Pixels Movie Review
Pixels follows on from the likes of Wreck It Ralph and TRON, mashing up the real world with that of the video game. This time around it turns out that a videotape of classic arcade games was sent into space in the early eighties and discovered by aliens who used its contents to model weapons with which to attack us. It all makes perfect sense really. Naturally the best hope for Earth's defence are former classic gamer champions who suitably proceed to kick all kinds of pixelated ass. Yes, ...
Fantastic Four Movie Review
Despite its incredibly successful Marvel brethren, this Fantastic Four is yet another dud, albeit a dud with a $200 million dollar budget.
The story is fantastically linear: we follow genius, Reed Richards, from childhood as he meets each of the characters who we know will become part of the Four as well as the guy we know is destined to be the villain, Victor von Doom (with a name like that, how could he not turn bad?).
Usually in an instance like this the structure of the film would ...
Ant-Man Movie Review
Well, kind of. The story presents itself as an interesting aside in the wider Marvel universe but it is just that - an aside. There's certainly an interesting story here, and perhaps future instalments may add something more substantial, but as it is presented here the most intriguing moments are when it references Marvel's mega franchise, The Avengers. And, indeed, intentions are made very clear that Ant Man will join the Avengers team in the near future. This raises the question as to ...
Terminator Genisys Movie Review
The story throws a lot your way and it relies quite a bit on the viewer’s past knowledge of the Terminator film series and its liberal take on time travel. Most of the plot twists originate from that ethos and they are at times hard to follow. It also features a progression of special effects as the early reels show simpler CGI while the later reels try their best to blow your mind with what’s now possible with zeros and ones.
The new cast play better with Arnie than they do with ...
Jurassic World Movie Review
That's not to say that Jurassic World is terrible - it's not - it's easily the second best of the franchise but it is yet another re-run of practically the same story. Again we have two children loose in a dinosaur park run amok while the park's controller (and relative of the children) attempts to retrieve them with the aid of a mercenary type.
The script throws all caution and common sense to the wind in ways that would never be allowed in the real world - how these two youngsters come ...
Tomorrowland Movie Review
The story revolves around a parallel universe that is not unlike the hidden world in Ayn Rand’s opus Atlas Shrugged (minus the extreme narcissism). It’s a land where science is let loose to the benefit of mankind. This gives the filmmakers a platform for some very cool wishful technology and also features a lot of fantastic set design artwork.
With a list of participants that includes director Brad Bird (The Incredibles and The Iron Giant), George Clooney and Hugh Laurie, it’s a ...
Mad Max: Fury Road Movie Review
The set designs are awe inspiring and play as much of a character in the proceedings as top billed stars Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron. The vehicles on display are also amazing and this side of the film has been ramped up to the point of disbelief. Car heads are in for a very good time. There are also a few surprises with casting that give you a chance to see known stars outside their comfort zone.
Themes of a post-apocalyptic wasteland are revisited but with enough of a twist to keep ...
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 ...
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 ...
Jupiter Ascending Movie Review
The fact they never really transcend the uneasy combination of science fiction and fantasy shouldn’t deter any serious Matrix fan from giving this opus a go. Add the now almost obligatory 3D glasses and the biggest container of popcorn you can carry and you have one very current big bang cinema experience on your hands.
But this recommendation comes with a few conditions. First, if you suffer from vertigo, forget about it, as the relentless 3D action and change of perspective will have ...
