R.I.P.D. (2013) Movie review; Men in Black without the plot

Right off the bat, it’s easy to see the similarities between this movie and Men in Black, while chasing a suspect Will Smith gets introduced to a new world and slowly learns with the help of his new partner that he is surrounded by aliens, well if you swap aliens for dead people and let Ryan Reynolds play the lead everything else is almost the same, even his partner is a cowboy in the form of Jeff Bridges who is playing the Tommy Lee Jones character.

I enjoyed the film and the concept from the beginning, even though it had the blue print of ”MIB” there was moments and interaction between the two leads that was genuinely funny.

Once you get half way through you soon realise that the movie’s plot is some what misty, I remember thinking at one point what is the bad guys goal ?, it seems their goal was a secret so in turn the hero’s goal was a secret, the result was a lot of over the top CGI which was incredibly boring and almost cartoon like at times, it seems a trend of late with these type of films, (if in doubt, add a s*hit load more CGI )

I like both actors but the failure to write a good ending and middle really lets this project down.

5/10

KO

We’re the Millers (2013) Movie review; Sticking a fork in your eye would be more enjoyable

The concept sounded good, a road trip built around a man forced to smuggle drugs across the border!

After days of mulling over his chances he decides he has a better chance of success if he recruits a family to join him on his trip across the border, this is where the fun should begin, I was expecting dark, witty and sick funny moments but what I got was a very safe packed lunch wrapped in a cheesy obvious comedy.

There where moments which made me smile but this movie is a big let down, the director decided against any flow in the film, there was at no stage any moments that created genuine excitement or danger,I think the comedy falls down because of this, you need a balance to any good comedy, a feel of reality… this film just endlessly plods on to a miserable conclusion.

4/10

KO

Now you see me (2013) Movie review; The rabbit dies

The movie starts off as an Oceans eleven for magicians, the camera swings into scenes and introduces you to each character,the movie had a fresh feel to it for the first fifteen minutes but then you start to spot too many rabbits hiding and the film becomes a chore to get through.

Key faults –

Four different magicians all agree to steal money and get in to trouble with the police even though they don’t know who is instructing them to do so (very unbelievable), the dialogue is cocksure and generally off-putting after ten minutes.

I love Woody Harrelson but his role included him being the wild one who said everything he shouldn’t, I didn’t believe in his character for a second, only thing more fake than him was his team mates which consisted of three cocky but nervous people who are sure and unsure about everything, meaning this movie just feels lost throughout.

Two wise old actors in Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman throw their cards on to the stage to add some wisdom into the production, this is badly needed but once again the feel of the film is fluffy so you never really get absorbed enough to care about the ending, when the last trick finally arrives you get that feeling that the idea to turn the movie off in the first quarter would have been a good idea in hindsight.

In conclusion the movie doesn’t work and the twist is just horrible.

4/10

KO

Pain & Gain (2013) Movie review ; This movie made me cry with laughter

I wasn’t expecting much when I began to watch this film, Mark Wahlberg is a questionable actor and Dwayne Johnson seems to be tackling every part that Arnold once accepted back in the 80’s.

It’s remarkable that this is a true story, and even more remarkable that Mark and Dwayne both deliver in what is a quirky but hilarious movie, in parts, I say in parts as it takes around fourty minutes to get going, but once the action gets busy this flick had me in stitches,I nearly lost my breath in one scene, it was very subtle but I still think there are enough scenes throughout that will have people holding their sides.

Probably Marks best roles since ”Boogie nights”, he plays a dumb bodybuilder who wants to improve his life by helping himself to somebody else’s money, enter Tony Shalhoub ( ”Men in Black” & ”Monk”) the mans comedy timing is priceless, his character shows levels of stress and frustration that has not been seen on the big screen for a long while.

A pleasant surprise that made me have a fit of laughter

8/10

KO

The Newsroom ( 2012) TV review – Season 1 ; A conflicting show

My immediate impression was to lust after this show, you have several characters who are competing with brains and ego in the news room, added to this you have Jeff Daniels who is very underrated actor, when you think back to his credits you have him as the lovable Lloyd in Dumb and Dumber, then as the romantic lead in ”The Goodbye girl” and now as the intellectual new anchor who purrs at the screen with an irresistible charm and sour wit, ”THE MAN HAS RANGE PEOPLE”.

