28 December 2012

18 December 2012

09 December 2012

Las Acacias 3/5 (R)

Eden Lake 3/5 (I)

Nicely done.
Also first HD Lovefilm streaming on the WiiU, never managed to get HD streaming using the Xbox or PC before.

08 December 2012

Journey To The Center Of The Earth 2/5 (R)

It isn't bad but it is mostly pointless (apart from all the 3D pointing). Surprising how much of it was animated/CGI.

04 December 2012

Amour 4.5/5 (C)

The more I think about this film the more I like it. Wonderful.

01 December 2012

Howl 3/5 (R)

Turning 3.5/5 (C)

plus Q&A with Charles Atlas

25 November 2012

The Master 3/5 (C)

I thought my 'meh' opinion might change after a few days but it hasn't.

Gone Baby Gone 3.5/5 (R)

24 November 2012

17 November 2012

16 November 2012

2001: A Space Odyssey 4.5/5 (C)

Comic-Con: Episode IV – A Fan’s Hope 5/5 (C)

An unexpected delight and the most moving film of the festival.

15 November 2012

12 November 2012

05 November 2012

Heretic 3/5 (C)

Black Brush 2/5 (C)

Too tired to appreciate this in anyway.

02 November 2012

In The House 4.5/5 (C)

In Another Country 3.5/5 (C)

This is the kind of strange little film you only get to see at film festivals.

31 October 2012

Donnie Darko 5/5 (D)

Still brilliant a decade later.

27 October 2012

Coraline 3/5 (C)

Outdoor screening at City Park, Bradford

Page Eight 3.5/5 (R)

Magical Mystery Tour 4/5 (R)

Still amazed this originally went out as Boxing Day TV.

21 October 2012

Ruby Sparks 3.5/5 (C)

The Queen Of Versailles 4/5 (C)

Carlos 3/5 (R)

Difficult to make an attachment and therefore feel much investment in the story. Might have worked better if it had been told in reverse.

(Not sure which version this was, screened on Film 4 in three 2ish hour parts)

20 October 2012

16 October 2012

13 October 2012

10 October 2012

Looper 4/5 (C)

Looper is a good film, possibly a great film but definitely over praised. It's nowhere near as smart as I thought it was going to be or perhaps should've been. Wherever The Matrix comparisons came from (they are mentioned in nearly all the reviews but never attributed), there is no real basis for them. There are more obvious comparisons to other time travel films such as The Terminators, 12 Monkeys, Donnie Darko or even sci-fi-noir such as Blade Runner. My initial disappointment will probably have faded by a second viewing with lower expectations.

I also started thinking about the general state of films. If a good film like this is getting five star reviews then it only highlight how poor the three and four star films are at the moment.

07 October 2012

Jaws 5/5 (C)

It took a cinema screening to finally realise just how great Jaws is.

15 September 2012

The Wicker Man (2006) 2/5 (R)

It's not that bad but it is completely pointless when the original film is still available.

Also I like to think that "good" Nicolas Cage is playing "bad" Nicolas Cage is a series of terrible films for a as yet unannounced I'm Still Here style film.

08 September 2012

30 August 2012

Dark Star 4/5 (C)

Dark Star with live score by Animat

The Imposter 5/5 (C)

16 August 2012

The Dark Knight Rises 4.5/5 (C)

Even better the second time round

05 August 2012

The Final Destination 2.5/5 (R)

This is really quite terrible but also made me laugh so much, shame it wasn't supposed to be a comedy. Also, who would have thought that all that pointless 3D would be even more pointless in 2D.

Aeon Flux 2/5 (R)

04 August 2012

01 August 2012

31 July 2012

NT Encore: Frankenstein 4/5 (C)

I saw this in the cinema so I'm counting it as a film. With Benedict Cumberbatch as the Creature.

The Dark Knight Rises 4/5 (C)

Great ending (with a few minor gripes) but expected more from the rest of the film and Nolan. The Imax scenes look amazing, so much so that the rest of the film looked bad in comparison.

14 July 2012

13 July 2012

Lake Placid 3/5 (R)

Not quite up there with Tremors like I hoped it might be.

Penelope 2.5/5 (R)

10 July 2012

Playing the Moldovans at Tennis 3/5 (C)

So-so film but great Q&A with Tony Hawks afterwards.

07 July 2012

My Name Is Khan 4/5 (R)

It may be a bit Forest Gumpy and overly sentimental but it completely worked for me and is one of the best looking films I've seen in a while

04 July 2012

The Killer Of Sheep 4/5 (R)

It feels like nothing is happening but so much is, just like real life.

01 July 2012

2 Days In New York 4/5 (C)

Great in parts, including some of the best non-Allen Woody Allen scenes, but messy in other places and sort of falls apart towards the end.

30 June 2012

Bright Star 2/5 (R)

Thought this would be better

27 June 2012

Hard Eight 3/5 (R)

Disappointing, too slow but great climax.

25 June 2012

Prometheus 4/5 (C)

Imax 3D. With low expectations from having avoided all the hype I ended up enjoying this more than I thought I would. Messy in places but overall good and getting more convinced by IMAX with every film I see.

21 June 2012

50/50 3.5/5 (D)

I'd have preferred the other ending.

20 June 2012

The Raid 2.5/5 (C)

It's good but wasn't really for me

17 June 2012

How To Get Ahead In Advertising 3.5/5 (R)

Still surprisingly relevant more than 20 years later.

High School Musical 3 3/5 (R)

16 June 2012

Uzak 3/5 (R)

The Reader 3.5/5 (R)

Britain In A Day 4.5/5 (R)

Brilliant work again. I hope these films start happening on a regular basis.

13 June 2012

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King 4/5 (R)

All that good work is still undone by 30 minutes of pointless endings. I wish there was a less than three hour edit of the entire trilogy, think that might be really good.

10 June 2012

The Adventurer 4/5 (C)

Chaplin Comedy Shorts + live piano accompaniment by Darius Battiwalla

The Vagabond 3/5 (C)

Chaplin Comedy Shorts + live piano accompaniment by Darius Battiwalla

The Champion 3/5 (C)

Chaplin Comedy Shorts + live piano accompaniment by Darius Battiwalla

Big Trouble In Little China 2.5/5 (R)

First time I've seen this, perhaps you had to have seen it in the 80s to have grown any affection towards it.

09 June 2012

Cell 221 4/5 (D)

This is good but I'm surprised it won the @keswickfilm festival audience award.

08 June 2012

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers 4/5 (R)

Started thinking that the Lord Of The Rings films would have been better as a TV series. This film definitely seems to be split into a number of different episodes.

05 June 2012

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring 3.5/5 (R)

As expected I liked it a lot more than I remembered the first time around. Still difficult to see what all the fuss is about (i.e topping public polls of greatest films of all time) and also explaining what my problems are. It gets a lot better once the Fellowship is formed which makes me think it would be a better film overall if that first 90 minutes had been heavily edited down.

02 June 2012

Brothers Of The Head 3/5 (R)

Ashes Of Time: Redux 3/5 (R)

Beautiful looking but I really need to be more awake when watching films like this to fully appreciate them.

30 May 2012

Moonrise Kingdom 4.5/5 (C)

Lived up to my high expectations from the trailer, one of the best films of the year.

27 May 2012

Tabloid 4/5 (R)

Wow, this is all kinds of batshit crazy!

Hairspray (2007) 2.5/5 (R)

Didn't really do much for me, not entirely sure why.

25 May 2012

The Fantastic Mr Fox 3.5/5 (R)

Did I mention how much I'm looking forward to Moonrise Kingdom?

13 Assassins 4/5 (D)

It takes an hour to get going but then it doesn't let up for a moment.

24 May 2012

Knowing 2/5 (R)

Bad but interestingly so. And isn't the poster a spoiler?

13 May 2012

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian 2.5/5 (R)

Mulholland Drive 4/5 (C)

Not as weird as I remembered (which is worrying me slightly).

11 May 2012

10 May 2012

The Dictator 4/5 (C)

Return to form after Bruno and possibly better than Borat. The jokes just keep coming so when it occasionally falters there will be something funnier along in a moment.

09 May 2012

Damsels In Distress 4.5/5 (C)

Apparently you will love or hate this film, I definitely loved it. Feels rushed towards the end would have loved it to go on for even longer.

