The fourth feature from Pixar marked the second departure from the Toy Story franchise and the first time that John Lasseter had relinquished the director's chair. Despite having the biggest budget to date for Pixar, Monsters, Inc. was another huge commercial success proving once again that the kings of animation were not a one trick pony and paving the way for more unique … [Read more...]
Les Miserables (2012) review by That Film Guy
One of the most famous musicals of all time, Les Miserables has been adapted to the big screen for the first time since 1998 with the help of The King's Speech supremo Tom Hooper. Based on the 1862 novel by Victor Hugo it was adapted to a stage musical by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schonberg and was first performed in Paris in 1980. … [Read more...]
Gangster Squad (2013) review by That Film Guy
In the ever-growing history of the genre of LA noir films comes Gangster Squad. It's the 1948 and righteous police officer Sgt. John O'Mara (Josh Brolin) is on the trail of Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn), the most powerful mobster in Los Angeles. Constantly frustrated by the lack of backbone shown by his superiors and the courts, O'Mara accepts a covert position at the behest of … [Read more...]
Hitchcock (2012) review by That Film Guy
Alfred Hitchcock might just be the most famous director of all time. His works, now many decades old are still looked upon with great fondness and you'd be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn't like any of his back catalogue. Hitchcock has a reputation that is at least, partly based in reality, for punishing his leading actresses to get the best performances out of them, … [Read more...]
Texas Chainsaw (2013) review by That Film Guy
It is a tougher job than one might imagine, being a film reviewer. There are so many films released each week and finding the time to write a review for each one you see is a tough thing. Sometimes it's worthwhile when you find an unexpected gem and sometimes you just know going into a film that it's just going to disappoint you. While the ideal situation would be to go into a … [Read more...]
Flight (2012) review by That Film Doctor
From the moment a fully naked women wakes up next to our anti-hero Whip Whitaker (played by Denzel Washington), and the two of them do a line of cocaine each, it was apparent that Flight was not going to be like Robert Zemeckis' other films, not in it's overt themes anyway. From there, Whitaker continues to drink while piloting a commercial trans-American flight. The ensuing … [Read more...]
Jack Reacher (2012) review by That Film Brat
Jack Reacher didn't start off well. Controversy erupted when it was announced that the actor who was cast for the titular big, hulking 6'5 military policeman was none other than Tom Cruise. Many fans cried out against this, saying he didn't match the psychical attributes described in the books, and didn't have the power for the role. Author Lee Child supported the decision, … [Read more...]
Django Unchained (2012) review by That Film Guy
When Quentin Tarantino burst into the mainstream in the early 1990s he redefined what cinema was to be for the next decade. Utilising non-linear narrative, dialogue-heavy scripts he began creating his very own back-catalogue of homage and satires relating to exploitation cinema while single-handedly creating some of the most memorable and iconic characters in all of film … [Read more...]
Storage 24 (2012) review by That Film Doctor
How do you make an alien monster movie on a shoestring budget? Set it in a storage warehouse facility in South London of course. Johannes Roberts' newest horror film, Storage 24 tells the story of Charlie (Noel Clarke) and his estranged ex-girlfriend Shelly (Antonia Campbell-Hughes) as they come to blows over the contents of a lock up, and the exposed relationship Shelly has … [Read more...]
Elysium (2013) review by That Film Dude
Neill Blomkamp's previous feature, District 9, was one of the best science fiction films of recent years, so his follow-up project Elysium was always going to be an exciting prospect. However, considering that the summer of 2013 has largely been dominated by mega-budgeted disappointments, there is even more pressure for it to deliver on its considerable potential. Well, good … [Read more...]