(film review) - Takers

Sorry, but first things first. I like hayden Christensen as an actor. Maybe it's because I'm a Star Wars fan (not THAT much into it like going to conventions, just the story), but his acting in that was excellent. He wasn't seen as young Anakin in this film so I weren't expecting him to draw a Lightsabre or anything. If you seek my older reviews, I did one on Jumper and that was an watchable film that lacked storyline. With that said, it is kind of like this film. And his character kept wear this dodgy hat, ALL THE TIME!

Anyway, this film is about a bunch of, well.....Takers and if you didn't already guess, they TAKE things that don't belong to them. Now we aren't talking about Sweets, CD's, DVD's or Cassettes, we are talking CASH MONEY and a lot of it. In the Millions and Billions. They work as a unit. Smart, effective, quick, precise and they always leave NO evidence or paper-trail. In and Out!

In a heist a few years back, Gordon Cozier (Idris Elba) leads his crew which ends up with Ghost (T.I.) a former member going to jail for 5 years when things go wrong. After getting out early on good behaviour, coincidently the same day the crew do a major heist which leaves Jack Welles (Matt Dillon) and Eddie Hatcher (Jay Hernandez), investigating, Ghost pays John (Paul Walker) a visit, drinks scotch and talks about a new heist that he wants done in no more in what would seem like a few hours of his release. John says he will speak to the crew about it and let him know in the morning.
Being the persistant guy that he is, Ghost gate crashes a party and starts giving it the, 'I'm the man you need in your life' to his former girlfriend who is now with one of his crew members, Jake (Michael Ealy). Although he says that he harbours no ill feelings for the crew leaving him to get caught and him serving time and now Jake has his former girlfriend, there is nothing but tension in the air.
Ghost lays out his plans and as long as everything seems do-able, the team agree to do the heist make off with the money and give Ghost what he was owed from the heist that sent him to jail plus the accumulated interest. However, the heist goes very wrong and although they make off with the money, Jack spots Jesse (Chris Brown) in the subway which ends up being one of the best chase scenes I've ever seen on camera. They all meet up later on in a hotel after a "successful" heist but then someone has other plans.

The film was an enjoyable watch. If your a man looking for action, it has it. If your looking for a lovely female too, Lily (Zoe Saldana) is too hot. She didn't even do or say much in the film but she is sexy enough to just rock a frock and make you forgive the fact that her lines were short. Plus females (as i went with a female), all the men are hot, apparently and with a storyline that isn't too terrible, you won't complain watching this film.
The only bit you would complain about would be the scene that has Jesse and Jake in it. I can't think of a word to describe that scene that would be radio friendly.
The funniest bit had to be Ghost's commentary during the heist where he depicts everything what is happening through his headset to the rest of the crew. And like I said before, Jesse's chase scene had me on the edge of my seat. For Chris Brown's first film I've seen him in, he weren't a bad actor at all.

Watch this film, I'm sure you will enjoy as it has something for everyone. For me, it was Zoe Saldana.

(film review) - The Town

Nobody knows who Ben Affleck is other than the guy who married J-Lo aka Jennifer Lopez aka Jenny from the Block who was once with Puff Daddy, but whatever, who is he otherwise? Oh, the guy who starred in that dry Marvel film, Dare Devil? Hmmm...well, I wouldn't have gone out my way to see this film as it starred him and well, he ain't one of my best actors at all. Very far from that he ain't even on the list. If he was, well, he would be near the guy who plays Ben Mitchell on Eastenders.
Jokes and humour aside, whatever I thought of Mr. Affleck before this film, he has raised the bar. Still not a favourite actor but this film was a very good watch and with him in it AND his acting, well I have to recommend this sleeper of a film.

