The Expendables 2 – Review
In the thick of the 1980s when one man army action films were a sure fire guarantee for box office gold, it wasn’t unusual to find cinemas littered with the type of high calibre trash [...]
View ArticleTotal Recall
One of the first things to bear in mind about Len Wiseman’s remake of Total Recall is that, unlike the original 1990 Schwarzenegger film, it is not a fresh adaptation of Phillip K Dick’s short [...]
View ArticleSkyfall: Film review
Fifty years is a long time for a film franchise that has had its ups and downs but always retained the public love. The Bond legacy is also such a vital part of our culture [...]
View ArticleMapmaking at the Raindance
This year celebrating its twentieth anniversary, the Raindance Film Festival presented (from its London location) a vast array of exciting new independent films from talented young directors, along...
View ArticleThe Master: Film review
Paul Thomas Anderson has come a long way since his directorial debut Hard Eight in 1996, since attracting a wealth of acting talent to his later projects that would rival a film by Robert Altman. [...]
View ArticleSilver Linings Playbook
Silver Linings Playbook could have been a forgettable piece of syrupy Oscar bait had a hack director or narrow minded studio head got their mitts on in. Hurl Jennifer Anniston and Owen Wilson into the...
View ArticleTrouble With The Curve
Baseball movies have always been a hard pitch to British audiences, but over the years there have been a few entries in the sub-sport genre that have struck a chord. The overrated yet well regarded [...]
View ArticleThe Impossible
It was clear from his 2007 debut The Orphanage that Juan Antonio Bayona was a director to look out for and one whose skills at evoking high drama and tension could transcend the trappings of [...]
View ArticleThe Sessions
The Sessions is the second film released within the past couple of months about a man with medical/ psychological problems, seeking companionship and having to overcome his afflictions to find it....
View ArticleZero Dark Thirty
Following a run of overlooked work in the 1980s and 90s including the brilliant western vampire flick Near Dark and knucklehead surf movie Point Break, Kathryn Bigelow finally gained critical and box...
View ArticleFire With Fire
Following the latest dog-eared Die Hard instalment that severed its hard nosed roots for a more family-friendly affair, Bruce Willis returns (in a supporting role) to a more dirty, downtrodden cop...
View ArticleJack The Giant Slayer
When films are delayed or have a bad production history one can’t help but expect the worst when they finally arrive, especially when their release follows a stream of trailers seemingly offering...
View ArticleI’m So Excited!
After 2011s dark, excellent The Skin I Live in, acclaimed director Pedro Almodovar returns to the more exuberant and vivacious style of film for which he is better known. I’m So Excited! is a high [...]
View ArticleThe Hangover Part 3
So this is it: the last Hangover movie ever apparently, which seems somewhat doubtful given the success of the previous entries. Whilst the original was phenomenal in terms of high concept comedy and...
View ArticleThe World’s End
Since the arrival of Spaced in 1999, Simon Pegg, Edgar Wright and Nick Frost’s creations have grown with us over the years, converting many to the escapades of lovable characters in fantastic scenarios...
View ArticleYou’re Next
The slasher film has been a hearty lynchpin of horror over the years but also the victim of its own undoing following the mid-nineties. Its pop cultural dissection in the Scream trilogy and the royal...
View ArticleGravity (3D): Film review
It was a basic, high concept: throw a couple of stars in space, introduce them to peril and watch in hope that they will overcome adversity and make it back to earth, and in the [...]
View ArticleLast Vegas
Like a sorry cross between The Hangover and Last Of The Summer Wine, Last Vegas is a vulgar attempt to generate humour from the exploits of a group of doddery old childhood pals who travel [...]
View ArticleThe Invisible Woman: Film review
If period dramas featuring heavy frocked dames gazing woefully over haunted meadows is your thing then you may find much to love in Ralph Fiennes’ jaunt about Charles Dickens and his affair with a...
View ArticleX Men: Days Of Future Past
In the decade since Bryan Singer called the shots on X Men 2, not a single director has sat in the franchise chair for more than one outing. Following numerous spin offs, sequels and prequels, [...]
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