Dror Moreh's The Gatekeepers is one of the five Oscar nominated entries for Best Documentary Feature. Telling the story of Israel's domestic secret service agency, Shin Bet, six former heads of this secretive organisation candidly discuss their roles and their thoughts and reflect on the effect their decisions had on the peace effort. … [Read more...]
Dark Skies (2013) review by That Film Guy
Two possibilities exist: either we are alone in the Universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying. Opening with these immortal words of Arthur C. Clarke, Dark Skies, the third film by Scott Stewart blends horror with supernatural science fiction. The fact that the popular computer game XCOM: Enemy Unknown used the exact same quote six months earlier should by no means … [Read more...]
Review: G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013)
Toy giant Hasbro continues its run of films based on its merchandise with G.I. Joe: Retaliation. After continued box office success with the Transformers films, Battleship and its predecessor G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, Retaliation removes most of the major characters from the first film and installs a small team lead by action favourite and WWE wrestling star Dwayne 'The … [Read more...]
Trance (2013) review by That Film Guy
Master of the combination genre film Danny Boyle is at it again with his first post-Olympic opening ceremony film Trance. One part psychological thriller, one part gangster heist, it even contains smatterings of action and body shock horror. The plot revolves around a young art house auctioneer Simon (James McAvoy) who is part of a plot to steal Francisco Goya's masterpiece … [Read more...]
Jack the Giant Slayer (2013) review by That Film Guy
In the continuing trend of fairytale to film adaptations comes the Bryan Singer directed Jack the Giant Slayer. In this case it's a retelling of the English folk tale of Jack and the Giant Beanstalk, but with the location moved to a pseudo-Arthurian fantasy land. Young farmhand Jack (Nicholas Hoult) is sent to the town of Cloister by his uncle to sell an old horse and cart, but … [Read more...]
Identity Thief (2013) review by That Film Guy
From director Seth Gordon, comes the latest in his ever-expanding filmography of comedies. Ever since his supremely handled documentary beginnings in King of Kong, his work has become more mainstream and far less entertaining bouncing from the risible Four Christmases to the annoying Horrible Bosses and now to his latest offering, Identity Thief. … [Read more...]
The Croods (2013) review by That Film Guy
The Croods, billed as ˜from the makers of Ice Age' should tell you everything you need to know about Dreamworks latest animated film. The prehistoric mega-franchise that spawned so many sequels and made millions of dollars would obviously inspire pretenders and similarly themed films. Dreamworks, those responsible are clearly looking for a new franchise to take over from the … [Read more...]
Side Effects (2013) review by That Art House Guy
There are many rumours circulating that director Steven Soderbergh is retiring from the movie making business. And there are a lot of people hoping that this isn't the case, since he's a director who, while guilty of the odd mis-step, is someone who is always willing to experiment, switch genres and come up with something interesting, something that audiences might not have … [Read more...]
Parker (2013) review by That Film Guy
Donald E. Westlake's crime fiction series, starring the simply titled Parker has been adapted and used for a variety of films in the past, although never with the characters name intact. Most recently Mel Gibson used the character for his tough-and-gritty thriller Payback. Finally though, with the help of former British Olympic diving competitor-turned-action star Jason … [Read more...]
Good Vibrations (2012) review by That Film Dude
Good Vibrations is the story of Terri Hooley, a Northern Irish DJ who founded the shop and record label of that name in the early 1970s, which was instrumental in introducing Irish punk groups to mainstream UK attention. Set against the backdrop of Ireland's Troubles, the film charts Terri's successes and failures at managing his shop and his life, and does so to a fantastic … [Read more...]