Beserk Movie 2 DVD and Blu-ray review

4 Stars of the continuing story of Guts.

With slick animation (drawn and CG) and plenty of blood and gore, as we are swept along in the next instalment in the life of mercenary Guts, (Hiroaki Iwanaga, Beserk: The Golden Age Arc 1 the Age of the King). After showing his prowess on the battlefield with his massive sword Guts is recruited into the mercenary group The Band of the Hawk, lead by the enigmatic Giffith, (Takahiro Sakurai, Psyren) who is the only person to beat Guts in battle.

 The hundred year war continues and the band of the hawk play a pivotal role as they sweep across the battlefields in the Midland war campaign.

Available on DVD and Blu-ray 3 September

See full review at RoadRash Reviews 

The Fifth Estate

Triggering our age of high-stakes secrecy, explosive news leaks and the trafficking of classified information, WikiLeaks forever changed the game. Now, in a dramatic thriller based on real events, “The Fifth Estate” reveals the quest to expose the deceptions and corruptions of power that turned an Internet upstart into the 21st century’s most fiercely debated organization.

The story begins as WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and his colleague Daniel Domscheit-Berg (Daniel Brühl) team up to become underground watchdogs of the privileged and powerful. On a shoestring, they create a platform that allows whistleblowers to anonymously leak covert data, shining a light on the dark recesses of government secrets and corporate crimes. Soon, they are breaking more hard news than the world’s most legendary media organizations combined. But when Assange and Berg gain access to the biggest trove of confidential intelligence documents in U.S. history, they battle each other and a defining question of our time: what are the costs of keeping secrets in a free society—and what are the costs of exposing them?"

A dramatic thriller based on real events, “The Fifth Estate” reveals the quest to expose the deceptions and corruptions of power that turned an Internet upstart into the 21st century’s most fiercely debated organization

The Fifth Estate arrives in UK cinemas October 11th

Tiger and Bunny Part 4 DVD and Blu-ray Short Review

Well thought out and entertaining Manga, 4 stars.

Tiger and Bunny Part 4 is the final installment in the Tiger and Bunny Saga and is directed by Keiichi Sato.

For those not familiar with the franchise, Tiger and Bunny is set in a world where law and order is maintained by super heroes, called "Next", people who have unique abilities and who are offered corporate sponsorship to fight crime on camera for the news network Hero T.V.

Find out what else we thought about this great bit of animation over at Road Rash Reviews

Leet Loki and Thor

Disney has just released two new posters for the upcoming Thor sequel. This time is's character posters. One of Thor and the other is the baddie, Loki.

Marvel’s "Thor: The Dark World" continues the big-screen adventures of Thor, the Mighty Avenger, as he battles to save Earth and all the Nine Realms from a shadowy enemy that predates the universe itself.

In the aftermath of Marvel’s "Thor" and "Marvel’s The Avengers," Thor fights to restore order across the cosmos... but an ancient race led by the vengeful Malekith returns to plunge the universe back into darkness. Faced with an enemy that even Odin and Asgard cannot withstand, Thor must embark on his most perilous and personal journey yet, one that will reunite him with Jane Foster and force him to sacrifice everything to save us all.

Hitting UK cimemas October 30, 2013

All Stars DVD and Blu-ray Release Short Review

An excellent summer holiday family film, 4 stars.

All Stars is directed by Ben Gregor (D.O.A., Straight 8) and tells the story of a group of kids who fight to save their youth club, The Garage, from the evil local council, who wish to close it down to make way for a car park.

The Garage is run by Gina (Ashley Jensen - Ugly Betty, Nativity!) who is trying to raise enough money to keep it open. Enter Jaden (Akai Osei-Mansfield - Streetdance 2, winner of Sky's "Got To Dance"), with the bright idea to throw a talent show to raise funds. He enlists a reluctant Ethan (Theo Stevenson - Horrid Henry: The Movie, In Bruges), a young entrepreneur with a crush on the girlfriend of the leader of a street dance crew. The ideal finale for a talent show, a dance off between rival crews.

Read the full review over at Road Rash Reviews

The White Queen DVD and Blu-ray Release Short Review

4 stars of what the BBC does best.

The White Queen is a lavish affair, a great example of the glee with which the BBC throw themselves into the production of a period drama.

It is based upon the series of novels "The Cousins War", written by Philippa Gregory (The Other Boleyn Girl) and is set towards the end  of the 15th century, before the rise of the Tudors and during the height of the conflict between the houses of York and Lancaster.

This rich tale of love and hate, deception and intrigue is told through the intertwined stories of three women, each powerful and influential in their own right.

Find out what else we thought of this great looking production over at Road Rash Reviews.

Space Battleship Yamato DVD and Blu-ray Short Review

4.5 Stars of Awesomeness, Space Battleship Yamato Lives.

This a live action version of the very popular animé series from 1974 of the same name.
2194 Captain Okita (Tsutomu Yamazaki, Departures) finds himself and his armada near the orbit of Mars, as Earth has come under fire of an alien race that knows nothing about, apart from they use massive meteors as weapons to bombard the surface of the planet and cover the surface with radiation.

