Fast 5: Movie Review

Fast 5: Movie Review

Fast Five
Rating: 6/10
Cast: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Jordana Brewster, Dwayne Johnson
Director: Justin Lin
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Fast and The Furious franchise returns with Paul Walker's ex cop Brian O'Connor freeing Vin Diesel's Dom Toretto from a bus taking him to jail.
This puts Dom, Brian and Jordana Brewster's Mia top of the wanted list so they head to Rio to lay low for a while.
However, one last job pulls them back in - and when the trio's set up and betrayed by corrupt businessman Hernan Reyes (Joaquim de Almeida), the hunt's on to clear their names.
But Reyes isn't the only one hunting the trio - fresh on their trail is federal agent Luke Hobbs (Johnson) who's determined to bring them in for their part in the death of three agents.
So, the game is set.
Fast Five is like a greatest hits of the franchise; a bevy of familiar faces return with characters from all the films making an appearance in some form or other - along with new ones like Hobbs and a new love interest for Diesel's Toretto.
But as ever, the star of this show are the cars and the stunts. A particularly audacious final set piece is destruction to the maximum - and one scene sees a car go off a cliff with amazing effect.
The plot's as lacking as ever to be honest - and when characters utter lines like "It's easy money", you know exactly what's coming. Coupled with plenty of shots of Diesel and Johnson leering at each other, this predictably over long piece isn't exactly breaking the mould.
And yet, despite all that, it remains watchable fare (thanks to a superbly original take on using subtitles).
With the promise of a final film to wrap everything up and with the fact old characters have been brought back, it's clear those involved in this series actually care about the creations they've given life to.

In a world where movies often trot out tired sequels and phone it in, Fast Five shows there's still some heart and soul in the car racing franchise - and that's a rare thing.

Easy A - Blu Ray Review

Easy A - Blu Ray Review

Easy A
Rating: M
Released by Sony Home Pictures

The teen comedy genre gets a welcome shot of life with this new film, loosely based on the infamous book The Scarlet Letter.

Emma Stone is Olive Penderghast, who finds her world changed when she's caught up in a lie.

After avoiding a friend's camping trip for a weekend, Olive's badgered into confessing that she slept with a college guy over that 48 hour period; something which is patently untrue but one which is given life despite her protestations to the contrary.

Within hours, the school campus is full of the rumour that Olive's become a harlot and after helping faux relieve a friend of his virginity, Olive's reputation is sealed campus wide.

But Olive soon discover there's a cost&

Easy A rocks because of a smart, sharp script and a star making turn from Emma Stone. Self effacing, amusing and incredibly watchable, Stone carries the film and gives a performance which is pitch perfect.

Admirable support from the likes of Stanley Tucci and Patricia Clarkson seal the deal - and make it a joy to watch again and again.
Extras: Gag Reel, Audition footage - commentary. The Blu Ray has pop culture references, movies of the eighties, the making of and a pop up trivia.

Rating: 8/10

Devil: Blu Ray Review

Devil: Blu Ray Review

Devil
Rating: M
Released by Universal Home Entertainment
M Night Shyamalan returns with the first of a trio of anthologies from his Night Chronicles series.
In this, five people -who apparently have no connection - find themselves trapped in a skyscraper elevator.
As the police and various organisations try to free the quintet, it appears all of them have something to hide - and that one of them is actually the Devil, who's come to collect&
Devil feels like it should be part of a Twilight Zone series of stories on the small screen rather than the big screen release - its pacy story telling and brevity of running time are benefits.
With no famous leads or cast members, Devil works on one level as you're never quite sure who's going to make it out alive or who has the dirtiest secret. It's a clever twist from the director on the casting front - but it can't make the script soar.
The story's a little predictable and you can see how the intertwined story is going to unravel well before its muted and disappointing end.
That said, it's nice to see Shyamalan returning to grass roots film making - and I'd be interested to see some more of this trilogy.
Extras: Deleted scenes, docos on the story making and future releases - nothing stunning.

Rating: 5/10 

Cyrus: Blu Ray Review

Cyrus: Blu Ray Review

Cyrus
Rating: M
Released by Roadshow

Cyrus stars John C Reilly, Jonah Hill and Marisa Tomei as a mismatched trio.
Reilly is John a divorcee who meets Marisa's Molly at a party and they hit it off; so much so that after 7 years' estrangement from his ex Catherine Keener,he thinks she could be the one.

There's only one problem - her 21 year old son Cyrus (Hill) who initially welcomes John to their home but soon starts to act up in order to get him out.

Cyrus is a polished little gem of a dramedy of a film, delightfully quirky and confounds every expectation - while still delivering plenty of laughs and a good dose of heart.
The style is interesting as well - as it appears to have been shot on handheld cameras so they swoop in and out capturing every awkwardly odd moment.

