Category: Review

Review: Melancholia (2011)

Jamie Neish4 Comments

Lars Von Trier is the type of director who’s not scared of polarising audiences. Not content with making straightforward films, he’s instead built up a career by following the more controversial route, exploring topics that are puzzling, difficult, or both – not concerning himself with the dozens of cinemagoers he may be excluding in the process. Melancholia, the Danish auteur’s latest oeuvre epitomises his beliefs and cinematic style in a completely dazzling, meditative fashion: one certain to split audiences right down the middle.

Opening with a visually beguiling yet skin-crawlingly ominous prelude that depicts the moment just before the planet Melancholia swallows up our very Continue reading “Review: Melancholia (2011)” →

Review: Red State (2011)

Jamie Neish2 Comments

Over the years, Kevin Smith has made a name for himself directing such provocative and riotous comedies as the infamous Clerks and last years miscalculated Cop Out. His latest directorial effort, Red State, is an entirely different ball game. Not only does it see Smith returning to the guerrilla filmmaking style that made him a household name, but it also sees him tackling subject matter outside his typical comfort zone. This is how freely he works when not having to deal with Hollywood studios and experienced actors – something that, despite its often incoherent execution, is very interesting to behold.

Travis (Michael Angarano), Jarod (Kyle Gallner) and Billy-Ray (Nicholas Braun), respond to an online invitation Continue reading “Review: Red State (2011)” →

Review: The Change Up (2011)

Jamie Neish1 Comment

The body-swap comedy has become somewhat a staple in Hollywoodland of late. While some films find intriguing and interesting ways of exploring the subject, for example Freaky Friday and 17 Again, others seem to struggle from the offset, falling into an unoriginal heap of bad jokes, one dimensional characters and despair. The Change Up, unsurprisingly written by the duo responsible for The Hangover – have you seen the posters?! – falls into the latter pile.

Dave (Jason Bateman) and Mitch (Ryan Reynolds) are two guys with entirely different lifestyles. Dave, a married, middle-aged lawyer, yearns for Continue reading “Review: The Change Up (2011)” →

Review: Friends With Benefits (2011)

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After Ivan Reitman’s unbalanced No Strings Attached, director Will Gluck and screenwriting duo Keith Merryman and David A. Newman take a stab at ridiculing the stereotypical relationship between a man and a woman, and the modern-day conventions of a romantic comedy.

Jamie (Mila Kunis), a New York headhunter, enters into a no-strings-attached relationship with Dylan (Justin Timberlake), her latest client, after they’re both left wounded by previous romantic commitments. However, when real-life starts to complicate their pact, their “purely physical” affinity is tested to the max. Continue reading “Review: Friends With Benefits (2011)” →

Review: Drive (2011)

Jamie Neish9 Comments

Genre sensibilities are turned inside out with Drive, Danish filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn’s muted modern-day take on the celebrated neo-noir film.

Hollywood stunt-driver by day, getaway driver-for-hire by night, Ryan Gosling’s unnamed character is shrouded in mystery. He subscribes to a methodical lifestyle, timing everything to perfect precision. When he meets his coy next-door neighbour Irene (Carey Mulligan), he finds himself wrapped up in her husband’s (Oscar Issac) unfortunate – and criminal – predicament. Forced to abandon his scrupulous attitude, he must adopt a much more reckless way of life. Continue reading “Review: Drive (2011)” →

Review: Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011)

Jamie Neish1 Comment

In a year of disappointing and miscalculated comedies (Larry Crowne and Chalet Girl are two that immediately spring to mind), Crazy, Stupid, Love is a wonderful return to form. Co-directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa’s follow up to last year’s surprisingly sincere I Love You Phillip Morris is a suitably mature addition to the oft-contrived rom-com genre.

Happily married simpleton Cal’s (Steve Carell) life is thrown into turmoil when his wife, Emily (Julianne Moore), suddenly demands a divorce. Now Cal, a man set in his ways, has to adjust to being single, with a little help from ladies man Jacob Palmer (Ryan Gosling). Continue reading “Review: Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011)” →

Review: Jane Eyre (2011)

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Following the overwhelming success of his feature film debut Sin Nombre in 2009, Cary Fukunaga returns with a towering adaptation of Charlotte Brontë’s literary classic Jane Eyre.

For those of you shamefully unfamiliar with Jane Eyre, the plot follows Jane (Mia Wasikowska): a mousy governess who, after an unstable childhood, finds employment at Thornfield Hall. During her time there, she develops a beautiful friendship with head housemistress Mrs. Fairfax (Judi Dench) and a twisted romance with owner Mr. Rochester (Michael Fassbender). Continue reading “Review: Jane Eyre (2011)” →

Review: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (2011)

Jamie Neish4 Comments

Awards season enters its prime with the long-awaited release of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, a new cinematic adaptation of John Le Carré’s acclaimed spy thriller of the same name.

Entrenched in the mid-1970’s, George Smiley (Gary Oldman) is pressured from semi-retirement by Control (John Hurt), the head of British Intelligence, to expose an undercover Sovient agent within MI6’s ranks. His list of suspects include the wily Percy Alleline (Toby Jones), liberal Bill Haydon (Colin Firth), laconic Roy Bland (Ciarán Hinds), reticent Toby Esterhase (David Dencik) and then, of course, Smiley himself. Continue reading “Review: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (2011)” →

Review: Colombiana (2011)

Jamie Neish3 Comments

Centring on a young girl, Cataleya (Zoe Saldana), Colombiana is the latest in Luc Besson’s trademark line of action-thrillers. Unfortunately, that trademark now seems to mean chock full of commonplace tropes, overcooked narrative devices and poorly constituted characters. Here, Cataleya witnesses the brutal death of her parents, catalysing her transformation into a deadly assassin, hellbent on revenge.

Generic and unequivocal, Besson and his fellow screenwriter Robert Mark Kamen have constructed an uneven, overwrought screenplay, plucking ideas from other films in the genre and piecing them haphazardly together in Continue reading “Review: Colombiana (2011)” →

Review: Fright Night (2011)

Jamie Neish1 Comment

Fright Night is a bold, bright and fresh remake of Tom Holland’s much loved, and classically supernatural horror. The film centers on Charley Bewley (Anton Yelchin): an awkward teenage boy who has it made with a hot-as-hell girlfriend (Imogen Poots), devoted mum (Toni Collette) and independent American lifestyle. When mysterious Jerry (Colin Farrell) moves next door, it’s up to Charley to protect his family and rid the Nevada dessert of a deadly vampire clan.

While Fright Night may be as unnecessary as remakes come, it benefits from its refreshingly honest level of self-awareness, as well as the numerous Continue reading “Review: Fright Night (2011)” →