All posts tagged Film Reviews

Review: Edge of Tomorrow (2014) — Cruise Keeps Dying, Doesn’t Stop Running, in Smart and Gripping Sci-Fi Spectacle

In the near future, alien creatures — known as Mimics — have conquered most of mainland Europe, with global domination in mind. A last-ditch assault is planned by the military: a surprise attack on France, fueled by the addition of weaponised ‘Jackets’ worn by human soldiers. After attempting to weasel out of front-line deployment, Major William Cage (Tom Cruise) is apprehended and knocked out by military general Brigham (Brendan Gleeson), who dumps him with the infantry unit J-Squad en-route to the invasion. The cowardly Cage winds up in an explosion with an advanced Mimic known as an Alpha, and the Alpha’s caustic blood spills over Cage as he dies. Cage wakes aboard the same vessel on the day before the battle. Confusion sets in as he repeatedly dies on the battlefield and awakes the day before, stuck in an infinite loop. With the assistance of war hero Rita Vrataski, the “Full Metal Bitch” (Emily Blunt), Cage realises his curse may be the key to victory over the Mimics.

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by Luke Miksa on June 7, 2014 • Permalink

Posted in Film Reviews

Tagged Action, Doug Liman, Edge of Tomorrow, Emily Blunt, Film Reviews, Sci-Fi, Tom Cruise

Posted by Luke Miksa on June 7, 2014

https://sorryimlate.com/2014/06/07/review-edge-of-tomorrow-2014-cruise-keeps-dying-doesnt-stop-running-in-smart-and-gripping-sci-fi-spectacle/

Review: Godzilla (2014) — The Big Guy Plays Hide and Seek in Epic Monster Smackdown

The 30th Godzilla film opens in 1999, with an apparent earthquake triggering a meltdown at a nuclear plant near Tokyo, Japan, killing the wife of technician Joe Brody (Bryan Cranston). Flash to present day, where Brody and his estranged son Ford (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) reunite after many years. During that time, the elder Brody has become an obsessed conspiracy theorist as a result of the tragedy which took his wife, and what he uncovers sets in motion the events which lead to the return of Godzilla, as well as a couple of other nasty kaiju known as MUTO (Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organism). Godzilla is turned loose to hunt the MUTO, but can he take them out before they reproduce?

The King of Monsters is back after a ten year absence, but instead of beginning a new era under the careful eye of long-term Japanese production company Toho, the keys to the franchise have been passed on to Hollywood. 1998 was the first and last time that a Godzilla film was produced outside Japan, and I think we can all remember how that turned out:

The horror…

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by Luke Miksa on May 17, 2014 • Permalink

Posted in Film Reviews

Tagged Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Bryan Cranston, Film Reviews, Gareth Edwards, Godzilla, Kaiju

Posted by Luke Miksa on May 17, 2014

https://sorryimlate.com/2014/05/17/review-godzilla-2014-the-big-guy-plays-hide-and-seek-in-epic-monster-smackdown/

Review: Bad Neighbours, aka Neighbors (2014) — Rogen/Byrne vs. Efron Pledge Their Comedy Chops

From director Nicholas Stoller (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Get Him to the Greek), Bad Neighbours features Seth Rogen (Knocked Up) and Rose Byrne (Insidious) as new parents Mac and Kelly Radner; a couple teetering on the brink of full-fledged adulthood, but having a hard time letting go of their youth. Enter a fraternity led by Zac Efron (17 Again) and Dave Franco (21 Jump Street), who move into the house next door. When attempts to initially bond with the frat fail and the inevitable late-night partying commences, Mac and Kelly find themselves in a desperate turf war where they fight for their right to not party.

As we know by now, Rogen is an actor that finds it hard to stretch from his normal shtick of lazy, stoner, slob-guy. The good news is that — at this stage, at least — Rogen has yet to wear out his welcome as he continues to place his characters in interesting situations surrounded by talented, funny co-stars. The premise of Bad Neighbours is a simple Hatfield/McCoy-like premise of two warring parties, which is broad enough to simply place hilarious people into the situation and let funny things happen.

