absolutebadasses

Kirk Douglas – 97 Today

Posted by absolutebadasses on December 9, 2013

Posted in: Views. Tagged: academy awards, actor, author, blog, champion, film reel, films, follow, hollywood, instagram, kirk douglas, like, living legend, lust for life, michael douglas, movie blog, movie buff, movie collector, movie star, movie stills, movies, novelist, photos, posters, spartacus, star, the vikings, trailers. Leave a comment

Since making his movie debut opposite Barbara Stanwyck in 1946’s The Strange Love of Martha Ivers Kirk Douglas was destined to become a Hollywood Great – in his wonderful career Kirk appeared in over 70 movies, was nominated for 3 Academy Awards and in 1968 was the recipient of the Cecil B. DeMille Award – he appeared alongside his friend Burt Lancaster on 7 different occasions and 3 times alongside John Wayne – some of my favorite movies include: Spartacus, War Wagon, The Vikings, Lust for Life, Ace in the Hole and Gunfight at the O.K. Corral – In my opinion he is the greatest actor of his generation – Happy Birthday 97 year old Kirk Douglas

Oldboy (2013) – Movie Review

Posted by absolutebadasses on December 9, 2013

Posted in: Reviews. Tagged: bluray, Chan-wook Park, cinema, dvd, Elizabeth Olsen, film, film review, follow, hammer, josh brolin, korea, korean movies, like, love, love films, love movies, movie, movie blog, movie review, octopus, oldboy 2013, oldboy movie, photos, pictures, review, Samuel L Jackson, Sharlto Copley, spike lee. Leave a comment

OLDBOY – (2013) – Movie Review ★★★¾

Cast – Josh Brolin, Elizabeth Olsen, Samuel L Jackson and Sharlto Copley – the film is a remake of Chan-wook Park’s 2003 Korean masterpiece directed by Malcolm X’s Spike Lee – the year is 1993 and Joe Doucett (Brolin) is a not a very nice guy, he’s a drunk and a father of a three year old he never visits – after a business meeting goes south Doucett get’s drunk and crawls through the neighborhood looking for someone to share his miserable insistence with – the next morning he wakes up in a strange bed, in a room that contains a shower and TV but no door or exit – it then dawns on Doucett that he has been kidnapped and locked in some kind of solitary confinement and there he spends the next 20 years of his life, writing letters of regret to his daughter and thinking of nothing else but seeking vengeance on his captors VERDICT let’s be honest Spike Lee was on a hiding to nothing when attempting to remake one of the finest Korean movies in decades – but in fairness Lee’s remake is a descent thriller that not only looks stylish but has some classy nods to it’s original and a performance by Josh Brolin that has you purring right to the end credits – my favorite scene in the movie has to be the devlishly fun, over the top fight scene with Brolin’s character facing down dozens of baddies – my only negative about Spike Lee’s remake is that if you have seen the original then you know the punchline and know when it’s coming so sadly that blow to the gut you may would have felt during the original movie is reduced to a slight whimper – overall OLDBOY is an enjoyable, extremely violent and well acted movie remake – it’s also Spike Lee’s best directed movie since 2006’s Inside Man and one I’d certainly recommend….

Carrie (2013) – Movie Review

Posted by absolutebadasses on December 9, 2013

Posted in: Reviews. Tagged: academy awards, ansel elgort, bluray, carrie, carrie 2013, carrie movie remake, Chloë Grace Moretz, cinema, dvd, films, Gabriella Wilde, horror movie, Judy Greer, Julianne Moore, Kimberly Peirce, love film, love movies, movie poster, movie review, movies, oscars, photos, pictures, review, stephen king, stills. Leave a comment

