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Ted – New Trailer For The New Seth MacFarlane Movie

14/04/2012 By In Movies

Wiki says: Ted is an upcoming American comedy film, directed, written and produced by Seth MacFarlane (who created Family Guy and co-created American Dad! and The Cleveland Show) and stars himself, Mark Wahlberg, and Mila Kunis. Filming began in May 2011 in Boston and Swampscott.[2] The movie, which is the feature-length directorial debut for MacFarlane,[1] is produced by Media Rights Capital, and will be distributed by Universal Pictures. It is set for a July 13, 2012 release.[3] In March 2012, the MPAA gave the film an R rating for crude sexual content, pervasive language, and some drug use. (more…)

Scarface on Blu-Ray

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25/08/2011 By In Cool, Movies

SCARFACE

Featuring Exclusive New Bonus Content

Universal Pictures International Entertainment, London; with machine guns blazing, the explosive underworld epic Scarface arrives on Blu-rayTM Hi-Def in September 2011 from Universal Pictures International Entertainment. Considered one of the most influential gangster films ever made, Scarface’s gritty depiction of Tony Montana’s lethal ambition has made it a cultural touchstone that spans generations. Now, fans can experience the film’s raw power in spectacular high definition picture and explosive 7.1 audio for the first time ever. Exclusive new bonus content created especially for this release reveals the film’s iconic legacy as of one of the greatest crime sagas of all time. Scarface is also available for legal digital download and via video-on-demand.

Nearly 30 years after it first exploded onto the screen, Scarface stands as a cultural icon with a passionate and growing fan base that continues to exert an enduring influence on not just moviemakers but artists across the entire pop culture landscape.

A masterful collaboration between acclaimed director Brian de Palma (The Untouchables, Carlito’s Way) and Academy Award®-winning screenwriter Oliver Stone (Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, Platoon), Scarface features extraordinary performances from a powerhouse cast that includes Academy Award® winner Al Pacino (The Godfather), Academy Award® nominee Michelle Pfeiffer (The Fabulous Baker Boys, Hairspray), Academy Award® nominee Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio (The Color of Money, The Perfect Storm), Academy Award® nominee Robert Loggia (Jagged Edge) and Steven Bauer (Traffic). The film was nominated for three Golden Globe® Awards (including Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor and Best Original Score), and was named one of the Top 10 Gangster Films of All Time by the American Film Institute.

BONUS FEATURES: *Denotes all- new content 

*The Scarface Phenomenon— This all-new documentary presents Scarface as a unique phenomenon in cinema history.  It explores how a film plagued by controversy leading up to its release has become a Hollywood classic, influencing a whole new generation of filmmakers and leaving a lasting imprint on popular culture.

Deleted Scenes 

The World of Tony Montana —Experience the world of the ultimate gangster and hear from experts on the real world violence, fear and paranoia that surrounds a drug lord.

The Rebirth —Director Brian De Palma, producer Martin Bregman, actor Al Pacino, and screenwriter Oliver Stone revisit the history of Scarface, from the inspiration of the original Howard Hawks classic to the evolution of the script.

The Acting — Join the filmmakers, Al Pacino and Steven Bauer to discover how each of the roles was cast and how Brian De Palma worked with his actors to get unforgettable performances

The Creating — A fascinating, controversial and definitive journey through the making of the film, which began with the production being forced to leave its initial location in Florida. Discover how the chainsaw scene was filmed, learn about the production design, the photography, and the struggle to get the film an “R” rating in the US.

Scarface: The TV Version— A revealing and hilarious montage of film clips comparing the theatrical version to the network television version of Scarface.

The Making of Scarface: The Video Game: Immerse yourself in the world of Scarface in this behind-the-scenes look at the creation of the video game.

*U-CONTROL FEATURES ON THIS BLU-RAY DISC:

Scarface Scoreboard—Watch Scarface like never before.  Keep track of the number of times the “F” word is used and monitor the bullets fired!

Picture in Picture— Available in English with subtitles in French, Italian, German, Spanish and Japanese. Access interview footage of Brian De Palma, Al Pacino, Screenwriter Oliver Stone, and others without interruption to the movie experience.   Also featured is a scene comparison between the 1983 version of Scarface and Howard Hawks’ original film.

*BD-LIVE™—Access the BD-Live™ Centre through your Internet-connected player to get even more content, watch the latest trailers and more.

POCKET BLU™ APP— Universal’s groundbreaking pocket BLU™ app uses iPhone™, iPod® touch, Smartphone, Android™, PC and Macintosh to work seamlessly with a network-connected Blu-ray™  player and offers advanced features such as:

ADVANCED REMOTE CONTROL: A sleek, elegant new way to operate your Blu-ray™ player. Users can navigate through menus, playback and BD-Live™ functions with ease.

VIDEO TIMELINE: Users can easily bring up the video timeline, allowing them to instantly access any point in the movie.

MOBILE-TO-GO: Users can unlock a selection of bonus content with their Blu-ray™ discs to save to mobile devices or to stream from anywhere there’s a Wi-Fi network, enabling them to enjoy exclusive content on the go, anytime, anywhere.

KEYBOARD: Enter data into a Blu-ray™ player with your device’s easy and intuitive keyboard to facilitate such Blu-ray™ features as chatting with friends and sending messages.

 

SYNOPSIS

In the spring of 1980, the Mariel boatlift brought thousands of Cuban refugees to the sun-washed avenues of Miami in search of the American dream. From acclaimed director Brian DePalma, Scarface is the rags-to-riches story of Tony Montana (Al Pacino), who finds wealth, power and passion beyond his wildest dreams…at a price he never imagined. Tony Montana’s meteoric rise, lavish life and soul-destroying fall anchor an epic film that inspired a worldwide following. Pacino is at his most memorable as Montana, blasting his way to the top of Miami’s drug underworld in a bravura performance.

REVIEW: BATTLE LOS ANGELES

Battle_of_Los_Angeles
12/03/2011 By In Movies, Reviews, Trash

Why do I let myself be sucked in every time?! The clever viral ads, the effects ladened explosions, the utterly insane spaceships, the heroic fightback. I crave it in at least one new film on a yearly basis. Yet in recent years be it War of the Worlds, Transformers 2, The Day The Earth Stood Still and the utterly detestable Skyline – officially my worst film of 2010 – I’ve always found myself feeling somewhat bitter, disappointed, empty and generally unfulfilled, upon leaving the cinema. The latest in this sub-genre of extraterrestrial invasion films comes the brashly titled, Battle: Los Angeles.

Firstly the good news, the film is thankfully not as bad as that grotesque waste of money, Skyline a few months ago – not even close – despite using the same special effects company. The bad news unfortunately is that the film stops just short of the cast screaming: “AMERICA, F*CK YEAH!” every 10 minutes. The story has the complexity worthy of the Saturday morning cartoons I grew up with as a child. Starring Aaron Eckhart as a returning US army war hero just returned from Iraq, sent into the front line of the urban jungle of LA to stop an impending invasion from an unknown force. Over the course of the film he succeeds in figuring out what no other member of the entire US Armed Forces could, in gaining the knowledge to bring down this seemingly unstoppable enemy.

In fairness to Eckhart he’s just likeable enough to get away with the role – if not completely remarkable. Same could even be said for his co-stars, I just don’t believe the director, Jonathan Liebesman was able to strike a balance between a ballsy, relentless, no fuss action movie and a truly engaging story. At least Independence Day had Jeff Goldblum, Bill Pullman and Will Smith to carry its obscenity.

Where the film really bothered me however was in these tortuously cheesy moments taken straight from the Michael Bay School of Preposterous Film-Making. You know the types of scenes I’m talking about, as they’ve been featured countless times in the past two Transformers movies: the sunset backdrop, slow-motion climaxes, caught up in the moment speeches and the overly emotional orchestral music. Unfortunately, Battle: LA didn’t have the benefit of giant robots kicking the sh*t out of each other.

On top of this, the special effects were a little hit and miss. You seriously have to question why a film with the budget of 70 million can fail to hits the amazing heights of 2009′s genuinely incredible District 9 which was produced on a tenth of that.

Perhaps I am being overly harsh, and even a moan like myself can concede there’s a time and place for these kind of films, but I could name countless alternatives which are simply more enjoyable, be it Independence Day, the first Transformers film, last year’s sleeper hit Unstoppable and the impressive ensemble featured in Black Hawk Down. Have we told everything there is to tell with these types of stories?

Battle: Los Angeles is War of the Worlds for the uber hyper, Call of Duty obsessed generation. Though I commend the director for his grand, virtuoso, vision and some truly chilling shots of a battered and beaten city, the film was yet another entry into big blockbusters which are frankly an insult to the intelligence of general film audiences. Well, at least it wasn’t in 3D…

2.5/5

The Dilemma *

watch-the-dilemma-online
01/02/2011 By In Movies, Reviews

The only dilemma here is why people are paying good money to suffer this mess of a drama.  The websites have it right when they simplify the plot synopsis down to one single sentence, there’s really not much else to it.  Basically a man sees his best friends wife cheating and has to decide how and when to tell him about the affair.  The unfortunate weight that is put on his shoulders is that he is witness to the affair and as a friend he has to deliberate first if he should tell his best friend come business partner and then of course how to tell him.

Starring as the man in the middle is Vince Vaughn, pretty much acting his over the top self and by no stretch of his talent.  If you’ve seen anything Vaughn has had a partially comic role in you’ve seen his role in ‘The Dilemma’.  Going round and round in circles, it’s a drama where Vaughn takes on most of the typical script based emotions and responses, never creating anything distinguishing, new or memorable.  The script itself seems to spend a great deal of the time creating and explaining little twists which aren’t very original and could easily be stolen from any drama/comedy where people have to make decisions that are part of a cause and effect schema.

