Screen Noir

A prequel to John Carpenters The Thing and so it goes by the same name and in some ways it does manage to entertain audiences like the original. It begins when Kate Lloyd a paleontologist is recruited to examine findings found by a Norwegian team under the ice of Antarctica which appears to be a frozen specimen of extra-terrestrial life, Lead scientist of the group Dr. Sander Halvorsen insists on taking a sample of the 'thing' they discover unaware that in doing so the creature awakens. After it breaks free from it's ice prison the 'Thing' goes on to attack several of the scientists and killing one before being dowsed in flames, however on learning that the creature can hypothetically imitate any life form including humans the crew begin to turn on one another and have to face off against the feeling of constant danger, isolation of their northern camp and fear that the 'Thing' could pick them off at any time. When it comes to acting in this film and while

It's a tough job taking a serious matter of a life threatening disease and making a heart warming tale while getting across a comedy theme at the same time, yet this film manages it incredibly well. Easy going Adam has his whole life ahead of him and with his simple lifestyle, supporting girlfriend and wisecracking best-friend not much was getting in the way of his happiness, yet after a casual back pain turns out to be a malignant tumor Adam's whole world is ripped apart. Being thrown into a whole new world of medication and therapies Adam has to literally adjust to survive, as those around him come together to support him, Adam's chances of survival swing back and fourth in a emotionally charged yet humorous film that really hits home as he comes to terms with having Cancer. Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays the role of Adam as usual amazingly, while Gordon-Levitt always puts his all into whatever film it is, in this he really commits and makes the audience care for Adam and w

When wealthy businessman and resident of luxury apartment complex The Tower, Arthur Shaw is found out to be caught up in a scam involving most of the Towers work force pensions. Josh Kovacs the tower's building manager is the man responsible for his friends financial losses after asking Shaw to invest them into his own company, out of guilt and determination when Shaw refuses to take responsibility and Josh and several of his friends are fired they decide to get even with Shaw and attempt to rob $20 million which is hidden somewhere within his apartment. On Thanksgiving Kovacs and co move in on Shaw's luxury apartment determined to get revenge and all the employees money back though not without several hitches, including the thief and ex-con Slide and The Towers state of the art security, can they pull off the heist of 2011? Ben Stiller takes the leading role (Josh Kovacs) and takes to it as usual with pacing and straight face comedy similar to his other past roles but depend

On the day you hit 25 your life begins... Once you hit that age you stop aging and your earnings become your life, so the social Darwinsm of the situation is the poor die young, while the rich can live forever, until one man decides to give his time away. Will Salas is just another worker in the system of such a corrupt life who saves every second of time in an attempt to survive as long as possible, one day Will meets Henry Hamilton a man with a century of life ticking away though a man who understands the flaws of the system enough to hate it. Henry gives all of his remaining time to Will as he sleeps leaving him the message 'Don't waste my time' so Will sets out a newly made man willing to make a difference in the system of life. Right of the bat while Justin Timberlake may have some occasional moments of charisma as the lead (Will Salas)  his character seems to be missing the spark of genius that really should drag you into his story or it could be the fact Timberlake

Unlike most films this year Contagion brings an almost cautionary tale of what fear can really do to people at the worst of times. Following several people's lives other a course of time as a deadly virus begins to spread across the planet ranging from America to Hong Kong and everywhere between, while some use it as a way to make money, others are frantically trying to find a cure and everyone else is about to get caught up in a wave of panic that has an effect in society similar to the damage of it's corresponding virus. As fear ripples across the world things begin to crumble leaving those in charge the task of finding a cure before time runs out. No one actor holds up the torch as a protagonist yet out of the roster of big names and screen time the emotional story comes from Matt Damon's character (Mitch Emhoff) who loses both wife(Gwyneth Paltrow) and step son as the virus kicks off and finds desperation in making sure his daughter is safe, and as far as emotion goes

Paul W.S Anderson takes a break from zombies to bring a new adaption of the musketeers and their thrilling adventures or so they should be. Athos, Aramis and Parthos are the legendary three musketeers known throughout France for their courage and bravery (in this version they appear to be a renaissance version of the A-Team for some reason...)  yet when one adventure in Venice goes wrong with the betrayal of Milady de Winter the three fall from their pedestal of honors and find themselves hiding away, leaving their status to fade to that of a myth. One year on D'Artagnan, an upstart and arrogant young lad travels to Paris in the hopes of becoming a musketeer, while other cogs begin to turn as the Cardinal of France begins his own plot to change the shape of France and take control from the king. The task then falls to the out of luck musketeers who set out to help France in a time of need, gain back their respect and put a stop to the Cardinal's plot. Matthew Mcfayden(Athos),

Physics teacher Brendan Conlon finds himself in desperate enough circumstances to turn back to his old profession of mixed martial arts in order to support his family, while his brother Tommy Conlon arrives back in town after returning from Afghanistan and the mysterious events which took place there. Both brothers soon find themselves training to enter the Sparta mixed martial arts tournament, their father Paddy Conlon a recovering alcoholic wants to make up to his sons and so he starts training Tommy and also tries reaching out to Brendan. The brothers have to face not only the strong fighting capabilities of their opponents but also the events of the past and a broken family life, in order to come out on top of the tournament and  finally resolve their issues in the ring. Filling the roles of the battling brothers our Joel Edgerton as Brendan Conlon, who while not being the biggest name in cinema plays the part of struggling family man and teacher well, often at best though when p

Based on the novel by John le Carre, this is an engaging spy thriller is packed with a stellar cast and grabs your attention from the beginning of the first scene. After an operation with the soviets goes wrong in Budapest, George Smiley is sent into retirement by the government, yet when information comes to light that there's a mole in the system and the entire nation's security is in danger, Smiley is thrown back into the mix. Smiley bands together those he can trusts and sets out to find out who has betrayed their country. As things develop he finds out that Budapest was no accident, that those he knew well may have betrayed even him and that know one can be trusted. With double agents, false information, shady deals and a system full of lies George Smiley the spy must find out whether it was the tinker, tailor or soldier who commit treason against queen and country. All the cast in this film were excellently cast each playing their role with the up most believable perfor

This monster remake brings true vampires back with a bite. When a number of students start disappearing from school, Ed a paranormal nut and seeming to be twilight reader believes that the lack of class numbers is in correlation to the arrival of his friends new neighbor Jerry. Charley Brewster Ed's best friend, dismisses the ramblings of Ed and ditches him for his girlfriend but that night when his friend doesn't show up like the others, Charley thinks his friend may have been onto something. After being unnerved by the new neighbor and fearing that he may strike at his family and friends Charley steps up to the plate for an old fashion slaying, even going as far as attempting to enlist vampire expert Peter Vincent. When Jerry unleashes hell upon Charley and raises the stakes the two go into all out war and this time its slay, or be killed. Anton Yelchin takes the lead as Charley Brewster who is faced with the fight of his life with supernatural forces, the nerd feel and awk

As usual a vision kicks in for our hero seemingly showing his death and the demise of those around him, to his realization and becoming the mysterious savior of the day. Sam Lawton manages to pull everyone away from their destined deaths and the disastrous bridge collapse only to find out that they were all meant to die and death is eager for each of them to pay up their lives (So far, so standard Final Destination) However a game changer is thrown into the mix when a mysterious forensics officer informs the group of survivors that the only way to fully cheat death is to give death what it wants, saying that if they kill, they live. Can the group live through the film and do they have what it takes to save their own lives by taking another, the death cheating scenario continues. If you've ever seen an american style Horror/thriller teen flick you know the drill, a load of good looking lads and lasses face their demise as well as the generally stereotypical roles that have become c

A new take on the Conan mythology for a new audience. As a young boy Conan is eager to prove himself in battle and being born on the battlefield, Conan is no stranger to death. Khalar Zym an ancient warrior desperate to bring back his sorceress wife sets out to find the mystical mask that can bring her back, though it was shattered into several pieces Khalar manages to recover them all except one which lies hidden in the barbarian village kept safe by Corin, Conan's father. Khalar invades the village with his severe army and attempts to take the last piece while Corin and Conan stand together against him, however they appear to be no match against the scale of his armies and ultimately end up trapped, With Corin giving his life for his son and Khalar leaving them both for dead. Conan sets out, his journey from boy to barbarian ahead of him and only the hope of vengeance to push him forward. Jason Momoa does a good job of playing the brutal and brave barbarian, delivering the phys

