Because Everybody Else Has One

Jack and Jill

2012-02-03T14:08:00.002+02:00

I really don't have the words to describe just how bad this film is. Well, OK, that's clearly not entirely true... Also at Channel24 in edited, toned-down form. What it's about Jack Sadelstein, a successful family man, has his life invaded by his needy and obnoxious sister whose annual Thanksgiving visit threatens to last for months. What we thought That Jack and Jill is a truly

Man on a Ledge

2012-02-02T22:17:00.000+02:00

The one film being released this week that I really want to see is the one film whose screening I missed but hopefully I'll have a review up for The Descendants soon. For now there is... some other stuff. Also at Channel24 What it's about: After being falsely imprisoned for stealing a diamond, an ex-cop-turned-fugitive threatens to jump to his death from the top floor of a Manhattan hotel.

The Darkest Hour (3D)

2012-01-28T20:26:00.001+02:00

No really, just how mediocre can one film be? Also at Channel24 in edited form What it's about A group of young tourists find themselves on the run for their lives after Moscow is invaded by deadly, invisible aliens. What we thought The Darkest Hour: generic title, generic film. For a relatively major motion picture that has gotten some seriously bad reviews (16/100 on Metacritic,

The Muppets

2012-01-26T23:01:00.000+02:00

It's a really varied week of new cinema releases - both in quality and type - but this must surely be the one that most of have been looking forward to. Also at Channel24 (though in slightly edited form) What it's about The Muppets reunite to stage a benefit concert to save their theatre from an evil oil tycoon. What we thought As is perhaps typical of relaunches of classic

Underworld Awakening

2012-01-20T14:48:00.000+02:00

There is at least one worthwhile film coming out this week but I can promise you this, it ain't the fourth Underworld flick, that's for damn sure. Also at Channel24 What it's about Skipping right past the third film (a prequel), this fourth entry into the Underworld series sees Kate Beckinsale back as Selene, the leather clad vampire outlaw, who finds herself caught up in a world where

Roundup of Films Released Over the 2011/2012 Holiday Season

2012-01-15T22:31:00.000+02:00

So, it's been a while since I have updated the blog (apparently it's really easy to get lazy when on holiday by the sea - who knew?) so here are some quick, no frills reviews of a bunch of films that came out over the past few weeks. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows If you enjoyed Guy Ritchie's first crack at Sherlock Holmes then you'll probably like this. It sags significantly in the

The Movies in 2011: An Overview (Part 2)

2012-01-04T01:13:00.001+02:00

I promised there would be more and this time I take a look at some of the bigger films that came out this year. Animation and kids films Sadly, 2011 wasn't a great year for animation. There weren't more than a couple of truly bad animated films this year (the befuddling Gnomeo and Juliet, the rather rubbish Mars Needs Moms, local dud Jock of the Bushveld) but what's really worrying is how

Midnight in Paris

2012-01-01T23:12:00.000+02:00

I'll have the rest of my review of the films of the year up within the next few days but, in the meantime, a word or two about the latest Woody Allen film. Midnight in Paris Ever since Match Point, it seems like every other film released by Woody Allen is hailed as a comeback or "his best film since...", to the point that it has become hard to take any of these claims all together

The Movies in 2011: An Overview (Part 1)

2011-12-28T23:23:00.000+02:00

I knew I wanted to do an overview for the year in film seeing as how I have seen the vast majority of films released this year but I wasn't entirely sure what format to use. A simple Top 20? An involved essay? Something in between? Well, after much deliberation (OK, "much" might be overstating it slightly) I decided to break the year down into categories and look at it that way. Also, I will be

The Ides of March and Moneyball

2011-12-25T18:35:00.000+02:00

Just a couple of quick reviews before I get to my overview of the films of 2011. One from this week and one that came out a few weeks ago that I've managed to miss until very recently. Moneyball isn't just a drama about baseball; it's a drama about the statistics behind baseball. Needless to say, this is not a subject with what anyone would call "universal appeal" but, for the 6.99999 billion

DC's New 52 - 3 Months In (Part 4)

2011-12-22T01:32:00.001+02:00

Finishing off my look at a few of DC's relaunched comics, four of their biggest and best titles... Action Comics by Grant Morrison and Rags Morales To be entirely upfront about this, if I included its massively underwhelming fourth issue in this evaluation, Action Comics may not have quite made it this high in my list. Hopefully issue #4 was just a misstep though, because this series has

The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn

2011-12-22T00:40:00.002+02:00

Coming soon to the blog are reviews of some very notable films over the next couple of weeks; the final part of my roundup of DC Comics' New 52 initiative and a look back at 2011 in film and, perhaps (I haven't decided yet) in comics. For now though, here are some thoughts on Spielberg's eagerly anticipated Tintin adaptation. Also at Channel24 What it's about Tintin, a young

DC's New 52 - 3 Months In (Part 3)

