Reviews
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DVD Review: ‘The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec’
★★★★☆ According to Luc Besson, his latest film The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec (2011) is like “a big ice-cream, [with] Chantilly, nuts, fudge, and an umbrella and a cherry”. Besson has indeed served up a dish that is pure indulgence; the film is a dazzling, crazy concoction of fantasy and thrilling action that is…
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DVD Review: ‘Your Highness’
★★★☆☆ Pineapple Express (2008) director David Gordon Green again toys with the ridiculous in adventure comedy Your Highness (2011). His latest jaunt offers a wealth of young Hollywood talent that includes James Franco, Academy Award winner Natalie Portman, Danny McBride and Zooey Deschanel. Prince Fabious (Franco) is brave, handsome and valiant in a medieval world…
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Film Review: ‘The Tree’
★★★☆☆ Anyone who has seen Lars von Trier’s disturbing yet majestic exploration into the realm of human grief and suffering Antichrist (2009) may well be able to spot one or two similarities in Julie Bertuccelli’s The Tree (2011).The film is based around the character of Dawn (Charlotte Gainsbourg) and her struggle to deal with the…
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Film Review: Super 8
★★★☆☆ J.J. Abrams obviously had the misspent childhood that we all dream of. He many not have been off rafting down the great Mississippi with a runaway slave, but he was out there shooting adorable little movies with his adorable little friends. One of those friends grew up to be Larry Fong and, in a…
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DVD Review: ‘Iron Lord’
★★☆☆☆ Dmitri Korobkin’s Iron Lord (2010) – or Yaroslav. Tysyachu let nazad in its native Russian – is just one of many recent historical epics to have been released into an extremely saturated, straight-to-DVD market this year, and aside from some impressive camerawork, crisp editing, and the accompaniment of a well plotted soundscape, Iron Lord…
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DVD Review: ‘The Duel’
★★★☆☆ At first glance, Diego Hallivis’ The Duel (2011) appears to be just another run of the mill, wrong side of the tracks, teen-movie; not-so-bad bad-boy moves to new school, gets involved in a sporting contest with dangerous consequences and to get the girl kind of drivel perfectly tailored to the talents (if that’s the…
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DVD Review: ‘Camelot’
★★☆☆☆ Recently broadcast on Channel 4, Camelot (2011) is the latest take on the timeless legend of King Arthur, and joins series like Merlin and The Tudors in the collection of must-see viewing for fans of medieval and period dramas.Indeed, anyone who was watched The Tudors will find a lot of similarities between the two…
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DVD Review: ‘Limitless’
★★★☆☆ Based on Alan Glynn’s techno-thriller novel The Dark Fields, Limitless (2011) offers up an exciting and intriguing concept, but not one that is wholly original and without blemish. Whilst the film begins with all of the right intentions and with the prospect of an intriguing idea, its climax and post-climactic phases undo the impressive…
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DVD Review: ‘Super’
★★★★☆ Had James Gunn’s Super (2010) been released months ago and without the added pressure from the Harry Potter and Transformers series’ it may have had some theatrical success, or at least a longer spell in cinemas. Instead, Super comes to DVD less than a month after it’s debut, realising that anyone beyond it’s niche…
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DVD Review: ‘Hobo with a Shotgun’
★★★☆☆ It’s amazing to think that two feature length movies have spawned from the ‘fake trailers’ that appeared during 2007’s Grindhouse double bill. What’s even more amazing that the two films in question have probably done better in terms of critical reception than Grindhouse itself, one of which is Jason Eisener’s Hobo with a Shotgun…