MOVIE REVIEW: THE PURGE (15)

"BRILLIANT CONCEPT 
POORLY EXECUTED"

The Purge is a thriller movie directed by James DeMarco.
A family is held hostage for harbouring the target of a murderous gang during the Purge, a 12 hour period in which any and all crime including murder is legalized.

Its Starring Ethan Hawke, Lena Headey, Max Burkholder, Adelaide Kane, Edwin Hodge, Rhyd Wakefield, Tony Oller, Arija Bareikis, Tom Yi, Chris Mulkey, Tisha French, Dana Bunch & Peter Gvozdas.
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IN CINEMAS 31ST MAY 2013.
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THE REVIEW:
I had the pleasure of watching The Purge a few days after its release. I went into the screen excited because this one of them interesting What If storylines. A world where a specific day is chosen and for half that day all crime is legal. The Police are not coming to help, even the Hospitals are closed. During that period in time anyone in the wrong place at the wrong time will be killed. All types of Guns and Knives turn into a fashion statement because everyone's got to have one in order to survive the night. This concept certainly brought something fresh to the horror table, it has never been done before.

As a whole this movie is a great concept, it was just executed poorly, I don't even think anyone was trying. The characters are not believable they behave too irrationally for normal people. They only want to be scared when it suits the situation. The family in the centre of this movie don't seem to care for their own lives when face to face with possible death. It's nice that there's a thought for the only black guy in the movie, but when it's a every man for himself situation, I think your own family comes first. Every scene seems put together just to keep the script moving, the killings don't even mean anything. A gunshot here, a stab wound there. We have seen it all before. And how many times can a main character be in danger before being saved by another. The way the baddies execute their performances looks too staged making their intense moments funny when it's supposed to be a serious situation. Even the catchphrases that are meant to be strike fear only came across as banter.

This is the perfect example of a director getting a good script and either not caring enough to get the best out of it or just not having the time and money to put in it. The movie is barely 80 minutes and was probably shot in under a month. What was the rush? The plot holes are plenty to discuss as they are not clarified. Why would normal rich people need to Purge? and do criminals really wait for one day a year to commit crimes?

I had high hopes for The Purge but it let me down, it wasn't as good as the trailer hyped it to be. There's just nothing here, no shocks, surprises, twists or lessons to be learned, Just a pile of dead bodies all over America. I for one was surprised to see front man Ethan Hawke give such a average performance. The rest of the cast are forgettable due to their clichéd roles. Excuse me whilst I yawn.

STAR RATINGS OUT OF 5:  2.5

FAVOURITE MOMENTS IN THE FILM:
 The start of the Purge.

(if you loved another moment in the film, please feel free to share it with ME in the comments section.)

TRAILER:

TRAILERS: ALL THE FILMS OUT IN CINEMA THIS JUNE (2013)

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- HERE ARE ALL THE TRAILERS FOR MOVIES OUT THIS JUNE IN THE UK.

· AFTER EARTH (12A) (IN CINEMA 7TH JUNE)

· BEHIND THE CANDELABRA (15) (IN CINEMA 7TH JUNE)

· THE ICEMAN (15) (IN CINEMA 7TH JUNE)

· THE LAST EXCORCISM: PART 2 (15) (IN CINEMA 7TH JUNE)

· ADMISSION (12A) (IN CINEMA 14TH JUNE)

· MAN OF STEEL (12A) (3D) (IN CINEMA 14TH JUNE)

· MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING (12A) (IN CINEMA 14TH JUNE)

· STUCK IN LOVE (15) (IN CINEMA 14TH JUNE)

· SUMMER IN FEBRUARY (15) (IN CINEMA 14TH JUNE)

· A HAUNTED HOUSE (15) (IN CINEMA 19TH JUNE)

· BEFORE MIDNIGHT (15) (IN CINEMA 21ST JUNE)

· BLACK ROCK (15) (IN CINEMA 21ST JUNE)

· SNITCH (12A) (IN CINEMA 21ST JUNE)

· SPIKE ISLAND (15) (IN CINEMA 21ST JUNE)

· WORLD WAR Z (3D) (IN CINEMA 21ST JUNE)

· DESPICABLE ME 2 (3D) (U) (IN CINEMA 28TH JUNE)

· THE EAST (15) (IN CINEMA 28TH JUNE)

· HUMMINGBIRD (15) (IN CINEMA 28TH JUNE)

· STAND UP GUY (IN CINEMA 28TH JUNE)

· THIS IS THE END (15) (IN CINEMA 28TH JUNE)

MOVIE REVIEW: THE HANGOVER 3 (15)

"FUNNY START, AWKWARD END"

The Hangover 3 is a comedy film Directed by Todd Phillips. 

