A voluntary film critic at local cinema.

In the pages of history, cases of murder within high schools and other social environments have appeared regularly on the news and in newspapers, but for a theme of film, it is rather rare. So, because We Need To Talk About Kevin involves a dangerously disturbed teenager, other segments of violence and a very vulgar use of language, it gives the audience the immediate impression that it is going to be a rather psychotic and gut-retching film to watch. To the viewers, it mentally develops from a drama, to a thriller and then to a horror and in the end, jumbles all three. Plus, the opening scenes of the film gives us an idea of the ending, there are a few twists and turns that will leave you with a few unexpected bombshells.

FULL REVIEW HERE.

Any film featuring Johnny Depp on-screen is going to bring great excitement to critics, film fanatics and amongst others which generally leads to exceedingly high expectations. Plus, in The Rum Diary there were other possibilities that could make it become something worthwhile to fully enjoy and get a lot of fun out of due to the settings of the film, cinematography and with a story that could have been a good laugh and to get a lot of enjoyment from. However, after watching it, it’s as plain and dry as a plank of wood, but it wasn’t entirely awful to watch.

FULL REVIEW HERE.

First of all, before watching Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy it’s important to know that it is not the James Bond-like spy film that features gun fights, car chases and a lot of violent physical contact. Nevertheless, it is unlike any other espionage film that you could possibly see as it takes you on a more theoretical journey into complex investigations and problem solving. Although spy films are not the most favoured sub-genre that everybody will enjoy, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is neither one of the best nor worst spy films that there has been as it provides positive qualities and negative flaws on equal fronts.

FULL REVIEW HERE.

Understandably, one can totally confuse this British drama for a film about the underwater world and it’s features due to the description of the title (especially the 1999 film Deep Blue Sea), but the nature of the title definitely serves its definitive meaning within the film. Time and time again, we have witnessed these dramas involving traumatised civilians that take us on an emotional and thought-provoking ride where the occurred events lead to a very tender and important message. The play by dramatist Terrence Ratigan that this is based on has already been adapted once before into a film that starred Vivien Leigh and Kenneth More, but now comes forth a second adaptation of the play.

FULL REVIEW HERE.

Having the ability to tackle a biographical film about a Hollywood icon is usually a very difficult task as a particular series of events that occur in one’s life is required for it to work as a solid story in a motion picture. When it comes to a film about somebody like Marilyn Monroe, you really need a strong casting for that person and it needs to be executed solidly that is both a film alone but also brings forth a tribute towards the real-life people the actors are portraying. Monroe’s shocking and unexpected death in 1962 would have perhaps been the biggest key idea for a film, but we are taken somewhere a bit different with My Week With Marilyn as it shows us one of her projects and close relationships and about her overwhelming popularity as an actress and sex symbol in the 1950s.

FULL REVIEW HERE.

After his successful 3D motion-capture animated feature The Adventures Of Tintin, the legendary Steven Spielberg provides us with another treat as he makes his second feature film of 2011. Although, War Horse is perhaps the most different war film that has ever been made seeing as isn’t that much a tale following the perspective of men during the war, but it’s really from the point of view of a horse. So, the fact that Spielberg was chosen for directing War Horse, there must’ve been an alter to the war genre as well as a guarantee that’ll leave the audience feeling emotionally attached and gripped to the film and what it consists of, which is a speciality of Spielberg. Having said this, War Horse provides a deeply personal story with a numerous number of meaningful messages that’ll melt your heart as well as break it.

FULL REVIEW HERE.

The most important thing to understand about The Iron Lady before watching it is that it’s not aiming to only appeal to those part of the Conservative Party that Margaret Thatcher led for so many years, and nor does one have to like her to get full enjoyment out of this film. Meryl Streep chosen for the role of Thatcher is literally like fate meets the eye as one of the most powerful film actresses in history portrays one of the most powerful women in history. Considering that The Iron Lady does have its fair share of flaws and could have been a masterpiece, Streep’s breath-taking performance as Margaret Thatcher saves the film and is another one of her most memorable and treasured performances.

FULL REVIEW HERE.

Although Shame had begun and processed with a rather easy and short combination of a low budget at only £4.2 million, a very short duration during the shooting of the film that lasted up to 25 days and after its release, receiving a low box office taking - $9 million approximately, it earned its well-deserved positive critical acclaim despite it’s overly explicit sexual content that sealed it with an NC-17 rating in the US. Considering that there are films which either receive an NC-17 rating or anything mostly consisting of sex can be completely misunderstood for something involving pornography, Steve McQueen brings forth a film with a slight Stanley Kubrick and Bernardo Bertolucci-like style and approach to it that makes it a very gripping and magnificently filmed accomplishment with a very that leaves a very interesting but thought-provoking message.

