Reviews

I was not a huge fan of the first 2 High School Musicals. One would say a formula set for money making and taking from young people of the world whilst at the same time milking the old cash cow in the process was never going to flutter in my eyes. The first was a tried and tested approach to reproducing the next best 'thing' in the Disney tweenie bop department, but it worked quite well leading onto many other followups of the same league (The Hannah Montanna esquire audience will agree.) The sequel was obviously a cash in to sell more merchandise but it was arguably as good as the first, with many more catchy tunes and typical High School cliques for the little ones to boggle at. So here we are, back again with High School Musical 3: Senior Year. But this time we are taking things to a whole new level. The BIG screen in fact!

The concept here is the biggie- all our HSM stars are about to leave and start their new lives at different universities dotted across the map, but for some, like Gabriella and Troy this seems like too big of a step to take too soon (just listen to the song and you will be welling up like a baby.) Instead of prying and worrying about losing contact, the students decide to perform in one last musical, primarily about themselves and their own hopes and fears towards growing up. But of course the real question here is will Gabriella and Troy really lose each other for good? Will Sharpay ever be the main show girl? Can Ryan outshine his twin sister and become the next big American sensation? And will Troy give up the Wildcats after graduation?

What works with HSM3 is the fact that it tenders towards being incredibly sweet, but not too sickly for its own good. The songs are catchy, and whilst some feel a bit icky (like Sharpay's never giving up on fame song) they tend to be toe tapping and carry a feel good vibe missing from the previous two. The acting is relatively good considering most of the action is singing (or rather miming) and the dance choreography is stunning this time around, particularly in the High School Musical song right at the very end and the Junkyard scene with Troy and Chad. Things are also a lot more grown up this time around and director Kenny Ortega doesn't shy away from portraying the harsh realities of growing up. Relationships end, friendships are threatened and each individual is portrayed how most graduates leaving High School would be feeling at the given time. Its really quite an emotional movie taken away the bright and brassy songs and at quite a few points its noticeable as you reflect on your own experiences. Aside from the teenage gooey stuff there still remains the childish in-jokes (like a rehash of Troy's favourite toys from when he was little) and plenty of eye candy for visual viewers. The sets are lavishing and the costumes are gorgeous. It feels so theatrical but is all the better for it. There is also slapstick thrown here, there and everywhere, like when Sharpay has to duet alongside 'Rocket Man' and her reaction to his intentions. Classic! So, for the most part High School Musical is amazing. Its breathtaking in some scenes, stunning in others and heart pulling at the rest. Its a very entertaining movie and people are going to like it.

Now sadly for the criticism. As much as I can appreciate a Disney flick, the cheese here is almost unbearable. It was obviously going to be cheesy (all of the HSM movies are) but here they take thing way ott. The beginning for example, where Gabriella suddenly pops up in the crowd at the Wildcat's game and starts singing to Troy telling him to carry on and win is almost ludicrously overdone and far fetched. Another flaw here is the fact that it darts to and fro between reality, flashbacks and daydreams so you never know if something is actually happening or whether it is indicated as a dream. And this corresponds with quite a few notable plot holes. Now I am not the best geographer in the world, but how is it possible for Troy to turn up over a thousand miles to Gabriella's campus at the university in a mere few hours to ask her to come back to the prom? This would require some big bucks (not that Zac Effron himself couldn't afford it) and a huge time lapse. Its just not possible I'm afraid and again one would say this was cheesy. I suppose if you put this aside the movie can be taken seriously, but certain things are sadly out of place and they stick out like a sore thumb.

So, a final verdict? High School Musical 3: Senior Year is a very good movie. It moves along fast, it enchants and it makes you want to get up and gooo! The acting is good, the songs are great and the dancing has improved greatly. Aside from a few flaws its a very entertaining and well made picture and one which is going to smash the box office. Move over 007! Would I watch it again? Yes. Would I go out and buy all the merchandise after seeing this? Probably. If I was the target audience anyways. One thing is for sure though, this is very good and I really loved it. I would recommend it to anyone for its feel good factor. Just see it. You will know what I mean.