This time, there's no wedding. No bachelor party. What could go wrong, right? But when the Wolfpack hits the road, all bets are off. 
Its Starring Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Ken Jeong, Heather Graham, Jeffrey Tambor, Justin Bartha, John Goodman, Gillian Vigman, Sasha Barresse, Jamie Chung, Mike Epps, Melissa McCarthy & Mike Vallely.
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IN CINEMAS 24TH MAY 2013.
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#FilmFact: Sean Penn and Robert Downey Jr. were considered for the role that ultimately went to John Goodman.
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THE REVIEW:
The finale of the Hangover trilogy is here even though the first movie is a masterpiece that shouldn't have been remixed or stretched into a second let alone a third. Since the first release back in 2009 we have seen two more releases. Each movie has its humorous moments but neither is yet to top the first one. This is probably the worst of the 3 in regards to the creative levels.
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The Hangover 3 seem to have totally forgotten it's comedy gold formula used in the first two. If it wasn't for the same recognisable characters I wouldn't really call this a Hangover movie. Its a lazy and uncreative effort that shows the limitations of the directors storytelling capabilities. I'm surprised such good actors gave the go ahead into making it. Yes, it's funny, has 1 or 2 memorable moments but it's also a window into a very dark and bitter world. The jokes that work do tickle the funny bones and the ones that don't just fall flat to the ground.

There's not enough wit, surprise & humour like we saw in the first Hangover and the attempt to change up the plot formula is backwards. I'm expecting 100% comedy but the storyline spent half the time in the thriller genre. My message to Director Todd Phillips is choose a genre and stick with it because it doesn't work jumping from funny to serious when you have actors like Alan (Galifianaki) and Chow (Jeong) who are both brilliantly funny. It's these two's general funny attributes that had me laughing.

I've only known the Wolfpack as drunken fools having the time of their lives. Now, all we have is a sober characters on a dangerous journey trying to make us laugh as they go along. Fans of comedy don't want to see sensible people, what they want is to see what stupidity drunk adults get up to and how far they can unknowingly push themselves into danger. All the built up fondness goes out the window and some of the loved characters start becoming unlikeable. The Hangover Pt.III: The End finishes and its barely recognisable to what we started with, everything is just different. Are you not meant to go out with a bang? 

All negatives aside, the cast is special, the Wolfpack did their best in an awkward storyline. I just wish Cassie (McCarthy) had more scenes with Alan. These two together are hilarious.

SCENES AFTER THE CREDITS.

STAR RATINGS OUT OF 5:  2.5

FAVOURITE MOMENTS IN THE FILM:
1. The rooftop scenes at the Caesar Palace Hotel.
2. Scenes after the credits.

(if you loved another moment in the film, please feel free to share it with ME in the comments section.)

TRAILER:

TRAILERS: ALL THE FILMS OUT IN CINEMA THIS MAY (2013)

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- HERE ARE ALL THE TRAILERS FOR MOVIES OUT THIS MAY IN THE UK.

