Trailer Watch XVII

Hey you sexy readers, here is the month's selection of new trailers for your glorious eyes, hope the show!

1. Unstoppable



2. The Company Man



3. Freakonomics



4. I Spit On Your Grave



5. Let Me In



6. Nine Nation Animation



7. The Next Three Days



8. Freebie



9. 127 Hours



10. Inside Job



11. Tamara Drewe



12. I'm Still Here



13. Life As We Know It



14. Hereafter



15. Black Swan



16. Never Let Me Go



17. My Soul to Take



18. The Fighter

The Super Elric Brothers!

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood: Vol 1 – Yasuhiro Irie

A new anime series to match the likes of Studio Ghibli likeability with the addictive nature of Death Note, called Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, directed by Yasuhiro Irie, which is rare for an anime show, where only one director is used. The series follows the adventure of The Elric Brothers, Edward and Alphonse, who are alchemist, people that can use the science of alchemy to transform and move objects. After a serious event where the Brothers try to bring someone back from the dead, the young brothers end up being half metal and being placed into an armour suit. Ed has an arm and leg made of metal after the limbs are taken from the accident and Al’s soul is placed inside the armour after his whole body was taken. It’s very far-fetching to begin with, but you soon grasp the whole story. They both join the State Alchemist’s where they help the army of the world, and they soon begin the journey of trying to find the Philosopher’s Stone which can bring people back from the dead because of its power. Yes, it’s kinda complicated. The animation is a mix of Studio Ghibli, mixed with cartoonish expressions seen in manga and the violence and action of Ghost in the Shell and Akira. It’s used to create an original fast paced, great action packed series where every episode leads into the overall direction the series has. It may seem to drag in certain parts, but the action comes quickly and the twists and turns appear nearly every episode.

Each character feels fleshed out, having little side stories about them and the main two Edward and Al, the audience can relate to them on a strange level and can understand the pain they are going through and how difficult it is, even though they lost their mother to science and that they are both made of metal, well either a metal armour or a metal arm and leg. The music is fantastic throughout and never seems to dip in quality. Every scene, the right music is used to emit the right energy, where a sad scene is accompanied with sad violins and soft music and fight sequences have added “umph” where you constantly in the scene, and following the fighting. The series gets progressively weirder as it goes on, with episodes past 13 becoming strange and involving different, more interesting and varied subject matters plus bringing in new characters. The twists and turns of the series soon begin and the mix of action, adventure along with the subject matter of death, science, religion and the afterlife, it’s a children TV show but with much stronger and deeper meanings which might fly over the child’s head but the colour and the vivid art style will reel them in.

The first volume contains 17 episodes, with the next volume containing a further 17 too and a third one being released next year, with the fourth also being released later next year. There are 64 episodes overall, and with them only just being released in Japan, it will take a little while before the whole series is released in the US/UK with English dub. Normally i wouldn’t watch an anime with English dub, only certain films I’ve watched have better dub, like Spirited Away and Akira, but i found that i enjoy this with dub than subtitles as the voice acting is excellent.

9/10

Simon Childs

Sly Stallone teaches old dogs new tricks

The Expendables – Sly Stallone

I had low expectations coming into this film, i know many people had high hopes but i just didn’t feel the need to see it at the cinema as soon as it came out, but in the end, i gave in and finally sat down in my seat to be pleasantly surprised. The cast is pretty awesome with some of the best action heroes of all time being thrown in there, kinda wondering if Expendables 2 is made who will be in it, I’ve heard rumours of Steven Seagel, Jackie Chan, and Bruce Willis as the main villain and Carl Weathers. All of whom would make the next one a one to watch.

The plot of the film breaks down as followed: a group of mercenaries are called upon to kill a leader of a military unit on a small island on the Gulf but all is not well with the mission, where the leader seems to have back-up by a group of Americans who seem hell bent on causing destruction and getting in the way of Stallone’s gang of rough and tumble men. Throw in scenes of explosions, fights, angry shouting, funny quips and dodgy looks, and you’ve got a somewhat successful summer action film. Stallone’s directing is actually one of a high calibre, sure the action is fast, the fights are rough, but overall, he shoots it well. The camerawork was the main feature here because of the script not being great, Stallone had to rely on him capturing all of the awesome explosions and deaths to pull it off, plus to be able to capture all of the egos of the actors all on one screen is hard to do, just look at the Arnold, Bruce and Sly scene where all 3 can’t be shown on the screen at one time. It’s almost too weird to see Arnold and Sly in a scene together talking shit about the other. Willis steals it though as playing a bit of a dick, would be good if he does become a full blown villain in the next one.

WTF Moment: Quite a few to call upon, but i think the winner is, within the first ten minutes, some random dudes head and body just gets blown apart, and you fucking see it, it’s disgusting but at the same time, fucking awesome. Very Rambo-esque. Another moment that nearly steals it is Stallone slicing a dudes head off near the end! Also to add another level to the preceding, the OMFG moment goes to the whole sequence in the tunnel where Jet Li breaks a few bones (including someone’s neck), Terry Crews shotguns about thirty people but sadly a stone cold stunner is not seen!

8/10

Simon Childs

A pick and mix bag of shit sweets

Centurion – Neil Marshall

The Lord of the Rings films have had a massive impact on the film industry in how films look and how certain historic events are told through the same way, but i never thought that films would then try to capitalise on the success as much as the latest British film, directed by Neil Marshall, Centurion. Described as a historical thriller, the story of a war in Scotland, leading the Ninth legion to wipe out the Picts has a strange mix of Lord of the Rings-esque scenery sequences mixed with casual violence and fighting seen in Robin Hood or Apocalypto and throw in themes seen in 300 or King Arthur. It all seems to be mixed to create a violent film about soldiers that we don’t seem to care too much about. Of course i don’t want to know their whole life and back story, but i still need to know something about them to actually care. That’s why LOTR works because we care about each individual character and their outcome in the war of the rings. Featuring a cast full of familiar British faces such as Michael Fassbender, who had a recent turn in Hollywood with a great performance in Inglorious Basterds, Dominic West, Noel Clarke, as a black athlete pushed into the war (is that racist?) and David Morrissey, plus featuring the attractive but somewhat psychotic Olga Kurylenko.

