LOCKOUT - Fun, but obvious and at times cringe worthy.

The choice of films to watch this weekend had caught up on themselves, and there were a possible 3 films we were interested in seeing. I say interested, I think they were 3 films that we would see but not really fussed about any of them, especially since they had all gained rather average reviews. The other 2 we thought about were Battleship and Gone. Both in hindsight had received worse reviews than the film we decided to see, but we probably wished we had seen ahead of what we did see; Lockout.


The main reason that we were slightly disappointed with our choice this week was because this film does not deserve a theatrical release, and the only reason it probably did is because Guy Pearce stars in it. This is the sort of film that you would not be surprised to see when flicking onto Channel 5 at 11 at night. It is typical 80's action flick, and tries to be a Die Hard in space, and I have to say it doesn't really work. The action is set up to be there, but despite being fun it never really engages you. You could watch action scene after action scene, and switch off inbetween and still understand the film. There is very little else to it.

The action is fun but also ridiculous. Our hero is knocked down once, despite being battered, but our scary villain is floored in one punch. The CGI effects for the opening action sequence, of Guy Pearce racing through a futuristic city are so hyped up it's like you're watching a computer game, which becomes really distracting and the scene becomes a CGI mess. Also the less said about the climatic jump scene the better, it is utterly ridiculous and the directors seem to sap any bit of tension out of it. If you see it you will know what I mean.

Guy Pearce is the only thing possibly decent with this film. His character does become slightly annoying, but he is pretty good at it. He plays Snow, who is the man sent alone onto a maximum security prison in space gone awry to rescue the President's daughter. He is a character that despite having pain handed to him can still crack a joke about someone's mother. At times this point about his character is funny, and there is a great funny scene between him and Maggie Grace (President's daughter) where he tells her to keep her mouth shut. Their banter is alright, but at one point in the film she seems to have a considerable change of heart in about 5 seconds, and it is unbelievable.

The film is very retro. It is an 80's action flick in space, and all the queasy remarks and action scenes have all been said and done before. It is a fun film, but the writing is as if they have watched a lot of action films and stolen a scene or quote from each, which they didn't have to do because the premise is pretty original in itself. Guy Pearce is good, and surprisingly so is Joseph Gilgun, from Emmerdale, who plays one of the inmates, but other than that it does all seem to fall very flat and we left the cinema not really caring much for it, and unaware that we had even been to the cinema. It did not deserve a theatrical release and we kind of wish, that despite horrid reviews, we stumped for Battleship. At least then we could have seen 2 hours of CGI mess on the big screen.

Pros: Guy Pearce and some of his cheese ball lines.

Cons: Some of it is cringe worthy, and the CGI action scenes are difficult to watch.

4 / 10


Top 10 films of 2012 so far:


1. The Hunger Games     8 / 10
2. 21 Jump Street     7.5 / 10
3. Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol     7 / 10
4. The Grey     7 / 10
5. Safe House     6 / 10
6. The Raven     6 / 10
7. Contraband     6 / 10
8. The Cabin In The Woods     5.5 / 10
9. This Means War     5 / 10
10. Man On A Ledge     5 / 10

In Cinemas This Weekend: One man sent to save the President's daughter from a prison in space.

There are 4 mainstream films released this weekend. Slowly more films are being released after the last month has seen a small number hit our screens. Seems like we may be building up to the turn of the summer releases which will all kick off next week, but for those of you who don't know what it is will have to wait till next week. For this week we see Guy Pearce before he shows us Prometheus and Amanda Seyfried running through town. Have a look below and see what suits your fancy.



1. First up is the new Guy Pearce film called LOCKOUT. He plays a rogue former CIA Agent called Snow, who is sent onto an advanced security prison which is in orbit around the Earth, in order to save the President's daughter, played by Maggie Grace. This B-movie looking sci-fi flick looks a lot of fun but expect the typical cheesy punchlines and surreal one man vs many scenario. Regardless of that Guy Pearce is a King and i'm sure he makes this film rock. Also starring: Peter Stormare & Vincent Regan. A battle in space?




2.The writer of Slumdog Millionaire and 127 Hours has written a new film. It stars Ewan McGregor and Emily Blunt and is called SALMON FISHING IN THE YEMEN. I'm sure the title may put people off but if the writer's credits have anything to go by I'm sure things will work out well. The film is about a fisheries expert being approached to bring a Sheik's vision to reality; bringing the sport of fly-fishing to the dry desert. It already sounds comedic. Also starring: Amr Waked & Kristin Scott Thomas. A spot of fishing?


