Saw 3D

On Friday, I watched Saw 3D and Vue Cinema, Festival Place, Basingstoke.

As a brutal battle wages over the legacy left behind by Jigsaw, a group of people who survived the deadly games gather to get support from fellow survivor turned self-help guru Bobby Dagen...but Dagen harbours a dark secret that will unleash  a new wave of terror.

I thought this movie was great and certainly a lot better than the previous 3 movies (as much as I like them, I tended to watch it for the traps and not the story line) and barring the final trap Dagen has to save someone from the traps seemed to be quite simple.

I'm not so sure the movie really warranted the 3D treatment, but it seems so many movies are jumping on this bandwagon...although this move there seems to be no choice as it whether you would like to watch it either 2D or 3D, which I think may lose it a lot of watchers as some people are unable to watch movies in 3D, or feel they are too expensive.

Something else of note is that Chester Bennington from Linkin Park is also in this movie and is in a trap where he has to truly put his back into the role!  Don't worry, I'll say no more on that for people who have not watched the movie yet and want to...

The movie was a good watch, and there was an interesting twist at the end, although if you think about it, it makes sense that would have happened.

Is this "game over" for the franchise?  They say yes, but so many franchises have been killed off and come back (Friday the 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street instantly spring to mind...) so I say it is a case of never say never, although this would be a good place to stop.

Saw 3D is rated 18, only viewable in digital 3D and in cinemas now.

Vampires Suck

Today I saw Vampires Suck.

This movie is a spoof of the vampire movies that seem to be all the rage at the moment.  Teenager Becca, finds herself torn between 2 boys, vampire Edward Sullen and werewolf Jacob White.  Becca and her friends wrestle with several dramas throughout the movie, with everything coming to a head at their prom.

I usually enjoy watching spoof movies, but this was painful to watch, the jokes were not funny barring a few, the cast were wooden and to be honest, I want my time and money back after watching this pile of trash.

Yes, vampires suck...but man, this movie sucks far more.

Vampires Suck is rated 12A (and is a cut version) and in cinemas now.

The Social Network

On Tuesday I went and saw the preview screening of The Social Network an Odeon Cinema, Basingstoke.

The movie is about Mark Zuckerberg and how he created Facebook, and the lawsuits against him.  It starts with  Zuckerberg getting drunk after being dumped, him hacking college "facebooks" and sending a link so that people could compare girls from colleges and vote who was hottest...and then from there creates "The Facebook" which becomes a social networking phenomena. Six years on and 500 million friends later Zuckerberg is the youngest billionaire in history, but not without it legal and personal problems along the way...

I must admit, when I heard there was going to be a movie based on the story of Facebook I thought it was going to be utter rubbish, and had quite low expectations of this movie going to see it, but I was quite surprised at how much I enjoyed this movie, and Jessie Eisenberg plays the role of Zuckerberg really well, and is supported with a great cast too.  Go see this movie, you just might like it!!

The Social Network is in cinemas on 15th October and is rated 12A

Buried

Today I saw Buried at Vue Cinema, Festival Place, Basingstoke.


Waking groggy in the pitch darkness, Paul Conroy, an American truck driver working as a contractor in Iraq, realizes that he has been trapped inside a wooden coffin, and is buried alive.  All he has is a Zippo lighter and he discovers there is a cell phone in there with him also.  Conroy tries to use the phone to contact the outside World attempting to get rescued, but sadly he soon discovers that the outside World is not very helpinf at finding a man buried in a box in the middle of the Iraq desert so he must rely on the best resource that he has...himself.


The movie centres around Conroy and this is the only person you see in the entire movie, you see how he, he attempts to get himself out of the situation, with the battery of the cell phone he is using getting ever lower all the time.

Ryan Reynolds plays the role of Conroy really well, and although I didn't really expect much from this movie I did enjoy it, and wasn't too bad to watch.  I don't want to say too much about this movie in fear of giving away the end for some, but I thought it was an interesting twist at the end.

Buried is rated 15 and in cinemas now

Another Bill & Ted Movie?

