Category: Reviews
For all its ideas, Zero Theorem is simply an entertaining zero-sum game
Terry Gilliam’s first film since the ill-fated, but enjoyable Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, Zero Theorem showcases the former Python animator’s uniquely discordant worldview, as well as confirming Christoph Waltz as a supreme resource for any talented director.
The bald-headed, hunched-over, strangely grotesque Qohen is light years away from the smooth Hans Landa or charming Schultz.…
Does Ayoade replicate the success of Submarine with The Double?
The Double, the second film of Richard Ayoade – whose first, Submarine, accrued a BAFTA nom for Outstanding Debut – might not receive enough mainstream exposure to completely revamp his image as “Moss from The IT Crowd“, but as far as offbeat, art-house adaptations of Dostoyevsky novellas go, it’s a cracker.
…Gravity is a technically stunning work of (plausible) thematic sci-fi
I wrote a piece a while back on how Alfonso Cuarón showed signs of becoming one of the 21st Century’s foremost directors of science fiction – up there with Duncan Jones, Neill Blomkamp, and Shane Carruth – just on the strength of 2006’s Children of Men.
…Nebraska: an emotionally resonant father-son road trip
A meditative, black-and-white exploration about growing up, growing old, and accepting life’s defeats.
Middle-of-the-road bachelor David Grant (Will Forte) takes his indolent, cantankerous father, Woody (Bruce Dern), on a road trip to collect on a junk-mail flyer for a million dollars.…
Filth is a raunchy, foul-mouthed bit of soul searching for a maniacal James McAvoy
The medical standard for Irvine Welsh adaptations is undoubtedly still Trainspotting, made back in the midst of the Britpop era (1996).
Since there have been two further attempts to bring his works to the bring screen – The Acid House and the explicitly titled Irvine Welsh’s Ecstasy – but, as with Chuck Palahuik and Fight Club, no one’s been able to recapture the magic.
Woody Allen’s Blue Jasmine is redolent of Streetcar but never feels like a ripoff
Cate Blanchett goes Blanche Dubois in contemporary San Francisco.
In Woody Allen’s Blue Jasmine, Blanchett stars as a fragile, nervy Southern Belle. Her performance seems to have been lifted wholesale from her 2008 appearance in Streetcar – and it’s cracking; an assured Oscar nom.…
Jobs is a bit of a jobbie
Less than two years after the Father of the Digital Revolution passed away, we have a shiny new biopic commemorating his life and achievements.
Less of the breakthrough that was the first Macintosh computer, more in-keeping with the most recent iPhone models – the fact of which perhaps suggest Steve Job’s importance to the company – Jobs is a bit… meh.…
We’re The Millers is a bad-natured road trip you’ll wanna miss
With his film career picking up, it was only a matter of time before Jason Sudeikis, like so many before him, made a break from Saturday Night Live, the show that had made his name.
Best known for his smirking deadpan, Sudeikis’ comedy chops are undeniable, but how does his experience of playing sketch characters transfer over to the big screen?
We Steal Secrets doesn’t get away with much
One of the key issues of our times, the freedom and right to information has become embodied in the figure of one person: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.
Unfortunately, the sociological debate has become caught up in the issues surrounding Assange, the accusations against him, his flight and taking refuge.…