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Surveillance
Martha Marcy May Marlene
Absorbing psychological indie cult-escape drama. Beautifully written, shot and directed.
4th Jun 2012
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The Road
Episodic, relentlessly brutal post-apocalyptic drama. A right barrel of laughs.
31st May 2012
Read more 3 star reviewsPrometheus
(dir. Ridley Scott)
20th Century Fox
SPOILER ALERT: now in space no-one can hear you ... over the sound of that BOOMING soundtrack.
(check the comments section for the rest of this SPOILERISH review as we can't be bothered to install any of that invisotext code here)
31st May 2012 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
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Love And Other Impossible Pursuits
Effective weepy as Natalie Portman deals with the pains of the modern family.
29th May 2012
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Stay Cool
Amiable, returning-to-your-hometown comedy drama from the Polish Brothers, with a well-cast Winona Ryder.
27th May 2012
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Wild Bill
Appalling, shambolic, episodic biopic - with Jeff Bridges never given a chance to get things going.
23rd May 2012
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L'Immortel
Clunky French revenge actioner, with Jean Reno hunting down les mobsters that put 22 bullets in him.
20th May 2012
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Donnie Darko
Post modern, post @DougCoupland time travel flick that favours style over substance.
19th May 2012
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Class
80s derivative of The Graduate - that hasn't held up too well, despite the early brat pack connection.
Halliwell says: Ghastly travesty of The Graduate which aspires to every kind of sophistication it can think of but ends nowhere.
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19th May 2012
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Transformers Dark of the Moon
So OTT I had to watch in two sittings, with a final hour of unprecedented Bayhem.
19th May 2012
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Super 8
Spielberg derivative that's more 'Goonies' than 'ET'. Not unsuccessful, but lacking the master's touch.
14th May 2012
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Everything Must Go
Will Ferrell gets serious in this engaging drama/comedy - drawn from a Raymond Carver short.
13th May 2012
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Gimme The Loot
Engaging low-key indie drama debut about graffiti bombers in NYC that won at @SXSW.
11th May 2012
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Dark Shadows
Vampire meets 70s. Another Burton/Depp dressing up box: a few gags, but messy plot strands & nowhere to go.
8th May 2012
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Breathless
Superficial 80s remake of the New Wave classic. Obviously made an impression on Tarantino.
Halliwell says: Fashionable amalgam of sex and violence, borrowed from A Bout de Souffle but far to long after the event.
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7th May 2012
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A Little Bit of Heaven
Weepy chick flick that plays like an animated @Pinterest page. Alan Dale plays a doctor.
4th May 2012
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Rampart
Mood music in the key of dark, dark blue: Woody Harrelson's v bad cop is a shoot first, kick later kind of guy.
3rd May 2012
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Behind Enemy Lines
Surprisingly enjoyable pilot-on-the-run action flick that could've been made in 1986.
2nd May 2012
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Contraband
Efficient smuggling thriller. Mark Wahlberg's turn for one-last-job.
1st May 2012
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Tower Heist
Messy condo robbery w Ben Stiller in charge. Wasted opp to get Eddie Murphy on screen in non-Donkey role.
1st May 2012
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We Bought A Zoo
Matt Damon bonds w kids and Scarlett Johansson over tigers. Standard Cameron Crowe rock OST.
1st May 2012
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50 / 50
Joseph Gordon Levitt adds warmth, depth to 20something cancer story. Seth Rogen adds dude lols.
1st May 2012
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Chronicle
Well-executed found-footage teens w powers drama; tight, great characters, understated FX.
1st May 2012
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River's Edge
It may have moved from video shop shelf-filler to cult classic but the clumsy handling lets this down.
30th Apr 2012
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Billy Bragg and Wilco
Mermaid Avenue Complete Sessions
Great round up of the project with 3rd disc and DVD doc.
30th Apr 2012
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Bad Teacher
Shockingly unimaginative low brow comedy - which fares even worse second time round.
29th Apr 2012
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Collateral
A hokey ending, but the set-pieces and edgy technical direction still make for an often riveting thriller.
