Saturday 10 September 2022

REVIEW: Wire Room (2022) - Starring Bruce Willis and Kevin Dillon

Review by Jon Donnis
Lionsgate is back with a new release featuring Bruce Willis in one of the final films of his career. Willis stars as Home Security Agent Shane Mueller, who is in charge of the Wire Room, a high tech command centre that surveils dangerous criminals, watches them through hidden cameras, and listens in on conversations.

Now although Bruce Willis is the big name attached to the film, if you have been reading my reviews long enough, you know that often these films are actually vehicles for other actors, and this one is no different. Kevin Dillon is the real star of this film, he plays Justin Rosa, a new recruit to the Wire Room, he is tasked by Mueller to monitor an arms-smuggling cartel member called Eddie Flynn, played by Oliver Trevena. Despite being from London, Trevena has a pretty convincing Irish accent, and I would suggest the Eddie Flynn character has to be based in part on Conor McGregor. 


Rosa is told that he needs to keep Flynn alive at all costs, but of course being stuck in a Wire Room 50 miles away from the location, that is not as easy as it seems.

While on a toilet break, all hell breaks loose at Flynn's home, when a SWAT style hit squad team appears and starts killing people and taking hostages. When Rosa returns from his loo break, he sees that everything is kicking off, and left with no other option he contacts Flynn directly and starts to warn him from which direction those targeting him are coming from.

Rosa and Mueller find themselves both the targets of corrupt officials and agents who want to destroy evidence and terminate both of them.

The funny thing about this film is that when I first started watching, I was immediately reminded of another film starring Kevin Dillon called Hot Seat, which I reviewed pretty recently. Like that film, Dillon finds himself confined to pretty much one area the entire film, and having to use computers and communication to survive. That film had Mel Gibson in the Bruce Willis semi cameo role.


Regardless of that Kevin Dillon is a likeable actor, and he does play his role as the Federal Agent unsure of whom to trust, and with Oliver Trevena the other side of a phone, there is a surprisingly good dynamic between the two, especially when you consider that most of this film would have had actors filming completely separately and at different times.

As always when a film has a low budget, it is pointless comparing it to one that has a huge one.
Most of the action scenes revolve around the Flynn character, and they are all filmed well and look convincing. 

The ending had a semi little twist, nothing mind blowing, and the big twist that I was expecting never happened at all, so for me the ending was a little flat.


The Good
An interesting plot, and considering the budget I thought they made a decent little film. And what little we do see of Willis is appreciated.

The Bad
The ending felt a little flat, and I would have preferred something a bit more explosive.

Overall
A relatively small cast, and a decent little action thriller. As we approach the end of the career of one of the all-time greats in Bruce Willis, any little appearance should be appreciated.

I score Wire Room a generous 7/10

Out now on digital - https://amzn.to/3L0LHrb
Pre-order on Blu-ray / DVD - https://amzn.to/3QxAO19


Monday 5 September 2022

SHORT FILM: She's Not Your Type - Starring: Adrianne Armida, Shane Millward, Zoe Panaretos, Efkan Cetin


Written, directed and produced by Matthew C. Vella / Vellamatt Films, comes a short comedy film called She's Not Your Type.

Starring Adrianne Armida, Shane Millward, Zoe Panaretos, Efkan Cetin and a supporting cast including Tyler Busch, Matthew C. Vella, Joshua Vicente and "Whiskers" the Goldfish, She's Not Your Type has won a number of awards, including..

BEST COMEDY - Melbourne Indie Film Festival 2020 (AUS)
BEST EDITOR - Sydney Indie Film Festival 2019 (AUS)
BEST INTERNATIONAL DIRECTOR - Austin Comedy Short Film Festival 2019 (US)
BEST INTERNATIONAL DIRECTOR - Women’s Comedy Film Festival in • Atlanta 2019 (US)
BEST ENSEMBLE CAST - Changing Face International Film Festival 2019 (AUS)
BEST COMEDY SHORT (FEB) - Changing Face International Film Festival 2019 (AUS)
AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARD - Made in the West Film Festival 2018 (AUS)


Synopsis.
Love is blind.

Sweet, innocent, Barry is on a double date to introduce his mates to his new girlfriend, Alex. But there's one problem - she's a mentally unstable, drug-dealing, violent, con-artist scumbag - and he's blind to all of it! Now it's up to his friends Sarah & Anthony to save him on the most craziest & dangerous double date ever.

Watch the film below. Runtime 10 mins, 15 seconds

NEWS: Ayvianna Snow continues to embrace her dark side as she stars in two exciting new releases

Ayvianna Snow (White Colour Black, Black Lake, Barun Rai And The House On The Cliff, Hollow, The Lockdown Hauntings) continues to embrace her dark side with two exciting new film releases. She says, "I have always been drawn to the dark side; Sci-Fi and horror are such versatile genres; there really are no limits".

LOLA, directed by Andrew Legge and also starring Emma Appleton and Stefanie Martini, is a sci-fi film set in 1941. Two sisters create a time machine, allowing them to explore the punk generation before it even existed. But with World War II escalating, they decide to use the machine as a weapon of intelligence, with world-altering consequences. Ayvianna plays the character Rebecca Cavendish who works as a reporter; she says, "I love that LOLA centres the relationship between two women and explores female solidarity in exceptional circumstances. I am thrilled to have worked with such an exciting creative team".

LOLA was shot on location in Kildare and Dublin features songs composed for the film by acclaimed singer/songwriter Neil Hannon of The Divine Comedy. LOLA premiered at the 75th anniversary of the Locarno Festival, followed by Edinburgh Film Festival and FrightFest (London).

