Chimpomatic

The Amazing Spider-Man

(dir. Marc Webb)

Decent reboot with Andrew Garfield's Spidey a skating loner at school, Emma Stone a great Gwen Stacy and Rhys Ifans as The Lizard (so-so CGI, but some nuance in character makes him a bit less cartoony than the shouty villains in the last three films). Bonus points for the Gonz poster in Peter Parker's bedroom. Denis Leary, Martin Sheen and Sally Field all add class to a film that's balanced, remembers that being Spidey is fun, has some good 3D cityscape scenes and works despite the inevitable "climb up a sky scraper and FIGHT" boss level climax. Still not quite sure we needed to see the whole "how Spidey gets his powers" origin story again, but overall it's much more enjoyable than Tobey Maguire's webslinger. BTW avoid the 25 minute fan edit of all the trailers - it is basically the whole film, very odd that they'd give away so much online.

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26th Jun 2012 - Tweet - Tumblr

Jimmy P (Psychotherapy of a Plains Indian)

Amateur direction and abysmal acting sink this painfully slow turkey.

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18th May 2013

Heli

Boring, drawn out drug cartel anecdote, with occasional ultra-violence.

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18th May 2013

The Outsiders

The Complete Novel

Despite Coppola's tinkering, this melodramatic 80s classic still stands up well.

Halliwell says: Oddball youth melodrama, a curious choice for a director with big successes behind him.

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13th May 2013

Prometheus

Shoddy prequel that leaves less unanswered questions on second viewing and a bigger sense of vacuousness.

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11th May 2013

The Double

Bog-standard predictably tricksy spy thriller. Richard Gere in neutral.

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10th May 2013

The Raid

If you like never-ending punch-ups, you'll love this.

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7th May 2013

Ted

Base humour. Wahlberg should know better. Even the funny bits from the trailer were drawn out here.

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6th May 2013

The Aviator

Solid, but totally unremarkable Brit relationship weepy.

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5th May 2013

Having You

Solid, but totally unremarkable Brit relationship weepy.

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4th May 2013

Star Trek Into Darkness

Phasers set for fun again, Benedict Cumberbatch a decent grudgematch foe. Warp-level lens flare.

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4th May 2013

The Hunter

Patient, confident Australian environmental thriller that builds up to a decent climax.

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28th Apr 2013

Blow

Forget I'd seen this occasionally enjoyable, sub Scorcese coke-fest. The true-story backbone is the big problem.

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27th Apr 2013

Emmanuel and the Truth About Fishes

Mis-cast drama, with a touch of horror and a serious case of student filmitis.

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26th Apr 2013

In A World

LOL-packed comedy set in the competitive world of the voice over artist, with a nicely handled subtext.

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26th Apr 2013

The Five Year Engagement

Lazy Hollywood dross that telegraphs its every move and hides no surprises.

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21st Apr 2013

Flashbacks of a Fool

Stylish but unnecessarily drawn out faded movie star film. Should have ditched the flashbacks.

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14th Apr 2013

Snow White and the Huntsman

Beautifully shot, restrained fairytale summer tent pole. If only #LOTR was this classy.

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13th Apr 2013

Oblivion

Tom Cruise patrols empty earth in big bucks sci-fi with style. Borrows from classics but a satisfying ride.

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10th Apr 2013

The Amazing Spider-man

Solid, but essentially pointless remix that doesn't really add anything new to cinema.

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8th Apr 2013

Rock of Ages

Nostalgic music choices, but yes - it is an actual musical.

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6th Apr 2013

On the Beach

Atmospheric, somber, slow-burning, post-apocalyptic drama that fails to ignite.

Halliwell says: Gloomy prophecy which works well in spasms but is generally too content to chat rather than imagine. A solid prestige job nevertheless.**

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6th Apr 2013

Lockout

Hideously mis-cast, B-grade Euro-blockbuster, with Luc Besson's sticky fingers all over it.

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4th Apr 2013

Ill Manors

Well-handled urban crime drama, that deals with the same old boring cliches.

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3rd Apr 2013

Mudhoney

Vanishing Point

It was 1988 when Mudhoney put their super fuzz and big muff pedals together for first single 'Touch Me I'm Sick'…a cocky, snotty finger to the man, casting the band as full-time, half-cut losers just in it for the rock n roll. 25 years and 8 albums later, who would have guessed that they would be one of the last survivors in an industry more disposable than ever?

Since 2002 they've been back on Sub Pop, where it all began, and Vanishing Point keeps the finger raised and flag flying for noisy distortion and punk rock riffs. Drummer Dan Peters kicks off opener Slipping Away, with a reminder as to why he once kept Nirvana's drum stool warm for Dave Grohl. His pounding rolls are soon joined by Steve Turner's drunken lead and the unmistakable whine of Mark Arm. A sound perfected in '88 and not tweaked since.