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Review: The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

Guest review by Emmanuel Giakoumakis.

There aren’t many directors who are worthy of the notoriety of Martin Scorsese. The list of awards and the mark he has made on pop culture is remarkable; as such The Wolf of Wall Street is sure to add to his list of accolades.

My initial response to the trailers was to score the film to the classic story of Gordon Gecko (Wall Street, 1987). A film which received nowhere near the reception that Scorsese’s masterpiece has received and nowhere near the amount of recognition that both films deserve but I soon realised after considering the director’s past work that it was much more similar to something else I’ve seen. The film I couldn’t help but liken it to was Goodfellas, another remarkably true story whose protagonist shared a similar fate.

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Review: Gravity (2013) — Bringing Art Back to the Multiplex; an Out-of-This-World Big-Screen Experience

From Oscar-nominated Alfonso Cuarón, Gravity is the long-awaited directorial follow-up to the filmmaker’s acclaimed and ground-breaking dystopian science-fiction film Children of Men, released all the way back in 2006. Seven years is a long time between films — especially with the buzz that Children of Men generated with audiences — but thankfully Gravity is every bit the worthy continuation in Cuarón’s stellar filmography (which also includes the best Harry Potter: The Prisoner of Azkaban.

Gravity is minimalist sci-fi at its best: veteran astronaut Kowalski (George Clooney) leads his final space expedition and finds himself guiding rookie engineer Dr. Stone (Sandra Bullock) on her first. When debris irreparably damages their shuttle during a space-walk, the duo find themselves at the mercy of the vast isolation of space with time, and oxygen, running out and obstacles mounting.

No kidding, the WHOLE MOVIE looks like this!

Gravity is a visually transcendent film: amongst the best looking films in the past ten years, potentially amongst the best of all time. Cuarón made a name for himself with Children of Men with his complex visual compositions and unusually long shot takes. Gravity steps this up to another level; the opening shot of the film is a staggering 13 minutes without cuts! Considering the number of camera movements in that single shot — which starts out serenely and winds up in total chaos — along with the awe-inspiring photography (courtesy of Emmanuel Lubezki, The Tree of Life), it’s no wonder that Gravity has esteemed visual film-makers such as James Cameron and Rian Johnson gushing its praises.

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by Luke Miksa on October 5, 2013 • Permalink

Posted in Film Reviews

Tagged Alfonso Cuarón, Film Reviews, George Clooney, Gravity, Movies, Sandra Bullock, Sci-Fi

Posted by Luke Miksa on October 5, 2013

https://sorryimlate.com/2013/10/05/review-gravity-2013-bringing-art-back-to-the-multiplex-an-out-of-this-world-big-screen-experience/

MIFF 2013 Review: Drinking Buddies (2013) — A Loosely Scripted but Massively Charming Bender

Independent darling and micro-budget director extraordinaire Joe Swanberg has been a busy guy: he has over a dozen directing credits to his name in the past ten years, not to mention a large number of acting appearances and producing credits. A pioneer of the “mumblecore” movement has certainly been churning out the features, which have honestly not made any major waves outside of the festival circuit. The romantic comedy Drinking Buddies may be his mainstream breakthrough picture; a slightly higher budget has brought with it a more recognisable cast, which in turn should make it more attractive to a wider audience. The good thing is that Drinking Buddies does deserve a wider audience due to its charming leads and realistic take on modern romance.

This promo pic is phony: Jake Johnson has a beard throughout the movie.

The film follows Kate (Olivia Wilde) and Luke (Jake Johnson), workers at a Chicago brewery. They share an undeniable chemistry; they drink hard and they flirt hard. These feelings go unspoken due to both of them being in relationships with other people (Ron Livingston and Anna Kendrick, respectively). Things come to a head when the two couples take a weekend vacation that rocks the foundations of both these partnerships, who then have to traverse rocky terrain filled with sexual tensions and relationship hurdles.

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