February 2012
2 posts
2 tags
The Woman In Black
My opinion of The Woman in Black may be a little sullied as when I went to see it the ticket seller held us up trying to tell us we were late for the showing, and how very important it was you see the first 5 minutes and how if there are screening problems I should complain every time because they no longer have a projectionist, and in doing so held us up long enough that we missed the first...
2 tags
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
I have to say this wasn’t a film I was intending to see. It didn’t seem to be my sort of film from the trailers, but today the choices were limited so it was this or Ghost Rider, which my friend had already seen, so Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close it was.
The story begins with Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock in a loving family with their slightly odd, young son, Oskar. Tom is...
December 2011
4 posts
3 tags
Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol
I’ve never been overly fond of the Mission Impossible series of films. I still haven’t seen the first, the second was complete crap, the third was passable entertainment, so you may want to take what I have to say about MI4 with a pinch of salt if you’re a fan of the series.
After a short introduction sequence in Budapest, with an agent being assassinated after a daring escape,...
3 tags
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
When it came to the first Sherlock Holmes film that came out a couple of years ago I enjoyed it a surprising amount. I expected complete rubbish but it turned out to be a fun romp with some nice nods towards the Sherlock Holmes stories without being bound by them, which, for my money, is the best way to handle an adaptation, unless you’re going to stick rigidly to the source material but...
2 tags
My Top Games of 2011
What makes a great game, you will probably get every different answer possible from every different gamer and judging from my list of games I’d give half of them myself. I guess this will go in no particular order but I’ll start with my favourite because it’s the first that springs to mind.
Portal 2 (PS3)
Portal 2 had a lot to live up to, the first Portal was just a little...
2 tags
Best TV of 2011
I know I haven’t posted in a while, but I thought it’s the time of year to reflect on the best of the year. So I’m going with some Best of posts if I can be bothered to keep writing them. And after the best TV episode of the year last night I thought it was a good time to do TV. And this is going to be British shows, so despite loving shows like Fringe, Big Bang Theory, Glee,...
September 2011
1 post
2 tags
The Guard
The Guard is a film I’d heard good things about for a while and I wanted to see it though didn’t seem to be getting a release locally. Since I didn’t think I’d get to see it at home I took the opportunity while on a trip away to see it, and then again while visiting a friend, so I’ve actually had the chance to see it twice now at different cinemas. Once in a big...
August 2011
2 posts
4 tags
Cowboys and Aliens
Cowboys and Aliens started life as a graphic novel, and seems it was going to be a Robert Downey Jnr film right out of the gate after Iron Man, but some how along the way Downey got replaced with Daniel Craig and so now you’ve got a film with James Bond and Indiana Jones in the wild west fighting aliens with Quorra from Tron along for the ride. Seems that should be all kinds of awesome to a...
3 tags
Final Destination 5 3D
So after an awful 4th film which it seemed tried to rely solely on the 3D gimmick as it’s main selling point I really didn’t think Final Destination 5 would be up to much. So it was only after hearing good things about it that I decided I should see it.
Well what is there to say about Final Destination 5 that you won’t already know? It follows the tried and tested formula of...
July 2011
3 posts
4 tags
Cars 2 (3D)
The latest Disney/Pixar film isn’t one I’ve really looked forward to, if I’m honest, Cars is probably my least favourite Pixar film ever made. So what’s Cars 2 got that’ll get you interested? Well if the first Cars was Doc Hollywood, this is The Man With One Red Shoe or The Man Who Knew Too Little. A Spy Thriller with someone who’s not a spy in the middle of...
4 tags
The Dresden Files: Ghost Story - Jim Butcher
Major spoilers for Changes, minor spoilers for Ghost Story
Where to begin with this? Well I guess at this point it’s worth saying if you haven’t read Changes yet then don’t go any further because there’s major spoilers ahead I will try to keep spoilers for Ghost Story to a minimum but I’m sure there will be some slipping in so read on with caution if you don’t...
4 tags
Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Part 2
After 8 movies and a decade the adventure that is the Harry Potter movie franchise has come to a close. Fan or not the Harry Potter series has been huge, to the point of having topples Star Wars as the most profitable franchise ever. It’s fair to say that when Deathly Hallows was split in to 2 parts it felt like a cynical way to squeeze that much more profit out of a franchise that was...
