type='html'>Well correct me if I'm wrong but I think this is the first ever episode of Person of Interest where we have not had a weekly SSN delivered by the machine, not that it mattered in the case of "Bad Code" because there was so much other stuff going on that small detail like that really didn't matter at all. As promised "Bad Code" took Reese and Carter on a road trip to Texas whilst Fusco was left at home dog sitting and digging up leads on the Alicia Corwin investigation, so, not much fun for him but plenty to be had by us as Fusco looking after a dog and attempting to speak Dutch was hilarious, whilst story lines were being developed into dodgy government officials and the story of Root has now been fully explained. I loved the way we had our story recap again this week with the CCTV footage being used before whizzing us back to 1991 to hear of a girl named Hanna Frey, could this be the weekly POI? No.
What was brilliant to see this week is Carter and Reese working together, side by side as apposed to Reese just delivering messages over the phone, the pair made a great team and its something I would definitely like to see more of as the season rolls on. The mission of "finding Finch" took them to Texas where 20 years earlier a girl by the name of Hanna had disappeared without a trace, believing her to be the now infamous Root, Reese had Carter on the case with local police whilst he decided that there was a quicker way to get answers, walk into a bar dressed in a suit and kick a little ass, effective and always seems to work.
I enjoyed the backing story to Root's character as we got to see the reason she seeks revenge, turns out Root is actually Sam, a friend of the murdered Hanna who left home following Hanna's disappearance, she then went on to rob some gangsters of $100k only to put the transfer name on the account as Trent the name of the man who kidnapped her friend Hanna. Turns out Root has actually been a bit of a computer whizz all her life, she completed that Oregon Trail game pretty quick, not that I have even heard of that game but it kind of reminded me of my old Acorn Electron, pretty retro huh! With everything Root has been through its no wonder she turned out the way she did, doing the right thing as a youngster and telling people what she saw the night Hanna went missing done her no favours at all, giving her the belief that all humans are instilled with "Bad Code", problem is back in the present day, kidnapped Finch does not believe that, his belief in humanity is completely different.
After all was said and done in this episode I'm still a little at a loss of what exactly Root wants with the machine, I don't think she is a bad person per-se but what does she want with a machine which detects acts of crime early? Finch of course uses it (although he probably shouldn't be, I'll explain later) for good and sees Mr Reese as the "Good Code" which the machine instills, preventing minor crimes before they happen, helping good people stay safe, what reason other than that would Root want the machine? Does she just want to destroy it and all of its creators? Or is she planning on becoming a one woman band John Reese, no offence Root but I don't think your all that kick ass, clever yes, but kick ass, No.
Away from the story of Root and Finch is the seemingly bigger plot bubbling away in the background as it did during the first season, the White House lawyer Denton Weeks who Root also kidnapped this week, plus all of the officials who have made base for themselves in New York City to find a lead on the Alicia Corwin case, the head of this group would seem to be one of the few people in the world who knows about the existence of the machine and he needs to sever all ties on the Alicia Corwin case so no one else can find out what it leads to. I'm really looking forward to seeing how they develop the story here, although Root is probably going to be the underlying antagonist of the season it would seem that these guys are going to be the more immediate threat to Finch and Reese, this season Elias and HR.
What I found quite interesting about Denton Weeks was his question to Finch, right before he attempted to shoot him he asked can the machine be got to? Finch answered the question like a politician, he didn't really answer it, he simply said that the machine could not be controlled remotely, so I guess that yeah it can be got to as long as you know where it is. I'm going to presume that the machine and its servers are not in the old library which Finch uses as his office and that maybe they are in that town mentioned in the first season which has no Internet or telephone access. That begs a question though, if the machine can not be controlled remotely how does Finch use it? He always said there were no back doors built into the system, and not to mention Root has already hacked it once that we know of.
"Bad Code" was a real step away from the usual procedural of Person of Interest but that didn't detract from my enjoyment at all, I thought this was a solid episode where a a lot of answers were given whilst new ones were also posed. It's nice to see Reese and Finch back together again, although I think Finch's rescue could have been a bit more dramatic. I think next week will be back to Person of Interest as we know it with Reese following a lead dealt by the machine whilst the backing story of the machine and government officials simmers away nicely in the background.
Side Notes;
Don't know why I haven't noticed this before, but although a little on the crazy side, how HOT is Root (Amy Acker), also from Texas in real life incidentally.
Finch has a new roommate thanks to his lavish gift of an apartment to Reese at the end of the first season the dog will have to live with him, time to get the Dutch dictionary out Finch!
