The movie world will mourn this December when The Hobbit: Battle Of The Five Armies the last in the series of six films based around Tolkien’s Middle Earth comes to a climax – to give Peter Jackson’s franchise the magical send of it deserves here’s Pippin from Lord of the Rings aka actor Billy Boyd singing The Last Goodbye – it’s truly beautiful….
One of the last great actresses of the Golden Age LAUREN BACALL has died age 89 – a New York lass she made her name starring alongside some of Hollywood’s finest including Marilyn Monroe, John Wayne, Gregory Peck, Kirk Douglas and her beloved Humphrey Bogart – for a leading lady Lauren Bacall had the lot, during the 40s and 50s you would struggle to come up with another actress who electrified the screen as Bacall did – throughout her career she always managed to ignite a fierce chemistry with her many co-stars, her husky vocals and piercing blue & green cat like eye’s adding to her star quality and undoubted sex appeal – her break through movie To Have and Have Not in 44′ followed by Big Sleep, Dark Passage and Key Lago made her a Hollywood Star – for me looking back at Lauren Bacall’s career John Huston’s Key Largo and starring alongside John Wayne in The Shootist were easily my favorite two movies – Bacall will be missed no doubt but thanks to her body of work her beauty & talent will always be remembered….
Here’s the latest trailer for CAMP X-RAY – Camp X-Ray was a detention center at Guantanamo Bay before closing in 2002 – The movie is Peter Sattler’s debut behind the camera & looks pretty special – the story follows Amy Cole (Stewart) a young soldier who’s assigned to Guantanamo as a guard, whilst their she has to deal with hostile jihadists, macho & aggressive squadmates and an inmate who she befriends and connects with – the film also stars Payman Maadi, Lane Garrison, J.J. Soria & John Carroll Lynch & hits our screens in October take a look at the trailer and Enjoy!
Here’s four new character posters & the latest trailer for George Miller’s upcoming MAD MAX : FURY ROAD that looks epic in every department – the movie lands next summer and has a killer cast that includes Tom Hardy (Warrior), Charlize Theron (Prometheus), Hugh Keays (Mad Max), Nicholas Hoult (Days of Future Past) and Zoe Kravitz (Divergent) – I for one loved the original trilogy so can’t wait for this new chapter in apocalyptic madness….
Very Sad News – the Iconic TV and Movie star James Garner has died aged 86 – James starred in two of TV’s finest shows in The Rockford Files and Maverick and gave memorable performances in movies such as The Great Escape, Grand Prix, Victor Victoria, The Hour of the Gun, The Children’s Hour, Duel at Diablo and many more – he was nominated for an Oscar for 1985’s Murphy’s Romance and was awarded the Screen Actors Guild’s Life Achievement Award in 2005 – his passing is sad news but thanks to his countless performances on screen James Garner will always be remembered & enjoyed for years to come….
Sadly one of the great method actors of our time has died aged 98 – ELI WALLACH played a huge part in my love for film after watching his performances in such classics such as The Magnificent Seven alongside Yul Bryner, The Misfits opposite Marilyn Monroe & Clarke Gable, How the West Was Won with Lee J. Cobb & co, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly alongside Clint Eastwood, The Hunter with Steve McQueen and so many more – at 98 Eli should be remembered not for awards, accolades or press worthy news clippings but for a body of work full of genuinely great film roles and his last-ability in an industry of much change since making his film debut back in 1956 in Elia Kazan‘s Baby Doll – to say goodbye to one of the screens finest I will leave you with a quote from Sergio Leone‘s 1966 classic The Good, the Bad and the Ugly where Eli Wallach played the outlaw Tuco “There are two kinds of people in the world, my friend: Those with a rope around the neck, and the people who have the job of doing the cutting”
Happy 65th Birthday to one of the screen’s great actresses MERYL STREEP – to celebrate I’ve posted this small collage of movie stills of Meryl with some of her leading men, the 6 I felt had that chemistry, that spark, that made that particular movie an incredible viewing experience – amazingly Meryl has been nominated for an an Academy Award more times than any other actor or actress out there – she has won 3 of her 18 Oscar Nominations and has also won 8 of her 28 Golden Globe nominations – next up for Meryl is a small role in Tommy Lee Jones western The Homesman, then playing a Witch in Rob Marshall’s Into the Woods and she has just signed up to play an aging rocker in Diablo Cody‘s Ricky and the Flash – it’s hard to believe that Meryl is 65 today, she still commands the screen churning out incredible performances whilst looking as beautiful and graceful as she did bursting onto our screens back in the late 70’s – once again Happy Birthday Meryl Streep the queen of the screen your truly one of a kind !!