June 2011
7 posts
3 tags
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Transformers is one of those franchises that anyone who was a kid in the 80s has fond memories of. The first couple of films have basically traded on that to be popular and to be honest, as dumb as they are, I’ve kinda enjoyed them explosions, stupid comic relief characters, no real plot but I kinda had a laugh watching them and didn’t have to think, so they work out to be enjoyable....
3 tags
Senna
A documentary film following the professional life of Ayrton Senna from his late Go-Kart racing career to his death, Senna pieces everything together from stock footage and voice-over interviews and does it in an interesting and compelling way.
I’m not a fan of F1 racing but the way this film is put together and shows you the life and events surrounding Ayrton’s career and the...
3 tags
Green Lantern
Green Lantern is one of those superheroes I know very little about. I’ve maybe seen him in a couple of episodes of Justice League but that’s a different Green Lantern and there’s very little backstory there to really give much information about the mythology of Green Lantern, so basically I had no real preconceived notions about Who, how and why Green Lantern’s origin story...
4 tags
Kung Fu Panda 2 3D
Kung Fu Panda 2 is the latest Dreamworks Animation film, starring Jack Black as Jack Black being a Kung Fu Panda and people from Angelina Jolie to Jackie Chan and Jean Claude Van Damme as a whole host of other Kung Fu animals. To be frank I wasn’t a fan of the first and only saw this as it was the only thing showing that I hadn’t already seen. And given the fact I’m a 28 year...
4 tags
L.A. Noire Review
Let me say this upfront, I’m not a huge Rockstar fan, sandbox games, in general, bore me, I haven’t enjoyed a GTA game since the 2D top down ones. I only checked out Red Dead Redemption after some friends online insisted how brilliant it was and I ended up kind of enjoying it. So when it came to L.A. Noire I wasn’t thinking of touching it at all until I started hearing how it...
5 tags
X-Men: First Class
After a rubbish third film and the disappointing Wolverine film there’s not really a great deal expected from X-Men films from me nowadays. The trailers looked interesting but that doesn’t really say much because trailers are supposed to look interesting and get your attention, so I went in with an open mind and lowered expectations and was pleasantly surprised.
The story basically...
May 2011
5 posts
2 tags
The Hangover 2 Review
So you know The Hangover from a couple of years ago, it was a surprise hit, kinda came out of no where and was kinda funny and made a bundle for the studio. So surprise surprise here we are 2 years later and here’s a sequel. Between 1 and 2 there’s been a lot of films claiming to be the next Hangover but most have really failed to deliver the same laughs as it did, so does the sequel...
2 tags
Blitz
What is there to say about Blitz. It’s an 18 rated British film starring Jason Statham. That about says everything you need to know about it really. Lots of swearing, lots of violence and that’s just in the opening scene. It really sets the tone for the movie with that scene. It starts with Jason, or whoever his character is in this film, looking from his flat window to see 3...
5 tags
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
After a disappointing third film I can’t say I was expecting a lot from On Stranger Tides. While, yes, it seemed like there was set up for a fourth film at the end of At World’s End it also seemed entirely pointless. So I went in hoping for the best but expecting very little.
And the film begins and very predictable from the outset, but in no time we get in to one of those over the...
5 tags
Attack The Block Review
Attack The Block is the first film written and directed by Joe Cornish (of Adam and Joe fame) and has Nick Frost in it. With the line “From the producers of Shaun of the Dead” on the advertising, and much like Shaun it’s a horror/comedy, though with a sci-fi element. I first heard of it a few months ago and it’s been getting some good buzz online, but the trailer really sealed the deal...
3 tags
Insidious Review
Insidious is the new horror film by the two people behind the original Saw film, James Wan and Leigh Whannell. Again it’s a low budget film but it pretty far from the torture porn image of the Saw films, instead relying on the old Haunted House/Ghostly goings on routine. Seems to be an attempt to go back to a more traditional horror, rather than the more gory faire we see lately.
The film...
April 2011
6 posts
4 tags
Thor (3D) Review
There’s a whole slew of Comic Book adaptations this summer and it begins with Thor. Directed by Kenneth Branagh and in 3D it’s the origin story of the Marvel superhero Thor. Of course based on the Norse God Thor. Along with Iron Man, Hulk and Captain America it’s part of the whole set up for the Avengers movie that’s coming along next year and with Natalie Portman, Stellan...
