Certificate:12ADirecter: Lisa Azuelos Cast:Miley Cyrus, Demi Moore, Douglas Booth and Ashley Green Distributor: LionsgateRunning Time: 97 mins
When the film starts we meet LoL (Miley Cyrus) and her friends including Kyle (Douglas Booth), Janice (Lina Esco), Emily (Ashley Hinshaw) and you may recognize Adam Sevani from the Step Up series as Wenn, we also meet her 'enemy' Ashley (Ashley Greene) aka "the post it" because she sticks to every guy and her current boyfriend Chad (George Finn). In the first five minutes we find out who everyone is including Kyle (Booth) her long time friend, we all know what that leads to but more of that later, that they are in their first semester of the school year in a Fame type of way (well that's what it reminds me of), and that her boyfriend Chad cheated on her over the summer and she lies and said she hooked up with someone too which leads to Lol scribbling out the "chad & lol for ever" marker penned onto a wall in the bathroom.
When we meet her mum (Demi Moore) shes in the bath tub with her little sister and her mum is quizzing her on what she has done to her body the line "i don't want you to be a porn star" comes up. There is also diary involved which only ever leads to bad things. But Lol and her mum are really close which is kind of nice to see but if it follows the normal pattern something is going to happen to disrupt that. There is also a funny scene between Lols friend Emily and the hot math teacher (Austin Nichols) and with the rest of the girls in the class. We also find out the Lola's divorced parents are hooking up again and she's not very happy about it, but it also shows Emily and Kyle having dysfunctional families which causes tension with Kyle's band that also has Chad in it but they aren't actually that bad and at battle of the bands you start to see Lola's and Kyle's relationship start to develop past friendship especially during the house party that Lola has when her mum goes away for the weekend.
Like every other romance/drama film something happens between the two of them, in this case Lol suspects Kyle of cheating on her with Ashley, and they break up. With out giving to much away, there is a lot of drama between the group of friends especially when Lol finds out the truth when they are on a school trip to Paris, which was one of my favourite parts of the film, but the events in Paris have an affect on Lols relationship with her mother, after her mother reads her diary. If you are a fan of the teenage rom-coms you can probably guess how the movie will end, but if you don't now i will leave it for you to find out.
If yours a fan of Miley Cyrus or the rom-coms full of teenage angst then this is a film for you. I did like the film and its not a bad story, a bit predictable but worth the watch if it you get the chance.
The film is released on DVD in the UK on the 15th October and is £10 on Amazon
Certificate:RDirecter: Jon Poll Cast:Anton Yelchin, Kat Dennings, Hope Davis and
Robert Downey Jr Distributor: Metro-Goldwyn-MayerRunning Time: 97 mins
Charlie (Anton Yelchin) is the typical high school student who just wants to be accepted by the kids at school, when we first meet him he has just been expelled from school for making and selling fake Id's in his room, we find out that he comes from a very rich family after his mum (Hope Davis) tries to buy his way back into the school and when she asks him why he was making the Id's his reply was that he wanted to be accepted, that he wanted to be happy and popular and that was the point of high school, to be accepted. The suggestion that Charlie should move home and attend public school is brought forward. We see Charlie and his mum sat at the piano and he is reminding her that she needs to take her meds and that normal kids don't show up to school with a chauffeur and that he should take the bus.
We cut to Robert Downey Jr entering his house and we meet his Daughter Susan (Kat Dennings) who calls her dad the Principle and he has a difficult relationship with his ex wife when he is sat at his desk drinking whiskey and he cuts off the voice message from her and then we see him driving a toy boat around his pool drinking whiskey.
