Ghost Stories is an effective horror anthology with touches of Edgar Allen Poe and the Twilight Zone but most notably, British films of the 1960’s and 70’s like Vault of Horror. There’s also a hint of Charlie Brooker’s acerbic and morbid morality tales. The film centres on Professor Phillip Goodman (Andy Nyman who also co-wrote and co-directs) a prominent TV
Read moreCargo is an Australian post-apocalyptic zombie film and while that concept might elicit groans from some people Cargo doesn’t always subscribe to horror convention and instead transforms a familiar scenario into a potent human drama reminiscent of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road and confronting allegory of Australia’s racially divided landscape. The film sees husband and wife Andy (Martin freeman) and Kay (Susie
Read moreThe Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies is the final instalment in the ludicrously inflated Hobbit trilogy, a series that has vividly exposed many of director Peter Jackson’s filmmaking flaws particularly his long-winded story-telling and poor character development. The first Hobbit film, An Unexpected Journey was noisy, silly, featured too many embarrassing attempts at comedy and even had a
Read moreThe first Hobbit film, An Unexpected Journey was a loud, ugly overlong mess full of ridiculous dwarf sing-a-longs, tedious computer-generated battle sequences and interminable scenes of dwarves traipsing through the forest. It also featured characters suspiciously shoehorned into the story from other sources such as The Lord of the Rings. Lacking subtlety, emotional depth and the simple, pastoral charm of
Read moreIn the noble tradition of Old Dogs, Grown Ups and Hot Tub Time Machine comes The Worlds End, another low-brow comedy about a group of middle aged guys desperately trying to relive the glory days of their wayward youth. Starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, The World’s End is the last in a loosely connected comic trilogy that also includes
Read moreThe Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, the first in Peter Jackson’s Hobbit trilogy, is easily the most anticipated film of the year. The film’s arrival has, however, been preceded by several controversies not the least of which were accusations of animal cruelty on the set, something Peter Jackson has vehemently denied. Controversy surrounding the film itself began with the fact that
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