4 tags
Portal 2 (PS3)
Portal 2 is for many, and me at the very least, one of the most anticipated games of the year. The sequel to the surprise stand out of Valve’s 2007 release The Orange Box. Considering The Orange Box contained Half Life 2 and Episodes 1 and 2, considered by many to be one of the best FPS games ever, Team Fortress 2, also considered to be one of the benchmarks of multiplayer games, that is an...
3 tags
Scream 4 Review
Scream is one of those franchises that was running through my teenage years, so consequently I watched and loved them. Yes, even 3 which wasn’t great, and watching again recently seems actually quite weird. Scream broke down the slasher genres and told everyone the rules. Most horror fans knew the rules from seeing the movies but Scream laid them bare and was as much a parody as a horror...
3 tags
Your Highness Review
Having seen a trailer for Your Highness a few months ago my interest was piqued, it’s been a while since I’ve seen a spoof that was actually a spoof. Those Scary/Date/Superhero/Disaster Movie films may be pretend to be spoofs but they’re really nothing more than a collection of references to other movies, not all of which even had been part of the genre they’re supposed to...
4 tags
Rio Review
I’m going to start this review by saying Rio was a film I didn’t intend on seeing. You see I’ve never really liked the Ice Age films, so the “From the makers of Ice Age” tag was something that put me off rather than made me more likely to see it. Also those horrible Orange “Gold spot” ads at the start of every film I’ve seen for the past 3 or 4 months, which had not a...
2 tags
Source Code Review
Source Code is the second film from Duncan Jones. His first film was Moon, a small film with a small budget that had a big concept and a big cult following, and a film which I loved. So Source Code had a lot to live up to in my mind. After a smart, well acted, well directed film with beautiful practical special effects shots and good story in Moon it was always going to be a tough task for his...
March 2011
4 posts
2 tags
The Lincoln Lawyer
The Lincoln Lawyer was a film I’d heard some good things about before entering the cinema to watch but not a lot of hype, so I was cautiously optimistic about it being a good. But as the film started my friend and I were just chatting away over it and not really paying attention. Oh dear, not a very compelling film I thought. The film basically begins in a rather cliched way. We’re...
2 tags
Rango Review
When I sat down to watch Rango I wasn’t too sure what to expect. I’d seen some teasers but not a full trailer, or if I had they’ve done a good job at not spoiling anything and consequently I knew very little about what to expect.
Rango begins with a chameleon acting out scenes in terrarium to his wind up goldfish and body of a Barbie doll, and while discussing that his story...
2 tags
The Adjustment Bureau Review
Based on the short story Adjustment Team by Philip K Dick The Adjustment Bureau is the story of David Norris, a politician running to be the Senator for New York. It begins in to the run up to the election, Norris is ahead in the polls and it looks like there’s no stopping him. He a tough background, comes from Brooklyn and lost his family at a young age and strikes a chord with the people,...
3 tags
Bulletstorm (Xbox 360) Review
I’d only seen a little about Bulletstorm before the demo came out, and what I’d seen seemed childish and over the top, so I had very little interest. Then the demo arrived and after a quick play I ordered it instantly. Is it immature, totally, is it over the top, way over the top, but it’s brilliantly fun and often hilarious to boot.
You play Grayson (Gray) a rough and tumble...
February 2011
5 posts
2 tags
Paul Review
If you’ve seen the trailer for Paul then you pretty much know all about it and there’s very little to say about the film. It’s very much what you’d expect. Simon Pegg & Nick Frost have written a buddy road trip movie with an alien, and just reading that probably makes you want to see it or want to stay far away from it.
The story begins with Gaeme and his friend Clive...
2 tags
Gnomeo & Juliet Review
As the name suggests this is a retelling of Romeo & Juliet but with garden gnomes and as you’d expect it isn’t exactly a faithful to the last detail version but is nonetheless a cute and fun film for the family. Though there are some nice nods towards the play, such as the film starting with a narrator on stage and reading a prologue. Though the red gnomes and the blue gnomes are...
2 tags
The Fighter Review
When I first saw the trailer for The Fighter I can’t say I was overly impressed with it. It seemed despite it being based on a true story it was the same cliched, underdog over comes adversity film we’ve seen a million times. So I forgot about it and so I was surprised to see it getting a lot of praise and excellent reviews after it was released and became interested in seeing it.