Here’s the latest trailer for The Expendables 3 – this time around Stallone has brought in a new director in Red Hill’s Patrick Hughes and also brings in some new faces that includes Mel Gibson, Harrison Ford, Antonio Banderas and Kelsey Grammer these guys join up with Expendable veteran’s Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Jet Li, Randy Couture & Stallone himself – as you would expect this looks one hell of an action ride – the film lands this summer take a look at the trailer and Enjoy!
The Expendables 3 – US (15th August) – UK (14th August) – Australia (N/A)
Oculus (2014) – Movie Review ★★★¾
Director: Mike Flanagan – Cast: Karen Gillan, Brenton Thwaites, Katee Sackhoff, Kate Siegel, Annalise Basso & Rory Cochrane – Synopsis: Growing up 10yr old Tim and his 13yr old sister Kaylie were inserprable that was until Tim was sent to a psychiatric hospital for the supposed murder of their parents – Kaylie always suspected that an antique mirror haunted by a supernatural entity was responsible for these hideous crimes & spent the time her brother was locked away researching & documenting the lives and deaths of everyone who came in contact with it – upon Tim’s release from the hospital 11yrs later Kaylie sets out to prove her brothers innocence & destroy this supernatural force forever – Verdict: The film is based upon a short by Flanagan that was released in 2006 titled Oculus: Chapter 3 – The Man with the Plan – using flashbacks Oculus entwines two parallel stories that center around the Russell family in the past & present, this is cleverly used by Flanagan helping develop the structure of the story and adding to it’s creepiness – rather than the mundane, uninspired found footage format or the blood & gore from the general run of the mill slasher flick Flanagan injects a dose of horror reminiscent in style of James Wan, that’s almost a throwback in style to the 70s and 80s, with some fabulous character building, interesting camera angles and a film brought to life by a group of very talented young actors including Battle Star’s Katee Sackhoff, Doctor Who’s Karen Gillan and the talented Maleficent star Brenton Thwaites who all turn in excellent performances -made for just under $5 Million Oculus is a gem of a ghost story – yes at times the movie get’s a little lost in it’s illusions & hallucinations and forgets to scare but Overall: there’s enough to this movie to keep you rooted to your chair and have you avoiding mirrors at your home for days after….
Here’s some rather colorful character posters from James Gunn’s GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY the latest Marvel big screen bonanza that will hit our screens later this summer – Gunn the guy who brought us the fabulous Slither and comedy superhero movie Super has assembled an exciting cast that includes Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Bradley Cooper, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Dave Bautista and Vin Diesel – here’s them posters…. Enjoy!
here’s some rather delicious posters from the upcoming TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES remake that lands this summer – the movie is directed by Wrath of the Titans helmer Jonathan Liebesman and stars Megan Fox, William Fichtner, Will Arnett & Johnny Knoxville – from early footage it looks promising and certainly darker than it’s 1990’s original (thank god) !
