This moderately successful reboot of the 90s TV show pulls the multi-coloured heroes into the 21st century, all shiny and expensive like. It’s in no way intricately plotted – five misfit teens become saviours of their quiet town when a villainous alien threatens destruction – and the melodramatic angst feels at odds with the tongue in cheek nature of the characters. Continue reading “Review: Power Rangers (2017)”
After the first not only soared into the hearts and mind of many, but also became a certified box office success, Pitch Perfect 2 shrugs off sequel pressures to come out on top. The Barden Bellas have found success in the world of competitive a cappella, until a wardrobe malfunction sends them crashing out. Their only chance of redemption is to do the unthinkable and win at the World A Cappella Competition. Continue reading “Review: Pitch Perfect 2 (2015)”
After the action-heavy drive of the previous instalments, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 is decidedly sober and contemplative in comparison, but no less thrilling. Bunkered down in District 13 after being saved from the Quarter Quell, Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) reluctantly concedes to become the face of the rebel uprising. Her reluctance quickly turns to intensity, however, as President Snow (Donald Sutherland) continues his tight dictatorship, using Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) as bait. Continue reading “Review: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 (2014)”
First manufactured in 1949, LEGO – a line of colourful, plastic interlocking bricks – have since increased exponentially in popularity and scope. There was an overriding concern, then, when Warner Bros. announced The Lego Movie that it would be nothing more than a ridiculous marketing tool. But then directors and certified miracle workers Christopher Miller and Phil Lord came aboard, and the pieces soon fell into place, enabling a new animation classic to be born. Continue reading “Review: The Lego Movie (2014)”
The world of collegiate a capella (college-backed singing groups who perform entirely with their mouths) comes under focus in Universal’s new ensemble comedy Pitch Perfect. In a world where musicals are either as camp and dewy-eyed as Glee, or as irksome as Rock of Ages, Pitch Perfect – from producer and co-star Elizabeth Banks – comes as a welcome surprise with a sharp script, lifelike characters and an unavoidably infectious and buoyant soundtrack. Continue reading “Review: Pitch Perfect (2012)”
In a world torn apart by war, drought and famine, there lies Panem, a society split into a Capitol and twelve separate districts. To compensate for past rebellions, each district must annually offer up two “tributes” to take part in the Capitol’s “Hunger Games”: a televised fight to the death. When her sister is chosen as one of the “tributes”, Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence), a strong-willed teenage girl, volunteers herself to take her sister’s place. Alongside her male counterpart Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson), a lowly baker’s boy, Katniss enters The Hunger Games, only for them to find themselves in a situation like no Continue reading “Review: The Hunger Games (2012)”
Man On A Ledge is, well, apart from being one of the worst titled films of the past few years, a relatively by-the-numbers, cluttered fare that director Asger Leth imparts in a passable, yet ultimately bland, attempt to breathe new life into the tepid thriller genre.
Nick Cassidy (Sam Worthington), an ex-cop and criminal at large, books himself into a fancy suite at the Roosevelt Hotel, New York. Rather than basking in his luxurious surroundings, he instead chooses to climb out onto the window ledge Continue reading “Review: Man On A Ledge (2012)”
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