It’s a ensemble cast which features a mixed bag of shitty actors trying to be in a film that is lacking in script and emotion but makes up for it in mindless violence. The story, set in A.D. 117, sees a war between the Romans and the Picts, the Celtic’s who roam the Scottish Highlands and use guerrilla tactics to eliminate the Romans from different places, one by one. The main character is Quintus, played by Michael Fassbender, who is taken hostage after a Pict raid, but is soon saved by Roman legions that are brought in to demolish the terrifying and brutal Pict warriors. After a twist in betrayal from a Brigantian scout, a mute female named Etain and played by Olga Kurylenko, who marches the Roman legion into a trap killing nearly everyone in the legion, leaving only Quintus and six other men who have joined the fight late. Several brutal fighting scenes follow and one by one, the men are killed leaving only a handful at the end. It’s a revenge story for Etain who tracks these men to kill them for what the Roman soldiers did to her family.

With a lot of names and a lot of different characters, it’s hard to follow and grasp what’s going on and the scenes in-between the fight sequences aren’t paced right and the script is poor, overall, just a boring, over-violent, poor scripted film.

4/10

Simon Childs

Got to pick a pocket or two!

Goemon – Kazuaki Kiriya

The young Japanese pioneer director Kazuaki Kiriya returns for his second film using the same technology and art of blue screen from his last film, Casshern, to create a crafted and mesmerising action adventure film loosely based on a real person, Goemon Ishikawa. The story tells of Goemon, a legendary ninja who turns bandit and steals from the rich to give to the poor, like the Japanese equivalent of Robin Hood, but centuries and centuries ago. Kiriya is famous for being one of the first directors to use digital lots where they shot the whole film using green screens where the environment is digitally added in and the end of the production. It’s been used in such films as Sin City, and can be used in an amazing way, like Sin City, recreating the feel for the graphic novels which they were adapted from. Here, the technique is used to create vivid and colourfully backdrops to the fast and furious action set pieces that have been advanced on since Casshern. Setting the film in the past instead of the future, mixing the historical context with out-of-this-world choreography, the fights are reminiscent of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon in the sense of the absurd nature it turns to, but in the end, it’s an exaggerated story to start off with.

As I’ve mentioned it’s loosely based on the historic story of a ninja bandit who steals from the rich and gives to the poor and within the first twenty minutes, the action that shows this is truly spectacular, with a great performance from the lead who plays Goemon, mixing good emotions with a level of likeability in a film where the script isn’t that great and that you can’t really connect well to the characters, it all seems out of reality. Missing a great script and some great acting, you step away from the fact that it’s meant to be serious and you can’t believe in the characters, you just take it for face value. I do recommend seeing this film if you loved Casshern, silly action films, great martial art sequences and love looking at beautiful settings for most of the film; you’ll probably love this film. Sure it takes a little while to get into with the amount of twists and turns and the amount of characters there are in the beginning, you’ll soon find the basic plot of betrayal and revenge leading to a great final thirty minutes of out of this world fighting.

7/10

Simon Childs

British romantic comedy with a Hugh Grant impersonator

My Last Five Girlfriends – Julian Kemp

The title sums up this latest offering from the British film industry, a film that centres on one man’s past relationships and going through each one told in short story form in way of different chapters in the man’s life. Each relationship has its ups and downs and having the man examine every detail trying to create a bond between him and the audience and unfortunately, it fails miserably because the guy, who plays him or the character in general, is a massive dick. He’s smug, middle class and up his own arse it actually makes me angry that someone would think this is a great idea for a film, it’s almost marketed at the middle class where they talk about great restaurants and have fine wine and experience exotic holidays. It makes me anger that people would think this is entertaining, to be constantly reminded of our poor, shitty existence. Yes, as you can see the film has enticed me into being angry, into thinking that the film wants me to be angry, but alas, i must carry on with this review, giving you the plot and giving you my opinion of this, but bare this in mind: i hate this film and hate films like this.

So you know the plot already, a guy travels and back explores his past five relationships, all of them ending in heart break one way or another and from these relationships, small scenes of humour and emotion are used to show the differences of the woman he has dated. Sure he’s charming and he has his ways, but really, the way he acts in all the relationships is dickish, and we are meant to support him? To find him likeable? Fuck no, i hate this dude, i want to punch him in the throat. I’m not going to continue to review this film because it seems to discourage the fact that only middle class people watch movies or will understand this movie. I don’t see anyone under the age of 20 going to see this film and it’s clearly not marketed for me. So fuck it. Don’t go see it, it’s a pile of shit and isn’t worth your time. And the only reason I’m giving it a 2 because of Naomie Harris, who is utterly adorable in it and very good looking.

