REVIEW: Blackhat (15)

Director Michael Mann returns to direct Thor's Chris Hemsworth and cast in this gritty, if confusing, spy techno-thriller - Blackhat. Hemsworth plays hacker Hathaway, released from prison on the promise that he will use his set of skills to track down a hacker who has been gaining financially from the stock markets. Of course, as Hathaway and co look deeper into the mystery there is a bigger plan at work. 

I found the movie itself very distracting as there was a lot of wobbly camera work and extreme close ups of the characters. Some of the editing was confusing too - one minute they are in America the next they are flying to Hong Kong for some reason. The reason is revealed once they are there and it all makes sense. Hathaway is released from prison on the pretence that he helps the authorities track down this other hacker genius and is on tag - a very lenient tag that enables him to traipse around the world. I'm sure, if that was in England, he wouldn't get much past his front door.  Most of the movie is focussed around Hathaway and his friend from college Chen Dawai (who happens to be both a computer whizz and an agent for the authorities) and the sister of his friend who is a rather stubborn but very beautiful Chinese lady called Chen Lien.
The tension between Hathaway and Lien is so obvious from the offset that it's no surprise when they end up getting together. One of the most random moments in the movie is where her brother opens the door and finds them in bed together and says that they need to get a move on as the bad guy is making his move. As Hathaway and  Lien pull their clothes back on, in the next scene, when they are in a helicopter, Hathaway and Dawai talk as if the previous scene had never happened and is asking if they are together. The dude just saw them in bed together! Why did he have to ask?!
Still, the movie is a decent enough attempt at the espionage, hacker techno thriller, but it could have been so much better. I have a lot of respect for Chris Hemsworth but although his acting wasn't bad I still see him as Thor, as a super hero, as a rough and tumble sort. In this he plays a hacker and his physique, looks and general demeanour don't lend to well to this role and it's asking a lot to believe that's who he is. There is only one scene where he is involved in hand to hand combat and handles himself really well - and that seems to fit him. The rest of the movie he is running from place to place avoiding gunfire and relying on other people to do the fighting. Although it makes it more realistic I guess, I think making this movie with him as some sort action hero might have made it a lot more exciting. Still, that's not the movie it's supposed to be.

Although this is about as far away from the Avengers as you can possibly get it still made me chuckle when at some point in the movie one of the characters mentioned that they should "hammer down" - I'm not sure if that was supposed to be an in-joke or not. And secondly, more brazenly, Hathaway hacks a program called Black Widow. I'll leave it at that.

Overall, it's a fairly bog standard thriller with nothing amazingly good about it, but nothing amazingly bad about it either. It's decent enough to pass the time if you fancy something a little different. Massive kudos to Chris Hemsworth though for trying something different - when his time as Thor is up he will need to do other stuff and it's good to try other projects.
Blackhat is rated 15 and is showing at all good cinemas now.

POPSCORE: 6/10

SECOND OPINION:

Chris came to see it with me and he says:

Blackhat is a somewhat taut thriller which does tend to loosen up in places, however there are just enough twists and explosions to keep seasoned filmgoers interested.  An excellent first-date type movie, it was directed by Michael Mann (director of the 1st ever Hannibal Lecter movie Manhunter) and some excellent scoring by Harry Gregson Williams.

Verdict?  6-7 out of 10.  Stylish and appealing, some room for improvement regarding plot and suspense but Hemsworth does a good job in taking himself away from his Thor typecast showing he can act and pull off the looks that certain scenes require. - POPSCORE: 6-7/10

What am I talking about?  Blackhat the movie
Where can I find out more?  http://www.blackhatmovie.co.uk/
If you liked this try: Hackers (the one with Angelina Jolie from the 1990's), Swordfish, The Net

REVIEW: Project Almanac (12A)

