29 December 2011

25 December 2011

23 December 2011

Nativity 3/5 (R)

Quite enjoyable but the actual Nativity play goes on a bit. And I'm a lot more interested in seeing The Hobbit because of Martin Freeman.

22 December 2011

18 December 2011

17 December 2011

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen 1/5 (R)

Offensively bad. How can you make a film about things transforming into giant robots and fighting each other so boring.

14 December 2011

13 December 2011

12 December 2011

10 December 2011

04 December 2011

Take Shelter 4/5 (C)

The Day The Earth Stood Still (2008) 2.5/5 (R)

Appears to completely miss the point of the original

02 December 2011

Cop Out 2.5/5 (I)

Not that bad really

25 November 2011

22 November 2011

21 November 2011

20 November 2011

The Artist 5/5 (C)

The style and performances make up for the simple story but it's such a shame about the obvious and disappointing ending.

17 November 2011

15 November 2011

14 November 2011

The Phantom Of The Opera (1925) 4/5 (C)

With live organ accompaniment

10 November 2011

09 November 2011

Safety Last 4/5 (C)

As part of Paul Merton's Silent Clowns at LIFF25

L'enfer 4/5 (C)

07 November 2011

05 November 2011

22nd May 4/5 (C)

Psycho 5/5 (C)

Invasion Of The Body Snatchers (1978) 3.5/5 (C)

Fantastic until the final third, yet another case where my "Lose A Third" rule would really help.

03 November 2011

02 November 2011

23 October 2011

The Adventures of Tintin 4/5 (C)

A great film, lived up to my high expectations and childhood memories

21 October 2011

Australia 2/5 (R)

Starts off like a French & Saunders spoof and doesn't get much better.

16 October 2011

Pina (3D) 3.5/5 (C)

The best live action 3D I've seen but the film goes on for a bit too long

13 October 2011

Drive 3.5/5 (C)

Looks and sounds fantastic but once a certain plot point happens the outcome seems inevitable.

04 October 2011

Living In A Material World 5/5 (C)

Three and a half hours and never once got bored.

01 October 2011

Tangled 4/5 (D)

Much better than I was expecting, almost up there with some of the Disney greats.

29 September 2011

27 September 2011

26 September 2011

25 September 2011

24 September 2011

21 September 2011

TRON: Legacy 3/5 (D)

Better than the 3D version I saw at the cinema because I could actually see what was happening in all the dark scenes.

14 September 2011

The Skin I Live In 4/5 (C)

It may be getting better the more I think about it...

11 September 2011

07 September 2011

Badlands 4/5 (C)

Not as powerful as I remember

04 September 2011

02 September 2011

The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets Nest 2.5/5 (D)

It's not bad, just not particularly good. I lost interest during the 1st film so the two sequels never really stood much of a chance.

26 August 2011

Super 8 4/5 (C)

Would have been even better without all the distracting lens flare. At some points I actually thought there was something wrong with the projection.

22 August 2011

Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes 3.5/5 (C)

Once again only let down by my own high expectations.

10 August 2011

01 August 2011

31 July 2011

09 July 2011

11 June 2011

Senna 4.5/5 (C)

Fantastic documentary of an amazing story which I had no real interest or knowledge of before the film.

04 June 2011

Jar City 3/5 (R)

Predator 3/5 (R)

Fun but dated badly and seems very clichéd.

03 June 2011

Le Concert 3.5/5 (D)

Nice music and ending but a strange mix of fish-out-of-water comedy and sentimental drama.

08 May 2011

Hanna 3/5 (C)

Disappointing but I might be interested in a sequel.

06 May 2011

District 9 3/5 (D)

Not as good as I remember.

30 April 2011

Submarine 5/5 (C)

Probably my favourite film of the year so far.

14 April 2011

35 Shots Of Rum 3.5/5 (R)

Not a lot really happens but it sticks with you for a long time after the film has finished.

12 April 2011

Shrek Forever After 2/5 (D)

Feels like a straight to video sequel, even the cast sound like cheaper imitations of themselves and the 3D is annoying and pointless even in 2D.

09 April 2011

Taken 3/5 (R)

3 Monkeys 2/5 (R)

I couldn't get into this at all.

05 April 2011

Let Me In 3/5 (C)

Made me want to see Let The Right One in again.

26 March 2011

Margot At The Wedding 4/5 (R)

The Happening 2/5 (R)

Pointless. Bad enough to be entertaining but not bad enough to be good.

Female Agents 3/5 (R)

22 March 2011

21 March 2011

27 February 2011

Hot Tub Time Machine 2.5/5 (D)

Good idea let down by a script also stuck in the 80s

20 February 2011

19 February 2011

15 February 2011

14 February 2011

Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans 4/5 (D)

Nicolas Cage is completely OTT and the film is all the better for it. Wonderful.

Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll 3.5/5 (D)

13 February 2011

The Tempest (2010) 3/5 (C)

Looks great but was lacking something.

Black Narcissus 4/5 (C)

Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff 5/5 (C)

An excellent film on a wonderful subject, made even better by the great introduction and Q&A with director Craig McCall.

The Manchurian Candidate (1962) 3/5 (C)

12 February 2011

The Gleaners And I 5/5 (C)

After this and Vagabond I'm adding more Agnes Varda to my Lovefilm list. Wish I could have seen Waste Land as well.

Into Eternity 4.5/5 (C)

Fantastic documentary which did what all great documentaries should do and made me think. Shame I couldn't stay for the heated debate afterwards.

Red Monarch 2/5 (C)

11 February 2011

Trainspotting 5/5 (C)

Still brilliant 15 years later. Digging out the soundtrack next

A Screaming Man 2.5/5 (C)

For some reason I just couldn't get into this but I think I should have liked it. Part of the problem of seeing so many films at a Festival (and running around in between them)

Vagabond 4/5 (C)

10 February 2011

05 February 2011

Blue Valentine 4.5/5 (C)

Power cut meant I didn't see the last 5 minutes but I don't think it matters

30 January 2011

Splice 3.5/5 (D)

Really quite good until it goes all wrong at the end.

29 January 2011

The Other Boleyn Girl 3/5 (R)

Made Natalie Portman's performance in Black Swan seem even more remarkable.

A Good Year 2.5/5 (T)

Only half watching, but it seemed ok.

28 January 2011

The King's Speech 3.5/5 (C)

Entertaining but not sure why all the praise.

26 January 2011

Black Swan 5/5 (C)

May not quite by a five star film but this was a five star screening.

24 January 2011

Valhalla Rising 3/5 (D)

Looks amazing but I had no idea what was going on.

12 January 2011

Another Year 5/5 (C)

Brilliantly hilarious and depressing.

08 January 2011

The Cranes Are Flying 4/5 (C)

Mother 3/5 (D)

Think I was far too tired to really appreciate this.

01 January 2011