Tag: film review

Steve Jobs

stevejobsposternewfullsizeimagesv8

Making a film about the recently deceased can be difficult.  It can easily descend into a cynical cash grab, taking advantage of people’s sudden need to honour a dead person they didn’t care about much when they were alive.  These biopics are often long, dull and sentimental as they desperately spread their legs towards the Oscars in an attempt to gain critical acclaim.  Steve Jobs somehow manages to dodge this problem.  Directed by Danny Boyle and scripted by Aaron Sorkin it avoids the clichés of the biopic genre and creates something genuinely interesting.

Continue reading “Steve Jobs” →

0

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 (2015)

The Hunger Games franchise has been a revelation for young-adult cinema.  Dark and intelligent, it has taken issues like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and propaganda and put them on-screen for millions of teenagers around the world.  It’s also proven for any idiots out there that still believe otherwise, that a female character can lead an action series and still make shitloads of money.  With The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2, that all comes to an end, as we find out whether Francis Lawrence can overcome the weakest book in the series to give us a satisfying conclusion.

Continue reading “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 (2015)” →

0

The Hallow (2015)

the-hallow_poster_goldposter_com_3

Putting two people in a cabin, dropping them into the woods and then turning it into a film worth seeing in 2015 is a hard job.  The cabin in the wood genre has been done to death and unless you are offering up a comic or intelligent alternative, the odds are any attempt to get it out there will end up dropping straight onto DVD.  The Hallow is far too good for such a fate.  Directed by first-time director and horror fanatic Corin Hardy, it is a creepy monster film that points towards one hell of  future.

Continue reading “The Hallow (2015)” →

0

Brooklyn (2015)

Brooklyn’s trailer would have you believe it was a po-faced drama.  The kind of weepy period piece that we see come in and out of cinemas several times a year and are perfectly acceptable to people that are into that kind of thing, but to most are something that can be safely ignored.  Sadly, that depiction has probably robbed a lot of people from seeing a wonderful piece of cinema.

Continue reading “Brooklyn (2015)” →

0

Spectre (2015)

It all starts so well.  Spectre‘s opening set piece, set in Mexico City during the Day of the Dead had been much hyped before its release and there is a reason for that.  The long tracking shot that kicks things off, followed by a brief fire-fight and a chase through the crowded streets.  Finally, Bond and his enemy battle it out in a tumbling helicopter high above the screaming crowds below.  It’s gorgeously realised and seems to set Spectre up for one hell of a showing.  Sadly, that doesn’t prove to be the case.

Continue reading “Spectre (2015)” →

0

Sicario (2015)

Sicario is at it’s best when, like it’s protagonist Kate Macer (Emily Blunt), you are in the dark as to exactly what is happening.  It is a film which moves in the shadows, both in terms of the characters that inhabit it and how it slowly eeks out its plot to the watching audience.  While this leads to some gripping cinema, it doesn’t exactly lend itself to writing up a comprehensive review.

Continue reading “Sicario (2015)” →

1

Macbeth

The story of Macbeth needs no introduction.  One of Shakespeare’s most famous works, it’s a story that only seems to grow with time.  Putting it on the big screen in 2015 is a tough task for that very reason.  The list of names who have filled the roles of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth reads like an introduction to acting royalty.  From Kenneth Branagh to James McAvoy.  From Judi Dench to Alex Kingston.  Whether on stage or screen, they are large shoes to step into.  So how do you make an adaptation of the Scottish Play stand out?

Continue reading “Macbeth” →

0

Blog at WordPress.com.

Up ↑