2/10

Simon Childs

SCOTT PILGRIMMMMMMMMMM!: The Video Game

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Video Game - PSN and XBLA

You may have heard of small movie called Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, we reviewed it last week and we gave it a low score, i say low score, we gave it a 10, because the film is fucking AWESOME! So as preparation for the film, i got to grips with the film-tie in video game for Playstation Network and Xbox Live Arcade, which was released a week before the film came out. The only reason I’m reviewing it now because it took a long time to get far into the game, it’s a classic side scrolling beat ‘em up in vain of Streets of Rage and classics like that, but with a twist. You play as Scott Pilgrim, Kim Pine, Stephen Stills or Ramona Flowers if you’re by yourself, but you can also play it with three other people, creating a fun multiplayer beat ‘em up, a type of game that i haven’t played since the 90’s. It has a different art style which fits considering that the game is based on the film and the loosely based on the graphic novels which had the same feel of 8bit graphics. It suits it very well and with the music creates a different game atmosphere from ones seen this year in ultra violent God of War 3, the stunningly realistic Final Fantasy 13 and the extended gameplay of Red Dead Redemption. And added bonus is that the game is cheap and available through the Playstation online store and the Xbox online store, which makes it extra sweet considering the amount of hours and fun you’ll have with it at such a cheap price. Created by Ubisoft, a great games making company that seems to have listened to the fans and to the maker of Scott Pilgrim, Bryan Lee O’Malley, has created something that bonds the books and the film together to create an original game.

The game is quite difficult for those who aren’t hardcore gamers who can throw a massive amount of time into a game. You can’t have one run through and expect to complete it. It’s about gaining more experience and levelling up so that when you return, you can defeat the enemies. It’s a great premise with great music and cool graphics with an entertaining story and defiantly worth playing with friends. I highly recommend buying it because it has a great longevity to it.

VISUALS: A different visual style that is very cool but obviously can’t be compared to other games that use realism 15%

SOUND: A real band has been used to create the whole soundtrack which is homage to the 8bit soundtracks of yesteryear 18%

GAMEPLAY: Does become slightly repetitive in parts but overall, fun 14%

LASTING APPEAL: You have to keep coming back to the game to level up to go to other levels and such, it does take a long time to do 15%

SPECIAL FEATURES: Only a few trophies and achievements to collect, not massive amounts 10%

72%

Simon Childs

An unusual British comedy about being Jewish...

The Infidel – Josh Appignanesi

A British comedy about a man being grown up in a Muslim family and adorned to the Muslim religion but finding out he was actually born into a Jewish family. It’s something not seen in this climate, especially about this subject matter and it’s been a very long time since we’ve seen a decent British comedy, well this year anyway, with only one exception being Cemetery Junction. Starring the funny Omid Djalili, the annoying guy from the price comparison adverts, but in real life and through his stand-up, a very funny comic; he plays Mahmud who finds out that his biological parents were Jewish and he begins to wonder about his religion and which he should follow. It’s refreshing to see a film about this subject without being overtly racist or demeaning to the audience, without holding back on what could or might happen, what the person might actually feel especially with a family of their own and having the personal situations that would take place revolving around it. It’s different and new and i like it. It’s a shame the film isn’t that great, it doesn’t have many laugh out loud moments, sure it’s good, but it’s not. Omid is funny in many of the scenes and you can see this film was a vehicle for him and not many other people could fill those shoes, it’s just a shame the script isn’t great, sometimes fumbled and that the other actors around him lack a certain spark and charisma Omid has in buckets.

Mahmud finds out he was born from Jewish parents and goes out to find out more about the religion after being brought up Muslim and hating the Jewish people because of a local neighbour who seems to terrorise him. But after meeting the neighbour and learning more about it, Mahmud travels to a bar mitzvah and get’s involved in protests against the Jewish people and with different situations finds himself both in the struggle between the two perspectives and finds it hard to decide between the two. It’s a decent plot, that does strike up some funny scenarios but as I’ve said before it lacks something, something that pushes it above the feel that it could easily be seen on Channel 4 as a film made for TV. It has that look and for that i can’t give it a great rating or give it the necessary “big up” that i make for other films on this review site.

4/10

Simon Childs

Adam Sandler, will he ever grow up?

Grown Ups - Dennis Dugan

Happy Madison, Adam Sandler’s production company has been releasing Sandler’s films for the past twelve years from the very beginning successful phase of Sandler’s career with the release of The Waterboy and The Wedding Singer, two of the best performances from him and you look at the list of films that have been released and you realise that Sandler has produced a great film on that level in a long time. Now with the latest cinema release of Grown Ups, can Sandler match that quality standard from the 90’s, with a mix of humour and teaching life lessons? Sadly, no, it’s quite the opposite; you almost begin to wonder if he really cares anymore. Sure, Little Nicky was funny and Click had moments of true emotion but let’s look at the rest of the shit that has been made and has been continually funded: The Animal, Mr. Deeds, The Hot Chick, Anger Management, 50 First Dates, The Longest Yard, The Benchwarmers, I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, You Don’t Mess With The Zohan, The House Bunny, Bedtime Stories and Paul Blart: Mall Cop. I think that stellar line up speaks for itself and it just shows that the kinds of films that Happy Madison produces uses the same actors and the same jokes, and it’s been old for the past ten years, trying to rekindle the kind of humour they used to have. I really would love to see it move in a different direction, like Sandler’s performance in Funny People, it brought back the notion that he is funny and he can act.

So moving onto the screaming heap of shit that is Grown Ups, i never expected it to be a great watch, and sure i had a few laughs but the laughs were more strained through grinding teeth watching a couple of great comedic actors just waste their talent. The film has Chris Rock, who is one of the best stand-up comedians of our generation and he is fucking awful, he seems to be only there for name sake and the amount of lines he was given were shocking. Sure the other three leads are just friends of Sandler who have used his success to fund their own with Kevin James, James Spade and Rob Schneider, holding on for dear life of their careers. The film follows five best friends who go on a vacation together, cue hilarity and mishaps and learning about their different lives and how special they are. It’s bullshit that will anger you. It’s so disappointing in mostly every category but really threw me off was that there was no danger, no suspense, no evil force against them, it was just, look at us, we are amazing, we have great lives, we have loads of money, none of them are in any serious, realistic human danger.

2/10

Simon Childs

The Dark Knight Cartoon sage continues...

