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Frank (2014) Review
Frank (2014) Director: Leonard Abrahamson Screenwriter: Peter Straughan Starring: Michael Fassbender, Domhnall Gleeson, Maggie Gyllenhaal If there’s one thing that the British and Irish have over the rest of the world when it comes to films, it’s their brand of dark comedy of which there is no comparison. Frank, directed by Leonard Abrahamson, is one…
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Insurgent (2015) Review
Insurgent (2015) Director: Robert Schwentke Screenwriter: Brian Duffield, Akiva Goldsman, Mark Bomback Starring: Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Kate Winslet, Naomi Watts, Miles Teller, Ansel Elgort, Jai Courtney, Mekhi Phifer, Zoe Kravitz, Octavia Spencer First of all, just a little background for you here. When I first came across the trailer for the first chapter of…
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Snowpiercer (2014) Review
Snowpiercer (2014) Director: Bong Joon Ho Screenwriter: Bong Joon Ho, Kelly Masterson Starring: Chris Evans, Kang-ho Song, Ah-sung Ko, Jamie Bell, Octavia Spencer, John Hurt, Ed Harris, Tilda Swinton Bong Joon Ho’s Euro-Korean-American sci-fi thriller was excellent for one reason above all else: originality. This post-apocalyptic thriller never took audiences for granted, opposed the archetypal…
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Chappie (2015) Review
Chappie (2015) Director: Neill Blomkamp Screenwriters: Neill Blomkamp, Terri Tatchell Starring: Sharlto Copley, Dev Patel, Hugh Jackman, Sigourney Weaver, Ninja, Yo-Landi Visser Neill Blomkamp’s latest socially conscious low key sci-fi, Chappie (2015), felt like a film torn between two ideals. The first was that it wanted to be an in-your-face adult shoot-em-up filled with explosions and…
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Two Night Stand (2014) Review
Two Night Stand (2014) Director: Max Nichols Screenwriter: Mark Hammer Starring: Lio Tipton, Miles Teller Max Nichols’ debut feature Two Night Stand, an independent rom-com centred around the sexual exploits of two twenty-somethings, should be a popular choice on film streaming websites (official ones of course) given that one of its stars is Whiplash and Divergent actor Miles…
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What If (2014) Review
What If (2014) Director: Michael Dowse Screenwriter: Elan Mastai Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Zoe Kazan, Adam Driver, Mackenzie Davis, Megan Park Director Michael Dowse’s Canadian independent What If, set in Toronto, is a rather excellent representation of the post-rom-com era that we seem to be a part of right now. This film, as well as a…
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Whiplash (2014) Review
Whiplash (2014) Director: Damien Chazelle Screenwriter: Damien Chazelle Starring: Miles Teller, J.K. Simmons, Melissa Benoist, Paul Reiser Damien Chazelle’s Whiplash is probably the surprise of this year’s Oscars season, accumulating 5 award nominations including a nod in the Best Picture category. To-be megastar Miles Teller – of Divergent fame – leads the line on screen…
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Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014) Review
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014) Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu Screenwriters: Alejandro González Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Armando Bo Starring: Michael Keaton; Emma Stone; Zach Galifianakis; Edward Norton; Naomi Watts. Alejandro González Iñárritu has provided this year’s Oscars season with perhaps the most artistic picture of the bunch. The director of the critically…
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The Theory of Everything (2014) Review
The Theory of Everything (2014) Director: James Marsh Screenwriter: Anthony McCarten Starring: Eddie Redmayne; Felicity Jones British director James Marsh was first noticed by the Academy of Motion Pictures as a documentary film-maker with his excellent work on the story of Philippe Petit’s tight rope walk between New York City’s Twin Towers in the incredibly…
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Pacific Rim (2013) Review
Pacific Rim Director: Guillermo del Toro Starring: Idris Elba, Charlie Hunnam, Rinko Kikuchi Sometimes I see a film that makes me realise how angry I am at all films. Pacific Rim is one of those films. I was expecting so much from this film because I love Guillermo Del Toro (Dir.) and it is sci-fi, almost apocalyptic and…