REVIEW: Child 44 (15)

Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, Noomi Rapace and the awesomely named Fares Fares round off a talented cast in the movie Child 44. Thick Russian accents abound as Tom Hardy plays Leo, a post WWII MP in the USSR in this gritty thriller.
The film starts with a couple of flashbacks of his childhood and plonks you straight into the action after that - as he traipses around his patch looking for suspected traitors. Much of the first part of the film is like this - and sort of plods along showing him do his duty and making friends and enemies along the way. However when a child of his friend and colleague is killed, it all points to murder. However, "there is no murder in paradise" so much to his stoic friends disappointment, he has to conceded that it was a tragic accident even though everyone knows the child was murdered. Not much else is given to this storylien for what seems like ages until conveniently Leo's wife, Raisa (Noomi Rapace) is suspected of being a traitor. After pretending to be pregnant, Leo is forced to flee with her to a neighbouring town where he reassigned under a new boss General Nesterov (Gary Oldman). While there he finds another dead child who has all the hallmarks of the killing of the son of his friends. The guys back at Moscow think they have already apprehended the killer by accusing a gay man and when the aforementioned fella throws himself under a train they think it's all over. However, we are now two thirds of the way through a very long movie and it shifts over to CSI: Moscow 1953, where it almost shifts genre too. The killer is still out there and Raisa and Leo must find him before another child is killed. By the way, this killer has killed 44 children. I wonder where they got the title from?
The film is generally good - the acting is spot on even though the thick Russian accents sometimes make it hard for them to be understood on some occasions. It's a gritty thriller and the cinematography and soundtrack are both well done and fit the occasion quite nicely. The one point where the movie falls down is the story. It's based on a book and has been adapted for the screen but there's a serious lack of character development for a start. It wasn't clear on who was who and sometimes you relied on the character to tell you - of which sometimes they didn't until a few scenes later (prime example - Leo's parents). The movie is quite long and the first 7/10ths of it is quite monotonous with Leo literally doing his job and it's not until he is disgraced that it started to change into something more interesting. But this is it - why was he disgraced and what exactly is going on in the movie? I was so confused I just let it happen. I don't know why Leo took it upon himself to solve the mystery of the child killer, I don't know why people wanted to disgrace him, I don't know why a lot in this movie. The killer isn't even developed much so we don't even know why he wants to kill children.
So if I had to put this down to a conclusion I would have to say this movie is alright, and it has some talented actors in (plus a last (Charles) Dance at the end) but the story is so written that it's confusing, under developed and hard to follow. Maybe it was just me - I had done a double shift at work before going to see this - but maybe it wasn't.
If you've seen it, what do you think? Drop in the comments below.
Child 44 is rated 15 and is out at all good cinemas now.

POPSCORE: 6.5/10

What am I talking about? The movie Child 44

Where can I find out more? http://www.child44film.com/

If you like this try: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Kiss the Girls, Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, The Drop 

Anything else?
It's based on a novel by Tom Rob Smith called Child 44. These books are part of a trilogy with The Secret Speech and Agent 6 being the two books that follow this one.

BYTE: Avengers April

Welcome to April - yes I know it's nearly over, but we still have some excitement left!

How are you? I haven't really had chance to get to the computer to write a Byte recently but now, before I have to go work, I'm taking a time out to connect with you guys once more.

How is it going? I hope you've been keeping up to date with my Twitter as I can update that more frequently with things that have been happening while I've been out and about. It's been a quite month Convention-wise but some interesting things have been happening. It's been a very exciting trailer-centric April, especially over the last week or so. We've been treated to the final Avengers: Age of Ultron trailer, and, to be fair, it looks blummin' awesome! Marvel have released some clips too - 4 no less, and they all look awesome - check out the YouTube stuff - https://youtu.be/_AFtMIBwKho?t=1s and check the other links too.

Other studios have got in on the act too though and we've seen trailers for the upcoming Batman Vs Superman and the much anticipated Star Wars: The Force Awakens. the latter nearly broke the internet when it concluded with an older Han Solo and Chewbacca saying "Chewie, we're home".  Oh, and let's not forget Ant-Man, the other Marvel movie release this summer.

