DAN'S BODACIOUS BLOG OF AWESOMENESS

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT of 2009

2010-01-13T12:25:00.002Z

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT of 2009

WINNER: X-Men Origins: Wolverine

I loved the first two X-Men films, and still really liked the third one. I know it had its problems, but it was nothing on this. How could a series fall so far so quickly. There are so many flaws, the main one being that there are a stupid amount of characters that each get about 3 minutes screen time each. The CG wasn't up to scratch, the music was poo. Everything about the film just feels a bit meh. What a disappointment.

RUNNER UP: Bruno

Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy Bruno. It was disappointing however. It was nowhere near as funny as Borat, and he just felt sometimes like he was trying too hard. The other problem is that they showed all the best moments in the trailer. I just hoped for more, and didn't laugh as hard as I expected to. Shame really.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS: Transformers 2, Where the Wild Things Are

BEST ANIMATED FILM of 2009

2010-01-13T12:19:00.002Z

BEST ANIMATED FILM of 2009

WINNER: Up

Of course this would win. Pixar always does. I have just done a whole dissertation on DreamWorks vs Pixar... and Pixar always come out on top. It's the way that the use characters, and that the story is always so rich yet so simple. Also, the opening montage is one of the best scenes of 2009. Really emotional stuff.

RUNNER UP: Monsters vs Aliens

I loved Kung Fu Panda last year, this wasn't quite as good but was still pretty brilliant at points. Not only did it look fantastic, but the characters were all great fun to watch. Kiefer Sutherland as the General was a stroke of genius. And the amount of sci-fi references were really fun to find. Bring on the sequel.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS: Bolt

BEST ACTRESS of 2009

2010-01-13T11:57:00.002Z

BEST ACTRESS of 2009

WINNER: Zoe Saldana for Avatar

Ooooo. Now this is a controversial decision. How dare I put a motion capture performance as the best of 2009?! Well, I really do think she gave the best performance of the year. Motion capture is just a way of showing a character, it would be nothing without the actress behind it. Zoe Seldana blew me away with her character in this. I LOVED how she reacted when her home was destroyed and finding her Father. Brilliant. For me, the best of the year.

RUNNER UP: Zooey Deschanel for (500) Days of Summer

Okay, I admit it... I have a serious soft spot for Zooey Deschanel. However, I really do think she deserves this spot for her turn in 500 Days. She made all the male audiences feel exactly like Tom. She built us up, and then smashed us down. Yet at the end, you can't still help liking her a little... even though she has down such a horrible thing.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS: Emma Watson for Harry Potter 6, Cate Blanchett for Benjamin Button.

BEST ACTOR of 2009

2010-01-13T11:48:00.003Z

BEST ACTOR of 2009

WINNER: Sam Rockwell for Moon

Moon was definately a one man show. And Sam Rockwell was that man - and he was AWESOME! Not only was he brilliant and giving a wide range of emotions, but he played two versions of the same character too, talking to himself all the time. I really want him to get an Oscar nod for this, but I doubt he will... which is a real shame.

RUNNER UP: Christoph Waltz for Inglorious Basterds

Everyone agrees that whilst Brad Pitt is great in Inglorious, Christoph Waltz steals the show. His "Jew Hunter" character is constantly unpredictable. You never know if he is going to jump across the table and kill the characters, or whether he will change into a raving homosexual as he often does. The performance is flawless.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS: Robin Williams for World's Greatest Dad, Brad Pitt for Inglorious Basterds, Robert Downey Jr for Sherlock Holmes.

BEST SCREENPLAY AWARD for 2009

2010-01-13T11:35:00.002Z

BEST SCREENPLAY AWARD 2009

WINNER: Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman for Star Trek

I know that a blockbuster is a weird choice for best screenplay, as often they are about getting to the next big action scene. However, it is my belief that Star Trek is the best written film of the year. Not only have the writers given tribute to each of the characters, they have also given new life to a nearly dead franchise. Plus the whole concept of two realities for the reboot was a stroke of genius in my eyes.

RUNNER UP: Quentin Tarantino for Inglorious Basterds

Love it or hate it, the script for Inglorious Basterds was the true star of the picture. The amount of dialogue was bordering on ridiculous at times with its length, but people didn't complain because it was written so well and was always interesting. Tension is built so well, simply from words. Brilliant script.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS: Scott Neustader and Michael H. Weber for (500) Days of Summer, Bobcat Goldthwait for World's Greatest Dad.

BEST DIRECTOR AWARD for 2009

2010-01-13T11:26:00.003Z

BEST DIRECTOR AWARD 2009

Normally, there is a stand out director per year. However, this year I have really struggled because of the high quality of a lot of the films. This is my personal opinion on which director has emerged at the top in my eyes this year.

WINNER: Marc Webb for (500) Days of Summer

I chose Marc Webb because not only did I love 500 Days, but it simply a fantastic debut film. I absolutely cannot wait to see what he gives us next. He gave 500 Days lots of touches which made it stand out from the crowd, no doubt because he is a music video director. Name me a scene better and more original than the Reality-Expectations scene. Genius.

RUNNER UP: J.J. Abrams for Star Trek

This was very hard to put as a runner up. Abrams gave Star Trek in my opinion the best reboot since Batman. He gave it a sense of fun, but also danger that was never felt in the original series. He blew this one out of the water, due to his fantastic direction and relentless pace that he gives the film. Also, he found the new cast - all of which were brilliant.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS: James Cameron for Avatar, Quentin Tarantino for Inglorious Basterds.

TOP SOUND DESIGN AWARD for 2009

2010-01-13T11:24:00.000Z

TOP SOUND DESIGN AWARD 2009

I love sound design just as much as CG in the big blockbusters, and in a year dominated by sci-fi... it's been extremely difficult to decide which has the best! I would have said Avatar had amazing sound design, but to be honest I could tell a lot of it was recycled from Jurassic Park which annoyed me. So I looked at what sound design made a big impression on me, and didn't annoy me at all.

WINNER: Star Trek

Of course Ben Burtt's sound design would once again take the gong. It always does. It was the sound design in Star Trek though that made me fall in love with the film instantly. In the opening battle in space when the woman gets sucked out into space and instantly hits a wall of silence. That was some fantastic sound design and the film continued its great soundscape all the way through.

RUNNER UP: District 9

Another sci-fi, this one too had great (and a lot of very original) sound. Everything from the sound of the prawns, to the weapons to the actual ship was pretty much perfect. I remember the blast from the ship that nearly made me fill my pants. Awesome.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS: Transformers 2, Terminator Salvation, Watchmen, Avatar.

TOP SOUNDTRACK AWARD for 2009

2010-01-13T11:22:00.000Z

TOP SOUNDTRACK AWARD 2009

Often my favourite part of a film, soundtrack is very important to me. I can't say there have been that many soundtracks that absolutely blew me away this year, but all these are definately worth a listen.

WINNER: (500) Days of Summer

I always expected a score to be my number one soundtrack of the year, but this year the record has been broken. The 500 Days of Summer soundtrack is a collection of brilliant songs, each one as good as the next. Some are great fun to listen to whilst others evoke a great sense of sadness when thinking about what it represents within the film. I can't stop listening to it, and if you haven't checked it out by now, you need to very soon!

RUNNER UP: Angels and Demons

Definately the best score of the year. Hans Zimmer does it again. The Da Vinci Code score was very good, but for the sequel he has turned everything up to 11. It's incredibly powerful stuff. Just the opening titles have such strong music that I knew I was going to be in for something good. Great themes and loud music, just the way film soundtracks should be.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS: Star Trek and Up.

TOP CG AWARD for 2009

2010-01-13T11:21:00.001Z

TOP CG AWARD 2009

CG is getting really, really good now and therefore this category is getting much harder to judge. However, there is one clear winner this year.

WINNER: Avatar

Even though not the 100% photo realistic creatures we were promised, there is absolutely no denying that what James Cameron has done is create hyper believable characters. You truly believe that they exist. And as for the planet of Pandora, to think that the whole thing is CG just boggles my brain because it looks so real. This film kicked everyone's butts in this category this year.

RUNNER UP: Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen

The film was a bit of a disappointment considering how much I did enjoy the first one but the CG is better in every way. I'm looking forward to seeing this on Blu-Ray soon, as I know it will probably melt my eyes. What this film lacks in story, it makes up for with its intense and amazing computer generated Transformers.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS: 2012, Star Trek and District 9.

MOVIE REVIEW : The Hurt Locker

2010-01-08T21:53:00.002Z

THE HURT LOCKER

Directed by Kathryn Bigelow

Starring Jeremy Renner and Anthony Mackie

PLOT

Iraq. Forced to play a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse in the chaos of war, an elite Army bomb squad unit must come together in a city where everyone is a potential enemy and every object could be a deadly bomb.

REVIEW

+ Brilliant sense of tension created throughout. +

+ All of the bomb defusals were some of the most nail biting scenes I'd seen in a long time. +

+ Jeremy Renner makes for a great leading man, very funny and watchable. +

+ Often shocking, and always surprises. +

+ I love how they killed off the main actors, so no one feels safe in the story at all. +

+ Brilliant use of slow motion often. +

+ Excellent script and great direction too. +

+ Really nice editing and shooting style, made it feel just like a documentary at times.. +

- The second half just wasn't as good as the first half. -

- It all seemed to slow down as the film progressed. -

BEST MOMENT

Any of the bomb defusals, but my favourite is when we see the main character in action for the first time, completely calm and collected.

MY RATING
++++++++--

MOVIE REVIEW : Sherlock Holmes

2010-01-08T21:46:00.003Z

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Directed by Guy Ritchie

Starring Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law

PLOT

Detective Sherlock Holmes and his stalwart partner Watson engage in a battle of wits and brawn with a nemesis whose plot is a threat to all of England.

REVIEW

+ Some of the best use of slow motion I have ever seen in a film. +

+ Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law are both absolutely fantastic. +

+ Great sense of fun throughout. +

+ I am pleased that a lot of detective work was actually done. +

+ Some really great action scenes on display here. +

+ Mark Strong made a fantastic bad guy, as ever. +

+ Victorian England was been captured perfectly, and looks brilliant. +

+ The chemistry between the two main characters is flawless, I can't wait to see more of them together. +

- It seemed to slow down a bit in the middle. -

- The music was quirky, but frankly felt a little "meh" to me. -

BEST MOMENT

The slow motion explosion, a truly brilliant moment in cinema that I know I could watch time and time again.

