Bad Neighbours: Movie Review

Bad Neighbours: Movie Review

Cast: Seth Rogen, Rose Byrne, Zac Efron, Dave Franco
Director: Nicholas Stoller

We all know how important it is to have good neighbours. (As the song goes, "Everybody needs Good Neighbours").

Well, this new comedy takes that suburban fear to new heights.

Rogen and Byrne stars as Mac and Kelly Radner, who've recently had a kid and are struggling to get back into the fun side of their lives. But, fun comes knocking in more ways than one when a fraternity moves next door to them.

Despite president Teddy (Zac Efron) promising to keep the noise down, Mac's forced to call the cops - and suddenly, it's all out war as a feud quickly escalates between the two homes....

Bad Neighbours does exactly what its raucous trailer suggests - and the fact it has Seth Rogen only serves to compound the gross behaviour on display. The film sets its stall out right away as Mac tells his wife he's taking her to "boner town"; and the gross out gags don't stop there - and actually culminate with Mac trying to milk his wife one morning after they've been out partying with the frat. Subtle it ain't, but amusing it is - if you're prepared to lower your standards and check your brain at the door.

And yet for all the base accusations you can level at Bad Neighbours, and its low brow humour, there are some genuinely funny laugh out loud moments, giving you a sense of fun at this movie more than anything.

Rogen phones in his usual slacker stoner humour as the war begins to escalate; Byrne proves a good foil for Rogen, keeping up with his level; and Efron tries, but just slightly fails to bring an edgier touch to his high school goodie two shoes image as the suburban turf war gets into gear.

The only real problem with Bad Neighbours is that at about the two thirds mark, it runs out of collective steam, with nowhere to go. Having showcased the generational difference between Mac, a Michael Keaton loving Batman and Teddy, whose Batman is gravel-voiced Christian Bale, the film throws any attempts at narrative out the window and just decides it has to end it all in the last third with an Efron / Rogen showdown that amuses but pales in comparison to what has already gone on.

If you're prepared to check your brain at the door, and fancy a raucous laugh that doesn't challenge you too much (and even proffers up one of the cutest babies committed to celluloid) then Bad Neighbours will be for you. It may even make you go home and reconsider your stance on that house that's always partying into the wee small hours....

Rating:

20 Feet From Stardom: DVD Review

20 Feet From Stardom: DVD Review

Rating: M
Released by Universal Home Entertainment

The documentary that took home the Oscar this year is a fascinating look at the world of the backing singer.

This tribute to the singer will have you tapping your toes as the sounds of some of the iconic songs come flying at you - from the Sherelles to working with the likes of David Byrne, Stevie Wonder and Bruce Springsteen, chances are you'll know some of the numbers.

But, what you won't know are the stories behind them and that's what film-maker Morgan Neville delves into here. There's plenty of energy, music and life to celebrate, as well as feel-good
moments.

However, does it deserve the accolades of best doco? Well, it's certainly stylishly put together, painfully simple and lets the subject sing (in more ways than one) but it's not as lasting as you'd expect - and while the time is right to celebrate those who make the people at the front sound good, it certainly feels as if The Act of Killing was robbed.

IT's all about luck, being from a pastor's family and common themes as 20 Feet From Stardom progresses - and yet, there's something about those who take part that's infectious. It's easy to see why their touches made them famous in some ways, but not in others. The most startling thing is perhaps how many have had so many touches on so many songs that you never realised - and for that, we should be thankful.

Extras: None

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Jonathan Creek: The Clue of the Savant's Thumb: DVD Review

Jonathan Creek: The Clue of the Savant's Thumb: DVD Review

Rating: M
Released by Madman Home Ent

Alan Davies returns as Jonathan Creek in this one off special from last Easter's UK schedule.

Retired from magic and now a businessman, Creek is pulled into a mystery involving a dead body that disappears from a locked room. But it's the usual case of not everything is as it seems in this piece...

Jonathan Creek: The Clue of the Savant's Thumb is a bit of a disappointment to be honest - even Davies looks slightly bored as the bedraggled investigator, as he saunters from one dilemma to the next. Part of the problem with this piece is that it's lacking the sparkle of previous stories and the banter / dynamic between Creek and his pal Joey Ross (Sheridan Smith) just doesn't appear to have the playfulness that's blessed other series. In many ways, it feels like formulaic Creek.

Another issue is that it's so stuffed with guest stars - from Young Ones actors like Rik Mayall and Nigel Planer to Joanna Lumley, that they all feel underwritten and underutilised.

All in all, Jonathan Creek: The Clue of the Savant's Thumb is lacking the magic of previous Creek - and that's a crying shame.

