Directed by Kirsten Sheridan Running Time - 114 mins
A little boy known as Evan Taylor (Freddie Highmore) who later gets the stage name of August Rush was living in an orphanage and just knows hisparents will find him if he plays music. He hears music everywhere and finds out he is a child prodigy with his ability for playing music. His mother, Lyla Novacek (Keri Russell) is a world class cellist who getsrun over by a car and stops playing music after her father gives up her baby up for adoption without her consent. His father Louis Connelly(Jonathan Rhys Meyers),is an Irish rock star who also stops playing after meeting the girl of his dreams for one night and can't get her off his mind.
This film is engrossing with great acting and the two hours of great entertainment go bye unnoticed. Robin Williams plays the badMaxwell "Wizard" Wallace who is cast as a sort of modern day Fagan character looking after some lost boys on the streets of New York. Hegets them to go and play music and he pockets half their earnings. A great feel good movie without bad language for a change. The story focuses around the three separate members of the family and their love for music. (207)
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Monday, May 19, 2008
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
The Hulk (2003) 3 out of 5
Directed by Ang Lee
Running time - 138 mins
The Marvel Comics adaptation of the incredible Hulk brings the comic character on to the big screen through the use of computer graphics. Asan avid comic reader this version is so much more believable than a man painted green running around grunting. The story starts with an armyscientist who does genetic experiments for the government hoping to create a soldier that is able to regenerate once injured. He is forbidden to do human experiments and so in secret he carries out experiments on himself. To his horror he finds out that the genetic code has been transferred to his son when little Bruce is born a few years later. The army finds out about his human experimentation andshuts down the project. The scientist, David Banner (Nick Nolte) blows up his laboratory in protest which results in him being locked away for 30 years.
Bruce (Eric Banner) grows up and becomes a scientist and studies the exact subject area that his father did. In an incident with one of his experiments he protects one of his colleagues from dangerous gamma rays with his body. He did not know he had the genetic code within him andalthough it saves him it also unleashes the incredible hulk. Bruce'sr esearch partner Betty Ross (Jennifer Connolly) helps him and the hulk during these confusing times. The military want to catch him and keep him isolated from society so that he can cause no harm. The general in charge of this operation also happens to be Betty Ross'sfather. General Ross (Sam Elliot) was also responsible years before in shutting down Dave Banners research after he took his experimentation too far.
This was an enjoyable film. The researching and experiments were believable. The computer graphics were amazing. I did not like the hulk bouncing all over the place to move from one place to another but Isuppose that is in the comics and they wanted to stay true to the character. I did have a smile when the actor who played the Hulk in the1970's TV series makes a walk on appearance as a security guard with bulging muscles. I wish sometimes I was not so observant however the hulks eye colour changes quite a lot and for this it loses a star - What I am talking about is that Bruce as a boy has blue eyes - as a man he has brown eyes - and as the hulk they are a greeny blue colour. (416)
Running time - 138 mins
The Marvel Comics adaptation of the incredible Hulk brings the comic character on to the big screen through the use of computer graphics. Asan avid comic reader this version is so much more believable than a man painted green running around grunting. The story starts with an armyscientist who does genetic experiments for the government hoping to create a soldier that is able to regenerate once injured. He is forbidden to do human experiments and so in secret he carries out experiments on himself. To his horror he finds out that the genetic code has been transferred to his son when little Bruce is born a few years later. The army finds out about his human experimentation andshuts down the project. The scientist, David Banner (Nick Nolte) blows up his laboratory in protest which results in him being locked away for 30 years.
Bruce (Eric Banner) grows up and becomes a scientist and studies the exact subject area that his father did. In an incident with one of his experiments he protects one of his colleagues from dangerous gamma rays with his body. He did not know he had the genetic code within him andalthough it saves him it also unleashes the incredible hulk. Bruce'sr esearch partner Betty Ross (Jennifer Connolly) helps him and the hulk during these confusing times. The military want to catch him and keep him isolated from society so that he can cause no harm. The general in charge of this operation also happens to be Betty Ross'sfather. General Ross (Sam Elliot) was also responsible years before in shutting down Dave Banners research after he took his experimentation too far.
This was an enjoyable film. The researching and experiments were believable. The computer graphics were amazing. I did not like the hulk bouncing all over the place to move from one place to another but Isuppose that is in the comics and they wanted to stay true to the character. I did have a smile when the actor who played the Hulk in the1970's TV series makes a walk on appearance as a security guard with bulging muscles. I wish sometimes I was not so observant however the hulks eye colour changes quite a lot and for this it loses a star - What I am talking about is that Bruce as a boy has blue eyes - as a man he has brown eyes - and as the hulk they are a greeny blue colour. (416)
Hellboy (2004) 3 out of 5
Directed by Guillermo Del Toro
Running time: 132 mins
In 1944, during World War II some American soldiers come across some German soldiers and some strange some strange characters, Rasputin andthe ultra-silent assassin Karl Ruprecht Kroenen. They are in the midst of conducting some sort of last resort attempt to open a dimensional portal and release the four demons of Chaos upon the earth and win the war. The United States had heard about this and sent troops, along witha young doctor called Professor Trevor Bruttenholm (knowledgeable about the occult) to stop this from happening. They over run the Germans but not after the portal had been briefly opened. In that short space of time a small creature came through the portal. The professor finds it and the soldiers make it their mascot. They call him Hellboy.
Sixty years later and the professor has aged, he is dying, and so employs a young FBI agent called John Myers to take over and look after Hellboy after he is gone. Hellboy has grown up into a man but although those around him have aged his physical condition is that of a twenty year old. He helps the police catch dangerous creatures from off the streets. Rasputin makes a return and gets the assassin to kill the Professor who has acted like a father to Hellboy. I enjoyed this film for the action, the story and the effects. Ron Perlman is the perfect person to play the character of Hellboy. The costumes were great and the computer graphics make the comics I read as a boy come to life. Adevilish film I would recommend if you are looking for an action filmand want to escape from reality. (268)
Running time: 132 mins
In 1944, during World War II some American soldiers come across some German soldiers and some strange some strange characters, Rasputin andthe ultra-silent assassin Karl Ruprecht Kroenen. They are in the midst of conducting some sort of last resort attempt to open a dimensional portal and release the four demons of Chaos upon the earth and win the war. The United States had heard about this and sent troops, along witha young doctor called Professor Trevor Bruttenholm (knowledgeable about the occult) to stop this from happening. They over run the Germans but not after the portal had been briefly opened. In that short space of time a small creature came through the portal. The professor finds it and the soldiers make it their mascot. They call him Hellboy.
Sixty years later and the professor has aged, he is dying, and so employs a young FBI agent called John Myers to take over and look after Hellboy after he is gone. Hellboy has grown up into a man but although those around him have aged his physical condition is that of a twenty year old. He helps the police catch dangerous creatures from off the streets. Rasputin makes a return and gets the assassin to kill the Professor who has acted like a father to Hellboy. I enjoyed this film for the action, the story and the effects. Ron Perlman is the perfect person to play the character of Hellboy. The costumes were great and the computer graphics make the comics I read as a boy come to life. Adevilish film I would recommend if you are looking for an action filmand want to escape from reality. (268)
Thursday, March 27, 2008
The Condemned (2007) 4 out of 5
Directed by Scott Wiper
Running Time - 114 mins
Company WWE films
The condemned is a remake of the Japanese classic Battle Royale. Instead of school children having to kill themselves while being watched by the nation the 'condemned' are the 10 most notorious killers or bad guys from around the world who are released on remote island and have to kill each other off within 30 hours.
The last man standing will bereleased. The fights to the death are screened live onto the internet which eventually reaches a viewership of over 40 million. This film is great entertainment and worth a gander."Stone Cold" Steve Austin plays Jack Conrad, an undercover agent who was captured in South America and put on death row in prison. He gets purchased by a television producer as a last minute replacement to take part in a fight to the death. The condemned are all from some countries worst jails and on death row. They are in fact the walking dead and the producer is hoping to make the executions internet friendly.
Vinnie Jones is superb as bad guy Ewan McStarley in this film. This is by far his best role yet in any movie. He has some corker one liners which made me laugh. "Alright! Alright! Don't get over excited my son!" The soundtrack is pretty good as well. I have not enjoyed an action movie like this in a while.