When Charlie starts school he gets on the bus and gets some strange looks because he is dressed in a suit and has a brief case, he gets mistaken for a teacher by Susan because of the way he is dressed and when he goes into the bathroom he interrupts the school "bad boy" Murphy (Tyler Hilton) and gets his head stuffed down the toilet, so school doesn't start very well for Charlie he is an outcast because he is new and dresses weird compared to the other students. Charlie auditions for the school play which is quite funny so i don't want to give any spoilers for that, and when he gets beaten up by the school bullies his mums response is the call in the shrink. The shrink solution is to put him on some meds.
After some interesting side affects to taking the new meds ( if you have ever watched The Big Bang Theory its similar to when Sheldon drinks coffee and dresses like the Flash) he realizes that he can sell the Ritalin with the help of Murphy at the school dance and make a load of money and lets just say there are some funny side affects. A kid at school comes up to Charlie to get some drugs because of Charlies connections when Charlie can't help him he finds a way by trying to find the right drug to give him and goes to the Shrink relaying the information and symptoms that Kit told Charlie to get the drugs to help him and gets the drugs. Charlie becomes the new school shrink with kids coming up to him in his "office" for advice and drugs with the help of Murphy. Along with Charlies drug/psychiatric business doing well his relationship with Susan is also developing much to her dads disapproval (he also has a drinking problem).
One of the kids that Charlie tried to help Kit, tries to kill himself by taking a load of sedatives, which leads to a confrontation between Charlie and Nathan about him selling drugs. Charlie tries to make it up to Kit by helping him with the play that he wrote onto the stage and he tries to get Murphy to go on a date with a girl he really likes. A protest breaks out over cameras being installed in the school and the principle is placing the blame on Charlie even though he isn't a part of the protest because he doesn't want to be expelled again. Things come head to head with the principle over Susan after Nathan jumps to the wrong conclusions, Charlie gets arrested, students riot in protest and another confrontation between Nathan and charlie occurs this time with a gun, that is where i am going to leave it, you will have to watch it to see what happens at the end.
The films is great, it shows the life of a high school student that will do anything to fit on, even if it is illegal and how he deals with social pressures a lot of the time films like this are done from more of a female perspective so its nice to see something different. Anton Yelchin is brilliant in the role of Charlie and there are some great moments especially between Charlie and his mum, who Charlie is clearly the adult in the family as he looks after his mother because his father isn't around. I love Robert Downey Jr and he doesn't disappoint in the film he is just brilliant especially in the scenes he shares with Yelchin and Kat Dennings (who is great in the film) . This is defiantly a film to watch.
Certificate:15Directer: Joe CornishCast:John Boyega, Jodie Whittaker, Alex Emsil and Nick Frost
Distributor: Studio Canal, Film 4, UK Film Council Running Time: 88 mins
The film starts out in South London where we see Sam (Jodie Whittaker) getting mugged by a gang of teenagers including their leaded Moses (John Boyega) when something crashes down and crushes a car. Which leaves Sam the chance to run away leaving the gang behind to deal with what has fallen from the sky. The leader of the gang Moses decides to rob the car that has just been crushed and whilst he is in the car he is attacked by something, you don't see much of what attacks Moses only that its furry and has big teeth (it fell from the sky so you can safely assume that it is an alien) after Moses gets attacked the gang chase down the alien and kill it.
Back at the block where they all live they pay a visit to the local drug den which is run by Ron (Nick Frost) who is fat and lazy and hides a weed room in his flat for his boss Hi-Hatz, he agrees that the gang can keep the alien in his flat, the gang are hoping that they will gain fame and fortune after they found the alien. Whilst they are in the flat we get introduced to Brewis (Luke Teadaway) who is one of Ron's customers and is there to buy some weed. When the gang look out of the window and see more aliens falling from the sky around the block. At the same time Sam is reporting the gang to the police after they robbed her and the police go out in search of the gang.
When the police catch up with the gang they are armed with weapons to fight the aliens they meet up with Sam again who is with the police and ready to arrest the boys when the aliens attack again and result in Sam and the gang running from the aliens back into the block with not just the aliens after them but Hi-Hatz after he is almost killed by one of the aliens.
