Following the huge success of American Pie, an inevitable sequel, American Pie 2 followed two years later and continued the story a year on from where the original left off. With the next step being college for the main characters, we pick them up at the end of their freshman year as they all return home for the summer. As with the first film, it is all about crude situations … [Read more...]
American Pie (1999) review by The Documentalist
In 1999 the mother of all teen comedy franchises began with American Pie which remains, to this day, at the top of the pile. Imitated countless times but never bettered, American Pie is the story of four high school friends who make a pact to have sex by the time their senior prom rolls round in three weeks. Each takes a different approach to getting laid, each with varying … [Read more...]
Review: Delicatessen (1991, France)
Jean-Pierre Jeunet is famous, above all, for Amélie. To an extent, the rest of his work has been overshadowed by this one film. And it's easy to see why “ it was after all, a huge popular and critical success, won a bunch of Césars (the French equivalent of the Oscars), launched Audrey Tautou's career, boosted Montmartre's tourist industry and has been endlessly copied, … [Read more...]
Review: Rush Hour (1998)
Brett Ratner is a director with a reputation. Sadly for him, it's not a particularly good reputation. He is thought of as someone who makes his living producing sub-standard films and seems to have no eye for detail, character or storyline. In regard to his filmography, this criticism seems a little misguided. Sure he nearly killed a franchise with the atrocious X-Men: Last … [Read more...]
Review: The Big Lebowski (1998)
Reviewing a comedy is always difficult, since if you explain what makes it funny you're giving away the jokes and effectively spoiling the film. Reviewing something like The Big Lebowski is especially difficult, since it can be very hard to tell what it's actually about; the plot is wildly incoherent, and there are enough weird digressions and threads that go nowhere that … [Read more...]
Review: The Pirates! In An Adventure with Scientists (2012)
Waiting for an Aardman film requires patience and understanding. With the advent of computer-generated animation, the wait has been reduced which leaves cinema-goers in the enviable position of having had two released within 6 months of each other. Arthur Christmas was a treat for the wintery season, but now we have a fully-fledged claymation film in the form of The Pirates! In … [Read more...]
Review: 21 Jump Street (2012)
[pullquote cite="" type="left, right"][amazon text=Amazon&template=carousel&chan=that film guy&asin=B00JWSVLJK][/pullquote] 21 Jump Street was an iconic American police procedural show in the late 1980s and early 1990s that is best known for launching the career of main star Johnny Depp. In an age where any and all TV shows and films are considered ripe for … [Read more...]
Review: Up (2009)
Up was something of a landmark movie for Pixar “ it marked the studio's 10th feature film, was the first animated movie to open the Cannes film festival and was the studio's first film to be presented in 3D (but try not to hold that against it). Directed by Pete Docter, his second time in the director's chair, after Monsters, Inc., it was also a huge commercial success grossing … [Read more...]
Review: Project X (2012)
Project X, released by producer Todd Phillips of The Hangover, The Hangover Part 2 and Old School fame, and follows three teenagers who try to throw a 'game-changing' party and increase their popularity at school and use that to 'hook up' with hot chicks. Project X was a place-holder name for the film while it went into production, but the mysteriousness of it all convinced the … [Read more...]
Review: Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)
Roald Dahl is one of the most popular children's authors ever. Numerous adaptations of his books have made it to the big screen, but none, arguably have been completely successful (the original Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is probably the one with the most fans, but it's by no means universally acclaimed). The latest to have a go is Wes Anderson with his version of … [Read more...]