M. Night Shyamalan’s self-funded (five million dollar) mockumentary, The Visit, is a strange brew of humour and creepiness that seems to be intended for the teen market. Shyamalan has said that he recommends the youngest viewer be fourteen or above; I recommend the eldest being seventeen or below. Australian child actors Olivia DeJonge and Ed Oxenbould play…
DetailsRename this flick Straight Outta Compton: The Authorised Biopic of NWA, and you’ll have no problem slurping up its many pleasures. Any perceived oversights, white-washings and re-writings of history can be relegated to the internet, while up on the silver screen, jazzy images, fine performances, and awesome music can be smugly devoured. Not that, even…
DetailsIn the realm of stoner action comedies, American Ultra isn’t too bad. But what a weird genre to begin with, right? It seems sort of counter intuitive to have an action movie for stoners. Usually when you’re stoned, the last thing you want is action. You just want to laugh while you’re eating your pizza.…
DetailsA drama with a couple of laughs rather than a comedy, and more a philosophical discussion than a drama, Irrational Man is a very contained, very minor particle of Woody Allen’s huge cinematic universe, and it could’ve been a disaster were it not for the extremely committed performances of its three leads: Joaquin Phoenix, Emma Stone and…
DetailsThe plot’s pretty standard, but Guy Ritchie’s The Man From U.N.C.L.E. remake / reboot / whatever has a lot of charm. It’s incredibly stylish, at times breathtakingly beautiful, and features an absolute star-making turn by Henry Cavill as Napoleon Dynamite – whoops, Solo – played long ago on the small screen by Robert Vaughn. I didn’t see…
DetailsTrainwreck opens with one of the funniest scenes of the year thus far. It closes with a scene that is corny, clichéd and sentimental. The whole film, when broken down, pretty much works in the same way: the first act is a brilliant sex comedy, the second act is an above average sex comedy/RomCom, and the…
DetailsChristopher McQuarrie’s directorial debut in the Mission Impossible franchise, having already written for and directed Tom Cruise in Jack Reacher (and written for him with Edge of Tomorrow and Valkyrie) is a lot of fun. It’s got great action set-pieces and a nice dose of humour, but best of all, it’s got a female lead who is so good, she brings Cruise up…
DetailsIf you’re getting tired of all the big summer blockbuster superhero remake sequel madness, and I can assure you that Mr. Holmes is some excellent counter programming. And frankly, I’ll watch Sir Ian McKellen do just about anything, and most definitely watch him play the great sleuth Sherlock Holmes. I need to see him in…
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