Film reviews and more
The New Year is nearly upon us, and so to celebrate the denouement of what has been a fantastic 2011, CineVue’s top staff writers have provided a rundown of their unique personal Top 5 films of the year, as well as the most exceptional director and actor of the last twelve months of new […]
We’re extremely happy to announce that CineVue has been nominated for Best UK Film Blog Site 2011 at this year’s Richard Attenborough Film Awards. Voting will begin at 12pm GMT (noon) on 12 December 2011 via the awards official site filmoftheyear.co.uk/public-vote and will close on 20 January 2012, with the winners in all categories […]
★★★★☆ The idea of a second film adaptation of Stieg Larsson’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo so soon after Neils Arden Oplev’s 2009 movie is a problem for some. But while it may be mistakenly lumped with other American remakes of foreign films, David Fincher’s finished piece is proof that (like Matt Reeves’ […]
★★☆☆☆ Director Brad Bird is perhaps best known for Pixar efforts The Incredibles (2004) and Ratatouille (2007), but has now turned his hand to live action filmmaking as he directs Tom Cruise (who recently announced the possibility of a sequel to the 1980s classic Top Gun) and home grown comic talent Simon Pegg (soon […]
★★★★☆ Starting its life as a successful children’s book by British writer Michael Morpurgo before consequent adaptations as a hugely successful international theatrical hit and now a Hollywood epic from legendary director Steven Spielberg, War Horse (2011) has captured the imagination of young and old the world over and seems destined be a strong […]
The majestic surroundings of Manchester Town Hall played host to the final See Film Differently event of 2011, an exclusive preview screening of Phyllida Lloyd’s highly anticipated The Iron Lady starring Meryl Streep. The series of events (sponsored by Volkswagen) has seen both cult classics and new releases screened at the films’ original […]
★★★☆☆ Over three months on from its theatrical release – and as we approach its DVD/Blu-ray release on 26 December – it’s still difficult to really get a grasp of Ben Wheatley’s Kill List (2011). Despite two fantastically underplayed performances from Neil Maskell and Harry Simpson (who recently won a BIFA for his […]
★★★☆☆ The Final Destination franchise, which began its life over a decade ago with the release of the 2000 original, holds a special place in many horror fans’ hearts due to its winning central premise – a group of attractive American teens miraculously survive a near-fatal disaster and for the rest of the […]
★★★☆☆ Wreckers (2011), written and directed by first time filmmaker D.R. Hood, is a technically accomplished drama starring the ever popular Benedict Cumberbatch – best known for his role in BBC drama Sherlock and soon to be the voice of Smaug in Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit films – and Claire Foy, star of […]
★★★★★ Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) – Vincente Minnelli’s timeless classic now rereleased by the BFI – is like an old friend you only see occasionally. Within five minutes of meeting again you remember why you love them so much, as they take you back nostalgically to a time when everything seemed […]
★★★★☆ Perfectly rounding off an exceptionally strong year for documentary filmmaking in style, Carol Morley’s Dreams of a Life (2011) is a warm-hearted and deeply moving ode to Joyce Carol Vincent – a vibrant, talented young woman whose remains were discovered in her flat in 2003, three years after dying alone in front […]
★★★☆☆ British director Guy Ritchie returns this week with steam-punk sequel Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011), with Robert Downey Jr. reprising his role as Holmes alongside Jude Law’s ever-dependable Dr. Watson, plus the addition of the original ‘Girl With The Dragon Tattoo’ (and star of Ridley Scott’s upcoming 2012 3D sci-fi […]
How do you review a film that you’re not allowed to talk about? New film releases are generally placed under an embargo of some sort, but Secret Cinema – the London-based film event where patrons buy a ticket without knowing what film it is they are paying to see – puts me in […]
★★☆☆☆ The First Movie (1999) is an ultimately disappointing, overly self-reverential documentary from filmmaker and journalist Mark Cousins, whose recent More4 TV series The Story of Film: An Odyssey was – adversely – an intelligently written and insightful piece of work. There’s no doubt that when it comes to Cousins’ knowledge of cinema, […]
★★☆☆☆ Conan the Barbarian (2011), starring Game of Thrones star Jason Momoa as the more brawn than brain warrior and Rachel Nichols as Tamara his prerequisite love interest, is a lacklustre reboot of the original 1982 Arnold Schwarzenegger classic. Conan (Momoa), is born in the midst of war, as his mother is killed […]
★★★★☆ The Inbetweeners Movie (2011) opens with the forever sexually-deluded Jay (James Buckley), naked but for a pair of snorkels and slithers of ham strewn inexplicably about his person, enthusiastically masturbating to European pornography. At this exquisite moment of teenage self-love, his mother walks into his bedroom and informs him that his grandfather […]
★★★★☆ Written and directed by J.J. Abrams and with Steven Spielberg as its producer, Super 8 (2011) tells the story of a group of young filmmakers who inadvertently capture a horrific train crash whilst filming a scene for their amateur zombie movie. The accident leads to a series of mysterious disappearances and events, […]
★★★☆☆ One of few box office successes to stand out from a crop of misfiring summer blockbusters, Rupert Wyatt’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) may not be the subtlest of allegories but its revolutionary hero Caesar – played by mocap go-to man Andy Serkis – remains one of the finest […]