In the Heart of the Sea Movie Review
Based on the novel of the same name (author Nathaniel Philbrick’s 2000 non-fiction book), this template in a lesser director’s hands could have lead to a very processional outing. Howard’s film suffers from none of that limitation. The movie is a rousing edge of your seat ride that has a look and feel that takes you right into the heart of the tale of that great white monster, Moby Dick.
Chris Hemsworth leaves the fantasy world behind this time and delivers a very powerful perfor...
Spectre Movie Review
The feeling lingers that they started with an overall direction for the Craig films but ended up taking too many diversions along the way. Some of the reveals are far from the surprise the filmmakers intended. Also extending the realism and casting Bond as more human and less the gadget guy has worked with only half of the four films. This sombre realism worked well with Casino Royale and Skyfall, less so with Quantum of Solace and Spectre.
Even though Craig is contracted for one more ...
The Last Witch Hunter Movie Review
If you can get past Diesel's quietly hilarious Norse beard, The Last Witch Hunter is a reasonably fun fantasy action thriller. It’s Middle Ages sections hark to the sword 'n' sorcery cheapies of the early eighties (The Sword and the Sorcerer, Beastmaster, Krull et al) while it's present day sections are solid Ghostbusters/Men In Black type fare with a dash of Underworld thrown in for good measure.
It's all harmless fun, though the final showdown between the good guy and the bad girl is ...
The Western at GoMA
'The Western' celebrates one of the most popular and enduring genres of cinema. Known for its images of lone cowboys, Native Americans, barren landscapes and elemental hardships, the genre has influenced the way filmmakers depict confrontations between man and nature, civilisation and freedom since its inception in silent cinema.
Inspired by the Wild West, the Western draws on a time of territorial expansion, bustling modernity and a burgeoning national identity. The genre reflects a ...
Pixels Movie Review
Pixels follows on from the likes of Wreck It Ralph and TRON, mashing up the real world with that of the video game. This time around it turns out that a videotape of classic arcade games was sent into space in the early eighties and discovered by aliens who used its contents to model weapons with which to attack us. It all makes perfect sense really. Naturally the best hope for Earth's defence are former classic gamer champions who suitably proceed to kick all kinds of pixelated ass. Yes, ...
Hitman: Agent 47 Movie Review
The film starts with a very European feel and then transcends into a fairly typical format of chase scene, hand to hand combat (with only one winner) and bad guys who never hit their target while the good bad guy never misses. The pace is frantic with only the cityscape and country change to provide a temporary respite of the onslaught.
Friend is effective as the experiment in killing machines with the trace of a conscious but it’s hard not to miss Olyphant and his Manson lamps. The ...
Southpaw Movie Review
The film also provides further proof (if any more is actually needed) on how fine an actor Jake Gyllenhaal has become. His take on the lead role, that of boxer Billy Hope is absolutely mesmeric. His time in the gym and time spent training to learn the techniques of boxing have paid real dividends.
Gyllenhaal fills the screen with electricity and menace and he makes the most out of what is a rather pedestrian screenplay. Sutter’s ability to plumb the depths of emotion is slight in this ...
The Man From U.N.C.L.E. Movie Review
Thankfully such scepticism is unfounded as Ritchie's rebirth of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. is a solid cracker! It shows Ritchie back on key and looking like the kind of director who would be capable of pulling off something as cool and snappy as Lock Stock.
The Man From U.N.C.L.E. was conceived in the mid sixties as a kind of 007 for TV, indeed Ian Fleming himself was involved in the programme's conception. Its likeness to Connery-era Bond is clear and Ritchie does a superlative job in ...
Fantastic Four Movie Review
Despite its incredibly successful Marvel brethren, this Fantastic Four is yet another dud, albeit a dud with a $200 million dollar budget.
The story is fantastically linear: we follow genius, Reed Richards, from childhood as he meets each of the characters who we know will become part of the Four as well as the guy we know is destined to be the villain, Victor von Doom (with a name like that, how could he not turn bad?).
Usually in an instance like this the structure of the film would ...
Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation Movie Review
Firstly this edition, Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation puts storyline characterization on the back burner as it ramps up the action. These are real live stunts, not ones dependent on CGI and as such the film’s action sequences provide the big bang factor. In comparison to the film’s main rivals, the Bond and Bourne franchises, having Cruise on board with his bravery on overdrive creates some extremely crazy moments to view.
This approach makes for an at times spectacular experience ...
