Reviews

Being 16 years old i guess makes you too old for children's TV programmes now. But luckily i have a lot of younger brothers and sisters and so it gives me an excuse to go back into my adolescence every once in a while. When i was a kid, the best super-hero show on TV was the original Power Rangers. Come on, they were awesome. About 10 years after the Power Rangers first became good, the youth of today is being shown the rubbish that is Operation Overdrive. I'm sorry, but its time to lay the Power Rangers to rest, because the shows are getting worse and worse. This, in short, is a perfect demonstration of terrible children's TV has become. And so when my 2 younger brothers began getting mad over some programme on Cartoon Network called "Ben 10" i naturally assumed that it was just another rubbish children's show. One day when i got home from school i found my brothers already watching TV, and this programme Ben 10 was on. The options were to either do homework, put a DVD on or play on the xbox 360. Being incredibly lazy, i decided to just sit down and watch the TV. 2 hours later i had watched 4 episodes of the show and couldn't believe it. I mean, Cartoon Network had finally made a show that is half decent. Lets face it, the show has every cliché in the book, its fairly predictable at times and also very convenient how there's always a monster around whenever Ben is there. But what show isn't a little rough around the edges? Ben 10 is something fresh and relatively original. I think Cartoon Network Jetix, Nickelodeon and other kids TV channels should learn from this programme and then perhaps children's TV might get back to the glory days of Power Rangers.

OK, so it is the summer of 2007, as a movie lover you would expect me to be at the cinema watching one of this years summer blockbusters that people have been going on about for a fair amount of time. However, aside from the fact that I've already seen all this years summer blockbusters (excluding Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix which isn't yet out), you have to realise that this summers films haven't quite been as good as we expected.

So this evening, i sat down, turned of Sky Movies Premiere and watched Lucky Number Slevin. I'll be honest, i really thought this film was gunna be bad, which was the main reason i hadn't bought this film on DVD or even watched it in the cinema last year. But for the first time this summer i was truly blown away by a film, and this one wasn't even a summer blockbuster.

This film us truly phenomenal. Its pacing is fairly quick and it always keeps you interested. The characters are all brilliantly played, especially Slevin by Josh Hartnett. He is a truly great character and really well acted. His small, one liners will really make you laugh, but when you see him being a lil' bit serious, he is serious. The story of this film takes many twists and turns and through the whole film you will sit there trying to think of what could happen next and what he twists are going to be. The killings are brilliantly done, perhaps even Tarintino-esquire.

I highly recommend that this summer, if your bored of the rubbish summer blockbusters and you haven't seen this film before, maybe you should, cos its just brilliant and one of the best films i have seen in a long time.

Thank you 20th Century Fox and Marvel, you have saved the summer for me. So we kicked off the summer with Spiderman 3 which was one of the most anticipated movies in history, and it was such a let-down. Next to take the plunge was Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, which i just couldn't sit through. And in quick succession was Shrek The Third and Oceans 13. Now while Oceans 13 wasn't all bad, Shrek The Third was just not great.

So as i walked into the cinema today with all my friends i was hoping and praying that Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer could save the summer from all these huge let-downs. Walking out of the cinema i felt very elated, because this film is phenomenal. It wasn't too long, the story wasn't too complicated, the characters were all brilliantly played, the action was awesome, the special effects were great as well, the list just goes on. However there was one thing that made this movie so great, and that was the fact that it felt like a summer blockbuster. I was sat in the cinema thinking to myself, this exactly what it was meant to be like watching Pirates of the Caribbean and Shrek and that makes this film the bar for this summer.

So lets all thank the Fantastic Four and the Silver Surfer for saving the summer for finally entertaining us and giving us something that was worth going to the cinema for.

On so many levels could this film have gone wrong. The 3 villains in it could have confused the storyline, they could have got caught up with the special effects and just made it a showcase of that. They could have crushed everything that was built up over the last two films. But they didn't!

No, they didn't forget the formula that made the last films so great. They didn't forget the balance of the love story and drama in the films with the action scenes and the special effects. They didn't forget all the reasons why we loved Spiderman 1 and 2 and that for me is why this film is so great. I have to tell you that it all worked perfectly.

The 3 story lines worked around each other and you never got lost and then all came together for one amazing finale. The characters were all awesome. Each one played their part so well, it was like finally seeing a comic book on the screen the way it should be done. Kirsten Dunst was amazing, as always. Topher Grace was a brilliant Venom/ Eddie Brock, Thomas Haden Church was brilliant as Sandman/ Flint Marko and James Franco was just great as Green Goblin MK2/ Harry Osbourne.

And then there is Tobey McGuire as Spiderman/Peter Parker. What can i say. It was a genius performance. This was he Peter Parker from the comics, this was the Spideman from the comics. He was a character you could understand what he was going through, understand everything that happened to him, you went on his remarkable journey with him. There were just so many small bits in this film that all came together and that really made it brilliant.

