Where there is oil there will be greed. Rachel Boynton is the director of a documentary described by critics as a real life ‘There Will Be Blood.’ Backed by the cash of Executive Producer, Brad Pitt, she follows the story of Ghana’s troubled commercialization of it’s oil fields, and the militants in Nigeria combating the corruption that their oil wealth caused.
It seems strange that LEGO, the beloved building block toy brand, has only just got a movie adaptation in The LEGO Movie. Well, it was worth the wait… because The LEGO Movie is nothing short of AWESOME! While still regarded as a toy for kids, it’s a rite of passage for many people who used to […]
It’s been 8 years since Zack Snyder’s adaptation of Frank Miller’s graphic novel 300 hit the big screen. The standalone film blazed with battle cries, cutting edge visuals and ancient Greek “This is… SPARTA!” machismo. It set in motion the careers of its director, Zack Snyder and Gerard Butler.
When David O. Russell makes a movie, people sit up, take notice and then stand up. He reportedly said he hates plots and is all about characters. Well, the critically acclaimed director has managed to get Oscar-nominated performances out of his cast in his last three films. It’s no wonder he’s developing a loyal following of […]
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy was Will Ferrell at his best. The comedian’s larger-than-life attitude, the character’s over-the-top ego and the chauvinistic news room of the ’70s made Anchorman an instant cult hit. Catchphrases, big hair and bigger facial hair made way for an almost inevitable sequel for the ridiculous newsman and his cohorts. Well, the day […]
We’re living in an age when being without our phone makes us feel disconnected from society. No social media, no messaging services, no Internet and no fast track to our list of contacts makes us feel insecure and out of touch. These mobile devices have become more than our personal assistants, they’ve become an integral […]
Inside Llewyn Davis is a Coen brothers film that captures the Greenwich Village folk scene of 1961 through the eyes of a fictional character, who was inspired by the memoirs and music of Dave Van Ronk. This beautifully shot music drama truly takes us there as we experience a week in the life of a struggling […]
Joseph Gordon-Levitt is quickly establishing himself as a bankable actor after a series of significant roles in films like The Dark Knight Rises, Inception and Looper. He’s more than that, pushing forward with his Just Hit Record brand by writing and directing his first feature film, Don Jon.
Sylvester Stallone has been making good progress on his Hollywood bucket list. After finally playing opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger in Escape Plan, the next big fish was Robert De Niro, who co-stars with Stallone in Grudge Match.
“For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.” The verse is often misquoted, but seems fitting when you consider the rise and fall of Jordan Belfort, a stock broker whose extraordinary biography became a film directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Leonardo DiCaprio.
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is an adventure-slash-comedy directed by and starring Ben Stiller. Every couple of years, Stiller decides to direct a film and the result is always interesting: Reality Bites, The Cable Guy, Zoolander, Tropic Thunder and now The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, an adaptation of a short story by James […]
Will they be releasing an extended edition of The Hobbit trilogy? It seems as though that’s already happening. If anything, there will be a special director’s cut, which will probably get a cinema release, drawing all of the films together in the space of three-and-a-half hours. If not, there will undoubtedly be a fan-made version […]
Escape Plan is the culmination of a big idea that has been simmering, along with their testosterone levels, for a couple of decades. Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger have finally made a movie together. The quintessential ’80s action icons have trail-blazed their way into Hollywood history and pop culture with long and impressive careers. Now […]
Ender’s Game is based on Orson Scott Card’s classic science fiction novel. South African writer-director, Gavin Hood, best known for X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Rendition and Tsotsi, was entrusted with bringing the book to life and for the most part, he’s succeeded. It’s not an entirely faithful adaptation with a number of casting and story compromises […]
Nelson Mandela is an extraordinary man, whose life story plays like a political version of The Count of Monte Cristo. He was born into a rural family, educated as a lawyer, discriminated against in his own country, branded a “terrorist” leader, a political prisoner for 27 years, only to be inaugurated as President of South […]
