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Battleship (Review) | By Tom Clift

Tom Clift — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 12:22:58 +0000

Based very, very loosely on the Hasbro board-game, Battleship (as in, “you sunk my…”) is the latest, loudest and stupidest example of the hyper-jingoistic, military-fetishising, intellect-lowering alien invasion movie of which Hollywood has recently become so fond. Directed by Peter Berg of Hancock fame, the film boasts a budget and firepower roughly akin to that of the entire US armed forces. But as with an increasing number of blockbuster action [...]

John Carter (Review) | By Tom Clift

Tom Clift — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 08:39:06 +0000

With a narrative as flat and barren as the red Martian landscape, Disney’s John Carter is a big-budget sci-fi spectacle that fails to excite or entertain. Adapted from the novels by Tarzan writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, the film follows an American civil war soldier who is transported to the alien inhabited plains of Mars where another civil war is being fought. Although splendorous on a visual level, the film’s mediocre [...]

Man on a Ledge (Review) | By Anders Wotzke

Anders Wotzke — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 05:15:28 +0000

Man on a Ledge is a fairly apt title for what is, undeniably, a movie about a man on a ledge. But given that it stars action drone Sam Worthington, you’ll be wishing they called it Man off a Ledge before long.

Here I thought Hollywood was well aware of the limited range of Worthington, having restricted him in the past to roles that don’t require much emoting, such as playing [...]

38 Witnesses [38 Témoins] (IFFR Review) | By Tom Clift

Tom Clift — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 13:23:31 +0000

“All it takes for evil to succeed is for good men to do nothing”. Never has this famous saying been truer than in the case of the brutal stabbing murder of Kitty Genovese in New York in 1964, a crime that occurred within earshot of thirty-eight people, none of whom lifted a finger to prevent it. A grim indictment of human cowardice and apathy, the case has been referenced and [...]

Hugo (Review) | By Tom Clift

Tom Clift — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 23:36:39 +0000

If ever there was a movie made for movie critics, it is Hugo. Directed by Martin Scorsese (Shutter Island), the film, based on the children’s book by Brian Selznick, is on its surface a bright and colourful 3D fantasy about a Parisian orphan boy in the 1930s, whose friendship with the granddaughter of an enigmatic toy-shop owner yields secrets about his own relationship with his father. But peel back [...]

Still Life [Stillleben] (IFFR Review) | By Tom Clift

Tom Clift — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 01:04:08 +0000

When twenty-something Bernhard (Christoph Luser) discovers that he father is sleeping with a prostitute, he thinks that’s bad enough. But after learning that his father asks to call the woman “Lydia” – the name of his own daughter and Bernhard’s younger sister – the reverberations threaten to tear apart his entire family. Still Life [Stillleben], from Austria, boasts a challenging but fascinating conceit, only to waste it amidst long stretches [...]

Underworld: Awakening (Review) | By Anders Wotzke

Anders Wotzke — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 02:51:42 +0000

Released back in 2003 when twilight was still a time of day, the original Underworld was a mildly entertaining B-movie that did the whole vampire vs. werewolf thing before, you know, doing the whole vampire vs. werewolf thing was considered uncool. The film was made on a comparatively small budget of $22 million, lending it a certain underdog appeal as it went up against box-office goliath Pirates of the Caribbean: [...]

Happy Feet Two (Review) | By Anders Wotzke

Anders Wotzke — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 07:31:26 +0000

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a film – live action or animated – quite like Happy Feet Two, and I don’t mean that in a good way. If the original Happy Feet were a whirlwind adventure, this manic sequel is a Category 5 hurricane, the intent being to sweep audiences off their feet, but the result being more in line with taking a flying brick to the face. Director [...]

Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark (Review) | By Tom Clift

Tom Clift — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 02:56:27 +0000

Directed by Canadian graphic novel artist Troy Nixey, and written and produced by acclaimed Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth), the new version of Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark is from its prologue to its conclusion a miscalculated exercise in generic genre film making. Based on a 1973 TV movie and minor cult classic of the same name, the film is a creaky, cobwebby haunted house affair about [...]

Paranormal Activity 3 (Review) | By Anders Wotzke

Anders Wotzke — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 11:13:29 +0000

Paranormal Activity 3 is shocking alright, but that has less to do with what’s in the movie, and more to do with what’s been left out. See that publicity picture located above this review? Sadly, you won’t see that scene play out in the movie. Oh, and have you seen this trailer promoting the film? Well guess what, you won’t be seeing those scenes in Paranormal Activity 3 [...]