CARRIE – (2013) – Movie Review ★★★★

Cast – Chloë Grace Moretz, Julianne Moore, Gabriella Wilde, Judy Greer and Ansel Elgort – from the mind of Stephen King and a remake of De Palma’s 1976 horror comes a re-telling of CARRIE, a supernatural tale of a child born by her deeply religious mum who abuses her and shelters her from society, at times locking her in a “prayer closet” beneath the stairs punishing her for any wrong doings & telling her to to pray for forgiveness – as Carrie grows into her teenage years, she discovers she has telekinetic powers and starts to control them – but during an incident at her senior prom Carrie unleashes an almighty fury on her peers and the town that pushed her too far VERDICT having loved Stephen King’s novel and being a huge fan of Sissy Spacek’s Oscar Nominated deliverance of Carrie back in ’76 I was initially dead against yet another dumb Hollywood remake – but having just seen Kimberly Peirce’s horror movie on the big screen, I’m here writing whilst eating humble pie and reflecting on a 100mins of fabulous acting, great camera work and a film that comes awfully close to surpassing it’s original – Julianne Moore is pretty terrifying and gives an unforgettable performance as Carrie’s mum, a religious woman who takes to self harming to rid herself of her demons, she truly is creepy, sadistic and unbalanced and if the Academy Awards rewarded great performances from ALL movie genres and not consistently ignore that of the Horror Film then Ms Moore would certainly be in the running for a gold statue, her turn as Margaret White is in my opinion that good – Kick-Ass’s Chloë Grace Moretz filmed this movie aged 15 and once again displays a talent far beyond her years, stamping her own disturbing print on that of Carrie White – also I must comment on an impressive movie debut by Ansel Elgort he is certainly one for the future – overall Kimberly Peirce’s Carrie is one to savor, a remake that’s truly worth watching and after a five year absence the Boys Don’t Cry director returns to helm one of 2013’s Best Horror pictures that will not only scare the bejesus out of you but also delivers a message to what can happen if one is pushed too far by those evil bullies of society….

ENEMIES CLOSER – (2013/4) – Movie Review ★★★½

“Looks like you brought a knife to a gunfight”

Cast – Jean-Claude Van Damme, Orlando Jones and Tom Everett Scott – from Peter Hyams the director of Timecop, End of Days and Running Scared comes the latest action movie that stars the muscles from bruscles Enemies Closer – somewhere between the US/Canadian border a plane carrying a drug shipment crashes leaving a park ranger and a brother hell bent on revenge to work together and stop a ruthless drugs cartel from retrieving their prize shipment VERDICT I must confess to having a soft spot for Van Damme and his usually poorly written action movies that contain dreadful dialogue & cheesier than cheese one liners – one thing you can always say about the Belgian is that the majority of his action flicks seem to contain awesome fight scenes that even at the age of 53 he still manages to make look so easy – in Enemies Closer Van Damme plays Xander a vegan, gun tooting drug boss who’s wild hair doo and psychotic ramblings only add to his watchability and make him quite the villain – the film also includes good performances from Sleepy Hollow’s Orlando Jones playing the brother seeking revenge and Southland’s Tom Everett Scott mixing it up with Van Damme and not looking out of place doing so either – overall if your a fan of JCVD and this resurgence of yesteryear’s action stars then Enemies Closer will prove lot’s of cheer, with 80mins of low budget action fun, that’s not only solidly acted by it’s three main stars but is well directed by Peter Hyams a veteran of this arena….

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 – Movie Trailer

Posted by absolutebadasses on December 6, 2013

Posted in: Trailers. Tagged: Andrew Garfield, Chris Cooper, comicbook, comix, Dane DeHaan, electro, emma stone, films, harry osborn, Jamie Foxx, love films, love movies, movie trailer, movies, Paul Giamatti, rhino, Sally Field, spider, spider-man, spiderman, spiderman trailer, superhero, the amazing spider-man 2, trailer. Leave a comment

Landing next summer THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 that stars Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Paul Giamatti, Jamie Foxx, Dane DeHaan, Chris Cooper and Sally Field – for a movie remake 2012’s The Amazing Spider-Man impressed me enough for me to look forward to this sequel, a sequel that includes an old friend Harry Osborn (DeHaan) and comic book villains Electro (Foxx) and The Rhino (Giamatti) – here’s the first trailer and some new stills…. enjoy!