According to an article on MTV Movies Blog, Keanu Reeves said to MTV at the Toronto Film Festival that a third Bill & Ted adventure could well be a possibility...

Would this really be a good idea...I mean, middle aged Bill & Ted? Would they be into soft rock now, letting the side down?  I am a big fan of both Excellent Adventure and Bogus Journey (ok, the second movie wasn't as much fus as the first, but it still wasn't that bad really...) I thought they were funny movies and the soundtrack to both movies was pretty cool too!

What are your thoughts on a third Bill & Ted movie?  For me personally, as much as the movie would be fun seeing how the Wyld Stallyns are some 20 years on, I'm not sure if this is a good idea...and with the passing of George Carlin, will there be Rufus in this story?  If so who will play him?

Be excellent to each other! *air guitar*

Salt

Last night, I saw the movie Salt.


As a CIA officer, Evelyn Salt swore an oath to duty, honor and country. Her loyalty will be tested when a defector accuses her of being a Russian spy. Salt goes on the run, using all her skills and years of experience as a covert operative to elude capture. Salt's efforts to prove her innocence only serve to cast doubt on her motives, as the hunt to uncover the truth behind her identity continues and the question remains: "Who is Salt?"

This movie is you typical spy movie fayre to be honest, although it was a fun movie to watch it wasn't exactly exceptional.  The movie has a good cast headed by Agelina Jolie playing the lead role.  If you are expecting a movie that is something different, then you will be disappointed, however if you want a movie you can switch your brain off to and just enjoy a little action then you should enjoy this movie.

Salt is rated 12A (the version in UK cinemas has been cut) and is in cinemas now.

The Expendables

This afternoon, me and Haunted Rock Cake went and saw The Expendables at Vue Cinema Festival Place, Basingstoke.


Barney Ross leads the "Expendables", a band of highly skilled mercenaries including knife enthusiast Lee Christmas, martial arts expert Yin Yang, heavy weapons specialist Hale Caesar, demolitionist Toll Road and loose-cannon sniper Gunner Jensen. When the group is commissioned by the mysterious Mr. Church to assassinate the merciless dictator of a small South American island, Barney and Lee head to the remote locale to scout out their opposition. Once there, they meet with local rebel Sandra and discover the true nature of the conflict engulfing the city. When they escape the island and Sandra stays behind, Ross must choose to either walk away and save his own life - or attempt a suicidal rescue mission that might just save his soul.


This movie has been hyped for ages, a true all-star movie with the cast having names like Steve Austin, Dolph Lundgren, Terry Crews, Mickey Rourke and brief cameos from Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis.  As with any action movie, there is a car chase scene, explosions, gun fights, fist fights and martial arts...everything the action junkie can ask for!


I really enjoyed this movie, it was good fun, and my fears about the movie being nothing but an ego-fest were totally unfounded.  It's the kind of movie that you don't have to think hard to enjoy, although despite my enjoyment I still felt there could have been more to it.


The Expendables is rated 15 (although it has been cut sadly) and is in cinemas 19th August.

Centurion

This evening, I watched the movie Centurion on DVD.


AD 117. The Roman Empire stretches from Egypt to Spain, and East as far as the Black Sea. But in northern Britain, the relentless onslaught of conquest has ground to a halt in face of the guerrilla tactics of an elusive enemy: the savage and terrifying Picts. Quintus Dias , sole survivor of a Pictish raid on a Roman frontier fort, marches north with General Virilus' legendary Ninth Legion, under orders to wipe the Picts from the face of the earth and destroy their leader Gorlacon. But when the legion is ambushed on unfamiliar ground, and Virilus taken captive, Quintus faces a desperate struggle to keep his small platoon alive behind enemy lines. Enduring the harsh terrain and evading their remorseless Pict pursuers led by revenge-hungry Pict Warrior Etain, the band of soldiers race to rescue their General and to reach the safety of the Roman frontier.


The movie is a great watch, with a good cast and is ideal for a lad's night in with a curry and a few beers...be warned it has a fair amount of blood and gore...this movie is not recommended for the squeamish.