You know I had never hear of an almanac before Back To The Future; and with the exception of a few visits to a newsagents every so often, it's not a word, or a tome, that I'm familair with. Still, the movie has been named after such a wordy piece of literature. The film is shot in the love-it-or-loathe-it style of being recorded on a video camera by one of the characters at a time. The film is a cautionary time travel tale based around some young science boffins who find blue prints for a time machine device. Naturally they go back in time to do great things - if you think great things are winning the lottery by getting the numbers before they come out, going to sold out music festivals and to woo the girl of your dreams. It's all going swimmingly until they find that even the most smallest change can make a big ripple in the time continuum.
The Michael Bay produced, MTV film, is a product of contemporary film making - doing the whole amateur video camera thing (aka found footage) is getting a bit old now, but it seems to work for this film, even if some of the camera work is frustrating. A lot of the time the characters hold the camera in stupid positions so sometimes it really awkward to see what's going on and have to rely on the speech of the characters to help out.
It a thought provoking story and the acting isn't too bad - it's a typically trendy movie - even though these guys are nerds, they are still like extras from a boy band and all the girls are perfectly made up and pretty - even though one of them is supposed to be bullied at school and plain. Still, the story more than makes up for this and does bring up some salient questions - what would you do with a time machine?
There's a lot of movies that do this wobbly camcorder recording (I'm looking at you Chronicle and Cloverfield and Paranormal Activity: Marked Ones). However a lot of the time it's annoying and falls flat - Chronicle had so much potential but it lost the ball many times - and Marked Ones was just as bad. In a way, this has this legacy, but I thought this movie was good enough to be watchable and to be honest I enjoyed it. I'm not sure if it would have worked in a traditional sense, and I guess this is to time travel movies what Cloverfield is for monster movies, or what Chronicle is to superhero movies.
Overall a good attempt at an original time travel movie, immediatley watchable, but also makes you think.
Project Almanac is out this Friday, 20th February 2015 at all good cinemas.

POPSCORE: 7/10

What is it? Michael Bay produced movie, Project Alamanac
Where do I find out more? http://www.projectalmanac.com/
If you liked this try - Chronicle, Cloverfield, Paranormal Activity: Marked Ones, Super 8

REVIEW:Jupiter Ascending (12A)

So, I've aired my views on more than one occasion that this movie has been advertised and delayed for so long. So what gives? Is it Star Wars or Star Bores? Let's find out shall we?

The Washowski's directed the much acclaimed The Matrix - a mind-bending sci fi masterpiece that required you to watch it about 5 times to get the undercurrents and story down on pat. The first viewing blew you away with ground breaking special effects (that have oft been imitated since), cyber-goth attire and of course, the sliding Nokia phones.

They were really cool back in the day, honest.

Jupiter Ascending (I keep wanting to call it Jupiter Rises for some reason), is based around the main character Jupiter Jones (Mila Kunis).  Jupiter Jones, who sounds like an alterego for a superhero, is more of a Cinerella type character who cleans toilets and does menial housework chores as a job. She also apparently hates her life as a caretaker. One day she helps an acquaintance (I actually believe it is someone she works for) to choose a dress for her date with some hot shot millionaire and goes to the walk in cupboard to select one for her. As she does so some aliens (best described as little green men) attack her and try to kill her. Jupiter hides and takes photos on her Apple iPhone (tm). Meanwhile she has her eye on a telescope on eBay (tm) and would really like it but it is $3,999. So she pops off, on the advice of her rather crazy cousin, to donate her eggs to a place that pays for them so she can get a telescope and her cousin something that is, no less, an Xbox One (tm). She attends under the guise of the lady she was choosing the dress for. Attending the aforementioned clinic she "captured" by the doctors who turn out to be aliens. As she's about to be brutally murdered by them, some alien dude by the name of Caine Wise (Channing Tatum) comes whisking in guns ablazing and saves her. Previous to this all Jupiter knew was copious amounts of product placement in her world and that her world is pretty much the same as ours. Then, 30 or so minutes later,  she finds out (as do we) that everyone thinks she is a reincarnated Queen of the universe and owns Earth. Humans are not alone and there are other species out there - which all look like they have raided Lady Gaga's wardrobe.  Naturally cue some massive space battles, dizzyingly large set pieces and lots of aliens that like shooting each other and a welcome appearance by Sean Bean as soldier Stinger who has an unhealthy obsession with bees.

