Jake Johnson

News, Reviews & Features
  • Review: Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse is a superhero spectacle bar none

    Movie Review | Ali Gray | 29th November 2018

    Aren't we supposed to be bored of superhero movies by now? 2018 has been a vintage year for the costumed crowd: Black Panther, Infinity War, Deadpool 2, Ant-Man & The Wasp, Incredibles 2 and Teen Titans Go! To The Movies have all excelled, and early word even suggests that Aquaman - Aquaman! - is converting disbelievers. This Sony animation from producers Lord & Miller is the third triple-A Spidey property to see release this year, after Avengers and the PS4 exclusive videogame, but even considering those high benchmarks and such a crowded field of contenders, it makes a strong case for being the best of the bunch - Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse is a sprawling, wall-crawling visual masterpiece that's boundless in its creativity, kinetic in its dynamism and authentic to its core. It's the movie that finally nails the nirvana found between the twin mediums of comic-books and cinema.

  • Safety Not Guaranteed

    Movie Review | Ed Williamson | 26th December 2012

    If time travel is ever invented, the pioneers will travel back to 2012, watch a film or two and think what a bunch of mugs we all were. The mechanics are pretty realistic, they'll say, but Joseph Gordon-Levitt looks nothing like Bruce Willis. They might be charmed, though, by the quaint idea of there being such a thing as an independent film industry, and by Safety Not Guaranteed, which would charm anyone. Even a cyborg replicant hybrid, which is obviously what future-people will be.

  • 21 Jump Street

    Movie Review | Rob | 13th March 2012

    21 Jump Street: a US cop show from the late 80s that a lot of us probably never heard of. It was about youthful-looking cops going undercover in high schools, lasted five seasons, kick-started the career of Johnny Depp, boasted guest stars like Brad Pitt and Josh Brolin, and had a kick-ass intro that's all very Saved By The Bell. So then, perfect fodder for a 21st Century piss-take.