Film Review | The Grey
When Liam Neeson’s Taken arrived in 2008, nobody could have predicted that it would go on to earn over $226 million worldwide. The film reinvented Neeson as an action movie star, and 2010’s The A-Team only gave further credence to that fact. It’s no wonder that many are looking forward to Taken 2 later this year, but in the meantime Neeson has reunited with The A-Team director Joe Carnahan for The Grey, a genre transcendent film which benefits much from the realistic environment it plunges its characters into.
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Film Review | J. Edgar
‘He wasn’t sure which microphone he wanted to use’
One definition of power is ‘a measurement of an entity’s ability to control its environment’. Power manifests itself in many forms; for J. Edgar Hoover, secrets were power, and he amassed much of it during his 48-year career. It’s a concept that is at the heart of Clint Eastwood’s latest, a biopic on the infamous founder of the FBI. Eastwood is no stranger to depicting well-known figures on screen, with 2009’s Nelson Mandela biopic Invictus an impressive credit in a bulging filmography. Is J. Edgar another notable notch for Eastwood?
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Film Review | Shame
‘Who can make who laugh first? My money is on Fassbender…’
Addiction has been dealt with in a myriad of styles by many different directors; alcohol, drugs and smoking obsessions have all been depicted numerous times on the big screen. It is noticeable then, that when comparing sex addiction to these obsessions, it has not been shown nearly as much in film. This is arguably a reflection of our modern society, as there is almost a taboo-like trait surrounding sex addiction. And yet, it’s the subject matter of choice that ambitious director Steve McQueen has decided to unabashedly tackle. It’s also McQueen’s second feature, a follow-up to 2008’s Hunger (also starring Michael Fassbender), and it is one which is sure to be unavoidably divisive, particularly in its many graphic scenes. Does Shame penetrate the mind as well as the body?
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Film Review | The Iron Lady
‘Time for a game! Spot the odd one out…’
Margaret Thatcher – beloved Prime Minister, or controversial leader? It’s a question that The Iron Lady wisely leaves to the audience to answer themselves. Mamma Mia! director Phyllida Lloyd once again teams up with Meryl Streep for the biopic on Britain’s first female Prime Minister. It’s never easy making a film about an icon that is still alive, and Thatcher’s friends and family have already expressed their concerns about how the former Prime Minister has been depicted. Is The Iron Lady an honest portrayal on one of the most interesting women of the 20th century?
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Film Review | Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
Since his birth in 1887, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes has been re-imagined several times in various forms of media. In recent times, the eccentric detective has been portrayed brilliantly by Benedict Cumberbatch in BBC’s hit TV series Sherlock. However, the definitive version of this generation may perhaps be Robert Downey Jr’s personification of the titular character in 2009’s Sherlock Holmes. That film ended tantalisingly too, with the introduction of Holmes’ greatest foe seemingly imminent. Director Guy Ritchie has teamed up with Downey once again for the follow up, A Game of Shadows. Does Holmes 2.0 improve on the ’09 hit?
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Film Review | Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol
‘Yes, that really is Tom Cruise. Yes, he really is crazy’.
‘Another one?’ That was the sceptical reaction of many when I told them that a new Mission: Impossible was coming out this year. After all, they’ve done three of them so the trilogy is complete, right? And yet, the famed spy series work better as standalone movies as opposed to continuations of the films that preceded them. All three movies have had different directors, and all have put their own unique stamp on the series; Brian De Palma introduced us to super-agent Ethan Hunt in 1996, John Woo had Hunt stopping deadly viruses in 2000, and J.J. Abrams got Ethan hitched in 2006. With Ghost Protocol, the trend continues; this time it’s the turn of Brad Bird, director of animated delights such as The Incredibles and Ratatouille. In his first live-action feature, is he able to eclipse the high benchmark set by the previous Mission: Impossible movies?
