There were two films released in 1960 which courted controversy for their psychological thrills and a journey into the mind of a psychopathic murderer. One become a storming critical and commercial success, while the other was viciously torn apart by critics because of its content and sunk without a trace for almost a decade. Psycho made a household name of its director Alfred … [Read more...]
Berberian Sound Studio (2012) review by That Art House Guy
Berberian Sound Studio is the second film from writer / director Peter Strickland, following on from 2009's critically acclaimed Katalin Varga. Set in the 1970s, it centres on Gilderoy (Toby Jones), an unworldly, middle aged sound engineer who travels from his home in Dorking to the titular sound studio somewhere in Rome. Gilderoy has been employed to mix the audio for … [Read more...]
Total Recall (2012) review by That Film Guy
Total Recall is a remake of a film of the same name starring Arnold Schwarzenegger released in 1990, itself based on a short story by Philip K. Dick entitled We Can Remember it for You Wholesale. This version of Total Recall differs from the short story and original film by setting its action entirely on Earth rather than on Earth and Mars. It deals with the same themes of … [Read more...]
Arlington Road (1999) review by That Film Gal
The suburban thriller is a genre which plays on our suspicions that the normal and everyday have the potential to conceal the most unearthly horrors. Such films lead with the idea that there is nothing more chilling than a psychopathic personality hiding behind a white picket fence and a pearly smile, and have long been vehicles for exploring the paranoias of the modern age: … [Read more...]
The Imposter (2012) review by That Art House Guy
I like to imagine that at some point in the last few years there was a meeting of documentary directors. I can see it held in a smoky pub (let's not worry about how they got around the smoking ban), and in that meeting they decided that, when dealing with factual subjects, it's ok to drip feed the information through to strengthen the narrative and it's ok to reveal things to … [Read more...]
Sympathy for Mr Vengeance (2002, South Korea) review by That Art House Guy
Sympathy for Mr Vengeance is the first in Park Chan-Wook's trilogy of revenger's tragedies. It passed under the radar on its initial release, but the global success of Oldboy led to many film fans seeking it out. However, those seeking the extravagant twists and overwhelming mayhem of Oldboy will be in for a surprise when confronted by Sympathy for Mr Vengeance. Yes, there are … [Read more...]
The Bourne Legacy (2012) review by That Film Guy
After a solid start the Bourne franchise has grown with each instalment, culminating in The Bourne Ultimatum, the epitome of sleek spy action film. The increasing success both commercially and critically can largely be placed at the feet of director Paul Greengrass, who stepped in for the last two films. His obvious chemistry with the character of Jason Bourne, played … [Read more...]
The Bourne Ultimatum (2007) review by That Film Guy
Reuniting star Matt Damon and director Paul Greengrass, The Bourne Ultimatum ties up the original Bourne trilogy and sends off its lead character in a blistering blaze of quick-cut action and hyper-tense intrigue. The most expensive film in the franchise, The Bourne Ultimatum is also the most commercially successful having taken $440m from a budget of $100m. Loosely based on an … [Read more...]
The Bourne Supremacy (2004) review by That Film Guy
Following on from the surprise success of The Bourne Identity, writer Tony Gilroy returns to pen The Bourne Supremacy. This time at the director's helm is Paul Greengrass, while Matt Damon returns as lead character Jason Bourne. The Bourne Supremacy roughly matched its predecessor at the box office taking $288m from a modest budget of $75m. … [Read more...]
The Bourne Identity (2002) review by That Film Guy
Released at a time when the James Bond franchise was faltering in quality and believability, The Bourne Identity become a commercial success that further solidified Matt Damon's place as Hollywood A-Lister and created a franchise to challenge the British secret agent. Based on a novel by Robert Ludlum, The Bourne Identity was adapted to screen by Tony Gilroy and William Blake … [Read more...]