Toy Story - In 3d

I can barely remember when the first Toy Story movie came out 14 years ago. My 2 children were just little and we didn't go to the pictures to see it but we did buy the video, the read along books, the duvet cover and curtains not to mention the buzz and woody toys. They were addicted to watching it (and it's following 2 movies) that they would be able to recite the whole film off the tops of their heads.

So 14 yrs on and the movies are being re released but in 3D.
It was brilliant. Worth paying the extra £2 for the 3d specs (Which you have to give back at the end of the movie) It was so long since I had seen it that I forgot what happened and it was like seeing it for the first time. I really can't wait to see Toy Story 2 in 3d.

17 Again

You have to see this movie!!!
I was really looking forward to it but It was way better than I thought it was going to be and you have the beautiful Zac Efron to swoon over all the way through (As did several young ladies in the showing we went to)


Although it might sound a little perverted due to my age, I have to admit that I think Zac Efron is one of the most beautiful men I have ever seen on screen. Having said that, don't think that I sat all through the movie drooling. Young Zac is not just a beautiful human being but a great actor too.

The story is like that of the old Tom Hanks movie Big!
37 year old Mike O'Donnell (Played by Matthew Perry) has made a mess of his life by giving up his dreams of a Basketball scholarship when he was 17 to marry his pregnant girlfriend. So after losing his job he wanders into his old High school and hankers back to the days when he was the most popular boy in school but meets a mysterious old Janitor who grants his wish to be 17 again.

So in comes Zac Efron to play the 17 year old Mike and he did a superb job. Although it was the face of Zac you were seeing, you still believed it was Older Mike in there. He had Perry's facial expressions to a tee and the mannerisms and voice inflections that you might have recognised from the old Chandler days.

The film had everything for me and I will definitely be purchasing it on DVD as soon as it arrives in the stores.

Now for some more Zac...

Movies a-plenty

I am getting rid of my Sky Sports and Movies next week so I have been trying to watch as many movies as I can to get my money's worth.

Not doing reviews as such, just quickies.

St Trinians was a bit disappointing. I guess they will never match the wonderful original series as they really are classics. I enjoyed it to a point though but it was easy to get distracted.
I am glad I got to see it but at least I will know I don't have to buy it.

The Darjeeling Limited was more than disappointing it was bloody downright boring. I hung on to the end but I don't even know what the point of the film was. OK so it was about 3 brothers getting back together and finding their mother but there were lots of things that were explained and I found it a total waste of 2 hours.





Codename : The Cleaner was hilarious. I had never heard of it before. It stars Lucy Liu as this CIA agent undercover as a waitress. However the main story is of a Janitor who wakes up in a strange hotel next to a dead man and can't remember anything. He convinces himself that he must be a spy under cover as a Janitor. I really enjoyed it and have actually watched it twice this week.




On Wednesday night we had a family movie night. Owing to the fact there was nowt on TV and there was a box of Popcorn on the table just screaming out to be eaten.
We watched Iron Man. Bret already saw it at the cinema twice and has watched it god knows how many times since Christmas so he insisted we should watch it.

It was OK I enjoyed it. There were some funny bits in it and I would like to see any sequels they make to it. Don't know if I would bother watching it again soon though.

Batman The Dark Knight

Today DS and I went to the cinema to watch the movie that I have been long awaiting - The Dark Knight -
Monday night we sat and watched Batman begins in readiness for it and I have to say I was suitable warmed to Christian Bale as the Batman himself. But As many people my biggest anticipation was at seeing Heath Ledger as The Joker.



We were using the Orange Wednesday 241 offer which is a deal because it cost £5.25 for the 2 of us to get in. As it was so cheap I treated DS to some cinema popcorn which I wouldn't normally as we had already brought our own pop and chocolates but don't tell Bill *SHUSHHHH*

The movie more or less follows on from where Batman Begins ends. Heath didn't disappoint, in fact I had tears running down my cheeks because this role shows what an awesome actor he really was. I can see how the whole part of the Joker got him depressed. He was totally submerged in the role. The darkness of the character was really creepy and the quirky mannerisms especially the lip-licking were a especially creepy.

In the height of the movie I was totally absorbed. So much so that I didn't even bother with the chocolates I had brought with me.

Christian Bale is Excellent as Batman and the most convincing yet as Bruce Wayne. I think he is my new Hollywood crush ;)



I was disappointed that Katie Holmes was not in it as Rachael however the actress they got to replace her... Maggie Gyllenhaal (sister of Jake) was a good replacement as she has the same look as Holmes and the same huge eyes. She played the part well and I would believe anyone if they said they didn't realise it was a different actress.

