Top 10 Countdown: February 21, 2015

10. Real Friends - Summer
Last week: NEW!

9. The Ready Set - Freakin' Me Out
Last week: 5.

8. As It Is - Dial Tones
Last week: 9.

7. Silverstein - A Midwestern State Of Emergency
Last week: 8.

6. Andrew McMahon In The Wilderness - Cecilia And The Satellite 

Last week: 6.

 

5. All Time Low - Something's Gotta Give

Last week: 7.

4. Crystalyne - 6 In The Morning

Last week: 2.

3. Arkells - Leather Jacket

Last week: 4.

: 4.

2. New Found Glory - Stubborn

Last week: 3.

1. Aaron West And The Roaring Twenties - Our Apartment

Last week: 1.

Special: Kingsman: The Secret Service Review

There is a top secret agency that operates off the grid from any government affiliation. They are the Kingsman, British intelligence, gentleman first, secret agent second. The Kingsman are the self proclaimed "new knights" and they are named that way lead by Arthur and his 12 knights (note: Their table is not round, a missed opportunity if you ask me). This agency is so secret that there is very few people that know about it, including billionaire Internet mogul Valentine who is dealing with these unknown agents meddling in his affairs.

Kingsman agent Lancelot is investigating a local college professor who happens to get kidnapped by Valentine and his team, upon discovering this he attempts a solo rescue mission only to be terminated by Valentine's assistant/expert assassin Gazelle, a fleet yet no footed killer that uses swords on the bottom of her prosthetic blades to neutralise her enemies. That leaves an opening for a new Lancelot and each Kingsman is in charge of bringing in a new recruit to be tested with the winner getting the right to be Kingsman.

Harry Hart, played by Colin Firth, is the Kingsman sent to follow up on the case Lancelot was working on. 17 years prior Harry selected a young marine as his trainee and he sacrificed himself to save Harry and others, forcing Harry to deliver the bad news to his widow and young son, giving the son a medal that had a phone number carved into it if he ever needed help. Back to current time and the young son mentioned earlier had turned into a trouble adult named Eggsy who calls Harry. Harry tries to repay the debt to Eggsy's deceased father by taking him under his wing and nominates him as his trainee for the Lancelot job.

This isn't your usual on the job training however, the recruits are put through a number of test by Merlin, Kingsman aid, played perfectly by veteran Mark Strong, the tests are meant to test the trainees limits, strength, endurance and stealth ability. Meanwhile Harry is still trying to crack the Valentine case, all he knows is that a number of the world's most powerful celebrities and dignities are going missing only for some of them to resurface with a scar behind their ear which turns out not only protects them from Valentine's master plan but also allows Valentine to blow their head up anytime Harry, or any other Kingsman tries to get the truth from them.

On to the review... What most people don't realise is that Kingsman: The Secret Service is actually based off a comic book called The Secret Service written by Mark Millar of Kick-Ass and Civil War fame, and Kingsman is very much in the same vein of the Kick-Ass movie which is not surprising since Kingsman director Matthew Vaughn teamed up with Mark Millar on Kick-Ass as well. It pays homage to the old Bond movies while still having the over the top action scenes we've come to expect from a Vaughn movie. In fact I was a little disappointed with Kick-Ass' final product but watching Kingsman I couldn't help but think to myself that this is what Kick-Ass should've been. Stylised over the top action.

Speaking of style, you'll hear me drop that word a lot in this review by the way, that's what the Kingsman are all about, you will never ever be hit over the head with more advertising in a movie than with Kingsman, but you don't even know it. As I mentioned earlier the comic book was called "The Secret Service" so why add Kingsman to the movie title? It's a fucking clothing line. The Kingsman dress is nice suits all the time, bulletproof suits of course, all from the Kingsman tailors. So guess who the sponsor of the movie was? You feel stupid now don't you? But goddamn it the movie is so great you don't care.

