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 ...
Erik Sondhy – Recorded At Abbey Road Studios Vol: 1 – Album Review
Following the opening number is a great reductionist version of Lennon and McCartney’s I Will. It pays homage and respect to both the people and place of the album’s title. It also lulls one in the most seductive way, saying so much with so few notes.
Opening up a world of possibilities with just two hands, two feet and an open mind, Sondhy touches on so many points of reverent beauty and more than a few stops on the piano’s historical past. Humor is also injected at the most ...
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 ...
Inferno Movie Review
The latest edition skips the third Brown book, The Lost Symbol and drops Harvard University professor Robert Langdon (Hanks) into the usual world of intrigue. Conspiracies play a more reduced role this time and the film plays out with more action and less intrigue. The action is largely set in Venice, which is an excellent choice as it’s one of the world’s most unique looking cities.
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The casting is not the film’s strongest suit as Hanks and lead actress Felicity Jones as his ...
Deepwater Horizon Movie Review
Mark Wahlberg and Kurt Russell are the heroes of the piece as their salt of the earth characters rise to the occasion and help to prevent a more serious loss of life through selfless heroism. The action is suitably claustrophobic as the isolation of the out-to-sea oil platform plays into the disaster.
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Berg’s decision to focus on the accident on the oil rig and reduce the ecological disaster that was cased by the oil leak to a small footnote at the end of the film robs the experie...
The Girl On The Train Movie Review
Every film viewing session, while being a great collective experience should be assessed without the bias of others. We’ve all had to endure watching films when those around us are so obviously not enjoying themselves. It enacts a real negative vibe and is as rude as those that chomp and plastic wrap rustle their way through the entire film.
Assessing The Girl On The Train as its own entity is also a bit difficult with so much press comparing it to Gone Girl. This sets up the audience ...