MY RATING
++++++++--

MOVIE REVIEW : Where the Wild Things Are

2010-01-08T21:38:00.003Z

WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE

Directed by Spike Jonze

Starring Max Records and James Gandolifini

PLOT

An adaptation of Maurice Sendak's classic children's story, where Max, a disobedient little boy sent to bed without his supper, creates his own world--a forest inhabited by ferocious wild creatures that crown Max as their ruler.

REVIEW

+ The Wild Things all looked great. +

+ Really makes you feel like a child again. +

+ I like the way that every creature seemed unique, but also represented one of Max's emotions. +

+ Had a lot of moments of greatness. +

+ Sucks you in, and often brings you to the edge of your seat. +

+ The story was wafer thin. +

- It all seemed a little... pointless. -

- Seemed to lack direction in some places, and actually got confusing with all the emotions and creatures bouncing off each other. -

- The music was a bit naff. -

- Unfortunately it had the problem of "I know this story already". -

BEST MOMENT

When Carol turns on Max, it actually had me on the edge of my seat. It would be terrifying for young kids.

MY RATING
++++++----

MOVIE REVIEW : Moon

2010-01-08T21:29:00.002Z

MOON

Directed by Duncan Jones

Starring Sam Rockwell and Kevin Spacey

PLOT

Astronaut Sam Bell has a quintessentially personal encounter toward the end of his three-year stint on the Moon, where he, working alongside his computer, GERTY, sends back to Earth parcels of a resource that has helped diminish our planet's power problems.

REVIEW

+ Sam Rockwell knocks out of the park with his performance. +

+ A very simple story, well told. +

+ Could get lost among all the sci-fi films this year, but comes out as an original piece of filmmaking. +

+ Some great, and truly hideous make up effects. +

+ Excellent use of miniatures and minimal CG. +

+ Very well written and intelligent script. +

+ Great direction from newcomer Duncan Jones, I'm looking forward to seeing what he does next. +

- It was very brief, and seemed to be over very quickly. -

- Could it be a bad point to say that I wanted more GERTY??. -

- There's no denying its a brilliant story, with an amazing performance... but wasn't quite as great as it was being built up to in my eyes. -

BEST MOMENT

It's gotta be the end. It all builds up to this pivotal moment and doesn't disappoint.

MY RATING
+++++++---

MOVIE REVIEW : A Christmas Carol

2010-01-08T21:19:00.002Z

A CHRISTMAS CAROL

Directed by Robert Zemeckis

Starring Jim Carrey and Gary Oldman

PLOT

An animated retelling of Charles Dickens' classic novel about a Victorian-era miser taken on a journey of self-redemption, courtesy of several mysterious Christmas apparitions.

REVIEW

+ Along with Avatar, some of the best use of 3D I have seen so far. +

+ Jim Carrey is brilliant in all the roles he plays in this, though especially good at Scrooge. +

+ Even though its all mo-capped... you can really feel the emotions of the characters. +

+ A simple yet great, and very festive, score.. +

+ Because Jim Carrey played Scrooge throughout his whole life, there was really a connection between character and actor not achievable in the other adaptations.. +

+ I like how it portrays the story in all the ways you have never seen it from before. +

+ Often very scary, and is better for being so. +

+ The world looks brilliant, and the characters are all well designed. +

- The CG still isn't QUITE there, the characters still look a little "off". -

- Unfortunately it had the problem of "I know this story already". -

BEST MOMENT

Actually, the opening credits. I loved the effect of flying through Victorian England in 3D - it was brilliant.

MY RATING
++++++++--

Shalom!

2009-12-19T14:25:00.001Z

Hey readers!

Sorry I've been away for a while. Been extremely busy at Uni... editing our film. It's coming along very nicely though. And we just filmed the final scene recently, which had its problems... but on the whole went very well!

Just had two of my wisdom teeth out, so have been feeling pretty poo these last few days. Luckily saw Avatar yesterday, which made me forgot about all that for 2 and a half hours. You can read the review below.

A lot of people have asked why Blessed-Topia 2 never came out this December. I can confirm now that a sequel is in the works but with my massive work load of the film and my dissertation, I just couldn't do it for this December. Keep looking however, as it will be out early next year.

Anyway, here's a couple of new movie reviews from you. I will be posting my top 10 films of the year soon so keep watching.

Bye for now!

MOVIE REVIEW : Avatar

2009-12-19T14:17:00.004Z

AVATAR

Directed by James Cameron

Starring Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana

PLOT

A paraplegic marine dispatched to the planet Pandora on a unique mission becomes torn between following his orders and protecting the world he feels is his home.

REVIEW

+ After months of me worrying that it wouldn't be very good - it blew me away. +

+ The 3D is absolutely incredible and super immersive. +

+ Even though the CG characters weren't 100% photo realistic, after 10 minutes you just forget about it and believe every single one of them is there. +

+ The planet of Pandora is the true star here, and one of the most amazing locations ever put to film. +

+ A simple story, but great in that you don't get confused and can just enjoy it for what it is. +

+ The music by James Horner was similar once again to all his other stuff, but still perfectly suited the film. +

+ It's two and a half hours long, but I didn't feel it at all - I wanted more. +

+ Incredible performances from everyone, even the digital characters. Zoe Saldana needs to be recognised for her work in this film. +

+ Amazing direction from the master of sci-fi James Cameron. It draws you in, never lets go, and makes you just want more. +

+ The biggest compliment I can give is that it pure escapist entertainment. It may not be 100% perfect. But I knew I was watching something special, and I loved every single minute of it. +

BEST MOMENT

There are so many fantastic moments, and I can't actually say my favourite without giving away a massive spoiler. So instead I'm gonna say when Jake rides his banshee for the first time.

MY RATING
++++++++++

MOVIE REVIEW : 2012

2009-12-19T14:11:00.004Z

2012

Directed by Ronald Emmerich

Starring John Cusack and Amanda Peet

PLOT

An epic adventure about a global cataclysm that brings an end to the world and tells of the heroic struggle of the survivors.

REVIEW

+ Visually incredible. +

+ You felt like you were getting your money's worth - about 5 disaster films rolled into one. +

+ Very entertaining throughout. +

+ Brilliant destruction on a scale you've never seen before. +

+ Often very tense, edge of your seat stuff. +

+ Even though lines are often super cheesy, I still liked all the actors and the characters that they played. +

- It felt a little too long. -

- Sometimes the plot was just TOO stupid. -

- The score was pretty forgettable. -

- I saw it on the front row - so it was all a bit mish-mash... but I look forward to seeing it again on Blu-Ray. -

BEST MOMENT

When Yellowstone volcano explodes... WHOA!

MY RATING
++++++----

GAME REVIEW : Halo 3: ODST (Xbox 360)

2009-10-20T20:14:00.002+01:00

HALO 3: ODST (Xbox 360)

Developed by Bungie
Published by Microsoft Game Studios

REVIEW

+ The music is absolutely incredible. +

+ Firefight is insanely addictive, and fantastically team based.+

+ The storyline is very good, and well presented. +

+ It adds many new elements to give it a fresh take on the Halo FPS. You really do feel smaller than the Master Chief. +

+ The sound design is as brilliant as ever. +

+ All the levels are action packed, memorable and fun to play through time and time again. +

+ Some of the cutscenes are absolutely awesome. +

+ It felt great to play alongside Nathan Fillion, Tricia Helfer and more.+

- Don't get me wrong, the storyline is fantastic, but it was nowhere near as good as the original trilogy. -

- The graphics are starting to show their age now. -

BEST MOMENT

There are loads of points that stand out. I'm gonna say an awesome cutscene where the ODST troops all team up to take out a massive Brute Chieftain and his hammer.

MY RATING
++++++++--

GAME REVIEW : Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (PS3)

2009-10-20T20:06:00.002+01:00

UNCHARTED 2: AMONG THIEVES (PS3)

Developed by Naughty Dog
Published by SCEE

REVIEW

+ Absolutely fantastic story and characters. +

+ Probably the best graphics I have seen in a game so far.+

+ Amazing action that always keeps you on your toes. +

+ Some of the best platforming moments I have ever played. +

+ Some really good stealth sections too. +

+ Online co-op is extremely fun and addictive. +

+ The multiplayer is really good too - but still not as great as Halo for me. +

+ Brilliant sound design. The effects, dialogue, score and more are all done to perfection.+

+I really can't stress enough about how great the story is. The cutscenes are perfectly done thanks to brilliant mo-cap and acting work from everyone involved. I couldn't put the controller down, cos I always wanted to see what happened next. +

- Sometimes there are too many gunfights, and you can't help but want a break. -

BEST MOMENT

There are so many to choose from. I'm gonna say the train sequence though. There's nothing better than hanging off the side of the train, and managing to climb up just in time before you hit a signal. So good.

MY RATING
+++++++++-

MOVIE REVIEW : The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

2009-10-18T15:15:00.002+01:00

THE IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR PARNASSUS

Directed by Terry Gilliam

Starring Heath Ledger and Christopher Plummer

PLOT

A traveling theater company gives its audience much more than they were expecting.

REVIEW

+ A film that most people assumed was doomed never to see the light of day, but it made it, and it was good! It was also very brave to keep an image of Heath Ledger being hung in there too. +

+ As most people are expecting, Heath Ledger is very good in his (sob) final ever role. He's actually in about 80% of the movie though. +

+ The way that the character keeps changing appearance actually does work perfectly. +

+ Absolutely brimming with originality and wonderful images. +

+ The story was good, though took a bit of a while to get going. But when you realise something about one of the characters, it does start to get a lot more interesting. +

+ Feels ultimately very British, and is better for it. +

+ All the supporting cast are excellent too. +

- The music was completely forgettable, which is a shame. -

- Towards the end, it did get a bit too weird. -

- The story got a bit muddled sometimes. -

BEST MOMENT

I think my favourite part was the Jude Law segment, just some really fantastic imagery.

MY RATING
++++++---

MEGA MOVIE REVIEW : (500) Days of Summer

2009-10-12T16:01:00.011+01:00

(500) DAYS OF SUMMER

Directed by Marc Webb

Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel

PLOT

An offbeat romantic comedy about a woman (Deschanel) who doesn't believe true love exists, and the young man (Gordon-Levitt) who falls for her.

REVIEW

I'm not going to do a conventional movie review for this one. I'll tell you now, that is is absolutely my favourite film of the year. I can tell that I'm going to see it again and again and again and still love it. I've already seen it three times at the cinema, and each time I see a little bit more, and peel back some more of its layers.

Like I said, this movie review is going to be different. I'm going to give you 20 reasons why I believe this is the best film of the year by far. There may be some spoilers, but I will warn you if there are.

For those of you that don't like universal praise for a single film, don't read this review, as I don't say whats wrong... I just tell you what I loved about it.

Let's begin...

