Fucking Bruges. You'll hear this several times, from various characters in this superb black comedy from writer/director Martin McDonagh (responsible for the excellent Seven Psychopaths). It's hard to find a pairing of words that better summarises the unique appeal of what is one of the strongest debuts of any recent British film-maker. … [Read more...]
Review: Christmas with the Kranks (2004)
When their daughter joins the Peace Corps, the thought of a Christmas alone worries Luther and Nora Krank (Tim Allen and Jamie Lee Curtis). A chance spotting of an advertisement makes Luther realise that if they don't spend all the money they usually spend of Christmas, they can instead takes a Caribbean cruise and still end up better off. Thus the Kranks decide to skip … [Read more...]
The Raid (2012, Indonesia) review by That Art House Guy
The Raid is not just any action movie “ it's a rare and curious thing, being an Indonesian movie directed by a Welshman (Gareth Evans). Its premise is simple “ a SWAT team are sent to a derelict apartment building in Jakarta where a notorious drugs baron, Tama has set up his HQ. Seemingly untouchable by the police, the block has become a haven for all manner of undesirables, … [Read more...]
Review: Ikiru (1952, Japanese)
Akira Kurosawa tends to be best remembered for his period samurai films, particularly Seven Samurai, often considered one of the best films ever made. His films set in the modern day have consequently been rather overlooked, which is a real shame. Ikiru, meaning to live, is one of his best, rivalling Seven Samurai for the top spot, and is particularly noteworthy because it was … [Read more...]
c: The Film (2012) review by That Film Guy
Based on the popular television character played by Leigh Francis comes Keith Lemon: The Film. Keith Lemon has moved to London to make a fortune from his invention Securipole. While at an invention convention he is given a new mobile phone that "has no buttons." With help of The Fixer, Archimedes (Verne Troyer) Lemon markets the phone by sticking a lemon logo on the back and … [Read more...]
Howling IV: The Original Nightmare (1988) review by That Film Geek
Howling IV: The Original Nightmare represents the first involvement in the Howling franchise of Clive Turner, as the co-writer and producer of this film, he also has a small cameo in this film. Remember the name, he'll come up in other Howling films. The film is a reasonably faithful adaptation of Gary Brandner's original Howling novel, which means it shares more than a few … [Read more...]
The Marsupials: The Howling III (1987) review by That Film Geek
When the budget is too low to go big, and you don't have the talent to be clever about it, you have to go camp, and this goes so camp it's untrue. Directed by Phillipe Mora, also responsible for Howling II, The Marsupials: The Howling III takes the Werwolf series to Australia for this truly terrible outing that is the lowest ebb for the series until the disaster that is The … [Read more...]
Howling II (1985) review by That Film Geek
Despite the many sequels to Joe Dante's brilliant 1981 werewolf film The Howling, Howling II is the only one which directly follows or references the events of the original. It also seems to have two subtitles, either 'Your Sister is a Werewolf' which gives away a big and utterly pointless plot point or 'Stirba: Werewolf Bitch' which is more to the point. … [Read more...]
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993) review by That Film Dude
Pretty much everyone of a certain age remembers watching Batman: The Animated Series as a kid, and rather a lot of them continued watching it into adulthood; after all, why shouldn't they? With a tone that was a great blend of the darkness of Batman with the more silly, comic book-y moments, (case in point: the episode Heart of Ice) a great voice cast and a fantastic main … [Read more...]
Review: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)
9 years after the release of the Oscar winning conclusion to The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Return of the King, director Peter Jackson returns to Middle Earth in the first part of a new trilogy that adapts JRR Tolkien's first novel in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. On the day of Bilbo Baggins (Ian Holm) 111th birthday, he is caught by his nephew Frodo (Elijah Wood) … [Read more...]