I can't really say much more with out spoiling the second half of the film but what i can say is that the gang start to fight against the aliens as they try and defend the block along with Brewis and Ron, whilst trying to stay away from Hi-Hatz.
I loved Brewis he was such a great character some of his scenes made me laugh especially because he is the complete opposite of the gang even though he tries to fit in and just doesn't it. Probs and Mayhem were brilliant as well (you will have to watch the film to find out who they are). I wasn't expecting the film to be as gory as it was, but i didn't bother me that much. I did like the film it was good to see this type of film set somewhere other than America. I loved the characters especially the different personalities in within the gang, but the story line could have been developed a bit more. But it was a good film and i am all for supporting the British film industry so this film is definitely worth a watch (plus a love any film with Nick Frost he's brilliant!!)
Certificate:12ADirecter: Scott HicksCast:Zac Efron, Taylor Schilling and Blythe DannerDistributor: Warner Bros Pictures Running Time: 101 mins
Logan (Zac Efron) is a marine serving his third tour of Iraq whilst there he finds a picture in the sand and when he goes to pick it up a bomb lands from where he was previously sat, the picture had the words "be safe" written on the back, the picture saved his life. When he arrives home from Iraq to his family he is suffering from a lot of guilt and doesn't know where he fits in especially since he survived and many others didn't. So he decides to find the woman in the picture using the landmark in the picture behind her, he and his dog Zeus head off to Louisiana to find the woman who saved his life.
When Logan arrives in Louisiana to find that the woman in the photo is named Beth (Taylor Schilling) and that she runs a dog kennel and when he turns up at the kennel she assumes that he is there to apply for a job and she also thinks hes crazy, Beth's grandmother Ellis (Blythe Danner) hires him anyway. Through the first 40 minutes of the film we find out that Beth has a son, Ben, and has a bad and slightly abusive relationship with her ex-husband who also happens to be a police officer who doesn't like Logan. We also find out that Beth's brother was also a marine who died a year earlier in Iraq.
As per the normal Nicholas Sparks stories the relationship between Logan and Beth develops into romance, which Beth's ex husband Kieth doesn't approve of and gives Beth the ultimatum of having full custody of her son or Logan, which drives her to finally stand up to him and start living her life for her self, which leaves us with some very steamy scenes with Logan (i won't give any spoilers you will have to watch for yourself).
Logan still hasn't told Beth about the picture, which predictably leads to Keith finding the photograph in Logan's house and he telling Beth about his discovery and a confrontation with Logan later and the truth comes out. Without giving to much away a storm comes to town and we start to see one character in a different light, but you will have to watch the film to find out who and how the story ends.
The film follows to typical pattern that all the other Nicholas Sparks stories follow the boy meets girl and falls in love with a lot of complications along the way. The film is good, it was weird seeing Zac Efron playing a much older character i think i still picture him as Troy Bolton but he puts in a great performance along with Taylor who plays the role of Beth really well and manages to get the emotions across and has some great scenes with Blythe Danner that made me laugh. Riley Thomas Stuart puts in a great performance as Ben and the relationship between Ben and Logan is heart warming. Even though the film didn't make me cry like most of Spark's films (cried like a baby watching A Walk to Remember) as i have connected with the characters but it was still a good romance film and would suggest watching it.
Rating: 6/10
The Lucky One is out now in cinemas
Other Nicholas Sparks adaptions you should check out are:
The Notebook
Dear John
A Walk to Remember
The Last Song
Certificate:PGDirecter: Ellen PerryCast:Perry Eggleton, Damian Lewis, Kristian Kiehling and Bob HoskinsDistributor: Strangelove Films Running Time:102mins
The basic plot to the film is that 11 year old orphan Will (Perry Eggleton) is Liverpool's Number 1 fan and the film follows his journey to get to the 2005 Champions League final in Istanbul. Will's dad (Damian Lewis) returns 3 years after leaving Will to be raised in an orphanage by nuns comes back to get Will with a promise to take him to the Champions League final, but he suddenly dies leaving Will with no family and no one to take him to the final. With the help of his friends Simon and Ritchie they plot to get Will away from the orphanage and to the final (one of my favourite scenes).