The reason it works though is because of the leads - and if you give into the film's slightly weird ways and restrained humour, you'll love it

Extras: Deleted scenes, puppet movie (!) and intros

Rating: 7/10 

Heartbreaker: Movie Review

Heartbreaker: Movie Review

Heartbreaker
Rating: 7/10
Cast: Vanessa Paradis, Romain Duris, Andrew Lincoln
Director: Pascal Chaumeil
A massive hit in native France, L'Arnacouer aka Heartbreaker est arrive here on the big screen.
Duris plays Alex, a charming, expert in seduction - who resembles a French Vinny Chase from Entourage.
He's hired by various parties to break up couples; you know the ones where friends believe their friends could do better - or they're not happy.
He's good at it - and makes a reasonable living out of it too, having set up a business with his sister and dumb witted brother in law.
But he's also got money problems and with debts mounting up, he decides to take a high paying job to split Juliette (Paradis) from her fiancée Jonathan (The Walking Dead's Andrew Lincoln).
When he's taken to Monaco, Alex reckons this job should be easy - however, Juliette manages to make the work hard for him and he becomes more invested in it than he realises.
Part screwball, part farce, part rom com and part drama, Heartbreaker tries to be everything to everyone - and for the most part succeeds. With the slickness of a heist film, this stylish caper zips along with some funny moments (a pastiche of Dirty Dancing and snippets of Wham add the comedy factor).
But the end result is something like a light breezy cappuccino. There's plenty of froth and little substance at the end.
Sure, you can see what's coming a mile off - but Duris makes a good job of Alex despite some scenes being a little over the top and silly.
Paradis has some appeal as Juliette - and Lincoln impresses as the suave nice guy Jonathan.

If you fancy something a bit breezy and nothing too serious, Heartbreaker is the perfect remedy - and probably best you see it now, before the inevitable American remake hits our screens.

Dr Who - The Ark: DVD Review

Dr Who - The Ark: DVD Review

Dr Who - the Ark
Rating: PG
Released by BBC And Roadshow
Back to 1966 for this four part black and white adventure starring William Hartnell as the Doctor.
The TARDIS crew arrive on a massive spaceship carrying the final members of the human race as they head to a new home in space.
But a plague inadvertently brought by the Doc and his companions threatens their future - and their actions have shocking repercussions for all of mankind.
The Ark is known with Who circles for the Monoids - a race of rubber like aliens with one eye and a Beatles style moptop haircut. One of the less successful creatures (they can only communicate initially by sign language - which at times resembles the hand jive and other groovy dances of the sixties) they're a brave attempt at something different which sadly fail.
The story itself isn't too bad but isn't one of the strongest in the show's history- and came at a time when Who was facing the axe. Creatively it's an interesting premise which doesn't quite gel because of production failures and story issues.
Extras: Commentary, a look at HG Wells' influence on the show, One Hit wonder looks at the relative failure of the Monoids and a great doco explores the venue for the filming of many Who stories in the 1960s.

Rating: 5/10 

Harry Potter 7 Blu Ray Review

Harry Potter 7 Blu Ray Review

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows - Part One
Rating: M
Released by Warner Home Video

This first part of the final film sees dark times ahead for the world.

With Lord Voldemort (a sinister Ralph Fiennes) completing his rise to power and the Ministry of Magic falling into the hands of the Dark Lord and his supporters, Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) finds himself on the run - and public enemy Number One.

Following the death of Dumbledore, Potter and his friends realise they're running out of time - and opportunities - to rid the world of Voldemort.

Despite attempts to keep Harry safe, it appears no-one can be trusted and so the trio of Ron, Hermione and Harry decide now is time to try and bring Voldemort down before it's too late.

So, heading away from Hogwarts school, they set out to find the Dark Lord's Horcruxes (a sort of magical object which gives Voldemort his power) and destroy them - in the hope that that will end this battle once and for all.

Dark, bleak, moody and melancholy are just a few words to describe this, the penultimate outing from Harry Potter as the final curtain draws ever closer.

There's a lot to like in this first part - the action, such as it is (aside from an opening segment which plunges you right into the action and is breath taking on any size screen) is held by the trio of actors.

And for once, they impress; there's no way these kids could have dealt with such dark material and such emotional scenes earlier in their career.

Sure, Rupert Grint rolls out his trademark gurning face at times, but director Yates (and probably the material) reins it in this time.

To be honest though, there's hardly room for humour throughout - with jumps and jolts, the maudlin atmosphere is spooky, frightening and will be nightmarish to the younger end of the audience.

There's much of a "quest" feel about this film - perhaps, inevitably it would be the case as the story centres on the hunt for Horcruxes, swords and so forth.
It also means at times, there's little for the casual viewer - every lingering hug and stolen glance has some kind of significance and will be lost on those who've not followed the series or the book.
The best part though has to be the ghoulish animation which accompanies the tale of what exactly the Deathly Hallows are - with shadow animation and a Gothic feel, it's a stunningly well realised moment that stands out from the rest of the film.

But the problem is that it all feels too much of a set up for the final part - which granted, is, in some ways, no surprise.

The whole film has an ominous tone which doesn't have the pay off that's needed and as a result the ending to all the brooding and foreshadowing doesn't pack the emotional punch which was needed to whet my appetite for the final film, which comes out in 2011.
Extras: A 2 Disc DVD set comes packed with some good stuff - including a game of golf between the actors who play Weasley and Malfoy which charts their decade long friendship; there's also mini docos as well - but the Blu Ray contains a tantalising look at the final film, coming very soon&

Rating: 8/10