This film is about four lifelong friends who rob a bank and take Claire Keesey (Rebecca Hall) as a hostage. After the hostage is released and freed, James "Jem" Coughlin (Jeremy Renner) goes to follow her and possibly kill her, being the loose cannon he is. Doug MacRay (Ben Affleck) tells him 'No' and that he will instead, only to pretend that he is doing laundry, to then come to her comfort as she thinks about her hostage situation. They talk and meet a few times in which she says that she recognises one of the criminals by a tattoo. This turns out to be Jem. But keeping one step ahead of the law and from Claire, Dough, Jem, Albert "Gloansy" Magloan (Slaine), and Desmond "Dez" Elden (Owen Burke) enlist on another job for 'Fergie' Colm (Pete Postlethwaite), the man they work for so they he can leave town for good. The job goes a little wrong which leads to a car chase scene that has them trying to get away to only meet another police car at every other corner.

Narrowly escaping the law, Doug, now in a deeper relationship with Claire, visits his father in prison which leads to Doug finding out the truth about his mother. He tells his father that he is leaving Charlestown and also tells Jem who tells him that there is another job and he must do it since Jem has served time for him. Doug still says 'NO' and goes to Fergie to tell him in person that he isn't doing any more jobs. Fergie taunts Doug about the death of his mother and that he supplied his mother with drugs & threatens to kill his girlfriend, unless he does the job.

Doug excepts this job but tells him that it is his last. The plan is to enter the building as officers but leave as Ambulance assistants but Doug is set up and there is a huge shoot out in the end as SWAT has surrounded the entire building.

This was a fresh watch for me and was very entertaining. At some points, it was hilarious. A funny bit was where the gang got out their vehicle dressed up as nuns with guns and as they looked across the road, a police car was just there with the police man just looking over in shock eating a donut.

This is a creeper of a film and touches on love, trust, lies and deceit. Watch it, you will like it. Peek the Trailer:

(film review) - 4,3,2,1

Now if you know who Noel Clarke is, well he is a bit of a grinder. I say this because it is only now that I have seen him on THIS grind to be as far as to where he is now. Not only has he been in TV Shows such as The Bill, Casualty, Doctors and even Doctor who, he is also getting around in film. Smart guy (unless he was born with lots of money), saved the funds and made a very iconic and memorable film called Kidulthood in which he wrote. After the success of that, Adulthood in which he wrote, directed and produced and he has basically been on a role hopping in and out of directing, co-directing, writing and acting in many films. However, this isn't about him, this is about his film he wrote, co-produced and co-directed.

If you have seen Vantage point then you will understand how this film goes. Like Vantage point, this is one story, but instead of spiralling around 7 people; only around 4. 7 was bad....it got long winded. Anyway, so the story begins with Joanne (Emma Roberts) feels that she can't get a break. She is chained down in a dead end supermarket job while her friends are all out having fun and doing exciting things. Her friend Cassandra has been talking to a guy over the internet and is getting ready to jet off to New York to meet her "Internet" boyfriend. Another friend, Kerrys is a no-holds barred one woman army on a female crusade fighting for female liberation and Shannon plays the leading role who is a girl who lives with her separated dad and has a lot of problems of her own. The craziness erupts when Diamond thieves sends their separate worlds on a collision course with not only each other, but fate itself. Not only do these 4 girls have to deal with their own problems they are about to have 3 days to discover the truth behind their problems spanning 2 cities and for all of them, around one central problem starter, The Diamonds.

The film is watchable and not only is it consistent, it does keep you intrigued as to how different these four girls lives are and what they get up to in their spare time. Sometimes you can judge a book by it's cover and often in society if not all the time, people do this, but only if people knew what the other person was going through and we often took the time to listen to each other and read between the lines, we could solve a lot of problems before it is too late. This film touches on that in a nice way as every girl has an issue at home and is something that all teenagers and adults alike can relate to. The fact that rapper Eve was in this film did knock me for 6 when I saw her, but her role wasn't that important, more interesting if anything but then that WAS the general idea with the film. A lot of things happen behind closed doors or over the internet behind screen monitors. Trust me, it might have been funny to watch in this film, but have you seen Gamer, with Gerald Butler?

Not a film you will feel was the best watch of your life, the year or even a minute so maybe not even a DVD purchase, but if you want a close to reality English drama, this would be right there in the ranks of Kidulthood and Adulthood. Interesting, decent acting, realistic although a touch outlandish but worthy to put in that collection of yours. Go see it.

