★★☆☆☆ The success/failure of The Guilt Trip (2012) rests entirely upon the mismatched pairing of international doyenne Barbra Streisand and Judd Apatow disciple Seth Rogen. Streisand, in her first starring role in 15 years, plays the widowed Joyce Brewster, a stereotypical Jewish mother – gabbling, smothering and parsimonious – and Continue Reading
★★★☆☆ The somewhat bemusing tagline for Parker (2013) – the latest brusque and thundering action-thriller starring British cult hero Jason Statham – states that ‘Payback has a new name’. Indeed, the titular Parker, the hard-boiled anti-hero of Donald Westlake’s series of crime novels, has appeared before, under a different name, in Continue Reading
★★★★☆ Oscar-winning director Steven Soderbergh’s ongoing retirement from feature filmmaking has become something of a running industry joke in recent years, with his departure from Hollywood planned (four projects in advance) back in 2011, prior to the release of virus thriller Contagion. Since then, Soderbergh has garnered praise from audiences Continue Reading
★★★★☆ This week, The Evil Dead director Sam Raimi brings L. Frank Baum’s magical world back to life for a whole new generation with Oz The Great and Powerful (2013). Starring James Franco, Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz, Michelle Williams and Zach Braff, this new 3D fantasy from Disney is, in Continue Reading
