 So, last night me and a couple of fiends went to Guardians of the Galaxy (GOTG), Marvel Studios latest offering. For us this movie has been long awaited, the trailers made it look a must, and it looks to be quite a lot different to the normal Marvel offerings. (I love to normal marvel offerings, particularly of late). There's lot a internet chatter about how this movie is going to be great and just as much chatter about how bad it's going to flop. I can very happily inform you the negative nay sayers got it totally wrong! This movie is fabulous with numerous laugh out loud moments, plenty of actions, compelling characters and has been very well made. The movie starts off in the 80's on Earth, with a young boy who has to say goodbye to his dying mother. He is abducted by an alien spacecraft and we're then transported 26 years into the future where the boy has become a bit of an outlaw, with an opinion of himself that is considerably greater than anybody else's opinion. Through a series of unfortunate events (or fortunate, depending on how you look at things), a motley team of (for want of a better description) misfits is assembled. We've got Peter Quill "Starlord" our abducted human, Gomorrah (the green chick), Rocket the renegade rodent/lab experiment, Groot the tree dude, and Grax the Destroyer (He's a bit of a maniac). Quill becomes the leader (of sorts) to this collection of, um, heroes, and leads them around the Galaxy in search of some mystical orb that no-one really seems to know exactly what it is. (It is revealed in due course) There's (obviously) a selection of villains, spanning many rungs of the villainous ladder, and with various agendas ranging from petty thievery to make a quick buck all the way through to galactic domination, for the most maniacal. As I said, I have really been looking forward to this, something I try to avoid doing as it often leads to disappointment. However, I can categorically state that this movie totally lived up to expectations, so much so that I'm going again next week with my brother (since his wife dragged him (kicking and screaming) to Mrs. Browns D'movie). The action is fast and frantic, the humour is in no way subtle, in fact many times dialogue was drowned out by the raucous laughter of the audience, thankfully it's hardly an Agatha Christie whodunit so it doesn't matter. The effects and production in general is of Marvels usual high standards, and the 3D (something I'm not really sold on, Avatar and Dread 3D are exceptions) was also good. You may be beginning to get the feeling that I really enjoyed and rated this movie, and you'd be bang on right. Now, not wanting to over hype or over sell this movie, I promise you this movie will not change the world. It may however, make it just a little bit better for 2 hrs and 1 min. I give this a solid 4.5/5 Choc-tops, Very entertaining! Watch out for the "reveal" at the end of the credits. It may test you memory. To find out who it is highlight the following line... Howard The Duck 
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  Just got back from the midnight opening of the long awaited Star Trek - Into Darkness. And, I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed it. The basic synopsis is based around an attack on a Star Fleet facility (an inside job) and the hunt for the perpetrator (John Harrison played by Benedict Cumberbatch) by Admiral Marcus Who send Kirk and the Enterprise on the mission to find and kill Harrison.
Without giving away the story (yet), this movie is full of the things you'd expect from the rebooted Star Trek and contains the following... Kirk's womanising, involving a (apparent) threesome with a couple of alien ladies with tails - insert suitably inappropriate pun to do with cats or synonyms here- :-) Spock's continued struggle with his human emotions and mourning of his home world. A major characters resignation. A major & not so major (but still important in the Star Wars lore) characters death. Klingons, Treachery, camaraderie and friendships. Alien worlds, new aliens, (actually, quite a few new aliens, both floating around the background on earth and as crew on the Enterprise). The obligatory cool tech, although I don't really remember anything new that's worth mentioning. There are hugs and kisses, fights and squabbles, tears and laughter and 1 x Tribble. I would at this point like to digress and take the time to chortle heartily at the girl sitting behind me in the cinema who, prior to the movie starting, proclaimed in her best outside voice (for everyone to hear) "I have 2 guinea pigs, 1 named Spock and the other Kirk. Yes, that's right, I'm a real fan!" and then at the end referred to the Tribble as "that weird fluffy thing". Please child, hush! Most importantly, it stays true to the Roddenberry vision of our future and Star Fleet, Kirk the Enterprise and the values they hold important such as, honour, loyalty, integrity (see Scotty), exploration, and the working together for the greater good and advancement of mankind and society. I'm not a big time "Trekkie" but, i do appreciate the vision. I'm generally not a huge fan of 3D (credit where credit is due, Avatar and Dredd 3D were done great), but the 3D in this is done well and generally not lost even in the action scenes, if you have the choice do the 3D thing. Anyway, there's plenty of action and anyone who liked the 2009 reboot should love this. Go and see it. It's a solid 4 out of 5 choc-tops! SPOILER ALERT - If you want to know who Benedict Cumberbatch's "John Harrison" character really is, scroll down. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - I can't do it. Go see the movie! Just got home from the midnight opening of The Avengers at Rialto Cinemas Dunedin. The place was packed out with nerds, geeks, dweebs and all manner of similar social misfits including myself and about 8 of my friends. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the lovely young ladies who went dressed as lycra clad Black Widow and Captain America (minus the pants) your efforts were appreciated. It's kind of funny going to a movie like The Avengers, which has a definite following. Looking around the crowded foyer and cinema you see a plethora of kindred nerd types. I found myself trying to figure out who played World of Warcraft and if they played Alliance or Horde. I was also astounded by the number of attractive nerd ladies in attendance. But I think the coolest thing a witnessed tonight was when the movie finally started and I experienced the very audible sound of 400 simultaneous 'nerdgasms'. It made my LOL a little. Lets get down to the movie. It was fantastic, even my mate Brendon who is a big ol' comic book nerd loved it without fault. Now I'm sure there are faults with it and I'm sure he'll watch it another 10 or 12 times and given a few weeks he'll manage to pick every plot hole or inconsistancy with all the Marvel universes, but the mere fact he didn't dissect it tonight is a testament to it's awesomeness. The story is good, the casting is near perfect, I heard a little whinge about Mark Ruffalo's Hulk, I personally found his David Banner to be very true to the original TV series and enjoyed him because of that nostelgia. Scarlett Johansson is smoking' hot and fabulous as always. Robert Downey Jr. is perfect as Tony Stark and his comic timing and witticisms are priceless. Chris Hemsworth's comic timing is also spot on and between Robert Downey Jr. and himself, oh and 1 very amusing scene with the Hulk and punch very reminicient of every which way but loose's, "Right turn Clyde" (old people know what I'm talking about), there are many scenes that had the audience laughing out loud. The plot is easy to follow -Loki is a dick who has stolen something with the view to do something bad and must be stopped- See, told ya it was simple. The technology was great, loving the aircraft carrier! and the awesome interactive holographic displays. The comedy is funny as hell, the action is very actiony. <---- think i made up a word there. The chicks are hot, really hot! The blokes are yummy as well, "Oh that boy who plays Thor is so scrummy!" This is obviously a quote from one of my female friends who came along tonight, and I'll just have to take her work for it. Even after a very long day the movie didn't seem long, it certainly didn't drag at any point. and the appearance during the final credits of SPOILER ALERT!.................................................................... Thanos pointing towards even more nerdalicious stuff to come. In a nut shell I thoroughly enjoyed this movie, I have to say it's definitely the best I've seen in a long time and a must see. I'll be going back again soon. It's bloody near a perfect 5 choctop rating prevented purely by the fact I don't believe anything is perfection and it will take something exceptional to get a 5 choctop rating out of me. But you know what they say... 4.5 out of 5 ain't bad! GO AND SEE IT!  I've seen a bunch of really good movies recently (I must get around to writing about them some time) but today I went to see Star Wars Episode I in 3D. I'm not entirely sure why I chose this movie, it may have to do with the fact the movie I actually wanted to see didn't start for another 2 hours, it might have something to do with curiosity, it may be because I'm off my meds and not fully in control, whatever the reason I'm so glad I went to see this movie because now I can categorically tell you... DON'T WASTE YOU TIME OR MONEY! I never really liked the prequels, probably since I'm in my mid-thirties and fondly remember 'Star Wars', 'The Empire Strikes Back' & 'The Return of the Jedi' the first time around. I think the prequel trilogy