Since the release of the first computer game, Pong in 1972 there have been a raft of new and ingenious ways to play virtual games. Now that games are reaching 4 decades in age there has been a growing movement among a certain generation to play ˜retro games.' Disney, drawing from the popularity of retro games, has created Wreck-It Ralph, an animated film that supposes that … [Read more...]
Review: Home Alone (1990)
Despite dropping out the Christmas Zeitgeist in recent years, Home Alone remains one of the most quintessential festive films of recent times. It's simultaneous charm and subversive comedy belie the ˜Disneyfied' veneer to produce a film that not only engenders the fabled ˜Christmas Spirit', but one that spawned a decade-long infatuation with the genre of child-focused … [Read more...]
Review: Ikiru (1952, Japanese)
Akira Kurosawa tends to be best remembered for his period samurai films, particularly Seven Samurai, often considered one of the best films ever made. His films set in the modern day have consequently been rather overlooked, which is a real shame. Ikiru, meaning to live, is one of his best, rivalling Seven Samurai for the top spot, and is particularly noteworthy because it was … [Read more...]
Review: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)
9 years after the release of the Oscar winning conclusion to The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Return of the King, director Peter Jackson returns to Middle Earth in the first part of a new trilogy that adapts JRR Tolkien's first novel in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. On the day of Bilbo Baggins (Ian Holm) 111th birthday, he is caught by his nephew Frodo (Elijah Wood) … [Read more...]
Review: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Perfectly positioned before the Christmas period and after the staggering success of The Avengers, Rise of the Guardians, based on a series of books called The Guardians of Childhood, unites a series of mythical creatures into an an Avengers-like team of children's defenders. Created by Dreamworks Animation it follows on from box office successes like Kung Fu Panda 2 and How to … [Read more...]
Hotel Transylvania (2012) review by That Film Guy
Sandwiched between two of the years other big animated films in Paranorman and Frankenweenie comes the Adam Sandler-voice starring Hotel Transylvania. Much like the two excellent films around it, Hotel Transylvania takes horror mythology and turns it into a dramatic comedy for kids. Set within the eponymous establishment, Hotel Transylvania follows owner Dracula (Sandler) who … [Read more...]
Frankenweenie (2012) review by That Film Guy
Director Tim Burton has a history of making films about social outcasts and characters who learn that it's ok to be different. Frankenweenie, based on a short film he created early in his career when working at Disney, which was rejected for being too dark. It acts as almost an overview of all of his previous canonical works and provides an open-minded look at the pressures of … [Read more...]
Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted (2012) review by That Family Film Guy
Alex the Lion (Ben Stiller) is back with friends this time determined to make it¦.back to his home of New York in Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted. The film opens to a dream sequence with Alex picturing a dull existence where he and his friends have grown old in Africa, they decide to head for New York for all the good things they remember but first they have to swing by … [Read more...]
Brave (2012) review by That Film Guy
Following on from the commercially successful, but critically derided Cars 2, animation house Pixar have created another original film entitled Brave. Wanting to create even more ground-breaking graphic design, Pixar stripped away their old animation software and built it anew for the first time in 25 years and Brave stands as the first film to use the Dolby Atmos sound format. … [Read more...]
The Lorax (2012) review by That Film Guy
Theodore Seuss Greisel is an American children's fiction icon, having made his name with books like Horton Hears a Who!, How the Grinch Stole Christmas and The Cat in the Hat. Recent years have seen a mixed bag of cinema releases based on these favourites, the latest of which is based on The Lorax, a cautionary tale about the dangers of sacrificing nature in favour of … [Read more...]