Terror At The Mall – Movie Review

Terror At The Mall (2014)
Documentary
IMDB Rating: 8.2
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Plot: A documentary detailing an indiscriminate terrorist attack that left 71 dead in Kenya.

Review: On September 21st, 2013 a group of young men from a radical Somali outfit related to Al Qaeda known as Al Shabaab, stormed an upmarket mall in Kenya’s capital of Nairobi and went on a killing spree that left an estimated 71 people dead.

The film follow the heart-wrenching stories of the survivors of this terrorist attack as they narrate the accounts of that Saturday afternoon.
Terror At The Mall is a masterpiece for any documentary. Thanks to the compiling of CCTV footage from inside the mall and the narration of the survivors, the film is brilliantly constructed to recount the events that took place that fateful Saturday.

I for one cannot imagine going to a shopping center and then having to fight to stay alive, while idiots who profess to be part of a cult go on a rampage and kill innocent people, including women and children. It just goes to show you what the world is coming to, when extremists commit senseless acts of violence. I have some very strong feelings on the subject of Al Qaeda and ISIS Extremists, but those I will not share publicly.

It should be noted that some of the footage you will see is very graphic, and it does show bloodied people struggling to stay alive only to get shot over and over again by these cowards.

If you have a strong stomach, then by all means you need to watch this film.

Verdict: Riveting film-making.
My Rating: 9 out of 10.

 

 

 

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Forever – TV Series Review

Forever (TV Series) 2014 –
Stars: Ioan Gruffudd, Alana De La Garza, Joel David Moore
IMDB Rating: 8.3
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Plot: A 200-year-old man works in the New York City Morgue trying to find a key to unlock the curse of his immortality.

Review: I will admit it. I had been putting off watching this show, but once I got started, I was hooked.

Forever tells the long tale of one Dr. Henry Morgan. A man who cannot die… In a manner of speaking. First off, he can die, but comes back to life in the river, to continue the process of living out his immortal existence.

There are some similarities here to Highlander, quite a few actually…. McCloud (AKA: Russell Nash) owned an antique store in NYC. Here, Dr. Henry Morgan owns an antique store in NYC… The Highlander couldn’t die (unless his head was cut off), in this show, he can die, only to be resurrected some minutes later, naked and in the river. An orphaned child rescued and raised by an immortal…

Throw into the mix that he is a medical examiner and spends a lot of his time (most of it infact) helping Det Jo Martinez (Alana De La Garza) solve crimes, and reminiscing about the many loves of his past.

Just how Dr Harry Morgan got this gift (or curse) of immortality has yet to be explained. The chemistry between the Ioan Gruffudd and Judd Hirsch is brilliant. You can see that the characters don’t take themselves too seriously, unlike other repetitive TV Cop shows 🙂

If you have not seen Forever, then you don’t know what you’re missing.

Verdict: It’s better to burn out than fade away.
My Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

 

 

 

 

Jurassic World – Official Trailer

Jurassic World – Official Trailer

In June 2015, the long wait is over!

Jurassic World hits cinemas June 12th, 2015. I for one will be there with bells on 🙂

Watch the trailer and enjoy 🙂

 

Guardians Of The Galaxy – Movie Review

Guardians Of The Galaxy (2014)
Stars: Chris Pratt, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Lee Pace, Karen Gillan
IMDB Rating: 8.4
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Plot: A group of space criminals must work together to stop the fanatical villain Ronan the Accuser from destroying the galaxy.

Review: If you’re looking for a fun action movie with some extremely colorful characters, then this is the movie for you 🙂

The film starts off with introducing us to Peter Quill (Pratt), a human abducted from Earth as a child. Years later, Peter becomes an intergalactic thief who has no idea what he’s getting into when he takes possession of a mysterious Orb. Little does he know that Ronan (Pace) will do just about anything to get his hands on the Orb, including sending alien assassin Gamora (Saldana) after it.

