Film Review | Snow White and the Huntsman
Although Snow White and the Huntsman is not the first depiction of the well-known fairy-tale Princess this year – that honour went to the light-hearted Mirror Mirror – it’s safe to say that it’s the version many were more interested in watching, and with good reason; it boasts an excellent cast – including Oscar-winner Charlize Theron, Chris ‘Thor’ Hemsworth, and Twilight star Kristen Stewart – an acclaimed video game commercial director in Rupert Sanders (in his feature-film debut), and the impressive trailers only broadened its appeal. It’s surprising then, that this darker take on Snow White is far from the epic re-imagining it looked so set on delivering.
Read the rest of this review on Yin & Yang here.
Film Trailer | Skyfall
Fifty years after Sean Connery first depicted Ian Fleming’s famed spy James Bond in Dr. No (1962), 007 will be gracing cinema screens once again in his 23rd outing Skyfall (2012), due for release in UK cinemas on 26 October. Daniel Craig reprises his role of the suave secret agent on Her Majesty’s Secret Service for the third time with Oscar-winning director Sam Mendes taking over from Martin Campbell behind the camera. Following on from last week’s official poster launch, we now also have an inaugural teaser trailer for the highly anticipated espionage thriller.
The debut poster, released last week, featured Craig’s Bond in a still image of the instantly recognisable, iconic ‘gun-barrel’ sequence (present in every Bond film), yet bore a distinctly classic feel. Capitalising on the significant media and audience buzz that poster release caused, Sony/MGM have now given us a sneak peek at Bond’s latest escapades in the form of a new Skyfall trailer.
Watch the trailer here.
Film Review | The Raid
These days, it seems like every other film I watch contains some sort of fight scene. As such, I’ve seen a number of similar looking sequences which vary in their degrees of effectiveness, and the vast majority of those are little more than ‘seen-it-all-before’ shoot-em ups and the like. Put simply, it’s not often that a film excites me purely on an action basis, but The Raid is a fresh breath of air in this regard, and an instant standout of the genre. Whilst it will take a more thorough investigation to determine where The Raid ranks among the greatest action films of all time, it has certainly earned its place in that discussion.
Read the rest of this review on Yin & Yang here.
Film Review | The Dictator
Following last year’s impressive performance in Martin Scorsese’s critically-acclaimed Hugo (2011), British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen is back doing what he does best with yet another satirical caricature to add to his ever growing list. For his latest endeavour, The Dictator (2012), Cohen has once again reunited with director Larry Charles (Borat, Bruno), in a film that benefits much from an uncharacteristically straightforward narrative.
Read the rest of this review on CineVue here.
Film Review | Dark Shadows
Long has esteemed character actor Johnny Depp been large-haired filmmaker Tim Burton’s muse for the director’s brooding visions, with many of those team-ups little more than tinkering with already established characters. Predictably, Burton and Depp’s latest outing, the horror-comedy Dark Shadows (2012) – their eighth collaboration together – doesn’t even try to buck that trend.
Based on the cult US TV show of the same name, the film sees 18th century lothario Barnabas Collins (Depp) turned into a vampire and buried alive after breaking the heart of evil witch Angelique Bouchard (Eva Green). Nearly two centuries later, Barnabas is accidentally freed from his tomb and, returning to his hometown of Collinwood, finds the dysfunctional remnants of the Collins family in disarray. Intent on restoring his family’s fishing business to its former glory, he is met with opposition in the form of the spurned witch.
Read the rest of this review on CineVue here.
Film Review | Piggy
British revenge thriller Piggy marks the feature debut of writer director Kieron Hawkes. Set in modern day London, the all-too-predictable narrative revolves around Joe (Martin Compston), a young, introverted delivery boy who is bored by his existence.
Things start to look up when tough older brother, John (Kill List‘s Neil Maskell), re-enters his life. When John is suddenly and brutally murdered, Joe is forced back to his prior state of isolation. Though he finds solace in Piggy (Paul Anderson) who appears on his doorstep claiming to be John’s old schoolmate. At first friendly, Piggy wants to exact revenge on John’s killers and soon he and Joe are working in tandem in an escalating campaign of violence and murder.
Read the rest of this review on Little White Lies here.
Film Review | Safe
Not for nothing has Jason Statham got a reputation as an action star; he’s been showcasing his fighting skills in films for years – more often than not as the ‘ordinary guy’ who somehow gets the job done – ranging from the good (The Transporter, Killer Elite) to the bad (Death Race) to the downright wild (the Crank series). Later this year, he will reunite with his fellow bad-asses in The Expendables 2, but until then New York is the backdrop for the latest round of his exploits in Safe, a crime thriller written and directed by Boaz Yakin (Remember the Titans). Unfortunately, the film does not afford itself enough smarts story-wise to accompany Statham’s very watchable brawn.
Check out the rest of this review on Yin & Yang here.
Film Watch | May
To the surprise of no one, Avengers Assemble is already proving to be a financial success even though it was only released last week, and along with Marley it was the strongest film of April. We are now firmly in ‘Summer movie’ territory and there is no shortage of blockbusters coming our way this month. From anticipated threequels to martial arts extravaganzas, have a gander at the latest edition of Film Watch.
Read the rest of this article on Yin & Yang here.
Film Trailer | The Dark Knight Rises
During the past few months, my excitement for Avengers outweighed my anticipation for Christopher Nolan’s final Batman flick, and those of you who have seen Joss Whedon’s superhero team-up will be aware of how much that excitement was justified. But on the short list of possible films to top Avengers (my film of the year thus far), The Dark Knight Rises is at the very top. With the July 20 release date drawing ever nearer, the marketing is guaranteed to kick up a few notches, and today Warner Bros. have unveiled a third (and final?) theatrical trailer for Nolan’s conclusion to his Batman trilogy. You don’t need me to tell you to hit the link, do you?
