Movies 993 results

Retro Movie Review – Birdman (or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

Mexican writer and director Alejandro González Iñárritu has delivered a story inside a story about a past his use by date movie star, Keaton, who previously reaped the riches and empty adulation that went with his role of playing the big screen superhero Birdman. He is seeking redemption (artistically and humanly) by writing, directing and starring in his own Broadway play.   //   Alejandro uses music masterfully as the first three quarters of the film is set to a ...

Going In Movie Review

Going In, which is currently screening on the free Red Bull app platform takes an inside look at Trek Factory Racing and their numerous squads that compete in various mountain bike competition disciplines. Trek is an American bicycle company but has a very international roster and just to make things more interesting, their most well known rider is a Swiss woman, Jolanda Neff. Her long blonde curly hair exploding out the back of her helmet is a stand out trademark.   //  ...

Retro Movie Review – Mad Max: Fury Road

The set designs are awe inspiring and play as much of a character in the proceedings as top billed stars Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron. The vehicles on display are also amazing and this side of the film has been ramped up to the point of disbelief. Car heads are in for a very good time. There are also a few surprises with casting that give you a chance to see known stars outside their comfort zone.   //   Themes of a post-apocalyptic wasteland are revisited but with ...

Retro Movie Review – Whiplash

The story of a young prodigy musician joining a demanding music school and running headlong into its most obsessive teacher becomes the canvas on which actors J.K. Simmons and Miles Teller paint one of the most vibrant images in recent memory. Teller is the obsessive drummer with a fixation on jazz icon Buddy Rich and Simmons, the teacher with an eye on transcendence and the demands to accomplish it.   //   Compliments also go out to writer – director Damien Chazelle ...

Come To Daddy Movie Review

The imputes of the journey was a letter sent from father to son, where some regret was implied but in person, Dad shows no love for his offspring, only disdain. He constantly taunts his recovering alcoholic son with drink in hand and a drunken swagger. There is also the underlining sense of an impending confrontation that will erupt into violence.   //   Midway through, things turn ominous as certain truths are revealed and the film shifts direction from a family drama ...

Retro Movie Review – Ted

The surprises continue with the acting with Mark Wahlberg proving himself particularly adept at this style of raunchy comedy and his rapid-fire white-trash name recital is one of the film’s most laugh out loud moments. Ted, the CGI created teddy bear voiced by MacFarlane himself also defies simple categorization by being both offensive and inviting at the same time.   //   Elsewhere taste is stretched to the absolute limit and this nothing off limits approach is ...

Onward Movie Review

The oddities begin with the film’s set up. Elfs are living in a photorealistic world where magic was once common place but has now been relegated to history due to laziness. Into this world we meet the Lightfoot family, Youngest son Ian (Tom Holland) eldest son Barley (Chris Pratt) and mother Laurel (Julia Louis-Dreyfus). Their’s is a broken family due to the early death of the family patriarch Wilden.   //   The possibility of reuniting with dad through magic sets ...

Retro Movie Review – Snowpiercer

In 1982 a French graphic novel (that’s the adult term for a comic) postulated a world thrown into an ice age where the remnants of humanity are trapped on a train that never stops. Thirty years later we have an international film (Korean director Bong Joon Ho and ensemble cast) to take us on that ride. If you thought peak hour trains were bad, wait until you see Snowpiercer. At the back of the train (1001 cars long according to the comic) are the underclass, given barely enough food to ...

The Jesus Rolls Movie Review

For fans of The Dude, this has to be one of the biggest disappointments ever as The Jesus Rolls fails on so many levels. It’s stilted, uncool and worst of all, just not funny. It flaunts a very uncomfortable anti-feminist approach and completely wastes the considerable charms of its female lead, Audrey Tautou, she of Amélie and The Da Vinci Code.   //   In the film, Jesus gets out of jail and embarks on a road trip that goes nowhere with his old running buddy, Petey ...

The Current War Movie Review

Originally falling into a release limbo caused by the disintegration of the Weinstein group following Harvey’s deserved fall from grace, The Current War finally sees the light of day on our big screens. Director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon also reasserted some control after discovering a final cut privilege clause in Executive Producer Martin Scorsese’s contract and trimmed down the film before its theatrical release.   //   The film covers the early period of trying to ...