DARKMATTERS - The Mind of Matt

You met me at a very strange time in my life...

Read my novel: Complete Darkness

TREAT yourself to the audiobook version: DARKNESS AUDIOBOOK
Listen to the PODCAST I co-host: Hosts in the Shell

Monday, February 04, 2013

Darkmatters - Win End of Watch on Blu-ray


Win a copy of the excellent END OF WATCH on Blu-ray!!

To celebrate the DVD and Blu-ray release of End of Watch, Darkmatters have 3 lovely shiny Blu-rays of the film to give to you...

"Hey I heard that Darkmatters were giving away our Blu-ray!"

In case you've not seen the film yet... Matt Adcock fills you in:

Lock and load for David ‘Street Kings and Harsh Times’ Ayer's powerful found-footage cop-drama-em-up. End of Watch is an awesomely kinetic free flowing tale of two likeable cops who get marked for death when they inadvertently tick off a powerful / evil drug cartel who have started operating on their L.A. beat.

End of Watch made our Darkmatters Top 10 Films of 2012

How do you win?

In order to be in with the chance to win a copy of End of Watch on Blu-ray - simply email Darkmatters@Another.com with your name, age and cop nickname e.g. Matt, 41, ClericCop

This competition is open to UK resisdents only - winners will be notified week before release (hits the UK on the 18th March).

"I wanna win a copy on Blu-ray!"

Blu-Ray Review...

This is the definative Cop Movie - if you're a fan of gritty cop thriller then End of Watch is the new gold standard!!

Gyllenhal and Peña are absolutely fantastic in the lead roles - creating a believable and likeable police buddy partnership – it feels all the more authentic due to the two having spent time with actual LAPD officers.

Love interests are on hand in the form of Anna Kendrick and Natalie Martinez, who give the film an even stronger emotional core. Viewing End of Watch is like hanging out with two best pals whose friendship is forged in the heat of battle and constant threat of danger into a strong genuine bond.

The obligatory bad guys are a small army of tattooed scumbag foot soldiers led by Big Evil (Maurice Compte) – playing against type as he was a Police Officer in the TV Cop drama Southland. The fact that the baddies have cameras as well allows for an awesome ambush scene shot from both viewpoints.

If you get this disc - be sure to check the cool Audio Commentary, where writer / director David Ayer talks through his choices of production, cast and the unique camerawork style.

There are also some featurettes where cast and crew members discussing the script, characters, production and the rigorous training and some  deleted scenes...

Grim, funny and altogether exciting, be careful out there and be sure to check End of Watch!

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

ööööö – Best cop thriller for a long time!

Buy it here: www.amazon.co.uk




Sunday, February 03, 2013

Movie 43 Guest Review


Movie 43 (15)

Dir. various - all of whom should have known better!

Reviewed by Tom 'CultureSlap' Wade

A film so bad that it may be the evidence you’ve been looking for to prove the existence of Satan.

“What’s the worst film you’ve ever seen?” is a question that people like to ask you once they’ve realised that you enjoy watching films. In the past I’ve had to chuckle sadly before scratching my chin dramatically before rambling about how the worst film I’ve seen is more to do with the film that has let me down in terms of my expectations blah blah blah. No need to do that anymore. Movie 43 is the worst film I’ve ever seen. 


"No - not even Leprechauns can save this movie"

Apparently Movie 43 is a film for the generation that has grown up on Youtube and Funny or Die. The generation that likes our jokes nice and quick or laughing at inappropriate moments where people are humiliated.

Ask yourself this: 'Are you a human so depraved that you’d log onto your neighbours non-protected Wi-Fi?'  Well I’ve got some sad news; even you won’t enjoy Movie 43. Movie 43 is a sad, shallow, celebrity stacked shock ‘comedy’ that is so bereft of any form of talent, skill or filmmaking ability that even Jesus would possibly struggle to forgive it. 

"Chloe Moretz is tipped off by her agent that she's in this film"

Yes it doesn’t attempt to disguise the fact that it’s lowbrow humour, but that doesn’t mean it should get away with its crimes. The most perplexing thing about Movie 43 therefore is just how on earth they managed to get an A-list cast topped by Academy Award-winners Halle Berry and Kate Winslet, as well as Oscar-nominees Uma Thurman, Naomi Watts, Hugh Jackman and Terrence Howard involved. (For an idea on how this happened, check out this Guardian article). Hugh looks for the antidote to the poison he was forced to take in order to appear in this mess.

