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Showing posts from February, 2013

The Last Stand

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Arnie is back... it just takes a little time for him to get there... Also up at Channel 24 What it's about: A small-town sheriff (Arnold Schwarzenegger) and his crew of ragtag, inexperienced deputies find themselves as the last line of defence against a ruthless drug boss dead-set on escaping the clutches of the FBI by crossing the border into Mexico.  What we thought: The long-awaited return of the former Governator to full on action hero mode may be the only truly noteworthy thing about the otherwise by-the-numbers  The Last Stand , but that may just be enough to elevate it above the type of bottom-shelf, straight-to-DVD dreck that it otherwise so obviously is.  Mind you, that's probably not entirely fair. While Arnie is undoubtedly the main draw of the film, Korean director Jee-woon Kim clearly knows his way around the genre and the film's action set-pieces are actually rather well done. He manages to maintain the high octane energy of most modern day act...

Mega Catch-up roundup Jan/ Feb 2013

I've been trying to write full reviews for the many noteworthy films that have been released over the couple of months, but there are just too many to cover if I am to have any hope of getting back on schedule. As such, here's a boat load of snap reviews for a boat load of films, some good, some less so. Oh and one or two of these might even be December 2012 releases and are sure to be on DVD very soon - if they're not already. Jack Reacher. Much has been made about Tom Cruise being wrong - or at least the wrong height - for Lee Child's mysterious anti-hero, but he does his thing and he does his thing well, resulting in a very enjoyable action thriller that's smartly written, snappily directed and plenty of good pulpy fun. Fans of the book may sneer, but as a piece of cinema, it's certainly far better than dreck like A Good Day to Die Hard. Plus, it has Werner Herzog as the villain and it's  worth watching for that alone. (7/10) End of Watch. It's us...

Zero Dark Thirty

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And now for yet another worthy major awards contender... Following her award-winning military thriller, The Hurt Locker, Kathryn Bigelow's latest sees her once again tackling recent history, as she chronicles the true story of how the unyielding persistence of a young, largely inexperienced CIA agent led to the hunting down and killing of Osama Bin Laden. Once again, Bigelow creates a thriller more muscular and ballsy than anything her male contemporaries could ever hope to come up with. While her ex-husband spends his days converting Titanic to pointless 3D and fiddling about with his long-if-not-eagerly awaited Smurfs in Space sequel, Bigelow's earthy and gritty war-time thrillers remain a cut above the rest. This time, however, Bigelow's take on the War on Terror is given a particularly feminine touch as she employs the tireless and always brilliant Jessica Chastain to portray the film's central CIA operative, Maya. There is plenty to admire and love about Z...

Let My People Go: Django Unchained vs Lincoln

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Timely as ever, here's my take on two very different films dealing with quite similar subject matter. Effectively bookending the American Civil War on either side, we have two major Awards contenders, both by highly respected filmmakers and both dealing with the tricky subject of American slavery. And yet, you could seldom find two more different films than Quentin Tarantino's irreverent western/ revenge fantasy, Django Unchained, and Steven Spielberg's solemn political drama, Lincoln. Still, they do make for one interesting - if very, very long - double bill whose strengths and weaknesses somehow complement each other perfectly. Tarantino's latest continues in the tradition of his recent offerings of being simultaneously brilliant and frustrating. On the plus side, Django Unchained proves once again that his writing has demonstrably evolved significantly, as his undeniable ear for smart dialogue is finally matched by distinct, if not particularly deep, characte...

A Good Day to Die Hard

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OK, so I am apparently entirely unable to spell McLane correctly (see the review at Channel 24 for further details) but because the idea of having Senator John McCain in a Die Hard film is way more fun than anything in this abysmal sequel, I've decided to leave my original, uncorrected review up for your enjoyment. What it's about In this fifth instalment in the Die Hard franchise, John McClain travels to Russia to save his wayward son, Jack, from a murder charge, but Jack turns out to be a CIA operative, in the middle of a crucial rescue mission. What we thought The first Die Hard film, released way back in 1988 (yup, Die Hard is 25 years old this year, how quickly they grow up), is, very simply, the greatest action movie ever made. It has an airtight plot, tense and terse action scenes, plenty of humour and great characters. It's the film that launched Bruce Willis' screen career as an action hero and can lay claim to one of the silver screen's...

Movie 43

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I don't get the hate for this film, I really don't. That doesn't mean it's particularly good though. Also at Channel 24   What's it about?  What starts off as a harmless prank becomes an apocalyptic mistake as a group of kids find themselves hunting down the "most disturbing film ever" on the internet, known only as Movie 43 . What we thought: You know what's really funny about  Movie 43 ? Sadly, for an alleged comedy, it's not really the film itself as much as the fact that that little plot synopsis I just supplied only applies to the UK (and seemingly Commonwealth members') version of the film – the American version of the film has an entirely different plot, but it's still 99% the same movie. Effectively,  Movie 43  is a very, very rude sketch show in search of a movie that uses a wraparound plot to try and hold it together. In the UK, in South Africa and, presumably, a bunch of other countries, we get a wraparound plot...