Adapted from the long-running, hugely successful multi-platform racing series, Need For Speed is the definition of a missed opportunity: a super-charged film that’s potential has been thwarted by an uninspired screenplay, underwritten characters and dull, lifeless action sequences that pales in comparison to a mere iota of what’s been seen and done numerous times in the Fast And Furious franchise – a comparison that proves too obvious to avoid. Continue reading “Review: Need For Speed (2014)”
It’s been seven years since the inventive and audacious film adaptation of Frank Miller and Lynn Varley’s comic book series 300 dazzled audiences with its hyper-stylised, ultra-violent and bloodthirsty take on Greek history. Its director, Zack Snyder, has moved on to decidedly bigger ventures, leaving first time director Noam Murro to take the directorial reigns of 300: Rise Of An Empire, a sequel that’s tedious, repetitive and ultimately hideous on the eyes. Continue reading “Review: 300: Rise Of An Empire (2014)”
Years in the making, Mr Peabody & Sherman – a feature-length animated comedy based on characters that featured on The Rocky And Bullwinkle Show in the late 1950s – marks the latest uninspired release from DreamWorks Animation. It’s not that the film is bad per se, more that director Rob Minkoff’s labour of love unfortunately never feels more than an intermittently diverting series of adventures than a cohesive and worthwhile whole. Continue reading “Review: Mr Peabody & Sherman (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)”
Built upon an original idea conceived by star and producer Nick Frost himself, Cuban Fury is a million miles away from the films Frost’s name has become synonymous with – and not solely because this one sees him dance. Yet thanks to his indomitable craft, the heart-warming, inspiring message at its core and its crowd-pleasing nature, the film is, by and large, a success, though not one that leaves a particularly lasting impression. Continue reading “Review: Cuban Fury (2014)”
Hot on the heels of We Steal Secrets: The Story Of WikiLeaks, acclaimed documentary filmmaker and interrogator Alex Gibney returns with The Armstrong Lie. This time, he turns his attention to Lance Armstrong, the seven-time Tour De France-winning cyclist who somehow extraordinarily managed to hide his dependency on performance-enhancing drugs in plain sight for over ten years, for a documentary that’s both fascinating and repetitive. Continue reading “Review: The Armstrong Lie (2013)”
Lone Survivor – the re-telling of a real-life military operation that took place in 2005 – sees director Peter Berg on a mission to atone for his involvement in Battleship, the multi-million dollar blockbuster flop. He succeeds in part, yet Lone Survivor, no matter how intense and true-to-life it’s brought to the screen, can’t help but feel overblown, particularly thanks to the slideshow epilogue that brings it all to a mawkish close. Continue reading “Review: Lone Survivor (2013)”
A rom-com presented from the point of view of three callow, commitment-phobe serial daters, That Awkward Moment has oodles of potential, not least thanks to the combined talents of its up-and-coming cast. Yet the fact that the film is unable to mine any insight or meaning from its slapdash, cliché-ridden and relatively unfunny screenplay renders this an experiment that’s watchable, yet blatantly unremarkable. Continue reading “Review: That Awkward Moment (2014)”
Deserving of more awards attention than it’s received, Inside Llewyn Davis – Joel and Ethan Coen’s follow-up to the very different True Grit – is a very heartfelt and rich piece of cinema, perhaps even one of their best. Melancholic and somber, yet imbued with a tremendous amount of heart, insight and humour through its realistically flawed central character and soul-stirring use of folk music, this is one intoxicating parable that shouldn’t be missed. Continue reading “Review: Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)”
Matthew McConaughey turns in a phenomenal, committed performance in the credible Dallas Buyers Club, further cementing his shift from rom-com doormat to serious, respectable actor. Based on the real-life story of Ron Woodroff, an AIDs victim-turned-activist during the deadly diseases mid-to-late 1980s peak, the film is somber and potent in its portrayal of Ron’s undying courage, yet ultimately hampered by an all too too hooey finale. Continue reading “Review: Dallas Buyers Club (2013)”
Empty Screens 