Channing Tatum may be a star on the rise, but in Magic Mike he plumbs the depths of his history to get into the eponymous lead character, a male stripper in Tampa, Florida. Tatum has talked about his desire to highlight some of his experiences as a 19-year-old stripper, and when the opportunity to star in a film on the subject he got involved as a producer. Originally planned … [Read more...]
Hannibal (2001) review by That Film Guy
Following the commercial and critical success of The Silence of the Lambs, it is surprising that the sequel Hannibal took a decade to come to the big screen. With original director Jonathan Demme and lead star Jodie Foster both gone, in step Ridley Scott and Julianne Moore, who on paper are more than capable. Thomas Harris' novel Hannibal, on which the film is based was a … [Read more...]
The Silence of the Lambs (1991) review by That Film Guy
Based on the 1988 novel of the same name by Thomas Harris, The Silence of the Lambs has become one of the most recgonisable thrillers in the last 20 years. Sweeping the Oscars big five awards (Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Adapted Screenplay) at the 64th Academy Awards, it also became a commercial success taking over $270m from a budget of $19m. It … [Read more...]
The Good, The Bad and the Ugly (1966) review by That Film Dude
This is, for many people, the Big One as far as Westerns go. Others may argue for The Searchers or Once Upon a Time in the West, but Sergio Leone's spectacular conclusion to the Dollars Trilogy, The Good, The Bad and the Ugly, invariably comes at or near the top of Western best of lists. And it's not hard to see why. Everything that was lacking in the previous two films has … [Read more...]
For a Few Dollars More (1965) review by That Film Dude
Considering the success of A Fistful of Dollars, a sequel was all but inevitable, and thus what were conceived as three standalone films began to be thought of as the Dollars Trilogy. For a Few Dollars More is definitely the weakest of the three, as is frequently the case with the middle part of a trilogy, but not being as good as Fistful and The Good, The Bad and The Ugly is … [Read more...]
The Devil Wears Prada (2006) review by That Film Guy
Loosely adapted from the 2003 novel of the same name by Lauren Weisberger, The Devil Wears Prada was a box office smash taking over $325m from a budget of $35m. The Devil Wears Prada follows Andrea Sachs (Anne Hathaway), a college graduate and aspiring journalist who gets a job as a co-assistant to Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep), the editor of the World's most famous fashion … [Read more...]
The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) review by That Film Guy
Coming only five years after the release of Spider-Man 3 is a reboot, The Amazing Spider-Man, moving focus away from the Sam Raimi trilogy and more toward the Ultimate Spider-Man comic book series. There has been a move closer toward the comic books with elements like Peter Parker no longer fires webbing from his wrist, but rather has to create webbing which he installs in a … [Read more...]
The Angels’ Share (2012) review by That Art House Guy
Ken Loach is something of a national treasure; a British director who is a genuine auteur, successful on his own terms and never having felt the need to head to Hollywood to make movies. He's also a strange sort of national treasure “ they're usually lovable, comforting figures whereas Loach has spent his career making confrontational, fiercely political, gritty films, like … [Read more...]
Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003) review by That Film Guy
Rounding out Robert Rodriguez's ˜El Mariachi Trilogy' is Once Upon a Time in Mexico. Following the continuing story of El Maricahi (Antonio Banderas), the third instalment brings with it some big Hollywood stars and a far more tongue-in-cheek approach to storytelling. Considered by Rodriguez as the equivalent of The Good, The Bad and The Ugly in Sergio Leone's ˜Dollars … [Read more...]
Desperado (1995) review by That Film Guy
Following on from the minor success of his first film El Mariachi comes Robert Rodriguez's Desperado a full-blooded retelling of a very similar story but with millions of dollars thrown into production. Gone is Gallardo's Mariachi, replaced with Antonio Banderas'version, who is everything his predecessor was and more. Playing opposite him is future Rodriguez regular Salma … [Read more...]