They fire on the enemy but little happens; they have underestimated the power of these aliens, as they return fire the Earth ships are torn asunder as they try to flee, Captain Mamoru Kodai (Shin'ichi Tsutsum, A Lone Scalpel) contacts Okita and tells him to get back to Earth as he is about to put his ship in harms way, sacrificing his ship and crew so someone can tell the story of what happened that day.
From the outset this space battle opens your eyes as the graphics are awesome competing at the same level as any Hollywood production. It's a frantic battle and in Blu-ray you don't know which way to look.

Available on DVD and Blu-ray Now.

For the full review head over to Road Rash Reviews 

The Kemps back together on film

Martin and Gary Kemp reunite as villainous brothers for the first time since The Krays in ASSASSIN

Spandau Ballet icons Martin and Gary Kemp are to play sinister gangsters The Alberts brothers in new British hitman film ASSASSIN. It marks their first big screen appearance together since cult classic The Krays in 1991. They will star opposite Football Factory legend Danny Dyer.

Producer Jonathan Sothcott commented: “The Krays is one of the best-loved British films of all time, an untouchable classic that only a lunatic would remake, but at the core of that movie are the fantastic performances of Martin and Gary. Reuniting them for Assassin is a real coup, a dream come true, and I know their army of fans are going to love seeing what unpleasant plans they have for Mr Dyer.”

ASSASSIN is a Richwater/Silver Leaf co-production produced by Jonathan Sothcott and written, produced and directed by JK Amalou. Filming begins on the 9th of September on location in London. Anchor Bay entertainment have acquired UK and Australian rights and will release the movie in 2014.

METALLICA: THROUGH THE NEVER

STARRING METALLICA and DANE DEHAAN

DIRECTED BY NIMRÓD ANTAL

Award-winning filmmaker Nimród Antal (Predators, Kontroll) creates a groundbreaking 3-D motion picture event, METALLICA: THROUGH THE NEVER. The music-driven feature film combines a bold narrative and spectacular live performance footage of one of the most popular and influential rock bands in history to produce a bracing, raw and visceral cinematic experience. Emerging young star Dane DeHaan (The Place Beyond the Pines, Kill Your Darlings, The Amazing Spider-Man 2) portrays Trip, a young roadie sent on an urgent mission during Metallica’s roaring live set in front of a sold out arena.

As the band performs its most iconic songs for thousands of their fans in a never-before-seen performance created exclusively for the film, Trip is dispatched outside the arena to meet a disabled delivery truck and recover a mysterious item being transported to the show. But the seemingly simple assignment turns into a surreal adventure.

Metallica have also released the details of ‘Metallica Through The Never (Music from the Motion Picture)’ the soundtrack companion to the forthcoming film. The two disc CD set and digital version will be released on Blackened / Vertigo on September 23rd, featuring spectacular live renditions of Metallica favourites such as ‘One’, ’For Whom The Bell Tolls’, ‘Enter Sandman’, ‘Ride The Lightning’ and ‘Nothing Else Matters’ to name a few. You can now pre-order an exclusive bundle only from the Official Store. The bundle features the two-disc CD, an official METALLICA: THROUGH THE NEVER movie poster and T-shirt.
Released exclusively on IMAX ® screens on October 4, 2013

Scary MoVie DVD Short Review

3 Star fun in horrorland.
This is what it is, "the fifth and final instalment in a four part trilogy". With its forked tongue firmly in someone else's cheek or ear-hole.


We start with Charlie Sheen, (Hot Shots) and Lindsay Lohan, (Herbie Fully Loaded) in a bedroom scene with full Benny Hill music and their visitation of Paranormal Activity which gives the premise for the film as his three kids go missing after his untimely demise.

 Ja' Marcus, (Snoop Dog, Bad Boys II) is in the woods where he and his cousin find the three children.
This introduces us to Dan Sanders, (Simon Rex, Scary Movie 3 and 4) and his wife Jody, (Ashley Tisdale, High School Movie) who inherit their lost nieces and nephew.

It soon comes apparent that they have brought something else with them into their home, as the ever growing number of security-cameras prove the existence of spectral demon.

Available on DVD Now.

For Full Review Road Rash Reviews 

Aftershock DVD and Blu-ray Release Short Review

This is a great idea, badly put into practice, only 1.5 stars for this one.

Aftershock is a disaster film, set in the very beautiful coastal town of Valparaiso, Chile. As a tourist guide and advert for Valparaiso, this is an excellent film (they apparently have a lovely funicular railway), as a B-movie, not so much.

Aftershock is written and directed by Chilean director Nicolas Lopez (Que Pena Tu Vida) and is also co-written and produced by the star, Eli Roth (Inglourious Basterds, director of Hostel).

Find out what else we thought about this sunny Chilean production over at Road Rash Reviews

More views from Rush

Two-time Academy Award® winner Ron Howard (A Beautiful Mind, Frost/Nixon), teams once again with fellow two-time Academy Award® nominee, writer Peter Morgan (Frost/Nixon, The Queen), on Rush, a spectacular big-screen re-creation of the merciless 1970s rivalry between James Hunt and Niki Lauda.

