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Showing posts from October, 2016

Jack Reacher: Never Go Back: Average Guy Movie Review

Lee Child's drifter ex-military cop is back in cinemas with Jack Reacher: Never Go Back. Based on the 18th book in the series, Reacher returns to the HQ of his old Army unit - the 110th MP - to meet Major Susan Turner (Cobie Smulders), the soldier who has his old job. But when Reacher arrives, someone starts following him, Turner is under arrest for espionage, two of her soldiers are dead...and Reacher finds out he might be a Dad.  After Jack Reacher got mixed reviews back in 2012, it was uncertain as to whether there would be a sequel. But worldwide box office takings of $218 million almost guaranteed it. Edward Zwick takes over writing and directing duties from Christopher McQuarrie in his first collaboration with Cruise since The Last Samurai. Not to belittle what McQuarrie did, but I think Never Go Back is actually better than the first movie. Where the plot of the original can feel a bit clunky, Never Go Back seems to flow. If I had to guess, I'd say it'

The Girl on the Train: Average Guy Movie Review

Paula Hawkins book The Girl on the Train has hit the silver screen with Emily Blunt in the starring role. Blunt plays Rachel, an alcoholic who gets the train into New York every day, which takes her past her old house. Not only does Rachel's ex-husband Tom (Justin Theroux) still live in the house with his new wife Anna (Rebecca Ferguson), but Rachel has developed an obsession with the seemingly perfect couple - Megan (Haley Bennett) and Scott (Luke Evans) - that live two doors down. When Megan goes missing, Rachel manages to get herself caught up in the investigation. I've heard a lot of people comparing this movie to Gone Girl, don't do that. The Girl on the Train isn't Gone Girl but it  is a very intelligent mystery thriller in its own right. It's the story of three damaged women - Rachel, Megan and Anna - and their intertwining lives. Performances all round are very good, Blunt's portrayal of alcoholism is very believable on all levels ranging from

The Magnificent Seven: Average Guy Movie Review

Antoine Fuqua is attempting to make the western popular again with his re-imagining of The Magnificent Seven. I say re-imagining because it's not a direct remake per say, with new characters and a new story built on the original premise, Fuqua has actually tried to bring something new to the screen. Denzel Washington stars as Sam Chisolm, a Warrant Officer hired by Emma Cullen (Haley Bennett) to assemble a group of hired guns to protect the town of Rose Creek. This time around, the seven are up against Bartholomew Bogue (Peter Sarsgaard), an industrialist who terrorises the people of Rose Creek in order to steal their land and mine the area for gold. Now new is good, but in this day and age you've got to pull out all the stops to impress your audience.  So far reaction to The Magnificent Seven has been mixed. According to critics the cast have delivered enjoyable performances but it's felt the story brings nothing new to the genre. I've even heard the movie d

How do Cineworld Unlimited Cards affect Box Office Takings for Individual Movies?

I have been a Cineworld Unlimited member for longer than I can remember and I'm not going to deny it, I love it! The ability to go to the cinema whenever I want without having to pay for a ticket thanks to one monthly subscription, and with todays ticket prices it's great value for money. As you might have guessed, I write a movie blog, imagine how expensive that hobby would be without an Unlimited Card.  But I started to wonder how the monthly subscription I pay affected box office takings for individual movies so I sent them an email. The response I got was not helpful: Now I understand that in a competitive market you have to protect important information but given the success of Unlimited I was expecting a little sharing on Cineworld's part. Odeon have obviously noticed the success of Unlimited because they now offer a similar service in the form of Limitless, which starting at £17.99 a month is still more expensive than Unlimited. As annoying as Cineworld&

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Official Trailer 2

The final trailer for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story has landed (watch it below), and what an epic trailer it is! Last year Episode 7 made for a very Merry Christmas indeed and it looks like Disney will deliver the same with Rogue One this year. I'm not going to go on and on, I want you to watch the trailer. But Star Wars looks to be returning to the glory of its heyday, and what a story to do it with. After almost 40 years we will finally see how Princess Lea got hold of the Death Star plans. Clearly a lot of hard work and dedication have been put in to this project and I look forward to seeing the final result. If Rogue One is a success, will we get to see (and I'm paraphrasing here) many Bothans die to bring us the plans for Death Star 2? A little morbid I know but what the hell. Until then enjoy Rogue One's Trailer 2 and get excited for its release in December. Let us know what you think of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story by leaving a comment below or find us on