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.

Crunch Rating -

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.

Crunch Rating -

Top 5 films to watch at Christmas time!

Well I can't believe it's that time of your again it's time to deck the halls and if you listen real closely, you might just hear Santa and his reindeers coming to your town.

So with that in mind I present to you the top 5 films to watch at Christmas time!

This is obviously what I find to be the best films to warm me up on a cold December evening.

So if the film that you enjoy watching over the holiday period is not on my list, then please let me know what would be on your list and why.

The Twilight Saga: New Moon

Plot

New Moon is the sequel to the highly successful 2008 box office smash Twilight.

It centers around the effects of Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) leaving Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) after an incident with his family makes him realise that she may be better off without him.

Bella frequently sees Edward as a ghostly conscious trying to keep her out of harm.

But when Bella realises that Edward shows up when she is in danger, she goes looking for harm in order to see him.

Summary

Having watched the first Twilight film and being surprisingly impressed by it, I was more than willing to give New Moon a chance.

While Bella and Edward were the main driving force behind the success of the first film, I did think this sequel would suffer as Edward is missing for the great majority of the film.

But I feel the character of Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner) adds an intriguing element to the film.

The whole story of will she get with Jacob or will Edward come back and rekindle his love for Bella was at first interesting, but that is all that seems to push the movie forward.

The storyline continues without any developments and I found it monotonous until the conclusion, when the pace of the film rapidly shifts into top gear.

Overall

If you are a fan of the series you will love this film and I am sure you will look forward to the third part.

But if you are new to the series or watching it casually then I would suggest you watch something else.

I got very bored and the movie struggled to hold my concentration.

Most films usually have a weak second installment and New Moon is no different.

Crunch Rating -

Terminator Salvation

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Plot

Set in 2018, Christian Bale stars as John Connor, the man who has the unenviable task of leading the human resistance against the Terminators and Skynet.

But the future Connor was raised to believe is completely different to that his mother told him.

Part of this altered future is Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington), a man who doesn't know what day or year it is, his last memory is being on death row.

Connor must decide whether or not to trust Wright. As Skynet prepares its final assault, Connor and Marcus find themselves in the Skynet’s operations, where they uncover the secret behind the possible destruction of the human race.

Summary

I am a massive fan of the Terminator franchise, I was really looking forward to what direction this movie would take.

Kyle Reese's (Anton Yelchin) vision of the future from the first film, has changed widly from what we see in Terminator Salvation and I feel that is a good touch.

I enjoyed director MCG's (Charlies Angels: Full Throttle & We Are Marshall) vision of what the future was to look like.

The problem with the film is that the main plot line of the resistance fighting against Skynet is lost and becomes secondary to the story of Marcus Wright and his befriending of Reese.

The worst part about the film was that I cared more about Wright than the Connor character, that should not happen.

John Connor is the man who ties everything together. Sympathy and emotion is built for him in T:2 and dare I even say T:3, but not here.

This film lacked the connection with Connor and instead of being a guy who has lived through this before he seemed to be just a badass rebel.

Overall

It's a film that serves a purpose in the Terminator franchise, but only just.

I like the fact the ending opens up the possibility for a sequel, but I was left wondering what actually was achieved by Connor and Wright.

If it is a superb action flick with great effects you are looking for then by all means see this film.

If you are a fan of the series, then unfortunately this is not a worthy successor to the first two films.

Crunch Rating -

Star Trek

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Plot

Star Trek takes us right back to the beginning and shows how James T Kirk (Chris Pine) became captain.

After the death of his father, Kirk grows up to be a rebellious youth and has no direction in life.

Meanwhile Spock (Zachary Quinto) is fighting is Vulcan logic and his human emotions.

But there is trouble on the horizon as a Romulan from the future wants to destroy Spock.

Kirk and Spock reluctantly are forced together in order to save the galaxy.

Summary

Rebooting a franchise is never an easy job, but it does have it's share of success most notably the reinvention of James Bond and Batman.

Director J J Abrams (Lost & Mission Impossible III) has taken it upon himself to reinvent Star Trek and I think he has done a good job.

I am not a "Trekkie" and never have been, so I was reluctant to even give this film a try.

But I am glad I did because I really enjoyed it.

The action scenes were incredible and the audio of the S.S Enterprise coming in and out of warp was amazing, the audio team worked hard on making the sounds as real as possible and it definately paid off.

The characters were great, there was some really good casting even Simon Pegg in the role of Scotty was surprisingly very good.

I had heared a lot coming into this film of how Pine would fill the role of Captain Kirk but I feel he was superb, same has to be said for Quinto.