Will the queen take her rightful place in the universe or will the bad guys win?
The film itself - from a special effects standpoint - is awesome. The set pieces, the spacecraft and creativity of the world is immense. I saw this movie in 2d and wished I'd have seen it in 3d. The whole feel is very reminiscent of other movies and so too is the story and characters. And I think this is where it lets itself down. The world is rich and diverse and it could be so developed into a franchise. However there's a lot of issues it would need to resolve before it became the next Star Wars.
Jupiter herself is quite a feisty character and I'm really embarrassed to say this but Mila Kunis is so pretty that she is quite enchanting on the screen. But that's about as far as it goes for her character. Jupiter herself seemed a very weak character in comparison to others - they could have done so much more than making her the damsel in distress. The two most violent things she did was throw (and smash) an intergalactic version of an iPad (tm) on the floor and kick some bloke in the crotch. Other than that she spends the rest of the runtime of the movie talking, walking and running away from stuff. I felt she could have been used more than just something for Caine to save every five minutes. In this way it felt like it would if they made a Dr Who movie that was focussed on the companion and the Doctor appears every now and then to save them.
Channing Tatum is the serious bad-ass character for the girls to swoon over but makes it clear that he is a hyprid of wolf and human. Jupiter falls for him; so here we have a girl swooning over a wolf man - where have we heard that before? There's also another pale alien prince who wants to marry her - and these aliens keep young by using essence of humans that they harvest on Earth. Jupiter makes a reference to them being vampires and they reply that they are kind of in a way. Hello, Twilight!  There is also a Flash Gordon (remember that movie?) style wedding that almost occurs as well! I've already mentioned her being a toilet cleaner and caretaker who happens to be an heir to royalty - Hello, Cinderella!
Eddie Redmaye's turn as the psychopathic bad guy is right out of Voldemort's guide to acting - I was expecting him to go on about the boy who lived and how much he hated Dumbledore!
Some of the music and places they visited looked right out of Star Wars, even to the point that my brother leaned over to me and said, "Are they visiting Coruscant?"
Some of the actions sequences were breathtakingly fast and spectacular - I am really not sure if it was because I was in the first row of the cinema or that these action sequences were really fast and blurry - similar to Transformers when things were all happening with completely loose camera shots. It was dizzying and spectacular but I didn't know what was happening and only got my head back when everything stopped and the characters took a break for some much needed dialogue.  
The movie itself though is not that bad - I had a few grumbles outlined above, but generally it's quite watchable. I think the lack of originality in the story is apparent, but the world in which it is carried out is fascinating, but it just doesn't go any further than the main characters.  There is so much scope for a franchise on this, but I think the Washowski's slightly missed the mark. Even so, I have to say I did quite like it and it was no where near as bad as I feared.
If you like Sci Fi you will like this - but it's nothing you haven't seen before, and I think that's where it is a let down. It's the starter of the meal before you get to the signature dish that is Star Wars in December. We need some good space sci fi movies and this will do for now until the much anticipated Star Wars will come and show them how it's done. I think the 3d version would come across much better than the 2d version I saw. Still, it's worth checking out if you want to see a special effects extravaganza in space.
Jupiter Ascending is out at all good cinemas now.

 

POPSCORE: 7/10

 

SECOND OPINION: Mark came to see this with me and didn't think the same as me; but he thought the story was very weak too - POPSCORE: 6/10

ANOTHER OPINION: Clare came to see this with me and gave it a respectable - POPSCORE: 7/10
 

What am I talking about? Jupiter Ascending movie
Where do I find out more? www.jupiterascending.com
If you liked this, try - The Matrix movies, Titan AE, Guardians Of The Galaxy, Star Wars movies, Serenity

REVIEW: A Walk Among The Tombstones (15)

Liam Neeson returns to the silver screen in his latest action movie role since the airplane based thriller Non-Stop. Liam plays the role of a disillusioned cop called Matt Scudder.  The movie opens in 1991 when he is a heavy drinker – ordering two shots of whiskey to go with a cup of coffee. However, they are not the only two shots he would get on this day. A trio of ragamuffins enter the cafe and start firing and Scudder is in pursuit through the crowded streets of New York and takes out two of them without remorse. He follows another down some steps and shoots him in the leg and, as the credits roll through a fancy camera angle, the film sets us up quite nicely for another action based thriller that we come to know and love from Mr Neeson. Fast forward to the turn of the century in 1999 – where the fear of the y2k “millennium bug” is looming over the world, and to “google” something you would have to sift through a load of microfiches, he is now a private investigator of sorts.  We discover Scudder is no longer a police officer but more of a guy who does favours for favours. As much as this sounds a bit sinister, it generally means he’s a guy for hire if you are in trouble.

Kenny Kristo (Downton Abbey star Dan Stevens) is a drug dealer and has had his wife killed by some unsavoury characters and sends his brother to track down Scudder to see if he can bring them to justice. Initially Scudder refuses, but changes his mind and the movie’s story begins to unravel. Teaming up with a young teen that has all the street talk and computer knowledge, Scudder goes to track down those responsible with a combination of detective work and gun slinging to bring those responsible to justice.