Will, Jay, Simon and Neil are going the way of Kevin and Perry and hitting the big screen for a larger than life adventure if a mature nature. When Simon is left heart broken by long time love intrest Carly, Jay and the rest of the guys decide the best way to help there grieving friend and celebrate the end of their school lives is to embark on a wild lads holiday to Malia. Let loose the carnage of chasing after girls and drinking endless amounts of alcohol and as always the many awkward situations the group find themselves constantly facing, will this trip be the shining entrance into mature life or will they sink and find themselves sleeping face first in an ants nest, most likely a mixture of both as the finale of the Inbetweeners ends abroad. What can i say each of the guys shines with the same grace as the series maybe even stepping it up a notch and making you actually care about the predicaments the four rowdy lads face. Simon Bird (Will) shows the pretentious twerp who can ne

Yes, this film does actually exist and no it's not some sleazy looking rip off of a blockbuster film. Anyway the film starts with Jake Lonergan awakening in the middle of the wild west, with no idea of who he is or what happened to him, all he has left as a clue is a strange metallic bracelet which he can't remove. After a brief fist fight and acquiring a cowboy get up Jake heads into a nearby town to seek out answers. Getting into a ruck with a local businessman's son and stitched up by the local doctor are the only things Jake manages to achieve before being knocked out and handed over to the law by mystery girl, Ella Swenson. The Businessman, Woodrow Dolarhyd heads back to town to free his son whilst something else moves through the skies, while the humans bicker the aliens swoop down and start stealing people off the dusty streets. When Jake appears to be the only one able to fight back with his shiny new bracelet, Woodrow eager to save his son takes volunteers and a di

Acting as a way to reboot the classic science fiction drama of the original Planet of the Apes, Rise of the Planet of the Apes shows how it all began and what lead the apes to rise up. When scientist, Will Rodman researches what he believes to be a cure for Alzheimer's on a group of chimpanzees he discovers the virus strain, ALZ-112  has other prolonged advantages. Mid way through the presentation that could have seen the virus accepted in the medical community, one of the testing chimpanzees escapes and causes mayhem ruining the pitch. As Will finds out later the outburst was caused by maternal instincts after being separated from her child and not related to the virus, which leads him to take in the orphaned ape Caesar to avoid him being killed and also to continue the virus testing which in turn lead to possibilities and also consequences way beyond what he had imagined. James Franco takes to the role of Will Rodman and shows he can take on serious roles again (127 Hours) inst

When a group of friends come together to try and make a monster movie they get more than they bargained for, as the camera rolls on their makeshift set a car speeds into the path of an oncoming train and throwing them way out of their depth. As the town is plagued with disappearances and mysteries, Joe and his film-making friends set out to find the cause of all the trouble while Joe's father Jackson a local deputy, tries to find the truth behind the lurking military presence in the small town and their interest with the train wreckage. Caught up in a bizzare event that impacts the whole town, the group set out to find the truth and finish the short film along with trying to find out what connects everything. Joel Courtney plays the young Joe Lamb, who not only faces the supernatural events but also must comes to the terms of the loss of his mother, his performance alone is good but shines even brighter with his interactions with both Girl next door, Alice Dainard(Elle Fanning) a

Steve Rogers is desperate to go to war and stand for justice, strength and the great American way. Though Steve has courage and bravery he lacks the physical build of a solider and so when it comes to enlisting he's often pushed aside and told to go home. Seeing Rogers determination, Dr. Abraham Erskine signs him up under a new project to create the perfect soldier, Steve has to prove himself worthy of the opportunity to the US military and show them that the program is indeed worth all the time and money. Emerging from the program with new strengh and even more courage Steve Rogers, quickly winds up in the spotlight and named the protector of freedom, Captain America. Steve must adapt to his new status and build in time to face off against the evil Nazi scientist Johann Schmidt/The Red Skull and prevent evil from prevailing as the first avenger. Chris Evans is once again put in the role of a marvel character this time proving that the first avenger isn't just an over powered