3. Amanda Seyfried's new film is next up, and like I said she runs around her home town a lot in GONE. The reason she is running a lot is due to her sister being kidnapped by the same man that kidnapped her and left her for dead years before. Unfortunately the police refuse to believe any of this and she sets out alone to solve the mystery. Also starring: Jennifer Carpenter, Wes Bentley & Daniel Sunjata. Who has her sister?


4. Finally we have feature length documentary MARLEY. No it doesn't document the dog from Marley And Me but the reggae master himself, Bob Marley. Take a look at how it all started, the impact of his music, and the legacy he has left behind. Also starring: Ziggy Marley, Jimmy Cliff & Lee Perry. Want to see what he was smoking?






They are your 4 for the week then. I'm not sure if Marley will be playing in all cinemas but felt it needed a mention as the man is a hero. Go out and see one of these films and prepare yourself for next week's huge release of........ Ahhh I'm not telling you yet.

ZOMBIELAND movie review

Zombieland

Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, Woody Harrelson, Abigail Breslin

Running time: 88 minutes

Year: 2009

Directed By: Ruben Fleischer

Written By: Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick

Zombieland trailer

I have just finished watching Zombieland and I have to say it is so much fun. I was laughing throughout and I'm pretty sure that I was watching it the whole way through with a silly smile on my face. That is how this film will make you feel because it is so silly, but so good at the same time.

The plot is a little threadbare but I'll let you know what the plot is meant to be. Jesse Eisenberg plays Colombus, a student who is one of the few survivors of the epidemic which has turned everyone else into zombies, hence calling the USA; Zombieland. Due to him being a bit of a loner, he decides to head across the country on route to his parents in Ohio. As the film begins we see him begin his journey and via narration he tells us his situation, and also explains the rules he has to endure to survive. These rules are put forward with funky graphics on screen and with a short hilarious clip of the problems if you break them. This shows you how quirky this is going to be from the start.

Whilst on route he meets a bad-ass zombie killer called Tallahassee, played brilliantly by Woody Harrelson. They become a duo and both head across America, Colombus en-route to Ohio and Tallahassee to find the last box of Twinkies in America. As they travel they encounter zombies and Tallahassee shows us why he is such a bad-ass when it comes to killing them.

As they continue they meet two sisters, Wichita (Stone) and Little Rock (Breslin), in a supermarket, who end up coning them and leaving them car less and weapon less. They set back off on foot and find themselves a hummer, complete with machine guns galore in the back, their lucky day. In their new car they eventually come back across the sisters and this time they join forces. The sisters are en route to a theme park, in order for the youngest sister to enjoy a bit of her childhood instead of living in a post apocalyptic world; also they believe it is zombie free. On their way they take refuge in a Hollywood stars house, resulting in a hilarious cameo, and then once again they hit the road, attempting to avoid zombies and get to know each other a little better.

The film doesn't have a lot going for it in terms of story, but what it lacks in it makes up for in laughs, acting, and chemistry. So much about it is fun that you forget the films negatives. The cameo scene steals the show, and one of the lines, their final lines in fact, is absolutely brilliant. The final scene at the theme park is also great and the zombies themselves look hilarious as well as slightly scary.

The four leads are brilliant together, especially Eisenberg and Harrelson. Harrelson has some great scenes when he takes out zombies, with the graphics flashing up 'killing of the week' when he makes a good take down.

I can't praise this movie enough. Don't get me wrong it isn't the best film out there, and isn't the funniest comedy but it is a hell of a lot of fun. People will state that it is an American rip off of Shaun Of The Dead which I agree it probably is. The director even admits that he wanted to make this because of Simon Pegg's zombie comedy. The point is it knows it is a slight rip off but doesn't take itself seriously enough too care. Shaun Of The Dead has a better story than Zombieland, but Zombieland is just as much fun. Watch this film and I'm sure you will laugh out loud a lot more than once.

3.5 / 5

Next film to review: A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET

CHILDREN OF MEN movie review

Children Of Men

Starring: Julianne Moore, Clive Owen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Caine

Running time: 109 minutes

Year: 2006

Directed By: Alfonso Cuaron

Written By: Alfonso Cuaron, Timothy J. Sexton, David Arata, Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby

Children Of Men trailer

This is a film I have always liked the look of but had never actually got round to watching. I had heard lots about it, people raving about it, and others uninterested by it, so unfortunately for me it meant I had kind of heard what the story was about before it even began. I'll tell you briefly what it is about but I won't give too much away.

Clive Owen is our lead here playing Theo, a man who lives in London in 2027. The world as we know it is slowly disintegrating, and radicals and governments fight over power. With other countries falling to financial decline, England has become the place all nationalities try to live in. For the government however this is not allowed and all foreigners are labelled as illegal immigrants, and locked away in a separate location. Another reason for the decline of society is due to the fact that all women have strangely become infertile, and no child has been born in eighteen years. No one knows why women have become infertile but many seem to believe it is due to pollution and scientific experiment.