Marvel has been very busy with those movies, and announcements about the furture - Dr Strange and Captain America 3 no less, they have also been working with Netflix on the new Daredevil TV series. I've seen the first episode and after 7 minutes I was impressed - it's is a quantum leap forward from the dismal Daredevil movie starring Ben Affleck. After I've seen the series, expect a review up - but for now, I'm really impressed - especially the little references to the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe).

My blog is getting more views and I'm working behind the scenes to set up my youtube channel and getting everything in place for that. I'm looking to do a little tune for the YouTube channel and looking into that - so expect it soon.

There's more film releases this month too - the major one, of course is Avengers: Age of Ultron next week - so expect a review (and I'll try and not spoil anything) especially for those of you who read my blog in the US (you poor guys have to wait til May 1!).

I've signed up to subscribe to Star Wars Online - that is, The Old Republic AKA SWTOR so if you'd like to join me on there - add paulosolo and you can explore the galaxy with me.

Looking at the latest stuff as well:

>   Xbox Live:  Games with Gold this month celebrates the success of Xbox Live they are doubling the free games and check this out! The full game of Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag on XBOX 360 and for the posh 'uns who have XBOX ONE you are treated to Pool Nation FX, Rayman Legends AND Child of Light to download free if you are a subscriber.
>  PSN: PS Plus this month hasn't really updated just yet but as of today you have Dishonored on PS3, MonsterBag and Killzone: Mercenary for the Vita and Never Alone on PS4. If you're into multi format there is also a game called Tower of Guns and Aaru's Awakening that you can download for all three. Of course these are active while your subscription is and will cease working if you are not a member.

As always we have Loot Crate and Nerd Block unboxings to look forward to.

Anyway I've wrote enough now - have an AWESOME APRIL and I'll see you soon.

Until next time

Paul

REVIEW: John Wick (15)

Mr Keanu Reeves is back on our screens after a number of mediocre movies - but is this one any better? Looking a lot more mature these days, Keanu is John Wick, an ex-assassin who has retired from that world and settled down with a beautiful wife and wants a peaceful life. However this all gets turned upside down when the son of his former employer, Iosef Tarasov, steals his classic car and kills his dog a few days after his wife dies.

Basically this is a revenge thriller over the killing of a puppy.

To sum up the movie in one sentence such as this would not do it justice though because, when all is said and done, it's not actually a bad movie. The first few moments define his really boring new life and I defy you not to fall in love with the adorable puppy. His wife is beautiful too, but both adorable characters are killed off within the first ten minutes of the film. After a brief Top Gear style rag around of his car on an airport runway (for no apparent reason) the movie knocks up a notch into the revenge movie territory where John Wick goes after the son of his former employer. We know nothing of this man at this point except a) he's cut up over his wife dying, b) he doesn't let his dog sleep on the bed and c) he makes a decent cup of coffee. When the ex-employer, Viggo Tarasov, finds out that his son has killed John Wick's dog, he merely goes "Oh" and hangs up. In this movie phone calls are very one sided. It pretty much puts the dampener on everything when he explains that John Wick is the man you call when you want to get the Bogeyman. Cue this very man going after this man's son and him too. In order to save his son from total annihilation (Wick's use of a gun is very good indeed - he doesn't waste bullets) he puts a bounty of $2million to anyone who can kill him. A few people step up to the plate (including the son who at his best runs through a night club in a towel screaming) to try and claim this bounty. Among them are Wick's friend, Marcus (Willem Dafoe) who agrees to kill him for this ransom but instead decides to put the sniper gun to good use to help him. There's also half a gangster squad and the very beautiful Ms Perkins (Agent of SHEILD's Adrianne Palicki) who goes to get him too. A few other famous faces pop up over the time including Ian McShane and John Leguizamo to round off quite a good talented cast. The story is good enough and some of the visuals are interesting to say the least. Subtitles that are in English when the gangsters speak (I believe it is a form of Russian) are scattered across the screen in different colours but are affected by what's on the screen. For example there's one scene where there's a sniper leaning against a slanted wall and the subtitles are slanted to reflect this. Also certain scenes in certain places are hues colourfully as if a lens or Instagram filter has been placed on the screen. Although it doesn't really detract from the movie, these  are little touches that give it a bit of character. The film itself is a generally dark thriller with some interesting fight scenes and gun toting.

Overall this movie is worth a watch - there are better movies out there, but it's good enough to keep you interested and pass the time.

John Wick is out now at all good cinemas in the UK and is actually out to buy if you are over in the US.

