War on Everyone ****
Beats with the blackest of hearts, with good and irony born out of evil. The buddy journey with Skarsgård and Peña is an incredibly satisfying one too.
Tag: Michael Peña
LFF 2014: Fury ****
War makes for a powerful cinematic theme. It’s the backdrop for many a personal struggle. End of Watch (2012) writer-director David Ayer’s Fury is no exception. While about the physical horrors of combat, it’s also a sobering coming-of-age drama, told through the eyes of a new tank recruit. It also addresses the psychological effect on …
LFF 2012: End Of Watch ****
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 …
Tower Heist ***
Looking for a no-brainer to delight you while you munch on some deserved popcorn at the end of a long week? Director Brett Ratner may have come up with one of his best movies since Rush Hour (the original) yet – and there is no sign of Don Cheadle, Chris Tucker, Jackie Chan or Ken Leung …
Everything Must Go ****
One of the most moving performances sometimes is when a comedic actor plays it straight. Will Ferrell does so in Dan Rush’s Everything Must Go, a thoughtful and realistically crafted and paced piece of touching drama with subtle additions of humour. Ferrell plays Nick Halsey, an executive salesman and alcoholic who loses his job, his …
30 Minutes Or Less ***
After Zombieland, director Ruben Fleischer was always going to have big boots to fill with his next film. He remains very much in the same comedy adventure genre, only taps into the Apatow school of idiocy with puerile, often chauvinistic man-child humour. The redeemable feature, however, is Fleischer doesn’t dwell too long on the visual …