Review: Footloose (2011) - Craig Brewer

Now I gotta cut loose. Footloose

            To be honest I never had any intention of ever seeing this film, it didn’t ever appeal to me nor did it have the glow of nostalgia (for me). But this morning as I do every Friday morning I was watching the Schmoes Know (http://www.twitter.com/SchmoesKnow and http://www.youtube.com/schmoesknow ) podcast ( I love it, but now it’s on at 4am Irish time I can’t watch it live), anyway their guest was Craig Brewer (http://www.twitter.com/mybrewtube  ) director of the 2011 remake of Footloose (As well as “Black Snake Moan” and  “Hustle & Flow”). It was his passion and love of the original film and what the film meant to him that made me decide to check it out. I should also mention that I have never seen the original Footloose in whole, I’ve seen bits and pieces and know the general gist but not enough to do a comparison, maybe someday I’ll add a comparison, anyway without further ado here’s my review.
 
            After the first couple of minutes of watching this film, I knew I was in for a good time, the subtle way Footloose (the song) is played over the studio plaques and then louder as part of intro scene is beautiful and sets the mood perfectly for the rest of the film. But then it changes mood drastically as on the way home from the party the group we’ve been focused on is killed in a car crash, leading to the decision to ban dancing (well unsupervised dancing anyway)as well as introduce a curfew (for teens) in the town in the wake of this tragedy as lead by the parent of one of the deceased teens Reverend Shaw Moore (Dennis Quaid). This was a very good introduction to me as it lays most of the opposition out in the open for the audience to see and digest, but very different to the original where this was only talked about, I’ve always been of the opinion that with film its always better to show it than say it.
             The film then flashes forward three years where we meet our antagonist Ren McCormack (Kenny Wormald), who had to move in with his uncle after his mother died of cancer. His Uncle gives Ren a car to fix up which he does haphazardly (an over head rope for the accelerator and a bullhorn speaker hooked up to an iPod as the radio) and drives into town with the radio blaring and gets pulled over by the police and gets ticketed for disturbing the peace. The next day Ren goes to church and here we again meet Reverend Shaw and his beautiful (butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth) daughter Ariel (Julianne Hough). At school Ren befriends Willard Hewitt (Miles Teller) who is my favourite character, and who also tells him about the dancing ban, the two also have a very witty exchange where the big town Ren schools the small town Willard but it’s all for fun.
            God I’d better start moving this along that’s only the first 15 minutes. So Ariel has a boyfriend (the much older) Chuck Cranston (Patrick Flueger), who’s a dirt track racer, I’d describe him as the jealous dirt bag type. Anyway to cut a long story short Ariel is very flirty and flirts with Ren (she’s willing to do more than flirt with him but that comes a bit later), Ren really falls for Ariel and wont just hook up with her for the sake of it (bless his cotton socks he wants a relationship with her) and as always Chuck is jealous and cocky but he’s sure Ariel won’t leave him. Chuck challenges Ren to a destruction derby style bus race around the dirt track, which Ren wins by crashing into Chuck’s bus. This moves the mostly friendly rivalry between the two into a hatred, and also makes Ariel willing to cheat on Chuck, but Ren calls her on it basically calling her a slut, but he saves her life so it fine.
             After this Ariel and Ren grow closer as friends and we get to see them go out of town to go dancing and drinking and generally been teenagers, on the way home they cross the bridge where the faithful accident took place and Ariel tells him that one of the kids who died in the opening was her brother who she looked up to. Ariel then tells Chuck that she’s sick of how he treats her and breaks up with him, then he beats her up and when she goes home gets in an argument with her father who blames Ren as in his eyes her behaviours gotten worse since he arrived, she says he didn’t beat her and he’s not the reason for her behaviour, then her dad hits her and she storms off (this girl is not having a good night). A few days after this we see Ren and Ariel talking (and possibly dating), Ren has a plan to throw a prom, he gets help from Ariel who lends him her bible marked with a few passages to sway the decision of the town council but is unsuccessful in his petition that the town council revoke the laws they implemented after the crash. Ren’s boss offers the use of his mill for the Prom and as it technically falls outside the towns reach its laws don’t apply, Ren approached Reverend Moore with this information and tells the Reverend his plan which the Reverend accepts he then asks if he can take Ariel to the dance.
Then at the barn Chuck and his gang show up and start a fight with Ren and his friend which they win and dance the night away.
 