·   21 & OVER (15) (IN CINEMA 3RD MAY)

·  ALLSTAR (3D) (U) (IN CINEMA 3RD MAY)

·   COME OUT AND PLAY (18) (IN CINEMA 3RD MAY)

·   DEAD MAN DOWN (15) (IN CINEMA 3RD MAY)

·   DRAGON (15) (IN CINEMA 3RD MAY)

·   GIMME THE LOOT (15) (IN CINEMA 3RD MAY)

·   IM SO EXCITED (15) (IN CINEMA MAY)

·   STAR TREK: INTO DARKNESS (3D) (12A) (IN CINEMA 9TH MAY)

·   DEADFALL (15) (IN CINEMA 10TH MAY)

·   MUD (12A) (IN CINEMA 10TH MAY)

·   THE RELUCTANT FUNDAMENTALIST (15) (IN CINEMA 10TH MAY)


·   VEHICLE 19 (IN CINEMA 10TH MAY)

·   THE GREAT GATSBY (12A) (3D) (IN CINEMA 16TH MAY)

·   FAST & FURIOUS 6 (IN CINEMA 17TH MAY)

·   EPIC (U) (IN CINEMA 22ND MAY)

·   BYZANTHIUM (15) (IN CINEMA 31ST MAY)

·   THE PURGE (15) (IN CINEMA MAY)

TRAILERS: ALL THE FILMS OUT IN CINEMA THIS APRIL (2013)

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- HERE ARE ALL THE TRAILERS FOR MOVIES OUT THIS APRIL IN THE UK.

·  DARK SKIES (15) (IN CINEMA 3RD APRIL)

·  THE EXPATRIATE (15) (IN CINEMA 5TH APRIL)

·  A LATE QUARTET (IN CINEMA 5TH APRIL)

THE ODD LIFE OF TIMOTHY GREEN (IN CINEMA 5TH APRIL)  
·  PAPADOPOULOUS & SONS (IN CINEMA 5TH APRIL)

·  SPRING BREAKERS (18) (IN CINEMA 5TH APRIL)

·  FIRST POSITION (IN CINEMA 12TH APRIL)

·  FLYING BLIND (IN CINEMA 12TH APRIL)

·  OBLIVION (IN CINEMA 12TH APRIL)

· THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES (15) (IN CINEMA 12TH APRIL)

·  SCARY MOVIE 5 (IN CINEMA 12TH APRIL)

·  SIMON KILLER (18) (IN CINEMA 12TH APRIL)

·  OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN (15) (IN CINEMA 17TH APRIL)

·  EVIL DEAD (18) (IN CINEMA 18TH APRIL)

·  BAIT (3D)(15) (IN CINEMA 19TH APRIL)

·  LOVE IS ALL YOU NEED (15) (IN CINEMA 19TH APRIL)

·  PROMISED LAND (15) (IN CINEMA 19TH APRIL)

·  REBELLION (IN CINEMA 19TH APRIL)

·  THE ABC's  OF DEATH (IN CINEMA 26TH APRIL)

·  BERNIE (IN CINEMA 26TH APRIL)

·IRON MAN 3 (3D) (IN CINEMA 26TH APRIL)

     

· LORDS OF SALEM (IN CINEMA 26TH APRIL)

MOVIE REVIEW: IDENTITY THIEF (15)

"MINIMUM LAUGHTER"

Identity Thief is a crime comedy film Directed by Seth Gordon (same man that brought us Horrible Bosses, 2011). Businessman Sandy Patterson travels from Denver to Miami to confront the deceptively harmless-looking woman who has been living it up after stealing his identity. Its Starring Jason Bateman, Melissa McCarthy, Jon Favreau, Amanda Peet, T.I., Genesis Rodriguez, Morris Chestnut, John Cho, Robert Patrick, Eric Stonestreet & Ryan Gual.
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IN CINEMAS 22ND MARCH 2013.
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THE REVIEW:

Nobody want to be a victim of identity fraud, I would hate to find out any Tom, Dick or Harry was out there using my money to enjoy life and also committing crime under my name. This is why Sandy Patterson, a father and husband, who's had his identity stolen, travels to Florida to find the thief and stop her building up more debts. He also has to convince her to return back to Colorado to get things straightened out in order to save his job and get his life back.


Identity thief didn't live up to my exception, there's minimum comedy, the plot is just ridiculous & it's just a jumble of what is meant to be comedy. The writers had an believable back story, they just didn't have good enough jokes, it wasn't dramatic enough and it struggles to find any focus. The two main characters are the only ones focused on in making the jokes happen and if it wasn't for them this movie would have been fraud in itself. This is the same director that brought us "Horrible Bosses" in 2011, that was funny, this was anything but. Someone please tell Seth Gordon that his movies are meant to get funnier not get worse. 