Welsh actor Taron Egerton makes his feature film debut in Kingsman as Eggsy and he handles the role perfectly. His parkour training makes for an exciting scene and he handles the role of punk kid with a certain flare that suits his character but he's also an elegant Kingsman when he becomes trainee. Mark Strong's Merlin was one of the underrated performances in the film as was the case in his turn in The Imitation Game which is garnering all sorts of Oscar buzz, but none for him. Colin Firth apparently did 80% of his own stunts and it shows that he's prepared well for the role and by the time the end credits roll, he's a bonafide action star despite being a perfect gentleman. Firth also provides most of the humour in the film, even when he's cursing he seems to be being polite about it. His church scene is worth the price of admission on it's own.

All this aside you will leave the theatre talking about one thing most, Samuel L. Jackson's turn as Valentine. Valentine is essentially a sociopath with dreams of genocide all the while being afraid of seeing any kind of violence. He also gives the character a lisp which makes his character all the more ridiculous and amusing at the same time. A highlight is when talking to Firth's Harry Hart he comments "Y'all talk so funny".

The action scenes are brilliantly choreographed and they speed up and slow down depending what's happening giving us viewers a chance to take in the whole scene, similar to Zack Snyder's techniques he's used on movies like 300 and Suckerpunch. The hyper-violent scenes, like the aforementioned church scene will leave your jaw dropping over and over again as we move from one victim to the next.

Overall Kingsman: The Secret Service politely and eloquently clobbers you with undeniable wit, frantic yet unflinching action, and extremely adult but uproarious humour. I liken watching this film to an R-rated spin on your favourite James Bond film or obscenely asking for tea and crumpets while you bash someone's face in. It's unappologetic, hyper-violence with style. It's also an early contender for movie of the year, even with so many great movies to come I'll be surprised if this isn't a top 10 selection come year end. My final verdict is 5 knife-shoes out of 5

Top 10 Countdown: February 14, 2015

10. Fall Out Boy - American Beauty/American Psycho
Last week: 10.

9. As It Is - Dial Tones
Last week: NEW!

8. Silverstein - A Midwestern State Of Emergency
Last week: 9.

7. All Time Low - Something's Gotta Give
Last week: 8.

6. Andrew McMahon In The Wilderness - Cecilia And The Satellite
Last week: 7.

5. The Ready Set - Freakin' Me Out
Last week: 2.

4. Arkells - Leather Jacket
Last week: 5.

3. New Found Glory - Stubborn
Last week: 4.

2. Crystalyne - 6 In The Morning
Last week: 1.

1. Aaron West And The Roaring Twenties - Our Apartment
Last week: 3.

Special: Return Of The Living Deadpool/The Powerpuff Girls Super Smash-Up/Postal Mini-Reviews

Return Of The Living Deadpool (Marvel Comics):

Last year, Cullen Bunn brought us NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEADPOOL, the hit tale of the Merc with the Mouth trapped in the zombie apocalypse. In the end, our hero found a “cure” of sorts to this horrible outbreak—any zombie that ate Deadpool transformed...into another Deadpool. And they lived happily ever after? Not so fast, as Cullen Bunn returns, joined by the amazing artwork of Nicole Virella, to let us know that wandering hordes of Deadpools might just be worse than flesh-hungry walking corpses.

Return of the Living Deadpool, after one issue anyways, is head and shoulders above its predecessor. It’s comedic in that classic Deadpool fashion and moves along at a quick enough pace to not be dragged down by a slow-moving plot as was the case with Night. The story thus far has me intrigued, though I do love the idea of multiple Deadpool’s… Deadpool Kills Deadpool is still my favourite mini-series. Virella’s art is masterful as he blends the black and white scenery with Deadpool’s classic red look makes the art look highly stylised and his attention to detail is remarkable, pay close attention to his work on Deadpool’s eyes especially as he uses them to convey all sorts of emotions. It’s definitely recommended by me as subsequent issues should find itself near the top of my stack as it’s refreshing to look forward to a Deadpool mini-series again.

