Latest Reviews

• The Princess and the Frog
  Alan Forrest02-09-2010
  

  Our 4 year old daughter loved this film from the first time she saw it. After the third viewing it was time to wait for the DVD. Excellent family film with a traditional happy ending.

• Lars And The Real Girl
  Heather01-09-2010
  

  I saw this at the cinema and was really impressed by the tender way the main characters deal with Lars' predicament and way of coming to terms with past losses. It is a gently amusing film without the coarseness you might expect from a film starring a blow-up doll, it's not overdone or a farce in any way. A real Winter evening with a cocoa film!

• JCVD
  Georgina Price31-08-2010
  

  I wasn't expecting that much from this Van Damme film, but I was pleasantly surprised to discover an unusual offering from the Muscles from Brussels. The story is a little fragmented, but the overall pace keeps you interested. Jean Claude plays a likeable washed-up actor who is confined to B-Movie status being held hostage by a group of bank robbers.

• Instinct
  Georgina Price31-08-2010
  

  Lovely film, but some shocking moments that will make you cry. Anthony Hopkins plays a very moving character and Cuba Gooding Jr is fantastic as the psychiatrist. Compelling storyline, and great script.

• I Robot - Book & DVD
  Nicole Owen31-08-2010
  

  This eventful action packed DVD featuring Will Smith who fights for his survival against an army of mechanical robots. As usual, he saves the day from what would have been a horrific nightmare. I-Robot is an interesting movie with outstanding graphics and an exhilarating plot.

• Bad Lieutenant - Port Of Call New Orleans
  Kashif Ahmed31-08-2010
  

  Director Walter Herzog's snappily titled 'Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans' has almost nothing in common with it early 90s namesake. For example, in Abel Fererra's 'Bad Lieutenant'; corrupt cop Harvey Kietel investigates the brutal gang rape of a nun. In Herzog's movie; corrupt cop Nicolas Cage hilariously berates drug induced hallucinations of iguanas and calls an infirm old lady a c***. Yes, 'BL: PCNO' is 'CSI' by way of 'Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas'; an inspired blend of the serious and surreal which marks a comeback of sorts for one Nicolas Cage. 'BL: PCNO' reminds us fans why we still love movies like 'Honeymoon In Vegas', 'Red Rock West', 'Wild At Heart', 'Con Air', 'Face/Off', 'Bringing Out The Dead' and 'Leaving Las Vegas'. Its as if Nic Cage was frantically being blasted by the creative defibrillator of goodwill, and has only just come around: We saw a blip of life when he dressed up as a bear and fought Leelee Sobieski in 'The Wicker Man', were offered a glimmer of hope with 'Lord of War' and 'Ghost Rider' but thought we'd lost him on the flat line that was 'National Treasure', 'National Treasure 2', 'World Trade Centre', 'Bangkok Dangerous' and 'Knowing'. But its good news, because Nicolas Cage is back and he's madder than ever.
  
  'BL: PCNO' sees Cage as bent copper Lt. Terence McDonagh; an out of control, smack addled lunatic who tires to hold it all together in order to solve the murder of a Senegalese family in post Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans. It's an original and inventive setting for a police procedural and the opening scene (set during the flood itself) is brilliantly conceived and executed. I'm actually surprised it took Herzog (best known for his collaborations with eccentric, legendary German actor Klaus Kinski) and Cage this long to work together; as their off the wall, intensely creative and oddball outlook on life seems perfectly matched.
  
  Here, Cage is ably supported by a sterling cast which includes 'Ghost Rider' co-star Eva Mendes, Val Kilmer, Fairuza Balk, Vondie Curtis-Hall, Jennifer Coolidge, Tom Bower of 'The Waltons' fame and Brad Dourif. Even baby faced, rapper-turned-actor Xzibit puts in a credible performance as New Orleans kingpin Big Fate. The only issue being that Xzibit's too much of a cheeky chappie to ever really convince us that he's a ruthless, homicidal drug-lord. That said, we never really notice since the scenes he has with Cage are often clouded in a puff of cocaine dust and tend to veer off into a stream-of-consciousnesses that suits the movie down to a tee.
  
  'BL: PCNO' is a film unlike any you'll see this year: Fast, funny and completely insane. A must for Nicolas Cage fans.

