DEATH RACE - Action/Sci-Fi (2008) ***REVIEW***

An inmate is forced into entering a race in which contestants much kill and beat each other in a violent car race.

This movie delivered on all expectations for me and I'm sure if you have no expectations of grandeur about this film having good plot, drama or romance you too will be happily satisfied with this films performance. It is extremely violent, there is no room for love or friendship and it is dog eat dog in this violent prison sport. I do however think Jason Statham was wasted somewhat as i prefer to see him in films where he has slightly more dialogue and background story, ('The Bank Job', Crank etc) but i do think he held this film together somewhat as he is a superb action actor but is just missing in some character development and you really don't feel much for his character throughout. This was a awesome action movie, just don't expect anything else with your main meal. The racing is pretty cool too, think mad max crossed with crash team racing and this is what you get! Definitely recommended, and you will enjoy if your expectations are in the right place.

Pros - Awesome race scenes in which people are decapitated, killed and maimed in various ways which makes for some gruesome, albeit, entertaining watching. The CGI was superb and along with a futuristic prison setting this movie delivers as much action as anyone would want and then some!

Cons - Lack of an interesting plot, plot twists and a deep story make this film rather 2-D, and tailored only for those who enjoy action flicks. Lacking in anything remotely emotional, romantic or comedic this film offers only violent killing, car crashes and gun fights and has enough of these to make this film something worth watching. As long as you don't expect anything more you will enjoy this film!

3.5/5 = Think 'CTR' but with violence!





Watch the trailer for 'Death Race' Here

BANGKOK DANGEROUS - Action/Drama (2008) ***REVIEW***

An assassin (Nic Cage) travels to Bangkok, Thailand to take care of a few jobs but while he is there bonds with a student he trains and falls for a local woman.

'Bangkok Dangerous' tries to be a lot of things and fails miserably at most of them, apart from the action. Nicholas Cage just cant do soppy drama, romance, comedy or indeed any other form of acting that requires emotion and for this reason this movie doesn't pull off the drama or romance. He does however do some good action flicks and this unfortunately isn't one. Don't get me wrong the action is fairly exciting, good chases and some gun fights etc but it tries to do too much other stuff besides this and in my opinion it ruins and takes away from the action. Give this a miss unless your just in the mood to see someone kick some ass.

Pros - Pretty sweet action scenes, and not bad from Danny Pang from the Pang brothers who traditionally focuses on horror flicks. This is the only redeeming feature of this film, and it only just pulls it off.

Cons - Tries to be what it cant be and indeed cant do, an action/drama/romance directed by a horror movie specialist and acted by a great action star who cant smile or do soppy drama. Unfortunately it gets dull and boring watching this movie try to do these things and takes time away from what could have been more action and gun fights etc. Poor film and if it weren't for the action scenes i would have felt completely ripped off, i now only feel moderately ripped off which isn't too bad.

2/5 Jandals = Its actually funny watching Cage trying to be romantic

Watch the trailer for 'Bangkok Dangerous' Here

TRANSSIBERIAN - Thriller/Drama (2008) ***REVIEW***

A church-going couple embark on a train journey through Russia starting from China. Along the way they meet a pair of mysterious fellow travellers and then the movie starts to get even better!

Wow what a suspenseful thriller this movie was, started of fairly slow, building character and developing the plot but this movie got awesome after the first half an hour. Possibly one of the most suspenseful movies I've seen it really had me guessing as to what was going to happen, plenty of twists and plenty of eery characters. The best part of this movie was the setting, not much to look at but beautiful scenery, not clogged up with big cities, lots of people etc just a nice basic setting which adds to the suspense in this film as you can share the feeling of being isolated that the main characters feel throughout the film. Woody Harrelson plays a train nerd and pulls of this as well as the nerd 'look' excellently, Ben Kingsley was purely genius in this movie! Just go and see this if you get the chance, will have your heart racing throughout the entire movie and the suspense will have you falling of your chair! An excellent film!

Pros - The suspense did it for me, particularly the setting in which the suspense happened as it added to the feeling of isolation that you cant escape etc. The acting was superb from most of the cast, I don't know Russian but Ben Kingsley's Russian sounded awesome! I cant explain the suspense you will feel in words, but it felt like my heart was being squeezed tighter and tighter as the movie progressed while at the same time my butt got closer to falling of my chair! Definitely a movie to watch!

Cons - The starting is slow. That's about it, although it is needed somewhat to develop the key characters in the movie it does tend to drag. Fortunately it doesn't last that long until you get to the good stuff! This movie is great, i cant make you go and see it but if i could i would! Just watch it, its extremely enjoyable.

4.5/5 Jandals = As sleek and shiny as Kingsley's head



Watch the trailer for 'Transsiberian' Here

THE PROMOTION - Comedy (2008) ***REVIEW***

Two assistant managers of a grocery store compete against each other to see who will be the next big manager of a new opening store.

