Following the sudden and tragic death of co-star Paul Walker, the team behind Fast & Furious 7 went back for a series of reshoots in order to pay homage to their friend. The results are surprisingly tasteful and this level of meta-knowledge helps fuel Walker's 'last ride' for the franchise. … [Read more...]
Review: Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
When Joss Whedon was first announced as the director of the original The Avengers, the fans delighted at the appointment of someone with such a glittering geek-friendly background. But with no commercial success' in his filmography, it was a big gamble by Marvel Studios and one that reaped success to the tune of $1.5b at the box office. The second time around the man behind … [Read more...]
Review: Inherent Vice (2014)
Drenched in 1970s California sun and a haze of pot smoke we are introduced to Larry ˜Doc' Sportello (Joaquin Phoenix) the private detective with huge sideburns who is the heart of the latest Paul Thomas Anderson film Inherent Vice. Based on the novel by Thomas Pynchon, it is a hard-boiled private detective genre given a contemporary spin by Anderson. … [Read more...]
Review: The Gambler (2015)
When modernising a 1970s film starring James Caan about an intelligent professor whose melancholy outlook leads him into a merry-go-round of gambling addiction and self-destruction, you might not expect Mark Wahlberg to be your go-to leading man. But it's exactly what the director of Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Rupert Wyatt has done in The Gambler. … [Read more...]
Review: Big Hero 6 (2014)
Following on from the mega-smash Frozen, Disney look to an obscure Marvel comic book for there next animation; Big Hero 6. Following the successful branching out from the plain old romantic stories to exploring the sisterly relationship, this does the same but with brothers. … [Read more...]
Review: Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015)
Imagine a man who out-suaves Connery's Bond, who out-ass kicks Kick Ass and whose belief in manners are an excuse to brutalise an entire pub. This is Colin Firth's Harry Hart in Kingsman: The Secret Service. Director Matthew Vaughn fresh from his exploits with the X-Men returns to the comic book genre with an adaptation of The Secret Service by Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons, … [Read more...]
Review: Son of a Gun (2014)
Part of a growing movement of gritty Australian thrillers comes Son of a Gun starring Ewan McGregor and Brenton Thwaites. It marks the directorial debut of wirter Marcus Avery. … [Read more...]
Review: Into the Woods (2014)
Belting its way into cinemas anyway is this rather odd adaptation of stage impresario Stephen Sondheim's musical Into the Woods. The script is written (or rewritten) by original co-writer James Lapine, while Rob Marshall (of Chicago fame) shakily points his camera and hopes for the best as the worlds of many beloved fairytale characters intertwine before being subverted and … [Read more...]
Review: The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies (2014)
Four books, sixteen hours of film and a cast of hundreds and it all comes down to this. The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies is the final time Peter Jackson and crew will be heading into the worlds of JRR Tolkien as it rounds out the trilogy of films based on the children's book The Hobbit. Nobody can say that this prequel trilogy has been as popular as The Lord of the Rings, … [Read more...]
Review: The Interview (2014)
When history looks back at The Interview, the latest comedy with Seth Rogen and James Franco, it will talk mainly about the scandal around its release. Telling the controversial story of an assassination plot against North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, the actual North Korean government issued a statement threatening 'merciless' action against Colombia Pictures if it went ahead … [Read more...]