Category Archives: Film Reviews

The Captains

The Captains Review

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‘Since first soaring onto television screens in the 1960s, Star Trek has become one of the most beloved franchises of all time. Now, the original Captain Kirk, William Shatner, travels around the globe to interview the elite group of actors (Chris Pine, Patrick Stewart, Avery Brooks, Kate Mulgrew and Scott Bakula) who have portrayed the role of Starship Captain, giving fans an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the pop culture phenomenon as well as the men and women who made it so.‘

The Captains

William Shatner has made a whole comedy act out of poking fun at his most famous role, but you don’t often hear him or any of the other Star Trek actors talk about the impact that it had on their personal lives. There are plenty of documentaries out there that talk about how obsessed the fans are, or what impact the show made on television, but how does it feel to be a part of something so massive?

The Captains is a very honest, if a little Continue reading →

Real Steel Poster

Real Steel Review

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‘Set in the near future, where robot boxing is a top sport, a struggling promoter feels he’s found a champion in a discarded robot. During his hopeful rise to the top, he discovers he has an 11-year-old son who wants to know his father.‘

Real Steel Poster

It seems like an odd premise; take a story by Richard Matheson, strip out everything but the overarching sci-fi concept and shove in a father/son bonding plot together with a classic underdog story. On the surface, it shouldn’t work. But Real Steel is one of the big surprises of the year.

I went into this movie with very low expectations. I was hoping that Continue reading →

Priest Review

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Director: Scott Charles Stewart

Writers: Cory Goodman, Min-Woo Hyung

Starring: Paul Bettany, Cam Gigandet, Maggie Q

Year: 2011

When, exactly, did Paul Bettany become an action star?

He is, on the surface, the least threatening guy I’ve ever seen – he looks like the kind of guy who’d enjoy a good night’s easy listening to Kenny G. But at some point in the past few years he really got into the idea of tackling spiritual issues with extreme prejudice.

Anyhoo, Priest is an apocalyptic-sci-fi-horror-action-comic-book-western (and I’ve probably missed one or two genre mash-ups there). An impressive animated Continue reading →

Red Dog

Red Dog Review

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‘Based on the legendary true story of the Red Dog who united a disparate local community while roaming the Australian outback in search of his long-lost master.‘

Have you ever sat around a campfire swapping stories? Told a few tall tales at the pub? Even as you’re listening you know that the stories have grown with every retelling, but you don’t really care as long as they’re told well. Red Dog is a movie that captures this experience and takes us back to the 70’s to hear about the legend of Red Dog, a clever canine that captured the hearts and minds of the people of the Pilbara.

Thomas (Luke Ford) arrives at the little mining town of Dampier where Continue reading →

Face to Face Review

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‘From Australia’s most acclaimed playwright, David Williamson, a moving and powerful new film about lies, betrayal, sex and bullying in the workplace. A young construction worker rams into the back of his boss’s Jaguar in a fit of anger at being sacked. Rather than fronting court, he’s given the chance to explain his actions in a community conference.‘

I hadn’t really heard anything about Face to Face until this week when I had the pleasure of seeing the film at an advance screening followed by a Q&A with the cast and crew (although David Williamson was unfortunately absent due to health problems). Made on an almost non-existent budget, Face to Face is a character drama that asks some hard questions about workplace bullying, and proves that Australian drama is still a force to be reckoned with.

Face to Face is a slow burning film, when Continue reading →

Cowboys and Aliens Review

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‘A spaceship arrives in Arizona, 1873, to take over the Earth, starting with the Wild West region. A posse of cowboys and natives are all that stand in their way.

The title of this movie alone was enough to make we want to see it, which I suppose is the main reason that the studio chose it. And when you have a cast of actors including Harrison Ford, Daniel Craig, Olivia Wilde, Sam Rockwell, and Clancy Brown then the movie sounds a lot more interesting.

Cowboys and Aliens was a fun movie, but I felt that Continue reading →

Jane Eyre Review

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‘A mousy governess who softens the heart of her employer soon discovers that he’s hiding a terrible secret.’

Jane Eyre is possibly one of the most adapted novels in the English language, it seems that every few years a new movie or TV series is released, allowing us to see many different interpretations of Charlotte Bronte’s classic.

Cary Fukunaga’s Jane Eyre is a welcome Continue reading →

Conan the Barbarian Review

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‘The epic tale of child sold into slavery who grows into a man who seeks revenge against the warlord who massacred his tribe.’

With the new Conan movie coming out recently, I’ve spent a chunk of the last few weeks delving back into the original stories, movies, and the MMORPG Age of Conan to give myself the best chance for comparison. Conan is one of the best-known characters in fantasy fiction, and a lot of people have tried to capture the spirit Robert E. Howard’s original adventure tales.

So does the original Conan Continue reading →

Green Lantern Review

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‘A test pilot is granted a mystical green ring that bestows him with otherworldly powers, as well as membership into an intergalactic squadron tasked with keeping peace within the universe.’

Given that Warner Brothers in their infinite wisdom decided to release Green Lantern locally over a month after the US release, I’ve had plenty of time to hear how much people don’t like this movie. Reviews are almost universally scathing, and the ticket sales reflect that, so it was no surprise that I went into this movie with low expectations.

Unfortunately, those expectations were Continue reading →

Sunshine Review

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Director: Danny Boyle

Writer: Alex Garland

Starring: Cillian Murphy, Rose Byrne, Chris Evans, Mark Strong

Year: 2007

I can’t remember who it was who described the formula for a thriller, but it goes something like this: A man is on a crashing plane and the controls are damaged; at the last second he finds a parachute and jumps from the plane, only to find Continue reading →