After the commercial success of Darkman, director Sam Raimi found himself in a position to complete his Evil Dead trilogy. Using a script idea that was originally planned for Evil Dead II, he takes the action back to the middle ages in Army of Darkness. Shot on a budget of $13m, Army of Darkness proved to be a moderate success, taking just over $21m at the box office. … [Read more...]
Solomon Kane (2009) review by That Film Dude
Because of the 1982 Arnold Schwarzenegger film, the Robert E. Howard character most familiar to audiences by far is Conan the Barbarian, and the aforementioned film has gone on to be considered one of the classics of the sword-and-sorcery genre. However, the character of Solomon Kane was created by Howard four years earlier than Conan, but it wasn't until 2009 that he got his … [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: Titanic (1997)
James Cameron, before the release of Titanic, was considered one of the world's most daring action film-makers. His previous canon of work, including The Abyss, Aliens, True Lies and the first two Terminator films made the world stand up and pay attention to a man whose vision of action and adventure ranked with Steven Spielberg and George Lucas. Then he announced he was … [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 Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
[pullquote cite="" type="left, right"][amazon text=Amazon&template=carousel&chan=that film guy&asin=B003AQC1CQ][/pullquote] December 2003 came to be a time of celebration and sadness for a lot of the film-going world. Peter Jackson's astonishing vision for J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy was set to finish with Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. … [Read more...]
Review: Immortals (2011)
[pullquote cite="" type="left, right"][amazon text=Amazon&template=carousel&chan=that film guy&asin=B008I31JZQ][/pullquote] After the success of Sin City in 2005, another Frank Miller graphic novel went into production. 300 proved an even bigger box office success and helped launch the careers of Michael Fassbender and Gerard Butler. Aimed squarely at the teenage … [Read more...]
Review: Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983)
[pullquote cite="" type="left, right"][amazon text=Amazon&template=carousel&chan=that film guy&asin=B005HNV2OS][/pullquote] By 1983 George Lucas' Star Wars saga was as recognisable as any film in history. The staggering commercial success of A New Hope and the critical success of The Empire Strikes Back meant that Star Wars: Episode VI “ Return of the Jedi was one … [Read more...]
Review: Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
[pullquote cite="" type="left, right"][amazon text=Amazon&template=carousel&chan=that film guy&asin=B005HNV2OS][/pullquote] Following on from the staggering success of Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope, George Lucas released the sequel Star Wars: Episode IV - The Empire Strikes Back in 1980. Aware that the previous film had created a galaxy of characters that had … [Read more...]
Review: Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977)
[pullquote cite="" type="left, right"][amazon text=Amazon&template=carousel&chan=that film guy&asin=B005HNV2OS][/pullquote] In 1977 the cultural world was shaken to its foundations by a film that changed the zeitgeist for summer blockbusters, science fiction and even entertainment as whole. George Lucas, a man notoriously anti-studio, took a risk. It was a big risk. … [Read more...]