New Movies

Death Race 2 (2010)

2011-01-20T15:34:00.000+08:00

Synopsis Of Death Race 2

Luke Goss, Ving Rhames, Sean Bean, and Danny Trejo headline director Roel Reiné's thrill-ride sequel to Paul W.S. Anderson's hyper-violent remake exploring the origins of the most notorious Death Race competitor ever to take the wheel. Featuring a screenplay by Tony Giglio (Chaos), Death Race 2 follows convicted cop-killer Carl Lucas (Goss) as he vies for freedom by competing in the most deadly reality show ever conceived. The U.S. economy has completely collapsed, and as lawlessness spreads, private prisons crop up all across the country. Corruption reigns in these for-profit penitentiaries, and Terminal Island is home to some of the most violent offenders in the world. Lucas has just been handed a life sentence for killing a cop. Just when it looks like he'll be spending the rest of his days behind bars, unscrupulous television producer September Jones shows up seeking contestants for a brutal new game show where prisoners battle it out in high-performance death machines equipped with lethal weapons. The reward for surviving this psychotic demolition derby: freedom. Before long Lucas is fastening his seat belt, and preparing for the ride of his life. By the time this race is over, an apocalyptic legend will be born. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Complete Cast Of Death Race 2

Luke Goss - Carl Lucas

Danny Trejo - Goldberg

Director(s):: Roel René, Roel Reiné

Writer(s):: Tony Giglio

Producer(s):: Jeremy Bolt, Mike Elliott, Paul W.S. Anderson

Theatrical MPAA Rating:: R(Graphic Violence, Profanity, Sexual Situations)

Let Me In (2010)

2011-01-20T15:27:00.001+08:00

Movies Similar To Let Me In

Synopsis Of Let Me In

John Ajvide Lindqvist's celebrated vampire novel makes the leap to the big screen once again with the second feature adaptation in so many years (Tomas Alfredson's critically acclaimed 2008 hit Let the Right One In, being the first). The sensitive target of vicious bullying at school, 12-year-old Owen (Kodi Smit-McPhee) is a social misfit from a broken home. By day Owen dreams about laying waste to his classroom tormentors; by night his attentions turn to his reclusive neighbors in their austere apartment complex. One evening, as Owen takes out his pent-up aggressions on a tree, his new neighbor Abby (Chloë Grace Moretz) appears over his shoulder. A young girl wise beyond her years, Abby just moved in next door to Owen with her stoic caretaker (Richard Jenkins), who seems to harbor a sinister secret. Compelled by Abby's apparent imperviousness to the harsh winter elements, her frail disposition, and the fact that she's nowhere to be found before the sun falls, Owen senses a kindred soul, and strikes up a friendship with the girl, despite her repeated attempts to maintain an emotional distance. Simultaneously, their community grows vigilant following a series of vicious murders, and Abby's caretaker vanishes without a trace. Later, as Abby begins to grow vulnerable, her bond with Owen strengthens. By the time Owen begins to suspect that his evasive new friend is something other than human, it starts to seem as if Abby could use a good friend after all. Given that his bullies are growing more emboldened by the day, so too could Owen. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Starring:: Chloë Grace Moretz, Richard Jenkins, (more)

Director(s):: Matt Reeves

Theatrical MPAA Rating:: R

Format(s):: DVD, Blu-ray, (View All Versions)

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Film Preview

2011-01-20T13:28:00.000+08:00

The bigwigs at Warner must have been dreading this day; the end of the Harry Potter franchise, and a guaranteed chunk of change for the studio. Some bright spark has found a way to delay the inevitable, by splitting the final book into two parts. In some ways this is an excellent idea; as Rowling’s source novels have grown ever more biblical in proportion, the film adaptations have suffered. A more leisurely pace may benefit the story, and allow us to remember who the characters are and what they were doing when we last saw them. On the other hand, the last book does consist of chapters, nay reams, in which not a lot really happens; there’s plenty of fat to cut. We can only the extra potential length won’t be squandered on endless scenes of Ron and Hermione bickering.

