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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Le Donk & Scor-zay-zee (2009) Review

Ben

At some point everybody has been sat round with their mates, chatting, hanging out, not really doing anything of note but having such great “banter” that you think “this would make a great television show.” No actual plot to this tv show or development of characters, no real plan at all, just that what you and your friends are talking about and the jokes you are coming up with are so funny that everybody would enjoy it. I know I have. I’ve been sat with my friends and we’ve been out-doing each other’s ridiculous comments with much more ridiculous comments and I’ve … Continue reading Le Donk & Scor-zay-zee (2009) Review

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Hellboy 2: The Golden Army (2008) Review

Ben

I’ve never read a Hellboy comic so I feel at a disadvantage. As a self-proclaimed geek, I usually have some sort of prior knowledge or insight into a character or series if they have appeared in a comic. This means I usually end up judging the film based on how close they are to the source material, which characters they change or miss out completely and why, and where they can go with the series depending on what changes they’ve made. It’s the reason I’m really excited about The Avengers, Dark Knight Rises and Amazing Spiderman because they all seem to be heading … Continue reading Hellboy 2: The Golden Army (2008) Review

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Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011) Review

Ben

Pirates of the Caribbean works best when it’s not about Jack Sparrow. I think most people would agree that since the first film, the Pirates of Caribbean franchise has never really managed to rekindle that magic and it is because of one character, Jack Sparrow. The problem Disney and Jerry Bruckheimer have is that after they made the first film, what they created was one of cinema’s greatest characters. Johnny Depp had embodied a brilliant, funny, devious, courageous, bad boy pirate who is fantastic to watch and brings excitement and sparkle to the screen. What this led to was Disney and Jerry doing what most … Continue reading Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011) Review

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The Hangover Part 2 (2011) Review

Ben

I hate unnecessary or “forced” sequels. In my opinion, there are two categories films that warrant sequels fall into. They have to either be a character driven story, ie any superhero, Indiana Jones, James Bond, etc. Or be set in a world rich with story telling possibilities, ie The Matrix universe, Star Wars universe, Star Trek or (at a push) Jurassic Park. You’ll notice that these films follow a set pattern, especially those in the second category, they are usually science fiction or at least have a fantasy element to them. That is because these are the worlds where amazing, unbelievable things can happen to … Continue reading The Hangover Part 2 (2011) Review

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The Town (2010) Review

Ben

Ben Affleck baffles me. Before I started watching The Town, I asked myself, what good films have I actually seen Ben Affleck in? Nothing instantly sprung to mind. He didn’t seem to have that one film or collection of films that you reeled off when anyone asked for your favourite Ben Affleck film. Ask me about Matt Damon, I can do it no problem (in fact that led me to remember Affleck was in Dogma) but Affleck doesn’t seem to have that one, stand-out, famous role. Daredevil could have been it but it tried too hard to be like all other comic … Continue reading The Town (2010) Review

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The Fighter (2010) Review

Ben

Do the sports parts of “sports movies” actually have to be any good? To explain further, what I mean is, can you make a good sports film if the worst part of the movie is the bits where you portray the sport being played? I made the same argument in my review for Your Highness, I asked the question if a comedy film can be good if it doesn’t actually make you laugh. This is the problem I have with pigeon holing movies because there are plenty of films that do what they are designed to do badly but are … Continue reading The Fighter (2010) Review

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Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007) Review

Ben

Grease is the perfect musical. It has a simple story, generally a love story, that can be easily punctuated by catchy, musical set-pieces that range from huge, perfectly choreographed numbers to something much more solitary and intimate. It is full of songs that stand-alone and have in fact had chart success long after the film’s release. You ask anyone to name five songs from Grease and most people will do it without a second thought. Loads of musicals have this formula too. I’m not a huge musical’s fan. I have only seen a handful but those that I have enjoyed … Continue reading Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007) Review

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21 Jump Street (2012) Review

Ben

I love being surprised by a film. I stand by the fact that I will pretty much watch anything, regardless of director/actor/genre and with my girlfriend getting into films as much as I am now, that sometimes means sitting and watching something I usually wouldn’t. It is pretty hard to go into a film without any preconceived ideas. The perfect example of this will be Dark Knight Rises. I’ve written before why I think that my own ideas of how good this film should be will probably mean I don’t enjoy it as much as I should. It has worked … Continue reading 21 Jump Street (2012) Review

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The Smurfs (2011) Review

Ben

LoveFilm made me watch The Smurfs. A bold claim but I’ll explain. I have three lists on my LoveFilm, a “Priority” list of all the films I want to watch, a “Random” list of films I’m only generally interested in and a “Girlfriend” list, of films that both me and my girlfriend want to watch for when we are together. The Smurfs were on my “Random” list. I’m not completely free from blame, I did add The Smurfs to my LoveFilm list but I added it to the “Random” one because that list also had over 300 other films on there too. … Continue reading The Smurfs (2011) Review

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Movies that should be continued as cartoons

Ben

Two things inspired this article, my Ghostbusters 3 “rant” and Napoleon Dynamite review. I ended my Ghostbusters 3 article by deciding that the only way forward for the franchise was not a third (and probably disappointing) film but actually a cartoon. Napoleon Dynamite spurred me on further because they have continued this film with a cartoon. I have already shared my views on why this isn’t working but what it did get me thinking about was which films should be continued as cartoons and why…     The Matrix This seems obvious. How cool would a “mature” cartoon set in the world of … Continue reading Movies that should be continued as cartoons