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26 NOVEMBER 2014 JB Hi-Fi
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He might love jazz, but Clint Eastwood isn’t the
first director you think of when it comes to a film
adaptation of the Broadway hit musical Jersey Boys.
(Indeed, Jon Favreau was initially onboard.) But Clint
was drawn to the underdog tale of Frankie Valli and
the boys and their rise to superstardom as The Four
Seasons during the 1960s. Cannily, he’s cast stage
actors familiar with the musical – such as Tony-winner
John Lloyd Young, who reprises the role of Valli from
the Broadway production – instead of Hollywood
superstars, and the results are every bit as toe-tapping, sing-along and
feel-good as you’d expect. Clint also doesn’t gloss over the darker side
of the tale, including the criminal element present during the group’s
formative years. A musical for everybody, not just your mum.
Workin’ its way back to you
JERSEY BOYS
Sex tapes have brought embarrassment to many a
celebrity, and now married couple Jason Segel and
Cameron Diaz discover the folly of uploading their
homemade porno (inspired by ‘70s manual The Joy
of Sex) to the cloud. With access available to friends
and family in possession of Segel’s old iPads, the race
is on to delete their three-hour raunch epic before it
goes viral. The leads reunite with their Bad Teacher
director Jake Kasdan for a raunchy romp which can be
considered a cautionary tale in the wake of the recent
“fappening”. Sex Tape desperately wants to be dirty, but it also wants
to confront the serious issue of intimacy problems faced by married
couples with kids. And it’s not without a sense of irony that real-life sex
tape veteran Rob Lowe turns up in a supporting role.
They did everything but delete it
SEX TAPE
This sequel to the 2010 hit is full of the flying, fire-
breathing critters, and they’re not all as nice as trained
dragon Toothless. Set five years after the events of the
first film, Viking dude Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) has grown up
and acquired a spirit for adventure, much to the chagrin of
his father (Gerard Butler), who wants Hiccup to succeed
him as the leader of their clan. His travels take him to the
frozen lair of the Bewilderbeast, an alpha dragon trained
by a “crazy feral dragon lady” known as Valka (Cate
Blanchett), who joins forces with our hero against dragon
hunter Drago (Djimon Hounsou) and his pirate lackey Eret (GoT’s Kit
Harington), who plan to attack Hiccup’s village. Not just the best animated
feature this summer, HTTYD2 is the perfect sequel – advancing the story
and expanding the mythology while retaining all the elements that made
the original something special.
A dance with dragons.
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2
The theme tune alone has probably driven
generations of parents to despair, but after such
sterling service in keeping pre-schoolers quiet, who
is going to begrudge Postman Pat a big screen
adventure? Stephen Mangan (Episodes) provides the
voice of Pat, who gets roped into an X Factor-style
contest so he can take his wife on a long delayed
honeymoon. Unbeknownst to him, however, his
unscrupulous new boss plans to use his absence to
unleash a new generation of robot postmen (modeled
on Pat) upon the world. Old school fans will be pleased to know that
this remains pretty faithful to the themes and quaint stop-motion
visuals of the original show, while grown-ups will appreciate a
talented voice cast that includes Rupert Grint, Jim Broadbent and
David Tennant, plus Ronan Keating singing.
Wait a minute, Mr Postman
POSTMAN PAT: THE MOVIE
Format: Release Date: 05/11/14 Format: Release Date: 26/11/14
Format: Release Date:12/11/14 Format: Release Date: 19/11/14
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