Film Review | Battleship
Recently, James Cameron (Avatar) came out about the lack of originality in Hollywood, citing Battleship as a prime example. With the amount of sequels, prequels, and reboots due for release in the next couple of years, I am inclined to agree with him. Battleship is based on the Hasbro video game, the same company from which Transformers was birthed. The similarities between the two have been very apparent in the trailers, and many have proclaimed that it is Transformers-at-sea. Can director Peter Berg (Hancock) distinguish Battleship from its criticized counterpart?
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Film Review | Marley
Michael Jackson. Ray Charles. Stevie Wonder. These names often come to one’s mind when thinking of musical greats. Bob Marley is another musical legend who has earned his place in that distinguished pantheon, his many hits still easy listening 30 years after his untimely death. Though there have been many pieces of Marley’s life and music documented since, there are still more than one or two blanks that have not yet been filled. It has fallen to Kevin MacDonald (The Last King of Scotland) to deliver the definitive documentary Marley so richly deserves, and it is a monumental success.
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Film Review | 21 Jump Street
It would seem that more and more animated directors are successfully making the transition to live action. Late last year, Brad Bird impressed with Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, and just this month Andrew Stanton did a fine job with John Carter. Now it’s the turn of Phil Lord and Chris Miller, famous for 2009’s Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, as they attempt to breathe new life into 80’s TV show 21 Jump Street. Ditching the drama for some R-rated humour, is this revamp an unlikely comedic hit?
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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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AMONymous 