Review: Spectre (2015)

Spectre

The striking Day of the Dead celebrations provide the backdrop to a dazzling pre-credits opener for Spectre, the follow-up to the most successful Bond entry yet. Director Sam Mendes, who returns along with star Daniel Craig, tries to match pitch thereafter but is let down by an uneven and bloated script. Driven by a message from the dead, Bond (Craig) defies orders set by M (Ralph Fiennes) to track down the man behind the villainous network responsible for many of his past obstacles. Continue reading “Review: Spectre (2015)”

Review: Skyfall (2012)

When a hard drive containing top-secret data is lost in the field, James Bond (Daniel Craig) is sent to recover it. However, when the mission ends badly and the information finds itself in the hands of an intimidating threat with immense skill, M (Judi Dench) must come to terms with her troubled past, reacquaint herself with an old friend and do everything in her power to ensure MI6 – and every single one of its undercover operatives – withholds its position as a Continue reading “Review: Skyfall (2012)”

DVD/Blu-Ray Releases: April 23, 2012

Headlining this week’s assortment of DVD and Blu-Ray releases is Sony Pictures’ The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Adapted from Stieg Larsson’s acclaimed novel by Steven Zaillian (Contagion), David Fincher directs Rooney Mara and Daniel Craig in this slick and concentrated thriller about a man (Craig) hired to uncover the mysterious disappearance of a girl who has been missing for over forty years.

Featuring a confident and sexy, yet headstrong performance from Mara, striking cinematography and a punchy score from the mind’s of Trent Reznor and Atticus Continue reading “DVD/Blu-Ray Releases: April 23, 2012”

Review: The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2011)

Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig), a recently abased journalist, is headhunted by wealthy patriarch Henrik Vanger (Christopher Plummer) to investigate the mysterious disappearance of his niece, Harriet Vanger. With the aid of unusual research mastermind Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara), he embroils himself in a forty-year-old puzzle unlike anything he’s encountered before.

Stieg Larsson’s The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, with it’s ever winding central mystery, interesting characters and thought-provoking subtext, Continue reading “Review: The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2011)”

Review: Dream House (2011)

Fortuitous publisher Will Atenton (Daniel Craig) relocates his wife (Rachel Weisz) and two children (Taylor and Claire Geare) to a seemingly idyllic house in a picturesque New England town. As they adjust to their environment, they discover that their new house is actually the scene of an old murder. Attempting to piece together exactly what happened, Will, with the aid of his amiable neighbour (Naomi Watts), uncovers the unsettling truth behind the deplorable events.

What begins as an unnerving, rousing thriller, hits an altogether sour note once the – quite frankly outrageous – midway plot twist is revealed. From Continue reading “Review: Dream House (2011)”

Review: The Adventures Of Tintin: The Secret Of The Unicorn (2011)

An avid fan, and the sole person trusted by Hergé to adapt his comic books, Steven Spielberg joins forces with Peter Jackson to bring the iconic drawings to life through the art of motion capture: a method which both filmmakers believe unrivalled for representing the author’s bewitching world.

Combining elements from three of Hergé’s celebrated tales, The Adventures Of Tintin: The Secret Of The Unicorn centres on plucky newspaper reporter Tintin (Jamie Bell) and his attempts to find the treasure of Sir Francis Continue reading “Review: The Adventures Of Tintin: The Secret Of The Unicorn (2011)”