Author: Ben

A film fan who likes to write reviews about every film they have seen. Been writing reviews on every film I've seen since 2008!
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Alien (1979) Re-View

Ben

Where do you start reviewing a film as iconic and perfect as Ridley Scott’s Alien? The film is a lesson in how to do both Science-Fiction and Horror. Scott doesn’t rely on gore, screams, multiple shocks and surprises or any throw-away easy killed characters. What he does instead is build a suspenseful, clever, tense and thrilling film which is engrossing from the very beginning and left the film with some of the most memorable moments ever, if not one of the best science-fiction creatures too. It’s a testament to how Scott directs the film that it still (and in my opinion always … Continue reading Alien (1979) Re-View

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Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009) Review

Ben

  Nicholas Cage should be more highly regarded than he is. His reputation should be much better and he should be considered one of the best actors Hollywood and the movie business in general has. There is a lot to be said for his choices of films, mixing the fun, action and more “popcorn” films with those that are a lot more heavyweight and really show off how good an actor he can be. Unfortunately, he seems to make more of the former type of films than the latter. I do love the “popcorn” movies. Con-Air and The Rock are … Continue reading Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009) Review

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3.10 to Yuma (2007) Review

Ben

Westerns and War Films: There are so many that it is difficult for either genre to impress me. I’ve sat through examples of both that people regard as the pinnacle of the genre, like The Longest Day and Platoon for War films or The Good, The Bad and The Ugly for Westerns but other than a few exceptions, they aren’t the sort of films I’d ever get excited about. I’ve had the Magnificent Seven saved on my DVR for a while now and just can’t bring myself to watch it, there is always something I’d rather watch. Recently though, two … Continue reading 3.10 to Yuma (2007) Review

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Mean Streets (1973) Review

Ben

I think I am just going to have to admit I don’t get the appeal of some films. Not just the appeal but why films are lauded as “masterpieces” or “classics.” It’s not even like I have a “type” of film that I like watching and can put it down to that. I will watch anything and have favourites in almost every genre of film. It’s just that films where I am preparing myself for a classic or a new favourite, almost always leave me disappointed. Mean Streets is now added to the other disappointments this year, alongside Raging Bull and The Big … Continue reading Mean Streets (1973) Review

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Why film fans should pay attention to what Mark Millar is doing

Ben

Film fans don’t pay enough attention to who devised the initial story or wrote the screenplay. When it comes to films we care more about the director and actors but never really pay attention to who wrote the words and story they are using. Some writers have managed to buck this trend, Aaron Sorkin, Joss Whedon and Kevin Smith being some exceptions but we never really pay as much attention to the screenwriter in the way we do for television or comics. I’m as guilty of this as anyone else. I can tell you who wrote specific episodes of Doctor … Continue reading Why film fans should pay attention to what Mark Millar is doing

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Batman Returns (1992) Re-View

Ben

Whatever your opinion of Tim Burton, his style fits Batman perfectly. The dark, gothic, whites and blacks that made up Batman Returns gives Gotham, Batman and his villains, Catwoman and Penguin, the perfect look that was much more in line with the comics than anything Joel Schumacher ever did. In fact Tim Burton pretty much got everything spot on with his interpretations of Batman, both the original, with Joker played iconically by Jack Nicholson, and this sequel, where again he cast the two villains perfectly. Ever since Spiderman 3, it has always worried me when a film decides the way to up the … Continue reading Batman Returns (1992) Re-View

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Notorious (2009) Review

Ben

The issue with biopics is that in some cases, they will only appeal to a handful of people. The same can probably be said about all films, but for biopics in particular because it is a rare case that someone will want to know more about the individual’s life being put on film if they haven’t got some idea of who that person is and why they are interesting. I suppose you then have to make the judgement as to whether you are making the film for the general public or just for the fans who you know will flock to … Continue reading Notorious (2009) Review

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Iron Man (2008) Re-View

Ben

Iron Man had to be amazing. It had so much riding on its shoulders that it had to be both critically approved and audience approved to stand a chance of fulfilling what Marvel was planning. Luckily, it was exactly that. It was a perfect superhero origin film and even though we’ve seen the formula plenty of times before, it felt fresh because Iron Man, to the general public at least, was a relatively unknown character. That’s why DC’s take on Green Lantern was so infuriating because Marvel has shown, three times now, how to present a character that the general … Continue reading Iron Man (2008) Re-View

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Green Lantern (2011) Review

Ben

DC made Green Lantern about six years too late. Rather than make a superhero film at the beginning of the superhero craze, alongside Raimi’s Spiderman, Fantastic Four and even Iron Man, they decided to throw their contribution amongst the others when we were at the height of the genre. The problem with doing this is that if you are going to make a film that belongs to genre that is already highly saturated, you have to do it with something original… and Green Lantern isn’t original! It could have been though. DC have Superman and Batman and with those two characters they … Continue reading Green Lantern (2011) Review

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Stop making unnecessary sequels!

Ben

Peas, cards that mark occasions (birthdays, anniversaries etc), Daniel Bedingfield, Liverpool Football Club and Unnecessary Sequels – I hate them all! Before I can go any further, I need to clarify what an unnecessary sequel is. In my opinion, an unnecessary sequel is any sequel to a film that is originally self-contained with a story that is finished. Usually the film is much more story or event-driven than character driven so superhero films and horror films don’t have unnecessary sequels but an event-driven film like Speed does! These sequels are usually straight to DVD rubbish that is clearly some studio executive seeing the popularity of … Continue reading Stop making unnecessary sequels!