(Vintage Film Reviews) - Hot Fuzz

Dependent on your humour, this film is quite possibly one of the funniest films you would see this year!
This film stars the same actors from 'Shaun of the Dead' Simon Pegg and Nick Frost.

The films main hero is a Police Officer called Nicholas Angel from the London Met who is a Police officer who is well and truely, DEDICATED!!!! He is the kind of officer who pulls out all stops and goes that extra mile. Nicholas Angel is so good at his job and dedicated, his police department "promotes" him to another town in england because he makes them look bad.
This town is called Sandford, where the "crime" rate is so high, that they need a police officer like him to clear it up and bring peace back to the town. The town needs an officer like Nicholas Angel to teach their officers how to take care of situations.
The town seems 'crime-less' and is so small in comparison to London, that everyone knows everyone who is anyone and who is sleeping with who, what for and why. It is a town so small that, crime, doesn't actually happen and if it does, it is an accident or are several otherwise unnoticeable crimes and misdemeanors, in short order (such as shoplifters, underage drinkers and a farmer storing a huge supply of illegal weapons in his barn).
Also, being partnered with a well-meaning but overeager and naive police constable Daniel "Danny" Butterman, the son of the local police chief Inspector Frank Butterman, and a committed action movie fan, things don't half get better for Nicholas Angel. And with the thoughts that Danny believes that his new big-city partner, Nicholas Angel, might just be a real-life policing bad boy, just like Bad Boys the film, with Car Chases and guns blazing, Danny is over the moon to be his partner and is itching to buss a cap in someone's.....you get the point.

Grisly "accidents" soon start to occur and are then linked to a hooded figure. Who is this figure? Why is the town so closed-circuit? and why is it that, Simon "Sissy" Skinner, the charming but sinister manager of the local Somerfield supermarket, always seem to be around the crime scene with something smart to say? Angel suspects him of murdering the victims due to their involvement in a lucrative property deal, but that doesn't go down very well with the town's people and having already clashed with all members of his police force, things aren't going down to well for Nicholas Angel as he is already in a town where nobody likes him along with finding the town difficult to adjust to.
However, despite all this, Nicholas is the only one who can bring an end to all the chaos that is going on in the town.

This film is funny. There is hand to hand combat, guns, car chases, secrets, lies and all sorts of craziness to make you think, 'shut up, man had that in his barn?'. When the action came, it was decently paced, realistic (to an extent) and most of all, was hilarious.

10th May 2007 at 06:57am

(Vintage Film Reviews) - Tom-Yum-Goong

I saw the Trailer to this recently and thought it was due to be out, but I believe they were re-releasing it under a different name.

This film is also know as 'Warrior King' over here, 'The Protector' in the US, 'Neak Prodal Junboth' in Cambodia and 'Honour of the Dragon' in the Netherlands. So don't work if you feel yourself talking about the same film with two different titles to your mate(s) as it actually has five.

For those who have seen 'Ong Bak' and hated it, then this is definitely not for you. But if you saw 'Ong bak' and liked it, this one is much, much better!


Just like 'Ong Bak' Tony 'Merkah Man' Jaa (my name for him by the time the film did finish) plays a Thai man named Kham, who is peaceful and calm until his Elephant's were stolen from his home and taken to Sydney (Australia). In Thailand, the natives respect elephants and regard them as close to family as normal people. These elephants are treated just like family. So then Kham sets out to find his Elephants.

The storyline is slightly dry, however, I do respect the values and morals behind it.
The film starts off with the friendship built between a young boy and an elephant and his father. This part of the film is dry. However, to understand why a man should receive a ‘flying knee to the face’, then this part of the film is imperative to watch.

Once the elephants go missing, that is when the action starts and when I say action, I mean, ‘kick a man in his face who is behind you and had just asked you, "have you ever received a foot in the face" and you don't even turned around to even address him’. That kind of action.

In some elements of the fighting scenes, you can see a thinner, faster and taller Jackie Chan. The guy is so nimble; there is a part where you see him slide through a 10cm slit in a fence. No effects, real.

