While Stephen Sommers’ G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra left a lot of moviegoers cold with its release back in 2009, if the trailer for director Jon M. Chu’s follow-up, G.I. Joe: Retaliation, is anything to go by, it looks as if fans could be shouting ‘Yo Joe!’ from the rooftops when the sequel arrives […]
Movie Review – Red Kingdom Rising (2012)
Red Kingdom Rising, 2012. Directed by Navin Dev. Starring Emily Stride, Silvana Maimone, David Caron and Etalia Turnbull. SYNOPSIS: A troubled young woman must come to terms with her horrific past when she is propelled through dreams into the terrifying fairy tale world of the Red Kingdom, where she encounters figures reminiscent of her memories […]
Second Opinion – Chronicle (2012)
Chronicle, 2012. Directed by Josh Trank. Starring Dane DeHaan, Michael B. Jordan and Alex Russell. SYNOPSIS: Three teens develop super powers after stumbling upon a mysterious cave, but they soon come to learn the downside of their amazing gift. What initially put me off Chronicle was the video camera footage. The whole film is shown […]
Movie Review – Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011)
Martha Marcy May Marlene, 2011. Directed by Sean Durkin. Starring Elizabeth Olsen, John Hawkes, Sarah Paulson, and Hugh Dancy. SYNOPSIS: The damaged Martha (Elizabeth Olsen) is haunted by painful memories and increasing paranoia struggles to re-assimilate with her family after fleeing an abusive cult. During the Sydney Film Festival last year I heard over and […]
The Racism of Star Wars?
Commenting on the critics with Simon Columb… Writer and podcaster for Slash Film, Dave Chen – on his personal blog www.davechen.net – writes about the racist and ethnic stereotypes in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, upon the re-release of the film in 3D, in response to a podcaster who stated that, “I […]
Special Features – A History of Black Film
Sean Guard celebrates Black History Month with a selection of acclaimed African American films… In the light and celebration of Black History Month, I’ve put together a small collection from the vast library of highly-acclaimed African American films. From Cicely Tyson to Denzel Washington to Spike Lee, I’ve included some of the classic films and […]
R.I.P. Whitney Houston (1963 – 2012)
Celebrated American singer and actress Whitney Houston has died aged just 48 after being found unconscious in her room at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles, California yesterday afternoon. According to a statement from the police, there were “no obvious signs of criminal intent”, and the cause of death is to be investigated. Born in […]
The Week in Spandex – The Avengers, The Amazing Spider-Man, The Wolverine, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, Arrow and more…
Presenting our weekly round-up of all the big news stories from the world of movie superheroes… Well, it had to happen sooner or later, but Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises has finally taken a back seat this past week, allowing rival superhero flicks The Avengers and The Amazing Spider-Man to grab the headlines as […]
Movie Review – Safe House (2012)
Safe House, 2012. Directed by Daniel Espinosa. Starring Denzel Washington, Ryan Reynolds, Vera Farmiga, Sam Shephard, Brendan Gleeson and Robert Patrick. SYNOPSIS: A junior CIA agent (Ryan Reynolds) gets caught up in an espionage scandal and is forced to go on the run with a high priority prisoner (Denzel Washington) after their safe house comes […]
DVD Review – There Be Dragons (2011)
There Be Dragons, 2011. Written and Directed by Roland Joffé. Starring Charlie Cox, Wes Bentley, Dougray Scott and Olga Kurylenko. SYNOPSIS: In the wake of the Spanish Civil War, a journalist discovers a dark and devastating connection between his estranged father and a candidate for canonization. Okay I’ll admit it, when first tasked with writing […]