Hey Snoochers, so its been a little while, and we’re sorry for our absence but as you may have seen on Twitter we’ve been working super hard to set up our sister site The Reel Deal.
Now we are back! And kicking off a brand new load of fun lifestyle content just for you with our very first review for the brand new refurbished Travelodge Hotels. We sent Becks to the heart of Theatreland in London to spend a night at the Covent Garden hotel to see what its got to offer… and she even did this very kind video review just for us!
So we hope you’ve got a good idea of what its like to stay in one of these very convenient and affordable hotels (rooms start from £29, our recommendation is that you sort out your booking online). To be fair, you’re going to spend most of your time outside of the hotel, exploring the great cities they’re based in, so why pay through the roof for a bed!
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!
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.
For anyone who is looking at the Hobbit posters that are plastering our walls, buses and underground stations, and wondering whether or not its worth your time (about 2.5 hours) and money to sit in a dark room throughout party season; I can categorically tell you it is!
Forget the first installment of the film franchise and all its appalling high frame rate filming and dull overly long set up plot lines, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is a triumph! What was lost in the first film is the distinct transportation to another world (its pretty hard to get lost in a film when the clarity of the filming is so high you can see the prosthetics covering each characters faces) and more frighteningly a lack lustre sense of action and adventure. Luckily part two brightens up all our woes and keeps you on the edge of your seat from start to finish!
I know its always a good sign when I remember to check my watch and realize that its already over two hours through. I had been so preoccupied before hand with everything going on, I didn’t even think I stopped to take a breath let alone look at the time!
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is the continuation story of Bilbo Baggins the dwarves and Gandalf the Grey as they continue their journey to reclaim their rightful homeland Erebor, from the fire-breathing dragon that is Smaug. Unbeknown to the rest of the group, Bilbo is also in possession of a magical ring which gives him extraordinary powers and makes him a brave and valuable asset on this quest.
First and foremost the action is amazing. Whether it is a newly tweaked version of the 48fps or indeed the standard 24fps version, you will be dazzled by the intricacy and excitement of each action led sequence. One key highlight has to be the battle with giant spiders, which with added 3D gives them a new monstrous perception and will make you shudder out of reach in your cinema seat. Secondly, is the incredibly impressive river barrel sequence, with prancing elves killing Orcs with “endless” amounts of arrows, the logistical reality does not come into play in any way within this sequence as its 15 minutes of glory is truly breath taking.
Each character that we have seen in the first installment of the franchise becomes more developed in their own right in this film. Bilbo has an increased level of confidence thanks to his secret weapon, Gandalf goes off to fight his own battle against Sauron, and there is an interesting start of a love triangle between Killy (Dwarf), Tauriel (Elf) and Legolas (Elf) which is left hanging ready for the conclusion in the third film.
And finally, we get to Smaug – Benedict Cumberbatch is superbly cast as the greedy dragon resting in the Misty Mountain awoken by Bilbo. The detail that is used to create the dragon is some of the best out there, each scale is clear to see and the fire in Smaug’s belly prepares you for a visual feast of fire and gold.
To round up, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug brings Peter Jackson back to Tolkien’s original fantasy and his directing best. Fun for all the family, this film is THE go to film for the Christmas period and not one to miss.
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!
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
Snoochie Boochies 