I can't believe I missed this at the cinema (actually, I don't recall this being listed at any of my local cinemas at all) as this would have been great to see at the cinema.


Centurion is rated 15 and available on Blu-Ray and DVD now.

The Sorcerer's Apprentice (2010)

On Friday, I decided to see The Sorcerer's Apprentice at Vue Cinemas, Festival Place, Basingstoke.


Balthazar Blake (Nicolas Cage) is a master sorcerer in modern-day Manhattan trying to defend the city from his arch-nemesis, Maxim Horvath (Alfred Molina). Balthazar can't do it alone, so he recruits Dave Stutler (Jay Baruchel), a seemingly average guy who demonstrates hidden potential, as his reluctant protégé. The sorcerer gives his unwilling accomplice a crash course in the art and science of magic, and together, these unlikely partners work to stop the forces of darkness. It'll take all the courage Dave can muster to survive his training, save the city and get the girl as he becomes The Sorcerer's Apprentice.


The first thing I will say about this movie is if you are expecting to see a live action version of the sublime Disney classic Fantasia, don't go and see this movie because you will be disappointed...although there is a nudge toward the film with the apprentice trying to clean with magic!


The cast was pretty good, Cage and Molina play off each other quite well, and it was nice to see Alice Krige in something non-Borg as well, and although you only see her twice quite briefly in the movie, she plays the part of Morgana well.


The movie is good fun, and there is a bit of a car chase, but I couldn't help but think that there was supposed to be more to this movie, so as much as I enjoyed the movie...I kinda felt I'd only watched half a movie.


The Sorcerer's Apprentice is rated PG and in cinemas now.

Death At A Funeral (2010)

Last night I went and saw a preview screening of the movie Death At A Funeral, a remake of the 2007 movie of the same name.

The Story centres around Aaron (played by Chris Rock) and his family who come together after the father of the family passes away. The family is the usual kind of thing, the brother who has done well, the crazy uncle and so on. Everyone is trying to be civil with each other (even though they really don't like each other) but the day kicks off to a shoddy start with the undertakers making an awful mistake...and then things get a whole lot worse when a mysterious dwarf that nobody seems to know has some devastating news...

The movie is great fun, funnier that I thought it would be and it has a great cast with stars like Chris Rock, Martin Lawrence, Danny Glover, James Marsden, and Peter Dinklage (who reprises his role from the original). The humour is quite in your face, and I enjoyed every minute....oh and seeing what happens to Danny Glover's character in the end is priceless!

It's difficult to say which version is better, it really does depend on what you want...they are both funny movies but if you want subtle humour then go see the original, but if you like in your face humour then you should really enjoy this movie.

Death At A Funeral (2010) is rated 15 and released 4th June

A Nightmare On Elm Street: The Dream Child

A Nightmare On Elm Street is one of the most iconic horror movies of all time,and it spawned 6 sequels and a pretty awful crossover movie (and did you now he kinda cameos in Jason Goes To Hell: The Final Friday?).

The 5th movie in the franchise is called The Dream Child and this time it is based on the fact that unborn children dream...which means basically there will never be any escape from Freddy as one way or another he will come back to get you.

Some of the effects for the deaths are pretty good, for example when Dan becomes one with his motorbike and there are some interesting ideas on nightmares like someone turning into a comic book character and when they are cut they bleed coloured ink, but this does not make for a good movie.

Sadly this movie is quite slow, there are not too many deaths in this movie (not necessarily a bad thing) and the quips from Freddy make him more of a clown than a horror icon.

The only reason you should watch this movie is if you are a die hard Freddy fan and want to watch everything, if you want to see how to make a lame horror movie or if you want to see the fall of a horror icon.

A Nightmare On Elm Street: The Dream Child is rated 18 (although I have absolutely no idea why, it should be a 15 to be honest...) and is available on DVD.

Today, Maxim put up the following article about odd movie endings:

The 10 Most "Huh?" Endings in Movies

You know the feeling: You've been sitting through a good two hours of a movie only to have it slam to a halt with an ending that either completely messes with everything you just saw, leaves things frustratingly hanging in the air, or just goes completely batshit in the final minutes. It's time to celebrate some of our favorite "Whowiththewhatnow?" endings from movies. Oh, do we even have to say "SERIOUS SPOILERS AHEAD"? Well, there are.