A true honest review? Some true honest advice? Don't waste your time on this, its terrible.

I am a true fan of the original. I like the way it was weaved together with interesting characters, hammy dialogue and breath taking action sequences not to mention a beautiful location and some great plot devices. Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weiz lit up the screen with his charisma and her likability factor. They made a good screen presence and carried the story along until its fantastic action packed finale. I also like the way the producers mixed up the scenes, to spoon out not only violent and eerie scenes involving the main villain himself but to water it down to family standards with John Hannah's comical brother. It was a film of epic proportions. A fun story, likable characters and good use of live action and cgi, for the most part. Then about 2 years later Universal ran out of idea's and so decided to return to the bandwagon to churn out another cash cow sequel. 'The Mummy Returns' was released and whilst not as good as the original at least had the decency to be spectacular enough for the risibility. Fraser and Weiz returned (having made an offspring) and warbled, walloped and crashed through the bustling busy streets in a less than original screenplay but at least maintained their charm and kept the spark glowing from the first film. It was a likable sequel, and whilst no where near as good as its ancestor still managed to be entertaining.

So here we are folks. 2008 and yet again we are re-visiting a tired series. The next gruesome threesome to bring home to Hollywood is not only the worst of the Mummy films, but quite possibly the worst sequel of the year to date. Its so bad in fact that even Rachel Weiz turned it down, but its not surprising having listened to some of the laughably dire dialogue churned out here. I bet she took one look at the script and threw it in the trash can. The story goes something like this... Brendan Fraser (back as Rick O'Connell) his wife Maria Bello (yes they replaced her with someone with half as much talent) her brother John Hannah (what is he doing in this?)and their son Luke Ford (who has now aged by about 20 years) are somehow prancing around in their ordinary lives (in the Far East?) but suddenly the son awakens an evil Mummy Emperor (because hey thats what your bound to do in a movie like this) who wants to use his army of the undead to take over the world and get revenge on the sorceress who put him to sleep so many years ago. The only people who can stop him are the O'Connels who crash and bang through armies of stone beasts, supernatural winds and all sorts of other unoriginal menaces. Of course the showdown at the end will result in global domination or ultimate Savior. But by that time, you just wont care.

So.. why do I hate this one? when when one of the main stars from the original backs down and bails out and when the other looks bored throughout the whole darn thing you know you have a problem on your hands. And its sad because Brendan Fraser makes it blatantly obvious how unhappy he is reprising the role without Weiz by his side. He is never able to connect with Bello who tries to be chirpy but comes off looking rather ridiculous as the smart girl. And there we have another problem. Bello just cannot squeeze into Weiz's cleverly filled shoes. Its embarrassing to watch her warble on and you can really tell she felt uncomfortable trying to live up to the characters standards. The same can be said for Luke Ford, who makes a very unconvincing action hero-sidekick next to Fraser. Again they have no spark or connection what so ever. It feels like a cheap decision casting Ford because he never really brings any emotion, good or bad to the screen. The exception here is Jet Li, who whilst is not as menacing as Arnold Vosloo (the original mummy) still pulls off a good dark role. Its fresh seeing him portraying an evil character and it pays off when he is actually on screen. However his presence is short lived and at times feels like a guest appearance. And of course John Hannah who never disappoints and steals the show altogether with his one liners and witty charm. He almost makes this passable. Almost.

The movie deserves another good kick in, this time for its overly used CGI action sequences which feel cheap, tacky and unoriginal. Imagine a Roger Corman flick added into a Uwe Boll video game adaptation and your halfway there. The sets are nice to look at, but the CGI is really distracting and you can tell they did things all by computers. The character development is replaced with an endless array of pointless battle sequences. Pointless !

