The following (2013) TV Review – I love Kevin Bacon but this show stinks

I do love that big film stars now appreciate that if the writing is good in a TV series you can still enjoy the acclaim and awards that you would if you stuck to films.

With the likes of Breaking bad,The Wire and the Walking dead,you can see what Kevin Bacon was thinking by taking on the lead in the recent drama ”The Following”.

It’s just a shame that Kevin chose the wrong show to join,The following is a real lackluster show that show’s very little in terms of intelligent dialogue or interesting story.

His co-stars would look more comfortable in any CSI / TV detective show, as for the lead baddy (James Purefoy) he is amazingly dull,I did at no point feel afraid or weary of him,he sounds and comes across like a feminine hair dresser who’s just been dumped.

I love your work Mr Bacon but I am feeling nothing for your new show.

3/10

KO

The Liability (2012) Movie review – A refreshing British movie

This movie was a nice surprise,when a troubled British teen is asked to drive a stranger(Tim Roth) across the country a relationship ensues that is comical and intriguing.

Tim Roth has been widely slagged off by many for performing in poor movies or being poor in movies since the smash hit’s Reservoir dogs and Pulp fiction,I think he has chosen some bad roles and maybe become lazy over the years,when you star in some of the biggest movies of all time it must be hard to get excited at some of the average scripts he accepted afterwards,this is probably one of his best movies since those hits,as well as him being dry witted he is casually cold-hearted throughout.

If I met the British chav character(Jack O’Connell) in real life I would probably do my utmost to stay clear of him,he is stupid,loud and represents everything that is wrong with British society,but the chemistry that the two leads share is remarkably entertaining,they are a world apart,yet so perfect as a movie combo.

The movie is not perfect but I enjoyed it,I will keep an eye out for Craig Viveiros (Director) and John Wrathall (writer) work in the future.

7/10

KO

Killing them softly (2012) Movie review – A real treat of a movie that reeks of class! 8/10

One of best starts to a movie I have seen in a long time,you land right in the middle of the action,there is no introduction to characters,just straight to the meat of the movie; without any starters.

If there was competition for creating cool dialogue and super cool scenes Tarantino and the Coen brothers would be up there,well I can safely say that this director(Andrew Dominik – Chopper 2000) is following nicely behind.

The special effects used in this movie are truly outstanding, people can rave on about the matrix which gave you a licence to fly around a room, in this film they have effects that blow your mind because of the attention to detail,from a bullet leaving a gun,to the bullet hitting the window and exploding into pieces while some poor guys brain is being torn apart by the impact,all this made even more impressive as it is shown in slow motion.

There are so many good performances in this movie,but I have to single out James Gandolfini, he plays a hitman who suffers with many emotional problems,one being his denial to admit he’s in love and secondly his jealousy, which is tearing him apart,you truly feel his pain and at one point he made me shudder as he performance went straight past good and stopped at pure genius.

Brad Pitt is his cool self,but the key to the originality in this movie is the fact there is no lead characters, each person gets roughly the same screen time and you are never quite sure what is going to happen which is a treat for a film nut like me who is very rarely surprised by the outcome of most modern-day films.

A real treat of a movie that reeks of class.

8/10

KO

Here comes the Boom(2012): Movie Review- Doug Heffernan turns to MMA

Unfortunately for Kevin James this movie is going to take a good kicking from the non-mma (mixed martial arts) fans. I have already heard some nasty reviews and if I wasn’t a fan myself of mma then I would probably be joining the queue with some foul-mouthed rant about how piss poor this movie was! ‘Sure, things have not gone to well for Kevin James in his movie career as yet and I don’t think there’s too much chance of any improvements in the near future either’. It happens often enough though, the switch over from TV to the movies is never easy. The trouble with every character he plays, they are just extensions of Doug from the King of Queens. Also it does not help that he’s good friends with the likes of Adam Sandler, if there’s one guy you don’t want to be on a life raft with right now its Jack or was it Jill?

This is his best movie to date I would say. It has plenty of laughs throughout, but I was watching with two sets of eyes. 1) Through the eyes of a movie fan and unfortunately those were the eyes that tell the truth, the movie was predictable and as always the laughs are cheap and unimaginative. 2) Through the eyes of a mma fan, through these eyes the movie was great; this movie is a perfect complement if you were going to get your buddies around before a night of ufc action. Its peppered throughout with regular faces from mma doing off the cuff skits, yes albeit badly, but funny at the same time.

The movie is far-fetched, but it’s a bit of harmless fun for 90 minutes. Even if Kevin James isn’t your idea of funny, “surely Salma Hayek is worth admiring? For her acting proficiency of course!

6/10

Yappy

Promised land (2012) Movie review – Matt Damon is on fine form

Matt Damon brings a reassuring quality to every film he lends his name to,that’s not to say he hasn’t made bad films but you know if the script is half decent Damon will bring an extra dimension that will elevate the film and snatch your attention for the duration.