What a flop this film was! After all isn't a comedy supposed to be funny? I could count the number of laughs on one hand and that is being generous. The story could have been so much more and although i did try fishing for laughs, even then they didn't come about. Besides these facts the movie also seems to rip-off 'Employee Of The Month' quite a tad so fails in terms of coming up with something new or unique. It was fairly average at the start and seemed to get worse as the film progressed. It was one of those films where you just want to fast forward bit by bit to speed it up. A fairly boring movie probably not even worth the DVD rental unless you are a fan of Seann William Scott or John Reilly.

Pros - Not much that come to mind, a few laughs at best. The acting is fairly good and although not too funny they do provide the audience with some interesting characters. My mind is fairly blank about what else was good, this movie was just plain boring, grey is the colour i associate with this movie.

Cons - Just a boring movie, acting fairly mediocre, plot and story dragged a lot and seemed to be extremely hollow, a cheap knock-off of 'Employee Of The Month' which in itself wasn't even that great. I don't know how anyone could find this entertaining or even funny and unless your a major fan of some of the cast give this movie a wide berth.

1.5/5 Jandals = Would rather eat a whole onion than sit through this again

Watch the trailer for 'The Promotion' Here

WANTED - Action/Drama (2008) ***REVIEW***

The story of a lowly, depressed office worker who suddenly finds out he has super-human killing abilities that he gained from his long lost father.

A lot of reviews rubbish this film, bad acting, poor plot, predictable etc but i found it quite entertaining. It has some awesome and unique action scenes, not quite as revolutionary as 'The Matrix' but does deliver some fresh surprises. The cast is fairly high-class although Angelina Jolie does deliver a rather stunted performance and it would have been nice to see her with a tad more character development and dialogue. The only reason i liked this film though was because of the entertainment, actions scenes, kick ass gun fights and some fresh new moves is what kept me watching. The story and character history seemed rather dwarfed by the slightly over the top action sequences which is one reason why this movie just didn't fully deliver. That is all this film was really, a good movie to watch if your just interested in eye-candy, gun fights, car chases, blood, violence and a sprinkle of sex and unfortunately people usually want a bit more than just these. But for an action flick it delivered well on these aspects, unfortunately completely lacking in good plot, quality acting and character development. A perfectly good movie to watch if your bored, get it on DVD for a rainy day.

Pros - Jaw-dropping if not slightly over the top action scenes, car chases, gun fights, explosions, bullets through heads etc. An extreme amount of kick ass scenes enough for any action junkie! This is what makes this film watchable, and is probably the only thing that does. There is a slight twist which does add to the movie somewhat, although i wont go into details. A good eye-candy flick to watch when your bored for a bit of entertainment.

Cons - Lack of a good plot, acting is rather stale from what i expected to be good performances from Jolie and Morgan Freeman and the movie just seems to be made up of scene after scene of gun fights and blood. Although these scenes do rock you are left wanting a little more in terms of character development and focus and indeed better plot-development. A good movie, only for entertainment purposes though.

3/5 Jandals = Good mindless entertainment is all it offers

Watch the trailer for 'Wanted' Here

SAW - Horror/Thriller/Mystery (2004) ***REVIEW***

2 men are trapped in the well hidden lair of a psychotic criminal known only as "Jigsaw" and in the meantime must find a way to escape, play the game? Or die?

As it is Halloween night, and considering 'Saw V' has just been released in cinemas i thought it was apt to do a refresher course and go through the first 4 'Saw' movies to bring back some good old memories and prepare myself for 'Saw V' which i am highly anticipating. Therefore this will be the first of 4 reviews until the newly released Saw V! The first installment in the Saw series, this film is genre changing, i have not seen anything even close to matching Saw in terms of twists, grittiness, realism and superb story since 'Se7en'! This movie lives up to all expectations, it is excellently balanced between thrill, suspense, gore, mystery and of course the famous twist which most know is what the first Saw movie is most famous for apart from other things. This is just an awesome movie, most girls i know don't like it which is a fairly good indicator of whether or not a horror movie is good or bad, this movie is therefore excellent and the proof is in the pudding. A masterful film which was the initiator to all following Saw films. A must see, and if you haven't, head down to your local video shop and grab one before you see Saw V!

Pros - A perfect horror/thriller film which changed the face of the usual horror movie in which people just died horrible, gruesome deaths. One of the biggest twists in recent cinema which in its self is a valid enough reason just to see this flick! Mega awesome in every way!

Cons - There was only one thing i noticed that was a bit 'iffy' about this film and that was the acting from Cary Elwes who played Dr. Lawrence Gordon and while it was a fairly good performance, there were a few parts where the acting felt dampened and somewhat out of sync with the film. Of course this might just be me and again its the only thing worth noting and only noted because i couldn't think of anything else! Nothing else wrong with this amazing horror flick, if you haven't seen it yet you are missing out on a LOT!

5/5 Jandals = Break a leg!



Watch the trailer for 'Saw' Here