Anyone who’s ever seen a movie from this seemingly endless franchise will know the exact recipe: half naked women, muscular testosterone-induced petrolheads, frantic shootouts, and very, very fast cars. Once you get your head round the fact that each film simply regurgitates this formula, albeit tweaked, then there’s little else to do other than...

A few movies over the past couple of years have aspired to define a generation. Notably Joseph Kahn’s ‘Detention‘ did an effective job of editing together the sounds, attitudes and culture of the 90s within a comedy horror that managed to build a sense nostalgia for anyone who grew up during that time.  Check out the rest of my review and...

Donnie Yen (Ip Man) stars in this interesting Hong Kong marital arts movie that uses many of its generic traits in its set up, but packed a helluva punch. And kick. And more. Set in a small, peaceful village circa 1917, things don’t remain that way for long when a couple of bandits attempt to rob a local shop. Liu Jin-xi (Yenn) becomes unwillingly...

Last night the 37th annual Atlanta Film Festival started at the recently renovated Plaza Theatre. The opening film was recently shown at SXSW (South by Southwest) as part of their programming and I had many friends who praised it so I was pleased  to do so as part of the opening festivities here in Atlanta. MUD is the latest from Arkansas director Jeff Nichols...

Director: Dan Scardino Writers: Jonathan M. Goldstein, John Francis Daley Starring: Steve Carell, Steve Buscemi, Olivia Wilde, Jim Carrey, James Gandolfini, Alan Arkin, Jay Mohr Synopsis: Burt (Carell) was never a popular boy at school and neither was his best friend, Anton (Buscemi) but together they used magic to find happiness, and worked so hard that...

The aftermath of mass media panic halted Ruben Fleischer’s third feature from a September 2012 release, after succumbing to moral obligation to remove a cinema shooting, and reschedule for an early 2013 one. In truth, the omission of this infamous scene isn’t missed or seemingly required in the context of the film in its newer cut, but all this...

NOTE: this review tackles the 2D, 24fps version. Echoes of a collective groan emanated from the deepest, darkest bowels of the Internet when it was announced that Peter Jackson’s latest tackling of Tolkien literature would be split into three (yes, three) separate films. Rightly or wrongly jeered, there are always a number of  Jackson certainties a film of...

Ten years ago, if you had said that Ben Affleck could orchestrate a film with genuine Oscar-buzz, chances are you would have been laughed at or sent to therapy. In fact, at the 24th Golden Raspberry Awards in 2004, Affleck won the Worst Actor award for no less than three films (Daredevil, Gigli, Paycheck). How times have changed… After making the often...

There are several reasons why you can’t not know about the release of the new Bond flick. Firstly, it coincides with the 50th anniversary since Connery wooed us with his suaveness in Dr. No, thus prompting the ‘Bond 50′ Blu-ray release. Secondly, you must be living in a batcave to have avoided the unbearable amount of tie-in...

There are two types of people in the world: those who adore the works of kooky visionary Tim Burton, and those who detest the life out of the wacky-haired maestro. The Marmite director returns after the lukewarm reception of his other 2012 film Dark Shadows, as Frankenweenie looks to be somewhat of an anomaly from his safe zone; boasting...