Based on the first episode I was blown away, the writing seemed smart(from the creator of the ”West wing”) and I was interested in all of the lead actors, my excitement has dampened somewhat now I am into episode four, It still has the balls and the dialogue is clever but every now and again it touches on everything that the theme is fighting against, there are Alley Mcbeal moments, and constant relationship issues and power struggles throughout that kind of leaves a fluffy after glow to the show, I feel this is bating a certain type of audience and part of me wishes they had just made the show a tad bit more realistic, if a character is supposed to be an asshole , let him be an asshole, Jeff Daniels characters is mind bogglingly entertaining at times, but then he gets a conscience and goes round un laying golden track by apologising to people afterwards.

I hope it loses its fluff factor and zones in to the power struggles within the news more in the future.

This has the ingredients to go somewhere special!

7/10

KO

Surinder Singh – My video diary of my UK family exercising their EU treaty rights

In her reckless pursuit of lower immigration to the UK, Theresa May put UK citizens and settled people in a far less privileged position than EU nationals living in the UK. The rule changes Ms May implemented last year also meant that UK citizens living in other EU countries had more rights than if they lived in the UK. But thanks to a certain Mr Singh, they not only have more rights elsewhere in Europe, but they can bring them back to the UK under certain conditions. On the blogs and in the facebook groups of people affected by the family immigration rules, Surinder Singh has become a buzz word.
Surinder Singh himself was an Indian national working in Germany who married a British national who also worked there. They moved to the UK together, but the marriage broke down. Surinder was refused indefinite leave, then became an over stayer and deportation proceedings were initiated. In appealing against the proceedings it was argued that as his wife was a European citizen he should have originally been granted settlement rights, not the one year visa. In winning this case, in 1992, a legal precedent was set.
Bags
Now, twenty one years later we see people packing their bags and moving out of the UK to work in Europe and in doing so taking a major step towards reuniting their families in the UK. Dublin is a favourite, thanks to cultural similarities and a lack of language difficulties. But other destinations include in Italy, Spain, Germany and Portugal.
It is a move as good as sanctioned on the UKBA website. The guidance notes on EEA family permits clearly state:
“It does not matter if the only reason the British national went to another Member State was to exercise an economic Treaty right was so that he / she could come back to the UK with his / her family members under EC law.”
Initially it was the government position that if a British citizen had left the UK ‘in order to enable his family member to acquire rights’ the Surinder Singh route would not be available. Later, in the case of Akrich, JCWI secured the rights for people who had exercised Treaty rights regardless of motive.
There is nowhere which states if there is a required minimum period one has to be exercising Treaty rights for before qualifying for an EEA visa for a non-EU family member.
Documentation
When a UK / Non-EU couple arrive at another European country, there is no requirement for them to show any documentation other than their passports and marriage / civil partnership certificate. However, in some places immigration officials are unfamiliar with the rules around exercising your Treaty Rights, it is worth having a letter outlining your intent, and quoting Directive 2004/38/ec of the European Parliament which establishes the right of citizens of the Union and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States.
The Directive states:
“The right of all Union citizens to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States should, if it is to be exercised under objective conditions of freedom and dignity, be also granted to their family members, irrespective of nationality.”
There’s some interesting accounts of people’s experiences and discussions cropping up on facebook and other fora. There are tips on job hunting, accommodation, thrifty living and employment and bank accounts.
Farcical
These measures are legal, sanctioned in law and have nothing underhand or sneaky about them. People have been forced to take these routes to family unity here by farcical rules introduced by a Home Secretary who is hell bent on low immigration statistics whatever the human cost involved. The people having to pursue this route are, by definition, primarily low earners and the experience is not a cheap one. It is perhaps a dramatic display of love and determination to achieve family life.
Those that go through this experience should be applauded, especially by the mainstream political parties that constantly strain to be champions of family life. The worry is that their immigration rules are forcing families to become scattered and separated which is a costly matter for society. Politicians need to develop some consistency in their policies and start to genuinely promote family life for all they claim to represent.
The EU have published a more user friendly guide for people interested in living elsewhere in Europe.
 

