Introduction

Hi, my name is David Lowe. I have a passion for movies, weather it's the latest blockbusters, or under the radar indie films. I've set up this blog to share my passion with the rest of the world. Eventually the blog will be loaded movie news, reviews and features, so be sure to keep checking back for regular updates!

I plan to review movies against what they are trying to be, rather than things they never could be. E.g. I won't go rating The Expendables 3 on its artistic merits, instead I'll rate it based on pure entertainment value, since that is what set out to be. I'll also avoid mindless fan-boy devotion to any particular actor or director *Cough*Christopher Nolan*Cough*. As well as reviews expect some other interesting features, I don't know yet, maybe a run-down of Nicolas Cage's best haircut, or silliest accent.

For someone as enthusiastic about film as myself, I'm still a bit behind on some of "the big ones" the kind that make other film fans say "You HAVEN'T seen *Insert film here*" so another regular feature will be my own reviews of some classics which i really ought to have seen already.

Thanks for reading, I hope you like what you see and stop by again soon!

Coming soon: The UK's box office's biggest film EVER, and i missed it, Skyfall DVD Review!

Review: A Good Day to Die Hard

Age doesn’t slow wise cracking New York cop John McLane one bit in the latest all action instalment of this iconic franchise.

We catch up with our hero some years after the events of Die Hard 4.0. Having finally patched things up with his daughter Lucy, McLane(Bruce Willis) heads to Moscow to make amends with estranged son Jack (Jai Courtney) unaware he is working for the CIA and is involved in some pretty heavy “Spy Shit” (in the words of McLane) safe guarding a political prisoner in order to maintain the countries balance of power.

Putting his foot right in it as usual the action kicks off in the first 15 minutes and keeps going through to the end credits. The father/ son dynamic brings a new element to the Die Hard franchise. Son Jack is less than happy to see his estranged father at first, but as the relationship develops between shoot outs with countless Russian bad-guys we start to see that the two of them may have a soft spot for one another after all. Another new feature of this instalment is the 12A certificate, initially I thought this could be damaging to the high intensity of the films action sequences, but it really just serves to keep McLane’s potty mouth in check. (This does however mean a quick cutaway from our heroes iconic catchphrase “Yipee Ki Yay MotherF---“) There are some great nods back to the early Die Hard movies, most notably a bad guy with a distinct hatred of American Cowboys, and a room full of broken glass. 

Despite the non-stop action there is something missing here. There is a distinct lack of those memorable set pieces (think C4 down an elevator shaft, or taking out a helicopter with a cop car) whether it was the shorter running time, lower rating or maybe a lack of ambition in the script, those kind of over the top sequences that leave you thinking “Did he really just do that!” don’t really come rolling in right until the climax. The wait does, however pay off, as the last 20 minutes plays out as a prolonged string of explosions and shoot outs which, for the first time in the movie really do get you on the edge of your seat.

In Short: It isn’t going to go down as one of the high points in the franchise, but as a modern action flick it sure holds up. The perfect kind of movie for a guys night out.