2012 DVD review

From the hype surrounding the release of this film, I was expecting an epic movie with the ability to make me nervous about the doom we might all be facing in 2012... How wrong I was though, I just couldn’t take the film seriously.

2012 tells the tale of the end of life as we know it as the destruction of our planet looms and the survival of the human race is limited. We follow an author called Jackson and his dysfunctional family on their mission to safety as they attempt to make it on to the Ark for a new life away from the devastation. However, space on the Ark is limited and tickets are only offered to the elite who have the best chance of keeping the human race strong so Jackson and his family have to find a way to sneak onto the Ark but, in doing so they put the whole project in jeopardy.

On paper, this film sounds pretty decent but, in reality it’s a bit of a joke. The plight of a family / group of people escaping a disaster is all too familiar and it just feels rehashed for 2012. The acting, on the whole, is fairly good but, this does little to make up for the cheese present in the plotline and don’t even get me started on the CGI; I’m not the biggest supporter of CGI but, it’s a part of our modern film diet and we all like a bit of it from time to time but, the CGI used in 2012 is so over the top and out of proportion that it is quite ridiculous to watch.

Overall, 2012 is an entertaining enough watch (if you like that kind of thing) but, it’s definitely not the best film you’ll see this year and it definitely doesn’t deserve all the hype so just don’t set your hopes too high before you press play!

The Men Who Stare at Goats DVD Review

George Clooney and Ewan McGregor star as an unlikely duo in this unusual off-the-wall comedy The Men Who Stare at Goats.

Bob Wilton (McGregor) is an ambitious young journalist who wants to prove his worth after the break-up of his marriage so, he flies out to Kuwait to report on the Iraq War.

Back at home he had interviewed a man named Gus Lacey who claimed to have psychic powers but, Bob labelled him as crazy and thought little of it until he stumbled across retired Special Forces Operator, Lyn Cassady (Clooney) on his arrival in Iraq.

On mentioning Gus to Lyn, Bob uncovers a whole new side of the armed forces as Lyn reveals that he was part of a specialist group (the Jedi Warriors) who were training psychic spies to use their abilities in cloud busting, remote viewing, invisibility and other psychic abilities.

As the pair become closer and Lyn identifies Bob as a fellow Jedi Warrior, they find themselves embarking on a strange adventure as Lyn believes he is on a mission after his vision of the Jedi Warrior founder Bill Django. On their journey together, they are kidnapped by a criminal gang, rescued by a private security firm, caught up in a fire fight between two security firms and then they find themselves stranded in the desert after Lyn crashes the car. All the while Bob is learning more about Lyn’s life as a Jedi Warrior and his strange abilities (though Bob is still not entirely convinced that Lyn isn’t just another crackpot).

The Men Who Stare at Goats is a brilliantly bizarre comedy and Clooney and McGregor have their roles down to a tee making it an entertaining and exciting watch. If you like Burn After Reading, then you’re going to love this film; even if it does leaving you wondering what the hell just happened when the credits start.

The Men Who Stare at Goats in available to buy or rent on DVD now.

Ronan Keating Splits From Wife of 12 Years

Boyzone heartthrob, Ronan Keating, has announced his split from model wife Yvonne after 12 years of marriage.

The couple, who have three children together, are parting ways on good terms as a spokesperson for the pair read: “With great sadness, Ronan and Yvonne Keating today announce their separation.”

"The separation is amicable and they will continue to work together in order to provide the best for their children. The family ask for privacy at this difficult time."

Tickets for Boyzone’s 2011 tour ‘Brother’ at the Odyssey Arena go on sale Thursday 27th May at 9am.

Source: http://www.pr-inside.com/keating-splits-from-wife-r1903793.htm

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince PS2 game review

After having played a few of the other Harry Potter games on the PS1 and PS2, I was really looking forward to Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and anticipated that it would be a thrilling and spooky game that would keep me on the edge of my seat and wanting to play more... how wrong I was.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince takes us through Harry’s sixth year at Hogwarts; Voldemort is back to full power and posing a great threat to the wizarding world and Harry has to help Dumbledore find a way to defeat the Dark Lord by finding and destroying the Horcruxes whilst also keeping an eye on his nemesis Draco Malfoy who seems to be up to no good. Of course, he still has his school work and teenage relationships to keep astride of on top of all this. This story would give the game the opportunity to provide lots of exciting challenges but, it fails to follow through on this.

The majority of the important aspects of the game are all portrayed in narrative and involve little or no interaction. In fact, you don’t really do a great deal throughout the game and it all becomes very repetitive: you duel with Malfoy and his gang, learn a new potion in potions club and play Quidditch (which has to involve an annoying warm up before each match); these aspects are broken up with narrative, talking to Ron and Hermione and following Nearly Headless Nick around the castle before the repetition starts all over again.

In previous games, you have had to explore the castle to collect Witches and Wizards Cards, Beans and other objects however, in this game, all you collect are shields which you can pick up on your travels but, collecting these very quickly becomes boring.

Despite my first impressions that this would be a hard game to complete, I soon discovered that it was ridiculously easy, meaning I had finished with it all too quickly and was left feeling disappointed and slightly ripped off!

