Quite simply put this is a piece of genius that looks set to invade the charts following a Facebook campaign and over 1 million views on Youtube. Buttery Biscuit Base combines edited pieces of Masterchef's Gregg Wallace and John Torode and comes up with something amazingly catchy. Personally I hope Buttery Biscuit Base will assault the UK charts and provide a welcome change from the trash that currently sits there.
I urge you to buy the song from iTunes and have a listen from the video link below.
'The Guard' is a new dark comedy from John Michael McDonagh, the brother of 'In Bruge' writer/director Martin McDonagh. The film follows an Irish policeman who is teamed up with an American F.B.I. agent in order to investigate a drug smuggling ring. Now that might sound abit strange because well.... it is, but with Brendan Gleeson and Don Cheadle in the lead roles this film looks hilarious.
'In Bruges' is one of my favourite comedies and John Michael McDonagh appears to have the exact sense of humour as his brother because let's say this film won't be for everyone. Gleeson and Cheadle are terrific actors and seem to have great chemistry judging by their scenes together. Add in Mark Strong and Liam Cunnigham and there is a very promising cast.
'The Guard' will be released on 19th August and is not one to miss.
Following the cancelation of another one of their gigs following lead singer Caleb storming off stage in search for a beer and not returning. The Kings of Leon bassist Jared was forced to admit that the band has "big problems" to deal with.
The problems had begun the previous night in Dallas with Caleb complaining about problems with his voice he went in search for a beer and to vomit he told the crowd that he would return afterward. Unfortunatly for the thousands of fans this didn't materialise (Video of this below).
There has been no word on whether or not this will have an effect on the rest of the dates on the bands US tour all we can do is wait.
The next animated master piece from the wonderful Studio Ghilbi, headed by Hayao Miyazaki, comes in the form of this title, Arrietty. Based on the English novel by Mary Norton, The Borrowers, Arrietty had a budget of a massive $23 Million and won the 'Animation of the Year' award at the 34th Japan Academy Prize, following in the footsteps of Ghibli film 'Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea' which won the award in 2009.
Arrietty follows the story of the borrowers, a group of tiny people who live under floorboards, unbeknown to the humans that live there. Main character Arrietty, behind her mother and father's backs, strikes up a friendship with a boy who lives in the house, Sho. Once she is fouind out, her father, pod, deciedes its best fo r the whole family to move.
Its then up to Arrietty and Sho to save her family, as the maid of the house, Haru, unearth the Borrowers home, and calls for a pest removal company to help towards the extinction of the Borrowers race... This title is a must see, with it recently being released over here in the UK. Expect a full review of 'Arrietty the Borrower' very soon.
Cast: Kevin James, Rosario Dawson, Leslie Bibb, Donnie Wahlberg, Ken Jeong, (Voices) Sylvester Stallone, Cher, Adam Sandler, Nick Nolte
"Plot": A group of zoo animals decide to break their code of silence in order to help their lovable zoo keeper (James) find love - without opting to leave his current job for something more illustrious.
What I have just seen can not be unseen. This may be the worst film I have ever seen - and I've watched 'Avatar: The Last Airbender'. 'Zookeeper' is unspeakably terrible, mind numbingly awful, stab your self in the eyes bad and may lead to you subconsciously fantasise about killing Kevin James. There was little hope of 'Zookeeper being good because number one it had the fat tub of sh*t from 'Paul Blart' as the star, but I couldn't imagine that it would be this bad.
Truthfully there is a lot more wrong with 'Zookeeper' than just its leading man, but he is the route cause. I do hate Kevin James; in fact I despise Kevin James. He isn't funny, he has an annoying face and his only supposed "appeal" is that he is fat and makes idiots laugh when he falls over. Oh and boy does he fall over. I counted that it was 5 minutes into the film before James fell into something. I assumed this would be a running trend and sure enough the punchline to every scene was James falling over or into something. And if he wasn't tumbling over he was fumbling his words. He would do this face when talking nervously that made me want to reach through the screen throttle him (I really don't like him). These are essentially the only two things James does in order to be "funny"; fall and stutter.
This is the film for pretty much the first 15 minutes and I was about ready to burst into tears. Then the animals start talking in order to help him get the girl of his dreams, Stephanie (Leslie Bibb) and of course hilarity ensues....wrong. The film plummets even further and reaches a point where there is no saving it. The advice given to James' Griffin is so retarded that anyone with half a brain would ignore it, but no he is such a f*cking idiot that he thinks the bears advice to growl at people is a good idea. That's not the only nugget of gold they give him; a wolf tells him to p*ss on trees to mark his territory,which he does, and a frog advises him to inflate his throat to intimidate Stephanie's ex boyfriend, which he of course does.
Then there's the girl he is chasing, Stephanie, who is so out of his league she should have punched him if he even talked to her. But this is some sort of parallel universe where fat people that fall over a lot are perfect suitors for gorgeous blonde women. But no, this is not enough for Kevin James to have one woman pursue him, fellow zookeeper Rosario Dawson must also have an unexplained want for this man that falls over a lot. It is just annoying to see this talentless man that falls over a lot get these women that wouldn't even bat an eyelid at him - and this is more unbelievable in a film where animals talk.
The animals themselves are voiced by some well known people with Sylvester Stallone and Cher voicing lions, Adam Sandler voicing doing his Billy Madison shtick for a monkey and Nick Nolte plays a gorilla that loves TGI Fridays. That's right the restaurant. In a shameless plug the gorilla asks if it as good as it looks to which Griffin replies "It's pretty great!". He may as well have turned and looked at the camera. But then it gets even worse in a particularly torturous sequence they go inside the restaurant with the cover that they are going to a costume party. At this point I thought it couldn't get worse; how wrong I was.
