The animation is based around Po, a lazy panda who dreams and idolizes the ancient art of Kung Fu, While witnessing the event to choose the dragon warrior he is unexpectedly chosen to fulfill an ancient prophecy where he joins the world of Kung Fu and studies alongside his idols, the legendary Furious Five, Tigress, Crane, Mantis, Viper and Monkey  under the leadership of their guru, Master Shifu. Unbeknown to the fu fighters the vengeful and treacherous snow leopard Tai Lung escapes from his prison and is headed their way, and it’s up to Po to defend everyone from the oncoming threat.

An excellent family animation with plenty of humor, a great way of translating the art of kung fu in animation definitely worth watching you won’t be short of a giggle or two highly recommend viewing.

My Rating *****

All our prayers and thoughts are with those who have friends and family who are either missing or have lost their lives.

In the year 2008 a deadly virus spreads throughout Scotland and threatens to infect England. Authorities quarantine Scotland by building a 30ft steel wall which is unpenetrable no one can escape and no one can enter. 25 years later after managing to avoid the virus it breaks out in London threatening to wipe out humanity as we know it. The authorities discover there are survivors in the north and believe there is a cure so decide to send someone inside, who better than Eden (Rhona Mitra), the strong will powered woman that managed to escape Scotland as a child and now a major of an elite force, taking a small team in with her, they enter beyond the steel wall to search for the professor they believe holds the cure, while searching they encounter remaining survivors of the virus who now have cannibalistic tendencies, after being captured by the tyrants and witnessing one of her team become barbecued, Eden manages to escape taking with her the daughter of the professor, who was also imprisoned. The professor’s daughter leads Eden and the last remaining man on her team to a world of medieval times to meet her father, obstacles get in the way of every turn and finding the cure is not easy. Will Eden be able to save the day and save humanity or will it be a case of The End Is Nigh.

I’m not a great lover of English movies but I have to say when I saw the preview of this movie on TV I thought wow this looks pretty cool and for the first 30 minutes I wasn’t disappointed. The stunts, special effects, acting and first part of the storyline were brilliant, but as soon as they reached Scotland and entered the old civilization it went to pot, although the special effects were still good, corniness crept in spoiling what could have been a fairly good film, in my opinion the writer was writing about a personal fantasy of his combining several films in one, the films it reminded me of was Mad Max Beyond The Thunderdrome, 28 days and gladiator in medieval get up. It’s not a total flop as films go, because there were some good moments, if you like corny gore then this film is for you. Worth Watching ? debateable.

My Rating***

In the past it has been known that students have had shoot outs in schools, and certain  types of music they listened to was blamed, driving them to commit such a dreadful crime. It will only be a matter of time before games such as Grand Theft Auto get blamed for something. In my opinion there are too many gun crimes, drive-by shootings and violent acts for real, without having to play out dodgy fantasies on games, What next ? games where you can be a suicide bomber. 

In my household I make sure my stepsons play games that are appropriate for their age, but unfortunately their own mother doesn’t seem to understand the age restrictions on the games she allows the boys to play, bearing in mind they are only five and nine she  allows them to play Grand Theft already, only last week the eldest of the boys saw the advert on TV and said to us his mother is going to get the game, that’s when I told them that they knew the rules here.

The day the new game came out on sale, people queuing to buy the game were asked what they were buying and who for, in one case a middle aged woman told the reporters she was buying for her thirteen year old grandson, when asked what game, she replied the new Grand Theft, What point is there of putting age restrictions on games if adults are only going to buy it for the young ones anyway, who is held responsible then if their child breaks rules as they get older when the adults themselves are breaking the rules.

Last week while in the final two chambers to be scrutinized, sniffer dogs led forensic detectives to an area where they discovered pieces of human bone from a child or children aged around four or five and two milk teeth, bloodstained items were also recovered from one of the rooms possibly confirming that abuse was going on in the home, The abuse of more than 100 children had been happening since the 1950s to 2002 when the home was closed.

Police are also investigating two suspicious pits on the grounds that are lined with lime, last week a man came forward and told police that he was called to the home and asked to dig out the two pits with a digger, the following day after doing as they requested he was asked to fill them back in, at the time he hadn’t noticed anything untoward. So far police have uncovered numerous items to confirm the barbaric acts going on in the home, A child’s skull under the stairwell, A concrete bath with human bloodstains, on the wall next to the bath read the haunting words ‘I’ve been bad for years and years’ and a set of shackles as well as the newly discovered bones and teeth.

As of yet only one man has been charged in connection with the inquiry, Gordon Claude Wateridge was charged with three offences of indecent assault on girls under 16 between 1969 and 1979 when he was warder at the home. The 76-year-old is on conditional bail and will next appear in Court on May 12. Another man was arrested this week,  68 year old Claude Donnelly, of St Brelade,  accused of one count each of rape, indecent assault and gross indecency, Case files from the home were also handed into the police lawyers,  which could lead to more arrests.

Jason, a young american teenager who is obsessed with martial arts movies discovers an ancient mystical staff, the weapon of the Chinese sage and warrior, the Monkey King, in a pawn shop. After unexpectedly finding himself landing in the middle of a Chinese village and back in time, Jason is rescued by Lu Yan (Chan), an immortal drunken beggar who reveals his destiny. Jason is supposed to return the staff to the Monkey King (Jet Li), who is a great mystical warrior imprisoned in stone by the evil Jade Warlord (Collin Chou). Soon afterward he is also joined by Golden Sparrow (Yifei Liu)an orphaned young girl whose parents where killed by the evil warlord, and The Silent Monk (also Li), where upon they all begin a dangerous quest to free the monkey king  and restore his power.

A great adventure film with some amazing stunts and special effects, a great cast with two of the most respected martial art experts,and a good story line, definitely a must see film you won’t want to leave your seat.
 

My Rating******

The 42-year-old Austrian woman, told police that her father Josef Fritzel had lured her into the windowless basement of the block where they lived in the town of Amstetten in 1984, and drugged and handcuffed her before imprisoning her for 24 years, and fathering seven of his daughter’s children, all unbeknown by his wife, who had believed her daughter had ran away  from home to a new life. Three of the children were locked up since birth in the basement of the drab, building along with their mother and had never seen sunlight or received any education police have said.

The case only unfolded when a 19-year-old girl, the oldest of the three, became seriously ill and was hospitalised,where doctors then appealed for the girl’s mother, who was believed to have disappeared, to come forward to provide more details about her medical history.Josef then brought Elisabeth and her remaining two children out of the basement, telling his wife that their "missing" daughter had chosen to return home, police said.

What is this world coming to, how many more people are hidden away in secret chambers for another persons amusement, sadly for 24 years this woman had lived in that situation and if it hadn’t been for her daughter requiring hospital treatment it is highly unlikely that anyone would have known she existed, it also seems ironic that in both cases of Natascha and this latest victim are Austrian.