From the start I could I feel the lack of substance and creativity gone into making this movie. If I knew the best parts of this movie was in the trailer I wouldn't have bothered watching the full thing. It tries to be a dark comedy but fails at being a comedy to start off with. For me to only laugh a couple times whilst watching a comedy movie is really bad. Some parts are interesting, emotional and sometimes sentimental. But having these emotions ended up not meaning much, it's more of a just going through the cycle approach. 

The cast did just about enough to keep this movie from sinking, even with the ridiculous script. Jason Bateman & Melissa McCarthy worked well on screen together, their funny bones had to click to make this even watchable. They did a great job, and so did most of the cast, with enough screen time other members of the cast could have added their own sense of humour but sadly wasn't given the chance. A waste of talent in John Cho, Robert Patrick, Amanda Peet & Morris Chestnut.

OVERALL: NOT FUNNY ENOUGH.

STAR RATINGS OUT OF 5:  2.5

FAVOURITE MOMENTS IN THE FILM:
Every time McCarthy punches someone in the throat.

(if you loved another moment in the film, please feel free to share it with ME in the comments section :)

TRAILER:

OSCAR 2013: THE WINNERS

The 85th Annual 

Academy Awards Winners

Best Motion Picture: Argo

Achievement in Directing: Ang Lee, Life of Pi

Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role: Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln

 

Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role: Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook

 

Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role: Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained

 

Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role: Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables

Adapted Screenplay: Argo, Chris Terrio

Original Screenplay: Django Unchained, Quentin Tarantino

Original Score: Life of Pi, Mychael Danna

Original Song: "Skyfall," Adele Adkins & Paul Epworth; Skyfall

Best Animated Feature Film: Brave

Best Animated Short Film: Paperman

Achievement in Cinematography: Life of Pi, Claudio Miranda

Achievement in Visual Effects: Life of Pi

 

Achievement in Costume Design: Anna Karenina, Jacqueline Durran

Achievement in Makeup & Hairstyling: Les Misérables

Best Live-Action Short Film: Curfew

Best Documentary Short Subject: Inocente

Best Documentary Feature: Searching for a Sugar Man

Best Foreign-Language Film: Amour (Austria)

Achievement in Sound Mixing: Les Misérables

Achievement in Sound Editing: Zero Dark Thirty & Skyfall

Achievement in Film Editing: Argo

Achievement in Production Direction: Lincoln

MOVIE REVIEW: A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD (12A)

"TERRIBLE SHOOT'EM UP MOVIE"

A Good Day To Die Hard is an action film Directed by John Moore (same man that brought us Max Payne, 2008). John McClane travels to Russia to help out his seemingly wayward son, Jack, only to discover that Jack is a CIA operative working to prevent a nuclear-weapons heist, causing the father and son to team up against underworld forces. Its starring Bruce Willis, Jai Courtney, Sebastian Koch, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Yuliya Snigir, Radivoje Bukvic, Cole Hauser, Amaury Nolasco, Sergei Kolesnikov, Roman Luknar, Ganxsta Zolee, Peter Takatsy, Pavel Lychnikoff, Megalyn Echikunwoke & Melissa Tang.

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Film Fact: Aaron Paul, Liam Hemsworth, James Badge Dale, Paul Walker, Ben Foster, Shiloh Fernandez, Milo Ventimiglia, Paul Dano, Steven R. McQueen & D.J. Cotrona were considered to play John McClane's Son. The role ultimately was earned by Jai Courtney.
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IN UK CINEMAS 14th FEBRUARY 2013.
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THE REVIEW:

