The Bourne Dominion' (2011) and 'The Bourne Imperative' (2012). I don't know much about these novels but I do know that in novel 'The Bourne Legacy', Bourne is the main character, so it is clear that they're following the trend of only loosely following the novels (they did the same with Ludlum's trilogy). It also makes me wonder why they decided to make a new lead character rather than sticking with Bourne. As far as we know, they've just taken the name from the novel.

What is certain is that if this film is successful, we will see more Bourne films, and there is clearly enough material for them to use (whether or not they stick to it is another matter). Personally I hope it is a good film, because I really enjoy the first three films. I want Jason Bourne to appear at the end of this movie, it will tie in all the films. Bourne was the first, he was the beginning, he has to be there at the end.

Which Of These Blu Rays Should I Buy Next? (Poll)

I'm a bit indecisive about what blu rays I should buy next. These will probably be the last blu rays I buy before I go to university next month. So I thought I'd leave it up to you guys.

The choice are:
-The Robocop Trilogy (£10)
-Anchorman and District 9 (2 for £12 HMV)

The poll is to the right hand side of this post. It closes at the end of the day.

Review of Blinky (Short Film)

"Soon every home will have a robot helper. Don't worry. It's perfectly safe."

'Blinky' is a 2011 short film written, directed and edited by Ruairi Robinson. The films stars Max Records, who was previously in the feature film 'Where The Wild Things Are'. The cinematography was by Miguel "Macgregor" De Olaso and the music was composed by Olafur Arnolds courtesy of Erased Tapes. It was funded by Bord Scannan na hEireann/Irish Film Board. The budget for this short film was 4kK eauro (just for the shoot). The visual effects budget was zero.

This short film is really good, it's about a young boy (Records) who asks for a robot friend for Christmas. The beginning of the film shows us some home video footage of Alex and Blinky playing and having a good time. I haven't seen 'Where The Wild Things Are' so I haven't seen any of Records' previous acting pieces, but he was really good in this. As the footage goes on we see Alex become more and more bored with Blinky. He witnesses his parents fighting quite often and he begins to take his frustration out on Blinky. When Alex starts blaming Blinky for everything that happens around him, and starts shouting aggressive orders at him when he sees his parents fighting again, Blinky crashes. This proves to have a shocking consequence.

For a film that is only twelve minutes long, it does a really good job at telling the story, it touches on family problems and the effect parents fighting can have on the child. The visual effects are really good, especially for a short film (it's even more impressive when the director had to pay for the special effects out of his own pocket). Apparently the visual effects were completed over a period of nine months. The main challenges were making the rain drops on the character look real. The director also modelled Blinky in 3D and played both his voice and the body motion capture performance. That's dedication.

The link for 'Blinky' is below:
http://vimeo.com/21216091

With a good cast, an interesting story, amazing visual effects and a cracking ending, I am going to give 'Blinky' a 10/10, easily the best short film I've seen.

Review of Ted

'Ted' is a 2012 American comedy film co-written, produced and directed by Set MacFarlane (the creator of Family Guy and American Dad), who stars in it along with Mark Wahlberg and Mila Kunis. This is MacFarlane's first live-action feature. The film revolves around John Bennet whom at the beginning of the film wishes for his stuffed bear (called 'Teddy') to come to life, obviously this happens. The film takes us through the relation between John and Ted and all the antics they get up to. John's girlfriend Lori (Kunis) makes John chose between her and Ted because she feels like Ted is holding John back and she will never get a serious relationship out of John as long as his teddy bear is still around.

