04 Jan

2016. The year the world seemingly lost its damn mind. Natural disasters; terrorist disasters; and even election disasters. Losing brilliant entertainer after brilliant entertainer - most far too soon. Every single week, there seemed to be a fresh punch to the stomach, especially as the year drew to a close. My escapism from the madness of this world has always been (and will always be) the world of film. When life gives me lemons, I flee to the cinema. Thankfully, the cinema was always there this year, and...

16:50 / Opinion / Reviews
0 Likes
03 Aug

After the swing-and-miss that was Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (or at least the theatrical version), DC takes another shot at stealing Marvel's cinematic superhero crown with their hyper-coloured and hyper-charged extravaganza, Suicide Squad. Thankfully this time, they've managed to strike back with a flawed but entertaining piece of cinema. Much like Marvel's own "bad guys done good", the Guardians of the Galaxy, DC faces the similarly daunting task of introducing a whole host of new characters to a cinema audience unfamiliar with comic-book lore. And not just introducing...

02:00 / Opinion / Reviews
0 Likes
16 Jul

Have you ever been watching a comedy in a packed cinema, and pretty much everyone is laughing except you? And you start to question whether you're in a room full of idiots or maybe you're the one with the problem? Welcome to my experience with Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates aka one of the most frustrating times I've had in a cinema this year. Now I say "frustrating" because I love a good comedy. Even the gross-out ones. A few of my favourites film of the past few...

16:57 / Opinion / Reviews
0 Likes
21 Jun

Half the year has come and gone. It's brought many cinematic delights, and more than a handful of horrendous disappointments. Let's keep it positive and take a look back at the ten best films of 2016 so far. I've kept it brief and kept them alphabetical, so as to not waste/spoil all my best material before my annual end of year top 10 where several of these films will no doubt make another appearance. So, have we seen the best film of the year yet? Time will tell...

20:08 / Opinion / Reviews
0 Likes
19 Jun

Given it has been 13 long years, it may be easy to forget the cultural impact Finding Nemo had on the zeitgeist of the early 2000s. Instantly adored, the film not only dominated the box-office (highest grossing animated film, at that point), but it stood (and still stands) as one of the best reviewed animated films there has ever been. It's little wonder it has taken Pixar and Disney this long to deliver the sequel. Given their hit-and-miss history with sequels (Cars 2, anyone?), how do you possibly top such a cinematic...

16:16 / Opinion / Reviews
0 Likes
30 May

For a studio experiencing an impressive dream-run lately, Disney takes its first major misstep in months with Alice Through the Looking Glass; a film that improves on the previous chapter, but given that chapter was an insufferable bore, that's not really saying a whole lot. Following the well-worn "nobody really asked for this sequel, but the original made too much money not to make one" path, similarly paved earlier this year by Huntsman: Winter's War, James Bobin's Alice Through the Looking Glass unfortunately suffers from the same disappointing problem as Tim Burton's original film - visually impressive but narratively...

12:19 / Opinion / Reviews
0 Likes
23 May

Perhaps the most awkwardly ironic moment during the over-bloated mess that is X-Men: Apocalypse, Bryan Singer's latest chapter in the X-Men reboot trilogy, takes place after several characters leave a cinema showing Return of the Jedi. In an obviously snarky stab at X-Men: The Last Stand, one character is heard to remark something along the lines of "We all know the third movie is always the worst." Pot, meet kettle...

14:28 / Opinion / Reviews
0 Likes
28 Mar

With a movie as grandiose (and that's putting it lightly) as Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, I always think it's best to wait a few days to let it all sink in before sharing my thoughts and feelings. Too often people share their initial reaction, be it positive or negative. I'm not saying that's wrong. Sometimes your gut reaction is spot on. But with so much crammed into one film (more on that later), it's impossible to really know how one felt without proper time for reflection. Now I've seen...

09:54 / Reviews
0 Likes
02 Mar

The madness is all over for another year. Am I the only one a little glad for that? I cannot remember a previous Oscar race that genuinely exhausted me as much as this year. It was fun. It was surprising. But with so many twists and turns, I started to miss the days where one film sweeps the entire season. I say that now, but the next time it happens, I know I'll moan about how boring an unpredictable race is. Ah, being an Oscar watcher is a...

00:32 / Awards Season
0 Likes
29 Feb

The most exhaustive and confusing Oscar season finally comes to an end today. We've had frontrunners come and go (remember when it was finally going to be Johnny Depp's year?). We've had the precursor awards be even more unreliable than usual. We've had shocks, snubs and surprises. We've had the Academy facing the worst (and deserved) press it's ever received. And going into the ceremony, we still have no solid prediction as to what will walk away with Best Picture and a handful of other categories. You may...

03:25 / Awards Season / Reviews
0 Likes