Reviews in a nutshell
The adaptation of Salman Rushdie’s novel and Booker Prize winner Midnight’s Children by the author himself was obviously a labour of love, what with the author providing the eloquent narration, as well as an exciting prospect for fans. But Midnight’s Children proves a valuable point that sometimes the originator is not necessarily the best person …
From one book to three separate features, Peter Jackson’s transformation of the classic Tolkien children’s novel has been a labour of love indeed for the LOTR director. The argument that will rage after viewing it on the big screen is just how necessary was it to create three films – regardless of how great the …
Those who favour the ‘cops on camera’ TV shows can expect much the same style of ‘caught of camera’ thrills and spills from Harsh Times and Training Day director David Ayers’ gritty and affecting End Of Watch. Ironically, as well as hooking you in from the start and sparking curiosity as to where the story …
The origins of Bond are the subject of this highly fitting 50th Anniversary release to mark Britain’s ultimate spy character. Those expecting the usual slick chase and high-tech gadgetry will not be disappointed by the first part of the film with its gravity-defying manoeuvres at breakneck speeds. However, things come to an intriguing and abrupt …
There is a real sense with the second round in Luc Besson’s father-marauding saga that both writer and cast signed up to a totally different project at the start, only for a daft decision from above to make it accessible to a wider (and younger) audience to ruin things, and hence, kill of what made …
Brad Pitt reunites again with writer-director Andrew Dominik (The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford) to adapt George V. Higgins’s novel, Cogan’s Trade for the big screen. It’s another successful outcome, entitled Killing Them Softly – referring to hits by strangers on strangers in the underworld. As Cogan, Pitt embodies his standard …
Producer-Director Oliver Stone, best known for his political thrillers, war films and a recently completed Castro documentary, reverts back to Natural Born Killers/U-Turn type for his latest film, Savages, appealing to a wider commercial market wanting pulpy, consumable, popcorn action thrillers without any political intensity. In a way, Savages is a satisfying all-action trip with …
Fans of the hit 70s TV series have no fear: Director-writer Nick Love has taken the heart and soul of the iconic characters, Regan and Carter, and given them a cosmetic 2012 facelift, thrusting the chauvinistic, hard-nosed coppers into a contemporary, clinical crime-fighting environment, complete with latter-day baddies. In fact, Love is wise not to …
Director Joe Wright’s take on Tolstoy’s tragic love story, Anna Karenina, is bound to divide opinion, particularly after watching the initially distracting theatrical element of a film set within theatre set changes. Those who favour classic Russian epics, like the days of Doctor Zhivago, may well have envisaged this in grander, more realistic settings. Admittedly, …