You know I hate to give anything away in my reviews so plot-wise I am keeping schtum!

At the end of the movie I felt like someone had walloped me in the face. POW! A real rollercoster ride of a film and thoroughly enjoyable.

I will definitely be wanting the DVD and I would even go see it again (Anything just to stare at Mr Bale for a while *WHISTLE* )

What happens in the movie theatre...

For years our family trips to the cinema have been Disney films, Rugrats, Harry Potter and of course Pirates. Now that my 2 are now in their teens there is a lot more choices with more adult humor on offer.

We did plan to go Wednesday to see Made of Honor but couldn't work it around DS' paper round and the England Vs US game on TV in the evening. Instead we had more time to plan to go tonight.
Part of the trip out was also to sample the brand new Showcase Delux in the Westfield centre.
Unfortunately Made of honor was no longer playing so we chose to see What happens in Vegas.




The movie stars Ashton Kutcher and Cameron Diaz as a couple who get married in Vegas within 4 hours of meeting. They come home to New York and realise they made a big mistake and go about trying to get a quickie divorce. Unfortunately the judge tries to make an example of them and won't grant the divorce until they have made an attempt to make the marriage work.

We set off from home really early for saying that town is only 15 minutes away but I wanted to get there in good time and have a look round as it was all new.

The place is huuuuge. From the top floor of the Westfield you go up 2 more escalators to get to the main floor of the cinema itself where there is the box office and main food stands. There is also a bar restaurant which is a great way for them to get more money out people I guess. It was pretty busy so it works.
I went to buy my tickets and they asked where I want to sit...BLOODY HELL I have to make choices at the pictures now??!!! I said somewhere in the middle but I didn't know that it was a case of having to sit where they tell you.


To get to the cinema that we were in we had to go up 2 more escalators. We walked through the big doors and past 2 staff members busy chatting towards the door. As we were going in one of the chatting staff shouted to us "Do you have tickets?" he took our tickets and said "You are somewhere near the back"

We walked into the cinema and although it was 20 minutes to start time it was very dark. We scrambled along to find Our seats but as we couldn't see in the dark I don't think we were sat in the right place.

As we sat waiting for the presentation to start more customers were coming in but they were being shown to their seats by ushers. by the time the main presentation started the room was pretty full.


The movie itself was brilliant. Very funny and not as obvious an ending as I would have thought. Of course we had the gorgeous Ashton to drool at all the way through and his chemistry with Ms Diaz was very believable.



I thoroughly enjoyed the whole film and the kids did too. It was a bit weird seeing a grown up RomCom with them at the cinema but there'll be a lot more choices in future.

Hostel part 2

I sat down Friday afternoon to watch Hostel 2.
I saw the first movie on Sky last year and have been looking forward to the 2nd part ever since.

I was a bit disappointed for most of it but it really caught up with it's daddy movie about half way through and the end was just the best end to a film I have ever seen.


The first movie follwed a group of male American back-packers on their travel so this sequel took on 3 girls. just like the first movie, they were enticed to The Hostel by a beautiful person with great promises.


There is a bit of a twist with an extra element this time because we see the other side with 2 of the paying clients at the factory.

These 2 anti-heroes, if you will, should have us screaming chants of hate but they almost seem human and quite humorous. You have to see it to understand...without me telling you the story I can't really describe

Watch out for the first killing, Its a sick one and I even had to cover my eyes. It involves 2 naked women, a Scythe and lots of blood.


I spent a couple of great hours watching the extras after the movie and I have come to the conclusion that I really like Eli Roth. He is a great director and a great guy too. I am definitely going to get hold of Cabin fever.

DVD bargains at HMV

I wanted to really treat myself for ages.
HMV have some great offerings in their 3 for £20 that I was determined to grab a bargain before the sale is over.

I managed to get 2 boxsets in my 3 for £20 which I am very happy about.

First of all Hostel parts 1 & 2.
I have seen the first movie but not the 2nd so was very glad about getting hold of this



The other boxset I found was 28 days and 28 weeks later. I have seen the first movie 28 days later several times but haven't had the chance to see the second yet as with Hostel.



The other movie I got was Run Fatboy Run starring Simon Pegg. I loved Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz so this movie has to be as good...

Brokeback mountain

I finally got the chance to sit down and watch Brokeback mountain last night.
What a load of pants it was!
Everyone knows I loved Heath Ledger (and still do - His memory lives on!!) but what was so special about this movie? It was slow and boring. Lots of screen time where there was no talking or where I couldn't hear the talking at all anyway because it was so quiet and mumbly.

I gave up on it and went to bed halfway through.

Cloverfield

Finally got to see Cloverfield last night.

I don't know what I was expecting. Moyles has been raving about it and so has Brian but it wasn't what I expected.
Yes it was brilliant and the effects were fantastic.
There were lots of *GASP* moments and lots of made you jump moments and a good smattering of comedic moments. The concept is very good and cleverly done.

I didn't enjoy the long lead in though. A lot of the party scenes could have been cut for me.

I did notice that in the trailers there were 3 other movies advertised that are also shot in camcorder format - I am bored of it already.

Also we heard the hilarious advert for The Chris Moyles show when we first arrived.

Is it that time of year again already?

I have had quite a good weekend.
OK not including the football scores.
Saturday was a really lazy slob about day where I didn't even get dressed until about 1.30 and that was to go across to a Christmas fayre that was all packed up by the time I got there.
DS was staying at his mate's and left about 3pm and DD was in town.

So I just made jacket wedges for tea for me and DD and we sat with them on our laps while we watched the footie.

In the evening it was the normal TV routine of Robin Hood then Casualty and then we watched the last half an hour of Celebrity jungle. After we saw that Chef guy evicted I put on this weeks episode of Heroes.
I went to bed and watched the season finale of Eureka and episode 8 of Bones.

Sunday was the annual visit of Ange's Godmother Wendy and her husband Charlie. They do just 1 weekend to travel round and visit everyone whilst delivering Christmas presents.

Things haven't been particularly good this year between me and my 2 sisters so it was nice that I was invited along to Ange's house. Wendy said beforehand that if it was too awkward they would have come to mine but I had a really good day. It was nice being with my family. My nephew was very playful and I loved that he wanted to play with me. Even my niece seemed relatively pleased to see me. When I left I even managed kisses from both of them too.

Wendy has recently lost 11 stone after having weight loss surgery and so has a lot of clothes that no longer fit. She has very kindly passed them on to me...All 4 bags of them. So a big chunk of the afternoon was taken up by my sorting through them. I actually brought 3 black bags home with me.

After the guests has left Debz and I stayed for a bit and watched some X-factor until Debz called a taxi to go back home. I would have walked had I not had the 3 black bags of stuff.

When I got home I spent the rest of the day watching Christmas movies with the children.

The hills have eyes 2

I watched this today and was well disappointed. It isn't half as good as the first movie and i found myself clock-watching the whole way through.

With the first HHE I was riveted to the seat and there were many hiding behind the fingers moments but in the second movie there was nothing to make me wince, even as the female soldier stuck her fingers into the mutants brain and pulled out bits of it, I still yawned.

I am so glad that I have just borrowed this and didn't buy it myself. It is a total waste of a sequel. They should have just left it at the first movie and be done with!

Oh and just wanted to add that the special features on the DVD are pants too

You know who is back!

Tonight we finally got to see number 5 in the illustrious series of Harry Potter movies. Harry Potter and the Order of The Phoenix.

I haven't bothered with the books as I know I can't do them justice but I do look forward to the films coming out. This one was most anticipated and sees a more mature, a more adult Harry not to mention his 2 trusty sidekicks. I mentioned to the children on the way home that Ron and Hermione should have their own spin-off. Either a TV show or series of movies or even a cartoon show. Ron and Hermione fighting crime with their powers of Wizardry...in fact I might write to JK and tell her of my ideas. I might be lucky like Mr Vernon or not so lucky like Mr Comedy Dave.

Back to the film. I really enjoyed it. I know it is supposed to be for kids but there is a lot there for us grown ups too. And the much anticipated snog between Harry and Cho was very well done. I thought it would be a little peck but It seemed to last forever. It really just did go on and on. Personally I have always longed for harry and Hermione to get together but I guess her heart belongs to Ron...
If I had the actual money I would go see it again. However there are more movies we want to see this summer and we have not the money or the time.

Keep a weather eye on the horizon

The highlight of the weekend for me was our trip to the pictures on Sunday to see Pirates of the Caribbean - At Worlds end.
We saw the first 2 movies at the cinema and we have left it as late as possible to see this one but I thought we better go before it gets ousted. They are down to 2 showings a day now and in the smallest theatre in the complex.

Sunday afternoon we made it nice and early for the 2.35pm showing and we thought we had the whole theatre to ourselves but people were still coming in 20 minutes into the film. Now I ask you, what is the point in that??



The film was brilliant. I was a bit worried about the fact that it is 3 hours long but I really honestly didn't notice it. It had a lot of bad reviews and James King from Radio 1 said it had no plot but I think that it all depends on how much you are into the whole thing as there was a lot of plot there for me to follow.

