In the murky pool of the worst films ever made swims a beast that could swallow the entire cast of Jack and Jill and still have room for Michael Bay. This monster, known to the world as Troll 2, redefined the definition of bad “ and by comparison all our lives have been better ever since. The story behind Troll 2 is infinitely more interesting than the nonsensical one it … [Read more...]
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988) review by The Filmologist
The inexorable grating of world weary cynicism and the ponderous march of logical progress can erode even the most active imagination. Where once flights of fantasy were; now are empirical marvels, as concept cars and far off nebulas replace myth, fable and Max's Midnight Kitchen as objects of awe and wonderment. With reality granting us this tainted escapism grounded in an oft … [Read more...]
The Lord of the Rings (1978) review by That Film Guy
Before Peter Jackson took on the task of adapting JRR Tolkien's epic trilogy of books The Lord of the Rings, an animated film was released in 1978. Combining the content of The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers into one film, Ralph Bakshi's The Lord of the Rings proved a commercial success at the box office taking $30m from a budget of $4m. Despite this success the … [Read more...]
The Green Mile (1999) review That Film Guy
Stephen King adaptations have become a mainstay in Hollywood since Carrie was released in 1976. Known for his contributions to horror fiction, in books, television and film, his dramatic short stories have actually provided the basis of some of the best film adaptations, notably Frank Darabont's masterpiece The Shawshank Redemption and its sister film The Green Mile. Based on a … [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...]
Army of Darkness (1992) review by That Film Guy
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...]
Review: Eragon (2006)
The success The Lord of the Rings created a boom in fantasy film-making, with some very good stuff resulting, but with every boom must come a bust, and thus here we have Eragon. A failure on almost every possible level, I can't even recommend it as an unintentional comedy; and when a bad fantasy film cannot even be that, it's a sure sign of how utterly wretched it is. The … [Read more...]
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (2007) review by That Film Guy
Bringing the original Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy to a close is Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. Once again directed by Gore Verbinski and starring the original, returning cast At World's Endties up the stories from the previous films. Upon release, it took a staggering $963m from a budget of $300m, making it one of the highest-grossing films of all times. … [Read more...]
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (2006) review by That Film Guy
After the staggering and somewhat unexpected success of Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, two sequels were immediately green-lit to complete a trilogy. The first of them, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest was released in 2006 and reunited the original cast with director Gore Verbinski and become one of the highest-grossing films of all time. … [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...]