Entourage Review

The Plot

The boys are back and this time it’s on the big screen. HBO’s hit show Entourage continues just months after where the final season left off. With movie star Vince (Adrian Grenier) single again after his failed (and short) marriage, he decides to make his next project his directorial debut, much to his agent turned studio boss Ari’s (Jeremy Piven) dismay…

The Good

It’s been almost four years since Vince, E (Kevin Connolly), Drama (Kevin Dillon) and Turtle (Jerry Ferrera) were last seen jetting off to Vince’s impromptu wedding with a british reporter and it seems that nothing has changed. Opening with a lavish party on a yacht, the storyline is almost instantly brought back to it’s original state with Vince’s marriage now officially annulled after just a few days (Britney Spears’ marriage was shorter though according to Turtle).

Even Ari is back! Last seen taking an early retirement to save his marriage, the foul mouthed agent is back and as angry as ever in his new role as studio head. Try as he might, Ari’s anger issues can never be simmered down and no one is safe when things start to go wrong at work. Not even a framed picture of cute kittens.

Entourage brings back all the characters and tropes that made the show such a hit while adding some more great cameos that the show is famous for. Of course Gary Busey turns up again, but we also get Billy Bob Thornton and Haley Joel Osment as Texan father-son financiers who start making problems for Vince’s new movie – a futuristic sci-fi take on the Jekyll and Hyde story.

Meanwhile Vince’s long suffering half brother Johnny ‘Drama’ Chase is still working towards his big break and it could come in the form of his small but pivotal role in Vince’s new movie. That is if the financiers don’t have a say in it…

The Bad

As the movie clearly hopes to attract a winder audience for Entourage there’s some inevitable exposition to catch newcomers up to what they missed out on over the past eight seasons. It’s just a shame that this comes in the awkward and dull form of a fake Piers Morgan behind the scenes look at Vince’s new film. Serving as a lazy and  heavy handed way to educate new audiences about the childhood friends that form our heroic ‘Entourage’.

Unfortunately, and somewhat ironically for a show based on the business of Hollywood, Entourage doesn’t quite make the transition to the big screen. While it’s certainly a treat for fans to have more, the storyline feels like it could have been done just as well and probably cheaper in the form of a half season of the show.

If you were to play this back to back with the show itself, the only real proof that this is slightly bigger is the extended opening credits sequence which does nothing but replace the usual buildings upon which the cast and crews names would be emblazoned on with slightly bigger flashier ones.

The Ugly Truth

Entourage is a definite must watch for fans of the show who’ve been missing the boys since their departure from TV. For newcomers however, it’s probably not the best introduction, you’re better off buying the DVD box sets.

Review by Johnny Ellis

Disney Plans Maleficent Sequel

Maleficent screenwriter Linda Woolverton has been hired by Disney to write a follow up to the Angelina Jolie fantasy adventure that managed to magic up $760 million at the box office.

The big screen re-imagining of  Disney’s classic Sleeping Beauty animation wouldn’t have seemed a likely candidate for a sequel, but giving Jolie the biggest box office success of her career has give the studio hopes of potentially luring her back . It’s unclear yet whether or not Jolie would be willing to sign up for another star turn, but it’s hard to imagine a sequel actually making its way into production without  her on board.

Jolie has previously been involved ind developing sequels to both Salt and Wanted without either of those films ultimately becoming a reality to date.

Jurassic World Breaks Global Box Office Records

Universal has  confirmed that Jurassic World officially surpassed The Avengers opening weekend haul of $207.4 million, with a new record high of $208.8 million just from American cinemas. The film has already pulled in over $511 million worldwide thanks to impressive hauls in China and across 66 countries. The film has now even eclipsed the final film in the Harry Potter series to become the biggest worldwide opening weekend in history.

Marvel president Kevin Feige  showed his appreciation for the achievement in the most fun way imaginable, by having Chris Pratt pictured riding atop a T.Rex wielding Thor’s hammer. Full Picture below in all its triumphant glory.

X-Men Gambit Movie Lands Director

Channing Tatum’s X-Men spin off Gambit has officially found a director, with Twentieth Century Fox confirming the Rupert Wyatt will direct, aiming to meet a release date of October 2016.

Wyatt was most recently responsible for delivering Rise of Planet of The Apes and seems to have the confidence of Fox to now try and expand their lucrative X-Men cinema universe. With X-Men Apocalypse already on the way,  Fox is keen to take full advantage of Gambit’s popularity. The character was a big part of the successful X-Men 90s cartoon series and has quickly become established as  fan favorite in the more recent comic book runs.

Jurassic World Review

The Plot

22 years after our first glimpse of man and dinosaurs reunited, the park is finally open. With a new name to distance itself from it’s past horrors, the island of Isla Nublar is now home to Jurassic World. But when a newly created dinosaur starts to outsmart its captors and roam free, no one is safe.

The Good

It’s been over two decades since audiences were first introduced to the idea of a dinosaur theme park and quickly terrified by the events that occurred in the original trilogy. But Jurassic World turns the terror up to 11 with four simple words: The Park Is Open.

With attractions galore, including a water show with a shark eating dinosaur, the park has definitely had a dramatic technological upgrade. Holograms have replaced the iconic T-Rex skeleton and human sized hamster balls have replaced jeeps. Jurassic World is everything a Jurassic Park fan needs in their life. Even the raptors are our friends now! Or more specifically Chris Pratt’s, playing a trainer/alpha raptor. Of course it’s not long until things go wrong. And if you thought there was no way to top the previous films, let me remind you: The. Park. Is. Open!

Director Colin Trevorrow mixes spectacle with sheer terror beautifully. Also providing warm fuzzy feelings of nostalgia through that familiar swooping soundtrack and plenty of nods to the original trilogy. It will have fans squealing with delight, before their squeals turn to screams as each dino attack brings even more adrenaline than the last.

Pratt is ultimately the star of the show for most of the 2 hours and it’s clear to see why. This is one actor who shows no signs of stopping any time soon. As proved by Guardians of The Galaxy, Pratt is a rare commodity, an irrepressibly charming and genuinely amusing action star. His beautiful co-star Bryce Dallas Howard also delivers some great action moments of her own.

Among all the mayhem and prehistoric carnage  Jake Johnson (New Girl) with the help of Lauren Lapkus (Orange Is The New Black) gives audiences some much needed comic relief to slow our frantically beating hearts.

The Bad

The park itself looks fantastic but it feels as though we barely scratch the surface before the main action begins. Seeing as it’s our first proper look at the park in spectacular working order it does feel like a slight disappointment. It also seems that we can’t survive an entire movie without at least one slightly cheesy bit of romantic melodrama popping up. Though the tense atmosphere is continuous, it is occasionally broken up with an ever so slightly bonkers script that at one point ends up feeling like a Godzilla movie.

The Ugly Truth

Jurassic World is an almost perfect summer blockbuster, bringing constant nostalgia for fans of the original trilogy. Unfortunately it does fall short in completely wowing when it inevitably shifts its focus from the wonders of an actual working theme park to the predictable and at times ridiculous finale. One things for sure though, you won’t be able to take your eyes off the screen for a second!