The Powerpuff Girls Super Smash Up (IDW Publishing):

Just when you thought you'd seen it all, Cartoon Network Crossover Craziness continues! After their victory in the Super Secret Crisis War, the Powerpuff Girls take it easy with a rare VIP tour of Dexter's Laboratory! But when tag-along Dee Dee accidentally activates Dexter's newest invention, the fate of the entire multiverse is suddenly at stake! Plus: a bonus Courage the Cowardly Dog story by the Glyph- and Eisner-nominated Princeless's Jeremy Whitley!

Eisner Nominated writer Jeremy Whitley (Princeless) wrote the Courage The Cowardly Dog back-up story and although I had reservations about how a non-speaking dog would translate to comics, it was such a good feeling seeing Courage again, I didn't really care how the story would work, but all in all Whitley did a fine job. Artist Jorge Monlongo art was nothing special, it was very straight forward and the characters looked how they did in the show so he gets a pass. The main story featured Derek Charm as both the artist and writer and I'm a big fan of his work when he's able to handle both as he has a more unified approach to creating comics where when he's writing he usually has the perfect art accompaniment in his head so when he can do both he's able to put his idea to page right away. Unlike Monlongo's art, Charm thrives for more than just putting the character on page as he uses thick lines to make it seem like they're popping off the page, a big plus especially when it comes to kids books. For a first issue, it's light, it's fun and it's energetic, pretty much all you can ask for from a kids series. Although this will appeal to children and fans of the 90's Cartoon Network series the characters come from it'll be hard to attract new readers given the material, but as a kid who grew up in the 90's i could not be happier.

Postal (Image Comics):

The townsfolk of Eden, Wyoming wake up to the first official murder the town has seen in 25 years. Their reaction to this isn't normal, and there's a reason for that. Eden operates as a haven for fugitive criminals who remain here while new identities, often including facial reconstruction, are created for them. There is zero tolerance for any illegal activity that might draw attention to the town and an "official murder" is the last thing they want. A single, tight-knit family runs Eden with the youngest oddball son Mark Shiffron overseeing the postal branch, the only means of shipping in or out of the city. THE FBI has repeatedly been foiled trying to insert an undercover here; they see Mark as the weak link to exploit. This murder gives them a new opportunity.

Postal sounded incredibly interesting but issue #1 didn't grab me like I thought it would. The story still leaves interest but it wasn't until the last panel of the issue that I realised what Postal would build towards, instead the issue served as half-assly introducing us to the characters in Eden. Really we only really get to know Mark everyone else is just around, luckily we get a little more insight as the book has character profiles at the back of the issue. The art was disappointing as you'd think a major publisher like Image would command better before putting their logo on it. I'm not about to give up on Postal this early but I need to see subsequent improvement quickly before I start limiting my titles per month.

Top 10 Countdown: February 7, 2015

10. Fall Out Boy - American Beauty/American Psycho
Last week: NEW!

9. Silverstein - A Midwestern State Of Emergency
Last week: 10.

8. All Time Low - Something's Gotta Give
Last week: 8.

7. Andrew McMahon In The Wilderness - Cecilia And The Satellite
Last week: 7.

6. Seaway - Your Best Friend
Last week: 2.

5. Arkells - Leather Jacket
Last week: 6.

4. New Found Glory - Stubborn
Last week: 5.

3. Aaron West And The Roaring Twenties - Our Apartment
Last week: 4.

2. The Ready Set - Freakin' Me Out
Last week: 1.

1. Crystalyne - 6 In The Morning
Last week: 3.

Comic Shop Corner: February 2015

Firstly I'd like to get some news out of the way. This week it was announced that the 96th annual Children's Book Week will take place from May 4th to 10th and Free Comic Book Day 2015 is happy to kick off this great event!

On May 2, comic book stores will kick off Children's Book Week, the annual celebration of books for young people and the joy of reading, by giving away over two million comics to younger readers on Free Comic Book Day! With over two dozen kid -friendly titles to choose from, there's a free comic book available to help every young reader get into the spirit of Children's Book Week which will be celebrated the following week with more fun, book-themed events, appearances from beloved children’s book authors and illustrators, and more.

