Sean Connery was born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1930 and died in The Bahamas this morning in 2020 : the film world has lost a legend, a hero to many including myself and an actor that spanned a 60 year career….. he escaped from Alcatraz, was a British Secret Agent, an Irish-American cop, a Soviet Submarine Captain, an Immortal Swordsman, was King Arthur, Robin Hood and Indiana’s dad….. may you rest in peace Big Tam…..
A young couple having trouble with their relationship take a trip to the families Beach House only to find their getaway turns into a struggle for survival – Jeffrey A Brown directorial debut THE BEACH HOUSE is my kind of movie jam, a slow burning chiller with enough going on to keep you interested and then WHAM BAM all shit rains down – It’s impressive how Brown keeps everything so damn eerie, from those opening 10mins to the final ten you really are biting your fingernails and sat on the edge of your seat in anticipation at what’s coming next, the drug induced scene is freaky in an almost uncomfortable sort of way and that cellar and beach scene messes with your mind – However the real payoff with The Beach House is that you have no idea how it’s all going to play out and more importantly what the actually shit is going really going on…. from Jeffrey Brown’s original story, it’s idealic yet sinister location but most of all Liana Liberato & Noah Le Gros innocence & fear driven performances make this one helluva trippy, atmospheric ride and a delicous horror gem that I’d highly recommend ★★★★
Joe a trucker who’s pretty down on his luck meets a mother who can contact spirits whilst suffocating – NICOLAS CAGE is the most charasmatic, entertaining actor out there, he loves dipping his toes in the odd blockbuster but equally the guy loves to star in low budget thrillers that pay the bills, keeps him busy and helps young interesting filmmakers get their films seen by a bigger audience – the latest of these is Maria Pulera’s BETWEEN WORLDS a rather Lynch-esque thriller that’s weird yet engaging and has elements of the supernatural and is strangely erotic whilst showcasing the infamous Cage meltdown that’s still bloody great to watch – I loved the film’s story and little homages to Twin Peaks & David Lynch in general and it’s cast including the exciting German actress Franka Potente & the sexy Aussie Penelope Mitchell give exciting performances alongside the outrageous and at times out of control Nicolas Cage – Overall Between Worlds is certainly worth a watch, especially if like me you love the genre, the trashy at times low budget feel and of course CAGE who in my eye’s is always worth 90mins of ones time ★★★½
Having grown up watching the Disney classics such as Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella and The Jungle Book I was intrigued when hearing that Iron Man & Elf director Jon Favreau was working on a new live-action/CGI remake based on Rudyard Kipling’s story – anybody who follows me on Instagram or Twitter will know I’m not huge on this constant Hollywood obsession in remakes, reboots or re-imagining of the classic films of yesteryear, that being said I will always give a film the benefit of the doubt and I watch each one hoping for that gem, a remake that may possibly surprise and may even equal it’s predecessor !!
Well after visiting my local cinema complex I was not surprised I was blown away by what I had just seen – not many movies in recent times, let alone remakes have taken my breath away but Jon Favreau‘s epic take on this classic tale did just that – from its exhilarating opening watching the orphaned Mowgli race through the jungle to its heart racing climax with the villainous Shere Khan – The Jungle Book is gorgeous on every level, it’s seamless CGI is forgotten after the first few moments in the movie as your transported into a setting where animals fill your heart with song, laughter & maybe a lump in the throat, Favreau handles Mowgli’s heart warming encounter with Baloo the bear, the hissing, conniving of Kaa and the hilarious & complete epic-ness of King Louie singing that classic song “I wana be like you” with total respect of the original movie yet creates his own special deliverance of these beloved characters – his casting of the voice actors should be applauded and where on earth did he find the young Neel Sethi, this kid is perfect as Mowgli giving the film it’s heart, he’s certain to be a star of the future – Overall 2016’s The Jungle Book is a magical cinematic triumph, it’s a film that brings the feel good factor & family entertainment back to our screens and if you’ve seen Wolfgang Reitherman’s 1967 Disney classic then you may find yourself humming along to a couple of favourite tunes too – pure and utter brilliance, stop monkeying around & visit The Jungle Book at cinema’s now!! ★★★★½
I know what your thinking… a reboot of TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES WTF?… No Thank you! But listen one minute you stubborn sons of turtles this one looks different, Jonathan Liebesman (Battle: LA) looks to have crafted a darker, edgier feel to the whole proceedings, with some creepy ass looking Turtles that may make young kids run away rather than go awwwww and with the inclusion of the delicious Megan Fox this 2014 version looks somewhat sexier and modern and even with the limited running time of this small teaser trailer the mood, the intensity and the excitement actually looks a vastly superior beast, more reminiscent to a Transformers flick than that sappy 1990 version…. here’s the teaser and some new stills – take a look and enjoy!
