Misery (1991)

 

Another Stephen King based movie, with the last Stephen King movie I watched being The Shining I knew before watching this that I was not in for something quite as great, not that they should be compared I just watched them within a short space of time and I wanted this Stephen King story to be just as great.

The storyline is great but I did feel it was slightly slow in some parts. The plot revolves around a famous author who wrote many novels based on a woman called Misery he finishes up the last book in the series but ends the book by killing Misery. With that series over he is excited to write and try something new he goes out to the cabin off in the mountains where he always writes his books and completes his new novel, on departure from the hotel he didn't know that a storm was coming driving home in the storm he skids of the road, crashes and is then found by Annie Wilkes (Played by Kathy Bates)

Once coming back around Paul finds himself in a house with two broken legs and confusion of how he got there. Annie Wilkes who claims to be his biggest fan has been taking care of him, you can tell straight away that she seems rather odd and strange but he is thankful for her saving him from the car wreck and getting him safe. Not long after him being in her care the final Misery book is released in stores so she picks it up straight away, once she finds out that Misery is dead and there will be no more books the film really takes a turn. So angry with Paul for writing in Misery's death she begins to punish him and keep him hostage against his will, this is where the suspense really begins there really are some moments when you find yourself on the edge of your seat just shouting at the TV. 

The beginning half of the movie was okay but slow but once the change of feel in the movie happened it really did become one great exciting ride some moments even hard to watch. Really great thriller and would highly recommend if you enjoy suspense movies with a bit of twist.

4 out of 5 stars

Whats your number? (2012)

 

So when I first heard about the basic premise for this movie I really wasn't sure if I wanted to see it or not, a girl who decides the number of guys she has slept with is too high so she wants to go back through them all to see if any of them are the one... it really doesn't sound that great but I guess you really shouldn't judge a book by its cover as I highly enjoyed this movie and know I will be watching it many more times in the future. 

Anna Faris plays Ally who reads an article called 'Whats your number?' stating that if you have slept with over 20 men you are less likely to find a husband with the realization of this hitting her more as she is currently help arrange her sisters wedding she decides she must go back through all the old boyfriends and one of them must be her husband.

Chris Evans comes into the movie when Ally realizes she needs the help of her neighbor to track down all these ex's, find out where they are and what they're doing but of course their relationship starts to become a bit more than a neighbor helping out another neighbor. I think its Chris Evans that really makes the movie better with his sweet charming wit you just can't help but love him in this movie. 

This is one girly movie rom-com that you don't want to miss out on it also leaves you with that great feel good feeling once you have finished watching. I should have payed more attention when it said from the studio who made 'Devil wears Prada' and '27 dresses' and watched it when it came out. Overall would recommend to all who enjoy fun time romantic movies I know I'll be watching this more than once.

4 out of 5 stars

Firehouse Dog (2007)

 

Okay so I know what your thinking straight away this movie looks like something you wouldn't want to watch unless you are under the age of 10...However, its not all that bad!

Josh hutcherson is in this movie which might now be a main appeal for this film with him now becoming rather famous with the likes of the hunger games, he plays a young boy who's dad is a fireman he doesnt see him an awful lot with having to work night shifts and go on call so Shane (Josh ) has to spend a lot of time by his-self. A great positive about the movie the dog doesn't talk, I don't totally hate movies where the dog talks but i defiantly prefer it when they don't.

 Dewey the dog was a Hollywood actor dog who by some mistake got away and everybody now thinks is dead but Shane's dad rescues him from a fire and then its up to them to look after him while they find the rightful owner. Shane and Dewey really don't get along and honestly I think Shane is a little bit too horrible to the dog for a family film it certainly made the beginning half of the movie less enjoyable, the dog was always trying to help him and he was always treating the dog in a mean way it wasn't very nice to watch but once they got over that and started getting along the film was enjoyable. 

Dewey starts helping out at the fire station and they realizes he would be a great firehouse dog and then the story continues and unravels from there, its by far not the best family dog movie out there but its not the worst either if you have kids who enjoy films about dogs this one is worth a watch.