For those who haven't see any Tony Jaa film, I’ll break it down briefly.
This guy moves fast, he is agile, and he will merk a man in one move. So in saying that, there are times in the film where it seems as if the director said "you, camera man, follow him, all you other fighters, just attack him". Because there is a part in the film where Kham runs into a building and the camera man follows him and Kham is just brucking up everyone who approaches him and there are no cut scenes at all. All in one take.

This is a superb film and I would say, if you want action with a tiny touch of comedy, like the bit where a woman is telling off her partner about buying pirate DVD’s, then you will love this film.
Otherwise, if you don't like fighting films, just watch the first couple of minutes because the rest of it is pure unadulterated one man kicks everyone’s arse throughout the whole film. And with a film like this, who needs a superb storyline?

12th December 2006 at 02:10pm

(Vintage FIlm Reviews) - Battle Royal

First and foremost, this IS a Japanese film, so when watching it, you will not be surprised at what is going on at all.

The film is about a japanese school being so over-run over the years by bad students and not being able to achieve results. Students are either, not going to school by boycotting school or classes or when they do actually go in, they miss behave and get up to no good. Stealing, stabbing, mocking adults, you name it, these students are doing it.

To stop this and make improvements within the schools, the government launch a project called "Battle Royale".

Battle Royale is where teachers will take the bad students on a "School Trip", kidnap them to bring them onto a remote island for a game. When the game is complete after 3 days, is when you can go home. There's only one minor, minor, minor, minor, thing. Only ONE person can win the game. Sounds easy don't it? Well, it's not a game of Ludo or Connect 4 that's for sure. The winner must be the sole survivor of the game. So, if that means stabbing your best-friend, hubby or wifey in the neck with a pencil, then so be it.Indifferent



Each student is wearing an explosive necklace upon waking up and is given a bag of "goodies". In this bag contains your must-have survival tools. Bread, water, map, compass, torch and a weapon. However, for each student, their weapon's will vary. It could be a knife, gun, stick or pot lid. i know...kinda fuming if u got a wooden spoon and your confronted by someone with a cutlass.LMAO

When I first watched this, before anything properly got going, a girl was talking whilst the video was on in which she was meant to be paying attention to. She wasn't meant to be talking, but she was heard and instead of getting a warning, the teacher drew for something and she got a knife in her forehead from across the room, by the teacher. Her body jolted back a little, her body went stiff and she then dropped to the floor. The teacher basically wlaked up to her, stood on her and took out the knife and said, "back to the video".

At that moment in time, my mouth dropped and I was in such amazement, the only thing that came out my mouth was Musiccooold blooodedMusic.

The film is different to say the least. But you couldn't expect anything less from a Japanese film.

It is fresh, stylish, funny, bloody and slightly disturbing, when you think about it. The music plays a big part I feel in the film and also give the film a more comic edge to it, since what is going on is very much ridiculous and outlandish.

It also shows you if your best friend will have your back and protect you, or have your back bored with a knife and cut you. It's survival out there...sink or swim.

29th November 2006

(Vintage Film Reviews) - The Grudge 2 (With The Grudge 1 in brief)

For those who haven't seen The Grudge, here is a short update.Yes

The Grudge is about Matthew Williams, who receives a promotion at work and moves to Tokyo with his family. His wife, Jennifer and his sister Susan, choose a house where they move to along with his ailing mother Emma.

A social worker, Yoko offers to help Emma with the cleaning around the house and she hears noises through her walkman, goes to investigate and then meets her demise.

As Yoko did not turn up the following day for work, another social worker is dispatched to cover for her and check on the house, (Sarah Michelle Geller) who plays Karen.

Upon arrival, she notices that Yoko’s bike is still parked up at the houseConfused, phones her boss to come over and as she is waiting for him with Emma who seems to be the only one left in the house, Emma starts talking as if she is talking to someoneIndifferent. Karen then asks her about it, when Emma says she wants her to leave her alone. Moreover, a noise of creaking floorboards are now heard and black hair starts to come down from the corner of the room and this is the arrival of Kayako, who then starts reaching for Emma but then notices Karen. As Kayako’s eyes are rolled back, they fall into place to “LOOK” at Karen and then Alex comes in to find Karen in shock starring at the ceiling and Emma dead on the floor.