The very loose plot somehow gets stretched out to 90 minutes, which of course means lots of falling over; whether it be off a chair, while getting into a car or OFF A BRIDGE James just kept falling over. he story is so predictable and stupid that it isn't worth complaining about because you know how it ends after having watched the trailer. There are stupid sub plots with Donnie Wahlberg (who doesn't seem to understand this wasn't a serious movie) and a job at a car showroom that are ultimately there to pad out out the running time.
I must however admit I laughed at the monkey. There is something about a monkey that sounds like Billy Madison that just made me chuckle. He didn't even say anything funny he just had a stupid voice but for some reason I chuckled. I was almost ashamed of myself. There is also potential in the two lions who bicker about the male lion Joe just lying around all day while the lioness does the work, which could have been amusing but they don't run with it because Kevin James hadn't fallen down for five minutes.
This is a travesty to film and actually made me angry because there seems to have been no attempt to make a watchable film. Even for kids this is trash. Hopefully Kevin James never works again and Adam Sandler will stop putting him in the films that he passes up on. But that's just wishful thinking because someone somewhere will watch this and be amused at a fat man that falls off an ostrich. Yes he fell off an ostrich! F*ck this movie.
Rating:
This video from the guys at Redlettermedia perfectly sums up how terrible this film it and I thought I had to put it on here because they share my hatred for these type of films. Enjoy
'Tucker & Dale Vs Evil' is a new low budget horror/comedy film that stars Alan Tudyk and Tyler Labine as the title heroes. Tucker and Dale are on vacation at their mountain cabin when they across a group of teenagers camping in the woods. The teenagers mistake the well meaning duo as murderous hillbillies and accidentally kill themselves in front of the hapless Tucker and Dale when attempting to run from them.
Keep an eye out for this film, it has so far got no UK release date but is likely to come out on DVD and BluRay very soon. It looks great and has such a fun concept that I haven't really seen or heard of before. The movie has a 'Shaun of the Dead' feel about it and could be alot of fun having been well received at Sundance last year.
This is the next weekly installment of my Artist of the Week Segment!! Every week I will be showcasing some artwork that I have stumbled across, from a range of different artists from many different countries.
Another vampire film.....sigh. 'Twilight' has all but killed the vampire genre for me personally, but 'Fright Night' looks to revive that by remaking the 80's horror classic. The film sees teenager Charley (Anton Yelchin) begin to suspect that his next door neighbour (Colin Farrell) is a vampire with Christopher Mintz-Plasse (MCLOVIN), Toni Collette and Doctor Who himself David Tennant rounding out an impressive cast.
The film looks to be good fun and a decent horror flick with Farrell and Tennant looking particularly good as vampire and vampire hunter. There is a significant shift in tone half way through the trailer with it starting out as 'Superbad 2' than changing into a paranoid horror film. I for one are looking forward to this and hopefully it lives up to the hype.
Directed by Craig Gillespie, 'Fright Night' is out on September 2nd in the UK.
Cast: Jason Bateman, Ben Affleck, Mila Kunis, Kristen Wiig, J.K.Simmons, Clifton Collins Jnr, Dustin Milligan, David Koechner
Plot: Joel (Bateman), the owner of an Extract plant, tries to contend with myriad personal and professional problems, such as his potentially unfaithful wife (Wiig), pot smoking friend (Affleck) and employees (Kunis and Collins Jnr) who want to take advantage of him.
On the cusp of the last decade Mike Judge released 'Office Space', which related to so many workers who hated their similarly dull office jobs. The film has since become something of a cult classic for its satirical depiction of the 1999 office era. Now Judge has returned almost ten years later with another work based comedy 'Extract', which is ultimately a disappointment and commits one of the biggest crimes a comedy film can; just not being that funny.
What worked so well in 'Office Space' is almost completely absent here. The humour is not nearly as subtle and a lot of the jokes feel forced. It's a real shame because the talent on show are a group of incredibly talented comedians and actors with the likes of Jason Bateman, Mila Kunis, Ben Affleck and Kristen Wiig all failing to find real laughs. Bateman plays Joel who is essentially any other character he has played in these kind of films over the past few years, but on sleepwalk mode. He seems slightly disinterested at times, but he does get the occasional chuckle because after all he is usually great at playing the very straight straight man.
The rest of the cast don't fair much better because really there aren't any jokes. There are long conversations about things that are supposed be funny but it doesn't seem to go anywhere. There are some funny things that happen, but not much amusing that is actually said. Ben Affleck's Dean probably has some of the best lines, but they only standout because they get slight chuckles. Similarly Dustin Milligan plays a gigolo that Joel pays to try and tempt his wife into an affair and while what happens is quite funny the character Brad is unbelievably one note. He is just an idiot and that's it essentially and while Judge makes an attempt for us to try and empathise with the meathead later on in the film, it fails because he's not particularly likable.
What I do quite like about this film however are some of the supporting characters who have very little screen time. David Koechner plays a nosey next door neighbour who has one of the funnier plot lines; small though it maybe, while a lot of the staff at Joel's extract factory are much more amusing than the main characters because we get get quick small doses of comedy that actually works.
By focusing on the factory workers life Judge has made quite a big change from the brilliant satire of corporate bigwigs in 'Office Space'. But what is different he doesn't really look into the workers like previously but more tries to tell a story and for the most part it's interesting as Joel struggles to keep his factory afloat. Employee "Step" (Collins Jnr) loses both his testicles in an accident and threatens to sue after crook Cindy (Kunis) convinces him that he could get millions from the company. This is the main problem faced by Joel (as well as his wife's misdemeanors) and is what works best about 'Extract' because you don't want to see factory staff lose their jobs.
What is slightly peculiar about 'Extract' however is that there doesn't appear to be a "bad guy". Mila Kunis is supposed to be manipulative but at times you are also supposed to like her, her character isn't entirely clear and quite conflicted, but not in good way. Then out of nowhere Gene Simmons comes in as a lawyer aiming to clear Joel out for everything he has and we are supposed to hate him apparently. He is introduced far too late and is completely ineffective as a 'villain' because he literally just appears in one scene (which is actually quite funny).
'Extract' isn't great. There are few chuckles but with such a talented cast I can't help but see this as a missed opportunity. There just isn't enough here to get excited about, but if it was on TV on a Wednesday when I had nothing else to, I would probably watch it...... if there was NOTHING else to do.
The Beastie Boys are finally back. Following the long delay on this album after MCA got cancer, the trio have finally finished what was supposed to be a 2 part project and have only released Part Two. With this being the 8th Studio album from the New York collective I'm pleased to announce that with the previous 7 the Beastie boys have managed to keep the fun feelings and distinctive sound that have ran throughout previous albums such as the seminal Check your Head and Paul's Boutique. Back are the Vocoders and the vocals are distorted and dipped in reverb at many stages. Simply if your a fan of early Beastie Boys then this album should be enough to please you.
The album opens with 'Make Some Noise' which must surely be a single from this album. Its catchy. It's energetic and for me is one of , if not the best song on the album. The organ throughout will remain in your head all day after hearing it. 'Too Many Rappers' which features a cameo from NAS is another pick of best song from the album with an excellent cameo from the fellow New York MC. 'Say it' features a very catch and anthemic chorus which one can envision being screened at many of the Beastie's concerts for years to come aswell as an video game noise inspired outro.
Also, Hot Sauce Committee gives us a little taste of a more reggae feel type song in 'Don't play No Game That I Can't Win' featuring the soulful vocals of Santigold. Again when we talk about the fun side that finds itself in the Beasties noise. This is no more apparent than the songs 'Funky Donkey' and the short piece'The Larry Rountine.'
Unfortunatly, the second half of the album passes without much note and is fairly dissapointing in comparision to the first. 'Lee Majors Come Again' gives us a look back at the Beasties in their original punk ways with a brilliant bassline thrown in. There is also the instrumental track 'Multilateral Nuclear Disarmament'. For me after this the album wanes. The album ends with 'The Lisa Lisa' on a bit of a throwaway note for me.
All in all as previously stated, this album is enough to satisfy Beastie Boy fans and for the much part is a very enjoyable listen full of catchy tunes. The second half of the album lets the overall album down, however it must be said that Hot Sauce Committee part 2 is a successful return for the Beasties.
It's getting around that time of year again, sports game season, a season that I actually look forward to. That being said, I usually stray to the likes of Fifa and NBA 2K titles these days, it's been awhile since I've picked up the to play some virtual American Football. With the title 'Back To Football', its a shining beacon of happiness to NFL fans as it reiterates the fact that they are out of the Lockout and their season in back on track, while NBA fans like myself remain discontented and quite annoyed while our season looks extremely doubtful. Seriously annoyed. Throughout the trailer, the players state how much they can't wait to get out there for the fans. Wasn't the Lockout cause by the fact that you didn't want to take a minor pay cut from your already wopping yearly salary to help support the buisness that is the NFL? Hypocrites and overpaid athletes aside, the trailer showcases crunching tackles and long down field passes which you can be a part of come August 30th, 2011 . One a side note, College Basketball anyone?
Can't get enough of Tekken? Own a PS3? Well, your in luck! Tekken Hybrid will include a remastered HD version of Tekken Tag Tornament and the 3D movie Tekken: Blood. Boss. Oh, how I love Tag Tournament! If you have the same fondness of the Tekken franchise as I do, and own a 360 console, you wont be able to get your hands on this 2 in one Blue Ray disc. I do happen to have a PS3 in my household, but its not in a particularly prime time playing spot, the living room is usually inhabited by others most hours of the day; so I'm going to go without this PS3 exclusive Unfortunately. It sucks! You PS3 owners out there can get your hands on this Tekken treasure trove this November. Xbox 360 owners, well you better dust of your PS2 and find your copy of Tag Tournament, it's better than nothing, right?
Cast: John Travolta, Bruce Willis, Samuel L.Jackson, Uma Thurman, Ving Rhames, Eric Stoltz, Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Amanda Plummer
Plot: The lives of two mob hit men Vincent (Travolta) and Jules (Jackson) , aging boxer Butch (Willis), gangster Marcellus Wallace's (Rhames) wife Mia (Thurman) , and a pair of diner bandits (Roth and Plummer) all intertwine in four tales of violence and redemption.
If you can't tell from the title I love this movie. It is my absolute favourite film of all time and having just recently rewatched 'Pulp Fiction' I felt it was time for some Tarantino arse licking. Some people hate Tarantino's love of dialogue and the seemingly pointless conversations his characters have, but that is what I love about his films and for me 'Pulp Fiction' is unquestionably the best of the bunch.
