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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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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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

Farm

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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

Farm
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Trailered: Battleship [2012]

Battleship [2012]

Release Dates:

- 18th May 2012 (UK, USA) -

Director: Peter Berg

Stars: Liam Neeson, Alexander Skarsgård, Taylor Kitsch

And this is the reason I keep an eye out on films that are going to be released in the future. I'm assuming that everyone has heard of the game Battleships? Guess a square and drop in those hit pegs when you strike lucky? Of course you have. Everyone has. I never thought that I would see the day though when they based a film on it!!! I mean really, are the film distributors that desperate that they have to resort to board games for inspiration? Good God I just don't believe it. I'm actually in a state of shock.

The official plot line is : A fleet of ships is forced to do battle with an armada of unknown origins in order to discover and thwart their destructive goals. What's even more insane is they have somehow got Neeson on board with them. It looks terrible and yet I'm so interested to see how they can make this into a movie that I may be so sad as to go and watch it. Check out the trailer and decide for yourself. Less you sunk my battleship and more you sunk my belief in the film industry!

Rating: C

P.S. If this starts a trend then I'm hyped about the Monopoly movie!!!
P.P.S. +10 points to whoever spots Rihanna in the trailer.

Farm
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Trailered: Paranormal Activity 3 [2011]

Paranormal Activity 3 [2011]

Release Dates:

- 21st October 2011 (UK, USA) -

Directors: Henry Joost, Ariel Schulman
Cast: Zayd Jaber

I don't think I am best equipped to talk about this movie what with me having seen neither of the first two in the series but they always seen to make a stir when they are released. It is brought to us by the same guys behind the intriguing Catfish [my review]. The third installment is to be a prequel to the first following Katie and Kristi when they were children and haunted by the daemon which was referred to in the first two films.

I think for those of a nervous disposition some sort of adult diaper may be a necessary requirement when going to watch this movie but I cannot see a way in which they will be able to shake it up so that it is not just a repeat of the first two films. If you enjoyed the first two then expect this to give more of the same otherwise don't bother

Rating: C

Farm
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Trailered: The Inbetweeners Movie [2011]

The Inbetweeners Movie [2011]

Release Dates:

- 19th August 2011 (UK) -

- N/A (USA) -

One for the British amongst us or others aware of the comedy series The Inbetweeners. That's right, it's back but this time as its own full length feature. Will (Simon Bird), Neil (Blake Harrison), Simon (Joe Thomas) and Jay (James Buckley) are our four socially troubled eighteen year olds who set off on a lads holiday to Crete to drown their sorrows and chase some tail.

Full Length Trailer:

Lude, crude, rude- the three rhyming words that I would associate this movie with and that's why I, along with many others, love it. I can't see it offering anything that the TV series hasn't already given us but as they called a day on that after three series this will provide a nice fix. Will I want to go to a cinema to watch this still remains to be seen but I will certainly get round to watching it at some point.

Rating: C

Farm

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Trailered: The Thing [2011]

The Thing [2011]

Release Dates:

- 14th October 2011 (UK, USA) -

Director: Matthijs van Heijningen Jr.

Stars: Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Joel Edgerton, Ulrich Thomsen

Many of you may already know of the original movie of the same name from 1982 and if you don't then make sure you watch it in the future! That is unless you plan on watching the new version as the 2011 release is a prelude to John Carpenter's classic and so if you know how that one started then it might significantly reduce the tension they will build up in this one.

Set in the Antarctic at a research site, palaeontologist Kate Lloyd (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) joins up with a Norwegian scientific team that has stumbled across an extraterrestrial ship buried in the ice with an organism that seems to have died in the crash intact. Unsurprisingly, the specimen wakes and is unleashed into the isolated colony. Being a shape-shifting creature it has the ability to turn itself into a perfect replica of any living thing and once the scientists realise this, paranoia spreads amongst them as they try and work out who is infected by the alien before it gets them too.

Trailer:

While I can imagine the graphics will be improved, I doubt they will trump the original as it used some cool puppetry to create its aliens. It will have good suspense as you try and discover who is no longer human but the fact I basically know how it ends makes me think that I won't enjoy it that much.

