'The Dictator' Attracts Megan Fox And John C Reilly

John C Reilly

You may remember a while back a news post that revealed that Sacha Baron Cohen was first in line to take the lead role in an upcoming project entitled The Dictator which Baron Cohen was behind. Since then Cohen has confirmed himself in the lead role and today has revealed that both Megan Fox and John C Reilly will be joining the cast of the new comedy from the makers of both Bruno and Borat. The duo will join a star-studded cast which includes Ben Kingsley.

Not too much information has been revealed about the film as yet but it looks like it will take a different route to Cohen's previous comedies in that it will be less improvised and will employ actors with greater prestige.

Total Film revealed the basic plot of the film: “[Sacha] Baron Cohen plays a ruthless dictator who heads to the U.S. for a meeting at the United Nations and finds that his number two has replaced him with an unsuspecting sheepherder lookalike.

“As the dictator wanders the city, he meets the owner of an organic food store… She turns around his

Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time (2010)

Waste Of Time - 2/5

So I saw this film the other day called Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time. I think an apt word to sum up the rest of this film review would be dire. With the story provided and the legacy of the video game series the film had a lot to live up to but also it had firm foundations on which to build a coherent and entertaining all out action film. What they created was a mixture of disappointing comedy and half-hearted action combined with possibly one of the worst story lines I've ever encountered. The plot is only one that really works in a video game scenario where the user determines the outcome. In a film however the viewer is left frustrated and downright angry at the outcome. I don't want to spoil the ending but it was an absolute kick in the teeth and rendered the 110 minutes of viewing totally wasted.

What really ground my gears about the film was the way in which it was written. In my opinion, if they wanted to make the video game into a film, thy should have stuck to a serious plot which could have drawn the viewer

'The Dictator' Brings In Ben Kingsley To Join Baron Cohen

Sir Ben Kingsley

Sir Ben Kingsley and Sacha Baron Cohen? Sounds like a pretty strange Thespian match but reportedly they are set to star alongside each other in new comedy film The Dictator! Variety has reported that Kingsley will play a Middle Eastern character in the film.

As yet there has been no casting of a leading lady but three are under consideration in the forms of Kristen Wiig, Anna Faris and Gillian Jacobs.

The film follows a dictator who risks his own life to prevent the spread of democracy throughout his land. It

Shutter Island (2010)

Superb Thriller - 4.5/5

So I saw this film called 'Shutter Island'. After seeing this film I would describe as a psychological thriller with elements of horror thrown in set on a tortured rock in the middle of the ocean. I think that sets the scene in your mind fairly well. Leonardo DiCaprio is becoming more and more associated with twisted films and hidden meaning and has certainly come a long way from the days of 'Titanic'. With his inclusion in 'Shutter Island' and 'Inception' 2010 was a huge year for DiCaprio and it surely must be nearing his time for an Oscar win. I would argue that no actor made a bigger impact on the film scene of 2010.

When watching 'Shutter Island' after 'Inception', there are many clear similarities between DiCaprio's performances and elements of the films themselves despite there being no real link between the films aside from their leading man. What struck me most was the similarity between the music used, and I was shocked to find that the genius that is Hans Zimmer was not the controlling hand of the music for 'Shutter Island'. We can see further similarities in DiCaprio's performances; in both roles we see the characters confusion and anger brewing and in both roles DiCaprio excelled. Until the release of these two films he wasn't, in my mind, much of an action/thriller film type of guy. I still remember him in films such as 'Titanic' and 'Romeo & Juliet' and I found it hard to believe he would be convincing in either role. However, I was overjoyed at being proved wrong on both these points.

The screenplay for 'Shutter Island' was magnificent and at no point during the film did it hint too strongly and what was to happen at the end and thereby did not ruin what turned out to be a magnificent twist in the plot. The ending was pure genius; a wide-eyed moment of gasping in air as you come to realise the truth, followed by a long debate about the meaning behind the film and explanations of the plot to yourself and others. DiCaprio's final line was so beautifully written and portrayed in such a poignant manner that it left us only with empathy towards his character. I'm sure there would have been some less than dry eyes in the audience at this point. This film is truly stunning and is one of the best thrillers I have seen in a long while.
Would I recommend it? Duh.