First vampires sparkle, so what's next? Kind zombies?!

Yes, zombies that are kind are taking over our screens - well at least one of them is kind. So Warm Bodies ... I guess you kind of have an idea what it's about but you don't know what to expect, right? Let me tell you that you are in for a treat because this movie was even better than I thought it would be, and I thought it would be good.

After watching endless episodes of The Walking Dead and it giving me nightmares (that will teach me to watch it just before bedtime!) I wasn't sure how 'warm body' zombies would compare, but the film is so charming: it's funny with such an original plot, it makes you wonder if that's what zombies are thinking whilst ambling around (I will so look at the Walking Dead zombies differently now!); the soundtrack is excellent - it goes perfectly with what's going on in post-apocalyptic America; the zombie characters are - dare I say it ... kind of cute, if you ignore the fact that to them eating human brains is a delicacy. So a big thumbs up! I would gladly watch a sequel to this movie, although it's also the kind of movie you don't want a sequel to because you enjoyed the first one so much.

They canned 'Don't trust the B in Appt.23'!

That was disappointing news as I loved watching Dawson making a fool of himself every week and I was hoping that Pacey would show up in at least one episode. Mind you without Dawson I don't think that show would have lasted long anyway. If you got to watch it were you hoping Fred Savage would finally show up too? :oD I just wanted to see what Kevin Arnold looks like as an adult. Well whilst some good comedies come to an end others get revived! The Arrested Development new season starts on netflix in May and this is a prelude to the Arrested Dev movie - hooray!!

Take Flight with Denzel!

There's not much I can say about Flight without giving the plot away, but Denzel once again brings his fine acting skills to the screen - he always reminds me of a modern day Sidney Poitier. In Denzel's films it is usually blatantly obvious whether he is playing a good guy or a bad one; in Flight he gets to play both - the hero pilot and the bad guy struggling with his demons - the question is will he overcome the demons and become a real hero?  A serious film from Robert Zemeckis that is definitely worth a watch if you have 138 minutes to spare. Be warned though, the opening plane cockpit scenes are quite terrifying so if you are about to fly maybe save this one for another day.

Arnie's back! But is his movie any good?

It was so good to see Arnie back on the big screen in 'The Last Stand' this week. Though sadly the movie hasn't done very well in the UK and has only really lasted on screen for a week. It won't disappoint action movie fans, but the comedic moments didn't always work - you didn't really know if you were meant to be laughing or not. This could be down to the script writers or the Korean director Jee-Woon Kim; he did a great horror a few years back - A Tale of Two Sisters - a film comparable to all those classic Japanese horror flicks like The Ring and The Grudge.

The story isn't too original either according to my dad who says it was just like the John Wayne movie Rio Bravo. Although to me it was like watching an extended episode of the A-team with added blood splatter and minus Mr T. You had Arnie as Hannibal, Johnny Knoxville as Howling Mad Murdoch, some actor as the good looking guy, and a girl cop - who's character reminded me of Amy (remember her?). If you take watching this with a pinch of salt it's one to watch at the end of the day - no thinking required - just sit back, relax and enjoy the former governor's comeback. Next let's see how Sly's 'Bullet to the Head' compares!!

Django!!

Someone in my office described Django as a spoof western, I was astounded!! If QT had heard that remark can you imagine what his response would be!?! As you’d expect Django pays homage to the classic westerns – the names of the horses, the names of the characters, the Ennio Morricone music mixed into a soundtrack that is typical QT, the original Django making an appearance - I must confess I never saw the original and found this out afterwards. At the same time Django Unchained is classic QT: Samuel L Jackson getting in as many MoFo references in as he can, the classic cult worthy conversations, and of course the violence. The performances are outstanding - Christoph Waltz, I felt, surpassed his performance in Inglourious Bastards, Jamie Foxx gave it his all - one of the scenes must have been particularly uncomfortable for him to do, and Kerry Washington who plays Django’s wife had to act through her way through so many harrowing scenes, also [SPOILER] watch out for the scene where Leonardo DiCaprio continues acting right through a real injury – I guess that’s what you’d call dedication to the art, and it did add to the emotion of the scene!! [ / ]

Quentin Tarantino doesn’t churn out the movies, but his few offerings are well worth the wait! Now that he's done war and a western do you think he might try classic horror or sci-fi next?

And on the Small Screen: Comic Book Men

Did you love comics as a kid? Do you still secretly like comics, or are you an adult who’s proud to still love them? If you are then you must watch Comic Book Men. A reality show set in Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash in New Jersey (remember those guys in the Kevin Smith movies?) You’ll have a blast watching Walt, Chris and Bry making fun of Ming every single week. You’ll love the oddballs that come into the store trying to make a fortune from their water stained, dog-eared, cigar smoke smelling comics that they just found under their grandfathers bed, just so they can buy that new kitchen. You’ll also love how Walt buys almost everything that is brought into the store – I really want to see all that set-up inside his house!!

You would never even imagine how working in a comic book shop could be so much fun, although I must admit I've always thought working in a Forbidden Planet store would be amazing! Comic Book Men returns to the small screen on 14^th Feb … check out the FB page to find out more!

Let it snow, but not that much !!!

On Friday I was sitting in a stationary aeroplane in the middle of a snow blizzard wondering if we'd ever take-off. It made me think of Die Hard 2 - Bruce Willis easily taking on the bad guys and the bad weather all at once. Whilst Die Hard 2 doesn't even compare to the original it's one of the ones you always remember for its snow especially if, like me, you are snowed in at an airport. I wanted Bruce to show up and quickly sort out the grounded plane situation but sadly that was not to be, so instead I passed the time thinking of the best snow movies/scenes. Here's what I came up with for my top 5 ...

1. 30 Days of Night - snow, vampires, a hopeless situation  - what more could you want for entertainment.

2. The Thing - a classic for sci-fi fans!

3. Kill Bill - the Japanese snowy garden scene, such a beautiful setting for the O-Ren Ishii sword fight and a great contrast with the blood.

4. Troll Hunter - a Norwegian gem of a film, and a must if you haven't already seen this.

5. Planes, Trains and Automobiles - another hilarious contribution from Steve Martin :o)

Well despite the blizzard and minus a Bruce I was lucky enough to make it to Spain in search of the sun, so many thanks easyJet! And the 8 hour wait didn't really seem that long.