Fedora Wearing Biggins reviews District 9

I was really looking forward to this film but to be honest I was a bit disappointed by it. I love the idea of District 9 the premise was sound, the movie was very sad and it definitely had an underlying theme of hope that I really enjoyed but the action lacked excitement.

This film was adapted from "Alive in Joburg", a 2005 short film written and directed by Neil Blomkamp. The film starred Sharlto Copley as Wikus Van De Merwe, a man whos life is ruined when he starts to become a "Prawn" (the nickname for the aliens.) Wikus Van De Merwe was not the type of character I was expecting but it did give the film a more realistic feel to it, it was easy to relate to Wikus because he was just your average guy who becomes the hero even if he becomes the hero unwillingly (I've always loved the hero's who don't want to be hero's.) Aside from the human side of the story, you also see it from the "Prawns" perspective and how at the end of the day they just want to go home. This film also did a good job of humanizing the aliens, to show us that they were just like us really they had emotions and children. But the best thing this film did in my opinion was make me side against the humans, this is the first film I've seen where I wanted the humans to lose. The way the "Prawns" were treated was really quite bad for example they burnt down house's where the "prawns" had laid eggs effectively killing off thirty baby "Prawns." At the end of the day if a film can make you side against your own race you know its doing a good job.

I really enjoyed this film but to be honest I won't watch it again because once you know what happened it loses all its suspense and it becomes boring. But it is a brilliant film and well worth watching, I give it a 4/5 purely because the action let me down a bit.

Fedora wearing Biggins reviews Crank 2

He was dead but he got better. If you saw the first "Crank" you know it ended with Chev Chelios falling out of a helicopter after running around keeping poison from killing him using adrenaline. This film was even sillier and much more ridiculous than the original, there was less of a plot and more action. Now some would dislike this amount of pointless violence and explosions however it was obviously necessary as this time his heart was taken and replaced with a electric heart.

While some scenes such as the five minute sex scene were a tad unnecessary even if enjoyable. The film on the whole was rather enjoyable and at times hilarious. The music was very modern at suited the movie very well as it was incredibly fast paced. The film at parts had throw backs to the original movie as well as cut offs to funny quick animated shorts and flashbacks.

However I may be slightly bias as Jason Statham is my favorite actor of all time. I loved Transporter, adored Death race and was amazed by Snatch (honorable mentions include the bank job, transporter 2 and 3, war and cellular.) In my opinion Jason Statham is the ultimate action hero, he is my Chuck Norris.

So in conclusion if you enjoy fast paced action, car chases, half naked women, crude comedy or Jason Statham taking down fifteen cops at the same time you need to see this film I give it a 5/5 top score.

Fedora wearing Biggins Reviews The Ugly Truth AND The Proposal

Rom coms galore. Ok so I was recently on a seven hour ferry trip to France fortunately it had a inboard cinema so I basically saw every film out at the moment. That is why I paid good money or films I wouldn't normally watch but I have to say It wasn't all that bad.

Lets start with The Ugly Truth, starring Katherine Heigl as the romantically challenged morning show producer and Gerald Butler as the anti commitment type of guy and directed by Robert Luketic. This film was painfully predictable, It followed the same simple pattern as every other romantic comedy I've seen however Gerald Butler's performance completely turned the film around for me. His line delivery was just excellent his line delivery even rivaled Matthew perry (my favorite actor.) Katherine Heigl's performance was also very good but it was somewhat less noticeable because her lines were less comedic although she was fairly funny at times. A lot of the Ugly Truth segments were actually quite smart and made a lot of sense but if your a guy its the only reason to see the film. The film was pretty straightforward although the end seemed to happen to fast and it felt Incomplete but maybe thats just me.

All in all it was a good rom com but I wouldn't watch it again as It wasn't really my kind of film but If your fond of romantic comedy's then you should see It but unless your a chick your not going to be Impressed by It.

