Marking director Christopher Nolan's first mainstream success, Memento became his calling card during his early career. Using similar methods of narrative story-telling, which he would expand upon a decade later in Inception, Memento received almost universal critical acclaim upon release. It also marked one of the first major acting roles for former Neighbours star Guy Pearce. … [Read more...]
X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) review by That Film Guy
Following the success of the X-Men trilogy, lead actor Hugh Jackman who had gone from a veritable nobody to an A-List star was given his own spin-off film. X-Men Origins: Wolverine directed by Gavin Hood of Tsotsi fame, was a moderate success taking $373m from a budget of $150m. Its success was probably harmed by a pirate copy of the film being distributed on the internet … [Read more...]
Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) review by That Film Gal
With a total running time of over four hours, it was decided that Kill Bill, Quentin Tarantino's eclectic homage to everything from the golden era of Hong Kong Kung-Fu cinema to Sergio Leone-style spaghetti westerns, was to be cut into two halves. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 focuses more on the martial art genre (the dusty, lazy vibes of the small-town south come to the fore in Part 2), … [Read more...]
Gran Torino (2008) review by That Film Dude
Billed as Clint Eastwood's last acting role, Gran Torino would certainly be an appropriate one for him to end his acting career on. A deconstruction of and farewell to all of the tough guy characters of his early career, it provides a wonderful end-note to his long and distinguished career. He has directed films since, and may yet go back to acting, but Clint's best films tend … [Read more...]
Clerks (1994) review by That Film Brat
Clerks was the first film in the ˜View-Askewniverse', the fictional universe in which most of writer/director/actor Kevin Smith's films take place. They feature many of the same characters, and are best viewed in order, as a later film may have spoilers for a previous one. Clerks is the film that launched Kevin Smith's career, and is the definition of a cult film. It was made … [Read more...]
Spider-Man 3 (2007) review by That Film Guy
Completing Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy of films is Spider-Man 3. Production of Spider-Man 3 began almost immediately after the release of Spider-Man 2, which itself was a massive box office success. Raimi wanted to concentrate on the theme of 'forgiveness' and had plans to conclude the Green Goblin story and introduce Sandman as the major villain. After much protracted … [Read more...]
Infernal Affairs II (2003, Hong Kong) review by That Art House Guy
Infernal Affairs II arrived just a year after its smash hit predecessor. It was a moderate commercial success, pulling in about half that of the first movie. The diminishing return can be at least partially put down to the absence of the two stars of the first movie “ Andy Lau and Tony Leung (though Lau did return as the producer). … [Read more...]
Fast Girls (2012) review by That Film Guy
With the Olympic Games being hosted in Britain in 2012, it made sense to try and squeeze every possible penny from the event hence the release of comedy-drama Fast Girls. Developed from a script by British actor-director Noel Clarke, Fast Girls was forced by the Olympic Committee to remove any mention of said event, forcing a rewrite to base the action in a fictional … [Read more...]
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012) review by That Film Guy
High-concept historical fiction has seen a rise in popularity in recent years and from the same company that brought you Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters comes the equally awesomely-titled Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. Directed by Wanted and Nightwatch helmsman Timur Bekmambetov, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter tells the story of how … [Read more...]
Strippers vs Werewolves (2012) review by That Film Klown
Do you lie awake at night wondering who would win an epic battle between strippers vs werewolves? Well worry no more¦ because after watching this film you won't care about anything. We here in The Room love hilariously terrible films. Some films are brilliant and some are brilliantly bad, but sadly Strippers vs Werewolves walks the fine line between the two. It is boring, … [Read more...]