It's not often that something is labelled a classic as soon as it comes out. Films like Citizen Kane and The Shawshank Redemption took years of re-evaluation and rabid praise in order to become the hallmarks of the art form they are today. It takes a while normally. Here, I feel completely comfortable saying that Mad Max: Fury Road is not only the best film of the series, but … [Read more...]
Unfriended (2014)
When her cyber-bullying crosses over into the real world, teenager Laura Barns kills herself publicly. Unfriended takes place on the one year anniversary of her death. Five teenagers (or archetypes) - Blaire (the protagonist) (Shelley Hennig), Mitch (the protagonist's boyfriend) (Moses Jacob Storm), Jess (the protagonist's best friend) (Renee Olstead), Adam (a boring guy) (Will … [Read more...]
Review: Pitch Perfect 2 (2015)
Pitch Perfect 2 starts as it means to go on; choreographed pop mash ups and a fantastic politically incorrect joke (literally), which puts a great big smile on your face that will barely leave you for the 115 minutes run time. … [Read more...]
The Salvation (2014)
The Western as a genre has been pretty played out. Whether it's the cheesy John Wayne westerns, or the gunslinging Sergio Leone Spaghetti Westerns, the genre has very few things left to do with originality anymore. Django Unchained came close, mostly taking the standard Western formula and transplanting it into the setting of late-19th century American slavery. Even that, … [Read more...]
Review: Fast & Furious 7 (2015)
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: Insurgent (2015)
Insurgent, sequel to the 2014 YA flick Divergent, is based around Tris (Shailene Woodley) and Four (Theo James), who are both on the run from Jeanine (Kate Winslet), who is hunting them down. This is due to the fact that Tris is a Divergent, a person who fits into several factions (segregated communities based on human virtues). Jeanine needs Tris to open a box that she … [Read more...]
Review: The Voices (2014)
Of all the things that the director of Persepolis could have gone on to make, no one could have predicted that it would be The Voices. A pitch-black horror comedy about a mentally unstable serial killer who talks to his pets, it is, if nothing else, a sure sign of Marjane Satrapi's versatility. … [Read more...]
Review: It Follows (2015)
Horror is currently going through something of a renaissance. 2011's Insidious, 2012's The Woman in Black, 2013's The Conjuring, and 2014's Oculus and The Babadook are all excellent horror films that don't rely on showing all of the gore and torture to terrify the audience. Even our bad horror films aren't as bad; some low budget found footage fare like Devil's Due even went as … [Read more...]
Review: Fifty Shades of Grey (2015)
Fifty Shades of Grey. Ever since its release in 2011, you can barely say the first two words of the title without getting in a heated debate between the vocal fans and the even more vocal detractors. This very website did an article on the subject, so in this case I will not repeat the views of others. … [Read more...]