Jonathan Mason - www.happymotivator.com
Running Time - 114 mins
Company WWE films
The condemned is a remake of the Japanese classic Battle Royale. Instead of school children having to kill themselves while being watched by the nation the 'condemned' are the 10 most notorious killers or bad guys from around the world who are released on remote island and have to kill each other off within 30 hours.
The last man standing will bereleased. The fights to the death are screened live onto the internet which eventually reaches a viewership of over 40 million. This film is great entertainment and worth a gander."Stone Cold" Steve Austin plays Jack Conrad, an undercover agent who was captured in South America and put on death row in prison. He gets purchased by a television producer as a last minute replacement to take part in a fight to the death. The condemned are all from some countries worst jails and on death row. They are in fact the walking dead and the producer is hoping to make the executions internet friendly.
Vinnie Jones is superb as bad guy Ewan McStarley in this film. This is by far his best role yet in any movie. He has some corker one liners which made me laugh. "Alright! Alright! Don't get over excited my son!" The soundtrack is pretty good as well. I have not enjoyed an action movie like this in a while.
Jonathan Mason - www.happymotivator.com
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Bionic Woman (2007)
Created by David Eick
This is a remake of the original series The Bionic Woman created byKenneth Johnson and based on the novel Cyborg by Martin Caidin.
I quite enjoyed the first episode of Bionic Woman. I heard the rightwords like "military experiment" which pricked my ears up to make mewant to watch more. Michelle Ryan plays Jaime Sommers, the leadcharacter who is badly injured in a car accident. If English viewersthink they know her face she was in Eastenders. I liked the special effects and was not concentrating much on the script but hey it's thefirst episode and I have not seen eye candy on the box kicking andpunching since I saw Jessica Alba in Dark Angel. I am going to give this a few more episodes and hopefully the story will get a lot more interesting.
At the moment the original bionic woman is a baddy so wewill have to find out how she became bad and if the new girl will alsotry and escape from the Biotech Lab which I think is called area 41. All I can say id that she is very lucky to have a boyfriend who was a professor who was involved with experimental medical implants. I will beinterested to see if this series makes it to a second series. I hope itdoes as I would prefer it to Flash Gordon.
Jonathan Mason - www.happymotivator.com
This is a remake of the original series The Bionic Woman created byKenneth Johnson and based on the novel Cyborg by Martin Caidin.
I quite enjoyed the first episode of Bionic Woman. I heard the rightwords like "military experiment" which pricked my ears up to make mewant to watch more. Michelle Ryan plays Jaime Sommers, the leadcharacter who is badly injured in a car accident. If English viewersthink they know her face she was in Eastenders. I liked the special effects and was not concentrating much on the script but hey it's thefirst episode and I have not seen eye candy on the box kicking andpunching since I saw Jessica Alba in Dark Angel. I am going to give this a few more episodes and hopefully the story will get a lot more interesting.
At the moment the original bionic woman is a baddy so wewill have to find out how she became bad and if the new girl will alsotry and escape from the Biotech Lab which I think is called area 41. All I can say id that she is very lucky to have a boyfriend who was a professor who was involved with experimental medical implants. I will beinterested to see if this series makes it to a second series. I hope itdoes as I would prefer it to Flash Gordon.
Jonathan Mason - www.happymotivator.com
New TV Series - New Amsterdam
I have just watched the first episode of a new drama series called New Amsterdam and am left wondering whether or not if I like it. I will watch another episode for sure.
Basically John Amsterdam is the main character - It is set in New York and he is a detective. The twist is that he saved an indian girl in the 1500's and they thanked him by puting some sort of spell on him and he cannot die until he finds his true love. I found this to be Highlander with a CSI angle but using his aged knowledge of art and New York to help catch the bad guy.
What confused the hell out of me is that after chasing the bad guy he died for no reason and then came back to life. There was no explanation either so I was left thinking crickey this guy dies for no reason but has been alive for a few hundred years. I also had a laugh at the dead body in this episode. They go to the morgue and it is supposed to be a dead girl who has been stitched up after a post portem. Only problem is the stitches are so fake the poor girl looks like she has been put together by shoelaces! I am sure it is just a glitch which I suppose is expected in the first few episodes of a new series. I expect this to turn into quite a good series of Highlander!..er I a mean New Amsterdam.
