Review: The Imitation Game

A compelling piece of history and a story worth telling, Cumberbatch is excellent but I felt the experience was let down by a very “convenient” screenplay. Based off the book “Alan Turing: The Enigma” based off the true story of the mathematician who broke the infamous Nazi cypher machine known as The Enigma Machine in World War…

Review: Before I Go to Sleep

Amnesia! The writer’s best friend comes back to haunt Nicole Kidman in her newest thriller. While the premise has been done before, I still found the film engaging and an overall success. Kidman plays Christine, a woman who every day wakes up with no memory of the last twenty years due to an accident. Her…

Trilogy Review: Starship Troopers

Very loosely based off the novel by the same name, Starship Troopers was a pretty infamous film when I was growing up, but it has become a cult favourite of the science fiction genre. Unfortunately… people thought this lightning-in-a-bottle exploitation of Paul Verhoeven deserved a sequel… and another sequel… To this day I refused to…

Review: Gone Girl

A twisting thriller with fantastic performances from the two leads, reminds a lot of old thrillers from the late eighties and early nineties. Isn’t marriage wonderful…! … Nick and Amy are happily married and live together as writers. He is a simple but handsome and likeable soul while she is pragmatic, beautiful and slightly aloof….

Review: How to Train your Dragon

2010 was a tough, tough year to rate films; so many excellent films, it remains the most memorable year for me. Inception won out, but even with Tron Legacy and Toy Story 3, How to Train your Dragon came a very, very tight second behind Christopher Nolan’s mind-warping thriller. Even now… I question that choice:…

Remake Rumble Review: The Great Gatsby

Welcome to a new review section of Cinema Cocoa, Remake Rumble, where I review a film that has been remade. That’s right, two films for the price of one on Cinema Cocoa! The Baz Luhrmann adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel “The Great Gatsby” was something I was keen to review, but I wanted…

Review: The Men who Stare at Goats

Having just seen The Monuments Men, I opted to find another unorthodox “war film” starring George Clooney. This time though, it was a lot of fun! Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor) is a reporter out to prove himself to his cheating girlfriend, and may have found the story to make a name for himself. Lyn Cassady…

Review: The Hunger Games – Catching Fire

This sequel makes up for a lot of its predecessor’s glaring faults, yet somehow continues to paint its theme in the same unbelievable and contrived fashion. Having survived the Hunger Games, a gladiatorial arena fashioned by a tyrannical society called The Capitol, heroes Katniss and Peeta must deal with their limelight fame from those they…

Review: Filth

“Sick, twisted, demented, bizarre” are some of the words used to describe Filth in its sledgehammer trailer, and it certainly indulges itself in all manner of things, but I would say I was surprised at its equally compelling lead character. Based off the novel by Irvine Welsh (Trainspotting) Filth is set in Scotland during the…

Review: The Wizard of Oz

Having seen Oz the Great and Powerful I was inspired to go back and re-watch the two other films based off L. Frank Baum’s books, the famous 1939 MGM classic and the underrated Disney sequel from the 1980s! The Wizard of Oz (1939) An eternally timeless classic, forever referenced and loved. Personally, I have some…