The Infiltrator review: Brian Cranston makes for an underwhelming lead in this coke-fuelled true story September 15, 2016 In the years since Breaking Bad, Bryan Cranston has struggled as a movie lead, with the underwhelming Trumbo being followed by this true story of Bob Mazur, an undercover customs agent who goes deep into the operations of Pablo Escobar. Despite a confident performance from Cranston, who skates the line between good and evil as [...]
Sausage Party review: Knob-gags abound in Seth Rogen’s family unfriendly animated film September 2, 2016 The term ‘animated comedy’ generally comes with the assumption that it’s also family friendly. However, the team behind The Interview are back to lampoon Pixar et al in Sausage Party, imagining a world where items of food come to life (a la Toy Story) and believe they go to The Great Beyond once they are [...]
Cafe Society film review: Woody Allen conjures up old Hollywood glamour for this formulaic, but enjoyable, romance September 2, 2016 The Cannes debut of Woody Allen’s latest film was marred by controversy when French comedian Larent Lafitte made a jibe about the allegations of sexual impropriety made against the director. The picture itself, however, is a decidedly uncontroversial trip down Tinsel Town’s memory lane. Set in the 1930s, Jesse Eisenberg plays a young man lured [...]
Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping review: Lonely Island’s mockumentary skewers self-absorbed stardom August 25, 2016 Musical comedy troupe Lonely Island’s mockumentary skewers modern pop culture, with Brooklyn Nine-Nine star Andy Samberg playing a self-absorbed, Bieber-esque solo artist ready to unleash his second album on an unsuspecting public. Taking aim at spoilt young mega stars and their ridiculous indulgences, the familiar plot is lifted by the energy of the cast and [...]
Gary Numan: Android in La La Land is a surprisingly touching rockumentary about one of music’s true geniuses August 25, 2016 You don’t expect subjects such as Asperger’s Syndrome, depression and parental bonds to be explored in a music documentary, but then electronic music pioneer Gary Numan has never been one to meet expectations. The disarmingly frank star discusses his career and difficulties with the limelight, and embarks on a daunting transatlantic move with his colourful [...]
Cell film review: Dull dialogue kills this film that’s co-written by Stephen King about smartphone zombies August 25, 2016 Cell hopes to do for smart phones what Jaws did for beaches, but it’s unlikely anyone will be wary of their devices after seeing this messy adaptation of the Stephen King novel. John Cusack competes with Samuel L Jackson for the most bored looking star, playing two men desperate to survive a zombie holocaust instigated [...]
Film review: Me, Earl and the Dying Girl September 4, 2015 Cert 12A | ★★★★☆ Cancer weepies have a long lineage, from Love Story to last year’s The Fault in Our Stars. But rarely does a film try to marry leukaemia and laughs like Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, whose very title teases with its brazen tactlessness. That it succeeds is down to a cast [...]
Review: Out of the Furnace February 7, 2014 One star Christian Bale may be the king of actorly metamorphoses, but his character in Out of the Furnace is just how I imagine he is in real life: dour, depressing and humourless. All of which are adjectives that apply to the film as a whole. Two hours of muscle-flexing, fighting and staring into the [...]