would've been fine had Jar Jar Knobhead not been in it. He's an annoying character with an equally annoying accent which is a fusion of baby speak and a jamaican accent. (ya dead Sanka?) It's sad I know, but he completely ruins it for me, his crap sight gags and the continual regurgitation of (what I can only assume were meant to be endearing quotes) the likes of "how rude", which I spotted 3 times and instantly takes be back to Full House. It was cute the first time the Michelle Tanner said it but lost its cuteness very quickly and never made cute with Jar Jar. Jar Jar is to me like Hilary Swank's character in P.S. I love you, I took an instant dislike to it which took 2 hours to get over which by that time the final credits were rolling and I hated the whole movie because of a personality clash with one character. (maybe I should seek therapy) Anyway, no need for a synopsis, I still can't tell Keira Knightly from Natalie Portman even though I know who plays who. Natalie Portman's Mum confused the two of them too when she visited the set, so I shouldn't feel too upset about that. Jar Jar is a pain in the arse, that's been well and truly covered and the only thing that the 3D brings to this movie is $4 extra to the ticket price and $1 for the glasses. (why can't I remember the glasses that's 18 pairs at home now and 4 in the car.) Please for the love of God don't go. Don't encourage George Lucas to continue to milk this for way more than it's worth. I hope this is already the attitude of the masses and perhaps the fact there were 5 of us at the 2:40pm session today confirms that. 1 Choctop is all you're getting George. Stop it! Stop it now before you totally ruin your masterpiece and dilute the franchise into some piss weak overdone crap the everyone is completely over!  Update May 8th 2013. Downloaded "I Am" from iTunes a couple of days ago and finally watched it today. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Well worth a look, especially if you're frustrated with the way our society is heading and are looking for hope, and reassurance that 1 person can make a substantial difference without substantial effort. Watch this Doco! I have to be honest with you. I have not seen this movie, but I have seen the trailer and I saw Tom Shadyac on Oprah last week and it all grabbed my attention. I often find myself asking the same questions, and sincerely look forward to seeing what people like Desmond Tutu have to say. There's a lot of new science, new theories and maybe, just maybe there's a message, a clue or two that we can take from this documentary that will help us all make this world a better place. If anyone know's if it's playing in NZ or when it'll be available on DVD please let me know. I know that as of 15mins ago, amazon.com have a "notify me when it's available" page and all the other usual vendors have nothing. Anyway check out the trailer below. Maybe we can make it a movie date sometime soon. Mos  This is going to be quick and easy. This movie quite simply put is Michael Bay doing what Michael Bay does best, big budget no brainer effects fests. Great effects, great sound, the Decepticons are dicks, the Autobots are memorable and dear I say it, the movie probably isn't. That's no to say I didn't enjoy it. In factI found myself quite in-grossed despite never planning on going to see it on the big screen. The plot is... well... the plot is Decepticons Vs. Autobots with humans and earth in the middle. We find that the autobots had tried to send a great weapon away in to hiding during the war on Cybertron and the Decepti.... Oh crap it's just not worth it... IMDB says... "The Autobots learn of a Cybertronian spacecraft hidden on the Moon, and race against the Decepticons to reach it and to learn its secrets" Thanks Imdb you good blokes (and blokette There you go. That pretty much sums it up. Best parts: 1: The opening scenes 2: The white dress 3: the opening scenes If you liked the other 2 go and see it. There are a couple of twists you may or may not see coming. The new love interest in this movie is Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and she makes her acting debut in this cinematic masterpiece. To be completely honest with you, I'm pretty sure her acting was OK but, I think she'll be around for a bit due to the fact her acting didn't completely suck (see Paris Hilton) and the also due to the fact that she is so incredibly, stunningly gorgeous! All in all I'm glad I saw it however, I think if you have a nice Hi-Def, surround sound set up at home I'd probably wait for the blu-ray. I'm gonna give it 3 choctops as it was entertaining and this score may have been helped by the fact that I went with a bunch of friends and they're all awesome. Thanks Phil, Samantha and Krysta.   