             So in summary what did I think of this film I loved it, the music used was brilliant in my opinion it was a great mix of eighties songs and some modern ones, I understand a lot of the eighties songs were ones from the original movie, but they were either cover versions by modern artists or updated remixes of the originals. The film also had an indie vibe off it due to how some of the shots were framed and edited which I loved. I think everyone should check out this film its very entertaining and would make a great date movie.
I’d give it a B^-.

Review: The Avengers (2012) - Joss Whedon

          I wrote this review the 1st of May for a page on Facebook hence the lack of relevance ha, I kept the review spoiler free, let me know what you think.

          Ok I went to see The Avengers last Thursday the 26th of April with my housemate and two guy from work. And it was amazing; if you know me you’ll know I said that words failed me when I tried to describe this film. Well know that I’ve had time to let it all sink in I feel I can more fully explain how mind-blowing the film was. Firstly I will not include spoilers in this review, and I would like to stress that you do not need to have seen all the Marvel films leading up to this movie or be a massive Marvel fan as the story is self contained and everything is explained with in the movie.Ok on to the meat and bones: This movie is great I saw it in 3D and while it was good I didn’t feel it was like Avatar when seeing it in 3D was essential, sure it adds to it but I don’t think id of missed it. The movie starts off with a big action scene and then unfolds the story afterwards (knowing the other films helps but its explained afterwards), the main plot point for the 1st half of the movie is recruiting all the super heroes and showing what they’ve been up to since their respective franchises and this helps add depth and character development and introduce 1st timers to the world and heroes. My favourite thing about this movie is that you can tell Joss Whedon was involved in the story and script as well as directing this beast of a movie, and as a fan of the man I just loved the dialogue (The man is a genius with dialogue he advances the plot at the rate it needs too and still makes the characters feel believable and fitting it in with the respective characters, enough gushing though back to the review). This was also one of the funniest movies I’ve been to in awhile there were a lot of genuine laugh out loud moments and in my opinion the Hulk steals the show, Dr. Banner is very relatable and the Hulk is the character you’re cheering on the most.This then brings me on to the second part of the film, and with most of the story out of the way the onslaught of fighting and special effects can begin and boy does it deliver on this front, it doesn’t feel like the next solo Avengers films budget has been used here it’s more like they added up the previous films budgets and doubled it the effects are jaw droppingly good. Just because you know a scene or character is CGI doesn’t mean you can tell that it is.In conclusion The Avengers (I refuse to call it Avengers Assemble) is an easy 10/10 for me and while I’ll admit I am slightly biased in this review, I still think non-fans will love this film equally, so go check it out while you can and see if you agree with me. This is my opinion please feel free to agree/disagree with me in the comments below and make sure to like this post and subscribe to our page for more film reviews and news as well as all your PS3 reviews and news. – Davey’s Reviews :)

Short Stories: The Scars of Yesterday Chapter 1

The Scars of Yesterday

1

The harsh rays of sunlight seemed to seek out every flaw in the thin material used to keep them at bay. The room was awash with their glow, as these unfamiliar surroundings came into view. It had only been a month since Carol had moved into her new flat. She turned abruptly to face the wall and try a catch up on her beauty sleep. But Lexi, her cat had other ideas and leapt from the chest of drawers beside, the bed landing squarely on her owners side, nearly scaring the life out of her owner.

"Lexi, My heart! Okay I’m up", the fear anger and sarcasm of her words lost on the bemused cat, whose sole concern was getting her food. With her eyes half stuck together with sleep Carol, made her way to the window. A path still being learned with stubbed toes, the noise of the city below flooded in a little more as she approached her target, to let in some relative fresh air. A cool breeze whipped past her, as she slid the wooden window frame into its open position, penetrating her clothes making her shudder and waking her even more as the odours of the world flowed in. She then turned her attention to her and Lexi's breakfast, the cat dancing around her feet as if trying to reinforce the point.

Carol then decided to prepare for the day ahead. She stepped into the shower letting its warmth engulf her, and wash away her sins. The blanket of warm air was ripped away when she stepped out from behind the showers curtain, the droplets of water that clung to her now turning an icy cool. She couldn’t help but admire her toned and tanned form in the mirror, as her mahogany hair fell over her hazel eyes.

Her heart missed a beat as she heard glass shatter. "Lexi, I swear to God if that’s my good vase you knocked over, I’ll skin you...." her voice lost its forcefulness and stopped altogether when she heard the sound of footsteps and glass crunching underfoot seeping into the bathroom. Think quick and acting on impulse she reached for the lock and shut it, just as a heavy boot crashed into it rocking its slender frame. Another kick this time harder cracked the door slightly. As the feelings of panic quickly took her over, she managed to see the urgency of the situation and screamed "HELP ME!" but nothing came out. Suddenly she heard more footsteps approaching this time at a running pace. They then stopped and crashed into the other body with a thud and a torrent of swears. Carol suddenly felt weak and started to blackout....