Comics’ industry leaders Diamond Comic Distributors and Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF) are partnering with Every Child a Reader and the Children's Book Council to bring greater focus to what comics offer kids, with cross-industry promotions and targeted resources for parents & educators during Children’s Book Week. In addition to Free Comic Book Day, the organizations will partner with authors, publishers, and comics specialty and book retailers to create Children's Book Week events spotlighting comics and the joy of reading at locations all over North America!

Secondly I'm happy to announce that starting in April Comic Shop Corner will have a new format where I will name 30 books each month that I plan on picking up, one for every day of the month, well for April anyways!

Thirdly, and going hand in hand with the previous announcement, DC Comics announced that kicking off in June The New 52 is no more and DC is launching 24 new titles along with 25 hold over titles that you can check out below!

New Titles
Title	Creative Team
Batman Beyond	W: Dan Jurgens A: Bernard Chang
Bat-Mite	W: Dan Jurgens A: Corin Howell
Bizarro	W: Heath Corson A: Gustavo Duarte
Black Canary	W: Brenden Fletcher A: Annie Wu
Constantine: The Hellblazer	W: Ming Doyle  A: Riley Rossmo
Cyborg	W: David Walker A: Ivan Reis
Dark Universe	W: James Tynion IV A: Ming Doyle
Green Lantern: Lost Army	W: Cullen Bunn A: Jesus Saiz & Javi Pina
Doomed	W: Scott Lobdell A: Javier Fernandez
Earth 2: Society	W: Daniel Wilson A: Jorge Jimenez
Dr. Fate	W: Paul Levitz A: Sonny Liew
Harley Quinn/Power Girl	W: Jimmy Palmiotti & Amanda Conner & Justin Gray A: Stephane Roux
Justice League of America	W: Bryan Hitch A: Bryan Hitch
Justice League 3001	W: Keith Giffen A: Howard Porter
Martian Manhunter	W: Rob Williams A: Ben Oliver
Midnighter	W: Steve Orlando A: ACO
Mystic U	W: Alisa Kwitney A: Stay tuned for artist info!
Omega Men	W: Tom King A: Alec Morgan
Prez	W: Mark Russell A: Ben Caldwell
Red Hood/Arsenal	W: Scott Lobdell A: Denis Medri
Robin, Son of Batman	W: Patrick Gleason A: Patrick Gleason
Section Eight	W: Garth Ennis A: John McCrea
Starfire	W: Jimmy Palmiotti & Amanda Conner A: Emanuela Lupacchino
We Are Robin	W: Lee Bermejo A: Khary Randolph
Continuing Titles
Title	Creative Team
Action Comics	W: Greg Pak A: Aaron Kuder
Aquaman	W: Cullen Bunn A: Trevor McCarthy
Batgirl	W: Cameron Stewart & Brenden Fletcher A: Babs Tarr
Batman	W: Scott Snyder A: Greg Capullo
Detective Comics	W: Francis Manapul & Brian Buccelato A: Francis Manapul
Batman/Superman	W: Greg Pak A: Ardian Syaf
Catwoman	W: Genevieve Valentine A: David Messina
Deathstroke	W: Tony S. Daniel A: Tony S. Daniel
The Flash	W: Robert Venditti & Van Jensen A: Brett Booth
Gotham Academy	W: Becky Cloonan & Brenden Fletcher A: Karl Kerschl
Gotham By Midnight	W: Ray Fawkes A: Juan Ferreyra
Grayson	W: Tom King & Tim Seeley A: Mikel Janin
Green Arrow	W: Ben Percy A: Zircher
Green Lantern	W: Robert Venditti A: Billy Tan
Harley Quinn	W: Jimmy Palmiotti & Amanda Conner A: Chad Hardin
Justice League	W: Geoff Johns A: Jason Fabok
Justice League United	Stay tuned for creative team info!
Lobo	W: Cullen Bunn A: Cliff Richards
Secret Six	W: Gail Simone A: Dale Eaglesham
Sinestro	W: Cullen Bunn A: Bradley Walker
New Suicide Squad	W: Sean Ryan A: Carlos D'Anda
Superman	W: Gene Luen Yang A: John Romita, Jr.
Superman/Wonder Woman	W: Peter J. Tomasi A: Doug Mahnke
Teen Titans	W: Will Pfeifer A: Kenneth Rocafort
Wonder Woman	W: Meredith Finch A: David Finch

Make sure you stay tuned to the new format to see which of these titles I'll be picking up in May.