Karen is then visited by a detective who asks her questions and then goes to the house to, yep, you’ve guessed it.

Karen then goes back to the house (like going there once and seeing a woman merge from the corner of the ceiling weren’t enoughIndifferent) to find out more, when she finds her boyfriend there looking for her. Kayako comes to get them and Karen attempts to burn down the house as her chosen method to remedy the situation. That is where the film ends.


The Grudge would swiftly get a 9/10 for it’s way to keep you jumping. I never knew of such a film that made me come out the cinema paro to go home.


The Grudge 2


The opening scene is set in Chicago with a trance-like, Trish (Jennifer Beals) cooking breakfast in the kitchen and Bill (Christopher Cousins), her husband is vex at her for not cooking his breakfast right.

The film then flips to Japan 2 years after the house was burned down with 3 school girls in an International High School, leaving to go home but end up being farse to stop in "the house". Although two of the girls, (Theresa Palmer) as Vanessa and (Misako Uno) as Muyuki, have heard about the house and tell Allison, who has just found new “friends” with these girls, does not know a thing and these girls decide to go into the house and pressure (Arielle Kabbel) as Allison, to close her eyes whilst in "the cupboard" and count to 10 to try and test the myth behind the house.

Allison who is already reluctant about the house goes into a cupboard?

The film then makes a transition to Karen's sister Aubrey (Amber Tamblyn), being called by a sickly Mother (Joanna Cassidy) to go and get Karen and bring her home as there has been an accident where she tried to burn down the house, kill her boyfriend and now she's in hospital.

This is where the film got confusing.

There are three parts to the movie. The beginning is the end and the school girls is the middle. The scene’s with Karen’s sister are after the events of the first Grudge film. So technically, you are watching, The Grudge 1.5 then The Grudge 2.Geeked

After being told not to go into the house, Aubrey goes into the house, meets a reporter/journalist who is trying to seek out the truth behind the house. She then goes on a journey to only then go back to the house later on and meet her curse.Huh?

Back to the beginning of the film, bearing in mind, is the end of the film; we have Jake (Matthew Knight), who has just moved into this new apartment with his father and step mother so he is just adjusting to the new surroundings when one night he hears a noise and he gets out of his bed. He then finds a figure being brought home by the couple down the hall and continues to Columbo his way to the truth.

The film ends with a sort of twist to bring the story together with Jake being scared out of his cranium with the figure in front of him who ends up being (haha…watch the film and see) and then after a lil brief conversation and a little “borrowing clothes” momentConfused, the film ends.Indifferent

The Grudge basically takes the biscuit. In my opinion, what makes The Grudge so chilling is the fact that, once you go into the house there is no escape from Kayako and Toshio.

29th November 2006 12:46am

(Vintage Film Reviews) - The Departed

This film stars 6 big actors from past to present. We have (1)Leonardo DiCaprio as Billy Costigan, who has most definitely left his whipped attitude from Titanic to the exact opposite.

We also have a (2) Matt Damon as Colin Sullivan who plays a streets smart, straight 'A' student who has graduated from the Cadet Police Academy.
Once graduated from the Cadets, Colin went to join the police force among many other Cadets, however, things aren't what they seem to be. Billy also goes to join the police force, but for what reason, as he was kicked out of the Cadets?

With such a clean history Colin, the straight 'A' student, joins the force as well as Billy. However, Billy has a turbulent and troublesome history so to think he wants to serve and protect is somewhat a joke! Nevertheless he is hired and then "fired" from the police force to then serve time in prison.

The villain is (3) Jack Nicholson as Frank Costello, who is the Irish Mafia Mob head honcho.



Can you imagine a ruthless Irish Mafia Mob boss who runs the city with an iron grip?
Can you imagine this happening over a long period of time and the police trying to bringing the mob down but no avail?
Can you imagine moles working in both units till things start to become apparent, that each unit has an enemy in it?
Which mole will discover the other mole first?
Which mole will have to Depart?



This is where everything gets tricky.