There are twists and turns aplenty in this film, and stars an incredible line-up of talent from such actors as Bradley Cooper (Voice of Rocket), Vin Diesel (Voice of Groot), Karen Gillian (as Nebula), Dave Bautista (as Drax the Destroyer), Lee Pace (as Ronan The Accuser), and Michael Rooker (as Yondu Udonta).

It is great to see Dave Bautista get more of a speaking role this time around, and as I think I may have mentioned before, he is a WWE actor to keep an eye on. I have no doubt that he will climb the ranks of Hollywood, and become a powerhouse action film star like Dwayne Johnson (The Rock).

This time around, Bautista take on more of a hero-in-waiting role, and has a few hilarious one-liners to boot 🙂

Marvel have really outdone themselves this time with a film that will appeal to the old and young alike. Although Avengers and Thor was good in their own right, GOTG was by far, a better release. The acting was nicely timed, the mix of action and comedy was just right, and not to forget Karen Gillan who showed another side to her acting abilities, and why she will probably never be forgotten as the one of the better companions of The Doctor (Dr Who).

The casting team has brought together just the right mix of talented actors in this film, and who could forget the antics of Michael Rooker (You may remember him as Merle from The Walking Dead). 🙂

This is one my personal favorite films for 2014.

Verdict: A Sequel Is Needed 🙂
My Rating: 8 out 10.

 

 

 

 

 

Dracula Untold (2014) – Movie Review

Dracula Untold (2014)
Stars: Luke Evans, Dominic Cooper, Sarah Gadon
IMDB Rating: 6.3
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Plot: As his kingdom is being threatened by the Turks, young prince Vlad Tepes must become a monster feared by his own kingdom in order to obtain the power needed to protect his own family, and the families of his kingdom.

Review: When I watched this, my first thought was “finally, a vampire flick without the nonsense“.

What can I say about this film? The action was great. The acting by Luke Evans (Vlad), Sarah Gadon (Mirena), and Charles Dance (Master Vampire), was outstanding. Dracula Untold certainly did not disappoint with all the cool vampire abilities you would expect to see without the glitterati 🙂

In every Dracula movie, there are things you expect from the legend. Drinking of blood, the ability to transform into bats, the sense of a human trapped inside a dark prince, wrestling with his own convictions to keep his people free…..

Of course, if you know your history, you will know that Dracula Untold is very loosely based on the real life accounts of Vlad The Impaler. For those who don’t want a history lesson, you can scroll down to the trailer now…..

If you’re on the same page as me, you will know that the real Dracula did drink blood, but in a different manner. It is told that he dipped chunks of bread into buckets of blood that were drained from the people he killed. He was also known to invite guests to his mansion on occasions, provide them with a feast, then have them impaled right there at the dinner table. With the bodies still draped over the stakes, he would finish his own dinner at leisure.

From a historic POV, you may pull this film to pieces and point out all the inaccuracies, but if you are looking for a well told action film, with a ton of SPX and blood-gushing, and getting back to good old Vampire story-telling the way Vampires are meant to be, then this is one film you have to watch.

Verdict: Since your teeth into this one!
My Rating: 8 out of 10.

 

 

 

 

Meet My Character: Laura from Not So Ordinary Girl

Laura

Is he/she fictional or a historic person? Fictional

When and where is the story set? She’s Not So Ordinary is set in Melbourne Western suburbs.

What should we know about her? Laura is the girl you would never expect to meet. Highly intelligent, perceptive, and has a dark side to her persona that not many people see. Laura had a sheltered upbringing to a point. Her mother, Cathy, used to be one of the most popular girls in school, until one event changed her life and she became a recluse and fled her hometown of Gympie to try and hide from the demons that stalked her. Not much is known of Laura’s father. Either he was dead or was a dead-beat loser who knocked up Cathy and dumped her. Cathy never really spoke of the man who impregnated her. Whenever the subject was brought up, Cathy would break down and cry, and the subject was avoided.

Cathy died when Laura was around thirteen years old. Laura never found out who her father was.

The storyline starts with Laura, a 20-something year old woman who works for a small business in the western suburbs of Melbourne. Laura’s first and only boyfriend (Tony) served in the army and went off to war in Iraq, never heard from again.

