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THE FATE OF THE FURIOUS: REVIEW - PODCAST

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Jamie & I discuss The Fate Of The Furious on episode 73 of podcast The Big Rewind .

THE LITTLE REVIEW: THE FATE OF THE FURIOUS - PODCAST

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We review The Fate Of The Furious on podcast The Big Rewind .

THE FATE OF THE FURIOUS - REVIEW

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The Fast And The Furious franchise got its 8th instalment this year with The Fate Of The Furious , another action-packed, star-studded rollercoaster ride which promised an even bigger scale, crazier set-pieces, a new intimidating villain and some unexpected twists and turns.  The film opens with a street race, something that helped make this franchise popular early on, as Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) makes a point by racing someone in a juiced-up relic that's slowly falling apart. It's corny and completely ridiculous but it's a welcome homage to those films' relatively humble beginnings. This is as sensible as it gets in this movie, believe it or not, as the plot that soon unfolds only gets sillier and sillier. The Fast And The Furious movies have made a point to attempt to jump the shark higher and higher each time and it's somehow paid off with audiences flocking to each new instalment. Series veteran Vin Diesel plays a villain of sorts in this one as ev

THE FATE OF THE FURIOUS - VLOG 18/04/17

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I finally talk about The Furious F8.

THE CURSE OF THE JADE SCORPION - REVIEW

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Written and directed by Woody Allen, The Curse Of The Jade Scorpion is an old-fashioned comedy thriller about an insurance investigator who is hypnotized into stealing priceless jewels and then unknowingly investigates his own thefts. Released in 2001, the crime comedy was originally a flop with the 1940's setting making it the most expensive of Allen's films at that point. Since then, however, the film has gained some cult recognition from fans of the director's work. This really feels like a project which would have made more sense had it been released around the same time as Broadway Danny Rose and Shadows And Fog with its dated look and sense of humour because it's not exactly the kind of genre that was in vogue back in 2001. The plot is based on a clever premise with a lot of potential: two people who hate each other are revealed to, in fact, be in love deep down but are then manipulated into committing crimes by a creepy hypnotist. Reminiscent of The Purpl

THE HUNTSMAN: WINTER'S WAR - REVIEW

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A mere week after the release of The Jungle Book , we are given yet another live-action Disney movie to swallow, The Huntsman: Winter's War being the follow-up to Snow White & The Huntsman , a film which received mixed reviews from critics and audiences upon its release. The marketing for this sort-of sequel was nothing short of puzzling with trailers and posters not exactly clarifying whether this was meant to be a straight-up sequel, a prequel or just a mostly unrelated spin-off. With the likes of Charlize Theron and Chris Hemsworth returning (Nick Frost also) but no-one else, this looked set to be a wholly unnecessary, confusing mess so it's no wonder Jungle Book, as bland as that remake may be, is currently trashing the film at the box-office. As it turns out, The Huntsman takes place both before the first film and after with Snow White getting a mention but no screen time. Theron's witch now has a sister (played by Emily Blunt) who becomes The Ice Queen follo

THE HUNTSMAN: WINTER'S WAR - VLOG 25/04/16

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I talk a little about The Huntsman: Winter's War in yet another Disney-centric Vlog. The iceman cometh!

A MILLION WAYS TO DIE IN THE WEST - REVIEW

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A couple of years ago, man of a thousand voices Seth MacFarlane brought his brand of humour to Western comedy A Million Ways To Die In West , a feature he directs, co-writes and stars in (not as a bear, this time). The film didn't exactly wow critics and it basically flew by, somehow making a profit on the way despite less-than-flattering reviews. The film itself goes for an old-fashioned look but a defiantly anachronistic and modern take on the subgenre with characters speaking like people would today and the odd pop culture reference. It's not a completely new idea and it's something that works much better in a cartoon than it does in a live-action film but it can definitely work. Mel Brooks always could make that kind of thing funny. Unfortunately, here, it's like the film is trying much too hard to make that a hilarious aspect of the movie when it's, in fact, one of its weakest ideas. The concept that people in the Old West could die of pretty much anythi

MAD MAX: FURY ROAD - VLOG 12/06/15

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I finally rant briefly about Mad Max: Fury Road on this loveliest of days.

MAD MAX: FURY ROAD - REVIEW

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The problem with sequel/reboots (sequoots, if you will) is that you never know what you're going to get but, most likely, you're not getting the good stuff. And just when you're getting sick and tired of those reboots (and sequoots), obviously a great one comes along to make you rethink the validity of the whole thing. Yes, Mad Max: Fury Road is pretty awesome. With Tom Hardy taking over the role of Max Rockatansky, a role which put Mel Gibson on the map back in the day, George Miller returning to directing duties and a killer trailer promising great things, this looked set to be a good time, at the very least. Then again, the Conan The Barbarian remake had a cool trailer too so it could have all gone pear-shaped very quickly. Thankfully, Miller's insistence that all the cars in the film would have to be built for real along with often stunning cinematography by John Seale, a great cast and some brilliant character design means that Mad Max: Fury Road is, in fa