DVD FEATURE: Michael Bay: A Life in Pictures - Paramount

This month legendary American film director and producer Michael Bay turns 50. His talent directing big-budget action films with stylistic visuals and extreme special effects has allowed him to make a name for himself as one of Hollywood’s boldest and most bankable feature film directors. 

The Blu-ray and DVD of his latest work Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is out today, the 16th February, just in time to be added to his successful portfolio before his milestone birthday. To celebrate, we’re taking a look at his career in pictures. 

Bad Boys and Bad Boys II 

Released in 1995 Bad Boys starred Will Smith and Martin Lawrence who played best friends and detectives of the Narcotics Division of the Miami Police Department. The film was followed by the sequel Bad Boys II in 2003. 

The Rock 

Michael Bay directed this action film about Alcatraz Island in San Francisco, in 1996, starring Sean Connery, Nicolas Cage and Ed Harris.  

Armageddon 

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Starring Ben Affleck and Bruce Willis Armageddon was an international box-office success in 1998. Bruce Willis plays Harry Stamper who leads his team in a mission to destroy an asteroid which is threatening to wipe out existence should it collide with Earth in 18 days. 

Pearl Harbour 

This 2001 film starred Ben Affleck, Josh Hartnett and Kate Beckinsale and is a dramatic retelling of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. 

The Island 

Michael Bay directed this American science fiction action thriller in 2005 starring Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson.   

The Hitcher 

Michael Bay partnered with Sean Bean for the second time on this feature film. Released in 2007 this horror thriller told the story of a couple driving across New Mexico and their run-in with a hitchhiker.   

Transformers  

Michael Bay has directed four transformers blockbusters from 2007 to the present day with the franchise grossing over $2.4 billion. The latest film Transformers: Age of Extinction took $300 million globally when it opened and broke box office records in China. 

Michael Bay’s most recent work is the action-packed and highly entertaining comedy, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which comes to Blu-ray, DVD and VOD today, 16th February. The legendary heroes Shredder, Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo take to the streets to defend their home, New York, which is under attack. The film stars Megan Fox as an intrepid reporter. 

AVAILABLE ON BLU-RAY, DVD AND VOV today, 16TH FEBRUARY 

URBAN FANTASY DVD REVIEW: Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters - Jeremy Rener, Gemma Atherton - Paramount Home Entertainment

Release Date: 24/06/13
Publisher:  Paramount Home Entertainment

SYNOPSIS:

Get ready for a twisted take on the classic tale as Hansel (Jeremy Renner) and Gretel (Gemma Arterton) have turned pro, coping with the trauma of their childhood captivity by slaying witches for hire. But when the seemingly unstoppable bounty hunters meet their match in an enemy so evil, it'll take all their training, weapons and courage to survive.

Special Features:
The Witching Hours



REVIEW:

OK, this was a film I’ve been looking forward to for quite some time. I loved Jeremy Renner in roles he’s played before and with the addition of Gemma Arterton and the beautiful Famke Janssen I thought it would be a pretty good film all round. That unfortunately was as good as it got as to be honest I felt that the script was pretty poor. Don’t get me wrong, the actors do a reasonable job with what they’re given but all round the film was slow in places and didn’t really seek to explore any number of themes that could have not only made it better for the viewer but also made you care about the various fates of the cast within.

Effect wise they were reasonable and for this film this is where the majority of the money was spent I suspect and as a viewer whilst I was entertained to a certain degree, I really won’t be watching it again any time soon as I felt that it was all visual with very little else. All round a great disappointment and if they were to make a sequel I would suggest something that focuses more on the cast helping them to grow rather than just another action flick with Van Helsing style weaponry.

VIDEO GAME NEWS: Namco Bandai and Paramount Pictures Announce Free Star Trek Ticket

Hail Mighty Readers and Followers of the Calloused Thumbs,
In a time when we're all watching our pockets, it can come down to either getting that brand new game or a trip to the cinema.

Yet being a huge Trek fan leaves you wondering which way you're going to go, well, worry no more as we've just heard about this exclusive offer from Namco Bandai and Paramount Pictures:

"Namco Bandai UK and Paramount Pictures offer exclusive tickets to see Star Trek In To Darkness for all pre-orders and day-one purchases of Star Trek The Video Game
Paramount Pictures and leading video game publisher and developer NAMCO BANDAI Partners UK, today announce a pre-order and day-one purchase opportunity with all UK GAME stores.

The partnership allows any purchaser of STAR TREK THE VIDEO GAME on any format an exclusive complimentary ticket to this year’s hottest movie Star Trek Into Darkness, which releases in cinemas everywhere in May 2013.

Working with Hollywood Movie Money, upon pre-order or day-one purchase the customer will receive a unique code where they can redeem it instantly online via a special microsite. The redemption will award a full adult ticket to any Cineworld cinema in the country. Any additional seating or upgrade will have to be purchased at the cinema chain. The promotion will be available whilst ticket allocation and box office remains. Pre-orders are a focused push for this activity and guaranteed to secure your free ticket."



 

FILM REVIEW: Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon - Shia LaBeouf, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Michael Bay

Release Date: 01/07/11

SYNOPSIS:

Shia LaBeouf returns as Sam Witwicky in Transformers: Dark of the Moon. When a mysterious event from Earth’s past erupts into the present day it threatens to bring a war to Earth so big that the Transformers alone will not be able to save us.


REVIEW:

As a child I loved the Transforming Robots from Hasbro. After that I got into the cartoon. Then imagine my joy when in more recent years I had the chance to relive my youth with a set of films that bring these giant miracles to the modern viewer, allowing people of my age the chance to enjoy them again as well as bringing them forward to a new generation.

Whilst the first two have already been immensely successful, with the third missing one of the key cast members, it left a number of viewers wondering if the studio had broken up not only a winning on screen formula but the whole magical spell that has been woven from the previous releases.

What unfurls is a story of complexity, of chaos, devastation and of course the introduction of a whole new set of characters to help drive the overall story forward (although I still note that there is no sign of Grimlock dammit.) It’s fast paced, the script writing engrossing and with the addition of Leonard Nimoy to the Autobots makes this a story that really does drive itself which when added to a whole host of twists and turns really made this a great adventure out and worth the price of admission. The only real downside was sadly Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, who whilst replacing Megan Fox, demonstrated that sometimes adding new cast members into an established series can leave huge problems within as her acting was not only unconvincing but left me wondering if she was in it just to act as a piece of eye candy for the male viewer.

Other than this the only other thing that you need to be warned about is that this film is a hell of a lot darker than the other two. There’s huge scale devastation, massacres of earths inhabitants and to be honest is a film that I’d advise viewing before allowing your young film fan to watch. This is definitely a 12 A for a reason so please be aware.