Chimpomatic

The Gift

Indie Cape Fear. Intense and solidly handled, but it's all a bit one-note.

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#CSF

15th Apr 2016

The Pledge

Remarkably restrained turn from Jack Nicholson in a decent but dated 00s thriller. Sean Penn directs.

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#CSF

6th Apr 2016

Jurassic World

Aliens x Jaws 3D in this derivative, gimmick-heavy, CGI-bloated reboot. Chris Pratt keeps it real.

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1st Apr 2016

Inside Out

Intense emotional rollercoaster, with Pixar's Pete Doctor perfectly navigating a complex concept.

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26th Mar 2016

San Andreas

Even The Rock can't avert this disaster. Earthquakes have never involved such little jeopardy.

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21st Mar 2016

Knight of Cups

Incredibly shot, but there's a lot of slow walking and one-note improv. Best on a Bill Viola level.

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18th Mar 2016

Son of a Gun

Text book Aussie crime pic. Hoons, cars, guns - gripping and full of decent turns.

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10th Mar 2016

Amy

Mundane biopic. Nicely put together with no talking heads - but it's not particularly interesting or inspiring.

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9th Mar 2016

Terminator Genisys

Could have been the BTTF2 of the series. Good concept, poor script, bad casting and appalling CGI.

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5th Mar 2016

Ant-Man

That Paul Rudd that we like gets a shot at super hero status. Solid enough, but not particularly remarkable.

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3rd Feb 2016

Spectre

Tension-free, cliche-ridden, cgi enhanced nonsense with terrible casting. Back to the Roger Moore era.

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3rd Feb 2016

Steve Jobs

Mesmerising biopic anchored by an electrifying script, transparent direction and great performances.

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3rd Feb 2016

The Revenant

Brutal survivalist western. Magnificently ambitious and suffering only from being a little uneven.

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22nd Jan 2016

Cobain Montage of Heck

Unconventional doc that manages to put an interesting spin on an otherwise downbeat subject.

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16th Jan 2016

Get Hard

Paper thin movie from Will Ferrell on autopilot. On the wrong side of borderline offensive.

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15th Jan 2016

Sicario

Immensely stylish, accomplished DEA procedural, full of great performances. Like Traffic on drugs.

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31st Dec 2015

Avengers Age of Ultron

Superhero clusterfuck. Cinematic, but overstuffed and riddled with dumb, cartoony CGI fluff.

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31st Dec 2015

Life of Crime

Standard Jennifer Aniston-does-indie flick. Forgettable, despite being a Jackie Brown prequel.

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26th Dec 2015

The Incredibles

Decent Pixar effort that's lost a bit of its shine with age.

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21st Dec 2015

Star Wars

The Force Awakens

Stylish remix, successfully handing the series over to a new gen of fans and characters.

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19th Dec 2015

Body of Lies

Expensive, glossy thriller that's trying to be gritty. Muddled and forgettable. Classic Ridley Scott.

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17th Dec 2015

Focus

Surprise free Con-artist-by-numbers pic. They even use the Thomas Crown Affair theme. Mildly entertaining.

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15th Dec 2015

Greenberg

Accomplished indie that's getting better with age. Rich, 3D characters and performances.

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5th Dec 2015

Force Majeure

Clinically executed, Kubrickian Euro drama. Intriguing concept, but it's all a bit lifeless.

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4th Dec 2015

Austin to Boston

Road-movie-concept music doc. Good on paper, but contrived, self-important and superficial.

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2nd Dec 2015

Good Kill

Thoughtful, but ultimately heavy-handed drone pilot drama.

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2nd Dec 2015

Kajaki

Well intentioned, but surprisingly tension-free, shapeless Brit land mine pic.

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26th Nov 2015

Wild

Kaleidoscopic self-discovery wilderness pic that could do with a map. Not unlike Into The Wild.

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18th Nov 2015

Inherent Vice

Derivative, badly cast, impenetrable private dick pic. Meticulously made, but it's a bit pretentious.

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18th Nov 2015

Ex Machina

Self conscious, pretentious Brit sci-fi that acts a lot more mysterious and enigmatic than it really is.

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8th Nov 2015

It Follows

Intense, stylish, post-modern horror. Beautifully directed. Drive meets Halloween.

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3rd Nov 2015

Back In Time

The story of the BTTF trilogy. More of a celebration than any kind of revealing doc.

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29th Oct 2015

Manson Family Vacation

Confident, small scale indie with input from the Duplass brothers.

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29th Oct 2015

Instrument

Sprawling collage, documenting over a decade of life inside Fugazi. Arty, and intense, just like the band.

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25th Oct 2015

Friday Night Lights

Solid dry run that set the tone for the long form TV epic. Get 'er done.

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22nd Oct 2015

The Theory of Everything

Bog-standard biopic, revealing very little explanation or insight. Poorly crafted too.

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21st Oct 2015

The Disappearance Of Alice Creed

Focussed British indie thriller. Twisty, but somehow not that memorable.

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17th Oct 2015

Zabriskie Point

Meandering, liberal arthouse pic from 69/70. It must have seemed a lot more topical at the time.

Halliwell says: Highly self-indulgent and unattractive fantasy about escape from the crudities of our over-civilised world. An expensive failure and an awful warning of what happens if you give an arty director carte blanche.

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16th Oct 2015

Project Almanac

MTV presents a Primer clone for the teenage generation. A found footage angle dilutes things further.

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16th Oct 2015

What We Do In The Shadows

Chuckle-a-minute vampire documentary. Perfectly pitched and performed.

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15th Oct 2015

Unbroken

Self-important, tedious cookie cutter bio. Unfortunately, even Roger Deakins’ cinematography is forgettable.

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14th Oct 2015

The Color of Money

Overlooked gem from Scorsese’s doldrums. Heavy on film school tricks and filled with good turns.

Halliwell says: Slackly told but consistently enjoyable adventures of Fast Eddie Felson in his older age.**

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8th Oct 2015

Almost Famous

Like an Allman Brothers jam, this has tons of personality and moments of greatness but is way too long.

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8th Oct 2015

St Vincent

Charming @BiIIMurray vehicle. If you've read the logline you've pretty much seen the movie.

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4th Oct 2015

The Gambler

Expensive self-indulgence. You know a movie's dull when the card playing scenes are the highlight.

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2nd Oct 2015

A Most Wanted Man

Tension free Le Carre adaptation, with a star studded US cast pretending to be Euro.

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1st Oct 2015

The Guest

Underdeveloped thriller from a promising director. More Twilight than Terminator.

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1st Oct 2015

Coherence

Intriguing indie sci-fi that makes the most of its small setting, before becoming a bit incoherent.

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30th Sep 2015

The Drop

Another underwhelming, over-acted melodrama with Tom Hardy. Decent enough, but Tony Soprano can do better.

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29th Sep 2015

Keith Richards Under The Influence

Stylish doc that avoids too much new-album promo, instead focussing on the legacy.

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29th Sep 2015