Batman: Under the Red Hood – Brandon Vietti

Now becoming a regular release, made by Warner Premiere and Warner Bros. Animation, who seem to be creating direct-to-DVD-releases where the story of Batman and other famous DC Comic characters are explored, the latest Batman featured film follows Bruce Wayne as the famous caped crusader who must tackle a new enemy named the Red Hood as well as other villains who are in the act. Named under the guise of the “DC Universe Animated Original Movies”, this is the third release to have the Dark Knight after Batman: Gotham Knight and the combination of Superman/Batman: Public Enemies. Having not seen Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, my experience with the series is only slightly knowledge having seen Gotham Knight and loving the art style and direction of the whole project. Having several different directors come in and shoot a short which follows what happens in-between the movies Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, it’s both interesting and action packed and is great for a fan boy. This latest release is a more straight forward hour long episode of Batman directed by Brandon Vietti and featuring Batman, Red Hood, The Joker, Nightwing, Ra’s al Ghul, Black Mask, The Riddler, Alfred and a young Robin. All of which are major characters in the comic books and it’s good to see them in an adventure such as this. With upcoming features with the sequel to the Batman/Superman series and to adapt the Frank Miller’s story of Batman Year One, the company will continue to make great films which the fans of the superhero will love.

The film follows Red Hood, a vigilante/crime lord who appears in Gotham and soon takes on the rival drug gangs and kills to his way to the top to find the rival gang leader Black Mask. Batman and Nightwing soon go on a chase to find who the Red Hood is but soon find themselves chasing a skilled man. Also showing the death of Robin in the heads of Joker at the beginning of the film, the premise is set up and the action lets fly early on. With having Batman chase Red hood throughout the story whilst him contemplating upon the death of Robin, he seems distracting leading Red Hood to cause massive moves in the crime sector of Gotham. I won’t reveal the whole story as it’s a decent one that doesn’t deserved to be spoiled.

Seeing as it’s a direct-to-DVD release, it’s defiantly worth renting or buying because it’s fun, it’s action packed and it’s reminiscent of the old school animation that we watched as a child with the Batman: Animated Series and the original Spiderman cartoon, it has that style and funniness but with great writing and direction. More please!

7/10

Simon Childs

A British Biopic of Rock and Roll Proportions

Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll – Mat Whitecross

Going into this film, i hadn’t known much about it, only knowing that Andy Serkis was the lead and that it was biopic about a famous British musician. I’m not going to lie and tell you i knew of this person, because i hadn’t. I came into the film not knowing of Ian Dury and his musical legacy which he had seemed to have made. When you sit down and watch a biopic not having a clue that the person is, you need to be informed, you need to be given the vital information about their life, and what made them famous. Not like the recent John Lennon biopic Nowhere Boy, where you’re expected to know who John Lennon is and respond to the way he acts as being “John Lennon-ish”. Recently released on DVD Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll is the latest biopic, named after a famous Ian Dury song of the same name, it follows the rise to fame and documents the struggle Dury has with a mixture of family problems, battling a childhood disease of polio, drug and drink problems and becoming a better musician. His manic lifestyle is what makes Dury the person he is well known to be, with the wild parties, the crazy stage shows and the complicated relationship problems. Well as i don’t know of Dury and his legacy, I’m just going by what I’ve seen in the film.

As pointed out before Dury is played by Serkis and he plays him with both humorous and tender moments, creating one of the most complicated characters I’ve ever seen, in instances you want to hate him but in others you wish you were more like him. He tries to understand the world around him in a different perspective which then unleashes itself onto other people’s life’s, either affecting them for better or for worse. Along with the storytelling of Dury’s rise to fame, it also has segments involving Dury’s songs with Serkis singing them to a crowd, which breaks the fourth wall where the sings intertwine with the story and become a part of the set up. These performances are guaranteed meant to symbolise and replicate the performances Dury would give, and they are certainly “different”. It has moments of humour and moments of tragedy but it still isn’t in the same par as other musician biopics released over the last century, which notable examples such as Walk The Line, Ray and I’m Not There. Having a decent British cast behind does help and it does have its moments which outshine the whole of Nowhere Boy but it still isn’t a story i would love to know more about.

5/10

Simon Childs

The End of It All (The Pacific Part 10)

Directed by: Jeremy Podeswa

The end of the epic review series of The Pacific, and it ends on a kinda high, i guess. You can’t have a whole series of war and violence and have a final episode with that in too, you need to have a finale where you show the main characters and where they end up and here it’s done with class and style. Sure it’s very cheesy but i like it, i want to know what happens to all the men that I’ve watched over the last ten hours, showing their struggles and their heartache and the pain they’ve been through, i at least deserve to see their homecoming and triumphs. Massive congratulations on the last segment of the episode where it showed the actors who played them and then went to describe the real people the characters were based on with a photo and some information about them. Having that final punch of realisation that these people and these stories were real, and that all the effects of mental instability and seeing the many horrors of the war, is very real. It makes it frightening emotional. Each main character gets the send off and it’s great to see how they have changed since they first appeared with Basilone dead, his family and new wife try to pick themselves up, Leckie comes back and rejoins the paper he worked for before and starts seeing the girl from before the war and Sledge or Sledgehammer to his friends, comes back a lot worse than everyone and the obvious effects are devastating. A great series and it just shows if the right amount time, effort and money are put into a television show, all future programming will be on the same high quality level as this.

Simon Childs

Album of the Month - AUGUST 2010

The Arcade Fire – Suburbs

‘The Suburbs’ is a concept album that unsurprisingly deals with the deep and meaningful ‘concept’ of suburban life. It provides a sharp social critique, attacking apathy and conformism in such a way that it attracts an emotional response at base level. The effect is such that listening to this record encourages you to leave the house and make something of yourself. It encourages you to want better, in the faint hope you may eventually end up with something than the meaningless existence of your elders. It speaks of the idea of a better way.

