Reviews

And so all good things come to an end. For three years in a row, Peter Jackson has banished our winter blues with the individual instalments of his Tolkien trilogy, effectively shifting the focus of our cinematic excitement from the summer months to the end of the year. But now that his epic has been unveiled in its entirety, what will be the lasting effects of his achievement? Well, grand-scale fantasy filmmaking is back on the menu, laying down the gauntlet to George Lucas and Star Wars Episode III. Jackson has also proved that notions of risk and ambition needn't be confined to the low-budget, indie end of the spectrum; nor does California have an exclusive stranglehold on groundbreaking special effects. And then there's the DVD factor. Just as The Lord Of The Rings was upping the stakes in theatres, so too was its DVD release pattern defining what can (and should) be done on disc...

I quite liked the look of the new house that "Chihiro" and her parents were to move to, but she isn't so keen, and being ten had the weight of the world on her shoulders. En route to meet the removal men, her dad takes a wrong turning and soon, together with her mum, end up at the end of a tunnel. What would you do? Go in of course! Luckily it's quite a short walk before they find themselves in a small village that's full of shops all laid out for a banquet. Mum and dad tuck in but the young girl just wants to get going. Ignored, she explores a little as they gorge themselves and that's when she encounters the young "Haku" who suggests that she might like to leave. Snag is - her parents have quite literally now gone a bit porcine and she's going to have to rely on her new friend if she is to rescue them from an impending visit to the abattoir. A job is her first task, and for that she...

One of the great "masters" of the anime art. Somehow, if I would personally associate "Akira" to "self-destruction", then this anime would be the opposite :)

look i gave it a 9 so it would continue to regress to the mean the animation is great the plot is good you dont get anything new for the main story which is likely why they made this a movie but it did what a movie is supposed to do...entertained me for about an hour

Student “Denji” is already an accomplished demon hunter for the Japanese mob when they betray him and think him dead. Fortunately for him, his quick thinking and chainsaw wielding dog manages to morph together with his master thereby creating a critter with even more formidable devil slaying skills - and that is just as well because they are coming for him. Not, however, in the way he is expecting but via a much more subtle approach. That’s because the seemingly ditzy “Reze” enters his life, via a storm and a phone booth, and despite the fact that he has sworn to love “Makima”, he is soon entranced by her. Thing is, though, is she all that she seems? Now on a practical front, are chainsaws emanating from your arms and head really that useful a weapon when your opponent is as lithe and nimble as a ninja made from jelly? Well we are about to see as this action-packed animation hits the...

I don't know how I feel about this anymore. When it first came out I loved it. I thought it was a great film, but I was 13 and it played on my love for history. Now watching it, it's well done, direction wise I like it. But Mel Brooks did a better job with B&W lighting in Young Frankenstein. I know photography, I know film, and a lot of it I wouldn't have done that way. I wouldn't have done it that way and they are really simple lighting and contrast fixes. Some just comes down to a filter. And then Ralph Fiennes, you hated him in the movie, but you hated him because of who he was playing, and you were supposed to hate him. He's hardly in the film and he did the most memorable job. You almost forget that Liam Neeson is in it. Ralph he even outshines Ben Kingsley, and Ben's certainly made bad choices, but he's usually a good actor all the time. Watching it now, there's a lot...

Emotionally powerful and historically very important. This film deals with possibly the hardest topic in human history, and it does it with class, purpose and excellent filmmaking. Liam Neeson is brilliant as Schindler; Fiennes is utterly horrifying as the terrible Goth and all the other character actors hit the mark brilliantly. The decision to make it black and white makes Schindler's List stand-out and feel distinct, it is a piece of genius. In the end this film is about the utter depravity that humanity is capable of, and the utterly brilliant heroism humanity is capable of, WW2 and the Holocaust in real life brought out the worst in us as a species and it bought out the best of us, this film captures that, but it also captures the complexities of the people at the heart of the most dramatic events in world history, no other film does this as well. Top quality and a very good start...

