Reviews

Some clever ideas and a high energy cast makes this a decent if predictably inferior sequel that takes some questionable story turns and relies a bit too much on Amy Adams to brighten up the flat spots. It would've been nice to see her character Giselle as cynical and burnt out from 15 years of real life but instead she's just as chirpy as ever. It just never really felt as satisfying or as worthwhile a journey as it could've been. Some dud songs don't help matters but there are still a lot of things to like. Fast pacing keeps the entertainment value high but Enchanted is still the winner here.

An impressively disciplined first feature from youtuber Darious Britt, who showcases his filmmaking advice in a tightly scripted and edited drama about a good hearted young man whose life begins to suffer due to his determination to assist his deeply troubled mother. The performances by Britt and To-Ree-Nee-Wolf are excellent, subtle and convincing. The supporting performances vary a little as some roles were most likely not played by professional actors but they all hold up and are never distracting. The story is compact and fast paced, lacking the self indulgent long shots and overly moody silences that have become as cliched as any blockbuster formulas. The low budget does show from time to time, as the camera they used, a Canon C300, is not a particularly cinematic image and there's a few too many shots in cramped apartments and undecorated hospitals and offices, but the editing and acting is so good that these are very minor complaints. Arizona is shown as a sparsely populated stretching piece of land that fits the theme of a young man seemingly alone in a desperate situation. The messages are conveyed simply and honestly, and avoid overly manipulative melodrama. The movie has a goal and it achieves it in short. It is a perfect example of story and character trumping budget and scale. A highly recommended watch that is moving and sincere.

Using a less is more mentality, the moody and well made Paradise draws us in from the very first shot, leaving us to figure out the puzzle presented to us. The performances are strong and the synthesiser score is illuminating and effecting. The real flaw of the film is that it has an idea that is probably suited to a full length movie rather than a short as we are asking for a lot more to be explored by the time the abrupt ending has arrived. It's 11 and a half minutes done well, but really it's crying out for more time to be given to this story. Still a sign of promising filmmakers ready to take the next step.

Not nearly as ambitious as it could have been. We have Orcs and Elves and magic wands but most of the narrative takes place in poorly lit alleyways, convenience stores and strip joints. Yes David Ayer was attempting to mash two very different worlds together but only clings onto the ladder instead of climbing up it. Little is explored in detail and it just plods along from one boring set piece to another. It would have been cool for the orcs to have more in the ways of weaponry or spells but instead they just wear gangster clothes and cut their hands. Disappointingly, Will Smith is on auto pilot, saying his trademark one liners with about a third as much energy as he used to and looking tired and annoyed despite being around pretty fantastical things. Joel Edgerton does the best acting job here, probably having a gruelling time having that orc stuff applied to his face every day. His character is noble, straightforward and quite likeable, but still one dimensional overall. We get a decent scene of them both opening up to each other somewhat but it's still formulaic and generic.

Anyone who really enjoys fantasy films will be bored with all the shootouts and car chases. Anyone who likes gritty action movies will be bored with the talk of dark lords and prophecies. No audience for this movie will be fully satisfied. It's just not as big and grand as a Netflix blockbuster should be, they have the money in the pot to make something great and they settle for ok. At least the editing wasn't as horrendous as suicide Squad. We can see what's going on, though a lot of it is very dark, literally so. It just feels very small scale for a big budget adventure. If this film does manage to get a sequel at least go to the forest or somewhere where a fantasy movie belongs. They can still bring the shotguns and flak jackets.

This ultra low budget zombie apocalypse actioner manages to both look far more expensive than it is and actually be watchable. Other so called "cult classics" do not have the entertainment value that is credited to them. This one does. It is relentlessly past faced, action filled, and for something so cheap and down and dirty is decently acted. Still, I almost wish the makers of this movie had tried harder to get a bigger budget at their disposal, as some set pieces are clearly lower rent versions of what could have been with a bit more cash in the wallet. This is not the kind of movie that needs a 10 page analysis, it sets out to deliver zombie killing carnage, and it succeeds. It does not pretend to be anything other than what it is and is the quintessential beer and pizza friday night flick on a big tv with very loud speakers. You had me at dudes with hockey mask and pads with sawn off double barrelled shotguns Wyrmwood.

