Reviews in a nutshell
Ah, the gritty underbelly of South-East London, where every copper is as mean as Jason Statham, every traditional pub has a man with a dog (or two), and every corner has a loony lurking in its shadows. Nathan Parker’s (Moon) adaptation of Ken Bruen’s novel, Blitz, couldn’t get more clichéd if it was a Guy …
There’s an undeniable buzz of excitement at the thought of Captain Jack Sparrow returning for yet another swashbuckling adventure, simultaneously mixed with a feeling of intrepidation that the Sparrow charm might fail to translate this time around, especially after a four-year break. Sparrow is still a character with a lot of mileage, and thankfully, Johnny …
Continue reading “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides ***”
‘We’re all just selling something’ is the weighty moral of Youth In Revolt director Miguel Arteta’s new coming-of-age comedy, and without the intriguing (and unlikely) pairing of Ed Helms and John C. Reilly, it could be argued that marketing a film about a naïve insurance salesman from small-town, Midwest America who discovers himself on a …
Love him or loathe him, there’s just no stopping the publicity juggernaut that is Brand at the moment – on both sides of the pond. Or is there? Those (seemingly) loyal to the Oscar-winning 1981 version of Arthur, starring the lovable late Dudley Moore, were especially keen in the US to get the knives out …
Panto season is (thankfully) a long way off, but if you want some pre-Easter sauciness to tickle your fancy, and are a big fan of sword-fighting fantasy adventures, Your Highness is at your service. Crass, crude and boundlessly bonkers, Your Highness is quite literally a hilarious, sex-obsessed adult fairy tale with a big heart – …
Admittedly, Russell Brand is an acquired taste, and if that taste is slowly turning sour in the mouth after endless media reports about the Brand marriage and rising Brand transatlantic stardom, you would be forgiven for releasing a disparaging groan at the mere mention of Hop – a film voiced by Brand. Much as this …
Focusing on the standard prediction from many a fortune-teller, Woody Allen offers his latest London-set relationship riddle, You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger, attracting the usual international talent that includes Naomi Watts, Josh Brolin, Freida Pinto, Anthony Hopkins, Antonio Banderas, Lucy Punch and Gemma Jones. Though not of the high calibre of Allen’s heyday, …
What happens when you give your horny hubby the week off marriage? He turns into a desirable sex god to the younger female, of course. This is the wild premise explored in the Farrelly Brothers’ latest ‘slap-and-tickle’, but equally sentimental comedy, Hall Pass, and it sounds ripe for the comedy taking. Depending on your version …
East Is East (1999) was a breath of British comedy fresh air, a playful and broad-minded but poignantly comical look at the issues of integrating Pakistani culture in 1970s’ Britain, as portrayed through the lives of one Anglo-Pakistani family based in Salford, Greater Manchester. It had tears, laughter and frustrations, triggered through a series of …