While sitting down to watch 'Pulp Fiction' for the 173rd time about 45 minutes into it my younger brother quite rightly asked "Do this have a story?". My only answer could be "Not really, no". 'Pulp Fiction' is so unique that it is hard to nail down one particular story because there are several that intertwine without ever having a clear direction. But that is by no means a criticism, as it is what I love so much about 'Pulp Fiction'. Each story is so brilliantly put together and so fascinating to watch that you forget that there isn't any messages or morales to them, they are just pure entertainment.
The script is what drives the movie. From conversations about cheeseburgers to debates about the cleanliness of pigs, 'Pulp Fiction' is full of conversations that are so much fun to listen because they feel like real talks between real people, no matter how crazy the events around them might be. This is what is most important about 'Pulp Fiction' because it almost completely hinges on its dialogue and if it was boring to listen to the film would be a dud. Thankfully Tarantino is more than adept at writing conversations between these intriguing characters.
The film is all out of chronology with it starting and ending with the same scene and having the different stories in between out of order aswell. Its an unusal structure but it works to the film's advantage as you find things out later on which you may have been puzzled by previously. The three stories are 'Vincent Vega and Marcellus Wallace's Wife', 'The Gold Watch' and 'The Bonnie Siutation' with each having either a prologue or epilogue. They are all just as good as each other with. My personal favourite however would have to be 'The Bonnie Siuation', even though it has the one thing I don't like about 'Pulp Fiction', but more on that later. This particular story involves Jules and Vincent having to clean their car after Vincent accidentally shoots off someone's head in the back seat. It has many of the best lines with most of them coming from Samuel L.Jackson.
Speaking of Mr.Jackson he is the standout character from a host of fantastic personalities. He commands the screen and scares the hell out of his victims when he chillingly recites a Bible passage before killing them. Jackson is just incredible and like previously mentioned he has a alot of the film's best lines. Other standouts are, well pretty much everyone. John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Bruce Willis, Eric Stoltz, Ving Rhames; they are all fantastic. I may be exaggerating, but almost every character is memorable or has at least something great to say or do. Even Harvey Keitel and Christopher Walken who pop up in small roles are sublime in the screen time given, with the former playing Winston Wolf who plays a major role in 'The Bonnie Situation'.
The only thing I can't stand about 'Pulp Fiction' is Tarantino himself. I have no idea why he thought he could play the role of Jimmy, who is a very important character in the final story, because he is a horrendous actor. Why couldn't he have had a walk on role rather than a character who is in the majority of the third chapter? The delivery of every line is poor and he even makes his own dialogue sound bad. Whats worse he chose to act opposite Samuel L.Jackson, Harvey Keitel and John Travolta.....what was he thinking? This is my only complaint with 'Pulp Fiction' and it far from ruins the film, its just that whenever he speaks it feels unnatural and pulls you out the movie for a brief second.
'Pulp Fiction' is my favourite film and I think it is unlikely I will see anything that could better this masterpiece. There are so many classic scenes (Jack Rabbit Slims, Ezekiel 25:17, The Adrenaline Shot) and pieces of dialogue that will live on forever and ever as iconic. Nobody can write dialogue like Tarantino can and although he may have gone overboard with his writing at times this still remains his best work and is up there as a landmark in cinema with the greatest films of all time.
Yes, Batman brings his next video game offering in the form of Arkham City, sequel to the critically acclaimed Arkham Asylum which was released in 2009. As the hype continues to build for this title, Arkham City, all I can seem to think is, so what? I'm a big fan of the films and have a number of batman related comics stashed away in the never regions of my loft, but Arkham Asylum just didnt do it for me. The first half hour of gameplay that I played before turning my Xbox off, didn't have me begging for more batman. That being said, Arkham City, being developed by Rocksteady Studios, does look absolutely stunning thanks to the Unreal Engine, there's no question about that, but will it personally catch my eye and have me reaching for my wallet when I walk past it in a game store come October? Well, its a possibility I suppose, but there are other titles that will far out way this one when it comes to spending my hard earned cash and time. All you Arkham City lovers can purchase the game October 18th - 21st depending on location, on PS3, Xbox 360, Wii U and Microsoft Windows. Enjoy the trailer featuring Penguin!
The seventh title in the Namco's Soul series, Soulcalibur V, will be hitting Xbox 360 and PS3 consoles in 2012. The trailer gives us a glimmer of all 8 of the currently released characters, 4 present in previous titles and 4 that are completely brand new, including the main protagonist Patroklos Alexandra, who is the son Sophitia, first seen in Soul Edge. If Soulcalibur IV is anything to go from, I'm sure this game, being 17 years after the events of IV, will go above and beyond its predecessor in terms of further improving already solid gameplay mechanics. Oh, the amount of hours I spent in character customization (I created so many anime characters!) and grinding to learn Yoshimitsu's combos. I'll be sure doing the same when Soulcalibur V hits shelves in January 2012.
Cast: Patton Oswalt, Lou Romano, Ian Holm, Janeane Garofalo, Peter O'Toole, Brad Garrett, Brian Dennehy
Plot: Remy (Oswalt) is a young rat in the French countryside who arrives in Paris, only to find out that his cooking idol (Garrett) is dead. When he makes an unusual alliance with a restaurant's new garbage boy (Romano), the culinary and personal adventures begin despite Remy's family's skepticism and the rat-hating world of humans.
Before yesterday 'Ratatouille' was one of two Pixar films I was still yet to see, the other being 'Cars', because the concept of a rat cooking simply didn't appeal to me like toys coming alive or a family of superheroes did. This may sound stupid considering it's Pixar, but I just wasn't interested. How foolish I have been. 'Ratatouille' is one of those unexpected surprises and proof that Pixar can make a fantastic story out of just about anything.
