Reviewed: Final Destination 5 [2011]

Final Destination 5 [2011]

15 - 92mins - Horror/Thriller - 26th August 2011

The first Final Destination (the one with the plane) was a very original piece of work that had most of us enjoying some horror and gore in a novel and new way. By the time the second came out (the motorway pile up) in 2003 it could still be classed as a popcorn movie but they really raised the ingenuity of the death scenes making it a reasonable way to waste an hour and a half. By number 3 (roller coaster) and 4 (Nascar) I didn't see the point in them anymore as you had to sit through an identical plot for 5/6/7 death scenes that, if truth be told, were not great. So when I heard the announcement of a fifth, I really didn't get it. Perhaps they are jumping on the 3D bandwagon like everyone else?

As expected it duly delivered not a lot in the way of entertainment. In Final Destination 5, a group of co-workers set off for a weekend of team building exercises. However on the way to their destination, a bridge that they are crossing collapses and kills all of them. Unbeknownst to the audience this was just a premonition of the event (ironically I never saw it coming...) and after a commotion Sam (Nicholas D'Agosto) manages to convince some of his fellow employees to get off of the bus. The bridge then collapses and their lives are saved. Over the next few days though the survivors start to die in strange circumstances as Death tries to restore order to the world.

Trailered: Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance [2012]

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance [2012]

Release Dates:

- 17th February 2012 (USA) -

- 22nd February 2012 (UK) -

Directors: Mark Neveldine, Brian Taylor

Cast: Nicolas Cage, Ciarán Hinds, Idris Elba

Johnny Blaze (Cage) returns to our screens as the stunt motorcyclist turned hell blazing vigilante who tackles the evils that no others dare. In the original he took on the son of the Devil, Blackheart and the sequel sees him raise the bar to take on the Devil himself who is trying to take a human form. Watching the original hardly blew me away and was poor for the most part so the thought of a sequel does not fill me with much hope at all.

The only thing going for Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance is that it will take a lot for it to be worse than the original.  At least from the trailer it looks like the CGI has been raised up a notch and the film is going to have its fair share of action and entertaining car chases to keep me interested. Also can anyone help me to distinguish between the Ghost Rider series and Drive Angry which are so similar in many ways? I can't see myself heading to the cinema for this so instead I'll wait at home for Cage's career to pull out from its nose dive.

Rating: D

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Reviewed: Cowboys & Aliens [2011]

Cowboys & Aliens [2011]

12A - 118mins - Action/Sci-Fi/Thriller - 17th August 2011

Finally my prayers to the Hollywood top dogs for a bit of originality have been answered in the form of Cowboys & Aliens, a sci-fi thriller (which puts me in even more of an optimistic mood due to it being one of my preferred genres of choice). Yes it is based on a graphic novel and yes technology in the wild west has been implemented before but this isn't a sequel/prequel and as a concept is very fresh.

Daniel Craig plays Jake, a cowboy who wakes up in the middle of nowhere with no recollection of who he is, where he has been or how he got there. In fact the only clue given to him is a strange metallic bracelet that he is unable to remove from his arm. After making his way to the nearest town he soon makes himself known to the locals and is identified as a dangerous and wanted man guilty of several crimes including stealing gold from local rancher Woodrow Dolarhyde (Harrison Ford). After being arrested and readied for transport, alien spaceships appear out of nowhere and start snatching people away and blowing up the surrounding countryside. Jake's bracelet transforms itself into a weapon and he is able to drive the aliens away.

Trailered: Machine Gun Preacher [2011]

Machine Gun Preacher [2011]

 Release Dates:

- 23rd September 2011 (USA) -

- 18th November 2011 (UK) -

Director: Marc Forster

Cast: Gerard Butler, Michelle Monaghan, Michael Shannon

Based on the true story of Sam Childers, a former drug-dealing biker who found God. Seeing the troubles in East Africa, he heads over to help repair homes destroyed by civil war where he encounters the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), a renegade militia that forces youngsters to become soldiers. Determined to make a difference, Sam leads armed missions deep into enemy territory to retrieve kidnapped children and help restore peace to their lives.

The true life inspirational stories tend to do quite well in the box office but that's usually because the audience can in some way relate to the characters. This is less likely for Machine Gun Preacher which although has a story worth telling does not quite capture my imagination in the way it might others. Hence...

Rating: C

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Reviewed: Rise of the Planet of the Apes [2011]

Rise of the Planet of the Apes [2011]

12A - 105mins - Action/Drama/Sci-Fi - 11th August 2011

It's been 10 years since the last Planet of the Apes film and looking back, it is fair to say that the years have not treated it too well- the ape costumes are verging on amusing rather than scary. This latest reboot brings us an origins story painting a picture of the beginning of the end for the human race and the start of dominance for the apes on Earth. They have brought back this franchise again with a movie that isn't really part of said franchise. All other Planet of the Apes movies are set on a mystical planet whereas this is set on present day Earth and as such, although I understand why they did it (money money money), would have been better to disassociate with the Planet of the Apes brand.

Will Rodman (James Franco) is a researcher for a pharmaceutical company working on a cure for Alzheimer's- a disease close to his heart due to his father's (John Lithgow) battle with the disease. When his leading test subject breaks free and 'goes ape' she is put down along with the rest of the project. However Will discovers she was only protecting her newborn child who he takes home and raises as part of his family. It soon becomes apparent that the drugs subjected to the baby chimp's mother have been genetically passed on to him gifting the ape with extremely high levels of intelligence.

