Netflix Recommendation Of The Week!

Sundays are made for chilling on the sofa with some chocolate in one hand, a cup of tea in the other whilst enjoying an incredibly lazy movie marathon. So it seemed only appropriate that my recommendation today had to be a perfect Sunday movie.

When Ned gets released from jail prematurely, after being caught attempting to sell marijuana to a police officer, he has no choice but to rely on his family to help him get back on his feet, after his girlfriend breaks up with him, kicks him out and worst of all keeps their joint dog, Willie Nelson. But his sister's aren't too pleased about having their bum of a brother barging in to their grown-up lives!

Life Partners review: Leighton Meester and Gillian Jacobs play co-dependent soul sisters

We all know the feeling of worry that sets in when your best friend tells you they've got a new other half. The romantic kind. Okay, for the most part, you're pleased for them because we all want our friends to be happy, but particularly if you're very close to said friend, in those few brief moments, it's almost impossible not to think about how your own life will be affected, regardless of how beaming their smile is whilst talking about their new life partner.

Fury review

The last time we saw Brad Pitt as a wartime hero, it was in Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds as the brutal, caricatured, Lt. Aldo Raine, but now in Fury, Pitt leaves the comedy behind and gives a visceral, rugged and more importantly, realistic performance of a battle-wearied Sergeant hellbent on protecting what's left of his squad from the Nazis.

5 Reasons You HAVE To See Gone Girl

On the week of its release, I managed to go see a preview screening of David Fincher's latest movie, Gone Girl and was blown away by the film I saw. Here, I list the best things about it and narrow down a mere 5 reasons why you cannot miss it this Autumn...

A Walk Among The Tombstones review

I don't really need much encouragement to see a Liam Neeson film. Okay, so his back-catalogue of movies has had a fair few misses as well as hits (I'm looking at you, Unknown and The Grey), but films I love him in such as Taken and Non-Stop are more than enough to convince me that this actor is actually a talent and despite being relatively typecast, does still make some good'uns.

Unfortunately for me, I think this blind admiration for Neeson may have shot me in the foot when it came to his latest drama. Despite many people telling me it looked a bit naff, I refused to listen and wandered into the cinema with a spring in my step to see A Walk Among The Tombstones.

Before I Go To Sleep review: A well-executed thriller... but not one you'll want to relive again and again

When a best-selling book gets turned into a movie adaptation, as it hits the big screen, viewers are usually split into two camps. Those who have read it and want to see a book they enjoyed created, within the medium of cinema, and those who haven't read it at all and are simply looking for a few hours of immersive entertainment of a film they like the look of. 

But as odd as it may sound, I fell into both categories when I went to see Before I Go To Sleep. You see, I was about half way through the book when I went, which put me in an unusual position of knowing some of the story but not all of it, and I am undoubtedly glad of that fact having now seen the film.

The Nut Job review

First question: hasn't this movie been done before?! Whilst watching the 3D animation by Canadian director Peter Leponitis, I couldn't shake the fact that The Nut Job bares an uncanny resemblance in storyline to 2006's Over The Hedge.

Cute little animals with huge cartoon eyes and even bigger teeth on a seemingly impossible mission to get food for the winter? The leader of the gang of woodland creatures is trying to redeem himself to the rest of the group? Oh, it's about a racoon, a squirrel, a dog and some other not-so-important animals? And they're all voiced by actors who really shouldn't be associating themselves with such twaddle? Yeah, they're definitely the same movie.

How To Train Your Dragon 2 review

[*Warning* Watching this film may cause obsession with all things dragon and result in crippling disappointment that there is a) no such existing thing and b) you do not, and cannot, in fact, ever ride one.]

When How To Train Your Dragon came out in 2010, no-one would have expected that it would become one of the most well-loved animations of the last decade, but it almost instantaneously became a fan favourite after children (and adults) everywhere fell in love with the movie's heart-felt charm and witty wonder.

Edge Of Tomorrow review

You've seen Tom Cruise in a lot of action movies. We've certainly seen him wielding a gun in more films than not and we're well used to him being the hero sporting the gleaming Hollywood smile in nearly all of his pictures. But what we definitely haven't seen him play is the coward, let alone the coward that is upstaged in the tough stakes by a woman. And that's pretty much the entire premise of Edge Of Tomorrow in a nutshell.

Based upon the Japanese manga novel, All You Need Is Kill, but with a few details changed of course, the film almost plays out in a game-like way with action sequences so involving, you feel exhausted just watching them!

Netflix Recommendation Of The Week!

Robot & Frank

If you seen and enjoyed films such as Garden State, Up In The Air and The Way Way Back, then I encourage you to watch endearing indie-drama Robot & Frank.

The plot is relatively simple as it touchingly relays the life of Frank, an ex-jewel thief who is bought an advanced robot by his son to look after him and keep him company in the hopes that it will bring him out of his shell and back into the real world again. Proud at first, Frank reluctantly gives in to the idea of having an animatronic friend and soon realises he can be more of a help than he first thought, as the pair embark on an ambitious jewellery theft. 