I have to say for MacFarlane's first film he has done a pretty good job, it has a lot of elements of Family Guy in it, the most obvious being Ted's voice (he sounds like Peter Griffin). The story is quite solid, it starts to get a bit stale about two-thirds of the way through, but then there's a twist that we probably should have been expecting because it was hinted at earlier in the film, but we were all too busy getting caught up with what else was happening. The twist completely changes the tone of the film, its still really funny but it takes a much more serious approach than what we've previously been watching. The main part of this film is obviously the comedy, as soon as we see the name Seth MacFarlane, we know it is a comedy, also that it will be a specific type of humour. A lot of people were saying that the funniest bits were in the trailer, this is kind of true, but they are the bits that everyone will laugh at, the rest of the humour is spread out across different audiences, some finding a certain joke hilarious, others not quite getting it. So it does quite well at appealing to all audiences, but I think the people who will enjoy it most are Family Guy fans.

The cast is amazing, Mark Wahlberg and mila Kunis have great chemistry together. Wahlberg should do more comedies, he wouldn't have been my first choice but I was pleasantly surprised by him. MacFarlane is brilliant, even though Ted sounds like Peter Griffin, the two characters are nothing alike. Ted just seems so real throughout the whole thing, you'd almost believe that he's a normal person and not a teddy bear. On that note I have to mention the special effects on Ted himself; he looks flawless. He is incredibly detailed and blends in really well with the set and characters, it's almost as if he is a very advanced robotic prop rather than a CGI model character. So hats off to Tippett Studio for their work on bringing Ted to life. Other cast members include Giovanni Ribisi (who is always brilliant), Patrick Warburton, Sam J. Jones (in an extended cameo as himself) and even Ryan Reynolds has a small role. Other cameos include Norah Jones and Tom Skerritt and not forgetting the hilarious narration by Patrick Stewart. I must say, if you are a fan of 'Flash Gordon' then this film will be so much more enjoyable for you because Same J. Jones is hilarious and it really helps if you've seen him in his most known role (and know how awful, yet enjoyable, 'Flash Gordon' was).

Basically the only flaw with this film is that you need to have a specific taste in comedy to enjoy it to the max. Yeah it has a few funny moments for everyone, but like films like 'The Dictator', some will love it, some will hate it. Personally I think this is a really funny film, a fantastic live-action directorial debut for Seth Macfarlane and now I really want a Family Guy movie. My advice is to definitely give 'Ted' a shot, you'll definitely laugh a lot, you may even cry, it does get sad at one point. Remember that it is a 15 rated film, apparently a lot of people have been turning up at cinemas assuming its a 12A because it's a film about a man and his teddy bear. No, no, no, no, it's Seth MacFarlane, have you people not seen his shows? Anything he makes will be filled with dirty jokes, boobs, and swearing. Just the way it should be.

I am going to give 'Ted' a 9/10. It's the best comedy I've seen this year since '21 Jump Street', it gives us a nice break from all the superhero/action films that have been out recently. A small intermission before we are blitzed with 'Total Recall', 'The Bourne Legacy' and 'The Expendables 2' all in one month.

I Saw Ted Today!

My review of 'Ted' will be typed up by tomorrow, I just want to say that it is really funny. It is definitely more funny if you are a fan of Family Guy, buit there are plenty of funny bits to satisfy everyones taste. The films is perfect for you if you are a fan of 'Flash Gordon'.

Movie Recommendation Of The Week: Starship Troopers (1997)

This week (6/8/12) my movie recommendation is the 1997 films 'Starship Troopers', directed by Paul Verhoeven, based off the novel by Robert A. Heinlein. Normall my recommendation of the week has something to do with the films coming out on that particular week, but this week I chose this one purely because me and my mate were talking about science fiction. I suppose it is related to the 'Total Recall' remake because Verhoeven directed the original.

The story revolves around a young soldier named Johnny Rico and his exploits in the Mobile Infantry (a futuristic unit). He doesn't join because he wants to serve mankind, but because he is convinced his girlfriend that it is the right thing to. When the relationship goes doesn't go the way he planned, he questions whether or not he wishes to stay with the Mobil Infantry. Rico's military career progresses from recruit to non-commissioned officer and finally to officer against the backdrop of an interstellar war between mankind and an arachnoid species known as 'the bugs'.