3 out of 5 stars

This Means War (2012)

 

The way the posters and advertisements display this movie is very different from what the actual movie is, Looking at this poster you would think Reese Witherspoon would be playing a very different type of character than she plays in this movie. When I saw the posters and adverts for this movie it was something that just wasn't interesting me but once I finally sat down and watched it I found I really enjoyed it and had forgot how great Reese Witherspoon is. 

The two male leads work together in the FBI (or something similar) and are always a partnered team but they both end up meeting and falling for the same girl, its a test between their friendship and who will win the girl. It does all sound rather cheesy but most chick flick movies are and this certainly is more of a chick flick than the poster gives away. I loved the character Reese Witherspoon played she was down to earth and sweet but just wanted to meet to right guy she'd never dated two guys at once before so it lead to some funny situations. The movie does contain a fair bit of action so I think if you were to watch with the boyfriend/husband it wouldn't be such a bad time for them I think this is a chick flick that might be able to enjoy more than others. 

Overall I had a good time watching this movie and I would probably give it another go and watch it again one day! Recommended to anyone who loves a laugh and a lighthearted girly movie.

3 out of 5 stars

The Ninth Gate (2000)

Okay, so I am a little behind on the reviews here but last week i checked out 'The Ninth Gate' for one great reason, Johnny Depp. I love Depp and most movies that he is involved in so even though I wasn't sure of the premise of the movie I was willing to give this one a go!

The plot is a little complicated to explain as it is one of those that the story keeps twisting and turning and changing around. Johnny Depp plays a book collector and a bit of a con man, making sure he gets the rarest books for the best prices. Its based around one book called the ninth gate which there are only three copies of but only one of which he is told is real. He sets out to find the other two ninth gate books after been offered a lot of money from a very rich book collector who owns one of the ninth gate copies with the high desire to find the other two compare them and see which is the real copy. 

The ninth gate is a book all about the devil and worship of the devil so the movie gets very supernatural, slightly confusing at parts. Being a collector myself it was interesting to watch a movie based around people who very avidly collect something however I found some parts of the movie very slow and maybe didn't need to be in there. Some scenes were really exciting and you would want to keep watching and then it would drop back down in pace and slight feel of disappointment would remain. I also felt the run time was too long at 2 hours and 13 minuets for this movie just seemed way to long, so if you didn't find these type of themes interesting in any way I think it would be a hard movie to sit through.

Johnny Depp does an okay job in this movie but nothing that really stood out, he has defiantly been better. If your going to watch this movie just for him he is okay but far from amazing. Overall I wouldn't watch it again and wouldn't recommend unless you are a massive Depp fan or very interested in supernatural devil themed movies. 

2 out of 5 stars

Chicago (2002)

I used to love this movie when I was a young teenager, I watched it many many times but didn't ever revisit it for years until now.  My friend came to me asking if I had this movie because her dance school are going to be doing a performance of the cell block tango, I was so excited for her and found the movie out right away so she could watch it for the first time and figure out who's who and which part she would want to audition for. This also gave me a great excuse to revisit this film after many years.

I enjoy musicals from time to time and Chicago is in my top 5 favourites, both the songs and the plot are great. The basic story is based around women who have been put in jail for killing men, all have their own reasons and story's behind it but the main character Roxy heart (Renee zellweger) who after shooting a man that she was having an affair with gets sentenced to jail with the possibility of execution. Roxy spends the majority of her time in a fantasy world where she is a star performing to many on stage and this is where the musical area comes into the film, all the situations she is put in you can see what is really going on and the musical version coming from her mind. This works especially well during the court room scene with Richard Gere.

Whilst in jail she meets the famous singer/dancer Velma kelly (Catherine zeta jones). At first Velma kelly is someone Roxy dreams of performing with until competition gets high when they both have the same lawyer (Richard Gere) and are fighting for the spotlight in the papers.

All three lead roles do a fantastic job acting,singing and dancing that it just gets you right in the mood of the movie and its exciting to see all three actors doing something a little different than what we normally might see them in. Overall the movie is good in every way and I think its safe to say even if you think you have never heard any music from Chicago you will have and will know some songs already on your first viewing of the movie.