Yeah it's worth mentioning again, Amy Acker!!!!
Movie and Music Television
An entertainment magazine specialising in UK and US TV reviews, with movie reviews and music thrown in for good measure
Saturday, October 6, 2012
Friday, October 5, 2012
This Week In Cenema's..... Liam Neeson's is Back in TAKEN 2, Pus Some Romantic Garbage
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Following last week big cinema release of Looper, I really have not heard all that much hype about the movie, that still does not sway me away from wanting to see it and I’m sure I’ll get round to it at some point. This week sees the release of another big actioner which is the follow up to a B-moive starring Liam Neeson which really struck a cord with audiences all around the world when released back in 2008, other than that there is a couple of new romantic comedies, and that kid wizard form Harry Potter gets all serious.
I’ll start as always with the biggest release of the week, Taken 2 starring Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace, Famke Janssen and D.B. Sweeney. Following the events of Taken where former CIA operative Bryan Mills' (Neeson) daughter Kim (Grace) was kidnapped by Eastern European gangsters in Paris the pair have returned to the more friendly ground of America . However you may remember from the first movie that Mills wiped the floor with several members of the gang, all of whose bodies have now been returned and their fathers and fellow gangsters have sworn revenge. The idea, not to take Mills’ daughter but this time go after him and his ex-wife when they are on holiday in Istanbul, probably not the safest place to be when you have pissed off a load of Albanians. Check out the trailer and let me know what you think.
ooks good right? Ok, it might be a little cheesy but when you consider that the original Taken was only ever a straight to DVD B-movie, and was pretty brilliant at that, this instalment should prove to be no different. Needless to say Taken 2 is on my must watch list this year and as soon as it’s available I will be checking it out.
Taking a step back to the lower budget end of things now is a movie which really does not interest me at all, The Perks of Being a Wallflower starring Emma Watson of Harry Potter fame, Logan Lerman, Erza Miller, Dylan Mcdermott and Paul Rudd. I really don’t know a great deal about this movie and only really heard about it when I caught up with Jonathan Ross on Wednesday night, he interviewed Emma Watson about the movie and showed a brief clip. It’s a coming of age movie set in the states for which Watson is required to put on an American accent, basically two senior high school students take a freshmen under their wing to show him the ropes. Sounds great right? Yeah I hear ya, I’m not going to be watching this one either, I’d imagine it’s one of those which Emma Watson fans may be attracted to but that’s it.
Moving on swiftly now I’ll talk about Liberal Arts starring Josh Radnor, Elizabeth Olsen, Richard Jenkins and everyone favourite romantic leading man Zac Efron. The movie which again I have no real interest in follows the story of Jesse (Radnor) a 30-something former college student who returns to his alma mater for his former professor’s retirement party, whilst there he falls for college student Zibby (Olsen) and the pair start a relationship, I think. Like I said I’m not really interested but just in case you are check out the trailer below.
Leaving the romantic drama genre behind and the last one to mention this week, we move into romantic comedy with the release of The Knot starring Mena Suvari, Noel Clarke, Matthew McNulty and Jason Maza again, I know absolutely nothing about this movie other than it’s based on a couple Sarah (Suvari) and Jeremy (McNulty) who are in the progress of planning the wedding, of course things don’t do to plan and the pair suffer a series of comedy mishaps on the run up to the big day. I suspect that the reason I haven’t heard of it is probably because its not very good, on saying that though Mena Suvari has starred in American Pie (although she probably wasn’t that funny), McNulty is an actor who has had his name in a few movies and British actor Noel Clarke is no slouch so maybe this would be worth your time, any thoughts?
Thursday, October 4, 2012
TV Review: HOMELAND - The Smile 2.1
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Homeland had one of the most successful first seasons of all time, proved even further last Sunday when it pretty much wiped the boards at this years Emmy Awards, the first season was brilliant, not only in story but the characters, direction and writing involved were also brilliant, again like Dexter and Person of Interest, Homeland’s second season premiere is one of the most highly anticipated in the Fall season, and rightly so. “The Smile” followed straight on from the Dexter premiere to massive audiences and I have to say it did not disappoint, it was brilliant and I probably enjoyed it more than both of the shows which I have mentioned above.
A lot has been said in the summer on how they were going to top the mightily impressive first season, the writing and characters were so brilliant along with stellar performances from Clare Danes and Damien Lewis that things looked like they couldn’t get any better. Now we know or at least have an idea of where the show is going following this premiere and a good look as to why season two of Homeland may well be even better than the first. It was finally confirmed in the last episode of season one that Sgt Nick Brody (Damien Lewis) was a terrorist, although he still stands by his words “I’m not a terrorist” which he reiterated to Abu Nazir’s aid during this opening episode, reminding them that yes he may work for them and is conspiring against the US government but he does not consider what he does to be an act of terror.