I am well versed in the story of the Room and Greg Sestero's acting journey. I think it is fantastic that he not only has kept his acting dream from being completely extinguished by his association with the mother of all bad movies The Room, but managed to write and act in a gem that will hopefully open up the doors to him that seemed closed permanently.

It is difficult to categorise this movie into a genre. It's funny, strange, scary and silly, frequently all at the same time. If you don't know much about the plot, it makes the experience far richer, the surprises are half the fun. Greg is very good, but his reluctant life partner Tommy Wiseau is, believe it or not, actually quite good as well. I have a feeling they didn't let him go full on tyrant on this set and let him run completely amok like he did back in '03. He more or less plays a version of himself, or at least similar to how Greg describes him in the disaster artist, and is a compelling guy to watch, despite looking like dawn of the dead at whatever his age is.

The production value is good. The dialogue wasn't dubbed back in. I couldn't see any green screen rooftops and the dialogue is strange at time but not exactly "Oh Hi Mark" strange if you get my drift. Even if you know absolutely nothing about the story of these 2 men and just watch this movie like any other, you will still probably enjoy it. It's never boring or repetitive. In short, it looks pretty darn good.

If you really are sick of movies, even the good ones, that follow a very recognisable formula and want something truly unique and unpredictable then this is for you. It left me scratching my head, wondering exactly what it was. That is the highest compliment I can pay to a movie. In the words of harmony Korine "Please just give me something different."

Best Friends is about as different as Transformers is the same.

A tepid spy movie that deviates from the gritty excitement of the books that inspired it and instead offers boring action scenes, cardboard acting and campy silliness that outstayed it's welcome in the 90's. Every scene that was potentially interesting was butchered. From the dumb cowboy rope tricks in the junkyard, the boring bike chase, the boring horse chase, the fight scene played along with TV cartoons, Bill Nighy's TERRIBLE turn as Alan Blunt (with the masterful line "He's about as charming..... AS A SNAKE!, did you add that one in Anthony Horowitz? it wasn't in your book?) and criminally wasted cameos from Jimmy Carr and Stephen Fry.

I was in love with the Alex Rider books as a kid. My heart broke upon watching this movie. It's bad in every way a movie can be bad. I was glad it was a box office dud so they couldn't follow up with 9 more wastes of time and money. Which is a shame because I wanted some entertaining spy action thrillers watch over and over again like i did with Bond. Instead we got 1 horrible misfire you couldn't pay me enough to watch again.Man was this movie awful. Alex Pettyfer is the wrong choice as Alex, not only is his eye and hair colour wrong, he is so indifferent playing a schoolboy who becomes a spy you'd think that he had fallen asleep throughout the movie then woken up right before the credits saying "I was in a movie was I?" compare that to the harrowing emotional journey of his book counterpart. Like comparing Shakespeare to 50 shades of Grey in terms of quality. Adding in Sabina Pleasure for seemingly no reason other than having a pretty girl to join in on the "fun" was one of the dumbest and nonsensical choices. Mickey Rourke is well... Mickey Rourke, rather than an actual character. That Mr. grin guy looked about as menacing as an old cab driver with a cold. And Damian Lewis hanging upside down off a helicopter every time he shoots someone? bugger off. They should have given this movies $40 million budget to the red cross or something. Game over Alex. At least the audio books are still fun to listen to.

This film is so nonchalant in its storytelling you feel as if the whole thing has been told to you by someone who's been awake for 24 hours and is just about to pass out. Shailene Woodley gives a strong performance but plays an unlikeable self indulgent bore. I couldn't care less about her story and her discoveries because there was nothing to root for. No real sense that the character is a worthwhile one to watch change. The signature seduction scene is cringeworthy and very unsettling, like seeing someone rip a band aid off as slowly as possible. Although for anyone interested, she does indeed have a lovely pair of breasts.

