Feudal Japan: a time when war was a way to wisdom, loyalty was a way of life, and dishonour was punishable by death. It is during this perilous period that the prolific and often controversial director Takashi Miike (Audition, Ichi the Killer) sets his latest project 13 Assassins; an ambitious Samurai film brimming with all the poetic dialogue and unflinching violence of the time. Loosely based on historical events and [...]

Jake Kasdan’s Bad Teacher is a breath of fresh, cynical air. And that’s not because it’s outrageously hilarious – the jokes miss just as often as they hit – but because it’s a film that, for once, actually lives up to its title. From start to finish, the teacher in Bad Teacher is bad. She’s not somewhat bad, she’s not repentantly bad and she’s certainly not sympathetically bad.  Nope, she’s [...]

It’s funny how the decision to get married can send shockwaves through your family and circle of friends, prompting major lifestyle changes and contradicting firm beliefs. It’s almost like popping the question puts you on the same level as a terrorist setting off a bomb. Once the decision is made, you better be ready for what comes next – there will be casualties, the repercussions will be traumatic, and you [...]

I loathe having to review a film like Terrance Malick’s Palme d’Or winning The Tree of Life. Why? Because it’s the kind of epic art film that to summate in a few measly sentences would be a grave injustice to the thousands of hours poured into its inspired creation. So that’s why I decided to make a silly, inane video review instead!

Watch the review below and, on the off chance [...]

Super 8 isn’t a prequel or a sequel, a remake or a reboot, but nor is it what you’d call an original. No, it’s very much a homage; a reel of reverence that writer/director J.J. Abrams (Mission: Impossible III, Star Trek) has addressed, with handwritten hugs and kisses, to the modern master of movie magic, Steven Spielberg (E.T. The Extra-terrestrial, Jaws).

But does Super 8 offer much more than a blast [...]

“That was. The most amazingly horrible film I have. EVER. Seen.”

My friend was staring at me, his face bearing not only a huge grin, but also eyes full of wonder and shock. The credits were rolling, and I could hear spattered applause throughout the rest of the audience. What does one do after watching a film as gloriously bad, as terribly enjoyable and hilarious as Mega Piranha? Does one clap? [...]

Here’s something I didn’t expect: Fast & Furious 5 — or simply Fast Five if you’re in a hurry and not nearly as furious about it – is the most entertaining film thus far in the gas-guzzling franchise. Admittedly, the competition hasn’t exactly been stiff; the only thing I found more traumatic than sitting through the first four instalments was the shenanigans in the cinema’s car park afterwards. (Seriously, don’t [...]

With the success of the rolling Iron Man franchise and the hype of upcoming films Captain America and The Avengers, Marvel Studios would be feeling pretty smug in the aftermath of the Disney merger. Oh, and that’s not mentioning the next Spider-Man instalment either, sans Raimi/Maguire/Dunst. As the comic-book craze pushes on, Marvel’s aura of invincibility is not completely ridiculous, and so they bring us what they believe to be [...]