10 Cloverfield Lane plays its cards as ambiguously as its title, from start to finish. But it is a decently performed psychological thriller. A woman who is fleeing from her ex-boyfriend finds herself driven off the road and knocked unconscious. When she wakes she finds herself captive to a strange man deep in an underground…
Trilogy Review: Kung Fu Panda
I am not a fan of Jack Black. In fact I tell people often that he only works best when not in a leading role. After all, we can cite plenty of films he has headlined that did not work out (Gulliver’s Travels, Year One etc) So it always perplexes me when I really enjoy…
Review: Waltz with Bashir
Nominated in 2009 for the Academy’s Best Foreign film award, Waltz with Bashir is an honest, documentary style animation about surviving war… Following the true events and feelings of director Ari Folman who fought in the Lebanon war of 1982, Waltz with Bashir talks like a documentary but features fully animated sequences of the events…
Review: Room
Definitely not to be confused with The Room. Room follows the lives of a mother and her five year old son who have been living in captivity for seven years. Held against their will in a single room by a man who gives them just enough to live by, they plot an escape. But what…
Review: Hail, Caesar!
The Coen Brothers are back with a satirical take on 1950s Hollywood. An extremely busy production studio owner juggles control over several movie productions that struggle under misfortunes. From an actress losing a legal battle over her child, or an acclaimed drama director being given a lead star better suited for Westerns, to nosy journalists…
Review: The Gift
The Gift is an excellent example of how less is more; a surprisingly simple but escalating psychological thriller. Robyn moves into a new home with her successful husband Simon. But not long after they move they meet Gordon, a shifty but generous man who turns out to be an old school colleague of Simon’s. But…
Review: The Forest
A Hollywood produced psychological horror set in Japan following a young American woman trying to find her sister who has become lost in the notorious “suicide forest” that actually exists on the banks of Mount Fuji. Trying to not sound too snobby, but I feel as though The Forest could have been better served as a…
Trio Review: The Punisher
Surprise Trio Review! I figured with Marvel’s Netflix show Daredevil returning to us in March, with the added bonus of The Punisher character making an appearance, I would review all of the Punisher films! Yes, all. Did you know there’s been three of these things? In 1989 there was a Punisher film made by an…
Review: Deadpool
Studio 20th Century Fox delivers an off-the-wall adaptation of Marvel superhero Deadpool, capitalising on a character in their repertoire with ludicrous respect, making for the first straight up adult comedy of the genre. Mercenary and thug-for-hire Wade Wilson finds the love of his life, but not long afterwards he is diagnosed with terminal cancer. Trusting…
Review: Spotlight
Oscar season this year is sure giving us a lot of intensity isn’t it? A nominee studded cast stars in this grueling true story. Spotlight is an investigative team of journalists working for The Boston Globe. In 2001 they were assigned a special task by their new editor, a task of uncovering the secretive world…