To suggest that Movie 43 is funny is a bit like approaching Stephen Hawkins with a thesis on your idea that the world is flat. A collection of ever degrading comedy sketches directed by ‘talents’ such as Peter Farrelly (There’s Something about Mary) and Brett Ratner (the man who ruined X-Men and kept Chris Tucker employed for far too long), the film is essentially a series of skits presented via a couple of teenagers who have fooled another kid into believing that there is an ultra-forbidden movie somewhere on the internet called Movie 43.

In trying to track it down,he uncovers a series of other scenes. Why we need a linking mechanism isn’t really explained, perhaps it was to use up more time and pretend there is a story. The best of the bunch (which is a bit like asking which bout of constipation has been your favourite in the past year) is the first vignette, “The Catch,” which revolves around Kate Winslet’ blind date from Hell with Hugh Jackman (Huge Action as he is really called). Jackman is a successful, eligible bachelor with a distracting problem, a hairy scrotum hanging from his neck in place of an Adam’s apple. It’s a sight gag at best and there isn’t much more to say about that. If dangling testicles isn’t enough to get your funny bone tickling, the next section “Homeschooled” might be more your thing with some ‘hilarious’ moments revolving around incest and pedophilia. But what if you don’t find that funny? Pffft, is what the filmmakers are saying back to you – just chill out and stop being like so stuck up! 

"there's nothing 'super' on offer here"

Halle Berry apparently signed some sort of contract for her breasts to co-star in “Truth or Dare,” but for her dignity to stay at home, while Terrence Howard stars in a basketball section about making his team realise that they are all black. I can only imagine that Tarantino has seen this film multiple times for this section alone. I could go through the other shorts on offer but that’d really be wasting everyone’s time. All I can do is implore you, when we’ve got films such as Lincoln, Zero Dark Thirty, Django Unchained, What Richard Did and Flight out at the cinema – don’t go see this.

Don’t encourage the people involved. Youtube is made so that films like these can be buried or disappear after an hour in the limelight, don’t give Movie 43 your hard earned time and attention.

Darkmatters & CultureSlap Rating: 0/5

"this is what the marketing people of Movie 43 have stooped to"

Bullet To The Head - Live Tweet Review



Bullet To The Head (15)

Also available over at the awesome CultureSlap here's our live tweet review of Stallone’s latest...