At a brisk 91 minutes, we have little time to spend with these characters and the time we do spend with them we neither enjoy or get much in the way of insight or thought. Eva Green was potentially interesting but unexplored, nothing but a mystery. Do we care about this weird, cruel mid life crisis having woman? i did not. She Probably shouldn't have gotten married seeing as it conflicted with her wild child personality. Chirstopher Meloni sits around a lot wearing a moustache but again is one dimensional. Shiloh Fernandez is pretty good at playing a complete dope but again has little else to latch onto. Overall it's just a tepid, boring drama. The colourful cinematography and cool soundtrack is great but there's just so little substance it equals naught.

Having been lucky enough to get tickets to the Australian premiere of The Disaster Artist with Greg Sestero himself in attendance, I was excited and eager to watch this amazing story. A comprehensive look at the making of what might be the most perplexing piece of cinema ever. I was not disappointed. James Franco is so spot on in his portrayal of Tommy's quirks and character its actually surreal. His first scene having him enter an acting class with the confidence of a rockstar but the talent of a fingerless piano player. Almost all of his endearingly strange lines had the audience laughing their heads off. I tip my hat to him and hopefully the Oscars come calling. He deserves to be nominated.

That presents a problem as well. He makes Tommy too likeable. While he was humanised to a certain extent and some solid insight was given into his motivations and feelings, it has to be acknowledged the real Tommy was far more obnoxious, manipulative and plain nasty. It was hard to present an accurate portrait of him as James Franco focuses more on his quirks and his charm and his tyrannical side was a bit glossed over. Nonetheless I gave him a pass and still loved watching him. And hey, you can't say Tommy isn't sincere. Other changes were made to the story and some plot points fictionalised, but that's the case in nearly every adaptation so that was to be expected. It did capture the spirit of the story and was never boring or slow paced, though it wouldn't have hurt to be a little longer either. Dave Franco does an excellent job as Greg, playing him a little more naive and optimistic than his real life counterpart (the real Greg knew he was not making a good movie, while this Greg seems a little more deluded.) but like the real Greg was so likeable and warm you just wanted him to succeed.

The film's supporting characters are perfectly cast as well, with Seth Rogen playing a straight man role as Sandy the stunned script supervisor along with several comedians and famous actors popping up left right and centre. The making of the movie is the most enjoyable part and is seriously funny. One of the biggest laughs in the cinema was Josh Hutcherson's first appearance as the room's most peculiar character, Denny, goofy haircut and shirt intact. It was also great to see that Ari Graynor and Jacki Weaver, playing Juliette Danielle's Lisa and Carolyn Minnott's Claudette from the movie respectively, are portrayed as strong willed and thick skinned people who nobly put up with some of the worst working conditions for an actor imaginable. No water or air conditioning combined with gratuitous belly button sex would have probably broken others but they soldiered on.

Overall it's a hilarious and genuinely moving account of an insane true story. It softens the darker edges a bit too much and I would have loved it to have included some even crazier parts of the book that didn't make the cut but what we're left with is still an excellent and enjoyable movie. OH HI MARK!

A masterclass performance from Guy Pearce, who lets his eyes tell you his story rather than his words as he roams a harsh desolate landscape. Violence and chaos is the rule of the land, where the cops are no better than the crims and a bullet is the only one telling the truth. Danny Huston also gives his best ever role, a character actor who is no household name but defines his career here. Beautiful score from Nick Cave who backs up his debut screenplay with haunting whispers and violin cues signalling the bleakness of a no holds barred time in history. All the supporting roles are effective, especially Ray Winstone as the corrupt and ruthless police captain. The cinematography is the best i've ever seen in an Australian film, where colour and light are presented at their most elegant and stunning, the desert, the town, the rocks, the trees, light up your eyes and stay in your mind. I would love to visit the shooting locations. Wow.

The story is terrific from the get go, with the final shot summarising all the themes and ideas that have been built up previously. Masterful filmmaking and a movie that deserves to be recalled as a classic western.