It may be that Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince would be engaging on other gaming platforms but, sadly for the PS2 it’s really not worth the time of day.

Alice in Wonerland cinema review

Wow, Tim Burton has done it again; Alice in Wonderland will blow your mind. It’s a gripping and entertaining film from start to finish and it gives the classical children’s tale a new lease of life that will appeal to a huge array of people.

Burton’s Alice in Wonderland takes us on a journey that combines aspects of the original Disney film with aspects from Lewis Carroll’s books as Alice returns to ‘Underland’ in her teenage years to face her destiny.

Alice (Mia Wasikowska) needs an escape from the pressures of a high class engagement party where she is in the spot light and facing an unexpected marriage proposal from a ginger Lord with sensitive digestion, so she follows the White Rabbit (Michael Sheen) down a hole in a tree trunk and finds herself in the fantastical world from her childhood dreams.

Alice meets some strange and wonderful creatures in ‘Underland’ including Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee (Matt Lucas), The Dormouse (Barbara Windsor), the Blue Caterpillar (Alan Rickman), the Cheshire Cat (Stephen Fry) and of course the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp). They all assist her in realising who she really is and they guide her towards her fate of defeating the Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter) and her Jabberwocky to return the crown and the power over the land to the White Queen (Anne Hathaway).

The cast for this film is fantastic but, there are two characters in particular that stand out amongst the rest. Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter are excellent as the Mad Hatter and the Red Queen; both shine in their roles and create enchanting performances that are a joy to watch. And they’re both mad to boot!

Tim Burton has let his imagination run wild and has put a firm stamp on this film with his reinventions of certain characters, the amazing aesthetics and the brilliant use of CGI. If anyone has possibly failed to sit up and notice Burton’s works before this then this film will surely do the trick.

In short, Alice in Wonderland is an excellent film which I would recommend to everyone. I just didn’t want it to end.

Invasion of the Not Quite Dead teaser promo

IndywoodFILMS presents: 'Invasion Of The NOT QUITE Dead' teaser promo...



Writer/producer/director Antony Lane began promoting Invasion of the Not Quite Dead on the internet over 2 years ago in order to raise funds and awareness for the Indywood project to create this unique and independantly made cult horror movie.

On The Indywood Project website, Anthony writes: "I have a very unique zombie concept... 'Invasion of the Not Quite Dead,' a very dark and unusual comedy horror that dares to take the traditional zombie genre in a fresh new direction. "

He also has a unique way of raising funds for the project by using the internet to promote the film and by inviting fans to purchase producer packages and receive a producer credit and the chance to appear in the film or on the DVD special features.



In August 2009, a special teaser promo was created to raise awareness for a horror feature film called 'INVASION OF THE NOT QUITE DEAD' which has the support of such names as: Tom Savini, Kevin Pollak, Ken Russell, David Hess, Lloyd Kaufman, HG Lewis, Lee Boardman, Justin Kerrigan and talk show host Jonathan Ross.

The teaser was shot on S16mm film on location at a small farm in Kent and stars horror veteran Leslie Simpson (Dog Soldiers, The Descent, Doomsday), Efisia Fele and Frank Jakeman.

Anthony says: "Visit us at the www.theindywoodproject.com and help us to independently raise funds to make the feature film, we are currently receiving an incredible amount of media attention due to us selling pre-order producer packages to help raise our £100,000 budget, so far as of Jan 30th we have sold 455 producer packages to 18 different countries, raising over £17,000 - help us to continue the success."

For more information on how you can help the production of 'INVASION OF THE NOT QUITE DEAD' please visit: http://www.theindywoodproject.com or http://www.invasionofthedead.com

For real time updates why not add the project to your twitter: @indywoodFILMS or take a look at the official facebook page.

Westlife – Where We Are album review

It’s that time of year for me again, after waiting patiently on Christmas Day with my fingers crossed to see if I’d have the latest Westlife album, it’s time to memorise the lyrics in time for the bands upcoming tour which kicks off at the Belfast Odyssey Arena on Sunday 2nd May.

‘Where We Are’ features their first single in over a year, ‘What About Now,’ which reached number 2 in the UK charts in October and is one of the best songs on the album. It is a beautiful and catchy song (though sadly it’s a cover) and will be a huge hit in concert.

Tracks 2 ‘How to Break a Heart’ and 4 ‘Shadows’, are really unusual but, are really easy to listen to and both have a great melody.

‘As Love is My Witness’ is a gorgeous love song and would be brilliant as a single; it’s a really soulful ballad and the lyrics are lovely.

‘No More Heroes’ is another really memorable track, again it’s quite unusual but, it’s a great song and is definitely one of the highlights of ‘Where We Are’.

The last song ‘I’ll See You Again’ is a moving song with beautiful lyrics and vocals and it makes the perfect ending to the album.

Although ‘Where We Are’ isn’t as strong as some previous Westlife albums, it’s still a great chill out CD to listen to. The vocals are as strong as ever and you can really hear how their sound has matured with them. I look forward to the tour, the lads always put on a really entertaining show and I’m sure this year won’t be any different.