STAR TREK: INTO DARKNESS (2013) DIRECTOR: J. J. Abrams STARRING: Chris Pine, Zachery Quinto, Benedict Cumberbatch, Simon Pegg, Zoe Salanda GENRE: Sci-Fi, Action CERT: 12A The second movie out of the gate, in the coveted Summer Movie Season, is the sequel to 2009’s reboot of the popular Sci-Fi series Star Trek. Rather than do a complete remake of the original series of films, Abrams has decided to go down the alternative timeline route, which allows him and his writers to pick which elements they want to re-use and develop it…
THE HOST (2013) DIRECTOR: Andrew Niccol STARRING: Saoirse Ronan, Max Irons, Jake Abel, Chandler Canterbury, William Hurt, Diane Kruger GENRE: Sci-Fi Romance CERT: 12a I have the unenviable task of following Gemma’s great review last week for Iron Man 3, which I think is a pretty steep ask for my first go. The Host is another of Stephanie Meyers’ novels to make it to the big screen. It is set in a world which has been inhabited by aliens that survive by taking over human bodies – hence the name. They are called Souls, and…
IRON MAN 3 (2013) DIRECTOR: Shane Black STARRING: Robert Downey Jr, Gwyneth Paltrow, Guy Pearce, Sir Ben Kingsley, Don Cheadle GENRE: Action CERT: 12A If you are a regular reader of my Friday Film Feature, you will have no doubt noticed that I have a soft spot for comic book movies. This year looks to be a bumper year for the genre and first out of the gate is Iron Man 3. The film takes place a few months after the events in last years The Avengers (or as it…
OZ: THE GREAT AND POWERFUL (2013) DIRECTOR: Sam Raimi STARRING: Mila Kunis, James Franco, Michelle Williams GENRE: U CERT: Fantasy OZ: The Great and Powerful is a love letter to the original 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz. However, it fails to step away from the classic films shadow. In this film, the Dorothy character is replaced by Franco’s Oz, a sideshow magician who has dreams of grandeur. Its this flaw that causes him to leave a trail of brokenhearted women after he has seduced them, giving them some sob…
G.I. JOE: RETALIATION (2013) DIRECTOR: John M. Chu STARRING: Channing Tatum, Dwayne Johnson, Bruce Willis, Jonathan Pryce, Ray Stevenson GENRE: Action CERT: 12A *WARNING: Contains spoilers * To be honest having watched the first movie, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, it surprised me that a sequel had been commissioned. Even now, I still can’t remember anything about that movie, except that it had Channing Tatum and Sienna Miller in it. So my excitement was less than stellar. However, after seeing a trailer in the cinema and the news that…
HANSEL & GRETEL: WITCH HUNTERS (2013) DIRECTOR: Tommy Wirkola STARRING: Gemma Arterton, Jeremy Renner, Famke Janssen GENRE: Horror, Fantasy, Fairytale CERT: 15 REVIEWER: Gemma This year looks to be the year of the re-imagined Fairytales, and first out of the gate is Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters. This “what if” treatment of the Grimm fairytale was surprisingly entertaining. True, it will never win any major film awards, nor does it try to have some deep-seated meaning to the tale. This is just some good old-fashioned, fun filmmaking. The film starts…
A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD (2013) DIRECTOR: John Moore STARRING: Bruce Willis, Jai Courtney, Sebastian Kock GENRE: Action Movie CERT: 12A REVIEWER: Gemma When going to see movies like A Good Day to Die Hard, you have certain expectations on what the film is going to be like. Very basic plot, with lots of action scenes and the good guy getting to kick the bad guy’s ass. In both cases, A Good Day to Die Hard succeeds, but even in that instance this film seems to disregard the plausibility of…