The first Jeepers Creepers film terrified me to my very soul. I didn't have a night with a dry bed for weeks after watching it. I was only 7 years old at the time, so it had a lasting impact on me. I only saw what Jonathan Breck looked like without the creeper make up last year when i did a random google search of him after hearing about this film. The second one was definitely less scary but still had some thrills and exciting action set pieces. This third entry is as big a step down as is seemingly possible. Every decision that could have been made to make the film scare free and boring was made. Giving the Creeper a "Wesley Snipes Blade Trinity" red shirt for no particular reason (A shirt he must have picked out at the end of JC1 then decided wasn't his style at the end of this film seeing as he does not wear it in JC2) Having him appear in broad daylight for the first time, making his make up appear sillier and taking away his menace. And having him fly around in CGI that could have been cooked up by a film school student on his day off. I really could continue for about 9,000 more words of all the other mistakes this movie makes but I'll summarise the rest.

There is virtually no plot or character development. A bunch of random people in a town come across the creeper and end up like all his other friends in the cave from JC1. We learn little about any of them and feel nothing as they become the creeper's lunch. We get frustratingly close to figuring out where it comes from but are denied entry, continuing the unwelcome Hollywood trend of just answering all those questions in a sequel which may never arrive. Why didn't they just answer all of it in this one? I mean seriously this could have tied together the story of the first 2 movies in a perfect thread but instead rips it open and leaves gaping holes, messing with the continuity, mythology and atmosphere of the series.

You will not be scared watching this movie. If you haven't seen it yet. Don't. Some of the best horror movies have been made in the last few years. Seek them out and get the scares this movie will never fulfil. Watch Gerald's Game or Don't Breathe. Not this. Wow. Just wow.

While the first Saw movie was the only one that actually scared me at all, the rest have been entertaining and creepy in their own right. This newest entry is given a new spark by the Spierig brothers, whose awesome last film predestination probably should have gotten them a better project than this. They still deliver a tonne of style and energy (and better looking production value) then the last few movies and still leave their mark on a franchise that could have easily have stayed as dead as Jigsaw's victims. The story itself was relatively intriguing and the trap scenes are technically superb, and disgusting. You won't be quoting lines of dialogue after seeing it but the visceral imagery is nonetheless impressive and effective. A movie that didn't need to exist but is better than it deserves to be, and I'll take that.

Inevitably this movie couldn't come close to the original in terms of sheer impact. It is, however, such an improvement over the other dreadful sequels that it deserves merit simply for that. Adrien Brody is solid in an against type role, and carries himself well. Every other character had the potential to be interesting but was not explored enough, especially Laurence Fishburne. The action was seriously well done, with flashes of the visceral energy that this series desperately needed. Should have been about half an hour longer to flesh out the characters and maybe have a few more plot twists but as a straightforward, entertaining and visually appealing sci-fi actioner it works. Will not go down as a classic but will always be worth watching when in the mood for an adrenaline rush.

I remember seeing this film for the first time when I was 6 years old. I saw it at our holiday house in Byron Bay and only 3 movies have ever terrified me as much as this one did (Jeepers Creepers and A Nightmare On Elm Street) but the idea of this movie is still so great whenever I think about it. Instead of a blade wielding psycho we have death itself as our villain. And hey, it can take any of us out whenever it wants. It cannot be stopped. Unlike the Terminator, some plastic explosive will not do the trick. If you're chosen, your time is up mate. I couldn't sleep for about 3 weeks after watching it. I still don't know how i can get on a plane without having a nervous breakdown.

I also look on this movie fondly as it gave me a serious adrenaline rush of fear. It is more thought provoking than people give it credit too. We are only here on borrowed time after all. The big man in the sky will send the reaper to come calling for us someday. Maybe we should just be grateful we didn't end up on this particular death list, as I would like to die with my body parts intact at the very least. Another great thing about it is Devon Sawa's performance, believable and sympathetic. He brings credibility to a role that could have been cardboard. It is a great shame that his career never took off after this, but he can at least smile knowing he gave a memorable performance in at least one movie. It's still no masterpiece and it has an unsatisfying ending, and of course all the sequels sucked, but it will always send that shiver down my spine in the most satisfying way whenever I watch it. Times up flight 180.

