I have this unassailable belief that writers have good taste when it comes to other narrative material (films, television, books, etc.), especially if they are good writers who I admire. I don't know if this is because I am equating my tastes with the writers, and therefore flattering myself, or…
I'm a fan of the Harry Potter books and film (see these links for proof, so apologies for the slipshod nature of these notes), so the sixth film in the franchise is going to be aimed for me, despite any noble intentions the film-makers might have about making the film…
As an evocation of America in the 1980s, Adventureland is an emotive recreation of that time; as a film, it feels like a piece of wish fulfilment from writer/director Greg Mottola. This imbalance means that, despite it being a very good film, I can't completely warm to its many charms.…
‘The following is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental. Especially you Jenny Beckman. Bitch.’ Any film that starts with something as funny as that introductory text is going to be a winner in my books. (500) Days of Summer is one of…
What is it with Judd Apatow and long comedy films? The 40-Year-Old Virgin was just under 2 hours, Knocked Up was just over 2 hours, and Funny People is nearly 150 minutes – doesn’t he know when to stop, or is he overcompensating? It’s too much time for a comedy…
Oh, Quentin Tarantino, how you seem to frustrate me. Despite the critical acclaim, the box office and the Academy Award nominations, I feel somewhat differently towards Inglourious Basterds. And it's not just the spelling. There are really good things in this film and some really annoying things. The combination and…
Yes, I saw the French gangster film Mesrine: Killer Instinct one week and then GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra the next week. I believe the phrase is ‘that’s how I roll’. The classy quotation is from Walt Whitman: ‘Do I contradict myself? Very well, then I contradict myself, I…
(After a week of catching up on comics, it's time to catch up on films I saw in the cinema; seeing as I'm only into August, I've got a lot to get through.) There are times I can be picky about completely small things. The title of the film translates…
I'm not even going to dignify this film with its full title. This movie is over-long, full of overly loud explosions, vacant characters following the 'story' from one pretty location to the next, racist stereotype robots, Transformer testicles (something I never thought I would see), terrible attempts at humour, far…
My girlfriend doesn’t understand why I watch romcoms, what with me being a chap and all (not that I watch or like every romcom; I enjoy the good ones, but can watch the bad ones as well). Even though the romcom is a total fallacy based on the chemical explosion…