Adapted from a certified literary classic by Alexandre Dumas, it’s peculiar to find Paul W.S. Anderson at the helm of The Three Musketeers. A filmmaker not renowned for his subtly (or even much in the way of fundamental skill), Anderson and the material feel like a crude fit, the director only ever really gelling with the story’s swashbuckling elements, leaving such afterthoughts as satisfactory plotting and credible emotional arcs by… Read More »

There’s an honesty about the romantic comedy Crazy, Stupid, Love that makes it absolutely irresistible. Directed by John Requa and Glenn Ficarra (last year’s excellent I Love You Phillip Morris), the film is a bubbling pot of endearing screenwriting, detailed performances and comedic gold. With a plot that involves over half a dozen key characters and which runs at 118 minutes, one could be forgiven for assuming that Crazy, Stupid,… Read More »

Drive premiered several months ago at the Cannes film festival, and has been picking up steam ever since. Director Nicolas Winding Refn (Valhalla Rising) was awarded the coveted “best director” gong at the event, whilst the film itself just narrowly missed out on the Palme d’Or. After viewing Drive it becomes easy to understand why the picture made such a fierce impression. A delicate merging of arty silence and Hollywood… Read More »

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy oozes class from every frame, but that’s hardly surprising when you consider the personnel behind it. The director is Tomas Alfredson, who was last seen helming the universally acclaimed vampire chiller Let the Right One In. It’s based on a novel by John le Carré. The cast features some of the finest actors currently inhabiting the British film industry, including Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Benedict Cumberbatch… Read More »

The Change-Up is an incredibly disposable comedy, elevated slightly thanks to two amusing central performances. Written by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore (the dynamic duo behind The Hangover), The Change-Up utilizes one of the stalest comedic formulas around, the body swap. Fortunately the picture has Jason Bateman and Ryan Reynolds heading things up, two different yet equally talented performers, both willing to give their all in an attempt to make… Read More »

2000’s “Final Destination” turned a devilish premise into a tightly wound and full-blooded teen thriller.  The sequels that followed were incredibly hit and miss, the series hitting its nadir with 2009’s ghastly “The Final Destination”. As a result expectations weren’t high for “Final Destination 5”, the once crafty franchise apparently having completely expelled the remnants of its creative potential years ago. It’s a surprise then to remark that this fifth… Read More »

Since its first appearance on British television in 2008, “The Inbetweeners” has pretty much become a modern comedic institution. Following a group of socially inept 18 year-old boys, the show amassed a following thanks to its boundary busting vulgarity, clever writing and gut wrenching honesty. With the television portion of these characters’ lives now seemingly complete (the third series climaxed in 2010), the creators have bumped this troubled quartet of… Read More »

After two decent “Iron Man” adventures, director Jon Favreau has opted to maintain his status as a blockbuster filmmaker with “Cowboys & Aliens”. Loosely adapted from a comic book of the same name, “Cowboys & Aliens” appears on paper to be a geek’s wet dream, combining both western and sci-fi elements with a host of recognizable names peppering the cast list. On paper that is. In practice the film is… Read More »

“The Devil’s Double” is a case of great central performance, pity about the director. Charting the relationship between Uday Hussein and his tortured body double, the film seems chiefly interested in sickening acts of violence and sabotage, leaving it up to a fantastic Dominic Cooper (portraying both Uday and his unfortunate clone) to instill the picture with any semblance of depth or emotional complexity. “The Devil’s Double” is an acceptable… Read More »

After Tim Burton’s limp remake ten years ago, I felt pretty sure the “Planet of the Apes” franchise was dead for good. When news trickled through about an impending prequel I wasn’t titillated, the whole thing reeking of a creatively bankrupt studio lunging at a long drained cash cow. The marketing didn’t help much either, poor trailers and uninspired posters popping up at multiplexes earlier this year, further hammering home my… Read More »