Frank Grillo

News, Reviews & Features
  • Review: Point Blank isn't... pointless, but draws a... blank in...uh

    Movie Review | Luke Whiston | 22nd July 2019

    It's finally happened: I've watched a film I can't find an angle to wring several torturous paragraphs out of. That's not to say there's anything offensively bad about Joe Lynch's new action flick Point Blank - there's not - but there's nothing particularly notable to write about either. I'm at a loss for opinions, but even worse than that I'm at a loss for words, and as a film blogger can only exist if there are words to scroll past to the star rating, I can already feel myself fading away...

  • The Purge: Election Year

    Movie Review | Ali Gray | 17th August 2016

    You may think that The Purge: Election Year has been smart in piggybacking the US electoral campaign, but in actual fact, it suffers in comparison to current real world politics: in case you needed reminding, one of America's presidential candidates has already advocated the assassination of his rival and has claimed that he could shoot someone dead in the street and still not lose any voters. Donald Trump's car crash campaign makes legalised murder look pretty tame in comparison, leaving The Purge: Election Year struggling to stay relevant: if the first Purge movie was a high concept in search of a budget to match and sequel Anarchy was a satisfying exploration of that world, Election Year takes the concept to its ludicrous and illogical extremes.

  • The Purge: Anarchy

    Movie Review | Ali Gray | 18th July 2014

    The first Purge movie had a fantastic concept: that sometime in the near future, in order to pacify the populace for the rest of the year, all crime including murder would be legal for one night only. The biggest crime, however, was just how wasted the concept was on a home invasion storyline that barely ventured outside of Ethan Hawke's front door. Thankfully, this year's sequel The Purge: Anarchy goes some way into exploring that ridiculous concept to a more satisfying degree, and in pulling back to a wider angle to see the effect of The Purge on a whole city instead of a single household, it pulls off a pretty good impression of The Warriors to boot. It's time to come out to pla-aaay...

  • Captain America: The Winter Soldier

    Movie Review | Matt Looker | 19th March 2014

    Just like Stan Lee releases those How To Draw Your Favourite Superhero books, complete with crudely sketched circles and squares that somehow become awesome comic-book artwork in just four 'easy' steps, it is becoming increasingly clear that Marvel is working to a very strictly defined template with its movies. Almost like they've all been storyboarded for years in advance. (*glances at comic collection*) OH.

  • Warrior

    Movie Review | Ali | 19th September 2011

    At a glance, Warrior looks like just another scrapper drama – dudes get into fights, one emerges victorious, life lessons are learned along the way, someone angling for a poster quote compares it to Raging Bull and we all go home with our bloodlust slaked. Shortlist's poster quote – "All the Rockys rolled into one!" – reads more like a back-handed compliment than an enthusiastic recommendation. As it unfolds, however, Warrior reveals itself to be more than just a brainless slugger – like the best boxing movies, it's able to utterly wrap you up in the moment and have you punching the air come its conclusion. Oh, and Warrior doesn't just have punching... it has kicking, too. Face kicking.