Its also really degrading seeing our much loved characters from the first movies spout lines of almost ridicule. Brendan Fraser cringes as he reads his lines (is he auditioning for the high school play?)and like I said Bello looks uncomfortable. Even Hannah looks bored and whilst trying to rescue this epic failure always looks like he wants to be doing better things. Like the ironing for example.

There is just so much to bash this movie about. Its an obvious cash in, but even fails at being entertaining. It doesn't live up to the first or even the second. It is boring, confusing and the characters are bland. The action is over the top and don't get me started on the screenplay. Its just an all round failure and should be buried in the Tomb of the title, never to be re-awakened.

Finally I have had the pleasure after many long years of waiting to screen test this movie- and afterwards I can scarcely say this is definitely going to be the highest grossing animated movie ever made!! It has all the usual characters (its obvious when watching that the creators wanted to show every character from the TV series even if it means giving them a small part) of course there's Homer, who is as loud and proud as always, and Marge, who is cautious but loving throughout Homers huge mishap (which would stretch out to be the storyline) and Bart, Lisa and Maggie are all back too.

The storyline is quite different for a Simpsons theme- Homer miraculously pollutes the local river, thus the power plant is closed down and the residents of Springfield are evacuated. Cue the Simpsons who must fight to save their town or lose it forever!!! I was interested to discover that Mo was given a lot of the limelight in this movie, and that Homer was less seen than some of the other characters- hmm... Anyways, there really is little to criticise about this movie. A lot of people are rattling on about the movie being too similar to a single stretched-out episode, but this was always going to be an issue from the beginning. I suppose if you go into the movie expecting an overly long episode then thats what you'll get, but if you take it with a pinch of salt then the Simpsons Movie is great fun, and very funny.

Firstly, let me start by saying that if I could give this movie 0, then I happily would, as it goes I cain't so a 1 will have to do. Now, then on with the review. 'The Reef' or 'Shark Bait' as it is otherly known is a floundering story about a young guppie fish named Pi who is forced to move to the glossy reef under the sea after his family are killed. It is here where he encounters bullying sharks, dopey but cute angelfish and a storyline so drip it makes you want to bury your own head.Queue all the kiddie-flick clichés which so merrily unfold. There are just so many bad points about this movie (not to mention a laughable stab at trying to rip off Finding Nemo and Shark Tale) The animation is absolute carp, the voice-over work (by a blatantly wannabe Will Smith-like Freddie Prinze Jr and Rob Schneider) is a jumbled mess and the whole 'complexity' of the story is just bad. The set visuals are very candy-eyed but only add to the dishorientation of the film. It is a very appalling movie, even below Shark Tale's standard, and very very un-original. Don't see this for your own good...

This is a really funny celebrity reality show. its sexy, original and most of all, funny. Watching celebrities like Sophie Anderton and Lady V fighting over a bloke really cracked me up, and when Lady Victoria tipped a bottle of wine over Miss Anderton's head, i screamed in laughter!!! I am 15 years old, and currently living in the UK, and I have to say, that following Love Island for 6 whole weeks was a fun adventure. Me, my dad and his Girlfriend watched every episode and often couldn't stop laughing at Sophie's tantrums, Lee's over-obsession with sexy Colleen (bless him) the Love Triangles between Sophie, Chris, Lady Victoria and Bianca, Leo and Callum. Pure TV gold!!! I really hope another series of Love Island comes out because watching Celebs fighting, screaming and cheating was never so fun!!!