Stretching across a number of genres, this drama/comedy/sci-fi/heist movie is truly heart-warming and brilliantly executed, whilst also featuring some great performances so check it out! 

5 Reasons You HAVE To See The Amazing Spiderman 2!

Andrew Garfield dons the red-and-blue suit once more as I count down the five (and a half) best things about Marvel's new hit. (Arguably the much more interesting job of the two, right?)...

Her review

Imagine a hyper-real, super interactive version of Siri on your iPhone and you may have some idea as to what Spike Jonze's Her is all about. Set in Los Angeles in the near future, Theodore Twombly (Joaquin Phoenix) is drifting along, struggling to come to terms with the finalisation of his ongoing-divorce from his wife (Rooney Mara). Even his job writing "hand written letters" for his inarticulate, illiterate or downright lazy clients to give to whichever recipient they so choose is a constant reminder that he himself, is alone.

The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty review: Winks, wanderlust and Walter

Walter is just a normal guy. But that's just it, he's JUST a normal guy. Whilst other people have interesting anecdotes to tell at work or quippy one-liners on their eHarmony accounts, Walter relies on his ever-so-frequent daydreams to make his life that bit more exciting. But when some confusion at his job as a negative asset manager (fancy speak for picture guy!) at Life magazine has him travelling the world in search of a lost photograph, it's not just the misplaced picture he finds along the way.

12 Years a Slave review: McQueen leaves the indie movies behind on his way to getting that little golden statue

In a time when cinema is inundated with films like Avengers Assemble, Free Birds and The Wolfpack Trilogy, it's easy to forget sometimes that some films are meant to evoke. Hit you hard, make you think and make you feel. 12 Years A Slave, based on the true story of a black man living in the 1800's is that, and then some.

Frozen review: Disney's latest will warm your heart this Christmas!

When they were much younger, sisters Elsa and Anna were inseparable. But when a playful accident results in Elsa hurting Anna; the elder of the pair, chooses to hide herself away for years, with the encouragement from her parents, in an effort to prevent herself from harming anyone else. 

See, Elsa isn't just an ordinary young girl. Unlike the rest of her family, Elsa possesses the power to freeze anything she touches and make ice appear from her bare hands! Fearing that she will not be able to control her abilities as they get more powerful with age, the princess is persuaded to spend her days in solitude, never allowing her sibling or the people of her kingdom Arendelle, to know her true nature.

Thor: The Dark World review - Superior sequel stands tall against it's predecessor

Being a huge Marvel fan, I was chomping at the bit to watch 2011's first life-action movie adaptation of demigod Thor. But I must admit, I left the cinema a little disappointed. I couldn't pinpoint exactly what went wrong with the film, albeit if anything really went wrong at all. But in my eyes, it just didn't match up to not only my hyped expectations but other Marvel movies as well, such as Iron Man or X-Men.

Despite that cementing Thor as my least favourite Marvel superhero (I then saw Captain America and the bottom slot was quickly filled by another), I was eager to give the second instalment a try! And I'm glad I did, as Thor: The Dark World has none of what failed it's first go.

Captain Phillips review: Tom Hanks stars in this tense and true triumph

If United 93 wasn't enough to convince audiences that Paul Greengrass can deliver a smart, unusual, hauntingly realistic, thriller then Captain Phillips should squander those worries way before its credits roll.

Based upon the true story of middle-aged captain Richard Phillips, who, whilst delivering an American container ship to Mombasa, Africa in 2009, gets hijacked by a group of violent pirates desperate to make some serious money to please their ruthless bosses back in Somalia.

Pain & Gain review: Miami, muscles and mayhem

Anthony Mackie, Mark Wahlberg and Dwayne Johnson explode onto our screens

From Pain & Gain, I didn't expect too much, but I did expect tank tops galore, a few laughs, Miami sun and action, and that's exactly what I got.

Said to be an exact true story, stemming from 1995, Pain & Gain follows Danny Lugo (Mark Wahlberg) as he becomes increasingly fed-up with his mediocre life as a bodybuilder and decides to kidnap and rob one of his wealthiest clients with two of his buff buddies. But, they're not exactly criminal masterminds...

Elysium review

Neil Blomkamp's District 9 challenged ideas of social class, our rapidly technologically-advancing world and overpopulation through the science-fiction concept of aliens being confined to concentration camps after coming to Earth. Elysium attempts to present the same issues and preach a similar message but doesn't quite succeed, ending up with a film bogged down by action sequences, tough guys and robots.

We're The Millers review: A comedy lovers dream!

Absolutely no slapstick gags and crude innuendos are passed up in outrageous comedy We're The Millers lead by recent Saturday Night Live's ex-cast member, Jason Sudeikis.

After having his stash-and-cash stolen by a bunch of youths, marijuana dealer David Clark (Sudeikis) is forced to take on a job for his drug-overlord (The Hangover's Ed Helms) which has him planning to smuggle an enormous amount of cannabis over the Mexican border back into the US. Realising he'll look suspicious if he goes alone, he bribes three other low-lifes into pretending to be his family, "the Millers" for the trip, disguising it as a holiday, but of course, things don't quite go as smoothly as he first expected.