What I intially didn't like the sound of was Remy the rat, but he and his story are the strongest elements to 'Ratatouille'. Unlike his family Remy simply can't accept eating garbage and wants to taste the finer things in life, which leads him to want to be a chef under the mentorship of cooking supremo, Gusteau. His moto "anyone can cook" is what inspires Remy to use his significant skills in catering, so after arriving in Paris he sets about finding a place to watch cooking in, eventually ending up in Gusteau's former 5 star restraunt.
After accidentally falling through a window into the restraunt a fantastic sequence follows where Remy attempts to escape without being seen. However just as he is about to leave he notices that bumbling garbage boy Linguini has destroyed a soup - he should leave but he simply can't resist correcting the dish. This is what is so likeable Remy he just wants to cook and something within him tells him he has to fix the soup. After the soup is a huge success and Linguini gets the crdit skeptical Chef Skinner (Holm) tells him to recreate the soup. In a blind panic Linguini recruits Remy having seen him tend to the soup to help him cook.
Its a bizarre tale, but a great 'sewer to star' story in which Remy cooks by hiding under Linguini's hat and pulling on his hairs making him move like a puppet. In a film where a rat cooks it's strange that I found it hard to accept that Remy could puppeteer Linguini through this method because it stands out as not being real. I know it's an animated film, but Pixar make everything else seem so real that this really seemed out of place. But this is a minor complaint because realistically it didn't effect my enjoyment of the film in too much a way.
As well as a likeable hero we are treated to both Pixar's most bumbling villian in Skinner and one of its most sinister in frightening food critic Anton Ego (O'Toole). Skinner is sure there is a rat helping Linguini and his attempts to prove this is where alot of the films humour comes from. But Peter O'Toole is the standout voice actor bringing a certain gravitas to every line making Ego scary and gothic creation. Also in the voice cast is Janeane Garofalo who is great as hardened tutor to Linguini, who knocks him into shape.
Pixar constantly outdo themselves in storytelling and 'Ratatouille' might me one of their best in that department. Remy's story is such a great hopeful one that aims to inspire people to take a chance and do what other people doubt can't do. As Ego remarks towards the end "not anyone can be a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere" and this is a perfect message for this film to have.
I am almost ashamed that I avoided 'Ratatouille' for so long because it is a great film and deservedly takes its place along side Pixar's other classics. And director Brad Bird has to be mentioned as again he shows why he is one the great film makers of our time following up 'The Iron Giant' and 'The Incredibles' with another piece of animated brilliance. I simply loved this movie.
Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Harvey Keitel, Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro, Robert Patrick, Annabella Sciorra, Michael Rapaport
Plot: Freddy Heflin (Stallone) is the sheriff of a New Jersey communtiy populated by New York City policeman and led by Ray Donlan (Keitel). As Freddy slowly discovers the town is a front for Mob connections and corruption he attempts to enlist the help of IA agent Moe Tilden (De Niro) to save the town.
I had high hopes for 'Cop Land'. It has a great cast, a good director and a fantastic premise, but after seeing 'Cop Land' I have to say I am sorely disappointed. The fact that not many people have even heard of 'Cop Land' is testament to how much of an average film this is it. Maybe average is a bit harsh, but it is by no means a classic film.
'Cop Land' has many positives with the main one being its cast. When your film has the likes of De Niro and Keitel on screen you know the acting is going to be as good as they come. What was most surprising was Sylvester Stallone, I didn't know he could act. I had seen Stallone do well in films like 'Rocky', but I didn't know he could be this good - he doesn't even mumble. His character Freddy is a complete walk over and is told what to do by the corrupt cops he is supposed to be in charge of. Stallone portays this hidden willingness to do good beautifully and when he finally steps up and takes charge he sells every scene.
Never before have I film where I know almost every actor from somewhere, there are 5 'Sopranos' actors (Artie Buco, Carmela Soprano, Gloria Trillo, Carlo Gervasi and Phil Leotardo all popping up) Noah Baumbach from 'The Truman Show', Janeane Garofalo has a minor role and even an actor from 'The Wire' is in the background of one scene. Its not really a critical point and maybe a waste of a paragraph but it's just something I noticed.
To get back to reviewing, 'Cop Land' both benefits and suffers from its great premise of a town full of corrupt cops who basically do whatever they want. This idea is never executed well enough and some of the cops themselves are given no depth as crucially we never really see them do their job and be cops. This is one of the films main flaws as we are given nothing to grasp onto with the villains are they come off very two dimensional - even head honcho Harvey Keitel who aside from a vague story about a fellow cop he killed, is given no depth.
Robert De Niro has a small but pivotal role in the story as IA agent Moe Tilden who informs Stallone's sheriff of the corruption going on under his nose. Then he all but disappears from the movie, which is a shame because he seemed to be one of the more interesting characters. Ray Liotta meanwhile appears to just have walked off the set of 'Goodfellas' as he looks exactly the same and plays more or less character with him being a cokehead, banished from his group. Liotta is fine as cop Figgsy, but his character doesn't feel essential other than some throwaway pieces of advice to Freddy (which I don't think he even follows).
Aside from the characters and premise, the biggest problem with 'Cop Land' is that it takes soooooooo long to get going and set up the plot. It's not until at least an hour in where you get a clear idea of what the film is trying to do, as the first half feels awfully disjointed and the only real saving grace is Stallone who carries much of the movie. When the film does pick up however it is hugley entertaining as Stallone finally confronts the cops that pushed him around for so long and we get some tense scenes and great action.