Bruce Willis made himself a household name because of his character as John McClane, and it undoubtedly lead him to be one of the most recognizable face in the action film genre. Unfortunately this is a bad day for die hard because this fifth instalment in the series is one of the worst. Are you not supposed to leave the best till last? (I'm hoping this is the last).
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This movie is messy, noisy, pointless and bland. John doesn't seem to be the same cop he was from the rest of his franchise (even if he is on "vacation"). He is not as involved and in danger as we have seen him in previous, its way too dumb down. Even he can't save the day, no matter how many on-liners he says. Director John Moore didn't have much luck with Max Payne, and it certainly doesn't get any better here. This is hardly a movie, its 97 minutes worth of drawn out action scenes.
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A Good Day To Die Hard does not feel like a Die Hard movie. It felt rushed and the plot/dialogue is virtually non existence, seems the writers made it up as filming went along. I wanted to like this movie, I just couldn't, and even the villains are rubbish. It's failed attempts on so many levels only makes me question if it's time to let the franchise go, forever. Only the action scenes are worth remembering because everything is moving at literally 100 miles an hour. From the car chase scenes and all the explosions, I saw more CGI and various stuntmen doing all the work rather than the characters.
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This is what always happens to films that have focused on getting more people in the cinema than actually making a great movie. With a 12A classification, i expected an awful film with a stupid ending and that's exactly what it turns out to be. I'm a fan of the young John McClane and the first three films. That's where he's a real action man. Here he's Mr invincible dodging multiple bullets & helicopter blades. The only good thing now would be for the franchise to die hard. Breaks my heart to say that.

OVERALL: AWFUL.

STAR RATINGS OUT OF 5:  2

MY FAVOURITE MOMENTS IN THE FILM:

The opening car chase scene.

(if you loved another moment in the film, please feel free to share it with ME in the comments section :)

TRAILER:

MOVIE REVIEW: FLIGHT (15)

"INTRIGUING DRAMA"

 Flight is a drama film Directed by Robert Zemeckis (same man that brought us Castaway, 2000). An airplane pilot save a flight from crashing, but investigation into the malfunctions reveals something troubling. Its starring Denzel Washington, Tamara Tunie, John Goodman, Kelly Reilly, Melissa Leo, Don Cheadle, Nadine Velazquez, Bruce Greenwood, Brian Geraghty & James Badge Bale.
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FilmFact: This is Director Robert Zemeckis' first live-action since Cast Away. 
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IN UK CINEMAS 1st FEBRUARY 2013.
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THE REVIEW:

One does not sit around on a Friday night thinking of what to do when there's a brand spanking new Denzel Washington drama in the cinema, am I right?. I had the chance of watching this on its official UK release date. 
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Being the best at your job doesn't always mean that the person is a good & clean person, that's what we learn about pilot, Whip Whitaker. He manages to save nearly all the passengers lives when his plane malfunctions on a flight. An investigation is carried out to look into the crash only to find out the captain was not fit to operate such machinery in the first place. His bad habit and lifestyle is brought out in the open which leaves him with difficult questions to answer.
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The storyline starts off very promising, the best opening to a movie any Denzel fan could wish for. The cinematography gives this calm & clean perspective to this dark & powerful story. What the director also does exceptionally well is bringing to life a plane crash with one of the most atmospheric scenes I've seen in a film this year, really good effects. The flight scenes are brilliantly shot, but unfortunately soon after that the movie starts to free fall on its own. The trailer makes this look like an action film but it's far from that. A film supposedly meant to be about this crazy accident where a clear miracle is performed, but no it's more about one man & his journey, does he rise or does he fall further. It felt like two completely different scripts joined together mid way through. 

The writer creates a cast full of troubled characters that are all interesting and unique to watch, but are not all used to their obvious potential. This is a Denzel Washington headlining film, it's 100% worth the watch. His acting is nothing short of superb. Fans will enjoy it even if he just plays a drug addict & a drunk, he still manages to produce his best from such a complex role. Also, great performances from Don Cheadle, John Goodman & Bruce Greenwood

This is a type of film an alcoholic/drug addict will watch and hopefully leave the cinema and head straight to one of them meeting about their serious addiction, begging for help. Yep, its that kind of movie.

OVERALL: DENZEL SAVES THE SHOW.

STAR RATINGS OUT OF 5:  3.5

MY FAVOURITE MOMENTS IN THE FILM:

1.  The first hour of the film.

2. The stairwell in the hospital scene.

(if you loved another moment in the film, please feel free to share it with ME in the comments section :)

TRAILER: