Films coming out: April 28th - May 4th

From now on I will be informing you, of all the films coming out on DVD and being released in the cinemas. I will tell you what I think of the movies and whether I will be watching them or not. I hope you enjoy!

Films released in the cinema's

Plastic: Plastic is based on a true story where a gang of friends manage to infiltrate one of the biggest credit card companies in the World and pull off one of the biggest and most audacious Diamond Heists ever committed in British history.
Director - Julian Gilbey (A Lonely Place to Die), Starring - Ed Speleers (Eragon), Will Poulter (We're the Millers), Sebastian De Souza (Skins), Emma Rigby (The Counselor)

I personally am not that interested in this film. I got a bit bored during the trailer and it looks like it could be a bit dull. I also think it is predictable, they steal something, they make enemy's, they survive, the end.
Plastic Trailer

Brick Mansions: An undercover Detroit cop navigates a dangerous neighbourhood that's surrounded by a containment wall with the help of an ex-con in order to bring down a crime lord and his plot to devastate this entire city.
Director - Camille Delamarre, Starring - Paul Walker (Fast & Furious 6), David Belle (The Family), RZA (G.I Joe: Retaliation)

Sadly this will be the last film we see Paul Walker in. Brick Mansions looks action packed and exciting and I cannot wait to watch it.
Brick Mansions Trailer

Bad Neighbours: A couple with a newborn baby face unexpected difficulties after they are forced to live next to a fraternity house.
Director - Nicholas Stoller (Get Him to the Greek) Starring - Seth Rogan (This is the End), Zac Efron (17 Again)

This film looks hilarious and a must see.
Bad Neighbours Trailer

DVD releases

American Hustle: A con man, Irving Rosenfeld, along with his seductive partner Sydney Prosser, is forced to work for a wild FBI agent, Richie DiMaso, who pushes them into a world of Jersey power brokers and mafia.

Director - David O. Russell (Silver Linings Playbook), Starring - Christian Bale (The Dark Knight Rises), Bradley Cooper (The Hangover), Amy Adams (Man of Steel), Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker), Jennifer Lawrence (The Hunger Games)

American Hustle has been highly rated with a great cast and a fantastic director. A must see!

American Hustle Trailer

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues: With the 70's behind him, San Diego's top rated newsman, Ron Burgendy, returns to take New York's first 24-hour news channel by storm.

Director - Adam McKay (Step Brothers), Starring - Will Ferrell (The Other Guys), Steve Carell (Despicable Me), Paul Rudd (Role Models), David Koechner (Paul)

The first Anchorman was hilarious and I expect the same for the second. Adam Mckay is arguably one of the best comedy directors and I believe Will Ferrell is the best comedy actor so I don't think it will disappoint and I will rush to buy the DVD.

Anchorman 2 Trailer

Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom: Nelson Mandela's life story throughout his child hood to being released from prison and becoming President of South Africa.

Director - Justin Chadwick (The First Grader), Starring - Idris Elba (Prometheus), Naomie Harris (Skyfall)

I actually went to watch this film whilst it was in the cinema's and I thought it was a disappointing film for an incredible man. I felt it missed vital information out and left me asking more questions about the magnificent life of Nelson Mandela. Idris Elba gave a magnificent performance though.

Mandela Trailer

Rush (2013)

Rush (2013)

Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Daniel Bruhl, Olivia Wilde

Director: Ron Howard

Genre: Action, Biography, Drama, Sport

Synopsis: Rush is the true story on the rivalry between race car drivers James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth) and Niki Lauda (Daniel Bruhl) during the spectacular and thrilling 1976 Formula One motor-racing season.

Review: Rush is from director Ron Howard who has filmed the likes of Angels & Demons and The Da Vinci Code so we were expecting a brilliant and thrilling movie.

Straightaway I realized that the over-exaggerated sounds of the racing cars made the film instantly thrilling and exciting. Rush is portrayed as if Nikki Lauda was telling the story to the audience which makes you feel you can sense what the drivers were actually thinking and feeling. The editing was fast which made the action more heart thumping and the music made it nerve racking to watch. The film was interesting as it told the background stories of Lauda and Hunt. This made me feel as if I knew the characters better and got to know a lot about them, Nikki Lauda as the professional, serious person who fellow drivers found hard to get a long with and James Hunt the badman, girl loving rebel. The only thing about this movie was that the script writing was a bit ordinary and not so creative.