When three good friends Nick, Kurt and Dale meet up one night complaining once again of their over bearing and life sucking bosses, they decide it's time to do something about it. After consulting someone with experience  Dean 'MF' Jones, at a seedy bar miles outside their comfort zones the three would-be-murders decide each one should kill the others boss to hide their affiliations and motives. Staking out, scheming and outrageous plots fuel their quest for justice and so starts a mad attempt of the every man trying to get even with life. Jason Bateman feels like the glue holding the trio together with his dry/nice guy comedy, whilst Charlie Day plays the weakling of the group getting the but of the jokes and Jason Sudeikis stands for the crude jokes and many of the faceplam moments of the film, rounding off a rather believable group of friends. Playing the opposing team of 'Horrible Bosses' is Kevin Spacey as Dave Harken, an egotistical and arrogant guy who is s

'The Boy who lived.... Come to Die' Hogwarts is in flames, Students and Death eaters battle through the ancient halls and Harry Potter is ready for the final showdown with Lord Voldemort. After leaving off the first part with 3 of the Dark lords Horcruxes destroyed the heroic trio are left with the task of destroying the final 4 pieces of Voldemort's soul. From a daring bank heist atop a dragon from Gringotts to find another Horcrux, Harry believes another is hidden still at Hogwarts and so the group head back to a drastically changed castle under the control of none other than Severus Snape, who under the watchful eye of Voldemort has full control of the magical school of witchcraft and wizardry. Discovering Harry has returned Voldemort prepares his dark followers and takes flight for the final battle, while Professor McGongall, alongside the rest of the teachers and students of Hogwarts and the Order of the Phoenix ready themselves to stand between him and Harry. The ra

The war between the Autobots and the Decepticons continues as the human race comes to learn that landing on the moon was a larger leap for mankind then anyone knew. Optimus Prime alongside the Autobots are still searching for their enemies including a new Decepticon hidden in the ruins of Chernobyl, Shockwave who turns out to be guarding part of a lost Autobot ship upon discovering this, Optimus realizes that secrets are being hidden from the otherworldly bots. Meanwhile Sam Witwicky is trying to settle into everyday life with new girlfriend Carly Spencer, though he's dragged back into the on going war when he finds himself holding evidence that shows Sentinel Prime, whom Optimus brings to earth from the long dead Autobot ship hidden on the moon may be keeping something hidden as well. The Decepticons finally put into motion a plot that will bring humanity to its knees and crush the Autobots alongside them, with the trap closing and odds stacked against them can Optimus and the Aut

Admittedly i had no idea what i was going to see when i walked into the cinema yet when i walked out i was entertained and inspired by a very moving documenting the life and career of Artyon Senna. The film shows the trial and tribulations that Senna found himself facing in Formula One, from his rivalry with fellow Mclaren driver Alain Prost on the track, to the on-going politics behind the scenes. Using clips recorded from his races and other occasions it reveals the side of a sportsman both in and out of the game, giving a full view of the kind of man Senna was and the amount of inspiration he gave not just Brasil but the whole world. A man who truly devoted himself and gave 100% to try and achieve his dreams in life and a man who never let anything get him down, he would always carry on even when struggling. Usually i would comment on the cast and then give my view on the film itself but here that doesn't really apply, though as i said i went into this not really knowing what i

In brightest day, in blackest night.... you get the drift, Hal Jordan an arrogant and brash young test pilot is wondering who he really is after a failed field test of a new type of plane. Across the galaxy Abin Sur a legend amongst the Green Lantern Corps and the one who sealed Parallax, an evil planet concurring alien away is attacked by his old enemy and badly injured is forced to crash land on Earth. Abin Sur sends his ring to 'Choose wisely' and select a new owner who upholds the Green Lantern way of fearless courage age and a strong will, which leads the ring to Hal. With a new shiny ring on his finger it's up to Hal to train himself and his will to protect Earth and his sector of the galaxy from 'those who worship evil's might' with the help of the other Green Lanterns Kilawog and Tomar-re, Hal must prove himself to the planet and  a legendary Green Lantern, Sinestro. Others such as Hector Hammond, a scientist with daddy-issues who contaminates himself ac