Will gets as far as Paris before he runs into trouble, his money get stolen by two French teenagers and leave him to rely on Alec (Kristian Kiehling), some guy who gave him a lift to Paris. We quickly learn that Alec was an up and coming professional football until something happened (you'll have to watch to find out what happened). Alec decides to take Will all the way to Istanbul after finding out the boy is an orphan runaway who dreams of going to the final. As we follow them through Europe they come across various Liverpool fans that are on the way to Istanbul and learn more about Alec's past you see the bond between the two grow.
This film is amazing, it made me laugh and cry as we follow Will to the final, with some special cameos from The King himself Kenny Dalglish and two Kop Legends Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher. The film is inspirational not just to spots fans but to everyone, about not giving up when something gets in your way or giving into fear. Some of my favourite scenes are when they are at Will's school with his friends planning his mission to Istanbul and when they meet a van load of fans on the road to Istanbul.
Will is out now on DVD from Amazon and iTunes to buy or rent (I definitely suggest watching it)
Certificate: 12A Director: Joss Whedon Cast: Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Jeremy Renner, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffallo, Tom Hiddleston and Samuel L Jackson Distributor: Marvel Studios Running Time: 142mins
I have been looking forward to seeing this film for over a year practically counting down the days till i could see it. With this film if you haven't seen the other films that are part of the series Iorn Man, Captain America and in particular Thor to catch up on what has all ready happened prior to the film.
The story line to this film is the same as most of the
Superhero films is the "end of the world" brought about by Thors brother
Loki (Tom Hiddleston, this is where you have to have seen the film Thor
to understand the family drama between the two) is after a cube of some
sorts, now called the Teseract (seen in Captain America) which has
enough power to end the world and he has teamed up with some form of
aliens to take over the world.
The cast that has been assembled for this film is what really makes the film and the way in which Joss Wheedon has directed the film is brilliant, every character is focused upon at some point during the film and after the usual power struggles that are seen on the screen to unite as a team is one a brilliant thing, Whedon doesn't focus just on one of the characters but makes sure that they each have their share of screen time which is one of the critical things that make this film work. The Cast is superb and they work really well together even though the characters have really big egos on their own and you wouldn't think they would work well together and that is one of the doubts through out the film. Robert Downey Jr as Tony Stark/Iron Man is brilliant as he always is, some great lines and jokes and he has great scenes with everybody, plus i love how he spends the whole film in a Black Sabbath T-Shirt. Chris Hemmsworth as the God of Thunder Thor arrives in a bolt of lightening to try and stop his brother from destroying the world. Chris Evans as Steve Rodgers/Captain America has arrived in the modern world not knowing what anything is all he know is how to save the world. Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton/Hawkeye and Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romenoff/Black Widow are the master assassins who are member of shield, if you watch Thor closely you will see the Hawkeye's cameo and Black Widow was introduced in Iron Man 2 and are bad ass at what they do, i wouldn't want to mess with them. Samuel L Jackson as Nick Furry is the director of SHIELD and brings all our hero's together to save the world. Mark Ruffalo is the new guy on the block playing Bruce Banner/Hulk i think makes the film as the Hulk he has some great stand out moments and Bruce and Tony have some great screen moments together. It wouldn't be a Marvel film without a cameo from their creator Stan Lee so make sure you keep an eye out for it.
The big fight scene between the Avengers and Loki and his army is brilliant the special effects and how it has all been staged is fantastic especially some of the creatures from the other world.
I loved this film, the action was incredible and the story line was good as it made sure everyone linked together cohesively. I would suggest that everyone should go see this film.
