The Taking of Pelham 123

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Plot

John Travolta plays "Ryder" a brutal gunman who along with his three henchmen have hijacked a New York City subway train. They have given the city 60 minutes to hand over £10million dollars.

Ryder though only wants to speak to Walter Garber (Denzel Washington) a worker assigned to the train control center.

What begins is a very awkward relationship between the two as the time ticks down to the deadline.

Summary

This movie has two of hollywood's most accomplished actors, Travolta is brilliant in his role as a psychotic kidnapper who has a massive grudge against the city with only profit on his mind.

Washington is equally brilliant in his role as the ordinary man called upon to perform extradordinary tasks.

The action comes thick and fast, right from the beginning and never really slows down.

There is plenty of tension throughout this movie and some of the dialogue between Travolta and Washington is superb.

There are some flaws I found with this movie, the passengers on the train seemed very calm and they didnt seem to truly realise the extent of what was happening.

I also did not like the fact Washington's character at the beginning of the film is that of a normal guy in the wrong place at the wrong time, then by the end of the film he suddenly turns into a superman hero character.

I will not spoil the ending but just thinking about it realistically in my city if this happened in real life, Travolta's character would have been blown to hell.

Overall

The Taking Of Pelham 123 was a very entertaining and grity film that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

If you are into your action movies there are enough car chase scenes and explosions to keep the movie going at a fast pace and keep action movie fans happy.

This movie really was very enjoyable and was intense, It had great twists and it washard to see how the movie was going to end.

But I was left dissapointed with the ending, it really was a let down and tainted all the good memories I had for the film.

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1. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

This is undoubtedly my favourite Christmas movie of all time, there is not one in my eyes that can even rival this absolute classic.

Disaster prone dad Clark W Griswold (Chevy Chase) attempts to put on the perfect family Christmas, but it doesn't exactly go the way he would have wanted.

With witty one liners and hilarious scenes, this film will have you laughing on end.

It is such a hit with my family that we watch it over and over again every single year and I can safely say it never gets old.

2. The Muppet Christmas Carol

Michael Caine steps into the role as Ebenezer Scrooge in the musical adaptation of Charles Dickens classic A Christmas Carol.

Alongside Caine are your favourite Muppet characters and together with the brilliant soundtrack makes a wonderful, clever and inspirational seasonal festive treat.

There's enough jokes in the film to keep kids and adults alike happy, it truly is one for all the family.

3. Home Alone

Truly a movie for all the family, Home Alone is the story of young Kevin Mcallister (Macaulay Culkin) who gets left all alone when his family fly off to Paris for the Christmas period.

Two crooks (Joe Pesci & Daniel Stern) plan to rob the house but Kevin decides it's his duty to stop them.

This movie really is great entertainment to be had by all, with some great booby traps that bring out some hilarious slapstick comedy.

As with most films written by John Hughes (Planes, Trains & Automobiles, Uncle Buck) there is a really nice warm hearted ending that brings out a lot of emotion.

4. Die Hard

Die Hard is truly a landmark film because without it we would not have such films as Speed or Under Siege it truly is that simple.

Bruce Willis is perfectly cast as quick witted New York cop John Mclane, the man who seems to always be in the wrong place at the right time.

What I love about this movie so much is the incredible action scenes and the hilarious quick one liners, they are perfectly placed and really fit in well with the tone of the film.

What makes the viewer emotionally involved with Mclane is that his wife (Bonnie Bedelia) is held hostage in the building.

This adds a human effect to Mclane and enforces the point that he is just an average guy facing insurmountable odds.

This movie is one of the all time great action flicks and is also a great Christmas movie, but not for the kids!

5. Love Actually

Boasting a top notch cast Love Actually is a very charming and lovely tale combining many different stories of love that are nicely woven together.

Usually a romance genre is defined by a guy likes a girl or the opposite way but what I find interesting about this film is the way it explores all sorts of different types of love.

The stories are really nice and I expect everyone will find at least a bit of themselves in at least one of the narratives.

It really is one of those films that when you watch it you can't help but get that funny, warm, Christmas feeling.

The tagline of the film is "Love Actually Is All Around" I think that the film suits this perfectly.

Love takes many forms and everyone loves and is loved by someone, this makes the film one of the all time great feel good Christmas films reminding us what Christmas really is all about.

The Hangover

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Plot

Four mates head to Las Vegas on a stag party weekend. All of them get so wasted on their first night that they don’t remember a single thing that happened.

The morning after they realise that the intended groom is missing and the other three buddies must piece together what went on during the previous crazy evening.

Summary

Firstly I found myself laughing constantly throughout this film and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

It has a great set of characters - Bradley Cooper as Phil, the whitty one, Ed Helms as Stu Price – the nervous dentist and Zach Galifianakis who plays the best character Alan, the future brother in law of Doug (Justin Bartha).

The viewer instantly feels a connection with all four buddies and the dialogue between the group of mates is incredibly well done and very funny.

The story worked and I loved that everytime I thought there couldn't be another twist or turn this movie kept surprising me.

Overall

Ok so it may be a little vulgar or crude but The Hangover is absolutely brilliant. If you are easily offended though you may want to give this film a miss.

This film is constantly hilarious, entertaining and intriguing. You will not be able to guess what is coming next.

The Hangover is by far the best comedy I have seen this year.

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