Reviews in a nutshell
The fact that the second MiB film seems to draw a complete blank either means it was totally unforgettable tripe or someone’s been trigger happy with a Neuralyzer. Needless to say, it’s a happy predicament to be in as having watch the first film recently, to then watch the third in the series the latter …
The wait is over, and it’s been well worth it to see the likes of Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) join forces with Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) in a superb superhero finale to save the planet. And opposite every …
Love it or hate it; John Carter star Taylor Kitsch is here to stay, and even though his latest movie, Battleship, is monumentally moronic, there is still a huge amount of over-the-top, double entendre theatrics and bombastic action to giggle gleefully at. The added draw for some of director Peter Berg’s (hopefully) satirical ode to all …
Writer-director Andrew Stanton tries his hand at live action this time, putting some of his fun Pixar magic from the likes of award-winning Finding Nemo and Wall-E into John Carter, an other-worldly adventure staged on Mars – or Barsoom, as adapted from Tarzan author Edgar Rice Burroughs’s work, A Princess of Mars. Whatever faults this …
You all know the story from back in 1999, the prequel of how young Anakin Skywalker – played here by cutesy Jake Lloyd – began his journey on the road to Jedi Knight status, while harbouring a darker side that would later reveal itself in Episode III. The hope was that the latest offering in …
Continue reading “Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (3D) **”
These days, it seems the only cinematic way to suitably recreate the belief that unfolding events are ‘real’ and instil a climate of fear is a cross between pseudo-documentary shooting and mimicking the YouTube generation of ‘caught-on-camera’ moments, the likes of which Paranormal Activity to Blair Witch have successfully sold. Debut feature writer-director Josh Trank …
Sundance winner Another Earth is as ambiguous as its trailer, but at its indie heart is a tale of tragic redemption, rather than apocalyptic sci-fi curiosity. Listen carefully to the trailer voiceover, as this is one girl’s journey laced with an otherworldly presence. On the night of the discovery of a duplicate planet to Earth …
John Carpenter may well be the master of horror filmmaking, but that’s not to say that someone else can’t tackle his esteemed previous work. In fact, Dutch filmmaker Matthijs van Heijningen Jr.’s 2011 version of The Thing could be argued as a brave career choice, considering the 1982 film’s cult following. Not to be confused …
Gattaca writer-director Andrew Niccol is normally apt at looking at current social issues in a near-future or parallel sci-fi world context. In Time appears to explore our obsession with youth, the death of urgency and the distribution of wealth – the latter being very topical at present with the global ‘Occupy’ anti-capitalist protests. However, Niccol’s latest …