It really puts things out there for you this show, why does a US Marine who went to war for his country now have such strong beliefs against them? He is willing to work along side them and provide them with information, but just how far is Sgt Brody willing to go? It is his lover of Abu Nazir’s son Issa who was killed during a Drone strike which first got him to start changing his views, but now he has that same pulling effect from home as his daughter Dana who in the first season discovered that her father had converted to Islam, it would seem that she is all for it, and actually wants to learn more about the religion herself.
It really is brilliant story telling, and the development which Dana will have during this season is going to be great, will she be the anchor that stops her father going to far? I guess we will wait and see. We also were left wondering at the end of the first season about how Carrie would become involved this year as last season the CIA sacked her after they found out that she had Bi-polar, pretty sure she would have some sort of employment case there but never mind, it’s by the by. They brought her back into the story brilliantly with a mole recruited by her in Baghdad coming out and wanting to speak with her and only her, the CIA have had no other choice but to bring her back in as the mole is the wife of as high ranking person who’s information may be to good to turn up.
That sparked some great scenes showing that although Carrie is quite prepared to put herself back in the field for the CIA she is nowhere near ready for the level of secrecy and involvement of it all, she really seems on the edge and I’ve no doubt some of her own problems will surface during her time in the field. Clare Danes threw herself back into Emmy spots for next years awards along with Damien Lewis in this opening episode as both where brilliant, the scene with Brody and CIA Director David Estes was very nerve wracking, will he get caught? It’s kind of odd to watch because you want Brody to not get caught. Morrina Baccarin (Brody wife) is also back and learned during this episode that her husband is a Muslim, she went a little mad at that after all her war hero husband is inline to become the next American Vice President, it will be good to see what they do with Jessica’s character this season, all of Carrie’s ranting last year did not go unnoticed and maybe she will start to put the pieces together.
I was really impressed with “The Smile” if you hadn’t guessed that already, I actually was late getting into this show during the first season and found it rather tuff going at first but Homeland has now firmly cemented a place into my weekly TV schedule as a must watch along with Dexter and Person of Interest, only thing left now is to see which one of the new shows will be joining them.
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
TV Review: DEXTER - Are You...? 7.1
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Dexter’s sixth season was admittedly poorer than what we have been used too, but during those final few episodes Showtime pulled off a major coup in agreeing terms with it’s star Michael C. Hall and having him sign up for two more seasons of Dexter, everyone’s favourite serial killer. Season six may have been a poor showing but the final scene of Deb walking in right as Dexter plunged his knife into the chest of Travis Marshall left fans both old and new gasping for air at the though of what season seven might have in store for us. All summer we have been teased by Showtime of a major showdown between Debra, now Lieutenant of Miami Metro and her adopted brother Dexter, aka The Bay Harbour Butcher, season 7 premiered with “Are You…?” to massive audiences and as promised it did not disappoint in any way shape or form.
Starting in a completely different vain from what I was expecting, the show recapped on the events of season 6 before braking into the season premiere with Dexter frantically driving along the freeway towards Miami International airport, “oh no”, Deb has gone and done it I thought, she has reported Dexter to Miami Metro and he is going on the run, turns out that was not the case at all, following his check in we were taken back to the final scene of season 6 and the promised showdown between Dexter and Debra, from there this episode just got better and better with the final scene again leaving us gasping for air and a real taste of what we can look forward to in the coming episodes.
It seems that Dexter is at his best when he’s not contemplating whether or not he should be a serial killer, the seasons before this (notably five and six) where Dexter has been questioning his Dark Passenger have not been as good, yet this opening episode of season 7 proves that Dexter is best when he is having to scramble, think about it, in season 2 Doakes was well onto Dexter and that is up there as one of the best seasons of Dexter ever, why? Because Dexter was caught out and every episode was a constant battle in order for him to stay one step ahead of the game, now, even bigger than Doakes, Debra knows, not just about Travis Marshall (who she is now an accessory too) but the fact that her brother is a serial killer and her father, also a respectable law man trained him in how not to get caught.
