The Syndicate - End of Season

THE SYNDICATE

BBC ONE

So last night marked the last and, in our opinion, best episode of The Syndicate! The fifth instalment centred around the events that led Jamie (Matthew Lewis) to winning his share in the syndicate and everything that occurred after.

It was no coincidence that Jamie's story was left until the end as it included all the best bits and was a very exciting climax to a decent series. Matthew Lewis lived up to our expectations at the start of the story and shows the kind hearted Neville Longbottom is only one side of his acting talent. Jamie is the polar opposite - a scheming, scrupulous man who could charm the hind legs off a donkey!

If you haven't seen any of the previous episodes of The Syndicate, you'll warm to the way the shows are structured as the season progresses and you'll get to know some proper characters. The last few minutes of the final episode reach an explosive end and it's very well done. Overall, The Syndicate is a charming, heartfelt drama that is definitely worth catching!

Lawless Trailer

Just a quick one for you guys today - the trailer for the upcoming movie called Lawless about boot-legging in the prohibition era has surfaced: we thought we'd upload it so you can take a look!

Looks good right!? The movie stars Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, Dane Dehaan and Jessica Chastain amongst others and is set for release later this year.

Contraband - Review

CONTRABAND

15


Directed by Baltasar Kormákur


Starring Mark Wahlberg, Kate Beckinsale and Giovanni Ribisi


Contraband is an action packed heist movie surrounding Chris Farraday's (Wahlberg) mission to save his family from a drug lord after a job gone wrong. Faced with an obscene amount of owed money, Chris turns to smuggling counterfeit bills in from Panama. Cue copious amounts of shooting, driving, fighting and men being macho!

This films main strength lies in the solid cast. These actors are cool. Caleb Laundrey Jones plays the young and unreliable Andy, while Ben Foster plays best friend Sebastian. Add to this Lukas Haas, Kate Beckinsale and David O'Hara, you're looking at some highly competent and believable acting. Wahlberg is once again surprisingly impressive and seems to be a chameleon like actor who looks relaxed and fits in any given situation making the audience feel at ease watching him in any role.

First time director Baltasar Kormákur shows great promise and we're expecting Contraband will be the first of many Hollywood smashes. Interestingly enough, our director played the lead role the 2008 film Reykjavik-Rotterdam on which Contraband is adapted from.

The main issue with Contraband is that it's not very original and doesn't break the mould of a genre that has been done many times. As well as this, the third act seems slighty drawn out. It has major echoes of the Ben Affleck's film The Town. And as far as heist movies go - The Town is better because it feels more sincere and all together more grown-up. That said, Contraband definitely has the edge in terms of the visuals. Firefights in Panama and a decent soundtrack look vibrant and sound amazing.

Contraband is definitely worth a watch, despite being a bit padded out, cookie cutter and generic - it's beautifully shot, immensely cool and very well cast. You're guaranteed a thrilling ride.

Rating: 5.5

One to watch: Caleb Laundry Jones. After seeing this young actor first in No Country For Old Men and then X Men First Class it seems he has a bright future ahead of him. Look out for Caleb's upcoming film Byzantium later this year!

Have a look at the trailer for Contraband:

And if you've already seen and loved Contraband, be sure to watch The Town:

Now on Sky - Sucker Punch

SUCKER PUNCH

12


Directed by Zack Snyder


Starring Emily Browning, Vanessa Hudgens and Abbie Cornish

Now this movie received an obscene (and in our opinion unwarranted) amount of abuse after its release last year. And we’re going to come right out and say it: Sucker Punch is not nearly as bad as some of the reviews.

The film is about a young woman who gets institutionalised after attacking her step father and develops an alternate reality world of different levels as a way of coping. She plots to run away and real life mirrors her fantasy as she tries to obtain the objects to escape. As far as plots go, there are much worse ones, the ending is rather clever and it may lead to a (brief) discussion of theories.

In terms of acting, there leaves a lot to be desired, but actually Cornish and Browning are fair actresses. The one performance which stood out however was Oscar Isaac as a rat pack pimp who probably couldn’t have been any creepier! The costume, hair and makeup is stunning and Snyder has used a combination of real sets and CGI which interchange seamlessly.

Sucker Punch plays up everything that is commercially successful. Hot gun wielding girls in short skirts, video-game-style fight sequences and a kick ass soundtrack. For an entertaining movie that looks sleek and is well produced, you won’t go far wrong with Sucker Punch. Sure, it’s no Inception – but did it really profess to be that?

Rating: 6.5

Have a look at the trailer, and scroll down for a cover of Where Is My Mind from the movie which is amazing!

Emily Browning as Baby Doll

Vanessa Hudgens as Blondie

Abbie Cornish as Sweet Pea

Jamie Chung as Amber

Looper - Trailer

Rian Johnson's new film, Looper, looks right up our street! Starring Joseph Gordon Levitt, Bruce Willis and Emily Blunt, this time travel thriller centrals around the concept that a killer who works for the mob of the future recognizes one of his targets as his future self! The UK should expect this in theatres on September 28th and probably just before in the US.

The teaser trailer has just been released and boy does it tease! Gordon Levitt is back to his slick Arthur-esque ways after Inception - and it looks like it's going to be a massive summer for the actor with the release of this, as well as the eagerly anticipated Dark Knight Rises!

Keep it Amateur Reviews for all the latest film news and reviews!

The Bling Ring - Set Pictures

Here we've got the latest shots from Emma Watson's new film The Bling Ring which has been filming in Los Angeles. All echoes of Hermione Granger are firmly gone now and it looks like this role is going to distance her from that character even further. The so called Bling Ring is based on a real life story surrounding a group of teenagers from Calabasas in California who got done for breaking in and stealing goods from loads of stars homes in Hollywood. Their victims included Orlando Bloom and Megan Fox amongst countless other celebrities! 

Emma is playing a girl called Nicki, the daughter of an old glamour model (Leslie Mann) who reckons that it's paramount her girls find fame. Some of the scenes are filmed at Lynwood jail where Linsay Lohan served time, and one of the convicted members of The Bling Ring, Alexis Neiers also went to prison there. Interestingly enough, a few years ago, E!Entertainment had a show called Pretty Wild which was about Alexis Neieres and her two sisters, it was cancelled after the first season - so hopefully that wont be a president for the movie. Expected for release next year and directed by Sofia Coppola, Amateur Reviews are confident it'll be a lot better!

From Rome With Love - Trailer

The new trailer for Woody Allen's upcoming movie From Rome With Love starring Ellen Page, Jesse Eisenberg and Alec Baldwin has been released - and it's looking good! Always promising when the trailer makes you laugh, and Rome is looking incredible!

It's hitting theatres in Italy from April 20th so look out for it in the next month or so. Until then, expect premiere and press junket coverage!