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Film Flashback #3 | Unbreakable
With films such as The Last Airbender and The Happening, it’s sometimes easy to forget that M. Night Shyamalan has also given us some great movies in the forms of Signs and The Sixth Sense. His follow up to the latter film was Unbreakable, which offers a unique retelling of the traditional superhero origin story. In 2009, Oscar-winning filmmaker and fan of the film Quentin Tarantino smartly stated that Unbreakable would have been better marketed with the tagline ‘What if Superman was here on earth, and didn’t know he was Superman?’ With that, it’s prudent to say that this is not your usual superhero flick.
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Film Review | Immortals
‘Strike a pose!’
We’ve had many great sword-and-sandals epics over the years, with Gladiator, Troy, and most recently 300 setting the benchmark for the genre in contemporary times. Unfortunately, as with any genre, there are those movies that scrape the bottom of the barrel, such as the modern remake of Clash of the Titans. Tarsem Singh’s Immortals is made by the producers of 300, and trailers have suggested that the look and feel of the film was similar to the Spartan blockbuster. Can Immortals reach the lofty heights of 300 & co or is it style over substance?
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Film Review | In Time
‘Time is money’ is more than just a phrase in Andrew Niccol’s latest sci-fi flick, In Time. Niccol is no stranger to thought-provoking cinema, with past efforts such as Gattaca being received well by audiences and critics alike. But is In Time worth both your time and money, or are you better off spending it on other films?
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Film Review | The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn
Although I know of Tintin, I didn’t grow up watching him. I was part of the generation that watched Pokémon! But when I saw some exclusive footage at the recent EMPIRE big screen event, my interest was piqued. Tintin’s creator, a Belgian artist by the name of Hergé, famously proclaimed in 1983 that “If anyone can bring Tintin successfully to the screen, it is Steven Spielberg”. So does Spielberg deliver?
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Film Review | Goodbye
Political tension surrounds director Mohammad Rasoulof’s latest offering, Goodbye. Rasoulof, along with collaborator Jafar Panahi, was arrested in 2009 for filming without permission and sentenced to prison. Thankfully, the sentence has yet to be carried out and the state granted Rasoulof permission to direct a new film. Some might question the wisdom of Rasoulof releasing a film of this nature in his current predicament. However, any way you slice it, it takes courage to do so, and Goodbye proved to be an interesting watch.
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Film Review | Real Steel
Fundamentally, Real Steel takes two types of action films that we’ve had much of in the past – Robot and Boxing – and combines them, with a heartfelt Father-Son story at its core. It’s such a simple formula; I initially wondered why it had not been attempted previously. But does Real Steel land its punches, or miss the mark?
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Film Flashback #2 | Pulp Fiction
Prior to writing this review, on Wednesday night I decided to re-watch Pulp Fiction whilst doing some menial housework. After all, I had seen it many a time before – I figured the film did not require my full attention. Within 10 minutes of ‘casually’ watching the film, I dropped my dustpan and brush, grabbed some food, and sat myself down. The housework would have to wait. Such is the remarkable nature of Quentin Tarantino’s masterpiece that you at once become absorbed in this unique, time-twisting tale.
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Film Flashback #1 | Cool Runnings
I wasn’t old enough to understand at the time, but I would hazard a guess that the idea of a Jamaican bobsledding team would have sounded strange to most people. Essentially, we’re talking about people who leave their homeland, a country where it’s hot almost all of the time, to go and race a bobsled down some ICE?! Suffice to say, you wouldn’t find me doing it. And yet, Cool Runnings comes through the chequered flag in flying colours, resulting in a film which is still enjoyable to watch to this day.
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Film Review | Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is not your typical spy film. You won’t find Gary Oldman’s George Smiley engaging in fisticuffs with evil men, or saying a cool line after offing a villain. Action has been replaced with words – a lot of words – resulting in an absorbing, if at times slow-paced, whodunnit of a film which unfolds in meticulous fashion.
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