Written by Matilda Mornane. Jobs is a cunning film. From the very first scene, it fills you with an uplifting sort of inspiration, the kind that makes you nod along with all of these defining moments in Jobs’ life. But doesn’t everyone know Jobs’ story by now? Yes, he was a genius. Yes, he created …
Written by Douglas Whyte. Korean director Park Chan-wook is renowned for his masterful, ostentatious displays of violence. The intensely cult-ish Oldboy (2003) is perhaps his best known venture into such territory. In Stoker, his English-language debut, violence is treated with fierce restraint. However, this doesn’t mean it is any less impacting. Stoker is an unusual …
Written by Lily Davis. Who is the Batman? For the fictional citizens of Gotham City the answer is tantalising yet unknown. He remains a masked vigilante, The Dark Knight, The Caped Crusader. However for us Batman has had various very well known faces. It is the recent casting decision of Ben Affleck as the newest …
Written by Zac Platt. Red 2 picks up where we left off with ex-ex-ex-black ops agent Frank Moses (Bruce Willis) enjoying suburban bliss with Sarah (Marie-Louise Parker). While Frank is fairly happy in his re-retirement, the magic is starting to fade away for Sarah. Luckily we don’t get through the first scene before the ever-eccentric …
Written by Deanna Lee. In the realm of vampires, werewolves and ‘sexy’ demon hunters, this film would have been at its most appropriate several years ago; inevitably like the rest of the genre, it will get sucked into the background of teen supernatural romances and clichés. The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, based on the …
Written by Guillermo Troncoso. Guiseppe Tornatore has never quite been able to top his 1989 Academy Award winner, Cinema Paradiso. He’s come close a few times, with Everybody’s Fine and Maléna both gathering accolades and praise. The Italian writer-director is adept at creating memorable characters and he has a wonderful eye for cinematic shots, even …
Kick-Ass 2 is the second film based on Mark Millar and John Romita Jr.’s hit comic series about people in the “real world” deciding to follow their comic book icons by fighting crime as costumed superheroes. But the grounded view suggested by the concept is quickly dismissed in the first film by the same bombastic …
Written by Guillermo Troncoso. Upstream Color is the brain-child of Shane Carruth, a former software engineer that made a noticeable splash in 2004 with Primer. Primer was a unique, albeit challenging, collision of ideas and sci-fi influences. Carruth’s $7000 indie film brought comparisons to some of the greatest self-funded pictures, especially Aronofsky’s Pi. Fans of …
Written by Douglas Whyte. What Maisie Knew, co-directed by Scott McGehee and David Siegel, is a contemporary adaptation of Henry James’ 1897 novel of the same name. Set in Manhattan, it details the tumultuous divorce of a recklessly selfish couple and the effects it has on their young daughter Maisie. We experience the film through …
Written by Guillermo Troncoso. Neill Blomkamp burst onto the scene with District 9, a unique sci-fi film that blended genres and film-making styles while providing both social commentary and blockbuster entertainment. Many proclaimed that sci-fi cinema had an original new voice, and the pressure started mounting on Blomkamp the second he announced that he would …
