| Movie | Rating | Review | Date | Your Rating | Match | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Up - PG | Not quite 5-star Pixar but close. | November 19, 2009 | N/A | |||
| The Twilight Saga: New Moon - PG-13 | November 19, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Terminator Salvation - PG-13 | Okay, solid enough but nothing innovative or jaw dropping and it felt very video-gamey at times. | June 22, 2009 | N/A | |||
| The Hangover - R | Bro-mance with lashings of inappropriate humour. Kept me entertained despite there being a massively teatty audience in the cinema. Again. | June 22, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen - PG-13 | Bigger but not necessarily better. Giant robots fight - again. Things explode. Megan Fox runs around in a skimpy vest in slo-mo. | June 22, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Waxwork II: Lost in Time - R | A B-movie in the true sense of the word. The time-travelling plot is really just an excuse to shoe-horn in a bunch of sequences that parody specific movies or genres. It's complete hokum but not in a particularly bad way and it certainly doesn't take itself seriously. Arguably better than 99% of the dull horror remakes that crop up on such a regular basis these days. | March 6, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Anvil! The Story of Anvil - Unrated | Billed as the 'real life Spinal Tap' and there are indeed some very Tap-esque rock and roll shennanigans and at least two knowing nods to the film itself. That aside, The Story of Anvil is one of a great and lasting friendship (with all the arguments that go with that), of a supportive and understanding group of family, of the passion to follow your dreams and of the refusal to quit despite the odds. Sad, touching and hilarious in turns and above all, rockin'. | March 5, 2009 | N/A | |||
| My Bloody Valentine 3-D - R | Uninspired horror film where even the main selling point, the 3-D, adds very little extra. Half a star for the midget, half a star for the nude chick, half a star for the ending and half a star for the 3-D. | February 17, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Exit Wounds - R |
Steven Seagal is... Orin Boyd One at the tail end of Steve's cinematic output (if you listen carefully, you can hear the call of straight to DVD in the background) and to an extent what made it successful, also hamstrings it. The high concept of adding 'gangsta' to the usual Seagal formula simply didn't work for me, nor did the post-Matrix slo-mo. That aside, Steve puts in a decent if far from career best performance and it does feature the talents of Bill Duke. I saw this at the cinema when it came out and I couldn't remember a single thing about it, testament to either the mediocre nature of the film or to my failing memory. A little bit of both perhaps? FSBCR: 1/5 Nothing more outlandish than a standard black leather jacket, although there's a scene where he's in a traffic cop uniform for those of you harbouring Seagal/Village People fantasies... |
February 7, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Where the Truth Lies - Unrated | Stylish and sexy murder-mystery. There's possibly more style than substance to this if you look hard enough but it looks nice and the performances are good so I'm inlcined to be kind. | February 7, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Underworld: The Rise of the Lycans - R | Passably entertaining third slice of Vampires vs Werewolves using the backstory from the first two movies to good effect. Won't win any awards but a reasonable enough way to spend an hour and a half. | February 7, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Good Luck Chuck - R | Average, average, average - even when you factor in Jessica Alba and a higher than average boob count for this kind of thing. Perhaps if those things were somehow connected, it might have picked up extra stars? | January 4, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Transporter 3 - PG-13 | Like The Godfather trilogy and original Star Wars trilogy before it, the first in the movie was good to great, the second brilliant and the third, a bit of a let down. Sure, this is a huge slice of homo-erotic Euro-silliness but it's nowhere near as magnificently awesome as Transporter II and the franchise is showing signs of creakiness. I think this might be a good point at which to call it a day and put The Stat into something new. It does get extra credit for shoehorning plot and situations in from at least two Steven Seagal movies though... | December 15, 2008 | N/A | |||
| Max Payne - PG-13 |
Looks pretty but it's a mess of a film that manages to be both underwritten and uneccessarily convoluted at the same time. I'm not convinced that you can make a good movie based on a video game, D.O.A. Dead or Alive being the notable exception of course... |
December 10, 2008 | N/A | |||
| Der Baader Meinhof Komplex (The Baader Meinhof Complex) - R | Well told chronicle of the terrorist attacks instigated by the Red Army Faction during the 1970s. You can't play around with the history of events here and the film portrays them and the characters in a way that makes sure you don't empathize with them in any way. How accurate the scenes are where the group discuss their philosophies, aims and objectives is open to a little more leeway. | December 2, 2008 | N/A | |||
| Zack and Miri Make a Porno - R | Basically a 2 star rom-com that gets an extra star for some truly filthy dialogue and jokes. Kevin Smith delivers on that part of the film but there are also parts where the dialogue is clunky and unrealistic (a similar dip in form to Tarantino with Death Proof) and parts of the film that just beat you over the head with syrupy romance, including some wince inducing soundtrack music to these scenes. I'm probably being churlish because I'm a big Kevin Smith fan and just didn't like this as much as his earlier stuff. Also, until I start getting the same kind of hottie action that Seth Rogen gets, I will refuse to buy into him as an over-weight, bespectacled, bearded romantic lead. | December 2, 2008 | N/A | |||
| Southland Tales - R |