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 – US (2nd May) – UK (18th April) – Australia (17th April)

Scenic Route (2013) – Movie Review

Posted by absolutebadasses on December 5, 2013

Posted in: Reviews. Tagged: california, characters, Dan Fogler, death valley, film review, films, friends, geek, instagram, Josh Duhamel, Kevin Goetz, love film, love movies, Michael Goetz, movie geek, movie review, movies, review, road trip, scenic route, scenic route movie, writer. Leave a comment

SCENIC ROUTE – (2013) – Movie Review ★★★★

Cast – Josh Duhamel & Dan Fogler – from the directing duo of Kevin and Michael Goetz Scenic Route follows two friends, Mitchell (Duhamel) and Carter (Fogler) on a road trip through Death Valley – when Carter orchestrates a breakdown and attacks some of Mitchell’s life choices their friendship gets seriously tested and things slowly start to spiral out of control VERDICT having not read any publicity or watched the trailer to Scenic Route I went into the movie not knowing what to expect, yes I’d seen Duhamel in Transformers and some rom-coms and laughed at Fogler in comedies such as Fanboys and Balls of Fury but paired together in a psychological thriller directed by two relitavely unknown’s Kevin & Michael Goetz a couple of filmmakers who’s only other venture behind the camera was 1998’s independent short Mass Transit – surely this film was doomed for failure? – thankfully my negative thoughts were turned to positive within the first 30mins, along with the beautifully shot exteriors and Kyle Killen’s gripping story the real success of Scenic Route was the electrifying chemistry between the films two leads, it was like watching two actors plying their trade on the Broadway stage, pummeling each other, getting under each other’s skin and finally breaking down – it was at times a very dark, emotional and brutally gripping 87 minutes – overall this under the radar thriller is one of the best of it’s kind & deserves your viewing – hopefully it won’t be too long before we’re treated to the next movie by Kevin & Michael Goetz….

Here’s a new movie banner for next summer’s THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 that stars Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Paul Giamatti, Jamie Foxx, Dane DeHaan, Chris Cooper and Sally Field – Director Marc Webb once again returns for the sequel that introduces comic villains Electro (Jamie Foxx) and The Rhino (Paul Giamatti) – the movie lands May 2014

HER (2014) – Movie Trailer

Posted by absolutebadasses on December 4, 2013

Posted in: Trailers. Tagged: Amy Adams, computer operating system, film, her movie, instagram, Joaquin Phoenix, love films, love movies, love story, movie, movie stills, movie trailer, Olivia Wilde, romance, Rooney Mara, Scarlett Johansson, science fiction, scifi, Spike Jonze, trailers. Leave a comment

HER is Written and Directed by Spike Jonze and stars Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams, Rooney Mara & Olivia Wilde – the movie centers around Theodore (Phoenix) a lonely writer who finds himself in a relationship with a computer operating system voiced by Scarlett Johansson – Spike Jonze’s work may not be everybody’s cup of tea but there’s no denying his genius on work such as Adaptation & Being John Malkovich – here’s the final trailer & some new stills for HER…. enjoy!

HER – US (10th January) – UK (24th January) – Australia (N/A)

Static (2012/3) – Movie Reviews

Posted by absolutebadasses on December 3, 2013

Posted in: Reviews. Tagged: bluray, cinema, dvd, film fan, film reviews, films, gas mask, home invasion, home invasion movie, horror, horror films, horror movie, invasion, like, love, love film, Milo Ventimiglia, movie geek, movie night, movies, netflix, reviews, Sara Paxton, Sarah Shahi, scary movies, static movie, todd levin, vod. Leave a comment