The movie is well made with some good acting and Dan Stevens, who has been an action hero himself in 2014’s The Guest, plays a good role in the movie. TJ, the teenage sidekick played by Brian “Astro” Bradley, is there to add some street cred and become Scudder’s sidekick. I felt like this character was purely added for a few scenes where he is needed to do the modern to Scudder’s old school, but really could have been left out of the film altogether. The villains of the piece, who are so sinister and evil add an underlying menace to the story as you are never quite sure what they will do or are capable of. I was expecting a Taken style shootfest, but the film is more thoughtful than that, piecing together the mystery as Scudder finds out more and more about these evil serial killers.

The movie is a strong thriller and I liked it – but for those expecting a Taken style blast along will be disappointed. Based on the book of the same name, this film is a thoughtful thriller which has enough to keep you watching to the end. It’s a good movie, but not one of the best.

A Walk Among The Tombstones is out now on DVD and Blu Ray from all good retailers. 

 

POPSCORE:          7/10

 

What is it? A Walk Among The Tombstones movie

Where can I find out more? http://www.universalstudiosentertainment.com/a-walk-among-the-tombstones/

If you liked this try - Taken, Non-Stop, The Equalizer (2014)

 

Anything else?

This film is based on the Matt Scudder book series by Lawrence Block

BYTE: 17th February 2015 aka Pancake Day

Hi guys

 

I feel like I haven't posted in a while so I thought I would drop a little update on things.

I'm working on a vLog episode of Paul & The Popcorn starting when I get my Loot Crate and Nerd Block.

 

I've been chatting to some of you on Twitter which has been great and please keep that up - it's awesome that people are taking notice of my blog and tweets - and I hope that it's both thought provoking and entertaining for you.

 

I've also been actively peeking at Kickstarter too - and I've been supporting some start ups. I'm currently backing a few requests - and will probably do more. As a person who loves technology, gadgets, comics, movies and all that sort of stuff, these things could potentially be the next big thing - or be the catalyst to something new on the ground that could change things forever. I'll do a separate post on my Kickstarter dabbling, but right now, I'm very pleased that I was part of the funding to help Shadowrun: Hong Kong to reach, and exceed, its requested funding amount. In fact, they have released a 2nd wind backing - so if you missed out and would like to get your hands on the game and loads of other goodies go straight to the Second Chance Backer Campaign but be quick - it's only open until 13th March 2015.

 

Other things on my list are Brian & Lindsay Will Totally Eat That webseries, Token webseries, funding of girl band LIPS's EP and an augmented reality book called Goodnight Lad. That last one looks fantastic and I'm hoping it will be funded successfully. As I have a vested interest in it, if it does become successful, I will most certainly give you all a look of it - and of course a review (as I will of Shadowrun too). If you want to invest or have a peek at those projects - click on the blue links that have appeared over their names. Or you can visit www.kickstarter.com for a browse of those projects and others that might take your fancy. If you see one I might like let me know!

 

My logo is done and dusted too - and is now proudly displayed on my twitter  - @paulandpopcorn if you would like to see it - I would love to know what you think.

 

Finally I'll be going to the cinema to see a few movies soon so there will be a few more movie reviews posted on the site too. Starting with a review of the most controversial movie of recent times The Interview as soon as I get time to write it. Tomorrow I'm hopefully going to get to see Jupiter Ascending  - the sci-fi special effects fest from the creators of the Matrix. It has been advertised for over a year and was delayed in release which is never a good sign - but at least they didn't change the title like they did with horror movie franchise Wrong Turn back in the day (for those who didn't know it was originally trailered as 'Road Kill'). Still, it looks like a pretty decent sci-fi movie - but the proof is in the viewing. Come back soon and I'll tell you exactly what I think of it. As always - your opinions count too - what do you think?

 

So there's lots of exciting things coming up - and I'm gonna be visiting some Comic Cons in March too - including the annual Sci Fi Weekender in Hafan y Mor, North Wales.

 

Until next time

 

Paul

 

If you are interested in the Loot Crate, get a discount of $3 by clicking through my link and using the code SAVE3. Or if that doesn't do it for you get an exclusive gift by typing in JOINTHEEMPIRE or NOGOODTOMEDEAD for a Star Wars gift free with your first crate (new subscriptions or reactivated subscriptions only) -

 

Get my LOOT CRATE here

 

 

BYTE: Valentine's Day

Hi guys

I thought I'd just update you with a quick BYTE to wish you all Happy Valentine's Day whether you are single, taken or whatever relationship status you find yourself in. Valentine's Day is all about celebrating love and loved ones and often we cover this theme in movies, comics and games too.

