Colter comes to in an isolation chamber, strapped to a seat, and wearing his military flight suit. He still has no idea what’s happening, except that he’s being spoken to by mission controller Carol Goodwin (Vera Farmiga), who calmly recites a series of memory questions to which Colter is shocked to realize he knows the answers. He learns he’s part of an operation called “Beleaguered Castle” but before he can progress any further, Goodwin starts up the machinery and suddenly…Colter is back on the train, at exactly the same time he first appeared there, once again speeding through Chicago with the same group of commuters. Colter figures he’s in some kind of simulation exercise, with his task being to find the bomber onboard the train before it goes off again. Living the explosion over and over, Colter must uncover the identity of the bomber, while also figuring out what the alternative universe of “Beleaguered Castle” is. Adding to the puzzle, Colter uses the second chance opportunities to make peace with his father, and to find romance with a fellow passenger on the train

.

TFB Anticipation Rating: *******~~~ (7/10)

UK Release Date: 1st April 2011

Director: Duncan Jones

A film whose title is sure to disturb parents and elderly folk such as myself is the upcoming 2011 film Friends with Benefits. Starring Justin Timberlake and a personal favourite Family Guy’s Mila Kunis.

The story centres around two professionals who meet but are too busy to find a mate. They agree to have an intimate relationship with no strings attached. However things get complicated when the guy falls for the girl, who’s dating someone else.

A predictable plot? Most definitely. Let’s hope Kunis can lift this unfortunate plotline with the same humour and wit she is so well known for on the small screen.

Love and Other Drugs ( 2010)

The 29^th of December…not a particularly significant date I’ll grant you, still satiated from Christmas, the woollen jumper from grandma has already begun to unravel and New Years seem so close and yet so far… the perfect solution? Watch the latest Anne Hathaway romance of course!

Anne Hathaway is not a name that often finds a host of fans among cinema goers (apart from her ‘lifelong adoring fan base since the Princess Diaries’) but Love and Other Drugs (2010) is a film which will definitely see a growth in the actress and her ability to take on a dramatic but funny role. As well as this, the stunning and incredibly  talented Jake Gyllenhaal (Prince of Persia) plays the male lead Jamie Randall a Viagra salesman who ends up falling for Hathaways character Maggie, in what is an adaptation of the Jamie Reidy memoir Hard Sell: The Evolution of a Viagra Salesman.

I sincerely recommend checking out the trailer to this film; whilst Hathaway ensures rom-com lightness to this release, the combination of the film’s script and Gyllenhaal’s brooding presence guarantee a perhaps unexpected depth.

The Fighter (2011)

A question I often ask myself on a daily basis is what Mark ‘Marky-Mark’ Wahlberg’s career is set to have him appear in next? Will he make a comeback to modelling, and bless us all a good peek at his abs of steel? To my dismay I was instead offered my piece of Wahlberg in the form of his latest release The Other Guys (2010) however there is still a glimmer of hope in his 2011 project The Fighter.

Due to be released on the 4^th of February 2011, this is definitely a cure to the Valentine frenzy which is sure to engulf every major city in England. Playing alongside a very skinny The Machinist-esque Christian Bale, Wahlberg takes on a role as a boxer whose Rocky-like rise was shepherded by half-brother Dicky (Christian Bale), a boxer-turned-trainer who rebounded in life after nearly being KO’d by drugs and crime.

The Fighter also stars Amy Adams in a role far apart from her outbreak film Enchanted (2007) this is a movie which is definitely set to rival the ultimate boxing film Rocky (1976).

The Tourist (2010/2011)

A slightly chubby, but still divine, Johnny Depp appeared on my computer screen recently in a movie trailer which sees this quirky heartthrob in a role which many of us have not seen him play…’the ordinary man’.  Playing opposite the formidable Angelina Jolie, Depp plays Frank, an American tourist visiting Italy to mend a broken heart. Elise (Jolie) is an extraordinary woman who deliberately crosses his path in order to mislead all those following her former lover.

Intrigued? Set to be released early December, this is definitely a film which will provide a bit of heat to our winter days.

For Colored Girls (2010/2011)

Tyler Perry is perhaps a name which is not so well known over her in the UK; however his new release For Colored Girls (2010) is most certainly set to put him in the spotlight.

The film is an adaptation of the play For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf and deals with issues from divorce, to sex, rape and abortion to name but a few. Starring Janet Jackson, Loretta Devine and Whoopi Goldberg, this film is most definitely not short on talent; For Colored Girls(2010) is a film which is expected to break all codes and boundaries, featuring a cast of all black women dealing with such strong issues, November 2010 will be a month where audiences will absolutely take notice.

