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REVIEWS
DVD&BD
Joining the seemingly endless list of teen-fiction-
turned-box-office-hits,
The Maze Runner
follows
agroup of boys exiled from the rest of humanity;
memories wiped, they awaken on an island where
they must negotiate an ever-changing labyrinth.
Teen Wolf
’s Dylan O’Brien, alongside rising stars Ki
Hong Lee and Kaya Scodelario, strive to escape this
lethal trap and return to the freedom of the outside
world. A divide emerges between two ‘groups’ in the makeshift camp,
half residing behind O’Brien and half behind antagonist Will Poulter
(
We’re the Millers
). And the arrival of lone female Teresa (Scodelario)
further disrupts the status quo. They all soon discover where allegiances
lie, and come to realise the dangers lurking beyond the walls of The
Glade.
The Maze Runner
is a briskly paced adventure, that lays the
foundations for a popular new franchise.
Ran’s Labyrinth
THE MAZE RUNNER
Cowabunga! Who would have thunk back in 1984
that this ridiculous sounding quartet of superheroes
would escape the pages of a comic book to take over
cartoons, movies, video games and cosplay? ‘Turtle
Power’ has endured and they have now risen again
from hibernation with a spiffy new photorealistic
makeover. Producer Michael Bay and director Jonathan
Liebesman have started from scratch, introducing the
heroes in a half shell to a new generation. This time round it’s Megan
Fox as New York reporter April O’Neill, who discovers that the vigilantes
targeting the notorious Foot Clan crime gang are six-foot tall talking
turtles, with the names of Renaissance artists and an appetite for pizza.
Michael Bay’s involvement tells you what you should expect from this
reboot, but rest assured,
TMNT
is cooler and much more fun than one
of his
Transformers
films.
Heroes in a Half Shell
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES
It’s been nine years since Robert Rodriguez teamed up
with comic book artist Frank Miller to bring the latter’s
monochrome metropolis
Sin City
to the screen. In this
return visit, Miller and Rodriguez have four more stories
to tell, some of them featuring familiar faces who met
their end in the first film. So, what gives? The
Sin City
timeline is fluid, with prequel tales – including the titular
A Dame to Kill For
– complementing two new stories
written exclusively for the screen. Which means Mickey Rourke’s lovable
rogue Marv is back! So too is Jessica Alba’s dancer, the girls from Old
Town and Dwight McCarthy (although this time he is played by Josh
Brolin, rather than Clive Owen).
Sin City: A Dame to Kill
For
looks
even more visually striking than its predecessor and fans will find this
belated return to Miller’s mean streets well worth the wait.
There is no Justice Without Sin
SIN CITY: A DAME TO KILL FOR
The ‘80s TV crime series of the same name
(starring Edward Woodward) was never like this!
Denzel Washington steps into the title role here
asa former intelligence operative turned hardware
store worker, who befriends a young Russian
prostitute (Chloë Grace Moretz) being mistreated
byher pimp. After a rather nasty incident puts the
girl in hospital, Denzel calls upon his past training
to exact revenge, which consequently makes him a target for the
Russian mob.
The Equalizer
reunites Denzel with his
Training Day
director Antoine Fuqua for a violent and mean-spirited action-thriller,
culminating in a tense and bloody final showdown in the darkened
corridors of the hardware store, where the well-stocked shelves
provide a veritable arsenal of weapons. Ouch!
Denzel plus Russian Mobsters equals Mayhem
THE EQUALIZER
Format:
Release Date:
21/01/15
Format:
Release Date:
14/01/15
Format:
Release Date:
17/12/14
Format:
Release Date:
28/01/15
HIGH-DEF HITS