You know a movie is pointless when you can save yourself watching it by instead viewing a 2 minute youtube clip containing the death scenes. As it was clear that they were quite literally out of ideas when they got to making this film, they just decided to take the mickey out of the premise and not even bother trying to have any scares or thrills. It does contain lots of blood and gore, cheesy lines, cardboard characters and seriously bad CGI.

Don't watch it. Really. You can read a fair few pages of a good book in 82 minutes or just go outside and eat an apple and sigh for civilisation as my man Roger Ebert suggested. Don't lose brain cells watching this stupidity.

This movie only manages to keep viewers vague interest. It also is unconvincing in its plotting and characterisations. Teresa Palmer is given a plain boring role but still manages to give it a good shot, where as Joel Edgerton is pretty week, trying to be mysterious but giving us little reason to care what he's hiding. The movie is well shot and has solid faming and colour but also comes off like a Bali tourism advert at times. The central mystery just isn't that compelling and whatever tension is there throughout the story quickly deflates rather than explodes like it should. It just simply isn't worth an hour and a half of your time.

Funny, interesting and perfectly watchable. The characters feel genuine and the movie thankfully lacks the smugness and pretension of others similar to it. A very amusing conversation even takes place that satirises the idea of the film itself. It is a small movie in it's budget and ambitions, but it succeeds in setting out to explore a compelling concept.

It doesn't reach the heights of the American movies it aspires to be but it is definitely a movie worth watching, never tries too hard and just lets a natural story unfold. Highly recommended.

I don't know why Macaulay Culkin made this movie. I mean, I do know his dad forced him to, but I don't know why he didn't run away from home in protest. Even he must have been dismayed making something that was just a cheap rip off of his most famous movie role. Ted Danson is an unlikable jerk, his two moron loser friends make Marv and Harry look like road scholars and the music is fingernails on a chalkboard obnoxious. It also contains maybe the most unromantic romance in movie history with him and Mrs. Rent a cop. Vomit. Not a single moment of genuine heart is here. It is by the numbers in every respect. If you took out the dumb slapstick all this would be is a cringe worthy father son after school special. After a lot of stinkers, this was obviously the straw that broke Macaulay's back. I can imagine him jumping up in happiness when that's a wrap was finally uttered. I can also imagine Ted Danson wandering back to TV grateful to still be alive.

Maybe the reason this movie annoys the hell out of me was it was that we watched the VHS copy of it about 200 times at our holiday house as it was one of the few kids movies on the shelf. For some reason, Home alone 1 and 2 were nowhere to be seen. Man I would have even taken Richie Rich over this pile of garbage.

As dumb as a warehouse full of hammers and as technially inferior to the originals as is seemingly possible. This movie is dribble. I didn't care though. I watched it about six times and there are two things about it that earned It a 5 instead of the 2 it probably deserved. They are as follows:

1.) It's so fast paced you have no time to really revel in how bad it is.

2.) The fight scenes are cool. Really they are. Come on! Bring out your inner 6 year old and make monster noises and watch the creepy crawly and the outer space pro wrestler bang bang into each other!

Apart from that. The rest of it is a bunch of baloney. The dialogue and characters are in one ear and out the other. The story is non existent. But to paraphrase Roger Ebert "Why would it being a bad movie be enough of a reason not to see it? bad and BORING is why." I was not bored watching this. But I wasn't as entertained as the idea for this movie should deliver. Still, at least it had the blood and guts that the far worse 2004 one did not. Really, chuck it on on a boring Friday night if you have a big screen and speakers I guarantee you'll at least have a decent time. Let the bad movies have their moment. They don't really deserve it. But let's just be generous to them.