Where: Small town anywhere, U.S.A. When: 1979 Who: Bunch of kids on summer holidays (and some key adult characters) What happens: ... A group of (slightly socially outcast) friends are making a movie with a super 8 camera when they witness a train de-railment whilst filming. They soon discover the de-railment was no accident and confronts the culprit at the scene who offers up a stern warning about keeping quiet or dying. What ensues involves U.S. military, some local deputies, a couple of dads, a bunch of missing dogs, unexplained thefts and (SPOILER ALERT) an alien. The innocent fun of summer break turns to custard in no uncertain terms as our heroes struggle with life, love and grumpy alien life and a broken camera. J.J. Abrams and Steven Spielberg have done a fantastic job of taking us back to the days of E.T., Close Encounters, Stand by Me and The Goonies. This movie is funny, at times suspenseful, has wonderful characters, a bossy director type, ever loyal friend type, slightly mental pyromanic type, dreams of stardom type, wrong side of the tracks type etc., great effects, a (young crush) love story and brings with it a peasant nostalgia that I really appreciated. There is absolutely nothing new or groundbreaking about this movie, but it is thoroughly enjoyable and the young actors do a spectacular job. Each and everyone of them successfully brought to life the character they were playing and it has to be said Elle Fanning (Dakota's little sister) who plays Alice has some particularly amazing moments. That Fanning family have some incredible talent. New comer Joel Courtney who plays Joe Lamb (the male lead) produces a stella performance and should be in the acting game a bit longer after this, and the rest of the cast really complete this movie. This movie probably won't cause any life changing epiphanies but it's a bloody good wee watch! I rate it higher than I rate ya mum, 4 choctops for this cracker. And, I'd go see it again. But then I was 6 when I went to see E.T. at the movies.  I'm not entirely sure where to begin with this movie. I went to see it last night and like I've mentioned before, I'm not a comic book geek so I really have no idea what is accurate and what is not. However i do have a friend who is and does and I gave him the synopsis last night when I got home and apparently there's not much in the way of accuracy in this movie. I'm going to pretend I didn't speak to my mate and I'm going to assume most people are blissfully ignorant like me. So, here goes...! X-Men First Class endeavours to explain how the X-Men and more particularly Charles Xavier and his school and Magneto got to be who they are. The movie starts with a touch of dé ja vu as we see a young (Jewish) Magneto being separated from his mother in a Nazi camp. Shortly afterwards we meet Sebastian Shaw (played by Kevin bacon - think Footloose) who knows the young Magento has special abilities and employs some Nazi tactics to encourage him. Next we meet young Charles Xavier in his somewhat less than modest abode (think massive manor/castle) who meets an equally young Raven/Mystique and the two strike up a friendship, well, really it's more of a brother sister kind of thing. Anyway, Cliff Notes version, the rest of the movie revolves around Magneto trying to avenge his mothers death, Sebastian Shaw (films bad bugger) trying to start WWIII and nuclear war between cold war U.S. and U.S.S.R. (think Cuba and missiles etc.), Xavier trying to be the moral leader for the world (both mutant and human), The C.I.A. trying to utilize the 'good mutants' to fight the commies and the bad mutants, and finally 20th Century Fox trying to keep as far away from the true lore and history of X-men as possible. Nevermind all of that, lets look at the positives. From a ice cream and popcorn point of view this movie is entertaining. From a cast point of view the cast is aesthetically pleasing, (thumbs up for January Jones and Jennifer Lawrence and Rose Byrne), From an effects point of view there's some pretty cool stuff, although nothing ground breaking and life changing and from keeping my attention point of view it did that just fine. We learned how the key characters came to be, we meet a few X-men we haven't met before, we learn why Magneto is mental, and why Charles Xavier is in a wheelchair. And, so long as you either a) Don't know the lore or b) don't care then this movie will be entertaining and worth the ticket price. Worth noting that... 1. If you're an X-Men nerd then be prepared to be disappointed. 2. Do Not! I REPEAT DO NOT! Re-watch the other four movies prior to seeing this. It will only expose the plot and history holes even more. 3. Wolverines cameo in the middle of the movie is gold! If you've seen this movie and want to add you 2 cents worth then feel free.  