IT Review

These days even the word “remake” is enough to make one’s eyes roll, especially when it comes to horror. But the latest adaptation of Stephen King’s classic novel IT comes 27 long years after the original TV miniseries that starred Tim Curry as the iconic Pennywise (and to those familiar with the clown's lore, the fact that it’s been 27 years might just be enough to put the willies up you). And Andy Muschietti’s IT isn’t necessarily just a remake of the terrifying terrestrial telling, either – it’s the first cinematic representation of King's monster novel.

Where To Find Fantastic Beasts? Lacock In Wiltshire, Apparently…

It’s been quite some time since I last blogged on a filming location. The last that comes to mind is New York, but up until today I suppose I’ve somewhat underestimated Wiltshire. After originally planning to visit London for the day where we were going to undertake a 9 ¾ km walk from Paddington Station to, well, Platform 9 ¾ in King’s Cross Station and back, as part of the "Medal Mad" challenges, with Sian not feeling too well we instead decided to follow the curious rumours of fantastic beasts out in the country, with the aid of our very own Marauder’s Map – aka the "SatNav.”

Flash Movie Reviews: The Hitman's Bodyguard, The Emoji Movie And Annabelle: Creation

The Hitman's Bodyguard

When “triple-A” bodyguard Michael Bryce is assigned with escorting Darius Kincade – the most dangerous criminal alive – to a hearing in the Hague that will see the con testify against mass murderer Vladislav Dukhovich, chaos ensues. Reynolds and Jackson do what they do best and play themselves, while Salma Hayek is on top form as Darius' psychotic, potty-mouthed lover. Still, there’s plenty of chuckle-worthy violence and action to keep you happy until next year’s Deadpool sequel. But with a distinct lack of much-needed bromance, just don’t expect Nick Fury to show up alongside the merc with a mouth. 

Flash Reviews: Baby Driver, Cars 3, Dunkirk And 47 Metres Down

Baby Driver

Baby is a getaway driver who relies on his collection of retro tracks to do his job – or at least in style. But when his latest task goes horribly wrong, he must figure out a way of hitting the road with his waitress love-interest and starting anew before his violent teammates figure out what he’s up to. With plenty of groove, solid storytelling and charm in its engine, Baby Driver is the most stylistic and soulful wheel-based flick since 2011’s Drive, and with an opening chase so wonderfully-choreographed, you’ll realise it’s not all about being fast and furious.

The House Definitely Doesn't Win...

The comedy movie. It's a tough nut to crack. Hell, it's probably easier to scare the audience than it is to make them laugh, and even that is no easy feat. And of course there have been countless comedies that have failed miserably in this way. But never - at least not that I can recall - have I ever seen one that is as groundbreakingly-unfunny as Will Ferrell's latest.

War For The Planet Of The Apes Review: All Of Cinematic History Has Led To This Moment

“The best and most groundbreaking film since Jurassic Park”

There can’t be a human being alive who isn’t familiar with Planet of the Apes, whether it’s the classic 1968 original starring the late Charlton Heston and the late Roddy McDowall, along with its four sequels and 70’s TV spin-off, or Tim Burton’s hugely-panned 2001 remake starring Mark Wahlberg and Helena Bonham Carter, or now Rupert Wyatt/ Matt Reeves’ groundbreaking trilogy. Add to all of that the animated series, the video games, the graphic novels and all the old-school cosplay that has populated comic conventions the world over since the dawn of ape, and you have a franchise that rivals the likes of Star Wars and Star Trek, but one which speaks to the audience on a deeper level with its commentary on our society as well as our treatment of primates not so deep within its subtext.

It Comes At Night Review

Paul (Joel Edgerton), his wife Sarah and their teenage son Travis, live in a cabin in the woods during a seemingly post-apocalypse, the unseen outside world having apparently been ravaged by a deadly virus. Their survival depends on a set of airtight rules, which is made clear from the offset when they are forced to shoot dead and then burn Sarah's father having discovered he is infected. But when stranger Will tries to break in one night, Paul is forced to make some new rules.

The Mummy 2017 Review

When Universal Pictures very prematurely announced that The Mummy would be the first in their cinematic universe named, ahem, Dark Universe, my eyes – like many others’ – rolled. I’ve nothing against shared cinematic universes. Hell, I’m all for it. Look at the incredible job the MCU has done, with the DCEU being taught lessons by Wonder Woman and her lasso, and even this year’s Kong: Skull Island breathing some much-needed fire into Warner Bros. and Legendary's new monster franchise. But those guys? The Wolfman, Swamp Thing, Frankenstein, Dracula et al? Really? But if the filmmakers really think it’s going to work – and they surely do given such an early promise of a shared universe, and it’s got Tom Cruise - I’ll make the effort to go watch this new reiteration of The Mummy even if it does seem overly action-focused and starring a very out of place Tom Cruise, and see what it is they've done. And that’s just what I did.

Spider-Man: Homecoming Swings Into Action This Week: And Here's The Review...

Spider-Man, Spider-Man... Where do we start? In 2002 with Toby Maguire? Or 2012 with Andrew Garfield, just five years after Maguire webbed up the suit? Or last year with Captain America: Civil War, just two years after Garfield was, like Maguire, forced to do the same? In just fifteen years we've seen - including the latest movie - six Spider-Man movies (or seven if you include Civil War) which include three separate incarnations. To call them all sinister, though, would be an insy winsy lie. 

