Patriots Day Movie Review
Casting Mark Wahlberg as one of the heroes of the piece seems a no brainer as it’s a role he has played time and time again. To his credit this time his portrayal of a somewhat flawed character rings truer to real life than many of his previous roles. The story revolves around the domestic terrorist bombing that occurred during the 2013 running of the Boston Marathon and the events that followed as seen through the victims, authorities as well as the perpetrator's eyes.
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Split Movie Review
McAvoy is in top form and uses all the means in his substantial bag of thespian tricks. He commandingly inhabits the central character of Dennis, who suffers from multiple personality disorder. It’s a twitchy and mesmerising performance that keeps the audience in an almost constant state of unease. He accomplishes this almost entirely with physical acting that uses a minimal amount of make up and costume support.
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The movie dips into the horror film approach ...
Middle School: The Worst Years Of My Life
On the surface of it, Middle School: The Worst Years Of My Life looks like a stock tweenager movie in the mould of Diary Of A Wimpy Kid. But there are layers to this film that you don't expect. Aside from the obvious Wimpy Kid influence, it also draws ideas and themes from Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, Shark Boy And Lava Girl, Pump Up The Volume, Dead Poet's Society and another film I shan't mention as to do so would spoil a major twist.
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Equally, the performances in ...
Jackie Movie Review
She married into one of America’s most infamous and wealthy political families at only 24 years old and seemed to dissolve herself into their clan. Her husband John F. Kennedy was a man used to getting his own way and the outward appearance was that she capitulated to most of his whims. There was a strength there however that she possessed that wasn’t always apparent in the sexist media coverage of the times.
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That her life blossomed in the years after the ...
La La Land Movie Review
The casting pays real dividends as Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone are perfectly cast and their on-screen chemistry is palpable. The film is also quite clever in its sometimes non-linear structure and the what ifs? provide the audience with more than one view of the on-screen proceedings. It’s clever in a way that doesn’t draw attention to itself in that look at me kind of way.
The story involves living in Los Angeles, being so close to grabbing the brass ring of success and what ...
Underworld: Blood Wars Movie Review
The film fan in me loves the Underworld movies whilst the film critic in me says, "Why on earth do you subject yourself to this nonsense?" Yes, it's easy to be critical of this franchise but the truth is I have a soft spot for Vampires and Werewolves combined with action violence, and a somewhat less soft spot for Kate Beckinsale in heels, skin-tight black vinyl and twin fully automatic pistols.
The plot is strictly by the numbers and the horror quotient is probably lower than it's ever ...
Bad Santa 2 Movie Review
While some families reminisce over eggnog and brightly wrapped presents, this family gets together with more nefarious endeavours in mind. This time out, it’s the lowest of the low, robbing a charity. The plot is ultra thin and really only used as a device for verbal humour and what humour it is. Even for those with thick skins to surprise, there are some real zingers here.
Kathy Bates gets most of the really outrageous lines and milks them for all they are worth. She also presents ...
Arrival Movie Review
Amy Adams is Dr. Louise Banks, a linguist expert that the government recruits to help communicate with one of the alien entities that have arrived at twelve points around the globe. She is the soul of the story. Joining her is Jeremy Renner as Ian Donnelly, a theoretical physicist with a very well developed sense of wonder about the world.
The story is told in a non-linear manner and subsequently every scene must be paid attention too. The film is also shot with a very subdued colour ...
Doctor Strange Movie Review
It's about yet another rich, narcissistic, egotistical twat whose circumstance dictates a seachange to superheroism. It is heavily styled along the lines of Christopher Nolan's Inception but lacks his clever script to make the minutiae work. There are puzzling continuity errors - did nobody proof watch this movie? Equally puzzling are some of the action scenes that are extremely difficult to follow. Other scenes seem clunkily truncated - no doubt to be later expanded upon in a Blu-ray ...
The Accountant Movie Review
Affleck plays Christian Wolff, an autistic certified public accountant that also moonlights as an assassin. Wolff’s inability to really connect with other human beings adds a chilling reality to his actions and Affleck’s stoic portrayal feels accurate. Even the love angle is suitably underplayed.
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The film’s structure mixes enough back-story to flush out Wolff’s beginnings but not so much as to rob the film of its forward momentum. It builds to a satisfying climax while ...
