Yes film fans, its that time of the week (as in the end of the week – yippee!) And we have the best way of celebrating. Our great friends at The Reel Film Show have a bite sized nugget of information for you called Gone in 60 Seconds (presented by our very own film critic Rebecca Perfect!)
It brings you the big releases that are being released every week and gives you a quick indication of whats hot at the cinema so you can make your mind up on what to watch over the weekend!
This week there’s something in it for everyone, boys, girls, cyclists!!! So make sure you tune in and subscribe to their ace You Tube channel which is officially launching in the next two months. So beat the crowd and be part of a film going revolution!
Calling all film fans! Stuck for something to watch at the cinema this weekend? Well we’ve got a treat for you! We’ve teamed up with the fantastic @realfilmshow to bring you a brand spanking, fun piece of video content that will answer all your “what should I do at the weekend?” questions.
PLUS! We loved that we spotted presenter @rebecca_perfect wearing one of our featured fashion pieces from Avenue Boutique! Check it out!!!
So make sure you subscribe to what looks to be the hottest film fix for all of you fanatics out there!
We’ve got a special treat just for you our very own Film Critic Rebecca Perfect has started work on a fantastic new film show due out in February, its called The Reel and aims to bring you all the fun of film in one bite size chunk! In the meantime they’re giving you a weekly round up of what’s hot and what’s not at the cinemas every Friday.
We thought we’d share the first pilot episode with you… we hope you like it, caveated with a small amount of technical glitches which are being sorted for its next episode, its a small nugget of information about what to watch at the weekend and we here at Snoochie Boochies think it could be the start of a very good (and useful) thing.
After you’ve picked yourself up from your chair following the three plus hour rollercoaster ride of entertainment that is The Wolf of Wall Street, you’ll reflect (for hours, possibly even days) on what this film contained before coming to the inevitable conclusion that Di Caprio and Scorsese have a) the best bromance in Hollywood, and b) that The Wolf of Wall Street really is a modern day masterpiece.
Unbelievably, this is a true story and follows the rise and fall of Jordan Belfort a Long Island penny stockbroker who served 36 months in prison for defrauding investors in a massive 1990s securities scam that involved widespread corruption on Wall Street and in the corporate banking world, including shoe designer Steve Madden.
Now this all sounds like thrilling, serious stuff, and of course it is, but cleverly intertwined with this is the knowledge that Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his merry band of stockbroker men, lived the most zany, outlandish lifestyle that really does only exist in the movies until their time is up.
Martin Scorsese is back to his very best in this punchy screen sensation that reminds us of the great and the good films from the late 1980’s and early 90’s. It’s hard not to describe this as Goodfellas meets Wall Street where DiCaprio plays our modern day Gordon Gekko to perfection! Although The Wolf of Wall Street is not for the feint hearted (it contains lewd behavior, copious amounts of drug taking, full frontal nudity and enough swearing to send your granny to an early grave) you cannot help but love and laugh through every minute of it!
Proving he’s the most qualified and under awarded man in Hollywood history Leonardo DiCaprio pulls off another stellar performance as Jordan Belfort, from the wide eyed rookie stock broker taken under the wing of Rothschild Bank to the greedy owner of his own unorthodox company, we see a true transformation of character right before our eyes, that will have us laughing and crying at the same time, and secretly urging him to come out OK in the end.
Jonah Hill again is perfectly cast as Belforts’ sidekick Donnie Azoff, the ‘loveable douchebag’ who supports his colleague and mentor to the end (sort of) and is often happy to remain the brunt of the jokes and rakes in the rewards of living this lavish lifestyle laid out for him. Margot Robbie is a surprise as the trophy wife Naomi Lapaglia who dons a fantastic New York accent and bombshell look to not only bring Jordan Belfort to his knees in lust, but to also secure her place as Hollywood hot property.
The only downside to The Wolf of Wall Street is that there are some excellent cameos throughout that you just wish would have hung around longer. Jean DuJardin plays the shrewd and straight talking Swedish banker who appears in the latter part of the film, and is a world away from his silent Oscar winning star in The Artist. But the real master cameo performance is Matthew McConaughey as Belforts’ first boss Mark Hana. In only a fraction of screen time, he captures the essence of the craziness of life on Wall Street in the late 80’s and hooks Di Caprio’s impressionable character onto the biggest drug of all, money. Its outlandishness will have you howling in your seat with laughter and re-creating a certain ‘chest chant’ for days to come!