– See more at: http://www.jcwi.org.uk/blog/2013/04/19/surinder-singh-and-family-unity#sthash.ZWZ3EvTC.dpuf

In her reckless pursuit of lower immigration to the UK, Theresa May put UK citizens and settled people in a far less privileged position than EU nationals living in the UK. The rule changes Ms May implemented last year also meant that UK citizens living in other EU countries had more rights than if they lived in the UK. But thanks to a certain Mr Singh, they not only have more rights elsewhere in Europe, but they can bring them back to the UK under certain conditions. On the blogs and in the facebook groups of people affected by the family immigration rules, Surinder Singh has become a buzz word.
Surinder Singh himself was an Indian national working in Germany who married a British national who also worked there. They moved to the UK together, but the marriage broke down. Surinder was refused indefinite leave, then became an over stayer and deportation proceedings were initiated. In appealing against the proceedings it was argued that as his wife was a European citizen he should have originally been granted settlement rights, not the one year visa. In winning this case, in 1992, a legal precedent was set.
Bags
Now, twenty one years later we see people packing their bags and moving out of the UK to work in Europe and in doing so taking a major step towards reuniting their families in the UK. Dublin is a favourite, thanks to cultural similarities and a lack of language difficulties. But other destinations include in Italy, Spain, Germany and Portugal.
It is a move as good as sanctioned on the UKBA website. The guidance notes on EEA family permits clearly state:

“It does not matter if the only reason the British national went to another Member State was to exercise an economic Treaty right was so that he / she could come back to the UK with his / her family members under EC law.”

Initially it was the government position that if a British citizen had left the UK ‘in order to enable his family member to acquire rights’ the Surinder Singh route would not be available. Later, in the case of Akrich, JCWI secured the rights for people who had exercised Treaty rights regardless of motive.
There is nowhere which states if there is a required minimum period one has to be exercising Treaty rights for before qualifying for an EEA visa for a non-EU family member.
Documentation
When a UK / Non-EU couple arrive at another European country, there is no requirement for them to show any documentation other than their passports and marriage / civil partnership certificate. However, in some places immigration officials are unfamiliar with the rules around exercising your Treaty Rights, it is worth having a letter outlining your intent, and quoting Directive 2004/38/ec of the European Parliament which establishes the right of citizens of the Union and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States.
The Directive states:

“The right of all Union citizens to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States should, if it is to be exercised under objective conditions of freedom and dignity, be also granted to their family members, irrespective of nationality.”

There’s some interesting accounts of people’s experiences and discussions cropping up on facebook and other fora. There are tips on job hunting, accommodation, thrifty living and employment and bank accounts.
Farcical
These measures are legal, sanctioned in law and have nothing underhand or sneaky about them. People have been forced to take these routes to family unity here by farcical rules introduced by a Home Secretary who is hell bent on low immigration statistics whatever the human cost involved. The people having to pursue this route are, by definition, primarily low earners and the experience is not a cheap one. It is perhaps a dramatic display of love and determination to achieve family life.
Those that go through this experience should be applauded, especially by the mainstream political parties that constantly strain to be champions of family life. The worry is that their immigration rules are forcing families to become scattered and separated which is a costly matter for society. Politicians need to develop some consistency in their policies and start to genuinely promote family life for all they claim to represent.
The EU have published a more user friendly guide for people interested in living elsewhere in Europe.
 

– See more at: http://www.jcwi.org.uk/blog/2013/04/19/surinder-singh-and-family-unity#sthash.ZWZ3EvTC.dpuf

The Best offer (2013) Movie review; A beautiful story caught on film

I am amazed that Geoffrey Rush has not appeared in more blockbuster movies, the man has skills beyond his back catalogue, he picked up the accolades for the Kings speech but apart from that he was just a face that you knew, once again he produces a mesmerising show in ”Best offer”, he has a knack of letting you know that you are watching the real deal whenever he appears on-screen, I would love for the man to be teamed up with the likes of Al Pacino, Jack Nicholson or even Daniel Day-Lewis, the man is a monster of an actor,and I feel his true ability will tell when he gets his chance with the big boys.