What I have always really enjoyed about Dexter are the flashback involved, if you remember I only started watching in season 5 at which point there were no real flashbacks, just moments where Harry (James Remar) would appear and have a conversation with Dexter, they were also brilliant but when I was catching up with seasons one and two during the summer the flashbacks to Deb and Dexter’s childhood were brilliant and season 7 has brought all of those back, Deb now knows why she could never have a dog in the house for instance. I’m really looking forward to seeing how these go through the season and it was also brilliant to see Debra taking herself back to season one and how she was thrust up in plastic on Rudy’s table, things where falling into place throughout the whole episode.
As always we were introduced to the season seven protagonist, this year it’s Ukrainian mobsters, one who Dexter killed during this episode and the others who will now no doubt be paying a visit to Miami to find out who bumped off one of their own in an airport departure lounge, a little unrealistic in how Dexter got away with it but at least he used a fake passport, doesn’t count for the CCTV that would be littered all over the airport but never mind it was fun all the same. Who will be the protagonist though? Ukrainian Mobsters? Debra? No doubt the mobsters will be involved but in season 2 Dexter’s main focus was always on Doakes and the investigation by Lundy, I doubt that he will kill his own sister and the fact that she helped him cover up the murder of Travis Marshall makes it harder for her to now go to police, she is involved in the murder as much as he is, she even bought the gasoline to set the fire.
As always with Dexter there are going to be side story’s, the first to mention is Masuka’s dick of an intern Lewis, who had my suspicions going last season, he seems to have some sort of personal hate campaign against Dexter sending him the hand from the Ice Truck Killer investigation and then in this episode cancelling one of his back accounts (I suppose the point may be revealed later), don’t really get that as yet. Then you have LaGuerta, she found the blood slide at the scene of Travis Marshall, why she chose to conceal it as apposed to just having Masuka run the prints is anyone’s guess, remember she has never been convinced that Sgt Doakes was the Bay Harbour Butcher.
The season seven premiere delivered everything that it promised throughout the summer, only I was expecting maybe a little more of a dramatic showdown between Dexter and Debra in the church, the pacing was brilliant though and we now can look forward to a full season of Dexter ducking and diving, trying to convince Debra that there is good inside of him, after all he only kills certain kinds of people, roll on next weeks “Sunshine and Frosty Swirl” I can’t wait.
TV Review: SPARTACUS: BLOOD AND SAND Starring Andy Whitfield
type='html'>As you know there really is not much on TV right now, of late I have been filling in my time with box sets such as Dexter seasons one and two as well as the same from Breaking Bad, on a weekly basis I’m watching only Falling Skies season 2 and have decided to keep two more seasons of Dexter and Breaking Bad until they have wrapped for their upcoming seventh and fifth seasons respectively. I got home from work late to yet again nothing on TV and decided to turn to a DVD box set which I’ve had sitting for quite some time now, Spartacus: Blood and Sand, earlier in the year I watched Spartacus: Vengeance which quickly became my favorite show on TV all be it a different actor playing Spartacus. After one episode of Blood and Sand I was hooked on what turned out to be an ultra violent show with blood and gore a plenty.
I think too many people took this show a little too seriously, it is what it is really. Fair enough it’s not exactly historically correct (or so I’ve been told) but I didn’t really care, there was enough in storyline, acting ability, sex, and of course out and out violence to more than keep my interest. This opening season sees the rise of Spartacus a Thracian persuaded to join the Roman auxiliary to fight the Gatae by Legatos Claudius Glaber, however Glaber goes back on his word and switches his interest to the Mithridates in order to gain higher standing with the Roman Senate, it’s a move which the Thracian’s don’t take kindly and a soldier with no name is condemned to death in a Gladiator ring whilst his wife Sura is sold into slavery. The soldier refuses to be defeated and kills the four Gladiators sent to execute him becoming a favorite of the Capua crowd, he is sold to Batiatus (John Hannah) and begins life as the most famous Gladiator of them all, Spartacus.
I didn’t really know anything about the actors involved in Spartacus before I started watching but they very quickly get your attention here, whether that’s because of all the naked scenes or just the brilliant blood thirsty violence that’s on display I’m not sure but Spartacus himself, the late Andy Whitfield did put in a brilliant performance as the Thracian warrior and added real believability to his character, Andy actually picked Liam McIntyre to be his replacement in the latest season of the show. Also putting in the other noteworthy performance was British actor John Hannah, who plays Batiatus, the dominoes of the house, dropping F-bombs as there often called on the Internet Hannah puts Batiatus across brilliantly as the power crazy Dominoes wanting to better himself in politics and become the Magistrate with one eye firmly on Rome, his ruthlessness is brutal for such a little guy it’s often hard to believe that the physically superior Gladiator’s didn’t jump him before Spartacus encouraged them too, the reason? Before Spartacus all Gladiators in the house were fighting to take the crown of champion of Capua, a most prestigious award and one that could elevate their status in the house of Batiatus and even win them their freedom.