20. JOSEPH GORDON-LEVITT
I've seen this actor in things before, but never really starring in anything enough to catch my eye. Let me say that he is definately in my good books now. He gives an absolutely sterling performance here. You follow his journey from beginning to end and really want him to win. A fantastic performance that can pull off comedy, drama and more with sheer excellence.

19. THE BOGEYS SCENE
A simple scene in which boyfriend and girlfriend both sit in the park and play bogeys always makes me smile. The game of bogeys for anyone that doesn't know, is you say the word "Bogeys", and then your friend has to say it louder, then you, then them. It increases till you both end up shouting it. The fact that they changed the word to "penis" and there are kids around is fantastic, and always makes me laugh. It's also a great scene to show a realistic relationship of two people just having fun together.

18. THE ENDING
I love brave endings in films. Whether it's a twist or it just defies expectations, there is nothing better to leave a film with than knowing what a great job the film did at wrapping itself up. (HEAVY SPOILERS FOLLOW!) What's so good about this film is that he doesn't get the girl, but it's worth than that... she has got married to another man. It really makes you hate the character of Summer, but at the same time, when she justifies it... you kind of believe her... but you don't want to. I've had discussions with lots of people on why this ending is great, and the many meanings it may have. And that's the best way a film can end. By surprising you, right to the finish. (SPOILERS END!)

17. MOMENTS OF SILENCE
There are points in this film where silence is used perfectly. You don't always have to say, or show what you want. Silence says it all. There are a few of these in romantic scenes where they spend the day in bed together and some others spread out throughout the film. I like silence being used in this way, and it was used very well in this film.

16. IT HAS A NARRATOR
A narrator can split people. Some people love having a narrator to drive the story, others think its an awful device. I'm kinda 50-50 on this, but I think it was used in all the right ways in this film. Just look at the opening scene, it used to build the characters perfectly and is used as a great story device.

15. THE KISS AT THE COPIER SCENE
First kisses can often be done very well in films. I don't like really cheesy ones (for instance in slow motion in the rain). What was great about Summer and Tom's first kiss is that it came out of nowhere, meaning the audience was just as surprised as Tom... and also humour is built into it, giving the kiss an extra layer for the audience. A great first kiss.

14. HUMOUR
This is very much a drama film over a comedy, but there are many moments of humour that are just fantastic. What I like is that they aren't too in your face like most American comedies, and that most of them are subtle reactions or awkward situations. Take for instance when Tom's friend is on the karaoke... it could've been so over the top that it wasn't even funny, but it actually captures the essence of how awkward it can be if your friend is horrendously drunk, and always says what you don't want them to. This is of course just one example and the film is full of them. Don't go in expecting a comedy, just go in ready to smile.

13. ZOOEY DESCHANEL
My girlfriend knows quite clearly that Zooey Deschanel is the actress that I love the most. I've had a massive crush on her for ages. She may not be the "hottest" actress on the block, but she has so many qualities that you can't help but like her in everything. I've liked her since she came onto the scene in Elf... and my lust for her in more roles is ever growing.

Anyway, in this film she took me on a journey. The director really makes it so that you fall in love with her character just as Tom does, and then smashes your heart as she smashes his. Excellent acting because of really being believable and therefore heartbreaking. She really knocks this one out of the park in terms of her acting ability.

12. EDITING
Most people wouldn't notice the editing in a film like this, but I studied it quite well on my second and third viewing. This is mainly because of my wanting to be an Editor as a career, but its really impressive. From the opening montage to the last awkward conversation, the editing really focuses on the emotions of Tom. There are some truly excellent scenes editing wise, but I will get onto those later in the list.

11. THE CINEMA SCENE
There are many different scenes within a cinema with (500) Days of Summer. I can tell this is a director that really loves cinema. (MILD SPOILERS FOLLOW!) It is most obvious when Tom falls asleep in one film and dreams of some very old black and white films. These aren't classics like Casablanca though, they are the very strange foreign films. The best thing is that I have seen many films like these, and the spoof does them perfect justice. The "suffering" sketch has to be the best one. I can see these references going over most peoples heads, but for film students like myself... this scene was absolute gold. (SPOILERS END!)

10. STORYLINE
At first glance, many people will assume that this is a conventional rom-com. Even if you put the film in the right order, it still would be different from everything else. This is because the storyline doesn't just focus on the good times like most rom-coms do... it shows what a rocky rollercoaster relationships can be. It kept me absolutely enthralled all the way through, and I never wanted it to end.

9. CHEMISTRY
I've already praised both Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel's performances in this film, but this would be nothing if they didn't work together. This is one thing the film at excels at though, because the two of them give a pitch perfect performance of a couple. I read an interview with Joseph Gordon-Levitt saying that he did fall a bit in love with Zooey over the performance, and that its hard not to. (SPOILERS FOLLOW!) I think you can really tell this because his chemistry for wanting Summer so bad really comes across, and when she leaves him - he genuinely looks absolutely crushed. The chemistry is fantastic between them, and it really makes the film. (SPOILERS END!)

8. THE AFTER-SEX DANCE SCENE
There's something so perfect about Tom's reaction after he has sex with Summer for the first time. (SPOILERS FOLLOW!) In this scene as he is walking to work, he sees the world in a whole new light. This is portrayed by everyone being super nice to him, and it actually results in everyone dancing. As I'm writing this, it sounds absolutely ridiculous... but in the film it is incredible. Probably the most I have grinned in a film for a few years! They even have animation! And Han Solo! Could this scene be any more awesome? (SPOILERS END!)

7. EMOTIONAL ROLLERCOASTER
I've spoken already about the storyline, and the chemistry.. but not what it adds up to. I always describe this film to people that haven't seen it as an emotional rollercoaster. (HEAVY SPOILERS FOLLOW!) At one point in the film (I'm gonna say the previous dancing scene) you feel an absolute rush of joy and yet at another point (when he sees that she is engaged), you feel like you have hit rock bottom. First time I saw the film... I just couldn't believe she was getting married to someone else, I felt betrayed... just like Tom did. I felt like I had been cheated. But I had been so happy at another point in the film, just like Tom. I don't know if a film has made me feel this range of emotions so violently before, and its what keeps drawing me back for more. (SPOILERS END!)

6. ALL THE RANDOM MOMENTS
Really, the reason the film works so well is because of its perfect, and original direction from Marc Webb. One of my favourite things that the film does is its use of random moments that appear out of nowhere and don't really have any connection to the story. What they do is show you where the characters are emotionally. (MILD SPOILERS FOLLOW!) One point is where Tom admits his love of Summer to a friend, but doing this it cuts to Tom standing in a room just talking the camera. In any other film this would've just been too weird, but it works fantastically in (500) Days of Summer. I also love how Tom describes his favourite features of Summer at one point in the film, and then later on the same sequence plays but he describes how he hates all that stuff. Its brilliant and really shows the characters emotions. There are a few of these crazy moments spread throughout, and they were always some of my favourites. (SPOILERS END!)

5. THE DIALOGUE
As well as being brilliantly directed, it is expertly written too. One of the writers has since stated (even though it was fairly obvious already) that it is based on a real relationship he had with a girl. That isn't what I'm talking about though, thats all storyline. What I want to say here is how excellent the actual dialogue is. The scene I think of immediately is when Tom and Summer both discuss early in the film their different views on love. This is a fantastically written conversation that provides valid points for both arguments. I hope these writers do something else, because they are really good at what they do.

4. THE IKEA SCENE
I'm pretty sure this is my girlfriends favourite scene in the whole film, but for me its the second best. Its still amazing though, and extremely original. (MILD SPOILERS FOLLOW!) It just follows the two characters, who are just starting to fall in love, as they pretend to be a married couple within an Ikea store. The music and humour drives this scene so well that it seems to be over in a heart beat. It starts well and gets better and better, and has a hilarious finish. Thats why its so hard when later in the film you see Tom trying to mess around again, but Summer just walks off. Bitch. (SPOILERS END!)

3. THE NON-LINEAR STYLE
I've spoken about the overall editing, but the best thing has got to be the way in which everything is out of place and doesn't take place in the right order. This can go so wrong if done poorly, and completely confuse the audience. However due to a guide showing what day it is out of 500, and the narrator, you never ever feel lost within the timeline. This method of storytelling actually strengthens the film by giving the audience something to look forward to, on how it is going to fold out and how the characters are going to get to certain point that the film flashed to earlier. (SPOILERS FOLLOW!) How many people assumed it would have a happy ending because the first shot is the ending of them holding hands? Only to have you see it in a completely different light when you reach that point in the film. (SPOILERS END!)

It's utterly brilliant and makes the film very, very rewatchable.

2. THE MUSIC
Everyone that has seen this film comments on how excellent the soundtrack is. It's definately the best I've heard since Garden State. It often fits so well that you wonder if the director chose the music and then the scene or the other way around? Its a great mix of pop, rock and romantic songs that help take you on this emotional journey. I know that I haven't stopped listening to it since I listened to it for the first time and that Sweet Disposition is quickly on track to becoming my most listened to track of the year.

Not only that but the actual score is excellent. It infuriates me that it isn't on the disc, and I am really, really hoping that it gets a seperate release soon.

1. THE EXPECTATIONS/REALITY SCENE
Well, this is it... my number one reason why this is the best film of the year. Words cannot describe how much I love this scene. Its completely original and I had never seen anything like it in a film before. The editing is amazingly brilliant from the way it keeps subtley cutting between the two split screens allowing you to focus on them both. I can't stop watching this scene because it is so cleverly put together. I want to shake the director's hand just for this scene. (HEAVY SPOILERS FOLLOW!) When Tom sees that ring on her finger, and the split screen suddenly goes as his expectations are smashed by the reality of the situation... well... it just couldn't of been done any better. And then the way he runs outside and everything turns to pencil drawing and he is slowly erased. God its just perfect. (SPOILERS END!)

The most original single scene I have seen in years and absolutely the best thing about this whole, excellent movie.

So there you have it. That's 20 reasons why I believe (500) Days of Summer is the best film this year. I very much doubt anything will beat it in my eyes at this point. I know some of you don't like it, and that it is an acquired taste. But I couldn't care less, because I absolutely love it.

Thank you if you read the whole mega review, and I will blog again soon! Bye for now!

MY RATING
++++++++++++++++++

Where Have I Been?

2009-10-11T19:29:00.003+01:00

Oh my... has it really been since July that I updated?

I'm very sorry loyal viewers (all two of them!)

I have been very busy at Uni though. Making a new film now that I'm very excited about and am doing a dissertation all about animated films too - which is good - but very time consuming.

Anyway, I will try to blog more than I did this Summer... and I have added a whole butt load of films below for you to all look at.