• Kick-Ass
  Kashif Ahmed31-08-2010
  

  There's something not quite right about this movie. Perhaps it's the laissez-faire, unstructured approach to violence; neither aesthetically engaging in a dramatic fashion nor portrayed with the correct intensity / mood ratio à la John Woo. Perhaps its director Mathew Vaughn's relative inexperience behind the camera ('Layer Cake' and 'Stardust' not being the greatest of films) or maybe it's because 'Kick Ass' looks as if it were made by Alex and his Droogs from 'A Clockwork Orange'.
  
  A good opening sight gag effectively satirizes the self-aggrandising hyperbole of the superhero genre, as we're introduced to Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson). An ordinary, troubled teen who takes his love of comics to the nth degree; modifying a scuba-suit to create the alter-ego of Kick Ass. But after a promising start, the narrative soon spirals out of control with a milieu of tedious subplots and derivative, over directed set pieces.
  
  Nicolas Cage's performance as a Batman-esque (brilliant Adam West impersonation and all) hero called Big Daddy, is the best thing about 'Kick Ass' by a mile and should've been the film's focus. Cage cements his return to weird as an ex-cop turned vigilante; who guides his impressionable, 11-year-old daughter on a bloody path to avenge her mother's murder at the hands of a local mob boss. His daughter is, of course, the already controversial character; Hit Girl (Chloë Moretz). Not having read the comics upon which 'Kick Ass' is based, I can't say whether this character worked on the page, but on screen; it's a repetitive, unfunny gag stretched throughout the entire movie. Hit Girl's big action scene rip offs 'The Matrix' lobby shootout wholesale whilst 'South Park', itself now horribly dated and stale, pre-empted most of Kick Ass's allegedly shocking 'humour' over a decade ago. Now the concept of child-assassin isn't a new one and even Luc Besson's 'Leon' (1994) was criticized for its depiction of a 14-year-old Natalie Portman learning how to use a sniper rifle and so on. But whereas 'Leon' handled the subject in a relatively sober / restrained manner (Besson wised up at the last minute to remove the more unsavoury elements of his original screenplay) 'Kick Ass', for all its cartoon violence and post-modern witticisms, reeks of exploitation.
  
  Screenwriter Jane Goldman should've written Hit Girl as an almost unseen, figment of Big Daddy's imagination (and let Nic Cage go mental with all that entails) perhaps even employ Fincher's 'Zodiac' method of having different people play the same character and foreshadow her appearances in much the same way as Tony Scott did with Val Kilmer's Elvis character in 'True Romance'. Having read the production notes, I'm convinced the filmmakers have cheapened and excised most of Kick Ass's off beat appeal, including an ingenious / mad twist concerning Big Daddy's state of mind which, if followed, would've made for a more interesting movie.
  
  Aaron Johnson puts in a decent performance as our titular hero and Nicolas Cage ensures that its not a total waste of time but the garish visuals and contrived fakery keeps the audience at arms length. And you don't feel for the characters because its as if they're simply not there; vapid, frenzied ciphers at best, cardboard cut out blurs at worst. 'Kick Ass' is an uneven, unoriginal and increasingly nonsensical hodge podge of half-baked ideas and forced humour. Avoid.

• Shutter Island
  Julie Goodswen31-08-2010
  

  The film was FANTASTIC!!! I won;t say too much to give the story away but it is one of the best films I have seen.

• Afterschool
  Barnaby Walter30-08-2010
  

  Antonio Campos, who made the controversial short film Buy it Now about a girl selling her virginity on eBay, demonstrates his remarkable talents to a larger audience with this impressive feature debut. Set in a respectable American boarding school, the movie looks at the affect the YouTube generation of kids can have on society, and how living a life in a world of video clips can distort reality. This isn't an "oh, those kids are up to no good" kind of film, and doesn't pander to the more tabloid side of the issue of recording fights and "happy slapping". But muster up an eerie and rather menacing sense of danger about the subject of internet videos and explores a terrible event in the eyes of a internet-addicted student.
  
