The story of a husband and wife that will stop at nothing to find their missing daughter, who vanishes on a family vacation : Peter Facinelli mostly known for his acting work in the likes of the Twilight franchise is behind the camera on THE VANISHED an intriguing new take on the kidnapping genre that Facinelli also wrote basing the movie around something that happened to him many years earlier : the films reunites Thomas Jane & Anne Heche who plays parents taking their ten-year-old daughter Taylor played by Kk Heim and their Pug on a family vacation, the film starts innocently enough with the family happily singing songs whilst driving their RV into a holiday park in what looks like the back of beyond and that’s when the questions start and the unnerving tension starts to build : not all is what it seems and Facinelli really does an excellent job in ramping the mystery up a notch, twisting & turning the story like a car travelling down Lombard Street and The Vanished keeps you guessing right up until it’s nerve-shattering finale : Overall this is an excellent movie with good performances, especially Jason Patrick’s turn as the local Sheriff who’s dealing with his own demons and Alex Haydon as the peculiar looking ground keeper, I also loved the scenery around Alabama so if your looking for a good belter of a thriller then check this one out ★★★★
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Just revisited the Director’s Cut of KINGDOM OF HEAVEN and it’s one of those movies that has grown on me over the years, it’s a remarkable, entertaining and thought provoking epic and THANK the gods that Ridley gave us this 3hr plus definitive cut of his 2005 movie – It’s story is richer, characters more defined and the film’s battle scenes have a much bigger impact on the picture as a whole – If you own the theatrical version then throw it in the trash, go out and buy the extended cut of Kingdom of Heaven and treat yourself to a rewarding rewatch, it’s an overlooked gem that’s certainly amongst the top tier of Ridley Scott’s magnificent cinematic library ★★★★½
OVERLORD : Julius Avery
Wyatt Russell, Jovan Adepo & Mathilde Ollivier
ROSY : Jess Manafort
Stacy Martin, Nat Wolff, Johnny Knoxville & Tony Shaloub
Interestingly ROSY came totally out of the blue having not seen a poster or watched a trailer and sometimes these little things make a movie more fun and certainly more interesting (not knowing what is coming) – So without spoiling things Jess Manafort’s directorial debut is pretty bizzare yet it somehow manages to captivate, from it’s haunting score that wouldn’t seem out of place in a Woody Allen pic to it’s slow burning narative and wonderful performances from it’s cast – Nat Wolff gives a career besty playing Doug a guy with a few bolts loose who lives on his own but he has a plan and this plan involves Rosy an aspiring young actress played by the wonderful Stacy Martin who gives a GIGANTIC performance that’s sexy, funny and downright crazy – Rosy’s coming together with Doug is alarming, yet by the end of the film you start to think that there’s some chemistry between them (well I did anyhow), everything about the films premise is not quite right but somehow it works and it’s filmmaker Jess Manafort deserves the plaudits for not only her direction but for an exciting, original script – absolutley superb ★★★★
The Interview (2014/5) – Movie Review ★★★★
“They Hate us caus they Ain’t-us”
Director: Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg – Cast: James Franco, Seth Rogen, Lizzy Caplan, Randall Park, Diana Bang and Charles Rahi Chun – Synopsis: The Interview follows Dave Skylark and Aaron Rapaport as two friends running a TV show in the US called “Skylark Tonight” interviewing celebrities who usually spout trashy & outrageous nonsense – the show somehow manages to catch the eye of a certain North Korean leader Kim Jong Un who as it turns out is big fan of the show and grant the pair a one on one interview, upon hearing of this the CIA recruit Skylark and Rapaport to help assassinate the Korean Leader and that’s when the fun really begins Verdict: as you may know The Interview has become a movie shrouded in controversy, and just like a script from a Hollywood movie it all started with Sony axing the film from its planned Christmas schedule due to hacking threats (possibly the North Koreans?) which immediately saw a whole host of celebrities including George Clooney and the President of the United States taking to social media & many news outlets to decry the decision calling Sony weak and asking them to reconsider – it only took a few days for Sony to capitulate, with the FBI now involved in tracking these hackers a statement was put out that The Interview would return to the festive schedule and be shown in selected cinemas after all ! Overall: As a fan of Rogen and Franco’s style of brainless, moronic, insanely daft humor I had high hopes for this film their latest big screen pairing and by it’s end credits boy was I not disappointed – if you dislike gross-out comedy satires that produce the side splitting laughs but also in turn make you reach for the vomit bag, and your only thinking of watching the film due to the nonsensical over the top attention it’s received then you may want to reconsider – The Interview is made of the blackest of humor, some may even call the film distasteful and maybe it is – but overall it’s a well executed, tongue in cheek comedy that centers around a subject matter that shouldn’t be funny but really is, and that all due to it’s great material, it’s high tempo and a superb cast that includes a delicious turn by Randall Park playing Kim Jong Un who’s not only uncanny in resemblance to the North Korean leader but his camp & creepy portrayal makes his performance one of the true comic highlights of the year – if you have loved Rogen & Franco’s past movie pairings in Neighbors, This Is the End and Pineapple Express then I am pretty confident you will love The Interview it’s a comedy that will tickle you senseless, make your eye’s stream like a river and make your belly bounce till it hurts – the scenes that include that Eminem interview, Rapaport’s insertion, Kim Jong Un’s seduction of Skylark including the basketball come orgy and the tank ride, every moment on screen that included Sook played by the fabulous Diana Bang and each and every Franco smile, grimace and utterly stupid sentence spoken make The Interview one of 2014’s finest comedy achievements and one I can not wait to re-watch !!