2011-12-16T01:55:00.000+02:00

Sorry for the delay but onto the best of what I'm reading from DC's relaunch. The Top of the Crop (The magical and the Horrific) Swamp Thing by Scott Snyder and Yanick Pacquette I haven't yet read Alan Moore's definitive run on the character but, from what I understand, writer Scott Snyder is doing his best to take the book in a very different direction. Either way, I could seldom be happier

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol

2011-12-14T18:10:00.001+02:00

With a long weekend coming up, this week's film come out a day early. Not that there is a wide variety to see, of course. There's the new Alvin and the Chipmunks movie for the kids and Free Men, which I know nothing about, for the art crowd. Best of all, though, we have this surprisingly awesome entry in the Mission Impossible series... Also at Channel24 What it's about: Ethan Hunt (Tom

Roundup of New Films Released 9 December 2011

2011-12-11T20:32:00.001+02:00

Arthur Christmas certainly wasn't the only film to come out this week. It wasn't even the only good one. On with the show, then... Don't Be Afraid of the Dark may be produced and co-written by dark-fantasy master, Guillermo Del Torro, but Pan's Labyrinth it ain't. Hell, it's not even half as good as Chronos. The problem isn't so much that it's badly made - performances, direction and

Arthur Christmas

2011-12-08T21:13:00.001+02:00

Well, it's that time of year again... Santa Clausians of the world rejoice! (Also at Channel24) What it's about: Santa Claus's youngest son, Arthur (voiced by James McAvoy) sets off on a mission to correct a mistake made by his father's hi-tech operation: To give a Christmas present to a little girl who was overlooked. What we thought: At a cursory glance, Arthur Christmas doesn't

DC's New 52 - 3 Months In (Part 2)

2011-12-07T16:47:00.001+02:00

Now onto the next batch of books... Good, But Not Quite There Yet Justice League Dark by Peter Milligan and Mikel Janin This was easily one of the new titles that I was most looking forward to but high expectations are something of a double edged sword: when they're fulfilled, the result is usually something special but when they're not, it can turn a really rather solid piece of work into

DC's New 52 - 3 Months In (Part 1)

2011-12-05T19:05:00.001+02:00

And now, because it's been a while, something for the comic book fans... Introduction For those who don't know, in response to both dwindling sales and a lack of enthusiasm for most of their superhero line, DC Comics launched a fairly gutsy initiative 3 months ago to try and garner some fresh interest in their line of comics. Along with some generally hideous redesigns of some pretty damn

Roundup of New Films Released on 2 Decemeber 2011

2011-12-04T18:02:00.001+02:00

But first, the one film from last week that I haven't reviewed yet - at least of those I've seen. Dream House is something of an oddity of a film in that it's a psychological drama that plays out like a ghost story. Sadly, though it's probably better than most reviewers suggest, it doesn't entirely work on either level. It's efficiently put together and, considering it boats always solid

Real Steel

2011-12-01T21:08:00.001+02:00

After Twilight ruling cinemas for the last couple of week, we at long last have something to talk about. From Channel24 What it's about: In the near future, where robot boxing has become a popular sport, a struggling ex-boxer/promoter (Hugh Jackman) soon finds himself bonding with his estranged 11-year-old son (Dakota Goyo) as they attempt to create a champion out of a scrappy but

Roundup of films released on 11 and 18 November.

2011-11-22T18:36:00.001+02:00

Most of South Africa's media today has been turned towards the passing of the Secrecy Bill - and rightly so - it's a crushing blow against our constitution and the freedom of the press. I'm tempted to write more about it but, really, what's the point. This isn't some great ethical dilemma, where both sides clearly have some sort of legitimacy. Here it's pretty simple: if you oppose the bill,

Straw Dogs 2011

2011-11-20T20:57:00.001+02:00

Originally posted at Channel24, here's my review of a very, very befuddling remake. What it's about: A remake of the 1970s cult-classic, Straw Dogs tells the story about a young screenwriter and his wife (played by James Marsden and Kate Bosworth) who relocate to the small southern town where she grew up. What was intended as a quiet getaway for him to work soon becomes something far more

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1

2011-11-17T23:04:00.001+02:00

I've fallen a bit behind with updates recently but a roundup of films released over the last couple of weeks is forthcoming - as is my review of the odd remake of Straw Dogs. For now, though, while it is fresh in my mind after having seen it this afternoon (they forgot to invite me to the screening), my thoughts of the latest in the frankly inexplicably huge Twilight saga. Those vegetarian,

50/50

2011-11-08T17:26:00.000+02:00

And now for the film of the week... 50/50 is that most tricky of balancing acts: a gut-wrenching drama about cancer that also happens to be consistently laugh-out-loud funny. That it's gut-wrenching isn't particularly surprising when you consider that, tragically, the topic of cancer (no play on "Tropic of Cancer" intended, smart asses) has probably ever been more relevant. It's hard to find

Anonymous

2011-11-07T15:51:00.002+02:00

With Tower Heist out of the way, there are only a further two films that I need to take a look at from last week. I do want to catch up with Attack the Block at some point but, for now, here's my thoughts on the first of two fairly noteworthy films. The tagline on the poster kind of says it all but Anonymous explores a fairly simple conceit in a rather convoluted way: did William