Highlander II: The Quickening is a pretty much perfect example of how to take a good idea and a good film and throw it all in the bin. Highlander's tagline was There can be only one, and by the end of the film, there was only one Immortal left, so where could a sequel possibly go? Why would we want one? And yet, for some inexplicable reason, here we are. … [Read more...]
Review: Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (2012)
Based on a successful novel of the same name by Paul Torday, the improbably titled Salmon Fishing in the Yemen is a romantic drama comedy directed by Lasse Hallstrom. Based on a screenplay by Simon Beaufoy (Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours), Salmon Fishing in the Yemen is as charming as it's vistas of Scotland and Yemen that it presents. It was partially funded by a grant from … [Read more...]
Review: Headhunters (2012, Norway)
Scandinavian thrillers are massive at the moment, be it in book form, on television or in cinemas. The phenomenon seemed to begin with Steig Larsson's Millennium trilogy, and was followed up by Henning Mankell's Inspector Wallander novels, which were adapted into TV dramas in both their native Swedish and an English version starring Kenneth Branagh. Norwegian crime novelist Jo … [Read more...]
Review: The Cabin in the Woods (2012)
Producer Joss Whedon and director Drew Goddard worked on the script to The Cabin in the Woods together and these two former Buffy the Vampire Slayer contributors have succeeded in creating something quite spectacular and completely unexpected. … [Read more...]
Review: Rush Hour (1998)
Brett Ratner is a director with a reputation. Sadly for him, it's not a particularly good reputation. He is thought of as someone who makes his living producing sub-standard films and seems to have no eye for detail, character or storyline. In regard to his filmography, this criticism seems a little misguided. Sure he nearly killed a franchise with the atrocious X-Men: Last … [Read more...]
Review: Starship Troopers (1997)
Starship Troopers is a 1997 sci-fi action film loosely based on the Robert A. Heinlein novel. It involves Johnny Rico (Casper Van Dien), a high schooler in a futuristic fascist nation. Everything is controlled by the government, and there are two classes “ civilian and citizen. A civilian cannot vote. A citizen can, but with a catch: in order to become a citizen, you must serve … [Read more...]
Review: Battleship (2012)
From director Peter Berg and 'The toy company that bought you Transformers' comes the latest toy-to-film adaptation, Battleship. Like Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Battleship is a CG-heavy, $200m blockbuster. It casts John Carter lead Taylor Kitsch in his second blockbuster lead of 2012 and marks the film debut of pop sensation Rihanna. It is based on the extremely popular … [Read more...]
Review: Universal Soldier (1992)
The early 1990s saw the action star take centre stage in Hollywood after the growing success of films like Die Hard and Lethal Weapon. However before it became fully mainstream, action was already lending heavily from comic book source material, a genre that would eventually surpass it. One obvious borrow is Universal Soldier, which draws heavily on Captain America and … [Read more...]
Review: Demolition Man (1993)
Sylvester Stallone is a name synonymous with action films. Like his friends and sometime co-stars Arnold and Bruce, Sly has a host of late 80s and early 90s action films under his belt that helped define an era in Hollywood. It was a time for muscle-bound alpha males to beat people up, shoot henchmen and generally blow things up in the name of truth, justice and the honour of … [Read more...]
Review: 5 Centimetres Per Second (2007)
5 Centimetres Per Second is an hour long. Normally, films that are that length are direct to DVD horror/action flicks that didn't have the budget to make it longer, but this film is different. The story is told through three segments, each presenting a different snapshot of a life. There are three characters that 5 Centimetres Per Second focuses on, with two being the main … [Read more...]