Or it would, if anyone actually listened to the end.

It is fair to say that instead of providing a thought provoking insight into the ‘previously unexplored’ idea of suburbia, the album simply descents into itself. It becomes dull and lifeless, in a sense, everything it is speaking out against. For example, the predictably titled opener ‘The Suburbs’ lazily trudges through two riffs for its five minute duration, with plenty of clean guitar and reverberating noise in the background. This is essentially the formula for most of the rest of the album. Many of the subsequent tracks feature the same basic instrumentation, slow pace and background synthy noise that makes the title track a hard listen. Indeed, tracks like ‘City With No Children’ and ‘Rococo’ lack any purpose and direction, essentially providing a listening experience as apathetic as the suburban lifestyle the album criticises. Similarly, there appears to be a lack of deeper meaning in the album itself – rather than open up to listener, the second spin accentuates the negative aspects of it that made the second listen necessary in the first place.

That isn’t to say there aren’t any attempts at variation – the album’s second, and standout track ‘Ready to Start’ is a faster paced, and altogether more lively affair, making for an engaging listening experience. Similarly, the verses of ‘Modern Man’ differentiate themselves from the droll of the rest of the album using a pattern of odd time signatures. However, these standout moments are few and far between, with each catchy riff interspersed with many that lack variation and quality.

In this sense, ‘The Suburbs’ is a pretty underwhelming album, failing for the most part to live up to the hype surrounding The Arcade Fire. While there are some moments of note, for the most part the album provides the soundtrack to the tedium of suburbia rather than a criticism of it. For all its multi instrumentalists and lazy textures, the album lacks the craftsmanship and intelligence that makes an album more than just background music for everything it stands against.

Standout tracks – Ready to Start, Month of May

2/5

Dan Stafford

Jude Law’s retelling of Minority Report

Repo Men - Miguel Sapochnik

A lovely little story starts this review, examining the true fact that I’m connected to the one and only Jude Law. Well it’s a small story; we went to the same secondary school. It doesn’t have a great ending; he went for two years and left after not liking it and becoming the target of bullying. So yeah, it’s not a connection seeing he was there like 10-15 years before me, but it still counts. Kinda. But anyway, looking at his latest release Repo Men, i was genuinely interested in it, hearing people call it a cross between Blade Runner and Children of Men, which it is, but in a pleasantly surprisingly way, swaying between both to create something enjoyable and a little refreshing. Sure it manufactures the same world and the same kind of characters but uses them in different situations, with different emotions and a different type of storytelling. It’s a solid fun film from Law who seems to have sound himself in a bit of form with films lately, especially the fun Sherlock Holmes which i also enjoyed. Plus Forest Whitaker taking more of a lighter role is something new and i like it, it suits him but in the back of your mind, you still fear the fuck out of that dude. As well as Sabretooth from the dreadful Wolverine movie appears as a bit role, nothing too much to worry about, a villainous type role which ends horribly bad but funny at the same time.

The film follows “repo men”, people who collect machines that, in the future, have been made to act as vital organs, like hearts, kidneys, livers and that, and so these people, kinda like bailiffs, come to collect from people who can’t keep up with affording them. The Union, which the organisation is called, hires these men to do the deeds and Jude Law is one of them. Set in the future where people can live on without their organs using these machines, half of the film shows Law at work, showing his skills and having a wife and kid. It’s all very hunky dory, but the second half, well you can see where it’s going, and he becomes one of them, and goes on the run. It’s a flip reverse, the hunter becomes the hunted and so Law experiences what it’s like to be a normie and learns to grow (yawn). In the end, it works out for him, or does it? Great ending, never saw it coming. Somewhat similar to Inception strangely, where the ending is something to discuss because we all have theories of Inception but here they show it. I won’t reveal it as it’s really good but i do suggest seeing it. It’s violent, it’s funny in places, it’s got good action sequences, the look is spot on, and Law isn’t annoying.

7/10

Simon Childs

Shank me in the face

Shank - Mo Ali

Is there now a common trend of releasing British film that depict “real” life where teenagers are “gangster” and threatening? Is that what has happened now, that filmmakers think its right to almost publicise the good aspects of this kind of behaviour? Because it’s starting to begin to look like it. I found it with the release of Kidulthood and Adulthood, both films that were new to the genre, showcasing “real” aspects of a typical teenager living in rough areas, where it used small instances and blew them up to become something that they are not. Not everyone growing up in London is stabbed or robbed or grows into a life of crime. It just isn’t true. And now with companies thinking that the market is open to using this idea and running with it to create the basic idea but in different genres, shows that British filmmaking maybe on a decline. Sure it’s very been fantastic, but it’s had a few gems like Dead Man’s Shoes, In The Loop, The Last King of Scotland and Slumdog Millionaire to name a few. We don’t have to keep using this whole idea of kids in major cities living the hard life, it’s utter bollocks, it’s just something the media came up to describe a handful of people and thus in the cycle of life, people begin to want to become the label they’ve been given. It’s fucking wrong and i can’t stand it, the whole culture of it. So seeing that a film which is basically the –ulthood series but in a futuristic world with small segments of animation, i was both intrigued and already guessing that it would be shit. My prejudgement wasn’t wrong.

Starring a handful of familiar faces and some newcomers, a kid loses his brother in a futuristic hood where people are living without the law, where food is scarce and the world has collapses somehow. This young kid in a gang with his older brother as the leader find themselves in trouble with a local gang and is killed, and this triggers a series of events that lead the younger brother to find revenge, talking to other gangs, finding new friends and recruiting people. Throw in some fucking random animation sequences that will make you laugh and you have an hour and a half episode of Skins but produced by the Channel U or AKA as it is now. I’m not trying to be predictable with the review or racist with the comments but I’m just shocked this was allowed to be made, glorifying gang culture. Surely this is against what the world wants right?