With that being said the story and dialogue is simply beautiful, at times I watched in envy as each scene closed only to bettered by what was to come,the use of the English language was elegantly delivered without feeling like a period novel was being forced down your throat.

One of my films of the year!

8/10

KO

 

 

Pascal Chimbonda; A man who threw his career away !

I remember when I first saw Pascal, he was flying down the wing like he had rockets for football boots, he seem to come out of nowhere and it was obvious that he would not be at Wigan for long, he then moved to Tottenham for £4.5 million,everything seemed on course to make Chimbonda the next big star of the Premier league, the richest league in the world,after showing an initial bright fire it wasn’t long before his career turned into smoke, by the time he left Tottenham they were desperate for him to go, the reports from the people inside the spurs camp was that of a man who had an attitude problem.

So when the club who forked out the best part of £5M for you don’t want you after one season, you go where all the rejects go; Sunderland on loan, Tottenham was hoping that he would maybe show a glimmer of the player he once was, in short he was average and in turn returned to his Spurs the following season.

He then slowly got passed down the league, from Blackburn to Qpr and then onto Doncaster.

The thing that stands out about this player is his lack of effort he shows once he receives a decent contract, you have to question a man who is happy to sit on the bench at so many clubs for so long, when he did show up on the pitch it seemed like he was going through the motions.

The man is now at his retirement age but he seems to have no pride or self-awareness of what he has to offer now, he has spent 95% of his career doing very little after promising brilliance, the crime with this player is that he truly did have all the tools to perform on the world stage, I find it remarkable that this man had no passion for the game, only for the dollar.

Now he is at non league Market Drayton he still seems to think that some naive club will fork out some money to pay is over inflated arse, Pascal, you have stolen an opportunity that thousands of fans would have given their right arm for, let your retirement years be your dignity years and not your blood out of a stone stage.

Total waster !

KO

11 Actors Who Hated Their Own Films …..

1. Sylvester Stallone, Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot. Sly doesn’t pull any punches when it comes to his film career. Despite co-starring with the delightful Estelle Getty as the titular violence-prone mother, Stallone knows just how bad the film was:

“I made some truly awful movies. Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot was the worst. If you ever want someone to confess to murder, just make him or her sit through that film. They will confess to anything after 15 minutes.”

2. Alec Guinness, Star Wars.

By the time he played Obi-Wan Kenobi in 1977’s Star Wars: A New Hope, Guinness had already appeared in cinematic classics like The Bridge on the River Kwai, Great Expectations and Lawrence of Arabia. During production, Guinness is reported to have said the following:

“Apart from the money, I regret having embarked on the film. I like them well enough, but it’s not an acting job, the dialogue – which is lamentable – keeps being changed and only slightly improved, and I find myself old and out of touch with the young.”

The insane amount of fame he won for the role as the wise old Jedi master took him somewhat by surprise and, ultimately, annoyed him. In his autobiography A Positively Final Appearance: A Journal, Guinness recalls a time he encountered an autograph-seeking fan who boasted to him about having watched Star Wars more than 100 times. In response, Guinness agreed to provide the boy an autograph under the condition that he promise never to watch the film again.

3. George Clooney, Batman & Robin. Sure, Batman & Robin made money. But by every other imaginable measure, the film was a complete failure, and a nightmare to the vast majority of the Caped Crusader’s most fervent fanatics. Star George Clooney recognized what a stinker he helped create and once plainly stated, “I think we might have killed the franchise.”

4. David Cross, Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked. When actors have a movie out, it’s customary that they publicize the film by saying nice things about it. Earlier this year David Cross took a different approach. When it came to describing his new film Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked, the veteran comedian — better known for Mr. Show and Arrested Development — went on Conan and called the film a “big commercial for Carnival Cruise Lines” and told people not to go see it.

5. Bob Hoskins, Super Mario Brothers. He was in Who Framed Roger Rabbit?. As far as I’m concerned, Bob Hoskins is forgiven for Super Mario Bros. Hoskins, though, doesn’t seem to be able to forgive himself. Last year the Guardian spoke with the veteran actor about his career and he summed up his feelings rather succinctly:

What is the worst job you’ve done?
Super Mario Brothers.