The Wolf of Wall Street may be sexist, brash, punchy and full of what was wrong with the world pre-crash, but you’ve got to admit once watching this film, that they had one hell of a ball in their work hard, play hard lifestyles. The costumes, the humour, the references and the brilliant acting all captures this era perfectly, and with this creates, as previously stated, a modern masterpiece, three hours promises to whizz by like three minutes and you’ll be grinning and laughing all the way home. This film really has set the bar for 2014.
If you missed it on Friday, our resident Film Critic Rebecca Perfect (@rebecca_perfect) kicked off the weekend by appearing on 5 News Talk Live to discuss this issue and see if, following this summer supposed ‘film flops,’ we’re headed for a disaster movie of our own…
So why don’t you let us know what you think…
Are there too many big blockbuster films out there at the moment? Is there too much choice? Is it style over substance? What would you want Hollywood to do to improve the films you’ve been disappointed with?
On the flip side, is there something you’ve really enjoyed watching? Are we over exaggerating about there being a ‘crisis?’ What have your favourite films of the year been so far?
So the first hints of Summer were out this weekend and we sent one of our bloggers, Becky Perfect, to try out one of the big homeware trends over the last couple of years. Becky’s always been fascinated by the idea of shabby chic furniture restoration, mainly because with a little lick of paint they can sometimes sell for a lot of money! And with that in mind, there was just no stopping her!!
So armed with an old pine bed headboard she set out to see if a little lick of paint and a bit of sand paper really could do the trick, oh and she was kind enough to make a video about it too….
Huge thanks have to go to Autentico paint and Smile@home who gave Becky the inspiration and guidance in the first place! Much appreciated!
If you’re looking to do your own shabby chic furniture restoration then send us in your top tips and final pictures! We’d love to see how you get on!
Summer is just around the corner, and with that you’ll be guaranteed to get some huge blockbuster films hitting the cinemas. So what is out there ready and waiting for you?
Film critic (and superhero expert!) Amon Warman has come up with a brilliant 3 minute video showcasing the best of Summer 2013 film. Do you agree? Disagree? What are you most looking forward to? Leave us a comment and let us know!
You can follow Amon on Twitter @awarmann and check out his super blog Amonymous
You almost feel a little bit naughty for liking this film. It has every cliché in the book… the patriotic drum rolls when an image of the white house is shown in full glory, the American flag falling solemnly to the ground when the take over is complete, and the words “God Bless America” that are used perhaps more times than a skeptical British audience cares to hear. However, Olympus has Fallen is a very enjoyable film. Even though its made by the director of Training Day, Antoine Fuqua, it is no Training Day (there is no Denzel for starters…) but rom-com hero come face stabber Gerard Butler steps up to the plate as disgraced Presidential Guard Mike Banning pretty well.
The story follows the former Head of Security, eighteen months after he fails to save President Asher’s (Aaron Eckhart) wife from falling to her death following a freak snow accident en route back from Camp David. He is now working a desk job at the State Treasury so to not remind the President of that fateful night. There is unrest in Korea and the South Korean President comes to the White House to find a solution. This is when the take down begins. A full blown storm on the White House occurs and it seems that the FBI, Navy Seals and Homeland security have are facing more danger than they ever could have imagined, so its down to one man to get the President and his son out of the White House alive.
Butler has been known in the last few years to take the easy money route with his career, rom-coms like Playing for Keeps and P.S. I Love You have been a strategic way of keeping the actor both funded and in the forefront of Hollywood’s minds (on screen at least). We can be forgiven for momentarily forgetting that he actually played King Leonidis in the brutal graphic novel 300, but its good to see him back on form here. Apart from a few dodgy accent slips, it’s easy to see him as a high profile security guard who has a charismatic relationship with both the President and his son. He brings an everyman quality to this performance which makes him more accepting in this role, clearly knowing his place as to when to be friend and when to serve. Its easy to follow Butler as the central character here, his action moves are not unexpected, you feel he knows when he’s delivering a cheesy line and you even on occasion get a little glimmer appear in his eyes which tells the audience that although he shouldn’t, he’s definitely laughing at this line with you.
Accompanying him in supporting roles are Angela Bassett (Secret Service Director Lynn Jacobs) and Morgan Freeman (Speaker Trumbull). Having these two in this film I feel balances up the ridiculousness of some of the scenes and forces a sense of credibility into what we’re watching. Although understated, these two actors become an audience within the film, watching action themselves from the Pentagon, and making a few big decisions as and when necessary.
As the villain of the piece, Kang, Rick Yune is perfectly cast. Amidst all the chaos of the epic take over scene, the criminal mastermind is cool, calm and calculated. It’s almost sinister how relaxed he is, and you automatically think back to his Bond villain Zao in Die Another Day. You find yourself intrigued as to what happen will happen next with him, and a key highlight for me was his un-emotive reaction to Butlers proposed game of “Fuck Off.” As an actor, Yune really does play the ‘less is more’ card very well.
