Category Archives: Film Reviews

Scott Pilgrim vs The World Guest Review

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Another guest review from Lindsay. – Al

Scott Pilgrim vs The World

Writer: Michael Bacall & Edgar Wright; Brian Lee O’Malley (original comic)

Director: Edgar Wright

Starring: Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, everyone under 30 in hollywood who’s awesome.

Year: 2010

There is a fundamental core audience to this flick (and the original graphic novels from Oni Press) and I want to make something perfectly clear: I am not a part of it.

O’Malley has always been upfront about the fact Continue reading →

The Hangover Guest Review

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Another guest review from Lindsay. My reviews will resume next week. – Al

The Hangover

Starring: Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis, Heather Graham

Writers: Jon Lucas, Scott Moore

Director: Todd Phillips

Year: 2009

If amnesia can be this much fun I should try whackin’ my head more often.

The setup couldn’t have been more basic: Guy’s getting married; friends take him Continue reading →

Gamer Guest Review

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Another guest review from Lindsay. – Al

Gamer

Writers/Directors: Mark Neveldine, Brian Taylor

Starring: Gerard Butler, Michael C. Hall

Year: 2009

I think Gerard Butler may be the greatest actor of all time. If there is another guy out there who can retain credible action status after starting with Dracula 2000 and moving through rom-com dross like P.S. I Love You and The Ugly Truth then we may be closer to creating a perfect race of atomic supermen than I thought.

None of that has any bearing on Gamer. I just think he’s awesome.

Gamer essentially finishes Continue reading →

Outlander Guest Review

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This is the first of what will hopefully be many guest reviews by my friend Lindsay. – Al

Outlander

Writers: Dirk Blackman & Howard McCain

Director: Howard McCain

Starring: Jim Caviezel, Sophia Myles, John Hurt

Year: 2008

A human-looking alien is transporting a vicious not-human-looking alien in his ship when he falls asleep at the console and drifts off the road and hits a planet.

Our planet.

Only this time he doesn’t have to convince those pesky Continue reading →

Transformers – Dark of the Moon Review

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‘The Autobots learn of a Cybertronian spacecraft hidden on the Moon, and race against the Decepticons to reach it and to learn its secrets.‘

I’ll admit going into this review that I have a huge amount of nostalgia for the Transformers. The cartoon was the show of my childhood. This means that I’ve given the Michael Bay movies a bit of an easier time than I might have otherwise. While the movies have had plenty of problems (particularly the second one), they’ve been a bit of a guilty pleasure for me.

While I’m sure a franchise that makes this much money Continue reading →

Paul Review

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‘Two British comic-book geeks traveling across the U.S. encounter an alien outside Area 51.‘

Paul certainly isn’t going to be winning any awards but it is a lot of fun. The story of a road trip across the U.S. with an alien passenger is ripe for the referential style of humour that Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are famous for, and the movie generally doesn’t disappoint. This movie was made for a very specific type of audience member and if you’re not sure that you’re one of them, you should stay away because you’re probably not going to get the joke.

The story is fairly simple: Graeme (Simon Pegg) and Clive (Nick Frost) are following their visit to Comic-Con Continue reading →

The King’s Speech Review

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‘The story of King George VI of Britain, his impromptu ascension to the throne and the speech therapist who helped the unsure monarch become worthy of it.‘

I think this movie was a victim of its own hype. I had heard so many rave reviews about it that I finished the film feeling slightly let down. I still enjoyed the movie, but it wasn’t the amazing piece of cinema that everyone had been raving about. I’m glad that I watched it, but I don’t think I’ll be rushing to see it again anytime soon.

The opening to the movie was brilliant, I really felt for Prince Albert (Colin Firth) as he was standing in front Continue reading →

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Review

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‘A couple undergo a procedure to erase each other from their memories when their relationship turns sour, but it is only through the process of loss that they discover what they had to begin with.‘

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind has been on my must watch list for a number of years, and now that I’ve finally seen it I find myself both happy that it exceeded all my expectations and sad that I won’t get to watch it for the first time again. I think this is a rather appropriate reaction to a movie that deals so well with the nature of memory as both a gift and a curse.

What are we without our memories? Wouldn’t life be so much simpler if we could erase all the painful moments from our lives, those embarrassing Continue reading →

The French Connection Review

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‘A pair of NYC cops in the Narcotics Bureau stumble onto a drug smuggling job with a French connection.‘

The French Connection is a perfect example of how tension can make a movie. From the very beginning this movie is one big chase, with detectives Popeye Doyle (Gene Hackman) and Buddy Russo (Roy Scheider) hounding heroin smuggler Alain Charnier (Fernando Rey) at every turn until they can bring him down. The movie never delves too deeply into its characters, it’s all about the chase.

The various chase scenes that make up the majority of the movie are masterfully crafted. Whether it’s Popeye trailing Continue reading →

Super 8 Review

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‘After witnessing a mysterious train crash, a group of friends in the summer of 1979 begin noticing strange happenings going around in their small town, and begin to investigate into the creepy phenomenon.‘

After being let down by the lack of any real tension watching X-Men – First Class the night before, Super 8 was a welcome relief. This movie uses classic jump moments very well, but it doesn’t rely on them. It is a movie that knows how to take its time in building the characters and tension so that when everything goes to hell, we really care about what’s happening.

The movie opens with a brilliant sequence set several months before the main story. While using almost Continue reading →