STATIC – (2012/3) – Movie Review ★★★½

Cast – Milo Ventimiglia, Sarah Shahi and Sara Paxton – Static is the directorial debut of Todd Levin and in centered around a young couple Jonathan (Ventimiglia) and Addie (Shahi)who are facing marital difficulties after loosing their young child in a freak drowning accident, their life is thrown in to further disarray when a mysterious visitor knocks on their door in the middle of the night VERDICT all credit goes to first time director Todd Levin (who also wrote the script) on delivering a home invasion movie with a twist – the movies slow pace lends to the tension and creates some descent character building, Ventimiglia is an excellent young actor who handles the lead extremely well and is solidly backed up by Shahi & Paxton – the director does well in veering away from the standard slasher style flick and unlike most modern day horror’s Static has very little violence but is one of eerie suspense and great use of sound to deliver it’s message – overall Static doesn’t break any new ground but is a well produced, well acted and entertaining thriller that leaves you more than satisfied when them end credits roll….

The Family (2013) – Movie Review

Posted by absolutebadasses on December 3, 2013

Posted in: Reviews. Tagged: bluray, cinema releases, Dianna Agron, Domenick Lombardozzi, dvd, film review, films, follow, france, goodfellas, hitman, instagram, John D'Leo, leon, like, love films, love movies, luc besson, Michelle Pfeiffer, mob, movie review, movies, normandy, reviews, Robert De Niro, the family, the fifth element, Tommy Lee Jones, wise guy. Leave a comment

THE FAMILY – (2013) – Movie Review ★★★¾

Cast – Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer, Tommy Lee Jones, Dianna Agron, Domenick Lombardozzi and John D’Leo – The Family is the latest movie from Fifth Element & Leon director Luc Besson and is based on the novel Malavita : aka: Badfellas written by Tonino Benacquista – the film follows a Mafia family under the witness protection program who are relocated to Normandy, where they’re given a new identity and attempt to blend in to their new surroundings – but it’s not too long before chaos ensues after the crime kingpin tracking down The Family discover their new home VERDICT after discovering the wonderful Luc Besson in 88s The Big Blue and then in the mid 90s his epic Leon and The Fifth Element it’s been a pretty mediocre last ten years or so for this talented french director – but I’m happy to report that The Family is a return to form, the movie has a quick witted script and has some fun performances especially by Dianna Agron who gives her finest acting display to date playing the sexy, no nonsense daughter to Bob De Niro’s mob boss Giovanni Manzoni – Michelle Pfeiffer is also well worth the admission playing the bored housewife who like the rest of the family enjoys causing mayhem, her scene in the supermarket is fabulous with her facial expressions nailing the moment – another of my favorite scenes is when the mobsters come off the train in sleepy Normandy accompanied by the Gorillaz track Clint Eastwood it’s such a terrific moment with John D’Leo‘s character Warren watching on in awe and disbelief – overall The Family is a dark humored mobster flick that contains barrels of violence and some stylishly shot action scenes, the best of which are during the movies final quarter – The Family may not hit the standards of his early movies but Luc Besson has reminded us once more of his film-making qualities….

Paul Walker (1973-2013)

Posted by absolutebadasses on December 2, 2013

Posted in: Views. Tagged: actor, blog, bluray, california, cars, charity, death, dvd, eight below, fast & furious, follow, hollywood, hours, images, instagram, joy ride, LA, like, love, love films, love movies, Michelle Rodriguez, movie blog, movie star, movie stills, Paul Walker, photos, respect, rip, sad news, skulls, timeline, varsity blues, vin diesel. Leave a comment

Muppets Most Wanted (2014) – Movie Trailer

Posted by absolutebadasses on November 29, 2013

Posted in: Trailers. Tagged: Christoph Waltz, Danny Trejo, film blog, film stills, film trailer, fonzie, gonzo, images, instagram, james bobin, kermit, like, love film, love movies, miss piggy, movie blog, movie trailer, muppets, muppets most wanted, photos, Ricky Gervais, Salma Hayek, Tina Fey, Tom Hiddleston, trailer, Ty Burrell, Zach Galifianakis. Leave a comment

Muppets Most Wanted is the movie sequel to 2011’s The Muppets that stars Ricky Gervais, Ty Burrell and Tina Fey – “on a global sell out tour The Muppets run across a Kermit lookalike and his dastardly sidekick and get unwittingly entangled in an international heist” – James Bobin returns to the directors chair whilst Danny Trejo, Tom Hiddleston, Christoph Waltz, Zach Galifianakis and Salma Hayek are amongst the stars making cameos in the movie – here’s the latest movie trailer and some new stills…. Enjoy!

