[pullquote cite="" type="left, right"][amazon text=Amazon&template=carousel&chan=that film guy&asin=B00EXPOEGO][/pullquote] Like video games based on films, films based on toys are often ill-conceived, produced cheaply and lack originality. Everything from Masters of the Universe through Transformers to Battleship, they are often just an excuse to cash in on a … [Read more...]
Review: 12 Years a Slave (2013)
Around awards time at the beginning of every year a host of films vie for everyone's attention. There are a selection of film types that do so by tackling ˜worthy' subject matters, or hold historically importance. Some are artistic, some powerful, others move you, astound you with their beauty or overwhelm you with their raw emotionally charged nature. Then every once in a … [Read more...]
Review: Blue is the Warmest Colour (2013, French)
Based on Julie Maroh's graphic novel, Abdellatif Kechiche's Blue is the Warmest Colour was this year's winner of the Palm d'Or at Cannes - arguably the film industry's most prestigious award - and became the first film where the prize was awarded to both the director and the lead actresses. It quickly becomes clear why. … [Read more...]
Review: Gravity (2013)
Just above the Earth, 3 astronauts are performing routine upgrades to a satellite. Veteran Matt Kowalski (George Clooney) is enjoying the final moments of his final mission, Shariff (Phaldut Sharma) is horsing around with his umbilical-like chord and Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) is attaching a prototype to the satellite, annoyed by the other twos behaviour. They then receive a … [Read more...]
Review: Grease (1978)
Grease, one of the most famous sing-a-long films of all time still has us 'Hopelessly Devoted' 35 years later, with the movie hits, 'Summer Nights' still the topping the charts at every karaoke bar in town. Is it any wonder when the casting included (the incredibly popular) Saturday Night Fever's, John Travolta and worldwide pop princess, Olivia Newton John? … [Read more...]
Review: Halloween (1978)
As iconic horror films go, you'll be hard-pressed to find one more influential than John Carpenter's Halloween. Everything from the simple title, to the casting and the format screams classic. The fact that a huge number of films have attempted to copy the story structure in the years following (including its own sequels) remind us just how important the film was for the horror … [Read more...]
Review: Trick r Treat (2007)
Trick 'r Treat is a 2007 anthology horror film featuring several stories which overlap and share characters, and all take place on Halloween night. While it garnered acclaim, it encountered many problems with it's release. Originally being planned for a October 2007 release date, it was delayed repeatedly despite positive reactions from the few public screenings it had. The … [Read more...]
Review: Dogtown and Z Boys (2001)
By now most people will know all about Dogtown and Z Boys but when this documentary first arrived in 2001 the curious title meant little to the majority of the world. Using a mixture of archive footage from the 1970s and up to date interviews with those involved it charts the creation of the Zephyr skateboard team and chronicles the way they changed the skateboarding … [Read more...]
The Wicker Man: Director’s Cut (1973) review by That Film Journo
The Wicker Man is the perfect cult film, one that comes with its own ready-made mythology and bizarre history. Its subject matter alone - a pious Christian policeman investigating the disappearance of a young girl on a remote Scottish island that's home to a pagan community - would have been enough to have raised eyebrows on its release in 1973. Add to this the mystery … [Read more...]
Rush (2013) review by That Film Guy
Formula 1 may seem like a strange choice for Hollywood director Ron Howard to pick for his latest film. In a country that follows the more ragtag racing of NASCAR, F1 has not quite caught on in the same way it has elsewhere but as Howard points out, he's more interested in the story of his two lead characters, James Hunt and Niki Lauder than the actual racing, and it's that … [Read more...]