Trailered: A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas [2011]

A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas [2011]

Release Dates:

- TBA (UK) -

- 4th November 2011 (USA) -

Director: Todd Strauss-Schulson

Cast: Kal Penn, John Cho, Neil Patrick Harris

Welcome one and all to the beginning of the Christmas season! For those that don't know me, I despise anything Christmas related before December at the very earliest so with a release date 52 days before Crimbo my blood is already beginning to boil.

Six years after their Guantanamo Bay incident, stoner buddies Harold Lee (Cho) and Kumar Patel (Penn) have grown apart and build themselves new lives. But when a mysterious package arrives at Kumar's door for Harold on Christmas Eve, his attempts to redirect it result in him burning down Harold's father-in-law's prize Christmas tree. Instead of admitting his guilt, the duo set off on another adventure through New York to search for the perfect replacement and cover their tracks.

The first one in the series was a solid popcorn movie, the second tried too hard and failed to be funny so I'm pretty sure the third with continue the plunge into shockingly bad. A different story but it looks like the same content as the last two which makes this hold no interest for me. Also their mocking of 3D is somewhat flawed as the majority of people will not be watching it in 3D (what's the point) and so bang goes the irony.

Rating: F

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Trailered: Haywire [2011]

Haywire [2011]

Release Dates:

- 20th January 2012 (UK, USA) -

Director: Steven Soderbergh
Cast: Gina Carano, Ewan McGregor, Michael Fassbender

Now you let me know if this plot line rings any bells. We have super soldier Mallory Kane (Carano) who was created by the government to do its bidding but during one of her many missions she is betrayed by the people she trusted the most. After surviving her attempted assassination she goes on a revenge mission seeking payback for those who were responsible. How original!

I'm not sure about this one, it just seems a bit 'samey' to so many other films out there- all they have done is change the main character into a female. I'm sure there's a chance it will impress with decent action scenes/car chases but not enough to warrant a visit to the cinema from me.

Rating: D

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Reviewed: The Smurfs [2011]

The Smurfs [2011]

 U - 103mins - Animation/Comedy/Family - 10th August 2011

Well it has been a while since my last post so sorry about that- I'm sure you were just lost without my views on what you should be watching so I'm going to make up for it with a couple of reviews and new movie trailers thrown at you all in one day. First up are those blue critters they call "The Smurfs".

Despite me trying to be as neutral as possible before settling down to watch a film I found myself preparing for the long haul when I decided to watch The Smurfs. As a kid I never really got into them but did occasionally catch a TV show or two so wasn't flying completely into the unknown like some of the more recent comic book characters that I have reviewed.

Reviewed: Good Neighbours [2011]

Good Neighbours [2011]

N/A - 95mins - Comedy/Crime/Thriller - N/A

Good Neighbours follows three people who live in the same apartment building in Montreal over the course of Winter in 1995. Spencer (Scott Speedman) is a wheelchair bound introvert who spends all of his time in his flat on the first floor; Victor (Jay Baruchel) who has recently moved to the area since returning from China; and finally Louise (Emily Hampshire), a waitress at a local restaurant who spends most of her time either socialising with her pet cats (Tia Maria and Mozart) or reading up on the local serial killer who is running riot near to where they live.

Each of them is flawed in their own unique way so much so that I found myself asking the question why are any of them friends at all? Only the nervous Victor seems to be capable of something resembling social skills despite the uncanny ability to put his foot in everything time and time again and yet on several occasions they all sit down to dinner together when it's extremely obvious that they would be somewhere else.

Trailered: In Time [2011]

In Time [2011]

Release Dates:

- 28th October 2011 (USA) -

- 1st November 2011 (UK) -

Director: Andrew Niccol

Stars: Justin Timberlake, Amanda Seyfried, Cillian Murphy

In the future people stop ageing at 25 and must work to buy themselves more time, but when a young man finds himself with more time than he can imagine he must run from the corrupt police force to save his life.

Interesting concept this one and another chance for Timberlake to breakaway from his pop star status and transition into the movie world. I am more optimistic he can achieve it with this film as there are no comic moments as in Bad Teacher where his goofiness played to the audience rather than whatever his acting abilities merited.

I can see myself going to watch this but I have this feeling that it is not going to live up to the promise that I'm now attaching to it. Fingers crossed that the potential for this film comes to fruition.

Rating: B

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Previewed: August's Releases

August's Releases

So another month comes to pass. We waved  goodbye to the Potter series and saw some good films come out. This month has the potential to go one step further with some interesting films on the horizon.

Best Movies in August 2011

                           1. The Interrupters
                           2. The Guard
                           3. The Skin I Live In
                           4. Cowboys & Aliens
                           5. Super 8
                           6. Rise of the Planet of the Apes
                           7. The Help

Action/Fantasy/Thrillers
Super 8 (5th August)
After witnessing a mysterious train crash, a group of friends in the summer of 1979 begin noticing strange happenings going around in their small town and investigate into the creepy phenomenon. Spielberg and J.J.Abrams working together should provide a good entertaining movie. Go watch.