This was my favourite film as a kid. Being born the year it came out, I think i spent the majority of 1998 watching it as that is when my brain developed enough to remember a movie. I honestly remember sitting there in my lounge room literally wishing there would be a sequel or a longer version somewhere out there because even as a toddler there were still parts of the film frustrated the hell out of me. I wanted to see Richard at school, get better sense of his lack of friends and worried, overly cautious nature. I wanted him to have a girl he liked, or someone he wanted to impress, that he could after his adventures with the books. I wanted more Christopher Lloyd. I wanted the areas of the journey he embarked upon to go longer than about 15 minutes each, I wanted more jokes and maybe a few more characters for them to meet along the way. I also would have liked more books to pop up, maybe like action or something like that. Even just a little cameo would have been cool.

All that being said, what I was left with, I loved. More than anything. James Horner's score is easily my favourite of all time and summarises my awesome childhood. Macaulay Culkin was always my hero. I was delighted he was the star of this. It was a hell of a lot better than richie rich. Yeesh. The visuals were terrific and it really did have a sense of wonder. The very short runtime however, stopped it from being a real classic. Man oh man that was a small tragedy as a kid. It filled me with a rich sadness, because I didn't want the story to end. It did make me feel as hard as i think i ever felt as a child though, and for that, I cant fault it. Plus the bike scene made me want to jump 10 feet in the air with happiness.

I know most people would have felt sympathy for Nadine. I personally wanted her to follow through with her suicide threats at times. I always struggle to connect with protagonists who hate themselves and actively try to make situations worse by saying the wrong thing. It comes from an attention seeking place and is inherently self absorbed. Hailee Steinfeld is fantastic playing her of course, I don't fault her performance for a second. She was just not much of a character to root for. From what we see Darrian really only insults her after she insults him first, and for the most part just wants to live his life, he isn't a complete alpha male asshole who thrives on power, just a kid who happened to be born good looking and thus got what most of us want, popularity.

The movie is good, but not great. It is not as powerful and memorable as recent teen dramas that came out in recent years. It also has clichéd silly music and sitcom moments where it really should have picked a tone and stuck with it. Also Krista's character is woefully underdeveloped. Would have been nice to see a few more scenes where they confide in each other about Nadine's behaviour. Woody Harrelson elevates this from a 6 to a 7 by just being Woody Harrelson. The man turns orange juice to whisky. This movie simply could have left more of an imprint than it does.

Unless you have no sense of humour or imagination, this is worth setting aside your half hour lunch break at work purely to watch this gem. Equal parts hilarious and inventive, one of those projects that makes you remember how incredible we can be. Plus it has a triceratops in a cop uniform. So that makes it a masterpiece already. The only massive flaw of this movie is that it isn't feature length. The prototype was great but the feature will be the 2nd coming. Kick ass Kung Fury!

I remember very clearly watching this movie as a kid in my lounge room and feeling a sadness I had never felt before. Maybe it was being in a close family then witnessing another family that is torn apart due to things I couldn't even understand yet. Racism, domestic violence, alcoholism, and simple stupidity and ignorance.

I remember feeling so bad that blacky could do little bout the events that unfold, the people and attitudes he has to deal with, and the painful sadness of being a big hearted person surrounded by people who don't understand him, and the ones who do also being victims of the lives they live.

This is a good movie, but it's not an easy watch. Tt has a truth and a straightforward nature you really only see in indies rather than the big budget movies. We also have a talent in Australia to make films that don't just have a set of convenient events that lead to a happier conclusion. It's simply life, in all its messiness and ugliness. I guess like blacky you just have to find the happiness any way you can.

Wow. Sorry Jonathan Craven, Your old man does it better. Repeats the formula of the first movie but eliminates any of the slithers of suspense seeing as we we have dudes with machine guns and grenades versus literally retarded people with axes. And several of them still manage to die. This movie will scare no one except complete wusses who get scared by a mouse. It will bore anyone who wishes to be entertained. It will anger and annoy anyone who wants a well made film. Finally, it will waste 90 minutes that could have been spent in more meaningful life pursuits, including, you know, watching a good movie.