Now on to my Donny Approved series for February:

POSTAL #1

Publisher: IMAGE COMICS

Creative Team: (W) Bryan Edward Hill, Matt Hawkins (A) Isaac Goodhart (CA) Linda Sejic

Release Date: 2/4/2015

Description: The townsfolk of Eden, Wyoming wake up to the first official murder the town has seen in 25 years. Their reaction to this isn’t normal, and there’s a reason for that. Eden operates as a haven for fugitive criminals who remain here while new identities, often including facial reconstruction, are created for them. There is zero tolerance for any illegal activity that might draw attention to the town and an “official murder” is the last thing they want. A single, tight-knit family runs Eden with the youngest oddball son Mark Shiffron overseeing the postal branch, the only means of shipping in or out of the city. THE FBI has repeatedly been foiled trying to insert an undercover here; they see Mark as the weak link to exploit. This murder gives them a new opportunity.

RETURN OF THE LIVING DEADPOOL #1 (OF 4)

Publisher: MARVEL COMICS

Creative Team: (W) Cullen Bunn (A) Nicole Virella (CA) Jay Shaw

Release Date*: 2/4/2015

Description: Last year, Cullen Bunn brought us NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEADPOOL, the hit tale of the Merc with the Mouth trapped in the zombie apocalypse. In the end, our hero found a “cure” of sorts to this horrible outbreak-any zombie that ate Deadpool transformed…into another Deadpool. And they lived happily ever after? Not so fast, as Cullen Bunn returns, joined by the amazing artwork of Nicole Virella, to let us know that wandering hordes of Deadpools might just be worse than flesh-hungry walking corpses.

TMNT MUTANIMALS #1 (OF 4)

Publisher: IDW PUBLISHING

Creative Team: (W) Paul Allor (A/CA) Andy Kuhn

Release Date*: 2/25/2015

Description: Old Hob, Slash, Herman the Hermit Crab, Mondo Gecko and Pigeon Pete have become a force to be reckoned with in the TMNT ongoing – and now they’ve got their own miniseries, in which their teamwork will be put to the ultimate test! When someone close to the group is kidnapped, the Mutanimals end up on an adventure more wild and dangerous than they could have imagined! What mysteries lurk at…The Null Group?

Other top titles:

DARTH VADER #1

Publisher: MARVEL COMICS

Creative Team: (W) Kieron Gillen (A) Salvador Larroca (CA) Adi Granov

Release Date*: 2/11/2015

Description: The original Dark Lord of the Sith stars in his first ongoing series! Ever since Darth Vader made his first on-screen appearance, he became the one of the most popular villains to ever haunt an audience’s dreams! Now, follow Vader straight from the ending of A NEW HOPE (and the pages of the new STAR WARS comic book) into his own series, showing the Empire’s war with the Rebel Alliance from the other side! Writer Kieron Gillen (Uncanny X-Men, Journey Into Mystery, Iron Man) and artist Salvador Larroca (Invincible Iron Man, X-Men: No More Humans) bring us a peek behind the mask of evil!

EI8HT #1 (OF 5)

Publisher: DARK HORSE COMICS

Creative Team: (W) Rafael Albuquerque, Mike Johnson (A/CA) Rafael Albuquerque

Release Date*: 2/18/2015

Description: Welcome to the Meld, an inhospitable dimension in time where Joshua, a chrononaut, finds himself trapped. With no memory or feedback from the team of scientists that sent him, he can’t count on anything but his heart and a stranger’s voice to guide him to his destiny.