10. Planet of the Apes (2001)
Yes, the infamous Ape-raham Lincoln ending. Mark Wahlberg thinks he's escaped from the simian planet, only to arrive on "Earth" - but an Earth where a monkey wrote the Gettysburg address! Tim Burton knew he couldn't just…wait for it…ape the original's "Goddamn you all to hell!" twist ending, so he decided to throw in a brand new one of his very own. Too bad it was solely a visual gag that didn't make a lick of sense.

9. A Serious Man (2009)
OK, this one is actually a little unfair. Sure, we're calling out the "everyone stands around, looking at a tornado" ending as one big, giant "huh?", but that implies that anything that came before that moment made any sense at all. A Serious Man is Coen Brother in-joke at its most insular, so the fact that it has an elliptical non-ending should have come as no surprise.

8. The Number 23 (2007)
For the whole movie, Jim Carrey is obsessed with a book about the Number 23 that seems to have odd parallels to his life. The occult is thrown is as a giant, demonic red herring, and then the movie hits you with its idea of a wrap up: Carrey wrote the book! Only he doesn't remember doing it! Yeah, that's right, this whole movie basically hinges on the equivalent of a Post-It you put on the fridge when you were wasted.

7. No Country For Old Men (2007)
Oh, Coens, you've done it again. After a thoroughly tense and well-structured crime thriller, they decide to wrap up things up with implied off-screen deaths and Tommy Lee Jones explaining his dreams. And then it ends. Now, we understand the desire for an unconventional ending, but this is like suddenly unplugging the TV in the final minute of Murder, She Wrote.

6. The Blair Witch Project (1999)

One of the most notorious WTF's ever. We see everything from the POV of Heather, running through the creepy abandoned house in the woods with the camera. She enters a room, and sees…what we think is her companion Mike, standing in the corner awaiting the witch's deathblow (like the children in the folktale version of the witch's story) but before what we're seeing actually registers the camera hits the ground and…that's it. The end. Laters!

5. The Forgotten (2004)
Aliens abducted Julianne Moore's kid. Fucking aliens.

4. The Mist (2007)
After somehow managing to escape from the supermarket that's surrounded by unearthly horrors and (unknowingly) mere seconds from rescue, Thomas Jane decides that he'd rather kill his son, his wife, the other survivors, and himself rather than be subjected to death by Lovecraft. BLAMMO! A WTF and a gut-shot all in one.

3. Vanilla Sky (2001)
So we find out that everything - the undead girlfriend and the masks and everything - is some kind of corporate-controlled dream that's been running through Tom Cruise's head while he's been CRYOGENICALLY FROZEN? Give us a break.

2. Anything By M. Night Shyamalan
Seriously, take your pick: "Bruce Willis was dead the whole time!" "Samuel L. Jackson is a super villain!" "The aliens' only weakness is water even though they seem intent on coming to a planet that is 90% made up of the stuff" "The village is on a modern-day nature reserve!" "The Lady in the Water is complete shit!" "Trees are killing people!" This guy is, literally, Rod Serling for Dummies.

1. Sleepaway Camp (1983)
Not only one of the biggest mind-blowing endings, but one that will haunt your dreams for all eternity. The killer? "Angela"? SHE'S A DUDE! And not just a dude, but a dude so thoroughly checked into Crazytown that, upon discovery, just stands there, mouth open, making the most ungodly guttural noise we've ever heard with his peen hanging out. Seriously, watch this clip once and never sleep right again. 

So, what are your thoughts on list? Me personally I would have listed all M Night Shyamalan's movie at #1 for this list as they just seem to get odder and odder!

"This concludes our broadcast day..."

Splinter

I like a good horror movie, and I was recently recommended Splinter.


