Little Miss Sunshine (2006)- Film review

little miss sunshine

Little Miss Sunshine is a road trip movie starring Greg Kinnear, Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Paul Dano, Abigail Breslin and Alan Arkin, directed by Jonathon Dayton and Valerie Faris, and written by Michael Arndt. The film follows a dysfunctional family as they travel cross-country in an old VW bus, determined to get their young daughter to the Little Miss Sunshine beauty pageant. It is an emotional journey as well as a physical one, as the film is tragic, heart-warming and really funny all at once. It’s important to note that while the story is about them trying to reach a beauty pageant, the meaning of the film is so much greater than that. It’s about the importance of family, and being confident and true in yourself, and, most importantly, finding happiness and love despite the difficulties of life. It’s actually quite anti-beauty pageant, and is a beautiful, touching film. Continue reading “Little Miss Sunshine (2006)- Film review”

American Ultra (2015)- Film review

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American Ultra is a stoner action comedy directed by Nima Nourizade, starring Jesse Eisenberg, Kirsten Stewart, Topher Grace, John Leguizamo, and is written by Max Landis. It follows stoner couple Mike (Eisenberg) and Phoebe (Stewart) as they are hunted by government assassins after Mike is revealed to be a sleeper agent. The story of a normal person thrown into a crazy situation is a premise that has been done countless times, but this doesn’t feel cliché as it has a unique feeling. It is full of fun violence and a comedic style, along with well written characters and an energetic pace.    Continue reading “American Ultra (2015)- Film review”

The Martian (2015)-Film review

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The Martian is directed by Ridley Scott and stars Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jeff Daniels, Sean Bean, Kristen Wig, Michael Pena and many more. Based on the novel by Andy Weir of the same name, the story follows Astronaut Mark Watney (Damon) who, while on a manned mission to Mars, is presumed dead and left behind after a viscious storm causes the crew to abort the mission. Watney must survive against the seemingly impossible Mars environment with a limited food supply and total reliance on systems that could break at any moment, using his willpower and skills as a Botanist to help. The story also follows everyone at NASA as they try to work out how to save Watney. The film is both a comedy and drama and it works very well on both levels. It is a touching story of the whole human race pulling together to save one man who is seemingly without hope. It is uplifting and funny while also showing extreme desperation and helplessness. Continue reading “The Martian (2015)-Film review”

Tremors (1990)-Film review

tremors

Tremors, staring Kevin Bacon and directed by Ron Underwood, is a survival monster movie with a similar premise to classic survival monster horror movies like Alien (1979) and the Thing (1982). Set in the small isolated town of ‘perfection’ in Nevada, tunnelling monsters start picking off the towns folk one by one and they must try to survive and escape. The film has a very simple premise and doesn’t try to make it more complicated than it is, it doesn’t take itself too seriously or get bogged down with explanations. It is in no way a perfect film and if you wanted to you could spend your time picking out all the plot holes, but then you’d miss the point as its just a fun monster horror movie and a great popcorn flick. Once you relax and get into the story it has some funny moments and is a very entertaining film.
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Super (2010)-Film review

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Super is directed by James Gunn and stars Rainn Wilson, Ellen Page and Kevin Bacon. It is a dark and brutally violent comedy about a religious fanatic who believes God has chosen him to fight crime after his wife leaves him for a drug dealer. The film had some cool and funny moments, but is also very messed up and a bit depressing, so some of the comedy struggles to come through. The film has a very similar premise to Kick-Ass as its a normal person trying to be super hero, and a lot of similar things happen in the two films (although they came out in the same year so I wouldn’t say this was a rip off of Kick Ass). The big difference, though, is that Super keeps it feeling gritty. While being funny at times, it doesn’t have the fun tone of kick ass and is actually a bit of a downer throughout when you think about it.  Continue reading “Super (2010)-Film review”

Room (2015)-Film review

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Room is directed by Lenny Abrahamson and stars Brie Larson and Jacob Tremblay as a mother and her 5 year old son who are being held in a tiny room and have been since before the boy was born. The film is very small and personal and has a very upsetting premise, but an overall feeling of hope and love in dark times. It is sweet and heartwarming while simultaneously being tragic and soul crushing. I don’t want to spoil anything from this film so my review might be a bit vague, but that is because I knew very little about this film when I went to see it, and that made this film an amazing experience.
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Grimsby (2016)- Film review

Grimsby

Grimsby is a new comedy by Sacha Baron Cohen, star of Borat, and is directed by Louis Leterrier and staring Sacha Baron Cohen and Mark Strong. The film is about two brothers, one an international super spy (Strong), the other an idiotic football fan from Grimsby London (Cohen), who must team up to stop an Eco-terrorist group. I can’t really say I was disappointed by the film because I wasn’t expecting much, but I’m sad to say that this film was a disaster!
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Spotlight (2015)- Film review

spotlight

Spotlight is directed by Tom McCarthy and stars Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Brian d’Arcy James, John Slattery, Liev Schreiber and Stanley Tucci. It is a biographical film about the Spotlight reporters for the Boston Globe who uncovered the child molestation scandal within the Catholic Church. This horrible discovery in recent history is harrowingly presented in this film; it is tough to experience, but that’s what makes the film great. It doesn’t dumb down the events or over dramatise them, but instead presents them with terrifying truth, Spotlight is really brilliant.

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What We Do In The Shadows (2014)-Film review

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What We Do In The Shadows is a mockumentary horror comedy written and directed by Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi and stars Clement, Waititi and Jonny Brugh as three classic vampires who share a house in modern day New Zealand. The camera crew follow and interview Viago (Waitit), Deacon (Brugh) and Vladislav (Clement) and others as they try to attract pray, deal with vampire hunters, and hide in society, while also dealing with modern life and the stresses of house-sharing. It is a very funny and original and is full of heart, it never feels cliché or cheesy, it is a really enjoyable film.
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World War Z (Max Brooks)- Book review 

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World War Z, an oral history of the zombie war, is a novel by author Max Brooks. Set after the end of a massive world wide war against the living dead, the book is a collection of storys and accounts from people all over the world who survived the outbreak of the undead collected by an unknown interviewer. The Interviewer sets up in the introduction how he wants emotional, personal, accounts from all aspects of the war; the story’s flow from the first appearances of zombies, to the start of the chaos, to how the planet started fighting back. The book is expansive and a fascinating fictional account of war, featuring classic George A Romero style zombies, that feels horrifyingly real. Max Brooks shows a masterful writing style with such amazing attention to detail that makes World War Z feel like a real historical account and not a work of fiction.
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