Who are your favourite sci-fi, fantasy and superhero couples?

I was really excited when X-Men's  Rogue and Gambit got together - but sad that she couldn't touch him.  I always thought Riker and Troi were a good couple in Star Trek: The Next Generation too.
And always felt sorry for Sam Beckett as he never got to have a relationship while he was Quantum Leaping about.

Anyway, whether you are a Doctor with a companion, a Starfleet Officer having a relationship with a work colleague or a super powered mutant dating another - I hope your Valentine's Day is exciting and awesome!

Until next time

Paul

REVIEW: Big Hero 6 (PG)

Disney has been very hitty or missy this past decade. People always harp back to The Lion King or The Little Mermaid when musical songs and adventure went hand in hand. It wasn't until Frozen that people 'let it go' (oh dear, sorry I couldn't resist) and the House of Mouse was back on top again. Although the previous films weren't too bad before that movie, Frozen elevated them to the top of their game again. So, with that under their belts and the best song since the tribal chanting at the start of The Lion King, how the heck can they follow this up? And, more importantly, is it any good?

 

Well, my friends, I can tell you - yes they did follow it up and yes it's good, damned good.

 

Another Disney Princess movie was not on the cards here - I don't think Frozen has ran it's course just yet, and, with Cinderella (and the rumoured Frozen short before it) on the horizon, there was no room for that here. Similarly with musical numbers - let's face it, Let It Go is a song that comes along once in a decade to blow you away. Like it or loathe it, it's a classic now and really catchy.

 

Instead Disney have plumped straight into the action/adventure movie with superheroes and went that way instead - and it's paid off. It's basically a watered down Avengers Assemble with a bunch of geeky kids saving the world with an inflatable robot. Think of the missing link between Enid Blyton's  The Famous Five and The Secret Seven but with technology. There, you've got it!

 

Hiro is the erm, hero, of the film and is a young boy (stated as 13 year old a couple of times in the movie) who is going a bit off the rails in the aptly named San Frantokyo. He has build a cute little robot which looks like a metallic teddy bear specifically to take down robots in a Robofight - an underground movement a bit like Robot Wars but with betting. However it's cute face turns around and turns into a red angry face when it attacks the other robots and zips around like Yoda in Attack of the Clones, and, like Yoda, beats the opposition easily.  

 

Tadashi, his older brother, sees potential in him and tries to get him to do something useful with his life rather than spend it gambling and fighting robots. He takes him to a robotics lab where he is studying and tried to convince Hiro that he could get in this much coveted university and also meets Tadashi's uni mates who have crazy names - GoGo, Wasabi, Honey Lemon, and Fred. At least they are easier to pronounce than Lord of the Rings characters though! They also cover just about every different facet of equality and diversity too - you have the well built black guy, the ginger geek, the moody black haired goth girl with the purple streaks and the rich boy jock who is easily amused and comes across as the least intelligent in the group. Hiro is the Wesley Crusher of the group as he is the genius robotics master - even though he is 13.  Tadashi is the creator of Baymax, a large rotund inflatable robot build for the purpose of being a surrogate nurse/doctor to help people with medical issues and problems.

 

Tadashi eventually convinces Hiro to go for an audition to join the robotics lab and comes up with some nanobots which can combine to build bridges and do cool stuff - if you have a headpiece to control them with your mind. Lots of people find this interesting and some guy with a big nose and a suit comes over to try and buy it off him but Hiro says no.

 

Not long after there is a fire at university and Tadashi enters the burning building to save one of the teachers, and explosion occurs and kills Tadashi, leaving Baymax in the care of Hiro and him without a brother. Hiro befriends Baymax and as a kind of sentient being, Baymax becomes a great companion for Hiro. One night he finds the one nanobot he had in his pocket is jiggling around and asks Baymax to find where it wants to go - and leads them to an ominous warehouse. After some brief comic relief they are attacked by a masked man using the power of the nanobots to terrorise them and to get what he wants. Hiro goes back to the robotics lab team and convinces them to suit up - and designs weapons and equipment to help them fight this masked man. He even upgrades Baymax from a cute inflatable creature to what I could best describe as an overweight Iron Man. Imagine the Stay Puft Marshmallow man in an Iron Man suit and you are pretty much there.