POPSCORE: 7.8/10

SECOND OPINION:

Clare came to see it with me and she says:

John Wick .............. very good, not excellent..... Keanu looking very fine! .............. rating = 8/10. :-) ;-) & let's not 4get Keanu was river phoenix's best friend! ; -) POPSCORE: 8/10 

What am I talking about? The movie John Wick

Where can I find out more? http://www.johnwickthemovie.com/

If you like this try: Taken (mainly the first one, but possible the second and third), The Equalizer (the Denzel movie), Run All Night, Constantine

Anything else?
It's Keanu Reeves' sixth time playing a role named John.

EVENT: Ninja Warrior UK

Ninja Warrior UK comes to our screens on 11th April - are you tuning in?

To those who know me, I am known for getting up to all sorts and seeing exactly what there is to do in this thing called life. I've taken opportunities and adventures as often as my limits would allow and one of those is getting involved in television and movies. I've always liked the idea of being an actor - but it's something I have never pursued, and instead plumped for creative writing and music.

I have though recently been taking advantage of opportunities that have arisen. Over the last few years I've been an audience member on Celebrity Juice - which was an awesome experience and I was also at the finals of X Factor which was broadcast on TV back in 2012. I also got through to the final auditions of CatchPhrase in 2013 but never made the recordings of the show and have been invited to be in the audience of Deal or No Deal too. I still have to take them up on the offer.

 

However, last Monday, 30th March 2015 I attended Manchester for the recording of a brand new show coming on ITV called Ninja Warrior UK. A massive hit in Japan and the USA, contestants try to defeat a diabolical obstacle course in the quickest time possible. Very much a cross between 90's classic Gladiators (without the Gladiators), Total Wipeout and the ever popular Takeshi's Castle, NWUK pits elite athletes, strong men, fit people and those who ust want to have a crack at the worlds most difficult obstacle course. If they beat the wall after their gruelling task of completing the course then they can go through to the next round to become Ninja Warrior UK.

 

The show is presented by popular presenter Ben Shepherd, Chris Kamara and The Saturday's Rochelle Humes.  Our night started with the first of fifty contestants who succeeded and failed in varying degrees. I'm not allowed to say what went on, but here's an official picture from the Ninja Warrior UK Facebook page to give you an idea of what it's like:

 

 

And here's that wall I mentioned earlier:

Beat the wall, beat the wall...

Ninja Warrior UK comes to ITV on 11th April - tune in to see who will become the first Ninja Warrior in the UK.

 

What am I talking about? Ninja Warrior UK - new game show/series

Where can I find out more? It's on ITV from 11th April or check out the website: http://www.itv.com/ninjawarrior/

If you like this try: Gladiators (90's), Krypton Factor, Total Wipe Out, Takeshi's Castle

 

Anything else?

This show is based on the wildly successful Japanese and American versions also called Ninja Warrior (but obviously without the UK at the end)

 

*please note - the photos on this page have been taken from the official Facebook page of Ninja Warrior UK and are meant to supplement the text I have written as we were not authorised to take photos at the event. They are for illustrative purposes only and are not meant in any way to breach copyright. If the owners of the pictures are not happy for this usage, please message me and I will remove them.



EVENT: Newcastle Film & Comic Con 2015

The day is Saturday 28th March 2015

The time... is now!

 

A year ago, the first Newcastle Film and Comic Con ran by experienced Conventionites, Showmasters proved to be very popular indeed. Back then, my friend Mal and I waited nearly four hours to get into the venue and missed most of it. It was badly organised and felt the brunt of an unhappy public. In their defence it was the first one in Newcastle and they underestimated demand - especially those on the door purchases. On the other hand, sales for tickets stopped 2 weeks before so surely they would have had an idea of interest and capacity?

 

Fast forward later in the year when I attended the London & Film Comic Con in July 2015. This was much more organised and, in the main, I got to do what I set out to do - meet the Generalissimo himself, Stan Lee. An added bonus was meeting the legend Glenn Morshower but I was gutted I  missed my favourite cosplayer Ivy Doomkitty.  Such is the draw of these events.

 

The question was - had Showmasters learned their lesson and, more importantly, had we? This time we bought early bird tickets in advance (as opposed to last years buying on the door at the event). This proved beneficial as, when the door was opened, it only took about 20 mins to let us in from our queue position (which was a considerable way around the arena).

