Where do you start with a film as extraordinary as this? … [Read more...]
The Grandmaster (2013, Hong Kong) review by That Art House Guy
Wong Kar Wai is a legend of Hong Kong cinema, his reputation established by movies such as In The Mood For Love and Chungking Express. These films are remarkable for their unique visual aesthetic, all neon and rain, and for their atmosphere of melancholy and yearning. But Wong's last couple of films have been misfires “ the uneven sci fi of 2046 and the unsuccessful foray into … [Read more...]
RIPD (2013) review by That Film Guy
Boston Police Departments Nick Walker (Ryan Reynolds) and his partner Bobby Hayes (Kevin Bacon) have recently found a horde of gold on a bust and decided to keep it. Nick has reservations and decides he's going to hand it in, but is killed in action on another bust. Discovering that there is an afterlife he is drafted into the RIPD (Rest in Peace Department) by Mildred Proctor … [Read more...]
One Direction: This is Us (2013) review by That Film Guy
The rising global phenomenen that is One Direction (Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan, Liam Payne and Harry Styles) has quickly made it to the cinema in this glorified show-reel-cum-concert film, in the obligatory 3D of course. What is surprising is that its director is Morgan Spurlock, a man most famous for his McDonalds-crippling documentary Super Size Me. Under his … [Read more...]
The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (2013) review by That Film Brat
Every since Harry Potter ended, there's been a big scramble to take the title of 'massive teen movie franchise that makes ridiculous amounts of money regardless of quality'. Twilight is obviously the series that snatched up that crown very quickly, but they made the mistake of making the majority of the series before Harry Potter released so it was only around for a few years … [Read more...]
The Way, Way Back (2013) review by That Film Guy
From scriptwriters Jim Rash and Nat Faxon comes the latest Indy-spirited coming-of-age comedy-drama The Way, Way Back. Awkward teenager Duncan (Liam James) is dragged to a beach house by his mum Pam (Toni Collette) and her new boyfriend Trent (Steve Carell). Watching as the adults in his life regress to their younger days, Duncan struggles to fit in, until a chance bike ride … [Read more...]
About Time (2013) review by That Film Student
One would expect nothing less than a charming and quintessentially British romantic comedy from Richard Curtis, and that is exactly what you get from About Time. Underlined with subtle humour, Curtis surpasses our expectations with this wonderful story involving time-travel managing to get the balance right between a Doctor Who sci-fi side and a sentimental romance without … [Read more...]
Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters (2013) review by That Film Guy
After the original Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief took a healthy $200m+ at the box office, the sequel moved quietly into production. … [Read more...]
Planes (2013) review by That Film Guy
After the commercial success of Cars and Cars 2 it's not surprising to see another instalment in the anthropomorphised vehicle Universe. With Planes the focus has switched from Radiator Springs to a Grand Prix race for aircraft and the production has switched from Pixar to Disney. What is less of a surprise is just how underwhelming and soulless this instalment in the … [Read more...]
Kick-Ass 2 (2013) review by That Film Guy
When released in 2010, the Matthew Vaughn directed Kick-Ass became something of a revelation. Surrounded by increasingly po-faced comic book superhero films the original film followed the story of a normal teenager donning a wet-suit to fight crime and took great big pot-shots at the genre. It successfully subverted every aspect of a superhero origin story with childish glee. A … [Read more...]