Monthly Archives: May 2014

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REVIEW OF ~ “A MILLION WAYS TO DIE IN THE WEST” ~ (One word: Funny!)

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If you are not a Seth MacFarlane fan..I would ask you WHY NOT?  The man is funny..”Family Guy” is funny.. “Ted” was hysterical!! And “A Million Ways to Die in the West” follows suit.  But I will warn you, if you don’t like his humour, you might not like this movie as it’s ALL him.  It’s his first ‘acting’ gig and we all know usually he is ‘animated’ or the ‘voice of’ etc etc.. But here he is the lead playing “Albert Stark” a sort of cowboy who is a sheep farmer (yes, be prepared for the bad, but funny sheep jokes/skits) and what he thinks is the love of his life, Louise “Amanda Seyfried” has just left him for Mr.Mustache as I call him, Foy “Neil Patrick Harris”.  In order to win her back he calls Foy out for a ‘duel’ even though he is basically the town oaf and can’t even shoot a gun.  Well step in Anna “Charlize Theron” to help save the day and teach him how to shoot and not exactly tell him who she is, which is the wife of the baddest gunfighter in the West, Clinch Leatherwood “Liam Neeson”  

Basically the plot is nothing to write home about as it’s 1882 in the West and of course their are a Million Ways to Die, snakes, disease, gunfights, or even the doctor can kill you..with a nail in the ear or a Bluejay!! 🙂  And they mostly speak in terms we use today, only the real ‘cowboys’ use old West lingo and there are so many innuendos to be made which make it really funny so pay attention to catch them all and the cameos!!! 

So bottom line, of course Albert and Anna fall in love while she is helping him learn to shoot as she is a crack shot ~ but of course and blah blah blah with that part of the plot. Though it completely sticks to form when he’s counting out the ‘Millions of Ways to Die in the West” in a fun scene with Edward “Giovanni Ribisi” and his ‘girlfriend’ Ruth “Sarah Silverman” ~ who is really a prostitute though they can’t have sex as they are saving themselves for marriage which in of itself makes for some funny one-liners. The movie has a some really beautiful scenic shots and few serious moments that I didn’t expect, but then it also majorly delivers some downright raunchy, gross out scenes that we’ve come to expect from Seth MacFarlane and right smack in the middle of it, one of the BEST scenes EVER will bring you back to the future.. 😀

Oh yeah..and if you’re looking for it to not offend and be perfectly PC..then again, you don’t know MacFarlane’s style because he is NEVER either of those. Seth’s acting is okay..it’s not great by any means but as we all found out one day a few years back that he is so damn cute it’s hard not to like him.  Charlize does okay in a comedic turn, as much as I love her, nothing to write home about in this performance but definitely nice to see her doing some fun stuff as you can tell she’s having a good time! Liam Neeson with his deadpan and yes, accented character is spot on. And for those that say, how can he have his Irish accent in a Western.. well..Hellloooo.. back then more people had accents as in case we forgot our history, we are a country of immigrants so it fits perfectly in.  Also, if you are quick enough to spot a very famous Scotsman in a cameo about a 1/4 of the way through, and a few other good cameos in between, and of course at the end..well..I say good job Seth. 

I realize this movie isn’t getting rave reviews because the critics love to bash his brand of comedy because it’s not the norm..I love things that are not the norm and this movie is funny..much funnier than it’s comedic predecessor “Neighbors” in my opinion. Let’s put it this way, It’s definitely worth paying to see. 

Grade: B-

#peggyatthemovies

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REVIEW OF X-MEN:DAYS OF FUTURE PAST

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To say I am an X-Men fan would probably be an understatement. I mean it’s not as big as my James Bond fandom..but it’s running a close second as it’s a cartoon I’ve watched all my life including way into adulthood. I remember waking up every Saturday morning as it would air at 11am and I was completely into it hangover or not!! 😀 Granted ‘Gambit’ was my guy, cuz he was crazy, wild loose canon and yes, just plain fun and now he’s close to finally being cast by Channing Tatum as they have only had “Gambit” ever-so-briefly before in the Wolverine movie..I am totally ready for him! As for this movie..I’ve got a favourite character too! Read on and see who it is!!!

