Reviews in a nutshell
It seems like ‘dumb-ass’ comedy on offer here, a goodhearted road movie that covers a lot of bumpy ground along the way. However, it has a strong will that you just can’t knock that aims to make the lives of its delinquent fake family a little more gratified in the end. Oh, and it promises …
There’s no surprise at the anticipation surrounding the screen adaptation of Cassandra Clare’s bestselling novel, directed by Harold Zwart (2010’s The Karate Kid). With a gap in fantasy adventure market left by the globally successful Harry Potter and Twilight sagas, studio bosses are hungry to find the next best thing. It needs the right mix …
Continue reading “The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones ***”
After the gritty Contraband last year, starring Mark Wahlberg as an ex-smuggler forced to make one last haul, the actor teams up again with Icelandic director Baltasar Kormákur for more action in 2 Guns. It’s a cockier, smarter-mouthed role for Wahlberg who we tend to naturally like and root for as the solid type. Add …
Those hoping for a repeat of the cool shock tactics of Kick-Ass might come away feeling rather short-changed after watching the sequel. Granted, all the key characters are back, in particular, Kick-Ass himself and the petite purple dynamo Hit-Girl that sees Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Chloë Grace Moretz take up their costume-clad roles respectively, verses Christopher …
A lot is being uttered about The Lone Ranger, a Disney film that reunites Pirates of the Caribbean director Gore Verbinski and star Johnny Depp, in what has got to be the most expensive ‘western’ in recent years (£165million to be precise). But although battered by American critics and arriving on these shores this week …
Sandra Bullock as another uptight FBI agent sounds suspiciously like a Gracie Hart rendition from the Miss Congeniality films. True, she dons another dark suit and comfy shoes for her new role as social pariah Sarah Ashburn. What’s of greater interest is whether the on-screen chemistry between her and Bridemaids star Melissa McCarthy pays off, …
X-Men fans yearn for an improvement on X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), with more strength to their clawed hero. Director James Mangold and team may well have granted just that with The Wolverine, complete with some impressive action to boot, as well as a more vulnerable Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) who is more intriguing to watch. Comic-book …
When dealing with real-life subject matter of a harrowing nature, it’s important to get facts straight and be sensitive to those involved. A film such as The Frozen Ground from debut director Scott Walker is such an example, based on historic events surrounding Alaskan serial killer Robert Hansen who kidnapped and murdered roughly twenty young …
Guillermo del Toro gets the teen audience, totally, so much so, he’s gone and taken a bunch of Transformer Power Rangers and pitched them against alien sea monsters of centuries old-looking. This less than perfect film offers loads of thumping good 3D action, which on occasion can feel relentless to anyone older than thirteen or …
