Anna Karenina, Hope Springs, That's My Boy Reviews

Yesterday I said that I’d review Anna Karenina, That’s my Boy and Hope Springs today.  So let’s start with the worst first...

That’s my Boy – well I’ve got to be honest, I really wasn’t bothered about seeing this (and definitely wouldn’t have bothered if I hadn’t had my cinema pass) and following Adam Sandler’s recent record I wasn’t holding out much hope for even a bit of a giggle with this one. 

It was exactly as you’d expect, silly – that’s probably the best word I can find for it – it’s a ‘college kids’ film full of innuendo and toilet humour.  It’s the story of a young boy who has an affair with his teacher, who then gets sent to prison because he was underage, but she was pregnant with his baby.

Sandler becomes a star because of his affair and brings up the kid who leaves home at 18.  Years later, Sandler is unable to pay his tax bill and orchestrates a reunion with his ex teacher/lover which involves finding his son (who is about to get married) and bringing him to the jail. 

Anyway, I’ve probably said far too much but in summary, it was actually a bit of a giggle and whilst exceptionally far-fetched was, in parts quite funny.  What was even funnier is that most of the kids who were in the movie theatre with me had no idea what most of the jokes were about (the 1980’s is referenced throughout the film – the music was 80s rock too eg Van Halen, Foreigner, which I quite enjoyed).  At one point, I heard a girl in the seat in front of me say to her boyfriend, “Who’s Han Solo?”... I guess that says it all!

 

 

Next let’s do Hope Springs – this is the story of a married couple played by Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones who’ve been together forever and have lost their spark.  They sleep in separate beds, no longer communicate and she’s had enough so books them into couples counselling, much to his annoyance.

They then travel to somewhere (that’s quite irrelevant really) and start their counselling with Steve Carell (well the character that Steve Carell plays, obviously!).  The story then follows them as they try to piece their marriage back together again.

All in all, it was slightly depressing but exceptionally well acted (as you’d expect from those brilliant actors).  I did rather enjoy it, however, I really don’t want to see people of that age having sex and found it a little cringe worthy in parts.  I’d definitely recommend it though, but as more of a chick flick.  See what you think, here's the trailer...

 

Lastly, let's look at a really excellent film Anny Karenina.  I know a lot of people who have read the original Tolstoy book and loved it,  I hadn’t read it so really didn’t know what to expect.  I've got to be honest, I found it a bit odd at first, not the story but how they’d decided to shoot it.  It didn’t make sense to me (although that could be because I haven’t read the book, I’m not sure) but it seemed to be all set in a theatre and they kept moving the set scenery depending on where they were supposed to be in the story, which I found a bit distracting and confusing at first and I did think about leaving up to about 20 minutes in because I was getting quite frustrated watching the scenery moving.

However, I seemed to forget about it after a while and got into the story which is about a woman who embarks on an affair with a much younger which virtually destroys her and those around her.  It was gripping and had quite an unexpected ending.  It was acted really well by Keira Knightly (who I’m not a massive fan of) and Jude Law who plays her husband.

It’s a fabulous love story and really quite intelligent (you don't get many films like that ... see my review for That's my Boy!).  Definitely worth a watch, here’s the trailer...
 

 

More soon lovelies, until then have a wonderful week and be fabulous.

Lots of love

Jx

Lawless & Dredd 3D Reviews

 

Well, again all is quiet on the Western front so nothing much to report, but I do have a couple more film reviews for you.  Last weekend I watched Anna Karenina, Dredd, Lawless and That’s My Boy.  I’ll start with the best first...

Lawless was one of my most favourite films this year (nothing to do with the fact that it had one of the best casts I’ve seen for a long time, including my favourite actor of the moment, Tom Hardy) but it was a gripping story with fabulous acting. 

It’s based on a true story of infamous bootlegging siblings during the Prohibition era in America.  It’s a massive gangster style tale with lots of twists and turns (not to mention some very gory fight scenes which are not for the feint hearted) and definitely worth a watch.  Here’s the trailer...