DON JON (2013) – Movie Review ★★★★
Cast – Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Scarlett Johansson, Glenne Headly, Brie Larson, Julianne Moore & Tony Danza – DON JON is written and directed by Joseph Gordon-Levitt and follows Jon Martello Jr. (Levitt) an Italian American, a sort of modern day Don Juan who has this list of things he really really cares about: “my body, my pad, my ride, my family, my church, my boys, my girls, my porn” – and although Jon’s a good looking guy and is actually quite sexually active he also has an addiction he just loves looking at porn on the web and prefers it to actual sex (his words) – on a typical night out with the guys Jon meets Barbara Sugarman (Johansson) and she’s about to change his life forever VERDICT Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s DON JON has the lot, it’s smart, incredibly funny, downright dirty and delivers an important message on how media can be fun but also strangle and be a controlling element in one’s life – due to it’s racy subject matter the film is not for children and can be quite cringe worthy at times with some hilarious American Pie style humor thrown in for good measure – along with fabulous performances from Levitt and the gorgeous Scarlett Johansson DON JON also has some great turns by the movies support cast including – Tony Danza wearing his matching white vest is a dead ringer playing Jon’s dad and the hilarious Brie Larson playing Jon’s sister, only uttering one sentence but is so funny glancing up from the dinner table on occasion, her eye’s rarely leaving her mobile phone (a trait I’m sure is only too true for most teenagers) – overall DON JON is a delight to watch and I’m so pleased that Levitt cast himself in the lead and not Channing Tatum as he originally planned, Levitt just carries the movie with a swagger and is totally more believable playing out some of the movies more personal, fun bit’s such as the confessional, the singing to himself in the car, his relationship with his dad (just like looking in the mirror) and his friendship with Julianne Moore’s character towards the films finale – DON JON is a movie I would highly recommend but it is NOT one for the whole family….
“After a stint in prison a street racer who was framed gets the chance to act revenge on the guy who sent him down” – Breaking Bad’s Aaron Paul headlines Scott Waugh’s NEED FOR SPEED – from the writer and producer of Underworld comes the Stuart Beattie (Tomorrow, When the War Began) directed fantasy horror film I, FRANKENSTEIN that stars Aaron Eckhart, Bill Nighy and Yvonne Strahovski – here’s two new movie posters…. Enjoy!
FORCE OF EXECUTION – (2013) – Movie Review ★★★
Cast – Steven Segal, Danny Trejo, Ving Rhames and Bren Foster – Steven Segal plays Mr. Alexander a crime kingpin who rules his empire of crime with honor and brutality – when a prison hit goes wrong Mr Alexander has to protect his empire against a villain known as The Iceman (Ving Rhames) and calls on his friends to help him overcome the odds – VERDICT Don’t go into these style of movies thinking you will have an Oscar winning script, some A-List acting and a big Hollywood size budget blown on special effects, these films are all about the fight scenes and Force of Execution thanks to the direction of Keoni Waxman and TaeKwon Do’s World Champ Bren Foster has some pretty impressive ones – Steven Segal still looks an imposing presence at the age 61 and the wonderful veterans Trejo and Rhames look to be enjoying themselves kicking some ass and looking good doing so – overall Force of Execution is a better than average martial arts flick that I enjoyed but would only recommend to those who enjoy this style of film – take it all with a pinch of salt and you will find yourself being entertained….
Not many filmmakers have spanned the decades quite like Martin Scorsese, it was the late 80’s that I first watched his classic, gritty drama 1973’s Mean Streets and since then have watched pretty much everything this New Yorker has set to film, from his early collaborations with De Niro and Keitel in the mid 70s early 80s to this centuries dynamic pairing with DiCaprio, Scorsese is truly one of cinema’s finest Movie Directors – he has received 7 Academy Award Nominations for Best Director (winning for 2006’s The Departed) and in 2010 he was given the Cecil B. DeMille Award – below is what we think are his TOP 10 MOVIES Behind the Camera
Our number 1 choice is 1990’s Goodfellas that stars Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta and Joe Pesci who went on to win an Oscar for his colorful portrayal of Tommy “What do you mean I’m funny?” Devito, the film is the best gangster movie I’ve ever seen and in my opinion the crown jewels on Martin Scorsese’s incredible CV – following close behind is the electric Taxi Driver, the brutal Gangs of the New York and boxing drama Raging Bull – at number 5 is the Howard Hughes tale The Aviator and at number 6 De Niro re-teams with Joe Pesci for the epic mobster, gambling drama Casino – at number 7 is the return of the hustler in 1986’s The Color of Money that’s followed by a trip down the streets of Little Italy in Mean Streets and the uncompromising movie remake of Cape Fear – finally at number 10 sees Daniel Day Lewis in 19th Century New York in The Age of Innocence
Martin Scorsese was born on this day in 1942 in Queens, New York – his latest movie is The Wolf of Wall Street that stars Leonardo DiCaprio and lands Christmas in the US and early next year internationally….