“It feels like a movie born from a different era.” That is the thought that immediately flooded my brain upon leaving the cinema after watching Venom. Now, that’s not necessarily a bad thing of course. Hundreds of amazing films have been born well before superhero films became the successful genre they are today.
Nevertheless, in Venom’s case, what we have is a film that struggles to create a consistent tone throughout its rather succinct running time. But is the film still a success for Sony? Continue reading →
Brutal. Spectacular. Emotional. These are just some of the adjectives you could use to describe Christopher Nolan’s latest film, Dunkirk. The director of Inception, The Dark Knight, Memento and Interstellar is one of the greatest film-makers working today and he raises the bar once again with this bleak tale from World War II.
With war, you have to respect the past whilst allowing modern-day film-goers to truly understand the brutality that ordinary people like you and I went through on a daily basis. Continue reading →
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Will Poulter
By Adam Brannon
There are two types of film critic when it comes to the Academy Awards. Those who enjoy the glamour that the Oscars bring every spring and those who despise what the awards mean for film. I’m in the latter camp, I find them out of touch with what movie-watching audiences enjoy and feel an overhaul is necessary to reflect that.
That’s not to say the Oscars reward bad films of course. Not at all. I do feel however that they, on the whole, reward technical brilliance, rather than the deeper aspects of movie-making and forget to include mass-market crowd-pleasers for fear of cheapening the ceremony.
The film everyone is talking about this year is The Revenant. With an incredible 12 nominations, it’s the one to watch in 2016. But is it actually any good? Continue reading →
Starring: Tom Hardy, Emily Browning, Christopher Eccleston
REVIEW AUTHOR: Rob Stoakes
Copyright: Studio Canal
This supposedly “based-on-a-true-story” telling of the story of the Piranha Brothers is easily the worst film ever made, because of its obvious incorrect events. Spiny Norman the giant hedgehog never turns up, Harry “Snapper” Organs is disguised as Doctor Who rather than Gloucester from King Lear, and Doug never once uses his trademark sarcasm. Zero stars out of five.
Right, now that the obligatory Monty Python jokes are out of the way, we can actually discuss Legend. This is similar to a previous film of this year, Southpaw, in that the main draw is a single performance. Or rather two; Tom Hardy as both of the Kray Twins. This is far and away the best aspect of the film, with the seamless effects and cinematography and Tom Hardy’s towering performances convincing you that Ronnie and Reggie really are portrayed by two completely different people. Continue reading →
Starring: Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult
REVIEW AUTHOR: Rob Stoakes
Up until a week ago, I was really looking forward to this film. Mad Max as a series has a criminally underestimated impact on our pop culture psyche thanks to its unique aesthetic. Everyone now knows exactly what they want to do in the event of the apocalypse; strap dustbin lids and S&M gear to our bodies. Continue reading →