 

Next there was Dredd which is obviously a remake of the early ‘90’s Sylvester Stallone move ‘Judge Dredd’.   For those of you who haven’t seen the original, this is much darker and much bloodier.  Actually, it’s quite a gore fest, so if you’re expecting otherwise, you’ll be shocked.  It definitely deserves its 18 rating. 

The story centres around two cops who are fighting to keep law and order in post apocalyptic America.  Running from Boston to Washington DC lies Mega City One which is a vast, violent metropolis where criminals rule the streets.  Following a rather brutal murder of three men in one of the ‘mega blocks’ (they were skinned and thrown over a balcony ... nice!) two Judges enter the block in order to bring those responsible to justice.

Was it in my top 10 films of this year, erm no but it certainly wasn’t in my bottom 10.  If you like sci-fi, gore and lots of fight scenes, then this one is for you.  Here’s the trailer...

 

 

Tomorrow, I’ll review Anna Karenina, That’s my Boy and also a film I saw yesterday, Hope Falls.  Until then, have a wonderful Monday and be fabulous.

Lots of love

Jx

The Watch and A Few Best Men Reviews

 

 

So the other two films that I saw this weekend were ‘The Watch’ and ‘A few Best Men’. 

Firstly, ‘The Watch’ ... dreadful, absolutely dreadful.  There were a few funny bits but really, just about the worst film I’ve seen this year.  I doubt it could actually get any worse and I even considered walking out, but couldn’t be bothered... I was warm and enjoying my chocolate limes.

The film stars Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn and I guess potentially could have been really good, but it was dire.  The premise ... aliens keep killing people and stealing their skin so that they look human.  They were trying to set up a signal back to their home planet which would start an invasion on Earth and they were trying to send the signal from a Costco store (that was produce placement on a whole different level).  Why Costco?  I have no idea, other than the fact that they probably agreed to pay the most for the privilege.  Here’s the trailer ... that’s all you need to see.
 

 

Secondly I saw ‘A Few Best Men’ which wasn’t brilliant but was much better than The Watch.  There were funny bits and downright cringe worthy bits.  The premise ... a guy meets a girl on holiday and they decide to get married, she lives in Australia and he takes his best friends over to support him at the wedding (he’s an orphan and has no family).  Her father happens to be a Senator and has invited lots of important people to the wedding and as you’d probably imagine, mayhem ensues. 

It stars Xavier Samuel (him from the last Twilight films), Oliver Newton-John (who was just terrible) plays the bride’s mother and a few other actors that you’ve seen in British films but don’t really know their names.

In summary, I definitely can’t say it’s the best film I’ve seen recently (all a bit too silly for me) but OK if you’ve seen everything else and definitely better than The Watch.  Here’s the trailer.
 

 

Right lovelies, that’s it for now.  See you soon and be fabulous.

Lots of love

Jx

Total Recall & The Possession Reviews

Well I’m afraid that it’s still a bit ‘all work no play’ for me at the moment.  The only thing I’ve done over the last few days that didn’t involve work was ... yep, you guessed it ... going to the movies.  Friday I saw two films, The Possession and Total Recall.

The Possession was BRILLIANT!  I absolutely loved it.  It was reasonably scary, but not gory (I love horror films, but hate the gory ones).  If you’ve seen ‘Case 39’ with Renee Zellweger and you liked that, you’ll love this.

The story centres around a young girl who persuades her dad to buy an old box covered in obscure inscriptions.  It doesn’t take long for weird things to start happening to her and her family.  You may not know the stars names, but you’ll know their faces.  The girl’s dad is Jeffrey Dean Morgan (from PS I love you ... love that film!) and the mum was played by Kyra Sedgwick (she’s been in tonnes of films but I can never remember her name).

Anyway, it was the best film that I’ve seen in a long time and definitely worth a watch.  Here’s the trailer.
 

