REVIEW: The Expendables (2010)
The Expendables is a classic example of a film giving an audience exactly what it wants – whether that is a good thing or not. In its defence, for the large part that does seem a good thing: Sylvester Stallone’s deliberately generic film … Continue reading REVIEW: The Expendables (2010)
REVIEW: The People Under the Stairs (1991)
The late Wes Craven looms large as one of Hollywood’s most influential horror filmmakers, largely due to the one-two punch of A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) and Scream (1996). During the period between his two most famous film, he also directed The People Under … Continue reading REVIEW: The People Under the Stairs (1991)
REVIEW: The Leopard Man (1943)
As a film enthusiast, I have been remarkably remiss in watching the works of Val Lewton. In the 1940s this film producer and writer supervised a string of cheaply-made B-movies for RKO Pictures. These were films that punched well above … Continue reading REVIEW: The Leopard Man (1943)
REVIEW: Vengeance (2009)
Johnnie To’s first – and, to date, only – international co-production does not quite scale the levels of inventiveness found in his Hong Kong-specific works, but Vengeance remains a beautifully staged and operatic action thriller. French chef Francis Costello (Johnny Hallyday) arrives … Continue reading REVIEW: Vengeance (2009)
REVIEW: The General (1926)
In my experience of talking to film reviewers, there seems a general consensus that terrible works are far and away the easiest to review, followed by great films, and that the hardest ones to write about are the mediocre ones … Continue reading REVIEW: The General (1926)
REVIEW: The Invisible Man (2020)
Leigh Whannell’s ever-expanding contribution to horror cinema reaches a particular highlight with The Invisible Man, which shows that with good actors and a great screenplay you can successfully update a Universal Pictures horror franchise without Tom Cruise, Russell Crowe, and a … Continue reading REVIEW: The Invisible Man (2020)
REVIEW: Babyteeth (2019)
It has been a hard year for cinema, with any movie daring to mount a theatrical release facing unexpected restrictions, venue closures, and even just a market plain spooked about risking their health in a dark theatre. Pity, then, poor Babyteeth. … Continue reading REVIEW: Babyteeth (2019)
REVIEW: Aniara (2018)
Who could have guessed that a Swedish science fiction film would turn out as bleak and troubled as every other genre of Swedish cinema? Pella Kågerman and Hugo Lilja’s 2018 film Aniara is based, on all things, on a 1956 … Continue reading REVIEW: Aniara (2018)
REVIEW: Ad Astra (2019)
Voice-overs hardly ever work. They crop up in films from time to time: usually with the protagonist narrating events and providing backstory. They were particularly popular in the first few decades of talking pictures, and then gradually fell out of … Continue reading REVIEW: Ad Astra (2019)
REVIEW: Symbol (2009)
A middle-aged Mexican wrestler prepares for his most challenging match ever. Meanwhile a Japanese man in polka dot pyjamas wakes up in a room with no doors. The next 90 minutes either make no sense, or a lot of sense, … Continue reading REVIEW: Symbol (2009)