Splinter is about a young couple who retreat to the wilderness for a romantic camping weekend, but after damaging their tent everything starts to go wrong when they are car-jacked by an escaped convict and his girlfriend on the run from the police.
As the foursome travel the back roads they find themselves in more trouble than any of them could have imagined -- there's a blood-crazed, parasitic creature in the woods, and the two couples are it's next targets.
They shelter at an abandoned gas station, they must use their wits and every weapon at their disposal to defend themselves from not only the creature but themselves.


I really enjoyed this movie, it was a good watch and well worth checking out.  I liked the idea of a parasite that infects you and causes spikes/splinters to grow out of the victims bodies (or body parts if removed).  After seeing a lot of lame horrors of late, this for me is the way horror should be...simple, but effective. It felt like I was watching some of the simpler horrors from the 80s (and that is nothing but a good thing, some great horrors were made in that time!) and I feel anyone who is going to make a new horror should watch this to see how it should be done.


Here is the trailer for this movie:




Splinter is rated 18 and available on DVD


"This concludes out broadcast day..."


NOTE - I got a tweet from Toby Wilkins, the director of this movie, thanking me for watching and reviewing the movie, it went as follows:
TobyWilkins: Thanks for watching and reviewing, glad you enjoyed it. // RT @yamerias: Fat Bloke Watching: Splinter http://dlvr.it/x3Nc
Nice to have him drop me a message like that!

Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll

Think of some of the people who you think are amazing...is Ian Dury one of them? I think he was one of the greats and his passing in 2000 was a huge loss to the entertainment industry.
So it was great expections I had from Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll, a biopic based on Ian Dury..and I'm glad to say this movie delivered.
The movie is kind of themed like a concert, with Dury (played by Andy Serkis) telling the story of his life. At the age of 7 he contracted polio, and it shows some of ths struggles he had growing up and his against all odds rise to superstardom, being one of the founding fathers of the British punk movement.
It also shows the struggles his family had with a volitile person like Dury as a father and husband.
The movie is great, although it could get confusing where is goes back and forth a lot, but the best thing is that they refused to sugar coat what kind of person Dury was. Serkis plays the lead role incredibly well and almost looks like him too! Add to that a great soundtrack and this move is a winner.
Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll is rated 15 and is available on DVD and BRD on 17th May.

Pierrepoint

This afternoon, I watched Pierrepoint (also known as The Last Hangman) on DVD.

This movie is the story of Albert Pierrepoint, who was the last hangman in the UK.  During the span of his 22 year career, he executed some 608 people, including the so-called "Beasts of Belsen" for which he had the country's gratitude....he also had to hang his friend because he killed a woman, which changed him.forever.

By the time he had done his last hanging (Ruth Ellis) the public felt differently toward Pierrepont, calling him a murderer, and he felt very differently about the job and resigned in 1956.

The movie is very sad, and Timoth Spall portrays Pierrepoint creepily well.

Pierrepoint is rated 15, and available on DVD

How To Train Your Dragon

I've always had a passion for animated movies, and I've liked the animated features that Dreamworks have done (although they have never beaten anything by Pixar so far) so I thought I'd give this movie a go.
The story is about a boy called Hiccup, who wants to be a dragon killer. The village he lives in is attacked by dragons constantly, the village men are huge Viking warriors who battle them and Hiccup is...well...not.
Hiccup finds a dragon (which he calls Toothless) he had caught with a contraption he invented..but instead of killing it as he wanted to, he released it. He then trains to kill dragons, where he learns all about dragons, and hears about Night Furies, which happens to be the breed Toothless is. Hiccup and Toothless become friends, and he learns more about them that grasses that make them docile and fish they cannot eat, and Hiccup also makes the dragon a new tail fin so he can fly again.
In the end, after a huge battle, Viking and dragon learn to coexist in harmony.
The movie isn't too bad and had a feelgood factor to it was well as a message of tolerance and understanding.
This movie is also available in 3D, although I'm not sure it would be worth seeing in 3D.
How To Train Your Dragon is rated U and in cinemas now.

A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984)

As I will be watching the reboot of the A Nightmare On Elm Street franchise sometime in the next week I thought I'd watch the original movie from 1984.  The version I watched was from the US New Line Platinum Series "The Nightmare On Elm Street Collection".