4 out of 5 stars

Valiant (2005)

 

A British CGI animation based around WW2 and messenger pigeons. So I have to admit the first thing I noticed in this movie was that the CGI just wasn't that great. I know I know it was made 8 years ago?! and that is a long while ago but looking at some other animations released in 2005 we have things like Madagascar, chicken little, robots and lilo and stitch 2 just to name a few and I think looking at those movies of the same year the animation in this movie just wasn't quite up to par.

 Now that's been said I'll get to the storyline we have a young pigeon named valiant who is slightly on the small side (voiced by Ewan Mcgregor ) whos dream is to help his country by going to war as part of the messenger pigeon team. Out of random luck him and his sidekick buddy (voiced by Ricky Gervais) get in to be part of a team. Overall the storyline was very basic but helped show a part of what animals did involved world war 2, so this may be a good animation in teaching children slight things about history, I can't say it was filled with a lot of history facts but i'm sure they would learn something with this. All the top teams get taken down and its up to valiant's team to try and save the day and deliver the message. 

I honestly didn't love this movie too much the characters were cute and likeable but you didn't love them, the storyline was okay and not too complicated and well it was just rather average so there isn't a whole lot more to say. If your kids are learning about WW2 this might be a good way to get them a little more interested but apart from that with all the great animations that are out now this one is very forgettable. 

 2 out of 5 stars 

The Shining (1980)

 

Believe it or not last night was the first time I watched this 80's horror classic and i can totally understand why everybody loves this one. I like to go into movies pretty blind not knowing much about them and just enjoy the surprise, I was so glad I didn't know anything about this movie it just made the first time viewing experience so great. 

With that been said I don't want to give a lot about the movie away so to outline the basics of the plot we have a family, father mother and son who agree to look after and caretaker a hotel up in the mountains during the winter. With it just being the three of them in the hotel all winter alone they are warned its a difficult job and very isolating and they need to be prepared, Jack who is writing a novel feels that this isolating, peace and quiet will work out great for his time writing. 

I was on the edge of my seat for nearly the entire movie, there are so many moments during the film the suspense is built so high and I wish more movies today were able to do this. There's something about older classic movies that you can tell everything was taken into great consideration all the shots used helped create the atmosphere, I loved all the shots where the young boy would ride his trike through the halls and of course who can't mention the music with this film. The use of sound and music in this was amazing it gave of such creepy vibes and just had the suspense building higher. I was seriously hanging of the edge of my seat in the scenes where you could just hear a loud heartbeat in the background. 

Jack Nicholson's performance towards the end was amazing and I couldn't stop thinking wow he'd be great as the joker, which of course later after this film he goes on the play the joker in the 1989 batman movie, one which i haven't seen but now would be very interested in watching. 

Overall an amazing movie the only fault I have with it was that the leading female role I didn't like to much, she was okay just annoyed me slightly on occasions. If you haven't seen this movie I couldn't recommend it enough, that first time watch will be great.

5 out of 5 stars

Friends with kids (2012)

    

Maybe it would be funnier if I had kids? 

Being 20 years old with no kids and no friends with kids as of yet, I found the comedy very flat in this movie. Some moments in the movie i enjoyed but some scenes just felt so long and drawn out that they were boring, the movie is 1 hour 47 which may be a little long for a movie of its style but still the film felt a lot longer which I find is never a good thing. 

It bases mostly around two individuals who are very close friends that decide to have a kid together in hope it will avoid all the mess of marriage, even though not an unrealistic situation it just doesn't seem very believable throughout the movie which makes it hard for you to like the two main characters. In most movies with this storyline you would be rooting for the two friends to get together by the end of the movie and live happily as a family with their baby but I just didn't feel this way about this couple I never felt the want for them to get together which I feel is a strong factor that this movie needed to work. 

The idea was okay but the movie just didn't work for me when it ended I was just 'Oh...' time not very well spent watching this movie so I would give it a miss and try something else.

2 out of 5 stars  

Cinderella Man (2005)

                                                 

Boxing movie's have never been something that I was highly interested in as I have never been a fan of boxing and don't quite understand the fascination and enjoyment people get out of watching it, However with the leading stars being Russell Crowe and Renee Zellweger I didn't want to pass it up. The only regret I have is not watching this movie sooner.

The movie kicks off during the boom of the 20's in which Jimmy is living the dream, Heavyweight champion, three lovely children and a beautiful wife. I didn't know until watching that it was set during the 20's so I was quite excited as I do always enjoy movies set in this time period, often making it seem so great and glamorous. 