However, in spite of what i said above, this film does have its flaws, and some major ones at that. The script isn't all that great but there are some good moments in there. There are some scenes where you wonder, why the hell did they put that in there/ why didn't they do that in the last movie? Some of the dialogue between characters can be just shocking, but hey, its a comic book movie. But one of my major problems with the movie was that fact the this film was way over-hyped and so people expected a lot more than they got, and this is the reason for all those idiots out there saying that this film is either too dark or too cheesy (please make up your minds which one it is because it cant be both).

But do you know what, in the end none of this matters because it really is a great film, with some classic scenes. Sure its not as good as Spiderman 2, but that was a difficult act to follow. When you see this film, just sit and enjoy it for what it is. This film will make you laugh, it might even make you cry, but i promise it will have you on the edge of your seat.

So don't listen to all the stupid Spideman fan-boys, don't listen to the critics, go and see this movie for yourself, make your own opinion on it.

It has been over 4 years since this Wrestlemania took place. I was only 11 years old when i watched this live. The other day i watched Wrestlemania 23 which in itself was awesome, but i thought back to past Wrestlemanias and this one came to my mind and i couldn't quite remember why.

So i went out and bought Wrestlemanias 11-17 and 18-21 on box set. Well i watched 17 first because i had to see The Rock v Austin once more because it was awesome. And i skipped 18 and went straight to 19. Perhaps it is because i am now older and can appreciate this Wrestlemania a lot more now than when i first watched it because now i see it as the best Wrestlemania i have ever seen and this is because of a few matches that were simply amazing.

Well lets start off in order. The opening match of Matt Hardy against Rey Mysterio was a simply brilliant cruiserweight battle and Reys attire was pretty awesome. Shawn Michaels took on Chris Jericho in a match that was an instant classic. Hulk Hogan v Vince McMahon was another match that i will remember forever just because it was the whole 20 years on the making storyline.

And then perhaps one match that i will remember again, forever because The Rock finally beat Steve Austin at Wrestlemania. This match was the last time that Austin and The Rock ever met in the ring and it was another incredible match.

Finally the last match on the card, Brock Lesnar v Kurt Angle. A rivalry for the WWE title that had raged for quite a while and then it inevitably hit Wrestlemania. This, in my opinion, is the greatest match of all time because of the truly incredible athleticism that both men showed. From the reversals, to the quick pin attempts. From the huge Angle Slam to the German Suplex into the turnbuckle and finally from that failed Shooting to Brocks F-5 that finished the match, it showed what Wrestlemania is all about.

You know, every once in a while you get that one Wrestling event that beats everything you have seen in the past few years. I mean, Wrestlemania 21 was OK, Wrestlemania 22 was just not up to Wrestlemania standards, and then Wrestlemania 23 came along from Ford Field Detroit.

I had my reservations about it. First off, half of the matches on the card did not have good enough build up to them or not a good enough story behind them. However the show was opened with an amazing Money in the Bank match, most notably Jeff Hardys jump off the ladder onto Edge lying on the ladder outside the ring, simply amazing. Khali vs. Kane was everything we expected it to be- rubbish!

Then there was a wildcard match that really surprised me. The US title match between Benoit and MVP was simply brilliant for good technical wrestling and applauds to MVP for one brilliant performance. And then there was the World Heavyweight Championship match. This was another match i did not have high expectations for, generally because i'm not a huge fan of the Undertaker but we all new he was going to win it. However i have never been more glad to be proved wrong. The match was an incredible roller coaster ride. And i really have to hand it to Batista for one hell of a show and watch out for his powerslam through the announcers table. Sadly that will be the last time the Animal holds the title, but you've really gotta give it up for him!

I'll keep my review of the next match short and sweet, ECW originals Vs The New Breed. Again, rubbish!

And then the Battle of the Billionaires. Sadly this match was the one that i was most excited for and didn't quite live up to the hype in my view, but still awesome all the same with a few twists that not even i expected.

The Lumberjill match for the Womens title was great on the eyes but sadly not long enough, but oh well.

Then my biggest surprise of the evening in the Main Event. Yerse i am one of those weird John Cena fans and not even i know why i am, i just like him. Anyway, this match again i didn't feel had enough build up or hype to it even though there was a fairly good story behind it. First off, HBK's entrance was awesome, watch out for it, and John Cena's entrance was simply brilliant. The match itself had me on the edge of my seat cos i really had no idea who was gunna win it, and it was just brilliant, i have never seen Cena and Shawn wrestle so well and this one was truly a matter of heart and wills and who wanted to win it most and i am glad to say that The Champ is still here!

So really overall, one of the best Wrestlemania's in recent memory and you really must look out for the amazing entrance stage and the fireworks and screen effects and light and sound for the entrances, truly spectacular. Really, you have to see this Wrestlemania, simply amazing!