The Divide (2011)

After missing out on this movie at EIFF 2011 (fellow Flickfeaster John took that one, and his review is here) I have been wanting to see The Divide for quite some time. Most of the reviews I saw, without reading them in depth, seemed to be positive and I was pleased to see Michael Biehn [...]

May 17th, 2012 | Film Reviews | Read More

Take Shelter (2011)

*** Warning ‘ere be spoliers *** Take Shelter has gone round the world to high acclaim, with praise lavished especially on Michael Shannon’s portrayal of the protagonist, Curtis, who starts having vivid dreams and visions about an impending doomsday storm. He’s 35, and his mother turned into...

May 17th, 2012 | Film Reviews | Read More

Dark Shadows (2012)

The viewers who went to see Dark Shadows during its opening weekend almost all agreed on one thing – it was pretty poorly represented by the trailer that came out some time ago. The trailer emphasised the comedy elements and kept things pretty light and . . . . . fluffy. Thankfully, the movie is...

May 14th, 2012 | Feature, Film Reviews | Read More

Headhunters (2011)

Mad chase Morten Tyldum is talented. “The Firm meets Blood Simple,” one reviewer wrote. But there are lots more elements than that in the new Norwegian movie Headhunters: they include Hitchcock, Patricia Highsmith, the Bourne actioners, B-Horror, and the coldly elegant style of the “New...

May 14th, 2012 | Film Reviews | Read More

Shame (2011)

Steve McQueen’s second directorial outing after the immensely powerful Hunger (2008) is a raw and unflinching portrayal of addiction and loneliness. Michael Fassbender gives an outstanding performance as the cold and distant Brandon, a man whose existence is built around a well ordered routine and...

May 14th, 2012 | DVD Reviews | Read More

Elena (2011)

After the Soviet Union came to an ignominious end in 1991, capitalism moved in. A very few became very rich, while conditions for many (not all) of the rest became worse than before. This is the spectre that makes itself felt through Andrei Zvyagintsev’s Elena, a small-scale drama with large-scale...

May 12th, 2012 | Film Reviews | Read More

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011)

Guy Ritchie’s second outing with Conan Doyle’s finest sleuth is out on DVD and Blu-ray this week and overall it’s a thoroughly entertaining adventure romp. Fans of the first movie will find much to enjoy here and the sense of fun established in the 2009 original remains very much the order of the...

May 11th, 2012 | DVD Reviews | Read More

Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011)

The Mission: Impossible movie franchise has been a consistently great source of fun for action fans. The first film had a couple of classic set-pieces, the second film may be the weakest of the lot but still had lots of fun moments and the third film was a blistering return to top form. This instalment,...

May 9th, 2012 | Film Reviews | Read More

The Awakening (2011)

It’s funny how things work out sometimes. I spent a long time eagerly awaiting the release of The Woman In Black and then ended up very disappointed so then I turned to another British ghost movie that was released recently and I got my hopes up that this one, despite many reviews to the contrary,...

May 9th, 2012 | Film Reviews | Read More

Avengers Assemble (2012)

I want to start this review with a criticism, which is not directly towards the film, but the decision to change the title for some countries, including the UK. In order to avoid confusion with the classic British spy-fi television series The Avengers, the marketing people have dropped the The and inserted...

May 7th, 2012 | Film Reviews | Read More

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