Take Shelter – Starring Michael Shannon, Jessica Chastain and Tova Stewart. Directed by Jeff Nichols. Rated M. Originally published July 24, 2011. By Simon Miraudo. I should have known better than to pigeonhole Michael Shannon. I’ve seen him in a number of films at this point (including his work on TV’s Boardwalk Empire), and I thought I had him pegged. When I heard he played […]
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Tag Archives: DVD review
Crowd sourced – Life in a Day review
February 7, 2012 
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Life in a Day – Directed by Kevin Macdonald. Rated PG. By Hilary Simmons. Oscar-winner Kevin Macdonald (Touching the Void) has taken 4,500 hours of YouTube footage from 192 countries shot on a single day, July 24, 2010. From this, he has created a 90-minute film that aims to capture Life In A Day. Does it […]
Continue readingWhat’s crazy got to do with it? – Crazy Stupid Love review
January 24, 2012 0 Comments
Crazy Stupid Love – Starring Steve Carell, Julianne Moore and Ryan Gosling. Directed by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa. Rated M. Originally published September 30, 2011. By Simon Miraudo. Crazy Stupid Love (or, in its official and confusingly punctuated form: Crazy, Stupid, Love.) often feels like the American version of Love Actually (or should that be Love, Actually; this is frustrating). That is perhaps an unfair dig at Crazy Stupid Love, and too much […]
Continue readingBourne to run – Abduction review
January 19, 2012 1 Comment
Abduction – Starring Taylor Lautner, Lily Collins and Alfred Molina. Directed by John Singleton. Rated M. Originally published September 22, 2011. By Simon Miraudo. Hollywood loves telling us who the big new movie stars are. Sam Worthington and Ryan Reynolds have both recently been given lead roles in tentpole blockbusters, and audiences have responded as enthusiastically as an infant getting their first vaccination. “Who is this […]
Continue readingBig city life – Cedar Rapids review
January 17, 2012 0 Comments
Cedar Rapids – Starring Ed Helms, John C. Reilly and Anne Heche. Directed by Miguel Arteta. Rated MA. By Simon Miraudo. Although not quite as raunchy as The Hangover (or The Hangover Part 2, same diff) it’s interesting to note the similarities between that blockbuster franchise and the little seen indie Cedar Rapids (deemed ‘little seen’ […]
Continue readingAn accurate title – Win Win review
January 13, 2012 0 Comments
Win Win – Starring Paul Giamatti, Amy Ryan and Alex Schaffer. Directed by Thomas McCarthy. Rated M. Originally published July 25, 2011. By Simon Miraudo. When you see the Fox Searchlight logo before a film, you know what you’re getting yourself into. For some people, it’s a portent as ominous as a black cat straddling a rabid red-eyed dog as it races under a […]
Continue readingReady to start – Beginners review
January 3, 2012 0 Comments
Beginners – Starring Ewan McGregor, Christopher Plummer and Mélanie Laurent. Directed by Mike Mills. Rated M. Originally published August 1, 2011. By Simon Miraudo. One of the great cosmic practical jokes is humanity’s enduring inability to capture, well, humanity on screen, which is probably why we make so many films about fighting robots instead. It’s the great desire of an artist; to depict human […]
Continue readingTime for a switcheroo – The Change-Up review
January 2, 2012 0 Comments
The Change-Up – Starring Jason Bateman, Ryan Reynolds and Leslie Mann. Directed by David Dobkin. Rated MA. Originally published September 6, 2011. By Simon Miraudo. For a film called The Change-Up, this thing is pretty damn stale. Forget the fact this is a body swap comedy (a genre that went out fashion with shoulder pads and Ken Done sweaters, despite the efforts of Claudia Karvan/Guy […]
Continue readingBloody glee – The Guard review
December 20, 2011 1 Comment
The Guard – Starring Brendan Gleeson, Don Cheadle and Mark Strong. Directed by John Michael McDonagh. Rated MA. Originally published July 24, 2011. By Simon Miraudo. Here’s an understatement: Brendan Gleeson is one of the most reliable and enjoyable actors working today. I have trouble recalling a film he didn’t steal. Needless to say, he kills in The Guard, written and directed by John Michael McDonagh. Gleeson stars as Boyle, […]
Continue readingWaking nightmare – Sleeping Beauty review
November 22, 2011 0 Comments
