The Free State of Jones review: This overly long and indecisive war flick goes nowhere and amounts to little September 30, 2016 Matthew McConaughey’s Free State of Jones was one of the surprise disappointments of the summer over in the US. The Oscar winner plays Newton Knight, a disillusioned Confederate soldier in the American Civil War who returns home and rebels against his former comrades, creating a “Free State”. Coming in at a two hours and 20 [...]
Swiss Army Man review: Daniel Radcliffe dumps over his wizard legacy from the greatest possible height September 29, 2016 The first thing Daniel Radcliffe did after he finished being Harry Potter was flash his junk in Equus, and ever since then he’s been upping the ante, scaling ever greater heights from whence he can shit on his wizarding legacy. He played a jerk version of himself in BoJack Horseman, he threw Nazi salutes in [...]
The Magnificent Seven: This weak Western lacks true grit September 22, 2016 Antoine Fuqua’s The Magnificent Seven was always going to face significant challenges. Remaking not one but two classics, it also has to buck the trend of recent big budget westerns that have badly flopped. Nevertheless, the Training Day director has some impressive hired guns. Denzel Washington takes the lead as Sam Chisolm, a bounty hunter [...]
De Palma review: An incisive and revealing doc about the director’s best, and worst, work September 22, 2016 In this documentary, two young filmmakers interview the great Brian De Palma about his career, philosophies, and the often frustrating business of working with Hollywood, from his early days making avant garde and disturbing thrillers, to hits like Carrie, Scarface and Mission: Impossible. De Palma is disarmingly honest about his failures, often bemused by his [...]
Imperium review: Racist Harry Potter is the most remarkable thing about this undercover drama September 22, 2016 Ever wanted to hear Harry Potter utter every racist epithet under the sun? In Imperium, Daniel Radcliffe shaves his head and gets rowdy as an FBI agent going undercover to find out the full extent of the threat from White Supremacist terror groups in America. However you feel about potty-mouthed Potter, it’s jarring to see [...]
The Beatles: Eight Days A Week review: Ron Howard has made the definitive Beatles documentary September 16, 2016 Eight Days A Week is a fascinating look at a vital few years in the story of The Fab Four, covering their initial success, Beatlemania, and the unprecedented American success that caught a country unawares. Films about The Beatles often struggle to capture why they made such an impact. In Ron Howard's film archive footage [...]
The Infiltrator review: Brian Cranston makes for an underwhelming lead in this coke-fuelled true story September 15, 2016 In the years since Breaking Bad, Bryan Cranston has struggled as a movie lead, with the underwhelming Trumbo being followed by this true story of Bob Mazur, an undercover customs agent who goes deep into the operations of Pablo Escobar. Despite a confident performance from Cranston, who skates the line between good and evil as [...]
Sausage Party review: Knob-gags abound in Seth Rogen’s family unfriendly animated film September 2, 2016 The term ‘animated comedy’ generally comes with the assumption that it’s also family friendly. However, the team behind The Interview are back to lampoon Pixar et al in Sausage Party, imagining a world where items of food come to life (a la Toy Story) and believe they go to The Great Beyond once they are [...]
Cafe Society film review: Woody Allen conjures up old Hollywood glamour for this formulaic, but enjoyable, romance September 2, 2016 The Cannes debut of Woody Allen’s latest film was marred by controversy when French comedian Larent Lafitte made a jibe about the allegations of sexual impropriety made against the director. The picture itself, however, is a decidedly uncontroversial trip down Tinsel Town’s memory lane. Set in the 1930s, Jesse Eisenberg plays a young man lured [...]
Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping review: Lonely Island’s mockumentary skewers self-absorbed stardom August 25, 2016 Musical comedy troupe Lonely Island’s mockumentary skewers modern pop culture, with Brooklyn Nine-Nine star Andy Samberg playing a self-absorbed, Bieber-esque solo artist ready to unleash his second album on an unsuspecting public. Taking aim at spoilt young mega stars and their ridiculous indulgences, the familiar plot is lifted by the energy of the cast and [...]