Based on Ubisoft  Montreal’s popular video game with the same title, the movie adaptation produced by Pirates of the Caribbean’s Jerry Bruckheimer and distributed by Disney, blends in rooftop-jumping action with sarcastic humour, adds a few grains of romance and results in a light-hearted popcorn flick.

The Plot:

Young street urchin Dastan (William Foster) is adopted by King Sharaman (Ronald Pickup) after he impresses him with his courage within the Persian market place. Fifteen years later, Dastan, now known as Prince Dastan (Jake Gyllenhaal), and his brothers Tus (Richard Coyle) and Garsiv (Toby Kebbell) are informed by a spy motivated by Nizam (Ben Kingsley), the King’s brother and advisor, that the people of the sacred city of Alamut have been providing weapons to the enemies of the Persians.

The Persians thus attack Alamut and upon succeeding, Princess Tamina (Gemma Arterton) is captured and arranged to marry Tus, hence making her city also part of the Persian Empire. Dastan had inadvertently gotten hold of a mystical dagger while fighting a guard, much to the Princess’ dismay. During the celebration the Persians’ defeat, Dastan is framed for murdering his father King Sharamat, after the gown he had seemingly given to him, unexpectedly burnt him to death.

Dastan discovers the astonishing time-travelling power of the dagger while harbouring as a fugitive with Princess Tamina, who attempts to persuade him to return the dagger to its rightful place before it falls in to the wrong hands. Along their journey back to Persia, the bickering pair encounter Sheikh Amar (Alfred Molina), a crude yet joyful entrepreneur who although initially endeavours to steal the dagger off Dastan, ultimately sides with him and Tamina in their race against time.

The Thoughts:

Although most game/ book-to-movie converts are disappointing, I anticipated the release of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time because of my appreciation of the game franchise. I had not played the early versions, yet the 2008 Prince of Persia games and the PSP version (Rival Swords) were enough to turn me in to a fan. I found myself addicted to all of the ones I had played; not solely because I particularly enjoy action/adventure games the most, but because the character of the Prince had come across as rather amusing.

After I had realised that the film was based on one of the earlier game titles, I researched it and found that the two plots differed almost as much as sand and water. I thought it misleading that the film was named after the game, because the fans of the game will find that the story in the film is only relevant in terms of the dagger itself; a feature which becomes the highlight of the film only after an excessive involvement of background information. While this had provided plenty of childish, shallow entertainment; I considered the plot itself as hardly related to the game.

Nevertheless, had I been utterly unaware of the games and their storylines, I would be able to summarise the film as a poor, almost spoof-like attempt at combining Indiana Jones and Aladdin. The Disney element was most definitely felt; and this I deemed as one of the film’s possible strengths. The humorous action scenes, the “witty” sarcasm of the Prince, the annoyingly dramatic Princess, and exaggerated scenery I thought reflected Disney’s signature movie characteristics. Even though I had initially frowned upon the film’s use of an inappropriately “Western” cast (despite the Prince from the game itself having similarly blue eyes and dark hair) whose appalling acting skills were taken even less seriously by their heavy false tan and dyed hair, a few of the main characters had admittedly grown on me during the course of the film – particularly Jake “Donnie Darko” Gyllenhaal himself.

Through the ridiculously over-built physique, fragile attempt at a British accent and cheesy one-liners, lay the potential for a very likeable main character. I had literally thrown my face into my hands from embarrassment during the first half of the film, though once I had accepted fate, I had started to enjoy it from a mindless, “popcorn film” perspective – not to be taken seriously at all, and had even managed a few chuckles.

I had found it a shame that Gemma Arterton’s one-dimensional depiction of the “majestic” Princess Tamina did not improve nonetheless; her absurdly over-dramatised behaviour, forced on-screen chemistry with Gyllenhall, and highly annoying voice continued to poke at me in the temples, as well as Alfred Molina’s ludicrous Cockney accent in a supposedly Middle Eastern environment.

The cast’s shallow performances (though I reluctantly understand that the specific actors were chosen for commercial purposes) had indeed made the film seem like a parody, as did most of the plastic-looking costume and equipment; the dagger itself had sometimes looked like it had been purchased from Toys R Us.  I had also miserably failed to conceive why it was not used for more impressive scenes in the film – the “Dagger of Time” had provided an enormous opportunity to create stunning and extraordinary visions during major fights, yet it was used for abysmal pettiness.

All in all – a predictably dire attempt at creating a movie from a game franchise, though admittedly not one of the worst.  It definitely deserves a point for some of Gyllenhaal’s stunts, another for his ‘charisma’, the visual effects gain another point, the music perhaps, and the sheer unintelligent, “family entertainment” factor gives it another .

Generosity gets the worst of me; hence it just about creeps over a “5” in my books.

The Film Buzz Review Rating: *****½~~~~ (5.5/10)