The Proposal put a new twist on the classic pattern that most romantic comedies follow. It starred Ryan Reynolds who is an incredible actor as well as Sandra bullock who is a terrific actress, the plot was good as was the script but despite some funny moments I was surprisingly bored by the film. Sandra Bullock's performance was top notch and she had some very funny lines, Reynold's performance was good but he needed better lines the writers should have trusted him with some better lines. The film's plot really wasn't as funny as the trailer made it out to be as all the films best bits were in the trailer. Even though the proposal had a better cast and a better story I preferred the ugly truth because it was simply the better film even though the proposal should of been the better film. There really is no reason to see this unless your stuck on a boat for seven hours because the proposal was extremely predictable, very rarely funny and the supporting cast was boring and to be honest unnecessary.

So in conclusion see the ugly truth and watch the trailer for the proposal.

Superman and Batman issue #62 reviewed

This issue was entitled "Sidekicked" and featured Supergirl and Robin instead of Superman and Batman. The lack of Superman and Batman did not bother me in this comic because it showed so well the comparison of Superman's idealist views and Batman's dark realism.they show this key difference between the two heroes through their sidekicks. In the second panel Supergirl says "this city's is so not Metropolis." Metropolis is the perfect city compared to Gotham's Criminal filled streets. Their differences are even shown in their villains in this comic, you can see that Supergirl is shocked at the twisted-ness of the arkaham inmates. Superman's villains all want something logical world domination, revenge, money etc where as the majority of Batman's villains to quote the dark knight "just want to see the world burn."

These differences are what make Superman and Batman such an interesting team and the same applies to their sidekicks. I really enjoyed this comic despite the fact that I've never really enjoyed the characters of Supergirl and Robin, it was however a rather interesting look into their characters and I have to say I have a new found respect for the sidekicks. It was good to see the sidekicks take out a lot of Batman's rouge gallery.

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince reviewed

It may be the sixth in the series but its the best film yet. This film didn't star Clint Eastwood, there were no funky china men and the children did not speak in unison but it was bloody good fun. what really impressed me about Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince was the films ability to combine a extremely dark presence at times with some of the funniest moments ever written, the only other time I've seen this done successfully was in The Dark Knight.

The film featured brilliant performances (as always) from Daniel Radcliff, Rupert Grint and the rather gorgeous Emma Watson. The film showed how Voldemort rose to be the greatest dark wizard of all time, the plan to destroy Voldermort, Dumbledore's death and the blooming relationships between Harry and Ginny as well as Ron and Hermione. The pure density of this story caused this film to be the longest Harry Potter film yet and while some may moan at the idea of sitting in the cinema for 150 minutes however I was delighted when I heard how long it would be. The reason I was delighted that Harry potter and the Half Blood prince was 150 minutes long because it means they got to keep more of the book's detail in the film which is good. To prove this I give you:

exhibit A: Harry Potter and the goblet of fire, a great book but a terrible film due to its lack of detail.

Exhibit B: Harry Potter and the Order of The Phoenix, a great book but a terrible film due to its lack of detail.

You get my point but due to Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince's extended length it was a rather enjoyable film and I did not spend the entire film wondering why they took such a part out of the film. I did however spend half of the film laughing until it became to hard to breath and the other half admiring the special effects. While the film had its flaws they weren't really that noticeable I was rather annoyed when Luna Lovegood found Harry on the train instead of Tonks but other than that there wasn't anything major missing.

I was rather disappointed with the score as I didn't notice it at all maybe the film was too good or perhaps Miz Watson distracted me but it wasn't noticeable all the time. A good film score needs to enhance the film by adding effect to the picture on screen (it needs to be noticeable and dramatic but not distract from the film) and Nicholas Hopper simply did not deliver this which is a shame because the Harry Potter score is normally quite good not epic (like anything by John Williams) but still makes me enjoy the film more.