After the death of Professor Dumbledore in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) and his two best friends Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson) decide not to return to Hogwarts School, where they were due to complete their final year. Dumbledore leaves them enough clues to convince Harry that they are meant to be finding the way to kill the evil wizard Voldemort; in Half-Blood Prince, Dumbledore had discovered that Voldemort had discovered how to make horcruxes – a way of splitting the soul into pieces and placing the pieces in objects in order to ensure immortality. Find and destroy the horcruxes. So far, so simple.

Except that Voldemort now rules the wizarding world... and Harry, Ron, and Hermione are fugitives. And Dumbledore, infuriating even in death, has left them clues that are more mystifying than helpful. Why, for instance, is a collection of old children’s stories so important?

For those who have been dead or on Mars, Harry Potter, the boy wizard, was of course first a literary and then a cinematic phenomenon, though the first two films, directed by Home Alone’s Chris Columbus, were criticised for the pedestrian nature of the adaptation. It was only with the third installment, and the vision of Alfonso Cuaron, that the series came to life. Cuaron also succeeded in coaxing credible performances out of the child leads, who until then had delivered their lines with all the emotion of planks. Since then, the franchise has gone from strength to strength, helped by the increasingly grim nature of the source material. The wizarding world has changed from a cosy place where the most important thing was winning points for your boarding house at school to somewhere much darker, where no-one is safe.

Deathly Hallows Part 1 is once again directed by David Yates, who previously took the reins on Order of the Phoenix and the Half-Blood Prince, which may be a bit of a disappointment to those who had hoped Cuaron would return for the final installment. However, Yates did a fine job on Phoenix, the most unwieldy of the novels, though Half-Blood Prince was less satisfactory. If he can find the form that he achieved with Phoenix then we are in safe hands. Also returning, in addition to the three leads, are Helena Bonham Carter, Robbie Coltrane, Tom Felton, Ralph Fiennes, Michael Gambon, Brendan Gleeson, Richard Griffiths, John Hurt, Jason Isaacs, Alan Rickman, Fiona Shaw, Timothy Spall, Imelda Staunton, David Thewlis, Julie Walters and Bonnie Wright.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 will be released in cinemas November 19 2010.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 will be released in cinemas July 15 2011.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 Film Review

2011-01-20T13:17:00.000+08:00

Internet Movie Database:

For further details including world release dates, photographs and videos search for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 on IMDb.com

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 Film Review

Well, this is it – almost. How many years has it been? We've watched Harry (Radcliffe) since he was a gangly eleven year old, first discovering the magical world that was his legacy. And what a legacy! Not just any boy wizard, but The Chosen One, destined to save the world. Still, between battling possessed teachers and giant snakes, Harry always found time for a game of Quidditch and a laugh with his friends Ron (Grint) and Hermione (Watson). But at the end of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the game changed. With the death of Professor Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) Harry was left without his mentor, his only instruction to find and destroy the horcruxes into which the evil Lord Voldemort (Fiennes) had placed parts of his soul.

After a thrilling opening, an action packed dog fight between the Order of the Phoenix and the Death Eaters, we are in romantic territory (and room for a breather) with the wedding of Fleur Delacour (Clemence Poesy) and Bill Weasley (Domhnall Gleeson). But this idyll is all too brief – the Ministry has fallen and Voldemort has declared himself openly, though ruling through a puppet government. Harry is declared an enemy of the state and he, Ron and Hermione go on the run, having managed to find one of the horcruxes. There follows one of the least successful sequences in the source novel; the endless descriptions of how cold and boring camping is when you don't have any money for food. The three friends, left only cryptic clues by Dumbledore, and under the malevolent influence of the horcrux, quarrel and snipe constantly. In the book this is dull, but works surprisingly well in the film, bringing Ron's long suppressed feelings for Hermione and jealousy of Harry to the fore.

Harry is still mysteriously linked to Voldemort, and begins, with Hermione's help, to piece together the clues. They discover the legend of the Deathly Hallows (told in a lovely bit of animation), three items that together make a wizard invincible: the Elder Wand, the Invisibility Cloak, and the Resurrection Stone. Harry realises that Voldemort is looking for the wand, having discovered that his and Harry's wands were connected in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire; neither can deal a killing blow. With the Elder Wand, Voldemort will be invincible; no wizard would be able to stand against him. Harry decides that they must find the Hallows, if only the Death Eaters don't find him first...