Jonathan Mason - www.happymotivator.com
Basically John Amsterdam is the main character - It is set in New York and he is a detective. The twist is that he saved an indian girl in the 1500's and they thanked him by puting some sort of spell on him and he cannot die until he finds his true love. I found this to be Highlander with a CSI angle but using his aged knowledge of art and New York to help catch the bad guy.
What confused the hell out of me is that after chasing the bad guy he died for no reason and then came back to life. There was no explanation either so I was left thinking crickey this guy dies for no reason but has been alive for a few hundred years. I also had a laugh at the dead body in this episode. They go to the morgue and it is supposed to be a dead girl who has been stitched up after a post portem. Only problem is the stitches are so fake the poor girl looks like she has been put together by shoelaces! I am sure it is just a glitch which I suppose is expected in the first few episodes of a new series. I expect this to turn into quite a good series of Highlander!..er I a mean New Amsterdam.
Jonathan Mason - www.happymotivator.com
No Country for Old Men - 2007 (4 out of 5)
Directed by Ethan and Joel Coen Running time 122 minutes
This film is located in Texas where a hunter, Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin), while out hunting comes across a drug deal gone wrong. All of the people are either dead or severely injured. Searching the people and the cars h he finds a large amount of heroine and $2 million dollars in cash. He takes the money which changes his life forever.
The bad guys hire an assassin, Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem), to track down the money and get it back. Sheriff Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) tracks both men as they travel across Texas. This film is literally about the hunter being hunted.The assassin will go down in cinematic history as one of the baddest guys ever on the big screen. I would recommend seeing this film even if it is just to see how evil Anton Chigurh with his convincing performance as an assassin that is all kill with no turn off switch no matter how bad things get. His bad hairstyle and deliberate words make him a truly terrifying and formidable character. His BAFTA and Oscar awards for this role were well deserved.
The Coen brothers received an Oscar for Best Director.Despite the film taking place mainly in deserted areas, or the desert itself, the camera manages to capture just the right essence of silence and acting which creates tension.No Country for Old Men is one of the best pictures I have seen in a few years. (242)
Jonathan Mason - www.happymotivator.com
This film is located in Texas where a hunter, Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin), while out hunting comes across a drug deal gone wrong. All of the people are either dead or severely injured. Searching the people and the cars h he finds a large amount of heroine and $2 million dollars in cash. He takes the money which changes his life forever.
The bad guys hire an assassin, Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem), to track down the money and get it back. Sheriff Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) tracks both men as they travel across Texas. This film is literally about the hunter being hunted.The assassin will go down in cinematic history as one of the baddest guys ever on the big screen. I would recommend seeing this film even if it is just to see how evil Anton Chigurh with his convincing performance as an assassin that is all kill with no turn off switch no matter how bad things get. His bad hairstyle and deliberate words make him a truly terrifying and formidable character. His BAFTA and Oscar awards for this role were well deserved.
The Coen brothers received an Oscar for Best Director.Despite the film taking place mainly in deserted areas, or the desert itself, the camera manages to capture just the right essence of silence and acting which creates tension.No Country for Old Men is one of the best pictures I have seen in a few years. (242)
Jonathan Mason - www.happymotivator.com
Evil Breed: The Legend of Samhain - 2003 (1 out of 5)
Directed by Christian Viel Running time: 91 minutes
I laughed so much in this film that tears rolled down my cheeks. The problem is this is supposed to be a horror with people thinking they are good actors. There is one particular bad Irish accent that made me concentrate more on how she was pronouncing her words than worrying about the film at all. The beginning of the film starts with a love scene in the woods with a porn star. Her boobs were particularly firm and felt I needed my couch pillow to defend myself in case they poked my eye out in the opening scene. If you can think of enjoying a film for all the wrong reasons then this is it. The film start with some evil creature in the woods brutally murders a couple. A university learning trip for some American students arrive in Ireland and stay at a home in Ireland in the woods. They soon find out it is dangerous to go out roaming the countryside at night. THere are strange creatures out at night that can be understood by the legend of Samhain.