...
2 tags
The Green Hornet 3D Review
I’ve avoided seeing The Green Hornet because of the fact it was filmed in 2D and converted to 3D yet there were no 2D showings of it at the local cinema. But last night I was bored and decided I would see it in 3D anyway. Even as it starts, with a young boy holding a superhero figure out of the car window so it looks like it’s flying the 3D looks notably flat. Not a good start really,...
2 tags
Tangled Review
Tangled is Disney’s latest “Classic” and is a retelling of the Rapunzel story. Though as you expect nowadays it’s CG animation and in 3D rather than traditional 2D animation. It’s also reportedly a very expensive film, so I guess Disney are betting big on it for the future of their classic fairy tales, and it’s a good bet because this is a really good family film and well...
January 2011
4 posts
4 tags
Charming Incantations: Enticed by Monique Snyman
I’ve had this novel sat here for a few weeks now and it’s taken me some time to get around to reading it. A friend wrote this, as yet, unpublished novel and kindly allowed me to read it. She asked if I could write an honest review of it for her when I was done. So here we are an honest review.
Charming Incantations is the story of Elizabeth Richards, or Lisa as she prefers, and her...
2 tags
Black Swan Review
What do you know about Black Swan? If you know a lot or have seen it then this doesn’t apply to you; It’s not what you think it is. General knowledge of it seems to be that it’s about Swan Lake, there’s some lesbian sex in it and that seems to be what’s well known about it. Well yes, it is about a production of Swan Lake and yes there is a lesbian sex scene but...
3 tags
Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch
I decided to read Rivers of London after seeing a review calling it “The British Dresden Files”. I found that to not really be a very apt description but loved the book nonetheless.
The story begins with a murder near St. Paul’s Church, Covent Garden, and we find the hero of the story, PC Peter Grant, on guard duty keeping the crime scene clear, while his friend and fellow...
2 tags
The King's Speech Review
I’ve been trying to think what to say about The King’s Speech, because all that really comes to mind is “it’s a wonderful film, you must see it.” Of course there is more that could be said of it than that, but that’s always the first thing that comes to mind.
The King’s Speech is the story of King George VI, or Bertie the stammering Duke of York as he was then, and...
December 2010
3 posts
2 tags
Tron: Legacy Review
Y’know Tron? It’s a lot like that, only with 28 years of computer graphics advancement. Though if I have to expand: Tron was ahead of it’s time, the first major film to use CGI effects and a cult classic. It goes along the lines of a young rebellious programmer, Kevin Flynn, breaks in to the place that formerly employed him, Encom, to get proof that a best selling computer game...
3 tags
The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of The Dawn...
The Chronicles of Narnia is one of those classic series of children’s books that I have vague recollections of reading but there’s not really a lot that stands out in my mind, so I don’t really have a strong connection with the source material, and I’m not sure I’d really spot any of the changes. I’ve kind of liked the previous 2 films in the series but so far...
2 tags
Monsters Review
Despite the name and the fact that there are monsters roaming around and causing chaos Monsters isn’t actually about monsters at all. It’s more of a slow paced and thoughtful film about 2 people trying to make their way through a disaster zone which just happens to have great big alien monsters in it.
There’s not a whole lot of focus on the monsters or where they came from other...
November 2010
5 posts
2 tags
Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Part 1 Review
I originally got in to Harry Potter because I went to see Lord of the Rings and it was sold out, so I went to see Harry Potter & The Philosopher’s Stone instead. I enjoyed it but I wasn’t really a huge fan. After that I took my nieces to see each new one, till one year I bought them the first 5 books and ended up reading one of them for myself and that’s when I actually...
When Tempest Toss'd, Embrace Chaos.: Paul Chambers... →
UPDATE: Preiskel
BREAKING - @pauljchambers to challenge#TwitterJokeTrial conviction at the High Court, see:http://bit.ly/d3Vxa4
My original post starting the fund. http://bit.ly/bvyZRn
These are not in any order of preference, merely copied and pasted from the…
2 tags
Skyline Review
Have you seen the trailers for Skyline? If yes there’s not really much to be said about it that you haven’t already gleaned from the trailers. Though I don’t suppose everyone has seen the trailers and I should say some more about it.
The film appears to jump straight in to the action, with a load of alien lights shooting down from the sky in to LA. Then a couple wakes...