Crixus (Manu Bennett) is the champion of Capua throughout most of this season, mostly due to the fact that it’s a title that does not interest Spartacus, his only concern is that of his wife Sura and her safe return. Once given the encouragement of course Spartacus takes the mantle defeating one of Capua’s most feared Gladiators and the man who even defeated Doctore (Peter Mensah), Spartacus takes the crown and so continues the bickering between he and Crixus. I don’t want to go into to much story, obviously that will give the game away if you haven’t seen the show but its also available in history (on Wikipedia) as the show does follow the journey of Spartacus, this is the beginning and the story behind why he lead such a massive and successful slave rebellion during a time when the Romans reigned supreme.
I often wonder when watching shows and movies like Spartacus, Gladiator, Rome and 300 if things really were that brutal back then, they certainly lived in a very harsh environment and I suppose the shows and movies are based on real life events so it must have been as bad if not worse for people in slavery, or those who lived free lives but did not have a high standing within the Roman government, it seems if you lived in Rome you were wealthy, if you were a Dominoes you had high standing, if you were a Magistrate same goes, these people were untouchable and free to do as they pleased regardless of repercussions on those of a lesser standing.
Spartacus: Blood and Sand may not be everyone’s cup of tea but I certainly enjoyed it as I did with Vengeance and God’s of the Arena. For me this is a show where you can simply sit back, relax and enjoy the excitement on the screen as the back stabbing on all levels builds to one brilliant finale where Spartacus does exactly as instructed by his wife, kills them all.
I think too many people took this show a little too seriously, it is what it is really. Fair enough it’s not exactly historically correct (or so I’ve been told) but I didn’t really care, there was enough in storyline, acting ability, sex, and of course out and out violence to more than keep my interest. This opening season sees the rise of Spartacus a Thracian persuaded to join the Roman auxiliary to fight the Gatae by Legatos Claudius Glaber, however Glaber goes back on his word and switches his interest to the Mithridates in order to gain higher standing with the Roman Senate, it’s a move which the Thracian’s don’t take kindly and a soldier with no name is condemned to death in a Gladiator ring whilst his wife Sura is sold into slavery. The soldier refuses to be defeated and kills the four Gladiators sent to execute him becoming a favorite of the Capua crowd, he is sold to Batiatus (John Hannah) and begins life as the most famous Gladiator of them all, Spartacus.
I didn’t really know anything about the actors involved in Spartacus before I started watching but they very quickly get your attention here, whether that’s because of all the naked scenes or just the brilliant blood thirsty violence that’s on display I’m not sure but Spartacus himself, the late Andy Whitfield did put in a brilliant performance as the Thracian warrior and added real believability to his character, Andy actually picked Liam McIntyre to be his replacement in the latest season of the show. Also putting in the other noteworthy performance was British actor John Hannah, who plays Batiatus, the dominoes of the house, dropping F-bombs as there often called on the Internet Hannah puts Batiatus across brilliantly as the power crazy Dominoes wanting to better himself in politics and become the Magistrate with one eye firmly on Rome, his ruthlessness is brutal for such a little guy it’s often hard to believe that the physically superior Gladiator’s didn’t jump him before Spartacus encouraged them too, the reason? Before Spartacus all Gladiators in the house were fighting to take the crown of champion of Capua, a most prestigious award and one that could elevate their status in the house of Batiatus and even win them their freedom.
Crixus (Manu Bennett) is the champion of Capua throughout most of this season, mostly due to the fact that it’s a title that does not interest Spartacus, his only concern is that of his wife Sura and her safe return. Once given the encouragement of course Spartacus takes the mantle defeating one of Capua’s most feared Gladiators and the man who even defeated Doctore (Peter Mensah), Spartacus takes the crown and so continues the bickering between he and Crixus. I don’t want to go into to much story, obviously that will give the game away if you haven’t seen the show but its also available in history (on Wikipedia) as the show does follow the journey of Spartacus, this is the beginning and the story behind why he lead such a massive and successful slave rebellion during a time when the Romans reigned supreme.
I often wonder when watching shows and movies like Spartacus, Gladiator, Rome and 300 if things really were that brutal back then, they certainly lived in a very harsh environment and I suppose the shows and movies are based on real life events so it must have been as bad if not worse for people in slavery, or those who lived free lives but did not have a high standing within the Roman government, it seems if you lived in Rome you were wealthy, if you were a Dominoes you had high standing, if you were a Magistrate same goes, these people were untouchable and free to do as they pleased regardless of repercussions on those of a lesser standing.