The movie is interesting, you have a pair of sales agents working for a large corporation who’s only goal is to buy people’s land to dig for natural gas,you root for the pair until you find out there are major health concerns with this type of work,the locals battle with the morals behind such a decision as well as dream about the money.

Damon and Frances Mcdormand (Fargo 1996) are fantastic together as the sales team, many actors would overplay such a role or try to steal a scene but the pair of them work so well together that you can sense the chemistry instantly.

A good movie with a solid cast and strong story.

7/10

KO

Life of Pi (2012) Movie review – Overrated wishy washy film

I know this movie has be rated well by all who have seen it,I can not deny that I enjoyed the visuals of Pi and a Tiger stuck on a small boat together.

The quality of the special effects are high a lot of the time,but on the moments they are bad,they are very bad,at one point in the film when a storm arrived this dangerous wild tiger looked more like the friendly tiger from the Kelloggs frosted flakes advert,if Tony was reviewing this element of the film he would not be able to use his famous catchphrase when referring to the special effects.

The movie is a good family movie,I hear it’s amazing to watch in 3D, I would happily watch this movie with a young child,mainly to watch their reactions to the story and the tiger,but based on me reviewing it I don’t think I can honestly say that this film is complete,the story at times feels forced and pushed and dare I say it lackluster with an alarmingly slow pace.

6/10

KO

Zero dark thirty (2012) Movie review – John (Fuc****) Barrowman ?????????

I find these type of movies based on true events hit and miss,if I was to side with a party on this occasion it would have to be the latter(miss).

Years ago this movie may have made an impact on me but when the likes of Homeland tackle the terrorism angle to a degree that leaves your jaw wide open throughout,it’s hard to get excited about this movie.

You could argue that they made this movie more serious to show the reality behind the horror,if that is the case I prefer the fiction,most of the lead characters here are instantly forgettable and leave you craving for a reason to keep watching and not craving to find out the motives behind people’s actions.

It picks up in the last third of the film when the meat of the story comes together on how they caught the worlds most wanted,then the casting director made a HUGE mistake by casting John Barrowman,they are about to get down to brass tacks and bloody Barrowman lands himself in the middle of the screen to steal any credibility this film was building up,I have no problem with Barrowman the singer,Barrowman the reality star judge or Barrowman the TV panel show guest,John Barrowman is not a movie star,he is not an actor worthy of the big screen in my eyes, he sold out to the lowest bidder years ago, so how did he land up in this political Hollywood movie ???, the movie ended for me right there and then,any reason to take this film seriously was now over.

The insight into the capture was interesting but I found myself fuming over Barrowman’s inclusion and the lack of any real suspense when there should have been tons.

6/10

KO

House at the End of the Street:Movie Review(2012) – Scarier than Dora the Explorer!

Now I know why this movie was sitting there for weeks on the back burner. I just don’t see the point anymore watching horror movies. It’s not a horror to begin with; I don’t know why they’re trying selling it as that. This is the type of movie that you find in the bottom of a bargain bucket bin next to the cheap beer in an Indian convenient store.

In 20 years times someone will pick it up and say “look Jenifer Lawrence is in this, she looks young here” then they’ll watch and discover that she made bad decisions just like everyone else does these days. The good thing for her is she’s young and can blame it on the growing process. So let’s scrap this one and The Hunger games and everything will be honky dory.

The film in general was not the most entertaining as a whole; Miss Lawrence did the best with what she could. They tried to give the movie as much suspense as possible without too much complication. Still we are in the 21^st century now! Can we stop with the weirdo’s who know that there is someone in the woods! But continue to stroll on in there anyway. It’s all to predictable nowadays. Creativity and innovation is what is needed for scares not regurgitated movies throughout the decades.

4/10

Yappy

Flight (2012) Movie review – Blah Denzel

I like Denzel, he is always impressive when ever he goes on a rant and has the ability to capture and steal a scene.

He plays an airline pilot who has a drink problem,you can imagine the fun that prevails…,the story is interesting without it being thrilling,as much as I enjoy Denzel I found myself losing interest quickly,it just felt like a safe performance from Mr Washington,when you compare people such as Nicolas Cage who have took playing a drunk to a new level,Denzels performance kind of leaves you non plussed.

John Goodman’s cameo appearance was pure joy which made me wish the camera followed his character each time he left the room.

OK, but forgettable.

6/10

KO

Chained (2012) Movie review – Very underrated movie

The horror genre does very little to surprise me in general,it’s one type of film that tends to bore me more than any other,that is why this movie was a delight and joy to watch,there was no demon back from the dead collecting souls,this is a about a sick and twisted killer that shocks and disgusts with what is possible in real life, which makes this chilling viewing.

Vincent D’Onofrio puts in a fantastic performance as the killer, he avoids all the cliché moves and dialogue, the director takes a refreshing approach to how you first meet his character and then takes you on a journey of discovery for the rest of the film.

I would recommend this film to any true film fan.