Tag: Movie

Review4 Comments

Megamind (2010) Review

Ben

There are films I watch, expecting them to be comedies and from viewing the trailer, hilarious, but instead they impress me by just being… cool. That is the only way to describe some of these films. The best example of this The Incredibles. As a comedy, there isn’t actually that many laughs but as a film, its brilliantly exciting, engrossing, entertaining and, well… cool! Megamind fits well into this category too. It’s a lot funnier than The Incredibles but that is hardly a triumph. The difference I did find was that Megamind is trying to be funny, more so than its other superhero counterpart. Unfortunately, … Continue reading Megamind (2010) Review

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Whatever Works (2009) Review

Ben

Charming but “nothingy” is the best way to describe Whatever Works. It’s perfectly watchable and its charm pulls you in from the very first scene, with Larry David talking, cynically, towards the camera, breaking the fourth wall in great Woody Allen style. In fact, that was the biggest sticking point for me. I love Curb Your Enthusiasm and though I was aware that this wasn’t the film version of that tv show, the trailer for the film did give the impression that we would be getting Larry David in all his grouchy, set-in-his-ways glory. Instead, we seemed to get Larry David … Continue reading Whatever Works (2009) Review

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2012 (2009) Review

Ben

To my surprise, I quite enjoyed 2012. Well, I quite enjoyed the first half an hour or so. Once you get past the very questionable “science” used to explain the world ending, the moments with the ground randomly breaking apart in the middle of a supermarket and John Cusack driving his car away from an earth shattering earthquake were good fun to watch. In fact, I’ll go as far as to say that the first “events” where John Cusack is driving to the airport while the world falls apart around him and even the moment when him and his family … Continue reading 2012 (2009) Review

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Alien 3 (1992) Review

Ben

As much as people dislike Alien 3, there are actually some very good ideas in there! The film tries a lot to be like the original and in some ways, achieves that much more than Aliens does. The main problem Alien 3 seems to have is that it doesn’t seem to commit to one great, key idea and instead tries to do too much with poor results. It’s a shame because the setting seems perfect. To set the film in a futuristic, completely male space prison is a great idea. It is a lot closer to the dark, enclosed and potentially … Continue reading Alien 3 (1992) Review

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Aliens (1986) Review

Ben

It’s a brave move making a sequel to a film that changes the tone, overall pace and direction, compared to the original. It’s an even braver move when you consider how good the original film actually is. James Cameron does just that though. The original film was the perfect mix of science-fiction and horror. It was dark, slow and took its time to build the tension. John Hurt going through the alien nest, slowly and carefully, then the reaction as the egg finally opened, was just one example of how Ridley Scott managed to invoke the terror in the audience … Continue reading Aliens (1986) Review

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Kinsey (2004) Review

Ben

It’s easy to forget that Liam Neeson is a really good, Oscar nominated actor who has starred in some really heavyweight films, the pinnacle of which is probably Schindler’s List. He is doing a fantastic job of developing into an action star, Taken, Unknown, A-Team and The Grey are all films that I really enjoyed. Kinsey is one of the movies that bridged that quiet gap between his heavyweight, acting roles to something slightly more “mainstream.” It’s the perfect type of film for any actor to show off their acting skills. Neeson plays the real life professor, Alfred Kinsey, who pioneered the investigation … Continue reading Kinsey (2004) Review

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Best in Show (2000) Review

Ben

Improvisation can be very hit and miss. The problem with Best in Show and anything by Christopher Guest is that it is all, largely, improvised, so his movies become hit and miss as well. The other problem that Guest has is that he has a reputation built on one of the coolest and funniest, mostly improvised films ever, This is Spinal Tap. People now expect Guest, who was largely responsible for Spinal Tap, to then produce something as good, especially if he manages to bring along the actors who helped make that film a success. Unfortunately, the spark and magic that helped … Continue reading Best in Show (2000) Review

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Good Night and Good Luck (2005) Review

Ben

I’m a history geek. As well as studying it for A-Levels, a Degree and now teaching it, I will always watch a film that is trying to re-tell a historic event, mostly for enjoyment but sometimes just to see how accurate the film is actually being. As most probably realise, films usually take a huge amount of “artistic-license” with their history and this is fine, most of the time. Good Night and Good Luck strikes me as a film that doesn’t need to take that “artistic-license” or bend the truth, mostly because the truth is as interesting as any fiction … Continue reading Good Night and Good Luck (2005) Review

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Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011) Review

Ben

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

Re-View1 Comment

Ghostrider (2007) Re-View

Ben

Kristen from All Eyes on Screen posted an interesting Comic Book Debate about whether comic book films should be serious or not. My opinion (which you can read in a bit more detail in the comments section) boils down to whether the core character behind the whole film is a dark, serious character or a character that you can have a much lighter tone and the freedom to produce a less serious film. I would say that Spiderman, Iron Man and the Fantastic Four are all great examples of characters that have the freedom for lighter films. In fact, most of Marvel’s characters … Continue reading Ghostrider (2007) Re-View