Posted by
Rob at 17:15 on 03 Feb 2012
Michael Caine has had a long, glittering career spanning five decades. He's been nominated for an Academy Award in every decade since the 1960s. He's even a Knight of The Realm. The man truly is an icon of British cinema. Surely, though, flying a giant bee and high-fiving The Rock has to be his greatest achievement to date.
Posted by
Matt at 21:23 on 02 Feb 2012
If you type 'Carnage' into IMDB, you'll find it is the alternative title to The Nail Gun Massacre, A Bay Of Blood and even Prime Cut, an early Gene Hackman film about a cattle rancher who "grinds his enemies into sausage". It's the kind of title you'd expect to see propped up on the bargain shelf at Asda with a cover showing Stone Cold Steve Austin walking away from an exploding jeep. And yet here I am reviewing Roman Polanski's new low-key character-based comedy. It's almost a shame.
Posted by
Ali at 22:45 on 01 Feb 2012
Every time I watch an American high school movie, I always wonder what happens
after the prom, after the geek gets the girl, after the kids save the Rec Centre. How people's school lives affect the rest of their adult lives interests me way more than their pointless playground antics, and the fact the credits always roll before you get to see the characters venture into the big, wide world is always frustrating. Anyone who's ever stumbled upon their school bully on Facebook and secretly revelled in their shit life will get a kick out of Young Adult; a movie that shares my fascination with the fragile effect of popularity at an early age.
Posted by
Matt at 07:00 on 31 Jan 2012
Oscar-nominated films tend to fall into one of two categories: stories, true or otherwise, about the struggle to overcome adversity against all odds, and heartwarming dramedies. Surprisingly, this tale of a man trying to reconnect with his daughters while his wife lies comatose in hospital actually falls into the latter category.
Posted by
Rob at 21:45 on 30 Jan 2012
Go into this cold turkey and you could be forgiven for thinking Man On A Ledge is a contemporary commentary on the current state of the economy. Let's look at the evidence, shall we? It's set in New York, there are mentions of "this economy" followed by tutting, Ed Harris wears a sharp suit and smokes cigars like a boss (lit with $100 bills I hope ) and, oh, there's a bloke perched on a ledge threatening to throw himself off.
Posted by
Ali at 22:49 on 17 Jan 2012
One of the cardinal sins of film journalism is that you must never call a film 'boring' – professionalism dictates that there must be a more accurate way of singling out the movie's flaws; a more apt way of summing up why it disappoints. A dull script, perhaps, or flat performances. But no. There is no better way to summarise the ways in which Clint Eastwood's Hoover biopic fails: J. Edgar is just fucking boring. It just is. It looks boring, it sounds boring, it feels boring, it IS boring.
Posted by
Ali at 07:00 on 12 Jan 2012
At the screening of War Horse I attended, there were people in floods of tears.
Floods. Not just quiet, reflective sobbing, but that godless, wretched honking that's usually accompanied by snot and friends who wish they were somewhere else. Me? I didn't shed a single tear – I walked out of there like Moses parting a salty sea. Bear in mind I once got a bit teary because I thought one of my cats was upset with me, and that should tell you a little about me, but everything about War Horse. It's about as manipulative a film has Steven Spielberg has ever made – a movie that's been custom-designed from the ground up to play a sad harp solo on the heartstrings; a story cynically told to invoke as many tears as possible. You'd swear it was bankrolled by Kleenex.
Posted by
Ali at 16:33 on 07 Jan 2012
The Iron Lady – from the creative team who brought you Mamma Mia! – is a curious beast; part political bio, part character study, it takes huge liberties in dissecting the professional and personal life of Lady Thatcher, yet fundamentally refuses to pass judgement on any of her policies. The aim was clearly to focus on Maggie the person, not Maggie the larger than life figurehead, but I'm not sure I really see the point of making a biopic on the country's most infamous Prime Minister while never actually bothering with any of her politics. You might as well make a movie on how Fred West was such a talented gardener.
Posted by
Ali at 15:45 on 06 Jan 2012
Honestly, I question whether anyone involved is really taking Haywire completely seriously. This is Steven Soderbergh in experimentation mode; an auteur director making a stripped-down, amped-up action movie, just to see if he can. It features a stellar cast, all of whom are slumming it to some degree, except of course for MMA fighter and lead actress Gina Carano, whose best is – in the nicest way possible – still some way beneath everyone else's. I'd recommend you approach Haywire with a similar air of detachment – expect nothing less than a slick, short, snappy revenge flick and you won't be disappointed.
Posted by
Rob at 17:20 on 02 Jan 2012
Ice hockey sits pretty atop my 'If I was an American high-schooler, I'd definitely think about playing it' list. Unfortunately, Hollywood doesn't appear to share my enthusiasm for needless icy bloodlust. There have been plenty of American football, baseball and basketball movies, but when it comes to ice hockey, what do we have? Slap Shot? That's 35 years old. The Mighty Ducks? Pfft, Goon would smash its teeth in and down a beer in celebration.