Overall, the film is a combination of cheese, violence (in parts verging on ultra-violence) and an almost worrying example of the most protected building in the world being overtaken by terrorists. Despite its terrible title and slight lack of gravitas to make it a classic action flick, its really worth a watch, the fight scenes are exciting, you almost fear for your own safety a little when the take over begins, and apart from a few dodgy lines Olympus has fallen makes for an engaging and solid watch – definitely one for the boys though.
Exploding onto our screens is the kick-ass Wolverine trailer…after Jackmans stint as an all singing, all dancing French criminal in Les Mis, he’s back and back to his bad self and we can’t wait to see what Wolverine has in store for us….but to wet our appetites, here’s a first look:
A bit more about what we can expect from the film:
Based on the celebrated comic book arc, this epic action-adventure takes Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), the most iconic character of the X-Men universe, to modern day Japan. Out of his depth in an unknown world he faces his ultimate nemesis in a life-or-death battle that will leave him forever changed. Vulnerable for the first time and pushed to his physical and emotional limits, he confronts not only lethal samurai steel but also his inner struggle against his own immortality, emerging more powerful than we have ever seen him before.
Pulling together a stellar cast with an intricate and intelligent tale of a heist gone wrong, Danny Boyle once again proves himself to be the leading force in British film making and a national treasure in terms of making Britain look classy, stylish and very VERY cool.
Trance follows the story of an art auctioneer Simon (James McAvoy) who finds himself entangled in a complicated web with a group of criminals when he agrees to help steal a multi-million pound painting, in exchange for them clearing his soaring gambling debts. Unfortunately the heist doesn’t go quite to plan, the painting is mis-laid and the only solution to finding it is through hypnotherapy.
The poster for the film displays its intricacies perfectly, Trance is a carefully woven puzzle that cleverly unravels as the film progresses. You have to be alert to watch it as there is so much going on, but it’s a highly enjoyable watch which is fast paced, beautifully shot and engaging from its opening run-through of the auction house security procedure, innocently narrated by McAvoy, through to its explosive ending.
The cast compliment each other exceptionally well. James McAvoy is fast securing himself as the UK’s strongest acting export with a wide variety of roles under his belt over the last few years, and a fantastic array of films out this year including Welcome to the Punch and Filth. It’s his journey that you follow throughout, as he manages to portray the naivety of an innocent man falling in with the wrong crowd brilliantly. You feel his fear towards the criminals immediately and there is a brilliant everyman likeability and acceptance to him, which you grow to trust and sympathise with throughout the film.
On the flip side you have Vincent Cassel’s Franck. A French criminal who sees the opportunity to score big with this heist and is the leader of the crime trio Simon gets caught up in. Initially he seems like the obvious bad guy, but again, there is a strange level of warmth and acceptance that you as an audience member and Elizabeth the hypnotherapist (Rosario Dawson) feels towards his character, which again demonstrates that all is not necessarily as it seems.
These two characters are displayed as the classic protagonist vs villain, which is an age old route to go down in story telling – along with the love interest thrown in the middle. However bring it up to present day, and Boyles cleverly shot tongue twister of a film keeps you guessing who really is the one to trust throughout. In addition to this, Dawson’s Elizabeth the hypnotherapist, is the final piece to the puzzle, her involvement is the trigger and solution for the twists in this tale. Again, as an audience member you remain unsure whether or not she is good or bad; and her motives don’t become clear until the very end but her calming portrayal balances out the hot headed performances of the two leading men.
Trance is one of those films that shows Boyles ability as a film maker at his very best. The fantastic script by Joe Ahearne and John Hodge is brought to life using beautiful cinematography which shows both the interior and exterior shots of London as a modern and exciting place to be. The editing between flash backs, trance states and present time helps to unravels each piece of the puzzle brilliantly and gives you that sudden eureka moment at the end but leaves you continually guessing throughout.
Altogether this stylish film will no doubt have cinema-goers raving about it and so they should, its Danny Boyle back to his best with an exciting crime story told in an innovative and breathtaking way.
The film hits cinemas tomorrow – which is brilliant for all you EE customers as its EE Wednesdays which means you can get two tickets for the price of one! Bonus – find out more about that, here
Yes film fans, its that time of the week (as in the end of the week – yippee!) And we have the best way of celebrating. Our great friends at The Reel Film Show have a bite sized nugget of information for you called Gone in 60 Seconds (presented by our very own film critic Rebecca Perfect!)
Snoochie Boochies 