WARM BODIES (2013) DIRECTOR: Johnathan Levine STARRING: Nicholas Hoult, Teresa Palmer, John Malkovich GENRE: Romance, Zombie, Comedy CERT: 12A REVIEWER: Gemma *Warning: Review contains spoilers* Warm Bodies had the promise of being a slick, smart zombie movie. Yet for me it seemed to try to be too edgy and ended up being unsure what genre it was actually aiming for. What was really puzzling was the fact that I did enjoy the film, but it didn’t match up to my all-time favourite zombie comedy, Shaun of the Dead. True, both movies are…
DREAM HOUSE (2011) DIRECTOR: Jim Sheridan STARRING: Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz, Naomi Watts GENRE: Horror, Thriller, Mystery CERT: 15 REVIEWER: Gemma **WARNING – REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS** Dream House is one of those films that could easily be spoiled, thus ruining the enjoyment of it. However, the marketing people at the film studio decided to ignore this completely and give away some of the more interesting twists of the film. Luckily, I didn’t pay much attention and therefor it meant I was surprised by the twists. The plot of the film…
DJANGO UNCHAINED (2013) DIRECTOR: Quentin Tarintino STARRING: Jamie Foxx, Samuel L Jackson, Leonardo De Caprio, Kerry Washington, Christoph Waltz GENRE: Western, Action CERT: 18 REVIEWER: Gemma When a film is mentioned as being directed by Quentin Tarantino, you have a pretty good idea that this film would spill enough blood to make a vampire weep and will end is some huge bloodbath. On both accounts, Django Unchained more than meets the criteria. At two hours and forty five minutes long, it’s a hefty film to sit through and unfortunately longer…
LES MISÉRABLES (2013) DIRECTOR: Tom Hooper STARRING: Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried, Sasha Baron Cohan, Helena Bonhnam Carter, Samantha Barker GENRE: Musical, Drama CERT: 12A REVIEWER: Gemma So you’ve just won your first Oscar for The Kings Speech? The movie world is your Oyster. Doors are opened that had previously been closed. So what do you pick as your next project? Not one to sit on his laurels, Tom Hooper opted to take on a project that is beloved by many a musical theatre goer and try…
GANGSTER SQUAD (2013) DIRECTOR: Ruben Fleisher STARRING: Ryan Gossling, Josh Brolin, Emma Stone, Sean Penn, Robert Patrick GENRE: Action, Mobster CERT: 15 REVIEWER: Gemma For a movie that looks to promise lots of action, double crossing and gun-shooting, I left the movie feeling rather unsatisfied. Don’t get me wrong, Fleisher has caught LA in the 1940′s very well and the fact that it is based on the true story of Mickey Cohans rise and fall as one of THE most vicious mobsters of his time (look here for more info),…
LIFE OF PI (2012) DIRECTOR: Ang Lee STARRING: Suraj Shaman, Irrfan Khan, Rafe Spall GENRE: Drama, Fantasy CERT: 12A REVIEWER: Gemma **WARNING:- Spoilers for the end of the film and probably the book** In a change to how I normally go and see a movie at the cinema, I decided to change things up a bit by partaking in “Cinema Roulette”. The rules were very simple. You go to the cinema and go and see the film that is starting nearest to your arrival time. You couldn’t go and see…
JACK REACHER (2012) DIRECTOR: Christopher McQuarrie STARRING: Tom Cruise, Rosamund Pike GENRE: Action, Thriller CERT: 12A REVIEWER: Gemma After the very poor Alex Cross, I was a bit apprehensive over going to see JACK REACHER. Coupled with the fact that I am not the biggest fan of Tom Cruise and the odds were stacked against this being anything but a turkey, at least for me. Thankfully, I rather enjoyed this film, even if it was a love fest for Tom Cruise (by now I come to expect that.) The premise…
ALEX CROSS (2012) DIRECTOR: Rob Cohen STARRING: Tyler Perry, Matthew Fox, Edward Burns, Jean Reno GENRE: Crime, Thriller, Action CERT: 15 REVIEWED BY: Gemma I first saw an advert for this movie during one of my previous trips to cinema. The fact that it had Matthew Fox, Jack Shepard from the TV show Lost, in the role of villain, was enough to convince me to take a chance on this movie. Sadly, what could have been a brilliant thriller turned out to be just average with such a weak script…