Ayvianna also brings her talents to Orchestrator of Storms, narrating a fascinating documentary about the life and work of Eurocult director Jean Rollin. The film recently premiered at Fantasia. From a struggling artist with an unconventional upbringing to the purveyor of New Wave surrealist fantastique via distinctive and unique films such as The Rape of The Vampire, The Iron Rose, Fascination, Lips of Blood and The Living Dead Girl. Sex and nudity, innocence and perversity, stunning visuals and rule-breaking became Rollin trademarks - and you'll find out why in this provocative, moving and enlightening look at his myth and magic -as friends, critics and actors tell all.

Ayvianna says: "As an actress who works mainly in the horror genre, I am thrilled to narrate Orchestrator of Storms, as Jean Rollin is, in many ways, the father of modern horror. His influence on horror has been so far-reaching."

Links
Instagram: www.instagram.com/ayviannasnow/
Spotlight: https://www.spotlight.com/5817-5640-0092
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6757384/

Ayvianna Snow- New Showreel from Ayvianna Snow on Vimeo.


Sunday 4 September 2022

REVIEW: The Princess (2022) - Starring Joey King, Dominic Cooper, Olga Kurylenko and Ed Stoppard


Review by Jon Donnis

For a moment I thought we had a 2022 remake of The Princess Bride, but alas we must wait longer for that. Instead we have a classic story, a Princess (Joey King) is to be married off, and of course she is not interested.

Set in medieval times in a realm run by a King (Ed Stoppard) and Queen (Alex Reid), it becomes apparent that they have no male heir to the throne. Just two daughters. The film starts with one of those daughters chained up in a bed at the top of the tower. The King had planned for her to wed Julius (Dominic Cooper) the evil son of a diplomat, but after she left him at the altar Julius and his whip wielding henchwoman Moira (Olga Kurylenko) take the castle by force, and ultimately force the Princess to marry him, so he can have an undeniable claim to the throne.

The Princess quickly escapes her bonds, and starts to fight her way through the castle, floor by floor. She clearly knows Kung Fu which we are told she learnt as a child from Linh, the neice of one of The King's advisors. How lucky for her.

The film is a story as old as time, but without your classic "man comes to save the day", instead this is all about kick ass women, especially the Princess and Linh.

The film is quite lighthearted but also pretty violent, so not for kids. There are plenty of fun moments, and some pretty decent fight scenes. It may lack the intelligence of The Princess Bride, but does share some of the humour of the cult classic, without ever quite going as full on parody as that film.

The Good

Excellent fight scenes, a likeable Princess and an equally dislikeable Julius. Also special mention has to go out to the awesome Olga Kurylenko as henchwoman Moira. Perhaps my favourite character in the whole film.

The Bad

The plot is paper thin, and I would have liked to have seen them go full comedy as opposed to just the odd funny moment here and there.

Overall

An enjoyable film, perfect early evening watching.

Out now on Hulu


Friday 2 September 2022

Win a copy of Star Trek: The Motion Picture - The Director’s Edition 4K + Blu-ray

© 2022 Paramount Pictures.

Set a course for the final frontier as the newly restored Star Trek: The Motion Picture—The Director’s Edition 4K Ultra HD™ and Blu-ray™ arrives! Available from September 5, this 3-disc set includes the Director's Cut on 4K Ultra-HD and Blu-ray and also includes a bonus Blu-ray™ disc filled with new and legacy special features. 

© 2022 Paramount Pictures.

And to celebrate we have a great competition, read on and enter now for a chance to win!


4K Ultra HD™ Disc bonus features:
⦁ Audio Commentary with David C. Fein, Mike Matessino, and Daren R. Dochterman—NEW!
⦁ Audio Commentary by Robert Wise, Douglas Trumbull, John Dykstra, Jerry Goldsmith, and Stephen Collins​
⦁ Text Commentary by Michael and Denise Okuda​


Blu-ray™ Disc™ bonus features:
⦁ The Human Adventure—An all-new 8-part documentary detailing how the Director’s Edition came to life—NEW!
⦁ Preparing the Future – How the remastering began
⦁ A Wise Choice – The storied history of Robert Wise
⦁ Refitting the Enterprise – How the Enterprise design shaped future federation starships
⦁ Sounding Off – Exploring new dimensions of sound in Dolby Atmos
⦁ V’ger - The conception and restoration of an iconic alien antagonist
⦁ Return to Tomorrow – Reaching an already high bar with new CGI effects
⦁ A Grand Theme – Behind the iconic, influential music score that shaped the franchise’s future
⦁ The Grand Vision – The legacy and evolving reputation of this classic movie
⦁ Deleted Scenes—NEW!
⦁ Effects Tests—NEW!
⦁ Costume Tests—NEW!
⦁ Computer Display Graphics—NEW!
⦁ Additional legacy bonus content


© 2022 Paramount Pictures.

Star Trek: The Motion Picture - The Director’s Edition 4K + Blu-ray available from September 5
Order from Amazon at https://amzn.to/3ACY2No

For your chance to win just answer the question below.

COMPETITION CLOSED

Star Trek: The Motion Picture – Director’s Edition available on 4K UHD + Blu-ray from 5th September

STAR TREK and related marks and logos are trademarks of CBS Studios Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Quick Terms and conditions - For full T&C click here
1. Closing date 19-09-22
2. No alternative prize is available
3. When the competition ends as indicated on this page, any and all entries received after this point will not count and emails blacklisted due to not checking this page first.
4. Winners will be chosen randomly and will be informed via email.
5. Entries that come directly from other websites will not be accepted.