Reviews

As a recovering addict (though not of drugs) I can relate to this one a lot more than most. Its portrayals of what addiction does to you and the ones around you, how somebody could get addicted to something so destructive and how difficult it is to get back on your feet are all real and pack a heavy punch.

This is a real eye-opener for both addicts and their loved ones who might not understand what their friend or relative is going through. Real, gritty and brutally honest in its depiction of the sad pathetic life of an addict, this is one for the ages that's not to be missed.

It's difficult to describe Seven Samurai because firstly it's a movie that is best experienced knowing nothing about it. Secondly, because it's so packed with things to talk about it's difficult to know where to start.

The slow beginning and ridiculously long run time might turn some viewers off, but with enough patience you'll be rewarded with a rich, nuanced experience that few other movies can match. The film uses this slow, deliberate pace to flesh out the characters and explore the world in which they live until you're completely sucked in and invested.

The camera work is fantastic, with every single shot being perfectly blocked, composed and lit. The costume and set design are all so perfect that you think you've just stepped into feudal Japan. The acting from the entire cast is amazing and the action scenes are superbly epic.

The characters are all well fleshed out (some more than others) and you root for all of them throughout the film. The themes are heavy and dramatic: honor, romance, the selfishness of human nature, deconstruction of the samurai myth. The movie might also have the greatest climax of any film in history, perfectly paying off the last three and a half hours you just spent sitting in your chair.

Seven Samurai is a masterpiece of filmmaking and is everything a movie should be: simple but complex. Entertaining yet not shallow. Funny and dramatic. Action-packed, yet slow. It's one for the ages that should've be missed.

Mad Max: Fury Road is everything I want an action movie to be and more. The action is spectacularly filmed, with cinematography that makes me salivate to think about. The pace is so fast that you never get bored and it constantly keeps your attention by having very little dialogue, making sure that you have to watch the film to get what's going on.

The characters have a surprising amount of depth to them, with Furiosa being a huge standout among female action heroines. She's tough, but not emotionally cold. Competent, but not invincible. Her motivation to save a group of women from a patriarchal tyrant is immediately sympathetic and you root for her all the way to the end.

Fury Road might not be the smartest movie in the world, but nobody can deny the craftsmanship that went into making what I consider to be the greatest action film of all time.

Almost every movie has one element of either its production or story that draws special attention away from everything else. Lord of the Rings' costume design, Jurassic Park's cutting-edge effects, the Sixth Sense's twist, Anton in No Country for Old Men etc.

In Sicario, however, nothing stands out, but in the best way. Everything gels together, complimenting every aspect of the film. The characters are complex and rich with personality, the set design is a perfect recreation of the Mexican slums, the dialogue is natural, the cinematography by legend Roger Deakins is spectacular. I could honestly go on, but I'll end this by saying that Sicario is the most well-made film that anybody has bothered to make in the past decade. Definitely one to see.

Sword of the Stranger has all the ingredients of a Japanese epic on par with Seven Samurai. Strong, realistic characters with fantastic back stories, incredible fight choreography and a sweeping scope. However, I feel it could've done some things better. The dialogue, like with a lot of English dubs, can be really awkward. Sometimes I struggled to tell what was going on in the fight scenes and the editing can be funky sometimes. The biggest change that would make the greatest impact, though, would be to put more focus on the character's different motivation. they all do get mentioned in some capacity, but not enough emphasis is put on them so I don't feel anything when their arcs are completed.

None of this makes the movie not worth your time, however, just slightly disappointing. It's still one that you should definitely see.

I despise slasher horror. Halloween? Can't stand it. Friday the 13th? Hate it. Nightmare on Elm Street? Better, but still not great. They're all pretty unimaginative, the characters are weak and there's no depth beyond, "Hey, watch these people get brutally slaughtered and maybe you'll see some boobs too."

Cabin in the Woods, in this case, seems like a slasher movie that was specifically made for me. The characters are all nuanced, it mocks and deconstructs every single problem I have with the genre and, most gratifying of all, the film is so much deeper on a narrative and thematic level than even serious horror movies tend to go. It's simply a triumph and if you're the kind of person who thinks they might hate it, watch it. It was made specifically for you.

Look, I know a lot of stuff about this movie doesn't work. It can be tonally awkward, the pacing near the end gets really slow and the dialogue can get a little weird.

But... doggonit, I can't hate this movie! It's just so optimistic and fun that I can sort of look past even the parts that it doesn't do well. Give this one a chance and at least watch it once.

If that sounds like an exaggeration, be rest assured that it isn't. Despite the overwhelming amount of negativity aimed towards this film by fans of the book and the original film, Prince Caspian is a worthy sequel to the first film and even an improvement on its source material.

For a sequel perspective this does everything right. It raises the stakes, which gives the film a much darker edge, but in a mature way. The themes are also more mature, touching on aspects of faith, doubt, pride and revenge, which are all maturely explored without being too intense for children. The character arcs for everybody involved are excellent, unlike the first movie where they were introduced and then just kind of dropped. The acting is much better this time around and the set and costume design continue to be on point.

