Category Archives: 2010s

From the impenetrable novel by Victor Hugo few have read since it was first published in 1862 this is now the world’s longest running musical seen by over sixty million people.

Valjean represents the proletariat in post revolutionary France, set against his arch-nemesis, Police Inspector Javert, the bitter face of traditional values of conservatism. The revolution is writ small as seen through the lives of these two men and through the children it spawns, Cosette and Gavroche.

This is a story about social justice, equality, class, position and fairness. The treacherous Javert is seen to be capable of at least one noble act and in carrying out that act he ultimately redeems himself and natural justice is served but unfortunately the musicality of the film detracts from the epic yet personal sweep.

The revolution may not be televised, but there’s no need to set it to show tunes either.

Les Miserables . 2012 . Tom Hooper

Reviewed by Bobby Pegg

There is a fundamental question at the heart of remakes which usually determines whether they end up being any cop, ‘why bother?’ Why choose to go through the motions with a story that everyone already knows? In the case of Invasion of the Bodysnatchers, The Thing and others in that rare, ‘better than the originals’ pantheon, there’s something new to be said with the story. Then there’s Total Recall, a film so boring, so inept, so utterly pointless, that it isn’t even bad – just entirely forgettable. Colin Farrell yawns his way through a plot that has something to do with the Earth’s core, a bunch of robots and Kate Beckinsale . There’s so much that doesn’t work about the film that I left wishing I could replace this memory with something more like the original. In answer to that question poised at the start, ‘why bother?’ With this film, don’t.

Total Recall . 2012 . Len Wiseman

Reviewed by Dan Carpenter

Future America is a post apocalyptic wasteland: like T S Eliot on crack. From Boston to Washington DC lies Mega City One. The only real law is the ultimate Judge, challenged with ridding the city of its latest scourge “Slo-Mo” peddled by the psychopathically cruel and terrifyingly sexy Ma-Ma

This is law enforcent from Ground Zero. Gritty, ultra-violent, uber-cool and hard as nails with a thumping, dirty, electronic, stripped down soundtrack to rip you along. 

CGI effects are stripped right back to bare minimum and instead relying on old fashioned action. Clearly influenced by Dirty Harry and Assault On Precinct 13 it takes these influences, updates them and serves them back to you in a relentlessly stylish, gloriously brutal film that you can’t take your eyes off even if sometimes you think you should.

Get it seen. Negotiation is over. You have twenty seconds to comply.

Dredd . 2012 . Pete Travis

Reviewed by Robert Pegg

Ok, ok I’m sorry – I’m really truly sorry. I can’t apologise anymore for what happened, and thought I wasn’t supposed to be laughing and then the entire audience did anyway, so I kind of laughed along even though secretly, I felt like we were all committing some grievous faux pas. I’m just feel really bad – for everything to be honest. So, let’s just say: Slavery, we apologise. All of us. Apologising right now. Sorry. Very, very sorry. Is that enough? Hard to tell. I mean, I’m not getting any indication that things are alright now, so I guess I should just keep apologising. Sorry, sorry, sorry. Really I am. I can’t believe all the stuff we did and I feel really bad about it. Really bad. Is there a charity I can donate to that will make it all better? Oh, but you can apologise for Tarantino’s performance. You dicks.

Django Unchained . 2013 . Quentin Tarantino

Reviewed by Dan Carpenter

What was trailered as a sub-Coens caper about a lost dog delivers so much more in the hands of Martin ‘Never Quite Out Of Bruges’ McDonagh. Imagine that triumphant wisecrack as you pump the baddie full of lead in that non-existent action flick of your life. This film is wall-to-wall with such quips; you’d do well not to be reaching for a notepad throughout. The casting is stellar – Tom Waits downplays unhinged with great skill – but it’s truly Sam Rockwell’s moment, especially when he gives us an extended and enchanting meta-monologue. Ultimately, though, in this film where death comes quickly and animals are saved before the women, story’s sacrificed for a multitude of smaller stories told within the film (a conflicted Vietnamese, a sorrowful Quaker) . Each tale’s an epic in itself and papers over any cracks in this delightful film that will slice you a grin from ear to ear.

