Scandinavia is the home of gritty crime drama these days. Crime writers seem compelled to play their parts in exposing the seedy underbellies of the apparently socially just Scandinavian countries, showing that it's not all IKEA, saunas and socialism, but murder, squalor and misery too. … [Read more...]
Review: The Guest (2014)
Look who's coming to dinner Trying to understand people's lives, what makes them tick, who they are, is difficult. This becomes even more impossible when someone joins the Army, is deployed and never seen again whilst still being young. Who they were becomes distant; memories are pinned together through sheer desperation to keep a lover/friend/spouse/sibling or child alive. … [Read more...]
Review: Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (2014)
Monochrome chaos [pullquote cite="" type="left, right"][amazon text=Amazon&template=carousel&chan=that film guy&asin=B00M482XVU][/pullquote] Sin City: A Dame to Kill For is the long-awaited sequel to the adaptation of Frank Miller's graphic novel series. It's been 9 years since the original was released, and the film has suffered something of a rocky road to … [Read more...]
Review: Zodiac (2007)
[pullquote cite="" type="left, right"][amazon text=Amazon&template=carousel&chan=that film guy&asin=B0013BCWEW][/pullquote] Arguably one of the most sensational real-life crime, man-hunt procedurals of all time, The Zodiac Killer is the subject of David Fincher's supremely rich and engaging thriller Zodiac. Based on a book of the same name by Robert Graysmith it … [Read more...]
Review: The Purge: Anarchy (2014)
Anarchy-by-law [pullquote cite="" type="left, right"][amazon text=Amazon&template=carousel&chan=that film guy&asin=B00CI39NHS][/pullquote] The Purge is an odd beast. It was a film that got lambasted by critics and audiences alike, and yet still made about 30x its budget. Plenty of films do this, mind, this isn't a new thing, but there's the kind of bad that gets … [Read more...]
Review: Devil’s Knot (2013)
[pullquote cite="" type="left, right"][amazon text=Amazon&template=carousel&chan=that film guy&asin=B00J0IPLBQ][/pullquote] You might ask what the point is of a dramatized version of the infamous story of the West Memphis 3? There are already a series of excellent documentary films, notably West of Memphis and Paradise Lost 3, which have both been nominated for … [Read more...]
Review: Sleepers (1996)
[pullquote cite="" type="left, right"][amazon text=Amazon&template=carousel&chan=that film guy&asin=B004JRQ0V8][/pullquote] Following the staggering success of The Godfather films, mafia-themed, New York-set dramas became something of a sub-genre themselves in the late 1980s and 1990s. Sleepers, which owes a fair bit to Francis Ford Coppola's magnum opus is one of … [Read more...]
Review: Blue Ruin (2013)
[pullquote cite="" type="left, right"][amazon text=Amazon&template=carousel&chan=that film guy&asin=B00JWUUW4S][/pullquote] Originally released following a successful Kickstarter campaign in 2012, Jeremy Saulnier's revenge thriller Blue Ruin has finally received a full release. Originally rejected by the Sundance film festival it later went on to receive acclaim at … [Read more...]
Review: The Double (2013)
[pullquote cite="" type="left, right"][amazon text=Amazon&template=carousel&chan=that film guy&asin=B00JE8UF72][/pullquote] Angst, alienation, isolation... They're the cheery themes in Richard Ayoade's second feature, The Double, a follow-up to his charming debut, coming-of-age tale Submarine. But although it may sound bleak, The Double is infused with black humour … [Read more...]
Review: Non-Stop (2014)
[pullquote cite="" type="left, right"][amazon text=Amazon&template=carousel&chan=that film guy&asin=B00IIK6CC4][/pullquote] Ever since Taken back in 2008, Liam Neeson has cemented himself as a seriously credible action leading man. Combine his voice, quiet intimidation, and his whole general demeanour, you get less of a screaming, muscle-bound John Rambo type and … [Read more...]