Blogs

Of course, everything's easy in hindsight. If I'd known what I know now, I wouldn't have eaten that hotdog out of the bin. I wouldn't have spent £10 and 121 minutes watching Gigli. I wouldn't have stuck my hand that far into the waste disposal unit. But some decisions are costlier than others and so to celebrate April Fools' Day, here's our pick of Hollywood's worst decisions.

Speaking at Washington DC's National Press Club in 1963 to promote his latest film, The Birds, Alfred Hitchcock spoke fondly of his avian stars. But he didn't forget the human actors in his movie, remarking: "The cast also includes a few men and women. After all, the picture isn't just about the birds… it's about the bees, too."

This is content for teaser area on the blog index page

This week finally sees the long-delayed release of GI Joe: Retaliation, an explosive pageant of thrills, spills and eye-popping 3D silliness that tantalisingly unites action titans Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson and Bruce Willis on-screen for the very first time. Based on Hasbro's popular line of macho action figures, GIJ:R is the latest blockbuster to take inspiration from the shelves of Toys 'R' Us as Hollywood figures out how to get kids off the sofa and back into the multiplex.

From a screening of The Passion of Joan of Arc in a Cathedral accompanied by a live score, to Joan Collins' movie Empire of the Ants (so bad it’s rad) hosted by Joan Collins herself*, Birmingham’s Flatpack Film Festival is nothing short of excellently eclectic.

Occasionally, tired movie franchises need fresh blood to make them feel young and exciting again, and The Rock has been scientifically proven to provide that extra bit of oomph. Labelled "franchise Viagra" by studio execs, the artist formerly known as Dwayne Johnson was a fresh tank of nitro in the flagging Fast & Furious saga's engine. This week, Hasbro have parachuted The Rock into sequel GI Joe: Retaliation: he plays Roadblock, a gigantic, sweaty slab of a man who makes Channing Tatum look positively limp in comparison. This got us thinking: what other flagging movie franchises could do with some of The Rock's unique charms?

It's been another bumper month of new releases on Virgin Movies, with a mix of award-winners and blockbusters ensuring there's something for everyone and a movie for every mood. If you're interested in watching any of these films, just click on the pics, follow the instructions and you can be watching these movies and more in no time!

Steve Coogan plays Paul Raymond, millionaire and pioneer of Soho's sex scene, in a sexy, sorrid and charming true life story.

As the saying goes, you just couldn't make it up. Some true stories are so unbelievable that if they were a work of fiction, you'd say "no way!" But when you know it's based on something that really happened, you get to stare slack-jawed in awe at the outlandish events life can dish up. New thriller Compliance does just that, with a too-close-for-comfort story about how far people will follow instructions from an authority figure – and it's all based on real events. It's only the top of the "that can't be true!" iceberg: here are 10 movies you won't believe are true stories…

At long last, the first Alan Partridge movie trailer is here... Ah-haaaaaa!