So let’s start off though with just a briefing on the movie itself. I’ve seen it twice now..once in 2D and now just saw it in 3D (Thanks Jason!!) This adventure into X-Men is meant to take you back in time and connect all the other X-Men and possibly yes, Wolverine movies together so all the threads that you’ve already seen become woven together. It does that, though there are quite a few long, lagging points, sometimes lasting up to 15min or so where you finally go..okay..I got it!! Let’s move on. All in all this story has a definite point to it.. I do like the time-travel idea so that the X-Men may live on…:) The plot is obviously set in the future where man has turned against all mutants and has been killing them off in droves in scenes reminiscent of concentration camps footage, but of course as with all things man-kind, have taken it one step further as we’ve been known to do, and is killing of not only sympathizers but people who are even carrying the gene or if their children/grandchildren can be seen to carry it. So basically as with all war, it’s gotten ugly and out of control. So in order to save their race/species, Patrick Stewart & Ian McKellen, reprising their roles as elder “Charles Xavier/Professor X & Eric/Magneto” realize Mystique has been the catalyst to the beginning of this whole destruction with her 1st killing back in time when she found out what the research they were doing on Mutants was really headed and then became captured and used herself.  To stop all this from happening, Wolverine goes back in time to 1973, which is actually a couple of fun scenes there, and he has to convince the younger Magneto & Beast that he really is who he says and they just don’t know it yet and they need to help him to save all mutant-kind. Magneto is of course in a lock down prison 100 floors below the surface of the earth, for of all things, killing JFK or so they say. And his ‘jailbreak’ is probably my most favourite scene in a movie in a long time!! Once they get them all together, you think it’s going to work out, but of course it can’t go the way planned..there has to be problems within the group themselves, most notably Professor X & yep..you guessed it, Magneto.  You know I love my villains, I always do..a good villain has a redeemable quality and oh yes, Magneto does..and it really comes down to him and Mystique as she is rather a villainess here also.

Acting wise, Hugh Jackman in his now quite iconic role as “Wolverine” does a good job of it. I like it and damn his body is truly stunning..Next, how can you not love the ‘McFassy’ bromance aka Michael Fassbender as “Magneto/Erik Lehnsherr” and James McAvoy as “Professor X/Charles Xavier” – for me they are not ‘hott’ per se’.. but I think it’s because of their imperfections I find them just damn sexy!! 🙂 I love little imperfections/scars etc.. it makes someone interesting. But then I can also look at a Nickolas Hoult as a young “Beast/Hank” and think how stunning that little kid from ‘About a Boy’ turned into..I mean who saw that one coming.. ha! He’s like a young ‘Jonathan Rhys Meyers’ for me. Jennifer Lawrence is good here in her turn as “Raven/Mystique” ~ though I kept getting flashbacks of Rebecca Romijn as why not..they flashed everyone else back!! 😀 Peter Dinklage is just a wonderful villain as you knew he would be playing “Dr. Bolivar Trask” and all the other co-stars are back as in Ellen Page as “Kitty Pryde” Shawn Ashmore as “Bobby/Iceman” and I could only thank my lucky stars the awful Halle Berry again as “Storm” was only back for a few scenes.. WHEW!! I’m sure everyone gave a collective sigh on that one. But here it is everyone.. (I don’t give out spoilers so you will have to see the movie) in his first go-round in a blockbuster movie like this..BY FAR THE BEST PERFORMANCE and HANDS DOWN the best scene in the whole movie belongs to…(drum roll please) Evan Peters as “Peter/Quicksilver” I mean.. soooo good. It’s not a big scene..but it’s by far the most memorable and fun-est of the whole damn movie. You will love it! And if these producers know what’s good, they will bring him back in X-Men-Apocalypse for sure.quicksilver

There are many cool flashbacks in this movie towards the end.. or are they flash forwards..hmmm.. well that would give it all away now wouldn’t it..ha! so you will just have to see the movie to know..but I guarantee they will make you smile & laugh and have you wondering just who will be coming back around in the next ‘Apocalypse’. That remains to be seen..oh and if you want catch a glimpse of that..make sure you stay until the very end..I’m talking after the ENDLESS list of credits that seems to be 1/2 the population, rolls on by ..even if the lights go up.. STAY!! You will be glad you did.