A mole is working for the police, but the police also have a mole in their Special Investigations Unit led by (4) Alec Baldwin as Ellerby, who is watching Costello's every move. This means, Costello is watching those who are watching him. Ellerby's boss is (5)Martin Sheen as Captain Queenan, who has contact with Costello's henchmen.

With both moles working deep undercover, both moles start to feel the pressure of living a double identity. As one climbs up the ladder in the Police force, the other starts to struggle with his job and how he hasn't had much help, so both moles jobs and lives are at risk.

Things get slightly more interesting and intriguing when Colin starts to date this psychiatrist then she moves in with him, but then when Colin is torn between work, loyalty and his girlfriend, Billy then comes into the picture and starts to see said psychiatrist for counselling.



It is a film of cat and mouse, Loyalty, Power, Decisions & Deception. The film has more twists than a telephone cord and some elements to the film make you think, "so, hold on a Minute!?!". I felt the story did drag a little in the middle to justify the longevity of the "Get Costello" project, but it is well written, smart and edgy and will definitely keep you entertained throughout, especially, the final scenes.

All starring actors which also includes a very very very aggy (6)Mark Walburg as Dignam, Queenan right hand man with a permanent chip on his shoulder, play their parts very well.

29th November 2006 12:14am

(film review) - A Prophet(Un prophete)

First and foremost, I can't stand subtitled films. It highly irritates me that I have to read whilst I watch what is going on. I also feel that if I take my eyes off the centre of the screen to read the writing at the bottom of the screen, something will past through the center of the screen or anywhere else on the screen but the bottom of it where the writing is and I'd miss it. The only saving grace in subtitled films and the English language is, when foreign people are talking, it sounds like 1000 words being said when all they are saying is, "Hello", so for a slow reader like me who is reluctant to read in case he misses something, finds gratification, somehow. Anyway, please industry, no more subtitled films....or get decent voice overs damnit!

Anyway, now that I got that off my chest, this film is French and is my first review on a non-english film. And dispite the subtitles, I did manage to follow this ever so long film. Yes, it is bluddy long. I wasn't prepared for it at all. Over 2hrs I spent reading subtitles.
Hmmm, this film is about a young man who is half Arab and also unable to read or write who is sentenced to 6 years in prison. Although he tries to stand up for himself, his first day is no walk in the park as he gets approached, beaten up and mugged for his footwear. In the beginning he struggles to cope with prison life until he is taken under the wing of a group of Corsicans with leader Cesar Luciani (Niels Arestrup) who "run" the prison how they see fit and swear to protect him throughout his time inside. Whilst inside Malik El Djebena(Tahar Rahim) learns how to work, learn different languages, learn how to read and write, toughen up and start to build his own network of alies under the quiet and earn is own respect.

Being a subtitled film, there wasn't a GREAT deal to read I guess, so i was able to catch everything that was said. This helped me keep up with the visuals which lasted over 2 hrs of watching time in which I'm sure they could have cut down. The storyline was a little slow and it was a little confusing to follow why some things were how they were. An example would be, the guy kills another guy in the film to stop him from being a witness of some sort in court, however, after he is dead, he is seen as a ghost(in normal human/solid form) in which the guy speaks to from time to time. I didn't get it, what was his purpose. Another thing I didn't get was the types of characters in the film and what seemed to be the politics in the film as well. Was it based on society in France and how some cultures are viewed or what? Another confusing element was the fact that, your watching this man sleeping, it looks like he's dreaming and fighting in his sleep and all of a sudden, Deers are running. The fact that we saw deer's in the following scene didn't really seem to hold any bearing to the first time we saw them. The fact that Malik El Djebena is called a prophet due to this, didn't give the name much grounds as he hadn't foreseen anything else in the film before or even after. Crazy and a little weird.

This film was only just enjoyable due to the fact that I can't stand subtitle films and there was a lot of action in it. The prison he was in was in such a state, it made me wonder if some prisons were actually like this. TV's in your cell, sex on call and getting beaten up or shanked or giving blowjobs for payment on the selling of drugs within the walls of the prison. And what made it worse, Djebena had day releases from prison and he was on a whole different adventure all in 12 hrs from his release time and his due back time. It was very entertaining to watch but just a little difficult to follow.
Out Soon!
Trailer: