Tag: Review

Review: Tarzan 3D (2013)

Jamie NeishLeave a comment

Tarzan 3D

The repute of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ widely-known fictional hero Tarzan is defiled by German-born director Reinhard Klooss’ soulless and inefficient 3D animated adventure. Abandoned in the depths of Africa when his parents die in a horrific helicopter crash, Tarzan (Kellan Lutz) – as he’s renamed – is raised by apes, quickly adapting to their way of life. His peaceful life is threatened, however, with the arrival of Greystoke Energies, who will stop at nothing to locate a formidable power source. Continue reading “Review: Tarzan 3D (2013)” →

Review: Plastic (2014)

Jamie Neish2 Comments

Plastic

Julian Gilbey proved himself a dab hand at nail-biting tension with his directorial debut A Lonely Place To Die, yet stumbles sorely with Plastic, what can only be described as a vacant and preposterous follow-up. Four students – Sam (Ed Speelers), Fordy (Will Poulter), Yatesy (Alfie Allen) and Rafa (Sebastian De Souza) – run a successful credit card fraud scheme. But when they accidentally steal from crime boss Marcel (Thomas Kretschmann), they soon find themselves with a £2m debt on their heads. Continue reading “Review: Plastic (2014)” →

Review: Tom At The Farm (2013)

Jamie Neish1 Comment

Tom At The Farm

Québécois wunderkind Xavier Dolan, who already has a creditable three features under his belt, returns with his fourth and most coherent effort yet, the dark and broody Tom At The Farm. At an unnamed farm for the funeral of his boyfriend Guillaume, Tom (Dolan) is soon made aware that Guillaume’s mother Agathe (Lise Roy) knows nothing of her son’s true sexuality, or his relationship with Tom – and Guillaume’s thuggish older brother Francis (Pierre Yves-Cardinal) intends to keep it that way, threatening Tom into an unsettling state of submission. Continue reading “Review: Tom At The Farm (2013)” →

Review: The Love Punch (2014)

Jamie Neish2 Comments

The Love Punch

Many thought that Gambit was the worst caper comedy to be released in years. But little did they know that The Love Punch was right around the corner. With writer and director Joel Hopkins at the helm, whose Last Chance Harvey was a modest treat, this uninspired and woefully unfunny rom-com centres on Kate (Emma Thompson) and Richard (Pierce Brosnan), a divorced couple who decide to steal a costly diamond when a shady businessman strips them of their pensions. Continue reading “Review: The Love Punch (2014)” →

Review: The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)

Jamie Neish1 Comment

The Amazing Spider-Man 2

If the entirety of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was as convincing as the scenes shared between returning stars Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone, then the film would be an unmitigated success. Unfortunately, as it stands with its overstuffed narrative and cavalcade of uninspired villains, the film isn’t much better than its predecessor. With alter-ego Spider-Man riding high, Peter Parker (Garfield) is trapped, unsure how to sustain his relationship with Gwen without putting her in danger and failing in his efforts to understand more about his past. Continue reading “Review: The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)” →

Review: Wrinkles (2011)

Jamie NeishLeave a comment

Wrinkles

The true horror of Alzheimer’s disease is tackled with a aplomb in Ignacio Ferreras’ poignant and charming animated feature Wrinkles. With his family no longer able to care for him, retired bank manager Emilio (Tacho González) is moved into a care home where he befriends Miguel (Álvaro Guevara), a shrewd resident who shows him the way. Based on Paco Raco’s comic book of the same name, Wrinkles is a profound insight into the difficulties that come with old age, seen through the eyes of a man who’s ever-so-slowly losing himself to Alzheimer’s Continue reading “Review: Wrinkles (2011)” →

Review: Noah (2014)

Jamie Neish4 Comments

Noah

Long in development, Darren Aronofsky’s version of Noah, a biblical story that’s a staple of many religions, takes many liberties with its source material (angels are rock monsters dubbed The Watchers and God is referred to only as The Creator), yet delivers something that’s not only epic in scale, but powerful and valid too. Foretold that the world will soon be destroyed through dreams and visions, Noah (Russell Crowe) builds an ark to protect all that creeps, crawls and slithers, as well as his family Continue reading “Review: Noah (2014)” →

Review: Divergent (2014)

Jamie Neish3 Comments

Divergent

The current obsession with YA franchises continues with Divergent, an adaptation of the first instalment in Veronica Roth’s best-selling trilogy that’s less Hunger Games and more Twilight. Set in what’s left of a post-apocalyptic Chicago where people are divided into factions – Abnegation (the selfless), Erudite (the smart), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful) and Candor (the honest) – based on human virtues, Beatrice “Tris” Prior (Shailene Woodley) discovers she’s Divergent, and so doesn’t fit into one set faction. Continue reading “Review: Divergent (2014)” →

Review: Rio 2 (2014)

Jamie Neish2 Comments

Rio 2

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)” →

Review: The Double (2013)

Jamie Neish4 Comments

The-Double-Richard-Ayoade-part1_zps4f3a8c20

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)” →