To sum it up the superhero/comic book movies so far this summer..it isn’t as good as “Captain America” but it’s better than “Spiderman 2” it’s definitely entertaining. #bangformybuck

Grade: B-
#peggyatthemovies

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REVIEW OF ~ GO GO GODZILLA.. YYEEAAHH,, GODZILLA GODZILLA ~ aka “GODZILLA THE MOVIE”

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Those are the opening lines to the song ‘GODZILLA’ by Blue Oyster Cult from way back..but for some reason, those lyrics kept repeating in my head before & during the movie.. Maybe because it’s so campy funny, or that all Godzilla movies are just that..campy fun. I mean who hasn’t at one point in time or another in their lives like on a rainy Saturday afternoon home, watched a campy, mostly Asian genre-based Godzilla movie as literally one of the best parts was re-enacting the bad English dubbing of them!!  Therein might lie the problem of this movie as I think they just take it a bit to seriously.  I mean they almost could have named it ‘Godzilla Saves the World.’  Mind you it’s not a bad movie..not in the slightest..in actuality it’s entertaining enough and basically that is truly all I ask for in a movie ~ getting my bang for my buck so to speak.  

Bryan Cranston is believable and good enough as “Joe Brody” and ‘blink and you miss her’ Juliette Binoche as his wife “Sandra Brody” is what brings round why the plot of this story is even happening. Aaron Taylor-Johnson as “Ford Brody” son of Joe & Sandra is a welcome relative newcomer for me though I can see he’s been in quite a few things, mostly in the U.K. again, new to me, I liked him in this. Also, his wife, “Elle Brody” played by Elizabeth Olsen makes for another welcome new face and decent enough performances though all were pretty one-dimensional.  But let’s be real, no awards are going to be given in a Gozilla movie!! So simplicity is really best.  Ken Watanabe as “Dr. Ishiro Serizawa” is well..yeah..the scientist that has that perpetual “DOOM” look on his face and Sally Hawkins as “Vivenne Graham” to be honest I’m not really sure why she was in the movie as she didn’t speak for what the 1st hour. plus as Dr. Serizawa’s assistant and with a constant strained face look also, well let’s just say it was a bad choice of roles for an actress who was just up for a deservedly Oscar nomination as Best Supporting Actress for last years brilliant turn in Blue Jasmine. So a completely wasted performance for me. 

As for the creatures in the movie, I didn’t like the new ones, the MUTO’s as they call them. They reminded me of big fly/spider creatures and I’m never endeared to those kind of monsters. Godzilla however, was a wonderful creative in all his true Godzilla glory and while I didn’t think the fight scenes between the 2 monsters were anything special nor did they seem to show as much as say they did in the old school movies, it got the point across that yes, Godzilla was going to save us from the MUTO’s and is portrayed as the ‘good guy’ in this movie and have a ‘connection’ with the some of the people..*sigh*  Maybe that’s what didn’t roll right with me as isn’t Godzilla supposed to be our sworn enemy as basically all monsters are?  

Lastly, they really tried to bring in the human element story here of the Brody family..While I get you need a backstory, it’s a Monster movie for goodness sakes.. Leave it at that. 

Grade: C-

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TOP 10 T.V. SHOWS I AM WATCHING RIGHT NOW!!! – and you should be too!!

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So many shows are winding down with season finales and many new ones approaching which I am looking forward to a few of them. There is always 1 or 2 new shows worth watching and 3 or 4 worth letting go of.  I usually give a show 2 eps. to suck me in..unless of course it’s something like “Bad Teacher” which got all of 10-15min of my time or “The Black Box” which I actually gave a whole episode ot time watching though I don’t know why and it took me 3 days to get through it.

So here we go..

