Boychoir Movie Review
If the narrative sounds familiar that’s because it is. This same basic framework has been used over and over from Fame to Billy Elliot. Substitute the poor kid for a rich kid and you have Dead Poet's Society; substitute adults for the schoolboy and you have The Full Monty. Boychoir ticks off each obligatory plot point with metronomic predictability offering no new twists to a tired formula. Everything turns out exactly how you'd expect.
The film boasts an impressive cast list including ...
Avengers: Age of Ultron Movie Review
One of first film’s strongest points was the dynamics between the characters and how they riffed off each other. Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man was given some great lines and everyone else had to up their game just to keep up. The new script is mysteriously bereft of most of those moments and sticks to a pacing of mostly action scenes patched together with momentary bits of dialogue. When the action does arrive however, it is dazzling.
The film also relies a bit too heavily ...
The Gunman Movie Review
Standing in for Neeson this time out is the now craggy faced Sean Penn, who looks like he spent considerable time in the gym while preparing for this role. He plays Jim Terrier, an overseas mercenary with a dark secret and a love interest in Annie played by Italian actress Jasmine Trinca. Through circumstance they become separated but the tie of love warrants a future reconnection.
There are more notable moments of interest amongst the cast members like Javier Bardem sporting normal look ...
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 ...
Steven Wilson – Hand. Cannot. Erase. Music Review
In the way that watching an effective non-fiction film makes you want to follow the viewing with a liberal amount of internet investigation, Wilson’s ode to the life and times of Joyce Carol Vincent has the same effect. It’s an emotional album about a story that underlines the fact that even with all the social media and Internet connections in today’s society, people fall between the cracks, intentional or otherwise.
Vincent was by all accounts, a vibrant and popular young lady ...
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 ...