This is one of the cheesiest movies that people love to make fun of, but it is also one of those films that you cannot help but love. It is almost nothing like the book, but we don't care because the whole film is filled with soldiers shooting at giant bugs and the same giant bugs tearing soldier apart. It has been announced that 'Starship Troopers' is being remade, but is getting a 12A rating, which is a horrible decision, because you can't have a non-gory 'Starship Troopers' film. There is however a CGI sequel called 'Starship Troopers: Invasion', which is supposed to the sequel to the first film that we've been waiting for for years. 'Starship Troopers' is a 9/10 for me, i absolutely love how ridiculous and violent it is. It is one of those films you have to see before you die. Simple as.

Weekly Blu Ray Review: Batman and The Bourne Identity

I've been very lucky this week (starting 30/7/12), because a good friend of mine has lent me the Batman Anthology blu ray which includes 'Batman', 'Batman Returns', Batman Forever' and 'Batman & Robin'(it's a shame I didn't have this during my Batman week) and also my steelbook of The Bourne Trilogy has arrived. So that has me sorted for at least two weeks of reviews, I'm hoping to have all of the Bourne films reviewed before 'The Bourne Legacy' comes out. I will also be doing a post going through all of the Bourne films and what exactly Jason Bourne's legacy is. So this week, I am reviewing the blu rays of Tim Burton's 'Batman' and 'The Bourne Identity'.

Batman (1989)
A real game changer in the Batman world, it meant an end to the campy vision left by the live-action TV series from the 1960s. With a dark gritty story played out by a flawless cast including Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson, no wonder it changed Batman forever. The blu ray quality is amazing, the picture is great and the sound is good and it comes with more than enough special features. This includes commentary by Tim burton, an on set with Bob Kane featurette. Also a documentary called 'Legends of The Dark Knight: The History of Batman' which goes through how the comics have changed over the years. The whole anthology comes with a set of documentaries called 'Shadows of the Bat: The Cinematic Saga', each film has different parts, this one has one to three and it is possibly the most interesting thing i've ever watched on a blu ray. It goes through the marathon they went through to get this movie made, how 'Superman: The movie'  helped get Batman to the big screen, the casting, the story, the reinvisioning of Batman, it goes incredibly in depth. On top of that we have galleries, showing how they designed Batman and Gotham, three Prince videos, heroes and villains profile galleries and also, an animated story board which shows how Robin was supposed to fit into the movie, voiced by Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill. Finally it includes the theatrical trailer. For the first film I've watched from this Anthology, it looks like my mates got value for his money and i am really looking forward to watching the rest of this 'Shadows of the Bat' documentary. Definitely worth your time and money, an amazing film with more than enough special features to justify purchasing it, a 10/10.

The Bourne Identity (2002)
The first chapter in one of the greatest spy film series ever made. This was the film that made those in charge of the Bond films to reboot them and make them more gritty and realistic to compete with Bourne. The picture looks pretty good throughout, although it does drop a bit in areas and the sound sounds really good during the major scenes, but sometimes it sounds like its been taken straight from the DVD. The special very are very good. It includes a three-piece documentary called 'The Ludlum Identity', 'The Ludlum Supremacy' and 'The Ludlum Ultimatum' which goes through Ludlum's life, his other writers, his inspiration and his legacy. There's also deleted scenes, along with an alternate opening and an alternate ending (which is alright, nothing major), there's also bits on the making of the film. I got this as part of the Bourne steelbook edition, with the first film being quite good quality I am looking forward to watching the rest of them, I just hope they didn't use all the special features on the writer in the first film of the boxset.  I am going to give 'The Bourne Identity' an 8.5/10, it is still a good quality blu ray and definitely worth your time.

That's it for this week, next week I will most likely be reviewing one or two Batman films and the second installation of the Bourne Trilogy. Also look forward to my 'Ted' review tomorrow night and after that I will be doing a piece of the original 'Total Recall' and how it is a great film.