Disney seem to be pushing their live-action remakes with a vengeance. This year alone we have both Alice Through the Looking Glass (a remake/sequel) and Pete’s Dragon. Adding to that is the Emma Watson starring role in Beauty and the … Continue reading Why Disney need to make a live-action Aladdin
Occasionally there will be a film which I don’t understand. That lack of understanding could be the story, the characters, the idea or even the fuss behind the whole movie. In the case of Birdman, it was pretty much the whole … Continue reading Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014) Review
A good Spiderman film is all about the action sequences. There are a lot of other elements that you have to get right but Spiderman is all about the fighting, explosions and cool set-pieces that stay with you way after you’ve … Continue reading The Amazing Spiderman 2 (2014) Review
To celebrate Views from the Sofa completing its first year, I am presenting the first annual Views from the Sofa awards. These awards aren’t the usual look back over the films, actors and directors of 2012 but instead a look … Continue reading Views from the Sofa Awards
This is really a film of two halves. The first half is brilliant and could easily have been the whole film. I actually wanted it to be the whole film and was slightly irritated when that part stopped and the story developed into something else. The second half, though not as good, is actually helped by how good the first half is. The first half that I’m so enthusiastic about is helped forward by the brilliant performance and chemistry between Steve Carell and Ryan Gosling. The premise for this part of the film is really simple and has been done to … Continue reading Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011) Review
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
There are some actors that just get catapulted into the spotlight, with everyone knowing who they are immediately, either for the right or wrong reasons. We’ve seen this in the recent past with Shia Lebeouf who found himself included in two popular franchises (Transformers and Indiana Jones) and also, more understandably, Michael Fassbender, who chose amazing films to star in, beginning with X-Men: First Class and continuing with A Dangerous Method and Shame and adding more credence to his name by appearing in this summers Prometheus. On the other side of that are the people who are delivering great performance after great performance but … Continue reading Easy A (2010) Review
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