Author Archives: jentertainment

About jentertainment

Movie and television nut.

Review: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part One

  By jentertainment | November 16, 2010 - 9:59 am | Featured Post, Movies & TV, The Culch
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The books began thirteen years ago and in November 2001 Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was released in cinemas. After nine years, we have reached part one of the finale of the Harry Potter movies. Saying goodbye to the series is also bidding farewell to a magical childhood in many cases. These films that have brought our favourite stories to life have lit up our screens year after year and they just get better every time. Deathly Hallows Part One is no exception. The boy who lived is all grown up and he stands before us as the young man who has been left a seemingly impossible task by Dumbledore. In order to kill Voldemort, Harry must track down the remaining horcruxes which all contain a part of Voldemort’s soul. This is the first film which does not feature Hogwarts and this lack of familiarity is something that adds … There’s more →

Salt Review

  By jentertainment | August 14, 2010 - 10:30 am | Movies & TV, The Culch
2 Comments

Angelina Jolie plays Salt, a CIA agent accused of being a Russian Spy planning to assassinate the Russian president in order to create a nuclear war. Just whose side she’s on is the mystery that unfolds throughout the duration of the film. Even though we follow Salt throughout the entire film, we never really bond with the character. Of course, this is a clear decision by director Phillip Noyce to make sure that the viewer does not expect the twists and turns of the plot but as the film follows the conventions of the genre pretty rigidly and predictably, you end up feeling that the character is simply distant and you can’t care much what her motivations are as a result.

Knight and Day Review

  By jentertainment | August 6, 2010 - 2:26 pm | Movies & TV, The Culch
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Knight and Day gives its audience a nice mix of action and romance making it the perfect movie for date night. Directed by James Mangold (Girl Interrupted, Walk the Line), this film revolves around June Havens (Cameron Diaz) a regular wholesome gal on her way home to her sister’s wedding. She meets mysterious yet intriguing stranger Roy Miller (Tom Cruise) at the airport and a spark ignites between them. Unlike most rom-coms, this spark really does appear to be genuine and it is the chemistry between Diaz and Cruise that gives this movie an edge over other dull movies of the same genre. I’ve always liked Cameron Diaz and this movie made me fall in love with her all over again. Her character June Havens suits her perfectly as she seems as surprised as we are to find her ripped out of the rom-com she expected to find herself in … There’s more →

The A-Team Review

  By jentertainment | July 27, 2010 - 12:24 am | Featured Post, Movies & TV, The Culch
3 Comments

As most people know, The A-Team was a popular television series that ran for five seasons from 1983 to 1986. Even people that didn’t grow up watching the show are familiar with the catch phrases and characters that followed its aftermath. I’m very surprised that an A-Team feature film hasn’t graced our cinema screens before this summer but it’s here now and it most certainly the epitome of a summer blockbuster. The television show was loved for its characters and over the top action sequences and I believe that the movie brings those exact qualities to the big screen. With a very lovable cast and some great one liners, there is some great chemistry to enjoy. The A-Team cast consists of Hannibal (Liam Neeson) who loves it when a plan comes together, Face (Bradley Cooper) the irresistible ladies man, B.A. Baracus everyone’s favorite mohawked man (Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson) and Murdock … There’s more →

The Karate Kid Review

  By jentertainment | July 19, 2010 - 1:23 pm | Movies & TV, The Culch
3 Comments

It’s a summer of sequels and remakes and the Karate Kid will surely be of interest to people like me who adored the original 1984 Karate kid. This movie sees Jaden Smith in a starring role after appearing in The Pursuit of Happyness in 2006 with his father Will Smith. The film centers around Dre Parker, a 12-year old boy from Detroit. Look at this guy, he’s not the awkward geeky Daniel Larusso that we loved in the original Karate Kid, but he is a fish out of water. His father has died and he is forced to move to China with his mother without any knowledge of the culture or language. Life turns sour for Dre when he is targeted by school bullies, all of whom are students of kung fu. There’s been a lot of debate about why this is called The Karate Kid when it is in … There’s more →

Toy Story 3 Review

  By jentertainment | July 16, 2010 - 2:43 pm | Movies & TV, The Culch
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I can still clearly remember the day I saw the first Toy Story movie. It was my birthday and as I walked out of the school gate, my dad and brothers were waiting for me in our old blue car whose door fell off not long after that date. I never got picked up from school so I was very confused, my brothers screamed that I was in for a treat and off we went to see Toy Story. The thing that stuck with me most about the film was how much my dad loved it; just as much as us kids. Years later, it’s still a film we’ll all re-watch when it comes on at Christmas. It has a timeless quality and a universal appeal. No matter how old you are, you always remember fondly what your favourite toys were and the boundless imagination you had when you were … There’s more →

