Movie of the Month - April

         
April's Movie of the Month has to be Shutter Island and for a recently new movie i had left this on the back burner of my movie list and never really got round to watching it, But when i did i was annoyed i didn't watch it sooner, The Great casting and dark tone make the complexed plot enjoyable from start to finish. Overall I make this film perfect for Saturday night viewing. (Movie Review Posting Soon)

Hereafter Movie Review

Right, Where to even start with this one? Have you ever seen a film where when it ends you feel like…….was that it? Well if you have then this is what you will be getting when you see Hereafter. But don’t let that put you off as the cast just about keep you glued till the end.

Directed by the great Clint Eastwood and starring the amazing Matt Damon. Hereafter is a movie about one mans gift / curse of being able to have contact with afterlife… Let’s start with George Lonnegan (Matt Damon) a former psychic reader who has traded the ideals of exploiting his talent for the life of a factory worker. George later gets laid off and finds solace in a cooking class where a romance is sparked by classmate Melanie (Bryce Dallas Howard).

My only problem with this film is we have 3 stories running parallel with each other and before you can take an interest in one story it will switch you to another, not giving you enough time to really appreciate the characters and care enough about there scenarios. On the one story we have Matt Damon who with the gift of a psychic reader, and the pressures of people wanting readings, only wants to live a normal life and ignore his gift. Whilst you feel for his character George, You never really get the chance to know why he hates his gift…..I mean if it pays the bills then you would do it right??

Then enter Melanie (Bryce Dallas Howard) who joins a cooking class and partners up with George, Matt Damon and Bryce Dallas Howard have great chemistry but you are left with the feeling from the off that what they have will be short lived, which is sad as there is never a real chance for these characters to develop together.

Next we have Marie Lelay (Cécile de France) she is a victim of the tsunami and experiences a brief encounter with the afterlife before being revived after drowning. This Story path of the film slows the film down to a halt in my opinion and never gives it that lift it really needs (Apart from the opening scene which was dramatic). You are waiting for that change back to the other storylines.

Thirdly we are then taken to London where we are introduced to twin boys Marcus and Jason (Frankie and George McLaren) and their struggle with their mother’s drug-addiction. An unfortunate accident sends a depressed Marcus to live in a foster home where he constantly looks for answers with local faux-psychics.

The 3 stories whilst coming together at the end, never really give you the conclusion you are hoping for and in my case waiting for. I actually waited till the end credits to see if anything else would happen, as you are left with so many plot holes and unfinished conclusions….still I waited for an extra credits scene….ANYTHING!!. But no, you are left with the feeling like you would have if you went to a posh restaurant and orders a 3 course meal only to find you’ve paid £100 and are still starving when you leave.

So my final thoughts on this film, It feels like it has a lot to offer but fails to do so with the talented cast attached, I wouldn’t say its Terrible, but I wouldn’t say its great, Give it ago, Watch it on a lazy weeknight, But don’t let the opening 20 minutes trick you into what you will be getting for the entire film…….. 5/10

Fast Five Movie Review

Hi Everybody,

Welcome to my first of many reviews of past, current and upcoming movies, I thought it was best to start with a new release FAST FIVE. (Yes that’s right, a Fifth entry in the Fast and the Furious Franchise).

Ok so let me start by saying before seeing this film my thoughts on this being either good or secondly the best in the series (Remember this is the FIFTH entry) were a little low, However 2 hours and a bit later, I realised how wrong I really was. This was not only the best Sequel of the franchise but a true action film from start to finish.

Now if you are coming to see this film for the street racing then I suggest you quickly go get a refund as the franchise has moved on, they have opened up the doors to a much needed and wider setting from the streets of LA to the city of Rio. But please don’t be put of just yet as we are given one race between Dom, Brain, Han, Roman and Tej.......No Spoilers on who wins.

Lets start with the opening scenes, FAST FIVE starts off where the 4th film finished, Brain (Paul Walker) and Mia (Jordana Brewster) bust Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) from the armoured prison bus and head for the sunset, The sunset being Rio. Now let me just say the opening scene sets the tone of this film perfectly, like most films that pick up the gears as the film progresses, FAST FIVE starts in fifth gear and goes in to overdrive, with a few pit stops for character development and to stop this from being just one big mess of who has the biggest engine.

So from here we find Brain and Mia in Rio on the run and short on cash, here we are introduced to Vince who if you can remember was in the Original and not the biggest fan of Brain. He can see Mia and Brain in need of a little extra cash and offers them a job heisting a few cars form a train. Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) tags along to help his sister and Brain with the job and get out unharmed, whilst stealing the cars there is a complication and some police officers are shot and killed by other members of the robbery. (To make matters worse, we find out the cars belonged to bad a@$ drug dealer who now wants them dead.) This leads to Dom and Co. getting the blame for the deaths and putting them on the FBI's Number 1 most wanted list.

Enter Dwayne The Rock Johnson, he plays Hobs who is hired by the FBI to hunt down and apprehend Dom and Co. and bring them to justice, Let me say all who thought the Rock was done with action films and should stick to movies like The Tooth Fairy should wipe those thought from your mind as The Rock makes Dog the Bounty Hunter look like a poodle. Hobs is hot on there trail when Dom, Mia and Brain decide to do one last job and disappear forever.

Now if you are fans of the previous Fast and Furious films then you are going to love the fact that this film is the All Star version that re-introduces characters from all 4 previous sequels, the influx of old friends is highly welcome. In particular, 2 Fast 2 Furious alumni Tyrese Gibson and Ludacris bag some choice lines, fuel-injecting the film with much-needed laughs.

The film builds itself up from here for the great finale, now im not going to spoil the end, but what i can tell you is that you will not be disappointed, This is fast and furious on a whole different level, Big Explosions, Epic Chases and most of all Beautiful cars. (Note to Everyone - Please stay in your seats when the credits role and you will be introduced with not only a big plot twist but a set up for what will highly likely be in development as you read this Fast and Furious 6.)

So to wrap this up, by now you know what you are going to be getting when you see a F&F film, Fast cars, Sexy Woman, Basic Plot, But what FF5 does is take all your favourite elements of all 4 previous movies and crank it up a notch giving us not only the best sequel in the current franchise but great film overall.