Superhero sequels are all about the escalation. Spider-Man 2, X2, The Dark Knight: they all feature villains who come about as a result of the heroes’ actions in the first film.
As The Joker says to Batman, “You’ve changed things – forever”.…
Author: robertmwallis
Graduate of Royal Holloway and the London Film School. Founder of Of All The Film Sites; formerly Of All The Film Blogs. Formerly Film & TV Editor of The Metropolist and Official Sidekick at A Place to Hang Your Cape. Co-host of The Movie RobCast podcast (formerly Electric Shadows) and member of the Online Film Critics Society.
Only God Forgives is an unforgivable load of tosh
It’d be easy to dismiss Only God Forgives as Drive in Bangkok: as in his previous collaboration with director Nicholas Winding Refn, Ryan Gosling stars as a laconic, almost too-cool protagonist amidst neon lights and bursts of shocking violence.
That’s not the reason you should dismiss Only God Forgives, however.…
Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa is a deliberately underwhelming affair
The thing about diminishing expectations is that after a certain point they cease to be worth meeting.
After almost two decades on and off the TV, Alan Partridge, Steve Coogan’s most popular creation, has made his way to the big screen.…
RED 2 is a perfectly good geri-actioner
Do you remember my review of A Good Day to Die Hard, all the way back in the mists of time?
There’s no reason for you to, but in it I aired my complaints with what has become of the series that gave Bruce Willis a career beyond Moonlighting.…
The Wolverine: a Western-Samurai-superhero mashup with claws
After four years in the wilderness, the X-Men’s hairiest, surliest associate is back with his own feature film. And good news: it’s not X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
There was a lot to feel hopeful as The Wolverine approached. Even with the original director, Darren Aronofsky, having dropped off the project, there was still the Chris Claremont/Frank Miller source material in place – the cool Japanese milieu, Wolverine as a ronin (samurai without a master) – and, of course, Hugh Jackman, who is to the 20th Century Fox X-verse what Robert Downey Jr.…
The World’s End is business as usual for the Cornetto bunch
My, haven’t we grown?
It’s been six years since Hot Fuzz blasted onto our screen, John Woo-style, both guns blazing, and a further three since Shaun of the Dead introduced us to arguably the foremost British comedy duo in cinema today (sorry Rob Brydon and Steve Coogan).…
A Field in England is a work of esoterica to be treasured
“These late eclipses in the sun and moon portend no good to us.”
— William Shakespeare, King Lear, Act I, Scene ii
Wind rustles the dry grass; in the distance the shriek of cannonade, the resounding boom of cannonballs in dirt.…
Pacific Rim stands on the edge of being a halfway decent film
We’re roughly half way through the summer season with Man of Steel and World War Z recently past and Elysium and The Wolverine shortly approaching (among others).
As such, a little $190 blockbuster about giant robots vs. giant aliens could well pass under the radar: less superfluous than Disney’s The Lone Ranger but by no means a guaranteed money-maker, it makes sense that fantasy horror legend Guillermo Del Toro would be asked to bring some much-needed credibility to the project.…
Renoir is a sumptuous, sun-drenched picture that harnesses the beauty and power of its subject’s work
With its overwhelming presence in our everyday lives, it’s easy to forget that film – in fact, media in general – is a medium still in its infancy.
It’s been less than 120 years since the first motion picture was displayed before an audience.…
There’s no real trick to Now You See Me
I’ve always been slightly puzzled when people talk about the magic of cinema.
Sure, cinema can amaze and enthrall – Orson Welles called it a ribbon of dreams – but, unlike magic, it needs to be explicable.
However much The Prestige went on about the final act, the denouement, being the most important, it only works if it feels like what’s preceded has built up to it.…