 

 Next, Total Recall.  To say I was disappointed was an understatement.  Graphically it was beautiful and far better than the original (well it was over 20 years ago) but the story was quite different (what story there was ... practically none) and seemed to me to be just one big ‘chase’ ... boring.  The new Batman film was like that too ... no story, just one long chase.  Also, I didn’t like the fact that they didn’t go to Mars (the whole story was based on post nuclear Earth) and there were no mutants!  I guess that’s not politically correct nowadays; however, there was a token but rather random woman with 3 boobs.  No explanation as to why she was the only mutant with 3 boobs, but hey, I guess they were trying to pull some stuff through from the first film.

Oh and I mustn’t forget how they try to make you think that the ‘woman’s head which changed into Arnie’ was gonna happen the same way ... it didn’t.  I think that was the weirdest, most pointless part of the film actually.  So, in summary, looks fabulous, failed miserably on the screenplay.  Here’s the trailer.
 

 

 

I’ve also seen ‘A Few Best Men’ and ‘The Watch'.  I’ll review them tomorrow.  Until then, have a wonderful Monday and be fabulous.

Jx

Ted & The Dark Knight Rises

OK, so I’d forgotten that I’d also been to watch a couple of other films over the last month.

Firstly there was Ted, which I have to say that I wasn’t going to bother seeing until my mate Debi told me how funny it was ... and she was right!  The premise is very odd.  A man has a teddy since being a kid that actually speaks.  Now, I guess what makes it funny, is that this teddy has a real potty mouth which you don’t expect a teddy to have!

The story ... a boy gets a teddy for Christmas and wishes it was alive, next minute you know, it’s alive and stays with him as he grows up.  However, it becomes problematic when he meets and falls in love and the teddy’s still hanging around.  Throw in a dodgy guy and his son that want to kidnap the ted and comedy ensues.

It’s definitely worth a look, for the shock factor if nothing else!  Here’s the trailer in case you’ve been living in a hole for the last month.  You may want to look at the 'Thunder Song' on YouTube too ... it's funny, but a bit rudder than I'd like to post in my blog!
 

 

The other film I saw was The Dark Night Rises.  Now, I have to say here that I’m not a Christian Bale fan.  Don’t know what it is about him (yes I do actually, it’s his mouth ... its odd) and I also didn’t like that he blasted someone on set a few years ago and was particularly vicious towards them (no need).   I’m also not really a huge fan of action films, so it was going to have to be magnificent if I was going to love it.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t and I didn’t.  It was OK and for those of you who like lots of action, comic books turned into movies and very long films (2 hours 45 minutes) then I guess it would be a winner.   For me, it could have done with being an hour shorter.

I’d tell you about the story, but it was that unmemorable that I can’t remember it!  I do know that the wonderful Michael Caine was in it though, so it definitely wasn't all bad.  Oh, and the usually gorgeous Tom Hardy was virtually unrecognisable, in fact I didn't realise it was him until near the end of the film!

Here’s the trailer ... I’m sure you boys will love it (not meaning to be sexist or anything!).

See you soon lovelies, have a good week.  Be fabulous.

Lots of love

Jx

The Expendables

Well, firstly let me apologise for the lack of posts over the last month or so.  I haven’t disappeared nor have I taken the summer off, I’ve just been working really hard on a couple of new projects that took every last bit of creativity.  I’m happy to say that I’ve done the bulk of the work so normal service can now resume!

I’d love to say that I’ve been up to some really exciting stuff (other than work) in the last month and therefore have loads to tell you about, however, sadly not!  I haven’t even been to the movies – it really has been all work and no play.

However, today, as a bit of a treat (oh dear, I can’t believe that I’m now classing going to the movies as a treat), I actually left the confines of my office and ventured out into the world (other than the supermarket ... that simply doesn’t count) and watched ‘The Expendables’.

Hmmmmm I’ve got lots to say about it and none of it good.  I really wanted to see ‘Brave’, ‘Dr Seuss’ or ‘Ice Age’ but I hate seeing kids films when there are kids about.  I can’t bear the little buggers kicking the back of my seat and the constant ‘up and down’ to visit the bathroom, so, against my better judgement (and after loving the new ‘Orange’ trailer with the cast of The Expendables, which is very funny) I decided to give it a shot.