 

The film is great, no doubt about that. There's plenty of action, the soundtrack is fab and you can feel the influence of Marvel on it. It's an exciting adventure of epic proportions and all the characters are likeable, especially Baymax who, although has no real facial expression still somehow manages to make you feel. There's sad moments, happy moments and some great one liners too. I would wholeheartedly recommend this film and its great for kids too.

 

And, it's based on a Marvel comic - so you know what happens at the end of Marvel movies don't you? It might be worth staying until the end of the credits.

 

POPSCORE:               9/10

 

What is it? Big Hero 6 is out now at all good cinemas

Where can I find out more? http://www.disney.co.uk/big-hero-6

 

If you liked this try... any of the MCU Iron Man movies,  Avengers Assemble (2012)

Anything else?
The song as the credits roll is Fall Out Boy - Immortals.
This film is based on a Marvel comic of the same name.

It is Disney's 54th Classic.

 

READ: Judge Dredd : The Mega Collection

Back at the turn of a new decade when the 80's had finished and the new 90's was coming into view, I was at secondary school. I was getting a bit too old for The Beano and The Dandy, and it was hard come by for any of the American comics like X-Men and The Avengers. Although I was particularly fond of getting Uncanny X-Men and The Flash comics as regularly as possible, the local newsagents in my local towns were terrible at getting the issues regularly. I didn't stand a chance when it came to crossover issues! I was getting older and I needed something to satiate my comic need!

 

After a brief obsession with Dan Dare and The Mekon, I stumbled upon Judge Dredd in the more adult 2000AD magazine that was regularly available at my local newsagents. I started reading and was immediately hooked on Megacity One and Joe Dredd's iconic look and style. Some of the magazines artistry was amazing... like I had never seen before. Meanwhile my friend and I had been running an RPG club at school and he had found a Judge Dredd Role Playing Game which we loved playing. Our computers had the Judge Dredd computer game too but luckily we hadn't been subjected to the Stallone fronted Judge Dredd movie that I would rather forget.

 

At the same time all this happened, someone somewhere decided to release a magazine called the Judge Dredd Megazine: The Law In Order. I remember issue one having a gold Dredd badge and I carried it around with me thinking that, like Stallone, "I am the law!". The magazine, in black and white, reprinted the stories from the original 200AD comics from the very beginning. I remember the Megazine being a very thick tome and great value for money.

 

Judge Dredd had been created within a year of when I was born so I will always have an affinity for this lawman.  I was lucky enough to meet Pat Mills, who worked on 2000AD and Judge Dredd, in 2014 at the last Sci Fi Weekender in Wales.

 

But now, in 2015, there is a new thing in town - and this is the latest collection for Judge Dredd fans - Judge Dredd: The Mega Collection. Spanning 80 issues (RRP £9.99 every fortnight) the hardbacked comics explain the stories and major events in Megacity One. Issue one is at a special reduced price and includes a leaflet which opens out into a poster. Issue 2 will be available at the special price of £6.99.

 

The hardbacked books feature a specific set or sequence of stories but also some extra bits including extra stories, sketchbook prints and galleries. These stories are grouped thematically, unlike the Megazine which is running stories in chronological order. The presentation of stories differs dependent on artists and stories it was lifted from and each book has it's own title. Issue one's is America, followed by Mechanismo in issue two and three is The Apocalypse War. If you collect all of the issues the hardbacked books they all create a rather fetching picture of Dredd in action. I'm told that the issues also include out of print stories that are exclusive to this collection.  

 

Subscribers are well looked after too - and for those of the collector elite check this out : you can get six limited edition prints if you want to upgrade your subscription for an extra £1 per issue. The gifts you get from the subscriptions are: discount issue two, issue three free, a replica Judge Dredd badge, Judge Dredd tin coasters, Judge Dredd Metal bookends (goes well with the series) and, if you do it online, a free Judge Dredd takeaway coffee mug (which I think is a really weird thing to give to a subscriber, but it seems a good quality ceramic one).

 

This is a quality collection, no doubt about it, and great for Judge Dredd fans and collectors alike. It costs £9.99 an issue so it's going to be a fortnightly thing - so that's around £20 a month (£21 if you are a premium subscriber). If you are a true Dredd fan and have a lot of comics and magazines it might be a bit expensive to get this, and may have already most of the stories. But, if you are new to Dredd or want to have a spectacular collection gracing your shelves, this could be something to look into. Now, excuse me while I go dig out my copy of Judgement on Gotham, gotta love the Batman Vs Judge Dredd stories.

