For people of a certain age, Old School represents the quintessential University/College film. Like Animal House before it, Todd Phillips' comedy masterpiece engrossed a generation who watched it religiously and it thus it took its place in the canon of great comedies. Being released so close to Will Ferrell's magnum opus, Anchorman, Old School can often be overlooked in … [Read more...]
Lake Placid (1999) review by That Film Geek
In a strangely successful combination, Lake Placid is written by Ally McBeal creator David E. Kelley and directed by Friday 13th Parts 2 and 3 director Steve Miner. Combining fun characters, witty dialogue and excellent special effects, this film is probably the best example of the giant-crocodile subgenre, and if that sounds like damning with faint praise, it's a genuinely … [Read more...]
Robot and Frank (2012) review by That Film Guy
Directed by Jake Shreier, Robot and Frank is an independently spirited drama comedy set in the near future. It follows eponymous Frank (Frank Langella) a retired cat burgular, whose deteriprating memory is cause for concern for his son Hunter (James Marsden) who brings him a robot (Peter Sarsgaard) to help around the house. Initially sceptical of the machine, he soon finds that … [Read more...]
Beautiful Creatures (2013) review by That Film Fatale
Fantasy films are on the up and up in the weird and wonderful world of Hollywood. Most early to mid twenties actors look for these roles to kick start their careers, hoping for worldwide domination, Twilight style. Beautiful Creatures like many films as of present, is based on a collection of novels. A cast of credible actors Emma Thompson, Jeremy Irons and Viola Davis support … [Read more...]
Oz the Great and Powerful (2013) review by That Film Guy
In 1939 MGM gave us The Wizard of Oz, the iconic tale of Dorothy, Toto, red slippers, yellow bricks road and the Emerald City. Forty-six years later, an unofficial sequel came to us in 1985 in the form of Return to Oz, a much darker twist ion the classic Oz tale. And now in 2013 Disney and Sam Raimi have brought the tale full circle by giving us a prequel. Oz the Great and … [Read more...]
Road Kill (2001) review by That Film Guy
Road Kill, also known as Joy Ride or Never Play with Strangers is a 2001 thriller directed by John Dahl and written by JJ Abrams. It follows student Lewis Thomas (Paul Walker) who agrees to drive his childhood friend Venna (Leelee Sobieski) home from University. On his way to pick her up, he is asked by his mother to bail out his brother Fuller (Steve Zahn). … [Read more...]
Rounders (1998) review by That Film Guy
The explosion in popularity of poker is often tied to three key moments. There was the advent of online poker, which provided a safe environment for those scared of the ˜underground' reputation of the game. This combined with the amateur player Chris Moneymaker beating all the pros in the main event of the World Series of Poker, proving that anyone could win the big one. But … [Read more...]
World’s Greatest Dad (2009) review by That Film Punk
Bobcat Goldthwait is perhaps best known to some as squeaky-voiced buffon Zed from the Police Academy sequels. But over the last decade or so, the actor-turned director has been carving himself a reputation for writing and directing comedies of a somewhat ˜unique' nature. Take breakthrough film Sleeping Dogs (2006), which gained a lot of attention on the independent circuit for … [Read more...]
Kindergarten Cop (1990) review by That Film Doctor
The 10 years between 1985 and 1995 were probably Arnold Schwarzenegger's finest years. Starting with Commando, he then went on to do some of the finest action films ever put to celluloid, including The Running Man, Total Recall, Terminator 2 and True Lies. His penchant for comedy also saw him team up with his aesthetically antithetical actor, Danny DeVito in Twins, another … [Read more...]
Runaway Jury (2003) review by That Film Gal
The jury system was introduced to ensure that bias is left out of court decisions and that a democratic verdict is found, rather than leaving it to the whims and prejudices of a single judge. Runaway Jury does its level best to topple this idealistic notion, and insists that even under the current system, a verdict can be ˜bought' as easily as buying a cup of coffee. … [Read more...]