If the first half wasn't so poorly put together and we had better 'villians' I probably would love this, but thats basically saying why didn't they make the film I wanted them to make. 'Cop Land' is a good film but a very disappointing one and although this review may seem mostly negative, I did enjoy 'Cop Land' when it got going. I would recommend this completely but just don't be expecting the 'Goodfellas' of cop movies. Oh and if I didn't say already Stallone was fantastic.
After sitting down to watch the first 12 episodes of Jinsei Kataoka's Deadman Wonderland, I found myself only able to utter one word. Wow. By going into this, not knowing any background on the story, I presumed it was going to be another Anime that emphasizes friendship, which it does at times. That being said, friends seem to come and go in the life of lead character Ganta Igarashi, as in the prison 'Deadman Wonderland' everyone around you can be slaughtered in a pool of cold blood and any moment, in a a quite gruesome way. Awesome! Deadman Wonderland is definitely not for those of weak dispositions, as death and slaughter is an occurring theme in each episode, basically if your looking for a cutesy Anime, go some place else. Just run.
The plot follows Ganta Igarashi aka 'Woodpecker' as he witnesses the mass murder of his entire class by the one known as the Wretched Egg, who plants a mysterious red shard in his chest. With him being the sole survivor, he awakes to find out that the whole thing has been pinned on him, and is sent to death row in Japan's only privately only prison/amusement park, built on ground zero after a earthquake that destroyed Tokyo. The falsely accused fourteen year old gets an eye full of prison brutality as soon as he arrives, with an fellow inmate being sliced across the chest. Yeah, prison isn't a nice place. When Ganta is face with falling debris that could spell the end of him and new acquaintance Shiro, he uses a power same as the Wretched Egg and turns his own blood into a destructive force, saving himself but crushing over prisoner around him. Believe me, they had it coming.
With mass massacres, all out crazy individuals, and the Deadman inhabitants of Block G who literally fight for their life, where losing can result in your losing a limb, Deadman Wonderland is an extremely promising Anime and I cant wait until the plot thickens as more blood continues to run red.
The first 12 episodes can be watched, online, for free, here. Support the official release when it becomes avaliable in your region!
Ive never really sniffed at a James Bond related game since GoldenEye on the N64, but now you, along with myself can take a stab at playing as the 'Shaken not stirred' gun toting agent 007 once again, as he takes on new missions. 007: Reloaded will be a remastered version of the Wii game 'GoldenEye 007', for both the Xbox 360 and the PS3. This title boasts high definition graphics and Playstation move connectability. The trailer flows with all the suave and sophistication that 007 is known for, with the sleek 007 lettering animation that would be right at home in a trailer for a Bond film. The graphics and gameplay mechanics that are shown also seem quite promising, with this being early days. With this being a reveal trailer, expect more in depth info in the future, watch this space.
The Nintendo big money heavy weight Link is back for another adventure on the Wii. This prequel to the Ocarina of Time will have you eventually looking for Zelda as the plot progresses. This time round though the princess that we all know and love appears not as a princess, but as a childhood friend of link. With revised gameplay mechanics, you as Link, will discover the Skyward Sword and travel to a previously unknown world that is ruled by evil forces. In the trailer, Link and Zelda's hometown of Skyloft is shown, and appears to be currently hosting a festival of some sort, sadly, I wasn't given an invite. Also shown are both Zelda's and Link's pet birds, one red and one blue, as they soar in the sky and then suddenly fall into the darkness, as Zelda is kidnapped by Demon Lord Ghirahim. Get ready to don the green hat, shirt and pick up your sword and shield to charge into battle this later this year.
With the 'Ghost Rider: Ghost of Vengeance panel going down well at San Diego Comic Con recently, I realised something....I am looking forward to it. Now I am well aware that 'Ghost Rider' was crap and maybe Marvel's worst movie ever (or is that 'Elektra?), but there is something that excites me about the flaming skull, chain swinging, motorbike riding superhero's next film.
For one 'Crank' and 'Crank 2' directors Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor have been brought in to helm it and Nicolas Cage decided to reprise his role as Johnny Blaze. Cage was of course a major part of why 'Ghost Rider' was such an unbelieveable failure, but combined with these directors he could create something like his character from 'Bad Lieutenant' - a bat shit crazy lunatic. Neveldine and Taylor may be the perfect directors to get a classic crazy performance from Cage because if the 'Crank' films are anything to go by, they are slightly crazy themselves.
Another brilliant element to this movie is the casting of Idis Elba as a warrior monk.....awesome. Elba is a fantastic actor who is badass in everything he is in (The Wire, Luther) and this part sounds to be another insane cog in an insane machine. The problem with the first film is that it wasn't insane. 'Ghost Rider' should be an off the wall psychotic thriller involving the devil not a generic action/superhero origin film because let's face it's hard to ground a hero with a flaming skull for a head in any sort of reality.
Cage, speaking at Comic Con, said he came back because he wanted to actually play Ghost Rider and not just Johnny Blaze, which is understandable. Using motion capture Cage will actually be playing the hero this time around he claims to have looked at animals like the cobra in finding a type of movement...that sounds sutebly Cage-like. Taylor added that Ghost Rider is "the most badass character that makes no sense at all", which is what I mean by the insanity that should be in this film....Ghost Rider is stupid but cool.