I would still say that the 2nd movie was the best but I wouldn't have missed out seeing At World's end. Its funny how we went full circle with Jack though. The first time he appeared in the first movie he was in that little dinghy and that's exactly how he went sailing off in the end.

Oh Yes, we stayed right through the credits at the end along with about 6 other people to see the very last scene which answered my question and leaves it open if they do want to do a 4th movie or even start a new generation trilogy.

LA without a map

Last night I watched LA without a map.


Just in case you haven't heard of it. David Tennant stars as Richard, a hapless Undertaker from Bradford who has a chance meeting with American wannabe actress Barbara in a graveyard.
He falls for her instantly and once she has flown back he ups and attempts to follow he to LA.

I am not going to spoil the film for anyone who wants to see it still but I have to say, I saw a new side to the acting talents of DT. Scotland's answer to Hugh Grant?
I have read a few bad reviews of this movie but I thought it was wonderful. I especially loved the cameo from Johnny Depp as Richard's poster boy conscience.


And then later on he meets Johnny in a graveyard and shares chicken with him


I will just share a few caps form the film with you as I have 10,000 of them...




Blimey I could go on and on but don't want to give too much away you know.

Brand new DVDs Squee!

I have been a member of Valued Opinions for a couple of years now. Every so often they send you a survey to fill out and it can be worth anything between 20p and £2 (usually)
So you can save up until you have £5 or more then you can apply for payment in vouchers. I opt for HMV vouchers because then I can really treat myself.

I have been saving for ages and finally got up to £20. I was really excited when my vouchers came the other day. In the past I have used the vouchers for pressies.

I went to HMV to see what I can get for my £20. They are having a sale at the moment with otems for as little as £3. I spent ages going round and round the shop looking at every single shelf and every single sale item. In the end I decided on 2 DVDs worth £15. Instead of getting something from the sale that I have seen already seen I got 2 films I always wanted to see but didn't.

Little miss sunshine and 24hr Party People (starring John Simm)

Hostel

Just watched Hostel on Sky and boy it really was gruesome.
I knew it had that kind of reputation but after all the hype that has followed it since it was released I thought I should at least attempt to watch it.

I was actually expecting it to be a lot poorer than it was but it had a good storyline and it wasn't just mindless violence. There were some moments where I had to hide behind the cushion.
I would put it on a par with the first Saw movie.

Nice ending too and an opening for a sequel I am sure.

SAW II

Well surprisingly, last night Sky Movies was showing Saw 2. I have got a copy of Saw 3 but haven't tried watching it as I hadn't seen the 2nd yet.

I was truly disappointed. It was nowhere near as good as the first. In fact it seemed like an inferior made for TV movie. Yeah you had your gory moments but It didn't stand up for me at all. Heaven knows how awful the 3rd movie will be.
OK I had to hide my face with the girl in the pit of needles and the other girl with her hands in the glass case but that is the only time I felt it got anywhere near the first movie.

So to Saw 3 and I will give my review of that.

Hopefully it will be like the Elm street series where no 2 was terrible but they brought it back on track with no 3.

TV and the internet are my favourite pass-times

...And for the past 24 hours I have been without them.

Can you believe it? I was sat there watching Waking the dead On Demand and suddenly it went off along with the broadband. I tried all the usual unplugging and plugging back in malarkey but to no avail so I had to phone up NTL and the only time they could get a tech out is the next afternoon. ARGH! what do I do for a whole 24 hours without my tele or internet? I was going to miss all my soaps!

It was quite refreshing actually. It's alright for DD she has all the channels on her freeview so she went and watchjed upstairs when she got home from school.

At tea-time I suggested watching some Dr Who. We watched the CIN ep that we never saw before and then DS asked if we could watch the Impossible planet and The Satan pit. I realised that however many times I watch them, I will never tire of them. After that we watched School reunion and then all the outtakes from the DVD extras.

At 10pm when the kids went to bed I had no idea what to do. Usually I would come on here for a while and catch up on my forums with the TV on WinTv. So I decided to go to bed. I found Charlie Brooker on BBC4 followed by Life on Mars so it wasn't too bad after all.

Today I wasn't sure what to do with myself. I had to wait in for the nice NTL man so I did a bit of housework, went out to the shops, then made myself a drink and settled down to finally watch Casanova (The movie starring Heath Ledger, not the TV show starring DT) Guess what, As soon as I was comfy the phone rang - It was the NTL engineer to say that he was on his way. AND he was early so that would give me the rest of the day clear to do what I wanted.

Nice Mr NTL man was done in a few minutes so after he had gone I sat down and finished off watching the movie (Stopping every now and then to go make homemade veggie soup then eat it)