Rating: D

Farm

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Trailered: The Amazing Spider-Man [2012]

The Amazing Spider-Man [2012]

Release Dates:
- 3rd July 2012 (UK, USA) -

Director: Marc Webb

Stars: Andrew Garfield, Irrfan Khan, Denis Leary

What first came to mind when I heard about this all those months ago... for the love of God not another remake! Hollywood please get some creativity I mean it's only been 5 years since the last Spider-Man movie. But then I got to thinking and realised that the gap between Schumacher's  Batman & Robin and Nolan's exceptional Batman trilogy was only 8 years and the new Superman movie, Man of Steel, only has a 6 year gap on it's previous, Superman Returns so not all that surprising. It's also worth noting that this is a reboot so we have a new world (albeit with similar characters) and a chance for the aptly named Marc Webb to reinvent the franchise.

The Amazing Spider-Man sees a return to the beginning of Parker's (Garfield) transformation into Spider-Man as we hit high school again and watch him learn about his new found powers all over. The villain of the piece will be Dr. Curt Conners aka Lizard (Rhys Ifans) but all the rest is rather hush hush on a need to know basis.

Trailer:

After having watched the trailer a few things did pop into my mind primarily the fact that I've seen this movie before 10 years ago. Seems like I can't get over this hump I have about it being too soon. Perhaps because the first movie started up all the mass productions of superhero films in the modern day and that this reboot will most likely have a similar first 40 minutes. It does seem darker/more edgy and less comical than the previous versions which I think will be pluses and we even get to see Parker's parents for the first time! I also noticed (for those gamers amongst you) that the 1st person section of the trailer seems very very similar to the game Mirror's Edge [see proof]. I'd like to be proven wrong but I can't see this working.

Rating: C

Farm

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Trailered: The Pirates! Band Of Misfits [2012]

The Pirates! Band Of Misfits [2012]

Release Dates:

- 30th March 2012 (UK, USA) -

Directors: Peter Lord, Jeff Newitt
Stars: Hugh Grant, Brendan Gleeson, David Tennant,

Aardman Studios (those lovely people behind such classics as Wallace and Gromit and Chicken Run) are back with their latest full length stop animation feature- The Pirates! Band of Misfits aka The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists. Peter Lord also returns to the directors chair for the first time since the aforementioned Chicken Run.

The Pirate Captain (Grant) is an eccentric and overly enthusiastic man which makes up for his less than successful terror of the High Seas. With his rag-tag crew at his beck and call, and seemingly blind to the impossible odds stacked against him, the Captain has one dream: to beat his bitter rivals Black Bellamy (Jeremy Piven) and Cutlass Liz (Salma Hayek) to the much coveted Pirate Of The Year Award. The quest takes him and his crew from the shores of exotic Blood Island to the foggy streets of Victorian London. Along the way they battle a diabolical queen (Imelda Staunton) and team up with a haplessly smitten young scientist (David Tennant), but never lose sight of what a pirate loves best: adventure!

Trailer:

From what the trailer gives us it looks to be full of laughs and the clay models look painstakingly well detailed. Whether Grant can pull of any kind of pirate, animation or not, is yet to be seen but it's hard to imagine that this is going to be anything other than entertaining. I will be watching this one for sure!

Rating: A

Farm

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Trailered: The Dark Knight Rises [2012]

The Dark Knight Rises [2012]

Release Dates:

- 20th July 2012 (UK, USA) -

Director: Christopher Nolan

Stars: Christian Bale, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Gary Oldman

Do I really need to say much about this to get you interested? The highly anticipated sequel to The Dark Knight trilogy sees him battle Tom Hardy as Bane and Anne Hathaway as Catwoman. It has a lot to live up to and due to my man crush on all things Christopher Nolan I can see it doing just that. It's hard to imagine it being any better than the second one but I reckon it can push it to be nearly as good if not as good as The Dark Knight. The only problem with it? We will have to wait a year to see it! Enjoy the teaser trailer...