There's a powerful little low-budget effort with Ralph Richardson called "The Silver Fleet" (1943) that illustrates just how difficult it was for those in the occupied territories to continue to do what was right without looking like a collaborator and/or ending up against a wall of Nazi bullets. Well here, Steven Spielberg takes that dangerous occupation and scales it up somewhat as the eponymous Czech industrialist and arms manufacturer (Liam Neeson) finds his increasing revulsion to the brutality of their new occupying power driving him, with the able assistance of his Jewish factory manager "Stern" (Ben Kingsley), to find ways to keep them from being routinely slaughtered. Getting them out is not really an option, so he invents ways of convincing the authorities that they are more useful alive and decently fed/housed - even suggesting the usefulness of children's small fingers to...

Directed by Steven Spielberg, the name is enough. He enjoys immense love and justified appreciation. It’s not just a rumour, but his name transcends to million footfalls to theatres and multiple OTT replays. But this movie is special because as a Jew Spielberg felt the pain of Holocaust and thus this was personal. Spielberg’s paternal grandparents were Jews from Ukraine. I really hope things cool down very soon in Ukraine and somebody someday make a film on the crisis in Ukraine. After watching “The Kashmir Files” I felt like watching the list because I wanted to see how we can make better movies without the propaganda. The Kashmir Files is necessary minus the very few political flaws and propaganda it subtly injects into its viewers. Asking the questions is not anti-national and not all JNU people come with an agenda. Kashmir Files tells many truths and ought to be told but also hides...

This Hollywood style formula movie about mobsters isn't as pathetic as the first or third one, simply because it is too dull and poorly directed to stay awake through. It's basically just a bunch of scenes of people "talking tough" or getting killed, with no point. If you're looking for a plot or story, forget it. There is none. It's a muddled mess. It appears that by the end, the chief mobster is in anguish over whether or not to kill his brother. Why? Who knows? None of this makes sense to those of us who aren't born with some super psychic ESP. It also appears there's some revenge, but we never know why, or who, or what. It's just a poorly directed and poorly written mess. It does cure Insomnia, though, which is why it gets a 2 rating instead of a 1.

Building on the first volume, this self-adaptation by writer Mario Puzo and director Francis Ford Coppola develops the story of the new Don - "Michael" (Al Pacino). His attempts to expand, and to a certain extent legitimise, the family businesses see him associating with the duplicitous "Hyman Roth" (Lee Strasberg) in Cuba; subject to betrayal, assassination attempts and fighting what may be a losing battle to keep his own family together - all whilst doing plenty of Machiavellian manipulation of his own. There is an equally strong parallel thread depicting how his father "Vito" (Robert de Niro) rose to prominence after fleeing Sicily after the murder of his family at the hands of "Don Ciccio". With the principal characters all now well established, we can hit the ground running with a solid and complex set of inter-connected, character-driven storylines. The superior cast deliver this...

Worthy sequel to the first movie. In something more meditative and unhurried, in something more philosophically meaningful than its legendary predecessor. Backstage games and backstage talks replaced the dramatic mood swings of the main characters and the exchange of fire. The second film continues the story of Michael Carleone in the role of the Godfather, and also complements the family story with scenes of the formation of the young Vito Andolini and his escape to America. The difficult choice of being young Don, his sphere of expansion of influence opens up new heights and horizons, but also acquires new enemies. Big money and power always keep pace with great temptation, and therefore you should always keep your ears open. After all, the knife in the back can insert exactly the one from whom you do not expect ...

A timeless classic in which the characters really come to life. Slowly exposing each man's thoughts, personalities and prejudices, ‘12 Angry Men’ isn't really about solving the crime, but about the power of reasoning, discussion and dialogue. 9/10

Jurors: Martin Balsam John Fiedler Lee J. Cobb E.G. Marshall Jack Klugman Edward Binns Jack Warden Henry Fonda Joseph Sweeney Ed Begley George Voskovec Robert Webber 12 jurors deliberate on the guilt or innocence of a young Spanish-American man accused of murdering his father. As the moments tick by, the discussion becomes an expose of each individual man's thoughts, feelings, prejudices, and secrets. This is Fonda at his best, backed up with excellent support from all 11 of his fellow jurors. Lee J. Cobb is also a standout. Crackling script by Reginald Rose, with superb direction by Sidney Lumet. Full of memorable moments and great dialogue and character development; this is one of the greatest courtroom dramas this reviewer has ever seen.