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part One is perhaps the most satisfying and enjoyable film of the series so far. Gone is the slightly redundant Hogwartsian setting with the trivia of house cups, quidditch matches and detentions. Harry, Ron and Hermione have been thrust into the adult world with a harsh abruptness that is bought sharply home in a scene of a lonely Hermione walking away from her family home after magically eradicating all evidence of her existence and wiping her parents' memories for their own safety. The opening battle, with real casualties, is vivid and exciting, and subsequent action sequences are no less dramatic. David Yates has a sure grasp of his material, and the three leads now inhabit their roles fully. Gone are the Childrens' Film Foundation performances; all have raised their game, but perhaps most noticeably Grint, no longer just the comic foil.

As usual, sadly, the density of the plotting and the sheer amount of story means that many of the vast ensemble cast are reduced to little more than cameos. Voldemort is mostly seen in Harry's visions, while Snape (Rickman), Lupin (Thewlis), and Mr and Mrs Weasley (Mark Williams and Walters) have only a few lines each. Interestingly, now that Snape is an acknowledged Death Eater, he seems to have started using shampoo; he almost looks as if he's had a perm. It's good to see Jason Isaacs back as Lucius Malfoy, much humbled after his stay in Azkhaban, while Helena Bonham Carter, still channelling Amy Winehouse but again with glossy, thick hair, chews the scenery magnificently as the whole picnic short of a picnic Bellatrix Lestrange. Bill Nighy and Rhys Ifans join the cast, which also sees the return of house elves Kreacher and Dobby in key roles.

The film was originally intended to be 3D but doesn't suffer from the traditional presentation. I for one can't wait for next July.

The Mighty Boosh On Tour: Journey of the Childmen Film Review

2011-01-20T13:05:00.002+08:00

The Mighty Boosh On Tour: Journey of the Childmen Film Review

Ever the oddballs, Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding's surrealist humour has won them an army of fans who are happy to watch the pair exchange bizarre anecdotes when they adopt their fictional alter egos of the hapless Howard Moon (Barratt) and the extravagant Vince Noir (Fielding). But you might be concerned this documentary charting The Mighty Boosh on their Future Sailors tour last year would dispel their enchanting double act, revealing far too much of the creative process. Not at all. Director Ralfe captures the spirit of the Boosh with his documentary charting their 99 date tour featuring their supporting characters and taking in public appearances, the last gasp rehearsals and moments which show their funny side is never far from their consciousness.

Due to all the oddball characters Fielding and Barratt create, as well as the presence of Noel’s brother Michael, Dave Brown and Rich Fulcher, The Mighty Boosh is rarely about just the core pair for very long. Journey of the Childmen offers the chance to really see how well their interplay works and whether it’s for the camera or not, you get a very real sense their minds are locked. We first see them hours away from curtain up in Scotland where they are hurried noting down lines – Barratt perched on a chair, Fielding on his knees. They run through their routine under their breath with the odd moment of reminding each other of what comes next or bursting into song. The whole process works in itself as a comic performance.

Backstage moments are often overlayed with the soundtrack to the show on stage with the cast moving around just behind the curtains or making private jokes to each other while on-the-road there are plenty of musings both about life and the tour which are offered as asides. Ralfe does a great job of capturing The Boosh with their guard down or at their most whimsical, no mean feat when you consider how aloof they can be when a whole audience is transfixed by them. There’s a Terry Gilliam-like series of animations and a couple of skits which spice up the film too, while the use of “childmen” in the title comes from an unlikely source. Though I was sceptical whether a documentary could be Boosh-like, I’m pleased to say this is very much tuned into their way of thinking.

EXTRAS
Short films Savage Canvas, HIV The Musical with Martin Freeman and Dave The Lighthouse Man. Noel & Julian's Glasgow Film Festival intro, Wonderful World of Death trailer.

The Mighty Boosh On Tour: Journey of the Childmen film review by Mike Barnard

Published on Thursday, 18 November 2010
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