FULL REVIEW HERE.

As you will very easily recognise from the theatrical trailer as well when watching the feature film itself, The Descendants really is your typical Hollywood bait as it consists of heart-breaking and thought-provoking emotion, personal connections between characters, some light-hearted humour and the wide variety of shots featuring beautiful landscapes. Plus, the fact that it stars a Hollywood gem - George Clooney, and both directed and co-written by Alexander Payne, who has made his first major project since 2004 comedy-drama Sideways. So, as a result of these, expectations were high and after watching it, The Descendants turned out a genuinely heartfelt film, not only about family and love but also loosely about revenge and justice that could lead you to tears.

FULL REVIEW HERE.

review coming soon..

With perhaps the most successful actor turned director behind the camera and featuring one of the most popular actors in this current era, there seemed like there was nothing that was going to stop this becoming a huge success! Despite that there are various references that the film consists of that is beyond anything than Eastwood or DiCaprio have been part of, expectations were still high. Plus, with the bad luck that they’ve mutually shared in most recent years, they both needed to be at the best of their game to become strong Oscar contenders. So, having said this, unfortunately J. Edgar became a rather big disappointment that could have been so much better but it still had its one or two qualities.

FULL REVIEW HERE.

Considering that there was a rather unorthodox and unique idea behind it with a black and white silent film set in the 1920s being released in 2011, The Artist still provided us with the thought that it could become something that’ll renovate the birth of cinema, so to speak. With this in mind and having said that it is surrounded by all these colourful Hollywood dramas, action and science fiction films that we see in this generation, everything about The Artist literally swept away not only every film released in 2011 but the majority of the films released over the past decade! It has it all: it’s charming to watch with strong bonds between the characters, it is very emotional, it was surprisingly very funny with a lot of brilliant jokes and most of all: it manages to successfully capture the reality of the time setting.

FULL REVIEW HERE.

Following the epic conclusion in Harry Potter franchise last summer and being Daniel Radcliffe’s first leading role since finishing what made him a young star, The Woman In Black was already going to very quickly gain a wide capacity of viewers! Plus, because the film is part of a genre that’s different for Dan and many out there at his age love the horror genre, expectations were high. Unfortunately, Dan will always be recognized as Harry Potter but despite that, he manages to pull off a very different performance in a very haunting and intense film that will undoubtedly leave you on the edge of your seat from start to finish.

FULL REVIEW HERE.

Within approximately 11 years since that horrifying day in New York on 11th September 2001, there has been a whole new born legacy of stories (both fictional and real) that have been adapted onto the big screen. Following 2006 hits United 93 and World Trade Center that were based on true stories, Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close became the first Hollywood film that links the real attacks with a fictional second story and characters. So, with this in mind, there was quite a lot to expect from this film on equal fronts. Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close undoubtedly illustrates the horror of 9/11 and the heartbreak caused, but regarding the key-quest story, it came across as rather flat that doesn’t really get anywhere.

FULL REVIEW HERE.

First off, We Bought A Zoo features Matt Damon as a father in a heartwarming film purely for families, which is something that doesn’t appear very often. Nevertheless, the title We Bought A Zoo already reveals that it is going to be genuinely cute and dazzling to watch, and does already have a target audience. In addition, the film is an American adaptation from a British novel that’s originally based on a true story about real British zoo Dartmoore Zoological Park. Quite frankly, what you see in We Bought A Zoo is exactly what you get as it’s a film with pure beauty behind it with cute characters and takes you on a great family adventure.

FULL REVIEW HERE.

Any comedy starring Simon Pegg in the leading role will at least be worth giving a try. However, he does not have close friends and regular collaborators Edgar Wright or Nick Frost by his side this time but following previous performances in films such as Run Fatboy Run, Pegg certainly knows how to be in a decently entertaining comedy. Within A Fantastic Fear Of Everything there were uncertainties of what to expected how it was going to turn out. Therefore, it was rather mixed. Unfortunately, Simon Pegg stars in a film that is a catastrophe and is simply an all-round chaotic mess.

FULL REVIEW HERE.

First of all, historical dramas in a nutshell are that they are produced and filmed in almost exactly the same way in terms of sets, filming, script and sometimes the types of characters yet all result in new meaningful messages for the viewers. Although there are few exceptions, Hollywood are struggling with films of this kind and Danish, Swedish and Czech drama A Royal Affair hits the screen and in a huge way. Considering that this film involves quite a few genres from drama to romance to thriller and surprisingly moments of humorous comedy, A Royal Affair fits almost perfectly and is one of the strongest historical dramas in recent memory.

FULL REVIEW HERE.

