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 ...
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 ...
A Midsummer Night’s Dream at La Boite
Four awkward teens find themselves entangled in a god-awful love quadrangle. A sextet of amateur drama enthusiasts earnestly rehearse a play for a wedding. The Godfather and Godmother of the fairies are locked in a bitter argument over an adopted child, which they seek to resolve through the careless application of dodgy witchcraft.
Benjamin Schostakowski, director of multi award-winning A Tribute of Sorts, transplants Shakespeare’s enchanted lovers, fools and fairies from the wilder...
Fifty Shades of Grey Movie Review
Nearly ten-years later, British author E. L. James publishes Fifty Shades of Grey, a story about a conservative young woman with a modest upbringing who falls in love with a dominant corporate executive - another ‘Mr Grey’. Fifty Shades of Grey follows the plot and themes of Secretary so closely it would be reasonable to suggest that the two are not unrelated insofar as the latter at the very least heavily influenced the former, if not downright plagiarises it.
As the story goes, ...
Manny Lewis Movie Competition
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Thanks to StudioCanal we have five double in season passes to give away to is Manny Lewis!
Successful comic, Manny Lewis, finds himself at the height of his popularity and at the depths of his loneliness. Shy, reclusive and a just little awkward, Manny‘s connection with his audience can’t be replicated when it comes to matters of the heart. In a bid to reach out, he calls an adult chat line and forms a bond with Maria, who goes by the name of Caroline, on the other end of the ...
The Theory of Everything Movie Review
The life and times of theoretical physicist, cosmologist and million selling author Stephen Hawking is told via a screenplay based on a book by his first wife of thirty years, Jane Wilde. We are given a window into his life from his early years and get to spend time with him before the revenges of ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) took over his body.
While the force of the man’s will and his defiance of the medical profession’s estimate of the time of his demise is very inspiring, ...
Magic in the Moonlight Movie Review
As is the norm for these kinds of things a rocky romance reluctantly blossoms between the pair predictably precipitating the drama and comedy for the story. Of course Firth is old enough to be Stone's father but add a little Just For Men and, voila, problem solved.
Written and directed by Woody Allen, the film is a frivolous but interesting discussion on open versus closed minds; hard rationality versus the fantastic; and the complex relationship between science, philosophy and religion. ...
Bridesmaids Movie Review
Directed by TV actor/director Paul Feig and produced in part by Judd Apatow, Bridesmaids tries to deliver a raucous ride and succeeds for the most part. The cast is excellent and building a film around Kristen Wiig (who is also one of the film’s writers) is never a bad thing as she is a comic heavyweight, it’s just that it’s not always believable seeing women act as stupid and self-involved as men.
This out of character activity leads to some very funny moments but a lot of the ...
Cheri Movie Review
Indeed all the familiar parameters are in place: unrequited love, the scheming matronly type (Kathy Bates standing in for Glenn Close), the virginal victim, well-camouflaged comments aimed at the jugular, bustles and opulent architecture. But Cheri begs the question… Where’s the flesh and blood?
Set in 1906, Cheri (Rupert Friend) is a handsome, petulant playboy already tainted by too much of the good life. After accepting a seductive invitation from family friend and former courtesan ...
