Review: Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013)

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Insidious Chapter 2

Compelled to capitalise on the success of what many labelled the best supernatural thriller in decades, director James Wan and screenwriter Leigh Whannell reunite for its sequel, Insidious: Chapter 2. Picking up directly after the events depicted in the first film, Insidious: Chapter 2 frustratingly succumbs to many of the same problems – a convoluted narrative and an overt reliance on quick shocks rather than deep-rooted terror – that caused the first film to lose merit during its latter half. Continue reading “Review: Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013)” →

Review: About Time (2013)

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About Time

Like it or not, British-born actor, director and screenwriter Richard Curtis has built himself a successful career by churning out his own brand of light-hearted, audience-friendly romantic comedies. The latest of which, About Time, deviates ever so slightly from the traditional structure to deliver a quirky, refreshingly touching and well acted, yet overlong and ridiculously predictable story of love and close family bonds. Continue reading “Review: About Time (2013)” →

Review: In A World… (2013)

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In A World...

Known to few for her supporting turns in such rom-coms as It’s Complicated and No Strings Attached, actress Lake Bell takes a leap into the forefront with In A World. This superbly written treasure of a film, which premiered to wows from critics and audiences alike at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, delves into the unseen world of trailer voiceover artists and not only proves Bell’s worth as an actress, but also marks her arrival as a proficient writer and director. Continue reading “Review: In A World… (2013)” →

Review: The Way Way Back (2013)

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The Way Way Back

There’s nothing more re-done than a coming-of-age comedy. Yet The Way Way Back, like Little Miss Sunshine and Ruby Sparks before it, is one of the rare ones that, despite treading familiar territory (it can’t help but feel like a younger version of Adventureland, particularly in relation to its amusement park setting), boasts such a tender, acute script and well-rounded characters that it’s impossible not to succumb to its charms and harsh-but-true honesty. Continue reading “Review: The Way Way Back (2013)” →

Review: Pain & Gain (2013)

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Pain and Gain

Leaving the ludicrously successful world of sentient robotic beings destroying the world bit-by-bit (otherwise known as Transformers), director Michael Bay lends his hand to dark satire Pain & Gain, the bizarrely true story of a mid-90s plot that saw three bodybuilders extort and blackmail their way to success. It’s regrettable, then, that what is, at times, a well performed and deliciously dark deconstruction of the American Dream, quickly becomes a distasteful and hard-featured botch job thanks to Bay’s inability to be anything but over-the-top and overambitious.  Continue reading “Review: Pain & Gain (2013)” →

Review: Elysium (2013)

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Elysium

Writer and director Neill Blomkamp burst onto the scene four year’s ago with District 9, one of the most distinguished feature debuts of recent memory. That film saw him deliver a morally complex, emotionally perverting, technically superb film that surpassed expectations to the tune of $210M worldwide. His next film Elysium – set in the year 2154 where the wealthy have abandoned a shattered Earth in favour of a man made space station free of diseases, pain and suffering – sees him up the ante, yet retain that winning blend of action and social commentary. Continue reading “Review: Elysium (2013)” →

Review: We’re The Millers (2013)

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We're The Millers

The latest in the line of R-rated comedies hoping to capitalise on the success achieved by The Hangover, Bridesmaids and The Heat, We’re The Millers boasts a starry cast and neat premise, yet squanders both by subjecting them to a hit-and-miss script and a series of laughably uninspired gags. When small-time pot dealer David (Jason Sudeikis) has his marijuana stash stolen, he’s forced to become a drug smuggler to repay the debt to his boss.  Continue reading “Review: We’re The Millers (2013)” →

Review: The Lone Ranger (2013)

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The Lone Ranger

Conceived for a radio show in the early 1930s, the characters of John Reid – soon to become the Lone Ranger – and his trusted sidekick Tonto soon transitioned to television, where they became American cultural staples. Since the series ended in the late 1950s, there’s been various attempts to bring the tenacious crime-fighting duo to the big screen, none more bizarre and erratic, yet somewhat thrilling than The Lone Ranger. Continue reading “Review: The Lone Ranger (2013)” →

Review: Percy Jackson: Sea Of Monsters (2013)

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Sea Of Monsters

Adapted from Rick Riordan’s popular novel series, Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief proved to be a playful and speedy, if unremarkable, escapist adventure. Ultimately though, due to poor box office takings (it made a paltry $230M worldwide), a sequel seemed highly unlikely. Fast forward three years and, as if by magic, the son of Poseidon is back in action for Percy Jackson: Sea Of Monsters, this time with new director Thor Freudenthal on board. Continue reading “Review: Percy Jackson: Sea Of Monsters (2013)” →

Review: Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa (2013)

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Alpha Papa

Invented by Steve Coogan and Armando Iannucci for the BBC Radio 4 programme On The Hour, fictional media whore Alan Partridge has since enjoyed cross-platform success as a radio and television presenter. Twenty two years later, and with new writers Neil Gibbons and Rob Gibbons joining forces with old hands Coogan and Iannucci, Alan migrates to the big screen with the funny and often surreal Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa. Continue reading “Review: Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa (2013)” →