  This student is Robert. He loves video clips, and spends a lot of time in his dorm watching all sorts of weird pixelated short films online. The opening of the film gives us a sequence of videos that have appeared on sharing sites in recent years - some violently cruel, some sexual, some disturbing (Saddam's hanging is featured). We are then treated to a sleazy and upsetting amateur porn video, where a girl is made to say hello to her mum on camera before having intercourse with an off-screen male (who's presumably filming the act himself). We then cut to a darkened bedroom, where Robert is masturbating to the seedy video. His obsessive attitude towards this form of entertainment - whether it comes from the need for sexual gratification or a curious fascination - is summed up in this short but memorable scene. His roommates don't seem to share his fascination, and treat him with contempt. He isn't a complete loner though, and finds company in his attractive roommate Dave and his sort-of-girlfriend (she loses her virginity to Robert in the grounds of the school one sunny afternoon).
  
  Robert uses the after school's video club, which lets students use video cameras to make short films, to indulge his love for bitesize footage. During the making of one of these filming endeavours (a static shot of an empty corridor), something horrific happens. Two girls appear in the corridor. They appear to be in pain and collapse to the ground making desperate sounds. They die of impure cocaine abuse, and their horribly distressing final moments are captured in Robert's film. After this event, Robert's life becomes very strange. He discovers his roommate may have a connection to the drugs the girls had taken moments before they died. He also gets the impression he isn't the only one who may have been filming that day, and somebody somewhere may also be compiling clips of the students in the school for their own agenda.
  
  With noticeable parallels to Michael Haneke's work, and more than a few echoes of Gus Van Sant, this cold and disturbing film cooks up a vat of uneasy tension that is electric to watch. Campos, who with this has made one of the most exceptional first features of recent years, should be commended for keeping the drama understated and almost minimalistic without it seeming pretentious or turgid. Deftly handled, quietly topical and seriously disquieting, this is a near masterpiece. We can expect great things from Antonio Campos in the future.
  
  
  

• Splice
  Barnaby Walter30-08-2010
  

  It is unusual for a movie released under producer Joel Silver's Dark Castle brand to receive a rather underwhelming advertising campaign. All the more surprising is that Guillermo del Toro's (Pan's Labyrinth) input as producer has also been relatively underplayed, considering that when Optimum distributed Spanish chiller The Orphanage, his name was so large on the posters many thought he had actually directed it.
  
  But its limited marketing may work out for the better, as the less you know about what the film contains, the heavier its emotional punch. Adrian Brody and Sarah Polley star as research scientists Clive and Elsa (their names a potential nod to the lead actors in Bride of Frankenstein). Their area of expertise is gene-splicing; creating man-made living entities that could present cures for illnesses such as cancer and MS. The dangers of such endeavours become clear when the two take their work into a more personal capacity by secretly using human DNA in a covert experiment. Elsa believes they are on the brink of a major breakthrough in medical research, and with their funds soon to be diverted, she convinces Clive, both her colleague and romantic partner, to help her create and nurture a creature made from 'splicing'.
  
  The result is a peculiar rendering of human and animal DNA; a creature that ages at an accelerated rate and seems to comprehend emotions and issues beyond its extremely limited experience. In order to protect their creation (which they name Dren - Nerd spelt backwards), they move it - or rather her - to a disused farm. This is when the film is at its most interesting stage, as it shows Dren learning about the complexities of adolescence while exploring her more animalistic instincts.
  
  Aside from the film's final act, which abandons its thoughtful mood and descends into horror-fest hysteria, Splice is a fascinating fable about the severe consequences that come from taking nature into one's own hands. It's also a bizarre and freshly realised metaphor about the mothering-or-smothering debate that concerns many parents worldwide. It may not be the most cheery of films, with a handful of scenes that some may find shocking, but this is one of the most imaginative and challenging offerings 2010 has seen so far.

• Crank
  christine wilkinson30-08-2010
  

  This film stole my heart, I have bought a copy for all my friends, it's devastatingly funny, gruesome, and unbelievable at the same time, I would recommend anyone to see it who needs a good laugh and a few shocks too, I would not kick Jason Statham out of my bed for eating crisps either!

• Shrek The Third (Shrek 3)
  luke walton29-08-2010
  

  This is the worst shrek film by far and I can now confirm this as I have just watched the final movie at the cinema's. What could of been utter brilliance with the shrek babies was made in too an unfunny boring situation. It lacks what the second and the first had. 1. being the story. Number 1 and 2 actually had a plot to the story, shrek the turd, sorry third had a very basic plot (he has babies now...meh) and some other subplots. 2.the characters. The king arthur character was truly terrible, unlike number 2's fairy godmother who was so funny and the songs she sang we're just super.
  
