It is a truth universally acknowledged that films with a colon their title are usually rubbish. From the made for TV films with names like Tough Love: The Jackie Donovan story, to blockbusters like The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 and Mission: Impossible, exceptions are few and far between. Fortunately, Mesrine: Killer Instinct is one of them. Killer Instinct is the … [Read more...]
Review: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992)
What's this? There's a Buffy movie? With no Xander, Cordelia, Willow, Giles, Wesley, or Angel? And no Sarah Michelle Gellar? What is the madness? This was my reaction to the discovery of this film. Buffy The Vampire Slayer is a much-loved TV show that ran between 1997 and 2003. What most people don't know, however, is that the show was actually an adaptation of a 1992 film … [Read more...]
Review: Capturing the Friedmans (2003)
Directed by Andrew Jarecki (who also produced Catfish), Capturing the Friedmans is an extraordinary documentary uses a combination of home video and contemporary interviews to recount the tale of the Friedmans - a middle class suburban New York family torn apart by a child abuse scandal involving the father and youngest son. … [Read more...]
Review: The Hurt Locker (2009)
[pullquote cite="" type="left, right"][amazon text=Amazon&template=carousel&chan=that film guy&asin=B002KAIVMC][/pullquote] Kathryn Bigelow is a film director best known for her 1991 surfer heist movie Point Break. In 2009, she became the first woman to win an Oscar for best director at the 82nd Annual Academy Awards for her gritty war drama The Hurt Locker. That … [Read more...]
Review: Midnight in Paris (2011)
More so than almost any director, Woody Allen makes films with a clear voice. His voice. In his earlier works he would star in his films, but as age has caught up with him, he has inserted various actors into his films to speak the words and opinions that he writes. Having never quite achieved the same critical success of his early films like Annie Hall and Manhattan, each new … [Read more...]
Review: Serenity (2005)
Joss Whedon is a man who made his name with his iconic TV shows Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. One TV show of his that failed to last long enough to reach the same heights of popularity was Firefly. While critically acclaimed upon release, a series of time-changes and airing episodes out of order meant that it struggled to find a fan-base and was unceremoniously booted … [Read more...]
Review: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)
Steig Larsson's Millennium trilogy came out of nowhere to become the biggest publishing phenomenon since Harry Potter. With David Fincher directing this Hollywood movie of the first book, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, coming a mere 2 years after the Swedish language version, is it a case of too much too soon? Fincher, known best for his work on Se7en and Fight Club is able … [Read more...]
Review: The King’s Speech (2011)
When it was released at the beginning of 2011, The King's Speech was a somewhat unknown quantity. It seemed to be another British historical piece with a good cast and a healthy dollop of patriotic jingoism that would carry it to moderate success at the box office. Imagine the audiences surprise when they sat down and so a simmering epic character piece, with one of the most … [Read more...]
Review: A Christmas Story (1983)
For a Christmas film to do its job, there are certain boxes that it needs to tick. Firstly, and most obviously, it needs to be set at Christmas. Secondly there needs to be something that the main character is striving for, with obstacles constantly appearing in his way. There should be a nice feeling of nostalgic sentimentality to everything, preferably some snow and children … [Read more...]
Review: It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
Frank Capra stands as one the greatest directors of all time. He has won the Academy Award for best direction 3 times for the films It Happened One Night (1934), Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) and You Can't Take it With You (1938). Two of these classic films star one of the biggest movie stars on the 1930s, James Stewart. The actor and director worked together numerous … [Read more...]