The cast includes: Megan Fox, Pete Ploszek, Noel Fisher, Jeremy Howard, Alan Ritchson, Danny Woodburn, Whoopi Goldberg, William Fichtner & Will Arnet
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – US (8th August) – UK (17th October) – Australia (N/A)
DALLAS BUYERS CLUB (2014) – Movie Review ★★★★
Director: Jean-Marc Vallée – Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Jared Leto and Jennifer Garner – Synopsis: From director Jean-Marc Vallée comes an autobiographical movie based on the real-life AIDS patient Ron Woodroof, who went against the FDA and smuggled unsanctioned drugs into Texas to help fellow sufferers – the drugs were effective in improving his symptoms so he began distributing them by establishing the “Dallas Buyers Club” – Verdict: I must confess before watching the movie I had never heard of Ron Woodroof and his fight against the AIDS disease and the FDA – I don’t know how much liberty was taken with the story but the Dallas Buyers Club is a very moving, inspiring and at times mildly amusing one – Matthew McConaughey has been ramping up his career of late with killer performances in brilliant films such as Killer Joe, Mud and TVs True Detective and in the Dallas Buyers Club he delivers a mesmerizing performance not only with his appearance but his ability to suck the audience into his character and allow them to feel and root for this Electrician come Grifter Ron Woodroof who’s happens to be not the nicest of guys but you slowly believe in his cause and his overwhelming courage – alongside McConaughey is Jared Leto (Requiem for a Dream) who plays Rayon a transgender woman who also has the AIDS virus and befriends Woodroof, Leto is a talented character actor and is delicious in this role feeding off McConaughey’s energy and looking pretty amazing dolled up with a wig and makeup – the scenes with the Marc Bolan photos had me in stitches – overall the Dallas Buyers Club is a wonderful piece of film-making that is essential viewing and will go down as one of this years finest….
Whenever I see a cool movie montage I get chills up and down my spine and wish the day was long enough to watch them all one after the other – this 2mins clip of the classic movies of yesteryear is not quite long enough but gives you a small taste of what MGM has given us all over the years, so many memories and so many wonderful pictures – take a look at the video below & whilst your enjoying the clip wish MGM a Happy 90th Birthday!!!
Two new movie stills have landed – the first showing Ben Affleck in David Fincher’s GONE GIRL “A woman mysteriously disappears on the day of her wedding anniversary” the film is a big screen adaption of Gillian Flynn’s novel of the same name and also stars Rosamund Pike & Kim Dickens – the second picture on the right is from the new biopic The Imitation Game about British wartime cryptographer Alan Turing played by Sherlock’s Benedict Cumberbatch and is directed by Norwegian filmmaker Morten Tyldum
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
HOURS – (2013/4) – Movie Review ★★★¾
Cast – Paul Walker, Génesis Rodríguez – set in 2005 during the time Hurricane Katrina was raining havoc down on New Orleans – Nolan (Walker) has just become a father to a newly born baby who is prematurely born & is placed in an incubator to help with her breathing – then the storm hits placing the hospital on high alert, the hospital’s power goes off, the flooding begins and then the criminal, looting scum come out to play – Nolan must do whatever it takes to keep himself and his new baby girl alive VERDICT Eric Heisserer who’s writing credits include the recent remakes of A Nightmare on Elm Street and The Thing makes his directorial debut with Hours – unlike other Paul Walker features this movie does not include a car instead it’s completely set in a hospital and requires Walker to step up to the plate and deliver some of his finest acting work to date – the scenes in the hospital with the corridor full of bodies left on the floor and the moments Nolan attempts to communicate with his new born by placing pictures of him & his wife on the incubator glass are quite emotional – overall Heisserer‘s Hours is a gripping, well shot and superbly executed movie that may get overlooked due to people’s preconceived ideas about it’s leading star – in my opinion Hours is well worth a watch….
KICK-ASS 2 stars Chloë Moretz, Jim Carrey & Aaron Taylor Johnson – “Kick Ass” and a group of amateur Superheroes go into battle against the “Red Mist” aka: The Mother Fucker VERDICT this was a delight from start to finish, the introduction of new characters such as : Colonel Stars & Stripes & Mother Russia added some deliciously over the top fun to proceedings – in the directors chair sat Jeff Wadlow who’s last film was the impressive 2008 martial arts romp “Never Back Down” and boy does he do a good job – the action scenes are fast & furious and the outrageous blend of black humor & graphic violence are superbly executed – the film’s young cast lead by the deadly charm of Chloe Grace Moretz as “Hit Girl” look more experienced on screen making this overall a fun night at the flicks – KICK-ASS 2 is a movie sequel that in my opinion is better than its predecessor – role on number 3! ★★★★
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