Bad Santa was very controversial when it was released in 2003. Many parents were shocked and appalled at the level of profanity and sexual references, taking their kids to see a film that they thought would be a fun Christmas flick. Apparently the R rating and the big warning sign on the poster stating the film was explicitly for adults wasn't enough. This didn't seem to affect … [Read more...]
Review: Hugo (2011)
[pullquote cite="" type="left, right"][amazon text=Amazon&template=carousel&chan=that film guy&asin=B0064YON8G][/pullquote] Rarely in this age of cinema where box offices are dominated by hulking great franchise films like The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 and Transformers: Dark of the Moon do you expect to find a high-budget independently-spirited, world … [Read more...]
Review: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
[pullquote cite="" type="left, right"][amazon text=Amazon&template=carousel&chan=that film guy&asin=B003AQC1CQ][/pullquote] December 2003 came to be a time of celebration and sadness for a lot of the film-going world. Peter Jackson's astonishing vision for J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy was set to finish with Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. … [Read more...]
Review: Gremlins (1984)
[pullquote cite="" type="left, right"][amazon text=Amazon&template=carousel&chan=that film guy&asin=B00BMVD04O][/pullquote] Joe Dante is a director who has always understood the link between comedy and horror. In his 2009 film The Hole, the scariest moments often have an element of the ridiculous about them, which was a craft that he perfected in the anarchic 1980s … [Read more...]
Review: Edward Scissorhands (1990)
[pullquote cite="" type="left, right"][amazon text=Amazon&template=carousel&chan=that film guy&asin=B000WBZZAM][/pullquote] ˜Edward Scissorhands, a Christmas film? Surely not!' I hear you cry. But I guarantee it- once you realize that this film is all about the search for love, innocence and belonging (three massively Christmassy themes,) you won't be able to see it … [Read more...]
Review: The Dark Knight (2008)
[pullquote cite="" type="left, right"][amazon text=Amazon&template=carousel&chan=that film guy&asin=B008JARIIA][/pullquote] Batman and Robin proved such a monumental disaster, despite reasonable returns at the box office that many feared it had killed the profitability of Batman as a movie franchise. 8 years later, Christopher Nolan successfully rebooted the … [Read more...]
Review: Kick-Ass (2010)
[pullquote cite="" type="left, right"][amazon text=Amazon&template=carousel&chan=that film guy&asin=B0038M1CMC][/pullquote] Kick-Ass stands as not only one of the most controversial films of 2010, but rather one of the most controversial films of the last decade. Directed by Matthew Vaughn, it split critics straight down the middle with half hailing it as a future … [Read more...]
Review: A History of Violence (2005)
[pullquote cite="" type="left, right"][amazon text=Amazon&template=carousel&chan=that film guy&asin=B001N4KBAG][/pullquote] David Cronenberg is a controversial director whose movies always look at the sinister and dark side of human nature, is probably best known for Scanners, The Fly and Crash. His work always investigates how humanity copes with changes to the … [Read more...]
Review: Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (2010)
[pullquote cite="" type="left, right"][amazon text=Amazon&template=carousel&chan=that film guy&asin=B003D7JW9W][/pullquote] Set in Toronto, Canada, the story revolves around Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera); the member of local band Sex Bob-omb, who decides to enter a ˜Battle of the Bands competition. Whilst preparing for the event, Scott's love-life is turned … [Read more...]
Review: We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011)
[pullquote cite="" type="left, right"][amazon text=Amazon&template=carousel&chan=that film guy&asin=B007C3TVEY][/pullquote] Based on a 2003 novel of the same name, by Lionel Shriver, We Need to Talk About Kevin is a 2011 film directed by Lynne Ramsey. BBC Films acquired the rights to the book in 2005 and attached Ramsey after establishing Steven Soderbergh as … [Read more...]