A lot like Charles Dickens and William Shakespeare and their works, Leo Tolstoy’s work has been numerously adapted onto the big screen and other various sources over the years, primarily his 1877 Russian novel Anna Karenina. The story has mostly been released as an English-language film as opposed to its origin language – Russian. In 2012, we are given another version of the novel with Keira Knightley in the leading role as she made her third consecutive collaboration with director Joe Wright following Pride And Prejudice in 2005 and Atonement in 2007. Their work together has been all-in-all success but unfortunately, despite that it is decent enough to endure for 2 hours, it did have quite a few missing pieces.

FULL REVIEW HERE.

As opposed to the original series of books written by French author René Goscinny throughout the 1950s, the film adaptation of Le Petit Nicolas does actually have a plot where there is one individual storyline and, therefore, a beginning to an end. The style of the series is written in telling the audience about the different morals of life, but the film expressed a clear but very specific message; one that is beautifully told by protagonist Nicolas. It is emotionally touching as we engage with a family who just want to be “normal” and we’re alongside Nicolas and his gang of friends in their journey to “find out the truth”.

REST OF MINI-REVIEW HERE.

To Rome With Love marks an impressive 43rd Woody Allen feature film and becomes yet another addition to the list of romantic-comedy that he has been symbolized for throughout his career. After his critically acclaimed hit Midnight In Paris last year, Allen’s latest immediately does not show the natural essence of beauty, originality and storyline that he is capable of doing. However, because it is, after all, another Woody Allen romantic-comedy, he was bound to provide something new to the table. To Rome With Love may not be one of his most enchanting or funniest film that you’ll see but it is at least enjoyable to watch.

FULL REVIEW HERE.

Being one of two genres that are jackpots of numerous remakes, prequels and sequels, the world of science-fiction is severely lacking in entirely original concepts with intelligent stories and characters. We have seen the odd one original, sci-fi hit throughout recent years, such as Christopher Nolan’s Inception and Duncan Jones’s Source Code. Now we have been provided with Looper, written and directed Rain Johnson (Brick, The Brothers Bloom). Viewers may go into Looper believing that it is another sci-fi with complex dialogue and badass characters in a dystopian setting. Although it is exactly that and contains one or two similarities with Blade Runner and 12 Monkeys, Rain Johnson’s Looper is a marvelous, creative homage to the science-fiction genre.

FULL REVIEW HERE.

For the first time since There Will Be Blood in 2007, Paul Thomas Anderson releases only his sixth feature to date. Following critical reception of his past films and being a director of quality over quantity, Anderson’s latest film The Master was going to become an immediate lookout for Oscars. However, this is a very different project compared to his past works as it is a film for the audience to just observe and work out for themselves. Therefore The Master is not to everybody’s taste. The film may feature absolutely fantastic Oscar-worthy performances from its ensemble cast and at least satisfactory direction from Anderson, but it is still a slight misfire.

FULL REVIEW HERE.

To adapt a stage musical, an extremely popular one at that, onto the big screen requires a tremendous amount of determination, co-ordination and most importantly, a high level of knowledge. For director Tom Hooper and co to produce Les Misérables from the play is no easy task, especially when not only trying to be as faithful as possible to the original source but at the same time, to make a few steps away from it. Many stage musical adaptations have worked in the past, particularly in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street, because they managed to grasp both a staged and cinematic atmosphere onto the screen. Thankfully the same can be said for Les Misérables but it still has weak links.

FULL REVIEW HERE.

In most recent years, we experience that one hit which embarks us on an unforgettable adventure and will want to continuously revisit. Following in similar footsteps to Avatar and Hugo, the audience are whisked into a magical world that is filled with stunning effects. Visually, you cannot go much higher than what is in Life Of Pi and the film also gifted for the breath-taking experience in 3D and makes it worth every penny. On the other hand, along on this jaw-dropping and eye-popping journey we venture on an emotionally engaging ride that could bring tears to the audience’s eyes. Therefore, director Ang Lee balances the scales of visual magic with thought-provoking drama and results in a piece of cinematic treasure.

FULL REVIEW HERE.

Judging by the striking mise-en-scéne and effective use of colour from posters and trailers, The Great Gatsby is quickly identified as a typical Luhrmann film. It marks his first film since 2008 and only his fifth in total. Once again, like every other Luhrmann feature, The Great Gatsby consisted of large-scale production concepts featuring a story and a variety characters that has the capability to signify powerful, thought-provoking dramatic emotions. Luhrmann keeps going round in circles because in the majority of his films, he has done have had so much going for them but has concluded with pure emptiness and leaves the audience with very little to reflect on. Unfortunately, that is what happened with The Great Gatsby and it was an overall let-down but still had certain positive aspects.

FULL REVIEW HERE.