In The Hands Of The Gods - Film Review

A documentary telling the story of five young freestlye footballers who decide they want to busk and hustle their way to Argentina to meet their idol Diego Maradona. The kids are all from pretty diverse backgrounds but all have the unifying love of football and of Diego and see the journey as giving them the chance to prove themselves to their families and their frends.

They set out on their own and don't do a bad job of getting their on their wit, charm and talent alone. The characters are all warm and likable and you can't help but root for them and hope that their dreams come to pass. As most of the bystanders they blag free or discounted stuff along the way do too.

Both funny and touching; sometimes the doubt of them succeeding is so heart moving you cant help but feel for the boys and their goal; the frustrations of making their way in the big wide world, it truly makes for an engaging subject matter.

I thought it was great.

As someone that isn't really into football I really enjoyed it, such a refreshing subject and wonderfully shot and edited.

I called my own dad immediately after the screening to tell him about the film and he regaled me with the greatness of Diego.

A fantastic film!

Picture: Paul "Woody" Wood

Transformers Review

I went to a preview screening of the new Transformers film last night in Leicester Square. We were treated to drinks in the century club on Shaftesbury Avenue before the screening, icy Mojitos on the roof terrace where we were to collect our tickets. The room - decked out in the finest promo material, impressive ice sculptures, flashy (literally) cocktails and the loveliest canapés were a great start to the event.

The film was quite something. It completely quashed all expectations I had and it certainly isn’t aimed directly at kids. The audience were pretty mixed there were young teens, twentysomethings and seniors. I thought the film was well received by everybody, we even clapped at the end, hardly regular with British audiences. Even though the film is Action Sci-Fi in its genre it isn’t that contrived; the obvious kiss doesn’t even come until the very end (this isn’t really a spoiler because I expect you to be intelligent enough to spot the inevitable).

The films CGI was incredible, to see a truck morph into a giant robot, which then proceeds to speak and be believable, is quite something. The story was well written, making frequent cultural references that were both comedic and poignant. I feel it could be a real comment on how we live our lives through technology, when in fact technology could really be living our lives for us.

The gripping battle scenes in the skyscraper city scape were somewhat reminiscent of 9/11 and I think it has taken this long before it could be done without automatically referencing either the City of New York or the disaster (I do see the irony in this statement). It by far out did Independence Day in the alien action stakes and outclassed Armageddon in its apocalyptic persuasion, The only hammy gruff voiced patriarch spiel came from a faux George W and John Voight as Defence Secretary and who doesn’t love Angie’s Dad?

The ending has been left open for possible sequels which I’m sure will follow with quick succession after most of the merchandise has saturated the market. I just hope it doesn’t get lost in the corporate hype that it has managed to engender before its release. I really would hate it if it sank into the quagmire of Pirates of the Caribbean and the such.

All in all a great transition from cult cartoon classic of the eighties to Twenty-first century slick!

I can’t wait for the buzz about ThunderCats to come about. And if anybody has this idea already…I wanna see that one first too.

Paradise Lost Review

I found he film to be quite a departure from the usual plots of the modern horror/thriller genre.
It’s based on a fear that everyone has. As a twenty-something going travelling having a good time, getting drunk and exploring an unknown country and its people there is always an element of doubt that something could go terribly wrong, especially when you are so far away from the safety of home. Who would guess that the inhabitants of a small Brazilian town would proceed to chase you through the rainforest and attempt to butcher you one by one!
A fine way to spend an evening with your teeth on edge – I liked it! And the fact that the cast spend the entirety of the film in next to nothing is always a bonus!