Tokarev (2014) – Movie Review ★★★¾
Director: Paco Cabezas – Cast: Nicolas Cage, Rachel Nichols, Danny Glover, Max Ryan, Judd Lormand, Pasha D. Lychnikoff & Peter Stormare – Synopsis: Paul Maguire (Cage) is a reformed criminal running a legitimate business when his past of crime and the Russian Mob catches up with him – one night whilst attending a business meeting with his wife Maguire’s daughter is kidnapped and not one to rely on the local police for help he rounds up his old crew and seeks his own brand of justice – Verdict: If you’ve seen the trailer for Tokarev don’t be fooled into thinking that this move is some sort of low budget Taken clone – it’s not! – Paco Cabazas who brought us 2007’s horror The Appeared has essentially worked to the revenge formula but thrown in a few curve balls that change the ball game and makes you think “wow I didn’t see that coming” – Tokarev still has it’s cliche moments and yep we get to see our customary Nic Cage meltdown moment (not a bad thing in my eyes) but Overall: this is devilishly fun movie, with a whole bunch of grandeur action sequences, a smartly written script that is well delivered by a quality cast led by the infectious Cage who appears to have fun with any role he takes on – don’t be blinded by the haters out there Tokarev is 92mins of top class entertainment…. Enjoy !
The beloved British Comic Actor Rik Mayall has died suddenly aged 56 – like many that grew up during the 80’s & 90’s watching shows such as The Young Ones, Black Adder, Filthy Rich & Catflap, The New Statesman and Bottom his passing will be sad but also a moment to reflect on one of the greatest and I must say underrated comics of our time – his partnership with Adrian Edmondson was a master class of violent filthy humor, a rare double act that never disappointed and one that always made me smile – whether it be the flat mates Richard Richard and Edward Hitler from the superb 90’s show Bottom or students in the 80’s Vyvyan and Rick from The Young Ones they were just so damn good together – instead of wiping a tear load that DVD player up and raise a toast to one of the funniest comics to grace our screens….
Edge Of Tomorrow (2014) – Movie Review ★★★★½
Director: Doug Liman – Cast: Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton, Brendan Gleeson, Noah Taylor & Kick Gurry – Synopsis: Major William Cage (Cruise) a PR for the army finds himself sent to the front line, with zero combat training, fighting a war against an alien force known as the Mimics that’s slowly taking over the world – Cage manages to get himself caught in a time loop that once deceased makes him revisit his horrific day of battle all over again – during this loop he becomes more efficient at battle and meets up with Vrataski (Blunt) who’s a battle hardened war hero and together they must find a way to defeat the Mimics saving the world in the process – Verdict: If your wondering what film you should see at your local cinema this week then wonder no more ! – Based on the Japanese Novel “All You Need Is Kill” by Hiroshi Sakurazaka and delivered to the big screen by The Bourne Identity’s Doug Liman EDGE OF TOMORROW is one heck of a ride that reminds me of Aliens, Matrix and Starship Troopers wrapped around a devilishly fun Groundhog Day narrative that is not only exhilarating to watch but is a delicious cocktail of clever sci-fi, black humor and full throttle edge of the seat action that Cruise, Blunt and Paxton deliver tenfold – a lot of praise should go to McQuarry & Butterworth for a superb character driven script that’s both fresh, witty and void of romantic entanglement like too many of it’s predecessors – one of the surprises in the movie is Emily Blunt’s “Angel of Verdun” – we all know she can act but her action prowess tethered to her overall look and the deliverance of her character is convincing & superbly executed – the action arena certainly suits Ms Blunt and with the lack of strong female action heroes on our screen of late this role certainly opens some doors for future action screen time – some of my favorite moments in the movie is the breathtaking beach scene reminiscent of a science fiction Saving Private Ryan, the exchanges between Cruise & Paxton (two of my favorite actors) and Cage’s training in the army base against the mimics whilst Vrataski looks on applying the necessary bullet to the head if he fails – Overall: as a summer blockbuster Edge Of Tomorrow is one of the best in recent years, it’s fun, explosive and well worth you hitting that repeat button for another watch….
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