 

Until next time

Paul 

What I'm talking about:  Judge Dredd : The Mega Collection

Where do I go to find out more? http://www.judgedreddcollection.com/
 

 

COMMENT: Avengers

Does anyone else think there is a slight resemblance of Uma Thurman's Emma Peel from the dire 1998 movie The Avengers and Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow from 2012's Avengers Assemble?
Or is it just me?
Just for the record though - I love both outfits :-)



Emma Peel does her best Black Widow impression...

... or is it Black Widow does her
 best Emma Peel impression?

EVENTS: Middlesbrough's Comic Con - Teesside Unleashed 5

Middlesbrough's Teesside Unleashed 5 Comic Con, organised by Hunter Toys was such a busy day - and it seems, very successful too. Guest of honour was Jeremy Bulloch, who is famous for playing Star Wars' bounty hunter Boba Fett in both Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. It ran for one day only on Saturday, 7th February 2015 and was on from 11.00-16.30.  We were a bit late arriving and we had to wait in a queue to get in - but it went down quickly and everyone was in high spirits. Whilst in the queue we got to interact with some characters from various franchises - there were Storm Troopers, a Wookie, a few Dr Who's and a Judge Dredd who booked the guy in the queue in front of me. He got three months probation for "excessive happiness".  Closer to the front we saw an Ewok, Mara Jade brandishing a pink lightsaber and a few other Star Wars characters dotted around.

Teesside had come out in force today - the car parks were full and people were dressing up too. We saw a few mini Thors and Spidermen there - one thing is for certain, if the world was in danger we were very safe indeed.

Inside was busy - but had plenty of things to buy, collect, interact with and marvel at. These included novellists, artisan products and creative things like framed Lego characters and film cells.  There were a lot of vendors - but much of them had a very biased Star Wars slant, due to the guest of honour. I found a young lady called Gemma May selling some art prints she had drawn herself and they were stunning. She asked £5 for each one, and her Boba Fett ones sold out almost immediately. I am the world's biggest Iron Man fan, so had to buy the Iron Man print from her. She said that she also does commissions and that if there were any heroes (or villains) that you wanted drawing she could do them for a fee. I was really impressed by her art - check out her Facebook page and see if you agree - https://www.facebook.com/gemmamayart (there's a kinda Iron Man image like mine on that page too).



Who Ya Gonna Call?
Brickshire, obviously.

Some organisations attended too - these include the fabulous Brickshire - Yorkshire Lego Group with some amazing Lego designs. These ranged from scenes out of famous films to creative endeavours like spaceships and the like. One of my favourite was the 3D Ghostbusters logo (left) which I thought was really inspired.

Other film related Lego constructs included a few cool Lord Of The Rings scenes including one in the Shire and one battling the Balrog. There were a few Harry Potter ones too - and they were brilliant. They were definitely on a par with the Star Wars ones my brother and I saw at LEGOLAND last September.

Round the corner from here there was another stall selling framed Lego mini-figures that quotes related to the mini figures. So they may have been a Darth Vader one saying "I am your father!" or a Gandalf one saying "Bilbo, the ring is still in your pocket!" for example. I'm sure that's not exactly what it said, but that is my favourite quote from Lord of the Rings! There was an awesome 6 figure Avengers one too!

If Lego wasn't your bag you could check out the Tony Stark "Hall Of Armors" - featuring two static Iron Man armours and one that was being cosplayed by someone as both Iron Patriot and Iron Man himself. I reckon there was a vibranium shield in the style of Captain America kicking around there too - if that picture on the right has anything to do with it. I took the picture  while I was waiting in the queue to see Jeremy Bulloch so I didn't have much of a leeway on getting a good shot. Talking about the queue, Jeremy Bulloch was very popular indeed and was posing for photos and signing stuff for everyone. I got to meet him and he was a lovely man, and I even got a signed photo to take away with me.

Keeping in with the Star Wars theme there was also a scene where, for a price you could pose with Jabba the Hutt - but sadly there were no slave- Leia's to be seen. There was a lot of Star Wars cosplaying too - and I got to have a photo with some of them (see below). To round off the day there was a Cosplay Competition which featured a Mandalorian Soldier, two Jack Sparrows (and very good they were too), Shrek and Fiona and Lady Deadpool to name a few. Every single person was happy to pose and have photos taken with you if you asked.

Teesside Unleashed 5 was a fab day out - it literally cost £3 entry and was really good fun. It was a good start to my Comic Con Calendar - and they are coming back in October - if you fancy going here's the current link.




