"Drive"

Sometimes when you see a trailer, you may get an inkling that a film is going to be good. And sometimes you can get it totally wrong. I susepcted that I was onto a winner here, but nothing could have prepared me for what I was about to see.

Ryan Gosling plays a driver, with two careers. One legal in that he does stunt work on movies, the other job is not so legal, as he acts as a getaway driver for anyone wanting his expertise to avoid the Police. He has a nice quiet existence, also working in a garage with Shannon, someone who has looked out for him over the years.
He then starts a friendship with neighbour Irene (Carey Mulligan), and her young son. Their friendship grows, but Irene's husband is released from prison, and the friendship comes to a halt. With husband still owing money to his former cell-mates, Gosling takes it upon himself to help out and offer his unique skills, sadly all does not go to plan, and the story escalates with a battle between locals hoodlums and the mafia.

I was totallly blown away by this film. Right from the start it really grabs your attention. It is beautifully shot, and has an excellent score, reminiscent of an 80's soundtrack both in relation to the score and the songs used in the film.
The story is brilliantly told by Director Nicolas Winding Refn, who was responsible for Brit Flick "Bronson".
All the cast excel in their roles, but top marks especially to Gosling, who gives a phenomenal performance. At times he is so quiet and understated, you would not believe that his character could harm a fly. The film has an '18' certificate, and it is with very good reason.

I eagerly await the opportunity to see this most excellent film again. I cannot recommend highly enough. Films like this do not come along very often...........10 out of 10

"Killer Elite"

I often wonder why I continue to watch films starring Jason Statham, as he has a really poor track record. The only film of his I have really enjoyed was "Cellular" and that was a few years ago. Has his latest film faired any better than some of his more recent efforts?

Am afraid not. In fact it will be going down as one of his worst.
A Middle Eastern Leader wants revenge against the British Soldiers who were responsible for the deaths of three of his sons. So to carry out his vengeance, he hires a  mercenary (De Niro) who will do his dirty work for him.  When things go wrong, the mercenary is held for ransom, so that his associates will carry on what he was unable to do. Statham heads up the associates, and seeing as the kidnapped victim is like a mentor and father figure to him, he is rather keen to have him freed.

There are no characters to cheer for, all are pretty loathsome. At times the film is bland, dull and tedious. Statham is the same as he seems to be in the majority of his movies. Clive Owen is very clearly wasted, with a masterpiece like "The International" under his belt, he should be passing on such banal material as this.
De Niro is clearly unable to get the parts anymore to allow him to show what a phenomenal actor he is. A great talent is really being wasted. Either wait for those great roles again, or retire. Don't demean such a great career with more of these going through the motion roles.

A great waste of my time....and the few marks it does get is for a decent and tense chase sequence on a dual carriageway........2 out of 10

"Shark Night 3D"

The water has always been a key ingredient of so many great movies, "Jaws", "The Abyss", "Waterworld"...maybe not so much the last one.

But here we have another adventure on the water, and like Spielberg's classic, we have to contend with some rather big sharks. The film starts with a group of students, who after lots of book reading, decide to head to an island retreat for some relaxing, amongst other things. With it being the home town of one of the group, they should have nothing to fear from the locals...right?  Wrong. There are the usual Hill-Billy type characters, the writers must have really been stretched with their plots and characters. The deaths come quite quickly and in fast succession.

Some are inventive, I have to say that I do not recall having ever seen such athletic sharks. They should be taking part in the Olympics. The reason behind the sharks being in the water, and what the local yokels are upto is certainly different. It is not boring, that much I can say.

Just about manages to keep its head above the water........4 out of 10

"Abduction"

Nathan (Taylor Lautner) enjoys his life, for the most part. Socialising with his friends, trying to capture the heart of the girl who lives opposite, but also having to deal with his law laying father, who likes to instill some discipline in his son. During a class project, he is paired up with the girl of his dreams, but problems ensue when they visit some missing children websites for the project, and it seems possible that Nathan may be one of those pictured on the website as missing, and if he is, who are the two people he lives with pretending to be his parents?
It would also seem he is not the only one on the website as an East European terrorist has created the website for the very purpose of tracking down Nathan, as his father is actually a Spy, as happens every day, and the terrorist wants to kidnap Nathan to force his Spy father to return some property he stole. Lots of chases follow yadda yadda yadda.

Hmmm....this is not a great film, good is being over generous. The story is farcical, and not at all compelling. There is little to no tension, for the most part a very talented cast are very wasted. And when I say talented cast, I mean the more veteran actors, wonderful stars like Alfred Molina and Sigourney Weaver.

Save your money, you will thank me......3 out of 10

"Friends With Benefits"

Another rom.com I hear you cry. What would want to make me watch another?  As usual, boy has girl, girl dumps boy, boy meets girl, boy and girl have sex but no relationship, girl then loves boy and on it goes.
The premise for the film is enjoyable, and allows for some amusing and entertaining moments. It is nicely played out by both Mila Kunis and Justin Timberlake, who it has to be said, is turning out some really good performances of late, and proving to be quite the little actor. Who would have thought it.
There is also a nice little backstory involving the father of Dylan (Timberlake), who is wonderfully played by Richard Jenkins.

So yes do go see it. It's funny, sexy and entertaining, and has some nice performances in it

7 out of 10

"The Phantom of the Opera" 25th Anniversary Concert

I had the immense pleasure of getting to see the Anniversary concert for The Phantom of the Opera live fom the Royal Albert Hall on a local cinema screen. Being unable to attend the show in person, it was the next best thing. And I am really glad that I went.


From start to finish it is a delight to watch. Like just about everyone in the civilised world, I am well versed with the story. I have seen various productions over the years using the storyline, or variations there of. And this has to rank as the best. The sets were great, the costumes are all to die for, the performances from all the cast are outstanding, and those wonderful songs are so haunting. It is so easy to see why the show remains so popular.

Being an Anniversary concert, there were some extra surprises at the end, seeing four previous Phantoms together on stage. Also seeing Sarah Brightman, and also hearing her perform, and best of all was seeing Michael Crawford on stage, very clearly moved by the production and the anniversary.

A great evening out......9 out of 10