After the ridicule that was open water, you'de expect the 'oh no, we're stuck in the middle of the ocean' scenario to be long sunken, but no, here we are, revisiting the watery graves yet again...This time with a bunch of hapless nobodies forming a high-school reunion on a 5-star yacht to sail the seas, despite the fact that one member of the party is petrified of the water (?) Sound confusing (if not similar) ? well, i've only just begun! Deciding to go for a dip, the pals on the yacht jump overboard. Now this might not sound too bad, if it weren't for the fact that the yacht is 30ft tall, and that some silly asswipe forgot to drop down the ladder, and there's a sleeping baby blobbing on board alone, and the nobodies (despite their best efforts) simply cannot climb the slippery sides. Thus, the terror begins. By terror, i mean, a few b-actors trying to click their tongue's around a predictable screenplay, ushering a few screams here and there and splashing a wave or two. And whilst Open Water was not the best thriller to sail the seas, at least it included sharks and carried an edgier sense of style. The problem with 'Adrift' or 'Open Water 2' as the film buffs have harshly branded it (despite the writing revenues best efforts)is that it is running closely to a franchise in which we have already witnessed. Had Open Water not gotten in there first, then perhaps it would be uppered from 'Awful' to 'Average' but the lack of thrills, the string of endless plot holes and the unreliable dialogue makes this sea tragedy laughable.

After the lamentable lukewarm reaction from the Resident Evil movies, you would expect our beautiful young hero Milla Jovovich to hide away from movies involving the undead, yet here she is once again, in another send up of tomorrows world of Fantasy epics involving...yes, you guessed it...the undead...

Ultraviolet may well be the most confusing movie of the year, without a doubt. The story evolves around a super-human/vampiress named Violet, who in stealing a super-powerful weapon from a group of Vampire Maffia's, discovers that she must pit herself in danger to protect a 'vunerable' ten year old boy named Six (Six?) But when she discovers that the boy may hold the key to setting her free from the terrible curse which made her un-human, she must decide whether to hand the boy over to the enemy, or keep on protecting him...

okay, so an out-of-this world plot may seem okay in a movie such as Ultraviolet, however for every good idea here there are a few VERY dodgy ones, the most dodgy being the fact that we are supposed to swallow the continuous verse which pours from the characters mouths, making none sense at all.

No, the reason I score Ultraviolet a reasonable (passable) mark, is for the fact it gives us more than enough action scenes, each one lethal and pushing you to want more. Jovovich sure has some moves! And the creepy smile of Cameron Bright (Six) is enough to send shivers down my spine (thus the 'mild action and SCARY SCENES) well, i'm not going to say 'make sure you see Ultraviolet' as there are many a greater movie out there which perhaps you would enjoy, however fans of this type of genre may find the action and candy-eyed costumes something to snap up. I couldn't enjoy it too much, as i found the laughable screenplay un-realistic, however the action was good and Jovovich is sexy as Violet...

I would give this movie a 0 if i could, purely because it is so insulting. I am a huge fan of the Pink Panther, and i have collected a lot of the films over the years. I obviously dreaded the fact that it was to be made by...er...Shawn Levy...What!? Possibly one of the most boring directors in history, who has created such horrors as 'Cheaper by the dozen 2, which starred unfunny man Steve Martin, who we see again in Panther' Okay, so perhaps a bored-looking Martin should not take the rap for this over-rated money spin-off. Or maybe as the screenwriter, he should, i dunno. Or maybe we should blame Levy for using no enthusiasm in his film at all whatsoever. There are no real gags, just your average giddy sex phrases and a rubbish unconvincing Pratt-fall now and then-a far cry from the original. In fact, i can think of only one reason to actually bother with this movie at all- and that's for the pretty as ever hot-head Beyonce Knowles, who does her thing. Forget Martin, because his crazy antics and frustrating and corny take on a french accent will have you nursing a migraine.

It saddens me that this could have been a huge new remake. Instead it is a lost opportunity, which is cruelly unfunny, lacks any gags and literally throws itself in the bargain bin in BlockBusters. If you want to see the hilarious originals, then spend a $9.00 on them, not this. Avoid...

