Following the conclusion of the mega-franchises of Harry Potter and Twilight, there was a gap in the market to be filled. Various pretenders attempted to lift the vacant crown, but it wasn't until The Hunger Games was released in 2012 that the successor was found. It catapulted the career of lead Jennifer Lawrence, who later went on to win an Oscar, and after only a year since … [Read more...]
The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (2013) review by That Film Brat
Every since Harry Potter ended, there's been a big scramble to take the title of 'massive teen movie franchise that makes ridiculous amounts of money regardless of quality'. Twilight is obviously the series that snatched up that crown very quickly, but they made the mistake of making the majority of the series before Harry Potter released so it was only around for a few years … [Read more...]
Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters (2013) review by That Film Guy
After the original Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief took a healthy $200m+ at the box office, the sequel moved quietly into production. … [Read more...]
Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2010) review by That Film Guy
The Harry Potter franchise was a lot to answer for. After it's incredible commercial success any book series that covers vaguely similar ground got pushed into production. In the case of the clunkily titled Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief it bears more than a passing resemblance to the boy wizard from Surrey, and directed by Chris Columbus the opening … [Read more...]
Spirited Away (2001) review by That Film Journo
Some films entertain you for a couple of hours and then you forget them. Other films don't let go. They keep their hold on you, play on your mind, haunt your imagination long after the final scene has finished. Studio Ghibli's Spirited Away is one of those that keep its grip on you... even years later. … [Read more...]
Aladdin (1992) review by That Film Guy
Arguably providing Robin Williams his greatest role, Disney's Aladdin give creative freedom to the rapid-fire comedian. Following on from the huge success of The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast Disney had proven that feature length animated films were once again a commercially viable film type. So in 1992 they cast Williams as the Genie a constantly changing form entity … [Read more...]
Pinocchio (1940) review by That Film Guy
At the heart of the original golden age of animated films came Disney's take on the Italian folklore tale Pinocchio. One of the original feature length animated films it tells the story of the young, naïve sometimes bad puppet created by his ˜father' Geppetto. Taking our young hero and his honourable and caring guardian angel Jiminy Cricket on an adventure that sees him turned … [Read more...]
Dungeons & Dragons (2000) review by That Film Dude
With Peter Jackson's unbelievably risky The Lord of the Rings trilogy imminent, New Line Cinema wanted to test the water and see if mainstream audiences would be willing to watch a high fantasy film. Naturally worried by the amount of money spent on LotR, they wanted to do this relatively cheaply, and thus was born Dungeons & Dragons, nominally based on the role-playing … [Read more...]
Jack the Giant Slayer (2013) review by That Film Guy
In the continuing trend of fairytale to film adaptations comes the Bryan Singer directed Jack the Giant Slayer. In this case it's a retelling of the English folk tale of Jack and the Giant Beanstalk, but with the location moved to a pseudo-Arthurian fantasy land. Young farmhand Jack (Nicholas Hoult) is sent to the town of Cloister by his uncle to sell an old horse and cart, but … [Read more...]
Beautiful Creatures (2013) review by That Film Fatale
Fantasy films are on the up and up in the weird and wonderful world of Hollywood. Most early to mid twenties actors look for these roles to kick start their careers, hoping for worldwide domination, Twilight style. Beautiful Creatures like many films as of present, is based on a collection of novels. A cast of credible actors Emma Thompson, Jeremy Irons and Viola Davis support … [Read more...]