Although you can see the stretch . . . → Read More: Chop is obviously a Hostel inspired film]]> With its inspiration seeming to come from Hostel, or Saw, or any film in which a bad guy is systematically chopped up by an even worse guy, Chop has the feeling of a humorous short that was stretched into a full feature with an 81 minute running time.

Although you can see the stretch marks on occasion, and they aren’t always pretty, there is still an awful lot to like about this film, thanks to its central hook.

The premise is simple; a lunatic has kidnapped a nasty and selfish man in order for him to make his prisoner apologise for something unpleasant that happened years previously. In the selfish jerks defence, he hasn’t a clue what the lunatic is raving on about, which only makes matters worse.

After witnessing a few of his family members being horrifically murdered, our selfish none hero starts to admit things to the lunatic that have nothing at all to do with him, and  this is were Chop starts getting funny. Yes, this is a horror/comedy, but your typical horror with the odd quips thrown in for good measure, Chop, to its credit, is a dark yet broad farce punctuated with frequent scenes of grandiose carnage.

Not all of the jokes hit the mark, and Chop overstays its welcome by several minutes, but during its best moments you could be mistaken for thinking you were watching something written by Eli Roth and Neil Simon due to the rapid banter and the kooky misunderstandings that lead to some over the top blood letting and quite shocking violence.

The leads are also on the green side, but they are often amusing as they are fully committed to this slice of low budget lunacy. Chop is unlikely ever to be thought of as a masterful blend of comedy and horror, but there is something to be said for a little indie film that manages to keep both plates spinning for the vast majority of the running time.

Overall, Chop is a  lot of fun with a good amount of horror thrown in, creating a low budget mash up of genres that you know you are going to click with or not within the first few minutes. Flawed?, yes, hugely enjoyable?, absolutely.

Generally speaking, Safe House is that class in an action . . . → Read More: “Safe House”]]>  Most people have had the experience of taking the General Education class at the behest of a friend who assured an easy A, only to get there and find out that this time the teacher has something to prove about general ed. being taken lightly.

Generally speaking, Safe House is that class in an action movie. The story is the basic blow up stuff fodder that has come to be expected; only this one is out to be respected for its brain when its asset is brawn.

Taking place in Cape Town, South Africa, the story is about low-level CIA operative Matt Weston, who is assigned guard-duty for ex-CIA agent Tobin Frost who got ousted for running amuck. Things go awry, however, when the safe house they inhabit is attacked by gunmen inexplicably intent on capturing Frost (Denzel Washington).

Agent and knave escape the safe house, only to be chased incessantly by the bad guys, but as the story unfolds, young Weston (Ryan Reynolds) must rely on instinct to decide whether to trust those in charge or to believe a cunning Frost.

So far, the story is engaging; Washington and Reynolds mesh well, as Washington excels in a familiar villain role, outwitting a young operative, and Reynolds does a fine job as the noble and confused agent trying to do the right thing.

Clarity is lost in the storyline when two home-office CIA agents are introduced as communicators with Weston, who wind up cluttering what’s going on by not having much to do.

Although Reynolds and Washington do a fine job, the script and flow hinder their performances, making the movie stilted and choppy.

In all, the movie was much too complex for what it had to accomplish. It would have been much more enjoyable without a supporting cast edging for face time.

Leo and Paige are in the throes of a love-struck marriage that has only just begun. Leo, a music . . . → Read More: The Vow is a good old fashioned love story]]> The Vow hearkens to the success of sappy love stories past. Standing in the echo of such timeless classics as An Affair To Remember and Love Story, it captures their bewitchery at a slightly lesser degree.

Leo and Paige are in the throes of a love-struck marriage that has only just begun. Leo, a music studio producer, and Paige, a sculptor, are suddenly thrown into a seemingly impossible situation when Paige (Rachel McAdams) is flung through the windshield of a car, suffering minimal injury, save the loss of her memory through a blow to her head.

Unable to recall the past five years of her life, Leo (Channing Tatum) suddenly finds himself a stranger to his beloved betrothed. Initially optimistic that eventually her memory will return and she will once again respond to his love, pessimism eventually pervades his mind.

Paige’s parents, played by Sam Neil and Jessica Lange, decide to intervene, and try to convince her that her best course of action is to move back into her childhood home, where familiarity of surroundings might bring comfort. Leo, obviously against the notion, quickly realizes that he may lose her forever, as Paige is torn between two worlds.

