Month: December 2013

Luke Evans swaps the valleys for the Shire

Posted December 24, 2013

At the age of 30, this Welsh actor became an overnight success. Now he’s playing dragon-slayers and Draculas in big-budget movies “They were the first victim of my career,” sighs Luke Evans ruefully. He was very attached to his tropical fish; at the end of each day he’d melt into a beanbag and gaze at them endlessly. But as the movies got bigger, stealing him from his London home for months at a time, they had to go. “These discus were beautiful. The fish man came into my house and scooped them out into bags, gave me £20 for them. […]

100 hot guys – 2013

100 hot guys – 2013

Posted December 21, 2013

The blog has been nothing but movie reviews for ages so it’s time to mix things up. And what better way than my annual adaptation of Buddy TV’s annual list of TV’s 100 Sexiest Men. I felt like narrowing the list even further this year than I normally do – no courtesy inclusion for popular shows or well liked guys. Just the top 20 of the top 100. Ranking legend:Numbers on the left are their placement this year – #1Numbers on the right in parenthesis are their rank last year – (5) #47 Steven R McQueen, The Vampire Diaries – […]

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Posted December 18, 2013

So, my review for Catching Fire will be littered with recommendations of other (better) books.Because you can’t really talk about Catching Fire without talking about the book and I was really impressed that they managed to make a better movie than it was a book. I was a bit wary going into this movie. I just finished reading The Dream Thieves and Catching Fire can’t come close to those characters. And the intrigue. And the way the story sinks into you. I’m not sure it would make a great movie but it’s an amazing story. How many times have I […]

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Posted December 14, 2013

Be forewarned: my review of the second Hobbit film is kind of vague and philosophical more than my usual analysis. Because there’s not much to say. This has the feel of a story pulled apart and so half formed. There’s new characters but no depth in their relationships or interactions. Tauriel’s relationship with Legolas and his relationship with his father and all the possible intricacies and tension and… we’re given nothing. Even though I think the elves (and the credit song) are the best part of the whole thing. There’s action and great production values, but there was no doubt […]