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The Gambler: Average Guy Movie Review

"The only way out is all in." Once you start watching The Gambler you feel compelled to see how it ends. Will he pay what he owes? Will he lose it all? Is this the story of a man's end or his salvation? Now you may be wondering why I'm suggesting you watch a film about a degenerate gambler (Mark Wahlberg) digging himself a hole that he may or may not be able to get out of. But it's more about a man who feels life is empty and meaningless, looking for a reason to live. Now I never said this was a movie without cliche! The reason he finds is a woman; Brie Larson plays a student in Wahlberg's English class. The class is a source of his misery, it's full of talentless students who don't want to be there including two promising sportsmen who he's basically being forced to pass by the University. Brie Larson's character shows real talent and at first Wahlberg tries to keep his distance but when she shows interest in him he  finds it harder t

Is the DC Extended Universe in trouble? Probably not!

2016 is a big year for DC and Warner Brothers, it's the year where they begin to roll out what's being called the "DC Extended Universe", DC's answer to the Marvel Cinematic Universe or MCU. But is there a problem with Batman v Superman? It's been three years since Man of Steel hit cinemas, compared to Marvel who get movies out every year and plan to every year up to 2019 this is slow. Granted where Marvel made several origin stories first and then brought the Avengers together DC are using   Batman v Superman to unite the Justice League and open up the DCEU. Now, everything I've seen so far suggests that Batman v Superman is going to be a great movie, hopefully the first of many. However, since its announcement there have been a few issues. First there was the negative reaction to Ben Affleck being cast as Batman, something I covered in a previous post. The second trailer didn't go down well with fans either, many believed it gave away too muc

Daredevil Returns

In a year where we get to see Batman v Superman and Captain America v Iron Man, Netflix is also giving us Daredevil v The Punisher. This week saw the release of the first proper trailer for Daredevil Season 2 which will be available on Netflix from 18th March. Daredevil it seems is still fighting to save Hell's Kitchen and its residents from the criminals that emerged in the wake of the Battle of New York. Only there's a new player in the game, Frank Castle A.K.A. The Punisher (Jon Bernthal). The problem is they don't exactly see eye to eye, The Punisher sees Daredevil as weak because he doesn't kill the criminals he hunts. Frank Castle, a military veteran, is the victim of a brutal crime; his family has been murdered and he wants to 'punish' those responsible. It appears in the trailer that Castle is leaving a trail of destruction across the city in an effort to accomplish his mission. This obviously draws the attention of well...everybody. From law enfo

The Death of an Avenger

One of the many rumours surrounding Captain America: Civil War is that an Avenger will die. Obviously the major question is who? But I have two follow up questions; why and why now? You could argue that given all the battles that the Avengers have fought, it's unrealistic for the team to not suffer casualties, especially when you consider that some members are mere mortals. But before now Marvel have gone out of their way to make death irrelevant. Both Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes survive their icy ends in The First Avenger, granted they were subjects of similar experimentation to make them superhuman. Phil Coulson was killed by Loki in The Avengers and resurrected for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Iron Man survived his trip through the portal created by the Tesseract despite his suit losing power and his fall back to Earth (thanks to the Hulk). Loki faked his death in Thor: The Dark World, the predictability of which was demonstrated by the HISHE team in How Thor: The Dark World

The Bourne Reappearance

In a year full of superhero movies: Deadpool Batman v Superman Captain America: Civil War X-MEN: Apocalypse Suicide Squad it's nice to see the return of a super human of a more normal kind. This summer Jason Bourne returns to the big screen in (oddly enough) Jason Bourne. The plot is currently unknown. Our first glimpse comes in the form of a 31 second superbowl spot. However, with a 28th July release date I don't think it'll be long before we see another longer trailer. In terms of plot we know very little. Bourne is still on the move, living in the shadows. In the trailer he says "I remember everything" to which Nicky (Julia Stiles) replies "remembering everything doesn't mean you know everything". But it appears he's still on the run, apparently surviving by competing in underground bare knuckle boxing. When a surveillance photo of him appears on a screen in a government control centre one of the agents (Ato Essandoh) says "t

The Walk: Average Guy Movie Review

Think of the most insane thing you’ve ever done. Now multiply it by 1000, fire it out of a cannon, load it on to a space ship and send it to Mars. You still haven’t come close to walking a high wire between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre! Robert Zemeckis brings to life the story of Philippe Petit and his journey to become the only man to ever walk the gap between the Twin Towers, quarter of a mile up. The journey begins in France, revealing how Petit became interested in the high wire and his days as a street performer. The movie feels like a heist movie, Petit assembles his team of "accomplices" and develops his skills to pull off his "artistic coup", all to a jazz soundtrack similar to heist movies of old. Anyone who is aware of history knows Petit achieved his goal, but watching the movie, you can’t help wondering if he’ll succeed. The film was made using as many practical effects as possible. If George Lucas had taken a leaf ou

Ghostbusters Reloaded

This week Movie Web released cast photos of the new Ghostbusters movie. Images courtesy of Google Images Please leave classic movies alone!!! Now I'm not saying the movie won't be any good. Paul Feig's last couple of films; Spy and the Heat are quite good and successful. But if he can come up with successful, original material, why remake a classic? Granted, if Feig doesn't Sony will get someone else and not necessarily someone as good. Remakes are real money makers. Even with a new script you haven't had to develop and idea and you already have an established fan base who will go and see it. So the movie will generate a new fan base as well as drawing in fans of the original. The new fans will probably also want to see the originals which means more sales and rentals on top of the new films profits. Just because a movie makes money, doesn't make it a good movie! That being said, Feig is sticking to his usual formula: Melissa McCarthy a