The sequel to Blue Sky Studios’ smash-hit parrot adventure, Rio 2 maintains the same bright and brisk approach that helped carry its predecessor to a cool $484M box office cume, but lacks substantially in substance and emotional depth. When a hidden tribe of Spix’s Macaw’s are discovered in the Amazon, Blu (Jesse Eisenberg) and his family – Jewel (Anne Hathaway) and their three chicks – leave their domesticated life in search of pastures new. Continue reading “Review: Rio 2 (2014)”
Adapted from Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s novella of the same name, The Double – a darkly funny psychological thriller in its own right – marks Richard Ayoade’s follow-up to the coming-of-age comedy Submarine. Here, Jesse Eisenberg plays Simon James, a timid office drone for a data processing plant who lives his life in the shadows, failing to make an impression on anyone, including boss Mr Papadopoulos (Wallace Shawn) and neighbour come object of affection Hannah (Mia Wasikowska, brilliant as ever). Continue reading “Review: The Double (2013)”
Based on David Mamet’s play Sexual Perversity In Chicago, Steve Pink’s About Last Night – also a remake of the 1986 rom-com starring Rob Lowe and Demi Moore – attempts to provide a modern spin on the trials and tribulations of romantic relationships for 21st century audiences. Yet instead of saying anything new or interesting, the film rehashes every single cliché known to man – and not even in a way that’s mildly distracting. Continue reading “Review: About Last Night (2014)”
A Long Way Down, the unnecessary and inexcusably maudlin film adaptation of Nick Hornby’s best-selling novel, turns a darkly funny story about four downbeat individuals – Martin Sharp (Pierce Brosnan), a disgraced TV presenter; Maureen (Toni Collette), a worn out carer to her disabled son; JJ (Aaron Paul), a failed musician; and Jess (Imogen Poots), the compulsive daughter of a politician – who form a suicide pact into a hackneyed, tasteless excuse for a comedy Continue reading “Review: A Long Way Down (2014)”
Successfully reintroduced in The Muppets, Jim Henson’s loveable puppet creations are back for Muppets Most Wanted, a sequel that’s every but as fun and brisk as its predecessor, even if it does skimp on the heart. Capitalising on their newfound success, the Muppets embark upon a world tour. Soon after, Constantine, an evil frog, escapes from prison, only to swap places with Kermit and use the Muppets’ worldwide tour as cover for a series of elaborate crime heists. Continue reading “Review: Muppets Most Wanted (2014)”
Praised for his sharp comedy work that made the likes of Juno and Up In The Air such successes, director Jason Reitman makes an awkward shift to darker, solemn material with Labor Day, a respectable, but not quite there adaptation of Joyce Maynard. Left despondent by the breakdown of her marriage, single mother Adele (Kate Winslet) has become trapped by her own unwillingness, leaving son Henry (Gattlin Griffith) to pick up the slack. Continue reading “Review: Labor Day (2014)”
Declaring the arrival of former Skins stars Jack O’Connell with a ferocious, star-making performance, Starred Up is an outstanding and unflinching prison drama from director David Mackenzie, whose career sparks new life after a string of middling efforts. Prematurely transferred to the same prison as his estranged father (Ben Mendelsohn), teenage offender Eric (O’Connell) soon attracts the unwelcome attention of the prison wardens when he fails to curb his foul behaviour. Continue reading “Review: Starred Up (2014)”
Of all the Marvel properties to make it to the silver screen so far, Captain America is perhaps the least appealing of the lot, massively outshone by occasional allies Iron Man and Thor. It’s a surprise, then, to see him firmly entrenched within one of Marvel’s best films, Captain America: The Winter Soldier – a direct follow-up to The Avengers that’s as much part of the overall MCU as it is its own rooted and entertaining entity. Continue reading “Review: Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)”
Lust, sex, violence and death coalesce superbly in French director Alain Guiraudie’s tense, unnerving and erotically-charged thriller Stranger By The Lake. Franck (Pierre Deladonchamps) spends his summer lapping up the sun and sea at a cruising hotspot, where he strikes up a harmless friendship with hermit Henri (Patrick D’Assumçao) and becomes infatuated with Michel (Christophe Paou) Continue reading “Review: Stranger By The Lake (2014)”
Liam Neeson continues his bizarre transition from Oscar-winner to action star with Non-Stop, a ludicrous, yet undeniably entertaining mile-high thriller that re-teams Neeson with Unknown director Jaume Collet-Serra. Bill Marks (Neeson), a Federal Air Marshall with a troubled past, is forced to spring into action when he starts to receive text messages threatening passengers aboard his transatlantic flight from New York to London. Continue reading “Review: Non-Stop (2014)”
Empty Screens 