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10. “Continuum” (Syfy Channel)                                                                   This is a really fun show in already it’s 3rd season that makes time-travel seem actually realistic about a Detective from the year 2077 who with a a shake of a terrorist blast, finds herself back in present day Vancouver. With the good acting of the main leads, Rachel Nichols “Kiera Cameron”, Victor Webster “Carlos Fonnegra”, Erik Knutsen “Alec Sadler”, and a strong supporting cast, you are still probably wondering why would I watch a Syfy show..Well in case you haven’t clued in, they have definitely become the new, fun network of original programming that is actually a lot better than 1/2 the shows spoon-fed to you by network TV.

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9. “The Goldbergs” (ABC)                                                                            Okay..I know it’s not the funniest show, but it so brings back childhood/teen year memories and that makes it fun for me.  I think it’s a lot funnier than some of the crap put out there. They are so over the top, yet we all knew that Mom aka Beverly Goldberg played wonderfully “Wendi McLendon-Covey” with her wonderful 80’s hairdo, Dad, Murray Goldberg “Jeff Garlin” who always does something to embarrass his kids..And who didn’t have an annoying brother, Barry Goldberg “Troy Gentile” or nerdy one Adam Goldberg “Sean Giabrone” to bug the ‘cool’ sister, Erica Goldberg “Hayley Orrantia” to get us through our day. So yeah..I like it and it got renewed for a 2nd season..sooooo… 😀  #bringbackthe80’s

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8.”Awkward” (MTV)                                                                                     Since MTV hasn’t actually showed a music video in years, and became host to a rash of REALLY bad reality TV.. this show has been a fresh exception since it began a few years back.  Even though it might be a bit juvenile, good casting & writing along with some catchy catch phrases “Your Welcome” make this show continually fresh.

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7. “Nurse Jackie” (Showtime)                                                                   With award kudos going to Edie Falco “Nurse Jackie Peyton” & Merrit Weaver’s “Zoey Barkow” win (and best acceptance speech EVER) 😀  This show with it’s ever-revolving fantastic supporting cast, has been a winner since it’s inception in 2009.  The story lines and plot are ever changing from dark to darker in the life of Nurse Jackie and her evolving drug addiction which is always prevalant to the show, even when she is sober. Characters come and go on this show, some you love, some..not so much…but it’s always a fun ride.

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6. “The Blacklist” (NBC)                                                                              Yes, technically this show had it’s season finale last night and should not be included on ’10 shows I am watching now’ but damn, James Spader just deserves a nod for his truly amazing character “Raymond ‘Red’ Reddington” as he is just a wonder to watch as he has been in most of his TV shows.  I’m not super fond of the lead, Megan Boone as “Elizabeth Keen” as I think she overacts her role a bit much, but with the hottness of Diego Klattenhoff as “Donald Ressler” and again, Spader balancing her out..plus throw in some Ryan Eggold “Tom Keen” and you can easily overlook it.  For a network show that just got renewal, yeah..I’m all in.

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5. “Mr. Selfridge” (PBS)                                                                           You know I love my British TV.. and this show on PBS is really outstanding. It stars Jeremy Piven as “Harry Selfridge” in the real life story of the flamboyant founder of yep..you guessed it, Selfridges, which still stands in London today.  As an American businessman ‘invading’ England, and a complete visionary of trends to come with the idea that shopping should be fun & not a chore,  Harry Selfridge really became a man of huge wealth, whom was known for always treating his employee’s fairly and became well respected. He also died stone cold broke because of his lavish lifestyle and gambling.  Ah well.. Season 2 in still in the early parts of his life and I am enjoying it immensely.