Unlikely, but it is possible. 12 Angry Men is directed by Sidney Lumet and adapted from a teleplay of the same name by Reginald Rose. The cast is headed by Henry Fonda and Lee J. Cobb. The film tells the story of a jury made up of 12 men as they deliberate the guilt or innocence of a defendant on the basis of reasonable doubt. Except for two short scenes at the beginning and end of the film, it's filmed entirely on one set, that of the jury deliberation room. Sweaty, gritty, claustrophobic - all words that sit snugly in the context of Lumet's excellently crafted deconstruction of 12 men trying to arrive at one verdict in the case of a Puerto Rican youth on trial for the murder of his father. The evidence appears overwhelming, there's witnesses, a murder weapon and motive, the boy is surely on his way to the electric chair. 11 of the men are convinced he's guilty, only one man stands...

Master piece. Fantastic script and evolution of the characters.

The highly anticipated Michael Jackson biopic directed by Antoine Fuqua ends up feeling more like a hollow, corporate PR stunt than an authentic movie. Instead of showing the complex human being behind the myth, the film plays it incredibly safe to avoid upsetting his estate. It scrubs away anything uncomfortable, completely ignoring the controversies, lawsuits, and even key family members like Janet Jackson. What we get is essentially a beautiful wax museum—stunning on the outside, but totally empty and lacking any real emotional depth or genuine conflict. John Logan's script treats Michael's life like a rushed checklist, jumping wildly from one major event to the next without giving the audience time to breathe. The pacing is all over the place, dragging out endless studio rehearsals while rushing through huge career milestones. To make matters worse, while Jaafar Jackson is an...

A FABULOUS CINEMATIC EXPERIENCE No matter how many times you watch it, the movie gets even better if you're a Michael Jackson fan. It offers a fast-paced look at the early life of the King of Pop without making it rushed. Basically tells how he became the King of Pop and what it took him to become that famous globally, including the abuse by his father and struggles with his lost childhood and appearance. Despite enjoying Bohemian Rhapsody more in terms of its length and structure, Michael still offers a fresh look at his life, though a Bohemian Rhapsody structure would've made it even better, and most importantly, the runtime. The film is only like 127 minutes while BoRhap clocked at 134 minutes, that was quite concerning because the film is not even 2 hours flat excluding the end credits, somehow that still felt better to me and that people with low attention span can enjoy it in...

I super duper enjoyed the movie. It really brought back the Michael Jackson back from the grave. The fans of the whole wide world loved it. Antoine Fuqua did an excellent job not bringing the controversial of Michael Jackson. Just focusing uprising to the fame. I don't care what the critics say. Go and watch the movie yourself. Jaafar Jackson & Colman Domingo did excellent in the movie. my rating for the movie 9.5/10. You won't regret it from watching it all over again. Especially on IMAX format.

Given the whole slew of Jackson's involved in this stylish production, I couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed by the hollowness of the whole thing. Certainly Jaafar Jackson has something of his uncle's charm and childlike vulnerability, but were we not to have known he was a member of the actual family then I'm not sure I'd have been that convinced by his acting characterisation away from the dance floor. In any case, we begin with his ten year old (or is that eight?) younger years; with the domestic brutality at the hands of their domineering father Joe (Colman Domingo) whilst powerless mother Katherine (Nia Long) looked on - but without ever really getting to appreciate the nature of the bond between the siblings (and there's no sign of Janet). Despite being a couple of hours long, by the time we get to the adult, snakes and llamas, phase of his life we seem to be hurrying things...