08 May 2012

Marley 4/5 (C)

Another great music documentary, loses focus towards the end (or was I just tired) but picks up for the emotional finale.

06 May 2012

Avatar 3.5/5 (R)

It's no worse (or better) in 2D. The motion capture was always more impressive than any of the 3D and seemed more impressive not seeing it so soon after Pocahontas.

Final Destination 3 3/5 (R)

05 May 2012

Thor 3/5 (D)

Disappointing especially considering it was directed by Kenneth Branagh.

01 May 2012

Captain America: The First Avenger 4/5 (D)

Perfectly fine piece of superhero blockbuster film making. Not sure why it didn't bust any blocks when it first came out.

29 April 2012

28 April 2012

Paper Clips 3/5 (R)

Inspiring project, uninspiring documentary.

27 April 2012

Chatroom 2/5 (R)

Starts off quite well but doesn't really go anywhere.

22 April 2012

In Bruges 4/5 (R)

Well worth the wait; I was starting to think I may never see this film.

Napoleon Dynamite 3/5 (R)

Not as good as I remember but now looking forward to seeing the animated series.

21 April 2012

That Summer 3/5 (C)

Dated badly but still quite enjoyable.

Beggars Of Life 5/5 (C)

The film was amazing, ahead of it's time in so many ways but the strange mix of tone wouldn't work today. It was made even better by the wonderful live music accompaniment from The Dodge Brothers and Neil Brand.

18 April 2012

Brighton Rock 2.5/5 (R)

It's not bad, just seems very slow and not that interesting.

17 April 2012

09 April 2012

05 April 2012

31 March 2012

Rita, Sue And Bob Too 3/5 (R)

Away From Her 5/5 (R)

Amazing.

La Règle Du Jeu 2.5/5 (R)

Second attempt, didn't fall asleep this time but also failed to understand why this is supposed to be so great. I'm such a philistine.

30 March 2012

27 March 2012

Headhunters 3/5 (C)

A bit too far fetched for me, entertaining but felt like a waste of a great set up and characters.

25 March 2012

24 March 2012

Rio Bravo 3/5 (R)

Sadly didn't do anything to convert me to westerns.

14 March 2012

Invasion Of The Body Snatchers (1956) 3.5/5 (R)

Think I prefer the tightness of this compared to the flabby 70s version

09 March 2012

The Long Day Closes 3/5 (R)

Some beautiful moments but sadly not for me.

08 March 2012

Il Divo 3.5/5 (R)

Almost as scary as You Betcha even though I had trouble following exactly what was going on

04 March 2012

Sarah Palin: You Betcha 4/5 (R)

Scariest film I've seen for a while. It will be interesting to see how Palin is portrayed in a sympathetic way in Game Change.

Women In Love 3/5 (R)

27 February 2012

The Interrupters 3/5 (I)

Perhaps I was too tired but I couldn't really get in to this

24 February 2012

Welcome To The Sticks 4.5/5 (C)

This was made even better by seeing it in a full cinema with an audience in hysterics. I suspect if I'd seen it on my own I wouldn't have enjoyed it as much.

Gnarr 4/5 (C)

Vacation 4/5 (C)

David and Kamal 3/5 (C)

22 February 2012

Talhotblond 2/5 (R)

Interesting story, terrible documentary. I can't understand how it got any good reviews or awards.

16 February 2012

07 February 2012

04 February 2012

02 February 2012

Max Payne 2/5 (R)

This was on but I wasn't paying full attention.

31 January 2012

28 January 2012

26 January 2012

24 January 2012

Rubber 3/5 (I)

This would be so much better if it didn't have any of the pointless audience stuff.

Carnage 4/5 (C)

Much funnier than I was expecting and great performances.

23 January 2012

21 January 2012

16 January 2012

06 January 2012

American: The Bill Hicks Story 4/5 (R)

Brüno 2/5 (R)

This sort of thing is getting a bit boring (and unfunny) now. There are some good bits but perhaps only half an hour or so.

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol 3.5/5 (C)

Fun but sags too much in the final third. Quite impressed by the non-3D Imax, seemed just as immersive as a badly made 3D film.

04 January 2012

Cleo from 5 to 7 4/5 (D)

Agnès Varda is becoming one of my favourite directors with each of her films I see.