Cinderella Movie Review
Her step-mother and sisters are evil beyond redemption and the prince is handsome and honourable beyond reproach. None of this is unexpected, of course - Disney is as Disney does and it's perfect little girl fodder, complete with doe-eyed innocence and glittery flouncy dresses. And it's all shot with an impossible beauty that can only be achieved on a perfectly lit studio set.
Nothing is a surprise - the goodies get their fairy tale ending and the baddies get their just desserts. It's ...
Furious 7 – Another Movie Review
Throughout the franchise each film has presented an automotive variant of an established genre. In order these have been: Point Break, buddy cop movie, crap movie, drug runner movie, heist movie, action blockbuster and with this last instalment, Mission Impossible. Furious7 is a long way from The Fast and the Furious, to be sure, but the transition has largely been successful due to the not inconsiderable charisma of Vin Diesel, the appeal of muscle cars and fast four pocket rockets, and ...
Fast & Furious 7 Movie Review
Actor Paul Walker’s passing back in the 2013 was a very sad moment and happened midway through the filming of F&F 7. It caused a number of delays while they rewrote the script. Walker was a very well established journeyman actor and was well liked by all who knew him. This plays out sombrely in the latest film as the series has always focused on a group dynamic and championed the virtues of being part of an extended family.
The filmmakers have done a good job of staying true to ...
Get Hard Movie Review
From the movie’s juvenile name to its lowest common denominator sense of humour, it pulls no punches in its attempt to make you laugh and damn it if it doesn’t at times succeed. Without the collective energy of a full theatre though, I doubt the effect would be quite the same.
The story revolves around Ferrell’s character James King (a Stock Market Guru) who is framed for a crime he didn’t commit and sentenced to go to prison. This storyline has been utilized many times before ...
Big Eyes Movie Review
The paintings, and prints of the paintings, sold like hotcakes and Keane amassed a fortune as a result. There was a problem, though - the pictures were actually created by his wife Margaret. A patron of Margaret, Tim Burton, directs his best film in years, covering the story of Margaret Keane's struggle to reclaim her artistic soul.
The first thing that strikes you about Tim Burton's new film is the colour. At first glance, each shot looks like a painted backdrop, crafted in flawless ...
Run All Night Movie Review
The 2008 film Taken recast Neeson as one of the big screen’s true bad asses and reenergized his career. This change was helped by the actor buffing up and having the innate physicality to play those roles with enough authenticity to be featured close up in fight and action scenes. No soft filter or distant set up shots were needed to hide the fact that almost all of the fight scene featured stunt doubles (i.e. Roger Moore in all the Bond films).
This time out, instead of being a ...
Chappie Movie Review
The story revolves around a computer sciences geek Deon Wilson (played by Dev Patel, he of Slumdog Millionaire, The Newsroom and Best Exotic Marigold Hotel fame) who creates an Artificial Intelligence program to help his robots achieve a level of human consciousness. His place of employment has already used his technology to build robots that the police use to enforce the law in Johannesburg. Upper management is opposed to this, so he goes rogue to complete the task. This is when the story ...
Focus Movie Review
Will Smith plays a hyper intelligent and suavely smooth career con man with one major flaw and it’s one you have to wait until film’s end to assess. He plays off the somewhat naive Jess, played by Margot Robbie in her first major role after her breakout appearance in The Wolf of Wall Street.
In line with most flicks of this ilk, there is a large group of co-conspirators and victims and it’s very enjoyable to find out which is which. The sets and background locations are also very ...
Seventh Son Movie Review
Once you get pulled into its world of crazy, it’s actually a good bit of fun. Bridges as head Spook, Master Gregory has never been more over the top (and that's saying something). A Spook in this context is one who helps deal with witches and other creatures that go bump in the night. They are also adept at hand-to-hand combat with a drink in one hand and little else.
The set up is thin with little more than a head demon to take down, this simplicity however is flushed out by the ...
Project Almanac Movie Review
First the premise that time travel actually exists must be made believable and then its rules (and there are many) must be observed. Add an engaging storyline and you have a rather large number of hurdles to clear.
With Project Almanac, director Dean Israelite cloaks his coming of age teen tale with enough silly science fiction to rival all those other teen classics like Weird Science, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure and Clockstoppers. It does however tick the one box that almost ...
