In Guillermo Del Toro, modern horror films have found a true master. When he's not making his own darkly comic, fantasy-laced horror he's producing a host of up-and-coming directors and writers to give them the exposure through use of his name. Some, like Don't Be Afraid of the Dark are a disappointment, others are startlingly effective, like The Orphanage. Mama, directed … [Read more...]
The Possession (2012) review by That Film Fanatic
Fans of the US show Supernatural might be thrilled to see Jeffrey Dean Morgan back in the realm of the, well, supernatural. And joining him is The Closer's Kyra Sedgwick who has traded in crime scenes for a more domestic environment. But is this TV super-team enough to make The Possession, another exorcism movie stand out from the bunch? … [Read more...]
Cloud Atlas (2012) review by That Film Guy
In general films released today follow a broad structure of three acts, with the setup, the obstacle and the resolution. There are some films however that bend and manipulate this structure and try and create something more fluid. Then there are films that are pure and utter madness. A chaos of ideas and themes that distinctly do not follow the classical structure. Based on the … [Read more...]
Rocky III (1982) review by That Film Guy
The character of Rocky developed from gritty 1970s exploitation underdog fighter to 1980s muscle-bound superman fighter between Rocky II and Rocky III. This coincided with the rise of the action heroes like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jean-Claude Van Damme and Steven Seagal. Sylvester Stallone himself looked almost unrecognisable from the second film to the third, as age and a lot … [Read more...]
Rocky II (1979) review by That Film Guy
Following the staggering success story that was Rocky came the inevitable sequel, Rocky II, this time not only written by and staring, but also directed by Sylvester Stallone. Chronologically it follows the titular boxer in the moments directly after his fight with Apollo Creed that formed the finale of the original film. … [Read more...]
A Good Day to Die Hard (2013) review by That Film Guy
It has been 25 years since John McClane burst onto our screens in the iconic Die Hard. Pit in an impossible situation in the Nakatomi Plaza his working man's hero managed to overcome an evil genius and save the day, but his greatest accomplishment was not to die. As the Die Hard series went on John McClane grew as a character, adding more depth and interest up until Die Hard … [Read more...]
5 Broken Cameras (2011) review by That Art House Guy
In 2005, Emad Burnat's fourth son, Gibreel was born in the village of Bil'in on the West Bank. In the same year, Isreal began building a separation fence between Israeli and Palestinian areas. The villagers of Bil'in realised that the fence would cut through their agricultural land, confiscating around half of it “ land they relied on for their livelihoods and to feed their … [Read more...]
Warm Bodies (2013) review by That Film Guy
The zombie genre has been one of the most prolific sub-genres in horror film-making in recent years. After the advent of mainstream walking dead in George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead we've seen numerous interpretations of the standard narrative from road trip horrors like 28 Days Later¦ to romantic comedies like Shaun of the Dead via Zombieland. The key to a successful … [Read more...]
I Give it a Year (2013) review by That Film Student
Everyone says that the first year of marriage is the hardest, but it doesn't help when your previous girlfriend, who you never officially broke up with, is still on the scene; or when you're so embarrassed by your husband's 'dancing' that you refer to him as Beyonce, and deny all prior knowledge of him. Another British romantic comedy, we have high hopes that we can place Dan … [Read more...]
This is 40 (2012) review by That Film Guy
Producer, writer, director Judd Apatow has become something of a comedy monolith in Hollywood. His name is attached to almost all comedies of any note since 2004 and he has a staple of actors and actresses that he uses from film to film. One of his biggest commercial and critical successes was the pregnancy comedy Knocked Up and it is from this that the lead characters from … [Read more...]