Reviewed by Matt Adcock & Tom Wade

  1. Ok so #B2TH is the hastag if you want to come on this Bullet to the Head live tweet, with the live tweet action hero that is @TomCultureSlap
  2. This cinema is equipped with live tweeting 4 those with sight / hearing problems or those who just can’t be bothered 2 go out tonight #B2TH
  3. Kevin Bacon advert you make me sad. Please stop Kevin Bacon. #B2TH
  4. 30 seconds. Stallone has first kill. Dodgy VoiceOver started ‘this is the way my story went down’ #B2TH
  5. #B2TH flip titles only just rolling and already there’s a bullet flying out of the screen – it pseudo 3D…
  6. Stallone has no problems with cats. First joke about Stallone being old made #B2TH
  7. Man dancing in pants. Obligatory women in shower shot. Stallone in suit, Christian Slater is in the film! #B2TH
  8. ‘Keep your pants on!’ Says the man wearing only pants. Heh #B2TH
  9. Sleazy drug n boozed up baddie looks a bit like@TomCultureSlap #B2TH – oops he just told Stallone to F himself… Now he’s dead!?
  10. Second ‘bullet to the head’ already. Stallone is on fire! #B2TH
  11. Stallone shouldn’t shave off the goatee. It means you can see more of his plastic face#B2TH
  12. Nice guy Stallone doesn’t shoot innocent naked hooker witnesses – what a gent! #B2TH
  13. You can’t get the partners these days. Stallone leaves his partner alone for two minutes to pee and he goes and gets himself killed. #B2TH
  14. Toilet cubical fistfights FTW, looks like Stallone needs a new partner… #B2TH
  15. Now Stallone’s face shows either anger or constipation due to not finishing on the toilet. I can’t be certain. #B2TH
  16. This hooker appears to have a magical panther tattoo that makes everyone suffer from shifty eyes when they look at it #B2TH
  17. Seriously graphic autopsy – a la Grey’s Anatomy#B2TH Stallone’s growls form idiot’s guide voice over explanation for those not keeping up!
  18. Stallone brings his own drink to a bar and rents a glass. Badass #B2TH
  19. Stallone now fighting via a car. Requires less movement. Clever. #B2TH
  20. Ok first proper shootout ends with Stallone running over baddie and dropping clunky dialogue ‘do it my way or we don’t do it at all’ #B2TH
  21. Quick trip to a tattoo parlour/surgery/bra free zone. Dialogue still bringing the most unintentional laughs #B2TH
  22. Stallone’s tattoo parlor female pal has chest sparrow tats just like @lauralrobinson #B2TH
  23. @laurahaddow looks that way – @tomcultureslapis absolutely loving #B2TH by the look on his face!?
  24. ‘So far what you got?’ ‘Well I’ve got you…’ Stallone unintentionally flirting furiously with his new partner #B2TH
  25. Stallone enters sauna, partner: ‘you’ve got 10 minutes and then I’m coming in’ meow!#B2TH
  26. #B2TH “lets go take a bath” Stallone likes to get close to his partners… Arguing over weapons now – mobile phone vs apple core…
  27. ‘Guns don’t kill people, bullets do’ Stallone takes a detour into the philosophical #B2TH
  28. Stallone is now in his pants and fighting. His body resembles The Thing from fantastic 4. Another bullet to the head #B2TH
  29. Pattern so far: car banter, Stallone walks in slow motion, fight with quick shaky cam, bullet to head, move on and repeat. #B2TH
  30. @Cleric20 @TomCultureSlap Following your live tweets for #B2TH. It’s almost like being there…but I’m at home sipping hot chocolate.
  31. Stallone wearing a party mask. Most expression he’s shown all film. #B2TH
  32. #B2TH Memorable lines like “Bang. Down. Owned…” Heroes now masked up for swanky party – dress code is suits for guys, topless for girls
  33. ‘Whip it and zip it party boy’ says Stallone. Second toilet beat down already #B2TH
  34. #B2TH Christian Slater being interrogated / out act Stallone… “There’s nothing you can do to me that I haven’t done to myself for fun!”
  35. Nice. Lots if story exposition disguised as interrogation scene. Stallone hasn’t shot anyone for 10 mins. Disappointing #B2TH
  36. Stallone is wearing the most remarkable top. A deep V, tight at the top and yet loose and baggy at the bottom. Remarkable #B2TH
  37. @TomCultureSlap you remember when Walter Hill made decent films? Been a while now?#B2TH
  38. Ah the old buddy partner bonding – cant last though as cop vows to take Stallone down… We’ll see #B2TH
  39. ‘I’ll be waiting Confucius’ says Stallone, no doubt mourning the loss of a good philosophical debate in the world of hit men #B2TH
  40. ‘I’m going to give them what they want, get her back, and then they die’ says Stallone helpfully explaining what’s going to happen #B2TH
  41. Another bullet to the head – must be in double figured now… #B2TH daughter / flashdrive trade arranged – going to end in tears / bullets
  42. Do abandoned industrial warehouses only exist to house kidnap victims and stage firefights? America is dangerous #B2TH
  43. Stallone’s one liners are getting worse “cavebear” he quips to bearded goon… #B2TH
  44. “I’ll teach you never to trust a man who doesn’t care about money…” By shooting you… No honour among baddies #B2TH
  45. This action scene has revolved around Stallone slowly making his way down lots of stairs looking out of breath #B2TH
  46. ‘Looks like it’s down to you and me’ ‘what are we Vikings?’ ‘Pick it up!’ Grunt grunt ‘I’m impressed’ ‘ouch, you ok?’ #B2TH
  47. Time for climactic one on one axe fight #B2THnicely choreographed – not hard to guess who wins…
  48. Everyone bad appears to be dead. If that was the sum total of an action film, I believe ‘flaccid’ would be the term to use #B2TH
  49. When Stallone walks I can’t tell if the film has gone into slow motion or not. That time it turns out it was slow motion #B2TH
  50. Wow. The last shot and line revolved around a product placement. Stay classy Stallone!#B2TH
  51. Ends with a car advert for Ferrari – “why not? Nobody lives forever!” #B2TH
  52. So it’s over. Thankfully it was short. Awful dialogue, slow action, Stallone sleepwalking, and little action to get excited about. #B2TH
  53. Right that’s us done, sorry for clogging up your twitter! #B2TH
  54. #B2TH @TomCultureSlap asks “you sure Stallone hasn’t had a stroke that I didn’t hear about?”#actingmasterclass
  55. #B2TH all done – wouldn’t normally tweet a film but Stallone movies are an exception
    "Sarah Shahi shows what she thought of being in Bullet to the Head"

"this poor girl has 'just seen Bullet to the Head' eyes... can you help?"