But other than the lack of a good score I throughly enjoyed this film and maintain that it was the best Harry Potter film out so far. I can't wait for both parts of Harry Potter and Deathly Hallows which really needs to be the best two Harry Potter films ever made. And know I have to end this blog as I am really getting tired of typing "Harry Potter and the....." but I will leave you with the promise of Jackass the movie 2 being reviewed here soon.

Torchwood: Children of Earth reviewed

We are coming! Torchwood has never been as good as Doctor Who but last week they started a five episode series that did something that Doctor Who never has. Doctor Who is a family friendly TV series and Torchwood is a more down to earth show that shows the grit and horror that Doctor Who can't, for once Torchwood found the perfect story for them (although have way through I couldn't help but wonder where the Doctor was.) The Children of Earth was a dramatic but brilliant five episode storyline, when I started watching I only watched because I had nothing better to watch but by episode three I was hooked, nine o' clock on the dot I was sat in front of the tv with a coke in one hand and popcorn in the other.

I live 45 miles from where the Torchwood hub is supposed to be, I have stood where they found Jacks hand after the explosion but that didn't make it seem any less real. I was completely astounded by how creepy the children speaking simultaneously all over the world were but by the last episode that wasn't the big thing, you weren't thinking about the aliens, you were chocked up about Ianto, you were freaking out about the children being taken away and impressed by the bravery shown by those characters you thought were just there for comic relief. I began to hate the government for what they were doing if they had just let Torchwood/U.N.I.T do their jobs I'm sure they could have fond out what Jack found out.

Admittedly The 456 weren't the biggest or scariest aliens but you know they are a powerful civilization capable of destroying planets but then you find out that they just want the children because they use them as drugs you start to think of them as lowlife gangsters who just need their next fix. The series just got more and more serious until it got to a point where John Frobisher murdered his wife and children and shot himself so that they wouldn't see the bad that was going to happen. The end was sad to say the least with Jack sacrificing his grandson but thankfully the prime minster didn't get away with it thanks to Bridget Spears who completely redeemed herself in my eyes. I even liked Johnson (the female special forces gal) at the end if they bring Torchwood back I think she would make a great addition to the team .

But now the big question will Torchwood be back ? With Ianto dead, Gwen pregnant and Jack of world who knows if it will be back. I hope so and I know how they could do it, if they tie it in with Doctor Who some how they could reunite Torchwood, some new recruits may be needed ( I suggest Johnson and Lois Habiba.) The show was under preforming a lot recently but after the Children of Earth storyline ( to which have the nation tuned in to) who knows maybe the BBC will bring it back. If you missed it you can still watch it on iplayer, trust me it will be five hours well sent.

The Forbidden Kingdom reviewed

There were funky china men from funky China town! The Forbidden Kingdom was one of the best films I've seen recently, it combines non-stop action, comedy and a star studded cast. The film starred martial arts legends Jackie Chan and Jet Li as well as lesser known actors Michael Argarano and the rather gorgeous Yifei Liu, Chan and Li alone make this film worth watching. David Buckley also did a tremendous job with the music, he masterfully creates an iconic and exciting piece of music but also adds a hint of traditional Chinese melody's with great effect.

The film starts when Jason (Michael Argarano) finds the legendary Monkey king staff in the back of a Chinese pawn shop, the staff sends him back through time to ancient China. He then meets Lu Yan (Jackie Chan) who saves him and takes him as his student in martial arts, they are later helped by Sparrow (Yifei Liu) who also joins them on their quest to deliver the staff back to the Monkey King (Jet-Li) during their quest they meet the Silent Monk (Jet-Li) who also joins them in their attempt to deliver the staff and free the stone encased monkey king but the jade warlord stands in their way. This leads to some kung fu fighting, those cats were fast as lighting, In fact it was a little bit frightening but they fought with expert timing.

All in all this was a superb, action packed, kung-fu filled thrill ride with an amazing cast and a terrific story. It is impossible to watch this film without daydreaming about being in ancient China or at least daydream about Yifei Liu. I'll end this post with a quotation from the film He who speaks, does not Know; He who Knows, does not speak.