Written, directed and starring Jennifer Westfeldt, Friends with Kids is a dramatic comedy released in 2012. When friends Jason (Adam Scott) and Julie (Westfeldt) begin to experience the call of parenthood, they decide to have a baby together. Their copules friends Ben (Jon Hamm) and Missy (Kristen Wiig) and Leslie (Maya Rudolph) and Alex (Chris O'Dowd), who have recently … [Read more...]
Review: Ted (2012)
[pullquote cite="" type="left, right"][amazon text=Amazon&template=carousel&chan=that film guy&asin=B00779IQA8][/pullquote] Seth MacFarlane, the mastermind behind Family Guy and American Dad ventures out from animated television into live action with his directorial debut feature film Ted. Never far from controversy, MacFarlane has seen his show's cancelled and … [Read more...]
Review: The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
[pullquote cite="" type="left, right"][amazon text=Amazon&template=carousel&chan=that film guy&asin=B008JARIIA][/pullquote] Hype for new films is a wonderful thing, it allows us to look forward to certain releases and allows us to create marquee events around the release of big-name films. Too much hype can be damaging however. 2012 saw the release of each of these … [Read more...]
The Brooklyn Brothers Beat the Best (2012) review by That Film Guy
Independent films provide a much needed platform for upcoming directors, actors and script-writers to showcase their talents to a wider audience. Films such as Clerks, The Evil Dead and Memento all helped to launch the careers of their directors and actors, allowing Hollywood to pick up on this momentum to help them forge hugely successful careers. The Brooklyn Brothers Beat … [Read more...]
Chariots of Fire (1981) review by That Film Guy
From the opening notes of Vangellis' much parodied theme, there can be no doubt that you are watching Chariots of Fire. The fact that the film is book-ended by the same sweeping scene of the protagonists raining on the beachfront provide what is the best moment of the entire film as everything else in between is as dry as sandpaper. Released in 1981 Chariots of Fire rode the … [Read more...]
Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2012) review by That Film Guy
Based on a screenplay by Lorene Scofaria (Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist), Seeking a Friend for the End of the World starts with an announcement that the World will end in three weeks when a meteor crashes into Earth. Dodge (Steve Carell) is in a car with his wife during the announcement, and she promptly gets out and runs away. While trying to cope with the news of his and … [Read more...]
Magic Mike (2012) review by That Film Guy
Channing Tatum may be a star on the rise, but in Magic Mike he plumbs the depths of his history to get into the eponymous lead character, a male stripper in Tampa, Florida. Tatum has talked about his desire to highlight some of his experiences as a 19-year-old stripper, and when the opportunity to star in a film on the subject he got involved as a producer. Originally planned … [Read more...]
The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) review by That Film Guy
Coming only five years after the release of Spider-Man 3 is a reboot, The Amazing Spider-Man, moving focus away from the Sam Raimi trilogy and more toward the Ultimate Spider-Man comic book series. There has been a move closer toward the comic books with elements like Peter Parker no longer fires webbing from his wrist, but rather has to create webbing which he installs in a … [Read more...]
The Angels’ Share (2012) review by That Art House Guy
Ken Loach is something of a national treasure; a British director who is a genuine auteur, successful on his own terms and never having felt the need to head to Hollywood to make movies. He's also a strange sort of national treasure “ they're usually lovable, comforting figures whereas Loach has spent his career making confrontational, fiercely political, gritty films, like … [Read more...]
The Five-Year Engagement (2012) review by That Film Guy
From producer Judd Apatow, co-written and starring Jason Segel, The Five-Year Engagement is a romantic comedy that follows the five-year engagement of chef Tom Solomon (Segel) and budding psychology post-doctorate Violet Barnes (Emily Blunt). The couple see their plans for marriage postponed when Violet moves them both from San Francisco to Michigan in order to pursue her life … [Read more...]