(Originally published October 2011) Before Saw, there was Ichi the Killer; a Japanese film based on the manga and anime, stretched the boundaries of what cinema could get away with. Directed by Audition‘s Takashi Miike and taking place in Japan’s gangland society, the story follows two unique but equally sadistic individuals. One is a pain-relishing…
Review: Don’t be Afraid of the Dark (2011)
(Originally published October 2011) Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark is quick to remind us that it is a retelling of a teleplay by Nigel McKeand, but is also a remake of a 1973 movie. Pleasantly however, this remake proves to be the right calibre of scares! Any fan of Guillermo Del Toro will see…
Review: Rubber
(originally published Oct 2011) You know… sometimes as a reviewer a film comes along and challenges your ability to think and write cohesively because what was witnessed was so completely random. Rubber, follows a sentient killer psychic tyre, that wakes up in the American scrub-lands only to start popping small animals and people’s heads. Believe…
Review: The Martian (2D)
Director Ripley Scott delivers stunning visuals to accompany this space survivalist flick. Matt Damon plays Mark Watney, an astronaut botanist who takes part in a space mission to the planet Mars, but when their mission is cut drastically short due to a storm, the team lose him and presume him dead. With the crew returning…
Review: Legend (2015)
This black comedy thriller follows the exploits of the Kray Twins, notorious London gangsters during the 1960s. It feels quite long, but Tom Hardy has a dynamite performance as both twins. Ronald and Reginald Kray are living the comfortable life as gangsters on London’s east side, they are seemingly impervious to the police while running…
Review: The Philadelphia Story
This comedy from 1940 still holds a lot of good chuckles today thanks to a great witty script and acting talent. Katherine Hepburn leads this comedy as a rich woman on the eve of her wedding when her ex-husband arrives at her mansion with two reporters in tow looking for a potentially scandalous story for…
Review: The Visit
Director M. Night Shyamalan funded this small and unique film himself to regain “creative control”. Honestly, it isn’t half bad! To help their mother cope with a divorce and have fun with her life, two siblings go to spend a week living with their grandparents, the daughter attempting to film their experience to give their…
Review: Gone with the Wind
First time watching this. Now I shall wait for you to stop hurling abuse at me, please begin reading the review when you have recovered your composure… Okay? Feeling better? Set in the 1800s at the beginning of the American Civil War, Gone with the Wind follows the young, selfish daughter of a plantation owner…
Review: Maggie
You’d have never thought a film with Arnold versus zombies would play out as a grieving father watching his daughter die. Wade Vogel (Arnold Schwarzenegger) tracks down his daughter who had fled their home after becoming infected by a virus that slowly turns the victim into a mindless cannibal. He refuses to accept her fate,…
Review: Ex Machina
Wow, I am struggling to think of problems with this intelligent sci-fi thriller. Caleb, a young computer specialist, is hired by a recluse multi-millionaire programmer to test groundbreaking artificial intelligence within a secret, isolated laboratory. Ex Machina is the directorial debut of Alex Garland, writer of incredible science fiction screenplays such as Sunshine, Dredd and…