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KittyDee
Reviews
Only God Forgives (2013)
Only God Forgives, hauntingly beautiful? Or just haunting?
Only God Forgives directed and written by Nicolas Winding Refn tells the story of a young man named Julian (played by Ryan Gosling) who escaped to Bangkok after committing a murder ten years prior. Julian now running a boxing club as a front for a drugs operation lives a lifestyle full of sex, drugs and violence. It is not until Julian's older brother Billy, (played by Tom Burke) kills a sixteen year old prostitute and is then subsequently murdered himself by the victim's father (egged on by a retired vengeful cop)that the story really begins to unfold. The boy's mother, Crystal (played by Kristen Scott Thomas) travels to Bangkok to collect the body of her first born and seek vengeance on her son's murderer(s).
Refn's ultimate success comes from the movie Drive (which also featured Ryan Gosling). Although exceedingly violent, Drive was found to have a stronger storyline, a love interest and a softer side, than Only God Forgives.
To say the film is not for the faint hearted would be an understatement, like most if not all of Refn's movies expect a dark ambiance throughout, a lot of cursing and blinding, blood and guts, an awkward sexual moment here and there and a few silent evocative scenes. The movie has proved controversial with many critics either raving or ranting about the masterpiece, however a common view throughout is that the performances of both Gosling and Scott-Thomas are undeniably exhilarating.
Gosling plays empty and troubled Julian exceptionally well, with convincing bouts of anger and silent emotive scenes, the actor has definitely shown he can take on any type of character. While his performance is not too far from that in Drive, Gosling has proved he can play funny, smart, sexy and downright disturbing. It is with no surprise that the Canadian born actor has moved onto more challenging behind the scene projects. Kristen Scott Thomas is also unbelievably faultless in the role of Crystal, Julian and Billy's emotionally psychotic mother. Her presence on screen is incandescent and the relationship between Scott Thomas and on-screen son Ryan Gosling is all too real. Agreeing with many of the critics out there the movie is far too violent so much so that the storyline becomes somewhat irrelevant. Without the outstanding performances by the lead roles, the movie doesn't have a whole lot to offer.
As critics and audiences opinion have shown this movie delivers a Marmite effect, we either love it or hate it. And lucky for the cast, director and producers of the movie the only way to find out which side of the spectrum you lie is to see the movie yourself.
Three Stars ***
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Monsters University (2013)
Monster's University Review
Monsters Inc. (2001) a beautifully crafted tale about the magical monster world (Montropolis) and its electrical conglomerate cooperation monsters incorporated. This Disney and Pixar creation , has finally had its much awaited follow-up movie, however in an unconventional twist Disney decided to make it a prequel.
The original Monsters Inc. followed the story of monsters incorporated the city's electrical company where electricity was generated by children's scream. Collected by fully trained scarers who would enter the human world through children's closets and scare them as they sleep. The main characters included top scarer James P. Sullivan (John Goodman) and his trusty one-eyed sidekick Mike Wazowski (Billy Crystal), and not forgetting a classic Disney villain Randall Boggs (Steve Buscemi), all of which feature in the new Monster's University.
Being Pixar's first ever prequel, Monsters University had a lot to prove, and did it deliver?
Working back from the original movie, monster's university takes a look at how Mike and 'Sully' became quite the scaring duo and why Randall becomes obsessed with beating the all time scare record. The opening scene takes you to Mike's school field trip to the Monster Incorporated building where he meets Frank one of the companies best scarer's and an Alma Marta of the Monster's University. Following a sequence of events Frank is in awe by little six-year-old Mike Wazowski and gives him is "MU" cap which ultimately drives Mike to his goal of entering into the scare program at MU. From then on, we meet a number of new and old characters (including the original Sully and Randall) who all play an important role in the shaping of the characters we all know and love. Without giving too much away the movie focuses on a scare competition between the different fraternities and sororities at the university. In a funny turn Mike and Sully are members of the Oozma Kappa (OK) brotherhood, a rather unpopular fraternity who undoubtedly have a lot to gain from winning the university scare games but with fairly little to lose. The movie takes you on the ups and downs of (monster) university life and the fraternities, friendship and woes that come with it. The creators have cleverly rejuvenated the characters giving Sully a slightly younger haircut, Mike a metal retainer and Randall a complete personality change from confident and mean to a nerdy unpopular monster who wears glasses.
The movie although arguably slightly on the longer side, proved worthy of the Disney and Pixar name. Once again delivering scares, laughs and that heart warming feeling, it is a movie the whole family can truly enjoy, it is a must see!
The Pros and Cons
Pros
Helen Mirren voice to the Dean of Monster's University and chair of the scare program makes a wonderful addition to the Monster's Cast.
Successfully undergoes the role of prequel - as it is not necessary to have seen Monsters Inc. (which is lucky due to the 12 years between the two movies).
As with every Disney movie, it comes with a number of heart warming messages - to mention a few: the value of friendship, the importance of working hard and ultimately the acceptance of others.
By far the best trick played by the creators in this movie is the many hidden cameos.
Cons
Although only 1hr and 35mins long, after the first 1hr the movie feels a little sluggish, no fault of the storyline just a simple truth that seems to affect all movies nowadays.
With a few jokes here and there no phrases or comments seemed to stick to mind as well as the originals, such as "Kitty", "Put that thing back where it came from or so help me...", and "Mike Wazowski"(said in little Boo's voice).
A wonderful movie, but we all want to know what happened to Boo. And hoping for a Monsters Inc. 2 is an understatement, I am praying for one.
4 STARS ****
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Geordie Shore (2011)
Geordie Shore "Why Aye" - Season six
"This Programme contains strong language, sexual scenes and references from the outset and throughout."
Geordie Shore is back and this time the cast have packed their bags and have headed down under. The brand new sixth series was released on the 9th of July and is currently showing on MTV on Tuesdays at 10pm.
This fast moving reality TV show is constantly changing locations, story lines and faces. Due to the recent split between Geordie Shore regulars Vicky and Ricci, Ricci Guarnaccio has not returned to the show, and it is very unlikely that he will appear in the upcoming seventh series. The Shore has also lost recent newcomer Dan Thomas who joined the cast in series four. Dan was often referred to as the younger brother in the house and as such was constantly tormented and made fun of by the other members. Although the cast were never purposely nasty towards the young chap, we can't help but think the group didn't do their best to make him feel welcome thus leading to his absence in the upcoming episodes. However on a positive note Jay Gardner (who left at the end of series three) re-joins the cast in Australia for three days. His presence lifted everyone's spirits and gave us a glimpse into the old dynamic of the house, unfortunately last week's episode said goodbye to Jay and Hello again to a divide in the house.
Will season six finally answer the much awaited questions: Will Charlotte and Gary ever end their love-hate relationship and just love or hate one another? Is Vicky really single and is she READY to mingle? Will James "pull a Jay" and leave because he's found himself a gal? OR Will James and Holly forget the past and move on? And will Gaz and Scotty take their competitive 'buckin' ways too far?
This season is full of ups and downs (as always), with Charlotte's drunken antics, Gaz and Scott's unhealthy competition and Vicky's new single lifestyle, Geordie Shore is sure to deliver an entertaining Tuesday night.
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