Tegan and Sara: Live in Dublin Highlights

  By jentertainment | July 9, 2010 - 4:08 pm | Music, The Culch
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I put together a little highlights video for anyone that missed Tegan and Sara when they played on June 15th last month. You may remember Will’s post about T&S playing a free gig in Tower Records. I didn’t make it to that but I was at their gig in the Olympia that evening and had a great time watching the Canadian twins and their banter. It was my third time seeing them and I think the gig went a lot better than their show in the Button Factory in February 2008 despite some sound issues at the start. The conversations they have between songs is what really makes the show great. I hope anyone that missed it will enjoy the video and go see them next time they play here if you like the look of them. I didn’t have a tripod and was quite far away so apologies for … There’s more →

My Name is Khan- A gem you may have missed in the cinema

  By jentertainment | June 28, 2010 - 9:24 pm | Movies & TV, The Culch
4 Comments

My name is Khan showed in limited cinemas, I went to see it in Cineworld a few months back. This is a Bollywood film and even though the Bollywood genre doesn’t usually appeal to me, I was blown away by it. I’m not the only one; My name is Khan was screened this year as part of the Berlin film Festival and it has broken the record for the highest-grossing Bollywood film overseas.

Shrek Forever After

  By jentertainment | June 25, 2010 - 5:22 pm | Movies & TV, The Culch
2 Comments

Directed by Mike Mitchell; written by Josh Klausner and Darren Lemke, Shrek Forever After is the forth and final Shrek movie to be released. In an interview with Cameron Diaz, she summed it up nicely by saying “I think it’s great to have four films because they are like four different chapters of life. You know, you’ve got the meeting each other and falling in love, incorporating each other into each other’s lives, friends and family, starting your own family and then being comfortable with where you’re at in life.” I sometimes feel that at this stage of a franchise, films tends to get a bit sour and disappointing. I must admit that I wasn’t too fond of the third film and I’m really glad they pushed to end Shrek on the forth instead. This really wrapped the Shrek saga up and was a good send off. I do like … There’s more →

Review: The Losers

  By jentertainment | May 21, 2010 - 4:45 pm | Featured Post, Movies & TV, The Culch
4 Comments

The Losers is an adaptation of the comic series which I know little about. I think this review might be completely different coming from a fan of the comic that brought about this film so keep in mind that I’m treating this as a completely separate entity. The Losers is an action packed romp with a lot of explosions, chases and some good ol’ watered down violence. The plot centers around a Special Ops force who are in Bolivia to kill a target. They soon realize they are actually the target as they are framed for a crime by a a rich, powerful villain by the name of Max. Max is played by Jason Patric who appears to be trying to break out of his ‘good guy’ comfort zone. The five members of the gang all have their own niche talent. Clay is the leader of the gang played by … There’s more →

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

  By jentertainment | May 17, 2010 - 8:30 am | Movies & TV
9 Comments

Computer game series and blockbusters. They don’t tend to mix very well. There have been many attempts to transfer the energy and excitement of a popular game series into a great action movie and these attempts usually fall flat on their face. Street Fighter, Super Mario Bros. Mortal Kombat and more recently Resident Evil and Dead or Alive were not very popular by any means. Even Tomb Raider came under extreme fire, though not by me because of its star actress. So needless to say, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time had a difficult path to follow. The game series creator Jordan Mechner was involved in the making of this film and I’d like to say that helped but it didn’t appear to. I did notice some interesting rapid paced point of view shots at the beginning very reminiscent of a computer game but these didn’t stick around for … There’s more →

The Back-up Plan

  By jentertainment | May 6, 2010 - 9:30 am | Movies & TV
5 Comments

Zoe (Jennifer Lopez) wants a baby. Her body clock is ticking, she’s seeing babies everywhere and nothing is going to stop her having one- not even the absence of a partner. The film opens with Zoe being impregnated by a doctor through artificial insemination. She walks out of the doctor’s office and into a fight over a taxi with a hunky male. In case you’re wondering, the storyline doesn’t get any less ridiculous. There’s no guesswork about what will happen next. Her squeeze Stan is played by Alex O’Loughlin and judging by this film alone, I think he’s a terrible actor. Sure, he’s got the look but I wasn’t doing any melting for him, in fact I hated him. Of course, the insemination works, Zoe is pregnant but she has just starting falling for Stan. He is dazed by the discovery of the pregnancy, torn between his feelings for her … There’s more →