Retro Movie Review – The September Issue
At first it’s fascinating to watch the sycophantic behavior of all the worker bees that buzz around Wintour and to see one of the lone voices she has around her that doesn’t just nod in agreement, Coddington as they go about their business. This slowly gives way to the realization that Wintour and her almost absolute grip on the reins is the appropriate pecking order and without her stern and exacting view on things, the direction of the magazine would drown in a flourish of eccentric ...
Freaky Movie Review
This time Vince Vaughn is the serial killer the Blissfield Butcher who trades bodies with teenage girl Millie (Kathryn Newton). Millie has yet to come into her own and is still dealing with the long dark shadows cast from a family tragedy. Her mother drinks too much while her sister hides in her job as a police officer.
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Most of the film’s humour arrives via Vaughn’s acting chops as he plays a giddy teenage girl trapped in a scheming psychopath’s body and to ...
Retro Movie Review – The Perks of Being a Wallflower
The film delves into the world of the outsider. Charlie (Logan Lerman) is a shy introvert just starting high school and to say he answers to the beat of a different drum is a bit of an understatement. Lerman plays Charlie as a complex character who seems to be submerging quite a few deep-seated emotions and anxieties. The film is very measured in its efforts to disclose the reasons behind these emotions.
He is soon befriended by a very engaging group of fellow outsiders lead by Patrick ...
Retro Movie Review – The Thing
With huge advances in computer-generated graphics, the new version could have easily fallen into a rut of just looking good but be empty of fresh ideas, so it’s not surprising that this take is so uneven. The acting must be addressed first and it’s inconsistent to say the least. The film’s structure is also suspect by revelling the alien monster way too early in the proceedings and dissipating the sense of dread that both Carpenter and Hawks worked so effectively with.
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Retro Movie Review – Zero Dark Thirty
The claim that the film glorifies torture is interesting as well as the torture scenes in question in the film yield very little useful information and actually show the futility of certain kinds of forced confessions. The film is about the global hunt for Osama bin Laden after 9-11 and he as a person is given very little exposure and as such almost becomes this mythical boogieman.
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The politics behind his actions are given little screen time and bin Laden becomes ...
Movie Review – Never Rarely Sometimes Always
The plight in today's America with its inconsistencies regarding local and state abortion laws forces undue hardships on the two young women and the way Hittman tells the story will render you equal parts empathetic and angry. A person’s right to their own body seems such an intrinsic element of being a human being, it boggles the mind, the limitations that are put in place in modern-day society in so many countries, not just America.
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There are also numerous ...
Retro Movie Review – Murder On The Orient Express
Ring leader Kenneth Branagh shows incredible stamina with his latest project. He not only directs but stars in it as the world’s greatest deceive Hercule Poirot. But it doesn’t end there, he then appears in almost every scene in the entire film. Few thespians have put in more effort on a single project.
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Agatha Christie’s stories have appeared on the big and little screen with regularity over the years but few have looked as sumptuous or been informed with so ...
Kajillionaire Movie Review
From a very young age, Old Dolio has been integrated into the family business without knowing any better. She yearns for something else and feels uncomfortable with her inherited lack of moral values but has so little real-world experience, she has trouble articulating her desire for change.
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Through a chance meeting, the three become aquatinted with Melanie (Gina Rodriguez). She is vivacious and worldly and is at first drawn to the family's antics as a way to take ...
Retro Movie Review – Hot Tub Time Machine
The story is a throw away and mostly just provides a vehicle to revisit a period when fluro colours, leg warmers and big hair ruled the day. You can see the jokes coming from a mile away but most of the time you still can’t help yourself and laugh anyway.
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The quality is elevated slightly by a cast with some actually acting ability and it’s to the film’s credit that the main players stay in character and don’t become superheroes but remain basically smucks ...
Irresistible Movie Review
The political farce side of the film succeeds quite admirably as the business of modern-day elections in America seems both excessively driven by funding and also quite devoid of scruples, it would appear to be a not too difficult target to strike. The success of the comic element however comes across as more elusive.
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It’s strange too, as Steve Carell would seem a perfect choice as political operative Gary Zimmer. His usual button-down persona and understated ...