Kevin James is the best friend in question, a work obsessed car engine developer.  His character is quite the unstable genius, so debatable motives have driven him into a rut of banality with his wife played by Winona Ryder.  Ryder plays an even more unstable wife, driven by her selfish desires and definitely a woman on the edge as she happily creates for herself a second life of idealism with lover Zip.  Channing Tatum doesn’t feel like he’s acting terribly much as Zip the tattooed wild boy with a sensitive side and the push is the joke about his beloved fish.  At this point it’s clear somebody down the lines of production had the idea of blunt jokes that are played out bluntly and unskilfully are what sells.  This is evident in Queen Latifahs role as high up business woman who makes continual reference to erection jokes as her way of fitting in with the male focused car industry she works in.  In feminist terms this is both inefficient and a poor display of how females can work in powerful roles.

Any endearing qualities have been neglected from this films creation and what results is a comedy drama that neither gets the laughs nor manages to thrill dramatically as it might have suggested it would.  The budget has been spent on the names and yet it’s got a made for TV sensation that develops throughout, but I can’t help thinking that splitting it up into episodes would make it even less dramatic.  Not much is going in favour of a film which could be original and perhaps even done something new in narrative terms.  Instead it opts for the overdone and flops in popularity.

TRAILER: Scream 4

Picture 1
25/01/2011 By In Movies, Trailers

Release Date: 15 April 2011
Genre: Horror | Thriller
Cast: David Arquette, Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, Emma Roberts, Rory Culkin
Director: Wes Craven
Writers: Kevin Williamson
MPAA: N/A
Studio: The Weinstein Company

Plot:
Ten years have passed, and Sidney Prescott, who has put herself back together thanks in part to her writing, is visited by the Ghostface Killer.

TRAILER: The Smurfs

smurfs
05/01/2011 By In Movies, Trailers

A first look at the Smurf’s movie!

REVIEW: OUTCAST

Outcast James Nesbitt
10/12/2010 By In Movies, Reviews

Directed by Colm McCarthy

Outcast MainWalking away from any film with the impression that James Nesbitt is not only underused, but the best thing in the film, is an unsettling experience.  Though, I did go to see Outcast on the same day that the Large Hadron Collider was successfully switched on for the first time.  Coincidence?  I’ll let you decide.

My main problem with Outcast is that it’s almost a good film.  From the production notes it’s clear the writers have carried out a lot of research on ancient Celtic rituals, and it does show.  Unfortunately, they don’t show enough.

The film starts off well enough, just the right amount of sparse dialogue and moody shots of the shittier side of Edinburgh to fill me with genuine intrigue.  It builds up a decent amount of tension within the first ten minutes, then spectacularly breaks it with a blood sacrifice to the Gods of cinema (aka – the first killing).  Then. . .

Well, then not much.

It tells the story about a mother (Kate Dickie) and her son, Fergal (Niall Bruton), who have been living a solitary life, travelling from town to town, running from a mysterious assailant.  Think Terminator, but in Scotland.  Actually, don’t – it’s far too depressing.

Outcast James NesbittJames Nesbitt is the aforementioned assailant, who just happens to be a mystical gypsy/traveller/bad ass warlock.  So, like Warlock in Scotland then?  No – Julian Sands is in Warlock, and he’s the male “Saffron Burrows”. If Warlock or Deep Blue Sea taught us anything, it’s that no matter how bad the film, if it has either of them in it, it’s still going to be addictively watchable.

There is a subplot, involving the son, Fergal and his newly found girlfriend, Petronella (Hanna Stanbridge), and it touches upon sexual awakening, the perils of adolescence and how suppressing sexuality can be detrimental to a teenager’s development.  But it’s slightly cheapened by what can only be described as transcendental sexual assault.  It’s okay, though.  She enjoys it. . .

The characters aren’t so much built upon, as they are slowly inflated, as if by an asthmatic badger, and we’re never really given enough information about the mysterious witchcraft both sides are using to really care.  Nightwatch it ain’t.

Then there’s the acting.

With acting this bad, a film better have a high body count, or be slathered in gore.  This film barely has either, though what gore there is, is quite impressive.

I often get annoyed when movies try and cram in as much exposition into the dialogue as possible, but Outcast has the opposite problem.  There’s barely ANY exposition, or backstory, shown visually or in the dialogue, until the last 10 minutes, when Fergal’s mum shoehorns in a speech that explains the reason behind everything that’s happened in the last 80 mins.

It feels as if the director may have prioritised the sub-plot over the main plot, but the problem is that neither of them are furnished with characters rounded enough to stand together effectively, let alone apart.

All in all a disappointing film that could have been brilliant.  If only somebody had bothered to give the story and script a bit of a polish.

2/5

Outcast is out now in UK cinemas nationwide.