Bill Nighy

News, Reviews & Features

Things that only happen in Richard Curtis films #326: laughing at rain

Movie Feature | Ali | 15th May 2013

First Four Weddings, now About Time. I think I know what Alan Partridge would have to say about this...

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Jack The Giant Slayer

Movie Review | Rob | 22nd March 2013

Having grown up in a small, middle-class Conservative-voting Cambridgeshire village, I’ve seen enough poorly-acted productions of Jack and The Beanstalk to know when something isn’t quite right. And "Fe-fi-fo-fum, ask not whence the thunder comes" isn't quite right.

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Total Recall

Movie Review | Ali | 27th August 2012

From what I gather due to the half-hearted outrage surrounding the existence of this remake, the original Total Recall is held in fairly high esteem. Never saw it, sorry. Go ahead, say it. I know you want to. "YOU HAVEN'T SEEN TOTAL RECALL?" Sorry, just never got around to it. "HOW CAN YOU HAVE NEVER SEEN TOTAL RECALL?" Like I just said. "I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU HAVEN'T SEEN TOTAL RECALL!" And so on. As it happens, not being on familiar terms with the original Arnoldgeddon puts me in the unique position of being able to judge Len Wiseman's reboot without bias; nowhere in this review will I bemoan the lack of/inclusion of beloved one-liners, the fact Colin Farrell isn't fit to buff Schwarzenegger's pecs or that it isn't set on Mars. My slate is clean, so I'm free to see Total Recall 2012 for exactly what it is: a bright and shiny slice of blockbuster sci-fi that's so dazzling it makes tender love to your retinas but so underwhelming it practically wipes itself from your memory the instant it's over.

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The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Movie Review | Ed Williamson | 23rd February 2012

It's very hard to go into a film with no preconceptions. Unless you give Ali's 'no advance knowledge of Man of Steel' project a go yourself, there are too many posters, trailers and blogs around not to have some prejudice when you walk in. I certainly did. I thought I'd hate The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel; that it'd be full of lovely old middle-class people being lovely, old and middle-class, who then go through life-changing crises I wouldn't care about because they're lovely, old and … you get the picture. It is, of course, full of exactly this. But it's also crammed with some of the best British actors you could want to see on screen, and that's just about enough to carry it. Which is annoying really, because I had to scrap most of the put-downs I'd written on the way there.

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Arthur Christmas

Movie Review | Ali | 9th November 2011

I always feel a little pang of guilt whenever I give a kiddy film a negative review, because obviously they are made for small, easily pleased children and not hardened, 30-year-old cynics who spend their evenings sitting in front of a computer thinking of witty put-downs while wearing Batman pyjamas and eating pies. Thankfully, with Arthur Christmas, I don't have to feel bad, because – brace yourselves – it's an absolute Christmas cracker. Hands off, Robbie Collin – that one's MINE.

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Chalet Girl

Movie Review | Matt | 15th March 2011

Billed as “this year's Bridget Jones”, starring a TV-drama heartthrob du jour and with a trailer that declares it to be a ‘snow-mantic comedy' - everything about this film groans “laaame”. And yet, with likable leads, an engaging supporting cast and an avalanche of charm, this by-the-book Brit-com somehow manages to be hugely enjoyable. Look, just go with me on this one.

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Wild Target

Movie Review | Matt | 23rd June 2010

Bill Nighy, Rupert Grint, Martin Freeman, even Rab C Nesbitt...all secretly smirking on a bright white background surrounded by guns and money. Yup, this is a poster for a right ol' English caper. There's even a pink cat, because we Brits love a good 'animal dyed a funny colour' joke. And then there's Emily Blunt who should just know better. Not that this is a particularly terrible film, it's just that everything about it screams silly and twee British farce. And for once Richard Curtis is nowhere to be seen.

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Underworld: Rise Of The Lycans

Movie Review | Kirsty | 28th January 2009

"Oh Lucian, Lucian, wherefore art thou, a stinky bloody-thirsty werewolf?" You know the story: boy meets girl, boy is werewolf, girl is vampire, boy loves girl, everybody dies. That's essentially the plot for Underworld's third outing, whose tagline could have read: "Romeo and Juliet for the Dark Ages." Vampires and werewolve...

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Valkyrie

Movie Review | Ali | 24th January 2009

As weird as it may sound, the Nazis have become pantomime villains in recent years. This is not down to a lack of respect - after all, the way to rob an organisation of its power is to remove its credibility and Lord knows there's enough holocaust films to remind us of the Horrors Of What Really Happened. But all those B-movies ...

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Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End

Movie Review | Ali | 20th June 2007

The first Pirates movie - launched into choppy waters way back in 2003 - was an accidental success. Based on a Disney theme park ride and setting sail with very little fanfare, it nonetheless blew the summer blockbusters out of the water. Last year's sequel, Dead Man's Chest, took the plunge with slightly more in the way of pu...

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