Teaser Trailer:

Rating: A

Farm
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Trailered: Jack and Jill [2012]

Jack and Jill [2012]

Release Dates:

- 11th November 2011 (USA) -

- 6th January 2012 (UK) -

Director: Dennis Dugan

Stars: Adam Sandler, Katie Holmes and Al Pacino

Jack and Jill follows a successful advertising executive and loving family man, Jack Sadelstein (Sandler) who dreads one event every year- the Thanksgiving visit of his identical twin sister Jill (Sandler). This time the event is made worse when his sister decides to stay for longer and refuses to leave turning Jack's normally tranquil life on its head.

This is Sandler sticking to what he knows best and might be better than some of his more recent attempts to make me laugh (I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry,  You Don't Mess with the Zohan, Grown Ups) but will still be a long way short of anything enjoyable. Hopefully we will one day see the Sandler of old but not this time. And why Pacino has jumped into this boat is anyone's guess. Perhaps a career in comedy awaits him just around the corner?

Rating: D

Farm
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Trailered: The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret Of The Unicorn [2011]

The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret Of The Unicorn [2011]

Release Dates:

- 26th October 2011 (UK) -

- 23rd December 2011 (USA) -

Director: Steven Spielberg

Stars: Jamie Bell, Andy Serkis and Daniel Craig

Tintin (Bell) and his friends discover directions to a sunken ship commanded by Captain Haddock's (Serkis) ancestor and go off on a treasure hunt. However they are not the only ones after the treasure and must fight off foes and dangers alike if they are to discover the true value of the haul.

The film is based on the comic book series The Adventures of Tintin created by the Belgian artist Georges Rémi. More specifically, it's based on three particular stories in the series: The Crab with the Golden Claws, The Secret of the Unicorn (after which the film is named) and Red Rackham's Treasure.

I never was one for the comics but I do remember a TV series version playing when I was a kid and for some reason it used to scare the crap out of me- never worked out why. The visuals look the most lifelike that I have ever seen for an animation and the story seems impressive enough to keep me interested. I'm also going to stick my neck out and say that this will be one of the first films worth watching in 3D.

Rating: B

Farm
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Trailered: Happy Feet 2 [2011]

Happy Feet 2 [2011]

Release Dates:

- 18th November 2011 (USA) -

- 2nd December 2011 (UK) -

Director: George Miller
Stars: Elijah Wood, Robin Williams, Alecia Moore (aka Pink)

For those less aware of the original it followed a penguin called Mumble (Wood) who, in a world where penguins find their soul mates by song, was unable to sing but could pull off some impressive dance movies. Happy Feet 2 follows both Mumble and his son Erik (Elizabeth Daily) who is reluctant to dance and finds a role model in The Mighty Sven, a flying penguin, much to Mumble's disdain. Things get worse for Mumble when the world is shaken by powerful forces, causing him to brings together the penguin nations and their allies to set things right.

Teaser Trailer:

Despite Happy Feet winning an Oscar for best animated film in 2007 and being entertaining, I just can't see this being very good if you don't have a group of kids to take along with you. Very much a kids flick then and whereas some animations aim to put in jokes for adults as well, I can't see this being one of them.

Rating: D

Farm
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Trailered: War Horse [2012]

War Horse [2012]

Release Dates:

- 28th December 2011 (USA) -

- 13th January 2011 (UK) -

Director: Steven Spielberg

Stars: Jeremy Irvine, Emily Watson, David Thewlis

War Horse is set against a sweeping canvas of rural England and Europe during the First World War. It follows a young man named Albert (Irvine) and his horse, Joey whom Albert tamed and trained and how their bond is broken when Joey is sold to the cavalry and sent to the trenches of World War One. Despite being too young to enlist, Albert heads to France to save his friend. The film follows the extraordinary journey of the horse as he moves through the war, changing and inspiring the lives of all those he meets- British cavalry, German soldiers, and a French farmer and his granddaughter.

Based on the book of the same name, it was turned into a successful international theatrical performance (check out the amazing horse puppets that are used) and is now coming to screen in this adaptation by Spielberg.

I'm rarely one to speak badly of any film associated with Spielberg as I'm sure the production quality and direction will be fantastic. However this just gives me a feeling of watching Saving Private Ryan/Band of Brothers but with a horse. This will more than likely pick up at least a couple of Oscar nominations but I just find it hard to get excited by this storyline. I look forward to being proven wrong.