IT seems that when it comes to family, Robert Rodriguez is the ultimate dad. Wouldn't it be great if your father turned round to you and say...hey, why not make a movie together? That's the way Sharkboy was made-by a six year old kid and his dad. The story is of young Max, a dizzy daydreamer who is bullied because of his 'WILD' imagination. He magics up two superhero's, Sharkboy and Lavagirl, who happen to be real...sort of. Well, now Max's enemies better hide in shame, as his creations blast through the walls of school to take us all to Planet Drool, the hype world which the hothead and the coldfish so happen to live on. Confused? you will be in the muddy 3-D effects that follow. Turns out that Max is needed to dream the planet back to life...

But he has forgot his dream journal!!! Oh no! Like I said, the effects don't work in 3-D and the world of Planet Drool is totally over-the top. Fans of Spy Kids and Robert Rodriguez and kids won't be too disappointed, but those over 14 and really unhappy children won't see eye to eye with the CGI. The cast is relied on three young amaetures (Lautner and Dooley as Sharkboy and Lavagirl and Boyd as Max) however, it is the young cast, and not Latino God George Lopez who carry the story. That is why it has got a higher mark- For its younger casts enthusiasm. The adults are easily out-acted by the young sprogs. Lopez can'y be bothered, Kristin Davies plays the bored mom and David Arquette (the movies most famous star) shows up on screen with boring quotes for just twenty seconds. In fact, the movie has no real stars. just amaetures willing to boost their young careers. Oh well, Drew Barrymore wannabe all round.

If you like really whacky movies then see Sharkboy. If you have kids then see it. Otherwise, don't bother...

Freddy Krueger...The name strikes fear into all Horror Movie fans...and that infamous line...'I'm gonna kill you slowly' is still one to send shivers down our spines. This is one of my favourite movies of all time, probably because it combines Horror, black humour, convincing drama and catchful phrases to make one hell of a movie. It still has the power to grip you in a fiery rage, and spit you out when it's bedtime...Believe me, see this and you won't sleep for some time, and the coffee will be an every day luxury! Okay then, As a movie...GREAT, as a horror movie...FANDABYDOZY...as a comedy...GOOD as a psychological nightmare...DANGER DANGER HIGH VOLTAGE!!! This is original, fun, has a good convincing cast, and Robert Englund as Krueger is an icon. See this NOW!

Eli Roth was the master who brought us the neat little shocker 'Cabin Fever' which was a pretty gruesome piece of work. Now, he has donned the role as director in Quentin Tarrantino's torture shocker, Hostel, which completely over goes the limit of how far a hardcore horror audience will go. This sick little shocker relies on it's main cast, and it's low budget, but believe me, this is far more believable than your average J-movie ghost stories, and arguably more scary for example. The story is pretty simple. 3 guys looking for booze, sex...and well...booze and sex, stumbles upon a seemingly superb hostel...and...you know the rest.

Roth was clearly feeling peckish, with limbs flying about like a tennis tournament, and scenes to curl even the straightest hair. an eye for an eye i must say, as a women is literally ripped apart. Okay, then. I found this movie pretty shocking, and couldn't believe the reaction from others in the Cinema. Wow...Gosh...AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!! Unbelivebly gory, but this really is Hardcore Haven, and compared to such 'horror' trash as 'The Fog' remake, this is the granddaddy of all horror movies...

For all of those out there who are horror movie fans, i have a few words to say... DO NOT WATCH THIS MOVIE!!! OK, then, so that's not my decision, but if you are thinking about seeing this then be warned-you may never want to see a Horror movie again! As if a remake wasn't enough, this soppy ghost story fails as a horror movie, as a drama, as a thriller-in fact as anything. The story resolves around a mysterious fog that causes havoc on a remote island with a lighthouse. Okay, so the story is Corny, but hey, who cares? The original Fog with Jamie Lee Curtis was a nice little shocker, and John Carpenter made sure the scares were proud and bold. This version is so laughably drib and unscary, your average episode of Balamory is more moving. A terrible waste of everyone's time...mainly yours. Go see a real hardcore Horror movie, and avoid this evil contraption. You will come out of the Movie Theatre cursing it, and yourself...