Firstly what on earth is going on with those veterans’ faces?!  Holy moly!  Their faces where all lumpy and bumpy in quite the wrong places and they were tucked, pulled and pinched so that they were only vaguely recognisable as human!  I think that there must have been enough surplus skin removed from those guys to create a whole other person!  Most unnatural looking ... all except Jason Statham, but then again, he is at least 20 years younger than the youngest of the rest who included:

Stallone – now, his mouth/lips always did have a life of their own, but they seemed to have got even worse with age and the whole sub plot that a young (in her twenties) Chinese girl might find him attractive was, quite simply, ludicrous!  He also looked, for the most part, tired.  Like he’d just woken up ... which he probably had ... he’d probably been having forty winks in his Winnebago between scenes.

Arnie – Oh dear, he just looks permanently startled!  And the ‘I’ll be back’ quote ran a little thin the first time he said it ... let alone the fifth.

Van Dame – Again, lumpy!!! Very lumpy and why do men in their latter years insist on dying their hair black?  It’s rare to see a man in his twenties with black hair, so why these guys think they can get away with it I’ll never know.  I think it was a wig by the way.

Dolph Lundgren – Even lumpier ... Good head of hair though!  The script was particular poor with regards to him though.  It was embarrassing – I felt quite sorry for him.

Chuck Norris (who the hell is Chuck Norris?) – Well, he definitely won the ‘face lift gone wrong’ award ... hmmmmm rather alien like I thought, very strange.

Bruce Willis – was the only one of the geriatrics that still looked ‘normal’ ie little/no work done and he did the best with a bad job.

Jason Statham – If you read my blog regularly you’ll know I’m not a fan of his when he does an American accent, but I’m pleased to say that he kept it English for this film.  He was probably about the best in it, still mildly irritating though (with Willis a close second).

Liam Hemsworth – Well, I don’t really have anything bad to say about him.  He’s lovely.

So, in summary, those guys should leave the action stuff to the young ones.  It was embarrassing.  The screen play was diabolical and its 1.5 hours of my life I’ll never get back!

Just in case you want a taster, here’s the trailer...

 

 

Well that’s it for now lovelies.  I’m off for a lie down after all the excitement!  Enjoy your week and I’ll see you soon.  Be fabulous.

Lots of love.

Magic Mike Review - A Must See!

Well, oh my goodness ... I’m virtually speechless after watching ‘Magic Mike’ yesterday!  Ladies, if you haven’t seen it ... it’s a must see.  I have to admit; I went not really expecting it to be that good.  I thought it might be a bit seedy, with lots of gratuitous crotch shots of chunky, rippling muscled gorgeous men in thongs (and actually, there was plenty of that) but it wasn’t really seedy and actually had quite an entertaining story to it.  Not only that, it was absolutely hilarious at some points, with very (erm how can I put it nicely?) cheeky, but oh so funny willy shots!

It was massively entertaining.  The men were rather yummy (especially Joe Manganiello ... hello!) and I have to say that I really went cos I wanted to see the gorgeous Matthew McConnaughey in a thong (I think he’s yummy and always ends up half naked in any film he’s in) but for me he wasn’t the star of this show (he was really overacting at points and more than a little bit irritating).  It was ‘Magic Mike’ played expertly by Channing Tatum (I haven’t really noticed him before) who was absolutely amazing.  I found myself quite mesmerised and rather transfixed by his dancing and thrusting technique.  I actually came over quite unnecessary a couple of times! Lol

In summary, it’s very funny, a bit sad and hugely entertaining ... although I have to say that I can’t really see that many men finding it entertaining.  I would imagine that most men would find all that girating, male nakedness and crotch thrusting a little uncomfortable (although it may give them some ideas!).  Anyway, ladies you’d be mad to miss it (I loved it so much that I'm definitely going again).  Here’s 3 of the best trailers I could find to give you an idea of what you're in for if you go and see it (boy do I spoil you sometimes!)...

Right, I’m really busy lovelies, so this is a quickie ... I just didn’t want to leave it to give you the lowdown on ‘Magic Mike’.  Go and see it ... you won’t regret it.  Until next time, be fabulous.

Lots of love

Jx