Reviews
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Theatrical Releases: The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Whatever accusations one may be justified in throwing towards the massively successful franchises of Harry Potter and Twilight, it’s difficult to argue that they aren’t carried off with hefty lashings of convincing magical clout that firmly situate us, however we may feel about them, in their fantasy worlds.Disappointingly however, this has hardly been a feat…
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DVD Review: ‘True Justice: Deadly Crossing’
★☆☆☆☆ Well, first let me explain that True Justice: Deadly Crossing (2010) is not a ‘movie’ in any traditional sense of the term, more the left over footage from a failed television show created by action movie legend-come-self-parody, Steven Seagal. Essentially the first and second episodes from the shelved TV cop show True Justice, Deadly…
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DVD Review: ‘Piranha 3D’
★★★☆☆ Following the honest carnage and thrills of Switchblade Romance (2003) and the enjoyably nasty but thematically over-explicit remake of The Hills Have Eyes (2006) (much lacking the relative subtlety of the original), Alexandre Aja – much like Rob Zombie did with his 2007 Halloween remake – proves himself more of a ‘grindhouse’ director than Quentin…
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DVD Releases: ‘The Last Exorcism’
Over the past few years, hand-held horror movies seem to have become a fairly frequent occurrence, often achieving varying degrees of success. On one hand we’ve seen such superb and wonderfully terrifying examples as Rec (2008) and Paranormal Activity (2007). Equally, however, some haven’t quite delivered in the same way; 2008’s Cloverfield and 2010’s Rec…
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DVD Releases: ‘Scott Pilgrim vs. The World’
As the director of Channel 4’s cult comedy Spaced, Edgar Wright put a surreal, hyperactive slant on the story of a bunch of twenty-something slackers. Then, with Shaun of the Dead (2004), he showed that he could wrench a heartfelt emotional payoff from even the most unlikely of scenarios. And finally, with Hot Fuzz (2007), he…
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Theatrical Releases: ‘Catfish’
Catfish (2010) is unlike anything I’ve ever seen; even defining its genre proves problematic. I’d like to settle on docu-thriller, but its ever-changing tone means you don’t really know what you’re watching until the film’s conclusion. The problem with reviewing it also is, the less you know, the more you’ll enjoy it.Henry Joost and Ariel ‘Rel’ Schulman…
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Film Review: Tron: Legacy
★★★★☆ “I’ve been waiting a long time for this” mutters Clu, the digital reincarnation of Jeff Bridges’ Kevin Flynn, echoing the thoughts of thousands of Tron fans worldwide. 28 years ago the original Tron was wowing 80′s audiences with its ground breaking use of visual technology. Nearly three decades on, Joseph Kosinski’s Tron: Legacy (2010) is…
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Theatrical Releases: ‘Road to Las Vegas’
Rarely does a documentary manage to encapsulate its subject matter with the kind of beauty and non-judgemental insight as Jason Massot’s latest film, Road to Las Vegas (2010).Spanning four years, it follows the lives of African American couple Vanessa and Maurice Melton and their five children as they leave home and set off on an…
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DVD Review: ‘Sus’
★★★☆☆ It is election night, 3 May 1979, and police officer Karn (Ralph Brown) is confident that Margaret Thatcher will win a landslide victory. An innocent black man, Leon Delroy (Clint Dyer), is brought in for interrogation, accused of murdering his pregnant wife who died after suffering a massive haemorrhage. Karn and his thuggish sidekick,…
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DVD Releases: ‘La Ciénaga’
Argentinian-born director Lucrecia Martel crafted her newly rereleased debut feature La Ciénaga (The Swamp) in 2001, receiving praise from critics and audience alike. The film does indeed stand as a testimony of her directorial talent and ability to let the story tell itself. La Ciénaga is a sober, quiet, unpretentious film which, just like its title, presents itself…