3/10

Simon Childs

Nanny McPhee and the big waste of time

Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang - Susanna White

Coming into the sequel having not the watched the original probably hinders this review and I’m not gonna lie to you; i wasn’t expecting a great film contradicting its strange love from people and the people who are in it. True it does have Maggie Gyllenhaal, Ewan McGregor, Ralph Fiennes, Rhys Ifans and Bill Bailey, but still this film is so incredibly lame. I don’t know if it’s trying to ride off the success of the first film because i haven’t seen it, nor do i know if the audience really want to see this because i am not its target audience, I’m a young teenager or a young child. From what i can gather, this is Mary Poppins for a new generation featuring jokes about poo and falling over and naughty words and all sorts. It’s a middle class film for middle class children to watch. That probably sounds harsh but that’s how i see it. It’s not entertaining to me, even if i was a kid, i would utterly bored, i want to see something funny, something sad, something entertaining. Now take some of the best teenage films ever, The Mighty Ducks, The Karate Kid, Pokémon, The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Home Alone, Toy Story trilogy, Where The Wild Things Are, Wall-E, Up, Sky High, Harry Potter, the evolution of a children’s film has worked well, but this feels stuck in the mud. What the company behind the film will distress is that the film is a “family film”, something both adults and children will enjoy. Looking at the past examples I’ve given, most families would enjoy those films both young and old, but here i don’t think. I’d imagine the parents to put it on and walk away because they have shitloads of jobs to do that would be more fun than watch this.

The plot is pretty simple, a nanny appears, helps a family with a bundle of problems like being clean or being posh or missing family or growing as a human being. Boring as shit. And through in some random storyline where a villain is made and stuff. I’m not gonna lie, i wasn’t playing attention. So don’t buy this, don’t watch this, it’s really bad. But i guess if you enjoy the first, you’ll like this, maybe?

2/10

Simon Childs

SCOTT PILGRIMMMMMMMMMM!

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World - Edgar Wright

Let just start off by saying: OMG! ZOMG! OMG! OMG! OMG...

Sorry i had to vent my excitement at the fact that after many years waiting for this film to be released, after reading the graphic novels, after watching the trailers, looking at the posters, playing the video game, buying the soundtrack, buying the t-shirts, watching for spoilers and for casting news and reports on set, i finally sat down and watched Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. And my world, i think it may have become the best movie of 2010. Now i wouldn’t be saying that lightly, look at some of the releases, big time releases such as the brilliant but mind-fucky Inception, the wonderfully brilliant and sweet Toy Story 3 and awesomely geeky Kick-Ass. Three of my favourite films this year, hell maybe even in my top 10 of all time. The film is fucking amazing. I urge you to see it now, right now, stop reading this review or whatever and go see the flick, because it deserves you too, and i guarantee you’ll enjoy it. I’m even going to see it again because it’s that good, and i never do that. And so, if you haven’t been living under a rock, you probably know a little maybe about this film, consisting of a fight against several “evil” ex’s and starring Michael Cera and directed by Edgar Wright who directed Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and the telly show Spaced, you’ve probably already know that. You probably already know that the film is based on a series of graphic novels written by Bryan Lee O’Malley, six to be precise, telling the story of Scott Pilgrim in black and white and featuring some of the funniest sequences seen in graphic novel history, these really are cult favourites. So will the film match up to the book, similar to the hysteria around The Watchmen and if it lived up to the books written by the legendary Bryan Lee O’Malley?

Well the answer is a resounding yes, like this YESSSSSSS! Because not only does it match the books in style, the humour and the action sequences, i would even go as far to say it may surpass the original material because of the way the film has such smooth transitions that are quick and exciting making the overall experience better. Plus the ending is different and i favour it, but I’ll allow your own opinion of it and i won’t ruin it. I’m sure you know the plot of the film already with all the ads and posters with Michael Cera playing Scott Pilgrim, Canadian slacker who must defeat Ramona Flowers’s 7 evil- ex’s, played by the lovely Mary Elizabeth Winstead and these 7 evil ex’s a played by a bag of famous faces including Brandon Routh AKA Superman and the ever magnificent Jason Schwartzman playing Gideon Graves. Along with the ride are Sex bob-omb, the band that Scott plays bass in with Stephen Stills (Mark Webber) and Kim Pine (Alison Pill), both performances nearly steal the whole movie but the award of best performance is a mix of two characters who both have amazing performances with Scott’s gay roommate Wallace Wells played by Kieran Culkin and Knives Chau, an elegantly funny performance by Ellen Wong. The performances here are all spot on including random cameos from people you may know and even the background characters also pick up the slack too. The action sequences are over the top and look pretty amazing, especially the monster DJ’s vs. Band scene and the end fight scene with Gideon and Scott. It’s a clearly worked film with massive amounts of detail and it can defiantly be seen. I’m sure loads of films will now begin to be more precise in their post-production and borrow that style. I just hope they use it in the right way. Easily one of the best films of the year.

10/10

Simon Childs

Civilian Slaughter-shack (The Pacific Part 9)

Part 9: Directed by Tim Van Patten

The penultimate episode of The Pacific and it seems now the charm of war and the hero winning ending and sequences of the one man army have seemed to have worn off. The overall effect of war now is very damaging and you can see this episode being the point of where the viewer becomes distressed by it too, the way Sledge is on screen. Becoming the main hero of the series, Sledge has dramatically changed from the shy boy we’ve seen before. Now being the somewhat edgy soldier fighting in a war which seems to be going wrong, a few bad turns start to appear, especially with new recruits making his life hell. The scenes in the mud and rain are again a testament to the fantastic direction and cinematography of the whole series, with it being a great mix of beauty and horror. The guy who is played Sledge defiantly has a quick turn of being quite masked to the thought of war and the real troubles to being a fucking mental case who just wants to kill; the intensity goes up a completely new level with him. This is based on a real man’s experience of the war and it’s truly terrifying how he’s portrayed it. I just hope the other characters stories are tied up at the end of the all this and a somehow happy ending is made or something. Actually that does quite cheesy, so maybe not. By the looks of the preview for next week it will recap on all the characters and what they have done after the war. Should be good.

