2012 marks the fiftieth year of super spy James Bond’s appearance on the glittering big screen. In that time the suave secret agent has helped evolve and shape the big brash action movie, making a star of grumpy Scotsman Sean Connery. As swift as Bond’s rise was his fall into camp parody with a raise of Roger Moore’s ridiculous eyebrow. He then turned serious and sullen with a serious and sullen Timothy Dalton, experienced a renaissance under the Irish charm of Pierce Brosnan, and finally a radical reboot and reinvention with latest incarnation, the ice-cold Daniel Craig (Oh, and an Aussie played him too, but you know, who cares). Somehow 007 has managed to stand the test of time and remain relevant while everything around him has changed. Or has he? Does Skyfall prove he still was it takes in the face of stiff competition from your Bournes and Batmans? Read on and find out. Read more »
Archive for the Movie Review Category
Review: Dredd
Posted in Movie Review, Movies with tags 2000AD, Alex Garland, Cassandra Anderson, Dredd, Judge Anderson, Judge Dredd, Judge Dredd: The Megazine, Karl Urban, Lena Headley, Ma-Ma, Madeline Madrigal, Mega City One, Megablock, Olivia Thirlby, Peach Trees, Pete Travis, Sylvester Stallone on September 13, 2012 by Bjorn GraingerI remember I was about eleven years old when I picked up my first issue of Judge Dredd: The Megazine at the local newsagents. It was mind-blowing, unlike any comic I’d read before. It was bloody and brutal, and I was hooked. At the time I was there mostly for the ultraviolence, but as I grew older I picked up on the comedy and satire of the strip. Dredd’s first big screen appearance, courtesy of Sylvester Stallone in 1995, may have had the big Hollywood budget but lacked all the elements that made Dredd unique. Seventeen years down the line, Mega City One’s greatest lawman returns to the screen in Dredd. Have the makers learned the lessons from the last time? Let’s find out. Read more »
Review: The Bourne Legacy
Posted in Movie Review, Movies with tags Aaron Cross, Blackbriar, Bourne, Clive Owen, Doug Liman, Dr Marta Shearing, Duplicity, Edward Norton, Eric Byer, Jason Bourne, Jeremy Renner, Matt Damon, Michael Clayton, Paul Greengrass, Rachel Weisz, The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Legacy, The Bourne Ultimatum, Tony Gilroy, Treadstone on September 5, 2012 by Bjorn Grainger
The Bourne Legacy poster claims “There was never just one”. We know this. We’ve seen the Bourne trilogy. Those assassins sent to take Jason out after his memory problems? Pretty sure they’re all part of the programme. But hey, that’s just a silly poster. The film won’t make those types of mistakes… will it? Read on.
Review: The Dark Knight Rises
Posted in Movie Review, Movies with tags Anne Hathaway, Bane, Batman, Bruce Wayne, Catwoman, Chris Nolan, Christian Bale, Christopher Nolan, Commissioner Gordon, David S. Goyer, Gary Oldman, Hans Zimmer, Heath Ledger, Inception, Jim Gordon, John Blake, Jonathan Nolan, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Michael Caine, Michelle Pfeiffer, Miranda Tate, Morgan Freeman, Selina Kyle, The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises, The Joker, Tom Hardy, Warner Bros. on July 25, 2012 by Bjorn GraingerThird parts are notoriously difficult in films. If things haven’t been planned out from the start they feel like horrible cash-ins, where that once fresh and original idea has long since milked dry. At best you ignore them, deny they ever existed. At worst, they kill off all the enjoyment you had in the series. The Dark Knight Rises is Christopher Nolan’s final part in his Dark Knight trilogy. Will Nolan give us the ending we want? Will Batman get the send off he deserves? Read on and find out. Read more »
Review: The Amazing Spider-Man
Posted in Movie Review, Movies with tags 500 Days Of Summer, Andrew Garfield, Aunt May, Captain Stacy, Denis Leary, Dr Curt Connors, Emma Stone, Flash Thompson, Gwen Stacy, Kirsten Dunst, Marc Webb, Martin Sheen, Mary-Jane Watson, Peter Parker, Rhys Ifans, Sally Field, Sam Raimi, Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2, Spider-Man 3, Spidey, The Amazing Spider-Man, The Lizard, Tobey Maguire, Uncle Ben on July 12, 2012 by Bjorn GraingerHere we are, little more than ten years on from the first Spider-Man movie and the franchise has been rebooted. A new director, new stars, and the promise of an ‘untold story’. Will The Amazing Spider-Man live up to its title, or will we be wishing they left the series alone? Read on and all will be revealed.
Review: Prometheus
Posted in Movie Review, Movies with tags Alien, Blade Runner, Charlie Holloway, Charlize Theron, Damon Lindelof, David, Dr Elizabeth Shaw, Idris Elba, James Spaihts, Janek, Lawrence Of Arabia, Logan Marshall-Green, Meredith Vickers, Michael Fassbender, Noomi Rapace, Peter O'Toole, Prometheus, Ridley Scott, Ripley on June 5, 2012 by Bjorn GraingerI know nearly every review for the film will make mention of this so I’m going to get it out of the way at the start – Prometheus sees Ridley Scott’s long-awaited return to sci-fi, a genre where he made such stone-cold classics as Alien and Blade Runner. Can Prometheus possibly live up to such a lofty billing, or will it be fanboy crushing damp squib like a certain Phantom Menace? Read on and find out.
Review: The Grey
Posted in Movie Review, Movies with tags Alive, Jaws, Joe Carnahan, Liam Neeson, Ottway, The Grey, Wolf, Wolves on June 1, 2012 by Bjorn GraingerIf you’d seen any of the marketing for The Grey, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the movie was just a dumb action flick where Liam Neeson tapes up his fists with broken glass and punches the shit out of some wolves. It’s certainly what I thought. But you’d be wrong. Director Joe Carnahan delivers a film that’s a hell of a lot more thoughtful and considered.
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Review: Iron Sky
Posted in Movie Review, Movies with tags Christopher Kirby, Downfall, Dr Strangelove, Götz Otto, Helium-3, Iron Sky, Julie Dietze, Moon, Nazis, Peta Sargeant, Space, Stephanie Paul, Timo Vuorensola, Udo Kier on May 29, 2012 by Bjorn GraingerIf you’re a regular reader of my reviews you’d know at this point I’d typically write something funny about how the execs came to greenlight the movie, or how the director is someone who I really respect and admire. You know, something frivolous and irrelevant to lead us gently into the meat of the review. In the case of Iron Sky I have nothing like that. Nothing. This does not bode well. Read more »
Review: Ghost Rider – Spirit Of Vengeance
Posted in Comics, Movie Review, Movies, News, Thoughts with tags Brian Taylor, Ciaran Hinds, Crank, Ghost Rider, Ghost Rider - Spirit Of Vengeance, Idris Elba, Johnny Blaze, Mark Neveldine, Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, Marvel Knights, Marvel Studios, Moreau, Neveldine and Taylor, Nicholas Cage, Nick Cage on March 3, 2012 by Bjorn GraingerThe original Ghost Rider was an anaemic bit of filmmaking, especially considering the premise – A stunt-bike riding daredevil sells his soul to the Devil to save his father but ends up cursed with a spirit that punishes the sinful and causes his head to burst aflame. So, with Ghost Rider – Spirit Of Vengeance (a sequel of sorts), directors Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor of Crank fame have been brought in to shake some life into the series. Have they been successful? Let’s see. Read more »