  Anyway I've done my review but ill finish off by saying if you don't want to ruin you're view of shrek don't watch this one... if you have them im so sorry that I was to late.

• 1408
  M Jelves29-08-2010
  

  This was a scary film and it was the small and subtle moments that made you twist in your seat. Typical of a Stephen King adaptation, you never really knew when the main character was experiencing real-life or dream-like sensations but you were certainly sharing his ups and downs - mainly downs, I'm afraid! A moral of the story is not to be too big for your boots - the main character had an unfortunate level of arrogance that had come from his previous research of exploring haunted sites. He was literally brought back down to earth!

• White Collar - Season 1
  Miss Joanne Chambers29-08-2010
  

  I first watched this series on Bravo, and its one of the best series out now on dvd. Its witty, funny, the characters are first rate and the rapport is excellent. There are edge of your seat moments too. Whoever wrote this series is a mastermind and is getting it soo right. Matt Boner who plays criminal Neal Caffery is great, as is the guy (whos name slips my mind) who plays the FBI agent. The other characters involved wrap the whole package up together and I cannot wait for series 2 (there has got to be a series 2, 3 and 4)
  You will enjoy every episode I promise, just give it a try. If you like crime dramas then its for you, but its more light-hearted and less intense.
  Go on, what you still doing here reading this, you should be out there buying it!

• One Tree Hill - Season 1
  Jessica29-08-2010
  

  An amazing teen show one of my personal favourites the way chad micheal murray and james lafferty portray their characters is very memorable very exiting show with all sorts of people very good watch cant wait to find out what happens in the next season

• The Vampire Diaries - Season 1
  Jessica29-08-2010
  

  One of the best shows ever it has everything probally best suited for teenage girls there is a bit of violence but there are great story lines and really hot guys there is a cliffhanger at the end of each episode which made it more thrilling overall an amazing show with a great cast a recomended buy

• The Pope Of Greenwich Village
  Stuart Donaldson28-08-2010
  

  Filmed and set in the early eighties on location in Manhattan, long suffering Charlie (Mickey Rourke) and third cousin Paulie (Eric Roberts) are fired from their respective jobs due to Paulie's incompetence.
  There are no car chases or explosions.
  What remains is a pleasing and evocative story about these two central characters and their attempt to get their hands on some cash.
  These actors are in their youth and all give reassuringly to their job for this piece, touches of comedy are present but fail to interrupt the flow of the plotline. The story does not revolve about the robbery but about living in Manhattan in general.
  Paulie is not in contention to win any literacy prizes and Charlie often falls foul of Paulies antics.They enjoy expensive suits and fine Italian cuisine and are not averse to helping themselves to their employers profits.Charlie is a Resturant Manager and Paulie is a Waiter.
  They're small time and through this portrayal that they ar not career criminals the viewer can empathise with them from the start.
  Through Paulie's well intentioned deception they rob a warehouse which belongs to a rather unsavoury and vicious underworld individual,masterfully played throughout by all involved the film is enjoyable and entertaining.Towards the end Paulies nervousness is evident and a reckoning is on the cards.
  I bought this the other day and watched for the first time in 20 years, it was a real pleasure to enjoy it all over again.
  10/10.
  
  

• Shutter Island
  A Pick28-08-2010
  

  I saw this film in the cinema several months ago and found it a very engaging story. I will avoid an detailed description, as the synopsis describes this very aptly and extra details could spoil the plot. Shutter Island is a psychological drama that draws you in to trying to resolve the mystery of Rachel Solano's disappearance. At no point in the movie is the resolution obvious, and I was still asking questions as I left the cinema. It is similar, but by no means the same as, a brilliant film starring Russell Crowe, which I will not identfiy, as this again may give too much away.
  
  Leonardo Di Caprio and Chuck Aule create very good characters as the investigating detectives and Ben Kingsley is outstanding as the evasive head of the Shutter Island institution.
  
  The film reveals a disturbing twist at the end that is both profoundly shocking and sad, and leaves a lasting impression. A very good film from Martin Scorsese that is definately worth viewing.