The Hunger Games underplayed its hand. While competent and carried by a strong performance from Jennifer Lawrence, Gary Ross seemed like the wrong director for the film. Getting the Seabiscuit and Pleasantville director on-board must have been a ploy to cushion the adult themes to appeal to a much broader audience. While marketed as a […]
In an age dominated by superheroes, it’s always refreshing to hear about real-life heroes. You know, those people who see an opportunity to step in and have the courage to follow through. Captain Richard Phillips is one such person, who made headlines worldwide when the US-flagged MV Maersk Alabama container vessel he was captaining became […]
The first thing you’ll notice about Luc Besson’s Mafia action comedy, The Family, is its stellar cast, featuring Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer and Tommy Lee Jones. The film functions as a tongue-in-cheek look at the life of a gangster trying to escape his sordid past. It’s also a fish-out-of-water comedy in the way that […]
Pitch Black introduced us to the dangerous escaped convict by the name of Richard B. Riddick. The survivors of a prisoner transport ship were stranded on a planet becoming prey to the local flesh-eating alien inhabitants. This gave Vin Diesel, now the poster boy for The Fast & The Furious, xXx and The Chronicles of […]
After winning the coveted Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, the movie ‘Blue Is The Warmest Colour’ has caused a massive furor, after it was issued with an NC-17 rating from the Motion Picture Association of America. What does that mean? It means, confusingly, that no one under the age of 18 may watch the film due to its graphic nature (they added the ‘NC’ after the porn industry appropriated the ‘XX’).
Steve Jobs was an entrepreneur, a pioneer and a creative genius. This is the iconic Jobs we know from the media, yet we only know half the story. Jobs the biopic drama about the Apple founder is an eye-opening journey, taking the tempestuous Jobs from his days as a hippie in college to his crowning […]
There’s a lot of noise going on about Zac Efron’s naked butt in the trailer for his upcoming movie ‘That Awkward Moment’. Having burst onto the scene in his time at High School Musical, it was only a matter of time before he, like so many other child stars, got naked on camera for the enjoyment of his adoring public.
Will Ferrell has done it again in his new mini-series, “Spoils of Babylon”. Produced by Ferrell’s own Funny or Die label, it is a truly weird adaptation of a non-existent novel by Eric Jonrosh. Ferrell does play a major part in the series, but only as the voice of Jonrosh. He appears later, however, as the Shah of Iran. Quality.
Gravity writer-director, Alfonso Cuarón has always wanted to be two things: a director and an astronaut. These lifelong dreams meshed somewhere along the way to become his magnum opus, Gravity, a breathtakingly beautiful, mesmerising, visceral and moving space film about a medical engineer and an astronaut, who work together to survive after an accident leaves […]
‘Inside Llewyn Davis’ is the latest movie to come out the Coen brothers’ wild minds. It stars greats like John Goodman, Cary Mulligan, Justin Timberlake and Justin Timberlake’s beard.
Prisoners is an epic crime drama thriller from Denis Villeneuve, director of the Oscar-nominated foreign film, Incendies. The film pivots on two powerful co-lead performances from Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal with fine direction from Villeneuve. Prisoners makes a wonderful comparative character study of two men approaching the same dire situation from a subjective and […]
Think Little Miss Sunshine meets The Wonder Years. That’s essentially what’s going on in The Way Way Back. The film was inspired by a conversation one of the writer-director’s had with his stepfather when he was in the way back seat, which is now the opening scene. This is where the title The Way Back […]
Runner Runner is a slick crime thriller that immerses itself in the world of online gaming, corrupt casinos and underhanded entrepreneurship. Brad Furman, director of The Take and The Lincoln Lawyer, has crafted a high stakes cat-and-mouse game that meshes the flash of Las Vegas with the grit of Costa Rica.
The Paperboy is a strange and unusual thriller with a first class cast. Director Lee Daniels has followed up his Oscar-nominated drama, Precious, with a film based on a novel by Pete Dexter that carries a similar intensity. As palpable as the tension is, The Paperboy also seems overly ambitious and experimental.
Felix is a feel-good comedy drama that you will cherish for its fun, exuberant and sweet-natured tone. This delightful underdog story arrives in the wake of Spud and has been dubbed “Billy Elliott with Cape Jazz”. It’s wholeheartedly entertaining and difficult not to like, owing to a positively charming ensemble, a spirited story about a […]