I never got around to seeing the first film in the series that looked like little more than an American knock-off of Harry Potter, albeit one embroiled in the world of Greek Mythology. The sequel proves to be competent yet leagely inconsequential, as Percy, who is the illegitimate son of Poseidon, God of the Oceans, […] Read more »
On second viewing it must be conceded that Guillermo del Toro’s film is far more of a disappointment than many wee willing to admit – but still manages to be lots of fun. The characterisation is non-existent, the acting almost uniformly terrible and the relationships perfunctory at best, but where it counts – when big […] Read more »
Hugh Jackman reprises his signature role yet again, this time employing James Mangold to take Logan to Japan and embrace one of the character’s best-loved comic book story arcs. While proceedings do ultimately descend into indestructible objects punching each other, this is far more of a crime drama built around strong characters and meaningful relationships […] Read more »
In what promises to be a new landmark, both in science fiction cinema and the craft of filmmaking itself, Alfonso Cuaron’s deep space survival thriller offers jaw dropping spectacle, nail-chewing suspense and an incredibly intimate character study, shot against the stunning backdrop of planet Earth itself. A difficult filmmaker to pigeonhole, Alfonso Cuaron has accumulated […] Read more »
Not that anybody wanted it, but Mike and Sully are back, in this good natured prequel to Monsters, Inc. There are jokes aplenty but a lack of real heart in this abstinent college comedy that feels like a notable step backwards…even from Brave’s modest successes. Read my full review here Read more »
Could this be the first American college movie to abstain completely from drugs, sex and alcohol abuse? In what was considered by many to be an unnecessary prequel to the excellent Monsters, Inc. we learn how Mike and Sulley met at the titular hotbed of education and due to an eronious set of contrivances, are […] Read more »
Building on the success of the first film, the adorable and hilarious minions are given much more screen time this time around. When Gru is approached by the Anti-Villain League to track down a criminal mastermind in a local shopping mall, he is teamed with a female partner and given a cake shop to run. […] Read more »
Gearing up to go and see the sequel to this amusing if somewhat forgettable animated action comedy, I suddenly discovered that my girlfriend hadn’t seen it. So we sat down the evening before, rented it off iTunes, and discovered it to be much funnier than I had remembered. Steve Carell rather clumsily voices Gru, a […] Read more »
I can probably count the number of Vietnamese films I’ve seen on one hand, but this 3D martial arts romance had proved a huge success at the domestic box office earlier in the year that had warranted it a limited release in North America. As a result I was given the opportunity to review it. […] Read more »
I remember when I saw the first teaser trailer to Epic almost a year ago. Set to the gorgeous strains of Snow Patrol’s What If This Storm Ends? It looking genuinely stunning. Armies of tiny people dukeing it out in the grand green undergrowth of a regular family garden. It was Avatar meets the Flower […] Read more »
Plagued with problems every step of the way, running vastly overbudget, scraping and totally reshooting the entire third act, losing its core fanbase by largely disgarding Max Brooks’ source novel – it seemed World War Z was destined for failure. But then it came out, and actually it is pretty decent. Brad Pitt cuts a […] Read more »
Baz Luhrmann takes an enthusiastic swing at F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic of American literature, and while he never holds back on his trademark aesthetic of excess – even going so far as to shoot the film in 3D – the performances, and DiCaprio in particular as the titular antihero, together with the quality of the […] Read more »
Having never been much of a Star Trek fan, and emotionally underwhelmed by the 2009 re-boot, I had zero expectations from J.J. Abrams’ second outing with the crew of the USS Enterprise. Perhaps this was the best approach, as I was hugely entertained by this energetic, fun-loving space adventure that sees Benedict Cumberbatch’s terrorist lay […] Read more »
Venturing across the border I sought out the China version of Marvel’s Iron Man 3, complete with added Wang Quexi and Fan Bingbing. Was it worth it? Not at all. Read more »
What better way to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of one of the best summer blockbusters of…umm…the last 20 years, than by re-releasing it on the big screen for a whole new generation of filmgoers to enjoy. So why oh why must it be sodomised and gangraped by a totally redundant 3D conversion? Does Universal honestly […] Read more »
The first G.I. Joe film proved a shamelessly enjoyable piece of throwaway action nonsense, in large part thanks to the playful team dynamic and the fact nobody was expecting anything from the film at all. Jon Chu’s sequel was originally due for release last summer, only to be pulled at the last minute and post-converted […] Read more »
From the creative team behind How To Train Your Dragon comes this prehistoric animated comedy, originally conceived as a project for Aardman Animation, with an original script by John Cleese. Read more »
James Franco, Rachel Weisz, Michelle Williams and Mila Kunis star in Sam Raimi's "spiritual prequel" to the much adored classic The Wizard of Oz. Read more »
Oz the Great and Powerful sits at the intersection of two contemporary trends in cinema; it is both a prequel to a well loved classic and a CGI fuelled recreation of a familiar fantasy world. Therefore any viewer would feel compelled to approach this film with an equal measure of hope and trepidation. The cast […] Read more »
Sam Raimi (The Evil Dead, Spider-man) re-teams with James Franco for this big budget prequel to the classic MGM musical, dispensing with the songs but layering on the lurid 3D visuals. Read more »