This movie was always going to be a tough sell. Following on from a debut like Donnie Darko (so tight, interesting and out of nowhere) and the Cannes debacle where a rought cut of the film got drubbed by critics. I decided to take a holistic approach to the movie and bought and read the prequel graphic novels before watching it. They set up the world and introduce the characters with some backstory but don't make the events of the film that much clearer (though possibly explain why the movie has Dungeons and Dragons Consultants in the credits). Another reviewer talks about gaining a little more understanding from the extras on the DVD. I'll give those a viewing too, but really, you shouldn't need any of this periphery to enhance your experience and understanding of a story. I'm all for making an audience work and think but there has to be a reward at the end of the process and I don't think this film quite delivers it. It's a messy, convoluted, often surreal, satirical sci-fi vision of a world, and more specifically, an America, just a moment away from now. On the plus side, it's got a fabulous look, Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson puts in a good performance, with some lovely nervous mannerisms. Sarah Michelle Gellar is okay but fails to live up to the character as set up in the prequel graphic novels - I'm not quite sure if it's her or the characters role in the film. Seann William Scott is fine in a performance miles away from the oafish Stifler types he often plays and it was nice to see the supporting cast populated with numerous character actors you've most likely forgotten about... and Christopher Lambert. So to conclude - well, it's got me writing a veritable mini-essay, which most films don't. I think it's an ambitious but flawed film, that will possibly improve on subsequent viewings and I'd still take it over most of the dull, safe, bland Hollywood output any day of the week. ** Re-watched, upgraded to four stars from 3.5 and actually, Sarah Michelle Geller is better than I first thought. ** |
December 2, 2008 | N/A | |||
| Die Welle (The Wave) - Unrated | Well made and acted psychological study of the effect of a charismatic leader (in this case a teacher) in galvanising a disenfranchised group (his students) as part of a project exploring autocracy and dictatorship. The film shows the effects of the experiment on both students and teacher, his wife (also a teacher at the school) and other members of stff. Discipline gives way to indoctrination then things start to get out of hand, with tragic consequences. There is of course an added resonance given that the film is German, although interestingly enough based on an earlier American tv movie and on an actual experiment that took place at an American high school in the late 1960s. | November 29, 2008 | N/A | |||
| Saw IV - R | As graphic and gruesome as you'd expect yet completely lacking a decent plot, thereby squandering any goodwill generated by Saw IIIs return to form. Tedious right down to the emo rock track over the end credits, I actually fell asleep for a few minutes while watching this. | November 11, 2008 | N/A | |||
| McCabe & Mrs. Miller - R | A western that ditches the mythology of the West in favour of a more realistic portrayal of the commerce of settling. Well photographed, with good performances from both lead actors and background cast. It's interesting to see this film as a forerunner to the impressive HBO series Deadwood. | November 3, 2008 | N/A | |||
| Eagle Eye - PG-13 | A thoroughly preposterous bag of horse shite but as thoroughly preposterous bags of horse shite go, it just about managed to keep me entertained. | November 3, 2008 | N/A | |||
| Quantum of Solace - PG-13 | One of the strengths of the Bond franchise (and I'd presume one of the reasons for its longevity) is that it adapts to the times. Casino Royale was a reboot of the series and brought in elements of the rival Bourne series in the delivery of action scenes and providing a grittier tone. It also remained remarkably faithful to the original source novel. Quantum of Solace is perhaps the first film of the series that can be described as a sequel in that it picks up directly where the last one left off and continues the story. Quantum works very much like The Dark Knight as a continuation of a story in tone and concept and although it shuns much of the usual Bond trappings - quips, gadgets and over the top villains, delivers a solid story, taking both the underlying plot and Bond's development (with another fine performance from Daniel Craig). Craig has hinted that the tone of his Bond films so far reflect the characters personal loss and that further down the line, we may see a return to the previous archetype. I for one am happy with the current incarnation, am interested to see where they go with the next one - having found out more about the Quantum organisation and would welcome future films continuing in this vein. After all, there's always Moonraker to go back to on DVD if you miss the more outlandish aspects of the series... | November 3, 2008 | N/A | |||
| Burn After Reading - R | A relatively lightweight confection from the Cohen brothers as sexual shennanigans mix with intelligence (and in Brad Pitt's Chad's case, lack thereof). The whole movie is summed up neatly in the final exchange between David 'Sledge Hammer' Rache's and J.K. Simmons' characters. This gains at least one extra star for being performed by a great cast of actors, most notably John Malkovich. | October 21, 2008 | N/A | |||
| Taken - PG-13 | Bad ass Liam Neeson punches, tortures and shoots his way through a bunch of Johnny Foreigners to rescue his kidnapped daughter in a Euro-update of Commando from Luc Besson & co. What's not to like? | October 14, 2008 | N/A | |||
| Lethal Weapon - R |
Hadn't seen this in ages and recently picked it up cheap on HD DVD (the transfer shows a little dirt from the print here and there and doesn't stand up to more recent releases but isn't bad). First and best of the series and at the time would have been in the vanguard of the late 80s / early 90s buddy-cop/action movie genre. Lethal Weapon works well thanks to a combination of a decent Shane Black script, good action direction from Richard Donner and the chemistry between Danny Glover and Mel Gibson (back when we used to like him and he wasn't drunkenly insulting women and Jews). For the first third of the film, he does a good job of convincing us that Riggs is a genuinely suicidal borderline psychopath which give this one the edge that none of the sequels enjoy. This film also quite possibly earns at least half a star for having 80s action movie extra par excellence, Al Leong is a small but memorable role as a villainous torturer. |
October 11, 2008 | N/A |
492 ratings
487 reviews