Ghost Rider is out in 2012 and is one that I am looking forward, with some skepticism because of the previous film and the director's have got a far from perfect track record (the less said about 'Jonah Hex' the better).
And so with the untimely but to be frank expected death of Amy Winehouse, she joins the elite club of unfortunate yet amazingly talented musicians who have died at the age of 27. Her name will now be strung with the likes of Hendrix,Joplin,Morrison,Jones and Cobain all of whom died well before their time and will be forever 27.
Winehouse like the names listed above lived fast and now has died young. Unfortunatly for her, it is unlikely that her legacy will allow her to be remembered in such high regard with her only releasing two studio albums. Albeit one being the simply fantastic Back to Black. Many peoples feelings on the death of Winehouse is that it is simply a waste of such wonderful talents. A woman who willingly diminished her own health .Simply it was a matter of time.
Therefore, hopefully Winehouse will be remembered more for her quite simply astounding voice rather than her well publicised,troubled life. The decisions she made and the people she acquainted ultimately lead to her tragic demise.
Developer: Vigil Games Publisher: THQ Platform: PS3, XBOX 360, PC EU Release: January 5, 2011
Control the wrath of war as you make you way through this hack and slash adventure game as you slice through enemies with brute strength and use your wits and resources to complete puzzles. Sounds easy right, not so much. With three levels of difficulty, your skill will be tested as you seek out the one who called you to the earth to bring balance prematurely, and thus, got you in the dog house with the charred council. Not a fun place to be, believe me.
As implied above, you will begin as War is called to the earth to bring balance between the feuding heaven and hell as Armageddon is taking place on earth, why can't they ever get along!? As he is summoned, he realises he is the only one of his horseman brethren who has attending this royal rumble-Esq shindig. Soon you will witness the death of Abaddon (general of the heavens army) at the hands of Straga, a powerful demon fight for the underworld. You as war will then proceed to battle Straga, with access to the chaos form, but unfortunately lose. This won't be the last you see of Abaddon as the once revered angel will fall from grace .... and you are spared death as you are sent to face the council.
War demands a chance to find the one who summoned him and the council agrees, but first they seal away your power (losing your chaos form!!!) and tie the rather irritating 'babysitter with a knife to your back' The Watcher to you, to keep an eye on you through your quest. The following events that ensue include meeting the once powerful demon Samael who sends you on a quest to kill and retrieve the hearts of the chosen four who protect the black tower, the demon lord The Destroyer's place of residence, I heard it's nice in the summer. The Destroyer led the forces of hell to victory in the Armageddon battle on earth, and became displeased with the demon Samael and imprisoned him. He needs to the hearts of the chosen to regain his power, and along the way he helps you get your own power back in return. You scratch his back, he'll scratch yours. After the 'Big Four' you'll will make your way to charge the black tower and take on the The Destroyer face to face.
When I first picked up this game, it wasn't high on my play list and went a while without playing it, that was incredibly stupid of me. Incredibly. The first weapon you start of with is the Chaoseater, a fitting blade to be in the two-handed grasp of the Horseman War, and will help you to spill gallons upon gallons of demon blood as you play through the game. As you progress you can also unlock the scythe (weapon of death who will be featured in darksiders 2), the Crossblade, Earthcaller, Mercy (magnum pistol) and the Tremor Gauntlet. All weapons have some form of upgrade, excluding the Earthcaller, all of which can be purchase through the games merchant, Vulgrim, Through the games currency of souls. Souls can be harvested through killing enemies, opening certain chests and destroying parts of the environment. Along with these weapons, War can use of range of magic based attack to both attack and defend that are used when you have one full gauge of wrath. Things such as Wrath and Health will increase in total as you progress through the game and collect Health and Wrath shards.
And you also get a Horse!! Ruin is a badass steed, a loyal flame maned companion and can be summoned at any time (LB + RB/ L2+ L2), to gallop across the many locations in game. Blisteringly deadly combos and gruesome quick time event finishing moves will have you hunting for more and more demon blood for the thrill it provides, it literally had me singing every time I ripped apart a boss, yes, I'm that strange at times. The only thing that left me feeling annoyed were the puzzles and dodging system the game employs. Some of the harder puzzles had me resulting to walkthroughs, I'm in summer mode, thinking can be strenuous at times, maybe thats just me. Also with the dodging system, when facing mass amounts of enemies which is commonplace in the game, I found myself being overwhelmed when I'd target one enemy and speed dodge into the path of anothers lunging attack.
Graphics wise, the game is quite visually pleasing. From the batlle action to dialog cutscenes, the graphics are smooth and help enhance the gameplay. On the soundtrack side of things, its not really all that present other than than the general ambient sounds and sounds of weapons clinging and clanging in battle. In a way it helps complement the game, without an attention drawing soundtrack, it helps suck you into the game's gameplay and story line, leading to consecutive hours of gameplay time. If you have an eye for collecting, you can have your fill by hunting around for Abyssal Armor pieces, ten in total, and Artifacts that can be exchanged for souls. If you still haven't got round to playing this game, why not!! With it being so far after its release, the title can be picked up in a 2 for £30 bundle from most video game retailers. An absolute bargain. Keep an eye out for Darksiders 2.
'Futurama' is back and I for one am very happy about it. Long after the season 6 premiere in the US the Planet Express crew has finally come back to UK on channel Sky 1. In a strange way I preferred 'Futurama' to the other Fox show it was cancelled for 'The Simpsons' because it seemed more consistently funny and smarter in a time where Homer and co just weren't. That's not to say I don't love 'The Simpsons' because I do, but I always liked that there was an endless amount of stories that could be created in a world like 'Futurama' rather than Homer and Marge joining a curling team.