When the youngest person on Earth, aged eighteen, is killed the rebels take action and decide to transport the person they believe will change the world out of the country. Whilst walking through the city, Theo is abducted and taken to see the leader of the radicals, his ex-wife Julia (Moore). She explains that they have an immigrant that needs to be transported and that they need him to forge the papers. After offering him money he accepts, but later finds he can only find a dual transit visa and will need to escort this woman himself. For the extra money he is happy to do it.

As they begin to transport this woman they are ambushed and an important member of the radicals is killed. The rest luckily escape and make it to a safe house, only for Theo to overhear that the whole thing is a set up, and that they don't tend to save this woman at all, and eventually kill Theo. At that Theo takes this woman and heads off in order to deliver her across the border, as he now believes she is the only hope to save the world. I won't tell you why but I'm pretty sure you can guess why she is so important.

The film sees lots of guns, death, sadness, hope, and love. It is a film that has absolutely everything and that is an absolute homage to Cuaron for choosing the camera technique and the cinematographer for produce some beautiful scenery, which adds to all the themes it explores. Also big applause must go to Clive Owen. Not all the acting in this film is great but Owen manages to draw you in from the start and is utterly believable in his role. He is the hero but is so afraid of the way life has become. This is his best performance I have seen.

Like I said before, the cinematography is brilliant. It really captures an image that works in this scenario. You could really believe that this was a decrepit London. Even the scenes in the forest looked just as gloomy, and the final battle feels like it is in a concentration camp. This scene has some beautiful shots and a fantastic long action sequence where the camera doesn't change angle. You really believe you are there and amongst it.

It is a little slow to start and at times, especially in the opening half hour, I was losing concentration with it. Some of the acting at the beginning really didn't convince me either, especially Clare-Hope Ashitey who plays the woman needing to be saved, Kee. I did finally get used to her but at first I wasn't buying it. Also later in the film there is a dreadful character called Sid that refers to himself in the third person which is utterly annoying. I was so glad when he got a battery to the face.

The action scenes and Owen's performance really drive this film. Caine is also good in his small role although he did keep asking someone to pull his finger. The cinematography of this film is worth a watch for all aspiring film makers out there. The vision is so believable, and paints the future much more realistic than sci-fi movies do. It is a film filled with hope yet it is also one that convinces as to what could happen in the future. Other than the infertility thing of course but personally I think the film is about more than just that.

3.5 / 5

Next film to review: ZOMBIELAND

NEWS - New Trailer and Posters for The Amazing Spiderman

There has been so much movie news this week, but nothing that seems to continue to crop up other than marketing material for The Amazing Spiderman starring Andrew Garfield and directed by Marc Webb, due to be released on the 4th July this year.






We'll start with the posters. One shows Spiderman scaling a skyscraper in New York, don't look down mate. This one practically shows us what we already know about Spiderman in that he climbs skyscrapers with his spider like hands keeping him glued to the surface. Nothing really new as of yet then.

The second shows Spiderman caught in his own web with claw marks slashed across his chest. This can show him struggling to control his powers and perhaps dealing with an enemy who my just be his match (aren't they all). We all know the Lizard/Dr Curt Connors is his nemesis, and it looks like he may get the better of Spidey as those marks could be Lizard like.










The trailer is the new international trailer, so I'm afraid there are subtitles but in Chinese or Japanese I'm not too sure. Either way we still get another insight into Spidey's new world, and I have to say it looks a lot darker compared to the previous Spiderman's that were released not long ago. Also Andrew Garfield seems the perfect replacement for Tobey Maguire, and Rhys Ifans as the Lizard could be genius. That Lizard thing, wouldn't want to cross that in the middle of the night. Since this trailer I am much more excited for this film. Click on the link below and have a look for yourself.


New The Amazing Spiderman international trailer

QUESTION: Who is the scariest movie serial killer?

In light of Joss Whedon's blatant attack on the horror genre in The Cabin In The Woods, I want to know who you think is the scariest movie serial killer? There have been iconic horror baddies that are still seen as scary today but who still puts the frighteners in you when you see them? Ignore the remake versions as they only seem to take away that extra chill from the killer in the original. So who do you think still cuts it as the scariest movie serial killer?








1. FREDDY KRUGER - Killer from The Nightmare On Elm Street franchise in which he stalks children in their sleep. You can't hide from this guy.











2. GHOSTFACE - Although more than one person, the mask is still highly iconic for horror serial killers. The scary mask is worn by killers in Scream who want to kill Sydney Prescott played by Neve Campbell.








3. JASON VOORHEES - Murderer from the Friday the 13th franchise, although he isn't the bad guy in the original but is known as the killer for fans out there. In the films he stalks teenagers who are spending the weekend at the lake house he was murdered at.










4. LEATHERFACE - The Texas chainsaw wielding maniac from, you guessed it The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. His abnormal family kidnap teenagers who are lost in their part of town and Leatherface chops them up with his chainsaw in order to bring their dead grandfather back to life.





 5. MICHAEL MYERS - Stalker from Halloween who kills babysitter's whilst he searches for his sister in order to kill her also. His white mask is a huge iconic horror item.







There are five of the most known killers but I'm sure there are more out there. Let us know who you think is the scariest, or add others in the comments. Who is the scariest movie serial killer?

THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES movie review

The Motorcycle Diaries

Starring: Gael Garcia Bernal, Rodrigo De la Serna, Mercedes Moran, Jean Pierre Noher

Running time: 126 minutes

Year: 2004

Directed By: Walter Salles

Written By: Jose Rivera

The Motorcycle Diaries trailer

The Motorcycle Diaries is a road movie, a road movie based on the life of a man who managed to change a large proportion of political discrepancies in South America. This man was Che Guevara, the leader of a revolution in Cuba in order to make all people equal. This decision of his came after this road trip which is the story of The Motorcycle Diaries.

The film starts with Ernesto (later Che) and Alberto heading on a road trip across South America to explore countries they have only read about. The plan is to travel 8,000 miles in a record 5 months, and arrive at their final destination on Alberto's thirtieth birthday. This doesn't happen however due to their unreliable motorcycle and their abundance of money. At first we see the pair as child like, attempting to see out the remainder of their youth. They bicker, they laugh, and they act on impulse in order to get by. At first we witness Ernesto as an upper class boy in his final semester at college in order to become a doctor. He has the world at his feet and this trip is his last chance to enjoy his surroundings. Alberto is a biochemist and wants to witness South America before he finds a girl and settles down. The trip begins with them enjoying themselves by flirting with women, conning the locals into giving them money and fighting with entire villages. That is until their motorcycle finally breaks completely and they find themselves trekking their way to Peru.

Now having to hitchhike they begin to meet all the people that society hasn't been good too. Communists who must hide from the government, farmers forced off fields by capitalists, and builders moved from their homes in order to build capitol cities. Once they reach Peru the duo are beginning to hate the society they are witnessing and begin to talk about forming a way to create a revolution and help all those in need. A doctor friend of Alberto understands how they feel and sends them to an island where they cater for patients with leprosy. The two men spend three weeks there and are appalled to see that the sick are treated like animals. They are made to live on the island whilst the doctors live on land, they have to use a smaller more cramped boat to travel back and forth compared to the doctors having a much spacious boat, and the doctors insist that they must when gloves when treating these patients. The duo are angered at this do all they can to help the patients feel like people. On Ernesto's birthday he chooses to swim to the island to spend it with the patients, despite being thrown a party by the doctors. He is slowly beginning to realise that everyone should be treated equally. At the end of the film the road trip ends and each go their separate ways, but we all know that Ernesto is heading home in preparation to become a leader of a revolution and transform into Che, a man that changed the world.

I will begin with the positives with the film. The acting is top notch. Bernal and De la Serna are on good form and are utterly believable as the people they are portraying. The rest of the actors could be mistaken for real life residents, but as far as I am aware they could have been. The story comes with a little humour which is always a bonus, and it is intriguing to see the beginnings of a man who is plastered all over t-shirts in South America.

My problem with the movie is that I don't really know much about Che. I am aware another movie has been made on him starring Benicio Del Torro, but that is all I know. I looked him up when the film was finished and I have to say all I really found was that he was a murderer and a terrorist. He helped people gain the freedom of speech but then persecuted them if they didn't follow his beliefs. He was a full blown communist by the sounds of it, and a man who ended up doing more harm than good. He was eventually tracked down by the CIA and killed; so I wander why there is a film documenting his rise, especially since the film paints him as good.  In the film he is a gentle, kind man but in reality it seems that he wasn't. The film doesn't really hint at a man who turned to killing in order to stamp his beliefs. If the film showed him as a man with a tendency to become evil it may have worked better. Maybe others will see him as good, but from what I have read it seems to be the opposite.

Also the film at times becomes a little boring. Nothing really happens throughout other than them travelling, meeting people, motorcycle breaking, and then leaving town. It does repeat, especially for the first half. In the second half the tone seems to change, which takes away some of the fun with the first half. Could this highlight a change in him?

All in all it was an average film. After reading up a bit about it I am shocked to see such a bad man shone in a good light. For those who are aware of Che's life, may be disappointed to see how his image is shown. For those of you, like me, who know nothing, may enjoy it more.

3 / 5

Next film to review: CHILDREN OF MEN