Deadfall

Deadfall is one of those smaller indie movies that you might only find at your local art house cinema. Should you bother? Well you know from the very start, after a brother and sister’s car crashes following their casino heist which results in them immediately killing a cop, that it will probably end badly, so no originality there! What lets this movie down is the supporting cast, as you have main characters played by Kris Kristofferson and Sissy Spacek giving the performances you’d expect of them (given their ages now they would also make a great Ma and Pa Kent!), Eric Bana and Olivia Wilde are pretty much how you’d expect them to be too. Then you have the other cops, a Native American hunter and a few others giving pretty bad performances as though they didn’t really belong in the movie. The story has promise and you do want to find out how it all ends, but editing and weak plot points have let this one down big time.

'Mud' in the Mississippi

Have you heard about Mud with Matthew McConaughey? I didn’t see any trailer for it and the first I heard about it was when the week's new releases were published. Described as something like Huckleberry Finn crossed with Stand by Me I thought I’d give it a go …  . This was such a good movie, enjoyable from start to finish. Two 14 year old boys, one with haircut just like River Phoenix in Stand By Me, off on an adventure come across a stranger who’s living rough on a tiny island in the Mississippi river.  He’s wanted by the law but he also wants to meet up with, what appears to be, his lifelong love on the mainland. The youngsters of course decide to help him. So the adventure unravels, and by no way is this film a romance, nor will it turn out quite how you’d expect. Remarkable performances by all, including the little guys, and a refreshing depart for Reese Witherspoon from her usual fluffy roles. This is definitely one worth spending your money to watch.

Oblivion

Tom Cruise knows how to pick them or do they pick him? No matter who picks who this is another sci-fi winner. Life and routine may seem pretty straight forward but when you start to dig a little deeper you come across many surprises and hidden secrets. As the plot unfolds we find out so many things we weren’t expecting or suspecting, but it’s best not read any spoilers or reviews before you watch this as that would indeed spoil it. What’s nice is that, despite all the winning films and occasional bad press, Tom Cruise, who recently appeared on the Graham Norton show, seems to remain a nice down to earth guy. This one is a must for Sci-Fi fans and one of the best Sci-Fi’s so far this year.

21 and over – that Jeff Chang movie

21 and over hasn’t really done well at the box office and scored a low 5.7 rating on IMDB. It is one of those ones that you go and watch thinking it will turn out badly or you’ll be pleasantly surprised. The trailer drew me in with curiosity as I wanted to find out what happened to Jeff Chang. The comedy in the movie was mediocre – it could have been a lot funnier, but the trio of best friends were fab! Throughout the film Miles Teller reminded me of a young John Cusack in films like Class in the 80s. It’s their fictional friendship and the obvious gelling between the actors that makes this one so enjoyable. Whilst it might not make you laugh that much, you come out with that feel good factor, remembering how important it is to go out and have fun no matter what age you are. Perhaps more of a Saturday afternoon DVD movie – then you can go out and have ‘fun’ afterwards!!

You guest it: Dead By Dawn !

Remaking this movie was always going to be a challenge - after all the original trilogy are now cult classics. But remake it they did. With Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell listed as producers - we knew what to expect. Blood, gore and lots of it. In this respect it didn't disappoint - it was sufficiently gruesome to cause grimacing and groans from the audience. It doffed it's hat to the original movies in a few places and was an entertaining film with a great performance by Jane Levy. But really - it just made me want to watch Cabin in the Woods (again).

 Guest blogger: Skilganon