Starship Troopers is a 1997 sci-fi action film loosely based on the Robert A. Heinlein novel. It involves Johnny Rico (Casper Van Dien), a high schooler in a futuristic fascist nation. Everything is controlled by the government, and there are two classes “ civilian and citizen. A civilian cannot vote. A citizen can, but with a catch: in order to become a citizen, you must serve … [Read more...]
Review: Battleship (2012)
From director Peter Berg and 'The toy company that bought you Transformers' comes the latest toy-to-film adaptation, Battleship. Like Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Battleship is a CG-heavy, $200m blockbuster. It casts John Carter lead Taylor Kitsch in his second blockbuster lead of 2012 and marks the film debut of pop sensation Rihanna. It is based on the extremely popular … [Read more...]
Review: Universal Soldier (1992)
The early 1990s saw the action star take centre stage in Hollywood after the growing success of films like Die Hard and Lethal Weapon. However before it became fully mainstream, action was already lending heavily from comic book source material, a genre that would eventually surpass it. One obvious borrow is Universal Soldier, which draws heavily on Captain America and … [Read more...]
Review: Demolition Man (1993)
Sylvester Stallone is a name synonymous with action films. Like his friends and sometime co-stars Arnold and Bruce, Sly has a host of late 80s and early 90s action films under his belt that helped define an era in Hollywood. It was a time for muscle-bound alpha males to beat people up, shoot henchmen and generally blow things up in the name of truth, justice and the honour of … [Read more...]
Review: Wrath of the Titans (2012)
In 2010 Hollywood once again mined Greek mythology to create a big summer special effects blockbuster. Clash of the Titans was a staggering box office success, which crushingly and predictably lead to talk of a sequel. In 2012, Wrath of the Titans was released recouping the money it cost in little over a week. Like its predecessor Wrath of the Titans follows Perseus (Sam … [Read more...]
Review: Highlander (1986)
The crop of fantasy films made in the 1980s are a mixed bunch. On one end, there are the legitimate epics like Conan the Barbarian which still hold up well today, and on the other there are crimes against art and reason like Hawk the Slayer, which nonetheless end up being priceless entertainment because of how astonishingly bad they are. Highlander falls somewhere in the middle … [Read more...]
Review: Clash of the Titans (2010)
Clash of the Titans is a remake of the fondly remembered 1981 film of the same name. Focusing on the Greek Gods and their home on Mount Olympus, the original was a commerical, if not critical success. The remake, which sees digital, computer-generated effects replace the stop-motion effects of the legendary Ray Harryheusen and was also post-production fit with 3D, hoping to … [Read more...]
Review: The Hunger Games (2012)
In the last decade there has been a visible movement from Hollywood to cater for a large group of young teenagers. Working on adapting smash hit novels, we've seen Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Twilight and Red Riding Hood. The latest in this trend is The Hunger Games, based on the first in an incredibly successful series of books by Suzanne Collins, which has sold … [Read more...]
Review: John Carter (2012)
John Carter is the latest big blockbuster release from Disney. Directed by Andrew Stanton of Pixar fame it attempts to adapt the legendary Edgar Rice Burrough's novel The Princess of Mars. The Princess of Mars and all subsequent John Carter novels have helped shape the cultural impact of science-fiction and without this series there would be no Star Wars or Avatar. All of these … [Read more...]
Review: This Means War (2012)
For a film about warring colleagues, This Means War has certainly divided our critics. Below are the vastly opposing views of That Film Brat James Haves and That Film Fatale Jordanna Virdee. One gives a ranting review about the cynical nature of the film-making and the other gives a more positive, 'it's all in the name of fun' popcorn-fluff review. Which do you most agree with? … [Read more...]