NAMELESS #1 (MR)

Publisher: IMAGE COMICS

Creative Team: (W) Grant Morrison (A/CA) Chris Burnham, Nathan Fairbairn

Release Date*: 2/4/2015

Description: An astronomer kills his family, then himself, leaving a cryptic warning. A Veiled Lady hunts her victims through human nightmares. An occult hustler known only as ‘Nameless’ is recruited by a consortium of billionaire futurists for a desperate mission. And the malevolent asteroid Xibalba spins closer on a collision course with Earth. But nothing is what it seems-a terrifying inhuman experiment is about to begin. Abandon all hope and experience ultimate horror in NAMELESS.

SILK #1

Publisher: MARVEL COMICS

Creative Team: (W) Robbie Thompson (A) Stacey Lee (CA) Dave Johnson

Release Date*: 2/18/2015

Description: Cindy Moon exploded out of her bunker and into the Marvel Universe when we first learned that she had been bitten by that same radioactive spider in the first arc of AMAZING SPIDER-MAN. She then went on to save Peter Parker’s life (more than once!) and traverse the Spider-verse alongside Spider-Woman. Now, as SILK, Cindy is on her own in New York City, searching for her past, defining her own future, and webbing up wrong-doers along the way! Robbie Thompson (writer from TV’s Supernatural) fills this new ongoing series with his unique blend of antics and feels. Featuring stunning covers by Eisner Award winner Dave Johnson and interiors by future superstar Stacey Lee.

SPIDER-GWEN #1

Publisher: MARVEL COMICS

Creative Team: (W) Jason Latour (A/CA) Javier Rodriguez

Release Date*: 2/25/2015

Description: The breakout hit of the biggest Spider-Event of the century is taking comic shops by storm this winter with her own new ongoing series – SPIDER-GWEN! Gwen Stacy is Spider-Woman, but you knew that already. What you DON’T know is what friends and foes are waiting for her in the aftermath of Spider-Verse! From the fan-favorite creative team that brought you Spider-Gwen’s origin story in EDGE OF SPIDER-VERSE, Jason Latour and Robbie Rodriguez!

SURFACE #1 (MR)

Publisher: IMAGE COMICS

Creative Team: (W) Ales Kot (A/CA) Langdon Foss, Jordie Bellaire

Release Date*: 2/25/2015

Description: What would happen if Moebius and District 9 had a baby? Maybe THE SURFACE! Welcome to Africa. Ebola is no longer a problem. The West and the East are moving in-and three hacker lovers are searching Tanzania for the place that can change everything: THE SURFACE! The first issue of a mind-bending action SF epic drawn by the esteemed LANGDON FOSS (Get Jiro!, Winter Soldier) and colored by the Eisner-winning JORDIE BELLAIRE (everything)! THE SURFACE!

Monthly Movie Madness: February 2015

Not a whole lot going on this February, unless you're into that 69 Shades of Bondage stuff. But let's look at my top 5 anyways!

5. Focus

The Players: Directors: John Requa and Glenn Ficarra (I Love You Phillip Morris, Crazy, Stupid Love) Writers: John Requa and Glenn Ficarra (Bad Santa, Cats & Dogs) Starring: Will Smith (Men In Black, The Pursuit Of Happyness), Margot Robbie (The Wolf Of Wall Street, About Time).

Synopsis: A veteran grifter takes a young, attractive woman under his wing, but things get complicated when they become romantically involved.

Why you should watch it: I'm not even sure honestly, the trailer doesn't make Focus look like anything special, really the sticking point for me and this movie will be reviews... If the reviews are positive I'll make more of an effort to see it, but right now my sole reason for watching Focus is to see the chemistry between Smith and Robbie before they share the screen in DC Comics Suicide Squad as Deadshot and Harley Quinn respectively.

4. Hot Tub Time Machine

The Players: Director: Steve Pink (About Last Night, Hot Tub Time Machine) Writer: Josh Heald (Hot Tub Time Machine, Mardi Gras) Starring: Craig Robinson (This Is The End, Get On Up), Rob Corddry (Warm Bodies, The Way Way Back), Clark Duke (Kick-Ass, The Croods), Collette Wolfe (Interstellar, Young Adult), Adam Scott (Step-Brothers, The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty).