In terms of adaptation, even though it doesn't exactly stay true to the source material, I think it improves on it. All of the Pevense children, Prince Caspian and the rest of the cast are given definable personalities, as opposed to the book characters which were just self- inserts for children. The film has a surprising amount of interesting world building jumping off from the book, with the original Kings and Queens and even Aslan falling into myth and legend in this new Narnia.

I'm really sticking up for this one because I think it gets too much flack in general. With its mature themes, excellent battle scenes, flawless set design and fascinating world building, this is up there with the best of what Lord of the Rings or even Game of Thrones have to offer. Give it a chance.

Despite all the controversy surrounding Bill Cosby, it's undeniable that the Cosby Show is one of the funniest and most important shows to ever come on television. This show redefined what a black family could be on TV and taught important life lessons with each episode.

Just try to ignore the bull surrounding this brilliant show and enjoy it at face value. It's a funny, intelligent show that shouldn't be ignored due to the actions of its star.

The positives: the film looks fantastic. The set and costume design is top notch and the cinematography is spectacular.

The negative (one big one): I've seen this story done already, much better, in Ben Hur. It's the same "You betrayed me and sent me into exile, but I'm back and ready to kill you," story, but in this version I didn't care about any of the characters. Maybe it's because I don't find Russell Crowe's acting style compelling or maybe the characters are genuinely underwritten, but I just didn't care about what happened. My advice is to just watch Ben Hur instead. At least you get a cool chariot race there.

The first time I saw The Prestige I was absolutely blown away by it. I was staring at the screen, slack jawed, halfway through the credits. The twist ending in this is phenomenal and mind-bending... the first time. Once you know the twist, however, it seems like the film has no point. Watch it once, have your mind blown and then just let that be the film experience you associate with this film, because the second time is just disappointing.

Let me get the positive out of the way: Clerks actually has a really important message for the dissatisfied clerks of the world and dissatisfied people in general: if you don't like your life stop complaining and actually change it. That's a really good message that not a lot of movies try to tell nowadays.

Unfortunately, this message is mostly lost amongst the non-talents of a first time director and his equally unskilled crew. Even for a first time director Kevin Smith displays a severe lack of education in basic film production. He doesn't use the rule of thirds, the pacing of his actors is abysmal, none of the backgrounds are composed properly and the cinematography is god awful (how hard is it to make it so that 90% of the shots aren't tilted over???) The acting from everybody involved can be likened to that of a middle school play (and even that's being generous) and most of the dialogue is contrived and unnatural sounding. Maybe this just hit a cord with a lot of Gen-Xers that watched it, but speaking only as a 20-year-old millennial, I'd just recommend watching it once and never again.

I'm not into a lot of Martin Scorsese movies mainly because hardly any of his characters are likable or even relatable and the Departed is no exception. Sure, it's well acted, well directed and well written, but I don't get a lot of enjoyment out of shitty people acting like shitty people. Just a really unpleasant experience all around. If you're into dark, twisting thrillers about horrible people give it a watch. If you're like me, however, and prefer a protagonist you can actually root for you're out of luck here.

The Usual Suspects is a well written, well acted, well directed mystery with a twist ending that puts some of the great ones to shame. However, like any mystery, it's no fun when you know how it was done. Whereas the first viewing of the film is like a tense build up to a killer punchline, the second viewing feels like a drawn out wind up to a punch we know is coming and that we've already experienced. Still recommend one watch, however.

I don't get as much out of Pulp Fiction as everybody else does. I don't like that it doesn't have a strong message, I think the dialogue goes on self-impressed tangents some times and the Mia Wallace story doesn't tie in with the rest of the film and it just isn't that interesting to me. However, that doesn't mean I don't appreciate its style. The entire film from the costume design, to the camera work, to the setting of LA are dripping with noir atmosphere. The writing, while it does jerk itself off at times, is still pretty memorable and enjoyable to listen to. The acting is fantastic all around, getting especially good performances from Samuel L Jackson, John Travolta and Bruce Willis.

While I don't think its a masterpiece, it is something fun to watch if you're looking for something different and intriguing.

Though the concept of a reanimated, farting, boner-utilizing corpse is a strange one, don't let it put you off an intelligent, emotional experience. Through the corpse's inexperience in the land of the living we are given an insightful commentary on societal norms and why they might just be a lot more silly than we'd like to admit. The relationship between the two main characters is sweet and intimate and makes sure that you're invested all the way until the hilarious, profound finale.

The more I watch Inception, the more surprised I am at how many layers it has. Upon first viewing, it seems to be a labyrinthine science fiction action film that gives you a lot to think about. However, when you've got it all figured out, what is there left to analyze? The fact that the entire movie is a meta-narrative about making movies. Each member of the team is a part of a film crew in some way and they bring the viewer into the world of their dream so that they subconsciously believe that they are watching true events. It's an incredible piece of meta-fictional storytelling that also works as a straight up action film. It's a modern classic that will continue to impact new viewers for years to come.