Muppets Most Wanted – US (21st march) – UK (28th March) – Australia (3rd April)

Animated Film Sequels – Movie Posters (2014)

Posted by absolutebadasses on November 28, 2013

Posted in: Stills. Tagged: animated, animated films, Anne Hathaway, birds, blog, blue sky studios, Cate Blanchett, dork, dragon, dreamworks, film geek, film night, film trailers, films, follow, geek, Gerard Butler, How to Train Your Dragon 2, images, instagram, Jamie Foxx, Jesse Eisenberg, Jonah Hill, like, love, movie buff, movie night, movie posters, movie stills, movies, nerd, popcorn, posters, release dates, Rio 2. Leave a comment

First up here’s a movie poster for How to Train Your Dragon 2 that lands next year, with vocals from the likes of Cate Blanchett, Jonah Hill and Gerard Butler – the films are loosely based on the series of books by Cressida Cowell and is once again directed by Dean DeBlois – the second poster is for Blue Sky’s Rio 2 and continues the journey of Blu & Jewel – vocals include Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway & Jamie Foxx – the film will be the last of writer Don Rhymer who sadly died last year!

How to Train Your Dragon 2 – US (13th June) – UK (4th July) – Australia (10th July)

Rio 2 – US (11 April) – UK (4th April) – Australia (10th April)

Renny Harlin has his critics but I’m not one of them – with films such as Cliffhanger, Mindhunters, The Long Kiss Goodnight, Deep Blue Sea and of course Die Hard 2 Harlin specializes in making sure you have some fun whilst watching the big screen and I applaud that style of filmmaker. Early 2014 will see Renny Harlin take us on a journey to ancient Greece and the Legend of Hercules – the film stars Kellan Lutz (Twilight), Scott Adkins (The Expendables 2) and Liam McIntyre (Spartacus) – here’s the trailer and some new movie stills…. enjoy!

Hercules: The Legend Begins lands 2014 – in the US on January 10 and in the UK on August 8

THE STARVING GAMES – (2013) – Movie Review ★★

Cast – Maiara Walsh, Brant Daugherty, Lauren Bowles and Diedrich Bader – from the team that wrote the Scary Movie‘s and directed such movie spoofs as Epic Movie, Meet the Spartans and Vampires Suck comes the latest film mock titled The Starving Games and yep you guessed it it’s a parody of The Hunger Games and pretty much everything else that writing & directing team Jason Friedberg & Aaron Seltzer can squeeze into 80mins – VERDICT the first thing to say about The Starving Games is at least it’s consistent with the below average garbage that Friedberg & Seltzer are churning out these days, like many I enjoyed 1996’s Spy Hard (directed by Jason Friedberg’s dad Rick) and possibly the first two Scary Movie films but since 2006’s Date Movie it’s been a down hill slide into the abyss of unfunny, messy parodies that rely on the actors slightly resembling the movie characters they mock or having a name that’s been twisted to sound like it’s original – overall The Starving Games is a movie full of badly written gags and way too much gross out-humor – the only positive in the film is Desperate Housewives actress Maiara Walsh who embraced the silliness and delivered a half decent performance – my advice to anybody young or old who are smitten with this style of humor is to check out the master Mel Brooks and his films such as Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein & Spaceballs it’s something I hope Friedberg & Seltzer do before undertaking on their spoof of the “Fast and Furious” racing movies titled Superfast they might even learn something….