Review: Zero Dark Thirty

Zero Dark Thirty is more of a requirement in film than it is in art, giving some sense of closure to millions affected, and treats the subject with respect. The film follows the true events of one CIA woman’s dogged determination to finally find and kill terrorist mastermind Osama Bin Laden. Directed by Katheryn Bigelow…

Review: Gravity (3D)

As the film is quick to remind us: Life in space is impossible, and never has this been more apparent than in the new film by Alfonso Cuaron (director of Children of Men). During repair work on the Hubble space telescope, a massive debris field destroys most of the repair team’s operation. Incredibly isolated and…

Review: Prisoners

With a runtime of over two and a half hours, this taut investigative thriller may lose some of the less attentive audiences, but is so grim with frank realities, moralities and tension that it succeeds wonderfully. When two families find their youngest daughters missing, a police detective runs an investigation into a possible kidnapping. But…

Review: Rush

Rush proves that an intense, thrilling and impassioned true story can be made from the world of Formula One! In the mid-1970s a rivalry between two men gripped the world of motor sport, that of Britain James Hunt, and the Austrian Niki Lauda. The film begins with both men taking the leap from Formula 3…

Review: Seven Psychopaths

Seven Psychopaths was more intriguing than I had first thought, though it does feel like a poor man’s Tarantino movie. The film’s advertisement (and the title!) suggested it followed seven psychopaths, played by the leading stars involved, and that isn’t entirely true. We follow Colin Farrell’s character Marty, who is an author struggling to write…

Review: Modern Times

Incredible how a film made in 1936 can have so much social and economical subtext in “modern times”! Charlie Chaplin plays a gormless but talented man working a repetitive job in a factory, only for a nervous breakdown to cause him losing his position, only to wind up in jail over a misunderstanding! But before…

Review: Quiz Show

The first film I’ve seen that was directed by Robert Redford, Quiz Show is rightfully regarded as one of his best. Based off a true story, the film follows the ethical minefield of a quiz show at the advent of television that encouraged its contestants to cheat by giving them the answers ahead of time….

Review: Lincoln

Steven Spielberg is probably the only man who could take a subject matter as dry as politics and as well known as Lincoln’s victory over the 13th amendment and make it worth watching for over one-hundred and fifty minutes. Daniel Day Lewis gives a powerhouse performance as the United States sixteenth President as he deals…

Review: White Heat

James Cagney stars in what could be one of his most prominent roles from 1949, and having not seen any of his other films, I can believe it! (I know, some of you might be shaking your heads at the fact I’ve not seen many older films… I do try!) Cagney plays a criminal named…

Review: Punch-Drunk Love

I have no idea how to summerise this film, what a bizarre yet strangely poignant romantic comedy with a seriously strange twist. We follow Adam Sandler’s character who can only be described as “psychologically disturbed”, as he runs a small business and tries to break free of insecurities thrown on him by his seven sisters….