July 12, 2008 (2 weeks ago) – 4:47 pm
Movie: Kung Fu Panda
If you like the idea of Jack Black as an animated panda who wants to be a kung fu master, you’ll find this slapstick kids’ film enjoyable. If for any reason you hear alarm bells, then steer clear. For me, I laughed and enjoyed it.
July 7, 2008 (3 weeks ago) – 9:11 pm
hancock
Such a promising concept for a film, but so poorly executed. About half way through the film, there’s a plot twist, and everything goes awry. For a superhero film, where is the worthy nemesis? And what’s going on with a character who has no character flaws at all…?
Feels like they had an excellent concept for [...]
June 28, 2008 (4 weeks ago) – 1:03 am
Mongol - the Genghis Khan story.
Beautifully shot, this Russian-made film tells the “untold” story of the early life of Genghis Khan. The characters are well-formed, and it ends up being a very human story. Yes, there are big set-piece battles, and there’s a fair bit of gore, but even that seems more of a dream [...]
The Happening is really not worth your time or effort. Though it has a great sense of creepiness throughout, the poor characterisation, plot, and premise make for a time in the cinema spent wondering how this project was approved.
If you do bring yourself to watch it, you’ll find the things that are good about it [...]
Iron Manкомпютри is mostly a movie for kids, though it has a little too much violence and innuendo in it to particularly commend itself. Unusually, I found myself craving popcorn about two thirds of the way through: it’s just that kind of movie. A fun distraction, and really seamless special effects, but a little less [...]
Lars and the Real Girl is one of those movies best watched at a Dendy with a crowd of people who find it funny, and touching all at once. This helps get over the awkwardness that ensues when the title character orders a doll on the internet, then proceeds to introduce it to his [...]
March 27, 2008 – 12:20 am
Movie: Run Fatboy Run
It’s no secret that I’m a fan of the movie Hot Fuzz, which is another Simon Pegg vehicle. It felt that in this film, he was out of his depth trying to portray the emotional range that the character needed, though somehow, amidst all the reaching for laughs, there are some genuinely [...]
February 10, 2008 – 10:17 pm
Movie: 3:10 to Yuma
It’s a western, and it’s a remake of an older film (though I haven’t seen the older film). Christian Bale and Russell Crowe are well matched on screen; a compelling, though violent, story is told: one of redemption and honour. At the end, though, has anyone really learned anything? Is being the [...]
January 15, 2008 – 9:02 pm
Movie: American Gangster
Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe are titans on either side of the law; think Training Day, but on a more epic scale. If you’re not troubled by violence and the occasional scene of nudity, then it’s a compelling story of the corrupting influence of power, and the hypocrisy of people with power.
January 3, 2008 – 11:07 pm
Movie: No Country for Old Men
Nothing makes you feel young like responding to a “are you free tonight” request from a friend by going out to the movies, and this was no exception. I was interested in seeing this film, and also worried at the descriptions of how violent and horrible it was.
It turns out, [...]
December 28, 2007 – 4:13 pm
Movie: Enchanted
Starts out as a Disney cartoon, and then the characters end up in the real world. If you like the sound of this premise, you’ll enjoy the film. If you dislike Disney cartoon movies, or kids movies in general, stay away.
December 28, 2007 – 4:03 pm
Movie: Bee Movie
Jerry Seinfeld’s first large-scale project in a long while doesn’t look or feel like an episode of Seinfeld. It works as a kids’ movie, and has a few moments where the adults will find it entertaining, but (sadly) it’s nothing as groundbreaking as a Pixar film.
December 23, 2007 – 11:36 am
Movie: Hitman
Not since The Day After Tomorrow has there been a movie so tailor-made for sitting down with my younger siblings and ridiculing. A combination of action movie cliches, this film somehow manages to be entertaining, despite its lack of substance - it’s a case of reminiscing about the movies that this film was drawn [...]
December 14, 2007 – 7:54 am
Beowulf
Specially made for 3D, this is a computer-animated film that was generated with motion capture. Heroes with deep, booming voices, a very human hero, lots of violence, lots of action. As long as you’re not looking for something too deep or complex, you’ll enjoy it.
November 26, 2007 – 7:55 am
Michael Clayton
A George Clooney vehicle in the vein of many Grisham films: it’s about the law, and yet, the law is really a backdrop to what is going on. Requires a certain level of concentration - some of the most important information about the title character is only mentioned in dialogue, and that early in [...]
November 26, 2007 – 7:55 am
Death at a Funeral
Another British comedy in the vein of Love Actually or, well, Confetti, if you’ve seen either. A slow start - there are a host of characters to introduce - with consistent laughter throughout. Works well as a comedy, though its plot resolution is tied to some character development that just didn’t click [...]
September 16, 2007 – 10:25 pm
Movie: Ratatouille
Another Pixar film: one of the better ones: well worth watching, though it falls to cliche on occasion. Makes you want to find something that you really enjoy doing, and pursue it.
August 30, 2007 – 11:49 pm
Movie: The Bourne Ultimatum
Somehow the third installment in this franchise manages to be a good action movie and seems to continue the story of the first two. There are some gaping plot holes, but no more than your average action movie, I guess. An enjoyable distraction - somehow, without any bad language that I could [...]
August 18, 2007 – 12:14 am
Movie: Die Hard 4.0
52-year old Bruce Willis reprises the name, if not actually the character of the hero-cop who’s always in the wrong place at the wrong time. Some impressive action scenes mixed with painful computer-related dialogue and a bad guy who makes more mistakes than all of the previous bad guys put together. Not [...]
Movie: Amazing Grace
The story of William Wilberforce; the man who was largely responsible for the abolition of slavery in 19th Century England. It’s a good - more than watchable - but not a great movie, and it distills Wilberforce’s life down - if anything, he worked even harder than was portrayed in the film. [...]