Rush is another great film by Ron Howard and it was thrilling as well as action packed. I thought the over-exaggeration of the racing cars made it that little bit better. 8/10

White House Down (2013)

White House Down (2013)

Cast: Channing Tatum, Jamie Foxx, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Joey King

Director: Roland Emmerich

Genre: Action, Drama, Thriller

Synopsis: While on a tour around the White House, Cale (Channing Tatum) attempts to rescue his lost daughter, Emily (Joey King), and protect President Sawyer ( Jamie Foxx) from a paramilitary group of terrorists.

Review: White House Down is another great movie from director Roland Emmerich who has also directed films such as The Day After Tomorrow, Independence Day and 2012. Usually most Emmerich films have a sci-fi twist in them but White House Down didn't and this certainly added its own elements to the hollywood blockbuster.

In 2013 there were two movies where the White House was attacked, that was White House Down and Olympus Has Fallen. White House Down is the better one by far as it is more action packed and has some humor to thump it's opposition. President Sawyer (Jaime Foxx) is a witty President and unlike most as he adds to some of the humor in the film but sometimes it didn't feel like he was President as you could not take him so seriously. This film is certainly for the patriotic American as it tries to make the American nation feel proud, which sometimes just made you want to hide in your chair and cringe but at other times gave me goosebumps. Until the action really starts to begin, the music was at a slow tempo but it was the type of music you can hold your head up high which was Emmerich main target, to leave the viewers proud of America. The fighting scene were fast and enthusiastic to keep me entertained. During the build up to the action packed scenes it gives you a few clues as to what could happen and who was involved which kept me always thinking what could happen next?

White House Down was a very fun action packed film with a bit of humor added in to keep the audience entertained, interested and kept me thinking the whole time. 7.5/10

White House Down Trailer

The Frozen Ground (2013)

The Frozen Ground (2013)

Cast: Nicolas Cage, John Cusack, Vanessa Hudgens

Director: Scott Walker

Genre: Biography, Crime, History

Synopsis: Nicolas Cage stars as Alaskan police detective, Jack Halcombe, as he tries to find enough evidence to convict serial killer, Robert Hansen (John Cusack), with surviver, prostitute Cindy Paulson (Vanessa Hudgens), his only witnesses to bring Hansen to justice. Based on actual events.

Review: The Frozen Ground is director Scott Walker's debut movie and it was a good first effort. I believe Walker wanted to make the audience feel tense and nervous throughout the film and it certainly forces the viewers to the edge of their seats with hearts pounding but it does not do this enough.

The first thing I realized when watching the movie was the cinematography. As soon as the image came up of the Alaskan woods, it was much darker than any other films I had watched. This creates a tension and lets the audience know that something bad is happening. This also portrayed the movie as a dark thriller so you will know what type of film you are going to be watching. When the editing switched to Robert Hansen from Jack Halcombe it frequently showed an extreme long shot of the Alaskan forest. This is adding tension by giving you a hint that either Hansen is the bad guy or something bad is going to occur. I found the editing very choppy especially in the first half of the film and this lost some of the anticipation that I believe was lacking. There were some very strong performances in The Frozen Ground especially from Vanessa Hudgens. I think Vanessa was excellent in this movie and her facial expressions were the stand out features as she always looked believable. In the film there are a lot of close up shots to show the expressions to create a more emotional viewing for the audience. Also John Cusack is excellent and is also a very convincing. I am not a huge fan of Nicolas Cage as I feel he plays the same role in most movies and yet again I was not surprised by his performance. I think the soundtrack was overused as they kept on playing the same slow tempo piece of music throughout the movie. Rarely there was a fast tempo piece of music but this added a much needed heart stopping scene to the movie. I believe the fast tempo music was the best part of the film as it created an edge of the seat feeling.

The Frozen Ground was very predictable at times but also kept me thinking and kept me nervous whilst  excited at the same time in parts but overall lacked enough heart rending moments. 6/10

The Frozen Ground Trailer