The movie is about a group of high school kids who keep having the same dream.  They dream of a badly burned man wearing a brown fedora hat, a dirty striped jumper and notably a glove with blades on the fingers...and every time they dream about this man if they die in the dream they die for real.  The man in their dreams is Freddy Krueger, the son of 1,00 maniacs who was burnt alive by a group of parents after he escaped charges of child molestation on a technicality.

The are brilliant kills in this movie by Freddy, when he attacks Tina was a seriously jaw dropping moment when I saw it the first time as was Glen when he become the blood fountain...which had to be for me at the time one of the goriest scenes in a movie I had ever seen (I also would never forget the comment shortly afterwards "You don't need a stretcher up there, you need a mop"!) and it got me hooked on the horror genre.

This is a great movie, which for me still stands the test of time.  Wes Craven created a masterpiece and Freddy Krueger was certainly the man of New Line Cinema founder Robert Shaye's dreams and New Line is often known as "The House The Freddy Build" due to the massive success of the franchise.  It was also the movie that introduced the World to Johnny Depp (He also was to cameo in one of the many sequels too!).  Robert Englund plays one of the scariest characters in a movie as far as I'm concerned (I'm talking about this movie, not the sequels which almost all just made him into more of a clown than a monster)

When it comes to old school horror movies, this is a truly iconic movie and does make you think...after all how do you defend yourself from your dreams...or your nightmares?

A Nightmare On Elm Street is rated 18 and available on DVD now...or if you want to import it you can get it on region-free BRD from the US or Canada.

The Man Who Sued God

Yesterday I watched the movie "The Man Who Sued God" on DVD.


The movie is about a man called Steve Meyers (played by the very funny Billy Connolly) who decides to sue God after a bolt of lightening hit and destroys his fishing boat and the insurance company decline payments declaring the incident an "Act of God".
The film is quite funny, and also quite sad too.  It makes you wonder about the act of God clauses, and also about religion too.
All in all it's a fun movie and quite enjoyable.


The Man Who Sued God is rated 15 and is available on DVD now.


"This concludes our broadcast day..."

Worst movie ever?

I have actually found a movie I could not watch the whole way through, and considering some of the truly awful movies I have watched this really must be quite a bad movie.

The movie in question is Birdemic which made in 2008.  It is about a small town who get attacked by eagles and vultures, and 2 people who fight back...will they survive the Birdemic?

Here's the trailer for this....er...classic:

Right, so now you have looked at the awesomeness that is the trailer, would you really want to see this movie?  Against my better judgement and reviews almost everywhere saying this is one of the worst movies on the planet.

Bad call.

The dialog is cornier than a field of maize, the special effects look like they were done by a4 year old using crayons, and the film is outright dreadful.

If you have a passion for truly awful movies, you will be in your element with Birdemic, otherwise avoid it as if your life depends on it.

"This concludes our broadcast day..."

CotT2 - Kraken's Revenge?

On Tuesday, Deadline gave the following news on the announcement of a sequel to the remake of Clash of the Titans:


Warner Bros and Legendary Pictures are moving ahead with a sequel to Clash of the Titans, which the studio would like as early as spring, 2012. But they will make the journey without Louis Leterrier, who will not return for an encore as director. Sam Worthington will return, as well as most every other character that survived. Greg Berlanti will write the story and the studio is already canvassing the agencies for a writer and director who can whip the movie into shape  to shoot before Worthington makes Avatar 2. Leterrier will remain peripherally involved as executive producer. It isn't unheard of for the original director of a big hit film to drop off the sequel--Doug Liman on The Bourne Identity comes to mind--and insiders swear that the Leterrier move was harmonious and are saying he wasn't of a mind to rush into another installment of Greek mythological mayhem. The original has grossed around $390 million, on a $120 million budget with no real gross outlay. By the time it's done, Clash will be one of the year's biggest hits.