Snatched Review

When down-on-her-luck and newly dumped Emily Middleton (Schumer) realises her life is going nowhere, she turns to the only true friend in her life; her much less-spontaneous and retired mother, Linda (Hawn). After much persuasion, Linda accompanies her daughter to a resort in Ecuador, South America, but before long things go even souther when they’re both kidnapped by a violent gang who demand a ransom from their annoying and agoraphobic brother/ son Jeffrey (Ike Barinholtz). Luckily they escape, but through much less luck they wind up lost in the jungle with the merciless gang hot on their tail.

Kualoa Ranch: Revisited

Given the fact that my last post on this awesome place was so very heavily Jurassic Park-focused, I promised that I’d return to the popular, 4000-acre, family-owned ranch that has served dozens upon dozens of movies since the 1950s. In fact, even its Hall of Fame – a modest two walls’ worth of framed pictures – tells only a tiny fraction of the movies it’s hosted over the last sixty-plus years. Sadly this post doesn’t involve an actual revisit, but it does involve a little bit more on the movies that have been filmed there as well as some interesting facts.

A Whole New Dimension Of Ghostbusters

The infamous wax museum Madame Tussauds turned out to be quite a stressful and gruelling experience in the end. And no, it had nothing to do with our walk-through of all the famous wax models from Johnny Depp to Kim Kardashian, Anne Hathaway to Scarlett Johansson or Barrack Obama to Donald Trump (who we avoided like we would spores, moulds and fungus), but more so to do with the action we were thrust into in the second half of the tour: a Ghostbusters walk-through tour and a revolutionary virtual reality experience. Okay, stressful and gruelling might be a bit of a lie but saving the world – or the day – is no easy feat!

I Love This Town

Does the title of this post sound familiar? They're the words echoed by one of my favourite Ghostbusters – I have four in total – from the 1984 classic when the guys are covered in marshmallow after giving the giant sticky sailor what for on top of the apartment building now dubbed “Spook Central.” And seeing as you all by now know I’m a huge fan of the franchise, and having just been to the Big Apple itself, it won’t surprise you to know that said-trip involved Ghostbusters quite a fair bit, as well as the welcome onslaught of the smell of burnt marshmallow (not so much being covered in it) and even that once-creepy building as mentioned where refrigerators and kitchen counters just aren’t to be trusted.

The Curious Rockies

Vancouver

After a few days in the hugely undesirable city of Seattle, Vancouver came as a breath of fresh air. Sure it’s a city like most others, but the real difference is it’s in Canada. There might only be a marginal difference in terms of friendliness between Americans and Canadians, with the latter being the friendlier, but such a small detail makes all the difference.

A Curious Wookie At Disneyland And Universal Studios

If you know us personally (that’s me and Sian), then you’ll have no doubt attended our wedding earlier this year. That means you know we’re a right pair of Disney buffs - and film buffs too. So naturally, during our visit to LA we visited both Disneyland and Universal Studios.

Wonder Woman Review

The past year hasn't seen much luck for the DCEU. That's not to say last year's Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad were financial catastrophes, but critical ones they were, with their biggest downfalls being their focus on future movies rather than themselves (in a bid of course to catch up with the superior MCU), and with narratives made painfully-incoherent through some generally bad writing and post-editing. And though we've familiarised ourselves with the Wonder Woman and Justice League trailers over the past six or so months, it seemed that all hope was already lost; that the franchise would never do any better than Man of Steel and was doomsday'd to fail. 

Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales Review

For a film franchise based on a long-time popular Disneyland attraction, Pirates of the Caribbean really know how to flog a dead horse (that’s actually not a bad subtitle), with its fifth instalment Dead Men Tell No Tales having now arrived at cinema shores worldwide.

Get Out Review

When it comes to the horror genre it’s more than fair to say that originality is dead, at least more so in concept than execution. Jordan Peele’s directorial debut Get Out might be no exception, but it does in part offer a semi-interesting approach to the age-old get out of that house alive formula while providing an acceptable level of comedy that doesn’t compromise the scares.

Calling Out To All Ghostbusters Fans: Upcoming Film Needs Your Contribution!

It's probably no mystery to you that I’m a pretty big Ghostbusters fan. You might have seen a selfie of me with the StayPuft that was breaking out of the concourse in Waterloo Station ahead of last year’s reboot (which surprisingly didn’t cause any mass hysteria amongst commuters), as well as one of me in the London Film and Comic Con the year before with Dana Barrett herself (okay, there is no Dana – only Sigourney Weaver). This was followed by some in Torquay shortly after at the Optimus Comic Con, where I had the pleasure of meeting many more stars from the original films: Mark Bryan Wilson (Slimer and the Librarian Ghost), Robin Shelby (Ghostbusters II’s Slimer and now the reboot’s Mrs Slimer), Billy Bryan (the StayPuft Marshmallow Man) and Ghostbuster himself Ernie Hudson (Winston Zeddemore).

This Summer, Dive Into The Fun And The Action With The Baywatch Movie

If you were ever a fan of the hugely-popular TV show, then the, ahem, premise, needs not explaining. But just in case you spent the 90's living on the Moon, then here it is - at least in its primitive form before all the spin-offs and direct-to-video movies came along: It's a drama about a lifeguard crew that works the beaches of Los Angeles, with a little action thrown in here and there for good measure. That pretty much sums it up. But let's face it; it was only a matter of time before it received the inevitable Hollywood-makeover.