Category: Review

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Paranormal Activity 3 (2011) Review

Ben

Paranormal Activity is one of my favourite “horror” films. It’s actually a close call between that and Blair Witch Project for scariest film I’ve ever seen. I don’t really enjoy “slasher horror” like Halloween or Nightmare of Elm Street and even though the first one was quite clever, I also struggle to see the appeal of multiple instalments of the Saw franchise. What is always guaranteed to scare me, or at least pique my interest, is a “found footage” film. The “found footage” genre has become one of my favourites and I love watching any film that uses this type of … Continue reading Paranormal Activity 3 (2011) Review

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Burn After Reading (2008) Review

Ben

The final scene in this film is not only the best scene but also a fantastic way to sum up the whole film. I won’t quote it word for word but it involves a CIA Officer and his Superior (played casually and hilariously by J.K Simmons.) They have no idea what has happened through the course of the film, why the outcome developed or how it involved them. They finish with “I don’t know what we did, but lets never do it again!” This exchange perfectly sums up the very clever, fast-paced, comedy of errors that is the Coen Brother’s Burn … Continue reading Burn After Reading (2008) Review

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The Dark Knight Rises (2012) Review

Ben

The Dark Knight is my favourite film of all time. It helps that I’m a huge Batman fan, having read the comics since I was a kid and watched the Animated Series when I was younger too. I love Burton’s Batman and felt the pain when Schumacher destroyed the series. I was happy enough when Batman Begins got the series back on track but nothing could prepare me for how amazing Dark Knight was going to be. It wasn’t just a great Batman film or even the best superhero film ever but was just a great film. If it was possible to … Continue reading The Dark Knight Rises (2012) Review

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Heat (1995) Review

Ben

Films and their legacy are sometimes built on reputation alone. That reputation can be a performance, a soundtrack, dodgy or amazing special effects or a key scene. A scene that is so notable or notorious that it begins to overshadow the rest of the film, either destroying a passable, decent movie or actually making a film seem better than it actually is. Heat has that reputation for good reason. Robert De Niro and Al Pacino are the epitome of acting heavyweights. They are true screen legends and between them have some of the greatest performances. De Niro is amazing in Goodfellas, Casino and … Continue reading Heat (1995) Review

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Casino (1995) Review

Ben

Martin Scorsese is only good at making one kind of movie… Gangster movies. I know this is a bold, generalised statement but recently I have been hugely disappointed with Scorsese “classics.” I didn’t enjoy Raging Bull as much as I thought I would and thought Mean Streets was even worst. Taxi Driver is considered one of his most iconic and best films but I failed to find anything amazing about that film either. I do rate a lot of Scorsese films though. Goodfellas is an incredible movie and The Departed is one of my favourite films. It seems like Scorsese produces his best films … Continue reading Casino (1995) Review

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A Complete History of My Sexual Failures (2008) Review

Ben

You have to be either brave or stupid to play out your past relationships on-screen, for everyone to see, especially if all of them “failed.” You also have to be quite self-involved and egotistical. Its one thing to decide that you are going to analyse yourself in an attempt to make yourself happier or a better person, but to then decide that other people would want to watch the experience and share it with you is another thing entirely. Of course, my argument there fails because I was intrigued. I did want to watch and was interested about the idea … Continue reading A Complete History of My Sexual Failures (2008) Review

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The Prestige (2006) Review

Ben

I think Christopher Nolan has the best start of any director’s career. I can’t fault any film of his I’ve seen and two of them, Dark Knight and Inception, are probably my favourite films. He doesn’t compromise on the direction of his films. They are never gimmicky, lazy and are always perfectly pitched and executed for the film he is trying to make. Memento was brave and compelling storytelling, Insomnia produced amazing performances from two brilliant actors, (Al Pacino and Robin Williams) Batman Begins and Dark Knight are the definitive way to put Batman on-screen and Inception was intelligent, creative and … Continue reading The Prestige (2006) Review

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Boogie Nights (1997) Review

Ben

I have spoken before about how much I rate Mark Wahlberg and Boogie Nights gives me another opportunity to do that. This is a guy who started his entertainment career (as far as I’m aware) as a white rapper called Marky Mark! To most people that would be career suicide or at least a fairly sizable black mark on the CV but Wahlberg seems to be carving a decent and pretty comprehensive film career for himself. He can easily share a film and screen time with a host of other, more established actors. In The Fighter, Wahlberg held his own alongside a brilliant Christian Bale, he … Continue reading Boogie Nights (1997) Review

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The Amazing Spiderman (2012) Review

Ben

I get nervous watching films that are based on popular characters, particularly ones I love. I get the same nervousness with sequels, films based on novels I love or anything that fits roughly into that category. The key examples that come to mind at the moment are Indiana Jones 4, Superman Returns, War of the Worlds and, quite fittingly, Spiderman 3. In fact, Spiderman 3 is the worst example of this utter disappointment and disbelief. I’ve never been so baffled, amazed and shocked by how you can have two films that are so brilliant, the ingredients for a third film that practically writes … Continue reading The Amazing Spiderman (2012) Review

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Three Kings (1999) Review

Ben

There seems to be a pattern with war films, of any war, to either be a silly comedy or more commonly, a serious drama with an underlying, deeper theme or message. The old days of a fun war film, that had more of an adventure feel to it rather than a serious, heavy theme, seems to be over. I think there is still place for films that get shown on a Sunday afternoon. The kind of films your Dad tells you is a classic and you sit down to watch and find yourself entertained but not preached too, usually for … Continue reading Three Kings (1999) Review