REVIEW: The Meg

From the distinctly sub-Crichtonesque book it’s based on to its original director (Jan De Bont), The Meg, as directed by Jon Turtletaub, is a creature feature that’s been kept on ice since the latest ’90s.

Finally chomping its way into cinemas after a sizeable Chinese investment, Jason Statham, he of shiny bonce and glint-y eye, stars as Jonas Taylor, a  legendary rescue diver brought out of retirement to save a scientific team trapped on the ocean bed below the level of the Mariana Trench. …

Fast 8, Rules Don’t Apply, & Last Jedi teaser (Electric Shadows podcast)

Episode 22 of the Electric Shadows Podcast sees Rob Daniel & myself revving their engines as they ironically mosey through a discussion of Fast & Furious 8, and the surprisingly robust franchise as a whole.

We also dive into the insane world of Howard Hughes in Warren Beatty’s Rules Don’t Apply, and get ambivalent about the Star Wars: The Last Jedi trailer.…

Spy is a vulgar, good-natured feminist riff on the old 007 formula

Spy reunites writer-director Paul Feig and Oscar-nominated funny-woman Melissa McCarthy.

McCarty plays meek CIA desk jockey Susan Cooper, providing support to her suave male counterpart Bradley Fine (Jude Law doing Bond, tux and all). A tragic turn of events draws Susan out of the basement, leading her to go undercover, and gives her plenty of opportunity to prove her badassery – and for McCarthy to stretch her comedy chops.

Furious 7 provides thrills, spills, and a surprisingly moving farewell (RIP, Paul Walker)

 

Fast cars and beautiful women. Gunfights in exotic locales. You could be talking of any one of half a dozen franchises: Mission: Impossible, James Bond. They all offer similar thrills and spills, albeit in hugely different styles. In recent years, however, the Fast & Furious franchise has overtaken them all.

Is Parker worth a trip to the cinema or just settling down in front of the telly?

A Saturday night trip to the movies with a mate, I’ve learned, doesn’t have to be to see an award worthy prestige pic (like The Master should have been at this years’ Oscars) or the newest high-profile Hollywood blockbuster (as The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey proved simply to be).