What has been your biggest disappointment?
Super Mario Brothers.

If you could edit your past, what would you change?
I wouldn’t do Super Mario Brothers.

6. Katherine Heigl, Knocked Up. Judd Apatow’s unplanned pregnancy comedy was a huge hit and helped cement her status as a bankable film actress. After the film’s release, however, Heigl didn’t have all good things to say. In fact, what she specifically said about it was that the film was:

“…A little sexist. It paints the women as shrews, as humorless and uptight, and it paints the men as lovable, goofy, fun-loving guys.”

7. Bill Cosby, Leonard Part 6. You’d think a film that features Cosby riding away from a dangerous situation on the back of an ostrich would be great, right? Not exactly. Cosby himself disliked the film so much that he told people they’d be throwing their money away to go see it. That’s probably why the $24 million production made back just under $5 million at the box office and won a Razzie for Worst Actor, Worst Screenplay and Worst Picture.

8. Charlize Theron, Reindeer Games. The 2000 action film Reindeer Games starred Ben Affleck, Gary Sinese and Charlize Theron and was directed by John Frankenheimer. But it all somehow failed to come together. In the end the film lost a lot of money and compiled a wealth of negative reviews – including one from its star actress who simply said, “Reindeer Games was not a good movie.”

9. Mark Wahlberg, The Happening. Mark Wahlberg doesn’t exactly seem like a guy who lives his life afraid of trees. But that is the odd position M. Night Shyamalan’s 2008 film The Happening put him in. Wahlberg, as it turns out, doesn’t look back too fondly on the film. He went on record during a press conference for The Fighter when he described a conversation with a fellow actor:

“We had actually had the luxury of having lunch before to talk about another movie and it was a bad movie that I did. She dodged the bullet. And then I was still able to … I don’t want to tell you what movie … alright “The Happening.” F*** it. It is what it is. F***ing trees, man. The plants. F*** it. You can’t blame me for not wanting to try to play a science teacher. At least I wasn’t playing a cop or a crook.”

10. John Cusack, Better Off Dead. John Cusack reportedly hated his cult 80s comedy so much that he walked out of the screening and later told the film’s director Steve Holland that Better Off Dead was “the worst thing I have ever seen” and he would “never trust you as a director again.”

11. Christopher Plummer, The Sound of Music. The Sound of Music is considered a classic and has delighted many generations of fans. But the film’s own lead actor, Christopher Plummer, isn’t ready to sing its praises. Mr. Von Trapp himself declined to participate in a 2005 film reunion and, according to one acquaintance, has referred to the film as The Sound of Mucus.

Read the full text here: http://mentalfloss.com/article/29791/11-actors-who-hated-their-own-films#ixzz2b8KlMsqS
–brought to you by mental_floss!

If you have anymore please add the quotes into the comments section !

Mud (2012) Movie review; Reminded me of the film ” stand by me ”

This movie shares its style with the film ”Stand by me”, they haven’t copied the film it just captures the youngsters naive quality as well as a sense of loneliness.

Matthew McConaughey puts in his best performance since ”Two for the money”, the man has class as an actor, he really shows some great detail in the emotion he is expressing throughout this film, when the dialogue alone is not enough it’s surprising how much Matthew can convey with just his eyes, that said I do look forward to the day when he leaves his shirt on,he must have it written into every script as I can’t think of film where is doesn’t take his top off, this film is no exception.

Part of me gets annoyed with the fact that he chooses so many bland movies in between the creative and interesting ones, namely … Magic Mike,Failure to launch,How to lose a guy in 10 days, I know you could argue an actor needs to act but I really think he has the talent to pick and choose a little more.

The second star of the show is little Tye Sheridan, he has a look that can cut a tree down, he reminds me of River Phoenix, in his no-nonsense and natural delivery on-screen.

The film in itself ticks many boxes, the story is original and keeps you guessing throughout, it also holds a rare quality which makes you feel comfortable within minutes of watching it, not many films can truly achieve 100% escapism for its audience,I can confirm that ”Mud” did this for me and I applaud the Director (Jeff Nichols).

8/10

KO