• The League Of Gentlemen
  Jane27-08-2010
  

  The League of Gentlemen os one of the finest sketch shows to come out of Britain. It is as zany as The Fast Show but has much darker elements to it. Subjects such as death and murder are openly shown but there is a subtle humour to it that you only catch on a second viewing. If you like dark humour then I definatly reccomend this. If you don't, give it a go anyway as I can almost guarentee you will laugh until you cry.

• Cemetery Junction
  Peter Loew27-08-2010
  

  Cemetery Junction is a coming-of-age drama set in 1970s suburban England. It follows the story of three young working-class friends with different dreams and ambitions each trying, in his own way, to grow up in the aftermath of the swinging sixties. As they think about all the parties that they missed out on as the age of free-love circumnavigated Reading, they decide that they will take control of their lives and make their own dreams come true.
  
  Bruce (Tom Hughes) is the strikingly, but slightly unconventionally, handsome, cocksure, ladies man that likes to flash his fists a little too often. Twisted by the rage that he tries, but often fails to keep locked up inside, at the loss of his mother when he was a kid, he's always getting himself into trouble. His mother went off with another man. His Dad wasn't enough of a man to do anything about it. Bruce reckons that he would have smashed the other guys face in, and at least then his girl would have been seeing her new fella in the graveyard. But Bruce's Dad is just a waste of space. He sits home all day drinking beer. Bruce works a dead-end factory job that keeps him in booze money, but it also keeps him trapped in Cemetery Junction - a backwater, looser town in the Reading area. He's been threatening to leave since he was fifteen but he's still here. His best mate Freddie (Christian Cooke) is also conflicted. He wants the job at the insurance firm that eventually would mean that he could move away from Cemetery Junction and buy a big house and a fancy car. He wants to be more than his work-a-day father (Ricky Gervais), but he also has a conscience and the hard-sell insurance game doesn't really sit right with him. Then he falls for his long-lost ex-flame of his early teens, the pretty, intelligent and inspirational Julie (Felicity Jones) and everything changes. Along for the ride is the lovable Snork (Jack Doolan).
  
  Cemetery Junction is an extremely assured debut for Gervais and Merchant as directors. They are clearly natural filmmakers that have simply taken a little while in getting to where they wanted to be in life. The Office, Extras and other projects such as The Invention of Lying have all been steps along the way for Gervais and Merchant and now they are at the point where they are really able to fully showcase their seemingly innate ability and indeed flair for writing, direction and most importantly pacing and character development on the big screen. Cemetery Junction is a British made film that can more than hold its own with Hollywood films.
  
  Cemetery Junction sees Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant re-teaming as co-writers and co-directors. This sort of coupling is rarely seen in the movie business and when it is, it often has disastrous results. Yet Gervais and Merchant excel together - Gervais the one keen to get to the exciting acting parts, the dramatic scenes and all the fun stuff, Merchant careful to make sure all the less exciting, but nonetheless vital, scenes are also shot to the highest levels.
  
  Gervais and Merchant are masters of telling stories that are delightfully character-driven. They are stories that are firmly rooted in the truths of everyday lives. Cemetery Junction is a film imbued with laughter, tears and plenty of genuinely poignant moments all wrapped up in a drama that isn't afraid to tackle the tough themes of small town ambition and strained family relationships, all played out by a cast of up-and-coming youngsters that are able to perform with subtlety and restraint when required, as well as broader comedic strokes when appropriate.
  
  The stunning array of big name actors that have joined up to play supporting roles ensure that the film is full rounded. Ralph Fiennes appears as Mr Kendrick, Freddie's boss at the insurance firm. Emily Watson plays his long-suffering wife and Matthew Goode plays Mike Ramsay, Freddie's mentor and love-rival for Julie's affections.
  
  Cemetery Junction is an extremely assured debut for Gervais and Merchant as directors. They are clearly natural filmmakers that have simply taken a little while in getting to where they wanted to be in life. The Office, Extras and other projects such as The Invention of Lying have all been steps along the way for Gervais and Merchant and now they are at the point where they are really able to fully showcase their seemingly innate ability and indeed flair for writing, direction and most importantly pacing and character development on the big screen. Cemetery Junction is a British made film that can more than hold its own with Hollywood films.