The epic action-drama stars Chris Hemsworth (The Avengers) as the charismatic Englishman James Hunt and Daniel Brühl (Inglourious Basterds) as the disciplined Austrian perfectionist Niki Lauda, whose clashes on the Grand Prix racetrack epitomized the contrast between these two extraordinary characters, a distinction reflected in their private lives.

Set against the sexy and glamorous golden age of Formula 1 racing, Rush portrays the exhilarating true story of two of the greatest rivals the world has ever witnessed—handsome English playboy Hunt and his methodical, brilliant opponent, Lauda. Taking us into their personal lives on and off the track, Rush follows the two drivers as they push themselves to the breaking point of physical and psychological endurance, where there is no shortcut to victory and no margin for error. If you make one mistake, you die.

Rush will be released in cinemas September 13, 2013

Photo Credit: Jaap Buitendijk © Rush Films Limited / Egoli Tossell Film and Action Image

Despicable Me 2 hits the record books

UNIVERSAL CITY, CA, August 19, 2013—Universal Pictures International (UPI) today announced that Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment’s Despicable Me 2 has become the highest-grossing film of 2013 at the U.K. box office.

After seven weeks in release, Despicable Me 2 has grossed £42.67 million ($66.78m), beating out Universal’s own Les Misérables (£40.85 million [$63.84m]), for the No. 1 spot in that territory. Despicable Me 2 has grossed $435.2 million internationally to date.

“When we first saw Despicable Me 2, we knew we had something quite special on our hands. The Minions are a force to be reckoned with, and their mischievous nature and good-hearted sense of humor is what makes the film such a fan favorite,” said David Kosse, president of international for Universal Pictures. “We’re delighted that U.K. audiences have continued to enjoy it as much as we do.”

Directed by Chris Renaud & Pierre Coffin and produced by Illumination Founder and CEO Chris Meledandri and Janet Healy, the blockbuster voice cast includes Steve Carell, Kristin Wiig Benjamin Bratt, Miranda Cosgrove, Russell Brand, Steve Coogan, Ken Jeong, Elsie Fisher, Dana Gaier and Moises Arias.

Despicable Me 2’s U.K. box office success comes on the heels of the studio reporting more than $1.8 billion at the international box office—making it UPI’s biggest year in history, passing the previous record set in 2012 when the studio grossed $1.794 for the year.

UPI’s international success has been propelled by hits such as Les Misérables ($293 million), Fast & Furious 6 ($547 million) and Despicable Me 2 ($435.2million) and also by the solid performance of films including Oblivion ($197.1 million) and Mama ($75.9 million).

Currently, Universal has the second and third highest-grossing films both internationally and worldwide with Fast & Furious 6 and Despicable Me 2, respectively.

Heaven's Gate Short Review

4 Star Epic Western with the smell of real life Wyoming 1890.

Set in the established burgeoning America, towns and cities are starting to get flooded by migrants from Eastern Europe, much to the dislike of Land owners and especially the Stockholder Association, who see these farm settlers as vermin or worse.

Set around the dysfunctional friendship between James Averill (Kris Kristofferson, Blade franchise) and Billy Irvine (John Hurt, Alien).  We see them graduate from Harvard college Cambridge Massachusetts and the grandeur of those hallowed halls.

But twenty years later we see a bearded Averill slumped drunken on a train as it pulls into Casper Wyoming.

Averill has power but has dumbed down his lifestyle as he prefers the simple life rather than the trappings of his birth right.

He has to fight for what he believes in that everybody has the right to farm America even if his peers disagree.

Available on DVD now

Read the full review over at Road Rash reviews 

Elysium is coming

FEATURETTES
“The World Of Elysium”

“Technology”

“Cast”

CLIPS
“Undocumented Ships”

“Heist”

“He’s Awake”

Set 100 years in the future, inhabitants of earth are trying to get to the clean and corruption free planet of Elysium.

At UK Cinemas from August 21, 2013

Evil Dead DVD and Blu-ray Short Review

WOW. Finally, 5 stars of PROPER horror.

Evil Dead is a remake of the cult horror film The Evil Dead, revealed to the world in 1981. This new version bears all the signatures of the original, directed by Fede Alvarez, a relative newcomer, but produced by Sam Raimi and Robert G. Tapert (The Evil Dead, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys) , the maestros responsible for the first incarnation.

It is also produced by the mighty Bruce Campbell who played Ash in the original film and who makes an un-credited appearance in this one.

You can read the full review over at Road Rash Reviews

Hellsing: The Complete Original Series DVD Short review

3.5 Stars of Horror/Fantasy Manga

Modern day England and where there are dark places, they are filled with a new horror; humans. A new ‘Freak chip’ is available to those who can afford it, that will give the recipient Vampiric abilities and the blood lust to go along with it.


Available to buy on DVD Now

For full review head over to Road Rash Reviews