Another one word titled movie from Statham: Parker

Did you notice that Jason Statham stars in quite a few one-word titled movies like Blitz, Crank, Safe, Celluar, War?! Parker is, as you’d expect, a typical Jason Statham movie – it does what it says on the tin. Though whilst we were travelling down that road we know so well the film took an unusual diversion. We started off with what felt like a smaller almost indie type film, one with a low budget, a lot of raw violence, and bad guys turning on bad guys. Then half way through the movie we have JLo appearing as a key character. Whilst she has done more dramatic and indie roles like in Out of Sight and U Turn, in this film she was acting like she does in her typical comedies. Despite this feeling a little out of place my friend and I actually really enjoyed watching this one so something must have worked. Though I have to say I can imagine that quite a few die hard Jason Statham fans would cringe at her part in this one!!

Broken City does need fixing!

Wow! This was a heavy one to watch, one of those political thrillers where you need to pay very close attention or you won’t get what’s going on. I’m not very good at remembering character names when I’ve only just met the characters themselves, but they kept rolling them off – he did this about that and it was him who did … - you get the idea, and I was getting a little lost. They also seemed to be cramming in this information in the short time they had to get it across in the movie. I think this one would have worked better if it had been more focused on Mark Wahlberg’s detective character, Billy Taggart, and what he got up to as a detective – that would have made it much more watchable!

Wreck-It Ralph 3D

Do you watch 3D movies but then when you think back to them afterwards you just visualise them in 2D? I'm not sure why that is but they are fun to watch and Wreck-It Ralph is no exception. I didn’t really play arcade games when I was a kid, I was more of a Pinball kinda gal, but I did come across various arcade games over the years and it was great trying to spot them as the movie played out. The film-makers did a good job making sure they kept to the true styles of the games, like how the character’s moved and interacted, and how older game characters might be envious of today’s modern HD games. Whilst you may think this one is just for the kids, think again! When I went to watch it there were only adults in the audience and I’m sure they had all gone to reminisce about their arcade gaming childhood, although it has to be said - the movie  does get a little sugary sweet on more than one occasion!!

A good day to Die Hard!

The original Die Hard is one of my all time favourite movies. For me it set the future standard for producing exciting and original action movies. Now we are on the 5^th Die Hard and it’s been a long a varied journey. The latest I have to say is now my second favourite – yes, I personally thought it was that good. The budget they had for property damage must have been phenomenal, and it is non-stop adrenalin pumping action from start to finish. In fact there is so much action going on that you don’t want to blink in case you miss anything. Bruce is getting on a bit now but he kept up the John McClane persona that’s expected of him throughout the movie. So to gage if you’d like this movie compare your faves in the Die Hard film series to mine:

1.     Die Hard (The original cannot be beaten)

2.     A Good Day to Die Hard

3.     Die Hard with a Vengeance

4.     Live Free or Die Hard (aka Die Hard 4.0)

5.     Die Hard 2: Die Harder (This was bound to be the worst – it was given an unoriginal title with a number!)

How to fund movies for dummies.

You had a popular TV series that ran for 3 seasons and dreamed of having a follow-up movie but the Hollywood big wigs said 'no!' Do you just give up and start something new as all is lost? No, not if you're Rob Thomas. Wanting Veronica Mars to hit the big screens more than ever he took his plea to Kickstarter. The idea was to get fans to pledge the money needed for the movie and in return they would receive different rewards depending on the amount they pledged.

With everything set up it was hoped that $2 million would be raised within 30 days. Well! Within just 10 hours $2.5 million was actually raised. So as pledges still pour in as I type it looks like we'll get the Veronica Mars movie after all. It's just a pity that the Kickstarter campaign is limited to the U.S. as can you imagine the amount that worldwide pledges would raise!?! Following this success we may see more movie makers trying to raise funds this way - and I'm sure it will feel good to say "I funded that movie!" even if you only pledge $1.

Check out the Veronica Mars Movie Project on Kickstarter.

Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters

So another fairy tale is given a new lease of life on the big screen. With it being an MTV production you half know what to expect. If you liked Van Helsing you’ll enjoy it, and if you like Japanese horror / Samurai films with endless blood splatter you’ll enjoy it. The different types, even species, of witches that they came up with for this one are phenomenal and the make-up and costumes are amazing. The design of some of the weaponry is impressive as well. Whilst it is all about fighting the witches and not too much thinking, Hansel & Gretel is, for the non-squeamish of you out there, a couple of hours of fun in a fantasy world you’ve never explored.

Finding a Safe Haven

Watching the trailer for Safe Haven I didn’t quite know what to expect from the movie as it was advertised as being based on a novel by Nicholas Sparks, author of The Notebook and Dear John. I’ve never seen The Notebook but there are so many references to it in other movies I know it is truly a slushy one. I did watch Dear John and did find that uber-slushy! The trailer for Safe Haven did show an element of excitement in it but I wasn’t sure if this was a minor or major part of the plot, so I went in with an open mind and …

… I was pleasantly surprised! Safe Haven didn’t play too strongly on the romantic side of things, although the story itself isn't 100% original - we’ve seen similar stories before and a particular Julia Roberts film springs to mind ;o). It had intrigue, a bit of excitement and, just when you thought it had played out everything, there was an added element of surprise. It was that extra surprise that really made it. So a thumbs up to this one after all, though I’m not sure what was going on with Josh Duhamel’s hairstyle – throughout the movie I was thinking “Josh, why on earth are you wearing your hair like that!?!”