Director and zombie aficionado George A. Romero is credited with bringing zombies into the mainstream of horror films. Sure there were some films released previous to his seminal work, such as the original zombie film White Zombie in 1932, but it was Night of the Living Dead that catapulted the shuffling re-animated corpses of loved ones right into the mainstream. Since then … [Read more...]
Murderball (2005) review by The Documentalist
Nominated for an Oscar in 2006, Murderball is the story of the United States quad rugby team as they train towards the 2004 Athens Olympics. It centres predominantly around the charismatic team spokesman Mark Zupan, a 28 year old quadriplegic who found himself in a wheelchair at the age of 19 following a car accident. … [Read more...]
Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) review by That Film Dude
After the success of the Dollars Trilogy, Sergio Leone had intended to retire from Westerns, believing that he had finished with the genre. However, when he was offered the chance to work with Henry Fonda, one of his favourite actors, he returned for one last time with Once Upon a Time in the West. … [Read more...]
The Bourne Ultimatum (2007) review by That Film Guy
Reuniting star Matt Damon and director Paul Greengrass, The Bourne Ultimatum ties up the original Bourne trilogy and sends off its lead character in a blistering blaze of quick-cut action and hyper-tense intrigue. The most expensive film in the franchise, The Bourne Ultimatum is also the most commercially successful having taken $440m from a budget of $100m. Loosely based on an … [Read more...]
American Movie (1999) review by The Documentalist
Making an independent film is hard. Very hard. You have no budget, limited resources and limited time, the sum of which is often fairly shambolic despite the best efforts of the creator. Everyone in their time has picked up a camera and thought about making a film but few really commit to it. One man who can say with his hand on his heart however that he tries his best is … [Read more...]
Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) review by That Film Dude
Based on a now all but forgotten novel, Who Framed Roger Rabbit is one of those films which, quite simply, everyone must see. For fans of the Golden Age of animation this goes double, since it features cameos from dozens of classic cartoon characters from both the Warner Bros and Disney stables, and seeing traditionally hand-drawn characters interacting with live-action people … [Read more...]
Evil Dead II (1987) review by That Film Guy
Having created low-budget horror classic The Evil Dead, director Sam Raimi decided to move onto new things, notably Crimewave a comedy-crime drama. As it floundered to gain any critical or commercial success, he was convinced to go back to his horror roots with Evil Dead II. Initially conceived as a history-spanning adventure in medieval times, Raimi did not have the budget … [Read more...]
The Silence of the Lambs (1991) review by That Film Guy
Based on the 1988 novel of the same name by Thomas Harris, The Silence of the Lambs has become one of the most recgonisable thrillers in the last 20 years. Sweeping the Oscars big five awards (Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Adapted Screenplay) at the 64th Academy Awards, it also became a commercial success taking over $270m from a budget of $19m. It … [Read more...]
The Good, The Bad and the Ugly (1966) review by That Film Dude
This is, for many people, the Big One as far as Westerns go. Others may argue for The Searchers or Once Upon a Time in the West, but Sergio Leone's spectacular conclusion to the Dollars Trilogy, The Good, The Bad and the Ugly, invariably comes at or near the top of Western best of lists. And it's not hard to see why. Everything that was lacking in the previous two films has … [Read more...]
Review: The Transformers: The Movie (1986)
The first visit to the cinema for anyone can be a memorable and important experience. Growing up as a fan of all things film-related, being taken to the my local cinema as a young five-year-old whippersnapper, the thrill of seeing one of my favourite television shows turned into a feature-length film proved more influential than I could possibly have imagined. Accompanied by my … [Read more...]