All in all it's been a good Summer for films, especially the end which brought too many great films to mention!

I will be writing a massive review for 500 Days of Summer soon, so keep looking!

Bye for now! Enjoy!

MOVIE REVIEW : Up

2009-10-11T19:21:00.003+01:00

UP

Directed by Pete Docter and Bob Peterson

Starring Ed Asner and Jordan Nagai

PLOT

By tying thousands of balloon to his home, 78-year-old Carl Fredricksen sets out to fulfill his lifelong dream to see the wilds of South America. Right after lifting off, however, he learns he isn't alone on his journey, since Russell, a wilderness explorer 70 years his junior, has inadvertently become a stowaway on the trip.

REVIEW

+ Once again Pixar have knocked it out the park in every respect, beating every other animated film this year. +

+ It looks amazing - the characters may be caricutered - but the sheer amount of detail often is outstanding. +

+ Feels great to have a lead character that is original and never really been done in an animation before. +

+ They've shown you nothing in the trailer... you will be surprised! +

+ A good score from Michael Giacchino who has been a bit hit and miss lately. +

+ Both Kevin and Dug steal the show and will have you talking about them for ages. +

+ A villain that actually feels quite threatening to the main characters. +

+ Very, very brave in a lot of respects - especially in an opening montage that I don't want to give away. +

+ Loads of great action sequences, and as always, hilarious comedy. +

+ Kept me enthralled all the way through, and I know that I'll watch it time and time again like every other Pixar film. +

BEST MOMENT

A montage portraying Carl and his wife's life together. Completely brilliant and heartbreaking.

MY RATING
+++++++++

MOVIE REVIEW : District 9

2009-10-11T19:14:00.002+01:00

DISTRICT 9

Directed by Neill Blomkamp

Starring Sharlto Copley

PLOT

An extraterrestrial race forced to live in slum-like conditions on Earth suddenly finds a kindred spirit in a government agent who is exposed to their biotechnology.

REVIEW

+ A completely original piece of filmmaking. +

+ Amazing acting from newcomer Sharlto Copley. +

+ It's great that its set in South Africa... and really brings a breath of fresh air to sci-fi. +

+ The CG of the aliens is outstanding. +

+ The sound design and soundtrack are both brilliant too. +

+ The story will captivate you from the start and never let go till the end. +

+ Never does what you expect to happen. +

+ Breakneck directing from Neill Blomkamp who merges documentary, action and sci-fi to bring a unique experience. +

+ Never afraid to be horrifically gory, and to justify it. +

+ Many touching scenes that get you caught in the moment with, and don't realise you are on the edge of your seat. +

BEST MOMENT

There are so many... it's gotta be when he sees his infected arm for the first time though. I was just as shocked as he was.

MY RATING
+++++++++

MOVIE REVIEW : World's Greatest Dad

2009-10-10T12:17:00.003+01:00

WORLD'S GREATEST DAD

Directed by Bobcat Goldthwait

Starring Robin Williams and Alexie Gilmore

PLOT

A comedy about a man who learns that the things you want most may not be the things that make you happy, and that being lonely is not necessarily the same as being alone.

REVIEW

+ The twist in the middle is absolutely fantastic and caught me completely off guard. +

+ Often hilariously funny. +

+ Often incredibly sad. +

+ Often very shocking. +

+ Robin Williams did some terrific, subtle acting. +

+ Really surprises you all the way - never goes where you think it will. +

+ Super black comedy, done perfectly. +

+ Was never afraid to break the lines and go where you never the film would go. +

+ A great sequence at the end set to Queen and Bowie's "Under Pressure". +

- Ended quite quickly - and I just wanted more. -

BEST MOMENT

The horrible twist in the middle, taking the film in a completely new direction.

MY RATING
+++++++++-

MOVIE REVIEW : Bruno

2009-10-10T12:10:00.004+01:00

BRUNO

Directed by Larry Charles

Starring Sacha Baron Cohen and Gustaf Hammarsten

PLOT

Flamboyant Austrian fashionista Brüno takes his show to America.

REVIEW

+ It shocked and offended me - which is what I wanted. +

+ Like Borat, there were loads of scenes that made me cry with laughter. +

+ These films are always good for showing the sheer stupidity of some Americans. +

+ Sacha Baron Cohen is brilliant as Bruno.. +

+ My mouth was frequently on the floor gasping at how brave he was for doing some of this stuff. +

+ It was very short, but the length felt right. +

+ A wide variety of different scenes and situations. +

- In many scenes, it just went too far! -

- Sometimes the shocks feel too forced by showing penises etc. -

- It wasn't as funny or memorable as Borat. -

BEST MOMENT

When Bruno sneaks out of his tent naked at night, to go to one of the Americans tents claiming that "a bear ate his clothes".

MY RATING
+++++++---

MOVIE REVIEW : Year One

2009-10-10T12:01:00.002+01:00

YEAR ONE

Directed by Harold Ramis

Starring Jack Black and Michael Cera

PLOT

Zed and Oh are two tribesman. Zed is a hunter and Oh is a gatherer. After being informed Zed ate from Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, he is banished from the tribe. Oh decides to go with Zed on his journey to find the end of the Earth. Along the way, they encounter Cain and Abel (David Cross and Paul Rudd), and Abraham (Hank Azaria). After, Zed and Oh notice the girls they wanted to "lay with" (Maya and Eema) from their former tribe have been enslaved, they head off on a journey to save them.

REVIEW

+ Jack Black was very good. +

+ It was also good to see Kyle Gass make a cameo as a eunech. +

+ Actually, it was all the different cameos that made the film so good. +

+ Oliver Platt as the gay high priest absolutely stole the show. +

+ It did frequently make me laugh. +

- The cameos are all good - but they pass too quickly. I wanted more. -

- The music was pants . -

- Michael Cera was awful. -

- Relies heavily on poo, fart and sex jokes. -

- It looked... cheap. -

BEST MOMENT

When the High Priest gets Michael Cera to "baste him like a chicken". Hahaha.

MY RATING
+++++-----

MOVIE REVIEW : Inglorious Basterds

2009-10-10T11:53:00.002+01:00

INGLORIOUS BASTERDS

Directed by Quentin Tarantino

Starring Brad Pitt and Christoph Waltz

PLOT

In Nazi-occupied France during World War II, a group of Jewish-American soldiers known as "The Basterds" are chosen specifically to spread fear throughout the Third Reich by scalping and brutally killing Nazis. The Basterds soon cross paths with a French-Jewish teenage girl who runs a movie theater in Paris which is targeted by the soldiers.

REVIEW

+ Brad Pitt knocks it out the park with his performance - just as good as Burn After Reading. +

+ However, Christoph Waltz as the Jew Hunter steals the whole show (he is effectively the main character!) +

+ One of the best looking films of the year. +

+ Soundtrack, though a bit weird at times, is perfectly put together again by Tarantino. +

+ Dialogue heavy - but brilliant dialogue none-the-less.. +

+ Tension is perfectly built is many scenes - just wait till you see the opening 20 minutes. +

+ Very brave, and never shys away from the violence. +

+ Great direction from Tarantino as always, you can still always tell its directing by him! +

- Is absolutely nothing like the trailer makes it out to be. -

- I just wanted more. -

BEST MOMENT

When Brad Pitt and co reveal how well they can all speak Italian. Classic.

MY RATING
++++++++--

MOVIE REVIEW : The Time Traveler's Wife

2009-10-10T11:45:00.003+01:00

THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE

Directed by Robert Schwentke

Starring Rachel McAdams and Eric Bana

PLOT

A romantic drama about a Chicago librarian with a gene that causes him to involuntarily time travel, and the complications it creates for his marriage.

REVIEW

+ Rachel McAdams was rather "ding dong" ... if you know what I mean?!?. +

+ The acting was great from both the leads. +

+ Frequently surprised me - and never went where I expected it to go. +

+ The supporting cast were also good, also great to see Stephen Tobowlsky (whom I have been out to dinner with!) +

+ Great mix of romance, drama, comedy and sci-fi. +

+ Looked good all the way through - good cinematography. +

+ Nice to see a love story that wasn't all hugs and kisses. +

- The music was good, but didn't leave any kind of lasting impression. -

- From what I have heard... they left a lot of stuff out from the book. -

- If anything it could've been a bit longer, I wanted to see more on how the story progressed with these interesting characters. -

BEST MOMENT

A horrible twist when Rachel McAdams realises her unborn baby can also time travel...

MY RATING
+++++++---

MOVIE REVIEW : Public Enemies

2009-10-10T11:36:00.002+01:00

PUBLIC ENEMIES

Directed by Michael Mann

Starring Johnny Depp and Christian Bale

PLOT

The Feds try to take down notorious American gangsters John Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson and Pretty Boy Floyd during a booming crime wave in the 1930s.

REVIEW

+ I don't normally like gangster films - but really enjoyed this one. +

+ Constantly gripping storyline that never gets boring. +

+ Johnny Depp once again steals the show - and its always good to see him play a bad guy. +

+ It's nice to see Christian Bale give a good performance after the shocking acting from him in Terminator Salvation. +

+ Loads of very tense moments, all of which are perfectly paced. +

+ There are some spectacular moments of action. +

+ At times, the camera style makes you feel like you are actually there. +

- The digital cameras used actually ruined the movie for me - it looked so poo and blurry! -

- The music wasn't as good as it could have been. -

- Oh god... that camera work.... -

BEST MOMENT

I'm going to say the last scene. The tension is perfectly built and really pays off in the climax of the film.

MY RATING
+++++++---

MOVIE REVIEW : Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

2009-07-19T11:53:00.003+01:00

HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE

Directed by David Yates

Starring Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson

PLOT

As Harry Potter begins his 6th year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, he discovers an old book marked mysteriously "This book is the property of the Half-Blood Prince" and begins to learn more about Lord Voldemort's dark past.

REVIEW

+ I am a massive fan of both the Harry Potter books and films. Once again, this one is the best. +

+ It looked absolutely amazing. Invisible CG and stunning cinematography. +

+ Nicholas Hopper's music was once again great - though I'm looking forward to John Williams returning for Film 7. +

+ Great performances from everyone involved. Jim Broadbent steals the show as Slughorn, but the main three really up their game too. +

+ I loved the mix of dark story moments and romance - some people hate it, but relationships were one of my favourite things about Harry Potter. +

+ Sound design was wonderful too - very dark and mysterious the whole way through. +

+ Perfectly directed again by David Yates. I am very glad he is doing the final film too. +

+ I love the overall story of this book, and the really did it justice. They did cut a lot out, but I can't say there were many bits that I actually MISSED. +

+ I was worried about what they would do with the cave sequene. But it's fantastic. The Inferi and the fire were as good as I'd imagined them. +

+I knew exactly what was gonna happen... but was still so tense at the end. +

So this is the second film of the year to get a perfect rating, along with Watchmen. It isn't a dead on perfect film, you may not like it as I did. But I have a soft spot for all the Harry Potter films, and this is my favourite book, and I wasn't disappointed at all. Right now - I can't think of anything negative to say. I wanna see it again!