Spartacus: Blood and Sand may not be everyone’s cup of tea but I certainly enjoyed it as I did with Vengeance and God’s of the Arena. For me this is a show where you can simply sit back, relax and enjoy the excitement on the screen as the back stabbing on all levels builds to one brilliant finale where Spartacus does exactly as instructed by his wife, kills them all.
This Week In Cinema's..... It's All Pretty Stupid
type='html'>Well following on from last weeks disappointing experiment of the weekly cinema releases over at Hubpages I now find myself back here, from now on I think I’ll leave football to Hubpages and keep movies and TV shows exclusively here, much like last week, this weeks releases are not out on Friday, the ones I’m going to mention below actually came out yesterday 24 August 2012. So what we got? Well, there is a brilliant new comedy starring just about every funny man in Hollywood, there is also a new British comedy starring Celebrity Juice front man Keith Lemon and finally a remake of the Three Stooges.
As always I’ll start with what will be the most popular movie of the week, Keith Lemon: The Film, probably not everyone’s preferred choice for the box office topper this week but over here in the UK Keith Lemon is hugely popular thanks to his hit ITV 2 show Celebrity Juice. Also starring in the movie is just about all of Keith’s “celebrity” friends, most of who have been involved with movies and TV in some way or another. I’ll be honest it’s a pretty shitty premise which charts the rags to riches story of TV personality Keith Lemon, real name Leigh Francis, Francis also wrote the movie where he plays his alter ego Lemon who invents a phone with a light up lemon on the back (supposedly the iPhone) that he sells for loads of money, leading him to a life of fame and fortune as well as a relationship with actress Kelly Brook. Take a look at the trailer below.
I’ll be honest I’m actually a big fan of Keith Lemon or Leigh Francis, whatever you want to call him, I loved Celebrity Juice, but for me I think Lemon has sold the alter ego thing to far down the line now, his latest reality TV show Lemon La Vida Loca is deplorable and as much as I may watch this I fear that I will be cringing and switching off after about ten minutes.
Next one to mention this week is The Watch starring Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughan, Jonah Hill and Richard Ayoade. Again like Keith Lemon above The Watch comes with a very silly premise, only this time it’s handled Hollywood style in the manner we have come to expect from all involved. The guys basically form themselves a neighbourhood watch
team in order to escape the humdrum lives they lead, however the job quickly becomes serious when they realise that the boring town they live in has actually been taken over by aliens who are posing as your typical American suburbanites. Now, “The Watch” has a job on their hands not only to save the town they live in but the entire world.
I saw the trailer for The Watch a while ago now and I have to say it looks really, really funny. It’s not one I would go to the cinema and see but you can be sure that I will be checking it out at some point.
Last one to mention this week is The Three Stooges starring Sean Hayes, Chris iamantopoulos and Will Sassso, I’m pretty sure this is a remake or re-hash although I have never actually seen the original (that I can remember), I have heard it referred to plenty times but never had the viewing experience, which I’ve heard is pretty good fun. All I can think is that this must be the week for stupid and silly movie releases as this like the other two seems to be a no brainer comedy (kind of like Dumb & Dumber, just not as funny). I don’t have to go to much into the plot here but basically Larry, Curly and Moe who work as caretakers in the orphanage where they were brought up end up embroiled in a murder plot which sees them starring in a hit reality TV show. Check out the trailer below.
Yeah, looks pretty stupid right? I don’t think I will be in a hurry to see the Stooges at the cinema or on DVD, but who knows? If it gains a big enough following then maybe I’ll be forced into taking a look.
As always I’ll start with what will be the most popular movie of the week, Keith Lemon: The Film, probably not everyone’s preferred choice for the box office topper this week but over here in the UK Keith Lemon is hugely popular thanks to his hit ITV 2 show Celebrity Juice. Also starring in the movie is just about all of Keith’s “celebrity” friends, most of who have been involved with movies and TV in some way or another. I’ll be honest it’s a pretty shitty premise which charts the rags to riches story of TV personality Keith Lemon, real name Leigh Francis, Francis also wrote the movie where he plays his alter ego Lemon who invents a phone with a light up lemon on the back (supposedly the iPhone) that he sells for loads of money, leading him to a life of fame and fortune as well as a relationship with actress Kelly Brook. Take a look at the trailer below.
