It's quite hard to overstate how influential A Fistful of Dollars has been to the Western genre. In 1964, the Western was beginning to show its age, as was its most recognisable star, John Wayne; Sergio Leone's ironic, subversive film helped breathe new life into the Western, created the spaghetti Western subgenre, and began a serious of revisionist Westerns which would be the … [Read more...]
The Five-Year Engagement (2012) review by That Film Guy
From producer Judd Apatow, co-written and starring Jason Segel, The Five-Year Engagement is a romantic comedy that follows the five-year engagement of chef Tom Solomon (Segel) and budding psychology post-doctorate Violet Barnes (Emily Blunt). The couple see their plans for marriage postponed when Violet moves them both from San Francisco to Michigan in order to pursue her life … [Read more...]
El Mariachi (1992) review by That Film Guy
Director Robert Rodriguez's first feature film spawned an entire trilogy, along with Desperado and Once Upon a Time in Mexico, and set him on the path to Hollywood success. El Mariachi is an ultra low-budget ($7,000) action film that took a healthy $2m at the box office. Rodriguez raised the funds for the film by participating in clinical trials and saved money by using … [Read more...]
Review: The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 (2012)
[pullquote cite="" type="left, right"][amazon text=Amazon&template=carousel&chan=that film guy&asin=B00A6HL7S6][/pullquote] The wait for Twilight-fans is over and The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 finally closes the book on the narrative of Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) and Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson). The Twilight film series has enjoyed massive box … [Read more...]
Shrek Forever After (2010) review by That Film Guy
With Dreamworks Animation emerging as the only real competition to Pixar in the animation film market, it made sense for them to make as much money from recognisable characters as possible. It is for this reason only that the follow-up to Shrek the Third, the rather neatly titled Shrek Forever After. Announced as the final instalment in the franchise (Puss in Boots filling the … [Read more...]
Them! (1954) review by That Film Guy
Watching films can be a sometimes unsurprising activity. With the majority of films you know where you stand. Something from Christopher Nolan is likely to be psychological and non-linear, something by Quentin Tarantino is likely to be dialogue-heavy with plenty of blood and swearing and something by Michael Bay is going to be loud, shot in golden sunshine and populated with … [Read more...]
Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004) review by That Film Gal
In Kill Bill: Vol. 2, Quentin Taratino's bloody revenge saga comes to a less bloody conclusion, as The Bride (Uma Thurman) confronts her attackers with words as well as swords. Building on the short glimpse of the wedding day massacre in Vol. 1, Vol. 2 shows us the sequence in full. Leader of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad ˜Bill,' (David Carradine) visits The Bride during … [Read more...]
Shrek the Third (2007) review by That Film Guy
After the continued box office success of the franchise with Shrek 2, it was only a matter of time until Shrek the Third was released. Commercially it was less successful than its immediate predecessor but still took a phenomenal $798m form a budget of $160m and comfortably gave Dreamworks a reason to release a fourth part. With the King of Far, Far Away (John Cleese) about to … [Read more...]
Insomnia (2002) review by That Film Guy
Based on a Scandinavian film of the same name, Insomnia was director Christopher Nolan's third film and represented the first time he had worked with a big budget and named Hollywood stars. Backed by executive producers George Clooney and Steven Soderbergh, Insomnia took $113m at the box office from a budget of $46m, but is often one of the overlooked Nolan films as it bridges … [Read more...]
The Prestige (2006) review by That Film Guy
Based on the 1995 novel by Christopher Priest, The Prestige was writer and director Christopher Nolan's follow up to his first big budget blockbuster Batman Begins. Following the novel's epistolary approach, The Prestige is told in a non-linear, multi-narrative way, similar to Frankenstein. It stars Hugh Jackman, Scarlett Johansson, Rebecca Hall and Nolan regulars Christian … [Read more...]