BEST MOMENT

It's a toss-up. Hmmm.

The cave sequence was always my favourite part in all the Harry Potter books and they really did it justice in this film. I loved every second of it.

I did also love when Hermione breaks down after seeing Ron kiss Lavender. It was a great scene, very well done with great performances from all the main cast - especially Emma Watson.

MY RATING
++++++++++

MOVIE REVIEW : Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs

2009-07-19T11:43:00.002+01:00

ICE AGE 3: DAWN OF THE DINOSAURS

Directed by Carlos Saldhana, Mike Thurmeier

Starring John Leguizamo, Ray Romano, Denis Leary

PLOT

When Sid's attempt to adopt three dinosaur eggs gets him abducted by their real mother to an underground lost world, his friends attempt to rescue him.

REVIEW

+ Wooooo! Dinosaurs! +

+ Always liked the Ice Age films - and this one is no different. Feels like a true sequel - no complaints here. +

+ It looked surprisingly great - though not as good as some other things I've seen. +

+ Hilariously funny performances from everyone. +

+ Every Scrat "escapade" is still original. How do they keep coming up with these things? +

+ Simon Pegg absolutely STEALS the show. Buck was a fantastic addition to the series. +

+ Story flew by really quickly because I was engaged in the plot and the characters. +

+ The 3D looked really good as expected. +

- John Powell's score was great in the last film... but was weak in this installment. -

- I hear they are making an Ice Age 4... they should stop now with a good trilogy. -

BEST MOMENT

Scrat stuck in a tar bubble. Hahahaha. Classic.

MY RATING
++++++++--

MOVIE REVIEW : Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen

2009-07-19T11:33:00.004+01:00

TRANSFORMERS 2: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN

Directed by Michael Bay

Starring Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox

PLOT

Decepticon forces return to Earth on a mission to take Sam Witwicky prisoner, after the young hero learns the truth about the ancient origins of the Transformers. Joining the mission to protect humankind is Optimus Prime, who forms an alliance with international armies for a second epic battle.

REVIEW

+ CG was so good I wanted to lick my own eyeballs. +

+ Spectacular ... pretty much as big as movies can get at the moment. +

+ I don't care what other people think - I still like Shia LaBeouf. +

+ I loved everything with the parents - some people may hate the goofy sense of humour, but I really love them in both the movies. +

+ Steve Jablonsky's score is great again - though more of the same. +

+ Though the plot wasn't great - I still enjoyed the overall story and following the characters. +

+ Sound design was outstanding and very, very loud. +

- It just wasn't as good as the first one. -

- More plot holes than a caterpillar infested plant. -

- I'm all for immature humour - but this did take it too far sometimes. -

BEST MOMENT

Optimus Prime versus about six Decepticons in the forest. Epic, awesome, shocking.

MY RATING
+++++++---

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

2009-06-23T15:12:00.002+01:00

For me, the game I'm looking forward to most this year (more than Assassin's Creed 2 Modern Warfare 2) is actually the sequel to my favourite PlayStation game - Uncharted.

This trailer looks too good. The graphics are the best I've seen on a console so far, and the gameplay looks even better than last time.

These games are the closest thing you'll get to living an Indiana Jones game. If you haven't checked out the last game - do it now.

This trailer is story focused which is why I love it so much. The main thing that I loved was that Elena is back. Up to now they've only showed a new girl, and I really wanted Elena back because of the great chemistry between them.

Looks awesome!

Video Games | Uncharted 2: Among Thieves | E3 09: Official Trailer HD

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

And check out this gameplay too to see why these games are just so immersive. And check out the graphics!

Video Games | Uncharted 2: Among Thieves | E3 09: Developer Walkthrough HD

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

Project Natal

2009-06-23T15:09:00.001+01:00

A pretty badly kept secret was that Microsoft was going to show some kind of motion controller this year. I wasn't expecting this though. Sony's was pretty good, but is effectively a glorified Wii-mote.

For me I am getting most excited about Natal. It may not work like I want it too. But if it does... droooooool...

Video Games | Project Natal | E3 09: Project Natal Intro HD

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

Oh.... and this thing is just plain creepy...

Video Games | Lionhead Milo Project | E3 09: Milo Tech Demo HD

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

Assassin's Creed 2

2009-06-23T15:05:00.001+01:00

As well as Mass Effect 2, I'm really looking forward to this one too.

Check out this gameplay to see why it's going to be so "bad ass" !

Video Games | Assassin's Creed II | E3 09: Ubisoft Press Conference Gameplay HD

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

Mass Effect 2 Trailer

2009-06-23T15:01:00.002+01:00

OHHHH YEAH!

I can't wait for this one, just look at this trailer. It looks so good I may poo!

Video Games | Mass Effect 2 | E3 09: Extended Trailer HD

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

MOVIE REVIEW : The Hangover

2009-06-23T14:49:00.004+01:00

THE HANGOVER

Directed by Todd Phillips

Starring Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis

PLOT

A Las Vegas-set comedy centered around three groomsmen who lose their about-to-be-wed buddy during their drunken misadventures, then must retrace their steps in order to find him.

REVIEW

+ It really is hilarious as everyone is making out to be. +

+ Very rude indeed and not afraid to get each situation to the extreme. +

+ Great performances from everyone involved. +

+ Never gets boring and there is always something new happening. +

+ I like the way that it fuses the genre of comedy with mystery too as they are looking for their friend. +

+ Zach Galifianakis steals the show from everyone else. +

+ A truly great end credits sequence. +

+ Loads of creative ideas about what happened during the night and never too extreme to be absolutely impossible. +

- Perhaps a little too long. -

- Lost some momentum towards the middle, but did get it back. -

BEST MOMENT

When they first wake up in the morning and see all the carnage ever

MY RATING
++++++++--

MOVIE REVIEW : Terminator Salvation

2009-06-16T14:08:00.002+01:00

TERMINATOR SALVATION

Directed by McG

Starring Christian Bale and Sam Worthington

PLOT

After Skynet has destroyed much of humanity in a nuclear holocaust, a group of survivors led by John Connor struggles to keep the machines from finishing the job.

REVIEW

+ It looks phenomenal - great sense of atmosphere. +

+ Sam Worthington gave a great performance. +

+ The CG was spectacular. +

+ I absolutely loved the sound design - especially the Harvester scene. +

+ The Arnie fight was done well and put a huge grin on my face. +

+ Some really creative cinematography - just watch the helicopter scene at the start. +

+ I was worried about McG directing - but he really made some great action scenes here. +

- If they hadn't have told you the twist in the trailer - it would have been a great twist in the film. I'm so annoyed they did! BLAH! -

- Christian Bale gives a bad performance - does nothing but grunt and shout. -

- A lot of plot and pacing problems. -

BEST MOMENT

The Harvester scene. A great mix of perfect CG and loud sound design that'll keep you on the edge of your seat.

MY RATING
+++++++---

MY TOP 100 MOMENTS IN FILM : 90-81

2009-06-11T14:42:00.003+01:00

90. Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me

This is a series that I've always loved. It has a great immature comedy that really makes me giggle more than most films can make me do so.

A key example of this is in the second film where Austin and Felicity are getting things out of a bag in their tent.

However, from the outside the silohuette makes it look like she's in fact pulling things out of his rectum.

It's a cleverly shot scene and perfectly shows the innuendo and utter ridiculousness of the Austin Powers humour.

89. Contact

Contact is a film that I watched as a kid and never understood. It was all a bit grown up for me! However I have recently rewatched it and its a terrific film full of suspence and great performances. The ending is disappointing, but the first two hours are terrific.

I won't give away too much of the story but the best moment for me is when the main character finally transports using the craft the signals had told them to.

The sequence where she travels through a series of wormholes is a fantastic sensory experience with amazing visuals and even better sound. It took my breath away, and is the closest thing to being on a rollercoaster within a film so far.

88. Me, Myself and Irene

I love all Jim Carrey films, but this is one of his best. It's full of moments that are classic and memorable, but the best has to be when he takes his pills without water. It gives him severe "dry mouth".

I don't know how Jim Carrey does it, but he manages to fold his lips back exposing just his teeth. The image is one of the funniest I've ever seen. Not only that, but everyone's reaction to it just makes it even funnier.

87. Romeo + Juliet

I love Baz Luhrmann as a director, Australia was great and Moulin Rouge is one of my favourite films ever. I also love what he did with Romeo + Juliet. Its certainly unique. Choosing to use the original language but updating the story to a modern setting was a brave idea that split people. I loved it though.

One of the best things about it though is the casting, Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes make fantastic leads. The love scene where they meet is perfectly done. The cinematography and acting are both terrific. The best thing about it though is the music. Des'ree sings "Kissing You" which perfectly matches the romance of the scene.

I have chosen the pool scene as my favourite moment because I have always found it memorable as it blends romance, drama and comedy perfectly. Just listen out for that soundtrack though!

86. The Lost World: Jurassic Park

God I love dinosaurs. I am a mega fan of the Jurassic Park series, and though nothing could beat the first for me... The Lost World is a pretty awesome sequel.

I love how the Rex's are used compared to the first film. I'd say if the first films main villains are the Velociraptors, and the third's is the Spinosaurus... in this film it has to be the Rex. And DAMN STRAIGHT I say!

The best sequence in the Lost World though is when the Rex's come to find their baby. Words cannot describe how awesome this sequence is. Its so tense, action packed and dramatic. It's proof that Spielberg really is a master of what he does.

Not only that, but its a great showcase for showing off the dinosaurs - through both CG and the robotic versions. Too goooood....

85. Edward Scissorhands

The Ice Dance is a great sequence from a great film. In my opinion this scene sums up everything about the film.

When you ask people about Edward Scissorhands they'll talk about the music, cinematography, style, fairytalism and the snow.

This scene has everything. It's as simple as a girl dancing in the snow, but Tim Burton pulls it off fantastically into a memorable and terrific scene.

84. Finding Neverland

I find this film both easy to digest, but hard to watch. Its no bad thing. This film has great everything... story, performances and more. But it all comes with a price as many people know.

The scene I have chosen is when the Peter Pan play comes to perform in Kate Winslet's house as she is too ill to go and see it.

