Darkmatters Review: Man of Steel

Man of Steel (12a)

Dir. Zack Snyder

Reviewed by Matt Adcock (@cleric20)

What if a film dreamed of becoming something other than what society had intended? What if a filmmaker aspired to something greater? The result would be a fantastic cinematic experience – it could be ‘super’ in every sense… Man of Steel is that film…

"inter galactic saviour"

This big budget, Dark Knight influenced Superman reboot, carries the hopes and dreams of all DC comic book fans on its muscled shoulders. For if this falters, the chances are we will never see a full blown ‘Avengers like’ Justice League film with Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash et al...

Warner Brothers have entrusted this super-project to Zack ‘Watchmen’ Snyder, who embraces the well-trodden story of Kal-El / Clark Kent (Henry Cavill) – the good-hearted alien from Krypton who becomes the champion of Earth.

"alien inspiration"

Plot wise Man of Steel plays it safe, mixing reverence for the origin tale and infusing it with a high level of CGI kick-ass action. The enemy here is General Zod (Michael Shannon) and his minions – all criminal refugees from the doomed world of Krypton who have decided to take over Earth. Shannon has a blast as the snarling super-baddie who is every bit the match for our red caped reluctant saviour. Indeed Man of Steel flies highest and delivers most when the battle lines are drawn and the super smack down kicks off.

That isn’t to say that the emotional core of the film isn’t great to witness too – Kevin Costner is on top form as Clark’s adoptive father Jonathan Kent, ably backed up by Diane Lane as his wife Martha. Their real parental love for their other-worldly son is touching and feels strong, it helps anchor the sci-fi epicness and large scale destruction wrought by the duelling super beings – that rivals flicks like Transformers for sheer spectacle.

"and who's army?"

If anything loses out in this new reworking it is the funny bumbling alter ego Clark Kent that Christopher Reeve did so well. Man of Steels Clark is more of a brooding hunky drifter like Wolverine rather than the loveable Mr Bean-esq loser from the 1978 film. The love story elements are pared back too (especially in relation to the overly reflective 2006 Superman Returns).

Man of Steel is the Superman film I’ve been waiting for ever since I used to tuck a red towel into the back of my shirt collar as a 6-year-old. You’ll believe man can fly again and you’ll want to see more!

"baddie Zod"

Out of a potential 5 you have to go with a Darkmatters:

öööö1/2

(4.5 - Man of Steel delivers )...

Awesomeness öööö – jaw dropping endorphin rush action

Laughs ö – hardly any mirth

Horror öö – limited horror but some nasty threat

Babes öö – Amy Adams is Louis

Spiritual Enlightenment öööö – heavy Christ imagery

"fan inspired Girl of Steel?"

Darkmatters Review: Byzantuim

Byzantuim (15)

Dir. Neil Jordan

Reviewed by Matt Adcock

Byzantium (bih-zan-tee-uhm) was the ancient Greek city on the site that later became Constantinople (modern Istanbul). It was founded by Greek colonists from Megara in 657 BC... But that has nothing much to do with this movie.

This Byzantium is the name of a hotel in this dark fantasy thriller directed by Neil 'A Company of Wolves' Jordan starring Saoirse Ronan, Gemma Arterton and Jonny Lee Miller.

"Bright lights... dark hearts..."

It's an unhappy tale of a mother Clara (Arterton) and daughter Eleanor (Ronan) who are both vampires - living the blood sucking immortal lives of the undead - feeding on the living and always on the run from some nasty big bad boss vampires who don't believe that female vampires should exist...

The bloody story finds the two vamps end up in a run-down hotel on the English coast but their story begins during the Napoleonic Wars and stretches through time - thanks to some useful flashbacks.

Enter Noel (Daniel Mays) who has just inherited the Byzantium Hotel, a once-thriving inn that has fallen into a sad state of disrepair. Before you can say 'she's only after your blood', Clara has turned The Byzantium into a brothel where she and her young companion can quench their thirst for human blood, make money and keep out of the way of the mean women hating vampires.

"Mount Doom -ish"

Things get a bit complicated when Eleanor falls for local lad Frank (Caleb Landry Jones), a young waiter who has a life threatening disease... Can a mortal and a vampire find a Twilight-ish love?

Also there is the fact that Eleanor is prone to writing her extraordinary life story down and chucking the pages away for anyone to find... And when she writes it up as an essay for a teacher - things go even more pear shaped...

Will the two succubi live in peace or is their destiny to die at the hands / swords of the hunters?

Arterton looks great throughout and gives good sexy vamp - in nice contrast to Ronan who is modest and innocent (despite being a 200 year old vampire who suffered abuse as a child).

The themes of love, eternal life, power and isolation are well worked and overall Byzantuim delivers a thought provoking and engaging watch...

"Even Vampires have to pay the bills"

Out of a potential 5 you have to go with a Darkmatters:

ööö1/2 

(3.5 - Fangs for the memories!? )

Awesomeness ööö – gets freaky in style

Laughs öö – dark laughter of the bleakest kind

Horror öööö – bloodshed and horror to be found

Babes öööö –  Yes Gemma Arterton

Spiritual Enlightenment ö – limited

"Arterton de-vamped"

Darkmatters Review: After Earth

After Earth (12a)

Dir. M. Night Shyamalan

Reviewed by Matt Adcock (read another version of this review at The Luton News or Milton Keynes Citizen)

“Fear is not real. It is a product of thoughts you create. Do not misunderstand me. Danger is very real. But fear is a choice.”

We all have a choice... So do you choose to brave the danger and see this big budget sci-fi adventure starring Will Smith without fear, even though it’s getting pretty terrible reviews across the board?

Or do you give in to fear and not see what happens when a megastar actor gets a studio to make a film based on his own short story, when his only real writing credit before was an episode of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air?

If you're planning to see After Earth, your expectations should be set to ‘low’ – sure Will Smith is always watchable and the special effects bring an authentically futuristic vibe, but this is no classic and certainly doesn’t challenge Star Trek Into Darkness or Oblivion for the title of 2013’s best sci-fi. In fact I'm more excited right now for Neill 'District 9' Blomkamp's Elysium but hey...

The main problem is that the plot is entirely predictable and only of limited excitement.

"we left... the cinema for a reason?"

On a space mission, young Kitai Raige (Jaden ‘Karate Kid remake’ Smith) and his father Cypher (er, his father Will Smith) crash land on a future Earth, a millennium after we wrecked the planet so badly that we had to leave and find another home.

Cypher is crippled in the crash and their rescue beacon is broken, so Kitai must embark on a perilous journey – everything on Earth has evolved to kill humans, which is a tad unfortunate as there aren’t any left in the ecosystem – to find the spare signal, which is 100km away.

So we have a real life father and son front and centre for most of the film and we’re asked to be worried about whether the boy will survive his quest and save his dad. Hhhmmmm let's take a wild guess...

I won’t drop any plot spoilers but you can probably guess the ending within minutes of the start.

Director M. Night ‘Sixth Sense’ Shyamalan (who could really use a return for form after his various miss-fires) throws various CGI perils at young Jaden, which include some nasty baboons, a mutant eagle-like bird and a very ugly alien predator that can smell fear.

Global warming is rampant, too, meaning that every night the surface of the planet freezes over to provide yet another threat for our budding hero, while at the same time ticking the laboured eco message box.

"pray they don't make a sequel"

After Earth is undeniably an ego-powered star vehicle for the Smith family and it is passable entertainment.

But given the resources involved, there’s no denying that it should have been so much more.
Out of a potential 5 you have to go with a Darkmatters:

öö1/2

(2.5 - big Willie style is lacking )...

Awesomeness ööö – good in parts

Laughs ö –  not very funny

Horror ööö – ugly alien is scary and likes arranging dead people on trees!?

Babes öö – Zoë Kravitz a little but limited unless you count Jaden too

Spiritual Enlightenment öö – move along dad

"Daughter of legend Lenny - doing, well drinking - Coke"

Darkmatters Review: The Purge

The Purge (15)

Dir. James DeMonaco

Reviewed by Matt Adcock

“Things like this don’t happen in neighbourhoods like ours…”

"They do tonight!?"

Welcome to a tale of crime and punishment, a sort of Hunger Games for adults where in a near future U.S. the government have decreed that each year on one day all crime is permitted for a 12-hour period.

Called ‘The Purge’ this night where there are no laws and no emergency services is a release’ for people to channel their murderous dark sides and attack whoever they want. This means that no one is safe and masked gangs roam the streets killing anyone they come across. So unless you’re rich enough to afford a full home security system like James Sandin (Ethan Hawke) – who has got rich selling such home defence packages – you better hide somewhere or find a weapon to protect yourself with!

"not Jehovah's Witnesses..."

The Purge’s concept is a strong one, if hopefully a little far fetched, and director DeMonaco has a lot of fun putting Sandrin and his family – wife Mary (Lena Headey), young son Charlie (Max Burkholder) and teen daughter Zoey (Adelaide Kane) – through a night of hell. The family think they are safe in their high tech protected luxury home but when Charlie lets a desperate homeless man (Edwin ‘All The Boys Love Mandy Lane’ Hodge) take sanctuary in their walls, it draws attention of a group of masked lunatics led by a chilling, polite and ruthless rich kid psycho (Rhys Wakefield).

The violence, when it comes – and it does – is seriously brutal, potentially pushing the limits of a 15 rated movie. There is some wry social commentary at work here too though which lifts The Purge from just being another nasty low budget effort and adds enough dystopian ‘what would you do’ dilemma to keep you busy discussing it afterwards.

"they will take you..."

Everything is well put together and boosted by some nifty additions such as a first-person feed from a freaky radio controlled unit - a one red-eyed doll on tank tracks built by Charlie. The cast goes about the bloody business with gusto and all are good even if Wakeman steals the show with his icy American Psycho-esq main bad guy.

If you can stand the violent content, then The Purge is a strong dark thriller with an interesting premise and decent scares. The notion of a society with no law – where those who want can attack you without consequence is actually is actually more terrifying than any ghostly efforts you might see this year.

"don't answer the door"

Out of a potential 5 you have to go with a Darkmatters:

ööö1/2

(3.5 - Love thy neighbour!? )...

Awesomeness öööö – some freaky, well observed scenes

Laughs öö –  darkly comic at times

Horror öööö – nasty and disturbing

Babes öö – Adelaide Kane is cute

Spiritual Enlightenment öö – A new digital Clockwork Orange?

"Kane is going to be a star"

The Spiritual version of Iron Man's 'Mark 42' Armour

The 'Mark 42' Armour of God 

Matt Adcock suits up for some random Iron Man 3 Inspired Thinking...

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.  Put on the full armour of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.

In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."

When you need a suit of armour - these days there are few cooler than that worn by Tony Stark / Iron Man... And with his 'Mark 42' suit (as modelled in Iron Man 3) it has the ability to fly in separate pieces and attach to your body, piece by piece - controlled via a brain linked chip that allows mental communication with armour.

The parallels with the Biblical 'Armour of God' are many - believers need to reassess their armour and check if they are missing pieces of it and if so be ready to mentally 'call' them so that either the full suit or specific parts can be used as necessary.

"The Mark 42 also allows users to 'share the armour'"

If we see someone in desperate need of an element of the armour of God Christians shouls be ready and willing to share their armour and send elements of it into specific situations to help people. Of course that does mean that we need it to hand in the first place as the time it takes to 'fly' to the person requiring it could make all the difference.

OK so whilst the Mark 42 is a great suit - it is the next evolution of the Iron Man armour - where the power core in the chest is no longer used / needed as a special life-support / power for the suit that the real parallels with the spiritual armour of God come in. Seeing how the armour of God through being born again has a 'power core' in the Holy Spirit - not just in a fusion reactor ring in your chest but flowing through every part of you like Extremis / Nanbot technology... bringing with it all the self healing / power combination required to face the evil one, and every temptation...

This is a fun (original Iron Man suit) take on what I've just been talking about:

 

Darkmatters review of IRON MAN 3

"DIY Iron Man Mark 42 Armour"

"girl power dress up version" 

Darkmatters Review: Fast & Furious 6

Fast & Furious 6 (12a)

Dir. Justin Lin

Reviewed by Matt Adcock (read another version of this review over at the Bedfordshire Times & Citizen)

“Ride or die, remember?”

Fast Five back in 2011 was a crazy, jump-start for this auto-action franchise that was in danger of running out of gas.

Now the series blasts back and instead of miss firing, Fast & Furious 6 (yes with the ‘& Furious’ reinstated) sees loveable street racers Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel), Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker), plus their pals Roman (Tyrese Gibson), Han (Sung Kang) and Tej (Ludacris) getting in over their heads - again.

"is it s bird? is it a plane?"

Director Justin ‘Community’ Lin somehow manages to create a plot that allows for the vehicular warfare to go further over the top than anything we’ve seen on a big screen before. It revolves around the ‘Fast’ gang – who are now fugitives living the high life after their successful Rio heist of Fast 5, being recalled by hard ass cop Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) to help him take down a new threat in the form of Shaw (Luke ‘The new Crow’ Evans).

It seems that evil Shaw, working with a gang of nasty mercenary drivers is stealing parts to construct a super weapon, which would be worth over a billion dollars, by attacking military convoys. He only needs one more part and so Hobbs and his new partner Riley (Gina Carano) are desperate enough to offer full pardons to Dom and crew if they can help nail Shaw – and save the world.

"mmmm shiny"

Cue high speed chases, tons of auto-destruction – some involving a battle tank on a Spanish motorway and ending with a climax that would have been at home in a Die Hard movie…

The action globe hops round the world with segments in the U.S., London, Spain and Tokyo – each is well used and as a Brit it was especially cool to see the London scenes, although the good ol’ UK coppers aren’t any match for the hotshot street racers or their new enemies.

The car action is what has always been the beating heart of the ‘Fast & Furious’ films and it pays off again here although it does mean that the ‘acting’ has to take a back seat to modified vehicles going incredibly fast and crashing. There is an awkward subplot about Dom trying to win back the heart of Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) who was though to have been killed in an earlier film but who survived, lost her memory and is now working for the bad guys.

"Battle cars anyone?"

So sure, it’s nonsense but it is highly entertaining nitrous fuelled nonsense and certainly keeps the series’ engine revving nicely!

Out of a potential 5 you have to go with a Darkmatters:

ööö1/2

(3.5 - Solid and lots of fun - who'd have thought!? )...

Awesomeness öööö – fast and furious action? oh yes...

Laughs öö –  funny in places but don't take it seriously

Horror ö – crunching fights but nothing too grim

Babes ööö – Elsa Pataky, Michelle Rodriguez and Gina Carano plus eye-candy street racer crowds

Spiritual Enlightenment öö – not much

"premier fun"

Darkmatters Review: Terraria

Terraria (PS3)

Developed By: 505 Games

Reviewed by Matt Adcock

"Can you dig it?"

Something evil lurks underground… Only you can dig to victory!!

It’s time to grab some tools and go to work!

Terraria was a superb PC sandbox game of epic proportions – like a funky 2D version of Minecraft where you can make weapons, craft useful items and fight off a variety of enemies as you dig deep underground to find accessories, money, and other useful things, gather wood, stone, ores, and other resources to create everything you need to make the world your own and defend it.

Now the mining / building / crafting fun comes to the PlayStation 3 (and the VITA later this year) and the good news is that it has been upgraded and works even better than it did before!

There is real joy in building yourself a house, upgrading it with some defences so it can be a castle – make it large enough and NPC people will move in to live there and perhaps even sell you different wares to assist you on your journey.

"Yes you can create a great home..."

The real challenges awaiting you are endless... How much time do you have and are you up to the task?

If you’ve played Minecraft you’ll have some idea about what to do except this is all in 2D, reminiscent of Classic Spectrum games like Manic Miner or Jet Set Willy. Terraria is much more of an RPG than Minecraft as you dig to find better items to make better weapons and take on better enemies allowing you to go further get better weapons etc.

One point of note – if you jump straight in to Terraria without consulting the various online guides and wiki you might not do so great… It really is worth reading some stuff before playing the game as there are many things to take in and the more you know the more fun you’ll have!

The worlds are randomly generated and in Terraria the weapons are also placed randomly so exploring is a must. Forging your own armour from items dropped by enemies is satisfying and finding the right ore to craft something very tasty is what will keep you digging late into the night.

Terraria is different at heart to Minecraft so don’t write it off as a ‘me too’ effort. This is an addictive, wonderful game that will give back many hundreds of hours of fun.

"How geeky are you? There are limitless possibilities"

The console version works a treat on the controller - I was a bit worried that it wouldn't be as easy to fight and mine without the mouse to click but if anything the PS3 DualShock (more accurate than the Xbox360 controller) actually becomes second nature very quickly and I find it easier to use...

Other enhancements include enemies now packing life bars over them and a host of small innovative improvements to the inventory system etc.

There is also the genius of online play - teaming up with some mates is a brilliant way to spend an evening.

Terraria is a highly recommended addition to any gamers inventory.




Out of a potential 5 you have to go with a Darkmatters:

ööööö - Dig for glory my friends

5 –  as the incredible PWEI once said… ‘Can you dig it? HELL YEAH!’ 

"Deathnote fans are known to play Terraria!?"

Darkmatters Review: The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby (12a)

Dir. Baz Luhrmann

Reviewed by Matt Adcock

“Tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther... And so we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past….”

Buckle up for a lavish and stylish new big screen adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's much-loved novel from Baz ‘Moulin Rouge’ Luhrmann. Meet wide-eyed Midwesterner Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire), who finds himself lured into the decadently over the top world of his glamorous and mysterious neighbour, Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio).

The tale is told from Carraway’s recollections about his time spent in the heady summer of 1922, when he catches up with his beautiful cousin, Daisy Buchanan (Carey Mulligan), and her husband, Tom (Joel Edgerton). Daisy turns out to have had a romantic attachment to enigmatic Gatsby and Carraway finds himself being befriended by the smooth, confident millionaire who wants to win Daisy’s heart back.

"smug much?"

But this isn’t your standard love story drama – there is an inherent danger lurking under the surface here and there will certainly be tragedy as well as romance before the credits role.

Everything looks incredible – the screen sizzles with a sheen of pizazz the like of which has not been seen before. The cars are shiny powerhouses, the men dandy super manicured icons and the woman are gorgeous foxes across the board. Luhrmann updates the original jazz soundtrack with hip-hop thanks to producer Shawn 'Jay Z' Carter and the more contemporary vibe works well.

The supporting roles of Jordan Baker (Elizabeth Debicki), George Wilson (Jason Clarke) and his saucy wife, Myrtle (Isla Fisher) all do their parts well and drive the plot along.

"In order of coolness..."

So is this Gatsby a roaring success?

Well yes and no – on the plus side it’s a visually lush cinematic experience and the performance of DiCaprio stands out as one of his best ever. Mulligan is gorgeous and brings plenty of va va voom to the role of Daisy – she has some of the best eyes to get lost in ever!? And as I said, the music and overall style is superb.

Less good is the unnecessary 3D, which adds nothing but extra price to the cinema ticket. Tobey Maguire is an absolute waste of space too - with his stock range of 3 faces including his very annoying bug eyed / amazed look... There is also an overall feeling of shallowness that prevents you ever getting quite as emotionally involved in the drama as might have made this a classic.

So maybe not The ‘Great’ Gatsby in the end but perhaps The ‘Cool’ Gatsby? Still worth checking!


Out of a potential 5 you have to go with a Darkmatters:

ööö1/2  - Reserving judgments is a matter of infinite hope 

3.5 – Fantastic in parts, slightly unsatisfying as a whole

Awesomeness öööö – amazing partying

Laughs öö – amusing as opposed to hilarious

Horror ö  – mildly grim, not much to worry you except a couple of violent scenes

Babes öööö – Mulligan is an all time beauty

Spiritual Enlightenment ööö - the wages of sin...

"Mulligan in my fav film Drive"

Darkmatters Review: Soul Sacrifice

Soul Sacrifice (PS Vita)

Developed by: Marvelous AQL / Sony Entertainment

Reviewed by Matt Adcock

Will you save or sacrifice your mortally wounded enemies?

That’s the crux of this superb Monster-Hunter-em-up for the PSVITA…

As a kick-ass sorcerer who can wield a crazy array of battle magic, it still comes down to ‘what sort of person do you want to be’ in the end.

You see having smashed an enemy to the point of submission you then have the power to sacrifice them and drain their magical energy for yourself (this leads to the dark path) or save them and boost your life force – and thus be a ‘good guy’.

It is rare to see a compelling new Triple A title burst onto the gaming scene – especially on the VITA which has been collecting a lot of indie games and PS3 / 3DS ports but only a handful of really ‘must have’ exclusives to date. But Sony are masters of creating new I.P.s and Soul Sacrifice is a ready made battle adventure that will eat up your life with its addictive monster slaying (both as a single player campaign or with pals in multiplayer).

The plot sees you start the game in a grim prison made of wood and bone – with only a strange talking sentient book for company – it’s name is ‘Librom’ and he is the place where you’ll find missions to play through and the backstories about the fantastical beasties hidden in it’s pages. The gameplay is very ‘jump straight in and figure it out on the fly’ with six magical powers to use from the start – you can see three at a time and jump between the two banks of them with the right trigger. The combat system is a lot of fun to use – experimenting with eh various ranged and close attacks, weapons, shields, abilities to morph into other forms and more…

"big battles are standard"

The leveling up system is linked to the whole save / sacrifice mechanic. It’s not just enemies that you sacrifice either – when playing with an ally you can sacrifice them or save them too – either to give them life-points back or unleash a devastating attack on all enemies. If you or an ally is sacrificed you can still ‘watch’ the rest of the fight in spirit mode boosting allies or weaken enemies but not actually attacking. The magical powers each have a limited number of uses before they break and can’t be recharged but they can be repaired using Librom's own ‘tears’, which you can evoke by talking to the book and wiping his face (sounds a bit odd but it kind of works).

There is lots to do – hundreds of powers to obtain and enhance by combining them / mixing elements to create a new customized weapons. In addition you get the chance to customize your arm – opening up slots to add new skills and this is made even more complex by super powered sacrificial powers that you can equip and use when near death – but they require you to ‘give’ something in order to use them – so rip off your skin to summon a fire giant or pluck out an eyeball to send a cloud of bomb like eyes at the enemies… But beware as you’ll have to fight without your limbs given up from then on (although Librom can help you rebuild yourself after battles).

Sacrificing part of your own body is known as using a ‘forbidden spell’ but it can be very addictive trying out differing attacks and reaping the rewards of risking yourself. The menagerie of enemies is a real strong point of Soul Sacrifice which has a fantastic design look, feel and unique takes on traditional creatures – such as goblins which are super sized mutated rats etc.

"leather look"

The graphics are far far in advance of anything you’ll see on a 3DS, and the special effects of your magical weapons are slick. Everything works really well, the menus, animated pages of the book, soundtrack and weapon creating are all very slick. Creating and customizing your sorcerer is a satisfying gaming experience – then of course you can take your character online where the multiplayer fights are really fun too – and playing with friends is a rush over the rock solid connection that the free PlayStation Network allows.

Soul Sacrifice is a quality game which can provide a ton of addictive battling, it can be rewarding to leap in for a 5 minute blast but beware, you may well find it will keep you coming back for ‘one more battle’ until you have lost hours. Add to this ongoing support of downloadable content with new missions and equipment and this is a game that no Vita owner should be without!


Out of a potential 5 you have to go with a Darkmatters:

öööö - worth an arm and a leg!

4 – Super magical battle hunting fun 

"Cos play inspired - convert your Mortal Kombat outfits today!"

Darkmatters Review: Star Trek Into Darkness

Star Trek Into Darkness (12)

Dir. J. J. Abrams

Reviewed by Matt Adcock

“You think your world is safe? It is an illusion. A comforting lie told to protect you. Enjoy these final moments of peace. For I have returned, to have my vengeance!”

It’s a good feeling when you see a sequel that delivers on the promise of the first film – especially when it’s a rebooted series… But Star Trek Into Darkness under the expert direction of J. J. ‘next up will be Star Wars Episode VII’ Abrams is a joy to behold for Trekkies and fans of quality cinema thrills alike.

Into Darkness picks up straight from the end of the 2009 Star Trek that successfully reengineered whole cinematic presence of the starship USS Enterprise and her crew led by Captain James T. Kirk (Chris ‘soon to be the new Jack Ryan’ Pine).

Darkness however lives up to its name in that it brings a new level of threat in the swathe and menacing form of Khan (Benedict ‘Sherlock from TV’ Cumberbatch) – an enigmatic agent of mass destruction with a hidden agenda.

"bad, ass"

The plot involves the good guys Kirk, Spock (Zachary Quint), Bones (Karl Urban), Scotty (Simon Pegg) and Uhura (Zoe Saldana) desperately trying to halt Khan’s seemingly unstoppable campaign of terror from which is targeting Starfleet. The rapport of the Enterprise crew is a winning one which helps gloss over the occasion plot hole – along with copious amounts of lens flair.

Captain Kirk is picked to lead a dangerous manhunt into a war-zone to try and capture Khan – easier said than done considering he’s one-man weapon of mass destruction. It makes for an exciting rollercoaster ride that sees the Enterprise out maneuvered and out gunned. Is this the premature end to their potential new long running franchise? If you’ve seen the trailer you’ll know to expect serious potential losses…

"bad times"

Into Darkness brings lots of fan references including stuff only Trekkies will really ‘get’ like a Tribble being experimented on but also some upgraded visual effects and iconic new technology. Alive Eve is also on hand to catch the eye (and Kirk’s attention) as the new crewmember Dr. Carol Marcus.

This is a great movie that continues the series in fine style, it also bodes well for the planned Star Wars VII as Abrams is clearly at home with sci-fi adventure.

I highly recommend that you boldly go and see Star Trek: Into Darkness…

Out of a potential 5 you have to go with a Darkmatters:

öööö - Delivers the sci-fi Trek you want!

4 – if earth burns, it won't be without a fight!

Awesomeness öööö – tasty action scenese

Laughs öö – plenty of laughs

Horror öö  – not very nast, but tense!

Babes öööö – Eve is hot,  Saldana too

Spiritual Enlightenment ööö - boldly go!!

"Oh Captain..."

The World's End TRAILER / Anticipation

The World's End... is coming

Matt Adcock is excited!!

In The World's End, 20 years after attempting an epic pub crawl, five childhood friends reunite when one of them becomes hellbent on trying the drinking marathon again. They are convinced to stage an encore by mate Gary King (Simon Pegg), a 40-year-old man trapped at the cigarette end of his teens, who drags his reluctant pals to their hometown and once again attempts to reach the fabled pub - The World's End. As they attempt to reconcile the past and present, they realise the real struggle is for the future, not just theirs but humankind's. Reaching The World's End is the least of their worries.

Now witness the trailer...

"Rosamund Pike" 

Darkmatters Review: Dead Man Down

Dead Man Down (15)

Dir. Niels Arden Oplev

Reviewed by Matt Adcock

- you can read a version of this review over at THE LUTON NEWS


“They killed my wife. They killed my daughter. They should have made sure they killed me too.”

If you’re in the mood for a dark crime revenge thriller from the maker of the original The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, then Dead Man Down is an interesting oddity that delivers enough to make it worth a look.

"Farrell and the she dragon"

Meet Victor (Colin ‘Seven Psychopaths’ Farrell), a small-time gang member who has a dark reason for signing up with the crime empire run by scary kingpin Alphonse (Terrence ‘Red Tails’ Howard).

Victor, you see, is a man on a revenge mission and he means to have payback for the killing of his wife and child by taking down those responsible from the inside of their shady operation.

His plan is somewhat complicated when he crosses paths with Beatrice (Noomi ‘Prometheus’ Rapace), a strange young woman with terrible facial scarring who lives across from him. It seems that she seen something that Victor would rather she had not, and now he must do something for her which also involves revenge.

"Blood demands blood..."

Dead Man Down looks superb. The cinematography is far better than you’d expect for a film part- funded by WWE Studios, who normally make terrible movies involving at least one of their former grunt and gurn wrestling stars.

I’m guessing that the main reason the film works so well is that director Opley brings his bleak-infused Nordic edge to the party. It might not have the same cult following as The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo but it does have a similar aura.

The central relationship between Victor and Beatrice keeps you hooked through the fairly standard crime drama plot. Farrell and Rapace generate some good chemistry and the supporting cast work well, especially Dominic Cooper as Darcy, Victor’s only real friend in the gang, who might just be the biggest threat to his plan.

If there’s anything that doesn’t quite work it’s the semi-comedy role of French actress Isabelle Huppert as Beatrice’s mother Valentin, all nudge nudge, wink wink encouragement for the two leads to get together.

"oh wait, that was the other film..."

The trailer for Dead Man Down shows off pretty much all the action scenes.

They are good but you shouldn’t go in expecting a gung-ho Die Hard shoot-em-up.

Rather this will leave you thinking dark thoughts about how far people will go to avenge wrongs and, despite the large body-count, there is a deeper level of emotion being effectively tapped here.

"Blatant 'Driver' rip off foreign poster"

Out of a potential 5 you have to go with a Darkmatters:

ööö - dark and dangerous thirlls

3 – the girl with the dragon on her face?

Awesomeness ööö – some good action and lots of contemplation

Laughs öö – lacking laughs even when trying to be funny

Horror öööö  – some bits are overly nasty

Babes ööö – Rapace is hot under her disfigured make up

Spiritual Enlightenment ööö - revenge won't heal you

"Rapace, needs new jeans"