Based on true events, the story is not required to have a happy ending, as it teeters between whether or not her memory will return.

Tatum performs well as affectionate and loving supporter of his wife; however his overall sincerity to the role is questionable. His boyish charm, though, is endearing and it is obvious why Paige fell for him the first time.

McAdams shines in her role, and although some of her behavior is questionable, her overall fortitude and goodness permeate Paige’s character, bringing her to life.

Lange and Neill perform flawlessly as loving, concerned parents who overstep their bounds in a maternal attempt to help their daughter return to normal life.

Any Questions for Ben? Is a comedy film that features the city of Queenstown in Australia and it is expected that many young travellers from Australia will be heading to the city because of it.

Queenstown is featured in the film for 10 minutes and there are many adventure activities . . . → Read More: New film set to boost Queenstown tourism]]>

New film set to boost Queenstown tourism

Any Questions for Ben? Is a comedy film that features the city of Queenstown in Australia and it is expected that many young travellers from Australia will be heading to the city because of it.

Queenstown is featured in the film for 10 minutes and there are many adventure activities that take place in the city shown in the film.

The film stars Rachel Taylor and Josh Lawson, who are popular Australian actors. The story follows Josh as he searches for meaning in his life. He has a significant amount of emotional turmoil and decides to travel to Queenstown in the hopes of resolving it. The head of Destination Queenstown is Tony Everitt and he has said that the tourism industry in the city worked hard to get the film shot there.

Mr Everett commented, “It did cost us money to win the bid but we are hoping that the investment will be worthwhile and people will be attracted to Queenstown because of the film. It portrays the city in a great light and it shows potential visitors the kind of exciting activities that can be found here. We are not sure what the economic benefit we will be right now but it looks pretty promising.”

Destination Queenstown has also previously worked hard to get its city featured in films. It was previously shown in a Bollywood film which was mostly set in Mumbai. Since the film premiered, the number of Indian visitors coming to Queenstown has seen a significant increase.

It has recently been announced that the ITV television show is moving to the new development, Salford MediaCityUK.

It will be joining many other television shows being filmed at the new development, including several programmes by the BBC.

The move is . . . → Read More: Coronation Street moving to a new street]]> Coronation Street, the popular television soap, is going to be moving studios after over five decades in Manchester.

It has recently been announced that the ITV television show is moving to the new development, Salford MediaCityUK.

It will be joining many other television shows being filmed at the new development, including several programmes by the BBC.

The move is going to take some time and so the cast and crew are going to be working very hard to stockpile enough episodes while the set moves. It is expected that five weeks of episodes are going to be recorded ahead of time.

Kieran Roberts is the executive producer of Coronation Street and he has commented, “During the next year we going to be gradually moving ahead of schedule. This will allow us to stockpile enough episodes to make the move without any interruption to viewing.”

The television show is already filmed several weeks in advance and before Christmas, as well as in the summer, the television show is shot ahead of time so the television stars can enjoy some time off. This advanced filming is going to take this further than they have seen before and it is expected they will be up to 10 weeks ahead of schedule.

ITV have said that they will be building a special studio for the filming of the television show and everyone is very dedicated to the move. The current production base on Quay Street is going to be sold off after the move has occurred.

Currently, the other shows filmed at the same location include the Jeremy Kyle Show, as well as programmes for other networks such as Channel 4 and BBC. The new studio for the soap is going to retain the original appearance of the fictional town called Weatherfield. The original set was built in 1960.

Reports about the property say that his land . . . → Read More: Avatar sequels set to be filmed in New Zealand]]> The movie Avatar is scheduled to have two sequels and speculation is that both of these are going to be filmed in New Zealand. A great deal of fuel has been added to the speculation because James Cameron has recently purchased a large amount of farmland in the country.

Reports about the property say that his land is located just 10 miles from Peter Jackson’s property where he is currently filming The Hobbit. Mr Cameron’s property is located about 50 miles north of Wellington and is estimated to span over 2500 acres.

There are two separate properties on the land which are known for producing sheep, beef as well as dairy and there is also a vineyard. Reports say that Mr Cameron paid nearly $17 million for the property but the records state that he is also planning to live in New Zealand indefinitely.