Because Everybody Else Has One

Here we have a rather lukewarm review of one of the bigger films to be released this week. Look for another roundup of the rest of this week's films coming soon. From Artslink.co.za (Originally published 18 March 2011)    If I didn't already hate the Twilight craze before seeing Red Riding Hood, I certainly do now. However much those twinkly vampires annoy the bejeezus out of me in and of themselves, I really despise the fact that their bloodless romance and even more bloodless horror has started to infect other films as well. Red Riding Hood is an especially egregious case in point. What we have here is a perfectly enjoyable, rather camp horror movie with a likeable, plucky heroine at the centre of it that is all but ruined by shoehorning this totally pointless Twilight-style romantic triangle into the middle of it all. Sure, Red Riding Hood was never really destined to be the defining take on this timeless fairytale and, yes, the CGI werewolf transformations don...

The latest from Channel24. Not exactly a film that makes for easy reviewing but, hey, you've got to have a bit of a break from those begging-for-a-thesis movies every once in a while, surely? If you want one of those, tune in next week for the brilliant Let Me Go. From Channel24.co.za (Originally published 17 March 2011) What it's about: Based on the bestselling book of the same name by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner, Freakonomics  is a collection of five short documentaries, each of which present real-world scenarios filtered through economic theories. What we thought: Having not read the book, I wasn't quite sure what to expect from   Freakonomics: The Movie . Even after seeing the film, I still can't tell you what it's all about. OK, yes, I understand that it refers to applying economic theories to real-world situations (apparently; I know about as much about economics as I do about cricket - next to nothing) but, if the film is any indication, it r...

Well, I didn't actually realize that this review was already posted on Channel24. It isn't playing in a whole lot of places here in Johannesburg and I doubt it has much wider a release anywhere else. This is a pity as its a very solid piece of work and is certainly better than the lackluster IMDB rating seems to suggest. From Channel24.co.za (Originally published 11 March 2011) What it's about: A fraternity initiation prank goes horribly awry resulting in a kidnapping, a convenience store robbery, a traffic accident and, most problematically, the gunshot wound of the fraternity's new member. What we thought: Every once in a while a film comes along, seemingly out of nowhere, that totally defies expectations and leaves you pleasantly surprised by its independent spirit and its unassuming success as a piece of filmmaking. Sometimes these films are genuine game-changers that signify the coming of a new major talent – think Tarantino's   Reservoir Dogs , Wes...

I consider this album to be as underrated now as I did when I wrote this original review. Some of the points that I made about the album are, in retrospect, dubious (Who's Been Sleeping Here? Dylanesque?) but this album seems unfairly dismissed by most critics and The Stones themselves. I should mention that this is the American version of the album,which substitutes a few of the songs for Ruby Tuesday and Lets Spend The Night Together - songs that were only released as a double-A-side single in the UK. Admittedly, however much I like or love most of the songs here, none of them are as good as Ruby Tuesday and Lets Spend the Night Together but considering that those two songs comprised one of the greatest pop singles of all time, it's hardly fair to judge the rest of the album against their peerless brilliance.  From Epinions.com (Originally published 7 December 2003)    1967 was a hell of a year for rock and roll. The Beatles showed the world how arty rock and r...

A double dose of old Rolling Stones reviews for today. First up, we have Tattoo You. This is an interesting review in that  you can see my appreciation for the album rising as I wrote about it. Things haven't changed. This is still the last truly classic Stones album.  From Epinions.com (Originally published 22 August 2005) Tattoo You was an album that was absolutely doomed to be one of the Stones’ worst ever embarrassments. Not only did it have unenviable job of following up an album that is generally regarded to be their worst effort yet, it was never really intended to be much of an album at all. Seen as little more than an excuse for another Rolling Stones tour, Tattoo You was compiled from old outtakes, previously discarded tracks and the odd newly recorded track – all to be released in the early nineteen-eighties, the decade that would prove to be the bane to all the once-great sixties acts. Yup, the odds were all stacked pretty firmly against this album. Unbel...