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4. “Hannibal” (NBC)                                                                                   For a network TV, this show is simply put, MIND-BOGGLING.  It scares the shit out of me almost every week and that rarely ever happens to me. I can’t help but to keep watching it..The first 2 eps.of this season literally scarred me for a very long time to come and made me realize NOTHING else might be that scary.  It’s not so much that it’s gory..as it has some gore..trust me, but that the main characters in some scenes are just plain scary as shit.  The main characters played by the wonderful, immaculate looking Mads Mikkelson “Dr, Hannibal Lector” and oh so cute, Hugh Dancy as “Will Graham” suck you into their vortex of WHOA! and hold you there week after week.  Lawrence Fishburne as FBI man “Jack Crawford” just makes it a wonderful three-some of an excellent body of work.  You know all about the movie..but you MUST watch this take on the ‘Hannibal’ series to really see something special..I think it airs so late on a Friday night so they can get away with all the shit they do on this wonderful show! After all it’s a Mads,Mads, Mads, Mads world – and we just inhabit it alongside him..:D

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3.  “The Good Wife” (CBS)                                                                        This show has always been one of my favs..but HOT DAMN Season 5 has been by far the BEST season of this show ever!! Again, a network TV show that takes it beyond the limits of good to great..with the writing and the absolutely superb acting from all characters..even the kids!! 😀  I mean Julianna Marguiles has always been spectacular as “Alicia Florrick” with Josh Charles aka “Will Gardner” & Christine Baranski “Diane Lockhart” making ‘Lockhart/Gardner’ one of the hottest law firms ever on T.V. Rounding out the top 5 of cast with Matt Czuchry “Cary Agos” and the fantastic Archie Panjabi as “Kalinda Sharma” along with too many great co-stars to name..just WOW!..  And with the shocker of the ages that they gave us mid-season..i’m not even sure how they kept that so quiet..but again just HOT DAMN!! And now with Florrick/Agos & Lockhart/??? we are just not sure what to expect next…AND the addition of Matthew Goode as a series regular.. it’s like nothing can stop this season from being head & shoulders above the others..

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2. “24 – Live Another Day”                                                                           JACK IS BACK!!! And I could just leave it at that and not have to say anymore as anyone who has watched this show can attest to. But yet, I do want to say more.. Kiefer Sutherland as “Jack Bauer” resurrected his career single-handedly with this show back in 2001 and along with Mary Lynn Rajskub as the insurmountable “Chloe O’Brian” has brought this show back better than ever.  Oh how I missed the counting clock and Jack Bauer narrating the time.. It’s like I got transported back to really good T.V. again via London this time..and with Benjamin Bratt “Steve Navarro” NO LESS!!! WHEEEEE!!! there has only been 2 eps..well 3..if you count the 1st was 2 hrs..and 2 hrs, of the ’24’ clock was a-ticking!!  Can’t wait to see what happens in the rest of the season but rest assured..Jack Bauer always has something up his sleeve!

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1. “Orphan Black” (BBC)                                                                             As I always say..if you’re not watching Orphan Black..then seriously WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU DOING???!!!  Never have I seen a show like this one.  I remember the pilot episode so well..the first 3 min were just overwhelming and you didn’t know what to think except that you were in it to win it!! Tatiana Maslany is sooooo sooooo sooooo good as all her characters on this show..”Sarah Manning/Cosima Niehaus/Allison Hendrix/Rachel Duncan” just to name a few.. And the supporting cast..just great additions but there is no doubt..this show is Tatiana’s hands down. This show is seriously like no other and I remember trying to tell people about it and to watch, getting a response of ‘what..what is that show, I’ve never heard of it’ blah blah blah..well next time..trust me because this 2nd season started off with a bang and will definitely keep you glued to your seat. And oh yeah.. GET WATCHING IT ALL!!!

 

PS.. a mention here should go out to ‘Game of Thrones’ as I will be watching it, just only wanted to pay for one month of HBO so I will be doing a 5 eps. bomb-watching of it all and then watching each week..tee hee.. hey..ya gotta do what you gotta do!! 😀

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READ MY REVIEW OF “NEIGHBORS” – TELL YOUR FRIENDS TO READ IT TOO!!

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Wow..yep..WOW.. Are you wondering if I am referring to the movie or to Zac Efron’s super hottness…Well it could be both as WOW I am really bummed this movie wasn’t funnier and WOW, yes Zac Efron looks simply, absolutely WOW in this movie.  And Dave Franco is right behind him! ha! 