Seven Psychopaths. 2012. Martin McDonagh.

Reviewed by Fat Roland

*watches trailer*
“Dude, that looks awesome!”
“No it doesn’t.”
“Yeah it does! Its Harrison Ford being a badass again and Daniel Craig being bond in the wild west and its got Aliens in it!”
“Mmmmm…”
“What does ‘Mmmmm’ mean?”
“’Mmmmm…’ means it has 5 screenwriters one of whom is Damon Lindelof, an awful lot of plot points come and go in those two minutes and the trailer is suspiciously pretty.”
“I think it’ll be great”
*months later, after seeing the film*
“Well that was shit.”
“And how!”
“But it had Harrison Ford being a badass, etc.”
“But it also had 5 screenwriters including Damon Lindelof, an awful lot of plot points coming and going and looked suspiciously pretty. It tried to take both titles seriously but did neither well.”
“Why do I go to the cinema with you?”
–

Cowboys & Aliens . 2011 . Jon Favreau

Reviewed by Leo Cookman

Affleck is doing himself proud at the moment. His directorial debut The Town was a decent effort, if not wholly deserving of the stars it received thanks to an overly gung-ho ending. With Argo he has matured considerably. Based on a declassified CIA operation which took place during the 1980 Iranian Hostage Crisis, Affleck tells the remarkable story with patience and panache. The script is tight, every line clipped and natural, and the presentation is brilliant, often exceptional. And blimey; the tension. Knuckles are a-whitening evermore in the steady lead up to the climax. A bit of cliché sneaks in around the protagonist’s ‘estranged father’ persona, but it is forgivable because never really disrupts. Happily, the presentation of the Iranians is approached carefully – never demonised or patronised; we catch their frustration and anxieties as much as we do with the Americans. Overall; great stuff, well worthy of your attention.

Argo . 2012 . Ben Affleck

Reviewed by Screen150

The key thing to remember if you’re going to make a good Batman film is that Bruce Wayne is a deeply unhinged individual. Dressing up as a flying rodent and running around the streets beating up criminals is not the kind of thing a remotely sane person would do.

TDKR draws together contemporary fears of nuclear terrorism, poverty, wrongful imprisonment, lawlessness and social upheaval and pours them into the vessel of Bane, an emotionless, motiveless figure of menace.

When committed to paper, the plot of TDKR; a world in which the rich are dragged from their homes and thrust before kangaroo courts, armed gangs roam the streets, and the police are powerless, reads like the paranoid fantasy of a wealthy right-wing shut-in.

Which makes me wonder, is all this really happening? Or are these just the delusional whisperings of Bruce Wayne’s ego as he descends into an ultraviolent mid-life crisis?

The Dark Knight Rises . 2012 . Christopher Nolan

Reviewed by Guy Garrud (http://guygarrud.com/)

Barely ten years since his first feature at the hands of Sam Raimi, Spider-Man returns to the screens yet again at the helm of Mark Webb ((500) Days of Summer). Inside the costume this time is Andrew Garfield, with fellow Brit Rhys Ifans, taking the villain role. The results are decidedly mixed, with Webb demonstrating a talent for teen romance, but less skill when confronted with comic-book action. The two leads are excellent, and Garfield especially excels as a realistically geeky Peter Parker. Overall though the plot is muddled, there is an awkward callback to Raimi’s ‘Noo Yawkers stick together’ scene, and you’ll wonder where some storylines disappear to (will he ever catch his Uncle’s killer? What about his parents? What on earth is the Lizard’s plan?), but with such engaging leads as Garfield and love interest Emma Stone you won’t fail to be charmed by this.

The Amazing Spider-Man . 2012 . Marc Webb

Reviewed by Dan Carpenter (http://winterhillmcr.wordpress.com/)