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21 (2008)

Kevin Spacey stars in this mathematical drama centred around the card-counting concept. Several students are enlisted by a teacher to engage in a card-counting scam, and in Las Vegas of all places!! It's a decent enough plotline, not too heavy on the twists and turns and a better film for it. The finale, however, brings a fairly predictable twist but one that is enjoyable nonetheless: obviously the good guys win.

Kevin Spacey is as good as he always is and the younger members of the cast all do a decent job at their respective parts. Noone really shines, however, and this unfortunately includes Laurence Fishburne, playing the 'bad guy' (who also ends up sort of as a good guy of sorts). No really bad performances, to be fair, but nothing really amazing.

Star Of The Film: Kate Bosworth - best of the youngsters.
Best Bit: The Revenge Of The Geek ending

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0478087/

Episode 7: Semi-Pro

Baz and Gaz review Semi-Pro, starring Will Ferrell, and another of the fantastic Pound Shop Picks (Killjoy) with special guest John the Hobo!

The boys talk about their Christmas, New Year and standing on a roundabout.

B + G x

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Direct Download: http://m.podshow.com/media/19770/episodes/138226/areviewtoakill-138226-01-03-2009.mp3

The Mummy: Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor (2008)

Third in the series of the Mummy films sees Brendan Fraser returning without the delectable Rachel Weiss, although not without evie, irritatingly. Unsurprisingly this film is utter guff. Bugger all plotline, crappy stunt sequences and no decent acting to take your mind off the fact that Brendan Fraser really can't act for toffees. The only saving grace of this film is the inclusion of John Hannah, who is almost as funny as he was in the first two films. Jet Li also sucks donkey balls in this one, but then he usually does.

Star of The Film: John Hannah
Best Bit: Knowing I never have to watch this drivel again.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0859163/

Easy Rider (1969)

Bit of an unusual one, this. Directed, written by and starring Dennis Hopper, it wasn't a huge hit at the time, but has become a cult phenomenon for it's own worth.

It's a little difficult to watch in places as there isn't really any overt plotline other than a road trip for two friends transporting drugs from a to b. To be honest I think that, although this is a decent film with a strong cast (Peter Fonda and Jack Nicholson anyone?), the success of the film is down to it's quite horrific climax which sees both major characters blown off their bikes by a shotgun wielding hillbilly.

Ultimately I'm of the opinion that this is a good film but not a great one and is more about the shock value and bleakness of the ending than about being a great film in it's own right.

Star Of The Film: Peter Fonda
Best Bit: The Shotgun Climax

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064276/

King Kong (2005)

Peter Jackson delivers another epic with this remake of the classic monster hit. This one had humongous potential to be a massive turkey, as with most monster movies, but Jackson puts together a visually stunning, grandiose vision of King Kong, framing a fairly empty concept with a strength of storytelling that belies the basic idea.

Naomi Watts shines as the heroine, acting out a frank and genuinely believable connection with the beast. Adrien Brody also puts in a solid performance, successfully bridging the transition from bookworm to hero over the course of the film. Special mention, also, for Jack Black (playing Carl Denham, the entrepreneur who brings Kong to New York) who proves with this effort that he's much more than the big man with the toilet humour. Star of the film undoubtedly goes to King Kong himself, however. Rendered beautifully in the digital format, the level of detail in Kong's personality and mannerisms lend such a heightened sense of personification as to make it possible for the viewer to feel a connection.

Star Of The Film: King Kong
Best Bit: On Top of the skyscraper, obviously.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0360717/

Fargo (1996)

Another great darkly comedic thriller from the Coen Brothers, Fargo is almost an oddity in that the story is actually pretty sparse. The 'catch the killer' plotline could easily be played out in a half hour episode of Law And Order, but this is not where the film shines.

The whole film is based around a bodged staged kidnapping which sees Steve Buscemi and his psychotic cohort (Peter Stormare) lose their heads and start killing. Meanwhile Frances McDormand (the excellently played Margie) tracks down the erstwhile killers as the pregnant cop. What makes the film work so well is the odd polarity between the intense niceness of the police, public and indeed the man who initiated the staging (William H Macy), and the two villains of the film. Not to mention the odd couple set up of the villains with Steve Buscemi being level headed and interested in only the money, and his counterpart who is intent on killing everyone in sight.

Special mention should also be made for the musical score. Despite being incredibly sparse, the few bars of music that are repeated throughout hold sway over the tone of the entire film and in particular the climax of the film.

Star Of The Film: Frances McDormand
Best Bit: Steve Buscemi getting fed into a wood chipper

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116282/fullcredits#cast

The Happening (2008)

Being a fan of M. Night Shyamalan, it comes as no surprise that I enjoyed this one a lot. I always find his story telling a fascinating prospect, never content to stick to the tried and tested formulauc mumbo jumbo churned out by hollywood, Shyamalan continues to press the audience into thinking about what they are watching.

This isn't Shyamalan's best work to date but it is an enjoyable film with a highly original concept driving the story to a non-twist-ending, which is unusual for Shyamalan. The acting from the three main characters is of a high standard, with Zooey Deschanel standing out as a very unsettled and confused love interest for Mark Wahlberg's geeky teacher (something which he pulls off to a decent enough standard). Special Kudos go to the acting of the smaller parts, with excellently eerie turns by several bit-part actors, albeit performing essentially the same thing.

Star Of The Film: A toss up between Zooey Deschanel and the bit-part actors.
Best Bit: The seriously sinister music.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0949731/