Meeting the real Boba Fett, Mr Jeremy Bulloch

Here's me with a Star Wars team

REVIEW: Gone Girl (18)

Gone Girl is based on the bestselling novel, erm, Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn and is all about a perfect couple. So perfect in fact that when the wife goes missing after an argument on the morning of their fifth wedding anniversary, all the evidence points to kidnap, murder... and the husband. Amy Dunne (Rosamund Pike) is the wife of Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) who plays the titular character that disappears on the morning of their fifth anniversary. However, both as intelligent as one another, Amy has left clues for Nick to follow as she has done on their anniversary every year. The police are called when Nick realises that she is not coming home, and this set up events that he has to negotiate to prove his innocence. Thing is, though, is he? As time ticks away and the police find more evidence – Nick Dunne is under the spotlight. As the days pass, even the media get involved with everyone from neighbours to chat show hosts trying to prove that this man killed his wife.

This film is a fantastic thriller, with more twists and turns than a country road in rural England, and the strong cast – both main and supporting, have an intensity that keeps you watching. Affleck’s Nick Dunne is smarmy and arrogant enough to dislike, but all his flaws are apparent and therefore has a strange endearing quality about him. Even when he drops a few clangers here and there, and he shows his character warts and all, the film doesn’t give you enough to definitely say that he is innocent or not. The beautiful “Amazing Amy” is another great character who is certainly as strong as her husband is but in a different way.

The problem with Gone Girl is that although it’s a treat to watch how the web of lies, miscalculations and things go on but if I said anything past the first quarter of the movie I would probably spoil it for you. The film starts at one point and ends at another – and it just keeps twisting and turning like a snake. I really enjoyed this one and I recommend it if you like thrillers, mysteries or a really well acted and written drama. The big question is -  Did Nick Dunne Kill His Wife?

 

POPSCORE:               8/10

 

What is it? Gone Girl movie, out now on Blu Ray, DVD and download

Where can I find out more? http://gillian-flynn.com/gone-girl/ or http://www.gonegirlmovie.com/

BYTE: 2nd February 2015

Hi guys

How are you?

In the scheme of things I'm only just starting out on my new idea of having an entertainment site to keep you guys up to date with all the goings on in everything that interests me. I'm trying to keep active on Twitter especially, and going to try doing some uploads on YouTube as well of some unboxings, reviews and lots more.

It's great to see people checking out my writing and blog and I'll keep adding as I find things to say and things that I do. Hello to all my new internet people! I hope you are finding it interesting too.

Right now I'm researching a logo for the Paul & The Popcorn brand and I will be sharing it with you once I have confirmed the one I like.

I'm going to at least 2 conventions in March - so there will be some serious discussion up on the blog and Twitter when I go and come back. If you are going to any and see me - come and say hi. if you are interested in the ones I am going to spend time at they are : The Sci Fi Weekender in Wales (I've been so often I have Trooper Status now!) and the Newcastle Film & Comic Con.

There's a lot of amazing movies coming out soon including - Divergent Series: Insurgent, Avengers: Age Of Ultron, Jupiter Ascending, Ant-Man, The Fantastic Four and much more.

Keep it locked here for my opinion, and as always, your comments are welcome too. I've worked out how to incorporate pictures as well - so I will have more pictures in my blog soon too.

Anyway, I've waffled enough now - have a FABULOUS FEBRUARY and I will be back with you soon.

Until next time

Paul

EVENTS: Middlesbrough Comic Con Preview

On 7th February 2015, Middlesbrough holds their annual comic con "Teesside Unleashed 5" at Marton Country Club in Middlesbrough. Featuring special guest Jeremy Bulloch (who played Boba Fett in Star Wars V & VI), a life size Jabba the Hutt and some amazing Lego constructions, Bumblebee from Transformers and much more.  This sounds like it will be a great day out.

I'm going to head over there on Saturday to see what it's all about and see if I can get some pictures and let you know what it's like. It's a big comic con month for me in March so this will ease me in nicely for 2015.

Here's some details if you are interested too:

What:          Teesside Unleashed 5
Where:        Marton Country Club
                     Stokesley Road
                     Marton In Cleveland
                     Middlesbrough
                     TS7 8DS
Time:          11.00 - 16.00
Cost:           £3 on the door, under 12's £1
Phone:        01642 317141

For more information visit Teesside Unleashed 5 by clicking here:
http://www.facebook.com/events/755175754533773/