As for the movie, well I’m not gonna lie..I really thought it was going to be waaaaay more funny. I was hoping for it..really reaaaaallly wanting it to be laugh out loud, drop dead funny..and well..it’s not.  The mere fact they said ‘This generations ‘Animal House’ gave me hope. The premise is good, the trailer has you thinking it can be make you laugh..a lot, but sadly, it doesn’t.  Does it have some really funny moments..yeah it’s got a few, but about as many as a 1/2 hour sitcom. And that bummed me out.   

Seth Rogan (Mac Radner) and Rose Byrne (Kelly Radner) are decent enough as the couple with a baby who find out that a Frat House has moved next door.  They try to be that ‘cool’ couple who can still hang with the college crowd and in the beginning that gave it some good funny moments.  Zac Efron (Teddy Sanders) & Dave Franco (Pete) are the President and VP of the Frat House which is of course like every Frat House you’ve ever seen on TV or in the movies, one big huge party house.  The plot thickens (no, not really, it doesn’t, I’m just messing with you here cause you know exactly what’s going to happen next) and the neighbors began a pretty bad prank-fest on each other with some really tacky, unfunny gags including the usual butt gags etc.  A few are funny, but not uproariously so, which I was hoping for and to be honest, expecting.   There is one funny party scene where Mac & Kelly, along with their divorced couple friends, Ike Barinholtz (Jimmy) & Carlo Gallo (Paula) turn the tables on the Frat House and while it could be considered mediocre in a good comedy, it was the high point here. That and the ‘Robert De Niro’ scene are really the only high points of this whole comedic flop. :/ 

So all in all, I was hoping for something I really didn’t get..laughter.. ah well.. Zac Efron shirtless will just have to do for now. 

Grade: C-  

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REVIEW OF TOM HARDY IN “LOCKE”

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This was probably one of the most different and unique movies I’ve seen in some time.  I like things that break the mold of the same ol’ same ol’…and this movie does that.  First off, Tom Hardy..yea,  not cast in his usual type role. I mean besides a few roles here and there..I’m used to seeing him at least shirtless once during a movie!! 😀  And I don’t mind that in the slightest..he’s usually quite fun & sexy in his roles.  This however is again different as he basically carries the whole movie by himself driving in a car speaking while with numerous different people on the phone.trying to solve the craptasticness of what’s just been thrown at him & he knows will ruin his life. Somehow it sucks you in though and you can’t believe your ears on what is going on in this man’s life during these 2 hrs.

So Ivan Locke (Tom Hardy) again in one of his least sexy roles ever (especially with this full beard) but for me at least, of the roles I’ve seen him in, maybe his darkest and definitely one of his best.. Synopsis of the story is:  Ivan Locke is a man who has just gotten a phone call from a woman, Bethan (Voiceover by Olivia Coleman) who let’s him know that the one time they had sex while he was on a construction job, she got preggers and because she is an older woman, she felt this was her last chance at what she deems ‘happiness’ (others consider it differently 🙂  And guess what..she is delivering that baby tonight.. He makes the decision to go be with her for said delivery as his father was not there for him. Whilst he decides this, he is also set, per his job, to be a part of, the largest building cement pour to ever happen in the UK for a skyscraper that is to be built and in doing so will lose his job and of course his family.  He actually calls his wife and tells her of the affair over the phone, all the while his construction crew is calling him, his company and most of all, Bethan, her doctors & the hospital as she is experiencing complications.

Again what takes place during all these non-stop continuous calls and how Ivan Locke deals with it is what this story is really all about.  Remember “Phone Booth” with Colin Farrell..yeah that’s the closest somewhat of a comparison I can give and it’s like a way updated version of that, done in a car the whole time and the only character we ever see is Ivan Locke aka Tom Hardy in a performance that I just never got bored with.  Was it an odd movie, oh yeah, you bet it was..but again, I kinda like odd & different sometimes which is why I love Indie movies.  Be prepared as I don’t think it’s for everyone nor will everyone like it.  I did though.  Tom Hardy deserves at least a Oscar nod for this performance if not a win. 

Grade: B-