Only if you mated a Great Dane with a Blue Whale could you create a bigger dog than Pacific Rim. What could have been an exciting high-tech twist on global apocalypse films and old-school, Japanese-style monster movies turns out to be a moronic, clichéd, emotionally empty dud. Not only is this film dumb, devoid of tension and visually incoherent, it
Read moreThere’s four reasons why the original Star Trek TV series has such enduring popularity: there’s the superbly cheesy 60’s pop-art production design, the exploration of moral and philosophical issues that clearly fascinated creator Gene Roddenberry, the fact that it makes nerdy scientists look like heroes but mainly it’s the wonderful characters. Chief among these is Capt. James Tiberius Kirk who,
Read moreWith a name like Oblivion, you cannot help but question whether this refers to the success of the film, a plot device or the career trajectory of the film’s star. Oblivion is an interesting but ultimately dull and confusing sci-fi drama that the more cynical will assume is a massive vanity project for its supernova star Tom Cruise. Directed by
Read moreAmbitious, epic, infuriating, silly and remarkable all in one, Cloud Atlas is the brave attempt by Andy and Lana Wachowski and Tom Tykwer to a adapt David Mitchell’s brain-boggling novel to the big screen. Like Slaughterhouse Five this film jumps back and forth in time from one unusual scenario to another. We go from Jim Sturgess as a morally and
Read moreRobot and Frank is an unusual but entrancing mix of sci-fi and crime caper which touchingly explores relationships, the uncertainties of a changing world and what it means to be human. Set some time in the near future, the film stars Frank Langella as the elderly former cat burglar Frank who is slowly succumbing to the ravages of Alzheimer’s. To
Read more