Are they serious?  I mean, April Fool's has been and gone right?  The remake was awful, the critics panned it yet many people have gone to see it and it has made a mountain of cash for Warner Bros!  If they are doing this this then I seriously hope they are not going to make this in 3D (which they more than likely are) as the remake was absolutely awful in 3D.


Well, I think I know one movie I will not be paying to see in 2012...


"This concludes our broadcast day..."

Iron Man 2

Today, I went to Vue Cinema, Basingstoke and saw an advance screening of Iron Man 2.

Robert Downey Jr returns to the role of billionaire industrialist Tony Stark who is also the armoured superhero Iron Man.
After announcing to the World at the end of the previous movie that he was Iron Man, everyone is aware of his dual identity, and he faces pressure from government, press and public to share his technology with the military, so with the help of Pepper Potts and James 'Rhodey' Rhodes he fights to protect the suit by making new alliances...and confronting new enemies...as well as contending with his own mortality.

The movie has a strong cast with Mickey Rourke, Gwyneth Paltrow, Scarlett Johansson and Samuel L Jackson joining Robert Downey Jr.

Oh, and for the geeks...there is something to see after the credits, I'm not saying what though!

It was a great movie, and the time flew by, never felt like it was two hours!

Iron Man 2 is rated 12A and is in UK cinemas nationwide 30th April.

Hot Tub Time Machine

This evening, I went to Odeon Cinema, Basingstoke and saw a preview screening of Hot Tub Time Machine.

Four friends who have become bored with their lives fall asleep in a hot tub and wake up to find themselves back in the 1980s! The usual time travel japes happen here with the future being altered by what they do in the 80s.

The movie has a great cast with the likes of John Cusack, Crispin Glover and Chevvy Chase who all work extremely well together in this movie.

Oh, and a highlight of the movie is Nick singing Let's Get It Started!

Hot Tub Time Machine is rated 15 and will be in UK cinemas nationwide 7th May.

Now, I need to check some stuff on Lougle...

"This concludes our broadcast day..."

A Nightmare On Elm Street Motion Poster

I love A Nightmare On Elm Street, I saw the first movie when I was 13 and it got me interested in the horror genre, and I must admit this is one of the rare remakes/reboots/re-imaginings I have been looking forward to since I heard they were doing it.

I have just recently seen a motion poster for the movie (which seems to be quite a popular thing!) and thought I'd share a link for you to have a look too...make sure you have the volume up as well!

http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/photosizer/upload/Ignition_NOES_MoPo.swf

If you want to download some posters wallpapers and screensavers don't forget to head to the official movie site, http://www.nightmareonelmstreet.com

A Nightmare On Elm Street is released in UK cinemas on 7th May and is rated 18

"This concludes out broadcast day..."

3D Movies, What Is Going On?

Last year I watched 4 movies in the then "newfangled" Digital 3D.  First I saw the animated movies Monsters Vs Aliens and Ice Age 3 which were fun movies and the 3D was not too bad.  Next I saw The Final Destination, which was pretty good and had some good "pop out" and make you jump moments in it.  Finally I saw Avatar...the movie of all movies it would seem, and it is really good, and was awesome in 3D.

This year there are LOTS of 3D movies being released...but are they not not just jumping on the bandwagon?  Several of these movies were not shot in 3D and have been turned into 3D in post-production, which gives you some 3D effect, it it does not have proper perspective or depth as if the movie was actually shot in 3D.  Prime examples of movies that were made 3D in post production are Alice In Wonderland and Clash Of The Titans...and both movies I personally do not see what the point was in having any parts in 3D as most of it felt like it was still in 2D anyway.

The other thing about 3D movies is the price...sure, I understand this is a "new technology" that is being used, but does it really have to cost that much at the cinema?  Is it because of the glasses?  If that's the case perhaps we could get a discount if were bring a pair of glasses with us?

I guess the problem is that Avatar was way TOO successful and this is why production companies are now rushing to get thier precious 2D movies into post processing to make them 3D so that they make more cash, but by making a movie 3D in post production is not big and clever, in fact most movie goers will see that kind of movie and sadly will be put off seeing most other 3D movies.

I wonder, will the madness end before it is too late?  Somehow I seriously doubt it....