A step forward in the evolution of the X-Men, this time going right back to the roots of both Professor X and Magneto. While Eric Lensherr takes his magnetic beginnings from the horrific events of the Holocaust and his powers are forced to wake by the Nazi scientist Dr. Klaus Schmidt, Charles Xavier learns he isn't the only 'Different' person in the world when befriending Raven Darkholme, a young girl who can change her appearance however she pleases. Years later in 1962 Eric sets out to find Dr. Schmidt, now calling himself Sebastian Shaw the leader of the Hellfire club, who has drawn the attention of the CIA with his shady schemes with Russia and the possibility of starting an all at nuclear war between Russia and the USA. Enlisted by the CIA, Charles tries to help capture Shaw and his mutants but there powers overwhelm him leaving him severly disadvantaged until Eric steps in and tries to stop Shaw himself though Charles manages to persuade Eric to let Shaw escape and fi

This isn't essential your average horror film, as it actually has a fairly decent and almost believable storyline as far as horror films go. While the upstarting Lambert family of five move into a new suburban everything isn't as blissful and happy as it should be(underlying marital problems, again.....) and as with every american film set in a suburban house things soon begin to go amiss, when one of the children, Dalton goes exploring into the attic and seems to get the attention of some unfriendly other worldly demons. After taking a clumsy fool of on old and broken ladder, Dalton is sent into a mysterious coma leaving his parents Josh and Renai to try and get back on with life while trying to cope with their son's unknown illness. Josh and Renai however soon find out there is more to the coma than meets the eye and soon strange and freighting things begin to happen in the new house... This film doesn't have as many big stars as some of the other films its competin

The Wolf pack is back! this time in Bangkok for Stu's wedding, while Stu wants a quite and simple wedding we all know thats not going to happen. a few days before the wedding a simple beer around the bonfire goes bad and leaves Stu, Phil and Alan with another Hangover from hell with no memory of the previous night and no idea where Stu's bride-to-be's brother, Teddy has ended up. An outrageous set of events take place and our remebered to the backdrop of Bangkok where the Wolfpack must race against an impeding wedding once again, while dealing with Mr.chow, a monk who's taken a vow of silence and a business deal about to go wrong, Will the Wolfpack prevail against the overwhelming odds for a second time? All the key characters play the part of the hungover idiots without a clue for a second time, who have once again screwed up 'big time' from Stu(Ed Helms) and his role of the disappointing dentist who wants to shows he's more than just a teeth puller to hi

Argghhh it be another swashbuckling adventure with the classic Jack Sparrow, ahem sorry, Captain Jack Sparrow and this time minus the bumbling pirate wannabes Will and Elizabeth. As Jack Sparrow(Johnny Depp) journeys fourth on another adventure, this time to find the fountain of youth he comes face to face with the legendary and fearsome pirate, Captain Blackbeard(Ian Mcshane) and his saucy minx of a daughter Angelica(Penelope Cruz). Not only Jack and Blackbeard are after eternal youth but also on the same trail is Jack's former first mates, Gibbs(Kevin Mcnally) and the treacherous Captain Barbosa(Geoffrey Rush) who is now working for king and country after losing the pearl when facing Blackbeard. Each group make their way to find eternal youth in a daring race with double crossing and deceiving writhe in the air, the fourth installment really does have the feel of a true pirate tale, adding the usual fantasy elements of supernatural ideas of everlasting life, mermaids and of cours

By the power of Asgard, a norse god with a hammer dominating the cinemas in the 21st century, maddness you say? Well it's happening and now you ask what is this trechary of a film about good sir? Fear not I shall inform you. Thor (Chris Hemsworth), our hero, is eager to prove himself worthy of taking over his father the dying King of Asgard, Odin (Anthony Hopkins) and that he is aware of the responsibility it takes to be a leader. Thor believes that to prove himself he needs to show his strength as a warrior and so sets out to the land of the Frost Giants in order defeat the Asgardians long term enemy. However, Loki (Tom Hiddleston)Thor's brother, reports his sibling to their father who in a rage goes forward and steps in between Thor and The Leader of the Frost Giants, unable to prevent the fury of the enemy and all out war Odin has no choice but to banish Thor to earth. With Thor's banishment he must come to terms with his new found hummanity with the help of Jane Foster

What film could ever be worse than Fast and Furious (the fourth film) which is so tediously boring most people forget anything and everything that happened in it? Luckily not Fast Five which retains the high octane action car chases that the first two in the series focused on and adds to it by creating a new scenario which transforms the old formula in to a relatively different way in making it a bank heist. So it begins, Dom Toretto is back from the brinks of prison and Brian O'Conner is there as usual to be morally ambiguos and look confused on qeue, this leads them to 'one last job' and then they'll dissapear for good. With a bank heist film, you have the robbers (Toretto and O'Conner) then you have the cops, who in this case is the government agent Luke Hobbs (Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson) who is determined to bring Toretto down for good. Vin Diesel is at his best once again at playing the hard man with the plan, while Paul Walker, i feel has to rely on F

