Gravity Review

Ever since I started watching films I have always known how all the stuff behind the scenes was done. Be it miniatures or CGI, I've always known. There has not been a single film in which I genuinely do not know how it was made ... until now. Gravity is the first film I've seen where I am at a complete loss to explain how it was made. This brilliance in the visuals extends to the whole film making it one of the best films of the year.

Thor: The Dark World Review

Aside from The Avengers, the biggest risk for Marvel in their cinematic endeavours was Thor. Basing a big budget action film around a character people aren't familiar with and hiring Shakespearean director Kenneth Branagh to direct was a huge risk. That risk paid off and created a great universe for the Marvel films to explore. Thor: The Dark World takes full advantage of this universe and as such creates a much more satisfying film than the first.

Captain Phillips Review

This is a film that could have gone wrong incredibly easily. In the wrong hands, the story of Captain Richard Phillips being taken hostage by Somali pirates in 2009 could have been made into just another run of the mill, cathartic action film, hero-worshiping Phillips and demonising the pirates. Thankfully, this film is in the hands of Paul Greengrass, who turns the film into one of the most intense thrillers to be released this year.

Filth Review

There are very few films that come out now where the title is the perfect description of the film. Filth is one of those films. It's completely foul, repugnant, messed up and is basically taking the 18 rating as far as it can possibly go, and I really enjoyed it. This is a film where all the fucked up insanity helps add to the experience rather than taking the audience out of it and is a film that must be seen to be believed.

White House Down Review

There have been many different films this year that have very similar films out at the same time. These include This Is The End and The World's End, The Host and The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, Jack The Giant Slayer and Oz: The Great And Powerful and Much Ado About Nothing and Romeo and Juliet. However, the surprising one of these I've found has been the two Die Hard in the White House movies, Olympus Has Fallen and White House Down. Now Olympus Has Fallen took the incredibly goofy premise of the film completely seriously which led to a pretty boring film, despite the really well directed action scenes. Whit House Down on the other hand takes this premise and runs with it, producing one of the most gloriously stupid films of the year.

The Wipers Times Review

Something that I'm constantly surprised at with historical films and TV shows is how few of them focus on World War 1, at least compared to the hundreds that focus on World War 2, along with the fact that the best media interpretations of World War 1 are comedies (the best being Blackadder Goes Forth). Last week, the BBC drama The Wipers Times was released, a look at the satirical newspaper of the same name written by the soldiers in the trenches, the forerunner of websites like The Onion and newspapers like Private Eye, so it's no surprise to learn that Nick Newman, cartoonist for Private Eye, and Ian Hislop, editor of Private Eye and panelist on Have I Got News For You, wrote it and their affection for this paper and its writers is clear throughout.

In A World Review

A big part of the cinematic experience for me has been the trailers before a film. Everything from the cheesy voice overs to the over-the-top ways some films are sold just makes me feel at home whilst watching a film. That's why it's always been surprising that there haven't been more films focusing on the trailer side of the film industry. Now though, with In A World, we get a great look at the trailer voice over industry in a film that really establishes Lake Bell as a writing/directing/acting talent to watch in the future.

LAMB Movie of the Month: Demolition Man Review

Ever since I joined the LAMB last year, I've wanted to do something for the Movie of the Month feature. However, since I joined I've either not had the time to get a post done or I've not been able to get hold of the movie in time. This month though, Jay Cluitt of Life vs. Film had his choice of Demolition Man win, which is a film that I already have and have seen a number of times so I can write about it. It also helps that I really enjoy this film.

Seriously Disney?

I think I've made it clear on this blog that I am really against people using phones/iPads in the cinema. It's incredibly distracting, insulting to the filmmaker through paying more attention to another device than the film and if I had my way, all these devices would have to be turned off before people go into the cinema. Then you get stuff like this:

Elysium Review

Ever since I first watched District 9 all the way through (it did take me 2 tries to watch District 9, just because of the fingernail bit) I've been waiting to see what Neill Blomkamp's next film would be. After hearing about the premise of Elysium, the ultimate sci-fi class warfare, I was even more excited to watch this film. Now that I've seen it, I have to say I was a bit disappointed. Don't get me wrong the film is great, but it feels watered down to make way for more action scenes.