Simon Childs

The Legendary Franchise Returns (but is it a welcomed return?)

Final Fantasy 13 - PS3 & XBox 360

Released way back in March is probably one of the biggest gaming franchises latest number and it now being August, it has taken me that long to come round to playing it and gain a few hours into the game to give a warranted review of the game. The game in question pushes the boundaries of gameplay, flourishes with style and elegance that many games can only wish for and seem to divide many people about. Yes, I’m talking about the one, the only, Final Fantasy, with the latest instalment being the unlucky 13, well some people say it’s lucky because of the success compared to the past games. But Final Fantasy 13 has graced the next-gen consoles, showcasing the true power of video games by providing some of the best looking sequences seen on either console. It really is one of the best looking games ever made. True, the cut scenes do look straight out of an anime film, but that’s what FF is known for. Cut scenes that are beautiful and complicated, similar to Metal Gear Solid but with less talking. Produced by a prominent gaming company in the world, Square Enix, this role-playing game has a steep, steep history, with roughly around 30 games including spin-offs from the main series and becoming a massive media empire, producing a TV show, merchandise, movies and books, it seems that it will never stop, with number 14 currently in production, every gamer has had an experience with the legacy, and each person has a particularly favourite. Mine being the glorious number 10; i remember it being yesterday when i played that game, and to date, the only Final Fantasy game I’ve completed. It took nearly a year of my life, but i did it, and the pay-off was spectacular. And of course, i also played number 7, which was the first time i noticed the series and first noticed its grace and charm, something different to what I’ve played before. Now as time as gone on, the games have evolved from being epic to being infinite, which i don’t think is physically possible. The games now can last up to around 200 hours, if you count the side quests, the main storylines, all of the cut scenes and the secrets thrown in too, and for a modern game, that’s impressive. Most games pack a good 50/60 hours which keeps the gamer happy, even the last game i reviewed God of War only had 20 hours of gameplay which is nothing compared to the longevity of FF13.

Let’s start with the wonderful company behind the game, Square Enix, one of the best makers of video games for all audiences and especially in the genre of RPG’s where they have an esteemed long line of gems that you’ll probably have played like Final Fantasy 7, Dragon Guest, and have published a majority of great games recently like Batman Arkham Asylum and the upcoming Call of Duty Black Op. The company also made one of the best film series I’ve ever played, Kingdom Hearts. And I’m looking forward to the next instalment hopefully coming soon on the PS3. But back to Final Fantasy 13.

I’m not going to try to explain the plot to the game because it’s fairly complicated but I’ll talk about the game so far, because i haven’t reached half way yet. It’s a beautiful looking game, with excellent sound, sure the voice over’s can get annoying, but overall, the “show” of the game works brilliantly. The gameplay is very repetitive and you will see yourself just button bashing the x button whilst playing. But with a storyline that pulls you in and action that happens very quickly, after the hump of the linear gameplay you’ll find yourself in an open world which becomes a better game. It’s a decent buy with a long life in playing but you may get bored of it quite quickly.

VISUALS: One of the best looking games to have ever been released, most of the time it’s like watching a movie 19%

SOUND: Sure the voice actors can be annoying but the sound throughout the levels is astounding, even during the cut scenes 19%

GAMEPLAY: Repetitive in places but changes the familiar ways we’ve had before for a more commercial audience 17%

LASTING APPEAL: 200 hours of gameplay, need i say more? 20%

SPECIAL FEATURES: Not much extra stuff for you to grab it, sure there are trophies/achievements to get but other than not, just the everlasting side quests 14%

89%

Simon Childs

It’s one of those Straight-to-DVD releases where you’ll know a couple of the stars but it won’t be anything like what they are famous for!

Shoot The Hero - Christen Sesma

You know when a film is bad when it doesn’t even have a Wikipedia page. It’s not even noteworthy in the world, and it’s a shame, having a cast of people you may know the face of but can’t quite put the name to it, it has an actor who i think is funny; unfortunately this is not a comedy. This review won’t be a very long review, the film doesn’t deserve a full analysis because it’s very hard to analyse a film where nothing really entertaining or good happens. It’s a straight-to-DVD release where you’ll find it in the obscure section on Amazon. So obscure you won’t know of it, nor will anybody ever know of this film and they shouldn’t. It’s a pile of shit. I thought i would review it because it stared Jason Mewes, star of the famous Kevin Smith films, the last being Clerks 2 and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back being the highest in his career. I’m still a big fan of his and i find him very funny but i guess because of the business, finding decent acting jobs must be rare. The film divides into three parts, the first being a jewellery shop robbery that goes wrong and involves a couple who are about to break up, this includes Mewes. After this scene, it cuts to two friends or brothers lost somewhere in the desert and they stumble into a war. I’m not going to lie; i wasn’t really paying attention to what was happening. And then these two stories intertwined to end with a massive gun fight with Danny Trejo. Yeah, bit strange. I don’t recommend it. I’m just annoyed I’ve wasted an hour and a half on this where i could be watching something worthwhile. Don’t ever watch!