16th Apr 2012
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The Messenger
Thoughtful, gut-wrenching, post-war drama with powerful performances from Ben Foster and Harrelson.
15th Apr 2012
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Mr Mom
Dated, but amusing prototype John Hughes flick. Everybody learns something. You fill in the rest.
15th Apr 2012
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Your Highness
Get your quest on, as Eastbound and Down goes retro in this swords and sorcery comedy. Stupid/funny.
14th Apr 2012
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Captain America
The First Avenger
Enjoyable, old fashioned actioner, with plenty of nice comic book moments.
2nd Apr 2012
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The Change Up
Gosling and Bateman swap lives. Everybody learns something.
2nd Apr 2012
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Horrible Bosses
Low brow comedy update of 'Strangers on a Train'.
2nd Apr 2012
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Warrior
Contrived, convoluted, testosterone filled fight flick, worthy of an 80s VHS rental.
2nd Apr 2012
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Joan Baez
Poole Lighthouse
We were forewarned:- there were signs in the foyer that there would be no warm-up act and no interval, just a straight performance. And that was exactly what we got – just under two hours of Joan Baez. The years have been kind, and at 71 she walked on stage looking as slim and elegant as ever. The hair is now cropped and the colour is silver, but then that applied to most of the audience as well.
The stage was bare apart from a comfy sofa and a standard lamp, and she was accompanied for most of the evening by her son Gabriel Harris on percussion and the talented Dirk Powell on mandolin, accordion and just about everything else.
The atmosphere was relaxed and the songs were a mixture of old favourites and the not so old – Farewell Angelina, God On Our Side, House of the Rising Sun, and Diamonds and Rust, a reference to her relationship with Bob Dylan. We also got John Lennon’s Imagine and Donovan’s Catch the Wind, and the evening finished with The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down and Blowin’ in the Wind. Her voice is still haunting although she avoids many of the high notes now, and I did think that the tempo of some of the songs (particularly House of the Rising Sun) was a bit slower than it used to be. But she can certainly still sing. And she still believes in what she sings.
We went home happy, and although the singer is still a protester I wondered how many of the audience still are?!
26th Mar 2012 - Add Comment - Tweet
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The Descendants
Convoluted melodrama, with a decent central performance from George Clooney.
23rd Mar 2012
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Take Me Home Tonight
Some laughs as Topher Grace tries period 80s post-college partycom. Rubik's Cube w new stickers.
21st Mar 2012
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Senna
Compelling doc about the Brasilian F1 driver edited from existing footage. Great ride even if you find F1 dull.
21st Mar 2012
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The Muppets
Fuzzy get-felt-gang-back-together feel-good antics. Man Or Muppet? song v Conchords, bonus Dave Grohl cameo.
21st Mar 2012
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12 Monkeys
Engaging but overblown sci-fi romp, as Terry Gilliam stretches a 5 min experimental film out to 2 hours.
20th Mar 2012
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Fast Five
Furiously paced ensemble heist movie. A muscle car next to Danny Ocean's vintage Porsche.
17th Mar 2012
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Love And Other Drugs
Pseudo-deep, nostalgia tinged comedy > drama, painted with big, cliched brush strokes.
12th Mar 2012
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Faster
The Rock does his best Lee Marvin impression while Billy Bob slums it in this unsubtle thriller-by-numbers.
10th Mar 2012
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Schindler's List
Brutal masterpiece. Outstanding direction, assured writing and performances, amazing photography.
5th Mar 2012
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Galaxy Quest
Entertaining post-modern comedy, effectively riffing and paying homage to the geek-fest of \#StarTrek.
4th Mar 2012
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John Carter
An uneasy mix of sandals, sci-fi, Superman and cowboys that holds together, but never quite takes off.
3rd Mar 2012
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Hanna
Abstract, ambitious, pretentious, graphical, European art house thriller. Like Wes Anderson doing Bourne.
2nd Mar 2012
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Country Strong
Another lumbering plod through the troubled, lovelorn, cliche-ridden world of Country & Western.
2nd Mar 2012
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Black Mountain
Year Zero OST
5 unreleased tracks make this unmissable. Mary Lou will blow your socks off
1st Mar 2012
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