Sleeping Beauty – Starring Emily Browning, Rachael Blake and Peter Carroll. Directed by Julia Leigh. Rated MA. Originally published June 8, 2011. By Simon Miraudo. I remember seeing a production of Samuel Beckett’s Happy Days with my high school drama class. For those unfamiliar with the play, it features a woman trapped in a mound […]
Continue readingShe’s got the look – Faces in the Crowd review
November 16, 2011 3 Comments
Faces in the Crowd – Starring Milla Jovovich, Julian McMahon and Michael Shanks. Directed by Julien Magnat. Rated MA. By Hilary Simmons. ‘Face-blindness’ is a neurological disorder, not just an awkward affliction resulting from too much alcohol and/or anonymous hook-ups. It feels necessary to point this out because it’s the latest type of recognition impairment […]
Continue readingSwing low – Swinging with the Finkels review
October 25, 2011 0 Comments
Swinging with the Finkels – Starring Mandy Moore and Martin Freeman. Directed by Jonathan Newman. Rated M. By Hilary Simmons. Swinging with the Finkels sounds more fun than it is; a married couple try ‘swinging’ to put the spice back into their sex life. Unfortunately, there is a lot more arm flinging and hand wringing […]
Continue readingThey don’t understand – Last Night review
October 18, 2011 0 Comments
Last Night – Starring Keira Knightley, Sam Worthington and Eva Mendes. Directed by Massy Tadjedin. Rated M. By Hilary Simmons. Last Night is a thoughtful little arthouse film from writer-director Massy Tadjedin, which asks interesting questions about infidelity, relationships and resilience. After attending a cocktail party, Joanna (Keira Knightley) confronts her husband Michael (Sam Worthington) about his […]
Continue readingWe’ll meet again – Oranges and Sunshine review
October 11, 2011 0 Comments
Oranges and Sunshine – Starring Emily Watson, Hugo Weaving and David Wenham. Directed by Jim Loach. Rated M. By Hilary Simmons. A sad and bizarre true story based on the life of Margaret Humphreys, a social worker from Nottingham, Oranges and Sunshine dramatises the organised deportation of British children from 1950 right up until 1970. […]
Continue readingWhere there’s a Will – Everything Must Go review
September 27, 2011 1 Comment
Everything Must Go – Starring Will Ferrell, Rebecca Hall and Christopher Jordan Wallace. Directed by Dan Rush. Rated M. By Simon Miraudo. There comes a time in every comic actor’s life when they grow weary of begging for yuks, and try to prove that they’ve got dramatic chops too. It’s a rite of passage as […]
Continue readingA not-so-final destination – Enter the Void review
September 6, 2011 4 Comments
Enter the Void – Starring Nathaniel Brown and Paz de la Huerta. Directed by Gaspar Noé. Rated R. By Hilary Simmons. In-your-face French director Gaspar Noé has a new film, featuring all the drug-induced thrills, messy mental spills and sexually explicit frills that we’ve come to expect from the demagogic maverick who made that notorious […]
Continue readingDinner date – The Perfect Host review
August 17, 2011 0 Comments
The Perfect Host – Starring David Hyde Pierce and Clayne Crawford. Directed by Nick Tomnay. Rated M. By Hilary Simmons. The Perfect Host is The Usual Suspects filtered through Funny Games, or perhaps Swimming with Sharks fused with Sleuth. Unfortunately, it doesn’t come close to being nearly as good as any of the above, but […]
Continue readingNot ‘funny ha-ha’ – It’s Kind of a Funny Story review
August 16, 2011 0 Comments
It’s Kind of a Funny Story – Starring Keir Gilchrist, Zach Galifianakis and Emma Roberts. Directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck. Rated M. By Simon Miraudo. The evolution of Zach Galifianakis’ from awkward, offbeat, underground funnyman to awkward, offbeat, mainstream comedy superstar is surely one of the least likely in Hollywood history. That a […]
Continue readingThis is Grimm – Red Riding Hood review
August 8, 2011 1 Comment
Red Riding Hood – Starring Amanda Seyfried, Gary Oldman and Shiloh Fernandez. Directed by Catherine Hardwicke. Rated M. Originally published March 23, 2011. By Simon Miraudo. When Red Riding Hood stopped being bad in all the conventional ways, it found a bunch of new, innovative ways to be bad. Okay, that’s not entirely true. Red […]
Continue readingComplete me – Never Let Me Go review
August 1, 2011 0 Comments
Never Let Me Go – Starring Carey Mulligan, Andrew Garfield and Keira Knightley. Directed by Mark Romanek. Rated M. Originally published April 5, 2011. By Simon Miraudo. It hardly needs to be said when reviewing an adaptation of a novel, but for traditions sake, “the book is better than the movie”. There, it’s out of the way early. Are we really surprised […]