Busy day at Newcastle - and that was just the Early Bird tickets!

There were a lot of stars here today, but there were some cancelations - Red Dwarf's Robert Lewellyn and Craig Charles didn't appear as promised and Claudia Christian from Babylon 5 cancelled too. I was sad to find that there was only the sepia Back To The Future pic available at Newcastle (see my effort, right) and no DeLorean as anticipated. I couldn't complain though as KITT from Knightrider was there to waffle on at you.  

 

Eve Myles signs a photo for me

When you go to a convention such as this everyone has their favourite person to see or go for. Each person charges a significant amount for a photo or a signed autograph so even to get a couple of items signed by a few celebrities would cost nearly £100. So unfortunately you have to prioritise (unless you have a lot of money and/or amazing time skills). The most popular person by far today was James Marsters who was charming and lovely apparently. Sadly I didn't get to meet him myself but he was very popular with the public. James Cosmo and Jeremey Bulloch (two people I've met over the last month or so) were also there.

 

My celebrity priorities were two lovely and very beautiful women I got to meet and to see on their relevant panels. The first was Terminator 3's Kristanna Loken. In her panel she discussed the training regime of becoming the Terminator and what it was like working with Arnold Schwarzenegger. She said the role of being in such a successful franchise had changed her life. She also said she was working on some new projects and mentioned some of her recent works. These included a movie called Fighting for Freedom which was a movie made from a screenplay written by her father and the upcoming erotic thriller Maid For You. Later I got a photo with her and got to meet her and she was lovely.

 

 

The second panel I sat in on was absolutely mental and I enjoyed every minute of it! Eve Myles, Gwen from Torchwood (among other shows), came onto the stage and had everyone spellbound from the start. She was taking questions and her familiar, laid back, giggly persona shone through and was both endearing and enchanting at the same time. She spoke of her best friend John Barrowman and the fun they had on set in Torchwood, about how she "didn't" take any props from the set of Torchwood, working with David Tennant and how gorgeous she thought James Marsters is. She spoke of motherhood, of her child and her love of the Geordie accent and had one lad repeating the word "theatre" over again as she loved the pronunciation of the word in that accent. Later, after the rapturous applause, I got to meet her and got a signed photo.

 

While I was there, I mentioned to her the first ever convention I went to. Back in 2012, she was at the SFX Weeekender 3 in Wales. I've been going to conventions ever since then. "It's all your fault I come to these!" I said to her jokingly after explaining about my Wales adventure in 2012. "I get that a lot..." she said, and added, "They kinda addictive aren't they?" And do you know what? She's right.

 

I'm getting quite fond of visiting these conventions and this was much the same of what I'd expect from a Showmasters con. There were a few minor disappointments - the lack of a DeLorean (especially since they are making a fuss of the 30th Anniversary of Back to the Future) and some of the guests pulled out. But these things happen. However there were some great guests today, entertaining panels, excellent cosplay and... we didn't have to wait half a day to get started.

A great comic con going from strength to strength - can't wait for next year.

You can also get your picture taken with some of the stars - here's me with the
very beautiful Kristanna Loken - and you get to take a picture home too.

 

REVIEW: Cinderella (2015) (U)

Right, before we start, this film is going to be a hit. It will be not because it has a talented cast and great special effects even though it does. Nor will it because it's a timeless tale told by one of the greatest story smiths, Disney. Even though that is very much the case.

No, it will be because of Frozen. Before we start the main shebang, we are treated to an animated 10 mins or so of Frozen called Frozen Fever. I've been toying with reviewing this separately but I'm just going to say a few words about it here. Basically the one song that is sang is catchy and gets you dancing in your seat. The story is simple but effective. All of the characters return (including the original voice talent) and Elsa has a cold, even though a "cold never bothered her anyway". If you love Frozen it's a great to be seeing something new and is very much in the same successful vein. Disney have really hit a groove with this one and its a really good short. Especially with the addition of some cute new characters. I won't say too much more but all the little princesses across the land will love this and you probably will too.

POPSCORE: 9/10

So when the short finishes everyone is so fired up that we are ready for more princessness as soon as possible. Cinderella is a well made and well acted but has a story that has been told countless times. Cinderella herself is endearing - both through her innocence and her looks - she is pretty and cute and looks the part. Kit, the Prince, is charming and endearing too and they make a great couple when on screen together.

