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...]
Review: Jupiter Ascending (2015)
Apart from the upcoming Star Wars: The Force Awakens, space opera seems to have entirely disappeared in films. As the genre often relies on extreme spectacle interweaved with political intrigue, it requires a large budget, and often space opera stories don't have enough name recognition to warrant the investment from the Hollywood bigwigs. … [Read more...]
Review: The Boy Next Door (2015)
Starring Jennifer Lopez and directed by Rob Cohen (The Fast and the Furious and xXx), The Boy Next Door is an ˜erotic' psychological thriller revolving around high school teacher Claire (Lopez), whose recent divorce and strained relationship with her child have left her in emotional tatters. … [Read more...]
Review: Selma (2014)
It's a little hard to believe that this is the first proper biopic of Martin Luther King, Jr., but at least it was worth the wait. Instead of trying to track his whole life and all of his efforts as part of the Civil Rights Movement, Selma wisely narrows its focus to a single episode of his campaigns, documenting the 1965 voting rights marches from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. … [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: Dumb and Dumber To (2014)
It is hard to believe that it has been 20 years since the original Dumb And Dumber was released right in the middle of the meteoric rise of Jim Carrey to mega stardom. A much loved and oft quoted film, the original has previously spawned a (terrible) prequel so to dip a toe in sequel territory would seem a risky proposition. … [Read more...]