It seems the latest fad in Hollywood is comic books. Thor is yet another movie based on a graphic novel from the Marvel universe. I've never been much into graphic novels. I think the last time I read one was in the late 80's and was either an early Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle or Archie and Jughead. I think the reality is that I'm probably lucky not to be a follower since I don't notice mistakes and changes. I've a good friend who is a HUGE comic nerd and constantly tries to explain to me why this was wrong and why that was inaccurate, Thankfully I don't care. Let's face facts. Hollywood has a history of doing a half arsed job of turning print into film, take any Harry Potter movie from Prisoner of Azkaban onwards, Eragon, My sisters Keeper and He's Just Not That Into You are great examples of this, although the book He's Just Not That Into You was rubbish so I guess they did a good job with that one. Anyway... The Movie Thor is about Thor, surprise, surprise (played by Chris Hemsworth) who lives on Asgard and is due to take over the throne of Asgard from his father Odin (played by Anthony Hopkins), much to the disapproval of his jealous brother Loki. Thor and his loyal band of warriors, aided by Loki decide to stir up an ancient feud with the Frost Giants and Odin is furious, stripping Thor of his powers and banishing him and his hammer to Earth until he is deemed worthy to gain back his powers and with them his rightful place. Three scientist lead by Jane Foster (natalie Portman) literally run into Thor in the middle of an american dessert. They befriend him and the plot continues from there. Thor obviously has to redeem himself, he needs to learn some humility and in short needs to pull his head out of his butt. This movie is full of action, has moments of comedy, is beautiful in regards to sets, effects, and costumes and all in all is thoroughly enjoyable. Years of working in theatres and watching movies has made me cynical , and cautious about having to high an expectation and so with most movies I go expecting little and am usually not disappointed, I went to Thor expecting very little but loved pretty much every minute of it. One of the things that grabbed my attention was the similarities of Asgard and The Ice Steppes and Icecrown & Ulduar from the World of Warcraft expansion Wrath of the Lich King. I really was surprised how well this movie flowed and am loving the way marvel are tying these movies together (see end of iron man 2). If you haven't seen this movie and you'd like a bit of an action flick with a bit of romance, comedy, a lesson in morals and mythology all mixed in then please put Thor on your list. And if you do watch this then you need to stay until the end of the credits, if you're a big time Marvel universe nerd then you might just get what's going on after the credits. This movies rates a very respectable 3 and half choc tops.  I've seen a lot of Simon Pegg / Nick Frost movies, and in all honesty I've enjoyed them. I don't think I'd rave about them but, they certainly are funny and entertaining, Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, How to Lose Friends and Alienate People, Run Fat Boy Run etc. are all good quality british comedies but none of them have made it into my movie collection. I was recently invited to preview Paul prior to it being released for public viewing. Knowing I was going, I checked out the trailer at apple.com and I must admit I thought it was going to be pretty average. I am extremely happy to report that the trailer did in no way do justice to this movie. It is absolutely hilarious! Now the theatre was full of computer geeks and nerds (arguably the target audience) but it's continuous laugh out loud funny full of sci-fi references, politically incorrect comedy, toilet humour and a plethora of geekerific references, it's almost a game trying to identify them. As usual Simon Pegg and Nick Frost play awkward, socially retarded singletons, this time they have decided to visit Comic-con (geek mecca) followed by a tour of famous american UFO sites. This trip starts with the hapless duo stumbling across Paul, an extraterrestrial played by (and they couldn't have found a better fit for this role) Seth Rogan. Paul has just escaped from a top secret military facility. Paul is loud, obnoxious, fun loving, philosophical, rude, crude and highly indecent but shit he's funny! The rest of the movie is a chase flick slash comedy of errors and misfortunes, Feds (jason Bateman and Sigourney Weaver) are hot on the trail, as is the fanatical bible belt father of the young woman they accidentally kidnap. This is one of the funniest movies I've seen in a very long time. Look out for cameos from Jane Lynch, Jeffery Tambor and Steven Spielberg. I have to give this a solid 4.5/5 and that's only because I don't believe anythings perfect. Thanks to Toshiba New Zealand & Rialto Cinemas. You guys Rock!  |
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