Its a scene that unexpectedly comes out of nowhere which shocks both the character and the audience. I always grin whilst watching this scene, yet get sad at the same time thinking about what it all means.

83. The Mummy Returns

I love both The Mummy films. Never seen the third, but the first two are terrific adventure films which are definately better than Indiana Jones 4. The first film has a higher spot on the list, but the sequel too had a scene that I'll always remember.

It's a film full of ridiculous stunts, daring adventure and high romance. (SPOILERS AHEAD!) No one expected it though when Evey is suddenly stabbed by one of the Mummy's. I couldn't believe it because I was so caught up in the story and with the characters.

I find it hard to watch when Rick then finds her. It's a great performance from both actors and a stand out scene within the film.

82. Gremlins

Gremlins is such a fun little film. It's incredibly dark yet hilariously funny. I want to shake the hand of the man that came up with the concept though just because its brought me so much joy.

My favourite scene has got to be when the Gremlins crash the cinema. There is a moment when the projector accidentally turns on and Snow White starts playing. All the Gremlins stop and watch the screen, they then start singing along. It's such an amazing moment, a comedy classic that I'll always remember. If you don't smile watching this scene... you have no soul.

81. Constantine

Many people hated Constantine, but I always enjoyed it. Keanu Reeves fits the role well and the story is dark and thought provoking.

All the best moments though are when Constantine walks through Hell. Its amazing imagery presented in a way that you've never thought possible before. When I saw this scene in the trailer I leapt out my chair and the final film didn't disappoint.

There's no talking, its all CG apart from Keanu... yet is the most powerful scene in the film. Sheer awesomeness on celluloid.

MY TOP 100 MOMENTS IN FILM : 95 - 91

2009-06-10T15:57:00.006+01:00

For those who missed the first part... CLICK HERE!

95. Robin Hood: Men in Tights

I grew up with this film, and it's always been one of my favourites. It's actually my favourite take on Robin Hood - even if it is a comedy!

There are so many great moments, but none are better than the Great Hall scene in which Robin Hood and his Merry Men crash King John's party.

It has a great sword fight, hilarious moments and even the meeting of Maid Marian and Robin Hood for the first time. Pure class.

94. Watchmen

This is a film that split people 50-50. Some people absolutely loved it and some people didn't really like it. Take my two housemates - Boz loved it like me, whereas Joel didn't think it was as good as everyone was making out to be.

I loved it personally, I loved the graphic novel and thought this was a fantastic adaptation. My favourite part in the book was always the origin of Dr Manhattan, and luckily for me this was probably the most well reconstructed scene for the film.

It is a perfect mix of amazing imagery, terrific acting, a great voiceover and an all around well directed sequence.

For me, it was scenes like this that made Watchmen so good. Not all the action scenes, its the human emotion and character building that drive the story - and this does it the best.

93. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

If you have been reading my blog - you'll know from my review of this film that I was always very fond of it. I love character stories like this one, and the presentation was so outstanding that it took my breath away.

The first hour was always my favourite with Benjamin Button being young - yet looking old. The CG deserved its Oscar ten times over.

My favourite part though is the bit from the trailers where Benjamin and young Daisy sit under a table at night and fully introduce each other. By talking they realise they aren't too different and are both just children in a very strange circumstance.

What amazes me about it though is what the audience doesn't see. Benjamin in this scene is played by a dwarf which then has a CG head of Brad Pitt put onto it. Brad Pitt then does the voice of it too. And Daisy is played by a young actress, but then has her voice dubbed by Cate Blanchett.

So even though this scene is done between the two children - Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett are there all along meeting for the first time. It's fantastic.

92. Dumb and Dumberer

I should hate this film. Most of it is utter rubbish. How dare they replace Jim Carrey's character with someone else.

Amongst this stinker of a film though is one of my favourite movie moments ever. It is incredibly immature and complete fun. Everyone I talk to agrees that this is the best part of the film, and also just a great comedy moment in general.

When Harry is at a hot girls house, he forgets he has chocolate in his pocket. He goes to the toilet to talk to Lloyd out the window and leans against the radiator melting the chocolate. In a panic when Harry realises, he manages to smear the chocolate all over the bathroom walls. The girls Dad then comes up to the bathroom (who already thinks Harry is a retard!) and sees the mess.

He then begins to take in the horrific sight assuming it is in fact poo. It is his reaction that is so funny. It starts with panic and turns to full screaming by the end. I remember crying when I saw this scene and it still makes me laugh to this day.

91. The Matrix Revolutions

This film may have been the weakest out of the Matrix trilogy, but it still had many great moments. It is one of my favourite HD DVDs because the CG is just jaw dropping and the scene I have picked is the key example of this.

When the sentinels are about to breach the city to kill everyone, the humans get into their APCs to shoot them down. What happens is the most eye candy I've witnessed in a scene at any one moment. There's so much going on that you can't take your eyes off the screen. The action is amazing and the CG is even better.

Every shot looks like a painting because there is beauty to all the madness. The fire starts to light up the room in a unique way which makes all the metal just look more natural. There's not too much more I can say unless you see the scene for yourselves.

Update!

2009-06-10T15:50:00.002+01:00

Hey readers!

I can't believe how long its been since I updated. I apoligise, especially to my Outer Guatamalen readers - you know who you are!

Well I've finished my second year of University! I'm pleased to say our final film turned out great. We are all really pleased with it, and so are the tutors. We all got a First, so a well done to my whole group.

Apart from that, not been up to too much. Been at home relaxing. I'm looking for a job. No luck yet though I'm afraid.

Anywho... I've updated the blog with a few reviews, which you can read below. I will also be posting another movie moments list later on! So look out for it!

Till then my hard rocking amigo's!

MOVIE REVIEW : Angels and Demons

2009-06-10T15:42:00.003+01:00

ANGELS AND DEMONS

Directed by Ron Howard

Starring Tom Hanks, Ewan McGregor and Ayelet Zurer

PLOT

Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon works to solve a murder and prevent a terrorist act against the Vatican.

REVIEW

+ I liked the first - and this one is far better. +

+ Excellent pacing, feels fast but never rushed. +

+ A knock out score from Hans Zimmer. +

+ Good acting from everyone involved. +

+ I've read the book, knew what was going to happen... but it still made me tense! +

+ One of the best explosions I've seen so far in a movie! +

+ I like the way you think the movie ends, then it carries on... +

+ Cleverly executed death scenes - violent but never too violent. +

- The beginning felt a little slow. -

- They missed a lot out from the book. -

BEST MOMENT

The explosion at the end - the most I've grinned so far this Summer.

MY RATING
++++++++--

MOVIE REVIEW : Night at the Museum 2

2009-06-10T15:34:00.002+01:00

NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM 2

Directed by Shawn Levy

Starring Ben Stiller and Amy Adams

PLOT

Security guard Larry Daley infiltrates the Smithsonian Institute in order to rescue Jedediah and Octavius, who have been shipped to the museum by mistake.

REVIEW

+ The villain is the best thing about it - hilarious performance from Hank Azaria. +

+ Great CGI, pretty seamless with the live action. +

+ A lot of great ideas executed in hilarious ways. +

+ Full of fun, if brief cameos from a wide range of actors and comedians. +

+ Story was better than the first, and so was the overall content. +

+ Made me laugh more than the first one did. +

+ The tiny characters - Owen Wilson and Steve Coogan - steal the show. +

- Not an amazing score or cinematography. -

- Not enough Robin Williams in it! -

- The ending seemed a little rushed. -

BEST MOMENT

A spoof of a 300 fight scene using all the tiny characters and a lot of feet.

MY RATING
+++++++---

TV Review - Lost Season 5

2009-06-10T15:22:00.002+01:00

LOST SEASON 5

Created by J.J. Abrams, Jeffrey Lieber, Damon Lindelof

Main Cast : Matthew Fox, Naveen Andrews, Jorge Garcia, Josh Holloway, Daniel Dae Kim, Yunjin Kim, Evangeline Lilly, Terry O'Quinn, Michael Emerson

REVIEW

+ For the fifth year running, a knockout finale with a great twist yet again! +

+ Still the best looking show on television. +

+ Also has the best music too. +

+ Acting is still phenomenal across the board - especially still Michael Emerson as Ben. +

+ It is interesting to see the show heading in a sci fi direction. +

+ Every season still manages to feel unique to the one before it. +

+ The twists always make me want to see the next one, still as addictive as ever. +

- I don't like the way groups of characters are only in certain episodes then missed out in others. Locke was missing for about half the season at one point! -

- Often confusing, time travel makes my head want to explode. -

- I'm still worried that they won't be able to answer everything in one more season. -

BEST EPISODE

I hate to say it yet again - but the finale. Another great twist that I didn't see coming.

MY RATING
++++++++--

TV Review : Desperate Housewives Season 5

2009-06-10T15:12:00.003+01:00

DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES SEASON 5

Created by Marc Cherry

Main Cast : Teri Hatcher, Marcia Cross, Felicity Huffman, Eva Longoria Parker, Nicollette Sheridan, Ricardo Chavira, James Denton, Kyle MacLachlan, Doug Sava

REVIEW

+ I absolutely loved Dave as a villain! +

+ The tension is still always there, even five years after the show started. +

+ Each of the characters had interesting seperate stories. +

+ Often still absolutely hilarious. +

+ Still manages to surprise me with its unexpected twists and unpredictable characters. +

+ Still good music, though not as great as previous seasons. +

+ It's good to see the men of Wysteria Lane given more to do for once. +

+ Orson still remains my favourite character, and I don't have a clue what he'll do next season... +

- Some filler episodes in the middle wasted time when I wanted to see what was going to happen next. -

- Lynette - who was my favourite character - is becoming too much of a bitch, I don't like it! -

BEST EPISODE

The finale. A true nail biter yet again which doesn't disappoint at all.

MY RATING
++++++++--

TV Review : Scrubs Season 8

2009-05-14T00:31:00.003+01:00

SCRUBS SEASON 8

Created by Bill Lawrence

Main Cast : Zach Braff, Donald Faison, Sarah Chalke, Judy Reyes, Neil Flynn, John C. McGinley, Ken Jenkins

REVIEW

+ A great finale that wrapped everything up. +

+ All the characters are just as funny as ever. +

+ The two Bahama's episodes were a refreshing change, and didn't disappoint. +

+ Every character had an important arc that was completed by the end of the season. +

+ J.D.'s flash of the future at the end was a great moment in TV. +

+ The music is the same as ever, and I have no complaints about that. Good choices again! +

+ It was good to finally see J.D. and Elliot get together properly. +

+ Still a good mix of humour and heavy drama that still affects me to the end. +

- I didn't like the new interns. -

- In some episodes, certain main characters were missing. Didn't feel like proper Scrubs. -

BEST EPISODE

The finale. Wrapped things up just how I wanted them to.