The blood and guts are truly amusing and had me laughing at how ridiculous it was. Enjoy this film after a few beers or wines to truly enjoy the essence of this film. It will never win an Oscar but its comedic entertainment is almost priceless as the actors look as they are being serious. If you want to take this film seriously then I am afraid that it is truly dreadful and you should not watch it. Jenna Jameson and a few other porn stars appear in this film. I suppose they are looking to be taken seriously as actors. (264)
Jonathan Mason - www.happymotivator.com
I laughed so much in this film that tears rolled down my cheeks. The problem is this is supposed to be a horror with people thinking they are good actors. There is one particular bad Irish accent that made me concentrate more on how she was pronouncing her words than worrying about the film at all. The beginning of the film starts with a love scene in the woods with a porn star. Her boobs were particularly firm and felt I needed my couch pillow to defend myself in case they poked my eye out in the opening scene. If you can think of enjoying a film for all the wrong reasons then this is it. The film start with some evil creature in the woods brutally murders a couple. A university learning trip for some American students arrive in Ireland and stay at a home in Ireland in the woods. They soon find out it is dangerous to go out roaming the countryside at night. THere are strange creatures out at night that can be understood by the legend of Samhain.
The blood and guts are truly amusing and had me laughing at how ridiculous it was. Enjoy this film after a few beers or wines to truly enjoy the essence of this film. It will never win an Oscar but its comedic entertainment is almost priceless as the actors look as they are being serious. If you want to take this film seriously then I am afraid that it is truly dreadful and you should not watch it. Jenna Jameson and a few other porn stars appear in this film. I suppose they are looking to be taken seriously as actors. (264)
Jonathan Mason - www.happymotivator.com
Rambo (2008) - (three out of five)
Directed by Sylvester Stallone
If there was an Oscar for the most deaths in a movie then Rambo would win one hands down. John Rambo is a character I have come to love while growing up however in this latest version Sylvester Stallones’ age really comes across on screen and I was left thinking how can this old guy seriously do all theses things that a 20 year old might battle doing? The story takes place in Burma where Rambo has to rescue some Christian aid workers who have been captured by a ruthless local military unit. For those of you who watch the TV show Dexter you will recognise Julie Benz who plays Sarah Miller, an aid worker. Rambo escorts some mercenaries into Burma to rescue Sarah and some of her colleagues.
Fans of Rambo will not miss out on the almost expected high death toll in these.The fighting sequences are realistic and quite gruesome in some places. This film is particularly violent and comes across as too realistic and not just another Hollywood movie where people just fall over and play dead. There are also times when watching the action I got a bit confused as to who was actually killing who? In places it almost seems like a killing frenzy with a prize for the most number of violent and bloody deaths.The film is directed by Sylvester Stallone and runs for 91 minutes. After Rocky ending and now also Rambo I do wonder if there will be any more Sylvester Stallone films or if we have come to the end of an era. (264)
Jonathan Mason - www.happymotivator.com
If there was an Oscar for the most deaths in a movie then Rambo would win one hands down. John Rambo is a character I have come to love while growing up however in this latest version Sylvester Stallones’ age really comes across on screen and I was left thinking how can this old guy seriously do all theses things that a 20 year old might battle doing? The story takes place in Burma where Rambo has to rescue some Christian aid workers who have been captured by a ruthless local military unit. For those of you who watch the TV show Dexter you will recognise Julie Benz who plays Sarah Miller, an aid worker. Rambo escorts some mercenaries into Burma to rescue Sarah and some of her colleagues.
Fans of Rambo will not miss out on the almost expected high death toll in these.The fighting sequences are realistic and quite gruesome in some places. This film is particularly violent and comes across as too realistic and not just another Hollywood movie where people just fall over and play dead. There are also times when watching the action I got a bit confused as to who was actually killing who? In places it almost seems like a killing frenzy with a prize for the most number of violent and bloody deaths.The film is directed by Sylvester Stallone and runs for 91 minutes. After Rocky ending and now also Rambo I do wonder if there will be any more Sylvester Stallone films or if we have come to the end of an era. (264)
Jonathan Mason - www.happymotivator.com
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