The movie takes a turn when the great depression hits in the 30's and this is where the story really begins. With Jimmy now older and less able to fight you see the great struggles the family is going through for money, food and to provide for their children. Not being the most educated person of the 30's and the great depression I found it highly interesting to watch, seeing what drastic changes happened in such short spaces of time. The movie is based on a true story of boxer Jim Braddock so if you were to already know the history behind this story you'll know in which direction the film is heading but I'm sure we have all seen this movie before one way or another, the story of the underdog with not much left to loose trying his hardest to win with not much chance or luck behind him. Having said that I still highly enjoyed the movie and wouldn't be able to just pause and resume the next day I wanted to know what was going to happen I wanted to see it through to the end. 

For somebody who has no interest in boxing and doesn't always enjoy the longer movies, this one being 2 hours and 24 minuets I highly enjoyed the movie and would confidently be able to recommend it to anybody. You'll be on the edge of your seat by the end of this movie. 

4 out of 5 Stars.

SKINS 2013!

So, Skins returns for 2013 but this time with a twist. After series 5 & 6 of skins not doing as well as the rest I think they thought it was time for a change, or maybe even time for the series to come to an end.

The first series of Skins began in January 2007, It was different, strange and outrangouse. It caused a bit of uproar with all its sex and drugs but mostly audiences loved it. Being only 13 at the time of its first release, I maybe didn't enjoy and understand it to the levels that I would now but nevertheless still fell in love with the show and all its characters.

Once series 2 was announced I was hooked, so excited to be able to watch it on the TV the day it comes out instead of having to sneakily watch it online behind my mums back weeks behind. Series 2 did not disappoint however it wasn't quite on par with the first, it was still the same characters we knew and loved so we carried on watching & enjoying it just the same. As series 2 was drawing to a close it was unsure what would then happen, how the next series would follow? Would be another series? Was this the end? 

Series 2 didn't really seem to conclude itself, it left a lot of loose ends that left us hanging. Then finally ending it all with a close up shot of Effy, leaving us clues of what was to come. Rumors and speculations began until along popped series 3, with Effy (a younger sister from one of the main characters from the first series') as one of the main characters and a new group of teenagers. I think at first people were unsure how to feel about this new change of cast, but it was nice to still have the familiarity of Effy.

I was so in love with the original cast I took it as quite a shock and wasn't to sure that I would like this whole new change around, but I went into it with my mind open and within the first few episodes I was hooked all over again.

Series 4 became one of my favourite series of skins and I started to love this cast even more than the first, but of course as your just really getting into it and getting used to them, this cast also has to move away. Their two years was up and it was time to start with the new again. With the success of this change around from the first time I wasn't to worried, yes I was sad to see them go but I had hope for the new series and new characters.

Well, I just could not get into series 5 at all. I stuck with it the whole way through but never felt that connection with the characters and their story lines and once that has gone it just isn't the same. The second series with these new characters came and I will admit it was better than series 5, series 6 had more interesting storylines, much more going on to hold your attention and it was more enjoyable but still it wasn't a patch on the first 4 Series'.

After series 5 & 6 not being as successful I think it would have been a bad move to again change the characters and have new ones arrive doing their first years of sixth form again, there is only so much you can do with that and only so far you can go. After 6 years as sad as it was I think the time was up.

A long await began to see what might happen next, would they make another series? Rumors of a movie began, old casts returning to make one big skins movie? Then there was the announcement of series 7! At first very little was said, all we knew is that Cassie, Cook & Effy would each have an episode and they would be returning. Great exciting news and here are the characters everybody wants to see and heres a chance to tie up loose ends of the end of series 2 and 4, Did Cassie find Sid in new york? Did everybody find out what happened to Freddie? Hopefully all these unanswered questions can now be answered as the characters return.

Series 7 of skins won't be like the other series' we have seen, it consists of 3 one hour episodes each based mainly around one character and where they are now. The first episode will be 'Fire' based around Effy but will also include characters Emily & Naomi from series 3&4.

I have great high expectations for the series and I don't think it will disappoint. A brilliant way to end a brilliant series. Now all we can do is wait and see......