"This concludes our broadcast day..."

Alice In Wonderland - Movie Review

This afternoon I went and saw Alice in Wonderland (3D) at the Vue Cinema Festival Place, Basingstoke.

The story is not the actual story "Alice In Wonderland" as many may think, but is actually more of a sequel of sorts.  Alice has grown up and it has been arranged that she marries a lord.  As she is proposed to she sees the White Rabbit and chases after him, and falls down a rabbit hole, and tumbles into Wonderland!

Wonderland has seen better days...it is ruled by the Red Queen with an iron fist, and always more than happy to have people executed, and the only person who can help Wonderland is their champion, who will have to kill the Jabberwocky...and the champion of Wonderland is Alice!

There are all the characters you will remember from Alice in Wonderland....Tweedle Dum & Tweedle Dee, The Mad Hatter, The March Hare, The Cheshire Cat....it was great to see them all, especially The Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp does a sterling job...perhaps a little too good!).

Does Alice save Wonderland? Will the Red Queen reign supreme?  Watch the movie and see...

The movie is almost 2 hours long, but it felt like it was a lot shorter than that...and although there were some parts that looked good in 3D, I do seriously wonder what the point of it in 3D was, and in some ways I think I would have preferred if it was just a standard screening.

There is a great cast featuring Stephen Fry, Matt Lucas, Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall, Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham-Carter and Anne Hathaway...they played their parts well.

It is a good movie, but I just feel like there was supposed to be more to this film...I really hope they are not planning on a sequel to this "sequel"

Alice in wonderland is rated PG and is in cinemas now.

One, Two....

In 1984, New Line Cinema released a movie that was going to be the beginning of one of their biggest selling franchises in horror.

The movie was about teenagers having horrible dreams, and if they died in the dreams, they dies for real....of course I am talking about the classic movie A Nightmare On Elm Street. In case you have not seen this movie, here is a trailer:



I have quite a passion for this movie and the following sequels (even though they got cheesier and cheesier as they went along) because A Nightmare On Elm Street was the first horror movie I watched (at the age of 13) and it got me hooked on horror movies.

The psychology of the movie is fascinating, to think that a dream could actually have the power to kill you...the thought of that can make your worst nightmares have even more of an edge to them than before.

This year, there is a remake of A Nightmare On Elm Street is to be in the cinemas, and as much as I really hate sequels, I really want to go and see this...even though there is a high chance of this movie totally destroying this franchise for me, I'm attracted to this like a moth to a candle!

Here is the final trailer for the remake:



The only thing that worries me is that the best bits are shown in the trailer....but I shall give my thoughts on the movie when I see it.

A Nightmare On Elm Street is an 18 and will be released 7th May in the UK.

Movie review...The Wolfman

On Saturday night I went and saw The Wolfman (15) at Vue Cinema, Festival Place, Basingstoke.


The movie is a remake of the Universal classic horror The Wolf Man (PG) that was released in 1941.


In this movie, Benicio Del Toro plays Lawrence Talbot, is a man who returns to his ancestral home after finding out that his brother had vanished.  He is found dead, and it looks like he had been savaged by some beast.
Lawrence goes out to find the monster that killed his brother, and gets bitten by the beast that killed his brother...which makes him become the wolfman.


There's not really much that can be given away, but I'm not going to say too much as there is an interesting twist at the end of this movie which I don't remember in the original (I will have to watch it again later!) which was quite clever and explains more about the brother's death.


Although I enjoyed this movie, I feel there could have been a lot more to this.  Sure there was gore, a little humour and even a little bit of romance...but it feels a little bit like they had over-thought some parts of it, and for some reason some parts felt like they had been taken from American Werewolf in London!  It's a pity too as they had pulled in some great names like Anthony Hopkins, Art Malik, and Hugo Weaving.


If you want to watch a basic horror" and you have not seen the classic 1941 movie, The Wolfman is worth a watch, but in my humble opinion the superb original and Lon Chaney reign supreme....I give this movie 5/10.


The Wolfman is rated 15 and is in cinemas now.