Sadly, I didn’t have the opportunity to attend Film 4’s Frightfest, however one of the films I’ve heard the most about is Turbo Kid. Luckily for those of us unable to attend, the blu ray is out next month.
Turbo kid is out on Blu Ray on October the 5th.
In which Gerrod interviews, Pressure director Ron Scalpello.
The pair discuss filming underwater, as well as Ron’s upcoming projects.
The podcast can be accessed via different places, including Audioboom, Tunein, Miro, Stiticher, Blubrry, Player fm and Itunes.
Twitter:
The show-@TheBWPodcast
Martyn – @BadWilf
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Pete – @BeeblePete
I’m a child of the ’80s and ’90s, so I grew up on a steady staple of repeats from the 1960s, I’ve since been a fan of the man from UNCLE.
The show originally ran from 1964-1968 and revolved around a network of spies who worked for the United Network Command for Law and Enforcement, (UNCLE). UNCLE polices the globe from the threat of T.H.R.U.S.H. An organisation, which is erm absent from this iteration.
Henry Cavill stars as Napoleon Solo opposite Armie Hammer as Illya Kuryakin in Guy Ritchie’s and Lionel Wigram’s film adaptation.
Set against the backdrop of the early 1960s, at the height of the Cold War, “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” centres on CIA agent Solo and KGB agent Kuryakin. Forced to put aside longstanding hostilities, the two teams up on a joint mission to stop a mysterious international criminal organisation, which is bent on destabilising the fragile balance of power the proliferation of nuclear weapons and technology.
This is a fast-paced, action-packed, sexy and stylish international adventure, shot through with humour that is as much about the rocky relationship between two sparring super spies, as it about the job they have to do.
The cinematography is breathtaking and details everything that made the 1960s cool – from its art, fashion music and cars. Lionel Wigram and Richie once again prove to be a great team.
The one thing that always bugged me about the series, is that we never really knew how Solo and Kuryakin, became partners, or how U.N.C.L.E. was formed, Ritchie and Wigram fill in the blanks.
Overall, I enjoyed this film, however, I feel they missed a trick not having a cameo from Robert Vaughn or David McCallum.
I look forward to a sequel.
To celebrate the release of Rocky:The Heavyweight Collection on blu ray, I attended a special screening held by Twentieth Century Fox.
The Heavyweight Collection features all 6 classic movies along with a ton of new extras.
Also in attendance was heavyweight boxer David “The Hayemaker”.
Haye has long held a passion for boxing. He began training at age six, at the now famous Fitzroy Lodge Boxing Club in South London.
He quickly excelled as a junior boxer and won several of his fights.
Before the screening, Haye took part in Q&A with TalkSport host, Steve Bunce. Once Dave was seated and comfortable the inevitable question was asked: “how much do you like Rocky?”.
Haye replied that he didn’t start from the first one but the 3rd instalment of Rocky, which he loved and had seen a few times before he went back to watch the first two.
Haye was laid back and spoke candidly about the fight against ‘The Big Hairy Russian’ Wladimir Klitschko and the injury that made him retire from boxing.
The injury is still visible, Haye at times found it difficult to hold the mic.
When asked about his inspiration he mentioned a few boxers, including Rocky, played by Sylvester Stallone, but his main influence was Muhammad Ali, one of the greatest boxers in history.
Haye went on to speak about his future plans of opening a Health Spa, in Dubai. He also aims to break into acting.
It was a great experience to have seen David Haye and listen to some of his experiences and his future plans, he expects to make a full recovery I hope he gets a chance to fight in the ring once again.
As a man of my age, it’s slightly embarrassing to admit that this was my first introduction into the world of Rocky Balboa. I look forward to going the distance with The Heavyweight collection
The Rocky Heavyweight Collection on Blu-ray is out now from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment
Most people know Linda Lovelace as the infamous porn star turned feminist 
who was the face of the sexual revolution of the 1970s – then stern anti-pornography activist of the 1980s. Linda’s story goes much deeper: From surviving years of abuse, to her drug use and arrest, and her final years of being a mother with serious health issues. As Amanda Seyfried brings Linda Lovelace to the screen on August 23rd, we’ve taken a look at the life of this tragic individual.
Growing Up
Linda Boreman was the only child of a police officer in New York City. She grew up strictly catholic and even had the nickname “Miss Holy Holy” in high school because of her modesty. Her mother believed in harsh discipline which Linda later recalled as being extremely abusive. At 19 she had a child that she claimed she was forced to give up. Linda was living in Florida with her parents, recovering from a traumatic car accident when her life changed forever.
The Chuck Traynor Years
When Linda met club owner/part time pimp Chuck Traynor, her life changed direction entirely. The pair married in 1971, and Linda started prostituting and performing sexual acts on film for money. Traynor was Linda’s manager and had her appear in 10-12 minute films known as “loops” before her breakout role in the hardcore feature-length porn film ‘Deep Throat’. Linda divorced Traynor in 1974 after she reportedly disguised herself and hid from him in order to escape. In Linda’s book ‘Ordeal’, she reveals how abusive Traynor was and that he threatened her life on multiple occasions to get her to cooperate and make porn.
Feminist
After a failure to salvage her film career as a mainstream actress, Linda quit the business altogether and became an advocate for anti-porn movements in the 1980s. She had two books published which completely disputed events in her previous ones. In the later books, Linda revealed that during the making of ‘Deep Throat’, she had a gun to her head the entire time. She accused Chuck Traynor of physically and mentally abusing her and using her for his own gain. With these revelations, Linda spent a couple of years touring around the US and speaking on college campuses about the evils of porn.
Mother
Linda married a construction contractor named Larry Marchiano in 1976. They had two children together and lived in Long Island. The couple divorced in 1996 when Linda claimed Marchiano to be a verbally abusive alcoholic. Linda worked a slew of odd jobs including working at a drug store, keeping books for a computer company, working in “user support” for an investment company, and cleaning office buildings.
Health Problems
Linda underwent a double mastectomy due to her silicone injections she received in 1971. During the procedure, doctors found her liver was failing due to Hepatitis C she had contracted from a blood transplant from her car crash in 1969. In 1987, she received a liver transplant and had to take an anti-rejection drug every month for the rest of her life.
Her Death
Linda died in 2002 after crashing her car into a cement pole in Denver, Colorado. She was on life support for two weeks before her family decided to switch off the machine. Linda was 53 years old.
Fast Facts
• Linda only appeared on camera for a total of 5 hours throughout her entire film career.
• Her daughter, Lindsay, had a child of her own at age 17.
• Had ‘The Linda Syndrome’ named after her in regards to ex-porn stars renouncing their past to receive favourable judgement from the public.
• Underwent an 11 hour lie detection test before publishers would publish her book ‘Ordeal’ in which she reveals the horrors Chuck Traynor put her through.
• Linda was paid $1,200 for her role in ‘Deep Throat’.
Lovelace arrives in UK cinemas August 23rd.
Despicable Me grossed over $540 million in 2010 and became the 10th-biggest animated motion picture of all time. So, a sequel was inevitable. 
Set a year after the events of Despicable Me, Gru (Steve Carell) has settled in as a parent to his adopted children Agnes, Edith and Margo. Gru is a calmer character in this film compared to the 2010 film.
He uses his old Evil Lair, his chief inventor Dr Nefario (Russell Brand) and his Minions to produce jam. The film lacked the emotional depth of first film. But, that isn’t to say that it’s a bad film, I just felt a sense of déjà vu, it’s pretty much the same story, but with a love interest in place of the children.
It’s clear from the advertising that the Minions – those knee-high yellow Tic-Tacs, on a poster near you are key to the commercial equation of the franchise. So they swarm all over the place doing various child-pleasing routines in hard hats and beachwear, while Gru gets embroiled in an afterthought of a plot, involving a secret agent called Lucy (Kristen Wiig) who’s also, predictably enough, his love interest. Steve Carrel phones in his performance, with that not very funny accent.
It’s his co-stars that shine here, Russell Brand is once again brilliant in his role, as is Miranda Cosgrove. It’s worth stating that this cynical 30-year old isn’t the target audience for this, but children will undoubtedly love it. There were a few adult pleasing moments, a reference to Invasion of the body snatchers had me howling with laughter. If anything this feels like nothing more than a set up to the Minion spin-off, which is coming out next year. Fun, but forgettable it’s worth seeing in 3-D, for the end credits alone.
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The Borrowers are Arriety Clock (Aisling Loftus) Pod (Christopher Eccleston) and Homily (Sharon Horgon) they are a family that lives under the floorboards of James Millman’s house. James is having a rough time. His mother has recently died and they’re in the middle of a recession, which has forced James and his father to move in with James’ Grandmother (Victoria Wood). The grandmother has contacted a Professor (Stephen Fry) and alerted him to the Borrowers presence, the family, are then forced to go on the run with a fellow Borrower and tour guide, Spiller (Robert Sheehan).
The great thing about this version of the Borrowers is that like Doctor Who, this is very much a family show. Adults will laugh at jokes that will go over the heads of kids, whilst the kids will laugh at the characters sliding down into the sewers. The casting is a masterstroke and it was great to see Stephen Fry in an acting role. He is a joy in this and for the most part, steals the show. Christopher Eccleston and Sharon Horgan also put in excellent performances. Eccleston is great as the overprotective father. The only let down here is Robert Sheehan, now it isn’t’ his performance, that’s fine. As always he gives 110% but the character of Spiller is just a child-friendly version of Misfits’ Nathan, I had hoped to see him in a more challenging role this soon after him leaving Misfits.
The one to look out for is Aisling Loftus her Wide-eyed naivety/ enthusiastic take on Arrietty is believable and sweet. I predict big things for her in the future.
The Borrowers are Arriety Clock (Aisling Loftus) Pod (Christopher Eccleston) and Homily (Sharon Horgon) th
ey are a family that lives under the floorboards of James Millman’s house. James is a boy is having a rough time. His mother has recently died and they’re in the middle of a recession, which has forced James and his father to move in with James’ Grandmother (Victoria Wood). The grandmother has contacted a Professor (Stephen Fry) and alerted him to the Borrowers presence, the family, are then forced to go on the run with a fellow Borrower and tour guide, Spiller (Robert Sheehan).
The great thing about this version of the Borrowers is that like Doctor Who, this is very much a family show. Adults will laugh at jokes that will go over the heads of kids, whilst the kids will laugh at the characters sliding down into the sewers. The casting is a masterstroke and it was great to see Stephen Fry in an acting role. He is a joy in this and for the most part, steals the show. Christopher Eccleston and Sharon Horgan also put in excellent performances. Eccleston is great as the overprotective father. The only let down here is Robert Sheehan, now it isn’t’ his performance, that’s fine. As always he gives 110% but the character of Spiller is just a child-friendly version of Misfits’ Nathan, I had hoped to see him in a more challenging role this soon after him leaving Misfits.
The one to look out for is Aisling Loftus her Wide-eyed naivety/ enthusiastic take on Arrietty is believable and sweet. I predict big things for her in the future.
This is essential Christmas TV and on at the perfect time, complex and exciting enough to keep the children interested and simple enough to keep the adults watching, after a taxing day of dinner and being woken up at 4 am to open the presents.
The Borrowers airs on Boxing Day, 7:30 pm on BBC1.
The IMF, implicated in the bombing of the Kremlin, is forced to shut down, leaving Ethan Hunt and his new team to clear their organisation’s name by going rogue.
Director Brad Bird, known for his work on animated films, delivers his first live-action film, which is visually stunning and features breathtaking action scenes. The standout moment is undoubtedly when Tom Cruise scales the tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa tower, in Dubai. Cruise’s performance is excellent, and he is joined by a talented cast, including Simon Pegg, who has been promoted to a co-starring role.
The film also includes industry in-jokes, such as Ethan Hunt’s code number being “A113,” a frequent Pixar in-joke based on one of the room numbers for the animation program at Cal Arts.
However, the storyline could have been better, and there are noticeable dips in certain parts of the film. Additionally, there are some errors that may distract viewers from the overall experience, such as the Nuclear Launch Device used by Hendricks having a Russian keyboard but an English interface screen. Despite these flaws, the film is worth watching and will mostly keep viewers entertained throughout.
For the full experience, it’s best to watch the film on an IMAX screen.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
J.J. Abrams and Steven Spielberg make an impressive team as they bring this thrilling film to life. The storyline is masterfully crafted, leaving you both exhilarated and exhausted, but not in a way that keeps you on the edge of your seat waiting for the next scene. However, if you’re a fan of sci-fi, this film is a must-see.
Set in 1979, the film follows the story of middle-schooler Joe Lamb (Joel Courtney), who has learned to take care of himself since his mother’s death. When Joe and his friend Charles (Riley Griffiths) start making an indie zombie movie for a film festival, they enlist fellow classmate Alice (Elle Fanning) to be their leading lady. As they venture out to a local train station to film a scene, an unexpected train derailment unleashes something terrifying in their small town of Lillian, Ohio. The group continues filming, using the disaster as a backdrop, while they try to figure out what to do next.
What makes this film so captivating is how it’s really about growing up and taking responsibility, with sci-fi elements serving as the backdrop. Like Spielberg’s earlier works in the same genre, the focus is on the kids, not the monster. Writer/director J.J. Abrams has written the characters with enough depth and complexity to make them believable, and the film rewards the audience during the credits with the actual product of their work.
The cast is spot on, with Joel Courtney transforming from a supportive sidekick to a natural leader, while Riley Griffiths captures the manic energy and intensity of a young film director. Elle Fanning’s ethereal presence adds a magical quality to the film. While the adults are mostly one-note characters, this is appropriate for a film seen from a kid’s point of view, and Abrams adds just enough complexity to make them less stereotypical.
This film takes risks, and they pay off in a summer full of predictable sequels. The grounded, coming-of-age story is a refreshing change from typical sci-fi adventures, and the film’s message about the power of friendship and taking responsibility is both heartwarming and inspiring. While waiting for it to come to DVD might be tempting, seeing it on the big screen is an experience not to be missed.
⭐⭐⭐