I’ll be honest I’m actually a big fan of Keith Lemon or Leigh Francis, whatever you want to call him, I loved Celebrity Juice, but for me I think Lemon has sold the alter ego thing to far down the line now, his latest reality TV show Lemon La Vida Loca is deplorable and as much as I may watch this I fear that I will be cringing and switching off after about ten minutes.
Next one to mention this week is The Watch starring Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughan, Jonah Hill and Richard Ayoade. Again like Keith Lemon above The Watch comes with a very silly premise, only this time it’s handled Hollywood style in the manner we have come to expect from all involved. The guys basically form themselves a neighbourhood watch
team in order to escape the humdrum lives they lead, however the job quickly becomes serious when they realise that the boring town they live in has actually been taken over by aliens who are posing as your typical American suburbanites. Now, “The Watch” has a job on their hands not only to save the town they live in but the entire world.
I saw the trailer for The Watch a while ago now and I have to say it looks really, really funny. It’s not one I would go to the cinema and see but you can be sure that I will be checking it out at some point.
Last one to mention this week is The Three Stooges starring Sean Hayes, Chris iamantopoulos and Will Sassso, I’m pretty sure this is a remake or re-hash although I have never actually seen the original (that I can remember), I have heard it referred to plenty times but never had the viewing experience, which I’ve heard is pretty good fun. All I can think is that this must be the week for stupid and silly movie releases as this like the other two seems to be a no brainer comedy (kind of like Dumb & Dumber, just not as funny). I don’t have to go to much into the plot here but basically Larry, Curly and Moe who work as caretakers in the orphanage where they were brought up end up embroiled in a murder plot which sees them starring in a hit reality TV show. Check out the trailer below.
Yeah, looks pretty stupid right? I don’t think I will be in a hurry to see the Stooges at the cinema or on DVD, but who knows? If it gains a big enough following then maybe I’ll be forced into taking a look.
Movie Review: BLITZ (2011) Starring Jason Statham
type='html'>Blitz is a movie which I have known about for a good while now, and to be honest I’ve never really felt the urge to watch it, mainly because it’s a British movie and typically the sort of thing I don’t care for to much. However thanks to the folks down at Lovefilm HQ this ended up being my latest Blu-ray rental. I found myself with a couple of free hours (unusually) the other day and decided to take advantage giving Jason Statham’s latest (almost) kick ass action fest a run for its money.
Starring: Jason Statham, Paddy Considine, Aidan Gillen, Zawe Ashton, David Morrissey and Luke Evans
The Plot
Jason Statham plays Detective Sergeant Tom Brandt, a cop who has nothing in his life other than alcohol, currently suffering from what he describes as blackouts he is in therapy after catching three youths trying to break into his car, Brandt decides that to arrest them just isn’t enough and proceeds to beat the youths to within an inch of their life with a hockey stick. Then things get worse as there is a cop killer on the loose and he seems to be targeting the station where Brandt works, problem is they know who the perpetrator is, they just need to find the evidence to charge him.
The Verdict
If it’s realism that you are after, then in terms of violence and what London “really” looks like Blitz will serve you very well, it’s a gritty dark humoured police thriller with Jason Statham doing what he does best, putting on a gruff voice, drinking and kicking ass whilst hurling abuse at his superiors. However that’s where the realism in Blitz ends, don’t get me wrong it was a very enjoyable movie and coming from someone who doesn’t normally like British East End type flicks that’s saying something, but what Blitz didn’t get right was the scenes with the police.
Aidan Gillen (Game of Thrones / The Wire) is brilliant as the psychotic villain, he comes across really well, but its just a shame that a little more of why he turned out wanting to kill cops wasn’t involved at the beginning, my guess would be that he is a no one, a loner who simply wanted to make a name for himself. Thing is Gillen is the Blitz, or at least that’s the nickname he affords himself and after he dispatches three cops he is arrested, now one killing was dead of night, no witnesses, the other through the day, loads of witness, both of those are shots to the head. His final one before arrest, bludgeoning the Chief Inspector with a hammer, he then proceeds to be sick all over him. Police complain when the Blitz is allowed to walk free, as they have no solid evidence.
Realism? I don’t think so, first off The Blitz is arrested for the murder of three cops, the clothing he is wearing would be seized from him before he is placed into a police cell, here he wears the same clothing all the way through with no hint they are going to seize it. Second, he has fifty grand cash on him, police know he does not work and therefore has no means to be carrying that sort of money, it would be seized from him under the proceeds of crime act and weather charged or not he wouldn’t be given it back. Third, the biggest mistake of all, the one which would have put him in prison, DNA, yes, the police claimed to have none, hold on, after killing the chief he was sick on him, isn’t that DNA? Crime solved.