On first single I Like It Small, Arm sings of the ambition that never saw them scale the heights "I've got big enough balls to admit I like it small" but is probably the reason they are still together and making music. Chardonnay is a 90 second love/hate song to "The crate that launched a thousand strippers" and I Don't Remember You is a fuck you to faces from back in the day. A day that Mudhoney, unlike most of their peers, survived. That they did so without changing their attitude or sound along the way is a small victory for those of us that don't feel that different from how we did 25 years ago either.

Killer Track: The Only Son of the Widow From Nain.

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1st Apr 2013 - Add Comment - Tweet

Brave

Decent fairytale about a highlands princess who can't bear tradition. Looks great, but lacks pure Pixar magic.

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31st Mar 2013

American Psycho

Overblown, vacuous satire that is hampered further by Christian Bale's near-slapstick performance.

Halliwell says: A daft, elegant portrait of a self-obsessed, fashionable, design-conscious man descending into psychosis as a result of his obsessions.**

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25th Mar 2013

The Omega Man

Charlton Heston cruises an empty NYC by day, dodges albino mutants by night. Good start, lacks tension.

Halliwell says: "Realistic" version of a novel which was about vampires taking over, and was previously filmed unsatisfactorily as The Last Man On Earth. This nasty version rises to a few good action sequences but is bogged down by talk in between.*

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24th Mar 2013

On The Beach

Cary Grant and Ava Gardner wait months for lethal atomic radiation to arrive down under. Apocalypse slow.

Halliwell says: Gloomy prophecy which works well in spasms but is generally too content to chat rather than imagine. A solid prestige job nevertheless.**

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23rd Mar 2013

Last Days

Unrevealing, uninvolving, dull meander through the last days of a Kurt Cobain-esque grunge star.

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23rd Mar 2013

Peace, Love & Misunderstanding

Uptight Catherine Keener reconnects w Woodstock mum Jane Fonda. No surprises, good vibes.

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23rd Mar 2013

Men In Black 3

Big, brash, glitzy summer blockbuster - that's surprisingly lean, well rounded and entertaining.

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22nd Mar 2013

I'm So Excited!

Almodovar reworks Airplane! as a wild mescaline-fuelled mile-high business class satire. Mucho fun.

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18th Mar 2013

We Bought A Zoo

Low-effort, cookie cutter sentimental drama that has some merit.

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17th Mar 2013

House of Cards

Classy drama, expanding the original show to fill the Washington landscape, with added David Fincher style.

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15th Mar 2013

Any Given Sunday

Glitzy, predictable NFL movie that wishes it had Michael Mann in charge instead of Oliver Stone.

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14th Mar 2013

Margin Call

Taut, economical thriller with a strong cast filling out some juicy roles as the financial bubble bursts.

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12th Mar 2013

Margin Call

Taut Wall St meltdown. Zachary Quinto spots black hole in his firm's numbers, passes it up the food chain.

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10th Mar 2013

Ice Cold In Alex

Classic WW2 desert rats adventure with John Mills dying for a Carlsberg in the Sahara.

Halliwell says: Engrossing desert adventure with plenty of suspense sequences borrowed from The Wages Of Fear; long, but very well presented.**

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10th Mar 2013

Chronicle

Decent enough superhero flick that paints itself into the usual shapeless, found-footage corner.

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8th Mar 2013

Houdini

Tony Curtis gets a wriggle on in this short, functional, not particularly magical biopic.

Halliwell says: Superficial biopic with more attention to romance than to interesting detail. Some zest in the playing is killed by claustrophobic studio sets.*

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7th Mar 2013

Bones Brigade An Auto biography

Decent, surprisingly moving doc about the radical neon superheroes of sk8. Lance wins.

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6th Mar 2013

Detachment

Depressing, stylish exploration of the perils of supply teaching from @TonyKaye.

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2nd Mar 2013

The Decline of Western Civilization

Essential, but hilariously dated state-of-the-union doc of LA's 80s punk scene.

Halliwell says: Quirky and fascinating study of some of the unlovelier aspects of youthful rebellion; it makes an interesting companion piece to the director's first feature film, Suburbia.*

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28th Feb 2013

Witness

Brilliantly written and directed thriller that weaves through many classic tropes, plus carpentry.

Halliwell says: As much about the meeting of cultures as about cops and robbers, this is one of those lucky movies which works out well on all counts and shows that there are still craftsmen lurking in Hollywood.***

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28th Feb 2013

Jeff Who Lives At Home

Mumblecore goes main stream (ish), as quirky suburban comedy meets unexpected drama.

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24th Feb 2013

Red Riding Hood

My what big plot holes you have...

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24th Feb 2013

Cloud Atlas

Genre-surfing, century-hopping oddity. The more things change, the more wigs/makeup/accents Tom Hanks gets.

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24th Feb 2013

Battleship

Independence Day meets Pearl Harbour, in one of the best movies-based-on-a-toy ever.

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23rd Feb 2013

To The Wonder

The lights are on but nobody's home, as Terence Malick's stylish tone poem comes close to self-parody.

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22nd Feb 2013

Purple Rain

50% less acting than I remembered, but Prince's epic self-centred pop promo holds up surprisingly well.

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22nd Feb 2013