We first see Laura celebrating with other workers at the home-office of her boss, they are celebrating the success of getting a new large client, which means that the business will be finally stepping up in the world with moving to a real office in the area. For Laura, and another person, Garratt, that means that they are being considered for a promotion at work to be made assistant manager. The promotion comes with a small increase in salary and more time out of the office, meeting new clients. But Garratt is smooth, charismatic, and down-right dirty when it comes to getting any kind of advancement.

Before long, things begin to happen, and demons from Laura’s part start to surface. But is it all an illusion or is the charade just a part of a larger plot?

What is the main conflict? Her main conflict is the love of her life, Tony, who is deployed in Iraq. She yearns for him to come home safely to her.

What is the personal goal of the character?To find true love. Or at least, an aspect of it to find happiness.

Can we read more about it? She’s Not So Ordinary is available as paperback and Ebook on GooglePlay, Amazon, Kindle, and soon as Audiobook. The film version of the novella is scheduled to be filmed in late 2015. Find out about the film HERE.

Hangar 10 (2014) – Movie Review

Hangar 10 (2014)
Stars: Robert Curtis, Abbie Salt, Danny Shayler
IMDB Rating: 3.7
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Plot: 33 years after the infamous Rendlesham Forest UFO incident, three metal detector enthusiasts hunting for Saxon gold in the same region, capture incredible footage of UFO’s whilst filming their expedition. As night falls and with their navigation equipment failing, they find themselves facing a terrifying encounter with an unforgiving alien presence.

Review: There is something about found footage films that makes my skin crawl… Especially when they are:
A: A clear rip-off from other films, and
B: When they are amateur in every way possible.

This found footage film falls into both the above categories.

The plot (if you want to call it that) is straight-forward. Three friends (2 guys and a girl) go treasure hunting in Rendlesham Forest, with their cam equipment and metal detectors. First night in they see “strange” lights in the sky, and the rest you can guess. Underground bunkers; Poorly done CGI alien ships; and Blair Witch shots aplenty.

Rather than give myself a migraine from explaining what happens (I think you all know anyway), I will just summarize the basics of this film:

Plot – Predictable and boring
Script – Poorly written
Acting – I’ve seen better….
SPX – Shockingly terrible
Film Quaility: Grainy and amateur at best

There is a reason why this film was rated so very low on IMDB. Even though I am somewhat of a believer that any filmy needs a fair go, this was – without a doubt – one of the worst I have seen yet.

Do yourself a favor and spare yourself from this one.

Verdict: Excruciatingly painful to watch
My Rating: -5 out of 10

 

 

Meet My Character: Karen from The Chosen Series

Welcome to the Meet My Character. Today we will meet Karen.

Karen

Is he/she fictional or a historic person? Fictional

When and where is the story set? The storyline of The Chosen is set in the not top distant past, and ends with the final book set in the very not to distant future.

What should we know about her? Karen is the type of girl who is always searching for something better in life. The daughter of a drunkard mother, she grew up thinking that it was perfectly okay to use and abuse men, as long as it got her what she wanted. She is intelligent, cunning, manipulative. Karen is a party-hard girl and she especially loves it when men fight over her.

Her fav pastimes are spending too much time in-front of the mirror; Spending her boyfriends (yes, she has many boyfriends) money; Drinking; Getting stoned, and having sex (although this one ranks up pretty high on the list).

What is the main conflict? Karen’s only conflict is trying to find a way to escape the small town life. After witnessing the horrific deaths of Tom and Jeff (by the demon, Lutancix), her salvation comes by Alex, who arrives in Winmont to investigate the paranormal incident.

What is the personal goal of the character? Her only focus is to get out of the small town and live in the city. She has no clue what she will do beyond that.

Karen is one of the three main characters in the Chosen Series. She plays an important role in Bloodline Of Darkness, and (spoilers) she is manipulated in Prophecy’s End to bring about the downfall of Alex. Just who manipulates her, I will not say as that will give you the ending 😉

There is a feature film adaptation of the first book. You can find out about that film HERE.