MY RATING
++++++++--

TV Review : Fringe Season 1

2009-05-14T00:20:00.002+01:00

FRINGE SEASON 1

Created by J.J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci

Main Cast : Anna Torv, John Noble, Joshua Jackson, Jasika Nicole, Lance Reddick, Kirk Acevdo, Blair Brown

REVIEW

+ Towards the end, got absolutely fantastic. +

+ Good acting all around. +

+ Fantastic, film like cinematography. +

+ Walter is officially my favourite TV character of this year, full of quotes are perfectly acted by John Noble. +

+ Some great, intelligent writing in every episode. +

+ Good overall series arc and great episode only arcs. +

+ Great special effects for a TV show. +

+ Not afraid to hold back on shocks and gore, a refreshing change. +

- Didn't start off too well. -

- Some characters could've been used in more effective ways. -

BEST EPISODE

An episode where they discover a virus that makes skin grow over any hole on their body. Great storyline and the classic Fringe moments too.

MY RATING
++++++++--

TV Review : Castle Season 1

2009-05-14T00:07:00.003+01:00

CASTLE SEASON 1

Created by Andrew W. Marlowe

Main Cast : Nathan Fillion, Stana Katic, Susan Sullivan, Molly C. Quinn, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Tamala Jones, Jon Huertas, Seamus Dever

REVIEW

+ Nathan Fillion is absolutely fantastic as ever! +

+ Stana Katic is a great companion to him. +

+ The murders are always interesting and unique. +

+ All the scenes with Castle and his daughter are the best. +

+ The relationship between the two leads is perfectly balanced between love and hate. +

+ Tonnes of classic Nathan Fillion moments. +

+ Very well written, especially the book excerpt scenes. +

- Some repetitive storylines. -

- The supporting cast aren't very good, room for improvement. -

- I want to see even more classic Nathan Fillion moments! -

BEST EPISODE

I'd say the Pilot. A brilliant experience and great storyline ready to set up the rest of the series.

MY RATING
+++++++---

TV Review : Pushing Daisies Season 2

2009-05-13T23:59:00.003+01:00

PUSHING DAISIES SEASON 2

Created by Bryan Fuller

Main Cast : Lee Pace, Anna Friel, Chi McBride, Jim Dale, Ellen Greene, Swoosie Kurtz, Kristin Chenoweth

REVIEW

+ Every episode had a unique and awesome new theme. +

+ The two leads had great chemistry. What a tragic romance. +

+ A totally different look to everything else. +

+ Exceptionally well written. +

+ The darkest kind of humour, and all the better for it. +

+ All the characters had a storyline in this season, each as good as the other. +

+ Anna Friel is rather ding dong, as always. +

+ Some of the most unique deaths you'll ever see on TV. +

+ Fairytale like music and sound design. +

+ Absolutely tragic that the show has ended before it got a chance to finish properly, was my favourite current show on TV. +

BEST EPISODE

The nun episode. Compelling, funny, and who could've expected that killer?

MY RATING
++++++++++

MOVIE REVIEW : Star Trek (2009)

2009-05-13T23:48:00.002+01:00

STAR TREK (2009)

Directed by J.J. Abrams

Starring Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto

PLOT

A chronicle of the early days of James T. Kirk and his fellow USS Enterprise crew members.

REVIEW

+ The new cast are fantastic! +

+ Mind blowing special effects - nothing wrong whatsoever. +

+ Good music, though definately room for improvement in the next one. +

+ Very fast and never boring. +

+ The story is really good, with a very clever twist to reboot the series in a unique way. +

+ The sound design is great - especially the use of silence in space. +

+ Exceptionally well written and directed. +

+ Loads of easter eggs and nods to the original series for die hard Trekkies. +

+ An overall great film that everyone can enjoy in their own way.+

- Some of the cinematography is crazy! Lens flare gone mad! -

BEST MOMENT

The space jump. The use of silence is awesome.

MY RATING
+++++++++-

Ah, Dear George...

2009-05-10T18:48:00.003+01:00

I will be writing my review for Star Trek later on. But for now I just had to share this...

I love George Takei, and for him to do his video was priceless in a way that I could never have imagined.

WATCH IT! NOWWWW!!!

MOVIE REVIEWS : Star Trek 1-10

2009-05-09T14:57:00.003+01:00

Hey! So the new Star Trek was out yesterday, and I am seeing it tonight. I am nearly wetting myself in anticipation! I think it's going to be awesome!

What I did however, before seeing the new one was decide to borrow my Dad's extremely geeky boxset of all the previous Star Trek films.

Some of them I had seen before, some I had not! I have watched bits and bobs of all the TV series, enough to know who all the characters are but was looking forward to experiencing every truly big adventure.

I will not be writing a full review for each film, as there are ten of then! Each will get a rating and a short paragraph. Let us begin...

1. STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE (1979)

A pretty bad start to be honest. The opening is good as it resets the series but this is by far the most boring Trek movie I have seen. The introduction to the Enterprise is ten minutes of the Captain flying to it. The only good thing about the sequence is the music. The main problem here though is just nothing really happens. The ship is flying through space clouds for the most of the film. Try to avoid this one!

+++-------

2. STAR TREK: THE WRATH OF KHAN (1982)

Now this is more like it. Widely regarded as the best of the Trek films - I was looking forward to this one and wasn't disappointed. It is very much an adventure film which lots of vast locations, great action, a cool villain and fantastic ending. This is what an introduction to the Star Trek universe should be like!

++++++++--

3. STAR TREK: THE SEARCH FOR SPOCK (1979)

(SPOILER!) After Spock dies at the end of Wrath of Khan, I thought they were very brave to kill off such a main character. However, as you can guess from the title - he doesn't stay dead for long. It's actually a continuation from Wrath of Khan - picking up the day after. It is nowhere near as good though. The action is clumsy, characters are boring and nothing all that interesting happens. Christopher Lloyd does make a good villain though.

+++++-----

4. STAR TREK: THE VOYAGE HOME (1986)

Now this was actually my favourite of the original Star Trek films! It perfectly blends genres together - comedy, drama, romance and action. It is a very tongue in cheek film but that works for it rather than against it. A lot of these characters are doing exactly what the fans wanted them to do. Whether its Spock doing a Vulcan sleeper hold on a 80's punk - or see George Takei flying a helicopter! It's great fun and really recommended from me!

+++++++++-

5. STAR TREK: THE FINAL FRONTIER (1989)

Oh dear. Who let William Shatner direct this one? You know its going to be bad from the start where the crew are actually hiking around a national park, singing camp fire songs to each other and more. The film is about finding God which was still a little ridiculous in my eyes for Trek. It's too pretentious, the villain is utter poo and all feels way too uneven.

++++------

6. STAR TREK: THE UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY (1991)

There's a supposed curse on the Star Trek movies which makes every other one good. So far this has been true! I really enjoyed the Undiscovered Country as not just a Trek film... but as a murder mystery too. It blends genres well again like all the best films and provides an intriguing, good to watch final voyage of the original Star Trek crew. It's also worth noting that its directed by the same guy that did Wrath of Khan. He knows his stuff.

++++++++--

7. STAR TREK: GENERATIONS (1994)

So here it makes the jump to the Next Generation crew. Which is good because I know them better than the old crew. Its a shame this film is a little disappointing because it had a great concept. The merging of the two generations could have held many possibilities - but instead we get Kirk and Picard riding horseback around prairies. There are good bits (like the Enterprise crash landing on a planet), but it just felt like a wasted oppurtunity to me.

++++++----

8. STAR TREK: FIRST CONTACT (1996)

This is by far my favourite of all the Star Trek films. As a kid I used to watch this one all the time, and it is still fantastic to this day. The action is awesome, it also has great comedy and drama. There are effectively two different stories going on here but they blend together perfectly. The Borg, and especially the Borg Queen make great villains - it was nice to see them get a movie about them that lives up to and exceeds expectations.

++++++++++

9. STAR TREK: INSURRECTION (1998)

After the awesome First Contact film, I was looking forward to this one too. It was by the same director. Unfortunately, its nowhere near as good. There are still great moments, and loads of good action scenes but the main problem here is that it often feels like an extended episode of TV, and doesn't have the epic feel of a movie that the other one did. I didn't really like the villain, which is Trek is always important.

+++++++---

10. STAR TREK: NEMESIS (2002)

The film that finally broke the rule of every other film being good - Nemisis managed to be worse than Insurrection. Neither of these two films are as bad as some of the original movies, but they just lack something. In this film there is just not enough character development or story. The battle at the end is great, as well as the (SPOILER!) death of Data... but the plot is too thin to every really get into it.

++++++----

So there we go. All Star Trek movies reviewed. The ones with the higher scores are absolutely worth checking out - especially The Voyage Home and First Contact. I am seeing the new one tonight, and can't wait. Look for a review probably tomorrow!

TV Review : Chuck Season 2

2009-05-05T18:10:00.002+01:00

CHUCK SEASON 2

Created by Chris Fedak and Josh Schwartz

Main Cast : Zachary Levi, Yvonne Strahovski, Adam Baldwin, Joshua Gomez, Sarah Lancaster, Ryan McPartlin, Vik Sahay, Scott Krinsky, Julia Ling, Mark Christopher Lawrence, Bonita Friedericy

REVIEW

+ A concept that keeps getting better! +

+ Really great action scenes - and always surprising. +

+ Still extremely funny. +

+ Great set of parallel stories with all the different characters. +

+ Crazy chemistry between the two main cast members. +

+ Wide variety of characters whom clash in all the right ways. +

+ An action scene to Mr Roboto - perfect! +

+I love all the Jeff and Lester storylines. +

- Sometimes repetitive. -

- I want Chuck and Sarah to get together! Stop teasing! -

BEST EPISODE

The finale. So much happened. Great action scenes. Great comedy. Great romance. And a brilliant twist!

MY RATING
++++++++--

TV Review : Heroes Season 3

2009-05-05T17:59:00.003+01:00

HEROES SEASON 3

Created by Tim Kring

Main Cast : Milo Ventimiglia, Hayden Panettiere, Zachary Quinto, Greg Grunberg, Masi Oka, James Kyson Lee, Sendhil Ramawurthy, Jack Coleman, Adrian Pasdar, Ali Larter, Cristine Rose

REVIEW

+ Get set of characters still. +

+ Sylar is still one of the best bad guys ever. +

+ Often looks like a movie. +

+ Hiro and Ando still make a great duo, even after three seasons. +

+ Some very strong writing, towards the end. +

+ Many twists that keep it interesting. +

- Ali Larter and Sendhil Ramawurthy's stories weren't very interesting. -

- Time travel mucked things up too much - often very confusing. -

- They shouldn't have tried to turn Sylar good - bad storyline! -

- Most of the action happens behind closed doors! -

BEST EPISODE

Cold Snap - written by Pushing Daisies creator Bryan Fuller. Tonnes of great character moments, an awesome CG scene and a twist that I really didn't see coming for once.

MY RATING
++++++----

MOVIE REVIEW : The Village

2009-05-05T17:36:00.003+01:00

THE VILLAGE

Directed by M. Night Shyamalan

Starring Bryce Dallas Howard and Joaquin Phoenix

PLOT

The population of a small, isolated countryside village believe that their alliance with the mythical creatures that inhabit the forest around them is coming to an end.

REVIEW

+ One of the best soundtracks... EVER! +

+ Outstanding cinematography. +

+ Acting masterclass for everyone involved. +

+ Brilliant sound design. +

+ Some truly great dialogue. +

+ Loads of long, brave takes. +

+ Unexpected twist in the middle. +

+ Really draws you in to the world.+

- Twist at the end is too predictable. -

- (SPOILER!) The monsters should have been real! -

BEST MOMENT

The day after Ivy and Lucius decide to marry, when Noah comes to visit Lucius (SPOILER!), and stabs him suddenly. Then Ivy finds him. What an acting masterpiece this scene is.

MY RATING
++++++++--

New Reviewing System...

2009-05-05T13:46:00.003+01:00

Hey everyone...

I'll be honest, there's so many reviews I want to write, and I just don't have the time and can't be bothered to write a long review for each one.

I have decided on a new reviewing system I will use on this blog for future films, games, TV etc...

Everything I review will have 10 bullet points free. I will write ten things that I liked or I didn't like about whatever it is I am reviewing.

So if I like something, that bullet point is changed to a + sign.

If I dislike something, the bullet point will be a - sign.

At the end of the review, the amount of +'s out of the ten bullet points is the final star rating for the review.

This should work out well and allow me to review more quickly in future.

Check back in soon for the first review in the series.

GAME REVIEW : Halo Wars (Xbox 360)

2009-05-04T16:20:00.005+01:00

HALO WARS (Xbox 360)

Developed by Ensemble Studios
Published by Microsoft Game Studios

REVIEW

+ Great graphics for an RTS game. +

+ Good music and the usual awesome Halo sounds.+

+ Phenomenal CG cutscenes. +

+ Intriguing story with characters that grow on you. +

+ Rewarding variety of gameplay (and co-op). +

+ Simple, but deep enough to keep you interested. +

+ Fun, challenging combat. +

+ Well balanced and great fun in multiplayer.+

- Some missions can be infuriating within the time limits it gives you. -

- Multiplayer matchmaking problems. -

BEST MOMENT

A cutscene at the beginning of the final level. When the Spartans unleash HELL onto the Covenant. This is the closest we'll get to a Halo movie for a while... and it is AMAZING!

MY RATING
++++++++--

MOVIE REVIEW : X-Men Origins: Wolverine

2009-05-03T16:54:00.004+01:00

X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE

Directed by Gavin Hood

Starring Hugh Jackman and Liev Schreiber

PLOT

Wolverine lives a mutant life, seeks revenge against Victor Creed (who will later become Sabertooth) for the death of his girlfriend, and ultimately ends up going through the mutant Weapon X program.

WHAT I THOUGHT

Oh dear. What a shame.

I thought X-Men 1 was great, and X-Men 2 was unbelievable. They had great characters, awesome action, good music, fantastic special effects. All of it. X-Men 3 was not as good. I didn't think it was as bad as many people made it out to be... but still nowhere near as great as the first two.

Now we come to the next installment. A prequel. So many good things could have happened in this film, I've been told lots about the origins of Wolverine - and it sounds awesome. So why wasn't this film very good?

There was just no substance to it. I love action films, and even enjoy guilty pleasures like Transformers. But this just didn't click with me.

It seems to follow a pattern of a bit of talking, then a massive action scene, then more talking which leads to the next action scene. And so on.

Now the action scenes were still pretty incredible, not much to complain about there. But I love most films for their story. All my favourite films are the ones with great narratives.

The main problem, above all others were the amount of characters in this film. In X-Men 3 there were loads too, but they killed loads off. In this one there are loads of characters, that too get killed off... but each has about 2 minutes of screen time. Why would I care about a character dying if I don't know them?

The acting is good from Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber and Danny Huston because they all get screen time. It's difficult to judge the other actors because they never get a moment to shine. I liked Ryan Reynolds - but he's only on screen for about 10 minutes! And I liked Dominic Monaghan - but probably only because I liked him in Lord of the Rings and Lost!

Also, although this doesn't bother me too much (because I never read the comics), I have been informed by a friend of mine that all the origins have changed and isn't faithful to the comic at all.

Like I mentioned though, the action scenes are pretty awesome. And the CG is good. The final fight I did enjoy, though nowhere near as much as Iron Man last year. It's just a shame the story is so thin behind it all.

So as you can guess, I didn't enjoy the film too much. If you love X-Men give it a shot when it comes out on DVD, but save your cinema money for Star Trek... that one looks awesome!

BEST MOMENT

Even though it was ridiculous, and as Boz told me - not like the character at all - I still liked the showdown at end with Weapon XI.

MY RATING
**********

MOVIE REVIEW : Fanboys

2009-05-03T16:51:00.004+01:00

FANBOYS

Directed by Kyle Newman

Starring Sam Huntington and Dan Fogler

PLOT

"Star Wars" fans travel to Skywalker Ranch to steal an early copy of "Episode I: The Phantom Menace".

WHAT I THOUGHT

I'd heard loads on the Internet about this film, and the concept seemed so awesome that I wanted to see it straight away!

The other day I finally got to see it - and it did live up to expectations.

This is probably the most GEEKY film I have watched in a long time.

Its basically a road movie, but based around Star Wars. The theme of Star Wars is clear in every frame of the film. If they're not wearing a Star Wars costume, there will be a poster in the background. Even the sound effects have been replaced with Star Wars sound effects! It's ridiculous but really works for the film.

As for the story - it's pretty thin. There is a cancer storyline behind the whole thing which surprised me, but apart from that... nothing big.

It's a film about getting from A to B and the situations they get themselves into in between. These are of course, the highlights of the movie. From gay bars to getting high with an Indian chief - its all here.

It is chock-a-block full of cameo's. From fellow comedians such as Danny McBride to full fledged stars like William Shatner (playing himself), it never gets boring.

All the cast were good. Each had a distinct personality meaning they worked well on screen together. My favourite was Dan Fogler as Hutch who plays the podgy one. He steals nearly every scene and all the funniest parts come from him. I'd also like to note that Kristen Bell is rather ding dong indeed as a brunette.

Another surprise for me was how much Seth Rogen is in the film. He plays three characters! Three! One alien, one Trekkie, and one Star Wars fan. His trekkie is by far the best though, and they have uglied him up so much that you nearly can't tell its him! Great stuff.

So this is one I strongly recommend. It certainly isn't for everyone. You If you are a geek, or just love Star Wars - see this film. Good, clean fun thats easy to watch.

BEST MOMENT

The fight between the Star Wars fans and the Star Trek fans.

MY RATING
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MOVIE REVIEW : The Bucket List

2009-04-28T23:52:00.002+01:00

THE BUCKET LIST

Directed by Rob Reiner

Starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman

PLOT

Two terminally ill men escape from a cancer ward and head off on a road trip with a wish list of to-dos before they die.

WHAT I THOUGHT

My final review for today is a film that I've been wanting to see for a while. I eventually managed to catch it on Sky Movies HD. I'd heard good things about it, but was worried it might be too sappy.

If you don't like sappy, this film may not be for you. It's a film that I'd almost describe as quite "innocent". Its a story that everyone should see and experience. In an industry that favours young actors and action films, its great to see a small drama film starring two acting veterans turn into such a big hit.

There isn't too much to tell because I don't want to spoil it. The opening is great. Watching the friendship develop between the two of them is by far the best thing about it. As you can guess, the acting is phenomenal.

I was also worried because you know how it's going to end at the beginning. The whole premise of the story is that they are going to die. I'm glad to say though that it still comes as a shock because you aren't expecting it when it does.

It's a film that is very easy to watch and will have a smile on your face for most of it, but a hard film to get to terms with too because the theme of death is so strong.

It's still very worth seeing though, just to follow the experiences of the two great characters and their brilliant budding relationship.

BEST MOMENT

The opening 20 minutes, when Nicholson and Freeman are in hospital together.

MY RATING
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MOVIE REVIEW : Let the Right One In

2009-04-28T23:48:00.003+01:00

LET THE RIGHT ONE IN

Directed by Tomas Alfredson

Starring Kare Hedebrant and Lina Leandersson

PLOT

Oscar, an overlooked and bullied boy, finds love and revenge through Eli, a beautiful but peculiar girl who turns out to be a vampire.

WHAT I THOUGHT

This is a small Swedish vampire film and I've heard nothing but praise for it. It seemed to come out of nowhere which was surprising but due to word of mouth, I eventually decided to watch it.

Wow. Every person interested in horror films, drama films and dare I say it... romance films... needs to see this movie.

Last year Twilight came out. I saw it but didn't review it. It wasn't necessarily a bad film, it just was very average and I feel it could have been made a lot better. It was famous though due to its concept of a vampire love story. This is the exact same concept here.

A very simple plot follows a young boy and girl (who turns out to be a vampire) as they meet, hang out, and fall in love with each other.

It's a strange film to watch because it's very slow. It is very quiet. It is a film you have to be patient with, which is very much the sign of a foreign film that has been made away from the eyes of American studios.

There is some real horror here. Not only from the gory moments (there are only a few, but they are so gruesome and realistic that they really stick with you), but from the situation. The fact that this girl is actually a killer is a very disturbing thing, which is why it is so interesting watching Oscar fall in love with her.

The cinematography is absolutely amazing. There still aren't many films that take my breath away in how they are presented, but this is one of them. It wasn't made on a large budget, but the amount of shots that made me think "How did they do that?" are huge. The music is very subtle, but very good too.

I really liked this film, and want to see it again some time. Its hard to watch, but totally worth it. I was fully engrossed in the story and didn't want it to end. Its full of stunning moments that you'll talk about for ages afterwards but I don't want to post to spoil them.

See this film!

BEST MOMENT

There's loads of great bits. The swimming pool finale is great though.

MY RATING
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