1/10

Simon Childs

A Hidden Gem

Sita Sings the Blues - Nina Paley

Being a film lover, someone who watches all the latest releases from DVD to cinema, checking out films that have been given high ratings to films with low ratings, and even using this site as an example of fascination and wonderment of the process and the entertainment factor of a movie, sometimes, you really find films that perhaps have not been given the limelight it deserves. And today, I’m here to showcase a film you may have never even heard of before: Sita Sings The Blues. And just to clarify, if you have heard of this film, i salute you for having great taste. An animation masterpiece which seems to take away from the heavy labour of creating animation that is meant to represent real life as much as possible, like films that use CGI to try to recreate real people, here animation is used in a way to tell a story in a different style, not recreate what we see every day. From the first ten minutes, you may wonder what type of animation it is, and the way it looks, coming off as something YouTube would of made or a young animator creating animations for his friends, but sticking through the film, you uncover something that crosses the fun and enchantment of Disney films, the sense of mystery and freedom only seen in Asian animations mixed with quirky humour and beautiful storytelling. It’s a great mix which leads to a contrasting piece that tells a common love story but using Indian folklore but through the medium of flash animation, something not done before or on this scale.

The film is told from different perspectives and in different forms, with four major featuring ones to be the main story: a legend told from the pages of Ramayana about the story of a prince who is followed by Sita, a woman who deeply cares for him, but the prince takes her for granted. That’s the basic storyline from which i followed, true, it’s hard to follow at the beginning but once the alternative version where the story is told in a modern context, and you begin to understand it. The second style is the alternative version which has a different animation style to the first section, and retells the story for the audience to understand better. The third style is where a group of people discuss the legend in a different way, making jokes and discussing the subject in a formal way, which leads to most of the jokes and the final and fourth way is where songs are used to retell the story in a music video-esque fashion. Here is also where some of the laughs appear along with some beautiful style and vivid colours. It’s defiantly something you’ll notice, the colours and patterns, it’s something so different but at the same time formulary.

A new type of animation and style i haven’t seen before that you might fall in love with, so go check it out and experience something different.

7/10

Simon Childs

A book with a horrible cover...

The Blind Side - John Lee Hancock

You may wonder what the title of this review may refer to but i think the phrase, never judge a book by its cover, is basically the mantra of the latest surprise hit The Blind Side. Well not latest, as it was released on DVD earlier on in the year, but I’ve only just gotten round to peeking it out after willing never to watch another Sandra Bullock film in my life. And i was sadly judging her film career and her acting ability, let’s start off by saying The Blind Side is a good film. The subject is something I’ve been interested in recently, NFL or American Football, a sport which seems to be gaining a bigger audience in the UK. With the TV show Friday Night Lights and big video game franchise Madden along with the massive event of the Super Bowl, American Football seems to be growing in size and I’m glad. It’s a decent sport which seems to entertain more than anything. And having a film about a certain player who had a bad upbringing and found his way onto the field is inspiring and something that can easily entertain a lot of people. Of course throw in modern music and cultural references we know of and you’ve got a hit. A hit in America, winning Oscar nominations and such and also sweeping at the MTV Movie Awards; which did open my eyes to the film, but i was still hesitant to dive into a Bullock film. I don’t like Sandra Bullock and the film she makes, they are for a certain audience and a certain person who is stuck in their ways. It’s annoying.

Back to the film and the plot, a black child is brought into a Christian white family’s house and soon begins living there to hopefully mould him into a better person. Having the strong mother Bullock, she comforts the shy quiet boy and helps him become smarter and gets him into a sport he was destined to play, American Football. It’s a sob story, rags to riches but with a cool soundtrack and including elements of normal life like a shitty neighbourhood or your mother being addicted to crack or being racially abused by people. It has themes we’ve all seen, but i think the goodness comes from the lead actors portray, it’s a mix of sadness and a heavy dose of inspiration, where a kid this low in society’s pecking order can rise and become a famous player. Yes this is based on a real story, so the feeling that the film was made for the biography channel for MTV is somewhat apparent, but you may be surprised by how much you kinda like it but can’t admit it.

It’s likeable in parts but not as great as other sport movies like Remember The Titans, Mighty Ducks or The Karate Kid (Does that count as a sport movie?), i recommend it for a date or something easy to watch.

5/10

Simon Childs

Who does he think he is, Predator? (The Pacific Part 8)

Part 8: Directed by David Nutter & Jeremy Podeswa

The Battle of Iwo Jima. The legendary battle that took place during the war and finally we’ll get to see it here, and you can tell this is another beat entirely compared to the last battle we had in the last two episodes. Maybe the last three will be with this battle showing Sledge die or something? He’s looking mighty pale and thin Sledge; it wouldn’t surprise me if he went crazy and did something that will change his life forever. And i still continue to like the small segments with Basilone dealing with home life and being a “celebrity” of the war. The war which he both wants to rejoin and to forget. But i like the direction of having Basilone become a teacher to the new recruits; i think it suits him nicely. And the episode further explores him teaching the new marines and finding love, with of course The Pacific standard love scene/nudity thrown in for good measure. Seems like the episode is the bridge or the start of something for the next two episodes. With Basilone going back to the marines and the front line, you wonder if something big is going to happen to him or worse. The battle of Iwo Jima is shown in the last ten minutes of the episode, so it’s a good lead into more. It’s been an okay episode, a bit slow which was bound to happen with how fast paced it’s been lately with like three or four in a row being quick. The battle sequence at the end is again stunning and brutal with a surprise too which you can kinda see coming but the way it happens is very well made. An okay episode with a strong ending.

Simon Childs

Trailer Watch XVI

Here is a massive selection of the latest trailers from the past 30 days!

1. Skyline



2. Fading From The Cries



3. The Winning Season



4. The Social Network



5. Enter The Void



6. I Am Comic



7. Barry Munday



8. Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark



9. Going The Distance



10. Buried



11. Sucker Punch



12. Stone



13. This Town



14. Colin Fitz Lives



15. Saw 3D



16. It's Kind A Funny Story



17. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of The Dawn Treader



18. Jackass 3D



19. Due Date



20. The Green Hornet