The following review was submitted by guest contributor Miles Perhower. I arrive at the MAC in Birmingham, inebriated, just in time to buy tickets for the 5pm showing of Lars Von Trier’s Melancholia. Finding my way into the cinema, I locate my friends, sit down and endure the condescending adverts and shockingly poor trailers. Having spent the last fortnight moving [...]
Reviews
REVIEW: The Inbetweeners Movie (2011)
In case you’ve been living under a rock, people have been flocking to cinemas to see The Inbetweeners lads nip off to Malia in Crete for a drunken jolly this summer. Will, Simon, Jay and Neil – all sporting pink T-shirts calling themselves ‘The Pussay Patrol’ – set off for a post-sixth form piss-up in the sunshine on the hunt [...]
REVIEW: Spy Kids: All the Time in the World in 4D (2011)
I’m in a corner of a bar with free Wi-Fi, crying inside with a solitary blank stare, because as punishment for stealing Dave’s cookie at SquabbleBox HQ, I was made to watch Spy Kids 4D. There are no words in the English language, hell ANY language that could possibly describe how awful this film is. I just can’t, it’s an unreviewable [...]
Better late than never REVIEW: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011)
After 10 years and a gross in the billions, it’s safe to assume that the Harry Potter franchise will be sorely missed by Warner Bros., which might explain why they felt compelled to split the final chapter in two, getting twice their money for Harry’s swan song. That said, the source material, The Deathly Hallows, wasn’t a light tome that could be [...]
REVIEW: Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)
The apes rise, that much is true, but they have yet to conquer. A future dominated by primates is still a glint in a chimpanzee’s eye. This isn’t your father’s Planet of the Apes. Fox’s franchise reboot has been hesitant to call itself a prequel, divorced from the previous five films and Tim Burton’s poorly-judged 2001 remake. This is the [...]
Better late than never REVIEW: Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011)
So, here it is: the closing arc of Michael Bay’s slow-motion laden Transformers trilogy. It arrived on a sea of fanfare and tore up the box office, adding a 3D component to the “robots in disguise” that few could turn down. It’s loud, it’s busy, it’s overlong…but it’s also a guilty pleasure of the highest order. After Revenge of the [...]
REVIEW: Green Lantern (2011)
It has finally arrived: The first major DC Comics film that doesn’t feature Batman or Superman. If you believe the hype that was drummed up to promote this film, you would assume that it was DC’s answer to Iron Man. The comparison isn’t entirely without merit; both characters have similarities – both like girls, fast cars and don’t always play [...]
REVIEW: Green Lantern: Emerald Knights (2011)
There is green fever at the moment, Green Lantern fever to be more precise. With Ryan Reynolds playing the big screen version of the DC Comics hero later this month (17th June), the tie-ins have started to surface. One of the more interesting is the release of Green Lantern: Emerald Knights on Blu-Ray. The latest offering from DC’s animated division [...]
REVIEW: X-Men: First Class (2011)
So, here it is. After four previous ventures into the Marvel back catalogue, 20th Century Fox present X-Men: First Class. It’s ostensibly a prequel to the long-running series, but it also aims to resuscitate the franchise after the insufferable one-two punch of Last Stand and Wolverine. It arrives without much fanfare and the distinct lack of anticipation is understandable. In [...]
Better late than never REVIEW: Insidious (2011)
Insidious comes with an odious tag-line: “From the makers of Saw and Paranormal Activity.” But don’t switch-off just yet, as the fourth feature from James Wan (the original and best Saw) can be considered a quantum leap in his abilities. There are moments that disturb and send a chill down the spine – a sensation I haven’t felt watching a [...]
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