The special effects, supporting cast and cinematography are top notch. 

The movie follows the original Disney Cinderella story quite closely, only this time it is live action (with lots of cgi animals though). It seems like this is becoming a trend for Disney as this was the case for Maleficent. Before the movie there was a trailer for Pan; which seems like a very Maleficent-like origin story for Peter Pan. It seems we have come to the point now where we no longer need to make fantastical stories as cartoons - we now have the power to make them live action - with the help of the modern day computer programs.

One of the most breathingtaking moments of the movie is when Cinderella gets her blue dress for the ball and it's a stunning outfit. She makes a fantastic princess and I personally think Lily James could pull off a fantastic Elsa if they made a Frozen live action movie. I sit and wonder if the blue dresses that feature are deliberately linked to look very Frozen-ish to promote both films (as Cinderella had a blue dress in the animated version). Cate Blanchett makes for a great stepmother who through her smile looks both glamorous and sinister in equal measure. Her step sisters are stupid and mean in equal measure but are actually quite attractive ladies so couldn't be construed as ugly sisters.

Overall this movie was really good. It's not very original as it's just a retelling of a fairy story we've heard a million times before but then again - if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Disney's doing good.

Cinderella is out from 27th March 2015 at all good cinemas.

POPSCORE: 8/10

What am I talking about? Walt Disney's live action offering Cinderella

Where can I find out more? http://movies.disney.com/cinderella/

If you like this try: Cinderella (Disney's animated classic) and the sequels, Ella Enchanted, Frozen

REVISITED: 3D Printing Magazine

I've been blogging regularly now for about 6-8 weeks now and one of my first things to give you info on was a brand new magazine from Eaglemoss Publishing called 3D Create and Print - a part-work collection where you literally build your own 3D Printer.  We are now more than 11 issues in, and I promised I would revisit it and see where we are at.

For those of you new to my blog and, to the magazine, here's a recap about what I said originally:
Divided into sections, the magazine is broken into chapters about 3D printing history, tutorials on 3D design, 3D modelling and tips and tricks. They advise you on a recommended 3D modelling software (which is free to download) and there are a number of designs each issue for things you can build in the printer. These designs range from fancy balls and chess pieces to my personal favourite in issue one - a catapult! Each issue features a unique code to download the featured design as files and these are available for free as is the recommended 3D software to use in conjunction with the printer. Each issue includes bits of the printer to construct and of course instructions on how to put it all together.  On their official blog, they have a video of a "How To" put together the pieces from the first 20 issues - check it out here.

So far, I have been building the printer and it's been really easy to do and it's coming together nicely. The last few issues have been a bit strange as we got a few bits that we had to wait a few issues for before we put them all together. As a subscriber, I got them all at the same time so it was great to do a chunk at once. I've already received some of the subscriber bits including a funky memory stick in the shape of a key and the binder which is great for keeping everything together. As specified, 90 issues are planned so I'm literally 1/9th of the way through.  If you want to get involved along with me - then you can subscribe and get more information here.

3D printers are rather expensive still - but this is modern tech for you. People have asked me why I have been collecting this magazine when I could just go out and buy one for a little cheaper. My argument would be I could, but they add extra value by doing extra. So I've been collecting the magazine for 11 issues now (another four due soon) and each issue you get design downloads. Some of these are "BUILDUPS" and some are completed designs already. Eleven issues in and I have 44 separate items that I can use with this printer. Each magazine comes with a tutorial for other projects using the free software you can download. They also promise a further 10 exclusive designs for subscribers too - so if art and design ain't your thing, you'll still get use out of printer when it's done. BUILDUPS include a toy car, chess set, puzzles and other stuff. Meanwhile one off projects include soap dishes and egg cups, iphone protectors and more. On the official website you can register to download these designs and they have them under different headings like jewellery, homewares, arty pieces and much more. I'm impressed with the breadth of the different items that can be made; and, if you get good, could even alter them in the design software.

So, like I originally thought, I am still impressed and look forward to the next issues. I'll drop back into it in another ten or so issues and show some photos too. When the project is completed, I will do a video to show you it in action, and a full review too. Well done Eaglemoss, keep it up.

Have you bought this magazine? What do you think? Let me know below!

Until next time

Paul 

What I'm talking about:  3D Printer Magazine

Where do I go to find out more? http://www.3dprinter-collection.com/