Rating: C

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Trailered: Mission: Impossible- Ghost Protocol [2011]

Mission: Impossible- Ghost Protocol [2011]

Release Dates:

- 16th December 2011 (USA) -

- 26th December 2011 (UK) -

Director: Brad Bird
Stars: Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Paula Patton

Dun dun, dun dun dun dun, dun dun dun dun, dun dun dun dun, dun dun, dadadaaa dadadaaa dadadaaa da da. It's back for its fourth big screen installment with Cruise once again playing secret agent Ethan Hunt.

When terrorists blow up the Kremlin, the US government activates Ghost Protocol and disavows the Impossible Mission Force. With Hunt and Co intentionally blamed for the attack so they can operate outside of the rules, it is up to them to uncover the truth whilst evading capture.

Another generic action film that I don't think will quite cut the mustard. No doubt there will be pretty explosions and lots of shooting but I doubt it will have that special something to lift it above the rest. Farm

Rating: C

Farm

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Trailered: Johnny English Reborn [2011]

Johnny English Reborn [2011]

Release Dates:

- 7th October 2011 (UK) -

- TBA (USA) -

Director: Oliver Parker

Stars: Rowan Atkinson, Rosamund Pike, Dominic West

Johnny English (Atkinson) returns to the role of the accidental secret agent who doesn't know fear or danger in the comedy spy-thriller Johnny English Reborn. In this latest adventure, the most unlikely intelligence officer in Her Majesty's Secret Service must stop a group of international assassins before they eliminate a world leader and cause global chaos.

In the years since the first installment, MI-7's top spy has vanished off the grid and been been honing his unique skills in a remote region of Asia. But when his agency superiors learn of an attempt against the Chinese premier's life, they must hunt down the highly unorthodox agent.

Now that the world needs him once again, Johnny English returns to the action. With his one shot at redemption, he must employ the latest in hi-tech gadgets to unravel a web of conspiracy that runs throughout the KGB, CIA and even MI-7. With mere days until a heads of state conference, English must use every trick in his playbook to save the day.

With his usual blend of sarcasm and straight faced comedy Atkinson will no doubt bring his usual wit to the role which saw it succeed during it's original release in 2003. Expect laughs.

Rating: B

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Trailered: Brave [2012]

Brave [2012]

Release Dates:

- 22nd June 2012 (USA) -

- 17th August 2012 (UK) -

Director: Mark Andrews

Stars: Emma Thompson, Kelly Macdonald, Kevin McKidd

Coinciding alongside the release of Cars 2, Disney Pixar have released the first trailer for their newest project, Brave.

The movie is set in the mystical Scottish Highlands, where Merida (Macdonald) is the princess of a kingdom ruled by King Fergus (Billy Connolly) and Queen Elinor (Thompson). Merida, an unruly daughter and an accomplished archer, one day defies a sacred custom of the land and inadvertently brings turmoil to the kingdom. In an attempt to set things right she seeks out an eccentric old Wise Woman (Julie Walters) and is granted an ill-fated wish. Also figuring into her quest and serving as comic relief are the kingdom’s three lords: the enormous Lord MacGuffin (McKidd), the surly Lord Macintosh (Craig Ferguson), and the disagreeable Lord Dingwall (Robbie Coltrane).

1st Teaser Trailer:

It's a Pixar and it's an original concept. Since when have those two points failed to produce something special.

Rating: A

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Trailered: Flypaper [2011]

Flypaper [2011]

Release Dates:
- TBA -

Director: Rob Minkoff

Stars: Patrick Dempsey, Ashley Judd, Jeffrey Tambor

Flypaper follows a bank robbery with a twist. Whilst using a bank a man ,, is caught in the middle of a heist. Nothing out of the ordinary so far you say and you would be correct. However on this fateful day, the bank is being robbed by 2 groups at the same time- a slick operation after the vault and some rednecks out for the ATM machines.

Although this is too far fetched to be plausible and I have this feeling it's not going to be the best film ever produced, it will no doubt entertain.

Rating: C

Farm
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