Synopsis: When Lou, who has become the "father of the Internet," is shot by an unknown assailant, Jacob and Nick fire up the time machine again to save their friend.

Why you should watch it: I loved the first Hot Tub Time Machine, but this one looks like it's going to crash and burn in comparison. Firstly, although most of the cast has returned John Cusack has not, and although it's still cloudy as to why, recently Cusack's been doing a bunch of straight to DVD fare here in North America but he's never been known for doing comedies. Though I still think Cusack didn't want to touch this with a 20 foot pole. The trailer even lacks the luster of the first or the "relive the 80's charm" the first one had. Only time will tell if director Steve Pink can strike gold twice in this franchise, but right now I'm down on this film though I will still watch out of my love for the first.

3. Seventh Son

The Players: Director: Sergei Bodrov (Mongol, East/West) Writers: Charles Leavitt (Blood Diamond, K-Pax), Steven Knight (World War Z, Locke) Starring: Jeff Bridges (Tron, True Grit), Julianne Moore (The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Still Alice), Ben Barnes (The Chronicles Of Narnia, The Big Wedding), Kit Harington (How To Train Your Dragon 2, Pompeii).

Synopsis: In a time long past, an evil is about to be unleashed that will reignite the war between the forces of the supernatural and humankind once more. Master Gregory (Jeff Bridges) is a knight who had imprisoned the malevolently powerful witch, Mother Malkin (Julianne Moore), centuries ago. But now she has escaped and is seeking vengeance. Summoning her followers of every incarnation, Mother Malkin is preparing to unleash her terrible wrath on an unsuspecting world. Only one thing stands in her way: Master Gregory. In a deadly reunion, Gregory comes face to face with the evil he always feared would someday return. He has only until the next full moon to do what usually takes years: train his new apprentice, Tom Ward (Ben Barnes) to fight a dark magic unlike any other. Man's only hope lies in the seventh son of a seventh son.

Why you should watch it: This is a case that in a weak month with a good looking trailer you can crack the top 3. I'm not going to get overly excited as I made that mistake with a similarly themed movie, Jack And The Giant Slayer. I was a big Narnia fan so seeing Barnes on screen again is a plus, and you know Jeff Bridges is pretty cool too as the crotchety old man training new blood role. This looks like it should be a summer blockbuster, but it's coming out in February, it also has no reviews at this writing which is a week from release are big red flags. Also you know the year-plus delay in reaching the big screen.

2. The Spongebob Movie: Sponge Out Of Water

The Players: Director: Paul Tibbitt (debut) Writers: Paul Tibbitt (The Spongebob Squarepants Movie), Glenn Berger and Jonathan Aibel (Kung Fu Panda, Monsters Vs. Aliens) Starring: Antonia Banderas (Spy Kids, Puss In Boots).

Synopsis: SpongeBob SquarePants, the world's favourite sea dwelling invertebrate, comes ashore for his most super-heroic adventure yet. SpongeBob goes on a quest to discover a stolen recipe that takes him to our dimension, our world, where he tangles with a pirate.

Why you should watch it: The last Spongebob movie came out over a decade ago, and is still a favourite of mine. That being said, this flick looks like a shadow of it's former self, Not that Spongebob has gotten monotonous, and this does still have some potential to be good, though Antonia Banderas has been box office poison as of late, it just seems it won't be as well received among none 8 year olds as the previous one was. I'm still iffy about the live action/cartoon crossover... The Smurfs and Alvin And The Chipmunks are the most recent success stories in that genre, though both had underwhelming performances from their sequels.

1. Kingsman: The Secret Service

The Players: Matthew Vaughn (Kick-Ass, X-Men: First Class) Writers: Matthew Vaughn and Jane Goldman (Stardust, The Debt) Starring: Colin Firth (The King's Speech, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy), Samuel L. Jackson (The Avengers, The Other Guys), Michael Caine (The Dark Knight, Interstellar), Mark Strong (Zero Dark Thirty, The Imitation Game).