First off this is the only scream I've ever seen, so i can't in anyway compare it to the previous three however and can give a definitive view on 4, and I'm going to be honest i don't often watch a lot of horror then again films but then again this isn't really a classic horror style film more over its an awesomely good satirical look at what horror films try to be. It starts off with a star studded mock film within a film within a film(a bit like inception)called Stab and several sequels and when i comes to the actual film and the murders start flying, its already started to entertain.The main flow of the story kicks off when Sidney Presscott(the survivor of the first three) returns to her home of Woodsboro to promote her book and all hell breaks loose and the events that occurred 15 years prior begin to repeat themselves but this time for her cousin Jill Roberts and her group of friends. Every role in this film is good but i did really enjoy the idiot cop routin

This film.... just, no. Whoever thought this was a good idea clearly needs to be fired, anyway lets get to it. The concept is innocent/sweet girl loses mother and is left with evil step dad(Oh its a Disney story?...think again) When he starts attacking the two young orphan girls, the eldest (who becomes known as Babydoll, yeah....) in an attempt to defend herself, finds evil step dad's handgun and goes to shoot him, but has the worst aim in the world(Or worlds greatest ricocheting bullet) and ends up shooting her sister, giving him enough leverage to put her in an insane asylum(Strangely, it isn't Arkham) Its from this point what happens is really just crazy unnecessary screen time of awkward dream sequences and the Asylum transforming into a brothel/theater hybrid. Babydoll is then left with the task to escape by getting various items to aid there escape, each time she must cause a distraction through the form of dancing and at which time her mind creates fantasies to distract

'As usual you will have 8 minutes' Well it takes me ages to get anything done so i guarantee that this wont get done in 8 minutes.... Unlike me is Captain Colter Stevens who after a terrorist attack on a train in Chicago,  awakes in a mysterious chamber to find he is connected to a system named the source code. Inside the source code he is continuously looped into an 8 minute segment of time in order to find and prevent a bomber from a second even more devastating attack. Trapped in another mans body in his last 8 minutes of life, Colter has no idea where he is, what's happening or how he got there and as an unknown military organisation pushes him to complete his mission he struggles to find the answers he seeks. Eventually Colter, by using the source code itself to his advantage, can begin to search for the truth and reveal who he really is. All the four central characters are portrayed really well, Jake Gyllenhaal is awesome as ever in portraying Colter trapped in c

Limitless. The idea, the concept, the cast, i really wanted to enjoy this, from the moment i saw the trailer i said 'i'm seeing this!' yet in reality nothing is as good as the drug NZT, which enhances you to the point where your intelligence mocks that of Einstein and gives you the charisma to sleep with any woman in sight. Bradley Cooper (great in previous films like The Hangover and the admittedly over the top A-Team) seemed quite bland as the drug addicted writer-turned-businessman Eddie Morra, maybe its not that his acting was out of place but the character just seemed really dull. Robert De Niro seems to be a wasted talent (with a very short amount of screen time) his character is shown as a big businessman who acts at first as push for Eddie into a business tycoon, who then turns to a potential threat. The third and really final  main character playing Eddie's girlfriend is Abbie Cornish who honestly only appears at points where the a random character is needed to

Smart, flashy and full of spirit,adding Matthew McConaughey would usually ruin the films credibility so shock horror i was amazed that i actually really enjoyed this court room drama, all the acting is well performed, you actually want McConaughey to win in the end, and you really want that posh little git to go down,and i myself was even saddened by the death of his friend Frank AKA 'the shoveler' his mustache held my gaze in every scene it appeared, it was terrific. My main point being that you actually felt something for the characters a clear idea of who to route for and who to condemn, which ironically is the main problem McConaughey's character faces, as a lawyer defending 'Posh git' who he comes to realize actually did the crime he's being accused of and a previous murder McConaughey was again the defense and pushed his client for a guilty plead, now he realizes, he made the wrong assumptions. I find it fascinating how good McConaughey is in this, whi