Don’t let any of that put you off, I suppose you could say I spoke to someone in the know, or maybe not. Blitz is actually a really good cop thriller, especially for a British movie, unlike Hollywood there are no brash over the top action sequences or explosions just good old hard as nails kick arse, but even Statham shows that his acting abilities extend beyond that of a martial arts expert as his dialogue in this movie is actually pretty good, especially with his superior Detective Sergeant Porter Nash (Paddy Considine, The Bourne Ultimatum).
To cap it off if its A-List Hollywood kick ass you are after then Blitz probably won’t cut it, you’d be far better off watching Statham in The Mechanic or The Transporter, but if you care for gritty darkly humours drama thrillers then Blitz will be right up your street.
The Music
Brilliant actually, really raw and grimy garage mixed with some techno, primarily used during the chase scenes, the opening title music is particularly gripping, and sets you up well for 1 hour and 30 minutes of good old fun.
Would I watch it again?
You know what? I think I would, Blitz is something you can stick on and not have to think to vigorously about, and I enjoyed it.
Starring: Jason Statham, Paddy Considine, Aidan Gillen, Zawe Ashton, David Morrissey and Luke Evans
The Plot
Jason Statham plays Detective Sergeant Tom Brandt, a cop who has nothing in his life other than alcohol, currently suffering from what he describes as blackouts he is in therapy after catching three youths trying to break into his car, Brandt decides that to arrest them just isn’t enough and proceeds to beat the youths to within an inch of their life with a hockey stick. Then things get worse as there is a cop killer on the loose and he seems to be targeting the station where Brandt works, problem is they know who the perpetrator is, they just need to find the evidence to charge him.
The Verdict
If it’s realism that you are after, then in terms of violence and what London “really” looks like Blitz will serve you very well, it’s a gritty dark humoured police thriller with Jason Statham doing what he does best, putting on a gruff voice, drinking and kicking ass whilst hurling abuse at his superiors. However that’s where the realism in Blitz ends, don’t get me wrong it was a very enjoyable movie and coming from someone who doesn’t normally like British East End type flicks that’s saying something, but what Blitz didn’t get right was the scenes with the police.
Aidan Gillen (Game of Thrones / The Wire) is brilliant as the psychotic villain, he comes across really well, but its just a shame that a little more of why he turned out wanting to kill cops wasn’t involved at the beginning, my guess would be that he is a no one, a loner who simply wanted to make a name for himself. Thing is Gillen is the Blitz, or at least that’s the nickname he affords himself and after he dispatches three cops he is arrested, now one killing was dead of night, no witnesses, the other through the day, loads of witness, both of those are shots to the head. His final one before arrest, bludgeoning the Chief Inspector with a hammer, he then proceeds to be sick all over him. Police complain when the Blitz is allowed to walk free, as they have no solid evidence.
Realism? I don’t think so, first off The Blitz is arrested for the murder of three cops, the clothing he is wearing would be seized from him before he is placed into a police cell, here he wears the same clothing all the way through with no hint they are going to seize it. Second, he has fifty grand cash on him, police know he does not work and therefore has no means to be carrying that sort of money, it would be seized from him under the proceeds of crime act and weather charged or not he wouldn’t be given it back. Third, the biggest mistake of all, the one which would have put him in prison, DNA, yes, the police claimed to have none, hold on, after killing the chief he was sick on him, isn’t that DNA? Crime solved.
Don’t let any of that put you off, I suppose you could say I spoke to someone in the know, or maybe not. Blitz is actually a really good cop thriller, especially for a British movie, unlike Hollywood there are no brash over the top action sequences or explosions just good old hard as nails kick arse, but even Statham shows that his acting abilities extend beyond that of a martial arts expert as his dialogue in this movie is actually pretty good, especially with his superior Detective Sergeant Porter Nash (Paddy Considine, The Bourne Ultimatum).
To cap it off if its A-List Hollywood kick ass you are after then Blitz probably won’t cut it, you’d be far better off watching Statham in The Mechanic or The Transporter, but if you care for gritty darkly humours drama thrillers then Blitz will be right up your street.
The Music
Brilliant actually, really raw and grimy garage mixed with some techno, primarily used during the chase scenes, the opening title music is particularly gripping, and sets you up well for 1 hour and 30 minutes of good old fun.
Would I watch it again?
You know what? I think I would, Blitz is something you can stick on and not have to think to vigorously about, and I enjoyed it.
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