Synopsis: Based upon the acclaimed comic book and directed by Matthew Vaughn (Kick Ass, X-Men First Class), Kingsman: The Secret Service tells the story of a super-secret spy organisation that recruits an unrefined but promising street kid into the agency's ultra-competitive training program just as a global threat emerges from a twisted tech genius.

Why you should watch it: Other than Matthew Vaughn's golden touch you mean? First off who doesn't like British bad ass's? Exactly. Secondly it's based upon a great comic book series from writer Mark Millar (Kick-Ass, Civil War) and artist Dave Gibbons (Watchmen). Thirdly the reviews are positive thus far holding a 77% approval rating, as of this writing, over at RottenTomatoes.com with 35 reviews. The only question now will be will the box office numbers be there as it opens against the aforementioned 69 Shades Of Bondage.

Special: Taken 3/The Wedding Ringer/Justice League:Throne Of Atlantis Mini-Reviews

Taken 3:

Liam Neeson returns as ex-covert operative Bryan Mills, whose reconciliation with his ex-wife is tragically cut short when she is brutally murdered. Consumed with rage, and framed for the crime, he goes on the run to evade the relentless pursuit of the CIA, FBI and the police. For one last time, Mills must use his "particular set of skills," to track down the real killers, exact his unique brand of justice, and protect the only thing that matters to him now - his daughter.

My thoughts? Although it's toned down the violence in order to get a PG-13 rating, Taken 3 is still a fun ride and it was able to avoid feeling like a carbon copy of the previous two films by not having a kidnapping plot, something that Taken 2 was hurt by as it felt like a retreaded, but worse, copy of the original. Taken 3 is a breath of fresh air for the franchise, which is still open to further entries despite the fact that 3 was marketed as the last time. My only issue with this film was about halfway through I realised Neeson hadn't actually took down a bad guy as most of the first half is stylised chases and him disarming and outsmarting cops. Taken 3 was an improvement on it's predecessor but is still a small shadow over the original and even last year's Non-Stop.

Final verdict: 3 (bordering on 4) evil Russians out of 5

The Wedding Ringer:

Doug Harris (Josh Gad) is a lovable but socially awkward groom-to-be with a problem: he has no best man. With less than two weeks to go until he marries the girl of his dreams (Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting), Doug is referred to Jimmy Callahan (Kevin Hart), owner and CEO of Best Man, Inc., a company that provides flattering best men for socially challenged guys in need. What ensues is a hilarious wedding charade as they try to pull off the big con, and an unexpected budding bromance between Doug and his fake best man Jimmy.

My thoughts? I'll be honest, I don't really give Kevin Hart the time of day... Anytime people get obsessed with a comedian I always find them disappointing... Remember the Dane Cook Phenomena from 10 years ago? Yeah... But here Hart handles his role very well and opposite the equally funny Josh Gad the two have instant chemistry. It's not the most plausible movie, nor does it have the chops to hold up on it's own against The Hangover or Anchorman franchises, but it's still an extremely funny romp that warrants a watch every couple months.

Final verdict: 4 purchased groomsmen out of 5

Justice League: Throne Of Atlantis

In the aftermath of Justice League:War, the world is at peace or so it seems. When Atlantis attacks the Metropolis for the death of their king. But the Queen has different plans and requires the Justice League to find her lost son. But while they search for him, Atlantian troops lead by Ocean Master, continue their assault. Who will win?

My thoughts: Although I appreciate the WB and DC Comics listening to it's critics about these movies being too adult for kids, the violence was still there though not as bad, maybe that's because it was "trenchers" that were being decimated instead of humans as in Son of Batman, the coarse language was toned down, I heard "shit" once and there were certain dialogue where you could tell that they would usually have dropped an expletive was replaced with a more kid friendly line, it affected the story negatively. All in all Throne of Atlantis is a great comic storyline that missed the mark in the DCAU. There's been worse films made, but the DCAU's typical high standard slipped a bit here as this is easily the worst to come out since before Flashpoint. The voice acting was just okay as Batman and Wonder Woman especially continue to bug me, luckily Batman is probably one of the leaguer's that gets the least screen time which is kinda refreshing.

Final verdict: Barely 4 Atlantians out of 5