(All the talk of Harry Potter had me looking around at my old notes, where I found my original review of the third film. So I thought I'd include it for completeness.) This is the best film of the franchise so far. This is probably helped by the fact that…
There are many aspects of the Harry Potter films that have got darker as they have progressed, to be expected from a series about the rise of a dark wizard who killed the hero's parents, with the last film including the onscreen death of an albeit minor character. And this…
(When I said tomorrow, I obviously meant the day after the day after tomorrow. You knew that.) The third film is where things begin to click and is my personal favourite. It is utterly charming – Aunt Marge is still floating in the sky when we see Harry leave the…
As the fifth Harry Potter film gets ready to hit our cinemas, and the final novel gets ready to assault our book shops, it seemed an appropriate time to remember the earlier films. I enjoy the books and the films, and have read and seen them a few times respectively.…
It’s been too long since these films to come out for these thoughts to be considered current or topical, and neither film merits intense discussion, so I’ll merge my musings (alliteration!) on the two into one semi-coherent post. Let’s take it chronologically, with Spider-Man 3. After the first two films,…
Discussion Of A Rubbish Movie, As Seen On TV There are 3 reasons I watched this film. 1. I'm a London boy, born and bred, and hoped this would be a valentine to it, like Manhattan was from Woody Allen. 2. I think Stephen Fry is a genius. 3. Jack…
Adaptations are tricky things. They have to adapt a story for a new medium and fit in with the narrative constraints dictated by it. Douglas Adams knew this: he had successfully created HHGTTG on radio, making full use of the possibilities of an audio performance; he then transferred the tale…
I probably only watched this because it was mocked by Ben Affleck in Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back. I’m weird that way. I think it’s a case for a novel that should have stayed as a book, probably a good book at that, that didn’t translate to the big…
Cinderella Man is, essentially, Rocky with a little more depth, a more accomplished director and a more articulate and audible leading man. How much you enjoyed Stallone’s based-on-fact fiction will probably give you an indication as to how much you will enjoy this factual film. James Braddock (Russell Crowe) was…
(Continuing my old film reviews onto this blog, this is the version directed & co-written by Jonathan Hensleigh, and starring Thomas Jane, John Travolta, Roy Scheider, Samantha Mathis, Will Patton, Rebecca Ramijin Stamos, who should all know better.) Although blatantly based on Garth Ennis & Steve Dillon’s 'Welcome Back, Frank'…