Extras: None

Rating:

Nurse 3D: Blu Ray Review

Nurse 3D: Blu Ray Review

Rating: M
Released by Roadshow Home Entertainment

Trashy and a little bit sleazy, this thriller cum horror stars Paz de la Huerta as the barely clothed Nurse of the title.

Abby (de la Huerta) patrols the halls of her hospital with determination and is as equally ruthless out on the streets at night, tracking down philandering husbands and making them pay for their infidelity. But when she meets up with Danni (Katrina Bowden), the two form a bond that is more psychotically imposed by the other, as Abby unleashes her Single White Female....

Nurse 3D is utterly terrible in many ways - and looks destined to become a cult classic.De la Huerta delivers a borderline awful performance that's flat and uninterested when speaking and is a tad titillating when she's unclothing. Equally, Bowden seems bored with proceedings as she blunders around corridors avoiding any form of clothing.

The camera leers over its stars and to be fair, follows its MO all the way through - trashy and tacky it may be, but for some this fatal mix of borderline tosh and titillating trash will prove to be a cocktail too strong to ignore.

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Chef: Movie Review

Chef: Movie Review

Cast: Jon Favreau, John Leguizamo, Scarlett Johansson, Sofia Vergara, Robert Downey Jr, Dustin Hoffman, Emjay Anthony
Director: Jon Favreau

Written and directed by Favreau, Chef is clearly a passion project.

Favreau stars as temperamental chef Carl Casper, who's spent years building up his name within the food industry, but blows it all away one day when he becomes so incensed with an online review. (Seriously, who pays attention to online reviewers, anyway?)

When the video of his explosion goes viral, Casper realises there's more going on and that he's desperately unhappy with his life. Estranged from his son, separated from his wife and desperate to recapture his flair and integrity, as well as his culinary voice, he goes back to basics.

Heading with his wife Inez (Vergara) to Miami, and with his son in tow, Casper reignites his own passion for cooking, by starting up a food truck - and so begins a (predictable) road journey to self-enlightenment...

Chef is not without its charms, even if this none too original road trip cum father / son bond-fest rambles and meanders to a totally predictable and unabashedly crowd pleasing denouement ( thanks largely to a completely pointless final scene).

An overweight Favreau is amiable enough as the chef who wants to pursue his heart rather against the soulless wishes of the owner (Dustin Hoffman) when a food critic savages his culinary fare.

Cooking up reasonable chemistry with his ex wife Ines ( Modern Family's Sofia Vergara) and his hitherto distanced son Percy (Anthony), Chef works best when the set up of getting Casper to quit and follow his heart is ditched for a road trip that mixes sumptuous food porn with landscapes rarely seen on the big screen. (Even if by then, great actors like Robert Downey Jr and Scarlett Johansson have been cast aside or rendered redundant - step forward Vergara).

The rapport with Leguizamo as the truck's sous chef works well and the company is perfectly affable as the El Jefe Food Truck dream becomes reality.

A scene where Chef Casper rails against Oliver Platt's food critic for simply " shitting on my shit" bristles and simmers with sub-text but that's the closest Chef comes to providing any bite or slightly bitter after taste.

Directorally, Favreau over-uses some flourishes (such as the twitter bird flying off the screen each time he tweets) but pieces together a road movie which will appeal to foodies and those willing to satiate their appetites on little more than gentle bonding and food eye- candy. Just don't be surprised if this charming movie leaves you feeling a little bloated thanks to an over-extended run time and distinctly saccharine denouement.

Rating:

First clip from X Men: Days of Future Past

First clip from X Men: Days of Future Past

In the latest clip from X: Men: Days of Future Past, Xavier and Magneto clash...

There's a brand new clip from X Men: Days of Future Past, featuring Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique and Game of Thrones' star Peter Dinklage.

Directed by Bryan Singer and co-starring Jennifer Lawrence, Peter Dinklage and Hugh Jackman, X-Men: Days Of Future Past will open on 22 May 2014.


The final X Men: Days of Future Past trailer is here


Mutants of the world unite, the X Men: Days of Future Past trailer is here!

The ultimate X-Men ensemble fights a war for the survival of the species across two time periods inX-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST. 

The beloved characters from the original "X-Men" film trilogy join forces with their younger selves from "X-Men: First Class," in an epic battle that must change the past -- to save our future.
Watch the opening of XMen: Days of Future Past

New Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles trailer is here

New Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles trailer is here

There's a brand new trailer for the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie.

Starring Wil Arnett and Megan Fox as well as Donatello and the gang, the new TMNT trailer is below for you to view: