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Date : 20050516 Current Story Count : 3


Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith Spoiler Free Review

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith Extended Film Review

Kingdom Of Heaven Film Review

Constantine - Heavenly or Hell on Earth?

Keanu Reeves has recently talked about some of his favourite scenes in the upcoming Constantine film:
"There's a showdown scene where Constanine meets the forces of darkness who are planning to make Hell on Earth, and he battles using the 'Holy Shotgun'.
There's also quite an interesting scene between John and Satan, which is good fun."

I've got to admit that this looks very interesting...

Especially as a Christian and the fact that my novel 'Darkmatters' deals with some similar themes / elements...

Here's hoping that Keanu can do it justice!!

Not Alone In Hating Polar Express

The guys at CHUD.com are right on the money when it comes to Polar Express...

(CHUD Review)
My therapist says it would be a good idea for me to write about this movie, especially since I still start crying every time I hear a train go by. That makes commuting on the subway tough.
It takes a special man to make an animated film about the corpses of people getting on a train to take a disjointed and creepy ride to the North Pole, only to discover that Santa's Workshop is really a giant industrial complex airlifted in from the Eastern Bloc and the elves are enslaved Hebrews.
That man is Satan.

Dave's Take: Even as a kid I always kinda thought those Rankin-Bass Christmas specials had mildly disturbing animation (the Winter Warlock always freaked me out), but I sincerely doubt this film will become nearly as endearing over the ages.

Nick's Take: I get all the poorly rendered Tom Hanks I need in my nightmares, thank you.

PWEI Strike Back

The rumours are true...

YES... The poppies will tour again and I'll be there!!

Thank you God

IMDb's Top 25 Film Stars of 2004

IMDb.com, Earth's biggest movie database, has released their top 25 stars for 2004. These STARmeter™ rankings were not based upon critical assessments or box-office performance, but the actual search behaviour of over 20 million users of IMDb.com.

And the winner is...
Johnny Depp!

The rest of the top 5 include -

Lindsay Lohan (see Mean Girls photo below)
Orlando Bloom
Keira Knightley
and Angelina Jolie

Read the article at:

http://www.imdb.com/features/rto/2005/starmeter


Lindsay Lohan - with her mean but cute friends...

darkmatt banner

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Fantastic Four - Will It Suck?

Fantastic?

Not sure how this one will play... certainly has potential but I'm filing it as a 'wait and see'...
Nice outfits though...

Matt Adcock's Top Games 2004

"in the zone"

Yes - another 'best of' list - this time it's my top 5 games I've wasted countless hours of my life playing this year... "It's part of being a good parent would be my only excuse" - apart from the fact that I don't let my kids anywhere near games like GTA: San Andreas...

5. Burnout 3: Takedown
The words "oh just one more go" were often heard in our household this year - crash mode rocks!!

4.Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005
A life eating addiction to smacking a little ball very hard... But beating my father in law 19-0 at skins (we halved the last hole) was a highlight!!

3. Killzone
"Ask only that you survive the day" - but what a adrenaline packed day it will be 'in the zone' - screenshot above!!

2. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
This 'kill em up' is a thing of beauty, being a gangsta is just so much fun - criminal!!

1. Disgaea: Hour of Darkness
A strategic battle game that looks cute but is more addictive than crack!!

My console of choice is the trusty PS2, yes I've got an Xbox as well but the only game I've been tempted by for it this year was Halo 2...

My computer game habit has began the day I won a ZX Spectrum at my school fair back in the '80s...
At various times since then I have played TI99, C64, Amiga, Snes, Megadrive, Jaguar, Saturn, PS1, PS2 and then I won an Xbox from an online survey... And of course I've been a long term conscript to Command & Conquer plus other strategic PC games.

Tragic I know - but roll on Playstation 3 all the same!!

Miracle Drug

I want to trip inside your head
Spend the day there...

To hear the things you haven't said And see what you might see

God I need your help tonight
Beneath the noise
Below the din
I hear a voice
It's whispering

... Miracle drug

Lyrics: Bono

How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb
- one of my favourite Christmas presents this year!!

Bruce Willis Will Own It... 2005

You could say that I'm excited about Sin City getting made into a film,
you would be right...
John Hartigan is the role Bruce Willis was born to play...
(other than the hero - CLERIC - in the film adaptation of my as yet unpublished novel 'Darkmatters' where he's a washed up special forces agent that has to save the world from the forces of hell - whilst dealing with the fact that absolutely everyone wants to kill him and that he's developed super powers he knew nothing about!?)
Hey publishers, give me a call!!

Most Wanted 2005... Sin CIty

This is going to be very, very cool...
As a big fan of Frank Miller's comic books, this is my tip for 'most fun you'll have in the cinema in 2005' and that is saying something as there are lots of potentially awesome films on the radar for the coming year!!

Matt goes ape about Bruce Willis in SIN CITY: Bruce Willis Will Own It 2005

Matt Adcock's Worst Films of 2004

As wise turkey say... "there can be no true pleasure without pain!" and as I tuck into second helpings of her suculent breast meat - I have to say that I agree (hope she didn't suffer too much but I deem the pleasure she's bringing is worth it)...

And so it was that even in 2004 - which has been a great year for films, some film efforts just did not ring my bells and the top 5 for me were:

5. Paycheck (John Woo)
Ben Affleck even joked about how he wanted to get his ticket money back when he saw it - and he's the star...

4. Along Came Polly (John Hamburg)
Extra marks deducted because I liked his last films - Zoolander and Meet the Parents

3. Connie and Carla (Michael Lembeck)
Nia Vardalos must be stopped before she perpetrates any further crimes against cinema - her first being My Big Fat Greek Wedding

2. Exocist: The Beginning (Renny Harlin)
This guy is a hackmeister and this film sucks satan's ass

And yet - least favourite by a steaming mile is:

1. The Polar Express (Robert Zemeckis)
This just made me physically ill despite its cutting edge animation and impressive imagery...


If a strange man asks you to get on a train with him in the middle of the night,
just say "no"...

newsnow...

hot off the press

Matt Adcock's Films of 2004...

Matt Adcock's Top 10 Films of 2004


1. The Incredibles
Awesome - just pure pleasure on the big screen

2. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Freaky, funny and romantic - all at the same time

3. Man On Fire
My pal Denzel delivers the goods - Tony Scott rocks

4. Spiderman 2
A rare sequel that improves on original - heartracing action

5. Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events
Turbo charged and spewing dark fumes - gothic family fun!!

6. Collateral
Cruise makes a mean baddie - Mann directs with style

7. The Cooler
Cool and heartbreaking - a real joy to watch

8. Big Fish
Fantastic fantasy and imagination in visual overdrive

9. Lost In Translation
Impressive culture shock love story

10. Shaun of the Dead
Proud to be British - funniest horror film ever


All in all a very strong year for films – if you want to see my 'Worst 5' of the year then click here: Worst Films of 2004

or my pick for potential best film of 2005 click here: Most Wanted 2005

All I want for Christmas (but won't get) PSP!!

The PSP - a portable Playstation - surely a thing of supreme beauty.
Am trying not to freak out contemplating just how much more fun my commute is going to be each day...

Mmmmm
Wipeout Pure,
Ridger Racers,
Metal Gear Acid - yes please!!


/ Huge grin on Matt's face...

And for those who want to know just how much it rocks - check out this latest report on the quality and all round loveliness of the PSP...
http://www.t3.co.uk/news/default.asp?pagetypeid=2&articleid=33516&subsectionid=753
Then place you pre-order!!

Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events Film Review

Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events (PG)

Reviewed by Matt ‘Lemony’ Adcock

I’m sorry to tell you that this film is extremely unpleasant, an expression that here means, “it involves three ingenious orphans, a sinister homicidal villain and a hair-raising gothic misadventure.”
Alarmingly, it is also pure entertainment dynamite – darker and cooler than Harry Potter will ever be - this ‘Series of Unfortunate Events’ really lives up to its morose title. Things do indeed get grim, there’s no happy ending, actually there’s no happy beginning and I have to say that very few happy things happen in between but that is the very point. You know, it’s not too late to stop reading and consider going to see something altogether more light hearted…
Based on the subtly subversive books of Lemony Snicket, director Brad Silberling and a distressingly talented cast that includes Jim Carrey, Meryl Streep and the gorgeous Emily Browning have brought something truly unique to the screen. ‘Unfortunate Events’ capitalises on that well-trodden path from the fairytales of the Brothers Grimm through to the twisted works of Roald Dahl – of dastardly awful things happening to perfectly nice children through no fault of their own. The result is a dreadful spectacle, a phrase that here means, “it jump starts the imagination of the entire family and evokes the magic of truly classic entertainment.”
The woeful tale is of the Baudelaire orphans, Violet (Browning) a whiz inventor, Klaus (Liam Aiken) a brainy bookworm and Sunny (played by tag team of twins Kara and Shelby Hoffman) a two year old who really likes to bite things. Undisputed star of the film however is the villainous Count Olaf (Carrey), he sizzles with ultra manic energy, he really is despicable, a word which here means, “really, really, unbelievably evil.” The wicked Count pursues the orphans throughout the film, appearing in a number of guises – all the while trying to get his hands on the children’s huge estate.
The Lemony Snicket books knocked Harry Potter from top of the children’s bestseller list when they came out and on the strength of this lavish adaptation, Potter has good cause to be looking over his shoulder.
As Snicket says “at times the world may seem like an unfriendly and sinister place, but what may seem like a series of unfortunate events might, in fact, be the first steps of a journey...” Let’s just hope that this wonderful journey continues with a sequel!

Lemony Snicket Orphans

I was kidding Bruce!!

Jim spots Bruce Willis reading his interview...
See below.

Residual Mind Noise - Interview with Jim Carrey

Matt Adcock meets Jim Carrey

I caught up with Jim Carrey whilst he was in London promoting Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events. Having just had to escape a fire at Claridges in Mayfair, he’s full of manic energy and looking far less sinister than he does in the film as the dastardly Count Olaf…

Count Olaf is possibly your best role to date is an iconic villain – up there with Vader or the Child Catcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang – what did you think about playing him?

“Olaf was just so much fun to play because there were so many possibilities. I loved playing this role and always kept in my mind ‘I’m Count Olaf’ so there are no rules – he’s a really dangerous guy but he doesn’t think of himself as evil. As a baddie however, I wanna be the thing under the bed. I want kids to go into their parents’ room in the middle of the night, and say ‘Mum, Jim Carrey’s under my bed, can I sleep in yours?’”


Olaf is a terrible actor by trade – was there any particular inspiration for that aspect of the role?

“Bruce Willis!! I’m kidding Bruce (if you’re reading) please don’t hunt me down – you’re an action guy I understand… No but Olaf is actor who is losing his hair and that does add a danger element to him.“


Children’s fiction – especially the darker stories like Lemony Snicket and Harry Potter are doing very well at the moment, why do you think that is?

“Because they’re bad, children are bad – literally. No, but I think it connects with the feeling of ‘being orphaned’ – even if you’ve got parents, people have that feeling. This film is really different though, really inventive and I’ll be fascinated to see what children make of it because they are crazy passionate about the books. It’s a dark tale but the intent is bright – focussing on how they can rely on and support each other which is positive.”


Were the children scared of you on set?

“Absolutely, especially the two year olds they were terrified of me – it was so tough to get them to smile. In fact we had to get a tiny TV showing Shrek and hold it over my shoulder, so lots of the time when you see Sunny you’ll be seeing her reacting to Shrek.“


So how about bringing Count Olaf back for a sequel?”Hey, if they back up a truck full of dollars…I don't have a deal, but it's one that I wouldn't mind doing again because there are so many characters. I mean, we created 30 extra characters that never made it in the movie – you might see some of that on DVD. Olaf though is a child at heart, he just wants everyone to love him and see him as a genius, so I guess he’s quite like me in that respect!”


Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events is the hot ticket to see this Christmas and it has just opened at number one in the U.S. box office so it’s a fair bet that we can ‘count’ on seeing more Jim Carrey as the ultimate baddie Olaf again at some point.

Click here to read: Matt Adcock's Film Reviews