Continue readingUnclean – The Housemaid review
July 26, 2011 0 Comments
The Housemaid – Starring Jeon Do-yeon, Lee Jung-Jae and Seo Woo. Directed by Im Sang-soo. Rated MA. Originally published April 11, 2011. By Simon Miraudo. Im Sang-soo’s The Housemaid either doesn’t know what it wants to be, or is trying to be too many things at once. Few films can claim to be over-ambitious and […]
Continue readingClone wars – Certified Copy review
July 19, 2011 0 Comments
Certified Copy – Starring Juliette Binoche and William Shimell. Directed by Abbas Kiarostami. Rated M. Originally published February 20, 2011. By Simon Miraudo. Abbas Kiarostami’s Certified Copy begins as one film and ends as another entirely. I love it when a film can do that. How rare it is to be taken on a genuine ride by a movie; to follow a path […]
Continue readingGod squad – The Rite review
July 12, 2011 1 Comment
The Rite – Starring Anthony Hopkins, Colin O’Donoghue and Alice Braga. Directed byMikael Håfström. Rated M. Originally published March 9, 2011. By Simon Miraudo. Mikael Håfström’s demonic-possession flick The Rite has an interesting credit; perhaps the first of its kind: “Suggested by the book The Rite – The Making of a Modern Exorcist by Matt Baglio”. Suggested by. What does that mean? We all know […]
Continue readingA new sheriff in town – Rango review
July 5, 2011 0 Comments
Rango – Starring Johnny Depp, Isla Fisher and Ned Beatty. Directed by Gore Verbinski. Rated PG. Originally published March 8, 2011. By Simon Miraudo. I just don’t know if we’ll see a film as smart or fun or overwhelmingly rich as Rango for the rest of the year. That’s not meant to be a pre-emptive […]
Continue readingWe can recalibrate it for you – The Adjustment Bureau review
June 28, 2011 2 Comments
The Adjustment Bureau – Starring Matt Damon, Emily Blunt and Anthony Mackie. Directed by George Nolfi. Rated M. Originally published March 3, 2011. By Simon Miraudo. I can honestly say The Adjustment Bureau is the best meet-cute sci-fi rom-com about magic hats that I’ve seen in at least three months. Well, definitely top five. The […]
Continue readingBe mine – Blue Valentine review
June 21, 2011 2 Comments
Blue Valentine – Starring Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams. Directed by Derek Cianfrance. Rated MA. Originally published December 22, 2010. By Simon Miraudo. The mark of a truly great romantic drama is one which inspires its viewers to re-evaluate their life. Yep, it’s a somewhat unreasonably high bar for films to reach, but it’s what […]
Continue readingThe brave and the boulder – 127 Hours review
June 14, 2011 0 Comments
127 Hours – Starring James Franco. Directed by Danny Boyle. Rated MA. Originally published February 8, 2011. By Simon Miraudo. Why do people climb a mountain “just because it’s there”? I find that reasoning to be wildly unsatisfying, and it has led me to judge adrenaline junkies and extreme sportsmen and women as flighty and […]
Continue readingYou know, for kids – The Green Hornet review
May 31, 2011 1 Comment
The Green Hornet – Starring Seth Rogen, Jay Chou and Christoph Waltz. Directed by Michel Gondry. Rated M. Originally published January 19, 2011. By Simon Miraudo. The Green Hornet looks and feels as if it were made by a bunch of (highly talented) 10-year-old boys. Taking any pleasure in the film depends on your willingness […]
Continue readingBeautiful dark twisted fantasy – Black Swan review
May 24, 2011 2 Comments
Black Swan – Starring Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis and Vincent Cassell. Directed by Darren Aronofsky. Rated MA. Originally published January 4, 2011. By Simon Miraudo. Things are about to get … intense. Perhaps Darren Aronofsky should have considered attaching a title card with that brief caveat to the reels of his latest film Black Swan. […]
Continue readingOld souls – Another Year review
May 17, 2011 0 Comments
Another Year – Starring Jim Broadbent, Ruth Sheen and Lesley Manville. Directed by Mike Leigh. Rated M. Originally published January 27, 2011. By Simon Miraudo. Everybody dies. Not everybody gets old, but most do. Mike Leigh’s Another Year considers both of these tragedies with the humour, heart and pathos fitting for humanity’s two great burdens. […]
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