Both roles were filled superbly and I feel the casting for this film is one of it's strong points.

Overall

What this film has done is reinvent a relatively dull and dying franchise to a brand new audience.

I know Star Trek fans will probably not find this movie to their liking but as someone who is new to the series I found it a great installment.

With the perfect mix of action, excitement and intensity, Star Trek was a very solid and thoroughly entertaining movie that I would recommend to anyone.

Crunch Rating -

Bruno

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Plot

Bruno is the sequel to the highly successful 2007 film starring Sacha Baron Cohen.

This sequel focuses on Bruno, a gay charismatic TV presenter.

He is fired from his TV show in Austria and loses his celebrity status, in a bid to recapture his glory Bruno travels to Los Angeles.

He tries a number schemes to get his status back, with hilarious results.

Summary

There was something about Borat that made him connect with the audience. Maybe it was his charm and the fact that he just didn't understand the difference between his culture and that of a western country.

There just isn't the same connection with Bruno.

It feel like most of the jokes from Borat are rehashed here, which is a shame.

The storyline again feels like a rehash of the previous film with our main character having a disagreement with his agent.

Overall

Don't get me wrong there are some hilarious scenes in this movie and it is better than a lot of the comedies that have come out earlier this year.

If you go into this movie with your eyes open and just to enjoy it then you will have fun.

I was more than likely thinking it may end up being better than Borat, which realistically was never going to be the case.

Crunch Rating -

Jennifer's Body

Plot

Just to get this out of the way because I know the male audience will be dying to know.

There are NO nude scenes of Megan Fox in Jennifer's body.

Now that I have that out of the way let me get on with the review.

Fox plays Jennifer the super cool, high school babe that every girl wants to be and who every guy wants to be with.

Jennifer convinces her best friend Needy (Amanda Seyfried) to come to a bar where a visiting band are playing.

During the evening Jennifer goes off with the band and becomes possessed.

What starts is a series of murder's in the small town and Needy believes that Jennifer could have something to do with the deaths.

Summary

I thought Fox was suited the role well, I truly believed that she was just interested in the boys at high school and that she was arrogant and egotistical.

Seyfried was a good choice as Needy she semed to be the perfect opposite Jennifer and the two characters played off each other well.

The death scenes lack tension, suspense and to be honest I really didn't care one bit who had just died.

Which when watching a horror film, the viewer should feel emotional when a death has occured.

Overall

Director Karyn Kusama tries to stay away from usual horror conventions which makes the film not scary and not even feel remotely like a horror film.

It gets confused, on the one hand the film shows the difficulties between adolescent teens and their friendships.

Then on the other it tries to be a typical American teen horror film using clever and witty dialogue, but with its main character just randomly killing people.

It's a strange combination and one that failed to hold my attention.

If you like teen movies that contain Fox acting as a man eater, some mild scares and a little bit of gore then this movie will appeal to you.

Crunch Rating -

Public Enemies

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Plot

Public Enemies is a true story set in the great depression of the 1930's.

It focuses on legendary gangster John Dillinger (Johnny Depp) who because of his bank robberies, quickly gets named as America's public enemy #1 by J.Edgar Hoover (Billy Crudup) and the FBI.

Dillinger with his ridiculously infectious charm manages to endear himself to almost everyone including the public who love his audacious jailbreaks and charismatic charm.

Not to mention the fact that the public have no sympathy for the banks that helped make the country in such a depressed state.

Hoover sends top FBI agent Melvin Purvis' (Christian Bale) to stop Dillinger.

Summary

Depp plays Dillinger brilliantly and director Michael Mann (Heat, Collateral) portrays his cocky and arrogant nature well on screen.

Bale as Purvis' is equally brilliant as the straight-laced cop intent on catching Dillinger.

One thing that is so good about Mann's previous films is the character development he shows, in this film there really was no character development.

Being a true story this film should educate the audience about the main characters, I still do not really know anything about Dillinger or Purvis.

The attention to the period detail in this film is incredible and there are a couple of really good, intense and realistic gun shoot-out scenes.

Highlighted more should have been the cat and mouse aspect of the film. While it is intriguing to see when Purvis will get his man, more could have been done to highten the drama of his impending capture.

Overall

It is so refreshing to see Johnny Depp play a character that is not crazy, weird, or a pirate. Reminding us all what a damn fine actor he is when given a suitable role.

Public Enemies has some magnificent acting and showcases two of Hollywood's biggest leading stars in Christian Bale and Depp, but I feel they never are really allowed to expand on the script they are given.

The action scenes are very well done and it does feel like as an audience you are right in the thick of the gun shoot outs.

Crunch Rating -