The new season premiere suitably titled 'Rebirth' is a very promising start, with the writers quickly scrapping everything that happened in the mostly terrible straight to DVD movies. This is a smart move. The main priority with this episode seems to be getting rid of the all the strange and stupid plot points created in those mini movies and return everything to the norm - but have some laughs along the way.
The plot picks up straight after 'Into The Wild Green Yonder' with the Planet Express crew dying in a crash. Professor Farnsworth survives the crash and revives the crew using a birthing machine, but after a complication with Leela's rebirthing leaves her in a coma Fry recreates her in robot form. Bender meanwhile has a doomsday device placed in his chest to keep him alive causing the robot to have to party constantly or it will explode.
This episode is a pretty successful return to form for 'Futurama' as the writers do a great job of setting up a season free of the problems made in the DVD movies and still making me laugh in the process. The jokes from Leela and Fry's storyline is what works best and is the core of the episode, with Bender's predicament being nothing more than a filler and to give the fan favourite something to do. Bender's constant dancing becomes quite tiresome fairly quickly and the writers make no attempt to expand the joke beyond shots of him dancing where he shouldn't be i.e. a funeral. Add in the fact that a gaff about 'Futurama' being on a new channel will be lost on UK viewers and not all the jokes land.
With a clean slate and endless possibilities 'Futurama' will hopefully match the brilliance of the seasons from the early 2000's. While this is by no means a classic episode it is certainly a step in the right direction and a promising start for Matt Groening's other animated show. Plus Zapp Brannigan, Lrrrr, Morbo and Nibbler are all still yet to come.
'The Walking Dead' returns to our screens this October after the first season ending in less than exciting fashion earlier this year. Adapted from the popular comic book, the show follows a group of survivors in a zombie apocalypse, who not only have to fight off hordes of the undead to stay alive, but also try to keep hold of their sanity.
The first season was very much a mixed back starting off with perhaps the best pilot episode since 'Lost' and then getting progressively worse. The show was never bad and was always entertaining, but it ended in such a lack luster way that there needed to be a big change for the second season. One of the main faults was the writers decision to create their own characters and storylines rather than sticking to the comic books, which already has a great story and characters. This was of course to keep the comic book readers from knowing what was going to happen in the show - but it didn't pay off.
Judging by the trailer (at the top of the page) that appears to have changed. There are certainly element from the source material in the trailer (the farmhouse refuge, divides in the group) and the creators have spoke about fan favourite characters and plot points appearing in the show at some point.
The trailer is seemingly all taken from one episode and it looks fantastic. The zombies or "walkers" again look frighteningly life like and the mood is suitably gloomy. The sequence on the highway looks especially brilliant with the survivors taking cover underneath cars to hide from the flesh munching roamers. And hopefully this season sticks with the group and their desperate attempt for survival rather than veer off into some mumbled nonsensical science like it did in the previous season's finale.
'Walking Dead' will air on AMC in America at Halloween and likely return to FX for November in the UK.
This is the start of my Artist of The Week section! Every week I will be showcasing some artwork that I have stumbled across, from a range of different artists from many different countries.
Fantezzyy Age: 19 Years Drawing: 2 Location: Italy Favourite Anime: Naruto
You can find his deviantart account here and his youtube account here. Thanks again Fantezzy, check him out!
With the debut trailer being shown at last years Comic Con, we are now treated with not only a 2011 trailer which I've linked above, but also a heap of others showcasing "Team Tekken", "Team Street Fighter" and gameplay. I guess Capcom like to get a lot done. From what I've seen from this crossover fighting game so far, and considering the fact the game is being published capcom, the gameplay, overall feel and look will be based on the 2D mechanics of the Street Fighter series. This may have you divided, with me personally being more of a tekken fan, (Tag tournament was one of my favourtite PS2 games!) I am going to miss the playing as Tekken characters without it really being Tekken. That being said I'm sure the game will be worth a place on my games shelve, as come March 2011 you will be able to play as King, Hugo, Hwoarang and Ryu. Hollowood Undead as trailer soundtrack? Boss.
With the ex-Oasis man having picked another feud with Radiohead having told them to 'go fuck yourselves' following the release of their latest effort 'The King of Limbs' the name of which deriving from a 1000 year old tree in Wiltshire. Gallagher took exception to this and had this to say : "I like to think that what we do, we do fucking well. Them writing a song about a fucking tree? Give me a fucking break! A thousand year old tree? Go fuck yourself!"
To spectators such as myself it continually appears that continuous hellraiser Gallagher now is just crying out for press attention as he continues to release and perform with the imitation Oasis - Beady Eye. He also seemingly enjoy gunning for the bands gaining bigger attention and being generally better than Gallaghers latest attempt.
Rather than go into detail about Gallaghers insults and pops at other bands i decided to list a few of his more humorous quotes
"People like 'em. They at least play guitars, but when I hear his voice I'm like, 'Ah, fuck him'." Liam on Muse.
"Mumford and Sons look like amish people."
"Bright colours and fucking weirdos on stilts? I'm more entertaining than that shit" Liam on Scissor sistors
"Fuck right off. I'm not having him. I just don't like his head." Liam on Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong
"No way, mate. She's got man hands." Liam on La Roux
And with his constant bickering with his brother, I don't think i'm the first person hoping Liam can shut up for long enough to put out a decent album or make up with his brother!
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