…The taste of blood in her mouth was Carols first thought as she regained consciousness, the next was the awakening of her mind to the realisation that she hadn’t been dreaming. There were light footsteps coming from the other room and a muffled voice, probably on the phone. Carol fought the urge to pass out again and willed her body to work for her. The footsteps drew closer; as her eyes cracked open and the fear engulfed her very soul, she tried to scream but all that came out was a little squeal.

As her eyes fought through there groggy blur a face came into view. She didn’t recognise him but she knew his face from somewhere, his presence calmed her and made her feel safe, she knew she could trust him. “Hi, I’m Michael, and we’ve got to go leave. Right now!” his voice was smooth and masculine, and filled with urgency. With one forceful jerk he pulled her body up from the ground, and caught her as she went to fall. In his arms she felt safe and thought to herself she could get used to this kind of treatment. “Thanks” she managed to get out meekly, “I’m Carol. Wait did you say your name was Michael? Michael Gael?”. “Yea, that’s me”, he said “please come with me and I will explain everything I can to you”. As she looked at him she could see signs of his fight, his knuckles were bleeding, as were his lips and brow, and from early signs of swelling on his face she knew he would feel the pain later, and be bruised tomorrow. She caught her own reflection in the mirror and besides two panda’s eyes, and a throbbing headache she didn’t look too badly hurt. Her head swimming Michael the mysterious stranger dragged her out of her bathroom, at this point she realised she was only in a towel, over another stocky stranger, except this one was unconscious and had been on the worse end of the fight that must of took place. She could hear his laboured breathing suggesting a punctured lung, her medical background voicing its point, she could also see this man was bound and the contents of his pockets had been emptied, they were still beside him on the floor.

“Okay pack a few clothes, anything personal and some money too” Michaels booming voice snapping her back to reality. He dragged the stocky man into the bathroom and tossed him into the bathtub and as he came out said “Get changed too, I’ll wait outside the bedroom door”. ”Wait...What’s going on? I mean I get you saved me from that guy and all…But I haven’t seen you in years and I want some answers” the nervousness in her voice was plain to see as was the fear, but it was the forcefulness that shocked even her. “I know this is confusing but you know you can trust me Carol”, flashing his FBI badge as he spoke, a definite habit drilled into him, “Now do what I say if you want to live!” Carol changed into some comfy jeans and a baggy top; she packed some clothes a few pictures and got her money from its hiding place. “I’m done…” she said as she stepped out past Michael “…, what happens now?”. “I have to take you somewhere safe, follow me” he held out his hand and gripped hers tight leading her out of her apartment. Just then there was a crash of a vase Carols heart leapt out of her chest and into her mouth, while Michael in one swift move let go of her hand and cocked his gun directly at the source of the noise “Freeze!” he said in a frightful voice. The tense stand off was broken by a “Meow” coming from the table Michael was now aimed at. “Ooh crap! Lexi! That’s the second time you scared me. Come here now baby” Carol said her voice changing from one of anger to relief. The cat jumped onto her duffel bag and cuddled up. Carol tapped Michael, on the shoulder and said “Lead the way cowboy” in a mock southern accent. He stood, put away his gun and re-grabbed her hand muttering “I hate cats” under his breath, Carol let it go for now.

The carnage of the mangled front door startled her; Michael poked his head out the door surveying the hall for any signs of danger. He tugged gently on Carols arm leading her out of her apartment, and down the corridor keeping tight to the wall the whole time. He took her to the service elevator, down to the ground floor, out the fire escape and into the alleyway. He took her bag as they neared his car, Lexi jumping into Carol’s arms. Michael opened the door for her as she stepped into his car, it was a big black muscle car, she wasn’t sure if it was a Ford or a Dodge. He slammed the boot and hoped into the car beside her. With a roar the engine started and the car came alive under his control, he drove hard for several blocks before dropping the speed back to the legal limit. Carol stared blankly out the window as the light from the sun struggled to get past the buildings in town, Lexi licking at her arm the only thing she felt.

The car wound its way through the city’s streets, then up through the valley that surrounded the large urban sprawl, the roads started to get worse and the frequency of traffic lessened. Michael’s car slowed down and he pulled into a dust driveway, leading up to quite a stylish and incomplete house. The car stoped jerking Carol forward against her seatbelt. “We’re here” he said, “lets get inside and I’ll answer any questions you have”.